A SURREY HOUSE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Sta,—An inquiry has lately been addressed by the present writer to Lord Rosebery concerning the origin of the name of his well- known residence at Epsom. John Timbs, in his Romance of London, mentions that the materials of Nonsuch, Henry VIII.'s palace at Cuddington, near Ewell, which was pulled down by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, after being given to her by Charles II., were extensively used in enlarging the then popular health resort of Epsom, and one of the mansions thus built in 1662 was called Durdans. Lord Rosebery has favoured me with the following reply :— " 5 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh,
22nd Feb., 1918.
MY DEAR SIR,—I have no doubt whatever as to the origin of the name of Durdans, because in the first edition of Pepys' Diary, it is spelt as Durdan's.' So it obviously was called after a former occupier of that name. The attaching place waj called Garlands, after Mr. Garland, the owner, and I presume that this was a common practice in that part of the world. I bought the place as The Durdans, and have rather wavered between the two ways of calling the place, but The Durdans seems to have got hold too strongly to uproot. You will find that in both Pepys' and Evelyn's diaries allusions to the visits of Charles the Second to The Durdans are made, and no doubt the materials of Nonsuch were used in its construction—but that house was burned down, and it was rebuilt about 1750. Frederick, Prince of Wales, also lived there, of 'which you will find record in the local Epsom histories. I hope that this will be sufficient for your purpose.—Yours very truly,
ROSEBERY."
Doubtless his Lordship's communication will be of interest to your readers.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Spectacle Makers' Company, Temple Avenue,j LtiNDFSAR LUCAS.
E.G.