Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/190

Rh HAMPSHIRE CKOSS. 182 HAMPSTEAD. Palace House, Boaulieu, of tlio Duke of Buccleuch; Rose Hill, Owslebury, of the Earl of Northeak ; Amport House, of the Marquis of Winchester ; Heron Court, Blackwater, of the Earl of Malmesbury ; Highcliffe Castle, Mudeford, of Lady Stuart de Eothsay; Win- chester Palace, of the Bishop of Winchester ; Broad- lands, near Eomsey, of Viscount Palmerston ; Strath- fieldsaye, of the Duke of Wellington ; Grange Park, Northmgton, of Lord Ashburton ; Greywell Hill, of Lord Dorchester; Heath House, Buriton, of Lord do Blaquiere ; Holly Hill, Titchfield, of Lord H. Cholmon- deley ; Hurstbourne Park, of Earl Portsmouth ; Hursley Park, of Sir W. Heathcote, Bart., once the residence of Richard Cromwell ; The Abbey, Mottisfont, of Sir B. Mill, Bart. ; Alver Bank, Alvcrstoke, of Hon. J. W. Crokr ; Beacon Lodge, of Hon. G. F. Berkeley ; Bcl- mont House, Bedhampton, of Admiral Sir J. Stirling ; Blendworth Lodge, of Sir W. V. Knighton, Bart. ; The Castle, Chalton, of Sir J. C. Jcrvoise, Bart. ; East Cowes Castle, of G. Tudor, Esq. ; Eaglehurst, Fawley, of General Berkeley Drummond ; East Close, Hinton, of Sir G. E. M. T. Gervis, Bart. ; Merchistoun Hall, Hom- dcan, of Admiral Sir C. Napier, besides numerous other residences of the landed gentry, which are scattered all over the county. The railways chiefly belong to the London and South- Western system, which intersects the county in various directions. One section entering on the N.E. passes by Basingstoke to Southampton ; another to Andover ; a third through Guildford to Alton; and a direct line, called the London and Portsmouth, branches off at Woking, and passing through Guildford and Godalming, goes to Portsmouth; while a fifth section of the South- Western traverses the southern part of the county, from Gosport through Bishopstoke to Salisbury. These lines are joined in the S. by an extension of the London, Brighton, and South Coast line, which, passing through Chichestcr, goes to Havant and Farcham, and so to Portsmouth and Gosport; while in the N. several branch lines, as the Reading and Basingstoke, Reading and Guildford, and Hunger- ford, connect the South- Western and Great Western systems, thus bringing Hampshire into direct communi- cation with the Midland and Western counties, as well as with London and the E. The principal coach roads cross the county from N.E. to S.W ; the road from London to Portsmouth, that from Southampton to Poole, and the Great Western road through Salisbury, with its branch to Amesbury in Wiltshire. Besides these trunk lines, there arc many cross roads leading from Winchester to the several ports on the coast, or connecting the small towns and villages in the interior. The number of persons returned as engaged in trade, commerce, and manufacture, exceed those employed in agriculture, though the only manufactures carried on to any extent are silk, paper, and lace, with sugar refining and carriage building at Southampton, ship-building at Cowes, and salt-works along the coast. Fishing is carried on in the sea-coast towns, and wool, bacon, corn, and agricultural produce of all kinds are exported. The antiquities of Hampshire include the sites of several Roman towns and stations, as mentioned above, with the old castle of Porchester, which exhibits in its present struc- ture traces of Roman, Saxon, and Norman architecture. Calshot and Hurst castles are of the time of Henry VIII., and though still occupied as garrisons, are of little strength. Netley Castle is now a ruin, as are also Netley and Beaulieu abbeys, and the priory of St. Dionysius, near Southampton. The other ancient edifices are at Bishops Waltham, Christchurch, Romsey, Southampton, Winchester, &c., and will be noticed under those several heads. HAMPSHIRE CROSS, a hmlt. in the par. of South Tidworth, co. Hants, 2 miles S.W. of Ludgershall. HAMPSTEAD, a par. and suburban district of Lon- don, in the Holborn div. of the hund. of Ossulstone, co. Middlesex, 5 miles N.W. of St. Paul's Cathedral. It has a station on the Kew section of the North London railway. Previous to 1598, it formed a hmlt. in the par. of Hendon ; but is of considerable extent, taking in the greater part of the populous districts of Hamp Town, West End, North End, Haverstock Hill, Chal- cote, Belsize Park, Downshire Hill, Primrose Hill, thi Vale of Health, Kilburn, and St. John's Wood, togethe containing a population of near 20,000. It was givei_ by the Saxon king Ethelred to Westminster Abbey, and is mentioned in Domesday Survey as Hamsstede, which time the priors of Westminster had a seat Belsize. After the Reformation the manor was given by Edward VI. to the Wroths, from whom it came to the Campdens, and now belongs to the Wilsons of Charlton. It is a fine, healthy spot, the highest part of the heath being 400 feet above the sea-level, and commanding a panoramic view of London to the S. From a mound in the garden of the " Spaniards" inn, many distant objects may be clearly discerned, as Hanslop Steeple, in North- amptonshire, Langdon Hill, in Essex, Banstead Downs, in Surrey, Shooter's Hill, in Kent, Red Hill, in Bucking- hamshire, and Windsor Castle, in Berkshire. The town of Hampstead stands on the southern acclivity of the hill, on the summit of which is the extensive heath, of 260 acres, much frequented by visitors from London, and divided into the Upper and Lower Heath, the Vale of Health, and other subdivisions. The principal streets are the High-street and Heath-street. Pope, Gay, Johnson, Akenside, Arbuthnot, Coleridge, Listen, and Moore used to frequent this spot, and at the " Upper Flask," noticed by Richardson in his " Clarissa," and then kept by Chris- topher Kat, the " Kit-cat Club," attended by Steele, Addison, and other eminent literary characters, used to meet, it was also at this house that George Steevens, the commentator on Shakspeare, died. On the left hand side of the entrance into Hampstead from Xondon is a house built in 1571, where Sir Henry Vane dwelt, one of the judges of Charles I., and in which, after the restora- tion of Charles II., he was arrested. Here, too, resided Dr. J. Butler, Bishop of Durham, author of the " Ana- logy of Religion." At Rosslyn House dwelt Lord Loughborough ; at the Chicken House, where James I. once slept, Lord Mansfield ; and at a house close to tho " Spaniards," Lord Erskine. On Haverstock Hill, 1 mile nearer London, is the cottage of Sir Charles Scdley, afterwards occupied by Sir Richard Steele. The greater part of Hampstead is lighted with gas and paved ; but there are still many pleasant country walks in and around the village, as Poet's lane, Hendon lane, High- gate lane, under Caen, or Kenwood, the seat of the pre- sent Earl of Mansfield, and the fields across to Primrose Hill, under which is a tunnel of 1120 yards, for the London and North- Western railway. Belsize and Ross- lyn Parks are now being built over, and application has several times been made to Parliament by Sir Thomas Wilson for permission to build upon his lands adjoin- ing the heath, but has hitherto been refused. Until recently many rare plants grew upon the heath, which previous to 1701 was the place of election for the county members. The town of Hampstead is still a polling-place for the county elections, and head of a superintendent registry district formed out of Edmon- ton in 1848. Petty sessions are held here, and courts leet and baron. On the Monday before Whitsuntide also a general court-baron, and customary court about six weeks after Christmas. The union poorhouse is situated in the town, as also the Soldiers' Daughters' Home, founded in 1855, the East Middlesex Militia depot and barracks, recently erected after designs by H. Pownall, a dispensary, model lodging-houses, new orphan asylum, savings-bank, police station of the S. division of the metropolitan police, literary and scientific institu- tion, with a library of 3,000 volumes ; also tho Sailors' Orphan Home for girls, situated in Frognal, the Work- ing Orphan Asylum, and Tailors' Almshouses, at Haver- stock Hill, besides an artists' conversazione. On the eastern slope of the hill arc the Hampstead ponds, in which tho Fleet takes its rise. From these ponds the inhabitants of Kentish Town and part of Hampstead were supplied with water until recently; but they are now superseded by the New River Company, which has a reservoir on the heath and another at Highgate. On