St. James’s Palace and Park. (Green Park in the distance.)

These two preliminary glances at the City and the West End having (as we will suppose) given the visitor some general idea of the Metropolis, we now proceed to describe the chief buildings and places of interest, conveniently grouped according to their character—beginning with Palatial Residences.

St. James’s Palace.—This is an inelegant brick structure, having its front towards Pall Mall. Henry VIII. built it in 1530, on the site of what was once an hospital for lepers. The interior consists of several spacious levÉe and drawing rooms, besides other state and domestic apartments. This palace is only used occasionally by the Queen for levÉes and drawing-rooms; for which purposes, notwithstanding its awkwardness, the building is better adapted than Buckingham Palace. The fine bands of the Foot Guards play daily at eleven, in the Colour Court, or in an open quadrangle on the east side. The Chapel Royal and the German Chapel are open on Sundays—the one with an English service, and the other with service in German.

Buckingham Palace.—This edifice stands at the west end of the Mall in St. James’s Park, in a situation much too low in reference to the adjacent grounds on the north. The site was occupied formerly by a brick mansion, which was pulled down by order of George IV. The present palace (except the front towards the park) was planned and erected by Mr. Nash. When completed, after various capricious alterations, about 1831–2, it is said to have cost about £700,000. The edifice is of stone, with a main centre, and a wing of similar architecture projecting on each side, forming originally an open court in front; but the palace being too small for the family and retinue of the present sovereign, a new frontage has been built, forming an eastern side to the open court. There is, however, little harmony of style between the old and new portions. The interior contains many magnificent apartments, both for state and domestic purposes. Among them are the Grand Staircase, the Ball-room, the Library, the Sculpture Gallery, the Green Drawing-room, the Throne Room, and the Grand Saloon. The Queen has a collection of very fine pictures in the various rooms, among which is a Rembrandt, for which George IV. gave 5000 guineas. In the garden is an elegant summer-house, adorned with frescoes by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer, Stanfield, and other distinguished painters. This costly palace, however, with all its grandeur, was so badly planned, that in a number of the passages lamps are required to be kept lighted even during the day. Strangers are not admitted to Buckingham Palace except by special permission of the Lord Chamberlain, which is not easily obtained. In the front was once the Marble Arch, which formed an entry to the Palace, and which cost £70,000; but it was removed to the north-east corner of Hyde Park in 1851.

Buckingham Palace, and West End of St. James’s Park. (Queen’s Garden and Hyde Park Corner in the distance.)

Marlborough House.—This building, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is immediately east of St. James’s Palace, being separated from it only by a carriage-road. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1709, as a residence for the great Duke of Marlborough. The house was bought from the Marlborough family by the Crown in 1817, as a residence for the Princess Charlotte. It was afterwards occupied in succession by Leopold (the late king of the Belgians) and the Dowager Queen Adelaide. More recently it was given up to the Government School of Design; and the Vernon and Turner pictures were for some time kept there. The building underwent various alterations preparatory to its occupation by the Prince of Wales.

Kensington Palace.—This is a royal palace, though no longer inhabited by royalty, occupying a pleasant situation west of Hyde Park. It was built by Lord Chancellor Finch late in the 17th century; and soon afterwards sold to William III. Additions were made to it from time to time. Certain portions of the exterior are regarded as fine specimens of brickwork; and the whole, though somewhat heavy in appearance, is not without points of interest. During the last century Kensington Palace was constantly occupied by members of the royal family. Many of them were born there, and many died there also. The present Queen was born in the palace in 1819. The Prince and Princess of Teck reside there at present. This, like the other royal palaces, is maintained at the expense of the nation; though not now used as a royal residence, pensioned or favoured families occupy it.

Lambeth Palace from the River

Lambeth Palace.—This curious and interesting building, situated in a part of the metropolis seldom visited by strangers, is the official residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. It is on the south bank of the Thames, between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges. The structure has grown up by degrees during the six centuries that Lambeth has been the archiepiscopal residence; and on that account exhibits great diversities of style. Leaving unnoticed the private and domestic apartments, the following are the portions of the irregular cluster possessing most interest. The Chapel, some say, was erected in the year 1196; it is in early English, with lancet windows and a crypt; but the roof, stained windows, and carved screens, are much more recent. The archbishops are always consecrated in this chapel. The Lollard’s Tower, at the western end of the chapel, was named from some Lollards or Wickliffites supposed to have been imprisoned there. It is about 400 years old. The uppermost room, with strong iron rings in the walls, appears to have been the actual place of confinement; there are many names and inscriptions cut in the thick oak wainscoting. The Hall, about 200 years old, is 93 feet long by 78 feet wide; it is noticeable for the oak roof, the bay windows, and the arms of several of the archbishops. The Library, 250 years old, contains about 15,000 volumes and numerous manuscripts, many of them rare and curious. The Gatehouse is a red brick structure, with stone dressings. The Church, near it, is one of the most ancient in the neighbourhood of London; it has been recently restored in good taste. Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered here, in 1381, by Wat Tyler’s mob, who stormed the palace, burned its contents, and destroyed all the registers and public papers. Lambeth Palace is not, as a rule, shewn to strangers.

Lambeth Palace—Lollard’s Tower

Mansions of the Nobility.—London is not well supplied with noble mansions of an attractive character; they possess every comfort interiorly, but only a few of them have architectural pretensions. Northumberland House, lately alluded to, at the Charing Cross extremity of the south side of the Strand, looks more like a nobleman’s mansion than most others in London. It was built, in about 1600, by the Earl of Northampton, and came into the hands of the Percies in 1642. Stafford House is perhaps the most finely situated mansion in the metropolis, occupying the corner of St. James’s and the Green Parks, and presenting four complete fronts, each having its own architectural character. The interior, too, is said to be the first of its kind in London. The mansion was built by the Duke of York, with money lent by the Marquis of Stafford, afterwards Duke of Sutherland; but the Stafford family became owners of it, and have spent at least a quarter of a million sterling on the house and its decorations. Apsley House, at the corner of Piccadilly and Hyde Park, is the residence of the Dukes of Wellington, and is closely associated with the memory of the Duke. The shell of the house, of brick, is old; but stone frontages, enlargements, and decorations, were afterwards made. The principal room facing Hyde Park, with seven windows, is that in which the Great Duke held the celebrated Waterloo Banquet, on the 18th of June in every year, from 1816 to 1852. The windows were blocked up with bullet-proof iron blinds from 1831 to the day of his death in 1852; a rabble had shattered them during the Reform excitement, and he never afterwards would trust King Mob. Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, Wellington Statue. (Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in the distance.) Devonshire House, in Piccadilly, faces the Green Park, and has a screen in front. It has no particular architectural character; but the wealthy Dukes of Devonshire have collected within it valuable pictures, books, gems, and treasures of various kinds. Grosvenor House, the residence of the Marquis of Westminster, is situated in Upper Grosvenor Street, and is celebrated for the magnificent collection of pictures known as the Grosvenor Gallery; a set of four of these pictures, by Rubens, cost £10,000. Bridgewater House, facing the Green Park, is a costly modern structure, built by Sir Charles Barry for the Earl of Ellesmere, and finished in 1851. It is in the Italian Palazzo style. Its chief attraction is the magnificent Bridgewater Gallery of pictures, a most rare and choice assemblage. This gallery contains no fewer than 320 pictures, valued at £150,000 many years ago—though they would now, doubtless, sell for a much higher sum. [40] Holland House, Kensington, is certainly the most picturesque mansion in the metropolis; it has an old English look about it, both in the house and its grounds. The mansion was built in 1607, and was celebrated as being the residence, at one time of Addison, at another of the late Lord Holland. The stone gateway on the east of the house was designed by Inigo Jones. Chesterfield House, in South Audley Street, was built for that Earl of Chesterfield whose “Advice to his Son” has run through so many editions; the library and the garden are especially noted. Buccleuch House, in Whitehall Gardens, is recently finished. Lansdowne House, in Berkeley Square, the town residence of the Marquis of Lansdowne, contains some fine sculptures and pictures, ancient and modern. Scarcely less magnificent, either as buildings or in respect of their contents, than the mansions of the nobility, are some of those belonging to wealthy commoners—such as Mr. Holford’s, a splendid structure in Park Lane; Mr. Hope’s, in Piccadilly, now the Junior AthenÆum Club; and Baron Rothschild’s, near Apsley House, lately rebuilt.