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Title: Memorials of Old London. Volume 2 (of 2)

Editor: P. H. Ditchfield

Release date: February 7, 2015 [eBook #48187]
                Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

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Memorials of the Counties of England

General Editor:

REV. P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.


MEMORIALS OF OLD LONDON

VOLUME II.


[Illustration: CRAB TREE INN, HAMMERSMITH 1898

_From a painting by Philip Norman, LL.D._]


MEMORIALS OF OLD LONDON

Edited by

P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Author of
_The City Companies of London and their Good Works_
_The Story of our Towns_
_The Cathedral Churches of Great Britain_
_&c. &c._

In Two Volumes

VOL. II.

With Many Illustrations







London
Bemrose & Sons Limited, 4 Snow Hill, E.C.
and Derby
1908

[All Rights Reserved]




CONTENTS OF VOL. II.


                                                                    Page

The Palaces of London
  By Rev. R. S. Mylne, B.C.L., F.S.A.                                  1

Elizabethan London
  By T. Fairman Ordish, F.S.A.                                        21

Pepys's London
  By H. B. Wheatley, F.S.A.                                           52

The Old London Bridges
  By J. Tavenor-Perry                                                 82

The Clubs of London
  By Sir Edwd. Brabrook, C.B., F.S.A.                                 99

The Inns of Old London
  By Philip Norman, LL.D.                                            113

The Old London Coffee-Houses
  By G. L. Apperson, I.S.O.                                          135

The Learned Societies of London
  By Sir Edwd. Brabrook, C.B., F.S.A.                                150

Literary Shrines of Old London
  By Elsie M. Lang                                                   166

Crosby Hall
  By the Editor                                                      182

The Pageant of London; with some account of the City Churches,
Christ's Hospital, etc.
  By the Editor                                                      193

Index                                                                223




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. II.


Crab Tree Inn, Hammersmith, 1898                          _Frontispiece_
    (_From a painting by Philip Norman, LL.D._)

                                                                Page, or
                                                             Facing Page

The Houses of Parliament (_From a photo. by Mansell & Co._)            4

A View of the Savoy Palace from the River Thames                       6
    (_From an engraving published by the Society of Antiquaries
     in 1750, from a plan by G. Virtue_)

Portion of an exact Survey of the Streets, Lanes, and Churches         8
    (_Comprehended by the order and directions of the Right
    Honourable the Lord Mayor, 10th December, 1666_)

The Prospect of Bridewell                                             10
    (_Published according to Act of Parliament, 1755, for Stow's
    Survey_)

The Palace of Whitehall (_From a photo. by Mansell & Co._)            14

St. James's Palace                "    "    "                         16

St. James's Palace, from Pall Mall and from the Park                  18
    (_From an old print_)

Plan of London in the time of Queen Elizabeth (1563)                  24
    (_From an old print_)

Shooting Match by the London Archers in the Year 1583                 44
    (_From an old print_)

A View of London as it appeared before the Great Fire                 56
    (_From an old print_)

The Great Fire of London (_From an old print_)                        76

South-West View of Old St. Paul's     "    "                          80

Sir John Evelyn's Plan for Rebuilding London after the Great Fire
    (_From an old print_)                                             82

The Undercroft of St. Thomas of Canterbury on the Bridge              84

The Surrey End of London Bridge (_Drawn by J. Tavenor-Perry_)         89

The Foundation Stone Chair          "    "    "                       93

Old Westminster Bridge              "    "    "                       96

Badge of Bridge House Estates       "    "    "                       98

An Early Letter of the Royal Society, dated January 18th, 1693-4     152

Cheapside, with the Cross, as they appeared in 1660                  170
    (_From an old print_)

Crosby Hall (_From a drawing by Whichillo, engraved by Stour_)       184

St. Paul's Cathedral, with Lord Mayor's Show on the water            190
    (_From an engraving by Pugh, 1804_)

Christ's Hospital (_From an old print_)                              194

Carrying the Crug-basket                                             196

Wooden Platters and Beer Jack                                        198

Piggin, Wooden Spoon, Wooden Soup-ladle                              199

Christ's Hospital: The Garden (_From a photo._)                      200

Old Staircase at Christ's Hospital                                   202

The Royal Exchange (_From an engraving by Hollar, 1644_)             218




THE PALACES OF LONDON

BY THE REV. R. S. MYLNE, B.C.L. (OXON), F.S.A. F.R.S. (SCOTS.)


The housing of the Sovereign is always a matter of interest to the
nation. It were natural to expect that some definite arrangement
should be made for this purpose, planned and executed on a grand and
appropriate scale. Yet as a matter of fact this is seldom the case
amongst the western nations of Europe. Two different causes have
operated in a contrary direction. One is the natural predilection of
the ruler of the State for a commodious palace outside, but not far
from, the capital. Thus the great Castle of Windsor has always been
_par excellence_ the favourite residence of the King of England. The
other is the growth of parliamentary institutions. Thus the entire
space occupied by the original Royal Palace has become the official
meeting-place of the Parliament; and the King himself has perforce been
compelled to find accommodation elsewhere.

Look at the actual history of the Royal Palace of _Westminster_, where
the High Court of Parliament now is accustomed to assemble. It was on
this very spot that Edward the Confessor lived and died, glorying in
the close proximity of the noble abbey that seemed to give sanctity to
his own abode. Here the last Saxon King entertained Duke William of
Normandy, destined to be his own successor on the throne. Here he gave
the famous feast in which he foretold the failure of the crusades, as
Baring Gould records in his delightful _Myths of the Middle Ages_. Here
Edward I. was born, and Edward III. died. The great hall was erected by
William Rufus, and the chapel by King Stephen. Henry VIII. added the
star chamber. The painted chamber, decorated with frescoes by Henry
III., was probably the oldest portion of the mediæval palace, and just
beyond was the prince's chamber with walls seven feet thick. There was
also the ancient Court of Requests, which served as the House of Lords
down to 1834. The beautiful Gothic Chapel of St. Stephen was used as
the House of Commons from 1547 to 1834. The walls were covered with
frescoes representing scenes from the Old and New Testaments. In modern
times they resounded to the eloquence of Pitt, Fox, Burke, and Canning.

The curious crypt beneath this chapel was carefully prepared by H.M.
Office of Works for the celebration of the marriage of Lord Chancellor
Loreburn last December, and a coffin was discovered while making
certain reparations to the stonework, which is believed to contain the
remains of the famous Dr. Lyndwode, Bishop of St. David's from 1442 to
1446.

In the terrible fire on the night of October 16, 1834, the entire
palace was destroyed with the exception of the great hall, which, begun
by William Rufus, received its present beautiful roof of chestnut wood
from Henry Yeveley, architect or master mason to Richard II.

The present magnificent Palace of Westminster was erected by Sir
Charles Barry between 1840 and 1859 in the Gothic style, and is
certainly one of the finest modern buildings in the world. The river
front is remarkably effective, and presents an appearance which at once
arrests the attention of every visitor. It is quite twice the size of
the old palace, formerly occupied by the King, and cost three millions
sterling. It is certainly the finest modern building in London.

Some critics have objected to the minuteness of the decorative designs
on the flat surfaces of the walls, but these are really quite in accord
with the delicate genius of Gothic architecture, and fine examples of
this kind of work are found in Belgium and other parts of the Continent.

Every one must admit the elegance of proportion manifested in the
architect's design, and this it is which makes the towers stand out so
well above the main building from every point of view; moreover, this
is the special characteristic which is often so terribly lacking in
modern architecture. One wonders whether Vitruvius and kindred works
receive their due meed of attention in this twentieth century.

Within the palace the main staircase, with the lobby and corridors
leading to either House of Parliament, are particularly fine, and form
a worthy approach to the legislative chambers of the vast Empire of
Great Britain.

The Palace of the _Savoy_ also needs some notice. The original house
was built by Peter, brother of Boniface, for so many years Archbishop
of Canterbury, and uncle of Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry
III. By his will Peter bequeathed this estate to the monks of Montjoy
at Havering-at-Bower, who sold it to Queen Eleanor, and it became the
permanent residence of her second son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, and
his descendants. When King John of France was made a prisoner after the
battle of Poitiers in 1356, he was assigned an apartment in the Savoy,
and here he died on April 9, 1364. The sad event is thus mentioned in
the famous chronicle of Froissart:--

     "The King and Queen, and all the princes of the blood, and
     all the nobles of England were exceedingly concerned from the
     great love and affection King John had shewn them since the
     conclusion of peace."

The best-known member of the Lancastrian family who resided in this
palace is the famous John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. During his
time, so tradition has it, the well-known poet Chaucer was here
married to Philippa, daughter of Sir Paon de Roet, one of the young
ladies attached to the household of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster,
and the sister of Catherine Swynford, who at a later period became
the Duke's third wife. However this may be, the Savoy was at that
time the favourite resort of the nobility of England, and John of
Gaunt's hospitality was unbounded. Stow, in his _Chronicle_, declares
"there was none other house in the realm to be compared for beauty and
stateliness." Yet how very transitory is earthly glory, all the pride
of place and power!

In the terrible rebellion of Wat Tyler, in the year 1381, the Savoy
was pillaged and burnt, and the Duke was compelled to flee for his
life to the northern parts of Great Britain. His Grace had become very
unpopular on account of the constant protection he had extended to the
simple followers of Wickcliffe.

After this dire destruction the Savoy was never restored to its former
palatial proportions. The whole property passed to the Crown, and King
Henry VII. rebuilt it, and by his will endowed it in a liberal manner
as a hospital in honour of St. John the Baptist. This hospital was
suppressed at the Reformation under Edward VI., most of the estates
with which it was endowed passing to the great City Hospital of St.
Thomas. But Queen Mary refounded the hospital as an almshouse with
a master and other officers, and this latter foundation was finally
dissolved in 1762.

Over the gate, now long destroyed, of King Henry VII.'s foundation were
these words:--

    "Hospitium hoc inopi turbe Savoia vocatum
    Septimus Henricus solo fundavit ab imo."

[Illustration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.]

The church, which is the only existing remnant of former splendour,
was built as the chapel of Henry VII.'s Hospital, and is an
interesting example of Perpendicular architecture, with a curious and
picturesque belfry. In general design it resembles a college chapel,
and the religious services held therein are well maintained. Her late
Majesty Queen Victoria behaved with great generosity to the church of
the Savoy. In her capacity of Duchess of Lancaster she restored the
interior woodwork and fittings, and after a destructive fire in 1864
effected a second restoration of the entire interior of this sacred
edifice. There is now a rich coloured roof, and appropriate seats for
clergy and people. There is also preserved a brass belonging to the
year 1522 from the grave of Thomas Halsey, Bishop of Leighlin, and
Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, famous in Scottish history for his
piety and learning. There is also a small figure from Lady Dalhousie's
monument, but all the other tombs perished in the flames in 1864. The
history of the central compartment of the triptych over the font is
curious. It was painted for the Savoy Palace in the fourteenth century,
afterwards lost, and then recovered in 1876.

Amongst the famous ministers of the Savoy were Thomas Fuller, author of
the _Worthies_, and Anthony Horneck. In the Savoy was held the famous
conference between twelve bishops and twelve Nonconformists for the
revision of the Liturgy soon after the accession of King Charles II. In
this conference Richard Baxter took a prominent part.

In this brief sketch nothing is more remarkable than the great variety
of uses to which the palace of the Savoy has been put, as well as the
gradual decay of mediæval splendour. Still, however, the name is very
familiar to the multitudes of people who are continually passing up and
down the Strand. Yet it is a far cry to the days of Archbishop Boniface
of Savoy, and Edmund Earl of Lancaster.

_Bridewell_ is situated on a low-lying strip of land between the Thames
and the Fleet, just westwards of the south-western end of the Roman
wall of London. In early days this open space only possessed a tower
for defensive purposes, just as the famous Tower of London guarded the
eastern end of the city. Hard by was the church of St. Bride, founded
in the days of the Danes, most likely in the reign of King Canute, and
here there was a holy well or spring. Hence arose the name of Bridewell.

In 1087, ancient records relate, King William gave choice stones from
his tower or castle, standing at the west end of the city, to Maurice,
Bishop of London, for the repair of his cathedral church.

From time to time various rooms were added to the original structure,
which seem chiefly to have been used for some state ceremonial or
judicial purpose. Thus in the seventh year of King John, Walter de
Crisping, the Justiciar, gave judgment here in an important lawsuit.

In 1522 the whole building was repaired for the reception of the famous
Emperor Charles V., but that distinguished Sovereign actually stayed in
the Black Friars, on the other side of the Fleet.

King Henry VIII. made use of Bridewell for the trial of his famous
divorce case. Cardinal Campeggio was President of the Court, and in the
end gave judgment in favour of Queen Catharine of Aragon. Yet, despite
the Cardinal, Henry would have nothing more to do with Catharine, and
at the same time took a dislike to Bridewell, which was allowed to fall
into decay--in fact, nothing of the older building now remains. King
Edward VI., just before his own death in 1553, granted the charter
which converted Bridewell into a charitable institution, and after many
vicissitudes a great work is still carried on at this establishment for
the benefit of the poor of London. In May, 1552, Dr. Ridley, Bishop
of London, wrote this striking letter to Sir William Cecil, Knight, and
Secretary to the King:--

     "Good Master Cecyl,--I must be suitor with you in our Master
     Christ's cause. I beseech you be good unto him. The matter is,
     Sir, that he hath been too, too long abroad, without lodging,
     in the streets of London, both hungry, naked and cold. There
     is a large wide empty house of the King's Majesty called
     Bridewell, which would wonderfully serve to lodge Christ in,
     if he might find friends at Court to procure in his cause."

Thus the philanthropic scheme was started, and brought to completion
under the mayoralty of Alderman Sir George Barnes.

[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE SAVOY PALACE FROM THE RIVER THAMES.

_Published by the Society of Antiquaries in 1750, from a plan by G.
Virtue._

AAA The great building, now a barracks.

BB Prison for the Savoy, and guards.

CCC Church of St. Mary le Savoy.

D Stairs to the waterside.

EFG Churches of German Lutherans, French and German Calvinists.]

_St. James's_ is the most important royal palace of London. For many a
long year it has been most closely associated with our royal family,
and the quaint towers and gateway looking up St. James's Street possess
an antiquarian interest of quite an unique character. This palace,
moreover, enshrines the memory of a greater number of famous events in
the history of our land than any other domestic building situated in
London, and for this reason is worthy of special attention.

Its history is as follows:--Before the Norman Conquest there was a
hospital here dedicated to St. James, for fourteen maiden lepers.
A hospital continued to exist throughout the middle ages, but when
Henry VIII. became King he obtained this property by an exchange, and
converted it, as Holinshed bears witness, into "a fair mansion and
park" when he was married to Anne Boleyn. The letters "H. A." can still
be traced on the chimney-piece of the presence chamber or tapestry
room, as well as a few other memorials of those distant days. And what
days they were! Queen Anne Boleyn going to St. James's in all the
joyous splendour of a royal bride, and how soon afterwards meeting her
cruel fate at the hands of the executioner! Henry VIII. seldom lived at
St. James's Palace, perhaps on account of the weird reminiscences of
Anne Boleyn, but it became the favourite residence of Queen Mary after
her husband Philip II. returned to Spain, and here she died in utter
isolation during the dull November days of the autumn of 1558. Thus the
old palace is first associated with the sad story of two unhappy queens!

But brighter days were coming. Prince Henry, the eldest son of James
I., settled here in 1610, and kept a brilliant and magnificent court,
attached to which were nearly 300 salaried officials. Then in two
short years he died, November 6, 1612. Then the palace was given to
Charles, who afterwards ascended the throne in 1625, and much liked
the place as a residence. It is closely associated with the stirring
events of this romantic monarch's career. Here Charles II., James II.,
and the Princess Elizabeth were born, and here Marie de Medici, the
mother of Queen Henrietta Maria, took refuge in 1638, and maintained a
magnificent household for three years. It is said her pension amounted
to £3,000 a month! Her residence within the royal palace increased the
unpopularity of the King, whose arbitrary treatment of Parliament led
to the ruinous Civil War. The noble House of Stuart is ever unfortunate
all down the long page of history, and the doleful prognostications of
the Sortes Vergilianæ, sought for by the King, proved but too true in
the event.

We quote six lines of Dryden's translation from the sixth book of the
_Æneid_, at the page at which the King by chance opened the book--

    "Seek not to know, the ghost replied with tears,
    The sorrows of thy sons in future years.
    This youth, the blissful vision of a day,
    Shall just be shewn on earth, and snatched away.

           .       .       .       .       .

    "Ah! couldst thou break through Fate's severe decree,
    A new Marcellus shall arise in thee."

Dr. Wellwood says Lord Falkland tried to laugh the matter off, but the
King was pensive.

[Illustration: PORTION OF AN EXACT SURVEY OF THE STREETS, LANES, AND
CHURCHES.

_Comprehended by the order and directions of the Right Honourable the
Lord Mayor 10th December, 1666._]

The fortunes of war were against this very attractive but weak monarch,
who was actually brought as a prisoner of the Parliament from Windsor
Castle to his own Palace of St. James, there to await his trial on a
charge of high treason in Westminster Hall!

Certain of his own subjects presumed to pass sentence of death upon
their own Sovereign, and have become known to history as the regicides.
Very pathetic is the story of the scenes which took place at St.
James's on Sunday, January 28, 1649. A strong guard of parliamentary
troops escorted King Charles from Whitehall to St. James's, and Juxon,
the faithful Bishop of London, preached his last sermon to his beloved
Sovereign from the words, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel." His Majesty then
received the Sacrament, and spent much time in private devotion. On the
morrow he bade farewell to his dear children the Duke of Gloucester and
the Princess Elizabeth, praying them to forgive his enemies, and not to
grieve, for he was about to die a glorious death for the maintenance of
the laws and liberties of the land and the true Protestant religion.
Then he took the little Duke of Gloucester on his knees, saying,
"Sweetheart, now they will cut off thy father's head," and the young
prince looked very earnestly and steadfastly at the King, who bade him
be loyal to his brothers Charles and James, and all the ancient family
of Stuart. And thus they parted.

Afterwards His Majesty was taken from St. James's to the scaffold at
Whitehall. There was enacted the most tragic scene connected with the
entire history of the Royal Family of England. At the hands of Jacobite
writers the highly-coloured narrative is like to induce tears of grief,
but the Puritans love to dwell on the King's weaknesses and faults.
Yet everyone must needs acknowledge the calm nobility and unwavering
courage of the King's bearing and conduct.

    "He nothing common did or mean
    Upon that memorable scene,
      But with his keener eye
      The axe's edge did try;
    Nor called the gods with vulgar spite
    To vindicate his helpless right,
      But bowed his comely head
      Down, as upon a bed."

The great German historian Leopold von Ranke is rightly regarded as
the best and most impartial authority on the history of Europe in the
seventeenth century. This is what he says on the martyrdom of Charles
I.:--

     "The scaffold was erected on the spot where the kings were
     wont to show themselves to the people after their coronation.
     Standing beside the block at which he was to die, he was
     allowed once more to speak in public. He said that the war
     and its horrors were unjustly laid to his charge.... If at
     last he had been willing to give way to arbitrary power, and
     the change of the laws by the sword, he would not have been
     in this position: he was dying as the martyr of the people,
     passing from a perishable kingdom to an imperishable. He died
     in the faith of the Church of England, as he had received it
     from his father. Then bending to the block, he himself gave
     the sign for the axe to fall upon his neck. A moment, and the
     severed head was shown to the people, with the words: 'This
     is the head of a traitor.' All public places, the crossings
     of the streets, especially the entrances of the city, were
     occupied by soldiery on foot and on horseback. An incalculable
     multitude had, however, streamed to the spot. Of the King's
     words they heard nothing, but they were aware of their purport
     through the cautious and guarded yet positive language of
     their preachers. When they saw the severed head, they broke
     into a cry, universal and involuntary, in which the feelings
     of guilt and weakness were blended with terror--a sort of
     voice of nature, whose terrible impression those who heard it
     were never able to shake off."

These weighty words of Ranke are well worth quoting, as well as the
conclusion of the section of his great book in which he sums up his
estimate of Charles's claim to the title of martyr:

     "There was certainly something of a martyr in him, if the man
     can be so called who values his own life less than the cause
     for which he is fighting, and in perishing himself saves it
     for the future."

[Illustration: THE PROSPECT OF BRIDEWELL.

_Published according to Act of Parliament, 1755, for Stow's Survey._]

King Charles I., then, is fairly entitled to be called a martyr in the
calm and unimpassioned judgment of the greatest historian of modern
times in the learned Empire of Germany, who tests the royal claim
by a clear and concise definition, framed without any regard to the
passionate political feeling which distracted England in the days of
the Stuarts.

And it was in the Palace of St. James that Charles I. passed the last
terrible days of his earthly life.

On the Restoration, King Charles II. resided at Whitehall, and gave
St. James's to his brother James, Duke of York. Here Queen Mary II.
was born, and here she was married to William of Orange late in the
evening on November 4, 1677. Here also Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, died
in 1671, having lived many years more or less in seclusion in the old
palace.

James afterwards married Mary of Modena as his second wife, and here
was born, on June 10, 1688, Prince James Edward, better known as the
Old Pretender, whose long life was spent in wandering and exile, in
futile attempts to gain the Crown, in unsuccessful schemes and ruinous
plots, until he and his children found rest within the peaceful walls
of Rome.

Directly after he landed in England, King William III. came to St.
James's, and resided here from time to time during his possession of
the Crown, only towards the end of his reign allowing the Princess
Anne to reside in this palace, where she first heard of King William's
death. The bearer of the sad news was Dr. Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury.

Immediately on his arrival in England, George I., Elector of Hanover,
came straight to St. James's just as King William III. had done. In his
_Reminiscences_, Walpole gives this quaint anecdote:--

     "This is a strange country," remarked the King. "The first
     morning after my arrival at St. James's, I looked out of the
     window, and saw a park with walks and a canal, which they told
     me were mine. The next day Lord Chetwynd, the ranger of my
     park, sent me a fine brace of carp out of my canal: and I was
     told I must give five guineas to Lord Chetwynd's servant for
     bringing me my own carp, out of my own canal, in my own park."

Many things seem to have surprised King George I. in his English
dominions, and he really preferred Hanover, where he died in 1725.

George II. resided at St. James's when Prince of Wales, and here his
beloved wife, Queen Caroline of Anspach, died on November 20, 1737.
Four years previously her daughter Anne had here been married to the
Prince of Orange. It now became customary to assign apartments to
younger children of the Sovereign in various parts of the palace, which
thus practically ceased to be in the King's own occupation. The state
apartments are handsome, and contain many good portraits of royal
personages. The Chapel Royal has a fine ceiling, carved and painted,
erected in 1540, and is constantly used by royalty. George III. hardly
ever missed the Sunday services when in London.

Of course the original palace covered more ground than is now the
case, and included the site of Marlborough House and some adjacent
gardens, now in private ownership. The German Chapel Royal, which now
projects into the grounds of Marlborough House, was originally erected
by Charles I. for the celebration of Roman Catholic worship for Queen
Henrietta Maria, and at the time gave great offence to all the nobility
and people of the land.

"Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis." Marlborough House was
originally built by Sir Christopher Wren for the great Duke of
Marlborough, on a portion of St. James's Park given by Queen Anne for
that purpose. Here died the Duke, and his famous Duchess Sarah. The
house was bought by the Crown for the Princess Charlotte in 1817, and
was settled on the Prince of Wales in 1850. There are still a number of
interesting pictures in the grand salon of the victories of the Duke of
Marlborough by Laguerre. The garden covers the space formerly occupied
by the Great Yard of old St. James's Palace.

Altogether, it is quite clear from the above brief account that St.
James's is the most important of the royal palaces of London, and more
closely connected than any other with the long history of English
Royalty. From the days of Henry VIII. to the present time there has
always been a close personal connection with the reigning Sovereign of
the British Empire.

The Palace of _Whitehall_ presents a long and strange history. Hubert
de Burgh, Earl of Kent, Chief Minister of King Henry III., became
possessed of the land by purchase from the monks of Westminster for
140 marks of silver and the annual tribute of a wax taper. Hubert
bequeathed the property by his will to the Black Friars of Holborn, who
sold it in 1248 to Walter de Grey, Archbishop of York, for his Grace's
town residence.

When Cardinal Wolsey became possessed of the northern archiepiscopal
See, he found York House too small for his taste, and he set to work
to rebuild the greater part of this palace on a larger and more
magnificent scale. On the completion of the works he took up his
abode here with a household of 800 persons, and lived with more than
regal splendour, from time to time entertaining the King himself to
gorgeous banquets, followed by masked balls. At one of these grand
entertainments they say King Henry first met Anne Boleyn. A chronicler
says the Cardinal was "sweet as summer to all that sought him."

When the great Cardinal fell into disgrace, and the Duke of Suffolk
came to Whitehall to bid him resign the Great Seal of England, his
Eminence left his palace by the privy stair and "took barge" to Putney,
and thence to Esher; and Henry VIII. at once took possession of the
vacant property, and began to erect new buildings, a vast courtyard,
tennis court, and picture gallery, and two great gateways, all of which
are now totally destroyed. It was in this palace that he died, January
28, 1547.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Whitehall was famous for its
magnificent festivities, tournaments, and receptions of distinguished
foreign princes. Especially was this the case in 1581, when the French
commissioners came to urge the Queen's marriage with the Duke of
Anjou. Here the Queen's corpse lay in state before the interment in
March, 1603. James I. likewise entertained right royally at Whitehall,
and here the Princess Elizabeth was married to the Elector Palatine
on February 14, 1613. King James also employed that distinguished
architect Inigo Jones to build the beautiful Banqueting House, which
is all that now remains of Whitehall Palace, and is one of the finest
architectural fragments in London. The proportions are most elegant,
and the style perfect. Used as a chapel till 1890, it is now the United
Service Museum, while the great painter Rubens decorated the ceiling
for Charles I. in 1635.

The whole plan of Inigo Jones remained unfinished, but Charles I. lived
in regal splendour in the palace, entertaining on the most liberal
scale, and forming the famous collection of pictures dispersed by the
Parliament. Here it was that the masque of Comus was acted before the
King, and other masques from time to time. After Charles's martyrdom,
Oliver Cromwell came to live at Whitehall, and died there September 3,
1658. On his restoration, in May, 1660, King Charles II. returned to
Whitehall, and kept his court there in great splendour. Balls rather
than masques were now the fashion, and Pepys and Evelyn have preserved
full descriptions of these elegant and luxurious festivities, and all
the gaiety, frivolity, and dissoluteness connected with them, and
the manner of life at Charles's court. The King died in the palace
on February 6, 1685, and was succeeded by his austere brother James,
who, during his brief reign, set up a Roman Catholic chapel within the
precincts of the royal habitation, from which he fled to France in 1688.

[Illustration: THE PALACE OF WHITEHALL.]

King William III. preferred other places of residence, and two
fires--one in 1691, the other in 1698--destroyed the greater part of
Whitehall, which was never rebuilt.

_Buckingham_ Palace is now the principal residence in London of His
Majesty King Edward VII. Though a fine pile of building it is hardly
worthy of its position as the town residence of the mighty Sovereign of
the greatest Empire of the world, situated in the largest city on the
face of the globe.

King George III. purchased Buckingham Palace in 1761 from Sir Charles
Sheffield for £21,000, and in 1775 it was settled upon Queen Charlotte.
In the reign of George IV. it was rebuilt from designs by Nash; and in
1846, during the reign of Queen Victoria, the imposing eastern façade
was erected from designs by Blore. The length is 360 feet, and the
general effect is striking, though the architectural details are of
little merit. In fact, it is a discredit to the nation that there is no
London palace for the Sovereign which is worthy of comparison with the
Royal Palace at Madrid, or the Papal Palace in Rome, though the reason
for this peculiar fact is fully set forth in the historical sketch of
the royal palaces already given. King Edward VII. was born here in
1841, and here drawing-rooms and levées are usually held. The white
marble staircase is fine, and there are glorious portraits of Charles
I. and Queen Henrietta Maria by Van Dyck, as well as Queen Victoria
and the Prince Consort by Winterhalter. There is also a full-length
portrait of George IV. by Lawrence in the State dining-room.

In the private apartments there are many interesting royal portraits,
as well as a collection of presents from foreign princes. There is a
lake of five acres in the gardens, and the whole estate comprises about
fifty acres. There is a curious pavilion adorned with cleverly-painted
scenes from Comus by famous English artists. The view from the east
over St. James's Park towards the India Office is picturesque, and
remarkably countrified for the heart of a great city. The lake in
this park is certainly very pretty, and well stocked with various
water-fowl. The Horse Guards, Admiralty, and other public offices at
the eastern extremity of this park occupy the old site of the western
side of the Palace of Whitehall.

_Kensington_ Palace was the favourite abode of King William III. He
purchased the property from the Earl of Nottingham, whose father had
been Lord Chancellor, and employed Sir Christopher Wren to add a storey
to the old house, and built anew the present south façade. Throughout
his reign he spent much money in improving the place, and here his
wife, Queen Mary II., died on December 28, 1694. In the same palace
King William himself breathed his last breath on March 8, 1702.

Queen Anne lived principally at St. James's, the natural residence for
the Sovereigns of Great Britain; but she took much interest in the
proper upkeep of Kensington, and it was here that her husband died on
October 20, 1708, and herself on August 1, 1714. Shortly before, she
had placed the treasurer's wand in the hands of the Duke of Shrewsbury,
saying, "For God's sake use it for the good of my people," and all the
acts of her prosperous reign point to the real validity of the popular
title given by common consent--the good Queen Anne.

She planted the trees on "Queen Anne's Mount," and gave gorgeous fêtes
in the Royal Gardens, whose woodland scenery possesses a peculiar
charm all its own. The noble groves and avenues of elm trees recall
St. Cloud and St. Germain in the neighbourhood of Paris, and are quite
exceptionally fine. Thus Matthew Arnold wrote:--

    "In this lone open glade I lie,
      Screened by deep boughs on either hand;
    And at its end, to stay the eye,
      Those black crowned, red-boled pine trees stand."

[Illustration: ST. JAMES'S PALACE.]

And Chateaubriand declares:--

     "C'est dans ce parc de Kensington que j'ai médité l'Essai
     historique: que, relisant le journal de mes courses d'outre
     mer, j'en ai tiré les amours d'Atala."

And Haydon says:--

     "Here are some of the most poetical bits of tree and stump,
     and sunny brown and green glens and tawny earth."

George II. died here very suddenly on October 25, 1760, but the
Sovereigns of the House of Hanover chiefly made use of the place
by assigning apartments therein to their younger children and near
relatives. Here it was that Edward Duke of Kent lived with his wife
Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, and here their only daughter, the renowned
Queen Victoria, was born, May 24, 1819, and here she resided till her
accession to the throne in 1837.

Kensington Palace, then, is chiefly celebrated for its associations
with William III. and Queen Victoria. In the brief account of the royal
palaces here given, it will be seen that none of the sites, with the
exception of St. James's, remained for any long period of time the
actual residence of the Sovereign, while three--Westminster, Bridewell,
and the Savoy--had passed out of royal hands for residential purposes
before the Reformation of religion was completed. Another curious fact
relates to the origin of the title to these sites, inasmuch as three of
these estates were obtained from some ecclesiastical corporation, as
the Archbishop of York, or the Hospital of St. James, though Buckingham
Palace was bought from Sir Charles Sheffield, and Kensington from the
Earl of Nottingham.

No account of the palaces of London can be regarded as complete which
omits to mention Lambeth. For more than 700 years the Archbishops of
Canterbury have resided at this beautiful abode, intensely interesting
from its close association with all the most stirring events in the
long history of England. The estate was obtained by Archbishop Baldwin
in the year 1197 by exchange for some lands in Kent with Glanville,
Bishop of Rochester. In Saxon times Goda, the sister of King Edward the
Confessor, had bestowed this property upon the Bishopric of Rochester;
so that it has been continuously in the hands of the Church for near
900 years. The fine red-brick gateway with white stone dressings,
standing close to the tower of Lambeth Church, is very imposing as
seen from the road, and was built by Archbishop Cardinal Moreton in
1490. In the Middle Ages it was the custom to give a farthing loaf
twice a week to the poor of London at this gateway, and as many as
4,000 were accustomed to partake of the archiepiscopal gift. Within
the gateway is the outer courtyard of the palace, and at the further
end, towards the river Thames, rises the picturesque Lollard's tower,
built between 1434 and 1445 by that famous ecclesiastical statesman
Archbishop Chicheley, founder of All Souls' College, Oxford. The quaint
winding staircase, made of rough slabs of unplaned oak, is exactly
as it was in Chicheley's time. In this tower is the famous chamber,
entirely of oaken boards, called the Lollards' prison. It is 13 feet
long, 12 feet broad, and 8 feet high, and eight iron rings remain to
which prisoners were fastened. The door has a lock of wood, fastened
with pegs of wood, and may be a relic of the older palace of Archbishop
Sudbury. On the south side of the outer court stands the hall built by
Archbishop Juxon during the opening years of Charles II.'s reign, with
a fine timber roof, and Juxon's arms over the door leading into the
palace. This Jacobean hall is now used as the library, and contains
many precious manuscripts of priceless value, including the _Dictyes
and Sayings of the Philosophers_, translated by Lord Rivers, in which
is found a miniature illumination of the Earl presenting Caxton on his
knees to Edward IV., who is supported by Elizabeth Woodville and her
son Edward V. This manuscript contains the only known portrait of the
latter monarch.

[Illustration: ST. JAMES'S PALACE, FROM PALL MALL AND FROM THE PARK.]

An earlier hall had been built on the same site by Archbishop Boniface
in 1244.

From the library we pass by a flight of stairs to the guard room, now
used as the dining hall. The chief feature is the excellent series of
oil portraits of the occupants of the primatial See of Canterbury,
beginning in the year 1504. The mere mention of the principal names
recalls prominent events in our national history.

There is Warham painted by Holbein. He was also Lord Chancellor, and
the last of the mediæval episcopate. There is Cranmer, burnt at Oxford,
March 21, 1555. There is Cardinal Pole, the cousin and favourite of
Queen Mary. There is Matthew Parker, the friend of Queen Elizabeth,
well skilled in learning and a great collector of manuscripts, now for
the most part in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
There is William Laud, painted by Van Dyck, the favourite Counsellor
and Adviser of Charles I. At the age of 71 he was beheaded by order of
the House of Commons--an act of vengeance, not of justice. There is
William Juxon, who stood by Charles I. on the scaffold, and heard the
ill-fated King utter his last word on earth, "Remember." But we cannot
even briefly recount all the famous portraits to be found at Lambeth.
The above selection must suffice.

The chapel, also, is a building of singular interest. Beneath is
an ancient crypt said to have been erected by Archbishop Herbert
Fitzwalter, while the chapel itself was built by Archbishop Boniface
of Savoy between 1249 and 1270. The lancet windows are elegant, and
were filled with stained glass by Archbishop Laud, all of which was
duly broken to pieces during the Commonwealth. The supposed Popish
character of this glass was made an article of impeachment against Laud
at the trial at which he was sentenced to death. Here the majority of
the archbishops have been consecrated since the reign of King Henry
III. Archbishop Parker was both consecrated and also buried in the
chapel, but his tomb was desecrated and his bones scattered by Scot
and Hardyng, who possessed the palace under Oliver Cromwell. On the
restoration they were re-interred by Sir William Dugdale. At the west
end is a beautiful Gothic confessional, high up on the wall, erected
by Archbishop Chicheley. Archbishop Laud presented the screen, and
Archbishop Tait restored the whole of this sacred edifice, which
measures 12 feet by 25 feet. Formerly the archbishops lived in great
state. Thus, Cranmer's household comprised a treasurer, comptroller,
steward, garnator, clerk of the kitchen, caterer, clerk of the spicery,
yeoman of the ewery, bakers, pantlers, yeoman of the horse, yeoman
ushers, besides numerous other less important officials.

Cardinal Pole possessed a patent from Queen Mary, authorising a
household of 100 servants. The modern part of the palace was built by
Archbishop Howley in the Tudor style. He held the See from 1828 to
1848, and was the last prelate to maintain the archiepiscopal state of
the olden time.




ELIZABETHAN LONDON

BY T. FAIRMAN ORDISH, F.S.A.


The leading feature of Elizabethan London was that it was a great port.
William Camden, writing in his _Britannia_, remarked that the Thames,
by its safe and deep channel, was able to entertain the greatest
ships in existence, daily bringing in so great riches from all parts
"that it striveth at this day with the Mart-townes of Christendome
for the second prise, and affoordeth a most sure and beautiful Roade
for shipping" (Holland's translation). Below the great bridge, one of
the wonders of Europe, we see this shipping crowding the river in the
maps and views of London belonging to the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The Tower and the bridge were the city's defences against attack by
water. Near the Tower was the Custom House, where peaceful commerce
paid its dues; and between the Custom House and the bridge was the
great wharf of Billingsgate, where goods were landed for distribution.
Near the centre of the bridge was a drawbridge, which admitted vessels
to another great wharf, Queenhithe, at a point midway between London
Bridge and Blackfriars. Between the bridge and Queenhithe was the
Steelyard, the domain of the merchants of the Hanseatic League. Along
the river front were numerous other wharves, where barges and lighters
unloaded goods which they brought from the ships in the road, or from
the upper reaches of the Thames. For the river was the great highway
of London. It answered the needs of commerce, and it furnished the
chief means of transit. The passenger traffic of Elizabethan London was
carried on principally by means of rowing-boats. A passenger landed at
the point nearest to his destination, and then walked; or a servant
waited for him with a saddle-horse. The streets were too narrow for
coaches, except in two or three main arteries.

The characteristic of present-day London, at which all foreigners
most marvel, is the amount of traffic in the streets. In Elizabethan
London this characteristic existed in the chief highway--the Thames.
The passenger-boats were generally described as "wherries," and they
were likened by Elizabethan travellers to the gondolas of Venice; for
instance, by Coryat, in his _Crudities_, who thought the playhouses
of Venice very beggarly compared with those of London, but admired
the gondoliers, because they were "altogether as swift as our rowers
about London." The maps of the period reveal the extraordinary number
of "stairs" for landing passengers along both banks of the river,
besides the numerous wharves for goods. John Stow, the author of the
_Survey of London_, published first in 1598, and again in a second
edition in 1603, describes the traffic on the river. "By the Thames,"
he says, "all kinds of merchandise be easily conveyed to London, the
principal storehouse and staple of all commodities within this realm.
So that, omitting to speak of great ships and other vessels of burthen,
there pertaineth to the cities of London, Westminster, and borough of
Southwark, above the number, as is supposed, of 2,000 wherries and
other small boats, whereby 3,000 poor men at the least be set on work
and maintained." Many of these watermen were old sailors, who had
sailed and fought under Drake. The Armada deliverance was recalled
by Drake's ship, which lay in the river below the bridge. The voyage
of the Earl of Essex to Spain, the expeditions to Ireland and to the
Low Countries, formed the staple of the gossip of these old sailors
who found employment in the chief means of locomotion in Elizabethan
London.

There was only the single bridge, but there were several ferries.
The principal ferry was from Blackfriars and the Fleet river to a
point opposite on the Surrey side, called Paris Garden stairs--nearly
in a line with the present Blackfriars Bridge. At Westminster was
another, from the Horseferry Road to a point a little west of Lambeth
Palace--almost in the line of the present Lambeth Bridge. The river was
fordable at low tide at this point; horses crossed here--whence the
name Horseferry--and possibly other cattle, when the tide was unusually
low.

The sea is the home of piety. Coast towns, ports, and havens, reached
after voyages of peril, are invariably notable for their places of
worship, and for customs which speak touchingly--like the blessing
of fishermen's nets, for instance--of lives spent in uncertainty and
danger. Thus, the leading characteristic of Elizabethan London being
its association with the sea and its dependence on the river, we find
that its next most striking characteristic was the extraordinary
number of churches it contained. The great cathedral predominated more
pronouncedly than its modern successor. From the hill on which it was
based it reared its vast bulk; its great spire ascended the heavens,
and the multitude of church towers and spires and belfries throughout
the city seemed to follow it. The houses were small, the streets were
narrow; but to envisage the city from the river, or from the Surrey
side, was to have the eye led upwards from point to point to the summit
of St. Paul's. The dignity and piety of London were thus expressed,
in contradiction to human foibles and failings so conspicuous in
Elizabethan drama. The spire of St. Paul's was destroyed by lightning
early in the reign of Elizabeth; and the historian may see much
significance in the fact that it was not rebuilt, even in thanksgiving
and praise for the deliverance from the Great Armada. The piety of
London dwindled until it flamed forth anew in the time of the Puritan
revolt.

The bridge was carried on nineteen arches. It had a defensive gate
at the Southwark end, and another gateway at the northern end. In
the centre was a beautiful chapel, dedicated to Thomas à Becket, and
known as St. Thomas of the Bridge. Houses were built on the bridge,
mostly shops with overhanging signs, as in the streets of the city.
Booksellers and haberdashers predominated, but other trades were
carried on also. After the chapel, the most conspicuous feature of the
bridge was "Nonesuch House," so called to express the wonder that it
was constructed in Holland entirely of wood, brought over the water
piece by piece, and put together on the bridge by dovetailing and pegs,
without the use of a single metal nail. Adjoining the northern gateway
was an engine for raising water by means of a great wheel operated by
the tide. Near the Southwark end were corn-mills, worked on the same
principle, below the last two arches of the bridge. The gateway at the
Southwark end, so well shown in Visscher's view of London, was finished
in 1579, and the traitors' heads, which formerly surmounted a tower
by the drawbridge, were transferred to it. Travellers from the south
received this grim salutation as they approached the bridge, which
led into the city; and when they glanced across the river, the Tower
frowned upon them, and the Traitors' Gateway, like teeth in an open
mouth, deepened the effect of warning and menace.

But these terrors loomed darkling in the background for the most
part. They belonged rather to the time when the sovereign's palaces
at Westminster and at the Tower seemed to hold London in a grip. The
palace at Westminster now languished in desuetude; the Tower was a
State prison, and--with some ironical intent, perhaps--also the abode
of the royal beasts, lions, tigers, leopards, and other captives.
The Queen passed in her royal barge down the river with ceremonious
pageantry from her palace of Whitehall; the drawbridge raised, the
floating court passed the Tower as with lofty indifference on its way
to "Placentia," Her Majesty's palace at Greenwich. Out of the silence
of history a record speaks like a voice, and tells us that here, in
1594, Shakespeare and his fellows performed at least two comedies or
interludes before Her Majesty, and we know even the amounts that were
paid them for their services.

[Illustration: PLAN OF LONDON IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH (1563).]

In the _Survey_ of John Stow we have three separable elements: the
archæology and history of London, Stow's youthful recollections of
London in the time of Henry the Eighth, and Stow's description of
the great change which came over London after the dissolution of the
religious houses, and continued in process throughout his lifetime.
The mediæval conditions were not remote. He could remember when London
was clearly defined by the wall, like a girdle, of which the Tower was
the knot. No heroic change had befallen; the wall had not been cast
down into its accompanying fosse to form a ring-street, as was done
when Vienna was transformed from the mediæval state. London had simply
filled up the ditch with its refuse; its buildings had simply swarmed
over the wall and across the dike; shapeless and haphazard suburbs had
grown up, till the surrounding villages became connected with the city.
Even more grievous, in the estimation of Stow, was the change which he
had witnessed within the city itself. The feudal lords had departed,
and built themselves mansions outside the city. The precincts of the
dissolved religious establishments had been converted into residential
quarters, and a large proportion of the old monastic gardens had been
built upon. The outlines of society had become blurred. Formerly, the
noble, the priest, and the citizen were the defined social strata.
Around each of these was grouped the rest of the social units in
positions of dependence. A new type of denizen had arisen, belonging to
none of the old categories--the typical Elizabethan Londoner.

The outward aspect of Elizabethan London reflected this social change.
On the south of the city, along the line of Thames Street, the wall
had entirely disappeared. On the east and west it was in decay, and
was becoming absorbed in fresh buildings. Only on the north side of
the city, where it had been re-edified as late as 1474, did the wall
suggest its uses for defence. In the map of Agas, executed early in the
reign of Elizabeth, this portion of the wall, with its defensive towers
and bastions, appears singularly well preserved. Thus the condition of
the wall suggested the passing of the old and the coming of the new
order. The gates which formerly defended the city, where the chief
roadways pierced the wall, still remained as monuments, and they were
admirably adapted to the purpose of civic pageantry and ceremonial
shows. Indeed, the gateway on the Oxford road was rebuilt in 1586, and
called Newgate, "from the newness thereof," and it was the "fairest"
of all the gates of London. It is reckoned that this was the year that
Shakespeare came to London from Stratford-on-Avon; and the assumption
is generally allowed that he entered the city by Newgate, which
would be his direct road. A new gate, of an artistic and ornamental
character, set in the ancient wall, was a sign and a symbol of the new
conditions in London, of which Shakespeare himself was destined to
become the chief result.

       *       *       *       *       *

With the characteristics of London as a great mart and port is included
the foreign elements in its population. In Lombard Street the merchants
of Lombardy from early mediæval times had performed the operations
of banking and foreign exchange; and around them were assembled the
English merchants of all qualities and degrees. Business was conducted
in the open street, and merchants merely adjourned into the adjoining
houses to seal their bonds and make their formal settlements. Henry
VIII. tried to induce the city to make use of the great building of
Leadenhall for this purpose; but the innovation was resisted, and
Lombard Street continued to be the burse of London till long after the
accession of Elizabeth. The name of Galley Key remained in Tower Street
ward to mark the spot on the river bank "where the galleys of Italy
and other parts did discharge their wines and merchandises brought to
this city." The men of the galleys lived as a colony by themselves
in Mincing Lane; the street leading to their purlieus was called,
indifferently, Galley Row and Petit Wales. Here was a great house, the
official territorium of the Principality. The original of Shakespeare's
"Fluellen" may very possibly have been a denizen of this quarter.

Above the bridge, in Thames Street, was the territorium of the Hanse
merchants, alluded to by Stow as "the merchants of Almaine," and by
Camden as "the Easterlings or Dutch merchants of the Steelyard."
Their position in the city was one of great importance: the export
trade of the country in woollen goods was chiefly in their hands,
and they had their own Guildhall in Upper Thames Street, called the
_Gilda Teutonicorum_. The special privileges accorded to this foreign
commercial community carried the obligation to maintain Bishopsgate in
repair, and "to defend it at all times of danger and extremity." When
the house of the Augustine Friars, Old Broad Street, was dissolved,
and its extensive gardens became cut up and built upon, the Dutch
colony settled there in residence, and the church of Austin Friars was
specially assigned to them by Edward VI. Towards the end of the reign
of Elizabeth the privileges of the Hanse merchants were revoked, and
their guildhall was confiscated to the use of the navy. But the Dutch
element continued as a part of the commercial life of the city, and the
church of Austin Friars is still the "church of the Dutch nation in
London."

West of the Steelyard was the Vintry. Here the merchants of Bordeaux
had been licensed to build their warehouses of stone, at the rear of a
great wharf, on which were erected cranes for unloading the lighters
and other boats which brought the casks from the ships below bridge.
The trade of these foreign merchants gave the name of Vintry Ward to
one of the divisions of the city. In Bishopsgate Ward, near the church
of St. Botolph, was a French colony, their purlieus forming a quadrant,
called Petty France.

Elizabethan London was more cosmopolitan than many European capitals.
In Lombard Street the merchants of Germany, France, and Italy were
conspicuously differentiated by the varieties of costume. On the site
of the present Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham laid the first
stone of his great Bourse in 1566; the design was in imitation of the
Bourse at Antwerp; the materials of its construction were imported
from Flanders; the architect and builder was a Fleming, named Henryke.
The opening of this building by Queen Elizabeth in state in January,
1571, when Her Majesty commanded it to be proclaimed by herald and
trumpet that the Bourse should be called The Royal Exchange from that
time henceforth, is a familiar story, because it is, in fact, one of
the most striking and significant events in the history of London. The
trumpet of that herald, on January 23rd, 1571, announced a new era.

The building was a quadrangle, enclosing an open space. The sides
formed a cloister or sheltered walk; above this was a corridor, or
walk, called "the pawn," with stalls or shops, like the Burlington
Arcade of the present day; above this again was a tier of rooms. The
great bell-tower stood on the Cornhill front; the bell was rung at
noon and at six in the evening. On the north side, looking towards
St. Margaret's, Lothbury, was a tall Corinthian column. Both tower
and column were surmounted by a grasshopper--the Gresham crest. The
inscription on the façade of the building was in French, German, and
Italian. The motley scene of Lombard Street had been transferred to the
Royal Exchange. The merchants of Amsterdam, of Antwerp, of Hamburg,
of Paris, of Bordeaux, of Venice and Vienna, distinguishable to the
eye by the dress of the nations they represented, and to the ear by
the differences of language, conducted their exchanges with English
merchants, and with each other, in this replica of the Bourse of
Antwerp, the rialto of Elizabethan London.[1]

Cheapside was called West Cheap in Elizabethan London, in
contradistinction to East Cheap, famous for ever as the scene of the
humours of "Dame Quickly" and "Falstaff." The change in West Cheap
since the mediæval period was chiefly at the eastern end, on the
north side. Here a large space opposite the church of St. Mary-le-Bow
was formerly kept clear of building, although booths and stalls
for market purposes occupied the ground temporarily. The space was
otherwise reserved for the mediæval jousts, tournaments, and other
civic pageantry. The site of Mercers' Hall was occupied by the _Militia
Hospitalis_, called, after Thomas à Becket, St. Thomas of Acon. After
the Dissolution this establishment was granted by Henry to the Mercers'
Company, who adapted the existing buildings to the purposes of their
hall, one of the principal features of Cheap in Elizabethan times. The
district eastward of Mercers' Hall had become filled up with building,
and the making of Cheap as a thoroughfare was now complete. The
original road westward was from the top of New Fish Street, by East
Cheap, Candlewick or Cannon Street, past London Stone (probably the
Roman _Milliarium_), along Budge Row and Watling Street, to the site of
St. Paul's, where it is conjectured a temple of Diana stood in Roman
times. But Cheap, or West Cheap, was the chief traffic way westward
in Elizabethan London; it was filled with shops and warehouses, a
thriving business centre, the pride of the city. The name of "Cheap"
was derived from the market, and several of the streets leading into
it yet bear names which in Elizabethan times were descriptive of the
trades there carried on. Thus the Poultry was the poulterers' market;
ironmongers had their shops in Ironmonger Lane, as formerly they had
their stalls in the same area; in Milk Street were the dairies; and
towards the west end of Cheap was Bread Street, the market of the
bakers, and Friday Street, where fishmongers predominated. Lying
between these two streets, with frontages in both, was the Mermaid
Tavern, the chief resort of "the breed of excellent and choice wits,"
included by Camden among the glories of Elizabethan London. Stow does
not refer to the Mermaid by name, but possibly he had it in mind when
he wrote the following passage: "Bread Street, so called of bread sold
there, as I said, is now wholly inhabited by rich merchants; and divers
fair inns be there, for good receipt of carriers and other travellers
to the city." The trades kept themselves in their special localities,
although they did not always give the name to the street they occupied.
Thus, to return to the eastern end of Cheap, there was Bucklersbury,
where the pepperers or grocers were located, having given up their
former quarters in Sopars' Lane to the cordwainers and curriers. With
the grocers were mingled apothecaries and herbalists; and hence the
protest of Falstaff, in the _Merry Wives of Windsor_, that he was not
"like a many of these lisping hawthorn-buds, that come like women
in men's apparel, and smell like Bucklesbury in simple time." In
the midst of Cheap, at a point between Mercers' Hall and Old Jewry,
opposite the end of Bucklersbury, was the water conduit--in the words
of Stow, "The great conduit of sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead
underground from Paddington for the service of this city, castellated
with stone, and cisterned in lead." Around the conduit stood the great
jars used by the water-carriers to convey the water to the houses. The
water-carrier, as a type of Elizabethan London, is preserved by Ben
Jonson in the character of Cob in _Every Man in his Humour_. Going
westward from the Conduit, another object stood out in the roadway--the
Standard, a tall pillar at which the public executions of the city
jurisdiction took place. Still further west, in the midst of Cheap,
stood the Eleanor Cross, one of the most beautiful monuments in London
at this time.

The Guildhall stood where it stands to-day, accessible from Cheap by
Ironmonger Lane and St. Lawrence Lane. Only the walls and the crypt
of the original building remain; but the features of this great civic
establishment, as well as its sumptuous character and beautiful
adornments, were practically the same in the days of Gresham as at
the present time. Stow describes the stately porch entering the great
hall, the paving of Purbeck marble, the coloured glass windows, and,
alas! the library which had been "borrowed" by the Protector Somerset
in the preceding reign. Near the Guildhall was the church of St.
Mary Aldermanbury, the predecessor of the existing edifice. In this
parish dwelt Hemmings and Condell, "fellows" of Shakespeare--that is
to say, players of his company, whom he remembered in his will. These
men conferred a benefit on all future ages by collecting the poet's
plays, seven years after his death, and publishing them in that folio
edition which is one of the most treasured volumes in the world. In
the churchyard a monument to their memory was erected in 1896. It is
surmounted by a bust of the poet, who looks forth serenely greeting the
passer-by from beneath the shade of trees in this quiet old churchyard
in modern London.

To return to Cheap, it remains to speak of a feature which attracted
Queen Elizabeth, and was, indeed, one of the marvels of London. Here
are the _ipsissima verba_ of Stow's contemporary description:

     "Next to be noted, the most beautiful frame of fair houses
     and shops that be within the walls of London, or elsewhere in
     England, commonly called Goldsmiths' Row, betwixt Bread Street
     end and the cross in Cheap ... the same was built by Thomas
     Wood, goldsmith, one of the sheriffs of London, in the year
     1491. It containeth in number ten fair dwelling-houses and
     fourteen shops, all in one frame, uniformly built four stories
     high, beautified towards the street with the Goldsmiths' arms
     and the likeness of woodmen, in memory of his name, riding on
     monstrous beasts, all which is cast in lead, richly painted
     over and gilt. These he gave to the goldsmiths, with stocks of
     money, to be lent to young men having those shops. This said
     front was again new painted and gilt over in the year 1594;
     Sir Richard Martin being then mayor, and keeping his mayoralty
     in one of them."

Beyond Goldsmiths' Row was the old Change; the name and the street both
still exist. Beyond old Change were seven shops; then St. Augustine's
Gate, leading into St. Paul's Churchyard; and then came Paternoster
Row. Between Paternoster Row and Newgate Street stood the Church of
St. Michael-le-Querne, stretching out into the middle of Cheap, where
the statue of Sir Robert Peel now stands. Stretching out from the east
end of the church, still further into the street, was a water conduit,
which supplied all the neighbourhood hereabout, called "The Little
Conduit," not because it was little, but to distinguish it from the
great conduit at the other end of Cheap.

       *       *       *       *       *

We are concerned in this place not with the history of old St.
Paul's, nor with the technique of its architecture, but with the
great cathedral as a religious and social institution, the centre of
Elizabethan London. Here the streams of life were gathered, and hence
they radiated. It was the official place of worship of the Corporation;
the merchants of the city followed. The monarch on special occasions
attended the services; the nobility followed the royal example. The
typical Elizabethan made the middle aisle his promenade, where he
displayed the finery of his attire and the elegance of his deportment.
The satirists found a grand opportunity in the humours of Paul's
Walk; but the effect of the cathedral is not to be derived from such
allusions in the literature of the time. All classes were attracted by
the beautiful organ and the anthems so exquisitely sung by the choir.
The impressive size and noble proportions of the building, the soaring
height of the nave, the mystery of the open tower, where the ascending
vision became lost in gathering obscurity, and where the chords from
the organ died away; these spiritual associations, these appeals to the
imagination, were uplifting influences so powerful that the vanities of
Paul's Walk were negligible by comparison. As with the gargoyle on the
outer walls, the prevailing effect was so sublime, that it was merely
heightened by this element of the grotesque.[2]

The cathedral stood in the midst of a churchyard. In the mediæval
period this was enclosed by a wall. In the reign of Elizabeth the
wall still existed, but, as Stow observes, "Now on both sides, to
wit, within and without, it be hidden with dwelling-houses." In 1561
the great steeple was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire, but
the tower from which the spire arose remained. The tower was 260 feet
high, and the height of the spire was the same, so that the pinnacle
was 520 feet from the base.[3] Surmounting the pinnacle, in this
earlier portion of Elizabeth's reign, was a weathercock, an object of
curiosity to which Stow devotes a minute description. In the midst of
the churchyard stood Paul's Cross--"a pulpit cross of timber, mounted
upon steps of stone and covered with lead, in which are sermons
preached every Sunday in the forenoon." Many of the monastic features
of the establishment had disappeared; others were transformed and
adapted to other uses. The great central fabric remained, and the
school flourished--"Paul's School," in the east part of the churchyard,
endowed by Dean Colet in 1512, and rebuilt in the later years of
Elizabeth, where one hundred and fifty-three poor men's children were
given a free education under a master, an usher, and a chaplain.

       *       *       *       *       *

Newgate Street, Cheapside, Cornhill, Leadenhall, and Aldgate formed (as
they do still) nearly a straight line, east and west. From this line to
the wall on the north, in Plantagenet and early Tudor times, the city
was largely composed of open spaces: chiefly the domains of religious
houses; while south of the dividing line to the river the ground was
thickly built over. After the Dissolution the transformation of the
northern area began.

Considerable building took place in the reign of Edward VI.; but at
the time of Elizabeth's accession the generally open character of this
area, as compared with the more southerly part of the city, still
subsisted. The increase of population, however, due very largely to
people who flocked to London from all parts of the country, led to
rapid building, which produced the Queen's famous proclamation to
stay its further progress. To evade the ordinance, and to meet the
ever-increasing demand, large houses were converted into tenements,
and a vast number of people were thus accommodated who lived chiefly
out-of-doors and took their meals in the taverns, inns, and ordinaries
which abounded in all parts of the city. The pressure of demand
continued, and the open spaces became gradually built over. The Queen
and her government, aghast at the incessant tide of increase, in
terror of the plague, recognised the futility of further prohibition,
and avoided communication with the city as much as possible. At the
slightest hint of plague Her Majesty would start off on one of her
Progresses, or betake herself to Richmond, to Hampton Court, or to
Greenwich.

Some of these transformations of ancient monastic purlieus may be
briefly instanced. Within Newgate was the house and precinct of the
Grey Friars. After the Dissolution the whole precinct was presented by
Henry to the citizens of London, and here Edward VI. founded the school
for poor fatherless children, which became famous as Christ's Hospital,
"the Bluecoat school."

Let a short passage from Stow describe this change from the old order
to the new:

     "In the year 1552 began the repairing of the Greyfriars house
     for the poor fatherless children; and in the month of November
     the children were taken into the same, to the number of almost
     four hundred. On Christmas Day, in the afternoon, while the
     Lord Mayor and Aldermen rode to Paules, the children of
     Christ's Hospital stood from St. Lawrence Lane end in Cheape
     towards Paules, all in one livery of russet cotton, three
     hundred and forty in number; and in Easter next, they were in
     blue at the Spittle, and so have continued ever since."

The Greyfriars or Bluecoat school was one of the largest buildings in
London. Its demesne extended to the city wall, in which there was a
gate communicating with the grounds of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, the
famous foundation of Rahere. The wall ran northward from the New Gate,
the ground between the school and the wall on that side had been built
over. There was a continuous line of building along Newgate Street to
St. Martin's le Grand. The shambles or meat market occupied the centre
of the street, called St. Nicholas Shambles, from a church which had
been demolished since the Reformation.

From Newgate Street and the top of Cheapside to St. Anne's Lane was
formerly the territory of the Collegiate Church and Sanctuary of St.
Martin's le Grand. The college was dismantled after the edict of
dissolution, but the sanctuary remained.

Some of the collegiate buildings had been converted into tenements,
and other houses had been erected. These were occupied by "strangers
born"--_i.e._, denizens who were not born Londoners--although within
the walls the civic jurisdiction did not extend over this territory.
Certain trades were carried on here outside the regulated industry of
the city--_e.g._, tailoring and lace-making. The district became one
of the resorts of the Elizabethan ruffler; and under the ægis of the
ancient right of sanctuary a kind of Alsatia came into existence, the
scene of many exciting episodes when debtors and fugitives from justice
evaded their pursuers, and succeeded in reaching these precincts.

In Broad Street the ancient glory of the Augustine Friars was still
a memory, and much of their spacious domain had been divided into
gardens. The beautiful church remained, but the spire was becoming
ruinous from neglect. Stow described the gardens, the gates of the
precinct, and the great house which had been built here by William
Paulet, first Marquis of Winchester, Lord Treasurer of England, "in
place of Augustine friar's house, cloister, gardens, etc." There is an
admirable irony in the recital of Stow at this point:

     "The friars church he pulled not down, but the west end
     thereof, inclosed from the steeple and choir, was in the
     year 1550 granted to the Dutch nation in London, to be their
     preaching place: the other part--namely, the steeple, choir,
     and side aisles to the choir adjoining--he reserved to
     household uses, as for stowage of corn, coal and other things;
     his son and heir, Marquis of Winchester, sold the monuments of
     noblemen there buried in great number, the paving stone and
     whatsoever (which cost many thousands) for one hundred pounds,
     and in place thereof made fair stabling for horses. He caused
     the lead to be taken from the roofs, and laid tile in place
     thereof; which exchange proved not so profitable as he looked
     for, but rather to his disadvantage."

Between Broad Street and Bishopsgate Street the space was chiefly
composed of gardens. One of the houses fronting Bishopsgate Street
was the residence of Sir Thomas Gresham (perhaps his house in Lombard
Street was reserved for business purposes).

On the opposite side of Bishopsgate Street was Crosby Hall and the
precinct of the dissolved nunnery of St. Helen, extending towards St.
Mary Axe and the church of St. Andrew Undershaft. At the further end of
St. Mary Axe was the "Papye," a building which had been a hospital for
poor priests before the Reformation. In the year 1598 Shakespeare was
living in the St. Helen's precinct, within the shadow of Crosby Hall,
and John Stow, in his home near the church of St. Andrew Undershaft,
had just corrected the proofs of the first edition of his _Survey of
London_. Stow tells us about Gresham's House and about Crosby Hall. He
tells us that Sir Francis Walsingham, the Secretary of State, resided
at the Papye. He describes the church of St. Andrew Undershaft, where
his own monument may be seen at the present day; he describes, too, the
ancient church of the nunnery of St. Helen, in which a memorial window
now commemorates Shakespeare. But he failed to mention the fact, which
has since been recovered from the subsidy-roll in the Record Office,
that William Shakespeare was a denizen of the precinct in 1598. Had
Shakespeare built a water conduit in the neighbourhood, or endowed an
almshouse, he might have been celebrated in the pages of John Stow.

They were neighbours, and may have been acquainted. The district had
been familiar to Stow from childhood, and he may have entertained the
poet as he entertains us in his _Survey_ with recollections of the
changes he had witnessed in his long lifetime. Describing Tower Hill,
he recalls the abbey of nuns of the order of St. Clare, called the
Minories, and after giving the facts of its history, proceeds:

     "In place of this house of nuns is now built divers fair and
     large storehouses for armour and habiliments of war, with
     divers workhouses serving to the same purpose: there is a
     small parish church for inhabitants of the close, called St.
     Trinities. Near adjoining to this abbey, on the south side
     thereof, was sometime a farm belonging to the said nunnery;
     at the which farm I, myself, in my youth, have fetched many a
     half-penny worth of milk, and never had less than three ale
     pints for a half-penny in the summer, nor less than one ale
     quart for a half-penny in the winter, always hot from the
     kine, as the same was milked and strained. One Trolop, and
     afterwards Goodman, were the farmers there, and had thirty
     or forty kine to the pail. Goodman's son being heir to his
     father's purchase, let out the ground, first for grazing of
     horses, and then for garden-plots, and lived like a gentleman
     thereby."

Here we have the source of the name Goodman's Fields, a point of some
interest for us; but how vastly more interesting to have rambled with
Stow in Elizabethan London, listening to such stories of the old order
which had passed, giving place to the new!

We have strayed outside the wall, but not far. This road between
Aldgate and the Postern Gate by the Tower, running parallel with the
wall, is called the Minories, after the nunnery. Setting our faces
towards Aldgate, to retrace our steps, we have the store-houses for
armour and habiliments of war on our right; the wide ditch on our left
has been filled up, and partly enclosed for cultivation. There are
trees, and cows browsing, although the farm which Stow remembered no
longer existed. Before us, just outside Aldgate, is the church of St.
Buttolph, with its massive tower, standing in a spacious churchyard.
Owing to the extensive building and development which had taken
place outside the wall since the Reformation, it had been necessary
to construct lofts and galleries in this church to accommodate the
parishioners. At Aldgate the line of the wall turns westward towards
Bishopsgate. Parallel to it a road has been made along the bank of the
ditch, and leads into Bishopsgate Street. This is Houndsditch. The
houses stand thickly along one side of the way looking towards the
wall; the ditch has been filled up, and the wide surface is used for
cattle pens or milking stalls.

We will not go along Houndsditch, but turning sharply to the left from
St. Buttolph's we pass through Aldgate. In doing so we immediately
find ourselves in the midst of the remains of the great priory of Holy
Trinity. The road leads southward into Fenchurch Street, branching off
on the west into Leadenhall Street. At the junction of these streets
stood the hospitium of the priory. Between Leadenhall Street and the
city wall, from Aldgate nearly up to St. Andrew Undershaft, lies the
ground-plan of the establishment of the Canons Regular, known as
Christchurch, or the priory of Holy Trinity, the grandest of all the
monastic institutions in Middlesex except Westminster. The heads of the
establishment were aldermen of the City of London, representing the
Portsoken Ward.

     "These priors have sitten and ridden amongst the aldermen of
     London, in livery like unto them, saving that his habit was
     in shape of a spiritual person, as I, myself, have seen in my
     childhood; at which time the prior kept a most bountiful house
     of meat and drink, both for rich and poor, as well within
     the house as at the gates, to all comers, according to their
     estates" (Stow).

In 1531 the King took possession of Christchurch; the canons were
sent to other houses of the same order--St. Bartholomew the Great,
Smithfield; St. Mary Overies, Southwark; and St. Mary Spital--"and the
priory, with the appurtenances, King Henry gave to Sir Thomas Audley,
newly knighted, and after made Lord Chancellor" (Stow). So extensive
and so solid was the mass of building that Audley was at a loss to get
the space cleared for the new house he wished to build here. He offered
the great church of the priory to any one who would take it down and
cart away the materials. But as this offer met with no response, Audley
had to undertake the destruction himself. Stow could remember how the
workmen employed on this work, "with great labour, beginning at the
top"--the tower had pinnacles at each corner like the towers at St.
Saviour's and St. Sepulchre's--"loosed stone from stone, and threw
them down, whereby the most part of them were broken, and few remained
whole; and those were sold very cheap, for all the buildings then made
about the city were of brick and timber. At that time any man in the
city might have a cart-load of hard stone for paving brought to his
door for sixpence or sevenpence, with the carriage." Thus, in place of
the priory and its noble church, was built the residence of Thomas,
Lord Audley, and here he lived till his death in 1544. By marriage of
his only daughter and heiress, the house passed into the possession of
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and was then called Duke's Place.

Turning our backs upon Duke's Place and continuing a little further
along the way by which Stow used to fetch the milk from the farm at
the Minories to his father's house on Cornhill, we come to Leadenhall,
a great building which served as a public granary in ancient times,
and later as the chief market hall of the city. Leaving aside all the
particulars of its history which Stow gives, let us note what he tells
us from his own recollections:

     "The use of Leadenhall in my youth was thus:--In a part of the
     north quadrant, on the east side of the north gate, were the
     common beams for weighing of wool and other wares, as had been
     accustomed; on the west side the gate were the scales to weigh
     meal; the other three sides were reserved, for the most part,
     to the making and resting of the pageants showed at Midsummer
     in the watch; the remnant of the sides and quadrants was
     employed for the stowage of wool sacks, but not closed up; the
     lofts above were partly used by the painters in working for
     the decking of pageants and other devices, for beautifying of
     the watch and watchmen; the residue of the lofts were letten
     out to merchants, the wool winders and packers therein to
     wind and pack their wools. And thus much for Leadenhall may
     suffice."

The celebration of the Nativity of St. John and the civic pageantry
of Midsummer Eve belonged to the past; but Stow could remember the
assembly of the citizens arrayed in parti-coloured vestments of red
and white over their armour, their lances coloured and decorated
to distinguish the various wards they represented, their torches
borne in cressets on long poles. He could remember the processions
as they passed the bonfires which burned in the open spaces of the
city thoroughfares, and the throng of faces at the open windows and
casements as they appeared in the fitful glare. The pageantry had
disappeared with the suppression of the religious houses; but the
military organization was merely changed. The musters of the city
soldiers when they were reviewed by Queen Elizabeth at the coming of
the Armada was a recent memory.

And so we turn into Bishopsgate Street again, and walk along to Crosby
Hall, the ancient palace of Richard III. In the middle of the roadway,
opposite the junction of Threadneedle Street with Bishopsgate Street,
stands a well, with a windlass, which probably existed here before the
conduit was made near the gateway in the time of Henry VIII. We enter
the precinct of St. Helen's: the wall of Crosby's great chamber is on
our right hand; before us is the church of the nunnery. The spirit
of the place is upon us. The barriers of time are removed; past and
present mingle in the current of our meditation. Lo! one bids us a
courteous farewell: it is Master Stow, our cicerone, who goes away
in the direction of St. Andrew Undershaft. The presence of another
influence continues to be felt. We enter the dim church, and shadows
of kneeling nuns seem to hover in the twilight of the northern nave.
Invisible fingers touch the organ-keys; the strains of evensong arise
from the choir. Our reverie is broken, an influence recedes from us.
But turning our eyes towards the painted picture of Shakespeare which
fills the memorial window in this ancient church, we join in the hymn
of praise and thanksgiving.

       *       *       *       *       *

What chiefly impressed the Elizabethan was the newness of London, and
the rapidity with which its ancient features were being obliterated.
John Stow felt it incumbent upon him to make a record of the ancient
city before it was entirely swept away and forgotten. In what was new
to him we find a similar interest.

Through Bishopsgate northward lies Shoreditch. The old church which
stood here in Elizabethan times has disappeared, but on the site
stands another church with the same dedication, to St. Leonard. The
sweet peal of the bells from the old belfry, so much appreciated by
the Elizabethans, is to be heard no more; but the muniment chest of
the modern church contains the old registers, in which we may read the
names of Tarleton, Queen Elizabeth's famous jester, of Burbage, and
the colony of players who lived in this parish, in the precinct of the
dissolved priory of Holywell. The road from Shoreditch to the precinct
still exists, known as Holywell Lane.

The priory of St. John Baptist, called Holywell, a house of nuns, had
been rebuilt, in the earlier period of the reign of Henry VIII., by
Sir Thomas Lovel, K.G., of Lincoln's Inn. He endowed the priory with
fair lands, extended the buildings, and added a large chapel. He also
built considerably in Lincoln's Inn, including the fine old gateway in
Chancery Lane, which still stands as one of the few remaining memorials
of ancient London. Sir Thomas figures as one of the characters in
Shakespeare's play of _Henry VIII._ When he died he was duly buried in
the large chapel which he had added to Holywell Priory, in accordance
with his design; but a few years later, in 1539, the priory was
surrendered to the King and dissolved. Stow tells us that the church
was pulled down--it is doubtful if Lovel's chapel was spared--and
that many houses were built within the precinct "for the lodgings of
noblemen, of strangers born, and others."

In the first edition of his _Survey_ Stow added:--

     "And near thereunto are builded two publique houses for the
     acting and shewe of comedies, tragedies and histories, for
     recreation. Whereof one is called the Courtein, and the other
     the Theatre; both standing on the south west side towards the
     field."

This passage was omitted from the second edition of the book published
in 1603; but the whole extensive history of these playhouses, which
was won from oblivion by the research of J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps,
proceeded from this brief testimony of Stow.

Against the background of the ancient priory this precinct of
Holywell presented a perfect picture of the new conditions which
constituted what was distinctively Elizabethan London. It comprehended
the conditions of freedom required by the new life. Outside the
jurisdiction of the city, but within the protection of the justices of
Middlesex; lying open to the common fields of Finsbury, where archery
and other sports were daily practised; its two playhouses affording
varied entertainment in fencing matches, wrestling matches, and other
"sports, shows, and pastimes," besides stage-plays performed by the
various acting companies which visited them; this precinct of Holywell
presented a microcosm of Elizabethan London society. The attraction
of the plays brought visitors from all parts of the city. On the days
when dramatic performances were to be given flags were hoisted in the
morning over the playhouses; and after the early midday dinner the
stream of playgoers began to flow from the gates. On horseback and
on foot, over the fields from Cripplegate and Moorgate, or along the
road from Bishopsgate, came men and women, citizens and gallants,
visitors from the country, adventurers and pickpockets. All classes
and conditions mingled in the Theatre or the Curtain, in the "common
playhouses," as they were called, which only came into existence in
1576, after the players had been banished from the city. It was all
delightfully new and modern; the buildings were gorgeously decorated;
the apparel of the players was rich and dazzling; the music was
enthralling; the play was a magic dream.

Some of the plays of Marlowe were performed at these Holywell theatres;
and in 1596 a play by the new poet, William Shakespeare, called _Romeo
and Juliet_, was produced at the Curtain, and caused a great sensation
in Elizabethan London. The famous balcony scene of this play was
cleverly adapted to the orchestra gallery above the stage. The stage
itself projected into the arena, and the "groundlings" stood around it.
Above were three tiers of seated galleries, and near the stage were
"lords' rooms," the precursors of the private boxes of a later time.

       *       *       *       *       *

After the Theatre and Curtain had become a feature of Elizabethan
London at Shoreditch, other playhouses came into existence on the other
side of the river; first at Newington, outside the jurisdiction of
the city, in conditions corresponding to those of Shoreditch. For the
sports and pastimes of Finsbury Fields, in the neighbourhood of the
playhouses, there were the sports and pastimes of St. George's Fields
in the neighbourhood of the Newington Theatre. Playgoers from the city
took boat to Paris Garden stairs and witnessed the bear-baiting on
Bankside, or proceeded by road on horseback or on foot to St. George's
Fields and Newington; or they went thither over the bridge all the way
by road, walking or riding. The use of coaches was very limited, owing
to the narrow roads and imperfect paving of Elizabethan London.

[Illustration: SHOOTING MATCH BY THE LONDON ARCHERS IN THE YEAR 1583.]

At Newington the proprietor and manager of the playhouse was Philip
Henslowe, whose diary is the chief source of what information we have
concerning the earlier period of Elizabethan drama. He was a man of
business instinct, who conducted his dramatic enterprise on purely
commercial lines. In 1584 he secured the lease of a house and two
gardens on Bankside, and here, in the "liberty" of the Bishop of
Winchester, nearer to the city but outside the civic jurisdiction, he
erected his playhouse, called the Rose, in 1591. Henslowe thus brought
the drama nearer to the city than it had been since the edict of 1575
abolished the common stages which until then had been set up in inn
yards or other convenient places in the city. The flag of the playhouse
could be seen across the river; and from all points came the tide
of playgoers, whose custom was a harvest to Henslowe and the Thames
watermen.

Midway between these two points of theatrical attraction--Holywell,
Shoreditch on the north, and Newington and Bankside on the
south--Shakespeare lodged in the precinct of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate.
The company of players with whom he had become finally associated was
that of the Lord Chamberlain. They derived their profits from three
sources--from performances at court, from theatrical tours, and from
performances at the Theatre and the Curtain. The Theatre was the
property of the family of James Burbage, who had built it in 1576--his
son Richard Burbage, the famous actor, and others. The interest of the
proprietors may have suffered from Henslowe's enterprise in setting
up a playhouse on Bankside; and they were in dispute with the ground
landlord of their playhouse in regard to the renewal of their lease.
In these circumstances the Burbages, with the co-operation of other
members of the company, secured a site in the Winchester Liberty on
Bankside, not far from the Rose but nearer the Bridge. They then took
down their building in Holywell, vacated the land, and re-erected the
playhouse on the other side of the river. Those who participated in
this enterprise became "sharers," or partners, in the new playhouse.
Shakespeare was one of these, and the name by which it was called--the
Globe--was symbolical of the genius which reached its maturity in
plays presented in this theatre during the closing years of the reign
of Elizabeth and the first decade of the reign of her successor. "Totus
mundus agit histrionem" was the inscription over the portal of the
Globe. "All the world's a stage," said Shakespeare's Jaques in _As You
Like It_. The life of Elizabethan London found its ultimate expression
in that playhouse, which became celebrated then as "the glory of the
Bank," and now is famous in all parts of the world where the glory of
English literature is cherished.

       *       *       *       *       *

There were many reminiscences of mediæval times on the Surrey side. At
Bermondsey were to be seen the extensive remains of the great abbey
of St. Saviour. After the Dissolution its name became transferred to
the church near the end of London Bridge, formerly known as St. Mary
Overies, the splendid fane which in our time has worthily become the
cathedral of Southwark. Between this church and the church of St.
George were many inns, among them the Tabard, where travellers to and
from Canterbury and Dover, or Winchester and Southampton, introduced
an element of novelty, change, and bustle; where plays were performed
in the inn yards before the playhouses were built on Bankside. At the
end of Bankside, looking towards the church of St. Saviour, stood
Winchester House, the London residence of the Bishop of Winchester
since the twelfth century. Here Cardinal Beaufort and Stephen Gardiner,
Bishop of Winchester, had lived in great state. The site, including
the park, which extended parallel with the river as far as Paris
Garden, was formerly the property of the priory of Bermondsey. This
area was under the separate jurisdiction of the Bishops of Winchester,
and was called their "Liberty." Here, in the early years of Queen
Elizabeth, were two amphitheatres--one for bull-baiting, the other for
bear-baiting. There were also ponds for fish, called the Pike Ponds.[4]
The great Camden records an anecdote of these ponds or stews, "which
are here to feed Pikes and Tenches fat, and to scour them from the
strong and muddy fennish taste." All classes delighted in the cruel
sport of bear-baiting on the Bankside: ambassadors and distinguished
foreigners were always conducted to these performances; on special
occasions the Queen had them at the palace.

In 1583 one of the amphitheatres fell down, and when re-erected it was
built on the model of the playhouses.[5] It then became known as the
Bear Garden; the bull-baiting amphitheatre dropped out of existence;
perhaps it was reconstructed by Henslowe as his Rose theatre. The point
is not of much importance, except as regards the evolution of the
playhouse.

The second playhouse built on the Surrey side after the Rose was the
Swan, opened in 1596. This was erected on a site in the manor of Paris
Garden, separated only by a road from the Liberty of Winchester. The
playhouse was in a line with the landing-stairs, opposite Blackfriars.

After the Globe playhouse was built in 1599, the other
playhouses--Henslowe's Rose and Langley's Swan--ceased to flourish.
Here the outward facts corresponded with the inward: a lovely flower
had opened into bloom on the Bankside; what was unnecessary to its
support drooped earthward like a sheath.

       *       *       *       *       *

Opposite Paris Garden, across the river, was Blackfriars; and here the
change from the ancient order to what was distinctively Elizabethan
London was most manifest. The ancient monastery had existed here from
1276, when the Dominican or Black Friars moved hither from Holborn,
until 1538, when the establishment was surrendered to King Henry VIII.
It possessed a magnificent church, a vast palatial hall, and cloisters.
Edward VI. had granted the whole precinct, with its buildings, to Sir
Thomas Cawarden, the Master of the Revels. It became an aristocratic
residential quarter; and in the earlier period of Queen Elizabeth's
reign plays were performed here, probably in the ancient hall of the
monastery, by the children of Her Majesty's chapel and the choir-boys
of St. Paul's. At a later period--viz., in 1596--James Burbage,
who built the theatre in Shoreditch, built a new playhouse in the
precinct, or more probably adapted an existing building--the hall or
part of the church--to serve the purpose of dramatic representation.
This playhouse, consequently, was not open to the weather at the top
like the common playhouses, and it was distinguished as the "private"
theatre at Blackfriars.

The west wall of the precinct was built along the bank of the Fleet
river. Across the river opposite was the royal palace of Bridewell,
which Edward VI. had given to the city of London to be a workhouse for
the poor and a house of correction. This contiguity of a house for the
poor and the remains of a monastery suggests a reflection on the social
problem of Elizabethan London.

Before the Reformation the religious houses were the agencies for
the relief of the poor, the sick, the afflicted. The unemployed were
assisted with lodging and food on their way as they journeyed in search
of a market for their labour, paying for their entertainment at the
religious houses by work either on the roads in the neighbourhood or
on the buildings or in the gardens and fields, according to their
trades and skill. It would seem that King Henry did not realise the
importance and extent of this feature in the social economy, because,
after he had suppressed the religious establishments, he complained
very reproachfully of the number of masterless men and rogues that
were everywhere to be found, especially about London. The good Bishop
Ridley, in an eloquent appeal addressed to William Cecil, represented
the poor and sick and starving in the streets of London in the person
of Christ, beseeching the king to succour the poor and suffering Christ
in the streets of London by bestowing his palace of Bridewell to be a
home for the homeless, the starving, and the sick, where erring ones
could be corrected and the good sustained. The good young monarch
granted the bishop's request, and Bridewell Hospital was thus founded
to do the social work in which Blackfriars monastery on the other side
of the Fleet river had formerly borne its share. But single efforts of
this kind were quite unequal to cope with the social difficulty; and
early in the reign of Elizabeth the first Poor Law was passed and a
system of relief came into operation.

To meet the difficulty of unemployment, it was part of the policy of
Queen Elizabeth's Government to encourage new industries, whether due
to invention and discovery or to knowledge gained by visiting foreign
countries to learn new processes and manufactures; the inventor or
the introducer of the novelty was rewarded with a monopoly, and he
received a licence "to take up workmen" to be taught the methods of the
new industry. One of the manufactures which had been thus stimulated
was glass-making; and in the precinct of Blackfriars was a famous
glass-house or factory, a reminiscence of which still exists in the
name Glasshouse Yard. It has been shown how the crafts and trades of
Elizabethan London gravitated to separate areas: Blackfriars precinct
was famous as the abode of artists; one may hazard the guess that some
of the portraits of Elizabethan and Jacobean players in the Dulwich
Gallery may have been painted here. In the reign of Charles I. Vandyke
had his studio in Blackfriars, where the king paid him a visit to see
his pictures. The precinct was famous also as the abode of glovers; and
in the reigns of James and Charles it became a notorious stronghold
of Puritans. The existing name of Playhouse Yard, at the back of
_The Times_ newspaper office, affords some indication of the site of
the theatre; and the name Cloister Court is the sole remnant of the
cloisters of Blackfriars monastery.

The eastern boundary of the precinct was St. Andrew's Hill, which still
exists. On the site of the present church of St. Andrew in the Wardrobe
stood a church of the same dedication in Elizabethan London. Stow wrote
of "the parish church of St. Andrew in the Wardrobe, a proper church,
but few monuments hath it." Near the church (the site being indicated
by the existing court called the Wardrobe) was a building of State,
which Stow calls "the King's Great Wardrobe." The Elizabethan use of
the Wardrobe is described by Stow thus: "In this house of late years is
lodged Sir John Fortescue, knight, master of the wardrobe, chancellor
and under-treasurer of the exchequer, and one of her majesty's most
honorable privy Council."

Near the top of St. Andrew's Hill and within the precinct of
Blackfriars was a house which Shakespeare purchased in 1613. It is
described in the extant Deed of Conveyance as "now or late being in
the tenure or occupation of one William Ireland ... abutting upon a
street leading down to Puddle Wharf on the east part, right against the
Kinges Majesties Wardrobe." Curiously enough, the name of this occupier
survives in the existing Ireland Yard.

[Illustration]


ENVOY

The omissions in this imperfect sketch of Elizabethan London are many
and obvious. The design has been to show the tangible setting of a
jewel rather than the jewel itself; the outward conditions in which
the life of a new age was manifested. The background of destruction
has been inevitably emphasised; but in Elizabethan London historic
memorials existed on every hand. Nothing has been said of Baynard's
Castle, its Norman walls rising from the margin of the river to
the south of Blackfriars, or of St Bartholomew the Great, or the
Charterhouse, or St. Giles's, Cripplegate; although an account of them
would have completed the outer ring of our perambulation of the London
described by Stow. The whole region westward--Holborn, Fleet Street,
the Strand, and Westminster--has been left for another occasion. Here
and there, however, we have been able to glance at historic buildings
which had survived from earlier ages to witness the changes in London
after the Reformation. It was those changes that led to the making of
the playhouse and brought the conditions which enfolded the possibility
realised in Shakespeare. This has been the point of view in the
foregoing pages. A study of characteristics rather than a detailed
account has been offered for the consideration of the reader.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Thomas Dekker, the pamphleteer and dramatist, describes the
Exchange as it was in 1607, when "at every turn a man is put in mind of
Babel, there is such a confusion of languages"; and as late as 1644 the
picturesque dresses of the foreign merchants appear in an engraving by
Hollar.

[2] Camden speaks of "this so stately building," and in his terse
fashion conveys the effect of the interior: "The west part, as also the
Cross-yle, are spacious, high-built, and goodly to be seene by reason
of the huge Pillars and a right beautiful arched Roof of stone."

[3] This is Stow's figure. Camden gives the measurement as 534 feet.

[4] The name survives in Pike Gardens, Bankside.

[5] See the "Bear-house" near the "Play-house" (_i.e._, the Rose) in
Norden's plan, 1593.




PEPYS'S LONDON

BY HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A.


The growth of population in London was almost stationary for many
centuries; as, owing to the generally unhealthy condition of ancient
cities, the births seldom exceeded the deaths, and in the case of
frequent pestilences the deaths actually exceeded the births. Thus
during its early history the walls of London easily contained its
inhabitants, although at all times in its history London will be found
to have taken a higher rank for healthy sanitary conditions than most
of its continental contemporaries. In the later Middle Ages the city
overflowed its borders, and its liberties were recognized and marked by
Bars. Subsequently nothing was done to bring the further out-growths of
London proper within the fold, and in Tudor times we first hear of the
suburbs as disreputable quarters, a condemnation which was doubtless
just, as the inhabitants mostly consisted of those who were glad to
escape the restrictions of life within the city walls.

The first great exodus westwards of the more aristocratic inhabitants
of London took place in the reigns of James I. and Charles I.--first to
Lincoln's Inn Fields and its neighbourhood, and then to Covent Garden,
and both these suburbs were laid out by Inigo Jones, the greatest
architect of beautiful street fronts that England has ever produced. It
is an eternal disgrace to Londoners that so many of his noble buildings
in Lincoln's Inn Fields have been destroyed. The period of construction
of these districts is marked by the names of Henrietta and King
Streets in Covent Garden, and Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields.

After the Restoration modern London was founded. During the
Commonwealth there had been a considerable stagnation in the movement
of the population, and when the Royalists returned to England from
abroad they found their family mansions in the city unfitted for their
habitation, and in consequence established themselves in what is now
the city of Westminster. Henry Jermyn, first Earl of St. Albans, began
to provide houses for some of them in St. James's Square, and buildings
in the district around were rapidly proceeded with.

We have a faithful representation of London, as it appeared at the
end of the Commonwealth period, in Newcourt and Faithorne's valuable
Plan of London, dated 1658. A long growth of houses north of the
Thames is seen stretching from the Tower to the neighbourhood of
Westminster Abbey. Islington is found at the extreme north of the plan
unconnected with the streets of the town, Hoxton connected with the
city by Shoreditch, Bethnal Green almost alone, and Stepney at the
extreme north-east. South of the Thames there are a few streets close
to the river, and a small out-growth from London Bridge along the great
southern road containing Southwark and Bermondsey. There is little at
Lambeth but the Archbishop's Palace and the great marsh.

On this plan we see what was the condition of the Haymarket and
Piccadilly before the Restoration. This was soon to be changed, for
between the years 1664 and 1668 were erected three great mansions in
the "Road to Reading" (now Piccadilly), viz., Clarendon House (where
Bond and Albemarle Streets now stand), Berkeley House (on the site
now occupied by Devonshire House), and Burlington House. Piccadilly
was the original name of the district after which Piccadilly Hall was
called. The latter place was situated at the north-east corner of the
Haymarket, nearly opposite to Panton Square, and close by Panton
Street, named after Colonel Thomas Panton, the notorious gamester, who
purchased Piccadilly Hall from Mrs. Baker, the widow of the original
owner.

There is much to be said in favour of associating the name of some
well-known man with the London of his time, and thus showing how his
descriptions illustrate the chief historical events of his time, with
many of which he may have been connected. In the case of Samuel Pepys,
we can see with his eyes many of the incidents of the early years of
the Restoration period, and thus gain an insight into the inner life of
the times. Pepys lived through some of the greatest changes that have
passed over London, and in alluding to some of these we may quote his
remarks with advantage. His friend, John Evelyn, also refers to many of
the same events, and may also be quoted, more particularly as he was
specially engaged at different periods of his life in improving several
parts of London.

We are truly fortunate in having two such admirable diarists at hand to
help us to a proper understanding of the course of events and of the
changes that took place in London during their long lives.

When Pepys commenced his _Diary_ on January 1st, 1660, we find him
living in a small house in Axe Yard, Westminster, a place which derived
its name from a brewhouse on the west side of King Street, called
"The Axe." He was then clerk to Mr. (afterwards Sir George) Downing,
one of the Four Tellers of the Receipt of the Exchequer, from whom
Downing Street obtained its name. Pepys was in the receipt of £50
a year, and his household was not a large one, for it consisted of
himself, his wife, and his servant Jane. He let the greater part of
the house, and his family lived in the garrets. About 1767 Axe Yard
was swept away, and Fludyer Street arose on its site, named after Sir
Samuel Fludyer, who was Lord Mayor in 1761. Nearly a century afterwards
(1864-65) this street also was swept away (with others) to make room
for the Government offices, consisting of the India, Foreign and
Colonial Offices, etc., so that all trace of Pepys's residence has now
completely passed away.

Macaulay, in the famous third chapter of his History, where he gives
a brilliant picture of the state of England in 1685, and clearly
describes London under the later Stuarts, writes: "Each of the two
cities which made up the capital of England had its own centre of
attraction." We may take this sentence as our text, and try to
illustrate it by some notices of London life in the city and at the
Court end of town. The two extremes were equally familiar to Pepys, and
both were seen by him almost daily when he stepped into his boat by the
Tower and out of it again at Westminster.

To take the court life first, let us begin with the entry of the
King into London on his birthday (May 29th, 1660). The enthusiastic
reception of Charles II. is a commonplace of history, and from the
Tower to Whitehall joy was exhibited by all that thronged the streets.
Evelyn was spectator of the scene, which he describes in his _Diary_:--

     "May 29th. This day his Majestie Charles the Second came to
     London after a sad and long exile and calamitous suffering
     both of the King and Church, being 17 yeares. This was also
     his birthday, and with a triumph of above 20,000 horse
     and foote, brandishing their swords and shouting with
     inexpressible joy; the wayes strew'd with flowers, the bells
     ringing, the streetes hung with tapissry, fountaines running
     with wine; the Maior, Aldermen and all the Companies in their
     liveries, chaines of gold and banners; Lords and nobles
     clad in cloth of silver, gold and velvet; the windowes and
     balconies all set with ladies; trumpets, music and myriads
     of people flocking, even so far as Rochester, so as they
     were seven houres in passing the citty, even from 2 in y^e
     afternoon till 9 at night.

     "I stood in the Strand and beheld it, and bless'd God. And
     all this was done without one drop of blood shed, and by that
     very army which rebell'd against him; but it was y^e Lord's
     doing, for such a restauration was never mention'd in any
     history antient or modern, since the returne of the Jews from
     the Babylonish captivity; nor so joyfull a day and so bright
     ever seene in this nation, this hapning when to expect or
     effect it was past all human policy."

One of the brilliant companies of young and comely men in white
doublets who took part in the procession was led by Simon Wadlow,
the vintner and host of the "Devil" tavern. This was the son of Ben
Jonson's Simon Wadlow, "Old Simon the King," who gave his name to
Squire Western's favourite song. From Rugge's curious MS. _Diurnal_ we
learn how the young women of London were not behind the young men in
the desire to join in the public rejoicings:--

     "Divers maidens, in behalf of themselves and others, presented
     a petition to the Lord Mayor of London, wherein they pray
     his Lordship to grant them leave and liberty to meet his
     Majesty on the day of his passing through the city; and if
     their petition be granted that they will all be clad in white
     waistcoats and crimson petticoats, and other ornaments of
     triumph and rejoicing."

Pepys was at sea at this time with Sir Edward Montagu, where the
sailors had their own rejoicings and fired off three guns, but he
enters in his _Diary_: "This day, it is thought, the King do enter the
city of London."

Charles, immediately on his arrival in London, settled himself in the
Palace of Whitehall, which was his chief place of residence during the
whole of his reign, but although he was very much at home in it, he
felt keenly the inconveniences attending its situation by the river
side, which caused it frequently to be flooded by high tides.

The King alludes to this trouble in one of his amusingly chatty
speeches to the House of Commons on March 1st, 1661-62, when
arrangements were being made for the entry of Katharine of Braganza
into London. He said:--

     "The mention of my wife's arrival puts me in mind to desire
     you to put that compliment upon her, that her entrance into
     the town may be with more decency than the ways will now
     suffer it to be; and for that purpose, I pray you would
     quickly pass such laws as are before you, in order to the
     amending those ways, and that she may not find Whitehall
     surrounded by water."

[Illustration: A VIEW OF LONDON AS IT APPEARED BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE.

_From an old print._

  1 St. Paul's.
  2 St. Dunstan's.
  3 Temple.
  4 St. Bride's.
  5 St. Andrew's.
  6 Baynard's Castle.
  7 St. Sepulchre's.
  8 Bow Church.
  9 Guildhall.
  10 St. Michael's.
  11 St. Laurence, Poultney.
  12 Old Swan.
  13 London Bridge.
  14 St. Dunstan's East.
  15 Billingsgate.
  16 Custom House.
  17 Tower.
  18 Tower Wharf.
  19 St. Olave's.
  20 St. Saviour's.
  21 Winchester House.
  22 The Globe.
  23 The Bear Garden.
  24 Hampstead.
  25 Highgate.
  26 Hackney.]

In the following year we read in Pepys's _Diary_ a piquant account
of the putting out of Lady Castlemaine's kitchen fire on a certain
occasion when Charles was engaged to sup with her:--

     "October 13th, 1663. My Lady Castlemaine, I hear, is in as
     great favour as ever, and the King supped with her the very
     first night he came from Bath: and last night and the night
     before supped with her; when there being a chine of beef
     to roast, and the tide rising into their kitchen that it
     could not be roasted there, and the cook telling her of it,
     she answered, 'Zounds! she must set the house on fire, but
     it should be roasted!' So it was carried to Mrs. Sarah's
     husband's, and there it was roasted."

The last sentence requires an explanation. Mrs. Sarah was Lord
Sandwich's housekeeper, and Pepys had found out in November, 1662, that
she had just been married, and that her husband was a cook. We are not
told his name or where he lived.

Lord Dorset, in the famous song, "To all you ladies now on land,"
specially alludes to the periodical inundations at the Palace:--

    "The King, with wonder and surprise,
      Will swear the seas grow bold;
    Because the tides will higher rise
      Than e'er they did of old;
    But let him know it is our tears
    Bring floods of grief to Whitehall stairs."

Pepys was a constant visitor to Whitehall, and the Index to the _Diary_
contains over three pages of references to his visits. He refers to
Henry VIII.'s Gallery, the Boarded Gallery, the Matted Gallery, the
Shield Gallery, and the Vane Room. Lilly, the astrologer, mentions the
Guard Room. The Adam and Eve Gallery was so called from a picture by
Mabuse, now at Hampton Court. In the Matted Gallery was a ceiling by
Holbein, and on a wall in the Privy Chamber a painting of Henry VII.
and Henry VIII., with their Queens, by the same artist, of which a copy
in small is preserved at Hampton Court. On another wall was a "Dance of
Death," also by Holbein, of which Douce has given a description; and in
the bedchamber of Charles II. a representation by Joseph Wright of the
King's birth, his right to his dominions, and miraculous preservation,
with the motto, _Terras Astræa revisit_.

All these rooms, and most of the lodgings of the many residents, royal
and non-royal, were in the portion of the Palace situated on the river
side of the road, now known as Whitehall. This road was shut in by two
gates erected by Henry VIII. when he enlarged the borders of the Palace
after he had taken it from Wolsey. The one at the Westminster end was
called the King Street gate, and the other, at the north end, designed
by Holbein, was called by his name, and also Whitehall or Cock-pit gate.

It is necessary to remember that Whitehall extended into St. James's
Park. The Tilt Yard, where many tournaments and pageants were held
in the reigns of Henry VIII., Elizabeth, and James I., fronted the
Banqueting House, and occupied what is now the Horse Guards' Parade. On
the south side of the Tilt Yard was the Cockpit, where Monk, Duke of
Albemarle, lived for a time. His name was given to a tavern in the Tilt
Yard ("The Monk's Head").

On the north side was Spring Gardens, otherwise the King's Garden, but
it subsequently became a place of public entertainment, and after the
Restoration it was styled the Old Spring Garden; then the ground was
built upon, and the entertainments removed to the New Spring Garden at
Lambeth, afterwards called Vauxhall.

The Cockpit was originally used for cock-fighting, but it cannot be
definitely said when it ceased to be employed for this cruel sport. It
was for a considerable time used as a royal theatre, and Malone wrote:--

     "Neither Elizabeth, nor James I., nor Charles I., I believe,
     ever went to the public theatre, but they frequently ordered
     plays to be performed at Court, which were represented in the
     royal theatre called the Cockpit."

Malone is probably incorrect in respect to Elizabeth's use of the
Cockpit, for certainly cock-fighting was practised here as late as
1607, as may be seen from the following entry in the State Papers:--

     "Aug. 4th, 1607. Warrant to pay 100 marks per annum to William
     Gateacre for breeding, feeding, etc., the King's game cocks
     during the life of George Coliner, Cockmaster."[6]

It is, of course, possible that the players and the cocks occupied the
place contemporaneously.

The lodgings at the Cockpit were occupied by some well-known men.
Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, saw Charles I. pass
from St. James's to the scaffold at the Banqueting House from one
of his windows, and he died in these apartments on January 23rd,
1650. Oliver Cromwell, when Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, was given,
by order of Parliament, "the use of the lodgings called the Cockpit,
of the Spring Garden and St. James's House, and the command of St.
James's Park," and when Protector, and in possession of Whitehall
Palace, he still retained the Cockpit. When in 1657 he relaxed some
of the prohibitions against the Theatre, he used the Cockpit stage
occasionally for instrumental and vocal music.

A little before the Restoration the apartments were assigned to General
Monk, and Charles II. confirmed the arrangement. Here he died, as Duke
of Albemarle, on January 3rd, 1670. In 1673 George Villiers, second
Duke of Buckingham, became a resident, and at the Revolution of 1688
the Princess Anne was living here.

There has been some confusion in respect to the references to the
Cockpit in Pepys's _Diary_, as two distinct theatres are referred to
under this name. The references before November, 1660, are to the
performances of the Duke's Company at the Cockpit in Drury Lane.
Here Pepys saw the "Loyal Subject," "Othello," "Wit without Money,"
and "The Woman's Prize or Tamer Tamed." The subsequent passages in
which the Cockpit is referred to apply to the royal theatre attached
to Whitehall Palace. Here Pepys saw "The Cardinal," "Claricilla,"
"Humorous Lieutenant," "Scornful Lady," and the "Valiant Cid." It is
useful to remember that the performances at Whitehall were in the
evening, and those at the public theatre in the afternoon.

The buildings of the Old Whitefriars Palace by the river side were
irregular and unimposing outside, although they were handsome inside.
The grand scheme of Inigo Jones for rebuilding initiated by James I.,
and occasionally entertained by Charles I. and II. and William III.,
came to nothing, but the noble Banqueting House remains to show what
might have been.

The Rev. Dr. Sheppard, in his valuable work on _The Old Palace of
Whitehall_ (1902), refers to Grinling Gibbons's statue of James II.,
which for many years stood in the Privy Garden, and is one of the very
few good statues in London. He refers to the temporary removal of the
statue to the front of Gwydyr House, and writes: "Since the statue has
been removed to its present position an inscription (there was none
originally) has been placed on its stone pedestal. It runs as follows:--

                           JACOBUS SECUNDUS
                   DEI GRATIA ANGLIÆ SCOTIÆ FRANCIÆ
                           ET HIBERNIÆ REX.
                   FIDEI DEFENSOR. ANNO MDCLXXXVI."

This, however, is a mistake, and the inscription runs as follows:--

                           JACOBUS SECUNDUS
                              DEI GRATIÆ
                             ANGLIÆ SCOTIÆ
                              FRANCIÆ ET
                               HIBERNIÆ
                                  REX
                            FIDEI DEFENSOR
                            ANNO MDCLXXXVI

in capitals, and without any stops.

The present writer remembers well being taken as a little boy to
read the inscription and find out the error in the Latin. The statue
has since been removed to the front of the new buildings of the
Admiralty between the Horse Guards' Parade and Spring Gardens, a very
appropriate position for a Lord High Admiral. I am happy to see that
the inscription has not been altered, and the incorrect "Dei gratiæ"
appears as in my youth.

James Duke of York, after the Restoration, occupied apartments in
St. James's Palace, and his Secretary of the Admiralty, Sir William
Coventry, had lodgings conveniently near him. The Duke sometimes moved
from one palace to the other, as his father, Charles I., had done
before him. Henrietta Maria took a fancy to the place, and most of
their children were born at St. James's, the Duke being one of these.

James's changes of residence are recorded in Pepys's _Diary_ as
follows:--

     "Jan. 23rd, 1664-65. Up and with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen
     to White Hall; but there finding the Duke gone to his lodgings
     at St. James's for alltogether, his Duchesse being ready to
     lie in, we to him and there did our usual business."

     "May 3rd, 1667. Up and with Sir J. Minnes, W. Batten and W.
     Pen in the last man's coach to St. James's, and thence up to
     the Duke of York's chamber, which as it is now fretted at
     the top, and the chimney-piece made handsome, is one of the
     noblest and best-proportioned rooms that ever, I think, I saw
     in my life."

     "May 20th, 1668. Up and with Colonell Middleton in a new
     coach he hath made him, very handsome, to White Hall, where
     the Duke of York having removed his lodgings for this year
     to St. James's we walked thither; and there find the Duke of
     York coming to White Hall, and so back to the Council Chamber,
     where the Committee of the Navy sat."

In November, 1667, James fell ill of the smallpox in St. James's
Palace, when the gallery doors were locked up. On March 31st, 1671,
Anne Duchess of York, the daughter of Clarendon, died here. The
Princess Mary was married to William Prince of Orange in November,
1677, at eleven o'clock at night, in the Chapel Royal, and on July
28th, 1683, Princess Anne to Prince George of Denmark, when the pair
took up their residence at St. James's.

When James came to the crown he went to live at Whitehall Palace, but
he frequently stayed at St. James's. On June 9th, 1688, Queen Mary of
Modena was taken to the latter place, and on the following day James
Francis Edward, afterwards known as "The Pretender," was born in the
Old Bedchamber. This room was situated at the east end of the south
front. It had three doors, one leading to a private staircase at the
head of the bed, and two windows opposite the bed.[7]

The room was pulled down previous to the alterations made in the year
1822.

The anecdote of Charles II. and the chaplains of the Chapel Royal
is often quoted, but it is worth repeating, as it shows the ready
wit of the great preacher, Dr. South. A daily dinner was prepared
at the Palace for the chaplains, and one day the King notified his
intention of dining with them. There had been some talk of abolishing
this practice, and South seized the opportunity of saying grace to do
his best in opposition to the suggestion; so, instead of the regular
formula, which was "God save the King and bless the dinner," said "God
bless the King and save the dinner." Charles at once cried out, "And it
shall be saved."

The Duke of York and the King were fond of wandering about the park at
all hours, and as Charles often walked by himself, even as far as the
then secluded Constitution Hill, James having expressed fears for his
safety, the elder brother made the memorable reply: "No kind of danger,
James, for I am sure no man in England will take away my life to make
you king."

Pepys tells us on March 16th, 1661-2, that while he was walking in the
park he met the King and Duke coming "to see their fowl play."

Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany (then Hereditary Prince), made a
"Tour through England" in 1669, and it will be remembered that Macaulay
found the account of his travels a valuable help towards obtaining
a picture of the state of England in the middle of the seventeenth
century. Cosmo thus describes St. James's Park:--

     "A large park enclosed on every side by a wall, and containing
     a long, straight, and spacious walk, intended for the
     amusement of the Mall, on each side of which grow large elms
     whose shade render the promenade in that place in summer
     infinitely pleasant and agreeable; close to it is a canal
     of nearly the same length, on which are several species of
     aquatic birds, brought up and rendered domestic--the work
     of the Protector Cromwell; the rest of the park is left
     uncultivated, and forms a wood for the retreat of deer and
     other quadrupeds."

His Highness was not quite correct in giving the credit of the
collection of wild-fowl to Cromwell, as the water-fowl appear to have
been kept in the park from the reign of Elizabeth, and the ponds were
replenished after the Restoration.

Evelyn gives a long account in his _Diary_ of the zoological
collections (February 9th, 1664-65). He says:

     "The parke was at this time stored with numerous flocks of
     severall sorts of ordinary and extraordinary wild fowle,
     breeding about the Decoy, which for being neere so greate a
     citty, and among such a concourse of souldiers and people,
     is a singular and diverting thing. There were also deere of
     several countries, white; spotted like leopards; antelopes,
     an elk, red deere, roebucks, staggs, guinea goates, Arabian
     sheepe, etc. There were withy pots or nests for the wild fowle
     to lay their eggs in, a little above y^e surface of y^e
     water."

Charles II. was a saunterer by nature, and he appears to have been
quite happy in the park either chatting with Nell Gwyn, at the end of
the garden of her Pall Mall house, in feeding the fowl, or in playing
the game of Mall.

This game was popular from the end of the sixteenth to the beginning
of the eighteenth century, and then went out of fashion. At one time
there were few large towns without a mall, or prepared ground where
the game could be played. There is reason to believe that the game was
introduced into England from Scotland on the accession of James VI. to
the English throne, because the King names it in his "Basilicon Dōron"
among other exercises as suited for his son Henry, who was afterwards
Prince of Wales, and about the same time Sir R. Dallington, in his
_Method of Travel_ (1598), expresses his surprise that the sport was
not then introduced into England.

The game was played in long shaded alleys, and on dry gravel walks.
The mall in St. James's Park was nearly half a mile in length, and was
kept with the greatest care. Pepys relates how he went to talk with the
keeper of the mall, and how he learned the manner of mixing the earth
for the floor, over which powdered cockle-shells were strewn. All this
required such attention that a special person was employed for the
purpose, who was called the cockle-strewer. In dry weather the surface
was apt to turn to dust, and consequently to impede the flight of the
ball, so that the cockle-strewer's office was by no means a sinecure.
Richard Blome, writing in 1673, asserts that this mall was "said to
be the best in Christendom," but Evelyn claims the pre-eminence for
that at Tours, with its seven rows of tall elms, as "the noblest in
Europe for length and shade." The game is praised by Sir R. Dallington
"because it is a gentlemanlike sport, not violent, and yields good
occasion and opportunity of discourse as they walke from one marke to
the other," and Joseph Lauthier, who wrote a treatise on the subject,
entitled _Le Jeu de Mail_, Paris, 1717 (which is now extremely scarce),
uses the same form of recommendation.

The chief requisites for the game were mallets, balls, two arches or
hoops, one at either end of the mall, and a wooden border marked
so as to show the position of the balls when played. The mallets
were of different size and form to suit the various players, and
Lauthier directs that the weight and height of the mallet should be in
proportion to the strength and stature of the player. The balls were of
various sizes and weights, and each size had its distinct name. In damp
weather, when the soil was heavy, a lighter ball was required than when
the soil was sandy. A gauge was used to ascertain its weight, and the
weight of the mallet was adjusted to that of the ball. The arch or pass
was about two feet high and two inches wide. The one at the west end
of St. James's Park remained in its place for many years, and was not
cleared away until the beginning of the reign of George III. In playing
the game, the mallet was raised above the head and brought down with
great force so as to strike the ball to a considerable distance. The
poet Waller describes Charles II.'s stroke in the following lines:--

    "Here a well-polished Mall gives us joy,
    To see our prince his matchless force employ.
    No sooner has he touch'd the flying ball,
    But 'tis already more than half the Mall;
    And such a fury from his arm has got,
    As from a smoking culverin 'twere shot."

Considerable skill and practice were required in the player, who, while
attempting to make the ball skate along the ground with speed, had to
be careful that he did not strike it in such a manner as to raise it
from the ground. This is shown by what Charles Cotton writes:--

    "But playing with the boy at Mall
    (I rue the time and ever shall),
    I struck the ball, I know not how,
    (For that is not the play, you know),
    A pretty height into the air."

This boy was, perhaps, a caddie, for it will be seen that the game was
a sort of cross between golf and croquet.

Lauthier describes four ways of playing at pall mall, viz.:--(1) the
_rouet_, or pool game; (2) _en partie_, a match game; (3) _à grands
coups_, at long shots; and (4) _chicane_, or hockey. Moreover, he
proposes a new game to be played like billiards.

We may now pass from St. James's Park to Hyde Park, which became a
place of public resort in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. It was
then considered to be quite a country place. Ben Jonson mentions in
the Prologue to his comedy, _The Staple of News_ (1625), the number of
coaches which congregated there, and Shirley describes the horse-races
in his comedy entitled _Hide Parke_ (1637).

The park, being Crown property, was sold by order of Parliament in 1652
for about £17,000 in three lots, the purchasers being Richard Wilcox,
John Tracy, and Anthony Deane. Cromwell was a frequent visitor, and on
one occasion when he was driving in the park his horses ran away, and
he was thrown off his coach.

After the Restoration the park was the daily resort of all the
gallantry of the court, and Pepys found driving there very pleasant,
although he complained of the dust. The Ring, which is described in
Grammont's _Memoirs_ as "the rendezvous of magnificence and beauty,"
was a small enclosure of trees round which the carriages circulated.

Pepys writes April 4th, 1663:--

     "After dinner to Hide Park ... At the Park was the King and in
     another coach my Lady Castlemaine, they greeting one another
     at every tour."

This passage is illustrated in Wilson's _Memoirs_, 1719, where we are
told that when the coaches "have turned for some time round one way,
they face about and turn t'other."

John Macky, in his _Journey through England_ (1724), affirms that in
fine weather he had seen above three hundred coaches at a time making
"the Grand Tour."

Cosmo tells of the etiquette which was observed among the company:--

     "The King and Queen are often there, and the duke and duchess,
     towards whom at the first meeting and no more all persons show
     the usual marks of respect, which are afterwards omitted,
     although they should chance to meet again ever so often, every
     one being at full liberty, and under no constraint whatever,
     and to prevent the confusion and disorder which might arise
     from the great number of lackies and footmen, these are not
     permitted to enter Hyde Park, but stop at the gate waiting for
     their masters."

Oldys refers to a poem, printed in sixteen pages, which was entitled
"The Circus, or British Olympicks: a Satyr on the Ring in Hyde Park."
He says that the poem satirizes many well-known fops under fictitious
names, and he raises the number of coaches seen on a fine evening from
Macky's three hundred to a thousand. The Ring was partly destroyed at
the time the Serpentine was formed by Caroline, Queen of George II.

Although the Ring has disappeared, Hyde Park has remained from the
Restoration period until the present day the most fashionable place in
London, but now the whole park has been utilized.

Charles II., in reviving the Stage, specially patronised it himself,
and it may be referred to here from its connection with the Court.
It has already been noticed that previous monarchs did not visit the
public theatres.

Pepys was an enthusiastic playgoer, and the _Diary_ contains a mass of
information respecting the Stage not elsewhere to be found, so that we
are able to trace the various advances made in the revival of the Stage
from the incipient attempt of Davenant before the Restoration to the
improvements in scenery introduced by the rivalry of the two managers,
Davenant and Killigrew. Immediately after the Restoration two companies
of actors were organized, who performed at two different houses. One
theatre was known as the King's House, called by Pepys "The Theatre,"
and the other as the Duke's House, called by Pepys "The Opera." Sir
William Davenant obtained a patent for his company as "The Duke's
Servants," named after the Duke of York, and Thomas Killigrew obtained
one for "The King's Servants."

Killigrew's Company first performed at the "Red Bull," Clerkenwell, and
on November 8th removed to Gibbons's Tennis Court in Bear Yard, which
was entered from Vere Street, Clare Market. Here the Company remained
till 1663, when they removed to Drury Lane Theatre, which had been
built for their reception, and was opened on May 7th.

Davenant's Company first performed at the Cockpit, Drury Lane. They
began to play at Salisbury Court Theatre on November 13th, 1660, and
went to Cobham House, Blackfriars, on the site afterwards occupied
by Apothecaries' Hall, in January, 1661. They then removed to the
theatre in Portugal Row, built on the site of Lisle's Tennis Court.
Rhodes, a bookseller, who had formerly been wardrobe keeper at the
Blackfriars, had managed in 1659 to obtain a licence from the State,
and John Downes affirms that his company acted at the Cockpit, but
apparently he was acting at the Salisbury Court Theatre before Davenant
went there. Killigrew, however, soon succeeded in suppressing Rhodes.
Davenant planned a new building in Dorset Gardens, which was close
to Salisbury Court, where the former theatre was situated. He died,
however, before it was finished, but the company removed there in 1671,
and the theatre was opened on the 9th of November with Dryden's play,
_Sir Martin Mar-all_, which he had improved from a rough draft by the
Duke of Newcastle. Pepys had seen it seven times in the years 1667-68.
The Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre remained shut up until February, 1672,
when the King's Company, burnt out of Drury Lane Theatre, made use of
it till March, 1674, by which time the new building in Brydges Street,
Covent Garden, was ready for their occupation.

When Tom Killigrew died in 1682 the King's and the Duke's companies
were united, and the Duke's servants removed from Dorset Gardens to
Drury Lane. The two companies performed together for the first time on
November 16th.

These constant changes are very confusing, and the recital of them is
not very entertaining, but it is necessary to make the matter clear
for the proper understanding of the history of the time. The plan of
the old theatres, with their platform stage, was no longer of use for
the altered arrangements introduced at the Restoration. Successive
improvements in the form of the houses were made, but we learn from
Pepys that it was some time before the roofing of the building was
water-tight.

The public theatres were open in the afternoon, three o'clock being the
usual hour for performance, and the plays were therefore partly acted
in the summer by daylight. It was thus necessary to have skylights, but
these were so slight that heavy rain came and wetted those below. On
June 1st, 1664, Pepys wrote:--

     "Before the play was done it fell such a storm of hail that we
     in the middle of the pit were fain to rise, and all the house
     in a disorder."

Davenant was the original planner of the modern stage and its scenery,
but Killigrew did his part in the improvement carried out. He was
somewhat jealous of his brother manager, and on one occasion he
explained to Pepys what he himself had done:--

     "Feb. 12th, 1666-67. The stage is now by his pains a thousand
     times better and more glorious than ever heretofore. Now, wax
     candles, and many of them; then not above 3 lbs. of tallow:
     now all things civil, no rudeness anywhere; then as in a bear
     garden: then two or three fiddlers, now nine or ten of the
     best: then nothing but rushes upon the ground, and everything
     else mean; and now all otherwise; then the Queen seldom and
     the King never would come; now, not the King only for State
     but all civil people do think they may come as well as any."

Killigrew complained that "the audience at his house was not above half
as much as it used to be before the late fire," but in the following
year (February 6th, 1667-8) there were crowds at the other house. Pepys
relates:--

     "Home to dinner, and my wife being gone before, I to the Duke
     of York's playhouse; where a new play of Etheridge's called
     'She Would if she Could,' and though I was there by two
     o'clock, there were 1,000 people put back that could not have
     room in the pit."

Pepys's criticisms on the plays he saw acted at these theatres were not
always satisfactory, and often they were contradictory. At the same
time he was apparently judicious in the disposal of praise and blame
on the actors he saw. Betterton was his ideal of the perfect actor,
and, so far as it is possible to judge as to one who lived so long ago,
public opinion formed by those capable of judging from contemporary
report seems to be in agreement with that of Pepys.

Pepys was a great frequenter of taverns and inns, as were most of his
contemporaries. There are about one hundred and thirty London taverns
mentioned in the _Diary_, but time has swept away nearly all of these
houses, and it is difficult to find any place which Pepys frequented.

These taverns may be considered as a link between the Court end of
London and the city, for Pepys distributed his favours between the two
places. King Street, Westminster, was full of inns, and Pepys seems to
have frequented them all. Two of them--the "Dog" and the "Sun"--are
mentioned in Herrick's address to the shade of "Glorious Ben":--

    "Ah, Ben!
    Say how or when
    Shall we thy guests
    Meet at these feasts
    Made at the Sun,
    The Dog, the Triple Tunne?
    Where we such clusters had
    As made us nobly wild, not mad!
    And yet such verse of thine
    Outdid the meate, outdid the frolic wine."

The "Three Tuns" at Charing Cross, visited by Pepys, was probably the
same house whose sign Herrick changes to "Triple Tun."

Among the Westminster taverns may be mentioned "Heaven" and "Hell," two
places of entertainment at Westminster Hall; the "Bull Head" and the
"Chequers" and the "Swan" at Charing Cross; the "Cock" in Bow Street
and the "Fleece" in York Street, Covent Garden; the "Canary" house by
Exeter Change; and the "Blue Balls" in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The majority of these taverns patronised by Pepys were, however, in
the city. There were several "Mitres" in London, but perhaps the most
interesting one was that kept in Fenchurch Street by Daniel Rawlinson,
a staunch royalist, who, when Charles I. was executed, hung his sign in
mourning. Thomas Hearne says that naturally made him suspected by the
Roundheads, but "endeared him so much to the Churchmen that he throve
amain and got a good estate." His son, Sir Thomas Rawlinson, was Lord
Mayor in 1700, and President of Bridewell Hospital. His two grandsons,
Thomas and Richard Rawlinson, hold an honourable place in the roll
of eminent book collectors. The "Samson" in St. Paul's Churchyard
was another famous house, as also the "Dolphin" in Tower Street, a
rendezvous of the Navy officers, which provided very good and expensive
dinners.

The "Cock" in Threadneedle Street was an old-established house when
Pepys visited it on March 7th, 1659-60, and it lasted till 1840, when
it was cleared away. In the eighteenth century it was a constant
practice for the frequenters of the "Cock" to buy a chop or steak at
the butcher's and bring it to be cooked, the charge for which was one
penny. Fox's friend, the notorious Duke of Norfolk, known as "Jockey of
Norfolk," often bought his chop and brought it here to be cooked, until
his rank was discovered.

The meetings of the Royal Society were held at Gresham College in
Bishopsgate Street, and then at Arundel House in the Strand, which was
lent to the Society by Henry Howard of Norfolk, afterwards Duke of
Norfolk. Cosmo of Tuscany visited the latter place for a meeting of the
Royal Society, and he gives in his _Travels_ an interesting account of
the manner in which the proceedings were carried out.

There are many references in Pepys's _Diary_ to the Lord Mayor and the
Rulers of the City, and of the customs carried out there.

The Lord Mayor, aldermen, and common councilmen visited Cosmo, who
was staying at Lord St. Alban's mansion in St. James's Square. His
Highness, having dined with the King at the Duke of Buckingham's, kept
the city magnates waiting for a time, but Colonel Gascoyne, "to make
the delay less tedious, had accommodated himself to the national taste
by ordering liquor and amusing them with drinking toasts, till it was
announced that His Highness was ready to give them audience." The
description of the audience is very interesting.

Pepys lived in the city at the Navy Office in Seething Lane (opposite
St. Olave's, Hart Street, the church he attended) during the whole of
the time he was writing his _Diary_, but when he was Secretary of the
Admiralty he went, in 1684, to live at the end of Buckingham Street,
Strand, in a house on the east side which looks on to the river.

Mr. John Eliot Hodgkin possesses the original lease (dated September
30th, 1687) from the governor and company of the New River for a supply
of water through a half-inch pipe, and four small cocks of brass led
from the main pipe in Villiers Street to Samuel Pepys's house in York
Buildings, also a receipt for two quarters' rent for the same.[8]

Two of the greatest calamities that could overtake any city occurred
in London during the writing of the _Diary_, and were fully described
by Pepys--viz., the Plague of 1665 and the Fire of 1666. Defoe's most
interesting history of the plague year was written in 1722 at second
hand, for the writer was only two years old when this scourge overran
London. Pepys wrote of what he saw, and as he stuck to his duty during
the whole time that the pestilence continued, he saw much that occurred.

England was first visited with the plague in 1348-49, which, since 1833
(when Hecker's work on the _Epidemics of the Middle Ages_ was first
published in English), has been styled the Black Death--a translation
of the German term "Der Schwarze Tod." This plague had the most
momentous effect upon the history of England on account of the fearful
mortality it caused. It paralysed industry, and permanently altered
the position of the labourer. The statistics of the writers of the
Middle Ages are of little value, and the estimates of those who died
are various, but the statement that half the population of England died
from the plague is probably not far from the truth. From 1348 to 1665
plague was continually occurring in London, but it has not appeared
since the last date, except on a small scale. Dr. Creighton gives
particulars of the visitations in London in 1603, 1625, and 1665, from
which it appears that the mortality in 1665 was more than double that
in 1603, and about a third more than that in 1625.

On the 7th of June, 1665, Pepys for the first time saw two or three
houses marked with the red cross, and the words "Lord, have mercy upon
us" upon the doors, and the sight made him feel so ill-at-ease that he
was forced to buy some roll tobacco to smell and chew.[9] On the 27th
of this month he writes: "The plague encreases mightily."

According to the Bills of Mortality, the total number of deaths in
London for the week ending June 27th was 684, of which number 267
were deaths from the plague. The number of deaths rose week by week
until September 19th, when the total was 8,297, and the deaths from
the plague 7,165. On September 26th the total had fallen to 6,460, and
deaths from the plague to 5,533. The number fell gradually, week by
week, till October 31st, when the total was 1,388, and the deaths from
the plague 1,031. On November 7th there was a rise to 1,787 and 1,414
respectively. On November 14th the numbers had gone down to 1,359 and
1,050 respectively. On December 12th the total had fallen to 442, and
deaths from plague to 243. On December 19th there was a rise to 525 and
281 respectively. The total of burials in 1665 was 97,306, of which
number the plague claimed 68,596 victims. Most of the inhabitants of
London who could get away took the first opportunity of escaping from
the town, and in 1665 there were many places that the Londoner could
visit with considerable chance of safety. The court went to Oxford, and
afterwards came back to Hampton Court before venturing to return to
Whitehall. The clergy and the doctors fled with very few exceptions,
and several of those who stayed in town doing the duty of others, as
well as their own, fell victims to the scourge.

Queen Elizabeth would have none of these removals. Stow says that
in the time of the plague of 1563, "a gallows was set up in the
Market-place of Windsor to hang all such as should come there from
London."

Dr. Hodges, author of _Loimologia_, enumerates among those who assisted
in the dangerous work of restraining the progress of the infection were
the learned Dr. Gibson, Regius Professor at Cambridge; Dr. Francis
Glisson, Dr. Nathaniel Paget, Dr. Peter Barwick, Dr. Humphrey Brookes,
etc. Of those he mentions eight or nine fell in their work, among whom
was Dr. William Conyers, to whose goodness and humanity he bears the
most honourable testimony. Dr. Alexander Burnett, of Fenchurch Street,
one of Pepys's friends, was another of the victims.

Of those to whom honour is due special mention must be made of Monk,
Duke of Albemarle, Evelyn, Pepys, Edmond Berry Godfrey; and there were,
of course, others.

The Duke of Albemarle stayed at the Cockpit; Evelyn sent his wife and
family to Wotton, but he remained in town himself, and had very arduous
duties to perform, for he was responsible for finding food and lodging
for the prisoners of war, and he found it difficult to get money for
these purposes. He tells in his _Diary_ how he was received by Charles
II. and the Duke of York on January 29th, 1665-6, when the pestilence
had partly abated and the court had ventured from Oxford to Hampton
Court. The King

     "... ran towards me, and in a most gracious manner gave
     me his hand to kisse, with many thanks for my care and
     faithfulnesse in his service in a time of such greate danger,
     when everybody fled their employment; he told me he was much
     obliged to me, and said he was several times concerned for me,
     and the peril I underwent, and did receive my service most
     acceptably (though in truth I did but do my duty, and O that
     I had performed it as I ought!) After that his Majesty was
     pleased to talke with me alone, neere an houre, of severall
     particulars of my employment and ordered me to attend him
     againe on the Thursday following at Whitehall. Then the Duke
     came towards me, and embraced me with much kindnesse, telling
     me if he had thought my danger would have been so greate,
     he would not have suffered his Majesty to employ me in that
     station."

Pepys refers, on May 1st, 1667, to his visit to Sir Robert Viner's, the
eminent goldsmith, where he saw "two or three great silver flagons,
made with inscriptions as gifts of the King to such and such persons
of quality as did stay in town [during] the late plague for keeping
things in order in the town, which is a handsome thing." Godfrey was
a recipient of a silver tankard, and he was knighted by the King in
September, 1666, for his efforts to preserve order in the Great Fire.
The remembrance of his death, which had so great an influence on the
spread of the "Popish Plot" terror, is greater than that of his public
spirit during the plague and the fire.

Pepys lived at Greenwich and Woolwich during the height of the plague,
but he was constantly in London. How much these men must have suffered
is brought very visibly before us in one of the best letters Pepys ever
wrote:

     "To Lady Casteret, from Woolwich, Sept. 4, 1655. The absence
     of the court and emptiness of the city takes away all occasion
     of news, save only such melancholy stories as would rather
     sadden than find your ladyship any divertissement in the
     hearing. I have stayed in the city till about 7,400 died in
     one week, and of them above 6,000 of the plague, and little
     noise heard day or night but tolling of bells; till I could
     walk Lumber Street and not meet twenty persons from one end to
     the other, and not fifty on the Exchange; till whole families
     have been swept away; till my very physician, Dr. Burnett, who
     undertook to secure me against any infection, having survived
     the month of his own house being shut up, died himself of the
     plague; till the nights, though much lengthened, are grown
     too short to conceal the burials of those that died the day
     before, people thereby constrained to borrow daylight for that
     service; lastly, till I could find neither meat nor drink
     safe, the butchers being everywhere visited, my brewer's house
     shut up, and my baker, with his whole family, dead of the
     plague."

[Illustration: THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON.

_The view shows Ludgate in the foreground, and in the distance St.
Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of St. Mary-le-Bow._]

Before the first calamity of pestilence was ended the second calamity
of fire commenced. On the night of September 1st, 1666, many houses
were destroyed. At three o'clock in the morning of the 2nd (Sunday)
his servant Jane awoke Pepys to tell him that a great fire was raging.
Not thinking much of the information, he went to sleep again, but when
he rose at seven he found that about 300 houses had been burned in the
night. He went first to the Tower, and saw the Lieutenant. Then he took
boat to Whitehall to see the King. He tells of what he has seen, and
says that, unless His Majesty will command houses to be pulled down,
nothing can stop the fire. On hearing this the King instructs him to
go to the Lord Mayor (Sir Thomas Bludworth) and command him to pull
down houses in every direction. The Mayor seems to have been but a poor
creature, and when he heard the King's message

     "... he cried like a fainting woman, 'Lord! what can I do? I
     am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down
     houses, but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it.'"

Fortunately, most of the Londoners were more vigorous than the Mayor.
The King and the Duke of York interested themselves in the matter, and
did their best to help those who were busy in trying to stop the fire.
Evelyn wrote on September 6th:--

     "It is not indeede imaginable how extraordinary the vigilance
     and activity of the King and the Duke was, even labouring
     in person, and being present to command, order, reward, or
     encourage workmen, by which he showed his affection to his
     people and gained theirs."

Sir William Penn and Pepys were ready in resource, and saw to the
blowing up of houses to check the spread of the flames, the former
bringing workmen out of the dockyards to help in the work. During the
period when it was expected that the Navy Office would be destroyed,
Pepys sent off his money, plate, and most treasured property to Sir
W. Rider, at Bethnal Green, and then he and Penn dug a hole in their
garden, in which they put their wine and parmezan cheese.

On the 10th of September, Sir W. Rider let it be known that, as the
town is full of the report respecting the wealth in his house, he will
be glad if his friends will provide for the safety of their property
elsewhere.

On September 5th, when Evelyn went to Whitehall, the King commanded him

     "... among the rest to looke after the quenching of Fetter
     Lane end, to preserve if possible that part of Holborn, whilst
     the rest of y^e gentlemen tooke their several posts, some
     at one part, some at another (for now they began to bestir
     themselves and not till now, who hitherto had stood as men
     intoxicated with their hands acrosse) and began to consider
     that nothing was likely to put a stop but the blowing up of
     so many houses as might make a wider gap than any had yet
     been made by the ordinary method of pulling them downe with
     engines."

The daily records of the fire and of the movements of the people are
most striking. Now we see the river crowded with boats filled with the
goods of those who are houseless, and then we pass to Moorfields, where
are crowds carrying their belongings about with them, and doing their
best to keep these separate till some huts can be built to receive
them. Soon paved streets and two-storey houses were seen in Moorfields,
the city authorities having let the land on leases for seven years.

The wearied people complained that their feet were "ready to burn"
through walking in the streets "among the hot coals."

(September 5th, 1666.) Means were provided to save the unfortunate
multitudes from starvation, and on this same day proclamation was made

     "... ordering that for the supply of the distressed persons
     left destitute ... great proportions of bread be brought
     daily, not only to the former markets, but to those lately
     ordained. Churches and public places were to be thrown open
     for the reception of poor people and their goods."

Westminster Hall was filled with "people's goods."

On September 7th Evelyn went towards Islington and Highgate

     "... where one might have seen 200,000 people of all ranks
     and degrees dispers'd and lying along by their heapes of what
     they could save from the fire, deploring their losse, and tho'
     ready to perish for hunger and destitution yet not asking one
     penny for reliefe, which to me appear'd a stranger sight than
     any I had yet beheld."

The fire was fairly got under on September 7th, but on the previous
day Clothworkers' Hall was burning, as it had been for three days and
nights, in one volume of flame. This was caused by the cellars being
full of oil. How long the streets remained in a dangerous condition
may be guessed by Pepys's mention, on May 16th, 1666-7, of the smoke
issuing from the cellars in the ruined streets of London.

The fire consumed about five-sixths of the whole city, and outside the
walls a space was cleared about equal to an oblong square of a mile and
a half in length and half a mile in breadth. Well might Evelyn say, "I
went againe to y^e ruines for it was no longer a citty" (September
10th, 1666).

The destruction was fearful, and the disappearance of the grand old
Cathedral of St. Paul's was among the most to be regretted of the
losses. One reads these particulars with a sort of dulled apathy, and
it requires such a terribly realistic picture as the following, by
Evelyn, to bring the scene home to us in all its magnitude and horror:

     "The conflagration was so universal, and the people so
     astonish'd, that from the beginning I know not by what
     despondency or fate, they hardly stirr'd to quench it, so
     that there was nothing heard or seene but crying out and
     lamentation, running about like distracted creatures without
     at all attempting to save even their goods; such a strange
     consternation there was upon them, so as it burned both in
     breadth and length, the churches, public halls, Exchange,
     hospitals, monuments and ornaments, leaping after a prodigious
     manner, from house to house, and streete to streete, at greate
     distances one from y^e other; for y^e heat with a long
     set of faire and warm weather had even ignited the aire and
     prepared the materials to conceive the fire, which devour'd
     after an incredible manner houses, furniture, and every thing.
     Here we saw the Thames cover'd with goods floating, all the
     barges and boates laden with what some had time and courage to
     save, as, on y^e other, y^e carts, &c., carrying out to
     the fields, which for many miles were strew'd with moveables
     of all sorts, and tents erecting to shelter both people
     and what goods they could get away. Oh the miserable and
     calamitous spectacle! Such as haply the world had not seene
     since the foundation of it, nor be outdon till the universal
     conflagration thereof. All the skie was of a fiery aspect,
     like the top of a burning oven, and the light seene above 40
     miles round about for many nights. God grant mine eyes may
     never behold the like, who now saw above 10,000 houses all in
     one flame; the noise and cracking and thunder of the impetuous
     flames, y^e shrieking of women and children, the hurry of
     people, the fall of towers, houses and churches was like a
     hideous storme and the aire all about so hot and inflam'd that
     at the last one was not able to approach it, so that they were
     forc'd to stand still and let y^e flames burn on, which they
     did neere two miles in length and one in breadth. The clouds
     also of smoke were dismall and reach'd upon computation neer
     50 miles in length. Thus I left it this afternoone burning, a
     resemblance of Sodom, or the last day. It forcibly call'd to
     mind that passage--_non enim hic habemus stabilem civitatem_:
     the ruines resembling the picture of Troy. London was, but is
     no more."--(Sept. 3rd, 1666.)

Can we be surprised at the bewildered feelings of the people? Rather
must we admire the practical and heroic conduct of the homeless
multitude. It took long to rebuild the city, but directly anything
could be done the workers were up and doing.

An Act of Parliament was passed "for erecting a Judicature for
determination of differences touching Houses burned or demolished by
reason of the late Fire which happened in London" (18 and 19 Car. II.,
cap. 7), and Sir Matthew Hale was the moving spirit in the planning it
and in carrying out its provisions when it was passed. Burnet affirms
that it was through his judgment and foresight "that the whole city
was raised out of its ashes without any suits of law" (_History of
his Own Time_, Book ii.). By a subsequent Act (18 and 19 Car. II.,
cap. 8) the machinery for a satisfactory rebuilding of the city was
arranged. The rulings of the judges appointed by these Acts gave
general satisfaction, and after a time the city was rebuilt very much
on the old lines, and things went on as before.[10] At one time it was
supposed that the fire would cause a westward march of trade, but the
city asserted the old supremacy when it was rebuilt.

[Illustration: SOUTH-WEST VIEW OF OLD ST. PAUL'S.]

Three great men, thoroughly competent to give valuable advice on the
rebuilding of the city, viz., Wren, Robert Hooke, and Evelyn, presented
to the King valuable plans for the best mode of arranging the new
streets, but none of these schemes was accepted. One cannot but regret
that the proposals of the great architect were not carried out.

With the reference to the Plague and the Great Fire we may conclude
this brief account of the later Stuart London. The picturesque, but
dirty, houses were replaced by healthier and cleaner ones. The West
End increased and extended its borders, but the growth to the north of
Piccadilly was very gradual. All periods have their chroniclers, but
no period has produced such delightful guides to the actual life of
the town as the later half of the seventeenth century did in the pages
of Evelyn and Pepys. It must ever be a sincere regret to all who love
to understand the more intimate side of history that Pepys did not
continue his _Diary_ to a later period. We must, however, be grateful
for what we possess, and I hope this slight and imperfect sketch of
Pepys's London may refresh the memories of my readers as to what the
London of that time was really like.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] _Cal. State Papers_, 1603-10, p. 367.

[7] During the time that the Jacobites were formidable, and long after,
it was firmly believed that the Old Pretender was brought into this
room as a baby in a warming pan, and plans of the room were common to
show how the fraud was committed.

[8] _Rariora_, vol. i., p. 17.

[9] Originally the crosses were of a blue colour, but Dr. Creighton
says that the colour was changed to red before the plague of 1603.

[10] A full account of the fire and of the rebuilding of the city has
still to be written, and the materials for the latter are to hand in
the remarkable "Fire Papers" in the British Museum. I have long desired
to work on this congenial subject, but having been prevented by other
duties from doing so, I hope that some London expert will be induced
to give the public a general idea of the contents of these valuable
collections.




THE OLD LONDON BRIDGES

BY J. TAVENOR-PERRY

    "London Bridge is broken down,
      Dance o'er my Lady Lee.
    London Bridge is broken down
      With a gay Ladee."


At the beginning of the last century only three bridges spanned the
Thames in its course through London, and of these two were scarcely
fifty years old; but before the century closed there were no less
than thirteen bridges across the river between Battersea and the
Pool. The three old bridges have been rebuilt, and even some of the
later ones have been reconstructed, whilst one has been removed
bodily, and now spans the gorge of the Avon at Bristol. Of all these
bridges unfortunately only two are constructed wholly of stone, and
can lay claim to any architectural merit; and even one of these two
has recently had the happy effect of its graceful arches destroyed by
the addition of overhanging pathways. Of the rest, some are frankly
utilitarian--mere iron girder railway bridges, with no attempt at
decoration beyond gilding the rivets--whilst the others have their
iron arches and construction disguised with coarse and meaningless
ornaments. One only of the iron bridges is in anyway worthy of its
position; in its perfect simplicity and the bold spans of its three
arches, Southwark Bridge bears comparison with the best in Europe, but
the gradients and approaches are so inconvenient that it is even now
threatened with reconstruction.

[Illustration: SIR JOHN EVELYN'S PLAN FOR REBUILDING LONDON AFTER THE
GREAT FIRE.]

Exactly when the first bridge was built across the Thames at London
we can only surmise, for even tradition is silent on the subject, and
we only know of the existence of one at an early date by very casual
references, which, however, do not help us to realise the character
of the work. Though no evidence remains of a Roman bridge, it seems
unlikely, having regard to the importance of London, and to the fact
that the great roads from the south coast converged on a point opposite
to it, on the other side of the river, that they should have been left
to end there without a bridge to carry them over. The difficulties of
building across a great tidal river had not prevented the Romans from
bridging the Medway at Rochester, as remains actually discovered have
proved; and if no evidences of Roman work were actually met with in the
rebuilding of London Bridge or the removal of the old one, this may be
due to the fact that each successive bridge--and there have been at
least three within historical times--was built some distance further up
the stream than its predecessor.

We know, however, with certainty that a bridge was standing in the
reign of King Ethelred from the references made to it, and we may
fairly assume that this must have been the Roman bridge, at least so
far as its main construction was concerned; and, like other Roman
bridges standing at that time in Gaul and in other parts of England, it
would have consisted merely of piers of masonry, with a wooden roadway
passing from one to the other. It was still standing, of sufficient
strength for resistance, when the Danes under Canute sailed up the
river, who, being unable to force a passage, tradition says--and
antiquaries have imagined they could discover traces of it--cut a ship
canal through the Surrey marshes from Bermondsey to Battersea, and
passed their fleet through that way.

[Illustration: FIG. 1--THE UNDERCROFT OF ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY ON
THE BRIDGE.]

The history of the bridge only opens with the beginning of the twelfth
century. According to tradition, the convent of St. Mary Overie,
Southwark, had been originally endowed with the profits of a ferry
across the river, and had in consequence undertaken the duty of
maintaining the bridge in a proper state of repair when a bridge was
built. This convent was refounded in 1106 as a priory of Austin Canons;
and it is not a little remarkable, having regard to the duties it had
undertaken, that of its founders, who were two Norman Knights, one was
William de Pont de l'Arche. At the Norman town, where stood his castle
and from which he took his name, was a bridge of twenty-two openings,
erected, it was said, by Charles the Bald, but most likely a Roman
work, across the Seine at the highest point reached by the tide. It
is a further curious coincidence that this same William appears as a
witness to a deed executed by Henry I., excusing the manor of Alciston,
in Sussex, from paying any dues for the repairs of London Bridge.

It is recorded that in 1136 the bridge was burnt, which may perhaps
merely mean that the deck was destroyed, whilst the piers remained
sufficiently uninjured to allow of the structure being repaired; but
in 1163 it had become so dangerous that Peter of Colechurch undertook
the erection of a new bridge, which he constructed of elm timber. This
sudden emergence of Peter from obscurity to carry out so important an
engineering work is as dramatic as is that of St. Bénezet, who founded
the confraternity of _Hospitaliers pontifices_, which undertook the
building of bridges and the establishment of ferries. According to
legend, this saint, although then only a young shepherd, essayed to
bridge the Rhone at Avignon, and the ruined arches of his great work
are still among the sights of that city. Peter may have possessed
many more qualifications for building than a shepherd could have
acquired, as large ecclesiastical works were in progress in London
throughout his life, which he must have observed and perhaps profited
by; but this is only surmise, as of his history, except in connection
with his great work, we know no more than the fact that he was the
chaplain of St. Mary Colechurch. His contemporary, Randulphus de
Decito, Dean of London, says that he was a native of the city, so
that it is scarcely likely that he had acquired his skill abroad; but
we are told that he traversed the country to collect the moneys for
his undertaking, and he may thus have obtained some knowledge of the
many Roman bridges which still survived, or even have seen the great
bridge which Bishop Flambard had recently erected across the Wear
at Durham. His selection as the architect of the earlier bridge of
1163 may perhaps not be due in any way to his especial engineering
skill, but rather to some intimate connection with the priory of St.
Mary Overie, whose canons were primarily responsible for the bridge
repairs; indeed, since he is merely described as the chaplain of his
church, he may himself have been one of the canons. But be the cause
what it may--and it was not his success in erecting this first bridge,
for it soon became dilapidated--thirteen years after its erection he
started afresh, on a site further up the river, to erect a bridge of
stone. In 1176, two years before St. Bénezet began his great bridge at
Avignon, he commenced his work, and thirty-three years passed before
its completion. Whether the delay was due to lack of funds or the
incapacity of the architect we do not know, though probably to both,
for before Peter's death King John, who had manifested considerable
interest in the new bridge, had urged Peter's dismissal, and, under the
advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, suggested the appointment of
Isembert of Saintes to complete the work. This Isembert was credited
with the erection of the great bridge across the Charante at Saintes,
although that bridge was undoubtedly a Roman one, and all he appears to
have done was to turn arches between the original piers, and make it a
stone bridge throughout. The same master was said to have built another
bridge at La Rochelle, and had evidently gained much experience in
such engineering work; and it is perhaps a misfortune that the King's
advice was neglected, as a skilled architect, which Peter certainly
was not, might have saved the city of London much eventual loss and
trouble. Peter was, however, suffered to continue the bridge until his
death in 1205, when a commission of three city merchants completed the
work in four years.

The bridge which these many years of labour had produced was in
every way unsuitable to its position, and mean as compared to
similar buildings erected elsewhere. Lacking the skill to form
proper foundations, Peter had spread them out into wide piers, which
formed an almost continuous dam, through the openings in which the
water rushed like a mill-race. The result was that the scour soon
affected the stability of the piers, which had to be protected round
by masses of masonry and chalk in the form of sterlings, which still
further contracted the narrow waterways. The passage of the bridge by
boat--"shooting the bridge," it was called--was always a dangerous
operation; and a writer of the last century speaks of "the noise of
the falling waters, the clamours of the water-men, and the frequent
shrieks of drowning wretches," in describing it. So imperfectly built
was the bridge that within four years of its completion King John
again interfered, and called upon the Corporation properly to repair
it; and from this time, or perhaps from Peter's death, when the three
merchants were elected to complete the work, the Corporation appears to
have taken over the responsibility of the bridge; and for this purpose
they were endowed with certain properties, which became the nucleus of
the present "Bridge House Estates." The increasing dilapidation of the
bridge, the debris of fallen arches, and the rubbish and waste material
which was suffered to accumulate, still further impeded the natural
flow of the water, and little effort at improvement was ever made. Of
the three widest arches of the bridge, which were called the navigable
locks, the most important had been the one nearest to the city end,
which became known as the "Rock Lock," and it acquired that name on
account of a popular delusion that in its fairway was a growing and
vegetating rock, which was nothing more than an accumulation of fallen
ruins, which caught and held the floating refuse carried to and fro by
the tides. And thus year after year the river dam became more solid,
and the waterfall increased in height until it was said by one who knew
them both that it was almost as safe to attempt the Falls of Niagara as
to shoot London Bridge.

As years went by, not only did the waterways become congested, but the
roadway above began to be encroached on by houses and other buildings,
for which a bridge was most unfitted. Two edifices, however, from the
first formed necessary, or at least customary, adjuncts to such a
building--the bridge gate and the bridge chapel. It was a Roman custom
to erect gates at one end, or in the centre of their bridges--not
triumphal arches, but twin gates, such as they built to their walled
towns, and such as stood at the end of the bridge at Saintes, when it
was altered by Isembert. Such gates as survived in mediæval times were
generally fortified, and formed the model for imitation by mediæval
builders; and such a gate was erected at the Southwark end of London,
which, under its name of Bridge Gate, became one of the principal gates
of the city. It was erected directly on one of the main piers, and was
therefore of a substantial character, but suffered much in the various
attacks made upon London from the Kentish side. In 1436 it collapsed,
together with the Southwark end of the bridge, but was rebuilt at
the cost of the citizens, chief among whom was Sir John Crosby, the
builder of Crosby House; and although the gate was again in great part
destroyed by the attack on London made in 1471 by Fauconbridge, one of
the towers of Crosby's gate survived until the eighteenth century. In
1577 the tower which stood at the north end of the bridge, and on which
were usually displayed the heads of traitors, became so dilapidated
that it was taken down, and the heads then on it were transferred to
the Bridge Gate, henceforward known as "Traitors' Gate." It was upon
the earlier gate that the head of Sir Thomas More was affixed, when
heads were so common that even his, as we know from its adventures
until buried in the Roper vault at Canterbury, was thrown into the
river to make room for a crowd of successors.

[Illustration: FIG. 2--THE SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE.]

Of the chapel, which the founder of the bridge is said to have erected,
no account survives; and although it was believed at the time of
the destruction of the bridge that his remains were discovered, no
satisfactory evidence of their identity was forthcoming. The first
chapel must have perished in one of the early misfortunes which befel
the fabric, as no trace of any detail which could be referred to the
thirteenth century was discovered when the pier on which the chapel
stood was removed. The drawings made by Vertue before the last remains
were cleared away show a structure which may be assigned to a date
but little later than the Chapel Royal of St. Stephen at Westminster,
to which, in many particulars, it must have borne a considerable
resemblance. It consisted of two storeys, both apparently vaulted,
measuring some sixty by twenty feet, with an apsidal termination. The
undercroft was nearly twenty feet high, and our illustration (fig. 1)
of a restoration of it, prepared from Vertue's drawings and dimensions,
will give some idea of its beauty. The upper chapel seems to have been
similar, but much more lofty, and had an arcade running round the walls
under the windows. The buttresses of the exterior were crowned with
crocketted pinnacles, and the effect of the whole, standing high above
the surging waters of the river, must have been as striking as it was
beautiful. The chapel was built on the centre pier of the bridge, on
the east side, and the chapels were entered from the roadway, the lower
one by a newel staircase, on which was found the holy-water stoup when
the bridge was destroyed in the last century. At the Reformation the
church was converted into a warehouse, but, thanks to the solidity of
its construction, it remained almost intact till it was swept away with
the houses in 1756.

Of the other buildings on the bridge there is little to say, for,
although they made up a picturesque composition, they were of a most
flimsy character, and wanting at the last in any architectural merit.
Our illustration (fig. 2), taken from an oil painting by Scott,
belonging to the Fishmongers' Company, gives the principal group on the
Surrey side, and in the sixth plate of Hogarth's _Marriage a la Mode_
we get a view through the open window of another part in the last stage
of dilapidation. There was, however, one exception to the commonplace
among them, in a timber house, made in Holland, which was known as
"Nonsuch House." It was erected, it was said, without nails, and placed
athwart the roadway, hanging at the ends far over the river, with
towers and spires at the angles, and over the great gate the arms of
Queen Elizabeth. The top of the main front was surmounted, at a later
date, with a pair of sundials, which bore the, for once, appropriate
motto--"Time and Tide wait for no man."

Had old London Bridge survived to this day, its waterfalls would
doubtless have been utilized to generate electricity, and the idea of
setting the Thames on fire realized in lighting the streets of London
by its means; but the value of the force of the falling water was not
overlooked by our ancestors. As early as 1582 one Peter Corbis, a
Dutchman, erected an engine, worked by the stream, which lifted the
water to a reservoir, whence it was distributed by means of leaden
pipes through the city. With many alterations and improvements, these
water works continued in use until the last century, and it was stated
before the House of Commons, in 1820, that more than 26 millions of
hogsheads of the pellucid waters of the river were thus daily delivered
to the city householders for their domestic use.

Such, shortly, is the history of the fabric, which, after enduring
for more than six hundred years, was swept away to make room for the
present structure. For any accounts of the many stirring events which
occurred on it, or about it, we have no space here. Are they not
written in the chronicles of England?

In the Fishmongers' Hall is preserved a valuable memorial of the
ancient structure, of which we give an illustration (fig. 3) by
permission of the Worshipful Company. It consists of a chair with
a seat of Purbeck marble, reminiscent in its arrangements of the
coronation chair, on which is engraved this inscription:--

     "I am the first stone that was put down for the foundation of
     old London Bridge in June 1176 by a priest named Peter who was
     vicar of Colechurch in London and I remained there undisturbed
     safe on the same oak piles this chair is made from till the
     Rev^d. William John Jollife curate of Colmer Hampshire took
     me up in July 1832 when clearing away the old bridge after new
     London Bridge was completed."

The framework of the chair gives a pictorial chronicle of the city
bridges; the top rail of the back shows old London Bridge after the
removal of the houses, below which are new London Bridge, Southwark and
old Blackfriars Bridges. The arms of the city are carved at the top,
whilst the monogram of Peter of Colechurch and the device of the Bridge
House Estates complete the decoration. This device, which appears to
have been also the old badge of Southwark, was sometimes displayed
upon a shield, thus:--Az., an annulet ensigned with a cross patée, Or;
interlaced with a saltire enjoined in base, of the second. We give an
illustration of this in figure 5.

[Illustration: FIG. 3--THE FOUNDATION STONE CHAIR.

_At the Fishmongers' Hall._]

Westminster Bridge seems a very recent structure as compared to that
of London, but it is the next in point of date. The growing importance
of Westminster as the seat of the Court and Parliament had made the
necessity for an approach to the south side of the Thames, independent
of the circuitous and narrow ways of London, long apparent. In the
reign of Charles II. the question was seriously considered, to the
alarm of the Mayor and Corporation of the city, who feared that
their vested interests were endangered, and "that London would be
destroyed if carts were allowed to cross the Thames elsewhere"; but,
knowing their man, they devoted some of their ample funds to secure
that monarch's successful opposition to the scheme. In the middle
of the eighteenth century, however, when there was no Stuart to buy
off, the idea was revived, and in 1739, one Monsieur Labelye, a
Swiss engineer--English engineers having, apparently, not sufficient
experience--commenced a new stone bridge. His mode of putting in his
foundations may have been scientific, but was certainly simple. The
bridge piers were partly built in floating barges moored above the
place where they were to be permanently erected. The barges were then
sunk, their sides knocked out, and the piers completed. It is needless
to say that the result was not satisfactory, and for years before the
old bridge was pulled down many of its arches were filled up with
a picturesque, but inconvenient, mass of shoring. Whether Henry,
Earl of Pembroke, who laid the foundation stone, and of whom it was
said no nobleman had a purer taste in architecture, was in any way
responsible for the design, we cannot tell; but a French traveller of
discrimination, who criticised the work after its completion, came to
the conclusion that the peculiarly lofty parapets with which the bridge
was adorned were so designed that they might check an Englishman's
natural propensity to suicide by giving him time for reflection while
surmounting such an obstacle. It will be noticed in our illustration
(fig. 4), which is also taken from a painting by Scott, that the piers
are crowned by alcoves, which provided a shelter from the blasts which
blew over the river and from the mud scattered from the roadway. These
were, doubtless, a survival of the spaces left above the cutwaters
of mediæval bridges as refuges for pedestrians from vehicles when
the roadways were very narrow, and those who remember the old wooden
bridges of Battersea and Putney can appreciate their value.

The city Corporation, which had so strenuously opposed the erection
of a bridge at Westminster as unnecessary, set to work, as soon as
that became an accomplished fact, to improve their own communications
across the river. First, as we have seen, they cleared away the houses
and other obstructions on old London Bridge, and next they started to
build themselves a new bridge at Blackfriars. The land on both sides
of the river at the point selected was very low and most unsuitable
for the approaches, that on the north side being close to the mouth
of the Fleet ditch, which there formed a creek large enough, in 1307,
to form a haven for ships. The new bridge was begun in 1760, from the
designs of Robert Mylne, a Scotch architect, who made an unsuccessful
attempt to give an architectural effect to the structure by facing the
piers with pairs of Ionic columns, standing on the cutwaters. The steep
gradients of the bridge, necessitated by the lowness of the banks, made
such a decoration peculiarly unsuitable, as each pair of columns had to
be differently proportioned in height, although the cornice over them
remained of the same depth throughout. But, in spite of its appearance
of lightness, the structure was too heavy for its foundations, and for
years this bridge rivalled that of Westminster in the picturesqueness
of its dilapidation. The piers had been built on platforms of timber,
so that when London Bridge was rebuilt, and the river flowed in an
unchecked course, these became exposed to the scour and were soon
washed out.

[Illustration: FIG. 4--OLD WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.]

Waterloo Bridge was completed in 1817, and still remains unaltered
and as sound as when its builders left it. It is fortunate that the
approach on the north side was an easy one, as but a short interval
occurred between the Strand, at almost its highest point, and the river
bank, which it was easy to fill up, with the result that the bridge
passes across the river at a perfect level. The foundations of the
piers were properly constructed by means of coffer-dams, and no sign
of failure has ever shown itself in its superstructure. The architect
repeated the use of the orders, as at Blackfriars, but with a more
fortunate result, as, the work being straight throughout, no variations
in the proportions were required, and he was wise enough to select the
Doric order as more suitable to his purpose, and as suggesting more
solidity.

Londoners profess to be somewhat proud of Waterloo Bridge, and it is
a tradition among them that Canova, when he saw it, said that it was
worth a journey across Europe to see. It, therefore, seems the more
incredible that the grandchildren of those who could build such a
bridge and appreciate such a man, could have erected, and even affect
to admire, such a monstrosity as the Tower Bridge.

The last of the older bridges to be built was that of Southwark, which
was the speculation of a private company, who hoped to profit by the
continuously congested state of London Bridge; but the steepness of
the gradients and the inconvenience of the approaches from the city
made it from the first a failure. It was the first bridge in London to
be constructed in iron; its model being the great single-span bridge
across the Wear at Sunderland. It is in three great arches, the centre
one being 240 feet across, or four feet more than that at Sunderland,
and the mass of metal is such that an ordinary change of temperature
will raise the arches an inch, and summer sunshine much more.

Of the more recent bridges there is nothing to say worth the saying.
The Thames, which was the busy and silent highway of our forefathers,
is still silent, but busy no longer, and the appearance of its bridges
is now no one's concern, since no one sees them. So long as they will
safely carry the tramcar or the motor 'bus from side to side, they may
become uglier even than they now are, if only that make them a little
more cheap.

[Illustration: FIG. 5--BADGE OF BRIDGE HOUSE ESTATES.]




THE CLUBS OF LONDON

BY SIR EDWARD BRABROOK, C.B., F.S.A.


These are of many kinds. We suppose they are all more or less the
lineal descendants of the taverns and coffee-houses that we associate
with the memory of Ben Jonson, Dryden, Addison, and Samuel Johnson.

    "Souls of poets dead and gone,
    What elysium have ye known,
    Happy field or mossy cavern,
    Choicer than the Mermaid tavern?"

The wits' coffee-house, where Claud Halcro carried a parcel for Master
Thimblethwaite in order to get a sight of glorious John Dryden.
Button's coffee-house, where the "Guardian" set up his Lion's Head. The
Cock and the Cheshire Cheese, which resound with Johnson's sonorous
echoes. If, indeed, the tavern has developed into the club, that palace
of luxury, one can only say, as in the famous transmutation of alphana
to equus, "C'est diablement changé sur la route."

Intermediate is the host of clubs meeting occasionally, as the
Breakfast Club, and the numerous dining clubs, one of which, the Royal
Naval Club, established in 1765, is said to be a renewal of an earlier
one dating from 1674. "The Club," which comes down from the time of
Johnson and Reynolds, and still uses a notification to a new member
drawn up by Gibbon; the Royal Society Club; the X Club, which consisted
of ten members of the Athenæum; the Society of Noviomagus, and the
Cocked Hat Club, consisting of members of the Society of Antiquaries;
the Cosmos Club of the Royal Geographical Society; the Colquhoun Club
of the Royal Society of Literature; and a host of others in connection
with learned societies, most of which are content to add the word
"club" to the name of the society. Of another, but cognate, kind is
the famous "Sublime Society of Beef Steaks," which was founded in
1735, and died (of inanition) in 1867. The members were not to exceed
twenty-four in number. Beef steaks were to be the only meat for dinner.
The broiling began at 2.0, and the tablecloth was removed at 3.30. In
1785 the Prince of Wales, in 1790 the Duke of York, in 1808 the Duke of
Sussex, became members. It had a laureate bard in the person of Charles
Morris, elected a member in 1785, who died in 1838 at the age of 93
years. In early times the members appeared in the uniform of a blue
coat and buff waistcoat, with brass buttons bearing a gridiron and the
motto "Beef and Liberty." The hour of meeting became later gradually,
till in 1866 it was fixed at 8 o'clock; then the club quickly died out.
Founded by John Rich, harlequin and machinist at Covent Garden, it had
counted among its members William Hogarth, David Garrick, John Wilkes,
John Kemble, William Linley, Henry Brougham (Lord Chancellor), and many
other distinguished men. The Ettrick Shepherd gave an account, in 1833,
of a visit he paid to this club:--

     "They dine solely on beefsteaks--but what glorious beefsteaks!
     They do not come up all at once--no, nor half-a-dozen times;
     but up they come at long intervals, thick, tender, and as hot
     as fire. And during these intervals the members sit drinking
     their port, and breaking their wicked wit on each other, so
     that every time a new service of steaks came up, we fell to
     them with much the same zest as at the beginning. The dinner
     was a perfect treat--a feast without alloy."

Another somewhat similar club, though on a more modest scale, deserves
a cursory notice, inasmuch as it had to do with a state of things
that has passed away beyond hope of recovery. About 1870 the August
Society of the Wanderers was established with the motto, "Pransuri
vagamur." It selected all the remaining old inns at which a dinner
could be obtained, and dined at each in succession. It also had a bard,
Dr. Joseph Samuel Lavies, and, like the Beefsteaks, has left a poetic
record of its convivialities. Of all such records, however, the salt
quickly evaporates, and it is as well to leave them unquoted.

Our main object in this chapter is to state a few incidents in the
history of some of the great London clubs. The oldest existing club
appears to be White's, founded in 1697. Boodle's, Brooks's, the Cocoa
Tree, and Arthur's date from 1762 to 1765. Most of the others belong to
the nineteenth century. The Guards' Club, which was the first of the
service clubs, dates from 1813, but that is confined to officers of the
Brigade of Guards. It was soon, however, followed by the establishment
of a club for officers of other branches of military service.

We have it on good authority that before that club was founded officers
who came to London had no places of call but the old hotels and
coffee-houses. On May 31st, 1815, General Lord Lynedoch, Viscount Hill,
and others united in the establishment of a General Military Club. On
the 24th January, 1816, it was extended to the Navy, and on the 16th
February in the same year it adopted the name of the United Service
Club. On the 1st March, 1817, the foundation stone of its house in
Charles Street was laid. In November, 1828, it entered into occupation
of its present house in Pall Mall, and handed over the Charles Street
house to the Junior United Service Club. Its premises in Pall Mall were
largely extended in 1858-59, and have recently been greatly improved
at a cost of £20,000. The Club holds a lease from the Crown to 4th
January, 1964. It has a fine collection of eighty-two pictures and
busts, many of them of great merit as works of art, others of interest
as the only portraits of the originals. The library contains several
splendid portraits of Royal personages. The King is the patron of
the Club, and, as Prince of Wales, was a member of it. The Prince of
Wales, the Duke of Connaught, and Prince Christian, are now members.
Ten high officers of state and persons of distinction are honorary
members. Twelve kings and thirty princes are foreign honorary members.
The number of ordinary members is 1,600, but officers below the rank of
Commander in the Royal Navy, or Major in the Army, are not eligible.
The entrance fee is £30, and the annual subscription £10. Members have
the privilege of introducing guests. Games of hazard are not allowed to
be played, or dice to be used. Play is not to exceed 2s. 6d. points at
whist, or 10s. per hundred at bridge.

As we have seen, this club shortly became full, and a Junior United
Service Club was formed in April, 1827, on the same lines, under the
patronage of the Duke of Wellington, but admitted officers of junior
rank, and in 1828 entered into occupation of the premises in Charles
Street, vacated by the Senior, on payment of £15,000. It erected its
new house in 1856 at a cost of £81,000. The entrance fee is £40, and
annual subscription eight guineas. It was not many years after its
establishment that the list of candidates for membership of the Junior
Club became so long that the necessity for the establishment of a third
service club was felt. Sir E. Barnes and a few officers, just returned
from India, joined in the movement, and in 1838 the Army and Navy Club
was opened at the corner of King Street and St. James's Square--the
house memorable as the scene of the party given by Mrs. Boehm on the
night the news of the Battle of Waterloo arrived. Sir E. Barnes, who
was its first president, died the same year. In 1851 the club moved
to its present stately building, the site of which includes that of a
house granted by Charles II. on the 1st of April, in the seventeenth
year of his reign, to Nell Gwynne, where Evelyn saw him in familiar
discourse with her. The club possesses a mirror that belonged to her,
and a portrait by Sir Peter Lely, which was supposed to be of her,
until it was discovered to be one of Louise de Querouaille, Duchess
of Portsmouth, and is also rich in pictures, statuary, and other
works of art--among them, two fine mantelpieces carved by Canova,
and a miniature of Lady Hamilton found in Lord Nelson's cabin after
his death; it has also autograph letters of Nelson and Wellington.
It derives its popular name of the "Rag and Famish" from a tradition
that Captain Duff came late one night asking for supper, and being
discontented with the bill of fare, called it a rag and famish affair.
In memory of the event he designed a button which used to be worn by
many members, and bore the device of a ragged man devouring a bone.
Napoleon III. was an honorary member of the club, and frequently used
it. He presented it with a fine piece of Gobelin tapestry in 1849. The
regular number of members is 2,400. The club has a scheme for granting
annuities or pensions to its servants.

Of the group of social clubs bearing names derived from the original
proprietors of the club-houses--as White's, Boodle's, Brooks's, and
Arthur's--Brooks's may be taken as a specimen. A roll of its members
from the date of its foundation in 1764 to 1900 has recently been
published under the title _Memorials of Brooks's_, and contains much
interesting information. The editors, Messrs. V. A. Williamson, S.
Lyttelton and S. Simeon, state that the first London Clubs were
instituted with the object of providing the world of fashion with a
central office for making wagers, and a registry for recording them.
In their early days gambling was unlimited. Brooks's was not political
in its origin. The twenty-seven original members included the Dukes of
Roxburgh, Portland, and Gordon. In the 136 years 3,465 members have
been admitted.

The original house was on or near the site of the present Marlborough
Club, and Almack was the first manager or master. About 1774 he was
succeeded by Brooks, from whom the club derives its name. He died in
1782, and was succeeded by one Griffin. In 1795 the system was altered,
and six managers were appointed. The present house in St. James' Street
was constructed in 1889-90, when 2, Park Place, was incorporated
with it. The entrance fee in 1791 was five guineas, and was raised
successively in 1815, 1881, 1892, and 1901, to nine, fifteen,
twenty-five and thirty guineas. The subscription was at first four
guineas, raised in 1779 to eight guineas, and in 1791 to ten guineas.

An offshoot of Brooks's is the Fox Club, a dining club, probably
a continuation of an earlier Whig Club. Up to 1843 it met at the
Clarendon Hotel, and since then at Brooks's. It is said to have been
constituted for the purpose of paying Fox's debts, for which his
friends, in 1793, raised £70,000. Sir Augustus Keppel Stephenson was
the secretary of this club from 1867 until his death in 1904. He was
the son of a distinguished member of Brooks's, who had joined that club
in 1818, the Fox Club in 1829, was secretary of the Sublime Society of
Beef Steaks, and the last man to wear Hessian boots.

The Travellers' Club dates from 1819, the Union from 1821, and the
United University from 1822.

The Union Club is composed of noblemen, members of Parliament, and
gentlemen of the first distinction and character who are British
subjects, and has 1,250 members. Election is by open voting in the
committee. Foreign and Colonial persons of distinction may be made
temporary honorary members. The entrance fee is twenty-one guineas; the
annual subscription ten guineas.

The United University Club has 1,000 members, of whom 500 belong to
Oxford and 500 to Cambridge. The King is a member. Cabinet ministers,
bishops, judges, etc., may be admitted without ballot. All members of
either University are qualified to be candidates, but only graduates,
persons who have resided in college or hall for two years, holders
of honorary degrees, and students in civil law of above three years'
standing, are qualified to be members. The club has recently rebuilt
its house at the corner of Suffolk Street and Pall Mall East.

The Athenæum was originated by Mr. John Wilson Croker, after
consultation with Sir Humphry Davy, president of the Royal Society,
and was founded in 1824 for the association of individuals known for
their scientific or literary attainments, artists of eminence in any
class of the fine arts, and noblemen and gentlemen distinguished as
liberal patrons of science, literature, or the arts. It is essential
to the maintenance of the Athenæum, in conformity with the principles
upon which it was originally founded, that the annual introduction
of a certain number of persons of distinguished eminence in science,
literature, or the arts, or for public services, should be secured.
Accordingly, nine persons of such qualifications are elected by the
committee each year. The club entrusts this privilege to the committee,
in the entire confidence that they will only elect persons who shall
have attained to distinguished eminence in science, literature, or the
arts, or for public services. The General Committee may also elect
princes of the blood Royal, cabinet ministers, bishops, speakers of
the House of Commons, judges, and foreign ambassadors, or ministers
plenipotentiary of not less than three years' residence at the Court of
St. James's, to be extraordinary members; and may invite, as honorary
members during temporary residence in England, the heads of foreign
missions, foreign members of the Royal Society, and not more than
fifteen other foreigners or colonists of distinction. The ordinary
members of the club are 1,200 in number. The entrance fee is thirty
guineas, and the annual subscription eight guineas. The presidents for
the time being of the Royal Society, of the Society of Antiquaries, and
of the Royal Academy of Arts, if members, are ex-officio members of the
General Committee. An Executive Committee of nine is selected from the
General Committee to manage the domestic and other ordinary affairs of
the club. No elected member can remain on the General Committee more
than three consecutive years, unless he is a member of the Executive
Committee, in which case he may be re-elected for a second term of
three years. No higher stake than half-a-guinea points shall be played
for. No game of mere chance shall be played in the house for money. No
member shall make use of the club as an address in any advertisement.

The history of the club has been told by the Rev. J. G. Waugh in an
interesting book printed for private circulation in 1900. Its first
house was 12, Waterloo Place, where it remained until 1827, when it
obtained its present site. Its success was so great that within four
months of the preliminary meeting in 1824 it had a list of 506 members,
including the then Prime Minister and seven persons who afterwards
became Prime Ministers. By 1827 it was full, and had a list of 270
candidates waiting for election. The present house was planned by
Decimus Burton, and an attic storey was added to it in 1899-1900. It is
a successful building, striking attention by the statue of Minerva over
the porch, the frieze, and the noble hall and grand staircase. The hall
was re-decorated in 1891 under the direction of Sir L. Alma Tadema.
Originally, a soirée was held every Wednesday, to which ladies were
admitted. That has long been discontinued, and, as a satirical member
observed, "Minerva is kept out in the cold, while her owls are gorging
within." Among the members of the club have been the following great
actors: Macready, Mathews, Kemble, Terry, Kean, Young, and Irving.

The Oriental Club was also established in 1824, at a meeting held eight
days after that at which the Athenæum had been established. Sir John
Malcolm presided. The club was intended for the benefit of persons
who had been long resident abroad in the service of the Crown, or of
the East India Company. By May, 1826, it had 928 members, and in that
year it took possession of the site of 18, Hanover Square, and employed
Mr. B. D. Wyatt as the architect of its house. Its history has been
written by Mr. Alexander F. Baillie, in a book published in 1901.
Mr. Wyatt provided a grand staircase, but no smoking-room, and only
one billiard-room. At that time and until 1842 the club provided its
members gratuitously with snuff at a cost of £25 per year. In 1874 the
present smoking-room was opened; and now the handsome drawing-room is a
place where those can retire who desire solitude, and the smoking-room
and billiard-rooms are overcrowded. The club has a fine library. It
claims among its members the prototype of Colonel Newcome. The members
have a custom of securing a table for dinner by inverting a plate upon
it.

In 1855 the Oriental Club agreed to take over, without entrance fee,
the members of the Alfred Club, which had been established in 1808,
and was then being dissolved. Nearly 400 members availed themselves of
the offer. The history of that club has some points of interest. It
was largely intended for literary men, but it is said that Canning,
vexed at overhearing a member asking who he was, gave it the nickname
of the "Half-read" Club, which stuck to it. Its early career was
prosperous, and by 1811 it had 354 candidates and only six vacancies;
but its popularity waned. The real cause of its dissolution was the
firm conservatism of the committee. They would not recognise the
growing demand of accommodation for smokers. The clubhouse, No. 23,
Albemarle Street, had been built and arranged in the days when no
such accommodation had been considered necessary, and the committee
resolutely refused to make any concession to the members who desired to
smoke.

The Garrick Club was founded in 1831. It was instituted for the
general patronage of the drama; for the purpose of combining the use
of a club on economical principles with the advantage of a literary
society; for bringing together the supporters of the drama; and for
the foundation of a national library, with works on costume. The
number of members is limited to 650, who pay an entrance fee of twenty
guineas, and an annual subscription of ten guineas. The club is more
than usually hospitable, as it allows a member to invite three visitors
to dinner, and admits the public to see its magnificent collection of
dramatic pictures daily from 10 to 1.

The Carlton Club was established in 1832. It is famous as the rallying
ground for the Conservative party, the temple of Toryism. From it, and
its resources, candidates in that interest derive much encouragement
and support, and it may not unreasonably be inferred that some of that
encouragement and support is material as well as moral.

The Reform Club was established in 1837, and then held the same
position towards the Liberal party. It was instituted for the purpose
of promoting the social intercourse of the Reformers of the United
Kingdom. All candidates are to declare themselves to be reformers,
but no definition of a "reformer" is given. If, however, a member is
believed not to be a reformer, fifty members may call a general meeting
for his expulsion. Members of Parliament and peers may be admitted by
general ballot, with priority of election. The committee elect each
year two gentlemen of distinguished eminence for public service, or in
science, literature, or arts. The Political Committee of fifty members
elect each year two persons who have proved their attachment to the
Liberal cause by marked and obvious services. Other members are elected
by general ballot, one black ball in ten excluding. The club has 1400
members. It has a fine library. It has liberal regulations as to the
admission of guests, and ladies may be admitted to view the club from
11.0 a.m. to 5.0 p.m. Members may inspect the books and accounts and
take extracts from them. The admission fee is £40, and the annual
subscription ten guineas.

The Conservative Club was established in 1840, and the National Club
in 1845. The object of the National Club is to promote Protestant
principles, and to encourage united action among Protestants in
political and social questions by establishing a central organisation
to obtain and spread information on such questions, by affording
facilities for conference thereon, and by providing in the metropolis
a central place of meeting to devise the fittest means for promoting
the object in view. Its members must hold the doctrines and principles
of the reformed faith, as revealed in Holy Scripture, asserted at the
Reformation, and generally embodied in the Articles of the Church
of England. It has a general committee, house committee, library
committee, prayer and religious committee, wine committee, finance
committee, and Parliamentary committee. The General Committee has power
to elect as honorary members of the club not more than twenty persons
distinguished by their zeal and exertions on behalf of the Protestant
cause; these are mostly clergymen. All meetings of committees are to
be opened with prayer. The household are to attend the reading of the
Word of God and prayers morning and evening in the committee room. The
Parliamentary committee are to watch all proceedings in Parliament
and elsewhere affecting the Protestant principles of the club. Its
fundamental principles are declared to be:

     (1) The maintenance of the Protestant constitution,
     succession, and faith.

     (2) The recognition of Holy Scripture in national education.

     (3) The improvement of the moral and social condition of the
     people.

The club is singular in having these definite religious purposes, and
no doubt has in its time done much for the Protestant cause; but there
is a little incongruity between the earnestness of its purpose and
the self-indulgence which club life almost necessarily implies; and
religious opinion, which claims to be the most stable of all things, is
really one of the most fluid. Most men, who think at all, pass through
many phases of it in their lives. It would not be surprising if this
early earnestness had somewhat cooled down.

Another group of clubs consists of those the members of which are bound
together by a common interest in some athletic sport or pursuit--as the
Marylebone Cricket Club, which dates from 1787; the Alpine Club, which
was founded in 1857; the Hurlingham Club, in 1868; and to these may
perhaps be added, as approximating to the same class, the Bath Club,
1894.

The gradual filling up of old clubs, which we observed in the case
of the service clubs, and the congested state of their lists of
candidates, leading to long delay before an intending member had the
chance of election, has led to the establishment of junior clubs; thus,
in 1864, the Junior Athenæum and the Junior Carlton were founded.

A further development has been the establishment of clubs for women.
The Albemarle Club, founded in 1874, admits both men and women, and
adjusts its lists of candidates so as to provide for the election of
nearly equal numbers of both.

The Marlborough Club should also be mentioned specially, as it was
founded by the King, and no person can be admitted a member except upon
His Majesty's special approval.

The Authors' Club was established in 1891 by the late Sir Walter
Besant, and is especially noted for its house dinners, at which some
person of distinction is invited to be the guest of the club.

Altogether, the clubs of London are very numerous, and we have only
been able to draw attention to the peculiarities of a few of them. Like
every other human institution, they are subject to continual change,
and there are pessimists who go about saying that they are decaying
and losing their popularity and their usefulness. The long lists of
candidates on the books of the principal clubs do not lend much colour
to this suggestion. Social habits alter with every generation of men,
and it is possible that many men do not use their clubs in the same way
that the founders did, but the fact remains that they do use them, and
that clubs still form centres of pleasure and convenience to many.

One particular in which the change of social habits is especially
noticeable is with respect to gaming. This, as we have seen, was almost
the _raison d'être_ of some of the early clubs, and there are numerous
tales of the recklessness with which it was pursued, and the fortunes
lost and won at the gaming table. We have quoted from one or two clubs
the regulations which now prevail, and similar regulations are adopted
in most of the other clubs. Games of chance are wholly prohibited; and
limits are provided to the amount that may be staked on games of cards.
Each club has also a billiard room.

With respect to smoking, the habitués of clubs have experienced a great
change. Formerly the smoking room, if any, was small and far away;
now the luxury of the club is concentrated in it, and the question
is rather in what rooms smoking is not to be allowed. Very few clubs
retain the old tradition that smoking is a thing to be discouraged and
kept out of sight.

Other signs of change are the increase in the cost of membership and
the later hours for dining. It need hardly be said that the clubs pay
great attention to their kitchens. We have it on the authority of Major
A. Griffiths (_Fortnightly Review_, April, 1907) that the salary of the
chef is between £200 and £300 a year.

The customs of the clubs with regard to the admission of visitors
vary. At one end of the scale is the Athenæum, which will not allow
its members to give a stranger even a cup of cold water, and allows of
conversation with strangers only in the open hall or in a small room
by the side of the doorway. At the other end are clubs which provide
special rooms for the entertainment of visitors, and encourage their
members to treat their friends hospitably, and to show them what the
club is able to do in the matter of cooking and wines.

The social ethics of clubs vary in like manner. In some clubs,
notably those of the Bohemian type, but including several which would
claim not to belong to that group, mere membership of the club is a
sufficient introduction to justify a member in addressing another, and
conversation in the common rooms of the club becomes general. This
is delightful--within limits: it is not always possible to create by
the atmosphere of the club a sentiment that will restrain all its
members from sometimes overstepping those bounds of mutual courtesy
and consideration which alone can make such general conversation
altogether pleasant. The greater clubs go to the opposite extreme,
and members of them may meet day after day for many years in perfect
unconsciousness of the existence of each other; yet, even in these, the
association of those who know each other outside the club, but without
its opportunities would rarely meet, though they have similar interests
and pursuits, is a very desirable and useful thing. Many an excellent
measure, originating in the mind of one member, has been matured by
conversation with others, to the general good. So may the Clubs of
London continue to prosper and flourish.




THE INNS OF OLD LONDON

BY PHILIP NORMAN, LL.D.


To write a detailed account of London inns and houses of entertainment
generally would require not a few pages, but several volumes. The inns,
first established to supply the modest wants of an unsophisticated age,
came by degrees to fulfil the functions of our modern hotels, railway
stations, and parcel offices; they were places of meeting for business
and social entertainment--in short, they formed a necessary part of the
life of all Londoners, and of all who resorted to London, except the
highest and the lowest. The taverns, successors of mediæval cook-shops,
were frequented by most of the leading spirits of each generation from
Elizabethan times to the early part of the nineteenth century, and
their place has now been taken by clubs and restaurants. About these a
mass of information is available, also on coffee-houses, a development
of the taverns, in which, for the most part, they were gradually
merged. As to the various forms of public-house, their whimsical
signs alone have amused literary men, and perhaps their readers, from
the time of _The Spectator_ until now. In this chapter I propose to
confine my remarks to the inns "for receipt of travellers," so often
referred to by John Stow in his _Survey of London_, which, largely
established in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, continued on the
same sites, mostly until years after the advent of railways had caused
a social revolution. These inns, with rare exceptions, had a galleried
courtyard, a plan of building also common on the Continent, which came
perhaps originally from the East. In such courtyards, as we shall see,
during Tudor times theatrical performances often took place, and in
form they probably gave a hint to the later theatres.

Before the fifteenth century it was usual for travellers to seek the
hospitality of religious houses, the great people being lodged in
rooms set apart for them, while the poorer sort found shelter in the
guest-house. But as time went on this proved inadequate, and inns on
a commercial basis came into existence, being frequented by those who
could hardly demand special consideration from the religious houses,
and were not fitting recipients of charity. Naturally enough, these
inns, when once their usefulness became recognised, were soon to be
found in the main thoroughfares leading out of the metropolis, and they
were particularly plentiful in Southwark on each side of what we now
call the Borough High Street, extending for a quarter of a mile or more
from London Bridge along the main road to the south-eastern counties
and the Continent. The first thus established, and one of the earliest
in this country, had to some extent a religious origin--namely, the

                        "Gentle hostelrye
    That hight the Tabard, fasté by the Belle,"

about which and about the Southwark inns generally I propose now to say
a few words, for although well known, they are of such extreme interest
that they demand a foremost place in an account of this kind. From the
literary point of view the "Tabard" is immortalized, owing to the fact
that Chaucer has selected it as the starting-point of his pilgrims
in _The Canterbury Tales_. Historically, it may be mentioned that as
early as the year 1304 the Abbot and Convent of Hyde, near Winchester,
purchased in Southwark two tenements, on the sites of which he built
for himself a town dwelling, and at the same time, it is believed, a
hostelry for the convenience of travellers. In 1307 he obtained license
to build a chapel at or by the inn, and in a later deed we are told
that "the abbott's lodginge was wyninge to the backside of the Tabarde
and had a garden attached." From that time onwards frequent allusions
can be found to this house, the sign of which (a sleeveless coat,
such as that worn by heralds) got somehow corrupted into the Talbot,
a species of dog, by which it was known for a couple of centuries
or more, almost to the time of its final destruction. Although the
contrary has been asserted, the inn was undoubtedly burnt in the Great
Southwark Fire of 1676, but was rebuilt soon afterwards in the old
fashion, and continued to be a picturesque example of architecture
until 1875, when the whole was swept away, hop merchants' offices and a
modern "old Tabard" now occupying the site.

Equal in interest to the last-named inn was the "White Hart." At the
one Chaucer gave life and reality to a fancied scene; at the other
occurred an historical event, the bald facts of which Shakespeare has
lighted up with a halo of romance. The White Hart appears to have dated
from the latter part of the fourteenth century, the sign being a badge
of Richard II., derived from his mother, Joan of Kent. In the summer
of 1450 it was Jack Cade's headquarters while he was striving to gain
possession of London. Hall, in his _Chronicle_, records this, and adds
that he prohibited "murder, rape and robbery by which colour he allured
to him the hartes of the common people." It was here, nevertheless,
that "one Hawaydyne of sent Martyns was beheaded," and here, during
the outbreak, a servant of Sir John Fastolf, who had property in the
neighbourhood, was with difficulty saved from assassination. His
chattels were pillaged, his wife left with "no more gode but her
kyrtyll and her smook," and he thrust into the forefront of a fight
then raging on London Bridge, where he was "woundyd and hurt nere
hand to death." Cade's success was of short duration; his followers
wavered, he said, or might have said, in the words attributed to him by
Shakespeare (2 Henry VI., act iv., scene 8), "Hath my sword therefore
broken through London gate that you should leave me at the White Hart
in Southwark?" The rebellion collapsed, and our inn is not heard of
for some generations. Want of space prevents our recording the various
vicissitudes through which it passed, and the historic names connected
with it, until the time of the Southwark Fire of 1676, when, like the
"Tabard," it was burnt down, but rebuilt on the old foundations. In
1720 Strype describes it as large and of considerable trade, and it so
continued until the time when Dickens, who was intimately acquainted
with the neighbourhood, gave his graphic description of Sam Weller
at the White Hart in the tenth chapter of _Pickwick_. In 1865-66 the
south side of the building was replaced by a modern tavern, but the
old galleries on the north and east sides remained until 1889, being
latterly let out in tenements.

There were several other galleried inns in Southwark, dating at least
from the time of Queen Elizabeth, which survived until the nineteenth
century, but we only have space briefly to allude to three. The "King's
Head" and the "Queen's Head" was each famous in its way. The former
had been originally the "Pope's Head," the sign being changed at the
Reformation. In 1534 the Abbot of Waverley, whose town house was not
far off, writes, apparently on business, that he will be at the "Pope's
Head" in Southwark--eight years afterwards it appears as the "King's
Head." In a deed belonging to Mr. G. Eliot Hodgkin, F.S.A., the two
names are given. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the house
belonged to various noteworthy people; among the rest, to Thomas Cure,
a local benefactor, and to Humble, Lord Ward. It was burnt in the
Great Southwark Fire, and the last fragment of the galleried building,
erected immediately afterwards, was pulled down in January, 1885.

The "Queen's Head" was the only one of the Southwark houses we are
describing that escaped the Fire of 1676, perhaps owing to the fact
that, by way of precaution, a tenement was blown up at the gateway. It
stood on the site of a house called the "Crowned or Cross Keys," which
in 1529 was an armoury or store-place for the King's harness. In 1558
it had a brew-house attached to it, and had lately been rebuilt. In
1634 the house had become the "Queen's Head," and the owner was John
Harvard, of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who afterwards migrated to
America, and gave his name to Harvard University, Massachusetts. About
this time it was frequented by carriers, as we learn from John Taylor,
"the water-poet." The main building, destroyed in 1895, was found to
be of half-timbered construction, dating perhaps from the sixteenth
century. A galleried portion, also of considerable age, survived until
the year 1900.

Of another Southwark inn, the "George," we can fortunately speak in
the present tense. It seems to have come into existence in the early
part of the sixteenth century, and is mentioned with the sign of "St.
George" in 1554:--

    "St. George that swindg'd the Dragon, and e'er since
    Sits on his horseback at mine hostess' door."

The owner in 1558 was Humfrey Colet, or Collet, who had been Member
of Parliament for Southwark. Soon after the middle of the seventeenth
century, in a book called _Musarum Deliciæ, or the Muses' Recreation_,
compiled by Sir John Mennes (Admiral and Chief Comptroller of the Navy)
and Dr. James Smith, appeared some lines, "upon a surfeit caught by
drinking bad sack at 'the George' in Southwark." Perhaps the landlord
mended his ways; in any case, the rent was shortly afterwards £150 a
year--a large sum for those days. The "George" was a great coaching
and carriers' inn. Only a fragment of it, but a picturesque one,
now exists; it is still galleried, and dates from shortly after the
Southwark Fire of 1676. The rest of the building was pulled down in
1889-90. All the inns to which allusion has been made were clustered
together on the east side of the Borough High Street, the gateways of
those most distant from each other being only about 140 yards apart.

Another leading thoroughfare from London to the east was the
road through Aldgate to Whitechapel. Here, though the houses of
entertainment were historically far less interesting than those of
Southwark, they flourished for many years. Where a modern hotel with
the same sign now stands, next to the Metropolitan railway station on
the north side of Aldgate High Street, there was once a well-known
inn, the "Three Nuns," so called, perhaps, from the contiguity of
the nuns of St. Clare, or _sorores minores_, who gave a name to the
Minories. The "Three Nuns" inn is mentioned by Defoe in his _Journal
of the Plague_, which, though it describes events that happened
when he was little more than an infant, has an air of authenticity
suggesting personal experience. We are told by him that near this inn
was the "dreadful gulf--for such it was rather than a pit"--in which,
during the Plague of 1665, not less than 1,114 bodies were buried
in a fortnight, from the 6th to the 20th of September. Throughout
the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth centuries this
house was much frequented by coaches and carriers. The late Mr.
Edwin Edwards, who etched it in 1871, was told by the landlord that
a four-horse coach was then running from there to Southend during
the summer months. A painting of the holy nuns still appeared on the
sign-board. The house was rebuilt soon after the formation of the
Metropolitan Railway. A short distance west of the "Three Nuns," at 31,
Aldgate High Street, the premises of Messrs. Adkin and Sons, wholesale
tobacconists, occupy the site of the old "Blue Boar" coaching inn,
which they replaced in 1861. The sculptured sign of the "Blue Boar,"
let into the wall in front, was put up at the time of the rebuilding.
The former inn, described on a drawing in the Crace collection as the
oldest in London, is held by some to be the same as that referred to
in an order of the Privy Council to the Lord Mayor, dated from St.
James's, September 5th, 1557, wherein he is told to "apprehende and to
comitt to safe warde" certain actors who are about to perform in "a
lewde Playe called a Sacke full of Newse" at the "Boar's Head" without
Aldgate.

A few years ago, at No. 25, the entrance might still be seen of another
famous inn called the "Bull," formerly the "Black Bull." Above the
gateway was a fine piece of ironwork, and the old painted sign was
against the wall of the passage. This house flourished greatly a little
before the advent of railways, when Mrs. Anne Nelson, coach proprietor,
was the landlady, and could make up nearly two hundred beds there. Most
of her business was to Essex and Suffolk, but she also owned the Exeter
coach. She must have been landlady on the memorable occasion when Mr.
Pickwick arrived in a cab after "two mile o' danger at eightpence," and
it was through this very gateway that he and his companions were driven
by the elder Weller when they started on their adventurous journey to
Ipswich. The house is now wholly destroyed and the yard built over.

A common sign in former days was the "Saracen's Head." We shall have
occasion to refer to several in London. One of them stood by Aldgate,
just within the limits of the city. Here a block of old buildings
is in existence on the south side, which once formed the front of a
well-known coaching inn, with this sign. The spacious inn yard remains,
the house on the east side of its entrance having fine pilasters. From
the "Saracen's Head," Aldgate, coaches plied to Norwich as long ago as
1681, and here there is, or was quite recently, a carrier's booking
office.

Another thoroughfare which, within the memory of some who hardly admit
that they are past middle age, contained several famous inns, was that
leading to the north, and known in its various parts as Gracechurch
Street and Bishopsgate Street Within and Without. One of the best known
was the "Cross Keys" in Bishopsgate Street, mentioned in the preface to
Dodsley's _Old Plays_ as a house at which theatrical performances took
place. It was here that, in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
Bankes exhibited the extraordinary feats of his horse Marocco. One
of them, if we may believe an old jest-book, was to select and draw
forth Tarlton with its mouth as "the veriest fool in the company." In
more modern times, until the advent of railways, the "Cross Keys" was
a noted coaching and carriers' establishment. Destroyed in the Great
Fire, and again burnt down in 1734, but rebuilt in the old style, it
was still standing on the west side of the street, immediately south
of Bell Yard, when Larwood and Hotten published their _History of
Signboards_ in 1866. Another inn with this sign stood appropriately
near the site of St. Peter's Church in Wood Street, Cheapside, and was
pulled down probably about the same time as the more famous house in
Gracechurch Street.

Of equal note was the "Spread Eagle," the site of which has mostly been
absorbed by the extension of Leadenhall Market. Like the "Cross Keys,"
it was burnt in the Great Fire, but rebuilt in the old style with
an ample galleried yard. In the basement some mediæval arches still
remained. At the "Spread Eagle" that original writer George Borrow
had been staying with his future wife, Mrs. Mary Clarke, and various
friends, when they were married at St. Peter's Church, Cornhill, on
April 23rd, 1840, her daughter, Henrietta, signing the register. Before
its destruction in 1865 it had been for some time a receiving office
of Messrs. Chaplin and Horne. The site, of about 1,200 square feet,
was sold for no less a sum than £95,000. Another Gracechurch inn, the
"Tabard," which long ago disappeared, had, like the immortal hostelry
in Southwark, become the "Talbot," and its site is marked by Talbot
Court.

In Bishopsgate Street Within three galleried inns lingered long enough
to have been often seen by the writer. These were the "Bull," the
"Green Dragon," and the "Four Swans," each with something of a history,
and to them might be added the picturesque, though less important,
"Vine" and the "Flower Pot," from which last house a seventeenth
century trade token was issued. The "Bull," the most southern of these
inns, all of which were on the west side of the highway, was at least
as old as the latter part of the fifteenth century, for in one of the
chronicles of London lately edited by Mr. C. L. Kingsford, I find
it, under the date 1498, associated with a painful incident--namely,
the execution of the son of a cordwainer, "dwellyng at the Bulle in
Bisshoppesgate Strete," for calling himself the Earl of Warwick. Hall
gives his name as Ralph Wilford. Anthony Bacon, elder brother of
Francis, during the year 1594 hired a lodging in Bishopsgate Street,
but the fact of its being near the "Bull," where plays and interludes
were performed, so troubled his mother that for her sake he removed to
Chelsea. Shortly afterwards, as may be learnt from _Tarlton's Jests_,
the old drama called "The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth" was
here played, "wherein the judge was to take a boxe on the eare, and
because he was absent that should take the blow, Tarlton himselfe, ever
forward to please, tooke upon him to play the judge, besides his own
part of the clown." The "Bull" was the house of call of old Hobson, the
carrier, to whose rigid rule about the letting of his saddle horses we
are supposed to owe the phrase, "Hobson's Choice." Milton wrote his
epitaph in the well-known lines beginning:--

    "Here lies old Hobson; Death hath broke his girt,
    And here, alas! hath laid him in the dirt."

In his second edition of _Milton's Poems_, p. 319, Wharton alludes to
Hobson's "portrait in fresco" as having then lately been in existence
at the inn, and it is mentioned in _The Spectator_, No. 509. There is
a print of it representing a bearded old man in hat and cloak with a
money bag, which in the original painting had the inscription, "The
fruitful mother of an hundred more." He bequeathed property for a
conduit to supply Cambridge with water; the conduit head still exists,
though not in its original position. In 1649, by a Council of War, six
Puritan troopers were condemned to death for a mutiny at the "Bull."
The house remained till 1866.

Further north, at No. 86, was the "Green Dragon," the last of the
galleried inns that survived in Bishopsgate Street. It is mentioned
in De Laune's _Present State of London_, 1681, as a place of resort
for coachmen and carriers, and I have before me an advertisement
sheet of the early nineteenth century, showing that coaches were then
plying from here to Norwich, Yarmouth, Cambridge, Colchester, Ware,
Hertford, Brighton, and many other places. There is a capital etching
of the house by Edwin Edwards. It was closed in 1877, its site being
soon afterwards built over. At the sale of the effects eleven bottles
of port wine fetched 37s. 6d. each. The "Four Swans," immediately to
the north of the inn last named, although it did not survive so long,
remained to the end a more complete specimen of its class, having three
tiers of galleries perfect on each side, and two tiers at the west end.
The "water-poet" tells us that in 1637 "a waggon or coach" came here
once a week from Hertford. Other references to it might be quoted from
books of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but the story told
on an advertisement sheet issued by a former landlord about a fight
here between Roundheads, led by Ireton, and a troop of Royalists, is
apocryphal.

Not far off, in Bishopsgate Street Without, there was until lately a
"Two Swan" inn yard, and a "One Swan" with a large yard--an old place
of call for carriers and waggons. These lingered on until the general
clearance by the Great Eastern Railway Company a few years ago, when
the remains of Sir Paul Pindar's mansion, latterly a tavern, were also
removed; the finely-carved timber front and a stuccoed ceiling finding
their way into the Victoria and Albert Museum. Another old Bishopsgate
house was the "White Hart," near St. Botolph's Church, a picturesque
building with projecting storeys, and in front the date 1480, but the
actual structure was probably much less ancient. It was drawn by J.
T. Smith and others early in the nineteenth century, and did not long
survive. The site is still marked by White Hart Court. On the opposite
side of the way was an inn, the "Dolphin," which, as Stow tells us,
was given in 1513 by Margaret Ricroft, widow, with a charge in favour
of the Grey Friars. It disappeared in the first half of the eighteenth
century. The old "Catherine Wheel," a galleried inn hard by, mentioned
by De Laune in 1681, was not entirely destroyed till 1894.

Another road out of London richly furnished with inns was that from
Newgate westward. The first one came to was the "Saracen's Head"
on Snow Hill, an important house, to which the late Mr. Heckethorn
assigned a very early origin. Whether or not it existed in the
fourteenth century, as he asserts, it was certainly flourishing when
Stow in his _Survey_ described it as "a fair and large inn for receipt
of travellers." It continued for centuries to be largely used, and
here Nicholas Nickleby and his uncle waited on Squeers, the Yorkshire
schoolmaster, whom Dickens must have modelled from various real
personages. In a _Times_ advertisement for January 3rd, 1801, I read
that "at Mr. Simpson's Academy, Wodencroft Lodge, near Greta Bridge,
Yorkshire, young gentlemen are boarded and accurately instructed in the
English, Latin, and Greek languages, writing, arithmetic, merchants'
accounts, and the most useful branches of the mathematics, at 16
guineas per annum, if under nine years of age, and above that age
17 guineas; French taught by a native of France at 1 guinea extra.
Mr. Simpson is now in town, and may be treated with from eleven
till two o'clock every day at the 'Saracen's Head,' Snow Hill." In
the early part of last century the landlady was Sarah Ann Mountain,
coach proprietor, and worthy rival of Mrs. Nelson, of the "Bull" Inn,
Aldgate. The "Saracen's Head" disappeared in the early part of 1868,
when this neighbourhood was entirely changed by the formation of the
Holborn Viaduct. Another Snow Hill inn was the "George," or "George and
Dragon," mentioned by Strype as very large and of considerable trade. A
sculptured sign from there is in the Guildhall Museum.

In Holborn there were once nine or ten galleried inns. We will only
allude to those still in existence within the memory of the writer.
The most famous of them, perhaps, was the "George and Blue Boar,"
originally the "Blue Boar," the site of which is covered by the Inns of
Court Hotel. The house is named in the burial register of St. Andrew's,
Holborn, as early as 1616, but it is chiefly known from a story related
by the Rev. Thomas Morrice, in his _Memoir of Roger Earl of Orrery_
(1742), that Cromwell and Ireton, in the disguise of troopers, here
intercepted a letter sewn in the flap of a saddle from Charles I. to
his Queen, in which he wrote that he was being courted by the Scotch
Presbyterians and the army, and that he thought of closing with the
former. Cromwell is supposed to have said, "From that time forward
we resolved on his ruin." The writer ventured to ask that excellent
historian, Dr. Samuel Gardiner, what he thought of the statement. In
August, 1890, he most kindly replied by letter as follows:--"The tale
has generally been repudiated without enquiry, and I am rather inclined
to believe, at least, in its substantial accuracy. The curious thing
is, that there are two lines of tradition about intercepted letters,
as it seems to me quite distinct." We may, therefore, without being
over credulous, cherish the belief that the picturesque incident
referred to was one that actually occurred. There is an advertisement
of December 27th, 1779, offering the lease of the "George and Blue
Boar," which helps us to realize the value and capacity of an important
inn of that period. We are told that it contains forty bedrooms,
stabling for fifty-two horses, seven coach-houses, and a dry ride sixty
yards long; also that it returns about £2,000 a year. In George Colman
the younger's "Heir at Law," act i., scene 2, this house is said by one
of the characters to be "in tumble downish kind of a condition," but it
survived until 1864, when it made way for the Inns of Court Hotel.

A group of inns which remained more recently were Ridler's "Bell and
Crown," the old "Bell," and the "Black Bull," all on the north side of
Holborn. Of these, the most picturesque was the "Bell," about which I
have been able to ascertain some curious facts. The earliest notice of
it that has come to light was on the 14th of March, 1538, when William
Barde sold a messuage with garden called the "Bell," in the parish of
St. Andrew, Holborn, to Richard Hunt, citizen and girdler. The latter,
who died in 1569, gave thirty sacks of charcoal yearly for ever, as a
charge on the property, to be distributed to thirty poor persons of
the parish. After various changes of ownership, in 1679-80 it passed
into the hands of Ralph Gregge, and his grandson sold it in 1722 to
Christ's Hospital. In the deed of sale three houses are mentioned and
described as "formerly one great mansion-house or inn known as the Bell
or Blue Bell." About two years before, the front of the premises facing
Holborn had been rebuilt, when the sculptured arms of Gregge were let
into the wall in front; these arms are now at the Guildhall Museum. The
"Bell" became a coaching house of considerable reputation, that part of
the business being about the year 1836 in the hands of Messrs. B. W.
and H. Horne, who, as coach proprietors, were second only to William
Chaplin. For many years, until finally closed in September, 1897, the
house was managed by the Bunyer family. It was the last galleried inn
on the Middlesex side of the water, the galleries being perhaps as old
as the reign of Charles II. A still older portion was a cellar built of
stone immediately to the left of the entrance, which might almost have
been mediæval. The rest of the building seems to have dated from the
early part of the eighteenth century. There is a sympathetic reference
to the old "Bell" by William Black in his _Strange Adventures of a
Phæton_. Another noteworthy "Bell" Inn was that in Carter Lane, whence
Richard Quyney wrote in 1598 to his "loveing good ffrend and contreyman
Mr. Willm Shackespere," the only letter addressed to our greatest
poet which is known to exist. There is still a Bell yard connecting
Carter Lane with Knightrider Street. The first scene of the _Harlot's
Progress_, by Hogarth, is laid in front of an inn, with the sign of the
"Bell" in Wood Street. Above the door are chequers.

A short distance west of the Holborn house was the "Crown" Inn,
latterly Ridler's "Bell and Crown," destroyed about 1899. It had been
a coaching centre, but years ago the yard was built over, and it
flourished to the end as a quiet family hotel. Next to the "Bell" on
the east side was the "Black Bull," the front of which, with the carved
sign of a bull in a violent state of excitement, remained after the
rest of the inn had disappeared, outliving its neighbour for a brief
period. It was in existence for a couple of hundred years or more, but
future generations will probably only remember it as the house where
Mr. Lewson was taken ill, and placed under the tender mercies of Betsy
Prig and Mrs. Gamp; whence also, when convalescent, he was assisted
into a coach, Mould the undertaker eyeing him with regret as he felt
himself baulked of a piece of legitimate business.

A few short years ago if, on leaving this group of Holborn inns, we had
turned down Fetter Lane in the direction of Fleet Street, after passing
two or three gabled buildings still standing on the right hand side,
we should have come to another old hostelry called the "White Horse,"
of which there is a well-known coloured print from a drawing made by
Pollard in 1814, with a coach in front called the Cambridge Telegraph.
It gradually fell into decay, became partly a "pub" and partly a common
lodging-house, and with its roomy stabling at the back was swept away
in 1897-98. Most of the structure was of the eighteenth century,
but there were remains of an earlier wooden building. Its northern
boundary touched the precinct of Barnard's Inn, an inn of chancery, now
disestablished and adapted for the purposes of the Mercers' School.

Continuing our course southward, a short walk would formerly have taken
us to the "Bolt-in-Tun," I think the only coaching establishment in
Fleet Street, which possessed so many taverns and coffee-houses. The
inn was of ancient origin, the White Friars having had a grant of the
"Hospitium vocatum Le Bolt en ton" as early as the year 1443. The sign
is the well-known rebus on the name of Bolton, the bird-bolt through a
tun or barrel, which was the device of a prior of St. Bartholomew's,
Smithfield, and may still be seen in the church there, and at
Canonbury, where the priors had a country house. The _City Press_ for
September 12th, 1882, announces the then impending destruction of the
"Bolt-in-Tun," and in the following year we are told that although a
remnant of it in Fleet Street exists as a booking office for parcels,
by far the larger portion, represented chiefly by the Sussex Hotel,
Bouverie Street, which bore on it the date 1692, has just disappeared.

Further east, on Ludgate Hill, La Belle Sauvage Yard, where Messrs.
Cassell & Co. carry on their important business, marks the site of an
historic house, and perpetuates an error of nomenclature. Its original
title, as proved by a document of the year 1452, was "Savage's" Inn,
otherwise called the "Bell on the Hoop," but in the seventeenth century
a trade token was issued from here, having on it an Indian woman
holding a bow and arrow, and in 1676 "Bell Sauvage" Inn, on Ludgate
Hill, consisting of about forty rooms, with good cellarage and stabling
for about one hundred horses, was to be let. The mistake is repeated
in _The Spectator_, No. 28, where we are told of a beautiful girl who
was found in the wilderness, and whose fame was perpetuated in a French
romance. As we learn from Howe, in his continuation of _Stow's Annals_,
on a seat outside this inn Sir Thomas Wyat rested, after failing in an
attempt to enter the city during his ill-advised rebellion in the reign
of Mary Tudor. From Lambarde we gather that this was one of the houses
where plays were performed before the time of Shakespeare. Writing in
1576, he says, "Those who go to Paris Garden, the Bell Savage, or the
Theatre to behold bear-baiting, interludes, or fence play, must not
account of any pleasant spectacle unless first they pay one pennie
at the gate, another at the entrie of the scaffold, and a third for
quiet standing." Here, as at the "Cross Keys," Gracechurch Street,
Bankes exhibited his horse, and here, in 1683, "a very strange beast
called a Rhynoceros--the first that ever was in England," could be seen
daily. Stow affirms the inn to have been given to the Cutlers' Company
by Isabella Savage; but, in fact, the donor was John Craythorne, who
conveyed the reversion of it to them in 1568. The sculptured elephant
and castle representing their crest is still on a wall in La Belle
Sauvage Yard. The inn, which has left its mark in the annals of
coaching, was taken down in 1873.

A thoroughfare, formerly containing several fine mansions and various
inns for travellers, was Aldersgate Street, the continuation of St.
Martin's-le-Grand. There are allusions in print to the "Bell," the
"George" (previously the "White Hart"), and to the "Cock" Inn, where,
after years of wandering, Fynes Moryson arrived one Sunday morning in
1595; but these all passed away long ago. The last to linger in the
neighbourhood was the "Bull and Mouth," St Martin's-le-Grand, finally
called the "Queen's" Hotel, absorbed by the General Post Office in
1886. The name is generally supposed to be a corruption of Boulogne
Mouth, the entrance to Boulogne Harbour, that town having been taken
by Henry VIII. George Steevens, the Shakespearean commentator, seems
to have suggested this, and his idea has been generally accepted; but
it is more likely that our inn was identical with the house called in
1657 "the Mouth near Aldersgate in London, then the usual meeting-place
for Quakers," to which the Body of John Lilburne was conveyed in August
of that year. We learn from Ellwood's _Autobiography_ that five years
afterwards he was arrested at the "Bull and Mouth," Aldersgate. The
house was at its zenith as a coaching centre in the early years of the
nineteenth century, when Edward Sherman had become landlord. He rebuilt
the old galleried house in 1830. When coaching for business purposes
ceased to be, the gateway from St. Martin's-le-Grand was partially
blocked up and converted into the main entrance, the inn continuing
under its changed name for many years. The sculptured signs were not
removed until the destruction of the building. One, which was over the
main entrance, is a statuette of a Bull within a gigantic open Mouth;
below are bunches of grapes; above, a bust of Edward VI. and the arms
of Christ's Hospital, to which institution the ground belonged. Beneath
is a tablet inscribed with the following doggerel rhyme:--

    "Milo the Cretonian an ox slew with his fist,
    And ate it up at one meal, ye Gods what a glorious twist."

Another version of the sign, the Mouth appearing below the Bull, was
over what had been a back entrance to the yard in Angel Street. These
signs are now both in the Guildhall Museum. I had almost overlooked
one house, the "Castle and Falcon," Aldersgate, closed within the last
few months, and now destroyed. The structure was uninteresting, but it
stood on an old site--that of John Day's printing-house in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. At the present inn on April 12th, 1799, was founded
the Church Missionary Society; here also its centenary was celebrated.

Besides being plentiful in the main thoroughfares, important inns,
like the churches, were often crammed away in narrow and inconvenient
lanes. This was the case with the "Oxford Arms" and the "Bell," both
in Warwick Lane. The former was approached by a passage, being bounded
on the west by the line of the old city wall, or by a later wall a few
feet to the east of it, and touching Amen Corner on the south. It was a
fine example of its kind. As was said by a writer in _The Athenæum_ of
May 20th, 1876, just before it was destroyed:

     "Despite the confusion, the dirt and the decay, he who stands
     in the yard of this ancient inn may get an excellent idea of
     what it was like in the days of its prosperity, when not only
     travellers in coach or saddle rode into or out of the yard,
     but poor players and mountebanks set up their stage for the
     entertainment of spectators, who hung over the galleries or
     looked on from their rooms--a name by which the boxes of a
     theatre were first known."

The house must have been rebuilt after the Great Fire, which raged
over this area. That it existed before is proved by the following odd
advertisement of March, 1672-73:

     "These are to give notice that Edward Bartlet, Oxford Carrier,
     hath removed his inn in London from the Swan at Holborn Bridge
     to the Oxford Arms in Warwick Lane, where he did Inn before
     the Fire. His coaches and waggons going forth on their usual
     days, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He hath also a hearse
     and all things convenient to carry a Corps to any part of
     England."

The "Bell" Inn, also galleried, was on the east side of Warwick Lane.
There Archbishop Leighton died in 1684. As Burnet tells us, he had
often said that "if he were to choose a place to die in it should be an
Inn; it looked like a pilgrim's going home, to whom this world was all
as an Inn, and who was weary of the noise and confusion in it." Thus
his desire was fulfilled. There is a view of the old house in Chambers'
_Book of Days_, vol. i., p. 278. It was demolished in 1865, when the
value of the unclaimed parcels, some of which had been there many
years, is said to have been considerable. According to one statement,
the jewellery was worth £700 or £800.

The few remaining inns to which reference will be made may best perhaps
be taken in alphabetical order. The old "Angel" Inn, at the end of Wych
Street, Strand, already existed in February, 1503, when a letter was
directed to Sir Richard Plumpton "at the Angell behind St. Clement's
Kirk." From this inn Bishop Hooper was taken to Gloucester in 1554 to
be burnt at the stake. A trade token was issued there in 1657. Finally,
the business, largely dependent on coaches, faded away; the building
was rased to the ground in 1853, and the set of offices called Danes
Inn built on the site. These in their turn have now succumbed. The
"Axe" in Aldermanbury was a famous carriers' inn. It is mentioned in
drunken Barnabee's _Journal_, and from there the first line of stage
waggons from London to Liverpool was established about the middle of
the seventeenth century. It took many days to perform the journey.

In Laurence Lane, near the Guildhall, was a noteworthy house called
"Blossoms" Inn, which, according to Stow, had "to sign St. Laurence the
Deacon in a border of blossoms of flowers." In 1522, when the Emperor
Charles V. came to visit Henry VIII. in London, certain inns were set
apart for the reception of his retinue, among them "St. Laurence,
otherwise called Bosoms Yn, was to have ready XX beddes and a stable
for LX horses." In Ben Jonson's _Masque of Christmas_, presented
at Court in 1616, "Tom of Bosomes Inn," apparently a real person,
is introduced as representing Mis-rule. That the house was early
frequented by carriers is shown in the epistle dedicatory to _Have at
you at Saffron Walden_, 1596:--"Yet have I naturally cherisht and hugt
it in my bosome, even as a carrier at Bosome's Inne doth a cheese under
his arm." A satirical tract about Bankes and his horse Marocco gives
the name of the authors as "John Dande the wiredrawer of Hadley, and
Harrie Hunt head ostler of Bosomes inn." There is a view of this famous
hostelry in the Crace collection, date 1855; the yard is now a depôt
for railway goods.

In 1852 London suffered a sad loss architecturally by the removal of
the fine groined crypt of Gerard's Hall, Basing Lane, which dated
perhaps from the end of the thirteenth century, and had formed part of
the mansion of a famous family of citizens, by name Gysors. In Stow's
time it was "a common hostrey for receipt of travellers." He gives a
long account of it, mixing fact with fiction. The house and hall were
destroyed in the Great Fire, but the crypt escaped, and on it an inn
was built with, in front, a carved wooden effigy of that mythical
personage, Gerard the Giant, which is now in the Guildhall Museum. On
the removal of the crypt the stones were numbered and presented to the
Crystal Palace Company, with a view to its erection in their building
or grounds. It is said, however, that after a time the stones were used
for mending roads.

A rather unimportant-looking inn was the "Nag's Head," on the east side
of Whitcomb Street, formerly Hedge Lane, but it is worthy of mention
for one or two reasons. We learn from a manuscript note-book, which
was in the possession of the late Mr. F. Locker Lampson, that Hogarth
in his later days, when he set up a coach and horses, kept them at the
"Nag's Head." He was then living on the east side of Leicester Square.
According to a pencil note on an old drawing, which belongs to the
writer, "this inn did the posting exclusively for the Royal family from
George I. to William IV." It was latterly used as a livery stable, but
retained its picturesque galleries until, the lease having come to an
end, it was closed in 1890. The space remained vacant for some years,
and is now covered by the fine publishing office of Messrs. Macmillan &
Co.

Two "Saracen's Head" inns have already been described, and though
one feels how imperfect this account must of necessity be, and that
some houses of note are altogether omitted, I am tempted to mention
a third--the house with that sign in Friday Street. It came into the
hands of the Merchant Taylors' Company as early as the year 1400, and
after several rebuildings was finally swept away in 1844. The adjoining
house, said by tradition to have been occupied by Sir Christopher Wren,
was destroyed at the same time.

It was in the early thirties of last century that coaching reached
its zenith, and perhaps the greatest coaching centre in London was
the "Swan with Two Necks," Lad Lane. It was an old inn, mentioned by
Machyn as early as 1556. In 1637 carriers from Manchester and other
places used to lodge there, but it will be best remembered as it
appears in a well-known print during the heyday of its prosperity, the
courtyard crowded with life and movement. The gateway was so narrow
that it required some horsemanship to drive a fast team out of the said
courtyard, and some care on the part of the guard that his horn or
bugle basket was not jammed against the gate-post. The proprietor of
this establishment was Mr. William Chaplin who, originally a coachman,
became perhaps the greatest coach proprietor that ever lived. About
1835 he occupied the yards of no fewer than five famous and important
inns in London, to all of which allusion has been made--the "Spread
Eagle" and "Cross Keys" in Gracechurch Street, the "Swan with Two
Necks," the "White Horse," Fetter Lane, and the "Angel" behind St.
Clement's. He had 1,300 horses at work on various roads, and about
that time horsed fourteen out of the twenty-seven coaches leaving
London every night. When the railways came he bowed to the inevitable,
and, in partnership with Mr. Horne, established the great carrying
business, which still flourishes on the site of the old "Swan with
Two Necks." In 1845 Lad Lane was absorbed by Gresham Street. The
origin of the sign has been often discussed, but it is perhaps well
to conclude this chapter by adding a few words about it. The swans on
the upper reaches of the Thames are owned respectively by the Crown
and the Dyers and the Vintners' Company, and, according to ancient
custom, the representatives of these several owners make an excursion
each year up the river to mark the cygnets. The visitors' mark used to
consist of the chevron or letter V and two nicks on the beak. The word
nicks has been corrupted into necks, and as the Vintners were often
tavern-keepers, the "Swan with Two Necks" became a common sign.




THE OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES

BY G. L. APPERSON, I.S.O.


For something like a century and a half the coffee-houses formed a
distinctive feature of London life. The first is said to have been
established by a man named Bowman, servant to a Turkey merchant, who
opened a coffee-house in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, in 1652. The
honour of being the second has been claimed for the "Rainbow" in Fleet
Street, by the Inner Temple Gate, opposite Chancery Lane. Aubrey,
speaking of Sir Henry Blount, a beau in the time of Charles II., says:
"When coffee first came in, he was a great upholder of it, and had
ever since been a constant frequenter of coffee-houses, especially
Mr. Farre's, at the 'Rainbow,' by Inner Temple Gate." But according
to _The Daily Post_ of May 15th, 1728, "Old Man's" Coffee-house,
at Charing Cross, "was the Second that was set up in the Cities of
London and Westminster." The question of priority, however, is of no
importance. It is quite certain that in a surprisingly short space of
time coffee-houses became very numerous. A manuscript of 1659, quoted
in _The Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1852 (Part I., pp. 477-9), says that
at that date there was

     "a Turkish drink to be sould almost in eury street, called
     Coffee, and another kind of drink called Tee, and also a drink
     called Chocolate, which was a very harty drink."

Tea made its way slowly; but coffee took the town by storm.

The coffee-houses, as resorts for men of different classes and
occupations, survived till the early years of the nineteenth
century; but their palmy days were over some time before the end of
the eighteenth century. They were at the height of their fame and
usefulness from the Restoration till the earlier years of George III.'s
reign.

From the description given in _The Spectator_ and other contemporary
writings--such as "facetious" Tom Brown's _Trip through London_ of
1728, and the like--it is easy to reconstruct in imagination the
interior of one of these resorts as they appeared in the time of
Queen Anne. Occasionally the coffee-room, as at the famous "Will's"
in Russell Street, Covent Garden, was on the first floor. Tables
were disposed about the sanded floor--the erection of boxes did not
come in until a later date--while on the walls were numerous flaming
advertisements of quack medicines, pills and tinctures, salves and
electuaries, which were as abundant then as now, and of other wares
which might be bought at the bar. The bar was at the entrance to the
temple of coffee and gossip, and was presided over by the predecessors
of the modern barmaids--grumbled at in _The Spectator_ as "idols," who
there received homage from their admirers, and who paid more attention
to customers who flirted with them than to more sober-minded visitors;
and described by Tom Brown as "a charming Phillis or two, who invite
you by their amorous glances into their smoaky territories."

At the bar messages were left and letters taken in for regular
customers. In the early days of Swift's friendship with Addison,
Stella was instructed to address her letters to the former under
cover to Addison at the "St. James's" Coffee-house, in St. James's
Street; but as the friendship between the two men cooled the cover was
dispensed with, and the letters were addressed to Swift himself at the
coffee-house, where they were placed, doubtless with many others, in
the glass frame behind the bar. Stella's handwriting was very like that
of her famous correspondent, and one day Harley, afterwards Earl of
Oxford, seeing one of Stella's letters in the glass frame and thinking
the writing was Swift's, asked the latter, when he met him shortly
afterwards, how long he had learned the trick of writing to himself.
Swift says he could hardly persuade him that he was mistaken in the
writing.

The coffee-houses were the haunts of clubs and coteries almost from the
date of their first establishment. Steele, in the familiar introduction
to _The Tatler_, tells us how accounts of gallantry, pleasure and
entertainment were to come from "White's" Chocolate-house; poetry from
"Will's" Coffee-house; learning from the "Grecian"; and foreign and
domestic news from the "St. James's." Nearly fifty years later, Bonnell
Thornton, in the first number of _The Connoisseur_, January 31st, 1754,
similarly enumerates some of the leading houses. "White's" was still
the fashionable resort; "Garraway's" was for stock-jobbers; "Batson's"
for doctors; the "Bedford" for "wits" and men of parts; the "Chapter"
for book-sellers; and "St. Paul's" for the clergy. Mackay, in his
_Journey through England_, published in 1724, says that

     "about twelve the _beau-monde_ assembles in several chocolate
     and coffee-houses, the best of which are the Cocoa Tree and
     White's Chocolate-houses, St. James's, the Smyrna, and the
     British Coffee-houses; and all these so near one another that
     in less than an hour you see the company of them all....
     I must not forget to tell you that the parties have their
     different places, where, however, a stranger is always well
     received; but a Whig will no more go to the Cocoa Tree or
     Ozinda's than a Tory will be seen at the coffee-house of
     St. James's. The Scots go generally to the British, and a
     mixture of all sorts to the Smyrna. There are other little
     coffee-houses much frequented in this neighbourhood--Young
     Man's for officers, Old Man's for stock-jobbers, paymasters,
     and courtiers, and Little Man's for sharpers."

It was only natural that people of similar occupations or tastes should
gravitate in their hours of leisure to common social centres, and no
one classification, such as that just quoted, can exhaust the subject.

The devotees of whist had their own houses. The game began to be
popular about 1730, and some of those who first played scientific
whist--possibly including Hoyle himself--were accustomed to meet at the
"Crown" Coffee-house in Bedford Row. Other groups soon met at other
houses. A pirated edition of Hoyle's _Whist_, printed at Dublin in
1743, contains an advertisement of "A Short Treatise on the Game of
Whist, as play'd at Court, White's, and George's Chocolate-houses, at
Slaughter's, and the Crown Coffee-houses, etc., etc." At "Rawthmell's"
Coffee-house in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, the Society of Arts
was founded in 1754. "Old Slaughter's" in St. Martin's Lane was a
great resort in the second half of the eighteenth century of artists.
Here Roubillac the sculptor, Hogarth, Bourguignon or Gravelot the book
illustrator, Moser the keeper of the St. Martin's Lane Academy, Luke
Sullivan the engraver, and many others of the fraternity were wont
to foregather. Near by was "Young Slaughter's," a meeting-place for
scientific and literary men.

R. L. Edgeworth, in his _Memoirs_ (p. 118, Ed. 1844), says:--

     "I was introduced by Mr. Keir into a society of literary
     and scientific men, who used formerly to meet once a week
     at Jack's Coffee-house [_i.e., circa 1780_] in London, and
     afterwards at Young Slaughter's Coffee-house. Without any
     formal name, this meeting continued for years to be frequented
     by men of real science and of distinguished merit. John Hunter
     was our chairman. Sir Joseph Banks, Solander, Sir A. Blagden,
     Dr. George Fordyce, Milne, Maskelyne, Captain Cook, Sir G.
     Shuckburgh, Lord Mulgrave, Smeaton and Ramsden, were among
     our members. Many other gentlemen of talents belonged to this
     club, but I mention those only with whom I was individually
     acquainted."

A favourite resort of men of letters during the middle and later years
of the eighteenth century was the "Bedford" Coffee-house, under the
Piazza, in Covent Garden. This house, it may be said, inherited the
tradition from Button's, which that famous coffee-house had taken
over from Will's. To the "Bedford" came Fielding, Foote, Garrick,
Churchill, Sheridan, Hogarth, and many another man of note. Another
haunt of literary men, as well as of book-sellers, was the "Chapter"
Coffee-house in Paternoster Row. Chatterton wrote to his mother in
May, 1770: "I am quite familiar at the 'Chapter' Coffee-house, and
know all the geniuses there." Goldsmith was one of its frequenters.
It was here that he came to sup one night as the invited guest of
Churchill's friend, Charles Lloyd. The supper was served and enjoyed,
whereupon Lloyd, without a penny in his pocket to pay for the meal
he had ordered, coolly walked off and left Goldsmith to discharge
the reckoning. It was at the same house that Foote, one day when a
distressed player passed his hat round the coffee-room circle with an
appeal for help, made the malicious remark: "If Garrick hear of this he
will certainly send in his hat."

Close by was the "St. Paul's" Coffee-house, where, according to Bonnell
Thornton, "tattered crapes," or poor parsons, were wont to ply "for an
occasional burial or sermon, with the same regularity as the happier
drudges who salute us with the cry of 'Coach, sir,' or 'Chair, your
honour.'" The same writer relates how a party of bucks, by a hoaxing
proffer of a curacy, "drew all the poor parsons to 'St. Paul's'
Coffee-house, where the bucks themselves sat in another box to smoke
their rusty wigs and brown cassocks."

Business men gathered at "Jonathan's" and "Garraway's," both in
Exchange Alley, where the sale and purchase of stocks and bonds and
merchandise of every kind formed the staple talk. The former house
was a centre of operations for both bubblers and bubbled in the mania
year of 1720. "Lloyd's" Coffee-house was for very many years a famous
auction mart.

    "Then to Lloyd's coffee-house he never fails,
    To read the letters, and attend the sales,"

says the author of _The Wealthy Shopkeeper_, published in 1700.
Addison, in No. 46 of _The Spectator_, tells how he was accustomed to
make notes or "minutes" of anything likely to be useful for future
papers, and of how one day he accidentally dropped one of these papers
at "Lloyd's Coffee-house, where the auctions are usually kept." It was
picked up and passed from hand to hand, to the great amusement of all
who saw it. Finally, the "boy of the coffee-house," having in vain
asked for the owner of the paper, was made "to get up into the auction
pulpit and read it to the whole room." The "Jerusalem" Coffee-house, in
Exchange Alley, was for generations the resort of merchants and traders
interested in the East.

The doctors met at "Batson's" or "Child's." The pseudonymous author
of Don Manoel Gonzales' _Voyage to Great Britain_, 1745, speaking of
the London physicians, says: "You find them at Batson's or Child's
Coffee-house usually in the morning, and they visit their patients
in the afternoon." The Jacobites had two well-known houses of
call--"Bromefield's" Coffee-house in Spring Gardens, and, later, the
"Smyrna" in Pall Mall. Mr. J. H. MacMichael, in his valuable book on
_Charing Cross_, 1906, quotes an order "given at their Majesties' Board
of Green Cloth at Hampton Court" in 1689, to Sir Christopher Wren,
Surveyor of Their Majesties' Works, to have "bricked or otherwise
so closed up as you shall judge most fit for the security of their
Majesties' Palace of Whitehall" a certain door which led out of
Buckingham Court into Spring Garden, because Bromefield's Coffee-house
in that court was resorted to by "a great and numerous concourse
of Papists and other persons disaffected to the Government." Mr.
MacMichael suggests that probably "Bromefield's" was identical with
the coffee-house known as "Young Man's." "The Smyrna," in Pall Mall,
was the Jacobite resort in Georgian days. It was also a house of many
literary associations. Thomson, the poet, there received subscriptions
for his _Seasons_; Swift and Prior and Arbuthnot frequented it. In
1703 Lord Peterborough wrote to Arbuthnot from Spain:--"I would faine
save Italy and yett drink tea with you at the Smirna this Winter." But
it is impossible to catalogue fully all the different coffee-house
centres. The "Grecian" in Devereux Court, Strand, was devoted to
learning; barristers frequented "Serle's," at the corner of Serle and
Portugal Streets, Lincoln's Inn Fields; the Templars went to "Dick's,"
and later to the "Grecian"; and so the list might be prolonged.

In the earlier days of the coffee-houses the coterie or club of regular
frequenters foregathered by the fire, or in some particular part of
the general room, or in an inner room. At "Will's" in Russell Street,
Covent Garden, where Mr. Pepys used to drop in to hear the talk,
Dryden, the centre of the literary circle which there assembled, had
his big arm-chair in winter by the fireside, and in summer on the
balcony. Around him gathered many men of letters, including Addison,
Wycherley, Congreve, and the juvenile Pope, and all who aspired to
be known as "wits." On the outskirts of the charmed circle hovered
the more humble and modest frequenters of the coffee-room, who were
proud to obtain the honour even of a pinch of snuff from the poet's
box. Across the road at "Button's," a trifle later, Addison became the
centre of a similar circle, though here the tone was political quite
as much as literary. Whig men of letters discussed politics as well as
books. Steele, Tickell, Budgell, Rowe, and Ambrose Phillips were among
the leading figures in this coterie. Pope was of it for a time, but
withdrew after his quarrel with Addison.

Whig politicians met at the "St. James's"; and Addison, in a
_Spectator_ of 1712, pictures the scene. A rumour of the death of Louis
XIV. had set the tongues going of all the gossips and quidnuncs in
town; and the essayist relates how he made a tour of the town to hear
how the news was received, and to catch the drift of popular opinion
on so momentous an event. In the course of his peregrinations the
silent gentleman visited the "St. James's," where he found the whole
outer room in a buzz of politics. The quality of the talk improved as
he advanced from the door to the upper end of the room; but the most
thorough-going politicians were to be found "in the inner room, with
the steam of the coffee-pot," and in this sanctum, says the humorist,
"I heard the whole Spanish monarchy disposed of, and all the line of
Bourbon provided for, in less than a quarter of an hour."

In later days coffee-house clubs became more exclusive. The members of
a club or coterie were allotted a room of their own, to which admission
ceased to be free and open, and thus was marked the beginning of the
transition from the coffee-house of the old style to the club-house
of the new. In _The Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1841 (Part II., pp.
265-9) is printed a paper of proposals, dated January 23rd, 1768, for
enlarging the accommodation for the club accustomed to meet at Tom's
Coffee-house, Great Russell Street, Covent Garden, by taking into the
coffee-room the first floor of the adjoining house. Admission to this
club was obtained by ballot.

Coffee-houses were frequented for various purposes besides coffee,
conversation, and business--professional or otherwise. The refreshments
supplied were by no means confined to such innocuous beverages
as tea and coffee and chocolate. Wines and spirits were freely
consumed--"laced" coffee, or coffee dashed with brandy, being decidedly
popular. Swift relates how on the occasion of his christening the
child of Elliot, the proprietor of the "St. James's," he sat at the
coffee-house among some "scurvy companions" over a bowl of punch so
late that when he came home he had no time to write to Stella. The
prolonged sittings and too copious libations of the company at Button's
Coffee-house gave the feeble and delicate Pope many a headache; and
Addison, who was notoriously a hard drinker, did not, we may feel
sure, confine himself during those prolonged sittings to coffee.

The coffee-houses were also public reading-rooms. There could be read
the newspapers and other periodical publications of the day. When Sir
Roger de Coverley entered "Squire's," near Gray's Inn Gate, he "called
for a clean pipe, a paper of tobacco, a dish of coffee, a wax candle,
and _The Supplement_."

Mackay, in his _Journey through England_, already quoted, says that "in
all the Coffee-houses you have not only the foreign prints, but several
English ones with the Foreign Occurrences, besides papers of morality
and party disputes." Swift, writing to Stella, November 18th, 1711,
says, "Do you read the _Spectators_? I never do; they never come in my
way; I go to no coffee-houses"; and when _The Tatler_ had disappeared,
a little earlier, Gay wrote that "the coffee-houses began to be
sensible that the Esquire's lucubrations alone had brought them more
customers than all their other newspapers put together." Periodical
publications were filed for reference; and at all the better houses
_The London Gazette_, and, during the session, the Parliamentary Votes
could be seen. At least one house possessed a library. This was the
"Chapter," in Paternoster Row, already referred to as a literary haunt.
Dr. Thomas Campbell, the author of a _Diary of a Visit to England in
1775_, which was published at Sydney in 1854, says that he had heard
that the "Chapter" was remarkable for a large collection of books and a
reading society.

The coffee-houses served as writing-rooms as well as reading-rooms.
Many of Steele's numerous love-letters to "dear Prue," the lady who
became his wife, the lovely Mary Scurlock, written both before and
after his marriage, are dated from the "St. James's," the "Tennis
Court," "Button's," or other coffee-house. But a popular coffee-room
could hardly have been an ideal place for either reading or writing. A
poet of 1690 says that

    "The murmuring buzz which thro' the room was sent,
    Did bee-hives' noise exactly represent,
    And like a bee-hive, too, 'twas filled, and thick,
    All tasting of the Honey Politick
    Called 'News,' which they all greedily sucked in."

And many years later, Gilly Williams, in a letter to George Selwyn,
dated November 1st, 1764, says: "I write this in a full coffee-house,
and with such materials, that you have good luck if you can read two
lines of it."

A curious proof of the close and intimate way in which the
coffee-houses were linked with social life is to be seen in the
occasional references, both in dramatic and prose literature, to
some of the well-known servants of the coffee-houses. Steele, in the
first number of _The Tatler_, refers familiarly to Humphrey Kidney,
the waiter and keeper of book debts at the "St. James's"--he "has the
ear of the greatest politicians that come hither"--and when Kidney
resigned, it was advertised that he had been "succeeded by John
Sowton, to whose place of caterer of messages and first coffee-grinder
William Bird is promoted, and Samuel Bardock comes as shoe-cleaner in
the room of the said Bird." "Robin, the Porter who waits at Will's
Coffee-house," plays a prominent part in a little romance narrated in
No. 398 of _The Spectator_. He is described as "the best man in the
town for carrying a billet; the fellow has a thin body, swift step,
demure looks, sufficient sense, and knows the town." A waiter of the
same name at Locket's, in Spring Gardens, is alluded to in Congreve's
_The Way of the World_, where the fashionable Lady Wishfort, when she
threatens to marry a "drawer" (or waiter), says, "I'll send for Robin
from Locket's immediately."

The coffee-houses were employed as agencies for the sale of many
things other than their own refreshments. Most of them sold the quack
medicines that were staringly advertised on their walls. Some sold
specific proprietary articles. A newspaper advertisement of 1711 says
that the water of Epsom Old Well was "pumped out almost every night,
that you may have the new mineral every morning," and that "the water
is sold at Sam's Coffee-house in Ludgate Street, Hargrave's at the
Temple Gate, Holtford's at the lower end of Queen's Street near Thames
Street, and nowhere else in London." A "Ticket of the seal of the
Wells" was affixed, so that purchasers "might not be cheated in their
waters." The "Royal" Coffee-house at Charing Cross, which flourished in
the time of Charles II., sold "Anderson's Pills"--a compound of cloves,
jalap, and oil of aniseed. At the same house were to be had tickets for
the various county feasts, then popular, which were an anticipation of
the annual dinners of county associations so common nowadays.

Razor-strops of a certain make were to be bought in 1705 at John's
Coffee-house, Exchange Alley. In 1742 it was advertised that "silver
tickets" (season tickets) for Ranelagh Gardens were to be had at any
hour of the day at Forrest's Coffee-house, near Charing Cross. "All
Sorts of the newest fashion'd Tye Perukes, made of fresh string, Humane
Hair, far exceeding any Country Work," were advertised in 1725 as to be
bought at Brown's Coffee-house in Spring Gardens.

House agents, professional men, and other folk of more questionable
kind, were all wont to advertise that they could be seen by clients
at this or that coffee-house. The famous and impudent Mrs. Mapp, "the
bone-setter," drove into town daily from Epsom in her own carriage,
and was to be seen (and heard) at the "Grecian." Most of the houses
were willing to receive letters in answer to advertisements, and
from the nature of the latter must often, it is pretty certain, have
been assisting parties to fraud and chicanery of various kind. At
some houses, besides those like Lloyd's specially devoted to auction
business, sales were held. A black boy was advertised to be sold at
Denis's Coffee-house in Finch Lane in 1708. In the middle of the
eighteenth century sales were often held at the "Apollo" Coffee-house,
just within Temple Bar, and facing Temple Gate. Picture sales were
usually held at coffee-houses. The catalogue of one such sale, held at
the "Barbadoes" Coffee-house in February, 1689/90, contains a glowing
address on the art of painting by Millington, the Auctioneer, written
in the style made famous later by George Robins. Says the eloquent
Millington:

     "This incomparable art at the same time informs the Judgment,
     pleases the Fancy, recreates the Eye, and touches the Soul,
     entertains the Curious with silent Instruction, by expressing
     our most noble Passions, and never fails of rewarding its
     admirers with the greatest Pleasures, so Innocent and
     Ravishing, that the severest Moralists, the Morosest _Stoicks_
     cannot be offended therewith,"

and so on and so on.

Many of the early book sales, too, were held at coffee-houses. The
third book auction in England, that of the library of the Rev. William
Greenhill, was held on February 18th, 1677/78, "in the House of
Ferdinand Stable, Coffee-Seller, at the Sign of the 'Turk's Head,'" in
Bread Street. When sales were held elsewhere, catalogues could usually
be had at some of the leading coffee-houses.

Besides serving as reading, writing and sale rooms, they seem sometimes
to have been used as lecture rooms. William Whiston, in his _Memoirs_
written by himself (1749), says:

     "Mr. Addison, with his friend Sir Richard Steele, brought me
     upon my banishment from Cambridge, to have many astronomical
     lectures at Mr. Button's coffee-house, near Covent Garden, to
     the agreeable entertainment of a great number of persons, and
     the procuring me and my family some comfortable support under
     my banishment."

Some of the houses, as an additional attraction to visitors, offered
exhibitions of collections of curiosities. The most famous collection
of this kind was that to be seen for many years at Don Saltero's
Coffee-house at Chelsea. Don Saltero, by the way, was simply plain
James Salter disguised. Some of his exhibits were supplied by his
former master, Sir Hans Sloane, and by other scientific friends and
patrons. But mixed with things of genuine interest were to be seen all
sorts of rubbish. Steele made fun of the collection in _The Tatler_.
But people came to see the "piece of nun's skin tanned," "Job's tears,
which grow on a tree, and of which anodyne necklaces are made," a
"waistcoat to prevent sweating," and the many other strange articles
which were shown side by side with the wooden shoe (of doubtful
authenticity, one would think) which was placed under Mr. Speaker's
chair in the time of James II., the King of Morocco's tobacco pipe,
Oliver Cromwell's sword, and the like "historical" curiosities; and
Mr. Salter had no reason to be dissatisfied with the results of his
ingenuity. The most interesting association of this coffee-house,
perhaps, is Pennant's story of how it was frequented by Richard
Cromwell, the quondam Lord Protector, described in his peaceful age as
"a little and very neat old man, with a most placid countenance, the
effect of his innocent and unambitious life."

Not far from Don Saltero's was the old Chelsea Bun-house, which also
contained a museum. The last relics of this collection were sold in
April, 1839, and included a few pictures, plaster casts, a model of
the bun-house, another, in cut paper, of St. Mary Redcliff Church, and
other things of a still more trumpery character.

Richard Thoresby tells us that when he was in London, in the summer
of 1714, he met his "old friend Dr. Sloane at the coffee-house of Mr.
Miers, who hath a handsome collection of curiosities in the room where
the virtuosi meet." As the name of the proprietor only is given, it is
not easy to identify this house, but possibly it was the "Grecian" in
Devereux Court, which was a favourite resort of the learned. It was
at the "Grecian," by the way, that Goldsmith, in the latter years of
his life, was often the life and soul of the Templars who were wont
to meet there. In their company he sometimes amused himself with the
flute, or with whist--"neither of which he played very well." When he
took what he called a "Shoemaker's holiday," Goldsmith, after his day's
excursion, "concluded by supping at the 'Grecian' or 'Temple-Exchange'
Coffee-house, or at the 'Globe' in Fleet Street."

A word must be said as to the manners of the frequenters of
coffee-houses. The author of _A Trip through London_, 1728, tells
of fops who stare you out of countenance, and describes one man as
standing with his back to the fire "in a great coffee-house near the
Temple," and there spouting poetry--a remarkable specimen, indeed, of
the bore; but on the whole the evidence goes to show that bad manners
were usually resented by the rest of the company, and that good humour
and good manners were marked characteristics of coffee-house life.
There were exceptional incidents, of course. A fatal duel once resulted
from a heated argument at the "Grecian" about a Greek accent. One
day, soon after the first appearance of _The Tatler_, two or three
well-dressed men walked into the coffee-room of the "St. James's,"
and began in a loud, truculent manner to abuse Steele as the author
of that paper. One of them at last swore that he would cut Steele's
throat or teach him better manners. Among the company present was Lord
Forbes, with two friends, officers of high rank in the army. When the
cut-throat had uttered his threat, Lord Forbes said significantly,
"In this country you will find it easier to cut a purse than to cut a
throat," and with the aid of the military gentlemen the bullies were
ignominiously turned out of the house. Many years later, in 1776, the
"St. James's" was the scene of a singular act of senseless violence. It
is tersely described in a letter from Lord Carlisle to George Selwyn.
He writes:

     "The Baron de Lingsivy ran a French officer through the body
     on Thursday for laughing in the St. James's Coffee-house. I
     find he did not pretend that he himself was laughed at, but at
     that moment he chose that the world should be grave. The man
     won't die, and the baron will not be hanged."

Incidents of this kind, however, were of rare occurrence.

But it is impossible to attempt to exhaust the subject of the Old
London Coffee-houses in one brief chapter. For a hundred years they
focussed the life of the town. Within their hospitable walls men of
all classes and occupations, independently, or in clubs and coteries,
met not only for refreshment, but for social intercourse--to read and
hear the news, to discuss the topics of the day, to entertain and be
entertained. This was the chief end they served. Incidentally, as we
have seen, they served a number of other subsidiary and more of less
useful purposes. They died slowly. Gradually the better-class houses
became more exclusive, and were merged in clubs of the modern kind.
The inferior houses were driven from public favour by the taverns and
public-houses, or, degenerating from their former condition, lingered
on as coffee-houses still, but of the lower type, which is not yet
quite extinct.




THE LEARNED SOCIETIES OF LONDON

BY SIR EDWARD BRABROOK, C.B., F.S.A.


In a sense some of the City Guilds are entitled to be called "learned
societies"--as the Apothecaries, the Parish Clerks, the Stationers,
and the Surgeons--but they are dealt with under their proper head. By
the learned societies of London, we mean here those voluntary bodies
existing with or without royal patronage, but relying wholly for
support on the contributions of their members, which have taken upon
themselves the promotion of knowledge in one or more of its branches.
The earliest which we have been able to trace is that Society of
Antiquaries which was founded in 1572, the fourteenth year of Queen
Elizabeth, at the house of Sir Robert Cotton, under the presidency of
Archbishop Parker. It counted among its members Lancelot Andrewes,
Bishop of Winchester, William Camden, Sir William Dethicke, Garter,
William Lambarde, James Ley, Earl of Marlborough, John Stow, Mr.
Justice Whitelock, and other antiquaries of distinction. It is said
that James I. became alarmed for the arcana of his Government and, as
some thought, for the established Church, and accordingly put an end to
the existence of the society in 1604.

His grandson, Charles II., founded the Royal Society of London for
improving natural knowledge in the year 1660, and thus gave effect to a
project which had been in the minds of many learned men for some time,
is expounded by Bacon in his scheme of Solomon's house, and is perhaps
best embodied in a letter which was addressed by John Evelyn to the
Hon. Robert Boyle on September 1, 1659. The first meeting recorded in
the journals of the society was held on November 28, 1660, and Evelyn
was elected a member on December 26 of that year. Sir R. Moray was the
first president. Graunt aptly called the society "The King's Privy
Council for Philosophy." Statutes were duly framed by the society, and
received the King's approval in January, 1662-3. For many years it held
its meetings at Gresham College, with an interval of about four years
(1669-1673), when it occupied Chelsea College. Its charters (dated
1662, 1663, and 1669) gave it many privileges, among others that of
using a mace, and it was formerly said that the one used by the society
was the identical mace or "bauble" of the Long Parliament, but that is
an error. The society began in 1663 the excellent practice, which has
continued to the present day, of celebrating the anniversary by dining
together on St. Andrew's Day (November 30). It began on February 21,
1665-6, the formation of its museum, a catalogue of which was published
in 1681. Many of its meetings were devoted to practical experiment;
thus, on November 14, 1666, the operation of the transfusion of blood
from one dog to another was performed in the presence of the members.
In 1671 Isaac Newton sent his reflecting telescope to the society, and
on January 11, 1671-2, he was elected a fellow. On April 28, 1686,
the manuscript of his _Principia_ was presented to the society, and
it was published by the society in the following year. Many great men
have been presidents of the society. Among them may be mentioned Sir
Christopher Wren, elected president January 12, 1680-1; Samuel Pepys,
1684; Lord Somers, Chancellor of England, 1698; Isaac Newton, 1703; Sir
Hans Sloane, on the death of Newton, 1726-7; Martin Folkes, who was
also a well-remembered President of the Society of Antiquaries, 1741;
the Earl of Macclesfield, 1753; succeeded on his death by the Earl of
Morton, 1764; James West, 1768; James Barrow, and shortly afterwards,
Sir John Pringle, 1772; Sir Joseph Banks, 1777; Wollaston, 1820; Davies
Gilbert, 1826. In 1830, a contested election took place between the
Duke of Sussex and Herschel the astronomer, when His Royal Highness was
elected by 119 votes to 111.

The Government have frequently availed themselves of the existence
of the Royal Society to entrust it with important public duties. On
December 12, 1710, the fellows of the society were appointed visitors
of the Royal Observatory. On February 7, 1712/3, the King requested
the society to supply enquiries for his ambassadors. In 1742, and
afterwards, it assisted in the determination of the standards. In 1780
its public services were recognised by the grant of apartments in
Somerset House. In 1784 it undertook a geodetical survey. Recently it
has been entrusted by Parliament with a sum of £4,000 a year, which it
allots towards encouraging scientific research. It has promoted many
public movements, such as Arctic expeditions, magnetic observations,
and the like. Originally its members were drawn from two classes--the
working-men of science and the patrons of science; and the idea is
even now maintained by certain privileges in respect of election given
to privy councillors and peers; but the recent tendency has been to
restrict its fellowship to persons eminent in physical science. The
Royal Society Club was founded in 1743, and still flourishes.

After the summary proceedings of James I., in 1604, the antiquaries
seem to have allowed the whole of the seventeenth century to pass
without any further attempt at organisation, though we learn from Mr.
Ashmole that on July 2, 1659, an antiquaries' feast was held, and many
renowned antiquaries, such as Dugdale, Spelman, Selden, and Anthony à
Wood flourished at that time. On November 5, 1707, three antiquaries
met at the "Bear" Tavern in the Strand, and agreed to hold a weekly
meeting at the same place on Fridays at 6 o'clock, "and sit till ten at
farthest." Other antiquaries joined them, and they removed next year to
the "Young Devil" Tavern in Fleet Street, where Le Neve became their
president.

[Illustration:

THE

ROYAL SOCIETY'S

LETTER.

I have (by Order of the Royal Society) seen and examined the Method
used by Mr JOHN MARSHALL, for grinding Glasses; and find that he
performs the said Work with greater Ease and Certainty than hitherto
has been practised; by means of an Invention which I take to be
his own, and New; and whereby he is enabled to make a great number
of Optick-Glasses at one time, and all exactly alike; which having
reported to the Royal Society, they were pleased to approve thereof, as
an Invention of great use; and highly to deserve Encouragement.

  Lond. Jan. 18.       By the Command of the
  1693, 4.              Royal Society.

  EDM. HALLEY.

_Note_, There are several Persons who pretend to have the Approbation
of the ROYAL SOCIETY; but none has, or ever had it, but my self; as my
Letter can testifie.

_Marshall_s True SPECTACLES.

AN EARLY LETTER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, DATED JANUARY 18TH, 1693-4.]

In 1717 they resolved to form themselves into a society, which is the
Society of Antiquaries now existing. Its minutes have been regularly
kept since January 1, 1718. The first volume bears the motto:

  "Nec veniam antiquis, sed honorem et præmia posci.

                        "Stukeley, secr., 1726";

and the whole of the volume appears to be in Stukeley's autograph.

In a quaint preliminary memorandum, he enumerates the "antient
monuments" the society was to study, as:

     "Old Citys, Stations, Camps, public Buildings, Roads, Temples,
     Abbys, Churches, Statues, Tombs, Busts, Inscriptions,
     Castles, Ruins, Altars, Ornaments, Utensils, Habits, Seals,
     Armour, Pourtraits, Medals, Urns, Pavements, Mapps, Charts,
     Manuscripts, Genealogy, Historys, Observations, Emendations of
     Books, already published, and whatever may properly belong to
     the History of Bryttish Antiquitys."

The earlier publications of the society consisted of a series of
fine prints engraved by George Vertue. In 1747 it began the issue of
_Vetusta Monumenta_, and in 1770 the first edition of the first volume
of _Archæologia, or Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity_,
appeared. The Society's resources were modest. In the year 1736 its
income was only £61, but its expenditure was not more than £11, and its
accumulated funds amounted to £134. In 1752 it obtained from George
II., who declared himself to be the founder and patron of the society,
a Royal Charter of Incorporation, reciting that:

     "the study of Antiquity and the History of former times, has
     ever been esteemed highly commendable and usefull, not only to
     improve the minds of men, but also to incite them to virtuous
     and noble actions, and such as may hereafter render them
     famous and worthy examples to late posterity."

The qualifications of a fellow are thus defined in the charter:--

     "By how much any persons shall be more excelling in the
     knowledge of the Antiquities and History of this and other
     nations; by how much the more they are desirous to promote
     the Honour, Business, and Emoluments of this Society; and by
     how much the more eminent they shall be for Piety, Virtue,
     Integrity, and Loyalty: by so much the more fit and worthy
     shall such person be judged of being elected and admitted into
     the said Society."

Like the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries was to have
and employ a sergeant-at-mace, and apartments were allotted to it
in Somerset House. From this close neighbourhood grew an intimate
association between the two societies. Many persons belonged to both,
and although the paths of the two societies have since diverged, that
is still so in the case of about twenty fellows. A practice grew up
of attending each other's meetings. For more than forty years that
agreeable form of interchange has ceased, and the societies contemplate
each other from opposite corners of the quadrangle of Burlington House.
The Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries dined together for many years
on St. George's Day, April 23, the day prescribed for their anniversary
by the charter; but after a while the custom fell into disuse, and it
has only been revived of late years.

In 1753 the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and
Commerce, now called the Royal Society of Arts, was established. It
held its first public meeting in March, 1754. It was incorporated by
Royal Charter in 1847, and has for its objects:--

     "the encouragement of the arts, manufactures, and commerce
     of the country, by bestowing rewards for such productions,
     inventions, or improvements as tend to the employment of the
     poor, to the increase of trade, and to the riches and honour
     of the kingdom; and for meritorious works in the various
     departments of the fine arts; for discoveries, inventions
     and improvements in agriculture, chemistry, mechanics,
     manufactures, and other useful arts; for the application
     of such natural and artificial products, whether of home,
     colonial, or foreign growth and manufacture, as may appear
     likely to afford fresh objects of industry, and to increase
     the trade of the realm by extending the sphere of British
     commerce; and generally to assist in the advancement,
     development, and practical application of every department
     of science in connection with the arts, manufactures, and
     commerce of this country."

Between 1754 and 1783 it distributed £28,434 by way of premiums for
inventions. For more than a century and a half the society has devoted
itself with unabated zeal to the promotion of its objects--by meetings,
examinations, exhibitions, and in many other ways.

On January 13, 1800, the Royal Institution was founded. In the words
of one of its most distinguished professors, it has been a fertile
source of the popularity of science. By means of its lectures, its
laboratories, its libraries, and its rewards for research, it greatly
stimulated public interest in scientific pursuits when there were few
other bodies in existence capable of doing so. It continues to perform
the same useful function, notwithstanding the great increase in the
number of specialist societies since it was established. A feature of
its lectures is the annual course "adapted to a juvenile auditory." It
has appointed as its professors some of the most illustrious scientific
men, such as Sir Humphry Davy (up to 1812), Brande (1813 to 1852, and
afterwards as honorary professor), Faraday (1852), and Tyndall (1853).
The late Prince Consort (Albert the Good) took great interest in its
work, and frequently presided at its weekly meetings. It has a Board of
Managers, and also a Committee of Visitors, annually elected, and the
visitors make an annual report on the state of the institution. After
some early pecuniary difficulties it entered on a career of steady
prosperity.

In 1807 the Geological Society was founded. The science of geology
was very much opposed to popular notions derived from a literal
interpretation of the Hebrew cosmogony, and was accordingly unpopular
among those who held those notions; but the society steadily pursued
its object, and can now look back upon the hundred years of its
existence with pride and satisfaction. In one of his presidential
addresses Sir Charles Lyell quoted the observation of Hutton, that
"We can see neither the beginning nor the end of that vast series of
phenomena which it is our business as geologists to investigate."
Leonard Horner, another distinguished president, claimed that the
society had been a "powerful instrument for the advancement of
geological science, a centre of good fellowship, and a band of
independent scientific men, who steadily and fearlessly promote the
cause of truth." The society grants an annual medal, founded in memory
of Wollaston, which has been frequently awarded to foreign geologists
of distinction; and it also administers a fund bequeathed by him to
promote useful researches in geology.

In November, 1820, Dr. Burgess, the Bishop of St. David's, obtained
an audience of King George IV., and laid before him a plan for the
establishment of a Royal Society of Literature. The King took so
warm an interest in the project as to assign out of his privy purse
an annual sum of 1,100 guineas, out of which pensions of 100 guineas
each were awarded to ten royal associates of the society, and two
medals annually granted to distinguished literary men. Among the
royal associates were Samuel Taylor Coleridge, T. R. Malthus, William
Roscoe, and Sharon Turner. Among the medallists were Dugald Stewart,
Walter Scott, Robert Southey, Washington Irving, and Henry Hallam. Upon
September 15, 1825, the society received its Charter of Incorporation,
in which its object is defined to be:--

     "the advancement of literature by the publication of inedited
     remains of ancient literature, and of such works as may be
     of great intrinsic value, but not of that popular character
     which usually claims the attention of publishers; by the
     promotion of discoveries in literature; by endeavouring to fix
     the standard, as far as is practicable, and to preserve the
     purity of the English language; by the critical improvement
     of English lexicography; by the reading at public meetings of
     interesting papers on history, philosophy, poetry, philology,
     and the arts, and the publication of such of those papers as
     shall be approved of; by the assigning of honorary rewards to
     works of great literary merit, and to important discoveries in
     literature; and by establishing a correspondence with learned
     men in foreign countries for the purpose of literary enquiry
     and information."

The first method, the publication of inedited and other works, has
been greatly promoted by a bequest to the society of £1,692 from the
Rev. Dr. Richards. Out of the income of this fund the _Orations of
Hyperides_, edited by the Rev. Churchill Babington; the _Discourses
of Philoxenus_, by Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge; the _Chronicle of Adam
of Usk_, by Sir E. Maunde Thompson; Coleridge's _Christabel_, by
E. H. Coleridge; and other valuable works have been provided. The
_Transactions_ of the society also contain many important papers. On
the death of George IV. the annual gift of 100 guineas to each of
the ten royal associates was withdrawn. The society now acknowledges
literary merit by the award of the diploma of Honorary Fellow. In this
capacity many distinguished authors, both in this country and abroad,
have been and are associated with the society.

In its early years the society was hotly attacked by Macaulay, who
held that its claim to be an appreciator of excellence in literature
involved a claim to condemn literature of which it disapproved, and
was equivalent to the establishment of a literary star-chamber. He
illustrated this by a rather feeble apologue, and nothing in the
subsequent history of the society has shown that his apprehensions
had any foundation. It has been very modest in the exercise of the
functions conferred upon it by its charter, which included the
foundation of a college and the appointment of professors. At one time
it did appoint a professor of English archæology and history, and it
called upon every royal associate on his admission to select some
branch of literature on which it should be his duty, once a year at
least, to communicate some disquisition or essay. The subject chosen by
Coleridge was a characteristic one:--

     "The relations of opposition and conjunction, in which the
     poetry (the Homeric and tragic), the religion, and the
     mysteries of ancient Greece stood each to the other; with
     the differences between the sacerdotal and popular religion;
     and the influences of theology and scholastic logic on the
     language and literature of Christendom from the 11th century."

In pursuance of this undertaking he communicated a disquisition on the
"Prometheus" of Æschylus.

In 1827 the Royal Asiatic Society was founded. As its title implies,
it devotes itself to the study of the languages, the literature, the
history, and the traditions of the peoples of Asia, especially of those
inhabiting our Indian dependency. It has enrolled in its ranks many,
if not all, the great Indian administrators and the most distinguished
Asiatic scholars. Daughter societies have been established in the three
Presidencies, and have contributed to the collection of materials for
its work. Its transactions are of acknowledged value and authority.
In its rooms at Albemarle Street a library and museum have been
collected. Its latest publication is a collection of Baluchi poems by
Mr. Longworth Dames, which has also been issued to the members of the
Folk-lore Society.

On September 26, 1831, the British Association for the Advancement
of Science held its first meeting at York. It originated in a letter
addressed by Sir David Brewster to Professor Phillips, as secretary to
the York Philosophical Society. The statement of its objects appended
to its rules, as drawn up by the Rev. William Vernon Harcourt, is as
follows:--

     "The Association contemplates no interference with the ground
     occupied by other institutions. Its objects are:--To give a
     stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific
     inquiry--to promote the intercourse of those, who cultivate
     science in different parts of the British Empire, with one
     another and with foreign philosophers--to obtain a more
     general attention to the objects of science, and a removal of
     any disadvantages of a public kind which impede its progress."

The association was well described by the late Mr. Spottiswoode
as "general in its comprehensiveness; special in its sectional
arrangement." The general business of its meetings consists (1) in
receiving and discussing communications upon scientific subjects at
the various sections into which it is divided; (2) in distributing,
under the advice of a Committee of Recommendations, the funds arising
from the subscriptions of members and associates; and (3) in electing
a council upon whom devolves the conduct of affairs until the next
meeting. Although the meetings are held in all parts of the United
Kingdom, and have been held in Canada and South Africa, the British
Association may be correctly described as a London learned society, as
its headquarters are in London, where the council meets and directs
its continuous activities. One principal feature of its work, that
of the Research Committees, which, either with or without a grant of
money, pursue special enquiries with the view of reporting to the
next annual meeting, continues throughout the year. The original
designation of what are now the sections was "Committees of Sciences,"
and these were--(1) mathematics and general physics, (2) chemistry and
mineralogy, (3) geology and geography, (4) zoology and botany, (5)
anatomy and physiology, (6) statistics. The sectional arrangement was
begun in 1835, and the sections are now constituted as follows--(_a_)
mathematical and physical science, (_b_) chemistry, (_c_) geology,
(_d_) zoology, (_e_) geography, (_f_) economic science and statistics,
(_g_) engineering, (_h_) anthropology, (_i_) physiology, (_k_) botany,
(_l_) educational science. At each annual meeting, which lasts a week,
the president of the next meeting is chosen, but the previous president
remains in office until the first day (Wednesday) of that meeting, when
he introduces his successor, who delivers an address. Many memorable
addresses have been delivered by the distinguished men who have held
that office. Each section has also a president, chosen for the year,
and he delivers an address at the opening of the proceedings of his
section. These addresses usually relate to the progress during the
year, or during recent years, of the science dealt with by the section,
or to some interesting matter developed by the personal researches of
the president himself. Men of eminence in the various sciences are
generally selected for and willingly accept the office of Sectional
President. The meetings of the British Association have been called
a "Parliament of Science," and its influence in promoting scientific
movements and rendering science popular has been very great.

In 1833 the Royal Geographical Society was founded. It may fairly be
called the most popular of all the special societies, having about
4,000 members. It is also one of the most wealthy, having an income of
about £10,000 a year. It has accumulated a fine series of maps, and a
large library of geographical literature. Its quarterly journal is a
store-house of the most recent information relating to geographical
exploration. By medals and other rewards to explorers, by prizes
awarded in schools and training colleges, by the loan of instruments to
travellers, by the preparation of codes of instruction for their use,
and in many other ways, it applies its resources to the extension of
geographical knowledge. It has taken an active part in the promotion
of Arctic and Antarctic exploration. As geographical researches are
matters of great public interest, its meetings are sometimes important
social functions, as on a recent occasion, when a foreign prince was
the lecturer, and our King attended and spoke.

On March 15, 1834, the Statistical Society (now Royal Statistical) was
founded. It was one of the first fruits of the activity of the British
Association, which established a Statistical Committee at the Cambridge
meeting in 1833, with Babbage as president. Their report recommended
the formation of a society for the careful collection, arrangement,
discussion, and publication of facts bearing on or illustrating the
complex relations of modern society in its social, economical, and
political aspects, especially facts which can be stated numerically and
arranged in tables. The first president was the Marquis of Lansdowne,
and among his successors have been many statesmen, such as Lord John
Russell, Mr. Gladstone, and Lord Goschen; authorities on finance, as
Lord Overstone, Mr. Newmarch, and Lord Avebury; and eminent writers on
statistics, as Dr. Farr, Sir Robert Giffen, and the Right Hon. Charles
Booth. As becomes the orderly mind of a statistician, the society has
been very regular in its publications, having for seventy years issued
a yearly volume in quarterly parts, which form a veritable mine of
statistical information.

The society presents a Guy medal (in memory of Dr. W. A. Guy) to the
authors of valuable papers or to others who have promoted its work, and
a Howard medal (in memory of the great philanthropist) to the author of
the best essay on a prescribed subject, generally having relation to
the public health. It has accumulated a fine library of about 40,000
volumes of a special character, containing the statistical publications
of all civilised countries. It has conducted some special enquiries--as
into medical charities, the production and consumption of meat and
milk, and the farm school system of the Continent--upon which it has
published reports.

Among recent developments of statistical method in which the society
has taken part may be mentioned the use of index-numbers for affording
a standard of comparison between statistics of different years, and
a means of correction of errors that would otherwise arise; and the
increasing use of the higher mathematical analysis in determining
the probabilities of error and defining the curves of frequency in
statistical observations. Professor Edgeworth, Messrs. Bowley, Yule,
Hooker, and others, have made contributions to the _Journal_ of the
society on these matters.

In 1844 an Ethnological Society was established, under the presidency
of Sir Charles Malcolm. Dr. Richard King, the founder, became its
secretary. In 1846 Dr. J. C. Prichard became president, and he and
Dr. King fulfilled respectively the same functions in an ethnological
sub-section of the section of zoology of the British Association, which
then met for the first time. In Prichard's first anniversary address
to the society, he defines ethnology as "the history of human races
or of the various tribes of men who constitute the population of the
world. It comprehends all that can be learned as to their origin and
relations to each other." Prichard died in 1848, and Sir C. Malcolm
resumed the presidency, which he held until his death on November 12,
1851. In that year ethnology was transferred from the zoological to
the geographical section of the British Association. Sir B. C. Brodie
became the next president of the society. He retired in 1854, and was
succeeded by Sir James Clark. The fourth and last volume of the first
series of the society's _Journal_ was published in 1856, and a series
of _Transactions_ begun in 1861. At that time Mr. John Crawfurd was
president of the society, and he retained the office until his death in
1868, when he was succeeded by Professor Huxley.

In 1862 Dr. James Hunt, the Honorary Foreign Secretary of the
Ethnological Society, withdrew from it, and founded the Anthropological
Society of London, which held its first meeting on February 24, 1863,
under his presidency. In his inaugural address, he defined anthropology
as the science of the whole nature of man, and ethnology as the
history or science of nations or races. The new society was active
and aggressive. It published translations of works of such writers
as Broca, Pouchet, Vogt, and Waitz, and of the famous treatise of
Blumenbach. Some of the papers read before it attracted much attention,
and were thought to have a political bias. Many men whose names were
well known in the scientific world adhered to the Ethnological
Society, and that society, under Mr. Crawfurd, entered upon a more
active career. The rivalry between the two societies was prosecuted
with great vigour until January, 1871, when Professor Huxley effected
an amalgamation between them.

The title of the combined societies was agreed upon as the
"Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland," to which,
in 1907, has been added by the King's command the prefix "Royal." In
1871 the department of ethnology in the section of biology in the
British Association became the department of anthropology, and in 1884
anthropology became a section of itself. This was the final recognition
by the Parliament of Science that Hunt had fought for twenty years
before. In the interval, the claim of anthropology to this recognition
had been established by many great works, such as Huxley's _Man's
Place in Nature_, Darwin's _Descent of Man_, Tylor's _Early History
of Mankind_, and Lubbock's _Prehistoric Times_. Besides its annual
_Journal_, the Anthropological Institute publishes a monthly periodical
entitled _Man_, and it has issued several separate monographs. In
1878 the branch of anthropology, aptly termed "Folk-lore" by the late
Mr. W. J. Thoms, became so popular as to call for the establishment
of a separate society, which publishes a quarterly journal entitled
_Folk-lore_, and has annually issued one or more volumes of collections
of folk-lore.

In 1844 a new departure was taken by the establishment of the British
Archæological Association, a body which was intended to take the
same place with regard to archæology that the British Association
occupied with regard to science, holding meetings in various parts of
the country where there existed objects of specially archæological
interest. It held its first meeting at Canterbury, under the presidency
of Lord Albert Conyngham (afterwards Lord Londesborough), and arranged
its work in four sections--primæval, mediæval, architectural, and
historical. Before a second meeting could be held, violent dissensions
arose, and the association split into two. In the result honours were
divided between the two bodies, those who retained the leadership
of Lord Albert retaining also the title of British Archæological
Association; while those who had for their president the Marquis of
Northampton retained the control of the _Archæological Journal_, and
adopted the title of "Archæological Institute of Great Britain and
Ireland," to which has since been prefixed the word "Royal." Both
bodies still exist, though the causes of controversy have long died out.

Shortly afterwards, County Archæological Societies in London and
greater London began to be formed. In 1846 the Sussex Society, in 1853
the Essex Society, in 1854 the Surrey Society, in 1855 the London and
Middlesex Society, and in 1857 the Kent Society were established.
Each of these societies has published transactions and other works of
solid value. In each the annual or more frequent excursion to places
of archæological interest within the county is an essential feature,
tending to the dissemination of knowledge and to the preservation
of antiquities, and affording the advantages of social intercourse.
Societies have also been established for the like purposes within
more restricted areas, as in Hampstead, Battersea, Balham, Lewisham,
Whitechapel, and elsewhere.

Of merely publishing societies, the Percy, the Camden, the Shakespeare,
and the Arundel have run their course; but many others, as the
Roxburgh, the Harleian, the New Palæographic, and the Palæontological
still exist to delight their subscribers with the reproduction of rare
works.

In this summary account of the principal Learned Societies of London it
has not been possible to include many societies of great importance,
such as the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, the numerous
societies connected with other professional pursuits, the Linnæan,
Zoological, Botanical, and other societies devoted to natural history;
the Royal Astronomical Society, which has important public functions;
the Royal Academy, and other institutions devoted to art. The roll of
Learned Societies is being constantly increased. Among recent additions
may be mentioned the British Academy for Historical Studies, and the
Sociological Society.




LITERARY SHRINES OF OLD LONDON

BY ELSIE M. LANG

From the Borough to St. James's


Leigh Hunt was of opinion that "one of the best secrets of enjoyment is
the art of cultivating pleasant associations," and, with his example
before us, we will endeavour to recall some of those that are to be
met with on a walk from the Borough to St. James's, from one of the
poorest parts of our city to one of the richest. The Borough, dusty,
noisy, toil-worn as it is, is yet, he tells us, "the most classical
ground in the metropolis." From the "Tabard" inn--now only a memory,
though its contemporary, the "George," hard by, gives us some idea
of its look in mediæval times--there rode forth, one bright spring
morning, "Sir Jeffrey Chaucer" and "nyne and twenty" pilgrims "in a
companye ... to wenden on (a) pilgrimage to Caunterbury with ful devout
courage." A fellow-poet of Chaucer's, John Gower, lies buried close at
hand in Southwark Cathedral, "under a tomb of stone, with his image of
stone also over him." He was one of the earliest benefactors of this
church, then known as St. Mary Overy, and founded therein a chantry,
where masses should be said for the benefit of his soul. Stones in
the pavement of the choir likewise commemorate John Fletcher, Philip
Massinger, and Edmund Shakespeare, who lie in unmarked graves somewhere
within the precincts of the cathedral.

Not a stone's throw from the Borough is the Bankside, extending from
Blackfriars Bridge out beyond Southwark, a mean and dirty thoroughfare,
with the grey Thames on one side, and on the other dull houses, grimy
warehouses, and gloomy offices. How changed from the semi-rural resort
of Elizabethan days, when swans floated on the river, and magnificent
barges, laden with gaily dressed nobles and their attendants, were
continually passing by! Great must have been the pleasure traffic
then, for according to Taylor, "the Water Poet," who plied his trade
as waterman and wrote his verses on the Bankside in the early days of
Elizabeth's successor, "the number of watermen and those that live
and are maintained by them, and by the labour of the oar and scull,
between the bridge of Windsor and Gravesend, cannot be fewer than
forty thousand; the cause of the greater half of which multitude hath
been the players playing on the Bankside." Besides the players, the
brilliant band of dramatists who shed lustre on the reign of the maiden
Queen frequented it, not only on account of the pleasantness of its
situation, but because of the near proximity of the theatres, for the
Globe, the Rose, and the Hope all stood on the site now occupied by
the brewery of Messrs. Barclay and Perkins, while the Swan was not
far off. It is a well-authenticated fact that both Shakespeare and
Ben Jonson played at the Globe, and patronised the "Falcon" tavern,
the name of which still lingers in Falcon Dock and Falcon Wharf, Nos.
79 and 80, Bankside; and while in the meantime they were producing
their masterpieces, Chapman, Dekker, and Middleton were at the height
of their fame, Beaumont and Fletcher about to begin their career, and
Philip Massinger was newly arrived in town. Some of these Bankside
dramatists were well born and rich--such as Francis Beaumont, whose
father was a Knight and a Justice of the Common Pleas; and John
Fletcher, who was a son of the Bishop of London. Others were of
obscure birth and penniless--like Ben Jonson, who had been forced to
follow the trade of a bricklayer, and Dekker and Marston, whom he
twitted "with their defective doublet and ravelled satin sleeves," and
Philip Massinger, who in early days went about begging urgently for
the loan of £5. But whatever they had or lacked, certain it is that
their common art levelled all barriers between them, for though the
chief of all the friendships on the Bankside was that of Beaumont and
Fletcher--between whom was "a wonderful consimilarity of fancy ...
which caused the dearnesse of friendship between them so that they
lived together on the Bankside ... (and had) the same cloaths and
cloaks between them"--yet Massinger collaborated with Fletcher in at
least thirteen plays, with Dekker in one, and with Ford in two, while
Dekker was occasionally associated with Middleton, and Middleton with
Webster and Drayton. But the Elizabethan dramatists did not confine
themselves to the Bankside; on certain nights they repaired to the
"Mermaid" tavern, which used to stand on the south side of Cheapside,
between Bread and Friday Streets, to attend the meetings of the famous
Mermaid Club, said to have been founded by Sir Walter Raleigh. Here
were to be found Shakespeare, Spenser, Beaumont, Fletcher, Ben Jonson,
Carew, Donne, and many others, in eager witty converse. Beaumont
well described the brilliancy of these gatherings in his poem to Ben
Jonson:--

    "What things have we seen
    Done at the Mermaid! Heard words that have been
    So nimble, and so full of subtle flame,
    As if that everyone from whence they came
    Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest
    And had resolved to live a fool the rest
    Of his dull life."

Another favourite haunt of theirs was the "Boar's Head," which stood
on the spot now marked by the statue of William IV., at the junction
of Eastcheap and Gracechurch Street. At this tavern Falstaff and
Prince Hal concocted many of their wildest pranks. In later days the
Elizabethan poets and dramatists, led by Ben Jonson, went even further
afield--to the "Devil" tavern, which stood at No. 1, Fleet Street,
where they held their meetings in a room called the "Apollo," the chief
adornments of which, a bust of Apollo and a board with an inscription,
"Welcome to the oracle of Apollo," are still to be seen in an upper
room of Messrs. Child's Bank, which now occupies the site. Ben Jonson
tells us that "the first speech in my 'Catiline,' spoken to _Scylla's
Ghost_, was writ after I had parted with my friends at the 'Devil'
tavern; I had drank well that night, and had brave notions."

We have records of the deaths of two at least of these dramatists on
the Bankside--viz., that of Philip Massinger, who died "in his own
house, near the play-house on the Bankside," in 1639; and Fletcher,
"who dyed of the plague on the 19th of August, 1625." "The parish
clerk," says Aubrey, "told me that he was his (Fletcher's) Taylor, and
that Mr. Fletcher staying for a suit of cloathes before he retired into
the country, Death stopped his journey and laid him low there."

Cheapside, so named from the Chepe, or old London market, along the
south side of the site of which it runs, has been a place of barter
ever since the reign of Henry VI., when a market was held there daily
for the sale of every known commodity. It is easy to see where the
vendors of some of the articles had their stands by the names of the
surrounding streets--Bread Street, Fish Street, Milk Street, etc.
Later on the stalls were transformed into permanent shops, with a
dwelling-place for their owners above, and a fair-sized garden at the
back. Despite the commercial spirit that has always pervaded this
region, it has given birth to two famous poets--the sweet songster
Herrick, who sings in one of his poems of

    "The golden Cheapside where the earth
    Of Julia Herrick gave to me my birth,"

golden, perhaps, having reference to his father, who was a goldsmith;
and greater still, John Milton, who first saw the light in Bread
Street, at the sign of the "Spread Eagle," in a house which was
afterwards destroyed in the Great Fire. It must have been a house
of comfortable dimensions, for it covered the site now occupied by
Nos. 58 to 63, the business premises of a firm who exhibit a bust of
Milton, with an inscription, in a room on their top floor. Milton's
father, moreover, had grown rich in his profession, which was that of
a scrivener, had been made a Judge, and knighted five years before
the birth of his son, so it is evident the poet began life in easy
circumstances. He was baptised in All Hallows, a church in Bread Street
destroyed in 1897. In Bow Church there is a tablet in memory of Milton,
which was taken from All Hallows. When he was ten years of age he
began to go to Paul's School, which stood in those days on the east
side of St. Paul's Churchyard, between Watling Street and Cheapside.
Aubrey records that "when he went to schoole, when he was very young,
he studied very hard, and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or
one o'clock at night, and his father ordered the mayde to sitt up for
him, and at these years (ten) he composed many copies of verses which
might well have become a riper age." He continued at this school, the
old site of which is marked by a tablet on a warehouse, until he was
sixteen. Some twenty years later Samuel Pepys was a pupil at Paul's
School, and later on in life witnessed its destruction in the Great
Fire. Milton would seem to have always cherished a great affection for
the city, for after his return from his travels he seldom lived beyond
the sound of Bow Bells, once only venturing as far as Westminster;
and when he died he was buried in St. Giles's, Cripplegate, in the
same grave as his father. Indeed, the city proper was the birthplace
of several poets, for was not Pope born in Lombard Street, Gray in
Cornhill, and Edmund Spenser in East Smithfield, while Lord Macaulay
spent his earlier years in Birchin Lane?

[Illustration: CHEAPSIDE, WITH THE CROSS, AS THEY APPEARED IN 1660.]

In the narrow confines of Paternoster Row, where the tall fronts of
the houses are so close together that only a thin strip of sky is
visible between them, Charlotte Brontë and her sister Anne, fresh from
the rugged solitudes of their bleak Yorkshire moors, awoke on the
morning of their first visit to the great capital of which they had
so often dreamed, and, looking out of the dim windows of the Chapter
Coffee-house, saw "the risen sun struggling through the fog, and
overhead above the house-tops, co-elevate almost with the clouds ... a
solemn orbed mass dark blue and dim the dome" (of St. Paul's).

Fleet Street has always been the haunt of the "knights of the pen,"
and even in these modern days the names of newspapers stare at the
passer-by on every side, while at every step he jostles an ink-stained
satellite of some great journal. But although these ink-stained ones
are to be met with in Fleet Street at every hour of the day and night,
they do not live there like the writers of old time--Michael Drayton,
for instance, who "lived at ye baye-windowe house next the east end
of St. Dunstan's Church"; and Izaak Walton, who kept a linen-draper's
shop "in a house two doors west of the end of Chancery Lane," and on
his infrequent holidays went a-fishing in the River Lea at Tottenham
High Cross. Abraham Cowley, again, was born over his father's grocer's
shop, which "abutted on Sargeants' Inn," and here, as a little child,
he devoured the _Faerie Queen_, and was made "irrecoverably a poet."
James Shirley lived near the Inner Temple Lane; John Locke in Dorset
Court. In Salisbury Square, formerly Salisbury Court, Thomas Sackville,
first Earl of Dorset, the precursor of Spenser, John Dryden, and Samuel
Richardson, all had a residence at one time or another. Richardson
built a large printing establishment on the site now occupied by
Lloyd's newspaper offices, where he continued to carry on business many
years after he had removed his private residence to the West End. He
was buried, moreover, in St. Bride's Church in 1761, a large stone in
the nave between pews 12 and 13 recording the fact. But greatest and
most constant of Fleet Street habitués was Dr. Johnson. For ten years
he lived at 17, Gough Square, busy in an upper room upon his great
Dictionary. Here he lost his "beloved Tetty," to whose memory he ever
remained faithful. "All his affection had been concentrated on her. He
had neither brother nor sister, neither son nor daughter." Although
twenty years his senior, with a complexion reddened and coarsened
by the too liberal use of both paint and strong cordials, yet "to
him she was beautiful as the Gunnings, and witty as Lady Mary." On
leaving Gough Square he lived for a few years in the Temple, where he
received his first visit from Boswell, and made the acquaintance of
Oliver Goldsmith. The latter was then living at 6, Wine Office Court,
Fleet Street, where Johnson, visiting him one morning in response
to an urgent message, found that "his landlady had arrested him for
his rent." He showed Johnson his MS. of the just-completed _Vicar of
Wakefield_, which he looked into, and instantly comprehending its
merit, went out and sold it to a bookseller for sixty pounds. In 1765
Johnson returned to Fleet Street, and lived for eleven years at 7,
Johnson's Court. Here Boswell dined with him for the first time on
Easter Day, 1773, and found to his surprise "everything in very good
order." Walking up the Court one day in company with Topham Beauclerk,
Boswell confessed to him that he "had a veneration" for it, because
the great doctor lived there, and was much gratified to learn that
Beauclerk felt the same "reverential enthusiasm." In later years
Dickens stole up this Court one dark December evening, and, with
beating heart, dropped his first original MS. into the letter-box
of _The Monthly Magazine_, the office of which stood on the site
now occupied by Mr. Henry Sell's premises. No. 8, Bolt Court, was
the next and last residence of Dr. Johnson; here, on December 13th,
1784, he met the inevitable crisis, for which he had always felt an
indescribable terror and loathing, and passed peacefully and happily
away. Johnson had always had a great predilection for club or tavern
life, partly because it enabled him to escape for a while from the
hypochondria which always dogged his footsteps. He loved nothing so
much as to gather kindred spirits around him and spend long evenings
in congenial conversation. He would sit, "the Jupiter of a little
circle, sometimes indeed nodding approbation, but always prompt on the
slightest contradiction to launch the thunders of rebuke and sarcasm."
There was not much expense attached to these gatherings, for it is
recorded of one of the clubs he founded that the outlay was not to
exceed sixpence per person an evening, with a fine of twopence for
those who did not attend. Among the Fleet Street haunts thus frequently
resorted to by Dr. Johnson and his friends were the "Cocke," patronised
in former years by Pepys, and in later years by Thackeray, Dickens,
and Tennyson; the "Cheshire Cheese," the only house of the kind which
remains as it was in Dr. Johnson's day; the "Mitre," also formerly
patronised by Pepys; and the "Devil," where the poets laureate had been
wont to repair and read their birthday odes. St. Clement Danes, too, is
connected with Johnson, for, in spite of his love of festivity, he was
devout, and regularly attended this church, occupying pew No. 18 in the
north gallery, now marked by a brass plate. Boswell records that "he
carried me with him to the church of St. Clement Danes, where he had
his seat, and his behaviour was, as I had imagined to myself, solemnly
devout."

One more memory of Fleet Street before we leave it, in connection
with Dick's Coffee-house, which used to stand at Nos. 7 and 8. In
December, 1763, the poet Cowper, then a student in the Inner Temple,
was appointed Clerk of the Journals of the House of Lords. Delicate,
shy, intensely sensitive, and with a strong predisposition to insanity,
the dread of these onerous public duties disturbed the balance of
his morbid brain. His madness broke out one morning at Dick's, as he
himself afterwards narrated. He said:

     "At breakfast I read the newspaper, and in it a letter,
     which the further I perused it the more closely engaged my
     attention. I cannot now recollect the purport of it; but
     before I had finished it, it appeared demonstratively true to
     me that it was a libel or satire upon me. The author appeared
     to be acquainted with my purpose of self-destruction, and
     to have written that letter on purpose to secure and hasten
     the execution of it. My mind probably at this time began to
     be disordered; however it was, I was certainly given to a
     strong delusion. I said within myself, 'Your cruelty shall be
     gratified, you shall have your revenge,' and flinging down the
     paper in a fit of strong passion, I rushed hastily out of the
     room, directing my way towards the fields, where I intended
     to find some lane to die in, or if not, determined to poison
     myself in a ditch, when I could meet with one sufficiently
     retired."

This paroxysm ended in Cowper trying to hang himself, but, the rope
breaking, he went down to the Thames to the Custom House Quay and
threatened to drown himself. This attempt, however, also failed, and
friends interfering, he was removed to an asylum, where he remained
eighteen months.

From Fleet Street it is but a step to the Temple, with its grey quiet
corners full of echoing memories, stretching back even to the days of
Shakespeare, whose _Twelfth Night_ was performed before an audience
of his contemporaries in the self-same Middle Temple Hall that still
confronts us. The names of Henry Fielding, Edmund Burke, John Gower,
Thomas Shadwell, William Wycherley, Nicholas Rowe, Francis Beaumont,
William Congreve, John Horne Tooke, Thomas Day, Tom Moore, Sheridan,
George Colman, jun., Marston, and Ford, are all upon the Temple rolls
and each must in his day have been a familiar figure among the ancient
buildings. But Charles Lamb is the presiding genius of the place.

     "I was born and passed the first seven years of my life in the
     Temple," he tells us. "Its church, its halls, its garden, its
     fountains, its river ... these are my oldest recollections.
     Indeed it is the most elegant spot in the metropolis. What
     a transition for a countryman visiting London for the first
     time, the passing from the crowded Strand or Fleet Street, by
     unexpected avenues into its magnificent ample squares, its
     classic green recesses. What a cheerful liberal look hath that
     portion of it, which from three sides, overlooks the greater
     gardens, that goodly pile ... confronting with massy contrast,
     the lighter, older, more fantastically shrouded one, named
     of Harcourt, with the cheerful Crown Office Row (place of my
     kindly engendure) right opposite the stately stream, which
     washes the garden foot.... A man would give something to have
     been born in such a place."

When Lamb was twenty-five years of age he went back to live in the
Temple, at 16, Mitre Court Buildings, in an "attic storey for the air."
His bed faced the river, and by "perking on my haunches and supporting
my carcase with my elbows, without much wrying my neck I can see,"
he wrote to a friend, "the white sails glide by the bottom of King's
Bench Walk as I lie in my bed." Here he passed nine happy years, and
then, after a short stay in Southampton Buildings, he returned to the
Temple for the second time, to 4, Inner Temple Lane, fully intending
to pass the remainder of his life within its precincts. His new set of
chambers "looked out upon a gloomy churchyard-like court, called Hare
Court, with three trees and a pump in it." But fate intervened, and
he and his sister soon after left the Temple, never to return. It was
no easy parting, however, for he wrote in after years, "I thought we
never could have been torn up from the Temple. Indeed it was an ugly
wrench.... We never can strike root so deep in any other ground."

It was when Dr. Johnson had a set of chambers on the first floor of No.
1, Inner Temple Lane, that Boswell first went to see him. Boswell wrote:

     "He received me very courteously, but it must be confessed
     that his apartment, furniture, and morning dress were
     sufficiently uncouth. His brown suit of clothes looked very
     rusty, he had on a little old shrivelled unpowdered wig which
     was too small for his head, his shirt-neck and knees of his
     breeches were loose, his black worsted stockings ill drawn up,
     and he had a pair of unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. But
     all these slovenly peculiarities were forgotten the moment
     that he began to talk."

Boswell, indeed, conceived so violent an admiration for him that he
took rooms in Farrar's Buildings in order to be near him. Oliver
Goldsmith seems to have followed his example, for he went to lodge
first in 2, Garden Court, and afterwards in 2, Brick Court, on the
right-hand side, looking out over the Temple Garden. Thackeray, who,
years afterwards, lodged in the same set of rooms, wrote:

     "I have been many a time in the Chambers in the Temple which
     were his, and passed up the staircase, which Johnson and Burke
     and Reynolds trod to see their friend, their poet, their kind
     Goldsmith--the stair on which the poor women sat weeping
     bitterly when they heard that the greatest and most generous
     of men was dead within the black oak door."

A stone slab with the inscription, "Here lies Oliver Goldsmith," was
placed on the north side of Temple Church, as near as possible to the
spot where he is supposed to have been buried.

No. 2, Fountain Court, was the last house of William Blake, the
poet-painter, the seer of visions, who had a set of rooms on the first
floor, from whence a glimpse of the river was to be obtained. It was
very poorly furnished, though always clean and orderly, and decorated
only with his own pictures, but to the eager young disciples who
flocked around him it was "the house of the Interpreter." When he lay
there upon his death-bed, at the close of a blazing August day in 1827,
beautiful songs in praise of his Creator fell from his lips, and as
his wife, his faithful companion of forty-five years of struggle and
stress, drew near to catch them more distinctly, he told her with a
smile, "My beloved! they are not mine! no, they are not mine!"

Passing out into the Strand, we are confronted by the Law Courts. In
former days this site was occupied by a network of streets, one of
which was Shire Lane, where the members of the Kit Cat Club first held
their gatherings, and toasted Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, when, as a
child of seven, enthroned on her proud father's knee, she spent "the
happiest hour of her life," overwhelmed with caresses, compliments,
and sweetmeats. The famous "Grecian" stood in Devereux Court, and the
"Fountain" where Johnson, on his first arrival in London, read his
tragedy _Irene_ to his fellow-traveller Garrick, on the site since
occupied by Simpson's for several generations. The Strand "Turk's Head"
was at No. 142, and patronised by Johnson, because "the mistress of
it is a good civil woman and has not much business"; and the "Coal
Hole," immortalised by Thackeray as the "Cave of Harmony" in _The
Newcomes_, where Terry's Theatre now uprears its front. But the chief
literary association of the Strand is that of Congreve, who spent
his last years in Surrey Street, "almost blind with cataracts," and
"never rid of the gout," but looking, as Swift wrote to Stella, "young
and fresh and cheerful as ever." He had always been a favourite with
society, and Surrey Street was thronged by his visitors, among whom
were four of the most beautiful women of the day--Mrs. Bracegirdle,
Mrs. Oldfield, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and Henrietta Duchess of
Marlborough. Voltaire, too, who greatly admired his work, sought him
out when staying at the "White Peruke," Covent Garden, and was much
disgusted by the affectation with which Congreve begged to be regarded
as a man of fashion, who produced airy trifles for the amusement of his
idle hours. "If you had been so unfortunate as to have been a _mere_
gentleman," said Voltaire, "I should never have taken the trouble of
coming to see you." In spite of the looseness of his life, Congreve had
early acquired habits of frugality, and continuing to practise them
when the need for economy had disappeared, he contrived to amass a
fortune of £10,000, which, on his death in 1789, he bequeathed to the
Duchess of Marlborough, his latest infatuation. This sum, which would
have restored the fallen fortunes of his nearest relatives, was a mere
nothing to the wealthy beauty, who expended it in the purchase of a
magnificent diamond necklace, which she continually wore in memory of
the dead dramatist.

The whole of Covent Garden is classic ground, from its association
with the wits of Dryden's time, when Bow Street and Tavistock Street
were in turn regarded as the Bond Street of the fashionable world.
Edmund Waller, William Wycherley, and Henry Fielding, each lived in
Bow Street. In Russell Street stood the three great coffee-houses of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries--Wills', Button's, and Tom's.
Wills' stood at No. 21, at the corner of Russell Street and Bow Street;
here Pepys stopped one February evening on his way to fetch his wife,
and heard much "witty and pleasant discourse"; here Dryden had his
special arm-chair, in winter by the fire, and in summer on the balcony,
and was always ready to arbitrate in any literary dispute. It is said
that Pope, before he was twelve years old, persuaded his friends to
bring him here, so that he might gaze upon the aged Dryden, the hero of
his childish imagination. Dr. Johnson, Addison, Steele, and Smollett
were all regular visitors. Button's, which stood on the south side of
Russell Street, and Tom's at No. 17, were equally popular, and the
Bedford Coffee-house "under the piazza in Covent Garden" was another
favourite resort.

It was in Russell Street, in the bookshop of Thomas Davies, the actor,
that Boswell had his eagerly desired first meeting with Dr. Johnson,
which he describes as follows:--

     "At last, on Monday, the 16th of May, when I was sitting in
     Mr. Davies' back parlour, after having drunk tea with him and
     Mrs. Davies, Johnson came unexpectedly into the shop, and Mr.
     Davies having perceived him through the glass door in the room
     in which we were sitting advancing towards us, he announced
     his awful approach to me somewhat in the manner of an actor
     in the part of Horatio, when he addresses Hamlet on the
     appearance of his father's ghost: 'Look, my lord, he comes.'"

In St. Paul's, Covent Garden, were buried Samuel Butler, author
of _Hudibras_, Mrs. Centlivre, Thomas Southerne, John Wolcot, and
Wycherley, but when the church was burned down in 1786 all trace of
their graves disappeared.

One other literary memory before we leave the Strand; it is connected
with what was once No. 30, Hungerford Stairs (now part of Villiers
Street), where stood Warren's blacking factory, in which the child
Dickens passed days of miserable drudgery, labelling pots of blacking
for a few shillings a week. He describes it in _David Copperfield_,
under the name of "Murdstone and Grimsby's warehouse, down in
Blackfriars." It was "a crazy old house, with a wharf of its own,
abutting on the water when the tide was in, and on the mud when the
tide was out, and literally overrun with rats."

Pall Mall, the centre of club-land, in the eighteenth century was
the "ordinary residence of all strangers," probably on account of
its proximity to the fashionable chocolate and coffee-houses (the
forerunners of the clubs), which, as Defoe wrote, "were all so close
together that in an hour you could see the company at them all." In
Pall Mall itself were the "Smyrna," the "King's Arms," and the "Star
and Garter." At the "King's Arms" the Kit Cat Club met when it had
quitted its quarters in Shire Lane, and at the "Star and Garter" the
"Brothers" were presided over by Swift. The "Tully's Head," a bookshop
kept by the wonderful Robert Dodsley, footman, poet, dramatist, and
publisher, was another favourite lounging place of the times.

In Charing Cross were the "Rummer," at No. 45, kept by the uncle of
Matthew Prior; Lockett's, two doors off; the "Turk's Head," next door
to No. 17; and the British Coffee-house, which stood on the site now
occupied by the offices of the London County Council.

In St. James's Street the great coffee and chocolate-houses positively
elbowed each other up and down, just as the clubs which succeeded them
do in the present day. The "Thatched House," where the Literary Club,
founded by Dr. Johnson, held its meetings under the presidency of Swift
and his contemporaries; the "St. James's," where Addison "appeared
on Sunday nights," and "Swift was a notable figure," for "those who
frequented the place had been astonished day after day, by the entry
of a clergyman, unknown to any there, who laid his hat on the table,
and strode up and down the room with rapid steps, heeding no one, and
absorbed in his own thoughts. His strange manner earned him, unknown as
he was to all, the name of the "mad parson""; White's, to which Colley
Cibber was the only English actor ever admitted; and the "Cocoa Tree,"
nicknamed the "Wits' Coffee-house," which, in Gibbon's time, afforded
"every evening a sight truly English. Twenty or thirty, perhaps, of the
finest men in the kingdom, in point of fashion and fortune, supping at
little tables covered with a napkin, in the middle of a coffee-room,
upon a bit of cold meat or a sandwich and drinking a glass of punch."

Lord Byron was the most romantic literary figure connected with St.
James's Street. His first home in London, after his youthful days, was
at No. 8, where he went to live after the publication of his _English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers_. From this house the proud and gloomy young
man set forth to take his seat in the House of Lords as a peer of the
realm. Moore wrote:

     "In a state more alone and unfriended, perhaps, than any youth
     of his high station had ever before been reduced to on such
     an occasion--not having a single individual of his own class,
     either to take him by the hand as friend, or acknowledge him
     as an acquaintance."

But this state of affairs was not to endure. On February 29th, 1812,
_Childe Harold_ appeared.

     "The effect was electric; his fame had not to wait for any
     of the ordinary gradations, but seemed to spring up like the
     palace of a fairy tale--in a night.... From morning till
     night flattering testimonies of his success reached him; the
     highest in the land besieged his door, and he who had been so
     friendless found himself the idol of London society."

Perhaps we cannot do better than end these literary associations of
club-land with a few words about a man who in his time was one of its
most brilliant figures--Theodore Hook. When he was released from the
King's Bench prison, with his debt to the Crown still hanging over him,

     "he took a large and handsome house in Cleveland Row. Here he
     gave dinners on an extensive scale, and became a member of all
     the best clubs, particularly frequenting those where high play
     was the rule. His visiting book included all that was loftiest
     and gayest and in every sense most distinguished in London
     society. The editor of _John Bull_, the fashionable novelist,
     the wittiest and most vivid talker of the time, his presence
     was not only everywhere welcome but everywhere coveted and
     clamoured for. But the whirl of extravagant dissipation
     emptied his pocket, fevered his brain, and shortened the
     precious hours in which alone his subsistence could be gained."

In the height of his social triumphs there always hung inexorably over
him the Damocles sword of debt. When at last he gave way under the
strain, and went into comparative retirement at Fulham, the number of
dinners at the Athenæum Club, where he had always had a particular
table kept for him near the door (nicknamed Temperance Corner), fell
off by upwards of three hundred per annum.

       *       *       *       *       *

These are a few out of the many literary memories that we may encounter
in an afternoon's stroll from the Borough to St. James's, along one of
the great city's busiest highways; others, indeed, there are, meeting
us at every corner, but space forbids our dwelling upon them, and
regretfully we must pass them by.




CROSBY HALL

BY THE EDITOR


Few old mansions in the city of London could rival the ancient
dwelling-place of the brave old knight, Sir John Crosby. Its
architectural beauties and historical associations endeared it to all
lovers of old London, and many a groan was heard when its fate was
doomed, and the decree went forth that it was to be numbered among the
departed glories of the city. Unhappily, the hand of the destroyer
could not be stayed, and the earnest hope had to be abandoned that
many a generation of Londoners might be permitted to see this relic
of ancient civic life, and to realise from this example the kind of
dwelling-place wherein the city merchants of olden days made their
homes, and the salient features of mediæval domestic architecture.
Shorn of its former magnificence, reduced to a fraction of its original
size, it retained evidences of its ancient state and grandeur, and
every stone and timber told of its departed glories, and of the great
events of which Crosby Hall had been the scene. It has been associated
with many a name that shines forth in the annals of English history,
and imagination could again people the desolate hall with a gay company
of courtiers and conspirators, of knights and dames, of city merchants
gorgeous in their liveries of "scarlet and green," or "murrey and
plunket," when pomp and pageantry, tragedy and death, dark councils
and mirth, and gaiety and revellings followed each other through the
portals of the mansion in one long and varied procession. It will be
our pleasure to recall some of these scenes which were enacted long
ago, and to tell of the royal, noble, and important personages who made
this house their home.

Many people who live in our great overgrown modern London--who dwell
in the West End, and never wander further east than Drury Lane Theatre
or St. Pancras Station--have never seen Crosby Hall, and know not
where it stood. If you go along Cheapside and to the end of Cornhill,
and then turn to the left, up Bishopsgate, the old house stood on the
right hand side; or you may approach along Holborn and London Wall.
Alas! the pilgrimage is no longer possible. Bishopsgate is historic
ground. The name is derived from the ancient gate of the city that
was built, according to Stow, by some Bishop of London, "though now
unknown when or by whom, for ease of passengers toward the east, and by
north, as into Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, &c." Some authorities
name Bishop Erkenwald, son of King Offa, as the first builder of
Bishopsgate, and state that Bishop William, the Norman, repaired the
gate in the time of his namesake, the Conqueror. Henry III. confirmed
to the German merchants of the Hanse certain liberties and privileges,
which were also confirmed by Edward I. in the tenth year of his reign,
when it was discovered that the merchants were bound to repair the
gate. Thereupon Gerald Marbod, alderman of the Hanse, and other Hanse
merchants, granted 210 marks sterling to the Mayor and citizens, and
covenanted that they and their successors should from time to time
repair the gate. In 1479, in the reign of Edward IV., it was entirely
rebuilt by these merchants, and was a fine structure adorned with the
effigies of two bishops, probably those named above, and with two
other figures supposed to represent King Alfred and Alred, Earl of
Mercia, to whom Alfred entrusted the care of the gate. This repair
was probably necessary on account of the assault of the bastard
Falconbridge on this and other gates of the city, who shot arrows and
guns into London, fired the suburbs, and burnt more than three-score
houses. The gate has been frequently repaired and rebuilt, its last
appearance being very modern, with a bishop's mitre on the key-stone
of the arch, and surmounted by the city arms with guarding griffins.
London "improvements" have banished the gate, as they have so many
other interesting features of the city.

The neighbourhood is interesting. Foremost among the attractions of
Bishopsgate Street is the beautiful church of St. Helen, formerly the
church of the Nunnery of St. Helen, the Westminster of the city, where
lie so many illustrious merchants and knights and dames, and amongst
them the founder of Crosby Hall and other owners of the mansion. The
church is closely associated with the hall. There in that fine house
they lived. There in the church hard by their bodies sleep, and their
gorgeous tombs and inscriptions tell the story of their deeds. St.
Helen's Church was one of the few which escaped destruction at the
Great Fire of London. There was an early Saxon church here, but the
earliest parts of the existing building date back to the thirteenth
century. There are some blocked-up lancet windows of the transept, a
staircase doorway in the south-east corner, another doorway which led
from the nun's choir into the convent, and a lancet window. There is a
Renaissance porch, the work of Inigo Jones, erected in 1663. The main
part of the structure is Decorated and Perpendicular, the fifteenth
century work being due to the builder of Crosby Hall, who left 500
marks for its restoration and improvement. The whole church possesses
many interesting features, of which want of space prevents a full
description.

[Illustration: CROSBY HALL.]

Sir John Crosby determined to seek a site for his house close to this
church and the Nunnery of St. Helen, and in 1466 obtained a lease from
Alice Ashford, prioress of the Nunnery, of some lands and tenements
for a period of ninety-nine years for the yearly rent of £11 6s. 8d.
Doubtless many good citizens of London in the present day would like to
make so good a bargain.

Sir John Crosby, whose honoured name is preserved to this day by
the noble house which he built, was a worthy and eminent citizen of
London--one of the men who laid the foundations of English trade and
commercial pre-eminence. He attained to great wealth, and his actions
and his bequests prove that he was a very worthy man. Some idle story
stated that, like the famous Dick Whittington, he was of humble origin
and unknown parentage. Stow says: "I hold it a fable said of him,
to be named Crosby, from his being found by a cross." A very pretty
conceit! He was discovered, when an infant, or having attained the age
of boyhood, sleeping on the steps of the market cross at Cheapside
or Charing; and the sympathetic folk who found him there named him
Cross-by! Our ancestors, like ourselves, loved a romance, a nice
cheerful story of a poor boy attaining to rank and opulence, marrying
his master's daughter and doing brave deeds for his King and country.
The notable career of Sir Richard Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of
London, was so embellished with romantic incident. He was no poor
man's son who begged his way to London, accompanied by his favourite
cat. Was he not the youngest son of Sir William Whittington, the owner
of Pauntley Manor in Gloucestershire, and of Solers Hope, Hereford?
and was not his famous cat the name of his ship which brought him
wealth and affluence? Or shall we accept the story of the sale of the
cat to the King of Barbary? So the legend of the foundling Crosby is
equally a fable, woven by the skilful imaginations of our Elizabethan
forefathers. Sir John came of goodly parentage. There was a Johan de
Crosbie, King's Clerk in Chancery, in the time of Edward II.; a Sir
John Crosbie, Knight, and Alderman of London, in the reign of Edward
III.; and a John Crosby, Esquire, and servant of King Henry IV., who
gave to him the wardship of Joan, daughter and sole heir of John
Jordaine, Fishmonger--_i.e._, a member of the Worshipful Company of
Fishmongers of the City of London. This John Crosby was, according to
Stow, either the father or grandfather of the builder of Crosby Hall.

The family held the manor and advowson of the church of
Hanworth-on-the-Thames, not far from Hampton Court. This manor was
owned by the Sir John Crosbie who lived in the time of King Edward
III., and after his death it was placed in the hands of a certain
Thomas Rigby for safe custody until John Crosbie, the son and heir
of the knight, should have grown up to man's estate and attained his
majority. This estate seems afterwards to have passed into the hands of
King Henry VIII., who, on account of its pleasant situation, delighted
in it above any other of his houses.

The father of the founder of the Hall was a friend of Henry Lord
Scrope, of Masham, the unfortunate nobleman who was beheaded at
Southampton for complicity in a plot against the life of Henry V. He
bequeathed to his friend, John Crosbie, "a woollen gown without furs
and one hundred shillings."

_Bene natus_, _bene vestitus_, and doubtless _modice doctus_, the
qualifications of an All Souls' Fellow, John Crosby began his career,
embarking in trade and commerce, and undertaking the duties of a
worthy citizen of London. The palmy days of commercial enterprise
inaugurated by King Henry VII. had not yet set in. Before his time
the trade between England and the Continent was much more in the
hands of foreigners than of English merchants. English trading ships
going abroad to sell English goods and bring back cargoes of foreign
commodities were few in number. The English merchant usually stayed
at home, and sold his wares to the strangers who came each year to
London and the other trading ports, or bartered them for the produce of
other lands, with which their ships were freighted. The German Hanse
merchants, the Flemish traders, the Lombards, and many others, enjoyed
great privileges in their commerce with England. But, in spite of this,
men like Crosby were able to amass wealth and make large profits. Sir
John's dealings extended far into other countries, and he had important
connections with the Friscobaldi of Florence, who with the Medici were
the great bankers and engrossers of the commerce of Europe.

Of the great merchants who laid the foundations of our English commerce
we often know little more than their names, the offices they held,
with a meagre catalogue of their most philanthropic labours and their
wills. It is possible, however, to gather a little more information
concerning the owner of Crosby Place. The records at Guildhall tell
us that in 1466, the seventh year of Edward IV., John Crosby, Grocer,
was elected with three others a Member of Parliament. He was also
elected in the same year one of the auditors of the City and Bridge
House. In 1468 we find him elected Alderman of Broad Street Ward, and
two years later Sheriff of London. He took a prominent part in the old
city life of London, and was a prominent member of two of the old City
Companies, the Grocers and the Woolmen. Of the former he twice served
the office of warden, and preserved a strong affection for his company,
bequeathing to it by his will considerable gifts. The honourable and
important post of Mayor of the Staple at Calais was also conferred upon
him.

He seems to have been a brave and valiant man, as well as a successful
trader and good citizen. During his time the safety of the City of
London was endangered owing to the attack of Thomas Nevil, the bastard
Lord Falconbridge, to which reference has already been made. Stow
tells the story graphically. This filibusterer came with his rebel
company and a great navy of ships near to the Tower--

     "Whereupon the mayor and aldermen fortified all along the
     Thames side, from Baynard's Castle to the Tower, with armed
     men, guns and other instruments of war, to resist the invasion
     of the mariners, whereby the Thames side was safely preserved
     and kept by the aldermen and other citizens that assembled
     thither in great numbers. Whereupon the rebels, being denied
     passage through the city that way, set upon Aeldgate,
     Bishopsgate, Criplegate, Aeldersgate, London Bridge, and along
     the river of Thames, shooting arrows and guns into the city,
     fired the suburbs, and burnt more than three score houses.
     And farther, on Sunday, the eleventh of May, five thousand of
     them assaulting Aeldgate, won the bulwarks, and entered the
     city; but the portclose being let down, such as had entered
     were slain, and Robert Basset, portcullis alderman of Aeldgate
     ward, with the recorder, commanded in the name of God to
     draw up the portclose; which being done, they issued out,
     and with sharp shot and fierce fight, put their enemies back
     so far as St. Bottolph's Church, by which time Earl Rivers,
     and lieutenant of the Tower, was come with a fresh company,
     which joining together discomfited the rebels, and put them to
     flight, whom the said Rober, Basset with the other citizens
     chased to the Mile's End, and from thence, some to Poplar,
     some to Stratford, slew many, and took many of them prisoners.
     In which space the Bastard, having assayed other places on the
     water side, and little prevailed, fled toward his ships."

In this determined defence of the city against a formidable attack,
John Crosbie took a leading part, bravely contending against the forces
of the foe and fighting fiercely. Twelve aldermen with the recorder
were knighted in the field by King Edward IV., and amongst those so
honoured were the Lord Mayor of London, William Taylor, and John
Crosby. Our hero was no carpet knight, no poor-spirited tradesman and
man of peace. Like many other famous citizens of his age, he could don
his armour and fight for his King and country, and proved himself a
gallant leader of a citizen army, the best sort of army in the world.
He was a devoted adherent of the House of York, and a favourite of
Edward IV., who sent him on an important embassage to the Duke of
Burgundy, who had married Elizabeth of York, the King's sister. The
secret object of the mission was an alliance against Francis I. of
France. The embassy was also sent to the Duke of Brittany with the same
object, and also to secure the persons of the Earls of Richmond and
Pembroke, who had taken refuge in France, and there felt themselves
secure. The future Richard III. was nearly persuaded to return to
England; his foot was almost on the ship's deck, when, fortunately for
him, his voyage was prevented. If he had continued his journey he would
never have worn a crown, as he would have lacked a head whereon to
place it.

Sir John Crosby not long before his death began to build the beautiful
house in Bishopsgate "in the place of certain tenements, with their
appurtenances let to him by Alice Ashfield, Prioress of St. Helen's....
This house he built of stone and timber, very large and beautiful,
and the highest at that time in London," as Stow records. The whole
structure was known as Crosby Place, and rivalled the dimensions of a
palace. All that remained of this magnificent building was the Hall,
together with the Council Room and an ante-room, forming two sides
of a quadrangle. It was built of stone, and measured 54 feet by 27
feet, and was 40 feet in height. The Hall was lighted by a series of
eight Perpendicular windows on one side and six on the other, and by
a beautifully-constructed octagonal bay window. It had a fine roof
of exquisite workmanship richly ornamented, and a wide chimney. Much
of the original stone pavement had vanished. The Council Chamber was
nearly as large as the hall, being only 14 feet less in length.

Crosby Hall has been the scene of many notable historic scenes. In the
play of "Edward IV." by Heywood, Sir John Crosby figures as Lord Mayor
of London, a position which he never occupied, and the King dines with
him and the Alderman after the defeat of the rebel Falconbridge at
Crosby Hall. He had just received the honour of knighthood, and thus
muses:--

    "Ay, marry, Crosby! this befits thee well.
    But some will marvel that, with scarlet gown,
    I wear a gilded rapier by my side."

It is quite possible that the King thus dined with his favourite, but
there is no historical account that confirms the poet's play. The
builder did not long enjoy his beautiful house, and died in 1475,
leaving a second wife and a daughter by his first wife, whom he seemed
to have loved with a more ardent affection than his second spouse. Soon
after his death the man whom he tried to trap in France, Richard, Duke
of Gloucester, came to reside here, and made it the scene of endless
plots and conspiracies against his luckless nephews and his many
enemies. Crosby Place is frequently alluded to by Shakespeare in his
play, "Richard the Third." Gloucester tells Catesby to report to him at
Crosby Place the treacherous murder of the Princes in the Tower, and he
bids the Lady Anne to "presently repair to Crosby Place."

[Illustration: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, WITH LORD MAYOR'S SHOW ON THE
WATER.

_Engraved by Pugh, 1804._]

The house in 1502 passed into the possession of Sir Bartholomew Reed,
Lord Mayor, and then to John Best, Alderman, from whom it was purchased
by Sir Thomas More, the famous Lord Chancellor. Doubtless it was in the
chambers of Crosby Place that he wrote his _Utopia_. He sold the lease
to his beloved friend, Antonio Bonvisi, an Italian gentleman, who had
long lived in England; and when the Dissolution of Monasteries took
place, and the possessions of the Priory of St. Helen's were seized by
the Crown, the King allowed the Italian to retain possession of Crosby
Place. We need not record all its worthy owners. It was frequently used
as a fitting place for the lodging of foreign ambassadors, and here
Sir John Spencer, having restored the house, kept his mayoralty in
1594. Enormously wealthy, he lived in great splendour and entertained
lavishly. He was a great favourite of Queen Elizabeth. It was not
from Crosby Hall, but from his house at Canonbury, that his only
daughter effected her escape in a baker's basket in order to wed the
handsome Lord Compton. Terrible was the father's wrath, and everyone
knows the charming story of the Queen's tactful intervention, how she
induced Sir John to stand as sponsor with her for an unknown boy, whom
Sir John declared should be the heir of all his wealth, and how this
boy was, of course, Lady Compton's child, and how a full reconciliation
was effected. It is a very pretty story. It is not so pleasant to read
of the disastrous effect of the possession of so much wealth had on
the brain of Lord Compton, when he came into possession of his lady's
riches. She was a little vixenish, spoilt and exacting, if she really
intended seriously the literal meaning of that well-known letter which
she wrote setting forth her needs and requirements. It is too long to
quote. Lord Compton was created Earl of Northampton, and that precious
child of his when he grew to man's estate was killed fighting for the
Royalist cause in the Civil War.

During that disastrous time Crosby became a prison for Royalists, and
later on a great part of the house was destroyed by fire, and its
ancient glories departed. For a hundred years the Hall was used as a
Nonconformist chapel. In 1778 part of the premises was converted into
a place of business by Messrs. Holmes and Hall, the rest being used
as private dwellings. It provided a model for the banqueting-hall of
Arundel Castle, and some of the carved stones of the Council Chamber
were removed to Henley-upon-Thames to adorn a dairy. Alien buildings
soon covered the site of the destroyed portion of the old house. In
1831 it was left forlorn and untenanted, and in a state of considerable
decay. Then arose a considerable excitement, of which the struggle
of the present year reminds us. Crosby Hall was doomed. But zealous
lovers of the antiquities of the city determined to try to save it.
An appeal was made, and a restoration fund started, though, like many
other restoration funds, it proved itself inadequate. A benevolent
lady, Miss Hackett, gallantly came to the rescue, and practically saved
Crosby Hall. Her idea was to convert it into a lecture hall for the
Gresham Professors; but this plan came to nothing, though the building
was repaired, the south wall of the Throne and Council Chambers
being rebuilt. Then a company was formed to take over Miss Hackett's
interest, and the Crosby Hall Literary and Scientific Institution
was formed, but that scheme came to nothing. Then it was bought by
Messrs. F. Gordon & Co., who restored the building, attached to it an
annex of half-timbered construction, and converted the premises into
a restaurant. Thus it remained for several years. Recently the site
was acquired by a banking company, and its demolition was threatened.
Immediate action was taken by Sir Vesey Strong, the Lord Mayor, and
others, to save the building. The fight was fought strenuously and
bravely. Apathy was found in some quarters where it would least have
been expected, and all efforts were fruitless. It is deplorable to have
to record that the last of the mansions of the old city magnates has
been allowed to disappear, and that Crosby Hall is now only a memory.




THE PAGEANT OF LONDON

BY THE EDITOR


We have stated in the Preface that London needs no pageant or special
spectacular display in order to set forth its wonderful attractions.
London is in itself a pageant, far more interesting than any theatrical
representation; and in this final chapter we will enumerate some
of those other features of Old London life which have not found
description in the preceding pictures. We will "stand by and let the
pageant pass," or, rather, pass along the streets and make our own
pageant.

The great city is always changing its appearance, and travellers
who have not seen it for several years scarcely know where they are
when visiting some of the transformed localities. But however great
the change, the city still exercises its powerful fascination on
all who have once felt its strangely magnetic force, its singular
attractiveness. Though the London County Council have effected amazing
"improvements," constructing a street which nobody wants and nobody
uses, and spending millions in widening Piccadilly; though private
enterprise pulls down ancient dwellings and rears huge hotels and
business premises in their places--it is still possible to conjure up
the memories of the past, and to picture to ourselves the multitudinous
scenes of historic interest which Old London has witnessed. Learned
writers have already in these volumes enabled us to transport ourselves
at will to the London of bygone times--to the mediæval city, with its
monasteries, its churches, its palaces, its tragedies; to Elizabethan
London, bright and gay, with young life pulsing through its veins; to
the London of Pepys, with its merry-makings, its coarseness, and its
vice. In this concluding chapter we will recall some other memories,
and try to fill the background to the picture.

Westminster, the rival city, the city of the court, with its abbey and
its hall, we have not attempted to include in our survey. She must be
left in solitary state until, perhaps, a new volume of this series
may presume to describe her graces and perfections. The ever-growing
suburbs of the great city, the West End, the fashionable quarter,
Southern London across the river, with Lambeth and its memories of
archbishops--all this, and much else that deserves an honoured place in
the chronicles of the metropolis, we must perforce omit in our survey.
Some of the stories are too modern to please the taste of those who
revel in the past; and if the curious reader detects omissions, he may
console himself by referring to some of the countless other books and
guides which the attractions of London are ever forcing industrious
scribes to produce.


Christ's Hospital

Many regrets were expressed when it was found necessary to remove
this ancient school from London, and to destroy the old buildings. Of
course, "everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds."
Boys, like plants, thrive better in the open country, and London
fogs are apt to becloud the brain as well as injure health. But the
antiquary may be allowed to utter his plaint over the demolition of
the old features of London life. The memorials of this ancient school
cannot be omitted from our collection.

[Illustration: CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.]

We are carried back in thought to the Friars, clad in grey habits,
girt with cord, and sandal shod, who settled in the thirteenth century
on the north side of what we now call Newgate Street, and, by the
generosity of pious citizens, founded their monastery. Thus John Ewin
gave them the land in the ward of Farringdon Without, and in the parish
of St. Nicholas Shambles; William Joyner built the choir; William
Wallis the nave; William Porter the chapter house; Gregory Bokesby
the dormitories, furnishing it with beds; Bartholomew de Castello
the refectory, where he feasted the friars on St. Bartholomew's Day.
Queen Margaret, the second wife of Edward I., was a great benefactor
of the order, and advanced two thousand marks towards the cost of a
large church, which was completed in 1327, and was a noble structure,
300 feet in length, 89 feet in breadth, and 74 feet high. "Dick"
Whittington built for the friars a splendid library, which was finished
in 1424. The church was the favoured resting-place of the illustrious
dead. Four queens, four duchesses, four countesses, one duke, two
earls, eight barons, and some thirty-five knights reposed therein. In
the choir there were nine tombs of alabaster and marble, surrounded
by iron railings, and monuments of marble and brass abounded. The
dissolution of monasteries came with greedy Henry, and the place was
rifled. The crown seized the goodly store of treasure; the church
became a receptacle for the prizes taken from the French; and Sir
Martin Bowes, Mayor of London, for the sum of £50, obtained all the
beautiful tombs and brasses, marble and alabaster, which were carted
away from the desecrated shrine.

But Henry's conscience smote him. The death of Charles Brandon, Duke
of Suffolk, the King's boon companion, moved him "to bethink himself
of his end, and to do some good work thereunto," as Fuller states.
The church was reopened for worship, and Bishop Ridley, preaching at
Paul's Cross, announced the King's gift of the conventual grounds and
buildings, with the hospital of St. Bartholomew, for the relief of the
poor. Letters patent were issued in 1545, making over to the Mayor
and Commonalty of London for ever "the Grey Friars' Church, with all
the edifices and ground, the fratry, library, dortor, chapter-house,
great cloister, and the lesser tenements and vacant grounds, lead,
stone, iron, etc.; the hospital of St. Bartholomew, West Smithfield,
the church of the same, the lead, bells, and ornaments of the same
hospital, with all messuages, tenements, and appurtenances."

It was a poor return to the Church for all of that the King had robbed
her. Moreover, he did not altogether abandon a little profit. He made
the monastic church, now called the Christ Church, do duty for the
parishes of St. Nicholas in the Shambles, St. Ewins, and part of St.
Sepulchre, uniting these into one parish, and pulling down the churches
of the first two parishes. It would be curious to discover what became
of the endowments of these parishes, and of the fabrics.

[Illustration: Carrying the Crug-basket]

For some years nothing was done to further the cause of this charity,
but in 1552, when Bishop Ridley, who was a mightily convincing
preacher, was discoursing upon charity before Edward VI., the boy-King
was so moved that he conversed with the bishop, and, together with
the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city, determined to found three
hospitals--Christ's Hospital for the education of poor children, St.
Thomas's for the relief of the sick and diseased, and Bridewell for
the correction and amendment of the idle and the vagabond. Before his
last illness, Edward had just strength enough to sign the charter for
the founding of these institutions, ejaculating: "Lord, I yield Thee
most hearty thanks that Thou hast given me life thus long to finish
this work to the glory of Thy name." The good citizens of London, with
their accustomed charity, immediately set to work, before the granting
of the charter, to subscribe money for the repair of the old monastic
buildings, and in 1552 three hundred and forty children were admitted,
not so much for educational purposes as for their rescue from the
streets, and the provision of shelter, food, and clothing. It must have
been a welcome sight to the citizens to see them clothed in livery of
russet cotton, the boys with red caps, the girls with kerchiefs on
their heads, lining the procession when the Lord Mayor and aldermen
rode to St. Paul's on Christmas Day. On the following Easter the boys
and "mayden children" were in "plonket," or blue--hence the hospital
derived the name of the Blue Coat School. The dress of the boys,
concerning the origin of which many fanciful interpretations have been
made, is the costume of the period generally worn by apprentices and
serving men, consisting of a long blue coat, with leathern girdle, a
sleeveless yellow waistcoat and yellow stockings, clerical bands and a
small black cap completing the dress. "Four thousand marks by the year"
from the royal exchequer were granted by the King for the maintenance
of the school, which sum was largely supplemented by the citizens and
other pious benefactors, such as Lady Ramsay, who founded "a free
writing schoole for poor men's children" at the hospital. Camden says
that at the beginning of the seventeenth century six hundred children
were maintained and educated, and one thousand two hundred and forty
pensioners relieved by the hospital in alms, and, later on, as many as
one thousand one hundred and twenty children were cared for by this
institution. The governors, moreover, started "place houses" in other
districts--at Hertford, Ware, Reading, and Bloxburn--where boys were
educated.

[Illustration: Wooden Platters and Beer Jack.]

The buildings were greatly injured by the fire of 1666, when the
old monastic church was entirely destroyed. The great hall was soon
rebuilt by Sir John Frederick, and then the famous Royal Mathematical
School was founded through the exertions of Sir Robert Clayton, Sir
Jonas Moore, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Charles Scarbrough, and Samuel
Pepys. King Charles II. granted a charter and £1,000 a year for seven
years, and the forty boys who composed the school were called "King's
boys." They were instructed in navigation, and wore a badge on the
left shoulder. A subordinate mathematical school, consisting of
twelve scholars, denoted "the Twelves," who wore a badge on the right
shoulder, was subsequently formed. Pepys took a keen interest in the
school, and a series of a large number of his letters is in existence
which show the efforts he made to maintain the mathematical school. He
tells also of a little romance connected with the hospital, which is
worth recording. There was at that time a grammar school for boys and
a separate school for girls. Two wealthy citizens left their estates,
one to a bluecoat boy, and the other to a bluecoat girl. Some of
the governors thought that it would be well if these two fortunate
recipients were married. So a public wedding was arranged at the
Guildhall chapel, where the ceremony was performed by the Dean of St.
Paul's, the bride, supported by two bluecoat boys, being given away by
the Lord Mayor, and the bridegroom, attired in blue satin, being led to
the altar by two bluecoat girls.

[Illustration: Piggin: Wooden Spoon. Wooden Soup-ladle.]

A noble gift of Sir Robert Clayton enabled the governors to rebuild the
east cloister and south front. The writing school was erected by Sir
Christopher Wren in 1694, at the expense of Sir John Moore. The ward
over the east side cloister was rebuilt in 1705 by Sir Francis Child,
the banker, and in 1795 the grammar school was erected. Some of the
buildings of the old monastery survived until the beginning of the last
century, but they were somewhat ruinous and unsafe, hence, in 1803,
a great building fund was formed. The hall erected after the great
fire was pulled down, and a vast building in the Tudor style begun in
1825, which was so familiar to all who passed along the eastern end
of Holborn. John Shaw was the architect. You will remember the open
arcade, the buttresses and octagonal towers, and the embattled and
pinnacled walls, and, above all, you will remember the crowd of happy
boys, clad in their picturesque garb, kicking about the merry football.
The dining hall was one of the finest rooms in London, being 187 feet
long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; lighted by nine large windows,
those on the south side being filled with stained glass. There hung the
huge charter picture, representing Edward VI. presenting the charter
to the Lord Mayor, the Chancellor, officers of State, and children of
the school being in attendance. This picture has been attributed to
Holbein, but since the event occurred in 1553, and that artist could
have produced no work later than 1534, the tradition is erroneous. Two
portraits of Edward VI. are also in the possession of the hospital
attributed to Holbein, but they have been proved to be the work of a
later artist. Verrio's portrait of Charles II., and his picture of
James II. receiving the mathematical boys, are very large canvases.

It is unnecessary to describe all the buildings which so recently
existed, but have now been swept away. It is more interesting to note
some of the curious customs which exist or formerly existed in the
school, and some of the noted of the old "Blues." Christ's Hospital was
a home of old customs, some of them, perhaps, little relished by the
scholars. Each boy had a wooden "piggin" for drinking small beer served
out of a leathern or wooden jack; a platter, spoon, and soup-ladle of
the same material. There was a quaint custom of supping in public on
Sundays during Lent, when visitors were admitted, and the Lord Mayor
or president of the governors sat in state. Quaint wooden candlesticks
adorned the tables, and, after the supper, were carried away in
procession, together with the tablecloths, crug-baskets, or baskets
used for carrying bread, bowls, jacks, and piggins. Before the supper
a hymn was sung, and a "Grecian," or head boy, read the prayers from
the pulpit, silence being enforced by three blows of a wooden hammer.
The supper then began, consisting of bread and cheese, and the visitors
used to walk about between the tables. Then followed the solemn
procession of the boys carrying their goods, and bowing repeatedly to
the governors and their guests. It was a pleasing custom, honoured
by the presence of many distinguished guests, and Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert on one occasion witnessed the spectacle.

[Illustration: CHRIST'S HOSPITAL: THE GARDEN.]

Then there were the annual orations on St. Matthew's Day, commemorating
the foundation of the school, and attended by the civic magnates.
A state service was held in Christ Church, Newgate Street, and,
afterwards, the Grecians delivered speeches, and a collection was made
for the support of these headboys when they went to the University.
The beadles delivered up their staves to the Court, and if no fault
was found with these officers their badges were returned to them. The
Company was regaled with "sweet cakes and burnt wine."

At Easter there were solemn processions--first, on Easter Monday, to
the Mansion House, when the Lord Mayor was escorted by the boys to
Christ Church to hear the Spital or hospital sermon. On Easter Tuesday
again the scholars repaired to the Mansion House, and were regaled
with a glass of wine, in lieu of which lemonade, in more recent times,
could be obtained, two buns, and a shilling fresh from the Mint,
the senior scholars receiving an additional sum, and the Grecians
obtained a guinea. Again the Spital sermon was preached. The boys were
entitled, by ancient custom, to sundry privileges--to address the
sovereign on his visiting the city, and the "King's boys" were entitled
to be presented at the first drawing-room of the season, to present
their charts for inspection, and to receive sundry gifts. By ancient
privilege they were entitled to inspect all the curiosities in the
Tower of London free of any charge, and these at one time included a
miniature zoological garden.

[Illustration: OLD STAIRCASE.]

Many are the notable men renowned in literature and art who have sprung
from this famous school. Charles Lamb, S. T. Coleridge, Leigh Hunt,
and countless other men might be mentioned who have done honour to
their school. Some of their recollections of old manners reveal some
strange educational methods--the severe thrashings, the handcuffing of
runaways, the confining in dungeons, wretched holes, where the boys
could just find room to lie down on straw, and were kept in solitary
confinement and fed worse than prisoners in modern gaols. Bread and
beer breakfasts were hardly the best diet for boys, and the meat does
not always appear to have been satisfactory. However, all these bygone
abuses have long ago disappeared. For some years the future of the
hospital was shrouded in uncertainty. At length it was resolved to
quit London, and now the old buildings have been pulled down, and the
school has taken a new lease of life and settled at Horsham, where
all will wish that it may have a long and prosperous career. We may
well conclude this brief notice of the old school in the words of the
School Commissioners of 1867, who stated: "Christ's Hospital is a thing
without parallel in the country and _sui generis_. It is a grand relic
of the mediæval spirit--a monument of the profuse munificence of that
spirit, and of that constant stream of individual beneficence, which
is so often found to flow around institutions of that character. It
has kept up its main features, its traditions, its antique ceremonies,
almost unchanged, for a period of upwards of three centuries. It has
a long and goodly list of worthies." We know not how many of these
antique ceremonies have survived its removal, but we venture to hope
that they may still exist, and that the authorities have not failed to
maintain the traditions that Time has consecrated.


The City Churches

In the pageant of London no objects are more numerous and conspicuous
than the churches which greet us at every step. In spite of the large
number which have disappeared, there are very many left. There they
stand in the centre of important thoroughfares, in obscure courts and
alleys--here surrounded by high towering warehouses; there maintaining
proud positions, defying the attacks of worldly business and affairs. A
whole volume would be required to do justice to the city churches, and
we can only glance at some of the most striking examples.

The Great Fire played havoc with the ancient structures, and involved
in its relentless course many a beautiful and historic church. But some
few of them are left to us. We have already seen St. Bartholomew's,
Smithfield, and glanced at the church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate, and
old St Paul's. Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral has so often been described
that it is not necessary to tell again the story of its building.[11]
"Destroyed by the Great Fire, rebuilt by Wren," is the story of most of
the city churches; but there were some few which escaped. At the east
end of Great Tower Street stands All Hallows Barking, so called from
having belonged to the abbey of Barking, Essex. This narrowly escaped
the fire, which burned the dial, and porch, and vicarage house. Its
style is mainly Perpendicular, with a Decorated east window, and has
some good brasses. St. Andrew's Undershaft, Leadenhall Street, opposite
to which the May-pole was annually raised until "Evil May-day" put an
end to the merry-makings, was rebuilt in 1520-32, and contains some
mural paintings, much stained glass, and many brasses and monuments,
including that of John Stow, the famous London antiquary. St. Catherine
Cree, in the same street, was rebuilt in 1629, and consecrated by
Laud. St. Dunstan's-in-the-East was nearly destroyed, and restored
by Wren, the present nave being rebuilt in 1817. St. Dunstan's,
Stepney, preserves its fifteenth century fabric, and St. Ethelburga's,
Bishopsgate, retains some of its Early English masonry, and St.
Ethelreda's, Ely Place, is the only surviving portion of the ancient
palace of the Bishops of Ely. St. Giles', Cripplegate, stands near the
site of a Saxon church built in 1090 by Alfun, the first hospitaller of
the Priory of St. Bartholomew. Suffering from a grievous fire in 1545,
it was partially rebuilt, and in 1682 the tower was raised fifteen
feet. Many illustrious men were buried here, including John Fox, John
Speed, the historian, John Milton and his father, several actors of
the Fortune Theatre, and Sir Martin Frobisher. In 1861 the church
was restored in memory of Milton, and a monument raised to him. This
church saw the nuptials of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bowchier in
1620. All Hallows Staining, Mark Lane, escaped the fire, and its tower
and west end are ancient. St. James', Aldgate, was built in 1622, and
escaped the fire, which might have spared more important edifices;
and St. Olave's, Hart Street, a building which shows Norman, Early
English, Decorated, and Perpendicular work, was happily preserved. This
is sometimes called Pepys's church, since he often mentions it in his
diary, and lies buried here. There are other interesting monuments,
and in the churchyard lie some of the victims of the Great Plague. St.
Sepulchre's, near Newgate, was damaged by the fire, and refitted by
Wren, but the main building is fifteenth century work. Several churches
escaped the Great Fire, but were subsequently pulled down and rebuilt.
Amongst these are St. Alphege, London Wall; St. Botolph-without,
Aldersgate; St. Botolph's, St. Martin's Outwich. St. Mary Woolnoth was
also damaged by the fire, and repaired by Wren. It stands on the site
of an early church, which was rebuilt in the fifteenth century; but the
greater part of the present church was built by Hawksmoor in 1716.

A strange, weird, desolate city met the eyes of the people of London
when the Great Fire had died away. No words can describe that scene
of appalling ruin and desolation. But, with the energy for which
Englishmen are remarkable, they at once set to work to restore their
loss, and a master-mind was discovered who could grapple with the
difficulty and bring order out of chaos. This wonderful genius was Sir
Christopher Wren. He devised a grand scheme for the rebuilding of the
city. Evelyn planned another. But property owners were tenacious of
their rights, and clung to their own parcels of ground; so these great
schemes came to nothing. However, to Wren fell the task of rebuilding
the fallen churches, and no less than fifty-two were entrusted to his
care. He had no one to guide him; no school of artists or craftsmen
to help him in the detail of his buildings; no great principles of
architecture to direct him. Gothic architecture was dead, if we except
the afterglow that shone in Oxford. He might have followed his great
predecessor, Inigo Jones, and produced works after an Italian model.
But he was no copyist. Taking the classic orders as his basis, he
devised a style of his own, suitable for the requirements of the time
and climate, and for the form of worship and religious usages of the
Anglican Church. "It is enough for Romanists to hear the murmur of the
mass, and see the elevation of the Host; but our churches are to be
fitted for auditories," he once said.

Of the churches built by Wren, eighteen beautiful buildings have
already been destroyed. St. Christopher-le-Stocks is swallowed up
by the Bank of England; St. Michael, Crooked Lane, disappeared
in 1841, when approaches were made to New London Bridge; St.
Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange made way for the Sun Fire Office; and
St. Benet Fink was pulled down because of its nearness to the Royal
Exchange. Since the passing of the Union of City Benefices Act in 1860,
fourteen churches designed by Wren have succumbed, and attacks on
others have been with difficulty warded off.[12]

The characteristics of Wren's genius were his versatility, imagination,
and originality. We will notice some of the results of these qualities
of mind. The tower hardly ever enters into the architectural treatment
of the interior. It is used as an entrance lobby or vestry. His
simplest plan was a plain oblong, without columns or recesses, such
as St. Mildred's, Bread Street, or St. Nicholas', Cole Abbey. St.
Margaret, Lothbury, St. Vedast, St. Clement, Eastcheap, have this
simple form, with the addition of an aisle or a recess. His next plan
consists of the central nave and two aisles, with or without clerestory
windows; of this St. Andrew Wardrobe and St. Magnus the Martyr furnish
good examples. The third plan is the domed church, such as St. Swithun
and St. Mary Abchurch. The merits and architectural beauties of Wren's
churches have been recently described in an able lecture delivered by
Mr. Arthur Keen before the Architectural Association, a lecture which
we should like to see expanded to the size of a book, and enriched with
copious drawings. It would be of immense service in directing the minds
of the citizens of London to the architectural treasures of which they
are the heirs.

The churches are remarkable for their beautifully carved woodwork,
often executed or designed by Grinling Gibbons or his pupils. Pews,
pulpits, with elaborate sounding boards, organ cases, altar pieces,
were all elaborately carved, and a gallery usually was placed at the
west end. Paintings by Sir James Thornhill and other artists adorn
his churches, and the art of Strong the master mason, Jennings the
carpenter, and Tijou the metal worker, all combined to beautify his
structures.

Within the limits of our space it is only possible to glance at the
interiors of a few of these churches, and note some of the treasures
therein contained. St. Andrew's, Holborn, has its original fifteenth
century tower, recarved in 1704. It is known as the "Poet's Church,"
on account of the singers connected with it, including a contemporary
of Shakespeare, John Webster, Robert Savage, Chatterton, and Henry
Neele, and can boast of such illustrious rectors as Bishops Hacket
and Stillingfleet, and Dr. Sacheverel. The spire of Christ Church,
Spitalfields, built by Hawksmoor, is the loftiest in London, and
has a fine peal of bells. In the church there is an early work of
Flaxman--the monument of Sir Robert Ladbrooke, Lord Mayor. The name
of St. Clement Danes reminds us of the connection of the sea-rovers
with London. Strype says that the church was so named "because Harold,
a Danish King, and other Danes, were buried there, and in that
churchyard." He tells how this Harold, an illegitimate son of Canute,
reigned three years, and was buried at Westminster; but, afterwards,
Hardicanute, the lawful son of Canute, in revenge for the injury done
to his mother and brother, ordered the body to be dug up and thrown
into the Thames, where it was found by a fisherman and buried in this
churchyard. There seems to be no doubt that there was a colony of
peaceful Danes in this neighbourhood, as testified by the Danish word
"Wych" given to a street hard by, and preserved in the modern Aldwych.
It was the oldest suburb of London, the village of Ældwic, and called
Aldewych. Oldwych close was in existence in the time of the Stuarts.
These people were allowed to reside between the Isle of Thorney, or
Westminster, and Ludgate, and, having become Christians, they built a
church for themselves, which was called _Ecclesia Clementis Danorum_.

There is a wild story of the massacre of the Danes in this church in
the days of Ethelred, as recorded in Strype's _Continuation of Stow_,
and in the _Jomsvikinga Saga_. As Mr. Loftie has not found space in
_Saxon London_ to mention this colony of Danes and their doings, I
venture to quote a passage from Mr. Lethaby's _Pre-Conquest London_,
which contains some interesting allusions to these people:

     "We are told that Sweyn made warfare in the land of
     King Ethelred, and drove him out of the land; he put
     _Thingumannalid_ in two places. The one in Lundunaborg
     (London) was ruled by Eilif Thorgilsson, who had sixty ships
     in the Temps (Thames); the other was north in Sleswik. The
     Thingamen made a law that no one should stay away a whole
     night. They gathered at the Bura Church every night when a
     large bell was rung, but without weapons. He who had command
     in the town (London) was Ædric Streona. Ulfkel Snilling ruled
     over the northern part of England (East Anglia). The power of
     the Thingamen was great. There was a fair there (in London)
     twice every twelve month, one about midsummer and the other
     about midwinter. The English thought it would be the easiest
     to slay the Thingamen while Cnut was young (he was ten winters
     old) and Sweyn dead. About Yule, waggons went into the town to
     the market, and they were all tented over by the treacherous
     advice of Ulfkel Snelling and Ethelred's sons. Thord, a man
     of the Thingumannalid, went out of the town to the house of
     his mistress, who asked him to stay, because the death was
     planned of all the Thingamen by Englishmen concealed in the
     waggons, when the Danes would go unarmed to the church. Thord
     went into the town and told it to Eilif. They heard the bell
     ringing, and when they came to the churchyard there was a
     great crowd who attacked them. Eilif escaped with three ships
     and went to Denmark. Some time after, Edmund was made King.
     After three winters, Cnut, Thorkel and Eric went with eight
     hundred ships to England. Thorkel had thirty ships, and slew
     Ulfkel Snilling, and married Ulfhild, his wife, daughter of
     King Ethelred. With Ulfkel was slain every man on sixty ships,
     and Cnut took Lundunaborg."

Matthew, of Westminster, also records this massacre of the Danes, and
other authorities consider that the account in the _Saga_ is founded
on fact. However that may be, the Danes undoubtedly had a colony here
of their traders, merchants, and seamen, and dedicated their church
to their favourite saint, St. Clement, the patron of mariners, whose
constant emblem is an anchor. Nor was this the only location of the
Northmen. Southwark was their fortified trading place, where they
had a church dedicated to St. Olaf, the patron saint of Norway. His
name remains in Tooley Street, not a very evident but certainly true
derivative of St. Olaf's Street. There are three churches dedicated to
St. Olave, who was none other than St. Olaf. St. Magnus, too, tells
of the Northmen, who was one of their favourite saints. Going back to
the church of St. Clement Danes, we notice that it was rebuilt in 1682
under the advice of Wren, the tower and steeple being added forty years
later. Dr. Johnson used to attend here, and a pillar near his seat
bears the inscription:

     "In this pew and beside this pillar, for many years attended
     Divine Service, the celebrated Dr. Johnson, the philosopher,
     the poet, the great lexicographer, the profound moralist, and
     chief writer of his time. Born 1709, died 1794. In remembrance
     and honour of noble faculties, nobly employed, some
     inhabitants of the parish of St. Clement Danes have placed
     this slight memorial, A.D. 1851."

One of the most important city churches is St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside.
It is one of Wren's finest works; but the old church, destroyed by the
Great Fire, had a notable history, being one of the earliest Norman
buildings in the country. Stow says it was named St. Mary _de Arcubus_
from its being built on arches of stone, these arches forming a crypt,
which still exists. The tower was a place of sanctuary, but not a very
effectual one, as Longbeard, a ringleader of a riot, was forced out of
his refuge by fire in 1190, and Ducket, a goldsmith, was murdered. The
Bow bells are famous, and one of them was rung nightly for the closing
of shops. Everyone knows the protesting rhyme of the 'prentices of the
Cheap when the clerk rang the bell late, and the reassuring reply of
that officer, who probably feared the blows of their staves. Lanterns
hung in the arches of the spire as beacons for travellers. The bells
of Bow are said to have recalled Dick Whittington, and those who have
always lived in the district where their sound can be heard are deemed
very ignorant folk by their country cousins. Whittington's church was
St. Michael's Paternoster Royal, Thames Street, which he rebuilt, and
wherein he was buried, though his body has been twice disturbed. The
church was destroyed by the Great Fire, and rebuilt by Wren.

It is impossible for us to visit all the churches, each of which
possesses some feature of interest, some historical association. They
impart much beauty to every view of the city, and not one of them can
be spared. Sometimes, in this utilitarian age, wise men tell us that
we should pull down many of these ancient buildings, sell the valuable
sites, and build other churches in the suburbs, where they would be
more useful. Eighteen of Wren's churches have been thus destroyed,
besides several of later date. The city merchants of old built their
churches, and made great sacrifices in doing so, for the honour of God
and the good of their fellow-men, and it is not for their descendants
to pull them down. If suburban people want churches, they should
imitate the example of their forefathers, and make sacrifices in order
to build them. Streets, old palaces, interesting houses, are fast
vanishing; the churches--at least, some of them--remain to tell the
story of the ancient civic life, to point the way to higher things amid
the bustling scenes of mercantile activity and commercial unrest. The
readers of these Memorials will wish "strength i' th' arme" to the City
Churches Preservation Society to do battle for these historic landmarks
of ancient London.


The Pageant of the Streets

Nothing helps us to realise the condition of ancient London, its growth
and expansion, like a careful study of its street-names. It shows
that in the Middle Ages London was very different from that great,
overcrowded, noisy, and far-extending metropolis which we see to-day.
It is difficult for us in these days to realise the small extent of
ancient London, when Charing was a village situated between the cities
of Westminster and London; or, indeed, to go back in imagination even
a century or two ago, when the citizens could go a-nutting on Notting
Hill, and when it was possible to see Temple Bar from Leicester Square,
then called Leicester Fields, and with a telescope observe the heads of
the Scotch rebels which adorned the spikes of the old gateway. In the
early coaching days, on account of the impassable roads, it required
three hours to journey from Paddington to the city. Kensington,
Islington, Brompton, and Paddington were simply country villages,
separated by fields and pastures from London; and the names of such
districts as Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Smithfield, Moorfields, and
many others, now crowded with houses, indicate the once rural character
of the neighbourhood.

The area enclosed by the city walls was not larger than Hyde Park.
Their course has been already traced, but we can follow them on the
map of London by means of the names of the streets. Thus, beginning
at the Tower, we pass on to Aldgate, and then to Bishopsgate. Outside
was a protecting moat, which survives in the name Houndsditch, wherein
doubtless dead dogs found a resting place. Then we pass on to London
Wall, a street which sufficiently tells its derivation. Outside this
part of the wall there was a fen, or bog, or moor, which survives in
Moorfields, Moorgate Street, and possibly Finsbury; and Artillery
Street shows where the makers of bows and arrows had their shops,
near the artillery ground, where the users of these weapons practised
at the butts. The name of the Barbican tells of a tower that guarded
Aldersgate, and some remains of the wall can still be seen in Castle
Street and in the churchyard of St. Giles', Cripplegate, the derivation
of which has at length been satisfactorily determined by Mr. Loftie in
our first chapter, and has nothing to do with the multitude of cripples
which Stow imagined congregated there. Thence we go to Newgate and the
Old Bailey, names that tell of walls and fortifications. Everyone knows
the name of the Bailey court of a castle, which intervened between the
keep or stronger portion of the defences and the outer walls or gate.
The court of the Old Bailey suggests to modern prisoners other less
pleasing ideas. Now the wall turns southward, in the direction of
Ludgate, where it was protected by a stream called the Fleet, whence
the name Fleet Street is derived. Canon Isaac Taylor suggests that
Fleet Street is really Flood Street, from which Ludgate or Floodgate
takes its name. We prefer the derivation given by Mr. Loftie. On the
south of Ludgate, and on the bank of the Thames, stood a mighty strong
castle, called Baynard Castle, constructed by William the Conqueror to
aid him, with the Tower of London, to keep the citizens in order. It
has entirely disappeared, but if you look closely at the map you will
find a wharf which records its memory, and a ward of the city also is
named after the long vanished stronghold. Now the course of the wall
follows the north bank of the river Thames, and the names Dowgate and
Billingsgate record its memory and of the city gates, which allowed
peaceable citizens to enter, but were strong to resist foes and rebels.

Within these walls craftsmen and traders had their own particular
localities, the members of each trade working together side by side in
their own street or district; and although now some of the trades have
disappeared, and traders are no longer confined to one district, the
street-names record the ancient home of their industries. The two great
markets were the Eastcheap and Westcheap, now Cheapside. The former, in
the days of Lydgate, was the abode of the butchers. Martin Lyckpenny
sings:

    "Then I hyed me into Est-chepe
    One cryes ribbes of befe and many a pye."

And near the butchers naturally were the cooks, who flourished in
Cooks' Row, along Thames Street. Candlewick Street took its name from
the chandlers. Cornhill marks the site of the ancient corn market.
Haymarket, where the theatre is so well known, was the site of a
market for hay, but that is comparatively modern. The citizens did
not go so far out of the city to buy and sell hay. Stow says: "Then
higher in Grasse Street is that parish church of St. Bennet, called
Grasse Church, of the herb market there kept"; and though he thinks
Fenchurch Street may be derived from a fenny or moorish ground,
"others be of opinion that it took that name of _Fænum_, that is, hay
sold there, as Grasse Street took the name of grass, or herbs, there
sold." Wool was sold near the church of St. Mary Woolchurch, which
stood on the site of the present Mansion House, and in the churchyard
was a beam for the weighing of wool. The name survives in that of St.
Mary Woolnoth, with which parish the other was united when St. Mary
Woolchurch was destroyed by the Great Fire. Lombard Street marks the
settlement of the great Lombardi merchants, the Italian financiers,
bankers, and pawnbrokers, who found a convenient centre for their
transactions midway between the two great markets, Eastcheap and
Cheapside. Sometimes the name of the street has been altered in course
of time, so that it is difficult to determine the original meaning.
Thus Sermon Lane has nothing to do with parsons, but is a corruption
of Sheremoniers' Lane, who "cut and rounded the plates to be coined
and stamped into sterling pence," as Stow says. Near this lane was the
Old Exchange, where money was coined. Later on, this coining was done
at a place still called the mint, in Bermondsey. Stow thought that
Lothbury was so called because it was a loathsome place, on account
of the noise made by the founders; but it is really a corruption
of Lattenbury, the place where these founders "cast candlesticks,
chafing-dishes, spice mortars, and such like copper or laton works."
Of course, people sold their fowls in the Poultry; fish and milk and
bread shops were to be found in the streets bearing these names; and
leather in Leather Lane and, perhaps, Leadenhall Market, said to be
a corruption of Leatherhall, though Stow does not give any hint of
this. Sopers' Lane was the abode of the soapmakers; Smithfield of the
smiths. Coleman Street derives its name from the man who first built
and owned it, says Stow; but later authorities place there the coalmen
or charcoal-burners. As was usual in mediæval towns, the Jews had a
district for themselves, and resided in Old Jewry and Jewin Street.

The favourite haunt of booksellers and publishers, Paternoster
Row, derives its name, according to Stow, "from the stationers or
text-writers that dwelled there, who wrote and sold all sorts of books
then in use, namely, A. B. C. or Absies, with the Paternoster, Ave,
Creed, Graces, etc. There dwelled also turners of beads, and they are
called Paternoster-makers. At the end of Paternoster Row is Ave Mary
Lane, so called upon the like occasion of text-writers and bead-makers
then dwelling there." Creed Lane and Amen Corner make up the names of
these streets where the worshippers in Old St. Paul's found their helps
to devotion.

Old London was a city of palaces as well as of trade. All the great
nobles of England had their town houses, or inns, as they were called.
They had vast retinues of armed men, and required no small lodging.
The Dukes of Exeter and Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland, and many
others, had their town houses, every vestige of which has passed away,
though their names are preserved by the streets and sites on which they
stood. The Strand, for example, is full of the memories of these old
mansions, which began to be erected along the river bank when the Wars
of the Roses had ceased, and greater security was felt by the people
of England, who then began to perceive that it might be possible to
live in safety outside the walls of the city. Northumberland Avenue
tells of the house of the Earls of Northumberland, which stood so
late as 1875; Burleigh Street and Essex Street recall the famous Sir
William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, whose son was created Earl of Essex.
Arundel House, the mansion of the Howards, is marked by Arundel Street,
Surrey Street, Howard Street, Norfolk Street, these being the titles
borne by scions of this famous family. The readers of the chapter on
the Royal Palaces need not be told of the traditions preserved by the
names Somerset House and the Savoy. Cecil Street and Salisbury Street
recall the memory of Salisbury House, built by Sir Robert Cecil, Earl
of Salisbury, brother of the Earl of Essex mentioned above. Then we
have Bedford Street, with Russell Street, Southampton Street, Tavistock
Street, around Covent Garden. These names unfold historical truths.
Covent Garden is an abbreviated form of Convent Garden, the garden
of the monks of Westminster. It was granted to the Russell family at
the dissolution of monasteries, and the Russells, Earls of Bedford,
erected a mansion here, which has long disappeared, but has left traces
behind in the streets named after the various titles to which members
of the Russell family attained. In another part of London we find
traces of the same family. After leaving Covent Garden they migrated
to Bloomsbury, and there we find Bedford Square, Southampton Street,
Russell Square, Tavistock Square, and Chenies Street, this latter being
named after their seat in Buckinghamshire. Craven buildings, near
Drury Lane, tells of the home of Lord Craven, the devoted admirer of
the "Queen of Hearts," the beautiful Queen of Bohemia. Clare House,
the mansion of the Earls of Clare, survives in Clare Market; and
Leicester Square points to the residence of the favourite of Queen
Elizabeth, and Villiers Street and Buckingham Street to that of another
court favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. The bishops also had their
town houses, and their sites are recorded by such names as Ely Place,
Salisbury Square, Bangor Court, and Durham Street.

We might wander westward, and trace the progress of building and of
fashion, and mark the streets that bear witness to the memories of
great names in English history; but that would take us far beyond our
limits. Going back citywards, we should find many other suggestive
names of streets--those named after churches; those that record the
memories of religious houses, such as Blackfriars, Austin Friars,
Crutched Friars; those that mark the course of many streams and brooks
that now find their way underground to the great river. All these names
recall glimpses of Old London, and must be cherished as priceless
memorials of ancient days.


The Heart of the City

In the centre of London, at the eastern end of Cheapside, stand the
Royal Exchange, the Mansion House, and Bank of England, all of which
merit attention. The official residence of the Lord Mayor--associated
with the magnificent hospitality of the city, with the memory of many
distinguished men who have held the office of Chief Magistrate, and
with the innumerable charitable schemes which have been initiated
there--was built by Dance, and completed in 1753. It is in the Italian
style, and resembles a Palladian Palace. Its conspicuous front, with
Corinthian columns supporting a pediment, in the centre of which is a
group of allegorical sculpture, is well known to all frequenters of
the city. Formerly it had an open court, but this has been roofed over
and converted into a grand banquetting hall, known as the Egyptian
Hall. There are other dining rooms, a ball room, and drawing room, all
superbly decorated, and the Mansion House is a worthy home for the Lord
Mayor of London.

The Bank of England commenced its career in 1691; founded by William
Paterson, a Scotsman, and incorporated by William III. The greatest
monetary establishment in the world at first managed to contain its
wealth in a single chest, not much larger than a seaman's box. Its
first governor was Sir John Houblon, who appears largely in the recent
interesting volume on the records of the Houblon family, and whose
house and garden were on part of the site of the present bank. The
halls of the mercers and grocers provided a home for the officials in
their early dealings. The site of the bank was occupied by a church,
St. Christopher-le-Stocks, three taverns, and several houses. These
have all been removed to make room for the extensions which from time
to time were found necessary. The back of the Threadneedle Street front
is the earliest portion--built in 1734, to which Sir Robert Taylor
added two wings; and then Sir John Soane was appointed architect, and
constructed the remainder of the present buildings in the Corinthian
style, after the model of the Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli. There
have been several subsequent additions, including the heightening of
the Cornhill front by an attic in 1850. There have been many exciting
scenes without those sombre-looking walls. It has been attacked by
rioters. Panics have created "runs" on the bank; in 1745 the managers
just saved themselves by telling their agents to demand payment for
large sums in sixpences, which took a long time to count, the agents
then paying in the sixpences, which had to be again counted, and thus
preventing _bonâ-fide_ holders of notes presenting them. At one time
the corporation had a very insignificant amount of money in the bank,
and just saved themselves by issuing one pound notes. The history of
forgeries on the bank would make an interesting chapter, and the story
of its defence in the riots of 1780, when old inkstands were used as
bullets by the gallant defenders, fills a page of old-world romance.

[Illustration: THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.

_Engraved by Hollar, 1644._]

But interesting as these buildings are, their stories pale before
that of the Royal Exchange. The present building was finished in
1844, and opened by her late Majesty Queen Victoria with a splendid
state and civic function. Its architecture is something after the
style of the Pantheon at Rome. Why the architects of that and earlier
periods always chose Italian models for their structures is one of the
mysteries of human error; but, as we have seen, all these three main
buildings in the heart of the city are copied from Italian structures.
William Tite was the architect, and he achieved no mean success. The
great size of the portico, the vastness of the columns, the frieze and
sculptured tympanum, and striking figures, all combine to make it an
imposing building. Upon the pedestal of the figure of "Commerce" is the
inscription: "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." The
interior has been enriched by a series of mural paintings, representing
scenes from the municipal life of London, the work of eminent artists.

This exchange is the third which has stood upon this site. The first
was built by Sir Thomas Gresham, one of the famous family of merchants
to whom London owes many benefits. It was a "goodly Burse," of Flemish
design, having been built by a Flemish architect and Flemish workmen,
and closely resembled the great Burse of Antwerp. The illustration,
taken from an old engraving by Hollar, 1644, shows the building with
its large court, with an arcade, a corridor or "pawn" of stalls above,
and, in the high-pitched roof, chambers with dormer windows. Above
the roofs a high bell-tower is seen, from which, at twelve o'clock at
noon and at six in the evening, a bell sounded forth that proclaimed
the call to 'Change. The merchants are shown walking or sitting on the
benches transacting their business. Each nationality or trade had its
own "walk." Thus there were the "Scotch walk," "Hanbro'," "Irish,"
"East country," "Swedish," "Norway," "American," "Jamaica," "Spanish,"
"Portugal," "French," "Greek," and "Dutch and Jewellers'" walks. When
Queen Elizabeth came to open the Exchange, the tradesmen began to use
the hundred shops in the corridor, and "milliners or haberdashers sold
mouse-traps, bird-cages, shoeing-horns, Jews' trumps, etc.; armourers,
that sold both old and new armour; apothecaries, booksellers,
goldsmiths, and glass-sellers." The Queen declared that this beautiful
building should be no longer called the Burse, but gave it the name
"The Royal Exchange." In the illustration some naughty boys have
trespassed upon the seclusion of the busy merchants, and the beadle is
endeavouring to drive them out of the quadrangle.

This fine building was destroyed by the Great Fire, when all the
statues fell down save that of the founder, Sir Thomas Gresham. His
trustees, now known as the Gresham Committee, set to work to rebuild
it, and employed Edward German as their architect, though Wren gave
advice concerning the project. As usual, the citizens were not very
long in accomplishing their task, and three years after the fire the
second Exchange was opened, and resembled in plan its predecessor. Many
views of it appear in the Crace collection in the British Museum. In
1838 it was entirely destroyed by fire. In the clock-tower there was
a set of chimes, and the last tune they played, appropriately, was,
"There's nae luck about the house." As we have seen, in a few years the
present Royal Exchange arose, which we trust will be more fortunate
than its predecessors, and never fall a victim to the flames.

       *       *       *       *       *

There is much else that we should like to see in Old London, and record
in these Memorials. We should like to visit the old fairs, especially
Bartholomew Fair, Smithfield, either in the days of the monks or with
my Lady Castlemaine, who came in her coach, and mightily enjoyed a
puppet show; and the wild beasts, dwarfs, operas, tight-rope dancing,
sarabands, dogs dancing the Morrice, hare beating a tabor, a tiger
pulling the feathers from live fowls, the humours of Punchinello, and
drolls of every degree. Pages might be written of the celebrities of
the fair, of the puppet shows, where you could see such incomparable
dramas as _Whittington and his Cat_, _Dr. Faustus_, _Friar Bacon_,
_Robin Hood and Little John_, _Mother Shipton_, together with "the
tuneful warbling pig of Italian race." But our pageant is passing,
and little space remains. We should like to visit the old prisons. A
friend of the writer, Mr. Milliken, has allowed himself to be locked
in all the ancient gaols which have remained to our time, and taken
sketches of all the cells wherein famous prisoners have been confined;
of gates, and bars, and bolts and doors, which have once restrained
nefarious gaol-birds. Terrible places they were, these prisons, wherein
prisoners were fleeced and robbed by governors and turnkeys, and, if
they had no money, were kicked and buffeted in the most merciless
manner. Old Newgate, which has just disappeared, has perhaps the most
interesting history. It began its career as a prison in the form of a
tower or part of the city gate. Thus it continued until the Great Fire,
after which it was restored by Wren. In our illustration of the old
gatehouse, it will be seen that it had a windmill at the top. This was
an early attempt at ventilation, in order to overcome the dread malady
called "gaol distemper," which destroyed many prisoners. Many notable
names appear on the list of those who suffered here, including several
literary victims, whose writings caused them grievous sufferings.
The prison so lately destroyed was designed by George Dance in 1770.
A recent work on architecture describes it as almost perfect of its
kind. Before it was completed it was attacked by the Gordon rioters,
who released the prisoners and set it on fire. It was repaired and
finished in 1782. Outwardly so imposing, inwardly it was, for a long
period, one of the worst prisons in London, full of vice and villainy,
unchecked, unreformed; while outside frequently gathered tumultuous
crowds to see the condemned prisoners hanged. We might have visited
also the debtors' prisons with Mr. Pickwick and other notables, if
our minds were not surfeited with prison fare; and even followed the
hangman's cart to Tyburn, to see the last of some notorious criminals.
Where the Ludgate Railway Station now stands was the famous Fleet
prison, which had peculiar privileges, the Liberty of the Fleet
allowing prisoners to go on bail and lodge in the neighbourhood of
the prison. The district extended from the entrance to St. Paul's
churchyard, Old Bailey, Ludgate Hill, to the Thames. Everyone has heard
of the Fleet marriages that took place in this curious neighbourhood.
On the other side of New Bridge Street there was a wild district called
Alsatia, extending from Fleet Street to the Thames, wherein, until
1697, cheats and scoundrels found a safe sanctuary, and could not be
disturbed.

Again, we should like to visit the old public gardens, Vauxhall and
Ranelagh, in company with Horace Walpole, or with Miss Burney's
_Evelina_ or Fielding's _Amelia_, and note "the extreme beauty and
elegance of the place, with its 1,000 lamps"; "and happy is it for me,"
the young lady remarks, "since to give an adequate idea of it would
exceed my power of description."

But the pageant must at length pass on, and we must wake from the
dreams of the past to find ourselves in our ever growing, ever
changing, modern London. It is sufficient for us to reflect sometimes
on the past life of the great city, to see again the scenes which took
place in the streets and lanes we know so well, to form some ideas of
the characters and manners of our forefathers, and to gather together
some memorials of the greatest and most important city in the world.

FOOTNOTES:

[11] _Cf._ _Cathedral Churches of Great Britain._ (Dent & Co.)

[12] _Cf._ Mr. Philip Norman's notes on a recent lecture by Mr. Arthur
Keen. _Architect_, December 27th, 1907.




INDEX


Abbey, Bermondsey, ii., 46

Abbot of Westminster and monks in Tower prison, i., 59

---- of Malmesbury, i., 159

Actor, Thomas Davies the, ii., 178

Addison at Wills' Coffee-house, ii., 178

Albemarle Club, ii., 110

---- Monk, Duke of, ii., 75

Albus, Liber, i., 122

Aldermanbury, St. Mary, ii., 31

Aldersgate, i., 21

Aldgate, i., 24; ii., 39

Aldwych, ii., 208

Alfred Club, ii., 107

---- the Great, i., 13, 19, 111

All Hallows Barking ii., 204

---- Staining, Mark Lane, ii., 205

---- the More, Church of, i., 230

Alpine Club, ii., 110

Alsatia, ii., 36

Anecdote of Charles II. and the Chaplains' dinner, ii., 62

"Angel Inn," Wych Street, ii., 131

Anglo-Saxon houses, i., 114

Anlaf the Dane, i., 10

Anthropological Institute, ii., 163

---- Society, ii., 162

Antiquaries, Society of, ii., 150, 153

Apothecaries' Company, i., 200

Apprentices of London, i., 123

---- dress of, i., 124

---- flogging of, i., 124

Archæological Association, British, ii., 163

---- Institute, ii., 164

Archbishop of Canterbury, William de Corbeil, i., 68

Archdeacon Hale, reforms of, i., 103

Archery, ii., 43

Architect, George Dance, i., 182

---- of Palace of Westminster, ii., 2

---- of Tower, Gundulf, i., 32, 33

Architecture, Crusaders' influence on, i., 134

_Armory, London's_, i., 240

Armourers' and Braziers' Company, i., 200, 201

Arms of the City and See of London, i., 233

Army and Navy Club, ii., 102

Arsenal, Tower an, i., 56, 60

Arthur's Club, ii., 101

Artillery Street, ii., 212

Artists, Blackfriars as abode of, ii., 49

Artizans' Houses, i., 125

Arts, Society of, ii., 154

Arundel House, ii., 216

Asiatic Society, Royal, ii., 158

Associates of the Temple, i., 136

Association, British Archæological, ii., 163

---- for the Advancement of Science, British, ii., 158

Associations of Covent Garden, Literary, ii., 178

---- of Pall Mall, Literary, ii., 179

---- of St. James' Street, Literary, ii., 180

---- of the Temple, Literary, i., 146

Athenæum Club, ii., 105

Augustine Friars, ii., 36

August Society of the Wanderers Club, ii., 101

Aulus Plautius, i., 6

Austin Friars, ii., 27, 217

Authors' Club, ii., 110

Authors of the Temple, ii., 174

Ave Mary Lane, ii., 215

Avenue, Northumberland, ii., 215

"Axe" Inn, Aldermanbury, ii., 131

Axe Yard, Westminster, ii., 54


Bacon, Sir Francis, i., 101

Bacon's Inn, i., 174

Bailey, Old, i., 25; ii., 212

Bakers' Company, i., 201

Bank of England, ii., 217

Bankside, ii., 45

"Banqueting Hall," Tower, i., 35

Banqueting House, Whitehall, ii., 14

Banquets, City, i., 188

Barbers', or Barber Surgeons' Company i., 201

Barbican, ii., 212

---- destroyed, i., 53

Barges of City Companies, i., 195

Barnard's Inn, i., 168

Barry, Sir Charles, ii., 2

Bars, London, ii., 52

Bartholomew Fair, ii., 220

---- the Great, St., Smithfield, i., 66

Basilica, Roman, i., 7

Bath Club, ii., 110

---- Roman, i., 7

"Batson's" Coffee-house, ii., 137

Battle at Crayford, i., 14

Baynard Castle, i., 30, 122; ii., 213

Bear-baiting, ii., 44, 47

Bear Garden, ii., 47

Beauchamp, Monument of Sir John, i., 118

Beauvale, Nottinghamshire, i., 87

"Bedford" Coffee-house, ii., 137, 138

Bedford, Earls of, ii., 216

"Bell and Crown" Inn, Holborn, ii., 125

"Bell" Inn, Warwick Lane, ii., 131

Bell Inn, ii., 114

Bells of Bow, The, ii., 210

Belmie, Richard de, Bishop of London, i., 68

Berkeley House, ii., 53

Bermondsey Abbey, ii., 46

Berwick Bridge and Bribery, i., 101

Bethnal Green, ii., 53

Billingsgate, i., 8, 126; ii., 21

Bishop of London, Mellitus, first, i., 16

---- Richard de Belmies, i., 68

Bishopsgate, i., 18, 228; ii., 183

Bishops of London, seals of, i., 236

Bishops' houses, ii., 216

Bishopric of London, i., 89

Black death, i., 88

Blackfriars, ii., 47, 217

---- abode of artists, ii., 49

---- Bridge, ii., 95

---- Glovers in, ii., 49

---- playhouse near, ii., 48

---- Shakespeare's house in, ii., 50

---- Vandyke's studio in, ii., 49

Blacksmiths' Company, i., 201

Blackwell Hall, i., 183

Blake, William, poet, painter, ii., 176

Bloody Gate Tower, i., 47, 61

"Blossoms" Inn, ii., 131

"Blue Boar" Inn, ii., 118

"Boar's Head" Inn, ii., 168

"Bolt-in-Tun" Inn, Fleet Street, ii., 127

Bolton, William, prior of St. Bartholomew, i., 76

Bonfires, ii., 41

Boodle's Club, ii., 101

Borough, The, ii., 166

Boswell, ii., 176

Bow Bells, ii., 210

Bowyers' Company, i., 201

Braziers' Company, Armourers' and, i., 200, 201

Bread Street, ii., 30

---- John Milton born in, ii., 170

Brewers' Company, i., 201

Bribery and Berwick Bridge, i., 101

---- Extraordinary, i., 101

Brick building by the Hansa, i., 229

Bridewell, ii., 6

---- Hospital, ii., 49, 196

---- Palace of, ii., 48

Bridge, Blackfriars, ii., 95

---- Chapel, ii., 88, 90

---- Gate, ii., 88, 90

---- Old London, i., 6, 10, 125

---- of London, ii., 21, 24, 28

---- St. Thomas of the, ii., 24

---- Southwark, ii., 82, 97

---- Waterloo, ii., 97

---- Westminster, ii., 94

"Bridge House Estates," ii., 87

British Archæological Association, ii., 163

---- Association for the Advancement of Science, ii., 158

Broad Street, ii., 36

Broderers' Company, i., 201

Brontë, Charlotte and Anne, ii., 171

Brook, Turnmill, i., 149

Brooks's Club, ii., 101, 103

_Brooks's, Memorials of_, ii., 103

Brown, Dr. Haig, i., 104

Buckingham Palace, ii., 15

Bucklersbury, ii., 30

Builder of Tower of London, Gundulf, i., 32, 33

---- Westminster Bridge, Labelye, ii., 94

Building, Goldsmith, i., 146

---- Lamb, i., 147

---- operations at the Tower, Henry III., i., 50

---- Wren's, i., 144

Buildings, Craven, ii., 216

---- Harcourt, i., 146

---- Johnson's, i., 146

---- Mitre Court, i., 147

"Bull and Mouth" Inn, St. Martin's-le-Grand, ii., 129

Bull-Baiting, ii., 46

"Bull" Inn, ii., 119

---- in Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121

Burbage, James, ii., 45

Burleigh Street, ii., 215

Burlington House, ii., 53

Butler, Samuel, ii., 179

Button's Coffee-house, ii., 99

Byron, Lord, ii., 180


Camden's description of St. Paul's Cathedral, ii., 33

Candlewick Street, ii., 213

Cannon Street, i., 116

Canterbury, William de Corbeil, Archbishop of, i., 68

Capital of Kings of Essex, i., 12

Cardinal Wolsey, ii., 13

---- Wolsey's Palace, i., 116

Carlton Club, ii., 108

Carpenters' Company, i., 200, 202

Carthusian house, first, i., 87

---- Order, i., 86

Carved woodwork in City Churches, ii., 207

Cassius, Dion, i., 3

Castle, Baynard, i., 30, 122; ii., 213

Castles of earth and timber, Early, i., 49

Cathedral, St. Paul's, i., 16, 24

"Catherine Wheel" Inn, ii., 123

Cedd, St., i., 16

Celtic London, i., 1-5

---- site of, i., 2

Chair in Fishmongers' Hall, ii., 92

Chancery, difference between the Inns of Court and, i., 161

---- Holborn and the Inns of Court and, i., 149, 177

---- Inns of, i., 167

---- Lane, i., 133, 153

Change, Old, ii., 32

Chantry Chapel of St. Bartholomew, built by de Walden, i., 72

Chapel, Bridge, ii., 88, 90

---- Guildhall, i., 182

---- London Bridge, ii., 24

---- of St. John, i., 36

---- of St. Peter and Vincula, i., 42, 49, 57

---- Pardon Churchyard and, i., 88

---- Royal, at St. James's Palace, ii., 12

---- Savoy, ii., 4

"Chapter" Coffee-house, ii., 137, 139

Charing Cross, the "Rummer" in, ii., 179

---- "Three Tuns" at, ii., 71

Charles I. a prisoner in St. James's Palace, ii., 9

---- his execution, ii., 10

Charles II. and the Chaplains' dinner, anecdote of, ii., 62

---- Evelyn's description of Restoration of, ii., 55

Charles the Martyr, ii., 10

Charnel-house, St. Bartholomew, i., 78

Charter of William I., i., 22

Charterhouse, i., 86

---- alterations in sixteenth century, i., 97

---- ejection of schoolmaster, i., 103

---- fifteenth century plan of, i., 94

---- Hospital, i., 98

---- John Houghton, Prior of, i., 91

---- Monastery, destruction of, i., 93

---- Palace, i., 94

---- Refectory, i., 94

---- reforms of Archdeacon Hale, i., 103

---- School, i., 102

---- ---- moved to Godalming, i., 104

Chaucer, i., 124

---- marriage of, ii., 4

Cheapside, i., 126; ii., 29, 30

---- St. Mary-le-Bow, ii., 210

"Cheshire Cheese," ii., 173

Cheshire Cheese Club, ii., 99

Christchurch, ii., 39

Christ Church, Spitalfields, ii., 207

Christ's Hospital, ii., 35, 194, 196

---- ---- pictures at, ii., 200

---- ---- removed to Horsham, ii., 203

---- ---- Samuel Pepys and, ii., 198

_Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London_, i., 109

Church, All Hallows the More, i., 230

---- consecrated by Heraclius, Temple, i., 133

---- desecration of Temple, i., 145

---- effigies in Temple, i., 136

---- Life of the City, i., 127

---- Organ, Temple, i., 145

---- St. Andrew in Holborn, i., 164

---- St. Andrew in the Wardrobe, ii., 50

---- St. Bartholomew the Great, former neglected condition of, i., 66

---- St. Bride, ii., 6

---- St. Buttolph, ii., 38

---- St. Helen, ii., 184

---- St. Leonard's, ii., 42

---- St. Mary le Bow, i., 24

---- St. Michael-le-Querne, ii., 32

Churches, carved woodwork in City, ii., 207

---- City, ii., 203

---- destroyed, Wren's, ii., 206

---- in London, number of, ii., 23

---- Plays in, i., 129

Churchyard and Chapel, Pardon, i., 88

Citizens, liveries of, i., 192

---- Middlesex granted to the, i., 23

City and See of London, Arms of the, i., 233

---- banquets, i., 188

---- Churches, carved woodwork in, ii., 207

---- ---- ii., 203

---- Church life of the, i., 127

---- Companies, i., 191

---- ---- barges of the, i., 195

---- ---- Charity and Religion of, i., 195

---- ---- Patron Saints of, i., 196

---- ---- promotion of trade by, i., 196

---- Customs of the, i., 187

---- Feasts, i., 192

---- Freedom of the, i., 185

---- Gates of, i., 11

---- Heart of the, ii., 217

---- of palaces, ii., 215

Civil War troubles, i., 102

Clare Market, ii., 216

Clarendon House, ii., 53

Clement's Inn, i., 175

Clerkenwell, i., 129, 140

Clerks' Company, Parish, i., 129

Cleveland Row, Theodore Hook in, ii., 181

Clifford's Inn, i., 175

Clipping or "sweating" coin, i., 109

Clockmakers' Company, i., 202

Cloister Court, ii., 50

Cloth Fair, Smithfield, i., 116

Clothworkers' Company, i., 199

---- Hall, i., 222

Club, Albemarle, ii., 110

---- Alfred, ii., 107

---- Alpine, ii., 110

---- Army and Navy, ii., 102

---- Arthur's, ii., 101

---- Athenæum, ii., 105

---- August Society of the Wanderers, ii., 101

---- Authors', ii., 110

---- Bath, ii., 110

---- Boodle's, ii., 101

---- Brooks's, ii., 101, 103

---- Button's Coffee-house, ii., 99

---- Carlton, ii., 108

---- Cheshire Cheese, ii., 99

---- Cock, ii., 99

---- Cocoa Tree, ii., 101, 180

---- Conservative, ii., 109

---- Fox, ii., 104

---- Garrick, ii., 107

---- Guards', ii., 101

---- Hurlingham, ii., 110

---- Junior United Service, ii., 102

---- Kit Cat, ii., 177

---- Literary, ii., 180

---- Marlborough, ii., 110

---- Marylebone Cricket, ii., 110

---- National, ii., 109

---- Oriental, ii., 106

---- "Rag and Famish," ii., 103

---- Reform, ii., 108

---- "Sublime Society of Beef Steaks," ii., 100

---- "Thatched House," ii., 180

---- Travellers', ii., 104

---- Union, ii., 104

---- United Service, ii., 101

---- United University, ii., 104

---- White's, ii., 101

Clubs of London, ii., 99

Coach and Coach-Harness Company, i., 202

"Coal Hole," ii., 177

Cock Club, ii., 99

"Cock" Inn, ii., 71

Cockpit Theatre, ii., 58, 59

Cocoa Tree Club, ii., 101, 180

Coffee, first introduction of, ii., 135

Coffee-house, Button's, ii., 99

Coffee-houses, Old London, ii., 135

---- as lecture rooms, ii., 146

---- as public reading-rooms, ii., 143

---- Manners and modes in, ii., 148

---- Museums at, ii., 146

---- Quack medicines sold at, ii., 144

---- Sales at, ii., 146

Coin, clipping or "sweating," i., 109

Coins found in the Thames, i., 10

Colchester keep, compared with the keep of the Tower, i., 33

Cold Harbour Gate, i., 41

Colechurch, Peter of, ii., 85

Coleman Street, i., 18

Colet, i., 86

Collections, Zoological, ii., 63

Colony, Danish, ii., 208

Commerce, Trade and, ii., 186

Common Hall, i., 186

"Common Playhouses," ii., 43

Companies, Barges of City, i., 195

---- Charity and Religion of City, i., 195

---- City, i., 191

---- Halls of the, i., 217

---- Patron Saints of City, i., 196

---- Promotion of trade by City, i., 196

---- Spoliation of the, i., 214

Company, Apothecaries', i., 201

---- Armourers' and Braziers', i., 201

---- Bakers', i., 201

---- Barbers' or Barber Surgeons', i., 201

---- Blacksmiths', i., 201

---- Bowyers', i., 201

---- Brewers', i., 201

---- Broderers', i., 201

---- Carpenters', i., 200, 202

---- Clockmakers', i., 202

---- Clockworkers', i., 199

---- Coach and Coach Harness, i., 202

---- Cooks', i., 202

---- Coopers', i., 203

---- Cordwainers', i., 203

---- Curriers', i., 203

---- Cutlers', i., 203

---- Distillers', i., 203

---- Drapers', i., 198

---- Dyers', i., 203

---- Fanmakers', i., 204

---- Farriers', i., 204

---- Feltmakers', i., 204

---- Fishmongers', i., 195, 197, 198

---- Fletchers', 201, 204

---- Founders', i., 204

---- Framework Knitters', i., 205

---- Fruiterers', i., 205

---- Girdlers', i., 205

---- Glass-sellers', i., 206

---- Glaziers', i., 206

---- Glovers', i., 206

---- Goldsmiths', i., 195, 197

---- Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers', i., 206

---- Grocers', i., 197

---- Gunmakers', i., 206

---- Haberdashers', i., 199

---- Horners', i., 207

---- Innholders', i., 207

---- Ironmongers', i., 199

---- Joiners', i., 207

---- Leathersellers', i., 200, 207

---- Loriners', i., 208

---- Masons', i., 208

---- Mercers', i., 197

---- Merchant Taylors', i., 198

---- Musicians', i., 208

---- Needlemakers', i., 208

---- Painters' or Painter-stainers', i., 208

---- Parish Clerks', i., 129

---- Pattenmakers', i., 209

---- Pewterers', i., 209

---- Plaisterers', i., 209

---- Playing-card Makers', i., 209

---- Plumbers', i., 209

---- Poulters', i., 210

---- Saddlers', i., 200, 210

---- Salters', i., 199

---- Scriveners', i., 210

---- Shipwrights', i., 211

---- Skinners', i., 196, 199

---- Spectacle-makers', i., 211

---- Stationers', i., 212

---- Tallow Chandlers', i., 212

---- Tin-plate Workers', i., 212

---- Turners' or Wood-potters', i., 212

---- Tylers' and Bricklayers', i., 212

---- Upholders', i., 212

---- Vintners', i., 197, 199

---- Wax Chandlers', i., 212

---- Weavers', i., 213

---- Wheelwrights', i., 213

---- Woolmen's, i., 213

"Concentric" Castle, i., 40

Conduit, ii., 31

"Conduit, The Little," ii., 32

Conference, Savoy, ii., 5

Congreve, ii., 177

Consecration of the Temple Church by Heraclius, i., 133

Conservative Club, ii., 109

Constable of the Tower, Geoffrey de Mandeville, i., 41

---- William Puinctel, i., 45

Conversion of Jews, i., 108

Cooks' Company, i., 202

---- Row, ii., 213

Coopers' Company, i., 203

Corbeil, William de, Archbishop of Canterbury, i., 68

Corbis, Peter--Water engineer, ii., 91

Cordwainers' Company, i., 203

Cornhill, i., 126; ii., 213

---- Gray born in, ii., 171

Corporation, religious services of the, i., 183

Corpus Christi Day, i., 127

Court and Chancery, difference between the Inns of, i., 161

---- ---- Holborn and the Inns of, i., 149, 177

---- Buildings, Mitre, i., 147

---- Cloister, ii., 50

---- Hare, i., 145

---- Northumberland, i., 154

---- of Requests, ii., 2

---- Plays in halls of Inns of, i., 143

---- Tanfield, i., 146

---- Wardrobe, ii., 50

Covent Garden, ii., 52, 216

---- ---- Literary associations of, ii., 178

Cowley, Abraham, ii., 171

Cowper, ii., 174

Craven Buildings, ii., 216

Crayford, Battle at, i., 14

Cripplegate, i., 11, 21

---- wooden houses, i., 115

Croft, Spittle, i., 89

Crooked Streets, Narrow and, i., 112

Crosby estate at Hanworth-on-Thames, ii., 186

---- Hall, i., 123; ii., 37, 182

---- Place, i., 115, 122

---- Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at, ii., 190

---- Sir John, i., 122; ii., 88, 185

---- Thomas More at, ii., 190

Cross, Demolition of St. Paul's, i., 120

---- Eleanor, ii., 31

Crossbows, i., 56

"Cross Keys" in Bishopsgate Street, ii., 120

Cross, Paul's, i., 119; ii., 34

"Crown" Coffee-house, ii., 138

---- Inn, Holborn, ii., 126

"Crowned or Cross Keys" Inn, ii., 117

"Crug-baskets," ii., 200

Crusaders, their influence on architecture, i., 134

Crutched Friars, ii., 217

Crypt of St. Ann's Chapel, i., 139

Crypts, Guildhall, i., 180

Cursitors' Inn, i., 174

Custom House, ii., 21

Customs of the City, i., 187

Cutlers' Company, i., 203


Dance, George, Architect, i., 182

Dane, Anlaf the, i., 10

Danes destroyed London, i., 13

---- massacre of the, ii., 208

Danish colony, ii., 208

---- invasion, i., 19

Davenant, ii., 69

Davies, Thomas, the actor, ii., 178

Davy's Inn, i., 155, 165, 172

Death, Black, i., 88

Dekker, ii., 168

Demolition of Paul's Cross, i., 120

Description of Restoration of Charles II., Evelyn's, ii., 55

Desecration of Temple Church, i., 145

Destruction of Charterhouse monastery, i., 93

---- of Monuments, ii., 36

---- of Wren's churches, ii., 206

"Devil" Inn, ii., 173

Devonshire House, ii., 53

Dickens' days in Hungerford Stairs, ii., 179

Difference between Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery, i., 161

"Dine with Duke Humphrey, to," i., 117

Dinner, anecdote of Charles II. and the Chaplains', ii., 62

Dion Cassius, i., 3

Disabilities of Jews, i., 107

Distillers' Company, i., 203

_Diurnal_, Rugge's, ii., 56

Doctors, Heroic, ii., 74

"Dog" Inn, ii., 70

"Dolphin" Inn, ii., 123

Dominicans' monastery in Shoe Lane, i., 150

Dorset Gardens Theatre, ii., 68

---- Thomas Sackville, first Earl of, ii., 171

Dowgate, i., 8

Downing Street, ii., 54

Drapers' Company, i., 198

Drayton, Michael, ii., 171

Dress of apprentices, i., 124

Drury Lane Theatre, ii., 68

Dryden, ii., 178

"Duke Humphrey, to dine with," i., 117

Duke of Albemarle, Monk, ii., 75

---- of Gloucester, at Crosby Hall, Richard, ii., 190

Duke's House Theatre, ii., 67

---- Place, ii., 40

Dyers' Company, i., 203


Earl of Warwick, Inn of, in Warwick Lane, i., 123

Earls of Bedford, ii., 216

Early castles of earth and timber, i., 49

---- Times, London in, i., 1-26

Earth and timber, early castles of, i., 49

Eastcheap, i., 126

---- and Westcheap, markets of, ii., 213

East Smithfield, Edmund Spenser born in, ii., 171

Effigies in Temple Church, i., 136

Ejection of Charterhouse Schoolmaster, i., 103

Eleanor Cross, ii., 31

Elizabeth, Industries encouraged by, ii., 49

Elizabethan London, ii., 21

England, Bank of, ii., 217

Enlargement of the Tower by Richard I., i., 44

Erkenwald, Bishop of London, i., 17

Ermin Street, i., 7

Escape from the Tower of Flambard, Bishop of Durham, i., 39

Essex, capital of the Kings of, i., 12

---- Street, ii., 215

"Estates, Bridge House," ii., 87

Ethnological Society, ii., 161

Etiquette in Hyde Park, ii., 67

Etymology of London, i., 2

Eve, Midsummer, ii., 40

Evelyn, John, ii., 54

Evelyn's description of Restoration of Charles II., ii., 55

Exchange, Old, ii., 214

---- Royal, ii., 28, 217, 218

Execution of Charles I., ii., 10

Expulsion of Jews, i., 110

Extraordinary bribery, i., 101


Fair, Bartholomew, ii., 220

---- Smithfield Cloth, i., 116

Fanmakers' Company, i., 204

Farriers' Company, i., 204

Father Gerard, prisoner in Tower, i., 63

Feasts, City, i., 192

Feltmakers' Company, i., 204

Fenchurch Street, ii., 214

Ferries, Thames, ii., 23

Fields, Goodman's, ii., 38

Finsbury, ii., 43

Fire, Great, i., 179, 215; ii., 73, 76

---- London rebuilt after Great, ii., 80

Fires at the Temple, i., 144

---- Frequency of, i., 125

First Bishop of London, Mellitus, i., 16

---- Carthusian house, i., 87

---- Introduction of Coffee, ii., 135

---- Prisoners sent to the Tower, i., 50

Fishmongers' Company, i., 195, 197, 198

---- Hall, i., 218

---- ---- chairs in, ii., 92

FitzStephen's _Description of London_, i., 38

Flambard, Bishop of Durham, escape from the Tower of, i., 39

Fleet, Liberty of the, ii., 222

---- Prison, ii., 222

---- River, i., 149

Fletcher, ii., 168

Fletchers' Company, i., 201, 204

Flogging of apprentices, i., 124

Floods at Whitehall, ii., 57

Florence, Friscobaldi of, ii., 187

Fludyer Street, ii., 54

Folkmote, i., 23

Ford across Thames, i., 4

"Foreigners," i., 123

Foreigners in London, ii., 26

Former neglected condition of St. Bartholomew's Church, i., 66

Founder of Lincoln's Inn, Henry de Lacy, i., 150

Founders' Company, i., 204

"Four Swans" Inn in Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121, 122

Fox Club, ii., 104

Framework Knitters' Company, i., 205

France, Petty, ii., 28

Franklin, Benjamin, i., 83

Freedom of London, i., 152

---- of the City, i., 185

Frequency of fires, i., 125

Friars, Augustine, ii., 36

---- Austin, ii., 27, 217

---- Black, ii., 217

---- Crutched, ii., 217

_Friars of London, Chronicle of the Grey_, i., 109

Friscobaldi of Florence, ii., 187

Fruiterers' Company, i., 205

Furnival's Inn, i., 167


Galleried Inns, ii., 116

Game of Mall, ii., 64

"Game of Swans," i., 204

Garden, Bear, ii., 47

---- Covent, ii., 52, 216

---- Old Spring, ii., 58

---- Stairs, Paris, ii., 44

---- Temple, i., 142

"Garraway's" Coffee-house, ii., 137

Garrick Club, ii., 107

Gate, Bridge, ii., 88, 90

---- Traitors', ii., 24, 90

Gates of City, i., 11

Gaunt at Savoy Palace, John of, ii., 3

Geographical Society, Royal, ii., 160

Geological Society, ii., 155

"George" Inn, ii., 117, 166

Gerard prisoner in Tower, Father, i., 63

"Gerard's Hall" Inn, ii., 132

German Hanse Merchants, ii., 187

Gibbons's Statue of James II., Grinling, ii., 60

_Gilda Teutonicorum_, ii., 27

Girdlers' Company, i., 205

Glasshouse Yard, ii., 49

Glass-making, ii., 49

Glass-sellers' Company, i., 206

Glaziers' Company, i., 206

Globe Theatre, ii., 45

Glovers' Company, i., 206

Glovers in Blackfriars, i., 206

Godalming, Charterhouse School moved to, i., 104

Gog and Magog, i., 180

Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers' Company, i., 206

Goldsmith Building, i., 146

---- Oliver, ii., 172, 176

Goldsmiths' Company, i., 195, 197

---- Hall, i., 219

---- Row, ii., 32

Goodman's Fields, ii., 38

Gordon Riots, ii., 221

"Governance of London, the," i., 15

"Grand Tour, the," ii., 66

Grasse Church, ii., 214

Gray born in Cornhill, ii., 171

Gray's Inn, i., 161, 162

Great Fire, i., 121, 179, 215; ii., 73, 76

---- ---- a blessing, i., 115

---- ---- London rebuilt after, ii., 80

---- Plague, ii., 73

---- Tower Hill, scaffold on, i., 64

"Grecian," ii., 200

---- Coffee-house, ii., 137

"Green Dragon" Inn, in Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121, 122

Greenwich, Palace at, ii., 25

Gresham, residence of Sir Thomas, ii., 37

---- Sir Thomas, ii., 219

_Grey Friars of London, Chronicle of the_, i., 109

Grey Friars' monastery, ii., 195

---- Reginald de, i., 161

Griffin, prisoner in Tower keep, i., 55

Grocers' Company, i., 197

---- Hall, i., 179, 218

Guards' Club, ii., 101

Guild, i., 22

Guilda Aula Teutonicorum, i., 227

Guildhall, The, i., 178, 190; ii., 31

---- Chapel, i., 182

---- Crypts, i., 180

---- Historic scenes in the, i., 187

---- Library, i., 183

---- "Little Ease" at the, i., 186

---- of the Steel-yard, i., 230

---- Portraits at the, i., 184

---- Windows in the, i., 189

_Gull's Horne-Book, The_, i., 118

Gundulf, architect of Tower, i., 32, 33

Gunmakers' Company, i., 206

Gunpowder manufactured in Tower, i., 60

Guy Fawkes, prison of, i., 35

Gwynne's house, Nell, ii., 102


Haberdashers' Company, i., 199

---- Hall, i., 221

Hale, Reforms of Archdeacon, i., 103

Half-timbered houses, i., 113

Hall, Crosby, a prison for Royalists, ii., 191

---- Blackwell, i., 183

---- Chair in Fishmongers', ii., 92

---- Clothworkers', i., 222

---- Common, i., 186

---- Crosby, i., 123; ii., 37, 182

---- Fishmongers', i., 218

---- Goldsmiths', i., 219

---- Grocers', i., 179, 218

---- Haberdashers', i., 221

---- Inner Temple, i., 139

---- Ironmongers', i., 222

---- Mercers', i., 218

---- Merchant Taylors', i., 179, 219

---- Middle Temple, i., 143

---- Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at Crosby, ii., 190

---- Salters', i., 221

---- Skinners', i., 221

---- Thomas More at Crosby, ii., 190

---- Vintners', i., 222

---- Westminster, ii., 2

Halls of Inns of Court, Plays in, i., 143

---- of the Companies, i., 217

Hamburg, i., 226

Hanged, Three hundred Jews, i., 109

Hansa, i., 225

---- brick building by the, i., 229

Hanseatic League, i., 224

Hanse Merchants, German, ii., 27, 187

Hanworth-on-Thames, Crosby Estate at, ii., 186

Harcourt Buildings, i., 146

Hare Court, i., 145

Haymarket, ii., 53

"Head, The Monk's," ii., 58

Heads on Bridge Gate, ii., 90

Heart of the City, ii., 217

Henry III.'s building operations at the Tower, i., 50

---- VIII.'s buildings, i., 61

Henslowe, Philip, ii., 44

Heraclius, Temple Church consecrated by, i., 133

Herber, the, i., 122

Herfleets' Inn, i., 174

Hermitage in the Tower, i., 55

Heroic Doctors, ii., 74

Herrick, ii., 169

Hill, St. Andrew's, ii., 50

Hinton, Somersetshire, i., 87

Historic Scenes in the Guildhall, i., 187

"Hobson's Choice," ii., 121

Holborn and the Inns of Court and Chancery, i., 149-177

---- Church of St. Andrew in, i., 164

---- Inns, ii., 124

---- Old Temple, in, i., 153

---- Origin of name, i., 149

---- Viaduct, i., 149

Holeburn, Manor of, i., 150

Holy Trinity, Priory of, ii., 39

Holywell, ii., 42

Hook, Theodore, in Cleveland Row, ii., 181

_Horne-Book, The Gull's_, i., 118

Horners' Company, i., 207

Horse Races at Smithfield, i., 132

Horsham, Christ's Hospital removed to, ii., 203

Hospital, Bridewell, ii., 49, 196

---- Charterhouse, i., 98

---- Christ's, ii., 35, 194, 196

---- ---- removed to Horsham, ii., 203

---- for lepers, ii., 7

---- Pictures at Christ's, ii., 200

---- St. Bartholomew's, ii., 35, 196

---- St. Thomas's, ii., 196

---- Samuel Pepys and Christ's, ii., 198

Houghton, John, Prior of Charterhouse in 1531, i., 91

Houndsditch, ii., 39

House, Arundel, ii., 216

---- Banqueting, Whitehall, ii., 14

---- Berkeley, ii., 53

---- Burlington, ii., 53

---- Clarendon, ii., 53

---- Custom, ii., 21

---- Devonshire, ii., 53

"House Estates, Bridge," ii., 87

---- First Carthusian, i., 87

---- Howard, i., 98

---- in Blackfriars, Shakespeare's, ii., 50

---- Marlborough, ii., 12

---- Marquis of Winchester's, ii., 36

---- Nell Gwynne's, ii., 102

---- "Nonesuch," ii., 24

---- Salisbury, ii., 216

---- Sessions, without Newgate, i., 164

---- Southampton, i., 154

---- twelfth century, i., 112

---- Winchester, ii., 46

---- York, ii., 13

Houses, Anglo-Saxon, i., 114

---- and shops on old London Bridge, i., 112

---- Artizans', i., 125

---- Bishops', ii., 216

---- half-timbered, i., 113

---- merchants', i., 123

---- near Temple, wooden, i., 116

---- of nobility, i., 122

---- wooden, Cripplegate, i., 115

"Humphrey, to dine with Duke," i., 117

Hungerford Stairs, Dickens' days in, ii., 179

Hunting, i., 132

Hurlingham Club, ii., 110

Hurriers, i., 199

Hyde Park, ii., 66, 67


Imprisoned in Tower, Jews, i., 58

Imprisonment of Knights Templars, i., 59

Industries encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, ii., 49

Influence on Architecture, Crusaders', i., 134

Inner Temple, i., 141

---- and Middle Temples, i., 161

---- Temple Hall, i., 139

Inn, Henry de Lacy, founder of Lincoln's, i., 150

---- Bacon's i., 174

---- Barnard's, i., 168

---- Clement's, i., 175

---- Clifford's, i., 175

---- Cursitors', i., 174

---- Davy's, i., 155, 165, 172

---- Earl of Warwick, in Warwick Lane, i., 123

---- Furnival's, i., 167

---- Gray's, i., 161, 162

---- Herfleet's, i., 174

---- Kidderminster, i., 174

---- Lincoln's, i., 155, 157, 160, 166; ii., 42

---- Lyon's, i., 167, 176

---- New, i., 173

---- Scrope's, i., 176

---- Six Clerks, i., 174

---- Staple, i., 116, 153, 160, 170, 171

Innholders' Company, i., 207

Inns of Chancery, i., 167

---- of Court and Inns of Chancery, difference between, i., 161

---- ---- Plays in halls of, i., 143

---- ---- and Chancery, Holborn and the, i., 149, 177

---- at Southwark, ii., 114

---- and Taverns, old, ii., 46, 70, 113

---- Angel, Wych Street, ii., 131

---- Axe, Aldermanbury, ii., 131

---- Bell, Warwick Lane, ii., 131

---- Bell and Crown, Holborn, ii., 125

---- Belle, ii., 114

---- Blossoms, ii., 131

---- Blue Boar, ii., 118

---- Boars' Head, ii., 168

---- Bolt-in-Tun, ii., 127

---- Bull, ii., 119

---- ---- Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121

---- ---- and Mouth, ii., 129

---- Catherine Wheel, ii., 123

---- "Cheshire Cheese," ii., 173

---- Cross Keys, Bishopsgate Street, ii., 120

---- Crown, Holborn, ii., 126

---- Crowned or Cross Keys, ii., 117

---- "Devil," ii., 173

---- Dolphin, ii., 123

---- Four Swans, Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121, 122

---- Galleried, ii., 116

---- George, ii., 117, 166

---- Gerard's Hall, ii., 132

---- Green Dragon, Bishopsgate Street, ii., 121, 122

---- Holborn, ii., 124

---- in King Street, Westminster, ii., 70

---- King's Head, ii., 116

---- "Mitre," ii., 173

---- Nag's Head, Whitcomb Street, ii., 132

---- Oxford Arms, ii., 130

---- Queen's Head, ii., 116, 117

---- St. George's, ii., 117

---- Saracen's Head, ii., 119, 123

---- Spread Eagle, ii., 120

---- Swan with Two Necks, ii., 133

---- Tabard, ii., 114, 121, 166

---- Three Nuns, ii., 118

---- "Two Swan," ii., 122

---- White Hart, ii., 115, 123

---- White Horse, ii., 127

Insanitary condition of Old London, i., 115

Installation of the Lord Mayor, i., 186

Institute, Archæological, ii., 164

---- Anthropological, ii., 163

Introduction of Coffee, first, ii., 135

Invasion, Danish, i., 19

Ireland Yard, ii., 50

Ironmongers' Company, i., 199

---- Hall, i., 222

Islington, ii., 53


Jacobite Coffee-houses, ii., 140

James I. and the Temple, i., 144

---- II., Grinling Gibbons's statue of, ii., 60

Jeffreys, Judge, and Temple Church organ, i., 145

Jewry Lane, Poor, i., 108

---- Leicester, i., 108

---- Old, i., 108

---- Street, i., 108

Jews, ii., 215

---- Conversion of, i., 108

---- disabilities of, i., 107

---- expulsion of, i., 110

---- Imprisoned in Tower, i., 58

---- in London, i., 106

---- Money-lending by, i., 107

---- plundered, i., 122

---- prejudice against, i., 109

---- three hundred hanged, i., 109

Johnson, Dr., in Fleet Street, ii., 172

Johnson's Buildings, i., 146

Joiners' Company, i., 207

Jomsborg, i., 225

Jones, Inigo, ii., 14, 52

Jonson, Ben, ii., 168

Jousts at Smithfield, i., 130

Junior United Service Club, ii., 102


Keep of Tower of London compared with Colchester keep, i., 33

Kensington Palace, ii., 16

Kidderminster Inn, i., 174

Killigrew, ii., 69

King Street, Westminster, Inns in, ii., 70

King's Bench Walk, i., 144

"King's Head" Inn, ii., 116

"King's House," i., 61; ii., 67

Kings of Essex, capital of, i., 12

Kit Cat Club, ii., 177

Knights Hospitallers, i., 140

---- Templars, imprisonment, i., 59

Kontors of the League, i., 226


La Belle Sauvage Yard, ii., 127

Labelye, builder of Westminster Bridge, ii., 94

Lacy, Henry de, founder of Lincoln's Inn, i., 150

Lady Chapel and printing shop, i., 82, 83

Lamb Building, i., 147

---- Charles, ii., 175

Lambeth Palace, ii., 17

Lane, Ave Mary, ii., 215

---- Chancery, i., 133, 153

---- Inn of Earl of Warwick in Warwick, i., 123

---- Mincing, i., 8; ii., 27

---- "Poor Jewry," i., 108

---- Sermon, ii., 214

---- Shoe, i., 150

---- Sopars', ii., 30

Lawyers in the Temple, settlement of, i., 140

Leadenhall, ii., 27, 40, 214

League, The Hanseatic, i., 224

---- Kontors of the, i., 226

Learned Societies of London, ii., 150

Leather-sellers' Company, i., 200, 207

Lecture rooms, Coffee-houses as, ii., 146

Leicester Jewry, i., 108

---- Square, ii., 216

Lepers, Hospital for, ii., 7

_Liber Albus_, i., 122

Liberty of the Fleet, ii., 222

Library, Guildhall, i., 183

Life of the City, Church, i., 127

---- Street, i., 127

Lincoln's Inn, i., 155, 157, 160, 161; ii., 42

---- Henry de Lacy, founder of, i., 150

Literary associations of Covent Garden, ii., 178

---- ---- Pall Mall, ii., 179

---- ---- St. James' Street, ii., 180

---- ---- The Temple, i., 146

---- Club, ii., 180

---- Shrines of Old London, ii., 166

Literature, Royal Society of, ii., 156

"Little Conduit, The," ii., 32

"Little Ease," i., 34, 58

---- ---- at the Guildhall, i., 186

Liveries of Citizens, i., 192

Lives of the People, i., 121

"Lloyd's" Coffee-house, ii., 139

Locke, John, ii., 171

"Lock, Rock," ii., 88

Lombard Street, ii., 27, 214

---- ---- Pope born in, ii., 171

Lombardy merchants, ii., 26

_London's Armory_, i., 240

Lord Mayor, Installation of the, i., 186

Loriners' Company, i., 208

Lothbury, ii., 214

Lovel, Sir Thomas, ii., 42

Lübeck, i., 226

Ludgate, i., 11, 24; ii., 213

Lydgate's _London's Lickpenny_, i., 125

_Lynn, dun_, i., 2

Lyon's Inn, i., 167, 176


Macaulay's picture of London, ii., 55

Mall, the game of, ii., 63, 64

Malmesbury, Abbot of, i., 159

Mandeville, Geoffrey de, Constable of the Tower, i., 41

Manners and modes in Coffee-houses, ii., 148

Manny, Sir Walter de, i., 89

Manor of Holeburn, i., 150

Mansion, Sir Paul Pindar's, ii., 123

Manufacture of _gunpowder_ in Tower, i., 60

Mariners, St. Clement patron saint of, ii., 209

Market, Clare, ii., 216

Markets of Eastcheap and Westcheap, ii., 213

Marlborough Club, ii., 110

---- House, ii., 12

Marriage of Chaucer, ii., 4

Marylebone Cricket Club, ii., 110

Masons' Company, i., 208

Masques, i., 144

Massacre of the Danes, ii., 208

Massinger, Philip, ii., 168, 169

Mathematical School, Royal, ii., 198

Mayor, Installation of the Lord, i., 186

May-poles, i., 132

Meat Market, Shambles or, ii., 35

Mediæval London, i., 106

Mellitus, first Bishop of London, i., 16

_Memorials of Brooks's_, ii., 103

Menagerie at the Tower, i., 52

Mercers' Company, i., 197

---- Hall, i., 218

Merchant Taylors' Company, i., 198

---- ---- Hall, 1., 179, 219

---- ---- School, i., 94, 104

Merchants, German Hanse, ii., 187

---- of Lombardy, ii., 26

---- Hanse, ii., 27

Merchants' houses, i., 123

Mermaid Tavern, ii., 30, 168

Middle Temple, i., 141, 165

---- ---- Hall, i., 143

---- Temples, Inner and, i., 161

Middlesex granted to the citizens, i., 23

Midsummer Eve, ii., 40

Millianers, i., 199

Milton, John, born in Bread Street, ii., 170

Mincing Lane, i., 8; ii., 27

Minories, ii., 38

Mint, Tower, i., 64

Mitre Court Buildings, i., 147

"Mitre" Inn, ii., 173

Mob, Tower surprised by, i., 53

Modern London founded after the Restoration, ii., 53

Monastery, destruction of Charterhouse, i., 93

---- Grey Friars, ii., 195

---- in Shoe Lane, Dominicans', i., 150

Money-lending by Jews, i., 107

Monk, Duke of Albemarle, ii., 75

"Monk's Head, The," ii., 58

Monks tortured and executed, i.,92

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, ii., 177

Monument of Sir John Beauchamp, i., 118

Monuments in the Temple, i., 139

---- destruction of, ii., 36

Moorgate, i., 25

Moorfields, i., 122

More, i., 86

---- Thomas, at Crosby Hall, ii., 190

Mosaic pavements, i., 12

Museums at Coffee-houses, ii., 146

Musicians' Company, i., 208


"Nag's Head" Inn, Whitcomb Street, ii., 132

Name Holborn, Origin of the, i., 149

Names of Streets, i., 123

Narrow and crooked streets, i., 112

---- and unsavoury streets, i., 125

---- escape of Richard III., ii., 189

National Club, ii., 109

Needlemakers' Company, i., 208

Newgate, ii., 26

---- Sessions House without, i., 164

Newington, playhouse at, ii., 44

New Inn, i., 173

---- Temple, i., 163

Nobility, houses of, i., 122

"Nonesuch House," ii., 24, 91

Norfolk, Duke of, i., 96

Norman London, i., 21, 26

---- Well, i., 62

North, Sir Edward, i., 95

Northburgh, Michael de, i., 89

Northumberland Avenue, ii., 215

---- Court, i., 154

Norway, St. Olaf patron saint of, ii., 209

Number of Churches in London, ii., 23


Office, Rolls, i., 153

Old Bailey, i., 25; ii., 212

---- Bridges, ii., 82

---- Change, ii., 32

---- Exchange, ii., 214

---- Inns, ii., 46

---- ---- in Westminster, ii., 70, 71

---- Jewry, i., 108

---- London Bridge, houses and shops on, i., 112

---- Prisons, ii., 221

---- St. Paul's, i., 116

---- Spring Garden, ii., 58

---- Temple in Holborn, i., 153

---- Theatres, ii., 167

---- time punishments, i., 130

Order, Carthusian, i., 86

Orderic, i., 30, 31

Ordinance of the Staple, i., 171

Organ, Temple Church, i., 145

Oriental Club, ii., 106

Origin of the name Holborn, i., 149

"Oxford Arms" Inn, ii., 130


Pageant of London, ii., 193

---- of the Streets, ii., 211

Pageants, i., 192

---- on the Thames, i., 194

Painters' or Painter-stainers' Company, i., 208

Palace, Bridewell, ii., 48

---- Buckingham, ii., 15, 16

---- Cardinal Wolsey's, i., 116

---- Charterhouse, i., 94

---- Greenwich, ii., 25

---- Lambeth, ii., 17

---- St. James's, ii., 7, 61

---- Savoy, ii., 3

---- Westminster, ii., 1, 2

---- Whitefriars, ii., 60

---- Whitehall, ii., 9, 11, 13, 56

Palaces, City of, ii., 215

---- of London, ii., 1

Pall Mall, ii., 63

---- ---- Literary Associations of, ii., 179

Panton Street, ii., 54

"Papye," ii., 37

Pardon Churchyard and Chapel, i., 88

Paris Garden Stairs, ii., 44

Parish Clerks' Company, i., 129

Park, Hyde, ii., 66, 67

---- St. James's, ii., 63

Passage, Subterranean, i., 62

Paternoster Row, ii., 215

Patron Saint of Norway, St. Olaf, ii., 209

---- ---- of Mariners, ii., 209

---- Saints of City Companies, i., 196

Pattenmakers' Company, i., 209

Paul's Cathedral, St., i., 16, 24

---- Cross, i., 119; ii., 34

---- ---- Demolition of, i., 120

"Paul's School," ii., 34

Paul's Walk, i., 117; ii., 33

Pavements, Mosaic, i., 12

Penn, Sir William, ii., 77

Penthouse, i., 125

People, Lives of the, i., 121

Pepys, Samuel, ii., 54

---- ---- and Christ's Hospital, ii., 198

---- as a dramatic critic, ii., 70

---- as a playgoer, ii., 67

Pepys's London, ii., 52

Peter of Colechurch, ii., 85

Petty France, ii., 28

Pewterers' Company, i., 209

Piccadilly, ii., 53

Picture of London, Macaulay's, ii., 55

Pictures at Christ's Hospital, ii., 200

"Piggin," ii., 200

Pike Ponds, ii., 47

Pillory, i., 130

Pindar's mansion, Sir Paul, ii., 123

Place, Duke's, ii., 40

Plague, Great, ii., 73

Plaisterers' Company, i., 209

Plan of Charterhouse, fifteenth century, i., 94

Plantation, Ulster, i., 214

Playhouse at Newington, ii., 44

---- near Blackfriars, ii., 48

---- the Rose, ii., 45, 47

---- Swan, ii., 47

---- Yard, ii., 50

"Playhouses, Common," ii., 43, 44

Playing-card Makers' Company, i., 209

Plays, ii., 43

---- in Churches, i., 129

---- in Halls of Inns of Court, i., 143

---- Religious, i., 129

Plowden, Edmund, i., 143, 145

Plumbers' Company, i., 209

Plundered Jews, i., 122

Poet-painter, William Blake, The, ii., 176

Pomerium, i., 108

Ponds, Pike, ii., 47

"Poor Jewry Lane," i., 108

Pope born in Lombard Street, ii., 171

Port of London, ii., 21

Portraits at the Guildhall, i., 184

Portreeve, i., 22, 23

Portugal Row, Theatre in, ii., 68

Pottery, Roman, i., 5

Poulters' Company, i., 210

Poultry, The, ii., 30, 214

"Pound sterling," i., 232

Prejudice against Jews, i., 109

Princes murdered in the Tower, i., 36

Printing-house, Richardson's, ii., 172

Printing-shop, Lady Chapel and, i., 82, 83

Prior, John Walford, i., 72

---- of Charterhouse in 1531, John Houghton, i., 91

---- of St. Bartholomew, William Bolton, i., 76

Priory of Holy Trinity, ii., 39

---- of St. Mary Overie, ii., 86

Prison, Abbot of Westminster and Monks in, i., 59

---- Fleet, ii., 222

---- for Royalists, Crosby a, ii., 191

---- of Guy Fawkes, i., 35

---- of Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, i., 39

---- of Sir Walter Raleigh, i., 35

---- Subterranean, i., 62

Prisoner in St. James's Palace, Charles I. a., ii., 9

Prisoners in Tower, Scotch, i., 59

---- Royal, i., 60

---- sent to the Tower, First, i., 50

Prisons, Old, ii., 221

Proceedings, _quo warranto_, i., 216

Projecting storeys of houses, i., 114

Promotion of Trade by City Companies, i., 197

Puinctel, William, Constable of the Tower, i., 45

Punishments, Old-time, i., 130

---- School, ii., 202

"Purgatory," St. Bartholomew, i., 78


Quack medicines sold at Coffee-houses, ii., 144

Queenhithe, ii., 21

"Queen's Head" Inn, ii., 116, 117

Quintain, i., 132

_Quo warranto_ proceedings, i., 216


Races at Smithfield, Horse, i., 132

"Rag and Famish," ii., 103

Rahere, i., 67

Rahere's vision, i., 67

"Rainbow" in Fleet Street, ii., 135

Raleigh, Prison of Sir Walter, i., 35

Ranelagh, Vauxhall and, ii., 222

Rawlinson, Daniel, a loyal innkeeper, ii., 71

Rebuilt after great fire, London, ii., 80

Refectory, Charterhouse, i., 94

Reform Club, ii., 108

Reforms of Archdeacon Hale, i., 103

Relics in the Temple, Treasures and, i., 138

Religion, City Companies, their charity and, i., 195

Religious plays, i., 129

---- services of the Corporation, i., 183

Renovations of the Tower, Wren's, i., 35

Requests, Court of, ii., 2

Residence of Sir Thomas Gresham, ii., 37

Restoration of Charles II., Evelyn's description of, ii., 55

---- of St. Bartholomew, i., 81, 84

---- Modern London founded after the, ii., 53

Rich, Sir Richard, i., 78

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at Crosby Hall, ii., 190

---- I.'s enlargement of the Tower, i., 44

---- III., Narrow escape of, ii., 189

Richardson's printing-house, ii., 172

"Ridings," i., 124

Riots, London, ii., 221

"Rock Lock," ii., 88

Rolls Office, i., 153

Roman basilica, i., 7

---- bath, i., 7

---- London, i., 6-12

---- ---- Bridge, i., 10

---- pottery, i., 5

---- remains, i., 28

---- wall, i., 11

Rose playhouse, The, ii., 45, 47

Row, Cooks', ii., 213

---- Goldsmiths', ii., 32

---- Paternoster, ii., 215

Royal Asiatic Society, ii., 158

---- Chapel, at St. James's Palace, ii., 12

---- Exchange, ii., 28, 217, 218

---- Geographical Society, ii., 160

---- Institution, ii., 154

---- Mathematical School, ii., 198

---- Prisoners, i., 60

---- Society, ii., 72, 150

---- Society of Literature, ii., 156

Royalists, Crosby a prison for, ii., 191

Rugge's _Diurnal_, ii., 56

"Rummer" in Charing Cross, The, ii., 179

Russell Street, ii., 178

Rutland Place, i., 96


Sackville, Thomas, first Earl of Dorset, ii., 171

Saddlers' Company, i., 200, 210

St. Andrew, Holborn, Church of, i., 164; ii., 207

---- in the Wardrobe, Church of, ii., 50

---- Undershaft, ii., 37, 204

St. Andrew's Hill, ii., 50

---- Holborn, ii., 207

St. Ann's Chapel, Crypt of, i., 139

St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, i., 66

---- Restoration of, i., 81, 84

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, ii., 35, 196

St. Bénezet, ii., 85

St. Bride, Church of, ii., 6

St. Bruno, i., 86

St. Buttolph, Church of, ii., 38

St. Catherine Cree, ii., 204

St. Cedd, i., 16

St. Clement Danes, ii., 208

St. Clement, patron saint of mariners, ii., 209

St. Dunstan's, Stepney, ii., 204

St. Ethelreda's, Ely Place, ii., 204

St. George's Inn, i., 171

St. Giles', Cripplegate, ii., 204

St. Helen, Church of, ii., 41, 184

"St. James's," Addison at the, ii., 180

---- Coffee-house, ii., 137, 141

---- Palace, ii., 7, 61

---- Park, ii., 63

---- Square, ii., 53

---- Street, Literary associations of, ii., 180

---- Swift at the, ii., 180

St. John, Chapel of, i., 36

St. Leonard's Church, ii., 42

St. Margaret's, Lothbury, Screen in, i., 230

St. Martin's le Grand, ii., 36

St. Mary, Aldermanbury, ii., 31

---- Axe, ii., 37

St. Mary-le-Bow, Church of, i., 24

---- Cheapside, ii., 210

St. Mary Overie, ii., 46

---- ---- Priory, ii., 86

---- Woolchurch, ii., 214

St. Michael-le-Querne, Church of, ii., 32

St. Olaf, patron saint of Norway, ii., 209

St. Olave's, Hart Street, ii., 205

St. Paul's Cathedral, i., 16, 24; ii., 23

---- Camden's description of, ii., 33

---- Coffee-house, ii., 139

---- Old, i., 116

St. Peter ad Vincula, Chapel of, i., 42, 49, 57

St. Sepulchre's, near Newgate, ii., 205

St. Thomas of the Bridge, ii., 24

St. Thomas's Hospital, ii., 196

Saints of City Companies, Patron, i., 196

"Saladin Tithe," i., 134

Sales at Coffee-houses, ii., 146

Salisbury House, ii., 216

Salters' Company, i., 199

---- Hall, i., 221

"Saracen's Head" Inn, ii., 119

---- ---- on Snow Hill, ii., 123

Savoy Chapel, ii., 4

---- Conference, ii., 5

---- Palace of the, ii., 3

---- ---- pillaged by Wat Tyler, ii., 4

Saxon London, i., 12-21

Scaffold on Great Tower Hill, i., 64

Scenes in the Guildhall, Historic, i., 187

School, Charterhouse, i., 102

---- ---- moved to Godalming, i., 104

---- Merchant Taylors', i., 94, 104

---- Paul's, ii., 34

---- Punishments, ii., 202

---- Royal Mathematical, ii., 198

Schoolmaster, Ejection of Charterhouse, i., 103

Science, British Association for the Advancement of, ii., 158

Scotch prisoners in Tower, i., 59

Screen in St. Margaret's, Lothbury, i., 230

Scriveners' Company, i., 210

Scrope's Inn, i., 176

Sculpture in the Temple, i., 135

Seal of Bishops of London, i., 236

Sebert, i., 16

See of London, Arms of the City and, i., 233

Sergeants-at-Law, i., 142

Sermon Lane, ii., 214

Sessions House, without Newgate, i., 164

Settlement at Westminster, Roman, i., 11

---- of lawyers in the Temple, i., 140

Shakespeare, ii., 45

---- in London, ii., 26, 37

Shakespeare's house in Blackfriars, ii., 50

Shambles, or meat market, ii., 35

Shipwrights' Company, i., 211

Shirley, James, ii., 171

Shoe Lane, i., 150

Shops on Old London Bridge, houses and, i., 112

Shoreditch, ii., 42

Site of Celtic London, i., 2

_Six Clerks Inn_, i., 174

Skating on the Thames, i., 131

Skinners' Company, i., 196, 199

---- Hall, i., 221

Smithfield, Cloth Fair, i., 116

---- horse races at, i., 132

---- jousts at, i., 130

Societies of London, Learned, ii., 150

Society, Anthropological, ii., 162

---- Ethnological, ii., 161

---- Geological, ii., 155

---- of Antiquaries, ii., 150, 153

---- of Arts, Royal, ii., 154

---- of Literature, Royal, ii., 156

---- Royal, ii., 150

---- Royal Asiatic, ii., 156

---- Royal Geographical, ii., 160

---- Royal Statistical, ii., 160

Sopars' Lane, ii., 30

Southampton House, i., 154

Southwark Bridge, ii., 82, 97

---- Inns at, ii., 114

Spectacle-makers' Company, i., 211

Spencer, Sir John, ii., 190

Spenser, Edmund, born in East Smithfield, ii., 171

Spittle Croft, i., 89

Spoliation of the Companies, i., 214

Sports of London youths, i., 131

"Spread Eagle" Inn, ii., 120

Square, St. James's, ii., 53

---- Leicester, ii., 216

Stairs, Paris Garden, ii., 44

---- Thames, ii., 22

Standard, The, ii., 31

Staple Inn, i., 116, 153, 160, 170, 171

---- Ordinance of the, i., 171

Stationers' Company, i., 212

Statistical Society, Royal, ii., 160

Statue of James II., Grinling Gibbons's, ii., 60

Steel-yard, i., 227; ii., 21

---- Guildhall of the, i., 230

Stepney, ii., 53

"Sterling, a pound," i., 232

Stone, London, i., 7, 28, 126

Stow, i., 8, 11, 13; ii., 41

Stow's _Survey_, ii., 25

Strand, i., 126

Street, Artillery, ii., 212

---- Bread, ii., 30

---- Broad, ii., 36

---- Burleigh, ii., 215

---- Candlewick, ii., 213

---- Cannon, i., 116

---- Coleman, i., 18

---- Downing, ii., 54

---- Ermin, i., 7

---- Essex, ii., 215

---- Fenchurch, ii., 214

---- Fludyer, ii., 54

---- Jewry, i., 108

---- Lombard, ii., 27, 214

---- Panton, ii., 54

---- Tooley, ii., 209

---- Watling, i., 6

Streets, Life of the, i., 127

---- Names of, i., 123

---- Narrow and crooked, i., 112

---- Narrow and unsavoury, i., 125

---- Pageant of the, ii., 211

"Sublime Society of Beef Steaks," ii., 100

Subterranean passage, i., 62

---- prison, i., 62

"Sun" Inn, ii., 70

Surprised by mob, Tower, i., 53

Surrender of London to William I., i., 30

_Survey_, Stow's, ii., 25

Sutton, Thomas, i., 98

"Swans, Game of," i., 204

Swan-marking, i., 204

Swan playhouse, ii., 47

"Swan with Two Necks," Lad Lane, ii., 133

"Sweating" coin, Clipping or, i., 109

Swift at the "St. James's," ii., 180

Sword in the City Arms, i., 235


Tabard Inn, ii., 46, 114, 166

"Tabard" Inn in Gracechurch Street, ii., 120, 121

Tacitus, i., 6, 7

Tallow Chandlers' Company, i., 212

Tanfield Court, i., 146

Tavern, Mermaid, ii., 30, 168

Taverns and Inns, ii., 70, 113

Templars, the, i., 139

"Temple, Associates of the," i., 136

Temple, Authors of the, ii., 174

---- Church consecrated by Heraclius, i., 133

---- ---- desecration of, i., 145

---- ---- effigies in, i., 136

---- ---- organ, i., 145

---- Fires at the, i., 144

---- Garden, i., 142

---- Hall, Inner, i., 139

---- ---- Middle, i., 143

---- in Holborn, Old, i., 153

---- Inner, i., 141

---- James I. and the, i., 144

---- Literary Associations of the, i., 146

---- Middle, i., 141, 165

---- Monuments in the, i., 139

---- New, i., 163

---- Settlement of lawyers in the, i., 140

---- Sculpture in the, i., 135

---- The, i., 133-148

---- Treasures and relics in the, i., 138

---- Wooden houses near, i., 116

Temples, Inner and Middle, i., 161

_Teutonicorum, Gilda_, ii., 27

Thames, i., 4

---- Coins found in the, i., 10

---- Ferries, ii., 23

---- Ford across, i., 4

---- Pageants on the, i., 195

---- Skating on the, i., 131

---- "Stairs," ii., 22

Thames' watermen, ii., 22, 167

"Thatched House" Club, ii., 180

Theatre, Cockpit, ii., 59

---- Dorset Gardens, ii., 68

---- Drury Lane, ii., 68

---- Duke's House, ii., 67

---- Globe, ii., 45

---- in Portugal Row, ii., 68

---- King's House, ii., 67

Theatres, Old, ii., 44, 167

Thorney, i., 12

Three hundred Jews hanged, i., 109

"Three Nuns" Inn, ii., 118

---- Tuns" at Charing Cross, ii., 71

Tilt Yard, ii., 58

Timber, Early Castles of earth and, i., 49

Tin-plate Workers' Company, i., 212

"Tithe, Saladin," i., 134

Tooley Street, ii., 209

"Tour, The Grand," ii., 66

Tower, Gundulf, architect of, i., 32, 33

---- of London, i., 27-65

---- keep compared with Colchester keep, i., 33

---- Wren's renovations of, i., 35

Town of London, a walled, i., 110

Trade and commerce, ii., 186

---- City Companies; their promotion of, i., 196

"Traitors' Gate," i., 51, 65; ii., 24, 90

Travellers' Club, ii., 104

Treasures and relics in the Temple, i., 138

Troubles, Civil War, i., 102

Turners' or "Wood-potters'" Company, i., 212

Turnmill Brook, i., 149

Twelfth century house, i., 112

"Two Swan" Inn yard, ii., 122

Tyler, Wat, Savoy Palace pillaged by, ii., 4

---- Wat, i., 235

Tylers' and Bricklayers' Company, i., 212


Ulster Plantation, i., 214

Undershaft, St. Andrew, ii., 37

Union Club, ii., 104

United Service Club, ii., 101

---- University Club, ii., 104

Unsavoury Streets, Narrow and, i., 125

Upholders' Company, i., 212


Vandyke's Studio in Blackfriars, ii., 49

Vauxhall, ii., 58

---- and Ranelagh, ii., 222

Viaduct, Holborn, i., 149

Vikings, i., 225

Vintners' Company, i., 197, 199

---- Hall, i., 222

Vintry, ii., 28

Vision of Rahere, i., 67

Wadlow, Simon, ii., 56


Walbrook, i., 5

Walden, Roger de, builds chantry chapel of St. Bartholomew, i., 72

Walford, Prior John, i., 72

Walk, King's Bench, i., 144

---- Paul's, i., 117; ii., 33

Walled Town, London a, i., 110

Walls, London, ii., 212

---- of London, i., 122

---- Roman, i., 11

Walton, Izaac, ii., 171

Walworth, Sir William, i., 235

Wardrobe, Church of St. Andrew in the, ii., 50

---- Court, ii., 50

Warwick Lane, Inn of Earl of Warwick in, i., 123

Wash House Court, i., 94

Water-engineer, Peter Corbis, ii., 91

Waterloo Bridge, ii., 97

Watermen, Thames', ii., 22, 167

Watling Street, i., 6

Wax Chandlers' Company, i., 212

Weavers' Company, i., 213

Westcheap, ii., 30

---- markets of Eastcheap and, ii., 213

Westminster, i., 126

---- abbot and monks of, in prison, i., 59

---- Axe Yard, ii., 54

---- Bridge, ii., 94

---- Hall, ii., 2

---- Old inns in, ii., 70, 71

---- Palace of, ii., 1

---- Roman settlement at, i., 111

Wheelwrights' Company, i., 213

"Wherries," ii., 22

Whist played at Coffee-houses, ii., 138

Whitefriars Palace, ii., 60

Whitehall, ii., 57

---- Banqueting House, ii., 14

---- Floods at, ii., 57

---- Palace of, ii., 9, 11, 13, 56, 57

"White Hart" Inn, ii., 115, 123

"White Horse" Inn, ii., 127

White Tower, i., 34

"White's" Chocolate-house, ii., 137

---- Club, ii., 101

Whittington, Sir Richard, i., 178

Wild-fowl in St. James's Park, ii., 63

William I., Charter of, i., 22

---- i., 29

---- surrender of London to, i., 30

"Will's" Coffee-house in Russell Street, ii., 137, 141

Winchester House, ii., 46

---- House of Marquis of, ii., 36

Windows in the Guildhall, i., 189

Witham, Somersetshire, i., 87

Wolsey, Cardinal, ii., 13

Wolsey's Palace, Cardinal, i., 116

Wooden houses near Temple, i., 116

---- ---- at Cripplegate, i., 115

Woodwork in City Churches, Carved, ii., 207

Woolcombers, i., 213

Woolmen's Company, i., 213

Wren, Sir Christopher, i., 43; ii., 205

Wren's building, i., 144

---- churches destroyed, ii., 206

---- renovations of the Tower, i., 35


Yard, Glasshouse, ii., 49

---- Ireland, ii., 50

---- Playhouse, ii., 50

---- Tilt, ii., 58

---- Westminster, Axe, ii., 54

York House, ii., 13

Youths, Sports of London, i., 131


Zoological collections, ii., 63

[Illustration]

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       *       *       *       *       *


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MEMORIALS OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND.

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MEMORIALS OF OLD OXFORDSHIRE.

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MEMORIALS OF OLD WARWICKSHIRE.

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MEMORIALS OF OLD NORFOLK.

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Dedicated by kind permission to the Right Hon. Viscount Coke, C.M.G.,
C.V.O.

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     Norfolk deserves a foremost place among local works.... The
     tasteful binding, good print, and paper are everything that
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MEMORIALS OF OLD LONDON. Two vols. Price 25/- net. Edited by the Rev.
P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

     CONTENTS: Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Norman London, by the
     Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.--The Tower of London, by Harold
     Sands, F.S.A.--St. Bartholomew's Church, Smithfield, by
     J. Tavenor-Perry.--The Charterhouse, by the Rev. A. G. B.
     Atkinson, M.A.--Glimpses of Mediæval London, by G. Clinch,
     F.G.S.--The Palaces of London, by the Rev. R. S. Mylne,
     LL.D., F.S.A.--The Temple, by the Rev. H. G. Woods, D.D.,
     Master.--The Inns of Court, by E. Williams--The Guildhall,
     by C. Welsh, F.S.A.--The City Companies, by the Editor.--The
     Kontor of the Hanse, by J. Tavenor-Perry.--The Arms of London,
     by J. Tavenor-Perry.--Elizabethan London, by T. Fairman
     Ordish, F.S.A.--The London of Pepys, by H. B. Wheatley,
     F.S.A.--The Thames and its Bridges, by J. Tavenor-Perry.--The
     Old Inns of London, by Philip Norman, LL.D.--London Clubs,
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     Edward Brabrook, C.B., F.S.A.--Literary Shrines, by Mrs.
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MEMORIALS OF OLD ESSEX. Edited by A. CLIFTON KELWAY, F.R.Hist.S.

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_The following volumes are in preparation:--_

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THE VALUES OF OLD ENGLISH SILVER & SHEFFIELD PLATE, FROM THE FIFTEENTH
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HISTORY OF OLD ENGLISH PORCELAIN AND ITS MANUFACTURES.

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MANX CROSSES; or The Inscribed and Sculptured Monuments of the Isle of
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DERBYSHIRE CHARTERS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES AND MUNIMENT ROOMS.

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THE CHURCH PLATE OF THE DIOCESE OF BANGOR.

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     "... What Mr. Sennett has to say here deserves, and will no
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DERBY: ITS RISE AND PROGRESS.

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THE CORPORATION PLATE AND INSIGNIA OF OFFICE OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF
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