Archives: Persephone Post

The Queen’s Larder pub is a 4 minute walk from Persephone Books and has a very interesting history. It was built before the rest of Queen Square when it looked over open fields. Soon, three sides of Georgian housing and been built along the east, west and south sides of the Square; the north side was left open so that residents had views up to the hills of Hampstead and Highgate (and therefore could benefit from the country air). The Square’s reputation for health was such that when George III had another of his bouts of illness in 1788, Queen Charlotte sent him to live with his physician Dr Willis there. It is said that she rented the cellars beneath the pub to store the King’s favourite food and ales and so the pub has been called The Queen’s Larder ever since.

This is the Dairy Supply Company building, on the corner of Coptic Street just south of the British Museum, which was built in 1888. George Barham (1836-1913) founded his business in the 1860s when the outbreak of cattle plague was severely impacting the supply of milk to cities. He imported it directly from Derbyshire farms to Bloomsbury and was soon providing almost fifty per cent of London’s milk. He also began to design and manufacture dairy utensils. Picture in your mind a Victorian galvanised iron milk churn; that was one of Barham’s inventions for transportation. Image © Historic England

Another lesser known building in Bloomsbury: here is the Italian Hospital on Queen Square (now incorporated in to Great Ormond Street Hospital). Thousands of Italians arrived in Bloomsbury in the nineteenth century, settling in the area just east of Queen Square to make mosaics, clocks and watches. Their numbers were swelled by poorer immigrants in the second half of the century (ice-cream sellers and organ-grinders) and local businessman Giovanni Ortelli recognised that there was a need for a free hospital for those who couldn’t afford to go elsewhere. Built in 1898 it was funded by subscription in Italy and Britain and open to all. It stayed open as an independent hospital until 1990.

We are very pleased to be included in the new book ‘Bloomsbury in 50 Buildings‘ by Lucy McMurdo which traces the development of the area through its significant buildings. Here is the Horse Hospital (just off Russell Square) which is now a grade II listed arts venue. It was built in 1797 by James Burton (who developed large areas of Bloomsbury including Bedford Square, Russell Square, Bloomsbury Square, Tavistock Square as well as Regent Street and the Inner Circle villas at Regent’s Park). You still access the two storey building using the ramps that were necessary for the horses. And you can still see the tethering rings that were used to secure the sick horses during treatment.

The final of our five ‘unknown’ pre-Raphaelite women is Maria Zambaco (1843-1914). Reading about her is rather depressing and it is hard to think of much good to say about her. That is probably cruel, but compared with the previous four women this week she seems petulant and spoilt and difficult. Here and here are a couple of pieces about her which probably, if read carefully, would make one feel far better about Maria. But still. Here she is as Psyche painted by Burne-Jones. (She was apparently a painter and a sculptor in her own right but very little survives.)

Fanny Eaton (yesterday) was painted by her friend Joanna Wells (1831-61) in 1861. Tragically Joanna died after the death of her third child.

Fanny Eaton is another fascinating woman featured in the current Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. She was painted so often (cf. this good Art Fund piece about her) that it is hard to choose an image. But here she is in 1859-60 drawn by Walter Fryer Stocks. And the Art Fund reveals the lovely detail that Fanny lived in Coram Fields, maybe even  in Guilford Street at the end of Lamb’s Conduit Street since the family could not literally have lived in the Fields: ‘When she came of age, Fanny cohabitated with James Eaton, a horse-cab driver. They lived in London’s Coram Fields and had ten children together between 1858 and 1879. Brian Eaton, the great-great-grandson of Fanny, claims they were never married as no certificate has ever been found. Quite possibly, an interracial marriage would have been frowned upon and discouraged by James’s family. When James died in his forties in 1881, his wife was left to raise and provide for all of their surviving children.’ And she earned the family’s living by being a much sought-after artist’s model.