Forum Topic

History :  Duke of Cumberland in Brentford? Inverness Lodge?

Inverness Lodge, Boston Manor Road is topical at the moment..having, as you may know, opened their doors,socially for one night, to Forum readers and all!!There is a history there...worthy of investigating I believe and I'm wondering if the Forum's very capable researchers are able to help. Kevin thinks it was built in the 1830's for a toff. I've read that it was built for a top toff(!) the Duke of Cumberland.... but which one..there were several of them over the years?One Duke of Cumberland led the King's Army in defeating the Scots at Culloden in 1746. When did he die?  CULLODEN is close to INVERNESS and Inverness is close to the area/Glen called STRATHERRICK.STRATHERRICK was the home too of Lord LOVAT (Simon Fraser) who had property in Chiswick apparently and in Heston also (according to Andrea Cameron)..indeed they is an estate of houses in Cranford Lane called LOVAT WALK.Lord Lovatt was active at CULLODEN..wasn't he on both sides? He finished up being painted by William Hogarth (there's a Hogarth Court also in Cranford Lane)..before being beheaded at the Tower of London.One of the Dukes of Cumberland was a top Mason in the UK too..who wasn't it seems!!  So: INVERNESS LODGE so named because of?And: Which Duke of Cumberland and dates?Then we can extend the story with pictures and URL's no doubt..so that we have a chance to be better informed about dear BRENTFORD and the INVERNESS LODGE!  

Jim Lawes ● 6451d23 Comments

Cecia Cotton's "BHS Brentford High Street" historical website has some new contributions added regarding the history of the Boston Manor Road building.More reports on tunnels and ghosts!It's a fab website..with a wealth of information..and it's easy to forget it's still there and very active.

Jim Lawes ● 5379d

Must remember to speak to Janet MacNamara! Top local Historian. She came first in the B&C local history society's Xmas quiz..as in years before!Happy New Year Janet!

Jim Lawes ● 6430d

""Do you know someone mentioned the Greenings of Syon Lodge being market gardeners, the Greenings of Turnham Green and Brentford""At the November meeting of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society, Val Bott gave a very detailed illustrated talk about the market gardeners of Brentford.  She mentioned the Greening family and showed copies of their beautifully written invoices and delivery notes to top customers..including Clitherow and Royalty.These top market gardeners seemed well organised and hard working businessmen. Andrea Cameron mentioned that the Greenings lived in what became Syon Academy (run by Greenlaw  of Clan MacTavish connections!!)

Jim Lawes ● 6443d

Neil - I have ancestry but to do an address you have to go through the enumerators books yawn yawn you need time to do it.  Mary just came up in some research, she is connected to the Beaumonts??  Do you know someone mentioned the Greenings of Syon Lodge being market gardeners, the Greenings of Turnham Green and Brentford, Father and Sons, were Gardeners to the King and Queen, just look at the Kew website I think you get father and two of the sons, very important people, left wills, had obits, who said maerket gardeners - phewee!

Jo Smith ● 6443d

If you subscribe to ancestory.com you can gain access to all the Census returns. We have it at work, if I get the time I'll go through and see if I can find the Lodge. What about Direcories, they tend to list the address if the house is deemed important.

Neil Chippendale ● 6443d

Thanks Jo. I don't know anything about the Odd Fellows, but a quick look on the Internet suggests they are very similar to the Freemasons and were as popular. I read that "Odd Fellowship originated in England as early as 1745. Similar to Freemasonry, it has degrees and symbols and teaches moral lessons in its ritual." What is your interest in Mary Jemima Simpkins?We were trying to find the original owner of the Lodge when it was built about 1830s.

Duncan Walker ● 6443d

DuncanThats them, they had other children, Mary and Thomas, and a pair of twins (do not know their names) all older than these girls, Mary married beneath her and I think they ran off??Actually I have never really done anything on Inverness Lodge. But it was owned once by Charles Frederick Matthews of 37 Witmore Road, Hoxton a "leather merchant" who did not live their either.You can look up Inverness Lodge on the census but the only one which has an index for streets is 1881, with all the others you have to go through the enumerators books, and that can take ages, spose' I could have a go!By the way Charles Federick was an Odd Fellow, do they get on with the Masons?

Jo Smith ● 6444d

Jo, I went to the Kew National Archives last week and searched through the 1861 census information for Charles Jack. As it was an unusual name only a few came up and one was interesting because his occupation was a 'Proprietor of Land and Houses' but he didn't live at Inverness Lodge, but he could have owned it. The details were:1861 CensusCharles Jack, 51b 1810, Illyria27 Montague StBloomsburywife: Mary 40daughter Ellen 7daughter Florence C. 4If you look up Illyria in Wikipedia:"The Illyrian Provinces (French: Provinces illyriennes) were lands on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea which were nominally part of France during the last years of Napoleon.They were incorporated into the French Empire from 1809 to 1813, and the Kingdom of Illyria was part of Austria until 1849".It could be him.Is there a way to search on a street address and locate the owners/residents?Maybe Jim knows about whether the coach house and stables are still there?Do you know anything more about the Inverness Lodge history?

Duncan Walker ● 6446d

Is the caoch house and stables still there, and was that Charles Jack "merchant" who married Mary Jemima Simpkins 7 Aug 1845?

Jo Smith ● 6446d

Thanks again Duncan and all.Several references in cyberspace saying that the Inverness Lodge in Brentford was later used as a ""private lunatic asylum""  !!I like the earlier Freemasonery connections though..not that I am one..but it may be a reason why it is rarely mentioned by others. ;0)Why would the place be called a Lodge otherwise?  Apparently the Red Lyon, Brentford in 1723 was a masonic venue too....and another venue of a Lodge of Affability was the Rose and Crown at Kew Green.That Google Books gateway is quite a source of historical information isn't it.Our friend, local historian Janet MacNamara should perhaps be approached.!!

Jim Lawes ● 6449d

Was the Inverness Lodge used by the Freemasons?I couldn't find anything suggesting this, but I did find:Between 1790-1813, The '56 Lodge of Affability' was hosted at the Castle Inn, New Brentford. I think this was 280 The High Street. Could the Inverness Lodge have taken over?I also found a statement that in about 1797 'A lodge in Brentford was accused of plotting to assassinate the King'.

Duncan Walker ● 6449d

I remember visiting the Museum during one of the London Open House weekends in September some years ago.I see a mention that a water-damaged portrait of one of the Boston House Clitherow family has been presented to Boston House from the St. Bernard's Hospital Museum collection.

Tim Henderson ● 6449d

Anybody come across a Charles Jack of Brentford in 1858?I found an entry in 'The Law Times Reports, pub 1948' stating a Charles Jack owned Inverness Lodge and let it to Dr Robert Gardiner Hill in 1858:'On 28th Feb of that year (1858) the plaintiff, Henry Kendall entered into an agreement in writing with the said Charles Jack, by which Jack agreed to let and the plaintiff agreed to take the house for one year, from 25th March 1858....It is mutually agreed between the said undersigned that Henry kendall transfers to Rober Gardiner Hill, Esq and the latter agrees to take, Inverness Lodge, on the same terms as it is held by Henry Kendall under an agreement for lease from Charles Jack.Charles Jack Esq Thames Street and Inverness Lodge, Brentford Butts'Where was Thames Street in Brentford?

Duncan Walker ● 6450d

This certainly was a real scandal with Lady Rosina Bulwer Lytton taking on her husband and his circle of friends who included Dickens. It highlighted a very public issue of the day in 1858, of insanity used to falsely incarcerate people. Diagnoses of insanity were highly ambiguous as pointed out in the introduction of a famous novel of the time:‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins on page 18,  (use Google to search using ‘The Woman in White By Wilkie Collins, Cox, Don Richard’ and select the Google Search result found)It says: “..Anyone who overstepped the bounds of acceptable conduct – particularly women – invited an accusation of madness. Moreover the impression of an individual’s unstable mental stat by either a physician or a ‘respectable’ close associate was considered to be credible, if not conclusive, diagnosis.” This is precisely what happened in the Lady Rosina Bulwer Lytton case.The following book: ‘Love's Madness: Medicine, the Novel, and Female Insanity, 1800-1865 By Helen Small’ on page 187-190 describes the scandal well and relates it to the bigger issue of that day. (use Google to search using ‘Love's Madness: Medicine, the Novel, and Female Insanity, 1800-1865 By Helen Small ‘)So Brentford’s Inverness Lodge will be forever famous in this example of false incarceration, the role of husbands in this and a style of literature triggered by it. 

Duncan Walker ● 6450d

As another aside - I was looking at the 1901 census for 'The County of London Manor Asylum' in Horton Epsom  RG 13/584.The majority of people sent to the insane asylum were women - Private patents were 67 women and 0 men.  Pauper patients were 522 women against 110 men all recorded as being a lunatic.  Whereas the whole census was about the recording of people and their names; every entry lists inmates by their initial.  I hope somebody has kept a hold of the registers of inmates so that they can be cross referenced at some point!  The Horton Lunatic asylum will have lost 699 people to the 1901 census records, alone.

Sarah Felstead ● 6451d

I also found this in the Wikepedia entry for Hanwell Asylum:"MuseumReverend H A Norris, (a former chaplain to the hospital) realized in the early 1980s that there were still old records at hospital which were historically important and should join the others in the Greater London Council Records Library (now part of the National Archives). He feared these would be thrown out by staff who did not appreciate their historical value. Getting little cooperation from the then hospital management, a dedicated band of volunteers formed the 'Museum Committee' to help. They searched out, recovered and thus saved much of the hospital heritage. This also included mechanical restraints, ECT machines, some of the old fixtures and fitting. The largest item by far was an original 'seclusion room' with leather covered straw padding walls and floor. Also on display was a letter written by Arthur O'Connor. He had been committed to Hanwell on May 6th 1875 for firing an unloaded pistol at Queen Victoria earlier on the 29th February.[37] The purpose of writing was to petition for his release; which was granted on the 16th November 1876. He never came to the attention of the authorities again.Mention should here also be made of the work of long time administrative staff member Pauline May, without whose tireless work in the 1990s, much of the museum artifacts would have been lost for ever.Despite its growing reputation and size (taking up the whole of the available space in the disused church), the lack of any fiscal recognition made it impossible to provide staff to assist the many visitors who wished to view and study the collection. Therefore, it has now been dispersed to, and can be seen at:Bethlem Royal Hospital Museum. [3] London Metropolitan Archives Wellcome Trust Gunnersbury Park Museum. [4]

Duncan Walker ● 6451d

Holly, I found this:St Bernard's Hospital Museum and Chapel Uxbridge RoadSouthallMiddlesexUB1 3EU020 8354 8183

Duncan Walker ● 6451d

Duncan, you mentioned the Hanwell Asylum - I'm sure I've seen online that there is a service in the chapel (yearly?) and a display of items used in the hospital, but I can't find any contact details so I don't know where/when to visit. Do you - or does anyone else - know anything about this? Did I imagine it?

Holly Hodges ● 6451d

Inverness House was in the news in 1858 as the place where Lady Rosina Bulwer Lytton was committed by her husband.Rosina Doyle Bulwer-Lytton (4 November 1802 - 12 March 1882), née Wheeler, wrote and published fourteen novels, a volume of essays and a volume of letters. Her husband was Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a novelist and politician. They were divorced in 1836 and what followed was an acrimonious relationship in public. This public slanging match even caused Prime Minister Disraeli to send the following letter 8/6/1858 to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton about his wife:“ To: Sir Edward Bulwer LyttonMy dear Bulwer,I thought you had tamed the tigress of Taunton – but unhappily, this is not the case.She is writing letters to your colleagues & friends, of an atrocious description, such as I thought , no woman could have penned, accusing you of nameless crimes, at least which only can be named by her, & threatening aggravated hostilities.This is not very pleasant to your friends: I should think, hardly, to yourself.What can be the explanation? Is it possible, that your agent has been so negligent, or so imprudent, as to leave her allowance in arrear?Yours ever, Disraeli” In June 1858, when her husband was standing as parliamentary candidate for Hertfordshire, she appeared at the hustings and indignantly denounced him. On 23/6/1858, Edward Bulwer Lytton had her committed on grounds of insanity to Dr Gardiner Hill’s private nursing home, Inverness Lodge, Brentford. The resulting public outcry, particularly the Daily Telegraph’s demand on 17th July for an enquiry, frightened Lytton’s colleagues with a damaging scandal and resulted in her release on 17 July.This was chronicled in her book 'A Blighted Life'. (still on sale at Amazon for £20). For years she continued her attacks upon her husband's character; she would outlive him by nine years.[extracts from: Wikipedia and Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1857-1859 By Benjamin Disraeli, M. G. Wiebe, J. A. W. Gunn]Maybe the current owners could use this story and Rosina’s book in their marketing?!!!

Duncan Walker ● 6451d

Thanks for the response Duncan.The ghosts of Inverness Lodge will be pleased that the Forum is taking a real interest in them!!A visit is on the cards...and you ought to come along..I'm too scared to go alone!!To be continued... I LOVAT!!

Jim Lawes ● 6451d

The Duke of Cumberland in 1830 was Ernest Augustus I, King of Hanover (5 June 1771 – 18 November 1851), also (1799-1851) the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, was the fifth son and eighth child of King George III of the United Kingdom. At this time The Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England was Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, sixth son of George III. He was also The Earl of Inverness.

Duncan Walker ● 6451d

Jim mentioned Dr R Gardiner-Hill in a posting on the other thread. Here is the web page which has that extract, describing the 'regulating of private madhouses' in London.http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/3_06.htmHere, it describes Dr R Gardiner Hill as a leading exponent of non-restraint of mental asylum patients. he lived in Inverness Lodge between 1858-1861. He worked closely with the Hanwell asylum.

Duncan Walker ● 6451d

Here’s a description of a new patent for a fire-escape installed at the Inverness Lodge in 1861, for the then owner a Dr. E. Gardiner Hill. I wonder if it is still there?form 'The Year-book of Facts in Science and Art' by John Timbs 1861, page 116:“NEW PATENT FIRE-ESCAPE. DR. E. GARDINER HILL, of Inverness Lodge, Brentford, has introduced a Fire-Escape which consists of a rectangular framing of wood, bound together by means of tie rods. The bottom part of this frame is formed of a lattice-work of thin iron. One side of the frame is made with a half door, to afford facility for getting out of the escape. The frame is covered at the bottom and round the sides with non-inflammable canvas. A ring is securely fastened to the floor or window-sill of the house, and to this ring is simply hooked the end of a chain carrying a block through which the tackle of the escape is rove. The whole of the tackle and block are kept inside the frame when the escape is not in use, the hooking of the block-chain to the ring being the only thing to be done when the escape is required to be brought into use. The lowering rope is thrown to the persons below, or the occupant of the escape may lower himself by its means. The escape is then hauled up to bring down other persons, or for removing property from the upper part of a dwelling. The frame of the escape is fitted with castors on the inner side, and when not in use it stands upon them, and is covered with an ornamental drapery, which converts the escape into a convenient ottoman. It can be used also as a dressing-table; for which purpose it is placed on its side, and fitted with a loose deal top and muslin hangings in place of the cushion. In this way the fire-escape may at all times be kept near the window, from whence it would be used if required.—Builder.”

Duncan Walker ● 6451d