The derivation of the odd name of Chalk Farm was not from any chalk
found in the vicinity, but is a corruption of Chalcots, a country house
or farm which stood on the south side of England's Lane. Contemporary
prints show us a large white house with balconies and pleasure-grounds,
for the house was at one time one of the minor tea-gardens in which the
North of London seemed particularly rich.
Chalk Farm was a favourite spot for duels in the earlier half of the
nineteenth century. The Adelaide Tavern dates from 1839, and facing the
spot there was previously a toll-house with turnpike gate.
We have now traversed the length and breadth of Hampstead, finding there
much that is picturesque, some few things ancient and many modern; and
above all we have experienced some of the charm and freshness of this
favoured spot. It is not difficult to see why Hampstead has been so
frequently selected as a home by artists--and not by artists alone, but
by literary men of all classes. Its natural advantages and its many
associations have exercised, and continue to exercise, a fascination
which draws men potently, in spite of some drawbacks, not the least of
which is its inaccessibility.
MARYLEBONE
The derivation of this name is simple. Lysons says: "The name of this
place was anciently called Tiburn, from its situation near a small bourn
or rivulet formerly called Aye-brook or Eye-brook, and now Tybourn
Brook. When the site of the church was altered to another spot, near the
same brook, it became St. Mary at the Bourne, now corrupted to St. Mary
le bone or Marybone." There is a possibility that the "bourne" did not
indicate the brook, but the boundary of the parish, in which case
Marybone would still be a corruption of St. Mary at the Bourne.
The borough of Marylebone is unique in many respects. It contains many
well-known and magnificent houses, such as Montagu House, Portman
Square; Hertford House, Manchester Square, where is Sir Richard
Wallace's collection of pictures and curiosities; Portland House,
Cavendish Square; and others. More than two-thirds of Regent's Park are
within its boundaries, including nearly all the Zoological Gardens. In
some parts of the borough the street lists furnish many titled and
famous names; in others are the poorest and most squalid districts,
rivalling in misery those of the East End.
Many foreign embassies are located within the parish boundaries. But the
most striking characteristic is the great number of hospitals. There are
hospitals for special diseases everywhere, besides large institutions
which have acquired more than Metropolitan fame.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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