USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampstead > A memorial of the town of Hampstead, New Hampshire : historic and genealogic sketches. Proceedings of the centennial celebration, July 4th, 1849. Proceedings of the 150th anniversary of the town's incorporation, July 4th, 1899, Volume I > Part 17
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The articles, with very few exceptions, were such as were used before 1825, and breathed an atmosphere of by-gone days.
It has been said that "history is the essence of innumerable
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biographies," so those historical relics reveal to us the spirit and character of our ancestors, and tell us of their ways and their work.
Thus ended our 150th anniversary. A perfect July day. The committee and their assistants labored assiduously for the success of the celebration, but the realization was beyond their most sangnine hopes.
The lessons it taught to old and young alike can never be forgotten. Their eyes, as never before, saw the beauties of our hills and valleys, our broad fields and forests, our rocks and rills, our ever lovely " Wash pond " whose waters never seemingly glistened as on that day, our pleasant homes where want very rarely exists, our prosperous churches, our library, our educational privileges, our well kept " God's acre " where so many of their friends have been lain to rest, alike inspired a reverence and love for the town of their nativity.
"Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roam, His first best country, ever is at home."
HAMPSTEAD, LONDON, N. W., ENGLAND.
The residents of our town in all generations, have been familiar with the words of Governor Benning Wentworth, " Declared and ordained to be a Town Corporate, and are hereby erected and incorporated into a Body Politick and a corporation to have Continuance forever by the name of Hampstead," as recorded in the charter of our town in 1749.
All have known that Hampstead was the name of a pleas- ant village in the County of Middlesex, five miles from Lon- don, and that our town received its name in honor of that place in England of that name.
When a parent names a child in memory of some friend, it generally implies a great regard and respect for that friend, and often when the child grows to manhood a spirit of curi- osity causes that child to learn all he can about his parents' friend. In like manner have we, in this age of historical re- search often queried why Gov. Wentworth chose Hampstead as the name of our township. We have wondered much con- cerning the mother town of Hampstead, England, of her nat- ural scenery, of her people, of her interests.
When as school children we read the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, and the resolutions unanimously agreed to, and recorded in the transactions of the club, in which the warmest thanks were returned to Samuel Pick- wick Esq., G. C., M. P. C., for his paper entitled “ Specula- tions on the source of the Hampstead ponds," and where Mr. Pickwick was described as the "man who had traced to the source the mighty ponds of Hampstead." While the papers might have been written in derision, the belief clung to us that over in Old England there was a place which, in simi- larity of its natural scenery, its ponds and its hills, reminded
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the Governor and his Majesty's Council of the new township they were to name.
Rev. W. W. Silvester of Philadelphia, Dr. Rufus K. Noyes of Boston, Hon. William C. Todd of Atkinson, Henry C. Ordway Esq. of Winchester, Mass, Dr. G. R. Bennette of Hampstead and others closely associated with the exercises of our 150th anniversary, have given us pleasant thoughts of their visits to the older Hampstead, but to Rev. Albert Wat- son, the former pastor of our town, we are indebted for much of our knowledge concerning the town of Hampstead in Lon- don.
Rev. Mr. Watson gave a delightful talk in January, 1879, in this and surrounding towns, upon his recent visit to his native country, and especially his gleanings from observation and inquiry concerning the town whose name we bear. I quote from his memoranda sketched at that time. "Start- ing with the name, we may observe that the Etymology of Hampstead is evidently derived from the Saxon ham or home, and stede or place. The modern form of the word homestead is still in common use, generally for a farm house surrounded by barns or other outbuildings. Hame is the well-known Scotch form for home. The syllable ham is pre- served in hamlet, Hampshire, and in the names of many places in this and other countries. The name of the solitary Saxon farmhouse or homestead was applied in the course of time to the village, or town which surrounded it, and at length took the place.
The original homestead from which the place took its name in Hampstead, Eng., would naturally have been in the sunny slope by Frognal where the little Bourne runs away to the south. The letter p seems to have been added in the sixteenth century.
The earliest mention of Hampstead was in a grant in 978, to King Edgar to one Mangoda, and a second grant in 986, to King Ethelred, who granted the manor of Hamestede to the Abbot of Westminster, and to this day, the Dean and
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Chapter of Westminster owns a considerable income therefrom, owing to the increased value of the property.
At the time of the Conquest, Hampstead was a tiny ham- let with a few wattle and daub dwellings, inhabited by bor- derers and serfs.
In Puritan times the " Hot Gospellers " as they were nick- named, often preached under the shade of an enormous elm tree, which was certainly a great curiosity. Within its hol- low trunk a winding staircase of forty-two steps had been constructed, and an octagonal tower on the summit, thirty- four feet in circumference, with sixteen side lights, and capable of holding twenty persons. The height from the ground to the base of the turret was thirty-three feet.
Hampstead is now joined to London by rows of villas and terraces ; but within the memory of the present generation it was separated from town by a broad belt of pleasant fields.
Eighty or one hundred years ago it was a rural village. For many years it has been and is now, a fashionable summer resort. It has its donkeys, its bath chairs, its fashionable es- planade, its sand and its sand pits, its chalybeate springs, its eligible houses to be let furnished, its more humble apart- ments, its " Vale of Health " where parties can be supplied with hot water for tea, its fancy stationers' shop, its old church and its new church, its chapel, its flagstaff, ready to dip its colors to steamers, which from the nature of the case never appear in the offing, its photographer's pavilion, and all the other requirements that make up a fashionable English water- ing place.
The great attraction of Hampstead is its breezy Heath, which has long been the resort not only of kings and princes, but also of artists and poets. The heath is a small eminence, and affords a fine view of the surrounding country, standing as it does upon the broad roadway which crosses the Heath, the visitor will be at a loss whether to admire most the pleas- ing undulations of the sandy soil, scooped out into a thousand sand cavities and pits, or the long avennes dotted here and
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there by some ancient and some modern buildings, or the dark firs and beeches which fringe it on the north.
A stranger climbing to the top of Hampstead hill on a bright summer morning before the air is darkened by the smoke of a single fire, and looking down on the vast expanse of London to his left, and to his right for miles along the basin of the Thames valley (from Greenwich and Woolwick up to Herr and even to Richmond) with its towers, spires, and roofs all crowded before him as in a panorama. He, with pride and enthusiasm, may well exclaim with the Essayist " Yonder is the metropolis of the empire, the abode of the arts and sciences, as well as the emporium of trade and com- merce, the glory of England, and the wonder of the world.
" It is a goodly sight through the clear air, From Hampstead's healthly height to see at once, England's vast Capital in fair expanse, Towers, belfries, lengthened street and structure fair. St. Paul's high dome, amidst the vassal bands Of neighboring spires, a regal chieftain stands. And over fields of ridgey roofs appears, With distance softly tinted, side by side, In kindred grace, like 'twain of sisters dear, The tower of Westminster, Her Abbey's pride."
The Heath is very much like a large common or public park. Originally it covered a space of ground of about five hundred acres, but from the gradual growth of the town, and unlawful encroachments it has been reduced to about one half its original dimensions. It is now left to the sole use of the people, as a place of resort and recreation, where they can breathe the fresh air and indulge in sports and amusements, pro- vided for them under the canopy of heaven. On fine Sun- days and holidays it is alive with swarms of visitors; some- times as many as fifty thousand have been brought together.
In the famous Jack Straw Castle, or hotel, I had the pleasure of lounging for a time. Immediately at our feet, as we look down towards the east from the broad road in front of the " Castle," is the " Vale of Health ", with its large mod- ern hotel and its ponds glistening in the sunlight.
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There are two noted walks in Hampstead, one called " Wall Walk " and the other " Flask Walk "; at the junction of these two walks, and nearly opposite the " Wall Tavern," are the Middlesex Militia Barracks, a spacious briek buiding partly formed out of an old mansion.
The waters and springs of Hampstead were known far and wide in the early days of their celebrity. After the dis- covery of " medicinal waters " there, in about 1740, it was a rendezvous for the fashionable classes of London, seekers after health or pleasure, and no doubt beneficial to people whose principal complaints were idleness, dissipation, or frivolity, but which had been made valuable by the description in very extravagant terms by a local physician, while as a matter of fact the water was, and is simply an exceedingly pure spring water, with a faint trace of earthy salt, or those of magnesia and lime. The total amount of solid matter is about seven grains to a gallon, much like that of our home springs.
The " Wells " seem to have been in full favor for the first ten or twelve years after discovery, and they continued to be more or less a place of resort for invalids, real or fancied, down to the early part of the present century, but the waters of the springs are no longer taken to any extent except out of curiosity.
Hampstead has long been celebrated for the choice me- dicinal herbs growing abundantly in the fields and hedgerows. A local physician says, " The Apothecaries Co. very seldom miss coming to Hampstead every spring, and here they have their herballizing feast. I have heard them say (he adds) that they have found a greater variety of curious and useful plants near and about Hampstead than in any other place."
Passing along Heath street we come to the Congregational church. This church is supposed to owe its origin to the preaching of Whitefield there in 1739, who in his Journal of the 17th of that year says, "I preached after several invita- tions at Hampstead Heath, about five miles from London. The audience was of the polite sort, and I preached very near
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the horse course, which gave me occasion to speak home to the souls concerning our spiritual ease. Most were attentive, but some mocked. Thus the Word of God is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death."
In a house on the same side of Heath street is the Hamp- stead Public Library founded sixty-six years ago. The old parish church of Hampstead stands at the bottom of Church Row, and its green coating of ivy, contrasts pleasingly with the red brick and tiled houses on either side as we approach it. The building seems to have exercised a strange fascina- tion over the artistic minds of the day, for a proposal to pull it down and rebuild it, was received with a perfect shout of disapproval. It is, indeed, most picturesquely situated, and the distant views of the spires, as it peeps from the mass of variegated foliage which adorns the church yard, is exceeding- ly pretty.
There are many notable country seats of antiquarian form of architecture, as the estate of the " Earl of Mansfield," and others made famous as being the homes of authors, painters or statesmen.
Caen House is a large and massive building of yellow stone, impressive from its build and its commanding situation. An old tavern called the "Spaniards " is said to have received its name from the fact of its once having been inhabited by a family connected with the Spanish company, or from its having been taken by the Spaniards and converted into a house of entertainment.
Quite near the "Spaniards " is Erskine House once the residence of the famous Thomas Lord Erskine. The building is a plain white house with a long portico opening upon the roadway. Another large house is that in which the great Lord Chatham lived for a time in gloomy retirement. It is now called Wildwood House."
Many other interesting thoughts we have learned from our friends about Old Hampstead, but more pleasant than to hear from the home lands through our friends' visits there, is to
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receive letters direct from home, which seem to bring the mother town very near to us at this time.
Charles W. Garland sent the following letter, enclosing newspaper clippings, programme of our anniversary exer- cises of July 4th, etc., to the Lord Mayor of London :-
" HAMPSTEAD, N. H., U. S. A., July 6th, 1899.
To His Excellency the Lord Mayor, London, England : Sir :-
Inasmuch as the town of Hampstead, N. H., has just cel- ebrated its 150th birthday, and as at our anniversary several of the speakers alluded very pleasantly to visits to the mother town, Hampstead, England, it gives me much pleasure to forward to you a copy of the programme, and also a brief newspaper sketch of the event.
Most respectfully yours, CHARLES W. GARLAND, Chairman of Selectmen, Hampstead, N. H."
Mr. Garland received the following letter :---
" THE MANSION HOUSE, LONDON, July 19th, 1899.
Dear Sir :-
The Lord Mayor desires me to thank you for your letter, which he has forwarded to the local authorities of Hampstead, in London, who, he feels sure, will be much pleased and interested in the celebration of the 150th anni- versary of their prosperous American namesake.
Yours truly,
W. JJ. SOULSBY. Mr. C. W. Garland."
From the " Hampstead Record," under date of Saturday, 22 July, 1899, was noted, "Greetings from America ! Hampstead's Daughter Town's Anniversary. On Thurs-
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day, at the Hampstead Vestry meeting, the chairman (Sir Henry Harden) said that he had received a very gratifying communication from the Lord Mayor, which he read to the Vestry as follows :-
" THE MANSION HOUSE, LONDON, July 19th, 1899.
Dear Sir Henry :-
The Lord Mayor thinks the enclosed may interest you and your colleagues on the Vestry of Hampstead. and perhaps (through the local press) the residents.
Yours truly,
W. J. SOULSBY. Sir Henry Harden."
Mr. Garland's letter to the Lord Mayor was read to the Vestry of Hampstead, London. The chairman saying "the whole communication showed cousinly good feeling and was very gratifying." Action was taken to acknowledge the greetings.
The following communication was sent to Mr. Garland :
VESTRY OF THE BOROUGH OF HAMPSTEAD, VESTRY HALL, HAMPSTEAD, LONDON, N. W., 26th August, 1899. To CHARLES W. GARLAND, EsQ., Notary Public, Chair- man of Selectmen, Hampstead, N. H.
Sir :-
The Right Honorable the Lord Mayor of London has conveyed to the Vestry of the Borough of Hampstead your letter of the 6th July last, together with a copy of the programme and newspaper extract of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Hampstead, N. H.
This Borough reciprocates in the fullest manner the kind feelings which prompted you, on behalf of the citizens of Hampstead, N. H., to forward so interesting an account of such an auspicious occasion.
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The documents have been read with the greatest interest, not only by this Vestry, the governing and municipal body, but also by the inhabitants of this Borough.
The allusions made to this Borough at your celebration have been received here with feelings of pride and joy- pride in that Hampstead, England, is proud of the fact that her name has been so fitly perpetuated in the United States of America ; and joy in that the descendants of the found- ers of Hampstead, N. H., should have recalled the existence of their mother town and the pleasant visits paid to it.
The Vestry hear of the prosperity of your town with much pleasure, and trust that this condition of affairs may long continue.
It may be of interest to record the fact that Hampstead was mentioned in Doomsday Book more than 800 years ago, so as to longevity your town has no mean parent.
That the feelings of friendship so cordially expressed may long continue between the two towns is the sincere wish of the citizens of this borough.
Reports of the proceedings of the Vestry for the past two years are forwarded herewith, as likely to be of interest to yourself and your colleagues, and in the hope that they may find a resting place on the shelves of your Public Library.
We are, sir, Your obedient servants, HENRY HARDEN, Chairman. ARTHUR P. ISHMA, Vestry Clerk.
Mr. Garland also received the following communication from the Secretary of the Hampstead Antiquarian and His- torical Society, President, Sir Walter Besant, M.
8 ARCHILLES ROAD, WEST HAMPSTEAD, N. W. 8th August, 1899.
Dear Sir :-
The communication and enclosures addressed to the Lord Mayor of London relating to the recent celebration of the
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town of Hampstead, New Hampshire, U. S. A., having been forwarded to the Vestry of Hampstead, were made known to the people of Hampstead by means of the local papers. As soon as your letter appeared in the Hampstead press I brought the matter to the notice of the council of this society, and suggested that we should acknowledge the cousinly feeling shown in your communication.
Accordingly, at the meeting of our Council, held on 25th July last, W. D. Chandler in the chair, it was cordially agreed, on the motion of Mr. E. E. Newton, seconded by Mr. S. C. Mayle, that I should convey to you, and through you to the town of Hampstead, N. H., our heartiest congratulations on the important anniversary you have just celebrated, and our most sincere wishes for the continued welfare and prosperity of your town, named after our celebrated suburb.
I was further directed to forward to you, with this letter, a copy of the Transactions of the Society for 1898, for preservation in the Public Library of your town. This vol- ume, whilst giving particulars concerning the Society, also contains a great deal of information concerning the history of this ancient borough, and of many of its famous residents, which will, no doubt, be of interest to you and your fellow- townsmen. I also send herewith a copy of the Rules and Proceedings of the Society, which has for its president, Sir Walter Besant, and a long roll of members, many of whom are celebrated in literature, art and science. I may add that the municipal governing body of Hampstead, viz., the Vestry of St. John, is well represented in this Society. The chair- man of the Vestry, Sir Henry Harden, being one of our vice- presidents, and the following members of our Council : Messrs. D. E. Chandler, C. W. Cunnington, E. H. Evans, and the Hon. Secretary are members of the Vestry, whilst a goodly number of Vestrymen are ordinary members of the Society.
My council have directed me to say that they would feel greatly obliged if you would favor the Society with copies of
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the papers enclosed in your letter to the Lord Mayor, espec- ially the " Historic Address," which would be read to our members at one of our meetings. The papers would be placed among the archives of the Society, and there become a record of the friendly relations existing between your town and the mother town of Hampstead.
In conclusion, I desire to renew the expression of our cor- dial feelings, and have the honor to remain, dear sir,
Yours faithfully,
C. J. MUNICH,
Honorary Sec'y and Treas.
Charles W. Garland, Esq., Chairman of Selectmen,
Hampstead, New Hampshire, U. S. A.
Accompanying the communication was the volume men- tioned, "Transactions of the Hampstead Historical Society for the year 1898," presented to our Public Library.
Mr. Garland also received from F. E. Baines, "Companion of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath," Chine Cresent Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, the " Rec- ords of the Manor, Parish, and Borough of Hampstead in the county of London to December 31st, 1889." He has also enjoyed a pleasant correspondence with Mr. Baines, in which he expressed much interest in " the cousins across the Atlantic," adding " three cheers for the stars and stripes in general, and New Hampstead in particular." Mr. Baines called attention to an item of interest to us, as Americans, in relation to the first Earl of Chatham, a resident of Hampstead, " whose policy, if his breath and life had not failed, might have obvi- ated the war of Independence."
Mr. Garland also received copies of " the Hampstead Rec- ord "and " the Hampstead High Gate Express," papers printed in Hampstead, London, N. W., each giving cordial mention of our celebration, and of the proceedings that followed the re- ceipt of Mr. Garland's letter by the Vestry of Hampstead.
They are precious mementoes from the mother town, and
DEA. WILLIAM SANBORN.
JOHN W. TABOR.
MR. AND MRS. PARDON TABOR.
9
MR. AND MRS. LEWIS C. LITTLE.
1, மல்டி
DEA. JONATHAN KENT.
FORREST EUGENE MERRILL, A.M.
HIGH SCHOOL AND GROUNDS.
IIAMPSTEAD PUBLIC LIBRARY.
HIGH SCHOOL.
SARAH ORDWAY BRICKETT.
DANIEL F. ORDWW.
JOHN D. ORDWAY.
58
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RESIDENCE OF THE LATE JOHN ORDWAY. (Present Residence of Mrs. CLARA IRVING DAVIS.
-
WILLIAM HENRY DAVIS.
WALTER ALFONZO JOHNSON.
SCHOOL HOUSE DISTRICT NO 7.
JOHNSON HOMESTEAD.
JOHN HENRY CLARK.
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HAMPSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
we feel certain that they will be loved and treasured by the residents of our town with thankful hearts for the remem- brances and greetings received.
The volumes and papers received contain much of interest, and while it is hoped all our people may enjoy the works for themselves, we cannot forbear noting some historical facts from them.
Sir Walter Besant said, at the inauguration of the Anti- quarian and Historical Society, 6 April, 1898, of which he is president, that in the work of the society " they must first deal with prehistoric Hampstead, the time of the tribal tribes before the Romans, Saxon charters and monuments. Coming then to the medieval period it would carry them back 400 or 500 years, into the fourteenth century, when nearly the whole of this district was covered with a vast range of forest, con- necting the two hills of Hampstead and High Gate." " Num- erous streams existed in the forest, and from them three ponds took their existence. One the Fleet, the outcome of two streams, from the Hampstead and High gate ponds."
In reference to the ponds that have of late years disap- peared, mention is made in the " Records of Hampstead " of " Branch Hill pond," in which many fine carp were taken. This pond was not filled in, but drained off. In the winter season this pond was a favorite place for skaters, as the water was made about three feet deep, and no danger of drowning if the ice gave way.
Another was called " Clock House pond." The water of this pond was not of the purest kind, and the filling in was a decided improvement. A gentleman now has a residence and stable erected on the site.
The " Frognal " was early called " Cole's pond," so named by a gentleman who resided near, and his garden reached to the shore. The pond was chiefly used for watering horses and the roads.
Then there was the " West End pond," that was mainly used for the watering of horses and household purposes.
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" The Red Lion pond " was the larger of either pond, and used like the others for washing purposes.
The " White Stone pond " and the "Pond Street pond " have been filled in and railed round and planted with trees, and now takes the name of "South End Green."
We also learn from the Records that they have sixteen schools for elementary education, besides many privately con- ducted schools. There are also three institutions of collegiate cast. The new college, opened in 1851, was projected with the object of uniting the three institutions, " Homerton Col- lege," "Coward College," and " Highburg College."
The " Hackney College " has for its object the spreading of Christianity among the poor, by preaching the gospel and teaching their children to read the scriptures. This college originally had its headquarters in Hackney, but recently re- moved to West Hampstead.
The third is an " International College."
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