walnut and mulberry, of thick foliage. I
can sit and read under their shade with as much admiration of the
beauties of nature as if I were 200 miles from the great city."

In 1836 the clever and popular Lady Blessington came to Gore House, and
remained there just so long as Wilberforce had done--namely, thirteen
years. The house is thus described in "The Gorgeous Lady Blessington"
(Mr. Molloy):

"Lying back from the road, from which it was separated by high walls
and great gates, it was approached by a courtyard that led to a
spacious vestibule. The rooms were large and lofty, the hall wide
and stately, but the chiefest attraction of all were the beautiful
gardens stretching out at the back, with their wide terraces,
flower-beds, extensive lawns, and fine old trees."

Kensington Gore was then considered to be in the country, and spoken of
as a mile from London. Count D'Orsay, who had married Lady Blessington's
stepdaughter, rather in compliance with her father's wishes than his own
inclination, spent much of his time with his mother-in-law, and at her
receptions all the literary talent of the age was gathered
together--Bulwer Lytton, Disraeli, and Landor were frequent visitors,
and Prince Louis Napoleon made his way to Gore House when he escaped
from prison. Lady Blessington died in 1849. The house was used as a
restaurant during the 1851 Exhibition, and afterwards bought with the
estate by the Commissioners.

The name "gore" generally means a wedge-shaped insertion, and, if we
take it as being between the Kensington Gardens and Brompton and
Cromwell Roads, might be applicable here, but the explanation is
far-fetched. Leigh Hunt reminds us that the same word "gore" was
previously used for mud or dirt, and as the Kensington Road at this part
was formerly notorious for its mud, this may be the meaning of the name,
but there can be no certainty. Lowther Lodge, a picturesque red-brick
house, stands back behind a high wall; it was designed by Norman Shaw,
R.A. In the row of houses eastward of it facing the road, No. 2 was once
the residence of Wilkes, who at that time had also a house in Grosvenor
Square and another in the Isle of Wight. Croker says that the actor
Charles Mathews was once, with his wife, Madame Vestris, in Gore Lodge,
Brompton. He was certainly a friend of the Blessingtons, and stayed
abroad with them in Naples for a year, and may have been attracted to
their neighbourhood