CHAPTER 6: SPRING GARDENS
The Spring Garden
Spring Gardens, the little thoroughfare which lies behind the southwest frontage to Charing Cross, derives its name from the Spring Garden,formed, probably, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth in the north-east cornerof St. James's Park as an addition to the pleasure grounds of Whitehall Palace.
The Oxford English Dictionary gives as one meaning of "spring","a plantation of young trees, especially one inclosed and used for rearing andharbouring game," and it seems probable that it was in this sense that theSpring Garden was first so called. (fn. n1) It is shown on the "Agas" view (p. 115)as a little copse enclosed with a fence, and there are later references topheasants and other "wild fowl" being preserved there. (fn. n2) In 1580–1 anaccount (fn. 87) was rendered "for digginge and levellinge the Springe garden andcasting oute alleys and borders and settinge roses in the same," and it seemsprobable that the garden was extended at this date. The works accounts, (fn. 88) temp. James I, also refer to a bowling green, butts for the prince, the birdhouse,a paved pond or bathing pool, and the planting of orange trees and otherforeign fruits there.
In 1590 a commission (fn. 89) was appointed to inquire into the encroachments committed by the tenants of houses abutting on Spring Garden inbuilding outhouses and breaking doors and window lights through the wall.Nothing effective seems to have been done, and complaints of such encroachments crop up continually during the next 200 years. The garden hadbecome a semi-public pleasure ground before the end of James I's reign. In1620 Robert Hollowaye of London, "merchant taylor," deposed in the StarChamber (fn. 90) that "having bene lately daungerously sicke … he was …advised to walke foorth of London into some fresh and sweet ayer. Whereuppon (he) and his wiffe togeather with some fewe of his honest naighboursand their wives—uppon the Eleaventh daye of June being the saboth daye… betweene the howers of Fower and Five of the clocke in the afternoone,and after they had orderly bene att Evening prayer in their owne parrishChurch presumed to walke into your Mats garden commonlie called theSpring Garden neere to Whitehall." Unfortunately Hollowaye encountereda debtor, Sir Thomas Littleton, who was also taking the air with his friendsin the garden and who had not expected to see men of Hollowaye's "vocationadmitted to come thither." A scuffle ensued for which both parties weresummoned before the court of Star Chamber, since the garden was withinthe verge of the palace.
In 1631 Simon Osbaldeston was granted (fn. 91) the keepership "of theSpringe Garden and of the Bowling Greene there." (fn. n3) Four years later wehear that an "ordinary" was kept there "of six Shillings a Meal (when theKing's Proclamation allows but two elsewhere) continual bibbing anddrinking Wine all Day long under the Trees, two or three Quarrels everyWeek … Lord Digby being reprehended for striking in the King'sgarden, he answered, that he took it for a common Bowling Place, where allpaid Money for their coming in." (fn. 92) In 1635 the garden was ordered to beclosed and soon after a "new Spring Garden" was "erected in the Fieldsbehind the Meuse" (see p. 102).
After the outbreak of the Civil War the Spring Garden again became,if indeed it had ever ceased to be, a place of public resort. In 1646 the Houseof Lords upon complaint "of the great Disorder in suffering Company towalk and resort to The Spring Garden on the Lord's-day and Fast-days"ordered that the Earl of Pembroke (fn. n4) should permit no entry there on suchdays. Later when puritan zeal was at its height the garden was entirelyclosed (fn. n5) though in 1658 John Evelyn was again able to "collation" there.
There was at least one house in Spring Garden as early as 1635 (fn. n6) and building went on during the Commonwealth period, e.g. on 31st October,1656, the Council discussed an account for nearly £2,000 for work done at ahouse in Spring Garden "where Gen. Desborow lives." (fn. 36) At the Restorationthe "garden" ceased to be such except in name, for the greater part wasdivided up into plots and let on lease. In May, 1661, the plot at the northernend was leased (fn. 93) to Sir Charles Cotterell; a long narrow strip running northand south was granted (fn. 94) to Sir Edward Nicholas; and a more compact plot tothe east which had previously been in the possession of General Desboroughwent to Sir William Morice. (fn. 94) Sir Charles Cotterell had been appointedMaster of the Ceremonies in 1641; he fled to Antwerp in 1649, but at theRestoration returned to England to take up his old post at the court of CharlesII. He built himself "a fair brick house" on his ground in Spring Gardenbut apparently soon tired of it for before 1675 he sold it to William, LordCrofts. (fn. 43) In 1664 the plot west of Morice's was granted (fn. 95) to Sir Henry Bennet,afterwards Earl of Arlington. Bennet was secretary of state and a member ofthe Cabal at this time. He lived at Arlington House, on the site of Buckingham Palace and used the ground in Spring Garden only for stables. He alsodisposed of his property there to Lord Crofts before 1674.
William, Lord Crofts, was one of the Gentlemen of the Bedchamberto Charles II. He died in 1677 without issue, and in the following year hissister, Katherine Crofts, obtained a reversionary lease of his two plots ofground in Spring Garden. Between these two plots was an open stable yardwith a horse pond which until 1720 was used in common by the lessees ofSpring Garden. In that year "Mr. Secretary Craggs" applied for a reversionaryterm in the ground formerly belonging to Mrs. Crofts whose title he hadbought, and a lease of the open stable yard and of a long triangular strip ofground abutting on St. James's Park on the west "late in the possession ofthe officers of His Majestyes Ordnance." (fn. 96) Craggs seems to have obtainedhis lease solely as a speculation, for in 1723 he disposed of his interest toSir Edward Southwell. (fn. 97)
Sir William Morice, M.P. for Plymouth and secretary of state, hadplayed some part in bringing about the Restoration, and the Spring Gardengrant was a return for services rendered. The old Court party were hostileto Morice and in 1668 he resigned the secretaryship and retired to Devon,where he devoted himself to theology. In 1669 he let his house to Sir RobertSouthwell who had just returned from a diplomatic mission to Portugal. Thelatter obtained a reversionary lease of the house in 1673 (fn. 98) and continued toreside there until his death in 1702 when his title passed to his son SirEdward Southwell.
Later History of the Site
When Southwell died, in 1730, he was in possession of the greaterpart of the Spring Garden and had begun to consider plans for its redevelopment. The whole character of this quarter had changed during thepreceding fifty years. In 1694 the bowling green at the southern end, whichuntil then had remained an open space though several times petitioned foras a building plot, had been enclosed to form a garden to the AdmiraltyOffice. (fn. 43) Towards the close of the 17th century the other part of SpringGarden, being within the verge of the court, had become a refuge for debtors,one of the most notorious being Sir Edward Hungerford, and the Board ofGreencloth had finally to allow creditors to serve processes on persons livingthere. (fn. 99)
Whitehall Palace was burnt in 1698 and not rebuilt. Governmentoffices replaced the royal apartments, and ground in the neighbourhood wasin demand for the residences of officials. As will be seen from the plan inseton the opposite page, the lay-out of Spring Garden in 1730 was unsatisfactory;the different plots of ground were very irregular in shape and size and weredifficult of access from the street. At the southern end a strip of the gardenhad in 1665 been granted (fn. 43) to Roger Higgs for inclusion in the tenementsfacing Charing Cross with the condition that a roadway 34 feet broad shouldbe left open behind them. A passage and gate at the west end connectedthis roadway with the street, but even this passage was several times encroachedon to the detriment of the inhabitants.
Edward Southwell, the younger, between 1730 and 1755 replannedthe remainder of the Spring Garden site. Development was for a timeretarded on account of the strip of ground in the possession of the descendantsof Sir Edward Nicholas but in 1752 Southwell bought (fn. 100) up the lease of thisground from the nephew of William Nicholas, and New Street, Spring Garden,was extended westward to the park. Plots of ground on either side of NewStreet and along Spring Garden Terrace were granted (fn. 101) on building leases in1753–55 to John Lambert, builder, who was also responsible about this timefor the development of Northumberland Street on the other side of CharingCross.
For close on a century Spring Gardens, as it came to be called,remained a fashionable quarter inhabited mainly by politicians and civilservants. Among the many well-known residents may be mentioned SirRoger Newdigate, the antiquary and founder of the Newdigate prize forEnglish verse, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, Lord Frederick Campbell,Patrick Delaney, D.D., the friend of Sheridan and Swift, George Canning,the 1st Earl of Malmesbury, diarist, and Henry Addington, Lord Sidmouth. (fn. c1) The Commissioners for the first Westminster Bridge had their office there,as did the Auditors of the Land Revenue for many years. In 1731 SirEdward Southwell built a chapel at the corner of New Street, for the useof the inhabitants, (fn. 102) and he and his heirs retained the right of presentationuntil 1828 when, as a result of several disputes which had arisen, the chapelwas granted to the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and was formallyconsecrated. (fn. 43)
The Crown Lease of the whole Spring Garden property was severaltimes renewed to the Southwell family but on each occasion the plots intowhich it had been divided temp. Charles II were specified separately andgranted for different periods. Subsequent developments had cut right acrossthese old divisions so that in many cases houses stood on two or more plots.The position was further complicated by the fact that Edward Southwell,grandson of the first Sir Edward, and 20th Baron de Clifford, who died in1777, left a life interest in the property to his wife Sophia; and their son,Edward, the 21st Baron de Clifford, by his marriage settlement made in 1789granted his reversionary interest in part of Spring Garden to trustees forhis wife. (fn. 43) In 1794 the baron tried to raise some ready money by auctioninghis interest in the property but the monetary result cannot have been great,for, beside the incumbrances already mentioned, in some cases the originalbuilding leases granted by the first Sir Edward Southwell had not run outand on some of the houses mortgages had been granted. Most of the lotswere taken up by the actual tenants of the houses and when the de Cliffordleases expired circa 1828 they were not renewed, the tenants treating directwith the Crown. (fn. 43)
By the middle of the 19th century the Admiralty Office was needingadditional accommodation and from 1853 onward more and more of theSpring Garden houses were acquired for Admiralty purposes.
The Public Offices Site Act of 1882 authorised the acquisition ofpractically the whole Spring Garden site by the Commissioners of Worksfor the purpose of erecting new Admiralty Offices. The total cost of theground was close on £500,000, and the original plan involved the rebuildingof the old Admiralty. This plan was revoked in favour of retaining the oldbuilding and erecting an annexe on the Spring Garden site, in spite of theprotests of the Royal Institute of British Architects and others who consideredthat the old Admiralty would soon be unfit for further use, and that the proposed new annexe was unworthy in design. Provision was also made for theopening of the Mall to Charing Cross. Most of the site was cleared in 1885but for the next three years the work was held up pending an enquiry by aSelect Committee. The Admiralty new building was completed in 1891, anda further block, designed by Sir Aston Webb, R.A., which included theAdmiralty Arch, was opened in 1910.
Description of New Street, Spring Gardens
The houses generally were of three storeys with a basem*nt andattic. The fronts were in brick with a stone cornice, the ground storey insome cases being rusticated and finished with a plain band. No. 28 had astone modillion cornice at the third floor level and wrought iron balconyfronts to the windows of the principal floor. The entrance doorway was setin an arched recess with a radiating fanlight. The iron railings to the frontareas had ornamental iron brackets which originally contained oil lamps.Some of the houses contained panelled rooms but most of the interiors hadundergone alteration. A plan of No. 28 is given on p. 63. Staircase detailsfrom several of the houses are shown on Plate 47. No. 18 (formerly No. 8),was a house of a more substantial type with a spacious garden overlookingthe park. The exterior is shown as covered with stucco but it was probablyoriginally brick; with its deep pedimented porch and stone quoins it presented a residence of some character. A view of the garden front is shownon Plate 42b. No. 14, New Street, the residence of John Drummond, thebanker, was rebuilt in 1795, the old house having been almost entirelydestroyed by fire. A design submitted to H.M. Commissioners of Woodsand Forests for the elevation of the new house is reproduced on Plate 41.
Spring Gardens (St. Matthew's) Chapel
This chapel was built in 1731. The plan of the building was ofinterest owing to the irregular shape of its site. The chancel was placed atthe south-eastern end within a segmental alcove divided from the main bodyby an elliptical arch. At the back of the altar was an arched window withplaster decorations comprising laurel festoons surmounted by a shell (Plate39b). On the north and west sides was the gallery with a panelled front supported on slight square pillars. The ceiling to the main body of the chapel wasflat with a deep cove to the sides. The exterior was of brick with stone quoins tothe south front and a moulded cornice. At the northern end on the east sidewas a pedimented porch with quoins similar in character to the front. Thisporch probably formed the main entrance, an additional entrance beingmade later on the south front by the substitution of a doorway for one ofthe windows. The head of the window was however retained, as will beseen by reference to Plate 39a. A delightful little domed cupola with Doriccolumns contained the bell.
It is possible that Sir Robert Taylor may have had some influence onthe design of the building, as he lived in Spring Gardens.
The chapel contained seating accommodation for 300 persons. Itwas included in the compulsory purchase by the Commissioners of Works,and from 1885 onwards was used as a storehouse for Admiralty records. Itwas demolished in 1903.
