Stanley House was purchased of the Countess of Strathmore, by Mr. Lochee, who kept the Military Academy at Little Chelsea, and was for some time in the occupation of Richard Warren, M.D. This eminent physician was the son of the Rev. Richard Warren, Archdeacon of Suffolk. He died in 1797, and was buried in the chancel of Kensington Church, where a monument, with a Latin inscription, was erected to his memory.
About the year 1815, Stanley House was purchased by William Hamilton, Esq., who resided in it for some time, and made great additions to the original structure, by building a picture gallery on the east side. He had a good collection of paintings, a capital portrait of his father, the Rev. Dr. Hamilton, Vicar of St. Martin’s in the Fields, and many fine casts of the Elgin marbles. In 1822, Mr. Hamilton was appointed Envoy to the Court of Naples, and during his absence from Chelsea, he let the house to some distinguished families, amongst them may be mentioned the Marquis of Queensbury. Mr. Hamilton afterwards sold the estate to the National Society.
Stanley House, as it was formerly called, became the residence of the Principal of St. Mark’s College, which was established by the National Society, in the year 1841, as a Training Institution for Schoolmasters, in connexion with the Church of England. To the Rev. Derwent Coleridge, M.A., the first Principal of the College, must be attributed the eminent position it has attained among the educational institutions of the country. He was the Principal of the College for a period of twenty-three years, and greatly beloved by the Students, popular among his Colleagues and Assistants, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of the Council, who had the pleasant task of co-operating with him. In January, 1864, he was presented by the late Bishop of London to the Rectory of Hanwell, which occasioned his resignation.
Many candidates of great eminence were desirous to become the Rev. Mr. Coleridge’s successor, and from among them the Rev. John G. Cromwell, M.A., Hon. Canon of Durham, and formerly Scholar of Brasenose College, Oxford, was selected, his testimonials being of the very highest order, and his successful administration of the Training College at Durham, during 12 years, appeared to the Council a sufficient guarantee for his success at St. Mark’s. This expectation has now been happily fully realized.