Camden History

On Monday 5 August 1862, Richard Peniston a hackney cabdriver, was waiting on the rank in Great Quebec Street at 12.40 lunchtime. This was a road running south of the Marylebone Road, and today is called Upper Montagu Road near Gloucester Place. He was approached by well-dressed man driving a phaeton (a lightweight carriage) with a pair of horses who suddenly, and without warning, hit the cab man’s horse with an axe just behind its ear. When Peniston shouted at him, the man also aimed a blow at Peniston which missed, and he galloped off. A second cabdriver, Edward Gilbert, saw what had happened and chased the phaeton into Montagu Street and then into Baker Street and north to Grove End Road in St John’s Wood. During the chase, the man turned and pointed a pistol at Gibert saying, ‘If you don’t stop, I’ll blow your brains out’. Gilbert pulled up his horse and hid in the bottom of the cab seat. When he put his head up, the man fired at him and rode off. Fearlessly, Gibert continued the p...

Meet the Robinsons Jummy belonged to Mark Heaton Robinson and his wife Emma. Mark was born in Kent in 1844, and Emma Louisa Webb Richmond in 1847 in Hampshire. They married in Richmond in 1864, when both were under-age, and went on to have 16 children, incredibly all of whom were living at the time of the 1911 census.  Their marriage certificate reveals Mark’s father was a commander in the Royal Navy while Emma’s was a surgeon. Mark’s career evolved over the years. At the time of their marriage and the 1871 census, he was working as a clerk in the Admiralty, which isn’t surprising given his father’s profession. Ten years later he was a manager for the brewers Watney & Co, and in subsequent census returns he appears as an engineer and company owner.  About 1880, Mark became the partner of talented engineer, Peter William Willans, who started Willans and Co to manufacture engines. As Willans and Robinson, Peter and Mark expanded the original business at the Ferry Works, Tham...

Although this sounds like a melodrama it is a true story, which surprisingly, has not appeared in any books.  Walter Meredyth Thomas was a 28 year old Army officer, and 17 year old Carmen de Fleury came from an old noble French family. They were both living with their families when they married on 13 June 1895 at the Kensington Register Office.  The marriage certificate shows the full details: Walter Meredyth Thomas (28) Lieutenant, late East Yorkshire Regiment. His father was James Lewis Thomas, late Chief Surveyor to the War Department. 26 Gloucester Street Pimlico. Mathilde Elsie Clementina Carmen St Anthoine de Fleury (17). 15 Colherne Mansions Earls Court. Her father, the Viscount Clifford de Fleury, had died in Jersey when she was just three. Her brother Gaston had inherited the title.  Walter and Carmen had a daughter who was born in 1898, but it was not a happy marriage and they parted in October 1902. In November 1903 Carmen was living at No.3 St Stephen’s Mansio...

The Home was founded in 1829 in east London but moved to Hampstead in the mid-1850s. Its supporters believed that the needs of sailors were seen by the public as less pressing than those of soldiers.  An appeal of 1853 said that orphans of sailors in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Merchant Service were eligible for entry, but this was the only Home that also took in orphans of men who served in the mercantile marine.  The girls were educated and supported until they were 15. Donors voted and ‘elected’ girls to the Home; the more money you raised, the more votes you were entitled to. In 1867, each lady who collected five guineas was enrolled as a Life Governor with two votes at all elections. Alternatively, single payments for support could be made. In common with most homes, the sailors’ orphans were trained for domestic service; situations were found for them, and outfits provided. In the case of this Home, proof of the father’s service, parents’ marriage and child’s birth...

From 1915 the well-known actor-manger Gerald Lawrence lived at 11 Ornan Road Haverstock Hill. He had a distinguished stage career as a Shakespearian actor and had worked with Sir Henry Irving. The handsome Lawrence appeared in several silent films such as ‘Captain Nighthawk’ (1914).   11 Ornan Road, Haverstock Hill Gerald toured in South Africa and America and in 1906 he married the American actress Fay Davis. Their daughter Marjorie Fay Lawrence was born in 1908, when they were living at 15 Gardnor Mansions Church Row in Hampstead. Gerald and Fay in Romeo and Juliet, 1909 Marjorie wanted to try acting, so in June 1930 Gerald staged ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and ‘Hamlet’ at the Embassy Theater in Swiss Cottage and Marjorie received praise for her performances. On Sunday 6 July 1930 Gerald Lawrence and his family were at home in Ornan Road. About 11.00 in the morning his daughter received a telephone call from her husband Eardley Cottrell saying he was coming to the house.  Abou...

This is an amusing story from the beginning of the Jazz Age about a housewarming party in St John’s Wood which disturbed the next-door neighbour and resulted in two trials. Arthur Bentley had served in France as a driver for the Royal Air Force in the First World War. When he was de-mobbed in March 1919, he took over and ran a teashop in Regent Steet. In June he heard about a house in St John’s Wood which only had a few years remaining on the lease. He was offered a good deal on Number 3 Northwick Terrace, because the Central London Building Company who owned the land, were going to demolish one side of the road to build a large block of flats on the Edgware Road in Maida Vale. Today, this is the distinctive mock-Tudor Clifton Court. Map showing Nos, 3 and 4 Norwick Terrace In July 1919, Arthur negotiated with Edward Hamilton Allen, the current lease holder, and paid him a deposit to buy the lease. On Saturday 16 August the Bentleys held a housewarming party with a small jazz band cons...

Hopefully, we are coming to the end of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK by the beginning of August 2021 we have had 5,982,581 cases which tragically resulted in 130,086 deaths, or a mortality rate of 2.17%. This is the story about the smallpox pandemic which hit Britain 150 years ago. The first state hospital to try to deal with the disease was built in Hampstead, near Haverstock Hill and Pond Street. The site is now covered by the Royal Free Hospital. What is Smallpox? Smallpox is a variola virus, worldwide killing a third of those it infected, and in the 20th Century alone an estimated 300 million people died from the disease. The initial symptoms of the painful disease included fever and vomiting. This was followed by formation of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash over much of the body. Soon the skin rash turned into characteristic fluid-filled blisters. The cause of death from smallpox is not clear but involves multiple organ failure. Those who survived were often left ...