Batemans Buildings

Submitted by edpope on

See British History Online Monmouth House (Survey of London vols 33 & 34 pp 107-113) for the construction of Batemans Buildings on the site of Monmouth House. Described in 1895 by William Le Queux in The Temptress as "a short, paved court, lined on each side by grimy, squalid-looking houses, the court itself forming the playground of a hundred or so spirited juveniles of the unwashed class", but when it was built in 1774, although the area was no longer as grand as it once had been, these were neat bijou starter homes for upwardly mobile entrepreneurs (Thomas Macklin, John Raphael Smith, Michael Biaggini) as well as several tailors and other clothing trades, an agent (Andrews), a dodgy moneylender (Aickles), a dancing master (Bishop) and probably some on small private incomes. The houses were small in area but three storeys high with cellars. (QV*) means there is an entry for that person in Greater Soho dataset. See below for some evidence of non-householder residents

East Side, from the North

No 1 Thomas Macklin (QV*) CARVER & GILDER ratebooks 1775-76 / Daily Advertiser 16.10.1776 drug business for sale apply Mr Fielding, Batemans Buildings / Morning Post 16.4.1777 ad for wine apply to O.C. at 1 Batemans Buildings / Thomas Fielding ratebooks 1777 / empty or Fielding? 1778 / Ann Edwards (QV*) ratebooks1779 / SunFire 1779 Elizabeth Lambert (QV*) spinster / Charles Cuthbert Carlton (QV*) ratebooks1780-82 MAGISTRATES' CLERK / Elizabeth Bateman ratebooks1783-85 / empty 1786-87 John Evans 1786-90

No 2 Frederick Wettegg (QV* Wettig) TAILOR ratebooks 1775-76 / Thos Ellis (QV*) Esq ratebooks 1777 / Mr Bryer ratebooks 1778 / Jane Nelson (QV*) ratebooks 1779 / empty 1780 / John Dickson (sometimes Dickenson Dickens or Dixon) ratebooks from Oct 1781-1790+ VESTRY CLERK of St Anne Soho / George Poole Bailey's directory 1784 ATTORNEY / MorningChronicle 22.4.1785 ad young woman wants place apply to B.C. at 2 Batemans Buildings

No 3 empty 1775 / John Corrie ratebooks 1776 / empty 1777 / Benjamin Andrews (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1777-90+ ARMY AGENT / see Samuel Clare at No 15 ads 1779-82 as army agent some at No 3

No 4 empty 1775 / William Talbot (QV*) Esq ratebooks 1776-77 / Davidson ratebooks 1778 / William Hodges Oct 1778-79 / empty Oct 1780-June 1781 / Benjamin Cole (QV*) ratebooks June1780 / John Mackmillan ratebooks 1782-83 / William Markham (QV*) ARMY AGENT ratebooks 1784-90+ / John Bell SunFire 1791 TAILOR

No 5 James Massey (QV*) ratebooks 1775 / Thomas Fell (QV*) ratebooks1776-78 / William Fell Mar 1779 / John Valli (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1779-81 SunFire 1781 TRIMMING MAKER died 1783 / empty 1782 /  Anne Valli ratebooks 1783-90+

No 6 Mary Wells ratebooks 1775-76 / Francis Flower (QV*) 1777 / John Henry Aickles (QV*) MONEYLENDER ratebooks 1778-79 / Thomas Williams ratebooks Oct 1779 / empty 1780 / Michael Bellange (QV*) TAILOR SunFire 1780 ratebooks 1781-90+ died 1791 / Morning Herald 2.4.1783 valet wants place apply A.B. at 6 Batemans Buildings 1.8.1785 place wanted apply M.N. at 6 Batemans Buildings 31.10.1786 young man wants place apply D.M. at 6 Batemans Buildings

No 7 Peter Villaud ratebooks 1775 / John Freeman (QV*) ratebooks 1776 / Robertson ratebooks 1777 (George & John Robertson (QV*) subscribers 1774) / John Robinson subscriber 1774 SunFire 1777 gent / Daily Advertiser 28.9.1778 sale of goods of Mrs Robertson retiring to country "most of this furniture has not been used three months" / Margaret Charnock (QV*) WIDOW OF EXCISEMAN? ratebooks 1778 / ("mr bannester in stanney st to pay") / Henry Bentzler (QV*) SunFire 1779 HOSIER  / John Paul (QV*) ratebooks 1779-80, SunFire 1779, voted Fox & Rodney 1780 gent / Jos(iah?) Quinion ratebooks 1781-83 "gone to america" 1783 / Hope ratebboks 1784 / Robert Hownam (QV*) ROYAL PAGE ratebooks 1785-Xmas 1788 SunFire 1785 gent / Thomas Stringer ratebooks 1789-90 / Edward Godebt ratebooks from summer 1790

No 8 empty 1775 / Nugent Dec 1775 / Thomas Grubb (QV*) ratebooks 1776-77 / Eleanor Stevens ratebooks Oct 1777 (Stevenson) / Robinson ratebooks 1778 / empty 1779 / Joseph Smith ratebooks 1780 / Lancelot Powell (QV*) PRINTER? ratebooks 1781 / empty 1782 / William Green ratebooks Oct 1782-90+

West Side, from the South

No 9 David Walker (QV*) ratebooks 1775-83 voted Fox & Rodney 1780 gent / David Shilfox (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1783-Xmas 1787 HAIRDRESSER then ENGRAVER / Joseph Stephenson ratebooks from Xmas 1788

No 10 John Raphael Smith (QV*) ENGRAVER ratebooks 1775 to midsummer 1781 / John Baptist Valli ratebooks 1782 (see No 5) / empty 1783 / Robert Farr ratebooks Jun1783 / Charlotte Warburton ratebooks 1784 / Nicholas Bull (QV*) ratebooks1785-Mich 1786 / Joseph or Nicholas Davis ratebooks Xmas1786 - Mich 1788 / Francis Vincent (QV*) ratebooks Xmas 1788-1790+ Bailey's Directory 1790 ENGRAVER

No 11 Alexander Paterson (QV*) ratebooks 1775-77 subscriber 1774 / Giles Vanbergh (QV*)  ratebooks 1778-Xmas1788 ( Vanbergh & Burnet ratebooks1785) / a mezzotint  after P Stubley of Hannah Barker child was engraved by Henry Kingsbury and published by him 20.6.1789 from 11 Batemans Buildings / Gazetteer 1.2.1785 sale of house in Richmond Mr Roberts 11 Batemans Buildings Public Advertier 3.2.1785 sale of house in Richmond Mr Bobers (probably an error for Roberts as no-one called Bobers found) 11 Batemans Buildings / Emanuel Allen (QV*) ATTORNEY ratebooks spring 1789-1792

No 12 Philip Cann (QV*) GLOVER ratebooks 1775 / John Hutchins (QV*) ratebooks 1776-summer 1788 / Morning Chronicle 1.10.1782 Mr Curtis's vocal academy at 12 Batemans Buildings / John Gritten (QV*) STAYMAKER ratebooks summer 1788 / Benjamin Hughes ratebooks Xmas 1788-1790+

No 13 empty 1775 / Samuel Scrimshaw (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1775-77 BUTTONMAKER? / Daily Advertiser 5.7.1775 ad for 1st & 2nd floors to let 13 Batemans Buildings / Morning Post 3.10.1775 ad apply L.M.C. / Revd Mr Stone ratebooks1778 / Matthias Sacksback ratebooks 1779-81 / John Bulnois (QV*) ratebooks 1782-Mich 1786 (note, 117 Wardour St) / (John) James Smith ratebooks Mich 1786-1790+

No 14 Mrs Smith ratebooks 1775-76 / Coulthirst ratebooks Oct 1776 / Nathaniel Horwood (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1777-78 (Mr Cole landlord Harrindon St, Strand) / Henry Hickson SunFire 1777 gent at Mr Horwood's / empty 1779 / Michael Biaggini (QV*) ratebooks Aug 1779-81 ARTIFICIAL FLOWER MAKER & BALLOON MAKER / Henry Fellowes (QV*) ratebooks 1782 / empty Oct 1782 / John Turmeau (QV*) JEWELLER ratebooks 1783-summer 1788 / Alexander Brand Xmas 1788-1790+

No 15 William Thomas (QV*) UPHOLDER? ratebooks 1775 / John Claude Quetin (QV*) ratebooks 1776 "gone & broke" / Henry Bishop (QV*) ratebooks 1777-78, SunFire 1776 DANCING MASTER / Gazetteer 30.1.1779  & 44 ads for money broker in several papers up to 10.5.1781 at first apply J.D. name over the door 15 Batemans Buildings, from 8.2.1781 apply Mr P.R. / Anne Parke (QV*) ratebooks 1779-81 / Gazetteer 30.10.1781 sale of effects 15 Batemans Buildings of gent retiring to country "inscription boards well-adapted for lottery-office keepers" / empty Oct 1781 / Samuel Clare (QV*) ratebooks June 1782-85 ARMY AGENT / Richard Dovey (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1785-1790+ ENAMEL MAKER / directory 1785 William Chambers MERCHANT

No 16 John Frisks 1775 / Eliza Briscoe (QV*) ratebooks Oct 1775-80 / empty Oct 1780 / Andrew Yuell (QV*) ratebooks 1781-83 TAILOR / Alexander Manassier (QV*) ratebooks 1783-85 WATCHMAKER / Whittenhall ratebooks 1784 / empty spring 1786-spring 1787 / Robert Boissier ratebooks summer 1787-Xmas 1787 / Lockman ratebooks spring 1788-1790+

Soho burial registers gave street for burials from parish, just parish name for those from outside. Of those from parish, a bit less than half were marked "child". Those from Batemans Buildings 1774-1783 listed below: Frances Darley child 5.11.1775 / George Bortler child 17.8.1776 / Alexander Read (child?) 5.1.1777 / Penelope Piper child 17.2.1777 / James Piper (child?) 30.3.1777 / Elizabeth Cook child 23.5.1777 / William Gibson child 21.7.1779 / Jane Cornman child 17.12.1780 / John Parkes man 10.2.1781 / Burton woman 20.5.1782 / Ann Poole child 13.6.1782 / Anne Street child 7.2.1783 / Anne Osborn woman 16.3.1783. Plus 3 Walker children see Walker, David (No 9), and John Valle man see Valli, John (No 5)