Clapham – Brayley, Topographical History of Surrey

Transcribed in full, keeping Brayley’s spelling, capitals and punctuation, and checked line by line against the printed pages. The original page numbers are shown in grey, like this: [278]. Brayley’s footnotes are numbered as in the book and collected at the end; passages he set in small type are shown slightly smaller. This volume was issued in 1850, but the text was written in the 1840s and brought up to about July 1847, so “the present vicar” and the like mean then, not now. Compare the earlier account in Manning and Bray (1814).

[277] The earliest mention of this place now known, occurs in the Register of Chertsey abbey; from which record we learn, that in the time of King Alfred, a Saxon duke, named Ælfrid, gave 30 hides of land ‘in Clappeham to his wife Werburga, for life, with remainder to Ald’hdryth his daughter, and her issue; in default of which, to his next of kin by his father, paying her half the value;—the owner of the land to pay 200 pence yearly to the monks of Chertsey.’¹

In the 11th century, Clapham was the seat of Osgod Clapa, a Danish nobleman; at the marriage feast of whose daughter, Gytha, or Goda, with Tovi Prudham, another noble Dane, Hardicanute, then king of England, an invited guest, fell senseless to the ground in a fit of intoxication, and expired shortly after. This event is stated to have happened at Lambeth, which district appears to have anciently included the land now constituting the parish of Clapham.²

The manor remained in the possession of the family of Mandeville, at least until 1103, when it belonged to Nigel de Mandeville. In the reign of Stephen, it was held by Pharamus de Bolonia, nephew of Maud, the wife of that king; and his daughter and heiress, Sibella de Tingria married Ingelram de Fienes, who was killed at the battle of Acon in Palestine, in 1190; he having probably accompanied Richard Cœur de Lion in the crusade against Saladin. There is extant a charter of King Stephen, by which he granted or restored to Sibella this manor, with all the rights and privileges pertaining to it which had been enjoyed by her husband and her father; and he also gave her permission to marry whom she pleased. Her son, William de Fednes, or Fienes, is stated in the Testa de Nevill to have held half a knight’s fee in Clopham of Humphrey de Boun, or Bohun, earl of Hereford. He died in 1241; and in the same record, it is mentioned that Ingelram de Fendeies, (who was the son of William), held the half fee in Clapham of the Honour of Mandevill, which was then vested in Humphrey de Boun. Manning observes, that this earl was the mesne lord of the manor between Fienes and the king; and he might have added, that Humphrey de Boun, or Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, derived his claim to the lordship through his descent from the Mandeville family,—his mother, Maud, being the daughter of Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, earl of Essex, who held the office of grand-justiciary in the reign of John, and who inherited the earldom in right of his mother, Beatrix, the sister of Geoffrey de Mandeville, who was created earl of Essex, by Stephen, and may possibly have held this manor until his lands were confiscated for joining the party of the empress Maud; and Clapham was then given to Pharamus de Bolonia, as above stated.

William de Fienes, the son of Ingelram, appears to have engaged in some legal proceedings relative to this manor (which was, perhaps, claimed by the earl of Hereford), in the 7th of Edward the First, 1279.⁴ He died seised of this estate in 1302, or 1303; and an [279] inquisition being taken on that occasion, it was found that he had held the manor of Clapham, in capite, of the earl of Hereford and Essex, by the service of suit of court at Hereford, and Blaunch-apeltone in London; and that he had enfeoffed Thomas Romeyn and Julian his wife, and the heirs of Thomas, of this manor. But he left a son and heir, John de Fienes; and reserved the mesne lordship to his own family, for the manor was held of the representatives of Fienes, in socage, in the 32nd of Elizabeth.⁵

Thomas Romayne had a grant of free-warren here in the 3rd of Edward the Second. His wife, Julian, died in 1326, seised of the manor of Clapham, a capital messuage, 254¼ acres of arable land, 20 of meadow, 140 of underwood, and 6 of pasture; rents of assise of free tenants and bondmen, 9l. 11s. 9¾d.; three cocks and six hens; the whole valued at 28l. 15s. 7¾d. She left two daughters coheiresses, one of whom, Margaret, married William de Weston, of Albury, who had this estate in right of his wife; and it belonged to their descendants in the time of Henry the Sixth. In the 16th year of that king’s reign, Robert de Weston executed a conveyance of the manor to William Wetenhall, citizen of London, Margaret his wife, John Olton, clerk, and others; and two years after that date, he ratified a deed of Thomas Romayne, as lord of the manor.

Richard Gower, esq., died seised of this manor in 1472, the 11th of Edward the Fourth; and John Gower, supposed to have been his son, having been killed in the battle of Tewkesbury, fighting for Henry the Sixth, he was attainted, and the estate escheated to the crown. The manor was probably then granted, by Edward the Fourth, to George Ireland and Margaret his wife; for it appears from an inquisition taken October 29th, in the 13th of Edward the Fourth, that Ireland died seised of it in the preceding month, leaving a son and heir, Thomas, aged twelve. In the first year of the reign of Henry the Seventh, Ann Pympe, cousin and heir of John Gower, late of Clapham, preferred a petition to parliament, praying a reversal of his attainder, which was granted. Nothing further appears relative to the descent of this manor until the 15th of Elizabeth, when William Chelsham, mercer, of London, is stated to have died seised of this estate, which he left to his son, of the same name. In 1580, Sir Thos. Cokayne, lord-mayor of London, conveyed it to Philip Okeover and Richard Crompton, who are supposed to have been trustees for Bartholomew Clerke, dean of the Arches, who held it at the time of his death, in 1589. Francis, his son and heir, then a minor, was lord of the manor in 1604, when he presented to the living; and he [280] appears to have sold the manor, in or before 1615, to John Haulsey, gent., in whom the presentation was then vested.

Not long after the period just mentioned, the estate was purchased by Dr. Henry Atkins, physician to James the First, for 6000l. said to have been a gift from the king for his professional services in attending prince Charles (afterwards Charles the First), when dangerously ill of a fever, in Scotland.⁶ His son and heir, Sir Henry Atkins, knt., had a son named Richard, who was created a baronet, by Charles the Second, in 1662. Sir Richard Atkins, bart., who succeeded to the title and estate on the decease of his elder brother, Sir Henry, a minor, in 1742, died without issue June 10th, 1756; when this manor came into the possession of his sister Penelope, the wife of George Pitt, esq., created Baron Rivers, of Strathfield-Saye, Hants, in 1776. The rental of her estate, in consequence of the improvements at Clapham, before noticed, is stated by Lysons, in 1792, to have increased within the preceding nineteen years, from 1335l. to 2031l. per annum. This lady was living in 1813; but her life-interest in the property had been purchased by Samuel Thornton, esq., then M.P. for Surrey. After her decease it reverted to the Atkins family, of whom Wm. Atkins Bowyer, the late lord of the manor, died at Paris on the 29th of February, 1844; and his son, Henry Bowyer, esq., is the present owner.—The old manor-house, which is supposed by Lysons to have been built by Bartholomew Clerke, when dean of the Arches in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, is still in part remaining, but has been long converted into a ladies’ boarding-school. It stands near the present St. Paul’s chapel, which occupies the site of the old church.

William de Breuse died seised of two knights’ fees at Clapham in 1291, as appears from the Close-rolls of the 19th of Edward the First. It is supposed that the land held by Breuse constituted the estate at this place which in the 17th century belonged to Sir Dennis Gauden, who built a sumptuous mansion here for his brother, Dr. John Gauden, bishop of Exeter; under the expectancy of his further promotion to Winchester, and making this the episcopal palace.⁷ That prelate was one of the clerical adherents of Charles the First, and the real author of a work intituled “ΕΙΚΩΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ,” attributed to the monarch, the question as to the authorship of which has been the subject of much [281] literary controversy. Toland, in his “Amyntor, or Defence of Milton,” relates that Dr. Gauden, after the restoration, was promised the bishopric of Winchester, but after having been raised to the see of Exeter in 1660, he was translated to Worcester in 1661, and died in the following year.—Sir Dennis Gauden, who became a resident in his late brother’s house, (where he had an extensive library and other valuable collections), died at Clapham, and was buried there on the 1st of July, 1688. The mansion and estate was afterwards purchased by William Hewer, esq., a commissioner of the navy, the faithful clerk and assistant of Mr. Secretary Pepys (the author of the ‘Diary’), who died at this house in May, 1703.⁸ Mr. Hewer’s own decease occurred here in December, 1715, and he was buried in the old church. He bequeathed the property to a relation, Hewer Edgeley, esq., who assumed the name of Hewer, and whose widow continued in possession for some time after his death. The house was pulled down about 1760; and the estate, which consisted of nearly 433 acres, became divided among several proprietors. Its rental, according to Lysons, was nearly as large as that of the manorial estate.

Clapham parish is bounded, on the north, north-west, and west, by that of Battersea; on the east, by Lambeth; and on the south, by Streatham. The limits of the parish where it adjoins Battersea have been the subject of a legal contest, that part of Clapham common extending to Battersea-rise being claimed by both parishes. In 1716, the inhabitants of Battersea inclosed with a ditch and bank the tract of land in question, and the people of Clapham levelled the bank and filled up the ditch; in consequence of which, Henry, lord viscount St. John, then lord of the manor of Battersea, brought an action for trespass against those who were engaged in this work, or their employers; which was tried at the assizes at Kingston, in 1718, when the plaintiff was non-suited. The men of Battersea, however, persevered in supporting their claim, by including the disputed ground in their parochial perambulations;⁹ and it would seem to have been eventually successful; a certain portion of the common being now held on lease of Earl Spencer, as lord of the manor of Battersea.

The number of acres in this parish, as estimated under the tithe-commutation act, is 1170; of which, 40 acres were arable land; 473, [282] meadow, &c.; 202, common; 19.3, market-gardens; 360, buildings with gardens; and 74, roads. Since that computation was made, the increase of buildings has been considerable; and is still in progress. The soil, in general, is light and gravelly; but on the south and south-east is a stiff clay of great depth.

Clapham Common.—Until after the middle of the last century, this common, which comprises an area of two hundred and two acres, was an almost impassable marsh; but about the year 1760, through the influence and exertions of Christopher Baldwin, esq., a Surrey magistrate, who had resided many years near the spot, the land was drained, and trees planted of various species, and the roads crossing it were repaired.¹⁰ The cost of these improvements was defrayed by a subscription raised among the neighbouring inhabitants; and similar means have been since employed to keep the common in good order. From a falling off of the subscriptions, however, some fifteen or twenty years ago, and a want of due authority, the common was greatly neglected, and much exertion was required of the neighbouring gentry to devise efficient remedies. At length, in the years 1835 and 1836, leases of the manorial rights over the entire common were obtained for twelve years; that part in Clapham parish, at an annual rent of 45l.; and that in Battersea parish, at a rent of 20l. During the above and the following years to the end of December, 1838, donations to the amount of 896l. 1s. were made for carrying into effect the contemplated improvements; in 1839 and 1840, further sums to the extent of 248l. 6s. were given for the same purpose; and other donations, amounting to 138l., were made in 1844. Subscriptions, amounting on the average to about 150l. per annum, have likewise been received;¹¹ by which means the trustees, (to whom the leases had been granted), were enabled to restore the drainage and water-courses; cleanse out the three principal ponds, namely, the Island pond, the Long-boat pond, and the Mount pond; improve the plantations, and, generally, to execute whatever other works were necessary to give the common that attractive park-like character and appearance which it now possesses. This extensive tract is nearly surrounded by well-built villas, and other dwellings, the [283] residences of merchants and gentlemen to whom its short distance from the busy haunts of the metropolis render it of convenient and easy access. The airy cheerfulness of this spot greatly tends to the salubrity of the neighbourhood. It is, at all times, available for recreation; and being now under the regular superintendence of a keeper, (who acts as constable, also), is free from the nuisances of former times.

Clapham Park.—In respect to appropriation, buildings, and other features connected with domestic habitude, this park may be described as a new locality, deriving origin from the creative genius of Mr. Thomas Cubitt, the well-known eminent architect and builder. Its situation to the south-east of Clapham, on the rising ground between that village and Brixton, renders it more airy than the former; while it is less exposed to the wind than the latter. The site, which comprises about two hundred and fifty acres, was formerly called Bleak-hill farm, and in the year 1824 was taken of Atkins Bowyer, esq., (the then lord of Clapham manor, and owner of much freehold property in the neighbourhood), by Mr. Cubitt; who, in the course of a few years entirely changed the character of this previously-secluded tract. The ground was planted with trees and ornamental shrubs; and variously sub-divided for the erection of detached villas, &c. New and wide roads, extending to the length of about four miles, were formed; and, being kept in excellent order, are well adapted for recreation, either in riding or walking. The drainage, also, has been rendered complete; neither labour nor cost having been spared in effecting that most essential object. Clapham Park has already become a favourite place of residence for families of respectability and affluence. Many large and elegant villas have been recently built and inhabited; and the trees and shrubs have made such rapid growth that the whole area assumes the appearance of beautifully-planted pleasure grounds. A new chapel has, also, been erected on Park-hill for the accommodation of the increasing population of this neighbourhood.

Advowson, &c.—In the Valor of the 20th of Edward the First this benefice, which is a rectory in the deanery of Southwark, is rated at 14 marks. It was then charged with a pension of 20s. to the priory of Merton, to which foundation the advowson had probably been given by Pharamus de Bolonia, either in the reign of king Stephen, or of Henry the Second. In the King’s books it is valued at 8l.; paying 7s. 7d. for procurations, and 2s. 1½d. for synodals. In the 36th of Henry the Eighth, the advowson was granted by the crown to Sir Thomas Arundel and Henry Saunders; but in the reign of James the First, it was conveyed to the Atkins’ family, and has since descended [284] with the manor.—The commuted rent-charge is 500l., inclusive of 11l. 6s. for eleven acres of glebe, consisting of houses and gardens.—The Registers commence in 1552, and are nearly perfect. The following instances of Longevity occur among the entries in the early part of the present century:—Sarah, widow of Edward Ashby, aged 100 years, buried May 12, 1801.—Priscilla Mee, spinster, aged 92, bur. March 15, 1804.—Catharine Roberts, aged 99, bur. Dec. 14, 1804.

John Venn, A.M. Instituted in June, 1792: died July 1st, 1813.¹²
[285] William Dealtry, D.D., F.A.S. Instituted July 26th, 1813. This gentleman is a canon of Winchester, and was the chancellor of the diocese, which he resigned on being appointed archdeacon of Surrey in 1845.

The old Church at Clapham, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, stood on the spot now occupied by St. Paul’s chapel, on commanding ground between Lark-hall lane and the Wandsworth road. It appears to have originally consisted of a nave and chancel only. An additional chapel (afterwards the monumental chapel of the Atkins’ family), was attached to the north-west side, in 1500; and a corresponding one, called Walter Frost’s chapel, was built on the south-west side, about 1674; these formed a western transept. A north aisle was added about 1715, by Hewer E. Hewer, esq.; and a south aisle, at a subsequent time, by the parishioners. Becoming much dilapidated, and altogether wholly inadequate for the increased population, an act of parliament was obtained in the year 1774, for the erection of a new church on the Common. On the completion of the latter, the old building was pulled down except the north aisle, which was left standing for the performance of the burial-service, until the new chapel of St. Paul was built there in 1814.

In the old church were several sepulchral memorials of considerable interest, of which, although some care was at first taken, they were eventually ruthlessly destroyed. Among them was the altar-tomb of Sir Richard Atkins, knt. and bart.,¹³ and his lady, Rebecca, the daughter of Sir Edmund Wright, who were represented by recumbent figures of white marble. They were buried in a vault in the church-yard, together with Henry, their eldest son, and Rebecca and Annabella, their first and second daughters; to whose memory a mural monument was erected against the east wall of the Atkins’ chapel. The latter were represented by excellently-sculptured figures, kneeling, under an arch supported by Corinthian columns, of white marble; and beneath each was an inscription, recording the name, age, &c., [286] together with an epitaph in verse of a highly-eulogistic description;—as a specimen of which, that on Annabella, the eldest daughter, who died in 1670, in her nineteenth year, is subjoined.—

Another monument, of an architectural kind and of the Corinthian order, recorded the memory, in Latin verse, of Bartholomew Clerke, dean of the Arches, and lord of Clapham, (who died in March, 1589, aged fifty-two), and Eleanor Haselrigge, his wife: they were represented, together with their son, by kneeling figures within arched recesses; and above the cornice was a large shield, blazoned with the arms and quarterings of their respective families.

Near the above were inscribed tablets in memory of Martin Lister, M.D. F.R.S., and his wife Hannah. He died on the 2nd of February, 1711-12, having been some years an inhabitant of this parish; to which he bequeathed five pounds for a commemoration sermon for his wife, and for other charitable purposes.¹⁵

Some little deference was shewn to the monument of Wm. Hewer, esq., the “Treasurer for Tangier to Charles the Second, and Com- [287] missioner of the Navy to James the Second,” which was removed from the interior of the old church, and has been affixed against the exterior south wall of the chapel. It exhibits an expressive marble Bust, in alto-relievo, of the deceased officer, who died on the 3rd of December, 1715, at the age of seventy-three. Below it, is a long inscription to his memory, in Latin; but now scarcely to be read.

St. Paul’s Chapel is a uniform edifice of brick, with little ornament except stone quoins and window dressings. It is a chapel-of-ease, and was built from the designs of Mr. C. Edmonds, architect, at a cost of about 5000l. At the west end is a low entrance-portico, and two side-doors; and on the roof, a bell turret, surmounted by a small cupola and vane. The interior is neatly fitted up; the pewing of the area and galleries is painted stone colour, edged with mahogany. In the vestry-room are preserved two brasses which were in the old church; one of which records the name of ‘Will’m’s Tableer,’ ob. October 13th, 1401; and the other, that of ‘Gulielmus Glanvill, Generosus,’ an Exeter merchant, who died of a fever arising from fatigue on his route to London, in June, 1647, aged fifty years.

Among the various memorials in this chapel is a handsome tablet against the south wall, for Mary, the wife of Samuel Martin Peto, esq., who died in May, 1842;—and, at the east end of the south gallery, a beautiful monument executed by Chantrey, in white marble, exhibiting a mourning female leaning upon a sarcophagus, upon which is a sepulchral urn. This was erected by his bereaved widow, to the memory of John Broadly Wilson, esq., of Clapham, who died on the 4th of February, 1835; and his profile, in low relief, is sculptured in front of the tomb. He was distinguished for his general benevolence and numerous charities “for the extension of religion and relief of his distressed fellow-creatures,”—and, as the inscription states, “he knew no party, but delighted in doing good to all.”—This chapel, which affords accommodation for seven hundred and fifty persons (including the free seats), was first opened in 1815, when the Rev. Wm. Borrows, A.M., was appointed, and is still the incumbent.

In the old church-yard, which is attached to this chapel, and has been considerably enlarged (no interments being permitted in, or near, the new church), are numerous tombs, some much ornamented, and other inscribed memorials, for respectable individuals and families of this parish;—but of which our limits will not admit any enumeration. Among them is the following plaintive epitaph in memory of John Hermon Jerdenson Meger, a native of Porsground, in Norway, who died in May, 1812, in the twenty-third year of his age.—

Clapham New Church, as it is still called, although built in the years 1775 and 76, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It occupies a pleasant site on the north-west side of the Common; and was consecrated and opened for divine service by Dr. Hurd, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, on the 10th of June, 1776. The architect was Mr. Couse; and the cost of its erection about 11,000l. It is constructed of brick with stone dressings, but has little architectural ornament; the whole being of the plain substantial character that pervades the ecclesiastical structures raised in the early part of the reign of George the Third. At the west end is a long portico, erected in 1812, under which are the principal entrances. At this end, also, is a square clock-tower, rising above the roof, surmounted by an octagonal story, crowned by a cupola and small turret. The interior, which is ninety feet in length, and sixty feet in breadth, contains accommodation for about fourteen hundred persons; and is chiefly fitted up with foreign oak. On each side, and at the west end, is a large gallery; the latter containing a fine-toned organ, which was much enlarged by Bishop in 1825. In a semi-circular recess at the east end, is the communion-table; and above it, the Lord’s Prayer, Creed, and Commandments, in ornamental compartments. The large east window is enriched with stained glass, executed by the late George Prickett, of York.

In the gallery on the north side, at the east end, is a handsome tablet, by Westmacott, in memory of John Thornton, esq., who was a principal contributor to the building of the church, and died Nov. 6th, 1790, aged seventy years. In a similar position in the opposite gallery, is a like memorial to John Castell, esq., who died December 1st, 1804, aged seventy years.—Against the wall of the north aisle, beneath the gallery, are several neat tablets; one is thus inscribed:—

[289] Another memorial records the scriptural knowledge and general virtues of the Rev. John Venn, M.A., “for twenty years rector of this parish,” who died July 1st, 1813, aged fifty-four years.

In the south aisle is a pleasing monument, exhibiting a Medallion of Bishop Jebb, and thus inscribed:—

St. John’s Church.—The great increase of the population in the northern part of the parish led to the building of this church, which stands on the western side of the Clapham road, and it was consecrated for divine service on the 21st of May, 1842. The funds were partly supplied by the Society for the erection of new churches, but chiefly by voluntary contributions of the neighbouring inhabitants. It is constructed of white brick with stone dressings; and has an entrance-portico of stone, formed by six columns of the Ionic order supporting a pediment, the apex of which is surmounted by a cross. On each side of the church are five large windows, encased in stone, and glazed with ground plate glass. As seen from the road, the exterior has a light and pleasing effect; but from the absence of either tower, steeple, or spire, it has more the appearance of a Grecian temple than of a Christian church.

The interior is plain, but the neat arrangement of its various parts, its general colouring, and the chastened light derived from the semi-transparent windows give it an attractive air. The pews, free seats, and galleries, are painted of a stone colour; and the Ionic columns which support the galleries are painted in imitation of grey marble, but with white capitals. An elegantly-formed Bude light is suspended from the central compartment of the ceiling; the sides being lit with gas.—From its situation in the Clapham road, the entrances to this church are on the eastern side, which, at the first access, occasions the communion-table, pulpit, reading-desk, and even organ-loft, to appear as though occupying unusual places. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the rector of Clapham. The present incumbent is the Rev. Robert Bickersteth; who is, also, the evening preacher at the Magdalen Hospital.

St. James’s Chapel.—This is an episcopal chapel, situated on Park-hill, about half a mile from Clapham common. It was built from the designs of Lewis Vulliamy, esq., the entire cost of its erection being defrayed by voluntary contributions; and it was first opened for divine [290] service on the 17th of November, 1829. From being constructed of light-coloured brick, with stone dressings, it has, at a little distance, all the appearance of stone. It is an excellent composition in the decorated branch of the pointed style; and eminently illustrative of the superior talents of its architect. The west front is divided into three compartments by graduated buttresses with enriched pinnacles; and the gable end of the roof is surmounted by a clock and bell turret in three stages, finishing in a spire and cross, much ornamented. In the central compartment of this front, which is of greater width than the side divisions, is a handsome window of three lights, with rich tracery in the heading: in the side divisions are smaller windows of two lights each. Below these are door-ways; but the principal access is by a projecting porch in the centre, which is separated by small buttresses into three entrances; the central one being surmounted by a gable and cross. There are five windows of two lights, between buttresses, on each side; and an eastern window corresponding with that over the west porch.

The interior has a light and impressive effect. The roof, of the gable form, is crossed by beams supported by open-framed and carved truss-work springing from central brackets between each window. At the west end is an organ and singing gallery; and there is, also, a large gallery on either side: these are supported by light columns of cast-iron, resembling clustered shafts. The gallery fronts are ornamented by panelled divisions in the pointed style. The area is occupied by low-backed pews, of a uniform height and colour: the pulpit and reading-desk are of oak. The communion-table is of stone; and above it, inclosed by gothic panelling, are the Lord’s Prayer, Creed, and Commandments. Some modern stained glass is introduced in the heading of the east window; and, likewise, fills the small cruciform window, near the apex of the eastern gable wall.—The patronage of this chapel is vested in six trustees: it is a perpetual curacy, and is held by the Rev. Charles Bradley, A.M., who was appointed at its first opening in 1829.

Among the few tablets in this church are memorials for three of the daughters of the late Beeston Long, esq., of Coombe-house, in Surrey; one of whom, Maria, was the wife of Henry Seymour Montagu, esq., and died on October 2nd, 1832, aged thirty-two years. Their only son, Chas. Francis Montagu, was accidentally drowned at Eton, in his fifteenth year, May 16th, 1840.

Schools.—In the year 1648, a Parochial school was erected near the middle of the old town of Clapham, on ground given by Robert Atkins, esq., the then lord of the manor. This was rebuilt in 1781, [291] and added to in 1809: it is now used for girls only; but a school-room on an extensive scale was erected near the common in 1838, exclusively for boys. With these are connected six schools for infants, and several Sunday schools, as well as daily and evening schools. They are all in union with the established church, and, except an endowment of 8l. per annum, are all supported by voluntary contributions.¹⁶ The number of children belonging to them averages from eight hundred to one thousand. A Commercial school for boys, and a middle school for girls, have also been instituted within a few years past, under the superintendence of the clergy; and the number of scholars in both is nearly one hundred. A British and Foreign school has, also, been established.

Near St. John’s church, at Clapham-rise, is the British Orphan Asylum, which was founded in 1827. This is an extensive pile of brick building, commodiously fitted up for the reception, maintenance, and religious and industrial education of the destitute orphans of both sexes, whose parents have moved in the middle and respectable classes of society. The children of the incurably paralytic, insane, or blind, being virtually orphans, are likewise received into this charity; which is wholly supported by voluntary subscriptions, and conducted in a most efficacious and praiseworthy manner. At the present time, (May, 1846), there are fifty-one boys and thirty-two girls in this asylum: the former are kept on the establishment until the age of fourteen; and the girls a year longer.

There are several dissenting chapels in this parish. An Independent congregation was established at Clapham about the middle of the 17th century, by William Bridge, who was a member of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and one of the most eminent non-conformists of the time. He had several successors of some celebrity; among whom were the learned Moses Lowman, and Dr. Philip Furneaux. During the latter’s pastorship the meeting-house in Clapham old town was erected about the year 1769.¹⁷ It is an old-fashioned brick [292] building, substantially fitted up. There is a lower gallery extending along three sides of the chapel, and upper galleries for the Sunday school of this society: in the western gallery is a small full-toned organ. The present minister is the Rev. James Hill.

On the western side of Clapham common is a Meeting-house for the General Baptists, established in 1794, and endowed with thirty guineas per annum, and the interest of 2000l.; both given by Abraham Atkins, esq.¹⁸ This is a neat edifice, somewhat in the lancet style of pointed architecture; and affords accommodation for about five hundred persons. The Rev. Benaiah Hill is the present minister.—There is, also, a Baptist chapel in Courland-Grove; a Wesleyan chapel in Clifton-street, near Lark-hall; and an Independent chapel in Acre-lane.

Local occurrences.—In 1603, this parish was visited by the plague; among its victims were,—the Rev. Edw. Couchman (then rector), his wife, their three children, and the maid servant; all of whom died in the course of three days.

The first Stage-coach travelling between Clapham and Gracechurch-street, once daily, was established in the year 1690, by John Day and John Bundy. At the present time, numerous stage coaches and omnibusses are in constant employ; and upwards of fifty journeys are made every week-day from Clapham to the city, and also back again; and between twenty and thirty to other parts of London.

In April, 1823, an atrocious murder was committed in a small cottage, near the Baptist meeting-house, on the Common. Mrs. Eliz. Richards, the sufferer, was a respectable widow between seventy and eighty years of age, and very infirm. Her murderers, four in number, twisted her apron into a rope-like form, and by forcing it into her throat, produced suffocation. They next began to plunder the [293] house, but were interrupted, and escaped by a back way. Three of them were afterwards traced; of whom two were found guilty—on the testimony of the third, who was admitted king’s evidence,—and hanged in the following July.

Brayley’s notes

1 Register Abb. de Certesy in Bibl. Cott. Vitellius, A. 13.

2 Chron. Saxon. an. 1041.—R. Hoveden; inter Script. post Bedam. It has been surmised that Clapham derived its name from the above Osgod Clapa,—“Clapa’s Ham, or home;” but the prior notice of Clappeham in the Chertsey register shews that conjecture to be erroneous.

3 For other particulars respecting Asgar and Geoffrey, see vol. i. of this work, p. 457.

4 Placit. Coron. at Guildford; 7 Edw. I; in the Chapter-house at Westminster.

5 See Cole’s Escheats: Harl. MSS. No. 758.

6 In the Baronetage published in 1741, it is stated that Dr. Atkins was offered the first patent of baronetcy, on the institution of the order, and that he modestly refused it.

7 Vide Aubrey’s Surrey, vol. i. p. 14;—and Pepys’ Diary, vol. ii. p. 79. Dennis Gauden, most likely by his brother’s interest, had obtained the situation of victualler to the navy. He was sheriff of London in 1667; and when the “first stone of the first pillar” of the Royal Exchange was laid by Charles the Second, on the 23rd of October in that year, he was honoured with knighthood by the king.

8 In Evelyn’s Diary, under the date Sept. 22nd, 1700, is this passage:—“I went to visite Mr. Pepys at Clapham, where he has a very noble and wonderfully-well furnished house, especially with India and Chinese curiosities. The offices and gardens well accommodated for pleasure and retirement.” In Bagford’s Letter to Hearne, (dated Feb. 1, 1714-15), printed in the 1st volume of Leland’s Collectanea, p. 59, it is stated that many Roman antiquities were found in some fields belonging to Mr. Hewer, by labourers digging for gravel.

9 Lysons, Environs of London, vol. vi.; Supplement, p. 18.

10 Lysons, Environs, vol. i. p. 159: 1792.—In consequence of the improvements thus effected, the value of the surrounding lands was greatly augmented, and Mr. Baldwin himself (a few years before Lysons wrote), sold fourteen acres of land near his own residence for the sum of 5000l. In 1810, Mr. Robert Thornton sold his land here at the rate of 500l. per acre.—Manning and Bray, Surrey, vol. iii. p. 359.

11 Much to the honour of Earl Spencer (the lord of Battersea), and Henry Bowyer, esq. (the lord of Clapham), their names are registered in the list of subscribers; the former subscribing 20l. annually (the amount of his rent), and the latter 10l. 10s. The common subscriptions are one and two guineas per annum.

12 This gentleman was the son of the Rev. Henry Venn, curate of Clapham, where he was born March 9th, 1759. His father having removed to Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, he received the earlier part of his education in a school at Leeds; and was afterwards a pupil at other schools in the same county, and at Leicester. He next became a student at Sidney Sussex college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of B.A. in 1781. He was ordained Deacon in September, 1782; and officiated as curate to his father; and having obtained the order of priesthood in March, 1783, he was presented to the living of Little Derham, in Norfolk. In June, 1792, he succeeded Sir James Stonehouse as rector of Clapham; and at that place he principally resided from the beginning of 1793 until his decease in 1813. It does not appear that he published any work, except a Selection of Psalms and Hymns to be used in his parish church; but three volumes of Sermons from his manuscripts issued from the press after his death.

The elder Mr. Venn was a man of eminence among those who have been styled Evangelical Clergymen; and he was the author of a popular work intituled “The Complete Duty of Man”; of which many thousand copies were sold.

Among other rectors of Clapham of some note in literature was Nicholas Brady, D.D., who was instituted in February, 1705-6, on the presentation of Lady Atkins; and he held the living, together with that of Richmond, until his decease on the 20th of May, 1726. He was a native of Bandon, in Ireland, and a lineal descendant of the first Protestant bishop of Meath. He was born October the 28th, 1659; and received his education partly at Christchurch, Oxford, and partly at Trinity college, Dublin, where he took the degree of B.A.; and at a subsequent period, was made D.D. He is said to have been a zealous promoter of the Revolution in 1688, which probably contributed to his future ecclesiastical preferment; for having removed to England, he was made chaplain to the king and queen, William and Mary; and had other appointments. Dr. Brady was the author of a Tragedy, a Translation of the Æneis of Virgil, and several volumes of Sermons; but his only literary production which has preserved his memory from oblivion is the “New Version of the Singing Psalms” used in churches, which he executed in concert with Nahum Tate, the poet-laureate.

His successor, the Rev. Anthony Blackwall, master of the Grammar school at Market Bosworth, in Leicestershire, was instituted to this living October 12th, 1726, on the gift of Sir Henry Atkins, who had been his pupil. He was then advanced in age, and it is said in Nichols’s “Anecdotes of Bowyer,” that having on this occasion been somewhat abruptly questioned by a chaplain who was much his junior, as to his literary attainments, he replied with some indignation, “Boy, I have forgotten more than ever you knew”! Having resigned his rectory in June, 1729, he retired to Market Bosworth; and died at his school there, on April 8th, 1730. He obtained considerable reputation as a critic and classical scholar, founded chiefly on a work intituled “The Sacred Classics illustrated and defended,” of which a Latin translation was published at Leipsic, in 1736.—Among the pupils of Mr. Blackwall whose attainments were creditable to his talents as a teacher, was Richard Dawes, the author of “Miscellanea Critica.”

13 Sir Richard Atkins, who was the grandson of Dr. Atkins, the purchaser of this manor, died on August 19th, 1689. His tomb was inclosed by an iron railing, decorated with heraldic insignia of his family and its alliances, and by pennons displaying their various crests. His father, Sir Henry Atkins, and his son, Sir Richard, were also commemorated here.—For numerous inscriptions that were in the old church and church-yard, the inquirer is referred to Manning and Bray, Surrey, vol. iii. pp. 364—369. In Rawlinson’s Notes on Aubrey, in the Bodleian Library, the subjoined epigrammatic verse is stated to have been on a grave-stone here:—

“From Duns secure, if Creditors should come,
For once a Debtor may be found at home.
By Death arrested, and in Gaol here laid,
The first and last, the only Debt he paid.”

14 The above monument was entirely destroyed, and the effigies themselves consigned to sepulture in one of the vaults when the new chapel was built. Although in a bad taste in regard to dress,—the son, who died at the age of twenty-four, in February, 1677, being represented in a Roman dress, with a flowing peruke; and the daughters, in gowns with full sleeves, and stiff boddices,—they were superiorly wrought, and deserved preservation above ground.

15 Dr. Lister was a native of Radcliffe, in Buckinghamshire, but descended of a Yorkshire family which had obtained considerable medical reputation; and he was brought up under his great-uncle, Sir Martin Lister, physician in ordinary to Charles the First. After a collegiate education, and travelling in France for improvement, he commenced practice at York, but afterwards removed to London, having acquired much eminence in his profession. He devoted his leisure to researches in natural history and archæology, but more especially to the study of conchylogy, and, besides other works on that subject, he published in 1685, under the title of “Synopsis Conchyliorum,” a splendid collection of very accurate engravings (forming two volumes, folio), representing all the shells known in his time; the drawings for which were made by his two daughters, Susannah and Anne. In 1698, Dr. Lister accompanied the Earl of Portland in his embassy to the court of France; and on his return he published the result of his observations, under the title of “A Journey to Paris”; which was satirized, or rather burlesqued, by Dr. Wm. King, a contemporary tory partizan, in a tract called “A Journey to London.” In 1709, he was appointed physician to Queen Anne; and as such, continued until his decease in 1712.

16 The endowment mentioned above is composed of the two sums of 2l. arising from a gift made by Francis Bridges and his wife, in 1647; and of 6l., bequeathed by William Hewer, esq., in 1715, payable from his estate at Clapham.—There are several small Charities connected with this parish, for giving bread, coals, &c., to the poor;—and a legacy of 700l. in the three per cent. consols, was left by Mrs. Cook, (the widow of Capt. Cook, the celebrated circumnavigator), who died on the 13th of May, 1835, aged ninety-three; the interest to be disposed of by the rector, twice a year, to six poor widows.

17 The Rev. Moses Lowman, who distinguished himself by his writings on ecclesiastical history and antiquities, was born in the year 1680. He at first studied the law at the Middle Temple; but afterwards went to Holland, and became a student of divinity in the Universities of Utrecht and Leyden. On returning in 1710, he settled at Clapham, and was pastor of the chapel nearly forty years. He died on the 3rd of May, 1752. Mr. Lowman wrote on the Civil Government and Religious Rights of the Hebrews; but is chiefly known as the author of “A Paraphrase and Notes on the Revelations of St. John;” which has been eulogized by Dr. Doddridge, Bishop Tomline, and other divines, and repeatedly printed.

Dr. Philip Furneaux succeeded as pastor of this congregation in 1752. He was a native of Totness, in Devonshire, and had been assistant-minister at a chapel in St. Thomas’s street, Southwark, previously to his settlement at Clapham. He was highly esteemed for the respectability of his private character, and for his talents as a preacher of the Gospel; but after he had held the ministerial office about twenty-three years, an attack of insanity,—said to have been hereditary in his family, and from which he never recovered,—rendered him incapable of attending to his pastoral duties; and until his death in November, 1783, he was supported by the liberal subscriptions of his friends. Dr. Furneaux’s reputation as an author was founded on his “Letters to Judge Blackstone concerning his Exposition of the Act of Toleration, &c., in his Commentaries on the Laws of England”; 1770, 8vo. He likewise published “An Essay on Toleration”; and several Sermons.

18 Lysons, Environs, Supplement, p. 20.

The History of Wandsworth Common

Clapham
from Brayley’s Topographical History of Surrey

Edward Wedlake Brayley, A Topographical History of Surrey, vol. III (London: G. Willis, 1850), Brixton Hundred, pp. 277–293.

Brayley’s notes

The History of Wandsworth Common

Clapham from Brayley’s Topographical History of Surrey

Edward Wedlake Brayley, A Topographical History of Surrey, vol. III (London: G. Willis, 1850), Brixton Hundred, pp. 277–293.

Brayley’s notes

Clapham
from Brayley’s Topographical History of Surrey