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| Camden Crescent at the centre of the image, just above Hedgemead Park viewed from Prior Park Landscape Gardens |
Here are my thoughts:
Did you know that Camden Crescent, originally Camden Place
and Upper Camden Place (which is now round the corner) was named after the Earl
of Camden, Charles Pratt, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer so sponsored the
scheme with his symbol on every door and crest of the exchequer on the
decoration at the centre of the crescent? Charles Pratt was actually lord of
Camden Place in Chislehurst in Kent. He was mates with William Pitt the Elder
from Eton and Cambridge days. It was built 1788-1792 by John Eveleigh the
architect. One third of the 22 house crescent collapsed during a landslip which
claimed 136 houses on the slopes of Lansdown Hill leading to the creation of
Hedgemead Park below Camden Crescent. John Eveleigh was notoriously bankrupted in Bath, being called to the coffee shop in the Bath Chronicle by his creditors. Earl Camden was famous for supporting
Fox’s Libel Act of 1792 which said that libel should be tried as murder with a
jury regarding the point on intention. He then developed Camden Town in London
using a compulsory purchase order from parliament. Nowadays, a one night stay
in a 2 bedroom rented apartment in Camden Crescent is valued at £200 per night.
Other Camden Crescents in the UK include one in Brecon, Wales and one in Dover,
England.
A quick Google search returned the following useful links:
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