54 BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM. 
have laid the foundation of the family’s fortune. He accompanied 
Sir Walter Raleigh to the West Indies, and on his return to 
Ireland he was made Vice-President of Munster. His son William, 
commonly known as Colonel Legge, suffered severely for his 
espousal of the cause of Charles I, and on the accession of 
Charles II, received many marks of royal favour, and amongst 
other appointments was Master of the Armoury at Greenwich. 
George Legge, his eldest son and heir, who received Lewisham 
from his uncle, had a varied life on sea and land. As an Admiral 
of the Fleet he was sent to demolish Tangier, and received a 
grant of 410,000 for his services. In 1673 he was Governor of 
Portsmouth, Master of the Horse, Master of the Ordnance and 
Colonel of a regiment of foot, and in 1682 was created Baron 
Dartmouth. He was deprived of his appointments by William III, 
and committed to the Tower, where he died in 1691. 
His tenure of the Lordship of Lewisham was marked by the 
grant he obtained in 1682 for a fair to be held twice a year and a 
market twice a week on Blackheath. The market house was 
erected on the east side of Dartmouth Row, between what is now 
known as The Grove and Dartmouth Hill. 
His son, William, was made a Privy Councillor by Queen 
Anne, and created Viscount Lewisham and Earl of Dartmouth in 
1711, the former title being held ever since by the eldest son. He 
and his grandson, who succeeded him as second Earl of Dartmouth, 
resided much at Blackheath, and entered largely into the local 
life. Whitfield was much thought of by the first Earl, and with 
Wesley preached frequently upon Blackheath to enormous crowds. 
In 1774 the old Parish Church, which had become too small 
for the increasing population—it must be remembered that it was 
the only place of worship in the whole parish except the little 
chapel in Dartmouth Row and a small Presbyterian chapel at 
Sydenham—-was in a dangerous state, and an Act of Parliament 
was obtained for rebuilding it. In the time of the second Earl of 
Dartmouth the fair on Blackheath, which had been in existence 
about go years, was discontinued owing to the undesirable 
characters it brought together. It had been held on the 12th, 
13th and 14th of May, and rith, 12th and 13th October in each 
year. Cattle were, however, permitted to be sold on the r2th May 
and 11th October, but no booths were allowed to be put up 
without the Earl’s permission. 
In the steps taken for the defence of the kingdom during the 
Napoleonic Wars the neighbourhood took its share. A small 
body of Blackheath Yeomanry was formed in 1798, and in the 
same year a four-company corps of Lewisham Volunteers was 
raised under Lieut.-Colonel John Forster. Of this corps other 
officers were Major Mayow Wynell Mayow (of Sydenham), Captain 
Abraham Constable (of Mount Pleasant House), Lieutenant Henry 
Mills (of the Limes), Ensign Thomas Watson Parker, and others. 
This was succeeded in 1803 by the Loyal Lewisham and Lee 
