Chelsea – House Historian

The Chelsea mansion block with ‘More’

admin London August 14, 2017Battersea Bridge, Beaufort House, Beaufort Street, Chelsea, Cheyne Walk, Crosby Hall, Embankment, First World War, Henry VIII, River Thames, Sir Thomas More, University of London

When driving, cycling, walking, and even passing by in a boat, it’s difficult not to spot the mansion block, More’s Garden, in prime position on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea. Situated by Battersea Bridge with views over the River Thames, More’s Garden was constructed in 1904 on the site of the former gardens belonging to Sir Thomas More. Flats were advertised for More’s Garden from 1903, but unusually by 1908 it was being used for student rooms for the University of London.

More's Garden, Chelsea [image courtesy of Chestertons] — **More’s Garden, Chelsea [image courtesy of Chestertons]**

Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, moved to riverside Chelsea during the 1520s when he had a large house in open fields with extensive gardens a short distance from the river. The house later became known as Beaufort House (and where the name Beaufort Street originates). Many years later the riverside had been transformed into a busy dock, but with the development of Chelsea Embankment from the 1870s, large sections of the eastern stretch of Cheyne Walk opened up for redevelopment. However, despite the highly prized riverside position we admire today, by the turn of the 20th century, the corner site of Beaufort Street still lay vacant.

More's Garde sales particulars, 1903 [image courtesy of Kensington and Chelsea archives] — **More’s Garden sales particulars, 1903 [image courtesy of Kensington and Chelsea archives]**

Original plans for the new mansion block were submitted in October 1902 under the name of ‘Cheyne Towers’, but by the time construction was under way in 1903 the new residential block had been renamed ‘More’s Garden’ – an acknowledgement to the site of the gardens of Sir Thomas More.

Original sales particulars from 1903 reveal the block was planned as residential apartments, with the most up-to-date conveniences for modern Edwardian living. These included, ‘hot water from a supply boiler in the basement…tenants will thus be saved the expense and trouble involved by kitchen fires at all seasons of the year and throughout the day…’ There was also hot water radiators in the entrance hall to each house, along with electric lighting (when many people still relied on gas) along with an electric passenger lift. An optional extra was the connection of a telephone allowing tenants ‘to communicate with any part of town, and could instantly speak with the caretaker’. By July 1905 an advertisement in The Times reveals the flats were ready for new tenants at an annual cost of £180-£200.

However, by 1907 things took a different turn when Nos. 2-5 More’s Garden were acquired by ‘The University and City Association of London’, who were closely linked with plans for the neighbouring Crosby Hall.

They officially opened More’s Garden as a University Hall of Residence in December 1907, starting with an initial 10 students, and increasing to 25 by 1910.

At the same time, the University and City Association were campaigning for the relocation and preservation of the medieval Crosby Hall, which had formerly been located in Bishopgate. The aims of the association were to save the historic hall, originally built in 1466 and has been called, ‘the most important surviving domestic Medieval building in London’, but also to create a collegiate environment, similar to those in Oxford and Cambridge, for students in London. Crosby Hall was to be the centrepiece of this new academic environment by the banks of the Thames, with More’s Garden one of the associated buildings. The campaign to relocate Crosby Hall was a success and it was moved piece by piece from the City to Chelsea in 1910. However, the plans of the University and City Association to create an college environment did not eventuate. Part of the reason for this was the onset of the First World War in 1914, which took away much of the funding. In fact, Crosby Hall was used as temporary accommodation for Belgian refugees during the war. Today, Crosby Hall is a private residence, the home of businessman and entrepreneur, Christopher Moran.

Plans for college buildings, including Crosby Hall and More's Garden — **Plans for college buildings, including Crosby Hall and More’s Garden**

**Brochure for planned new University Hall of Residence**

It was also during the war that the students left More’s Garden and it once again became available as residential flats for private tenants. The flats were empty in 1915, but the parish rate book reveals new tenants moved in during late 1915 and early 1916. By this time, the annual rent was £175.

Since the early 1900s, More’s Garden has continued as residential flats and has been home to many notable residents, including novelist and playwright, Charles Langbridge Morgan, along with his wife, also a writer, Hilda Vaughan. The block has also been the home of Olympian rower, Stephen Ian Fairbairn; photographer and astronomer, Margaret Lindsay Huggins; Captain Edward George Hastings of the Royal Navy, OBE; and British Ambassador, Sir Owen St Clair O’Malley.

Today, More’s Garden continues as a highly sought after residential mansion block in an historic corner of Chelsea with beautiful views over the River Thames.

The Suffragettes of Oakley Street

admin London February 12, 20161911 census, actresses' franchise league, Chelsea, Christable Pankhurst, Ellen Terry, Emmeline Pankhurst, Lilly Langtry, London, mrs monck mason, oakley street, suffragettes, Sybil Thorndike, votes for women, winifred mayo, women's social and political union

While researching the history of a house for a magazine column, I stumbled across a fascinating piece of history. It was the 1911 census return for No.93 Oakley Street in Chelsea, but instead of the usual list of former occupants, the enumerator was forced to note that ‘Suffragettes refused all information’.

Section of 1911 census for 93 Oakley Street

The enumerator further notes that the lady of the house had written across the original census return ‘no vote no census’. This one document (found by accident) brought to life a period of history from 100 years ago, which has had an extraordinary affect on history, but also on our lives today – the right for women to vote! It also raised a number of questions about who were these women of Oakley Street and what was their story?

1911 census return - 93 Oakley Street — 1911 census return – 93 Oakley Street

You’ll also notice that the enumerator has stated that information was gained from the neighbour. This included the name of the woman of the house ‘Mrs Monck Mason’, along with her daughter and sister, as well as an ‘elderly domestic servant’ and a ‘younger domestic servant’.

With the help of Naomi Paxton, I discovered the lady of the house was Mrs Alice Monck Mason and her daughter, Winifred Alice Monck Mason, an actress who went by the name of Winifred Mayo (the image to the left courtesy of thesuffragettes.org). Mrs Monck Mason (nee Alice Portia Wolley) was actively involved in the Suffragette movement, but it was her daughter, Winifred Mayo, who took on a key role in the political and militant fight for ‘Votes for Women’. Delving into the story of Winifred Mayo it became clear that she played an extraordinary role in the right for women to vote, as well as other organisations that fought for equal rights for women and men.

Winifred Monck Mason (Mayo) was born in India in c.1869, but returned to England for her Education. In the late 19th and early 20th century, she was performing on the stage in a variety of plays and productions, including as Elizabeth Bennett in The Bennetts at the Court Theatre in 1901. But, it was a few years later she took on a more important role in the suffragette movement.

Winifred Mayo first became involved in the women’s suffrage movement in 1907 when she and her mother joined the Kensington branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Winifred became actively involved in the militant side of the Suffragette movement and was first sentenced to imprisonment in 1908 for taking part in a demonstration at the House of Commons. She was arrested again in 1909 and 1910, but on these occasions was released without charge.

In 1908 Winifred Mayo founded the Actresses’ Franchise League (AFL) with other actresses, including Adeline Bourne. The AFL put on several performances to raise awareness of the women’s suffrage movement, and Winifred Mayo also assisted in training women in public speaking and performance. The AFL included a number of famous names, including Ellen Terry, Sybil Thorndike, Lilly Langtry, and many others. The AFL also advised fellow suffragettes in make-up and dressing-up “which enabled many women ‘on the run’ from the police to successfully disguise themselves and elude recapture.”

Her involvement in the suffrage movement brought Winifred Mayo in direct contact with Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel, along with a number of noted women. She later described her ‘tremendous admiration and affection for [Mrs Pankhurst]’.

Winifred Mayo was also involved in the window-smashing campaign and in November 1911 was imprisoned for three weeks for smashing the windows of the Guards Club in Pall Mall. She tells the story of the event in a radio interview with BBC many years later – it’s a short snippet but fantastic to hear the story in her own words! Listen here – ‘A smashing time in Pall Mall’

Suffragettes boycotting the 1911 census in Manchester

By the time the census was being taken on 2 April 1911, the campaign for ‘Votes for Women’ was growing and there was a specific campaign to boycott the census by many Suffragettes (although, interestingly there were many who disagreed with the boycott). Across the country there were a great many who planned events and parties to avoid completing the census return.

In London, there were a number of events, but the most well-known was a large gathering, estimated at around 500 women and 70 men. The event began with music in Trafalgar Square, but later the group spent the evening at the Aldwych ice skating rink (near to where London School of Economics is situated today). Winifred Mayo was known to be part of the Aldwych group and even provided some of the entertainment with members of the Actresses’ Franchise League performing recitals of Suffragist poems. At around 3.30am the group relocated to a restaurant towards Covent Garden for refreshment.

There is far more to the story of the ‘avoiders’ and ‘boycotters’ of the 1911 census, so if you want to know more, check the book ‘Vanishing for the Vote’ by Jill Liddington. More can be found from the blog by Elizabeth Crawford – Women and her sphere (including a fascinating lecture given at the House of Commons (although it is an hour long – House of Commons lecture) – as well as the website of Professor Jill Liddington – here.

Winifred Mayo went on to have an extraordinary life, involved in many campaigns for supporting women, as well as equal rights for all. She passed away at the age of 97 in February 1967.

This one discovery of an entry in the 1911 census reveals the extraordinary history, not only personal but national and international history, that can be uncovered when researching the history of houses.

Vanity Fair’s ‘Spy’ in Wellington Square

admin London June 22, 2015A.A. Milne, actors, artists, caricaturist, Chelsea, Duke of Wellington, Elystan Owen Evan-Thomas, Emily Winifrede Trafford-Taunton, Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, Ernest William Trafford-Taunton, garden squares, House Histories, iron railings, James Bond, London, Made in Chelsea, musicians, Robert Scott Temple, Royal Hospital Chelsea, Sir Leslie Ward, Spy, television, Vanity Fair, Wellington Square, Winnie the Pooh, writers 0 Comment

It has been a busy few weeks (which explains the length of time since my last post – sorry)! I have been working on house history projects in Kent and Gloucestershire, as well as writing guest blog posts and articles, but I have also recently been researching the history of a house in one of Chelsea’s most sought-after garden squares – Wellington Square.

Wellington Square - Chelsea — Wellington Square – Chelsea

With its black iron railings, often appearing in the popular ‘Made in Chelsea’ television programme, it is situated in a highly desirable location, just off King’s Road.

However, Wellington has had a varied history that would seem unrecognisable to many Londoners today.

The houses in the square were completed in the early 1850s, which coincided with the death of The Iron Duke – The Duke of Wellington – who lay in state at the nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea – and for whom the square was named.

The completed square soon became the home of professionals and clerks, including surveyors, journalists, civil servants, as well as some on independent means. However, by the 188os a growing number of households were taking in lodgers and some houses had become boarding houses. This included the house I was researching which was home to lodging house keeper, 65 year old John Dowling from Liverpool, along with his wife Anne and their four grown-up children.

1881 census - John Dowling and family — 1881 census – John Dowling and family

But, by the late 19th and into the early 20th century, along with large portions of Chelsea, Wellington Square began to be occupied by a growing number of artists, musicians, and writers. At the time of the 1901 census, the house was home to ‘Professor of Music’ and organist, Ernest William Trafford-Taunton, and his wife, author, Emily Winifrede, who wrote several novels in the early 1900s, including The Man in the Grey Coat (1905).

Carriage in a Landscape by Robert Scott Temple

The Trafford-Taunton’s also shared the house with Scottish landscape artist, Robert Scott Temple. Today, his works are still held in galleries across the UK.

Ernest Thesiger in Bride of Frankenstein

The house also had links with several actors, including Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, who is most remembered for his role in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and also Elystan Owen Evan-Thomas, or sometimes simply Evan Thomas, who worked on stage and film in both Hollywood and the UK.

One of the most prominent names connected to the house in Wellington Square was the father-in-law of Elystan Evan-Thomas, Sir Leslie Ward.

Sir Leslie Ward was a celebrated artist and caricaturist, who became famous as ‘Spy’ (and also ‘Drawl’) creating caricatures of prominent names for Vanity Fair.

Herbert Henry Asquith, later Prime Minister, 1904

Ward came from a noted artistic family, with both his parents, Edward and Henrietta Ward, achieving prominence as artists. His grandfather, George Raphael Ward, and his great grandfather, James Ward, were also successful artists.

He began working for Vanity Fair in 1873 (with the help of family friend, artist John Everett Millais), where he created caricatures of famous faces until the early 1900s. Between 1873 and 1911, he produced 1325 caricatures, including literary figures, churchmen, politicians, judges, and celebrities.

Leslie Ward also worked on portraits for other newspapers and private portrait painting, but it is work with Vanity Fair which is often most remembered, and still today are commonly known as ‘Spy Cartoons’.

Leslie Ward and his wife and daughter moved to the house in Wellington Square in 1918, the same year he received his knighthood. They only stayed for a few years, before he passed away in 1922.

Edward Bickersteth, Dean of Lichfield, 1884

This one house in Wellington Square has had a fascinating list of creative former residents, but the square has also been the home of many other famous names, including the author of beloved Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne, and it was also the fictional home of another famous ‘spy’, Ian Fleming’s James Bond.