Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 5.djvu/587

 HPS. V.JUNE 23, 1906.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

483

James Robbing, printer, 1788 ; north side of High

Street, 1802 ; College Street, 1821. Joseph Bucknell printed The Hampshire Chronicle,

17956.

B. Long purchased The Hampshire Chronicle, 1796. Jacob & Johnson purchased the copyright of The

Hampshire Chronicle from James Robins, 1814. Charles Henry Wheeler, eldest brother of the

founder of The Hampshire Independent, was in

partnership with Mr. Robins, and they carried on

an extensive business as printers and booksellers.

Wheeler died 1830. (Timperley, 'Hist, of Printing,'

903.) For booksellers and printers to Winchester College

see 10 th S. v. 415.

Those who desire further information with regard to the printers in this list may be referred to two papers which I wrote some years ago : * The Early Newspaper Press of Hampshire,' read before the Hampshire Literary and Philosophical Society, South- ampton, 4 March, 1889, and printed in The Hampshire Independent; and 'Early Hamp- shire Printers,' in the 'Papers and Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club,' 1891. Both papers were reprinted in pamphlet form.

Gilbert and Godwin's ' Bibliotheca Hanto- niensis,' 1891, which is marred by some inexcusable blunders, omits to record the names of the publishers of the books, and even, in many cases, the place of publication ! Where the name of the printer or pub- lisher has somehow slipped in, it is as the author of the work ! Thus 'The Portsmouth Guide ' (supposed to have been written by Luke Taswell) is attributed to R. Carr ; and

the Rev. T. Warton's Description of

Winchester' to W. Greenville. I contributed to this work a list of Hampshire newspapers.

The * Supplementary Hampshire Biblio- graphy,' by the Rev. Sumner Wilson, in the 4 Papers and Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club,' vol. iii., 1898, pp. 306-16, also omits names of publishers, and in many cases place of publication.

Any additions to the above list, or cor- rections, will be welcomed.

FREDK. A. EDWAEDS, F.R.G.S., M.J.I.

39, Agate Road, Hammersmith, W.

HOUSES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST.

AT 10 th S. iv. 486 I alluded to some of the tablets affixed by the London County Council to houses which have become historical, and since then several houses have been thus distinguished, which I now propose to put on record for future reference.

Some time towards the end of February a tablet was affixed to the front of No. 110, Go wer Street, where Charles Darwin lived from 1839 to 1842. Darwin, in the former year, soon after his, return from the epoch - making

voyage of the Beagle, was married to his cousin Miss Emma Wedgwood, and the newly married couple made their home at No. 12, Upper Go wer Street, since renumbered 110, which was described by his son as being "a small commonplace London house, with a drawing-room in front, and a small room behind in which they lived for the sake of quietness " ; and we may certainly say that this description would apply equally well to thousands of houses in this city. This son further states that

" in later years my father used to laugh over the surpassing ugliness of the furniture, carpets, &c., of the Gower Street house ; the only redeeming feature was a better garden than most London houses have, a strip as wide as the house, and thirty yards long."

Of the work done here Darwin himself says :

" During the three years and eight months whilst we resided in London, I did less scientific work, though I worked as hard as I possibly could, than during any other equal length of time in my life."

He alludes to his spells of ill-health as being the chief cause of this ; but he did contrive to give much time to his work on ' Coral Reefs ' (a work begun before his mar- riage), the last proof-sheet being corrected on 6 May, 1842. That year the Darwin house- hold removed into the country, and on 14 September they were settled at Down, in Kent, where Darwin remained until his death.

Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, is not one of the thoroughfares on the Surrey side of the Thames where houses of historical interest would be looked for. Yet there is one, and in this house John Rennie spent the closing years of his life. It is No. 18, and is a well-built, substantial house, telling of a period when the houses were let to a better class than they have been for many years past. Rennie resided here during the most important portion of his career, and from this house were issued many of the important engineering ventures which brought him considerable fame. He often spent fifteen hours a day at his work, and it was while living here that he designed and super- intended the construction of both Waterloo and Southwark Bridges, which must tend to make this house of much interest to lovers of London. The formation of the London and East and West India Docks, and also the designing and erection of new machinery for the Royal Mint, were comprised in the same period, as were many important works outside London. A tablet has been affixed by the London County Council, recording Jennie's connexion with this house. Jt is