Place Name
Algernon Charles Swinburne (April 5, 1837 – April 10, 1909) was one of the bad boys of poetry of his day writing about such taboo topics, such as lesbianism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism, which amused some and shocked many. The Swinburnes were a wealthy Northumbrian family and after attending Eton, where he started writing poetry, he attended Balliol College, Oxford. Swinburne was an alcoholic and got his sexual thrills from pain, he liked to be flogged. The booze and beatings took their toll on this already frail man and in 1879 at the age of 42, he was taken into care by his friend, Theodore Watts-Dunton, who looked after him for the rest of his life at The Pines, 11 Putney Hill, Putney. Watts-Dunton restricted his money and stopped all access to his former friends, tempering his youthful rebelliousness and developing into a figure of social respectability. While this tough love undoubtedly allowed his heart to recover it was said that Watts-Dunton had saved the man and killed the poet. Swinburne died at the Pines at the age of 72, and was buried at St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight. Swinburne Road is part of a small group of three streets on the Doverhouse Estate that were named after writers connected to Putney.
