Hyde Park from Domesday-book to Date

Hyde Park has several springs of water, one of which was said to have been slightly mineral. The one shown in this illustration still exists, and the author of “The Morning Walk” thus eulogizes one: —

“But let my footsteps first pursue their courseTo yon clear fountain, hid in shady grove,And quaff the clear salubrious crystal brook,Emblem of purity! when innocencePartakes, and all the wakened sense restores.O blessed Jordan! at thy limpid stream,Gladly I mingle with the cheerful throng,And drink the cup, and then renew my walk,With strengthen’d nerves, down the delightful shade.”

Some of these springs were utilized for the supply of water outside the Park – but the larger quantity came from the Westbourne. Still, in 1620, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster had permission given them to use the water of four springs in Hyde Park for their benefit, and letters patent were granted to “Thomas Day, Gent. of Chelsea, to enable him to take the water from Hyde Park to the City of Westminster.” This, I take it, meant to utilize the Westbourne, as the Dean and Chapter had the springs: but both their privileges were annulled by the King’s Bench, as it was alleged that the ponds in the Park were, by these means, so drained that there was not enough water left for the wants of the King’s deer.

In the time of James I. there were eleven pools in the Park, and a glance at Roque’s map of 1747 will show that many were then still remaining; indeed, in the accompanying illustration of the Bathing House in 1794, we see a horse drinking at one of them. By this, we see that horses were turned out to grass in the Park. In 1751, grooms used to exercise their horses there, as did also a riding master named Faubert.

“See, too, the jolly courser, with his groom,Expert, not like to him who Persia’s crownObtained, yet skill’d with upright crest and arm,Compacted knee, to give the rein and bittTheir motion due, his flight retarding not.– Next Faubert view with graces of menage,And troops of horse in strictest motion wheel.”

From the heights of Hampstead spring several small streams, such as the Fleet, the Brent, and the West Bourne, probably so called to distinguish it from St. Mary le bourne, which was further east. Roque’s map shows its position with regard to the Serpentine, but, before that misnamed lake was made, it ran right through the Park from north to south, leaving the Park about Albert Gate, where was a bridge, from which Knightsbridge takes its name. Then it flowed by what are now William Street, Lowndes Square, and Chesham Street, falling into the Thames near Ranelagh.

Queen Caroline, wife to George II., conceived the idea of utilizing this little stream, and making it into a lake, and, as it was supposed that she was expending her own money on this work, no objection was raised to her so doing, but it is said that at her death she left the King to pay a sum of no less than £20,000 on account of it. We learn when it was commenced from Read’s Weekly Journal, or British Gazetteer, Saturday, September 26th, 1730. “Next Monday, they begin upon the Serpentine River, and Royal Mansion in Hide-Park: Mr. Ripley is to build the House, and Mr. Jepherson to make the River under the Directions of Charles Withers, Esqre.” This latter gentleman, who was Surveyor General of Woods and Forests, died shortly before the Serpentine was finished, probably in 1733, when his successor was appointed; and in May, 1731, it was deep enough, in part, to allow two small yachts upon it. Its cost was estimated at £6000 – but a portion of that (£2500) had to go as compensation to the Chelsea Water Works Company, who held a 99 years’ lease, granted to one Thomas Haines, in 1663, whereby, on annual payment of 6s. 8d., he had command of all the springs and conduits in the Park.

The water supply for the Serpentine came from the Westbourne, until, in the course of time, owing to the extension of building, the houses around draining into it, its water became too foul for the purpose, and, in 1834, it was cut off, and connected with the sewer in the Bayswater Road; and the supply thus lost is made good by the Chelsea Water Works, who pump in water at the Kensington Gardens end, and the overflow at the very pretty Dell forms a striking feature in the landscape gardening of the Park. Formerly, as we see in Roque’s map, the overflow was conducted into a pool, which was bridged over by the King’s Old Road.

The Serpentine was not utilized for any purpose until August 1st, 1814, when a national rejoicing called “The Jubilee” was held in the Park, to celebrate the conclusion of peace with France, and the celebration of the centenary of the accession of George I. There were to be illuminations, fireworks, and balloon ascents in St. James’s and the Green Parks, and in Hyde Park a fair, and a “Naumachia,” or sea-fight, which was somewhat appropriate, as the famous Battle of the Nile was fought on August 1st, 1798.

The mimic three-deckers and frigates were necessarily small, and they were made out of ships’ barges at Woolwich, and great was the chaff made about this “liliputian navy.” Here are some skits thereon: —

“John Bull, the other day, in pensive mood,Near to the Serpentine Flotilla stood;His hands were thrust into his emptied pockets,And much of ships he muttered, and of rockets;Of silly Fêtes – and Jubilees unthrifty —And babies overgrown, of two and fifty;32I guess’d the train of thought which then possess’d him,And deem’d th’ occasion fit, and thus address’d him:“ ‘Be generous to a fallen foe,With gratulations meet,On Elba’s Emperor bestowThy Liliputian fleet:“ ‘For, with his Island’s narrow bounds,That Navy might agree,Which, laugh’d at daily here – redoundsIn ridicule to thee.’“Says John, ‘Right readily I’ll partWith these, and all the gay things,But it would break the R – ’s heartTo take away his play things.’ ”

Or take the two following distiches: —

“A simple Angler, throwing flies for trout,Hauled the main mast, and lugg’d a First Rate out.“A crow in his fright, flying over the Fleet,Dropped something, that covered it all, like a sheet.”

In contemporary accounts, the “Naumachia” was generally very summarily dismissed, and the following is, perhaps, one of the best of them.

“Between eight and nine o’clock, the Grand Sea Fight took place on the Serpentine River, where ships of the line, in miniature, manœuvred and engaged, and the Battle of the Nile was represented in little. Of this mock naval engagement on the great Serpentine Ocean, it would be extremely difficult to give any adequate description. It is, perhaps, sufficient to observe that it was about on a par with spectacles of a similar nature, which have been frequently exhibited at the Theatres… We were as heartily glad when the cockle-shell fight was over, as we had been tired of waiting for it. We were afraid, at one time, whether it would have neither beginning nor end. Indeed, there had been a wretched skirmish between four and five in the afternoon, between an American and an English frigate,33 at the conclusion of which, the English colours were triumphantly hoisted on the rebel Yankee… At a signal given, the fireworks in the Green Park were let off, and four of the little fleet in the Serpentine were set on fire. The Swans screamed, and fluttered round the affrighted lake.”

Such an opportunity for his satirical pen could not be missed by C. F. Lawler, the then pseudo Peter Pindar, and he wrote thereon: “Liliputian Navy!!! The R – t’s Fleet, or John Bull at the Serpentine.” – “The P – e’s Jubilee.” “The R – l Showman.” “The R – l Fair, or Grande Galante Show.” And, on the sale of the Temple of Concord, which had been erected in the Green Park: “The Temple knock’d down: or R – l Auction. The last lay of the Jubilee.” They are mostly scurrilous and spiteful, but from the first of them I take the following: —

“Now to Hyde Park the crowds repair,To mark the wonders of the fair;To view the long extended line,The glory of the Serpentine.“Now sounds the Cannon, near and far,The signal for the naval war,The cockle fleet their flounder sailsNow spread to catch the whisp’ring gales.“Now meet the rival ships; now raveThe echoing thunders o’er the wave;Within the banks the eels retire,To shun the fury of the fire.“The startled pike lifts up his head,Curious, tho’ paralyz’d with dread;Snatches a momentary peep,Then dives below the nether deep.“And all the realm of fish – roach, dace,Perch, minnow, chub, and tench, and plaice,Far from the scene of havoc fly,And seek the stream’s extremity.“Whisking his tail a flying eelStruck a three decker’s cockle’s keel(The vessel was the navy’s boast,And lay at anchor near the coast).“Ungovernable from the stroke,Quick from her netting-pin she broke;With rude concussion struck the shore,Then bilged, and sank, to ride no more.“Boats from the cockle-shells at handWere quickly lower’d down and mann’d,The gallant mariners to save —To snatch them from a wat’ry grave.“Scar’d at a spectacle so shocking,Each ’prentice boy doff’d shoe and stocking,Wading knee-deep, with shorten’d breath,To snatch the struggling tars from death.“An angler threw his fishing-lineInto the ruffled Serpentine;Hook’d up the ship with no small pain,And dragg’d her from the mimic main.“See the tri-coloured cockles run,The gaping crowd enjoy the fun;Some still maintain a running fightSome strike, some sink to endless night!“ ‘Lord! ’twas a glorious fight,’ says Dick;‘Monsieur at last got devilish sick!’‘Then ’twas a real fight,’ cry’d Sam;‘Why, lad, I thought it all a sham!’“ ‘Real! no, no!’ says Jack, ‘you fool!’Twas all a bit of ridicule;To show us lubbers, I’ve a notion,How things are done upon the ocean.’ ”

There was another satirical poem on this Naumachia, entitled “An Extraordinary Gazette, containing dispatches from Admiral Squib, giving a detailed account of A Great Naval Victory obtained over the combined fleets of France and America, in the Great Serpentine Sea, on the 1st August, 1814,” – a small portion of which I transcribe.

“Now since, as you will understand,This mighty Sea is quite inland,It to their Lordships will appearStrange, how the d – l we got here.…A council call’d, some doubts were made,Whether the ships could be convey’d;Which I, who knew my men, dispell’d,And every thought of failure quell’d.Then quickly issued my commandThe men should take them overland;And such as were too large to drag on,Should be convey’d upon a waggon.The plan was hail’d with rapt’rous glee,With double grog, and three times three.“Our topmasts struck – the rigging stow’d —The guns were sent off on the road —And, as for shot and Congreve rockets,The sailors took them in their pockets.All hands were now put to the oar,To tow the men-of-war ashore;Which done – it cost but little pains —The great exertion yet remains,To lift their vast and pond’rous keels,And ship them safely on the wheels;Which, after much fatigue, at lengthWas done by dint of manual strength.All this achiev’d, they mov’d awayBy help of horse-artillery.34In future times ’twill scarce be crededHow well this novel plan succeeded.And oh! the sight was worth a treasure,And would have given their Lordships pleasure,To see with what determined zealThe sailors strove for the public weal.Some took a bowsprit– some a mast—Some held a hull by handspikes fast;While others, not less glad than able,Lash’d it safely with a cable.But one, than all the rest much bolder,Carried a fire-ship on his shoulder.The whole arriving on the strand,Without an accident on land,Our fetter’d barks were soon untied,And launch’d into the ocean wide;With masts and rigging re-equipp’d,And guns and ammunition shipp’d;We now were fit to put to sea,And meet the dastard enemy.And for long time we sail’d about,To find the slinking Frenchmen out;Until we met near Rotten shore,As I have said herein before.”

The accompanying illustration is from a satirical print by George Cruikshank, re the Jubilee, called “The Modern Don Quixote, or the Fire King.”

There were pictorial caricatures of this Naumachia, of course, but, judging from two contemporary prints of it in the Crace collection (Port. ix. 96, 97), in the British Museum, it must have been a very pretty sight, only, naturally, on a very small scale.

Another attraction in Hyde Park, at this Jubilee, was a fair, with its shows by Richardson, Reede, Saunders, and Gingel; – also Polito’s wild beasts were on exhibition. There were drinking booths, with taking signs, such as “The Duke of Wellington,” “The Vetteran Prince Blucher,” “The Prince Regent,” etc.; dancing, singing and refreshment booths, and – being warm weather – eating and drinking could be indulged in in the open air. This fair was kept up after the Jubilee with the additional attractions of E.O. tables—black and white cocks—dice tables, and a game with dice called under and over seven: nor did the police even make a show of stopping this gambling. There were donkey racing, jumping in sacks, running for smocks, etc., and there were printing presses, where, on payment, people had the privilege of themselves pulling off a typographical souvenir of the fair. Nay, it was even contemplated to print a Jubilee Fair Journal.

It was anticipated that this fair would last until the 12th, and so it possibly might have done, had it been conducted with anything like decency and order; but, as these were conspicuously absent, Lord Sidmouth, Secretary of State for the Home Department, ordered it to be closed on the night of Saturday the 6th. This order the booth keepers petitioned against, on the plea that, on the strength of its being open for a longer time, they had laid in a large stock of provisions, liquor, toys, etc., which would be thrown upon their hands. Lord Sidmouth’s order not being enforced, they kept on, so that it was found necessary to issue another – which was acted on – and the fair came to an end on the night of the 11th.

A contemporary newspaper, speaking of it, says: “Never, within the memory of man, has there been witnessed such scenes of drunkenness and dissipation as these fooleries have given rise to, and the misery they have brought upon thousands is extreme. A report from the pawnbrokers would be an awful lesson to governments, how they encourage such riot. Since the delirium, from the example of the highest quarter, began, the pawnbrokers have more than trebled their businesses; clothes, furniture, and, worst of all, tools, have been sacrificed for the sake of momentary enjoyment; industry of every kind has been interrupted, and many hundreds of starving families will long have to remember the æra of the Park Fêtes.”

A notice of this Jubilee may well close with an “Epigram on the P – R – ’s expressing a wish for the continuance of the Fair in Hyde Park.

“The R – , we have oft been told,Prefers the Fair when stout and old;Now, here we’ve cause to think him wrong,For liking any Fair too long.”

CHAPTER IX

Coronation of George IV. – Boat-racing on the Serpentine – Illumination of the Park – Fireworks – Coronation of Queen Victoria – Fair in the Park – Fireworks in Hyde Park, at “Peace rejoicing,” May, 1856.

The next jollification in Hyde Park was on July 19, 1821, at the Coronation of George the Magnificent. According to The Morning Chronicle of that date, “The preparations for the amusements of the populace are extensive. Boats were conveyed to the Serpentine River, and the arrangements for the fireworks and other diversions are on the most extensive and magnificent scale. It is expected that a sort of Coronation Fair will be established in Hyde Park, and that oxen and sheep will be roasted whole. Many hogsheads of Ale and Porter have been transported thither for distribution.”

In the next day’s number the same journal gives the following description: —

“On the slight view we had on Tuesday evening of the preparations making in Hyde Park, we had no conception they were of such an extensive nature as we found them to be yesterday. The machinery erected for letting the fireworks off was on a larger scale than any thing of that kind which has hitherto been produced in this country; the number of rockets for explosion exceeded 3000. The workmen were most actively employed during the day, to complete the work within the railing. It was placed on a piece of ground on a height on the north side of the Serpentine River, and the view from the river, on the south side of it, only prevented by the scattered trees on the bank of the river, and they were illuminated with Chinese lamps nearly to Hyde Park Corner. On the right and left of the enclosure were the designs for the fireworks, and, in the centre, were several marquees scattered, to about the number of 30, which had the appearance of a camp. The back of the enclosure was completed by transparencies; the centre one was Neptune on his car, drawn by sea-horses, followed by the usual group of figures. Above that, in another transparency, was the figure of Britannia, with an olive-leaf in her hand.

“On the border of the river stands a small house, for the purpose of containing the necessary articles to preserve persons from accident, who venture to bathe in the river. This was fitted up for the purpose of displaying some elegant devices in the way of illuminations. At the east end of the River, near the Bridge, preparations were made for the fireworks and illuminations. There were not less than 500 hampers of lamps in the Park in the morning, and people busily employed in cleaning and trimming them. The Park itself during the day had a most beautiful appearance, which was assisted by the assemblage of several persons of the first distinction; and, to enliven the scene, there were more than a hundred wherries and barges on the river, some of them covered with awnings. The novelty of the scene pleased, and we saw many families alight from their carriages, and take boat. At one time there were not less than 30 boats rowing up and down the river, filled by most elegantly dressed ladies. The surface of the water was unruffled, the sky was clear, and the sun shone most brilliantly, and its lustre was not diminished by the beauty of Britannia’s daughters.

“The fireworks were of the most splendid description, the ample space of ground allotted for the purpose enabled those who had the management of this description of amusement to render it peculiarly gratifying to an immense crowd of spectators.”

The description of this fête in The Times of July 20th, 1821, is somewhat more meagre, but it supplies some deficiencies in the foregoing.

“The crowd moved forward to Hyde Park to witness a boat-race, which took place, a little before two o’clock, on the Serpentine River. Upon this occasion four boats started, and were obliged to double a standard, erected at either extremity of the river, twice. The race was won by about two lengths of the winner’s boat. The river was crowded with boats filled with ladies and gentlemen regaling themselves upon the water; and its banks lined with carriages and well dressed persons, who appeared to derive much enjoyment from the scene before them. But what excited the greatest share of attention from the spectators, was a splendid triumphal car drawn by two elephants, one before the other, as large as life, and caparisoned after the eastern manner, with a young woman, dressed as a slave, seated on the back of each, and affecting to guide the animals with an iron rod. The machine was constructed on a large raft, and was towed by three or four boats, manned by watermen in blue uniforms.”

The Crace collection (Port. ix. 98) has a few small water-colour drawings of this fête, but they are so sketchy as to be practically valueless.

At the Coronation of William IV. and Queen Adelaide, on September 8th, 1831, Hyde Park was only utilized for a display of fireworks, at which many were more or less hurt by the falling rocket sticks; six so seriously as to have to be taken to St. George’s Hospital.

In the Crace collection (Port. ix. 99) there is a very fair lithograph of a bird’s-eye view of the fair in Hyde Park on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Victoria, on June 28, 1838, and The Morning Chronicle of the following day has the best and fullest account of this fair I can find; and, as it is so intimately connected with one of the most joyful events in the reign of our good and beloved Queen, I may, perhaps, be pardoned if I give it in extenso.

“The Fair in Hyde Park

“Of all the scenes which we witnessed connected with the Coronation, probably this was the most lively, and that in which there was the least confusion, considering the mass of persons collected together. Our readers are already aware that the fair was permitted to take place by the Government, on the petition of the present holders of the show which formerly belonged to the celebrated Richardson; and it was to their care, together with that of Mr. Mallalieu, the Superintendent of Police, that its general management was entrusted. In justice to those gentlemen, we must say that the arrangements made for the accommodation of the public were admirable, while they were carried out with the very greatest success. The booths were arranged in a square form, and covered a space of ground about 1400 feet long, and about 1000 feet broad.

They were arranged in regular rows, ample space being allowed between them for the free passage of the people; and they consisted of every variety of shape, while they were decked with flags of all colours and nations. One portion of the fair was set apart exclusively for gingerbread and fancy booths, while those rows by which these were surrounded were appropriated to the use of showmen, and of persons who dealt in the more substantial articles of refreshment. Of the latter description, however, our readers would recognize many as regular frequenters of such scenes; but, probably, the booth which attracted the greatest attention, from its magnitude, was that erected by Williams, the celebrated boiled beef-monger of the Old Bailey. This was pitched in the broadest part of the fair, and immediately adjoining Richardson’s show; and at the top of it was erected a gallery for the use of those who were desirous of witnessing the fireworks in the evening, and to which access was to be procured by payment of a small sum.

“While this person, and the no less celebrated Alger, the proprietor of the Crown and Anchor, were astonishing the visitors with the enormous extent of the accommodation which they could afford the public, others set up claims of a character more agreeable to the age, in the exceedingly tasty mode in which they had decorated their temporary houses. Of these, that which struck us as most to be admired, was a tent erected by a person named Bull, of Hackney, the interior of which, decorated with fluted pillars of glazed calico, had a really beautiful appearance. It would be useless, however, to attempt to particularize every booth, for each held out its alluring attractions to the gaping crowd with equal force, and each appeared to be sufficiently patronized by the friends of its proprietor.

“Not a few, in addition to the solid attractions of eating and drinking, held out others of a more ‘airy’ description, and in many it was announced that a ‘grand ball’ would be held in the evening, ‘to commence at six o’clock’; whilst, in others, bands of music were heard ‘in full play,’ joining their sweet sounds to the melodious beating of gongs and shoutings through the trumpets of the adjoining shows. In attractions of this kind we need only say that the fair was, in most respects, fully equal to any other at which we ever had the good fortune to be present, whether at Greenwich, or Croydon, or in any other of the suburban or metropolitan districts. Beef and ham, beer and wine, chickens and salad, were all equally plentiful, and the taste of the most fastidious might be pleased as to the quality or the quantity of the provisions provided for him. In the pastry-cook’s booths, the usual variety of gingerbread nuts and gilt cocks in breeches, and kings and queens were to be procured; while, in some of them, the more refined luxury of ices was advertised, an innovation upon the ancient style of refreshment which we certainly had never expected to see introduced into the canvas shops of the fair pastry-cooks.