CHAPTER II - Clareville Grove Area: The Lee Estate
In February 1789 Edward Lee of Brompton, gentleman, was
admitted to the tenancy of a small copyhold estate of the manor of Earl's
Court, anciently known as Round Close. It consisted of some six acres of land
situated at the east corner of Gloucester Road and Old Brompton Road (fig. 3)
and had previously been in the tenure of the Parsons family for more than a
hundred years. (ref. 1) Edward Lee's tenancy
lasted until his death, at the age of seventy-eight, in 1797. Under the terms
of his will the estate then passed to his unmarried daughter Catherine, who in
May 1810 purchased the enfranchisement from the lord of the manor for
£770. (ref. 2)
For the first two decades of the nineteenth century the
estate was mostly sub-let to nurserymen, but in May 1820 Catherine Lee agreed
to let the ground to William Blake of Pear Tree Lodge, Little Chelsea, a
builder and bricklayer. (ref. 3) It appears from
the little that is known of this agreement that she undertook to lease the
estate to Blake or his nominees for a term of ninety-nine years from midsummer
1820, and that Blake covenanted to build houses there of at least the standard
laid down in the London Building Act of 1774 for a 'fourth-rate' house. Two
houses already standing on the estate, Lee Cottage and Lee House, the latter
formerly occupied by Catherine Lee herself, were excluded from the area to be
leased. <Dawson Turner (1775-1858), the botanist and antiquarian, lived and died at Lee Cottage in the 1850s.> (ref. 4)
During the twenty or so years needed to complete the
primary phase of this development some seventy-five new houses were erected.
They were generally very small, even by comparison with others built in the
vicinity at the same time, and, rather surprisingly, they were not built to a
uniform design. There were single detached villas, semi-detached pairs and
short terraces, some completely stuccoed, some partly stuccoed and others with
plain brick fronts. The building of modest-sized houses with relatively large
private gardens was in marked contrast with most later developments in South
Kensington, and gave the estate a distinctly intimate character which it still
retains, despite much subsequent rebuilding and infilling.
Blake began building along the frontages of the two
existing roads, Old Brompton Road on the south, and Gloucester Road on the
west. The rows of houses here were originally called Gloucester Terrace and
Gloucester Place respectively. In the course of the development two new roads,
now Clareville Grove and Clareville Street, were laid out. Clareville Grove was
originally called Gloucester Grove West; the north-south arm of Clareville
Street, Gloucester Grove East; and its east-west arm, Gloucester Grove. The
modern names recall the nearby presence of Clareville Cottage which was not,
however, on the Lee estate but stood in Old Brompton Road a little to the west
of Gloucester Road.
Figure 3:
Clareville Grove area: the Lee estate. Based on the Ordnance
Survey of 1894–6
The first houses to be finished were a semi-detached pair
in Old Brompton Road, now Nos. 108 and 110, which were largely reconstructed in
1885–6 (see below). At Blake's nomination the two leases, executed
in September 1822 and November 1821 respectively, were both granted to Harriet
Lloyd, a widow already resident nearby, who herself occupied No. 110 from 1821
to 1825. (ref. 5) Next door to No. 108, at the
west corner with Clareville Grove, Blake built a detached villa (now
demolished), which was leased to its first occupant in April 1823, and in the
same year leases were granted for a terrace of five houses between Clareville
Street and Clareville Grove. (ref. 6) A few
years later a butcher's shop (known as No. 5½ Gloucester Terrace) was
added to the west end. (ref. 7) Four of the
houses in this group still survive (now Nos. 94–100 even Old
Brompton Road), though with the addition of one-storey shops built over their
front gardens. They are three storeys in height and faced in stucco. West of
No. 110 Blake erected a terrace of six houses which were all leased to John
Mackenzie of Old Brompton Road, gentleman, in January 1825. (ref. 8) Now Nos. 112–122 (even) Old
Brompton Road, these six houses were either rebuilt or reconstructed in the
second half of the nineteenth century, and have stuccoed ground storeys with
canted bay windows and two upper storeys in red brick.
Along the Gloucester Road frontage, south of Clareville
Street, Blake built twelve houses, Nos. 129–151 (odd), for which
leases were granted between 1825 and 1827. (ref. 9) They were all originally semi-detached, though
asymmetrically arranged, each pair consisting of one three-bay and one twobay
house. Most have been either rebuilt or very much altered. Nos. 135 and 137,
however, retain something of their original appearance, although No. 137,
formerly a two-bay house, has been extended on its north side. Both houses are
of two storeys over a basement, and are built in yellow stock bricks. No. 137
(fig. 4) is entered by a door in what was originally the northern of its two
bays: the doorcase, flanked by Doric pilasters, supports an entablature with a
fanlight above. The south bay is slightly recessed, and its flat-headed
groundstorey window is contained within a shallow niche. These houses were
leased in 1826 and both were occupied from 1828, though not by their respective
lessees, Blake (No. 137) and Robert Ashton of Brompton, gentleman (No.
135). (ref. 10)
Figure 4:
No. 137 Gloucester Road. Later north (left-hand) bay not shown
In Clareville Grove the first house to be built was No. 2,
a two-storey stuccoed cottage, now extended at both ends (fig. 5), which was
leased in February 1826 to a local carpenter, John Sparham, who lived there
from 1826. (ref. 11) The site of this house,
like that of all the other houses on the east side, originally had a frontage
to both Clareville Grove and Clareville Street. North of No. 2 Blake built
another eight houses (Nos. 4–18 even; Nos. 12 and 14 now
demolished) for which leases were granted to his nominees at various dates
between 1827 and 1832. They included John Sparham and two other building
tradesmen, Thomas Ashton of Golden Square, a stonemason, and George Augustus
Northedge of Little Grosvenor Street, variously described as a plumber or a
painter and glazier. (ref. 12) Of the eight
houses the least altered externally is No. 16, a small, two-storeyed, stuccoed
building with a slate roof, which was leased to John Mortimer, a New Bond
Street jeweller, in 1832, and was occupied from 1831, though not by the
lessee. (ref. 13) The adjoining house, No. 18,
was enlarged during the second part of the nineteenth century and now has two
principal storeys in yellow stock brick, with a heavy stuccoed cornice and a
full attic storey contained within a mansard roof. It was leased in 1829 to
John Reekes of Park Place, Chelsea, gentleman, who lived there from 1831 to
1837. (ref. 14) Both Nos. 16 and 18 are set
well back from the road with secluded gardens behind high walls.
Figure 5:
No. 2 Clareville Grove in 1974
On the west side of Clareville Grove, where much of the
ground was let for gardens to houses already erected along Gloucester Road,
there was at first comparatively little development, the only houses to be
built there before 1830 being a semi-detached pair (Nos. 7 and 9) leased in
1828. No. 9 still survives in altered form (fig. 6): it was originally only two
bays wide. The lessee of this house was Mary Taylor of Sidney Place, Clapham,
widow, who occupied it herself from 1828: the lessee of No. 7 was John
Mortimer. (ref. 15)
The only part of Clareville Street to be built up before
1830 was on the east side, immediately north of Lee Cottage, where Blake
erected some half-dozen houses between 1826 and 1830. None of these still
survive. (ref. 16)
In March 1830, after nearly a decade of development, all
the remaining unlet parts of the estate were leased to Blake by Catherine Lee
at a peppercorn rent. (ref. 17) Over most of
this area building had not even begun, and as the subsequent development of
these parts did not proceed under building leases granted by Miss Lee it is not
so well documented, even the extent of Blake's own involvement being uncertain.
He was, however, almost certainly the builder of No. 124 Old Brompton Road, one
of the first houses to be completed after March 1830, and occupied from
1832. (ref. 18) But at about the same time
three more houses on the west side of Clareville Grove were erected under a
building lease granted by Blake in April 1830 to George A. Northedge. These
three, now Nos. 1, 3 and 5, have been considerably altered: originally they
comprised a detached villa and a semi-detached pair, and were known as
Berkeley, Capel and Penzance Cottages. (ref. 19) Another three houses, which no longer survive, were
erected by Blake in about 1830–2 along the Gloucester Road
frontage between Clareville Street and the northern boundary of the estate. (ref. 20) They were called Johnson's Cottages,
apparently after Thomas Johnson of Little Chelsea, a corn chandler, to whom
Blake mortgaged the site. (ref. 21)
Figure 6:
Nos. 9 (left) and 9c Clareville Grove in
1974
After about 1832 there was a general full in building
activity in the area, apart from the erection, by 1835, of two pairs of
semi-detached houses on the north side of Clareville Street (now Nos. 30–40
even). (ref. 20) When building revived towards
the end of the 1830's another eight houses were erected on this side between
1839 and 1841. (ref. 20) They comprised a
semi-detached pair (Nos. 26 and 28), a single villa (No. 24), and a terrace of
five (Nos. 12–20 even). At about the same time seven more houses
were built on the east side of Clareville Street, of which the most northerly,
on the site of the present No. 10, was a public house called The Royal Pair.
These seven, together with Nos. 12–20 (even), were known
collectively as Colchester Terrace. (ref. 22)
Meanwhile on the east side of Clareville Grove an
attractive group of three linked pairs of semi-detached brick houses with
stuccoed ground storeys (Nos. 20–30 even) had been built at the
north end in about 1838–9 (Plate 80a; fig.
7). <The builder was William Long, of Little Chelsea, operating under leases granted to him by Thomas Johnson in May/June 1839.> (ref. 20) They are three storeys high, with
hipped roofs and centrally placed chimneystacks. The ground storeys have
segmentally arched windows with moulded surrounds and the first-floor windows
have decorative iron balconies. The entrances are situated in linking blocks,
originally one storey high, recessed behind the principal building line. Apart
from No. 30 these houses were all occupied from 1839, and by 1841 two were in
divided occupation. The residents in that year included an artist, a
conveyancer, a coal and lime merchant, and a special pleader. (ref. 23)
Figure 7:
Nos. 20–30 (even) Clareville Grove
During Catherine Lee's lifetime the only properties to be
alienated from the estate were Lee House and Lee Cottage which she sold in
December 1842 to George Maugham of Old Brompton, esquire, whose father was then
occupying Lee House. (ref. 24) Both properties
were later acquired by the builder, C. J. Freake, and in 1870 they were the
subject of an exchange between Freake and the adjoining landlord, H. B.
Alexander, Freake being then about to lay out the southern end of Queen's Gate
and build houses there (ref. 25) (see page
301). The sites of Lee House and Lee Cottage are now occupied by Nos. 2–6
(even) Clareville Street, Nos. 25–29 Manson Mews and parts of Nos.
102–107 Queen's Gate, all first built under leases from Alexander
to Freake.
Catherine Lee died in January 1847 and under the terms of
her will the estate was divided equally between three nephews and a niece. (ref. 26)
Subsequent building in the area has been either by
infilling or redevelopment. Infilling had, indeed, begun even before Catherine
Lee's death, with the building of two detached villas on the west side of
Clareville Grove in the back gardens of houses in Gloucester Road. The only
survivor of these, though no longer detached, is the much altered No. 23 which
appears to date from about 1845. (ref. 27) In
1854 the house at the north corner of Clareville Street and Gloucester Road
(now part of the Hereford Arms public house) was completely rebuilt by Messrs.
Robert Thompson and James Mason of Hereford Square, who at the same time also
erected a pair of semi-detached cottages (now Nos. 42 and 44 Clareville Street)
in the back garden. (ref. 28) Nos. 153 and 155
Gloucester Road (originally Argyle Villas) were built in the back garden of No.
124 Old Brompton Road in about 1860–1, and the remarkably
oldfashioned Nos. 11–21 (odd) Clareville Grove (originally Nos. 1–6
Percy Terrace) were erected in the back gardens of Nos. 137–141
(odd) Gloucester Road in about 1862–3 (Plate 81d). The first occupant of No. 153 Gloucester Road, in
1861, was a sculptor, Felix Martin Miller. (ref. 29)
Stables were erected in the 1870's and 1880's, especially
along the west side of Clareville Street, where a smithy was still in use in
1926 at No. 3. (ref. 30) In 1882 a group of
stables, now Clareville Grove Mews, was built in the yard behind the Royal Pair
public house by George Green of Clapton. (ref. 31) Most of the houses on the east side of Clareville
Street were demolished in c. 1880 for the building of a
Board School (see below). In Gloucester Road No. 133 probably acquired its
present appearance in 1884–5 when the original house was altered
by G. H. and A. Bywaters of King Street, Regent Street, builders. (ref. 32) <The architect was evidently E. J. May, who submitted a building application in September 1884.> From 1895 until 1902 this house was the
home of J. M. Barrie. (ref. 33)
Few of the houses built in the area since 1900 call for
comment. The most unusual are undoubtedly Nos. 9c and 11A Clareville Grove,
designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield's son, Austin, and erected in the back
garden of No. 143 Gloucester Road in 1929 by Messrs. Gee, Walker and Slater
Limited, of St. James's Street, Westminster. (ref. 34) The bay window at No. 9c is an addition. Several
houses in the area were damaged or destroyed during the war of 1939–45,
including No. 10 Clareville Street, which was rebuilt in neo-Georgian style in
1968 to the designs of Peter Wood and Partners. (ref. 35)
Nos. 108 and 110 Old Brompton Road
Plate 103c; fig. 8
Formerly known as Nos. 7 and 8 Gloucester Terrace, these
two houses are in their basic structure the semi-detached pair built by William
Blake which Catherine Lee leased to Harriet Lloyd in 1821 and 1822 (see above).
Their present appearance, however, is chiefly due to refacing in 1885–6,
when the houses were adapted as studios for Messrs. Elliott and Fry of Baker
Street, a firm of photographers specializing in portraiture. The architect was
William Flockhart, with George Shaw of Wigmore Street as the general
contractor. John Thompson McCulloch carved the stonework and Alfred A. Newman,
the art-metal worker, supplied wrought-iron railings, gates and
name-plates. (ref. 36) Describing the
reconstruction in a letter to The Builder, Flockhart
wrote that 'An effort has been made in the treatment of the front elevation to
recall the character which prevailed in English work towards the end of the
sixteenth, and beginning of the seventeenth century. (ref. 37)
The result is an attractive composition in red brick with
stone dressings which, perhaps, owes more to seventeenth-century Dutch sources
than any actual English building inspired by them (Plate 103c). The design of the principal façade is
dominated by two prominent gabled bays. The entrance to the studios was by an
arched doorway on the ground storey of the eastern bay. Above this is a balcony
with delicate wrought-iron railings which originally included the name-plates
of the firm. The first-floor window, which extends for almost the full width of
the bay, is of five lights divided by stone mullions, the central and outer
lights being decorated with carved lunettes. The bay is capped by a pretty
shaped gable containing a three-light, mullioned-and-transomed window
supporting a mannered pedimental feature above. The western bay is similar to
the eastern bay, except on the ground storey, which has a plain five-light
mullioned window.
A drawing of the front elevation was exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1886 when The Builder admired its
'character' and in particular the treatment of the first-floor windows. It was
less happy, however, about the 'twisty-twirly' gables, and thought the
projecting curls would be certain to chip off some day. (ref. 38)
Figure 8:
Nos. 108 and 110 Old Brompton Road, plan in 1886
a
Area
D Dark Room
G Gentleman's Room
H Hall
L Ladies'
Room
R Reception Room
S Studio
Inside, the ground floors of the two houses were
rearranged to provide an entrance hall, large reception room, ladies' room,
gentlemen's room, and a darkroom. The walls of the hall and reception room were
hung with brown canvas above a low panelled dado (painted white in the hall):
ornamental plaster ceilings of a simplified Jacobean ribbed design were
provided by Messrs. Battiscombe and Harris, a firm of 'architectural interior
decoration manufacturers' in Great Marylebone Street. A short corridor
connected the reception room to the new studio or 'glass house', which was
built at the back to take advantage of 'the fine pure light available
behind'. (ref. 39) When the studio was opened
in the summer of 1886 Elliott and Fry issued a brochure drawing particular
attention to its ground-floor location and 'facility of access' which, they
hoped, would 'prove a convenience to their patrons, and especially to Ladies in
Court Dress or other elaborate costume'. (ref. 40)
Part of the first floor was taken for a ladies'
dressing-room and a dining-room. The remaining rooms on the upper floors were
made into a selfcontained dwelling with a separate entrance on the west side.
About £3,000 was said to have been spent on the adaptation, which in the
opinion of one journal had produced 'the most architecturally perfect
photographic studios in London'. (ref. 41)
The studio premises continued to be used by photographers
until 1919. A lease was then acquired by the sculptor, Cecil Thomas, who
subsequently bought the freehold and was responsible for the recent sensitive
restoration of the building. (ref. 42)
Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Primary School, Clareville
Street
In 1878–9 the London School Board acquired by
compulsory purchase all the houses on the east side of Clareville Street
between the present Nos. 6 and 10 as the site for a new Board School. The
residents of the area had, of course, objected, preferring that the school
should be built behind Hereford Square, but they did concede that the
Clareville Street site, 'in as much as it affected only property of an inferior
character', was preferable to the Board's alternative choice in Gloucester
Road. (ref. 43) The new school, intended to
accommodate 600 pupils, was begun in June 1880 and opened in April 1881. (ref. 44) Designed, at least nominally, by E. R.
Robson, (ref. 45) the Board's architect, the
building is an unmistakable though not very distinguished example of the 'Queen
Anne' style favoured by the Board. The builder was John Grover of New North
Road, Shoreditch, whose tender was for £5,620. (ref. 46)
Originally called Gloucester Grove East School, it was
renamed Bousfield, after Sir William Bousfield, a former chairman of the
managers, in 1913 when Gloucester Grove East was itself renamed Clareville
Street. In 1957 the Bousfield School moved to new premises in The Boltons, and
the old building was taken over by Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Primary
School. (ref. 47)