FULHAM PALACE 



stagnation and unwholesomeness, until Dr. King connected it with 

 the Thames by means of sluices. 



Bishop Blomfield, whose tomb is conspicuous in Fulham church- 

 yard, and who came to the See in 1824, was greatly attached to 

 the old place, where he dwelt for twenty-eight years; he is said 

 to have spent thousands of pounds upon cleansing and improving 

 the moat, which at the present day is very picturesque, but still 

 undesirably muddy ! Nevertheless it is easy to believe that a 

 hundred years ago it was " the haunt of the kingfisher," and well 

 stocked with fish, and that even in Faulkner's time it in some places 

 abounded with water lilies. 



As mentioned in the last chapter, Lambeth Palace suffered 

 severely during the period of the Parliamentary Wars. Fulham 

 was more fortunate ; we read that a bridge of boats was thrown 

 across the river by the Parliamentarians in 1642, in order to carry 

 Cromwell's troops into Surrey ; that the headquarters of the 

 army was fixed in Putney and Fulham ; that the generals held 

 their councils in Putney Church, and that Puritan sermons were 

 preached therein ; but through all this, the innermost tranquillity 

 of the Manor House was undisturbed by the outside tumult. 



At the end of the avenue the steps known as " the Bishop's 

 Steps " led to the river, where the Bishop's barge, manned by 

 many rowers, when not in use, lay at its moorings. The ferry 

 between Fulham and Putney went by the name of the " Bishop's 

 Ferry." As in the case of Lambeth, the tolls and profits accruing 

 from it belonged to the manor. The pontoon-bridge above men- 

 tioned was of course but a temporary arrangement, and the " River 

 of Thames " " noble and capacious river " as Faulkner calls it 

 remained bridgeless hereabouts, for over eighty years. Then, 

 largely through the efforts of Sir Robert Walpole, minister to 

 George II. and father of Horace Walpole, whose name was com- 

 memorated in the central arch, the quaint timber bridge, with 

 its picturesque toll-house, its bell-cot and gates since swept 

 away to make room for a substantial stone structure was built. 

 The bishops received compensation in a sum of money, and the 

 privilege of the free use of the bridge for themselves and their 

 dependents ; so that any servant of the Manor House claimed 

 freedom from the toll simply by shouting out " Bishop." 



Faulkner tells us that in the year 1689, Ray, an eminent naturalist 



83 6* 



