Campden House Fire Sunday March 23rd 1862

This anniversary commanded my attention because I spend a few weekends each summer in the Cotswolds. There I see the ruins of Campden House in Chipping Campden. This was was burnt down in 1645. So, when I read about the burning down of Campden House in the 19th Century, it had to be another one. And it turns out there is one in Kensington, London, and another in Chipping Campden. Both were built for Sir Baptist Hicks, Viscount Campden.

Baptist Hicks Rise to Aristocracy

Baptist Hicks is an example of the flexibility of the British system of aristocracy. Hicks was a commoner, the son of a wealthy Mercer from Cheapside in the City of London. His mother is said to have been a moneylender. But when her husband died, she was resourceful enough to take over the business. She made a success of it and eventually passed it on to her son. The family shop was on the corner of Cheapside and Soper Lane, near the Great Conduit. It was signposted by the sign of the White Bear.

Soper Lane was in the Cordwainers Ward. It was the haunt of soap makers and shoemakers (cordwainers as they were called). But Cheapside, itself, was the home of Goldsmiths and generally a wealthy area.

Hicks was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and at the Inner Temple in London. But despite the rudiments of an education as a lawyer, he chose to continue in the family business. He supplied members of the Aristocracy with silk, velvet, taffeta, and other expensive fabrics. He rose to be Mercer to Queen Elizabeth I in 1598, and supplied James VI of Scotland. Indeed, he provided velvet, damask, and satin for the coronation of James 1st on 25 July, 1603.

As his business grew, he was able to lend large sums of money to the aristocracy and the King. He was duly knighted in 1603. He was still running his shop but was elected as an MP. Now, Hicks needed a country estate to transition to the aristocracy. So, in 1608, purchased the manor in Chipping Campden.

Baptist Hicks and Campden House, Kensington

At about the same time, he won a game of cards with Sir Walter Cope of the Strand. Cope was engaged in building himself a mansion (Holland House) on top of the Hill in Kensington. Hicks won a few acres of the Estate at cards. He asked Cope’s architect John Thorpe to design him a house, which Hicks also called Campden House. Thus, Kensington became fashionable, and Campden Hill got its name. Campden Hill continues as Notting Hill.

After Baptist Hicks death there were many tenants of the house. One was Princess Anne before she became Queen Anne. Also Lady Burlington and her son, Richard Boyle, who became Britain’s first Palladian Architect.

Hicks was made a Baron in 1620 and Viscount of Campden in 1628. (a viscount is 4th in the ranks of aristocracy, being below an Earl and above a Baron). He died in 1629. He was buried in a very impressive marble monument in St James Church, Chipping Campden shown above.

Campden house, Chipping Campden

After his death, the house in Chipping Campden was held by the Royalists in the Civil War. But the Parliamentary Army forced the King’s men to retreat towards Oxford. Prince Maurice ordered the house to be burned down. All that survives of the property are two banqueting houses, and the entrance. All show what a fine building it was.

To read my post on the infamous Chipping Campden Murder follow this link.

The Fire at Campden House, Kensington.

The fire at Campden House on 23rd March, 1862 gutted the building.  It is really well described in this post which I recommend you read.  Briefly, a neighbour saw the fire. A fire engine was summoned, but before it could arrive a servant was seen at a window.  Her son tried to push past her, and she fell out of the window but survived.  When the fire engine arrived, it was too late and the house and its wonderful contents were destroyed.  The owner was sued by the Insurance Company for fraud, but they lost the case.

The English Year Almanac

I came across the anniversary of the fire in a secondhand book I picked up. It is by my old boss, Sir Roy Strong. The book is called ‘The English Year’ and is written with Julia Trevelyan Oman. It is described as ‘A Personal Selection from Chambers’ Book of Days’. Last year I also purchased the Chambers book on Abebooks for £ 2.10!). Both have been a useful source of information for my Almanac of the Past.

Sir Roy Strong was the Director of the V&A. Sir Roy is a dapper dresser you might almost call him a neo-Georgian. Certainly, a bit of a dandy. I always thought he resembled Charles 1, one of our most ineffectual Kings. I didn’t really have much contact with him, being a lowly Assistant Keeper at the V&A. But at the one Keepers’ Meeting I did attend he seemed rather ineffectual as the chairman of the meeting. But this is mere gossip! And I mention it to show how wrong one can be, in judging people.

However, when I consider the revival of the V&A under his tenure, my judgement was facile. Sir Roy transformed the V&A. The Museum had been damaged by years of under-investment in the building since WW2. Sir Roy began a campaign to restore the rich and very beautiful old Victorian architecture. The original Victorian Restaurant was transformed. The shop turned into a retail paradise. Generally, the V&A ceased to be dusty and old under his tenure. The wonders of the Victorian Museum shone again with rich and vibrant colours. It reminds me that good leadership is allowing beneficial change to happen. It’s not about the leader being a dynamic leader. It’s about moving an institution positively forward, which Sir Roy certainly did.

On this day

23 March 1769 Born William ‘Strata’ Smith (died 28 August 1839) was an English geologist, created ‘the first detailed, nationwide geological map of any country’. (Wikipedia). He worked in a town just down the road from Chipping Camden, and there is a plaque to him in Stow-on-the-Wold which I will write up at some point.