| On the rival hill, Mount Sion, is Cumberland House, formerly the residence of Richard Cumberland, Esq. whose fame as a dramatic writer, will outlive his reputation as a diplomatist. At Burlington House, now the residence of Mrs. Akers, lived Sir James Bland Burgess; and North Grove House, behind the new (intended) Episcopal Chapel, was occupied by Lord North. Descending the hill, on the left, is a new row of buildings, called Cumberland Gardens, and at the end is Cumberland Terrace, so named from its having been the favorite promenade of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland. This terrace is pleasantly situated, and has some excellent lodging-houses. There are fields and gardens in front, the little stream that divides the Counties running between them; at the end, are the nursery grounds of Mr. Thomas Cripps, who has cultivated the rose to a high state of perfection. |
| Several eminent ministers have officiated here. The appointment is vested in certain Trustees, named by the deed. The first minister appointed appears to have been the Rev. David Waterhouse, and after him came in succession, the Reverends John Elton, William Dowding, William Thornhill, Thomas Foster, and Martin Benson. The latter gentleman, whose memory is highly respected by the inhabitants, was appointed in the year 1785, and held the office for forty three years, having resigned in 1823, on which occasion a piece of plate was presented to him as a testimony of the esteem in which he had been held. He died 1st. of April, 1833, aged 72 years. He was succeeded in his ministry in 1829, by the present minister, the Rev. W. L. Pope, M. A. Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. ..... The Rev.W. L. Pope resides at Claremont Lodge; Mr. Thomas Stidolph, Organist, at Cumberland Terrace; and Mr. John Jenner, Clerk, at Mount Sion. |