of fc No. if Division j.::^&r Range....... S/ielf ........ Received \_ ^ ... -^v * LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA CURIOSITIES LONDON: EXHIBITING THE MOST ARE AND REMARKABLE OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN THE METROPOLIS ; ' personal BerolUrtiotts. BY JOHN TIMES, F.S.A. AUTHOR OF A PICTURESQUE PROMENADE ROUND DORKIKO ; AND EDITOE OF LACONICS, THE YEAR-BOOK OF FACT8, ETC. Charter granted by William the Conqnerpr'to the City of ^ 1067 (See pa LONDO A R UNIVERSITY Of : CALIFORNIA DAVID BOGUE, 86 F&EET STREET. MDCCCLV. r PRINTED BY LEVBY, ROBSOX, AVD FEASKLYS, Great New Street rnd Fetter Lane. c PREFACE. LITTLE need be said to bespeak the interest of readers in the staple of the present work the Notable Things in the History of London through its Nineteen Centuries of accredited antiquity. Still, I am anxious to offer a few words upon the origin and growth of this volume; and the means by which I have striven to render it as complete as the extent and ever- varying nature of the subject will allow. Twenty-seven years since (in 1828), I wrote in the parlour of the house No. 3 Charing Cross (then a publisher's), the title and plan of a volume to be called " CURIOSITIES OF LONDON ;" and the work here submitted to the public is the realisation of that design. I then proposed to note the most memorable points in. the annals of the Metropolis, and to describe its most remarkable objects of in- terest, from the earliest period to my own time, for the Present has its " Curiosities" as well as the Past. Since the commencement of this design in 1828, precisely midway in my lifetime, I have scarcely for a day or hour lost sight of the subject; but, through a long course of literary activity,* have endeavoured to profit by every fair opportunity to increase my stock of materials ; and by constant comparison, " not to take for granted, but to weigh and consider," in turning such materials to account. In this labour I have been greatly aided by the communications of obliging friends, as well as by my own recollection of nearly Fifty Years' Changes in the aspects of " enlarged and still increasing London." " Thinking how different a place London is to different people," I have, in this volume, studied many tastes ; but its leading cha- * WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF THE PRESENT VOLUME : A Picturesque Pro- menade round Dorking in Surrey, 1822. The same, 2d edit., 1823. Laconics; or, the Best Words of the Best Authors, 3 vols. 1826. Mirror, edited, 1827-1838 (Twenty-two vols.). Signs before Death, 1828. Cameleon Sketches, 1828. Companion to the Theatres, 1829 Arcana of Science and Art, 1828-1838 (Eleven vols.). Wine-drinker's Manual, 1830. Family Manual, 1831. Know- ledge for the People ; or, the Plain Why and Because, 4 vols. 1831-2. Popular Zoology, 1834. Domestic Life in England, 1835. The Instructor, Vol. 2 (written for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), 1835. Family Handbook, 1837. -Literary World, 3 vols. 1839, 1840. London Anecdotes, 2 vols. 1848. Illustrated Year-book, 2 vols. 1850, 1851. Wellingtoniana, 1852. Year-book of Facts, 1839-1855. (Seventeen vols.) IV PREFACE. racteristics will be found to consist in what Addison's Freeholdei\ calls " the Curiosities of this great Town." Their bibliographical illustration, by quotations from Old Poets and Dramatists, Tra- vellers and Diarists, presents a sort of literary chequer-work of anj entertaining and anecdotic character ; and these historic glimpseq are brought into vivid contrast with the Social Statistics and other Great Facts of the London of to-day. The plan of the book is in the main alphabetical. Districts and lo- calities are, however, topographically described ; the arrangement oJ streets being generally in a sub-alphabet. The Birth-places, Abodes, and Burial-places of Eminent Persons so many sites of charmed ground are specially noted, as are existing Antiquities, Collec- tions of Eare Art and Virtu, Public Buildings, Koyal and Noble Residences, Great Institutions, Public Amusements and Exhibi- tions, and Industrial Establishments; so to chronicle the renown of Modern as well as Ancient London. The articles describing the Churches, Exchanges, Halls, Libraries and Museums, Palaces and Parks, Parliament-Houses, Roman Remains, and the Tower of London, are, from their importance, most copious in their details. The utmost pains has been taken to verify dates, names, and circumstances ; and it is trusted that no errors may be found in addition to those noted at the close of the volume, with the changes in the Metropolis during the progress of the printing of the work.* The reader, it is hoped, will regard these inaccuracies with indulgence, when the immense number of facts sought to be recorded in this volume is considered. Lastly, it has been my aim to render the " Curiosities" useful as well as entertaining, and with that view are introduced several matters of practical information for Londoners as well as visitors. JOHN TIMES. 88 SLOANE-STREET, CHELSEA, Jan. 16, 1855. * See ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS, pp. 782-784. THE FRONTISPIECE. This Portrait has been engraved from a painting by Thomas John Gullick ; exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1854, and pronounced to be the work of an artist of great promise. THE VIGNETTE. This Charter, described at page 460, is in English as follows : " William the King friendly salutes William the Bishop, and Godfrey the Portreve, and all ths Burgesses within London, both French and English. And I declare, that I grant you to b" all law worthy, as you were in the days of King Edward; and I grant that every child shall be his father's heir, after his father's days; and I wiU not suffer any person to do you wrong. God keep you." SUBSCRIBERS TO THE PRESENT WORK. Irs GRACE THE DUKE OF NORFOLK, K.G. Norfolk House, St. James' s-square. Iis GRACE THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND, K.G. Stafford House, St. James's. HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND, Stafford House, St. James's. THE MOST HON. THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G., D.C.L., F.R.S. Lansdowne House, Berkeley-square. THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CARLISLE, F.R.S. L. Grosvenor-place. THE RIGHT HON. LORD LONDESBOROUGH, K.C.H., F.R.S. , F.S.A. Carlton-House- terrace. THE LORD EDWARD GEORGE FITZALAN HOWARD, M.P. Rutland Gate. THE RIGHT HON. LORD BRAYBROOKE, LL.D., F.S.A. New Burlington-street. SIB EDWARD BULWER LYTTON, BART., M P. Ktiebworth, Herts. JIEUT.-GENERAL SIR HKNRY G. W. SMITH, BART..G.C.B. Plymouth. THE RIGHT HON. F. G. MOON- LORD MAYOR, F.S.A. Four copies. SIB CHARLES BARRY, R.A , F.R.S. Old Palace-yard. SIR JOSEPH PAXTON, M.P , F.L.S. Sydenham. SIB J. BERNARD BURKE, ULSTER KING-AT-ARMS, Record Tower, Dublin Castle. Abraham, H. R. Esq. Howard-street, Strand. Ainsworth, W. Harrison, Esq. Arundel- terrace, Kemp Town, Brighton: Angell, C. F. Esq. F.S.A. Grove-lane, Camber-well. Ashton, Henry, Esq. Great George-street, Westminster. Badger, Benjamin, Esq Eastwood House, Rotherham. Badger, Joseph, Esq Rotherham. Badger. Thomas S Esq. Lincoln's Inn. Baker, Edward D. Esq. Newcastle-street, Strand. Bank of England Library and Literary Association. Barnard, Samuel, Esq. Holborn-hill. Barnett, Miss, Morningt^n-crescent, Hampstead-road. Batt, James S. Esq. Oxford street. Battam, Thomas, Esq F.S.A. Heron Cross, Stoke-upon-Trent. Bayley, W. H. Esq. Madras. Bell, Robert, Esq F.S.A. The Nook, Irthington, Cumberland. Bennett, Miss, Sloane-street. Two copies. Bennoch, Francis, Esq. Blackheath Park. Bleaden, John, Esq. The Monument, London. Britton, John, Esq. Burton-street, Burton-crescent. Brooks, Shirley, Esq. New Inn. Buckstone, J. B. Esq. Suffolk-street, Pall Mall East. Two copies. Burges, Alfred, Esq. F S A. Blackheath. Bury, Talbot, Esq. Welbeck-street, Cavendish-square. Cabbell, Benjamin Bond, Esq M.P. Portland place. Two copies. Calder, George A. Esq. Bathurst-street, Hyde Park. Carter, Mr. Alderman, Comhill. Caslon, H. W. Esq. Chiswell-street, Flnsbury. Chaffers, W. juu. Esq. F.S.A. Old Bond-street. VI LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Churchill, H. Blencowe, Esq. Raymond-buildings, Gray's Inn. Cole, Henry, Esq. C.B. Gore House, Kensington. Cooke, Nathaniel, Esq. Ladbroke-terrace, Notting-hill. Collingridge, W. H. Esq. Long-lane, Smithfield. Two copies. Collins, Samuel, Esq. Denmark-hill. Cooper, C. H. Esq. F.S.A. Town Clerk of Cambridge. Crace, F. Esq. Vine Cottag*. Blythe-lane, Hammersmith. Crossley, Luke T. Esq. Hankelow Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire. u Crowquill, Alfred." Portland-place North, Clapham-road. Cunningham, Peter, Esq F S.A. Victoria-road, Kensington. Dalziel, Edward, Esq. Camden-street North. Dalziel, George, Esq. Albert-street, Mornington-crescent. Davies, Robert, Esq. F.S.A. The Mount, York. Delamotte, Philip H. Esq. F.S.A. Newton-road, Bayswater. Dick, W. Robertson. Esq. Simsby, Derby. Dodd, John, Esq. Bickmansworth, Herts. Doudney, Rev. J. A. Bonmahon, Waterford, Ireland. Two copies. Duncan, Edward, Esq. Momington-place, Hampstead-road, Dyott, Captain John P Knowle Lodge, Lichfield Edwards, F. Howarth, Esq. Gloucester-place, Kentish Town. Edwards, James Alton, Esq. Camden-road Villas. Evans, Edmund, Esq. Riquet court, Fleet-street. Fairholt, F. W. Esq. F.S A. Mon'pellier-square, Brompton. Fitz-Cook, Henry, Esq. New Ormond-street, Queen-square. Fletcher, Angus, Esq. Oxton. Tadcaster, York. Forteath, G. A Esq. Bunny Park, Notts. Foster, Birket, Esq Clifton-road, St. John's Wood. Francis, Charles Larkin, Esq Eccleston-square. Fuller, Francis, Esq. Abingdon-street, Westminster. Garle, Thomas, Esq. Hamilton-terrace, St. John's Wood. Gatty, Robert, Esq. Angel court, Throgmorton-strset. Geldard, John, Esq. Great Portland street. Geldard, Mrs. Norman terract, Willington-road, Clapham. Gener, R. Esq. Osnaburg-terrace, Regent's Park. Gibson, W. Sidney, Esq. F S.A. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Gilbert, John, Esq. Blickheath. Two copies. Gilks, Thomas, Esq. Fleet-street. Glaisher, James, Esq. F.R.S. Lewisham. Godsell, George, Esq. Magdalen Hall, Oxford. Godwin, George, Esq. F.R.S., F.S.A. Alexander-square, Brompton. Gooch, John, Esq. River-terrace, Islington. Gould, John, Esq. F.R S., F.L.S Broad-street, Golden-square. Gruneisen, C. Lewis, Esq. Surrey- street, Strand. Gullick, Thomas, Esq. Pall Mall. Gullick, Thomas John, Esq Sloane-street. Gutch, John, Esq. Clifton Villas. Warwick-road, Paddington. Gwilt, George, Esq. F.S.A. Union-street, Southwark. Haes, John, Esq. Park-road, Stockwell. Hall, S. Carter, Esq. F.S.A. Lancaster-place, Strand. Halliwell, J. O. Esq. F.R.S., F.S.A. Avenue Lodge, Brixton-hitt. Hands, Decimus, Esq. Dors t-square. Harding, C. T. Esq. Clifford-street, Bond-street. Hardy, Benjamin, Esq Brompton. Hargreaves, E. H. Esq. Upper Spring-street, Portman-square. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Vll Harvey, C. S. Esq. Buenos Ayres. Harvey, William, Esq. The Vineyard, Richmond. Hawkins, Walter, Esq. P.S.A. Leonard-place, Kensington. Heigham, T. Esq. Grove-place, Brompton. Hewitt, John, Esq. Office of Ordnance, Pall Mall. Hill, Heniy, Esq. Garrick Club. Hoare, Charles, Esq. Edenbridge, Kent. Hogg, Jabez, Esq. Gower-street, Bedford -square. Hope, A. J. B. Beresford, Esq. F.S.A. Arklow House, Connaught-place. Three copies. Hope, Henry Thomas, Esq. Piccadilly. Five copies. Huddlestone, J. W. Esq. Garrick Club. Ingram, Herbert, Esq. F.S.A. Strand. Two copies. Jackson, Mason, Esq. Cardington-street, Hampstead-road. Jay, Captain, Regent-street. Jerdein, John Inglis, Esq. St. Gear yes- terrace, Hyde Park Corner. Jerrold. Douglas, Esq. Circus-road, St. John's Wood. Keon, Miles Gerald, Esq. Oxford- terrace, Hyde Park. Landells, Ebetiezer, Esq Holford-square, Pentonv'dle. Langford, J. M. Esq. Raymond-buildings, Gray's Inn. Lemon, Mark, Esq. Gordon-street, Gordon-square. Lings, Mrs. Deborah, Hampstead-road. Little, William, Esq. Strand. Mackay, Charles, Esq. LL.D., F.S.A. Camden-square. Macready, W. C. Esq. Sherborne House, Sherborne, Dorset. Mair, George G. Esq. F.S.A. Upper Bedford-place, Russell-square. Manby, Charles, Esq. F.R.S. Great George-street, Westminster. Martin, W. C. L Esq. F.L.S. Dacre-Park-terrace, Lee. Martiny, E. Esq. Office of Ordnance, Pall Mull. Mather, James, Esq. The Grove, South Shields. Mawe, T. J. Esq. Carlton Villas, Maida Vale. Two copies. Mayer, Joseph, Esq. F.S.A. Liverpool. Merewgther, Mr. Serjeant, fown Clerk of London. Minister, E. W. Esq. Arragon Villas, Twickenham. Monte Video Consul, London. Two copies. Moses, Mrs. Hanway-street, Oxford-street. Munro, Alexander, Esq. Upper Belgrave-place. Noble, Matthew, Esq. Bruton-street, Berkeley-square. Ottley, Henry, Esq. Vale of Health, Hampstead. Owen, Rev. O. Freire, F.S.A. Maida-hill West. Parkyns. Mansfield, Esq. Woodborough Hall, Notts. Parry, Thomas, Esq. Slenford, Lincoln. Pellatt, Apsley, Esq. M.P. Southwark. Two copies. Penson, R. Kyrke, Esq. F.S.A. Oswestry, Salop. Pepper, J. H. Esq. Polytechnic Institution, Regent-street. Phillips, Richard M. Esq. Brompton. Piper, Captain, Cumberland House, Shepherd's Bush. Pollard, George, Esq. Watling-street. Prior, James, Esq. R.N., F.S.A. Norfolk-crescent, Hyde Park. Purland, Theodosius, Esq. Mortimer-street, Covendish-square. Two copies. Reach, Angus B. Esq. Albert-street, Mornington-erescent. Read, Samuel, Esq. New Cavendish-street, Portland-place. Redwood, H. B. Esq. Sloane-street. Richards, Rev. Joseph, M.A. Calcutta. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Roots, William, Esq. M.D., F.S.A. SurUton, Kingston-upon-Thames. Rose, William. Esq. Coalport, Salop. Russell, John Scott, Esq. F.R.S. Great George-street, Westminster. Salmon, Frederick, Esq. F.S.A. Lower Berkeley-street. Sargent, Mrs. Ely Lodge, Stoke Newington. Savill, T. C. Esq. South Villas, Campden-hill, Kensington. Scott, G. Gilbert. Esq. F.S.A. Spring-gardens. Scott, John, Esq. Coventry-street. Shepard, E. Clarence, Esq. Onslow-square, Brompton. Sidney, Samuel, Esq. Chaplin Villa, Forest-hill. Two copies. Simpson, Henry, Esq. Philpot-lane, Eastcheap. Simpson, T. Bridge, Esq. Leadenhall-street. Since, Alfred, Esq. F.R.S. Finsbury-tircus. Smith, Albert, Esq. Percy-street, Bedford-square. Two copies. Smith, William, Esq. F.S.A. Upper Southwick-street, Hyde Park. Smith, W. H. Esq. Strand. Two copies. Spalding, Thomas, Esq. Di-ury-lane. Spencer, Joseph Frowd, Esq. Brompton. Staunton, Howard. Esq. Mill Hill House, Barnes Common, Surrey. Tennant, James, Esq. F.G.S. Strand. Thackeray, W. M. Esq. Young-street, Kensington. Thomas, John, Esq. Church-street, Paddington. TJiree copies. Thomas, John Evan. Esq. Lower Belgrave-place. Tucker, Charles, Esq. F S.A. Marlands, Heavitree, Exeter. Tudor, E. Owen, Esq. F.S.A. Westbourne-terrace. Tupper, Martin Farquhar, Esq. D.C.L., F.R.S. Albury, Surrey. Tussaud, Joseph, Esq Baker-street, Portman-square. Tymbs, John, Esq. Worcester. Veall, J. R. Esq Waterloo-road, Wolverhampton. Virtue, George H. Esq F.S.A. Finsbury-square. Walesby, Thomas. Esq. Waterloo-place, Pall Mall. Ward, E. M. Esq. A.R.A. Upton Villas, Slough. Waterton, Edmund. Esq. F.S.A. Walton Hall, Yorkshire. Way, Albert, Esq F.S.A. Wonham Manor, Surrey. Weir, W. Harrison, Esq. Lyndhurst Villas, Peekham. Two comes Whitty, E. M. Esq. Great College-street, Westminster Williams, John M. Esq. Palsyrave-place, Strand. Williams, Joseph L. Esq. Victoria-road, Kensington. Williamson, Joseph. Esq. Princess-terrace, Caledonian-road. Wilson, James H. Esq. Onslow-square, Brompton. Wire, Mr. Alderman, St. Swithin's-lane. Worster, Major, Obs rvatory, Madras. Wright, Thomas, Esq. M.A., F.S.A. Sydney-street, Brompton. CUKIOSITIES ADELPHI, (THE), A SERIES of streets in the rear of the houses on the south side of the Strand, reaching east and west from Adam-street to Buckingham- street, and facing the Thames on the south a grand commencement of the architectural embankment of the river in 1768. It is named Adelphi (afoxtpo;, brother) from its architects, the four brothers Adam, who built vast arches over the court-yard of old Durham House, and upon these erected, level with the Strand, .Adam-street, leading to John, Robert, James, and William Streets ; the noble line of houses fronting the Thames being the Adelphi Terrace. The view from this spot is almost unrivalled in the metropolis for variety and architectural beauty : from Waterloo Bridge on the east, with the majestic dome and pic- turesque campanili of St. Paul's, to Westminster Bridge on the west, above which rise the towers of Lambeth Palace, and Westminster Abbey, and the pinnacles and bristling roofs of the New Houses of Parliament. At No. 5, the centre house of the Terrace, David Garrick died, Jan. 20, 1779 ; and here his remains lay in state, previous to their interment in Westminster Abbey, Feb. 1. Garrick's widow also died here in 1822. At No. 1 Adam-street, lived Dr. Knox, the " British Essayist." At Osborne's Hotel, John-street, in 1824, sojourned Kamehameha II., King of the Sandwich Islands, and his sister the Queen, with their suites : the Queen died here of measles, July 8 ; and the King died of the same disease, at the Caledonian Hotel, on the 14th : their remains lay in native pomp at Osborne's, and were then deposited in the vaults of St. Martin s Church, prior to their being conveyed in the Blonde frigate to the Sandwich Islands for interment. The poor King and Queen were wantonly charged with gluttony and drunkenness while here ; but they lived chiefly on fish, poultry, and fruit, and their fa- vourite drink was some cider presented to them by Mr. Canning. In John-street, also, is the house built for the Society of Arts by the Adams. In the second-floor chambers at No. 2 James-street, lived, for nearly thirty years, Mr. Thomas Hill, the " Hull" of Theodore Hook's Gilbert Gurney. Hill died here Dec. 20, 1841, in his 81st year ; and left a large collection of curiosities, including a cup and a small vase formed from the mulberry-tree planted by Shakspeare at Stratford- upon-Avon. Neither of these, however, is the Shakespeare Cup pre- sented to Garrick by the Mayor arid Corporation of Stratford at the time of the Jubilee. This celebrated relic was bought on May 5, 1825, for 121 guineas, by Mr. J. Johnson ; and by him sold, July 4, 1846, for 4W. 8s. 6d., to Mr. Isaacs, of Upper Gower-street. The Adelphi vaults, occupied as cellars and coal- wharfs, in their grim vastness, remind one of the Etruscan Cloaca of old Rome. Beneath the " dry arches," the most abandoned characters have often passed the night, nestling upon foul straw ; and many a street-thief escaped from his pursuers in these subterranean haunts, before the introduction of gas-light and a vigilant police. ADMIKALTY OFFICE, (THE), Forms the left flank of the detachment of Government Offices on the north side of Whitehall. It occupies the site of Wallingford House, CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. from the roof of which Archbishop Usher saw King Charles I. led out to execution in the front of Whitehall Palace, and swooned at the sight. The Admiralty Office, built by Ripley, about 1726, is a tasteless pile : to conceal its ugliness, the court-yard was fronted with a stone screen, by the Adams, in the reign of "George III. This screen is a very characteristic composition : its sculptured hippocampi, and prows of ancient vessels, combining with an anchor in the pediment of the portico of the main building, to denote the purposes of the office the administration of the affairs of the Royal Navy. In one of the large rooms the remains of Lord Nelson lay in state, Jan. 8, 1806 ; and next day, took plaee the solemn funeral procession, with a military force of nearly 8000 men, from this spot to St. Paul's Cathedral. On the roof of the Admiralty Office, many years since, was placed a Semaphore, (the invention of Sir Home Popham) ; the arms of which, extending laterally at right angles, communicated orders and intelli- gence to and from the sea-ports; previous to which was used the shuttle telegraph, invented by R. L. Edgeworth. The Semaphore has, how- ever, been superseded by the Electric Telegraph, of which nine wires are laid from the office in Whitehall to the Dockyard at Portsmouth ; the Admiralty paying the Electric Telegraph Company 1200Z. a-year. ALCHEMISTS. The last true believer in Alchemy was, according to Mr. Brande, Peter Woulfe, who occupied chambers in Barnard's Inn, Holborn, while residing in London, and usually spent the summer in Paris : lie died in 1805. About 1801, an adept lived, or rather starved, in the metropolis, in the person of an editor of an evening journal, who expected to com- pound the alkahest if he could only keep his materials digested in a lamp-furnace for the space of seven years. The lamp burnt brightly during six years, eleven months, and some odd days besides, and then, unluckily, it went out. "Why it went out the adept never could guess ; but he was certain that if the flame could only have burnt to the end of the septenary cycle his experiment must have succeeded. (Paper on Astrology and Alchemy, by Sir Walter Scott; Quarterly Review, 1821.) In Catherine-street, Strand, lived for many years one John Denley, a bookseller, who amassed here a notable collection of the works of alchemist, cabalist, and astrologer : he is the individual referred to by Sir E. Lytton Bulwer in the introduction to his Zanoni. ALDERMAN, The oldest office in the Corporation of London, and derived from the Ealdorman, or superior Saxon noble; but not mentioned as presiding over gilds or wards until Henry II. In some cases, the wards were the Aldermen's heritable property, and received their own names. The present ward of Farringdon was bought by William Faryngdon in 1279, and remained in his family upwards of eighty years ; it was held by the tenure of presenting at Easter a gillyflower, then of great rarity. Each of the twenty-six City wards elects one Alderman for life, or "during good behaviour." The fine for the rejection of the office is 500Z. ; but it is generally sought as a stepping-stone to the Mayoralty, each Alderman being in rotd Lord Mayor, he having previ- ously served as Sheriff of London and Middlesex. The Aldermen form a court, the Lord Mayor presiding ; and sit in a superb apartment of the Guildhall, which has a rich stucco ceiling painted mostly by Sir James Thornhill ; in the cornice are carved and emblazoned the'arms of all the Mayors since 1780 : each Alderman's chair bears his name and arms, and he wears a scarlet cloth gown, hooded and furred ; and a gold chain, if he has served as Mayor. Upon state visits of sovereigns to ALDERMAN. ALMACK'S. the City, the several Aldermen ride in procession on horseback. At the opening of the New Royal Exchange, October 28, 1844, ten Aldermen rode thus, wearing their gowns and chains and cocked hats, carrying wands, and preceding the Queen's procession from Temple Bar. The office of Alderman has rarely been filled by men of intellectual mark. Alderman Fabian, who wrote the " Chronicles of England and France," early in the 16th century, is an exception. Alderman Barber, the first printer Lord Mayor (1733), was the friend of Bolingbroke, Swift, and Pope ; and in 1721 erected a cenotaph to Samuel Butler in West- minster Abbey, notwithstanding Butler's satiric " Character" of an Alderman. The notorious John "Wilkes was a man of talent, though profligate and unprincipled. Alderman Boydell was a generous. and discriminating promoter of the fine arts, and was honoured with a pub- lic funeral. The Court of Aldermen, in 1850, consisted of 2 wharfingers, 2 auctioneers, 1 potter, 1 grocer, 1 publisher, 1 ship-broker, 1 wine-merchant, 1 tea-dealer, 1 print-seller, 2 general merchants, 1 solicitor, 1 dealer in hides, 1 iron-master ; 10 of independent property, and mostly retired traders = 26. Five of the Aldermen sit in Parliament, one for his own City. The above list, however, does not include one banker, and only two "merchant- princes :" the dignity of the office has unquestionably been trifled with by the choice of retail traders ; for an Alderman to sell a pound of can- dles or a penny tart will not increase the respect for his magisterial or corporate position. The histories of the Aldermen of our time ex- hibit some melancholy instances of reverse of fortune : upwards of 1300Z. is paid annually, in pensions or allowances, by the Court of Aldermen, to the widows or descendants of their less prosperous brethren. ALMACK'S Assembly Booms, on the south side of King-street, St. James's, were built by Mylne, for one Almack, a Scotsman ; and were opened Feb. 12, 1765, with an Assembly, at which the Duke of Cumberland, the hero of Culloden, was present. The large ball-room is about one hundred feet in length by forty feet in width; it is chastely decorated with gilt columns and pilasters, classic medallions, mirrors, &c., and is lit with upwards of five hundred wax-lights in five cut-glass lustres. The largest number of persons ever present in this room at one ball was 1700. The Assembly is regulated by Ladies Patronesses, who in the season of 1850 were the Duchess of Norfolk, the- Marchioness of Ely, Mar- chioness of Londonderry, Marchioness of Westminster, the Countess of Jersey, Countess of Kinnoull, Countess of Lichfield, Viscountess Pal- merston, and Lady Clinton. The series consisted of six assemblies, on alternate Thursdays after Easter, subject to the following regulations : " Each Lady Patroness to have on her list a limited number of sub- scribers. The Lady Patronesses to have a limited number of non- subscribers for each ball. No Lady Patroness can give a subscription or a ticket to a lady she does not visit, or to a gentleman who is not in- troduced to her by a lady whose name is upon her visiting-list. No gentlemen's tickets can be transferable." The rooms are let for public meetings, dramatic readings, concerts, balls, and occasionally for dinners. Here Mrs. Billington, Mr. Bra- ham, and Signer Naldi gave concerts from 1808 to 1810, in rivalry with Madame Catalani at Hanover Square Rooms; and here Mr. Charles Kemble gave his Readings from Shakspeare, in 1844. Almack 's Rooms are often called " Willis's," from the name of their present proprietor. Almack's has declined of late years ; "a clear proof that the palmy days of exclusiveness are gone by in England ; and though it is obviously impossible to prevent any given number of persons from CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. congregating and re-establishing an oligarchy, we are quite sure that the attempt would be ineffectual, and that the sense of their importance would extend little beyond the set." (Quarterly Review, 1840.) ALMO]STRY, (THE), Or Eleemosynary, now corruptly, (as in Stow's time,) the Ambry, was named from its being the place where the alms collected in the Abbey Church at Westminster were distributed to poor persons. It was situ- ated at the east end of the Sanctuary, and was divided into two parts : " the Great Almonry, consisting of two oblong portions, parallel to the two Tothill streets, and connected by a narrow lane (the entrance being from Dean's Yard) ; and the Little Almonry, running southward, at the eastern end of the other Almonry." (Walcot's Westminster, 1849.) In the Almonry the first printing-press ever known in England was set up by William Caxton, according to Stow, in an old chapel near the entrance of the Abbey ; but a very curious placard, in Caxton's largest type, and now preserved in the library of Brasenose College, Oxford, shews that he printed in the Almonry ; for in this placard he invites cus- tomers to "come to Westmonester in to the Almonestrye at the Reed Pale," the name by which was known a house in which Caxton is said to have lived. It stood on the north side of the Almonry, with its back against that of a house on the south side of Tothill-street. Bagford describes this house as of brick, with the sign of the King's Head : it is stated to have fallen down in November, 1845, before the removal of the other dwellings in the Almonry, to form a new line ( Victoria- street) from Tothill-street to Pimlico. A beam of wood was saved from the materials of the house, and from it have been made a chess- board and two sets of chessmen, as appropriate memorials of Caxton's first labour in England The Game andPlaye of the Chesse, 1474, folio, believed to be the first book printed in England (See Illustrated London News, June 5, 1847). According to a view of Caxton's House, en- graved by G. Cooke, in 1827, it was three-storied, and had a gallery or balcony to the upper floor, with a window in its bold gable. In one of the almshouses built by King Henry VII., north of the Almonry, lived Thomas Barker, who aided Izaak Walton in writing The Complete Angler. And in the Little Almonry was the house of Harrington, the poet, who attended Charles I. on the scaffold ; and who was here often visited by Roger 1'Estrange and Andrew Marvell. There is an old brick house in Tothill-street, opposite Dartmouth- street, which was probably at one time connected with the Almonry. It has upon its front, sunken in the brickwork, the letters E. (Eleemo- synaria?), T. A. (perhaps the initials of the almoner's name), with, how- ever, a late date, 1571. A heart, which is above the inscription, was the symbol used in the old Clog Almanacks for the Annunciation, the Purification, and all other Feast-days of Our Lady. ( Walcofs West- minster, 1849.) ALMONRY, ROYAL. This Office, in Middle Scotland Yard, Whitehall, is maintained expressly for the distribution of the Royal Alms, or Bounty, to the poor. The duties of the Hereditary Grand Almoner, first instituted in the reign of Richard I., are confined to the distribution of alms at a Coronation. The office of the High Almoner is of a more general description. In the reign of Edward I., his office was to collect the fragments of the royal table, and distribute them daily to the poor ; to visit the sick, poor widows, prisoners, and other persons in distress ; to remind the King about the bestowal of his alms, especially on Saints' Days ; and to see that the cast-off robes were sold, to increase the King's charity. ALMSHOUSES. For more than a century the office of Lord High Almoner was held by the Archbishops of York ; but on the death of Archbishop Harcourt, in November, 1847, the office was conferred upon Dr. Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. The distribution of Alms on the Thursday before Easter, or Maundy Thursday, takes place in Whitehall Chapel ; that at Easter, Whitsun- tide, and Christmas, at the Office in Middle Scotland Yard. Thus, on Easter Monday, 1850, "upwards of 500 men and women were presented with 5*. each, all being above sixty, and many upwards of ninety years of age." The pious Queen Adelaide, who died in 1849, and is known to have expended one-third of her large income in private and public cha- rity, maintained in her household an Almoner, whose duty it was to investigate all applications for the royal benevolence. ALMSHOUSES, Built by Public Companies, Benevolent Societies, and private indivi- duals, for aged and infirm persons, are very numerous in the metro- polis and its suburbs. The Companies' Almshouses were originally erected next their Halls, that the almspeople might be handy to attend pageants and processions ; but these almshouses have mostly been re- moved, owing to the increased value of ground in the City. Almshouses succeeded the incorporated Hospitals dissolved by King Henry VIII. Among the earliest erected were the Almshouses founded by Lady Margaret, mother of King Henry VII., for poor women: they were afterwards converted into lodgings for the singing men of the Abbey, and called Choristers' Rents : they were taken down about 1800. Westminster has several of these munificent foundations : as the Red Lion Almshouses, in York-street, founded in 1577, for eight poor women, by Cornelius Van Dun, of Brabant, a soldier who served under King Henry VIII. at Tournay. Next are, in the same neighbourhood, the Almshouses for twelve poor housekeepers of St. Margaret's, with a school and chapel the boys clad in black : these were founded in 1566, by the Rev. Edward Palmer, B.D., many years preacher at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, and who used to sleep in the church-tower. Emmanuel Hospital, James Street, was founded by the will of Lady Ann Dacre, in 1601, for aged parishioners of St. Margaret's :' and in one of its aims- houses, on January 22, 1772, died Mrs. Windimore, cousin of Mary (consort of William III.,) and of Queen Anne. In 1720, the Drapers' Company maintained Almshouses at Tower Hill, Beach Lane, Greenwich, Stratford-le-Bow, Shoreditch, St. George's Fields, St. Mary Newington, and Mile End. Whittington's College, or Almshouses, founded in 1621, on College Hill, were rebuilt by the Mercers' Company, at the foot of Highgate Hill, about 1826. The Fish- mongers' Company's Almshouses, or St. Peter's Hospital, Newington Butts, founded 1618, consisted of three courts, dining-hall, and chapel : and were rebuilt on Wandsworth Common, in 1850. Richard Alleyn, the distinguished actor, and friend of Ben Jonson and Shakspeare, besides founding Dulwich College, built and endowed three sets of Almshouses in the metropolis : in Lamb Alley, Bishops- gate Street ; in Bath Street, St. Luke's ; and in Soap Yard, Southwark. Traditionallv, we owe the foundation of Dame Owen's School and Almshouses, at Islington, to Archery. In 1610, this rich brewer's widow, in passing along St. John-street Road, then Hermitage Fields, was struck by a truant arrow, and narrowly escaped "braining ;" and the old lady, thinking such close shooting dangerous, in commemoration of her providential escape, built, in 1613, a free school and ten aims- houses upon the scene of her adventure. Since 1839, they have been handsomelv rebuilt bv t.hp. "Rrpwfirs' f!mrmanv_ trustees for the Charitv. 6 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The Trinity House Almshouses, in the Mile End Road, founded in 1695, for decayed commanders of ships, mates, or pilots, and their wives and widows, have characteristic ornaments of shipping on their roofs, and a statue of Captain Saunders, a benefactor to the charity ; died 1721. Bancroft's Almshouses and School, Mile End, were built in 1735, with the ill-gotten fortune bequeathed by Francis Bancroft, grandson of Archbishop Bancroft, and an officer of the Lord Mayor's Court ; and so hated for his mercenary and oppressive practices, that at his funeral, a mob, for very joy, rang the church bells of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, where is a tomb to his memory, erected in his life-time. The almsmen are twenty-four poor old members of the Drapers' Company ; and the school boards, clothes, educates, and apprentices 100 boys. In May, 1850, there was a public dinner of persons brought up in Bancroft's School. The Almshouses erected of late years are mostly picturesque build- ings, in the old English style, with gables, turrets, and twisted chimney- shafts, of red brick, with handsome stone dressings. The Marylebone Almshouses, built in St. John's Wood Terrace, Regent's Park, in 1836, originated in a legacy of 500Z. from Count Woronzow ; the site being leased for ninety -nine years, at a pepper- corn rent, by Colonel Eyre, with two presentations to the Charity. The London Almshouses were erected at Brixton, in 1833, to com- memorate the passing of the Reform Bill, instead of by illumination. The Bang William Naval Asylum, at Penge, opened 1849, for the widows of Commanders, Lieutenants, Masters, and Pursers in the Royal Navy, was built by Queen Adelaide, to the memory of William IV. AMUSEMENTS, PAST AND PRESENT. ARCHERY is mentioned among the summer pastimes of the London youth by Fitzstephen, who wrote in the reign of Henry II. ; and the repeated statutes from the 13th to the 16th centuries, enforcing the use of the Bow, invariably ordered the leisure time upon holidays to be passed in its exercise, Finsbury appears to have been a very early lo- cality for Archery ; for in the reign of Edward I. there w"as formed a society entitled the Archers of Finsburv, subsequently known as the Artillery Company. In the reign of Henry VII., all the gardens in Finsbury were destroyed by law, " and of them was made a plain field for archers to shoote in ;" this being the appropriation of what is now called " the Artillery Ground." Among the curious books on Archery are iheAyme for Fin sburie Archer S.IQ28: and theAymefor the Archers of St. George's Fields, 1664. Henry VIII. shot with the longbow as well as any of his guards : he chartered a society for shooting ; and jocosely dignified a successful archer as Duke of Shoreditch, at which place his Grace resided. This title was long preserved by the Captain of the London Archers, who used to summon the officers of his several divisions under the titles of Marquis of Barlo, of Clerkenwell, of Islington, of Hoxton, of Shackle- well, &c., Earl of Pancras, &c. "We read of a grand pageant in this reign, of three thousand archers, guarded by whifflers and billmen, pages and footmen, proceeding from Merchant Taylors' Hall, through Broad-street, the residence of their captain ; thence into Moorfields by Finsbury, and so on to Smithfield, where they performed evolutions, and shot at a target for honour. Stow, (who died in 1605) informs us, that before his time it had been customary at Bartholomew-tide for the Lord Mayor, with the sheriffs and aldermen, to go into the fields at Finsbury, where the citi- zens were assembled, and shoot at the standard with broad and flight arrows for games; and this exercise was continued for several days. Edward VI. was fond of archery j and in his reign the scholars of AMUSEMENTS. St. Bartholomew, who held their disputations in cloisters, were re- warded with a bow and silver arrows. Charles I. was an excellent archer, and forbade by proclamation the inclosure of shooting-grounds near London. Archery, however, seems then to have fallen into dis- repute. Sir William Davenant, in a mock poem, entitled The Long Vacation in London, describes the attorneys and proctors as making matches in Finsbury Fields : " With loynes in canvas bow-case tied, Where arrows stick with mickle pride ; Like ghosts of Adam Bell and Clymme : Sol set for fear they'll shoot at him !" Pepys records (1667), that, when a boy, he used to shoot with his bow and arrows in the fields at Kingsland. In 1781, the remains of the " Old Finsbury Archers" established the Toxophilite Society, at Leicester House, then in Leicester Fields ; it is stated, principally through Sir Ashton Lever, who shewed his Musuem there. The Society held their meetings in Bloomsbury Fields, behind the present site of Gower-street. In about twenty- five years they removed on " target days" to Highbury Barn ; from thence to Bayswater ; and in 1834, to the Inner Circle, Regent's Park, where they have a rustic lodge, and between five and six acres of ground. The Society consisted in 1850 of 100 members ; terms, 51. annually, entrance-fee 51., and other expenses. They meet every Friday during the Spring and Summer ; the shooting is at 60, 80, and 100 yards ; and many prizes are shot for during the season; Prince Albert, patron. They possess the original silver badge of the old Finsbury Archers. The most numerous Society of the kind now existing is, however, " The Royal Company of Archers, the Queen's body-guard of Scotland," whose captain-general, the Duke of Buccleuch, rode in the coronation procession of Queen Victoria, In 1849, the Society of Cantelows Archers was established ; their shooting-ground is at Camden Square, Camden New Town ; the prize, a large silver medal. There was a fine display of Archery at the Fete of the Scottish Society of London, in Holland Park, Kensington, June 20 and 21, 1849, when 3001. worth of prize plate was shot for. BALLAD-SINGING, the vestige of the minstrelsy which Cromwell, in 1656, silenced for a time, was common in the last century. " The Blind Beggar" had conferred poetic celebrity upon Bethnal Green ; " Black- eyed Susan," and "'Twas when the seas were roaring," were the lyrics that landsmen delighted to sing of the sea; and "Jemmy Daw- son," (set to music by Dr. Arne,) grew into historic fame elsewhere than on the scene of the tragedy, Kennington Common. To these suc- ceeded the 'sea-songs of Charles Dibdin, which were commonly sung about the streets by the very tars who had first felt their patriotic in- spiration : a sailor, who wore a model of the brig Nelson upon his hat, long maintained a vocal celebrity upon Tower Hill. Hogarth, in his "Wedding of the Industrious Apprentice," has painted the famous bal- lad-singer " Philip in the Tub ;" and Gravelot, a portrait-painter in the Strand, had several sittings from ballad-singers. The great factory of the ballads has long been Seven Dials, where Pitts employed Bat Cor- coran, the patron of "slender Ben" and (t over-head-and-ears Nic." Among its earlier lyrists were " Tottenham Court Meg," the " Ballad- singing Cobler," and "oulde Guy, the poet." Mr. Catnach, another noted printer of ballads, lived in Seven Dials ; and, at his death, left a considerable fortune. He was the first ballad-printer who published yards of songs for one penny, in former days the price of a single ballad; CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. and here he accumulated the largest stock on record of whole sheets, last-dying speeches, ballads, and other wares of the flying stationers. Bolle Bayting Theatre," near " the Beare Baitynge House," nigh where London Bridge now commences. Pepys describes a visit to the "beare- garden" in 1666, where he saw " some good sport of the bull's tossing of the dogs, one into the very boxes. But it is a very rude and nasty pleasure." Hockley- in-the-Hole, Clerkenwell, was styled " His Ma- jesty's Bear-Garden" in 1700, and was the scene of bull and bear baiting, wrestling, and boxing ; but it was neglected for Figg's Amphitheatre, in Oxford Road : "Long liv'd the great Figg, by the prize-fighting swains Sole monarch acknowledged of Marybone plains." At Tothill Fields, Westminster, was, in 3793, a noted bear-garden, a portion of which now forms Vincent Square. BOWLS was formerly a popular game in the metropolis : it suc- ceeded archery before Stow's time, when many gardens of the City and its suburbs were converted into bowling-alleyes ; our author, in 1579, wrote : " Common bowling-alleyes are privy mothes that eat up the credit of many idle citizens, whose gaynes at home are not able to weigh downe theyr losses abroad;" elsewhere he says: "Our bowes are turned into bowls." The game of bowls, however, is as old as the 13th century, and in the country was played upon greens ; but the alleys required less room, and were covered over, so that the game could be played there in all weathers, whence they became greatly mul- tiplied in London. Bowls was played by Henry VIII., who added to Whitehall " tennise-courtes, bowling-alleys, and a cock-pit." Spring Garden, St. James's, had its ordinary and bowling-green kept by a servant of Charles the First's Court, and Piccadilly Hall, at the corner of Windmill- street and Coventry-street, had its upper and lower bowling-greens. In the last century, Bowls was much played in the suburbs, espe- cially at Marybone Gardens, mentioned by Pepys in 1668 as " a pretty place." Its bowling-greens were frequented by the nobility, among whom was Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, to whose partiality for the game Lady Mary Wortley Montague refers in the line " Seme dukes at Marybone bowl time away." The place grew into disrepute, and was closed in 1777 ; it is made by Gay a scene of Macheath's debauchery in the Beggar's Opera. 'The grave John Locke, in one of his private journals (1679) records " bowling at Marebone and Putney by persons of quality ; wrestling in Lincoln's Inn Fields on summer evenings ; bear and bull baiting at the Bear-Garden; shooting in the longbow and stob-ball in Tothil Fields." Greens remain attached to a few old taverns round London. In the town, bowling-alleys were abolished in the last century, and gave rise to long-bowling, or bowling in a narrow inclosure at nine pins upon a square frame. The ball-games next merged into cricket. Bowling-street, Westminster, commemorates the spot where the members of the Convent of St. Peter amused themselves at bowls. CARD-PLAYING would appear to have become early a favourite pas- time with the Londoners ; for in 1643 a law was passed, on a petition of the cardmakers of the city, prohibiting the importation of playing- cards. It was a very fashionable court amusement in the reign of Henry VII. ; and so general, that it became necessary to prohibit by AMUSEMENTS. 9 law apprentices from using cards, except in the Christmas holidays, and then only in their masters' houses. Agreeable to this privilege, Stow, speaking of the customs at London, says, " From Allhallows Eve to the day following Candlemas-day, there was, among other sports, playing at cards, for counters, nails, and points, in every house, more for pastime than for gayne." Whist, in its present state, was not played till about 1730, when it was much studied by a set of gentlemen who frequented the Crown coffee-house in Bedford Row. The name of " Hells," applied in our time to gambling-houses, originated in the room in St. James's Palace formerly appropriated to Hazard being remarkably dark, and on that account called " hell." A few years ago there were more of these infamous places of resort in London than in any other city in the world. The handsome gas-lamp and the green or red baize door at the end of the passage (as well known a sign as the Golden Cross or Spread Eagle) were conspicuous objects in the vicinity of St. James's ; and of St. George's, Hanover Square : and the nuisances still linger about the Regent's Quadrant and Leicester Square ; notwithstanding, for the suppression of gaming, the police are armed with the power of breaking into the houses of her Majesty's lieges at all hours of the day and night. COCK-FIGHTING was a London pastime in 1190, and very fashionable from temp. Edward III. almost to our time. Henry VIII. added a cock- pit to Whitehall Palace, where James I. went to see the sport twice a- week ; this pit being upon the site of the present Privy Council Office : hence the Cockpit Gate, built by Holbein, across the road at Whitehall. Besides this Royal Cockpit, there was formerly a Cockpit in Drury Lane, now corrupted to Pitt-place, and where was the Cock- pit or Phoenix Theatre. There were other Cockpits, in Jewin-street, Cripplegate, and near Bedford Row, whence the Cockpit Yards there ; and another in Shoe Lane, temp. James I., whence Cockpit Court in that neighbourhood; and another noted Cockpit was "behind Gray's Inn." Hogarth's print best illustrates the brutal refinement of the Cock-fight- ing of the last century ; and the barbarous sport is, we believe, encou- raged at some low haunt in Westminster, not far distant from the spot where in kindred pastime Royalty relieved the weighty cares of state. Cock-fighting is now forbidden and punishable by statute. CRICKET. This noble game, first mentioned in 1719, was played by the "White Conduit" and other clubs before 1780, when the Maryle- bone Club was formed, and Lord's Ground was established by Thomas Lord. The latter is in St. John's Wood Road, and is about 7 J acres in extent, and devoted almost exclusively, in May, June, and July, to the matches and practice of the Marylebone Club ; in 1850, consisting of 578 members, with Prince Albert as patron ; at the annual meeting, early in May, the Laws of Cricket are revised, and matches for the season ar- ranged. Attached to Lord's Ground are a Tennis Court and Baths. Among the other principal Cricket Grounds are the Oval (larger than Lord's), near Kennington Church : the Royal Artillery Ground, Finsbury, is, perhaps, the oldest Ground in London ; for here a match was played between Kent and All England in 1746. There are also grounds in Copenhagen Fields ; at the Brecknock Arms, Camden Town ; at Brixton, near the church ; adjoining the New Cattle Market, Isling- ton ; in Lord Holland's Park, Kensington ; and the Scholars' Ground, Vauxhall Bridge Road: here "the Westminster Boys" play: their cricket-flag bears " R. S. W.," surrounded by the motto, In Patriam Populumque. (See The Cricketer's Manual, by " Bat," 1850.) DUCK-HUNTING with Dogs was a barbarous pastime of the last century in the neighbourhood of London, happily put an end to by the 10 CUKIOSITIES OF LONDON. want of ponds of water. St. George's Fields was a notorious locality for this sport ; hence the infamous Dog and Duck Tavern and Tea Gar- dens, from a noted dog which hunted ducks in a sheet of water there : Hannah More makes it a favourite resort of her Cheapside Apprentice. The premises were afterwards let to the School for the Indigent Blind, and were taken down in 1812, when Bethlem Hospital was built upon the site ; in its front wall is preserved the original sign-stone of a Dog with a Duck thrown across his back. Ingenious lesson this, of setting up a memorial of profligacy and cruelty upon a site devoted to the restoration of reason ! EQUESTRIANISM appears to have been a favourite amusement with the Londoners for nearly a century past. One of the first performers was Thomas Johnson, who exhibited in a field behind the Three Hats, at Islington, in 1758; he was succeeded by one Sampson, in 1767, whose wife was the first female equestrian performer in England. In the same year, rode one Price at Dobney's Gardens, nearly opposite the Belvidere Tavern, Pentonville, and where Wildman exhibited his docile Bees, in 1772. About this time, Hughes established himself in St. George's Fields, and Astley in Westminster Bridge Road, the latter being succeeded by Ducrow and Batty. Horses in England were taught dancing as early as the 13th century ; but the first mention of feats on horseback occurs in the Privy Purse expenses of Henry VIII. FAIRS. The three great Fairs of old London belonged, in Catholic tunes, to the heads of religious houses : Westminster to its abbot ; and St. Bartholomew and South wark, (or St. Mary Overie, as it is, oftener called,) to the priors of those monasteries. Westminster, or St. Edward's, Fair, (held on that Saint's Day,) was commanded by proclamation of Edward III. in 1248 ; it was first held in St. Margaret's Churchyard, and then was removed to Tothill Fields, where the Fair continued to be held so lately as 1823. Two Fairs were held in Smithfield at Bartholomew-tide : that within the Priory precincts was one of the great Cloth Fairs of England : the other Fair was held in the field, and granted to the City of London, for cattle and goods. The latter remains, but is limited to one day, and has nearly as few booths and stalls. Southwark Fair was held on St. Margaret's Hill, on the day after Bartholomew Fair; and was by charter limited to three days, but usually lasted fourteen. Evelyn records among its wonders, monkeys and asses dancing on the tight rope, and the tricks of an Italian wench, whom all the Court went to see. Pepys tells of its puppet-shows, especially that of Whittington, and of Jacob Hall's dancing on the ropes. The Fair was suppressed in 1762 ; but it lives in one of Hogarth's prints. St. James's Fair, held in the month of May, in Brook Field, gave name to " May Fair." It was abolished in 1709 ; but was revived, and was not finally suppressed until late in the reign of George III. Fairs have been occasionally held in Hyde Park ; as at Coronations, and the Peace Commemoration in 1814. FIREWORKS, for pastime, are rarely spoken of previous to the reign of Elizabeth ; when the foyste, or galley, with a great red dragon, and " wilde men casting of fire," accompanied the lord- mayor's barge upon the Thames. A writer in the reign of James I. assures us there were then " abiding in the city of London men very skilful in the art of pyro- technic, or of fireworkes :" which were principally displayed by persons fantastically dressed, and called Green Men. In the last century, the train of Artillery displayed annually a grand firework upon Tower Hill on the evening of His Majesty's birthday. Fireworks were ex- hibited regularly at Marybone Gardens and at Ranelagh ; but not at AMUSEMENTS. 1 1 Vauxhall until 1798, and then but occasionally. At Bermondsey Spa, and various tea-gardens, they have since been displayed, in inferior style. There have been some grand exhibitions at the Government expense : as in the Green Park at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748 ; and on August 1, 1814, in celebration of the general Peace, and the Centenary of the accession of the Brunswick family to the British throne ; these Fireworks being by Sir "William Congreve, of " rocket" celebrity. There have been similar Firework galas in Hyde Park at coronations. At the Coronation of King William IV. and Queen Adelaide, Sept. 1831, the amount expended for Fireworks and for keeping open the public theatres was 3,034Z. 18*. Id. At the Surrey Zoological Gardens, Walworth, there have been Fire- works since 1837. FOOT-BALL was played in the twelfth century by the youth of the City in the fields ; and five centuries later, we find foot-ball players in Cheapside, Covent Garden, and the Strand. HUNTING. " The Common Hunt" dates from a charter granted by Henry I. to the citizens to " have chaces, and hunt ;" and Strype, so late as the reign of George I., reckons among the modern amuse- ments of the Londoners, " riding on horseback, and hunting with my Lord Mayor's hounds, when the Common Hunt goes out." The Epping Hunt was appointed from a similar charter granted to the citizens. Stow describes a visitation of the Lord Mayor Harper, and other civic authorities, to the Tyburn Conduits, in 1562, when " afore dinner they hunted the hare and killed her," at the end of St. Giles's, with great hallooing and blowing of horns. MASQUERADES were introduced into England from Italy in 1512-13, by Henry VIII. They were frequent among the citizens at the Restora- tion. In 1717-18, a very splendid masquerade was given at the Opera House by Heidegger, at which there was high play ; heaps of guineas passing about with as little concern in the losers as in the winners. Soon after, the Bishops preached against these amusements, which led to their suppression, 9 George I., 1723. They were, however, revived, and carried to shameful excess by connivance of the Government, and in direct violation of the laws. At Ranelagh, and the Pantheon in Oxford Road, the most costly masquerades were given. At the Pan- theon, in 1783, a masquerade was got up by Delpini, the famous clown, in celebration of the Prince of Wales attaining his majority ; tickets, three guineas each. In the same year, Garrick attended a masked fete at the Pantheon as King of the Gipsies. In the present day, a mas- querade is a dull affair : as Steele remarks : " the misfortune of the thing is, that people dress themselves in what they have a mind to be, and not what they are fit for." MAYINGS AND MAT-GAMES were celebrated by "the citizens of London of all estates" with Maypoles and warlike shows, "with good archers, morrice dancers, and other devices for pastime, all day longj and towards evening they had stage-plays and bonfires in the streets." The games were presided over by the Lord and Lady of the May, de- corated with scarves, ribands, and other finery ; to which were added Robin Hood and Maid Marian. May-poles were regularly erected in many parts of London on May-day morning : as in Leadenhall Street (then Cornhill), before the south door of St. Andrew's Church, therefore called Under- Shaft ; this pole being referred to by Chaucer as " the great Shaft of Cornhill:" it was higher than the church steeple (91 feet). After Evil-May- day, in 1517, the pole was, in 1549, sawn into pieces, and burnt as "an idol." Another celebrated May-pole was that placed in the Strand, upon the site of the 12 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. present church of St. Mary : this pole was 134 feet high, and was set up with great pomp and festivity in 1661 ; but, becoming old and decayed, in 1717 it was obtained by Sir Isaac Newton, then of the parish, and con- veyed in 1718 to Sir Richard Child's park at Wanstead, as a stand for a telescope presented by Mons. Hugon to the Royal Society. The custom of milkmaids wearing head-dresses of silver dishes, tankards, and crosses, intermixed with flowers, on May- day, is certainly as old as the reign of Queen Anne. Yet, how different is all this from the youths of the city on May -morning going out into the fields, which then stretched just outside the city-walls, to "fetch in May;" and the city maidens gather- ing May- dew ; and the sober citizens all up betimes, walking forth into the " green meadows to rejoice their hearts with the sweet melody of the birds," as worthy Master Stow says. THE PARKS had their pastimes upwards of two centuries ago. The French game of Paille-mall, (striking a ball with a wooden mallet through an iron ring,) was introduced in the reign of Charles I. Skating was first introduced into England on the new canal in St. James's Park. Evelyn enters it, 1st Dec. 1662, " with scheets after the manner of the Hol- landers." Pepys records, 10th Aug. 1664, Lords Castlehaven and Arran running down and killing a stout buck in St. James's Park for a wager, before the King ; and Evelyn enters, 19th Feb. 1666-67, a wrestling match for 1000J. in St. James's Park, before his Majesty, a world of Lords, and other spectators, 'twixt the western and northern men, when the former won. At this time, there were in the Park flocks of wild fowl breeding about the Decoy, antelopes, an elk, red- deer, roebucks, stags, Guinea fowls, Arabian sheep, &c. ; and here Charles II. might be seen playing with his dogs and feeding his ducks. In one of St. James's Park walks, in 1770, Tom Brown tells us, there walked a beau bareheaded, here a French fop, there a cluster of sena- tors talking of state affairs and the price of corn and cattle, disturbed by cries of " A Can of Milk, Ladies ; A Can of Red Cows' Milk, Sir." St. James's Park has long been deserted as a fashionable promenade, which it was sixty years since. " The Mall," wrote Theodore Hook, " is now only useful as a thoroughfare from Whitehall to Pimlico ; and even- ing promenade there is none, for the strongest possible reason, that the class of persons who give the tone to society dine at the hour at which their grandfathers supped, and dress for dinner at the period when their ancestors, two centuries since, were undressing for bed. But the beau- tiful garden has superseded the swampy meadow, and the Dutch canal within the inclosure is thronged in the summer evenings with those who have dined, and enjoy themselves as much as those who have not." Hyde Park was celebrated for its deer-hunts, foot and horse races, musters and coach races, boxing-matches, and Mayings. Poaching was common in the metropolis three centuries since ; for, in a proclamation of Henry VIII., 1546, (preserved in the library of the Society of Antiquaries), the King is desirous to have the " Games of Hare, Partridge, Pheasant, and Heron," preserved from Westminster palace to St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, &c. PIGEONS are kept in vast numbers in and round the metropolis : many persons convert the spaces between the garrets and roofs of their houses into lofts, by making an aperture in the tiling, which opens on a plat- form fixed on the outside. The cats should, however, be kept out by fences. But there are other enemies: pigeon-poachers set traps to decoy their neighbours' pigeons ; and " it is calculated that we have in London upwards of 2000 men thus graduating for the penal settlements." Hundreds of pigeon-traps are set on a Sunday morning : the gains are small, but the excitement is great, much artifice and patience being essen- AMUSEMENTS. 13 tial to success; at the utmost, "a green dragon" may produce 2s., or " a fine pouter" 5*. Great numbers of pigeons, too, are lost during the winter, by the slight falcon taking up its abode every year, from Octo- ber and November until the spring, upon "Westminster Abbey, and other churches. Pigeons build about these and other edifices ; they have made nests at Somerset House, both on the side towards the water and inland, for the last sixty years ; the birds are blue, but whether origin- ally wild, or returned to their wild habits from the domesticated state, is uncertain. Carrier-Pigeons are kept in London as messengers to the race-course and the prize-ring, and for stock-jobbing transactions: in 1830, a pigeon flew from London to Maestricht, 260 miles, in 6| hours. In Hogarth's print of the Execution of the Idle Apprentice, a pigeon is flying off with the intelligence of the felon's death. Pigeon-shooting is extensively practised in the neighbourhood of London : the crack shots assemble at the Red House at Battersea on matches of importance, when rarely a single bird escapes the shooter. To describe the varie- ties of tame pigeons, as tumblers, croppers, jacobins, runts, spots, turbits, owls, nuns, &c., would fill a volume. PRISON BABS, OK BASE, is as old as the reign of Edward III., when it was, by proclamation, prohibited to be played in the avenues of the Palace at Westminster during the session of Parliament, from its in- terruption of the members and others in passing to and fro. About 1780, a grand match at base was played in the fields behind Montague House, by twelve gentlemen of Cheshire against twelve of Derbyshire, for a considerable stake. PUPPET-SHOWS were common at the suburban fairs in the early part of the last century ; they also competed with the larger theatres, until they were superseded by the revival of pantomimes. But the Italian Fantoccini was popular early in the present century. The pup- pet-showman, with his box upon his back, is now rarely seen in the street ; but we have the artist of Punch, with his theatre. Clockwork figures appeared early in the last century. In the reign of Queen Anne, a celebrated show of this kind was exhibited at the great house in the Strand over against the Globe Tavern, near Hungerford Market. A saraband, danced with castanets, and throwing balls and knives alter- nately into the air and catching them as they fall, with catching oranges upon forks, formed part of the puppet- showman's exhibition. Men and monkeys dancing upon ropes, or walking upon wires ; dogs dancing minuets, pigs arranging letters so as to form words at their master's command, hares beating drums, or birds firing off cannons, these were favourite exhibitions early in the last century. Raree-shows, ladder-dancing, and posturing, are also of this date. "PUNCH" has for nearly two centuries delighted the Londoners; there being entries of Punchinello's Booth at Charing Cross, 1666, in the Overseers' Books of St. Martin 's-in-the-Fields. (Cunningham's Handbook, 2d edit.)- His costume closely resembles the Elizabethan peasecod-bellied doublets. Covent Garden was another of Punch's early locations, where Powel's performances thinned the congregation in St. Paul's Church, as we learn from No. 14 of the Spectator ; and in 1711-1 2, he lessened the receipts at the opera and the national theatres : the showman worked the wires, and by a thread in one of Punch's chops, gave to him the appearance of animation. Such was the olden contriv- ance : at present, the puppets are played by putting the hand under the dress, and making the middle finger and thumb serve for the arms, while the fore finger works the head. Mr. Windham, when one of the Secre- taries of State, on his way from Downing Street to the House of Commons, was seen to stop and enjoy the whimsicalities of Punch j and in 1850, we 14 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. frequently saw Punch exhibiting for the special amusement of an infant Duke in Piccadilly.* Punch has not, however, been always a mere pup- pet ; for we read of a farce called " Punch turned Schoolmaster ;" and in 1841, was commenced " Punch ; or the London Charivari," which at- tained circulation co-extensive with our language, and is known to have effected high moral service, besides giving a tone to our lighter litera- ture. George Cruikshank's " Punch and Judy," published in 1828, and Haydon's picture, painted in 1830, are truthful illustrations of Punch. RACKETS is nearly coeval with Tennis, which it so much resembles ; Rackets being striking a ball against a wall, and Tennis dropping a ball over a central net. There are Racket-grounds at the Belvidere, Pen- tonville; and in the Queen's Bench Prison. Rackets was also much played in the Fleet Prison, taken down in 1844. At Westminster School is a paved court for playing the game. SKITTLES, corrupted from kayles of the fourteenth century, and afterwards kettle, or kittle-pins, was much played in and near London until 1780, when the magistrates abolished all Skittle-grounds. To this succeeded Nine-holes, or " Bubble-the-justice," on the supposition that it could not be set aside by the justices, as it was not named in the prohibitory statutes : it is now called " Bumble-puppy," and the vul- garity of the term is well adapted to the company who play it. Nine- pins, Dutch-pins, and Four-corners are but variations of Skittles ; and as these games originated in the covering of open grounds in London and its neighbourhood with houses, they will probably be forgotten when additional parks and walks are provided for public recreation. TEA-GARDENS were the favourite resorts of the middle classes in the last century ; and, in most cases, they succeeded the promenades of mi- neral springs. Such was Bagnigge Wells, Cold Bath Fields, taken down a few years since : we remember its concert-room and organ, its grottoes, and fountains, and grotesque figures, and bust of Nell Gwynne, who is said to have had a country-house near this spot. Next were " Sadler's Wells Music House," before it became a theatre ; Tunbridge Wells, or Islington Spa ; and the Three Hats, at Islington, mentioned in Bicker- staff's comedy of the Hypocrite : the house remained a tavern until 1839, when it was taken down. White Conduit House, Pentonville, * Street Shows and Performers have become very numerous in the present day. Such are Punch, Fantoccini, Chinese Shades, and Galantee Shows; jugglers, conjurors, balancers, posturers, stiff tumblers, pole -balancers, salamanders or fire-eaters, and sword and snake swallowers ; street dancers ; and performances of trained animals, as dancing dogs, acting birds, and mire. The street musicians include brass and other bands, Ethiopians, farm-yard fiddlers, horse organs, Ita- lian organ-boys, hurdy-gurdy players, blind and crippled fiddlers, and violoncello and clarionet players. Next are the peep-showmen and the proprietors of giants, dwarves, industrious fleas, alligators, "happy families," and glass ships; together with street telescopes, microscopes, thaumascopes, and weighing, lifting, and mea- suring machines. Porsini and Pike -were celebrated Punch exhibitors : the former is said to have frequently taken 10/. a-day ; but he died in St. Giles's workhouse. A set of Punch figures costs about 15/., and the show about 31. The speaking is done by a "call," made of two curved pieces of metal about the size of a knee- buckle, bound together with black thread, and between them is a thin metal plate. Porsini used a trumpet. The present artists maintain that "Punch is exempt from the Police Act." The most profitable performance is that in houses ; and Punch's best season is in the spring, and at Christmas and Midsummer: the best " pitches" in London are in Leicester-square, Regent-street (corner of New; Burlington-street), Oxford Market, and Belgrave-square. There are sixteen Punch and Judy frames in England, eight of which woik in London. Fantoc- cini are puppets, which, with the frame, cost about 10/. Chinese Shades consist of a frame like Punch's, with a transparent curtain and movable figures ; shewn only at night, with much dialogue. Selected from a Letter by Henry Mayhew ; Morning Chronicle, May 16, 1850. AMUSEMENTS. 15 was originally built in the fields, in the reign of Charles I., and named from a conduit in an adjoining meadow : here Topham, the Strong Man, frequently exhibited his feats ; it was originally a small ale and cake house, but was lately so extensive as to dine upwards of 2000 persons in its largest room. An association of Protestant Dissenters, formed in the reign of Queen Anne, met at this house ; the Wheel Pond, close by, was a famous place for duck-hunting ; Sir William Davenant describes a city wife going to the fields to " sop her cake in milke ;" and Goldsmith speaks of tea-drinking parties, with hot rolls and butter, at White Conduit House. A description of the place in 1774 presents a general picture of the Tea-Garden of that period : " The garden is formed into walks, prettily disposed. At the end of the principal one is a painting, which seems to render it (the walk) longer in appearance than it really is. In the centre of the garden is a fish-pond. There are boxes for company, curiously cut into hedges, adorned with Flemish and other paintings. There are two handsome tea-rooms, one over the other, and several inferior ones in the house." The fish-pond was soon after filled up, and its site planted, the paintings removed, and a new dancing and tea saloon, called the Apollo-room, built. In 1826, the gardens were opened as a " Minor Vauxhall;" and here Mrs. Bland, the charming vocalist, last sung in public. In 1832, the small house, the original tavern, was taken down, and rebuilt upon a much larger plan ; but in 1849 these premises were also taken down, and re-erected on a smaller scale, and the garden-ground let on building leases. Next we reach Highbury, where originally stood the Barn of the Monks of Clerkenwell : hence the old name of the Tavern, Highbury Barn. Opposite Pentonville Prison is Copenhagen House, (Coopen Hagen, in Camden's Britannia, 1695,) first opened by a Dane. Toten Hall, at the north-west extremity of Tottenham Court Road, was the ancient court-house of that manor, and subsequently a place of public entertainment. In the parish books of St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, year 1645, is an entry of Mrs. Stacy e's maid and others being fined " for drinking at Tottenhall Court on the Sabbath daie, xijr/. a-piece." The premises next became the Adam and Eve Tea-Gardens. Before the house is laid the scene of Hogarth's March to Finchley ; and in the grounds, May 16, 1785, Lunardi fell with his burst balloon, and was but slightly injured. The Gardens were much frequented by respect- able company ; but the place falling into disrepute, the music-house was taken down, and upon the site of the Skittle-grounds and Gardens was built Eden Street, Hampstead Road, the public-house being rebuilt. Chalk Farm was " the White House," to which, in 1678, the body of Sir Edmundberry Godfrey was carried, after it had been found about two fields distant, upon the south side of Primrose Hill. Chalk Farm is still a white-washed tavern, with a tea-garden, and a field where wrestling is occasionally exhibited. Several duels have been fought here : here John Scott, (of the London Magazine), was shot by Mr. Christie, Feb. 16, 1821 ; and here the poet Moore, and Jeffrey, of the Edinburgh Review, met in 1806. The above were the most celebrated Tea-Gardens north and north- west of London. Westward lay Marybone Gardens, opened for public breakfasts and evening concerts to high-class company; fireworks being added. In 1777-8 these gardens were shut up, and the site let to builders ; the ground being now occupied by Beaumont and Devonshire Streets, and part of Devonshire Place. Next were the Bayswater Gardens, once the " Physic Garden" of Sir John Hill ; and Ranelagh, the costly rival of Vauxhall, but a Tea-Garden in the present century. Mulberry Gar- den, upon the present site of Buckingham Palace and its gardens, dates from temp. Charles I.; Pimlico was noted for its tea-gardens and ale to 16 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. our day. Southward were Cumberland Gardens, the site now occupied by Price's Candle Company's Works, Vauxhall Bridge; Spring Garden, Vauxhall ; the Dog and Duck, and Apollo Gardens, St. George's Fields; Cuper's Gardens, through the site of which runs "Waterloo Bridge Road. Bermondsey had its Spa Gardens in the Grange Road ; and Cupid's Gardens upon Jacob's Island, the ill-fated locality in which the cholera (1848-9) first broke out in the metropolis, and where it lingered last. Few of these old Tea-Gardens remain. In the increase of London within the last half century, the environs have lost their suburban cha- racter, and have become part of the great Town itself; and steamboats and railways now, for very small sums, convey the over-worked artisan out of its murky atmosphere into pure air and rural scenery. TENNIS, from the French Hand-ball or Palm-play, was played in London in the sixteenth century, in covered courts erected for the pur- pose. Henry VII. and VIII. were fond of Tennis ; and the latter added to the palace of Whitehall " tenuise-courts." James I. recommended Tennis to his son, as becoming a prince. Charles II. was an accom- plished Tennis-player, and had particular dresses for playing in. We have a relic of these times in the Tennis-court in James Street, Hay- market, which bears the date 1676, and was formerly attached to the gaming-house, or Shavers' Hall, or Piccadilly Hall. Another famous Tennis Court was Gibbon's, in Clare Market, where Killigrew's come- dians performed for some time. There are in Holborn, Blackfriars, and Southwark thoroughfares known as " Tennis Court," denoting the game to have been formerly played there. THAMES SPOBTS. Fitzstephen relates of the ancient Londoners fighting "battles on Easter holidays on the water, by striking a shield with a lance." There was also a kind of water tournament, in which the two combatants, standing in two wherries, rowed and ran against each other, and fought with staves and shields. In the game of the water quintain the shield was fixed upon a post in the river, and the champion, stationed in a boat, struck the shield with a lance. Justing upon the ice was likewise practised by the young Londoners. Each mansion upon the Thames banks had its private retinue of barges and wherries, and the sovereign his gilded and tapestried barge. Stow computes there to have been in his time 2000 small boats, that there were 40,000 watermen upon the rolls of the company, and that they could furnish 20,000 men for the fleet. All that we have left of the gay water pageants are the state barges of the Sovereign and the Ad- miralty, the Lord Mayor, and a few of the wealthier City companies. In 1850, the old Barge of the Goldsmiths' Company was let at Rich- mond, " for Pic-nic, Wedding, and Birthday Parties, at 51. 5s. per day. Of Boat-races, the oldest is that for Dogget's Coat and Badge, on August 1. We have also Regattas and Sailing Matches, to aid in the enjoyment of which steamers are employed. THEATRES originated in Miracle Plays, such as were acted in fields and open places and inn-yards. The playhouse dates from the age of Elizabeth ; and between 1570 and 1629, London had seventeen theatres. (See THEATBESO APOLLONICON, (THE), A magnificent musical machine, constructed upon the principle of the organ ; the sound being produced by a current of air urged by bellows through several series of vertical pipes, so as closely to imitate all the most admired wind instruments, with the effect of a full orchestra. It is the invention of Messrs. Flight and Robson, who spent five years in its completion. There are about 250 keys, upwards of 1900 pipes, APOTHECARIES' HALL. ARCADES. 17 45 draw-stops, and 2 kettle-drums : the largest double-diapason pedal- pipe is twenty-four feet long and twenty-three inches square, being eight feet longer than the corresponding pipe in the great organ at Haarlem. The mechanism is enclosed in a case twenty-four feet high, embellished with pilasters and paintings of Apollo, Clio, and Erato. The Apollonicon was first exhibited at the inventors' house, 101 St. Martin's Lane, in June 1817. APOTHECARIES' HALL, In Water Lane, Blackfriars, at the east end of Union Street, Bridge- street, was built for the Company of Apothecaries, in 1670. Here are several portraits, including James L, Charles L, William and Mary, and a bust of Gideon Delaune, who brought about the separation of the Company from the Grocers'. Adjoining the Hall are laboratories, warehouses, drug-mills, and a retail shop for the sale of medicines to the public. Here are prepared medicines for the army and navy. On June 4, 1842, Mr. H. Hennell, the principal Chemical Operator to the Apothecaries' Company, met a terrific death in the laboratory- yard, by the explosion of between five and six pounds of fulminating mercury, which he was manufacturing for the East India Company. The Apothecaries rank as the 58th in the list of City companies. Their arms are azure, Apollo in his glory, holding in his left hand a bow, and in his right an arrow, bestriding the serpent Python ; supporters, two unicorns ; crest, a rhinoceros, all or; motto, Opiferqueper orbem dicor. ARCADES. Only a few of these covered passages (series of arches on insulated piers,) have been constructed in London ; although Paris contains up- wards of twenty passages or galleries of similar design. BURLINGTON ARCADE, on the west side of Burlington House, and leading from Piccadilly to Burlington Gardens, was built by Samuel Ware, in 1819. It consists of a double row of shops, with apartments over them, a roof of skylights, and a triple arch at each end ; it is about 210 yards long, and the shops, seventy-two in number, produce to the noble family of Cavendish 4000/. a-year ; though the property, by sub- letting and otherwise, is stated to yield 8640Z. a-year. EXETER CHANGE (the second building of the name, but on a differ- ent site from the first,) is on the estate of the Marquis of Exeter, and runs obliquely from Catherine-street to Wellington-street North, Strand. It was designed by Sydney Smirke ; and consists of a polygonal compart- ment at each extremity, the intermediate passage being about twelve feet in width, by sixty in length, and twenty in height, coved and groined, and lighted from above, and containing ten neat shops, with dwellings over. The cove, fascia, piers, &c., have polychromic arabesque deco- rations ; at each entrance to the Arcade is an imitation bronze gate ; and the fronts in Catherine-street and Wellington-street are of fine red brick, with stone dressings, in the style of the street architecture of the reign of James I. LOWTHER ARCADE (named from Lord Lowther, Chief Commis- sioner of the Woods and Forests when it was built,) leads from the triangle of the West Strand to Adelaide-street, north of St. Martin's Church. It was designed by Witherden Young, and far sur- passes the Burlington Arcade in architectural character : the ceiling vista of small pendentive domes is very beautiful, and the caducei in the angles are well executed. The length is 245 feet, breadth 20 feet, and height 35 feet. The sides consist of twenty-five dwellings and shops, principally kept by dealers in foreign goods, who, by mu- tual consent, hold in the avenue a sort of fair for German and French c 18 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. toys, cheap glass, and jewellery, &c. At the north end of the Arcade is the Adelaide Gallery, where Mr. Jacob Perkins exhibited his Steam Gun ; and a living Electrical Eel was shewn from August, 1838, to March 14, 1843, when it died ; and in 1832 was formed here a Society for the Exhibition of Models of Inventions, &c. The rooms were subsequently let for concerts, dancing, &c. THE PIAZZA OR ARCADE OF COVENT GARDEN was designed about 1631, for Francis Earl of Bedford ; but only the north and east sides were built, and half of the latter was destroyed by fire about the middle of the last century. The northern was called the Great Piazza, the eastern side, the Little Piazza : Inigo Jones probably took his idea from an Italian city, Bologna, for instance. " The proportions of the arcades and piers, crossed with elliptical and semi-circular arches into groins, are exquisitely beautiful, and are masterpieces of architecture." (Elmes.) The elevation was originally built with stone pilasters on red brick, which have been for many years covered with compo' and white paint. Properly speaking, the term Piazza (place, Ital.) is only applicable to the enclosed area or square, the covered portion being strictly an Arcade. The Arcade in the rear of Her Majesty's Theatre has no architec- tural pretension ; but the Arcade in the front of this theatre is a good specimen of Italian architecture, by Nash ; and the colonnades of fluted Doric columns in the centre and sides are of iron, cast at the Butterley Foundry, Derbyshire, and worth notice. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. There are two Societies to aid the study of the Arts and Monuments of the Middle Ages : 1. The British Archaeological Association, estab- lished 1843 (apartments, 32, Sackville-street, Piccadilly). 2. Archaeolo- gical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, established 1843 (apartments, 26, Suffolk Street, Haymarket). Each Society holds weekly or monthly meetings ; publishes its Journal; has local secretaries ; and meets annually in a different cathedral town, where a Museum of Antiquities is exhi- bited, and whence excursions are made to sites of archaeological interest in the neighbourhood. Subscription to each Society, one guinea a-year. ARCHES. London differs essentially from many other European capitals in the paucity of its Arches, or ornamental gateways. It has only three grand triumphal Arches ; whereas Paris, not half the size of our metropolis, has four magnificent Arches, and the principal entrances are graced with trophied gateways and storied columns. The last erected of the Pari- sian arches is the Arc de VEtoile, without exception, the most gigantic work of its kind either in ancient or modern times ; within its centre arch would stand eight such structures as Temple Bar, that is, four in depth, and as many above them : it cost 416,6GGZ. BUCKINGHAM-PALACE ARCH, St. James's Park, reserved for the especial entrance of the Sovereign and the Royal Family, was the largest work of mere ornament ever attempted in Great Britain. It was adopted by Nash from the arch of Constantine at Rome, and has a centre gateway and two side openings; the larger archway, as first designed, was not sufficiently wide to admit the royal state- coach ; fortunately, the blunder was discovered in time to be re- medied. The material is Carrara marble, which soon became dis- coloured by smoke and damp, so as to resemble in appearance dirty sugar. In each face are four Corinthian columns; the other sculp- ture being a keystone to the centre archway, and a pair of figures in the spandrils, a panel of figures over each side entrance, and wreaths at each end : these are by Flaxman, "Westmacott, and Rossi. The centre ARGYLL ROOMS. 19 gates, designed and cast by Samuel Parker of Argyll-street, are the largest and most superb in Europe, not excepting those of the Ducal Palace at Venice, and of the Louvre at Paris. They are of a beauti- ful alloy, the base refined copper, bronzed ; design, scroll-work, with six circular openings, two filled with St. George and the Dragon, two with G. R., and above, two lions passant-gardant ; height to the top of arch, 21 feet ; width, 15 feet ; extreme thickness, 3 inches ; weight 5 tons 6 cwt. ; cost, 3000 guineas, including a frieze and semicircle, to fill up the archway, the most beautiful portion of the design, but irre- trievably mutilated in removal from the foundry. This Arch was not included in the design for building the new front to the Palace. THE GREEN PARK ARCH, at Hyde Park Corner, was built by De- cimus Burton in 1828. It is Corinthian, and each face has six fluted pilasters, with two fluted columns, flanking the single archway, raised upon a lofty stylobate, and supporting a richly-decorated entablature, in which are sculptured alternately G. R. IV. and the imperial crown, within wreaths of laurel. The soffite of the arch is sculptured in sunk panels. The gates, by Bramah, are of massive iron scroll- w.ork, bronzed, with the royal arms in a circular centre. Within the pier of the arch are porter's apartments, and stairs ascending to the platform, where, upon a vast slab, laid upon a brick arch, the colossal equestrian, statue of the Duke of Wellington was placed Sept. 30, 1846. The height of the arch, its attic, and platform is about 90 feet ; of the statue, 30 feet. (See STATUES.) Opposite the above arch is the elegant entrance to Hyde Park, by three carriage archways and sides, in a screen of fluted Ionic columns, of 107 feet frontage, designed and built by Decimus Burton, in 1828. The blocking of the central archway has a beautiful frieze (Grecian naval and military triumphal processions), designed by the son of Mr. Henning, known for his successful models of the Elgin marbles. The gates, by Bramah, are a beautiful arrangement of the Grecian honeysuckle in bronzed iron ; the hanging, by rings of gun-metal, is very ingenious. Altogether, these two Park entrances, with St. George's Hospital north, and the Duke of Wellington's palatial mansion south, form the finest architectural group in the metropolis, and its most embellished, entrance. Sir John Soane, however, proposed two triumphal arches, connected by a colonnade and arches, stretching across the main road a design of superb grandeur. (See TEMPLE BAB.) ARGYLL ROOMS, Regent Street, a large house purchased by Col. Greville, of sporting notoriety, and converted into a place of public entertainment, where balls, concerts, and masquerades were much patronised by the haut ton. In 1818, the Rooms were rebuilt in handsome style, by Nash, at the north corner of Little Argyll Street, Regent Street : they were burnt down in February, 1830, when Mr. Braithwaite first publicly applied steam-power to the working of a fire-engine; it required eighteen mi- nutes to raise the water in the boiler to 212, when the engine threw up from thirty to forty tons of water per hour to a height of ninety feet. At the Argyll Rooms, June 9, 1829, Signer Velluti, the contralto singer, gave a concert. In the same year, M. Chabert, "the Fire- King,' exhibited here his power of resisting the effects of poisons, and with- standing extreme heat. He swallowed 40 grains of phosphorus, sipped oil at 333 with impunity, and rubbed a red-hot shovel over his tongue, hair, and face unharmed. Sept. 23, on a challenge of 50/., Cha- bert repeated these feats, and won the wager ; he next swallowed a piece of a burning torch ; and then, dressed in coarse woollen, entered an oven heated to 380, sang a song, and cooked two dishes of beef- 20 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. steaks ! Still, the performances were suspected, and in part proved, to be a chemical juggle. ARTESIAN WELLS Hare been bored in various parts of the metropolis, the London basin being thought well adapted for them ; there being on it a thick lining of sand, and a deep bed of " London blue clay," on boring which the water rises to various heights. With this view the New River Company sunk a vast well at the foot of their reservoir in the Hampstead Road : the excavation was steined with brick, 12 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and then reduced and continued with iron cylinders, (like those of a telescope), to 183 feet. The expense was 12,412/. ; but the supply of water was too inconsiderable for the purpose. Artesian Wells are mostly formed by boring and driving pipes, vary- ing from 6 to 10 inches or more in diameter ; but many of these only enter the sand immediately below the clay, instead of obtaining the supply of water from the chalk. Thus, an Artesian Well sunk in Covent Garden for more than fourteen years failed to supply the ordinary wants of the Market ; but having been deepened and carried ninety feet into the chalk, it yielded an abundant supply, and is constantly worked, without materially reducing the level of the water, or lowering it in neigh- bouring wells, as in cases where the chalk is not reached. It has been long known that Calvert's well, in the Thames-street Brewery, and Barclay's well at the Southwark Brewery, affect each other so much even though the Thames lies between them that the two firms have agreed not to pump at the same time. The following are the depths of a few of the Wells bored in London : Berkeley Square, 320 feet ; Meux's Brewery, 180 feet ; Reid and Co.'s, Liquorpond-street, 260 feet ; Whitbread and Co.'s, Chiswell- street, 160 feet; Combe and Co.'s, Castle-street, Long Acre, 190 feet; Covent Garden Market, 340 feet ; Calvert and Co.'s, 240 feet; Barclay and Co.'s, 367 feet ; Piccadilly (St. James's Church), 240 feet ; Elliot's Brewery, Pimlico, 390 feet ; Royal Mint, Tower Hill, 400 feet. The Trafalgar Square Wells, 300 feet'and 400 feet deep, supply the two jets cTeau at the rate of 500 gallons a minute ; and the Admiralty, Treasury, Houses of Parliament, &c., at the rate of 100 gallons a minute, for ten hours in the day, at an outlay of 9000Z-, and an annual rental of 500Z. Dr. Buckland, the eminent geologist, states that, although there are from 250 to 300 so-called Artesian Wells in the metropolis, there is not one real Artesian Well within three miles of St. Paul's ; such being a well that is always overflowing, either from its natural source or from an artificial tube ; and when the overflowing ceases, it is no longer an Artesian Well. The wells which are now made by boring through the London clay are merely common wells. It has been said that a supply of water, if bored for, will rise of its own accord; but the water ob- tained for the fountains in Trafalgar Square does not rise within forty feet of the surface, and is pumped up by means of a steam-engine the same water over and over again. Dr*. Buckland maintains that the supply of water formerly obtained from the so-called Artesian Wells in London has been greatly diminished by the sinking of new wells ; of the more than 250 wells, one-half have broken down, and others are only kept in action at an enormous expense. The average depth at which water can be obtained from these defective wells is 60 feet below the Trinity House water -mark. ARTILLERY COMPANY (ROYAL). This Company originated in the body of volunteers known as the City Trained Band, raised in 1585, at the period of the menaced Spanish invasion ; and within two years there were enrolled nearly 300 mer- ART-UNION OF LONDON. 21 chants and others, capable of training and teaching the common sol- diers. They exercised in "the Old Artillery Ground," originally a field called Tassel Close, then let for archery practice, and next enclosed with a wall for the Gunners of the Tower to exercise in. After 1588 , the City Artillery neglected their discipline ; but in 1610 they formed anew, and in a few years numbered nearly 6000. In 1622, they re- moved to a larger Ground, without Moorgate, the present Artillery Ground, west of Finsbury Square. In the Civil War, the Company "behaved themselves to wonder" against the King. In 1657, they numbered 12,000 ; and at the Restora- tion 18,000, when they were disbanded. They, however, still continued their evolutions ; and the King and the Duke of York became members, the latter taking upon himself the command, and naming it his own Company. The sovereign or heir-apparent has usually been the Cap- tain-General : Prince George of Denmark, George I. (who gave the Company 500?.), George II., and George IV. (when Prince of Wales), held the command ; as did William IV., succeeded by the Duke of Sus- sex, upon whose death the command was accepted by Prince Albert. The last time the Company were in active service was at the Riots of 1780, when they aided in saving the Bank of England from the pillage of the mob. In case of civil disturbances being apprehended, they muster at their head-quarters, the Artillery Ground, Finsbury. Here are the spacious Armoury House, finished in 1735 ; and some fine pieces of ordnance, including a pair of very handsome brass field-pieces, pre- sented by Sir William Curtis, Bart., President ; besides portions of the ancient costume and arms of the corps, as caps and helmets, pikes and banners. The motto of the Company's ensign is Arma Pads ful- cra Arms are the maintenance of Peace. The corps comprises six companies of Infantry, besides Artillery, Grenadiers, Light Infantry, and Yagers. They exercise on occasional field-days in the Artillery Ground, and meet for rifle practice in the vicinity of the metropolis, the prize being a large gold medal. Upon royal visits to the City, the Artillery Company attend as a guard of honour to the sovereign : as, on Nov. 9, 1837, when Queen Victoria dined in Guildhall ; and Oct. 28, 1844, when Her Majesty opened the New Royal Exchange. ART-UNION OF LONDON, A Society established 1836, and incorporated by 9th and 10th Viet., c. 48, "to aid in extending the love of the Arts of Design within the United Kingdom, and to give encouragement to artists beyond that afforded by the patronage of individuals." The annual subscription is one guinea, which entitles the subscriber to one chance for a prize in a scheme, in 1850 ranging from 101. to 200?., to be selected from one of the London exhibitions of the year. There are also prize medals and statuettes ; and every subscriber is entitled to a print or prints. In 1836, when the Art-Union was organised, the subscriptions did not amount to 500?. ; in 1837, they were 757 1. Is. ; 1839, 1295?. 14*. ; 1840, 2244?. 18*. ; 1841, 5562?. 18*. ; 1842, 12,905?. 11*. ; 1845, 15,4407. 5*. ; and in 1847 (the largest amount), 17,871?. ; 1850, 11,180?. 8*. ; the works of art allowed as prizes varying from 13 to upwards of 700. The Society has about 400 local Honorary Secretaries in the provinces, in the Bri- tish Colonies, in America, &c., including Canton ; it has expended about 150,000?. in the purchase and production of works of art ; and in one morning, one of its Honorary Secretaries (Mr. G. Godwin, F.R.S.) has paid to artists of the metropolis no less than 10,000?. The drawing of the prizes is usually held in Drury Lane Theatre, in April, and the sub- scribers are admitted by tickets : office, 445 West Strand. 22 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ASHBURNHAM HOUSE, Little Dean's Yard, Westminster, is one of the best specimens of the mansions built by Inigo Jones, though omitted by his biographers. It is named from John Ashburnham, the faithful attendant of King Charles I. : it was purchased by the Crown, in 1730, of John Earl of Ashburnham, when the Cottonian Library was removed here from a house in Essex-street ; and upwards of two hundred volumes were lost or irretrievably damaged in a fire, Oct. 23, 1731, when also Dr. Bentley lost some valuable MSS. which he had been collecting for ten years for his Greek Testament. Ashburnham House was long the prebendal residence of the Rev. H. H. Milman, appointed to the deanery of St. Paul's in 1849. The small garden alcove, the ornamental ceiling of the drawing-room, the finely-proportioned dining-room, and an exquisite staircase, lighted by an elegant cupola, denote the taste of Inigo Jones. " In the cellars, it is said, were some remains of conventual buildings, and a capital of the time of King Edward the Confessor, which was built into the modern wall." (Walcott's Westminfter, 1850.) AVIARIES. A few ingenious individuals in the metropolis and its suburbs con- structed Aviaries in or adjoining their houses, long before " Zoological Gardens" were thought of. Such was the Aviary of Mr. Purland, 59 Mortimer-street, Cavendish Square a room 18 by 19 feet, lit from above, and seen from the verandah of his Museum of Antiquities. In this space, from forty to fifty song-birds flew about and sung ; the walls were painted with landscapes, and the floor hidden by imitative rocks, hills, forests, and paddocks, intersected by a mimic river, in which were living fish. Interspersed were models of celebrated houses, cas;les, and ruins, windmills in activity, soldiers, country-people, with cows and sheep, crossing bridges, and other automata ; all to be en- joyed with the songs of the lark, robin, siskin, linnet, redpole, bulfinch, greenfinch, thrush, &c. Another Aviary was constructed by Mr. W. A. Foster in the house wherein Mrs. Barbauld wrote her beautiful Hymns, in Church-street, Stoke Newington. This Aviary was more native than Mr. Purland's : it was 25 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 12 feet high, had net-work sides and top, and was placed in a flower-garden, so that the birds enjoyed grassy banks, gravel paths, live shrubs, stumps of trees, rock-work, a stream, a pool, and a fountain. Here were blackbirds, thrushes, skylarks, woodlarks, titlarks, siskins, redstarts, linnets, robins, nightingales, canaries, with nearly all " the finches of the grove;" and here a skylark has bred very unusual in captivity. In the Saracenic Conservatory of the Pantheon in Oxford Street are Aviaries, with Java sparrows, canaries, and other birds of brilliant plu- mage, for sale ; and fine collections of birds are to be seen at dealers'. BALLOON ASCENTS. The following are the more memorable Balloon Ascents made from the metropolis since the introduction of aerostation into England. In most cases, the aeronauts were accompanied by friends, or persons who paid for the trip various sums. Nov. 25, 1783, the first Balloon, (filled with hydrogen), launched in England, from the Artillery Ground, Finsbury, by Count Zambeccari. Sept. 15, 1784, Lunardi ascended from the Artillery Ground, Moorfields ; being the first voyage made in England. Mar. 23, 1785, Admiral Sir Edw. Vernon, accompanied by Count Zambeccari. BANK OF ENGLAND. 23 June 29, 1785, ascent of Mrs. Sage, the first Englishwoman aeronaut. July 5, 1802, M. Garnerin made his second ascent in England, from Lord's Cricket Ground ; the same year he ascended three times from Ranelagh Gardens. Sept. 21, 1802, M. Garnerin descended successfully from a Balloon by a Para- chute, near the Small-pox Hospital, St. Pancras. 1811, James Sadler ascended from Hackney; his two sons, John and Wind- ham, were also aeronauts ; the latter killed, Sept. 29, 1824, by falling from aballoon. July 19, 1821, Mr. Charles Green first ascended in a Balloon inflated with coal gas, on the Coronation-day of George IV. Cost of inflation, from 251. to 50/. This was Mr. Green's first aerial voyage. Up to May 1850 he had made 142 as- cents from London only. Ten persons named Green have ascended in balloons. May 25, 1824, Lieut. Harris, R N., ascended from the Eagle Tavern, City Road, with Miss Stocks ; the former killed by the too rapid descent of the balloon. July 2, 1833, Mr. Graham ascended from Hungerford Market; day of opening. Sept. 17, 1835, Mr. Green ascended from Vauxhall Gardens, and remained up during the night. August 22, 1836, the Duke of Brunswick. Sept. 9, 1836, Mr. Green's first ascent in his great Vauxhall Balloon. Nov. 7, 1836, Mr Green, Mr. Moncfc Mason, and Mr. Holland ascended in the great Vauxhall Balloon, and descended, in eighteen hours, at Weilburg in Nassau. July 24, 1837, Mr. Green ascended in his great Balloon, with Mr. Cocking in a parachute, from Vauxhall Gardens ; the latter killed in descending. May 24, 1838, unsuccessful attempt to ascend with a large Montgolfier Balloon from the Surrey Zoological Gardens. The balloon destroyed by the spectators. It was the height of the York Column, and half the circumference of the dome of St. Paul's ; and would contain, when fully inflated, 170,000 cubic feet of air. Sept. 10, 1838, Mr. Green and Mr. Rush ascended from Vauxhall Gardens in the Nassau Balloon, and descended at Lewes, Sussex; having reached the greatest altitude ever attained. 27,146 feet, or 5 miles 746 feet. July 17, 1840, the Vauxhall, or Great Nassau Balloon, sold to Mr. Green for 50QL, in 1836 it cost 2 100/. August 19, 1844, Mr. Hampton ascended from White Conduit House. July 6, 1847, Perilous night descent of Mr. Gypson's Balloon, from bursting, at Vauxhall. Night ascents, with displays of fireworks, are now common. May 24, 1850, Mr. H. Bell ascended from the Phoenix Gas Works, Kenning- ton, in an " Aerial Machine," shaped like an elongated egg, which he propelled with a single screw, and steered by an apparatus for nearly thirty miles, and descended safely at High Laver, Essex; though a lad, in assisting him, was so injured by the grapnel that he died. BANK OF ENGLAND (THE) Is an insulated assemblage of buildings and courts, occupying three acres, on the north side of the Royal Exchange, Cornhill; bounded by Prince's-street, west ; Lothbury, north ; Bartholomew-lane, east ; and Threadneedle-street, south, its exterior measurements are 365 feet south, 410 feet north, 245 feet east, and 440 feet west. Within this area are nine open courts, a spacious rotunda, numerous public offices, court and committee-rooms, an armoury, engraving and printing offices, a library ; apartments for officers, servants, &c. The Bank, " the greatest monetary establishment in the world," was projected, in 1691, by Mr. "William Paterson, a Scotsman ; esta- blished by a company of Whig merchants, and incorporated by William III., July 27, 1694, Paterson being placed on the list of Directors for this year only ; the then capital, 1,200,000^., being lent to Government. The first Governor was Sir John Houblon, whose house and garden were on the site of the present Bank ; and the first Deputy-Governor was Michael Godfrey, who, July 17, 1695, was shot at the siege of Namur, while attending King William upon the Bank affairs. The Bank commenced business at Mercers' Hall, and next removed to Grocers' Hall, then in the Poultry ; at this time the secretaries and clerks numbered but 54, and their united salaries amounted to 4350Z. In 1734, they removed to their own establishment, part of the present Bank, built by Sampson. On Jan. 1, 1735, was set up the marble statue of Wil- 24 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. liam III., by Cheere, in the Pay Hall, 79 feet by 40 feet, which, in the words of Baron Dupin, would " startle the administration of a French bureau, with all its inaccessibilities." In 1757, the Bank premises were small, and surrounded by St. Christopher-le- Stocks Church, (since pulled down), three taverns, and several private houses : and the first chest used (somewhat larger than a seaman's,) was shewn to visitors. Between 1766 and 1786, east and west wings were added by Sir Robert Taylor, upon whose death, in 1788, Sir John Soane was appointed Architect to the Bank; and, with- out any interruption to the business, he completed the present Bank of brick and Portland stone, of incombustible materials, insulated, one- storied, and without external windows. The general architecture is Corinthian, from the Temple of the Svbil at Tivoli, of which the south- west angle exhibits a fac-simile portion. The Lothbury court is very fine ; and the chief cashier's office is from the Temple of the Sun and Moon at Rome. The embellishments throughout are very beautiful ; and the whole well planned for business. The Rotunda has a dome 57 feet diameter ; and the Bank-Parlour, where the G overnor and Company meet, is a noble room by Taylor. Here the Dividends are declared ; and here the Directors are baited half-yearly by every Pro- prietor who has had 500?. Bank stock in his possession for six months. In the Parlour lobby is a portrait of Daniel Race, who was in the Bank service for more than half a century, and thus amassed upwards of 200,OOOJ. In the ante-chamber to the Governor's Room are fine busts of Pitt and Fox, by Nollekens. The ante-room to the Discount Office is adapted from Adrian's Villa at Tivoli. The private Drawing Office, de- signed in 1836, by Cockerell (Soane's successor), is original and scenic; and the Drawing Office, completed by the same architect in 1849, is 138 feet 6 inches long, and lit by four large circular lanterns. In 1850, the Cornhill front was heightened by an attic ; and a large room fitted up as a library for the clerks. The entrance to the Bullion Yard is copied from Constantine's Arch at Rome, and has allegories of the Thames and Ganges, by T. Banks, R.A. The Bullion Office, on the northern side of the Bank, consists of a public chamber and two vaults, one for the public deposit of bul- lion, free of charge, unless weighed ; the other for the private stock of the Bank. The duties are discharged by a Principal, Deputy -Princi- pal, Clerk, Assistant-Clerk, and porters. The public are on no ac- count allowed to enter the Bullion Vaults. Here the gold is kept in bars, (each weighing 16 Ibs., and worth about 800/.,) and the silver in pigs and bars, and dollars in bags. The value of the Bank bullion in May 1850 was sixteen millions. This constitutes, with their securities, the assets which the Bank possess against their liabilities, on account of circulation and deposits ; and the difference between the several amounts is called "the Rest," or balance in favour of the Bank. For weighing, some admirably constructed machines are used : the larger one, invented by Mr. Bate, for weighing silver in bars from 50 Ibs. to 80 Ibs. troy ; second, a balance, by Sir John Barton, for gold; and a third, by Mr. Bate, for dollars, to amounts not exceeding 72 Ibs. 2 oz. troy. In the Weighing Office, established in 1842, to detect light gold, is the ingenious machine invented by Mr. W. Cotton, then Deputy-Go- vernor of the Bank. About 80 or 100 light and heavy sovereigns are placed indiscriminately in a round tube ; as they descend on the machi- nery beneath, those which are light receive a slight touch, which moves them into their proper receptacle ; and those which are of legitimate weight pass into their appointed place. The light coins are then de- faced by a machine, 200 in a minute ; and by the weighing-machinery 35,000 may be weighed in one day. There 'are six of these machines, BANK OF ENGLAND. 25 which from 1844 to 1849 weighed upwards of 48,000,000 pieces without any inaccuracy. The average amount of gold tendered in one year is nine millions, of which more than a quarter is light. The silver is put up into bags, each of one hundred pounds value, and the gold into bags of a thousand ; and then these bagsful of bullion are sent through a strongly guarded door, or rather window, into the Treasury, a dark gloomy apartment, fitted up with iron presses, supplied with huge locks and bolts. The Bank-note machinery invented by the Oldhams, father and son, exerts, by the steam-engine, the power former ly employed by the me- chanic in pulling a note. The Bank-notes are numbered on the dexter and sinister halves, each bearing the same figures, by Bramah's machines : as soon as a note is printed, and the handle reversed to take it out and put another in its place, a steel spring attached to the handle alters the number to that which should follow. The Clock in the roof is a marvel of mechanism, as it is connected with all the clocks in the Stock Offices : the hands of the several dials indicate precisely the same hour and second, by means of connecting brass-rods, (700 feet long, and weighing 6 cwt.,) and 200 wheels ; the principal weight being about 350 Ibs. The Bank has passed through many perils : it has been attacked by rioters, its notes have been at a heavy* discount, it has been threatened with impeachment, and its credit has been assailed by treachery. In 1696 (the great re-coinage), the Directors were compelled to suspend the payment of their notes. They then increased their capital to 2,201,271?. The Charter has been renewed, 1697 to 1711 ; 1708 to 1733; 1712 to 1743; 1742 to 1765; 1763 to 1786; 1781 to 1812; 1800 to 1833; and 1833, by Act of 3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 98, the Charter was renewed until 1855. The earliest panic, or run, was in 1707, upon the threatened invasion of the Pretender. In the run of 1745, the Corporation were saved by their agents demanding payment for notes in sixpences, and who paying in the same, thus prevented the bona-fide holders of notes presenting them. Another memorable run was on February 26, 1797, upon an alarm of invasion by the French, when the Privy Council Order and the Restric- tion Act prohibited the Bank from paying cash, except for sums under 20s. During the panic of 1825, from the evidence of Mr. Harman before Parliament, it appears that the quantity of gold in the treasury, in December, was under 1,300,000?. It has since transpired that there was not 100,000?., probably not 50,000?. ! The Bank then issued one-pound notes, to protect its remaining treasure; which worked wonders, though by sheer good luck : " because one box containing a quantity of one-pound notes had been overlooked, and they were forthcoming at the lucky moment." The Bank is the treasury of the Government ; for here are received the taxes, the interest of the National Debt paid, the Exchequer busi- ness transacted, &c. ; for all which the Bank is paid a per-centage or commission, annually about 120,000?. ; with the profit derived from a floating balance due to the public, never less than four millions sterling, which, employed in discounting mercantile bills, yields 160,000?. yearly. " The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street," applied to the Bank, is a political sobriquet now almost forgotten. The forgeries upon the Bank supply a melancholy chapter in its history. The first forger of a note was a Stafford linendraper, who, in 1758, was convicted and executed. Through the forgeries of one person, Robert Astlett, the Bank has lost 320,000?. ; and by another, (Fauntleroy,) 360,000?. In the Riots of 1780, the Bank was defended by military, the City volunteers, and the officers of the establishment, when the old inkstands 26 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. were cast into bullets. It was attacked by the mob, when Wilkes rushed out and seized some of the ringleaders. Since this date, a military force has been stationed nightly within the Bank ; a dinner is provided for the officer on guard and two friends. In the political tumult of No- vember. 1830, provisions were made at the Bank for a state of siege. At the Chartist Demonstration of April 10, 1848, the roof of the Bank was fortified by Sappers and Miners, and a strong garrison within. The Committee of Treasury sit weekly, and is composed of all the Directors who have passed the chair, except Mr. George Warde Nor- man, whose great information as to the circulation qualifies him to sit, although he has never been Governor. The Accountant, the Secretary, and the Cashier reside within the Bank : and a certain number of Clerks sit up nightly to go the round of the building, in addition to the mili- tary guard. The number of Clerks was, in 1850, 700; and the salaries amounted to about a quarter of a million annually. The Bank possess a very fine collection of ancient coins. Visitors are shewn some bank-notes for large amounts which have passed be- tween the Bank and the Government, including a single note for One Million sterling. Notes of the Bank, at its establishment, 20 per cent discount; in 1745 under par. Bank Bills paid in silver, 1745. Bank Post Bills first issued, 1754. Small Notes issued, 1759. Cash Payments discontinued, Feb. 25, 1797, and Notes of II. and 21. put into circulation. Cash Payments partially resumed, Sept. 22, 1817. Restriction altogether ceased, 1821. May 14, 1832, upwards of 300.000/. weighed and paid to bankers and others. Quakers and Hebrews not eligible as Directors. Qualification for Director, 2000Z. Bank Stock; Deputy-Governor, 3000/. ; Gover- nor, 400(H. Highest price of Bank Stock, 299 ; lowest 91. The Bank has paid Dividends at the rate of 21 per cent, and as low as 4| per cent, per annum. Silver Tokens issued, Jan. 1798. Issue on paper securities not permitted to exceed 14,000,OOOJ. Capital Punishment for forgery, excepting only forgeries of wills and powers of attorney, abandoned in 1832. (See Francis's popular History of the Sank of England, 3d edit. 1848.) BANK, LONDON AND WESTMINSTER. This banking-house, facing the north-east angle of the Bank of Eng- land, in Lothbury, has some striking architectural merits. It was com- pleted in 1838 ; architects, Cockerell and Tite. It occupies eighty feet frontage, and ninety feet depth: the front, of Portland stone, is one plane, or general face, and proves that a splendid building may be erected without columns or pilasters. The windows are set, as it were, between piers ; the lower ones divided by bronzed candelabra, and the upper ones having side-panels, decorated with caducei'and fasces, expres- sive of the vis unitafortior of the joint-stock association of the esta- blishment. The attic story has a cornice and balustrade, which give dignity to the whole facade. At the extremities are bold piers, sur- mounted by sitting figures the City of London at the east end, and the City of" Westminster at the west; both modelled by Cockerell, and executed by Nichol. The interior is very original : the principal apartment, the " Town Bank," exceeds even the offices of the Bank of England in height ; it is a square of about thirty -four feet, as high as the entire building, fifty- nine feet six inches. East and west are aisles to a portion of this height, with balustraded galleries ; their sides being divided from the centre by an arcade springing from Doric columns ; and the vast hall, surrounded closely with lofty buildings, is mainly lighted by a dome and semicircular Diocletian windows from above. Cost of the building, about 50,000*. BARBICAN, A spacious thoroughfare, connecting Finsbury Square with Alders- 27 gate-street, and named from a burgh-kenin, barbican, or watch-tower, where now is the Watchhouse ; the same being built on high ground, and of some good height : from thence " a man," says Stow, " might be- hold and view the whole city towards the south, and also into Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, and likewise every other way, east, north, or west." Here also were the mansions of the Bridgewater family and Sir Thomas "Wriothesley, Garter-King -at- Arms ; whence Brackley-street and Gar- ter-court. BARCLAY AND PERKINS' BREWERY, In Park-street, Southwark, is the largest establishment of its class in the kingdom, or in the world. It may be inspected by a letter of in- troduction to the proprietors ; and a large number of the foreigners of distinction who visit the metropolis avail themselves of such permission. The Brewery and its appurtenances occupy about twelve acres of ground, immediately adjoining Bankside, and extending from the land- arches of Southwark Bridge nearly half of the distance to those of London Bridge. Within the Brewery walls is said to be included the site of the famous Globe Theatre, " which Shakspeare has bound so closely up with his own history." in a history of the neighbourhood, dated 1795, it is stated that " the passage which led to the Globe Tavern, of which the playhouse formed a part, was, till within these few years, known by the name of Globe-alley, and upon its site now stands a large storehouse for porter." We are inclined to regard this evidence as traditional. However, the last Globe Theatre was taken down about the time of the Commonwealth ; and so late as 1720, Maid-lane (now called New Park-street), of which Globe-alley was an offshoot, was a long straggling place, with ditches on each side, the passage to the houses being over little bridges, with little garden-plots before them. (Strype's Stow.) Early in the last century there was a Brewery here, comparatively very small : it then belonged to a Mr. Halsey, who, on retiring from it with a large fortune, sold it to the elder Mr. Thrale ; he became Sheriff of Surrey and M.P, for Southwark; and died in 1758, leaving his property to a son, the friend of Dr. Johnson, who, from 1765 to the brewer's death, lived at the Brewery, and at his villa at Streatham. Before the fire at the Brewery, in 1832, a room was pointed out, near the entrance gateway, which the Doctor used as a study, and wherein he wrote part of his Dictionary. In 1781, Mr. Thrale died; and as he had no sons, his executors, of whom Dr. Johnson was one, sold the Brewery jointly to Mr. Barclay and Mr. Perkins (the latter of whom had been superintendent of the Brewery,) for the sum of 135,000?. ; and the pro- perty is now held by the descendants of those gentlemen. The concern in Thrale 's time must have been comparatively small, for he did not brew annually more than one-twelfth part of the quantity now brewed by the same establishment. Nevertheless, we remember it of consider- ably less extent, about thirty years since. In 1832 a great portion of the old premises was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt ; mostly of iron, stone, and brick. Having crossed by Southwark Bridge to the Surrey side, we descend from Bridge-road to' New Park-street, which is flanked by lofty build- ings, connected by a covered bridge or passage ; these are ranges of malthouses, extending northward, with a wharf to Bankside. At the termination of New Park-street we proceed southward, through Park- street, both sides of which are the Brewery buildings, connected by a light suspension -bridge ; to the right is the vast brewhouse and princi- pal entrance. From the roof of nearly the middle of the premises may be had a bird's-eye view of the whole. 28 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The water used for brewing is that of the river Thames, pumped up by a steam-engine through a large iron main, which passes under the malt warehouses, and leads to the " liquor-backs," two cisterns, which, as well as their supporting columns, are of cast-iron, and reach an ele- vation of some 40 feet. By this means the establishment may be sup- plied with water for brewing to the extent of a hundred thousand gallons daily. There is on the premises an Artesian well 367 feet deep ; but its water, on account of its low temperature, is principally used for cooling the beer in hot weather. The machinery is worked throughout the Brewery by steam; there are two of Boulton and Watt's engines, of 45 and 30 horse power, the latter constructed in 1780. The furnace-shaft is 19 feet below the sur- face, and 110 feet above ; and, by its great height, denotes the situa- tion of this gigantic establishment among the forest of Southwark chimneys. The malt is carried from barges at the river-side by porters, and deposited in enormous bins, each of the height or depth of an ordinary three-storied house. There are few rats here, for they betake them- selves to the strong drinks elsewhere on the premises ; but they are all kept in check by a standing army of cats, some forty -five in number, who are regularly fed and maintained. The malt is conveyed to be ground in tin buckets upon an endless leather band, (" Jacob's Ladder ) ; and thus carried to the height of 60 or 70 feet, in the middle of the Great Brewhouse. This stupendous room is built entirely of iron and brick, and is lighted by eight large and lofty windows. " There is no continuous floor; but looking up- wards, whenever the steamy vapour permits, there may be seen at various heights, stages, platforms, and flights of stairs, all subsidiary to the cyclopean piles of brewing vessels. The coals, about 20 tons per day, are drawn up from below by tackle, and wheeled along a railway ; and the smoke from all the furnaces is conveyed by a large subterra- nean flue to the great chimney- shaft already mentioned. AVest of the Brewhouse are large buildings, with cooling floors, into which is pumped the hot wort, or beer. The surface of one floor is not less than 10,000 square feet ; and, in case of need, the men wear gigantic pattens to cross the vast lakes of beer. Sometimes, the beer is more rapidly cooled by passing a refrigerator in close contact with cold spring water. Both porter and ale are brewed in the large Brewhouse ; but the ale is carried by pipes along the suspension-bridge, across Park-street, to the opposite" building, and is there cooled, fermented, and tunned. The cold beer is fermented in vast rooms, or squares, one of which will hold 1500 barrels. The surface of one of these squares nearly filled is a strange sight ; the yeast rises in rock-like masses, which yield to the least wind, and the gas hovering in pungent mistiness over the ocean of beer. The beer is next conveyed to the tun-room, where are nearly 300 cylindrical vessels, or rounds, each holding upwards of 300 gallons; and sunk in the floor is a tank, 100 feet by 20 feet. The beer is then conducted through large pipes to "No. 9," where are 180 stupendous tuns, in 16 storehouses. One of the largest, of these vats will contain about 3500 barrels of porter, which, at the selling price, would yield 9000?. The " Great Tun of Heidelberg" holds but half this quantity. The ave- rage capacity of the vats, large and small together, is upwards of 30,000 gallons. From them the beer is drawn by hose into butts, of 108 gallons each. The aggregate number of casks used by the Brewery exceeds 60,000. The Large Brewhouse has been known to work throughout the THE BAROMETER. 29 year, Sundays and seven breaking-days excepted. Often 600 quarters of malt are brewed daily. There are 180 horses employed in the cartage department. They are brought principally from Flanders, and cost from 50?. to 80?. each. There are annually consumed by these horses 5000 quarters of oats, beans, or other grain, which are bruised, 450 tons of clover, and 170 tons of straw for litter. The manure, spent hops, and other refuse, are let yearly ; and the lessee employs a railway company to take them from the premises to his farm. There are four partners in this house : they pay their head brewer a salary of 1000?. The following is a statement of the malt used by several of the principal London brewers in 1849, which is an average for some years past : Qrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co. . 115,542 HanburyandCo 105,022 MeuxandCo. .... 59,617 Reid and Co 56,640 Whitbread and Co 51,800 Combe and Co 43,282 Qrs. Calvert and Co 29,630 Mann and Co 24,030 Charrington and Co. . . . 22,023 Thome and Co 21,016 Taylor and Co 15,870 BAROMETER (THE) IN LONDON. The average monthly readings of the Barometer inLondon, f as found from the observations made at the Royal Society, are as follow : inches. 29-82 inches. 29-85 29-88 29-86 29-86 inches. Sept. 29-83 Oct. 29-81 Nov. 29-76 Dec. 29-79 Jan. 29-82 May Feb. 29-80 June March 29'84 July April 29-82 Aug. Hence the greatest monthly mean reading of the Barometer occurs in June, and the least in November. The following table shews the difference of the mean reading of the Barometer in different years in the same months : Month. Mean reading. Diff. of readings. Month. Mean reading. Diff. of readings. Greatest. Least. Greatest Least. inches. inches. inches. inches. inches. inches. Jan. 30-26 29-45 0-81 July 30-12 29-62 0-50 Feb. 30-26 29-40 0-86 Aug. 30-08 29-59 0-49 March 30-22 29-39 0-83 Sept. 30-05 29-59 0-46 April 30-17 29-48 0-69 Oct. 30-15 29-44 071 May 30-10 29-63 0-47 Nov. 30-20 29-40 0-80 June 30-13 29-75 0-38 Dec. 3028 29-43 0-85 Thus, we see that the mean monthly reading of the Barometer in the winter months, between one year and another, exceeds three-quarters of an inch ; and that in the summer months the difference is less than half an inch. The month of February seems to be subject to the greatest change, and the month of June to the least. The annual range of readings is nearly two inches. The reading is sometimes almost as low as 28 inches, and at times as high as 31 inches nearly. In February, 1849, the reading of the Barometer was unusually high ; and for a long time its mean reading, from the 1st to the 18th, was 30'55 inches, or fully half an inch above its average value. On the day this very high reading ended at London, the Baro- meter reading at Boston in America began to increase ; and during the following eighteen days, the reading there was at the same value as it was at London from Feb. 1 to Feb. 18. This great atmospheric wave, therefore, seems just to have reached from England to America; and its 30 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. rate of motion appears to have been the same whilst passing over both countries. Barometers, hitherto rare, and confined to the cabinets of virtuosi, were first sold publicly in the metropolis by Jones, a clockmaker, of Inner Temple Lane, who made the instrument at the suggestion of Lord Keeper Guildford. BARTHOLOMEW FAIR Originated in two Fairs or Markets, proclaimed on the Eve of St. Bar- tholomew, and continued during the next day and the next morrow. One Fair was granted to the Priory of St. Bartholomew, in Smithfield, for the clothiers of England and the drapers of London, who had their booths and standings within the Priory churchyard (the site now Cloth Fair), the gates of which were locked every night and watched, for the safety of the goods and wares. The grant is by some refer- red to Henry II. ; but there is a charter from Henry I., granting "free peace to all persons frequenting the fair of St. Bartholomew. Within its limits was also held a Court of Pie-poudre, by which persons infringing upon the laws of the Fair, its disputes, debts, &c., were tried the same day, and the punishment of the stocks or whipping-post sum- marily inflicted. The second Fair, for cattle, stands and booths for goods, with tolls and profits, was granted to the City of London, to be held "in the field of West Smithfield." At the dissolution of religious houses, the right in the first-mentioned Fair was sold to Sir John Rich, the then Attorney-General, and was enjoyed by his descendants till the year 1830, when it was purchased of Lord Kensington by the Cor- poration. It greatly declined as a " Cloth Fair" from the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and the Corporation granted licenses to mounte- banks, conjurors, &c., and allowed the Fair to be fourteen days, the sword-bearer and other city officers being paid out of the emoluments. Hentzner, in 1578, describes a tent pitched for the proclamation, and wrestling after the ceremony, with the crowd hunting wild rabbits for the sport of the mayor and aldermen. There was formerly a burlesque proclamation on the night before, by the drapers from Cloth Fair, snapping their shears and shouting in Smithfield. Ben Jonson, in his play of Bartholomew Fair, tells us of its motions, or puppet-shows, of Jerusalem, Nineveh, and Norwich ; and "the Gun- powder Plot, presented to an eighteen or twenty pence audience nine times in an afternoon." The showman paid three shillings for his ground ; and a penny was charged for every burden of goods and little bundle brought in or carried out. A rare tract of the year 1641 describes the " variety of Fancies, the Faire of Wares, and the several enormityes and misdemeanours" of the Fair of that period. At these, the sober-minded Evelyn was shocked ; and Pepys (Aug. 30, 1667.) found at the Fair "my Lady Castlemaine at a puppet-show," her coach waiting, "and the street full of people expecting her." The sights and shows included wild beasts, dwarfs, and other monstrosities; operas, and tight-rope dancing, and sarabands ; dogs dancing the Morrice, and the hare beating the tabor; a tiger pulling the feathers from live fowls ; the humours of Punchinello, and drolls of every degree. The public theatres were closed during the fair-time, the drolls finding St. Bartholomew's more profitable than Dorset Garden or old Drury Lane. An ox roasted whole, and piping-hot roast pig, sold in savoury lots, were among the Fair luxuries, the latter called Bartholomew Pigs. At length, the fourteen days' carnival proved too long. Accord- ing to Strype, in 1708, it was again restricted to three days ; and in 1735, the Court of Aldermen resolved that no acting should be per- BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL. 31 mitted in the Fair ; but, in 1760, the Deputy City Marshal lost his life in enforcing this regulation. The proclamation of the Fair before the entrance to Cloth Fair was a state ceremony ; the Lord Mayor proceeding thither in his gilt coach, "with city officers and trumpets;" and on his way calling upon the Keeper of Newgate, to partake of " a cool tankard of wine, nutmeg, and sugar ;" but this custom has been discontinued since the second mayoralty of Alderman Wood, in 1818. In 1840, the entire suppression of the Fair was proposed ; when, upon the recommendation of the City Solicitor, the duration was restrict- ed, and the prices of ground raised, so as to reduce the Fair, in 1849, to one or two stalls for ginger-bread, gambling-tables for nuts, a few fruit-barrows, toy-stalls, and one puppet-show. Hone, in his Evenj-day Book, describes (with wood-cuts,) the Bar- tholomew Fair of 1825, with the minuteness of Dutch painting ; not forgetting Richardson's Show, which held nearly a thousand persons, and the rabble-rout of " Lady Holland's Mob." BARTHOLOMEW'S (ST.) HOSPITAL, In TVest Smithfield, is one of the five Royal Hospitals of the City, and the first institution of the kind established in the metropolis. It was originally a portion of the Priory of St. Bartholomew, founded by Rahere, in 1102, who obtained from Henry I. a piece of waste ground, upon which he built an hospital, for a master, brethren and sisters, sick persons, and pregnant women. Both the Priory and the Hospital were surrendered to Henry VI II., who, at the petition of Sir Richard Gre- sham, Lord Mayor, and father of Sir Thomas Gresham, re-founded the latter, and endowed it with an annual revenue of 500 marks, the City agreeing to pay an equal sum ; since which time the Hospital has received princely benefactions from charitable persons. It was first placed under the superintendence of Thomas Vicary, sergeant-surgeon to Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth ; Harvey was physi- cian to the Hospital for thirty-four years ; and here, in 1619, he first lectured on his discovery of the Circulation of the Blood. The Hospital buildings escaped the Great Fire in 1666 ; but becom- ing ruinous, were taken down in 1730, and the great quadrangle rebuilt by Gibbs : over the entrance next Smithfield is a statue of Henry VIII., and under it, " St. Bartholomew's Hospital, founded by Rahere, A.D. 1102, re-founded by Henry VIII., 1546;" on the pediment are two reclining figures of Lameness and Sickness. The cost of these buildings was defrayed by public subscription, to which the munificent Dr. Rad- clitfe contributed largely ; besides leaving 500/. a-year for the improve- ment of the diet, and 100Z. a-year to buy linen. The principal entrance, next Smithfield, was erected in 1702. The Museums, Theatres, and Library of the Hospital are very exten- sive; as is also the New Surgery, built in 1842. The Lectures of the present day were established by Mr. Abernethy, elected Assistant-Sur- geon in 1787. Prizes and honorary distinctions for proficiency in medical science were first established 'in 1834; and their annual distri- bution in May is an interesting scene. In 1843 was founded a Colle- giate Establishment for the pupils' residence within the Hospital walls. The Charity is ably managed by the Corporation : the president mus^ have served as Lord Mayor ; the qualification of a governor is a donation of 100 guineas. The Hospital receives, upon petition, cases of all kinds free of fees ; and accidents, or cases of urgent disease, without letter at the Surgery, at any hour of the day or night. There is also a " Sama- ritan Fund," for relieving distressed patients. The several wards con- tain 580 beds ; in 1849-50, patients admitted, cured, and discharged^ 32 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. 6146, (including 478 cases of cholera,) in-patients ; besides 71,564 me- dical and surgical out-patients ; and many of them being destitute, were supplied with money, clothes, and other necessaries, to enable them to return to their habitations. The interior of the Hospital, besides its cleanly and well-regulated wards, has a grand staircase ; the latter painted by Hogarth, for which he was made a life-governor. The subjects are the Good Samaritan ; the Pool of Bethesda ; Rahere, the founder, laying the first stone ; and a sick man carried on a bier, attended by monks. In the Court Room is a picture of St. Bartholomew holding a knife, as the symbol of his martyrdom; a portrait of Henry VIII. in Holbein's manner; of Dr. Radcliffe, by Kneller ; Perceval Pott, by Reynolds ; and of Abernethy, by Lawrence. In Jan. 1846, the election of Prince Albert to a Governorship of the Hospital was commemorated by the president and treasurer presenting to the foundation three costly silver-gilt dishes, each nearly twenty- four inches in diameter, and richly chased with a bold relief of 1. The Election of the Prince; 2. The Good Samaritan ; 3. The Plague of London. BATHS, OLDEX. The most ancient Bath in the metropolis is " the old Roman Spring Bath 1 ' in Strand Lane; but evidently unknown to Stow, though he mentions the locality as " a lane or way down to the landing-place on the bank of the Thames." This Bath is in a vaulted chamber, and is formed of thin tile-like bricks, layers of cement and rubble- stones, all corresponding with the materials of the Roman wall of London : the water is beautifully clear and extremely cold. St. Agnes-le-Clair Baths, Tabernacle Square, Finsbury, are sup- posed to have been of the above age, from finding the Roman tiles through which the water was once conveyed. Stow mentions them as "Dame Anne's the clear." The date assigned to these Baths is 1502. Peerless Pool, Old-street Road, is referred to by Stow as near St. Agnes-le-Clair, and "one other clear water, called Perillous Pond, be- cause divers youths, by swimming therein, have been drowned." In 1743, it was enclosed, and converted into a bathing-place. Cold Bath, said to be "the most noted and first about London," is a " cold spring," discovered about 160 years since, near the top of Mount Pleasant, in Cold Bath Square, Clerkenwell. The Duhe's Bath is in Old Belton-street, now Endell-street, Long Acre ; it was new-fronted in 1845, but the original exterior had red brick pilasters and cornice, in the style of Inigo Jones. There was a large plunging-bath, paved and lined with marble, the walls lined with small Dutch tiles ; the water supplied from a well on the pre- mises. This has been popularly known as " Queen Anne's Bath." The Queens Bagnio, in Long Acre, was on the south side, nearly opposite the door of Long Acre Chapel. The Bagnio, in Bagnio Court (altered to Bath-street in 1843), Newgate Street, was built by Turkish merchants, and first opened in December, 1679, for sweating, hot bathing, and cupping. The bath has a cupola roof, marble steps, and Dutch tile walls, and is now used as a cold Bath. In the Spectator, No. 332, is mentioned another Bagnio, in Chancery Lane. The Hummums, in Covent Garden, now an hotel, with baths, was formerly " a Bagnio, or Place for Sweating ;" in Arabic " Hammam." The' Floating Baths upon the Thames in plan remind one of the Folly described by Tom Brown as " a musical summer-house," usually anchored opposite Somerset House Gardens. The Queen of William III. and her court once visited it ; but it became a scene of low de- BATTERSEA. bauchery, and the bath building was left to decay, and be taken away for firewood. Queen Elizabeth's Bath formerly stood among a cluster of old buildings adjoining the King's Mews, at Charing Cross, and was re- moved in 1831. This Bath was of fine red brick, and had a groined roof, apparently of the date of the fifteenth century. It is engraved in the Archceologia, xxv. pp. 588-90. BATHS AND WASH-HOUSES For the "Working Classes originated, in 1844, with an " Association for promoting Cleanliness among the Poor," who fitted up a Bath-house and a Laundry in Glass-house Yard, East Smithfield; where, in the year ending June 1847, the bathers, washers, and ironers amounted to 84,584 ; the bathers and washers costing about one penny each, and the ironers about one farthing. The Association also gave whitewash, and lent pails and brushes, to those willing to cleanse their own wretched dwellings. And so strong was the love of cleanliness thus encouraged, that women often toiled to wash their own and their children's cloth- ing, who had been compelled to sell their hair to purchase food to satisfy the cravings of hunger. This successful experiment led to the passing of an Act of Parliament (9 and 10 Viet. c. 74), To Encourage the Establishment of Baths and Wash-houses." A Committee sit at Exeter Hall for the same object; a Model Establishment has been built in Goulston Square, "Whitechapel ; and Baths and Wash-houses have been established in St. Pancras, Marylebone, St. Martin-in -the -Fields, and other large parishes. These measures have contributed, though not so extensively as could be wished, to better acquaintance with the art of Swimming, the neglect of which leads to much loss of life in the metropolis. It is calculated that 500 deaths occur annually in the river Thames between Richmond and Gravesend ; of which one third are in the Pool. In Christ's Hos- pital, the scholars are sent, at stated intervals, with proper attendants, to a public bath (generally Peerless Pool), and taught to swim. Mr. J. T. Finnimore, one of the best swimmers in England, and who has won several prizes in matches across the Thames, Serpentine, &c., was edu- cated at Christ's Hospital. BATTERSEA, Three miles S. W. of London, on the Surrey bank of the Thames, was the birthplace of Henry Viscount Bolingbroke, at the ancient seat of the St. Johns, a spacious mansion containing forty rooms on a floor. This was once the resort of Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, Thomson, Mallet, and other contemporary genius of England. Bolingbroke died here in 1751, and, with his second wife, niece of Madame de Maintenon, lies in the family vault in St. Mary's Church, where there is an elegant monu- ment by Roubiliac, with busts of the great lord and his lady ; the epi- taphs on both were written by Bolingbroke : that upon himself is still extant, in his own handwriting, in the British Museum. The greater part of Bolingbroke House was taken down in 1778, and on the site were erected an horizontal air-mill (now removed,) and a malt-distillery. In the wing of the mansion, left standing, a parlour of brown polished oak, with a grate and ornaments of the age of George I., was long pointed out as the apartment in which Pope composed his Essay on Man. In 1816, there was living at Battersea a Mrs. Gilliard, who well remembered Lord Bolingbroke; that he used to ride out every day in his chariot, and had a black patch on his cheek, and a large wart over his eyebrows ; she also had often seen Mallet the poet walking in D 34 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the village, while visiting at Bolingbroke House. (See Sir Richard Phillips's Morning's Walk from London to Kew, p. 54.) The horizontal mill was erected by Captain Hooper, who also built a similar one at Margate. It consisted" of a circular wheel, with large boards or vanes fixed parallel to its axis, and arranged at equal distances from each other. Upon these vanes the wind could act, so as to blow the wheel round. But if it were to act upon the vanes at both sides of the wheel at once, it could not, of course, turn it round ; hence one side of the w y heel must be sheltered, while the other was submitted to the full action of the wind. For this purpose it was enclosed in a large cylindrical framework, with doors or shutters on all sides, to open and admit the wind, or to shut and stop it. If all the shutters on one side were open, whilst all those on the opposite side were closed, the wind acting with undiminished force on the vanes at one side, whilst the opposite vanes are under shelter, turned the mill round ; but whenever the wind changed, the disposition of the blinds must be altered, to admit the wind to strike upon the vanes of the wheel in the direction of a tangent to the circle in which they moved. (Dr. Paris's Philo- sophy in Sport.) This mill resembled a gigantic packing-case, which gave rise to an odd story, that when the Emperor of Russia was in England, he took a fancy to Battersea Church, and determined to carry it off to Russia, and had this large packing-case made for it ; but as the inhabitants refused to let the church be carried away, the case remained on the spot where it was deposited. St. Mary's Church, a tasteless brick edifice, was rebuilt in 1776: the east window contains some finely painted glass, replaced from the old church. Christchurch, at South Battersea, is an elegant Deco- rated structure, designed by C. Lee, erected by subscription, and opened in 1849. Battersea Bridge was built of wood in 1771, by fifteen pro- prietors, but is unworthy of its position across a river spanned by some of the finest bridges in the world. In the rich alluvial soil of Battersea great quantities of asparagus are grown. In 1846, two Acts of Parliament were passed for forming a Park and constructing a Bridge and Embankment at Battersea. BAYNARD'S CASTLE, A stronghold, " built with walls and rampires," on the banks of the Thames, below St. Paul's, by Bainiardus, a follower of William the Conqueror. In 1111, it was forfeited, and granted by Henry I. to Robert Fitzgerald, son of Gilbert Earl of Clare ; from whom it passed, by se- veral descents, to the Fitz waiters (the chief bannerets of London, pro- bably in fee for this castle), one of whom, at the commencement of a war, was bound to appear at the west door of St. Paul's, armed and mounted, with twenty attendants, and there receive from the Mayor the banner of the City, a horse worth 201., and 201. in money. In 1428, the castle became, probably by another forfeiture, crown property ; it was almost entirely burnt, but was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, by whom it was rebuilt ; upon his attainder, it again re- verted to the Crown. Here Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, presented to Richard Duke of Gloster a parchment purporting to be a declaration of the three estates in favour of Richard ; and in " the Court of Bay- nard's Castle" Shakspeare has laid scenes 3 and 7, act iii.,of King Richard III. ; the latter between Buckingham, the Mayor, Aldermen, and citi- zens, and Gloster. Baynard's Castle was repaired by Henry VII., and used as a royal palace" until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when it was let to the Earls of Pembroke ; and here, in" 1553, the Privy Council, " changing their mind from Lady Jane," proclaimed Queen Mary. The BAZAARS. 35 castle subsequently became the residence of the Earls of Shrewsbury. Pepys records King Charles II. supping here, 19th June, 1660; and six years after, the castle was destroyed in the Great Fire. The buildings surrounded two court-yards, with the south front to the Thames, and the north in Thames-street, where was the principal entrance. Two of the towers, incorporated with other buildings, remained till the present century, when they were pulled down to make way for the Carron Iron Company's premises. The ward in which stood the fortress-palace is named Castle Bay- nard, as is also a wharf upon the site ; and a public-house in the neigh- bourhood long bore the sign of " Duke Humphrey's Head." BAYSWATER, In the parish of Paddington, was long noted for its springs and conduits, which, until the present century, partly supplied London with water. In Notes and Queries, No. 11, it is shewn that Bainiardus, who gave his name to Baynard's Castle, held land here of the Abbot of Westmin- ster ;'and in a grant of 1653 is described " the common field at Padding- ton," (now Bays water Field,) as being " near to a place commonly called Baynard's Watering." Hence it is concluded "that this portion of ground, always remarkable for its springs of excellent water, once sup- plied water to Baynard, his household, or his castle ; that the memory of his name was preserved in the neighbourhood for six centuries;" and that this watering-place is now Bayswater. Here was Sir John Hill's " Physic Garden ;" and facing Hyde Park is a Chapel of Ease to St. George's Hanover Square, in the burial-ground of which lies Lawrence Sterne, his grave denoted by a head-stone set up by two Freemasons, and restored by a shilling subscription in 1846. BAZAARS. The Bazaar is an adaptation from the East, the true principle of which is the classification of trades. Thus, Paternoster-row, with its books; Newport Market, with its butchers' shops; and Monmouth- street, with its shoes; are more properly Bazaars than the miscella- neous stalls assembled under cover, which are in London designated by this name. Exeter 'Change was a great cutlery bazaar ; and the row of attorneys' shops in the Lord-Mayor's Court Office, in the old Royal Exchange, were a kind of legal bazaar, the name of each attorney being inscribed upon a projecting sign-board. The introduction of the Bazaar into the metropolis dates from 1816, when was opened the SOHO BAZAAR, at 4, 5, and 6, Soho-square. It was planned solely by the late Mr. John Trotter, with a benevolent motive. At the termination of the late war, when a great number of widows, orphans, and relatives of those who had lost their lives on foreign ser- vice were in distress and without employment, Mr. Trotter conceived that an establishment in the hands of Government would promote the views of the respectable and industrious, (possessing but small means,) by affording them advantages to begin business without great risk and outlay of capital. Mr. Trotter having at that time an extensive range of premises unoccupied, without any idea of personal emolument, offered them to Government, free of expense, for several years, engaging also to undertake their direction and management on the same disinterested terms. His scheme was, however, considered visionary, and his offer rejected. Mr. Trotter then undertook the whole responsibility himself; and, by excellent management, the establishment has flourished for thirty-four years, having been opened 1st February, 1816. This suc- cess is mainly attributable to the selection of persons of respectability as its inmates, for whose protection an efficient superintendence of seve- 36 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ral matrons is provided. The rent of the counters, mostly for fancy goods, is Bd. per square foot, paid daily. To obtain a tenancy, it is requisite that a testimonial, signed by eight persons, be presented, on application, to the Managers of the Bazaar. The establishment is in two floors, and, in 1850, there were from 160 to 170 tenants. These, together with many more persons employed at their homes, in connexion with the Bazaar, come within the range of its influence ; and means are constantly used to afford each an opportunity of profiting by religious counsel and guidance. The success of the Soho Bazaar led to similar establishments ; and for a short time Bazaars flourished, to the injury of shopkeepers. The WESTERN EXCHANGE, Old Bond-street (with an entrance from the Burlington Arcade), was burnt down, and not re-established. The QUEEN'S BAZAAR, on the north side of Oxford-street, the rear in Castle-street, was destroyed, May 28, 1829, by a fire which commenced at a dioramic exhibition of " the Destruction of York Minster by Fire." The Bazaar was rebuilt ; but proving unsuccessful, was taken Jown, and upon the site was built the present Princess' Theatre. The PANTHEON BAZAAR, on the south side of Oxford-street, with an entrance in Great Marlborough-street, was constructed in 1834, from the designs of Sydney Smirke, A.R.A., within the walls of the Pan- theon Theatre, built in 1812 ; the fronts to Oxford-street and Poland- street being the only remains of the original structure. The magnifi- cent staircase leads to a suite of rooms, in which pictures are placed for sale ; and thence to the great Basilical Hall or Bazaar, which is 116 feet long, 88 feet wide, and 60 feet high ; it is mostly lighted from curved windows in the roof, which is richly decorated, as are the piers of the arcades, with arabesque scrolls of flowers, fruit, and birds ; the orna- ments of papier-mache by Bielefield. The style of decoration is from the loggias of the Vatican. The galleries and the floor are laid out with counters, and promenades between. From the southern end of the hall is the entrance to an elegant conservatory and aviary, mostly of glass, ornamented in Saracenic style. Here are birds of rich plu- mage, with luxuriant plants, which, with the profusion of marble, gild- ing, and colour, have a very pleasing effect in the heart of smoky town. The BAZAAR in BAKER-STREET, Portman-square, was originally established for the sale of horses ; but carriages, harness, furniture, stoves, and glass are the commodities now sold here. Madame Tussaud's Wax- work Exhibition occupies the greater part ; and here, annually, early in December, the Smithfi eld- Club Cattle-Show takes place. The PANTECHNICON, Halkin-street, Belgrave-square, is a Bazaar chiefly for carriages and furniture. Here, too, you may warehouse furniture, wine, pictures, and carriages, for any period, at a light charge compared with house-rent. The LOWTHER BAZAAR, nearly opposite the Lowther Arcade, Strand, is a repository of fancy goods, besides a "Magic Cave," and other exhi- bitions. The establishment was frequently visited by Louis Philippe from 1848 to 1850. This and the house adjoining, eastward, have fronts of tasteful architectural design. ST. JAMES'S BAZAAR, King-street, St. James's-street, was built for Mr. Crockford in 1832, and has a saloon nearly 200 feet long by 40 wide. Here were exhibited, in 1841, three dioramic tableaux of the second obsequies of Napoleon, in Paris, in December, 1841. And in 1844 took place here the first exhibition of Decorative Works for the New Houses of Parliament. The most imposing Bazaar display was, however, that made in the BELGRAVIA. 37 spring of 1845, when the auditory and stage of Govent-Garden Theatre were fitted up as a BAZAAR for the ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE, who, in six weeks, cleared 25,OOOZ. by the speculation, partly by admission-money. The Theatre was painted as a vast Tudor Hall by Messrs. Grieve, and illuminated with gas in the day-time ; the goods being exhibited for sale on stalls, appropriated to the great manufacturing localities of the United Kingdom. At this time, the Theatre was let to the League at 3000 guineas for the term of holding the Bazaar, and one night per week for public meetings throughout one year. BEGGAKS. Begging, although illegal, and forbidden by one of our latest sta- tutes, is followed as a trade in the metropolis, perhaps, more system- atically than in any other European capital. It has been stated that the number of professional Beggars in and about London amounts to 15,000, more than two-thirds of whom are Irish. The vigilance of the Police, and the exposure of Beggars' frauds by the press and upon the stage (from the Beggar's Opera to Tom and Jerry), have done much towards the suppression of Begging. The Men- dicity Society, in Red Lion Square, Holborn, established in 1818, has also moderated the evil by exposing and punishing impostors, and relieving deserving persons. The receipts of this Society are upwards of 4000J. a year : in 1839, the applicants were 16,785 ; in 1840 (a severe winter), 23,117 ; in January and February, 1841, there were 20,903 applicants, many with large families, when 104,352 meals were given, and 1385 begging-letters investigated ; and in 1840, the number of these letters was 5074. The Society has a mill, stone -yard, and oakum-room, in which, during one day, there have been employed 763 persons, who would otherwise have been begging in the streets. The Society keep a record of all begging-letter cases, from which police-magistrates obtain information as to the character of persons brought before them. Many years ago, there died in Broad Street Buildings, aged 81, John Yardley Vernon, who wore in the streets the garb of a beggar, though he possessed 100,000/., which he had realised as a stockbroker. BELGRAVIA Was originally applied as a sobriquet to Belgrave and Eaton Squares and the radiating streets, but is now received as the legitimate name of that "City of Palaces." In 1824, its site was "the Five Fields," inter- sected by mud-banks, and occupied by a few sheds. The clayey swamp retained so much water, that no one would build there ; and the " Fields" were the terror of foot-passengers proceeding from London to Chelsea after nightfall. At length, Mr. Thomas Cubitt found the strata to consist of gravel and clay, of inconsiderable depth : the clay he removed, and burned into bricks; and by building upon the substratum of gravel, h# converted this spot from the most unhealthy to one of the most healthy, to the immense advantage of the ground-landlord and the whole metro- polis. This is one of the most perfect adaptations of the means to the end to be found in the records of the building art. In 1829, the same land, consisting of about 140 acres, was nearly covered with first and second-class houses, the nucleus being Belgrave Square, designed by George Basevi ; the detached mansions, at the angles, by Hardwick, Ken- dall, and others ; the area of the square occupying about ten acres. The level is low ; for it has been ascertained that the ground-floor of West- bourne Terrace, Hyde Park Gardens, 70 feet above the Thames high- water mark, is on a level with the attics of Eaton and Belgrave Squares. Yet Chelsea acquired a proverbial salubrity in the last century by Doctors Arbuthnot, Sloane, Mead, and Cadogan residing there. CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. BELLS AND CHIMES. The following are the principal peals of Church Bells in London : BELLS. St. Giles, Cripplegate; St. Saviour, Southwark ; St. Bride, Fleet Street; St. Martin-in-the-Fields; St. Leonard, Shoreditch 12 Christchurch, Spitalfields; St. Sepulchre, Skinner Street . . . .11 St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside; St. Magnus', Lower Thames Street ; St. Dionis', Fenchurch Street; All Saints, Poplar; St. Dunstan, S'epney; St. John, Horsleydown; St. James, Bermondsey ; St. Giles, Camberwell ; St. Luke (New), Chelsea 10 St. George in the East 9 We find the Curfew mentioned to a very late period as a common and approved regulation. Among the charges directed for the ward- mote inquests in London, in the mayoralty of Sir Henry Colet, A.D. 1495, it is said: "Also yf there be anye paryshe clerke that ryngeth curfewe after the curfewe be ronge at Bow Chyrche, or St. Bryde's Church, or St. Gyles- without- Cripelgate, all suche to be prevented." (Knight's Life of Dean Colet, p. 6.) The same charge remained in the wardmote inquest as printed in 1649. " Bow BELLS" are of olden celebrity : the Citizens' love of them led to persons born within their sound being called genuine " Cockneys." In 1469, by an Order of Common Council, Bow Bell was to be rung nightly at nine o'clock, and lights were to be exhibited in the steeple during the night, to direct the traveller towards the metropolis. The present Bells, bought by subscription, were first rung June 4, 1762, the birthday of George III. They are not allowed to be rung in the scien- tific method, but only in set changes, lest the vibration should cause the fall of the new spire ! The twelve bells of St. Saviour's, Southwark, were not rung at the opening of New London Bridge, in 1831, on account of the alleged insecurity it would occasion to the tower. The tenor of this peal weighs 52| cwt. ; that of Bow, 53 cwt. ST. SEPULCHRE'S BELL has a melancholy history. In 1605, Mr. R. Dowe left 501. to this parish, on condition that a person should go to Newgate in the still of the night before every execution -day, and, standing as near as possible to the cells of the condemned, should, with a hand-bell, (which he also left,) give twelve solemn tolls, with double strokes, and then deliver this impressive exhortation : " All you that in the condemned hole do lie, Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die ; Watch, all, and pray, the hour is drawing near That you before the Almighty must appear ; Examine well yourselves, in time repent, That you may not t' eternal flames be sent. And when St. Sepulchre's Bell to-morrow tolls, The Lord have mercy on your souls ! Past twelve o'clock !" Dowe likewise ordered that the great Bell of the church should toll on the morning ; and that, as the criminals passed the wall to Ty- burn, the bellman or sexton should look over it and say, " All good people, pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death ;" for which he who says it is to receive ll. 6s. 8d. The place of execution being changed, a part of this ceremony has been long discontinued; and let us hope that the gift ere long will be a free one. CHKISTCHUKCH, Spitalfields', BELLS are scarcely inferior to any in the kingdom ; the tenor weighs 44 cwt., or 4928 Ibs. Occasionally, some fine feats of Bell-ringing are executed. On Mon- day evening, March 13, 1843, the Society of Cumberland rang a com- plete peal of Cinques on " Stedman's principle." consisting of 5146 BELLS AND CHIMES. 39 changes, in four hours, two minutes, at St. Bride's, Fleet Street; it being the first peal in that scientific method ever performed on the Bells. ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL has four Bells, one in the northern, and three in the southern or clock -tower : the former is tolled for prayer three times a-day, and has a clapper ; but neither of the four can be raised upon end and rung, as other church bells. In the clock-tower are hung two Bells for the quarters, and above them is hung the GREAT BELL, on gudgeons or axles, on which it moves when struck by the hammer of the clock. It weighs 11,474 Ibs., and its diameter is nine feet. It was cast principally from the metal of the Bell in the clock- tower opposite Westminster Hall Gate, which, before the Reforma- tion, was named " Edward," after the Royal Confessor ; subsequently to the time of Henry V11I., as appears by two lines in Eccles's Glee, it was called " Great Tom," as Gough conjectures, by a corruption of " Grand Ton," from its deep, sonorous tone. On August 1, 1698, the clocharcl, or clock-tower, was granted by William III. to St. Margaret's parish, and was taken down ; when the Bell was found to weigh 82 cwt. 2 qrs. 21 Ibs., and was bought at Wd. per lb., producing 385/. 17s. Gd., for St. Paul's. While being conveyed over the boundary of Westminster, under Temple Bar, it fell from the carriage ; it stood under a shed in the Cathedral Yard for some years, and was at length re-cast, with additional metal, in 1716, the inscription stating it to have been " brought from the ruins of Westminster." " The key-note (tonic) or sound of this Bell is A flat, (perhaps it was A natural, agreeably to the pitch at the time it was cast,) but the sound heard at the greatest distance is that of E flat, or a fifth above the key-note; and a musical ear, when close by, can perceive several harmonic sounds." (W. Parry.} The Great Bell is never used, except for the striking of the hour, and for tolling at the deaths and funerals of any of the Royal Family, the Bishop of London, the Dean of the Cathedral, and the Lord Mayor, should he die in his mayoralty. The same hammer which strikes the hours has always been used to toll the Bell, on the occasion of a demise ; but the sound produced on the latter occasions is not so loud as when the hour is struck, in consequence of the heavy clock- weight not being attached when the Bell is tolled, and causing the hammer to strike with greater force than by manual strength. It was the Westminster " Great Tom" which the sentinel on duty at Windsor Castle, during the reign of William III., declared to have struck thirteen instead of twelve times at midnight, and thus cleared himself of the accusation by the relief-guard of sleeping upon his post. The story is told of St. Paul's Bell ; but the Cathedral had no heavy Bell until the above grant by King William, who died in 1702 ; the circumstance is thus recorded in the Public Advertiser, Fri- day, June 22, 1770 : Mr. John Hatfield, who died last Monday at his house in Glasshouse Yard, Aldersgate, aged 102 years, was a soldier in the reign of William and Mary, and the person who was tried and condemned by a court-martial for falling asleep on his duty upon the Terrace at Windsor. He absolutely denied the charge against him, and solemnly declared that he heard St. Paul's clock strike thirteen ; the truth of which was much doubted by the court, because of the great distance. But whilst he was under sentence of death, an affidavit was made by several per- sons, that the clock actually did strike thirteen instead of twelve; whereupon he received his Majesty's pardon." CHIMES. The only Chimes now existing in the metropolis are those of St. Clement Danes, in the Strand; St. Giles's, Cripplegate; and St. Dionis, Fenchurch Street. The Cripplegate chimes are the finest in Lon- don ; they were constructed by a poor working man. Formerly, several 40 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. churches in London, including those of St. Margaret and St. Sepulchre, had chime-hammers annexed to their bells. In each Royal Exchange, the business has been regulated by a bell : in Gresham's original edifice was a tower " containing the bell, which twice a-day summoned merchants to the spot at twelve o'clock at noon, and at six o'clock in the evening." (Burgon's Life and Times of Sir T. Gresham, ii. 345.) The Chimes at the Royal Exchange, destroyed by fire in 1838, played, at intervals of three hours, " God save the Queen," " Life let us cherish," the old 104th Psalm, (on Sundays,) and " There's nae luck about the house," which last air they played at twelve o'clock on the night of the fire, just as the flames reached the chime-loft. In the new Exchange, Chimes have not been forgotten. The airs have been arranged by Mr. E. Taylor, the Gresham Professor of Music ; which Mr. Dent has applied on the Chime-barreL The airs are : 1. A Psalm tune, by Henry Lawes, the friend of Milton ; it is in the key of B flat, so as to exhibit the capability of the chimes to play in different keys. 2. God save the Queen, in E flat. 3. Rule Britannia. 4. An air selected by Professor Taylor to exhibit the power of the bells. The key in which the bells are set is E flat. There are fifteen bells, and two hammers to several, so as to play rapid passages. There are frequently three hammers striking different bells simultaneously, and sometimes live. The notes of the bells are as follow : B flat, A natural, A flat, G, F, E flat, D natural, D flat, C, B flat, A natural, A flat, G, F, and E flat. The first bell, B flat, weighs 4 cwt. 26 Ibs., and its cord, 8 cwt. 2 qrs. 5 Ibs ; the four bells, A flat, G, F, and E flat, weigh seve- rally, 10 cwt. 1 qr. 9 Ibs., 12 cwt. 2 qrs. 27 Ibs., 15 cwt. 2 qrs. 14 Ibs., and 23 cwt. 2 qrs. 24 Ibs. The united weight of them is 131 cwt.l qr. They were cast by Messrs. Mears, of Whitechapel. BERMOXDSEY, Is a large parish in Surrey, adjoining the Borough of South wark ; and named Beormund's eye, or island, from its having been the property of some Saxon or Danish Thane, and the land being insulated by water- courses connected with the Thames. In 1082, a wealthy citizen built here a convent, wherein some Cluniac Monks settled in 1089, to whom "William Rufus gave the manor of Bermondsey ; and numerous dona- tions and grants followed, until this became one of the most consider- able alien priories in England. From its vicinity to London, the mo- nastery occasionally became the residence of some of our kings. Ka- therine of France, widow of Henry V., retired to this sanctuary, and died here, Jan. 3, 1437 ; and Elizabeth Widvile, relict of Edward IV., was committed to the custody of the monks by her son-in-law, Henry VII., and ended her days here, in penury and sorrow, in 1492. 'Among ihe persons of note interred here is said to have been Margaret de la Pole, executed by Henry VIII. in 1513. The Abbey occupied the ground between Grange "Walk (where was a farm) and Long Walk, which was a passage between the monastic buildings and the conventual church ; the latter a little south of the present parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, originally founded by the Priors of Bermondsey for their tenantry, re- built in 1680, and since repaired. Among the communion plate is an ancient silver alms-dish, supposed to have belonged to the Abbey. A drawing in the late Mr". Upcott's collection shewed the Monastery as rebuilt early in the reign of Edward III., and the cloisters and re- fectory in 1380. After the surrender of the establishment to Henry VIIL, he granted it to Sir Robert Southwell, Master of the Rolls : it was by him sold to Sir Thomas Pope, who, in 1545, pulled down the ancient Priory Church, and with the materials built Bermondsey House, where died Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex (Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth), in 1583. The east gate of the monastery was taken down about 17 GO ; the great gate-house was nearly entire in 1806, shortly BERMONDSEY. 41 after which all the ancient buildings were removed, and Abbey-street built on their site. Bermondsey-square now occupies the great close of the Abbey, and Grange-road was its pasture-ground, extending to the farm or Grange ; the ancient water-course, the Neckinger, was formerly navigable from the Thames to the Abbey precincts. Adjoining the monastery was an Almonry, or Hospital, for " indi- gent children and necessitous converts," erected by Prior Richard in 1213, but not to be traced after the Reformation. There is also, in the Spa Road, a Grecian church, opened in 1829 : the altar-piece is a large picture of "the Ascension," painted by John "Wood in 1844, and the prize picture selected from among eighty com- petitors for 500?. bequeathed for this purpose by Mr. Harcourt, a parishioner, and awarded by Eastlake and Haydon. St. Paul's Gothic Church and Schools were opened in 1848 ; "and Christ Church and Schools, Neckinger Road, (Romanesque,) in 1849. The Roman Catholic population of Bermondsey exceeds 5000 per- sons ; they have a large church near Dockhead, opened in 1835. Pre- cisely three centuries after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was founded here, in 1838, a Convent for " the Sisters of Mercy." The in- mates are mostly ladies of fortune, and support a school for 200 children. Sister Mary, the Lady Barbara Eyre, second daughter of the sixth Earl of Newburgh, took the vows December 12, 1839 ; with Miss Ponsonby, now Sister Vincent. At Bermondsey, perhaps, is carried on a greater variety of trades and manufactures than in any other parish of the kingdom. It has been the seat of the Leather Market for nearly two centuries ; its series of tidal streams from the Thames twice in twenty-four hours supplying water for the tanners and leather-dressers. At the Neckinger Mills here, nearly half a million of hides and skins are converted into leather yearly ; and in the great Skin Market are sold the skins from nearly all the sheep slaughtered in London. Steam-machinery is much employed in the manufactories ; and in Long-lane is an engine chimney-shaft 175 feet high. Here is Christy's Hat Manufactory, employing 500 persons, and considered the largest establishment of the kind in the world. Here, too, abound paper and lead mills, chemical works, boat and ship builders, mast and block makers, rope and sail makers, coopers, tur- pentine works, &c. The tidal ditches, with their filthy dwellings, produced cholera in 1832 and 1848-9; in the latter year 189 deaths occurred in 1000 inhabitants. Here was Jacob's Island, so powerfully pictured in Dickens's novel of Oliver Twist. There were till lately thirty miles of tidal ditches in the district ; but these nuisances have been abated by the exertions of the General Board of Health. Bermondsey Spa, a chalybeate spring, discovered about 1770, was opened, in 1780, as a minor' VauxhaU, with fireworks, and a picture- model of the Siege of Gibraltar, painted by Keyse,and occupying about four acres. He died in 1800, and the garden was shut up about 1805. There are Tokens of the place extant, and the Spa-roadis named from it. In the parish was born Mary Johns, the daughter of a cooper, in 1752, who wrote the Lord's Prayer in the compass of a silver penny. Viewed from the Greenwich Railway, which crosses its north- eastern side, Bermondsey presents a curious picture of busy life, amid its streams and tan-pits, its narrow streets, close rents and lanes, by no means tributary to the public health. Yet the district has long been noted for longevity ; and from 90 to 105 years are not uncommon in the burial registers. In the Registers, 1604, is "the forme of a solemne Vowe made betwixt a Man and his Wife, having been longe absent, through which occasion the Woman beinge married to another Man, took her again." 42 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. BETHLEHEM, OR BETHLEM HOSPITAL, Originated in an establishment founded as a " priory of canons, with brethren* and sisters," in 1246, by Simon Fitz-Mary, a sheriff of Lon- don; towards which he gave all his lands in St. Botolph without Bishops- gate, being the spot afterwards known as Old Bethlem, now Liverpool- street. This priory stood on the east side of Morefield, from which it was divided by a deep ditch. It is described as " an Hospital " in 1330 ; in 1346 it was received under the protection of the City of London, who purchased the patronage, lands, and tenements in 1546; and in the same year, Henry Y11I. gave the Hospital to the City, though not before he had endeavoured to sell it to them, Bethlem is, however, first mentioned as an hospital for lunatics in 1402. The earliest establishment of the kind in the metropolis appears, from Stow, to have been "by Charing Cross," though when founded is unknown ; "but it was said that some time a king of England, not liking distraught and lunatic people to remain so near his palace, caused them to be removed farther off to Bethlem ;" to which Hospital the site of the house in question belonged till 1830, when it was exchanged with the Crown to make way for the improvements at Charing Cross. The priory buildings becoming dilapidated, another Hospital was built in 1675-76, on the south side of Moor Fields, north of the London Wall, on ground leased to the Governors by the Corporation for 999 years, at 1*. annual rent, if demanded. This, the centre of Old Beth- lem Hospital, cost 17,000?., raised by subscription : it was designed by Robert Hooke ; but there is no foundation for the traditional story of its so closely resembling the palace of the Tuileries, that Louis XIV., in retaliation, ordered a copy of our King's palace at St. James's to be built for his offices. This second Bethlem was 540 feet in length and 40 feet in breadth ; it was surrounded by gardens, in one of which the convalescent lunatics were allowed to walk : the whole was enclosed by a high wall and gates, the posterns of the latter surmounted with two finely-sculptured figures of Raving and Melancholy Madness, by Caius Gabriel Gibber. In 1733, two wings were added for incurable patients. In 1754, the Hospital is described as consisting chiefly of two galleries, one over the other, divided in the middle by two iron gates, so that all the men were placed at one end of the house and all the women at the other ; there was also " a bathing-place for the patients, so contrived as to be a hot or cold bath." The Hospital then held 150 patients. The favourite re- sort of the poor inmates was the Fore-street end of the building, from the windows of which they could look out upon the unafflicted passen- gers in the streets below. Nat Lee, the tragic poet, to madness near allied, was confined here four 3*ears, and did not live long after his release. Here, too, was confined Oliver Cromwell's gigantic porter, who is traditionally said to have been the original of one of Cibber's figures. Hannah Sn ell, out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital, for wounds received at the siege of Pondicherry, died a patient of Bethlem, Feb. 8, 1792. et Tom o' Bedlams " was the name given to certain out-door patients, or pensioners, for whom room could not be found in the Hospital ; they wore upon their arms metal plates, licensing them to go a-begging, * They wore the order of Bethlem, or the Star, and a star upon their mantles, and were subject to entertain the Bishop of Bethlem whenever he came to Lon- don ; hence the name of the Hospital. " St. Theodosius, (born 423, died 529,) established near Bethlehem a monastery, to which were annexed three infir- maries, one for the sick, one for the aged and feeble, and the other for such as had lost their senses, in which all succours, spiritual and temporal, were afforded with admirable order, care, and affection." Butler's Lives of the Saints. BETHLEM HOSPITAL. 43 which many cunning impostors adopted, until a notice from the Hos- pital put an end to the fraud. In 1799, the Hospital was reported by a committee to be in a very bad condition : it had been built in sixteen months, upon part of the City ditch filled in with rubbish, so that it was requisite to shore-up and underpin the walls. At length, it was resolved to rebuild the Hospital ; and in 1810 its site, 2| acres, was exchanged for about 11 acres in St. George's Fields, including the gardens of the infamous Dog and Duck. The building fund was increased by grants of public money, benefac- tions from the Corporation, City companies, and private individuals. The first stone of the new edifice, for 200 patients, was laid in April 1812, and completed in August 1815 r at a cost of 122,572?. 8s., the exact sum raised for the purpose. It was built from three prize designs, superintended by the late Mr. Lewis : it consists of a centre and two wings, the entrance being beneath a hexastyle Ionic portico of six columns, with the royal arms in the pediment, and underneath the motto : HEN. vm. BEGE FUNDATVM CIVIUM LARGITAS PERFECIT. Two wings, for which the Government advanced 25,144?., are appro- priated to criminal lunatics. Other buildings have since been added, for 166 patients, by Sydney Smirke, A.R.A. the first stone of which was laid July 26, 1838, when a public breakfast was given at a cost of 464?. 8*. to the Hospital, and a narrative of the proceedings was printed at a charge to the charity of 140?. The entire building is three stories in height, and 897 feet in length. To the centre was added a large and lofty dome in 1845 ; the diameter is 37 feet, and it is about 150 feet in height from the ground. The Hospital and grounds extend to eight acres ; the adjoining three acres being devoted to the House of Occu- pations, a branch of Bridewell Hospital. In the entrance-hall are placed Cibber's two statues, from the old Hospital : they are of Portland stone, and were restored by the younger Bacon in 1814 ; they are screened by curtains, which are only with- drawn upon public occasions : some of the irons formerly used are also shewn as curiosities. The basement and three floors are divided into galleries. The improved management was introduced about 1816. The patients employ themselves in knitting and tailoring, in laundry-work, at the needle, and in embroidery ; the women have pianos, and occa- sionally dance in the evening ; the men have billiard and bagatelle tables, newspapers, and periodicals ; and they play in the grounds at trap-ball, cricket, fives, leap-frog, &c. Others work at their trades, in which, though dangerous weapons have been entrusted to them, no mischief has ensued, and the employment often induces speedy cure. The railed-in fire-places and the bone knives are almost the only visible peculiarities ; there are cells lined and floored with cork and India- rubber for refractory patients. The building is fire-proof throughout, and warmed by hot air and water. From the first reception of lunatics into Bethlem, their condition and treatment was wretched in the extreme. In a visitation of 1403 are mentioned iron chains with locks and keys, and manacles and stocks. In 1598, the house was reported so loathsome and so filthily kept, as not fit to be entered ; and the inmates were termed prisoners. In a record of 1619 are expenses of straw and fetters. Up to the year 1770, the public were admitted to see the lunatics at ]?. each, by which the Hospital derived a revenue of at least 400?. a year : hence Bethlem became one of "the sights of London ;" and such was the mischief occasioned by this brutal and degrading practice, that, to prevent disturbances, the porter was annually sworn a constable, and attended with other ser- vants to keep order. So late as 1814, the rooms resembled dog-ken- nels; the female patients were chained by one arm or leg to the wall, 44 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. were covered by a blanket-gown only, the feet being naked ; and they lay upon straw. The male patients were chained, handcuffed, or locked to the wall ; and chains were universally substituted for the strait- waist- coat. One Norris, stated to be refractory, was chained by a strong iron ring, riveted round his neck, his arms pinioned by an iron bar, and his waist similarly secured, so that he could only advance twelve inches from the wall, the length of his chains ; and thus he had been " encaged and chained more than twelve years ;" yet he readbooks of various kinds, the newspapers daily, and conversed rationally : a drawing was made of Norris in his irons, and he was visited by several members of Parlia- ment, shortly after which he died, doubtless from the cruel treatment he had received. This case led to a Parliamentary inquiry, in 1815, which brought about the adoption of a new method of treatment in Bethlem ; although, in two years, 660/. were expended from the Hos- pital funds in opposing the bill requisite for the beneficial change. The last female lunatic released from her fetters was a most violent patient, who had been chained to her bed eight years, her irons riveted, she being so dangerous that the matron feared being murdered if she released her ; in May 1838, she was still in the New Hospital, and was the only patient permitted to sleep at night with her door unlocked ; the slightest appearance of restraint exasperated her ; but on her release she became tranquil, and happy in nursing two dolls given to her, which she imagined to be her children. The criminal lunatics are maintained and clothed at the expense of Government, and cost nearly 4000?. a year; they are charged 13s. 6cL a week, or 351. per annum, whereas the average charge for pauper lunatics in country asylums is but Is. Most of the criminals are con- fined for murder, committed or attempted. Among them was Margaret Nicholson, for attempting to stab George III. ; she died here in 1828, hav- ing been confined forty-two years. Here is confined Oxford, for shoot- ing at Queen Victoria, in St. James's Park, June 10, 1840; he is idiotic rather than insane. Here, too, is M'Naughten, for shooting Mr. E. Drummond, at Charing Cross, January 20, 1843. In 1841, died James Hadfield, who had been confined here since 1802, for shooting at George III., at Drury Lane Theatre. He was a gallant dragoon, and his face was seamed with scars got hi battle before his crime: he employed himself with writing poetry on the death of his birds and cats, his only society in his long and wearying imprisonment. Bethlem is not visited by Commissioners, but is managed by the officers and Governors. The following cases are inadmissible : luna- tics who have been insane for more than twelve months ; who have been discharged uncured from other hospitals ; afflicted with idiotcy, palsy, or epileptic or convulsive fits, or any dangerous disease. The patients are not allowed to remain more than one year ; they are classed as " cur- able," "incurable," and "criminals." Patients are admitted by peti- tion to the Governors from a near relation or friend; forms to be ob- tained at the Hospital. The visiting days are two Mondays in each month ; for taking in and discharging patients, every Friday. In 1849, there were admitted 150 males, 194 females. Discharged cured 70 males, 106 females. The annual rate of mortality in Bethlem is 7 per cent; in other asvlums, from 13 to 22 per cent. (Registrar- GeneraVs Report, 1850.) The income of Bethlem and Bridewell Hospitals amounts to about 33,OOOZ. per annum, mostly the accumulation of private benevolence. From November 22, 1841, Bethlem Hospital, with its purlieus and approaches, was considered to be within the rules of the Queen's Bench, by an order of that Court, until their abolition. Strangers are admitted, on Tuesdays, "Wednesdays, Thursdays, and BILLINGSGATE. 45 Fridays, to view the Hospital by Governors' orders ; and foreigners and Members of Parliament by orders from the president, treasurer, or Secretary of State ; but the average yearly number of visitors does not exceed 550. Still, few sights can be more interesting than the present condition of the interior of Bethlem. The scrupulous cleanliness of the house, the decent attire of the patients, and the unexpectedly small number of those under restraint, (sometimes not one person throughout the building,) lead the visitors, not unnaturally, to conclude that the management of lunatics has here attained perfection ; while the quiet arid decent demeanour of the inmates might almost make him doubt that he is really in a madhouse. The arrangements, however, are compara- tively, in some instances, defective : the building being partly on the plan of the old Hospital in Moorfields, in long galleries, with a view to the coercive system there pursued, is, consequently, ill adapted to the present improved treatment. Above the door of the entrance- lodge are sculptured the arms of the Hospital, Argent, tivo bars sable, a file of five points gules, on a chief azure en etoile of sixteen rays or, charged with a plate, thereon a cross of the third, beticeen a hitman shull placed on a cup, on the dexter side, and a basket of Wastell bread, all of the fifth, on the sinister. BETHNAL GREEN, A village or large green, formerly a hamlet of Stepney, but made a parish (St. Matthew) in 1743. The old English ballad of The Blind Beggar of Bednall Green has given the district a long celebrity; the story " decorates not only the sign -posts of the publicans, but the staff of the parish beadle." (Lysons). The story has been cleverly wrought into a drama by Sheridan Knowles. The mansion traditionally pointed to as " the Blind Beggar's Home" was, however, built by John Thorpe, in 1570, for a citizen of London, and called, after him, " Kirby's Castle." Here was a mansion said to have been a palace of Bishop Bouner's, and taken down in 1849, in forming Victoria Park. Between 1839 and 1849, there were built here ten district churches, principally through the exertions of Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London : the tenth of these churches (St. Thomas's) was built at the sole cost of a private indi- vidual. Silk-weavers live in great numbers at Bethnal Green. BILLINGSGATE Is stated to take its name from having been the gate of King Belin, a king of the Britons, about 400 B. c. But this rests upon no better authority than Geoffrey of Monmouth, and is doubted by Stow, who suggests that the gate was called from some owner named Beling or Biling : Stow describes it as " a large water-gate, port, or harborough for ships and boats, commonly arriving there with fish, both fresh and salt, shell-fishes, salt, oranges, onions, and other fruits and roots, wheat, rye, and grain of divers sorts, for the service of the city." It has been a quay, if not a market, for nearly nine centuries, since the customs were paid here under Ethelred IL, A.D. 979 ; and fishing-boats paid toll here, according to the laws of Athelstan, who died 940. Its present appropriation dates from 1699, when, by an Act of "William III., it was made "a free and open market for all sorts offish;" and was fixed at the western extremity of the Custom House, on the northern bank of the Thames, a short distance below London Bridge. The Market, for many years, consisted of a collection of wooden pent-houses, rude sheds, and" benches ; it commenced at three o'clock in the summer and five in the winter ; in the latter season it was a strange ne, its large flaring oil lamps shewing a crowd struggling amidst Babel din of vulgar tongues, such as rendered " Billingsgate" a scene a 46 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. byword for low abuse : " opprobrious, foul-mouth language is called Billingsgate discourse." (Martin's Dictionary, 1754, second edit.) In Bailey's Dictionary we have '-'a Billingsgate, a scolding, impudent slut." Tom Brown gives a very coarse picture of her character ; and Addison refers to " debates which frequently arise among the ladies of the British fishery." She wore a strong stuff gown, tucked up, and shewing a large quilted petticoat ; her hair, cap, and bonnet flattened into a mass by carrying a basket upon her head ; her coarse, cracked cry, and brawny limbs, and red, bloated face, completing a portrait of the " fish-fag ' of other days. Not only has the virago disappeared, but the market-place has been rebuilt, and its business regulated by the City authorities, with especial reference to the condition of the fish; and in 1849 was commenced the further extension of the market. There is no crowding, elbow- ing, screaming, or fighting, as heretofore ; coffee has greatlv superseded spirits ; and a more orderly scene of business can scarcely be imagined. The market is daily, except Sundays, at five A.M., summer and winter, announced by ringing a bell, the only relic of the olden rule. The fish- ing-vessels reach the quay during the night, and are moored alongside a floating wharf, which rises and falls with the tide. The oyster-boats are berthed by themselves, the name of the oyster cargo "is painted upon a board, where they are measured out to purchasers. The other fish are carried ashore in baskets, and there sold, by Dutch auction, to fishmongers, whose carts are waiting in the adjoining streets. The' wholesale market is now over j but there remain the bummarees, who supply the costermongers, &c. All fish is sold by tale, except oysters and shell-fish, which are sold by measure, and salmon by weight. In February and March, about thirty boxes of salmon, each one cwt., arrive at Billingsgate per day ; the quantity gradually increases, until it amounts, in July and August, to 1000 boxes; (during one season it reached 2500 tons) the fish being finest when it is lowest in price. Of lobsters, Mr. Yarrell states a twelvemonth's supply to be 1,904,000 ; of turbots, 87,958. The specu- lation in lobsters is very great ; hi 1816, one Billingsgate salesman is known to have lost 1200J. per week, for six weeks, by lobsters ! Pe- riwinkles are shipped from Glasgow, fifty or sixty tons at a time, to Liverpool, and sent thence by railway to London, where better profits are obtained, even after paying so much sea and land carriage. Some- times there is a marvellous glut of fish : thus, in two days from 90 to 100 tons of plaice, soles, and sprats have been landed at Billingsgate, and sold at two and three Ibs. a penny; soles, 2d. ; large plaice Id. each. A full season and scarce supply, however, occasionally raise the price enormously ; as in the case of four guineas being paid for a lobster for sauce, which, being the only one in the market, was divided for two London epicures ! During very rough weather, scarcely an oyster can be procured in the metropolis. In the height of the season, a fine cod-fish has been sold for a guinea and a half. Mackerel were, in 1698, first allowed to be cried through the streets on a Sunday ; but, by the 9 and 10 Victoria, passed August 3, 1846, the sale of mackerel on a Sunday was declared illegal. At Billingsgate is the " Three Tuns Tavern," with a fine view of the river, where a table dhote dinner of three kinds of fish, with meat, &c., may be had for Is. 6d. : hours, one and four. BIRDS OF LONDON. Birds, for the most part, avoid cities and large towns ; but there have been some remarkable exceptions to this rule noted in the metro- polis by careful observers. BIRDS OF LONDON. 47 The House-Sparrow is to be seen in nearly every locality. In 1850, there was a numerous colony of sparrows upon the west side of the court-yard of No. 94 Piccadilly, the residence of the Duke of Cambridge. Another nesting-place for sparrows was the capitals of the Corinthian columns of the portico of Carlton House. There was, too, a noted rookery in the lofty trees of the grounds of Carlton House : on these being cut down, the birds removed, in 1827, to some trees in the rear of New-street, Spring-gardens. Perchance, few remember the satirical lament of Tom Hudson's song : " Now the old rooks have lost their places." Rooks build in the south church- yard of St. Dunstan-in-the-East, Tower-street. The rookery, before the last church was removed, consisted of upwards of twenty nests; and they were annually supplied with osier -twigs, and other materials for building. The colony migrated to the Tower of London, when disturbed for the pulling down of the church in 1817 ; they built in the "White Tower, but returned as soon as the noise of axes and hammers had ceased. In 1849, their building-materials were hospitably provided for them by Mr. Crutchley, the assistant-overseer : the trees are plane. There was also, formerly, a rookery on some large elm-trees in the College Garden, behind the Ecclesiastical Court, in Doctors' Commons. There is, too, a rookery in the fine trees near Kensington Palace. " We have rooks in the very heart of London, on a noble plane-tree which grows at the corner of Wood-street, Cheapside. There are now, -(May, 1850,) signs of four nests in that tree ; but I am unable to state whether they have reared their young in that locality. Rooks, how- ever, build in the crowns surmounting the highest pinnacles of the turrets of the Tower of London ; and there is another rookery in Gray's-Inn Gardens. Pigeons have lately taken to build on the tops of the pillars of the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange : so that London can now boast of three kinds of birds which rear their young, viz. sparrows, pigeons, and rooks. "We have every year a robin or two at Finsbury Circus, but it does not build ; and we are frequently favoured with a visit from starlings." (Instinct and Reason, by A. Smee, F.R.S., 1850.) The Swallow, Swift, and Martin seem to have almost deserted Lon- don, although they are occasionally seen in the suburbs. The scarcity of the Swallow is referred to most of the chimneys having conical or other contracted tops to them, which is no inducement for this bird to build in them. In 1826, Mr. Jennings observed Martins' nests in Goswell-street Road, and on Islington Green. The Redbreast has been occasionally seen in the neighbourhood of Fleet Market and Ludgate Hill : in November 1825, Mr. Jennings saw it in the City Road; where, in November 1826, he saw the Wren. The Thrush is often heard in the Regent's Park. Some of the mi- gratory birds approach much nearer London than is generally imagined. The Cuckoo and Wood-pigeon are heard occasionally in Kensington Gardens. The Nightingale is often heard at Hornsey-wood House, Hackney, and Mile- end. (See Jennings's Ornithologia, 1829.) The London gardens are much more injured by insects than those in the country, on account of the smaller number of insectivorous birds, the great number of bird-catchers, and, in some respects, the cats, in and about the metropolis ; and their scarcity is not, as is frequently alleged, owing to the smoke, the number of houses, the want of trees and food, because every kind of bird will live and thrive in cages in the heart of London. In James-street, on the north side of Covent Garden, a Bird Mar- ket was formerly held on Sunday mornings. The Canary is much reared in the metropolis j there are Societies for 48 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. this purpose, the principal being the Friendly, the Royals, the Ama- teurs, and the Hand-in-Hand. Several varieties are distinguished ; and there is a " London criterion of a perfect Canary." The Fancy hold their principal Shows in November and December, at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house, Holborn, and the British Coffee-house, Cockspur-street. BLACKFRIARS, The district between Ludgate Hill and the river Thames ; and anciently a monastery of Black or Dominican Friars, who removed here from Holborn in 127 G, to a piece of ground given them by Gregory Rocksley, Mayor. The monastery, church, and a mansion were built with the stone from the tower of Montfichet, and from part of the City wall. Edward I. and his Queen Eleanor were great benefactors to the new convent. Here the King kept his charters and records ; and great numbers of the nobility dwelt in the precinct. In the church, divers parliaments and other great meetings were held. In 1522, the Em- Henry's divorce from Katherine of Arragon was decided here ; and the parliament which condemned Wolsey, assembled at Blackfriars. The precinct was very extensive, was walled in, had four gates, and contained many shops, the occupiers of which were allowed to carry on their trades, although not free of the city, privileges maintained even after the dissolution of the monasteries. In the View of London (1543), in the Sutherland Collection, the church of Blackfriars is shewn with a lofty tower and spire, and the end towards the Fleet river flanked with two large turrets. Part of this church was altered and fitted up for parochial use ; it was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and the church of St. Andrew by the Wardrobe erected in its place. Taking advantage of the sanctuary privilege, Richard Burbage and his fellows, when ejected from the City, built a playhouse in the Black- friars precinct, and here maintained their ground against the powerful opposition of the City and the Puritans. Shakspeare had a share in this theatre, and part of its site is now Playhouse Yard. The poet possessed other property here ; for in the City of London Library, at Guildhall, is preserved a deed of conveyance to Shakspeare of a house bought by him March 10, 1612-13, and bequeathed by him to his daughter, Susannah Hall. This document was sold by auction, May 24, 1841, for 1651. 15*. Three eminent painters resided in Blackfriars : Isaac Oliver, the celebrated miniature-painter, who died in 1617, and is buried in St. Anne's ; Cornelius Jansen, the portrait-painter, employed by King James I. ; and Van Dyck, during his nine years' abode in England. At Hunsdon House, in the Friary, on Sunday, Oct. 26, 1623, there perished 59 persons by the falling of a floor, during the preaching of a sermon by Father Drury; the catastrophe is recorded as "the Fatal Vespers." In 1735, the right of the City to the jurisdiction of the precinct was decided in their favour in an action against a shalloon and drugget seller, tried in the Court of King's Bench ; since which Blackfriars has been one of the precincts of Farringdon Ward. BLACKWALL, On the north bank of the Thames, and at the eastern extremity of the West India Docks, is said to have been originally called Bleak wall, from its exposed situation on the artificial bank or wall of the river, through the winding of which it is nearly eight miles from the City, BLIND-SCHOOL (THE). 49 though less than half that distance by land. Here, on the Brunswick "Wharf or Pier, is the handsome Italianised terminus (by Tite) of the Blackwall Railway from Fenchurch-street, 4J miles in length. To the large taverns at Blackwall and Greenwich gourmets flock to eat "Whitebait, a delicious little fish caught in the Reach, and directly net- ted out of the river into the frying-pan. They appear about the end of March or early in April, and are taken every flood-tide until September. Pennant describes Whitebait as esteemed by the lower order of epicures. It this account be correct, there must have been a strange change in the grade of the epicures frequenting Greenwich and Blackwall since Pennant's days ; for at present the fashion of eating Whitebait is sanctioned by the highest authorities, from the court of St. James's in the West to the Lord Mayor and his court in the East ; besides the philosophers of the Royal Society ; and her Majesty's Cabinet Ministers, who wind up the Parliamentary session with their " annual fish din- ner," whither they go in an Ordnance barge, or a Government steamer. Whitebait are taken by a net in a wooden frame, the hose having a very small mesh. The boat is moored in the tideway, and the net fixed to its side, when the tail of the hose, swimming loose, is from time to time handed in to the boat, the end untied, and its contents shaken out. Whitebait were thought to be the young of the shad, and were named from their being used as bait in fishing for whitings. By aid of comparative anatomy, Mr. Yarrell, however, proved Whitebait to be a distinct species, Clupea alba. Perhaps the famed delicacy of Whitebait rests as much upon its skilful cookery as upon the freshness of the fish. Dr. Pereira has published the mode of cooking in one of Lovegrove's " bait-kitchens" at Blackwall. The fish should be dressed within an hour after being caught, or they are apt to cling together. They are kept in water, from which they are taken by a skimmer as required ; they are then thrown upon a layer of flour, contained in a large napkin, in which they are shaken until completely enveloped in flour ; they are then put into a colander, and all the superfluous flour is removed by sifting; the fish are next thrown into hot lard contained in a copper cauldron or stew-pan placed over a charcoal fire; in about two minutes they are removed by a tin skimmer, thrown into a colander to drain, and served up instantly, by placing them on a fish-drainer in a dish. The rapidity of the cooking process is of the utmost importance ; and if it be not attended to, the fish will lose their crispness, and be worthless. At table, lemon- juice is squeezed over them, and they are seasoned with Cayenne pepper; brown bread and butter is substituted for plain bread; and they are eaten with iced champagne, or punch. An important thing to be noticed is the vast extent of iron ship- building carried on here, an art of construction but of twenty years' growth. A great portion of Blackwall and the Isle of Dogs is occupied in this building trade, with its clanking boiler-works, and its Cyclopean foundries and engineering shops, in which steam is the primum mobile. Then, what a range of size have these steamers from the huge troop- ship, or war-vessel (for foreign as well as British service), to the half- penny " bread-and-butter boats," which flit about above bridge from the City to Chelsea. In the East India Docks, at Blackwall, arrived, April 1848, a large Chinese Junk, the first ever seen in England ; and here it was exhi- bited until May 1850. BLIND-SCHOOL (THE), Or the School for the Indigent Blind, was established in 1799, at the Dog and Duck premises, St. George's Fields ; and for some time received only fifteen blind persons. The site being required by the City of Lon- don for the building of Bethlem Hospital, about two acres of ground were allotted opposite the Obelisk, and there a plain school-house for the blind was built. In 1826, the School was incorporated ; and in the two following years three legacies of 500Z. each, and one of 10,000, were bequeathed to the establishment. In 1834, additional ground was purchased, and the school-house remodelled, so as to form a portion of a more extensive edifice in the Tudor or domestic Gothic style, de- 50 CURIOSITIES OF LO]ST)OX. signed by John Newman, F.S.A. The tower and gateway in the north front are very picturesque; the School will now accommodate 220 inmates. The pupils are clothed, lodged, and boarded, and receive a religious and industrial education ; so that many of them have been re- turned to their families able to earn from 6*. to 8*. per week. Appli- cants are not received under twelve, nor above thirty, years of age ; nor if they have a greater degree of sight than will enable them to dis- tinguish fight from darkness. The admission is by votes of the sub- scribers ; and persons between the age of twelve and eighteen have been found to receive the greatest benefit from the instruction. The pupils may be seen at work between ten and twelve A.M., and two and five P.M., daily, except Saturdays and Sundays. The women and girls are employed in knitting stockings and needlework ; in spin- ning, and making household and body linen, netting silk, and in fine basket-making ; besides working baby-hoods, bags, purses, watch- pockets, &c. of tasteful design, both in colour and form. The women are remarkably quick in superintending the pupils. The men and boys make wicker baskets, cradles, and hampers ; rope door-mats and wor- sted rugs ; and they make all the shoes for the inmates of the School. Reading is mostly taught by Alston's raised or embossed letters, in which have been printed the Old and New Testament, and the Liturgy. Both males and females are remarkably cheerful in their employment : they have great taste and aptness for music, and they are instructed in it, not as a mere amusement, but with a view to engagements as or- ganists and teachers of psalmody ; and once a year they perform a con- cert of sacred music in the chapel or music-room : the public are ad- mitted by tickets, the proceeds from the sale being added to the funds of the institution. An organ and piano-forte are provided for teaching ; and above each of the inmates of the males' working-room usually hangs a fiddle. They receive, as pocket-money, part of their earnings; and on leaving the school, a sum of money and a set of tools, for their respec- tive trades, are given to them. Among the other Charities for the Blind is the munificent bequest of Mr. Charles Day, (of the firm of Day and Martin, High Holborn), who died in 1836, leaving 100,000?. for the benefit of persons afflicted, like himself, with loss of sight; the dividends and interest to be disbursed in sums of not less than 10?., or more than 20/., per year, to each blind person, the selection being left to Trustees. In 1850, there were 271 recipients of these pensions. The Treasurer of this Charity, (" the Blind Man's Fund,") is Mr. John Simpson, 29 Savile Row, Old Burlington- street. BOTANIC GARDENS. The earliest Botanic Garden in the suburbs was that of John Trades- cant (gardener to Charles I.), in the South Lambeth Road, now the site of the Nine Elms Brewery. THE BOTANIC GARDEN, OR "PHYSIC GARDEN;" OF THE APOTHE- CARIES' COMPANY, upon the Thames Bank at Chelsea, is maintained by the Company for the use of the medical students of London. The ground was first laid out in 1673. Evelyn saw here, in 1685, a tulip- tree and a tea -shrub, and the first hot-house known in England ; " the subterranean heat conveyed by a stove under the conservatory, all vaulted with brick," so that "the doores and windowes" are open in the hardest frosts, excluding only the snow. On Sir Hans Sloane pur- chasing the manor of Chelsea in 1721, he granted the freehold of the Garden to the Apothecaries' Company, on condition that the Professor who gave lectures to the medical students should deliver annually to the Royal Society fifty new plants, well cured and specifically described, BOTANIC GARDENS. 51 and of the growth of the Garden, till the number should amount to 2000. This condition was complied with, and a list of the new plants published yearly in the Philosophical Transactions, for about fifty years, when, 2500 plants having been presented, the custom was dis- continued. The Garden is about three acres in extent : it contains a marble statue of Sir Hans Sloane, by Rysbrack, set up in 1733; and two noble cedars, planted in 1683, then about three feet high : in 1766, they measured more than twelve feet in circumference at two feet from the ground, and their branches extended forty feet in diameter. One of these cedars is said to have been brought from Lebanon for Sir Hans Sloane. The Apothecaries' Company give annually a gold and silver medal to the best informed students in botany who have attended this Garden ; and they still observe an old custom of summer herbarising, or simpling excursions to the country, when the members are accompanied by ap- prentices or pupils. The Garden is open daily, from eight to eleven ; admission from May to July, by order from the Apothecaries' Company. THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GARDENS at Chiswick are thirty- three acres in extent, and were commenced in 1821 : they comprise Or- chard and Kitchen, Hot-house and Tender and Hardy departments, the latter containing the arboretum and flower-garden ; besides a conserva- tory, 184 feet long, 25 feet high, and about 30 feet wide. Here the Society hold exhibitions on a Saturday of May, June, and July, when medals and smaller prizes are awarded for the finest flowers and fruit. Visi- tors are admitted by tickets, obtainable at the Society's Office, 21 Re- gent Street, by personal or written order of a Fellow of Society, at 5s. each, prior to the Exhibition-day ; or 7*. 6rf. each on that day, at the Gardens. In 1849, there were issued 18,517 tickets ; in 1844, 24,480. Formerly, costly public breakfasts were given at these Exhibitions: the weather is often unfavourable ; of nine meetings in 1847, 8, and 9, five were more or less stormy ; the tents erected for the occasion now provide as much as possible for such contretems. The Gardens are also open daily from nine to six, except Sunday, to Fellows ; and by their personal introduction or order, to visitors. The arboretum contains the richest collection of trees and shrubs in Europe ; the orchard is the most perfect ever formed ; and the forcing-houses and hot-houses are complete. The Society distributes plants, seeds, and cuttings, to Mem- bers, foreign correspondents, and the British colonies. THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS at Kew are considered the richest in England. They are open to the public from one till six every day, except Sundays : the entrance being from Kew Green. The new Palm- House is 362 ft. 6 in. long ; the ribs and columns are of wrought iron, and the roofs are glazed with sheet glass, slightly tinged green ; the floor is of perforated cast-iron, under which are laid the pipes, &c. for warming by hot water ; and the smoke is conveyed from the furnaces by a flue, 479 feet, to an ornamental shaft or tower, 60 feet in height. The cost of this magnificent Palm-House has been upwards of 30,0001. The Gardens, under the judicious curatorship of Sir W. J. Hooker, have been greatly extended and improved. Among the rarities here is a weeping-willow, raised from that which overshadowed Napoleon's remains at St. Helena;* the Egyptian papyrus; the bread-fruit-tree from the South- Sea Islands ; the cocoa-nut, coffee, and cow trees ; the banana * Willows from slips brought from Napoleon's trees at St. Helena were, in the year 1836, flourishing in the garden of Captain Stevens, Beaumont-square, Mile End ; in the grounds of the late Sir Thomas Farquhar at Roehampton ; in the garden of the Roebuck Tavern, Richmond Hill; at No. 1 Canonbury-place, Islington; in Mr. Bentley's garden, Highbury Grange; at No. 10 King-street, St. James's : in the Surrey Zoological Gardens ; at Kew; and at No. 11 Bromp- ton-row. J. H. Fennell, in Loudon's Arboretum Britannicum. 52 CUEIOSITIES OF LONDON. and cycas (sago) ; the gigantic tussack grass, &c. The Gardens are the richest in the world in New Holland plants. Here is also a Museum of specimens of raw and manufactured produce of the vegetable kingdom, and a variety of objects of kindred interest. LODBIDGE'S NURSERY, at Hackney, was commenced in 1765 ; and contains a large house for Orchids, varying from five to twenty guineas each specimen ; also air-plants and Chinese pitcher-plants. The Palm Stove is 45 ft. high, and twice as long ; and here may be seen growing the palmetto, bamboo, cycas, cocoa-nut, arrow-root, plantain, &c. ; cin- namon, clove, coffee, nutmeg, tamarind, cocoa, tea, camphor, and caout- chouc. The Camellia House is a splendid spectacle in March and April, when the plants are in bloom. Admission free, with references. THE GARDENS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON, fincor- corporated in 1839,) occupy the centre of the Inner Circle, Regent's Park : they consist of about eighteen acres, (including the site of Jen- kins's Nursery,) and contain a Winter Garden ; besides a Conservatory, entirely of glass and iron, covering 15,000 square feet, which cost about 6000f., and will contain 2000 visitors. The Society hold three Exhibitions annually, on Wednesdays in May, June, and July, when prize medals are distributed. Admission by tickets, to be had at the Society's office. Visitors are admitted daily from six to five, by Member's order. The Rock, Winter, and Landscape Garden, with their lake and artificial mound, are very picturesque. There are several other botanical displays in the environs. Tulip- shows and Prize Exhibitions of Floricultural Societies take place in the season. Mr. Groom, of Clapham Rise, exhibits a bed of tulips con- taining hundreds of varieties. The smoke of London is, however, a great impediment to the rearing of choice plants. In a report made to the House of Commons, Mr. Chandler, camellia-grower at Wands- worth, stated that on account of the great increase of chimneys from manufactories in that vicinity, plants now soil the hands. China roses, rhododendron hirsutum, rhododendron Virginium, and many other of the prettiest varieties, will not grow here as they formerly did. Mr. Anderson, the curator of the Physic Garden at Chelsea, testifies to the noxious effects of the "bitter smoke" upon the evergreens there. BRIDEWELL HOSPITAL. The ancient palace of Bridewell, which extended nearly from Fleet- street to the Thames at Blackfriars, was founded upon the remains of a building supposed to be Roman, and inhabited by the Kings of Eng- land previous to the Conquest. Here our Norman Kings held their courts : Henry I. gave stone towards rebuilding the palace ; and, in 1847, in excavating the site of Cogers' Hall, in Bride-lane, was dis- covered a vault w ? ith a groined roof, a Norman pellet-moulding, a cherub's head, and other remains of the same date : and in the rubbish was found a bull of Pope Nicholas V., a small jetton or abbey-piece, and some early pottery, glass, and tiles. The palace afterwards came into the possession of Cardinal Wolsey, upon whose downfall it again reverted to the crown. It was here that Henry V11L summoned to appear before him the heads of all the reli- gious houses in England, to acknowledge his supremacy. In 1522, Henry, upon the site of the tower or castle of Montfiquet, rebuilt the palace, " a stately and beautiful house, giving it the name Bridewell, of the parish and well there:" it was purposely erected for the reception of Charles V. of Spain, though only his suite were lodged here, Charles Eeferring the house of the Blackfriars, on the other side of the river eet, over which a temporary bridge was thrown, so as to pass BRIDEWELL HOSPITAL. 53 through the city wall, and communicate with the palace. In 1528, Car- dinal Campeius " was brought to y e Kinges presence, then living at Brydewel, by ye Cardinal of Yorke;" and the King "caused all his nobilitie, judges, and counsaylors, wt- divers other persons, to come to his palace of Brydewel on sonday the viii. day Noueber, at after none, in his great chamber," (HalVs Chronicle, fol. 180,) and there delivered a speech to them, touching his marriage with Katharine of Arragon. Next year, Henry and his Queen resided here while the question of their marriage was pending, (see Shakspeare's Henry VIII., act 3) ; subsequent to which, taking a dislike to the place, the King let it fall to decay. After the suppression of the monasteries, " the wide, large, empty house" was begged of Edward VI. by Bishop Ridley and the citizens, as a Workhouse and House of Correction ; it was granted by the king, and confirmed only ten days before his death; and confirmed also by Queen Mary, who gave the Palace, and endowed it with great part of the revenues of the Savoy, the City taking possession in 1555. In 1608, they erected here twelve large granaries, capable of containing 6000 quarters of corn, and two storehouses for coals. In 1620, the ancient chapel was enlarged and beautified: here was a portrait of Edward VI., with these lines : " This Edward, of fair memory the Sixt, In whom with Greatness Goodness was commixt, Gave this Bridwell, a Palace in old times, For a Chastening House of vagrant crimes." Fuller has thus quaintly commemorated the gift : " The House of Correction is the fittest hospital for those cripples whose legs are lame through their own laziness. Surely King Edward VI. was as truly charitable in granting Bridewell for the punishment of sturdy rogues, as in giving St. Thomas's Hospitall for the relief of the poore." The Hospital was almost entirely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, but was rebuilt in two quadrangles, the principal of which fronted the Fleet River, now a vast barrel-like sewer under the roadway of Bridge- street. The Hall still remains, but the committee-room, prisons, chapel, &c. have been built in the present century ; and the whole now forms only one large quadrangle, with a handsome entrance from Bridge- street, above which is a bust of Edward VI. Here are the offices and residence of the Chamberlain, Keeper of the City cash, and Treasurer of Bridewell. The Hall is a handsome wainscotted apartment, 85 feet 4 inches by 29 feet 8 inches, and 24 feet 9 inches high : beneath is a large kitchen, used once a year for dressing the dinner for the Governors, in June, at the expense of the twelve stewards. Above one of the fire- places, at the west end of the Hall, is a large and nearly square picture, by Holbein, of Edward VI. delivering his charter for this Hospital to the Lord Mayor (Sir George Bowes) and citizens ; the head of Holbein is painted in one corner. Opposite is a clever cartoon of "the Good Samaritan," by the youthful artist, Dadd. Here also are full-lengths of Charles II., by Lely ; George III. and Queen Charlotte, by Reynolds ; portraits of several Presidents of the Hospital; and of Mr. Chamberlain Clark, who died in 1832, in his 92d year. The prison of Bridewell has one hundred cells. The prisoners sen- tenced to hard labour work on the treadwheel and grind corn, or they pick junk, and clean the wards. The women wash and mend the pri- soners' linen or pick junk, and clean their side of the prison. Offences within the walls are punished by diminution of food and solitary con- finement, and irons in extreme cases; but not with whipping. For- merly, prisoners for offences outside the prison were flogged, both men and women, on their naked backs, before the Governors, until the Pre- sident's hammer fell. Hogarth has pictured the place, with hemp- 54 CURIOSITIES OF LOXDON. beating, stocks, &c., in the fourth plate of the Harlot's Progress. The boys of Bridewell originally wore a peculiar dress, and attended fires with an engine belonging to the Hospital; but in 1755 they had become so turbulent that the practice was discontinued, and their costume laid aside. In 1829, was built, adjoining Bethlem, in Lambeth, a " House of Oc- cupations," whither young prisoners are sent from Bridewell, to be taught useful trades. In 1849 there were received into Bridewell, under the commitments by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, as criminal or disorderly persons, who were kept to hard labour or received cor- rection, 812 ; refractory apprentices sent by the Chamberlain for con- finement, 25; persons found wandering abroad and begging in the City, 287 ; admitted to the House of Occupations, 130. "To Bridewell are weekly and,daily committed the young, the depraved, and the criminal, of every age and class. But even here humanity steps in to receive the unfortunate and the reclaimable. A Refuge of Occupations has been formed, whither the unprotected orphan, the child made guilty by bad example, and a necessity which truly exempts the offenders from moral responsibility, thither they are taken and taught to labour industriously for their maintenance in the world, to fear God, and to keep His commandments. Many brands are thus rescued from the fire of destruction, and, from the abysses of vice, made useful and virtuous members of society. Girls are sent to service, and rewarded for the continued maintenance of fair characters ; boys are bound to trades, and have the rewards of good conduct placed within their reach. Assuredly this is a purely philanthropic and Christian work. There are gifts of hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thousands of pounds inscribed upon the boards which surround the hall ; there are fine portraits, too, of patriotic benefactors." Literary Gazette, No. 1277. BRIDGES. There is no feature of the metropolis calculated to convey so enlarged an idea of the wealth, enterprise, and skill, of its population, as the Seven magnificent Bridges, which have been thrown across the Thames within the last hundred years, and five of these within the present century. Until the year 1750, the long narrow defile of Old London Bridge" formed the sole land communication between the City and the suburbs on the Surrey bank of the Thames ; whereas now, westward of the structure built to replace this ancient Bridge, and almost equidis- tant from each other, are Southwark, Blackfriars, "Waterloo, Hunger- ford, Westminster, and Tauxhall Bridges. LONDON BRIDGE, the first Bridge across the Thames at the metropolis, was of wood, erected in the year 994, opposite the site of the present St. Botolph's Wharf: it is mentioned in a statute of Ethelred II., fixing the tolls to be paid by boats bringing fish to " Bylynsgate." This first wooden bridge is stated to have been built by the pious Brothers of St. Mary's monastery, on the Bankside ; which house was originally a convent of sisters, founded and endowed with the profits of a ferry at this spot, by Mary, the only daughter of the ferryman, who is traditionally said to be represented by an antique monumental figure in St. Saviour's Church. This bridge'is described with turrets and roofed bulwarks in the narrative of the invasion of the fleet of Sweyn, King of Denmark, in 994 ; and it was nearly destroyed by the ^Norwegian Prince Olaf in 1008. It was rebuilt before the invasion of Canute in 1016, who is said to have sunk a deep ditch on the south side, and dragged his ships to the west side of the bridge. It was easily passed by Earl Godwin in 1052 ; but it was swept away by flood in 1091 ; rebuilt in 1097 ; burnt in 1136 ; and a new one erected of elm tim- ber in 1163, by Peter, chaplain of St. Mary Colechurch, Poultry. The same pious architect began to build a stone bridge, a little to the west of the wooden one, in 1176 j when Henry II. gave towards BRIDGE, OLD LONDON. 55 the expenses the proceeds of a tax on wool, which gave rise to the popular saying, that " London Bridge was built upon woolpacks." Peter of Co'lechurch died in 1205 ; but the Bridge was finished in 1209. The new bridge consisted of a stone platform, 926 feet long and 40 in width, standing about 60 feet above the level of the water ; and con- sisting of a drawbridge and 19 broad-pointed arches, with massive piers, raised upon strong oak and elm piles, covered by thick planks bolted to- gether. It had a gate-house at each end ; and towards the centre, on the east side, was built a beautiful Gothic chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury ; in the crypt of which, within a pier of the bridge, was deposited, in a stone tomb, the body of Peter of Colechurch. Norden describes the bridge, in the reign of Elizabeth, as " adorned with sumptuous buildings and statelie and beautiful houses on either syde," like one continuous street, " except certain voyd places for the retyre of passengers from the danger of cars, carts, and droves of cattle, usually passing that way," through which vacancies only could the river be seen over the parapet-walls or palings. Some of the houses had platform roofs, with pretty little gardens and arbours. Near the drawbridge, and overhanging the river on each side, was the famed Nonsuch House, of the Elizabethan age : it was constructed in Hol- land, entirely of timber, put together with wooden pegs only, and was four stories high, richly carved and gilt. The chronicles of this stone bridge through nearly six centuries and a quarter form, perhaps, the most interesting episode in the history of London. The scenes of fire and siege, insurrection and popular ven- geance, of national rejoicing, and of the pageant victories of man and of death, of fame or funeral, it were vain for us to attempt to recite. In 1212, within four years after the bridge being finished, there was a terrific conflagration at each end, when nearly 3000 persons perished ; in 1264, Henry III. was repulsed here by De Montfort, Earl of Lei- cester, and the populace attacked the Queen in her barge as it was preparing to shoot the bridge ; in 1381, the rebel Wat Tyler entered the City by this road ; in 1392, Richard II. was received here with great pomp by the citizens ; in 1415, it was the scene of a grand tri- umph of Henry V., and in 1422 of his funeral procession ; in 1428, the Duke of Norfolk's barge was lost by upsetting at the bridge, and his Grace narrowly escaped ; in 1450 " Jack Cade hath gotten London Bridge; the citizens Fly and forsake their houses :" but the rebel was defeated, and his head placed upon the Gate-house ; in 1477 S Falconbridge attacked the Bridge, and fired several houses ; in 1554, it was one of the daring scenes of Sir Thomas "Wyatt's rebellion; in 1632 more than one-third of the houses were consumed in an acci- dental conflagration ; and in 1666 the labyrinth of dwellings was swept away by the Great Fire : the whole street was rebuilt within twenty years ; but, in 1757, the houses were entirely removed, and parapets and balustrades erected on each side ; and in this state the venerable structure remained till its final demolition in the year 1832. In 1582, at the west side of the City end of the Bridge, Waterworks were commenced by Morice, with water-wheels turned by the flood and ebb current of the Thames passing through the purposely con- tracted arches, and working pumps for the supply of water to the metropolis ; this being the earliest example of public water service by pumps and mechanical powers which enabled water to be distributed in pipes to dwelling-house. Previously, water had only been supplied to public cisterns, from whence it was conveyed at great expense and inconvenience in buckets and carts. These Waterworks were not re- 56 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. moved until 1822, when the proprietors received for their interest 10,000*. from the New River Company. The Bridge shops had signs, and were " furnished with all manner of trades." Holbein is said to have lived here; as did also Herbert, the printseller, and editor of Ames's Typographical Antiquities, at the time the houses were taken down. On the first night Herbert spent here a dreadful fire took place on the banks of the Thames, which suggested to him the plan of a floating fire-engine, soon after adopted. Tradesmen's Tokens furnish but few records of the Bridge shopkeepers. " As fine as London Bridge" was formerly a proverb in the City ; and many a serious, sensible tradesman used to believe that heap of enormities to be one of the seven wonders of the world, and, next to Solomon's temple, the finest thing that ever art produced. The street was also the abode of many artists : here lived Peter Monamy, the marine painter, who was taught drawing by a sign and house painter on London Bridge. Dominic Serres once kept shop here ; and Hogarth lived here when he engraved for old John Bowles, in Cornhill. Swift and Pope have left accounts of their visits to Crispin Tucker, a waggish bookseller and author-of-all-work, who lived under the southern gate. One Mr. Baldwin, haberdasher, born in the house over the Chapel, at seventy-one could not sleep in the country for want of the noise of the roaring and rushing of the tide beneath, which u he had been always used to hear." A most terrific historic garniture of the Bridge was the setting up of heads on its gate-houses: among these ghastly spectacles was the head of Sir William Wallace, 1305 ; Simon Frisel, 1306 ; four traitor knights, 1397; Lord Bardolf, 1408; Bolingbroke, 1440; Jack Cade and his rebels, 1451 ; the Cornish traitors of 1497 ; and of Fisher, Bi- shop of Rochester, 1535, displaced in fourteen days by the head of Sir Thomas More. In 1577, the several heads were removed from the north end of the Drawbridge to the Southwark en trance, thence called Traitors' Gate. In 1578, the head of a recusant priest was added to the sickening sight ; and in 1605, that of Garnet the Jesuit, as well as those of the Romish priests executed under the statutes of Elizabeth and James I. Hentzner counted above thirty heads on the Bridge in 1598. The dis- play was transferred to Temple Bar in the reign of Charles II. The narrowness of the Bridge arches so contracted the channel of the river as to cause a rapid ; and to pass through them was termed to " shoot the bridge," a peril taken advantage of by suicides. Thus, in 1689, Sir William Temple's only son, lately made Secretary at War, leaped into the river from a boat as it darted through an arch : he had filled his pockets with stones, and was drowned, leaving in the boat this note : " My folly in undertaking what I could not perform, whereby some misfortunes have befallen the King's service, is the cause of my putting mvself to this sudden end ; I wish him success in all his undertakings, and a better servant." Pennant adds to the anecdote that Sir William Temple's false and profane reflection on the occasion was, that " a wise man might dispose of himself, and make his life as short as he pleased !" In 1737, Eustace Budgell, a soi-disant cousin of Addison, and who wrote in the Spectator and Guardian, when broken down in character and re- duced to poverty, took a boat at Somerset Stairs ; and ordering the water- man to row down the river, Budgell threw himself into the stream as they shot London Bridge. He too had filled his pockets with stones, and rose no more: he left in his secretary a slip of paper, on which was written a broken distich : " What Cato did, and Addison approved, cannot be wrong." This is a wicked sophism ; "there being as little resemblance between the cases of Budgell and Cato as there is reason for considering Addison 's "f'<-" -ftm ; Aafannt* nf cnioirip BKIDGE, NEW LONDON. 57 Of a healthier complexion is the anecdote of Edward Osborne, in 1536, leaping into the Thames from the window of one of the Bridge- houses, and saving his master's infant daughter, dropped by a nurse-maid into the stream. The father, Sir William Hewet, was Lord Mayor in 1559, and gave this daughter in marriage to Osborne, whose great- grandson became the first Duke of Leeds. To allow of extensive changes and repairs, a temporary wooden bridge was built on the sterlings, or ancient coffer-dams, to protect the piers ; it was burnt April 10, 1758, but rebuilt in a month. The centre pier and two arches adjoining were then taken down and replacedby one large arch, the bridge widened several feet, and re-opened in 1759. These alterations are said to have cost 100,OOOZ. The annual loss of life and property that occurred through the dan- gerous state of the navigation under the arches, (the fall being at times five feet,) and the perpetually recurring expense of keeping the bridge in repair, suggested, about the beginning of the present century, its demolition and rebuilding ; but not until 1824 was the new structure commenced, the first pile being driven March 15. It was designed by John Rennie, F.R.S., and is about 100 feet westward of the old bridge. In excavating the foundations, were discovered brass and copper coins of Augustus, Vespasian, and later Roman emperors ; Venetian tokens, Nuremberg counters, and a few Tradesmen's Tokens ; brass and silver rings and buckles, ancient iron keys and silver spoons, the remains of an engraven and gilt dagger, an iron spear-head, a fine bronze lamp (head of Bacchus), and a small silver figure of Harpocrates : the latter pre- served in the British Museum. We may here notice, that upon the old bridge grew abundantly Sisymbrium Irio, or London Rocket, with small yellow flowers and pointed leaves : this plant probably appeared here soon after the Great Fire of 1666, when it sprung up from among the City ruins. Mr. Rennie died in 1821 ; but the works were continued by his sons, Mr. (now Sir John) Rennie and Mr. George Rennie; the builders being Mr. W. Jolliffe and Sir Edward Banks. On June 15, 1825, the first stone was laid in a coffer-dam nearly forty-five feet below high- water mark, opposite the southern arch (fourth lock), with great cere- mony, by the Lord Mayor (Garratt), in the presence of the Duke of York ; and in the evening the Monument was illuminated with portable gas, to commemorate the event. Two large gold medals were also struck on the occasion. The first arch was keyed August 4, 1827; the last Nov. 19, 1828 ; and the bridge was opened with great state, August 1, 1831, by King William IV. and Queen Adelaide, who went and returned by water, after partaking of a banquet given on the bridge; the Lord Mayor (Key) presiding ; and the King and Queen, and the Royal Fa- mily, partaking of the loving-cup. New London Bridge is unrivalled in the world " in the perfection of proportion and the true greatness of simplicity." " It consists of five semi-elliptical arches, viz. two of 130 feet, two of 140 feet; and the centre, 152 feet 6 inches span, and 37 feet 6 inches rise, is perhaps the largest elliptical arch ever attempted : the roadway is 52 feet wide. This bridge deserves remark, on account of the difficult situation in which it was built, being immediately above the old bridge, in a depth of from 25 to 30 feet at low water, on a soft alluvial bottom, covered with large loose stones, scoured away by the force of the current from the foundation of the old bridge, the whole of which had to be removed by dredging, before the cofier-dams for the piers and abutments could be commenced, otherwise it would have been extremely difficult, if not impracticable, to have made them water-tight ; the difficulty was further in creased by the old bridge being left standing, to accommodate the traffic, whilst the new bridge was building ; and the restricted water-way of the old bridge occasioned such an increased velocity of the current as materially to retard the operations of the new bridge, and at times the tide threatens to carry away all before it. The 58 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. great magnitude and extreme flatness of the arches demanded unusual care in the selection of the materials, which were of the finest blue and white granite from Scotland and Devonshire; great accuracy in the workmanship was also indispen- sable. The piers and abutments stand upon platforms of timber resting upon piles about 20 feet long. The masonry is from 8 feet to 10 feet below the bed of the river." Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. The time occupied in its erection, from the driving of the first pile on March 15, 1824, to its completion on July 31, 1831, was seven years five months and thirteen days, during which time it employed upwards of 800 men. Its building w'as attended with so many local difficulties, that forty persons lost their lives in the progress of the works. The total quantity of stone in the bridge is stated at 120,000 tons ; and the ends of the parapets consist of the largest blocks of granite ever brought to this country. A single cornice runs along the upper part of the bridge, supported on dentils formed of solid beams of granite, marking externally the line of the roadway ; this is surmounted by a close parapet, four feet high, upon which are lofty and massive bronzed standards, with gas lanterns. The amount paid to Messrs. Jolliffe and Banks for this bridge was 425,081/. 9*. 2d. ; but the whole sum expended on it, including the ap- proaches, was 1,458,311/1 8s. llfd. The latter are very fine, especially the roadway into the City, where, at the suggestion of Mr. Alderman Gibbs, a granite statue of King William was set up, to commemorate the opening ; and a bronze equestrian statue of the Duke of Welling- ton, in front of the Royal Exchange, was erected as an acknowledg- ment by the citizens of' his Grace's exertions in facilitating the means of erecting the new bridge. The old bridge was not entirely removed until 1832, when the bones of the builder, Peter of Colechurch, were found beneath the masonry of the chapel, as if to complete the eventful history of the antique structure. At the sale of the materials of this bridge, Mr. Weiss, the cutler, of the Strand, purchased all the iron, amounting to fifteen tons, with which the piles had been shod ; and such portions as had entered the ground produced steel infinitely superior to any which Mr. Weiss had ever met with. Upon examination, it was inferred that the extremities of the piles having been charred, the straps of iron closely wedged between them and the stratum in which they were imbedded, must have been subjected to a galvanic action, which, in the course of some six or seven hundred years, produced the above effects. The stone proved finely seasoned material : a portion of it was pur- chased by Alderman Harmer, and used in building his seat, Ingress Abbey, near Greenhithe, and the balustrades, of good proportions, were pre- served. Many snuff-boxes and other memorials were turned from the pile-wood. The traffic across the old bridge, in one day of July 1811, amounted to 89,640 persons on foot, 769 wagons, 2924 carts and drays, 1240 coaches, 485 gigs and taxed carts, and 764 horses. [See Chronicles of London Bridge, by an Antiquary (Mr. Richard Thomson), 1827 ; where the researches of a lifetime appear to be condensed into a single volume.] WESTMINSTER BRIDGE was opened in 1750, until when the only communication between Lambeth and Westminster was by the ferry- boat near Lambeth Palace-Gate, the property of the Archbishop of Canterbury, granted by patent under a rent of 20d. ; and for the loss of which ferry 2205Z. were given to the see. Attempts'to obtain another bridge over the Thames, besides that of London, were made in the several reigns of Elizabeth, James I., Charles I. and II., and George I. ; but it was not until the year 1736 (10 Geo. II.) that Parliament authorised the building of a second bridge. BRIDGE, WESTMINSTER. 59 The architect of Westminster Bridge was Charles Labelye, a native of Switzerland : the first stone was laid by the Earl of Pembroke, Jan. 29, 1738-9 ; and the bridge was opened Nov. 18, 1750. It consists of fifteen semicircular arches, the centre seventy-six feet span ; it is 1223 feet long by 44 feet wide. It was originally intended for a wooden bridge, and was partly commenced on this principle. The bottom courses of the piers were laid, or built, in floating-vessels, or caissons, which, when so loaded, were conducted to their proper positions, and there sunk upon the natural alluvial bed of the river ; the bottom of the caissons thus forming, when the sides had been removed, the platforms or foundations of the masonry, unsustained by under- filing, or any other support than that of the gravel or sand on which they rested. The defects and dangers of this mode of building soon appeared : in July 1747, one of the western piers had so settled, that it was thought necessary to take off the balustrades, paving, and ballast; before the bridge was completed it was indispensable to take down and rebuild two arches ; and at subsequent periods the whole of the struc- ture, more or less, settled or gave way, Labelye states the quantity of stone in this bridge to be nearly double that employed in building St. Paul's Cathedral. " The caissons contained upwards of 150 loads of timber, and were of more tonnage than a forty -gun vessel." (Hutton's Tracts). The original cost of the bridge was 218,800?. ; of the ap- proaches, 170,700?. In 1823, Telford inspected the foundations, when he found the plat- forms upon which the piers rest considerably sunk. Vast sums have been expended in its repair. "Within the last forty years, it has cost nearly half a million of money ; whereas the property of the bridge only realises 7,464?. Us. Sd. In 1838, Mr. W. Cubitt found the caissons in a perfect state, the wood (fir) retaining its resinous smell. After the removal of old London Bridge, as Telford foresaw,more than one of the Westminster piers gave way ; to stay their sinking, in Aug. 1846, the thoroughfare was closed; the balustrades and heavy stone alcoves were removed, the stone- work stripped to the cornice, and the roadway lowered, thus lightening it of 30,000 tons weight ; timber palings were put up at the sides, and the bridge re-opened.* The proportions of the sides are stated to have been so accurate, that if a person spoke against the wall of any of the niches on one side of the way, he might be distinctly heard upon the opposite side ; even a whisper was audible in the stillness of the night. This was the last metropolitan bridge which had a balustraded parapet, that of Blackfriars Bridge having been removed in 1839. At Westminster, "the swelling of each heavy balustrade exactly ranged with the eye of a foot passenger, and from a carriage, the top of the Une of balustrades almost entirely ob- structed the view of the river ; thus hiding one of the finest rivers in Eu- rope for the sake of preserving some imaginary form in architecture." (Repton.} The bridge is built of magnesian limestone, containing from 24 to 42 per cent of carbonate of magnesia, from which Epsom salts are ob- tained by the application of sulphuric acid. " If," said Dr. Ryan, in a * Sir Howard Douglas observes: " The more remote dangers of the defective mode of laying the foundations of the piers were, to a certain extent, kept in sus- pension so long as the river remained undisturbed, in that somewhat artificial state in which it was when Westminster Bridge was constructed. But no sooner was that condition altered, first by opening the great arch of London Bridge, then by removing the London Water-works, and ultimately by taking away Old London Bridge, than all the defects and dangers of this mode of construction became active and -progressive." (Metropolitan Bridges and Improvements, 1845.) The increase of the current, alterations in its set and action, and the consequent scouring and deepening of the river, particularly at the waterways of the bridges, have, from time to time, perilled Westminster Bridge. 60 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. lecture before the Royal Agricultural Society, " Westminster Bridge, built of that rock, were covered with water and sulphuric acid, it would be converted into Epsom salts." Mr. Barry has proposed to substitute for this patched-up stone bridge a five-arched iron structure, in the Gothic style, to assimilate with the new Houses of Parliament. Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1803, Wordsworth com- posed this majestic sonnet : Earth has not any thing to shew more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty : This City now doth like a garment wear The beauty of the morning ; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples, lie Open unto the fields, and to the sky, All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully steep In his first splendour valley, rock, or hill; Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep ! The river glideth at its own sweet will : Dear God ! the very houses seem asleep, And all that mighty heart is hang still ! BLACK.FRIARS BRIDGE originated with a committee appointed, in 1746, to examine Labelye's designs for improving London Bridge; though the architect of Blackfriars Bridge was Robert Mylne, a native of Edinburgh. " The first pile of it was driven in the middle of the Thames June 7, 1760 ; and the foundation-stone was laid by Sir Thomas Chitty, Lord Mayor, Oct. 31. On Nov. 19, 1768, it was made passable as a bridle-way, exactly two years after its reception of foot-passengers; and it was finally and generally opened on Sunday, Nov. 19, 1769. Until June 22, 1785, there was a toll of one halfpenny for every foot-pas- senger, and one penny on Sundays. The toll-house was burnt down in the riots of 1780, when all the account-books were destroyed." (Chronicles of London Bridge.') The total cost of building and com- pleting the Bridge and avenues thereto was 261,579?. Os. fed. ; including 12,250?. 17s. Gd. paid to the Watermen's Company for the Sunday ferry. The bridge is built of Portland stone, and consists of nine semi- elliptical arches, the largest being 100 feet span, and 41 feet 6 inches rise ; the total length of the bridge is 995 feet, its width 45 feet. Here the elliptical arch was introduced about the first time in this country, in opposition to Gwyn, who, in his design, proposed the semicircular arch. The columns are the most objectionable feature in Mylne's design, architecturally ; for the line of the parapet being a curve, the pillars are necessarily of different heights and diameters. Between 1833 and 1840, the bridge was thoroughly repaired by Walker and Burges, at an expense of 74,035?., it is stated at a loss to the contrac- tor. The foot and carriage ways were lowered. The removal of the balustrades, and the substitution of a plain parapet, have altogether spoiled the architectural beauty of the structure. On the Middlesex side of the river, east of the bridge, in 1845, was constructed, by Walker and Burges, a Landing-Pier, 185 feet in length ; the floating-barge, or dumby, being 100 feet long, and rising and falling with the tide, in grooves at each end, formed by piles and protected by dolphins. This pier cost 4000?., and was proposed in 1841, but was not decided on until after five persons had been drowned near the bridge, by the breaking down of a temporary pier, July 22, 1844. VAUXHALL BRIDGE, communicating with Millbank, had, in conse- quence of disputes, four engineers : Ralph Dodd, Sir Samuel Bentham, John Rennie, F.R.S. ; and lastly, James Walker, who carried the de- sign into effect at the expense of a public Company. The Bridge is BRIDGE, WATERLOO. 61 of cast-iron, but was originally intended to be of stone: hence the narrowness of the nine arches, which would not have been necessary for an iron structure. The first stone of the pier begun by Mr. Rennie was laid by Lord Dundas, as proxy for the Prince Regent, May 9, 1811 . The building was then suspended, but transferred to Mr. Walker ; the first stone of the resumed works was laid by the late Duke of Bruns- wick, August 21, 1813 ; and on June 4, 1816, the bridge was opened. The width of the river is 900 feet at this bridge, the length of which, clear of the abutments, is 806 feet ; its 9 arches are each 78 feet span, and its 8 piers, each 13 feet wide ; height of centre arch, at high water, 27 feet. The Bridge cost upwards of 300,000*. ; its half-year's clear revenue from tolls in 1849-50 was 2986/. 3*. 4d. The low grounds west of the Bridge, and formerly known as the Neathouse Gardens, have been elevated to a level with the Chelsea road, by transporting hither the soil excavated from St. Katherine's Docks ; and upon this artificial foundation several streets have been built. WATERLOO BRIDGE has been dignified by Canova as "the noblest bridge in the world," and by Baron Dupin as " a colossal monument worthy of Sesostris and the Caesars. 1 ' It was partly projected by George Dodd, the engineer, and designed for him by John Linnell Bond, archi- tect, who died in 1837 ; but the bridge was eventually built for a pub- lic Company by John Rennie, F.R.S. It crosses the Thames from the Strand, between Somerset Place and the site of the Savoy, to Lambeth, at the centre of the site of Cuper's Gardens, where the first stone was laid by the Chairman and Directors of the Company, October 11, 1811. This bridge consists of nine semi-elliptical arches, each 120 feet span and 35 feet high, supported on piers 20 feet wide at the springing of the arches; with "useless and inappropriate Grecian-Doric columns between the piers, surmounted by the anomalous decoration of a balus- trade upon a Doric entablature. (Elmes.) The width of the Thames at this part is 1326 feet at high water ; the entire length of the Bridge is 2456 feet, the bridge and abutments being 1380 feet, the approach from the Strand 310 feet, and the land-arch causeway on the Surrey side 766 feet. The roadway upon the summit of the arches is carried upon brick arches to the level of the Strand ; and by a gentle declivity upon a series of brick arches over the roadway upon the Surrey bank of the river to the level of the roads near the Obelisk by the Surrey Theatre. This district, until the building of the Bridge, was known as Lambeth Marsh, was low-lying and swampy, with thinly scattered dwellings; but in a few years it became covered with houses. The bridge is built of granite, " in a style of solidity and magnifi- cence hitherto unknown. There elliptical arches, with inverted arches between them to counteract the lateral pressure, were carried to a greater extent than in former bridges ; and isolated coffer-dams upon a great scale in a tidal river, with steam-engines for pumping out the water, were, it is believed, for the first time employed in this country; the level line of roadway, which adds so much to the beauty as well as the convenience of the structure, was there adopted." (Sir John Ren- nie, F.R.S.) The bridge was opened by a procession of the Prince Re- gent and the Dukes of York and Wellington, and a grand military caval- cade, on June 18, 1817, the second anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, whence it is named. The bridge itself cost about 400,000?., which, by the expense of the approaches, was increased to above a million of money ; a larger sum than the cost of building St. Paul's, the Monument, and seven of our finest metropolitan churches. It has been a ruinous specu- lation to the Company, the tolls scarcely amounting to 20,OOOZ. per annum. The property has been offered at a low sum to the Govern- ment, to be opened as a free bridge. 62 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Formerly, the average number of suicides annually committed from "Waterloo Bridge was 40; and in September, 1841, there were nine attempts made, within a few days, to commit suicide from Blaekfriars Bridge. The alteration in the law in punishing attempted self-destruc- tion lias greatly checked this wicked propensity. SOUTHWARK BRIDGE, designed by John Rennie, F.R.S., was built by a public Company, and cost about 800",OOOZ. It consists of three cast-iron arches : the centre 240 feet span, and the two side arches 210 feet each, about forty-two feet above the highest spring-tides : the ribs forming, as it were, a series of hollow masses, or voussoirs, similar to those of stone, a principle new in the construction of cast-iron bridges, and very successful. The whole of the segmental pieces and the braces are kept in their places by dove-tailed sockets and long cast-iron wedges, so that bolts are unnecessary ; although they were used during the con- struction of the bridge, to keep the pieces in their places until the wedges had been driven. The spandrils are similarly connected, and upon them rests the roadway of solid plates of cast-iron, joined by iron cement. The piers and abutments are of stone, founded upon timber platforms, resting upon piles driven below the bed of the river. The masonry is tied throughout by vertical and horizontal bond-stones, so that the whole acts as one mass in the best position to resist the hori- zontal thrust. The first stone was laid by Admiral Lord Keith, May 23, 1815, the Bill for erecting the Bridge having been passed May 6, 1811. The iron- work, weight 5700 tons, had been so well put toge- ther by the Walkers, of Rotherham, the founders, and the masonry by the contractors, JolUffe and Banks, that when the work was finished, scarcely any sinking was discernible in the arches. From experiments made to ascertain the extent of the expansion and contraction between the extreme range of winter and summer temperature, it was found that the arch rose in the summer about 1 inch to 1^ inch. The works were commenced in 1813, and the bridge was opened by lamp-light March 24, 1819, as the clock of St. Paul's Cathedral tolled midnight. Towards the middle of the western side of the bridge is a descent from the pavement to a steam-boat pier. HUNGERFORD SUSPENSION-BRIDGE, from Hungerford Market to Belvedere Road, Lambeth, was constructed by I. K. Brunei, F.R.S., and is a fine specimen of mechanical skilL It consists of two lofty brick piers or towers, in the Italian style, 58 feet above the road, and built in brick- work and cement on the natural bed of the river, without piles. In the upper part of these towers, four chains pass over rollers, so as to equalise the strain ; they carry the platform or roadway, in two lines, with single suspension rods, 12 feet apart ; the chains being secured in tunnels at the abutments to iron girders, embedded in brickwork and cement, and strengthened with concrete. There are three spans, the central one between the piers being 676 feet, or 110 feet wider than the Menai Bridge ; and second only to the span of the wire suspen- sion-bridge at Fribourg, which is nearly 900 feet. The length between the abutments of the Hungerford Bridge is 1352^ feet. The roadway is in the centre 32 feet above high-water mark, or 7 feet higher than the crown of the centre arch of Waterloo Bridge. The height above the piers is 28| feet. Thus are gained additional height for the river traffic, and a graceful curve, with the appearance of swagging prevented. The bridge was commenced in 1841, and was built without any scaf- folding but a few ropes, consequently, without impediment to the navi- gation of the river. The iron-work, between 10,000 and 11,000 tons, is by Sandys and Co., Cornwall. The entire cost of the bridge was 110,OOOJ., raised by a public Company. The toll is a halfpenny each CANONBURY TOWER. 63 person each way. The bridge was opened May 1, 1845, when, between noon and midnight, 36,254 persons passed over. Hungerford is the great focus of the Thames steam-navigation, the embarkations and landings here exceeding 2,000,000 per annum. HAMMERSMITH SUSPENSION-BRIDGE is one of the most elegant structures of its kind ; and, unlike other suspension-bridges, has part of the roadway supported on, and not hanging from, the main chains. The weight of the masonry abutments on each bank is 2160 tons, to resist the pull of the chains. Cost, 80,OOOZ. ; engineer, W. T. Clarke ; first stone laid by the Duke of Sussex, May 7, 1825 ; finished, 1827. BUCKLERSBURY, A short street at the point where the Poultry meets Cheapside : here formerly stood the great conduit which brought water from Conduit Mead, near Oxford-road and Paddington. Stow writes : " Buckles bury, so called of a manor and tenements pertaining to one Buckles who dwelt there, and kept his courts." The manor-house, in Stow's time, bore the sign of the Old Barge, from its being said, that when Walbrook lay open, barges were rowed or towed out of the Thames up here : hence the present Barge Yard. Bucklersbury was a noted place for grocers and apothecaries, drugsters and furriers. In Shak- speare's days it was, probably, a herb market ; for he has the com- parison of smelling "like Buckler's-bury in simple-time." (Merry Wives of Windsor, act iii. sc. 3.) BUNHILL FIELDS, The name of the great burial-ground of the Dissenters, City-road, near Finsbury -square; originally a field of Finsbury Manor Farm; next a general burial-place at the Great Plague of 1665; then walled in by the City, and subsequently leased to Dissenting sects and Tyndal, and thence called " the fanatic burying-place." Here are interred John Bunyan, author of the Pilgrim *s Progress; George Fox, founder of the Quakers ; Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe ; the mother of John Wesley ; Dr. Isaac Watts ; Joseph Ritson, the antiquary ; Wil- liam Blake, painter and poet; Thomas Stothard, R.A.; Thomas Hardy, tried for high treason, in 1794, with John Home Tooke, John Thel- wall, &c. " People like to be buried in company, and in good company. The Dissenters regarded Bunhill Fields' burial-ground as their Campo Santo, and especially for Bunyan's sake. It is said that many have made it their desire to be interred as near as possible to the spot where his remains are deposited." Southey. CANONBURY TOWER, At the northern extremity of the parish of Islington, denotes the site of the country-house of the Prior of the Canons of St. Bartholomew : hence, it is supposed, the name of Canons'-bury, bury being syno- nymous with burgh, a dwelling. On a garden-house hard by is sculp - tured the rebus or device of Bolton, the last prior, a bolt, or arrow for the crossbow, through a tun : " Old Prior Bolton, with his bolt and tun." The Tower, which is of red brick, is believed to have been built by Sir John Spencer, of Crosby-place, who purchased the estate in 1570. Elizabeth, his only daughter and heiress, married William, second Lord Compton, who is traditionally said to have contrived her elope- ment from her father's house at Canonbury in a baker's basket. In 1618, he was created Earl of Northampton, and from him the present 64: CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. owner of Canonbury, -who is the ninth Earl and first Marquess of Northampton, is lineally descended. The Tower is 17 feet square, and nearly 60 feet in height, and consists of seven stories and 23 rooms. For many years it was let in lodgings. Amongst its tenants was Ephraim Chambers, whose Cyclopaedia was not only the basis of Rees's w r ork, but originated all the modern Cyclo- Saedias in the English and the other European languages. Chambers ied at Canonbury, May 18, 1740, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, under a short Latin inscription, his own composition. New- bery, the bookseller, lodged here ; and in his apartments Goldsmith often lay concealed from his creditors, and under a pressing necessity he there wrote his Vicar of Wahefield : " he was the most diligent slave that ever toiled in the mill of Grub-street." " A silly notion at one time prevailed that there was formerly a sub- terranean communication between Canonbury House and the Priory of St. Bartholomew. Similar vulgar and absurd stories are current at most of the large monasteries ; as Malmesbury, Netley, Glastonbury, &c." (Godwin's Churches of London.) The ancient priory mansion covered the entire site now occupied by Canonbury-place, and had attached to it a park of about four acres, with large gardens, a fish-pond, &c. ; most of which were included in the premises of Canonbury Tea-gardens and Tavern, in the middle of the last century but a small ale-house. It was enlarged and im- proved by a Mr. Lane, who had been a private soldier ; but its cele- brity was chiefly owing to the widow Sutton, who resided here from 1785 to 1808, and laid out the bowling-green and grounds. CARLTON HOUSE, In Pall Mall, was originally built for Lord Carlton, in 1709 ; bequeathed by him to his nephew, Lord Burlington, the architect ; and purchased in 1732, by Frederic Prince of Wales, father of George III. ; here the Princess of Wales died in 1772. The first house was of red brick ; the grounds extended westward to Marlborough House, and were laid out for Lord Burlington, by Kent, with bowers and grottoes, a cas- cade, statues and busts, a marble saloon and bagnio. In 1783, Carlton House was assigned to George Prince of Wales, who employed Holland the architect to enlarge the mansion ; and he added a Corinthian portico and a screen of Ionic columns* fronting Pall -Mall : in one of the lodges dwelt " Big Sam," the royal porter, nearly eight feet high. Here was a remarkably fine collection of arms and costumes, including two swords of Charles I. ; swords of Columbus and Marlborough ; and a couteau-de-chasse used by Charles XII. of Sweden; which relics are now in the North Corridor at Windsor Castle. Carlton * Bonomi wrote the following epigram upon this screen : " Care colonne, che fatti qua? Non sapiamo, in verita :" Thus anglicised by Prince Hoare : " Dear little columns, all in a row, What do you do there ? Indeed we don't know." Sheridan's allusion to these columns was not much more complimentary. About the time that the Duke of York took possession of Melbourne House, now Lady Dover's, near the Horse-Guards, of which the most remarkable feature is the cupola in front, some discussions were raised in Parliament about the debts of the Duke and his royal brother at Carlton House. The virtuous indignation of the Opposition was tremendous ; and some of their remarks having been reported to Sheridan when he entered the House of Commons, " I wonder," said he, " what amount of punishment would satisfy some people ! Has not the one got into the Roundhouse, and the other into the Pillory ?" CARVINGS IN WOOD. 65 House was sumptuously furnished for the Prince's ill-starred marriage in 1795 : here, Jan. 7, 1796, was born the Princess, baptised Feb. 11, Charlotte- Augusta; and on May 2, 1816, married here to Leopold, now King of the Belgians. The ceremonial of conferring the Re- gency was enacted at Carlton House with great pomp, Feb. 5, 1811; and on June 19 following, the Prince Regent gave here a superb supper to 2000 guests; a stream with gold and silver fish flowing through a marble canal down the centre table. In 1827, Carlton House was removed; the columns of the por- tico, (adapted from the Temple of Jupiter Stator at Rome,) being sub- sequently used in the portico of the National Gallery ; and the orna- mental interior details (as marble mantel- pieces, friezes, columns, &c.) transferred to Buckingham Palace. Thus has disappeared Carlton House : sed stat nominis umbra. Upon the site of the gardens have been built the STork Column and Carlton-House-terrace; the balus- trades of the latter originally extended between the two ranges of houses, but were removed to form the present entrance into St. James's Park, by command of William IV., very soon after his accession. Upon the site of the courtyard and part of Carlton House are the United Service and Athena3um Clubhouses, and the intervening area facing Waterloo-place. Eastward is the riding-house of Carlton Palace, or Carlton Ride, long the depository of the Common Pleas, Exchequer, Land Revenue, and other records. CARVINGS IN WOOD. The art of Sculpture in Wood has ever been royally and nobly en- couraged in England ; and the metropolis contains many fine specimens of ancient and modern skill in this tasteful branch of decoration. The figures carved upon the chestnut roof of Westminster Hall shew the degree of excellence the art had attained in this country so early as the reign of Richard II. The sculptured arms on the corbels are those of France and England, quarterly, and of St. Edward the Confessor, as borne by Richard II. ; whose favourite badge, viz. the white hart, lodged, ducally gorged and chained, and his crest of a lion guardant crowned, standing on a chapeau and helmet, are also carved, in alternate succession, on the cornice. There is every reason to suppose the timber architecture of Old London to have been elaborate and beautiful. Till about the year 1625, nearly all the houses were built of wood : the interiors of the better sort were often richly carved, particularly in the panels of rooms, chimney-pieces, ceilings, and staircases ; and the exteriors displayed a similar love of ornament in the doors and barge-boards. The Great Fire of 1666 spared few specimens of early wood-carving; but several exist in quarters not reached by the destroyer. Of existing gothic work may be mentioned the decorations of Crosby Hall, much injured, however, by " restoration." The excellently carved stalls in the Church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate, and those of the Chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster, are unusually magnificent, and were mostly exe- cuted by foreign workmen summoned to England by Henry VII. In the reign of Elizabeth, not only the houses of the nobility were decorated, but furniture made of British woods was richly carved : the late Mr. Cottingham, F.S.A., assembled many unique specimens of this period. In the Elizabethan style may also be mentioned : Two splendid brackets (griffins), dated 1592, supporting the yard entrance at 21 Princes-square, Wilson-street, Finsbury. Two house-fronts in Aldersgate-street. Some boldly carved brackets (1595) at the Old Boar's Head, Grays' l"nn lane. F 66 CURldSITIES OF LONDON. Panel and trusses over the mantel of the Cock Tavern, Fleet-street (temp. James !.) The room was formerly paneled opposite the fire-place. Brackets (temp. James I.) at the back of the house, 61 Gray's-Inn-lane. There was *ome fine Elizabethan paneling in the Star Chamber at Westminster, taken riown 1835; but restored for the Hon. E. Cust, a' Lea owe Castle. Brackets, very fine, at the corner of Cloth Fall and Cloth Fair, Smithfield. Ho'ise-front, 94 Fenchurch-street. Several house-fronts, rather later, in Whitechapel Market. The Sir Paul Pmdar's Head, Bishopsgate-street-without, has a finely carved front, and a carved ceiling in one of the unmodernised rooms. The projecting house-front (now gilt), 17 Fleet-street, opposite Chancery-lane. Mask brackets temp. James I.), at the front and ba~k of the Old Cheshire Cheese, 48 Hart-street, City ; and a spirited, grotesque head (same date) within the court of Red-Lion-place, Cock-lane. A fine staircase, attributed to Inigo Jones, (probably later,) at 96 St. Martin's- lane, Charing Cro.- s. At the Whit > Horse Inn, Church-street, Chelsea, (burnt Dec. 14, 1840,) were four grotesque Elizabethan brackets, carved chimney-pieces ; and a carved frame for the sign, dated 1509. The most celebrated carver after the Great Fire was Grinling Gib- bons, who, Walpole tells us, so delicately carved a pot of flowers, that they shook in the room with the motion of coaches passing in the street. Most of the interior carvings of St. Paul's Cathedral were executed by Gibbons, or by Dutch workmen under his superintendence; the cherubs in the choir are in the highest style of the art. One of the best carvers employed by Wren was Philip Wood, who came up a poor lad from Suffolk, and carved as a specimen f his skill a sow and pigs, for which he received ten guineas. According to the Commissioners' Rep rt, be- tween the years 1701 and 1707, Wood was paid large sums of money for carved work in Sti Paul's Ca'hedral. It is not generally known that the pulpit at St. Paul's was designed by Mylne, and executed about sixty years since by one o the finest flow-r-carvers of the time, named Mowatt, then employed l>y a relative of Edward Wyat f . the present carver and jrilder, in Oxford-street. The pulpit is carved in Spanish mahogany and satin-wood; the foliage is marvellously played with in 'he volute*. Many of the Halls of the City Companies are decorated with Gib- bons's work ; as well as the interiors of most of the Churches built by Sir Christopher Wren. St. James's, Piccadilly has some fine pulpit, altar, and pew carvings; and the Churchwardens' pexvs at Allhallows Barking, (with the symbols of the four Evangelists,) are amongst the most delicate decorations of their time in the metropolis. The Hall of Heralds' College is also well enriched in the Gibbons style ; and a beautiful specimen of his skill in marine subjects is preserved at the New River House, Spa-Fields. London abounds in richly-carved doorways and over-doors of the 17th and 18th centuries : there are good examples in Great Ormond- street ; in Shire-lane, Temple Bar, where Gibbons once lived ; in Ca- vendish-square, especially at No. 33 ; the entrance to Langbourn Chambers, Fenchurch-street ; and some old mansions in Mark-lane. A pair of exquisitely carved statuettes, (Raving and Melancholy Madness,) is shewn among the curiosities of Bethlem Hospital. State Coaches present fine carving. Such are the Lord Mayor's Coach, (stated to have been designed by Angelica Kauffman,) kept at the Green Yard, Whitecross-street ; the Queen's Coach, at the Royal Mews, Pimlico; and the Speaker's Coach, Prince's-street, Westminster. In private collections, some magnificent specimens of early carving are preserved : such are the Italian bedstead-pillars of the 16th cen- tury, and the bas-relief after Rubens, in the possession of the Earl of Cadogan ; and the collection, dating from the 15th to the 18th cen- turies, the property of G. Field, Esq., of Lister House, Clapham. Carving received considerable check from the introduction of stucco CATO-STREET CONSPIRACY. 67 in the reign of George II. ; but the art has received a fresh impetus in the present century. Some fine church carving was executed in 1839-42 for the Temple Church ; and in 1847-8 for the choir of "Westminster Abbey, then refitted with canopied stalls, organ-case, screen, &c., by Messrs. Ruddle, of Peterborough. The church of St. Mary-at-Hill, Billingsgate, was redecorated in 1849-50, by W. Gibbs Rogers: the pulpit alone cost upwards of 500?. ; the stairs have an elaborate string- course, and all the banisters are on the rake ; the bosses and flowers of the sounding-board exceed afoot in projection : the organ-gallery front has flowers festooned with musical instruments, and the pretty conceit of a crab crawling over a violin. Mr. Rogers has also carved, from a design suggested by the Queen, a box-wood cradle in rich Italian style, most delicately finished, and first used for the infant Prince Arthur, born 1850 : it is cleverly engraved and described in the Art- Journal for August, J850. The interior enrichments of the New Palace at Westminster present some fine specimens of contemporary carving. Much of the work has, however, been executed by machinery, and finished by hand. The great depository for old carvings is "Wardour-street, Oxford- street, where the dealers mostly keep shop. CATO-STREET CONSPIRACY. In 1820, at Cato-street, John-street, Edgeware-road, Arthur This- tlewood and his fellow-conspirators met to assassinate the Ministers as- sembled at a cabinet dinner, on February 23d, at Lord Harrowby's, 39 Grosvenor-square, where Thistlewood proposed, as "a rare haul, to murder them all together." Some of the conspirators were to watch Lord Harrowby's house ; one was to call and deliver a despatch-box at the door ; the others were then to rush in and murder the Ministers as they sat at dinner ; and, as special trophies, to bring away with them the heads of Lords Sidmouth and Castlereagh, in two bags provided for the purpose ! They were then to fire the cavalry-barracks ; and the Bank and Tower were to be taken by the people, who, it was hoped, would rise upon the spread of the news. This diabolical plot was, however, revealed to the Ministers by one Edwards, who had joined the conspirators for that purpose. Still, no notice was apparently taken. The preparations for dinner went on at Lord Harrowby's till eight o'clock in the evening ; but the guests did not arrive. The Archbishop of York, who lived next door, happened to give a dinner-party at the same hour, and the arrival of the carriages deceived those of the conspira- tors who were on the watch in the street, till it was too late to give warning to their comrades who had assembled at Cato-street, in a loft over a stable, accessible only by a ladder. Here, while the traitors were arming themselves by the light of one or two candles, a party of Bow-street officers entered the stable ; when Smithers, the first of them who mounted the ladder, and attempted to seize Thistlewood, was run by him through the body, and instantly fell ; whilst, the lights being extinguished, a few shots were exchanged in the darkness and confusion, and Thistlewood and several of his companions escaped through a window at the back of the premises ; nine were taken that evening with their arms and ammunition, and the intelligence conveyed to the Ministers, who, having dined at home, met at Lord Liverpool's to await the result of what the Bow-street officers had done. A reward of 1000Z. was immediately offered for the apprehension of Thistlewood; but he was captured before eight o'clock next morningr, while in bed at a friend's house, No. 8 White-street, Little Moorfields. The con- spirators were sent to the Tower, and were the last persons imprisoned in that fortress. On April 20th, Thistlewood was condemned to death, 68 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. after three days' trial; and on May 1st, he and his four principal accomplices, Ings, Brunt, Tidd, and Davidson, who had been severally tried and convicted, were hanged at the Old Bailey, and their heads cutoff. Southey relates this touching anecdote of Thistlewood's last hours : " When the desperate and atrocious traitor Thistlewood was on the scaffold, his demeanour was that of a man who was resolved boldly to meet the fate he had deserved ; in the few words which were exchanged between him and his fellow- criminals, he observed, that the grand question whether or not the soul was im- mortal would soon be solved for them. No expression of hope escaped him ; no breathing of repentance, no spark of grace, appeared. Yet (it is a fact which, whether it be more consolatory or awful, ought to be known), on the night after the sentence, and preceding his execution, while he supposed that the person who was appointed to watch him in his cell was asleep, this miserable man was seen by that person repeatedly to rise upon his knees, and heard repeatedly calling upon Christ his Saviour to have mercy upon him, and to forgive him his sins." The Doctor, chap. Ixxi. The selection of Cato -street for the conspirators' meeting was accidental : and the street itself is associated hut indirectly in name with the Roman patriot and philosopher. To efface recollection of the conspiracy of the low and desperate politicians of 1820, Cato- street has been changed to Homer-street. CEMETERIES, Or public burial-grounds, planted and laid out as gardens around the ' metropolis, are a novelty of our times; although they were suggested just after the Great Fire of 1666, when Evelyn regretted that advantage had not been taken of that calamity to rid the City of its burial-places, and establish a necropolis without the walls. He deplores that " the churchyards had not been banished to the north walls of the City, where a grated inclosure, of competent breadth, for a mile in length, might have served for an universal cemetery to all the parishes, distin- guished by the like separations, and with ample walks of trees ; the walks adorned with monuments, inscriptions, and titles, apt for con- templation and memory of the defunct, and that wise and excellent law of the Twelve Tables restored and renewed." There were, in 1850, eight Cemeteries in the suburbs, each the pro- perty of a public Company. KEXSAL GREEN CEMETERY was the first established. It lies upon high ground, left of the Harrow Road and the hamlet of Kensal Green, about two miles from Paddington Green. It contains fifty-three acres, divided into two grounds : the westernmost consecrated "Nov. 2, 1832 ; the smaller ground being for the interment of persons whose friends desire a funeral service differing from that of the Church of England. The same distinction is observed in each of the Cemeteries ; and each is planted and laid out in walks, parterres, and borders of flowers, and other styles of landscape garden. A register is kept of interments for both portions of the grounds, and a duplicate is lodged with the regis- trars of parishes in the diocese. Each Company has its scale of charges for interment in catacomb, vault, or grave. Within three years from the opening of the Kensal-Green Cemetery, there took place in it about 1000 interments. Each ground has its chapel and colonnades ; in the latter are placed mural tablets, and beneath are the vaults or catacombs. The memorials in this Cemetery are very nu- merous : altar-tombs, "monumental urns," sarcophagi, and the broken column ; capacious tomb-houses, encompassed with flower-beds, or over- hung with funereal trees ; pi^ars, bearing urns ; weeping and praying .figures, medallion portraits, and groups of insignia, are most frequent ; though emblems are borrowed alike from the Pagan temple and the CEMETERIES. 69 Christian church. The cross, in its picturesque varieties, and the plain but massive slab, are side by side. Among the most conspicuous is, at the entrance, a monument to Madame Soyer, by a Belgian sculptor ; the pedestal and a colossal figure of Faith are upwards of twenty feet in height. The tombs of St. John Long, the "counter -irritation" sur- geon; of Morison, the "hygeist;" and of Ducrow, the equestrian, are also prominent : the latter left a sum of money for flowers, shrubs, and repairs. Here is interred the Duke of Sussex, according to especial directions left by that prince : his grave, near the chapel, is covered by an immense granite tomb ; and near it rest the remains of the Princess Sophia, his sister, beneath a handsome sarcophagus tomb of Sicilian marble, erected in 1850, by subscription of Queen Victoria, the King of Hanover, Adolphus Duke of Cambridge, and the Duchess of Gloucester. Several persons of rank and station are buried here ; and the pre- dominance of authors, artists, and youthful dead, is observable. THE SOUTH METROPOLITAN and NORWOOD CEMETERY contains about fifty acres, and was consecrated Dec. 6, 1837 : the chapels, by Tite, in the pointed style, are very beautiful; and the grounds are hilly, and picturesquely planted. HIGHGATE AND KENTISH TOWN CEMETERY, twenty-t wo acres, con- secrated May 20, 1839, lies immediately beneath Highgate Church. It has a Tudor gate-house and chapel, and catacombs of Egyptian architecture ; the ground is laid out in terraces, tastefully planted ; and the distant view of London from among the tombs is suggestive to a meditative mind. ABNEY PARK CEMETERY and Arboretum, lying eastward, at Stoke- Newington, thirty acres, was opened by the Lord Mayor, May 20, 1840. It was formed from the Park of Sir Thomas Abney, the friend of Dr. Isaac Watts, to mark whose thirty-six years' residence here a sta- tue of the Doctor, by Baily, was erected in 1845. The Abney mansion was taken down in 1844; many of the fine old trees remain. WESTMINSTER AND WEST OF LONDON CEMETERY, Earl's Court, Fulham Road, thirty -nine acres, was consecrated June 15, 1840; it has a domed chapel, with semi-circular colonnades of imposing design. In the grounds is a large altar-tomb, with athlete figures, modelled by Baily, and erected by subscription to Jackson, the pugilist. NUNHEAD CEMETERY, Peckham, consists of fifty acres, and was consecrated July 29, 1840. THE CITY OF LONDON AND TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY, about thirty acres, lies at the extremity of Mile-End Road, north of Bow Common ; and VICTORIA PARK CEMETERY, about eleven acres, at Bethnal Green, north of the Eastern Counties Railway. The public are allowed to walk in each of the Cemeteries at stated hours They comprised, in 1850, about 282 acres of ground, of which about seventeen acres had been used for graves and vaults, exclusive of the space occupied by roads and paths, plantations and buildings. A few suburban churchyards are planted similarly to the Cemeteries ; as that of St. John's Wood Chapel, where are buried Joanna Southcott and Richard Brothers, the prophetic; and John Jackson, R.A., the portrait-painter. The churchyard of St. Giles's-in-the- Fields, Lower Pancras Road, consecrated so long ago as 1804, has many flowery graves : here is the handsome tomb of Sir John Soane, overhung with cypresses. The burying-ground of St. Martin's-in-the- Fields, Pratt-street, Camdenr Town, is also planted : here lies Charles Dibdin, the song-writer. The burial-grounds for Jews are mostly laid out and planted in the " cemetery" manner. Formerly their burial-place was outside the City Wall, at Leyrestowe, " without Cripelgate." 70 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Cemeteries have, from the costliness of interment in them, been, mostly used by the wealthier classes, and but for the reception of few of the 52,000 persons who die annually in the metropolis. Hence they have little abated the evil of intramural interments : and, as stated by Dr. Sutherland, in his Report of the Board of Health, in 1850, " the grave-yards of London are still the plague-spots of its population. The putrid drainage of them pollutes its wells, seethes beneath its dwellings, and poisons its atmosphere ; and some parts of the metropolis are still honeycombed with deposits of the putrescent remains of millions of its citizens." By the Metropolitan Interment Act, passed in 1850, it is hoped these evils to Public Health will be remedied. CHANCERY LANE, Formerly New-lane and Chancellor's-lane, is the greatest " legal tho- roughfare" in London, and extends from Fleet -street, opposite Inner Temple Gate, to Holborn, nearly opposite Gray's Inn. In Edward I.'s time it was so foul and miry as to be barred up, to prevent accidents. Entering by Fleet-street, on the left are some half-timbered houses, with projecting windows, overhanging stories, and gabled fronts. Izaak Walton kept a draper's shop at the second house on the left, taken down when that end of the lane was widened ; he subsequently removed, according to Sir Harris Nico'as's Life of Walton, five doors higher up in the Lane. Opposite is Serjeants' Inn, rebuilt by Sir Ro- bert Smirke in 1838 ; but the old Hall remains. Higher up, on the west, is the Law Institution, with a noble Grecian-Ionic portico, built of stone by Vulliamy, in 1842 ; it contains a library and club accommo- dations for the legal profession. The Bishop of Chichester formerly had a palace in Chancery-lane, where is still Chichester Rents and Symonds Inn ; the latter, to this day, owned by the see. The lar?e old house, with low-built shops before it, and between Bream's Buildings and Cursitor-street, is said to have been the Bishop's palace. Nearly opposite is the red brick gate- house of Lincoln's Inn ; a Tudor arch between two massive towers, built by Sir Thomas Lovell, 1518. The survey of Aggas, in 1560. shews Chancery-lane with only a few houses at the ends, the intervening road flanked with gardens ; anil there is no reason to doubt Aubrey's statement that young Ben Jonson worked with his father-in-law, a" bricklayer, in building the garden- wall of Lincoln's Inn, when, as Fuller says, "having a trowel in his hand, he had a book in his pocket." The stone buildings at the northern end of the Lane are the Ac- countant-General's and Inrolment Offices. Opposite, upon the site of Southampton Buildings, was Southampton House, inherited by the ill- fated Lord William Russell, by his marriage with the daughter of Thomas, last Earl of Southampton. " It was in passing this house, the scene of his domestic happiness, on his way to the sciffold in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, that the fortitude of the manyr for a moment forsook him (Lord W. Pussell); but ovt-r-mastering his emotion, he said, ' The bitteiness of deith is now pass d.' It is from this house that some of Lady Rachel Russell's celebrated letters are dated. A former entrance of the < hapel of Southampton Houss appears to correspond with the moulding of the flat tim- bered roof, which is of the time of Henry VII. This part of the edifice retains its origin il proportions, except that it* height is divided by a modern floor. Ita length is about 40 fee' by about 20. It is now used by Mr Griffiths, a whip-maker, 322 Holborn, as his warehouse. Other portions of Southampton House have been incorp >rated wi'h the sur otmding dwellings, one of which contains a beautiful Elizabethan staircase. Old mouldings and paneling appear likewise in Mill's Tavern, 47 Southampton Buildings, which house seems to have been constructed upon a portion of the ancient mansion." /. Wykeham Archer. CHARTER -HO USE. 71 CHARING CROSS, The large area at the meeting of the Strand, Whitehall, and Cockspur- street, with Trafalgar Square on the north, received part of its name from the stone cross erected there, 1291-1294, to Eleanor, queen of Edward I. ; and was the last spot at which the Queen's body was rested, in the way to Westminster Abbey for burial. The name Charing has not been satisfactorily traced : the chere reine origin is traditional. Mr. Hudson Turner, in Manners and Household Expenses of Eng- land in the 13th and 15th Centuries, gives some curious particulars of the nine Eleanor Crosses, of which two were those at Charing and Cheap. Charing Cross was built, of Caen stone, and Dorset marble steps, by Richard and Roger de Crundale ; it was highly decorated, and had paintings and metal figures, gilt ; besides Eleanor and others, sculp- tured in Caen stone by Alexander of Abingdon, and modelled by Torel, a goldsmith, probably an Italian. The Cross (which appears in the Sutherland View of 1543, with only a few houses near it, and St. Martin's Church, literally "in the fields,") was voted down by the Long Parliament, and removed in 1647. Part of the stone was used to pave Whitehall, and some was made into knife-handles. The site of the Cross was next used as a place of execution, and here several of the Regicides suffered. In 1674, the equestrian statue of Charles I. was placed here. (See STATUES.) The spot was a favourite " pitch" for Punchinello nearly two centuries ago ; and Dr. Johnson, in one of his London ruminations, thought " the full tidj of human existence" to be at Charing Cross. Proclamations for ages have been read here. On June 21> 1837, Queen Victoria was proclaimed here in fitting state ; the High Constable and High Bailiff of Westminster, Knight-marshalmen, drums and trumpets, sergeants- at-armsj pursuivants, heralds, and other authorities, in official costume, standing within a cordon of Life Guards, round the statue, and the Somerset Herald reading aloud the proclamation. CHARTER-HOUSE, Upon the north side of Charter-house-square, Aldersgate-street, com- prehends a collegiate asylum for the aged, a school-house for the young, and a chapel ; the whole occupying 13 acres 1 rod of land, anciently part of the estate of St. Bartholomew's 'Spital, appropriated by Sir Walter de Manny, of Hainault, and Knight of the Garter in the feign of Ed- ward II I., as a burial-place for the poor destroyed by the Plague of 1349. In 1361, Michael de Northburgh, Bishop of Lo'ndon, purchased of Sir Walter the whole cemetery ; and at his death, in the same year, the good Bishop bequeathed it to'Sir Walter, with all his property, for the founding, building, and furnishing a monastery of Carthusians, an order of monks instituted in 1080, by Bruno, at Chartreux, near Gre- noble, in France. This Sir Walter de Manny completed in 1371 : he died in the following year, and was buried in the monastery, his funeral being attended by the King and his children, many barons and prelates. Late in the 15th century, Sir Thomas More " gave himself to devo- tion and prayer in the Charter-house of London, religiously living there without vow about four years." The house had flourished nearly three centuries, when it fell in the universal Dissolution ; and several of the monks, with John Howghton, the last prior, were, for denying the King's Supremacy, executed at Tyburn, May 4, 1535 ; their heads being set upon London Bridge, and the mangled body of Howghton placed over the gate of the Charter-house itself. The Monastery was surrendered in 1537, and within 74 years had several owners, among whom were John Dudley, Duke of Northum- 72 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. berland, executed in 1553 ; and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, executed in 1572, from whom the place was called Howard House. Queen Elizabeth, Nov. 19, 1558, two days after her accession, stayed at the Charter-house "many days;" and in July, 15C1, she sojourned there four days, even after Sir Edward North, then owner of the Char- ter-house, had been dismissed from her Privy Council. On the entry into London of James I., May 7, 1603, he visited Lord Thomas Howard, and kept his court four days at the Charter-house, whither he was con- ducted, in splendid procession from Stamford Hill, through Islington. In 1611, the estate was sold by Thomas Earl of Suffolk, for 13,000?., to Thomas Sutton, the wealthy merchant of London, who endowed it as *' the Hospital of King James ;" though it is now known as the Char- ter-house, corrupted from the Chartreux of its monastic history. Sutton fitted up the house and buildings ; but he died the same year, Dec. 12, 1611, before he had perfected his good work, characterised by Stow as " the greatest gift in England, either in Protestant or Catholic times, ever bestowed by any individual." Sutton was buried in a costly tomb in the Hospital chapel, both which are perfect illustrations of the state of the sculptor's and builder's art in the early part of the 17th century ; and here the first tribute of praise was paid by Burrell, the preacher to the Hospital, in a sermon to the memory of the pious founder, printed in 1629, but now as rare as a MS. The vault was opened in 1842, when the body of Sutton was found in lead, wrapped about it like a winding-sheet. Over the present porter's lodge is the house formerly occupied by the physicians of the Charter-house. The wooden gates are those of the ancient monastery. The building to the right in the Entrance Court is thought to be a part of the " fair dwelling" erected by Sir Edward North on the ruins of the monastery about 1537. The mid- dle court, now called the Master's Court, was also part of North's building. The Long Gallery, originallv more than 100 feet, is now reduced to 45 feet by partitions. The Washhouse Court is one of the few remaining portions of the old monastery. The Preacher's Court is the most important in appearance. The site of the chapel, from an old plan now in existence, date about 1500, seems to be identical with that of the monastery. The south wall is probably the oldest portion of the building ; but the east wall is of considerable antiquity, for on the removal of the wainscotting, in the course of repairs in 1842, an old ambrie was discovered towards its south corner. The Ante- Chapel, which, like the Evidence Room above it, has a groined roof, bears the date 1512. The Great Chamber, or Old Governors' Room, was either built or decorated by Thomas, fourth Duke of Norfolk, between 1565 and 1571 : it was restored in 1838, and is now the most perfect Elizabethan apartment in London. It has a chimney-piece of wood, a centre and two wings, in two stories, Tuscan and Ionic, reaching to the ceiling, which is also elegantly ornamented. The walls are richly painted, and hung with six pieces of tapestry. The Great Hall has a screen, music- gallery, sculptured chimney-piece, and lantern in the roof; and here hangs a noble portrait of the founder, Sutton. Upon this foundation are maintained eighty pensioners, or poor brethren, who " live together in collegiate style, provided with hand- some apartments, and all necessaries, except apparel, in lieu of which they are allowed 14?. a-year and a gown each. They are nominated, in the same manner as the" scholars, by the Governors, who present in ro- tation In 1850, there were forty -four scholars "on the foundation," supported free of expense; and there are several exhibitions to the Universities, available for foundation scho'ars only. (Low's Charities of London.) The total number of scholars in 1850 was about 200. CHEAPSIDE. 73 The Charter-house is under the direction of the Queen, Prince Albert, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and thirteen other Governors ; besides the Master of the Hospital, who resides within the walls. The most distinguished Master was Dr. Thomas Burnet, au- thor of the Sacred Theory of the Earth : he was elected in 1685, died here in 1715, and was buried in the chapel of the institution. Soon after Burnet's election, James II. addressed a letter to the Governors, ordering them to admit one Andrew Popham as pensioner into the Hospital upon the first vacancy, without tendering to him any oath, or requiring of him any subscription or recogniiion, in conformity with Church of England doctrine, the King dispensing with any statute or order of the Hospital to the contrary. Bur- net, as junior Governor, was called upon to vote first, when he maintained that by express Act of Parliament, 3 Car. I., no officer could be admitted into that Hospital without taking the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. An attempt was made, but without effect, to overrule th'S opinion. The Duke of Ormond supported Burnet, and on the vote being put, Popham was rejected: and not- withstanding the threats of the King and the Popish party, no member of the communion was ever admitted into the Charter-house. In 1652, Oliver Cromwell was elected Governor ; he was succeeded by his son Richard in 1658. Among the eminent scholars, or " Carthusians," were Richard Crashaw, the poet ; Isaac Barrow, the divine : Blackstone, lord-chief- justice ; Addison and Steele, both here together ; John Wesley ; lord- chief-justice Ellenborough (buried in the chapel) ; and Lord Liverpool. In the Old Court Room is celebrated the Anniversary of the Foun- dation, on December 12 ; when is always sung the old Carthusian me- lody, with this chorus : " Then blessed be the memory Of good old Thomas Stdto.i-, Who gave us lodging learning, And he gave us beef and mutton"" In the Governors' Room in the Master's House, upon the elegant chimney-piece, is the celebrated portrait of Sutton, the founder, aetatis seventy -nine, anno 1611, in an elaborately carved frame. The other pic- tures comprise whole-lengths of Charles II. ; Gilbert Sheldon, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, sitting ; William Earl of Craven, in armour ; George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham ; George Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury ; the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth ; Lord Chancellor Shaftesbury ; and a half-length of Dr. Thomas Burnet, by his friend Sir Godfrey Kneller, very highly finished. The entire internal economy of the establishment is vested in the Master ; the manciple, or house-steward, provides the diet of the Hospital, for which he has "to pay in ready money. ," The grounds, which extend from the Hospital buildings to Wilderness-row and Gos- well-street, include a playing-green of about three acres, a wilderness of fine trees, with gravel and grass walks, and a kitchen -garden. South- east of the green are two courts for tennis, a favourite pastime with the Carthusians. The history of this noble foundation has been written by Bearcroft, Herne, and Smythe : and recently (1847) in Chronicles of Charter-hoitse, by a Carthusian ; a clever work, with illustrations. CHEAPSIDE, The street extending from the Poultry and Bucklersbury to St. Paul's and Newgate-street, was, some three centuries ago, worthily called "the Beauty of London," and was famed for its "noted store of gold- smiths," linen-drapers, haberdashers, &c. It is called from the Saxon CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. word Chepe, or market: the name, therefore, is the Market-side; and in 1331 the south side only was built upon, and the north side was an open field, where jousts, tournaments, or ridings, were often held. Stow describes one of these joustings held in the reign of Edward III., Sept. 21, 1331 ; Avhen, " the stone pavement being covered with sand, that the horses might not slide when they strongly set their feet to the ground, the king held a tournament three days together, with the nobility, va- liant men of the realm, and other strange knights. And to the end the beholders might with the better ease see the same, there was a wooden scaffold erected across the street, like unto a tower, wherein the Queen Philippa, and many other ladies, richly attired, and as- sembled from all parts of the realm, did stand to behold the jousts." This frame brake down ; after which the king had a stone shed built ''for himself, the queen, and other estates, to stand on, and there to behold the joustings and other shows, at their pleasure, by the ohurch of St. Mary Bow." This shed, or '* seldam," was similarly used in after reigns, especially to behold the great watches on the eve of St. John Baptist and St.* Peter at Midsummer. In 1510, on St. John's eve, King Henry VIII. came to this place, then called the King's Head in Cheape^in the livery of a yeoman of the guard, with an halbert on his shoulder, and there beholding the watch, departed privily when the watch was done ; "but on St. Peter's night next following/he and the queen came royally riding to the said place, and there with their nobles beheld the watch of the city, and returned in the morning." When Bow Church was rebuilt, Wren provided, in place of the shed or sild, a balcony in the tower, immediately over the principal entrance in Cheapside ; and though the age of tournaments had passed away, the Lord Mayor's pageants were long viewed from this balcony. Cheapside Cross, which stood facing Wood-street, was the most magnificent (except that of Charing,) of the nine crosses built by Ed- ward I. to his queen Eleanor, and was (Mr. Hudson Turner states) the work of Alexander of Abingdon. It was "re-edified" by John Hatherly, mayor, by license procured in 1441 of Henry VI. ; it was regilt in 1522, for'the visit of the Emperor Charles V. ; and in 1533, for the coronation o: Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn ; newly burnished at the coronation of Edward VI. ; and again newly gilt, 1554, against th3 arrival of King Philip. After this- the Cross was presented by juries as standing "in the highway to the let of carriages;" but they could not get it removed; and it was by turns defaced and repaired, and its images stolen and replaced, until May 2, 1643, when it was demolished to the sound of trumpet, the workmen being protected by soldiery. Nearly opposite Honey lane was the Standard, the place of execu- tion ; and between Bucklersbury and the Poultry stood Westcheap, or the Great Conduit, which brought the first supply of sweet water to London, from Paddington ; and facing Foster-lane stood the Little Conduit. Westward of the site of the Great Conduit, on the north side, is Mercers' Hall and chapel, rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666; the original chapel being an hospital purchased at the Dissolu- tion by means of Sir Richard Gresham. Westward, next No. 142, is Saddlers' Hall. Both these Halls have in their street fronts balconies for viewing the City pageants. The handsome s'tone-fronted house, No. 73, built by Sir C. Wren, was, before the erection of the Mansion House, (1737,) sometimes tenanted by the Lord Mayor, during his year of office : here Mr. i egg, the publisher, amassed great wealth. Nearly opposite, between Iron- monger-lane and King-street, is the Atlas Insurance Office, with three enriched fronts, granite basement, and stone superstructure : built in 1839. CHELSEA. 75 CHELSEA, A large and populous parish upon the north bank of the Thames : it was a village of 300 houses in the last century, but now extends from bevond Battersea or Chelsea Bridge almost to Hyde Park Corner. It lies about fifteen feet above the river; and, according to Norden, is named from its strand, " like the chesel (ceosel or cesel) which the sea casteth up of sand and pebble-stones, thereof called Cheselscy, briefly Chelsey, as is Chelsey (Selsey) in Sussex." In a Saxon charter, however, it is writ- ten Cealchylle ; in Domesday, Cercehede and Chalced ; and Sir Thomas More wrote it Chelchith, though it began to be written Chelsey in. the 16th century. Among the possessors of the manor were Sir Regi- nald Bray (temp. Henry VII.) ; it was given by Henry VIII. to Kath- erine Parr as a portion, of her marriage settlement ; and it was bought of Lord Cheyne by Sir Hans Sloane in 1712, from whom it passed by marriage and bequest to Baron Cadogan, of Oakley, in whose family the property remains : hence the names of Cheyne Walk, Cadogan and Hans Places, and Sloane and Oakley Streets. Chelsea was once a place of courtly resort : many of the nobility, as well as scholars and philosophers, resided here ; and its noted taverns and public gardens were much frequented in the 17th and 18th centuries. The principal features now are its palace-hospital for sol- diers, its Botanic Gardens, its Dutch-like river terrace (Cheyne- walk), mostly brick-built, and fronted by lofty trees ; and. its olden church, with a heavy brick tower. At Chelsea lived Sir Thomas More, in a mansion at the north end of Beanfort- row, with gardens extending to the Thames. Here More was visited bv Henry VIII., who, " after dinner, in a fair garden of his, walked with him hy the space of an hour, holding his arm about his neck ;" and used to ascend with him to the house-top to observe the stars and discourse of astronomy. A more illustrious visitor was Era-mus, who describes the house as "a practical school of the Christian religion." Holbein was kindly leceived here by More, where the painter worked, for near three years, upon port aits of the Chancellor, his rela- tions, and friends. More also hired a house foraged people in Chelsea, whom he daily relieved. His own establishment was large: Erasmus says, "there he converseth with his wife, his son, his daughters-ifi-law, his three grand-daugh- ters with their husbands, with eleven great-grandchildren." More resigned the Great Seal in 1533, and retired to Chelsea for study and devotion; but d smissed his re inue, and gave his barge to his successor in the Chancellorship. After his execution, July 6, 1535 (a-cording to Aubrey), his body was buried in Chelsea Church (which he had regularly attended); and his head was placed in a vault in St. Dunstan's Church, Canterbury. More's mansion was purchased by Sir Hans Sloane, and taken down in 1740. Sloane dwelt in the New Manor-House, nearly opposite the Pier. In the hamlet of Little Chelsea lived Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke ; Mr. Pym, member of the Long Parliament ; Bishop Fowler, Sir Richard Steele, Addison, and John Locke; Lord Shaftesbury, (author of the Characteristics,} in the house now St. George's additional workhouse; and here Dr. Smollett retired after his failure in practice at Bath. Dean Swift had lodgings "a little beyond the church;" and Sir Robert "Walpole had a house adjoining Gough House : hence, Walpole-street. Towards the western end of Cheyne Walk, the Bishops of Win- chester possessed a palace from 1663, until the death of Brownlow North in 1820. Further west, near the river side, was the Chelsea China Manufactory. (See CHELSEA CHINA..) In Cheyne- walk was the Museum and Coffee-house of Don Saltero, renowned in the swimming exploits of Dr. Franklin. The landlord, James Salter, was a noted barber, who made a collection of natural curiosities, which acquired him the name (probably first given him by Steele,) of Don Saltero. (See Tatler, ]Nos. 34, 195, and 226.) The quiet tavern 76 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. remains, but the Museum was dispersed by auction about the year 1807. Another wonder was the old Chelsea Bun-house, which possessed a sort of rival Museum to Don Saltero's. (See CHELSEA BUNS.) It was taken down in 1839. Eastward is the Royal Hospital (see CHELSEA HOSPITAL) ; and on part of its garden was the gay Ranelagh, from 1740 to 1815. Here, too, is the Apothecaries' Company's Garden (see BOTANIC GARDENS); and nearly opposite is "the Red House" at Bat- tersea, about fifty yards west of which Caesar is believed by some anti- quaries to have forded the Thames. Chelsea has two churches dedicated to St. Luke. The old river- side church was built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and has an eastern chapel added by Sir Thomas More. In the chancel is a black marble tablet to More, placed there by himself in 1532, three years before his death : it was restored by Si/John Lawrence about 1644, and by subscription in 1833 : the inscription, in Latin, is by More. Here are also several other memorials of eminent persons, including a monument to Jane, wife of the ambitious John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland ; and to Lady Jane Cheyne, by Bernini. In the churchyard is the tomb of Sir "Hans Sloane^ egg-shaped and entwined with serpents; also a monument to Philip Miller, erected by the Lin- naean and Horticultural Societies ; and here rests Cipriani, the painter. Several eminent persons have been interred in the church without monuments. (See Cunningham's Handbook of London, 2dedit.,p. 307.) St. Luke's new church, between King's Road and Fulham Road, was built by Savage, in 1820, in the style of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and has a pinnacled tower 142 feet high. Above Battersea Bridge is Cremorne House, formerly the elegant villa of Lord Cremorne, who had here a fine collection of Italian and Flemish pictures ; adjoining was the residence of Dr. Benjamin Hoadley (son of the bishop), the author of The Suspicious Husband. Cre- morne has been converted into a place of public entertainment, for which the grounds are well adapted. CHELSEA BUNS. Chelsea has been famed for its Buns since the commencement of the last century. Swift, in his Journal to Stella, 1712, writes " Pray are not the fine buns sold herein our town, as the rare Chelsea buns? I bought one to-day in my walk," &c. They were made and sold at "the Old Original Chelsea Bun-house," in Jews'-row, a one-storied building, with a colon- nade projecting over the foot-pavement. It was customary for the Royal Family and the nobility and gentry to visit the Bun-house in the morning. George II.. Queen Caroline, and the Princesses frequently honoured the proprietor, Richard Hands, with their company ; as did al-o George III. and Queen Charlotte ; her Majesty presented Mrs. Hands with a silver half-gallon mug, with five guineas in it. On Good Friday morn- ings, upwards of 50,000 persons have assembled here, when disturb- ances often arose among the London mob ; and in one day more than 250Z. have been taken for buns. The Bun-house was also much fre- quented by visitors to Ranelagh, after the closing of which the bun- trade declined. Notwithstanding, on Good Friday, April 18, 1839, up- wards of 240,000 buns were sold here. Soon after, the Bun-house was sold and pulled down ; and at the same time was dispersed a collection of pictures, models, grotesque figures, and modern antiques, which had for a century added the attractions of a museum to the bun celebrity. Another Bun-house has been built : but the olden charm of the place has fled. In the Mirror for April 6, 1839, are two views of the old Bun- house, sketched just before its demolition. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. 77 CHELSEA CHINA. The earliest manufactories of porcelain in England were those at Bow* and at Chelsea, both which have long been extinct. "The Chel- sea ware, bearing a very imperfect similarity in body to the Chinese, admitted only of a vary fusible lead glaze ; and in the taste of its pat- terns, and the style of their execution, stood as low, perhaps, as any on the list." (A. Aikin ; Trans. Soc. Arts.} This character, however, applies only to the later productions. Faulkner, in his History of Chelsea, (1829,) states : "The Chelsea China Manufactory was situate at the corner of Justice-walk, and occupied the houses to the upper end of the street. Several of the large old houses were used as shew-rooms. It has been discontinued for more than forty years, the whole of the premisss pulled down, and new houses erected on the site." Justice-walk took its name from a magistrate who resided in the house at the south corner of Church-street, whence formerly an avenue of lime-trees extended to Lawrence-street ; and in the latter were the ovens of the Chelsea China Manufactory, where Dr. Johnson made ex- periments on tea-cups. The premises, therefore, were not far from Church-street, and near the water-side. They subsequently became a stained paper Manufactory, conducted by Messrs. Echardts and Wood- mason, in 1786; afterwards by Messrs. Bowen and Co.; and in 1810 by Messrs. Harwood and Co. We have been favoured with these addenda by Mr. T. Crofton Croker, F.S.A. In July, 1850, we saw in the stock of Mr. Heigham, Fulham-road, a set of three Chelsea vases, remarkably fine in form and colour ; each bearing a view of the old church at Chelsea and river- side. " Martin Lister mentions a manufacture at Chelsea as early as 1698, comparing its productions with those of St. Cloud, near Paris. It was patronised by George II., who brought over artificers from Brunswick and Saxony; whence, probably, M. Brongniart terms Chelsea a ' Manufacture Royale.' Its reputation commenced about 1740; and in 1745 the celebrity of Chelsea porcelain was re- garded with jealousy by the manufacturers of France, who therefore petitioned Louis XV. to concede to them exclusive privileges. About 175's-s'reet, Monsieur Philidor per- formed one of those wonderful exhibitions for which he is so much eel -brated. He played three different games at once without, seeing either of the tables. His op- ponents were Count Bruhl and Mr. Bowdler (the two best players in London), and Mr. Maseres. He defeated Count Bruhl in one hour and twenty minutes, and Mr. Maseres in two hours; Mr. Bowdler reduced his games to a drawn battle in one hour and three quarters. To those who understand Chess, this exertion of M. Philid<>r's abilities must appear one of the greatest of which the human memory is susceptible. He goes through it with astonishing accuracy, and often coirects mistakes in those who have the board before them." In 1795, the veteran, then nearly seventy years of age, played three blindfold matches in public. The last of these, which came off shortly before his death, we find announced in the daily newspapers thus : "CHESS-CLUB, 1795. PARSLOE'S, ST. JAMES'S STREET. By particular desiie, Mons. Philidor, positively for the last time, will play on Saturday, the 20th of June, at two o'clock precisely, three games at once against three g6"d players ; two of them without seeing either of the boards, and the third looking over the table. He most respectfully invites all the members of the Chess-Club ro honour him with their presence. I adies and gentlemen not belonging to the Club may be provided with tickets at the above-mentioned house, to see the match, at five shillings each." Upon the death cf Philidor, the Chess-Clubs at the West-end seem to have declined; and in 1807, the stronghold and rallying point for the lovers of the game was "the London Chess Club," which was established in the City, and for many years held its meetings at Tomm's Coffee-house, in Cornhill. To this Club we are indebted for many of the finest chess-players of the age ; and even now, after the lapse of nearly a century, the Club still flourishes, and numbers among its mem- bers some of the leading proficients. 80 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. About the year 1833, a Club was founded by a few amateurs in Bedford- street. Covent Garden. This establishment, which obtained remarkable celebrity as the arena of the famous contests between La Bourdonnais and McDonnell, was dissolved in 1840 ; but shortly after- wards, through the exertions of Mr. Staunton, was re-formed under the name of " the St. George's Club," in Cavendish-square, where it still continues, deservedly ranking as the most influential club of the kind in England. In addition to the St. George's Club, at the "West End, and the London Chess Club, which of late years has held its meetings at the George and Vulture Tavern, Cornhill, there are many minor insti- tutions in various parts of the metropolis and its environs, where Chess, and Chess only, forms the staple recreation of the members. There are also the magnificent Cigar Divan, No. 100, Strand, belonging to Mr. Ries; and Kilpack's well-appointed Divan, 42 King-street, Covent Garden ; at each of which the leading Chess publications are accessible to visitors, and where as many as twenty Chess-boards may often be seen in requisition at the same time. CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, Newgate -street, is one of the five Royal Hospitals of the City of Lon- don, and was founded for destitute children, by Edward VI., June 26, 1553, on the site of the Grey Friars' Monastery. At the same time the King founded St. Thomas's and Bridewell Hospitals : the three found- ations forming part of a comprehensive scheme of charity, originating in a sermon preached before his Majesty by the pious Bishop Ridley. Besides the sites and appurtenances, Edward bestowed lands for their support to the amount of 600Z. a-year ; " and then said in the hearing of his Councell, '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.' After which foundation established, he lived not above two daies ; whose life would have been wished equall to the patriarches, if it had pleased God so to have prolonged it." (Stow.) A picture (attributed to Holbein) which hangs in Chiist's Hospital Hall portrays this interesting scene. The young monarch s tson an elevated throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the sceptre in his left hand, and presenting with the other the charter to the kneeling Lord Mayor. By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next to him are other officers of state. Bishop Ridley kneels before him with uplifted hands, as if suppl-cating a blessing on the event; whilst the Aldermen, &c., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the middle g ound of the picture; and lastly, in front are a double row of boys on one side, and girls on the other, from the master and matron down to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective rows, and kneel with raised hands before the King. The old monastic buildings were then repaired : the citizens became animated by Edward's zeal ; and, by aid of their benefactions, in Nov. 1552, 340 " poore fatherlesse children " were admitted within the ancient monastery walls. " On Christmas-day," says Stow, " while the Lord Maior and Aldermen rode to Paul's, the children of Christ's Hospitall stood from St. Lawrence-lane end in Cheape towards Paul's, all in one livery of russet cotton, 340 in. number ; and at Easter next they were in blue, at the Spittle, and so have continued ever since." Hence the popular name of the Hospital, "the Blue-Coat School." Since this period, the income of the institution has known much fluctuation ; and consequently, also, the number of inmates. The 340 children with which the Hospital opened had dwindled in 1580 to 150. The object of the institution has also, in the lapse of time, be- come materially changed, which may in a great measure be attributed to the influence of the Governors, or benefactors, its chief supporters. CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. 81 The Hospital suffered materially in the Great Fire of 1666, when the church of the monastery was destroyed. It was rebuilt by Sir Chris- topher Wren, between the years 1687 and 1705 ; and here are annually preached the " Spital Sermons." There is scarcely any portion of the ancient friary remaining, except the Cloisters. The Hospital was rebuilt by the Governors, by anticipating its re- venue. The first important addition to the foundation, after the Fire, was the Mathematical School, founded by Charles II. in 1672, for forty boys to be instructed in navigation : they are called "King's Boys," and wear a badge on the right shoulder. Lest this Mathematical School should fail for want of boys properly qualified to supply it, one Mr. Stone, a Governor, left a legacy to maintain a subordinate Mathema- tical School of twelve boys ("the Twelves")} who wear a badge on the left shoulder ; to these have been added " the Twos." This was the first considerable extension of the system of education at the Hospital, which originally consisted of a grammar-school for boys ; and a separate school for girls, where the latter were taught to read, sew, and mark. A book is preserved containing the records of the Hos- pital from its foundation, and an anthem sung by the first children. The East Cloister and south front were next (1675) rebuilt by Sir Robert Clayton, alderman, and cost him about 7000Z. ; but it was not known who was the benefactor until the whole was finished. The Writing-School, a large edifice, was built by Wren in 1694, at the expense of Sir John Moore, Lord Mayor in 1681, of whom a marble statue is placed in the faade. This school is situate on the west side of the playground, and being supported on columns, the under part, called the New Cloister, shelters the boys in bad weather. The Ward over the East Cloister was rebuilt, in 1705, by Sir Francis Child, the banker. In 1795, the Grammar School, of neat yellow brick, near Little Britain, and on the north side of the ditch playground, was erected partly with a sum of money bequeathed by John Smith, Esq. The old buildings of the Hospital had been altered, enlarged, and augmented at different periods ; but, becoming ruinous and unsafe, the Governors, in 1803, determined to rebuild the whole. With a part of the general revenues of the Hospital was, therefore, established a building fund ; and with that, aided by a grant of 5000/. from the Cor- poration of London, and many private benefactions, the grand under- taking was commenced. The architect was the late John Shaw, F.R.S. and F.S.A., who has been succeeded by his son. Of the great Dining Hall the first stone was laid by the Duke of York, April 25th, 1825. This noble structure is in the Tudor style, and is built partly on the ancient wall of London, and partly on the foundation of the refectory of the Grey Friars. The back wall stands on the site of the ditch that an- ciently surrounded London, and is built on piles driven 20 feet deep : in excavating for the foundation, there were found some Roman urns and coins, and some curious leathern sandals. The southern or principal front, facing Newgate-street, is supported by buttresses, and has an octa- gonal tower at each extremity ; and the summit is embattled and pin- nacled. On the ground story is an open arcade (187 feet in length, and 16i feet in width) : here also are a meeting-room for the Governors, the Hospital wardrobe, &c. Over the centre arch of the arcade is a bust of Edward VI. The area in front, or play-ground, is enclosed by handsome metal gates, enriched with the arms of the Hospital : argent, a cross gules, in the dexter chief, a dagger of the first (City of London), on a chief azure, between two fleurs-de-lis or, a rose argent. The Dining Hall, with its lobby and organ -gallery, occupies the entire upper story, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet 82 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. high : it is lit by nine large and handsome windows on the south side : next to Westminster Hall, it is the noblest room in the metropolis. The arcade beneath the Hall is built with blocks of Haytor granite, highly wrought ; and the remainder of the front is of Portland stone. The basement story contains the Kitchen, 67 feet in length and 33 feet in width, besides butteries, cellars, &c. In the rear of the Hall is the Infirmary, a large building erected in 1822; and on the east and west sides of the Cloister are the Dormitories. In the great Dining Hall, besides the picture of Edward VI. granting the Hospital Charter (said to be by Holbein), is a large painting, by Verrio, of James II. on his throne, receiving the " Mathematical Boys," as at the annual presentation to this day ; though in this picture are girls as well as boys. It was presented to the Hospital by Verrio, who also painted a full-length of Charles II., which hangs near it. Here, too, are full-lengths of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, by F. Grant, A.R.A. ; and Brook Watson's escape, when a boy, from a shark, with the loss of a leg, while bathing, painted by J. S. Copley, R.A., the father of Lord Lyndhurst. In this Hall are held the " Suppings in Public," on the seven Sun- day evenings preceding Easter Sunday, and on that evening, to which visitors are admitted by tickets given by the Treasurer and by the Go- vernors, each of whom issues a certain number. The tables are laid with cheese in wooden bowls; beer in wooden piggins, poured from leathern jacks; and bread brought in huge baskets. The official com- pany then enter, the Lord Mayor or President taking a state chair made of oak from old St. Katherine's Church ; a hymn is sung, accompanied by the organ ; a Grecian reads the evening service from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three strokes of a hammer. After prayers, the meal commences, the visitors walking between the tables. At its close, the " trade boys" take up the piggins and jacks, baskets, bowls, and candle- sticks, and pass in procession before the authorities, bowing to them ; the entire 800 boys thus passing out. This interesting spectacle was witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on Sunday evening, March 9, 1845. The Spital Sermons* are preached in Christchurch, Newgate-street, on Easter Monday and Tuesday, before the Lord Mayor and Corpora- tion, and Governors of the five Royal Hospitals ; the Bishops in turn preaching on Monday, and usually his Lordship's chaplain on Tuesday. On Monday, the children, headed by the beadle, proceed to the Mansion House, and return in procession to Christchurch with the Lord Mayor and City authorities, to hear the sermon. On Tuesday, the children again go to the Mansion House, and pass through the Egyptian Hall before the Lord Mayor, each boy receiving a glass of wine, two buns, and a shilling ; the monitors half-a-crown each, and the Grecians a guinea. They then return to Christchurch, as on Monday. The boys formerly visited the Ro} r al Exchange on Easter Monday ; but this has been dis- continued since the burning of the last Exchange in 1838. At the first Drawing-room of the year, forty " Mathematical Boys" are presented to the Sovereign, who gives them 81. 8s. as a gratuity. To this other members of the Royal Family formerly added smaller sums, and the whole was divided among the ten boys who left the school in the year. On the illness of King George III. these presentations were dis- continued ; but the Governors of the Hospital continued to pay II. 3s. y the amount ordinarily received by each, to every boy on quitting. The practice of receiving the children was revived by William IV. Each of the " Mathematical Boys" having passed his Trinity-House * See CHURCHES: CHRIST CHURCH, Newgate-street, \vith the origin of the Spital Sermons. CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. 83 examination, and received testimonials of his good conduct, is presented with a watch, as a reward, worth from 91. to 131. ; in addition to an outfit of clothes, books, mathematical instruments, a Gunter's scale, a quad- rant, and sea-chest. On St. Matthew's Day, (Sept. 21,) "the Grecians" deliver orations before the Lord Mayor, Corporation, Governors, and their friends ; this being a relic of the scholars' disputations in the cloisters. Christ's Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London. On the visit of Queen Victoria in 1837, a booth was erected for the Hospital boys in St. Paul's Churchyard ; and on the Royal carriage reaching the Cathedral west gate, the senior scholar, with the Head Master and Treasurer, advanced to the coach-door, and delivered a con- gratulatory address to her Majesty, with a copy of the same on vellum. The dress of the " Blue-Coat" boys is the costume of the citizens of London at the time of the foundation of the Hospital, when blue coats were the common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were generally worn. Mr. Brayley describes the dress as the nearest approach to the monkish costume now worn ; (Londiniana, vol. ii. p. 153 :) the dark-blue coat, with a close-fitting body and loose skirts, being the ancient tunic, and the under-coat, or " yellow," the sleeveless under-tunic of the monastery. The girdle was also a monas- tic appendage : the boys wear it of red leather. Yellow worsted stock- ings, a flat black woollen cap, (scarcely larger than a saucer), and a clerical neckband, complete the dress. The education of the boys consists of reading, writing, and arithme- tic, French, the classics, and the mathematics. There are sixteen Ex- hibitions for scholars at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, besides a "Pitt Scholarship," and a "Times Scholarship," the latter founded by the proprietors of that journal, with a fund subscribed by the public in testimony of their detection of the Bogle fraud, 1841. There are also separate trusts held by the Governors of the Hospital, which are distributed to poor widows, to the blind, and in apprenticing boys, &c. The annual income of the Hospital is about 50,000/. j its ordi- nary disbursements, are 48,OOOJ. There is printed annually, and freely circulated, "A True Report of the Num- ber of Children and other poor People maintained in the several Royal Hospitals of the City of London, under the pious care of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Governors thereof, for the year last past." This docu- ment, in appearance, resembles a sheet almanack : it is headed by the Easter anthem set to music ; and it is enclosed in a woodcut border, the design of which indicates the custom of printing these Reports to have been of long standing. In the upper portion of the border are the Royal Arms ; at the sides are the City Arms, ancient and modern ; in medallions at the corners are three figures of the Christ's Hospital boys, and one of a girl ; at the foot is an emblematic group, with the old Hospital in the background ; and beneath it is inscribed on a ribbon, " Pray remember the Poor." There are several portraits in the Treasurer's room, including two of Edward VI. by Holbein, one of which belonged to Sir Anthony Mildmay, Queen Elizabeth's Chancellor. The general burial-ground of the Hospital is between the south cloister and the houses in Newgate-street, where the funerals formerly took place by torch-light, and the service was preceded by an anthem, thus reviving the monastic associations of the place. The burials are now by daylight. Among the eminent "Blues" from the present period were, Leigh Hunt ; Thomas Barnes, many years editor of the Times newspaper ; Thomas Mitchell, the translator of Aristophanes ; S. T. Coleridge, the 84 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. poet, and Charles Lamb, his contemporary ; Middleton, Bishop of Cal- cutta ; Jeremiah Markland, the best scholar and critic of the last cen- tury ; Samuel Richardson, the novelist ; Joshua Barnes, the scholiast ; Bishop Stillingfleet ; Camden, " the nourrice of antiquitie ;" and Cam- pion, the learned Jesuit of the age of Elizabeth. Coleridge, Charles Lamb, and Leigh Hunt have published many interesting reminiscences of their contemporaries in the school. The subordinate establishment is at Hertford, to which the younger boys are sent preparatory to their entering on the foundation in Lon- don, which takes plaee as vacancies occur. The building at Hertford was erected by the Hospital Governors in 1683; when full, it will con- tain 416 children, of whom about 200 are taught the classics. There is likewise accommodation here for 80 girls. Besides the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, and twelve members of the Common Council, who are Governors ex officio, there are between 400 and 500 other Governors, at the head of whom are the Queen and Prince Albert, with the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, and the Duke of Cambridge. The qua- lification for Governor is a donation of 5001. ; an Alderman may nominate a Governor for election at half-price. There are from 1400 to 1500 children on the foundation, including those at the branch establishment at Hertford. About 200 boys are admitted annually, (at the age of from 7 to 10 years), by presentations of the Governors; the Queen, the Lord Mayor (two presentations), and the Court of Aldermen presenting annually, and the other Governors in rotation, so that the privilege occurs about once in three or four years. A List of the Governors having presentations is published annually in March, and is to be had at the counting- house of the Hospital. " Grecians" and " King's Boys" remain ia the school after they are fifteen years old ; but the other boys leave at that age. CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. London and the suburbs, in the Middle Ages, contained, according to Fitz-Stephen, " 13 churches belonging to convents, besides 126 lesser parish churches." Stow states the entire number of churches at his time, in and about London, within four miles' compass, at 139 ; and thus they, doubtless, remained down to 1666, when the Great Fire at once destroyed 89 of their number, 35 of which were not rebuilt. The sites of the latter are mostly, to this day, denoted by their burial- grounds, a few of which have each a tablet inscribed with the name of the late church, and stating to whom dedicated. Pepys records this odd coincidence concerning the London churches destroyed in the Great Fire : "Jan. 7th, 1667-8. It is observed, and is true, in the late Fire of London, that the fire burned just as many parish churches as there were hours from the beginning to the end of the fire ; and next, that there were just as many churches left standing in the rest of the city that was not burned, being, I think, thirteen in all of each ; which is pretty to observe." Eleven of the thirteen churches " belonging to convents" may be traced. Thus, we find in Fitz-Stephen's time, Trinity Priory, Aldgate ; St. Bartholomew's, West Smithfield (seepage 31) ; Bermondsey, South- wark (see page 40); St. James's Priory, Clerkenwell; the Priory of St. John the Baptist, Holy well, Shoreditch ; St. Katherine's Hospital, by the Tower; St. Thomas Aeon, at the south-west corner of King- street, Cheapside, upon the site of the birthplace of Thomas a Becket ; St. John of Jerusalem, Clerkenwell ; the Temple ; St. Mary Overie's, Southwark ; and St. Martin's-le-Grand, so named from its magnificence. All, except Bermondsey, are shewn in the Sutherland View, 1543. We shall first describe the two " Mother Churches" of London and Westminster. OLD SAINT PAUL'S. The present Cathedral of St. Paul is the third church built to that saint, very nearly upon the same site. The first church was founded CHURCHES: OLD SAINT PAUL'S. 85 about A.D. 610, by Ethelbert, King of Kent, but destroyed by fire in 1087. Its rebuilding was commenced by Bishop Maurice, whose suc- cessor completed the enclosing walls, which extended as far as Pater- noster-row and Ave-Maria-lane, on one side; and to Old Change, Carter-lane, and Creed-lane, on the other. This second church, " Old Saint Paul's," was built of Caen stone : it was greatly injured by fire in 1137 ; but a new steeple was finished in 1221, and in 1240 a choir. The entire edifice was 690 feet long, and 130 feet broad ; and its tower and spire rose 520 feet, or 116 feet higher than the spire of Salisbury Cathedral; 64 feet loftier than that of Vienna; 50 feet higher than that of Strasburg ; surpassing the height of the Great Pyramid of Egypt ; and higher than the Monument placed upon the cross of the present Cathe- dral. It had a bowl of copper-gilt, 9 feet in compass (large enough to hold 10 bushels of corn), supporting a cross 15| feet high, surmounted by an "eagle-cock of copper-gilt, 4 feet long." In 1314, the cross fell; and the steeple, of wood covered with lead, being ruinous, was taken down, and rebuilt with a new gilt ball. In 1444, it was nearly de- stroyed by lightning, and not repaired till 1462. In 1561, the Cathedral was partly burnt, but was restored by 1566, except the spire, which was never rebuilt. The church was of the Latin-cross form, with a Lady-chapel, and two other chapels, at the east end ; near which, on the north side, stood Paul's or Powly 's Cross, with a pulpit whence sermons were preached, the anathema of the Pope thundered forth, heresies recanted, and sins atoned for : here, in 1483, Jane Shore, with a taper in one hand, and arrayed in her " kertell onelye," did open penance : " Before the worlde I suffered open shame, Where people were as thicke as is the sand, A penaunce took, -with taper in my hand." Higin's Coll. 1587. This famous Cross was pulled down in 1643 by order of Parliament ; but its site was long denoted by a tall elm-tree. At the eastern extremity of the churchyard stood a square clochier, or bell-tower, with four bells, rung to summon the citizens to folkmotes held here. These bells belonged to St. Faith's under St. Paul's, a church so situated, but demolished about 1256, when part of the crypt beneath the Cathedral choir was granted to the parishioners for divine service : hence the popular story in our time of there being a church under St. Paul's, and service in it once a year. At the south-west corner was the parish-church of St. Gregory. Fuller wittily describes Old St. Paul's as being" truly the mother-church, having one babe in her body St. Faith's and another in her arms St. Gregory's." On the south side of the Cathedral, within a cloister, was a chapter- house, in the pointed style : and on the north, on the walls of another cloister, next to the charnel-house, was a " Dance of Death," or, as Stow calls it, "Death leading all Estates, curiously painted upon board, with the speeches of Death, and answer of every Estate," by John Lyd- gate. It was painted at the cost of John Carpenter, Town Clerk of London, temp. Henry V. and VI. The interior of the church was divided throughout by two ranges of clustered columns; it had a rich screen, and canopied doorways ; and a large painted rose-window at the east end. The walls were sumptu- ously adorned with pictures, shrines, and curiously wrought taber- nacles ; gold and silver, rubies, emeralds, and pearls glittered in splen- did profusion ; and upon the high altar were heaped countless stores of gold and silver plate, and illuminated missals. The shrine of St. Erkenwald (the fourth bishop), at the back of the high altar, had among its jewels a sapphire, believed to cure diseases of the eye. The mere enumeration of these treasures fills twenty-eight pages of Dugdale's folio history of the Cathedral. 86 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Camden relates, that on the anniversary of the Conversion of St. Paul, January 25, held in the church, a fat buck was received with great formality at the choir-entrance by the canons, in their sacerdotal vestments, and with chaplets of flowers on their heads; whilst the antlers of the buck were carried on a pike in procession round the edifice, with horns blowing, &c. On the buck being offered at the high altar, one shilling was paid by the Dean and Chapter. Within was the tomb of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, with the chivalric appointments of proper helmet and spear and target. Here also were monuments to Sir Nicholas Bacon and Sir Christopher Hatton, and tablets to Sir Philip Sydney and Sir Francis Walsingham; the skeleton effigies of Colet, founder of St. Paul's School ; and of Dr. Donne, the poet, erect in his stony shroud. Van Dyck was buried here, but had not a monument. Here, too, in the nave, was the tomb of Sir John Beauchamp, son of Guy Earl of Warwick : it was unaccountably called " Duke Humphrey's Tomb," and the dinnerless persons who lounged here were said to dine with Duke Humphrey. But, perhaps, the finest monument was that of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, Edward I.'s able lieutenant in his Scottish expeditions ; his portrait effigy lay upon an altar of beautiful decoration. The state obsequies were a profitable privilege of the Cathedral : the choir was hung with black and escutcheons ; and the herses were magnificently adorned with banner-rolls and other insignia of vainglory. The floor was laid out in walks : " the south alley for usurye and poperye ; the north for simony and the horse-fair ; in the midst for all kinds of bargains, meetings, brawlings, murthers, conspiracies, &c." The middle aisle was called Paul's Walk, and was a lounge for idlers and hunters after news, wits and gallants, cheats, usurers, and knights of the post ; the font itself being used as a counter. Ben Jonson has laid a scene of his Every Man out of his Humour in " the middle aisle in Paule's;" Captain Bobadil is a " Paul's man ;" and Falstaff bought Bardolph in Paul's. Greene, in his Theeves falling out, $., says : " Walke in the middle of Paul's, and gentlemen's teeth walk not faster at ordinaries, than there a whole day together about enquiry after news." Bishop Earle, in his MicrocosmograpJiia, 1629, says: " Paul's Walke is the Land's Epitome, or you may cal it the lesser He of Great Brittaine. * * * The noyse in it is like that of Bees, in strange hummings or buzze, mixt of walking, tongues, and feet ; it is a kind of still roare, or loud whisper." It was a common thoroughfare for porters and carriers, for ale, beer, bread, fish, flesh, fardels of stuff, and " mules, horses, and other beasts ;" drunkards lay sleeping on the benches at the choir-door ; within, dunghills were suffered to accumu- late ; and in the choir people walked " with their hatts on their heddes." Dekker,in his Gulls Hornbook,tells us that the church was profaned by shops, not only of booksellers, but of other trades, such as "the semsters' shops," and "the new tobacco office." He also mentions "Paul's Jacks," automaton figures which struck the quarters on the clock. The desecration of the exterior of the church was more abominable. The chantry and other chapels were used for stones and lumber, as a school and a glazier's workshop ; parts of the vaults were occupied by a carpenter, and as a wine-cellar ; and the cloisters were let out to trunk- makers, whose "knocking and noyse " r greatly disturbed the church- service. Houses were built against the outer walls, in which closets and window-ways were made : one was used " as a play-house," and in another the owner " baked his bread and pies in an oven excavated within a buttress ;" for a trifling fee, the bell-ringers allowed wights to ascend the tower, halloo, and throw stones at the passengers be- neath. CHURCHES: OLD SAINT PAUL'S. 87 On special saints' days it was customary for the choristers of the Cathedral to ascend the spire to a great height, and there to chant solemn prayers and anthems : the last observance of this custom was in the reign of Queen Mary, when, " after even-song, the quere of Paules began to go about the steeple singing with lightes, after the olde custome." A similar tenure-custom is observed to this day at Oxford, on the morning of May 1, on Magdalen College tower. We read, too, of rope-dancing feats from the battlements of St. Paul's exhibited before Edward VI., and in the reign of Queen Mary, who, the day before her coronation, also witnessed a Dutchman stand- ing upon the weathercock of the steeple, waving a five-yard streamer ! Another marvel of this class was the ascent of Bankes, on his famous horse Marocco, to the top of St. Paul's, in 1660. The first recorded Lottery in England was drawn at the west door in 1569. At length, the vast pile became dilapidated ; but no effectual step for its repair was taken until 1633, when Inigo Jones commenced the great work : to remove the desecration from the nave to the exterior, he built, it is stated at the expense of Charles I., at the west end, a Corinthian portico of eight columns, with a balustrade in panels, upon which he intended to have placed ten statues : this portico was 200 feet long, 40 feet high, and 50 feet deep ; but its classic design, affixed to a Gothic church, must be condemned, unless it be considered as an instalment of a new cathedral. Laud was then Bishop of London. The sum col- lected was 101,330?. ; and the repairs progressed until about one-third of the money was expended, in 1642, when they were stopped by the con- tests between Charles and his people : the funds in hand were seized to pay the soldiers of the Commonwealth, and barracks made in the church. Shortly after the Restoration, the repairs were resumed under Sir John Denham; and "that miracle of a youth," Wren, drew plans for the entire renovation. In the Great Fire of 1666, the church was re- duced to a heap of ruins ; and books valued at 150,OOOZ., which had been placed in St. Faith's (the crypt) for safety by the stationers of Pater- noster-row, were entirely destroyed. After the Fire, Wren removed part of the thick walls by gunpowder, but most he levelled with a battering-ram: some of the stone was used to build parish churches, and some to pave the neighbouring streets ; and thus was prepared the ground for the present Cathedral. Relative positions of the Old and New Cathedrals. 88 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ST. PAUL'S CATHEDBAL. Nearly eight years elapsed after the Great Fire ere the ruins of the old Cathedral were cleared from the site. Meanwhile, Wren was instructed " to contrive a fabric of moderate bulk, but of good propor- tion ; a convenient quire, with a vestibule and porticoes, and a dome conspicuous above the houses." A design was accordingly prepared, octagonal in plan, with a central dome and cupolettas, and affording a vast number of picturesque combinations, as shewn in the model, pre- served to this day. This was rejected ; and the surveyor next devised " a cathedral form, so altered as to reconcile, as near as possible, the Gothic to a better manner of architecture;" which being approved, Charles II. issued his warrant for commencing the works May 1, 1675. In digging the foundation, a vast cemetery was discovered, in which Britons, Romans, and Saxons had been successively buried ; and on digging deeper, marine shells were found, thus- proving that the sea once flowed over the site of the present Cathedral. Wren did not, how- ever, find any remains to support the tradition of a Roman temple to Diana having once occupied this spot. The first stone of the new church was laid June 21, 1675, by the architect and his lodge of Freemasons; and the trowel and mallet then used are preserved in the Lodge of Antiquity, of which Wren was master. In commencing the works, he accidentally set out the di- mensions of the dome upon a piece of a gravestone inscribed Resurgam (I shall rise again) ; which propitious circumstance is commemorated in a Phcenix rising from the flames, with the motto Resurgam, sculp- tured by Gibber in the pediment over the southern portico. In 1678 Wren set out the piers and pendentives of the dome. By 1685, the walls of the choir and its side aisles, and the north and south semi- circular* porticoes, were finished ; the piers of the dome were also brought up to the same height. On Dec. 2, 1697, the choir was opened on the day of thanksgiving for the peace of Ryswick, when Bishop Burnet preached before King William. On Feb. 1, 1699, the Morning Prayer Chapel, at the north-west angle, was opened ; and in 1710 the son of the architect laid the last stone the highest slab on the top of the lantern. Thus, the whole edifice was finished in thirty-five years ; under one architect, Sir Christopher Wren ; one master-mason, Mr. Thomas Strong ; and while one bishop, Dr. Henry Compton, occupied the see. For his services, Wren obtained, with difficulty, 200?. per annum! "and for this," said the Duchess of Marlborough, "he was content to be dragged up in a basket three or four times a week." The fund raised for the rebuilding amounted, in ten years, to 216,000?.; a new duty laid on coals for this purpose produced 5000?. a-year ; and the King contributed 10,000?. annually. The Cathedral remained almost untouched until the reign of George III., when Mylne was appointed its conservating architect ; an office since filled by C. R. Cockerel!, R.A., who, in 1821-2, renewed the copper ball and cross* the original ball being preserved at the Colos- seum, in the Regent's Park. In 1841, the exterior of the dome was * It was during these repairs that Mr. Hornor, having passed the summer of 1820, in the lantern above the dome, in executing a general view of the metro- polis, next erected, at several feet above the highest portion of the present cross, an observatory, in which he drew a new series of sketches on 280 sheets of draw- ing-paper a surface of 1680 square feet. From these sketches was painted the great panoramic view of London and the suburbs, first exhibited at the Colosseum, Regent's Park, in 1829. In 1848, there was put up from the Golden Gallery to the summit of the cross a scaffold supporting an observatory, as the main station for a new trigonometrical survey of the metropolis ; and between 3000 and 4000 observations were taken here within three months. CHURCHES: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. 89 repaired by the workmen resting upon a shifting iron frame. The golden gallery railing has since been regilt. Exterior. St. Paul's occupies very nearly the site of the old Cathe- dral, in the centre and most elevated part of the City ; though its highest point, the cross, is 36 feet lower than the Castle Tavern, on Hampstead Heath. The plan of St. Paul's is a Latin cross, and bears a general resemblance to that of St. Peter's. Its length, from the east to the west wall, is 500 feet ; north to south, 250 feet ; width, 125 feet, except at the western end, where two towers, and chapels beyond, make this, the principal front, facing Ludgate Hill, about 180 feet in width. The chapels are, the Morning Prayer, north ; and the Consistory Court, south. The exterior generally is of two orders, 100 feet in height the iipper Compo- site, and the lower Corinthi- an ; and the surface of the church is Portlan d stone, rus- ticated or grooved through- out. At the east end is a se- micircular recess, containing the altar. At the west end, a noble flight of steps ascends to a double portico of coupled columns, twelvein the lower, Corinthian ; and eight in the upper, Composite ; terminat - ed by a pediment, in the tym- panum of which (6-i feet long and 17 feet high) is the con- version of St. Paul, sculptur- ed in pretty high relief by Bird ; on the apex is a colos- sal figure of St. Paul, and on the right and left, St. Peter and St. James. Beneath the lower portico are the doors, and above them a sculptured group, in white marble, of St. Paul preaching to the Bereans. This double porti- co has been much censured : Wren pleaded that he could not obtain stone of sufficient height for the shafts of one grand portico; "but," says Mr. Gwilt, "it would have been far better to have had , the columns in manv nieces Ground Plan of st - Paul s Cathedral. A. Nave, mns in many pieces, B . Grea t Dome. C. North Transept. D. South and even with verticaljomts, Transept. E. Choir. than to have placed one por- tico above another." At the extremities of this front rise, 220 feet, two campanile towers, terminating in open lanterns, " covered with domes formed by curves of contrary flexure, and not very purely composed, though, perhaps, in character with the general faade." (Gwilt.} Each dome has a gilt pine-apple at the apex : the south tower con- tains the clock, and the north is a belfry ; and in the west faces are statues of the four Evangelists. At the northern and southern ends of the transepts, the lower order, Corinthian, is continued into porticoes 90 CUEIOSITIES OF LONDON. of six fluted columns, standing, in plan, on the segment of a circle, and crowned with a semi-dome. In the upper order are two pediments, the south sculptured with the Phoenix, and the north with the royal arms and regalia ; and on each side are five statues of the Apostles. The main building is surmounted with a balustrade, not in Wren's de- sign, the obtrusion of which by the Commissioners caused the architect to say : " I never designed a balustrade : ladies think nothing well with- out an edging." The Cathedral was scientifically secured from lightning, according to the suggestion of the Royal Society, in 1769. The seven iron scrolls supporting the ball and cross are connected with other rods (used merely as conductors), which unite them with several large bars descending obliquely to the stone-work of the lantern, and connected by an iron ring with four other iron bars to the lead cover- ing of the great cupola, a distance of forty-eight feet ; thence the communication is continued by the rain-water pipes to the lead-covered roof, and thence by lead water-pipes which pass into the earth; thus completing the entire communi- cation from the cross to the ground, partly through iron and partly through lead. On the clock-tower a bar of iron connects the pine-apple at the top with the iron staircase, and thence with the lead on the roof of the church. The bell-tower is similarly protected. By these means the metal used in the building is made available as conductors ; the metal employed merely for that purpose being ex- ceedingly small in quantity. (Times, Sept. 8, 1842, abridged.) Construction. The following details are by an eminent architect : The entrances from the transepts lead into vestibules, each communicating with the centre, and its aisles formed between two massive piers and the walls at the intersections of the transepts with the choir and nave. The eight piers are joined by arches springing from one to the other, so as to form an octagon at their springing points ; and the angles between the arches, instead of rising vertically, sail over as they rise and form pendentives, which lead, at their top, into a circle on the plan. Above this a wall rises in the form of a truncated cone, which, at the height of 168 feet from the pavement, terminates in a horizontal cornice, from which the interior dome springs. Its diameter is 100 feet, and it is 60 feet in height, in the form of a paraboloid. Its thickness is 18 inches, and it is con- structed of brickwork. From the haunches of this dome, 200 feet above the pavement of the church, another cone of brickwork commences, 85 feet high, and 94 feet diameter at the bottom. This cone is pierced with apertures, as well for the purpose of diminishing its weight as for distributing light between it and the outer dome. At the top it is gathered into a dome, in the form of a hyperboloid, pierced near the vertex with an aperture 12 feet in diameter. The top of this cone is 285 feet from the pavement, and carries a lantern 55 feet high, terminat- ing in a dome, whereon a ball and (aveline) cross is raised. The last-named cone is provided with corbels, sufficient in number to receive the hammer-beams of the external dome, which is of oak, and its base 220 feet from the pavement, its summit being level with the top of the cone. In form it is nearly hemispherical, and generated by radii 57 feet in length, whose centres are in a horizontal dia- meter, passing through its base. The cone and the interior dome are restrained in their lateral thrust on the supports by four tiers of strong iron chains (weighing 95 cwt. 3 qrs. 23 Ibs.), placed in grooves prepared for their reception, and run with lead. The lowest of these is inserted in the masonry round their common base, and the other three at different heights on the exterior of the cone. Externally, the intervals of the columns and pilasters are occupied by windows and niches, with horizontal and semicircular heads, and crowned with pediments. Over the intersection of the nave and transepts for the external work, and for a height of 25 feet above the roof of the church, a cylindrical wall rises, whose diameter is 146 feet. Between it and the lower conical wall is a space, but at intervals they are connected by cross walls. This cylinder is quite plain, but perforated by two courses of rectangular apertures. On it stands a peristyle of thirty columns of the Corinthian order, 40 feet high, including bases and capitals, with a plain entablature crowned by a balustrade. In this peristyle, every fourth intercolumniation is filled up solid, with a niche, and connexion is provided be- tween it and the wall of the lower cone. Vertically over the base of that cone, above the peristyle, rises another cylindrical wall, appearing above the balustrade. It is ornamented with pilasters, between which are two tiers of rectangular win- dows. From this wall, the external dome springs. The lantern receives no sup- port from it. It is merely ornamental, differing entirely in that respect from the dome of St. Peter's. (Gwilt's Encyclopedia of Architecture.) Externally the CHURCHES: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. 91 dome is of wood, covered with lead ; at its summit is The Golden Gallery, (with gilt railing,) where the lantern commences. The interior of the nave and choir are each designed with three arches longi- tudinally springing from piers, strengthened, as well as decorated, on their inner faces by an entablature, whose cornice reigns throughout the nave and church. Above this entablature, and breaking with it over each pilaster, is a tall attic from projections, on which spring semicircular arches which are formed into arcs doubleaux. Between the last, pendentives are formed, terminated by horizontal cornices. Small cupolas, of less height than their semi-diameter, are formed above these cornices. In the upright plane space on the walls above the main arches of the nave, choir, and transepts, a clerestory is obtained over the attic order, whose form is generated by the rising of the pendentives. (Gwilt.) Over the entrance to the Choir is a copy of the Latin epitaph on Wren, ending with " Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice," (Reader, if you would behold his monument, look around you). The screen of wrought iron which separates the Choir from the Nave is very elegant. Above this is placed the organ, built by Bernard Schmydt, in 1694, at a cost of 2000J. The Choir contains some of the finest carvings in the world, by Gib- bons : as, the episcopal throne ; the bishop's ordinary seat, with a mitre and pelican ; the lord-mayor's, with the mace and other insignia ; and the dean's stall, with fruit and flowers : for the entire work Gibbons received 1333Z. 7*. 5d. (see CARVINGS, p. 66). The lectern is a large brass-gilt eagle. The decoration of the east end is poor and mean, and was intended by Wren only to serve until he had provided for it a mag- nificent altar of Greek marbles, with a stately canopy. The side aisles, or oratories, were added to the Nave, as Wren de- signed it, by the Duke of York, afterwards James II., who " was willing to have them ready for the Popish service, when there should be occa- sion." Wren remonstrated with tears, but in vain. The walls and massive piers are bare of ornament ; though, in 1773, Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R.A., and five of his fellow Academicians, offered to furnish, gratis, a series of scripture pictures to be placed in the Cathedral ; but the proposition was rejected. Immediately under the centre of the dome, in the marble pavement, is a brass plate, denoting the position of Nelson's remains in the crypt, The Monuments (exceeding forty) have been for the most part voted by Parliament in honour of naval and military officers, though there are a few also to authors and artists, and philanthropists. But, in general, while civil eminence has been commemorated in Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's has been made a Pantheon for our heroes. At the entrance of the Choir is a colossal statue of John Howard, with an inscription by Samuel Whitbread, this being the first monument erected in the church (1796) ; at a corresponding point is a colossal statue of Dr. John- son, the inscription by Dr. Parr: both statues are by Bacon, R.A. : Howard, with his keys, is often mistaken for St. Peter ; and Johnson, with his scroll, for St. Paul. At opposite piers are statues of Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Flaxman, R.A., and Sir William Jones, by Bacon, R.A. Under the great choir arch is a monument to Lord Nelson, by Flaxman ; the statue is characteristic, but the figures about the pedestal are ab- surd. Opposite is a monument to Lord Cornwallis, by Rossi, R.A. : the Indian river-gods are most admired. In the south transept are mo- numents to Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Lord Collingwood, by Sir R. Westmacott, R.A., and to Lord Howe, by Flaxman ; statue of Elliot, Lord Heathfield, by Rossi, R.A. ; monument to Sir John Moore, by Bacon, R.A. ; statue of Sir W. Hoste, by Campbell; and Major- General Gillespie, by Chantrey, R.A. In the north transept, the principal are monuments to Lord Rodney and to Captains Mosse and Rivers, by Rossi, R.A.; Capt. Westcott, by Banks, R.A.; Gen. Ponsonby, a grace- 92 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ful composition, by Baily, R. A. ; Major-Gen. A. Gore and J. B. Skerrett, by Chantrey ; statue of Earl St. Vincent, by Baily, R. A. ; Gen. Picton, who fell at Waterloo, by Gahagan ; Admiral Duncan, an elegant figure, by Sir R. Westmacott, R.A. ; and Major-Gen. Dundas, by Bacon, R. A. In the south aisle of the nave is a monument to Dr. Middleton, the first Protestant Bishop of India, by Lough ; and in the south aisle of the choir is a kneeling figure of Bishop Heber, by Chantrey, R.A. Here also are statues of Sir Astley Cooper, by Baily, R.A., and Dr. Babing- ton, by Behnes. Two of the finest and most touching works here are Chantrey 's battle-piece monuments to Colonel Cadogan, mortally wounded at the battle of Vittoria; and Major-General Bowes, slain at the head of his men at the storming of Salamanca : these are poetic pictures of carnage closing in victory. The Crypt is now used only as a place of interment. In the south aisle is the grave of Sir Christopher Wren, covered by a flat stone, the English inscription upon which merely states that he died in 1723, aged 91 : hung on the adjoining wall is a tablet bearing the Latin epitaph, also placed over the choir entrance. Near Wren's remains are the ?-aves of our great painters. Hence, " if Westminster Abbey has its oets' Corner, so has St. Paul's its Painters' Corner. Sir Joshua Reynolds's statue, by Flaxman, is here, and Reynolds himself lies buried here ; and Barry, and Opie, and Lawrence are around him ; and, above all, the ashes of the great Van Dyck are in the earth under the Cathedral." (C. R. Leslie, R.A.} Here also are the altar-tombs of Robert Mylne, the architect, and John Rennie, the engineer. In the middle of the crypt, upon an altar-tomb, is Nelson's coffin, within a black marble sarcophagus made by order of Cardinal Wolsey, but left unused in the tomb-house adjoining St. George's Chapel, Windsor. It is surmounted with a viscount's coronet upon a cushion ; on the pedestal is inscribed, "Horatio Viscount Nelson." The coffin, made from part of the mainmast of the ship L' Orient, which blew up at the battle of the Nile, was presented to Nelson by his friend Ben Hallowell, captain of the Swiftsure. It was deposited* here January 9, 1806 (see ADMI- RALTY, page 2). Nelson's flag was to have been placed with the coffin ; but just as it was about to be lowered, the sailors who had borne it, moved by one impulse, rent it in pieces, each keeping a fragment. Lord Colliugwood, as he requested, lies near Nelson, beneath a plain altar-tomb ; and opposite lies Lord Northesk, distinguished in the vic- tory of Trafalgar. Here too are the graves of Dr. Boyce, next to Purcell, perhaps, the greatest English musician ; and George Dance, the architect, and the last survivor of the original forty of the Royal Academy. In a dark recess of the eastern wall are some remains of the monuments of Old St. Paul's (see page 86). The ascent to the Whispering Gallery is by 260 steps ; to the outer, or highest Golden Gallery, 560 steps ; and to the Ball, 616 steps. The Library, in the gallery over the southern aisle, was formed by Bishop Compton, whose portrait it contains. Here are about 7000 volumes, besides some manuscripts belonging to Old St. Paul's. The room has some fine brackets, and pilasters with flowers, exquisitely carved by Gibbons ; and the floor consists of 2300 pieces of oak, par- quetted, or inlaid without nails or pegs. At the end of this gallery is a Geometrical Staircase, of 110 steps, built by Wren, for private access to the Library. In crossing thence to the northern gallery, a fine view is gained of the entire vista of the Cathedral from west to east. You then reach the Model-Room, where are Wren's first design for St. Paul's, and some of the tattered flags formerly suspended beneath the dome. Returning to the southern gallery, a staircase leads to the south-western campanile tower, where is the Clock-Room. 93 The Clock is remarkable for the magnitude of its wheels and fine- ness of works, and cost 300Z. It was made by Langley Bradley in 1708 : it has two dial-plates, one south, the other west ; each is 51 feet in circumference, and the hour-numerals are 2 feet 2 inches in height. The minute-hand's are 9 feet 8 inches long, and weigh 75 Ibs. each ; and the hour-hands are 5 feet 9 inches long, and weigh 44 Ibs. each. The pendulum is 16 feet long, and the bob weighs 180 Ibs. ; yet it is suspended by a spring no thicker than a shilling : its beat is 2 se- conds, a dead beat, 30 to a minute instead of 60. The Clock, "going eight days," strikes the hour on the Great Bell,* suspended about 40 feet from the floor : the hammer lies on the outside brim of the bell ; it has a large head, weighs 1451bs., is drawn by a wire at the back part of the clockwork, and falls again by its own weight upon the bell. The clapper weighs ISOlbs. The hour struck by this clock has been heard, in the silence of midnight, on the terrace of "Windsor Castle. (See page 39.) Below the Great Bell are two smaller bells, on which the clock strikes the quarters : the larger of these weighs 24cwt. 2qrs. 25lbs ; the smaller, 12cwt. 2qrs. 91bs. The northern tower contains the bell tolled for prayers. The Whispering Gallery is reached by returning towards the dome, and again ascending. Here a low whisper, uttered on one side, may be distinctly heard at the opposite side, of the gallery. The phenomenon is thus explained by Dr. Paris : " M shews the situation of the mouth of the speaker, and E that of the ear of the hearer. Now, since sound radiates in all directions, a part of it will proceed directly from M to E, while other rays of it will proceed from M to u, and from M to z, &c. ; but the ray that impinges upon u will be reflected to E, while that which first touches z will be reflect- ed to y and from thence to E ; and so of all interme- diate rays, which are omitted in the figure to avoid confusion. It is evident, therefore, that the sound at E will be much stronger than if it had proceeded immediately from M without the assistance of the dome; for, in that case, the rays at z and u would have proceeded in straight lines, and consequently could never have arrived at the point E." Philosophy in Sport made Science in Earnest, p. 310. The Inner Dome (which Wren intended to have lined with mosaic) is plastered on the under side ; and painted, by Sir James Thornhill, with events in the life of St. Paul : 1. His Conversion ; 2. The Punish- ment of Elymas the Sorcerer ; 3. Cure of the Cripple at Lystra; 4. Conversion of the Gaoler ; 5. Paul preaching at Athens ; 6. Burning of the Books at Ephesus ; 7. Paul before Agrippa; 8. Shipwreck on the Island of Melita. For these paintings Thornhill only received 40s. per square yard : they are fast; decaying from damp. Although Mr. Parris, the painter, invented an apparatus by which they could be re- stored at a small expense, the Cathedral funds will not " afford it." The paintings are best seen from the Whispering Gallery, by the flood of light which pours from the lantern through the opening at the crown of the dome. When looking down into the Church, men seem but as children, and the immensity of the structure is best felt. From the Whispering Gallery, we ascend to The Stone Gallery, outside the base of the dome, where the gigantic * The new Great Tom of Lincoln, cast in 1834, is 6 cwt. heavier than the Great Bell of St. Paul's. Its tone is generally considered to be about the same as that of St. Paul's, but sweeter and softer. Mr. E. B. Denison, however, " thinks St. Paul's far the best of the four large bells of England, though it is the smallest of them, being about 5 tons; while York is 12, Lincoln 5, and Oxford 7^, which last is a remarkably bad bell." Treatise on Clock and Watch Making ( Weale, 1850). 94 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. height of the figures (11 feet) on the western pediment, and the out- lines of the campanile towers are very striking. There is a second outer gallery, still below the base of the dome ; and thence you ascend to The Outer Golden Gallery, at the summit of the dome ; the Inner Golden Gallery being at the base of the lantern. Through this the ascent is by ladders, to the small dome immediately below the inverted consoles which support The Ball and Cross ; and ascending through the iron-work in the centre, we look into the dark Ball. It is stated to weigh 56001bs.; thence to the Cross is 30 feet, the latter weighing 33601bs. The Vieivfrom the Outer Golden Gallery is very minute : the occu- pants of the streets below "appear like mice;" London seems little else than a dense mass of housetops, chimneys, and spires ; the Thames being conspicuous from its glittering surface, but the bridges appear- ing as dark lines across at intervals. Here, and at the higher points, in clear weather, the metropolis is seen as in a map, with the country 20 miles round. The north division of London rises gently from the Thames, to Hampstead and Highgate. On the east and west are fer- tile plains extending at least 20 miles, and watered by the Thames. On the south, the view is bounded by the high grounds of Richmond, Wimbledon, Epsom, Norwood, and Blackheath ; terminating in the horizon by Leith Hill, Box Hill, and the Reigate and Wrotham hills. Shooter's Hill is conspicuous eastward, and, in a more easterly direc- tion, parts of Epping Forest and other wooded uplands of Essex. Mr. Hornor describes the strange scene from this lofty summit at three o'clock in the morning as very impressive ; for here he frequently beheld " the Forest of London" without any indication of animated ex- istence. It was interesting to mark the gradual symptoms of returning life, until the rising sun vivified the whole into activity, bustle, and business. In high winds, the creaking and whistling of the scaffolding resembled those of a ship labouring in a storm ; and once Mr. Hornor^ observatory was torn from its fastenings, and turned partly over the edge of the platform.* The Establishment of the Cathedral consists of the Dean ; the pre- centor, or chanter ; the chancellor ; the treasurer ; the five arch- deacons of London, Middlesex, Essex, Colchester, and St. Alban's ; thirty major canons, or prebendaries, four of whom are resident ; twelve minor canons ; and six vicars choral, besides the children of the choir. One of the vicars choral officiates as organist, and three of the minor canons hold the places of sub-dean, librarian, and succentor, or under- precentor. Two of the brightest wits of their day, Sydney Smith (Peter Plymley'), d. 1845, and R. H. Barham (Thomas Ingoldsby), d. 1845, were at the same period Canons of St. Paul's. In 1849, the Rev. H. H. Milman (the poet) was appointed Dean, an office hitherto held by the Bishop of Llandaff for the time being. The lord-mayor's chaplain is the preacher on all state holidays ; viz. 30th January, 29th May, 20th June, and 5th November, on the first Sunday in term, and the anniversary of the Great Fire of 1666. The Paul's Cross sermons are also still preached. Sermons are preached by the Dean and canons-residentiary on Sunday afternoons and holidays, and every Wednesday and Friday during Lent. * An accident somewhat more perilous befel Mr. Gwyn, when measuring the top of the dome for a section of the Cathedral. While intent on his work his foot slipped, and he slid down the convex surface of the dome until his de- scent was fortunately obstructed by a small projecting piece of the lead. He thus remained until released from the impending danger by one of his assistants, who providentially discovered his awful situation. Mr, Hornor 'a Narrative. CHURCHES I ST. PAUL S CATHEDRAL. The choral service is performed at a quarter before ten in the morn- ing, and at a quarter past three in the afternoon. Divine service is likewise held in the Morning Prayer Chapel every week-day morning at eight o'clock. The Anniversary Festival of the Sons of the Clergy is celebrated in the Cathedral about the middle of May ; when the service is preceded by a performance of sacred music, selected from Handel, Boyce, Atwood, and others ; aided by the choirs of St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, and the Chapel Royal. The Anniversary of the Charity Schools is customarily held on the first Thursday in June ; when 8000 of the charity-school children are generally present, upon an amphitheatre of seats erected beneath the great dome, and the effect of their united " songs of praise" is very impressive. Both these festivals are usually graced by the presence of royalty. Admission. Visitors are admitted to view the building daily, except during the time of divine service. The following are the charges : s. d. To view the Monuments and body of the Church . . . .02 To the Whispering Galleries and the two outside Galleries . .06 To the Ball 16 To the Library, Great Bell, Geometrical Staircase, and Model Room 1 Clock 02 Crypt, or Vaults 10 Or 4s. 4d. each person. The general entrance is at the great North Door, opposite Canon-alley. The admission-fee originated in " the Stairs-foot Money," fixed by Jennings, the carpenter, in 1707 ; the proceeds of which were applied to the relief of those men to whom accidents happened during the pro- gress of the works. In 1849, the sum received from visitors to the body of the Cathedral, at 2d. each, was 430/. 3s. 3d., which was divided among the four vergers. Nearly opposite the North Door in St. Paul's Churchyard is the Convocation or Chapter House of the Cathedral, where a kind of clerical parliament is summoned with every new Imperial Parlia- ment. The State processions to St. Paul's have been very imposing. Queen Anne came yearly to return thanks for the brilliant successes of Marl- borough, who carried the sword of state before Her Majesty ; as did Wellington before the Prince Regent, on the day of thanksgiving for Eeace in 1814. George III. visited St. Paul's, to return public thanks jr his recovery from derangement, in 1789; and in 1797, in thanks- giving for naval victories. The last procession of this kind was on Nov. 29, 1820, when Queen Caroline went to St. Paul's, in thanks- giving for her deliverance from the Bill of Pains and Penalties. Churchyard. The enclosed ground-plot of the Cathedral is 2 acres 16 perches 70 feet. In the area before the west front, marking the site of St. Gregory's Church, is the statue of Queen Anne, with figures of Britain, France, Ireland, and America, at the corners of the pedestal. Sir Samuel Garth wrote some bitter lines upon this group, where " France above with downcast eyes is seen, The sad attendant of so good a queen." Her Majesty's nose was struck off by a lunatic, about a century ago, and has but lately been repaired. The Churchyard is enclosed with a dwarf stone wall, on which is a noble iron balustrade, 5 feet 6 inches high; there are in it seven ornamental gates, which, with the 2500 rails, weigh 200 tons Sllbs. They were cast at Gloucester Furnace, Lamberhurst, Kent ; they cost 6d. per pound, and with other charges, amounted to 11,2021. 0*. Qd. ; the cost of the Church was 736,752?. 2*. 3d.-, 96 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. in all, 7-47,954?. 2s. 9d.,* equal to 1,222,4377. present money. About nine-tenths of this sum were raised by a tax on coals received into the port of London. It has more than once been proposed to remove the wall and balustrade, or a portion of them. Annexed is a recapitulation of the main dimensions : ft. in. Circumference of the Cathedral 2292 Height of Centre, exclusive of Dome Height of Nave, Choir, and Transepts Height from floor of Crypt to top of Cross Height from Nave pavement to top of Cross Height of Western Towers Height of Western Front .... Diameter of Interior Dome Height of Dome Height of Dome from ground-line Diameter of opening at top of Dome 210 100 404 360 220 138 100 60 215 14 10| Height of Lantern Gallery 274 Diameter of opening at top of Upper Dome . . 80 The following are the comparative dimensions of St. Paul's, London, and St. Peter's at Rome : E.toW. West end, Ditto, Tran- Height within. in. out. sept. to top. St. Paul's . 500 100 138 223 360 English feet. St. Peter's . 669 226 395 442 432 St. Peter's occupies an area of . . 227,069 superficial feet. St. Paul's 84,025 St. Mary's, at Florence .... 84,802 ,, " For external elegance," says Mr. Gwilt, " we know no church in Europe which exhibits a cupola comparable with that of St. Paul's; though in its connexion with the church by an order higher than that below it, there is a violation of the laws of the art. While, notwith- standing its inferior dimensions (it would stand within St. Peter's), the external appearance of St. Paul's has been preferred by many to that of St. Peter's, it is admitted by all that the interior of the English cathedral will bear no comparison with that of the Roman. The up- ward view of the dome of St. Paul's, however, conveys an impression of extraordinary magnificence; though not so elevated as St. Peter's, it is still very lofty : the form of the concave, which approaches con- siderably nearer to that of a circle the height being equal to a dia- meter and a half, while in St. Peter's it is equal to two diameters has also been considered more beautiful than that of its rival." As a whole, however, the effect is truly magnificent, surrounded as the vast edifice is by buildings in every direction : viewed from Cheapside, it presents an imposing mass, and the western front, with its campanili and the majestic dome, is a stupendous termination to the vista of Ludgate-hill ; whilst from Blackfriars Bridge, the graceful dome ap- pears in impressive contrast with the less harmonious body of the building. WESTMINSTER ABBEY Occupies the site of a Church " to the honour of God and St. Peter," commenced by Sebert, about A.D. 616, on Thorney Island, " overgrown with thorns, and environed with water." This Church was not, how- ever, completed until about 360 years after, by King Edgar, when it was named from being the " Minster West " of St. Paul's. It was destroyed by the Danes, but wholly rebuilt circ. 1050, by the pious King Edward the Confessor, who gave" to its treasury rich vestments, a golden crown * In more than one of the Guide-books the cost of the Cathedral is stated at a million and a half of money; which error probably arose from its first perpe- trator mistaking 500,000 for a million. CHUECHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 97 and sceptres, a dalmatic, embroidered pall, a pair of spurs, &c., to be used on the day of the Sovereign's coronation. This injunction has been observed through a lapse of nearly eight centuries ; most of these in- signia having been preserved ; and our sovereigns, from Harold and Wil- liam the Conqueror to Queen Victoria, have been crowned here. King Edward was buried in his new Church, which the monarchs of the next 160 years beautified and endowed with rich gifts and legacies. Henry III., in pious veneration for the memory of the Confessor, began to rebuild the Church on the same spot, 16 May, 1220 : hardly was it completed, when it was almost wholly destroyed by fire ; but it was re- stored in the reigns of Edward I. and II. Nicholas Litlington, Abbot in the reign of Edward III., added several abbatial buildings, including the Hall ;'a great chamber called "the Jerusalem ;"the west and south sides of the Great Cloister ; and the Granary. In 1502, Henry VII. pulled down the Chapel of the Virgin, at the east end, and replaced it with the beautiful Chapel now called by his name. The dedication of the Church to St. Peter, (the tutelar saint of fisher- men,) led to their offerings of salmon upon the high altar ; the donor on such occasions having the privilege of sitting at the convent-table to dinner, and demanding ale and bread from the cellarer. " The Abbey Church," says Mr. Bardwell, "formerly arose a magnificent apex to a royal palace, surrounded by its own greater and lesser sanctuaries and al- monries : its bell-towers (the principal one 72 feet 6 inches square, with walls 20 feet thick), chapels, prisons, gatehouses, boundary-walls, and a train of other buildings, of which we can, at the present day, scarcely form an idea. In addi- tion to all the land around it, extending from the Thames to Oxford-street, and from Vauxhall-Bridge road to the Church of St. Mary-le-Strand, the Abbey possessed 97 towns and villages, 17 hamlets, and 216 manors! Its officers fed hundreds of persons daily ; and one of its priests (not the Abbot) entertained at his ' pavilion in Tothill' the King and Queen, with so large a party, that seven hundred dishes did not suffice for the first table; and the Abbey butler, in the reign of Edward III., rebuilt, at his own private expense, the stately gatehouse which gave entrance to Tothill-street, and a portion of the wall of which remains to this day." Brief Account of Ancient and Modern Westminster, 1839. At the Dissolution, the Abbey was resigned to Henry VIII. by Ab- bot Benson ; and the King ordered the Church to be governed by a Dean and Prebendaries, making Benson the Dean. In 1541, the Church was turned into an Episcopal See, having Middlesex for its diocese ; but was soon again placed under a Dean and Prebendaries. Mary, in 1556, dissolved this institution, and re-appointed an Abbot and monks ; but Elizabeth, on her accession, placed it under a Dean and 12 secular Canons, as a Collegiate Church, besides Minor Canons, and others of the choir, to the number of 30; 10 other officers, 2 schoolmasters, 40 scho- lars, and 12 almsmen, with ample maintenance for all ; besides stewards, receivers, registrars, library-keepers, and other officers, the principal being the High Steward of Westminster. In the time of Cromwell, most of the revenues were devoted to the public service, but afterwards restored. As the Abbots of the Monastery had in former times pos- sessed great privileges and honours annexed to the foundation, such as being intrusted with the keeping of the regalia for the coronation, &c., haying places of necessary service on days of solemnity, and also exer- cising archiepiscopal jurisdiction in their liberties, and sitting as spiri- tual lords in Parliament, so the Deans of the Collegiate Church suc- i still pos ction, not precincts nexed to it by Henry VII. From the first opening of the edifice until after the reign of Elizabeth, the Abbey was regarded as a safe Sanctuary : hither the Queen of Ed- ward IV. fled with her five daughters and the young Duke of York 98 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. when the crafty Richard Duke of Gloucester was plotting to seize the crown. " The Queen," sa}'s Sir Thomas More, " sate low on the rushes, all desolate and dismayed ;" whilst the Thames was full of boats of Gloucester's servants, watching that no man should go to Sanctuary. On the reverse of Edward IV., in 1470, his Queen, Eliza- beth Woodville, took shelter in the Sanctuary, where, '' in great penury, forsaken of all her friends," she gave birth to Edward V. Successive Kings and Abbots continued the building on the plan of Henry III., but so slowly, that the west end towers in 1714 were unfi- nished : these Sir Christopher Wren pulled down, and erected the present western towers, in Grecianised Gothic style ; he also proposed a cen- tral spire, as originally intended, for its beginnings appear on the corners of the cross, " but left off before it rose so high as the ridge of the roof." Of the old west front there is a view by Hollar in Dugdale's Monasticon. Of the Confessor's Church, the early Anglo-Norman work under the present edifice, or buildings attached to it, may have formed a part. " The Church, as far as rebuilt in the reign of Henry III., may be easily dis- tinguished from the parts erected at a later period. It consists of Edward the Confessor's Chapel, the side aisles and chapels, the choir, (to somewhat lower than Sir Isaac Newton's monument,) and the transepts. The four pillars of the present choir, which have brass fillets, appear to finish Henry's work : the con- clusion of which is also marked by a striped chalky stone, which forms the roof." Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i. p. 273. The Church is built upon a close fine sand, secured only by its very broad, wide-spreading foundations. It is of several varieties of stone, similar to that of Gatton or Reigate, which are much decomposed : the Caen stone is generally in a bad condition, especiallv on the north side; the cloisters are mouldering, except where recently restored ; but the western towers, of shelly Portland oolite, are sound. The Chapel of Henry VII., originally built with Caen stone, was restored within the present century, at a cost of 42,028Z., but with Combe Down Bath- stone, already in a state of decomposition. The Chapel of Henry VII., at the eastern end of the entire pile, is styled by Leland the " miracle of the world ;" and probably in no other edifice in the world is displayed such profound geometrical skill, mingled with such luxuriance of ornament. So profuse and delicate is the tracery throughout, that " it would seem as though the archi- tect had intended to give to stone the character of embroidery, and inclose his walls in the meshes of lace-work." With the exception of the plinth, every part is covered with sculptural decorations : the buttress towers are crowned by octagonal domes, with richly-crusted finials, and enriched by niches and elegant tracery ; the cross-springera are perforated into airy forms ; and the very cornices and parapets are charged, even to profusion, with armorial cognizances and knotted foliage. Prominent among these decorations are the portcullis chained, the rose barbed and seeded, the Tudor Flower, the fleur-de-lis and the radiated quartrefoil, oak and vine branches, conjoined leaves, dragons, lions, grotesque human heads, demi-angels, animals with two bodies uniting in one head, and demi-musicians plaving the violin. The towers are charged with the badges and supporters of the royal founder, deeply undercut ; the portcullis, the rose, and the fleur-de-lis alternat- ing with the lion, the dragon, and the greyhound ; whilst the niches have statue -pedestals, each labelled, in black-letter, with the name of some prophet, apostle, or saint. The first stone of this superb edifice was laid by Abbot Islip, Sir Reginald Bray, and others, in the name of King Henry VII., Jan. 24, 1503 ; the architect is stated to have been William Bolton, Prior of St. Bartholomew beside Smithfield. The Exterior of the Abbey is best viewed from a distance : the west- ern front from Tothill-street ; the picturesque North Transept from CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 99 King-street; and the south side from College- street. St. Margaret's Church, so often condemned as a disfigurement in viewing the Abbey, renders its height much greater by contrast. " Distant peeps of the Abbey towers, springing lightly above the trees, may be caught on the rising ground of the Green Park, and from the bridge over the Ser- pentine; and the superior elevation of the whole Abbey is seen with great effect from the hills about Wandsworth and Wimbledon." (Hand- booh, by H. Cole.) The importance of the western towers will, how- ever, be lessened by the loftier towers of the New Houses of Parliament. The North Transept, though its niches are statueless, is remarkable for its pinnacled buttresses, its triple porch and clustered columns, and its great rose-window, 90 feet in circumference so as to have been called, for its beauty, " Solomon's porch." From the west side of this Transept judicious 'restorations are in progress. At the arched door- way leading into the North Aisle terminates the portion of the Abbey completed by Edward I. The Western Front bears the date 1735 : the height of the towers (225 feet) tells nobly ; they were used as a telegraph station during the last French war. The great west window was the work of Abbot Estney, in 1498. The base of the south tower is hidden by the gable of the Jerusalem Chamber, now used as the Chapter-House. Its north- ern window has some stained glass temp. Edward III. ; and here hangs the ancient portrait of Richard II. in the Coronation Chair. Adjoin- ing is the Deanery, where are portraits of several Deans. Parallel with the Jerusalem Chamber is the College Dining Hall and Kitchen, built by Abbot Litlington. The Westminster scholars dine in the Hall: in the centre faggots blaze on a circular stone hearth, the smoke finding egress through the lantern in the roof. In the Jerusalem Chamber died Henry IV., brought from the Con- fessor's Shrine in the Abbey in a fit of apoplexy, March 20, 1413. Being carried into this Chamber, he asked, on rallying, where he was ; and when informed, he replied, to use the words of Shakspeare, founded on history " Laud be to God ! even here my life must end : It hath been prophesied to me many years, I should not die but in Jerusalem." King Henry IV., Part 2, act iv. sc. 4. Here the body of Congreve lay in state, before his pompous funeral, at which noblemen bore the pall. Here, too, Acldison lay in state, before his burial in Henry VII. 's Chapel, as pictured in Tickell's elegy : " Can I forget the dismal night that gave My soul's best part for ever to the firave? How silent did his old companions tread, By midnight lamps, the mansions of the dead: Through breathing statues, then unheeded things ; Through rows of warriors, and through walks of kings," &c. The South Side is approached from Dean's Yard, on the east side of which an old doorway leads into a court where is Inigo Jones's rustic en- trance to the school-room of the College, refounded, in 15GO, by Queen Elizabeth. To the left are the old grey Cloisters, with groined arches of the 14th century, surrounding a grassy area monastic solitude in contrast with the scene on the opposite side of the Church. The Rem- brandtish lights of these cloisters are very fine ; and here the South Aisle of the Church, with its huge buttresses, is best seen. The North Clois- ter is distinguished by its trefoiled arches, with circles above them, of the 12th century. The East Cloister (temp. Edward III.) is rich in flowing tracery and foliations. Here is the entrance to a chapel of the Confessor's time, and now " the Chamber of the Pix," wherein are kept the standards used at the trial of the Pix, the three keys of its double 100 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. doors being deposited with distinct officers of the Exchequer. The groined roofs are supported by Romanesque or semicircular arches, and thick, short, round shafts. Eastward is the once magnificent entrance to the Chapter -House, temp. Henry III. Here the Commons assembled in 1377, and continued their sittings till they removed to St. Stephen's Chapel. The Chapter- House is now a treasury of Records, including the Star-Chamber pro- ceedings. But the gem of the place is William the Conqueror's Domes- day Book, in excellent condition, from searchers not being allowed to touch the text, or writing. Here, too, are Clement the Seventh's Golden Bull, confirming the title of Defender of the Faitli on Henry VIII. ; a treaty of perpetual peace between Henry VIII. and Francis I., with a gold seal, G inches diameter, said to be the work of Cellini ; the original wills of Richard II., Henry V., Henry VII., and Henry VIII. ; and the Indenture between Henry VII. and the Abbot of Westminster, a glo- rious specimen of miniature painting and velvet binding, with enamelled and gilt bosses. The Chapter-House is octagonal in plan; and on one of its sides is a statue called "St. John," said to be one of the oldest sculptures in the Abbey. This was a beautifully-decorated building, with painted walls and coloured and gilded arcades, and high-arched windows in seven of its sides, now sadly obscured. The interior is only to be viewed by permission, to be obtained from the authorities of the Public Record Office, at the Rolls House, Chancery-lane. Here is the Library of the Dean and Chapter, (about 11,000 volumes) : it was formed from the monks' parlour by Dean Williams, whose portrait hangs at the south end. The South Transept is less decorated than its fellow on the north ; and the lower part is concealed by the Library and Chapter-House. The Chapels, both on the north and south sides, are nearly alike, and architecturally in character with Henry III.'s structure : they are lighted by lofty windows, with arches enclosing circles, above which are windows within triangles, also enclosing circles. At the entrance of the Little Cloisters is Litlington Tower, built by Abbot Litlington, and originally the bell-tower of the Church :* the four bells were rung, and a small flag hoisted on the top of this tower (as appears in Hollar's view), when great meetings or prayers took place' in St. Catherine's Chapel, pulled down 1571. The bells (one dated 1430, and two 1598) were taken down, and, with two new bells, were hung in one of Wren's western towers. Litlington Tower has been restored by its tenant, Mr. R. Clark, one of the choir, who also erected in its front the original Gothic entrance to the Star-Chamber Court, and its ancient iron bell-pull. f The best entrance to the Abbey is through the little door into the South Transept, or Poets' Corner ; whence the endless perspective lines lead into mysterious gloom. From Poets' Corner we see, almost -without changing the point of sight, the two Transepts, and part of the Xave and Choir. The interior consists, as it were, of two grand stories, or series of groined arches of unequal height : a lower story, which comprises the outer aisles of the Transepts, of the Xave, and the ambulatory of the Choir ; and a higher story, forming the middle aisles of the Nave, Transepts, and the Choir. The lower story mostly exhibits the remains of a series of three-headed arches, or trefoil-headed arcades, resting on a base- * An author of the fourteenth century says: " At the Abbey of St. Peter's, Westminster, are two bells, which over all the bells in the world obtain the precedence in wonderful size and tone." We read also, that "in the monasterye of Westminster ther was a fayr yong man which was blynde, whom the monks hadde ordeyned to rynge the bellys." t In Litlington Tower lived the noted Lady Hamilton, when servant to Mr. Dare. CHURCHES: WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 101 ment seat : and above these arcades are pointed windows, each divided in the centre by a single mullion, surmounted by a circle. Among the marked features of the whole of the upper and inner story are the mural decorations of the span- drels of the arches ; above them, the gallery or triforium ; and over this, a clere- story of lofty windows. (See Handbook, by H. Cole, pp. 45, 46.) There is a vague tradition that the triforium, or upper vaulting of the Abbey, was occupied by the nuns of Kilburn when they visited the Abbey, to which their house was subordinate. The Interior, viewed from the western entrance, shews the sur- passing beauty of the long-drawn aisles, with their noble columns, har- monious arches, and fretted vaults, "a dim religious light" streaming through the lancet windows. Altogether, Henry III.'s portions of the Abbey Church, especially the Choir, exhibit the most perfect specimens of the latest period of the Lancet, Early English, and Early Pointed style ; whilst in the tombs of Crouchback and Valence, in the Choir, in the Cloisters, in the Chapels of Henry V. and VII., and in many later monu- ments, we may collect specimens of Pure Gothic, Decorated English, Florid Pointed or Perpendicular, Tudor, Elizabethan or Cinque-cento. " The exquisite and airy grace of the lofty pointed arch and clustered shafts of the Early English style, the beautiful purity of design and enrichment of the Decorated, and the elaborate profusion of ornamental detail which marks the Per- pendicular or Tudor work, each and all find here most glorious representatives. " The Early English is exemplified in the Nortli Transept, the South Aisle of the Nave, and in one compartment of the Nave, the narrow lancet-shaped Arch. The elegant Windows, with their beautiful and simple tracery ; the Piers, with slender shafts surrounding them, connected by moulded bands ; the diaper- work covering the walls; the bold and deeply-cut mouldings; and the light, chaste groining of the ceiling, are all indicative of the best and purest epoch of the style. " The Decorated Style is shewn in the western portion of the sides of the Nave ; and they differ from the eastern part only in detail, the general outline being similar. " Of the Perpendicular we have a most gorgeous specimen in Henry VII.'s Chapel. The large windows, divided into stories by transoms, the head filled with tracery formed by the vertical continuation of the mullions ; the canopied niches, with images of saints and martyrs ; the profusion of panelling, shields, and badges covering the walls; and above all the stupendous roof, with its magnificent fan-tracery and pendants, are all well-recognised features of the archi- tecture of this period, and unite to form a sublime monument, without a parallel, of the consummate skill and genius of the architects of old. The Tomb of Ed- ward III. is also a fine specimen of Perpendicular work of earlier date, and affords a good example of the ancient canopies of wood which covered many of the old tombs." See A Chart illustrative of the Architecture of Westminster Abbey, by Francis Bedford, jun. The general plan of the Church is cruciform, and, besides the Nave Choir, and Transepts, contains 12 Chapels ; the principal of which are those dedicated to St. Edward of England, to the Blessed Virgin (Henry VII.'s), the easternmost building, and those in the northern and southern sides of the building: four on the south, viz. those of St. Blaise, St. Benedict, St. Edmund, and St. Nicholas ; on the north those of St. Andrew, St. Michael, St. John the Evangelist, St. Erasmus, St. John the Baptist, and St. Paul. Of these, 10 are nearly filled with monumental tombs ; the Chapel of Henry VII. containing but the mo- nument of its founder ; and that of St. Paul having but one tomb. From Poets' Corner, (where a guide accompanies visitors through the Chapels and Choir,) in passing to the first Chapel may be seen, preserved under glass, the remains of an altar-painting, including a figure, probably intended for Christ, an angel with a palm-branch on each side, and a figure of St. Peter, considered by Sir C. L. Eastlake, P.R.A., to be " worthy of a good Italian artist of the fourteenth century," yet executed in England : of the costly enrichments there remain coloured fflass. inlairl nn tinfnil. nnrl a FAW p'ampns and o-ftms. The following IS 102 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the order of the Chapels, only the most remarkable of their monumental Curiosities being noticed : 1 Ground Plan of Westminster Abbey. A. Jerusalem Chamber. B. College Dining Hall. C. Kitchen. D. Larder. E. Ancient remains. F. Confessor's build- ing (Fix). G. Dark Cloisters. H. Hall of Refectory. 1. High Altar. 2. Henry V.'s Chapel. 3. Porch to Henry VII.'s Chapel. 4. Henry VII.'s Tomb. 1. St. Benedict's Chapel. The oldest tomb here is that of Langham, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1376), with his effigies robed and mitred. 2. St. Edmund's Chapel : Tomb of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and half-brother to Henry III. (d. 1296), the effigies encased in metal ; tomb of John of Eltham, son of Edward II. (d. 1334) ; ala- baster figures of William of Windsor and Blanch de la Tour, children of Edward III., the boy in a short doublet, the girl in a horned head- dress; portrait brasses, in the area, of Eleanora de Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester, as a nun of Barking Abbey (d. 1399), and Robert de Waldeby, Archbishop of York (d. 1397), both the most perfect in the CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 103 the guides to have died from the prick of a needle ; wall monuments to Lady Jane Seymour (d. 1560) and Lady Jane Grey (d. 1553) ; black- marble gravestone of Lord Herbert of Cherbury (d. 1678) ; and Sir Ber- nard Brocas (d. 1470), altar statue and decorated canopy. 3. St. Nicholas's Chapel : Perpendicular stone screen, with quatre- foiled arches highly decorated, and embattled frieze of shields and roses, once coloured; entrance, over the grave of Spelman, the anti- quary, (d. 1641) ; rich in Elizabethan tombs, bright with gold and colour, alabaster, touchstone, porphyry, and variegated marbles, Gothic canopies, Corinthian pillars, kneeling and recumbent figures, &c. : mar- ble tomb of the wife of the Protector Somerset, (d. 1578); portrait brass of Sir Humphry Stanley, (d. 1505,) knighted by Henry VII. on Bosworth Field ; gorgeous monument of the great Lord Burghley to his wife Mildred, (d. 1589,) and their daughter Anne (d. 1588) ; costly altar- tomb of Sir George Villiers, (d. 1619,) erected for his wife, by N." Stone, cost 5601., the year before her death, 1632 ; monument of Bishop Dud- ley, his original brass effigies gone, and the figure of Lady Catherine St. John in its place ! Here rests Katherine of Valois, Queen of Henry V., removed on the pulling down of the old Chapel of the Virgin ; her body was for nearly three centuries shewn to visitors, not being re-interred until 1776. Next is the vault of the Percys, with a large marble monument, designed by Adam: here, Feb. 22, 1847, Hugh, second Duke of Northumberland, was interred with great state. In the Ambulatory, opposite St. Nicholas's Chapel, is the eastern side of the tomb of Edward III., and the chantry of Henry V. ; looking whence, " in a few square feet, we have specimens of Gothic archi- tecture, in several of its stages, as it flourished from the time of Henry III. to Henry VII." Through a dark vestibule you ascend to 4. Henry VII.'s Chapel, consisting of a nave and two aisles, with five chapels at the east end. The entrance-gates are of oak, cased with brass-gilt, and richly dight with the portcullis, the crown, and twisted roses. The vaulted porch is enriched with radiated quatrefoils and other figures, roses, fleurs-de-lis, &c. ; Henry's supporters, the lion, the dragon, and the greyhound ; his arms and his badges ; a rose frieze and embattlement. The fan-traceried pendentive stone roof of the Chapel is encrusted with roses, knots of flowers, bosses, pendants, and armorial cognizances ; the walls are covered with sunk panels, with feathered mouldings : and in a profusion of niches are statues, and angels with escutcheons; and the royal heraldic devices, the Tudor rose and the fleur-de-lis under crowns. The edifice is lighted by eight clere- story windows over the aisles. In the nave are the dark oaken canopied stalls of the Knights of the Bath, who were installed in this Chapel until 1812 : these stalls are stud- ded with portcullises, falcons on fetterlocks, fruit and flowers, dragons and angels ; and above each stall hangs the banner of its knight. In the centre of the apsis, or east end, within rich and massive gates of brass, is the royal founder's tomb: a pedestal, with the effigies (supposed likenesses) of Henry and his Queen Elizabeth, originally crowned ; the whole adorned with pilasters, relievos, rose-branches, and images, on graven tabernacles, of the Kings and patron Saints, all copper-gilt ; at the angles are seated angels. This costly tomb is the six years' work of Pietro Torrigiano, a Florentine, who received for it the immense sum of 1500/. : the Perpendicular brazen screen, resembling a Gothic palace, is English art : it formerly had 36 statues, of which but six remain. The only remnant of old glass in the Chapel is a figure called Henry VII. in the east window. From Henry VII. to George II., most of the English sovereigns have been interred here. Edward VI. was buried near the high altar, but 104 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. is without tomb or inscription. In the North Aisle, in the same tomb, lie the Queens Mary and Elizabeth, with a large monument to Elizabeth, by Maximilian Coulte, erected by James I.* Near this royal monument is an alabaster cradle and effigy of the in- fant daughter of James I.; which King, with his Queen Anne, and son Prince Henry, the Queen of Bohemia, and Arabella Stuart, lie beneath. Next is a white marble sarcophagus, containing the supposed remains of Edward V. and his brother Richard, murdered in the Tower by order of their uncle, King Richard III. Near it is a recumbent figure,*by Sir R. "Westmacott, R.A., of the Duke of Montpensier (d. 1807), brother of Louis Philippe, King of the French. Next is the grave of Addison, whose ele- gant and impressive essay on the Abbey Church and its monuments is in- separable from its history ; and close by is the great pyramidal monument of Addison's friend and patron, the Earl of Halifax, one of the Poets of Johnson's Lives. The headless corpse of Charles I. was buried at "Wind- sor. The Protector was buried in Henry YII.'s Chapel, (1658.) but in about two years his remains were removed. In the South Aisle was interred (1685) Charles II., " without any manner of pomp, and soon for- gotten" (Evelyn). James II. has no place'here ;f the vacant space next his brother's remains being occupied by William III. and his Queen. Anne and Prince George complete the royal occupants of the vault. In the centre of the Chapel, in another vault, are the remains of King George II. and Queen Caroline, as it were in one receptacle, a side from each cof- fin having been removed by the King's direction. In the same vault rests Frederick Prince of Wales, father of George III., beside the Duke of Cumberland, the hero of Culloden. In the South Aisle is the altar- tomb of Margaret Countess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII., with a brass effigy, by Torrigiano ; a very fine altar -tomb, with effigy, of * " The bigot Mary rests in the Abbey Church at Westminster, but no storied monument, no costly tomb, has been raised to her memory. She was interred, with all the solemn funeral rites used by the Roman Church, and a mass of re- quiem, on the north side of the Chapel of Henry VII. During the reign of her successor not the slightest mark of respect was shewn to her memory by the erec- tion of a monument; and even at the present day no other memorial remains to point out where she lies, except two small black tablets at the base of the sumptu- ous tomb erected by order of King James I. over the ashes of Elizabeth and her less fortunate sister. On them we read as follow: REGNO CONSORTE8 ET VRNA HIC OBDOR- MIMXJS ELIZABETHA ET MARIA SORORES IN SPE RESVRREC- TIONIS. air F. Madden; Privy-Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, $c. t James II. died at St. Germain-en-Laye, and his body was kept unburied until 1793 or 1794, in the church of the English Benedictine Monastery at Paris, where it was exhibited for money. It was not until 1824 that the body, or the greater portion of it, was conveyed to St. Germain, where it was buried with great pomp in the parish church, most of the English then in Paris or the neighbourhood joining in the funeral procession. The intestines of the king were given, soon after his death, to the Irish College in Paris ; where also his body lay after the destruction of the Church of the Benedictines, and before its final interment at St. Germain. The brain of the king was given to the Scotch College in Paris, and the heart to the Convent at Chaillot. In the chapel of the Scotch College in Paris is a monument, with a long Latin inscription, erected in 1703 by James Duke of Perth, to the memory of James II. An urn once stood over the monument containing the king's brain, but this was destroyed at the period of the Revolution. Near this is a slab covering the heart of his queen, and another the intestines of his daughter Louisa. A monument of white and crey marble was also erected to the King at St. Germain, by order of George IV. : it bears a Latin inscription, in which James is characterised as " Magnus in prosper is, in adversis major." Communicated by Dr. Wrcford of Bristol to the Athencsnm, Nov. 30, 1850. CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 105 Lord Darnley's mother, who "had to her great grandfather King Ed- ward IV., to her grandfather King Henry VII., to her uncle King Henry VIII., to her cousin-german King Edward VI., to her brother King James V. of Scotland, to her son Darnley, (husband of Mary Queen of Scots,) King Henry I. (of Scotland), and to her grandchild King James VI. (of Scotland)," and I. of England. Here also is the tomb, with effigy, of Mary Queen of Scots, erected by Cornelius Cure for James I., who removed his mother's remains thither from Peterborough Cathedral. In the same aisle lies Monk, Duke of Albemarle, whose funeral Charles II. personally attended : the statue monument is by Kent. Here likewise are interred George Villiers, Duke of Bucking- ham (assassinated 1628), and his son, the profligate Duke. Henry VII. did not live to see this Chapel finished ; but his will, dated A.D. 1509, contains orders and directions for its completion. In several parts of the Chapel is repeated a rebus, formed by an eye and a slip or branch of a tree, indicating the name of the founder, Islip. 5. St. PauVs Chapel is crowded with Cinque-cento tombs, rich in marble, gilding, and colour : the tombs of Sir Thomas Bromley, Queen Elizabeth s Chancellor, hung with banners ; of Lord Bourchier, stand- ard-bearer to Henry V. at Agincourt ; and of Sir Giles Daubney, are among the best specimens of the period. In frigid and colossal contrast with their beauty, and hiding the Raffaelesque sculptures of Henry the Fifth's chantry, is the sitting statue of James "Watt, the engineer, by Chantrey, R.A., strangely out of place in a mediaeval Church : the inscription is by Lord Brougham. Next westward is 6. St. Erasmus's Chapel, with an enriched canopy, erected, as its rebuses shew, by Abbot Islip, and leading to 7. St. John the Baptist's Chapel, with a groined roof, coloured end wall, and sculptured arcades. Here are buried several early Abbots of "Westminster. An altar-tomb, of freestone, bears the effigy of William de Colchester, wearing gold bracelets bordered with pearls and set with stones, and a gold mitre covered with large pearls, and crosses and stars of precious gems, a rare piece of monumental costume. Here is a large Cinque-cento monument to Gary, Lord Hunsdon, first cousin and Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth ; in the centre of the area is the altar-tomb of Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter, and his two wives, the second of whom refused to allow her statue to be laid in the left side space, still vacant. The alabaster monument to Colonel Edward Popham, "one of the Parliament generals at sea," was the only one spared at the Restoration. Nearly all the old tombs have lost their canopies. The view from here is very picturesque and varied ; and in leaving the Chapel, the eye ranges across the north transept, and down the north aisles of the choir and nave, through a high o'erarching vista of " dim religious light," brightened by a geminy lancet window. 8. Abbot Islip" s Chapel is elegantly sculptured, and contains his altar- tomb, with an effigy of the Abbot in his winding-sheet. In this chapel was the Wax-work Exhibition, which originated in the olden custom of waxen figures of great persons being formerly borne in their funeral proces- sions, then for a time deposited over their graves, and subsequently re- moved. Other figures were added ; the sight was called by the vulgar, " The Play of the Dead Volks," and was not discontinued until 1839. Next the Chapel is the monument to General Wolfe, by "Wilton, R.A., with a lead-bronzed bas-relief of the landing at Quebec, executed by Cappizoldi. We now enter the East Aisle of the North Transept, formerly divided by enriched screens into the Chapels of St. John, St. Michael, and St. Andrew. Here is the celebrated tomb of Sir Francis Vere (temp. Eliza- beth), his effigy recumbent beneath a canopy on which are his helmet, breastplate, &c., supported by four kneeling knights at the four corners ; 106 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the design is said to have been borrowed from a tomb at Breda, attri- buted to Michael Angelo. Roubiliac was found one day with his looks fixed on one of the knights' figures ; "Hush! hush!" said he to the Abbey mason, laying his hand on his arm as he approached, and pointing to the figure, "he will speak presently." Near this tomb is Roubiliac's famous monument to Mr. and Mrs. .Nightingale, where Death, as a skeleton, is launching his dart at the beautiful wife, who sinks into the arms of her agonised husband : her right arm is the per- fection of sculpture: "life seems slowly receding from her tapering fingers and quivering wrist." (Allan Cunningham.) Roubiliac died the year after its erection, 1762. This work touches every heart, but the figure of Death is too literal and melodramatic. Upon the spot, formerly the oratory of St. John the Evangelist, is a marble statue of Mrs. Siddons by Campbell ; she is in her famous walking dream as Lady Macbeth. Here is also an alto-relievo, by J. Bacon, jun., to Admiral R. Kempenfeldt, drowned by the sinking of the Royal George, 1782: " When Kempenfeldt went down With twice four hundred men." Opposite is the colossal statue of Telford, the eminent engineer (d. 1834), by Baily, R.A. ; and a tablet to Sir Humphry Davy (d. 1829). Eastward is the north side of Henry the Fifth's Chantry, with its coro- nation ceremony, and its equestrian war group, whose poetic grandeur of sculpture so charmed Flaxman. We now ascend a small staircase, to 9. Edward the Confessor's Chapel, in the rear of the high altar of the Abbey. In the centre is the Shrine of the Confessor, erected at the ex- pense of Henry III., and enriched with mosaic, priceless jewels, and images of gold and silver ; and bearing a Latin inscription, now almost effaced. Northward is the altar-tomb of Edward I. (d. 1307), of Purbeck marble, "scautly fynysshed :" it was opened in 1774, when the King's body was nearly entire. Next is the canopied altar-tomb of Henry III. (d. 1272), once richly dight with glittering marbles and mosaic work of gold, and still bearing a fine brass effigies of the King, At the east end is the altar-tomb and effigies of Eleanor, Queen of Edward I. ; its beau- tiful iron-work, wrought by a smith at Leighton Buzzard in 1293-4, was restored in 1849 : the statues of the Queen and of Henry III. are con- cluded to be by the same artist, William Torrel. To Fabian's time, two wax tapers had been kept burning upon Eleanor's tomb, day and night, from her burial. The altar -tomb and chantry of Henry V. occupy the east end of the Chapel : the head of the King, of solid silver, was stolen at the Reformation. " In Harry the Fifth's time," says Sir Philip Sydney, " the Lord Dudley was his lord-steward, and did that pitiful office in bringing home, as the chief mourner, his victorious master's dead body, as who goes but to Westminster in the church may see." Henry's helmet (probably worn at Agincourt), his shield and saddle, are preserved here ; the canopies and niches, filled with statues of kings, bishops, abbots, and saints, are very fine. The archway had formerly ornamented iron gates, made by a London smith, in 1431, and now among the Abbey stores. Near to this Chantry is the altar-tomb, with marble effigies, of Philippa, Queen of Edward IIL (d. 1369) ; but the tomb has been strip- ped of its 30 statues. Next is the highly-decorated altar -tomb and effigies of Edward III. (d. 1377), with the richest and most perfect canopy in the Abbey ; beside it rest the state sword and shield " carried before Edward ill. in France :" " The monumental sword that conquered France." Dryden, Here, too, are three small tombs of children of Edward III., Edward IV., and Henry VII. ; and the canopied monument, with recumbent CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 107 figures of Richard II. (d. 1399-1400) and his first Queen, Anne of Bo- hemia (d. 1394). Also, a brass of John de Waltham, Bishop of Salis- bury, and Lord High Treasurer, buried, by favour of Richard II., in this'" Chapel of the Kings." The Chapel is parted from the Choir by a shrine of fifteenth-century work, its frieze bearing the following 14 sculptures, illustrative of the life of Edward the Confessor : 1. Prelates and nobles doing fealty to Ed.ward the Confessor before he was born. 2. Birth of the Confessor. 3. The Confessor's Coronation. 4. The Confessor witnessing the Devil dancing on the Danegelt Tax in casks. 5. Ed- ward admonishing the thief stealing his treasure. 6. Christ appearing to Edward. 7. Vision King of Denmark falling into the sea. 8. Tosti and Harold's quarrel. 9. Vision Emperor Theodosius, and Cave of Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. 10. Edward giving his ring to St. John Evangelist. 11. Restoration of the Blind, by use of water in which Edward had washed. 12. St. John giving Edward's ring to Pilgrims. 13. Pilgrims returning the ring to Edward. 14. Called " De- dication of Edward the Confessor's Church." The two upper stories of the Shrine are of wainscot, and were pro- bably erected by Abbot Feckenham, in Queen Mary's reign. The pre- sent'coffin of the pious Edward, within the ancient stonework, may be seen from the parapet of Henry V.'s Chapel. With their backs to the screen stand the two Coronation Chairs used at the crowning of the British sovereigns. One was made by order of Edward I. to hold the Scone stone, of legendary fame, and which had been for ages the coronation-seat of the Scottish kings : it is of red- dish-grey sandstone, 26 by I6f inches, and 101 inches thick. The com- panion chair was made for the coronation of Mary, Queen of William III. Both chairs are of architectural design : the ancient one, St. Edward's Chair, is supported upon four lions; and both are covered with gold-frosted tissue, and cushioned, when used at coronations. In 1297, according to Stow, Edward offered at the Confessor's Shrine the chair, containing the famous stone ; and the sceptre and crown of gold of the Scottish sovereigns, which he had brought from the Abbey of Scone. It is called the Prophetic or Fatal Stone, from the belief of the Scots that whenever it was lost, the power of the nation would decline ; it was also superstitiously called Jacob's Pillow. The mosaic pavement of this Chapel, by Abbot Ware, is as old as the Confessor's Shrine : its enigmatical designs in tesserae of coloured marbles, porphyry, jasper, alabaster, &c., are very curious. The Choir has some fine canopied monuments. On the north side are the tombs of the Countess of Lancaster ; of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke (best seen from the north aisle) ; and Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, second son of Edward III. Flaxman speaks of the two latter monuments as "specimens of the magnificence of our sculp- ture in the reign of the first two Edwards. The loftiness of the work, the number of arches and pinnacles, the lightness of the spires, the richness and profusion of foliage and crockets, the solemn repose of the principal statue, representing the deceased in his last prayer for mercy at the throne of grace ; the delicacy of thought in the group of angels bearing the soul, and the tender sentiment of concern variously expressed in the relations ranged in order round the basement, forcibly arrest the attention, and carry the thoughts not only to other ages, but to other states of existence." On the south is the altar-tomb of Anne of Cleves ; and above it is the tomb of King Sebert, erected in 1308, and bearing two pictures, Sebert and Henry III., in tolerable condition. In 1848, the oak refitting of the Choir was completed ; and the organ over the screen at the west entrance partly removed to the sides, and partly lowered, so as not to intercept the view of the great west win- dow. On each side are ranged oaken stalls, with decorated gables, those for the Dean and Subdean distinguished by loftier canopies, and 108 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the western entrance being still more enriched ; the pew-fronts and seat-ends are also carved, and 1000 more sittings have been provided : the carved wood-work is by Messrs. Ruddle, of Peterborough, from designs by Mr. E. Blore. The great circular or marigold window, and the triforium and other windows beneath it, in the South Transept, have been filled with stained glass by Ward and Nixon ; the subjects are incidents in the life of our Saviour, with figures nearly 3 feet high. From the cross of the Transepts, the magnificent perspective of the high imbowedroof of the Nave and Choir, and the great height of the edifice, nearly 101 feet, is seen to the best advantage. The pavement is partly Abbot Ware's, and in part black and white marble, the latter given by Dr. Busby, of Westminster School. The decorations of the altar are in the Gothic style ; but a classic altar disgraced the choir from the days of Queen Anne to the reign of George IV. The North Transept contains some important modern monuments : such are Bacon's statue of the great Lord Chatham, with allegorical figures; and Nollekens's large group of pyramid, allegory, and me- dallion, to the three Captains mortally wounded in Rodney's victory of April 12, 1782 : these are national tributes, erected by the King and Parliament. The memorials to naval commanders here are numerous, and their heroic suffering is usually narrated in medallion. Mrs. Warren and child, sometimes entitled " Charity," for pathetic treatment has few rivals in modern sculpture ; it is by Sir R. Westmacott, R. A. One of the grandest works here is Flaxman's sitting statue of Lord Chief- Justice Mansfield, supported by figures of Wisdom and Justice ; in the rear of the pedestal is the crouching figure of a condemned youth, with the torch of life reversed ; or it is better described as " a criminal, by Wisdom delivered up to Justice." (Cunningham's Handbook of West- minster Abbey.) Lord Mansfield rests beneath this memorial :' it cost 2500?., bequeathed by a private individual for its erection. In the pavement are buried Chatham, Pitt and Fox, Castlereagh, Canning aud Grattan, Lord Colchester, and William Wilberforce : " Now taming thought to human pride! The mighty chiefs sleep side by side. Drop upon Fox's grave the tear, 'Twill trickle to his rival's bier; O'er Pitt's the mournful requiem sound, And Fox's shall the notes rebound." Scott. Fox's memorial, by Westmacott, shews the orator dying in the arms of Liberty, attended by Peace and a kneeling negro ;* Pitt's monument, by the same sculptor, is over the great western door of the Nave. Here, and in the north aisle of the Choir, leading to the Nave, are Chantrey's marble portrait-statues of Homer, Canning, Malcolm, and Raffles ; a statue of Follett, by Behnes ; John Philip Kemble (without a name), modelled by Flaxman, but executed after his death ; Wilberforce, by S. Joseph ; and, opposite Canning, the late Marquis of Londonderry, by J. E. Thomas, placed here, in 1850, by the present Marquis. Here are three monuments by Wilton : statue of General Wolfe, and figures ; statue of Admiral Holmes, in Roman armour ; and William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, statues and medallion. The north aisle of the Choir, leading to the Nave, has been described as a sort of Musicians' Corner ; for here rests Purcell, with the striking epitaph, attributed to Dryden : " Here lies Henry Purcell, Esq., who left this life, and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded." On the same pillar is a memorial to Samuel Arnold : * Canova said of the figure of the African in this group, that "neither in England nor out of England had he seen any modern work in marble which sur- passed it." King George IV. subscribed 1000 guineas towards this monument. CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 109 both Purcell and Arnold were organists of the Abbey. Opposite is a tablet to Dr. Blow, and beneath it his pupil's, Dr. Burney ; and close by lies Dr. Croft, another organist of the Abbey, whose death was brought on by his attendance at the coronation of George II. The Nave has almost every variety of memorial sarcophagus and statue, bust and brass, tablet and medallion, mostly modern. In the southern aisle of the Choir, leading to the Nave, is Bird's monument to Sir Cloudesley Shovel, personifying " the brave, rough English Ad- miral" by a periwigged beau, which is so justly complained of by Addison and the pious Dr. Watts. Opposite is Behnes's bust of Dr. Bell, the founder of the Madras System of Education ; and near it ia the monument to Thomas Thynne, of Longleat, Wilts : he was shot in his coach, at the end of the Haymarket, Sunday, Feb. 12, 1682, as sculp- tured on the tomb. Here, too, is a fine bust, by Le Sceur, of Sir Thomas Richardson, Lord Chief-Justice (temp. Charles I.) ; and a bust of Pas- quale de Paoli, the Corsican chief. Here, also, are the monuments to Dr. South, the witty prebendary of the Church ; Dr. Busby, master of Westminster School ; and Dr. Isaac Watts, buried in Bunhill Fields. In the two side arches of the Choir screen are the monuments of Sir Isaac Newton, and James, first Earl Stanhope; both designed by Kent, and executed by Rysbrack : Newton's is characterised by the celestial globe, with the course of the comet of 1681, and the genius of Astrology above it. In the screen niches are statues of Edward the Confessor, Henry III., and Edward L, and their respective queens. In the north aisle is a weeping female, by Flaxman, to the memory of George Lindsay Johnstone, a touching memorial of sisterly sorrow. One of the few old monuments here is that to Mrs. Jane Hill (d. 1651), a kneeling figure and sheeted skeleton, and the mottoes : " Mors mini lucrum," and " Solus Christus mihi sola salus." Near the above is the Parliamentary figure group, by Westmacott, to Spencer Perceval, the prime-minister, shot by Bellingham, in the lobby of the House of Com- mons, May 11, 1812 ; the assassination is sculptured rearward of the figures. Here also are several interesting monuments to heroes who have fallen in battle : as, Colonel Bringfield, killed by a cannon-shot at Ramilies whilst remounting the great Duke of Marlborough on a fresh horse ; the three brothers Twysden, who fell in their country's service in three successive years ; Captains Harvey, Hutt, and Montagu, who fell in Lord Howe's victory of June 1 ; Sir Richard Fletcher, killed at St. Sebastian ; and the Hon. Major Stanhope, at Corunna. Here, too, is a plain tablet to Banks, the sculptor and R.A. ; a monument to Sir Godfrey Kneller, the painter, by Rysbrack, after Sir Godfrey's own design, Pope furnishing the epitaph : Kneller is buried in Twickenham Church. Towards the middle of the Nave are the gravestones of Major Rennell, the geographer j and Thomas Telford, the engineer ; and near Banks's tablet is buried Ben Jonson, his coffin set on its feet, and ori- ginally covered with a stone inscribed " O rare Ben Jonson !" By his Bide lies Tom Killigrew, the wit of Charles the Second's court ; and opposite, his son, killed at the battle of Almanza, in Spain, in 1707. Over the west door is Westmacott's statue-memorial to the Right Hon. William Pitt : it cost 6300Z., the largest sum ever voted by Go- vernment for a national monument.* To the left is a large marble monument to Lord Holland, by Baily, R.A., erected by public subscription in 1848 : the design, the prison- house of Death, with three poetic figures in lamentation, bassi-relievi on the two sides, and the whole surmounted by a colossal bust of the * Immediately after the death of Sir Robert Peel, in 1850, the sum of 5000/. was voted by Parliament for a monument to his memory, to be placed " in th Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster." 110 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. deceased Lord, is, perhaps, the finest architectural and sculptural combination in the Abbey. We now reach the south tower of the western front, used as the Consistory Court, and Chapel for Morning Prayers. In the south aisle of the Nave, commencing from the west, is the tomb of Captain Cornewall, who fell in the sea-fight off Toulon, 1743 ; this being the first monument voted by Parliament for naval services. Next is the statue of the Right Hon. James Craggs, the friend of Pope and Addison. Next is Bird's bust-monument to Congreve, the great dramatic poet, erected at the expense of Henrietta Duchess of Marlborough, to whom Congreve, " for reasons not known or not mentioned," bequeathed 10,OOOZ. Among the noticeable personages interred here, without memo- rials, is Dean Atterbury the place his own previous choice, being, as he told Pope, " as far from kings and ka?sars as the space will admit of;" also Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, buried "in a very fine Brussels lace- head, a Holland shift, with a tucker and double ruffles of the same lace, a pair of new kid gloves," &c. ; to which Pope thus alludes : " Odious ! in woollen ! 'twould a saint provoke, (Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke) : No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs and shade my lifeless face ; One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead And Betty, give this cheek a little red." Eastward is the sculptural burlesque deservedly known as "the Pan- cake Monument," to Admiral Tyrrell, with its patchy clouds, coral rocks, cherubs, harps, palm-branches, and other allegorical absurdities. Be- tween three successive windows are the monuments, by Eoubiliac, of Lieut. -Gen. Hargrave, Maj.-Gen. Fleming, and Marshal Wade, all in the conventional school of allegory. Next is a good bust, bv Bird, of Sidney, Earl of Godolphin, chief minister to Queen Anne; alto-relievo and figures to Lieut.-Col. Townsend, killed by a cannon-ball at Ticon- derago, in his 28th year ; and a monument, by Bushnell, to Sir Palmes Fairborne, governor of Tangier, with inscription by Dry den. We now reach the tomb of Major Andre, who was executed by the Americans as a spy in 1780 ; his remains were removed here in 1821 : the bas-relief shews Andre" as a prisoner in the tent of Washington, with the bearer of a flag of truce to solicit his pardon. This monument was put up at the expense of George III. ; the heads of the principal figures have been several times mischievously knocked off, but as often restored. In Poets' Corner (South Transept) are the graves or monuments of the majority of our greatest poets, from Chaucer to Campbell. To the right of the entrance-door is the tomb of "the Father of English Poetry," (d. 1400) : it is a dingy and greasy recess, on which may be traced with the finger Galfridus Chaucer, the only part of the inscription which was originally chiselled ; the other lines have disappeared. This memo- rial was partly placed here in 1556, by Nicholas Brigham, a student at Oxford, and a poet too : the altar-tomb originally covered Chaucer's remains, removed from here by Brigham, who placed over it the canopy : it is altogether in decay, but in 1850 was proposed to be restored. Nearer the door is the large monument erected by Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, to Dryden, whose name it simply bears, with a noble bust of him by Scheemakers. Pope wrote for the pedestal this couplet : " This Sheffield raised : the sacred dust below Was Dryden once: the rest, who does not know?" Next is a wreathed urn, by Bushnell, erected by George Duke of Buckingham over Abraham Conolly, as the Latin inscription declares, the Pindar, Horace, and Virgil of England : this full-blown flattery, by CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Ill Dean Sprat, greatly provoked Dr. Johnson. From Chaucer's tomb, eastward, the monuments are placed as follows: to John Philips, who wrote The Splendid Shilling, Cider, and other poems : profile in relief, within a wreath of apple and laurel leaves. Barton Booth, the eminent actor, the original Cato in Addison's play : a bust, erected by Booth's widow. Michael Drayton, who wrote the Polyolbion : a bust on pediment, with a beautiful epitaph, attributed to Dryden ; erected at the expense of Clifford, Countess of Dorset, who also put up a monument to Edmund Spenser, author of the Faerie Queene : tablet and pedi- ment, renewed in marble in 1778. Spenser was the second poet interred in the Abbey : he " died for lake of bread, in King-street," West- minster ; and was buried here by Devereux, Earl of Essex. Ben Jonson : medallion on the wall, by Rysbrack, after Gibbs; " O rare Ben Jonson !" inscribed beneath the head. Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras : bust, placed here by Alderman Barber, the patriotic printer (see ALDERMAN, p. 3). John Milton, buried in Cripplegate Church: bust and tablet, erected by Mr. Auditor Benson, who, "in the inscription, has bestowed more words on himself than upon Milton." Thomas Gray, buried at Stoke Pogeis : a figure of the Lyric Muse holdirig a medallion of the poet, by Bacon, R. A., with inscription by "William Mason, Gray's biographer, who lies next : profile medallion, with inscription by Bishop Hurd. Matthew Prior : bust by Coysevox, presented to Prior from Louis XIV. ; and statues of Thalia and Clio, by Rysbrack. St. Evremond, the French Epicurean wit : bust and tablet; and be- low it, profile medallion, by Chantrey, R.A., of Granville Sharp, Negro Slavery Abolitionist, erected by the African Institution of London. Thomas Shadwell, poet-laureate early in the reign of "William III., buried at Chelsea: bust crowned with bays, above Prior's monument. Christopher Anstey, author of the New Bath Guide : tablet on the next column ; and at the back of St. Evremond's monument, a tablet to Mrs. Pritchard, the eminent tragic actress. William Shakespeare : the subscription monument; a statue by Schee- makers, after Kent, with absurd and pedantic accessories : the "lines on the scroll are from the play of the Tempest. James Thomson, buried in Richmond (Surrey) Church : statue, paid for by a subscription edition of his Seasons, &c. in 1762. Nicholas Rowe, dramatist and poet-laureate (George I.), and his daughter Charlotte : busts by Rysbrack; inscription by Pope. John Gay, who wrote the Beggar's Opera : winged boy and medal- lion portrait, erected by the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury : the scoffing couplet, " Life's a jest," is Gay's own unworthy composition ; the lines beneath it are by Pope. Oliver Goldsmith, poet, dramatist, and essayist : medallion by Nolle- kens, R. A., over doorway to the Chapel of St. Blaise; the place chosen by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; the Latin inscription written by Dr. Johnson. John Duke of Argyll (d. 1743) : statues of the warrior and orator as a Roman, with History, Eloquence, Britannia, &c., by Roubiliac. Ca- novasaid of the figure of Eloquence: " This is one of the noblest statues I have seen in England." ^ George Frederick Handel, the great musician : statue, beneath a winged harper and stupendous organ ; the last work of Roubiliac, who took the mould from Handel's face after death. Above the niche is a record of the " Commemoration," in 1784; the gravestone is beneath. Joseph Addison, buried in Henry VII. 's Chapel: a poor statue on pedestal, by Westmacott, R.A. Addison's visits here are ever to 112 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. be remembered : " When I am in a serious humour," writes he, " I very often walk by myself in Westminster Abbey, where the gloomi- ness of the place, and the use to which it is applied, with the solem- nity of the building, and the condition of the people who lie in it, are apt to fill the mind with a kind of melancholy, or rather thoughtful- ness, that is not disagreeable." Isaac Barrow, " the unfair preacher," temp. Charles II. : bust and tablet. Sir Richard Coxe, Taster (of food) to Queen Elizabeth and James I. : marble tablet. Isaac Casaubon, the learned editor of Pernices and Polybius : marble monument. Camden, the great English antiquary, and a Master of Westminster School : half-length figure ; buried before St. Nicholas's Chapel. David Garrick, the eminent actor : statue, with medallion of Shak- speare ; a coxcombical piece of art, which provoked Charles Lamb to question the fitness of Shakespeare's tragedies for stage representa- tion. The most remarkable gravestones in the South Transept are those of Richard Cumberland, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Samuel Johnson, and David Garrick and his wife ; " Thomas Parr, of ye county of Sal- lop, born in A.D. 1483. He lived in the reignes often princes : viz. King Edward IV., King Edward V., King Richard III., King Henry VII., King Henry VIII., King Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, King James, and King Charles ; aged 152 years, and was buryed hero Nov. 15, 1G35;" Sir William Chambers, architect of Somerset House; R. Adam, architect of the Adelphi ; John Henderson, the actor ; James Macpherson, Esq., M.P. (Ossian Macpherson) ; William Gifford, critic; Davenant (inscribed, " O rare Sir William Davenant !"), in the grave of Thomas May, the poet, whose body was disinterred, and his monument destroyed, at the Restoration; Francis Beaumont, "Fletcher's asso- ciate ;" Sir John Denham, K.B., author of Cooper's Hill. Near Shakespeare's monument is a bust, by Weekes, of Robert Southey, poet-laureate, (buried in Crosthwaite Church, Keswick) ; and next is the gravestone over Thomas Campbell, author of the Pleasures of Hope, with an exquisite statue of the poet, by W. C. Marshall. Large fees are paid to the Dean and Chapter for the admission of monuments : from 200?. to 3001. for a statue, and from 150Z. to 200?. for a bas-relief; for Lord Holland's monument, 20 feet square, 300?. The statue of Lord Byron, by Thorwaldsen, was refused admission ; and after lying twelve years in the London Dock cellars, in 1845 it was placed 'in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. On the end of the gallery westward are the remains of a supposed fresco, a White Hart, "couchant, gorged with a gold chain and coro- net," the device of Richard II. Painted and Stained Glass. (Ancient.) North Aisle of Nave, figure, said to be Edward the Confessor; South Aisle, given to the Black Prince, Edward III. and Richard II. See also clerestory win- dows east of Choir, east window of Henry VII. 's Chapel, and Jerusa- lem Chamber. (Modern.) Great west window, the Patriarchs ; large rose window. North Transept, Apostles and Evangelists a noble mass of brilliant colour and delicate stone tracery ; marigold window in South Transept, (put up in 1847,) figures nearly three feet high ; also windows above Henry VII.'s Chapel, and in east end of triforium. Brasses. The principal are in the Chapels of St. Edmund, St. John the Baptist, and Edward the Confessor. Cloisters. South lie four of the early Abbots of Westminster ; and here is " Long Meg," a slab of blue marble, traditionally the gravestone of twenty-six monks who died of the plague in 1349, and were buried in one grave. Here is a tablet to William Lawrence, which records : CHURCHES : WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 113 " Short-Hand he wrote : his Flowre in prime did fade, And hasty Death Short Hand of him hath made. Well cooih he Nv'bers, and well mesur'd Land ; Thvs doth he now that Grovd where on yov stand, AVherein he lyes so Geometricall : Art maketh some, bvt thvs will Natvre all." This quaint conceit is in the North "Walk ; where also are the graves of Spranger Barry, the actor, famous in Othello, and Sir John Haw- kins, who wrote a History of Music, and a Life of Dr. Johnson. East Walk : medallion monument to Bonnell Thornton (" the Con- noisseur"), inscription by Joseph Warton ; monument to Lieut.-Gen. Withers, with inscription by Pope, " full of commonplaces, with some- thing of the common cant of a superficial satirist" (Johnson) ; tablet to Sir Edmondberry Godfrey (d. 1678), buried in St. Martin 's-in-the- Fields; graves of Aphra Behn, the lady dramatist (temp. Charles I.), and Mrs. Bracegirdle, the fascinating actress. West Walk: bust and alto-relievo, by Banks, R.A., to William Woollett, the engraver, buried in Old St. Pancras' churchyard : tablets to George Vertue, the engraver ; Dr. Buchan, who wrote on " Domestic Medicine;" and Benjamin Cooke, organist of the Abbey, with the musi- cal score of "the Canon by twofold augmentation" graven upon the slab. In the Cloisters, too, are interred Henry Lawes, the composer of the music of Comus, and " one who called Milton friend ;" Tom Brown, the wit; Thomas Betterton,* who "ought to be recorded with the same respect as Roscius among the Romans;" Samuel Foote, the actor and dramatist ; Mrs. Rowe, Mrs. Gibber, and Mrs. Yates : so that the Clois- ters may be termed the Actors' Corner. The present conservating architect of the Abbey is Mr. George Gilbert Scott. The following are the principal Admeasurements : Nave. Length, 166ft. ; breadth, 38ft. 7in.; height, 101ft. Sin. ; breadth of aisles, 16ft. 7in.; extreme breadth of nave and its aisles, 71ft. 9in. Choir. Length, 155ft. 9in.; breadth, 38ft. 4in.; height, 101ft. 2in. Transepts. Length of both, including choir, 203ft. 2in. ; length of each tran- sept, 82ft. 5in.; breadth, including both aisles, 84ft. 8in.; height of south transept, 105ft. Sin. Interior. Extreme length, from western towers to the piers of Henrv VII.'s Chapel, 383ft.; extreme length, from western towers, including Henry VII.'s Cha- pel, 511ft. 6in. Exterior. Extreme length, exclusive of Henry VII.'s Chapel, 416ft.; extreme length, inclusive of Henry VII.'s Chapel, 530ft. ; height of western towers, to top of pinnacles, 225ft. 4in. Henri/ VII.'s Chapel. (Exterior.) Length, 115ft. 2in. ; extreme breadth, 79ft. 6in.; height to apex of roof 85ft. 5in. ; height to top of western turrets, 101ft. 6in. (Interior.) Nave: length, 103ft. 9in.; breadth, 35ft. 9in.; height 60ft. 7in. Aisles: length, 62ft. 5in.; breadth, 17ft. lin. ; height of west window, 45ft. Admission. The Abbey is open to the public between the hours of 11 and 3, generally; and in summer, between 4 and 6 in the afternoon. There is no charge for admission to the Nave, Transepts, and Cloisters; but the fee for admission to view the Choir and Chapels, and the rest of the Abbey, is fid. each person, with the attendance of a guide. The entrance is at Poets' Corner. The Admission- money was originally 15rf. each person, when it usually produced upwards of 1500Z. per annum, mostly distributed among the minor canons, organists, and lay- clerks. Divine Service commences in the church daily, at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Also, daily, (Sundays excepted,) at a quarter before 8 in the morning there is a communion, and at 8 o'clock in the morning every Sunday, except on the first Sunday in the month, when the communion is at the 10-o'clock service. * Mrs. Glover, (Julia Betterton,) the comedy actress, who died July 16, 1850, claimed descant from Thomas Betterton; and they met kindred deaths, both a few days after their second farewell benefits : Mrs. Glover through great excite- ment in weak health, and Betterton by a violent remedy for gout ; both, never- theless, performing to prevent disappointment to their audiences. 114 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Music. In 1784 took place the " Commemoration of Handel," in the Abbey nave : and similar festivals in 1785-6-7, and 1790-91 ; and in 1834 was a Four Days' Festival, commencing June 24, when King "William IV., Queen Adelaide, and the Princess Victoria were present. " It is full fifty years since I heard last, Handel, thy solemn and divinest strain Boll through the long nave of this pillar'd fane, Now seeming as if scarce a year had pass'd." W. Lisle Bowles, 1834. Oct. 28, St. Simon and St. Jude. Anniversary of the birth of Thomas Tallis celebrated ; his Cathedral Service performed at morning prayers. Tallis was organist to Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary and Elizabeth. Coronations. Harold and William the Conqueror were crowned in the new Abbey Church, as were also the succeeding sovereigns to our time. Upon most occasions, the sacred ceremony was followed by a banquet in the Great Hall of the Palace, built by William Rufus. The last of these festivities was that at the Coronation of King George IV., July 19, 1821. On the night previous, the king reposed on a couch in the tapestry-room of the Speaker's official residence in the Old Palace ; and next morning the royal procession advanced by a raised platform, covered by an awning, from Westminster Hall to the Abbey Church, where the king was crowned ; and then returned to the Great Hall, when the banquet was served.* The Coronation of King Wil- liam IV. and Queen Adelaide, Sept. 8, 3831, was simply the Abbey ceremonial ; as was also the Coronation of Queen Victoria, June 28, 1838. Upon the latter occasion, temporary reception apartments were erected at the great western entrance to the Abbey Church ; the nave was fitted with galleries and seats for spectators, as were also the choir and transepts ; the peers were seated in the north transept, and the peeresses south ; and the House of Commons in a gallery over the altar; and the orchestra of 400 performers in front of the organ. At the in- tersection of the choir and transepts was the theatre, or pulpitum, covered with rich carpets and cloth of gold, in the centre of which, upon a raised platform, stood the chair of homage. At the north-east corner of the theatre was the pulpit, whence " the Coronation Sermon" was preached. The crowning in St. Edward's Chair took place in the Sacrarium, before the altar, in front of St. Edward's Chapel ; and be- hind the altar was " the Queen's Traverse," or retiring-room. (See " Coronation Chairs," described at p. 107.) Sir Christopher Wren built, besides St. Paul's and the western towers of Westminster Abbey, Fifty Churches in the metropolis, at sums vary- ing from less than 2*500Z. to upwards of 15,000/. In " Gothic," or, as Wren proposed to term it, " Saracenic" architecture, Wren was cer- tainly not a successful practitioner ; although in the adaptation of a steeple (a form peculiar to pointed architecture) to Roman buildings, he has manifested much ingenuity, and produced some light and graceful * The entire cost of this Coronation is stated to have exceeded a quarter of a million, or more than 268,000*. It has been commemorated in one of the most costly works of pictorial art ever produced the Illustrated History of the Coronation of George IV., by Sir George Nayler: containing forty-five splendidly coloured plates, atlas fclio, price fifty guineas per copy. Sir Georte lost a con- siderable sum by I" the expenses. Sir Coronation for Gen contains seventy-three coloured drawings, finished like enamels, on velvet an white satin : the portraits are very accurate likenesses, and many of the coronets have rubies, emeralds, pearls, and brilliants set in gold; each portrait costing fifty guineas, first hand. siderable sum by the publication, although Government voted 5000/. towards Sir Geo;ge also undertook a much more costly memorial of this Coronation for George IV., but it was never completed. The portion executed CHURCHES. 1J5 forms of almost endless variety. This may be seen by reference to Mr. Cockerell's picturesque grouping of the principal works of Wren : the drawing of which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838, and has been engraved in line by Richardson. In the reign of Queen Anne were built or commenced eleven churches. In the next two reigns were completed three large churches, each dis- tinguished by a noble Corinthian portico : viz. St. George's, Blooms- bury ; St. Martin's-in-the-Fields ; and St. George's, Hanover-square. With the exception of St. Peter-le-Poor (1791) and St. Martin's Out- wich (1796), not one church was built from the commencement of the reign of George III. nearly to the Regency, an interval of more than half a century. The two Grecian orders, Doric and Ionic, were then adopted in church-building ; this pseudo-classic style was superseded by the Old English of various periods. The increase of churches did not, however, keep pace with the population ; though the appeals to the public for funds were, in some instances, answered with rare munificence. Thus, in the subscription -list in 1836 for building new churches we find the following donation : " A clergyman seeking for treasure in heaven, 50007." In 1839, Lord John Russell stated in Parliament, that in London were 34 parishes, with a population of 1,170,000, and church accommo- dation for only 101,000; and in these 34 parishes were only 69 churches, and including proprietary chapels, only 100 places of worship in the whole ; whereas, if we allot a church to every 3000, there ought to be 379, leaving a deficiency of 279. In the following year, 1840, the Bishop of London remarked to the House of Lords : " If you proceed a mile or two eastward of St. Paul's, you will find yourself in the midst of a population the most wretched and destitute of mankind, consisting of artificers, labourers, beggars, and thieves, to the amount of 300,000 or 400,000 souls ! Throughout this entire quarter there is not more than one church for 10,000 inhabitants; and in one, nay in two districts, there is but one church for 45,000 souls." A few years since, the Rev. Dr. Gumming stated that in a radius of eight miles around St. Paul's there was a population of two millions, of whom not more than 60,000 were communicants in any church or chapel whatever. Instead of five-eighths, or 1,300,000, of the population being church-goers, the greatest extent of attendance at any place of worship does not exceed 400,000, and not more than 600,000 could be accom- modated. In a small district of Covent Garden there were 354 houses : 338 were of the most wretched description ; these contained 1216 indi- viduals, of whom only 134 attended church ; and in that small locality there were no fewer than 44 shops regularly open on the Sabbath. In some cases there was a population of 100,000 in the parish, with only one rector and one curate. These startling statistics led to a " Metropolis Churches Fund," esta- blished in 1836, by which means sixty-three churches have been built and provided for. Meanwhile, a few of the City churches have been taken down : their number, in some cases, has been more than equal to the wants of the citizens, more especially since their private residence out of town. In 1834, Mr. Lambert Jones stated in the Court of Common Council, that the population of the City had within a century decreased one-half; that the number of inhabitants did not then exceed 53,000, and for them were 66 churches. We now proceed to notice the more remarkable Churches of the metropolis, and their Curiosities. ST. ALBAN'S, Wood-street, Cheapside, is stated to have been named from its belonging to the monastery of St. Alban's. Stow thinks it to be " at least of as antient standing as Kins Adelstane the Saxon (925 116 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. to 941), who, as the tradition says, had his house at the east end of this church," and which gave name to A del-street. Maitland supposes the church to have been one of the first places of worship built in London by Alfred, after he had driven out its destroyers, the Danes. It was rebuilt by Inigo Jones, but destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren in 1685, " Gothic, as the same was before the Fire," with clustered columns, flat-pointed arches, and boldly groined roof. To the right of the reading-desk, within twisted columns, arches, &c., and in a frame richly ornamented with angels sounding trumpets, &c., is an hour-glass, such as was common in churches in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, " that when the preacher doth make a sermon, he may know the hour passeth away :" the hour-glass frame and the spiral column upon which it is mounted are of brass. The exterior of the church is ill designed, and has a pinnacled tower 92 feet high. ALL SAINTS, New Cut, Lambeth, built in 1846, in the Anglo-Norman style, has a tower and spire 160 feet high, and upwards of 100 feet from the body of the church, with which it is connected by a passage. ALL SOULS, Langham-place, built bv Nash in 1822-25, has been much ridiculed, but is suited to its angular plan ; the circular tower, surrounded with Ionic columns, has a Corinthian peristyle above, and a fluted stone cone or spire : it is well adapted to its situation, having the same appearance whichever way viewed. The church contains an altar-picture by R. "Westall, R.A., of Christ crowned with thorns. ALLHALLOWS BARKING, at the east end of Tower-street, narrowly escaped the Great Fire of 1666, which burnt the dial and porch and vicarage-house. It contains a curiously-carved communion-table, font- cover, and screen, and some funeral brasses of early date. The head- less bodies of the poet Surrey, Bishop Fisher (More's friend), and Arch- bishop Laud, who were executed on Tower Hill, were interred in All- hallows Church and churchyard, but have been removed. ALLHALLOWS THE GREAT, Upper Thames-street, has a richly- carved oak rood-screen the whole width of the church. It was manufac- tured at Hamburgh, and presented in the reign of Queen Anne to the church by the Hanse Merchants, who formerly resided in the parish. ALLHALLOWS, Lombard-street, destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, contains an exquisitely-sculptured white marble font ; and carved figures of Time and Death, in wood, besides a carved curtain, tvhich seems to hide foliage behind it. The churchyard was closed in the cholera year, 1849, and laid out as a garden. ALLHALLOWS STAINING, Mark-lane, escaped the Great Fire, and Stow thinks was called Stane church to distinguish it from others in the City of the same name built of timber. The tower and a portion of the west end alone are ancient. The Princess Elizabeth, on May 19, 1554, after her release from the Tower, performed her devotions in this church ; and afterwards is said to have dined off pork and peas at the King's Head in Fenchurch-street, where a metal dish and cover used on the occasion are shewn ; and a commemorative dinner was held annually on Elizabeth's birthday, but discontinued twenty years since. The churchwardens' books contain payments for ringing the bells " for joye of ye execution of ye Queene of Scots ;" also for the re- turn of King James IL from Feversham, and, two days after, on the arrival of the Prince of Orange. ALLHALLOWS-IN-THE-WALL, Broad-street "Ward, is named "of standing close to the wall of the City." (Stow.) It was built by Dance, jun., Iv 15-17, and contains an altar-picture, painted and presented by Sir N. Dance, of P. da Cortona's " Ananias restoring Paul to sight." CHURCHES: ST ANDREW'S UNDERSHAFT. 117 The parish books (commencing 1455) record the benefactions of an " ancker," or hermit, who lived near the church. ST. ALPHAGE, London Wall, escaped the Great Fire of 1666, and was rebuilt in the last century : it has a porch with sculptured heads and pointed arches, a remnant of the ancient Elsing Priory. Its registers record, within a few years, about forty persons in this parish who cer- tified that they had been touched by Charles II. for the evil. ST. ANDREW'S, Holborn, was rebuilt by Wren, upon the site of the old church, in 1686 ; the original tower, (date Henry VI.,) 110 feet high, being recased in 1704. It is one of the best-placed churches in London : "for as the west end is nearly at the summit of Holborn-hill, the foun- dation was necessarily continued throughout on this level to the east end in Shoe-lane ; so that the basement is there considerably elevated above the houses." (Godwin.} The interior is rich in gilding and stained glass ; the organ, built by Harris, is that rejected in the com- petition with Father Schmidt's organ for the Temple Church. St. An- drew's has been called " the Poets' Church," from the sons of Song con- nected with it : John Webster, the dramatic poet, a late contemporary of Shakspeare, is said to have been parish-clerk here, but this is not at- tested by the register; Richard Savage was christened here, Jan. 18, 1696-7 ; the register records, Aug. 28, 1770, "William" (Thomas) " Chat- terton," with " the poet" added by a later hand, interred in the burial- ground of Shoe-lane Workhouse, now the site of Farringdon Market ; and in the churchyard lies Henry Neele, the gravestone bearing a touch- ing epitaph written by him to his father. Among the eminent rectors of the church were Hacket and Stillingfleet, afterwards bishops ; and Sacheverel, the partisan preacher, who is buried in the chancel. In the south aisle is a tablet to John Emery, the comedian, d. 1822. Some of the registers date from 1558 : the entries for five years, ending 1835, shew a daily average of one marriage, two burials, and three baptisms. ST. ANDREW'S UNDERSHAFT, Leadenhall-street, nearly opposite the East India House, a Tudor church, before whose south side was set up on every May -day morning a long shaft or May-pole, which was higher than the church-steeple. It was last raised in 1517, on " Evil May- day," " so called of an insurrection made by apprentices and other young persons against aliens:" it was then hung on iron hooks over the doors and under the "pentices" of Shaft-alley, until, 3d King Ed- sermon, and describes how the parishioners in the afternoon lifted the shaft from the hooks whereon it had rested 32 years, sawed it in pieces, " every man taking for his share so much as had lain over his door and stall, the length of his house ; and they of the alley divided among them so much as had lain over their alley-gate" (Stow) : and thus was this idol " mangled and after burned." The present church, rebuilt 1520- 1532, consists of a nave and two side aisles, with ribbed and flattened roof, painted and gilt with flowers and shields. The chancel has also paintings of the heavenly choir, landscapes, and buildings. St. Andrew's has much stained glass ; and a large pointed window at the east end of the nave contains whole-length portraits of King Edward VI., Queen Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., and Charles II. The church vraspewed soon after 1520. It contains many brasses, tablets, and monuments, the most characteristic of which is that of John Stow,* author of A * JOHN STOW was born in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, in the year 1525. There is abundant proof that he was by trade a tailor. In 1549, he was dwelling near the well within Aldgate, now known as Aldgate pump ; where the Bailiff 118 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Survey of London (1598). This monument is of terra- cotta, and was erected by Stow's widow ; it contains the figure of the chronicler, once coloured after life : he is seated at a table, pen in hand, with a book before him, and a clasped book on each side of the alcove : above are the arms of Stow's Company, the Merchant Tailors'. In a desk in this church are preserved seven curious old books, mostly in black letter, with a portion of iron chain attached to them, by which they were for- merly secured under open cages. ST. ANDREW'S, Wells-street, Marylebone, built by Daukes and Hamil- ton, in 1845-7, is fine Early Perpendicular, and has a tower and spire 155 feet high : the musical service is fully performed here. ST. ANNE'S, Limehouse, built by Hawksmoor, pupil of Wren, 1712- 24, at a cost of 35,000?., has a tower, with four angular turrets, and a more lofty one in the centre, original and picturesque. At 130 feet high is the clock, put up by Messrs. Moore in 1839 : it is the highest in the metropolis, not excepting St. Paul's, and has four dials, each 13 feet in diameter ; the hours being struck on the great bell (38 cwt.), inscribed : " At proper times my voice I'll raise, And sound to my subscribers' praise." The whole of the interior of the church, including a fine organ, was destroyed by an accidental fire on the morning of Good Friday, March 29, 1850 ; but has been judiciously restored. ST. ANN'S, Soho, was finished in 1686, and occupies a spot formerly called Kemp's Fields. The tower and spire were rebuilt about 1806 by the late S. P. Cockerell ; the clock is a whimsical and ugly excres- cence. The interior is very handsome, and has a finely-painted win- dow at the east end. In this church is a tablet to the memory of Theo- dore Anthony NeuhofF, King of Corsica, who died in this parish in 1756, soon after his liberation from the King's Bench Prison by the Act of Insolvency. The friend who gave shelter to this unfortunate monarch, whom nobles could praise when praise could not reach his ear, and who refused to succour him in his miseries, was himself so poor as to be un- able to defray the cost of his funeral. His remains were, therefore, about to be interred as a parish pauper, when one John Wright, an oil- man in Compton-street, declared that he for once would pay the fune- ral expenses of a king, which he did. The tablet was erected at the expense of Horace Walpole, who inscribed upon it : " The grave, great teacher, to a level brings Heroes and beggars, galley-slaves and kings ; But THEODORE this moral learn'd ere dead ; Fate pour'd its lesson on his living head, Bestow'd a kingdom, and denied him bread." ST. ANTHONY'S (St. Antholin's or St. Antling's), in Bridge-row, at of Rumford was, to use Stow's own words, "executed upon the pavement of my door, where I then kept house." Amidst the toils of business, Stow wrote his Chronicles, hisAnnales, and his Survey, a " simple and unadorned picture of Lon- don at the close of the 16th and commencement of the 17th century ;" besides other works, printed and manuscript, which, to use his own words, " cost him many a weary mile's travel, many a hard-earned penny and pound, and many a cold winter night's study." He enjoyed the patronage of Archbishop Parker, the friendship of Lambarde, and the respect of Camden ; yet he fell into poverty, and all he could obtain from his sovereign, James I., for the toil of near half a century, was a license to beg ! Stow died a twelvemonth after, on the 6th of April, 1605, in the parish of St. Andrew Undershaft, and was buried on April 8 : but, according to Maitland, in the year 1732, certain men removed Stow's " corpse, to make way for another." His collections for the Chronicles of Eng- land, occupying 60 quarto volumes, are now in the British Museum. Of the various editions of Stow's Survey, it may suffice to commend to the reader's notice the reprint from the edition of 1603, carefully edited by W. J. Thorns, F.S.A. 1842. CHURCHES: ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 119 the corner of Size-lane, is of ancient foundation, being mentioned in the twelfth century. The church was rebuilt about 1399 and 1513 ; and being destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, was rebuilt by Wren in 1682, when the parish of St. John Baptist, Watling-street, was annexed to that of St. Antholin. The interior has an oval dome, supported on eight columns ; and the carpentry of the roof is a fine specimen of Wren's constructive skill. The exterior has a tower rising directly from the ground, with an octagonal spire, terminating with a Composite capital, at the height of 154 feet. In 1559, there was established, " after Geneva fashion," at St. Antholin's, an early prayer and lecture, the bells for which began to ring at five in the morning. This service is referred to by our early dramatists, and the preacher (a Puritan) and the bell of St. Antlin's were proverbially loud and lengthy. The chaplains of the Commissioners from the Church of Scotland to King Charles, in 1640, preached here; and " curiosity, faction, and humour," drew such crowds, that on Sundays, from daybreak to nightfall, the church was never empty. The Churchwardens' accounts present (in an unbroken series,) the parish expenditure for nearly three centuries. ST. BARNABAS', Queen-street, Pimlico, is a portion of a College founded on St. Barnabas' Day, 1846, including schools and residentiary house for the clergy, upon ground presented by the first Marquis of Westminster. The buildings are in the Early Pointed style (Cundy, ar- chitect) ; and the church has a Caen-stone tower and spire 170 feet high, with a peal of ten bells, the gifts of as many parishioners. The windows throughout are filled with stained glass by Wailes of Newcastle, the subjects from the life of St. Barnabas. The open roof is splendidly painted ; the rood dividing the choir from the chancel, and other fittings, are entirely of oak ; the lectern is a brass eagle : the superb altar-plate, the font, illuminated office-books, the corona lucis in the chancel, and other costly ornaments, are the gifts of private individuals. The funds have been ' contributed by the inhabitants of the district of St. Paul, Knightsbridge, through the pious zeal of the Rev. W. G. Bennett, the incumbent. There is an organ by Flight, of great richness, variety, and power ; and full choral service is performed. During the Anti-Papal agitation towards the close of 1850, this church was more than once the scene of disgraceful interruption by intolerant mobs, who, but for the intrepidity of the officiating clergy, would have set aside the right to undisturbed worship. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of London, on St. Barnabas' Day, (June 11,) 1850. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT, in West Smithfield, is part of the ancient Priory of St. Bartholomew the Great, founded about 1102, by Rahere, the King's Minstrel, who became first Prior. The Choir is Norman, and resembles the earlier portions of Winchester Cathedral, distinguished by semicircular arches and billet moulding ; the clerestory above the triforium having pointed windows of later date. A large bay or oriel bears the rebus of a bolt, or arrow from the cross-bow, and a tun, of Bolton, who was Prior from 1506 to 1532. The roof is of tim - ber, divided into compartments by a tie-beam and king-post, supported by brackets. Portions of the nave and transepts are also ancient ; but the brick tower bears the date 1628. The nave is supposed to have originally extended to the house-fronts in Smithfield, where is a stone archway, with a dog's-tooth ornament ; vestiges of the old foundations occur in the churchyard, within a few feet of the surface ; and in the church other portions of the original building remain. Among the monuments is Rahere's, in elegant Perpendicular style, with the effigy of the Prior, an angel and monks, beneath a canopy. Besides the church, (which is comparatively little known,) a cloister and crypt of 120 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the Priory exist ;* and the great Close, though now covered with mo- dern buildings, bears the name Bartholomew Close. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE LESS is the parish church of the precinct of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and escaped the Great Fire, but has been twice rebuilt, the tower alone being ancient. The memorials pre- served from the old church include two floor brasses of Robert Bal- thrope, serjeant-surgeon to Queen Elizabeth, (d. 1591.) ST. BARTHOLOMEW BY THE EXCHANGE, rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire of 1666, mostly with the old masonry, was taken down in 1840 : the tower was in eccentric taste, appearing as though the upper part had been blown down, and a door- way or window-frame been left on each side. Here was buried Miles Coverdale, our first translator of the Bible, whose remains were removed to St. Magnus' Church, London Bridge, on the taking down of St. Bartholomew's. ST. BENET'S (Benedict), Gracechurch-street, was called Grass- church, because the herb-market was held nearly opposite the western door of the ancient church, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 ; but upon the same site was completed the present church, by "Wren, in 1685. The height of the tower and spire, at the west angle," is 149 feet. In the parish books, at the accession of Queen Mary, 1553, appears : " Paid to a plasterer, for washing oute and defacing of such Scriptures as in the tyme of King Edward VI. were written ahout the chirche and walls, 3s.4d. ;" and " Paid to the paynters for making ye Roode, with Mary and John. 6/." While in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, 155S. is " Payd to a carpenter for pulling downe the Roode and Mary, 4s. 2d. :" '' Paid three labourers, one day, for pulling down the altars and John, 2s. 4d." In 1642 we find them selling the' superstitious brasses taken off the gravestones for 9s. 6d. Malcolm's Londini urn Sedirirum, i. p. 316. ST. BEXNET FINK, named from Robert Finke, the original founder, (as also of Finch-lane adjoining,) was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, rebuilt by Wren, but taken down in 1842-44. The remains were sold by auction, Jan. 15, 1846, when lot 12, the carved oak poor-box, with lock, c. (date on the lock, 1683), fetched four guineas; and lot 17, the carved and panelled oak pulpit, with sounding-board, &c., fifteen guineas. The paintings of Moses and Aaron, the carved and panelled oak fittings of the altar, marble floor, and the two tablets with inscrip- tions in gold, were purchased for 507. ST. BOTOLPH'S is situate without the walls of London, near one of the ancient entrances to the City, supposed to have been built by a bishop, and thence called Bishopsgate. The old church narrowly escaped the Great Fire of 1666, and was rebuilt in 1725-29 by James Gold ; its pecu- liarity is, that the tower rises at the east end, in Bishopsgate-street, and the lower part forms the chancel. The living is the richest in the City and Liberties of London. In the chancel is the monument to Sir Paul Pindar, whose residence in Bishopsgate-street Without is now the Sir Paul Pindar's Head public-house. He was a rich merchant (temp. James I. and Charles I.), and, like many other good subjects, was ruined by his attachment to the latter monarch. He was charitable and hos- pitable, and often gave " the parish venison"f for public dinners : yet the parishioners made him pay for a license for eating flesh. ST. BOTOLPH, ALDGATE, at the corner of Houndsditch, opposite the Minories, was rebuilt by G. Dance, 1741-44. It contains monu- ments of good sculpture to Lord Dacre, beheaded 1537 ; and Sir Nicholas Carew, of Beddington, beheaded 1538; also an effigies monument to * See " Vestiges of Old London," by J. W. Archer, part v. 1851. t Sir Paul appears to have presented the parish yearly with a venison pasty; for in 1634 we find charged in the parish books 19s. Id. for the mere " flour, butter, pepper, eggs, making, and baking." Another curious entry is in 1578: " Paid for frankincense and flowers, when the Chancellor sate with us, 11s." CHURCHES: ST BRIDE'S. 121 Robert Dowe, who left the St. Sepulchre's Bell, &c. (see page 38). In the churchyard is a tomb inscribed with Persian characters, of which Stow gives the following account : "August 10, 1626. In Petty France [a part of the cemetery unconsecrated], out of Christian burial, was buried Hodges Shaughsware, a Persian merchant, who with his son came over with the Persian ambassador, and was buried by his own son, who read certaia prayers, and used other ceremonies, according to the custom of their own country, morning and evening, for a whole month after the burial ; for whom is set up, at the charge of his son, a tomb of stone with certain Persian characters thereon, the exposition thus : This grave is made for Hodges Shaughsware, the chiefe&t servant to the King of Persia for the space of twenty years, who came from the King of Persia, and died in his service. If any Per- sian cometh out of that country, let him read this and a prayer for him. The Lord receive his soul, for here lieth Maghmote Shaughsware, who was born in the town Novoy, in Persia." (Stow's Survey, ed. 1633, p. 173.) Bow CHURCH, Cheapside. (See ST. MARY-LE-BOW.) ST. BRIDE'S, or St. Bridget, Fleet-street, was built by Wren, upon the site of the old church, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. It was completed in 1703, cost 11,430/., and is remarkable for its graceful steeple, which, as left by Wren, was 234 feet high. In June 1764 it was so damaged by lightning, that it was found requisite to take down eighty-five feet of the stone-work, and in restoring it, the height was lowered eight feet : the whole cost was 3,000/. In 1803 the steeple was again struck by lightning : " The metal vane, the cramps with which the masonry was secured, and the other ironwork employed in the con- struction, led the electric fluid down the steeple, in the absence of any continued or better conductor; and as at each point where the connexion was broken off, a violent disruption necessarily ensued, the stonework was rent in all parts, and projected from its situation. One stone, weighing nearly eighty pounds, was thrown over the east end of the church, and fell on the roof of a house in Bride-lane ; while another was forced from the bottom of the spire, through the roof of the church, into the north gallery." (Godwins Churches of London, vol. ii.) The Philosophical Transactions for 1764 also contains two scientific investigations of the above damage. The upper part was, for a long time, preserved on the premises of a mason in Old-street Road. The entire spire is one of Wren's most beautiful designs, and consists of four stories, the two lower Tuscan, the third Ionic, and the fourth Composite, terminating in an obelisk, with a ball and vane. In height and lightness it approaches nearer to the exquisite spires of the pointed style than any other ex- ample ; the details, however, (in Portland stone,) are hastening to decay. In the north face of the tower is a transparent clock-dial, first lit with gas in 1827, and one of the earliest of the kind in the metropolis. The interior is handsome ; the great eastern window, above the altar, is filled with a copy, in stained glass, of Rubens's " Descent from the Cross," in Antwerp Cathedral: this was executed by Mr. Muss in 1824-5, and is a fine production. The marble font bears the date 1615. Richardson, the author of Clarissa Harlowe, and who printed his own novels in Salisbury-square, is buried in the church ; and in the porch, beneath the tower, is a tablet to Alderman Waithman (interred here), who sat in five parliaments for the City of London. The registers of St. Bride's were saved at the destruction of the first church ; they com- mence from 1587 : and the vestry-books, which date from 1653, minutely chronicle the Great Fire, a relic of which is the doorway into Mr. Holden's vault, to the right of entering from Bride-passage. In the old church were buried Wynkin de Worde, whose printing-office was in Fleet-street ; Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset (d. 1608), the poet, who commenced " The Mirrour for Magistrates ;" Sir Richard Baker, the chronicler, who died in the Fleet Prison, 1644-5 j Richard Lovelace, 122 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the poet, who died a broken cavalier, " very poor in body and purse,'* in Gunpowder-alley, Shoe-lane, in 1658. The register also records the burial of Ogilby, the translator of Homer (d. 1676) ; and Mary Carlton, or Frith, the "English Mall" of Hudibras, alias Moll Cutpurse, an infamous cheat and pickpocket, hanged at Tyburn 1672-3. The church and its elegant spire was hidden by houses until after a destructive fire in Bride-passage on Nov. 14, 1824:, when an avenue was opened from Fleet-street : it was designed by J. B. Pap worth, and the improvement cost 10,000/., of which Mr. Blades, of Ludgate-hill, advanced 6,OOOJ. ST. CATHERINE CKEE, (or Christ Church,) on the north side of Leadendall- street, was rebuilt in the year 1629, and consecrated by Laud, Bishop of London, Jan. 16, 1630-31 ; when persons were stationed at the doors of the church to call with a loud voice on his approach, " Open, open, ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory may enter in." When Laud had reached the interior, he fell on his knees, and lifting his hands, exclaimed, " This place is holy, the ground is holy ; in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I pronounce it holy ;" then throwing dust from the ground into the air, he bowed to the chancel, and went in procession round the church. These and other ceremonies, fully described in Rushworth, were made grave accusations against Laud, and brought about his death. The present church is debased Gothic and Corinthian. Among the monuments removed from the old church is a canopied figure of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, (d. 1570,) from whom Throgmorton-street is named. Hans Holbein (d. 1554,) is also stated to have been buried in the first church. By the will of Sir John Gager, Lord Mayor in 1646, provision is made for a sermon to be annually preached on the 16th of October, in St. Catherine Cree's Church, in com- memoration of his happy deliverance from a lion, which he met in a desert whilst travelling in the Turkish dominions, and which suffered him to pass unmolested. CHRIST CHURCH, Broadway, Westminster, was designed in 1842, in the Early Pointed style, by Poynter, upon the site of the former New Chapel. It has some good stained glass by Willement, especially in the centre window. The New Chapel was built about 1631 ; Archbishop Laud contributing to the funds 10001. and some most curious glass. At the Rebellion, Sir Robert Harley defaced the windows, laid the painted glass in heaps upon the ground, and trod it to pieces, calling his sacri- legious antics " dancing a jig to Laud." The troopers of the Com- monwealth stabled their chargers in the church aisles ; and Cromwell and his officers are said to have used it as a council-room. In the adjacent ground was buried Sir William Waller, (d. 1688,) the famous Parliamentarian General in the Civil Wars. On June 26, 1739, Margaret Patten was interred here, at the age of 136 years : she was born at Lochborough, near Paisley, and was brought to England to prepare Scotch broth for lung James II.; but after his abdication, she fell into poverty, and died in St. Margaret's Workhouse, where her portrait is preserved. " None would recognise the description given of this burial- ground now so crowded upon by houses towards the beginning of the last century, that it was 'the pleasantest churchyard all about London and Westminster.' " ( Walcott's Westminster, p. 286.) CHRIST CHURCH, Highbury, built by T. Allom, in 1848, has a tower and spire in the angle between the north transept and nave, the spire having gabled and crocketted lucarnes. Internally, the plan is equally novel, in the centre becoming an octagon of eight arches, so as to allow the pulpit and reading-desk, placed againt the pillars of the chancel arch, to be distinctly seen from all parts of the church. CHRIST CHURCH, Newgate-street, was built by Wren, CHURCHES: ST. CLEMENT'S DANES. 123 1687 and 1704, and occupied part of the site of the ancient Grey Friars' Church, destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. The tower rises directly from the ground, and with the steeple is 153 feet high ; the basement- story being open on three sides, and forming a porch to the church. A large gallery at the west end is appropriated for the Christ Church Boys ; and here, since 1797, have been preached the " Spital Sermons." In 1799, the Spital Sermon on Easter Tuesday was preached by the celebrated Dr. Parr, who occupied nearly three hours in its delivery. The SPITAL SERMONS originated in an old custom by which some learned per- son was appointed yearly by the Bishop of London to preach at St. Paul's Cross, on Good Friday, on the subject of " Christ's Passion :" on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday following, three other divines were appointed to uphold the doc- trines of " The Resurrection" at the Pulpit Cross in the " Spital" (Spitalfields). On the Sunday following, a fifth preached at Paul's Cross, and passed judgment upon the merits of those who had preceded him. At these Sermons, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen attended ; ladies also on the Monday forming part of the procession; and at the close of each day's solemnity, his Lordship and the Sheriffs fave a private dinner to such of their friends among the Aldermen as attended the ermon. From this practice, the civic festivities at Easter were at length ex- tended to a magnificent scale. The children of Christ's Hospital took part in the above solemnities ; so that, in 1594, when it became necessary to rebuild the Pulpit Cross at the Spital, a gallery was erected also for their accommodation. In the Great Rebellion, the pulpit was destroyed, and the Sermons were discontinued till the Restoration; after which, the three Spital Sermons, as they were still called, were revived at St. Bride's Church, in Fleet Street. They have since been reduced to two, and from 1 797 have been delivered at Christ Church, Newgate- street. It was at their first appearance at the Spital that the children of Christ's Hospital wore the blue costume by which they have since been distinguished. Instead of the subjects which were wont to be discussed from the Pulpit Cross of St. Mary Spital, discourses are now delivered commemorative of the objects of the five sister Hospitals ; and a Report is read of the number of children maintained and educated, and of sick, disorderly, and lunatic persons for whom provision is made in each respectively. On each day, the boys of Christ's Hospital, with the legend " j^e is risen" attached to their left shoulders, form part of the civic procession ; walking on the first day in the order of their schools, the King's Boys bearing their nautical instruments ; and on the second, according to their several wards, headed by their nurses. (Abridged from the Rev. Mr. Trollope's History of Christ's Hospital. See also page 82 of the present volume.) CHRIST CHURCH, Spitalfields, (originally a hamlet of St. Dunstan's, Stepney,) was built by Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren, and consecrated July 5, 1729. It is entirely of stone, very massive, and has one of the loftiest spires in London, 225 feet high, or 23 feet higher than the Monument. It contains a peal of twelve bells, scarcely inferior in power and sweetness to any in the kingdom, the tenor weighing 4,928 Ibs. It has a large organ, the master-piece of Bridge, containing 2,126 pipes. Here is a monument to Sir Robert Ladbroke, a whole-length figure, in the full dress of Lord Mayor : one of the early works of Flaxman. This church was greatly injured by fire on Feb. 17, 1836, shortly after the parishioners had finished paying 8000Z. for repairs. On the morning of Jan. 3, 1841, the spire and roof of this church were greatly damaged by lightning, at ten minutes before seven, when the clock stopped. The lightning struck the cone, or upper part of the spire ; thence it descended to a room above the clock-room, forcing the trap-door from the hinges down to the floor, melting the iron wires connected with the clock, scorching the wooden rope-conductors, breaking many of the windows, and making a considerable fracture in the wall, where the lightning is supposed to have escaped. The roof was partially covered with large stones, which broke in the lead- work by their weight in falling; and the lead near the injured masonry was melted in several places. ST. CLEMENT'S DANES, Strand, the first church west of Temple Bar, is said by Stow to have been so called " because Harold, a Danish king, and other Danes, were buried there." Strype gives another 124 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. reason : that the few Danes left in the kingdom married English wo- men, and compulsorily lived between Westminster and Ludgate ; and there built a synagogue, called " Ecclesia dementis Danorum.'' This account Fleetwood, the antiquary, Recorder of London in the reign of Elizabeth, reported to the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, who lived in this parish. The body of the old church was taken down in 1680, and rebuilt to the old tower in 1632, by Edward Pierce, under the gratuitous direc- tions of Wren, as recorded on a marble slab in the north aisle. In 1719, Gibbs added the present tower and steeple, about 116 feet high, with a peal of ten bells. The clock strikes the hours twice; "the hour being first struck on a larger bell, and then repeated on a smaller one, so that has the first been miscounted, the second may be more correctly observed." (A. Thomson's Time and Timekeepers, p. 77.) In addition to the clock is a set of chimes, which play the old 104th Psalm, though somewhat crazily. In the church are buried Otway and Nat. Lee, the dramatic poets ; and Rymer, compiler of the Fcedera, &c. ST. DIOMS', BACKCHURCH (behind the line of Fenchurch-street), is the third church upon this site, and was rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 : it has a tower 90 feet high. In the vestry -room are preserved four of the large syringes at one time the only engines used in London for the extinction of fires ; they are about 2 feet 3 inches long, and were attached by straps to the body of the fireman. ST. DUNSTAN'S IN THE EAST, between Tower-street and Upper Thames-street, was nearly destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and was restored by "Wren in 1698 : it has a stone tower and spire, sup- ported on four arched ribs, springing from the angles of the tower : this is Wren's best work in the Pointed style ; but it closely resembles the spire of St. Nicholas's Church, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, built in the fifteenth century. John Carter, however, says : " St. Nicholas's tower is so lofty, and of such a girth, that, to compare great things with small, our London piece of vanity is but a mole-hill to the Newcastle ' mountain,' the pride and glory of the northern hemisphere." There is a tradition, that the plan of St. Dunstan's tower and spire was fur- nished by the architect's daughter, Jane Wren, who died in 1702, aged 26, and was buried under the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral. Lady Dio- nysia Williamson, in 1670, gave 4000J. towards the rebuilding of St. Dunstan's. After the dreadful storm in London through the night of the 26th November, 1703, Wren hearing next morning that some of the steeples and pinnacles had been damaged, quickly replied, " Not St. Dunstan's, I'm quite sure." The old church had a lofty leaden steeple. The body of the present church was rebuilt of Portland stone, in the Perpendicular style, by Laing and Tite, in 1817. The interior is divided into three aisles by clustered columns and pointed arches. The east window represents symbolically the Law and the Gospel; the north, Christ Blessing Little Children ; and the south, the Adora- tion of the Magi. In the vestry is a wood carving, by Gibbons, of the arms of Archbishop Tenison. In the south churchyard is a Rookery. (See BIRDS, p. 47.) ST. DUNSTAN'S IN THE WEST, Fleet-street, was designed by John Shaw, F.R.S. and F.S.A., in 1831-33, set back 30 feet from the site of the former church, which projected considerably beyond the street-line. It just escaped the Great Fire of 1666, which stopped within three houses of it ; as did also another fire in 1730. A view in 1739 shews the oldest portion to be the tower and bell-turret, the latter containing a small bell which was rung every morning at a quarter before seven o'clock. The body of the church is Italianised Gothic, with battle- ments and circular -headed windows ; shops with overhanging signs are CHURCHES: ST. DUNSTAN'S IN THE WEST. 125 built against the south and east walls, though previously the church- yard was thus built in, and was a permanent station for booksellers, as appears by many imprints. Thus, " Epigrams by H. P.," &c. " and are to be soulde by John Helme, at his shoppe in St. Dunstan's Church- yarde, 1608, qto." John Smethwick had " his shop in St. Dunstan's Church-yard, in Fleet-street, under the Diall;" and here, in 1653, Richard Marriott published the first edition of Walton's Angler, for 18d. The church clock was one of London's wonders : it had a large gilt dial, overhanging Fleet-street, and above it two figures of savages, of life-size, carved in wood, and standing within an alcove, each having in his right hand a club, with which they struck the quarters upon two suspended bells, moving their heads at the same time. This clock and figures were the work of Mr. Thomas Harrys, in 1671, then living at the lower end of Water-lane, who received for his work 351. with the old clock, and the sum of 4:1. per annum to keep the whole in repair.* Originally, the clock was within a square ornamented case, with a semi- circular pediment, and the tube from the church to the dial was sup- ported by a carved figure of Time, with expanded wings, as a bracket ; when altered, in 1738, it cost the parish 1101. Strype calls the figures " two savages, or Hercules ;" Ned Ward, " the two wooden horolo- gists ;" and Cowper, in his Table Talk, likens a lame poet to '' When labour and when dulness, club in hand, Like the two figures at St. Dunstan's, stand." In 1766, the elegant statue of Queen Elizabeth, which stood on the west side of Ludgate, was put up at the east end of St. Dunstan's Church ; and the other figures, King Lud and his two sons, were deposited in the parish bone-house. The old church was taken down in December 1829, when the materials were sold by auction : the bell-turret for 10s.; the flag and flag-staff for 12s.; and an iron standard, with copper vane, warranted 850 years old (?), weighing three-quarters of a cwt. was sold for 21. Is. At another sale, in 1830, the statue of Queen Elizabeth was knocked down for 16/. 10s., and a stained-glass window for 4/. 5s. The clock, figures, &c. were purchased by the late Marquis of Hertford, and placed in the grounds of his villa in the Regent's Park, where they strike the hours and quarters to this day. The new church of St. Dun- stan was consecrated July 31, 1833, which the architect did not live to witness, he having died July 30, 1832, the twelfth day after the exter- nal completion of the edifice.f It is in the latest Pointed style, and has a lofty tower, surmounted by an elegant lantern, 130 feet high, (of Ketton stone,) different from any other in the metropolis, but resem- bling St. Botolph's, Boston, Lincolnshire ; St. Helen's, York ; and St. George's, at Ramsgate, built in 1825. Over the entrance-porch are sculptured the heads of Tyndale, the Reformer ; and Dr. Donne, who was once vicar of the church : they are considered faithful portraits. Above is a clock, with three dials, curiously coloured and gilt in the em- bellished taste of the architectural period ;" and a belfry, with eight fine bells from the old church, the sound of which receives effect from the four large upper windows, which are the main features of the tower. The enriched stone lantern is perforated with Gothic windows of two heights ; the whole being terminated by an ornamental, pierced, and very rich crown parapet. The body of the church is of octagon form, and has eight * So early as 1478 there was a similar piece of mechanism in Fleet-street. Stow describes a conduit erected in the above year, near Shoe-lane, with angels having " sweet-sounding bells before them; whereupon, by an engine placed in the tower, they, divers hours of the day and night, with hammers chimed such an hymn as was appointed," There is, we believe, a like contrivance to that at St. Dunstan's, in Norwich Cathedral. (See also Paul's Jacks, p. 86.) t The interior was finished by his son, John Shaw. 126 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. recesses, with as many windows above, containing good stained glass. The roof is formed by eight iron spandrel- beams, projecting from an angle towards the centre, and there connected by an iron ring ; and from the enriched key-stone hangs the chandelier. The northern recess con- tains the altar-table, of oak elaborately carved; and the altar-piece pre- sents three admirably carved canopies, of foreign workmanship. Above is a large pointed window, filled with stained glass, by "Williment, in the ancient manner : it contains figures of the Evangelists ; the crown of thorns and the nails ; the spear and sponge upon a reed ; the Holy Lamb ; and the inscription, in black letter, " Deo et ecclesiae fratres Hoare dicaverunt, anno Domini MDCCCXXXII." This is, altogether, one of the most elegant church interiors in the metropolis. In May 1839, the statue of Queen Elizabeth, already mentioned, was placed in a niche, flanked with two pilasters, above the doorway of the pa- rochial schools, east of the principal entrance to the church. On the west side is the Law Life Insurance Office, designed by John Shaw, in the style that prevailed between the last period of Pointed architecture, (of which St. Dunstan's Church is an example,) and the complete revival of the architecture of Greece and Rome. In the old church was a large hour-glass, in silver frame; of the latter, in 1723, two heads were made for the parish staves. The Rev. "William Romaine was rector of the old church* in 1749, when it was generally so crowded that the pew-opener's place was worth 50Z. per annum. ST. DUNSTAN'S, Stepney, a Perpendicular church, is famed in story for its legend of " The Fish and Ring," and the popular ballad of " The Cruel Knight, or Fortunate Farmer's Daughter :" her identity is re- ferred to Lady Berry, whose tomb is on the outer east wall, with the fish and amulet in the arms thereon : but the finding of a ring in a fish is an incident of much greater antiquity than Lady Berry's time (1696), and occurs in the Arabian Nights Entertainments. The churchyard is noticed in the Spectator, by Steele, for the number and oddity of its epitaphs: here lies the father of Dr. Mead, who was born over the antique brick gateway opposite the rectory, and first began practice here; also Rev. W. Tickers, author of the Companion to the Altar; and Roger Crab, who lived long on bran, dock-leaves, grass, and water. Within the church is the splendid tomb of Sir H. Colet, Lord Mayor in 1486 and 1495, and father of the founder of St. Paul's School. Here also is a marble monument of the Good Samaritan, by Sir R. "Westma- cott, R.A., to B. Kenton, Esq. (d. 1800), leaving 63,500Z. to charity schools, and 30,000/. to his friends. In the western porch is a stone reputed to have been brought from the wall of Carthage. In 1625 and 1665, died at Stepney of the Plague 9,561 persons. ST. EDMUND'S (the King and Martyr), Lombard-street, has also been called St. Edmund's Grass Church, because of a grass-mar- ket held here: whence Grasschurch-street, now Gracechurch-street. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire, and rebuilt by Wren : it has a tower and incongruous steeple, 90 feet high, and a projecting bracket clock. The altar-piece has some fine carvings, and two paint- ings of Moses and Aaron, executed by William Etty, in 1833 : above is a stained glass window, with the arms of Queen A'nne, " set up in the memorable year of union, 1707 ;" besides two other stained glass win- dows, of superior excellence, representing St. Paul and St. Peter. ST. GEORGE'S, Hanover-square, was completed by John James in 1724; the parish being taken out of St. Martin's-in-the- Fields. St. George's is built upon ground given by Lieut-Gen. "W. Stewart : it has a stately and august Corinthian portico, and a handsome and well- Historical Account of the old Church, by the Rev. J. F. Denham, M.A. CHURCHES: ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR. 127 proportioned steeple ; still, it can only be viewed in profile ; but " were it not for two or three intervening houses, it would be seen in the noblest point of sight in the world." The interior has a large altar- picture of the Last Supper, attributed to Sir James Thornhill ; above it is a painted window, foreign, of the 16th century, with the Virgin and Child, the Crucifixion, ecclesiastical personages, masonic emblems, &c. ; the altar-piece in its sculptured framework, and the painted glass in its architectural recess, is effective ; but this Gothic window in a Ro- man church is a glaring absurdity. " The view down George-street, from the upper side of Hanover-square, is one of the most entertaining in the whole city : the sides of the square, the area in the middle, the breaks of building that form the entrance of the vista, but above all, the beautiful projection of the portico of St. George's Church, are all cir- cumstances that unite in beauty, and make the scene perfect." Ralph. St. George's, Hanover-square, also possesses a burial-ground at a short distance on the Bayswater-road. Here is the grave of Sterne, with a stone set up by two "Brother Masons:" where too lies Sir Thomas Picton, who fell at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. (See BAYSWATER, p. 35.) ST. GEORGE'S, Hart-street, Bloomsbury, was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren, and was consecrated in 1731 ; a district for its parish being taken out of that of St. Giles's-in-the-Fields. This church is remarkable for standing north and south ; the tower and steeple are placed by the side of the main edifice, the favourite practice of Palladio. Upon the tower, on the four sides, rises a range of unat- tached Corinthian pillars and pediments; above is a series of steps, with lions and unicorns at the corners, guarding the royal arms, and which supports at the apex, on a short column, a statue, in Roman costume, of George I. The design is from Pliny's description of the first mauso- leum, the tomb of King Mausolus,in Caria. Walpole calls this steeple a master-stroke of absurdity, and it has provoked this epigram : " When Harry the Eighth left the Pope in the lurch, The people of England made him head of the Church; But George's good subjects, the Bloomsbury people, Instead of the church, make him head of the steeple." More admired is the magnificent portico of eight Corinthian columns, which Hawksmoor added to his design, influenced by Gibbs's portico at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, then just completed; but St. George's is the better, from its height above the level of the street. The church, altogether, is by some considered one of the most picturesque in the metropolis. Here is a tablet to the great Lord Mansfield ; and a monu- ment to Mr. Charles Grant, by Bacon, R.A. ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR, Queen-square, Bloomsbury, built in 1706, as a chapel of ease to St. Andrew s, Holborn, was declared a parish church in 1723; of which Dr. Stukeley, the Roman- British an- tiquary, was many years the rector : in his MS. Diary, 1749, in the possession of Mr, Britton, F.S.A., is described the then rural character of Queen-square and its vicinity. The parish burial-ground is in the rear of the Foundling Hospital : a strong prejudice formerly existed against new churchyards, and no person was interred here till the ground was broken for Robert Nelson, author of Fasts and Festi- vals, whose character for piety reconciled others to the spot : people like to be buried in company, and in good company. Nancy Dawson, the dancer, of Covent Garden and Drury-lane Theatres, (noted for hornpipes,) lies here. ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR, Southwark, was built in 1733-36, by John Price, upon the site of the old church ; the parish having been orgin- ally given by William the Conqueror to the noble family of Arderne, and for some time attached to the Priory of Bermondsey. Stow de- 128 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. scribes the former church as almost directly over against Suffolk- House, formerly the mansion of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, the bro- ther-in-law of Henry VIIL, now the site of the premises of Mr. Pigeon, the distiller. There were buried in the old church, Bonner, Bishop of London, who died in the Marshalsea ; and Rushworth, author of the Collections, who died in the King's Bench : both these prisons being in the parish. Edward Cocker, engraver and teacher of writing and arith- metic, is also stated upon a sexton's evidence to have been interred here: his "Arithmetic," a posthumous work, was first published "by John Hawkins, writing-master, near St. George's Church." The pre- sent church has a lofty stone spire and tower, with a fine peal of eight bells ; the large bell is tolled nightly, and thought to be a relic of the curfew. Hogarth, in his plate of Southwark Fair, represents Figg, the famous prizefighter, and a worthy named Cadman, flying by a rope from the tower of St. George's Church ; the fair being held in that part of the Mint which lies in the rear of the houses opposite. (A very inte- resting paper on the Statistics of St. George's parish was read to the Statistical Society of London, in 1840, by the Rev. Mr. Weight.) ST. GEORGE'S IN THE EAST, Ratcliffe Highway, built by Hawksmoor, 1715-29, in an original and massive style, has a very picturesque spire. In the churchyard is buried Joseph Ames, (d. 1759,) author of Typo- graphical Antiquities, originally a plane-maker, and afterwards a ship- chandler at Wapping ; he lies in a stone coffin, in virgin earth, at the depth of eight feet. In this parish are the Schools and Asylum founded by Mr. Raine, a wealthy brewer, in 1717 and 1736; who also provided that on May 1 and Dec. 26, annually, a marriage-portion of 100/. should be presented to two young women, former in- mates of the School, and who have attained the age of twenty-two years. The bridegrooms must be inhabitants of St. George's-in-the-East, or of Wapping or Shadwell ; and the young women drawing lots for the portion, one hundred new sovereigns,, usually put into a handsome bag, madebyayoung lady of St. George's parish, and presented at a dinner of the trustees. In the morning a discourse is preached in the Church, "On Diligence and Industry in our Calling;" after which the drawing takes place at the Asylum. ST. GILES'S, Camberwell, is one of the largest churches built in Eng- land since the Reformation : it occupies the site of the old brick church, burnt on Sunday, Feb. 7, 1841. The new church, designed by Scott and Moffatt, is massively built entirely of stone, and was consecrated Nov. 21, 1844 : it is in the transition style, from Early English to Decorated; cruciform in plan, with a large central tower and spire, 207 feet high, and the tower thirty feet square ; it has a fine peal of bells, by Mears. The outside length of the church exceeds 153 feet. The interior has an open timber roof, and oak fittings ; a very powerful organ, by Bishop ; and several stained-glass windows by Ward and Nixon, the largest, over the altar, enriched with the symbolism of the thirteenth century. The edi- fice, within and without, has an antique and pleasing character, the sculpture and other accessories being correct in period. ST. GILES'S, Cripplegate, is the successor of a church founded in 1090, near the postern in the City wall, called Cripple-gate from an adjoining hospital for lame people (Camderi), or from the numerous cripples begging there (Stow). In 1545, the church was burnt, but was i soon repaired, and perhaps partially rebuilt ; and in 1682, the tower I was raised fifteen feet : it has a peal of twelve bells, besides one in the turret, and a very musical set of chimes (see p. 39). In the church are buried John Fox, the martyrologist, described in the Register as "householder, preacher ;" John Speed, the historian, with his bust, once painted and gilt ; John Milton and his father, under the clerk's desk : a bust of the poet, by Bacon, R.A., with a tablet, were set up on the north side of the nave, by Samuel Whitbread. in 1793. The entry in the CHURCHES: ST. GILES'S-IN-THE- FIELDS. 129 parish register is : " 12 November, 1674, John Milton, gentleman, con- sumpcon, chancell."* The remains were scandalously disturbed in Aug. 1790, " and little boys have played with the bones of great kings."f In the chancel, too, are tablets to Constance Whitney and Margaret Lucy, both descendants of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlecote, Warwickshire : the former represents a female rising from a coffin, and has been erro- neously supposed to commemorate a lady who, having been buried while in a trance, was restored to life through the cupidity of the sex- ton in digging up the body to get possession of a ring left upon her finger. Several of the actors from the Fortune Theatre, Whitecross- street, are buried here. Here, too, rests Sir Martin Frobisher, one of the earliest of the Arctic voyagers (d. 1594-5) ; and Henry Welby, the Grub-street hermit, yet a man of exemplary charity (d. 1636). And the register records the marriage of Oliver Cromwell with Elizabeth Bowchier, August 20, 1620. ST. GiLEs's-iN-THE-FiELDS, on the south side of High-street, was formerly in the fields, and the parish the village of St. Giles; the church being traceable to the chapel of a Hospital for Lepers, founded about 1117, by Queen Matilda, consort of Henry I. The ancient church was taken down in 1623, and a brick edifice erected in its place : this was removed in 1730, and the present church, designed by Henry Flitcroft, was completed in 1734. It is built of Portland stone, and has a tower and spire, 160 feet high, with eight bells. Above the entrance gateway from the street is a bas-relief of the Day of Judgment, from the Lich or " Resurrection Gate " of the former church. Here were buried Chap- man, the translator of Homer; Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who lived in Great Queen-street ; Shirley, the dramatist, and his wife ; Sir Roger L'Estrange, the political writer ; and Andrew Marvell, " a man in whose reputation the glory of the patriot has eclipsed the fine powers of the poet." The monument to Chapman, built by Inigo Jones at his own expense, is now in the churchyard, against the south wall of the church. In the churchyard, too, is the altar-tomb of Richard Pendrell, who aided in the escape of Charles II. ; and a few years since was re- vived the custom of decorating this tomb on Restoration Day (May 29) with branches of oak. The finest monument in the present church is the recumbent effigies of the Duchess Dudley (d. 1670), preserved in grateful memory of her munificence to the parish. At the place of public execution, a short distance north-west of the church, Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, was hung in chains and roasted over faggots in 1417, ? during the reign of Henry V., his early friend. The phrase " St. Giles's Bowl" is referred to the custom of giving, at the Hospital gate, every malefactor on his way to Tyburn a bowl of ale, as his last worldly draught, which practice was afterwards continued at an hostel built upon the site of the monastic house ; of this the Bowl Brewery, taken down in 1849, was the representative ; and the bowl itself is said to be in existence. The transparent clock-dial of the church was lit with gas in 1827, the first in the metropolis ; and opposite, in 1842, was made one of the earliest experiments with wood-paving. In Endell-street, in 1845, was built a district church, in the Early Pointed style, by Fer- rey, a timely provision for the spiritual destitution of the parish. St. Giles's possesses also a cemetery in the Lower St. Pancras-road ; where * Under St. Bride's (p. 121) has been omitted mention of St. Biide's church- yard as one of Milton's abodes in London : here, after his return from Italy, he lodged with one Russel, a tailor, and devoted himself to the education of his nephews, John and Edward Philips, and to the politics of the day. Thence, how- ever, he soon removed to " a pretty garden-house" in Aldersgate-street. t See the Diary of General Murray, in Monthly Magazine for August 1833. 130 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. are buried, beneath an altar-tomb, John Flaxman, R.A., the sculptor, and Sir John Soane, R.A. the architect. (See CEMETERIES, p. 69.) ST. HELEN'S, Bishopsgate, on the east side of Bishopsgate-street Within, was once the church of the priory of St. Helen, the site of which, judging from pavements found here, was originally occupied by a Roman building. During the continuance of the priory, the church was divided by a partition, and served both the nuns and the parishioners ; but after the Dissolution, this was removed : against the north wall is a range of the nuns' seats. The interior of the edifice, with its columns and pointed arches, is picturesque ; it contains more monuments, per- haps, than any other church in the metropolis ; and these being altar- tombs upon the floor, increase the appearance of antiquity and solem- nity. They include a freestone altar-tomb, with quatrefoil panels en- closing shields ; upon the ledger lie full-length alabaster effigies of Sir John Crosbie and his first wife Anneys or Agnes (see CROSBY HALL); the knight wears his aldermanic gown over plate armour. A canopied monument to Sir W. Pickering, in dress armour, reclining upon a pillow of matting (d. 1542) ; several kneeling figures, elaborately painted and gilt, in memory of Sir Andrew Judd (in armour) (d. 1558) ; a very large sculptured altar-tomb to Sir Thomas Gresham, who founded the Royal Exchange ; a monument representing Martin Bond, captain of the "trained bands at Tilbury when the Spanish Armada was ex- pected he is sitting within a tent, with sentries, &c. (d. 1643) ; tomb of Francis Bancroft (d. 1726), built in his lifetime, when he directed that his body should be embalmed, and placed in a coffin unfastened (see ALMSHOUSES, p. 6); and a table monument by N. Stone to Sir Julius Caesar, Master of the Rolls to James I. (d. 1636), the monument erected in the previous year, with the Latin inscription sculptured, as if on a folded deed, an engagement of the deceased to pay the debt of nature whenever it shall please God to appoint it. In the vestibule also are several elaborate monuments, displaying figures; and an alms-box sup- ported by a curiously-carved figure'of a mendicant. The church also contains fine monumental brasses of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. HOLY TRINITY, Besborough Gardens, close to Vauxhall Bridge, a district church of St. Margaret's and St. John's, Westminster, was erected at the sole expense of Archdeacon Bentinck, Prebendary of Westminster ; the foundation-stone was laid by Mrs. Bentinck, Nov. 8, 1849, on which day also was founded another church, in Great Peter- street, in the same parish. Holy Trinity' Church is designed in the Early Decorated style, (temp. Edward I. and II.) : at the intersection of the four arms rises an enriched tower and spire, 193 feet high : the east end window of seven lights is large and fine. The church has been decorated and furnished by subscription. HOLY TRINITY, Bishop's-road, Paddington, a Perpendicular church, built by Cundy in 1844-6; it has a richly crocketed spire and pinnacled tower, 219 feet high, and a magnificent stained chancel- window : the crypt is on a level with the roofs of the houses in Belgrave-square. HOLY TRINITY, Brompton, a church in the Early English style, by Donaldson ; with a lofty tower, and stained glass of ancient design and colour ; consecrated 1829. It occupies, with the burial-ground, the site of a nursery-garden ; here flowers and funereal shrubs decorate the graves. John Reeve, the comic actor (d. 1838), is buried here. HOLY TRINITY, Hartland-road, Haverstock-hill, is a district church of St. Pancras, and was consecrated Oct. 15, 1850. It is built in the Middle Pointed style (Wyatt and Brandon, architects), and consists of a nave, with north and south aisles, chancel, and tower and spire 160 CHURCHES: ST JAMES'S, PICCADILLY. 131 feet high : the chancel is novel, the arches producing an elegant play of lines. The church will seat 1500 persons, and cost about 10,OOOZ. ST. JAMES'S, Clerkenwell, on the north side of Clerkenwell Green, has replaced the church of a Benedictine monastery, founded about 1100; it served the nuns and inhabitants until the Dissolution of the convents, when it was made parochial, and dedicated to St. James the Less in- stead of the Virgin Mary. In the Sutherland View of 1543, we see it far in the fields. In 1623, the steeple was rebuilt upon the old tower, when both fell, and destroyed part of the church. In 1788, the whole was taken down, rebuilt by Carr, and consecrated in 1792. In the vaults are preserved some coffins from the old church, and among them that of Bishop Burnet, who died 1714-15 in St, John's-court, close by, though the fanatic rabble threw stones and dirt at his funeral. His handsome mural monument was also removed to the present church. ST. JAMES'S, Garlick Hithe, on the east side of Garlick-hill, Upper Thames-street, is named from its being near the chief garlick market of the City. It was rebuilt in 1326: among the persons interred here was Richard Lyons, a wine-merchant and lapidary, beheaded in Cheapside by Wat Tyler in the reign of Richard II. Stow describes his " picture on his gravestone very fair and large, with his hair rounded by his ears, and curled ; a little beard forked ; a gown girt to him down to his feet, of branched damask, wrought with the likeness of flowers : a large purse on his right side hanging in a belt from his left shoulder ; a plain hood about his neck, covering his shoulders, and hanging back behind him." The following citizens who had served Mayor were also buried here : John of Oxenford, Mayor in 1341 ; Sir John Wrotch, or Wroth, 1360 ; William Venor, 1389 ; William More, 1395 ; Robert Chi- chell, 1421 ; James Spencer, 1527. The old church was destroyed in the Great Fire : it was rebuilt by Wren, 1676-83, with a tower and lantern, 98 feet high, and a projecting clock-dial, with a carved and gilt figure of St. James : a large organ, built by Bernard Schmidt, in 1697 ; and a clever altar-picture of the Ascension, by A. Geddes. In this church Steele heard the Common-Prayer service read so distinctly, so emphati- cally, and so fervently, that it was next to an impossibility to be inat- tentive. Steele proposed that this excellent reader (Mr. Philip Stubbs, afterwards Archdeacon of St. Alban's), upon the next and every annual assembly of the clergy of Sion College, and all other convocations, should read before them. Spectator, No. 147, Saturday, August 18, 1711. ST. JAMES'S, Piccadilly, or St. James's, Westminster, built by Wren, at the cost of Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Alban's, whose arms are placed above the south door ; and consecrated Sunday, July 13, 1684. It has a tower and spire, 150 feet high ; the latter was coated with cement in 1850, when the exterior of the church was repaired throughout. The clock was the gift of Mr. H. Massey, and the ori- ginal dial was gilded and painted by Mr. Highmore, H. M. Serjeant- Painter : its diameter is 10 feet. The interior, Wren's masterpiece, is separated into a nave and aisles by two ranges of Corinthian columns ; and the roof is divided into sunken and enriched panels. The great east window was filled with stained glass, by Wailes of Newcastle, in 1846 : the subjects are the Burial, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, the Agony, the Passion, and the Bearing of the Cross. The noble organ was built for James II., and intended for his Roman Catholic Oratory at Whitehall, but given to this parish by Queen Mary in 1691. In 1738, the Prince of Wales gave crimson velvet and gold hangings, valued at 700?., for the holy table and pulpit. Facing the western entrance is the white marble font, exquisitely sculptured by Gibbons : it is nearly 5 feet high, and the bowl is about six feet in circumference. 132 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The shaft represents the tree of life, with the serpent twining round it, and offering the forbidden fruit to Eve, who, with Adam, stands beneath : these figures are 18 inches high. On the bowl are bas- reliefs of the Baptism of the Saviour in the Jordan : the Baptising of the Treasurer of Candace by St. Philip the Deacon ; and the Ark of Noah, with the dove bearing the olive-branch. The cover of this font (shewn in Vertue's engraving), held by a flying angel and a group of cherubim, was stolen about the beginning of the present century, and subsequently hung up as a sign at a spirit-shop in the neighbour- hood. (Braylev's Londiniana, vol. ii. p. 282.) Evelyn, in his Diary, thus describes the east end of the church : " Dec. 16, 1684. I went to see the new church at St. James's, elegantly built. The altar was especially adorned, the white marble inclosure curiously and richly carved, the flowers and garlands about the walls by Mr. Gibbons, in wood : a pelican, with her young at her breast, just over the altar in the carv'd com- partment and border invironing the purple velvet fringed, with (black) I. H. S. richly embroidered, and most noble plate, were given by Sir R. Geere, to the value (as was said) of 2001. There was no altar anywhere in England, nor has there been any abroad, more handsomely adorned." The wood is lime, with cedar for the reredos ; the marble scrolls have been replaced by bronze. In the church are interred Charles Cotton (d. 1686-7), the companion of Walton in the Complete Angler ; Dr. Sydenham (d. 1689) , with a marble tablet erected by the College of Physicians, in 1810 ; Hayman, the portrait-painter (d. 1696), and the two Vanderveldes, the marine painters ; and Michael Dahl, the Swedish portrait-painter (d. 1743); Dr. Arbuthnot (d. 1734-5), the friend of Pope, Swift, Gay, and Prior ; Benjamin Stillingfleet, the naturalist, so touchingly deplored by Pennant, in the preface to his British Zoology ; Dr. Akenside, the poet (d. 1770) ; James Dodsley, the bookseller, with a tablet (d. 1797) ; G. H. Harlow, who painted"" The Trial of Queen Katherine" (d. 1819) ; and Sir John Malcolm (d. 1833). Here also lies Thomas d'Urfey, dramatist and song-writer, to whom there is a tablet on the outer south face of the church-tower, inscribed " Tom d'Urfey, dyed February 26, 1723." In the vestry are the portraits of the St. James's Rectors, that of Dr. Birch alone missing : the first Rector, Dr. Tenison ; the third, Dr. Wake ; and the seventh, Dr. Seeker, became Arch- bishops of Canterbury. (See Walcott's Handbook of St. James's.) ST. JAMES'S, Spa-road, Bermondsey, contains a large altar-picture, painted for 5001., by John Wood, upon conditions detailed at p. 41. The subject is the Ascension of our Saviour; the figures are consider- ably above the natural size : on a canvass of 275 square feet (25 feet by 11), in the upper part, a full-length figure of the Saviour occupies nearly one-half of the picture, a nimbus around the head illumining the upper sky ; the eleven disciples are in various positions, standing, kneeling, prostrated, with uplifted hands and faces, and bodies bent with reverential awe and devotion; and their personal identity, cos- tume, and colouring, are very successful ST. JOHN'S, Clerkenwell, a modern church, in St. John's-square, with an ancient crypt, (part of the Priory of St. John of Jerusalem,) in which the detection of the Cock-lane Ghost hoax was consummated. " While drawing in the crypt of St. John's, Clerkenwell, in a narrow cloister on the north side (there being at that time coffins, and fragments of shrouds, and human remains lying about in disorder), the sexton's boy pointed to one of the coffins, and said the woman in it was ' Scratching Fanny.' This reminding me of the business of the Cock-lane Ghost, I removed the lid of the coffin, which was loose, and saw the body of a woman, which had become adipocere; the face perfect, handsome oval, with aquiline nose. [Will not arsenic produce adipo- cere ?] She was said to have been poisoned, although the charge is understood to have been disproved. I inquired of one of the churchwardens of the time CHURCHES: ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 133 (Mr. Bird, I believe), and he said the coffin had always been understood to con- tain the body of the woman whose spirit was said to have haunted the house in Cock-lane." Communicated by John Wykeham Archer. ST. JOHN'S, formerly ST. AUGUSTIN'S, at Hackney, was taken down in 1798, except the tower, of the sixteenth century, which still remains, with a clock and a peal of eight bells ; eastward is the chapel of the Rowe family, built in 1614, and preserved as a mausoleum. The church- yard has thoroughfare paths, lined with lofty trees, but the funereal yew is not among them. The old church, before its demolition, was extremely rich in monuments and brasses, some of which were removed to the porches and vestibules of the new church of St. John, completed in 1797, northward of the ancient edifice. ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square, de- signed by Hugh Smith, in the Norman or Romanesque style, was opened in 1846, its west front having a tower and spire, 120 feet high, and a large wheel-window beneath the intervening gable. ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, Horsleydown, one of the Fifty New Churches (10 Anne), was finished in 1732 : it has a tower, with an ill- proportioned Scamozzian Ionic column, seen to the eastward from the London and Greenwich Railway. ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, Smith Square, Westminster, the second built of the Fifty New Churches (10 Anne), finished in 1728, after the designs of Archer, pupil of Vanbrugh; before which it began to settle, and a tower and lantera-turret were added at each corner to strengthen the main building ; " and these would have been beautiful ac- companiments to the central tower and spire intended by the architect." (Elmes.) These towers reminded Lord Chesterfield of an elephant thrown on its back, with its four feet erect in the air ; and Charles Mathews, of a dining-table upside-down, with its four legs and castors. Meanwhile, justice has not been done to the originality and powers of the architect: the whole composition is impressive, and its boldness loses nothing by the graceful playfulness of the outline ; it has some inaccuracies of detail, but is, altogether, a very striking production of the Vanbrugh school. (Donaldson.} It has semicircular apses east and west, and imposing Doric porticoes north and south. The interior of the church (said to have been the first in London lit with gas), is without columns, and is highly embellished : the east window is filled with ancient painted glass brought from Normandy ; and above the altar -table is a copy of the celebrated picture of Christ bearing his Cross, by Ribalta, in the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene College, Oxford. The elegant marble font, designed by C. Barry, jun., sculp- tured by J.Thomas, was placed here in 1847. Churchill, the satirist, born in the parish, succeeded his father in 1758, in the curacy and lectureship of this church : he soon disgraced the holy office, and substituted for the clerical costume a blue coat, gold-laced waistcoat and hat, and large ruffles ; remonstrances ensued, and he resigned. St. John's burial-ground contains " the ashes of an Indian chief, who died of small-pox, in 1734, and was buried in the presence of the Emperor Toma, after the custom of the Karakee Creeks, sewn up in two blankets, between two deal boards, with his clothes, some silver coins, and a few glass beads." Walcott's Westminster, p. 314. ST. JOHN'S, Netting Hill, an Early English cross church, designed by Stevens and Alexander, and consecrated Jan. 22, 1845 : it stands upon an elevated portion of Kensington Park, facing Ladbroke Grove, and has a tower 156 feet high, seen to picturesque advantage. ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, South Hackney, Middlesex; a large and beautiful church, in the best Pointed style, 13th and 14th centuries, by 134 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. E. C. Hakewill ; first stone laid May 15, 1845 ; consecrated July 20, 1848. The plan is cruciform, with a tower and spire of equal height, together rising 187 feet ; the latter has graceful lights and broaches, and the four Evangelists beneath canopies at the four angles ; the nave has side aisles with flying buttresses to the clerestory; each transept is lit by a magnificent window, 29 feet high ; and the choir has an apsis with seven lancet windows : entire external length, 192 feet ; materials, Kentish rag and Speldhurst stone. The principal entrance is at the west, through a screen of open arches. The roof, of open-work, is of 60 feet, highest pitch, with massive arched and foliated ribs ; and the meeting of the transepts, chancel, and nave is very effective. The chancel has a stone roof, and the walls of the apse are painted and diapered red with fleur-de-lis, and blue powdered with stars; the pulpit and reading- desk are also diapered ; and the seats are of oak, and mostly formed of stall-ends with finials : the two first seats are well-carved ; on one is the crest of the rector and the badge of the patron saint, and on the other side the dove with the olive- branch, and the lynx, as an emblem of watchfulness. All the windows are filled with painted, stained, or richly -diapered glass, by Wailes, Powell, &c. ; and a memorial cleres- tory window, Christ Blessing Little Children, and Raising Jairus's Daughter, is beautifully painted by Ward and Nixon. The altar-floor is laid with Minton's tiles ; the font is nicely sculptured ; the organ is from the old church at Hackney ; the tower has a fine peal of eight bells. The entire cost was 15,740J. ; sittings, 1500. ST. KATHERINE'S, the church of the Royal Hospital of St. Kathe- rine, rebuilt in 1827, on the east side of the R*egent's Park, after the de- molition of the ancient Hospital and Church, "at the Tower," for the site of St. Katherine's Docks. The new church, designed by A. Poynter, is in the florid Gothic style, and has octagonal towers, with a large window of beautiful tracery : it contains the original pulpit, with views of the ancient Hospital and its gates, an elaborate piece of carpentry ; besides monuments, &c. from the old church. ST. LAWRENCE JEWRY, King-street, Cheapside, was commenced by Wren, in 1671, upon the site of the old church, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 : it has a tower and steeple 130 feet high, with, for a vane, a gilt gridiron, the emblem of St. Lawrence ; and the east end in King-street is so pure as to be almost Grecian. The interior has some excellent plaster-work, in wreaths and branches ; and the organ-case, pulpit, and doorways, are richly-carved oak. In the centre is a large pew for the Lord Mayor and Common Council, the church being used for Corporation Sermons. Here Tillotson was Tuesday lecturer ; was married 1663-4 ; and buried in 1694, three years after he was conse- crated Archbishop of Canterbury : his sculptured monument is on the north wall of the church. The Vestry-room walls are entirely cased with fine dark carved oak; and the ceiling has elaborate plaster foliage, and a painting, bv Thornhill, of St. Lawrence. In the old church, men- tioned 1293, was buried Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, (d. 1471,) whose daughter Anna married King Henry VIII., and was the mother of Queen Elizabeth : here lay also the remains of Richard Rich, mercer (d. 1469), from whom descended the Earls of Warwick. ST. LEONARD'S, Shoreditch (anciently Soresdich), occupies the site of a church mentioned in grants early in the 13th century. The last church (which had four gables in a line, and a low square tower), was taken down in 1736 ; and the present church built by the elder Dance in 1740 : it has a steeple imitated from that of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheap- side, and a fine peal of twelve bells. The parish register records the burial of Will Sommers, Henry VIII. 's jester (d. 1560), and of several CHURCHES: ST. MARGARET'S, LOTHBURY. 135 distinguished players of the age of Queen Elizabeth and James I. ; for a list of whom see Cunningham's Handbook, 2d. ed., p. 235. In the register is entered, among the " Burialles, Thomas Cam, y e 22d inst. of Januarye, 1588, Aged 207 years, Holywell-street. George Garrow, parish clerk." [Is not 2 written for 1 in the number of years ?] ST. LUKE'S, Chelsea, Old and New Churches, described at page 76. In the churchyard of the latter lie Egerton and Blanchard, the come- dians ; M'Leod, who wrote a Journal of the Voyage of the Alceste to China, in 1817 ; and Alexander Stephens, editor of the Annual Bio- graphy and Obituary. ST. MAGNUS THE MARTYR, London Bridge, was burnt in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, 1676. It has a tower, octagon lan- tern, cupola, and spire, added in 1705, which are very picturesque. The footway under the tower, on the east side, was made in 1760, through the recesses and groined arches originally formed in the main building by Wren, as if he had seen its necessity whenever the street leading to Old London Bridge required widening.* There is a similar passage- way through the tower of Christ Church, Newgate-street, Miles Coverdale was for a short time rector of St. Magnus : he was buried in St. Bartholomew's by the Exchange, which being taken down in 1840, Coverdale's remains were removed, and interred in St. Mag- nus',f where a monument to his memory had been erected in 1837. The projecting gilt dial of the clock affixed to the tower was the gift of Sir Charles Duncomb, in 1709, and cost 485J. 5s. 4d. : Sir Charles, it is related, when a poor boy, had once to wait upon London Bridge a con- siderable time for his master, whom he missed through not knowing the hour ; he then vowed that if ever he became successful in the world, he would give to St. Magnus' a public clock, that passengers might see the time ; and this dial proves the fulfilment of his vow. It was origi- nally ornamented with several richly gilded figures: upon a small metal shield inside the clock are engraven the donor's arms, with this inscrip- tion : " The gift of Sir Charles Duncomb, Knight, Lord Major, and Alderman of this ward. Langley Bradley fecit, 1709." Sir Charles also presented the large organ in St. Magnus' church : it was " made and erected by Abraham Jordan, senior and junior ;" and in the Spectator, Feb. 8, 1712, was announced the public opening of the instrument on the following Sunday. The tower has a set of ten bells. A bronzed or copper medalet, date 1676, bears on its obverse a view of old St. Magnus' Church. Here was buried Hervey Yevele, or Zenely, described by Stow as Free-Mason to Edward III., Richard II., and Henry IV. : he assisted to erect the tomb of Richard II. in Westminster Abbey, between 1395 and 1397, and prepared plans for raising the walls of Westminster Hall. ST. MARGARET'S, Lothbury, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren in 1690, has a steeple 140 feet high ; two carved and painted figures of Moses and Aaron, brought from St. Christopher-le- * This improvement was made after the destruction of the church roof by fire, April 18, 1760, which began in the oilmen's premises in Thames-street, adjoining the church, and consumed seven houses and all the warehouses on Fresh Wharf. This conflagration was occasioned by the neglect of a servant, who left some inflammable substances boiling while he went to see Earl Ferrers return from his trial and condemnation for murder : before the man could get back, the shop was in flames. t The inscription upon Coverdale's tomb states: "On the 4th of October, 1535, the first complete English version of the Bible was published under his direction." The third centenary of this event was celebrated by the clergy throughout the churches of England, October 4, 18 )5 ; and several medals were struck upon the occasion. 136 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Stocks, when that church was taken down ; and a marble font attri- buted to Gibbons, resembling that in St. James's Church, Piccadilly. ST. MARGARET PATTENS, Fenchurch-street, destroyed in the Great Fire of 166G, and rebuilt by Wren in 1687, contains a fine altar-picture Angels ministering to Christ in the Garden ascribed to Carlo Maratti. About the altar-piece are some exquisitely carved flowers. Against the south wall is a large monument, by Rysbrack, to Sir P. Delme, Lord Mayor in 1723. ST. MARGARET'S parish church, "Westminster, is placed a short dis- tance from the north door of "Westminster Abbey : it was originally built about 1064, by Edward the Confessor, for the people who had thickly set- tled around the Abbey, and were greatly increased by those who sought here the privilege of Sanctuary. This' Norman edifice was destroyed, and the church rebuilt in the reign of Edward I., of which period there exist a few remains. It was considerably altered in the time of Ed- ward IV., when, probably, a flight of steps led up to the church-door, the surrounding level having been raised about nine feet above the original surface : a stone cross and a pulpit formerly stood here, as at St. Paul's. Soon after the ancient Chapel of St. Stephen had been given up for the sittings of the House of Commons, it is supposed the mem- bers attended Divine Service in St. Margaret's, as the Lords went to the Abbey Church. On Sept. 25, 1642, the Covenant was read from St. Margaret's pulpit, and taken by both Houses of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, and the Scots Commissioners. Here also were preached the lengthy Fast-day Sermons ; and Hugh Peters, , " In God the Lord put all your trust^^) Repente your formar wicked waies, Elizabethe our Queen moste juste Bless her, O Lord, in all her daies; So Lord encrease good councelers, And preachers of his holie worde Mislike all papistes desiers - sworde. O Lord, cut them off with thy s V J-JU1U. VUt l/UCill Ull W 1111 ILty &VYUIUC. How small soever the gift shall be Thank God for him who gave it thee. Ill penie loaves to III poor foulkes Geve every Sabbath day for aye." The Rev. II. H. Barham ( Thomas Ingoldsby] was rector of this church from 1824 to his death in 1845. * The name of the benefactor is unknown; but it has been suggested that this portrait was intended rather as a rebus upon the name " Chapman" than upon his trade : for in Swaff ham Church, Norfolk, is the portrait of John Chapman, a great benefactor to that parish ; and the device of a pedlar and his pack occurs in several parts of the church, which has given rise to nearly the same tradition at Swaffham as at Lambeth. Preface to Hearne's Caii Antiquitates, p. 84. Besides, 'edlai's Acre was not originally so called, but the Church Hopes, or Hopys, (an isthmus of land projecting into the river,) and is entered in the Register as be- queathed by " a person unknown." Popular Errors Explained, #c. p. 293. L 146 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ST. MARY'S MATFELON, Whitechapel, at the eastern end of High- street, was originally a chapel-of-ease to Stebenhith, or Stepney ; its second name being from Matfel, in Hebrew, a woman recently deli- vered of a son. Stow traces the name to the wives of the parish hav- ing slain out of hand a certain Frenchman who had murdered and plun- dered a devout widow, by whom he had been cherished and brought up of alms. This occurred in 1428, the sixth of King Henry VI. ; but Stow also finds the name as early as the twenty -first of Richard II. The old church was taken down in 1673, and rebuilt nearly as at pre- sent : it has a gas-lit clock-dial. The Parish Register records that Richard Brandon was buried in the church- yard, June 24, 1649; and a marginal note, (not in the hand of the Registrar, but bearing the mark of antiquity,) states: " This R. Brandon is supposed to have cut off the head of Charles I." He was assisted by his man Ralph Jones, a ragman in Rosemary-lane; and a tract in the British Museum, entitled, "The Confession of Richard Brandon, the Hangman, upon his Deathbed, concerning the Beheading of His late Majesty," printed in 1649, relates that the nijiht after the execution he returned home to his wife, living in Rosemary-lane, and gave her the money he had received, 30/. ; that about three days before he died, he lay speechless. " For the burial whereof, great store of wines were sent by the sheriff of the city of London, and a great multitude of people stood wayting to see his corpse carried to the churchyard, some crying out, 'Hang him," rogue!' 'Bury him in the dunghill!' others pressing upon him, saying they would quarter him for executing the King, insomuch that the churchwardens and masters of the parish were fain to come for the suppression of them; and with great difficulty he was at last carried to Whitechapel churchyard." See Ellis's Letters on English History, vol. iii. se- cond series ; and the Trials of Charles I. vol. xxxi. Family Library. Sx. MART'S, Newington-Butts, was built in 1791-3 by Hurlbatt, in place of a smaller church. It contains a monument with "statues to Sir Hugh Brawne, buried in the old church, 161 4, and who "for the space of twenty-two years was the whole ornament of the parish." Here, too, is a tablet to Dr. Fothergill ; and to Captain M. "NVaghorn, one of the few persons who escaped from the sinking of the Royal George, in 1782. The parsonage-house was originally built of wood, and sur- rounded by a moat, now filled up. In this parish was a small water- course called the river Tigris, part of Cnut's trench ; and a parishioner who died at the age of 109 years, early in the present century, remem- bered when boats came up as far as the church at Newington. In the church is buried Mr. Sergeant Davy (d. 1780). He was originally a chemist at Exeter : and a sheriff's officer coming to serve on him a process from the Court of Common Pleas, he civilly asked him to drink ; while the man was drinking, Davy contrived to heat a poker, and then told the bailiff that if he did not eat the writ, which was of sheepskin and as good as mutton, he should swallow the poker ! The man preferred the parchment; but the Court of Com- mon Pleas, not then accustomed to Mr. Davy's jokes, sent for him to Westminster Hall, and for contempt of their process, committed him to the Fleet Prison. From this circumstance, and some unfortunate man whom he met there, he ac- quired a taste for the law ; and on his discharge he applied himself to the study of it in earnest, was called to the bar, made a sergeant, and was for along time in good practice. See Manning and Bray's History of Surrey. ST. MAKY'S, Paddington, on the Green, was rebuilt in 1788-91 ; and its churchyards are remarkable as the burial-place of several eminent artists ; among whom are, Bushnell, the sculptor of the statues on Temple Bar ; Barrett, the landscape-painter ; Banks and Nollekens, the sculptors ; Yivares, Hall, and Schiavonetti, the engravers : Caleb Whitefoord (see Goldsmith's Retaliati on] ; Mrs. Siddons, the great act- ress (d. 1831) ; Collins, the painter ; and others. Hogarth was married in this church to the daughter of Sir James Thornhill, March 23, 1729. ST. MARY'S, Rotherhithe, close to the shaft of the Thames Tunnel, was rebuilt in 1736-39, upon the site of the old church, which had stood above 400 years. This new church has a lofty spire : in the vestry -room CHURCHES: ST. MARY'S, STOKE-NEWINGTON. 147 is a portrait of the royal martyr, King Charles I., in his robes, kneel- ing at an altar, and holding a crown of thorns, the composition resem- bling the frontispiece to the Eihon Basilike. In the churchyard is buried Prince Le Boo, a native of the Pellew Islands, d. Dec. 29, 1784, set. 20 ; over his remains a monument has been erected by the East In- dia Company, in testimony of his father's humane and kind treatment of the crew of the Antelope, wrecked off Goo-roo-raa, one of the Pel- lew Islands, on the night of August 9, 3783. ST. MARY-LE-SAVOY, a Perpendicular chapel, in the rear of the south side of the Strand, and west of Wellington-street, is all that remains of the Hospital of St. John Baptist, built by Henry VII. upon the site of the palace of Peter-le- Savoy, burnt by the Kentish rebels in 1381, when John of Gaunt was its proprietor. The other relics of the Hospital were cleared away on the building of Waterloo Bridge. The chapel was originally dedicated to the Saviour, the Virgin, and St. John the Baptist : but when the old church of St. Mary-le- Strand was destroyed by the Protector Somerset, the parishioners united them- selves to those of the precinct of the Savoy ; and the chapel, being used as their church, acquired the name of St. Mary-le-Savoy. It was built in 1505, of squared stone and boulders, has a low bell-tower and large Tudor windows. The interior has a remarkably fine ceiling, with carved figures of the Holy Lamb, and emblems of the Plantagenets down to the last of the Tudors ; restored and emblazoned, in 1843, by "Willement, who also reglazed the altar-window with the figure of St. John the Baptist. The altar-screen, said to have been designed by Sir Reginald Bray, has also been restored by Sydney Smirke. The chapel was endowed by Henry VII. ; and the incumbent, to this day, receives an annual fee by royal warrant. The edifice was last repaired at the expense of Queen Vic- toria, in 1843. Several persons of historic note are buried here, and have figure monuments ; here lies Gawin Douglas, who translated Virgil (d. 1522) ; George Wither, the poet (d. 1667); and D. Cameron, the last person who suffered for the Rebellion of 1745, to whom was erected a marble relief tablet, by his great grandson, in 1846, " one hundred years after the Battle of Culloden." The Savoy was the scene of the last attempt made by the State and the authorities of the Church to reconcile the Church and the Dissenters ; the Savoy Conference finally settled the Book of Common Prayer ; and here was written the preface to the Liturgy, which, it is stated, was first publicly read in this chapel. Here many of the Bishops were consecrated ; and among them, Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, by Archbishop Sharpe, in 1698. A considerable part of the Hospital was burnt in the reign of Charles II. ; after which, and until the removal of the buildings, the Savoy was principally occupied as barracks for soldiers, and a prison for de- serters. Where the middle Savoy gate was, is now Savoy-street, with the German Lutheran Church, of brick, and modern date, on the west side. The approach to Waterloo Bridge from the Strand, or Welling- ton-street and Lancaster-place, covers the entire site of the old Duchy- lane and great part of the Hospital. ST. MARY'S, SOMERSET, (Summer's hith, or wharf,) was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren in 1695 : it has a tower, with pedestals and urns and obelisks upon the summit, 120 feet high ; and the keystones of the arches are sculptured with grotesque heads. ST. MARY'S, Stoke Newington, (2| miles north from London,) in the patronage of the Prebendary of Newington, in St. Paul's Cathedral, was repaired, or "rather new builded" (Stow), in 1563, of hewn stones, flint, and pebbles, but has been much modernised. It has a square em- battled tower, about 60 feet high, with six bells, with an additional 148 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. bell in a wooden cupola, and a clock made 1723. The chapel, and a portion of the body of the church, under two other roofs, formed the whole of the ancient structure. The painted altar-window represents the Virgin Mary and the Purification, the Birth and Preaching of St. John the Baptist, and the arms of Queen Elizabeth; and in the chancel windows are the arms of the Drapers' Company and the City of Lon- don. Among the communion plate is a large silver offertory aims-dish. In the chancel is an elegant coloured alabaster monume'nt to John Dudley, Esq., and his widow, afterwards married to Thomas Sutton, Esq., founder of the Charterhouse: the writer of the long Latin in- scription was rewarded with 10*., according to the roll of Mr. Dudley's funeral expenses : and the tomb was restored in 1808 by subscription of grateful Carthusians. Behind the church is Queen Elizabeth's Walk, a grove of tall trees; and at Xewington-green is King Harry's Walk. At Stoke Newington lived many years Mrs. Barbauld, the amiable edu- cationist, who taught Lord Denman when a boy the art of declamation ; and Mr. Barbauld was for four years morning preacher to an Unitarian congregation at Newington-green. ST. MARY-LE-STRAND, nearly upon the site of the old Maypole, was the first built (1714-17) of Queen Anne's Fifty Churches, but is to this day called " the New Church." It was not consecrated till Jan. 1, 1723. Gibbs, the architect, was desired by the Commissioners " to beautify it," on account of its public situation : hence it is overloaded with or~- nament. It was originally to have had only a small bell-tower at the west end, changed to a steeple, which therefore appears to stand on the roof ; it consists of three receding stories, surmounted by a vane : when it was last repaired, at an expense of 47 1. 10*., the scaffolding cost 301. The exterior of the body is of two stories, Ionic below, the lower wall " solid, to keep out noises from the street ;" and Composite above, sur- mounted by a balustrade and urns :* the west end has a semicircular Ionic portico, and occupies the Maypole site. The interior is grand, but too florid, with Corinthian and Composite pilasters, ceiling crowded with ornaments, and the semicircular altar-part, with the triangular sym- bol of the Trinity glorified, and cherubim, &c. The windows are hung with crimson drapery, and in the side intercolumniations are paintings of the Annunciation and the Passion, by Brown. The old church was " next beyond Arundell House, on the street side," and was " called of the Xativitie of our Lady (St. Mary), and the Innocents of the Strand." (Stoic.) Seymour states, that its site became part of the garden of Somerset House, and that when the Protector pulled down this old church, he promised to build a new one for the parishioners, but death prevented his fulfilling that engagement. ST. MARY'S, Windham-place, Marylebone, was designed by Sir Robert Smirke, R.A., and consecrated* Jan. 7, 1824, when the Rev. T. Frognall Dibdin, D.D., was instituted rector. This church has a large painted east window, of the Ascension, said to have cost 250 guineas. The circular tower and cupola, 135 feet high, are picturesque. ST. MARY'S WOOLNOTH, one of the most striking and original churches in the metropolis, is between the western ends of Lombard- street and King- William-street. This has been the site of a Christian church from a very early period, and previously of a pagan temple. The church was rebuilt early in the fifteenth century, much injured by the Great Fire of 16b'6, and" repaired by Wren in 1677 ; to this Alder- man Sir R. Viner, living in Lombard-street, contributed liberally, to * During the procession to proclaim Peace, in 1802, one of these urns was acci- dentally pushed down on the crowd below, when three persons were killed, and several others much hurt. CHURCHES: ST. MICHAEL'S, BASSISHAW. 149 commemorate which, says Stow, " a number of vines were spread over that part of the church which faced his house." In 1716, the church, as we now see it, was rebuilt by Hawksmoor : the west front, which has an elongated tower, like two towers united, has no prototype in England ; but its details are so heavy as to indicate rather a fortress and prison than a church. The interior, on the model of a Roman atrium, is nearly square : it has twelve Corinthian columns, admi- rably arranged, and is profusely ornamented with panels and carved mouldings. It contains an organ built by "Father Smith, in 1G81." Here is a tablet to the Rev. John Newton (d. 1807), the friend of Cow- per, and rector of this church for twenty-eight years : it bears this inscription, written by himself: "John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long laboured to destroy."* The origin of Woolnoth is uncertain ; but is attributed to the beam for weighing wool, which stood in the churchyard of St . Mary's "Woolchurch, in the Stocks Market, on the site of the Mansion-house : this church was burnt in 1666, and the parish is now united to St. Mary's Woolnoth. ST. MATTHEW'S, Bethnal Green, built in 1740, has at the west end a low square tower, with a large^stone vase at each angle. A second church, St. John's, was built by the late Sir John Soane, and much resembles his Grecian Church of the Holy Trinity, Regent's Park. In 1839, there were only these two churches for a population of 80,000, and schools for about 1000 children. There have since been built in the parish ten churches : St. Matthew's, St. John's, St. Peter's, St. An- drew's, St. Philip's, St. James the Less, St. James the Great, St. Bar- tholomew's, St. Jude's; and St. Simon Zelotes, the latter at the sole ex- pense of Mr. W. Cotton : whilst the number of children now educated in schools in connexion with these churches exceeds 6000. ST. MATTHEW'S, Brixton, at the junction of the Tulse-hill and Brix- ton-hill roads, is of Grecian-Doric design, by Porden, and was conse- crated in 1824 : it has a noble portico, resembling the proanos of a Grecian temple ; at the east end is a tower surmounted with an octagonal temple, from that of Cyrrhestes, at Athens. In the church- yard is a costly mausoleum of Grecian design, upwards of 25 feet high. ST. MATTHEW'S, Oakley-crescent, City Road, built by Scott, in 1848, in the Early English style, has an ornamented four-storied tower and spire, eastern lancet windows, and other meritorious details. ST. MICHAEL'S, BASSISHAW (haugh, or hall, of the Basing family), Basinghall- street, was originally founded about 1140, and rebuilt in 1460 ; here was interred Sir John Gresham, uncle to Sir Thomas Gres- * "I remember, when a lad of about fifteen, being taken by my uncle to hear the well-known Mr. Newton (the friend of Cowper the poet) preach his wife's funeral sermon in the church of St. Mary's Woolnoth, in Lombard-street. Newton was then well stricken in years, with a tremulous voice, and in the costume of the full-bottomed wig of the day. He had, and always had, the entire possession of the ear of his congregation. He spoke at first feebly and leisurely, but as he warmed, his ideas and his periods seemed mutually to enlarge : the tears tiickled down his cheeks, and his action and expression were at times quite out of the ordinary course of things. It was as the ' mens agitows molem et magno se cor- pore miscens.' In fact, the preacher was one with his discourse. To this day I have not forgotten his text, Hab. iii. 17-18: 'Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Newton always preached extemporaneous." Dibdin's Remi- niscences of a Literary Life, vol. i. p. 162. 150 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ham, and Lord Mayor in 1547 : at his funeral, on a fast-day, a fish dinner was provided for all comers : " He was buried with a standard and penon of arms, and a coat of armour of damask (Damascus steel), and four penons of arms; besides a helmet, a target, and a sword, mantles and the crest, a goodly hearse of wax, ten dozen of pensils, and twelve dozen of escutcheons. He had four dozen of great staff torches, and a dozen of great long torches. The church and street were all hung with black, and arms in great store ; and on the morrow three goodly masses were sung." Stow. The old church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 16G6, and rebuilt by "Wren in 1676-79. It contains a beautifully sculptured monument to Dr. T. Wharton, who did so much to stay the Great Plague of 1665; and here rests Alderman Kirkman, Sheriff elect in 1780, when he died, at the age of 39, of a cold taken in aiding to suppress the Riots. ST. MICHAEL'S, in Chester-square, Pimlico, is a picturesque church in the Decorated style of the fourteenth century, and has a tower and spire rising from the ground at the west end, 150 feet high. (Cundy, architect, 1844.) The details are very characteristic. ST. MICHAEL'S, Cornhill, was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, except the great tower, which contained a celebrated set of ten bells: the body was first rebuilt by Wren, and fifty years later the tower itself, which is an imitation of the splendid chapel tower of Magdalen College, Oxford, built in the fifteenth century, and 145 feet high ; but St. Michael's is only 130 : it has a set of twelve bells. The site is pre- sumed to have been occupied by a church since the Saxon dynasty : it had a cloister and pulpit-cross ; and here rested the remains of Fabyan the Chronicler, Alderman of London, and Sheriff in 1493. ST. MICHAEL'S, Paternoster Royal, Thames-street, is partly named from its neighbourhood to the Tower Royal, wherein our sovereigns, as early as King Stephen, resided. The church was rebuilt by the mu- nificent Whittington, who was himself buried in it, under a marble tomb with banners, but his remains were twice disturbed : once by aa incumbent, in the reign of Henry VI., who fancied that money was buried with him ; and next by the parishioners, in the reign of Mary, to rewrap the body in lead, of which it had been despoiled on the former occasion (Godwin's Churches of London). Whittington's church was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, but rebuilt by Wren, and has a somewhat picturesque steeple. The interior has a beautiful altar- picture, by Hilton, R. A., of Mary Magdalen anointing the feet of Christ : this fine work was presented by the Directors of the British Institu- tion in 1820. There is no memorial to Whittington in the present church. The rights and profits of the old church he bestowed on a College and Almshouses close by, the site of which is now occupied by the Mercers' Company's School. ST. MICHAEL'S, Queenhithe, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, was rebuilt by Wren in 1677 : it is chiefly remarkable for its spire, 135 feet high, with a gilt vane in the form of a ship in full sail, the hull of which will contain a bushel of grain, referring to the former traffic in corn at the Hithe. ST. MICHAEL'S, Wood-street, Cheapside, stands at the corner of Huggin-lane, named from a resident there about the time of Edward I., and known as " Hugan in the lane." The old church was de- stroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and the present edifice completed in its place by Wren, in 1675: it is of very unecclesiastical design, but the Wood-street front is well-proportioned Italian. The head of James IV. of Scotland, slain at Flodden Field, Sept. 9, 1513, is said by Stosv to have been buried here; the body was conveyed, after the battle, to London, and thence to the monastery of Sheen, in Surrey, CHURCHES: ST. OLAVE'S, TOOLEY STREET. 151 where it was seen by Stow, lapped in lead, but thrown into a waste room. " Some workmen, for their foolish pleasure, hewed off his head, which Launcelot Young, master-glazier to his Majesty, brought to his house in Wood-street, where he kept it for a time ; but at length gave it to the sexton, to bury amongst other bones," &c. This statement is contradicted by the Scottish historians ; but "Weever is positive that Sheen was the place of James's burial. ST. MILDRED'S, Bread-street, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, 1677-83, is remarkable for being roofed by a large and highly-enriched cupola; and has a pulpit and sounding- board and altar-piece exquisitely carved in the style of Gibbons. ST. MILDRED'S, Poultry, was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren ; when was united with it the parish of St. Mary's, Cole- church, the church of which stood at the south end of the Old Jewry : its chaplain was " Peter of Colechurch," who in part built old London Bridge. (See p. 54.) St. Mildred's has a tower 75 feet high, surmounted by a gilt ship in full sail. In the former church was buried Thomas Tusser, who wrote the " Points of Husbandrie," and was by turns cho- rister, farmer, and singing-master. ST. NICHOLAS COLE ABBEY, Fish-street-hill, destroyed by the Great Fire, and rebuilt by Wren in 1677, has a tasteless steeple, 135 feet high, but some tine interior carvings ; the parish Register Books contain a list of persons, with their ages, whom King James II. at his coronation touched for the cure of the " Evil." ST. OLAVE'S, Hart-street, at the corner of Seething-lane, Crutched Friars, escaped the Great Fire of 1666; and has an interesting inte~ rior, with clustered columns and pointed arches and windows, and the ceilings of the aisles powdered with stars. This church is often mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Navy (temp. Charles II. and James II.), who lived in a house belonging to the Navy Office, in Seething-lane ; and resided subsequently in Hart-street : he was buried in St. Olave's at nine at night, " in a vault of his own makeing, by his wife and brother," "by y e Communion Table," June 4, 1703 ; and there is a monument to his wife in the chancel. There are also several figure tombs and brasses ; and a marble figure of Sir Andrew Riccard (d. 1672), who bequeathed the advowson of the living to the parish. In the churchyard are interred a number of victims to the Great Plague : the first entry in the Register is dated July 24, 1665 : "Mary, daughter of William Ramsay, one of the Drapers' Almsmen ;" and there is a tradition that the pestilence first appeared in the Drapers' Almshouses, Cooper's-row, in this parish. ST. OLAVE'S, Jewry, a brick church, rebuilt by Wren, in 1673-76, upon the site of the old church, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, is alone remarkable for containing the remains of Alderman Boydell, the eminent engraver and printseller, who expended a large fortune in founding the English School of Historic Painting : he was Lord Mayor in 1790 (d. 1804) ; and on the north wall of the church is a tablet to him, surmounted by his bust. ST. OLAVE'S, Tooley-street, Southwark, in Bridge Ward Without, was rebuilt in 1737-39, by Flitcroft, a pupil of Kent ; the funds being mostly advanced by a French emigrant, on an annuity for his life ; and he dying soon after, it became a saying that the organ had cost more than the church : it had a richly-decorated interior, and a fine peal of bells. The whole was burnt almost to the walls on August 19, 1843; when also was destroyed Watson's Telegraphic Tower, originally a shot factory. St, Olave's Church has since been handsomely restored. The 152 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. former church was of the fourteenth century, and is shewn in the Suther- land View, 1543, with a low square tower and bell-house. The first church was certainly founded prior to the Norman Conquest, from its dedication to St. Olave, or Olaff, King of Norway, who, with Ethelred, in 1008, destroyed old London Bridge, then occupied by the Danes. (See BRIDGES, p. 54.) The present church is nearly on the site of this exploit ; for the first bridge was somewhat eastward of the old bridge, taken down after the building of the present bridge. St. Olave has been corrupted to St. Oley and Tooley street. ST. PAXCRAS-IN-THE-FIELDS, one of the oldest churches in Middle- sex, is situated on the north side of the road leading from King's Cross to Kentish Town. It consisted, before its enlargement in 1848, of a nave and chancel, with a low tower at the west end, built late in the twelfth century. Norden, in his Speculum Britannia, describes it, in 1593, as standing " all alone, utterly forsaken, old and wether -beten ;" "yet about this structure have bin manie buildings, now decaied, leaving poore Pan eras without companie or comfort." Norden adds : " Although this place be, as it were, forsaken of all, and true men seldom fre- quent the same but upon devyne occasions; yet it is visited by thieves, who assemble there not to pray, but to wait for praye; and manie fall into their handes, clothed, that are glad when they are escaped naked. "Walk not there late." The church and churchyard have long been noted as the burial-place of Roman Catholics, " who," Stry pe says, have of late " affected to be buried here ;" and many of the tombs bear the customary cross and R. I. P. (Requiescat in pace). Among other reasons assigned for this prefer- ence was, that the church was the last where bell tolled in England for Mass, and in which any rites of the Roman Catholic religion were cele- brated after the Reformation ; but the choice is believed to be a mere prejudice. The church, reconstructed and enlarged by A. D. Gough, was re-opened July 5, 1848J: the style adopted is Anglo-Norman : the edifice has been lengthened westward; the old tower has been removed, and a new one built on the south side ; and the west end has an en- riched Norman porch, and a wheel-window in the gable above. In the progress of the works were found Roman bricks, a small altar-stone, Early Norman capitals, an Early English piscina, and Tudor brick- work. The chancel windows are filled with stained glass, by Gibbs, as is also the western wheel-window. The several old monuments have been restored, and refixed as nearly as possible in their original positions. On the north wall, opposite the baptistery, is the early Tudor marble Purbeck memorial, supposed to have belonged to the Gray family, of Gray's Inn ; the recesses for brasses removed, and neither date nor arms remaining. On the south-east interior wall is the marble tablet, with palette and pencils, to Samuel Cooper, the celebrated min- iature-painter (d. 1672); over the vestry are three small brasses to the daughter of A. Glover, of TottenhanTCourt (d. 1588) ; on the south side of the nave is a monument with busts to "William Platt (d. 1637), and his wife, removed from the old chapel at Highgate, in 1833. The church is mostly floored with black and white marble tombs, of con- siderable age, and in good preservation. The ancient communion -plate, date 1638, discovered in 1848, is now again in use. In the churchyard are headstones to William Woollett, the engraver (d. 1785), and John Walker, the dictionary compiler (d. 1807) ; and an altar-tomb to Wil- iam Godwin, the novelist (d. 1836), and his two wives. The register records the burials of Abraham Woodhead (d. 1678), and Obadiah Walker (d. 1699), both of whom were said to have written the Whole Duty of Man, and who both became Papists ; Lady Slir;#sby, an actress CHURCHES: ST. PAUL'S, COVENT GARDEN. 153 in Dryden and Lee's plays, from 1681 to 1689 ; Jeremy Collier (d. 1726), who battled with Congreve and Vanbrugh, and improved the decency of the stage ; Ned Ward, the "London Spy " (d. 1731) ; Leoni, the archi- tect (d. 1746) ; Lady Henrietta, wife of Beard, the singer (d. 1753) ; Maz- zinghi, leader of the band at Marylebone Gardens ; Arthur O'Learv, the Franciscan Friar (d. 1802) ; Paoli, the Corsican (d. 1807) ; the Che- valier d'Eon (d. 1810); Packer, the comedian (d. 1806), said to have per- formed 4852 times ; and Scheemakers, the sculptor (d. 1808). Pancras was corrupted to "Pancredge" in Queen Elizabeth's reign. ST. PANCRAS, near Eus ton-square, New-road, was built by Messrs. Inwood ; the first stone being laid by the Duke of York,, July 1, 1819. The cella, or body of the church, is designed from the Erectheum, de- dicated to Minerva Polias and Pandrosus, at Athens ; and the steeple, 168 feet high, is from the Athenian Tower of the Winds, with a cross, in lieu of the Triton and wand, symbols of the wind, in the original. The clock-dials are but 6 feet in diameter, though at the height of 100 feet, and therefore are much too small. The western front of the church has a fine portico of six columns, with richly-sculptured voluted capitals ; beneath are three enriched doorways, designed exactly from those of the Erectheum, and exquisite in detail. Towards the east end are lateral porticoes, each supported by colossal statues of fe- males,* on a plinth, in which are entrances to the catacombs beneath the church, to contain 2000 coffins : each of the figures bears an ewer in one hand, and rests the other on an inverted torch, the emblem of death : these figures are of terra-cotta (artificial stone), formed in pieces, and cemented round cast-iron pillars, which in reality support the en- tablatures. The eastern front varies from the ancient Temple in having a semicircular termination, round which, and along the side walls, are terra-cotta imitations of Greek tiles. The interior is designed in con- formity with the general plan of ancient temples. The pulpit and read- ing-desk are made from the trunk of "the Fairlop Oak," in Hainhault Forest, blown down in 1820. The cost of this classic edifice, much too close a resemblance to a Pagan temple to be appropriate for a Christian church, was 76,679Z. ST. PAUL'S, Camden New Town, St. Pancras, was built in 1848-9 (Ordish and Johnson, architects): it is majestically situated, and con- sists of a nave and aisles, with transepts and chancel, and a tower and spire at the west end, 156 feet high ; the windows are Decorated, the roofs have crosses and crestings, and the arrangement is very pictur- esque : this large church, for 1200 persons, cost less than 9000/. ST. PAUL'S, Covent Garden, was commenced for the ground landlord, Francis Earl of Bedford, by Inigo Jones, in 1631, but not finished till 1638 ; this being the last of that great architect's works. The Earl's commission is stated to have been for a chapel " not much better than a barn ;" when Jones replied, " Well, then, you shall have the hand- somest barn in England." The truth of this anecdote has been ques- tioned ; for the fabric cost 4500Z., a large sum for those days. It was built of brick, with a portico at the east front, consisting of a pedi- ment supported by four Tuscan columns of stone, and the roof was covered with tiles : Hollar's print of it shews a small bell-turret sur- mounted with a cross. Within the pediment was placed a pendulum clock, made by Richard Harris in 1641, and stated by an inscription * These figures are ill-executed, as may be seen by reference to the original Caryatides from the Pandrosion, in the Elgin Collection in the British Museum. The St. Pancras figures, and other artificial stone details for the church, were executed by Rossi, from Messrs. Inwood's designs, and cost 5400J. 154 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. in the vestry to be the first irade.* The ceiling of the interior was beautifully painted by E. Pierce, senior, a pupil of Van Dyck. Inigo Jones was present at the consecration by Bishop Juxon, Sept. 27, 1638. The church was repaired by Lord Burlington in 1727 : in 1788, the walls were cased with Portland" stone ; and the rustic gateways at the east front, which Jones had imitated in brick and plaster from Palladio, were then rebuilt with stone. In 1795, the church was burnt to the walls by an accidental fire, but was restored by the elder Hardwick. The altar- piece has two figures of angels, sculptured by Banks, R.A. Among the eminent persons interred here are Samuel Butler (d. 1680), author of Hudibras, whose friends could not afford to bury him in Westminster Abbey ; Sir Peter Lely (d. 1680), the painter, to whom there was a monument, with a bust by Gibbons, destroyed with the old church ; Edward Kynaston (d. 1712), the famed actor of female parts, who played Juliet to Betterton's Romeo ; William Wycherley (d. 1715), the witty dramatist, who had " a true nobleman's look;" Susannah Cent- livre (d. 1723), who wrote the Wonder; Grinling Gibbons (d. 1721), the sculptor and wood-carver; Dr. John Armstrong (d. 1779), known by his didactic poem, The Art of Preserving Health ; and Charles Macklin, the actor (d. 1797), at the age of 107 : the two last in a vault tinder the communion-table. Strype mentions Marmaduke Conwey, Esq., buried here 1717, at the age of 108 years and some months : he was in the service of the royal family from the reign of King James I. to his dying day, and was much liked by Charles I. for his skill in hawk- ing. In the churchyard lies Sir Robert Strange, the engraver (d. 1792), who published his own prints at " the Golden Head," in Henrietta- street. Holland and Edwin, and many players of minor note, are also buried in the churchyard. The portico and overhanging roof of the church are picturesque in effect; and the whole building is impressive from its vastness, and agreeable from the simple rusticity of the order. ST. PAUL'S CHURCH FOB SEAMEN OF THE PORT OF LONDON, near the London and St. Katherine's Docks, the Sailor's Home, and the Seamen's Asylum, was founded by Prince Albert, May 11, 1846, and consecrated July 10, 1847 (H. Roberts, architect). The style is Early English, with a western tower and spire 100 feet high. " In the course of a year it is computed that about 7000 seamen come to this church : a field of usefulness that can scarcely be over-rated " (Low's Charities of London, p. 390). St. Paul's has superseded the Episcopal Floating Church, originally the Brazen sloop-of-war : she was moored in the Pool, and fitted with a small organ ; and boats were provided on Sun- days at the Tower- stairs for the free passage of sailors to attend the ship service, which was under the direct superintendence of the Bishop of London. ST. PAUL'S, Shadwell, named from its being in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, was originally built in 1656 ; but re- built, as we now see it, in 1820-1, by Walters, who died in the latter year : it has a beautiful spire, and is throughout a very meritorious design. The parish, formerly a hamlet of Stepney, was called Chadwelle, it is * Cunningham's Handbook, 2d edit. p. 386. If this inscription be correct, it negatives the claim of Huyghens to having first applied the pendulum to the clock, about 1657; although Justus Bergen, mechanician to the Emperor Ro- dolphus, who reigned from 1576 to 1612, is said to have attached one to a clock used by Tycho Brahe. Inigo Jones, the architect of St. Paul's, having been in Italy during the time of Galileo, it is probable that he communicated what he heard of the pendulum to Harris. Huyghens, however, violently contested for the prionfy ; while others claimed it for the younger Galileo, who, they asserted, had, at his father's suggestion, applied the pendulum to a clock in Venice which was finished in 1649. Adam Thomson's Time and Timekeepers, pp. 67, 68. CHURCHES: ST. PETER'S AD VINCULA. 155 supposed, from a spring dedicated to St. Chad, within the church- yard. ST. PAUL'S, Wilton-place, Knightsbridge, designed by Cundy, was consecrated by the Bishop of London, May 30, 1843. It has an Early Perpendicular and eight-pinnacled tower, 121 feet high. Within is a magnificent organ in a richly-canopied case, and the choral service is efficiently performed ; the silver-gilt communion plate is very massive ; the altar appointments are truly Anglican ; and the font is cleverly sculp- tured with Scripture scenes. The cost of this church was 11,000, exclu- sive of fittings. The Rev. W. J. E. Bennett, M.A., of Christ Church, Oxford, appointed to the incumbency in 1843, resigned in 1850. ST. PETER'S, Cornhill, was rebuilt of brick by Wren, after the Great Fire of 1666 : it has a tower and spire 140 feet high, surmounted by an enormous key, the emblem of St. Peter. Here is a tablet re- cording the death by fire, Jan. 18, 1782, of the seven children of James and Mary Woodmason, of Leadenhall-street. An inscription upon a brass plate in the vestry -room describes the old church as founded A.D. 179, a statement unsupported by facts. Stow records a mur- derer to have fled to St. Peter's for sanctuary in 1230 ; and one of its priests was murdered in 1243. The nave and chancel are separated by a carved wainscot rood-screen, set up by direction of Bishop Beveridge, who was 32 years rector of St. Peter's, and who paid special attention to the appropriateness of church furniture and repairs. ST. PETER'S, Eaton-square, Pimlico, an Ionic church, was designed by Henry Hakewill, and consecrated by Bishop Howley, July 20, 1827. The altar-piece is " Christ crowned with thorns," painted by W. Hilton, R.A., and presented to the church by the British Institution. ST. PETER'S, Saffron-hill, a district church of St. Andrew's, Hoi- born, designed by Barry, R.A., in the Anglo-Norman style, and conse- crated in 1832 : it has been placed in a proverbially depraved locality, with the most salutary effect. ST. PETER'S, Sumner-street, Bankside, designed by Edmunds, and consecrated Nov. 7, 1839, is in the plain Pointed style, and has an em- battled tower 84 feet high. ST. PETER'S-LE-POOR, Old Broad-street, was taken down in 1788, rebuilt by Jesse Gibson, and consecrated by Bishop Porteus in 1792. The church is traceable to 1181 : it was "'sometime peradventure a poor parish" (Stow), but scarcely now contains one pauper. ST. PETER'S AD VINCULA, the chapel of the Tower, situate north- west of the White Tower, was erected temp. Edward L, though there was a chapel within the walls, dedicated to the same saint, at a much earlier date. The present chapel is built of square'd stones and flints, and has a small bell-tower. The interior consists of a chancel, nave, and north aisle, the two latter separated by flat-pointed arches spring- ing from clustered columns ; but little of the original building remains. This chapel is extremely interesting, as the burial-place of these emi- nent persons, executed within the Tower walls or upon Tower-hill: Queen Anne Boleyn (beheaded 1536) ; Queen Katherine Howard (be- headed 1542) ; Sir Thomas More (beheaded 1535) ; Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex (beheaded 1540) ; Margaret Countess of Shrewsbury (beheaded 1541) ; Thomas Lord Seymour, Lord Admiral, beheaded 1549, by warrant of his own brother, the Protector Somerset, who in 1552 was executed on the same scaffold ; John Dudley, Duke of Nor- thumberland (beheaded 1553). " There lyeth before the High Altar, in St. Peter's Church, two Dukes between 156 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. two Queenes, to wit, the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of Northumberland between Queen Anne and Queen Katherine, all four beheaded." Stow (Howes's). Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Lord Dudley (beheaded 1553-4) ; Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (beheaded 1600) : under the communion- table lies the Duke of Monmouth (beheaded 1685) ; and beneath the gallery, Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino (beheaded 1746) ; and Simon Lord Lovat (beheaded 1747). The Register records the burial in this chapel of Sir Thomas Overbnry, poisoned in the Tower, 1613 : and here lies Sir John Eliot, who died a prisoner in the Tower, his son being refused by King Charles J. permission to remove the body to Cornwall for interment. Also are buried in St. Peter's, John Roettier, "his Majesty's engraver at the Tower " (d. 1703); and Colonel Gurwood, who edited the Wellington Despatches (d. 1846). In the north aisle is the altar-tomb, with effigies, of Sir Richard Cholmondeley (Lieutenant of the Tower, temp. Henry VII.) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth. In the chancel is a rich marble monument to Sir Richard Blount and his son Sir Michael, Lieutenants of the Tower, sixteenth century ; with figures of the knight and his sons in armour, and of his wife and daughters. Here also is the tomb of Sir Allan Apsley, Lieutenant of the Tower (d. 1630) ; and in the nave-floor is the inscribed gravestone of Talbot Edwards, (d. 1674,) Keeper of the Regalia in the Tower when Blood stole the crown. (See TOWER OF LONDON.) ST PETEB'S, Walworth-road, in the parish of St. Mary, Newington, was built 1823-5, and cost about 19,000?. It is one of Soane's classic churches ; the west front decorated with Ionic columns, and the tower has two stories, the lower Corinthian and the upper Composite. The interior is in elegant and original taste. ST. SAVIOUR'S, Southwark, a short distance from the south foot of London-bridge, ranks in magnitude and architectural character as the third church in the metropolis, and is one of the few churches in the kingdom possessing a Lady Chapel. It was originally the church of the Augustine Priory of St. Mary Overie, and was founded by the Norman knights, William Pont de 1'Arche and William Dauncy. The nave of the church is attributed to Gifford, Bishop of Winchester in 1106 (7th Henry I.) ; and an arch, an apsis, and other remains of this date, have been uncovered by the removal of the masonry of the church, al- tered in the reigns of Richard II. and Henry IV. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, this church was purchased of Henry VIII. by the people of Southwark ; and in 1540, it was made parochial as St. Sa- viour's, and united with the two parishes of St. Mary Magdalen and St. Margaret-at-Hill. The church is cathedral or cruciform in plan, with a nave, transepts, choir, and Lady Chapel, and a lofty embattled tower at the central intersection ; besides Mary Magdalen's and the Bishop's Chapels, now removed. An etching, by Hollar, executed for Dugdale's Monasticon, shews the church about 1660. The choir and Lady Chapel were commenced in the Lancet style, according to an ancient chroni- cle : " John anno X (1208). Seynte Marie Overie was that yere be- gonne." * In 1618, the fine perspective of nave and choir was destroyed * "A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483," first printed in 1827. A romantic tradition is associated with this church. Stow, in the account which he received from Linsted, the last Prior, describes it as " Saint Mary ouer the Rie, or Orery, that is, over the water. This church, or some other in place thereof, was (of old time, long before the Conquest,) an House of Sisters, founded by a mayden named Mary, unto the which House and Sisters she left (as was left to her by her parents) the ouersight and profits of a Crosse Ferrie, or trauerse ferrie ouer the Thames, there kept before any bridge was builded." (See LON- DON BRIDGE, p. 54.) This story has, however, been much discredited. The shrouded figure now in the north aisle has been gossipingly assigned to Audery, CHURCHES: ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK. 157 by an organ-screen, set up in place of the ancient rood-loft. In 1624, the Lady Chapel, which had been let out as a bakehouse for 60 years, was restored ; and in 1689, the tower was repaired, and the pinnacles were rebuilt : height 150 feet. From the roof Hollar drew his cele- brated View of London, la,tely rendered familiar by Martin's pen-and- ink lithograph. For a long interval, the only repairs of the church tended to its disfigurement, by barbarous brick casing and the destruc- tion of beautiful windows ; until, in 1818, the repair of the entire edifice was commenced with the tower. The pinnacles and embattled para- pets were rebuilt, windows inserted, and the tower, split by the violent vibration of the bells, was secured with cast-iron ties concealed within the masonry. This restoration was superintended by George Gwilt, F.S.A., who also, in 1822-24, took down the east end of the church to the clerestory, and gave the present face to the structure his own de- sign consisting of an enriched gable, with an elaborately foliated cross on its apex ; pinnacled staircase turrets, with niches at the angles ; and a new triple lancet window, in the more florid style of the 13th century, instead of the original window of five lights (temp. Henry VII.) ; and a Catherine-wheel window, of extraordinary richness and beauty. Over the vaulting a cast-iron roof was erected, and covered with copper; and the piers of the flying buttresses on each side were cased with stone, the aisle windows built anew, &c. ; in all which Mr. Gwilt has rigidly adhered to the former work, " not only in the general design, but in the minutest details, wherever prototypes could be found." In 1829-30, the transepts were restored from the designs of R. Wallace, architect : groined roofs were added ; and in the south was introduced a circular window, designed from that in the ruins of Winchester Pa- lace, Bankside, discovered through a fire in 1814. In the north tran- sept has been inserted a window of circular tracery, in the style of Westminster Abbey ; but the side windows, originally of beautiful length, have been injudiciously shortened. Within, the transepts pre- sent a beautiful vista, second only to the choir. The four magnificent arches which support the tower remain unaltered. The timber roof of the nave, a fine specimen of carpentry, said to have been put up by Bishop Fox (temp. Edward IV.), was next removed " by Order of Ves- try," and the organ was moved up to form a temporary end to the choir. Thus dismantled, in splendid ruin, stood the roofless walls, and the massive Tudor doorway at the west end, until, in 1838-9, the nave was rebuilt for Divine Service in poor, incongruous style ; and being sepa- rated from the choir, St. Saviour's now presents the anomalous appear- ance of two churches in one ; but had the nave been restored according to the ancient example, the groined roof of the church would exhibit an uninterrupted perspective of 208 feet. The most picturesque views are from the clerestory vaultings of the choir. The commonplace oak and plaster of the last century have been removed from the eastern end, thus unveiling the stone altar-screen, a beautiful composition of niches, &c. ; and which, from its resembling that in Winchester Cathedral, and bearing Bishop Fox's device of the Pelican feeding her young, is inferred to be his workmanship : it was restored in 1833, at the cost of 700?. the Ferryman, father of the foundress of St. Mary Overie's. There is a curious, although probably fabulous tract of his life, entitled, "The True History of the Life and sudden Death of old John Overs, the rich Ferry-Man of London, shewing how he lost his life by his own covetousness. And of his daughter Mary, who caused the church of St. Mary Overs in Southwark to be built ; and of the build- ing of London Bridge." There are two editions : the first, 1637, with woodcuts ; the second, 1744, " Printed for T. Harris at the Looking-Glass on London Bridge." It is among Sir W. Musgrave's Biographical Tracts in the British Museum. A synopsis of the story is given in the Chronicles of London Bridge, pp. 40-44. 158 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. " In the fifteenth century, sculpture and painting lent their aid to complete and embellish this sumptuous display of architecture. Upon the altar and under the central canopy, in the first range, stood the crucifix ; the large niche above was appropriated to the t-tatue of the Blessed Virgin, the patroness of the church ; and the corresponding niche in the upper range we may as confidently assign to the representation of the sacred Trinity ; the minor niches might be occupied by the sainted bishops of the see. Above the whole, the design was carried on in the painted glass of the east window, inclosed as it were in a richly sculptured frame: in this perfect state, what a magnificent scene was displayed in the choir!" E. J. Carlos, Gentleman's Magazine, Feb. 1834. The Lady Chapel, which Bishop Gardiner used as a consistorial court in the reign of Queen Mary, was restored by subscription in 1832 : the groined roof is very fine, and here is the marble tomb of Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, with his full-length effigies, formerly in the Bishop's Chapel, where also his leaden coffin was found. In 1555, a commission sat in St. Mary Overie's for the trial of heretics, Bishop Hooper and John Rogers being the first victims to the stake ; but within four years, the Popish vestments were sold for the repairs of the church, and next the valuable Latin records of the Priory were burnt as superstitious remains of Popery. The church is very rich in painted sculpture tombs. In the south transept is the Perpendicular monument of the poet Gower, removed from the north aisle of the nave in 1832, when it was restored and coloured at the expense of Lord Fran- cis Leveson Gower, now Duke of Sutherland, a presumed collateral descendant from the poet. Gower was married in this church, in 1397, to Alice Groundolf, by the celebrated "William of Wykeham, then Bishop of Winchester, and here Gower and his wife are buried ; the poet beneath the above monument, triple canopied, and richly dight with gold and colour inscription, with the recumbent effigies of Gov.-er in prayer : his hair auburn, and long to the shoulders, and a small forked beard ; on his head a purple and gold rose fillet, with the words, " Merci Ihu ;" a habit of purple, damasked, down to his feet ; a collar of esses, gold, about his neck ; his head resting upon three gilded volumes, the " Speculum Meditantis," " Vox Clamantis," and " Con- fessio Amantis ;" on the wall at his feet are his arms, and a hat or helmet, with a red hood, ermined, and surmounted by his crest a dog. Opposite Gower's tomb is the coloured bust of John Bingham, saddler to Queen Elizabeth and James I. In the north transept is a richly- painted, carved, and gilt monument, with angels, rocks, suns, and ser- pents, to William Austin, Esq. (d. 1833), who wrote a poem of " Medi- tations." Next lies Dr. Lockyer, the empiric (temp. Charles II.), his reclining effigies in thick-curled wig and furred gown : " His virtues and his pills are so well known, That envy can't confine them under stone." Epitaph. In the north aisle is the monument to John Trehearne, gentleman- porter to James I., with the costumed busts of himself and wife. Op- posite is the tomb of Alderman Humble (temp. James 1.), with kneeling ngures of himself and his two wives, and representations of their children ; and an inscription, slightly varied from a poem attributed to Francis Quarles, commencing, " Like to the damask rose you see." Here, too, is an oaken effigies, supposed of one of the Norman knights, founders of the church ; and near it is the figure of an ema- ciated man, wrapped in a shroud, and finely sculptured. The Burial Register records, under 1607, " Edmond Shakspeare, player, in the church," the great dramatist's brother, and who, doubtless, was fol- lowed to the grave by him as chief mourner ; under 1 025 is " Mr. John Fletcher, a man, in the church" (Beaumont and Fletcher); and Philip Massinger, "a stranger," in the churchyard, lG-'J8-9. The CHURCHES: ST. STEPHEN'S THE MARTYR. 159 tower has a fine peal of twelve bells, and in the belfry are recorded exploits performed upon them by the College and Cumberland youths (see ST. MARY-LE-BOW CHURCH, p. 142) ; though these bells were not rung at the opening of London-bridge, in 1831, from the alleged inse- curity to the masonry : the entire weight of the twelve bells is 10 tons, 15 cwt. 1 qr. 9 Ibs. The clock, put up in 1795, has a dial 31 feet in cir- cumference ; length of minute-hand, 5 feet ; circumference of bell, 11 feet 6 inches. The tower, east end, and Lady Chapel, originally con- cealed by the west side of the old High Street, were opened to view in forming the approaches to New London-bridge, thus presenting, perhaps, the finest architectural group in the Metropolis : its restora- tion has cost upwards of 50,000?. ST. SEPULCHRE'S, anciently "in the Bailey," at the east end of Skinner-street, and adjacent to Newgate, was damaged in the Great Fire of 166G, which just reached Pye Corner, northward of the church. It was rebuilt about the middle of the fifteenth century. The south- west entrance-porch, resembling a transept, has a groined roof, with bold ribs and beautifully-sculptured bosses ; adjoining is an ancient chapel, erected by the Popham family. The body of the church was re- fitted by Wren after the Fire. The organ, one of the largest and finest in London, was built in 1677, and has been recently enlarged ; the pedal organ, with ten stops, or fourteen ranks of pipes throughout, is un- equalled in England. The pulpit has a sounding-board, like a parabolic reflector, with ribs of mahogany, the grain radiating from the centre. Among the monuments is that of Capt. John Smith, Governor of Vir- ginia, and a romantic traveller (d. 1G31) : his eccentric epitaph, recorded by Strype, has disappeared. The benefactions to the parish include that of Mr. Richard Dowe, AV!IO left a hand-bell, to be rung, with certain forms, to the condemned criminals in Newgate, and on their way to Tyburn for execution, (see ST. SEPULCHRE'S BELL, p. 38,) when it was also customary to present a nosegay to each. St. Sepulchre's tower, " one of the most ancient in the outline in the circuit of London," (Malcolm,} has four pinnacles with vanes, rebuilt 1630-33, and is 140 feet high : it has a fine peal of ten bells ; the clock regulates the hang- ing of criminals at Newgate. " Unreasonable people," says Howell, "are as hard to reconcile as the vanes of St. Sepulchre's tower, which never looked all four upon one point of the heavens." On April 10, 1600, one \Villiam Dorrington threw himself from the roof of this tower, leaving there a written prayer for forgiveness. ST. STEPHEN'S, Coleman-street, was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, as we now see it, with a tower and bell- turret 65 feet high. Among the monuments is a marble bas-relief, by E. W. AVyon, erected in 1847, to the Rev. Josiah Pratt, Vicar of the parish, whose missionary labours are personified by the Angel of the Gospel addressing an African, Hindoo, and New Zealander. The entrance-gateway from Coleman-street has a very eurious sculpture, embodying the Last Judgment. In the old church was buried Master Antony Munday, (d. 1633,) who wrote a continuation of Stow's Sur- vey, and for more than forty years arranged the City pageants and shows. Of this parish John Hayward was under-sexton during the Great Plague, when he carried the dead to their graves, and fetched the bodies with the Dead Cart and Bell, yet " never had the distemper at all, but lived about twenty years after it." Defoe's Memoirs. ST. STEPHEN'S THE MARTYR, Avenue Road, Portland Town, is a large Decorated church, by Daukes, with a tower and spire 136 feet high ; towards building which two individuals gave 1000Z. each ; the freehold )f the site and 5001. being also given by the Duke of Portland. 160 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ST. STEPHEN'S THE MARTYR, Rochester-row, Westminster, a stately church, built and endowed at the sole cost of Miss Burdett Coutts, as a memorial to her father, Sir Francis Burdett, Bart., M.P. for West- minster thirty years. The site was presented by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and is nearly opposite the almshouses founded by Emery Hill in 1674. The first stone of the church was laid by Miss Coutts, July 20, 1847 ; it was consecrated June 20, 1850. The style is the Decorated, of the reigns of the first three Edwards ; and the archi- tect, Ferrey. The church consists of a nave with aisles, and a chancel ; and on the north side a massive tower and spire, 200 feet high, with a peal of eight bells by Mears ; all the windows are richly traceried. The chancel ceiling is coloured blue, powdered with gold stars; the walls are decorated with texts ; and the reredos is of the Canterbury diaper, picked out in gold and colour : the altar-cloth was presented by the Duke of Wellington, and the chancel carpet was wrought in Berlin work by forty ladies of rank, the border by the girls of St. Stephen's Schools: the design consists of shields and heraldic devices, and panels of the fleur-de-lis and Tudor rose, within a Tudor-rose border. The organ, by Hill, has a screen of diapered pipes, and cost 800 guineas. The nave and aisle roofs are of oak ; and the arcade rests upon clustered shafts, with sculptured capitals. The pulpit is of stone, and enriched with tracery ; and the font is sculptured with Scripture subjects. Some of the windows are filled with stained glass, by Wailes, and the others with Powell's stamped quarries. The stalls and seats are of oak, and for about 900 persons : the church is lit by gas, and has in the chancel a handsome corona of gas.-burners and candlesticks. Adjoining are Schools, of very picturesque design, also designed by Ferrey. ST. STEPHEN'S, Walbrook, in the rear of the Mansion House, is the third church of that name and locality : the first, according to Dug- dale, stood on the west side of the " Brook ;" the second, built in 1428, on the east side, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 ; and the pre- sent church was built upon the same site, 1672-79, from the designs of Wren, at a salary of 100Z. a-year : and the parish accounts shew that a hogshead of claret was presented to the architect, and twenty guineas to his lady. The interior is one of Wren's finest works, with its ex- quisitely-proportioned Corinthian columns, and great central dome of timber and lead, resting upon a circle of light arches springing from column to column ; its enriched Composite cornice, the shields of the spandrels, and the palm-branches and rosettes of the dome-coffers, are very beautiful ; and as you enter from the dark vestibule, a halo of dazzling light flashes upon the eye through the central aperture of the cupola. The elliptical openings for light in the side walls are, how- ever, very objectionable. The fittings are of oak ; and the altar-screen, organ-case, and gallery have some good carvings, among which are prominent the arms of the Grocers' Company, the patrons of the living, \ and who gave the handsome wainscoting. The enriched pulpit, its I festoons of fruit and flowers, and canopied sounding-board, with angels bearing wreaths, are much admired. The church was cleansed and re- paired in 1850, when West's splendid painting of the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, pres-nted in 1779 by the then Rector, Dr. Wilson, was re- moved from over the altar and placed on the north wall of the church ; and the window which the picture had blocked up was then re-oppned. The oldest monument in the church is that of John Lil- burue (d. 1678) : Sir John Vanbrugh, the wit and architect, is buried here, i n the family vault. During the repairs in 1850, it is stated that 4000 coffins -were found beneath the church, and were covered with brickwork and concrete to prevent the escape of noxious effluvia. The exterior of the church is plain ; the tower and spire, 128 feet high, is at CHURCHES: TEMPLE CHURCH. 161 ;he termination of Charlotte-row. The present Rector is the Rev. George Croly, D.D., the eloquent poet and imaginative prose writer. This church, unquestionably elegant, has been overpraised. The rich dome is considered by John Carter to be Wren's attempt to " set up a dome, a compara- tive imitation (though on a diminutive scale) of the Pantheon at Rome, and which, no doubt, was a kind of probationary trial previous to his gigantic opera- tion of fixing one on his octangular superstructure in the centre of his new St. Paul's." Mr. J. Gwilt says of St. Stephen's : " Compared with any other church of nearly the same magnitude, Italy cannot exhibit its equal; elsewhere its rival is not to be found. Of those worthy notice, the Zitelle at Venice (by Palladio), is the nearest approximation in regard to size, but it ranks far below our church in point of composition, and still lower in point of effect." Again: "Had its mate- rials and volume been as durable and extensive as those of St. Paul's Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren had consummated (in St. Stephen's) a much more efficient monument to his well-earned fame than that fabric affords." St. Stephen's serves also for the parish of St. Bennet Sherehog. Upon the north side of Pancras-lane is a small enclosed piece of ground, and upon a stone on an adjoining house is inscribed, " Before the dreadful fire, anno 1666, here stood the parish church St. Bennet Sherehog." Pendleton, the celebrated Vicar of Bray, known by his multiversations, sub- sequently became rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook. It is related that in the reign of Edward VI., Lawrence Sanders, the martyr, an honest but mild and timorous man, stated to Pendleton his fears that he had not strength of mind to sndure the persecution of the times; and was answered by Pendleton that " he would see every drop of his fat and the last morsel of his flesh consumed to ashes ere he would swerve from the faith then established." He, however, changed with the times, saved his fat and his flesh, and became rector of St. Stephen's, whilst the mild and diffident Sanders was burnt in Smithfield. ST. SWITHIN'S, LONDON STONE, Cannon-street, was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, in 1680, as we now see it. It has a tower and spire 150 feet high; but is chiefly remarkable for having against its outer south wall, within a modern stone case, all that remains of the ancient " London Stone," a Roman miliarium. TEMPLE CHURCH, (St. Mary's,} in the rear of the south side of Fleet-street, was the church of the Knights Templar after their re- moval from their chief house, on the site of old Southampton House, without Holborn-bars.* It consists, first, of " the Round," built in 1185, and dedicated by Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. (See in- scription from the Saxon, inside, over western doorway.) This is one of the four circular churches built in England after the Templars' return from the first and second Crusades ; the other three existing at Cam- bridge, Northampton, and Maplestead in Essex. The architecture is midway between Romanesque and Early English Gothic : the western entrance semicircular arches and capitals are richly sculptured and deeply recessed ; within, Purbeck marble columns, with boldly-sculp- tured capitals, support a gallery or triforium of interlaced Norman arches; and the clerestory has six* Romanesque windows, one filled with stained glass, bright ruby ground, with a representation of Christ, and emblems of the Evangelists ; and the ceiling, of Saracenic character, is coloured. On the gallery well-staircase is a "penitential cell." The arcade in the aisle beneath has sculptured heads of astonishing variety, copies executed by Sir R. Smirke in 1827 ; and here are pointed arches with Norman billets. Upon the pavement are figures of Crusaders, * In the rear of the house No. 322 High Holborn, is a room or hall, for some unexplained reason, called "the chapel:" it has a finely panelled oak ceiling, about A. D. 1500 ; a large window opening, and a pointed doorway, now filled up. A few yards westward may be traced the position of the Round Church of the Templars, which they possessed previous to the erection ofihe present Temple Church in Fleet-street. Stow relates that adjoining the old Temple Church was the inn of the Bishop of Lincoln; and afterwards a house belonging to the Earl of Southampton, to which the room in question appears to pertain. 162 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. " in cross-legged effigy devoutly stretched," but originally placed upon altar-tombs and pedestals. These effigies of feudal warriors are sculptured out of freestone. The attitudes of all are different, but they are all recumbent with the legs crossed. They are incomplete mail with surcoats ; one only is bare-headed, and has the cowl of a monk. The shields are of the heater or Norman shape, but the size is not the same in all ; one of them is very long, and reaches from the shoulder to the middle of the leg. Their heads, with one exception, repose on cushions, and have hoods of mail. Three of them have flattish helmets over the armour, and one has a sort of casque. They have been well restored by Mr. Richardson. The best authorities assign five of them as follow : to Geoffry de Magna\ ille, Earl of Essex, A.D. 1144 (right arm on his breast and large sword at his right) he is not mentioned by Weever ; William Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke, A.D. 1219, (sculptured in Sussex marble, with his sword through a lion's head); Robert Lord de Ros, A.D. 1245 (head uncovered, with long flowing hair), whose effigy is said to have been brought from Helmsley Church, Yorkshire; William Mares- chall, junior, Earl of Pembroke, 1231 (with lien rampant on shield, and sheathing his sword), Gilbert Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke, 1241 (drawing his sword, winged dragon at feet). Cole's Glance at the Temple Church. In 1841 were discovered the ancient lead coffins containing the bodies of these knights, who did not appear to have been buried in their armour ; and none of the coffin ornaments were of earlier date than the beginning of the 13th century. In the Temple Round, lawyers received clients, as merchants ou 'Change : " Retain all sorts of witnesses, That ply i' the Temple under trees; Or walk the Round with Knights o' the Posts, About the cross-legg'd knights, their hosts." Hudibras, pt. iii. c. 3. Dugdale says : " Item, they (the lawyers) have no place to walk in and confer their learnings but the church ; which place all the term- times hath in it no more quietness than the Pervise of Paules, by occasion of the confluence and concourse of such as are suitors in the law." The pavement is laid with Minton's encaustic tiles, the patterns mostly from the floor of the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey. "The Round" is the nave or vestibule to the oblong portion of the church, the choir, in pure Lancet style, and almost rebuilt in the resto- rations and alterations made 1839-42 by Savage and Sydney Smirke. It is divided into three aisles by clustered marble columns, the groined roof being richly coloured in arabesque, and ornamented with holy emblems. Triple lancet -headed windows let in floods of light. The organ, by Bernard Schmydt, is remarkable as having quarter-tones. Towards the end of the reign of Charles II., the Societies of the Temple deter- mined on the erection of an organ ; when the two great builders of the time, Schmydt and Harris, were competitors, and each was supported by his patrons and partisans. Each then erected an organ in the church, the Benchers pro- mising to keep the best. Blow and Purcell performed on appointed days on Schmydt's organ, which, it -was thought, must be chosen. Harris's organ was then played by Baptiste Draghi, and won many admirers ; and the competition was kept up for nearly a twelvemonth : when the decision being referred to Judge Jefleries, he decided in favour of Schmydt's organ. In the little vestry beneath the organ -gallery is a marble tablet to Oliver Goldsmith, buried in the ground east of the choir, April 9, 1774. The choir-stalls and benches are beautifully carved in oak from ancient examples : the altar is new, in the style of Edward I., and con- tains five canopied panels, gilt and illuminated; here are an ambry, piscina, and sacrarium or tabernacle for the Eucharist ; and behind the altar are three ancient niches for sacred utensils. On the south is the monumental effigies of a bishop in pontificals, supposed to be that of Silverston de Eversdon, Bishop of Carlisle, d. 1255, and buried here. To the left is a white marble tomb over the remains of the learned Selden, d. 1654, in Whitefriars : his funeral sermon was preached by Archbishop Usher. In the triforium are the tombs of Plowden, the jurist ; Howell, writer of the Familiar Letters ; and Gibbon, the his- CHURCHES: TRINITY, MINORIES. 163 torian : the views of the church from this gallery are very picturesque. Here are also several memorials of eminent lawyers ; and among them, a marble bust, by Rossi, of Lord Chancellor Thurlow (d. 1806). On the south wall is a tablet to Anne Littleton (d. 1623), daughter-in- law to Sir Edward Littleton, with a quaint epitaph, ending, " Keep well this pawn, thou marble chest; Till it be called for, let it rest: For while this jewel here is set, The grave is but a cabinet." It is mentioned in Dugdale's Monasticon that both King Henry II. and his Queen Eleanor directed that their bodies should be interred within the walls of the Temple Chapel, and that the above monarch by his will left 500 marks for that purpose. The walls are inscribed with Scripture texts in Latin ; and between the top of the stalls and the string-course beneath the windows, is the Hymn of St. Ambrose. The windows, by Willement, are among the finest specimens of modern stained glass: the altar subjects are from the life of Christ, the in- terspaces being deep -blue and ruby mosaic, with glittering borders. Knights Templar fill the aisle windows ; but that opposite the organ has figures of angels playing musical instruments. A brief history of the Templars in England, and of this church, may be read in the rude effigies of the successive kings during whose reigns they flou- rished, now painted on the west end of the chancel. At the south corner sits Henry I. (A.D. 1128), holding the first banner of the Crusaders, half black, half white, entitled "Beauseant;" white typifying fairness towards friends; black, terror to foes. This banner was changed during the reign of Stephen (A.D. 1116) for the red cross : " And on his brest a bloodie crosse he bore, The deare remembrance of his dying Lord." Henry II. and the Round Church are represented by the third figure. Richard I., with the sword which he wielded as Crusader, and John, his brother, are the next kings; and in the north aisle is portrayed Henry III., holding the two churches ; the chancel, or square part, having been added in his reign, and con- secrated on Ascension-day, 1240. Cole's Glance at the Temple Church. Externally, the Round has been refaced with stone, and the groined western portico restored ; the east end has three high gables, with crosses ; and the bell is hung in a new stone turret on the north side. North-east of the choir is the house of the Master of the Temple, as the preacher at the church is called : it is fronted by a garden, beneath which is the Benchers' Vault. One of the most learned Masters was Hooker, author of the Ecclesiastical Polity ; another eminent Master was Sherlock, afterwards Bishop of London. ST. THOMAS, CHARTERHOUSE, Goswell-Street-road, a brick church in the Anglo-Norman style, was designed by E. Blore, and consecrated 1842. A portion is set apart for the Brethren of the Charter-House. ST. THOMAS'S, Southwark, in St. Thomas's-street, was originally the church of the Monastery or Hospital of St. Thomas, but was made parochial after the Dissolution : in 1702 it was rebuilt of brick, with a square tower, closely resembling that of the former church. TRINITY, Gray's-Inn-road, district church of St. Andrew's, Hoi- born, designed by Pennithorne, was built in 1837-8 : it has a pedimented centre, and belfry with cupola roof and cross ; and catacombs beneath for 1000 bodies. Adjoining is the old burial-ground of St. Andrew's, its crowded graves interspersed with trees. TRINITY, Minories, was originally the church of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, founded by Matilda, Queen of Henry I., in 1108. This church escaped the Great Fire of 1666; but becoming insecure, it was taken down, and rebuilt in 1706. It is stated, in a note in Strype, that Trinity pretended to privileges, as " marrying without a license." In 164 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the chancel is the tomb of the loyal William Legge, who bore the touch- ing message of Charles I. from the scaffold to his son, the Prince of Wales, enjoining him to "remember the faithfullest servant ever prince had." Here, too, is buried Legge's son, the first Earl of Dartmouth. ST. VEDAST'S, Foster-lane, destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Wren, has an original and graceful spire, in three stories. The interior has a ceiling enriched with wreaths of flowers and fruits and foliage ; and a carved oak altar-piece, with winged figures, palm- branches, a pelican, &c. In the vestry-room is a print of " West Cheap " in 1585, with the church of St. Michael on the north side of Paternoster-row, the burial-place of the antiquary, Leland (d. 1552). ST. BARTHOLOMEW BY THE EXCHANGE (see page 120), which was taken down in 1840, has been rebuilt in Moor-lane, Fore-street, under the direction of C. R. Cockerell, R. A. The interior details are Tuscan ; the altar-piece, pulpit, &c. are richly-carved oak; and the communion end is lighted by a stained Catherine-wheel window. From the western door, the whole interior to the east is discovered through a trium- phal arch, formed by a novel and ingenious construction of the choir- gallery in front of the organ. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SAILORS' CHURCH (the) was opened April 30, 1845, in the Danish Church, Wellclose-square, Ratcliffe Highway. An inscription over the entrance states it to have been built in 1696, by Caius Gabriel Gibber, the sculptor, at the cost of Christian V., King of Denmark, for such merchants and seamen, his subjects, who visited the port of London. The architect and his son, Colley Gibber, are buried in the vaults ; and in the church is a tablet to Jane Colley. The pulpit has four sand-glasses in a brass frame, by which preachers for- merly regulated the length of their sermons. ST. LUKE'S, near the centre of Old-Street-road, is one of the Fifty Queen Anne Churches, and was consecrated on St. Luke's day, Oct. 16, 1733. It is built of stone, and has an obelisk spire, "a master-stroke of absurdity." The parish was taken out of St. Giles's, Cripplegate. EPISCOPAL CHAPELS. ASYLUM (FEMALE ORPHAN) CHAPEL, Westminster-road, Lambeth, was built for the Charity, established 1758, at the suggestion of Sir John Fielding, the police-magistrate. The chapel service is rendered at- tractive by tha singing of the orphan children, and by popular preachers, thus contributing to the support of the Institution 'by a collection. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S, Kingsland, was an ancient and picturesque wayside chapel, near the toll-gate, and taken down in 1846. Its walls were of flint and rubble, the window-frames of stone, in the Perpendicu- lar style, and in the roof was a wooden bell-turret. It was originally the chapel of a hospital or house of lepers, called " Le Lokas," and was long an appendage to St. Bartholomew's, to which it was a kind of outer ward till 1761, when all the patients were removed from Kingsland, and the hospital site let for building. Upon the petition of the neighbour- ing inhabitants, the chapel was repaired, and service performed there, the chaplain being appointed by the governors of St. Bartholomew's. It was so small as scarcely to contain 50 persons. It is engraved in Archer's Vestiges of Old London, part i. 1850. BEXTINCK CHAPEL, Chapel-street, New-road, was built in 1772, and opened by the Rev. Mr. Hunt, father of the originator of the Examiner newspaper. The Rev. Basil Woodd was minister of this chapel 45 years. BROMPTON CONSUMPTION HOSPITAL CHAPEL (Lamb, architect,) EPISCOPAL CHAPELS. 165 was founded by the Rev. Sir Henry Foulis, Bart., and consecrated June 27, 1850. It is exclusively for the officers and patients of the Hospital, md has been built as a memorial of a relative of the founder. The Chapel consists of a nave, north and south transeptal projections, and i chancel ; and is connected with the Hospital by a corridor, externally jrnamented with pinnacled buttresses and gable crosses, and an octa- gonal bell-turret. The windows are traceried, and have stained glass ; ;he roof is open timbered ; the chancel has florid sedilia of stone, and is jeparated from the nave by a low traceried screen. The interior fittings ire of oak, some bearing the arms and crest of the founder, heraldically : ' Arg. three bay-leaves proper ; crest, a crescent arg. surmounted by i cross sa. ;" the motto is " Je ne change qu'en mourant." The crest bas been most frequently used, as applicable to the building " Chris- tianity overcoming Paganism." The floor is partly paved with tiles of irmorial patterns. The seats are specially adapted for the patients. CHAPEL ROYAL (the), St. James's Palace, is situated on the western ride, between the Colour Court and Ambassadors' Court. It is oblong in plan, with side galleries; the Royal Gallery being at the west end, opposite the communion-table. The superb ceiling, painted by Holbein in 1540, is one of the earliest speci- mens of the new style introduced by him into England. The rib-mouldings are of irooden frame-work, suspended to the roof above ; the panels have plaster grounds, ;he centres displaying the Tudor emblems and devices. The subject is gilt, shaded )oldly with bistre ; the roses glazed with a red colour, and the arms emblazoned in their proper colours; leaves, painted dark-green, ornamented each subject; the general ground of the whole was light-blue. The mouldings of the ribs are painted green, and some are gilt; the under side is a dark -blue, on which is a small open running ornament (cast in lead), gilt. The ceiling has undergone several repairs, in one of which the blue ground was painted white. In 1836, when the chapel nras enlarged under the direction of Sir Robert Smirke, the blue ground was disco- vered, as were likewise some of the mottoes in the small panels: thus, " STET DIEV PELIX: HENRICQ REX 8 H. A. VIVAT. REX. 1540. DIEV. ET. MO. DROIT," &C. Divine Service is performed here as at our cathedrals, by the gentlemen of the choir, and ten choristers (boys). The establishment consists of a Dean (usually the Bishop of London), the Sub- Dean, Lord High Almoner, Sub- Almoner, Clerk of the Queen's Closet, deputy-clerks, chaplains, priests, organists, and composer ; besides violist and lutanist (now sinecures), and other officers ; and until 1833, there was a " Con- fessor to the Royal Household." Each of the Chaplains in Ordinary preaches once a year in the Chapel Royal. The hours of service are 8 A. M. and 12 noon. There are seats for the nobility, admission-fee 2s. George III., when in town, attended this chapel, when a nobleman car- ried the sword of state before him, and heralds, pursuivants-at-arms, and other officers, walked in procession ; and so persevering was his attendance at prayers, that Madame d'Arblay, one of the robing-women, tells us, in November 1747, the Queen and family, dropping off one by one, used to leave the King, the parson, and His Majesty's equerry, to "freeze it out together." In this chapel were married Prince George of Denmark and the Princess Anne; Frederick Prince of Wales and the daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha; George IV. and Queen Caro- line; and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Before the building of the Chapel at Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty and the Court at- tended the Chapel Royal, St. James's. The silver candelabra and other altar plate are magnificent. The fittings of the Chapel and Palace for the last royal marriage cost 9226/. In the Liber Niger Domus Regni (temp. Edward IV.) is an ordinance naming " Children of the Chapelle viij. founden by the King's privie cofferes for all that longeth to their apperelle by the hands and oversyghte of the deane, or by the master of song assigned to teache them ;" such being the origin or the present musical establishment of the Chapel Royal. Ordinances were also issued for the 166 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. impressment of boys for the royal choirs: in 1550, the master of the King's Chapel had license " to take up from time to time children to serve the King's Chapel." Tusser, the " Husbandrie " poet, was, when a boy, in Elizabeth's reign, thus impressed for the Queen's Chapel. The Gentlemen and Children of the Chapel Royal were the principal performers in the religious dramas or Myste- ries; and a "master of the children," and "singing children," occur in the chapel establishment of Cardinal Wolsey. In 1583, the Children of the Chapel Royal, afterwards called the Children of the Revels, were formed into a company of players, and thus were among the earliest performers of the regular drama. In 1731, they performed Handel's Esther, the first oratorio heard in England; and they continued to assist at oratorios in Lent, so long as those performances maintained their ecclesiastical character entire. " Spur-money," a fine upon all who entered the chapel with spurs on, was for- merly levied by the choristers at the doors, upon condition that the youngest of them could repeat his gamut; if he failed, the spur-bearer was exempt. In a tract dated 1598. the choristers are reproved for "hunting after spur-money;." and the ancient Cheque-book of the Chapel Royal, date 1622, contains an order of the Dean, decreeing the custom. "Within my recollection," writes Dr. Rim- bault, in 1850, "the Duke of Wellington (who, by the way, is an excellent musi- cian) entered the Royal Chapel 'booted and spurred,' and was, of course, called upon for the fine. But his Grace calling upon the youngest chorister to repeat his gamut, and the ' little urchin ' failing, the impost was not demanded." Notes and Queries, No. 30. CHAPEL ROYAL, "WHITEHALL, the Banqueting House of the Palace, designed by Inigo Jones, commenced June 1, 3619, finished March 31, 1622, cost 14.940/. 4s. Id. (See WHITEHALL.) The above hall was con- verted into a chapel in the reign of George I., who, in 1724, appointed certain preachers, six from Oxford and six from Cambridge University, to preach in successive months on the Sundays, at a salary of 301. through the year. The edifice has, however, never been consecrated as a chapel. It was shut up in 1829, and remained closed till 1837, during which time it was restored and refitted as we now see it, under the direction of Sir Robert Smirke, R.A. The lower windows were then closed up, the walls were hung with drapery, (1400 yards of drugget,) and the floor carpeted, to remedv the excessive echo. The Guards formerly at- tended Divine Service here ; they now attend at the chapel in "Wel- lington Barracks, St. James's Park ; and the gallery in which they sat at Whitehall has been removed. The organ originally placed here was sold by order of Cromwell, and is now in Stamford Church, Leices- tershire; the present organ is of subsequent date. The hall is exactly a double cube, being 111 feet long, 55 feet 6 inches high, and 55 feet 6 inches wide. Over the principal doorway is a bronze bust of James I., attributed to Le Soeur ; above is the organ-loft, and along the two sides is a lofty gallery. Above the altar were formerly placed eagles and other trophies taken from the French at Barossa, in Egypt, and at Waterloo ; but they have been removed to Chelsea Hospital. The Whitehall ceiling is'divided into panels, and painted black, and gilded in parts. These are lined with oil pictures on canvass, painted abroad by Rubens in 1635, it is stated for 3000Z., by commission from Charles I. There are nine compartments : the largest in the centre, oval, contains the apotheosis of James I., who is trampling on the globe, and about to flv on the wings of Justice (an eagle) to heaven.* On the two long sides of it are great friezes, with genii, who load sheaves of corn and fruits in carriages, drawn by lions, bears, and rams : each of the boys measures 9 feet. The northernmost of the large compartments represents the King pointing to Peace and Plenty, embracing Minerva, and routing Rebellion and Envy ; at the south end (the altar) the King is on the throne, appointing Prince Charles his successor. The four corner pic- tures arc allegorical representations of Royal Power and Virtue. The whule are best viewed from the south end of the apartment. Dr. * Ruben s's original sketch is in the National Gallery, Trafalgar-square. EPISCOPAL CHAPELS. 167 Waagen considers these pictures to have been principally executed by the pupils of Rubens : they have undergone four restorations : in 1687, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren ; and about 1811, by Cipriani, who was paid 2000Z. Vandyck was to have painted the sides of the Banqueting House with the history and procession of the Order of the Garter. Divine Service is performed in the chapel on Sundays, Saints' Days, &c., the gentlemen and choristers of the Chapels Koyal executing the musical service. In Whitehall Chapel, on Maundy Thursday (the day preceding Good Friday), is distributed by the Queen's Almoners the Royal Bounty to as many poor aged men and women as the sovereign is years of age. The alms money consists of sovereigns, and silver pieces of 4d., 3d., 2d., and Id. value, (Maundy Money,) in purses and red and white leather bags, carried in alms-dishes by Yeomen of the Guard, preceded by the Almoners. The distribution takes place at the conclu- sion of the first lesson of the Morning Service : the purses are given to the women ; and the leathern bags, with stockings, shoes, and broadcloth, to the men. The service is then proceeded with, and concludes with a prayer for the Queen. The Maundy gift to each person, in coin and clothing, amounts to about 51. ; and it is extended to the pensioners of previous years. The gold is put in the red bags, the silver in the white. The Maundy Money is struck each year at the Royal Mint, and is current coin of the realm : a set may be purchased of any dealer in coins. Formerly bread, meat, and fish were also distributed in large wooden bowls, and the officers carried bouquets of flowers and wore white scarves and sashes; but the earliest custom was the King washing with his own hands the feet of as many poor men as he was years old, in imitation of the humility of the Saviour. The last prince who performed this was James II., in the ancient Chapel. CHARLOTTE CHAPEL, Charlotte-street, Buckingham-gate, was built in 1776 for " the unfortunate Dr. Dodd," who laid the first stone in July. " Great success attended the undertaking," writes Dodd ; " it pleased and it elated me." In the following year, June 27, he was hanged at Tyburn for forgery. Charlotte Chapel, now St. Peter's, was also occu- pied by Dr. Dillon ; and it was refitted, with great cost, in 1850. DUKE-STREET CHAPEL, Westminster, was originally the north wing of the house built for Lord Jefferies, Lord Chancellor to King James II., who permitted a flight of stone steps to be made thence into St. James's Park, for Jefferies's special accommodation : they terminate above in a small court, on three sides of which stands the once costly mansion. One portion of it was used as an Admiralty House, until that office was removed by William III. to Wallingford House. The north wing (in which Jefferies transacted his judicial business out of term,) was formed into a chapel in 1769, with a daily service ; Dr. Pettingale, the anti- quary, was for some time incumbent. (See Walcott's Westminster, p. 72.) ST. ETHELREDA'S, Ely-place, Holborn, is all that remains of the ancient palace of the Bishops of Ely, and retains much of its original aspect: the interior roof is boldly arched; on each side is a row of noble windows, though their tracery has disappeared; the pinnacle- work between and overtopping them is very fine, and at the east end is "one fine Decorated window, of curious composition." Evelyn records the consecration here of Dr. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, in 1668, when Dr. Tillotson preached ; and April 27, 1693, Evelyn's daughter Susannah was married here to William Draper, Esq., by Dr. Tenison, then Bishop of Lincoln. Cowper thus chronicles an amusing occurrence in this chapel, at the time of the defeat of the Young Pretender by the Duke of Cumberland, in 1746 : " So in the chapel of old Ely House, When wandering Charles, who meant to be the Third, Had fled from William, and the news was fresh, The simple clerk, but loyal, did announce, And eke did roar right merrily two staves, Sung to the praise and glory of King George," 168 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The chapel, after being leased to the National Society for a school- room, was for some time closed; but on Dec. 19, 1843, was opened for the service of the Established Church in the Welsh language ; this being the first performance of the kind in London. FOREIGN PROTESTANT CHURCHES. There are in London two branches of the Church of Foreign Protestants founded by Charter of Edward VI., July 24, 1550. The French Branch was at first exclusively composed of the refugees who quitted France before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.* They first assembled with their German and Dutch brethren in the " Temple du Seigneur Jesus " in Austin Friars ; but their number having greatly increased, they subsequently met for public wor- ship in the chapel of St. Mary, dependent on the Hospital of St. An- tony, in Threadneedle-street, and belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, which building was taken down in 1841. They next re- moved to a new church in St. Martin" s-le-Grand, nearly opposite the General Post- Office : this church, designed by Owen, and opened in 1842, is a tasteful specimen of Gothic, and has a large east window with flamboyant tracery, flanked by lofty turrets. The German, Dutch, or Flemish Branch was at first composed of the Polish exil? Jean a Lasco, and the members of his church at Embden in East Friesland. To these German Protestants were united the Dutch and Flemish refugees ; they are all included in the Charter of Edward VI., as forming one sole nation, Germanorum ; and the church was subsequently known as the Flemish Church. The " Temple du Seigneur Jesus," in Austin Friars, is occupied by the members of the Dutch Church: on each of its painted windows is inscribed, " Templum Jesu, 1550." It originally belonged to the house of the Augustine Friars, founded in 1243. Stow describes it as surmounted by " a most fine-spired steeple, small, high, and straight ;" and adds, " I have not seen the like." At the Dissolution, the church was reserved by Henry VIII., and was granted by his son to the poor Dutch refugees from the Netherlands, France, "and other parts beyond seas, from Papist persecutors;" and the grant is enjoyed by the Dutch to this day. The church contains some very good Deco- rated windows. " On the west end, over the skreen, is a fair library, inscribed thus : ' Ecclesiae Londino-Belgiae Bibliotheca, extructa sumptibus Maria; Dubois, 1659.' In this library are divers valuable MSS., and letters of Calvin, Peter Martyr, and others, foreign Reformers." Strype, b. ii, p. 116. On July 24, 1850, the tercentenary of the Royal Charter of Edward VI. was solemnly commemorated in this church by a special service, as also in the French Protestant Church in St. Martin's-le- Grand; and the members of the consistories of both churches dined together in the evening, and drank " To the memory of the pious King Ed- ward VI." Besides the above, there is a French Protestant Chapel in Bloomsbury-street, designed by Poynter, and built in 1846, for the congregation first established in the Savoy: it has a pointed gable and a large Decorated eastern window. In Moor-street, Soho, is a Swiss Protestant Chapel, where is preserved a pair of colours, thus inscribed r " These colours were presented by King George the Second to the Swiss resi- dents in this country, as a mark of the sense which his Majesty was graciously pleased to entertain of the offer made by them of a battalion of 500 men, towards the defence of the kingdom on Ihe occasion of the Rebellion " (Scottish, 1745). * The number of French Protestants who took refuge in England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes is estimated at 80,000. Of these, 13,000 settled in London, in the districts of Long Acre, Seven Dials, Soho, and Spitalfields. At least one-third of these refugees joined the French Church in the years 1686, 1687, and 1688. Manifesto, 1850. EPISCOPAL CHAPELS. 169 FOUNDLING HOSPITAL CHAPEL, Guildford-street, was designed by Jacobson, in 1747, and built by subscription, to which George II. con- tributed 3000/. Handel gave the large profits of a performance of his music; and his " Messiah," performed in the chapel for several years under his superintendence, produced the Charity 7000/. At the west end of the edifice are seated the children and the choir ; and in the centre is the organ, given by Handel : the altar-piece, " Christ presenting a little child," is by West, who retouched the picture in 1816. Several blind " foundlings," instructed in music, by their singing, greatly added to the funds of the Charity, by pew-rents and contributions at the doors, and for several years the latter exceeded IQOQl. ; the net pro- ceeds of the chapel at present are 687/. the year, after paying the professional choir. The services are on Sunday morning and afternoon, but no service in the evening. Beneath the chapel are stone catacombs : the first person buried here was Captain Coram, the founder of the Hospital. Lord-Chief-Justice Tenterden (d. 1832) is interred here ; and his marble bust is placed in the eastern entrance to the chapel. Children who die in the Hospital are buried in the churchyard of St. Pancras. (See FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.) GRAY'S INN CHAPEL adjoins the Great Hall, and is provided for the public, as well as for the Benchers arid residents of the Inn. It is of modern Gothic design, and is supposed to occupy the site of " the Chauntry of Portpoole," mentioned in the grant from Lord Gray of "Wilton, in 1505, to Hugh Denny. Among the preachers was Richard Sibbs, author of the Bruised Reed, which led to the conversion of Richard Baxter, the future Puritan divine. GROSVENOR CHAPEL, South Audley-street, contains in its vault the remains of Ambrose Philips, the Whig poet, whom Pope ridiculed, but Tickell, Warton, and Goldsmith eulogised; of Lady Mary Wortley Mon- tagu ; and John Wilkes, designated by himself on a tablet as " a.Friend to Liberty." HANOVER CHAPEL, Regent-street, between Prince's and Hanover- streets, was built in 1823-5, (C. R. Cockerell, R.A., architect,) and is of the Ionic order of the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene : it has a well-proportioned portico extending across the footpath, and pic- turesquely breaking the street line ; two square turrets, of less felici- tous design, finish the elevation. The interior is square, and mostly lighted by a large glazed cupola, surmounted with a cross ; and the arrangement generally resembles that of St. Stephen's, Walbrook : the altar-piece is a splendid composition of imitative antique marbles, enriched with passion-flowers and lilies, superbly coloured. ST. JAMES'S CHAPEL, Hampstead-road, is a chapel-of-ease to St. James's, Westminster. In the burial-ground adjoining lie George Morland, the painter (d. 1804), and his wife ; John Hoppner, the por- trait-painter (d. 1810) ; and, without a memorial, Lord George Gor- don, the leader of the Riots of 1780, who died in Newgate in 1793. ST. JAMES'S CHAPEL, Pentonville, is a chapel-of-ease to St. James's, Clerkenwell, and was built by T. Hardwick. Here is interred R. P. Bonington, the landscape-painter (d. 1828) ; and in the burial-ground lies poor Tom Dibdin, the playwright, close by the grave of his friend, Joseph Grimaldi, " Old Joe,""the famous clown (d. 1837). ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, Bedford-row, at the corner of Chapel-street and Great James-street, has been the frequent scene of schism from its first erection for Dr. Sacheverel ; it was subsequently occupied by the Rev. Mr. Cecil (low-church) ; by the Rev. Dr. Dillon, of unenviable notoriety ; the Rev. Daniel Wilson (now Bishop of Calcutta) ; the Rev. Mr. Sibthorp, given to change; and by the Hon. and Rev. Baptist 170 CURieSfTIES OF LONDON. Noel, who, after 22 years' ministry, preached his farewell sermon here, Dec. 3, 1848 ; and on Aug. 9, 1849, was publicly baptised in John-street Chapel, of which he became minister. KENTISH TOWN CHAPEL, or district church, is a spacious and costly edifice in the Early Decorated style (Bartholomew, architect). It has two lofty steeples, and a large painted altar-window, and four smaller windows, inscribed with the Decalogue, Creed, &c., within sacramental borders of corn and vines ; the altar recess has some good sculpture. ST. JOHN'S WOOD CHAPEL, north-west of the Regent's-park, is of the Ionic order, and was designed by the late T. Hard wick : it has a tetra- style portico, and a tower, surmounted with a Roman -Doric lantern. Here or in the adjoining cemetery, which is tastefully planted with trees and shrubs, are buried John Farquhar, Esq., of Fonthill Abbey, Wilts, with a medallion portrait (d. 1826) ; Richard Brothers, " the prophet" (d. 1824); Tredgold, the engineer (d. 1829); Joanna Southcott, "the prophetess" (d. 1814), with prophetic quotations from Scripture, in gilt letters upon black marble : John Jackson, R. A., the portrait-painter (d. 1831), &c. " About 40,000 persons lie interred in this cemetery." Smith's Marylebone, 18*3. LINCOLN'S INN CHAPEL, one of "the Old Buildings," was built in 1621-23 : Dr. Donne laid the first stone, and preached the consecration sermon, the old chapel being then in a ruinous condition. Inigo Jones was the architect of the new chapel, as stated in the print by Vertue, in 1751 : it stands upon an open crypt or cloister, in which the students of the Inn met and conferred, and received their clients. Pepys records his going to Lincoln's Inn, " to walk under the chapel, by agreement." It is now enclosed with iron railings, and is used as a burial-place for the Benchers. The chapel has side windows and intervening buttresses, style, temp. Edward III.; the large eastern window has a beautifully traceried circle, divided into twelve trefoiled lights. At the south-west angle is a turret with cupola and vane, and containing an ancient bell, traditionally brought from Spain about 1596, among the spoils acquired by the gallant Earl of Essex at the capture of Cadiz. The ascent to the chapel is by a flight of steps, under an archway and porch, the lat- ter built by Hardwick in 1843. The windows are filled with glass, unusually fine : those on the sides have figures of prophets and apostles, by Flemish artists ; the great eastern and western windows have armorial embellishments. The carved oaken seats are of the time of James I., but the pulpit is later. The organ, by Flight and Robson (1820), is of great power and sweetness of tone 1 ; and the choral service is attentively performed. In the porch is a cenotaph, with Latin inscription, to the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval; and on the ascent to the chapel is a marble tablet to Eleanora Louisa (d. 1839), daughter of Lord Brougham (a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn), with a poetic inscription, in Latin, by the late Marquis of "W ellesley, written in his 81st year. Among the remark- able persons buried in the cloister under the chapel are John Thurloe, Secretary of State to Oliver Cromwell; and William Prynne, who pre- served many of our public records. In the list of preachers in this chapel are the great names of Gataker, Donne, Usher, Tillotson, War- burton, Hurd, Heber, &c. The Rev. J. S. M. Anderson is the present preacher. (Selected principally from a carefully-written account of Lincoln's Ir>n and its Library, by W. H. Spilsbury, Librarian. 1850.) MAGDALEN HOSPITAL CHAPEL, Blackfriars-road, is attractive by the singing of a choir of the reclaimed women. The " Magdalen House" was originally established in Prescot-street, Goodman's-tields, in 1758; where Dr. Dodd was chaplain, and rendered great service to the Charity by his eloquent preaching. EPISCOPAL CHAPELS. 171 MARGARET-STREET CHAPEL, Margaret-street, Cavendish-square, was first converted into a chapel -in 1789. Huntington preached here with Lady Huntingdon's people, when he first came to London. In 1833, the minister was the Rev. W. Dodsworth, who has since seceded to the Roman Catholic Church. At Margaret-street may be said to have been the first development of "Puseyism" in the metropolis. In 1842, the chapel was under the direction of the Rev. Frederick Oakeley, a non-resident Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. " Flowers, and altar-candlesticks, and Gregorian chantings, and scarce-concealed bo-wings, and strange modes of reading prayers, and frequent services, with a con- spicuous cross over the communion-table, served to awake the suspicions of the wary ; and in conjunction with a course of zealous and earnest preaching, and the self-denying lives of the chief minister and his friends, to persuade the frequenters of the chapel that here, at least, was a true ' Catholic revival,' and that by the multiplication of Margaret Chapels the whole Anglican Establishment might be at length 'un-Protestantised.' To Margaret Chapel also was due no little of that phase of the movement which consisted in the 'adapting' of Catholic books to 'the use of members of the English Church ;' and by the employment of which it has done so much good in preparing the minds of its congregation for the reception of the Catholic faith. This system was soon taken up by no less important a per- son than Dr. Pusey himself." The Rambler, a Catholic Journal, Feb. 1851. In 1845, Mr. Oakeley resigned his license as minister of Margaret Chapel, which then fell to his curate, Mr. Richards. Mr. Oakeley sub- sequently joined the Roman Catholic Church ; and the chapel in Margaret-street was taken down in. 1850 to be rebuilt. ST. MARK'S CHAPEL, Fulham-road, attached to the National Society's Training College for Schoolmasters, was erected in 1843, in the Nor- man or Romanesque style ; cruciform in plan, with semicircular eastern end, and twin towers with high-pitched brocJie roofs, resembling an early German church. It serves as a place of worship for the adjoining dis- trict, as well as for the inmates of the College ; and the greater part of the service is chanted by the students, without organ or other accom- paniment. The east end has some stained glass of olden character. ST. MARK'S, North Audley-street, a chapel-of-ease to St. George ? s, Hanover-square, is of original and not inelegant design, by Gandy Deering, R.A. : the order is Ionic from the Erectheum ; the portico has two handsome fluted columns, with an enriched entablature ; and above is a turret of Grecian design, with pierced iron-work sides and pyrami- dal stone roof, with gilt ball and cross. This chapel was consecrated April 25, 1828. Some of the adjoining houses are in the heavy style of Sir John Vanbrugh. PERCY CHAPEL, Charlotte-street, was built by the Rev. Henry Matthew, an early patron of Flaxman (Cunningham). It has since been the scene of the eloquent preaching of the Rev. Robert Mont- gomery, author of " The Omnipresence of the Deity," a poem. ST. PHILIP'S CHAPEL, Regent-street, midway between Waterloo- place and Piccadilly, was built by Repton, and consecrated in 1820, It has a tower from the Lantern of Demosthenes at Athens, and a Doric portico, with sacrificial emblems on the side porticoes or wings. ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, Queen -square, Westminster, was originally a royal gift for the special use of the Judges of Westminster, and was frequented by the members of the Royal Household. In 1840, it was much injured by afire, which originated in the adjoining mansion of Mr. Hoare ; and the altar-piece, then nearly destroyed, was one of the finest specimens of ancient oak-carving in England. Here have offi- ciated the venerable Romaine; Gunn, Basil Woodd, Wilcox, and Shep- herd : the latter for 50 years held the chaplaincy, with the lectureship of St. Giles's-in-the-Fields. St. Peter's was, about 136 years ago, the 172 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. chapel of the Spanish Embassy ; and here preached Antonio Gavin, a secular priest, who having been converted from Popery to the Church of England, was licensed to officiate in this chapel in the Spanish lan- guage, by Dr. Robinson, then Bishop of London ; and sermons in Spanish preached here by Gavin were published. See Gent. Mag. Feb. 1827. ST. PETER'S (formerly OXFORD) CHAPEL, Vere-street, Oxford-street, designed by Gibbs, was built about 1724, and was once considered the most beautiful edifice of its class in the metropolis. It has a Doric por- tico and a three-storied steeple. The Duke of Portland was married at this chapel in 1734. PORTLAND CHAPEL, now ST. PAUL'S, in Great Portland-street, was built in 1776, on the site of Marylebone basin, which supplied that part of the metropolis with water. The chapel was not consecrated at the time of its erection ; but Divine Service was performed in it until 1831, when the consecration was performed, and it was dedicated to St. Paul. At the Portland Hotel, north of the chapel, Captain (now Sir John) Ross lodged after his return from the North Pole, in 1833. QUEBEC CHAPEL, Quebec-street, Marylebone, was built in 1788, and is celebrated for its sweet-toned organ, and musical service. ROLLS' CHAPEL is attached to the Rolls House, between 14 and 15 Chancery -lane, and was originally built of flints, with stone finishings, early in the seventeenth century. Pennant states that it was begun in 1617, and that Dr. Donne preached the consecration sermon. The large west window has some old stained glass, including the arms of Sir Robert Cecil and Sir Harbottle Grimston ; and here are a large organ, and presses in which the Records are kept. Among the monu- ments are : to Dr. John Young, Master of the Rolls temp. Henry VIII., a recumbent figure, in a long red gown and deep square cap, the face fine ; above, in a recess, is a head of Christ, between two cherubim, in bold relief; this tomb is attributed to Torrigiano : to Lord Kinloss, Master of the Rolls to James I., reclining figure in a long furred robe, and before him a kneeling figure in armour, supposed his son, killed in a desperate duel with Sir Edward Sackville ; also, kneeling figure in armour of Sir Richard Allington, his wife opposite, and three daugh- ters on a tablet ; and here lie Sir John Trevor, Master of the Rolls (d. 1717), and other Masters. Bishops Burnet, Atterbury, and Butler, were eloquent preachers at the Rolls' ; and Burnet's volume of fifteen sermons delivered here contains the germ of his great work the Ana- logy of Religion. Rolls' Chapel occupies the site of a house founded by Henry III. for converted Jews, and in 1377, annexed by Edward III. to the new office of Gustos Rotulorum, or Keeper of the Rolls, who has his chaplain and preacher : in 1837, the estate was vested by Parlia- ment in the Crown, the salary of the Master of the Rolls being fixed at 7000Z. a-year in lieu of fines and rents. TEXISON'S CHAPEL, between Nos. 172 and 174, east side of Regent- street, was founded by Archbishop Tenison, who, in 1700, conveyed to trustees, (of whom Sir Isaac Newton was one,) this chapel or tabernacle, to be employed as a public chapel or oratory for St. James's parish ; at the same time giving 500Z. to be laid out in the purchase of houses, land" or ground-rents. Out of the revenues and the Archbishop's charity wei to be provided two preachers for the chapel, and a reader " to say D : vine Service every day throughout the year, morning and afternoon ;' a clerk to officiate ; and schoolmasters to teach without charge p< boys of the parish to read, write, cast accounts, and in five years to sist them in becoming apprentices. There are forty boys on the founc tion ; non-foundationers pay 12s. 6d. per quarter : the school is at Nc 172 Regent-street. The Archbishop of Canterbury for the time L - DISSENTERS' CHAPELS. 173 is visitor of this excellent charity. The chapel was erected in 1702, and was refroiited in building Regent-street. TRINITT CHAPEL, Conduit-street, now a neat brick edifice, was originally a small wooden room upon wheels, resembling a caravan. Evelyn describes it as " formerly built of timber on Hounslow-heath, by King James, for the mass-priests, and being begged by Dr, Tenison, rector of St. Martin's, was set up by that public-minded, charitable, and pious man," Pennant writes : " The history of Conduit-street Chapel, or Trinity Chapel, is very remarkable. It was originally built of wood by James II., for private mass, and was conveyed on wheels, attendant on its royal master's excursions, or when he attended his army. Among other places, it visited Hounslow-heath, where it continued some time after the Revolution. It was then removed and enlarged by the Rector of the parish of St. Martin's, and placed not far from the spot on which it now stands. Dr. Tenison, when Rector of St. Martin's, got permission of King William to re- build it ; so, after it had made as many journeys as the house of Loretto, it was by Tenison transmuted into a good building of brick, and has rested ever since on the present site." YORK- STREET CHAPEL, on the north side of St. James's-square, is a chapel-of-ease to St. James's. In 1815, it was occupied by Swedenbor- giaus. It was originally the chapel of the Spanish Embassy (then at the present No. 7 St. James's-square) ; and the " Tower of Castile," the Arms of Spain, appears on the parapet of the front, DISSENTERS' CHAPELS. ALBION CHAPEL, Moorgate, next to 116 London Wall, designed by Jay, has a pleasing diastyle Ionic portico. It belongs to a congrega- tion of the Scotch Secession. BAPTIST CHAPEL, Little Wild-street, Lincoln's-Inn-fields : here is annually preached a sermon in commemoration of the Great Storm, Nov. 26, 1703. The preacher in 1846, the Rev. C. Woollacott, in de- scribing the damage by the storm, stated : " In London alone, more than 800 houses were laid in ruins, and 2000 stacks of chimneys thrown down. In the country upwards of 400 windmills were either blown down or took fire, by the violence with which their sails were driven round by the wind. In the New Forest, 4000 trees were blown down, and more than 19,000 in the same state were counted in the county of Kent. On the sea the ravages of this frightful storm were yet more distressing: 15 ships of the Royal Navy, and more than 300 merchant vessels, were lost, with upwards of 6000 British seamen. The Eddystone Lighthouse, with its ingenious architect, Mr. Winstanley, was totally destroyed. The Bishop of Bath and Wells and his lady were killed by the falling of their palace. The sister of the Bishop of London, and many others, lost their lives." This annual custom has been observed upwards of a century. The chapel is built upon the site of Weld House and gardens, the mansion of the son of Sir Humphrey Weld, Lord Mayor of London in 1608. It was subsequently let : Ronquillo, the Spanish Ambassador, lived here in the time of Charles II. and James II. ; and in the anti-Popish riots of the latter reign the house was sacked by the mob, and the Ambas- sador compelled to make his escape at a back door. BLOOMSBURY BAPTIST CHAPEL, on the west side of Bloomsbury- street, was designed by Gibson, and opened Dec. 2, 1848 : it is in ele- to the north is Bedford Chapel. Among the houses taken down near Bloomsbury-street, and towards the centre of what is now New Ox- ford-street, stood the Hare and Hounds public-house, a noted resort of the Londoners of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: till the reign of Charles II. it born the sip-n of t.hft TCep-prar's Rush, when the name was 174 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. changed, owing to a hare having been hunted and caught there, and cooked and eaten in the house. CONGREGATIONAL NONCONFORMIST CHURCH, Kentish Town, de- signed by Hodge and Butler, and opened in 1848, is in the ecclesiastical style of the 15th century, and has several richly -traceried windows filled with stained glass, including a splendid wheel-window, 15 feet diameter. ESSEX-STREET CHAPEL, Strand, the head-quarters of the Unita- rians of the metropolis, is built upon part of the site of Essex House, taken down in 1774. In a portion of it was kept the Cottonian Library from 1712 to 1730 ; one of its large apartments was let to Paterson, the auctioneer, and was next hired by the patrons of Mr. Lindsey and Dr. Disney (Unitarians), to preach in. In 1805, on the death of Dr. Disney, Mr. Thomas Belsham removed to Essex-street Chapel from the Gravel- pit congregation at Hackney, where he had succeeded Dr. Priestley. At Essex-street, Belsham continued pastor during the rest of his life, acquiring great popularity by his eloquent and argumentative preach- ing ; he died in 1829, aged 80, and was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Madge, the present minister. HORBURT CHAPEL, Kensington-Park-road, Notting-hill, was built by subscription of the Independent denomination, and opened Sept. 13, 1849. The design, by Tarring, is transition from Early English to Decorated, with a pair of towers and spires; the principal windows are filled with stained glass. INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, Robinson's-row, Kingsland, was built about 1792 : here the Rev. John Campbell, the benevolent South- African missionary, was 37 years minister, and is buried ; and an elegant marble monument to his memory has been erected by his flock. JEWIN-STREET CHAPEL, Aldersgate-street, was built in 1808, for a congregation of English Presbyterians, who removed thither from Meeting-House-court, Old Jewry. Among the eminent pastors were the eloquent John Herries ; Dr. Price, F.R.S., the writer on finance ; and Dr. Abraham Rees, editor of the Cyclopaedia which bears his name. MORAVIAN CHAPEL, Fetter-lane, is the only place of worship be- longing to the Moravians (United Brethren) in London, by whom it was purchased in 1738, on their settling in England. The interior is remarkably plain, and bespeaks the simple character of its occupants ; there is a small organ, for they have church music and singing ; there are no pews, but seats for males and females, apart. The chapel is ca- pacious, but the auditory does not exceed from 200 to 300 persons: the support is voluntary. There is a burial-ground for the members, with a small chapel, at Lower Chelsea, near the Clock-house. At Chelsea, in June 1760, died Count Zinzendorf, who first introduced the Moravians into this country. The chapel in Fetter-lane lies in the rear of the houses, one of the entrances to it being through No. 32 : it was possibly so built for privacy. It escaped the Great Fire of 1666, and was originally occupied by the Nonconformists. Turner, who was its first minister, was very active during the Great Plague ; and having been ejected from Sunbury, he continued to preach in Fetter-lane till towards the close of the reign of Charles II. Here also Baxter, the eminent Nonconformist divine, preached after the Indulgence granted in 1672; and he held the Friday-morning lectureship until August, 1682. NATIONAL SCOTCH CHURCH, Crown-court, Little Russell-street, Covent Garden, has a cement Norman fasade, with the staircases effec- tive outside features. The minister is the Rev. Dr. Gumming, who preached before Queen Victoria, at Crathie, Balmoral, Sept. 22, 1850 ; and who ably controverted the claims of Dr. Wiseman in the same year. DISSENTERS' CHAPELS. 175 OLD GRAVEL-PIT MEETING-HOUSE, Hackney, was built in 1715: here Dr. Price, F.R.S., and Dr. Priestley were ministers ; next Mr. Bel- sham, the congregation being Anti-Trinitarians ; succeeded by the Rev. Robert Aspland, who remained here till the erection of the New Gravel- pit Meeting-house, " Sacred to one God the Father," in Paradise-fields. PRESBYTERIAN DISSENTERS' CHAPEL, Mare-street, Hackney, was established early in the 17th century : here Philip Nye and Adoniram Byfield, two eminent Puritan divines, preached in 1636 ; and Dr. W. Bates and Matthew Henry were pastors late in the 17th century. The old meeting-house has been taken down, and a new one built opposite, and occupied by Independents. PRESBYTERIAN MEETING-HOUSE, Newington-green, established soon after the Restoration, was rebuilt about 1708: in the list of ministers are Richard Biscoe, Hugh Worthington, M. A., John Hoyle, Dr. Richard Price, F.R.S., Dr. Amory, Dr. Towers, Mr. Lindsey, Dr. Isaac Mad- dox (afterwards Bishop of Worcester), Thomas Rees, and Mr. Barbauld, husband of the authoress. PROVIDENCE CHAPEL, Little Titchfield-street, Marylebone, was built by a congregation of Independents for Huntington, S.S., ("the Coal-heaver," as he called himself,) upon his credit with "the Bank of Faith," when he quitted Margaret Chapel: when it was finished, "I was in arrears," says Huntington, "for 1000J., so that I had plenty of work for faith, if I could but get plenty of faith to work ; and while some deny a providence, providence was the only supply I had." This chapel was burnt down, with seven houses adjoining, and the site be- came a timber-yard. PROVIDENCE CHAPEL, on the east side of Gray's-Inn-lane, nearly opposite Guildford-street, was built for Huntington, S.S., by his flock, after the destruction of the Titchfield-street Chapel : this second edifice he named from the pulpit for these reasons : that "unless God provided men to work, and money to pay them, and materials to work with, no chapel could be erected ; and if He provided all these, Providence must be its name." The chapel was, accordingly, built in Gray's-Inn-lane, and upon a larger scale than the last ; it was made over to him as his own, and bequeathed in his will to his widow, who, however, resigned it to the congregation. It was subsequently altered and opened as an Epis- copal Chapel, the Rev. T. Mortimer, D.D., minister. REGENT-SQUARE CHAPEL, Gray's-Inn-road, was built for the Rev. Edward Irving, in 1824-5, Mr. Tite, the architect, adapting the prin- cipal front from York Cathedral : the twin towers are 120 feet in height. Here the " unknown tongues" attracted large and fashionable congregations. SOUTH-PLACE CHAPEL, Finsbury, is of Ionic design, and was built for an Unitarian congregation, under the ministry of Mr. W. J. Fox, the eloquent M.P. for Oldham. SPA-FIELDS CHAPEL, Exmouth-street, Clerkenwell, is in the hands of " Lady Huntingdon's connexion." The Spa-fields burying-ground contains 42,640 square feet, and would decently inter 1,361 adult bodies; yet within fifty years 80,000 bodies were deposited here, averaging 1500 per annum. To make room, bones and bodies were burnt for upwards of a quarter of a century, to the constant annoyance of the neighbour- hood ; until, in 1845, the lessees of the ground were indicted, and the pestilential nuisance stopped. SURREY CHAPEL, corner of Little Charlotte-street, Blackfriars- road, is of octagonal form, and was built in 1783, for a congregation of Calvinistic Dissenters, the Rev. Rowland Hill pastor, who preached 176 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. here in the winter season for nearly 50 years : he had a house adjoining where he died, aged 88, in 1833, and was buried in a vault under the chapel. Adjacent, in Hill-street, are alms-houses for 24 poor widows, built and maintained by the congregation. SWEDENBORG CHURCH, Argyle-square, King's-cross, was opened Aug. 11, 1844, for the followers of Swedenborg, whither they removed from a small chapel in the City, built about forty years previously. The new church is in the Anglo-Norman style, (Hopkins, architect,) with two towers and spires, 70 feet high, each terminating with a bronze cross ; the intervening gable has a stone cross, and a wheel window over a deeply-recessed doorway. The interior has a finely- vaulted roof ; the altar arrangements are peculiar ; and there is an organ and choir. The founder of this sect, Baron Swedenborg (d. 1772), is buried in the Swedish Church, Prince's-square, Ratcliffe Highway. THE TABERNACLE, in Moorfields, was built in 1752; previously to which, in 1741, shortly after Whitefield's separation from Wesley, some Calvinistic Dissenters raised for Whitefield a large shed near the Foun- dry, in Moorfields, upon a piece of ground lent for the purpose, until he shouldreturn from America. From the temporary nature of the structure it was called, in allusion to the tabernacles of the Israelites in the Wilder- ness ; and the name became the designation of the chapels of the Calvin- istic Methodists generally. Wvitefield's first pulpit here is said to have been a grocer's sugar-hogshead, an eccentricity not improbable. In 1752, the wooden building was taken down, the site was leased by the City of London, and the present chapel was built, with a lantern roof: it is now occupied by Independents, and will hold about 4000 persons. This chapel was the cradle of Methodism ; the preaching-places had hitherto been Moorfields, Marylebone-fields, and Kennington-common. Silas Told describes the Moorfields Tabernacle, in 1740, as "a ruinous place, with an old pantile covering, a few rough deal boards put toge- ther to constitute a temporary pulpit, and several other decayed timbers, which composed the whole structure." John Wesley also preached here (the Foundry, as it was called), at five in the morning and seven in the evening. The men and women sat apart ; and there were no pews, or difference of benches, or appointed place for any person. At this chapel, the first Methodist Society was formed in 1740. TRINITY CHAPEL, East-India-road, Poplar, was erected in 1840-1, from a design by Hosking, at the expense of Mr. George Green, the wealthy -shipbuilder of Blackwall, principally for shipwrights in his employ, and for inducing the seamen in the neighbourhood to attend divine worship. The chapel has a Greek Corinthian portico, and facade with enrichments of shells, dolphins, and foliage ; and a classic bell- tower, the summit 80 feet high. The interior has a Keene's-cement pulpit, highly decorated; and a powerful organ by Walker, with a Grecian architectural case. WESLEYAN CHAPEL, City-road, was built in 1778, upon ground leased by the City : thither John Wesley removed from the Foundry in Moorfields, the lease of which had expired ; and thenceforth the City-road Chapel became the headquarters of the Society of Method- ists. Wesley laid the first stone, in which his name and the date were inserted upon a plate of brass : " This was laid by John Wesley, on April 1, 1777." " Probably," says he, "this will be seen no more by any human eye, but will remain there till the earth and the works thereof are burnt up." John Wesley, who died March 2, 1791, aged 88, was buried here in a vault which he had prepared for himself, and for those itinerant preachers who might die in London. "During his last illness, Wesley said, 'Let me be buried in nothing but DISSENTERS' CHAPELS. 177 mrhat is woollen ; and let my corpse be carried in rr.y coffin into the chapel.' rhis was done, according to his will, by six poor men, each of whom had 20s. ; for I particularly desire,' said he, ' that there may be no hearse, no coach, no escutcheon, no pomp, except the tears of them that love me, and are following me to Abraham's bosom.' On the day preceding the interment, Wesley's body iay in the chapel, in a kind of sta'e becoming the person, dressed in his clerical labit, with gown, cassock, and band, the old clerical cap on his head, a Bible in >ne hand, and a white handkerchief in the other. The face was placid, and the jxpression which death had fixed upon his venerable features was that of a serene md heavenly smile. The crowds who flocked to see him were so great, that it was bought prudent, for fear of accidents, to accelerate the funeral, and perform it >etween five and six in the morning. The intelligence, however, could not be tept entirely secret, and several hundred persons attended at that unusual hour." -Southey's Life of Wesley, 3d edit. vol. ii. p. 403. WESLEYAN CHAPEL, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's-Inn-fields, built n 181], has a tasteful fasade, added by Jenkins in 1841, consisting of a small Ionic tetrastyle forming a portico, crowned by a pediment ; above is a Venetian triple window, and a handsome cornicione. The front is jxecuted in beautiful Talacre stone from North Wales, and is the earliest nstance of its being employed in our metropolitan buildings. WESLEYAN MODEL CHAPEL, East-India-road, Poplar, named from is improved plan, was built in 1848 (James Wilson, architect), by sub- scription, to which one person gave 500Z. The style is Decorated, and ;he materials are Caen and rag stone. The windows are richly traceried ; ;here are two turrets, each 80 feet high, and the building is finished with a pierced parapet, pinnacles, and roof- cresting. WESLEYAN CHAPEL, at the angle of the Islington end of the Liver- pool- road, is in the Decorated style : it has a turret on the front gable r6 feet in height, and the parapets are pierced with trefoils and quatre- Foils. The principal windows have flowing tracery ; and the interior, iivided by arches and octangular columns, whence spring the roof tim- bers, is altogether of ecclesiastical character. " The Wesleyans have now five or six edifices in London, clothed in the Gothic dress of various periods, and following the usual arrangements of a me- liaeval church, except having no tower and no extensive chancel, resembling in this respect the churches erected between the Reformation and the late aban- lonment of church design. The average capacity of these buildings is for 1300 persons. One, nearly facing St. John's, Clerkenwell, affects the complete Gothic ibove, and has a neat original front, but thin." Companion to the Almanac, 1851. WHITEFIELD'S TABERNACLE, Tottenham- Court-road, was designed by Whitefield, and commenced building in 1756, upon a plot of ground near the Field of Forty Footsteps, and the Lavender Mills, Coyer's Gardens. In 1759 or 1760 was added an octangular front, which gave it the appearance of two chapels ; the addition being called " the Oven," and the chapel itself, " Whitefield's Soul-Trap." This enlargement is said to have been aided by Queen Caroline, consort of George II., who see- ing a crowd at the door unable to obtain admission, observed it was a pity that so many good people should stand in the cold, and accordingly sent Whitefield a sum of money to enlarge the chapel ; it was called " the Dissenters' Cathedral." Whitefield died in America ; and in 1770, John Wesley preached here his funeral sermon. In August, 1787, the Rev. Dr. Pickwell, rector of Bloxham-cum-Digby, Lincolnshire, preached his own funeral sermon in this chapel: he had pricked his finger in opening the body of a person who had died of consumption, and the wound proved fatal by mortification in ten days afterwards. Attached to the chapel is a burial-ground, the mould for which is stated to have been brought from the churchyard of St. Christopher-le- Stocks, in 1780, by which the consecration fees were saved. In 1828, White- field's lease expired, and the chapel was closed until 1830, when it was 178 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. purchased by trustees for 20,000/., and altered at a great cost, the ex- terior being coated with stucco. It is 126 feet by 76 feet, and 112 feet high to the crown of the dome; it is well adapted for hearing, the octagonal portion serving as a kind of funnel or trumpet to the voice ; it will seat from 7000 to 8000 persons. In 1834, the trial of a long- pending Chancery suit respecting this chapel occupied between three and four days. Here are monuments to Whitefield, the founder ; to Toplady, the zealous Calvinistic controversialist with John Wesley; and to John Bacon, the sculptor, who wrote his own epitaph, as follows : " What I was as an Artist Seemed to me of some importance while I lived ; But what I really was as a Believer Is the only thing of importance to me now." The chapel is now occupied by Independents. ZOAR CHAPEL, in Zoar-street, leading from Gravel-lane to Essex- street, Southwark, is the meeting-house in which the celebrated John Bunyan was allowed to preach, by favour of his friend, Dr. Thomas Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, to whom it belonged; and if only one day's notice were given, the place would not contain half the people that attended. 3000 persons have been gathered together there, and not less than 1200 on week-days and dark winter mornings at seven o'clock. There is a print of this chapel in Wilkinson's Londina Illus- trata, and a woodcut vignette of it in Dr. Cheever's Memoir of Bunyan, prefixed to the Pilgrim's Progress (Bogue, 1850). The chapel was used as a wheelwright's shop prior to its being pulled down, when the pulpit in which Bunyan had preached was removed to the Methodist Chapel, Palace-yard, Lambeth. Another " true pulpit" is shewn in Jewin-street Chapel, Alder sgate-street. Bunyan's Pulpit Bible was purchased by Mr. Whitbread, M.P., at the sale of the library of the Rev. S. Palmer, at Hackney, in 1813. FRIENDS' OR QUAKERS' MEETING-HOUSES. There are six Friends' Meeting-houses in the metropolis : 1. Dev shire House (Houndsditch) ; 2. Gracechurch-street (White-Hart-court 3. Peel (Peel-court, John-street, Smithfield); 4. Ratcliffe (Brook-street 5. Southwark (Redcross-street); 6. Westminster (Peter's-court, St. Mar- tin's-lane). The first established was that in White-Hart-court. " The Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends is held in London, opening always on a Wednesday in the latter end of May, and continuing into the month of June, generally lasting about ten days or a fortnight. Of course it is the most important event in their religious system, the most interesting season in their year. To this Great Meeting the business of all their lesser meetings points, and is here consummated. To it delegates are sent from every quarter of the island; by it committees are appointed to receive appeals against the decisions of minor meetings, to carry every object which is deemed desirable, within their body or beyond it, into effect ; by it Parliament is petitioned ; the Crown addressed ; reli- gious ministers are sanctioned in their schemes of foreign travel, or those schemes restrained ; and funds are received and appropriated for the prosecution of all their views as a society. The City is their place of resort ; and the Yearly Meeting is held in Devonshire House. "The mingling of plain coats, broad hats, friendly shawls, and friendly bon- nets, in the great human stream that ever rolls along the paves of the City, is in that neighbourhood, at this season, become very predominant. Bishopsgate Within and Bishopsgate Without, Gracechurch-street, Houndsditch, Liverpool- street, Old Broad-street, Sun-street, almost every street of that district, fairly swarms with Friends. The inns and private lodgings are full of them. The White Hart and the Four Swans are full of them. They have a table-d'hote, at which they generally breakfast and dine. Every Friend's house at this time has its guest ; and many of the wealthy keep a sort of open house. " At a Friends' Meeting, the men are sitting all on one side by themselves, with . rt); et); GREEK CHURCH. JEWS' SYNAGOGUES. 179 heir hats on, and presenting a very dark and sombre mass ; the women sitting ogether on the other, as light and attractive. In the seats below the gallery are itting many weighty friends, men and women, still apart; and in the gallery a ong row of preachers, male and female, perhaps twenty or thirty in number, f ou may safely count on a succession of sermons or prayers. Men and women .rise, one after another, and preach in a variety of styles, but all peculiar to ?riends. Suddenly a man-minister takes off his hat, or a woman-minister takes iff her bonnet ; he or she drops quietly on the bass before them ; at the sight the rhole meeting rises, and remains on its feet while the minister enters into 'sup- ilication.' Most singular, striking, and picturesque are often the sermons you tear." William Ho wit t. GREEK CHURCH. GREEK CHURCH, London "Wall, the first ecclesiastical structure srected by the Greek residents in London, was opened in 1850, on Sun- lay, Jan. 6, o.s., and in the Greek Kalendar, Christmas-day. The sdifice is Byzantine, (from Byzantium, the capital of the Lower Greek Empire,) with Italian interior details. The north front has three lorse-shoe arches fringed, apd Byzantine columns, between which are ,he entrance-doorways ; and in the upper story is a similar arcade, con- aining three windows: above is this inscription, in Greek characters: " During the reign of the august Victoria, who governs the great people of Iritain, and also other nations scattered over the earth, the Greeks sojourning ,ere erected this church to the Divine Saviour, in veneration of the rights of their ithers." \Jbove is a pediment surmounted with a cross. In plan, the church s a cross of equal parts ; the ceiling is domed in the centre : on the lorth and south sides are galleries, with flower-ornamented fronts, ind supported on decorated arches and pillars, with fine capitals. The iltar-screen has these panel pictures, painted in Russia : the Annun- iation ; the Virgin holding the infant Jesus ; Jesus sitting on a throne ; ,nd St. John the Baptist. In a centre panel is inscribed, in Greek : " O Lord, the strength of those who trust in Thee, uphold the Church which !"hou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood." Within the iconostasis, or screen, is the altar in "the holy place," lymbolic of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish ritual. A magnificent :handelier, with wax-lights, is suspended from the ceiling. The con- gregation stand during the whole service; but there are seats made to iurn up, as in our cathedral stalls ; and knobs are placed on the upper irms, to serve as rests. The officiating priest is richly robed, and at- ;ended by boys bearing a wax taper, each in a surplice with a blue jross on the back. Upon the high altar is placed a large crucifix, can- lelabra with lights, &c. At a portion of the Mass, a curtain is drawn jefore the altar, whilst the priest silently and alone prays for the sanc- ;ification of the Sacrament ; he then re-appears, " bids peace to all the people," and blesses them. The sermon is preached in the pulpit, the priest wearing a black robe and a black hat; this is covered with the Xwrc., by John Yonge Akerman, Sec. Soc. Antiquaries. The Phoenix Fire Office was established at the Rainbow about the year 1682. Coffee-houses soon became very popular : " And who would then have thought London would ever have had near 3000 such nuisances, and that coffee would have been (as now) so much drank by the best of quality and physicians." Hatton's New View of London, 1708. Mr. Moncrieff, the dramatist, states, that about 1780 this house was kept by his grandfather, Alexander Moncrieff, when it retained its ori- ginal title of " the Rainbow Coffee-house." It has vaulted cellars, ex- cellent for keeping stout, for which the house is famous ; the coffee- room, which originally had a lofty bay-window at the south end, has lately been handsomely decorated and furnished in the Renaissance style. SMYRNA COFFEE-HOUSE, Pall Mall, is frequently alluded to by the writers of Queen Anne's reign ; and was one of the most celebrated of the west-end houses. Prior and Swift were among its most distin- guished frequenters; its "seat of learning," and "cluster of wise heads." SOMERSET COFFEE-HOUSE, 162 Strand, has a literary association, from the Letters of Junius having been sometimes left at the bar. SQUIRE'S COFFEE-HOUSE, Fulwood's-rents, Gray's Inn, was opened "when coffee first came in," and was then John's Coffee-house. From " Squire's " some of the Spectators are dated. The house, on the west side of the court, adjoins Gray's-Inn-gate, and is of old deep-coloured brick ; it has been handsome, and is roomy, with a wide staircase, but is now let in tenements. TOM'S COFFEE-HOUSE, Birchin-lane, Cornhill, was frequented by Garrick and by Chatterton, as a place "of the best resort;" and here was first established "the London Chess-Club." (See CHESS-CLUBS, p. 79.) TOM'S COFFEE-HOUSE, Devereux-court, Strand, was much resorted to by men of letters : among whom were Dr. Birch, who wrote the His- tory of the Royal Society ; and Akenside, the poet. TOM'S COFFEE-HOUSE, 17 Great Russell-street, Covent Garden, opposite Button's, was kept by Thomas West, and was in the reign of Queen Anne, and more than half a century after, a celebrated resort. In 1764, it had a guinea subscription of nearly 700 members ; and in 1768, its suite of card, conversation, and coffee rooms, in No. 17 and the two adjoining houses. Here assembled Dr. Johnson, Garrick, Murphy, Dr. Dodd, Dr. Goldsmith, and Sir Joshua Reynolds; Foote, Moody, and Beard; Count Bruhl and Sir Philip Francis; George Colman the Elder; the Dukes of Northumberland and Montague; the Marquises of Granby and Monthermor; Admiral Lord Rodney ; Henry Brougham (father of Lord Brougham) ; George Steevens, Warner, and other Shak- COLLEGES. 205 sperean commentators ; and the subscription-rooms were kept up as late as 1814. Some books of the Club are preserved, and the tables are used, by the present tenant, Mr. Webster, the coin-dealer. TUBK'S-HEAD COFFEE-HOUSE, Strand, was a favourite supping- place of Dr. Johnson and Boswell. The house has been rebuilt as " Wright's Hotel," but is now a bookseller's, No. 142. There was another Turk's Head in New Palace-yard ; and in a newspaper of 1662, customers and acquaintances are invited the next New Year's Day to the Great Turk new coffee-house, in Exchange-alley, "where coffee will be free of cost." WILL'S COFFEE-HOUSE, on the north side of Great Russell-street, and No. 1 Bow-street, Covent Garden, was originally kept by William Urwin. Pepys records his first visit to Will's, 3 Feb. 1663-4, "where Dryden the poet (I knew at Cambridge), and all the wits of the town, and Harris the player, and Mr. Hoole of our college," with "very witty and pleasant discourse." Ned Ward calls it " the Wits' Coffee-house." Dryden had here his arm-chair, in winter by the fireside, in summer in the balcony : the company met in the first floor, and there smoked ; and the youngteaux and wits were sometimes honoured with a pinch out of Dryden 's snuff-box. Old Cibber remembered Dryden : " a decent old man, arbiter of critical disputes at Will's." " Be sure at Will's the following day, Lie snug, and hear what critics say." Swift's Rhapsody on Poetry. Defoe wrote in 1722: "After the play, the best company generally go to Tom's and Will's Coffee-houses, near adjoining, where there is play- ing at picket, and the best of conversation, till midnight. Here you will see blue and green ribbons and stars sitting familiarly, and talking with the same freedom as if they had left their quality and degrees of dis- tance at home." There are in the metropolis about 800 Coffee-shops or Coffee-rooms; the establishment of the majority of which may be traced to the cheapen- ing of coffee and sugar, and to the increase of newspapers and periodi- cals. About the year 1815, the London Coffee-shops did not amount to twenty, and there was scarcely a Coffee-house where coffee could be had under 6d. a cup ; it may now be had at Coffee-shops at from Id to 3d. Some of these shops have from 700 to 1600 customers daily ; 40 copies of the daily newspapers are taken in, besides provincial and foreign papers, and magazines Cooked meat is also to be had at Coffee-shops, at one of which three cwt. of ham and beef are sometimes sold weekly. Excellent coffee may be had at Groom's, the confectioner's, 16 Fleet- street, at 3d. per cup ; also at Purssell's, 78 and 80 Cornhill ; and Ver- rey's, 229 Regent-street. At Ries's Divan, 102 Strand, and at Kilpack's, 42 King-street, Covent Garden, coffee may be enjoyed with a cigar. COLLEGES. ST. BAKNABAS COLLEGE, Queen-street, Pimlico, a church, schools, and residentiary house for the clergy, built 1846-50, in the first Pointed (Early English) style (Cundy, architect). The schools are for about 600 boys, girls, and infants ; and the residentiary house is for four clergy- men, who attend to the parochial duties of the district, minister in the church, teach in the schools, and superintend the twelve choristers. The schools were opened on St. Barnabas day, 1847, and the church in 1850. (See CHURCHES, page 119,*) The freehold site of the College was given by the first Marquis of Westminster, and is in the poorest part of the district. The College was built by subscription, to which * For W. G. read W. J. E. Bennett. 206 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the Rev. Mr. Bennett, then incumbent of the district, contributed the bulk of his fortune, and the most zealous pastoral care. CHURCH OF ENGLAND METROPOLITAN TRAINING INSTITUTION, Highbury (late Highbury College), was instituted 1849, to train pious persons as masters and mistresses of juvenile schools connected with the Established Church, " upon principles Scriptural, Evangelical, and Protestant." CHURCH MISSIONARY COLLEGE, 12 Barnsbury-place, Upper Is- lington, is an important branch of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East ; and here the students are trained for future mis- sionaries. Among the early founders of this Society were Wilberforce, Scott, Cecil, Newton, \ r enn, and Pratt : it was chiefly matured at the "Eclectic Society" assembling then and now at the vestry of St. John's Chapel, Bedford-row. The annual cost of the College operations ave- rages 100,000?., or about WOOL for every station. (See Low's Charities of London, pp. 412-13.) COLLEGE OF CHEMISTRY (ROYAL), 16 Hanover-square, was founded in 1845, for instruction in Practical Chemistry at a moderate expense, and for the general advancement of Chemical Science. The first stone of the three new laboratories was laid by Prince Albert, President of the College, June 16, 1846; James Lockyer, architect. The Oxford- street front has a rusticated ground-floor, and an upper story decorated with six Ionic columns. The students' fee for working daily in the session is lol. ; four days in the week, 121. ; three days, Wl. ; two days, 7l. ; one day, 51. : hours, 9 to 5. Anniversary, first Monday in June. COLLEGE FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS, on the banks of the Thames, at Putney, was established here in August 1840, in Putney House and the Cedars, which were fitted up for the institution ; the offices con- verted into a chemical laboratory and lecture-room, workshops, and an hospital ; and a factory, with engine-shaft, smithy, and foundry, was added. The College buildings also include a chapel, hall, council-room, &c. In the ground (22 acres) are conducted the practical operations of the surveying and civil engineering departments ; and for the illustra- tion of lectures, there are tunnel works, a lime-kiln, c. There are also a gymnasium and cricket and racket grounds ; but boating is the favourite recreation. The students qualify for architects and surveyors, as well as civil engineers ; and others for the army and navy, and co- lonial service : they wear a naval blue uniform and forage-cap. The College is gratuitously open to visitors, and in July is the annual dis- tribution of prizes. The efficiency of the pupils has" been attested in a late survey of the City of London, for the improvement of the City sewers. The College is proprietary, was originally founded in 1838, and commenced operations at Kentish Town. COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS (ROYAL), corner of Pall Mall East and Trafalgar-square, designed by Sir R. Smirke, R. A., was opened June 25, 1825, with a Latin oration by the President, Sir Henry Halford. The style is Grecian-Ionic, with an elegant hexastyle Ionic portico. The interior is sumptuous. In the dining-room are portraits of Dr. Ha- mey, the Commonwealth physician ; of Dr. Freind, imprisoned in the Tower ; and of Sir Edmund King, who bled Charles It., in a fit, with- out consulting the royal physicians, and who was promised for the ser- vice 1000/. by the Council, which was never paid. In the oak-panelled Censors' Room is a portrait of Dr. Sydenham, by Mary Beale : of Li- nacre, surmounted by the College arms in oak, and richly-emblazoned shield : of the thoughtful Sir Thomas Browne, who wrote Religio Me- dici; of the good-humoured Sir Samuel Garth, by Knellerj and of COLLEGES. 207 Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII. (after Holbein), and Andreas Vesalius, the Italian anatomist ; other portraits ; and a marble bust of Sir Henry Halford. In the Library, lighted by three beautiful lanterns, is a fine portrait of Radcliffe, by Kneller ; and of Harvey, by Jansen. Here is a gallery filled with cases, containing preparations, including some of the nerves and blood-vessels, by Harvey, and used by him in his lectures on the discovery of the circulation of the blood. Adjoining is a small theatre, or lecture-room, where are busts of George IV., by Chantrey ; Dr. Mead, by Roubiliac; Dr. Sydenham, by Wilton; Harvey, by Schee- makers ; Dr. Baillie, by Chantrey ; Dr. Babington, by Behnes. Here also is a picture of Hunter lecturing on Anatomy before Royal Acade- micians (portraits), by Zoffany ; besides a collection of Physicians' canes. The whole may be seen by the order of a physician, Fellow of the Col- lege. The Harveian Oration (in Latin) is delivered annually by a Fel- low, usually on June 25. In the Library is a copy of the Homer published at Florence in 1488, an im- mortal work for this early period of typography : in the whiteness and strength of the paper, the fineness of the character, the elegant disposition of the matter, the exact distance between the lines, the large margin, and various ornaments. The College of Physicians was founded in 1518, by Linacre, physician to Henry VII. and VIII., who lived in Knight-Rider-street, and there received his friends, Erasmus, Latimer, and Sir Thomas More. Linacre was the first President of the College, and the members met at his house, which he bequeathed to them ; and the estate is still the property of the College. Thence they removed to a house in Amen Corner, where Harvey lectured on his great discovery, and built in the College garden a Museum, upon the site of the present Stationers' Hall. The old College and Museum being destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the members met for a time at the President's house, until Wren built for them a new College in Warwick-lane, Newgate-street, opened in 1689 : it has a large entrance-porch, is octangular in plan, and is surmounted by a dome, as described by Garth in his satire on the quarrel between the Apothecaries'^Company and the College : " Not far from that most celebrated placet Where angry Justice shews her awful f^ce, I Where little villains must submit to fate/ ' > I c A That great ones may enjoy the world in state, There stands a Dome, majestic to th,e sight, And sumptuous arches bear its oval height; I * i < * t A golden Globe, plac'd high with artful skill/ ft 1 1 N ( 'T Y < Seems to the distant sight a gilded pill." The Dispensary. " The theatre was amphitheatrical in plan, and one of ^he best, that can be ima- gined for seeing, hearing, and the due classification of jfe ftudtenjts, n)l lot tjie display of anatomical demonstrations or philosophical experiments upon aUabJe ' in the centre of the arena, of any building of its size in existence." (Elmes.) This portion is now occupied as a meat-market, and the other College buildings by braziers and brass-founders. The buildings comprise a lofty hall, with a magnifi- cent staircase ; a dining-room, with a ceiling elaborately enriched with foliage and j flowers in stucco, and carved oak chimney-piece and gallery ; and in the court are i statues of Charles II. and Sir John Cutler, the latter voted in acknowledgment of a sum of money presented by Sir John to the College, but attempted to be recovered by his executors. The inscription beneath the statue, " Omnis Cutleri cedat Labor Amphitheatre," has, however, been consistently removed. Here the Fellows of the College met until 1825. In the garrets were dried the herbs for the use of the Dispensary. COLLEGE or PRECEPTORS (the), 28 'Bloomsbury-square, a proprie- tary institution, established 1847, to elevate the character of the profes- sion of Teachers, irrespective of distinctions of sects and parties ; and to grant certificates and diplomas to candidates duly qualified, after exa- * Old Bailey. Garth thus describes the College antagonist, Apothecaries' Hall : " Nigh where Fleet Ditch descends in sable streams, To wash his sooty Naiads in the Thames, There stands a structure on a rising hill, Where tyros take their freedom out to kill." 208 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. mination. There is a ladies' department of the College, managed by a committee of ladies. COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (ROYAL), on the south side of Lincoln's-Inn- fields, was originally built by Dance, R.A., for the College, who re- moved here from their Hall on the site of the New Sessions- House, Old Bailey, on their incorporation by royal charter in 1800. It was almost entirely rebuilt by Barry, R. A., in 1835-37, when the stone front was extended from 84 to 108*feet, and a noble Ionic entablature added, with this inscription : JEoES COLLEGII CHIRVRGOBVM LONDIKENSIS < DIPLOMATS- REGIO CORPORATI' A.D. MDCCC. The interior contains two Museums, a Theatre, Library, and ves- tibule with screens of Ionic columns. On the staircase-landing are busts of Cheselden and Sir W. Banks. In the Library are portraits of Sir Caesar Hawkins, by Hogarth ; Serjeant-Surgeon Wiseman (Charles II.'s time); and the cartoon of Holbein's picture of the granting of the charter to the Barber -Surgeons. In the Council Room (where sits the Court of Examiners) are Reynolds 's celebrated portrait of John Hun- ter, and other pictures : bust of John Hunter, by Flaxman ; of Cline, Sir W. Blizard, Abernethy, and George III. and George IV., by Chan- trey; of Pott, by Hollins; and Samuel Cooper, by Butler. The Mu- seum, with Hunter's collection for its nucleus, was erected in 1836; and the College has since been enlarged by adding to it the site of the Portugal-street Theatre, late Copeland's China Warehouse, taken down in 1848. (See MUSEUMS.) In the Theatre is annually delivered the Hun- terian Oration (in Latin), by a Fellow of the College, on Feb. 14, John Hunter's birthday. DULWICH COLLEGE, in the pleasant hamlet of Dulwich, exactly 5 miles south of Cornhill, was built and endowed in 1613-19, by Edward Alley n, " bred a stage-player :" he became a celebrated actor, erected the Fortune Theatre, and with Henslowe, was co-proprietor of the Paris Bear- Garden at Bankside. Alleyn named the foundation at Dul- wich "the College of God's Gift ;" for a master and warden, four fellows, six poor brethren, six sisters, and twelve scholars ; and thirty out-mem- bers lodged in almshouses. By the founder's statutes, the master and warden should bear the name of Alleyn, or Allen, and both continue un- married, or be removed from the College; yet the first master and war- den ( Alleyn's kinsmen) were both married, and Alleyn himself was twice married. He bequeathed his books and musical instruments, and his " seal-ring with his arms, to be worn by the master." The gross annual income of the College is about 8000Z., or nearly tenfold the value settled by the founder. The only eminent master or' warden was John Allen, one of the earliest writers in the Edinburgh Review. Little of the old buildings remains in the present structure, three sides of a quadrangle; the entrance gates are curiously wrought with the founder's arms, crest, and motto " God's Gift." In the centre is the Chapel, with alow tower; the altar-piece is a copy, by Julio Romano, of Raphael's Transfigura- tion; the font is inscribed with a Greek anagram, the same read either way. Alleyn (d. 1626) is buried here. Adjoining the College is "the Grammar-school of God's Gift College," built by Barry, R.A., in 1842; and the Dulwich Gallery of Pictures, famed for its Cuyps and Murillos. In the College and Master's Apartments are several portraits, including Alleyn the founder, full-length, in a black gown; also left by Cartwright, player and bookseller, 1687, portraits of "the Actors" Richard Burbage, Xat. Field, Richard Perkins, Thomas Bond, &c. ; and of the poet Drayton ; Lovelace the poet, and " Althea " with her hair dishevelled; a Lady in a richly-flowered dress, large ruff, and pearls ; and a Merchant and his Lady on panel, their hands re?ting npon a human skull placed on a tomb, below which is a naked corpse. The Library chimney-piece is made out of" the upper part of the Queen's barge," purchased COLLEGES: GRESHAM. 209 by Alleyn in 1618. The books number about 4200 volumes: those relating to the theatre have been exchanged or filched away; and a very valuable collection of old plays was exchanged by the College with Garrick for modern works, and eventually purchased for the British Museum. The College possesses an original letter written by Alleyn to his first wife, Joan Woodward, from Chelmsford, in 1593, when he was one of "the Lord's strange Players." Here also is the MS. Diary and Account-Book of Philip Heuslowe, printed by the Shakspeare Society ; and in the old carved Treasury Chest, a memorandum-book in Alleyn's hand- writing; besides other " Dulwich papers." See Collier's Memoirs of Alleyn. When the office of Master of the College becomes vacant, the Warden imme- diately succeeds to it, and a new Warden is elected by the Master, the four Fel- lows, and six Assistants; the latter being two churchwardens from each of the parishes of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate; St. Luke's, Old-Street-road ; and St. Saviour's, Southwark. At the last election, in 1851, the ceremony was as fol- lows : Divine service having been performed in the chapel, and the names of the candidates having been previously written on a sheet of paper, the Assistants severally recorded their votes in favour of two candidates; the Fellows and Master then registered their votes; and the Master pronounced the numbers to be in favour of John Hensleigh Allen, one of the two candidates selected by the Col- lege; and Richard William Allen, the candidate named by the Assistants. These two gentlemen were then called to the front of the altar, and the Master having put into a box two rolls of paper tied with red tape, on one of which were written the words, "God's gift," and having shaken them thrice, called upon Mr. Richard William Allen, who was by a few months the senior, to select one. This he did, and Mr. John Hensleigh Allen took the other. Each paper was then unrolled, and the words, " God's gift," were found on the roll taken by Mr. Richard Wil- liam Allen, the nominee of the Assistants. It was stated by the solicitor of the College, that the course pursued by the Assistants on this occasion had not been adopted for the last seventy years. In 1851, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as official Visitor of the College, extended the education at the School to surveying, chemistry, engineering, and the allied sciences. GRESHAM COLLEGE, Basinghall-street, corner of Cateaton-street, a handsome stone edifice, designed by George Smith, was opened Nov. 2, 1843, for the Gresham Lectures. It is in the enriched Roman style, and has a Corinthian entrance-portico. The interior contains a large library, and professors' rooms ; and on the first floor a lecture-room, or theatre, to hold 500 persons. The building cost upwards of 7000J. The Lectures, on Astronomy, Physic, Law, Divinity, Rhetoric, Geo- metry, and Music, are here read to the public gratis, during " Term Time," daily, except Sundays; in Latin, at 12 noon; in English, at 1 p.m. ; the Geometry and Music Lectures at 7 p.m. Gresham College was founded by Sir Thomas Gresham, who, in 1575, gave his mansion- house and the rents arising from the Royal Exchange, which on the death of Lady Gresham, in 1597, were vested in the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company, who were conjointly to nominate seven professors, to lecture successively, one on each day of the week; their salaries being 50L per annum : a more liberal remuneration than Henry VIII. had appointed for the Regius Professors of Divinity at Ox- ford and Cambridge, and equivalent to 400Z. or 500?. at the present day. The Lectures commenced June 1597, in Gresham's mansion, which, with almshottses and gardens, extended from Bishopsgate-street westward into Broad-street. Here the Royal Society originated in 1645, and met (with interruptions) until 1710. The buildings were then neglected, and in 1768 were taken down, and the Excise Office built upon their site ; and the reading of the Lectures was removed to a room on the south- east side of the Royal Exchange ; the lecturers' salaries being raised I to 100Z. each, in place of the lodging they had in the old College, of which there is a view, by Vertue, in Ward's Lives of the Gresham Pro- \ fessors, 1740.* On the rebuilding of the Royal Exchange, the Gresham Committee provided a separate edifice for the College, as above. * In Vertue's print, at the entrance archway are two figures, designed for Dr. Woodward and Dr. Mead, Professors, who havLig quarrelled and drawn swords. 210 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Above the entrance portico are sculptured the following arms : City of London. Gresham. Mercers' Company. Arg. a cross, and in Arg. a chev. erm. Gu. a demi-virgin couped below the the dexter chief a betw. three mul- shoulders, issuing from clouds, all sword erect gu. lets pierced sa. ppr. veiled or crowned with an eastern coronet of the last, her hair dishevelled, all within a bor- dure nebuly arg. HERALDS' COLLEGE (College of Arms), east side of Benet's-hill, Doctors' Commons, was built in 1683, from the design of Sir Chris- topher Wren, upon the site of the former College (Derby House), de- stroyed in the Great Fire ; but all the valuable documents and books were fortunately saved. Sir William Dugdale, then Norroy King- of - Arms, built the north-west corner at his own expense : the hollow arch of the gateway on Benet's-hill is a curiosity. On the north side of the court-yard is the grand hall, in which the Court of Chivalry was formerly' held. On the right is the old library, opening into a fire-proof record-room, built in 1844 : it contains the MS. collection of Heralds' visitations, records of grants of arms, royal licenses, official funeral certificates, and public ceremonials. Here, too, are several portraits: among which are Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter King-at-Arms ; John Anstis, Garter ; Peter Le Neve, Norroy ; John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, &c. In the grand hall is the judicial seat of the Earl Marshal; "but the chair is empty, and the sword unswayed." On the south side of the quadrangle is a paved terrace, on the wall of which are two escutcheons; one bearing the arms (and legs) of Man, ard the other the Eagle's claw both ensigns of the house of Stanley, and de- noting the site of old Derby House, though they are not ancient. The College of Arms received the first charter of incorporation from Richard III., who gave them, for the residence and assembling of the Heralds, Poulteney's Inn, "a righte fayre and stately house," in Coldharbour. They were dispossessed of this property by Henry VII., when they removed to the Hospital of Our Lady of Rounceval, at Charing Cross, where now stands Northumberland House, They next removed to Derby or Stanley House, on St. Benet's-hill, granted by Queen Mary, July 18, 1555, to Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter King-of-Arms, and to the other Heralds and Pursuivants at Arms, and their successors. The service of the Pursuivants, and of the Heralds, and of the whole College, is used in mar- shalling and ordering Coronations, Marriages, Christenings, Funerals, Interviews, Feasts of Kings and Princes, Cavalcades, Shows, Justs, Tournaments, Combats, before the Constable and Marshal, &c. Also they take care of the Coats of Arms, and of the Genealogies of the Nobility and Gentry. Anciently, the Kings- at-Arms were solemnly crowned before the sovereign, and took an oath; during which the Earl Marsha) poured a bowl of wine on his head, put on him a richly- embroidered velvet Coat of Arms, a Collar of Esses, a jewel and gold chain, and a crown of gold. Chamberlayne's Magnte Britannia Notitia, 1726. The College has, since 1622, consisted of thirteen officers '.Kings t Garter, Principal ; Clarencieux ; Norroy. Heralds : Lancaster, Somer- set, Richmond, Windsor, York, Chester. Pursuivants : Rouge Croix, Blue Mantle, Portcullis, Blue Dragon. These hold their places by ap- pointment of the Duke of Norfolk, as Hereditary Earl Marshal. Few rulers have been insensible to the pageantry of arms : even the royalty- hating Cromwell appointed his Kings-at-Arms; and the heraldic ex- penses of his funeral were between 400Z. and 500Z. The Court of Chivalry was nearly as oppressive as the detestable Star Chamber ; for we read of its imprisoning and ruining a merchant-citizen for calling a swan a goose; and fining Sir George Markham 10,OOOZ. for saying, after he had horse- whipped the saucy huntsman of Lord Darcy, that if Mead obtained the advantage, and commanded "Woodward to beg his life : " No, Doctor, that I will not, till I am your patient," was the witty reply; but he yielded, and is here shewn tendering his sword to Mead. COLLEGES: HERALDS'. 211 his master justified his insolence, he would horse-whip him also. The severest punishment of the Court is the degradation from the honour of knighthood, of which only three instances are recorded in three cen- turies : this consisted in breaking and defacing the knight's sword and gilt spurs, and pronouncing him u an infamous errant knave." In our time, the banner of a Knight of the Bath has been pulled down by the heralds, and kicked out of Henry VII.'s Chapel at "Westminster. The heralds' visitations were liable to strange abuses, and ceased with the seventeenth century. Another trusty service of the Officers-at- Arms is the bearing of letters and messages to sovereign princes and persons in authority : these officers were the " Chivalers of Armes," or Knights Riders, the original King's Messengers; and adjoining the College is Knight-Klder-street. Among the Curiosities of the College are, the Warwick Roll, with figures of all the Earls of Warwick from the Conquest to Richard III. ; a Tournament Roll of Henry VIII. 's time; a sword, dagger, and tur- quois ring, said to have belonged to James IV. of Scotland, who fell at Flodden-field; portrait of the warrior Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, from his tomb in Old St. Paul's ; pedigree of the Saxon kings, from Adam, with beautiful pen-and-ink illustrations (temp. Henry VIII.) ; and a volume in the handwriting of " the learned Camden," created Clarenceux in 1597. Among the other officers of note were Sir William Dugdale, Garter ; Elias Ashmole, Windsor Herald, who wrote the History of the Order of the Garter ; John Anstis, Garter ; Francis Sandt'ord, Lancaster Herald, who wrote an excellent Genealogical History of England ; Sir John Vanbrugh, who was made Clarenceux as a compli- ment for building Castle Howard, but sold the situation for 2000/. ; Francis Grose, Richmond Herald, the convivial writer on British Anti- quities ; and Edmund Lodge, Lancaster Herald, who has given his name to a "Peerage," and has left us "Portraits of Illustrious British Per- sonages." (See the excellent paper by J. R. Planche, F.S.A., in Knight's London, vol. vi.) A Grant of Arms is thus obtained: The applicant employs any member he pleases of the Heralds' Office, and through him, presents a memorial to the Earl Marshal, setting forth that he the memorialist is not entitled to arms, or cannot prove his right to such ; and praying that his Grace will issue his warrant to the Kings of Arms authorising them to grant and confirm to him due and proper armorial ensigns, to be borne according to the laws of heraldry by him and hia descendants. This memorial is presented, and a warrant is issued by the Earl Marshal, under which a patent is made out, exhibiting in the corner a painting of the armorial ensigns granted, and describing in official terms the proceedings that have taken place, and the correct blazon of the arms. This patent is regis- tered in the books of the Heralds' College, and receives the signatures of the Garter and one of the Provincial Kings of Arms.* Thus an " Armiger " is made. The fees on a Grant of Arms amount to seventy-five guineas ; an ordinary search ~f the records is 5s. ; a general search, one guinea. Arms that are not held under Grant must descend to the bearer from an ancestor recorded in the Herald's isitations. No prescription, however long, will confer a right to a coat-armour. KING'S COLLEGE AND SCHOOL, Somerset House, extend from the mncipal entrance in the Strand to the east wing of the river-front, designed by Sir William Chambers, but left unfinished by him; its com- pletion by the College being one of the conditions of the grant "of the site : here reside the Principal and Professors. The College facade, designed by Sir Robert Smirke, R. A., is 304 feet in length, and consists of a centre, decorated with Corinthian columns and pilasters ; and two wings with pilasters, upon a basement of piers supporting arches, which extend the whole length of the building. On the interior ground- * If the grantee be resident in any place north of the Trent, his patent is igned by Garter and Norroy Kings of Arms; if he reside south of that river, the signatures are those of Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms. 212 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. floor are the theatres or lecture-rooms, and the hall, with two grand staircases, which ascend to the Museum and Library ; the Chapel occu- pying the centre. Over the lofty entrance-arch in the Strand are the arms of the College; motto, " Sancte et sapienter." (See MUSEUMS.) King's College and School are proprietary. The College was founded in 1828, for the education of youth of the metropolis in the principles of the Established Church. There are five departments: 1. Theological; 2. General Literature; 3. Applied Sciences; 4. Medical; 5. The School. The age for admission to the latter is from 9 to 16 ; and each Proprietor can nominate two pupils to the School, or one to the School and one to the College at the same time. The first Con- ference of Degrees by the University of London took place in the hall of King's College, May 1, 1850. In connexion with the Medical Schools has been estab- lished King's College Hospital, in Portugal-street, -Lincoln's-Inn-fields. ST. MARK'S TRAINING COLLEGE, Chelsea, was established for train- ing schoolmasters for the National Society. The College, fronting King's-road, is of Italian design ; the Chapel, facing the Fulham-road, is Anglo-Norman ; to the west is an octagonal Practising School ; and the grounds contain about 15 acres. The term of training is three years : it comprises, with general education, the industrial system, as the busi- ness of male servants in the house, managing the farm-produce, and gardening. Still, the religious service of the Chapel is, as it were, the keystone of the system of the College. (See CHAPELS, p. 171.) There are also other Training Institutions connected with the National Society : at Battersea, for schoolmasters; "Wliitelands, Chelsea, for schoolmistresses; and Manchester-buildings, Westminster, for schoolmasters and mistresses. There is likewise the Kneller Hall Training School,* at Whitton, Middlesex, to train masters for schools of Parochial Unions, or otherwise connected with the civil government; the Church of England MetropoMtan Training Institution, High- bury-Park; the Home and Colonial Society, Gray's-Inn-road ; and the British'' and Foreign Society's Central Schools, Borough-road , all which institutions are* greatly improving our National System of Education. One of the most interesting* examples is the Model Schools of the Home and Colonial Society, Gray's-Inn-road,, which are open during the usual school hours for the inspection of the public ;, but on Tuesdays, from half- past 2 to 4, the complete working of the institution, may be seen, from the first to the last step, under its own teachers. NEW COLLEGE, St. John's Wood, was commenced building in 1850, when the first stone was laid, May 11, by the Rev. Dr. John Pye Smith,, known as a divine, and as a man of science from his work on Scripture and, Geology. The building was completed in 1851, and opened October 8. It has been erected by the Independent Dissenters for the education of their ministers, and is founded on the union of Homerton Old College and Coward and Highbury Colleges. The classes are divided into two faculties, Arts and Theology ; the former open to lay students, and having chairs of Latin and Greek, mathematics, moral and mental phi-, losophy, and natural history. The building, of Bath stone, designed by Emmett, in the Tudor (Henry VII.) style, is situated about a mile and a half north of Regent's-park, between the Finchley-road and Bellsize- lane. The frontage is 270 feet, having a central tower 80 feet high. The interior dressings are of Caen stone, and the fittings of oak ; some of the ceilings are of wrought wood- work, and the windows of elaborate beauty. The main building contains lecture-room, council-room, labo- ratory, museum, and students' day-rooms; at the north end is the Prin- cipal's residence, and at the south a library of 20,000 volumes. ST. PETEK'S COLLEGE (WESTMINSTER SCHOOL), Dean's-yard, Westminster, was originally founded by Henry VIII., on the remodel- * Kneller Hall (between Hounslew and Twickenham) was formerly in the possession of Sir Godfrey Kneller, who pulled down the manor-house and erected a new house on the same site, as inscribed upon a stone; " The building of this house was begua by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bart., A.D. 1709." It had a sumptuously painted staircase, by Kneller's own hand. The Hall has been almost wholly taken down, and the Training School built upon its site. COLLEGES: ST. PETER'S, WESTMINSTER. 213 ling of the Abbey establishment ; but inadequately supported until, in lotiO, Elizabeth restored its revenues, and the foundation of an Upper and Lower Master, and 40 scholars, and gave the present statutes. The College consists of a Dean, 12 Prebendaries, 12 Almsmen, and the above 40 " Queen's Scholars," with a Master and Usher ; maintained, since the Restoration, by the common revenues of St. Peter's Colle- giate Church (the Abbey), at 12,000?. a-year. These scholars wear a cap and gown ; and there are four " Bishop's boys," educated free, who wear a purple gown, and have 60. annually amongst them. Besides this foundation, a great number of sons of the nobility and gentry are educated here. Of the Queen's Scholars, an examination takes place on the first Tuesday after Rogation Sunday, when four are elected to Tri- nity College, Cambridge, and four to Christ Church, Oxford ; scholar- ships, about QOL a-year. The scholars from the 4th, 5th, and Shell .Forms "stand out" in Latin, Greek, and grammatical questionings, to fill up the vacancies, on the Wednesday before Ascension Day ; when the " Captain of the Election" is chaired round Dean's-yard. There are several other funds available to needful scholars ; and the whole founda- tion and school is managed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. Any boy may enter at Westminster School : the entire annual charges (in- cluding hoard and lodging) are from 76 to 83 guineas ; or if he board and lodge at home, 25 guineas. From the Boarders are elected the Queen's Scholars, who, after four years' residence, have the chance of obtaining good scholarships ; they are charged about 40/. a year. The entrance to the school-court, Little Dean's-yard, is under a low groined gateway : the school-porch is said to have been designed by Inigo Jones ; and adjoining is the paved racket-court. The vener- able School was oace the dormitory of the monks : it is 96 feet long and 34 feet in breadth, and has a massive open chestnut roof; at one end is the Head Master's table, and four tiers of forms are ranged along the east and western walls.* The Upper and Lower Schools are divided by a bar, which formerly bore a curtain : " over this bar on Shrove Tues- day, at 11 o'clock, the College cook, attended by a verger, having made his obeisance to the Masters, proceeds to toss a pancake into the upper school, once a warning to proceed to dinner in the Hall." (Walcott's Westminster, p. 176.) Upon the walls are inscribed many great names; in the library is preserved part of the form on which Dryden once sat, and on which his autograph is cut. In the Census Alumnorum, or list of foundation scholars, are Bishops Overall and Ravis, translators of the Bible; Hakluyt, collector of Voyages; Gunter, in- ventor of the Scale; " Master George Herbert;" tiie poets Cowley and Dryden; South; Locke; Bishops Atterbury, Spratt, and Pearce ; Prior and Stepney, poets and statesmen; Rowe and " Sweet vinery Bourne," the poets; Churchill, the satir- ist ; Warren Hastings; Colman the Elder; Everard Home, surgeon ; Dr. Drury, of Harrow School, &c. Among the other eminent persons educated here are Lord Burghley ; Ben Jon- son ; Nat Lee ; Sir Christopher Wren ; Jasper Mayne, the poet ; Barton Booth, the actor; Blackmore, Browne, Dyer, Hammond, Aaron Hill, Cowper, and Southey, the poets; HorneTooke; Gibbon, the historian; Cumberland, the dra- matist; Colman the Younger; Sir Francis Burdett ; Harcourt, Archbishop of York ; the Marquis of Lansdowne ; Lord John Russell; the Marquis of Anglesey ; Sir John Cam Hobhouse (Lord Broughton), &c. * The basement story beneath the School serves as an undercroft, has semi- circular groined Saxon arches, considered to be of the time of Edward the Con- fessor, whose steward, Hugolin, was ouried here. Here is deposited the standard money, which, when there is a new Master of the Mint, is taken out to be carried to the Exchequer, for a trial of the Pix. The outer doors have seven locks, each lock a different key, and each key a different possessor; s-o that the seven hold- ers assemble on the above occasion. T-he last trial of the Pix was in 1851. on the admission of Sir John F. W. Herschel, Bart., to the Mastership of the Mint, which office was held by Sir Isaac Newton from 1699 until 1728. 214 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Among the eminent Masters are Camden, " the Pausanias of England," who had Ben Jonson for a scholar; and Dr. Busby, who had Dryden ; and who, out of the bench of Bishops, taught sixteen. The College Hall, originally the Abbot's refectory, was built by Abbot Litlington, temp. Edward III. : its dimensions are 47 feet by 27 1 feet in width ; the floor is paved with chequered Turkish marble ; at the south end is a musicians' gallery, uow used as a pantry, and behind are butteries and hatches ; upon the north side, upon a dais,' is the high table ; those below, of chestnut-wood, are said to have been formed out of the wreck of the Armada ; and the roof-timbers spring from carved corbels,; with angels bearing shields of the Confessor's and Abbots' arms. A small louvre rises above the central hearth, upon which, in winter, a charcoal fire used to burn. The Library is a modern Italian room, and contains several memorials of the attachment of " Westminsters." The old dormitory, built in 1380, was the granary of the monastery ; and was replaced by the present dormitory in 1722, from the designs of the Earl of Burlington : it is 161 feet long by 25 feet broad, and its walls are inscribed with names. Here Latin plays are represented upon the second Thursday in December, and the Monday before and after that day ; those acted of late years were the Andria, Phormio, Eunuchus t and Adelphi, of Terence, with Latin prologue and epilogue.* Warton mentions, " this liberal exercise is yet preserved, and in the spirit of true classical purity, at the College of Westminster." The scenery was designed by Garrick ; the modern dresses formerly used were exchanged for Greek costume in 1839. Boating is a favourite recreation of the Westminsters, who have often contested the championship of the Thames with Eton. On May 4, 1837, the Westminsters won a match at Eton ; when, by desire of William IV., the victors visited Windsor Castle, and were there received by the good-natured king. QUEEN'S COLLEGE, LONDON, 67 Harley- street, was established 1848, for general female education, and for granting to Governesses certificates of qualification. The instruction is given in lectures by gentlemen connected with King's College, and other professors ; there*, are also preparatory classes and evening classes, the latter gratuitous :; the whole superintended by ladies visitors. SION COLLEGE, London Wall, is built on the site of the Priory of Elsinge Spital, and consists of a college for the clergy of London, and almshouses for twenty poor persons, founded 1623, by the will of Dr. Thomas White, Vicar of St. Dunstan's-in-the-West ; to which one of his executors, the Rev. John Simson, Rector of St. Olave's, Hart-street, added a library. " Here," says Defoe, " expectants may lodge till they are provided with houses in the several parishes in which they serve cure;" and the Fellows of the College are the incumbents of parishes within the City and Liberties of London. The library is their property : a third of the books was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, which con- sumed great part of the College. The collection contains about 35,000 volumes, mostly theological, among which are the Jesuits' books seized in 1679. By the Copyright Act, 8 Anne, c. 19, the library received a gratuitous copy of every published work till 1836, when this privilege was commuted for a Treasury grant of 363?. a-year, now its chief main- tenance. It is open to the public by an order from one of the Fellows, daily from 10 to 4 ; but books are not allowed to be taken out. Here are several pictures, including a costume-portrait of Mrs. James, a citi- zen's wife in the reign of William and Mary. * These performances superseded the old Mysteries and Moralities in the reign of Queen Mary, when the boy-actors were chiefly the acolytes who served at mass. COLLEGES: UNIVERSITY; WESLEYAN. 215 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, east side of Upper Gower-street, was de- signed by Wilkins, R.A.;* the first stone laid by the Duke of Sussex, April 30, 1827 ; and the building opened Oct. 1, 1828. It has a bold and rich central portico of twelve Corinthian columns and a pediment, ele- vated on a plinth 19 feet, and approached by numerous steps, arranged with fine effect. Behind the pediment is a cupola with a lantern light, in imitation of a peripteral temple ; in the great hall under which are the original models of the principal works of John Flaxman, R.A., pre- sented by Miss Denman. In the vestibule is Flaxman's restoration of the Farnese Hercules ; beneath the dome is his grand life-size Michael and Satan ; and around the walls are his various monumental and other bas-reliefs : " in all the monumental compositions there is a touching story, and the sublimity of the poetic subjects is of a quality which the Greeks themselves have never excelled." (Art Journal.) An adjoining room contains Flaxman's Shield of Achilles, and other works. The University building extends about 400 feet in length : in the ground-floor are lecture-rooms, cloisters for the exercise of the pupils, two semicircular theatres, chemical laboratory, museum of materia me- dica, &c. In the upper floor, on entering by the great door of the por- tico, the whole extent of the building is seen. Here are, the great hall, museums of natural history and anatomy, two theatres, two libraries, and rooms with naturo-philosophical apparatus. The principal library is richly decorated in the Italian style; here is a marble statue of Locke. The Laboratory, completed from the plan of Prof. Donald- son, in 1845, combines all the recent improvements of our own schools with that of Professor Liebig, at Giessen. University College is proprietary, and was founded in 1828, principally aided by Lord Brougham, the poet Campbell, and Dr. Birkbeck, for affording "literary and scientific education at a moderate expense ;" but Divinity is not taught. There is a Junior School. The graduates of the University of London from Univer- sity College are entitled Doctors of Laws, Masters of Arts, and Bachelors of Law, Medicine, and Art. The School of Medicine is highly distinguished; and under the superintendence of its profes ors has been founded University College Hospital, opposite the College, in which the medical students receive improved instruction in medicine and surgery. In the rear of the College, on the west side of Gordon-square, is University Hall, designed by Prof. Donaldson, 1849, and built for instruction in Theology and Moral Philosophy, which are excluded by the College. The architecture is Elizabethan-Tudor, in red brick and stone ; the grouping of the windows is cleverly managed. In the great hall the students breakfast and dine ; and the establishment is a sort of students' club-house, or model lodging-house. WESLEYAN NORMAL COLLEGE, Horseferry-road, "Westminster, (James Wilson, architect,) has been erected for the training of school- masters and mistresses, and the education of the children in the locality. It is in the late Perpendicular style, of brick, with stone dressings; and consists of a Principal's Residence, a quadrangular Normal College for 100 students, with Lecture and Dining Halls ; Practising Schools, and Masters' Houses : beyond is the Model School, in Early English style, with porch and lancet windows : the buildings and playgrounds occu- pying upwards of 15 acres, with a large central octagonal tower, which, with the embattled parapets, pointed gables, and traceried oriel- windows, forms a picturesque architectural group. * Wilkins also designed the National Gallery, a far less happy work than University College, which is unfinished; the original design comprised two ad- ditional smaller cupolas. The two works seem hardly to be the production of the same architect , in the National Gallery the dome being as unsightly a feature in composition as in the College it is graceful. 216 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. COLLEGIATE AND OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. CAMBERWELL FREE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL, Camberwell, Surrey, was founded 1615, by the Rev. E. "Wilson, forty-one years vicar. The pa- tronage is vested in governors, and the number of free boys limited to twelve. The seal of the school exhibits the master seated, baton in hand, with his scholars in a circle around him ; and the master's dues included 5s. 3d. towards brooms and rods. The scholars were to play but once a-week, on Thursday ; and to amuse themselves on half-holi- days by learning Calvin's Catechism. Shooting with the long-bow, chess, running, wrestling, and leaping, were the plays allowed. The old school-house, eastward of Camberwell Church," has been taken down; and a new school-house built, 1835, in Camberwell-grove, in the Collegiate style, with a cloister ; H. Roberts, architect. CHARTER-HOUSE SCHOOL, see page 72. CHRIST'S HOSPITAL (Blue- Coat School), see page 80. CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL (the) occupies the site of Honey-lane Market, in the rear of the houses facing Bow Church, and was de- signed by J. B. Bunning ; the first stone laid by Lord Brougham, Oct. 21, 1835. The style is Elizabethan, with earlier and more enriched principal windows and entrance ; the latter, a rich arched doorway, surmounted by a lofty gable pediment, and above, an open gallery of five trefoiled pointed arches on lofty pillars, flanked by buttress-turrets 76| feet high, is novel and picturesque. The cost of the edifice, about 12,000? , was defrayed by the Corporation of London, who gave the site, which produced a yearly rental of 3001. The school, for 400 scholars, is partly suppoVted "with 900Z. a-year derived from certain lands and tenements bequeathed by John Carpenter, Town-Clerk and "Secretary" of London in the reign of Henry VI. ; and who several times represented the City in parliament, and was " executor of the will of Richard Whityngton." Carpenter's bequest, originally but 191. Ws. per annum, was " for the finding and bringing up of four poor men's children with meat, drink, apparel, learning at the schools, in the universities, &c., until they be preferred, and then others in their places for ever." (Stoic.) The bequest was thus appropriated in 1633, when the boys wore " coats of London russet," with buttons ; and they were accustomed from time to time to shew their copy-books to the Chamberlain, in proof of the application of the Charity. In 1827, it was extended to the education of four boys, sons of freemen, and nomi- nated by the Lord Mayor, at the Tonbridge Grammar- School; each boy, on quitting, received 100Z., thus increasing the annual expense to about 420?. In the lapse of nearly four centuries, the value of Car- penter's estates had augmented from 191. 10s. to 900/., or nearly five- and-forty fold, when the school was established as above. The form of admission must be signed by a member of the Corporation of Lon- don : the general course of instruction includes the English, French, German, Latin, and Greek languages. The school year is divided into three terms, at 21. 15*. a term for each pupil. There are eight free foundation scholarships available as exhibitions to the Universities, in addition to the following: the Times scholarship (see CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, p. 83), three Beaufoy scholarships, the Salomons scholarship, and the Travers scholarship, and the Tegg scholarship, (" Sheriffs Fine,"; varying from 351. to 501. a year each ; and there are other valuable prizes, determinable by examination at Midsummer. Upon the great staircase of the school is a statue, by Nixon, of John Carpenter, in the costume of his period ; he bears in his left hand his Liber Albus, a collection of the City laws, customs, and privileges, COLLEGIATE SCHOOLS: MERCERS*; MERCHANT-TAYLORS'. 217 compiled in 1419, and still preserved in the Corporation archives. The statue is placed upon a pedestal inscribed with a compendious history of the founder and his many benevolent acts.* ST. MARGARET'S HOSPITAL, Palmer's Village, Westminster, was established and endowed in 1633, and consists of a large quadrangle and the master's house ; with a bust of Charles I., and the royal arms in colours, and richly carved and gilt. In the panelled board-room are portraits of Charles I. by Vandyke, and Charles II. by Lely; and the windows look into a neatly-kept flower-garden. Upon this foundation are maintained twenty-nine boys, who wear a long green skirt, and a red leather girdle resembling that worn by the boys of Christ's Hos- pital : hence St. Margaret's is also known as the " Green-Coat School." The grace used here, attributed to Bishop Compton, is the same as that said in Christ's Hospital. (Walcott's Westminster, p. 295.) MERCERS' SCHOOL, College-hill, Dowgate, was founded and en- dowed by the Mercers' Company, for seventy scholars of any age or S'ace. It is mentioned as early as 1447, and was then kept at the ospital of St. Thomas of Aeon ; but was removed to St. Mary Cole- church, next the Mercers' Chapel. After the Great Fire of 1666, the school-house was rebuilt on the west side of the Old Jewry. In 1787, it was removed to 13 Budge-row ; in 1804, to 20 Red-Lion-court, Watling-street ; and from thence, in 1808, to premises on College- hill. The present school, designed by George Smith, is an elegant stone structure, (adjoining St. Michael's Church,) on the site of Whit- tington's Almshouses, removed to Highgate to make room for it. The education, classical and general, is free ; the boys being selected in turn by the Master and three Wardens of the Mercers' Company. Among the early scholars were, Dr. Colet, Sir Thomas Gresham, and Bishop Wren. MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL, Suffolk-lane, Cannon-street, was founded in 1561, by the Merchant Taylors' Company, principally by the gift of 500J.. and other subscriptions by members of the court of assist- ants, among whom was Sir Thomas White, sometime Master of the Company, and who had recently founded St. John's College, Oxford. With these funds was purchased part of "the Manor of the Rose," a palace originally built by Sir John Poultney, Knt., five times Lord Mayor of London, in the reign of Edward III/; the estate successively be- longed to the De la Pole or Suffolk family (whence Suffolk-lane), and the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham : " The Duke being at the Rose, within the parish Saint Lawrence Poultney." Shakspeare, Henry VIII. act i. sc. 2. lence, also, "Duck's-Foot-lane" (the Duke's foot-lane, or private way Tom the garden to the Thames), which is hard by. These ancient pre- mises were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and the present building "as erected on the same site, in 1675, by Wren : it is a large brick lifice, with pilasters ; the upper school-room, and library adjoining, itipported by stone pillars, forming a cloister; there are also other ooms, and the head-master's residence. The school consists of 260 * At the expense of John Carpenter was " artificially and richly painted" the Vance of Death upon the north cloister of St. Paul's, and thence called the 'Dance at Paul's." (See CHURCHES, p. 8-5.) It consisted of a long train of all rders of mankind; each figure having for a partner the spectral Death leading he sepulchral dance, and shaking the last sands from his hour-glass : intended is a moral memorial of the Plague and Famine of 1438. Among Carpenter's >roperty is a lease of premises in Cornhill, granted by the City, for eighty years, it the annual service of a red rose for the first thirty years, and a yearly rent of 0. for the remainder of the term. 218 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. boys, present charge ten guineas per annum each: they are admittec at any age, on the nomination of the forty members of the Court of th< Company in rotation ; and the scholars may remain until the Mondaj after St. John the Baptist's Day preceding their nineteenth birthday Hebrew, Greek, and Latin have been taught since the foundation of th< school ; mathematics, writing, and arithmetic were added in 1829, anc French and modern history in 1816. The boys are entitled to 37 oui of the 50 fellowships at St. John's College, Oxford, and several othei exhibitions at both the Universities ; the election to which takes placi annually on St. Barnabas Day, June 11, when the school prizes ari also distributed : there is another speech-day, " Doctors' Day," in Del cember. Plays were formerly performed by the Merchant Taylors' boys, who, in 3664, acted Beaumont and Fletcher's Love's Pilgrimage in the Company's Hall, but under order that this " should bee noe precident for the future." Amongst the eminent scholars educated at Merchant Taylors' were, Bishops Andrewes, Dove, and Tomson, three of the translators of the Bible ; Archbishop Juxon, who attended Charles I. to the scaffold; Bishop Hopkins (of Londonderry); Archbishops Sir William Dawes, Gilbert, and Boulter; Bishop Van Mildert, and eleven other prelates; Titus Gates, who contrived the "Popish Plot;" Sir James Whitelocke, Justice of the King's Bench ; Bulstrode Whitelocke, who wrote hla " Memorials;" Shirley, the dramatic poet, contemporary with Massinger; CharlM Wheatly, the ritualist; Neale, the historian of the Puritans; Edmund Calamy, anil his grandson Edmund, the Nonconformists the former died in 1666, from seeing London in ashes after the Great Fire ; the great Lord Clive ; Dr. Vicesimus Knox, one of the "British Essayists;" Dr. William Lowth, the learned classic and thf. ologian ; Nicholas Amhurst, associated with Bolingbroke and Pulteney in the Craftsman; Charles Mathews the elder, comedian; Lieut.-Col. Denham, the ex- plorer of central Africa; and J. L. Adolphus, the barrister, who wrote a Historm of the Reign of George III. Also, Sir John Dodson, Queen's Advocate ; Sir Hen* Ellis, and Samuel Birch, of the British Museum ; John Gough Nichols, F.S. A. \-c. ST. OLAVE'S AND ST. JOHN'S FREE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL (originalll St. Olave's) was founded by the inhabitants in 1561 ; and endowed, amonf other property, with the " Horseydowne" field, at the yearly rent of f red rose, which is paid by the Churchwardens and Overseers previously to the annual commemoration sermon on Nov. 17, by presenting to eack of the School Governors a nosegay of flowers with a rose in it. Th* school originated in the bequest of a wealthy brewer named Leekfc who, in 1561, left 81. a-year for a free school in St. Savyor's, whkl bequest, however, was to go to St. Olave's, if within two years of hit death a school should be built and established there. St. Olave's con* trived to secure the legacy ; and in 1567 the school was made free, anf incorporated by Queen Elizabeth ; charter extended by Charles II. 1674. In 1579, Horseydowne, (now Horslydown,) was passed over by the parish to the use of the school. It was originally a large grazing field, down, or pasture, for horses and cattle, containing about sixteen acres; but having long since been covered with houses, erected on building leases, which have fallen in, the yearly income of the School from this source is upwards of 2000Z. The old'school, in Churchyard- alley, was taken down about 1830, for making the approaches to the new London Bridge, when a piece of ground in Duke-street was granted by the City of London as a site for a new school ; but this ground was exchanged with the London and Greenwich Railway Company for a site in Bermondsey-street, where the school was re- built, and opened Nov. 17, 1835. It was in the latest Tudor or Eliza- bethan style, of red brick, with an octangular embattled tower, lan- tern-roofed ; James Field, architect. In 1849, this new building being required for the enlargement of the terminus of the London, Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company, they paid a considerable sum of money for it, the Governors undertaking to find another site for the COLLEGIATE SCHOOLS: ST. PAUL'S. 219 school, and rebuild the same ; the tuition being in the mean time car- ried on in a temporary building in Maze Pond. The School is free to "children and younglings," rich or poor, inhabitants of St. Olave's and St. John's parishes, admitted by presentation from the Governors. The Classical School consists of about 320 boys ; and the branch or English School, in Magdalen-street, and built in 1824, contains about 260 boys. The governors also award annually four exhibitions at Oxford or Cambridge Univer- sity, besides apprentice-fees for poor scholars, and funds for other benevolent purposes. Commemoration-day, Nov. 17, (Accession of Elizabeth). " The seal of the corporation, dated 1576, and distinguished by a rose dis- played, the ancient cognizance of Southwark, represents the master sitting in a high-backed chair at his desk, on which is a book, and the rod is conspicuously displayed to the terror of five scholars standing before him." G. R. Corner, F.S.A. LADY OWEN'S SCHOOL, Owen-street, St. John- Street-road, was founded and endowed in 1613, by Dame Alice Owen, in memory of her having escaped " braining" by a stray arrow upon the site, then Her- mitage Fields ; the arrow having passed through her ladyship's high- crowned hat. (See ARCHERY, page 5.) The Charity, in the trust of the Brewers' Company, educates thirty poor children from Islington and Clerkenwell, to whom the master must teach Latin if required : there are also pay scholars. The school- house was rebuilt in 1840, in the Elizabethan style, of fine red brick, with stone dressings, to cor- respond with Lady Owen's Almshouses, opposite; Tattersall, architect. ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, east end of St. Paul's Churchyard, was founded in 1512, by Dr. John Colet, son of Sir Henry Colet, mercer, and lord mayor in 1486 and 1495 ; and it is " hard to say whether he left better lands for the maintenance of his school, or wiser laws for the govern- ment thereof" (Fuller). The school is for 153 boys "of every nation country, and class ;" the 153 alluding to the number of fishes taken by St. Peter (John xxi. 2). The education is entirely classical ; the pre- sentations to the school are in the gift of the Master of the Mercers' Company ; and scholars are admitted at fifteen, but eligible at any age. The original school-house was built 1508-12: this was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, but was rebuilt by Wren ; this second school was taken down in 1824, and the present school built of stone from the de- signs of George Smith : it has a handsome central portico upon a rusticated base, projecting over the street pavement. The original endowment, and for several years the only endowment of the school, was 55?. 14s. 10|d., the value of estates in Buckinghamshire, which now produce 1858?. 16s. 10|c?. a-year; and with other property, make the present income of the school upwards of 5000?. Lilly, the emi- nent grammarian, the friend of Erasmus and Sir Thomas More, was the first schoolmaster of St. Paul's, and "Lilly's Grammar" is used to this day in the school: the English rudiments were written by Colet, the preface to the first edition by Cardinal "Wolsey ; the Latin syntax chiefly by Erasmus, and the remainder by Lilly. Colet di- rected that the children should not use tallow but wax candles in the school ; 4d. entrance- money for each was to be given to the poor scholar who swept the school; and the masters were to have livery gowns " delivered in clothe." The present teachers consist of a high- master, salary 618?. per annum, with spacious house ; sur-master, 307?. ; under-master, or ancient chaplain, 227 1. ; assistant-master, 257?. : the last master only having no house. The scholars' only expense is for books and wax tapers. There are several very valuable exhibitions, decided at the Apposition, held in the first three days of the fourth week after Easter, when a commemorative oration is delivered by the senior boy, and prizes are presented from the governors. In the time of the founder, the " Apposition dinner" was " an assembly and a 220 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. litell dinner, ordayned by the surveyor, not exceedynge the pryce of four nobles." In the list of eminent Paulines are, Sir Anthony Denny and Sir William Paget, privy councillors to Henry VIII.; John Leland, the antiquary; John Milton, our great epic poet; Samuel Pepys, the diarist; John Strype, the eccle- siastical historian ; Dr. Calamy, the High Churchman ; the great Duke of Marl- borough; R. W. Elliston, the comedian; Sir C. Mansfield Clarke, Bart.; Lord Chancellor Truro, &c. On Apposition Day, June 4. 1851, -were announced these three additional I prizes: 1. " 'the Chancellor's Prize," by Lord Truro, 1000Z. ; the interest to be ap-l plied in awarding a gold medal, value ten guineas, and a purse of twenty guineas, I or books to that amount, each yearly Apposition, to the author of the best English! Essay. 2. " The Milton Prize," by Sir C. M. Clarke, Bart., for English Verses on I a sacred subject, annually. 3. " The Thurston Memorial," an annual prize for! a copy of Latin Lyrics, given by the parent of a student named Thurston, recently! deceased ; the High Master to apply a portion of the endowment to keeping up[ the youth's gravestone in the Highgate Cemetery. PHILOLOGICAL SCHOOL, (the,) Gloucester-place, New-road, was founded 1792 ; and, in union with King's College, offers first-class educa- tion gratuitously, for the sons of clergymen, naval and military officers^ professional men, merchants, manufacturers, clerks in public offices^ the higher order of tradesmen, and other persons whose families have been in better circumstances and are reduced. There are also con-l tributory scholars. Admission by presentation of Governors. (Low's! Charities of London, p. 351.) ST. SAVIOUR'S GRAMMAR-SCHOOL, Sumner-street, Southwark- Bridge-road, was rebuilt 1830-9, nearly adjoining St. Peter's Church. I The school was founded by parishioners in 1562, and chartered by Queen < Elizabeth ; the original endowment being 40Z. a-vear. The scheme, j approved by the Court of Chancery in 1850, provides six governors to manage the school property ; the instruction to comprise religion, clas- j sical learning, English composition, grammar, arithmetic, history, geo-l graphy, mathematics, &c., subject to the approval of .the Bishop of j Winchester; the head master to be a Master of Arts, and to be ap-| pointed in conformity with the statutes of 1614. Small prizes are ad-j judged yearly, and there are two University exhibitions. Among the! olden rules for the choice of a master is the following: " The master to be a man of a wise, sociable, and loving disposition, not hasty or furious, or of any ill example ; he shall be wise and of good experience, to discern the nature of every several child : to work upon the disposition for the I greatest advantage, benefit, and comfort of the child; to learn with the love of! his book." It was necessary then, as now, to add, " if such an one may be got." I The corporation seal represents a pedagogue seated in a chair, with a group of I thickly-trussed pupils before him ; date, 1573. The original school-house, on the south side of St. Saviour's church- yard, was burned in 1676, but was immediately rebuilt : it had a richly- carved doorway -head. This building was taken down after the erec- tion of the new school in Sumner-street. Among the donations is 5001. by Dr.W. Heberden, the celebrated physician, who is said to have been partly educated in the school. GREY-COAT HOSPITAL, Tothill Fields, "Westminster, a Charity School, was founded in 1698, and reconstituted 1706, when the school- house was built. The centre has a clock, turret, and bell, above the royal arms of Queen Anne, with the motto Semper eadem, flanked by figures in the former costume of the children. Here are a wainscoted dining-hall, and a handsomely panelled board-room, with a full-length portrait of Queen Anne, painted in Lely's manner, and other pictures. Upon this noble foundation are maintained sixty-seven boys, who now wear a dark-grev dress, similiar in form to that of the St. Margaret's COLOSSEUM. 221 Hospital ; and thirty-three girls, whose dress is also of a dark-grey colour, open in front and corded. (Walcott's Westminster, p. 823.) Three guineas or upwards annually, or thirty guineas composition, is a governor's qualification, with the right to present a child for ad- mission as vacancies arise. In 168G, Sarah Duchess of Somerset be- queathed 1000Z. to support six fatherless boys in the school, to be dis- tinguished by wearing yellow caps. There is also in Tothill Fields Palmer's School, the boys of which wear black coats. TENISON'S (Archbishop) GRAMMAR SCHOOL, St. Martiu's-in-the- Fields. (See page 172.) WESTMINSTER SCHOOL. (See ST. PETER'S COLLEGE, page 212.) COLOSSEUM (THE). The Colosseum, upon the east side of the Regent's-park, was origin- ally planned by Mr. Hornor, a land-surveyor ; and the building was commenced for him in 1824, by Peto and Grissell, from the designs of Decimus Burton. The chief portion is a polygon of sixteen faces, 126 feet in diameter externally, the walls being 3 feet thick at the ground ; and the height to the glazed dome is 112 feet. Fronting the west is an entrance portico, with six Grecian-Doric fluted columns, said to be full-sized models of those of the Parthenon. The external dome is supported by a hemispherical dome, constructed of ribs formed of thin deals in thicknesses, breaking joint and bolted together, on the principle educed by M. Philibert de 1'Orme in the 14th century, and stated to be introduced here for the first time in England. This second dome also supports a third, which forms the ceiling of the picture. The building resembles a miniature of the Pantheon, and has been named from its colossal size, and not from any resemblance to the Colosseum at Rome; but it more closely resembles the Roman Catholic Church at Berlin.* The building is lighted entirely by the glazed dome, there being no side windows. Upon the canvassed walls was painted the Panoramic View of London, completed in 1829 ; for which Mr. Hornor, in 1821-2, made the sketches at several feet above the present cross of St. Paul's Cathedral (see pages 88 and 94). The view of the picture is obtained from two galleries : the first corresponds, in relation to the prospect, with the first gallery at the summit of the dome of St. Paul's ; the second with the upper gallery of the cathedral. Upon this last gallery is placed the identical copper ball which formerly occupied the summit of St. Paul's ; above it is a fac-simile of the cross ; and over these is hung the small wooden cabin in which Mr. Hornor made his drawings. A small flight of stairs leads from this spot to the open parapet gallery which surrounds the domed roof of the Colosseum. The communica- tion with the galleries is by spiral staircases, built on the outside of a lofty cylindrical core in the centre of the rotunda ; within which is also * In 1769, there was constructed in the Champs Elysees, at Paris, a vast building called Le Colisee, for fetes in honour of the marriage of the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XVI. Here were dances, hydraulics, pyrotechnics, &c. ; the building did not resemble the Pantheon, as ours in the Regent's-park, but the Colosseum at Rome. It contained a rotunda, saloons, and circular galleries, skirted with shops, besides trellis-work apartments and four cafes. In the centre of Le Cirque was a vast basin of water, with fountains; beyond which fireworks were displayed. The whole edifice was completely covered with green trellis-work; the entire space occupied by the buildings, courts, and gardens was sixteen acres ; and the cost was two and a half millions of money. There were prize exhibitions of pictures; and Mr. Hornor projected similar displays at the Colosseum, but the idea was not taken up by the British artists. In 1778, the Parisian building was closed, and two years afterwards was taken down. It is mentioned by Dr. Johnson, in his Tour, in 1775. 222 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the "Ascending Room," capable of containing ten or twelve persons. This chamber is decorated in the Elizabethan style, and lighted through a stained-glass ceiling ; it is raised by secret machinery to the required elevation, or gallery, whence the company view the panorama. The hoisting mechanism is a long shaft connected with a steam-engine out- side the building, working a chain upon a drum-barrel, and counter- balanced by two other chains, the ascending motion being almost im- perceptible. The painting of the picture was a marvel of art. It covers upwards of 46,000 square feet, or more than an acre of canvass; the dome on which the sky is painted is 30 feet more in diameter than the cupola of St. Paul's ; and the circumference of the horizon from the point of view is nearly 130 miles. Excepting the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, there is no painted surface in Great Britain to compare with this in magni- tude or shape, and even that offers but a small extent in comparison. It is inferred that the scaffolding used for constructing St. Paul's cupola was left for Sir James Thornhill, in painting the interior ; and his design consisted of several compartments, each complete in itself. Not so this Panorama of London, which, as one subject, required unity, harmony, accuracy of linear and aerial perspective ; the commencement and finishing of lines, colours, and forms, and their nice unity ; the per- pendicular canvass and concave ceiling of stucco w r as not to be seen by, or even known to, the spectator ; and the union of a horizontal and ver- tical surface, though used, was not to be detected. After the sketches were completed upon 2000 sheets of paper, and the building finished, no individual could be found to paint the picture in a sufficiently short period, and many artists were of necessity employed : thus, by the use of platforms slung by ropes, with baskets for conveying the' colours, temporary bridges, and other ingenious contrivances, the painting was executed, but in the peculiar style, taste, and notion of each artist ; to reconcile which, or bring them to form one vast whole, was a novel, in- tricate, and hazardous task, which many persons tried, but ineffectually. At length, Mr. E. T. Parris, possessing an accurate knowledge of me- chanics and perspective, and practical execution in painting, combined with great enthusiasm and perseverance, accomplished the labour prin- cipally with his own hands; standing in a cradle or box, suspended from cross poles or shears, and lifted as required, by ropes. The Panorama is viewed from a balustraded gallery, with a project- ing frame beneath it, in exact imitation of the outer dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, the perspective and light and shade of the campanile towers in the western front being admirably managed ; whilst art cannot exceed the contrast of the bold and broad buildings in the foreground with the receding mid-distance, and the minuteness of the horizon. The spec- tator is recommended to take four distinct stations in the gallery, and then inspect in succession the views towards the north, east, south, and west ; altogether representing the Metropolis of 1821, (the date of the sketches,) or thirty years since. The North comprises Newgate-*narket, the old College of Physicians, Christ's Hospital (before the rebuilding of the Great Hall), St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and Smithfield Market ; and the New General Post-Office, then building. These are the objects near the foreground ; beyond them are Clerkenwell, the Charter- house, and the lines of Goswell-street, St. John-street, Pentonville, Islington and Hoxton. In the next, or third distance, are Primrose Hill, Chalk Farm, Hampstead, and a continued line of wooded hills to Highgate, where are the bold Archway and the line of the Great North Road from Islington; whilst Stamford- hill, Muswell-hiU, part of Epping Forest, and portions of Essex, Hertfordshire, and Middlesex, hound the horizon. The East displays a succession of objects all differing from the former view in effect, character, and associations. Whilst the north exhibits the rustic scenery COLOSSEUM. 223 of the environs of London, the east presents us with the Thames, and its massive varehouses and spacious docks ; the one a scene of rural quiet, the other a focus of commercial activity. In the foreground is St. Paul's School-house ; whilst the ines of Cheapside, Cornhill, Leadenhall-street, and Whitechapel carry the eye hrough the very heart of the City, and thence to Bow, Stratford, and a fine ract of woodlands in Essex. On the right and left of this line are the towers and steeples of Bow Church, St. Mary Woolnooth ; St. Michael, Cornhill ; St. Ethel- berg, Bishopsgate, and others of subordinate height; the Bank, Mansion-house, loyal Exchange (since destroyed by fire), East India House, and several of the Companies' Halls. Another line, nearly parallel, hut a little to the east extends hrough Watling-street (the old Roman road) to Cannon-street, Tower-street, and he prison, palace, fortress, and museum the Tower. The course of the Thames, with its vessels and wilderness of masts, the docks and warehouses on its hanks ; the palace-hospital of Greenwich, and the beautiful country beyond it, contrasted with the levels of the Essex bank, are all defined in this direction. Southward, the eye traces the undulating line of the Surrey hills in the dis- ance ; and in the forepart of the picture the Thames, with its countless craft, among which are civic bargas and steamers, characteristic of ancient and modern Condon. Here also are shewn old London Bridge, and Southwark, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Westminster, and Vauxhall Bridges ; whilst the river-banks are crowded with interesting structures, among which are the old Houses of Parliament. The Western view presents a new and different series of objects. First in effect, n beauty of execution and imposing character, are the two campanili, the pedi- ment, and the roof of the western end, of St. Paul's Cathedral. The painting here s masterly and magical; it so deceives the eye and the imagination, that the pectator can scarcely believe these towers to be depicted on the same canvass md the same surface as the whole line of objects from Ludgate-hill to St. James's- park. This view to the west embraces the long lines of Ludgate-hill, Fleet-street, and the Strand, Piccadilly, &c. ; Holborn Hill and Oxford-street, with the Inns of Court ; Westminster ; numerous churches and public buildings, right and left ; and Hyde-park, Kensington-gardens, and a long stretch of flat country to Wind- sor. Brief Account, by John Britton, F.S.A., 1829. A staircase leads to the upper gallery, whence the spectator again commands the whole picture in a sort of bird's-eye view. Another flight of stairs communicates with the room containing the copper ball and fac-simile cross of St. Paul's. A few more steps conduct to the outer gallery at the summit ; where, if the weather be fine, the spec- tator may compare the colouring, perspective, and effects of nature with those of art within. The Panorama was first exhibited in the spring of 1829. Tt was almost repainted by Mr. Parris in 1845 ; when also a Panorama of London by Night, essentially the same as the day view, was exhibited n front of the latter, and had to be erected and illuminated every even- ng: the moonlight effect upon the rippling river; the floating, fleecy clouds and twinkling stars; the lights upon the bridges, in the shops, and in the open markets, formed a rare triumph of artistic illusion. Jn May 1848, a moonlight Panorama of Paris, of the same dimensions as ;he night view of London, was painted by Danson, and was very at- tractive in illustration of the localities of the recent Revolution. In L850. both views gave way to a Panorama of the Lake of Thun, in Switzerland, painted in tempera by Danson and Son ; and in 1851, the Panorama of London was reproduced as a more appropriate sight for the International Exhibition season. The Picture, however, is but one of the many features of the Colos- seum. The basement of the Rotunda has a superb Ionic colonnade, as a sculpture-gallery, named the Glyptotheca : the columns and entabla- ;ure are richly gilt ; and the frieze, nearly 300 feet in circumference, is adorned with bas-reliefs from the Panthenaic friezes of the Parthe- non, exquisitely modelled by Henning ; the ribbed roof being filled with embossed glass. In hot weather, this apartment, being subterranean, is cool; and in winter, comparatively warm. Southward and eastward of the Rotunda are large Conservatories, a 224 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Swiss chalet, and mountain-scenery interspersed with real water : these I were executed by Mr. Hornor, whose enthusiasm led him to project I a tunnel beneath the Regent's-park road, and to anticipate a grant { from the opposite enclosure to be added to the Colosseum grounds. I But the ingenious projector failed : the property passed into the hands I of trustees, and was next sold to Messrs. Braharn and Yates, in 1831, 1 it is believed for 40,OOOZ. ; it was again sold in 1835, after which it lost much of its status as a place of public amusement; but on May 11, 1 1813, it was bought for 23,000 guineas by Mr. David Montague, the pre- 1 sent proprietor, who has altogether retrieved and elevated the artistic J character of the establishment. The Colosseum, as we now see it, was, with the exception of the! Panorama, principally executed in 1845, from the designs of the late! Mr. W. Brad well, formerly chief machinist of Covent Garden Theatre J The eastern entrance, in Albany-street, was then added ; with anj arched corridor in the style of the Vatican, and leading to the Glypto-l theca, the Arabesque Conservatories, and the Gothic Aviary ; the exte-l rior promenade, with its model ruins of the Temple of Vesta and Archi of Titus, the Temple of Theseus, and golden pinnacles and eastern! domes, a chaos of classic relics of the antique world, and of luxuriant! and mouldering beauty from our own. Here you may almost forget! the working-day world, amidst the murmur of sparkling fountains, the! songs of gaily -plumed birds, the fragrance of exotic plants and flowers,! and the beautiful forms and brilliancy of the embellishments. A ro- mantic pass leads to the chalet, or Swiss Cottage, originally designedj by P. F. Robinson : the roof, walls, and projecting fireplace are fanci-j fully carved; and the bay-window looks upon a mass of rock-scenery,| a mountain-torrent and lake, a model picture of the sublime. In another direction lies a large model of the Stalactite Cavern at. Adelsberg,in Carniola; constructed by Messrs. Bradwell and Telbin. The countless arches in the sparry roof, and the stalagmites on the floor, glis-j tening in the candle-light, are very effective. The illusion of height and! distance is complete ; and "the deep, cold, clear lake," reflecting the gor- geous scene, and fading into impenetrable darkness, is a scenic romance. At Christmas 1848 was added a superb theatre, with a picturesque! rustic armoury as an ante-room. The spectatory, designed and erected by Bradwell, resembles the vestibule of a regal mansion fitted up for the performance of a masque : it is decorated with colossal Sienna columns, and copies of three of Raphael's cartoons in the Vatican (School of Athens, and Constantine and the Pope), by Horner, of Rathbone- place; the ceilings are gorgeously painted with allegorical groups; and upon the fronts of the boxes is a Bacchanalian procession, in richly-gilt relief. Upon the stage parses the Cyclorama of Lisbon, depicting in ten; scenes the terrific spectacle of the great earthquake of 1755 the uplift-j ing sea and o'ertopp ing city, and all the frightful devastation of flooa and fire ; accompanied by characteristic performances upon Bevington'a Apollonicon. The scenes are painted by Danson, in the manner of Loutherbourg's Eidophusicon, which not only anticipated, but in part surpassed, our present dioramas. COLUMNS. NELSON COLUMN (the), south side of Trafalgar-square, was erected between 1839 and 1852, by public subscription and the aid of the Govern- ment. It was designed by W. Railton, and is of the exact proportion of a column of the Corinthian temple of Mars Ultor at Rome : Mr. Railton choosing the Corinthian order from its being the most lofty and elegant in its proportions, and having never been used in England for this pur- pose ; whilst it is in keeping with the surrounding buildings, and tends COLUMNS. 225 more than any other species of monument to bring the entire scene into general harmony, without destroying the effect of any portion of it. The foundation rests upon a 6-feet layer of concrete in a compact stratum of clay, about 12 feet below the pavement ; upon which is the frustum of a brick- work pyramid, 48 feet square at the base, and 13 feet high, upon which the superstructure commences with the graduated stylobate of the pedestal, the first step of which is 33 feet 4 inches wide. "From this point to the foot of the statue, the work is of solid granite, in large blocks admirably dressed ; and in the shaft they are so well connected as to give the fabric almost the cohesion of a monolith. The granite was brought from Foggin Tor, on the coast of Devon ; and was selected for its equable particles and intimate distribution of mica, feldtspar, and quartz. The shaft (lower diameter 10 feet) is fluted throughout, the base being richly ornamented ; the lower torus with a cable, the upper with oak-leaves. The pedestal is raised upon a flight of steps; and at the angles are massive cippi, or blocks, intended to receive four recumbent African lions. The capital is of bronze, and was cast from old ordnance in the Arsenal foundry at Woolwich, from full-sized models carefully prepared by C. H. Smith. "The foliage is connected to the bell of the cap by three large belts of metal lying in grooves, and rendering it needless to fix plugs into the work, with the concomitant risk of damage from the galvanic action of metals." (G. Godwin, jun. F.R.S.) One of the lower tiers of leaves weighs about 900 Ibs. Upon a circular pedestal on the abacus is a colossal statue of Nelson, with a coiled cable on his left ; E. H. Baily, R.A., sculptor. The figure is of Cragleith stone, in three massive blocks, presented by the Duke of Buccleuch ; the largest block weighing upwards of 30 tons. The statue measures 17 feet from its plinth to the top of the hat ; it was raised on Nov. 3 and 4, 1843 ; and on October 23 previous, fourteen persons ate a rump-steak dinner on the abacus of the Column. 226 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. has evidently covered his mark; whilst the black, who stands just before the two marines, is grasping his firelock. The figures are of life-size; the casting weighs about five tons. Beneath are Nelson's memorable words : " England ex- pects every man will do his duty." East (facing the Strand), Bombardment of Copenhagen : designed by the late Mr. Ternouth. Nelson is sealing, on the end of a gun, his despatch, to send by the flag of truce; a group of officers surround him, and a sailor holds a candle and lantern: in the foreground are wounded groups; and in the distance are a church and city (Copenhagen) in flames. West ( facing Pall Mall), Battle of St. Vincent: commenced by Watson, and finished by Woodington. Nelson, on board the San Josef, is receiving from the Spanish admirals their swords, which an old Agamemnon man is putting under his arm ; in the foreground is a dying sailor clasping a broken flag-staff. A monument to Nelson was first proposed in 1805 (the year of his death) when the Committee of the Patriotic Fund raised 13301. reduced 3 per Cents, which, with the accumulated dividends, amounted in June 1838 to 5545Z. 19s. Meanwhile, in 1816, the monument was proposed in Par- liament, as " a duty which the nation ought, perhaps, to have discharged not less than thirty years ago." The subject, however, rested until 1838, when a subscription was raised, Trafalgar-square chosen as the site, and a column recommended by the Duke of Wellington. In January 1839, 118 drawings and 41 models were submitted, and the first prize, 250?., awarded to Mr. Railton for his column ; in May following, a second series of designs (167) was exhibited, but the Committee adhered to their former choice. In 1844, the subscriptions,* 20,483?. 11*. 2d., had been expended ; and the Government undertook the completion of the monument, estimated at 12,000?. additional. The column itself has cost 23,000?. building; the statue, capital, and reliefs, 5000?.; and 2000?. architect's commission ; the four lions are estimated at 3000?. Tra- falgar-square was much objected to as the site : in the Parlia- mentary examination, eight architects and sculptors were in favour of it, and four architects against it. Chantrey considered Trafalgar-square to be " the most favourable that could be found or imagined for any national work of art ; its aspect is nearly south, and sufficiently open to give the object placed on that identical spot all the advantage of light and shade that can be desired ; to this may be added the advantage of a happy combination of unobtrusive buildings around : but to con- ceive a national monument worthy of this magnificent site is no easy task." Chantrey objected to a column as a monument, unless treated as a biographical volume, with the acts of the hero sculptured on the shaft, as on the columns of Trajan and Antoninus. Annexed are the comparative dimensions of the principal monumental columns : Date. Column. Site. Order. Height to the top of Capital. Diameter. A.D. Feet. Feet. 118 Trajan . . Rome . Doric . 115 12 162 Antoninus . Rome . Doric . 123 13 1671 Monument . London Doric . 172 15 1806 Napoleon . Paris . Doric . 115 12 1832 Duke of York London Tuscan 111 11 1839 Nelson . . London Corinthian 145-6 10-I|-ll'7i Nelson Column, 145 feet 6 inches; statue and plinth, 17 feet; =162 feet 6 inches. TOKK COLUMN, Carlton Gardens, built 1830-33, in memory of the Duke of York (d. 1827), Commander-in-Chief of the army, and forty- six years a soldier ; whose statue is placed on the summit. The building fund, about 25,000?., was raised by subscription, to which each indivi- * To which Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, had contributed 5001. COMMON COUNCIL. 227 dual of the service contributed one day's pay. The column (Tt designed by B. Wyatt, is of fine Aberdeenshire granite, the low Tuscan), >wer pe- destal grey, and the shaft of red Peterhead ; the surface fine-axed, or not polished. The abacus of the capital is enclosed with iron railing, and in its centre is the pedestal for the statue. Within the pedestal and shaft is a spiral staircase of 1G8 steps, which, with the newel, or central pillar, and outer casing, are cut from the solid block. The masonry throughout, by No well, is remarkably good. The statue, of bronze, by Sir Richard Westmacott, R.A., represents the Duke in the robes of the Order of the Garter. The weight is 7 tons SOOlbs., or I6,4801bs. ; it was raised April 8, 1834, between the column and the scaffolding, seven hours labour, at a cost of 400Z. The column may be ascended from 12 to 4, from May to Sept. 24, 6d. each person : the view from the gallery of the Surrey hills and western London is fine ; the latter shewing the magnificence of Regent-street, and the skill of the archi- tect, Nash, in the junction of the lines by the Quadrant. On May 14, 1850, Henri Joseph Stephan, a French musician, committed suicide by throwing himself from the gallery, which has since been- entirely enclosed with iron caging. The height of the column is 123 feet 6 inches; of the statue, 13 feet 6 inches = 137 feet; or viewed from the- bottom of the steps, at the level of St. James's Park, 156 feet : upper diameter of shaft, 10 feet lj inches ; lower diameter, 11 feet 7^ inches. The foundation, laid in concrete* is pyramidal, 53 feet square at the base. The height of the balcony of the York Column is very nearly that of the under side of the great tube of the Britannia Bridge, over the Menai Straits, above high-water. The entire length of the bridge is 1832 feet 8 inches; consi- derably more than that of Waterloo Place, from the York Column to the foot of the Quadrant. Proceedings of the Society of Arts, 1851. Dr. Waagen condemns this monument as a bad imitation of Trajan's Column, very mean and poor in appearance, with a naked shaft, and without an entasis; whereas the bas-reliefs on the shaft of Trajan's Pillar give it, at least, the im- pression of a lavish profusion of art. Besides, the statue on the York Column, though as colossal as the size of the base will allow, appears little and puppet-like compared with the column j and the features and expression of the countenance are wholly lost to the spectator. See also MONUMENT, THE. COMMON-COUNCIL. The constitution of the Corporation of London presents a remote and illusory resemblance to the constitution of the state. There are the Lord Mayor, the Court of Aldermen, and the Court of Common-Coun- cil. Strictly speaking, the Court of Common-Council includes the Chief Magistrate and the Aldermen ; but in ordinary language it is un- derstood to mean the Commons of the City, being somewhat like the House of Commons; the Court of Aldermen bearing some analogy to the House of Lords ; and the Lord Mayor to the Sovereign. (Lard Brougham, in Parliament, March 3, 1843.) The two corporate assemblies can be traced back to a very distant period, and there are records of disputes between the two Courts six centuries ago ; but the Common-Council appears to have been first constituted in its present form only in the reign of Richard II., by a civic ordinance; whilst in an Act of Parliament of the previous reign (28 Edw. III. c. 10), the mayor, sheriffs, aad aldermen are invested with the redress and correction of errors, &c. in the city of London, for default of good government. In the reigns of Edward I. and II., a body analogous to the Com- mon-Council was formed by the representatives from the different * Concrete (of lime, sand, pebbles, &c.) is inferred, from documents dated 1292, to have been employed in the foundation of St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster. 228 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Yrards of the City. From thence to the time of Richard II. they were returned by the Companies or Mysteries. In the Mayoralty of Nicholas Brembre, (7 and 8 Rich. II.), the election was established by "Ward- mote. The original number of members, in 1384, was 96 ; July 31, 1384, 207 ; in 1549, 197 ; Stow's Survey (1717), 231 ; Stow (1736 and 1755), 214 ; 1837, 240 ; reduced in 1840 to 206, the present number. From 1660 to 1676, several attempts were made by the Aldermen to limit the choice of the Wardmote to citizens of the higher class ; but no permanent regulation was the result. In 1831, a Committee reported that persons convicted of defrauding in weights and measures, or hav- ing compounded with their creditors, or of having been bankrupt, with- out paving 20*. in the pound, were ineligible as Common-Councilmen. The members are elected annually on St. Thomas's Day (Dec. 21) by the resident freemen of the 26 Wards, exclusive of Bridge Without. The candidates must be freemen householders of the Ward for which they declare. The Alderman of the Ward is the presiding officer at the election ; and the return of the persons elected is made on Monday next after the Epiphany, i.e. Plough Monday. Each Common-Councilman wears a gown of Mazarine-blue silk, trimmed with badger's fur a costume, probably, of the reign of Ed- ward VI. They formerly wore black gowns ; and the change is thus alluded to in the chorus to a political song of 1766 : " Oh, London is the town of towns ! Oh, how improved a city ! Since chang'd her Common Council's gowns from black to blue so pretty!" They, however, discontinued wearing their gowns in court in 1775 ; perhaps in consequence of a Common-Councilman being called " a Ma- zarine." Nor has he escaped the severer whipping of the satirist : " The cit a Common-Councilman by place, Ten thousand mighty nothings in his face, By situation, as by nature, great, With wise precision parcels out the state ; Proves and disproves, affirms and then denies, Objects himself, and to himself replies; Wielding aloft the politician rod, Makes Pitt by turns a devil and a god; Maintains, ev'n to the very teeth of pow'r, The same thing right and wrong in half-an-hour Now all is well, now he suspects a plot, And plainly proves whatever is is not: Fearfully wise, he shakes his empty head, And deals out empires as he deals out thread ; His useless scales are in a corner flung, And Europe's balance hangs upon his tongue." Churchill. The Court hold their sittings in a chamber on the north side of the Guildhall, where the Lord Mayor presides in a chair of state; visitors are admitted below the bar, at which petitions, &c. are pi sented in due legislative form. The entire Court were entertained George I. at a banquet at St. James's Palace in 1727. CONDUITS. Spring water was formerly conveyed to public reservoirs in the City by leaden pipes from various sources in the suburbs ; viz. from Tyburn in 1236, from Highbury in 1438, from Hackney in 1535, from Hampstead in 1543, and from Hoxton in 1546. For these useful works the citizens were indebted to the munificence of mayors, sheriffs, and other indivi- duals. Stow devotes a section of his Survey to " ancient and present rivers, brooks, bowers, pools, wells, and conduits of fresh water, serving the City :" he also gives a long list of benefactors to the Con- duits, the principal of which were in Aldgate, Leadenhall, Cornhill, West CONDUITS. 229 Cheape, Aldermanbury, Dowgate, London Wall, Cripplegate, Paul's- gate, Old Fish-street, Oldbourne, &c. In a large map and drawing* of London and Westminster, early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the several Conduits occupy central positions in the roadways. The Great Conduit stood at the east end of Cheapside, at its junc- tion with the Poultry ; and, says Stow, " was the first sweete water that was conveyed by pipes of lead under ground to this place in the citie from Paddington." Another Great Conduit stood in West Cheap, at the west end of Cheapside, facing Foster-lane and Old 'Change. Another celebrated Conduit, "castellated in the middest" of Corn- hill, opposite the south entrance to the present Royal Exchange, was called the Tun, from its being like a tun standing on one end. It was a prison-house until 1401, when "it was made a cistern for sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead from Tiborne, was from thenceforth called the Conduit upon Cornhill." (Stow.) A well, which adjoined, was then planked over, and a timber cage, pillory, and stocks, set upon it ; these were removed in 1546, the well revived, and made a pump ; since renewed, with the following inscription : " On this spot a well was first made, and a House of Correction built by Henry Wallis, Mayor of London in 1285. The well was discovered^ much enlarged, and this pump erected in 1799, by the contributions of the Bank of England, East India Company, and the neighbouring Fire Offices, together with the bankers and traders of the ward of Cornhill." Round the head of the pump are the devices of the Fire Offices. " The Standard in Cornhill" was a sort of Conduit, set up in 1582,. by Peter Morris, who, by an " artificial forcer," conveyed Thames water in pipes of lead over the steeple of St. Magnus' Church, and from thence to the north-west corner of London Wall, the highest ground of all the City, where the waste of the main-pipe rising into the Standard at every tide, ran by four mouths, and thus served the inhabitants, and. cleansed the streets towards Bishopsgate, Aldgate, London Bridge, and Stocks Market. This Conduit appears only to have run from 1598 to 1603 : from its site have since been measured distances, and hence "the Standard in Cornhill" on our milestones. The Priory of St. Bartholomew was supplied from Canonbury ; for a water-course is specified in the grant made to Sir Richard Rich, Knight, at the Suppression, as " the water from the Conduit-head of St. Bartholomew, within the manor of Canonbury, as enjoyed by Prior Bolton and his predecessors." Another famous Conduit stood at the south end of Shoe-lane, Fleet- street, surmounted with automaton figures, chimes, &c. (See p. 125,) Bayswater was noted for its Conduit-Heads (see BATSWATER, p. 36) ; and the association is preserved in Conduit-street in the town built be- tween 1839 and 1849, in the rear of Hyde Park Gardens. Tyburn furnished nine Conduits, and with Bayswater, was "viewed" periodically by the Lord Mayor on horseback, and ladies in wagons ; after which they dined at the Lord Mayor's Banqueting House, at the end of Stratford-place, Oxford-road ; and when the mansion was taken down in 1737, the cisterns beneath were arched over. Strype notes that on Sept. 18, 1562, "the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and many worshipful persons, rode to the conduit-heads to see them, according to the old custom; and then they went and hunted a hare before dinner, and killed her; and thence went to dinner at the Banqueting House at the head of the conduit, where a great number were handsomely entertained by their Chamberlain. After dinner they went to hunt the fox. There was a great cry for a mile, and at length * Dimensions, 6 feet 3 inches by 2 feet 6 inches, with References and Histo- rical Notes. Published by Taperell and Innes, 2 Winchester-buildings, Old Broad-street, 1850. 230 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the hounds killed him at the end of St. Giles's, with great hollowing and blowing of horns at his death; and thence the Lord Mayor, with all his company, rode through London to his place in Lombard-street." The establishment of the Waterworks at London Bridge in 1512, and the sub- sequent introduction of the New River in 1618, having superseded the use of the Tyburn water, the Corporation let the water of these conduits on a lease for 43 years, for the sum of 7001. per annum. The Marylebone Waterworks were in the possession of Hugh Merchant, lessee, in 1698 ; they had then been established 36 years, and supplied Covent Garden and St. Martin's-lane. These Waterworks were situated at a short distance from the south end of Portland-place ; Portland Chapel having been built upon the site of Marylebone Basin, which was anciently a reservoir belonging to the said Waterworks. They are often mentioned in old newspapers as the cause of many fatal accidents, and the scene of as many suicides. There is a view of this basin, by Chatelain, in the British Museum. (Smith's Marylebone, 1833, p. 147.) " New Bond-street was at that time (1700) an open field, called Conduit-mead, from one of the conduits which supplied this part of the town with water ; and Conduit-street received its name for the same reason." (Pennant.) Carew Mild- may, who died between 1780 and 1785, told Pennant that he remembered killing a woodcock on the site of Conduit-street, when it was open country. On Kensington Palace green was formerly a four-gabled Conduit, built temp, Henry VIII.; and a Water Tower, erected by Sir John Vanbrugh, temp. Queen Anne ; both were very fine specimens of brick- work, and communicating by pipes with the wells on the green, supplied the Palace with water, which was raised in the Tower by a horse and wheel. Bv forming the great sewer for " Palace Gardens " adjoining, all the wells on the green, except one, were unexpectedly drained : the Conduit and Tower were then taken down, and the Palace has since been supplied from Chelsea Water-works. Westminster Abbey has been, from a very distant period, supplied with spring-water from a Conduit-head at Bayswater, communicating with a Gothic conduit, erected by the Dean and Chapter (bearing their arms), at the lower end of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. West of the Lodge at Hyde-Park-corner, and facing the Knightsbridge-road, is a square building, inclosing a tank filled from the above Conduit-head, for the supply of Buckingham and St. James's Palaces ; the water is remarkably fine, and the building bears on a tablet " IV. G. R., 1820," the date of its repair. The leaden pipes pass through the Green Park, and the end of the ornamental water in St. James's Park, at a spot denoted by a stone, and through Queen-square to the Abbey. The Palace at Westminster had its conduit. In the Close Rolls (Hen. III. 1244) the king commands a payment to be made out of his treasury to Edward of Westminster, on account of "our conduit;" and by a singular precept of the same year is a grant to Edward, that "from the aqueduct which the king had constructed to the Great Hall at Westminster, he might have a pipe to his own court at Westminster, of the size of a goose-quill." In a memorandum of works executed (Edw. II. 1307-1310,) is the following entry : "The conduit of water coming into the palace, and into the king's mews, for the falcons, which in various places was obstructed and injured, and the under- ground pipes stolen, was completely repaired, and the water returned to its , proper courses and issues, both at the palace and at the mews." " A beautiful fountain, which fell in large cascades, and on jubilee days was made to pour forth streams of choice wine, stood rather towards the west, and on the north side of the court. Permission to make use of the surplus water which flowed fiom this conduit was granted, on Feb. 3 (25 Hen. VI.), to the parish. Under the date 1524, the churchwardens for the time being note, ' Mem m . the King's charter for the Condett at the Pales'-gate remayneth in the custody of the churchwardens.' The fountain was removed in the reign of King Charles II." Walcott's Westminster. Lastly, in the very curious Harleian MS. numbered 433 (Rich. III. 14S4) we find mentioned " the lytell watf conduct." A print by Godfrey, after a drawing by Hollar, (probably temp. CONDUITS. 231 Charles I.,) shews a stone conduit in St. James's-square, on or near the spot now occupied by Bacon's equestrian bronze statue of William III. : the whole of Pall Mall was then clear of houses, from the village of Charing to St. James's Palace. The above conduit is mentioned by Lord Bacon ( Works, vol. ii.) in connexion with one of his experiments. In 1720, a basin of water, with a fountain and pleasure-boat, had taken the place of the conduit ; and into this basin were thrown the keys of Newgate Prison during the Riots of 1780. Dalston and Islington had their conduit-heads ; and the Report of a View of them, dated 1692, describes the entire course of this supply until it reaches the Conduit at Aidgate. This Report mentions " the White Conduit," fed by sundry springs, in a field at Islington, and re- sorted to by the Carthusian friars of the monastery upon the site of which Sutton founded the Charterhouse, supplied also from the above conduit. It likewise gave name to White Conduit House. (See AMUSE- MENTS, Tea-Gardens, p. 15.) The small stone house built over the well or conduit in 1641 was taken down in 1832. It was, however, survived by the Old Conduit at Dalston, the remains of which, in 1849, served as a tool-house in the nursery-ground of Mr. Smith. The Charter-house Conduit was rebuilt by the executors of Thomas Sutton. It bore the date 1641, and upon it were sculptured the arms and initials of Sutton. No vestige of it now remains. William Lamb was sometime a Gentleman of the Chapel to Henry VIII., citizen and clothworker : " neere unto Holborn," say s. Stow, " he founded a faire conduit and a standard, with a cocke at Holborn-bridge to conveye thence the waste. These were begun the six-and-twentieth day of March, 1577," &c. The conduit is described by Hatton, in 1708, as " near the fields (now Lamb's Conduit street), affording plenty of water, clear as chrystal, which is chiefly used for drinking. It belongs to St. Sepulchre's parish, the fountain-head being under a stone, marked S. S. P., in the vacant ground a little south of Ormond-street, whence the water comes in a drein to this conduit; and it runs thence in lead pipes (2000 yards long) to the conduit on Snow-hill, which has the figure of a lamb upon it, denoting that its water comes from Lamb's Conduit." The sign of the Lamb public-house, at the north-east end of Lamb's Conduit-street, is the effigy of a lamb cut in stone, believed to be one of the figures which stood upon Lamb's Conduit, as a rebus on his name. When the Foundling Hospital was erected, we learn from Hat- ton that the conduit was taken down, and the water conveyed to the east side of Red Lion-street, at the end, (now Lamb's Conduit street;) an inscription stating the waters to be preserved " by building an arch over the same ;" and in 1851, Mr. J. Wykeham Archer discovered, beneath a trap-door in the pavement of the Lamb-yard, a short flight of steps, a brick vault, and the covered well; as well as on the north wall of the next yard southward, this inscription cut in wood, over a recess now bricked up : " Lamb's Conduit, the property of the City of London. This Pump is erected for the Benefit of the Publick." The water is perfectly clear, and is slightly astringent; and the Mansion House is said still to derive a supply from this source. In the garden of the house, No. 30 East-street, Lamb's Conduit street, is a pump and spring ; and on the opposite wall a stone stating this to be "the head of the spring Lamb's Conduit Water." Many of the City Conduits were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 ; and others were removed in 1728, it is stated, to compel the public to have the New River water laid on to their houses. Upon great festal occasions, the Conduits flowed with wine instead of water : at the procession of Anne Boleyn, June 1, 1533, the Great 232 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Cheap Conduit ran with white and claret wine all the afternoon. Pro- bably the last of these prodigal events was in 1727, on the anniversary of the Coronation of George I., when Lamb's Conduit ran with wine. CONVENTS. Before we notice the Conventual establishments of the present day, we shall glance at the religious houses and hospitals which, for ages before the Reformation, occupied nearly two-thirds of the entire area of London. Independently of St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, the following Friaries and Abbeys existed almost immediately prior 'to the Reformation : Friaries : "Black Friars, between Ludgate and the Thames ; Grey Friars, near old Newgate, now Christ's Hospital ; Augustine Friars, now Austin Friars, near Broad-street; White Friars, near Salisbury-square; Crouched or Crossed Friars, 9t. Olave's, Hart-street, near Tower-hill; Carthusian Friars, now the Charter House ; Cistercian Friars, or New Abbey, East Smithfield; Brethren de Sacco, or Bon Hommes, Old Jewry. Priories : St. John's of Jerusalem, Clerkenwell; Holy Trinity, or Christ Church, on the site of Duke's-place, and near Aldgate; St. Bartholomew the Great, near Smithfield; St. Mary Overie's, Southwark; St. Saviour's, Bermondsey. Nunneries: Benedictines, or Black Nuns, Clerkenwell; St. Helen's, Bishops- pate-street ; St. Clare's, Minories ; Holy- well, between Holy well-lane and Norton- fblgate. Colleges, fyc. : St. Martin's-le-Grand ; St. Thomas of Acres, Westcheap; Whit- tington's College and Hospital, Vintry Ward ; St. Michael's College and Chapel, Crooked-lane ; Jesus Commons, Dowgate. Hospitals (having resident Brotherhoods): St. Giles's in the Fields, near St. Giles's Church; St. James's, now St. James's Palace; Our Lady of Rounceval, near Charing-cross; St. Mary, Savoy, Strand; Elsing Spital, now Sion College; Corpus Chrisri. in St. Lawrence Pountney; St. Passey, near Bevis Marks; St. Mary Axe; Trinity, without Aldgate; St. Thomas, Mercers' Chapel; St. Bar- tholomew the Less, near Smithfield; St. Giles's, and Corpus Christi, without Cripplegate; St. Mary of Bethlehem, on the eastern side of Moorfields; St. Mary Spital, without Bishopsgate; St. Thomas, Southwark; Lok Spital, or Lazar, Kent-street, Southwark; St Katherine's, below the Tower. Fraternities: St. Nicholas. Bishopsgate-street ; St. Fabian and St. Sebastian, or the Holy Trinity, Aldersgate-street ; St. Giles. Whitecross-street ; the Holy Trinity, I.eadenhall ; St. Ursula-le-Strand ; Hermitage, Nightingale-lane, East Smithfield; Corpus Christi, St. Mary Spital; the same at St. Mary Bethlehem, and St. Mary, Poultry. The majority of these establishments disappeared at the Reforma- tion ; but a glance at the Sutherland View of London in 1543, and at Taperell and Innes's Map (early in the reign of Elizabeth), shews us many of these important buildings entire, and others lying distant in the fields. Almost the only remains now traceable are around the Abbey Church at Westminster, where some of the monastic offices are tenanted as the School ; of Grey Friars, the cloisters exist ; of the Augus- tine Friars, the church ; of the" Carthusian Friars, the wooden gate and a few other relics ; of St. John of Jerusalem, the gateway ; ef St. Bar- tholomew the Great, the church cloister and crypt ; of St. Mary Overie's, the church-choir and lady-chapel ; and at Bermondsey the great gate- house remained nearly entire till 1807 ; of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, the church remains; of St. Bartholomew's the Less, the church-tower; and St. Katherine's "by the Tower" disappeared in 1827. Such are the principal Monastic Remains in the metropolis. Since the relaxation of the penal laws, a few Roman Catholic Con- vents have been erected in London and the suburbs. Of these, the Con- vent for the Order of the Sisters of Mercy was founded by subscription, at Dockhead, Bermondsey, in 1838, and opened for the Sisterhood De- cember 12, 1839 ; when Sister Mary, the Lady Barbara Eyre, sister to Francis the eighth earl of Newbufgh, took the vows, with five other CONVENTS. 233 234 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. ing nine cwt.), so as effectually "to cause mischief and material injur< to the comfort of those that dwell near" (Lord Eldori), when an in" junction was sought to restrain the Superior, or any person acting under him, from ringing the bells, which was granted by "Vice-Chan cellor Kindersley, December 23, 1851. The Convent's of the Sisters of .Notre Dame, Bedford-road, Clap- ham, and of the Sisters of the Christian Retreat, Manor House, Ken- nington-lane, are educational establishments : the latter is the onl\ vestige of the old palace, and had for its last royal tenant Charles 1 when Prince of Wales. CORXHILL, A principal street of the City, extending from the western end o! Leadenhall-street, crossing westward to the Mansion House. It was named " of a corn-market time out of mind there holden." (Stoic. Here was the "Tun" prison, built in 1283, upon the spot now occu- pied by a pump; also a castellated conduit, and its water (i Standard' (1528), near the junction of the street with Leadenhall-street. On March 25, 1748, a fire within twelve hours consumed between ninety and a hundred houses in Cornhill (200,OOOZ. loss), including that in which was born the poet Gray, whose father was an Exchange broker ; the houst was rebuilt, and was, in 1774, occupied by one Natzell, a perfumer and in 1824 it was still inhabited by a perfumer No. 41, a few doors from Birchin-lane. (Bray ley's Londiniana, vol. iii. p. 98.) Cornhill has been the site of the Merchant's Exchange for nearly three centuries. On the west side, adjoining the Bank of England, was St. Christopher- le-Stocks church, with a lofty pinnacled tower, which escaped the Great Fire of 1666: the church was rebuilt by "Wren, but taken down in 1781, and its site included within the Bank. About the same time was erected Bank-buildings, in place of a block of houses built after the Great Fire ; the former were removed in 1844 : the end house ex- tended to the site of the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, In excavating for the new Royal Exchange, in 1841, was discovered a gravel pit, supposed by Mr. Tite, the architect, to have been sunk during the earliest Roman occupation of London; and then to have been a pond, gradually filled with rubbish. In it were found Roman work, stuccoed and painted; fragments of elegant Samian ware; an amphora, with terra-cotta lamps, 17 feet below the surface ; also pine- wood table-.books and metal stj'les, sandals and soldier's shoes, a Roman strigil, coins of Vespasian and Domitian, &c. ; and almost the very foot-marks of the Roman soldier. The locality is now the most embel- lished area of the City, and a nucleus of new streets and sumptuou^ architecture. Cornhill was formerly noted for its shops of " much stolen gear,'] mentioned by Lydgate early in the fifteenth century ; as well as for ita taverns, where was " wine one pint for a pennie, and bread to drink if was given free in every tavern." Here was the famous Pope's-Heaa Tavern, whence Pope's-Head alley. No. 15, with a quaint old front, wa| the shop of Messrs. Birch, father and son, the celebrated cooks and con4 fectioners : the son, born in 1757, was Alderman of Candlewick ward^ and Lord Mayor in 1815-16; and annually presented to the Mansion House a splendid cake, to keep Twelfth Night. Alderman Birch wrote the Adopted Child and other dramatic pieces. At a corner house, be- tween Cornhill and Lombard-street, Thomas Guy, the wealthy stationer, commenced business. (See HOSPITALS.) This *' lucky corner" was subsequently Pidding's Lottery-office. There were several other lot- tery-offices in Cornhill, including that of Carroll, knighted as Sheriff in 1837, Lord Mayor in 1846. COSMOEAMAS. COVENT GARDEN. 235 Cornhill has been the scene of two calamitous fires: one in 1748, above men- tioned, which commenced at a peruke-maker's in Exchange-alley, and burnt from 90 to 100 houses, including the London Assurance Office, the Fleece and Three Tuns Taverns, and Tom's and the Rainbow Coffee-houses, in Cornhill; the Swan Tavern, with Garraway's, Jonathan's, and the Jerusalem Coffee-houses, in Exchange-alley ; besides the George and Vulture Tavern, and several other coffee-houses : many lives lost. The second fire commenced also at a peruke- maker's, in Bishopsgate-street, adjoining Leadenhall-street, Nov. 7, 1765; when all the houses from Cornhill to St. Martin Outwich church were burnt ; and the church, parsonage-house, Merchant-Tailors' Hall, and several houses in Thread- needle-street, were much damaged. The White Lion Tavern, purchased for 30001. on the preceding evening, and all the houses in White Lion Court, were burnt, together with rhe houses in Cornhill and others in Leadenhall-street, when several lives were lost. COSMORAMAS. The Cosmorama, though named from the Greek, (kostnos, world ; and orama, view, because of the great variety of views,) is but an en- largement of the street peep-show ; the difference not being in the construction of the apparatus, but in the quality of the pictures exhi- bited. In the common shows, coarsely-coloured prints are sufficiently good ; in the Cosmorama a moderately good oil-painting is employed. The pictures are placed beyond what appear like common windows, but of which the panes are really large convex lenses, fitted to correct the errors of appearance which the nearness of the pictures would else produce. The optical part of the exhibition is thus complete ; but as the frame of the picture would be seen, and thus the illusion be de- stroyed, it is necessary to place between the lens and the view a square wooden frame, which, being painted black, prevents the rays of light passing beyond a certain line, according to its distance from the eye: on looking through the lens, the picture is seen as if through an open- ing, which adds very much to the effect. Upon the top of the frame is a lamp, which illuminates the picture, while all extraneous light is carefully excluded by the lamp being in a box, open in front and top. A Cosmorama is shewn at Nos. 207 and 209 Regent-street, where the most effective scenes are views of cities and public buildings. Cos- moramas also form part of other exhibitions. At the Lowther Bazaar, Strand, the " Magic Cave," (cosmoramic pictures,) has realised 1500J. per annum, at 6d. for each admission. COVENT GARDEN, Lying between the north side of the Strand and Long Acre, has been a locality of great interest and celebrity for six centuries past. In 1222 most of the present parish of St. Paul, CoVent Garden, was occupied by the Garden ofthe Abbey at Westminster ; w/zde Convent, corruptedto Covent Garden, which name occurs in a deed of 2 August, 9 Elizabeth. In digging for the foundations of the new Market, in 1829, a quantity of human bodies was exhumed on the north side of the area, supposed to have been the Convent burial-ground. After the Dissolution, this Garden and the lands belonging to it were granted by Edward VI. to his uncle, the Duke of Somerset, upon whose attainder they reverted to the Crown. In 1552, they were granted by patent, with seven acres, called Long Acre, of the yearly value of 61. (3*. 8d., to John Earl of Bedford, who built a town residence, principally of wood, upon the site of Southampton-street, where it remained till 1704 ; the garden ex- tending northward nearly to the site of the present Market. South- ampton-street was then built, and named after Lady William Russell, daughter of the Earl of Southampton ; and other streets were named from the Russell family, as Russell, Bedford, Tavistock, Chandos ; King and Henrietta streets, from Charles I. and his queen ; and James and York streets, from the Duke of York, afterwards James II. 236 CURIOSITIES OF LOXDOX. In 16-34 Francis Earl of Bedford cleared the area; in 1640, Inigo Jones built for his lordship the fine church of St. Paul, " the handsomest barn in England," on the west side ; and lines of lofty houses upon arcades on the north and east sides, (a near imitation of the piazza at Livorno,) Tavistock-ro\v being built, in 1704, upon the south. (See ARCADES, p. 18.) The area was inclosed with railings, at 60 feet from the buildings; and in the centre was a dial, with a gilt ball, raised upon a column. One of Hollar's prints, temp. Charles II., shews the ?lace as above, with uniform houses, one on each side of the church, n 1671, the Earl of Bedford obtained a patent for the Market, which, however, was for a long time only held on the south side against the garden-wall of Bedford House ; for we read of "bonefires" and fire- works in the square in 1690 and 1691. Upon the site of the large house, northward, lived Sir Kenelm Digby, of " Sympathetic powder" fame, and here he had a laboratory. The mansion (now Evans's Hotel) was built for Lord Orford, who won the victory off Cape La Hogue, in 1692 ; the front is imagined to re- semble the forecastle of a ship. The premises were first opened as an hotel in 1774, but the upper portion was subsequently let as chambers. From its contiguity to the Cockpit and Drury Lane theatre, Co- vent Garden became surrounded with taverns ; and here, in 1711, stood " Punch's Theatre," which thinned the congregation in the church. Quacks used here to harangue the mob, and give advice gratis. These adventitious notorieties did not improve the morals of the locality " Where holy friars told their beads, And nuns confess'd their evil deeds : But oh, sad change ! oh, shame to tell How soon a prey to vice it fell ! How? since its justest appellation Is Grand Seraglio to the nation." Sat ire, 1756. The Piazza was formerly "a sad place ." Shenstone tells us of pick- pockets in 1744, in large bodies, armed with couteaux, attacking parties coming out of the playhouse. At the north-east angle, in 1779, Miss Reay was shot by Hac'kman, as she was entering a carriage to return from Covent Garden Theatre. Among the notorieties of "the Garden" was, beneath the church portico, " Tom King's Coffee-house," shewn in Hogarth's print of " Morning :" it was a mere shed, as Murphy described it, " well known to all gentlemen to whom beds are unknown." Upon the south side of the market sheds was the noted " Finish," kept by Mrs. Butler, the last of the Covent Garden night-taverns, and only cle'ared away in 1829. In 1711, at the Bumper Tavern, in James-street, the best Port-wine was advertised at 5s. per gallon ; and in this street, the Bird Market was formerly held on Sunday mornings. In 1712, Prince Eugene at- tended a musical festival at the Two Golden Balls, in Bow-street. In Great Russell-street were the three celebrated coffee-houses, " "Will's," " Tom's," and "Button's," the resort of Dryden, Prior, Addison, Pope, Swift, and Gay : at Tom's, No. 8, Johnson and Boswell first met. (See COFFEE-HOUSES, pp. 200, 204-5.) In 1711, Bohea tea was sold at 26s. the pound at the Barber's Pole in Southampton-street ; where, No. 31, Godfrey and Cooke's, (established 1680,) is the oldest chemist and drug- gist's shop in London. At No. 27 lived David Garrick, before he re- moved to Adelphi Terrace. The Piazza houses are still mostly occupied as hotels and coffee- houses. At the Bedford, frequented by Garrick, Quin, Foote, Murphy, and Sheridan, was held for many years the Beefsteak Society, with Cap- tain Morris for laureat ; and here and at the Piazza, Richardson's, and Joy's (now Evans's), a few of the gay nobility were wont to dine. The CRANE-COURT. 237 Piazza has had for tenants Sir Peter Lely, Sir Godfrey Kneller, Sir James Thornhill, and Richard Wilson ; and Hogarth's Marriage-a-la-Mode jictures were exhibited gratis in the premises now Robins's Auction- ooms. One of the earliest records of its artistic fame is, however, ;hat of Charles I. establishing at the house of Sir Francis Kynaston, in 'the Garden," an academy called " Museum Minervae," for the instruc- tion of gentlemen in arts and sciences, knowledge of medals, antiquities, Dainting, architecture, and foreign languages. Mr. Cunningham's Hand- wok is pleasantly anecdotic of the residence of many eminent persons n this locality. Till the present century, the neighbouring streets were a fashionable quarter ; and Tavistock and Henrietta streets, famed or perruquiers, were crowded with carriages at shopping hours. The parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden, is completely encircled by that of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; and the boundary of each, upon the site of Bedford House and grounds, towards the lower end of South- ampton-street, has been contested since the eighteenth century. Before the portico of St. Paul's church is erected the hustings for the election of VIemliers of Parliament for Westminster. Contests are now restricted to one day ; but in this political cockpit were fought many battles of Government and People, when " madman's holiday" extended to 15 days ; the defeat of the Tory party leading to the division of the Liberals into Whigs, Radicals, and Reformers. COYENT GARDEN MARKET. See MARKETS. COVENT GARDEN THEATRE. See THEATRES. CRANE-COURT, A cul-de-sac on the north side of Fleet-street, and the first court eastward of Fetter-lane, was originally called Two- Crane-court. It was rebuilt immediately after the Great Fire of 16G6 : the house No. 5 is a fine specimen of brickwork, dated 1670; and the large top house was built by "Wren. Upon its site was the mansion of the well-known Dr. Nicholas Barbon, with garden and fish-pond in the rear. In the present house, the Royal Society met from 1710 till 1782 ; and the room in which Sir Isaac Newton sat as president is preserved intact. In 1782, when the Society removed to Somerset-House, they sold the pre- mises in Crane-court to the Scottish Hospital and Corporation, who now occupy it. In the hall are some fine portraits : including Mary Queen of Scots, by Zucchero ; and William IV., painted and presented by Sir David "Wilkie. The ancient Scottish arms, cut in stone, which adorned the original hospital, is still preserved in the inner court. The house formerly included the present No. 8, in which was kept the library of the Royal Society, in cedar-wood cases. Strype describes Crane-court as "a very handsome open place, graced with good buildings, well inhabited by persons of repute." Until about 1782 it was paved with black and white marble, which was taken up by the parish, and com- mon pavement substituted. In 1754 and 1755, the Society of Arts met at a circulating library,* and subsequently at another house, in this court ; and here the first premium of five pounds, offered for drawings by boys under fourteen years of age, was adjudged to Richard Cosway, afterwards R.A. In the house No. 9 was originally printed and pub- lished the Traveller newspaper; at No. 10 (Palmer and Clayton's) was first printed the Illustrated London News ; and in the house immedi- ately opposite, the early numbers of Punch. In Crane-court lived Dryden Leach the printer, \vho, in 1763, was arrested on a general warrant, upon suspicion of having printed Wilkes's libellous North Briton, No. 45. Leach was taken out of his bed in the nisiht, his papers were seized, and even his journeymen and servants were apprehended ; the only foun- dation for the arrest being a hearsay that Wilkes had been seen going into Leach's 238 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. house: he, however, subsequently obtained a verdict and 3001. damages from three of the king's messengers who had executed the illegal warrant. CROSBY HALL, In Bishopsgate-street, and north of the entrance into Crosby -square, is a portion of Crosby Place, built upon ground leased of the Prioress of St. Helen's in 1466, by Sir John Crosby, alderman, one of the sheriffs in 1471, knighted by' Edward IV. in the same year, and deceased in 1475 : " so short a time enjoyed he that his large and sumptuous build- ing ; he was buried in St. Helen's, the parish church ; a fair monument to him and his lady was raised there." (Stow.) The next possessor of Crosby Place was Richard Duke of Glouces- ter, afterwards King Richard III.; and here Shakspeare* has|laid a por- tion of his drama of that name ; though " the historian is compelled to say, that neither at the death of Henry VI. in 1471, nor at the marriage of Richard with the Lady Anne in 1473, is it probable that Richard was in possession of Crosby Place ;" but here he determined upon the depo- sition, and perhaps the death, of the young King Edward V., and here plotted his own elevation to the vacant throne. Crosby Place was then purchased by Sir Bartholomew Read, who kept here his mayoralty, 1501. Its next possessor was Sir John Best, Mayor in 1516 (the year of Evil May-day), and by him it was sold to Sir Thomas More.f In 1523, More sold Crosby Place to his dearest friend Antonio Bonvisi, a rich merchant of Lucca, who leased the mansion to William Rostell, More's nephew ; and to "William Roper, the husband of More's favourite daughter Margaret. In the reign of Edward VI., Bonvisi, Rastell, and Roper were driven abroad by religious persecution, and Crosby Place was forfeited, but restored on the accession of Mary. The next proprietors were Jermyn Cioll, who married a cousin of Sir Thos. Gresham ; and Alderman Bond, who added to the edifice a lofty tur- ret, though no traces of it are now to be found. In 1594, Sir John Spencer purchased Crosby Place, and in it kept his mayoralty that year. He greatly improved the Place, and " builded a most' large warehouse near there'unto." He was "the rich Spencer," worth nearly a million of money ; and here he entertained Sully, when he came on a special embassy from Henry IV. of France to James I. Sir John Spencer's daughter and sole heiress married William, the second Lord Compton, afterwards Earl of Northampton, and ancestor of the present Marquis. During Lord Compton 's proprietorship, the cele- brated Countess of Pembroke, "Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother," lived many years in Crosby Place. Spencer, Earl of Northampton, son of the last-mentioned proprietor, resided here in 1638. Two years previously, the property was leased to Sir John Langham, sheriffin 1642, during whose occupation it was frequently used as a prison for Royalists. His son, Sir Stephen Langham, succeeded him ; and during 'his tenancy, Crosby Place was so injured by fire that it was * Shakspeare must have been familiar with the beauty and magnificence ofl Crosby Place ; for in an assessment-roll for levying subsidies, dated October 1, 40th of Queen Elizabeth (1598), the name of William Shakspeare occurs in con-j nexion with that of Sir John Spencer, and other inhabitants of the parish of St.) Helen's, with the sum 51. 13s. 4d., the assessment, against the poet's name. + More, after his marriage in 1507, resided for some years in Bucklersbury. In what year he purchased Crosby Place is uncertain ; but it was probably soon after his return from his mission to Bruges, in 1514 and 1515 ; and as this journey forms the groundwork of the Utopia, there is reason to infer this charming ro- mance to have been written at Crosby Place, to which the picture in the preface of Sir Thomas's domestic habits may apply. There is little or no doubt that More wrote his History of Richard the Third at Crosby Place, however it may be with the Utopia. Here, too, More probably received Henry VIII. ; for this was just the time he was in high favour with the king, who then kept his court at Castle Baynard's, and St. Bride's. CROSBY HALL. 239 never after used as a dwelling. In 1672, the Upper Hall was converted into a Presbyterian meeting-house by the Rev. T. Watson ; he was fol- i lowed by Stephen Charnock ; Dr. Grosvenor, a pupil of Benjamin Reach ; and Edmund Calamy, jun. The congregation continued to meet here till 1769, when it was dispersed ; and a farewell sermon was preached by Mr. Jones, the predecessor of Dr. Colly er, at Peckham. The Hall was then let as a packer's warehouse. In 1677, the pre- sent houses in Crosby Square were built on the ruins of the old man- sion. In 1831, the packer's lease of the Hall expired; when public attention was drawn to its restoration, as the finest example in the me- tropolis of the domestic mansion of Perpendicular work. Its long list of distinguished tenants, above all, its association with Eichard III., greatly popularised the proposed restoration ; and, on June 27,1836, the first stone of the new work was laid by Lord Mayor Copelaud, alder- man of Bishopsgate; when the Hall was"fitted up with banners, strewed with rushes, and an Elizabethan breakfast served upon the long tables. On July 12, 1838, a musical performance was given in the Hall, after service in St. Helen's Church, in commemoration of Sir Thomas Gre- sham : the place is fraught with musical memories, for tinder its sha- dow once lived Byrde, "VVilbye, and Morley, the celebrated madrigalists. The restoration was completed in J842 : repairs have been made, and much of the original mansion has been rebuilt : the Hall, the Coun- cil-chamber, with the Throne-room above, remain ; and the vaults are a fine specimen of early brickwork. The entrance to Crosby Square is through a small gateway from Bishopsgate -street. The Hall consists of one story only, lighted by lofty and elegant windows, and a beauti- ful oriel window, reaching from the floor to the roof. The Council- chamber* was stripped of many of its decorations in 1816 by the pro- prietor, Avho removed them to adorn a dairy at his seat, Fawley Court, Bucks ; but the finely coved ceiling became the property of Mr. Yar- nold of Great St. Helen's, at the sale of whose Collection, in 1825, this lot was purchased by Mr. Cottingham, the architect, who fitted it as the ceiling of his Elizabethan Museum at No. 43 Waterloo-Bridge- road: at the dispersion of which, in 1851, the relic was again sold. The Throne -room has an oak-ribbed rounded roof ; and among its win- dows, one reaching the entire height of the apartment. The Great Hall, the innermost sanctuary, is 54 ft. long, 27J broad, and 40 feet high. It has a minstrels' gallery, but not a da'is. The glory of the place is, however, the roof, which is an elaborate architec- tural study, and decidedly one of the finest specimens of timber-work in exist- ence. It differs from many other examples in being an inner- roof ; it is of cork or chestnut, of low pointed arches, approaching to an ellipse. From the main Joints of intersection hang pendants, which end in octagonal ornaments, pierced with small niches, each pendant forming the centre of four arches; so that in whatever point it is viewed, the design presents a series of arches of elegant con- struction, whilst the spandrils are pierced with perpendicular trefoil-headed riches. The principal timbers are ornamented with small flowers, or knots of bliage, in a hollow ; and the whole springs from octangular corbels of stone at- :ached to the piers between the windows. Here the superior taste of the archi- :ect is strikingly displayed in the method by which he has avoided an horizontal import to his ceiling, by constructing arches of timber corresponding with the orna- mental portions of the roof above the lateral windows, and thus completely avoid- ng a horizontal line, which was as much the abomination of our ancient archi- ;ects, as it is the favourite of our modern ones. These arches are surmounted by an jlegant entablature, of a moulded architrave, a frieze of pierced quatrefoils in square )anels, and an embattled cornice ; each quatrefoil contained a small flower, of which fifty-six originally existed on each side of the Hall, the designs being dissimilar. * In 1794, Mr. Capon painted for John Philip Kemble, at New Drury-lane Theatre, the Council-chamber, for the play of Jane Shore; a correct restoration >i the original apartment, as far as existing documents would warrant. 240 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The oriel, forming an ornamented recess in the side of the Hall, has ever been regarded as one of its best features : it is vaulted with stone, beautifully groined, the ribs springing from small pillars attached to the angles ; while knots of foliage and bosses are at the points of inter- section. Among them is a ram trippant, the crest of Sir John Crosby. This and the other windows have been, for the most part, filled with stained glass, decorated with the armorial bearings of the several per- sonages famous in the history of Crosby Place, as well as of persons of taste who have contributed to its restoration. The lower aperture has been closed by the same piece of wood-work that was formerly elevated above it. The floor is paved with stone in small square slabs, arranged diagonally. In the north wall is a fire-place, which is at least singular, if not unique, in a Hall of this age. Crosby Hall, in its restored state, is let for musical performances and lectures ; and it was, for some time, the meeting-place of a Literary Society. The west front of the premises, next Bishopsgate-street, has been composed in the style of the timber houses of the Crosby period. Here is a statue of Sir John, by Nixon ; with his arms and crest. CRYPTS. The Crypts, vaults, or undercrofts remaining in the metropolis, are interesting specimens of its ecclesiastical and domestic architecture. The Crypt or Lower Chapel of Old London Bridge belongs to the past : it was constructed in the tenth or great pier, and was entered both from the upper apart- ment and the street, as well as by a flight of stone stairs winding round a pillar which led into it from outside the pier; whuSt in front of this latter entrance the sterling formed a platform at low-water, which thus rendered it accessible from the river. This Crypt was about 60 feet in length, 20 feet high, and had a groined roof, supported by stone ribs springing from clustered columns; at the intersections were bosses sculptured with cherubs, episcopal heads, and a crowned head (probably Richard Cceur de Lion), grouped with four masks ; and near the entrance was a piscina for holy water. Here was a rich series of windows looking on to the water, and the floor was paved with black and white marble : herein was buried Peter of Colechurch, the priest-architect of the bridge. The Chapel was taken down in 1700: the Crypt had been many years used as a paper- warehouse; and though the floor was always from 8 to 10 feet under the surface at high-water mark, yet the masonry was so good that no water ever penetrated. In front of the bridge-pier a square fish-pond was formed in the sterling, into which the fish were carried by the tide, and there detained by a wire grating placed over it; and "an ancient servant of London Bridge, now (1827) verging upon his hundredth summer, well remembers to have gone down through the Chapel to fish in the pond." Thomson's Chronicles, p. 517. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CRYFT, Smithfield, exists in good preserva- tion under the dining-hall or refectory of the priory, of which also there remain other appurtenances. This crypt is of great length, has a double row of beautiful aisles, with Early-Pointed arches, divided by Middlesex-passage, leading from Great to Little Bartholomew-close;! a door at the extremity is traditionally said to have communicated byj a subterranean passage with Canonbury at Islington. Beneath the/ '' Coach and Horses" public-house, and probably once the hospitium t \ within the west gate of the monastery, is the remains of another crypt. Bow CHURCH CRTPT, Cheapside, consists of columns and simple) Romanesque groinings, said to be of the age of the Conqueror : it is the crvpt of the ancient Norman church, but it was mistaken by Wren for Roman workmanship. It has long been used as a dead-house, is ventilated, and the coffins are put in fair order. At Messrs. Grow- cock's, in Bow Churchyard, is a small portion of another crypt or undercroft. It is difficult to understand how Wren was led "to the belief that the above remains were lloman ; unless, as was pointed out by Mr. G wilt, in an admirable description of the crypt (Vetusta Monu- menta, vol. v. plates Gl to 65), Wren was deceived by'the fact that Roman CRYPTS. 241 bricks are used in the construction of the arches ; or did he mean that they were more Romano, or in the Roman manner ? GARRAWAY'S COFFEE-HOUSE, 3 Change-alley, Cornhill, has a Crypt of fourteenth and sixteenth century architecture : it is of eccle- siastical character, and has a piscina ; but is now used as the coffee-house wine-cellar. GERARD'S HALL CRYPT, Basing-lane, was the only remaining ves- tige of the mansion of John Gisors, pepperer, Mayor of London in 1245 ; " a great house of old time, builded upon arched vaults, and with arched gates of stone brought from Cane in Normandy" (Stow); Gisors' Hall being corrupted to Gerard's Hall. The date of this crypt was pro- bably late in the thirteenth century. The groined roof was supported by sixteen columns : the crypt, although generally resembling a subter- ranean ecclesiastical edifice, was constructed solely for the stowage of merchandise, and was thus an example of the warehouse of the wealthy London merchant of the thirteenth century. The great house called he Vintrie stood upon similar vaults, which were used for the stow- ge of French wines; it was likewise occupied, in 1314, by Sir John Jisors, who was a vintner. Gerard's Hall Crypt, with the modern un which had replaced the hall, was removed in forming a new street n 1852, when some curious old merchant's marks were found. Here was preserved the tutelar effigies of " Gerard the gyant," a fair specimen f a London sign, temp. Charles II. Here also was shewn the staff used by Jerard in the wars, and a ladder to ascend to the top of the staff; and in the eighbouring church of St. Mildred, Bread-srreet, hangs a huge tilting-helmet, aid to have been worn by the said gyant. The staff, Stow thinks, may rather lave been used as a May-pole, and to stand in the hall decked with evergreens t Christmas ; the ladder serving for decking the pole and hall-roof. /. W. Archer. GUILDHALL CRYPT is the finest and most extensive undercroft re- naining in London, and is the only portion of the ancient hall (erected n 1411) which escaped the Great Fire of 1666. It extends the whole 242 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the Second's time) had been raised to strengthen the ceiling and sustain the weight of the Parliament-chamber floor, together with strong rafters of oak, supported by twelve octagonal oak posts, on stone plinths. This building was taken down about the year 1823, when it was ascertained that the vaults had been the ancient kitchen of the Old Palace ; and near the south end the original buttery-hatch was discovered, together with an adjoining pantry or cupboard." (Britton and Brayley's West- minster Palace, p. 421.) The Conspirators obtained access to the vaults through a house in the south-east corner of Old Palace-yard, which was at one time occupied as the Ordnance Office, and afterwards as the entrance to the House of Lords. Since the Gunpowder Plot, Nov. 5, 1605, it has been the custom to search and carefully examine all the vaults and passages under the Houses of Par- liament, previous to the Sovereign opening the Session. This precautionary in- spection, which is continued to the present day, is performed hy certain officers of Parliament, headed by the Usher of the Black Rod, who go through the vaults, and examine the various nooks and recesses that might, if Conspirators were so inclined, again hold combustibles, with the intent, " suddenly and with one blast, to blow up and tear in pieces" those assembled on the occasion in Parlia- ment. The search takes place on the morning of the day of the Royal ceremonial. HOSTELRY OF THE PRIOR OF LEWES CRYPT was discovered in Carter-lane, Tooley-street, Southwark, nearly opposite St. Olave's Church, in 1832. This vaulted chamber was supported by six demi- columns, attached to the side walls ; the columns and arches of wrought stone, and the vaultings of chalk. In 1834 was discovered another crypt-like chamber, with a plain, massive, round pillar in the centre, from which sprang elliptic-ribbed arches, forming a groined roof. This vault is supposed to have been the cellar of the " Hostelry for Travellers which had the sign the ' Walnut Tree'" (Stow). Both" crypts origin- ally belonged to the town lodging of the priors of Lewes ; the larger crypt being under the great hall, which had been used as the grammar school-room of St. Olave's, founded by Queen Elizabeth. These crypts were destroyed in making the approaches to the New London Bridge. LAMBETH PALACE CRYPT, or Under-chapel, is considered to be the oldest portion of the palace. It consists of a series of strongly-groined stone arches, supported centrally by a short, massive column, and by brackets in the side walls. These vaults are now converted into cellars; but might, possibly, have been originally used for divine worship, as there are two entrances to them from the cloisters. "Lambeth Palace Chapel retains a crypt, a doorway, and windows of great beauty, but the chapel has otherwise been quite barbarised ; and the remainder of this archiepiscopal residence, though founded as early as the reign of Richard Coaur-de-Lion (before which it was a residence of the Bishop of Rochester), now forms only a confused medley of buildings, with no fragment older than the fifteenth century." Weale's London, p. 145. LAMB'S CHAPEL CRYPT, Monkwell-street, is a remarkably pure and finished specimen of the Norman style. The vaulted roof has been supported by nine short columns, six of which remain, with very ornate capitals ; and the intersecting ribs of the groining are decorated with zig-zag moulding and a spiral ornament. The carved work is of Caen stone. The chapel was originally " the Hermitage of St. James's" in! the wall, a cell to the Abbey of Quorndon, in Leicestershire, and said to have been founded by Henry III., but evidently upwards of a een-j tury earlier. The chapel and its appurtenances were granted by Henry VIII. to William Lamb, who bequeathed it and endowed it at his death for the benefit of the Clothworkers' Company, of which he was a mem- ber. (See LAMB'S CONDUIT, page 231.) LEATHER-SELLERS' HALL CRYPT, at the east end of St. Helen's- place, Bishopsgate, adjoins the church of St. Helen on the north side, CRYPTS. 243 244 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. of St. Faith (See CHURCHES, St. Paul's, page 92). Here, in " Painters' Corner," near Reynolds and between Barry and Wren, was buried, Dec. 30, 1851, J. M.W. Turner, R.A., aged 79, the greatest landscape-painter the world ever produced. In the crypt of old St. Paul's (see page 85) the stationers of Paternoster-row had warehoused their stocks of books, which were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. ST. STEPHEN'S CRYPT, WESTMINSTER PALACE, also called " St. Mary's Chapel in the Vaults," formed the basement of St. Stephen's Chapel, founded by King Stephen, and rebuilt by Edward I. in 1292 : a roll of this date records the purchase of two shiploads of chalk, be- sides burnt lime, ashes, and sand, for the foundation of the chapel, thus proving it to have been raised on a concrete basis; and how sub- stantially is proved by the Crypt remaining in excellent preservation, notwithstanding the superstructure has been twice destroyed by fire in 1298 and 1834. Like other crypts, this is of low proportions, but has no division by detached pillars; the masses projecting inwards, and divid- ing window from window in short massive clusters, the vault-ribs and all other members partaking of the same bold, thick character ; whilst the tracery of the windows is exquisitely beautiful. " Strength, solidity, fine proportions, and skilful execution, are the characteristics of this basement chapel" (Britton and Brayley), which " is the last fragment in London that can be decidedly classed in the first or progressive period of English architecture." (Weale's London.) This crypt was fitted up as the state dining-room of the Speaker of the House of Commons : it was much damaged in the great fire of 1834, but has been restored as a chapel for the officers of the House of Commons ; and during the works, on January 17, 1852, the workmen discovered, beneath a win- dow-seat, the embalmed body of an ecclesiastic, without any coffin. The corpse lay with its feet towards the east (said to be an unusual position for an ecclesiastic) ; it was wrapped in several folds of waxed cloth sewn together with coarse twine; its right hand, on which was pro- bably the ring or jewelled glove, was lying on the breast. Over the left arm was the pastoral staff a crook of oak, beautifully carved. On the feet were sandals, with leathern soles sharply pointed. Upon removing the cere-cloth, the face proved to be in remarkable preser- ; vation, with hair on the chin and upper lip. The remains are pre- sumed to be those of William Lyndwoode, Bishop of St. David's, who founded a chantry in St. Stephen's Chapel, and died in 1446 ; and in the patent-roll of 32 Henry VI. there is a license to the bishop's executors for one or two chaplains to celebrate divine service daily " for the soul of the aforesaid bishop, whose body lies buried in the said Tinder-chapel," &c. The relics were inspected by a deputation from the Society of Antiquaries on Jan. 31, 1852 ; and a cast of the face having been taken for Her Majesty, the remains were placed in an elm coffin, and buried in a grave in the north cloister of Westminster Abbey ; the pastoral staff and sandals being sent to the British Museum. TOWER OF LONDON. The Crypt, or large range of vaults, be- neath the White Tower, is half underground, and now covered by mo-, dern brickwork. These vaults have been occupied as prisons ; and among the inscriptions still remaining on the walls of the subter- ranean cells is one cut by the unfortunate Bishop of Rochester, John Fisher, who was beheaded for his opposition to the Reformation. CURFEW, OR COUVRE-FEU. Although the Couvre-feu law* was abolished by Henry I., who re- The Couvre-feu formerly in the collection of the Rev. Mr. Gostling, and so often engraved, passed into the possession of Horace \Valpole, and was sold at CURFEW. 245 stored the use of lamps and candles at night after the ringing of the Curfew-bell, which had been prohibited by his predecessors, (Will. Malmesb. fol. 88,) yet the custom of ringing the bell long continued; and in certain parishes of the metropolis, and in some parts of the country, to the present time " The curfew tolls the knell of parting day." Among the charges directed for the wardmote inquests of London, in the second mayoralty of Sir Henry Colet (A.D.1495),it is said : " Also yf there be anye paryshe clerke that ryngeth curfew after the curfewe beronge at Bowe Chyrche, or Saint 'Brydes Chyrche, or Saint Gyles without Cripelgat, all suche to be presented." (Knight's Life of Dean Colet, p. 6.) The same charge remained in the wardmote inquest 1649. " The church of St. Martin 's-le-Grand, with those of Bow, St. Giles's, Cripple- gate, and Barkin, had its Curfew-bell long after the servile injunction laid on the Londoners had ceased. These were sounded to give notice to the inhabi- tants of those districts to keep within, and not to wander in the streets; which were infested by a set of ruffians, who made a practice of insulting, wounding, robbing, and murdering the people whom they happened to meet abroad during the night." Strype's Stow, v. i. book iii. p. 106. "The Couvre-feu is still rung, at eight o'clock, at St. Edmund the King, Lombard-street. At Bishopsgate (St. Botolph's) ; St. Leonard's, Shoreditch ; Christ- church, Spitalfields ; St. Michael's, Queenhithe ; St. Mildred's, Bread-street;* St. Antholin's, Budge-row ; and in some other City churches, there are evening bells, which are popularly known as the couvre-feu, but some of which are really, I be- lieve, prayer-bells. (See CHURCHES, St. Mary-le-bow, p. 143.) " On the southern side of the Thames, the couvre-feu was, till within these ix or seven years, nightly rung at St. George's Church, Borough." Mr. Syer burning: Proceedings of the British Archaeological Association, April 12, 1848. Mr. Cuming also states that at St. Peter's Hospital, Newington e Fishmongers' Almshouses, taken down in 1851,) " there is a bell rung every evening from eight o'clock till nine, which the old parish- ioners were wont to denominate the couvre-feu; but it^is now said that this is rung to warn all strangers from the premises, and the almspeople to their several apartments." The Curfew was not always rung at eight o'clock, for the sexton In the old play of the Merry Devil of Edmonton (4to, 1631) says : " Well, 'tis nine a cloke, 'tis time to ring curfew." The Curfew-bell, strictly as such, had probably fallen into disuse pre- vious to the time of Shakspeare, who, in Romeo and Juliet, applies the term to the morning bell : " The second cock hath crow'd, The curfew-bell has rung, 'tis three o'clock." At Charterhouse, the Chapel bell, (which bears the arms and initials of Thomas Sutton,the founder, and the date 1631,) is rung at eight and nine to warn the absent pensioner of the approaching hour ; and this practice is, we think, erroneously adduced as a relic of Curfew-ringing. " There is one peculiarity attached to the ringing, which is calculated to serve the office of the ordinary passing-bell ; and that is the number of strokes, which Strawberry Hill, in 1842, to Mr. William Knight. It is of copper, riveted together, and in general form resembles the "Dutch-oven" of the present day. It is stated to have been used for extinguishing a fire, by raking the wood and embers to the back of the hearth, and then placing the open part of the couvre-feu close against the back of the chimney. In February 1842, Mr. Syer Cuming purchased of a curiosity-dealer in Chancery-lane a couvre-feu closely resembling Mr. Gost- ling's ; and Mr. Cuming considers both specimens to be of the same age, of the close of the 15th or early part of the 16th century; whereas Mr. Gostling's speci- men was stated to be of the Norman period. A third example of the couvre-feu fexists in the Canterbury Museum. * The bell at this church was silenced by order of vestry, December 1847. 246 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. must correspond with the number of pensioners. So that, when a brother pen- sioner has deceased, his companions are informed of their loss by one stroke of the bell less than on the preceding evening." Chronicles of Charterhouse, p. 180. CURIOSITY-SHOPS. The principal locality for dealers in Curiosities, including ancient furniture and carvings, pictures, china and enamels, painted glass, metal-work, and church-furniture, has long been in Wardour- street, Soho and Oxford-street. Formerly it was also noted for its book- stalls ; but in the spreading taste for Curiosities within the last quarter of a century, the bookstalls have mostly disappeared, and the Curiosity- dealers here now number sixteen. Still, "Wardour-street is especially famous for old furniture and carvings ; Hanway-street (formerly Han- way-yard, at the east end of Oxford-street,) being more exclusively celebrated for its china-dealers. There is also a good specimen of a well-stocked Curiosity-shop in Bear-street, Leicester-square. These several shops are principally supplied from the Continent ; but it is a profitable business to collect specimens from our provinces, where an Elizabethan bedstead has been bought for five shillings, and sold for twice as many pounds in Wardour-street. The marks on porcelain de- note its age and manufacture, but there is no such warrant for genuine old furniture ; and rough work which has just left the carver's hands, and has been pickled and charred, ante-dated, and even shattered, to imi- tate age, is often sold for the ingenuity of the two preceding centuries. The revival of the style of Louis XV. has done much to foster this false taste ; and our collectors, "not content with ransacking every pawnbroker's shop in London and Paris for old buhl, old porcelain, and old plate, old tapestry and old frames, even set every manufacturer at work, and corrupt the taste of every mo- dern artist by the renovation of this wretched style." Hope's Hist. Architecture. The dispersion of famed collections, (as Strawberry Hill, in 1842; Mr. Beckford's, in 1845 ; and Stowe, in 1849,) is a benefit, direct and indirect,, to Curiosity -dealers. The taste for Mediaeval art in church-fittings and painted glass has also greatly encouraged this trade, as well as the copying of olden works in new materials. Certain auction-rooms are noted for the sale of Curiosities: as Christie and Manson's, King- street, St. James's, especially for pictures. Phillips's, New Bond-street ; Foster's, Pall-mall ; Oxenham's, Oxford-street ; and Deacon's, Ber- ners-street, are known for their sales of articles ofvertu, and collections, as well as " importation sales." Here the accumulation of a lifetime is often distributed in a week or a day. (See CASTINGS IN WOOD, p. 66; and CHELSEA CHINA, p. 77.) The Fox public-house, in Wardour-street, was formerly kept by Sam House, " publican and republican," who commenced politician in 1763, and became con- spicuous in the memorable Westminster election -contest between Lord Lincoln aud Mr. Fox, in 1780: a picture, with Fox arm-in-arm with House, was sold by Christie and Manson in 1845. In a pawnbroker's window in Wardour-street, the writer remembers to have seen the Ireland Shakspearean Mss. (" great and im- pudent forgery," Dr. Parr) lying for sale upon a family Bible. CUSTOM-HOUSE (THE), Lower Thames-street, immediately east of Billingsgate-dock, was origin- ally designed by David Laiug : the foundations were laid in 1813, upon piles driven into the old bed of the river, and extending eastward be- yond the site of the Custom-House, destroyed by fire Feb. 12, 1814, when the greater part of the trade records were consumed. The northern eleva- tion, fronting Thames-street, is plain ; but the south front towards the Thames has in the wings Ionic colonnades and a projecting centre, the CUSTOM-HOUSE. 247 attic of which was decorated with terra-cotta bas-relief figures of the Arts and Sciences, Commerce and Industry ; and natives of the principal coun- tries of the globe, with emblems of their arts. The clock-dial, nine feet in diameter, was supported by colossal figures of Industry and Plenty; and the royal arms by Ocean and Commerce. Unfortunately, the piling gave way ; and in 182.5 the re-centre was taken down, the foundation relaid, and the Thames front erected as we now see it, by Sir Robert Smirke. The expense was 180,OOOZ., which, added to the original ex- penditure, 255,OOOZ., made the total cost of the edifice nearly half a mil- lion, or two-thirds the cost of St. Paul's Cathedral. The river facade is 488 feet in length, or 90 feet longer than the General Post-Office, and exceeding by 30 feet the National Gallery. It is fronted by a noble es- planade, or quay, reminding us how many opportunities have been lost of embanking the river with public walks from the plans of Wren to those of Sir Frederick Trench, John Martin, and Thomas Allom. As the breadth of the quay is not equal to^the height of the Custom-House, its faade, which is of Portland stone, is not seen to advantage from that point, but from London Bridge or the middle of the river. The interior contains, besides warehouses and cellars, about 170 apartments, classified for contiguity and convenience of the several de- partments. In the Board-room are portraits of George III. and George IV., the latter by Lawrence. The Long Room, in the centre of the building, is probably the largest apartment of its kind in Europe : its length is 190 feet, width 66 feet, and height between 30 and 40 feet ; but it is not so handsome as the "Long Room" taken down after the failure of the foundation. The walls and ceiling are stone tint, and the floor is of oak ; and the room is mainly warmed by a large Arnott stove. The seventy-four officers and clerks form three" divisions : the inward department, with its collectors, clerks of rates, clerks of ships' entries, computers of duties, receivers of plantation-duties, wine- duties, &c. ; the outward department, with its cocket-writers, &c ; and the coast de- partment. Here a Trinity-House officer sits for the collection of light- house dues ; and here is a constant succession of ship-brokers and ship- owners, and their clerks, and of skippers and wholesale merchants. Defoe relates Count Tallard to have said, that nothing gave him so true and great an idea of the richness and grandeur of England as seeing the multitude of payments made in a morning in the Long Room ; since which was said, the Customs have increased tenfold. On the ground-floor is the Queen's Warehouse, with a diagonal- ribbed roof. The cellars in the basement form a groined crypt, and are fire- proof; the walls are extraordinarily thick ; and here are kept the wines and spirits seized by the officers of the Custom-house. The condemned articles are disposed of quarterly by auctions or " Custom-House Sales," at which the lots are not produced, but have been previously viewed in the Queen's Warehouse and at the Docks. The total num- ber of persons employed in the Custom-House is 1800, and the annual amount of salaries 200,000?. The following is an average daily report of the principal articles passed through the Custom-House, and issued to the public for consumption ; and to arrive at a year's amount these figures must be multiplied in many instances 300 times : An- chovies, 1455 Ibs. ; arrow-root, 101 cwt. ; cattle, 172 ; cocoa and coffee, 78,684 IDS.; corahs, 1042 pieces; elephants' teeth, 395; gloves, 2237 pairs; gum, 450 packages; handkerchiefs, 791 pieces; hemp, 587 bales; hides, 780; honey, 17 cwt. ; horns, 1500; indigo, 274 chests; iron, 5760 bars; isinglass, 6 cwt.; jute, 636 bales; leeches, 180L value; lemon-peel, 20 pipes; lithographic stones, 953; manufac- tures, 6352Z. value ; marble, 12 blocks ; molasses, 1176 cwt. ; nutmegs, 4141bs. ; oil, 546 packages ; oil, scented, SlOlbs. ; onions, 800 bushels ; pepper, 11, 8321bs., quicksilver, 4089 bottles ; rags, 67 bales ; rice, 215 cwt. ; sago, 70 cwt. ; sheep, 65; silk, 382 bales; spelter, 638 cakes ; spirits, 19,875 gallons ; sugar, 11,151 cwt. ; 248 CURIOSITIES OF LOXDON. tallow, 327 cwt.; tea, 89, 742 Ibs.; timber, 1900 loads; tobacco, 14, 143 Ibs. ; whale- fins, 279 bundles; wine, 10,765 gallons; wool, 354 bales. Warehoused in one day: anchovies, 250 barrels ; butter, 539 casks; coffee, 2650 bags; cork, 19 bales ; hams, 500; manufactures, 168 packages; marble mortars, 50 ; mats, 1000 ; rai- sins, 750 drums; rice, 581 bags ; rum, 111 casks; spirits, 554 cases or casks; sugar, 1345 packages; tallow, 191 packages; tobacco, 990 packages; tin, 1075 slabs ; timber, 12,635 deals and pieces ; wine, 896 cases or casks. The present is the fifth Custom-House built nearly upon the same site. The first was erected by John Churchman, Sheriff of London in 1385. (Stow.} The second was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and appears in the 1543 View of London with several high-pitched gables and a water-gate : it was burnt in the Great Fire of 1066. It was rebuilt by "Wren, at a cost of 10,OOOJ. ; and this third House was con- sumed by fire in 1718, and was the only one of Wren's buildings that in his long life was destroyed. This Custom-House was replaced by Ripley, who introduced the " Long Room," and embellished the river- front with Ionic columns, pediments, and a Tuscan colonnade : this fourth House was burnt in 1814. The taxes levied on imported and exported commodities having been re- peatedly altered, to meet the necessities of the State, or serve political purposes, their amount at different periods is not of itself a correct test of the increase of trade. In 1613, the date of one of the earliest notices preserved, the Customs duties collected in London amounted to 109, 5721., being nearly thrice as much as was collected in all the rest of the kingdom (England), the whole Customs du- ties then amounting to 148,075*. In 1711, about the period when M. Tallard made the preceding remark, a similar proportion was observed: London then yielding 1,268,095*., and all England 1, 614,1 76*. In 1849, the proportion was about one- half: London paying 11,070,176/., and the whole empire 22,483,956*. The amount collected in London reached its highest point in 183511,773,616*.; in 1848, the next highest, it was 11,193,707*. Notwithstanding the tenfold increase since 1711, there are now no heaps of money at the Custom-House such as excited Tallard 's admiration. The duties are paid irtfo the Receiver-General's Office in the Custom-House, and almost invariably in paper, so that only very small sums of metallic money pass in collecting the 22,483,956*. The total value of the produce conveyed into and from London, including the home and foreign markets, is stated at 65 millions sterling. DAGUERREOTYPE (THE). The first experiment made in England with the Daguerreotype was exhibited by M. St. Croix, on Friday, September 13, 1839, at No. 7 Piccadilly, nearly opposite the southern Circus of Regent-street ; when the picture produced was a beautiful miniature representation of the houses, pathway, sky, &c., resembling an exquisite mezzotint. M. St. Croix subsequently removed to the Argyll Rooms, Regent-street, where his experimental results became a scientific exhibition. One of the earliest operators was Mr. Goddard. The discovery was patented by Mr. Miles Berry, who sold the first license to M. Claudet for 100J. or 200?. a-year ; and in twelve months after disposed of the patent to Mr. Beard, who, however, did not take a Daguerreotype portrait until after Dr. Draper had sent from New York a portrait to the editor of the Philosophical Magazine, with a paper on the subject. "With reference to the conditions of a London atmosphere, as regards its influence upon Daguerreotypic or Photographic processes, there are some very peculiar phenomena ; for the following details of which we are indebted to Mr. Robert Hunt, the author of many valuable researches in Photography. The yellow haze which not unfrequently prevails, even when there is no actual fog over the town itself, is fatal to all chemical change. This haze is, without doubt, an accumulation, at a considerable elevation, of the carbonaceous matter DAIRIES. 249 from the coal-fires, &c. Although a day may appear moderately clear, if the sun assume a red or orange colour, it will be almost impossible to obtain a good Da- guerreotype. Notwithstanding in some of the days of spring our photographers obtain very fine portraits or views, it must be evident to all who examine an exten- sive series of Daguerreotypes, that those which are obtained in Paris and New York are very much more intense than those which are generally procured in London. This is mainly dependent upon the different amounts and kinds of smoke diffused through the atmospheres respectively of these cities. At the same time, there is no doubt the peculiarly humid character of the English climate interferes with the free passage of those solar rays which are active in producing photographic change. It was observed by Sir John Herschel, when he resided at Slough, that a sudden change of wind to the east almost immediately checked his photo- ;raphic experiments at that place, by bringing over it the yellew atmosphere of iiondon : this is called by the Berkshire farmers blight, from their imagining that mut and other diseases in grain are produced by it. It is a curious circumstance, that the summer months, June, July, and August, lotwithstanding the increase of light, are not favourable to the Daguerreotype. ]"his arises from the fact, now clearly demonstrable, that the luminous powers of lie sunbeam are in antagonism to the chemical radiations, and as the one in- reases, the other diminishes. This may be imitated by a pale yellow glass, rhich, although it obstructs no light completely, cuts off the chemical rays, and ntirely prevents any photographic change taking place. DAIRIES. Little is positively known of the London Dairy system, save that gpven by Mr.Youatt, who in 1834 stated the number of cows requisite br the supply of the metropolis with milk to be 12,000 ; and the present lumber is estimated at 13,000. Elsewhere it is stated at 60,000 cows, ielding upwards of 100,000 gallons of milk per day. Again, Mr. Rugg, if.R.C.S., says, in his Observations on London Milk : "taking London 250 CUEIOSITIES OF LOXDOX. At Islington, a few years since, there existed Laycock's Dairy, the largest in the metropolis, but since divided. It consisted of fourteen acres, surrounded by a high wall, and nearly covered with buildings. There were upwards of 400 cows, which were milked by women at three o'clock in the morning and at noon. The cows were kept in stalls; mangel- wurzel was their chief food, alternating with turnips, cabbages, carrots, and clover, and oil-cake to fatten them for Smithfield Market. They were fine sleek animals, and were currycombed every day. As it was requisite to have 400 cows to milk each day, there were more than that number kept on the premises ; and there was a hospital for cows to calve in, and where those unwell received medical treatment. The dairy and utensils were scoured with hot water twice a-day. Grains for the cows were kept in immense pits, where, if covered up, they would remain good for seven years. The capital locked up in this Dairy was immense, as each of the cows was worth more than 201., and four farms were kept for supplying them with food. Within the walls also were layers, where great numbers of the oxen brought by steam from Ireland and Scotland were rested, sheltered, and fed for a few da} r s ; and upon Sundays upwards of 2000 animals might be seen thus provided for. The Yorkshire cow is generally the favourite in the London dairies, because she is of more value for fattening than almost any other ; and gives a larger proportion of milk, although it be of a poorer quality. The Friern Dairy Farm, beyond Peckham Rye, in Surrey, is a novel establishment for supplying the metropolis with milk, and comprises about 250 acres. The cows have fine air and good attendance ; are fed on mangel-wurzel, parsnips, turnips, and kohl-rabi (Jewish cab- bage), and unlimited grass in the pastures ; so that 24 quarts of milk per day is not an unusual yield for a single cow. The cow-sheds are divided into 50 stalls each; every stall is marked with a number, a corresponding number being marked on one horn of the cow to whom it belongs ; and in winter-time, or any inclement season (for they all sleep out in fine weather), each cow deliberately finds out and walks into her own stall. Beside these sheds, in a cottage, live the keepers, milkers, and attendants. The first milking begins at 11 at night, and the second at past 1 in the morning. The milk is strained and put into large tin cans, which are barred across the top and sealed ; and is thus conveyed in a van to the Dairy in London, between 3 and 4 in the morning. Here the seals are examined and taken off ; the milkmen's tin pales are filled, fastened at top, and sealed as before ; and away they go on their " walks," the milk being drawn of by a tap as required. (See Dickens' 's Household Words, No. 33.) Milk-street, north of Cheapside, is so called, " as is supposed, of milk sold there" (Stow); here was born Sir Thomas More, "the brightest star that ever shone in that via lactea " (Fuller). The milkmaid has almost disappeared from our streets; she was never like " the country wench" of Sir Thomas Overbury : " On doors the sallow milkmaid chalks her gains ; Ah, how unlike the milkmaid of the plains !" Gay's Trivia, b. ii. We have lost, too, the milkmaids' May-day festival, such as Pepys saw Nell Gwynne enjoying May 1, 1667. (See DEURY LAKE.) " Alack, "What's a May-day milking-pail without a garland and a fiddle ?" Col. Martin, 1685. In Tempest's Cryes of London is a print of a merry milkmaid, named Kate Smith, dancing with a milk -pail, hung round with borrowed silver cups and tan- kards ; flowers and ribbons upon her head. Later, the plate and other decorations were piled up, and carried by two chairmen upon a wooden horse, the milkmaids dancing before it. Sometimes was substituted a cow, with her horns gilt, and her body nearly covered with ribbons in bows and rosettes, interspersed with green oaken leaves and bunches of flowers. DAY IN LONDON DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. 251 " Milk Fair," with its lowing cows and squalling children, is held to this day near the Spring- Garden entrance to St. James's Park, by privilege granted to the gate-keepers. In Tom Brown's time, 1700, the noisy milk -folks in the park cried, A can of milk, ladies .' A can of red cow's milk, sir ! Asses' milk is a restorative of our day, and is a fashionable conceit in Gay's London, where " Before proud gates attending asses bray, Or arrogate with solemn pace the way ; These grave physicians with their milky cheer The love-sick maid and dwindling beau repair." Trivia, b. ii. DAY IN LONDON AND OTHER CAPITALS. The following Table, computed for this work by Mr. Henry Belville, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, shews the duration of the longest and shortest days in the principal capitals throughout the world, cor- rected for refraction, &c., and carried out to the nearest minute : Name of Place. Latitude. Length of the Longest Day. Length of the Shortest Day. Stockholm .... Copenhagen .... St. Petersburg . . . Berlin 59 20' N. 55 41 N. 59 56 N. 52 31 N. H. M. 18 30 17 20 18 44 16 38 H. M. 5 54 6 54 5 42 7 40 51 31 N 16 32 7 44 Edinburgh Dublin 55 57 N. 53 22 N 17 32 16 56 6 50 7 is Amsterdam .... Vienna 52, 22 N. 48 13 N 16 44 15 58 7 33 8 17 Paris Madrid 48 5.0 N. 40 25 N. 38 42 N 15 6 15 14 50 8 10 9 14 9 24 Cairo 30 3 N 14 10 10 Naples 40 50 N 15 3 9 14 Constantinople . . . Buda . . 41 1 N. 47 29 N 15 4 15 54 9 12 8 16 Calcutta 22 36 N. 13 26 10 42 Pekin Cape Town .... 39 55 N. 33 56 S. 42 25 N 14 58 14 22 15 16 9 16 9 48 8 58 "Washington .... 39 N. 8 58 N 14 52 12 36 9 22 11 34 St. Julian Svdnev 49 10 S. 33 51 S 16 10 14 22 8 8 9 50 DEAF AND DUMB, ASYLUM. The first Asylum or School established in England for the Deaf and Dumb was opened in 1792, in Fort-place, Bermondsey, under the auspices of the Rev. John Townsend, of Jamaica-row Chapel ; and of the Rev. H. Cox Mason, then curate of Bermondsey. The teacher was Joseph "Watson, LL.D., who held the situation upwards of thirty- seven years, and taught upwards of 1000 pupils, who were thus able to read articulately, and to write and cipher. This tuition was commenced with six pupils only. In 1807 the first stone of a new building was laid in the Old Kent-road, whither the establishment was removed Oc- tober 5, 1809 ; when the Society celebrated the event by a public thanks- giving at the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, the Rev. C. Crowther preaching the sermon. A memorial bust of the Rev. Mr. Townsend is placed in the committee-room. The pupils, male aud 252 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. female, are such children only as are deaf and dumb, not being deficient in intellect. Other children are admitted on payment of 201. annually for board ; and private pupils are also received. The term of each pupil's stay is five years : they are taught to read, write, draw, and cipher ; to speak by signs, and in many instances to articulate so as to be clearly understood. They are wholly clothed and maintained by the charity, are instructed in working trades, and in some cases ap- prentice-fees are given. About 300 children are maintained in the Asylum, which is amply supported by the wealthy ; and besides its annual receipts from subscriptions, donations, and legacies, &c., nearly 10,0001. a-year, it has a funded stock of nearly 150,OOOZ. The instructor of the Asylum is Mr. T. J. Watson, a son of the late Dr. Watson ; he is assisted by twelve male and two female teachers. The pupils are elected half-yearly, without reference to locality, sect, or persuasion. The Asylum may be inspected daily ; most convenient time from eleven till one o'clock. The importance of this Asylum is attested by the fact that in 1833, in 20 families of 159 children, 90 were deaf and dumb. There is also at 26 Red-Lion-square, Bloomsbury, an Institution for the Employment, Relief, and Religious Instruction of the Adult Deaf and Dumb ; who are taught shoemaking, tailoring, dressmaking, shoebinding, fancy-work, &c., the produce of their labour being added to the funds of the Society. In the chapel the Scriptures are ex- pounded, and church-services regularly held, at which the deaf and dumb are ready and interested attendants. DIORAMAS. The Diorama, on the eastern side of Park-square, Regent's-park, was exhibited in Paris long before it was brought to London, by its ori- ginators, MM. Bouton and Daguerre ; the latter, the inventor of the Daguerreotype, died 1851. The exhibition-house, with the theatre in the rear, was designed by Morgan and Pugin : the spectatory has a circular ceiling, with transparent medallion portraits j the whole was built in four months, and cost 10,OOOZ. The Diorama consists of two pictures, eighty feet in length and forty feet in height, painted in solid and in transparency, arranged so as to exhibit changes of light and shade, and a variety of natural phenomena; the spectators being kept in comparative darkness, while the picture receives a concentrated light from a ground-glass roof. The contriv- ance is partly optical, partly mechanical ; and consists in placing the pictures within the building so constructed, that the saloon containing the spectators may revolve at intervals, and bring in succession the two distinct scenes into the field of view, without the necessity of the spectators removing from their seats ; while the scenery itself remains stationary, and the light is distributed by transparent and movable blinds some placed behind the picture, for intercepting and changing the colour of the rays of light, which pass through the semi-transparent parts. Similar blinds, above and in front of the picture, are movable by cords, so as to distribute or direct the rays of light. The revolving motion given to the saloon is an arc of about 73 ; and while the spectators are thus passing round, no person is permitted to go in or out. The revolution of the saloon is effected by means of a sector, or portion of a wheel, with teeth which work in a series of wheels and pinions ; one man, by turning a winch, moves the whole. The space between the saloon and each of the two pictures is occu- pied on either side by a partition, forming a kind of avenue, propor- tioned in width to the size of the picture. Without such a precaution, DIORAMAS. 253 the eye of the spectator, being thirty or forty feet distant from the can- vass, would, by any thing intervening, be estranged from the object. The combination of transparent, semi-transparent, and opaque co- louring, still further assisted by the power of varying both the effects and the degree of light and shade, renders the Diorama the most perfect scenic representation of nature ; and adapts it peculiarly for moonlight subjects, or for shewing such accidents in landscape as sudden gleams of sunshine or lightning. It is also unrivalled for representing architecture, particularly interiors, as powerful relief may be obtained without that exaggeration in the shadows which is almost inevitable in every other mode of painting. The interior of Canterbury Cathedral, the first pic- ture exhibited, in 1823, was a triumph of this class ; and the companion picture, the Valley of Sarnen, equally admirable in atmospheric effects. In one day (Easter-Monday, 1824), the receipts exceeded 200/. In viewing the Diorama, the spectator is placed, as it were, at the extremity of the scene, and thus has a view across, or through it. Hence the inventor of the term compounded it of the Greek preposition dia, through, and orama, scene ; though, from there being two paintings under the same roof in the building in the Regent's-park, it has been supposed the term is from dis, twice, and orama ; but if several paint- ings of the same kind were exhibited, each would be a Diorama. ( Black.) Although the Regent's-park Diorama has been artistically success- ful, it has not been commercially so. In September 1848, the building and ground in the rear, with the machinery and pictures, was sold for 6750^.; again, in June 1849, for 4800/. ; and the property, with sixteen pictures, rolled on large cylinders, have since been sold for 3000J. Dioramas have also been painted for our theatres by Stanfield and Roberts, the Grieves, and other artists. In 1828, Stanfield painted for Drury-lane Theatre a series of views on the Rhine ; in the same year, a Diorama for the Christmas pantomime ; and another in 1836. Other Dioramic exhibitions have been opened in the metropolis. In 1828, one was exhibited at the Queen's Bazaar, Oxford-street ; in 1829, the picture was " The Destruction of York- Minster by Fire," during the exhibition of which, May 28, the scenery took fire, and the premises were entirely burnt. In 1841, there was exhibited at the Bazaar, St. James 's-street, a Dio- rama, of five large scenes, of the second funeral of Napoleon ; but, though most effectively painted by members of " The Board of Arts for the Ceremony," and accompanied by funereal music by Auber, the spectacle excited little interest. At Easter 1849 was opened the Gallery of Illustration, in the large saloon of the late residence of Mr. Nash, the architect, No. 14 Regent- street, a series of thirty-one dioramic pictures of the Overland Mail Route from Southampton to Calcutta; the general scenery painted by T. Grieve and W. Telbin, human figures by John Absolon, and ani- mals by J. F. Herring and H. Weir : in picturesqueness, aerial effect, characteristic grouping, variety of incident, richness oJ' colour, and atmosphere skilfully varied with the several countries, this Diorama has, perhaps, scarcely been equalled : it was exhibited between 1600 and 1700 times, and visited by upwards of 250,000 persons. The same artists have produced other subjects, including a set of Illustrations of the Duke of Wellington's Campaigns. The Great Exhibition year, 1851, was very productive of Dioramas, which we shall scarcely be expected to enumerate. The most success- ful was the Diorama of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, painted from sketches by Bartlett, and exhibited at the St. George's Gallery, Hyde- Park-corner ; the entire cost of this Diorama was 2000/. 254 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. DOCKS. The Docks of London are entirely the growth of the present century, and the result of the vast increase in the commerce of the preceding 25 years, which was as great as in the first 70 years of the century : a hundred years since, London had not one-twentieth of its present trade. Hitherto, merchandise was kept afloat in barges, from want of room to discharge it at the legal quays, when the plunder was frightful lightermen, watermen, labourers, the crews of ships, the mates and officers, and the revenue officers, combining in this nefarious system, which neither the police nor the terrors of Execution Dock could repress. At length, in 1789, Mr. Perry, a shipbuilder, constructed at Blackwall the Brunswick Dock, to contain 28 East Indiamen and 50 or 60 smaller ships ; and in ten years after, the construction of public Docks was commenced. From near the Tower to Blackwall, or nearly four miles, is now occupied by five Docks, comprising 450 acres, and accommodation for 1200 ships and 530,000 tons of goods : the mass of shipping, the vast- ness of the many-storied warehouses, and the heaps of merchandise from every region of the globe, justify the glory of London as "the great emporium of nations," and "the metropolis of the most intel- ligent and wealthy empire the sun ever shone upon, and of which the boast is, as of Spain of old, that upon its dominions the sun never sets.'* These several Docks have been constructed at the expense of Joint- stock Companies, and have been moderately profitable to their projectors, but more advantageous to the Port of London. COMMERCIAL DOCKS, Rotherhithe, on the south bank of the Thames, are, upon the authority of Stow, said to include the commencement of Canute's trench, cut early in the llth century from thence to Battersea ; and into which the river was diverted when the first stone bridge across the Thames was built, temp. King John. The present Com- mercial Docks, however, originated in the " Howland Great Wet Dock," which existed in 1660, and extended about 10 acres in Queen Anne's time, larger than the famous basin of Dunkirk. It was then engaged for the Greenland whale-fishery vessels, next for the Baltic trade in tim- ber, deals, tar, corn, &c. ; and in 1809 was opened as the Commercial Docks. They are now five in number, and comprise about 60 acres of water and 40 acres of land; and the granaries will hold 100,000 quarters of grain. Adjoining, southward, is the EAST COUNTRY DOCK, 5 acres ; and northward is the SURREY DOCK, an entrance basin to the Surrey Canal, which can accommodate 300 vessels. EAST INDIA DOCKS, Blackwall, lie below the West India Docks, and immediately adjoin the Blackwall Railway and Brunswick Wharf. These Docks, originally constructed for the East India Company, were completed in 1808. Since the opening of the trade to India, they have been the property of the East and West India Company. Their water area is 30 acres, and their great depth (23 feet) accommodates vessels of very large size ; they have a cast-iron wharf, 750 feet in length, in which are more than 900 tons of metal. Here, from 1848 to 1850, lay the Chinese Junk Keying, the first which ever reached Europe, or even rounded the Cape of Good Hope : she is stated to have cost her proprietors upwards of 70002. ST. KATHERINE'S DOCKS, just below the Tower, were planned by Telford, and constructed by Hardwick: in clearing the ground, the fine old church and other remains of the Hospital of St. Katherine DOCKS. 255 (founded 1148 by Matilda of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen), with 1250 houses and tenements, inhabited by 11,300 persons, were pur- chased and pulled down : the Hospital and Church were rebuilt in the Regent's-park. (See CHUBCHES, p. 134.) The Docks were commenced May 3, 1827, and upwards of 2500 men worked at them till their open- ing, Oct. 25, 1828 ; a labour of unexampled rapidity. The excavated earth was carried by water to Millbank, and there used to fill up the reservoirs of the Chelsea Water-works, upon which has been built a new town south of Pimlico. The cost of St. Katherine's Docks was 1,700,000^. The lofty walls constitute it a place of " special security," and surround 23 acres, of which 11 are water, and will accommodate 120 ships, besides barges and other craft. The lock from the Thames is crossed by a vast iron swing-bridge 23 feet wide : it can be filled or emptied by a steam-engine of 200-horse power, and 14 feet depth can be made by the gate-paddles in six minutes. This lock is sunk so deep that ships of 700 tons burden may enter at any time of the tide ; and the depth of water at spring-tides is 28 feet, or 4 feet more than in any other dock of London : the machinery of the gates, by Bramah, is very fine. At these Docks was first provided accommodation for landing and embarking passengers without using small wherries ; and in 1844 there was added an extensive foreign baggage- warehouse and wharf, for the landing and examination, or despatching, of a vast number of passengers in a very short time. The frontage of the quays, paved with cast-iron, is 4600 feet ; and the warehouses, vaults, sheds, and covered ways will contain 110,000 tons of goods. The warehouses, five and six stories high, are supported on cast-iron columns, 3 feet 9 inches diameter; they have massive granite stairs, huge machinery over the wells or shafts, and power- ful cranes on the quays, so that goods can be taken at once into the warehouses from the ships, and in one-fifth of the time required in the earlier- constructed docks. A ship of 250 tons burden can be discharged at St. Katherine's in twelve hours, and one of 500 tons in two or three days. One of the cranes cost about 2000/., is worked by ten or twelve men, and will raise from 30 to 40 tons. The vaults below for wine and j spirits have crypt-like arches : " lights are distributed to the travellers | who prepare to visit these cellars, as if they were setting out to visit the catacombs of Naples or of Rome." (Baron Dupin.) From the vaultings hang vinous fungi, like dark woolly clouds, light as gossamer, 1 and a yard or more in length, a piece of which applied to the flame I of a candle will burn like tinder; in the spirit-vaults the Davy safety - ! lamp is used. Cats are kept to destroy the rats in the warehouses, j at an annual cost of more than 100Z. LONDON DOCKS lie immediately below St. Katherine's Docks, and were opened in 1805; John Rennie, engineer. They comprise 90 acres: I 35 acres of water, and 12,980 feet of quay and jetty frontage; with j three entrances from the Thames Hermitage, Wapping, and Shadwell, where the depth of water at spring-tides is 27 feet. The "Western Dock comprises 20 acres, the Eastern 7 acres, and the Wapping Basin 3 acres, besides a small dock exclusively for ships laden with tobacco. The two large Docks afford water-room for 302 sail of vessels, ex- clusive of lighters ; warehouse-room for 220,000 tons of goods ; and vault-room for 80,000 pipes of wine and spirits. The superficial area of the vault-room is 890,545 feet ; of the warehouse-room, 1,402,115 feet. The enclosing walls cost 65,OOOZ. The capital of the Company is four millions of money. Six weeks are allowed for unloading, beyond which period a farthing per ton is charged for the first two weeks, and then a halfpenny per week per ton. 256 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. In these Docks are especially warehoused wine, wool, spices, tea, ivory, drugs, tobacco, sugars, dye-stuffs, imported metals, and other articles. These, except the wine, tea, spices, and ivory, may be inspected by an order from the Secretary; for the wine a " tasting order" must be obtained from the owners. The shipping and people at work may be seen without any order. Of the Wine-vaults, one alone, formerly 7 acres, now extends under Gravel-lane, and contains upwards of 12 acres: above is the mixing- house, the largest vat containing 23,250 gallons. The Wool-floors were considerably enlarged and glass-roofed in 1850 : the annual importation is 130,000 bales; value 2,600,OOOZ. A vast Tea- warehouse was com- pleted in 1845 ; cost 100,OOOZ. ; stowage for 120,000 chests of tea. To inspect the Ivory- warehouse requires a special order : here lie heaps of elephant and rhinoceros tusks, the ivory weapons of sword-fish, &c. The great Tobacco-warehouse, "the Queen's," being rented by Government for 14,OOOZ. per annum, is 5 acres in extent, and is covered by a skilfully iron-framed roof, supported by slender columns : it will contain 24,000 hogsheads of tobacco, value 4,800,000/. ; the huge casks are piled two in height, intersected by passages and alleys, each several hundred feet long. There is another warehouse for finer tobacco ; and a cigar-floor, in which are frequently 1500 chests of cigars, value 150,000?, Near the north-east corner of the Queen's Warehouse, a guide-post inscribed " To the Kiln," directs you to the Queen's Pipe, or chimney oi the furnace ; on the door of the latter and of the room are painted the crown-royal and V.R. In this kiln are burnt all such goods as do not fetch the amount of their duty and Customs' charges: tea, having once sel the chimney of the kiln on fire, is rarely burnt ; and the wine and spirits are emptied into the Docks. The huge mass of fire in the furnace is fed night and day with condemned goods : on one occasion, 900 Aus- tralian mutton-hams were burnt ; on another, 45,000 pairs of Frenct gloves ; and silks and satins, tobacco and cigars, are here consumed it vast quantities : the ashes being sold by the ton as manure, for kill- ing insects, and to soap-boilers and chemical manufacturers. Nails anc other pieces of iron, sifted from the ashes, are prized for their toughnesf in making gun-barrels; gold and silver, the remains of plate, watches and jewellery thrown into the furnace, are also found in the ashes. Lastly, the London Docks are worked by from 1000 to 3000 hands as the business is brisk or slack : and this is one of the few places h the metropolis where men can get employment without either charactei or recommendation. At the Dock-gates, at past 7 in the morning " may be seen congregated swarms of men, of all grades, looks, am kinds. There are decayed and bankrupt master-butchers, master-bakers publicans, grocers, old soldiers, old sailors, Polish refugees, broken- down gentlemen, discharged lawyer's-clerks, suspended government- clerks, almsmen, pensioners, servants, thieves indeed, every one wh< wants a loaf and is willing to work for it." (Henry Mayhew. ) WEST INDIA. DOCKS, the most extensive in the world, (Jessop engineer,) lie between Limehouse and Blackwall, and their long linei of warehouses, and lofty wall, 5 feet thick, are well seen from th< railway. These Docks were commenced 1800, when William Pitt lai< the first stone ; and they were opened 1802. Their extent is nearl; thrice that of the London Docks, their entire area (including the cana made to avoid the bend of the river at the Isle of Dogs) being 295 acres this canal is nearly three-quarters of a mile long, with lock-gates, 4* feet wide, and is used as a dock for timber-ships. The northern o: Import Dock will hold 250 vessels of 300 tons each : when originall; DOCTORS' COMMONS. 257 opened, it took ten hours to fill, 24 feet deep, though the water was admitted at 800 gallons per second. The southern or Export Dock will hold 195 vessels. Here the ship is seen to the greatest advantage, fresh-painted, standing-rigging up, colours flying, &c.; whereas in the Import Dock, the vessels, though more picturesque, have their rigging down and loose, the sides whitened by the sea, and contrasting with outward-bound vessels. The warehouses will contain 180,000 tons of merchandise ; and there have been at one time, on the quays and in the sheds, vaults, and warehouses, colonial produce worth 20,000,000?. ster- ling; comprising 148,563 casks of sugar, 70,875 barrels and 433,648 bags of coffee, 35,158 pipes of rum and Madeira, 14,000 logs of mahogany, and 21,000 tons of logwood, &c. In the wood-sheds are enormous quantities of mahogany, ebony, rosewood, &c., logs of which 4 or 5 tons weight are lifted with locomotive cranes, by four or five men. For twenty years from their construction, these Docks were compulsorily frequented by all West India ships trading to the Port of London, when the maximum revenues amounted to 449,421/., in 1813 ; since the expiry of this privilege, and the depreciation of the West India trade, the revenues have much declined. The Docks are now used by every kind of shipping, and belong to the East and West India Dock Company. DOCTORS' COMMONS, A College of Doctors of Civil Law, and for the study and practice of the Civil Law, is situated in Great Knight-Rider-street, south of St. Paul's-churchyard ; in the south-west corner of which is an arched gateway, and within it the Lodge of Porters to direct strangers to "the Commons." The civilians and canonists were originally lodged in a house, subsequently the Queen's Head tavern, in Paternoster-row; whence they removed to a house purchased for them in Elizabeth's reign by D. Harvey, Dean of the Arches; here they " were living (for diet and lodging) in a collegiate manner, and commoning together, whence the college was named Doctors' Commons ; and the doctors still dine to- j gether on every court-day. This house was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1G66 ; when the College removed to Exeter House, Strand, till the rebuilding of the edifice in Great Knight-Rider-street, in 1672, as we I now see it, with a side entrance on Bennet's-hill, nearly opposite He- ralds' College. It is of brick, and consists of two quadrangles, chiefly occupied by the Doctors ; a hall for the hearing of causes, &c. In Doctors' Commons are the Court of Arches, named from having (been formerly kept in Bow Church, Cheapside, originally built upon larches (see CHURCHES, p. 142), and the supreme ecclesiastical court I of the whole province; the Prerogative Court, where all contentions larising out of testamentary causes are tried; the Consistory Court I of the Bishop of London ; and the High Court of Admiralty : all these (courts hold their sittings in the College Hall, the walls of which above 'the wainscot are covered with the richly-emblazoned coats of arms of all the doctors for a century or two past. The Court of Arches has jurisdiction over thirteen parishes or pe- iculiars, which form a deanery exempt from the Bishop of London, and ! attached to the Archbishop of Canterbury ; hence the judge is named iDean of the Arches. The business includes, as in Chaucer's time, cases " Of defamation and avouterie, Of church reves and of testaments, Of contracts and lack of sacraments, Of usury and simony also ;" besides those of sacrilege, blasphemy, apostacy from Christianity, adul- 258 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. tery, partial or entire divorce, &c. ; likewise brawling and smiting in churches or vestries : but the majority of the cases are matrimonial. In the Prerogative Court wills are proved and all administrations granted, that are the prerogative of the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are several Registries in Doctors' Commons, under the juris- diction of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops. Some of th( very old documents connected with them are deposited for security ir St. Paul's Cathedral and Lambeth Palace. At the Bishop of London's Registry, and the Registry for the Commission of Surrey, Wills an proved for the respective dioceses, and Marriage Licenses granted. Al theVicar-GeneraVs Office and the Faculty Office, Marriage Licenses ar< granted for any part of England. The Faculty Office also grant Facul- ties to notaries public, and dispensations to the clergy ; and formerly granted privilege to eat flesh upon prohibited days. At the Vicar- General's Office, records are kept of the confirmation and consecration of bishops. Marriage Licenses, special and general, if to be solemnised according to the law; of the Established Church, are procured upon personal application to a proctor b] one of the parties: a residence of fifteen days is necessary by either party in th< parish or district where the marriage is to be performed. The expense of an or- dinary license is 21. 12*. 6d. ; but if either is a minor, 10*. 6rf. further charge; anc the party appearing swears he has obtained the consent of the proper persoi having authority in law to give it: there is no necessity for either parents o minor to attend. A Special License for Marriage is issued after a fiat or consen has been obtained from the archbishop ; and is granted only to persons of rank judges, and members of parliament, the archbishop having aright to exercise hi, own discretion. The expense of a Special License is usually twenty-eight guineas This gives privilege to marry at any time or place, in private residence, or at ani church or chapel situate in England ; but the ceremony must be performed by i priest in holy orders, and of the Established Church. With the marriages of Dis Renters, including Homan Catholics, Jews, and Quakers, the Commons has no thing to do, their licenses being obtainable of the Superintendent-Registrar. j. Divorce when sought is carried through one of the courts in this profession (ac cording to the diocese), and is conducted by a proctor ; the evidence of witnesse is taken privately before an examiner of the court, and neither the husband, wife nor any of the witnesses need appear personally in court. A suit is seldom con ducted at an expense less than 200/. The High Court of Admiralty consists of the Instance Court an< the Prize Court. The Instance Court has a criminal and civil juris diction : to the former belong piracy and other indictable offences 01 the high seas, which are now tried at the Old Bailey ; to the latter suits arising from ships running foul of each other, disputes about sea men's wages, bottomry, and salvage. The Prize Court applies to nava captures in war, proceeds of captured slave-vessels, &c. A silver oa is carried before the judge as the emblem of his office. The business i verv onerous, as in embargoes and the provisional detention of vessels when incautious decision might involve the country in war ; the righ of search is another weighty question. Lord Stowell, the judge, ii one year (1806) pronounced 2206 decrees. The Admiralty Registry is in Paul's Bakehouse-court, Doctors Commons, where are kept records of prizes adjudicated. The practitioners in this court are advocates (DD.C.L.) or coun sel, and proctors or solicitors. The judge and advocates wear in courl if of Oxford, scarlet robes and hoods lined with taffety ; and if of Cam bridge, white minever and round black velvet caps. The proctors wea black robes and hoods lined with fur. The College has a good library in civil law and history, bequeathe by an ancestor of Sir John Gibson, judge of the Prerogative Court ,and every bishop at his consecration makes a present of books. The PKEROGATIVE WILL OFFICE is, however, the most interest DOMESDAY-BOOK. 259 ing feature of Doctors' Commons. Wills are always to be found here at half an hour's notice, and generally in a few minutes. They are kept in a fire-proof "strong-room." The original wills begin with the date 1483, and the copies from 1383. The latter are on parchment, strongly bound, with brass clasps, and fill the public-room and an apart- ment above-stairs. In one year the searches have amounted to nearly 30,000 ; country commissions, 4580 ; and extracts from wills, 6414. Some entries of early wills, engrossed by the monks, are beautifully illuminated, the colours remaining fresh to this day. To obtain Perusal of a Will. On entering the office apply at the first small box or recess on the right hand, where a clerk, on receiving a shilling, and the surname of the maker of the will required, directs the applicant to the In- dexes, which are arranged chronologically and alphabetically on the left-hand side of the room. A search must then be made through these volumes for the entry of the will; which being found, a clerk at the further end of the room, on being furnished with the exact title and date of the will, ushers the inquirer into another apartment, lit by a skylight, and furni-hed with a table and benches. Here two clerks are seated; and the actual will being brought to the inquirer, he may inspect it at his leisure. He must not, however, copy any thing from it, or make even a pencil memorandum ; and if he attempt to do so, he will be checked by the clerks. To obtain the Copy of a Will. Apply to the clerks in the room, and they will state the expense per folio. The order for a copy must he left at the box at the entrance of the office, where the time will be named for the delivery of the copy within a few days, on payment of the cost. To insure correctness, the copy is read out to the applicant in the office, and compared with the original will ; and the copy is moreover duly attested by certain authorities of Doctors' Commons. If the applicant merely desires to see the copy of a Will, the clerk in the outer room, on being shewn the entry in the Index, will refer him by a written note to an attendant, who will at once bring the copy to him; the same rules against copying and making extracts prevail here also. The Prerogative Office is open (except on holidays) from October till March from 9 till 3, and the remaining six months till 4. The Wills of celebrated persons are the Curiosities of the place. Here is the will of Shakspeare, on three folios of paper, each with his signature, and with this interlineation in his own handwriting: "I give unto my wife my brown best bed, with the furniture." Next is the will of Milton, a nuncupative one, the great poet being blind ; but which was set aside by a decree of Sir Leoline Jenkins, the judge of the Prerogative Court. Here, too, is the will of Napoleon Bonaparte, made at St. Helena, April 1821. 260 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Although in early times Domesday, precious as it was alwaj deemed, occasionally travelled, like other records, to distant parti till 1696 it was usually kept with the King's Seal at Westminster, b the side of the Tally Court, in the Exchequer, under three locks an keys ; in the charge of the auditor, the chamberlains, and deputy-chan: berlains, of the Exchequer. In 1696 it was deposited among othe valuable records in the Chapter House, where it still remains. It : kept "in the vaulted porch never warmed by fire. From the firs deposit of Domesday volume in the Treasury at Winchester, in th reign of the Conqueror, it certainly never felt or saw a fire, yet ever page of the vellum is bright, sound, and perfect." (Sir F. Palgrave In making searches or transcripts, you are not allowed to touch th text, a rule which has been kept from time immemorial, and to whic the excellent condition of the record may be partly ascribed. It is a remarkable fact, that Domesday-Booli, which is usually s minute in regard to our principal towns and cities, is deficient in respe< to London. It only mentions a vineyard in Holborn, belonging to tt Crown ; and ten acres of land near Bishopsgate. belonging to the Dea and Chapter of St. Paul's : yet certainly, observes Sir Henry Ellis, i his Introduction to Domesday, no mutilation of the manuscript h* taken place ; since the account of Middlesex is entire, and is exact! coincident with the abridged copy of the survey taken at the time, an now lodged in the office of the King's Remembrancer in the Excheque: Still, a distinct and independent survey of the City itself might ha\ been made at the time of the general survey, although now lost or d( stroyed, if not remaining among the unexplored archives of the Crow) The parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields possesses a Book of Recon called Domesuay-Book, which is of vellum, and was made in 1624, b direction of the then Bishop of London, as a perpetual parish record entitled " Treasure deposited in Heaven, or the Book of God's House of things worthy to be remembered in this parish of St. Giles-in-the Fields, and in the first place of the church now lately restored, son: account touching the same." This book was advertised as missing i the Examiner newspaper, Dec. 21, 1828, and was soon afterwards foun< " DREADNOUGHT" HOSPITAL-SHIP (THE) Is the establishment of the Seamen's Hospital Society, and is moorc off Greenwich, for the reception of sick and diseased seamen of a nations in the Port of London. The hospital was originally establishe in 1821 on board the Grampus, a 50-gun ship ; but this vessel not bein large enough, the Government exchanged her for the DreadnougJi 104-gun ship, which was fitted up in 1831. She fought at Trafalgai under Captain Conn, and captured the Spanish three-decker the So. Juan, previously engaged by the Bellerophon and the Defiance. The establishment on board the Dreadnought consists of a superir tendent, surgeons, apothecary, visiting physicians, chaplain, &c. Th ship is moored contiguous to the bulk of the shipping in the docks an in the river, and is the only place for the reception of sick seamen ai riving from abroad, or to whom accidents may happen between tL mouth of the river and London-bridge. Sick s"eamen of every nation on presenting themselves alongside, are immediately received, withov the necessity of any recommendatory letters ; and shipwrecked sailoi and vagrant seamen are admitted, if deserving. Patients receive in 1851, 2242; out-patients, 1642. The Emperor of Russia, the Quee of Spain, and other foreign potentates, are subscribers. The Dreao nought may be inspected daily, except Sundays, between 11 and 3, witl. out any ticket. The patients"are ranged upon the lower decks, the porl holes affording ventilation ; and the cabins are converted into surgerie DRURY-LANE. 261 Patients of different nations between 1821 and 1852: Englishmen, 38,482; Scotchmen, 7980; Irishmen, 5876; Frenchmen, 240; Germans, 872; Russians, 838; Prussians, 1291; Dutchmen, 215; Danes, 870; Swedes and Norwegians, 2146; Italians, GOfi; Portuguese, 497; Spaniards, 296; East Indians, 1093; West Indians, 1122; British Americans, 895 ; United States, 1237; South Americans, 133; Afri- cans, 383; Turks, 16; Greeks, 58: New Zealanders, 31; Australians, 34; South- Sea Islanders, 34; Chinese, 38 ; born at sea, 134. Total, 65,587. Usually 200 in- patients at one time. Sooner than enter a land hospital, many a poor sailor will perish afloat ; and seamen often travel from the most distant parts of the kingdom to be received in the Dreadnought. DRURY-LANE, Which extends from the north side of the Strand to Broad-street, Bloomsbury, was originally the "Via de Aldwych," still preserved in Wych-street. At the west end was the mansion of the Drurys, wherein Dr. Donne had apartments assigned him by Sir Robert Drury; and here, in 1612, Mrs. Donne died of childbirth, at the same day and hour that Dr. Donne, then at Paris, saw her in a vision pass twice be- fore him, " with her hair hanging about her shoulders, and a dead child in her arms." William Lord Craven, the hero of Creutznach, became the next owner of Drury House, which he rebuilt in four stories, a large square pile of brick, afterwards called Craven House, where the Earl died in 1697. This mansion was taken down in 1803, and the ground purchased by Philip Astley for the site of his Olympic Pavilion. In its latter time, the Craven mansion was a public-house with the sign of " The Queen of Bohemia," a reminiscence of its former occupancy by the daughter of James I., through whom the family of Brunswick suc- ceeded to the throne of England, and who is suspected to have been secretly married to her heroic champion, Lord Craven. The present Craven-Head public-house was one of the offices of Craven House, and the adjoining stabling belonged to that mansion. Craven Buildings, erected in 1723, occupy a portion of the grounds. On the end wall of Craven-buildings was formerly a fresco portrait of Earl Craven in armour, with a truncheon in his hand, and mounted on his white charger; on each side was an earl's and a baron's coronet, and the letters ' W. C.' This portrait was twice or thrice repainted in oil, the last time by Edward Edwards, A.R.A. (Brayley's Londiniana, vol. iv. p. 301.) Hayman, the painter, once lived in Craven-buildings; Mrs. Bracegirdle, the actress, had here a house, afterwards tenanted by the equally celebrated Mrs. Pritchard ; and in the back parlour of No. 17 Dr. Arne composed the music of Comus. The Cock and Magpie public-house (opposite Craven-buildings) evidently dates from the better days of Drury-lane. Next-door is one of the few paneled houses existing ; and the east side of Little Drury-lane, leading to the church of St. Mary-le-Strand, is a range of old houses, apparently contemporary with the Cock and Magpie, or probably two centuries and a half old. Wych-street, which runs at an obtuse angle with this passage, likewise contains some houses of considerable an- tiquity. (Archer's Vestiges of Old London, part v.) In the Coal-yard, at the Holborn end of Drury-lane, was born Nell Gwynne ; and in Maypole-alley (now Little Drury-lane), she lodged when Pepys saw her looking at the dance around the Strand maypole : " 1st May, 1667. To Westminster, in the way meeting many milkmaids with their garlands upon their pails, dancing with a fiddler before them; and saw pretty Nelly standing at her lodging-door, in Drury-lane, in her smock-sleeves and bodice, looking upon one : she seemed a mighty pretty creature." Diary. Drury-lane was nobly tenanted till late in the 17th century; but a paper by Steele in the Taller, No. 46, represents the lane in its de- cline; and Gay's propitiatory lines, " Oh, may thy virtue guard thee through the roads Of Drury's mazy courts and dark abodes !" 262 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. are almost as applicable now as at the day they were written : Hogarth has made it the locality of the " Harlot's Progress." Pit-place (above Princes-street) was the site of the Cock-pit, the first Drury-lane theatre. EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON. From Mr. Milne's elaborate register of Earthquakes in Great Britain,* the most complete record of its class, we select the majority of the following details of shocks felt in the metropolis: 1692, September 8, London and Flanders. 1750, February 8, London and Westminster. Motion of ground from AV. to E. Several chimneys thrown down, and walls rent. A shepherd at Kensington heard the noise rush past him, and instantly he saw the ground, a dry and solid spot, wave under him like the face of the river ; the tall trees of the avenue where he was, nodded their tops very sensibly, and quivered. Philos. Trans, vol. xlvi. 1750, February 8, between 12 and 1 P.M., all over Westminster. " Stacks of heavy chimneys were dislodged, and the Thames became greatly agitated. The barristers were greatly alarmed, for they thought that Westminster Hall was falling down"" Walcott. 1750, March 8. Motion from E. to W. ; houses near the Thames were most shaken. Near London there was a continued and confused lightning till within a minute or two of shock ; dogs howled, tish jumped three feet out of water ; sound in air preceded concussions ; flashes of lightning and a ball of fire were seen just before explosion. The Pre- sident of the Royal Society (Martin Folkes) stated that he did not on this occasion perceive that lifting motion which he was sensible of on 8th February, but he felt very quick shakes or tremors horizontally. A boatman on the Thames felt his boat receive a blow at the bottom, and the whole river seemed agitated. The Rev. Mr. Pickering stated, that he was lying awake in his bed, which stood N. and S. He first " heard a sound like that of a blast of wind. I then perceived myself raised in my bed, and the motion began on my right side, and inclined me towards the left." In the Temple Gardens, the noise in the air was greater than the loudest report of cannon. At the same instant, the buildings inclined over from the perpendicular several degrees. The general impression was, that the whole city was violently pushed to S.E., and then brought back again. The sound preceded the concus- sions, resembling the discharge of several cannon, or distant thunder in the air, and not a subterranean explosion. Flashes of lightning were observed an hour (before ?), and a vast ball of fire. At Kensington, the bailiff of Mr. Fox, at a quarter past five A.M., heard (when in the open air) a noise much like thunder at a distance, which, coming from N.W., grew louder, and gave a crack over his head, and then gradually died away. The sky was clear, and he saw no fire or appearances of lightning. Immediately after the crack, the ground shook, and it moved like a quagmire. The whole lasted a minute. Philos. Trans, vol. xlvi. " At half-past five A.M. the whole city of Westminster was alarmed by another shock more severe than the former (Feb. 8), accompanied by a hollow rumbling noise; and numbers of people were awakened in amazement and fear from their sleep. Great stones were thrown from the 'new spire' of Westminster Abbey, and fish jumped half a yard above the water; and in several steeples the bells were struck by chime-hammers. An impostor pretended to foretel an earth- quake on a particular day, which would lay Westminster in ruins ; and when the appointed time arrived, the people ran out in crowds into the country to escape such a terrible catastrophe. The churches could scarcely contain the throngs of * Notices of Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain. By David Milne, Esq. F.R.S.E., M.W.S., F.G.S., &c. Communicated to Jameson's'Journal, No. 61. EAST INDIA HOUSE. 263 worshippers. The pulpits and public prints were employed in deprecating God's wrath and calling a degenerate people to repentance. But unhappily it was a devotion as shortlived only as their fear." Walcott's Westminster, p. 22. Horace Walpole writes to Sir Horace Mann, March 11, 1750, " In the night, between Wednesday and Thursday last (exactly a month since the first shock), the earth had a shivering fit between one and two ; but so slight, that if no more had followed, I don't believe it would have been noticed. I had been awake, and had scarce dozed again, when on a sudden I felt my bolster lift up my head; I thought somebody was getting from under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang my bell, my servant came in frightened out of his senses ; in an instant we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up and found people running into the streets, but saw no mischief done ; there has been some, two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much china-ware. The bells rung in several houses. Admiral Knowles, who had lived long in Jamaica, and felt seven there, says this was more violent than any of them. Francesco prefers it to the dreadful one at Leghorn. * * * It has nowhere reached above ten miles from London. The only visible effect it has had was on the Ridotto, at which being the following night, there were but 400 people. A parson who came into White's the morning of earthquake the first, and heard bets laid on whether it was an earthquake or the blowing up of powder-mills, went away exceedingly scandalised, and said, 'I protest they are such an impious set of people, that I believe if the last trumpet was to sound, they would bet puppet- show against Judgment.' " 1756, February 18. About 8 A.M., a shock felt at Dover and London. 1761, February 8. A shock most sensibly felt along the bahks of the Thames from Greenwich near to Richmond. At Limehouse and Poplar, chimneys were thrown down ; and in several parts of London, the furniture was shaken, and the pewter fell to the ground : at Hamp- stead and Highgate, it was also very perceptible. 1761, March 8. A more violent shock, between five and six A.M., the air being very warm, and the atmosphere clear and serene ; though, till within a few minutes preceding, there had been strong but confused lightning in quick succession. The violence of the motion caused many persons to start from their beds and flee to the street, under the im- pression that their houses were falling. In St. James's Park, and in the squares and open places about the West-end of the town, the tremulous vibration of the earth was most distinguishable ; it seemed to move in a south and north direction, with a quick return towards the centre, and was accompanied with a loud noise as of rushing wind. A crazy life-guardsman predicted a third earthquake within a month from the above, and drove thousands of persons from the metropolis ; whilst another wight advertised pills "good against earthquakes." In 1842, an absurd report gained credence among the weak-minded, that London would be destroyed by earthquake on the 17th of March, St. Patrick's Day. This rumour was founded on certain doggrel prophecies : one pretended to be pronounced in the year 1203, and contained in Harleian Collection (British Museum), 800 b. folio 319 ; the other by Dr. Dee, the astrologer (1598, Ms. in the British Museum). The rhymes, with these "authorities," inserted in the newspapers, ac- tually excited some alarm, and a great number of timid persons left the metropolis before the 17th. Upon reference to the British Museum, the " prophecies" were not, however, to be found; and their forger has confessed them to have been an experiment upon public credulity. EAST INDIA HOUSE, Or the House of the East India Company, " the most celebrated commercial association of ancient or modern times, and which has ex- tended its sway over the whole of the Mogul empire," is situated on the south side of Leadenhall- street. 26-4 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. The tradition of the House is, that the Company, incorporated December 31, 1600, first transacted their business in the great room of the Nag's Head inn, opposite St. Botolph's Church, Bishopsgate-street. The maps of London, soon after the Great Fire of 1666, place the India House on a part of its present site in Leadenhall-street. Here originally stood the mansion of Alderman Kerton, built in the reign of Edward VI., rebuilt on the accession of Elizabeth, enlarged by its next purchaser, Sir William Craven, lord may or in 1610: here was born the great Lord Craven, who in 1701 leased his house and a tenement in Lime-street to the Company, at 100?. a-year. A scarce Dutch etching in the British Museum shews this house to have been half-timbered, it8 lofty gable surmounted with two dolphins and a figure of a mariner, or, as some say, of the first Governor ; beneath are merchant-ships at sea, the royal arms, and those of the Company. This grotesque struc- ture was taken down in 1726, and upon its site was erected " the old East India House," portions of which yet remain ; although the present stone front, 200 feet long, and great part of the house, were built 1798 and 1799, and subsequently enlarged by Cockerell, R.A., and Wilkins, a hexastyle Ionic portico of six fluted columns, from the R.A. It has a hexast ancient temple of Apollo Didyma3us ; and in the tympanum of the pedi- ment are sculptured, by Bacon, jun., figures emblematic of the com- merce of the East, shielded by George 111. : on the upper acroterium is a statue of Britannia ; and on the two lower, a figure of Europe on a horse, and Asia on a camel. The interior contains many fine statues and pictures. The new Sale- room approaches in interest the Rotunda of the Bank of England. The Court-room (Directors') is an exact cube of 30 feet ; is richly gilt, and is hung with six pictures of the Cape, St. Helena, and Tellichery ; and over the chimney is a large marble group of figures, supported by cary- atides. The general Court-room (Proprietors') has in niches statues of Lord Clive, Warren Hastings, the Marquis Cornwallis, Sir Eyre Coote, General Lawrance, Sir George Pococke, and the Marquis Wellesley. The Finance and Home Committee-room has one wall entirely occupied by a picture of the grant of the Dewanee to the Company in 1765, the foundation of the British power in India : here also are portraits of Warren Hastings and the Marquis Cornwallis; Mirza Abul Hassan, the Persian envoy to London in 1809, &c. The Library contains, per- haps, the most splendid assemblage of Oriental Mss. in Europe, many with illuminated drawings ; Tippoo Sultan's Register of Dreams (with interpretations), and his Koran ; a large collection of Chinese printed books ; and a Ms. Sanscrit tract on the Astrolabe, of which Chaucer's celebrated treatise is a literal translation, though the poet may have translated it from an Arabic or a Latin version. Here is also a Museum, which is open gratuitously to the public on Fridays from 11 to 3 ; and with the Library on other days by tickets from Directors. (See MUSEUMS.) The East India Company is now an exclusively political institution; the Act 3 & 4 Will. IV., prolonging the charter till 1854, debarring the Company from the privilege of tradins. Before this reduction, nearly 400 men were employed in the warehouses, and the number of clerks was above 400. The fifteen warehouses often contained 50,000,0001hs. (above 22, 000 tons) of tea; and l,200,0001bs. have been sold in one day. (In 1668, the Company ordered " one hundred pounds weight of good teye" to be sent home on speculation !) The clerks' business was very heavy : from 1793 to 1813, the explanatory matter from the Indian Government filled 9094 large folio volumes ; and from that year to 1829,14,414; and a military despatch has been accompanied with 199 papers, containing 13,511 pages. In 1826, the patron- age of each East India Director for the year was estimated at 20,0001. sterling. The twenty-four directors receive 300?. each, and 500?. for their "chairs," being a charge on the Hindoos of 7700?. per annum. Except _ EASTCHEAP. 265 a few satrapies, cadies, high-priests, and leaders of hosts, the directors exercise the whole patronage of nomination to Indian office, civil, mili- tary, and clerical. EASTCHEAP. This ancient thoroughfare originally extended from Tower-street westward to the south end of Clement's-lane, where Cannon-street i begins. It was the Eastern Cheap or Market, as distinguished from ! Westcheap, now Cheapside ; and was crossed by Fish-Street-hill, the eastern portion being Little Eastcheap (now Eastcheap), and the western Great Easteheap : the latter, with St. Michael's Church, Crooked-lane, disappeared in the new London Bridge approaches. Mr. Kempe, F.S.A., considers Eastcheap to have been the principal or Praetorian gate of the Roman garrison, leading into the Roman Forum; and in 1831 there were found here a Roman roadway, two wells, the architrave of a Roman building, &c. ; in Miles-lane, a piece of the Roman wall, cinerary urns, coins of Claudius and Vespasian ; and in Bush-lane, remains of the Praetorium itself in fragments of brick, with inscriptions designating them as formed under the Prse- torship of Agricola. (Gent. Mag. March 1842.) Eastcheap was next the Saxon Market, celebrated from the time of Fitzstephen to the days of Lydgate for the provisions sold there : " Then I hyed me into Est-Chepe, One cryes ribbes of bef'e and many a pye : Pewter pottes they clattered on a heape." London Lyckpenny. In Great Eastcheap was the Soar's Head Tavern, first mentioned temp. Richard II. ; the scene of the revels of Falstaff and Henry V., when Prince of Wales, in Shakspeare's Henry IV., Part 2. Stow relates a riot in " the cooks' dwellings" here on St. John's eve 1410, by Princes John and Thomas, for unceremoniously quelling which the mayor, aldermen, and sheriff were cited before Chief- Justice Gascoigne, but discharged honourably, the king reproving his own sons. The tavern was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, but was rebuilt in two years, as attested by a boar's head cut in stone, with the initials of the landlord, I. T., and the date 1668, above the first-floor window. This sign-stone is now in the Guildhall library. The house stood between Small-alley and St. Michael's-lane, and' in the rear looked upon St. Michael's churchyard, where was buried a draiver, or waiter, at the tavern, d. 1720: in the church was interred John Rhodoway, "Vintner at the Bore's Head," 1623. Maitland, in 1739, mentions the Boar's Head, with " This is the chief tavern in London" under the sign. Goldsmith (Essays), Boswell (Life of Dr. Johnson), and Washington Irving (Sketch-book), have idealised the house as the identical place which Falstaff frequented, for- getting its destruction in the Great Fire. The site of the Boar's Head is very nearly that of the statue of King William IV. In 1834, Mr. Kempe, F.S.A., exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries a carved oak figure of Sir John Falstaff, in the costume of the Ifith century. It supported an ornamental bracket over one side of the door of the Boar's Head, a figure of Prince Henry sustaining that on the other. The Falstaff was the property of Mr. Thomas Shelton, brazier, Great Eastcheap, whose ancestors had lived in the shop he then occupied ever since the Great Fire. He well remembered the last Grand Shakspearean Dinner-p^rty at the Boar's Head, about 1784. A boar's head with silver tusks, which had been suspended in some room in the tavern, perhaps the Half-Moon or Pomgranate (see Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4), at the Great Fire fell down with the ruins of the house, and was conveyed to Whitechapel Mount, where, many years after, it was recovered and identified with its former locality. At a public-house, No. 12 Miles-lane, was long preserved a tobacco-box with a paint- ing of the original Boar's Head tavern on the lid. 266 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. In High-street, Southwark, between Nos. 25 and 23, was formerly the Boar't Head Inn, part of Sir John FastolfFs benefaction to Magdalen College. Oxio d. Sir John was one of the bravest generals in the French wars, under the fourth, fifth, and sixth Henries; but he is not the Falstaff of Shakspeare. The Boar's Head premises in Southwark, latterly a court of eleven tenements, were taken down for the New London Bridge approaches. EGYPTIAN HALL, PICCADILLY. This edifice and a smaller structure in Y/elbeck-street are, in single features and details, the only specimens of Egyptian architecture in London. The latter was, as originally erected, the most correct in character, but has since been almost spoiled. The Hall in Piccadilly conforms to the style in the columns and the general outline, as indi- cated by the inclined torus-moulding at the extremity of the front, the cornice^ &c. ; though the composition itself is at variance with the prin- ciples of genuine Egyptian architecture, the front being divided into two floors, with wide instead of narrow windows to both. The details are mostly from the great temple of Tentyra, with the scarabaeus, winged mundus, hieroglyphics, c. The architect's name, G. F. Robinson, is inscribed upon the facade. The entablature is supported by colossal figures of Isis and Osiris, sculptured by L. Gahagan. The Hall cost 16,000?.. and was built in 1812 for a museum of natural history collected by W. Bullock, F.L.S., during thirty years' travel in Central America, which was exhibited here until 1819, when it was sold in 2248 lots.* The Egyptian Hall contains lecture-rooms, a bazaar, and a large central room, " the Waterloo Gallery." As the Hall has been a sort of Ark of Exhibitions, we enumerate the Curiosities which have been shewn here : 1816. The Judgment of Bruins, painted by Le Thiere, president of the Aca- demy of St. Luke, at Rome. Water-colour Paintings of Minerals and Shells, by Chev. de Barde. Napoleon's Travelling-Chariot, built for his Russian campa'gn, and adapted for a bed-room, dressing-room, pantry, kitchen, &c. ; captured at Waterloo: seen at the Egyptian Hall by 800,000 persons; now in the Tussaud Exhibition. 1819. Sale of Bullock's Museum : produce, 9974/. 13s. ; cost, 30,OOOZ. 1821. Fac-simile of the Tomb of Psammiithis, King of Thebes, discovered by Belzoni ; constructed and painted from drawings and wax-impressions taken by him of all the original figures, hieroglyphics, emblems, &c. ; the two principal chambers illuminated: first day, 1900 admissions, at 2s. 6d. each. 1822. Laplanders and Reindeer: 1001. per day taken for six weeks. Pair of Wapeti. or Elks, from the Upper Missouri ; and a pretended Mermaid, visited by 300 and 400 persons daily. t 1824. Mexican Museum, ancient and modern. Esquimaux Man and Woman. Hatching Chickens by Artificial Heat. 1825. Rath, or Burmese Imperial State-Carriage, captured by the British in 1824: the coach and the throne-seat, studded with20,000 gems, are stated to have cost 12,500f. at Tavoy. Model of Switzerland. 1826. The Musical Sisters, four and six years old, harpist and pianist. Alt:ir- piece, by Murillo. The Pcecilorama, views painted by Stanfield. 1827. The Tyrolese Minstrels, four males and one female. * Bullock's "Liverpool Museum" was opened at 22 Piccadilly, in 1805, in the room originally occupied by Astley for his evening performance of horseman- ship ; his amphitheatre not being roofed until 1780, and therefore allowing only day exhibitions. t In Manners and Customs of the Japanese, published in 1841, the above "Mermaid" (the head and shoulders of a monkey neatly attached to a headless fish) is proved to have been manufactured in Japan, brought to Europe by an American adventurer, and valued at 1000J. A pretended Mermaid was also ex- hibited in London in 1775; and in Broad Court, Covent Garden, in 1794. EGYPTIAN HALL, PICCADILLY. 267 1828. Pictures of Battles of the French Armies, painted by General Le Jeune. The Death of Virginia, painted by Le Thiere. Hay don's Picture of the Mock Election in ihe King's Bench, bought by George IV. for 800 guineas, and sent from the Egyptian Hall to St. James's Palace. 1S29. Troubadours (singers). The Siamese Twins, two youths of eighteen, na- tives of Siam, united by a short band at the pit of the stomach "two perfect bodies, bound together by an inseparable link." 1830. Fox Bipartitus, or two voices in one. Sculpture, by Lough. Tableaux Vivans (ancient pictures by living figures). Michael Boai, or the chin-chopper, a la Buckhorse. 1831. Model of the Theatre Francaise at Paris. A Cobra di Capello, the first brought alive to Europe. Two Orang-outangs and a Chimpanzee. A Double- sighted Boy, M'Kean, aged eight years. Scrymegour's Picture of the First Sign in Egypt. Double-sighted Dog. The Egyptian Hall converted into a Bazaar. 1832. Museum of Etruscan Antiquities. Royal Clarence Vase, of glass, made at Birmingham. The Brothers Koeller, singers, from Switzerland. Haydon's Pictures of Xenophon and the 10,000; and his Mock Election, lent by George IV. for exhibition; Death of Eucles, &c. 1835. Views of Paris, painted by M. Dupressoir. 1837. A living Male Child, with four hands, four arms, four legs, four feet, and two bodies, born at Staleybridge, Manchester. Masquerades. 1838. Le Brun's Picture of the Battle of Arbela, embossed on copper, by Szent- petery. --Captain Siborne's Model of the Battle of Waterloo, with 190,000 figures; now in the Museum of the United Service Institution. 1839. Skeleton of a Mammoth Ox. Pictorial Storm at Sea, introducing Grace Darling and the " Forfarshire Wreck." 1840. Aubusson Carpets. Ung-ka-puii (Gibbon monkey), from Sumatra. Bio- plulax, or Life and Property Protector. Haydon's large Picture of the General Anti-Slavery Convention. 1841. Catlin's North-American Indian Gallery of 310 portraits of chiefs, and 200 views of villages, religious ceremonies, dances, ball-plays, buffalo-hunts, in all, 3000 full-length figures, with costumes and other produce, from a wigwam to a rattle, filling a room 106 feet long. The Missouri Leviathan skeleton. The Great Pennard Cheese, presented to the Queen. 1843. Sir George Hauler's Great Picture of the First Reformed Parliament, figures half-life size. Model of Venice. The Napoleon Museum. 1844. The American Dwarf, " Tom Thumb,"* whose exhibition often realised 125^. a-day; while, in sickening contrast, in an adjoining room, the pictures of Haydon (to whom Wordsworth wrote "High is our calling, friend") were scarcely visited by a dozen persons in a week. The " Banishment of Aristides," Haydon's last picture, was shewn here, and its failure hastened the painter to his awful end. Nine Ojibbeway Indians, from Lake Huron, in their native costumes, exhibiting their war-dances and sports. German Dwarfs. 1845. The Eureka, a machine for composing hexameter Latin verses; a practical illustration of the law of evolution. Second Exhibition of Captain Siborne's Model of the Battle of Waterloo. 1846. Prof. Faber's Euphonia, or speaking automaton, enunciating sounds and words; played by keys. Mammoth Horse. Polar Dog. Bosjesman Family. The Rock Harmonicon. Curiosities from Australia. Professor Kist's Poses Plastiques. A Dwarf dressed in a bear-skin: the "What is it?''; immediately detected. 1847. Second Family of Bosjesmam (Bushmen), from Southern Africa. Models of Ancient and Modern Jerusalem, by Brunetti. Exhibition of Modern Paintings; free to artists. * "Tom Thumb" (Charles S. Stratton) was born at Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S., January 11, 1832. He was, in 1845. 25 inches high, and weighed 15 pounds. He was first exhibited in New York; in 1844 he came to London, and appeared at the Princess' Theatre February 21, 1844. He was next shewn to the Queen and Queen Dowager, and received several costly presents. He then appeared in a pretty miniature chariot, drawn by two Shetland ponies, with which he visited Paris in 1845, and was shewn to Louis-Philippe. He next visited Belgium and Spain, and was present at a bull-fight with Queen Isabella. He then revisited England, and returned to New York. 268 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. 1848. Pictures of Recent Political Events in Paris. The Mysterious Lady. Figure of a Russian Lady in veined marbles. Banvard's Dioramic Picture of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, 3000 miles, stated to be painted on three miles of canvass (!) ; sketched before the painter was of age. 1850. Panorama of Fremont's Overland Route to California. Bonomi's Pano- rama of the Nile, 800 feet long: representing 1720 miles distance, closing with the Pyramids and Sphinx. 1852. March 15, Mr. Albert Smith fir^t pave the narrative of his Ascent of Mont Blanc in 1851, accompanying the exhibition of cleverly -painted moving dio- ramic- pictures of its perils and sublimities. The Egyptian Hall usually realises a clear net rental of 1100?. per annum ; after paying ground-rent and rates, 413J. : for Tom Thumb's exhibition-room was paid 441. per month. In the western wing was the Medical Hall of Dr. Reece, the champion of Joanna Southcott. (See also MANSION HOUSE : Egyptian Hall.) ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS. The Electro-telegraphic system in England has been carried out exclusively by the Electric Telegraph Company, at their Central Office in Lothbury, which has thus become the metropolis of stations. Here the whole system is most clearly exhibited; the Company having pur- chased all Cooke and Wheatstone's patents, and adopted their peculiar features, the suspended conducting-wire and the Double Needle Tele- graph ; and, in certain cases, Mr. Bain's chemical Printing Telegraph. The Office is in Founders'-court,* on the north side of the Bank of England ; where anciently dwelt founders " that cast candlesticks, chafing-dishes, spice-mortars," &c., and " turned them bright with the feet, making a loathsome noise, whence the name of Loth-fterze, or court" (Stow); all which is strikingly contrasted with the wonder-working silence of the Electric Telegraph operations. The entrance to the office is bold and picturesque : above the door- way is a balcony ; and between two enriched Ionic pilasters, carrying an arched pediment, is the large transparent dial of an electric clock. You first enter a hall 42 by 32 feet, entirely lighted from the coved roof of plate-glass in panels. At the east and west ends is a screen of two stories; the first story supported by Doric columns, the upper Corinthian ; both communicate with the apartments in which are the electric-telegraph machines, and the two ends are connected by side- galleries, there being thus two railed stories or galleries throughout the hall; at each end, below, are co. inters, and above them the names of the various places to which messages can be sent. At the counters are clerks, who receive the messages, enter them, and pass them to another set of clerks, who transmit them to those employed at the machines above by lifts or small travs, working by cords in square tubes, a lift and bell to each desk. Behind the counter is the "translating office," Avhere all messages are transferred into the abbreviated code arranged by the Company. Such messages as descriptions of persons suspected of dishonesty are not translated, but sent in full : only the lists of prices in corn, share, and other markets are so abbreviated. The west side of the hall is devoted to the business of the towns on the North- Western and Great- Western lines; and the eastern side is for the Eastern, South-Eastern, and South-Western lines, and the Admiralty. * Founders' Hall, now a Dissenters' meeting-house, was in 1792 nicknamed "the cauldron of sedition." Here Waithman made his first political speech, and with his fellow-orators was routed by constables sent by the Lord-Mayor, Sir James Sanderson, to disperse the meeting. ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS. 269 The station is connected with the Euston-square station by wires laid along Moorgate-street, Finsbury-square, the City-road, and the New-road ; with the Shoreditch station by wires thence to the other sys- tem of wires at Finsbury; and from the Nine Elms, Waterloo, and London- Bridge stations, by wires laid to the latter station ; and thence over London-bridge and along King-William-street to the Central Office. Several wires are laid to each terminus, lest any of them become defective, when the connexion can be carried on by other wires, as the expense of taking up the pavement would be enormous for so slight a cause. The wires are of copper, and are covered with gutta-percha, India-rubber, or some resinous substances, which, being non-conduc- tors, prevent the escape of the electricity. The wires from the several railway termini are brought through iron pipes laid down under the pavement of the streets; and meeting in Founders'-court, are continued through the south wall of the basement of the station, and descending into the " test-box," are fastened there to pegs fitted into the back of the box. At the bottom run a corre- sponding number of "house-wires," and these go to the machines in the galleries. Connexion is maintained between the line and house-wires by small wires running perpendicularly from one to the other. All the wires are numbered at the desks to correspond from batteries to machines, and from machines to the test-box, that the electric circle may thus be complete. In the galleries the wires are carried along the ceilings from the respective machines to the battery-chambers and the test-box; the bat- tery-wires running east and west, and the house- wires to test-box north and south. Several long and narrow chambers are devoted to the batteries, which, when charged, are found to remain above a month in good working order. They are so numbered and arranged in reference to the wires, that any defect can be immediately rectified. Each rail- way has a division to itself, and thus all risk of confusion is avoided. The communications are spelt through letter by letter, and each word is verified by the receiver to the sender as the message proceeds. The average speed is somewhat more than two letters per second, being nearly at the same rate as ordinary writing. At the Centra] Station, also, a sort of Telegraphic editor prepares from the morning newspapers, at an early hour, a short abstract of the most important news; the general commercial information most in request, as the state of the stock and share market, and of the money-market, the state of the wind and weather at different ports of the kingdom, shipping and sporting intelligence, the rates of the markets of every description, and the leading general political news. This, when written out, is sent up to the instrument-room, from whence it is despatched to various subscription-rooms in different parts of the country, where it arrives by eight o'clock in the morning. All news of adequate importance is thus diffused over the kingdom literally with the speed of lightning. Thus, the public in Edinburgh are informed by e'ght o'clock in the morning of all in- teresting facts which appear in the London morning journals ; and the provincial journals are similarly supplied. Bain's chemical Printing Telegraph is worked by the Company on commercial lines of railway. By this telegraph 300 words per minute have been sent, and 56,000 messages per month have been transmitted on the Eastern Counties line for railway purposes alone; and for mercantile purposes, the contents of a closely-printed octavo volume have been sent out in messages, per day, from the Central Telegraph Office alone. Such is the facility afforded by the instruments now in use, that they are chiefly worked by boys taken from the London Orphan Asylum, who fully understand how to manage them after a fortnight's practice. By this telegraph the Queen's speech in 1852 (754 words) was printed to Manchester in twenty-five minutes. 270 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. BLKCTRIC TBLBGBAPH LI The Houses of Parliament have an Electric Telegraph of their own, communicating with the clerks' offices, committee-rooms, &c. There are also, in communication with the Cen- tral Office in Lothbury, stations at the several Rail- way termini ; at the General Post-Office, St. Mar- tin's-le-Grand ; No. 7 Knightsbridge -terrace; and at No. 448 West Strand, open day and night. Rate of charge for twenty words, 100 miles and under, 2s. 6d.; over 100 miles, 5s. An addition of one-half the rate for each ten words or fraction of ten words additional, or a charge of 3d. per word, at the option of the sender. The tariff of charges maybe had at the office ; with a map of the stations, whence the an- . In 1851, the Admiralty Semaphores were removed, and the Electric Telegraph substituted for them. By this means, despatches can be sent off and received by night or day, and in any kind of weather ; whereas, the Semaphores could only work by day, and that in fine weather : this was a great inconvenience to Government, especially the naval depart- ment, which had only one line, from the Admiralty, Whitehall, to Portsmouth ; whilst now, orders can be transmitted in a moment to the Royal arsenals of Woolwich, Chatham, and Sheerness, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Devonport, Pembroke, &c. (See ADMIRALTY, page 2.) Not only is the Electric Telegraph of great importance to Government, but to our merchants and shipping interest, in the announcement of the arrivals and departures of the foreign and colonial mails, and vessels from all parts of the globe ; the last prices of the markets and stocks ; Parliamentary bills, and intelligence of what is passing in both Houses of Parliament during the session ; courts of law, &c. In 1851, the Needle Telegraph of Wheatstone was carried round the Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park, and thence to the Police Station, Great Scotland-yard, Whitehall. And in 1852, the exact Greenwich time was first conveyed by the Electric Telegraph to various parts of England. The first newspaper report by Electric Telegraph appeared in the Morning Chro- nicle, May 8, 1845, detailing a railway meeting held at Portsmouth on the preced- ing evening. On April 10, in the same year, a game of chess was played by Electric Telegraph, between Captain Kennedy, at the South-Western Railway terminus, and Mr. Staunton, at Gosport : the mode of playing was by numbering the rires of the chess-board and the men; and in conveying the moves, the tricity travelled backward and forward during the game upwards of 10,000 miles. In 1845, by the Electric Telegraph then laid from Paddington to the Slough sta- tion, on the Great Western Railway, John Tawell was captured on suspicion of having murdered Sarah Hart at Salt-hill, on Jan. 1. Tawell left Slough by the railway on that evening ; and at the same instant, by telegraph, his person was described, with instructions to the police to watch him on his arrival at Pad- dington: he was accordingly followed by a police-sergeant in an omnibus to the Bank, thence to the Jerusalem Coffee-house, over London-bridge to the Borough, then back to Scott's yard, Cannon-street, where he was apprehended and identified. On Nov. 13, 1851, the Submarine Electric Telegraph between Dover and Calais was first worked for the public ; and the opening and closing prices of the Paris Bourse were transmitted to the Stock Exchange, London, during business-hours. ELY PLACE. All that remains of this celebrated palace, anciently Ely House, which stood on the north side of Holborn-hill, and was the town man- sion of the Bishops of Ely, is the Chapel of St. Ethelreda, already de- scribed at pp. 167 and 243. The site is otherwise occupied by two rows of houses known as Ely-place, and a knot of tenements, streets, and alleys ; but the locality is fraught with the historic associations of five ELY PLACE. 271 centuries. Its first occupier, Bishop John de Kirkby, dying in 1290> bequeathed a messuage and nine cottages on this spot to his successors in the see of Ely. William de Luda, the next bishop, annexed some lands, added to the residence, and in 1297 devised them to the see, on condition that his successor should provide for the service of St. Ethelreda's Chapel. John de Hotham, who died in 1336, planted a vineyard, kitchen-garden, orchard, &c. Thomas de Arundel, pre- ferred to the see in 1374, re-edified the episcopal buildings and the Chapel ; and erected a large gate-house towards Holborn, the stonework of which remained in Stow's time. Ely House was in part let by the see to noblemen. Here "old John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lan- caster," died Feb. 13, 1399 ; and Shakspeare has made it the scene of Lancaster's last interview with Richard II. Following Hall and Holinshed, too, Shakspeare refers to this Place when Richard Duke of Gloucester, at the Council in the Tower, thus addresses the Bishop : " D. of Glou. My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there ; I do beseech you send for some of them. B. ofElii. Marry, and will, my lord, with all my heart." Richard III. act iii. sc. 4. At Ely House were kept divers feasts by the Sergeants-at-Law : at one in 1495, Henry VII. was present with his queen ; and at another feast in 1531, on making eleven new Sergeants, Henry VIII. and Queen Katherine were banquetted here with sumptuousness wanting '' little of a feast at a coronation ;" and open-house was kept for five days. In 157G, at the mandatory request of Queen Elizabeth, Bishop Cox leased to Sir Christopher Hatton for twenty-one years the greater portion of the demesne, on payment at Midsummer-day of a red rose, ten loads of hay, and 10Z. per annum ; the Bishop reserving to himself and his suc- cessors the right of walking in the gardens, and gathering 20 bushels of roses yearly. Hatton largely improved the estate, and then petitioned the Queen to require the Bishop to make over the whole property ; whereupon ensued the Bishop's remonstrance, and Elizabeth's undig- nified threat to " unfrock" him : and in 1578 the entire property was conveyed to Hatton, and Elizabeth further retaliated by keeping the see of Ely vacant for eighteen years from the death of Bishop Cox in 1591. Aggas's map shews the vineyard, meadow, kitchen-garden, and orchard, of Ely Place to have extended northward from Holborn-hill to the present Hat ton -wall and Vine-street ; and east and west, from Saffron-hill to nearly the present Leather-lane: but except a cluster of houses (Ely Rents) on Holborn-hill, the surrounding ground was entirely open and unbuilt on ; the names of Saffron -hill, Field lane, and Lily, Turnmill, and Vine streets, carry the mind's-eye back to this sub- urban appropriation. The Sutherland View, 1543, also shews the gate-house, chapel, great banquetting-hall, &c. Sir Christopher lived in great stute in Hatton House, as Ely Place was now called ; but Eli- zabeth, " which seldom gave loans, and never forgave due debts," pressed the payment of some 40,OOOZ. arrears, which the Chancellor could not meet ; so it went to his heart, and he died Nov. 20, 1591. He was suc- ceeded by his nephew, whose widow, the strange Lady Hatton, in 1598 was married to Sir Edward Coke, then attorney- general, but who could not gain admission to Hatton House: she died "at her house in Hoi- bourne," Jan. 3, 1646. The Bishops of Ely made several attempts to recover the entire property ; but, during the imprisonment of Bishop Wren by the Long Parliament, most of the palatial buildings were taken down, and upon the garden were built Hatton-garden, Great and Little Kirby-streets, Charles-street, Cross-street, and Hatton- wall. During the Interregnum, Hatton House and offices were used as a prison and hospital. In 1772 the estate was purchased by the 272 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Crown ; a town-house was built for the Bishops, No. 27 Dover-street, Piccadilly ; and about 1775 the present Ely-place was built, the Chapel remaining on the west side. A remnant of the episcopal residence is preserved in, and has given name to, Mitre-court, leading from Hatton- garden to Ely-p'ace. There, worked into the wall, as the sign of a public-house, is a mitre sculptured in stone, with the date 1546, which probably once decorated Ely Palace or its precinct gateway. The stage-play of " Christ's Passion" was acted in the reign of James I. "at Elie House, in Holborn, when Gundomar (the Spanish Am- bassador) lay there on Good Friday at night, at which there were thou- sands present" (Prynne's Uistriomastix, p. 117, note); this being the last performance of a Religious Mystery in England. At Ely House, also, was arranged the grand masque given by the four Inns of Court to Charles I. and Queen Henrietta-Maria, at Whitehall, on Candlemas- day, 1634, at the cost of 21,000?. ; when the masquers, horsemen, musi- cians, dancrs, with the grand committee (including the great lawyers Whitelocke, Hyde (afterwards Lord Clarendon), and Seldon, went in procession by torchlight from Ely House, down Chancery Lane, along the Strand, to Whitehall. EXCHANGE ALLEY, Now 'Change-alley, between No. 24 Cornhill and No. 70 Lombard- street, is described by Strype as "a place of a very considerable con- course of merchants, seafaring men, and other traders, occasioned by the great coffee-houses that stand there. Chiefly now brokers, and such as deal in the buying and selling of stocks, frequent it." Thither Jews and Gentiles migrated in 1700 : for a century it was the focus of all the monetary operations of England, and in great part of Europe ; and even to this hour, the Stock Exchange bears the generic designa- tion of "the Alley." The rendezvous of the jobbers and brokers was Jonathan's Coffee-house, where gambling of all kinds was carried on; notwithstanding a formal prohibition against their assemblage issued by the City of London, which provision continued unrepealed till 1825. Exchange-alley was the great arena of the South-Sea Bubble of 1720, and was every day blocked up by crowds who came "to venture in the Alley :" " There is a gulf where thousands fell, Here all the bold adventurers came; A narrow sound, though deep as hell, 'Change Alley is the dreadful name. * * * Meanwhile, secure on Garraway's cliffs, A savage race, by shipwrecks fed, Lie waiting for the founder'd skiffs, And strip the bodies of the dead." Swift. In a print called the " Bubblers' Medley" are " stock-jobbing cards, or the humours of 'Change-alley." * " The headlong fool that wants to be a swopper Of gold and silver coin for English copper, May in 'Change Alley prove himself an ass, And give rich metal for adulterate brass." Nine of Hearts, in a Pack of Bubble Cards. The scene has been excellently painted by E. M. Ward, with the motley throng in 'Change-alley, beaux and ladies turned gamblers, and the accessory pawnbroker's shop, in a truly Hogarthian spirit : the picture is in the Vernon Gallery. Defoe (1722) describes Garraway's as frequented by "people of quality who have business in the City, and the most considerable and * See Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions (illustrated), vol. i. p. 60, 1S52. EXCHANGES: ROYAL EXCHANGE. 273 wealthy of the citizens ;" Robins's, by " the foreign banquiers, and often even foreign ministers ;" and Jonathan's by " buyers and sellers of stock." 1766 was a South- Sea year in East India stock, when patriots were made or marred by jobbing : " from the Alley to the House," said Walpole, " is like a path of ants." " The centre of the jobbing is in the kingdom of Exchange-alley and its adjacencies. The limits are easily surrounded in about a minute and a half: viz. stepping out of Jonathan's into the Alley, you turn your face full south ; moving on a few paces, and then turning due east, you advance to Garraway's ; from thence going out at the other door, you go on still east into Birchin-lane; and then halting a little at the Sword-blade Bank, to do much mischief in fewest words, you immediately face to the north, enter Cornhill, visit two or three petty provinces there in your way west ; and thus having boxed your compass, and sailed round the whole stock-jobbing globe, you turn into Jonathan's again; and so, as most of the great follies of life oblige us to do. you end just where you began." The Anatomy of Exchange Alley, 1719. 'Change Alley is a maze of thoroughfares. " With something like four or five entrances, two from Lombard-street, two from Cornhill, and one from Birchin- lane, there is great danger of losing your way either to th<; right or the left ; you may possibly find that, instead of going as you intended through the Alley, and reaching Cornhill, you have in reality only taken another turning which leads you into Lombard-street, whence you started." The City, p. 169. EXCHANGES. THE ROVAL EXCHANGE, at the north-western extremity of Corn- hill, is the third Exchange built nearly on the same site, for the meeting of merchants and bankers. The first "goodely Bursse" was projected by Sir James Gresham, Lord Mayor in 1538, who submitted to Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy- Seal, a plan taken from the Burse at Antwerp. This application failed ; but the project was renewed thirty years later by Thomas Gresham, the younger son of Sir James, born in London in 1519, apprenticed to his nncle Sir John Gresham, and admitted in 1543 to the Mercers' Company ; in whose hall hangs a contemporary portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham, who was royal agent at Antwerp to Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth, and was knighted when am- bassador at the court of the Duchess of Parma. Like other bankers and merchants of that da}', Gresham had his shop in Lombard-street, as yet the only Exchange. The house was on the site of No. 68, the banking-house of Martin, Stone, and Co. : over the door was Gresham's crest,* a grasshopper, as a sign, which was seen by Pennant, but has disappeared by piecemeal. On June 6, 1566, the first stone of the Burse was laid in Cornhill, by Sir Thomas Gresham and several aldermen, each of whom " laid a piece of gold, which the workmen picked up." The City had previously purchased and taken down eighty houses, and prepared the site; the whole having been conveyed to Sir Thomas Gresham, who " most frankly and lovingly" promised, that within a month after the Burse should be finished, he would present it in equal moieties to the City and the Mercers' Company ; as a pledge of which Gresham, before Alderman Rivers and other citizens, gave his hand to Sir William Garrard, and drank a carouse to his kinsman Thomas Howe. " How rarely do ancient documents furnish us with such a picture of ancient manners!" By No- vember 1567, the Burse was finished. As Flemish materials, Flemish workmen, and a Flemish architect (Henryke) had been employed, so * The letters of James Gresham, in the Paston Collection, are scaled with a grasshopper; sufficient refutation of a tradition accounting for the adoption of that heraldic symbol by Sir Thomas Gresham, from a grasshopper having saved his life when he was a poor famished boy, by attracting a person to the spot where he lay in a helpless condition ! Still, it were almost a pity to disturb the popular legend, teaching, as it simply does, reliance upon God's providence. T 274 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. the design closely imitated a Flemish building, the Great Burse of Antwerp. Two prints, date 1569, and probably engraved by Gresham's order, shew the exterior and interior: a quadrangle, with an arcade; a corridor, or pawn* of stalls above ; and in the high-pitched roof, cham- bers with dormer windows. On the east side of the Cornhill entrance was a lofty bell-tower, from which, at twelve at noon and at six in the evening, was rung a bell, the merchants' call to 'Change ; while, on the north side, a Corinthian column rose twice the height of the building ; both tower and column surmounted by a grasshopper, also placed at each corner of the quadrangle. The columns of the court were marble; the upper portion was laid out in 100 shops, the lower in walks and rooms for the merchants, with shops on the exterior. Thus there were the " Scotch Walk," "Harnbro," and the "Irish," "East Country," "Swedish," " Norway," "American," "Jamaica," " Spanish," " Portugal," " French," " Greek,"and " Dutch and Jewellers'" walks. Long after the opening of the Burse, the shops remained "in a manner empty;" when, upon a re- port that the Queen was about to visit it, Gresham prevailed upon the shopkeepers in the upper pawn to furnish their shops with " wares and wax-lights," on promise of " one year rent-free." The rent was then 40*. a shop, in two years raised to 4 marks, and then to 4Z. 10*. a year, all the shops being let. " Then the milliners or haberdashers sold mouse- traps, bird-cages, shoeing-horns, Jews' trumps, &c. ; armourers, that sold both old and new armour; apothecaries, booksellers, goldsmiths, and glass-sellers." (Howes.) All being prepared, on Jan. 23, 1570-1, amidst the ringing of bells in every part of the City, "the Queen's Ma- jesty, attended with her nobility, came from her house in the Strand called Somerset House, and entered the City by Temple Bar, through Fleet-street, Cheap, and so by the north side of the Burse, through Threadneedle -street, to Sir Thomas Gresham's house in Bishopsgate- street, where she dined. After dinner, her majesty returning through Cornhill, entered the Burse on the south side" (Stow); and having viewed the whole, especially the Pawne, which was richly furnished with the finest wares, the Queen caused the Burse, by herald and trumpet, to be proclaimed " The Royal Exchange :" " Proclaim through every high street of the city, This place be no longer called a Burse ; But since the building's stately, fair, and strange, Be it for ever called the Royal Exchange." Queen Elizabeth's Troubles, Part 2. A Play by Thomas Heywood, 1609. Sir Thomas Gresham died suddenly, Nov. 21, 1579, in the evening, on his return from the Exchange ; " being cut off by untymely death, hav- ing left a part of his rovall monument unperformed: that is, xxx. pic- tures (statues) of kings and queenes of this land ; and to that purpose left 30 roomes (niches) to place them in." It was then proposed that before any citizen should be elected alderman, he should be "enjoyned to pay the charge of makyng and fynishing one of the forsaid kings or queenes theire pictures, to be ere'cted in the places aforesaid in the Exchange, not exceeding 100 nobles (661. 6*. 8d.); the pictures to be graven on wood, covered with lead, and then gilded and pavnted with oyle-cullors ;" and the Court of Common Council subsequently made the erection of one such statue a part of the fine for being freed from the office of Sheriff. The building was often in danger from feather- makers, and others that kept shops in the upper pawne, using " pannes * Corrupted from bahn, German for a path or walk. There is a curious tra- dition, not unsupported by facts, that the framework of the Exchange was con- structed upon Gresham's estate at Rinxhall, near Battislord, Suffolk, formerly rich in wood ; the remains of saw-pits are still discernible. The stone, slates, iron, wainscot, and glass, were brought from Antwerp. EXCHANGES: ROYAL EXCHANGE. 275 of fyer," which were therefore forbidden by an order of the Court of Aldermen. A print by Hollar, date 1644, shews the merchants in full 'Change, with the picturesque costumes of the respective countries : " The new-come traveller, With his disguised coat and ringed ear, Trampling the Bourse's marble twice a day." The statues, from Edward the Confessor to Queen Elizabeth, were thus provided; and subsequently, James I., Charles I., and Charles II. The statue of Charles I. was removed immediately after his execution, and on its pedestal was inscribed Exit tyrannorum ultimus ; which was in turn removed, and replaced with a new statue, after the Restoration. Here also, on May 28, 1661, the acts for establishing the Commonwealth were burned by the hands of the common hangman. Gresham's Exchange was almost entirely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 ; " when the kings fell down upon their faces, and the greater part of the building after them, the founder's statue only re- maining." Pepys refers to "Sir Thomas Gresham in the corner" as the only statue that was left standing. After the death of Sir Thomas Gresham, the affairs of the Royal Exchange passed under the manage- ment of the Gresham Committee, as the trustees appointed under his will, with certain members nominated by the Corporation. Thus ori- ginated the Grand or Joint Committee, under whose direction the Ex- change was rebuilt after the Great Fire upon the old foundations, by Edward Jerman, one of the City Surveyors, and not by Sir Christopher "Wren, as often stated ; but Wren was consulted in the project of the rebuilding. Mr. Jupp, of Carpenters' Hall, possesses two large and beautiful drawings of Jerman's design for the building, executed in Indian ink upon vellum. Meanwhile, the merchants met " in the gardens or walkes of Gresham College," being the site of the great court-yard of the Excise Office; on which a temporary Exchange was erected for a similar purpose, after the burning of the second Exchange in 1838. Among the payments for Jerman's building is one by the Committee to Sir John Denham, the poet, "His Majestie's Surveyor-General of his Workes, for his trouble from time to time in coming down to view the Exchainge and streetes adjoining ; as also in furthering theire addresses to His Majesty, and giving them full warrants for Portland-stone ;" the Committee therefore ordered provision to be made " of six or eight dishes of meate att the Sun Tavern, on Wednesday next, to intertayne him withal at his comeing downe, and to present him with thirty guinney-pieces of gold, as a toaken of theire gratitude." Among other entries, we find that Caius Gabriel Cibber was apf ointed carver ; the clock was to be set up by Edward Stauton, under the direction of Dr. Hook, hav- ing chimes with four bells, playing six tunes ; William Wightman was to furnish a set of sound and tuneable bells, at G/. 5s. per cwt. ; lour balconies were to be made from the inner-pawn into the quadrangle, at a charge of not more than 3001. ; and the signs to the shops in the pawns were not to be hung forth, but set over the frieze of each shop. The celebrated Sir Robert Viner, on March 22d, 1668 (1669), proffered to give his Majesty's statue on horseback, cut in white marble, to stand upon the Royal Exchange: this offer was declined because of the "bignesse" of the statue, which Sir Robert Viner afterwards gave to be erected over the conduit at Stocks'-market ; though the royal figure was an altered John Sobieski. On Oct. 23d, 1667, Charles II. fixed the first pillar on the west side of the north entrance to the Exchange. " The King was entertained by the City and Company with a chine of beef, grand dish of fowl, gam- mons of bacon, dried tongues, anchoves, caviare, etc., and plenty of several sorts of wine. He gave 201. in gold to the workmen. The interteynment was in a shedd built and adorned on purpose, upon the Scotch walke." On the 31st, the Duke of York founded the corre- sponding pier ; and on Nov. 18th, Prince Rupert fixed the pillar on the east side of the south entrance ; both princes being similarly entertained. 276 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. This second Exchange was opened Sept. 28, 1669 ; its cost, 58,962Z., being defrayed in equal moieties by the City and the Mercers' Com- pany. It was quadrangular in plan, and had its arcades, pawn above, and statues in niches, like Gresham's Exchange ; it had also a three- storied tower, with lantern and gilt grasshopper vane. The edifice thus remained until the extensive repairs of 1820-26 (George Smith, architect), when a stone tower, 128 feet high, was built on the south front, in place of the timber one : these repairs cost 33,000?., including 60001. for stone staircases and floors. The Cornhill front had a lofty archway, with four Corinthian columns ; emblematic statues of the four quarters of the globe; statues of Charles I. and II. by Bushnell; statue of Gresham by E. Pierce; four busts of Queen Elizabeth; alto-relievos of Britannia, the Arts and Sciences, &c., and of Queen Elizabeth, and her heralds proclaiming the original Exchange. The area within the quadrangle was paved with " Turkey stones ;" in the centre was a statue of Charles II. by Gibbons; in the arcade was a statue of Gresham by Gibber ; and of Sir John Barnard, placed there in his lifetime (temp. George II.). The arcade and area were arranged, nominally, into dis- tinct walks for the merchants. " For half an hour he feeds : and when he 's done, In's elbow-chair he takes a nap till one ; From thence to 'Change he hurries in a heat (Where knaves and fools in mighty numbers meet, And kindly mix the bubble with the cheat); There barters, buys and sells, receives and pays, And turns the pence a hundred several ways. In that great hive, where markets rise and fall, And swarms of muckworms round its pillars crawl, He, like the rest, as busy as a bee, Remains among the henpeck'd herd till three." Wealthy Shopkeeper, 1700. The royal statues were, on the south side, Edward I., Edward III., Henry V.,"and Henry VI. ; on the west, Edward IV., Edward V., Henry Vll./and Henry VIII. ; on the north, Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., Charles II., and James II ; on the east were William and Mary, in a double niche, George I., George II., and George III. These figures were in armour and Roman costume, the Queens in the dresses of their respective times ; most of them were ori- ginally gilt. George III. was sculptured by Wilton, George I. and George II. by Rysbrack, and the major part of the others by Caius Gabriel Gibber. Originallv, the offices in the upper floors were let as shops for rich and showy articles ; but they were forsaken in 1739 (Maitland), and the galleries were subsequently occupied by the Royal Exchange Assu- rance Offices, Lloyd's Coffee-house, the 'Merchant Seamen's Office, the Gresham Lecture-room, and the Lord Mayor's Court Office : the latter a row of offices divided by glazed partitions, the name of the attorney being inscribed in large capitals upon a projecting board. The vaults beneath the Exchange were let to different bankers ; and the East India Company, for stowage of pepper. Surrounding the exterior were shops, chiefly tenanted by lottery -office keepers, newspaper- offices, watch and clock makers, notaries, stock-brokers, &c. The tower contained a clock, with four dials, and chimes, and four wind-dials.* On Jan. 10th, 1838, this Exchange was entirely burnt : the fire com- menced in Lloyd's Rooms shortly after 10 P.M., and before 3 next morning the clock-tower alone remained, the dials indicating the exact * The chimes played at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock on Sunday, the 104th Psalm; Monday, "God save the King;" Tuesday, "Waterloo March;" Wednesday, "There's nae luck about the house;'' Thursday, "See the conquering hero comes;" Friday, "Life let us cherish;" Saturday, "Foot-Guards' March." EXCHANGES: ROYAL EXCHANGE. 277 time at which the flames reached them ; north at Ih. 25m. ; south, 2h. 5m.: the last air played by the chimes, at 12, was, "There's nae luck about the house." The conflagration was seen twenty-four miles round London ; the roar of the winds, and the rush and crackling of the flames, the falling of huge timbers, and the crash of roofs and walls, were a fearful spectacle. At the sale of the salvage, the porter's large hand-bell, rung daily before closing the 'Change, (with the handle burnt,) fetched 31. 3s.; City Griffins, 302. and 351. the pair; busts of Queen Elizabeth, Wl. 15s. and 18. the pair; figures of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, 1101. ; the statue of Anne, 101.5s.; George II., SI. 5s.; George III. and Elizabeth, 1 U.I 5s. each; Charles II., 91. ; and the sixteen other royal statues similar sums. The copper-gilt grasshopper vane was reserved. After an interval of nearly four years, the rebuilding of the Exchange was commenced from the designs of William Tite, F.R.S. ; the site being enlarged by the removal of Bank-buildings, west of the old Exchange, and the buildings eastward, nearly to Finch-lane. In ex- cavating for the foundations was found a deep pit full of remains of Roman London, specimens of which are preserved in the Museum at Guildhall. (See CORNHILL, p. 234.) The foundation-stone of the new Exchange was laid by Prince Albert, on Monday, Jan. 17th, 1842, in the mayoralty of Alderman Pirie ; the circumstances being recorded in a Latin and English inscription upon a zinc plate, placed in the foundation- stone. The Exchange was completed within the short space of three years, for somewhat less than the architect's estimate, 137,600?. ; or, in- cluding the sculpture, architect's commission, &c., 150,OOOZ. The new Exchange was formally opened by Her Majesty Oct. 28, 1844, when the Royal and Civic Processions joined within Temple Bar; the Aldermen in gowns and chains, and the Lord-Mayor in a crimson velvet robe, collar, and jewel, on horseback ; his Lordship bearing immediately before the Queen's state-carriage the great pearl sword presented to the City of London by Queen Elizabeth on her opening the first Exchange. The procession of 1844 was alto- gether the most magnificent pageant of the present reign. At the Exchange, an address was presented to the Queen, followed by a breakfast, distribution of com- memorative medals, and a procession to the centre of the quadrangle, where the Queen, surrounded by her Ministers and the City authorities, said : " It is my Royal will and pleasure that this building be hereafter called ' The Royal Ex- change.'" The event was commemorated with great civic festivity; and the Lord Mayor, Magnay, received a patent of baronetcy. The Royal Exchange first opened for business Jan. 1, 1845 ; stands nearly due 'east and west ; extreme length, 308 feet; west width, 119 feet ; east, 175 feet. The foundation is concrete, in parts 18 feet thick ; and the walls and piers are tied together by arches, the piers strength- ened by beds of wrought-iron hooping. The foundation of Gresham's Exchange was laid upon piles. The architecture is florid, and even exuberant, characteristic of com- mercial opulence and civic state. The leading idea of the plan is from the Pantheon at Rome. The material is the finest Portland stone. The West front has a portico " very superior in dimensions to any in Great Britain, and not inferior to any in the world." It is 96 feet wide and 74 high, and has eight columns (the architect's Composite), 4 feet 2 inches in diameter and 41 feet high, with two intercolumnia- tions in actual projection, and the centre also deeply recessed ; the in- terior of the portico is strikingly magnificent, in the vastness of the columns, and the beauty of the roof of three arches, enriched after a Roman palace. Flanking the central doorway are two lofty Venetian windows, with the architect's monogram, "W. T., beneath. On the frieze of the portico is inscribed : ANNO xm. ELIZABETHS R. CONDITVM. ANNO vin. VICTORIA R. RESTAVRATVM. Over the central doorway are the Royal arms, by Carew. The key-stone has the merchant's mark of Gresham ; and the key-stones of the side arches, the arms of the merchant-adventurers of 278 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. his day, and the staple of Calais. North and south of the portico, and in the attic, are the City sword and mace, with the date of Queen Elizabeth's reign and 1844; and in the lower panels, mantles bearing the initials of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria respectively: the imperial crown is 12 inches in relief, and 7 feet high. The tympanum of the pediment of the portico is filled with sculpture, hy Richard Westmacott, R.A. ; consisting of 17 figures, carved in limestone, nearly ail entire and detached. The centre figure is Commerce, with her mural crown, 10 feet high, upon two dolphins and a shell; she holds the charter of the Exchange : on her right is a group of three British merchants, as lord-mayor, alderman, and common-councilman; a Hindoo and a Mahommedan, a Greek bearing ajar, and a Turkish merchant: on the left are two British merchants and a Persian, a Chinese, a Levant sailor, a negro, a British sailor, and a super- cargo : the opposite angles are filled with anchors, jars, packages, &c. Upon the pedestal of Commerce, selected by Prince Albert, is this inscription: ' THE EARTH is THE LORD'S, AND THE FULNESS THEREOF." Psalmxxiv. 1. The ascent to the portico is by 13 granite steps. The East front has four Composite columns, which support the tower, in the first story of which is a statue of Sir Thomas Gresham, 14 feet 6 inches high, by Behnes ; above are the clock-faces ; and next a circular story, with Composite columns and a dome carved in leaves, surmounted by the original grasshopper vane, of copper gilt, 11 feet long ; height of tower and vane, 177 feet. Beneath the tower is the great eastern entrance to an oblong open area, where are the entrances to Lloyd's and the Merchants' Area. The Clock, constructed by Dent, with the assistance of the Astronomer- Royal, is true to a second of time, and has a compensation-pendulum. The Chimes consist of a set of fifteen bells, by Hears, coct 5001. ; the largest being also the hour-bell of the clock. In the chime-work, by Dent, there are two hammers to several of the bells, so as to play rapid passages ; and three and five hammers strike different bells simultaneously. All irregularity of force is avoided by driving the chime-barrel through wheels and pinions ; there are no wheels be- tween the weight that pulls and the hammer to be raised; the lifts on the chime-barrel are all epicycloidal curves ; and there are 6000 holes pierced upon the barrel for the lifts, so as to allow the tunes to be varied : the present airs are, " God save the Queen," " The Roast Beef of Old England," " Rule Britannia," and the 104th Psalm. The bells, in substance, form, dimensions, &c., are from the Bow-bells patterns; still, they are thought to be too large for the tower. The chime-work is stated to be the first instance in England of producing harmony in bells. The South front has a line of pilasters, upon ground-floor rusticated arches ; the three middle spaces deeply recessed, and having richly -em- bellished windows, a cornice, balustrade, and attic. Above the three centre arches are the Gresham, City, and Mercers' Company arms, which are repeated on the east front entablature. The North front has a projecting centre, and otherwise differs from the south : in niches are statues of Sir Hugh Myddleton, by Joseph ; and Sir Richard Whittington, by Carew. Over the centre arch is Gresham's motto, Fortun a my ; on the dexter, the City motto, Dne. dirige nos ; and on the sinister, the Mercers' Company, Honor Deo. The principal or first floor has four suites of apartments : 1. Lloyd's, east and north ; 2. Royal Exchange Assurance, west ; 3. Lon- don Assurance Corporation, south ; 4. Offices originally intended for Gresham College, south and west. The ground-floor, externally, as in the two former Exchanges, is occupied by shops and offices, each having a mezzanine and basement. The Interior consists of the open Merchants' Area, resembling the cortile of an Italian palace ; its form, as that of the building, is paral- lelogram, and the inner area exactly a double square.* The grouiid- * It is singular that the opportunity has not been taken of covering in the Merchants' Area, every edifice of the kind erected within the last century being so covered: as, the Royal Exchange, Dublin; the Bourse at Paris; the Exchange at Hamburg ; that at New York; and the Birzha, or Exchange, at St. Petersburg. EXCHANGES : ROYAL EXCHANGE. 279 floor is a Doric colonnade, and rusticated arches ; the upper floor has Ionic columns, with arches and windows, and an enriched parapet, pierced. The key-stones of the upper arches are sculptured with na- tional arms, in the order determined at the Congress of Vienna. The Ambulatory, or merchants' walk, surrounding the area, has its tra- beated and paneled ceiling, richly decorated and emblazoned with na- tional arms, in encaustic, Italian and arabesque, by Sang ; but the humidity of the London atmosphere has sadly dimmed their brilliancy. In the four angles are the arms of Edward the Confessor, Edward III., Queen Elizabeth, and Charles II. At the north-east angle is a statue of Elizabeth, by Watson ; at the south-east, Gibbons's marble statue of Charles II., formerly in the centre of the old Exchange ; nearly upon the spot where is now a marble statue of Queen Victoria, by Lough : the sovereigns in whose reigns the three Exchanges were built. In panels of the Ambulatory are emblazoned the arms of the three mayors (Pirie, Humphery, and Magnay), and of the three Masters of the Mercers' Com- pany, in whose years of office the Exchange was erected. The arms of the Chairman of the Gresham Committee, Mr. R. L. Jones, and of the architect, Mr. Tite, complete the heraldic illustrations. The Yorkshire pavement of the Ambulatory is panelled and bordered with black stone, and squares of red granite at the intersections. The open area is paved with the traditional "Turkey stones" from the old Exchange, in patterns, with red granite bands. On the side-wall panels are the names of the walks, inscribed upon chocolate tablets. In each of the larger compartments are the arms of the "walk" cor- responding with the merchants'. As you enter the colonnade by the west, are the arms of the British empire, with those of Austria on the right, and Bavaria on the reverse side. Then in rotation are the arms of Belgium, France, Hanover, Holland, Prussia, Sardinia, the Two Sicilies, Sweden and Norway, the United States of America, the initials of the Sultan of Turkey, Spain, Saxony, Russia, Portugal, Hanseatic Towns, Greece, and Denmark. On a marble panel in the Merchants' Area are inscribed the dates of the building and opening of the three Exchanges. " Here are the same old-favoured spots, changed though they be in appearance ; and notwithstanding we have lost the great Rothschild, Jeremiah Harman, Daniel Hardcastle (the Page No. 1 of the Times), the younger Rothschilds occupy a pillar on the south side of the Exchange, much in the same place as their father; and the Barings, the Bateses, the Salomons, the Doxats, the Durrants, the Crawshays, the Curries, and the Wilsons, and other influential merchants, still come and go, as in olden days." (City, 2d edit.). Many sea-captains and brokers still go on 'Change ; but the ' ' Walks" are disregarded. The hour of High 'Change is from past 3 to past 4 P.M., the two great days being Tuesday and Friday for foreign exchanges. Lloyd's Subscription Rooms are approached by a fine Italian stair- case ; the stairs are each a single block of Cragleith granite, 14 feet long. In the vestibule is a marble statue of Prince Albert, by Lough ; a marble statue, by Gibson, R.A., of the late Mr. Huskisson, presented by his widow ; a mural testimonial to the Times' exposure of a fraudu- lent conspiracy in 1851 ; and a monument to John Lydekker, Esq., who bequeathed 58,OOOZ. to the Seamen's Hospital Society : it has figures of disabled seamen, and a scene from the Southern Whale Fishery. Lloyd's is the rendezvous of the most eminent merchants, ship- owners, underwriters, insurance, stock, and exchange brokers, &c. Here is obtained the earliest news of the arrival and sailing of vessels, losses at sea, captures, re-captures, engagements, and other shipping intelligence ; and the proprietors of ships and freights are insured by the underwriters. Lloyd's originated with a coffee-house keeper of that name, at the corner of Abchurch-lane, Lombard-street : " To Lloyd's Coffee-house, he never fails To read the letters and attend the sales." Wealthy Shopkeeper, 1700. In 1710 Steele dates from Lloyd's ( Tatler, No. 246) his Petition on 280 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. Coffee-house Orators and Newsvenders ; and Addison, in Spectator, April 23, 1711, speaks of the auction -pulpit at Lloyd's : but the auction business has been transferred to Garraway's Coffee-house. Lloyd's was subsequently removed to Pope's Head-alley, and in 1774 to the north-west corner of the Royal Exchange, where it remained until the fire in 1838 ; the subscribers then met at the South-Sea House, till they returned to their present location in the new Exchange. The rooms are in the Venetian style, with Roman enrichments. They are 1. The Subscribers' or Underwriters', the Merchants', and the Captains' Room. The Subscribers' Room is 100 feet long by 48 feet wide, and is opened at 10 o'clock and closed at 5 : annual subscription, four guineas ; if an underwriter or insurance-broker, he pays also an entrance-fee of twenty- five guineas; admission and questions determined by ballot, each under- writer having his own seat. At the entrance of the room are exhi- bited the Shipping Lists, received from Lloyd's agents at home and abroad, and affording particulars of departures or arrivals of vessels, wrecks, salvage, or sale of property saved, &c. To the right and left are "Lloyd's Books," two enormous ledgers : right hand, ships "spoken with," or arrived at their destined ports ; left hand, records of wrecks, fires, or severe collisions, written in a fine Roman hand, in " double lines." To assist the underwriters in their calculations, at the end of the room is an Anemometer, which registers the state of the wind day and night ; attached is a rain-gauge. On the roof of the Exchange is a sort of mast, at the top of which is a fan, like that of a windmill, the object of which is to keep a plate of metal with its face presented to the wind. Attached to this plate are springs, which, joined to a rod, descend into the Underwriters' Room upon a large sheet of paper placed against the wall. To this end of the rod a lead-pencil is attached, which slowly traverses the paper horizontally, by means of clock-work. When the wind blows very hard against the plate outside, the spring, being pressed, pushes down the rod, and the pencil makes a long line down the paper vertically, which denotes a high wind. At the bottom of the sheet, another pencil moves, guided by a vane on the outside, which so directs its course horizontally that the direction of the wind is shewn. The sheet of paper is divided into squares, numbered with the hours of night and day; and the clock-work so moves the pencils, that they take exactly an hour to traverse each square : hence the strength and direction of the wind at any hour of the twenty-four are easily seen. The subscribers number about 1900; and, with the underwriters, re- present the greater part of the mercantile wealth of the country. (See City, 2d edit. pp. 108 to 122.) Above the Subscribers' Room is the Chart-room, where hangs an extensive collection of maps and charts. The Merchants' Room is superintended by a master, who can speak several languages : here are duplicate copies of the books in the under- writers' room, and files of English and foreign newspapers : annual sub- scription, two guineas. The Captains' Room is a kind of coffee-room, where merchants and ship-owners meet captains, and sales of ships, &c. take place: annual subscription, one guinea. The members of Lloyd's have ever been distinguished by their loyalty and benevolent spirit. In 1802, they voted 2000/. to the Life-boat subscription. On July 20, 1803, at the invasion panic, they commenced the Patriotic Fund with 20,0002. 3-per-cent. consols; besides 70,312/. 7*. individual subscriptions, and 1 5.000/. additional donations. After the battle of the Nile, in 1798, they collected for the widows and wounded seamen 32.423Z. ; and after Lord Howe's victory, June 1, 1794, for similar purposes, 21,28K. They have also contributed 5000/. to the London Hospital; WOOL for the suffering inhabitants of Russia in 1813; 1000J. for the relief of the militia in our North American colonies, 1813; and 10,0007. for the Waterloo subscription, in 1815. The Committee vote medals and rewards to those who distinguish themselves in saving life from shipwreck. Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, No. 2 "White- EXCHANGES: COAL EXCHANGE. 281 ;Lion-court, Cornhill, was originally established in 1760, and re-esta- ;blished in 1834, and gives the class and standing of vessels, date of building and where built, materials, &c., ascertained by careful surveys; 'but is a distinct body from Lloyd's Subscription Rooms. The entrance-gates in each front of the Exchange are fine specimens | of iron-casting, bronzed. The western or principal gates, cast by j Grissell, are 22 feet high, 11 feet 4 inches wide. The design is Eliza- j bethan : on the flanks, and around the semicircle, are the shields of j the twelve great City companies ; in the crown of the arch, Gresham's j arms, and beneath is'his bust, upon a mural crown, backed by the civic mace and sword ; on the panels are the arms of Elizabeth and Victoria. In the neighbourhood of the Exchange are the finest architectural objects in the City. Northward is the Bank of England, an elaborately-enriched pile, very picturesque in parts ; and beyond it are the palatial edifices of the Alliance and Sun Insurance Offices. Westward is the Mansion House, in effect a massive Italian j palace. Eastward is Royal Exchange-buildings, an enriched specimen of street- I architecture. Before the Exchange portico is an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington (the last work modelled by Chantrey), placed here by the citizens in gratitude for the Government grant of 1,000,OOOZ. for improvements in their ancient city. From this spot radiate Moorgate and Prince's-streets ; the former with i Italian palazzo offices, less showy but of far better architectural character than j Regent-street ; and King William-street, highly embellished, but more interesting as leading to London-bridge, which contests with another structure across the same stream the distinction of " the finest bridge in the world." The cost of enlarging the site, including improvements and widening of Cornhill, Freeman 's-court, Broad-street, and removal of the church of St. Benet Fink, the French Protestant church, Bank-buildings, Sweet- ing's-alley, &c., was 223,57SZ. Is. lOd. City Chamberlain's Return, October 30, 1851. " Sir Thomas Gresham left the Exchange during the life of his widow to her use ; and at her death, he left his mansion in Threadneedle-street, since occupied by the Excise Office, for a college, to be called Gresham College, as a London University, the funds for its support being provided by the rents of the shops and pawnes of the Exchange. By the Great Fire, this source of income was entirely cut off; and not only so, but the two Corporations of the City of London and the Mercers' Company incurred a debt of nearly 60,OOOZ. in rebuilding the Exchange. They, notwithstanding, out of their own resources continued the College until the year 1745, when the debt amounted to lll.OOOZ. In 1768, the College was put an end to by an Act of Parliament, and the site let to the Commissioners of Excise. The Gresham Professors were always continued, and gave their lectures in a room in the Exchange up to the fire of 1838. The Gresham Committee have, from their own funds, rebuilt Gresham College, in Gresham-street, at an expense of upwards cf 15,00()Z. ; and the debt incurred by the two Corporations, in main- taining the Exchange and rebuilding it twice, in maintaining the Gresham Pro- fessors, and some almshouses founded also by Sir Thomas Gresham, amounts now to considerably more than 200.000/." W. Tile, F.R.S. A large medal, by "VVyon, R. A., bears on the obverse Lough's statue of the Queen in profile ; on the reverse is a bust in high relief of Gresham, in the cap and starched frill of his period. COA.L EXCHANGE. Three hundred years ago, when the use of coal instead of wood had only just commenced in the metropolis, two or three ships were enough for the supply. A charter of Edward II. shews Derbyshire coal to have been then used in London, though a proclamation of Edward 1. shews its introduction as a substitute for wood to have been much opposed ; and in the reign of Elizabeth, the burning of stone-coal was prohibited during the sitting of Parliament, lest it should affect the health of the members. The " Coal Exchange," up to 1807, was in the hands of private in- dividuals; in that year it was purchased by the Corporation for 25,600Z. In 1845, the coal-trade petitioned for the enlargement and rebuilding 282 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. of the Exchange. This was done by the City architect, J. B. Bunning ; and the new Exchange was opened with great eclat, by Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and the Princess" Royal, Oct. 29, 1849; when the Lord Mayor (Duke), himself a coal-merchant, received a patent of baronetcy. The Exchange has two principal fronts of Port- land stone, in the Italian style, one in Lower Thames- street, and the other in St. Mary -at- Hill ; with an entrance at the corner by a semi- circular portico, with Roman-Doric columns, and a tower 106 feet high, within which is the principal staircase. The public hall, or area for the merchants, is a rotunda 60 feet in diameter, covered by a glazed dome, 74 feet from the floor. This circular hall has three tiers of projecting galleries running round it ; the stancheons, galleries, ribs of dome, &c. are iron, of which about 300 tons are used. The floor of the rotunda is composed of 4000 pieces of inlaid woods, in the form of a mariner's compass, within a border of Greek fret ; in the centre is the City shield, anchor, &c. ; the dagger-blade in the arms being a piece of a mulberry-tree planted by Peter the Great, when he worked as a shipwright in Deptford dockyard. The entrance vestibule is richly embellished with vases of fruit, ara- besque foliage, terminal figures, &c. In the rotunda, between the Raphaelesque scroll supports, are panels painted with impersonations of the coal-bearing rivers of England : the Thames, Mersey, Severn, Trent, Humber, Aire, Tyne, &c. ; and above them, within flower-borders, are figures of Wisdom, Fortitude, Vigilance, Temperance, Perseverance, Watchfulness, Justice, and Faith. The arabesques in the first story are views of coal-mines : Wallsend, Percy Pit-Main, Regent's Pit, &c. The second and third story panels are painted with miners at work; and the twenty-four ovals at the springing of the dome have upon a turquoise blue ground figures of fossil plants found in coal-formations. The minor ornamentation is flowers, shells, snakes, lizards, and other reptiles, and nautical subjects. The whole is in polychrome, by Sang. The gallery-fronts and other iron- work are cable pattern. The cost of the enlarged site, the building, and approaches, was 91,167 1. lls. 8d. In a basement on the east side of the Exchange are the remains of a Roman bath, in excellent preservation, discovered in excavating the foundations of the new building; and there is a convenient access to this interesting relic of Roman London. About the year 1550 one or two ships sufficed for the coal-trade of London ; in 1615, ahout 200; in 1705, about 600; and in 1845, 2695 ships. The increase in the importation during ten years, from 1838 to 1848, when the respective impor- tations were 2,518,085 tons and 3,418,340 tons, was upwards of 90 per cent. Now, by taking 2700 vessels as the actual number employed, each averaging 300 tons burden, and giving to a vessel of that size a crew of eight men, it will appear thiat 21,600 seamen were then employed in the carrying department of the London coal- trade. The price of coals as given in the London markets in the daily newspapers is the price up to the time when the coals are whipped from the ship to the mer- chant's barges. It includes: 1st, the value of the coals at the pit's mouth; 2d, the expense of transit from the pit to the ship ; 3d, the freight of the ship to London ; 4th, the Thames dues ; and 5th, the whipping. The emptied coal-ships are ballasted to Newcastle with gravel or sand dredged up from Woolwich Reach ; so that to say this is carrying the bed of the Thames to the banks of the Tyne has a per-centage of truth in it. About 12,000 persons are engaged in mining and shipping coals for London; 22,000 in navigating the coal-ships from the North to the Thames; 2000 in whip- ping ; and 1000 in selling the coals to the consumers in London ; besides coal- bargemen upon the Thames and canals, coal-heavers at the wharfs, and coal- wagoners in the streets. The carriage of coals by railway is already very consi- derable. COKN EXCHANGE (the), Mark-lane, was established in 1747, when EXCHANGES: KING'S; NEW. 283 (the present system of factorage commenced. It consists of an open Doric icolonnade, within which the factors have their stands ; it resembles the atrium, or place of audience, in a Pompeian house ; with its impluvium, the place in the centre in which the rain fell. ( W. H. Leeds.} In 1827-8, adjoining was built a second Corn Exchange (G. Smith, architect) : it has a central Grecian-Doric portico, surmounted by the imperial arms |and agricultural emblems ; the ends have corresponding pilasters. Here jlightermen and granary-keepers have stands, as well as corn -merchants, factors, and millers ; the seed-market is in another part of the building. " This is the only metropolitan market for corn, grain, and seeds. The market- days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; hours, ten to three. Wheat is paid for in bills at one month, and other corn and grain in bills at two months. The JKentish "hoymen," distinguishable by their sailor's jackets, have stands free of (expense, and pay less for metage and dues than others ; and the Essex dealers jenjoy some privileges: in both cases said to be in consideration of the men of Kent and Essex having continued to supply the city when it was ravaged by the Plague." Knight's London, vol. iii. p. 365. KING'S EXCHANGE (the), "for the receipt of bullion to be coined," was in Old Exchange, now Old 'Change, Cheapside. " It was here that one of those ancient officers, known as the King's Ex- changer, was placed ; whose duty it was to attend to the supply of the Mints with bullion, to distribute the new coinage, and to regulate the exchange of foreign coin. Of these officers there were anciently three : two in London, at the Tower and Old Exchange, and one in the city of Canterbury. Subsequently, (another was appointed with an establishment in Lombard-street, the ancient j rendezvous of the merchants ; and it appears not improbable that Queen Eliza- beth's intention was to have removed this functionary to what was pre-eminently designated by her ' the Royal Exchange,' and hence the reason for the change of the name of this edifice by Elizabeth." JF. Tite, F.R.S. No. 36 Old 'Change was formerly the " Three Morrice-Dancers" public-house, with the three figures sculptured on a stone as the sign and an ornament, temp. James I. : the house was taken down about 1801 : there is an etching of this very characteristic sign-stone. 284 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON. sempstress, Frances Jennings, the reduced Duchess of Tyreonnel, wife to Richard Talbot, lord-deputy of Ireland under James'll. : she sup- ported herself for a few days (till she was known, and otherwise pro- vided for) by the little trade of this place : to avoid detection, she sat in a white mask and a white dress, and was therefore known as " the white widow."* Another romantic story is told of the place. In November 1653, a quarrel having arisen in the public walk of the Exchange between M. Gerard (at that time engaged in a plot against Cromwell) and Don Pantaleon Sa (brother to the Portuguese ambassador), the latter next day came to the Exchange, accompanied by assassins, who mistaking another person, then walking with his brother and mistress, for M. Gerard, seized upon him, and stabbed him to death with their poniards. For this crime Don Pantaleon was condemned to death; and, by a strange coincidence, he suffered on the same scaffold with M. Gerard, whose plot had been discovered. The Exchange latterly became famous for its exhibitions of wax- work, and for a "magnificent stock of English and foreign china kept for sale ; but by the intrigues, assignations, and indecent licenses of the fops with the milliners, the place lost its character, was little re- sorted to after the death of Queen Anne, and in 1737 was taken down, and the site covered with houses; but the name is retained in Exchange- court opposite. In the Strand, exactly opposite Ivy Bridge, (a short distance east of the New- Exchange site,) Thomas Parr, the "olde olde man," had lodgings, when he came to London to be shewn as a curiosity to Charles I. The authority for this fact is a Mr. Greening, who in the 3 r ear 1814, being then about 90 years of age, men- tioned it to the author, saying that he perfectly well remembered, when a boy, having been shewn the house by his grandfather, then 88 years of age. The house, which stood at the commencement of the present century, had been known for more than 50 years as the " Queen's Head" public-house. Smith's Streets of London, edit. 1849, p. 145. STOCK EXCHANGE, the heart of "the Bank for the whole world'* (Rothschild), is in Capel-court, Bartholomew-lane, facing the eastern front of the Bank of England. It has four entrances : from Capel- court ; Shorter's-court and New-court, Throgmorton-street ; and Her- cules-court, Broad-street. The speculators in stock, who greatly in- creased with the National Debt, hitherto met at Jonathan's Coffee- house, Change-alley ; then at a room in Threadneedle-street, admission 6d. ; and bargains in stocks were next made in the Bank rotunda. In 1801, the present building was commenced by subscription (James Peacock, architect), in Capel-court, the site of the offices and residence of Sir William Capel, lord mayor in 1504. The inscription placed beneath the foundation-stone states, '-'at this era the public funded debt had accumulated in five successive reigns to 552,730,924 ;" adding propitia- torily, " the inviolate faith of the British nation, and the principles of the constitution, sanction and secure the property embarked in this undertaking. May the blessing of that constitution be secured to the latest posterity !" The building was opened March 1802 ; and in 1822 the business in the foreign funds was removed here from the Royal Exchange. The number of members (stock-brokers, bullion, bill and discount, rail- way and other share brokers.) has varied from 1000 to 400; annual subscrip- tion, 10/. There are three branches, or houses: the English, for stocks and Exchequer-bills ; the foreign, for stocks ; and the railway or share market, a market for mining shares being added in 1850. In New-court are fireproof safes for * This anecdote was ingeniously dramatised by Mr. Douglas Jerrold, and produced at Covent Garden Theatre, in 1840, as " The White Milliner." EXCHANGES: STOCK EXCHANGE. 285 keeping securities. Lists are daily published of the prices of stocks and shares, and twice a-week of bullion and foreign exchanges. The admission is by ballot, as is also the election of the Stock-Exchange Committee of 28, who have absolute power to expel, suspend, or reprimand. Every new member of the "House" must be introduced by three members, each giving 300J. security for two years. JEach member, as well as the Committee, has to meet the probation of re-election I every Lady-day. A bankrupt ceases to be a member, and cannot be re-admitted I unless he pays 6s. 8d. in the pound beyond that collected from his debtors. The | names of defaulters are posted on the " black board," and they are termed " lame j ducks ;" this rule was established in 1787, when twenty-five " lame ducks waddled out of the Alley." To avoid a libel, the notice runs thus : " Any person transacting business with A. B. is requested to communicate with C. D." Only members are allowed to transact business at the Stock Exchange, as notified at each en- trance ; and strangers who stray in are quickly hustled out; but a view of the Exchange can be obtained through the glass-doors in the entrance from Hercules- court. The brokers usually deal with the jobbers ; and among the Exchange cries are, " Borrow money 2" "What are Exchequer?" " Five with me," "Ten with me," making up a strange Babel. " A thousand pounds' consols at 96f -96 ." ("Take 'em at 96^," is the vociferous reply of a buyer:) "Mexican at 27^-27; Portuguese fours at 32^-32^; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at 50- 50^ :" and so on till the hour for closing strikes. Railway companies and bankers often lend large sums, and bankers are sometimes borrowers, as are also the Bank of England and the Ea&t India Company. The charge by a broker for buying and j selling English stock is 2*. 6d. per cent. The fluctuations in the rate of interest enjoin " watching the turn of the market;" for, on the same day, money has been lent at 4 per cent in the morning, and at 2 o'clock could scarcely be borrowed at 10 per cent. The Stock Exchange has had its vocabulary of terms for more than a century traceable to the early transactions in the stock of the East India Company. A Bull is one who speculates for a rise ; whereas a Bear is he who speculates for a fall. The Bull would, lor instance, buy 100,OOOZ. consols for the account, with the object of selling them again during the intervening time at a higher price. The Bear, on the contrary, would sell the 100,0