Build 5 — 23 July 2026
House No. 1 of the Five Houses of Wandsworth Common
Name: Bolingbroke House - House No. 1
Date Built: 1777
Date Demolished: 1937
Builder/Developer: Richard Norris
Architect: Richard Norris
Bolingbroke House was the grandest of the Five Houses, with the most extensive grounds, a carriage drive and service quarters. The house was built as part of a speculation [ of Five Houses] by Robert Dent, who acquired the land from Earl Spencer in 1772. The house was designed and built by its first lessee, Richard Norris [whoh e?] [del:, and he was the first lessee], in 1778.
Bolingbroke House was situated towards the northern end of what has become Bolingbroke Grove - on the site of what is now the Bolingbroke Academy, between Wakehurst Road and Belleville Road. There was a pond on the Common opposite, roughly the same size as the Three-Island Pond. [Both probably started as gravel pits, although the former was ]filled in at the end of the 19th century.
Bolingbroke House was situated towards the northern end of what has become Bolingbroke Grove - on the site of what is now the Bolingbroke Academy, between Wakehurst Road and Belleville Road. There was a pond on the Common opposite, although this was filled in at the end of the 19th century.
[PB: Add a Box Feature on the ponds? But not necessarily here - it could go into the Introduction. Or even be included in a general early chapter on the history and geography of the overall area - including the Falcon Brook, the proximity to the Common, encroachments, topography, lords of the manor etc etc.]
[There was a pond on the Common opposite the Bolingbroke House, which was roughly the same size as the Three-Island Pond, opposite Bolingbroke Grove House just to the south. Both ponds are clearly shown on a number of 18th- and 19th-century maps. These probably started as gravel pits supplying the needs of Bolingbroke House and its neighbours - gravel was widely used in carriage drives and garden paths, and probably surfaced the Five Houses road itself.
When they ceased to be worked, the pits filled with water to become ponds.
As ponds, they may have been made more ornamental over time, with planting and the introduction of fish.
Edward Thomas calls the one in front of Bolingbroke House the "Box Pond":
"There were carp, too, ... in the roundish Box Pond that lay half-way between the top of our street [Wakehurst] and the railway." He continues: "I once saw a carp many times as big as a gudgeon in the possession of a rough: he had torn its head off to make it fit his jar. Much larger ones were talked about, caught in the Box Pond by the elder brothers of one boy. I saw them fishing there once or twice without a motion of the float in the motionless water. Once I tried there myself all alone. My expectations were huge: that I failed completely only increased my respect for the sacred pond."
I'm not sure exactly when Thomas's "sacred pond" was filled in. I'll check the maps. It's still there on the 1868 OS map, but gone by 1894. After the 1871 Act that saved the Common, the Conservators largely put an end to gravel digging and gradually filled in most of the many pits that covered this side of the Common.]
When Bolingbroke House was built in 1777 the environment was largely rural. As we see on the Rocque map of 1761 and the Harman plan of [date?], the Five Houses were all built on fields - arable, pasture and meadow - sloping down to the Falcon Brook. In front, to the west, the Common lay open as far as today's Heathfield Road, when field boundaries began again.
[Location of future Bolingbroke House and Bolingbroke Farm]
The Harman map of 1773 (below) shows the Bolingbroke Farm just north of the house. It was under separate ownership at this time, but it is valuable in that it shows the range of crops - mostly barley but also wheat and potatoes in strips.
[PB: The 1773 "Harman map" is a historical estate plan officially titled "Plan and description of Mr Harman's Estate at Battersey-Rise" by surveyor Thomas Davey. It provides a snapshot of agricultural and land use for John Harman's 30-acre estate on Battersea Rise, which was largely devoted to a mix of wheat, barley, and potatoes. See Survey of London: Battersea.]
John Corris's "Plan of Battersea Surry" of 1787 (below) shows the house sitting in a rectangular plot fronting Wandsworth Common on its west side - a tree-lined lane divided the house from what we can assume was rough ground. Opposite the house, sat a large pond on the Common which was characterized by poor, damp land with gravel pits. The house's grounds lay principally to the east down to the Falcon Brook.
The "Explanation" [supporting] the Corris map describes the blue line and shading depicting the property owned privately, the red line showing land owned by Earl Spencer and the green line depicting the edge of Wandsworth Common.
Bolingbroke House
Twenty years after the house was built, Willis acquired the freehold of Bolingbroke House and in about 1797 purchased Bolingbroke Farm - this included fields north of the house and on the east side of the brook totalling around 64 acres. [This gave the [awkward: house ownership not just its own landscaped gardens but agricultural property too.]
Also in 1797 the land on the Clapham Common side of the Falcon Brook was sold to the owners of some of the houses on what was to become Bolingbroke Grove. This extended the land of Bolingbroke House to the eastern side of the stream.
The 1800 Milne map (below) shows its land marked as "P" meaning "Paddocks and Little Parks" – this is also true for Bolingbroke Farm, which is confusingly not described as "A" "Arable" or "M" "Meadow and pasture". This suggests that the grounds of Bolingbroke House will have had a large proportion of rough grass for grazing alongside more formal planting of trees and shrubs.
It is interesting to note that at this stage the Common was known as "Battersea Common"
The grandest of the Five Houses, with the most extensive grounds, a carriage drive and service quarters. The house was built as part of a speculation of Five Houses by Robert Dent, who acquired the land from Earl Spencer in 1772. The house was designed and built by Richard Norris, and he was the first lessee in 1778.
[Is some of this a quote ? If so, add quotation marks.]
The Survey of London: Battersea describes the house as a three storey, five bay, classical affair: plain and flat at the front facing Wandsworth Common, with an entrance portico, but far livelier on the East front, where a projecting pedimented central bay with tripartite upper windows and canted end bays added movement and interest to a well-composed facade by Norris.
In 1838 described as an 11-bedroom mansion, and the lithograph of about 1830 shows wings at either side of the house, possibly added by the Willises, single storey at first, later raised to two storeys.
[Editorial note: the two paragraphs above cover much the same ground as the fuller account below, beginning "The Survey of London describes the house..." — worth checking whether both versions are needed, or whether one could be trimmed? YES THIS REPETITION NEEDS EDITING OUT.]
The Survey of London describes the house as a three-storey, five-bay classical affair: plain and flat-fronted facing the Common, with an entrance portico; but far livelier on the east front, where a projecting pedimented central bay with tripartite upper windows and canted end bays added movement and interest to a well-composed façade by Norris. This aspect was made all the more picturesque by being framed by clumps of trees in the well-wooded grounds, and by lawns sloping away from the house down to the brook, which broadened and curved at this point.
[M: Images "Bolingbroke Grove Wandsworth Common", a lithograph by Louis Haghe c.1830, shows that the house enjoyed sweeping views to the east across lawns and rough grass to the Falcon Brook ]
Nineteenth-century illustrations show wings at either side of the house, possibly added by the Willises — single-storey at first, later raised to two storeys.
Images
IMAGE 1 – "Bolingbroke Grove, Wandsworth Common". Lithograph by Louis Haghe (c.1830) showing the rear view of Bolingbroke House and its extensive grounds, from across the Falcon Brook.
IMAGE 2 – Bolingbroke House circa 1830 with, at that time, just single-story wings on either side
Tithe Apportionment, c.1840
These two maps show clearly Bolingbroke Farm as well as Bolingbroke House
The 1894 OS map shows the precise location of Bolingbroke House in the context of the new road layout of Wakehurst and Belleville Roads. By this time the house has been converted into the Bolingbroke Pay Hospital. It shows that houses had been built around the original Bolingbroke House and on most of its estate.
"Bolingbroke Grove Wandsworth Common", a lithograph by Louis Haghe c.1830, shows that the house enjoyed sweeping views to the east across lawns and rough grass to the Falcon Brook which was widened to make a slim lake, framed by clumps of mature trees. This damming of streams to create lakes or ponds was the contemporary vernacular for landscaping, immortalized by Capability Brown. The grazing sheep suggest that the property may have supported this livestock. If not, then sheep were included to enhance the rural, peaceful aspect. It is difficult to confirm the tree species depicted as the artistic style was to portray a "generic" tree type. We can suggest that the trees may have been elm, white or black poplar, horse chestnut, oak or lime just by way of example. It is worth noting that these trees all flourish on the Common today, suggesting favourable conditions.
Likewise, the shrubs are unidentifiable, but would have been either of traditional native type to the UK or newly introduced exotic varieties from the global plant hunting expeditions at the time. Wealthy individuals were keen to display new and "status" trees from abroad to embellish their grand grounds.
The Tithe map of 1838 is a gem of extra information. We can see the creation of tracks around the house for carriage and pedestrian access, but also across to Bolingbroke Farm. Carriages could conveniently go from house to stables. The property had a circular sweeping drive between the lane and house with a central round area shown undescribed - although the style of the time of Humphrey Repton was to create "artificial" circular shrub or flower beds. Typical of Repton's style was to have paths and tracks of gravel. The perimeter of the grounds alongside the lane appears densely planted with shrubs or small trees, perhaps to create seclusion. It is tempting to assume this, as the trees marked on the property east facing grounds are graphically slightly different and more sparsely positioned again in clumps which were of the Brown and Repton style.
Interestingly the map shows trees lining the brook at the far end of the grounds although the lithograph c1830 shows a much more stylised - perhaps idealized - line of planting with symmetrical framing along edges of the grounds down to the brook.
The Common is depicted as rough ground compared to Bolingbroke House.
The apportionment book supporting the tithe map, shows Bolingbroke House and Farm as follows.
Description: Upper Bramlands. (A = Acre = 160 Perches; P = Perch; R = Rod.)
| Section | Land use | Acre | Rod | Perch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 328 | Garden | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 329 | Meadow/orchard | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 331 | Arable | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 332 | Meadow | |||
| 333 | Meadow | |||
| 334 | Meadow | |||
| Total (332–334) | 38 | 5 | 26 | |
| 335 | Meadow/Pleasure Ground | |||
| 336 | Meadow/Pleasure Ground | |||
| Total (335–336) | 8 | 3 | 6 |
*We have been unable to clarify exactly what Upper Bramlands, an area north of Battersea Rise, might signify. The name may refer to an individual [called Bram, but "Bram" has also been known to mean brambles or gorse, so perhaps - as we know gorse was prevalent in the area - it genuinely referred to a type of vegetation.
>[P: hmm, I'm not convinced - brambles are very different from gorse/furze - but bram could also mean broom, as in William Wilberforce's Broomfield House (later renamed Broomwood). BTW, the present-day Bramlands Close is in the area around Grant Road/Falcon Road, immediately north of Clapham Junction; Wandsworth Council itself still calls this the “Bramlands area.”]
Why this description was given for both Grove House and Bolingbroke House remains unclear.
The 07/7/1858 sale details in the Morning Herald describe the land and outbuildings as
"Conservatories, convenient domestic offices, and all requisite accommodation for a large establishment, stabling for six horses, double coach-home [CHECK AD: coach-home? coach-house?], gig house* and men's rooms, and several acres of excellent meadow land, beautifully timbered, in all about 15½ acres." * building for carriages.
[A coach house could accommodate larger vehicles — coaches, carriages, carts, etc. A gig house was likely to be smaller, because the gig itself was small. The appearance of Gig House could be quite informative: it suggests that the site belonged to an establishment where someone kept a horse and private carriage, rather than being simply an agricultural outbuilding.]
These sales details largely support the details of maps of the early and mid-19th century mentioned here.
An additional point of interest from the above property sales ad is the mention "having very considerable frontages to Wandsworth-common and Battersea-rise" - suggesting evidence of a "green lane" running from Battersea Rise (where Webbs Rd is now) parallel to the frontage of The Five Houses. We know that "Australia Lodge", complete with gates, stood on the current Battersea Rise and believe it protected the lane and its access to the houses. It seems reasonable to assume that this functional access route would have facilitated the movement of goods such as hay and other produce. There must have been either bridges or fording points to cross the Falcon Brook.
From the evidence of maps and sales ads, we can only guess at the range of plants Bolingbroke House may have enjoyed. Here is a generic list of plants we know were available at the time and could have been planted within the estate. It is worth noting that there was a large plant nursery just on the other side of the Common at the time.
| Category | Plants |
|---|---|
| Tender plants | aspidistra, pelargonium, carnations, hyacinths, mimulus, fuschia |
| Perennials and bulbs | tulip, anenome, lupin, gaillardia, gardenia |
| Shrubs | magnolia, azalea, daphne, rhododendron, rose, hydrangea, berberis, aucuba, holly, laurel, privet, box, conifer |
| Trees | white or black poplar*, elm*, plane*, chestnut*, lime*, oak*, sycamore, purple beech, cherry, almond birch, lilac, robinia, laburnum, ash |
* These are the more likely trees, and it is worth noting that these trees all flourish on the Common today, suggesting favourable conditions.
The 1862 Stanford map, which may not be accurate in showing the detailed layout and position of the Five Houses, but is consistent with, for example, the 1838 [CHECK DATE] Tithe Map, shows trees sporadically placed within its grounds and also the conspicuous marking of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway running parallel to Bolingbroke Grove. Just beyond this lies the Royal Patriotic School (now Building), the Surrey County Prison (now Wandsworth Prison), a large plant nursery (now Capital Gardens/ Neals Nurseries), and the County Arms. The area was "developing" fast.
The house and farm yard of Bolingbroke Farm, known previously by other names (King's Farm, for example), was situated near the Falcon Brook on the eastern side of what is now Northcote Road, about where Shelgate Road is now.
From the Survey of London we have learnt that it was part of a bigger farm in the ownership of Thomas King in 1719 and then John King.
Earl Spencer acquired the land that comprised the farm and buildings in 1763 from Lord Bolingbroke when he squared the manor of Battersea.
In 1765 it was purchased from Earl Spencer by Samuel Hoare, and we have the delightful Harman map of land use for the farm.
[NOTE: Insert image of Harman map?]
[SV: YES PLEASE]
[Editorial note: spelled "Harman" earlier in this chapter (the 1773 map) and "Harmon" here - confirm the correct spelling, and clarify whether it was Samuel Hoare or John Harmon (or both jointly) who purchased the farm in 1765.]
[SV: This is quite complicated — best just leave as both names: Hoare and Harman (with an 'a')]
In 1797 William Willis acquired the farm buildings and land from [?] Lovelace, a local landowner, or his successors, and all of the land thus became part of the estate of the house we know as Bolingbroke House.
This farm was about 50 acres and comprised the area to the north of Bolingbroke House as far as Battersea Rise and down the western slope of the Falcon Brook valley and over the brook, meeting the estate of Battersea Rise House.
Bolingbroke House was the grandest of the Five Houses on Bolingbroke Grove, with extensive grounds, a carriage drive and service quarters.
| Years | Occupants | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1778 – ? | Richard Norris, the younger | Architect who designed the house |
| Before 1797 | William Willis | |
| 1803 | William Willis the younger | |
| c1830 | Henry Willis | |
| 1841 - 1846 | Robert Davies | Merchant |
| 1846 - 1877 | Henry Wheeler | Clerk in Merchant office |
| 1878 - 1937 | House turned into Bolingbroke Pay Hospital | New Bolingbroke Hospital built in stages |
| 1937 | HOUSE DEMOLISHED |
[This is a bit dense, and reads like a quote. Is it?]
City surveyor and architect Richard Norris designed and built several of the Five Houses, and was the first lessee of Bolingbroke House. This was most likely Richard Norris the younger (d.1792), who was also involved with Christ's Hospital, the Sun Fire Office, the London Assurance Incorporation and the Charterhouse.
[Is this awkward sentence deleted now? Was it from the Survey? "...rather than his father (d.1779), James ‘Athenian’ Stuart’s right-hand man, who at the time was busy building Mrs Montagu’s house in Portman Square.]”Both men held a string of important surveyorships, Norris junior's including, inter alia, Christ's Hospital, the Sun Fire Office, the London Assurance Incorporation and the Charterhouse. It is likely that Norris also designed several of the Five Houses; he was the first lessee of at least two of them." [which?]<"/p>
Norris's brother Philip, a Holborn builder and bricklayer trained by their father, witnessed all the deeds of the Five Houses and probably handled the construction side. Another brother and witness, Christopher, of Lincoln's Inn, was presumably their lawyer. All of these brothers were listed in newspaper advertisements during the winter of 1777–8 as contacts for prospective purchasers or lessees.
[Image of adverts? image of signatures on a contract?]
Sometime in the late 1790s the house was taken om by William Willis the elder (d.1831), partner in the long--established Lombard Street banking house of Willis Percival & Company.
P: William Willis acquired the freehold and, around 1797, purchased Bolingbroke Farm and its associated fields from Richard Lovelace, extending his estate north of the house and east of the brook to create a valuable freehold estate of about 64 acres.
In 1803 he passed the estate to his son, William Willis the younger (d.1828), and his wife Sarah, as part of their marriage settlement.
They were succeeded in turn by another Willis - Henry Willis (d.1879) - who also took the controlling interest in the bank, Willis Percival & Company.
Henry Willis had moved from the house by 1834 but retained ownership.
Willis, Percival & Co.
This City of London firm's origins go back to the goldsmith business of Thomas Williams who traded at the sign of The Crown in Lombard Street in 1677. By 1698 Benjamin Tudman, a "goldsmith and bancker [sic] in Linnen" was at the address. In about 1708 he was joined by Stephen Child, formerly of the bankers Child & Co., when the business was renamed Tudman & Child. Frequent name changes followed as new partners joined, finally becoming Willis, Percival & Co. around 1814.
The bank financed international trade, in particular cargoes of sugar from the West Indies in the 1780s. Customers included owners of West Indian plantations with enslaved people. In 1878 the collapse of a large customer, a Greek firm of importers, caused the bank to suspend payment with liabilities of about £500,000. It was acquired by Capital & Counties Bank (est. 1877) in 1878 which was itself taken over by Lloyds Bank in 1918. In 1878 the collapse of a large customer, a Greek firm of importers, caused the bank to suspend payment with liabilities of about £500,000. It was acquired by Capital & Counties Bank (est. 1877) in 1878.
[P: The origins of this City of London banking firm can be traced to the goldsmith Thomas Williams, who was trading at the sign of the Crown in Lombard Street in 1677. By 1698 Benjamin Tudman, described as a “goldsmith and bancker [sic] in Linnen”, was at the same address. Around 1708 he was joined by Stephen Child, a member of the Child banking family, and the business became Tudman & Child. Further changes of name followed as new partners joined, and by about 1814 it had become Willis, Percival & Co.
The bank financed international trade, including cargoes of sugar from the West Indies in the 1780s. Its customers included owners of West Indian plantations worked by enslaved people. In 1878 the failure of a major customer, a Greek firm of importers, caused the bank to suspend payment, with liabilities of about £500,000. The business was acquired that year by the Capital and Counties Bank, established in 1877, which was itself acquired by Lloyds Bank in 1918.]
[P: Did the company also fund the trade in slaves? Just curious: Any more info about the Greek importers?]
In 1841 the house was occupied by Robert Davies (65), a merchant, with his wife Elizabeth (45) and their three children: Robert junior (25), an underwriter; Joseph (20); and Elizabeth (20). Ages for adults in the 1841 census were rounded down to the nearest five years, so these should be taken as approximate.
The servants at the same address included two male servants — John Mallard (60) and Stephen Jupp (30) — and four female servants: Elizabeth Knight (30), Mary Abbott (30), Emily Pavitt (25) and Sarah Ellis (25). A further household at the address comprised William Strange (25), of independent means; John and Martha Martin (both 25), servants, with their children Robert (4) and John (2); and William Knight (25), male servant — probably the coachman's household.
The estate's principal resident thereafter was Henry Wheeler (d.1873), a retired merchant and fundholder who lived at Bolingbroke Grove House from 1846. Wheeler bought the house from Henry Willis in 1859, when it was described as an eleven-bedroom mansion with a suite of reception rooms, walled garden and 15 acres of meadow.
Very little detail has been established [is yet known] about Henry Wheeler, but he was clearly a very wealthy man, certainly by the time of his death. Online histories suggest that he might have been the Governor of the Bank of England, but this is not correct.
More likely, he was a merchant trading around Europe, looking at the birth-places of some of his children: Genoa, Leipzig and his marriage to Portia Gaudiano on 6th Sept 1828. Portia was the daughter of John Smith, British Consul in Sicily. She was only fourteen at the time of their marriage and they had at least fifteen children, and possibly sixteen.
[P: The evidence instead points to a merchant with business interests extending across Europe, judging from the birthplaces of some of his children, including Genoa and Leipzig, and from his marriage to Portia Gaudiano on 6 September 1828. Portia was the daughter of John Smith, the British Consul in Sicily. She was only fourteen when they married. They went on to have at least fifteen children, and possibly sixteen.]
The Morning Herald of 7th July 1858 describes the house, which was for sale by auction, as comprising eleven bedrooms, nurseries, bathroom, noble suite of reception rooms, comprising lofty dining room, about 23' x 21', drawing room 28' x 20' [sic — the source advert below gives 23 feet by 20 feet for the drawing-room], smaller drawing room, library, conservatories, convenient domestic offices and all requisite accommodation for a large estate, stabling for six horses, double coach house, gig house and men's rooms. Wheeler also bought the adjoining Bolingbroke Farm.
However, he did not purchase the entire estate from Willis, part being sold to create St Mary's (or Battersea Rise) Cemetery in 1858/9 and part to build Auckland and Middleton (now Buckmaster) Roads.
Wheeler eventually sold up to the Conservative Land Society in 1868, although his family stayed on while new streets were built around them – they moved out some time between 1873 and 1876.
The advert below shows a freehold estate consisting of fourteen lots being put up for auction.
Lot 2, described in this sales advert, relates to Bolingbroke House and is described in some detail, both the interior layout of rooms and the land and other buildings as well.
"Freehold Estate, with possession, situate close to the Clapham-common and Crystal Palace Railway Stations, on Wandsworth-common, having the advantage of railway communication with the City and West-end.
MESSRS. H. BROWN and "l". A. ROBERTS [sic — likely T. A. Roberts?] will SELL by AUCTION, at the Mart, on Thursday, July 29, at Twelve, in Fourteen Lots (unless acceptable offers are previously made), valuable FREEHOLD ESTATES, land tax redeemed, known as the Bolingbroke Grove Estate, having very considerable frontages to Wandsworth-common and Battersea-rise.
……………………………………………
Lot 2 [Relating to Bolingbroke House – House No. 1] .... comprises a capital detached Family Mansion, standing in its own grounds, in the occupation of Henry Wheeler, Esq., containing 11 bed-rooms, nurseries, bath-room, noble suite of reception-rooms, comprising lofty dining-room, about 23 feet by 21 feet; drawing-room, about 23 feet by 20 feet; smaller drawing-room, library, conservatories, convenient domestic offices, and all requisite accommodation for a large establishment, stabling for six horses, double coach-home [sic?], gighouse and men's rooms, and several acres of excellent meadow land, beautifully timbered, in all about 15 1/2 acres."
M: In 1876 Bolingbroke House was purchased for £4,500, through the auspices of the Vicar of St Mary's Church, Battersea - Canon John Erskine Clarke, who was the main instigator for using this building for the establishment of a voluntary pay hospital in the area.
P: In 1876 Bolingbroke House was purchased for £4,500, largely through the efforts of the Vicar of St Mary’s Church, Battersea, Canon John Erskine Clarke, who was the principal instigator of the scheme to establish a voluntary pay hospital in the building.
M: Researching the Census records, starting in 1851, we are rewarded with a lot of fascinating detail about the occupants of Bolingbroke House up until the time when the house was turned into the Bolingbroke Pay Hospital.
[PB: We'll have to work out a nice way of conserving and presenting all the glorious detail that follows, but also of writing something reader-friendly to explain it all!]
By 1851 the house had passed to Henry Wheeler (61), fundholder, born London, and his wife Portia (37), born Palermo (British subject). They had nine children living with them: Henry junior (21), a clerk in a merchant's office, born Islington; Portia (19), born Islington; Harriett (17), born Islington; Ellen (15), born Islington; Maria (11), born Islington; Alice (6), born Genoa; Constance (3), born Leipzig; Nina (2), born Battersea; and Laura (4 months), born Battersea. A visitor was also present: Mary H. Walsh (63), an annuitant, born London.
The youngest daughter, Nina Wheeler, was baptised in Battersea on 17 April 1849. She died on 24 July 1937 at Worcester Park House — in the same year that Bolingbroke House itself was demolished.
The household staff in 1851 comprised: Charles Gregory (28), footman, born Frome, Somerset; Eliza Hasledon (39), house servant, born Sudbury, Suffolk; Hannah Grimsby (30), house servant, born Maidstone, Kent; Ann Sugg (28), house servant, born Knowle, Somerset; Fanny Cleare/Chase (19), house servant, born Exeter; Sarah Camden (24), house servant, born London; Mary Connor (19), house servant, born London. In a separate household at the same address: James Death (33), coachman, born St Osyth, Essex, and his wife Elizabeth (39), laundress, born Whitehaven, Cumbria.
By 1861 Henry and Portia Wheeler were still in residence, their family now complete with four more children born since 1851: Augustus (24), born Islington; Francis (18), born Italy; Clara (8), born Battersea; and Blanche (6), born Battersea.
Household servants included: Betsey Haseldon (50), domestic servant and nurse to the children, born London; Hannah Grimsby (40), born Maidstone; Sarah Maddox (50), born Lancashire; Harriet Maryon (30), born Essex; Sarah Pettit (22), born Kent; Maryan Thrussle (18), born London; Richard Pettit (27), born Essex. A second servant household comprised Robert Thompson (27), born Knightsbridge, Middlesex, and his wife Eliza (35), born West Drayton, with their son Robert (7), born Windsor, a niece Jane Wheeler (10), born Windsor, and nephew George Thompson (7 months), born Wandsworth.
The 1871 census finds the Wheelers still at Bolingbroke House. Henry and Portia remained in residence, with nine of their children — Portia, Ellen, Augustus, Francis, Alice, Constance, Nina, Laura and Blanche — all still at home and all recorded as single.
Their domestic staff comprised: Elizabeth Haseldon (59), born Sudbury, Suffolk; Hannah Grimsby (50), born Maidstone; Eliza Sturges (45), widow, born Lingfield, Surrey; Sarah Maddox (59), cook, born Liverpool; Mary Ann Sweetser (20), born Tooting; Sarah Sylvester (25), parlourmaid, born Brockford, Suffolk; Anna Cooper (24), housemaid, born Guildford; Harriet Field (19), born Tooting.
Henry Wheeler died in 1873 in Wandsworth, aged about 83. He was buried on 2 September 1873 at Battersea, his address given as Bolingbroke House, Wandsworth Common; his personal estate was valued at £350,000 — approximately £33 million in today's money. His wife Portia, born 1813, died on 4 May 1889 at Worcester Park House, aged 76. Their daughter Portia (born 1832) died at Elham, Kent on 28 June 1906, aged 74, also resident of Worcester Park House; by her Will she left £17,000 to her sister Laura. The 1881 census records Portia Wheeler senior, a widow of 67, born Italy, at Worcester Park House, Long Ditton, Surrey, with several of her children and six servants.
Worcester Park House was leased for 14 years in 1877 by Augustus Wheeler, Henry's third son — by which time the family had moved out of Bolingbroke House, if not already upon Henry's death in 1873. Augustus was still trying to sell Worcester Park House in 1878 and retained ownership of it until his own death in 1911.
In 1851, James Death, 33, the coachman at Bolingbroke House, born St Osyth, Essex, was with his wife, Elizabeth, 39, laundress, born Whitehaven, Cumbria. They had no children with them according to the census.
James Death married Elizabeth Authers on 20th August 1849 at St Andrews, Holborn. They were both single and of full age (i.e. over 21). James was described as a coach-maker, along with his father, John. They lived in Christopher Street.
Sadly, by 1861, the next census date, James had died, and Elizabeth was living in Balcombe Place, Balcombe, Sussex as a live-in servant, a laundress.
In 1871, Elizabeth was living at 48 Hastings Street, St Pancras with her son, James Death, 24, born Streatham, Surrey, a printer compositor. Elizabeth probably died in 1876 in Camberwell.
James Death, the son, was born on 2 Sept 1846 and baptised on 11th Oct 1846 at St Leonard's, Streatham. The family's abode was given as Balham and father's occupation, coachman. James senior and Elizabeth were not married at the time, but James was baptised as though they were.
James did not live with his parents, potentially because at the time his mother secured her position, she was not married. In both 1851 and 1861 James the son was living with his aunt and uncle in St Osyth.
Research has failed to identify the death record for James senior between 1851 and 1861. In 1841 he had been living in Christopher St, Holborn, with his parents.
Another servant who was living at Bolingbroke House in 1851 was Elizabeth Hasledon. She was born in Sudbury in about 1811 and was with the family, certainly from 1851 until her death in January 1900, aged 88. She is listed with the Wheeler family at Worcester Park House in 1891 as a servant. She never married and was simply referred to as a house servant.
Also, Hannah Grigsby, house servant, was with the Wheeler family 1851 until her death in November 1879. She was buried at St John the Baptist, Malden, abode St Matthew's, Long Ditton. She never married.
Uriah Wackrill was born in 1803 in Danbury, Essex, near Chelmsford. He married Sage Bolton Masters on 26 April 1833 at Newington St Mary, Southwark. It would appear that they didn't have any children.
In 1841 the couple were living in Tiverton, Devon, according to the Census, where Uriah worked as a gardener on the Knightshayes estate. However, his occupation was about to change.
Uriah entered into several partnerships with others to set up and run brewing and malting businesses, but each of these appears to have ended in dissolution and/or bankruptcy during the 1840s.
On the 1851 census, Uriah Wackrill was the head of the household at Bolingbroke Farm. He was aged 47, married and listed as a gardener. His wife, Sage, was with him, aged 52, born Rotherhithe, and with them was their niece, Hannah Wackrill, aged 9.
In 1856 Uriah won a prize of 15 shillings for growing six peaches (variety Violette Hative) and exhibiting them at The Chelmsford Grand National Flower Show, as reported in the Chelmsford Chronicle on 18th July 1856.
What an undertaking to transport six peaches all that way — his address was given as Bolingbroke Farm! Perhaps the peaches were grown in the kitchen garden at Bolingbroke House.
Uriah's wife, Sage, died in 1859, registered Quarter 3, Wandsworth.
On the 1861 Census, Uriah Wackrill was again the head of the household, but now widowed, aged 58, gardener and living with him was his niece, Hannah Wackrill, aged 19.
He was bankrupted again in 1863, when his address was given as Bolingbroke Farm and occupation as Farm Bailiff.
He joined the Freemasons in Devonport while residing in Tiverton and then joined the Wandsworth lodge in 1864.
By 1871 the farm and its land had been sold and partially redeveloped, some being used for St Mary's Cemetery on Battersea Rise/Bolingbroke Grove, and for the construction of Auckland Road, Shelgate Road, Cairns Road, Abyssinia Road, Northcote Road etc.
He acquired land in Essex, perhaps on the death of a family member, which he let, enabling him to progress from being a farm bailiff/gardener to being a house and land agent in his final years.
In 1871 the Census shows that Uriah was living at 2 Lime Cottages, Battersea Rise as a boarder, widower, occupation estate and house agent.
He died in 1872, registered Q1 Wandsworth aged 69 and was buried on 7th February 1872 at St Mary's.
His abode was given as 2 Lime Cottages.
His Will states that he was a widower, a land and house agent and let his estate to his brother, value under £50.
[P: This last para is very abrupt. Clearly it needs to lead into the Hospital chapter.]
In Battersea terms this was a large estate and was tackled by its Victorian developers in several phases, the last houses, at the west ends of Wakehurst and Belleville Roads, beside the old mansion, not going up until 1878–80. By then Canon Clarke, the parish vicar, had set in train the purchase of the property for conversion to a much-needed local hospital, which opened in 1880.
Locate specific references in the Survey of London: Battersea:
1. A. Saint (ed.), Survey of London, Volume 49: Battersea, Part 1: Public, Commercial and Cultural (London: Yale University Press, 2013), p. XX. [Short form: Saint, Survey of London, p. XX]
2. Thom, C. (ed.) (2013) Survey of London, Volume 50: Battersea, Part 2: Houses and Housing (London: Yale University Press), p.XX. [Short form: Thom, Survey of London, p. XX]
Further references in History of Wandsworth Common / Chronicles [check]
Other?