Streatham Park in Mr Giles’ tenure
Streatham Park 1792 by William Ellis
Between 1795 and May 1807 Streatham Park was let to Mr Giles of Mark Lane Tower Street, a Cornfactor for £550 per year.
Mr Giles left when he was unwilling to pay the increased rent Mrs. Piozzi asked to offset the new war taxes. During Mr Giles tenure, the Piozzis regularly stayed with Mr Giles at Streatham Park during the weekend.
On 7 April 1801, Hester wrote about Streatham Park and Mr Giles in Thraliana as follows…
“At Streatham Park, our long not tedious Journey came to an End. Mr Giles was not at home, but had so provided for our Reception that it seemed as if we were at home; & we sent for Mr Davies & little Dear[1],& behaved as we would have done, had the Place been still our own.—A Billiard Table somewhat crouds up the Library—else everything appeared changed rather for the better than the worse—Books of enormous Value drove my old Rums behind them, & for Collections of curious engravings—Oriental Landshapes, Chinese Dresses & Customs, fine Holbein Heads & exquisite Specimens of Natural History: we must I think go to Peter Giles the Cornfactor, & his Friend Mr Ewen—a broken Apothecary as I understand; who purchases & arranges Things for him, with very solid Judgement & very excellent Taste.
Since I was connected with Men in Trade,—or in the Commercial Line as the present wretched Phrase is; they are most exceedingly improved in their Desire of Improvement—yet ’tis not wholly for Improvement neither that they collect these Books & Prints and Rareties. There is a Spirit of Emulation among the rich ones, who shall possess the finest Things of every Sort, & since Mr Giles does not (as I have heard Mr Thrale say he did)— regulate his Taste of Women by the Rule of which Girl was most in Fashion: He sleeps wth a fat Housekeeper at home—& commits the Choice of his dead Friends, instead of his living Mistresses, to Fancy of a Person upon whose Skill in Selection he relies. The Voyages are bound with a Curiosity of Elegance wholly new to me; a Ship upon the Back of each Volume going out, or coming home—So beautiful!
But not the House only, the Garden gains surprisingly by our Tenants heavy Purse & liberal Hand; He has new planted the Espaliers—new clothed the Wall & even brought Earth at an immense Expence to promote the Growth of Trees he takes no visible Delight in—any more than the Books—& I think rather less of the two. He goes not round His Plantations twice in a Season—lives in London getting Money all Morng and comes home on a Saturday to drink hard & play Billiards till 5 or 6 o’Clock o’ Monday—when the earliest Workman’s Bell rings not till he has been arrived in Town some Moments, & been busied in the Corn Market:—leaving old Streatham Park a Brothel for his Servants: each of whom is a Relation: Brother, Sister, Niece or Nephew to the fat Bedfellow who stays behind, when better Sport offers not; —& whose Absence is much desired by her Family—who follow her with Curses to the Door.
So live the Rich Men of England!—& so I lived with them! & shared in the good Dinners given by the Master of the House: whether Business carried him to London, or desire of Pleasure in our Company brought him back into the Country wch seem’d always as if illumined by his Return, who I believe cannot be ill-humour’d even for an Instant. Never did my Eyes contemplate a Character of such perennial Sweetness without Insipidity: for Mr Giles is no polish’d or varnish’d Mortal, but endow’d with a Temper desirous of Enjoyment, & willing to find it in every thing that offers. My Time pass’d much less unpleasantly in his—& his coarse Friends’ Society, than my own fine friends could easily perswade themselves to believe;—but He really so liked our being there, & it was so convenient in Point of Expence—I made myself very happy, & let him the Place again most willingly for six Years more, & he is to pay any new Taxes which may be put on, while we go forward as accountable for the old ones—his Rent 550£ o’ Year.”
