[3] Henry Thrale owned several large well appointed homes. Henry once considered - but decided against it - buying Bardsey Island [4]. At various times, he also lived in several other leased or rented properties. See also Hester Lynch Thrale's homes and properties [5].
[8]
Streatham Park, or Streatham Place, was built in 1730 by Ralph Thrale (1698-1758) [9] on 89 acres of land bought from the local Lord of the Manor - the fourth Duke of Bedford [10]. It was rumoured that the sale price was a ten-year supply of ale and porter for the Duke's home, Woburn Abbey [11].
The estate was six miles from London on the edge of the common between Streatham and Tooting in a district which then was wholesome, green and rural. In 1811 Streatham's population numbered just 2,729. Around this time, regular coach services commenced to Westminster. By the time of Streatham Park's decline, the population had risen ten-fold. The land that formed Streatham Park is now bounded by Tooting Bec Common [12] to the north, Thrale Road [13] and West Road to the west, and the London to Brighton railway to the east. This area is still known as Streatham Park today. Google map of area » [13]
The house was in a park of 109 acres. The kitchen gardens, Henry's pride, were surrounded by fourteen feet high brick walls. At the back of the home were farm buildings, domestic offices, large greenhouses, stables, and an ice-house. Behind these and to the west was the kitchen garden with forcing-frames for grapes, melons, peaches, and nectarines. Later the an extensive meadow was created which was separated from the adjoining heavily wooded park by a three acre lake. The lake contained an island, accommodated a boat and drawbridge. In winter the lake was used for skating. The grounds were elegantly planted, with a two mile long circular gravel walk, shrubbery and a ha-ha1.
[15]
A sweeping drive of a hundred yards led from the lodge gates to a compact three-story brick house. Streatham was a comfortable country house, though far removed from the luxurious mansion it later became; for it then had no spacious parlour or library, no extensive lawn, pond, or summer house. These - together with a white stucco exterior covering - were added as the family and income increased. The house finally consisted of a main central block with a pedimented front; two low extensions, with a balustrade on each side of it.2
[16] Johnson lived here in his own apartment with the Thrale's almost as part of their family from 1765. On the occasion of James Boswell's [17] first visit on 6th October 1769, Boswell wrote…
I found, at an elegant villa, six miles from town, every circumstances that can make society pleasing. Johnson, though quite at home, was yet looked upon with awe tempered by affection, and seemed to be equally the care of his host and hostess. I rejoiced at seeing him so happy.
Henry Thrale [18]'s home at Streatham Park [19] became the focal point of the Thrale's social life, and a country retreat for Samuel Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds and other distinguished members of Thrale's intellectual and artistic circle. On 24 July 1771 Samuel Johnson asked the builders to leave about 100 loose bricks as…
I can think of no better place for Chimistry in fair weather, than the pump side in the kitchen Garden.
[20]
Between 1771-1773 Henry several improvements were made, including the addition of a library [21] and several other rooms. In July 1773, Samuel Johnson's new room - a bow windowed room above the library - was completed. There was also a summer house [22] which was much loved by Samuel Johnson. In August 1777 Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu wrote …
On Wednesday I dined at Streatham … We had a most elegant dinner, and the best of all feasts, sense and wit and good humour. Mrs Thrale is a woman of very superior understanding, and very respectable as a Wife, a Mother, a friend and a Mistress of a Family… Mr Thrale has a fruit garden and a kitchen garden that may vie with the Hesperian Gardens for fruit and flowers.
[23]
In August 1778, Fanny Burney first visited Streatham. She wrote of this:
August.--I have now to write an account of the most consequential day I have spent since my birth: namely, my visit. Mr. Thrale's house is white, and very pleasantly situated, in a fine paddock. Mrs. Thrale was strolling about, and came to us as we got out of the chaise. "Ah," cried she, "I hear Dr. Burney's voice! and you have brought your daughter?—well, now you are good!" She then received me, taking both my hands, and with mixed politeness and cordiality welcoming me to Streatham. She led me into the house, and addressed herself almost wholly for a few minutes to my father, as if to give me an assurance she did not mean to regard me as a show, or to distress or frighten me by drawing me out. Afterwards she took me upstairs, and showed me the house, and said she had very much wished to see me at Streatham, and should always think herself much obliged to Dr. Burney for his goodness in bringing me, which she looked upon as a very great favour. When we returned to the music-room, we found Miss Thrale3 was with my father. Miss Thrale is a very fine girl, about fourteen years of age, but cold and reserved, though full of knowledge and intelligence.4
[24]It was at Streatham that Fanny Burney later wrote the verses of the Streatham Flasher [25] in March 1779.
Fanny Burney said5 of Streatham Place:
I know not how to express the fullness of my contentment at this sweet place.
Sometime after Henry Thrale's death in 1781, the Thrale's spent some time in Grosvenor Square. Streatham Park was leased and had new occupants [26]. Prestigiously, the first was Prime Minister Shelburne from September 1782. Streatham Park was leased until 1828, aside from six years between 1790 and 1795 when Hester and Gabriel Piozzi resumed occupancy.
Streatham Park was let until April 1790, after which Gabriel and Hester Piozzi returned. Much damage was done during the seven and a half years during which it had been rented. £2,000 was spent on restoration which was completed by the time of their seventh wedding anniversary when the Piozzi's threw a grand party. The numbers at the party gives some concept of the size of the house. 36 people sat down to dine at a long table in the library, and 12 people were seated for dinner in the adjoining dressing room.
On 28 July 1790 Hester wrote in Thraliana…
We have kept our seventh Wedding Day, and celebrated our Return to this House with prodigius Splendor and Gayety. Seventy People eat at our Expence, Thirty six of which dined at an immensely long Table in the Library6 —The Plate so fine too, the China so showy, all so magnificent, and at the Time of Dinner Horns Clarin &c wch afterwards performed upon the Water in our new Boat that makes such a beautiful, such an elegant Figure. Never was a pleasanter Day seen, nor Weather half as favourable: the Setting Sun, the full moon rising, were wonderfully happy Additions; and at Night the Trees & Front of the House were illuminated with Colour'd Lamps, that called forth our Neighbours from all the adjacent Villages to admire & enjoy such Diversion. Many Friends swear that not less than a Thousand Men Women & Children might have been counted in the House & Grounds, where tho' all were admitted, nothing was stolen, lost, broken, or even damaged—a Circumstance almost incredible; & which gave Mr Piozzi a high Opinion of English Gratitude and respectful Attachment.
On 12 October 1790 Hester wrote of Streatham in Thraliana…
On the Morning of this Day twenty seven years ago I first opened my Eyes in this House, to wch my Mother, myself, my Uncle & distant Relation the Rev: Thelwall Salusbury who had married us—were brought by Mr Thrale [18] to reside. And what a House it was then! a little squeezed miserable Place with a wretched Court before it, & all these noble Elm Trees out upon the Common. Such Furniture too! I can but laugh when it crosses my Recollection. Yet how serious and how thankful should every Thought of my heart be, at the Remembrance that every Year has produced some singular Improvement, & that here I am, blessed with Health to enjoy all that has been done by both my Husbands for my Satisfaction and Comfort. Poor Piozzi [29] has sure enough, a little over-done the Business; & put us into a little Distress for Money, to pay these last Bills: which amount to no less than two thousand Pounds.
On 3 January 1791, Hester wrote in Thraliana…
Streatham looks divinely itself; my present Master has been an admirable Steward for my past Mistresses, who I hope will approve his Works, tho’ I'm told they always censure mine. Our Nursery Garden, Shrubbery &c. is in the finest Order I ever yet saw them; & the House has an Appearance of Gayety never attempted in Mr Thrale's [18] Time. Constant Company, elegant, expensive and tasteful Furniture; splendid Dinners and fine Plantations. I am glad that Hanover Square [31] house is let, or going to be Let to Lord Dumfries ; our Establishment here is too magnificent for the admission of other Expences, and if we are prudent even Bath must be given up for this Season, for one cannot do every thing; tho' by Dint of Management I see that a great Deal may be done with 3000£ o'Year. M r Piozzi [29] is a capital Manager.
On 27 January 1791, Hester wrote in Thraliana [32]…
We are going to Bath for the Season, most of our great Debts paid, & our Hearts at Ease: the Servants always plague one I think— but that's of small Consequence.
In Thraliana on 17 September 1791, on Queeney's [33] 27th birthday, Hester Thrale wrote of the improvements at Streatham since her birth 27 years previously in 1764…
Here was then neither Lawn, nor pond, nor Shrubbery without doors; nor Eating Parlour, Drawing Room or Library within—but a little Brick House with four Walls, & there a Gate. The Park divided into Fields or Closes, & all the Pleasure Ground Common.
In Thraliana on 17 April 1795, Hester curiously wrote that her bedchamber at Streatham was 31 of her steps wide and 28.5 long - remember that she was only 4 feet 11 inches tall - while Brynbella's was 26x26 steps.
[34]
The famous portraits [21] by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the library were sold by Hester Thrale in May 1816. Later that year it was leased to Mr. Elliott who rented the unfurnished house at a rent of £260 a year. Just before she died in 1821, Hester wrote to Madame Fanny D'Arblay 1752-1840 (née Burney), as follows…
You would not know poor Streatham Park, I have been forced to dismantle and forsake it; the expenses of the present time treble those of the moments you remember; and since giving up my Welsh estate [35] my income is greatly diminished. I fancy this will be my last residence in the world, meaning Clifton [36], not Sion Row, where I only live until my house in the Crescent is ready for me … The village of Streatham is full of rich inhabitants, the common much the worse for being spotted about with houses.
The contents of the library [21] were sold in Manchester on 17 September 1823.
In 1825 the property was sold to Michael Shepley, and the deeds of sale included this plan [37].
Streatham Park was demolished and the materials sold in May 1863. The site of the estate was replaced by a residential area of housing known as Streatham Park. In 1946 the houses came under the control of the London County Council [38].
In June 1773 Thrale completed the building of a two-storey extension to Streatham Park [52]. This incorporated new a west-facing library with a bow-front and three large windows, with a guest room for Johnson [53] above the library.
Here Thrale kept a tidy wig kept for Johnson's special use, because his own was apt to be singed up the middle by close contact with the candle, which Johnson put, being short-sighted, between his eyes and a book.
Reynolds's portraits of the friends of Henry Thrale were produced over a period of about ten years, beginning with the novelist and playwright, Oliver Goldsmith, and concluding in 1781 with the composer and music historian, Charles Burney. In addition to the twelve bust-length male portraits Reynolds also painted a double portrait of Henry Thrale's wife and eldest daughter, which was designed to hang over the library's chimneypiece.
The novelist and diarist Fanny Burney, a close friend of Mrs Thrale and daughter of Charles Burney, nicknamed Henry Thrale's collection the 'Streatham Worthies' - a reference to the celebrated 'Temple of British Worthies [52]' at Stowe [53].
Reynolds's portraits were positioned high on the walls, above the bookshelves, following the practice adopted in the celebrated painted frieze in the Upper Reading Room at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the arrangement of portraits in aristocratic libraries, such as Woburn, Badminton, Petworth and Chesterfield House, London. According to Fanny Burney…
Thrale resolved to surmount these1 treasures for the mind by a similar regale for the eyes, in selecting the persons he most loved to contemplate, from amongst his friends and favourites, to preside over the literature that stood highest in his estimation.
On 10 May 1816 Hester [54] sold all portraits except Arthur Murphy [55]'s.2
As Fanny Burney noted, the price each one fetched was dictated by 'the celebrity of the subjects' - all of whom were now dead. Johnson once more prevailed, followed in descending order by Burke, Burney, Garrick, Goldsmith and Reynolds. To Mrs Thrale's intense disappointment her own portrait went cheaply, causing her to complain that it was worth twice the price 'even as a History-Piece'.
Hester Thrale described in Thraliana [56] the characters of the people depicted in the portraits as follows …
I will now write out the Characters of the People who are intended to have their Portraits hung up in the Library here at Streatham. I write them in ye order they are to hang.
Lord Sandys3 first appears at the head of the Tribe
But flat Insipidity who can describe?
When such Parents and Wife as might check even Pindar [52],
Form Family-Compacts his Genius to hinder;
Their Oppression for Forty long Years he endured,
The Nobleman sunk, and the Scholar obscured:
While Rank, Reason, Virtue, endeavouring in vain,
To fling off their Burden, & break off their Chain;
Could at last but regret--not resist their harsh fate,
Like Enceladus [53] crush'd by the mountainous Weight.
Another time Hester wrote…
Lord Sandys is a quiet man with a low-toned Voice, but when I want a Fact, or good Information as to Ecclesiastical History--I go to Lord Sandys for it--He is more a reading Man than a Thinking Man but he really is a full Man as Bacon expresses it.
This is really a fair Description of poor Lord Sandys's Situation & Abilities: tho' a dull Converser, he is versed in many Branches of Learning: and an admirable Scholar.--his Friendship with Mr Thrale is of long standing, we must turn the Page for Lord Westcote.
Next him on the right hand, see Lyttelton4 hang;
Polite in Behaviour, prolix in harangue:
With power well-natur'd, with Science well bred,
He had studied, had travell'd, had reason'd, had read;
Yet the Mind as the body was wanting in Strength,
For in Lyttelton every thing ran into Length:
Of his long wheaten Straw thus the Farmer complains
When the Chaff is still found to outnumber the Grains.
My own & my eldest Daughter's portraits in one Picture come next, and are to be placed over the Chimney.—
In Features so placid, so smooth, so serene,
What Trace of the Wit—or the Welch-woman's seen?
Of the Temper sarcastic, the flattering Tongue,
The Sentiment right—with th' Occasion still wrong.
What Trace of the tender, the rough, the refin'd,
The Soul in which all Contrarieties join'd?
Where tho' Merriment loves over Method to rule,
Religion resides, and the Virtues keep School;
Till when tired we condemn her dogmatical Air,
Like a Rocket She rises, and leaves us to Stare.
To such Contradictions d'ye wish for a Clue,
Keep Vanity still—that vile Passion in view;
For 'tis thus the slow Miner his Fortune to make,
Of Arsenic thin scatter'd pursues the pale Track;
Secure where that Poyson pollutes the rich Ground,
That it points to the Soil where Some Silver is found.
The Portrait of my eldest Daughter deserves better Lines than these which follow—She is a valuable Girl.
Of a Virgin so tender; the Face or the Fame,
Alike would be injur'd by praise or by Blame;
To the world's fiery Tryal too early consign'd
She soon shall experience it, cruel or kind.
His Concern thus the anxious Enameller hides,
And his well finish'd Work to the Furnace confides;
But jocund resumes it secure from Decay,
If the Colours stand firm on the dangerous Day.
Mr Murphy [52] who comes next in Order, will just fill up this page:--his Character is as like as his Portrait.
A Manner so studied, so vacant a Face,
These Features the Mind of our Murphy disgrace;
A Mind unaffected; soft, artless and true,
A Mind which though ductile—has Dignity too:
Where Virtues ill-sorted are huddled in heaps,
Humanity triumphs, and Piety sleeps;
A Mind in which Mirth can with Merit reside,
And Learning turns Frolic with Humour his Guide:
While Wit, Follies, Faults, its Fertility prove,
Till the Faults we grow fond of, the Follies we love,
And corrupted at length by the sweet Conversation,
Protest there's no honesty left in the Nation.
An African Landschape thus breaks on our Sight,
Where Confusion and Wildness increase the Delight;
Till in wanton Luxuriance indulging our Eye,
We faint in the forcible Fragrance, and die.
Arthur Murphy [61] (1727-1805). Barrister, journalist, actor, biographer, translator and playwright.
Sir Joshua Reynolds' unsigned oil on canvas portrait of Arthur Murphy, is a head and shoulders in semi profile looking to his right, wearing white lace cravat with red velvet jacket and waist coat. It is inscribed verso [62] "Portrait of Arthur Murphy Esquire painted by Joshua Reynolds for Mrs Thrale (afterwards Mrs Piozzi) of whom I purchased it in 1819-George Watson Taylor", Thomas Agnew and Sons paper label and no. 1014, and paper label giving provenance, 29" x 24".5
The painting was seen in public in 1917 and was listed as untraced in an art book in 2000. However, it was sold to the art dealer and agent Arthur Sulley, in 1917, who passed it to a Mr Rolston-Mitchell, then by descent to the 2005 private vendor of the painting, who lived in the Driffield area.6
The portrait was sold at auction7 on 16 September 2005 to Sidney Green of London for £305,000.
Saleroom manager Pippa Whiteley said…
When we found it in the Driffield area, it was very exciting. It is really nice to sell a beautiful painting and it is had very little restoration to it - it hasn't even been re-lined. It is marvellous. It is a beautiful painting and the quality of the brush strokes is fabulous.
All the action was captured on film by cameraman Pete Cook, who filmed at the Exchange Street sale room for The Auction Year.8
After writing the Characters of all his Friends in the Retaliation Poem [52], and after Garrick's9 Verses upon him; how difficult is it to draw Dr Goldsmith! yet I will say these Lines are not bad.
From our Goldsmith's anomalous Character, who,
Can withhold his Contempt—and his Reverence too?
From a Poet so polish'd, so paltry a Fellow,
From Critick, Historian, or vile Punchinello?
From a Heart in which Meanness had fix'd her Abode,
From a Foot that each Path of Vulgarity trod;
From a Head to invent, and a hand to adorn,
Unskilled in the Schools—a Philosopher born.
By Disguise undefended, by Jealousy smit,
This Lusus Naturæ—Non-Descript in Wit;—
May best be compar'd to those Anamorphoses [52],
Which for Lectures to Ladies, th' Optician proposes,
All Deformity seeming in some points of View,
In others quite regular, uniform, true:
Till the Student no more sees the figure that shock’d her,
But all in his Likeness—our odd little Doctor.
Oliver Goldsmith [52]. 1730 - 1774. Frances Reynolds' (Joshua's sister) thought this was the most flatterring picture her brother painted. The portrait was sold by Hester on 10 May 181610 to the Duke of Bedford [54] for £133 and 7 shillings; the Duke of Bedford sale, Christie's 19 January 195111, bought in; sold by the Trustees of the Bedford Estates, Christie's 1 November 199412, bought by National Gallery of Ireland [55], Dublin.
For Sir Joshua [52] we must again turn the Page I see, for short as his Character is, there is not room for it on this Side; and! won't break uniformity by writing some Lines in one Leaf, some in another:--I have hardly said good enough of Sir Joshua, but let it go--I wish it were more favourable too.
Of Reynolds what Good shall be said?—or what harm?
His Temper too frigid, his Pencil too warm;
A Rage for Sublimity ill understood,
To seek still for the Great, by forsaking the Good;
Yet all Faults from his Converse we sure must disclaim,
As his Temper ’tis peaceful, and pure as his Fame;
Nothing in it o’er flows, nothing ever is wanting,
It nor chills like his Kindness, nor glows like his Painting;
When Johnson by Strength overpowers our Mind,
When Montagu dazzles, or Burke strikes us blind;
To Reynolds for Refuge, well pleas’d we can run,
Rejoyce in his Shadow, and shrink from the Sun.
Hester altered the harshness of these opening four lines, in the version given to Sir James Fellowes, and published by Hayward as follows…
Of Reynolds all good should be said, and no harm;
Tho' the heart is too frigid, the pencil too warm.
Her comments of false sublimity was omitted.
Sir Joshua Reynolds [52]. Painter and first President of Royal Academy of Art [53] 1723-1792. Portrait sold by Hester on 10 May 1816 to Richard Sharp, Esq. MP for £128 and 2 shillings, who bequeathed it to his ward, Maria Kinnaird; by descent to Miss Emily Drummond, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery [54] in 1930; transferred to the Tate Gallery [55].
Of Sir Robert Chambers' peculiarities I know little, Suffice it that he is esteem'd a Man who made Virtue amiable: his Person—& perhaps his Mind—resembled Dr Burney's13
In this luminous Portrait requiring no Shade,
See Chambers' soft Character sweetly display'd;
Oh quickly return with that genuine Smile,
Nor longer let India's Temptations beguile;
But fly from those Climates where moist Relaxation
Invades with her Torpor th effeminate Nation;
Where Metals and Marbles will melt and decay,
Fear Man for thy Virtue, and hasten away.
Sir Robert Chambers [52]. 1737 - 1803. Born and educated in Newcastle. At the age of 17, he won a scholarship to Lincoln College [53], Oxford, and in 1761 he joined the Middle Temple [54] as a barrister. Five years later, he was appointed Vinerian [55] Professor of Law and principal of New Inn Hall [56] at Oxford.
From 1774 to 1799 he was in India where, for most of the time, he acted as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court in Bengal. He returned to England in 1799, having lived in India for 25 years and having played a key role in the establishment of the British judiciary system there.
The portrait was sold by Hester on 10 May 1816 to Sir Robert Chambers' widow for £84, thence by descent. Auctioned at Sotherby's in 2004 14, outcome unknown.
With Garrick I had no close Acquaintance, and could therefore give nothing but in general:—Goldsmith had likewise forestalled everything one cou’d have said I suppose; had I been intimate with him, which I never was.
Here Garrick's lov'd Features our Mem'ry must trace,
Here Praise is exhausted, and Blame has no Place;
Many Portraits like this, would defeat my whole Scheme,
For what can be said on so hackney’d a Theme?
’Tis thus on the Ocean whole Days one may look,
Every Change well-recorded in some well-known Book,
Till with vain Expectation fatiguing our Eyes,
Not an Image uncommon or new it supplies.
David Garrick [52]. Actor 1717-1779. Portrait sold by Hester on 10 May 1816 to Dr. Charles Burney, the younger for £183 and 15 shillings. It remained in the Burney family for more than a century and is now part of the Hyde Collection.
Poor dear Mr Thrale! may his Verses fail of being prophetick! and may he live long after I am gone, to read his own Character in the Thraliana [52].
See Thrale from Intruders defending his Door,
While he wishes his House [19] should with People run o'er.
Unlike his Companions the Make of his Mind,
In great Things expanded, in small Things confin’d;
Yet his Purse at their Call, & his Meat to their Taste,
The Wits he delighted in, lov’d him at last;
And finding no prominent Folly to fleer at,
Respected his Wealth, and applauded his Merit.
Much like that empirical Chemist was he,
Who thought Anima Mundi [52] the grand Panacee,
Yet when every kind Element help'd his Collection,
Expir'd while the Med'cine was yet in Projection.
The following Verses need no Comment I trust—they are most to my Liking of the whole Collection.
Baretti hangs next, by his Frowns you may know him,
He has lately been reading some new-publish'd Poem;
He finds the poor Author a Blockhead, a Beast,
A Fool without Sentiment, Judgment or Taste;
Ever thus let our Critick his Insolence fling,
Like the Hornet in Homer, impatient to sting,
Let him rally his Friends for their Frailties before 'em,
And scorn the dull praise of that dull Thing Decorum;
While Tenderness, Temper, & Truth he despises,
And only the Triumph of Victory prizes.
Yet let us be candid, and where can we find,
So active, so able, so ardent a Mind?
With your Children more soft; more polite with your Servant,
More firm in Distress, or in Friendship more fervent.Thus Etna enrag'd his Artillery pours,
And tumbles down Palaces Princes and Towers;
While the Peasant more happy who lives at its foot
Can make it a Hothouse to ripen his Fruit.—
The portrait of Giuseppe Marc' Antonio Baretti [52], Queeney's [53] Italian tutor was sold by Hester on 10 May 181615 to George Watson Taylor, Esq. for £86 and 2 shillings; Christie's 13 June 1823, bought in; sold 1832 by Robins to Taylor acting for the Marquess of Hertford [54]; exchanged by him in 1843 for a portrait by Reynolds of Lady William Gordon in Holland House; Lady Holland; thence by descent, (private collection).
Next follows Dear Doctor Burney; let me try not to be too partial to a Friend from whom I never did receive any thing but Pleasure. his sweet Daughter [52] whom I dearly love, will scarce think the portrait sufficiently favourable--yet She might trust him with me: 'tis lucky enough that he so closely follows his perfect Opposite Baretti [53].
See here happy Contrast! in Burney combine,
Every Power to please, every Talent to shine;
In professional Science a second to none,
In social—if second—thro’ Shyness alone;
So sits the sweet Violet close to the Ground,
While Holyoaks and Sunflowers flant it around:
This Character form’d free, confiding, & kind,
Grown cautious by Habit, by Station confin’d,
Tho’ born to improve and enlighten our days,
In a supple Facility fixes its Praise:
And contented to sooth, unambitious to strike,
Is the favrite of all Men,—of all Men alike.'Tis thus while the Wines of Frontiniac impart,
Their sweets to our Palate, their Warmth to our heart;
All in Praise of a Liquor so luscious agree,
From the Monarch of France to the wild Cherokee [52].
Charles Burney [52]. 1726 - 1814 musician, writer and Queeney's [53] music tutor. Portrait sold by Hester Thrale on 10 May 181616, bought by Burney's son, also Dr Charles Burney for £84; by descent to Miss Burney; bought from J.C. Burney-Cumming by the National Portrait Gallery [54] London 1953.
Tis now Time [to] turn over a new Leaf for the great Orator Mr Edmund Burke—who—after I had ran from Gentleman's house to Gentleman's house all over Wales in the Year 1774—was the first Man I had ever seen drunk, or heard talk Obscænely—when I lived with him & his Lady at Beaconsfield among Dirt Cobwebs, Pictures and Statues that would not have disgraced the City of Paris itself: where Misery & Magnificence reign in all their Splendour, & in perfect Amity. That Mrs Burke drinks as well as her Husband, & that their Black a moor carries Tea about with a cut finger wrapt in Rags, must help to apologize for the Severity with which I have treated so very distinguished a Character.
See Burke's bright Intelligence beam from his Face,
To his Language give Splendor—his Action give Grace;
Let us list to the Learning that Tongue can display,
Let it steal all Reflexion, all Reason away;
Lest home to his House we the Patriot pursue,
Where Scenes of another Sort rise to our View;
Where Meanness usurps sage Œconomy's Look,
And Humour cracks Jokes out of Ribaldry's Book;
Till no longer in Silence, Confession can lurk,
That from Chaos and Cobwebs could spring even Burke.
’Twas by Accident thus deep conceal'd in the Ground,
And unnotic’d by all the proud Metal was found;
Which exalted by Place, and by Polish refin'd,
Can comfort, corrupt, and confound all Mankind.
When Fanny Burney met and fell in love with Burke, in June of 1782, she wrote to Mrs. Thrale17:
I must try to get at the Thral-na & burn some certain scandalous verses upon him, by the first opportunity for I am now bent upon considering them as a Lampoon':
Here comes dear Doctor Johnson and his Character; if I have not done him justice, tis only because nobody can do him Justice: God preserve his Life, he will want no one to battle for his Character.
Gigantick in Knowledge, in Virtue, in Strength,
Our Company closes with Johnson at length;
So the Greeks from the Cavern of Polypheme past,
When wisest and greatest, Ulysses [72] came last.
To his Comrades contemptuous, we see him look down,
On their Wit & their Worth with a general Frown:
While from Science proud Tree the rich Fruit he receives,
Who could shake the whole Trunk, while they turn'd a few leaves;18
The inflammable Temper—the positive Tongue,
Too conscious of right for endurance of Wrong;
We suffer from Johnson—contented to find,
That some notice we gain from So noble a Mind;
And pardon our hurts, since so often we've found,
The Balm of Instruction pour’d into the Wound.Tis thus for its Virtues the Chemists extoll
Pure rectified Spirit—sublime Alcohol;
From noxious Putrescence preservative pure,
A Cordial in Health, and in Sickness a Cure;
But expos'd to the Sun, taking Fire at his Rays,—
Burns bright to the Bottom, and ends in a Blaze.
A portrait of Samuel Johnson by Joshua Reynolds circa 1775 showing Johnson pulling a book's cover back and concentrating intensely on its words.
Hester Thrale wrote of this painting in _Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, L.L.D …
When Sir Joshua Reynolds had painted his portrait looking into the slit of his pen, and holding it almost close to his eye, as was his general custom, he felt displeased, and told me 'he would not be known by posterity for his defects only, let Sir Joshua do his worst'. i said in reply that Reynolds had no such difficulties about himself , and that he might observe the picture which hung up in the room where we were talking, represented Sir Joshua holding his ear in his hand at his ear to catch the sound. 'He may paint himself as deaf (replied Johnson); but I will not be blinking Sam.”
Samuel Johnson [52]. 1709 - 1784. Portrait sold by Hester on 10 May 181619 to G. Watson Taylor for £378; Taylor sale by Robins at Eristoke, 25 July 183220, bought by Sir Robert Peel [53]; bought by the National Gallery [54] in 1871; transferred to the Tate Gallery [55].
So much for the Library Portraits! Sir Philip21 teized me to add his to the Number, tho' I have none of his Picture Dear Creature: I will however get me half a Dozen Drawings of six particular fav'rites for my Dressing Room, some day that my Money and Kindness for the Rogues runs over.—
From Wits, Authors, Criticks, to Jennings we haste,
For Courage with Gentleness-Candour with Taste;
Well pleased in the Form one delights in, to find
That Grace which adorns his more elegant Mind:Whence Honour his Standard shall never remove,
Though tempted by Vanity, Interest, or Love.
This Character's Coolness refreshes our Eyes,
By Brilliancy dazzled, or pain'd by Surprize.When with Harmony thus and her complicate Charms,
Bold Handel [52] astonishes, awes us,--alarms:
A Minuet' soft Movement our Nerves can relieve,
And Pleasure unmix'd with Anxiety give.
So here are all our friends described—without Prejudice or partiality; and who will say that any of them are such Characters as one would wish to be oneself? but let any other Set be produced, & the manifest Superiority of ours will speedily be acknowledged. I have not gloss'd nor spar'd my own Portrait—it is as like as any of them.
In addition to those painted by Reynolds, other guests included:
Hester Thrale's 1806 manuscript catalogue of books at Brynbella [85] indicates that texts in the Thrale library included …
The library was stocked with books purchased on Johnson's recommendation. The 17 September 1823 sale catalogue shows that the Thrale's library included the following texts…
On 6 October 1782, Samuel Johnson left Henry Thrale's library [99] - and family - for the last time, some 18 months after the death of his good friend. On doing so he said the following prayer to the Thrale family …
"Almighty God, Father of all mercy, help me by thy grace, that I may, with humble and sincere thankfulness, remember the comforts and conveniences which I have enjoyed at this place; and that I may resign them with holy submission, equally trusting in thy protection when thou givest, and when thou takest away. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, have mercy upon me.
To thy fatherly protection, O Lord, I commend this family. Bless, guide, and defend them, that they may so pass through this world, as finally to enjoy in thy presence everlasting happiness, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
James Boswell [17] continued …
In one of his1 memorandum-books I find…"Sunday, went to church at Streatham [100]. Templo valedixi cum asculo".
This translates as…
I bade good-bye to the church with a kiss".2
[103]
Streatham Park featured a summer house loved by Samuel Johnson [104], who did much of his writing here.
On Queeney's [105] 16th birthday in 1780, Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana [32]…
It is this day given me by God to see my first born offspring, my dear Hester,—sixteen Years old— virtuous in Heart, prudent in Behaviour, pleasing in Person, & accomplished in Knowledge……
We always have a Dance on her Birthday for the Servants, and they shall have it this Year too—in spite of past Sorrows. Mr Johnson's Birthday is the next day to hers, & we keep them together, &. fill the Summer House with Food, Fiddles &c, today being Sunday, the Balls must be tomorrow & Tuesday. Sure nothing will ever happen that will keep me from rejoycing on the 17: & 18: of September, the Birthdays of my Daughter & my Friend.,—.
The summer house was moved to Ashgrove in Knockholt, Kent in 1826 by Susannah Arabella Thrale [107], who died on 5 November 1858 aged 88 and was buried in Knockholt Church. In 1962 it was bought in a tumbledown condition by Mr. W.H. Wells who presented it to London County Council1.
After restoration, the summer house was relocated to Kenwood House [108] in 1968.
The summer house was destroyed by fire sometime after 1984.
A similar copy of the summerhouse has since been rebuilt by a Johnson enthusiast [110].
In September 1782 Streatham was let to the Prime Minister of the day, Lord Shelburne [113], for three years. Hester Thrale and Dr Samuel Johnson left Streatham shortly afterwards on 7 October 1782. Shelburne became Prime Minister in July 1781. Shelburne used Streatham because his own home at Bowood in Wiltshire [114] was too far away.
Peace with France, with whom Britain was then at war, was negotiated at the Thrale's Streatham Park whilst Prime Minister Shelburne was in residence. Jeremy Beptham tells of meeting the Viscount de Vergennes, son of the French Prime Minister, in Henry Thrale's library, and hearing him ask, "Are there any such people in England as authors?" while Sir Joshua Reynolds portraits [21] of Samuel Johnson and the Streatham worthies looked down upon him as sufficient answer.
Shelburne resigned from Government in 1783, after which he had little use for Streatham, and he returned to Bowood. The following year he was created 1st Earl of Lansdowne.
Streatham Park was let the following year to Major-General Dalrymple for a year.
On 10 October 1786, Streatham was let to Thomas Steele of the HM Treasury [115] by John Cator [116] (Henry Thrale's executor) at an annual rental of £300 until April 1790.
In April 1790 Gabriel and Hester Piozzi returned. Much damage was done during the seven and a half years during which it had been rented. £2,000 was spent on restoration which was completed by the time of their seventh wedding anniversary when the Piozzi's threw a grand party [19].
Between 1795 and May 1807 Streatham Park was let to Mr Giles of Mark Lane Tower Street, a Cornfactor for £550 per year. Mr Giles left when he was unwilling to pay the increased rent Mrs. Piozzi asked to offset the new war taxes. During Mr Giles tenure, the Piozzi's regularly stayed with Mr Giles at Streatham Park during the weekend.
On 7 April 1801, Hester wrote about Streatham Park and Mr Giles in Thraliana [32] as follows…
At Streatham Park, our long not tedious Journey came to an End. Mr Giles was not at home, but had so provided for our Reception that it seemed as if we were at home; & we sent for Mr Davies & little Dear1,& behaved as we would have done, had the Place been still our own.—A Billiard Table somewhat crouds up the Library—else everything appeared changed rather for the better than the worse—Books of enormous Value drove my old Rums behind them, & for Collections of curious engravings—Oriental Landshapes, Chinese Dresses & Customs, fine Holbein [117] Heads & exquisite Specimens of Natural History: we must I think go to Peter Giles the Cornfactor, & his Friend Mr Ewen—a broken Apothecary as I understand; who purchases & arranges Things for him, with very solid Judgement & very excellent Taste.
Since I was connected with Men in Trade,—or in the Commercial Line as the present wretched Phrase is; they are most exceedingly improved in their Desire of Improvement—yet ’tis not wholly for Improvement neither that they collect these Books & Prints and Rareties. There is a Spirit of Emulation among the rich ones, who shall possess the finest Things of every Sort, & since Mr Giles does not (as I have heard Mr Thrale [18] say he did)— regulate his Taste of Women by the Rule of which Girl was most in Fashion: He sleeps wth a fat Housekeeper at home—& commits the Choice of his dead Friends, instead of his living Mistresses, to Fancy of a Person upon whose Skill in Selection he relies. The Voyages are bound with a Curiosity of Elegance wholly new to me; a Ship upon the Back of each Volume going out, or coming home—So beautiful!
But not the House only, the Garden gains surprisingly by our Tenants heavy Purse & liberal Hand; He has new planted the Espaliers [119]—new clothed the Wall & even brought Earth at an immense Expence to promote the Growth of Trees he takes no visible Delight in—any more than the Books—& I think rather less of the two. He goes not round His Plantations twice in a Season—lives in London getting Money all Morng and comes home on a Saturday to drink hard & play Billiards till 5 or 6 o'Clock o’ Monday—when the earliest Workman's Bell rings not till he has been arrived in Town some Moments, & been busied in the Corn Market:—leaving old Streatham Park a Brothel for his Servants: each of whom is a Relation: Brother, Sister, Niece or Nephew to the fat Bedfellow who stays behind, when better Sport offers not; —& whose Absence is much desired by her Family—who follow her with Curses to the Door.
So live the Rich Men of England!—& so I lived with them! & shared in the good Dinners given by the Master of the House: whether Business carried him to London, or desire of Pleasure in our Company brought him back into the Country wch seem'd always as if illumined by his Return, who I believe cannot be ill-humour'd even for an Instant. Never did my Eyes contemplate a Character of such perennial Sweetness without Insipidity: for Mr Giles is no polish'd or varnish'd Mortal, but endow’d with a Temper desirous of Enjoyment, & willing to find it in every thing that offers. My Time pass'd much less unpleasantly in his—& his coarse Friends’ Society, than my own fine friends could easily perswade themselves to believe;—but He really so liked our being there, & it was so convenient in Point of Expence—I made myself very happy, & let him the Place again most willingly for six Years more, & he is to pay any new Taxes which may be put on, while we go forward as accountable for the old ones—his Rent 550£ o'Year.
In 1807 Mr. Gilles let Streatham Park to Mr Abram Atkins who leased the house for seven years at £500 per year, plus all the taxes except the property tax. At the end of this lease there was so much dilapidation that extensive repairs were necessary.
The house was then leased to Count Lieven [120] the Russian Ambassador for three years at £600 per year. He cancelled his lease on 14 March 1815, because he could no longer afford the rental.
In 1798 some land from Streatham Park was leased to Reynold Davies who built Streatham University a school for children under 12 years old. A further field was leased to him in 1802. His lease expired in 1828.
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Ralph Thrale [9] bought a cottage in West Street, Brighton (or Brighthelmstone as it was then known) in 1755. Brighton was on the south coast, and was a very fashionable town, famed for its sea bathing. Upon his death, Ralph left the cottage to his son Henry Thrale [18].
[126]
Henry loved Brighton for the bathing and hunting on the Sussex Downs. As he grew more affluent he outgrew his father's cottage and needed a larger house to accommodate his servants, family and entertaining. He therefore sold the cottage and bought a larger house on the east side of West Street at number 64.
This was a three storey, roomy house with two bay windows and a portico. It was a light-coloured stone structure. It had iron chains dangling from a row of posts in front. It was a very respectable house, despite its proximity to the King's Head.
[127]
Henry Thrale, also had a pew in the local Church of St. Nicholas. After Henry's death, this house was inherited by his youngest daughter Cecilia Thrale [128].
The property has long since been demolished1 and is now the site of a night club called Creation. Outside the club, a tethering post remains [129] from the Thrale days.
Known as "The Manor or Lordship of Preston Crowmarsh" or "Crowmarsh Battle". Crowmarsh had by the terms of the Thrales’ marriage settlement [134], been set aside for an annual payment to Hester Thrale [135] of £200 during Mr. Thrale’s life, and £400 after his death.
Because the marriage settlement was not revoked by Henry Thrale’s will, which left this property to Queeney, the income remained legally Hester Thrale’s, and was later the subject of a legal dispute between Hester Lynch Thrale and her daughter Queeney [105]. Queeney paid Hester £420 annual rental until 1795 and £450 a year afterwards.
In 1795 Queeney disputed the legality of her mother's claim. She was persuaded to withdraw her claim under the terms of her marriage settlement in 1808. Under this settlement they agreed to waive the rent arrears, and set the future rental to be paid by Queeney to her mother at £400 per annum.
After Henry Thrale [18] lost his parliamentary seat in the 1780 election [139], the Thrales decided to distance themselves from the brewery. Initially Henry wanted to rent Lord Shelburne [140]'s house in Berkeley Square, known as Lansdowne House [141]. However, the settled upon 1 Grosvenor Square which they took furnished from Sir Richard Heron, Chief Secretary for Ireland [142] at a cost of 11 guineas a week in January 1781.
At that time Henry Thrale was the sole businessman in Grosvenor Square. The others were the aristocracy and ruling class, like Lord North [143], the Marquess of Rockingham [144] - like Shelburne, both were Prime Ministers. There were also a future Archbishop of Canterbury1, two bishops, a field-marshal; four Dukes (including the Duke of Beaufort [145]), Lord Grosvenor [146], the Earl of Thanet [147], dowager Duchess of Chandos, and numerous Members of Parliament and other lesser peers.
On 29 January 1781 in Thraliana [32] Hester wrote…
So we are to spend this Winter in Grosvenor Square; my Master2 has taken a ready furnished Lodging house there, and we go in tomorrow: He frightened me cruelly a while ago, he would have Lady Shelburne's House—one of the finest in London: he would buy, he would build, he would give 20, 30 Guineas a Week for a House.
Again on 1 February 1781 she wrote…
We are at last settled in a ready furnished House Grosvenor Square for the three following months.
Their children went with them.
This was then - and is now - a very fashionable and desirable part of Central London. Nowhere could be more congenial than this, the most fashionable address in London, the antithesis of Bankside. In fact, from Hester's joy was muted by worries about her husband and the future of the brewery [148]. It was, however, much easier to see her friends. And the Square garden was more fun for her daughters Cecilia [128] and Harriett [149] to play in than 'Palmyra'3, the garden the Thrales had constructed out of rubble on the far side of Deadman's Place [150].
In April 1787 Hester and Gabriel Piozzi [29] were staying at 30 Lower Grosvenor Square, London.
After their return from Italy in March 1787 Hester and Gabriel Piozzi briefly moved into a large leased house in fashionable Hanover Square. On 3 January 1791, Hester wrote in Thraliana [32]...
I am glad that Hanover Square house is let, or going to be Let to Lord Dumfries; our Establishment 1 here is too magnificent for the admission of other Expenses.
The Hanover Square house was on the South side of the square at the corner of St. George's Street. The building stood until after World War II, when it was pulled down. Vogue House now stands in its place.
After Henry Thrale's death, Hester Thrale rented a house in Harley Street between January and March 1782, in which she lived with her daughters. The house was too small to accommodate Johnson. On 4 January 1782, Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana…
I have taken a House in Harley Street for these three Months next ensuing, & hope to have some Society--not Company tho'; crouds are out of the Question, but People will not come hither on short Days, & 'tis too dull to live all alone so. The World will watch me at first, & think I come o' husband hunting for myself or my fair Daughter: but when I have behaved prettily for a while, they will change their Mind.
During the winter of 1782, Hester Thrale rented a house in Argyle Street.
In early 1783 Hester Thrale and her daughters lived in a house in Russell Street.
In Thraliana Hester wrote on 28 October 1783…
I live in Duke Street now not Russell Street--that house was so far from the 2 pump: & now the People say Miss Thrales will be in Danger from Blacklegs.
After their marriage in 1784, Henry and Hester Thrale had their own lodgings in Welbeck Street.
Hester Thrale took temporary residence her in the days immediately preceding her marriage to Gabriel Piozzi [29] on 25 July 1784.
Hester Thrale wrote3…
I was thinking to Day how many Places had seen me resident in London:
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[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell%2C_4th_Duke_of_Bedford
[11] http://www.woburnabbey.co.uk
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooting_Commons
[13] http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=THRALE+ROAD&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&client=firefox-a&ll=51.426186,-
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[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Boswell
[18] http://thrale.com/henry_thrale_17249_1781
[19] http://thrale.com/streatham_park
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[21] http://thrale.com/library_and_streatham_worthies
[22] http://thrale.com/johnsons_summer_house
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[37] http://thrale.com/image/streatham_park_survey_1822
[38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_County_Council
[39] http://thrale.com/gallows_make_hang_them
[40] http://thrale.com/category/tags_40
[41] http://thrale.com/category/tags/1698_1758
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[53] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cator
[54] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery%2C_London
[55] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topham_Beauclerk
[56] http://www.samueljohnson.com/hawkins/intro.html
[57] http://www.thrale.com/sites/default/files/books/lord_edwin_sandys_by_joshua_reynolds.jpg
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[72] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus
[73] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Seward_(anecdotist)
[74] http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/bennet-langton-17371801-171410
[75] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Percy_(bishop)
[76] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nugent,_Christopher_(d.1775)_(DNB00)
[77] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Dyer_(translator)
[78] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Woodhouse,_James_(DNB00)
[79] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Burney
[80] http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp56974/sir-william-weller-pepys-1st-bt
[81] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harris_%28Grammarian%29
[82] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Richard_Jebb,_1st_Baronet
[83] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wallace_(politician)
[84] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Montagu
[85] http://thrale.com/brynbella
[86] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Sandys,_2nd_Baron_Sandys
[87] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Lyttelton,_1st_Baron_Lyttelton
[88] http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/Catalogues/ItemDetails.asp?ItemID=1907275&EventID=2668877
[89] http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/news/39Lost39-Reynolds-could-raise-up.1119555.jp
[90] http://www.dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk/
[91] http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/news/Going-going-gone--for.1197801.jp
[92] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Garrick
[93] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Burney
[94] http://www.sgallery.net/news/10_2004/29.php
[95] http://thrale.com/category/tags_33
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[104] http://thrale.com/samuel_johnson
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[106] http://www.thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/streatham_place_summer_house_george_frederick_prosser.png
[107] http://thrale.com/susannah_arabella_thrale
[108] http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/filestore/VisitsEvents/asp/visits/Details.asp?Property_Id=107&js=yes
[109] http://www.thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/the_times_sep_25_1968_pg12_issue57365_col_d.png
[110] http://www.johnsonsocietyoflondon.org/Dr-Johnson-summerhouse-photos-and-narrative
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[114] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowood
[115] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Steele_%28politician%29
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[117] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Younger
[118] http://www.thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/streatham_park_by_j_landseer_afters_prout.png
[119] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_tree_forms
[120] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lieven
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[128] http://thrale.com/cecilia_thrale
[129] http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/211963
[130] http://www.thrale.com/sites/all/libraries/tng/photos/brighton_blue_plaque.png
[131] http://thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/crowmarsh_battle_farm_0.jpg
[132] http://thrale.com/user/login?destination=comment/reply/324%23comment-form
[133] http://thrale.com/user/register?destination=comment/reply/324%23comment-form
[134] http://thrale.com/hester_lynch_salusburys_dowry
[135] http://thrale.com/hester_thrale_1741_1821
[136] http://thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/1760_grosvenor_square_0.jpg
[137] http://thrale.com/user/login?destination=comment/reply/389%23comment-form
[138] http://thrale.com/user/register?destination=comment/reply/389%23comment-form
[139] http://thrale.com/election_address_1780
[140] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Shelburne
[141] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansdowne_House
[142] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Secretary_for_Ireland
[143] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_North
[144] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Rockingham
[145] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Somerset,_5th_Duke_of_Beaufort
[146] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Grosvenor,_1st_Earl_Grosvenor
[147] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackville_Tufton,_8th_Earl_of_Thanet
[148] http://thrale.com/anchor_brewery
[149] http://thrale.com/harriett_thrale
[150] http://thrale.com/borough_or_brewery_house
[151] http://www.thrale.com/sites/default/files/pictures/grosvenor_square_aerial.jpg
[152] http://thrale.com/user/login?destination=comment/reply/410%23comment-form
[153] http://thrale.com/user/register?destination=comment/reply/410%23comment-form
[154] http://thrale.com/sites/all/libraries/tng/getperson.php%3FpersonID%3DI425%26amp%3Btree%3Dtree01
[155] http://thrale.com/category/help_wanted