FULHAM. FULHAM is a large village, pleasantly situated on the banks of the Thames, four miles from London. It was anciently written Fullenham, or Fullonam, which, says Norden," as Master Camden taketh it, signifieth Volucrum domus, the habitude of Birdes, or the place of Fowles; and Ham, or Hame, as much as home in our tongue; so that Fullenham, or Fulgar-house, is as much as to saie, as the home, house, or habitacle of fowle. It may be also taken for Volucrum amnis, or the river of fowle; for Ham, also, in many places signifieth amnis, a river. But it is most probable it should be of Land-fowle which usually haunt groves and clusters of trees, whereof in this place, it seemeth hath been plenty." Somner, in his Saxon Dictionary, offers a very different etymology. "Fullanham, or Fulham," says he, "quasi Foulham, from the dirtiness of the place."-The same derivation is given in Manning's edition of Lye's Dictionary: "Fullenham, canosa habitatio." The Saxon word ful is translated foul; frehl, a fowl; full and fullan, are full, as full mona, the full moon." The first definition, we believe, has been generally adopted by those who have given a serious attention to the subject. There seems to be but little historical circumstance connected with this place. It appears that the Danish army, in 879, removed from Chippenham, and Cirencester, to encamp at Fulham. They were there joined, it seems, by another army, which had been defeated and driven out of Flanders, by King Charles the Second, King of France. In 1647, the head-quarters of Fairfax being at Putney, many of the officers were quartered on the inhabitants of Fulham. The Manor of Fulham belonged to the See of London, long before the Conquest. It was given to Bishop Erken wald, and his successors, about the year 691, by Tyrhtilus, Bishop, with the consent of Sigard, King of the East Saxons, and Conrad, King of the Mercians. Nor did the See of London lose possession of it till the period of the interregnum, when it was sold to Colonel Edmund Harvey, with the leasehold lands thereunto belonging, for the sum of seven thousand, six hundred and seventeen pounds, eight shillings and ten-pence. The late Bishop Porteus was in possession of the original conveyance. The manor-house, or palace, of Fulham has from a very early period, been the principal summer residence of the Bishops of London. It is a brick edifice, and of no very ancient date. The Library is a spacious apartment, fortyeight feet in length, and contains the portraits of several Bishops of London, chiefly copies, and collected by Porteus, the late Bishop. The great dining-room is thirty-six feet by twenty-four, and eighteen feet in height. The wainscotting and stained glass in the Chapel were brought back from London House, Aldersgate Street, where it had been placed for security, by Bishop Juxon, the excellent prelate whose duty it was to attend his royal master, Charles the First, to the scaffold, and where he discharged it with that courage and piety which the awful circumstances of the moment demanded of him. In the year 1715, Bishop Robinson petitioned to have a part of the building pulled down, as it was old and ruinous, and besides too large for the revenues of the Bishopric to maintain. Commissioners were accordingly appointed, among whom were Sir Christopher Wren and Sir John Vanbrugh. In consequence of their report a part of the edifice was taken down, but that which was left contains upwards of fifty rooms. The gardens are curious. They first became remarkable in the time of Bishop Grindall, one of the earliest encouragers of Botany; and the first who imported the Tamarisk tree into this country, about the year 1560. Bishop Compton, who was himself an excellent botanist, rendered these gardens still more celebrated, by the introduction of many new plants and forest trees, particularly from North America. Of these the following were alone remaining on a survey of the garden in 1793, and they have a claim to be venerated by the botanist, as the parent stocks of their respective races in this kingdom. The girths, which were accurately taken at three feet from the ground, are here given, with their computed height. Acer Negundo, Ash-leaved Maple, planted in 1688.. .... Pinus Pinaster, Cluster Pine Quercus Alba, White Oak Quercus suber, Cork Tree Acer Rubrum, Scarlet-flowered Maple Quercus Ilex, Ever-green Oak 3 8 11 Gleditsia Triacanthus, the Thorned Arcacia, on the Lawn 8 Near the Porter's Lodge there is also a row of Lime trees, of a great age; one of which measures thirteen feet three inches in the girth. It is most probable that they were planted by Bishop Compton, about the time of the Revolution, when the fashion of planting avenues of Limes was introduced into this country from Holland, in compliment, as it is said, to the Prince of Orange, whose palace in Holland was decorated with those trees. The Cedar of Libanus is supposed to have been first planted, at Fulham, in the year 1683. Some years ago there was an old wooden chair in the shrubbery, which was said to be the very Judgment Seat from which Bishop Bonner pronounced his anathemas on heretics.Whether it was so employed by that inquisitor, has no other proof but the tradition of the place. It was sufficient, however, to inspire the use of Hannah More, who was a frequent visitor at the Palace during the prelacy of the last Bishop. The Lady's Jeu d'esprit was entitled Bonner's Ghost, and was permitted to proceed from the complimentary press of Strawberry Hill. The palace, the gardens, and a large grass field, called the Warren, containing, altogether, about thirty-seven acres, are surrounded by a moat, over which there are two bridges. That part of the grounds which ranges with the river, received some small improvements from Bishop Porteus. Many excellent prelates have been the inhabitants of this place, and we cannot mention this circumstance without selecting from among them, that able divine, celebrated preacher, and admirable writer, Doctor Sherlock; and his near successor, that distinguished scholar, profound theologian, and renowned biblical commentator, Doctor Lowth. The church of Fulham has nothing in its exterior form, or internal circumstances, to give a claim to particular consideration. It is dedicated to All Saints, and consists of a nave, a chancel, and two aisles. It is supposed to have been built in the fourteenth century. The bridge, which stretches across the river from Fulham to Putney, and to which the name of either place is equally applied, was built in the early part of the last century. |