-c^^
 
 ^
 
 — i ■ S V% 
 
 (•V 
 
 HISTORY AND SURYEr 
 
 OF 
 
 London 4' its Environs. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 The Exchange built. Sir Thomas Greshayn's Munifi- 
 cence. Census of Foreigners. First Lottery. City 
 
 Marshal appointed. — Plague. — Trial by Battle, — The 
 River Lea 7nade Navigable. — The Citizens trained to 
 jirms. — Combination oj the Poulterers. — A Council ap' 
 pointed to assist the Lord Mayor. — High Price of Pro- 
 visions. — Stage Plays regulated. — Alehouses suppressed. 
 — Specimens of Ingenuity. — Lamb's Conduit founded. — 
 Earthquake. — Foreigners again numbered. — New Build- 
 ings prohibited. — Cheapside Cross defaced. — The Turkey 
 
 Company incorporated. Sinnptuary Law relative to 
 
 Apprentices. London-bridge IVater Works begun. 
 
 Origin of the Noynination oj Sheriffs by the Lord Mayor. 
 — Muster of Archers. — Armaments by the City. — School 
 for Pickpockets. Ten Thousand Men raised i?i Lon- 
 don. — The Spanish Plan of Invasion defeated by the 
 London Merchants. — Thanksgiving. — Loan. — Price of 
 Coals. Dreadful Pestilence. Sea and La?id Arma- 
 ments, at the Expense of the City. Scarcity. The 
 
 City p7it under Martial Law. — Appointment of a Re- 
 corder. — One Thousand Citizens pressed. — Preparations 
 
 against another Invasion. Origin of the East India 
 
 Company. Five Fifteenths assessed on the Citizens. — 
 
 Increase of Haivkers. — New Buildings again prohibited. 
 — Naval Armament. 
 
 VOL. II. B In
 
 2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 JLN the year 1666, Sir Thomas Gresham, an opulent 
 merchant of London, actuated by a laudable desire 
 to facilitate commercial transactions, proposed to the 
 corporation of London to erect, at his own expense, 
 a commodious building for merchants to meet and 
 transact business, provided they would furnish him 
 with a convenient spot for the same. The city, 
 readily acquiescing in this proposal, purchased four- 
 score houses, which formed two alleys, leading out 
 of Cornhill into Thread needle-street, called New St. 
 Christopher's and Swan Alleys, for three thousand 
 five hundred and thirty-two pounds. The materials 
 of these houses were sold for four hundred and se- 
 venty-eight pounds; and Sir Thomas Gresham, with 
 several of the aldermen, laid the first bricks of the 
 new building, on the 7th of June, 1566; each alder- 
 man laying one, and giving a piece of gold to the 
 workmen, who persevered with such alacrity, that 
 the building was roofed in by tshe month of Novem- 
 ber following, and was soon after completed, under 
 the name of The Burse. 
 
 Sir Thomas, by his will, dated the 26th of No- 
 vember, 1579, devised this stately fabric to the mayor 
 and citizens of London, and the company of mercers, 
 to be equally enjoyed and possessed by them, with 
 all its appurtenances, and the profits arising thereby, 
 on condition that the citizens, out of their moiety, 
 should pay a salary of fifty pounds per annum each, 
 to four lecturers, to read lectures in divinity, astro- 
 nomy, music, and geometry, in his mansion-house, 
 viz. Gresham College ; and to pay six pounds thir- 
 teen shiUings and four pence perann. each, to eight 
 alms-people, situate behind the said college, in Broad- 
 street; and ten pounds yearly to each of the prisons 
 of Newgate, Ludgate, King's-bench, Marshalsca, and 
 Wood-street Compter. And that the mercers, out 
 
 of
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. S 
 
 of their moiety, should pay fifty pounds per aim. 
 each, to three lecturers, to read lectures in law, 
 physic, and rhetoric, in his mansion-house; and one 
 hundred pounds per ann. for four quarterly dinners 
 at their own hall, for the entertainment of the whole 
 company ; and ten pounds yearly, each, to Christ's, 
 St, i3artholomew's, Bethlehem, and St. Thomas's 
 Hospitals, to the Spital, and to the Poultry Compter. 
 
 There being a great increase of foreigners in the 
 metropolis, and a jealousy subsisting between Eng- 
 land and Spain, her majesty, in the year 1^67, com- 
 manded the lord mayor to take the name, quality, 
 and profession, of all strangers residing within the 
 city of London; on which examination there ap- 
 peared to be as follows : Scots, forty ; French, four 
 hundred and twenty-eight ; Spaniards and Portu- 
 guese, forty-five; Italians, One hundred and forty; 
 Dutch, two thousand and thirty; liurgundians, forty- 
 four ; Danes, two ; Liegois, one. 
 
 The following year. Sir Thomas Rowe, knight, 
 gave a burial ground, at the north-east corner of 
 iSIooifields, since called Old Bethlehem Burial- 
 ground, and containing about an acre of land, for 
 the burial of poor citizens gratis; which he inclosed 
 with a brick-wall. He also appointed a sermon to 
 be preached, every Whitsunday morning, before the 
 lord mayor and aldermen ; and gave several other 
 very charitable legacies. 
 
 A conduit, for the reception of Thames water, 
 was erected in this year, at Walbrook corner, at the 
 expense of the citizens of London. 
 ^ The drawing of the first lottery mentioned in the 
 English history, was begun on the 11th of January, 
 1569, at the west door of St. Paul's, and continued 
 day and night, without intermission, till the ()th of 
 ]May. The number of lots was forty thousand ; the 
 
 prizes
 
 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 prizes were of plate, and the profits were appro- 
 priated to the repair of the havens of. the kingdom. 
 
 An order of common-council was made in this 
 year, for the beadles belonging to the hospitals to 
 take up all sturdy beggars and vagrants, and to carry 
 them to Bridewell ; all sick, lame, blind, and aged, 
 to be carried to St. Bartholomew's, or St. Thomas's ; 
 and all children beggars, under the age of sixteen, 
 to Christ's tlospital ; appointing to the beadles of 
 each hospital their proper circuit or district, with se- 
 vere penalties upon their neglect of duty. But this 
 act had not its effect. The streets, next year, 
 swarmed again with beggars, vagrants, and maimed 
 soldiers. It was then resolved to appoint a cit}^- 
 marshal, who, in a more effectual manner, might 
 deliver the citizens from the disgrace and mischief 
 of being over-run with sturdy beggars, &c. And 
 the committee, to whom this appointment was given 
 in charge, chose William Sympson and John Read, 
 two able persons, (for the consideration of six shil- 
 lings and eight pence a day, for them and their 
 horses, and six persons a-piece, of their own choos- 
 ing, to attend on each day, at twelve pence each) 
 whose office was to take some course with those va- 
 grants and wandering people, so as to clear the 
 streets of them, and to deliver them to their several 
 places and punishments, if they deserved it. And 
 for the more ready executing this office, it was or- 
 dered, that one month's pay, of twenty-eight days to 
 the month, should be paid to them beforehand ; and 
 accordingly the aldermen, by way of loan, disbursed 
 the same, amounting to thirty-five pounds nine shil- 
 lings and four pence. And it was also thought con- 
 venient, that twelve fair partisans, suitably and con- 
 veniently armed, should, at present, be provided by 
 the chamberlain for this service, at the charge of the 
 
 city;
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 6 
 
 city; and coats, or mandilions, for the attendants 
 upon the mai^shals. The office of city marshal ori- 
 ginated in this regulation. 
 
 The execution of this office was attended with 
 such an expense to the citizens, that it was found 
 adviseabie to balance it by the abolition of the old 
 pompous watch, in which a vast sum of money was 
 expended to no useful purpose; and in lieu of this, 
 the common-council appointed a nightly watch, 
 nearly similar to what exists at present. 
 
 During the summer of this year, the plague again 
 broke out in London, which occasioned the adjourn- 
 ment of the Michaelmas term, first to November, and 
 afterwards to the ensuing Hilary term ; and the lord 
 mayor and aldermen issued their special orders for 
 preventing idle persons from going about the streets, 
 who might disperse the infection among the ci- 
 tizens. 
 
 About this time, the city laid out eight hundred 
 and fourteen pounds fifteen shillings and eight pence 
 in cleansing the city ditch, from Aldgate to the pos- 
 tern on Tower-hill, and making a new sewer and 
 wharf of timber, from the head of the postern into 
 the town ditch. Before this time, the ditch had al- 
 ways lain open, without wall or pale ; and it was 
 well stocked with divers kinds of good fish. 
 
 On the 2 3d. of January, in the year 1570, her ma- 
 jesty, attended by the nobiHty, went into the city, 
 and dined with Sir Thomas Gresham, knight, at his 
 house in Bishopsgate-street. After dinner, her ma- 
 jesty returned through Cornhill, went into the Burse, 
 newly built by Sir Thomas, and, after viewing it in 
 all parts, commanded proclamation to be made by a 
 herald, with sound of trumpet, that thenceforth it 
 should go . by the appellation of the Royal Ex- 
 change. 
 
 A dispute
 
 6 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 A dispute arose at this time, between the tenants 
 of the Bishop of Ely and the lord mayor of Lon- 
 don, respecting the exercise of the mayor's authority 
 among them : the dispute was referred to the lord 
 keeper, the two chief justices, and the chancellor of 
 liie exchequer, who determined it in favour of the 
 city; and that, for the future, the mayor might as 
 justly exercise his authority in the bishop's rents, in 
 Holborn, as in any other part of the city. 
 
 It will probably astonish those, who look for the 
 perfection of civilization under Elizabeth, to hear that 
 the trial by combat might be legally demanded dur- 
 ing her reign; and that the judges of the common- 
 pleas actually sat in Tothill-fields, Westminster, on 
 the 18th of June, 1571, to decide by such pleadings; 
 but, judging from the relation of the circumstance in 
 jHowes's" Chronicle, p. 66S, it is probable that some 
 compromise had taken place, to bring the question 
 before the judges in a more civil w?Ly; since a deci- 
 sion was given against one of the parties, on a pre- 
 tended non-appearance, although his champion was 
 in court. 
 
 An act of parliament was passed in this year, 
 directing a new cut or trench to be made at the 
 charge of the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of 
 London, whereby the river Lea was to be made to 
 convey all victuals, corn, and other necessaries, from 
 the town of Ware to the city of London, and from 
 London to Ware. By this means the conveyance 
 of grain and other provisions out of Hertfordshire 
 WBS greatly faciUtated, and a considerable expense of 
 land carriage saved. 
 
 In the same year the streets in the eastern 
 suburbs of London, as far as Whitechapel-bars, 
 were, by an act of parliament, ordered to be 
 
 paved. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 7 
 
 The conspiracy of which the Duke of Norfolk had 
 been recently convicted appearing to Elizabeth to 
 render more than ordinary precautions necessary for 
 the security of her throne, she issued an order, in 
 1572, to the citizens of London to learn and practise 
 the use of arms in case of any emergency in which 
 she might want their assistance. In consequence of 
 this precept, the lord mayor directed the masters and 
 assistants of every company to select the young and 
 active men out of their res})ective bodies for that pur- 
 pose; and, on the 25th and 26th of March, the 
 several companies met, when three thousand young 
 citizens were embodied under able officers. Of 
 these, some were made musqueteers, and the rest 
 pikemen ; and so expeditiously were they trained, 
 that, on the 1st of May, they were reviewed by the 
 queen at Greenwich, and executed their manoeuvres 
 with great dexterity. 
 
 The }X)ulterers having entered into a combination 
 to raise the price of poultr^^ a proclamation was pub- 
 lished by the lord mayor, on the 4th of April, for 
 restraining them from taking more than the prices 
 fixed in the following table. 
 
 In the shops. 
 
 
 
 S. D- 
 
 The best swan at 
 
 _ _ 
 
 - 6 8 
 
 The best cygnet at 
 
 _ _ . 
 
 - 6 
 
 The best crane at 
 
 . 
 
 - 6 
 
 The best stork at 
 
 _ 
 
 - 4 
 
 The best heron at 
 
 _ _ 
 
 - 2 6 
 
 The best bittern at 
 
 - . 
 
 - 2 
 
 The best shovcler or 
 
 pelican at 
 
 - 2 
 
 The best wild mallard at 
 
 - 6 
 
 The best widgeon at 
 
 - 
 
 - .'3 
 
 The best teal at 
 
 _ 
 
 - 3 
 
 The best capon at 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 8 
 The
 
 8 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The second sort of capons, each at 
 
 The best hen at - - - 
 
 The best green goose, till May-day, each at 
 The best green gfiese, after May-day, 
 
 each at - - 
 
 The best rabbits at _ - _ 
 
 The best rabbit-runner, after May, each at 
 
 The best pigeons, a dozen at - - 
 The best pullets, each at - 
 
 The best chickens, each at - - 
 
 The smaller sort of chickens, each at - - 
 
 The best woodcocks, each at - - 
 
 The best green plover at - - - 
 
 The best grey plover at - - 
 
 The best snipe at - - - 
 
 The best blackbirds, a dozen at - - 
 
 The best larks, a dozen at - - - 
 
 The best knot at - - - 
 
 The best gulls, each at - - 
 
 The best goose at - - - 
 
 The best butter, till Allhallovvs, the pound at 
 The best eggs, till Michaelmas, five for 
 The best eggs till Ash-Wednesday, four for 
 
 In the markets. 
 The best wild mallard at 
 
 The best capon at - - - - 
 The second sort of capons, each at - 
 
 The best hen at - - - 
 
 The best pigeons, a dozen at - - - 
 
 The best chickens, each at - - 
 The smaller sort of chickens, each at 
 
 The best woodcock at - - - 
 
 The green plover at . _ - 
 The best blackbirds, a dozen at - 
 
 The best larks, a dozen at - - 
 Thabest goose at - ^ 
 
 s. 
 
 D. 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 9 
 
 The queen, intending to make a progress throvigh 
 the counties in this year, sent a letter to the lord 
 mayor, enjoining him to have a special regard to 
 the good government and peace of the city during 
 her absence ; for the better accomplishment of 
 which she appointed certain of her privy-counsellors 
 to be his advisers and assistants, with whom he was 
 ordered to consult once a week, or oftener. 
 
 In the year Io7rJ, the price of wheat was raised to 
 two pounds six shillings the quarter; beef was sold 
 for one shilling and ten pence the stone, and all other 
 flesh and white meats at an excessive price. This 
 increase in price was not occasioned by any de- 
 ficiency of produce, but by the secret exportation of 
 'provisions to the Netherlands, then laid waste by 
 civil wars ; wherefore, the lord mayor sent a re- 
 monstrance to the lord treasurer, " that unless the 
 ministry would see redress thereof in time, tlie 
 scarcity must shortly be felt more powerfully, even 
 by those in the highest stations of life." At the 
 same time an act of common-council was passed to 
 prevent the excessive consumption of provisions at 
 the feasts of the companies and at the magistrates' 
 tables. 
 
 The plague again broke out at London in 157f ; 
 on which account the queen, to prevent the con- 
 course of people from spreading the contagion, de- 
 sired the lord mayor not to give any entertainment 
 at Guildhall, on the anniversary of his entering on 
 his office. 
 
 The exhibition of stage plays and interludes, 
 which had been occasionally practised by ingenious 
 tradesmen and gentlemens' servants, was now be- 
 come a regular profession ; and the different places 
 for these exhibitions, which were lars^e rooms in 
 inns, were become common nurseries of vice and 
 lewdness. To suppress which, the common-council 
 
 VOL. II. c passed
 
 10 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 passed an act, wherein it was ordained as follows : 
 *' That no play should be openly played within the 
 liberty of the city, wherein should be uttered any 
 words, examples, or doings of any unchastity, sedi- 
 tion, or such-like unfit and uncomely matter, upon 
 pain of imprisonment for fourteen days, and five 
 pounds for every such offence. That no inn-keeper, 
 &c. shall show or play, or cause to be shown or 
 played, witliin his house, or yard, any play which 
 shall not be fii"st perused, and allowed by order of 
 the lord mayor, and court of aldermen. And that 
 no person shall be allowed to play, but shall be there- 
 imto admitted by the lord mayor and aldermen. 
 And that every person to be licensed shall pay to 
 the use of the poor in the hospitals of the city„or to 
 the poor visited with sickness, certain sums to be 
 agreed upon, upon pain of forfeiting his said license. 
 And that all sums and forfeitures incurred by any 
 offence against this act, shall be employed to the re- 
 lief of the poor of the hospitals, or of the poor infect- 
 ed or diseased in the city ; to be sued for and re- 
 covered by the chamberlain in the court of the 
 outer chamber of Guildhall, London, called the 
 Mayor's Court." 
 
 The public performers petitioned the queen and 
 comicil for license to act as usual; but after a full 
 hearing they could not obtain permission except 
 imder the restrictions of the above act of common- 
 council, and of another act, made in the mayoralty of 
 Hawes, by which they were enjoined not to play on 
 Sundays, nor on holidays, till after evening prayers, 
 and not to act after dark, but to conclude at such 
 time, that the aiMlience might return to their dwell- 
 ings before sun set. 
 
 Jn the year 1«57<5, minutes of several regulations 
 for the reforming of public grievances were made by 
 the Lord Chancellor Bacon, in the court of Star- 
 chamber,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1 1 
 
 chamber, one of which, for the suppression of the 
 superfluous alehouses, being communicated to the 
 lord mayor, he, with the assistance of the recorders 
 of Southwark and Lambeth, put down above; two. 
 hundred, in their several jurisdictions. This exam- 
 ple was immediately followed by the magistrates- of 
 VVestminster, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Tower^ 
 hamlets, and those parts of the county contiguous to 
 the metropolis. 
 
 At this time the lord mayor, recorder, and other 
 magistrates of the city, exerted themselves so: 
 effectually in executing the laws against vice and 
 immorality, that, at the assizes then held for the city 
 of London, there was not one criminal to be tried,;, 
 the reason whereof is set forth in the following ex- 
 tract of a letter from William Fletewood, recorder of 
 London, to the lord treasurer, then with the court at 
 Buxton, viz. " The only cause that this reformation 
 taketh so good effect here about London, is, that 
 when, by order, we have either justly executed the- 
 la^v, or performed the council's commandment, we 
 were wont to have either a great man's letter, a; 
 lady's ring, or some other token from such other 
 inferior persons, as will devise one untruth or other to 
 accuse us of, if we perform not their unlawful re-? 
 quests. The court is far off; here we are not 
 troubled v.ith letters, neither for the reprieve of this 
 prisoner, nor for sparing that fray-maker. These 
 secretaries, chamber-keepers, and solicitors in thfi 
 court, procure many letters from their lords and. 
 ladies upon untrue suggestions ; the which letters do 
 great hurt." 
 
 The following extraordinary performances are re- 
 lated in llowes's Chronicle, p. bSO, under the date 
 of 157G, viz. 
 
 *' A strange piece of work, and almost incredibly? 
 was brought, to pass by an Knajlishman, born withiij 
 
 the
 
 12 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the city of London, and a clork of the chanccr)% 
 named Peter Bales, who, by his industry and practise 
 of his pen, contrived and writ, within the compass 
 of a penny, in Latin, the Lords prayer, the creed, the 
 ten commandments, a prayer to God, a prayer for 
 the queen, his posy, his name, the day of the month, 
 t\\e year of our Lord, and the reign of the queen: 
 and at Hampton court he presented the same to the 
 queen's majesty in the head of a ring of gold, cover- 
 ed with a crystal, and presented therewith an excel- 
 lent spectacle, by him devised, for the easier reading 
 thereof, wherewith her majesty read all that was 
 written therein, and did wear the same upon her 
 finsfer." 
 
 " Also about the same time Mark Scaliot, black- 
 smith, born in London, for trial of workmanship, 
 made one hanging lock of iron, steel, and brass, a 
 pipe key, filed three square, with a pot upon the 
 shaft, and the bow with two SS, all clean wrought, 
 which weighed but one grain of gold, or wheat corn: 
 he made also a chain of gold of Ibrty-three links, to 
 the which chain the lock and key being fastened 
 and put about a flea's neck, she drew the same, all 
 which lock, key, chain, and flea, weighed but one 
 grain and a half." 
 
 London had a very narrow escape from the plague 
 in the year 1577. That dreadful scourge made it& 
 appearance in the Temple, but by the extreme vigi- 
 lance of Fletewood, the recorder, its horrors were 
 prevented. 
 
 In this year, Mr. William Lamlj, citizen and cloth- 
 worker, formerly one of the gentlemen of the chapel 
 to King Henry VUL drew several springs of water 
 into one head, at the upper end of lled-lion-street, 
 Holborn, since denominated from him. Lamb's con- 
 duit ; and at the expense of one thousand five hun- 
 dred pounds, convened the water through leaden 
 
 pipes^
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. !3 
 
 pipes to Snow-hill, where it was received into an 
 old conduit which he had repaired for that purpose. 
 This conduit remained tor many years after Cheap- 
 side, Aldermanbury, and other conduits were de- 
 stroyed. It was taken down in 1746, to make 
 room for the erection of the Foundling Hospital. ' 
 
 In the year 1579, Mr. William Kympton, Alder- 
 man of London, was committed to the Fleet-prison, 
 by the lord chancellor, for concealing a letter sent 
 him by the Vicar of Hadley, in Middlesex, inform- 
 ing him of an insurrection at Northall, where the 
 people had tumultuously pulled down some pales. 
 This offence being deemed a misprision of treason^ 
 lie was, by the court of Star-chamber, fined five 
 hundred marks, and sentenced to imprisonment in 
 the Fleet during her majesty's pleasure. 
 
 On the 6th of April, in the following year, a dread- 
 ful earthquake happened in London, which, though 
 its duration did not exceed a minute, shattered many 
 houses and churches, and several people were killed 
 by the stones that fell from the buildings. 
 
 About this time, the queen issued an order, for 
 again ascertaining the number of foreigners in Lon- 
 don; when, on the report being made, it appeared 
 that they amounted to six thousand four hundred 
 and sixty-two, nearly three times as many as in 1567, 
 viz. Dutch, two thousand three hundred and two ; 
 French, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 eight; Itahans, one hundred and sixteen ; English, 
 born of foreign parents, one thousand five hundred 
 and forty-two; other nations, four hundred and 
 forty -seven ; persons not certified; two hundred and 
 seventeen. 
 
 This considerable increase of foreisrners in the 
 metropolis was productive of a remonstrance from 
 the lord mavor and aldermen, a2:ainst the vast in- 
 crease of new buildings, and number of inhabitants 
 
 within
 
 I4f HISXOUY AND SX'RVEY OP 
 
 within the city aiid suburbs of London, chiefly oc- 
 casioned by the great resort of people from abroad, 
 and all parts of the kingdom, to settle there : which 
 was imagined would prove of dangerous conse- 
 quence, both to London and to the whole nation, if 
 not tiniely remedied. Wherefore, her majesty issued 
 a proclamation, by which it was forbidden to erect 
 any new buildings within three miles from the city 
 gates, w here no former house could be remembered 
 to have been by any one living : and also to suffer 
 any more families than one only, to be placed or to 
 inhabit in any one house: with power to the 
 lord mayor to commit otfenders against this procla- 
 mation, or to hold them to bail. And when Sir 
 John Branch, the next lord mayor, went to take the 
 oath in the Exchequer, the lord treasurer charged 
 him strictly to enforce the said proclamation, be- 
 cause, said he, there will, from an increase of people, 
 arise an excessive price of victuals and fuel ; and 
 danger of plague and infection. 
 
 On the 21st of June, I08I, the populace taking 
 offence at the images with which the cross in. Cheap- 
 side was decorated, attempted to pull the whole 
 down, but failing in their design, they broke and 
 defaced the images; and, notwithstanding the olfer^ 
 Ci a reward of fortv crowns, the offenders were 
 never discovered. 
 
 For the preservation of the timber for the use of 
 shipping, as well as for fuel to the inhabitants of 
 London, the parliament passed an act Jn this yearj 
 *' that no new iron-work should be erected: within 
 twenty-two miles of London, or within fourteen miles 
 of the river Thames ; nor should any wood, within 
 the limits described, be converted, into coal or fuel 
 for the making of iron. 
 
 The Turkey company was incorporated in this 
 year, and the first governor was Sir Edward Osborn, 
 
 an
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 15 
 
 an alderman of London. The ambassador who ^^ as 
 sent by Ehzabeth to negotiate their friendly recep- 
 tion in Turkey, sailed on board the ship Susan, of 
 London, mounting thirty -four guns; a vessel of con- 
 siderable magnitude at that period. 
 
 In the vear 1582, the luxury of the times havin* 
 greatly prevailed among people of all degrees, in 
 their apparel, particularly apprentices, the lord mayor 
 and common-council enacted, " That no apprentice 
 whatsoever should presume, 1 . To wear any ap})arel 
 but what he receives from his master. 2. To wear 
 no hat, nor any thing but a woollen cap, without any 
 Hilk in or about the same. 3. To wear neither 
 ruffles, cuffs, loose collars, nor any thing than a ruff 
 at the collar, and that only of a yard and half lonsr. 
 4. To wear no doublets but what are made of can- 
 vass, fustian, sackcloth, English leather, or woollen, 
 without any gold, silver, or silk trimming. 5. To 
 wear no other coloured cloth, or kersev, in hose or 
 stockings, than white, blue, or russet. 6. To wear 
 no other breeches but what shall be of the same 
 etufts as the doublets, and neither stitched, laced, or 
 bordered. 7. To wear no other than a plain upper 
 coat, of cloth or leather, without pinking, stitching, 
 edging, or silk about it. 8. To wear no other 
 surtout than a cloth gown or cloak, lined or faced 
 with cloth, cotton, or baize, with a fixed round col- 
 lar, without stitching, guarding, lace, or silk. (). To 
 wear no pumps, slippers, or shoes, but of Enghsh 
 leather, without being pinked, edged, or stitched : 
 nor girdles, nor garters, other than of crewel, woollen, 
 thread, or leather, without being garnished. 10. To 
 wear no sword, dagger, or other wea))on, l)ut a 
 knife: nor a ring, jewel of gold nor silver, nor silk 
 in any part of his apparel, on pain of being punished 
 at the discretion of the master for the fust ollonce ; 
 1 to
 
 16 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 to be publicly whipped at the hall of his company 
 for a second oiTence; and to serve six months longer 
 than specified in his indentures for a third of- 
 ence/' And it was further enacted, " That no 
 apprentice should frequent or go to any dancing, 
 fencing, or musical schools ; nor keep any chest, 
 press, or other place, for keeping of apparel, or goods, 
 but in his master s house, under the penalties afore- 
 said." 
 
 An ingenious German, named Maurice, submitted 
 a scheme to the lord mayor and aldermen, in this 
 year, for supplying the city with Thames w^ater, by 
 means of a machine, to be w'orkcd by the stream of 
 the tide, under London-bridge. The scheme being 
 approved, the city granted Maurice a lease of one 
 arch, and a place for fixing his engine, at the north 
 end of the bridge, for the term of five hundred 
 years, at a rent of ten shillings per annum. Two 
 years after, he obtained a lease of a second arch, 
 and from the utility of, and improvements in, the in- 
 vention, Maurice and his posterity acquired consider- 
 able wealth. It continued in their hands till 1701, 
 at which time the wheels occupied four arches, when 
 it was sold to Richard Soams,'a goldsmith, for thirty- 
 six thousand pounds. Immediately after the purchase, 
 Soams obtained a confirmation of Maurice's lease, at 
 the yearly rent of twenty shillings, and a fine of 
 three hundred pounds; after w^hich, he divided the 
 undertaking into three hundred shares, at five hun- 
 dred pounds each. 
 
 The first instance of the custom of the nomination 
 of sheriffs, by the lord mayor drinking to them, oc- 
 curred hi the year \583. 
 
 On the 17th of September, in this year, there was 
 a splendid shooting match, under the direction of 
 the captain of the London archers, who, for many 
 
 years
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. IJ 
 
 years, assumed the name of the Duke of Shoreditch ;* 
 and who, on the occasion, sunmmoned his nominal 
 iiobiHty to attend him, with their several companies, 
 under the following titles; the Marquisses of Barlow, 
 Clerkenwell, Islington, I loxton, andShacklewell, the 
 Earl of Pancras, &c. These, to the number of three 
 thousand, assembled at the place appointed, sumptu- 
 ously apparelled, and nine hundred and forty-two of 
 them had gold chains about their necks. They 
 inarched from Merchant Taylor's-hall, the residence 
 of their captain, through Moorfields and Finsbury, 
 to Smithfield; where, after having performed their 
 evolutions, they shot at the target for glory. 
 
 In the yeai' 1585, her majesty being apprehensive 
 of an invasion from Spain, it was thought necessary 
 to keep the nation prepared against any unforeseen 
 attack. In consequence of which, the navy was put 
 on a respectable footing; her subjects in general were 
 disciplined to the use of arms; and the citizens, at 
 their own expense, sent five thousand men, com- 
 pletely armed, to encamp on Jilackheath ; at which 
 place they were several times reviewed by the queen. 
 The citizens also, soon after, sent a considerable body 
 of men, completely armed, to the assistance of the 
 Dutch, against the Spaniards. 
 
 In the month of July, in this year, the magistrates 
 of I^ondon took great pains to discover the houses 
 that harboured the cut-purses and robbers, who in- 
 fested the city. Amonij^ the rest, a regular school 
 for the instruction of pick-pockets, was found 
 at Smart's key, near Billingsgate. The method of 
 
 * King Henry VIII. having nppointed a shooting match at Windsor, 
 it happened, towards night, when the diversion was ahiiost over, one 
 Barlow, a citizen of London, and inhabitant of Shoreditch, out-shot 
 all the rest ; with which his majesty was so well pleased, thiit he told 
 Barlow, that henceforward he should be called The Duke of Shore- 
 ditch ; which title descended for several generations, with the captain* 
 siiip of the l>«ndou ;irchers. 
 
 VOL li. B tcachintj
 
 18 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 teaching this art was as follows: In the centre of 
 the room was a pocket with counters in it, and a 
 purse with silver ; both of which were suspended, 
 and small bells fixed round them. The test of pro- 
 ficiency was, to pick the pocket, or take the silver 
 out of the purse, without jingling the bells. The 
 house where this school was held was suppressed, 
 and the man who kept it fined and imprisoned. 
 
 Ludgate, with a prison over for debtors who were 
 freemen of tlie city, was rebuilt in the year 1586; 
 and, if what HoUingshed relates, p. 1 j6 1 , is to be relied 
 on, it cost only somewhat above one thousand five 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 In the following year, the nation became sensibly 
 alarmed at the vigorous preparations made by the 
 Spaniards for the reduction of England. The queen 
 was very alert in pursuing the most defensive mea- 
 sures. She ordered all the commercial towns in 
 England to furnish ships to reinforce the navy ; and, 
 on the 8th of March, she sent the following letter to 
 the lord mayor of London : 
 
 " Trusty, and well-beloved, We greet you well. 
 Whereas upon information given unto Us, of great 
 preparations made in foreign parts, with an in- 
 tent to attempt somewhat against this Our realm, 
 We gave present order that Our said realm should 
 be put in order of defence; which We have caused 
 to be performed in all parts accordingly, saving in 
 the city of London. We, therefore, knowing your 
 readiness, by former experience, to perform any ser- 
 vice that well-affected subjects ought to yield to 
 their prince and sovereign, do let you understand, 
 that, within Our said city. Our pleasure is, that there 
 be forthwith put in readiness to serve, for the de- 
 fence of Our person, upon such occasions as may fall 
 out, the number of ten thousand able men, furnished 
 with armour and weapons convenient; of which 
 
 number
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 19 
 
 number Our meaning is, that six thousand be en- 
 rolled under captains and ensigns, and to be trained 
 at times convenient, according to such further direc- 
 tion as you shall receive from Our privy-council, un- 
 der six of their hands, which Our pleasure is, you do 
 follow, from time to time, in the ordering and train- 
 ing of the said number of men. And these Our let- 
 ters shall be your sufficient warrant for the doing of 
 the same. Given under Our signet, &c." 
 
 This letter from the queen was followed by ano- 
 ther from the privy-council, to the same purport ; 
 both of which being laid before the common-council, 
 they unanimously agreed to grant the royal request, 
 and that the aldermen and common-council should 
 raise them in their several wards respectively. Soon 
 after this, the privy-council sent another letter to the 
 mayor, requesting him to have them ready to march 
 at the shortest notice. This was not only complied 
 with, but, on the 3d of April, the common-council 
 granted a supply of sixteen of the largest ships in 
 the river, and four frigates, which were immediately 
 fitted out, and supplied with all proper necessaries. 
 These ships were afterwards augmented to the num- 
 ber of thirty-eight; the expense attending which, 
 together with the ten thousand troops, was defrayed 
 by the city, during the time they continued in her 
 majesty's service. 
 
 The number of troops raised in the several wards, 
 were levied in the following proportions : 
 
 men. 
 Farringdon within - - 807 
 
 Aldgate - - -3^7 
 
 Coleman-street . - - 229 
 
 Bassishaw - - - 177 
 
 Billingsgate - - - 365 
 
 Broad-street ward - - 373 
 
 Bread-street ward - - 386 
 
 Aldersgate
 
 so 
 
 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 
 
 men. 
 
 Aklersgate ward 
 
 232 
 
 Bridge ward - - - 
 
 383 
 
 Dowgate ward 
 
 384. 
 
 Cornhill ward 
 
 191 
 
 Castle-baynard ward 
 
 631 
 
 Lime-streetward 
 
 99 
 
 Cheap ward 
 
 3j8 
 
 Queen hi the ward 
 
 404 
 
 Farringdon without 
 
 1264 
 
 Cordwainers ward 
 
 301 
 
 Tower-street ward 
 
 444 
 
 Walbrook ward - - 
 
 290 
 
 Viiitry ward - - - 
 
 364 
 
 Portsoken ward 
 
 243 
 
 Candlewick ward 
 
 215 
 
 Cripplegate ward 
 
 9^5 
 
 Bishopsgate ward 
 
 326 
 
 Langbourn ward - - , 
 
 349 
 
 The zeal and alacrity of the citizens, in this and 
 the following year, contributed greatly to the secu- 
 rity of the independence of the nation ; but great as 
 fliese were, the assistance the state derived from the 
 influence of the London merchants, was infinitely 
 more important. By their means, Philip was com- 
 pelled to defer his threatened attempt until the next 
 year; when the preparations for defence were, con- 
 sequently, much more effectual: for Thomas Sutton, 
 Esq. who afterwards founded the Charter-house, 
 assisted by Sir Thomas Gresham, and some others, 
 found means to get all the Spanish bills of exchange 
 protested, which were drawn on the merchants of 
 Genoa, and to supply Philip with money for carrying 
 on his preparations. Bishop Burnet, in the first 
 volume of the History of his Life and Times, p. 313, 
 say»s, " A merchant of London, being very well ac- 
 quainted
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 51 
 
 Tqiiainted with the revenue and expense of Spain, 
 and of all that they could raise ; and knowing also, 
 that their funds were so swallowed up, that it was 
 impossible for them to victual and fit out their fleet, 
 but by their credit on the bank of Genoa ; he under- 
 took to write to all the places of trade, and to get 
 such remittances made on that bank, that he might 
 have so much of the money in his own hands, as 
 there should be none current there, equal to the 
 great occasion of victualling the Spanish fleet. He 
 reckoned, that the keeping of such a treasure dead 
 in his hands, until the season of victualling was 
 over, would be a loss of forty thousand pounds : 
 and he managed the matter with such secrecy 
 and success, that the fleet could not set out that 
 year." 
 
 The subsequent failure, and total defeat of this 
 formidable expedition, are well known to every 
 reader of English history; it will therefore be unne- 
 cessary to dwell upon it here. 
 
 A public thanksgiving being ordered to be made 
 on the 24th of November, the queen came in great 
 state to St. Paul's, to perform that solemn duty; on 
 which occasion, eleven banners or ensigns, taken 
 from the enemy, were hung up in the body of the 
 church, as trophies of their defeat. 
 
 In the year 1589, the city lent the queen fifteen 
 thousand pounds, at ten per cent, and supplied her 
 with a thousand men, to assist in placing Henry of 
 Navarre on the throne of France. 
 
 In the year 1 5[)0, the owners of the coal-pits at 
 Newcastle entered into a combination, to enhance 
 the price of coals in London, from four shillings to 
 nine shillings the chaldron. And, in the following 
 year, the lord high^admiral of England claimed a 
 right to the coal-metago, in the ])ort of l^ondon; 
 but the mayor and citizens invalidating this claim, 
 
 his
 
 5* HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 his pretensions were set aside, and, by the interest of 
 the lord-treasurer, Burleigh, they obtained of the 
 queen a confirmation of their right to this office. 
 
 In the year lo92, the plague broke out again in 
 London, and raged with such violence, that, not- 
 withstanding the most salutary measures were taken 
 for stopping its progress, it took off no less than ten 
 thousand six hundred and seventy-five citizens ; and 
 the term was, on this dismal occasion, adjourned to 
 Hertford. 
 
 In the year 1593, the city of London and its 
 suburbs, being greatly pestered with vagrants, beg- 
 gars, and thieves, her majesty issued a proclamation 
 for suppressing them ; and commanded the lord 
 mayor to see the same properly executed within 
 three miles of the city. 
 
 The following year, in obedience to the queen's 
 desire, the lord mayor and common-council fitted 
 out six ships of war, with two frigates, and stored 
 the same with ammunition and proper provisionsfor 
 six months ; two days after which, they added four 
 hundred and fifty soldiers; and the expense of main- 
 taining the whole was defrayed by a fifteenth raised 
 from the citizens. 
 
 This year, an ineffectual attempt was made to 
 supply the western parts of the city with Thames 
 water, by a horse engine, wnth four pumps, erected 
 at Broken-wharf, in Thames-street ; but the under- 
 taking proved too expensive to subsist. 
 
 The wetness of the season, this year, advanced 
 the price of wheat to three pounds four shillings per 
 quarter, and grain of all sorts was so scarce, that the 
 companies were ordered to lay up stores of it for 
 supply, till the next harvest. 
 
 In the year 1595, the licentiousness of the popu- 
 lace, who drew in the London apprentices to join 
 them, produced such repeated and alarming riots, 
 
 that
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 93 
 
 that it was thought necessary by the mayor, to lay 
 the case before the lord-treasurer, for her majesty^s 
 direction. In consequence of which, on the 4th 
 of July, a proclamation was issued, wherein her ma- 
 jesty appointed a provost-martial, with power to 
 apprehend all rioters, and such as might be refrac- 
 tory to the officers of justice, and, by order of mar- 
 tial law, to punish them accordingly. Sir Thomas 
 Wilford, who was appointed provost-martial, pa- 
 trolled the city, with a numerous attendance on 
 horseback, armed with pistols, and apprehended many 
 of the rioters," whom he took before the justices ap- 
 pointed for their examination. On the 22d of July, 
 they were tried at Guildhall, and five of them being 
 condemned, were, two days after, agreeable to their 
 sentence, executed on Tower-hill. This example 
 had the desired effect; for the rest were so intimi- 
 dated that they immediately dispersed, and peace 
 was again restored in the city. 
 
 This year, her majesty, having preferred the re- 
 corder of London, informed the citizens, that she 
 intended to make choice of one herself; for which 
 purpose, she desired the lord mayor to send her the 
 names of such persons as were intended to be put 
 in nomination for that office. The citizens, alarmed 
 at this extraordinary proceeding, and suspecting it 
 to be an attempt of the court to get the appointment 
 of the recorder out of their hands, prudently nomi- 
 nated only one person for that office, Mr. James 
 Altham, of Gray's-inn. With this nomination, Sir 
 John Spencer, the mayor, sent a letter to the lord- 
 treasurer, in recommendation of this gentleman, as re- 
 siding in the city, and explaining the inconveniences 
 arising from recorders who were absentees from their 
 trust ; and concluded with his earnest request, that 
 her majesty would be pleased to approve this nomi- 
 nation. How the affair ended_^does not appear, only 
 4 "' that
 
 2i HISTORY AXD SURVEY OF 
 
 that anothor name stands on the list as elected at 
 this time. 
 
 The scarcity of provisions still continued, inso- 
 much that, according to Howes, a hen's egg was 
 sold in London for one penny, or three eggs for two- 
 pence, at most ; a pound of sweet butter for seven 
 pence ; and so the like of fish or flesh. 
 
 In the year 1596, while the mayor and aldermen 
 were attending a sermon at St. Paul's-cross, they 
 received a message from the queen, ordering them 
 to raise one thousand able-bodied men, for imme- 
 diate service ; in compliance with which, they imme- 
 diately left their devotion, and applied so diligently, 
 that, before eight o'clock at night, they obtained the 
 complement required, who were completely armed, 
 and ready to march before next morning. They 
 were destined for the relief of the French in Calais, 
 against the Spaniards ; but some vmexpected intelli- 
 gence arriving from that place, their appearance be- 
 came unnecessary, and this little army was disbanded 
 before it had existed twenty-four hours. The court, 
 however, being again alarmed, on Easter-day, in the 
 morning, sent another message to the lord mayor 
 and aldermen, commanding them to raise the like 
 number of men as before : in obedience to which, 
 they, with their proper officers, repaired to the dif- 
 ferent churches in their respective jurisdictions, dur- 
 ms^ the time of divine service, and, causing the doors 
 to be shut, they selected the number of men required, 
 who, being properly anned, with all possible expe- 
 dition, began their march, the night after, for Dover, 
 in order for their embarkation for France; but, advice 
 being received of the reduction of Calais, they were 
 ordered home, after a week's absence, and imme- 
 diately disbanded. 
 
 The last account w^e find of the existence of the 
 Steel-yard merchants in London, is in the year 1 597; 
 
 when,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 25 
 
 when, inconsequence of their attempts to get our mer- 
 chant-adventurers expelled from Germany, the queen 
 directed a commission to the mayor and sherifts of 
 London, to shut up the house inhabited by the mer- 
 chants of the Hans-towns at the Steel-yard in Lon- 
 don ; since which time the place has never been 
 used by any company of foreign merchants. 
 
 In the year 1599, a report having been universally 
 circulated, that the Spaniards were meditating a 
 second invasion of England, the queen, as usual, ap- 
 plied to the citizens of London ibr their assistance, 
 when they immediately supplied her with six thou- 
 sand soldiers, and completely fitted out sixteen ships 
 of w^ar. One moiety of the troops were to take the 
 field, and the other, composed of eminent citizens, 
 to attend the queen as her body-guard, at their own 
 and the city's expense. During this time of expect- 
 ed danger, strong guards were kept in all quarters of 
 the city, chains drawn across every night at the ends 
 of all the streets and lanes, and a candle and lantern 
 hung out at every door, on pain of death. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1600, the cross in 
 Cheapside was repaired by the queen's command ; 
 and a new cross of timber, covered with lead and 
 gilt set upon the top. 
 
 In this year five hundred soldiers were raised by 
 the citizens of London, for the use of her majesty, 
 who, being- properly supplied with all warlike neces- 
 saries, were, by her command, sent to Ireland; and 
 about the same time they fitted out several gallies for 
 sea-service, the expense of which was defrayed by 
 three fifteenths levied throughout the city, by order 
 of the common-council. 
 
 The exorbitant price at which spices were kept by 
 our own Turkey merchants and by the Dutch 
 East India Company, in consequence of the war 
 with vSpain, which prevented our traders from ob- 
 
 VOL. II. jK " lainingf
 
 ^6 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 taining them from Lisbon as they had been accustom^ 
 ed to do, determined the queen to enter her owri 
 subjects upon a direct commerce to the East Indies; 
 accordingly, on the last day of this year, she granted 
 a charter to George, Earl of Cumberland, and two 
 hundred and fifteen knights, Aldermen, and mer- 
 chants, under the denomination of " The Governor 
 and Company of Merchants of London trading to 
 the East Indies." Who, that looks at the present 
 extensive power, dominion, and viealth, of the East 
 India Company, would suppose that its origin was 
 to be attributed to pepper being sold at eight shil-; 
 lings the pound in London ? 
 
 The trade and navigation on the English coasts 
 being greatly interrupted by the depredations of 
 Spanish privateers, the queen, in 1601, ordered a 
 number of ships to be fitted out to cruize against 
 them: and, on this occasion, no less than five 
 fifteenths were assessed upon the citizens of London, 
 towards defraying the expense of the armament ; 
 and a proclamation was issued for discharging all 
 such debtors in the gaols of London as were willing 
 to enter on board the said ships. 
 
 In the year 1602, the trade of the city of London 
 having been greatly injured by the increase of 
 hawkers and pedlars, the common-council enacted, 
 " That no citizen or other inhabitant of London, for 
 the future, should, under any pretence whatsoever, 
 presume to let, before his, her, or their house, any 
 stall, stand, or perpresture, upon the penalty of 
 twenty shillings. And that all hawkers offending 
 against the tenor of this act, not only to forfeit all 
 their goods so offered to sale, but likewise pay a 
 fine of twenty shillings for every such offence." 
 
 In the Fcedera* is another proclamation of Eliza- 
 beth for restraining the increase of buildings in the 
 
 * Vol. XVI. p. 448. 
 
 metropolisj
 
 LOKDON AND ITS SNVIRONS. 2? 
 
 metropolis, by which she commands all persons to 
 desist from any new buildings of any house or tene- 
 ment within three miles of any of the gates of Lon- 
 don ; only one family to live in any house; empjty 
 houses erected within seven years not to be let; and 
 unfinished buildings on new foimdations to be 
 pulled down : with many other articles of less im- 
 portance. 
 
 In the year 1603, the citizens of London, by the 
 queen's command, fitted out and maintained two 
 ships and a tender, at the annual expense of six 
 thousand pounds. This was the last demand made 
 by Elizabeth on the citizens ; and it is remarked by 
 historians, that, during the long reign of that princess^ 
 and considering the readiness with which the citi- 
 zens of London always answered her demands, she 
 did not grant them any new charter of privileges, or 
 even so much as confirm those which had been 
 given by her predecessors. 
 
 On the 23d of March, the death of Elizabeth put 
 an end to the direct line of the English royal family. 
 She was succeeded by James VL of Scotland, who 
 was proclaimed at Whitehall, by Secretary Cecil, and 
 in Cheapside by the lord mayor, with the usual pomp 
 and ceremonv. 
 
 CHAP. XXX.
 
 28 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Ravages of the Plague. — Fairs suppressed. — Confirmation 
 of the Jurisdiction of the Court of Requests. — The right 
 of the Corporation to the rnetage of Coals established. — 
 Hawkers prohibited. — Severe Frost. — Loan. — The City 
 jurisdiction extended. — Grant of the province of Ulster, 
 — Public Granaries . — hiclosures destroyed. — Foundation 
 of the Charter -house. — Ciistoms of the Port of London. 
 The New-river cornpleted. — Smitli/ield pav^ed. — Muster 
 of the Citizens. — The Nobility and Gentry ordered to 
 leave London, — Book of Sports. — Guinea Trade. — 
 Silk Manufacture. — Exercise of the Torture, — St. PaiiVs 
 Cathedral repaired. --LicencedGaming-houses .--Spanish 
 Ambassador assaulted. — Extraordinary proclamations. 
 Fatal Vespers. — Tivo Thousand Men equipped by the 
 City. — Act for making the Thames navigable. — Death 
 of James /. 
 
 Great preparations were made by the citizens for 
 the reception of their new sovereign, but the plague 
 raged so violently at this time, that it was found 
 necessary to postpone the ceremony to the following 
 year, when .lames made his public entry into- Lon- 
 don, and was received in the most sumptuous 
 manner. 
 
 The continuance of the plague, which carried off 
 thirty thousand five hundred and seventy-eight per- 
 sons within the year, three thousand and ninety 
 of whom died in one week, occasioned a proclama-* 
 tion to be issued for suppressing Bartholomew fair, 
 and all others within fifty miles of London: this was 
 followed by a second proclamation, prohibiting all 
 persons from building on any new foundation in 
 London or within three miles of it. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 29 
 
 The court of requests, which had been originally 
 estabhshed by an act of common-council, was found 
 so beneficial, that an act of parliament was obtained 
 m 1604, to confirm the power and jurisdiction of it: 
 but many ill-disposed persons having attempted to 
 wrest some ambiguous words in it, to cloak their own 
 sinister purposes, a second act was found necessary 
 in the following year; by which the former one was 
 confirmed, and the authority of the court extended 
 to non-freemen, resident in the city. 
 
 In the vear 1605, James o:ranted the citizens his 
 first charter, bv which he recoo:nized all their ancient 
 rights and privileges, and also adjusted the disputes 
 which had frequently taken place between the cor- 
 poration and the lieutenant of the Tower, respecting 
 the metage of coals, &;c. which the latter claimed as 
 his right ; but the king, by this charter, finally deter- 
 mined that it was vested in the corporation of 
 London. 
 
 On the .3d of July, 1606, his majesty paid a debt 
 of sixty thousand pounds, contracted by Queen Eli- 
 zabeth, who had borrowed that sum of the citizens 
 of London, in lo98, and left it unpaid at her 
 decease. 
 
 The city being still greatly pestered with foreign 
 hawkers and pedlars, the common-council passed an 
 act, in which it was ordained, " That no foreigner 
 whatsoever should presume to vend his, her, or their 
 goods in the city, by connivance or otherwise, either 
 in house, shop, stall, or street, upon tlie penalty of 
 five pounds for every offence ; except such as 
 brought provisions to the city." 
 
 The river Thames was frozen so hard, in the 
 month of December, this year, that fairs were held 
 on it; all sorts of diversions were exhibited, and car- 
 riages passed with safety from London to Southvvark. 
 The severity of the weather was so great, that many 
 
 animals
 
 30 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 animals and birds perished, and the produce of the 
 wardens was ahnost all destroyed. 
 
 In the month of May, 1607, the king wanting 
 money, applied to the citizens, who, in considera- 
 tion of his having- discharged the debt contracted by 
 Elizabeth, readily advanced him the sum of sixty- 
 three thousand pounds. 
 
 In acknowledgment for this favour, his majesty 
 soon after granted the citizens a second charter; by 
 which he not only confirmed their ancient rights, 
 liberties, and immunities, in the most ample man- 
 ner, but also added the precincts of Duke's-place, 
 St. Bartholomew's the Great and Less, Black and 
 White-friars, and Cold-harbour, to the bounds of the 
 city, and jurisdiction thereof. 
 
 in the year 1609, his majesty offered the whole 
 province of Ulster, in Ireland, to the citizens of Lon- 
 don, on condition that they would engage to settle 
 an Englisii colony there: which offer being accepted, 
 the common-council passed an act to raise twenty 
 thousand pounds, to carry the design into execution; 
 and a committee was appointed, of six aldermen and 
 eight commoners (since increased to twenty), to be 
 annually chosen for the government thereof. 
 
 The magistrates of the city, being apprehensive 
 that the great increase of its inhabitants might pro- 
 duce a famine, prepared against the evil by erecting, 
 in 1610, twelve public granaries at BrideVicll, large 
 enough to contain six thousand quarters of corn ; 
 which, in case of a scarcity, or a combination among 
 the dealers in that commodity, was to be sold to the 
 poor at prime cost. 
 
 The proprietors of the lands adjoining to the city, 
 having restrained the exerciseof archer3^by inclosing 
 their fields, and removing the marks, the king, in 
 this year, empowered commissioners to level all 
 ditches and banks, and to remove all inclosures 
 
 within
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 31 
 
 within two miles of the suburbs, and to reduce the 
 fields to the state in which they were left by Henry 
 VIll. 
 
 The religious house of the Carthusian monks, 
 called the Charter-house, having, after its dissolution 
 at the Reformation, come into the possession of the 
 Earl of Sutfolk, was purchased of that nobleman, in 
 the year 16 1 1, for thirteen thousand pounds, by Mr, 
 Thomas Sutton, a wealthy citizen of London, in or- 
 der to establish it as a charitable foundation for pen- 
 sioners and scholars ; for which he obtained letters 
 patent from the king, and these were afterwards con- 
 firmed by parliament. 
 
 In the same year, Sir Baptist Hicks, one of the jus- 
 tices of peace for Middlesex, built the hall which 
 was named after him, to be a sessions-house, for the 
 accommodation of. the justices, who, before this 
 time, used to transact their business at the Castle- 
 Inn. 
 
 An order of the privy-council was issued in the 
 year 1613, in consequence of the complaints which 
 were made of the decrease in the exportation of 
 woollen goods, to take a general account of the ex- 
 ports and imports of all England, in order to know^ on 
 which side the balance lay. Among other items of 
 the account, is the sum of eighty-six thousand seven 
 hundred and ninety-four pounds sixteen shillings 
 and two pence, for the customs outwards ; of which 
 sum, London paid sixty-one thousand three hundred 
 and twenty-two pounds sixteen shillings and seven 
 pence; which is nearly thrice as much as all the 
 rest of England. 
 
 Sir Hugh JMiddleton, by virtue of several acts of 
 parliament, j)asscd in the late and present reign, 
 granting pow^M's to cut and convey a river from any 
 part of Middlesex or Hertfordshire, to supply the 
 i::ity of Lonflon with a sufiicient quantity of water
 
 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 for domestic uses, undertook, after several others 
 had attempted it without success, to bring such 
 a river from Chadwell and Am well, near Ware, 
 in Jiertfordshire, to a bason, or reservoir, near 
 Islington, on the north side of London, for that 
 purpose. He began this work on the 20th of Fe- 
 bruary, 1608, and with great difticulty, art, indus- 
 try, and a prodigious expense (of, as it is recorded, 
 no less than five hundred thousand pounds,) with the 
 assistance of King James and the mayor and common- 
 alty of London, he cut a trench, in some places full 
 thirty feet deep, through ouzy, muddy, and stiff, 
 craggy, and stony ground; and with so many wind- 
 ings, to find out a proper current, that it measured 
 thirty-eight miles three quarters and six poles, from 
 the fountain to the reservoir. 
 
 This great work was finished, so far as to be brought 
 to the intended reservoir, but the water was not 
 let into it, till Michaelmas-day, A. D. 1613; when 
 Sir Thomas Middleton, lord mayor elect, and brother 
 to the great undertaker of this scheme, accompanied 
 by Sir John Swinnerton, lord mayor, many aldermen, 
 the recorder, and other gentlemen, repaired to the 
 place called New River-head, in solemn cavalcade. 
 On their arrival, sixty labourers, handsomely dressed, 
 with green caps, marched with pickaxes, shovels, 
 and spades, thrice round the bason, preceded by 
 drums and trumpets, who stopped before the mayor, 
 &c. Seated upon an eminence, and one addressed 
 them in a long copy of verses; which being ended, 
 the sluices were opened, and the stream ran plenti- 
 fully into the reservoir, under the sound of drums 
 and trumpets, the discharge of cannon, and loud ac- 
 clamations of the spectators. 
 
 In the year 1 61 4, West Smithfield, the market 
 for live cattle, horses, and hay, having become almost 
 mipassable, the king issued an order to the citizens 
 
 3 to
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 33 
 
 to pave it; which being readily compUed with, the 
 work was completed within six months, at an ex^ 
 pense of sixteen hundred pounds. 
 
 This year, his majesty having appointed a general 
 muster of the militia throughout the kingdom, the 
 city of London mustered six thousand citizens, com- 
 pletely armed, who performed their evolutions with 
 such dexterity as gained them universal applause. 
 The martial spirit of the citizens was so great, that 
 the children endeavoured to imitate their parents : 
 they chose themselves officers, formed themselves 
 into companies, often marched into the fields, with 
 colours flying and drums beating; where, by fre- 
 quent practice, they became very expert in military 
 exercises. 
 
 About the same time, the citizens obtained a third 
 charter from the king, which confirmed the admea- 
 surement and metage of coals, in the port of London, 
 viz. from Yenlet toStaines-bridge, to the corporation. 
 
 The cultivation of the province of Ulster, in Ire- 
 land, had gone on with such rapidity, that, in the 
 year 1616, two capital towns were colonized, by the 
 names of Londonderry and Colerain; the first of 
 which the kins: formed into a citv, and the latter 
 mto a corporate town, under a mayor. Soon after 
 which, by a special commission from the king and 
 the city of London, Sir Peter Proby, alderman of 
 London, and governor of the colony, attended by 
 several principal citizens, went over to Ireland, and 
 presented each of the before-mentioned places with 
 a rich sword of state, to be carried before their chief 
 magistrates. 
 
 This year, the king made a visit to Scotland, pre- 
 vious to which he issued a very extraordinary procla- 
 mation, commanding " all noblemen, knights, and 
 gentlemen, who have mansion-houses in the country, 
 to depart, within twenty days after the date hereof, 
 
 VOL. II. V ^ with
 
 34 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 with their wives and families, out of the city and 
 suburbs of London, and to return to their several 
 habitations in the country, there to continue and 
 abide until the end of the summer vacation, to per- 
 form the duties and charge of their places and ser- 
 vice ; and likewise, by housekeeping, to be a com- 
 fort unto their neighbours, in order to renew and 
 revive the laudable custom of hospitality in their 
 rcvspective countries : excepting, however, such as 
 hav^e necessary occasion to attend in Our city of 
 London, for term business, or other urgent occa- 
 sions, to be signified to, and approved by, our privy- 
 council." 
 
 In the year 1617, his majesty caused certain rules 
 to be pubhshed, under the title of " The Book of 
 Sports ;" by which the people were tolerated to exer- 
 cise recreations and diversions on the Sabbath-day. 
 The lord mayor and citizens, together with many of 
 the clergy, so far opposed it, that they incurred the 
 resentment of the high commission court. Notwith- 
 standing which, the lord mayor persevered so 
 strongly, in showing his contempt at such an un- 
 christian license, that he even caused the king's car- 
 riages to be stopped as they were driving through the 
 city in the time of divine service. The matter being 
 related to his majesty, with the most aggravating 
 circumstances, he swore, in a great rage, " He 
 thought there had been no more kings in England 
 than himself." After the heat of his passion had 
 ubsided, he sent a warrant to the mayor, command- 
 ing him to let them pass; which he obeyed, with 
 this declaration : " While it was in my power, I did 
 my duty; but that being taken away by a higher 
 power, "it is my duty to obey." This well-timed 
 concession was highly pleasing to the king, and 
 the mayor was acquitted of the breach of the royal 
 orders, with great reputation. 
 
 An
 
 LONDON AI^D ITS ENVIRONS. 35 
 
 An exclusive charter was STranted in the followina: 
 year, to Sir Robert Rich, and some other merchants 
 of London, for raising a joint-stock, for the purpose 
 of trading to Guinea. 
 
 About this period, the manufacturing of raw silk 
 into broad silk fabrics, seems to have been of con- 
 siderable extent; since it appears from a Treatise on 
 the East India Trade, published by Mr. Munn, diat 
 the importation of raw silk from India, amounted 
 annually tO' a million of pounds, and that many 
 hundreds of people were continually employed 
 in London, in winding, twisting, and weaving of 
 silk. 
 
 It is probable, that the torturing persons accused 
 of crimes, to compel them to confess, or to dis- 
 cover their accomplices, was exercised, for the last 
 time in London, about 1619, or 1620; for, when 
 Felton assassinated the Duke of Buckingham, rn 
 1628, a question being submitted to the judges, 
 on the legality of the practice, they declared, that, 
 consistently with law, torture could not be inflicted. 
 The following authentic copy of a record,* relative 
 to its application, on suspicion of treason, is sufficient 
 evidence that it was still resorted to at the period 
 first named. 
 
 " To the Lieutenant of the Tower of London. 
 
 " Whereas Samuel Peacock was heretofore com- 
 *' mitted prisoner to the Marshalsea, and that now it 
 " is thought fit, upon vehement suspicion of high 
 " treason against his majesty's sacred person, to re- 
 ** move him thence, and to commit him to the Tower; 
 ** these shall be, therefore, to will and require you to 
 " repair to the prison of the Marshalsea, and there to 
 " receive, from the keeper of that house, the person 
 
 * Archoeologia, Vol. X, 
 
 <-of
 
 36 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 " of the said Samuel Peacock, and him safely to 
 " convey under your custody unto the Tower of 
 " London, where you are to keep him close pri- 
 " soner until further order. And whereas, we 
 " have thought meet to nominate and appoint 
 '* Sir Henry Montagu, Knt. Lord Chief Justice of 
 " the King's-bench ; Sir Thomas Coventry, Knt. 
 *' his majesty's Solicitor General, and yourself, to 
 " examine the said Peacock, for the better dis- 
 " covery of the truth of this treason/ This shall 
 " be likewise to authorise you, or any two of 
 " you, whereof yourself to be one, to examine 
 " the said Peacock, from time to time, and to 
 " put him as there shall be cause, for the 
 " better manifestation of the truth, to the torture, 
 " either of the manacles, or the rack ; for which 
 
 this shall be your warrant. And so, &c. The 19th 
 
 of February, 16 19." 
 
 cc 
 (( 
 
 The officer, who received this command, was 
 Sir Allen Apsley; and it was signed by Lord 
 Chancellor Bacon ; the Earl of Worcester, lord 
 privy seal; the Earl of Arundell, Lord Carew, 
 Lord Digby, Secretary Naunton, and Sir Edward 
 Coke, who, it appears sanctioned a measure as a 
 privy counsellor, which he, afterwards, condemned 
 as a writer ; for in his Second Institute, he says, that 
 torture is prohibited by the following words of 
 Magna Charter : " Nullus liber homo aliquo modo 
 destruatur nisi per legale judicium parium suorum, 
 aut per legem terrae." 
 
 A resolution having been formed of repairing St. 
 Paul's cathedral, which had gone greatly to decay 
 ever since it was set on fire by lightning, his majes- 
 ty, attended by the Prince of Wales, and many of 
 the chief nobility, came in great state from White- 
 9. hall
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 37 
 
 liall to the city, on Sunday, the 26th of March, 1630, 
 At Temple-bar he was received by the lord mayor, 
 aldermen, and sheriffs, in their formalities, who pre- 
 sented him with the city sword, and a purse of gold; 
 the former of which being returned, it was carried by 
 the mayor, on horseback, before his majesty, to St. 
 Paul's cathedral; when the king, alighting at the 
 west door, repaired to the altar, and, kneeling down 
 before it, invoked the Almighty to give a blessing on 
 his present design. After which, an anthem being 
 sung, he repaired to St. Paul's cross, where he heard 
 a sermon, and then proceeded to the Bishop of 
 London's palace, to concert measures for the 
 more effectual execution of this great and good 
 work. 
 
 This year his majesty, being in great want of 
 money, applied to the citizens for twenty thousand 
 pounds to be raised by way of benevolence ; but 
 they would advance no more than half that sum, 
 which was raised by the several companies. 
 
 Notwithstandinoj King: James was a strenuous 
 assertor of orthgdox opinions, yet he was a latitu- 
 dinarian in morals : as appears not only by his Book 
 of Sports, before mentioned, but also by * a grant 
 which he this year gave to Clement Cottrel, Esq. 
 groom-porter of his household, to licence gaming- 
 houses for cards, dice, bowling-alleys, and tennis- 
 courts. The numbers allowed were as follows: Tn 
 London and Westminster, including the siiburbs, 
 twenty-four bowling alleys; in Southwark, foiu' ; in 
 St. Catharine's, one ; in Shoreditch, one ; and in 
 Lambeth, two: and every other town or vil- 
 lage, within two miles of London and Westminster, 
 was allowed one. Within these limits also, fourteen 
 tennis-courts were tolerated, and fortv taverns or or- 
 dinaries, for playing at cards and dice. The motives 
 
 of
 
 38 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of this indulgence were expressed in the grant 
 in the following terms: " For the honest and 
 reasonable recreation of good and civil people, 
 who, by their quality and ability, may lawfully use 
 the games of bowling, tennis, dice, cards, tables, 
 nine-holes, or any other game hereafter to be in- 
 vented." 
 
 The following year the Londoners were so ex- 
 asperated at the influence which Gondomar, the 
 Spanish ambassador, had over the king, that they as- 
 saulted him in the public streets. At which his 
 majesty Mas so enraged, that he came in person to 
 Guildhall, and not only reprimanded the lord mayor 
 and the other city magistrates for the insolence of the 
 populace, but threatened to restrain them by a mili- 
 tary power in case of such offence for the future. 
 He likewise commanded diligent inquiry to be made 
 after the aggressors ; and one person, though no 
 otherwise guilty than reflecting on the said ambassa- 
 dor, was, by order of the king, cruelly whipped the 
 next day from Aldgate to Temple-bar. 
 
 The king, the motives of whose extraordinary 
 edicts cannot now be ascertained, issued a proclama- 
 tion in 1^21, against eating flesh in Lent, by which 
 the magistrates of London were enjoined to examine 
 the servants of all innholders, victuallers, cooks, ale- 
 house-keepers, taverners, &c. who sell victuals, con- 
 cerning any flesh sold by them in Lent. And, in 
 the following year, he ordered all the lords, spiritual 
 and temporal, and gentlemen who have seats in the 
 country, privy-counsellors, and the servants of the 
 king and prince excepted, to leave London forth- 
 with, to attend their service in their several counties, 
 and to celebrate the feast of Christmas. And in a 
 second proclamation he enjoins them, not only to re-p 
 main at their seats during Christmas, but always, 
 
 till
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 39 
 
 till his further pleasure be known. Widows of dis- 
 tinction were included in this order, and all whose 
 law business required their attendance in London 
 were commanded to leave their families in the 
 country. 
 
 On the 24th of October, 1623, a very melancholy 
 accident happened in the French ambassador's 
 house in Black-friars ; where a congregation of 
 three hundred persons being assembled to hear 
 one Drury, a famous preacher, the floor of the room, 
 which was three stories high, gave way with the 
 weight, and, bursting through the under floor, 
 the preacher, with above one hundred of his 
 hearers, were killed, and near the same number 
 miserablv wounded and otherwise maimed. This 
 event is known in history by the name of the Fatal 
 Vespers. 
 
 In the year 1624 his majesty issued out warrants 
 for the immediate raising of ten thousand men for 
 the elector palatine his son-in-law, and for the sup- 
 port of the protestant interest in Germany ; on which 
 occasion, the citizens, to show their affection for the 
 king, and their zeal for the interest of that prince, 
 readily raised two thousand men, who were com- 
 pletely armed and properly equipped with all neces- 
 saries for the expedition. 
 
 An act of parliament was passed in this year for 
 making the river Thames navigable for barges, lighters, 
 and boats, from ti;e village of Burcot^ seven miles on 
 this side the city of Oxford, to that city " for the 
 conveyance of Oxford free-stone, by water, to the 
 city of London ; and of coals and t)ther necessaries, 
 from Loudon to Oxford, now coming at a dear rate, 
 only by land-carriage, whereby the roads were 
 become exceeding bad." The preamble to the 
 act states that the river was already navigable 
 
 a!)ove
 
 40 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 above Oxford, and from Biircot to London ; so 
 that only seven miles of the river required to be 
 deepened. 
 
 On the 27th of March, 1625, King James died at 
 Theobalds, his favourite residence, of a tertian ague, 
 in the fifty-ninth year of his age, having reigned over 
 England upwards of twenty-two years. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 41 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 Accession of Charles I. — Hackney Coaches. — Arbitrary 
 demand of Money . — The City obliged to furnish Twenty 
 Ships. — Citizens imprisoned. — Murder of Dr. Lamb. — 
 Tonnage and Poundage. — Riot in Fleet-street. — Stalls 
 prohibited. — Decree against Engrossers. — Saw-mill on 
 the Thames. — Ship-money. — Hackney Coaches pro- 
 hibited. — Sedan Chairs. — Shops ^in Goldsmith" s-row 
 shut up. — Monopoly of ballast. — Rival Corporation. — 
 Charter of Confirmation. — Suit in the Star-chamber re- 
 lative to the Irish-Estate. — Interference of Parliament. 
 — Tumults. — Double IVatch. — The Trained-bands call- 
 ed out. — Further exactions. — Four Thousand Men raised. 
 — A Second Charter of Confirmation. — Petition to the 
 King. — A Parliam ent called. — The CitizeJis refuse to 
 advance Money on the Subsidies, — Petition to the Lords, 
 — Spanish Ambassador insulted. — Tumultuous Proceed- 
 ings against the Earl of Strafford. — Dispute about the 
 Choice of Sheriffs. 
 
 On the demise of King James, the pruy-council, 
 accompanied by the lord mayor and aldermen, re- 
 paired to Ludgate, where they were joined by the 
 young king, whom they caused to be proclaimed 
 with the usual solemnities. 
 
 The public entry of the king, and his bride, to 
 whom he had been but a few days married, was 
 intended to have taken place on the 1 8th of June, 
 1625; but, as in the former reign, this ceremony 
 was obliged to be dispensed with on account of the 
 plague; and the coronation was postponed until the 
 2d of February in the following year. 
 
 Hackney coaches are first mentioned as being 
 used in London, in the year l62o, at which time 
 they were only twenty in number ; and, instead of 
 standing in the streets, were kept at inns ready for 
 call as occasion might require. 
 
 VOL. II. G Charles
 
 49 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Charles had but a short time ascended the throne 
 before those troubles commenced, which continued, 
 }n different degrees, to the period that unhappily 
 closed his life, A war had been some time sub^ 
 sisting between England and France ; to carry on 
 which his majesty had applied to parliament, but 
 they, instead of compl}ing with his request, only 
 answered his pleas with complaints. Thus dis- 
 appointed, and determined to raise money by some 
 means or other, he exacted loans of his subjects, and 
 demanded one hundred thousand pounds of the 
 city of London ; but the temper of the times was 
 altered, and they refused to comply with his request. 
 This so irritated the privy-council, who considered 
 the people as slaves, and tVieir property at the dis- 
 posal of their sovereign, that they prevailed on his 
 majesty peremptorily to demand the above sum. 
 The citizens endeavoured to evade the demand by 
 modest apologies and excuses, which being con- 
 sidered by the privy-council as frivolous and insigni- 
 ficant, a positive order was sent to the mayor and 
 aldermen, either to comply, or risque the conse<? 
 quences of an obstinate refusal. But they were in- 
 flexible in their determination, nor would they 
 listen either to remonstrances or threats. 
 
 To punish the Londoners for this refractory con- 
 duct, they were shortly after commanded to fit out 
 twenty of the best ships, in the river, well manned 
 and stored with ammunition and provisions for three 
 months. The citizens urged their inability to com- 
 ply with this request, and begged that his majesty 
 would be pleased to accept of half that number. 
 But they were answered, " that the number demand- 
 ed was necessary for the preservation of the state, and 
 that the charge imposed did not exceed the value 
 of some (one) of their estates : that ail excuses on that 
 occasion were to be rejected, as tending to the 
 3 pi^nifest
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 43 
 
 manifest danger of the public : and that as the said 
 demand was not only directed to the generahty of 
 the citv, but hkevvise to the several members, his 
 majesty would therefore require an account of every 
 citizen in particular." In consequence of this 
 answer, the citizens were obliged to comply with the 
 royal demand, which was the first instance of ship 
 money in this reign. 
 
 But the resentment of the ministry did not stop 
 here. Being resolved to raise money at all events, 
 they imprisoned the most distinguished persons 
 throughout the nation who opposed their proceed- 
 ings ; among others twenty of the principal citizens 
 who had refused to consent to the loan w^ere com- 
 mitted to prison, and the lower classes were forced 
 into the land or sea-service. This impolitic con- 
 duct only tended to strengthen the resolution of the 
 citizens, w'ho became more determined as the}^ found 
 themselves more oppressed. 
 
 At length matters came to that issue, that the 
 king, dreading the consequences of further severity, 
 directed an order of council to be issued for the re- 
 lease of the gentlemen imprisoned on account of the 
 loan ;. and sent orders to the lord mayor to proceed 
 moderately in his demands on those within his 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 It was not long, however, before a pretence was 
 found for obtaining a sum of money from the city 
 with more colour of justice. One Doctor Lamb, afa- 
 vourite of the king, and the suspected adviser of these 
 arbitrary proceedings, being discovered in the city, 
 was attacked bv a mob, who loaded him with the 
 most bitter invectives, and dragged him about the 
 streets. Ideating and kicking him, till at length he 
 died under their inhuman treatment. The king, 
 hearing of the tumuh, hastened into the city in time 
 to have saved his life, had his authority been suffi- 
 ciently
 
 it HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ciently great, or his body-guard strong enough to 
 have rescued him from the exasperated citizens, 
 who, in reply to the king's intreaties, and promises 
 that he would suffer the law to take its course if he 
 could be proven guilty of any ofience, said, " they 
 had. judged him already," and continued their out- 
 i-ageous conduct. 
 
 Finding he could neither chastise nor repress this 
 insolence, he returned to his palace; and soon after 
 the privy-council sent a letter to the lord mayor, al- 
 dermen, andsheriffs, commanding them tomakestrict 
 inquiry after the principal actors and abettors, and 
 to bring them to justice ; but so little attention was 
 paid to this order, that an answer was returned that 
 they could not discover any of them. On this they 
 were summoned to attend the privy-ccnncil, where 
 thev were threatened with the confiscation of their 
 charter if they did not apprehend and deliver up 
 the principal actors in the riot. But this made no 
 impression upon their resolution to skreen the 
 parties sought after; for their next report was, 
 " that they could not be found." The king was so 
 incensed at this, that he amerced the city in a line 
 of six thousand pounds, which was afterwards 
 mitigated to fifteen hundred marks, on the com- 
 mittal of several of the rioters. 
 
 The following year the ministry adopted another 
 expedient to raise money without parliamentary 
 authority; which was to impose new duties on mer- 
 chandize by order of privy-council only : and those 
 who had resolution to oppose the said order had 
 their effects arbitrarily seized on, and others, by 
 command of the king, were committed to prison. 
 
 In the year 1630, the sheriffs' officers having 
 arrested a man in Fleet-street, the populace, in a 
 tumultuous manner, attempted his rescue ; but being 
 strongly opposed by the constables, a desperate fray 
 
 ensued,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. A6 
 
 ensued, in which many persons were killed, and 
 others dangerously wounded. In order to suppress 
 this dangerous commotion, the lord mayor issued 
 a proclamation for apprehending the ring-leaders, 
 many of whom being taken were tried and convicted 
 of murder; but only one, who was the chief of the 
 rioters, was executed. 
 
 .In the following year, the streets of London being 
 greatly incumbered with stalls and stands for the sale 
 of various goods, in defiance of the laws against 
 those nuisances, the common-council enacted, 
 " that no inhabitant whatever should presume to sell 
 any thing in the streets or lanes of the city, on pain 
 of forfeitinsr for the first offence tw^entv shillinos, for 
 the second forty shillings, for the third four 
 pounds, and for each offence afterwards the penalty 
 to be doubled. 
 
 Complaint being made of the evil practices of en- 
 grossers, and also of the vintners, bakers, &c. in 
 London, a decree was issued by the Star-chamber, 
 in 1633, for reforming these abuses, by which en- 
 grossing and regrating, as well as the other evils 
 complained of, were strictly forbidden. 
 
 A saw-mill, or engine for sawing timber, was 
 erected, in this year, on the river Thames, opposite 
 to Durham-yard, but so little was the advantases of 
 a saving of labour then understood, that it was 
 sliortly after suppressed, " lest our labouring people 
 should want employment." 
 
 The citizens of London were much irritated, in 
 the following- year, by the king's arbitrary order to 
 them, without the assent of })arliament, to fit out and 
 send to Portsmouth, seven ships with ordnance, men, 
 and provisions for twenty-six weeks, viz. one ship 
 of nine hundred tons, and three hundred and fittv 
 men: one of eight hundred tons, and two hundred 
 und sixty men : four of five hundred tons, and two 
 
 hundred
 
 4G lilSTORY AND StjRVJSY OF 
 
 hundred men : and one of three hundred tons, and 
 one hundred and fifty men. The enumeration of 
 this equipment will give some idea of the state of 
 the shipping, in the port of London at this period. 
 
 So unwilling- were the citizens to comply with 
 this order that a court of common-council Mas 
 called, by which an address was prepared and order- 
 ed to be laid before the king, claiming an exemption 
 from such demands. But the effect produced by 
 their remonstrance was very different from what they 
 expected, since it was followed by the extension of 
 the mandate to every county in England and 
 Wales; but, instead of ships, which were nominally 
 the object of the king's demand, a considerable sum 
 of money was obliged to be paid as a commutations 
 whence it acquired the name of ship-money. 
 
 A proclamation was issued in the month of 
 January, 1635, for preventing hackney coaches 
 from plying in the streets for hire, " because the 
 common passages were obstructed by them so as to 
 render the streets dangerous to his majesty and the 
 nobility ;" but though this was the pretended reason 
 it is probable that a more powerful one existed, for^ 
 about the same time, a monopoly was obtained by 
 Sir Sanders Duncomb for " the sole privilege to use, 
 let, or hire, a number of covered chairs, for fourteen 
 years," which, in common with the many monopolies 
 then granted by the court, was not obtained without 
 money. The order respecting hackney coaches 
 was not, however, of long duration, for, in 1637* 
 they were again licensed. 
 
 The levying of ship-money was a source of con- 
 tinual disputes between the ministry and the citizens 
 of London. The obstinacy of the latter, though 
 unsuccessful, yet occasioned so much ill-will at. 
 court, that every method that could be devised to 
 barrass them was put in practice. Thus, in 1636, 
 
 an
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 47 
 
 an order was sent from the privy council, in the 
 king's name, to the lord mayor and aldermen, com- 
 manding them to shut up all the shops in Gold- 
 smith's-row (the south side of Cheapside and Lom- 
 bard-street) that were not occupied by goldsmiths ; 
 and this order was shortly after enforced by a de- 
 cree of the Star-chamber. The citizens, however, 
 paid no regard to these mandates; and, soon af- 
 ter, another letter was sent to them, commanding 
 them to inform the deputies of the wards, through 
 which these streets passed, that, if they did not 
 forthwith put their former directions on the sub-» 
 ject in-to execution, such further orders should be 
 given, that should teach them to know, that the 
 commands of that board were not to be treated with 
 contempt, 
 
 About this time, the king monopolized the ballast 
 raised from the river Thames; ordering, by procla- 
 mation, that no one should purchase any ballast 
 from thence, but such as were employed by him for 
 that purpose. He also erected a rival corporation to 
 London, by incorporating " all the tradesmen and ar- 
 tificers, inhabiting such places in the city of London, 
 as were exempted from the freedom thereof; as also 
 those in the out-parts of Westminster and Middle- 
 sex, within three miles of the said city of Lon>. 
 don." 
 
 Notwithstanding the discontent which prevailed 
 at this time, between the citizens and the king, yet, 
 in 1638, he granted the corporation of London a 
 charter, wherein he confirmed all their former privi- 
 leges, the garbling of tobacco only excepted. The 
 granting of this charter, however, must not be consi- 
 dered as a free gift ; for the citizens paid very consi- 
 derable sums to obtain that confirmation of their 
 ancient privileges from Charles, which had been 
 so readily granted by his predecessors, 
 
 These
 
 48 HISTORY AND SURVEY Of 
 
 These recently confirmed privileges were not long 
 respected ; for, in the year 1639, the ministry, in an 
 arbitrary and illegal manner, commenced a suit in 
 the court of Star-chamber, against the lord mayor and 
 citizens, together with the governor and assistants of 
 the new plantation in the province of Ulster, in Ire- 
 land, in order to deprive them of the improvements 
 the}^ had made, at a very considerable expense, in 
 that province ; when, after a hearing of seventeen 
 days, the defendants were condemned to lose all their 
 lands and possessions, which had been granted them 
 by his late majesty in that kingdom; and, at the same 
 time, .the court amerced the citizens in a fine of fifty 
 thousand pounds. 
 
 The parliament now thought it high time to inter- 
 fere in behalf of the citizens of London, and to put 
 an end to the arbitrary proceedings of the court ; they 
 accordino-ly came to such resolutions as oblisred the 
 king to declare the decree unlawful, and toconfirm the 
 grant of the province, made to the city by his father. 
 
 In 1640, the city was called upon by the privy 
 council to raise twelve hundred men, to be sent 
 against the Scots; which was performed, and the 
 men shipped at Blackwall, though not without great 
 discontent on the part of the populace, who could 
 scarcely be kept within bounds; and, on the 11th of 
 ISlay, the apprentices and others, invited by a paper 
 stuck up in the Royal Exchange, assembled at night, 
 to the number of five hundred, and marched to Lam- 
 beth, with an intent to plunder the palace, and mur- 
 der the archbishop, whom they accused of being a 
 principal instigator of all the ministerial oppressions. 
 But the prelate being apprized of their coming, had 
 provided such a defence, that their intentions were 
 frustrated, and they were obliged to retire. The fol- 
 lowing day, upwards of two thousand of the popu- 
 lace rushed into St. Paul's, at the time the high com- 
 mission
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ^g 
 
 mission court was sitting, where they tore down all 
 the benches, crying out, " No bishop! No high 
 
 commission !" 
 
 These outrages greatly alarming the court, the 
 privy council sent an order to the lord mayor, to pro- 
 vide a double watch, and to oblige every housekeeper 
 to keep his apprentices and servants at home, and 
 not suffer them to go out of their houses at any hour, 
 till further orders. 
 
 The lord mayor strictly obeyed these orders ; not- 
 withstanding which, so turbulent and enraged were 
 the citizens in general against the court and minis- 
 try, for their despotic government, that they stuck up 
 papers in various parts of the city, exciting the people 
 to a general insurrection. This occasioned another 
 order from the privy council, commanding the lord 
 mayor to draw forth the city trained bands, the more 
 effectually to suppress all disorderly and riotous 
 
 meetings. 
 
 Notwithstanding these indications of general dis- 
 affection, the king continued firm to his infatuated 
 purpose of subduing the spirit of the people. The 
 privy council summoned the lord mayor and alder- 
 men to attend, in order to give in the names of such 
 citizens in each ward, as were able to advance mo- 
 ney for the service of the king. The sum demanded 
 by the privy council was two hundred thousand 
 pounds, which the lord mayor and aldermen were 
 ordered to raise, according to the abilities of the 
 respective wards. Several aldermen, who refused 
 obedience, were committed to prison; and an order 
 was afterwards issued by the privy council, to prose- 
 cute the lord mayor, and the sheriffs of London and 
 Middlesex, for default in the prosecution of the writ 
 of ship-money. 
 
 Shortly after, the king ordered the citizens to raise 
 four thousand men, to join the army intended to 
 
 VOL. II. H march
 
 30 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 iriai'ch against the Scots; which they comphed with, 
 on a promise that the expense should be repaid out 
 of the exchequer. 
 
 The citizens, alter this, advanced the king the sum 
 of four thousand two hundred pounds ; in consider- 
 ation of which, he granted them another charter, 
 confirming all their former privileges of package, sca- 
 vage, and baillage; to which he now adds that of the 
 carriage and portage of all merchandize whatsoever ; 
 with a clause to prohibit every porter or other per- 
 son from carrying, lading or unlading any goods, 
 without the special licence of the mayor and com- 
 monalty; and it concludes with giving power and 
 authority to the said mayor and his proper officers, 
 in the foresaid employments, " to give and admi- 
 nister the oath upon the holy evangelists, from time 
 to time, to all such persons, suspected, or to be 
 suspected of withdrawings, concealments, colour- 
 ings, frauds, covins. And that it shall and may be 
 lawful to the said mayor, his minister, and deputy, 
 or officer for the time being, by all lawful ways and 
 means, to compel all such persons suspected, or to 
 be suspected, as shall refuse or deny to take the said 
 oath, to take the same oath.^' Which charter is dated 
 the 6th day of September, in the sixteenth year of 
 his reign. 
 
 The grievances under which the nation had so 
 long laboured continuing vmredressed, the citizens 
 of London drew up a petition to the king to call a 
 new parliament, in the hope of being freed, by its 
 means, from the many impositions which had been 
 laid on them. As this petition contains a summary 
 of the complaints which then agitated the people, 
 and will throw great light on the short sketch of the 
 civil war, which the limits of this work will admit ofj 
 ,it is inserted at length, 
 
 «' Mast
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 51 
 
 " Most gracious sovereign, • 
 
 " Being moved with duty and obedience, which, 
 by the laws, your petitioners owe unto your sacred 
 majesty, they humbly present unto your princely 
 and pious wisdom, the several pressing grievances 
 following: 
 
 " 1. The pressing and unusual impositions upon 
 merchandize, importing and exporting, and the 
 urging and levying of ship-money; notwithstanding 
 both which, merchant ships and goods have been 
 taken and destro^^ed, both by Turkish and other 
 pirates. 
 
 " 2. The multitude of monopolies, patents, and 
 warrants, whereby trade in the city, and other parts 
 of the kingdom, is much decayed. 
 
 " 3. The sundry innovations in matters of re- 
 lig^ion. 
 
 " 4. The oath of canons, lately enjoined by the 
 late convocation ; whereby your petitioners are in 
 danger to be depriv^ed of their ministers. 
 
 " 5. The great concourse of papists, and their 
 habitations in London and the suburbs; whereby 
 they have more means and opportunity of plotting 
 and executing their designs against the religion 
 established. 
 
 " 6. The seldom calling, and sudden dissolutions 
 of parliaments, without the redress of grievances. 
 
 " 7. The imprisonment of divers citizens for non- 
 payment of ship-money, and impositions ; and the 
 prosecution of many others in the Star-chamber, for 
 not conforming themselves to committees in patents 
 of monopolies, whereby trade is restrained. 
 
 " 8. The great danger your sacred person is ex- 
 posed unto in the present war, and the various fears 
 that seized upon your petitioners and their families, 
 by reason thereof; which grievances and fears have 
 ijccasioned so great a stop and distraction in trade, 
 
 that
 
 6f HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 that your petitioners can neither buy, sell, receive; 
 or pay, as formerly, and tends to the utter ruin of 
 the inhabitants of this city, the decay of ^lavigation 
 and clothing, and the manufactures of this king- 
 dom. 
 
 " Your humble petitioners, conceiving that the 
 said grievances are contrary to the laws of this king- 
 dom, and finding, by experience, that they are not 
 redressed by the ordinary course of justice, do there- 
 fore most humbly beseech your most sacred majesty, 
 to cause a parliament to be summoned, with all con- 
 venient speed, whereby they may be relieved in the 
 premises. 
 
 " And your petitioners and loyal subjects shall 
 ever pray, &c/" 
 
 J) 
 
 The privy council, suspecting that disagreeable 
 consequences might arise to them from the present- 
 ing this petition to the king, in order to prevent its 
 being carried into execution, sent a letter to the lord 
 mayor and aldermen, telling them, that such a peti- 
 tion was very dangerous, and unwarranted by the 
 charter and customs of the city; and that it was un- 
 necessary, as his majesty was already taking the said 
 grievances into consideration. The citizens paid lit- 
 tle attention to this letter from the ministry, but, on 
 the contrary, sent the petition by a deputation from 
 the court of aldermen and common-council to his 
 majesty, who was at that time with his army at 
 York. 
 
 This petition had so far the desired effect, that his 
 majesty, in a letter dated the 25th of September, 
 promised them a parliament should be immediately 
 called, to redress their grievances ; but a request was 
 at the same time added, for a loan of two hundred 
 thousand pounds, to enable him to pay his troops, 
 and conduct a negotiatiou with the Scots to a sa- 
 tisfactory
 
 lONDON^ AND ITS ENVIRONS. 53 
 
 tisfactory conclusion. The citizens engaged to ad- 
 vance the sum required, on condition that the no- 
 blemen, at that time with his majesty, would join 
 in security for the re-payment of the same ; which 
 they readily assenting to, the loan was accordingly 
 negotiated. 
 
 To fulfil his promise to the city, the king sum- 
 moned a parliament, which met on the 3d of Novem- 
 ber ; when x\lderman Pennington, in the name of 
 the city, presented a petition, with a schedule of 
 twenty-eight articles of grievances r.nnexed, and 
 signed by upwards of fifteen thousand citizens. The 
 object of this petition w^as, the abolition of the episco- 
 pal government of the church, with all its dependen- 
 cies, roots, and branches. This was followed by an 
 absolute refusal to advance the king one hundred 
 thousand pounds upon the credit of the subsidy bills: 
 in their answer to the application, they said, " that 
 the city was not a body constituted for any such 
 purpose, nor able to make laws for the lending of 
 money ; and that they could only persuade, and not 
 compel." 
 
 This was followed by a petition to the House of 
 Lords, signed by twenty thousand citizens, to acce- 
 lerate the punishment of the Earl of Stratford ; "who/' 
 they said, " had counselled the plundering of the 
 city, and putting it to fine and ransom, and had said 
 that it would never be well till some of the alder- 
 men were hanged up; because they would not yield 
 to illegal levies of money." The petition also enu- 
 merated the grievances they complained of to the 
 king; which they stated to be unattended to, not- 
 withstanding his majesty's promises. 
 
 From the spirit of petitioning, they proceeded to 
 unjustifiable measures. Their first outrage was di- 
 rected against the Spanish ambassador's chapel, in 
 Bishopsgate-street. vvhere a considerable mob assem- 
 bled,
 
 54 HISTORY AND SUllVEY 01' 
 
 bled, and threatened to destroy it, and even to kill 
 the ambassador, for permitting- Enghsh papists to 
 frequent it. The timely intervention and persua- 
 sions of the lord mayor, prevented their threats from 
 being carried into execution ; and, alter the mob was 
 dispersed, he set a guard round the ambassador's 
 house, which, while it protected him from insult, 
 prevented the catholic citizens from attending mass 
 at his house. 
 
 On the Sunday following, the pulpits rung with 
 the necessity, of having justice executed upon a 
 great delinquent, meaning the Earl of Strafford ; 
 there beino- a desiijn to brino;- the army to London, 
 to surprise the Tower, and favour his escape. This 
 produced such an effect, that, next day, six thou- 
 sand of the citizens repaired in a hostile manner to 
 A\^estminster, and, posting themselves in all the ave- 
 nues to the House of Lords, stopped the coaches, 
 and cried out for justice on Strafford: they hkewise 
 presented a petition to the house to the same 
 effect. 
 
 The lords complained to the commons of these 
 tumultuous proceedings; but the citizens would not 
 disperse, until they had seen the protestation of 
 both houses of parliament, for the defence of the 
 king and kingdom. 
 
 About this time, a dispute arose between the lord 
 mayor and commonalty of the city, about the right 
 of choosing one of the sheritTs, which the former 
 claimed by a prescription of three hundred yearSj 
 without the approbation and confirmation of the lat* 
 ten the commonalty admitted of the mayor's nomi- 
 nating a person proper for that oliice, but insisted he 
 should not serve unless by their assent. The lord 
 mayor and aldermen applied to the king to determine 
 the controversy; but, as he did not choose to interfere 
 personally, in so critical a time^ when his own power 
 3 was-
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 55 
 
 was publicly di-^puted, he referred them to the House 
 of Lords. The peers, at first, recommended an accom- 
 modation among themselves; but this not proving 
 sufficiently effectual, their lordships thought proper 
 (with a salvo on each side) to issue the following 
 order : , 
 
 " That, for this time, the commonality shall forth- 
 with proceed to the nomination and election of both 
 their sheriffs for the year following ; hoping that, for 
 the first of the two sheriffs, they will make choice of 
 that party that Avas nominated by the lord mayor : 
 and their lordships do further declare, that this order 
 shall be no way prejudicial to any right or preroga- 
 tive claimed by the lords, the mayors of the city of 
 London, for the time being; nor yet to any right or 
 claim made by the commons or citizens in this mat- 
 ter, now in question amongst them." 
 
 CHAP. XXXU
 
 ^6- HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Apparent Cordiality letiveen the King and the Citizens.-— 
 Petitions to the House of Cornmons. — Tumults. — The 
 Kifig comes into the City to demand the accused Mem- 
 lers. — Committee of Parliament escorted to Westmin- 
 ster. — Trained-hands appointed to guard the Parlia- 
 ment. — Demand of Men aiid Money. — Defensive Mea- 
 sures. — Deputation concerning the Battle of Edge- hill. 
 Apprentices encouraged to enlist. — The City fortified.— 
 Brentford taken by the royal Forces. — Heavy Assess-' 
 
 ment. Plot to admit the King's Troops. Commerce 
 
 with London prohibited. Petitions to Parliament.—— 
 
 Eiot. — Relief of Gloucester. Solemn League and Co- 
 venant .—Treaty of Reconciliation,-- Excise. — Aid sent to 
 the royal Army. — Address to the Parliament. — Obitruc- 
 
 tions to the Trade of the City. Royalists flock to the 
 
 City after the Battle of Naseby. Internal Divisions. 
 
 The Army and Parliaynent differ. — London menaced.—^ 
 Reconciliation between the Army and the City. — En- 
 gagement to restore the King. — Tumultuous Petition.^-' 
 The Army enter London. — Fortifications demolished. — ■ 
 The Army quartered on the Citizens. — Death of the 
 King. 
 
 On King Charles's return from Scotland, he was 
 met at Kingsland by the mayor, aldermen, and re- 
 corder, in their formalities, and conducted through 
 the city to Guildhall, where he, with the queen, the 
 Duke of York, and Princess Mary, were sumptu- 
 ously entertained, and, after dinner, conducted with 
 equal state to Whitehall. From the great apparent 
 cordiality with which his majesty was received by 
 the citizens, on this day, and from the tumultuous 
 acclamations of joy of the lower class of people, it 
 might have been supposed, that Charles possessed 
 the whole hearts of his subjects, at least in London. 
 
 And
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 67 
 
 And so cordially did the king return these marks of 
 affection, that, on occasion of an address being pre- 
 sented from the city on the following day, he made 
 the lord mayor a baronet, and knighted all the alder- 
 men who attended; after which, the whole commit- 
 tee were elegantly entertained by the Marquis of 
 Dorset, in the king's name. 
 
 But the seeds of discontent lurked beneath these 
 flattering appearances, and, in a few days, began 
 to be perceptible. On the 11th of December, 
 (Charles returned on the 2oth of November) a peti- 
 tion, signed by twenty thousand citizens, was pre- 
 sented to the House of Commons, by Mr. Fookes, 
 attended bv two hundred merchants, and others, 
 complaining of the growth of popery, and praying 
 the said house, that they would take speedy and ef- 
 fectual means to deliver the city and nation from the 
 danger of being surprised by their bloody hands, 
 from the obstructions they caused in the trade of 
 this city and kingdom, and for immediate reforma- 
 tion in religion. This petition was inscribed, " The 
 humble petition of the aldermen, common-council- 
 men, subsidy-men, and other inhabitants, of the city 
 of London and suburbs thereof." Another petition, 
 of the like nature, was presented the same day, by 
 the city apprentices. The petitions were favourably 
 received. 
 
 On tire 2Jd of the same month, the king, having 
 discharged Sir William Belfour from the lieutenancy 
 of the Tower of London, appointed Colonel Luns- 
 ford, a person very obnoxious to the House of Com- 
 mons, to succeed him. This removal so highly dis- 
 pleased the citizens, whose interest was inseparable 
 from that of the commons, that they drew up, and 
 presented a petition to the house,' stiled, " The 
 humble petition of divers common-council-men, and 
 others, of tlie citv of London ;" the substance of 
 
 VOL. II. I which
 
 58 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 which was, " That the Tower of London was more 
 especially intended for the defence of the city of 
 London, which had lately been put into fears of some 
 dangerous design from that citadel. — That Sir Wil- 
 ham Belfour, a person of honour and trust, is dis- 
 placed from the office of lieutenant, and the same is 
 bestowed upon Colonel Lunsford, a man outlaw^ed, 
 and mt St notorious for outrages, etc. — ISIay it there- 
 fore please this honourable assembly to take the pre- 
 mises into such consideration as may secure both 
 the city and the kingdom against the mischiefs 
 which may happen, etc." 
 
 This petition occasioned the commons to request 
 a conference with the lords ; but the latter refused 
 joining with them to address his majesty for the re- 
 moval of Lunsford; alleging, that they conceived it 
 would be an infringement on his majesty's preroga- 
 tive. The lord mayor, however, on the Sunday 
 following, waited on the king at Whitehall, where he 
 represented the dissatisfaction of the people, at the 
 promotion of the said Lunsford, and informed him 
 of a general insurrection being intended by the citi- 
 zens, should Lunsford be continued in the lieu- 
 tenancy of the Tower. On which his majesty was 
 graciously pleased to remove him from the said 
 office. 
 
 Before this was publicly known, the citizens and 
 apprentices, who had petitioned against Lunsford 
 and the bishops, assembled in a large body, and 
 proceeded to Westminster, crying out, " No bishops ! 
 No bishops! No popish lords!" This so irritated the 
 Bishop of Lincoln, who was then passing to West- 
 minster, that he imprudently seized one of the most 
 active in the mob ; but the populace immediately 
 rescued their comrade, and, after dinning his ears 
 with " No bishop ! No bishop !" permitted the ter- 
 rified prelate to depart. One Captain Hyde, with 
 1 some
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 59 
 
 ■some of his friends, being fired with indignation at 
 such treatment of a bishop, was still more impru- 
 dent; for he drew his sword, and threatened to cut 
 the throats of those round-headed dogs, who bawled 
 against the bishops: for which he was seized by the 
 apprentices, and carried before the House of Com- 
 mons, who not only immediately committed him to 
 prison, but declared him incapable of ever serving 
 his majesty after- 
 Colonel Lunsford, going to Westminster the same 
 day, was so irritated at the insolence of the mob, 
 that he also drew his sword ; on which a scuffle 
 ensued, and several persons were wounded. This 
 commotion soon reaching the city, the lord mayor 
 and sheriff's took such precautions, as prevented any 
 considerable number from getting out of the gates 
 of the city. iVfter which, his lordship patroled the 
 streets all night, and, in the morning, raised the 
 trained bands, to preserve the peace of the city. 
 
 The king, on this occasion, sent a message to 
 the common-council, commanding them to preserve 
 peace, and concluding in these words: "- We 
 do desire them (the Londoners) not to be dis- 
 turbed by any jealousies, that ill-affected people may 
 endeavour to sow, but to rest most confident, 
 and assured, that the safety, protection, and pros- 
 perity of the city, shall ever be, with Us, a prin- 
 cipal care." 
 
 These tumults, which were chiefly confined to 
 the vicinity of Whitehall, increased daily; insomuch, 
 that the person of the king seemed to be endangered 
 by the licentiousness of a misguided mob. In this 
 scene of ccmfusion, some disbanded officers, and gen- 
 tlemen of the inns of court, offered their service 
 to his majesty, to keep the rabble in subjection. 
 The countenance the king gave to this proceeding, 
 
 proved
 
 CO HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 proved a fatal measure to him; since it gave the 
 ] louse of Commons a pretence for sanctioning the 
 tumults, and for making a formal demand for a 
 guard to be set over the parliament. This demand, 
 however, was rejected. 
 
 The flame of discord now began to blaze without 
 restraint. A prosecution having been commenced 
 by the attorney-general, against one peer and five 
 commoners, for high treason, Ijoth houses of parlia- 
 ment voted all the proceedings to be a high breach 
 of privilege; and the accused members, having re- 
 ceived intimation that it was the king's intention 
 to seize them in the house, retired, for security, into 
 the city of London, where the citizens armed them- 
 selves in their defence. 
 
 His majesty, having miscarried in his design of 
 securing the five members impeached, came into 
 the city, on the 5th of January, to demand the assist- 
 ance of the citizens to find them out. On his way 
 thither, the people cried out, in a tumultuous man- 
 ner, " Privileges of parliament!" And one of them 
 threw into his majesty's coach a paper, on which 
 was written, " To your tents, O Israel 1" for which 
 he was immediately apprehended, and committed to 
 prison. His majesty being arrived at Guildhall, 
 where the court of common-council, by his order, 
 was assembled, addressed himself to them, saying he 
 came to demand persons already accused of high 
 treason, and to desire their assistance to bring them 
 to a legal trial. He then made new professions of 
 his zeal for the protestant religion, and his determina- 
 tion to prosecute all such, either papists or sepa- 
 ratists, who should oppose the laws and statutes of 
 the kingdom. Having finished his harangue, he 
 left the hall, and, after dining with one of the she- 
 riffs, returned to Whitehall, without receiving that 
 
 applause
 
 LONDON AKD ITS ENVIRONS. 61 
 
 applause which he expected, or being farther in- 
 sulted by the populace. 
 
 " The citizens, however, neither approving of the 
 king's demand, nor his declaration, drew up an an- 
 swer, by way of remonstrance; which was directed 
 to him, from the mayor, aldermen, and common- 
 council of London : in which, after representing their 
 fears and danger, by reason of the bloody progress of 
 the rebels in Ireland, fermented, and acted by the 
 papists and their adherents ; the throwing out peo- 
 ple of trust and honour from the lieutenancy of the 
 Tower, and the preparations there lately made ; ~the 
 fortitying of Whitehall, in an unusual manner, with 
 men and ammunition, and the drawing swords, and 
 woundins: many citizens that were unarmed, in 
 Westminster-hall; they concluded as follows: " The 
 petitioners, therefore, most humbly pray your most 
 sacred majesty, that, by the advice of your great 
 council in parliament, the protestants in Ireland may 
 be speedily relieved; the Tower put into the hands 
 of persons of trust ; that, by removal of doubtful and 
 unknown persons from about Whitehall and West- 
 minster, a known and approved guard may be ap- 
 pointed, for the safety of his majesty and the parlia- 
 ment; and that the Lord Mandeville, otherwise Kini- 
 bolton, and the five members of the House of Com- 
 mons, lately accused, may not be restrained of liberty, 
 or be proceeded against, otherwise than according to 
 privileges of parliament." 
 
 To this remonstrance the king returned an answer, 
 in which he endeavoured to satisfv them, with re- 
 spect to all the points complained of, by general pro- 
 fessions; but these appeared so evasive, as to give 
 but small satisfaction to the citizens. 
 
 The grand committee a|)pointed by the house of 
 commons to sit in Guildhall to deliberate on such 
 things as might be most beneficial to the safety of 
 
 the
 
 t>2 HISTORY A\D SURVEY 05 
 
 the city and the kingdom, finding great interruption 
 from the business of the city, adjourned to Grocers'- 
 hall, where they concerted measures for their safe 
 return to Westminster on the day of the meeting of 
 parhament ; and, taking advantage of the temper of 
 the times, they directed the sheriffs to raise the 
 posse comitatus to guard them on that occasion. 
 -At the same time, an offer made bv the sailors in the* 
 river to escort them by water was accepted. 
 
 On the 11th of January, the committee, with the 
 Lord Kimbolton and the five accused members of 
 the House of Commons, went to Westminster in 
 great state, guarded by forty long-boats armed with 
 small pieces of ordnance, and were received on land- 
 ing by the crty trained-bands. 
 
 When the committee and members were safe 
 aiTived, the sheriffs and those who had conducted 
 the boats, were called into the house, and were 
 thanked for their services, and indemnified from 
 future question for their conduct: after which, the 
 house ordered that two companies of the trained- 
 bands should attend the house daily, and, for the 
 security of the stores in the Tower, the sheriffs were 
 ordered to place a sufficient guard round it, both by- 
 land and water. 
 
 The use that might be made of the London 
 militia was so manifest to the ffouse of Commons, 
 that they took them out of the power of the lord 
 mayor, whom they found to be materially influenced 
 by the court ; and ordained, " that the persons en- 
 trusted with the ordering of the militia of London, 
 should have power to draw the trained-bands of the 
 city into such usual and convenient places, within 
 three miles of the city, as to them from time to time 
 should seem meet, for the training and exercising 
 of the soldiers ; and that the said soldiers, upon 
 summons, should, from time to time, appear, and not 
 
 depart
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 65 
 
 depart from their colours without the consent of 
 their officers, as they would answer their contempt 
 to the parliament/^ 
 
 The proceedings in the metropolis had at length 
 assumed so serious an aspect, that the king found it 
 necessary, for his safety, to remove from it. It 
 would be foreign to our purpose to enter into the 
 detail of all the remonstrances, protests, declarations, 
 and messages, which passed between the king and 
 the commons during this period of confusion and re- 
 volt ; we shall therefore confine ourselves to those 
 occurrences in which London bore a principal share. 
 
 The first event of that description which occur- 
 red after the king's departure was a demand on the 
 city by the parliament for large supplies of men and 
 money, which, coming to the knowledge of the king, 
 he sent a letter to the lord mayor, commanding him 
 and the citizens of London not to lend or contribute 
 the said supplies to the parliament, under the penalty 
 of his displeasure, and the forfeiture of their charters. 
 The parliament, in consequence of this, made a de- 
 claration, justifying their demands, and promising 
 protection and security to those who shouj I con- 
 tribute to their assistance. And, as an example of 
 their power and authorit}^ they committed Sir 
 Richard Gurney, lord mayor, to the Tower of Lon- 
 don, for causing his majesty's commission of array to 
 he proclaimed in divers parts of the city ; and pre- 
 ferred several articles of impeachment against him, 
 for which he was, by the sentence of the peers, not 
 only divested of the office of mayor, but likewise 
 rendered, for ever, incapableof bearingany ofhceor re- 
 ceiving further honour; and also to remain a prisoner 
 in the lower of London during the pleasure of par* 
 liament. 
 
 The king, having collected a force which was 
 considered sulhcient to restore him to his authoiity, 
 
 advanced
 
 64 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 advanced from York, where he had taken reftme. 
 towards London. 
 
 Intimation being*, given of the king's approach, 
 the parliament ordered the London trained-bands to 
 be in readiness, and all the passages and avenues 
 leading to the city to be fortified with posts, chains, 
 and courts of guard. The citizens, on this occasion, 
 were so alarmed, that a great number of all ranks, 
 ages,*and sexes, applied so diligently to work in 
 dioo;in2' and carrvino- of earth, that their fortifications 
 were soon accomplished. 
 
 After the battle of Edge-hill, w^iich was fought on 
 the ^iJd of October, the parliament fearing the bad 
 consequences which might arise from a belief that 
 an advantage had been gained over their forces by 
 the royalists, sent the Earls of Pembroke and Hol- 
 land, and the Lords Warton and Say, to give the 
 lord mayor and citizens the most favourable repre- 
 sentation of the action, and to animate them to a 
 vigorous support of the parliamentary forces. The 
 deputies accordingly went to Guildhall, where they 
 exerted themselves strenuously in persuading the 
 citizens to arm themselves and their apprentices in 
 defence of the common cause. 
 
 About this time an order was made for shutting 
 up all the shops in London, that the shop-keepers 
 and apprentices might be at greater freedom to at- 
 tend to the defence of the kingdom. And, in order 
 to increase their forces, an ordinance was published, 
 for the encouragement of apprentices to enlist; in 
 which they were promised security against the for- 
 feiture of indentures, bonds, or franchisements ; and 
 that, when the public service w^as ended, their 
 masters should be compelled to receive them with- 
 out punishment or prejudice. The masters were 
 also promised satisfaction for whatever losses they 
 might sustain by the absence of such apprentices. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 65 
 
 The common-council, about this time, passed an 
 act for the better defence of the city, by fortifying it 
 with out-works at certain places. It was also enact- 
 ed, that all the passages and ways leading to the 
 city should be shut up, excepting those entering at 
 Charing-cross, St. Giles's in the Fields, St. John's- 
 street, Shoreditch, and Whitechapel ; and that the 
 exterior ends of the said streets should be fortified 
 with breast-works, musket proof; that all the sheds 
 and buildings contiguous to London-wall without, 
 be taken down ; and that the city-wall, with its 
 bulwarks, be not only repaired and mounted with 
 artillery, but likewise that divers new works be 
 added to the same at places most exposed to danger. 
 
 This work was immediately begun, and prosecuted 
 with such dispatch, that a rampart, or wall, with 
 bastions, redoubts, &c. was in a short time erected 
 round the cities of London and Westminster, and 
 the borough of Southwark : and, in order to defray 
 the expense attending it, the common-council im- 
 posed eight fifteenths on the several wards of tho 
 city, which was afterwards confirmed by an ordi- 
 nance of parliament. 
 
 The royal army continued to advance, and had 
 reached Colnbrook, when intelligence was given to 
 the king, that Essex, the parliament's general, was 
 fortifying Brentford; whereupon, a council being 
 called, it was determined to attack him before his 
 works were completed. This service was executed 
 with great alacrity and judgment, by Prince Rupert, 
 whose measures were so well concerted, that aot a 
 man of the parhament's forces in Brentford escaped: 
 the whole were either killed, drowned, or taken 
 prisoners. 
 
 Essex now drew up his main body, at Turnham 
 Green, to prevent the further advance of the royal 
 forces to the capital, where he was joined by the 
 
 VOL. II, K trained-bands
 
 66 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 trained-bands from the city, which increased his 
 army so much, that Charles thought it prudent to 
 retire over Kingston-bridge to Oatlands, from whence 
 he proceeded to Reading and Oxford. 
 
 At this time the padiament passed an order for a 
 general assessment throughout the kingdom, which 
 in Lx)ndon, exclusive of Westminster and the sub- 
 urbs, amounted to the enormous sum often thousand 
 pounds weekly: yet, such was the spirit of the citi- 
 zens in opposition to the king, that no difficulty was 
 found in raising it. 
 
 A plan was now concerted by Sir Nicholas Crispe 
 and the royalists within the city for seizing the 
 Tower and admitting the king's troops : for which 
 purpose they obtained a commission from the king, 
 constituting them a council of w^ar for the cities of 
 London and Westminster, Southwark, and the 
 county of Middlesex ; but the scheme was discover- 
 ed by a servant belonging to one of the association; 
 and two of the principals in it were hung before 
 their own doors, one in HolborK and the other in 
 Cornhill ; several others died in prison, and the 
 estates of all were confiscated. Waller, the poet, 
 was concerned in this plot : he was condemned to 
 death, but obtained a reprieve, and at length procur- 
 ed a pardon on payment of a fine of ten thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 His majesty finding the Londoners were more 
 strongly attached to the parliament, and that his ob- 
 taining their friendship was impracticable, issued a 
 proclamation, forbidding all commerce with London. 
 On which the common-council, the day following 
 the date of the said proclamation, made an act for 
 raising the sum of fifty thousand pounds by way of 
 loan, on the security of the city seal, to be employed 
 in defence of the city ; and at the same time passed 
 an order to move iha parliament for an ordinance, to 
 
 compel
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 67 
 
 compel all monied men, within the bills of mortality, 
 to advance money on this occasion, in proportion to 
 their respective abilities. 
 
 A rumour prevailing at this time among the citi- 
 zens, that the parHament were diposed to accommo- 
 date matters with the king, the lord mayor summon- 
 ed a common-council, who presented a petition to 
 the House of Commons, in the strongest terras, against 
 a reconciliation. When his lordship presented the 
 above petition, he was attended by such a prodi- 
 gious concourse of citizens, that many of the mem- 
 bers withdrew from the house through fear ; and 
 those who continued and received the petition, re- 
 quested his lordship to prevent such riotous proceed- 
 ings for the future. The petition was approved of, 
 and the propositions of peace with the king were 
 rejected. 
 
 This was soon after fullowed by another petition, 
 intituled, " The humble petition of many civilly-dis- 
 posed women, inhabiting in the cities of London and 
 Westminster, the suburbs and parts adjacent." Tt 
 was carried up on the 9th of August, by some 
 thousands of the meaner sort of women, with white 
 ribbons in their hats. The purport of their petition 
 Avas, " That God's glory, in the true reformed re- 
 ligion, might be preserved, the just prerogatives of 
 king and parliament maintained, the true liberties 
 and properties of the subject, according to the 
 known laws of the land, restored, and all honourable 
 ways and means for a speedy peace endeavoured." 
 The commons, after reading their petition, returned 
 them for answer, that they were no enemies to peace, 
 and that they hoped, in a short time, to ansv/er the 
 ends of their petition. But this not satisfying them, 
 they continued about the house, and, before noon, 
 increased to upu^ards of five thousand ; among 
 wh©m were several men dressed in women's clothes. 
 
 They
 
 68 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 They crowded about the house, caUing out, " Peace ! 
 peace !" and demanding the traitors who were averse 
 to it; particularly, " that dog, Pym." At length, 
 these civilly -disposed women became so outrageous, 
 that it was found necessary to oppose them by force. 
 A party of the trained-bands were therefore sent for; 
 but, instead of being intimidated at their appearance, 
 the mob assailed them with such fury, that they 
 were forced to fire in their own defence ; when se- 
 veral being killed, and others wounded, the rest 
 thought it prudent to withdraw. 
 
 Gloucester being closely besieged by the king, the 
 relief of that city was now the object of immediate 
 consideration. The common-council ordered the 
 city companies to adv^ance five hundred thousand 
 pounds more; for which they were to be secured by 
 a joint-bond from the lord mayor and aldermen. 
 The parliament issued an ordinance, commanding 
 all shops, within the line of communication, to be 
 shut, until the siege of Gloucester should be raised. 
 The committee of the trained-bands sent out six 
 regiments, one of horse, two of trained-bands, and 
 three of auxiliaries; who, joining the main army, 
 under the Earl of Essex, marched with all expedi- 
 tion to the neighbourhood of Gloucester. On their 
 arrival near the city, the royalists were so intimi- 
 dated, that the king raised the siege with great pre- 
 cipitation. 
 
 The relief of Gloucester was followed by a very 
 severe battle, fought at Newbury, in which the city 
 trained-bands behaved with such bravery and resolu- 
 tion, as to be the principal means of not only pre- 
 serving the army of the Earl of Essex, but, also, 
 contributing greatly to the success of the parliament 
 in their future proceedings ; for it disabled the king 
 from making any farther attempts to reduce London 
 to his obedience, and ruined his interest among those 
 
 dubious
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 69 
 
 dubious persons, who Avaited to declare for the 
 strongest party. The battle of Newbury was the 
 longest and most desperate of any, during the course 
 of this unnatural war ; for it began about six o'clock 
 in the morning, and continued till seven at night, 
 with the greatest obstinacy on both sides. 
 
 The parliament having subscribed a solemn league 
 and covenant, made at Edinburgh, passed an ordi- 
 nance, on the 17th of September, that none should 
 act under their authority, who had not received it; 
 in consequence of which, no one was permitted to 
 elect, or be elected, a common-council-man, until 
 he had conformed to this test of religious principles. 
 In October, an act of common-council was passed, 
 by which one thousand and ninety-seven watchmen 
 were ordered to be provided, and paid by the several 
 wards and precincts, for the better security of the 
 city by night. 
 
 Notwithstanding his majesty had, by proclama- 
 tion, prohibited all manner of trade and intercourse 
 with the city of London, yet matters had been so con- 
 certed to bring about a treaty of reconciliation, by 
 some who were advocates for the royal cause, that his 
 majesty, on the 26th of December, wrote a letter for 
 that purpose, directed to the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and all other well-atTected subjects of the city; which 
 his majesty desired might be read in a common-hall, 
 to be called on the occasion. This business, how- 
 ever, being discovered to the parliament, Sir Basil 
 lirook, and two others, who were the principal pro- 
 jectors of the negotiation, were taken into custody, 
 together with the king's letter ; and a committee of 
 eight lords and sixteen commoners were deputed to 
 lay this under-hand transaction before a common 
 hall. The Earl of Northumberland, who was one of 
 the lords deputed, spoke at the hall so strongly 
 against a design, which he represented as a popish 
 
 scheme
 
 70 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 scheme to disunite the parHament and the city, that 
 new assurances were reciprocally given, of abiding 
 by each other ; and the members of both houses 
 were invited to dine with the corporation, at Mer- 
 chant-Taylor's-hall. 
 
 The wants of the parliament were exceedingly 
 pressing, and they were consequently obliged to 
 have recourse to new expedients to raise money. 
 Accordingly, in the latter part of this year, they laid 
 a tax on beer and ale, in all the counties within the 
 limits of their power ; calling it by the new name, 
 Excise. This was the origin of the excise duties, 
 which afterwards met with so much opposition from 
 the people. 
 
 In thebeginningof 1644, thecitysenttworegiments 
 of auxiliaries, to join the parliament army under Sir 
 Wilham Waller, who gained a victory over the royal 
 forces, shortly after. In the batde, the troops be- 
 longing to the city behaved with the greatest cou- 
 rage and intrepidity ; and the victory was considered 
 of such importance, that a public thanksgiving was 
 ordered to be observed, on the 9th of April, through- 
 out London, and the bills of mortality. 
 
 On the 16th of May, the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and common-council, presented an address or peti- 
 tion to the parliament, thanking them for the great 
 care they had taken for the preservation of the pub- 
 lic good, and exhorting them to perseverance. They 
 particularly thanked them, for their especial care of 
 the Tower of London, and Castle of Windsor; but 
 expressed some dissatisfaction, at the discontinuance 
 of the committee of parliament, at the want of exe- 
 cution upon delinquents, the not putting Tilbury 
 Fort into safe hands, and at the endeavours of divers 
 members of parliament, to gain re-admittance, after 
 havmg betrayed their trust, by bearing arms against 
 the parliament. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 71 
 
 The commons returned a full and satisfactory an- 
 swer to all these points, and concluded Avith declar- 
 ing, that they would, in a most particular manner, 
 be mindful of the merit of the city, which, upon all 
 occasions, they should acknowledge, and would en- 
 deavour to requite. 
 
 The trade of the city, westward, by water, being 
 greatly obstructed by the garrisons of Greenland and 
 Basing-houses, situated near the river Thames, the 
 city sent out two brigades of horse and foot, under 
 the command of Colonel Brown, who attacked, and 
 obliged them to retire; by which means, the naviga- 
 tion of the river was soon restored. At the same 
 time, the Marquis of Newcastle, who had got pos- 
 session of the coal-trade, in the river Tyne, prohibited 
 the exportation of coals to London. To remove the 
 inconveniences arising from the want of this article, 
 the parliament issued an ordinance for supplying the 
 city with turf and peat, with |K)wer to the lord 
 mayor to nominate and appoint persons to enter 
 into, and dig any quantity of turf and peat, in and 
 upon any grounds, except orchards, gardens, and 
 walks. 
 
 The decisive battle of Navesby, in which the king 
 was so effectually defeated, that it produced the 
 irretrievable ruin of his affairs in all quarters, was 
 fought on the 14th of June, l64o; and on the 19th, 
 both houses of parliament attended a thanksgiving 
 sermon, at Christ's-church, Newgate-street ; after 
 which they were elegantly entertained by the citi- 
 zens at Grocer's-hall. A short time after, a commit- 
 tee was sent from the parliament, to solicit a loan 
 from the city, of thirty thousand pounds, to enable 
 them to pay arrears due to the Scotch army. I'he 
 corporation complied so readily with this request, 
 that they received the thanks of both houses on the 
 occasion. 
 
 The
 
 72 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The defeat and dispersion of the king's troops 
 occasioned great numbers of the royahsts to retire to 
 London ; which produced a report, that the king in- 
 tended coming privately to the city. The parhament 
 were so alarmed at this report, that they issued an 
 ordinance, empowering the city trained-bands to 
 search for delinquents, and expel them from all 
 places within the bills of mortality. This was fol- 
 lowed by three other ordinances: the first, em- 
 powering the city militia to secure the king's per- 
 son ; the second, commanding all papists, and those 
 who had borne arms against the parliament, to depart 
 out of the lines of communication, round London 
 and Westminster, on pain of being treated as spies; 
 and the third, declaring, that whoever should har- 
 bour or conceal the person of the king, should be 
 proceeded against as a traitor to the government of 
 England. 
 
 This report, however, soon appeared to be erro- 
 neous: for the king, instead of coming to London, 
 threw himself into the power of the Scotch army, 
 who w'ere then at Newcastle ; from whence his ma- 
 jesty wrote a letter to the lord mayor and aldermeii 
 of London, in which he expressed his full resolu- 
 tion of complying with the parliaments of both king-^ 
 doms, in every thing that might be concerted by 
 them, for settling truth and peace. This letter, how- 
 ever, was so far from producing the wished-for 
 consequences, that peace was farther distant than 
 ever. 
 
 While the turbulent minds of the multitude 
 found an object to employ them in the person of the 
 king and his cause, the city was but little disturbed 
 by internal dissensions, but when, by his defeat and 
 flight, this object was removed, the most violent 
 divisions arose among themselves. The two lead- 
 ing parties in these feuds, which sprung chiefly 
 4 iwm
 
 to?? DON AND ITS ENVIRONSi 73 
 
 from a difference in religious opinions, were the 
 Presbyterians and Independents : each party found 
 supporters in the houses of parhament, and the pro- 
 ceedino;son both sides were marked witir that acrimony 
 which is the least accordant with the true spirit of 
 rehgion, but, in the end, the Independents prevailed. 
 
 These disagreements did not however prevent the 
 citizens from continuing to co-operate in their com- 
 mon cause. In 164 6, they advanced the parliament 
 two hundred thousand pounds, at eight per cent, on 
 the security of the excise and the bishops' lands, to 
 enable them to satisfy the claims of the Scotch 
 army ; and, on a second demand of the same sum 
 for the service of England and Ireland, they were 
 again prevailed upon to lend it. 
 
 Fairfax and Cromwell, having- seized the king 
 from the parliamentary commissioners, and the 
 mutinous army advancing towards London, the most 
 serious apprehensions were entertained for the 
 safety of the city. In consequence of which a peti- 
 tion was presented to the parliament, in March, 
 1647, praying for the disbanding of the army, and 
 permission to chuse their own committee of militia. 
 In June they presented another petition for peace,, 
 and containing assurances of their full determination 
 to adhere to the parliament, with which the army 
 was now at variance. 
 
 About the same time a letter signed by Fairfax, 
 Cromwell, and ( 'hers, was sent to the lord mayor, 
 aldermen, and common-council ; in which tliey 
 desire the settlement of the kingdom before the 
 army is disbanded, insisting that being soldiers did 
 not deprive them of their interest, as Englishmen, in 
 the cause for va hich they hud taken up arms, and 
 concluding with a menace if the city should attempt 
 to oppose them by force. 
 
 VOL. II. L In
 
 74 HISTORY AND SL'RVEY OF 
 
 In consequence of this, both houses immediately 
 dispatched letters to the general, desiring that the 
 army might not advance within twenty-five miles 
 of the city : but the next day intelligence arrived of 
 its nearer approach, and that the horse would cer- 
 tainly be at London the day following by noon: on 
 which strong guards were immediately placed round 
 the cities of London and Westminster, borough of 
 Southwark, and places adjacent. 
 
 In the mean time, the city, with the approbation 
 of parliament, returned an answer to the above letter 
 by the hands of four aldermen and eight com- 
 moners, who were empowered to treat w'ith the 
 general about a right understanding and fair cor- 
 respondence between the city and army. In which 
 they requested the army not to come within thirty 
 miles of the metropolis, to prevent the increase of 
 the price of victuals, and discontented people raising 
 tumults. That they detested the very thoughts of 
 engaging the kingdom in a new war ; but neverthe- 
 less had put themselves into a posture of defence 
 agiiinst all events ; and that they had already recom- 
 mended their case to the parliament. 
 
 The citizens now entered into afriendly correspond- 
 ence with the army, and became the mediators 
 between them and the parliament. The army re- 
 quired that no forces should be raised in the city, to 
 which the citizens agreed, and promised to move the 
 parliament for their better payment that they might 
 be removed to a greater distance. 
 
 The cordiality between the ai'my and the citizens 
 was now so great, that the latter presented a petition 
 to the parliament, complaining of bad management, 
 and prescribing rules tor their better conduct in 
 future ; and so greatly had the consequence of the 
 parliament declined, that the petitioners received 
 
 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 75 
 
 the thanks of both houses, for their affection to the 
 parhament. 
 
 While things were in this unsettled state, an en- 
 gagement was entered into, by the presbyterian 
 party, in the city, to defend the person and audiority 
 of the king, the privileges of parliament, and the li- 
 berty of the subject; in consequence of which, Fair- 
 fax wrote to the parliament, desiring them to sup- 
 press such combinations, with whicli mandate they 
 were forced to comply, and declared, that all who 
 should subscribe it in future would be deemed 
 guilty of high treason. But this was so far from 
 having the desired effect, that the presbyterians be- 
 came only more outrageous; and, in consequence of 
 two petitions to the lord mayor and common-coun- 
 cil, the corporation petitioned the parliament for re- 
 establishins: the militia; v/hich was followed bv ano- 
 ther, from the young men and apprentices of the city, 
 to the same effect. When these latter went with their 
 petition, they were so outrageous, that they pressed 
 into the Mouse of Commons with their hats on, and, 
 keeping open the doors, tumultuously called out, 
 " Vote, vote! agree I dispatcli ! we'll wait no longer!" 
 cxclaimino- incessantlv, to have those members Nvho 
 opposed their will, delivered up to them. In this 
 manner they continued for some time, till the house 
 appeased them, by promising that their requests 
 should be com])lied with. 
 
 Many of the members of the two houses of par- 
 liament, intimidated by this violence, retired from 
 L(jndon, and sought protection from the army. 
 Fairfax took advantage of this circumstance, to ad- 
 vance towards London, under pretence of restoring 
 the members to their seats. In this coniuncture, the 
 want of unanimity was severely felt : at one time, it 
 was determined to defend the city against him, and, 
 in the next moment, it was proposed to enter into 
 
 terms
 
 76 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 terms with him. In the mean time, Fairfax con- 
 tinued his march, and, on his arrival, the citizens 
 withdrew their mihtia, and dehvered up their fortifi- 
 cations, without resistance: the lord mayor and 
 aldermen met the general at Hyde-park, and con- 
 o^ratulated him on his arrival: and he was saluted in 
 the same manner by the common-council, who 
 waited for him at Charing-cross. Thus the army 
 became masters both of the city and of parliament. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of the army, a loan of fifty 
 thousand pounds was demanded from the city, for 
 their service; which not being complied with, the 
 parliament passed a vote for demolishing the fortifi- 
 cations round London, Westminster, and Southwark. 
 
 In this state of affairs, with a divided capital, an 
 insolent army, and an imprisoned sovereign, it cannot 
 be matter of surprise, that confusion and licentious- 
 ness should characterize the people. Riots and 
 conspiracies w^ere almost daily occurrences; nor does 
 the history of the times offer any instances of a more 
 agreeable nature. At length, the predominance of 
 the army bore down all opposition: the measures 
 which were in agitation between the parliament and 
 the city, to restore tranquillit}^^ and re-instate the 
 king, were frustrated by the army, who took posses- 
 sion of London and Westminster, on the 4th of De- 
 cember, 1648, demanded forty thousand pounds of 
 the citizens, and, when that sum was not procured 
 so speedily as they expected, the general sent two 
 regiments of foot to take up their quarters in the 
 city, and to secure the treasures in Goldsmith's, Wea- 
 ver's, and Haberdasher's-halls ; from the latter of 
 which they carried off twenty thousand pounds. 
 
 The anti-monarchical faction, having thus got the 
 
 command of the parliament and the city, pulled off 
 
 the mask. Every member of parliament, who was 
 
 ;iot: of their faction, was excluded; and the citizens, 
 
 4 whQ
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 77 
 
 who had been any way concerned in the negotiation 
 for restoring the king, were declared incapable of 
 taking any part in the election of mayor, aldermen, 
 or common-council-men. 
 
 Nothing now remained to terminate this eventful 
 scene, but the murder of the king. After a mock- 
 trial, before an illegal tribunal, he was sentenced to 
 suffer death, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public 
 enemy. Three days only were allowed between the 
 passing and execution of the sentence ; and, on the 
 30th of January, l649j Charles perished on the 
 scaffold. 
 
 CHAP. XXXllL
 
 78 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 The House of Commons usurp the supreme Power. The 
 
 Citizens and Parliament on good Terms. — Cromwell dis- 
 
 onisses the Parliament, and is appointed Protector. 
 
 Hackney Coaches regulated. Death of Cromwell. 
 
 Riot. — The City put in a Posture of Defence. — Remon- 
 strance from the Common-council. — General Monk takes 
 Possession of the City. — The Rump Parliament dissolved. 
 
 — Restoration of the King. His public Entry. — .The 
 
 Irish Estate confirmed to the City. — Charter of Confirma- 
 tion. — Institution of the Royal Society. — Loans. — Dread- 
 ful Plague. — Regulation of Carmen. — Coals provided for 
 
 supplying the Poor. Fire of Loiidon. Vroclamation 
 
 relative to Re-building. Court of Judicature to settle 
 
 Differences between Landlords and Tenants. Act of 
 
 Parliament to regulate new Buildings. — Orders of Com- 
 mon- council for preventing and extinguishing Fires. 
 
 Provision for the Clergy. — The King accepts the Freedom 
 
 of the City. Negligence in choosing Common- coimcil- 
 
 men. — Attempt to burn the City .^-Sliam Plot. — Solem' 
 vity of burning the Pope. 
 
 The death of the king was followed by the disso- 
 lution of monarchical government. The House of 
 Commons usurped the supreme power, voted the 
 kingly office to be burthensome and unnecessary, and 
 the House of Peers dangerous and useless; and, to 
 prevent the meeting of the lords, they set a guard at 
 the door of that house. 
 
 This was followed by an act for the exhaeredation 
 of the royal line, and the abolition of monarchy; im- 
 mediately after the passing of \vhich act, an order 
 was sent to the lord mayor for proclaiming it pub- 
 licly in the city; but his lordship, refusing obedience, 
 was ordered to attend the house, where, in excuse 
 for his refusal, he pleaded, that, having taken an oath 
 
 of
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 79 
 
 of allegiance, he could not, in conscience, proclaim 
 the abolition of the kingly office; and also stated, that 
 it was not his duty to make the proclamation, but 
 the sheriffs. The house, however, was so little sa- 
 tisfied with his reasons, that they fined him two 
 thousand pounds, committed him to the Tower, and 
 degraded him from the mayoralty. 
 
 Cromwell, having been appointed to the lieute- 
 nancy of Ireland, the parliament chose a committee 
 to treat with the citizens of London for a loan of 
 one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, for the 
 charges of his expenditure ; which sum the citizens 
 advanced. 
 
 The parliament and citizens being once more on 
 good terms, the former gave Richmond-park to the 
 citizens, and, at the same time, gave them several 
 houses, and a thousand pounds in money, for the use 
 of the poor. In return for these favours, the lord 
 mayor and common-council presented an address of 
 thanks, in which thev declared their firm resolution 
 to support the parliament in all emergencies. But a 
 very short time shewed that promises were of little 
 avail in opposition to power. In 16.53, Cromwell, 
 having returned victorious from Ireland and Scotland, 
 deprived the parliament of all authority, by turning 
 them out of the house, himself quitting it last, and 
 ordering the doors to be locked. It is true, that the 
 citizens petitioned him, that the parliament might be 
 restored, and the old members reinstated; but, no 
 sooner had he appointed a few of his own creatures 
 to take the government upon themselves, with power 
 to assume the name of Parliament, than thcyacknow- 
 leged their authority, and submitted quietly to the 
 new order of thinsfs. 
 
 Shortly after this, Cromwell was appointed Pro- 
 tector, and installed at Westminster, with orcat so- 
 lemnity. The ceremony was attended by the lurd 
 
 mayor.
 
 80 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 mayor, aldermen, and recorder, in their scarlet 
 gowns ; the mayor carrying the city sword before 
 him. A few days after his installation, he was enter- 
 tained by the corporation at Grocers'-hall, with all 
 the formalities usual at the reception of a crowned 
 head ; for which mark of respect he returned thanks 
 to the citizens, and knighted the lord mayor. 
 
 In the year 1654, Cromwell, in order to render 
 himself and his government popular, pretending to 
 discover a conspiracy against his life, seemed to 
 place great confidence in the citizens, whom he 
 granted the power of the militia, and to raise forces 
 under the command of their favourite leader, Major- 
 general Skippon ; remitted them some impositions 
 and taxes, and permitted the citizens to revive the 
 artillery company, on promise, that only those who 
 were well affected to his highness, should be admit- 
 ted into that compan}^ 
 
 The following year, an ordinance was passed by 
 the protector, to limit the number of hackney- 
 coaches to two hundred, and to place them under 
 the care and government of the lord mayor and court 
 of aldermen. He also gave them a licence to im- 
 port four thousand chaldrons of coals, annually, for 
 the use of the poor, duty free. 
 
 On the ;3d of September, 1658, death deprived the 
 protector of his usurped dominion ; in consequence 
 of which his eldest son, Richard, was proclaimed, in 
 the city, as his successor, by the privy council, 
 attended by the lord mayor. 
 
 Richard Cromwell was by no means qualified to 
 support the power gained by the aspiring talents of 
 his father, and became, in a short time, universally 
 disliked. The citizens, however, continued their 
 attacViment to the protectorship, until, worn out with 
 the incessant fluctuations in the mode of govern- 
 ment, and the renewed dissensions between the par- 
 liament
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 81 
 
 liament and the army, they wisely refused to take 
 part with either, when they found a rupture was un- 
 avoidable. 
 
 But this prudence could not be expected to be 
 general : a considerable number of the apprentices 
 assembled, and, being joined by many royalists, de- 
 manded a free parliament. In consequence of this 
 commotion, Colonel Hewson marched into the city 
 with a regiment of foot; and, being insulted by the 
 apprentices, he ordered his men to fire, when seve- 
 ral of the rioters were killed. This circumstance so 
 inflamed the citizens, that the disaffection became 
 general ; and the court of common-council having 
 appointed a committee to give their opinion on this 
 critical junctme, they voted, 
 
 " That they conceived the city of London in im- 
 minent and extraordinary danger; that they judged 
 it absolutely necessary to put the city forthwith into a 
 posture of defence , that the mayor, aldermen, and com- 
 mon-council, should forthwith settle six regiments of 
 trained-bands, with officers of their own appoint- 
 ment, and their commissions to be sealed in open 
 court, with the common seal of the city; and that 
 commissioners should be appointed to confer with 
 the officers of the army and fleet, in order to the. 
 safety of the city, and the peace and settlement of 
 the nation." 
 
 This conduct of the citizens was supported by a 
 revolt of part of the army and fleet, who also de- 
 clared for a free parliament. 
 
 This proceeding was followed by a remonstrance 
 from the citizens to the common-council respecting 
 freedom and liberty, in which they acknowledged 
 the above resolutions to be just and prudent, and 
 humbly remonstrated that no power or persons 
 ought to impose any law or tax upon any citizens, 
 with whose general concernment that court w'as in- 
 
 voL. II. M trusted,
 
 82 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 trusted, until such authority was derived from their 
 representatives in parhament. 
 
 Great debates arose upon reading this remon- 
 strance, and it was proposed to put it to the vote 
 whether they should prosecute those lawful means 
 which might lead to the attainment of a free parlia- 
 ment ; but the lord mayor being averse to the pro- 
 position refused to put the question. He, however, 
 transmitted an account of the proceedings to the 
 council of state, who ordered General Monk to 
 match with his army into the city and to reduce it 
 to obedience. Accordingly, several regiments, both 
 of horse and foot, were posted at the city gates and 
 in the streets, and two aldermen and eight common- 
 council-men, who had exerted themselves in favour 
 of a free parliament, were taken into custody. Monk 
 then proceeded to destroy the gates, but finding that 
 the parliament had come to resolutions, which, by 
 joining others with him in the command of the 
 army, threatened his destruction; he consulted his 
 officers, and being assured of their friendship and 
 assistance, resolved to maintain his supreme com- 
 mand, and recover the lost affections of the citizens. 
 
 To accomplish this last purpose, he next morning 
 drew up his army in Finsbury Fields, from whence 
 he dispatched a messenger to the lord mayor, de- 
 claring his sorrow for what he had done to the pre- 
 judice of the city, and earnestly requesting a con- 
 ference with the lord mayor and common-council. 
 
 In consequence of this request, a court of com- 
 mon-council was summoned, at which the general 
 attended, and expressed his concern at having ex- 
 ecuted a command which oave the citizens so much 
 imeasiness, urging that he was obliged to obey it or 
 give up his commission, which would have prevent- 
 ed his intentions for the good of the city and king- 
 dom, whose; happiness and prosperity no man had 
 
 more
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRON?;. 8,^ 
 
 more at heart tliaii himself. He then produced a 
 copy of a letter sent by him to the parhameiit at iiis 
 ieaving Whitehall, in which he upbraided them with 
 their unjust proceedings, and commanded them 
 within a certain time to issue out writs for a new 
 parliament, as the only expedient to restore peace 
 and happiness to the kingdom, which both the army 
 and nation expected from them. 
 
 The citizens were so well pleased with this open 
 manifestation of the general's sentiments, that they 
 determined to join him ; and both j)arties mutually 
 agreed, at all events, to stand by each other.. This 
 new alliance was no sooner made known, than an 
 universal joy spread throughout the city ; and the 
 evening- was concinded with rinoino- of bells, illumi- 
 nations and bonfires. The exultations of the popu- 
 lace were mixed with all the signs of scorn and con- 
 tempt for the Rump Parliament, that their inventions 
 could produce ; and there was hardly a bonfire 
 where a rump of some animal, or the resemblance of 
 one, was not roasted on a gibbet, to celebrate, as they 
 said, the funeral of the parliament. 
 
 Next day General Monk returned to his quarters 
 at Whitehall and disposed of his army as he thought 
 most convenient, lie then restored the excluded 
 members to their seats in the house of commons, 
 who passed an ordinance to restore the common- 
 council to their ancient rig})ts, to release the impri- 
 soned apprentices, and to replace the city posts, chains, 
 gates, and portcullises. In return, the city chose 
 Monk major-general of their forces, and advanced 
 the ])arliament sixty thousand pounds. 
 
 The citizens, by the advice of their general, dis- 
 armed all who were suspected of favouring the 
 rump parliament, and kept a strong guard for tlie 
 peace and quiet of the city, till the meeting of a free 
 
 parliament,
 
 81< HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 parliament, which was now resolved upon, as well 
 as to restore the monarchy, the royal family and the 
 church. The citizens contributed all in their power 
 to accomplish this great and glorious work ; and took 
 every precaution to prevent riot, tumult, or opposition 
 of any kind, within the city. 
 
 The new parliament being assembled, and all 
 things ripe for the restoration, Charles sent letters to 
 them and to General Monk. The parliament im- 
 mediately appointed a committee to prepare an 
 answer, which was forwarded the next day, inviting 
 him to return and take possession of his crown and 
 dominions. With the letters to the parliament the 
 king sent one to the lord mayor, aldermen, and com- 
 mon-council of the city, expressive of his satisfaction 
 with their conduct and good intention to assist in the 
 work of his restoration, and promising to manifest 
 his particular regard for their city, not only by renew- 
 ing their charter, and confirming all their ancient 
 privileges, but also by adding to them, and granting 
 any new favours which may advance the trade, 
 wealth, and honour, of his native city. 
 
 The citizens were so elated on the receipt of this 
 letter, that they presented the messengers with three 
 hundred pounds, and deputed fourteen of the com- 
 mon-council to proceed immediately to Holland, 
 with a present often thousand pounds to his majesty, 
 and to assure him of their fidelity and most cheerful 
 submission, and that they placed all their future 
 hopes of prosperity and happiness in the assurance of 
 his royal grace and protection, for the deserving of 
 which their lives and fortunes should be always at his 
 disposal. 
 
 Four davs after this, the common-council made 
 an order, that Richmond Park, lately given to the 
 city by Cromwell, should be presented to his 
 
 majesty
 
 LONDON AND IIS ENVIRONS. 85 
 
 majesty on his return to England, with assurances 
 that they had kept it with no other view than to pre- 
 serve it for the royal interest. 
 
 The day following his majesty was proclaimed 
 king at the usual places in London, with the greatest 
 solemnity, in the presence of the lord mayor, alder- 
 men, recorder, and sheriffs, amidst the universal and 
 joyful acclamations of the citizens. 
 
 In the mean time, the city deputies, being arrived 
 at the Hague, were introduced to his majesty, who, 
 in reply to their message, told them, that he ever 
 had a particular affection for the city of London, the 
 place of his birth ; and that he was exceedingly 
 pleased to find them so anxious for his restoration, 
 which he acknowledged, not only by returning them 
 thanks, but likewise conferrino' on them the honour 
 of knighthood. 
 
 His majesty landed at Dover, on the 26th of May, 
 1660; and, on the 29th he made his public entry 
 into London, where he was received with every 
 testimony of joy. The streets were lined with the 
 trained-bands, and the city companies in their 
 liveries ; the houses were adorned with the richest 
 silks and tapestries; and a vast concourse of specta- 
 tors crowded upon scaffolds, and in ^vindows and 
 balconies; while the lower orders were equally eager 
 to expres)^ their satisfaction by tumultuous acclama- 
 tions and loud huzzas. Jn short, every thing was 
 conducted with the greatest appearance of unanimity 
 and contentment. 
 
 The silk manufacture of London had increased so 
 much, that, the preamble of an act of parliament 
 passed in 1661, for regulating the trade of silk- 
 throwing, states, that the company of silk-throwsters 
 employ above forty thousand men, women, and 
 children. 
 
 In
 
 86 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 In the year 1662, the liackney coaches having 
 created an extraordinary charge on the inhabitants 
 of London and WY^stminster, by destroying the pave- 
 ments, the parhament enacted, that all hackney 
 coaches, in and about the cities of London and 
 Westminster, should annually pay towards the 
 charge of paving and cleansing the ways and streets 
 in and about the said cities, the sum of live pounds 
 each, and every load of hay sixpence, and straw 
 two-pence. The same act likewise provided for en- 
 larging the passages at Stook's-market, from Fleet- 
 conduit to St. Paul's church, the passage and gate- 
 way out of Cheapside into St. Paul's church-yard, 
 the passage at St. Dunstan's church, in Fleet-street, 
 from Cheapside into Biicklersbury, the passage at 
 Temple-bar, and several others in the out-parts ; and 
 to pave Petty-France to St. James's liouse, St. 
 JamesVstreet, Pall-mall, and Hedge-lane. 
 
 The first real mark of his majesty's favour towards 
 the city of London, was his confirmation of the Irish 
 estates, in the province of Ulster, to the citizens, of 
 wliich they had been violently deprived by an ar- 
 bitrary decree m the Star-chamber during his father's 
 reign. By wliich tenure the city of London, and 
 the several con»panies concerned in it, enjoy those 
 estates at this time. 
 
 In the following year, his majesty, in return for 
 the late tokens of loyalty sho^vn by the citizens to 
 his person and government, and for their effectual 
 aid in restoring him to his throne ; granted them a 
 charter, in which, after reciting all the charters 
 obtained from his predecessors, he ratifies and con- 
 firms them in the most ample manner. 
 
 This year is also distinguished by the institution' 
 
 of the Royal Society ; that name being conferred by 
 
 the king on a society of learned men, in London, who 
 
 1 assembled
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 87 
 
 assembled, weekly for the improvement of natural 
 knowledge. 
 
 The nation feeline^ indi2:nant at the ill-treatment 
 of the Dutch in some commercial transactions, a 
 rupture ensued, in 1664, during- the recess of par- 
 hament ; and the king being destitute of supplies 
 for carrying on the war, applied to the citizens of 
 London, who advanced him a loan of one hundred 
 thousand pounds. This, however, not being suf- 
 ficient, they shortly after advanced the like sum ; 
 this ready concurrence was so well received by the 
 parliament, when it assembled, that a vote of thanks 
 was sent to the common-council by a deputation 
 from both houses. 
 
 in the year 166.5, about the beginning of May, 
 there broke out, in l^ondon, the most dreadful 
 plague that ever infested this kingdom, which swept 
 Hvvay sixty-eight thousand five hundred and ninety- 
 six persons, which, added to the number of those 
 who died of other distempers, raised the bill of mor- 
 tality, in this year, to ninety-seven thousand three 
 hundred and six. And the mortality raged so 
 violently in July, that all houses were shut up, the 
 streets deserted, and scarce any thing to be seen 
 therein but grass growing, innumerable fires for puri- 
 fying the air, collins, pest-carts, red crosses upon 
 doors, with the inscription, " Lord have mercy 
 upon us '."and continual cries of " pray for us;" or 
 the melancholy call of " bring out your dead.'' The 
 cause of this dreadful calamity v/as ascribed to the 
 importation of infected goods from Holland, where 
 the plague had conunitted great ravages the preced- 
 ing year. And it was observed, during the whole 
 time of its continuance, that there was such a 
 general calm that for many weeks together not the 
 least wind could be perceived; the lircs in the 
 
 streets
 
 83 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Streets were kept burning with difficulty for want of 
 a supply of air, and the very birds panted for breath. 
 
 It is probable that the numbers who died of this 
 dreadful pestilence were greatly under-rated in the 
 bills of mortality for that year : one parish, that of St. 
 .lohn the Evangelist, Watling-street, appears from 
 them to have been wholly exempt from it, which is 
 not to be credited when its situation is considered. 
 
 The great confusion and terror which this mor- 
 tality spread throughout the city, did not, however, 
 take off the attention of the magistates from redress- 
 ing the complaints of the citizens. On the first of 
 June, 1665, the court of common-council passed an 
 act for the better regulation of carmen, and to redress 
 abuses in the retail trade of coals in the city ; the 
 principal heads of which were these : 
 
 The number of carts was restricted to four hundred 
 and twenty, and they were placed under the regu- 
 lation of the president and governors of Christ's Hos- 
 pital. The prices of carriage were to be limited 
 yearly by the court of aldermen. And all coal- 
 sacks and measures were to be sealed at Guildhall. 
 
 That the poor might be constantly supplied with 
 coals in times of scarcity, and to defeat the combina^ 
 tion of dealers in that article, the several city compa- 
 nies undermentioned were ordered to purchase and 
 lay up yearly, between Lady-day and Michaelmas, 
 the following quantities of coals ; which were to be 
 vended in such manner, and at such prices, as the 
 lord mayor and court of aldermen should, by written 
 precept, direct; so that the coals should not be sold 
 to loss. 
 
 
 Chald. 
 
 Chald. 
 
 Mercers 
 
 . - 488 
 
 Drapers - - 562 
 
 Grocers 
 
 - 675 
 
 Fishmongers - - 46>5 
 Goldsmiths
 
 LOXDOy AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 Chald. 
 
 Goldsmiths - - 52o 
 
 Skinners - - - 315 
 
 Merchant-taylors - 7-50 
 
 Haberdashers- - - 57S 
 
 Salters - - - 360 
 
 Ironmongers - - ^55 
 
 Vintners - - 375 
 
 Clothworkers - 412 
 
 Dyers - - - 105 
 
 Brewers - - lO^ 
 
 Leathersellers - 210 
 
 Pevvterers - - 52 
 
 Cutlers - - 75 
 
 Whitebakers - 45 
 
 Wax-chandlers - 1 9 
 
 Tallow-chandlers - 97 
 
 Armourers - - 19 
 
 Girdlers - - 105 
 
 Butchers - - 22 
 
 Sadlers - - 90 
 
 Carpenters - - 38 
 
 Cordwainers . - 60 
 
 Barber-suF'-eons - 60 
 
 Painter-stainers - 12 
 
 Curriers - - 11 
 
 Masons - - 22 
 
 l^lunibers - - 19 
 
 Innholders 
 Founders 
 Poulterers 
 Cooks 
 
 Coopers - - 
 
 Tylers and brick- 
 layers - - - 
 Bowyers - - - 
 Fletchers 
 
 Blacksmiths - - 
 Apothecaries - 
 Joiners 
 AV^eavers 
 
 Woolmen - - 
 Woolmongers 
 Scriveners 
 Fruiterers -■ - 
 Plaisterers 
 Brown-bakers 
 Stationers 
 Embroiderers 
 Upholders 
 Musicians 
 Turners , - - 
 Basket-makers 
 Glaziers - - - 
 
 89 
 
 Chald. 
 45 
 7 
 12 
 30 
 
 - 52 
 
 19 
 3 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 45 
 22 
 27 
 3 
 60 
 60 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 76 
 
 30 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 By the same act all retail dealers in coals were 
 prohibited from meeting the vessels, or by their 
 agents contracting for coals, before the ships were 
 arrived in the port of London ; on the penalty of five 
 shillings for every chaldron of coals so forestalled, or 
 bought by pre-contract. 
 
 The most extensive and dreadful conflagration 
 that ever afflicted the city of London, broke out 
 
 vol,. II. N about
 
 90 , HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 about one o'clock in the morning of the 2d of Sep- 
 tember, 1666, in Fudding-lane; and there not being 
 either a sufficient aid of engines, or of Avater, the 
 flames, fomented by a violent easterly wind, soon 
 ^ot the better of those weak efforts made use of to 
 put it out, and, in about thirty hours, they spread to 
 Gracechurch-street, towards the north-west, and to 
 the Three Cranes, in the Vintiy, towards the south- 
 west, including Cannon-street, and the lanes, alleys, 
 and courts in the way ; and, either by conmiunica- 
 tion of the flakes, from such a vast body of fire kin- 
 dled by old timber houses, or by any of the other 
 means which have been suspected, the flames burst 
 out in divers and distant places; and the conflagra- 
 tion became so general, that there was not a build- 
 ing left standing, from the w^est end of '^o\ver-^^'harf, 
 in the east, to the Temple-church, in the west; nor 
 from the north-end of Mincing-lane, in Fenchurch- 
 street, from the west end of Leaden hall-street, and 
 from the south-west end of Bishopsgate-street, as 
 far as the entrance into Thrcadneedle-street, to Hol- 
 born-bridge, on the west, in a direct line ; besides 
 the damage done in Throgmorton-street, Lothbury, 
 Coleman-street, Basinghall-street, Cateaton-street, 
 Aldermanbury , Addle-street, Love-lane, Wood-street, 
 Staining-lane, Noble-street, and Silver-street : at 
 length, it stopped at Fye-corner, near West Smith- 
 field. 
 
 By this horrid conflagration, many thousand citi- 
 zens were compelled to retire to the fields, destitute 
 of all necessaries, and exposed to the inclemency of 
 the weather, till a sufficient number of huts could 
 be erected for their relief: his majesty immediately 
 ordered a great quantity of naval bread to be distri- 
 buted azirong them, and gave orders for the encou- 
 ragement of the bringing of all sorts of provisions 
 for their use. 
 
 This
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 91 
 
 This dreadful and dostructive fire laid wastes and 
 consumed the biiildiniis on four hundred and thirty- 
 six acres of ground, four iiundred streets, lanes, &c. 
 thirteen thousand two hundred houses, the cathedral 
 church of St. Paul, eighty-six parish churches, six 
 chapels, the magnificent buildings of (luildhall, the 
 Ro3'al Exchange, Custom-house, and IMack well-hall, 
 many hospitals and libraries, fifty-two of the compa- 
 nies' halls, and a great number of other stately edi- 
 fices; together with three of the city gates, four stone 
 bridges, and the prisons of Newgate, the Fleet, the 
 -Poultry and Wood-street Compters ; the loss of which, 
 by the best calculation, amounted to ten millions se- 
 ven hundred and thirty thousand and live hundred 
 pounds. And, notwithstanding all this destruction, 
 only .six persons lost their lives. 
 
 The irregularity of the buildings, the dark, ill- 
 contrived, wooden houses, and the narrow, crooked, 
 and incommodious streets of the city, had always 
 been a subject of complaint. The extent of the con- 
 flagration now put it in the power of authority to 
 rebuild London with greater uniformity and secu- 
 rity, and such was the immediate attention of the 
 court on this occasi(in, that his majesty issued a j)r()- 
 clamation, while the ruins were yet smoking, to pro- 
 hibit the rebuilding of houses, till public care nuglit 
 be taken for its re-edification with grenter magnifi- 
 cence and uniformity than beiore, and with such 
 materials, as might most efi'ectually prevent such 
 another f)ccurrence. 
 
 The parliament assembled with all speed, and, on 
 the 18th of September, passed an act for erecting a 
 court of judicature, for settlingall dilferencesbetuuHMi 
 landlords and tenants, respecting housi\s burned 
 down and demolished by tli(> lat(! lin^; and appoinled 
 the justices of the comts oi^ King's-bench and Com- 
 inon-plcas, and the barons kA^ the Exchv<pu r. to be 
 
 iu<lu(s
 
 92 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 judges of the said court; who conducted themselves 
 with such admirable impartiality and strict justice, 
 that they gave universal content; and, in token of 
 the general esteem of the citizens, their portraits 
 w^ere ordered to be hung up in Guildhall. 
 
 Soon after this, an act of parliament was passed 
 for rebuilding the city, which laid down rules and 
 directions for all the persons concerned therein. 
 
 In pursuance of the royal proclamation, mentioned 
 above, the common-council, on the 29th of April, 
 1667, passed an act, by which they declared what 
 streets and passages, within the city and hberties, 
 should be enlarged and widened, and in what pro- 
 portion ; which was so well approved of, that he 
 confirmed and enforced it by an order of council, on 
 the Sth of May. 
 
 On the 15th of November, the common-council 
 passed another act for preventing and suppressing 
 iires, by which it was ordered, that the city should 
 be divided into four quarters ; each to be provided 
 with the number of ladders, buckets, pick -axes, and 
 shovels, directed : each of the city companies was 
 also to provide a prescribed number of the same ar- 
 ticles, with other precautionary measures, for the 
 prevention and extinguishing of fires, within their 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 By an act of parliament, passed in 1670, it was 
 enacted, that, besides the streets eilready appointed 
 to be widened, those of Paternoster-row, Warwick- 
 lane, Watling-street, Candlewick-street, Eastcheap, 
 Swithin's-lane, Little Wood-street, Milk-street,Tower- 
 street, Water-lane, in Tower-street, Rood-lane, St. 
 Mary-hill, Thames-street, from London-bridge to 
 Puddle-dock, Pye-corner, and Threadneedle-street, 
 should also be enlarged ; that the sum of two shil- 
 lings a chaldron be added to the one shilling a chal- 
 dron, already granted upon coals, to the lord mayor 
 
 and
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 93 
 
 and citizens of London, for the term of seventeen 
 years and five months, for the effectual accomphsh- 
 meut of the said works ; and that the sole power of 
 regulating, keeping clean, pitching, and paving the 
 streets of the city of London, and of making and 
 clearing drains and sewers in London, shall remain 
 in the mayor, commonalty, and citizens, to be exe- 
 cuted by such as the mayor, aldermen, and com- 
 monalty, shall appoint ; and that the mayor, &c. 
 may impose a tax upon houses for the doing 
 thereof. 
 
 By virtue of these powers, the court of common- 
 council on the 27th of October, 1 671, collected into 
 an act, the several customs, rules, and orders, relat- 
 ing to paving and cleansing the streets, and prevent- 
 ing nuisances in the passages within their juris- 
 diction: which act was published, by the commis- 
 sioners of sewers, the 1st of March following, for ge- 
 neral information. 
 
 In the following year, an act ol parliament was 
 passed, for providhig the London clergy with proper 
 stipends, in lieu of tythes, which had always been 
 unequally levied, and now, in consequence of the 
 alterations occasioned by tlie fire, and the union of 
 the parishes, were unequal to the maintenance of 
 the incumbents. 
 
 On the 29th of October, l67o, when Sir Robert 
 Viner entered into his mayoralty, his majesty ho- 
 noured the corporation with his company at Guild- 
 hall, and accepted the freedom of the city, in the 
 chamberlain's office, from the hands of Sir l homas 
 Player, then chamberlain. The lord mayor, alder- 
 men, and common-council, to show their sense of 
 this instance of condescension, on the 18th of De- 
 cem])er following, wahed on his majesty, at the 
 Banquetting-house, AVhJtehall, and presented him 
 
 \\itli
 
 Oi HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 with a cop3' of his freedom, in a large square box of 
 massy gold, with a seal inclosed in another box of 
 the same metal, beautifully eiiriched with diamonds 
 of immense value. 
 
 In the year 1676, great part of the Borough of 
 Southwark was destroyed by fire ; soon after which, 
 commissioners were appointed, by act of parliament, 
 to rebuild it, regularly and s\ibstantially, with brick, 
 as it appears at this time, commencing at a small 
 distance from the foot of London-bridge, and reach- 
 ingsome way beyond St. Margaret's-hill. 
 
 The citizens of London appear to have been very 
 negligent, about this time, in the choice of members 
 to represent them in common-council; for, on the 
 l''2ih of December, in this year, the lord mayor and 
 aldermen made an order, that the precepts for hold- 
 ing wardmotes, for the election of common-council- 
 men, should require, that no person be chosen ^ho 
 had been convicted of defraudinsr in weights or 
 measures, or such like crimes; nor any person 
 who had compounded, through inability to pay his 
 debts. 
 
 London was rising with a splendor unknown to it 
 before the fire, when, in the beginning of May, 1679, 
 an alarm w^as spread of a design being on foot to burn 
 it a second time. One l^'lizabeth Oxley, a servant 
 in Fetter-lane, having set fire to her master's house, 
 was appreliended and committed to prison ; when she 
 confessed the fact, and declared, that she had been 
 hired to do it, by one Stubbs, a papist, -who was to 
 give her five pounds as a reward. Stubbs, being 
 immediately secured, confessed that he had per- 
 suaded iter to it; but that he himself had been pre- 
 vailed on by one Lather Gifibrd, his confessor, who, 
 he said, assured him, diat, instead of its being a sin, 
 it would be a great service to the church, to burn 
 
 i and
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 95 
 
 Tiud destroy all the houses of heretics; saying-, that 
 he had conversed many times on that affair, with 
 Gilford and two Irishmen. And the maid and Stuhbs 
 jointly declared, that the papists intended to rise in 
 London, in expectation of being assisted by a power- 
 ful army from France. Soon after this, a prosecution 
 being commenced against several of the Jesuits, wdio 
 were cont:erned in the plot, five of them were con- 
 victed and executed ; and several lords being;' also 
 impi'ached of the same, were committed prisoners to 
 the To^^ er. A few days after, a proclamation was 
 issued, for banishing all papists from the city of Lon- 
 don, and within ten miles of the same. 
 
 In a very short time, a sham plot was discovered, 
 contrived by the papists, to be revenged on their 
 persecutors, and to transmit the odium from them- 
 selves to the presbyterians ; but they were betrayed 
 by Dangorfield, the chief actor in the farce, who, 
 finding himself detected, applied to the lord mayor, 
 made an amj^le confession of the whole iniquitous 
 scheme, and discovered his employers. 
 
 The detection of this contrivance so irritated the 
 populace against the papists, that it added much to 
 the solemnity of burning the pope ; for, on the 17th 
 of November, the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's 
 accession to the throne, the ceremony was performed 
 with the most singular })om[) and magnificence, and 
 every mark, shown by the citizens, that could de- 
 mtmstrate their abhorrence to popery. 
 
 The procession began by a person on a horse, re- 
 presenting Sir JAJmundbury Godfrey (who was mur- 
 dered by the |)aj)ists, for l)L'ing too active in discover- 
 ing their late infamous machinations), attended by a 
 bellman, jjroclaiming his murder ; then followed bi- 
 shops, in nntres and lawn sleeves; priests, in copes, 
 with a large silver cross: Carmelites, grey friars, and 
 
 Jesuits ;
 
 96 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Jesuits: after tliese appeared six cardinals, who pre- 
 ceded the pope, enthroned in a stately pageant, at- 
 tended by a great number of boys, with pots of in- 
 cense, and the devil whispering in his ear. In this 
 manner the cavalcade marched from Bishopsgate to 
 Fleet-street, where his holiness was committed to 
 the flames, in the presence of a great number of 
 spectators assembled on the occasion. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIY.
 
 LONDON AND ITS E^JVIRONS. 97 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 Discontent of the Citizens. Election of Sheriffs. Old 
 
 Members returned to Parliament. The Lord Mayor 
 
 claims a Right to nominate one Sheriff. Tumultuous 
 
 Election in consequence. Interference of the Ministry. 
 
 The City Charter seized. Suhmissioji of the Citi- 
 zens. Origin of the Pemiy Post. Influx of foreign 
 
 Artizans. — Death of Charles II. — Trial and Execution 
 
 of Alderman Cornish. The City Charter resiored.-—- 
 
 Abdication of James II. — Mass-houses destroyed. — ■ 
 Murder of Chancellor Jeff'eries. 
 
 The frequent prorogations of the parliament now 
 began to raise an universal discontent, which was 
 considerably increased by an opinion, that this and 
 other unpopular measures were produced by the in- 
 fluence of the Duke of York, in the cabinet. He 
 was known to be a rigid papist ; and, as one of the 
 businesses most eagerly pursued by the parliament, 
 during its sittings, was an inquiry into the popish 
 plot, he was suspected of exerting his power, to pre- 
 vent those concerned in it from being brought to 
 justice. The uneasiness of the people was mani- 
 fested by numerous and repeated petitions to the 
 throne ; and the sense of the citizens of London, on 
 this subject, was so strongly expressed in a petition 
 presented to the king from them, as to give great 
 offence to his majesty, whose answer purported, that 
 " he looked upon himself to be the head of the go- 
 vernment, and the only judge what was proper to 
 be done in these cases." 
 
 The citizens were resolute to their purpose ; and, 
 accordingly, on Midsummer-day, Bethel and Cor- 
 nish, two men on whom they could depend, were 
 nominated for slieriffs, and, on a show of hands, 
 
 VOL. II. o elected
 
 98 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 elected by a considerable majority ; but a poll being 
 demanded, in favour of the court candidates, a tu- 
 mult ensued, which ^^as represented by the mayor, 
 and other supporters of the Duke of York, as a riot; 
 and the king issued a commission, on the '^ime even- 
 ing, for the trial of the rioters. 
 
 But, far from being o^'er-awed by this exertion of 
 authority, they persevered, with more ardour than 
 before, in their opposition to papacy; and having, on 
 the dissolution of parliament, which took place 
 shortly after, re-elected their former representatives, 
 in despite of every artifice made use of to procure 
 the return of members devoted to the ministry, they 
 gave them a paper of instructions, in the name of the 
 citizens, in common-hall assembled ; in which, after 
 thankino- them for their unwearied endeavours in 
 furthering their views during the two last parlia- 
 ments, and more especially for promoting the bill 
 for the exclusion of the Duke of York; they con- 
 clude, by expressing their confident assurance, " that 
 the said members will never consent to granting any 
 money supply, till they have effectually secured 
 them against popery and arbitrary power." 
 
 From the sudden dissolution of parliament, the 
 bill of exclusion, the darling object of the citizens, 
 was lost; yet they chose every opportunity of show- 
 ing their dislike to their future sovereign. An in- 
 stance of this occurred shorUy after, on occasion of 
 an entertainment given, at Merchant Taylor's-hall, 
 by the artillery company, to him, as their captain- 
 general. To lessen the gratification the duke might 
 derive from this public mark of distinction, as much 
 as was in their power, the anti-courtiers fixed on the 
 same day for a public dinner, at Haberdasher's-hall, 
 to be preceded by a sermon; the invitation to which 
 run in the following form. " It having pleased AI- 
 niighty God, by his wonderful providence, to deliver 
 
 and
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 99 
 
 and protect his majesty's person, the protestant reh- 
 gion, and English liberties, hitherto, from the heUish 
 and frequent attempts of their enemies, the papists ; 
 in testimony of thankfuhiess herein, and for preserv^- 
 ing and improving mutual love and charity among 
 such as are sensible thereof, you are desired to meet 
 many of the loyal protestant nobility, clergy, and ci- 
 tizens, on Friday, the '21st instant April, 1682, at 
 ten of the clock, at St. Michael's church, in Cornhill; 
 there to hear a sermon, and from thence to go to 
 Haberdasher's-hall, to dimier, and to bring this ticket 
 with you." 
 
 This scheme gave great offence to the court, it 
 being represented to them as a matter of very dan- 
 gerous tendency; to prevent which, an order of coun- 
 cil was made, on the 19th of the same month, strictly 
 charging the lord mayor and aldermen, as they 
 should answer the contrary at their peril, " to take 
 immediate and effectual care to prevent and hinder 
 the said meeting, as an unlawful assembly." 
 
 Party dissensions now ran very high, and each 
 side used their utmost efforts to secure the sheriffs 
 of London and Middlesex in their interest. The lord 
 mayor, w'ho was on the court side, insisted on his 
 right of nominating one, by drinking to him; a cere- 
 mony, by which it was under^^tood, that the person 
 so drank to was put in nomination, subject to the 
 election of the common-hall. }3ut, depending on 
 the strength of the lord mayor's right to appoint. 
 North, the person drank to, attended the court of 
 aldermen some time before the day of election, and 
 entered into bond to serve the oHicc; and the lord 
 mayor issued his precept for holding the court on 
 Mi'dsimimcr-day, for conhrming the appointment of 
 North, and electing the other sheriff. This new- 
 form of the precept occasioned much confusiou 
 among the companies; some summoning their mem- 
 bers
 
 100 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 bers to meet and choose sheriffs, &c. as formerly; 
 some for confirmation and election ; and some for 
 choosing city officers generally. On the day previ- 
 ous to the election, the opinion of the recorder being 
 taken in the court of aldermen on the right of elec- 
 tion, he declared, that it was vested in the common- 
 alty, and that the sheriffs were judges of the poll, if 
 there was one ; in which opinion the court unani- 
 mously concurred. But, on Midsummer-da}^, the 
 common crier, by direction of their mayor, proclaim- 
 ing, " You gentlemen of the livery, attend your 
 confirmation," the hall resounded with, *' No con- 
 firmation !" After a long and violent dispute, the 
 mayor and aldermen retired, and left the livery at 
 liberty to proceed to the election ; when Papillion 
 and Dubois had a considerable majority on the show 
 of hands ; but a poll was demanded and granted. 
 At seven o'clock in the evening, the mayor returned 
 and made an attempt to adjourn the court; but the 
 sheriffs continued to take the poll till nine o'clock, 
 when they adjourned it. 
 
 The lord mayor, disliking the proceedings of the 
 sheriffs, made complaint to the king and council, of 
 his having been grossly insulted ; in consequence of 
 which, the mayor, with the aldermen and sheriffs, 
 were ordered to attend the privy council on the 
 Monday following ; when, being severally examined 
 concerning the disturbance, the two sheriffs, Pilking- 
 ton and Shute, with Alderman Cornish, were com- 
 mitted prisoners to the Tower ; and, at the same 
 time, orders were given to the attorney-general, to 
 prosecute, with the utmost severity, all who should 
 be found to have been promoters and encouragers of 
 the late tumult. 
 
 On the ensuing Friday, the prisoners were, by a 
 writ of Habeas Corpus, admitted to bail ; and on the 
 1st of July, they called a common-hall: where, in 
 
 defiance
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 101 
 
 defiance of the lord mayor's order to the recorder to 
 adjourn the hall to tha 7th, they proceeded in the 
 poll, and declared Papillion and Dubois duly 
 elected. 
 
 This so irritated the lord mayor that he and his 
 party met at Guildhall, on the 14th, when his lord- 
 ship produced an order of council to begin all the 
 proceedings anew. This order was vigorously opposed 
 by many of the most eminent citizens, as an innova- 
 tion of their rights and privileges; the mayor, how- 
 ever, declared North duly elected by him, without 
 the sanction of the common-hall, and proceeded to 
 poll for the other : but, as none of those who had 
 voted for Papillion and Dubois at the former election 
 would vote at this, to give it a sanction, Box, 
 another candidate, put up by the court, v/as elected 
 without opposition. Box, however, finding his 
 election could not be legally justified, dechned 
 serving the othce; on which Mr. Peter Birch was 
 chosen, and, with North, sworn in before the lord 
 mayor ; while Papillion and Dubois were left to 
 seek their remedy at law. 
 
 These arbitrary proceedings sufficiently evinced 
 the determination of the court to carry their point by 
 any means ; and the citizens being equally resohite 
 in supporting their privileges, a more decisive blow 
 was meditated, by which the king would become 
 master, not only of the city of London, but also of 
 every corporation. Accordingly, in Michaelmas term, 
 a writ of Quo Warranto was issued against the city, 
 to try the validity of its charter ; in which it was 
 asserted that the liberties and privileges of the city 
 were usurped. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the arguments used by thti 
 citizens to support their conduct, and resist this 
 infringement on their dear-bought liberties and 
 privileges, yet the ministry were determined, at all 
 
 events.
 
 102 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 events, to crush them. Accordingly, in Trinity term, 
 1683, the Quo Warranto being argued and deter- 
 mined, Justice Jones pronounced the following 
 sentence ; 
 
 "That a city might forfeit its charter; that the 
 malversations of the common-council were acts of 
 the whole city; and that the points set forth in the 
 pleadings, were just grounds for the forfeiting of a 
 charter. Upon which premises the conclusion 
 seemed to be, that, therefore, the city of London 
 had forfeited its charter." 
 
 Although it was determined that the king might 
 seize the liberties of the city, yet, contrary to what 
 is usual in such cases, the attorney-general was 
 ordered to move, that the judgment might not be 
 recorded. 
 
 These unjust and arbitrary proceedings greatly 
 alarmed the citizens : a court of common-council 
 was summoned to deliberate on what measures were 
 to be resorted to, in which the court party prevailed 
 so far as to procure an act of submission, which 
 amounted to a voluntary surrender of the city liber- 
 ties, since it deprived them of the means of having 
 the judgment reversed. The lord mayor, with a 
 deputation from the court, attended the king at 
 Windsor, on the 1 8th of June, to acknowledge their 
 misgovernment, solicit pardon, and beg for his 
 majesty's commands and directions. Conditions 
 were then proposed to them by the lord keeper, and 
 they were told that immediate compliance with 
 them was the only way to stop entering up the 
 judgment of the court, but that on their submission, 
 this measure should be abandoned. In the common- 
 council called to receive the report of this deputation, 
 the question for submission was carried by a majority 
 of eighteen : but, after the king had thus compelled 
 the citizens to submit to terms of his own proix)sing, 
 
 ou
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 103 
 
 on pretence that they had not tendered him a formal 
 submission, he ordered the judgment upon the Quo 
 Warranto to be entered up. 
 
 This was no sooner done, than, by a commission 
 under the great seal, the office of mayor was granted 
 to Sir Wilham Pritchard, the present lord mayor, and 
 the office of sheriffs to Peter Daniel and Samuel 
 Dashwood, during his majesty's pleasure. At the 
 same time, Sir George Treby, the recorder, was re- 
 moved in favour of Thomas Jerner, who was knighted 
 on the occasion. Eight of the aldermen in the 
 country or whig interest, were degraded, and the 
 remaining sixteen made justices of the peace. Soon 
 after eight new aldermen were appointed; and, on 
 the 20th of October, the king, in virtue of his as- 
 sumed power, constituted Sir Henry Tulse (one of 
 the informers against Alderman Pilkington) lord 
 mayor during his pleasure. 
 
 It was in or about the year 1683 that the useful 
 conveyance of letters and parcels by the pennif post 
 was first set up in London and its suburbs, by a 
 private undertaker, named Murray, an upholsterer 
 by trade, who afterwards assigned the same to one 
 Dockwra, who carried it on successfully for a number 
 of years, until the govornment laid claim to the pro- 
 ject, as being connected with the general post-ofTice, 
 which was a part of the crown revenue, and a yearly 
 pension of two hundred pounds was settled on Mr. 
 Dockwra for his life. 
 
 In 168<5, the manufactures and population of 
 London received a considerable increase in the 
 refugees who fled from France in consequence of the 
 revocation of the edict of Nantes. The number of 
 industrious artizans thus forced from their homes is 
 stated to have amounted to eight hundred thousand, 
 a great proportion of whom settled in the suburbs of 
 London, particularly about SpitaUields, Soho, and St. 
 
 Giles's '
 
 104? HISTORY AND SURVEY OV 
 
 Giles's, where their descendants still reside. To 
 them London is indebted for either a knowledge of, 
 or improvements in, the manufactures of silks, linen, 
 paper, glass, hats, watches, cutler}^ toys, &c. many 
 of which are now brought to a state of u*hrivalled 
 perfection. 
 
 The death of Charles, which took place on the 
 6th of February, 1685, did not put an end to the 
 arbitrary measures of the latter part of his reign. 
 James II. had long governed in the king's name, and 
 it was with a view to the introduction of popery 
 that he had devised the plan of seizing the charters of 
 corporate bodies, which he dreaded as the most 
 effectual bars to his designs ; so that the Londoners 
 were placed in a worse situation, by his accession, 
 than they had been in before. Alderman Cornish, 
 who, when sheriff, in 1680, had exerted himself to 
 detect the popish plot, was singled out as a sacrifice 
 to the king's resentment. Onthe 13th of October, 1 685, 
 he was apprehended and committed to Newgate, 
 without the use of pen, ink, or paper ; and, on the 
 Saturday after, received notice that an indictment 
 for high-treason was prepared against him, on 
 which he was to be tried on the following Monday. 
 It was in vain he applied for time to prepare for his 
 defence; he was answered by the attorney-general 
 that he had not deserved so well of the government. 
 He was tried on the appointed day, and although the 
 two evidences produced against him could not prove 
 any fact to affect him, he was condemned, and, on 
 the 23d of the same month, hanged, drawn, and 
 quartered, facing his own house, at the end of King- 
 street, Cheapside. 
 
 Long before James's accession to the throne, he 
 had lost the affections of the people of every rank 
 and station, and his subsequent conduct was so pre- 
 posterous that it hastened a revolution which pru- 
 4 dence
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 10.5 
 
 deuce might have delayed, or perhaps prevented. 
 When, at length, he found the increasing discon- 
 tents had arisen to such a height, as to threaten the 
 loss of his crown, he attempted conciliatory mea- 
 sures; but it was too late. Among other symptoms 
 of his ill-timed repentance, he, on the 6th of October, 
 1688, restored the city charter, by the hands of his 
 chancellor Jefferies ; in consequence of which, the 
 custos, Sir .John Chapman, was constituted mayor, 
 until the ensuing feast of St. Simon and St. .lude ; 
 and the sheriff's were continued till the next day of 
 election. A court of common-council was held on 
 the following day, though it was Sunday, at which 
 an order was nrade for restoring the livery-men of 
 the several companies, that were on the livery at the 
 time when judgment was given against the city; 
 which order was immediately entered on the books 
 of each company. 
 
 The l*rince of Orange landed at Torbay, on the 
 5th of November; and James left London, with an 
 intention of marching against him with his army ; 
 but the defection became so general, that he 
 speedily returned to the capital ; where, agitated 
 every moment with fresh proofs of the universal dis- 
 content, and not daring to repose confidence in any 
 one, he precipitately embraced the resolution of 
 withdrawino- to I'Vance. 
 
 As soon as the king's flight was known, the lords 
 spiritual and temporal met at (Juiidhall, and signed 
 and published their declaration, to a})ply to the 
 Prince of Orancje, and to assist his hi^rhness to ob- 
 tain a free parliament, and to be ready to do all 
 other matters that should tend to the public good. 
 This was followed, the same day, by an address from 
 the lord mayor, aldermen, and common-council; 
 and by another from the lieutenancy of tlie city of 
 
 VOL. II. p London
 
 106 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 London to the. Prince of Orange; in which they ex- 
 pressed similar sentiments. 
 
 Though the greatest precautions were used, it 
 was impossible such an event should pass without 
 some acts of violence. The populace, considering 
 the papists as the authors of their late misfortunes 
 and present distractions, plundered and burnt the 
 mass-houses, lately elected in the metropolis and its 
 suburbs; and also attacked and plundered the 
 houses of the Spanish and Tuscan ambassadors, 
 where some of the most wealthy papists had depo- 
 sited their valuable effects for safety. The losses of 
 the ambassadors, were, however, made good by the 
 next parliament. 
 
 Jefferies, the chancellor, being discovered about 
 the same time, concealed in a sailor's dress, at Wap- 
 ping, was seized by the mob, and treated with such 
 tieverity, that he died shortly after of his bruises^ 
 
 CHAP. XXXV.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 107 
 
 CHAP. xxxy. 
 
 Convention for settling the Government. Loan, — Peti- 
 tion in the Name of the Citizens. fVilliam and Mary 
 
 proclaimed. Intercepted Letters communicated to the 
 
 Citizens. — Act of Parliament to confirm the City's Pri- 
 vileges. Preparations against Invasion. — City Elec- 
 tions regulated. — Act for re-paying the Debt to the Or- 
 phan's Fund. Institution of the Bank. Award rela- 
 tive to the Markets. Privileged Places suppressed.-— » 
 
 Public Entry of ths King. Opening of Billingsgate- 
 Market. Address of the Corporation of London. 
 
 Death of IVilliam III. — Dreadful Storm. — City Watch, 
 rei^ulated. — French Standards put up in Westminster- 
 Hall. Act for preventing Fires. — -The Palatines. 
 
 Trial of Dr. Sacheverel. — Riots, Fifty new Churches 
 
 ordered to be built. — Foreigners restricted. — Stagnation 
 of Commerce, — Proclamation for apprehending the Pre- 
 tender. — Committee to inquire into Abuses in the Office 
 of Coal-Meter. 
 
 When the Prince of Orange was thoroughly satis- 
 fied that James had left the kingdom, he published 
 an order for the immediate assembling of all who 
 had been members of any of the parliaments held in 
 the reign of Charles II. with the lord mayor and court 
 of aldermen, and a deputation of fifty of the common- 
 council, to consult on the settlement of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Having re-assembled the forces, which, on the ab- 
 dication of James, liad been disbanded, the Prince 
 of Orange found himself in want of money to pay 
 them: he therefore applied to the lord maj'or and 
 common-council, for a loan of two hundred thou- 
 sand pounds ; and the citizens cheerfully voted the 
 money, which was raised in a short time. 
 
 While
 
 108 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 While the convention Avas sitting, some over- 
 zealous partizans of the House of Orange, handed 
 about a petition to that body, for signatures, pur- 
 porting to be the act of the citizens of London, and 
 praying for the speedy settlement of the throne on 
 the prince and his consort. But his highness dis- 
 countenanced this premature proceeding, and de- 
 sired the lord mayor to put a stop to it; who immedi- 
 ately issued an order to tlie aldermen, to prevent any 
 assembly in their respective wards under such pretence. 
 At length, the convention having first resolved that 
 James had abdicated the government, and that the 
 throne was vacant, a declaration of rights was prepared, 
 in which all the points forn^erly disputed, between 
 the king and his people, were finally determined, 
 which concluded with resolving, that William 
 and Mary should be declared King and Queen of 
 England, France, and Irehxid: which declaration 
 being accepted by their highnesses, they were pro- 
 claimed, on the IJth of February, 1689, with the 
 usual ceremonies, and, on the 1 1th of April follow- 
 ing, were solemnly crowned at Westminster. 
 
 The king's contrdence in the loyalty of the citi- 
 zens was so great, that, letters from James to 
 some of his adherents being intercepted, at the same 
 time that he laid them before the parliament, he or- 
 dered their contents to be made known to the citi- 
 zens; who were highly gratified at this mark of at- 
 tention, and returned him an address of thanks, w ith 
 assurances of their zeal in sup})ort of his person and 
 government. 
 
 In the ensuing parliament, which met on the 
 20th of March, 1690, the citizens of London re- 
 ceived a fresh assurance of his majesty's great regard 
 to the rights of the corporation, by his signing an 
 act, declaring the proceedings of the former reigns^ 
 
 on
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. lO^ 
 
 on the Quo Warranto^ illegal and arbitrary. Every 
 judgment given and recorded, for seizing the fran- 
 chises of the city, were, by this act, reversed and 
 made void. The mayor, commonalty, and citizens 
 of London, were declared to remain for ever a body 
 corporate and politic. They were to have and enjoy 
 all their rights and charters ; and all charters, letters 
 patent, &c. concerning any of the liberties, lands, 
 and tenements, rights, titles, &c. made subsequent 
 to the said judgment, were thereby declared void. 
 
 Advice having been received, that the French 
 had defeated the Dutch in the British channel, it 
 was apprehended that the enemy would attempt an 
 invasion : to defeat which, the patriotic citizens (in 
 the absence of the king, who was then at the head 
 of his army in Ireland) immediately raised nine thou- 
 sand trained-bands, and offered them to her majesty, 
 ready to march wherever she should command. 
 
 On the 10th of September following, his majesty, 
 after a successful campaign in Ireland, and driving 
 King James from thence, arrived safe at Kensington ; 
 and the next day he was attended by the lord mayor, 
 aldermen, and recorder, who, in the name of the city, 
 cono-ratulated his majesty on his happy success and 
 safe return. 
 
 To prevent the recurrence of many disagreeable 
 controversies in the nomination of aldermen, and the 
 election of common-council-men, an act of common- 
 council was made, in 1691, by which it was enacted, 
 that none but freemen, being house-holders, paying 
 scot, and bearing lot, should be entitled to vote on 
 such occasions. 
 
 The city, being indebted to their orphans' fund, 
 in the sum of seven hundred and forty-seven thou- 
 sand five hundred pounds, occasioned by various ac- 
 cidents and public calamities, applied to parliament 
 for relief, in I69i : and obtained an act, by which a 
 
 fund
 
 110 ttlStORV AND SURVEY OP 
 
 fund Was established for the re-payment of the debt 
 This act, however, was procured by bribing some of 
 the leading members of the House of Commons: 
 among other sums distributed on this account, Sir 
 John Trevor, the speaker, received a thousand gui- 
 neas ; M'hich being discovered, he was, in the next 
 session, expelled the house for corruption and breach 
 of trust ; as was another, who had received twenty 
 guineas for the same purpose. 
 
 This year is distinguished, in the annals of Lon- 
 don, by the institution of the Bank of England ; a 
 full account of which will be given in the second 
 book of this history. 
 
 On the 28th of December, In this year. Queen 
 Mary died of the small-pox ; on which melancholy 
 occasion, the lord mayor, aldermen, and common- 
 council, presented a warm address of condolence to 
 his majesty. 
 
 Complaint having been made to the lord mayor 
 and common-council against the farmers, for extort- 
 ing large sums of money from the market-people, a 
 committee was appointed to inquire into that com- 
 plaint ; who, on the 29th of July, 1696, reported, 
 that the farmers of Leadenhall, Stocks, Honey-lane, 
 and Newgate-markets, had extorted an annual rent 
 of ten thousand eight hundred and ninety-six pounds 
 nine shillings and ten pence, for stalls; as also two 
 thousand one hundred and ninety-four pounds one' 
 shilling and six pence, in fines, from the present te- 
 nants. By these arbitrary proceedings, the commit- 
 tee were of opinion, that the farmers had forfeited 
 the leases granted them, in converting the markets 
 to other uses than what were intended or mentioned 
 in their covenants. This report occasioning divers 
 suits to be commenced against the said farmers, the 
 court of King's-bench referred the cause to the arbi- 
 tration of Sir Nathan Wright and Sir Bartholomew 
 
 Shower,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. Ill 
 
 Shower, Serjeants at law ; who awarded, that the said 
 farmers should refund the several sums of money, 
 unjustly extorted; and that, for the future, they 
 should strictly abide by the articles of their cove- 
 nants. 
 
 Several places, in and about the city of London, 
 which, in times of popery, had been allowed to crimi- 
 nals as sanctuaries, and continued as places of pro- 
 tection, after the Reformation, were now become no- 
 torious receptacles for lawless debtors, who took refuge 
 in them, and setj ustice and public authority at defiance. 
 To remove this evil, an act of parliament was passed 
 in this year, to suppress these places of pretended 
 privilege. 
 
 In the year 1697, King William being returned 
 from Holland, after the conclusion of the treaty of 
 Ryswick, he was earnestly requested, by the lord 
 mayor and citizens, to make his public entry into the 
 city. In compliance with which, on the 16th of No- 
 vember, his majesty set out from Greenwich, at- 
 tended by his Royal Highness the Prince of Den- 
 mark, the principal officers of state, and a great num- 
 ber of the nobility and gentry. His majesty was re- 
 ceived at St. Margaret's-hill, in Southwark, by the 
 lord mayor, aldermen, &c. in their formahties, on 
 horseback ; who, after congratulating him on the 
 joyful occasion, conducted him through the city to 
 Whitehall, amidst the acclamations of a prodigious 
 concourse of spectators. The procession was solemn, 
 and the city was embellished with the most pompous 
 decorations. 
 
 Billingsgate was opened on the lOthof ]\Iay, l69'i, 
 by virtue of an act of parliament, as a free market 
 for the sale of fish, six days in a week; with per- 
 mission to sell mackarel on Sundays^ before and after 
 divine service. 
 
 1 On
 
 J 12 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 On tnc 6th of September, 1701, King .Tames IT. 
 died in France, and the French king claused the 
 pretended Prince of Wales to \)C proclaimed King 
 of England, Scotland, and Ireland, notwithstanding 
 his late peace with King William. This transaction 
 was so highly resented l>y tiie city of London, that a 
 very spirited address from the corj)oration was pre- 
 sented to the lords-justices in the absence of the 
 king, expressive of their attachment to him, and 
 firm determination to support his rights. 
 
 On the 21st of February, 170'2, his majesty riding 
 from Kensington to Hampton-court, his horse fell 
 under him, and he was thrown with such violence 
 as produced a fracture in his collar-bone ; soon after 
 which he was seized with a violent fever an4 
 diarrhaea, which terminated in his death, oh . tM 
 8th of ^Slarch following. In consequence of which 
 the Princess Anne, daughter to the late King James, 
 succeeded to the crown, to the universal joy and 
 satisfaction of the nation. 
 
 The great successes obtained over the French in 
 the preceding campaign occasioned the queen to ap- 
 point the 1 2th of November for a pubhc thanksgiving ; 
 on which day her majesty went in grand procession 
 to St. Paul's cathedral, whither she was attended by 
 both houses of parliament ; and the citizens exerted 
 their utmost abilities to render that day more pomp- 
 ous and brilliant than had ever been done on any 
 other occasion. 
 
 On the I6th of November, 1703, there happened 
 the most dreadful storm of wind that had ever been 
 known in the memory of man. It began about ten 
 o'clock at night, and continued to rage with the 
 greatest violence till about seven in the morning, 
 when it gradually abated. During the course of the 
 night the people were under the most dreadful ap- 
 prehensions, fearful of being killed by the ruins of 
 
 their
 
 LONDON AND IIS ENVIRONS 11:^ 
 
 their habitations. About eight in the morning the 
 wind was sufficiently moderate to admit them to 
 look out at their doors, when the destruction that 
 had been made, struck every beholder, whose first 
 consideration was to inquire after their friends and 
 relations ; and the next day afforded suificient em- 
 ployment in viewing the universal havock all over 
 the city and suburbs. Upwards of two thousand 
 stacks of chimneys were blown down in and about 
 London ; the streets were covered with tiles and 
 slates from the roofs of houses ; the lead on the 
 tops of several churches was rolled up like skins of 
 parchment ; and at Westminster-abbe}^ Christ's- 
 hospital, St. Andrew's, Holborn, and many other 
 places, it was carried off from the buildings. The 
 roof of the guard-room at Whitehall was carried en- 
 tirely away, and the great weathercock blown down. 
 Two new built turrets on the church of St. Mary, 
 Aldermary, one of the spires of St. Saviour's, South- 
 Tvark, and the four pinnacles at St. Michael's, 
 Crooked-lane, were entirely blown down ; the vanes 
 and spindles of weathercocks in many other places 
 were bent ; several houses near Moorfieids were 
 levelled to the ground ; as were about twenty other 
 ^vhole houses in the out-parts, with a great number 
 of brick walls, and the gable ends of houses out of 
 number. Twenty-one persons were killed by the 
 fall of the buildings, and about two hundred greatly 
 maimed in the ruins, besides those drowned in the 
 river. The loss sustained by the city of London 
 al5ne, was estimated at two millions. The damage 
 at sea, however, far exceeded that by land; for, in 
 that dreadful night, twelve men of war were lost, 
 and upwards of eighteen hundred men perished: 
 besides the loss of a great number of merchant-ships, 
 computed at a much greater value. All the ships 
 in the river, four excepted, were driven fiom their 
 VOL. II. Q moorings,
 
 Hi HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 moorings, and thrown on shore, between Shadwell 
 and Limchouse, in the greatest confusion. Upwards 
 of five hundred wherries were entirely dashed to 
 pieces ; above sixty barges were found driven foul 
 of London-bridge ; and as many more sunk or 
 staved between that and Hammersmith. In short, 
 the prospect on the river afforded a sight equally 
 dismal with that on the land. 
 
 An act of common-council was passed in 1704, 
 for regulating the nightly watch of the city, by which 
 it was ordained, that a number of strong able-bodied 
 men should be provided by each ward ; and also 
 that the deputy and common-council of every ward, 
 should have power to oblige every person occupying 
 any house, shop, or warehouse, either to watch in 
 person, or toipay for an able-bodied man, to be ap- 
 pointed thereto by the said deputy and common- 
 council-men; the said watchmen to be provided 
 with a lantern and candle, and well and sufficiently 
 armed with halberts; and to watch from nine in the 
 evening till seven in the morning, from Michaelmas 
 to the 1st of April ; and from ten till five from the 
 1st of April to Michaelmas. The total number of 
 watchmen appointed by this act, was five hundred 
 and eighty-three. 
 
 The several standards and colours taken by the 
 British troops at the battle of Blenheim, where, by 
 the queen's order, put up in Westminster-hall, on 
 the :jd of January, 1705. They were brought from 
 the Tower, and escorted through the city by detach- 
 ments from the grenadier and horse-guards, and a 
 battalion of foot-guards ; and amounted in the 
 whole to thirty-four standards and one hundred and 
 twenty-eight colours. 
 
 In consequence of the many dreadful fires which 
 happened in London, in 1707, principally occasioned 
 by the carelessness of servants, an act of parliament 
 
 was
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 115 
 
 was passed for preventing such fatal accidents in 
 future, by which the church-wardens of each parish 
 within the bills of mortality were empowered to fix 
 Firecocks on the main water-pipes in the street, 
 and to provide a large and a small hand-engine, at the 
 expense of their respective parishes ; and it was also 
 ejiacted, that party-walls should be entirely of brick 
 or stone. 
 
 The protestants of the Palatinate, in Germany, 
 being stripped of all the conveniences of life, by the 
 French armies, that invaded and plundered their 
 country', near twelve thousand of those distressed 
 people found their way to England, and arrived in 
 the month of June, 1708, in the neighbourhood of 
 London : where they were subsisted by her majesty's 
 benevolence at first, then by the private charity of 
 the nobility, &c. and, at last, the sum of twenty-two 
 thousand and thirty-eight pounds was collected for 
 them, upon a brief issued for that purpose to all parts 
 of the kingdom. With this relief three thousand 
 and upwards of them were sent to Ireland ; six 
 hundred to each of the Carolinas, in North America ; 
 and three thousand five hundred were transported to 
 New York, where, by their indiigtry, they cultivated 
 such large tracts of unimproved land, as was after- 
 wards verv beneficial to this nation. 
 
 This year the fiery zeal of contending parties 
 broke out into a most violent flame at the prosecution 
 of Doctor Henry Sacheverel, chaplain of St. Saviour's, 
 South wark, before the house of lords, on an impeach- 
 ment of high crimes and misdemeanors by the com- 
 mons, for preaching two sermons. The populace 
 were persuaded by the tories, that, instead of the 
 doctor's ruin, that of the church was intended ; and 
 believing the same to be a contrivance of the presby- 
 terians, breathed destruction to them and all other 
 dissenters. Thus spirited up, they attacked the 
 
 meeting-house
 
 116 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 meeting-house of Mr. Burgess, a presbyterian 
 minister, in New-court, Little Lincoln's-inn-fields, 
 and breaking- it open, stripped it of its doors, case- 
 ments, sconces, Avainscot, pews, and pulpit, which 
 they carried into Lincoln's-inn-ftelds ; and while 
 they were erecting the same into a pile, a party was 
 sent to surprise Burgess at his house, in order to 
 have burnt him in his pulpit on the top of the same : 
 but he luckily avoided their fury by escaping out at 
 a back window. After this, they divided into dif- 
 ferent parties, and destroyed the meeting-houses iri 
 St. John's-square, New-street, Drury-lane, and 
 Leather-lane. But before next morning this danger- 
 ous tumult was suppressed by her majesty's guards, 
 sent for that purpose. The trained-bands w ere con- 
 tiimally kept on duty during the trial of the doctor, 
 who at last M'as condemned not to preach for three 
 years, and his two sermons to be burnt at the Royal 
 Exchange by the common hangman. 
 
 The number of houses and inhabitants being 
 greatly increased in the city of London and its sub- 
 urbs, the churches were thereby rendered insufficient 
 for their accommodation: wherefore, the parliament, 
 in 1710, enacted, that " fifty new churches should 
 be erected in or near the populous cities of London 
 and Westminster, or suburbs thereof." For which 
 purpose they laid a duty of two shillings upon every 
 chaldron or ton of coals that should be brought into 
 the port of -London. 
 
 The city of London, having been greatly injured 
 by the number of foreigners who exercised manual 
 operations and retail trades, in contradiction to the 
 laws and customs of the city, an act of common - 
 council was passed in this year, " That no person 
 whatsoever, not being free of the city, shall, by any 
 colour, way, or means, whatsoever, directly or 
 indirectly, by himself or any other, use, exercise, 
 
 or
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 117 
 
 or occup3S any art, trade, mystery, manual occupa- 
 tion, or handicraft whatsoever; or keep any shop, 
 room, or place whatsoever, inward or outward, for 
 show, sale, or putting to sale, of any wares or mer- 
 chandize whatsoever, by "way of retail, within the 
 said city, or the liberties thereof, upon pain to for- 
 feit five pounds. And that what freeman soever does 
 set any person, that is not free, on work, knowing, 
 and having notice given to him, that such person, so 
 by him to be set to work, is a foreigner, shall forfeit 
 live pounds. And that the freeman, who employs a 
 foreigner to sell by retail, shall also forfeit five pounds 
 for every offence." 
 
 A rumour being spread, in 1712, that the mi- 
 nistry were plotting for the pretender's accession 
 to the crown, the trading part of the city were so 
 intimidated at it, that a total stop was put to all 
 commerce, and the general credit of the nation suf- 
 fered greatly. In this critical juncture, the queen 
 found it necessary, for the support of credit, and to 
 prevent the citizens from entering into associations, 
 or schemes, by which the measures of government 
 might be impeded, to send a letter to the lord mayor, 
 to be communicated to the aldermen and citizens, 
 " to the intent that they might all, in their several 
 stations, contribute to discountenance, and put a 
 stop to, those malicious rumours, spread by evil- 
 disposed persons, to the prejudice of credit, and the 
 imminent hazard of the public peace and tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 In the year \7\3,^. peace being made with France, 
 it was publicly proclaimed in London, on the 7th of 
 July ; on which occasion both houses of parliament 
 attended a general thanksgiving, at St. Paul's. Her 
 majesty, being ill of the gout, was unable to be pre- 
 sent at the solemnitv. 
 
 The
 
 118 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The report about the pretender gained so much 
 credit, and was so pubhcly avowed by the papists 
 and non-jurors, who openly wrote in defence of his 
 claim to the crown, and went so far as to enlist men 
 for his service, that, to quiet the people's minds,,it 
 w^as found necessary to publish a proclamation, with 
 a reward of five thousand pounds, for apprehending 
 the pretender: and this, in some measure, dispelled 
 the gloomy apprehensions of the citizens, who, in a 
 very loyal address, thanked her majesty for publish- 
 ing so seasonable a proclamation. 
 
 Many irregularities being complained of in the 
 coal-meter's office, in the city, a committee was ap- 
 pointed to inquire into them ; whose report being 
 approved of, the court of lord mayor and aldermen 
 made an order for their future regulation, in con- 
 formity to the ancient method and usage. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1 19 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 Accession of the Hotise of Ha?iover. — —His Majesty enter- 
 tained at Guildhall. — Instructions to the City Represen- 
 tatives. — Threatened Invasion . - - Rebellion . --Hard Frost . 
 Mug-house Riots. — The Magistrates of the City omit to 
 subscribe the Declaration against the solemn League and 
 Covenant. — Committee of the Lords to inquire into the 
 Expenditure of the City Cash. — Frequency of Robberies. 
 
 — South-Sea Bubble. Prohibition against the Use of 
 
 Indian Calicoes. Quarantiiie. — Conspiracy in Favour 
 
 <)fthe Pretender. — Number of Horses in London. — Esta- 
 blishment of Chelsea Water -works. Act relative to 
 
 Party IVdlls. — Contested Flection for Lord Mayor. 
 
 Act of Parliament for regulating Flections. Treaty 
 
 between Germany and Spain. — Orator Henley. — Foun- 
 dation of Guy's Hospital. — Mutiny in Newgate. — Death 
 of' George I. 
 
 On the death of Queen Anne, which happened 
 on the 1st of August, 1714, George Lewis, Elector 
 of Hanover, was proclaimed King of Great Britain, 
 &c. with the usual solemnities : soon after which his 
 majesty made his public entry into London, accom- 
 panied by his son, Prince George. In a few da3's 
 after, the city and lieutenancy addressed his majesty, 
 in form, at St. James's; who, in reply, said, " i take 
 these addresses verv kindlv- 1 have latelv been 
 made sensible of what consequence the city of Lon- 
 don is, and therefore shall be sure to take all their 
 privileges and interests into my particular protection." 
 And, as an immediate mark of his favour, he confer- 
 red the honour of knighthood on John Ward, Gerard 
 Conyers, Thomas Scawen, Peter Delme, Joseph Law- 
 rence, and Robert Child, Esquires. 
 
 His majesty having recei\'ed an invitation fn^n 
 the city, to dine at Guildhall on the cq)proaching lord 
 
 mayor's
 
 120 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 mayor's da}^ he was graciously pleased to accept of 
 the same { at which time, his majesty and their 
 royal highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, 
 attended by a numerous train of nobility, went to 
 the usual place of standing, opposite Bow-church, in 
 Cheapside, and, after having beheld the pompous 
 cavalcade, were conducted by the sheriffs to Guild- 
 hall, where they were sumptuously entertained by 
 the citizens, who exerted the utmost of their abilities 
 to convince them of their loyalty and affection for 
 his majesty's person and government. And the lord 
 mayor, having the honour to present the first glass 
 of wine to the king, his majesty was pleased to or- 
 der a patent to be passed for creating his lordship a ba- 
 ronet of this kingdom, and, at the same time, ordered 
 one thousand pounds to be paid to the sheriffs, for 
 the relief and discharge of poor people imprisoned 
 for debt. 
 
 The detestation in which the citizens held the 
 proceedings of the late ministry, and the dishonour- 
 able peace they had concluded with France, was 
 strongly expressed in their spirited instructions to 
 the members chosen to represent them in parlia- 
 ment. Their preamble was as follows : " We, the 
 citizens of London, who have cheerfully elected you 
 to serve us in parliament, and thereby committed to 
 your trust the safety, liberty, property, and privileges, 
 of us and our posterity, think it our duty, as it is our 
 undoubted right, to acquaint you what we desire and 
 expect from you, in discharge of the great confidence 
 we repose in you, and what we take to be your duty 
 as our representatives." Eighteen specific articles are 
 then directed to be inquired into; and the paper 
 concludes thus : 
 
 19. That you not only concur in such inquiries, 
 
 but also, in a parliamentary way, to bring such to 
 
 justice, as shall be found guilty of those mismanage- 
 
 1 meats :
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRON'S. 121 
 
 merits: this being a duty owing to ourselves, as well 
 as our confederates, and indispensably necessary for 
 retrieving the honour of the nation, and restoring a 
 due confidence and harmony betwixt us and our 
 allies. 
 
 20. That you concur in making such laws as shall 
 ■be thought necessary for the better security of tlie 
 ■churches of England and Scotland, as severally by 
 the laws established, and for suppressing and pre- 
 venting those seditious and groundless clamours of 
 the church of England being in danger by his ma- 
 jesty's administration. 
 
 21. That you concur in giving the king such sums 
 as shall be thought necessary for enabhng his ma- 
 jesty to defend the nation, to support and retrieve 
 trade, and to keep the balance of Europe, which is 
 threatened with a new war, by the intrigues of our 
 common enemies. 
 
 The king having informed the parliament of his 
 receiving certain advices from abroad, of an intended 
 invasion in favour of the pretender, the corporation 
 of London, and the merchants, and other traders of 
 the same city, presented separate addresses to his 
 majesty on the occasion, containing the strongest 
 assurances of their loyalty and support, in defence 
 of his royal person and government. 
 
 This threatened invasion, however, soon after- 
 wards turned out to be an open rebellion, fomented 
 and brought about in Scotland, by the Earl of Mar, 
 who raised the pretender's standard at Braemar, on 
 the 9th of September; but this rebellion was of short 
 duration. 
 
 The winter of this year is remarkable for a hard 
 frost, which began in the last week of November, 
 and continued, with some short intermissions, until 
 the 9th of February; the severity of it was greater 
 than any man living could remember; the I'hames 
 
 VOL. II. ^ having
 
 122 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 having been frozen, nearly the whole time, so 
 strongly, that all sorts of wares were sold on it ; and, 
 on the 19th of January, two large oxen were roasted 
 whole upon the ice. The vast quantities of snow 
 that fell, at different times, during this frost, made 
 the streets of London almost impassable. 
 
 By a long dry season, the fresh water stream of 
 the Thames was reduced so low, that, on the 13th 
 of December, 1717, a strong wind from the west- 
 south-west, having kept back the water from the sea, 
 many thousands of people crossed the river on foot, 
 both above and below London-bridge, and walked 
 through most of the arches. 
 
 . In the year 17 18, the lord mayor and aldermen, 
 being apprehensive of receiving trouble from de- 
 sioninar men, for their nedect to subscribe the de- 
 claration against the solemn league and covenant at 
 their admission into office, addressed his majesty, 
 praying that he would be graciously pleased to give 
 such directions and orders therein, as should effec- 
 tually quiet the minds of his petitioners, &c. To 
 which address his majesty was graciously pleased to 
 return the following answer: " lam fully persuaded 
 of your duty and affection to me and my govern- 
 ment ; and I take this application kindly, as it is a 
 mark of your trust and confidence in me. I shall be 
 glad, not only for your sakes, but my ow n, if any 
 defects, which may touch the rights of my good 
 subjects, are discovered in my time ; since that will 
 furnish me with means of giving you, and all my 
 people, an indisputable proof of my tenderness for 
 their privileges, and how unwilling 1 shall be to take 
 advantage of their mistakes." 
 
 Complaint being made to the House of Lords, in 
 in the year 1719, that great sums of money had 
 been issued out of the chamber of London, to prose-, 
 cute law-suits upon controverted elections, the lords 
 
 appointed
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 123 
 
 appointed a committee to examine into the com- 
 plaint, who found that, subsequent to the 1:3th of 
 November, 1711, the city had paid the sum of two 
 thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven pounds 
 ten shilhngs, for these purposes, in the wards of 
 Langbourn, Tower, and Cheap; and that not' one 
 of the suits, so ordered to be carried on by the com- 
 mon-council, and for which so great a sum of money 
 had been expended, were ever determined in favour 
 of the prosecutors : whereupon the house came to 
 the following resolution: " Resolved, by the lords 
 spiritual and temporal, in parliament assembled, that 
 it is the opinion of this house, that the common- 
 councils of London, having issued great sums of 
 monev out of the chamber of London, in maintain- 
 ing several suits of law between citizen and citizen, 
 relating to controverted elections, have abused their 
 trust, and been guilty of great partiality, and of gross 
 mismanagement of the city treasure, and a violation 
 of the freedom of elections in the city." 
 
 Robberies were now become so intolerable, within 
 and about the metropolis, that it was thought to de- 
 serve the consideration and power of government, to 
 put a check thereunto. Wherefore a proclamation 
 was published, promising a reward of one hundred 
 pounds, for apprehending any highwayman within 
 five miles of London. 
 
 The most prominent of the transactions of the 
 year 1720, never had, nor, it is to be hoped, never 
 will have, its parallel, in the annals of the metropo- 
 lis, and may serve as a perpetual memento to legisla- 
 tors, of the danger of suffering the honest industry 
 of a nation to be diverted from its regular course, by 
 fallacious speculations and visionary projects. The 
 effects of the South-Sea bubble have ceased too long 
 to make it necessary to enter into a detailed account 
 of all the ruinous schemes which followed the legisla- 
 
 " tive *
 
 121' HisioiiY AND Survey of 
 
 tive sanction given to the first: a few of the most 
 striking occurrences must, however, be selected. 
 
 The South-Sea Company had been very success- 
 ful in taking in the irredeemable annuities of the 
 lottery of 1710, and, the reduction of the remainder 
 of such securities, which were to a considerable 
 amount, being a great object with the ministry, the 
 directors of this company were encouraged to offer 
 proposals for bringing them all into a redeemable 
 state. Accordingly, in January, 1720, the company 
 offered to give three millions five hundred thousand 
 pounds to the public, for the privilege of taking the 
 irredeemable annuities, with part of the redeemable 
 debt, into their capital stock, either by purchase, or 
 by subscription. This excited the jealousy of the 
 Bank, who, on the same day, offered five millions for 
 this privilege. Other proposals were made by both 
 companies; but the last bidding of the South-Sea 
 Company, amounting to seven millions five hundred 
 and sixty-seven thousand five hundred pounds, was 
 accepted, and an act of parliament was passed, to 
 enable them to carry it into effect. So great was the 
 infatuation, that, notwithstanding many enlightened 
 members of the legislature pointed out the ruinous 
 consequences of the measure, as well to the nation 
 as to individuals, the ministry would yield to no ob- 
 jections, nor could the speculators be diverted from 
 their purpose: even before the bill had passed, the 
 price of that stock rose to three hundred and nine- 
 teen per cent, and, by Midsummer, was at upwards 
 of one thousand per cent. 
 
 This frenzy also affected the value of East-India 
 and Bank stocks; for, as people began to return to 
 their senses, they got rid of their stock in the South- 
 Sea and other bubbles, as they were justly termed, 
 and invested the money in these two, the greater 
 security of which became soon apparent; and East- 
 India
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 125 
 
 India stock rose to four hundred and forty-five per 
 cent, and Bank stock to two hundred and sixty per 
 cent. The advanced price upon all the stocks, about 
 Midsummer of this year, was estimated at five hun- 
 dred millions sterling, or about five times as much 
 as the current cash of all Europe. 
 
 Towards the close of the year, the holders of 
 South-Sea stock were fatally convinced of their cre- 
 dulity: the bubble burst; and nobles, merchants, 
 clergy, bankers, lawyers, and tradesmen, were in- 
 volved in common ruin ! Many, unable to stand the 
 shock of poverty and contempt, terminated their 
 woes by suicide ; others lingered out a miserable 
 existence, till a broken heart put a period to their 
 misfortunes ; numbers withdrew to remote parts of 
 the world, from whence they never returned ; and 
 the shock given to traders of every description, was 
 such, that bankruptcy became fashionable. Some 
 retaliation was, however, afterwards made bv the 
 parliament, who passed an act, whereby the directors 
 were compelled to forfeit their estates, for the relief 
 of thousands whom they had ruined by their ini- 
 quitous proceedings. 
 
 Though the South-Sea scheme \vas the most dis- 
 astrous in its consequences, and may be considered 
 as the original cause of all the evils which followed, 
 yet this chimerical traffic had seized the minds of all 
 ranks so completely, that projects of the most absurd 
 nature, without the sanction of parliament, or even 
 the name of an individual, to give them the appear- 
 ance of stability, were sold for upwards of six times 
 their nominal value. Of upwards of two hundred 
 schemes of this description, one will be sufficient to 
 show the nature of these transactions. Globe per- 
 mits were currently sold in the Alley for sixty gui- 
 neas, and upwards, each. These permits, which 
 were square bits of playing cards, with an impression 
 of the sign of the Globe Tavern, in wax, and with- 
 out
 
 126 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 out any signature, entitled the holders of them to 
 subscribe to a new sail-cloth manufactory, which, as 
 may be supposed, never was established. Yet all 
 men were not infatuated; and one advertisement in 
 a w^eekly newspaper, burlesqued the prevailing mad- 
 ness in the following strain : " At a certain (sham) 
 place, on Tuesday next, books will be opened for a 
 subscription of two millions, for the invention of 
 melting down saw-dust and chips, and casting 
 them into clean deal boards, without cracks or 
 knots !" 
 
 The wear of printed Indian calicoes, both in appa- 
 rel and household furniture, was at this time become 
 so universal, as to be a great detriment and obstruc- 
 tion to both the woollen and silk manufactures of 
 the kingdom. This had occasioned several riots and 
 tumults of the weavers, in London, and it was found 
 necessary to redress a grievance in which so many 
 families were interested': an act of parliament was 
 therefore passed, in 1721, imposing a fine of five 
 pounds, for each offence, on the wearer of these arti- 
 cles, and twenty pounds on the seller. 
 
 About this time, the plague raging violently at 
 Marseilles, in France, the parliament, fearful it should 
 approach this kingdom, passed an act for performing 
 quarantine ; wherein it was enacted, that every in- 
 fected place should be inclosed, and shut up, by a 
 line or trench, in order to cut off all communication; 
 and that all persons endeavouring to escape from the 
 said infected place, without having regularly per- 
 formed quarantine, should suffer death, as felons 
 convict, without benefit of clergy. 
 
 The citizens of London, apprehending that not 
 only their rights and privileges, but likewise that the 
 trade and prosperity of the city were greatly affected 
 by this act; the lord mayor, aldermen, common- 
 council, and merchants, petitioned the House of 
 Lords against three clauses in the said act, then 
 2 under
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 127 
 
 under their lordships' consideration. After some 
 debates, the question being put that the said petition 
 be received, it passed in the negative by a majority 
 of sixty-three against twenty-two voices. But 
 though the petition was rejected, a bill was soon 
 after brought in and passed both houses, for repeal- 
 ing the clauses that affected the city of London. 
 
 Advice being received, in the year 17-2, of a 
 most treacherous conspiracy carried on in favour of 
 the pretender, Viscount Townshend, one of the 
 principal secretaries of state, by his majesty's com- 
 mand, wrote a letter to the lord mayor, acquainting 
 liim with this circumstance ; a very loyal and duti- 
 ful address was presented on the following day by the 
 lord mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, and recorder, of Lon- 
 don, which was very graciously received. 
 
 On the same day a proclamation was published 
 for putting the laws in force against papists and 
 nonjurors, commanding all papists and reputed 
 •^papists to remove from the cities of London and 
 Westminster, and all places within ten miles of the 
 same. 
 
 This was accompanied with every precaution a 
 wise and able government could suggest. Amongst 
 other things the privy-council ordered the several 
 lieutenancies, withm the bills of mortality, to return 
 a true and just account of the number of horses 
 found within their several jurisdictions; when the 
 sum total did not amount to more than seventeen 
 thousand six hundred and one, including saddle- 
 horses, coach-horses, and draught-horsesv In which 
 accoimt there is no mention made of the borough of 
 Southwark, nor of any part on that side of the river 
 Thames. 
 
 The vast increase of buildings in the western 
 suburb of London requiring a greater supply of fresh 
 water than the existing works could furnish, nn act 
 
 9f
 
 128 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of parliament was passed in this year, authorising & 
 newly erected company, called the Chelsea water- 
 company, to dig basons, reservoirs, &c. for the better 
 supply of the city and liberties of Westminster, and 
 parts adjacent, with water. 
 
 Various disputes having arisen among the citizens 
 about party-walls and water-spouts, application was 
 made to parliament to put an end to these conten- 
 tions, by whom it was enacted, that if any person 
 refused or neglected to build his share of a party-wall, 
 after due notice given him, his next neighbour may 
 build it for him, and oblige the person so neglecting 
 to pay the charges of rebuilding it. And it was 
 further enacted, that the water, falling from the tops 
 of houses, balconies, and penthouses, shall be con- 
 veyed into channels or kennels, by pipes in the front or 
 sides of the house, under the penalty of twenty 
 pounds. 
 
 The election of lord mayor for the city of I^ndon, 
 this year, coming on, as usual, at the common hall, 
 on the 29th of September, Sir Gerard Conyers and 
 Sir Peter Delme, gentlemen, both of great fortune 
 and merit, and also the two aldermen next the chair, 
 Avere put in nomination, and declared to have the 
 majority of hands. But a poll was demanded, and 
 granted, for Sir George Mertins and Sir Francis 
 Forbes: which began on the 1st of October and 
 ended on the third. And next day the sheriffs de- 
 clared that they had cast up the poll, and that the 
 majority of votes had fallen upon Sir Gerard Conyers 
 and Sir Peter Delme: who, being returned to the 
 court of aldermen, they made choice of the former: 
 which, in all prolDability, brought on the following 
 application to parliament. 
 
 On the 14th of December, 1724-, many citizens of 
 London petitioned the House of Commons, setting 
 forth several grievances they laboured under in the 
 
 gaid
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 129 
 
 said city, and praying, ' ' That, for promoting the 
 welfare, for preserving the liberties, the peace and 
 tranquillity of the said city, and for settling elections 
 in the said city, on a just and lasting foundation, the 
 house would take the premises into consideration, and 
 give the petitioners such relief as the house should 
 think fit." Whereupon a bill was ordered to be brought 
 in, for regulating elections in the city of London; 
 and for preserving the peace, good . order, and 
 government of the said cit}^ 
 
 This bill created a great ferment in the city, and 
 was strongly opposed in the House of Commons by 
 three of the city representatives, who received the 
 thanks of the court of common-council for their 
 strenuous endeavours to prevent it from passing into 
 a law. 
 
 On the 2-lth of March, printed papers were dis- 
 persed, inviting the citizens to assemble at Guildhall 
 the next dav, at five o'clock in the afternoon, to 
 consider the merits of the bill ; but the lord mayor 
 and aldermen, resenting this measure as a violation 
 of their authority, ordered the gates of the hall to be 
 shut as soon as the business of the common-council, 
 which had been called on the occasion, should be 
 finished. The lord mayor also sent information of 
 what had passed to the ministry ; upon which the 
 guards at St. James's, Leicester-house, and Somerset- 
 house, were doubled, and such other precautions 
 were taken as kept all thinp:s quiet ; the heads of 
 the bill were also jjrinted, that the citizens might 
 be better informed of the law intended to be 
 
 As soon as the citizens knew the contents of it, 
 and that it was sent up to the House of Lords for their 
 determination, a great number of them petitioned 
 the house against it, as being injurious to their liber- 
 ties. After the bill was read a second time, it was 
 
 VOL. II. s proposed
 
 130 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 proposed by their lordships to ask the opinions of the 
 judges, " whether this bill affects any of the prescrip- 
 tions, privileges, customs, and liberties, of the said 
 city of London, restored to them, or preserved by 
 the act passed in the second year of King William 
 and Queen Mary, for reversing the judgment on the 
 Quo Warranto against the city of London, and for 
 restoring the said city to its ancient rights and "pri- 
 vileges." 
 
 Various debates arising thereupon, the question 
 was put, " Whether the judges shall deliver their 
 opinions upon the said proposed question ?" This 
 was at length determined in the negative, in conse- 
 quence of which the bill passed into a law ; but the 
 fifteenth clause, by which a negative in passing acts 
 of common-council, was given to the lord mayor and 
 aldermen was afterwards repealed. 
 
 A treaty of peace having been concluded between 
 the Emperor of Germany and the King of Spain, 
 very disadvantageous to the rights and privileges of 
 Great Britain, and calculated to destroy the chief 
 branches of the British trade, and to favour the pre- 
 tender, the citizens of London on this occasion pre- 
 sented an address to the king, containing the warmest 
 professions of attachment to his person and govern- 
 ment, and the strongest assurances of their support 
 against the designs of their common enemies. His 
 majesty not only returned them his hearty thanks 
 for this additional mark of their affection, but also 
 entertained the lord mayor, aldermen, and common- 
 council in a very sumptuous manner at dinner in his 
 palace at St. James's, attended by the principal 
 ministers of state, and a great number of the 
 nobility. 
 
 About this time Orator Henley, the son of a 
 worthy divine, set up a new sect under the title of 
 an Oratory : to promote which, he informed the 
 
 public
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 1^1 
 
 public, that on the third of July the oratory ivould be 
 opened; that the fundamental authority of this in- 
 stitution, considered as a church, would be the same 
 with that of all the modern churches ; that is, " a legal 
 liberty of private judgment in religion, which is the 
 very principle of the reforj;natkjrr,Ttie basis of all the 
 protestant interest, and the most valuable branch of 
 the freedom of our constitution." At the same time, 
 in order to prevent any disturbance that might arise 
 on account of his separation from the church, in 
 which he had been ordained a priest, he resolved to 
 shelter himself under the canon of the toleration act ; 
 for which purpose he took the oaths of abjuration 
 and allegiance, before the bench of justices at Hicks's 
 ]lall. 
 
 The place Mr. Henley adapted for his oratory 
 was very remarkable, and befitting his novel institu- 
 tion ; being' a sort of wooden booth, built over the 
 shambles in Newport market, near Leicester-fields, 
 formerly used for a temporary meeting-house of a 
 calvinistical consreoation. After which he moved 
 near to the west entrance into Clare-market. 
 
 Although his private fortune was greatly increased 
 by money paid for admission into his oratory for 
 upwards of thirty-five years, yet he could never 
 form an established congregation ; nor does it appear 
 that his religion gained him one proselyte ; his whole 
 system and conduct for that time exhibiting nothing 
 more than satire, burlesque, and grimace. 
 
 In this year Guy's Hospital was built, at the sole 
 expense of Mr. Thomas Guy, formerly a bookseller 
 in London, and afterwards member of parliament tor 
 Tamworth, his native place. 
 
 In the year 1726, some malefactors under sentence 
 of death in Newgate, having been previously sup- 
 plied with arms, barricaded the door of the cell on 
 the morning appointed for iheir execution; uitima- 
 
 tion
 
 132 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 tion whereof being sent to the sheriff, he went to the 
 prison, and endeavoured to persuade them to sur- 
 render ; but they remained obstinate, on which, the 
 keepers fired in upon them fi-om above; and, after 
 receiving several wounds, they surrendered, and 
 were executed according to their sentence. The 
 sheriff, however, was seized with the goal distemper, 
 of which he soon after died. 
 
 On the eleventh of June, 1727, his majesty, 
 George I. died at Osnaburgh, in the sixty-eighth 
 year of his age, and the thirteenth of his reign. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 133 
 
 CHAP. XXXYII. 
 
 Accession of George II. — The Royal Family enterfained of. 
 Guildhall. — Attempt to roh the Queen. — Vessels arrived 
 in the Port of London within the Year. — High Tide. — 
 Epidemical Distemper. — Fleet-market huilt. — Opposi- 
 tioji to the Excise-l'ill. — Bill to prevent Stock-jobbing. 
 — Contest for the Office of Chamberlain. — Law-suit re- 
 lative to the City's Jurisdiction in Black friars. — Act of 
 Common- council for regulating Bakers. — Law for 
 lighting the City. — Play-houses put under Restrictions. 
 — Petitioii of the Londhn Mercha?its against Spain. — 
 The Spanish Conventioii disapproved by the Citizens. — 
 Petition against it. — Ministerial Insolence, — Storm. — 
 War with Spain, 
 
 O.v the demise of King George I. his only son, 
 George, then Prince of Wales, was proclaimed king, 
 in London, on the 15th of June, 1727, by the name 
 of George II. Two days after his majesty's proclama- 
 tion, the lord mayor, aldermen, and common-coun- 
 cil, addressed his majesty and the queen, separately, 
 in a most loyal and affectionate manner. And at a 
 court of common-council, held on the 6th of 
 October following, it was unanimously resolved to 
 invite their majesties, and their royal highness the 
 prince and princesses to dinner, at Guildhall, on the 
 approaching lord mayor's day; pursuant to which, 
 the lord mayor elect, with the sheriffs and recorder, 
 were ordered to wait on their majesties to know their 
 royal pleasure ; at the same time, a committee of 
 four aldermen and eight commoners were appointed 
 to attend his majesty, to beg leave to put up the 
 pictures of him and his royal consort in Guildhall. 
 His majesty being accordingly attended on both 
 these occasions, he was pleased to accept of the 
 former, and comply with the latter ; inl'ormati<in of 
 1 which
 
 ]3i HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 which being the next day given in common-council, 
 a committee of eight aldermen and sixteen common- 
 erswere appointed to superintend the entertainment 
 to be provided on the occasion. 
 
 On the appointed day their majesties, with the 
 duke and princesses, attended by the great officers 
 of state, the foreign ministers, and a numerous train 
 of the iiobilitv, came into the citv, and, at the usual 
 place appointed for the purpose, beheld the proces- 
 sion; after which they were conducted to Guildhall, 
 at the entrance whereof, the lord mayor, kneeling, 
 presented the city sword to the king, who im- 
 mediately returning the same, it was carried before 
 their majesties to the council-chamber, where the 
 recorder, in the name of the city, made an appro- 
 priate speech. Their majesties and the princesses' 
 then proceeded to the hustings, where they were 
 most sumptuously entertained ; after which, they 
 honoured the ball with their presence till eleven 
 o'clock in the evening. At his departure his 
 majesty ordered the sum of one thousand pounds to 
 be paid to the sheriffs, for the relief and discharge of 
 poor insolvent debtors. The expense of this enter- 
 tainment, as it is recorded in the chamber of London, 
 amounted to four thousand eight hundred and 
 eighty-nine pounds four shillings. 
 
 In the year 1728, a daring project was concerted 
 to rob the queen on her return at night from the 
 city, as was afterwards confessed by one of the gang 
 when under sentence of death. This scheme, how- 
 ever, was happily frustrated by the villains being 
 busily employed, at the time her majesty passed, in 
 robbing Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Alderman of London, 
 as he was returning in his chariot from the House 
 of Commons. This circumstance, together with the 
 great number of robberies which had been committed 
 in the most daring manner within the cities of Lon- 
 don
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. IJ^ 
 
 ♦Jon and Westminster, greatly alarmed both the court 
 and city ; and lettei-s were immediately sent from the 
 secretaries of state to all the magistrates, enjoining 
 them to use their utmost endeavours to suppress 
 such villainies, and to bring the offenders to justice. 
 
 An idea mav be formed of the state of the com- 
 merce of London at this period by the number of 
 vessels which arrived at its port between Christmas, 
 1727, and Christmas, 1728; viz. from foreign ports, 
 British vessels, one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-nine ; foreign ships, two hundred and thirteen ; 
 coasters, six thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 seven : Total, eight thousand eight hundred and 
 eighty-nine vessels. 
 
 On the last day of December, in the year 17^1, 
 the tide in the river Thames rose so high, that it 
 overflowed Wapping, Tooley-street, and many other 
 places, and did incredible damage by filling cellars 
 and warehouses, and spoiling great quantities of 
 difierent sorts of merchandize. 
 
 A short time after, an epidemical distemper, which 
 consisted of a cold, attended with a fever, raged for 
 some time with such violence in the city of London, 
 that it took off a great number of the inhabitants. 
 The bill of mortality, in one week, Avas increased to 
 six times its usual number. 
 
 On the 26th of February, 1733, a petition was 
 presented to the House of Commons, by the sheriffs 
 of London, from the lord mayor, aldermen, and 
 common-council, setting forth, that by an act of 
 parliament made in the 22d year of the reign of 
 Charles II. intituled, " An additional act for re- 
 building the city of London, uniting of parishes, and 
 rebuilding of the cathedral and parochical churches 
 within the said city ;" the channel of Bridcwell- 
 dock, from the river Thames to Holborn-bridge, 
 
 was
 
 136 IllSTOllY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 was directed to be sunk to a sufficient level, to make 
 it navigable, under such limitations as are prescribed 
 by the said act : and, in pursuance of the said act, 
 the channel was soon after made navigable, from 
 the Thames to ITolborn-bridge ; but that the profits 
 arising from the navigation had not answered the 
 charge of making; that part of the said channel, 
 from Fleet-bridge to Holborn-bridge, instead of be- 
 ing useful to trade, as was intended, is filled up with 
 mud, and become a common nuisance, and that se- 
 veral persons have lost their lives by falling into it : 
 that the expense of cleansing and repairing the same 
 will be very great, and that a greater annual charge 
 wmU be required to keep the same in repair, than the 
 profits arising therefrom will defray. They there- 
 fore prayed that a bill might be brought in, to repeal 
 so much of that act as relates to the said channel ; 
 and to empower the petitioners to fill up that part of 
 it from Fleet-street to Holborn-bridge, and to convert 
 the around to such uses as thev shall think fit and 
 convenient. 
 
 In consequence of this petition, a bill was soon 
 after brought in and passed; by virtue of which, the 
 premises were arched over, and the ground con- 
 verted into a market, which was opened on the 30th 
 of September, 1737- 
 
 The year 1738 is distinguished by the strenuous 
 opposition of the citizens of London to a scheme, 
 concerted by the ministry, for introducing a general 
 excise, under pretence of easing the people of va- 
 rious taxes, and promoting the interest of the fair 
 trader. Before the day appointed by the minister 
 for introducinsr this measure into the House of Com- 
 mons, a court of common-council being summoned, 
 they unanimously agreed to recommend it to their 
 representatives, to use their utmost efforts to defeat 
 
 so
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 137 
 
 SO pernicious a design ; and their reasons were set 
 forth in the following- representation, which was de- 
 livered to them. 
 
 " This court doth apprehend, from the experience 
 of the laws of excise now in being, that extending 
 those laws to any commodities not yet excised, must 
 necessarily be very prejudicial to trade, both as it 
 will probably diminish the consumption of the com- 
 modity to be excised, and subject the fair trader to 
 the frequent and arbitrary visitation of officers, and 
 judicial determination of commissioners, removeable 
 at pleasure, and from whom there is no appeal. 
 
 " That the extension of such laws must necessa- 
 rily increase the number and power of officers; which 
 will be inconsistent with those principles of liberty 
 on which our happy constitution is founded, and will 
 farther deprive the subjects of England of some of 
 those valuable privileges, which have hitherto dis- 
 tinguished them from the neighbouring nations. 
 
 " Wherefore, this court doth earnestly recom- 
 mend it to you, their representatives, to use your 
 utmost diligence in opposing a scheme of this nature, 
 should any such be oflered in parliament, in any 
 shape, or hovv'ever limited in its first appearance ; 
 being fully convinced, that an inland duty upon 
 goods now rated at the Custom-house, cannot be 
 eifcctuallv collected, even with the extension of the 
 powers, or the severest exercise of all the rigours of 
 the present laws of excise." 
 
 When the oudine of the proposed measure was 
 stated to the house, and a motion was made for leave 
 to bring in a bill, the city members opposed it with 
 all their abilities, and were powerfully supported by 
 many eminent independept members; but, on the 
 question being put, it was carried in the affirmative, 
 by a majority of sixty-one. The success of the mi- 
 nister did not, however, discourage his opponents, 
 
 VOL. II. T who
 
 13S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 whodebated the bill, through every stage,withincreas* 
 ing earnestness. To prevent the contents of the bill 
 from being known, a majority of the house deter- 
 mined that it should not be printed for the use of 
 the membei's, as is usual : the lord mayor, however, 
 with great difficulty, procured a copy of it, which he 
 laid before a court of common-council, summoned to 
 ■deliberate on the best means to prevent it from be- 
 ing passed ; and it was resolved that a petition should 
 be immediately drawn up, and presented to the 
 house, praying to be heard by counsel against it. 
 The petition being presented, and a motion made 
 for granting the prayer of it, another animated de- 
 bate ensued ; and, on the division, it was carried in 
 the negative, by 214 against 197. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, the powerful opposition of 
 the city, w^hich was supported by several of the prin- 
 cipal counties, soon convinced Sir Robert Walpole 
 of the impossibility of carrying his point, without en- 
 dangering the peace of the nation, and his own safety. 
 In consequence of which, the bill, instead of being 
 read a second time, on the 1 1th of May, as had been 
 appointed, was, upon a motion made by Sir Robert, 
 deferred till the 12th of June, a day exceeding the 
 time limited for the continuance of the session; so 
 that the passing of the bill became impracticable, 
 and Sir Robert Walpole's scheme, by the firm and 
 steady interposition of the citizens, proved entirely 
 abortive. 
 
 The miscarriasre of the Excise bill was celebrated 
 by public rejoicings throughout the cities of Londorr 
 and Westminster ; and the minister who projected 
 it was burnt in effigy. 
 
 Many great inconveniencics to commerce, and 
 frequent frauds having arisen from stock-jobbing, in 
 the city of London, an act of parliament was passed 
 in 17^4>^to prevent the infamous practice of stock- 
 jobbing ;
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 139 
 
 jobbing ; by which heavy penalties are laid upon every 
 fictitious bargain, for the sale or purchase of stock : 
 but the severity of the law has not been found ade- 
 quate to the extinction of this pernicious traffic. 
 
 The chamberlainship of the city of London being 
 at this time vacant, a great contest arose between 
 the citizens and the ministry, respecting the election 
 of a proper person into that office. The candidates 
 were Mr. John Bosworth, a tobacconist, of Newgate- 
 street ; Mr. William Sehvin, a silkman, in Pater- 
 noster-row; and Mr. John Thomas, a fishmonger, 
 near the Monument. Mr. Thomas, making no show 
 of hands in the common-hall, declined: but the num- 
 bers appeared so equal for each of the other candi- 
 dates, that a poll was demanded by the friends of 
 Mr. Sehvin against Mr. Bosworth, who was declared 
 to have the majority of hands. The poll was ma- 
 naged with all the dexterity and influence that can 
 be imagined; and though both the candidates were 
 personally well respected by their fellow-citizens, and 
 were looked upon to be equally qualified for the 
 discharge of that important trust, yet the contest, for 
 seven davs, was the warmest ever known ; the citi- 
 zens being determined to preserve their freedom of 
 election against any ministerial opposition whatever. 
 On the close of the poll, however, the numbers ap- 
 peared so equal, that a scrutiny was demanded ; and 
 when the declaration was made, they stood as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 For Mr. Bosworth, - 3212. 
 Mr. Sehvin, - ;3208. 
 
 In consequence of which, to the great satisfaction 
 of the citizens, Mr. l]os\vorth was declared duly 
 elected, and chamberlain of the city of London. 
 
 The ministry, however, so highly resented tliii^ 
 strenuous opposition to a candidate of their choice, 
 
 that
 
 140 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 that they conferred the office of receiver-general of 
 the land-tax, which had generally been annexed to 
 the chamberlainship, on their disappointed friend, 
 Mr. Sehvin, who had obtained the ill-will of the in- 
 dependent voters of the city of London, by having 
 unadvisedly solicited the ministerial party to oblige 
 all their dependents to vote for him. 
 
 In the year 1735, the inhabitants of the precinct 
 of Black-friars claiming a privilege of exemption 
 from the jurisdiction of the city of London, in right 
 of the ancient monastery being dissolved there by 
 King Henry YIIL occasioned the lord mayor and 
 aldermen to ascertain their right thereto; which they 
 did by a trial in the court of KingVbench, on the 
 10th of July; wherein John Bosworth, Esq. chamber- 
 lain of the city of London, was plaintiff, and Daniel 
 Watson, shalloon and drugget-seller, defendant. The 
 action wa3 brought against the latter, for opening a 
 shop in Black-friars, and retailing his goods there, 
 without being a freeman of the city. The counsel 
 for the plaintiff alleged, that Black-friars actually 
 belonged to the city of London when it was a mo- 
 nastery, and before trades were ever occupied there: 
 to prove which, they produced several ancient re- 
 cords, viz. a charter of King Edward L and a record, 
 2 Richard 11. calling it the Friary of London ; and 
 another, 21 Hen.VUI. mentioning a parliament, held 
 at the Friars-preachers of the city of London, Nov. 3, 
 1530, and other records of this kind: they likewise 
 cited a parallel case to this, 15 Car. I. when an ac- 
 tion was brought against one Philpot, a shoemaker, 
 of Black-friars, for opening a shop, and vending shoes 
 there, without being free of the city; and, after a fair 
 trial, by an equal and indifferent jury of the county 
 of Hertford, a verdict was given for the plaintiff, with 
 five shillings damages. In consequence of this deci- 
 sion,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 141 
 
 sion, Black-friars became a precinct of the ward of 
 Farringdon within, and sends two members to re- 
 present it in the common-council of this city. 
 
 An act of common -council was passed, in Novem- 
 ber, for the better regulation of bakers; in which it 
 was enacted, that, in addition to the fine, the name 
 and place of abode of every baker, convicted of mak- 
 ing bread under weight, shall be published. 
 
 The streets of London being greatly infested with 
 robbers and house-breakers, owing to the insuffi- 
 ciency of the lights in the night, application was 
 made to parliament, by the lord mayor and common- 
 council, to enable them to li2,ht the streets in a more 
 enectual manner: in compliance with which, an act 
 was passed, empow ering the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and commonalty, to erect a sufficient number of 
 such glass lamps, and in such places, as they shall 
 judge proper, to be kept burning from the setting to 
 the rising of the sun, throughout the year ; and giv- 
 ing them power ta make a rate, to defray the expense 
 thereof. 
 
 An act of parliament was also passed in this 
 year, to limit the number of play-houses, and to 
 subject all writings, intended for the stage, to the 
 inspection of the lord chamberlain. 
 
 On the i/th of December, the freedom of the 
 city of London was presented to his Koyal Highness 
 the Prince of Wales: he had, a short time before, 
 been complimented with the freedom of the com- 
 pany of sadlers. 
 
 The merchants of London, finding themselves 
 still greatly oppress^-d by the Spanish depredations 
 on their American trade, presented a petition to the 
 House of (Commons, in March, 1/38, in which they 
 set forth the several applications that had been made 
 to parliament, and the grievances under which (hey 
 laboured, by the continuance and increase of these 
 
 unwarrantable
 
 14-2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 vinvvarrantable injuries; at the same time praying 
 relief, and to be heard by themselves and counsel. 
 Leave being given to bring up the petition, a debate 
 ensued upon the prayer of it, it being contrary to 
 the forms of the house, to admit both the petitioners 
 and their counsel to the bar : but the urgency of 
 the case was so strong, and the expediency of the 
 deviation so well supported, that, notwithstanding 
 the opposition of the minister, the question was car- 
 ried in the affirmative. 
 
 On the 1st of February, 1739, the king opened 
 the session of parliament with a speech; in which he 
 stated, that a convention was concluded with the 
 King of Spain, by which that prince had agreed to 
 make reparation to the British subjects for their 
 losses, by stipulated payments, and that plenipoten- 
 tiaries were appointed for settling all matters in dis- 
 pute; but as this convention did not determine on 
 the Spanish claim to search British ships, or contain 
 any security against the recurrence of their depreda- 
 tions, during the discussion, it was universally dis- 
 liked. 
 
 The citizens of London, thinking themselves par^ 
 ticularly aggrieved by this proceeding, resolved to 
 petition the House of Lords against the convention. 
 Accordingly, on the 20th of February, a court of 
 common-council was held, when, a petition being 
 drawn up, and approved of, it was presented to the 
 house by the Duke of Bedford, who introduced it 
 with the following appropriate speech. 
 
 " My Lords, 
 " I have in my hand a petition from a very great 
 body of men ; no less a body, my lords, than the 
 citizens of London. The importance of this junc- 
 ture called upon them to assemble and deliberate 
 upon the most proper means of preventing the 
 
 effects
 
 tONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. !4S 
 
 effects of the convention, which they apprehend 
 to be ruinous, not only to them, but the whole 
 kingdom, from taking place. Encouraged, my lords, 
 by their former experience of your lordships' great 
 indulgence, they resolved to proceed in the most 
 dutiful manner, by petitioning your lordships to 
 take the reasons they are ready to offer against 
 the convention into your mature deliberation." 
 
 He then entered into a full and masterly detail of 
 all the causes of complaint, for which no remedy was 
 provided by the convention, and concluded thus: 
 
 " Your lordships' petitioners, therefore, having 
 laid before you the high importance which this 
 trade is of to the nation in general, and to this 
 city in particular, thought it their indispensable 
 duty to represent to the parliament the fatal con- 
 sequences of leaving the freedom of their naviga- 
 tion and commerce any longer in suspense and 
 uncertainty; and therefore they humbly hope your 
 lordships will take it into mature deliberation, and 
 do therein as to your great wisdom shall seem 
 meet.'^ 
 
 This petition was followed b\^ others, from Bris- 
 tol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c. all of 
 which contained a prayer to be heard against the 
 terms of the convention; but the minister had 
 taken his measures too well, and a majority of 
 twenty-four determined the question in his favour. 
 Soon after which, an address of approval was ob- 
 tained in the House of Commons; thousch this 
 gave strong indications of the declining power of 
 the ministry ; the numbers being '26'-2 to 23.3. 
 
 It was on this occasion, that Sir Robert Waipole 
 took the liberty to call the citizens of London 
 siu7~dy beggars; and, for the purpose of propagating 
 a mean opinion of them, and taking oft" the weight 
 
 2 Qf
 
 lil! HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of their petitions, in matters of national concern, he 
 circulated printed hsts of the common- <:ouncil-men 
 of London, with the addition of their several trades, 
 or companies, to insinuate, that they were a con- 
 temptible body of tradesmen or mechanics. 
 
 The citizens, on their part, took every opportunity 
 of showing: their dislike to the minister's conduct: 
 and, discovering that Sir George Champion, the se- 
 nior alderman next the chair, and member for Ayles- 
 bury, had voted in favour of the convention, they 
 rejected him from the office of lord mayor, and ever 
 after held him in the greatest contempt. 
 
 On the 10th of September, about seven o'clock in 
 the evening, there fell a most violent storm of thun- 
 der and lightning, accompanied with very heavy rain, 
 which continued till near twelve at night. Though 
 the thunder was not very violent, yet the flashes of 
 lightning were as quick, and, at the same time, as 
 strong, as, perhaps, were ever known in this part of 
 the world. This tempestuous night was remarkable 
 for the destruction of a large aviary of sparrows, 
 which had for many years roosted in a grove of high 
 trees, adjoining to Mile-end turnpike. Such numbers 
 of them were killed by the lightning, that, the next 
 morning, the ground, within the circumference of the 
 trees, was covered with their dead bodies. The Rev. 
 Mr. Entick, in his History of London, asserts, that 
 he was an eye-witness of this circumstance. 
 
 At length the voice of the nation, and the well- 
 founded complaints of the merchants, prevailed and 
 war was declared against Spain, with the accustomed 
 formalities, on the 22d of October, amidst innumer- 
 able spectators, who testified their satisfaction by the 
 loudest acclamations. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIIL
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 14,5 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 Poundation of the Mansion.- house. Foundlmg Hospital. 
 
 Severe Frost. Jurisdiction of the Court of Consci- 
 ence extended. Flection of Lord Mayor. Contested 
 
 Election oj an Alderman.^— -Number of Houses in Lon- 
 don. Instructions to the City Representatives. The 
 
 junior Aldermen made Justices of the Peace. — Epidemic 
 Fever. — Petition of the London Merchants. — Trials re- 
 specting Privileges. — Communication from the King. — 
 ff^ar declared against France. — Combination of Jour- 
 neymen. Street Robbers. Rebellion. Addresses. — 
 
 Citizens enrolled. Regiment of Lawyers^ Subscrip- 
 tions for the Soldiers. Camp on Finchley Common. 
 
 Retreat of the Rebels. — Repeal of the Aldermens' Nega- 
 tive. End of the Rebellion. Thanks to the Lord 
 
 Mayor. Execution of the Rebel Lords. Orphans" 
 
 Fund, 
 
 No particular mansion had hitherto been provided 
 for the use of the lord mayor, during the time of his 
 holding that high office. Till this period, it was 
 customary for the chief magistrate of the city to hold 
 his mayoralty at some one of the halls, belonging to 
 the twelve principal companies. This had been, for 
 a long time, found very inconvenient; and it was 
 therefore resolved, for the hojiour of the city, as well 
 as for the convenience of better executino- the busi- 
 ness attendant on so high an office, to erect a house, 
 as a mansion, for the lord mayor for the time being. 
 
 The lord mayor, aldermen, and common-council, 
 having determined on this matter, several places 
 were proposed for its situation ; as, the end of Pa- 
 ternoster-row, fronting Cheapside, Moorfields, and 
 Stocks-market; when the latter was best approved 
 of, from its being situated nearly in the center of the 
 citv, and in the heart of business. Stocks-market 
 
 VOL. II. u was
 
 146 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 was therefore removed, and the ground dug up for 
 laving the foundation ; but it was found so full of 
 springs, that it vviis thought necessary to erect the 
 building on piles. A great numberof piles being there- 
 fore driven close together, and every other preparation 
 made, the first stone of the foundation \yas laid on 
 the 25th of October, 1739, by the lord mayor, attend- 
 ed by a committee of aldermen and common- 
 councilmcn. The building was completed in 17.33. 
 
 This year is also distinguished for the establish- 
 ment and foundation of that noble charity, the 
 Foundling Hospital ; a full account of which will 
 be given in the Survey. 
 
 The winter of the year 1739 was a season of 
 the greatest distress to the poor, in consequence of 
 •a most severe frost, \^ hich began on Christmas-day, 
 and continued till the endofFe'bruiuy. Itsintenseness 
 and bad effects exceeded all others ever remembered. 
 The river Thames was so solidly frozen, that great 
 Humbers of people dwelt upon it in tents, and a 
 variety of booths were erected for the entertainment 
 of the po|xdace. A few days after it began, a very 
 high wind arose, which did considerable damage to 
 the shipping, wliich happened at that time to be 
 very numerous. Several vessels laden with corn, 
 others with coals, &c. were sunk by the ice ; many 
 had holes beat in their sides by falling on their 
 anchors : several lighters and boats were confined 
 under the ice : in .short, a more dismal scene present- 
 ed itself on the river Thames, than had ever been 
 beheld by the oldest man living. The damage done 
 between the Medway and London-bridge, was com- 
 puted at one hundred thousand pounds, besides 
 many persons who lost their lives from the severity 
 of the weather. The watermen and fishermen 
 were entirely disabled from earning their livelihood, 
 as were the lower classes of labourers, whose env 
 
 ployment
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 147 
 
 ployment is in the open air; and the calamity was 
 ■rendered more severe by coals and other necessaries 
 being advanced in their price in proportion to the in- 
 tenseness and continuance of the frost. Happily 
 for the poor the hand of liberality was never more 
 extended : oreat benefactions were oiven bv those of 
 opulent fortunes, and considerable collections were 
 made in most of the parishes in I^jndon ; by the 
 assistance of which, many families were preserved, 
 that must otherwise have inevitably perished. 
 
 An act of parliament was passed in the course of 
 this session, to amend ajid extend the powers of the 
 court of conscience ; by which every person, w hether 
 freeman or not, residing or seeking a livelihood with- 
 in the city or its liberties, might sue or be sued 
 in it. 
 
 At the election for the lord mavor, in the vear 
 1740, the court of aldermen first chose the junior 
 alderman, returned to them by the livery, who re- 
 quested permission to decline ; which being granted, 
 the livery returned the senior alderman again, with 
 one who had passed the chair. The aldermen 
 again rejected the senior alderman ; and Humphrey 
 Parsons, Esq. the object of their choice, having con- 
 sented to serve a second time, a motion was made in 
 the court of common-council to return him their 
 thanks ; and an amendment being proposed, a -long 
 and very warm debate ensued upon the right of the 
 aldermen to vote separately, and put a negative u})on 
 any question; and the claim being persisted in by 
 its supi)orters, some of the aldermen and a consider- 
 able number of the common-council left the court, 
 protesting against the exercise of the right. At 
 length, on the 11th of November, this question was 
 finally d(^termined, against the right, in both the 
 courts of aldermen and common-council, by a con- 
 siderable majority. 
 
 On
 
 148 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 On the death of Alderman Parsons, which took 
 place on the 21st of March, 1740, Alderman Lam- 
 bert was chosen to succeed him in the mayoralty for 
 the remainder of the year ; who, being accepted 
 bv the lord chancellor on the evening- of his election, 
 went next day in great state to the Tower, attended 
 by the twelve companies, &c. and was sworn into 
 his office by Lord Cornwallis, the constable, in a 
 booth erected for that purpose without the west 
 gate, agreeable to ancient custom, when the barons 
 of the Exchequer are out of town. 
 
 The election of an alderman for Broad-street ward 
 was soon after attended with great trouble and ex- 
 pense. The candidates w'ere Charles Ewer, Esq. 
 and Mr. Eggleton. On the close of the poll a 
 scrutiny was demanded, and the numbers appearing 
 to be exactly equal, the lord mayor held a ward- 
 mote at Draper's Hall for a new election ; at which 
 Charles Ewer, Esq. meeting with no opposition, was 
 declared duly elected. In consequence of this, Mr. 
 Eggleton petitioned the court of aldermen, setting 
 forth his right to the election. On the day follow- 
 ing, a rule was made in the court of King's-bench, 
 to show cause why a mandamus should not be 
 granted to swear in Mr. Eggleton, alderman of Broad- 
 street ward ; and, on the twenty-eighth, the court of 
 aldermen, by consent of both parties, returned that 
 neither party was duly elected. So that the deter- 
 mination of the election, being left to the court of 
 King's-bench, it was tried in the Michaelmas term 
 following, and decided in favour of Charles Ewer, 
 Esq. who was accordingly sworn in. 
 
 An accurate account of the number of houses in 
 every precinct of the twenty-five wards within the 
 bars, or limits of the lord mayor's jurisdfction. Bridge 
 ward without not being included, was published, in 
 1741, by Mr. John Smart, of the Town Clerk's 
 
 Office;
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 149 
 
 Office ; by which account it appears that the num- 
 ber of houses amounted, at that time, to twenty-one 
 thousand six hundred and forty-nine. 
 
 At the general election, in May 1741, a paper of 
 instructions was delivered to the representatives of 
 the city of London, by their constituents, requiring 
 them vigorously to oppose the keeping up a stand- 
 ing army in times of peace, and all attempts towards 
 an extension of the excise laws; to endeavour to 
 obtain the repeal of the septennial act, and the re- 
 storation of triennial parliaments ; as also to procure 
 a bill for reducing and limiting the number of place- 
 men in the House of Commons; and, lastly, that in 
 granting all aids and supplies, they should not 
 deviate from the genuine form of the constitution, 
 but make strict examination into every account of 
 the national expense. 
 
 By the first charter granted to the citizens of Lon- 
 don by King Charles i. the mayor, recorder, and 
 such of the aldermen as had served the office of 
 mayor, with the three senior aldermen who had not 
 passed the chair, were constituted justices of the 
 peace for the city and liberties ; but, from the great 
 increase of the metropolis since that time, it was 
 now found necessary, for the more easy bringing de- 
 linquents to justice, to extend that power to the 
 whole body of aldermen at large : in consequence of 
 which, his majesty granted a charter, empowering 
 all the aldermen to act as justices of the peace for 
 the city and liberties of London ; which charter bears 
 date the 15th of August, 17-1-1. 
 
 During the course of the summer of this year the 
 city of London, and places adjacent, were visited 
 with an epidemic fever, which, for several months 
 together, carried ofl" great numbers of people. 
 
 On the 2()th of January, 1749, the merchants and 
 traders of London presented a petition to the House 
 
 -of
 
 150 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of Commons, in "vvhicli they set forth the great hard- 
 ships they laboured under, and the losses they sus- 
 tained, from Spanish privateers, for want of proper 
 convoys. This was followed by another of the same 
 tendency from the city of London, which was pre- 
 sented by the sheriffs on the 26th. The discontents 
 of the people, arising from this and other causes, so 
 strengthened the parliamentary opposition against 
 Sir Robert Walpole, that finding he could no longer 
 preserve that influence he had hitherto possessed, 
 and being apprehensive of future consequences, he 
 resigned his employments. 
 
 These petitions, with others from all the principal 
 trading towns in Great Britain, were taken into con- 
 sideration on the ISth of February, and a bill found- 
 ed upon them was brought in by the city repre- 
 sentatives, and passed the commons, but was thrown 
 out in the lords. A number of small men of war 
 were, however, ordered to cruize in the channel and 
 on the enemy's coasts, for the protection of trade. 
 
 In Michaelmas term, 1742, a cause was tried 
 before the Lord Chief Justice Willes, in wiiich the 
 company of Weavers were plaintiffs, and Mr. 
 Thomas tiandyside defendant. Mr. Handyside 
 was free of the weavers' company ; but, not being 
 free of the city, had refused to take up the livery 
 when he was called upon for that purpose. It ap- 
 pearing, however, to the court, that every member 
 of a company is eligible to the livery, though not 
 free of the city, a verdict was given in favour of the 
 plaintiffs. 
 
 The same day another cause was tried on an action 
 brought by Anthony Wright against William Ayres, 
 the lessee of the toll of London -bridge, who had re- 
 ceived, and insisted upon a prescriptive right to re- 
 ceive, two pence for the passage of each cart laden 
 with one ton weight, or upwards, passing over Lon- 
 don-bridge.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 151 
 
 don-bridge. It appearing, however, by the evidence, 
 that the usage had been to take one penny only for 
 a cart with two horses, although laden with a ton or 
 upwards, a verdict was given in favour of the 
 plaintiff. 
 
 Jn the beginning of the year 17 -t 4, his majesty in- 
 formed both houses of parliament that he had re- 
 ceived intelligence of the pretender's eldest son'^ 
 intention to invade this kingdom, with the assistance 
 of France ; and a communication of the same im- 
 port being made to the lord mayor, separate ad- 
 dresses from the lord mayor, aldermen, and common- 
 council, the lieutenancy, and the merchants of 
 London, were immediately presented, expressive of 
 their firm attachment to the king and government, 
 and their determination to support both agains-t the 
 menaced attack. 
 
 On the 25th of February a proclamation \vas 
 issued, commanding all papists to depart the cities 
 of London and VV^estminster, and within ten miles of 
 the same; for confining papists and reputed papists 
 to their habitations ; for seizing the arms and horses 
 from such as refuse to take the oaths, &c. and for 
 putting the laws in execution against the instigators 
 of tumultuous proceedings: and, on the :31st of 
 March, his majesty's declaration of war was proclaim- 
 ed against France at the usual places, and with the 
 accustomed ceremonies on such occasions. 
 
 A great number of journeymen stay-makers and 
 taylors having entered into a combination not to 
 work for tlie wages established by law, and the same 
 being represented to his nip.jesty, the privy-council, 
 on the 18th of September, by his majesty's com- 
 mand, wrote a letter to the Duke of Newcastle, 
 Custos Rotulorum of the county of Middlesex, re- 
 quiring his grace to recommend the justices of 
 the peace to carry into execution the act of 7th 
 
 Georsjc L
 
 152 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 George I. for preventing all unlawful assemblies and 
 combinations. Letters to the same purport were 
 sent to the constable of the Tower, and to the 
 Lord Mayor of London. In consequence of which, 
 the justices met on the twenty-sixth, and came to 
 the following resolution: " That if any journeyman 
 should refuse to work for the wages settled by act of 
 parliament, he should be committed to hard labour 
 for two months: and that the master that paid more 
 than the act allowed, should forfeit five pounds." 
 
 These resolutions were no sooner published than 
 they produced the desired effect: the combination 
 ceased, and the journeymen returned quietly to their 
 respective employments. 
 
 The streets of the city of London were at this 
 time so pestered with street-robbers, that it induced 
 the lord mayor and aldermen to petition his majesty 
 for " a speedy, rigorous, and exemplary execution 
 of the laws upon the persons of offenders, as they 
 shall fall into the hands of justice." In consequence 
 of this petition, on the 9th of January following, his 
 majesty issued a proclamation, promising a reward of 
 one hundred pounds over and above all other rewards, 
 for the apprehending of every person found guilty 
 of robbery or murder. 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle, one of his majesty's 
 principal secretaries of state, informed the lord 
 mayor, by a letter in his majesty's name, dated the 
 5th of September, that one of the pretender's sons 
 had erected a standard in Scotland, and that several 
 persons had assembled under him in open rebellion, 
 and recommending, at the same time, care and 
 vigilance to keep every thing quiet in the city. 
 
 On the 10th, the lord mayor, aldermen, and com- 
 mon-council, attended by the sheriffs, recorder, and 
 all the city officers, waited upon his majesty at 
 Kensington, with their address, as the representative 
 1 body
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 153 
 
 body of the city of London ; in which they congratu- 
 lated his majesty on his safe return to his British 
 dominions ; and, on the conquest of Cape Breton ; 
 and conclude, " The rash and daring attempts of 
 the professed enemies of this nation, in favour of a 
 popish and abjured pretender, have filled the hearts 
 of us, your loyal citizens, with the utmost abhorrence 
 and detestation ; and we beg leave to give your 
 majesty the most solemn assurance, that we will be 
 ready upon all occasions to sacrifice all that is dear 
 and valuable to us, in defence of your majesty's 
 royal person and family, and in support of our happy 
 constitution, both in church and state." 
 
 The next day the merchants of London presented 
 his majesty with a most dutiful and loyal address on 
 the same occasion. And so anxious were they for 
 supporting the public credit, that above eleven 
 hundred of the most considerable merchants, traders, 
 and proprietors of the public funds, subscribed their 
 names to the following agreement : 
 
 " We, the undersigned merchants, and others, 
 being sensible how necessary the preservation of 
 public credit is at this time, do hereby declare, that 
 we will not refuse to receive Bank notes in payment 
 of any sum of money to be paid us ; and we will use 
 our utmost endeavours to make all our payments in 
 the same manner." 
 
 In consequence of this resolution, the demands, 
 which had been very considerable at the Bank a few 
 days before for cash, began greatly to diminish. 
 These hasty demands were said to have been oc- 
 casioned by the Papists and Jacobites, with a design 
 to hurt public credit as much as possible, and to get 
 gold to send to the rebels ; but in this they were dis* 
 appointed by the directors ordering all payments to 
 be made in silver. 
 
 VOL. II. ^ All
 
 I5i HISTORY AxVD SURVEY OF 
 
 All Other necessary precautions were now taken 
 for the security of the kingdom. Orders were issued 
 to keep the trained-bands in readiness, and to array 
 the mihtia of Westminster. Instructions to the same 
 effect were also sent to all the lords heutenants of 
 counties throughout the kingdom. 
 
 The most substantial citizens, especially young 
 gentlemen of fortune, merchants, and tradesmen, 
 entered into different associations, learned the military 
 exercise, and provided themselves with proper ac- 
 coutrements and arms in defence of their king and 
 country. 
 
 Among other bodies formed in London, at a meet- 
 ing held in the Middle-Temple-hall, an association 
 was subscribed by several gendemen of the law, who 
 agreed to form themselves into a regiment, under 
 the command of the Lord Chief Justice Willes, to be 
 denominated, " the association regiment of the law, 
 for the defence of the royal family, and the preserva- 
 tion of the constitution in church and state." His 
 majesty was so well pleased with this timely mark of 
 their attachment, that the lord chief justice next day 
 took his commission as colonel of the said regi- 
 ment. 
 
 At a court of lord mayor and common-council, 
 held on the the 3d of December, it was unanimously 
 agreed to subscribe one thousand pounds out of the 
 chamber of London, towards the relief, support, and 
 encouragement of such soldiers, as then were, or 
 should thereafter be employed in his majesty's 
 service during the winter season, towards the sup- 
 pression of the then unnatural rebellion. i3y this, 
 and a voluntary subscription paid into the chamber- 
 Iain's office at Guildhall, there was raised a sufficient 
 stock to provide twelve thousand pair of breeches, 
 twelve thousand shirts, ten thousand woollen caps, 
 
 ten
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. \65 
 
 ten thousand pair of woollen stockings, one thousand 
 blankets, twelve thousand pair of woollen gloves, 
 and nine thousand pair of woollen spatterdashes, 
 which were immediately converted to the use of the 
 
 army. 
 
 On the 7th of December another proclamation 
 was issued for discovering, apprehending, and bring- 
 ing to trial, all Jesuits and popish priests, who should 
 be found after the ninth of that instant, in the cities 
 of London and Westminster, or the borough of 
 Southwark, or within ten miles of the same, with a 
 reward of one hundred pounds to those who should 
 discover or apprehend any such Jesuit or popish 
 priest. 
 
 The quakers also distinguished themselves by 
 raising a sum of money amongst their own people to 
 purchase woollen waistcoats, which ihey transmitted 
 to the army in the north, for the soldiers to wear 
 under their cloathing when obliged to keep the 
 f.eld in winter. 
 
 In consequence of the great progress made by the 
 rebels, who had, by forced marches, and avoiding 
 the rout of his majesty's forces under General Wade, 
 advanced as far as Derby, in their way to London, 
 the disaffected in and about the metropolis were so 
 spirited up, that they publicly declared their senti- 
 ments ; and several treasonable papers, called the 
 pretender's declarations, were put under the doors of 
 peoples' houses, and dropped on the parade in St. 
 James's park. 
 
 Matters at last came to such a crisis, that the 
 troops in the neighbourhood of the city were ordoreil 
 to march and form a camp on Finchley-common, 
 and the king resolved to take the field in person, ac- 
 companied by the Earl of Stair: the militia of Lon- 
 don and Middlesex was kept in readiness to marcli; 
 
 doubh
 
 156 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 double watches were posted at the city gates, and 
 signals of alarm appointed. 
 
 This state of anxious suspense was, however, but 
 of short duration ; the pretender, finding himself dis- 
 appointed, and that no attempt was made by the 
 irecoh towards an invasion, called a council of war 
 at Derby, where, after violent disputes, it was deter- 
 mined to retreat to Scotland with all possible ex- 
 pedition. 
 
 At a common-council held on the 23d of January, 
 1746, it was agreed to petition parliament for a re- 
 peal of the clause in the act passed in 1724, for re- 
 gulating elections in the city of London, by which a 
 power of negativing any question agitated in the 
 court of common-council was vested in the mayor 
 and aldermen ; and, in consequence of this applica- 
 tion, a bill was passed for repealing the clause com- 
 plained of. 
 
 The rebeUion being finally suppressed by the 
 victory of Culloden, gained on the I6th of April, 
 the lord mayor and aldermen, the court of common- 
 council, and the merchants, &c. of the city of London, 
 respectively addressed his majesty with their most 
 sincere congratulations on that happy event. 
 
 Sir Richard Hoare, who was lord mayor in this 
 troublesome year, received the particular thanks 
 of the court of common-council and court of 
 lieutenancy, for his diligence and steady attachment 
 to his country, during the late time of imminent 
 danger; for his constant readiness to call those 
 courts together ; and, in particular, for his personal 
 attendance on all occasions. 
 
 Tranquillity being restored, it was thought neces- 
 sary to make examples of some of the principal 
 leaders of the rebellion. Accordingly, the Earls of 
 Kilmnrnock and Cromartie, and Lord Baimerino, 
 
 were
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 1^7 
 
 were tried for high-treason in Westminster-hall, 
 before the high court of judicature, the lord chan- 
 cellor presiding as lord high steward ; and, being- 
 found guilty, received sentence of death. Cromar- 
 tie's life was spared, but the other two were beheaded 
 on Tower-hill, on the ISth of August. Charles Rat- 
 cliffe, commonly called Earl of Derwentwater, who 
 had been sentenced to death, for being concerned in 
 the rebellion of 1715, and had made his escape out 
 of Newgate, having been taken on board a ship 
 bound to Scotland, was executed upon his former 
 sentence, on the 8th of December. The last who 
 suffered for this rebellion was Lord Lovat : he was 
 beheaded on the 9th of x\pril, 1747, pursuant to the 
 sentence passed on him by the House of Peers. 
 
 On the 22d of October, 1747, the court of com- 
 mon-council resolved to raise two thousand pounds 
 on the personal estates of the citizens, from Midsum- 
 mer, 1747, to Midsummer, 1748, for the service of 
 the Orphan-fund, pursuant to the powers of an act 
 formerly passed for the relief of the orphans of Lon- 
 don. By this act, the duty of six pence per chal- 
 dron, imposed on coals, for the relief of the fund, 
 was to expire at Michaelmas, 1750: in consequence 
 of which, at a court of common-council, held the 
 1 8th of December, 1747, they agreed to petition the 
 parliament for its fvirther continuance. /Vccordingly, 
 a bill was brought in and passed, by which the duty 
 of six pence per chaldron, on coals and culm, was 
 continued for thirty-five years longer, on the follow- 
 ing conditions, llrst, that out of the produce of the 
 said impositi(;)n, the city should pay three thousand 
 pounds per annum to the Mercer's company; and, 
 secondly, that the residue should be applied to the 
 Orphans' fund: for the benefit of which, all the city 
 manors, lands, &c. should stand charged with the 
 yearly sum gf t^^o thousand pounds, over and above 
 
 the
 
 15S ' HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the eight thousand pounds apphed by the former 
 statute. It was also enacted, that, as the fund for 
 raising the four per cent, interest on the Orphans' 
 capital stock, had produced a very large surplus (in- 
 cluding the sum of twenty-one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and thirty-live pounds seventeen shillings and 
 nine pence, due from the citizens to the said fund); 
 to make good the yearly sum of two thousand 
 pounds, which ought to have been raised on their 
 personal estates, this surplus should be applied to 
 pay off the principal sum of the Orphans' debt. 
 
 Soon after the obtaining of this act, a committee 
 was appointed to deliberate on the discharge of the 
 Orphans' debt, and to consider what savings might 
 be necessary, to enable the citizens to pay the ad- 
 ditional sum of two thousand pounds per annum, to 
 this fund, which was to commence at Michaelmasi, 
 17^0. This committee reported, that, in order to 
 discharge the Orphans' debt, it would be necessary 
 to borrow the sum of twenty-live thousand pounds; 
 which was agreed to by the court of common- 
 council, who empowered the committee to treat for 
 the loan, at three pounds six shillings per cent, in- 
 terest. From the sum thus borrowed, the chamber- 
 lain,onthe 20th of June, 17^1, was ordered to discharge 
 the above sum of twenty-one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and thirty-five pounds seventeen shillings and 
 nine pence, due to the fund from the city, and place 
 it to the credit of the Orphans' fund, in discharge of 
 the debt. In conformity to the terms of the before- 
 mentioned statute, the corporation, from that time, 
 constantly raised the sum of two thousand pounds 
 per annum. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 159 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 Surplus of the GuUdhall Subscription. — Dreadful Fire. — . 
 Act of Common- council for regulating the Election of 
 
 Sheriffs. The Bottle Conjuror. — Peace proclaimed.— -^ 
 
 Magnificent Fire-ivorks. — Riot. Instance of the Effi- 
 
 tacy of the Civil Power. Regulations respecting the 
 
 Employment of foreign Journeymen. — Earthquakes. 
 
 Predicted Recurrence of them. — Gaol Distemper. — Bri- 
 tish Fishery Society. Trials respecting the Tin-plate 
 
 IVorkers, and opening the Port of Lo?idon. — Caseof Eli- 
 zaletk Canning. — Deaths of Lord Mayors. — Dissenters 
 refuse to serve the Office of Sheriff. — Opposition to the 
 Payment of Toll by Freemen. — Boruugh Market removed. 
 — City Militia called out. — Act of Parliament for build- 
 ing Black-friars Bridge. — Freiich Hostilities. — General 
 Discontent. — Change of Ministry. — Act to regulate the 
 
 Fishery on the Thames. Temporary wooden Bridge 
 
 lurnt. — French Colours hung up in St. Paul's, and Ord- 
 nance deposited in the Tower. Subscription for raising 
 
 Soldiers. — Successful Campaign. — Improvements in the 
 City. — Sale of the Gates, — Reduction of Canada, — Death 
 of George II. 
 
 On the 98th of January, 1748, the subscribers to 
 the Guildhall subscription, for the encouragement of 
 the soldiers employed in suppressing the late rebel- 
 lion, held a general meeting; when it appeared that 
 the surplus then remaining in the hands of the com- 
 mittee, amounted to three thousand three hundred 
 pounds; which sum was disposed of to public cha- 
 rities, in the following manner: 
 
 To St. Bartholomew's Hospital - 1000 
 
 St. Thomas's Hospital - - 1000 
 
 Hospital at Bath - - - 1000 
 
 London Infirmary - - - 100 
 
 V/estminster Infirmary - - - lOO 
 
 Infirmary at Hyde-park Corner - 100 
 
 3300 
 
 Xn
 
 160 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 In the morning of the 25th of March, a fire broke 
 out in Exchange-alley, which, notwithstanding a 
 plentiful supply of water, and every possible assist- 
 ance, consumed one hundred and eighteen houses, 
 before noon. Four lives were lost, and the property 
 destroyed was valued, by the lowest computation, at 
 upwards of two hundred thousand pounds. A con- 
 tribution was immediately set on foot for the relief 
 of the uninsured sufferers, who were objects of cha- 
 rity; whose claims amounted to eight thousand 
 pounds; the sum collected on this occasion was 
 live thousand seven hundred and seventy-four pounds 
 nineteen shillings and four pence ; the whole of 
 which was divided among the claimants. For the 
 more expeditious re-building of the houses destroyed 
 by this accident, the common-council permitted as 
 many non-freemen as might be found necessary, to 
 be employed in the work. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 7th of 
 April, a bill passed for repealing all former acts of 
 that court, touching the nomination and election of 
 sheriffs of the city of London and county of Mijddle- 
 sex, and for regulating such nominations and elec- 
 tions for the future; in which it was ordained, that 
 the right of electing persons to the office of sheriff- 
 alty, shall be vested in the liverymen, and that the 
 general election day shall be the 24th of June, ex- 
 cept it be Sunday, and then on the following day. 
 That the person or persons elected to the said office, 
 shall take the same upon him or them on the vigil of 
 St. Michael the archangel, next following the said 
 election, and hold the same for and during the space 
 of one whole year, from thence next ensuing, and no 
 longer, when some other persons shall be duly elected, 
 and sworn into the same office in their stead. That, 
 at the general elections for sheriffs, all the aldermen, 
 who have not served, shall be put in nomination, 
 
 according
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. l6l 
 
 according to their seniority, before any commoner. 
 That the lord mayor may, between the 14th day of 
 April, and the 14th day of June, in every year, no- 
 minate, in the court of lord mayor and aldermen, nine 
 persons, free of this city, who shall be put in nomi- 
 nation for the said office, before any other commoner, 
 and in the same order as nominated bv the lord 
 mayor. That, if any so nominated shall, within six 
 days after notice, pay four hundred pounds to the 
 chamberlain, and twenty marks towards the mainte- 
 nance of the ministers of the several prisons, together 
 with the usual fees, every such person shall be dis- 
 charged from serving the said office, except he shall 
 afterwards take upon him the office of an alderman. 
 That any two liverymen, having a right to vote at 
 the election of sheriffs, may nominate any person, free 
 of the city, for the said office. That no freeman shall 
 be discharged from such election or nomination, for 
 insufficiency of wealth, unless he voluntarily sw^ears 
 himself not w^orth fifteen thousand pounds, in lands, 
 goods, and separate debts, and the same be attested 
 upon oath, by six other freemen of credit and repu- 
 tation. That every person elected shall, at the next 
 court of lord mayor and aldermen, give one thousand 
 pounds bond to the chamberlain, that he will take 
 upon him the said office, on the 28th of September 
 next following. That the person elected, who does 
 not give bond to serve, shall, if an alderman, or com- 
 moner, of the lord mayor's nomination, forfeit and 
 pay six hundred pounds; but, if nominated by livery- 
 men, he shall forfeit and pay only four hundred 
 pounds, to be recovered by action of debt, in the 
 name of the chamberlain of London, and to be ap- 
 plied to the use of the lord mayor, commonalty, and 
 citizens of London, subject to the orders and resolu- 
 tions of the court of common-council ; except one 
 hundred pounds to each of the new sheriffs, if two 
 VOL. II. Y fines
 
 16!3 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 fines happen to be paid, or fifty pounds to each of 
 the said sheriffs, should there be only one fine paid. 
 That no person who has fined shall be ever after eli- 
 gible, except he takes upon him the office of an al- 
 derman ; neither shall any person be compelled to 
 serve the said office more than once. 
 
 The year 1749 was remarkable for one of the most 
 extraordinary impositions that credulity ever coun- 
 tenanced. About the middle of January, an adver- 
 tisement appeared in the newspapers, informing the 
 public, that, on the 16th instant, a person would ap- 
 pear at the new theatre in the Haymarket, who, after 
 playing the music of every instrument in use, upon 
 a cane belonging to any of the spectators, would 
 walk into a common quart bottle, placed upon a ta- 
 ble in the middle of the stage, in sight of the audi- 
 ence, and would sing in it; and, during his stay in 
 the bottle, any person might examine it, and be sa- 
 tisfied that it was a common wine bottle. Some other 
 feats were to be exhibited, equally entertaining; and, 
 although it might be supposed impossible that man- 
 kind, even in a state of gross ignorance, could be so 
 egregiously imposed upon, yet it is unquestionably 
 true, that the scheme did take effect in the British 
 capital, and in the middle of the eighteenth century. 
 On the evening of the exhibition, the house was 
 crowded with the nobility and gentry of both sexes, 
 who sat very patiently for a considerable time, with- 
 out the amusement of a single fiddle : at length the 
 audience grew tired and clamorous; and a fellow 
 came from behind the curtain, and, bowing, said, if 
 the performer did not appear, the money should be 
 returned : at the same time, some person in the pit 
 called out, that, if the ladies and gentlemen would 
 give double price, the conjuror would get into a pint 
 bottle. This was the signal for a riot: the greater 
 part of the audience hurried out of the theatre, with 
 
 2 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 163 
 
 the loss of cloaks, hats, wigs, and swords ; part re- 
 mained behind, who, being joined by the mob from 
 without, tore up the benches, broke the scenes, pulled 
 down the boxes, and entirely demolished the inside 
 of the theatre; all of which they carried into the 
 street, preceded by the curtain, fastened to a pole, as 
 a flag of triumph; where they converted them into 
 a large bonfire. A strong party of the guards was 
 sent for, but did not arrive in time to save any part 
 of the property. No material injury was sustained 
 by any of the spectators, from the confusion in the 
 house. 
 
 The treaty of peace with France and Spain, which 
 had been long in agitation, being concluded, it was 
 proclaimed in London, on the 2ci of February ; but 
 so little pleasing were the conditions of it to the citi- 
 zens, that their congratulations to his majesty were 
 added to an address on the safe delivery of the Prin- 
 cess of Wales. 
 
 The peace was celebrated on the 29th of April, by 
 a more magnificent display of fireworks than had 
 ever been seen in this country. The machine which 
 contained them was placed in the Green-park, and 
 represented a magnificent temple, adorned with sta- 
 tues, paintings, and inscriptions. The number of 
 fireworks played off, amounted to upwards of thirty- 
 two thousand. 
 
 Some sailors having been ill treated by women of 
 the town, in a house near the New-church in the 
 Strand, a considerable body of them assembled, on 
 the evening of the 1st of July, armed with cutlasses 
 and bludgeons, and proceeded to the house, where 
 they destroyed all the furniture and wearing apparel, 
 and turned the women into the street. On the fol- 
 lowing night, diey attacked two more houses in the 
 same manner, and, the third day, made a similar at- 
 tempt upon one in the Old Bailey, from which the 
 
 owners
 
 164 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 owners had previou&ly removed the goods, from ar^ 
 apprehension of their design. It was, at last, found 
 necessary to call in the assistance of the military, to 
 suppress these dangerous proceedings ; and several of 
 the rioters were apprehended and committed for 
 trial. 
 
 This was followed by a circumstance, which proves- 
 that the firmness and temper of a civil magistrate 
 may frequently render the interposition of the mili- 
 tary unnecessary. Fifteen criminals were ordered 
 for execution on the 18th of October, among whom 
 was one Bosavern Penlez, a young man, convicted 
 of being concerned in the riot in the Strand. A 
 rescue being apprehended in favour of Penlez, a 
 party of foot-guards attended at Holborn-bars, to 
 guard the prisoners to Tyburn: but Mr. Sheriff 
 Janssen, for the dignity of the city and his office, 
 mounted on horseback, when the criminals were put 
 into the carts at Newgate ; and, having provided a 
 sullicient guard of the civil power^ very genteelly 
 dismissed the officer and his men at Holborn, and 
 conducted the malefactors to the place of execution 
 without their assistance. A great number of sailors, 
 armed with bludgeons and cutlasses, attended at the 
 gallows, and became very clamorous, from an appre- 
 hension that the body of Penlez would be delivered 
 to the surgeons; but Mr, Janssen assuring them it 
 should not, they were pacified, and the criminals 
 were executed without the least obstruction. 
 
 This year finished with a remarkable cause tried 
 in the lord mayor's court, between a club of journey- 
 men free painters, plaintiffs, and Mr. Row, citizen 
 and master painter, defendant, for employing a per- 
 son, not free, to work for him in the city. The de- 
 fendant pleaded, and made it appear, by evidence, 
 that, from the want of free journeymen of the trade, 
 it was not possible for the summer business of the 
 
 city
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 165 
 
 city to be done, without the assistance of at least an 
 equal number of non-freemen ; and that no freeman 
 was ever refused, or could sometimes be got, on any 
 terms. To which the counsel for the plaintiffs re- 
 plied, with a very learned argument upon a by-law, 
 made by the city in the reign of Queen Anne. The 
 jury went out, at two o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 returned twice, without agreeing on their verdict; 
 and being sent out again, and continuing a long time, 
 tlie court ordered them to be locked up in the room, 
 without fire, candle, or any sustenance, by an officer 
 sworn to observe the same, and to attend them ; in 
 which situation they continued till six o'clock next 
 morning, when they brought in a verdict for the 
 plaintiffs. 
 
 The masters of the several handicraft trades, find- 
 ing themselves greatly aggrieved by this verdict, pe- 
 titioned the common-council for liberty to employ 
 foreigners, under certain restrictions. This produced 
 a counter-petition from the journeymen ; the consi- 
 deration of which was deferred till the 8th of Febru- 
 ary, when a committee of six aldermen and ten com- 
 moners met to adjust these disputes. At this meet- 
 ing, a day was appointed for hearing deputations from 
 the masters and journeymen, and, after several ad- 
 journments, the committee reported their opinion to 
 the court; who, on the 28th of November, resolved, 
 that the court of lord mayor and aldermen be em- 
 powered to grant permission to any freeman, who 
 could not procure a sufficient number of free jour- 
 neymen, to employ foreigners, provided he has one 
 apprentice, or has had one within twelve months be- 
 fore making application for the licence; and, in case 
 no court of lord mayor and aldermen is held, the lord 
 mayor may, on any Tuesday, grant such licence, for 
 a term not exceeding six weeks. A power is, how- 
 ever, reserved to the court of lord mayor and alder- 
 men.
 
 166 History and suhvey of 
 
 men to revoke any licence, though the time (ot 
 which it is granted be not expired. 
 
 On the 8th of February, 17^0, between twelve 
 and one o'clock at noon, a smart shock of an earth- 
 quake was felt through the cities of London and 
 Westminster, and parts adjacent; and, on the'Sth of 
 March, between five and six in the morning, the 
 town was alarmed with another shock, much more 
 violent, and of longer continuance than the first. 
 Many people, awakened from their sleep by it, ran 
 terrified into the streets without their clothes ; a 
 great number of chimnies were thrown down, 
 several houses were considerably damaged ; and, in 
 Charter-house square, a woman was thrown from 
 her bed, and her arm broke. The panic of the 
 people in consequence of these earthquakes was 
 greatly increased by the ridiculous prediction of a 
 wild enthusiastic soldier in the life-guards, who 
 boldly prophesied, that as the second earthquake had 
 happened exactly four weeks after the first, there 
 would be a third exactly four weeks after the 
 second, which would lay the whole cities of London 
 and Westminster in ruins. Though this prognosti- 
 cation appears too ridiculous to merit the least at- 
 tention, yet it produced the most astonishing effect 
 on the credulous and already terrified people. A day 
 or two before the expected event, multitudes of the 
 inhabitants abandoned their houses and retired into 
 the country ; the roads were thronged with carriages 
 of persons of fashion ; and the principal places with- 
 in twenty miles of London were so crowded, that 
 lodgings were procured at a most extravagant 
 price. 
 
 On the evening preceding the dreaded 5th of 
 
 ^ April, most of those who staid in the city sat up all 
 
 night ; some took refuge in boats on the river, and 
 
 the fields adjacent to the metropolis were crowded 
 
 with
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 16? 
 
 with people; all of whom passed the night in fear- 
 ful suspense, till the hght of the morning put an end 
 to their apprehensions, by convincing them, that the 
 prophecy they had been weak enough to credit, had 
 no other basis than that of falsehood. 
 
 Although the predicted time was now elapsed, yet 
 the terror of the people did not thoroughly abate 
 till after the eighth day of the month, because the 
 earthquakes had happened on the eighth day of the 
 two former months. When this time also passed, 
 their fears vanished, and they returned to their re- 
 spective habitations. The false prophet, who had 
 been the instigator of such general confusion among 
 the people, was committed to a place of conline- 
 ment. 
 
 In this year, the lord mayor, Sir Samuel Pennant, 
 some of the aldermen, two of the judges, the under 
 sheriff, and many of the lawyers who had attended 
 the March sessions in the Old Bailey, most of the 
 Middlesex jury, and a considerable number of the 
 spectators died of the gaol distemper, caught from 
 the prisoners. In consequence of this disaster, a 
 machine was soon after put upon the top of New- 
 gate, to supply it with fresh air, the prison was well 
 cleansed, and every other precaution taken to pre- 
 serve the health of the prisoners. 
 
 About this time his majesty's royal charter having 
 passed the Great Seal for encouraging the British 
 White Herring Fishery, and for incorporating 
 certain persons of great wealth and distinction, by 
 the name of " the Society of the Free British Fishery," 
 for the term of twenty-one years. His Royal High- 
 ness the Prince of Wales, on the 25th of October 
 (escorted by a party of horse-guards to Temple-bar), 
 went in his state coach, attended by two others, in 
 which were the lords of the bed chamber, his foot- 
 men and watermen walking- before, to Fishmonnfers'- 
 
 hall,
 
 163 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 hall, in Thames-street, to receive the charter of the 
 British Herring Fishery Company, as governor there- 
 of. His royal highness was received at the door of 
 the hall by Mr. Alderman Bethel, president of the 
 society, Mr. Alderman Janssen, vice president, 
 Admiral Vernon, General Oglethorpe, and such of 
 the society as were in town ; and afterwards by the 
 master and court of assistants of the Fishmongers' 
 company, in their gowns, who all waited on him to 
 their parlour. His royal highness made a most 
 gracious speech, in which he expressed his great re- 
 gard for the prosperity of the city of London. After 
 which, the fishery charter being read by the clerk of 
 the Fishmongers' compan}^ his royal highness wished 
 all imaginable success to this national undertaking, 
 and declared that he had the welfare of it extremely 
 at heart. The clerk of the company then thanked 
 his royal highness for the great honour done the 
 society, and beseeched him, in the name of the com- 
 pany, to accept of the freedom thereof; and his 
 royal highness being graciously pleased to accept of 
 the same, it was presented to him on the twenty- 
 fifth, in a gold box of the most exquisite work* 
 manship. 
 
 On the 2 2d of December, a proclamation was 
 published by order of council, promising one hun- 
 dred pounds over and above all other rewards, for 
 the discovering and apprehending any offender, who, 
 since the 20th of September, has committed, or be- 
 fore the 20th of December, 1751, shall commit, any 
 murder or robbery by violence, or make an assault 
 with offensive weapons with intent to rob, in any 
 of the streets of London, or within five miles of the 
 city. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 17-51, a cause wns 
 tried at Hicks's Hall, between the tin-plate workers 
 and one Milton, whom they indicted upon the statute 
 
 of
 
 LONDON AND ITS E^'VIRONS. 1 69 
 
 of Queen Elizabeth, for exercising their art and 
 mystery, not having served a regular apprenticeship 
 to the same. The verdict was given for Mihon, 
 because the tin-phite workers were not incor- 
 porated till many years after the enacting that 
 statute. 
 
 On the 22d of October a cause was heard before 
 the lord mayor and court of aldermen, about laying 
 open the port of London for bringing in foreign oats, 
 pursuant to a statute, 1, James II. empowering that 
 court, in April and October, to determine the com- 
 mon market prices of middling English corn, by the 
 oaths of two substantial persons of jMiddlesex and 
 Surrey, being neither merchants, cornfactors, meal- 
 men, nor factors for importing corn, nor interested in 
 the corn, and each having a freehold estate of twenty 
 pounds, or a leasehold estate of Hfty pounds, per an- 
 num, and by such other ways as to them shall seem 
 fit ; and if the same shall appear to be above sixteen 
 shillings a quarter., they are to certify the same, with 
 the two oaths annexed, to the commissioners of the 
 customs, to be hung up in the custom-house. The 
 persons that made the application were several 
 masters of livery-stables, and inn-keepers, and their 
 opponents were the cornfactors. After a heai'ing, 
 which lasted ten honrs, it was decided for the corn- 
 factors, five aldermcHi being for laying open the port, 
 and five, with the lord mayor, who threw in his cast- 
 ing vote, against it. 
 
 On the 4th of Jime, 17>52, Thomas Winterbottom, 
 Esq. J^ord Mayor of London, died in his mayoralty, 
 and was succeeded by Robert Alsop, Esq. 
 
 A subject of an extraordinary nature occurred in 
 the })eoinning of the vear 17-3:3. A young woman, 
 named I'JizaU'th Canning, pretended that, on the 
 1st of .January, as she was returning home at night, 
 she was attacked under I5edlam-wall by two men, 
 
 VOL. 11. z who
 
 170 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 who robbed her of part of her cloaths, gagged her, and 
 dragged her along to the house of one Wells, nearEnfield 
 VV^ash, where she was confined in a cold damp room 
 for a month, without any sustenance but a few stale 
 crusts of bread and about a gallon of water; but that 
 • having at last made her escape out of a window, she 
 returned almost naked to her mother, who lived near 
 IMoorfields. 
 
 The story, notwithstanding its improbability, 
 operated so powerfully on the passions of many, 
 even of the best informed classes, that large subscrip- 
 tions were raised for the prosecution of the supposed 
 delinquents ; and the mistress of the house at En- 
 field, her servant, and an old gipsey-woman, whom 
 Canning charged with having robbed her of her stays, 
 were apprehended and tried. Wells was acquitted 
 of the felony, but was punished as a bawd. Hall, the 
 servant, being intimidated by the magistrate whoexa- 
 mined her, turned evidence for Canning; and Squires, 
 the gipsey, was convicted of the robbery, though she 
 produced the most convincing evidence that she 
 was at Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire, on the night it 
 was said to have been committed. During the 
 course of the trial, Canning and her witnesses con- 
 tradicted themselves in many particulars, but the 
 prepossession in her favour was so great that the 
 most palpable falsehoods advanced by her and her 
 adherents were admitted as incontrovertible truths, 
 while the witnesses for Squires were either so over- 
 awed by the rabble that they durst not appear in 
 court ; or, if they had sufficient resolution to give 
 evidence in her favour, were hisulted in such a man- 
 ner that their lives were sometimes endangered. 
 
 Sir Crispe Gascoigne, who was at this time Lord 
 Mayor of London, conducted himself in this affair 
 with the greatest justice and impartiality. Con- 
 sidering the improbability of the charge, and the 
 I heatj
 
 tONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 171 
 
 Keat, passion, and furious zeal, with which it was 
 prosecuted ; and, being convinced of the old womanV 
 innocence by a great number of affidavits, volunta- 
 rily sent up from the country by persons of undoubt- 
 ed veracity, he, in conjunction with some other 
 worthy citizens, determined to oppose the torrent 
 of popular prejudice. Application was made to the 
 throne for mercy. The affair was referred to the 
 attorney and solicitor-general, who, having examined 
 the witnesses on both sides, made their report in 
 favour of Squires, who was first respited, and after- 
 wards received his majesty's free pardon. 
 
 A bill of indictment was preferred by the lord 
 mayor against Elizabeth Canning for perjury. Her 
 friends did the like against the witnesses from Ab- 
 botshury in favour of Squires. The Abbotsbury 
 people appeared ; but no evidence coming against 
 them, they were acquitted. Canning, being ad- 
 mitted to bail, at first absconded, but afterwards 
 surrendered to take her trial, which continued by ad- 
 journment five days; when she was convicted of 
 perjury, and committed to Newgate. 
 
 When she was brought up to receive sentence, a 
 new trial was moved for on the affidavit of two of 
 the jurors, who swore, that although they believed 
 her guilty of })erjury, they did not believe it to be 
 wilful and corrupt. The decision of this point was 
 put ofi" till the next sessions ; and, on the SOih of 
 May, 1754'y it was adjudged by five judges then 
 on the bench, that the verdict was good, and agreea- 
 ble to evidence. After which the court passed 
 judgment that she should suffer one month's im- 
 prisonment, and then be transported for seven 
 years. 
 
 Her supporters, however, made such diligent ap- 
 plications in her favour that they obtained permission 
 tor her to transport herself, andshewentto America, 
 
 in
 
 !7S HISTORY AND SURYEY OF 
 
 in a private ship, with every accommodation money 
 could procure her, and means were used to secure 
 her a favourable reception at her arrival. 
 
 So truly sensible were the citizens of London of 
 the rectitude of Sir Crispe Gascoigne's conduct in 
 this aflair, that at the expiration of his mayoralty, 
 thanks were voted to him bv the common-council 
 " for his steady perseverance in the cause of justice; 
 his generous protection of the distressed, and his re- 
 markable humanity." 
 
 Sir Crispe Gascoigne was succeeded in his office of 
 lord mayor by Edmund Ironside, Esq. who was so 
 
 ill with the gout at the time of his being sworn into 
 
 111'" 
 office, that he was obliged to be carried to the Ex- 
 chequer in a sedan chair, and died on the 27th of 
 November. He was the fifth lord mayor who died 
 in his mayoralty from the year 1740; and it is re- 
 markable that, from the institution of the office 
 until that year, a period of five hundred and fifty- 
 one years, such an event had only occurred six 
 times. 
 
 On the election for sheriffs, in the year 17^i? 
 George Streatfield and Alexander Sheafe, Esqs. w^ere 
 chosen by a considerable majority, but being 
 called upon to give bond to serve the office, they 
 declined it, and gave answer to the court of alder- 
 men, by their "attornies, that, being protestant 
 dissenters, they had not, within a year of the election, 
 taken the sacrament, according to the rites of the 
 church of England, and therelbre dared not to take 
 upon them that office, in defiance of the act, 13 
 Car. II. Stat. 2, Cap. 1. In consequence of this 
 a common-hall was summoned to choose other two ; 
 who, choosing Allan Evans, a protestant dissenter, 
 he likewise pleaded the same excuse. The court of 
 common-council therefore, on the 26th of Septem- 
 ber, ordered that actions should be brought against 
 
 all
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 175 
 
 ail those gentlemen, for the penalties incurred by 
 their refusing to serve the office of sheriff; and a com- 
 mittee was appointed to. see the said prosecutions 
 executed. 
 
 A cause was tried, in Michaehnas term, in the 
 court of King's-bench, Guildhall, on an action brought 
 by Mr. Richard Holland, a leather-seller, in Newgate- 
 street, against the collectors of toll, in Smiihfield, 
 during the time of Bartholomew-fair ; when JMr. 
 Holland's witnesses were examined ; but no person 
 appearing on the other side, a verdict was given in 
 favour of Mr. Holland, on fifteen issues, with costs 
 of suit. By which determination, all the citizens of 
 London are exempted from paying toll at the said, 
 fair for the future. 
 
 in support of the ancient privilege of the citizens 
 of London, to be exempt from toll for their goods, 
 throughout all England, Mr. Holland had also applied 
 for, and obtained, a certificate, from the lord mayor 
 and court of aldermen, in the mayoralty of Sir Wil- 
 liam Calvert, by which the privilege of exemption 
 was not only allowed to him, but extended to every 
 freeman of the city of London. 
 
 The public-spirited example of this gentleman was 
 immediately followed by the freemen residing in the 
 several markets of the city, who determined to op- 
 pose the oppressive demands of the farmers of them, 
 in exacting toll. In consequence of this determina- 
 tion, twelve different actions were brought by the 
 farmers of Newgate-market, against the housekeepers 
 around it, for refusing to pay the toll they had been 
 accustomed to demand and receive; and in July, 
 17-34, one of the issues was tried in the court of 
 Common-pleas, at Guildhall, and the plaintiffs were 
 nonsuited; ever since which, the people have conti- 
 nued free and unmolested. 
 
 An
 
 1^4 iiIstOrV And suhvey oi* 
 
 An act of p'culiament was passed, on the 90th of 
 March, 17<53, to prevent the holding of a market in 
 the Borough High-street; which was soon followed 
 by another, on the petition of the inhabitants of 
 Southwark, to hold a market on a spot of ground, 
 west of the high-street, called the Triangle » 
 
 On the 15th of November, the secretary of war 
 sent an order to the court of aldermen, acquainting 
 them, that the motions of the French indicated an 
 intention of invading England, and that, therefore^ 
 the militia must hold themselves in readiness to 
 march* In consequence of this, a court of lieute- 
 nancy was immediately summoned to carry the said 
 order into execution; who, on the 20th, directed the 
 six regiments to be exercised in the Artillery-ground^ 
 by divisions of four companies each day. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 18th of 
 December, the petition for a new bridge at Black- 
 friars, which had been prepared by the committee 
 appointed for that purpose, was agreed to by a ma- 
 jority of thirty-four ; and Mr. Sheriff Whitehead was 
 ordered to present the same to the house* This pe- 
 tition w^as accordingly presented, on the l.'jth of Ja- 
 nuary following; and an act of parliament was soon 
 after passed for that purpose. By this act, the lord 
 mayor, aldermen, and common-council, were directed 
 to form the said bridge in such a manner, as that there 
 should remain a free and open passage for the water, 
 through the arches, of seven hundred and fifty feet, 
 at least, within the banks of the river; and that no 
 buildings, except the proper gates and toll-houses, 
 be erected thereon. The said mayor, &c. were em- 
 powered to make, widen, and enlarge, such streets, 
 ways, and passages, as they should think necessary, 
 to and from the said bridge, and to agree with the 
 owners and occupiers of such lands, tenements, or 
 
 hereditaments,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 17 J 
 
 hereditaments, as they should think proper to be pur- 
 chased, removed, or pulled down, for that purpose. 
 The act also provided, that a proper number of lamps 
 be fixed on the said bridge, and a number of watch- 
 men appointed for the safety of passengers. And, to 
 defray the expenses attending the completion of this 
 undertaking, the mayor, &c. were empowered, after 
 the bridge should be finished, to appoint a toll, not 
 exceeding a rate specified, and to borrow any sum, 
 not exceeding thirty thousand pounds per annum, 
 upon the credit of the tolls, until the whole sum of 
 one hundred and sixty thousand pounds be raised, 
 to be applied to the purposes of this act. 
 
 The king having informed both houses of parlia- 
 ment, that he had received repeated advices of the 
 military preparations made in the various ports of 
 France, and that there was great reason to suspect 
 the French intended to invade Eno-land or Ireland, 
 the lord mayor, aldermen, and common-council, pre- 
 sented an address to his majesty, on the 6th of April, 
 in which they assured him of their loyal affection, 
 and their determined resolution to exert themselves 
 to the utmost of their abilities, in support of his per- 
 son and government. 
 
 The designs of the French were soon manifested 
 by a descent u|X)n Minorca; the intelligence of which 
 no sooner arrived, than war was declared, on the 
 1 8th of May, at the usual places, and with the accus- 
 tomed ceremonies. 
 
 This period produced the institution of the Marine 
 Society, by the voluntary association of several mer- 
 chants and others ; at the head of whom was Mr. 
 .lonas Hanway, a gentleman ever active in schemes 
 for the public good. 
 
 The general discontent of the people, at the loss of 
 Minorca, was greatly increased by the ministry bring- 
 ing in a number of Uauovcrian troops, to protect and 
 
 defend
 
 176 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 defend die country from the French; and produced 
 an address to his majesty, from the citizens of Lon- 
 don, in which they represent the evils brought on the 
 state by the negligence or incapacity of his ministers, 
 and call for justice upon the authors of them. Si- 
 milar addresses were presented from most of the 
 other corporations and counties in the kingdom. 
 
 His majesty, to convince the people how desirous 
 he was of pursuing such measures as might be satis- 
 factory to them, as well as consistent with the go- 
 vernment of his kingdom, ordered the Hanoverian 
 troops to withdraw to their own country, and ad- 
 mitted the expediency of a national militia. He 
 likewise appointed the Rt. Hon. Henry Bilson Legge, 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer; and, on the 4th of De- 
 cember, 1756, he dismissed Mr. Fox, and delivered 
 the seals to the Rt. Hon. William Pitt, making him 
 Secretary of State and prime Minister. These ap- 
 pointments gave the highest satisfaction, not only to 
 the citizens of London, but to all those who w^ere 
 well-wishers to their country ; and produced such 
 measures as intirely restored the king to the confi- 
 dence of his subjects. This event produced the mi- 
 litia bill, which is considered as a barrier of the peo- 
 ple's liberty against ministerial power; and the inte- 
 rest of the nation became the touchstone of every 
 measure proposed by the administration. 
 
 But this satisfactory state of affairs was of short du- 
 ration: the administration, finding their unwise mea- 
 sures opposed by the two favourites of the nation, 
 and, dreading their integrity, prevailed on his ma- 
 jesty to dismiss them from their places, which w^as 
 done on the 9th of April, 17^7. 
 
 This revolution was no sooner known, than the 
 whole nation seemed to rise up as one man in their 
 favour, and the people took every means they could 
 devise to testify their respect for them. The city of 
 
 London
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 177 
 
 London led the way; and, on the 1.5th of April, in 
 a court of common-council, it was proposed, and 
 unanimously agreed, to present eacii of them with 
 the freedom of the city of London, in a gold box, of 
 the value of one hundred guineas. 
 
 An act of parliament was passed in this year, to 
 regulate the fishery in the river Thames, and for the 
 more speedy punishment of offenders, by which 
 the lord mayor and aldermen are empowered to 
 make rules and ordinances, from time to time, 
 for the government of all persons concerned in that 
 fishery. 
 
 On the 1 1th of April, 17o8, between the hours of 
 ten and eleven o'clock at night, a temporary vvoodeii 
 bridge, built for the convenience of carriages and 
 foot-passengers, while London-bridge was wKiening 
 and repairing, was entirely consumed by fire. 
 
 His majesty having been pleased to order, that 
 the colours taken fi'om the French at Louisburgh, 
 should be hung up in St. Paul's cathedral, they were 
 escorted from Kensington to the west door of the 
 church, with great military pomp, on the 6th day of 
 September; and, on the l6th, the cannon and mor- 
 tars, taken at Cherburgh, passed through the city, in 
 grand procession, and were deposited in the Tower 
 of London. 
 
 The p(nver of the enemy in Germany being- very 
 considerable, and continual recruits wanted to sup- 
 ply the great draughts of men necessary to be made 
 from England, to defeat their designs, the lord mayor 
 summoned a court of common-council to meet on 
 the 14th of August, 1759, when his lordship informed 
 the court, that he had called them together to deli- 
 berate on a proposition of great consequence to the 
 service of their king and countrv, and hoped that 
 the result would be such as should du honour to the 
 
 VOL. II. A a city,
 
 178 HISTORY AND SURVEY 01'' 
 
 city, by proving the sincerity of their professions to 
 his majesty. 
 
 In consequence of his lordship's proposition, the 
 court, among other considerations, resolved and or- 
 dered, that voluntary subscriptions should be re- 
 ceived, in the chamber of London, to be appro- 
 priated as bounty-money, to such persons as should 
 enter into his majesty's service; and that the city 
 subscribe one thousand pounds for this purpose. 
 
 This subscription met with such universal encou- 
 ragement, that, from an account published at the 
 time, it appears, that the money subscribed amounted 
 to seven thousand and thirty-nine pounds seven shil- 
 lings ; and the number of men enlisted, to one thou- 
 sand two hundred and thirty-five; 
 
 The successes of the year 17-59 Were many and 
 great ; but the last of them, the conquest of Quebec, 
 "was considered of such importance, that, immedi- 
 ately on receipt of the intelligence of it, a court of 
 common-council was called, and an address to his 
 majesty unanimously voted, expressive of their great 
 satisfaction; in which, after enumerating the advan- 
 tages gained in the course of the year, they describe 
 them as events, such as will for ever render his ma- 
 jesty's auspicious reign the favourite aera in the his- 
 tory of Great Britain. 
 
 The year 176O offers a memorable instance of the 
 strict impartiality of the British laws. Earl Ferrers, 
 from motives which never clearly appeared, had 
 murdered his steward; for which he was tried and 
 convicted before the House of Lords, and received 
 sentence of death; and, on the 5th of May, he was 
 hanged at Tyburn, and his body delivered to the sur- 
 geons, to be anatomized. Neither the plea of insa- 
 nity, nor his rank, nor his alliance with royalty, could 
 produce the slightest deviation from that equal 
 
 justice,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 179 
 
 justice, which is administered to all ranks; and 
 he suffered the same punishment, in the same 
 place, as a murderer of the lowest class of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Several plans having been presented to the com- 
 mittee appointed for managing the new bridge to be 
 erected at Biack-friars, they at length gave the pre- 
 ference to Mr. MyJne, a Scots architect; and the first 
 pile for the bridge was driven in the middle of the 
 river, on the 7th of June, 1760. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 17th of 
 the same month, the committee of the city lands 
 were empowered to put in execution an act of par- 
 liament, passed the last sessions, for widening and 
 improving the several streets in the city; and, at the 
 same time, they directed an opening to be made, as 
 soon as possible, from the east end of Crutched-friars 
 into the Minorics. 
 
 x\mong other regulations under the said act, it was 
 thought proper to pull down the city gates; in con- 
 sequence of which, the said committee sold Aldgate 
 for one hinidred and seventy-seven pounds ten shil- 
 lings; Cripplegate for ninety-one pounds, and Lud- 
 gate for one hundred and forty-eight pounds; to be 
 pulled down, and taken away by the purcliaser, 
 within a limited time. The statue of Queen Eliza- 
 beth, which stood on the west side of lAidgate, wiis 
 purchased by Alderman Gosling, and set up against 
 the east end of St. Dunstan's church, in Fleet- 
 street. 
 
 On the 18th of Oi^ober, the lord mayor, al- 
 dermen, and common-council, again waited on his 
 majesty wilh a congratulatory address, on the com- 
 pletion of the conquest of Canada, by the reduc- 
 tion of Montreal. But, while the people were 
 exulting in the success of die British arms, and mu- 
 
 4 tuat
 
 180 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 tual professions of lo3^alty, confidence, and pro- 
 tection, appeared between the king and his sub- 
 jects, particularly the citizens of London, a gloom 
 was thrown over their happiness, by the sudden 
 death of the king; who expired on the morning 
 of the 25th of October, in the seventy-seventh 
 year of his age, and thirty-fourth of his reign. 
 
 CHAP. XL
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 185 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 Accession of his present Majesty. Lord Maijor stvorn in 
 
 privately. — Right of the City to the Tolls of Markets 
 tried. — The Freedom of the City not to be voted tvithout 
 previous Notice, — Discontents in consequence of the Rise 
 in Porter .--Honours hestoiuedonMr. Onslow .--Marriage 
 of the King. — Coroiiation. — Instructiojis to the City Re- 
 presentatives, — Vote of Thanks to Mr. Pitt. — Their Ma- 
 jesties entertained at Guildhall. Cock-lane Ghost. 
 
 New Pavements. — Dissenters relieved from being called 
 on to serve the Office of Sheriff. — Birth of the Prince of 
 Wales. — Flood. — Peace proclaimed. — Cyder Act. — Riot 
 
 in the Savoy. Apprehension and subsequent Discharge 
 
 of Mr. Wilkes. Accident on Tower-hill. Dreadful 
 
 Storm. — Riot on burning the North Briton. — Mr. Wilkes 
 quits the Kingdom. 
 
 Perhaps no prince ever received the reins of go- 
 vernment under more happy circumstances, or amidst 
 more universal applause from his subjects, than his 
 present majesty. As soon as proper notice, was given 
 of the king's death, the privy council assembled, to 
 give orders for proclaiming his successor; and next 
 day the new sovereign was proclaimed, before Saville 
 House, in Leicester-fields, in presence of the great 
 officers of state, the nobility, the lord mayor and al- 
 dermen of the city of London, and a great number of 
 persons of the first distinction ; and the proclamation 
 was repeated at the usual places in the metropolis, 
 with the accustomed ceremonies, amidst the accla- 
 mations of a vast concourse of spectators. 
 
 On the 2Sth, the lord mayor and aldermen ot 
 liOndon attended the king, at Leicester-house, with 
 compliments of condolence and congratulation; an 
 address was presented to him by the citizens, in 
 their corporate capacity; as also another to the Prin- 
 
 ces.s
 
 1S2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 cess Dowager of Wales, his mother. This example 
 was followed by the merchants and traders of the 
 city, the clergy of London and Westminster, and 
 all the bodies politic and corporate in the three king- 
 doms. 
 
 The lord mayor's day happening this year on a 
 Sunday, Sir Matthew Blackiston, the mayor elect, 
 was not sworn into his office till the day following ; 
 when, on account of the recent death of the king, 
 who was not yet interred, the usual ceremonies 
 were omitted, and he went privately in his coach, 
 attended by the aldermen, to be sworn into his 
 olfice. 
 
 In the evening of the same day, the remains of his 
 late majesty were removed from Kensington palace, 
 where he died, to the prince's chamber, and there 
 lay in state till the next night, when they were in- 
 terred, with great funeral pomp, in the royal vault 
 under Henry Vllth's chapel, in Westminster Abbey; 
 his youngest son, the Duke of Cumberland, attends 
 ing as chief mourner. 
 
 About this time, two causes were tried in the 
 court of King's-bench, Guildhall, respecting the 
 right of the city to take toll for provisions exposed to 
 sale before houses in the markets. They Mere tried 
 before a jury of non-freemen ; and the parties in the 
 first were, the citizens of London, plaintiffs, and Ed- 
 ward Smith and Ralph Twyford, salesmen, in New- 
 gate market, defendants. The other parties were 
 the same plaintiffs, and John Cope, a salesman, de- 
 fendant, for the sale of provisions in White-hart- 
 street, an avenue or passage, leading to Newgate 
 market. In each of these causes, the jury gave 
 a verdict for the city ; by which the citizens ultimately 
 estabhshed their right to the tolls, not only in the 
 markets, but also in the avenues or passages leading 
 theretOc 
 
 At
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. IS5 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 18th of 
 February, 1761, a motion was made to present the 
 freedom of the city to Sir John Philips, Bart, and 
 George Cooke, Esq. members for Middlesex, for their 
 singular services in supporting such resolutions of 
 the city as required the aid and authority of parlia- 
 ment. As there had not been any previous intima- 
 tion given to the members, that such a question 
 would be moved, it was considered by many, as a 
 motion intended to be carried by surprise, and was 
 opposed, by some, with great warmth, as an irregular 
 proceeding ; but, on the question being put, it was 
 carried by 38 against 33. The court, however, though 
 they were not averse to the compliment bestowed on 
 those gentlemen, determined to guard against any 
 such hasty measure in future ; and therefore unani- 
 mously resolved, that no person should have the 
 freedom of the city presented to him, unless the 
 motion was made at a court preceding that in which 
 the question should be put. 
 
 Among the acts of parliament passed during this 
 session, was one for laying an additional duty on 
 strong beer. Loud clamours were excited by this 
 tax among the class of labouring people, especially 
 in the metropolis, where some few publicans at- 
 tempted to raise the price double the amount of the- 
 tax ; but, as they did not act in concert, those houses 
 in which the experiment was made, w^ere imme- 
 diately abandoned by their customers. The streets 
 resounded with the noise of vukar discontent, which 
 did not even respect the young sovereign; and, if 
 tlie price of strong beer had been actually raised to 
 the consumer, in all probability some dangerous tu- 
 mult would have ensued. 
 
 The business of the session being brought to a 
 close, the padiament was dissolved on the 2()th of 
 March, and writs were issued out lor the election of 
 
 a new
 
 lS4i HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 a new one. Previous to this, Arthur Onslow, Esq. 
 who had filled the chair of the House of Commons 
 with great abilities and dignity, signified his inten- 
 tion of retiring from that station; on which occasion, 
 the House addressed his majesty, to confer some 
 mark of his royal favour upon him, for his great and 
 eminent services, for the space of thirty-three years, 
 and upwards ; which the king complied with, by set- 
 tling an annual pension of three thousand pounds 
 upon him, for his own life and that of his son. And 
 the court of common-council, desirous of testifying 
 their high sense of the merits of this venerable pa- 
 triot, voted him the freedom of the city: which was 
 presented to him in a gold box, of the value of one 
 hundred guineas. 
 
 A treaty of marriage having been concluded be- 
 tween his majesty and the Princess Charlotte Sophia, 
 of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, the nuptials were solem- 
 nized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the 18th 
 of September, 176I, in the presence of the royal fa- 
 mily, and the principal part of the nobility. 
 
 The whole nation united in testifying their joy on 
 this occasion ; the amiable character of the princess 
 promising future felicity both to her royal consort 
 and his subjects. On the 14th, the lord mayor, al- 
 dermen, and common-council, presented their con- 
 gratulations to the royal pair on their nuptials; as 
 also to the Princess Dowager of Wales; which were 
 graciously received by the royal parties. It was on 
 this occasion that the common-council appeared in 
 mazarine blue silk gowns, agreeable to an order of 
 that court, made a short time before; which greatly 
 contribute to heighten the solemnity and grandeur of 
 their public appearance. 
 
 On the !22d, his majesty's coronation was per- 
 formed in the Abbey-church, at Westminster, with 
 the usual solemnities. Their majesties, and the 
 
 princess
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 185 
 
 princess dowager went, in the morning, through the 
 park, from St. James's, in chairs, and their attendants 
 in coaches, to Westminster-hall; from thence they 
 ^valked, about twelve o'clock, in grand procession, 
 to the Abbey. After the ceremony, which lasted 
 six hours, they returned to the hail, where they 
 dined most magnificently^ in the presence of num- 
 berless spectators richly dressed. All the way of 
 the procession was lined with crowded scaffolds, 
 and the Abbey also was as full and splendid as pos- 
 sible. On the queen's entrance into the hall, three 
 thousand wax tapers were all lighted in less than 
 five minutes. The royal standard was hoisted at the 
 Tower, the ships in the river displayed their flags, 
 the streets were universally illuminated, and there 
 was an entire stagnation of all sorts of business. 
 
 A little before the procession began, proceeded 
 that of Her Royal Highness the Princess Dowager 
 of Wales, from the Rouse of Lords, across Old 
 Palace-yard, on a platform erected for that purpose, 
 to the south-cross of Westminster Abbey. She was 
 led by the hand by His Ptoyal Plighness Prince WiL- 
 ham Pienry, dressed in white and silver. Her train, 
 which was of silk, was but short, and her hair flowed 
 down her shoiddersin hanging curls. 
 
 The rest of the princes and princesses, her high- 
 nesses's children, followed in tliis order: 
 
 His Royal Highness Prince Henry Frederick, 
 also in white and silver, handing his sister, the 
 Princess Louisa Anne, dressed in a slip with hanging 
 sleeves. Then His Royal Highness l^rince Pre- 
 derick William, in the same dress, handing his 
 youngest sister, the Princess Caroline Matilda, dress- 
 ed also in a slip with hanging sleeves. 
 
 The other persons who made up this procession 
 were those wliu had not a right to walk with their 
 majesties. 
 
 VOL. II. B b The
 
 1S6 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The procession was closed by three Mahometan 
 ambassadors, in the proper dresses of their country, 
 Jiaving turbans of fine muslin on their heads, and 
 long gowns of flowered and laced sjlk; their sabres 
 were crimson, and in each of them were enclosed a 
 dagger and poniard, 
 
 The great diamond in his majesty's crown fell 
 out in returning from the Abbey to Westminster- 
 haJl, but was immediately found and restored. 
 
 The nation in general, and the corporation of 
 London in particular, being greatly discontented at 
 the measures of the court, and particularly at the re- 
 signation of Mr. Pitt, whose conduct in administration 
 they highly esteemed, the court of common-council, 
 on the 22d of October, unanimously resolved to in- 
 struct the city members on the sense of the citizens 
 respecting the present critical conjuncture. Ac- 
 cordingly, instructions were drawn up and delivered 
 to the four members ; the principal articles in which 
 were : To endeavour at a repeal or amendment of 
 the late act for the relief of insolvent debtors, in 
 respect of the inconveniences arising from the com- 
 pulsive clause (which was accordingly done by 
 Stat. 2, Geo. 111. cap. 2). To promote all necessary 
 measures for the establishing good economy in the 
 distribution of the national treasure : To oppose all 
 attempts for giving up such places as might tend to 
 lessen our present security, restore the naval power 
 of France, and expose us to fresh hostilities ; pg^rti- 
 cularly to preserve our sole and exclusive right to 
 cur acquisitions in North America, and its fisheries; 
 and lastly, to concur in prosecuting the war with 
 the utmost vigour, so as to obtain a safe and honour- 
 able peace. 
 
 At the same time another motion was made, that 
 the thanks of the court be given to the Right Hou. 
 ^In Pitt, for the many and important services render- 
 ed
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIROJJS. 187 
 
 ed to his king and country. And a third motion 
 was made, that the committee, in their thanks to Mr. 
 Pitt, do lament his resignation, &c. These motions, 
 with the exception of the last, on which there was 
 a division, one hundred and nine being for it, and 
 only fifteen against it, were unanimously carried in 
 the affirmative. 
 
 According to ancient custom, the lord mayor who 
 is first elected to that office after a coronation, in- 
 vites the king, and queen, if there is one at the time, 
 to dine at Guildhall on lord mayor's day. Sir 
 Samuel Fludyer, being chosen to that office, had the 
 honour of entertaining their majesties on this occa- 
 sion. The ceremonial was conducted with the 
 greatest magnificence, all ranks striving with each 
 other to manifest their loyalty and attachment. The 
 pageants and decorations were more pompous than 
 had been on any former occasion ; and the enter- 
 tainment was elegant, sumptuous, and well conduct- 
 ed. His majesty and all the royal family expressed 
 their entire approbation of it; and the nobility anct 
 foreign ministers acknowledged it to have been far 
 beyond any they had ever seen. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the ISth 
 of November, it was resolved that a statue of his ma- 
 jesty should be erected in the Royal Exchange ; and 
 that his picture^ with that of the queen, should be 
 put in Guildhall. Their majesties, having been ac- 
 quainted with the intentions of the court, conde- 
 scended to sit for their pictures, which were soon 
 after placed over the hustings in Guildhall, and the 
 statue of the king was placed l^eside that of his 
 grandfather in the Exchange. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1762, the inhabitants 
 of London and Westminster were alarmed by an 
 imposture of a singular nature, carried on in the 
 house of one Parsons, clerk of the parish of St. 
 
 Sepulchre,
 
 183 HISTOKY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Sepulchre, and resident in Cock-lane, West Smitli- 
 field. His daughter, a girl often years of age, being 
 tutored for the purpose, pretended to be visited by 
 the spirit of a young woman who had formerly lived 
 in the house, and had died about a vear and a half 
 before this period. This woman, who went by the 
 name of Fanny, had lived with a Mr. Kent, a broker, 
 who had been the husband of her sister, and w ould 
 willingly have taken Fanny to wife, but this union 
 being forbidden by the canon law, the parties agreed 
 to dispense with the ceremonies of the church, and 
 lived together until, to the great grief of her lover, 
 she died of the small pox. Kent, it seems, had in- 
 curred the resentment of Parsons by pressing him 
 for the payment of some money he had lent him : 
 and this is supposed to have been the source of this 
 diabolical contrivance. His daughter, who had 
 been a favourite of Fanny's, pretended to see her spirit; 
 she was seized with apparent fits and tremblings ; 
 strange noises of knocking, scratching, whispering, 
 fluttering, &c. were heard in the presence of the 
 girl ; and a woman, who lived in the house and was 
 an accomplice in the scheme, pretended to explain 
 these different noises ; all of Avhich tended to show 
 that she had been poisoned by her admirer. The cir- 
 cumstances of this strange visitation being reported,, 
 with many idle exaggerations, interested the public 
 to such a deo'vee, that nothinir was talked of jn all 
 assemblies, from the highest to the lowest, but the 
 Cock-lane ghost; to which there was a continual 
 flux and reflux of people of all ranks : even some of 
 the dignitaries of the church, lent a countenance to 
 the fraud by joining in the superstitious throng who 
 daily flocked to hear it. To such a height did this 
 silly infatuation at length arrive, that all the sug- 
 gestions of reason proved ineffectual to stop it : the 
 most glaring inconsistencies w^ere reconciied in 
 
 support
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 189* 
 
 support of the supernatural visitation, while the un- 
 fortunate object of it was universally detested as an 
 infamous murderer ; who, having robbed a poor 
 girl of her innocence, and become satiated with her 
 person, had consigned her to an untimely end. In 
 vain he published the affidavits of the physician and 
 apothecary who attended her in her last illness: in 
 vain he availed himself of the testimony of those 
 who were with her in her last moments, and saw the 
 tender parting between her and the man whom her 
 spirit was now supposed to impeach. The more 
 pains he took in his own justification, the more 
 deeply were the people impressed with the convic- 
 tion of his guilt. Under this dreadful persecution, 
 he had recourse to the protection of the law, by com- 
 mencing a suit against the father of the child, an 
 ecclesiastic who had been very instrumental in pro- 
 moting the imposture, and some others who had been 
 more or less active in ruining his reputation and 
 fortune. They were indicted for a conspiracy, and 
 tried before Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, who re- 
 sisted an attempt that was made to prove that the 
 visitation was supernatural. He treated such a sup- 
 position with the contempt it deserved, and pro- 
 nounced the whole to be an infamous imposture, 
 contrived and carried on to effect the ruin of an in- 
 nocent person ; and the jury before whom it was 
 tried convicted all .the parties of the conspiracy. 
 Parsons was condemned to stand in the pillory three 
 tmies in one month, and to be imprisoned for two 
 years ; his wife was imprisoned for one year ; the 
 woman \\ho acted as interpreter was committed to 
 Bridewell, to be kept to hard labour for six months, 
 and the clergyman and another person who had 
 been active in the transaction were dismissed with a 
 severe reprimand, after having compromised the 
 affair with the prosecutor, to whom they paid a 
 
 considerable
 
 190 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 considerable sum of money, as a reparation for the 
 injury he had sustained. 
 
 In this session of parhament an act was passed for 
 new paving the streets, and removing the posts and 
 signs that had long been a blemish to the principal 
 parts of this metropolis. The pavement, before, was 
 exceedingly inconvenient, as well to foot passengers 
 as those who Mere obliged to travel in the highway; 
 but by virtue of this act, they were both altered, and 
 the principal parts of the cities of London and West- 
 minster were paved in the elegant as well as conve- 
 nient manner in which they now appear. 
 
 A scheme had been projected to reduce the price 
 of iish, by bringing it from distant ports to London 
 and Westminster by land carriage. This scheme be- 
 ing laid before the parliament, an act was obtained 
 for carrying it into execution ; but, after having tried 
 it for some years, the expenses were found to ex- 
 ceed the produce so greatly, that it was discon- 
 tinued. 
 
 On the 5th of July came on at Guildhall, a cause 
 which had been long depending between the city 
 and the dissenters, concerning the eligibility and ob- 
 ligation of the latter to serve the office of sheriff; 
 when, after several learned pleadings, the judges 
 gave their opinion, that dissenters were not obliged 
 to serve that office. — This determination was after-« 
 wards confirmed bv the House of Lords. 
 
 On the 12th of August, 1762, about seven o'clock 
 in the morning, her majesty was safely delivered of 
 a prince, which event was immediately announced 
 by a discharge of the Tower guns. Soon after her 
 majesty was delivered, the waggons loaded with the 
 treasure of the Llermione (a Spanish register ship, 
 taken by the Active and Favourite, two English fri- 
 gates) entered St. James's-street, in their way to the 
 Tower; on which his majesty aad the nobility went 
 
 to
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 191 
 
 to the windows over the palace-gale, to see them, 
 and joined their acclamations on tA^^o such joyful 
 events. The waggons, twenty in number, were 
 preceded by a company of light horse, with kettle- 
 drums, trumpets, French horns, and hautboys. 
 Each waggon was escorted by four marines, with 
 bayonets fixed, and decorated with Spanish colours 
 beneath those of England. The treasure was 
 conveyed to the Bank, and was estimated at 
 two millions two hundred and seventy-six thousand 
 seven hundred and sixteen dollars, besides other 
 valuable effects. 
 
 On the 14th, the lord mayor, aldermen, and com-, 
 mon-council, waited on his majesty with a congratU" 
 latory address on the birth of a prince, who, on the 
 17th, was created Prince of Wales, &c. and, on the 
 11th of September following, was baptized by the 
 name of George Augustus Frederic. 
 
 On the 27tii of September, it appeared, that, by 
 the rains which fell for some days past, a high tide 
 in the river Thames, and a strong gale of wind at 
 north, the rivers within tvventv miles of London were 
 so raised, that the like had never been known in the 
 memory of man ; and the damage that was sustained, 
 more especially on the river Lea, was almost incre- 
 dible. In less than live hours, the water rose twelve 
 feet in perpendicular height. About Stratford, West 
 Flam, riaistow, Waltham Abbey, and along the 
 marshes, they were very fatal to the inhabitants. 
 Most of their cattle in the fields were carried off; 
 likewise stacks of hav and wood, with the loss of the 
 hogs that were in their sties and yards, together with 
 all the horses that were in the stables. 
 
 In some parts of Stratford, the flood reached the 
 chamber vvind<Dws, and the face of the waters was 
 covered with the bodies of the beasts that perished. 
 YiQM^ the nearest computation tliat could be made, 
 
 not
 
 192 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 not less than five thousand hogs perished in this 
 flood, together with all the horses and other cattle 
 that were in the meadows, whose numbers were very 
 considerable. The flood extended itself over all the 
 causeways, and several people were lost in the high 
 roads: a woman, and horse, and a gentleman in a 
 post-chaise, with the horses and post-boy, all pe- 
 rished in the water ; and three of the passengers in 
 the Bury machine, v.ith two of the horses, were also 
 drowned. The china-works, beyond Bow-bridge, 
 were overflowed in such a manner, that the current 
 rushed through the great arch, like the tide through 
 the arches of London-bridge. The calico grounds, 
 in the neighbourhood of Bow and Stratford, were 
 overflowed, and great quantities of linen carried off". 
 The houses, from Bow-bridge to Stratford, w^ere 
 under water, and the inhabitants were compelled to 
 take refuge by getting out of their windows. 
 
 The negotiations for peace, which had been some 
 time in hand, having been brought to an issue, the 
 secretary of state sent, on the Sth of November, to in- 
 form the lord mayor, that the preliminaries of pacifica- 
 tion were signed on the 3d instant; inconsequence of 
 which, a cessation of arms was proclaimed at Lon- 
 don, on the 1st of December; and, on the 22d of 
 March, 1763, the definitive treaty, which had been 
 signed at Paris, on the 10th of February, was pro- 
 claimed -at the usual places in London; but so dis- 
 satisfied were the citizens with the terms of it, that 
 the common-council could not be prevailed on to 
 address ; and that which was obtained from the al- 
 dermen, was carried up by eight of that body, with 
 a locum tenens at their head. 
 
 There being a bill at this time depending in the 
 
 house, not only for granting additional duties on 
 
 wine, cyder, and perry, but also to subject the makers 
 
 of those articles to the excise laws, the court of cora- 
 
 4 ' mon-
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 193 
 
 mon-council, on the very day that peace was 
 proclaimed, resolved to petition the House of Com- 
 mons against it ; and the next day they prepared 
 instructions for their members to oppose this new 
 attempt, " as being inconsistent with those princi- 
 ples of hberty which had hitherto distinguished this 
 nation from arbitrary governments/' In short, so 
 strenuously did the citizens exert themselves to 
 crush this destructive bill, that, on the 28th of 
 JNIarch, they petitioned each branch of the legisla- 
 ture, separately, against it ; notwithstanding which, 
 it passed into a law. The bill, however, was found 
 to be productive of such imiversal disturbance, not 
 only in the cyder counties, but also throughout the 
 kingdom, that it was first altered, and afterwards 
 repealed. 
 
 On the evening of the 9th of April, a number of 
 recruits, confined in the Savoy for the East India 
 service, made an attempt to effect their escape, by 
 divesting the centincls of their arms, and making 
 themselves masters of the keys ; but the guard at 
 the barracks, bein;r alarmed by the noise, arrived be* 
 fore they had got open the outer gate; when a dread- 
 ful fray ensued between the soldiers and tlie recruits, 
 in which three of the latter were shot dead, and se- 
 veral others mortally wounded. Orje of the soldiers 
 had his hand so shockingly shattered, that he was 
 obliged to undergo immediate amputation. 
 
 We come now to an event, which, whatever heat 
 and party rancour it might liave generated at the 
 time, was productive of such expositions ol' the ge- 
 nuine spirit of the British laws, as must convimv 
 the most sceptical that equal justice is administered 
 to all ranks who live under them. 
 
 A rule for an information was granted by the rouri 
 of King's-bench, against the author, printers, and 
 publishers of a periodical paper, rallc-d the Noith 
 
 VOL. II. c c IJutou,
 
 !94 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Briton, No. 45 ; which contained a severe commen- 
 tary on the king's speech, at the close of the session 
 of parhament, on the 19th of April. 
 
 John Wilkes, Esq. member of parliament for Ayles- 
 bury, in Buckinghamshire, was the gentleman pitched 
 on as the supposed author of this performance. A 
 warrant was therefore issued bv l^ord Halifax, secre- 
 tary of state, for taking JNIr, Wilkes, together with 
 the printer and publisher, into custody. Accord- 
 ingly, on the evening of the 29th of April, 1763, the 
 messengers went to Mr. Wilkes's house for that 
 purpose. On their entrance, he excepted to the ge- 
 nerality of the warrant, as his name was not men- 
 tioned in it, and threatened the first who should offer 
 violence to his person in his own house, at that un- 
 seasonable hour of the night, upon any pretended 
 verbal order, which they might, or might not, have 
 received for that purpose. Upon this, the messengers 
 thought proper to retire, and defer the execution of 
 their warrant till next morning; when they took him 
 into custody, and carried him before the secretaries 
 of state for examination. 
 
 On the intimation of this event, a motion was 
 made in the court of Common-pleas, then sitting in 
 Westminster-hall, for a habeas corpus; and, notwith- 
 standing this was granted, Mr. Wilkes's papers were 
 arbitrarily seized, and he himself was committed 
 close prisoner to the Tower. 
 
 On the :3d of Mav he was brouGfht to the bar of 
 the court of Common-pleas, where he addressed 
 himself to the judges, on the illegality and hardships 
 of his commitment, in a very bold and animated 
 speech. The case was then learnedly argued by 
 eminent lawyers on both sides ; but the court, after 
 making a polite excuse to Mr. Wilkes for the delay, 
 requiring farther time to consider of it, he was re- 
 manded to the Tower till the 6th of ^^ay, with or- 
 ders
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 19^ 
 
 ders that his friends and lawyers should have free 
 access to him. In the mean time orders were given 
 that Mr. Wilkes should no longer continue colonel 
 of the militia for the county of Buckingham. 
 
 On the l6th of May Mr. Wilkes again attended in 
 Westminster-hall ; when, after another spirited ad- 
 dress to the court, and many learned ai'guments on 
 both sides, the Lord Chief Justice Pratt proceeded to 
 give his opinion on the three following points, viz. 
 The legality of Mr. Wilkes's commitment; the ne- 
 cessity for a specification of those particular passages 
 in No. 4.5 of the North Briton, which had been deem- 
 ed a libel ; and his privilege as member of parlia- 
 ment. On the two lirst of these points his lordship 
 determined that the commitment w^as not illegal; 
 but, on the third, he declared that a libel did not 
 come within any of the descriptions of offences 
 which deprive a member of parliament of his privi- 
 lege, and that, therefore, Mr. Wilkes must be dis- 
 charged, in which opinion the rest of the court con- 
 curred. 
 
 A dreadful accident happened on Tower-hill, on 
 the king's birth-day. Some grand fire-works were 
 exhibited there, at the public expense, which drew 
 such a concourse of people, that a railing which sur- 
 rounded a well near the postern was broken down 
 by the press, and a great number of the multitude 
 fell to a depth of thirty feet ; six of whom were 
 taken up dead, fourteen more were so hurt that they 
 died of their wounds, and many others were shock- 
 ingly bruised. 
 
 On the 19th of August, about twelve o'clock at 
 noon, began a dreadful storm of wind, rain, thunder 
 and lightning, in this city, which was preceded by 
 an almost total darkness. The air seemed gready 
 convulsed, and the heat, which was intense, was 
 felt as if from an oven. The appearance of it being 
 
 much
 
 196 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 much like that described to have preceded the great 
 earthquake at Lisbon, many people expected the 
 most direful consequences would follow ; but it 
 happily went off, though much milder in the city of 
 London than in many other places. 
 
 We shall now return to Mr. Wilkes. After his 
 release from the Tower he caused a printing-press to 
 be set up under his own direction, at his house in 
 Great George-street, W^estminster, where he adver- 
 tised the proceedings of the administration, with all 
 the original papers; and the North Briton was re- 
 published. In the mean time an information was 
 Hied against him in the court of King's-Bench, at his 
 majesty's suit, as being author of the North Briton, 
 No. 4:5 I and, on the meeting of the parliament, a 
 message was sent to the House of Commons with 
 the information his majesty had received, that John 
 Wilkes, Esq. a member of that house, was the 
 author of a most seditious and dangerous libel. The 
 examinations and proofs of the said libel, together 
 with the measures that had been taken thereon, were 
 a]so laid before the house : in consequence of which 
 the North Briton, No. 45, was adjudged a false, 
 scandalous, and seditious libel, and was ordered to 
 be burnt by the hands of the common hangman. 
 
 On the 3d of December, the day appointed for 
 putting this sentence in execution, such a prodi- 
 gious multitude of people assembled at the Royal 
 Exchange, that the officers were greatly interrupted 
 in the p'erformance of their duty. The mob began 
 by pelting the hangman, constables, and inferior 
 officers, nor did even the chief officers escape with- 
 out being grossly insulted. Mr. Harley, the high 
 sheriff, had the front glass of his chariot broken by a 
 billet thrown at his person, which was taken from 
 the ftre kindled to destroy the North Briton. Mr. 
 Harley, observing the spirit of licentiousness that 
 
 prevailed
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 197 
 
 prevailed among the people, retired, and hastened to 
 the Mansion-honse to inform the lord mayor of the 
 danger. The executioner, thinking it his duty to 
 follow the high sheriff, made his retreat likewise as 
 soon as possible ; and the constables, seeing the 
 general confusion and timidity of the chief officers, 
 mixed among the crowd and quietly marched off. 
 The North Briton, however, was partly consumed 
 by means of a hghted link on which it was placed; 
 but the remains of it were rescued from the flames 
 bv the violence of the assailants, who carried them 
 off in triumph, and in the evening displayed them 
 at Temple-bar, where a bonfire was made, and a 
 large jack-boot committed to the flames amidst the 
 acclamations of a prodigious concourse of spectators. 
 
 This riot being reported to the two houses of par- 
 liament, they entered very seriously into the con- 
 sideration of its consequences; and, after Mr. Alder- 
 man Ilarley had been examined by the lords, resolved, 
 " that the rioters were perturbators of the public 
 peace, dangerous to the liberties of the country, and 
 obstructors of the national justice." At the same 
 time, the two sheriffs received the thanks of both 
 houses. 
 
 A complaint had been made to the House of 
 Commons, by Mr. Wilkes, of a breach of their pri- 
 vilege, by the imprisonment of his person, the plun- 
 dering of his house, the seizing of his papers, and 
 the serving him with a subpoena upon an information 
 in the court of King's-Bench, &c. Mr. Wilkes, how- 
 ever, not satisfied with this, commenced an action 
 against Robert Wood, Esq. under-sec re taiy of state, 
 for seizing his papers. The cause was tried on 
 the 6th of J)eceniber, before Lord Chief Justice 
 Pratt, and a special jury ; when, after a hearing of 
 near fifteen hours, many arguments on both sides, 
 and a most masterly, pathetic, and eloquent charge, 
 
 given
 
 198 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 given by his lordship, the jury gave a verdict for the 
 plaintiff, with one thousand pounds damages, and 
 full costs of suit. 
 
 Some little time previous to this, notice had been 
 given in the House of Commons that evidence was 
 ready to be produced of Mr. Wilkes being the 
 authorof the obnoxious number of the North Briton ; 
 but as he was disabled from attending the House by 
 a wound he had received in a duel with Mr. Martin, 
 member for Camelford, it was ordered that his com- 
 plaint of breach of privilege and this charge should 
 be taken into consideration on a subsequent day ; 
 and the time for his appearance Avas afterwards en- 
 larged on the report of his physician and surgeon ; 
 but beginning at last to suspect some collusion 
 betwixt him and them, the House, on the l6th of 
 December, made an order that Dr. Heberden and 
 Surgeon Hawkins should attend the progress of his 
 cure and report their opinion to the House. Mr. 
 Wilkes, however, refused to admit them, intimating; 
 his most perfect reliance on the gentlemen to whom 
 he had committed his case ; but, either from the at- 
 tention of the House, or, as he stated it, on account 
 of the dangerous illness of his daughter, he took ad- 
 vantage of their adjournment for the Christmas 
 holidays, and, on the 24th, suddenly set out for 
 France, 
 
 CHAP. XLI-
 
 LON'DON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 199 
 
 CHAP. XU. 
 
 Marriage of the Princess Augusta. — Proceedings relative 
 to Mr. IVilkes. — Resolution of the Common- council 
 against general JVarrants. — Trial of a Broker for 
 acting without a Licence. — Distressed Palatines. — A 
 Bookseller pilloried for publishing the North Briton. — 
 Silk-weavers' Petition. — Riots. — Dreadful Fire. — In- 
 cendiary Letters. — Offensive Address of the Citizens. — 
 Fire in Bishopsgate-street. — Act for the Relief of the 
 Silk-weavers. — City's Right to import Coals at a re- 
 duced Duty. — Subscription for the Relief of the Poor. — 
 Gresham College sold to Government. — An Arch added 
 to London-bridge ivater-ivorks. — Executiofi of Mrs, 
 Broivnrigg,- -Disturbance among the IVeavers. --Salaries 
 of the City Officers increased. — Severe Frost. — Mr, 
 IVilkes elected Member for Middlesex. — Tumults in 
 consequence. — Riots with the Coal-heavers. — Entertain- 
 vient of the Prince of Monaco. — Mr. IVilkes com- 
 milted to the King's-Benck Prison. — Tumults. — Riot at 
 the King's-Bencli Prison. — Battles betiveen the Sailors 
 and Coal-heavers. — The King of Denmark entertained 
 at the Mansion-house. — Riot at the Middlesex election, 
 < — Institution of the Royal Academy. 
 
 On the 1 6th of Jaiuiarv, 1764, the marriage of the 
 Princess Au^jjusta, the king's eldest sister, to the 
 hereditary Prince of Brunswick Lunenburg, took 
 place ; on which occasion, the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and common-rouncil, attended his majesty, and the 
 new married couple with their compliments of con- 
 gratuhitioiiw 
 
 On the ^iOth of this month the House of Com- 
 mons expelled John Wilkes, Ksq. for a contempt of 
 their authority, by withdrawing himself to a foreign 
 country without assigning a sufiicient cause; as 
 also for publishing the North Hriton, whicli had 
 been adjudged an inflmious libel; and a writ was 
 "2 ' 'issued
 
 200 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 issued out for electing another member for Ayles- 
 bury in his stead. 
 
 Although Mr. Wilkes was absent, yet, on the 
 21st of February, he was tried before Lord 
 Chief Justice Mansfield, in the court of King's- 
 Bench, A^estminster, for republishing the North 
 Briton, No 45, with notes, printed at his own house. 
 The trial lasted eight hours, when the jury, after 
 being out of the court some time, returned, and 
 brought in their verdict guilty. He was then tried 
 for printing a book called. An Essay on Woman, of 
 which he was also found guilty. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held at Guildhall 
 the same day, the thanks of the court were ordered 
 to be presented to the representatives of the city, for 
 their zealous and spirited endeavours to assert the 
 rights and liberties of the subject, by their laudable 
 attempt to obtain a seasonable and parliamentary 
 declaration. " That a general warrant for appre- 
 hending and seizing the authors, printers, and pub- 
 lishers, of a seditious libel, together with their 
 papers, is not warrantable by law ;" and to exhort 
 them, in the warmest manner, steadily to persevere 
 in their duty to the crown, and use their utmost en- 
 deavours to secure the houses, papers, and persons of 
 the subject from arbitrary and illegal violations. At 
 the same time, it was resolved, that, " as the inde- 
 pendency and uprightness of judges is essential to 
 the impartial administration of justice, and one of the 
 best securities to the rights and liberties of the sub- 
 ject," this court, in manifestation of the just sense 
 of the firmness and integrity of the Rt. Hon. Sir 
 Charles Pratt, lord chief justice of his majesty's court 
 of common-pleas, doth direct, that the freedom of 
 this city be presented to his lordship, and that he be 
 desired to sit for his picture to be placed in Guild- 
 hall, in gratitude for the honest and deliberate deci- 
 
 sioH.
 
 LO\DON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ?01 
 
 sion upon the validity of a warrant which had been 
 frequently produced to, but, so far as appears to this 
 court, never debated in the court of King's-Bench, 
 by which he hath eminently distinguished his duty 
 to the king-, his justice to the subject, and his know- 
 ledsfe of the law. 
 
 On the 27th of .March, a cause was tried m the 
 court of King's-Bench, against J. ¥. Si}va,for acting as 
 a stock-broker, without being admitted by the court 
 of aldermen, when he was cast in penalties amount- 
 ing to four hundred and fifty pounds. 
 
 During a dreadful thunder storm, which happened 
 on the 1 8th of June, the spire of St. Bride's church 
 was struck by lightning, and so much shattered, that 
 it was obliged to be rebuilt. 
 
 In the month of August, about six hundred Pala- 
 tines, and other German protestants, were landed at 
 the port of London in the greatest distress. They 
 had been induced to quit their own country, by a 
 German officer, by a promise of settlements in 
 America, with, as he stated, the concurrence of the 
 British court. This promise he was unable to per- 
 form ; and, as it afterwards appeared^ no authority 
 had been given to him to make any such agreement. 
 On the arrival of these poor deluded people, tjiey 
 found themselves in a a strange country, without 
 money or friends. Some who had the means of pay- 
 ing for their passage were permitted to land; but 
 such as had not were kept on board the ships ; and 
 both were in a starving condition. In this deplora- 
 ble state they experienced the benevolence of 
 ]5ritons: their case bein<2^ made known to the 
 public, by the Rev. Mr. Wachsel, minister of the 
 German lAitheran church, in Ayliffe-street, a sub- 
 scription was instantly opened for their relief; food, 
 liloathing, and medical assistance, for their imme- 
 diate necessities were supplied by the inhabitants of 
 
 VOL. II. D d the
 
 202 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the neighbourhood in which they were ; ten!s, for 
 their reception, were given by order of the king; and, 
 in the end, they were sent by the government to 
 South Carohna, with every thing necessary for them 
 during the voyage, and proper means for their com- 
 fortable estabhshment on their arrival. 
 
 On the 14th of February, 176.5, Mr. John Wil- 
 liams, bookseller, in Fleet-street, stood on the pillor}-', 
 in New Palace-yard, Westminster, for re-publishing 
 the North Briton in volumes. A few minutes after 
 twelve he mounted the stage, amidst the acclama- 
 tions of more than ten thousand people, who pre- 
 served an incessant shout during the whole time of 
 his standing. The intention of the ignominy was 
 greatly defeated by the populace, who testified their 
 resentment by displaying a burlesque exhibition of 
 a very singular, but intelligible, nature. They sus- 
 pended, near the pillory, a large jack-boot, a Scots 
 bonnet, and an ax: which having hung for some 
 time, they chopped off the top of the boot, and, 
 with great triumph, committed that and the bonnet 
 to the flames ; a fire havmg been prepared for that 
 purpose. 
 
 A petition had been presented to both houses of 
 parhament, in the beginning of the year, by the silk 
 weavers, setting forth their distresses, occasioned by 
 the importation of French manufactured silks, which 
 they conceived had not met with sufficient atten- 
 tion. They, therefore, assembled in great numbers, 
 on the 1st of May, accompanied by their wives and 
 children, and, with a black flag carried before them, 
 proceeded to St. James's, to represent their deplorable 
 condition to the king; but the royal family being at 
 Richmond, most of them went there, and, their pe- 
 tition he\u<r carried in, one of the lords in waitincr 
 brought tliem word from his majesty, that he would 
 do all in his power for their relief. No riots hap- 
 pened
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 203 
 
 pened on this day, but, on the l6th, a party of them 
 went to the Duke of Bedford's house, in Bloomsbury- 
 square, and denounced vengeance against him, for 
 having, as they beheved, obstructed the redress they 
 petitioned for ; however, a military force being sent 
 to the place, they dispersed without doing any mis- 
 chief. On the morning of the following day, they 
 assembled again by beat of drum, and proceeded by 
 three different routs to Westminster, where the mul- 
 titude of them was so great, that it was with difficulty 
 the members got to their respective houses. While 
 they continued here, their deportment was orderly 
 in the highest degree : no insult was offered to any 
 member of either house; and, on being assured that 
 their grievances should be attended to, and a proper 
 redress granted them, the well-disposed part of them 
 returned peaceably to their humble habitations. But 
 this could not .be expected to be the case with the 
 whole of such a vast body ; a part were, still dissatis- 
 fied, ?ind some were bent upon mischief: accordingly, 
 on their way home, a body of this description made 
 an attack upon Bedford House ; to which, as well 
 as to the pavement and railing of Bloonisbury-square, 
 they did great mischief; and, though both horse and 
 foot guards were on the spot, these outrages conti- 
 nued great part of the night. A house on Lud- 
 gate-hiil was also attacked, but the spirited con- 
 duct of the magistrates of the city, aided by a strong 
 body of soldiers, prevented any farther disorder 
 than threats. These alarming proceedings were, how- 
 ever, [)ut a stop to, by the management of the ma- 
 gistrates, and the assurances of the master v/eavers, 
 that the importation of French silks would be discon- 
 tinued, without any further damage, except the de- 
 struction of some windows belonging to those most 
 obnoxious to them. 
 
 '■^ A
 
 204 HISTORY AKD SURVEY OF 
 
 A dreadful fire broke out, on the 1st of June, in a 
 mast-yard, near Rotherhithe church, which, in a few 
 hours, destroyed two hundred and six houses, toge- 
 ther with a brig and several lighters in the river; the 
 wind carried the flames to a considerable distance, 
 but luckily they were driven from the Thames, other- 
 wise the consequence to the shipping must have 
 been very fatal. These losses were computed at ten 
 thousand pounds ; but the unhappy sufierers, many 
 of whom had not insured their property, were re- 
 lieved by the munificence of the public, who raised 
 such contributions as greatly exceeded the estimates 
 of the claimants. 
 
 This, and many other fires which happened during 
 the course of this year, appear to have been either 
 produced, or greatly increased, if they occurred ac- 
 cidentally, by evil-minded persons; for, about this 
 time, many incendiary letters were dropped in differ- 
 ent parts of London, and several trains, laid for this 
 desperate purpose, were discovered and defeated 
 within a few weeks. 
 
 The birth of a prince, which happened in August, 
 gave the citizens an opportunity of showing their 
 disapprobation of the measures of government, by 
 wording their customary address on such occasions, 
 so as to imply their want of confidence in the then 
 administration. It even became a question among the 
 ministei"s, whether this address ought to be received; 
 but, on mature consideration, it was thought proper 
 to admit it, and the citizens were thanked as usual. 
 The passage that gave offence was as follows : "-Per- 
 mit us, therefore, royal Sir, to assure your majesty, 
 that your faithful citizens of London, from their 
 zealous attachment to your royal house, and the true 
 honour and dignity of your crown, whenever a happt/ 
 esiablishment of public measures shall present a fa- 
 
 vQurable
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 205 
 
 rourable occasion^ will be ready to exert their utmost 
 abilities in support of such wise councils, as appa- 
 rently tend to render your majesty's reign happy and 
 glorious." 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 22d 
 of October, it was resolved to present five hundred 
 pounds to the Society for the Encouragement of 
 Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. 
 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, 
 uncle to his majesty, died suddenly, at his house in 
 Upper Grosvenor-street, on the J 1st of October. His 
 royal highness being interred on the evening of the 
 lord mayor's day, the customary ceremonies on the 
 occasion were entirely laid aside, in conformity to a 
 letter his lordship had received from the lord cham- 
 berlain, requesting that as little show might be 
 made as possible. Accordingly, George Nelson, Esq. 
 the new lord mayor, with the aldermen and recorder, 
 went to Westminster, and back again, in a private 
 manner, by land. 
 
 On the 7th of November, about three o'clock in 
 Ihe morning, a dreadful fire broke out at the house 
 of one Rutland, a peruke-maker, in Bishopsgate- 
 street, next door to the corner house, in Leadenhall- 
 street. The wind being high, the flames spread to 
 the corner house, and from thence to the opposite 
 side ; when these, for want of water and proper assist- 
 ance, soon communicated to the other two, so that 
 ihe four corner houses were all on fire at the same 
 time. Tlie house, which formed the corner of Grac(v 
 cliurch-street and Cornhill, was only damaged, but 
 the other three were all destroyed; as were, also, all 
 the houses from the corner of Cornhill, next Bishops- 
 gate-street, to the church of St. Martin Outwich, at 
 the corner of Threadneedle-street. The church 
 and parsonage-house, as well ;is the back part 
 of several houses in Thread needle-street, were 
 greatly damaged. All the houses in White-lion- 
 ^ court
 
 206 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 court were entirely destroyed ; among which was 
 the White-hon-tavern, that had been bought but 
 the evening before for between two and three 
 thousand pounds. The back part of Merchant 
 Taylors'-hall was greatly damaged : five houses on 
 the Exchange side of Cornhill were entirely con- 
 sumed, as were several others in Leadenhall-street. 
 It was supposed, that, by this accident, near one hun- 
 dred houses were destroyed or d?imaged ; and the loss 
 was computed at one hundred thousand pounds. 
 Several lives were lost, not only by the fire, but by 
 the falling of chimnies and walls. A gentleman, 
 who ventured among the ruins next day, thinking 
 that some persons might be still alive under the rub- 
 bish, waved his hat, to engage the attention of the 
 spectators, and declared that he was sure many were 
 actually under the spot on which he stood. Upon 
 this, the fire-men went immediately to work with 
 their pick-axes, and, on removing the rubbish, they 
 drew out, alive, two men, three women, and a child 
 about six years old. The following day, as some of 
 the workmen were clearing away the rubbish from 
 the cellar of one of the houses, a stack of chimnies 
 suddenly fell down ; by which accident eight persons 
 were killed, and several others had their limbs crushed 
 in a shockinsr manner. 
 
 Many of the sufferers by this fire not being insured, 
 a subscription was opened for their relief, which soon 
 produced three thousand pounds ; one thousand of 
 which was subscribed by his majesty. The Grocers 
 and Ironmongers' company each subscribed one hun- 
 dred pounds, and the lord mayor fifty pounds; a part 
 of which was distributed among the unfortunate 
 widows and children of the men who were killed 
 by the falhng of the stack of chimnies. 
 
 Though nothing could be done for the weavers, at 
 the time they petitioned parliament, their case was 
 not neglected ; and, in the following session, a bill 
 
 ^^■as
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 207 
 
 was passed for prohibiting the importation of foreign 
 wrought silks and velvets, for a hmited time. On 
 the 14th of May, 1766, the day on which his ma- 
 jesty went to the House of Lords, to sign the hill, 
 several thousand weavers, with their wives and chil- 
 dren, marched through the city, with colours flying, 
 drums beating, and music playing, to St. James's; 
 from whence they attended his majesty to the House 
 of Peers, and testified their joy and gratitude by loud 
 and repeated acclamations. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 30th of 
 July, the report of Mr. Recorder was read, touching 
 the city of London's rights to import four thousand 
 chaldrons of coals, for the benefit of the poor; by 
 which opinion it appeared, the corporation are, by 
 charter, entitled to that quantity, at one shilling per 
 chaldron less duty than it is the custom to pay in the 
 port of London. 
 
 On the 19th of November, the temporary bridge, 
 which had been erected at Black-friars, was opened 
 for foot-passengers; in consequence of which, the 
 Sunday terry, which had been carried on there, by 
 the Watermens' company, for charitable purposes, 
 was entirely stopped; as a recompense for which 
 loss, the bridge committee transferred thirteen thou- 
 sand six hundred and hfty pounds, consoHdated three 
 per cents, to the rulers of that company; the interest 
 to be applied to the same uses as the profits received 
 from the ferry had been. 
 
 • At a court of common-council, held the 2f3d of 
 January, 1767, it was unanimously resolved, that, 
 on account of the distresses of the poor (which at 
 that time were very great, occasioned by the incle- 
 mency of the season) one thousand pounds should 
 be subscribed out of the chamber of the city ; and 
 that a subscription-book should be opened in the 
 cliamberlain's ©thee, for the donations of all well- 
 disposed
 
 208 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 disposed persons; which money should be appropri- 
 ated to the rehef of such poor persons, inhabiting 
 witliin the city and liberties, as did not receive alms 
 of the parishes; and a committee was appointed, con- 
 sisting of the lord mayor, and all the aldermen, and 
 iifty-two commoners, who immediately withdrew, 
 and began a subscription among themselves ; to 
 which the lord mayor gave one hundred pounds, and 
 the rest of the gentlemen very liberally. By this 
 noble plan great numbers of people were happily re- 
 lieved from the most abject state of distress. 
 
 On the 17th of March, the city members, attended 
 by Mr. Dance, the surve^^or, waited on the lords of 
 the treasury, with a plan of the ground on which 
 Gresham college stood, for the purpose of pulling 
 down that old building, and erecting an Excise-office 
 in its stead. At a court of common-council, held 
 on the 22d of May, it was resolved to agree with the 
 proposal of the government for the purchase. It was 
 also resolved, that the Gresham lectures should be 
 read over the Royal Exchange, and that the lecturers 
 should be allowed a proper consideration for the 
 loss of their apartments, by taking down the old 
 building. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 23d 
 of June, the freedom of the city, in a gold box, was 
 voted to the Kt. Hon. Charles Townshend, chancel- 
 lor of the exchequer, as a mark of acknowledgment 
 for his endeavours to serve them in their application 
 to parliament for the several improvements to be 
 made in the metropolis. At the same court, also, 
 after a long debate, it was agreed to allow the pro- 
 prietors of the London-bridge water-works a fifdi 
 arch of the bridge; but under the express condition, 
 that, if the grant should be hereafter found prejudicial 
 to the navigation of the river, the city should have 
 liberty to revoke their grant, on paying the pro- 
 
 . ^^ prictors
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 209 
 
 prietors their whole expense in occupying the said 
 arch. 
 
 On the 14th of September, 1767) Ehzabeth Brown- 
 Ti^^ (wife of James Brownrigg, painter, in Fetter-lane, 
 Fleet-street), was executed at Tyburn, for the mur- 
 der of Mary Clifcd, her apprentice. The child's 
 death was occasioned by a series of such uncommon 
 barbarities, that, had they not been well attested on 
 the trial, would have appeared almost incredible. 
 The husband and son, who were in some desfree 
 concerned, were acquitted of the murder, but after- 
 wards tried for an assault; of which being found 
 guilty, they were sentenced to be imprisoned in New- 
 gate six months, and to enter into recognizance for 
 their good behaviour for seven years. Before she 
 left Newgate, her husband and son took an affection- 
 ate leave of her in the cell. She appeared very pe- 
 nitent in the way to, and at, the place of execution; 
 where the number of spectators was so great, that 
 many persons were considerably hurt. After hang- 
 ing the usual time, her body was taken to Surgeon's- 
 hall for dissection. 
 
 In the month of November a disturbance took 
 place between two classes of weavers, who were 
 mutually injurious to each other; and, on the 30th, 
 a considerable body of the engine weavers, armed 
 with rusty swords, pistols, and other offensive wea- 
 pons, assembled at a house on SafFron-hill, with the 
 supposed intention of destroying the work in the 
 looms of an eminent narrow -weaver in that neigh- 
 bourhood; but they were dispersed without doing 
 any mischief. Some of them, being apprehended 
 and examined before the magistrates at Hicks's-hall, 
 alleged, that they had assembled for the purpose of 
 defending themselves against a party of the others, 
 who were expected to rise; and, as no injury had 
 been done, they were dismissed, but not without a 
 VOL. II. K e severe
 
 210 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 severe reprimnnd, for not having applied to the civil 
 po^ver for protection, instead of proceeding in such 
 a tiiniultuoiis manner. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 15th of 
 December, an additional salary of two hundred 
 pounds was voted to the recorder of the city, in con- 
 sideration of the increasing business of his oliice; 
 and, at the same time, one hundred and fifty pounds 
 was added to the annual salary of the common Ser- 
 jeant. 
 
 The year 1763 began with a very severe frosty 
 which greatly contributed to the calamity of the lower 
 sort of people, who w^ere already much distressed 
 from the e xorbitant price of provisions. On the 9th 
 of January the river, below bridge, bore all the ap- 
 pearance of a general wreck; ships, boats, and small 
 craft, lying in a very confused manner, some on 
 shore, and others sunk, or overset by the ice. A 
 fishing-boat was discovered, near Deptford-creek, 
 jammed in by the ice, and all the people in it frozen 
 to death ; one of whom, a youth about seventeen, was 
 found sitting erect, as if alive. 
 
 At the election for members to represent the city 
 in parliament, which took place on the l6th of March, 
 Mr. Wilkes, who had been outlawed for not appear- 
 ins: to the indictments a2,ainst him, ofix^red himself a 
 candidate. He had come unexpectedly from France, 
 determined to try the effect of his schemes to acquire 
 popularity; but, for want of preparation, he was, in 
 this instance, unsuccessful, and stood lowest upon 
 the poll. This defect he did not fail to attribute to 
 the undue influence of the ministry, and declared 
 his intention of standing for the county of Middlesex. 
 During this contest, which was very warm, many 
 indecencies were committed in and about the hall ; 
 and several inflammatory papers were published, but 
 there was no actual violence. 
 
 Even
 
 LONDON* AND ITS ENVIRONS. 211 
 
 Even this moderation, however, was not adhered 
 to at the Middlesex election, \vhich took place on 
 the 28th. iSIany outrages were committed by the 
 mob, during the course of the proceedings ; and on 
 their return to town, after the election, which ter- 
 minated in favour of Mr. Wilkes, the grossest insults 
 "ivere otiered to those who had espoused the cause 
 of either of his opponents. At night, tiie advocates 
 for Mr. Wilkes illuminated their houses, and the 
 mob, parading the streets, compelled all those to do 
 the same, who chose to prevent their houses and 
 windows from being demolished. 1 he windows of 
 the Mansion-house, in particular, were all broken, 
 together with a large chandelier and some pier- 
 glasses, to the amount of many hundred pounds. 
 They demolished all the windows of Lord Bute, 
 Lord Egmont, Sir Sampson Gideon, Sir Williani 
 Mayne, and many other gentlemen and tradesmen, 
 in most of the public streets of both cities, London 
 and Westminster. In short, the whole evening was 
 one continued scene of noise and tumult. 
 
 The next day, orders were given to the guards on 
 duty at St. James's, to be in readiness, at the beat 
 of drum, to march, to suppress any riot that might 
 happen : and, the day following, a court of common- 
 council was summoned, on purpose to consider of 
 the most proper and effectual means to prevent, lor 
 the future, as well as to punish, all such as should 
 be found to have been guilty of the late riots and 
 disturbances in this city ; and the court came to a 
 resolution to j)rosecute, with the utmost vigour, 
 everv i)erson who should be convicted of having been 
 active in the riots, and to offer a reward of iifty 
 ])oun(ls lor the discovery of every ollender, to be j)aid 
 on their conviction; and ordered the same to be in- 
 serted in every daily and evening paper, and to be 
 printed and posted up in the most public places of 
 
 this
 
 212 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 this city, and the hberties thereof. They also di- 
 rected, that such prosecutions as should arise h'om 
 their resolution, should be referred to the committee 
 appointed to direct their law proceedings : and it 
 was referred to the Mansion-house committee, to 
 order the immediate reparation of all such damages 
 as it might have sustained by the said riots and 
 tumults. 
 
 On the 15th of April, a desperate fray happened 
 at Wapping, among several gangs of coal-heavers, 
 in which many persons were wounded, and three 
 houses almost destroyed : and, on the 20th, a great 
 body of them assembled, at Wapping, and beset the 
 house of Mr. Green, a publican, who defended the 
 same all night; and a great many shot were fired on 
 both sides, whereby three of the assailants were 
 killed, and several dangerously wounded. 
 
 The Prince of Monaco, at whose court the Duke 
 of York died, had been invited over to England, by 
 his majesty, in acknowledgment for the civilities he 
 had shown to his deceased brother. During his 
 stay here, the lord mayor, thinking it incumbent on 
 the city to show their respect also, invited the prince 
 to an entertainment at the Mansion-house. Accord- 
 ingly, on the 18th of April, the prince, with a great 
 number of the nobility, dined with the lord mayor; 
 and, in the evening, the Dukes of Gloucester and 
 Cumberland honoured the company with their pre- 
 sence at a ball, which was opened by the Duke of 
 Cumberland and the Lady Mayoress. The enter- 
 tainment provided on this occasion M^as exceeding 
 magnificent; and the company in general, particu- 
 larly the visitor on whose account it was made, ex- 
 pressed the highest satisfaction. 
 
 In conformity to a promise given by Mr. Wilkes 
 on his return, he made his appearance in the court 
 of King's-Bench, on the 20th of April; but as his 
 
 surrender
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 915 
 
 surrender in that manner was irregular, and not in 
 compliance with any process issuing out of that 
 court, the judges declined taking any cognizance of 
 it, on which he retired. On the 27th he was taken 
 into custody by a writ o{ capias utlagatum^ and was 
 brought up under a habeas corpus^ to be bailed ; but 
 the court being of opinion that no person is intitled 
 to be bailed after conviction, he w^as ordered to be 
 conveyed to the King's-bench prison; but, in his 
 way thither, the mob stopped the coach on West- 
 minster-bridge, took oif the horses, and drew it 
 along the Strand, Fleet-street, &c. to Spitalfields, 
 Here they turned the two tipstaves out of the coach, 
 and would have treated them indecently had it not 
 been for Mr. Wilkes, who successfully exerted his 
 influence in their favour. They then drew the 
 coach to the Three Tuns Tavern, where Mr. Wilkes 
 got out, and from an upper window earnestly en- 
 treated them to retire, which they accordingly did ; 
 and when they dispersed he went privately and de- 
 livered himself to the marshal of the King's-Bench 
 prison. 
 
 The next day the prison was surrounded, by a 
 prodigious number of people, who, it was expected, 
 w^ould have offered some outrage ; but no disturb- 
 ance happened till night, when they pulled up the 
 rails that enclosed the footway, with which they 
 made a bonfire, and obliged the inhabitants of the 
 Borough to ilhiminate their houses; but a captain's 
 guard of one hundred men arriving, about twelve 
 o'clock, they all dispersed. 
 
 The discontent of the populace at this time was 
 considerably increased by the excessive price of 
 provisions, on which account many disturbances 
 happened that were attended with the most dis- 
 agreeable consequences. A large body of coal- 
 heavers went on board the colliers in the river, and 
 4 obliged
 
 214 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF ' 
 
 1.1 
 
 obliged the men immediately to quit their work. i 
 
 They complained of the ill usage practised by their i 
 
 employers, who they said curtailed their wages, and, j 
 
 instead of paying them with money, only gave them j 
 
 liquor and goods of a bad quality; and that these 
 undertakers got fortunes, while they, who did the j 
 
 work, were starving. This tumult was productive . i 
 of much mischief, for tlie rioters meeting with a ' 
 strong opposition, the fray became so desperate that 
 several lives were lost, and others were so maimed 
 as to be 6ver after incapable of executing their busi- 
 ness. 
 
 The sailors belonging to the outward bound ves- 
 sels in the river, imbibed the contagion, and refused 
 to proceed on their voyages without an increase of 
 ■wages. On the second of May great numbers of them 
 assembled in Stepney-fields and Deptford, from 
 whence they proceeded, in a riotous manner, and 
 boarded those ships in the river that were preparing 
 to sail ; they unrigged the vessels and forced away 
 the men, declaring, that no ships should sail before 
 the merchants had agreed to advance their wages. 
 On the 7th they again assembled in St, George's 
 Fields, from whence they proceeded to St. James's 
 Palace with colours and music before them, and pre-* 
 sented a petition to the king, setting forth their 
 grievances, and praying rehef. 
 
 But the event which created the strongest sensa- 
 tion at this time, was the following: In the afternoon 
 of the 10th of May, a great body of people assembled 
 about the King's-J3ench prison, in expectation that 
 Mr. Wilkes was to go from thence to the parliament- 
 house (it being the first day of opening the new par- 
 liament), and designing to convey him thither. They 
 demanded him at the prison, and grew very tumul- 
 tuous ; whereupon, the riot act was begun to be 
 r» adj but th« populace threw stones and brick-bats 
 
 while
 
 tONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 2li 
 
 vhile it was reading, when William Allen, son ot 
 iVIr. Allen, master of the Horseshoe-inn, in Black- 
 man-street, Southwark, being singled out, was pur- 
 sued by one of the soldiers, and shot dead on the 
 spot. Soon after this, the crowd increasing, an ad- 
 ditional number of the guards were sent for, who 
 marched thither^ and also a party of horse grenadiers ; 
 when the riot continuing, the mob was fired upon 
 by the soldiers, and five were killed on the spot, and 
 about fifteen wounded. Two women were among 
 the wounded, one of whom afterwards died in 
 St. Thomas's Hospital. The next day an inquisition 
 was taken by the coroner for Surrey on the body of 
 the above William Allen, when a verdict was given 
 by the jury, that Donald Maclane was guilty of 
 wilful murder, and Donald Maclaurv,and Alexander 
 Murray, the commandmg officer, were aiding and 
 abetting therein. This inquest was held at th@ 
 house of Mr. Allen; and it appeared on the exami- 
 nation, that the deceased was only a spectator, and, 
 on seeing some persons run, he ran also, but was un- 
 happily mistaken, and followed by the soldiers five 
 hundred yards into a cow-house, where he was shot. 
 Donald Maclane was committed to prison for the 
 murder, but his associates were admitted to bail. 
 Two inquisitions were afterwards taken in the 
 Borough, on persons killed by the soldiers in quelling 
 the above riot; one on the body of Mary Jetis, who, 
 having a basket of oranges to sell, was shot dead in 
 removing them; the other on William Bridgeman, 
 who was shot on the top of a hay-cart, as he was 
 looking at the fray at a distance: on both these in- 
 quisitions the jury brought in their verdict chmice 
 medleif. It appeared, by the evidence, tliat, on the 
 justic( s taking down a paper that had been fixed 
 against a wall of the prison, the mob grew riotous, 
 ajid cried out, "give us the paper;" which the 
 
 justices
 
 216 , HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 justices not regarding, stones began to be thrown, 
 and the cry, " give us the paper," grew louder ; the 
 drums beat to arms ; the proclamation was read ; the 
 justices were pelted who read it ; great pains were 
 taken to persuade the people to disperse ; the horse- 
 guards were sent for, and it was not till the last ex- 
 tremity that the soldiers received orders to fire. 
 Maclane was afterwards tried at the Surrey assizes 
 held at Guildford, and acquitted. 
 
 The next day the mob assembled before the house 
 of Edward Russel, Esq. distiller, in the Borough, 
 broke open the door, staved some casks of liquor, 
 drank it immoderately, and began pulling down the 
 house ; but the military interposing, four of the most 
 intoxicated were seized, and the rest made their 
 escape. At the same time the front of the house of 
 Richard Capel, Esq. in Bermondsey, was demolish- 
 ed, and Mr. Capel himself wounded. These out- 
 rages were occasioned by the activity of the above 
 two gentlemen, in suppressing the tumults in St. 
 George's Fields. 
 
 The same"'day, upwards of fifteen thousand sailors 
 went through the city to petition the parliament for 
 an augmentation of their w^ages. When they were 
 in Palace-yard, they were addressed by two gentle- 
 men, mounted on the roof of a hackney-coach, and 
 were told, that they could receive no immediate 
 answer to their petition ; but that it w^ould be consi- 
 dered in due time : on which they gave three cheers 
 and dispersed. Their chiefs afterwards waited on a 
 committee of merchants, and matters were accom- 
 modated to their general satisfaction. 
 
 A very considerable body of coal-heavers assem- 
 bled in Stepney-fields, and proceeded from thence 
 to all the coal-wharfs from Shadwell to Essex-stairs, 
 carrying with them a writing, which they presented 
 to the masters of the wharfs to sign, signifying their 
 
 consent
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 217 
 
 'consent to raise their wages ; which having accom- 
 plished, they next day waited on the lord mayor, at 
 the Mansion-house, to obtain a confirmation of this 
 agreement ; but his lordship thought proper to 
 decline intermeddling^ with their affairs. 
 
 A terrible fray happened on the 25th, between the 
 coal-heavers and sailors belonging to the colliers in 
 the river, in which many were killed. The sailors, 
 having been long detained in the river by the coal- 
 heavers refusing to work, had begun to deliver their 
 ships themselves ; upon which, a body of coal- 
 heavers fell upon some of the sailors by surprize, 
 ^nd killed several of them. The sailors took the 
 alarm, the quarrel became general, and the conse- 
 quences were the loss of many lives. 
 
 On the 7th of June another fray happened in 
 Stepney-fields, between the same parties, when 
 several of the sailors were killed. The coal-heavers 
 marched off in triumph, with colours flying, drums 
 beating, &c. offering live guineas for a sailor's head. 
 The ships below bridge were obliged to keep con- 
 stant watch day and night ; and to so great a height 
 was this insurrection got, that the inhabitants of 
 Wapping were perpetually under the most dreadful 
 apprehensions. A party of guards constantly at- 
 tended for some days, during which several disturb- 
 ances arose, and many coal-heavers were taken up 
 by the soldiery and carried before Sir John Fielding, 
 who, on examination, committed them to Newgate. 
 Two of them were afterwards tried at the Old Bailey 
 for the murder of one Ijattie, a seaman, and being 
 convicted, were executed at Tyburn. Seven others 
 were also executed in the Sun Tavern Fields (near 
 where the riot was committed), for shooting at Mr. 
 Green, the master of the Roun(lal)out Tavern in 
 Shadwell. 'I'liese examples produced tiie wishcd- 
 
 voL. II. F f for
 
 218 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 for effect ; the tumults immediately ceased, and 
 peace and industry were happily restored. 
 
 The King of Denmark being on a visit to his 
 majesty, the citizens of London were desirous of 
 showing their respect to him; in consequence of 
 which it was resolved in a court of common-council 
 to invite him to an entertainment at the Mansion- 
 house, which being accepted, the 23d of September 
 was the day appointed for receiving the royal guest, 
 who intimated his desire of coming to the city by 
 water. 
 
 In consequence of this a committee was chosen 
 to conduct the entertainment, who were empowered 
 to draw on the Chamberlain for money to defray 
 the expenses. On the appointed day, the city 
 barge, attended by the companies' barges, proceed- 
 ed to New Palace-yard, where the king embarked ; 
 and, in order to give him a more extensive view of 
 the banks of the river, a circuit was made as high as 
 Lambeth, and then down to the Steel-yard, after 
 which they returned to the Temple-stairs, and, on 
 landing, w^ere conducted to the Middle Temple 
 Hall, where an elegant collation was prepared by the 
 benchers of the two societies. 
 
 From the Temple his majesty was conducted to the 
 Mansion-house in the city state coach, followed by the 
 noblemen of his suite^ and the aldermen and sheriffs 
 in their carriages : on alighting, he was received by 
 the committee appointed to manage the entertain- 
 ment, in their mazarine gowns ; and, being conduct- 
 ed into the great parlour, received the compliments 
 of the city, to which his majesty returned a very 
 polite answer. The dinner, which was exceeding 
 magnificent, was served in the Egyptian-hall ; the 
 gallaries of which were filled with the ladies of the 
 common-council-men, elegantly attired, and an ex- 
 cellent
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 219 
 
 celleiit band of music was stationed in an orchestra 
 erected for the occasion. His majesty took leave of 
 the corporation about eight o'clock, having expressed 
 his highest satisfaction at the elegance of the enter- 
 tainment. And, at a court of common-council held 
 on the 10th of October, the freedom of the city was 
 unanimously voted to the King of Denmark, to be 
 presented in a golden box of two hundred guineas 
 value. His majesty was admitted into the Grocers' 
 company, and his freedom being afterwards given 
 to his ambassador here, was by him transmitted to 
 Copenhagen. 
 
 The death of George Cook, Esq. having occasioned 
 a vacancy for Middlesex, Sir W. B. Proctor, who had 
 been the unsuccessful candidate at the former 
 election, and Serjeant Glynn, INIr. Wilkes^s leading 
 council, were put in nomination on the 8th of De- 
 cember. The poll proceeded quietly till the after- 
 noon, when a mob broke into the hustings, attempt* 
 cd to seize the poll-books, and put an entire stop 
 to the election. Many persons were considerably 
 hurt in the scuffle, and the remainder of the day 
 was a scene of confusion. The poll was again 
 proceeded in, on the thirteenth, and, on the 
 following day, terminated in lavoui' of Serjeaut 
 Glynn. 
 
 George Clarke, an attorney's clerk, in Mary- 
 bone, who had received a severe blow on the 
 head at Brentford, on the day of the riot, died 
 soon after, and an inquest was held on his body 
 before the coroner for the county of Middlesex 
 and a very respectable jury of neighbours, ^^•ho 
 brought in a verdict of wilful murder by some 
 person or persons unknown. Soon after this, two 
 Irish chairmen were apprehended and tried for , 
 the murder, and it being proved that they had 
 been hired for the piu-jx^se of creating a riot, and 
 
 been
 
 220 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 been very instrumental in it, they were both con- 
 victed ; but were afterwards pardoned on an opinion 
 of the master, wardens, and examiners of the com- 
 pany of surgeons, who agreed unanimously that the 
 blow was not the cause of Mr, Clarke's death. 
 
 The last public transaction of the year 1768, was 
 the institution of the Royal Academy of Arts, which 
 was established on the 18th of December, under the 
 immediate patronage of his majesty. This society 
 was first held in a large house in Pail-Mall ; after 
 which the king granted them apartments in 
 Somerset-house. 
 
 CHAR xm,
 
 T-OKDOX AND ITS ENVIRONS^ 22 \ 
 
 CHAP. XLIL 
 
 Mr. Wilkes elected Alderman of Farringdon ivithout.-^ 
 He is expelled the House of Commons, — Instructions to 
 the City Representatives . — Middlesex Elections. — Ad- 
 dress of the Merchants to the King. — Freeholders' Peti- 
 tion. — Petition of the Livery of London. — Disiurhances 
 among the Weavers. — Coi-respondence relative to the Ex- 
 ecution of two of the Rioters. — City Remonstrance. — 
 Protest of the Aldermen against it. — The Right of the 
 Lord Mayor to cull a Common-hall questioned. — Ad- 
 dress and Remonstrance. — The Lord Mayor replies to 
 the King. — Foundation of Newgate. — Death of the Lord 
 Mayor. — Proceedings against the Recorder. — Bounty for 
 
 Seamen. The Citizens again address the King. — Op-l 
 
 position to Press-warrants. 
 
 At this period the citizens of London eagerly 
 seized every opportunity of showing their attach- 
 ment to Mr. AYilkes. On the .^3d of January, 17C9, 
 the election for alderman of the Ward of Farringdon 
 without, came on at St. Bride's church; the can- 
 didates were JMr. Wilkes and Mr. Bromwich ; but, 
 on the close of the first d%'s poll, the disparity of n u ni- 
 bers was so great, that the latter gentleman declined the 
 contest, and the lord mayor declared Mr. Wilkes duly 
 elected. ' Some doubts, however, were started re- 
 specting the legality of closing the books before the 
 time appointed for that purpose, and a second w^ard- 
 motc was held for a new election on the 27th, when 
 no opponent appearing, Mr. Wilkes was again de- 
 clared duly elected. 
 
 On the 2d of February the House of Commons 
 passed a resolution of ex[)ulsion against Mr. Wilkes, 
 as the author of " an insolent, scandalous, and sedi- 
 tious, libel," contained in the nrcfatorv remarks he 
 
 had
 
 222 HISrORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 had published, with a letter written by Lord Wey- 
 mouth to the chairman of the quarter sessions of the 
 county of Surrey ; and a new writ was consequer^tlv 
 ordered for the election of a member for Middlesex. 
 This produced an immediate meeting of the free- 
 holders at the Assembly-room at Mile End, where 
 they unanimously resolved to confirm their former 
 choice, and to support Mr. Wilkes entirely at their 
 own expense. 
 
 Frequent meetings were at this time held, not 
 only by the freeholders of Middlesex, but also by 
 the electors of Westminster, those of Southwark, 
 and the livery of London, in order to concert proper 
 measures for vindicating the rights of election, and 
 instructing their particular members to support them 
 in their parliamentary capacity. On the 10th of 
 February a common hall was held for this purpose, 
 when a string of resolutions, expressive of the de- 
 sires of that court, was unanimously agreed to, and 
 ordered to be presented to their representatives in 
 parliament. 
 
 The most material articles in these instructions 
 were in substance as follow : To be particularly 
 careful of the habeas corpus act, and to inquire into 
 and censure any attempt to elude the force of that 
 law. To preserve equally inviolate the privilege of 
 parliament, and the rights of election in the choice 
 of their representatives. To prevent all apphcatioii 
 of the public money to influence elections of mem- 
 bers to serve in parliament. To use their utmost 
 endeavours that the civil magistracy of the kingdom 
 be put on a respectable footing, and thereby remove 
 the pretence of calling in a military force. To use 
 their best endeavours for having a standing com- 
 mittee appointed from time to time, to examine and 
 state the public accounts. To promote a bill for 
 limiting the number of placemen and pensioners in 
 
 th<5
 
 tdNDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 223 
 
 the House of Commons, and that an oath, to pre- 
 vent bribery and corruption, be taken, not only by 
 the electors, but also by the candidates, at the open- 
 ing of the poll. And, lastly, that they use their ut- 
 most endeavours to obtain an act to shorten the 
 duration of parliaments. 
 
 The new election came on at Brentford, on the 
 l6th of February, when Mr. Wilkes being put in 
 nomination, he was chosen without opposition. Not- 
 withstanding this, when the return was made, the 
 next day, to the House, it was resolved, " that Mr. 
 Wilkes, having been expelled this session, was, and 
 is, incapable of being elected a member of the pre- 
 sent parliament." In consequence of this resolution, 
 the election was declared void, and a new writ was 
 issued for another. 
 
 In the interim, a meeting of Mr. Wilkes's friends 
 was held at the London Tavern, in Bishopsgate- 
 street, for the support of his cause ; when the sum of 
 three thousand three hundred and forty pounds was 
 immediately subscribed for that purpose; and the 
 subscribers afterwards formed themselves into a so- 
 ciety, under the appellation of " Supporters of the 
 Bill of Rights;" which, they asserted, had been in- 
 fringed by the proceedings against Mr. Wilkes. 
 
 On the 1 6th of March, another election came on. 
 at Brentford, for a member for Middlesex; when Mr. 
 Wilkes being the only candidate, he was again re- 
 turned. The House of Commons, however, perse- 
 vered in their objections, and, on the same evening, 
 declared the election null and void; and a new writ 
 was issued for another. 
 
 Addresses were at this time presented to his ma- 
 jesty from almost every part of the kingdom ; among 
 which was that of tlie merchants of the city of Lon- 
 don, who waited on his majesty, on the 22d ; and, 
 being introduced by the Earl of Hertford, lord cham- 
 l berlain
 
 924< HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 berlain of the household, they presented the sahiej 
 and were most graciously received. When they 
 iset out from the Royal Exchange, in order to pre- 
 sent the address, the populace showed their resent- 
 ment by throwing of mud, &c. they shut the gates 
 at Temple-bar, and did every thing possible to im- 
 pede their progress. When some of the coaches 
 got to Exeter-change, a hearse came out of Exeter- 
 street, and preceded them, drawn by a black and a 
 white horse ; the driver of which was dressed in a 
 kind of rough coat, resembling a skin, with a large 
 Cap, on one side black, the other white, whose whole 
 figure was very grotesque. On one side of the hearse 
 was painted, on canvas, a representation of the rioters 
 killing Mr. Clarke, iat the Brentford election; and 
 on the other side, was a representation of the sol- 
 diers firing on young Allen in the cow-house. The 
 populace were so outrageous, that some of the mer- 
 chants were obliged to quit their carriages, and take 
 shelter in the houses; and others, whose clothes 
 were entirely covered with mud, retired home to 
 shift themselves, before they could proceed with the 
 address. 
 
 When they came to St. James's, it was discovered 
 they had lost the address they came to present; and, 
 ■while a messenger was dispatched in search of it, 
 they began hastily to sign a copy of it. This acci- 
 dent was occasioned by the gentleman, in whose 
 possession it was, being obliged to take shelter in 
 Nando's coffee-house, in order to avoid the indigna- 
 tion of the populace; when, in his hurry and fright, 
 he left the address in the coach, and ordered his 
 coachman to return home. The address, however, 
 being found, was forwarded to St. James's, and the 
 addressers, at length, accomplished their wishes 
 (though attended with such singular difficulties), of 
 testifying their distinguished loyalty. 
 
 Several
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 225 
 
 Several of the rioters were seized at St. James's- 
 gate, five of whom w^ere detained for prosecution ; 
 and, the same evening, an extraordinary Gazette 
 was published, containing- a proclamation for sup- 
 pressing riots, tumults, and unlawful assemblies. 
 
 The final election for Middlesex took place on 
 the 14th of April. The candidates were, Mr. Wilkes, 
 Colonel Luttrell, Serjeant Whitaker, and Mr. Roche; 
 and, at the close of the poll, the numbers were, for 
 Mr. Wilkes, 114.3; Colonel Luttrell, 293 ; Serjeant 
 Whitaker, 5; and Mr. Roche, 0: whereupon, Mr. 
 Wilkes was declared duly elected. On the follow- 
 ing day, the House of Commons, after considerable 
 debates, determined, that Mr. Wilkes was still inca- 
 pable of being a member of this parliament, and that 
 Colonel Luttrell should be the sitting member : in 
 consequence of which, Colonel Luttrell took the 
 oaths and his seat, as knight of the shire for the 
 county of Middlesex. 
 
 This decision was ftir from beino- asrreeable to the 
 
 O p 
 
 nation ; and, perhaps, no measure, since the acces- 
 sion of the present royal family, has created such 
 universal discontent. Petitions and addresses flowed 
 in from every part of the kingdom; in which the 
 county of Middlesex, as being most immediately 
 concerned, took the lead. A petition, signed by 
 one thousand five hundred and sixt3^-five freeholders 
 of that county, was presented to his majesty, on the 
 24th of May, containing a long catalogue of griev- 
 ances, relative to the infringements on the constitu- 
 tion, from the first prosecution of Mr. Wilkes, to his 
 being expelled the House of Commons ; and con- 
 cluding- thus: 
 
 o 
 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign, 
 " Such are the grievances and apprehensions, which 
 have long discontented and disturbed' the greatest 
 VOL. II. G g and
 
 226 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 and best part of your majesty's subjects. UnwilliBg, 
 iiowever, to interrupt your royal repose, though ready 
 to lay down our lives and fortunes for your majesty's 
 service, and for the constitution, as by law esta- 
 blished, we have waited patiently, expecting- a con- 
 stitutional remedy by the means of our own repre- 
 sentatives ; but our loyal and free choice having 
 been frequently rejected, and the right of election 
 now finally taken from us, by the unprecedented 
 seating of a candidate who was never chosen by the 
 county, and who, even to become a candidate, was 
 obliged fraudulently to vacate his seat in parliamenty 
 under the pretence of an insignificant place, invited 
 thereto by the prior declaration of a minister, that, 
 whoever opposed our choice, though but with four 
 votes, should be declared member for the county. 
 We see ourselves, by this last act, deprived even of 
 the franchises of Englishmen, reduced to the most 
 abject state of slavery, and left without hopes or 
 means of redress, but from your majesty or God. 
 
 " Deign, then, most gracious sovereign, to listen 
 to the prayer of the most faithful of your majesty's 
 subjects, and to banish from your royal favour, trust, 
 and confidence, for ever, those evil and pernicious 
 counsellors, who have endeavoured to alienate the 
 affection of your majesty's most sincere and dutiful 
 subjects, and whose suggestions tend to deprive youi" 
 people of their dearest and most essential rights, and 
 who have traiterously dared to depart from the spi- 
 rit and letter of those laws, which have secured the 
 crown of these realms to the House of Brunswick; 
 in which, we make our most earnest prayers to God, 
 that it may continue, untarnished, to the latest pos- 
 terity." 
 
 The citizens of London were equally anxious to 
 show their disapprobation of this proceeding^, and, 
 
 eajd
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 227 
 
 early in INIay, had requested the lord mayor to call 
 a common-hall, for the purpose of taking the sense 
 of the livery on the measures to be pursued in the 
 existing circumstances; but this his lordship de- 
 clined, until he could procure the opinion of the 
 common-council upon it. A court was accordingly- 
 summoned tor this purpose; when a motion was 
 made, " that the rioht honourable the lord mavor he 
 desired to issue a precept to assemble the livery in 
 common-hall, pursuant to their application to his 
 lordship:" which was carried in the negative, by a 
 maioritv of twentv. 
 
 But this disappointment only increased their ea- 
 gerness ; and, on Midsummer-day, when a common- 
 hall was held for the choice of sheriffs, and other 
 city officers, the hail was crowded ; and so fearful 
 were the livery of not obtaining their wishes, that they 
 w^ould not permit the business of the day to be en- 
 tered upon, till they were assured by the lord mayor, 
 that, as soon as that was finished, lie would listen to 
 any motion they might choose to bring forward, 
 This declaration was received with great applause, 
 and the elections proceeded as usual: after which, a 
 petition to the king being produced and road, it was 
 unanimously agreed to, with the exception of the 
 title, which originally stood thus: " The humble Pe- 
 tition of the Lord Mayor^ AldermeiK and Liverv, of 
 liOndon;" but, on the suggestion of the lord mayor, 
 the words in Italics were omitted. 
 
 In August and Se})tember, great disturbances arose 
 among the weavers, in Sjntaltields, occasioned by a 
 body of handkerchief weavers, wlio, conceiving 
 themselves not sufficiently paid, refused working, 
 unless their masters would increase their wages. In 
 order to support those, who were out of employment 
 in conser|uence of this proceeding, they levied a 
 contribution of six pence a week from every loom 
 
 tliat,
 
 228 HISTORY AND SURVEY OV 
 
 that was at work ; and if their more industrious bre- 
 thren did not comply with this imposition, they de- 
 stroyed their work, and cut their looms to pieces; 
 from which they received the appellation of cutters. 
 On the 30th of September a desperate conflict took 
 place, between a body of them and a party of the 
 military, who were called in to assist the civil ma- 
 gistrate. One of the soldiers and two of the rioters 
 were killed; and some of the latter being- taken, two 
 of them, Doyle and Valline, were tried at the ensu- 
 ing October sessions, and, being capitally convicted, 
 sentence was passed upon them in the customary 
 form. The execution of these men occasioned a 
 curious correspondence between the lord chancellor, 
 the secretary of state, and the sheriffs. According 
 to the sentence passed upon them by the recorder, 
 they were to suffer at the usual place of execution ; 
 but the warrant transmitted to the sheriffs, signified 
 that it was his majesty's pleasure that the sentence 
 should be executed in the most convenient place 
 near Bethnal-green church. The sheriffs, not knowing 
 how they ought to proceed, under the circumstances 
 of this variation from the sentence, laid the case before 
 Serjeant Glynn, who, in his opinion, said he was unac- 
 quainted with any authority which could justify an al- 
 teration of the sentence of a court of justice, and ad- 
 vised them to represent their doubts tQ> his majesty. 
 Upon the case being laid before the king, he or- 
 dered the prisoners to be respited till the opinion of 
 the judges could be taken upon it ; which was soon 
 alter given to the following effect : " That the time 
 and place of execution are, in law, no part of the 
 iudo:ment; and that the recorder's warrant was a 
 lawful authority to the sheriffs, as to the time and 
 place of execution." In reply to this, the sheriffs 
 wrote to the lord chancellor, to say, that, though 
 their doubts were over-ruled, they were not satisfied: 
 
 on
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 229 
 
 on the ()th of December, however, a letter was re- 
 ceived by the sheriffs, informing them, from autho- 
 rity, that, as the judges had determined their war- 
 rant was legal, it was his majesty's pleasure that there 
 should he no farther respite for the two convicts. 
 Accordingly, on the 8tn, they were executed on 
 Betimal-green, attended only by the peace officers, 
 the sheriffs having refused the assistance of the mi- 
 litary ; but the mob was so outrageous, that it was 
 found necessary to order the unhappy sufferers to be 
 turned off before the usual time allowed on such 
 occasions, to prevent a rescue. 
 
 The citizens of London, not having receiv^cd 
 any answer to their petition, presented to the king, 
 relative to the Middlesex election, determined to 
 renew their solicitations on the subject. On the 
 1st of March, 1770, a committee of the livery laid a 
 memorial before the court of common-council, in 
 which they stated, that, though a petition had been pre- 
 sented by them to his majesty, no answer or redress 
 had been obtained ; they therefore applied to that court, 
 to join in a request to the lord mayor to call another 
 common-hall, that further measures might be taken 
 for the re-establishment of their ancient rights and 
 privileges. The question being put, was carried in 
 the affirmative, and, in consequence, a common-hall 
 was held on the 6th, when a second application to 
 his majesty was read, and unanimously agreed to; 
 the title of which ran thus: " The humble Address, 
 Kemnnstranco, and Petition, of the Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and l^ivery, of the City of London, in 
 Comnion-hall assembled." 'Jhe substance ol" this 
 remonstrance was, a repetition of the grievances 
 mentioned in their former ])etition, and an earnest 
 request to his majesty to dissolve the parliament. 
 
 This address and remonstrance was presented on 
 the 14th; and his majesty returned the following 
 
 answer:
 
 2^0 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 answer : " 1 shall always be ready to receive the re- 
 quests, and to listen to the complaints of my sub- 
 jects ; but it gives me great concern to find, that any 
 of them should have been so far misled as to offer 
 an address and remonstrance, the contents of which 
 I cannot but consider as disrespectful to me, injuri- 
 ous to parliament, and irreconcilable to the princi- 
 ples of the constitution. 
 
 " I have ever made the law of the land the rule 
 of my conduct, esteeming it my chief glory to reign 
 over a free people : with this view, 1 have always 
 been careful, as well to execute faithfully the trust 
 reposed in me, as to avoid even the appearance of 
 invading any of those powers which the constitution 
 has placed in other hands. It is only by persevering 
 in such a conduct, that I can either discharge my 
 own duty, or secure to my subjects the free enjoy- 
 ment of those rights, which my family were called 
 to defend; and while I act upon these princi- 
 ples, I shall have a right to expect, and 1 am confi- 
 dent I shall continue to receive, the steady and af- 
 fectionate support of my people." 
 
 At a court of aldermen, held on the 13th, the le- 
 gahty of this address, and the propriety of its title, 
 were strongly objected to, and a motion was made 
 that it should be disavowed in that court ; which 
 occasioned a warm altercation. Next day, the fol- 
 lowing protest appeared in all the public papers. 
 *' We, the aldermen of the city of London, whose 
 names are hereunto subscribed, observing that the ad- 
 dress, remonstrance, and petition, agreed upon by the 
 livery, who met at Guildhall, on Tuesday, the 6th of 
 this inst. March, is intituled, ' The Address, Remon- 
 strance, and Petition, of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, 
 and Livery, of the City of London, to the King^s 
 most Excellent Majesty,' do declare, that we were 
 not assenting to, nor signified our approbation of the 
 
 said
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 231 
 
 said address, remonstrance, and petition. Dated the 
 
 13th of March, 1770. 
 
 Robert Ladbroke - Thomas HaHfax 
 Robert Alsop John Shakespear 
 
 Richard Glynn James Esdaile 
 
 Thomas Harley Samuel Flumbe 
 
 Samuel Turner Barclay Kennet 
 
 Henry Bankes J. Kirkman 
 
 Richard Peers James Rossiter 
 
 William Nash John Bird." 
 
 The example of the majority of the court of alder- 
 men was followed by three of the city companies, 
 who disputed the power of the lord mayor, in calling 
 common-halls, on any other occasion than merely 
 for the election of city officers. At a court of assist- 
 ants of the Goldsmith's company, held the 22d of 
 March, the following resolution was agreed to: 
 
 " The right honourable the lord mayor having 
 issued precepts for summoning the livery of this 
 city to meet at Guildhall, on Tuesday, the 6th inst. 
 to consider of a farther application for a redress of 
 grievances; at which meeting, a most indecent re- 
 monstrance was ordered to be presented to his 
 majesty : 
 
 " Resolved and ordered, That, for the future, the 
 wardens of this company do not summon the livery 
 thereof to attend at any meeting in the Guildhall 
 (except for the purpose of elections), without the 
 express approbation or consent of this court." 
 
 The companies of grocers and weavers followed 
 the example of the goldsmiths, and, at their next 
 court (lavs, passed resolutions of a like tendency. 
 
 On the 12th of April, a common-hall was held^t 
 
 Guildhall, by virtue of a precept from the lord mayor, 
 
 to receive the report of his majesty's answer to the 
 
 address, remonstrance, and petition, of the lord 
 
 2 mayor.
 
 232 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 mayor, aldermen, and livery, of London ; as also to 
 hear the resolutions and addresses of the Houses of 
 Lords and Commons thereupon; and to take into 
 consideration the late proceedings of the companies 
 of goldsmiths, weavers, and grocers ; and, in particu- 
 lar, their resolution not to obey the orders of the 
 lord mayor, for summoning the livery of the respec- 
 tive companies to attend at common-halls. The last 
 committee of the liver}'^ vi^ere appointed to consider 
 what would be the proper mode of proceeding against 
 these refractory companies, and to report their opi- 
 nion to the court of common-council. 
 
 Mr. Wilkes, being discharged from his confine- 
 ment, was sworn in alderman of Farringdon without, 
 on the 24th of April, and took precedence from the 
 time of his election. 
 
 On the 1 4th of May, a court of common-council 
 was held, to consider of a third address, petition, and 
 remonstrance, to his majesty, which was presented 
 on the 25d; when his majesty was pleased to return 
 the following answer : 
 
 " I should have been wanting to the public, as 
 well as to myself, if 1 had not expressed my dissatis- 
 faction at the late address. 
 
 " My sentiments on that subject continue the 
 same; and I should ill deserve to be considered as 
 the father of my people, if 1 could suffer myself to 
 be prevailed upon to make such an use of my pre- 
 rogative, as I cannot but think inconsistent with the 
 interest, and dangerous to the co*hstitution, of the 
 kingdom.^^ 
 
 It was on this occasion that the lord mayor. Beck- 
 ford, made that reply to the king, so much spoken of 
 at the time, for its promptitude and spirit, but which 
 is noAv asserted to have been composed by Mr. 
 Home Tooke, and entrusted to his lordship's me- 
 mory. 
 
 Her
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. S33 
 
 Her majesty having been happily dehvered of a 
 princess, on the 2'id of May, the lord mayor went to 
 St. James's, on the 30th, with the customary con- 
 gratulations, and was informed, " that, as his lord- 
 ship thought fit to speak to his majesty, after his an- 
 swer to the late remonstrance, as it was unusual, his 
 majesty desired that nothing of the kind might hap- 
 pen for the future." 
 
 On the following day, the lord mayor, attended 
 by the sheriffs and several of the aldermen, went in 
 state to the Old Bailey, and laid the first stone of 
 the present prison of Newgate. This was the last 
 public transaction of Mr. Beckford's life, which was 
 terminated by a rheumatic fever, on the 21st of 
 June. The high opinion in which he was held, at 
 that time, by his fellow-citizens, was evinced by the 
 first common-council held after his death; in which 
 a resolution was passed for erecting a statue to his 
 memory, in GLiildhall. 
 
 The recorder having given great offence to the 
 corporation, by refusing to attend the presentation 
 of the late addresses and remonstrances, two motions 
 were carried, in the court of common-council, on 
 the 6th of July, for taking the recorder's con- 
 duct into considerati(jn at the next court, and for 
 printing and distributing a copy of his oath to the 
 members. 
 
 In consequence of hostilities committed by the 
 Spaniards, by forcibly taking possession of a small 
 British settlement on the Falkland Islands, govern- 
 ment gave orders for immediate preparations for a 
 war with that power; and press-warrants were issued 
 to all the sea-ports and principal towns in England, 
 Application being made by the lords of the Admi- 
 ralty to the lord mayor, to back these warrants, he 
 refused, on the ground that this was an unusual j)ro- 
 ceedure, unless when the lord mavor received inti- 
 VOL. II. H h mation
 
 T34> HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 mation of its necessity immediately from the priv;y'- 
 couiicil : when the request was made through that 
 channel, the lord mayor complied ; but it produced 
 much dissension in the corporation. 
 
 A court of common-council was held on the 27th 
 of September, at which the case of the recorder 
 was taken into consideration. That gentleman at- 
 tended, and justified his conduct, declaring, that, 
 should a similar case occur, he would act as he 
 had done: in consequence of which, the court came 
 to a resolution, '' that the recorder, by refusing to 
 attend the lord mayor, aldermen, and commons, of 
 this city, with their humble address, remonstrance, 
 and petition, acted contrary to his oath and the 
 duty of his office:" and the further consideration 
 was adjourned to the 12th of October; when it 
 was resolved, that he should be no more advised 
 with, retained, or employed, in any affairs of the 
 corporation ; he being deemed unworthy of their 
 future trust or confidence. 
 
 On the 15th of November, a court of common- 
 council was held at Guildhall, when it was unani" 
 mously agreed and resolved, that the sum of forty- 
 shillings for every able seaman, and twenty shillings 
 for every ordinary seaman, over and above the 
 bounty granted by his majesty, be given during the 
 pleasure of the court, and not exceeding one month 
 from this day, to every such seaman as shall enter 
 at the Guildhall of this city into the service of his 
 majesty^s navy. It was also resolved and ordered, 
 that the remembrancer do immediately wait on the 
 Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Hawke, first lord commissioner 
 of the Admiralty, with a copy of the resolution 
 fairly transcribed, and signed by the town-clerk, 
 and signify the request of the court, that his lordt 
 ship will, at a proper opportunity, lay the same be- 
 fore his majesty, as an humbh; testimony of their 
 
 zeal
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 935 
 
 «eal and affection for his most sacred person and 
 government. 
 
 At - the same court a motion was made and car- 
 ried, that another humble address, remonstrance, 
 and petition, be presented to his majesty, touching 
 the violated right of election, and praying for a 
 dissolution of parliament. This address was pre- 
 sented on the ^Ist; and iiis majesty returned the 
 following answer. " As I have seen no reason to 
 alter the opinion expressed in my answer to your 
 address upon this subject, I cannot comply with the 
 prayer of your petition." 
 
 The lieutenants employed in the impress ser- 
 vice attended the lord mayor, on the 1st of Decem- 
 ber, to have their warrants backed by his autho- 
 rity ; but his lordship refused, and told them, that 
 the bounty given by the city was intended to pre- 
 vent such violence. 
 
 The opposition to the impress service was car- 
 ried to such a height, in the city of London, at 
 this period, that, on the 1.5th of January, 1771, a 
 motion was made in the court of common-council, 
 to censure Alderman Harley, for having backed 
 the warrants ; and, on the 22d, the following re- 
 solution was carried : " That if any person shall be 
 impressed within this city or liberty into his ma- 
 jesty's service, by virtue of any warrant granted 
 or backed by any of his majesty's justices of the 
 peace for this city, that tins court will immedi- 
 ately direct their solicitor, at the city's expense, 
 to prosecute, in the name of the person so im- 
 pressed (if he desires it), not only the justice of 
 the jjeacc who granted or backed the said war- 
 rant, i)ut the constable or peace-officer who exe- 
 cuted the same." This question, however, Avas put 
 to rest by a letter from the secretary of state to the 
 lord mayor, informing him that the dispute between 
 tlic two govenuuents was amicably adjusted. 
 
 CHAW XLIII.
 
 -^"' 
 
 ^36 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XLIII. W^' 
 
 Case of the Printers. — The City Magistrate^ deny tf^^if^^ 
 thority of the House of Commons in the City.-^The ^ 
 Lord Mayor and One of the Aldermen sent to the^^^dH^ 
 — Proceedings of the Common- council in Sjippor^JSf tlie^ ' 
 imprisoned Magistrates. — Opinion of Counsel oii iit^ Case 
 of the refractory Companies .--Address and Remonstrance, 
 
 Court of Escheats. The Lord Mayor refuses to call a 
 
 Common-hall.- -The Exhihitions oj St. Paul's School in^ 
 creased. — Dreadful Storm. — Writs of Certiorari^ brought 
 in the Kijig's-hench, set aside.-^-Vote of Cpnsure on a 
 
 Lord Mayor. Election of a Recorder. Remarkahle 
 
 Fog. Petition for a Redress of Grievances.- — The Re- 
 corder's Salary increased. — Judgment against the Mas- 
 ter of the Goldsmith's Company. — Petition against the 
 
 Quebec Bill. Reversal of the Judgment against the 
 
 Goldsmith's Company. — Address and Petition on Ame- 
 rican Affairs. — Proclamation against Rebellion and Se- 
 dition, — Election of Chamberlain. — Protest against it, 
 — Refusal to hack Press Warrants. 
 
 There seemed to be, at this period, a determina- 
 tion in some of the city magistrates to oppose and 
 thwart every measure which originated with the 
 government; and, under the plausible pretence of 
 upholding the privileges of the corporation, they 
 sought opportunities of counteracting all their pro- 
 ceedings. In February, 1771, complaint had been 
 made to the House of Commons, by some of its 
 members, that their speeches had been grossly mis- 
 represented in the public newspapers, a practice 
 which prevailed too generally on both sides ; and, - 
 as the insertion of the proceedings of the House is a 
 direct violation of their standing orders, a motion 
 was made, and carried by a great majority, for or- 
 dering Wheble and Thompson, the printers of two 
 of the papers, to the bar. This order was not 
 I obeyed.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 237 
 
 obeyed, and, in consequence, another was made 
 for taking them into the custody of the serjeant at 
 arms, which proved equally ineffectual. A royal 
 proclamation was therefore issued, offering a reward 
 for apprehending them. Both of them were appre- 
 hended, and the first being brought before Mr. Al- 
 -derman Wilkes he discharged him and bound him 
 over to prosecute the person who took him, for an 
 assault ; the other being taken before Mr. Alderman 
 Oliver, he was also discharged in the same way. 
 
 Mr. Miller, the printer of the Evening Post, hav- 
 ing been also complained against, was taken into 
 custody by a messenger of the House of Commons, 
 at his own house, by virtue of a warrant from the 
 speaker: Miller sent for a constable who carried 
 both him and the messenger before the lord mayor, 
 who was assisted by the two above-named aldermen. 
 They not only discharged the printer, but compelled 
 the messenger to give bail to answer the assault and 
 imprisonment of a citizen, without the order of a city 
 magistrate. 
 
 The House of Commons resented this contempt 
 of their authority, and ordered the lord mayor and 
 the two aldermen to appear before them. Mr. Crosby 
 and Mr. Oliver attended, as members of th*^ House; 
 but Mr. Wilkes refused to appear, except as member 
 for Middlesex. The House, not choosing to enter 
 again into this question, adjourned over the day ap- 
 pointed for his attendance ; but, in the mean time, 
 they committed the lord mayor and Alderman Oli- 
 ver to the Tower, where they remained to the end of 
 the session. 
 
 The conduct of these magistrates, on this occa- 
 sion, was so highly approved by the citizens, that a 
 vote of thanks to them was passed in the court of 
 common-council, and a committee was appointed to 
 assist them in their defence; and, after their com- 
 mittal.
 
 Q3S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 mittal, they were brought before every court of ju-* 
 dicature, at Westminster, by habeas corpus, at the 
 city expense, in order to procure their enlargement; 
 but the courts refused to interfere with the privileges 
 of the House of Commons ; and they were remanded 
 to the Tower. 
 
 At length the day arrived, when^ by the proroga- 
 tion of parliament, the power that detained them 
 expired, and their liberation was the consequence. 
 Some days previous to it, the court of common- 
 council had resolved to attend their enlargement, 
 accompanied by the city officers. Accordingly, they 
 assembled at Guildhall, and proceeded to the Tower 
 in fifty-three carriages; the procession being aug- 
 mented by the artillery company, who attended ia 
 their uniform. When the lord mavor and Mr. Oli- 
 ver were brought to the Tower-gate, they were 
 saluted by twenty-one pieces of cannon belonging 
 to the artillery company, and, from thence to the 
 Mansion-house, received the loudest acclamations 
 of an innumerable concourse of spectators* 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the 28th of 
 May, it was resolved and ordered, " That it be refer- 
 red to the committee appointed to assist the lord 
 mayor and Alderman Oliver, in the Tower, to state 
 cases, and take opinions, whether there is any, and 
 what, method to bring into a course of trial, the le- 
 gality of an imprisonment by a vote of either House 
 of Parliament." It was farther resolved, " That, in 
 case the said committee should be advised that the 
 legality of the commitment of the lewd mayor and 
 Alderman Oliver can be put into a due course of 
 trial by law, they be authorized so to do." 
 
 At another court of common-council, held the 
 5th of June, the opinions of the counsel, who had 
 been consulted by the committee abovementioned, 
 were read to the court; when it appeared, they did 
 
 not
 
 LOJiDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 239 
 
 not think any action could be commenced on that 
 account. At the same time, the report was made 
 from the committee, who had been appointed to 
 consider of a proper mode of proceeding against the 
 Goldsmiths, Grocers, and Weavers' companies, for 
 their disobedience to the lord mayor':^ precepts. The 
 report stated, that queries had been submitted to 
 counsel, on the following heads; namely, the power 
 of the lord mayor to call common-halls ; the obliga- 
 tion of the masters and wardens of the several com- 
 panies to obey the lord mayor's precepts ; and the 
 methods of punishment, in case of refusal. 
 
 The answers to these questions were as follow : 
 " We conceive it to be the duty of the proper offi- 
 cers of the several companies, to whom precepts for 
 summoning their respective liveries have been usu- 
 ally directed, to execute those precepts; and, that a 
 wilful refusal on their parts is an offence punishable 
 by disfranchisement. If it be thought proper to pro- 
 secute with that view, in the present case, we think 
 it most adviscable to proceed in the usual way^ by 
 information, to be filed by the common-serjeant, in 
 the mayor's-court ; which the common-serjeant may 
 file, ejv officio^ if he pleases, or at the instance of 
 either of the bodies mentioned in the query. 
 
 " Alex. Wedderburne, J. Glvnn, J. Dunning, 
 T. Nugent." 
 
 A common-hall was held, as usual, on Midsum- 
 mer-day, for the election of city officers for the year 
 ensuing. This business being adjusted, a motion 
 was made for presenting another humble address, 
 remonstrance, and petition to his majesty, setting 
 forth the many grievances already complained of, 
 and still unredressed; together with the injurious 
 and unconstitutional behaviour of the Mouse of Com- 
 mons, during the la^t sessions, who had im[)risonod 
 
 tlio
 
 240 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the person of the lord mayor, their chief magistrate, 
 and Mr. Alderman Oliver, one of. their representa- 
 tives. The remonstrance being read to the livery, it 
 was unanimously approved of, and ordered to be 
 presented by the lord mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, the 
 city members, the common-council, and the livery 
 of London, attended by the city officers. Another 
 motion was made and carried, " That the livery of 
 London do desire the common-council to present a 
 silver cup to the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor, of the 
 value of two hundred pounds, with the city arms 
 engraved thereon ; and to the aldermen, Wilkes and 
 Ohver, one each, of the value of one hundred pounds, 
 as marks of their gratitude, for their upright conduct 
 in the affair of the printers, and for supporting the 
 city charters." Though this motion was readily 
 agreed to by the livery, it met with some obstacles 
 in the court of common-council ; and so long was it 
 before it was carried, that the cups were not pre- 
 sented to the different parties till the month of Ja- 
 nuary following. 
 
 On the 30th of June came on at Guildhall, the 
 trial of Edward Twine Carpenter, for an assault, in 
 seizing and taking up the person of J. Wheble, ac- 
 cording to the royal proclamation for that purpose ; 
 when he was found guilty, fined one shilling, and 
 ordered to be imprisoned tor two months in Wood- 
 street Compter. 
 
 On the 4th of July the sheriffs waited on the king, 
 to know when he would be pleased to receive the 
 city remonstrance ; when his majesty appointed the 
 10th, at two o'clock. The lord mayor therefore is- 
 sued precepts for the attendance of the aldermen, 
 common-council, and livery; but in the evening 
 preceding the day appointed, his lordship received 
 the followina: letter.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 241 
 
 *• My Lord, 
 
 " As, in consequence of the notice given of the 
 time your lordship propeses setting out, to-morrow, 
 the livery may be induced to attend your lordship 
 to St. James's, I have the king's commands to ac- 
 quaint you, that, it being unprecedented to admit 
 the hvery upon such occasions, as well as impracti- 
 cable to introduce so numerous a body, no persons, 
 beyond the number allowed by law to present peti- 
 tions to the throne, will be admitted, except your 
 lordship, the aldermen, common-council, and city 
 officers. 1 am, my Lord, with the greatest respect, 
 your lordship's most obedient humble st^rvant, 
 
 Grosvenor-street, ,, Hertford." 
 
 July 9, 1771. 
 
 This letter being read to the livery, who had as- 
 sembled in Guildhall, a committee of ten (the num- 
 ber allowed by an act of parliament made in the 
 reign of Charles 11.), were appointed to attend his 
 lordship on the occasion. When the town-clerk had 
 done reading the remonstrance, his majesty returned 
 the following answer : 
 
 " 1 shall ever be ready to exert my prerogative, as 
 far as 1 can, constitutionally, in redressing any real 
 grievances of my subjects ; and the city of London 
 will always find me disposed to listen to any of their 
 well-founded complaints : it is, therefore, with con- 
 cern that I see a part of my subjects still so far mis- 
 led and deluded, as to renew, in such reprehensible 
 terms, a request, with which, 1 have repeatedly de- 
 clared, 1 cannot comply." 
 
 On the 1 6th of July, a court of escheats was held, 
 at Guildhall, before the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor, 
 by virtue of his majesty's commission, issued by the 
 court of chancery, directed to his lordship, as the 
 king' escheator in the city of London, to inquire 
 
 VOL. II. I i iiito
 
 $42 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 into that kind of escheat, of an estate devolved to 
 the crown, pro defecto sanguinis^ or want of an heir. 
 The case was, the late Major-general Browne, who 
 died in 1764, was proved to be an illegitimate son of 
 one Mrs. Elizabeth Dean, by the Hon. Mr. Lumley, 
 Mrs. Dean, the generals mother, devised several real 
 estates to Mr. Browne in fee : he lived and died un- 
 married, therefore could not have any heir; how- 
 ever, by his will, properly attested, he gave several 
 of his mother's estates to the Foundling Hospital ; 
 which bequest, by the mortmain act, was void in 
 law. The testator, discovering this mistake, in six 
 days after, endeavoured to cure it by a codicil; and, 
 if the charitable legacy proved ineffectual, gave the 
 estate to one Mrs. Beecroft : fatally for her, this co- 
 dicil was attested by only a single witness, which, 
 by statute-law^, is void; so that the general may be 
 said to have died without a will, and his estates, 
 therefore, escheated to the crown ; and so they were 
 found, and returned by the inquisition. 
 
 The lord mayor made a point, at first, as to the 
 return of the inquisition, by virtue of the king's 
 "U'rit, insisting on his having an independent jurisr 
 diction, by virtue of charters, and his oath ; but the 
 writ being issued on the petition of Mrs. Beecroft, 
 praying to obtain the estate, or some part of it, his 
 lordship waved, in this instance, his objection, but 
 insisted, for the future, that informations of escheats 
 should be originally brought to the lord mayor, who 
 would othcially proceed in such enquiries, without 
 any royal mandate. There had not been a like court 
 held, since the mayoralty of Sir WoUaston Dixie, 
 who was lord mayor of London, in the year K585. 
 
 In the beginning of October, the city solicitor 
 filled informationsof disfranchisement, in the mayor's 
 court, against the masters and wardens of the three 
 refractory companies of Goldsmiths, Grocers, and 
 
 Weavers,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 243 
 
 Weavers, for refusing to obey the lord mayor's pre- 
 cept for a common-hall. 
 
 At a court of aldermen, held on the 19th of Octo- 
 ber, a committee was appointed to meet on the 29th, 
 in conformity to the will of Sir James Langhorn, to 
 elect twenty-five poor sailors, and twenty-five poor 
 soldiers, who have families, and receive no pensions 
 from government, to a gift of four pounds each. 
 
 A requisition was presented to the lord mayor, 
 signed by one hundred and forty-three liverymen, in 
 February, 1772, to call a common-hall, for the pur- 
 pose of giving public instructions to the city repre-» 
 sentatives, relative to a motion to be made in parlia- 
 ment, by Alderman Sawbridge, for shortening the 
 duration of parliaments ; but, on consideration, his 
 lordship declined doing so, while the exercise of the 
 right remained a question for legal determination. 
 
 In consequence of this refusal, a deputation of 
 common-councilmen waited on his lordship, to re- 
 quest he would call a court of common-council ; 
 with which request he complied ; and the court be- 
 ing held on the 20th, a motion was made, and car- 
 ried by a large majority^ to desire him to issue pre- 
 cepts for calling a common-hall for the above pur- 
 pose ; but he declared, that he neither could, nor 
 would, comply with their requisition; referring them 
 to the reasons he had given for refusing the first ap- 
 plication. 
 
 On the 11th of March, the young gentlemen of 
 St. Pauls School spoke their annual orations before 
 a numerous audience, with universal applause. They 
 passed their examinations with such honour, that 
 the worshipful company of Mercers, as a reward fof 
 their merit, and an encouragement to their future 
 improvement, enlarged their exhibitions, out of the 
 increase of the founder's estate, from twenty to thirty 
 pounds yearly, during the first three years of their 
 
 college
 
 24i HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 college residence; and, after taking their degrees, to 
 forty pounds per annum. 
 
 On Sunday, the 2 2d of March, a violent storm of 
 hail, thunder, and lightning, happened in London 
 and its neighbourhood, during divine service in the 
 afternoon. The congregations, in many churches, 
 were struck with the utmost consternation ; particu- 
 larly at St. John's, Horsleydown, where, the hail- 
 stones breaking some of the windows, a great part 
 of the people, in the midst of the sermon, precipi- 
 tately ran out, and the remainder were thrown into 
 the utmost confusion. At Lambeth church, every 
 one fled from the windows, the charitv-children were 
 frightened into a general outcry, and the service was, 
 for some time, stopped. 
 
 The refractory city companies having removed 
 several informations of disfranchisement from the 
 mayor's court to the court of King's-bench, and the 
 city solicitor having obtained rules for them to show 
 cause why the several writs of certiorari^ for remov- 
 ing the same, should not be quashed, the matter was 
 argued in that court, on the 1st of June, when Lord 
 Mansfield gave the opinion of the court thereon; 
 .which was, That the writs had been improvidently 
 granted ; that causes of that nature had no business 
 in Westminster-hall; that every corporation, inter se, 
 was the sole judge of its own rights and franchises; 
 and that the corporation of London had the right and 
 power of determining the present cause solely in 
 their own hands. In consequence of this, on the 
 23d of June, the city solicitor signed judgment of 
 disfranchisement aQ-ainst the masters and wardens of 
 the three companies, in the mayor's court; but, in 
 the afternoon, the recorder set the judgment aside, 
 in order, as he alleged, to give the parties an 
 opportunity of trying the merits of the cause at 
 large. 
 
 At
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 245 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 13th 
 of November, the following motion was put and car- 
 ried in the affirmative. 
 
 " Resolved, That the late lord mayor, having re- 
 fused to call a common-hall on a most important 
 public business, at the requisition of many respect- 
 able gentlemen of the livery; havmg denied a con- 
 siderable body of this court, to call a court of com- 
 mon-council ; having refused to put questions in 
 common-hall, of the utmost consequence to the 
 rights of the livery ; and having ordered the sword 
 to be taken up, both in common-hall and in this 
 court, before the public business was finished, has 
 been guilty of violating the rights and privileges of 
 this city." A division being demanded on this ques- 
 tion, there appeared to be — For it, 6 aldermen and 
 90 commoners ; against it, 5 aldermen and 45 com- 
 moners. Majority for the vote of censure, 46. 
 
 A resolution was also passed, for limiting the sa- 
 lary of the recorder to the ancient sum of one hun- 
 dred and twenty pounds, for himself and deputy, in 
 case he should accept the office of a judge, in any 
 of the courts at Westminster, or of attorney or solici- 
 tor-general, to the king or queen, or should accept a 
 patent of precedence from the crown. 
 
 Sir James Eyre having been appointed a baron of 
 the Exchequer, an election for recorder took place 
 on the 1 7th ; v. hen Serjeant Glynn was elected by 
 a majority of one. 
 
 In the morning of the 2.'3d of December, there 
 happened one of the greatest fogs in London, that 
 had ever been remembered ; bv which sreat damaoe 
 was done. The darkness was so srreat, that the car- 
 nages of the nobihty and gentry were attended by 
 lights, the same as at midnight. Many accidents 
 occurred during the continuance of this fog, which 
 lasted through the night ; and, in the morning, se- 
 veral
 
 246 HISTORY AND SURVEY OI' 
 
 veral people were found dead in the fields round 
 the metropolis, who, not being able to find their way^ 
 were supposed to have perished from the inclemency 
 of the weather. 
 
 On the 1 1th of March, 1773, a common-hall was 
 held, by virtue of the lord mayor's precepts for that 
 purpose, to consider of a farther application to the 
 throne, for a redress of grievances ; when an address, 
 petition, and remonstrance, was agreed to, which, 
 by his majesty's appointment, was presented on the 
 26th. After it had been read by the recorder, his 
 majesty returned the following answer. 
 
 " 1 have the satisfaction to think that my people 
 don't doubt of my readiness to attend to their com- 
 plaints, or of my ardent desire to promote their hap- 
 piness ; which I cannot more effectually do, than by 
 resisting every attempt to sow groundless jealousies 
 anions: them. 
 
 " Your petition is so void of foundation, and is, 
 besides, conceived in such disrespectful terms, that 
 I am convinced you do not seriously imagine it can 
 be complied with." 
 
 At a court of common-council, held the l6th of 
 June, the recorder's salary was augmented to one 
 thousand pounds per annum, during the pleasure of 
 the court, and, at the same time, an additional salary 
 of two hundred pounds per annum was granted to 
 the common-serjeant. 
 
 On the 1 4th of July, the cause between the com- 
 mon-serjeant, on behalf of the city of London, and 
 Samuel Plumbe, Esq. prime warden, or master, of 
 the Goldsmith's company, was tried at Guildhall. 
 The suit was instituted against the defendant, for 
 refusing to obey a precept, issued in 1770, by the 
 then lord mayor, to convene the livery of the said 
 company to a common-hall; and, after a long hear- 
 ing, it was determined in favour of the plaintiff. 
 
 And,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 247 
 
 And, on the 7th of March, 1774, the recorder 
 gave judgment, at Guildhall, in the above cause; 
 Tvhich was, that it was legal, and sufficient to sup- 
 port the conviction. 
 
 The excessive rains that fell in the course of this 
 month, raised the waters in many rivers (but princi- 
 pally those westward of London), to a greater height 
 than had been known in the memory of man. 1 he 
 levels, on the sides of Chelsea and Battersea, were 
 entirely overflowed, and considerable damage done 
 to the gardeners' grounds and young plantations. 
 The force of the current in the river was so strong;-, 
 that two west-country barges were carried out of the 
 channel, and left in Battersea-fields, when the flood 
 abated. Many of the w^estern roads were rendered 
 impassable ; and the towns in general, adjoining to 
 the rivers, received considerable injury from the vio- 
 lence of the inundation. 
 
 Among other bills that had passed both houses of 
 parliament, in the month of June, was one that oc- 
 casioned universal discontent, it was intituled, '• An 
 Act for the future Government of Quebec." The 
 principal clauses that gave offence, were two; by the 
 first of which, the Roman clergy were to have the 
 fxercise of their religion, as established by the 1st of 
 Queen Elizabeth; and might enjoy, and receive, the 
 accustomed dues and rights, from persons professing 
 the Romish religion. By the second clause, all con- 
 troversies, relative to property and civil rights, were 
 to be determined by the Canada laws then in being, 
 or such as might be afterwards enacted by the go- 
 vernor, lieutenant-governor, and legislative council. 
 To prevent this bill receiving the royal assent, on 
 the !^2d (jf Juno (the day his majesty was to go to the 
 House), the lord mayor, the aldermen Crosby, Lewes, 
 Plomer, and Sawbridge, the recorder, city officers, 
 \i\\d upwards of one hundred and lifty of the common- 
 council,
 
 248 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 council, went in procession from Guildhall to St. 
 James's, in order to present an address and petition 
 to his majesty, against signing it. They arrived at 
 St. James's a quarter before one, just as his majesty 
 was preparing to go to the House; and, previous to 
 their admittance, the Lord Hertford delivered to the 
 lord mayor the following paper : 
 
 " As your petition relates to a bill, agreed on by 
 the two Houses of parliament, of which his majesty 
 cannot take public notice, until it is presented to 
 him for his royal assent in parliament, I am com- 
 manded by the king to inform you, that you are not 
 to expect any answer." 
 
 The lord mayor, immediately on reading it, sent 
 the remembrancer to present his duty to the king, 
 and to inform his majesty, that he waited, officially, 
 to present to his majesty an Address from the city of 
 London: on which, after some little hesitation, thev 
 were admitted, and the same was read by the 
 recorder. 
 
 His majesty then went in the usual state to the 
 House of Peers, and gave the royal assent to such 
 bills as were ready; among which was that so re- 
 cently petitioned against by the citizens of London. 
 
 On the 3d of February, 177-5, came on to be ar- 
 gued, before the judges of appeal, in Serjeant's-inn, 
 Chancery-lane, the long-depending cause relative to 
 the disfranchisement of Alderman Phmibe, brought 
 by writ of error before their lordships; when Mr* 
 Mansfield, as counsel for the plamtift", in error, en- 
 deavoured to prove that his client, as a citizen of 
 London, was not subject to disfranchisement, for not 
 obeying the lord mayor's precept, to summon, as 
 chief warden of the Goldsmith's company, the livery 
 of the said company, to attend in Guildhall, to hear 
 2 his
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 2 i9 
 
 his majesty's answer to the humble address and re- 
 monstrance of the corporation of London ; as the 
 only legal business of convening the livery, he said, 
 was for them to elect their members of parliament, 
 magistrates, and other officers ; all other corporate 
 business of the city coming under the cognizance of 
 the common-council; and he recited many law re- 
 ports to confirm his argument. Mr. Davenport, as 
 counsel for the defendant in error, observed, that it 
 was the duty of the plaintiff to obey the lord mayor's 
 precept, and that he was obliged to do so by his 
 oath as a freeman ; that it was impossible to know 
 the sense of the citizens, but by such meetings; that 
 no person was so proper to call them together, as the 
 lord mayor, or chief magistrate ; and he enforced his 
 arguments by many pertinent cases in law. The judge, 
 howev^er, adjourned the further arguing of the cause 
 to a future day. 
 
 The final decision of this important question did 
 not take place until the 7th of July; when Lord 
 Chief Justice de Grey, Lord Chief Baron Smythe, 
 Mr. Justice Aston, and Mr. Justice Ashurst (the 
 commissioners appointed to review the proceedings 
 on this information, met, according to their adjourn- 
 ment, at Guildhall, and delivered their judgment; 
 which was, That they were unanimously of opinion, 
 that the information was erroneous in many parti- 
 culars, which they severally specified ; and that I\Ir. 
 Alderman Plumbe, by neglecting to^ summon the 
 livery of the Goldsmiths' company, of which he w^as 
 prime warden, to attend Alderman Beckford, when 
 lord mayor, at a common-hall, had not been s^uilty of 
 any ofience against his oath and duty as a freeman; 
 consequently, the j udgment of disfranchisement, pro- 
 nounced against him, in the mayor's court, by the re- 
 corder, was by them reversed. 
 
 VOL. 11. K. k The
 
 250 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The distracted state of North America, at this 
 time, engaged the attention of all ranks in Great Bri-. 
 tain. The obstructions to trade, which were the 
 inevitable consequence of it, could not fail to be 
 severely felt in London ; and repeated petitions and 
 remonstrances, from the merchants, were presented 
 to the parliament on this subject. On the 14th of 
 July, an address and petition, from the lord mayor, 
 aldermen, and common-council, was presented to 
 his majesty ; who was pleased to return the follow^ 
 ing answer. 
 
 " I am always ready to listen to the dutiful peti- 
 tions of my subjects, and ever happy to comply with 
 their reasonable requests; but, whilst the constitu^ 
 tional authority of this kingdom is openly resisted by 
 a part of my American subjects, I owe it to the rest 
 of my people, of whose zeal and fidelity I have had 
 such constant proofs, to continue and enforce those 
 measures, by which alone their rights and interests 
 can be asserted and maintained." 
 
 On the 23d of August, a proclamation was issued 
 for suppressing rebellion and sedition ; and, on the 
 29th, it was read in Palace-yard, Westminster, and 
 at Temple-bar, by the heralds, &c. as also at the 
 Royal-Exchange, by one of the lord mayor's officers, 
 accompanied only by the common crier. The lord 
 mayor would not permit the officers to have horses, 
 or the mace to be carried, as is usual on such oc- 
 casions. 
 
 The election of a chamberlain was warmly con-^ 
 tested, in the beginning of 177(3. Sir Stephen Jans- 
 sen, having signified his intention of resigning that 
 office, a common-hall was held, on the 20th of Fe- 
 brviarv, for the choice of his successor; when Alder- 
 men Wilkes and Hopkins were put in nomination as 
 candidates. The show of hands appeared to be 
 2 greatly
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 961 
 
 greatly in favour of Mr. Wilkes; but a poll being de- 
 rnancled in favour of Mr. Hopkins, it began on the 
 same day, and was finally closed on the 27th ; when 
 the numbers were, for Mr. Alderman Hopkins, 2887; 
 and, for Mr. Alderman Wilkes, 2710: in consequence 
 of which, the former was declared duly elected. 
 
 At a court of aldermen, held on the 1 5th of March, 
 Mr. Hopkins resigned his gown, as alderman of Broad^ 
 street ward ; and at a wardmote, held at Draper's-hall, 
 on the following day, Richard Clark, Esq. the pre- 
 sent chamberlain, w^as unanimously elected in his 
 stead. 
 
 This was the twentieth vacancy in the court of 
 aldermen within seven years, viz. from the 2ith of 
 April, 1769; when Alderman Wilkes was elected, 
 on the death of Sir Francis Gosling. The annals of 
 the metropolis do not afford a similar succession of 
 changes within the same period. 
 
 A common-hall was held, as usual, on Midsum- 
 mer-day, when, after the election for the other city 
 oihcers, the sheriffs informed the livery, that there 
 were two candidates for the chamberlainship; viz. 
 Benjamin Hopkins, Esq. the present chamberlain, 
 and John Wilkes, Esq. 
 
 The two candidates then respectively addressed 
 the livery, after wiiich they were successively put 
 up, when the show of hands was so apparently equal, 
 that the sherilfs were unable to determine who had 
 the majority : they, therefore, put them up a second 
 time; after which, they declared the majority was in 
 favour of Mr. Wilkes: but a poll was immediately 
 demanded, by the friends of Mr. Hopkins, which be- 
 LCan at tour o'clock on the same day, and finally 
 closed on the 1st of July; when the numbers ap- 
 peared as follow: 
 
 For Mr. Hopkins, - 2869 
 
 Mr. Wilkes, - 167^ 
 
 The
 
 252 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The report was made to the court of aldermen, 
 on the 4th ; when the sheriffs, aldermen, &c. came 
 on the hustings, and, the numbers being read to the 
 livery, Mr. Hopkins was declared duly elected. The 
 aldermen, sheriffs, &c. then returned, in order to 
 swear in Mr. Hopkins; when a protest was entered 
 against it, grounded upon an act of common-coun- 
 cil, which directs, that no person shall enjoy the 
 olhce of chamberlain of this city, that has not served 
 an apprenticeship of seven years, or obtained his 
 freedom by patrimony ; to neither of which Mr. 
 Hopkins had any pretension, he having acquired his 
 freedom by purchase. After a long debate, he was 
 sworn in upon the following condition, " that he 
 should act officially, till a legal determination be had 
 in a court of law." 
 
 In the month of October, warrants were issued 
 from the Admiralty-office, to all the sea-ports and 
 principal towns in England, to impress men into the 
 service of his majesty's navy. In consequence of 
 this, application was made to the lord mayor, in the 
 following month, requesting him to back the war- 
 rants for impressing men in the city. This request 
 was absolutely refused; but his lordship gave orders 
 to the city marshals, to go with proper assistants, and 
 search the public houses in the city, to take into 
 custody all loose and disorderly men, and to bring 
 them before him; when, if they could not give a sa- 
 tisfactory account of themselves, he would send them 
 on board a tender, to serve his majesty. By this ju- 
 dicious step, many idle persons were obtained, and 
 the more industrious escaped being illegally forced 
 from their friends and families. The same measures 
 were likewise pursued by the high constable for the 
 city and liberty of Westminster; when great numbers 
 were taken, the principal part of whom were persons 
 who had not any visible method of livelihood. 
 
 CHAP. XLIV.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 263 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 Petition against the American High-treason Bill. — The 
 Election for Chamherlain contested. — Disputes with Go- 
 vernment, relative to Pressing. Case of Millachip. 
 
 The old Sheriffs siuorn in again. — Petition to the Com- 
 mon- council, J rom Mr. Wilkes's Creditors. The Cor- 
 poration refuses to raise Troops. — Sulscriptions of Indi- . 
 viduals for that Purpose. Address against the Conti- 
 nuance of the American War. — The City's Right to Toll 
 
 on landing Goods, confirmed. Seizure of contraband 
 
 Goods in the Fleet Prison. — Votes of Censure on the Lord 
 Mayor. — Tremendous Hurricane. — Disttirlance on Ad- 
 miral Keppell's Acqidttal. — Trial relative to the Toll on 
 
 Hay, in Smithfield-market. Foundation of the Neiv 
 
 Sessions-house, Clerkenivell. — The Recorder's Salary re- 
 duced. — Election for Chamherlain. Petitions to Par- 
 liament. Claim of the Oyster Meters tried. — A Mid- 
 dlesex Magistrate fined for impressing a Freeman. 
 
 The Right of the City over the Navigation of the Thames 
 confirmed. — Account of the Riots in 17 SO. — Proceedings 
 in the Court of Common-council, 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1777, a bill was 
 brought into the House of Commons, to enable his 
 majesty to secure and detain persons charged with, 
 or suspected of, the crime of high treason, com- 
 mitted in America, or on the high seas. The powers 
 to be granted by this bill, being considered inimical 
 to the genuine principles of the constitution, a peti- 
 tion against it was prepared and approved of in a 
 court of common-council, held on the 14th of Fe- 
 bruary, and, on the same day, presented to the House 
 of Commons, by the sheriffs. The bill passed both 
 Houses of Parliament, and received the royal assent; 
 but such amendments were made in it as met the 
 principal desires of the petitioners. 
 
 The
 
 2o4? HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The election for chamberlain was again contested 
 this year. Mr. Wilkes, whose protest last year had 
 not produced the effect he wished, was again put in 
 nomination, on Midsummer-day, and, on the majo- 
 rity of hands being declared to be in favour of Mr. 
 Hopkins, a poll was demanded ; at the close of which, 
 the numbers were, for Mr. Hopkins, 2132; for Mr. 
 Wilkes, 1228; upon which Mr. Hopkins was declared 
 duly elected. This attempt was repeated on the next 
 Midsummer-day, with still less success. 
 
 The legality of pressing freemen of the city of 
 London, was a fertile source of discord between the 
 administration and the citizens. In the latter part 
 of the last year, the lord mayor claimed an exemp- 
 tion for the watermen of his barge ; the city claimed 
 an exemption from pressing within its jurisdiction; 
 but the court of King's-bench held, that these claims 
 were not supported by adequate proof. 
 
 While this dispute continued, several naval offi- 
 cers were taken into custody, charged, by men whom 
 they had impressed, but without getting them out of 
 the city jurisdiction, with assaults; the consequences 
 were, that the impressed men were discharged, and, 
 in some cases, the officers were held to bail. 
 
 But the most prominent circumstance of this de- 
 scription, that occurred at this period, was in the case 
 of one Millachip. When he was impressed, Alder-^ 
 man Bull wrote to the secretary to the Admiralty- 
 board, requesting his discharge, on the ground of his 
 being a freeman and liveryman of London. The 
 answer returned, was, that the Lords of the Admi- 
 ralty did not apprehend that this exempted him from 
 being impressed, if otherwise liable. In consequence 
 of this, a common-council was held, in which a let- 
 ter to the Admiralty, in the name of the court, was 
 read and agreed to ; and a resolution passed, that, if 
 Millachip's discharge was not granted, legal measures 
 
 should
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 255 
 
 should be taken to procure it ; and the city solicitor 
 was ordered to follow the directions of a conniiittee 
 appointed for that purpose. 
 
 This application being equally ineffectual with the 
 former, a writ oi habeas corpus was obtained from the 
 court of King's-bench, by virtue of which, Millachip 
 was brought from on board the admiral's ship, at 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 In a few days after this, as he was going down the 
 river in his lighter, he was again taken by a press- 
 gang, and put on board a man of war; in conse- 
 quence of which, the committee met, and came to 
 resolutions to apply for another habeas corpus, and to 
 bring actions against the lieutenant and regulating 
 captain, for detaining him ; but the question never 
 came to a le^al decision. 
 
 Great difficulty was experienced this year, in 
 finding sheriffs ; the gentlemen chosen at live com- 
 mon-halls, having either paid the line, or been ex- 
 cused, a sixth was held, on the 2d of October, when 
 the aldermen, Peckham and Clark, Avere elected. 
 
 A petition was presented to the court of common- 
 council, on the 23d of October, from the creditors 
 of Mr. Wilkes, craving the payment of some part of 
 his debts ; which, after a very warm debate, was or- 
 dered to lie on the table; and, on the 19th of No- 
 vember, a motion was made in the same court, that 
 ^an annuity of five hundred pounds per annum, be 
 paid by the chamberlain, to .John Wilkes, Esq. alder- 
 man, during the pleasure of the court; which was 
 carried in the negative, by a groat majority. A mo- 
 lion was then made, and seconded, "That it is the 
 opinion of this court, that the granting any annuity 
 to John Wilkes, Esq. alderman of the ward of Ear- 
 riugdon-without, or the paying any of that gentle- 
 man's debts, out of the city cash, whether contracted 
 in his mayoralty or not, would bean improper appli- 
 
 Ciation
 
 Q5C} HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 cation thereof, and a most dangerous precedent." 
 This question was carried in the affirmative, on a di- 
 vision: 1'2 aldermen and 93 commoners being for it, 
 and 4 aldermen and 70 commoners against it. 
 
 Tlie disapprobation manifested by the citizens, 
 from the commencement of the American war, was 
 again called forth in the beginning of the year 1778. 
 A scheme for raising men by subscription, in coun- 
 ties, towns, and corporate bodies, had been set on 
 foot, and -was eagerly embraced by some of them. 
 In support of this plan, the example of the city of 
 London was greatly wished for, and, indeed, confi- 
 dently expected ; but the promoters of the measure 
 were equally astonished and disappointed at the deter- 
 mination of the question, in the court of common- 
 council, held on the 1 6th of January, for the pur- 
 pose of taking it into consideration. The original 
 intention was said to be, that the city of London 
 should raise and maintain a body of five thousand 
 men, to serve for three years, or during the war; 
 this, however, probably from some previous doubts, 
 was afterwards changed into a motion for opening a 
 subscription to pay bounties to such able-bodied 
 men as should enter into his majesty's sea or land 
 service ; which motion was rejected by upwards of 
 three to one. Immediately after this decision, a mo- 
 tion was made, " That it is the opinion of this court, 
 that, to give any countenance to, or to be in any 
 manner instrumental in, the farther continuance of 
 the present ruinous and destructive war, whilst offers 
 of just and honourable terms are withheld from 
 America, will reflect dishonour on their humanity, 
 and in no-wise advantage the commercial interests 
 of this great city:" which was carried in the affirm- 
 ative. 
 
 But, though the corporation thus refused to sup- 
 port the measures of administration, individuals, who 
 
 ^thought
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 2^7 
 
 thought uifFerently, pursued the rejected scheme. 
 Accordingly, a subscription was opened at the Lou- 
 don Tavern, and a committee appointed to manage 
 the business; and, as it took its rise among monied 
 men, and the leaders and proposers of it were neces- 
 sarily liberal in their subscriptions, upwards of twenty 
 thousand pounds were soon raised. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 3d of 
 March, an address and petition to his majesty, against 
 the further prosecution of the American war, was 
 agreed to^ and presented on the 1 3th. But his ma- 
 jesty's answer was not in unison with the prayer of 
 the petition. 
 
 A cause was tried at Guildhall, on the 3d of Au- 
 gust, respecting the right of the city to demand toll 
 from the market gardeners, for landing their goods at 
 Blackfriar's-stairs ; which was detcrmhied in favour 
 of the gardeners. 
 
 Some sm.ugglers had beeti long in the practice of 
 concealing their goods in the Fleet-prison ; informa- 
 tion of which being given to the officers of the cus- 
 toms, a search was made there, early in the morning 
 of the 9th, and contraband goods, to the value of 
 fifteen hundred pounds, were seized. To guard against 
 opposition from the prisoners, application was made 
 to the chief justice of the Common-pleas, to permit 
 a party of soldiers to enter with their arms ; which 
 was readily granted. 
 
 ' A conmion-hall was held, on ]SIichaelmas-day, for 
 the election of a lord mayor for the year ensuing. 
 After the business of the day was concluded, one of 
 the livery made a motion for an address of thanks to 
 the four city representatives, ibr their conduct in par- 
 liament ; but the lord mayor refused to put the 
 question ; and, after a long altercation upon the 
 subject, Sir Watkin l^ewes was voted into the chair, 
 \\hen it was agajn pro})Obed, and carried unani- 
 
 vuL. II. L 1 mously;
 
 25S HISTORY AKD SURVEY OF 
 
 mously ; as was also a vote of censure against the 
 lord mavor. 
 
 This business was again discussed, in the first 
 court of common-council, held in the new mayor- 
 alty, on the 19th of November, A motion was made 
 in the usual form, to give the thanks of the court to 
 the Right Hon. Sir James Esdaile, for his conduct 
 during his continuance in that office; but, after warm 
 debates, it passed in the negative, and a motion for 
 censuring him was carried by nearly two to one : 
 the court of aldermen, however, were of a different 
 opinion from the livery, and, on the 25th of Novem- 
 ber,, voted their thanks to him, for his careful, pru- 
 dent, and impartial discliarge of that high office. 
 
 The year 1779 was ushered in with one of the 
 most destructive hurricanes that ever affected the 
 metropolis. Almost every public or private build- 
 ing, in or near town, sustained some damage from 
 it ; while most of the ships in tlie river were driven 
 from their moorings, and ran foul of each other; 
 some were driven on shore, and filled with water, 
 and great damage was done among the small craft. 
 Several houses were entirely blown down, a very 
 great number were stripped of their roots, and the 
 stacks of chimnies destroyed were almost innumera- 
 ble : among others, one belonging to Buckingham- 
 house, broke through the roof, into the apartments 
 of three of the young princes, who were in bed, but 
 providentially received no hurt. But all were not so 
 fortunate; many lives were lost, and a vast number 
 of persons terribly maimed, by the fall of buildings, 
 in different parts of the town ; and the accounts from 
 every part of the kingdom, were equally melan- 
 choly. 
 
 In consequence of the acquittal of Admiral Kep- 
 pel, who had been tried by a court-martial, at Ports- 
 mouth, upon a charge of misconduct in an engage- 
 ment
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 259 
 
 ment with the French fleet, the populace were so 
 elated, that a scene of great confusion and mischief 
 ensued. A mob assembled, Avho, not satisfied with 
 enforcing a general illumination, attacked the houses 
 of many who were obnoxious to them, demolished 
 the windows, and destroyed the furniture. 
 
 At a court of common- council, held on the 12th 
 of February, the day following this disturbance, the 
 thanks of the court were voted to the admiral, as 
 was the freedom of the city: the latter was presented 
 to him, on the 2'2d, in a box made of heart of oak, 
 richly ornamented with gold. 
 
 A cause was tried in the court of King's-bench, 
 on the 6th. of August, respecting the right of a claim, 
 set up by the city of London, to a duty of six pence 
 per load, on hay sold in Smithfield, not the property 
 of freemen of London. This was disputed by the 
 inhabitants of Finchley, who pleaded an exemption 
 in favour of the Bishop of London and his tenants, 
 granted by King John ; but, as it did not appear that 
 the manor of Finchley belonged to the bishop, at the 
 time of the grant, a verdict was given for the city of 
 London. 
 
 The foundation-stone of the new court-house, on 
 Clerkenwell-green, was laid on the 20th of August, 
 by his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, accom- 
 panied by Sir John Hawkins, chairman, and a consi- 
 derable number of the magistrates of the county of 
 Middlesex. 
 
 A vacancy having occurred for the office of re- 
 corder, by the death of Serjeant Glynn, a motion was 
 made, in the court of common-council, on the 6th 
 of October, that the salary of the person, chosen in 
 the room of John Glynn, Esq. deceased (which had 
 been raised to one thousand pounds per anmnn, on 
 his election), sliould be reduced to six hundred 
 pounds per annum ; which was unanimously agreed 
 
 to;
 
 260 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 to; and, on the 12th, the court of aldermen elected 
 Serjeant Adair to the office, by a majority of one. 
 
 A common-hall was held, at Guildhall, on the 22d 
 of November, for the election of a chamberlain, in 
 the room of l^enjamin Hopkins, Esq. The candi- 
 dates were, Mr. Alderman Wilkes and jNlr. James; 
 and the show of hands being greatly in favour of the 
 former, a poll was demanded, at the close of which, 
 Mr. Wilkes was elected by a very great majority. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1 780, the expenditure 
 of the public money became a frequent subject of 
 animadversion, and the discontent of the people was 
 very strongly manifested by a continual succession 
 of petitions, which pointed not only at a reformation 
 in the executive departments of the state, but also 
 at a reform in parliament. On the 2d of February, 
 a meetingof th^ inhabitants of W^estminster was held, 
 for the purpose of preparing a petition to parliament, 
 to controul the shameful waste of public money, &c. 
 which being produced and agreed to, a committee 
 of near one hundred noblemen and gentlemen was 
 appointed to correspond with the other commit- 
 tees throughout the nation. Similar measures were 
 followed in the court of common-council, on the 
 10th : a petition to the House of Commons was agreed 
 to, and a committee of correspondence, consisting 
 of eight aldermen and sixteen commoners was ap- 
 pointed. Many of the petitions, presented at this 
 time, aimed at visionary and impracticable altera- 
 tions in the government; but one very essential he-. 
 neht to the state, was the consequence of this 
 demonstration of the public opinion: Mr. Burke's 
 celebrated plan of public economy was carried 
 through both Houses of Parliament, and received 
 the royal assent. 
 
 A cause was tried, on the 2d of March, between 
 the oyster-meters of London, and the proprietors of 
 
 3 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS J^NVIRONS. 26 1 
 
 , the oyster-beds in the county of Essex, respecting the 
 claim of the former to a specific sum, for work, which 
 they had an exclusive right of performing, by cus^ 
 torn and immemorial usaoe: the latter contended, 
 that this right was abolished, by the acts of parlia-^ 
 ment tor makino- Billinassate a free market. The 
 jury, however,- after hearing tlie arguments on both 
 sides, gave a verdict for the plaiutitfs, which esta- 
 blished their riyht. 
 
 jMr. Justice >Vilmot, prosecuted to conviction, 
 for imprisoning a fellowship-porter, under an act of 
 parliament for impressing men into his majesty's ser- 
 vice, appeared in the court of King's-bench, on the 
 26th of April, to receive sentence, and was fined one 
 hundred pounds ; which being paid into court, he 
 was discharoed. 
 
 On the 3l\ of May, a very interesting question, re-, 
 served at the Surrey assizes, was argued in the court 
 of King's-bench. The inhabitants of Richmond, con- 
 ceiving themselves entided to the soil of the river, 
 as far, at least, as low-water-mark, had employed a 
 number of persons to obstruct the making a towing- 
 path, ordered by the common-council of London ; when 
 the court being clearly of opinion, that the city was 
 authorized to improve the navigation of the river, by 
 all ^^■ays and means in their discretion, a verdict was 
 given for tlie plaintills; but, as the corporation meant 
 merely to estabhsli their right, and not to insist upon 
 severe punislnnent, a nominal fine of six shillings 
 and eight pence was inflicted. 
 
 The month of June began with a most tremend^ 
 ous nisurrection, that threatened the total destruc- 
 tion of the cities of London and Westminster. The 
 dreadfid scenes of riot and confusion commenced ou 
 tlie 2d. On the morning of that day, in consequenco 
 of an advertisement from the IVotestant Association, 
 » vaj^t n umbel of people assembled in St. George's- 
 
 :?u.^^/ :.^ /f^D
 
 262 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 fields, to proceed to Westminster, in a body, with a 
 petition to the House of Commons, for the repeal of 
 the law passed in the last session, for the relief of the 
 Roman Catholics. About eleven o'clock, they were 
 joined by their president, Lord George Gordon, who, 
 having made a short speech to them, recommending 
 a peaceable deportment, formed them into four di- 
 visions ; in which order thev marched over London- 
 bridge, through Cornhill, Fleet-street, and the Strand, 
 following their respective banners, on which was ex- 
 pressed the name of the division, with the words, 
 " No Fopery 1'' At Charing-cross, they were joined 
 by fresh numbers of their own body, wlio proceeded 
 with them to the House of Commons. On their 
 arrival at New Palace-yard, they found their presi- 
 dent and the committee, who had taken the route 
 of Westminster-bridge, waiting to receive them. By 
 this time their numbers were increased so much, 
 that the two Palace-yards, Westminster-hall, and all 
 the avenues to both Houses of Parliament, were en- 
 tirely filled with them. In this situation they waited 
 the arrival of the members, many of whom were 
 grossly insulted by them. The Archbishop of York 
 was the first attacked; the Bishop of Litchfield had 
 his gown torn ; the wheels were taken off the Bishop 
 of Lincoln's carriage, and his lordship narrowly 
 escaped with life ; the Lord President of the Council, 
 Lord Bathurst, was treated very roughly; the win- 
 dows and pannels of Lord Mansfield's coach were 
 broken to pieces; the Duke of Northumberland's 
 pocket was picked of his watch ; the Lords Towns- 
 hend and Hillsborough came together, and were 
 greatly insulted; Lord Stormont's coach was broken 
 to pieces, and himself in the hands of the mob for 
 near half an hour ; Lords Ashburnham and Boston 
 were treated with the utmost indignity, particularly 
 the latter, who was so long in their power, that it 
 
 was 
 
 \
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 2o3 
 
 was proposed to the House to go in a body, and en- 
 deavour, by their presence, to extricate him; but, in 
 the interim, his lordship escaped without any mate- 
 rial hurt. Many others oftiie peers were personally 
 illtrcated ; and Wellbore Ellis, Esq. w^as obliged to 
 take refuge in the Guildhall of ^V^estminster, whither 
 he was pursued, the windows broken, the doors 
 forced, and Justice Addington, with all the consta- 
 bles, expelled. Mr. Ellis escaped with the greatest 
 hazard. 
 
 During these unwarrantable proceedings, Lord 
 George Gordon came several times to the top of 
 the gallery stairs, and harangued the mob, inform- 
 ing them of the bad success their petition was likely 
 to meet with, and pointing out the mt^mbers who 
 opposed it. It was considered as a mark of pusilla- 
 nimity in the House of Commons, that, upon the ar- 
 rival of the guards, at night, they did not commit 
 one of their own bod}', who had so shamefully vio- 
 lated their privileges, and brought them into such 
 unequalled disgrace and danger, to the Tower: but 
 it is doubtful whether such an attempt, on that day, 
 would not have increased the fanatic fury of the po- 
 pulace to a height, which might have overpowered 
 every endeavour to restrain it. 
 
 Before the rising of the House of Commons, seve- 
 ral parties of the rioters had hied off, and proceeded 
 to the demolition of the chapels belonging to the 
 Sardinian and Bavarian ministers. 
 
 The guards had been ordered out, to protect the 
 two Houses of Parliament, and were now sent for, to 
 check the destructive rage of the mob, but did not 
 arrive until every thing moveable was taken into the 
 street, and burnt: however, thirteen of the rioters 
 were apprehended at the Sardinian clinpel. 
 
 On the following day (Saturday), tiic riote had 
 apparently subsided, no material depredations having 
 
 been
 
 264 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 been committed ; but on Sunday, in the afternoon, 
 the rioters assembled again, in large bodies, and at- 
 tacked the chaoels and dwelling-houses of the ca- 
 tholics, in and about Moorfields. They stripped 
 their houses of furniture, and their chapels, not only 
 -of the ornaments and insignia of religion, but they 
 also tore up the altars, pulpits, pews, and benches, 
 and made tires of them, leaving nothing but the bare 
 Avails. About nine o'clock, a party of the guards 
 arrived, on which the populace dispersed, but not 
 without some accidents, occasioned by the greatness 
 of the crowd. The lord mavor, with the aldermen 
 Clarke and Peckham, and Sheritf Fugh, had before 
 endeavoured to stop the riot, but to no purpose. 
 
 On Monday the rioters collected again, in Rope- 
 maker's-alley, Moorfields, where they demolished the 
 school-house and three other houses. A second party 
 went to Wapping, where they destroyed the catholic 
 chapels, in Virginia-lane, and Nightingale-lane, and 
 committed many outrages ; and a third party did the 
 same in the Borough. Mr. Rainsforth, tallow-chand- 
 ler, of Stanhope-street, Clare-market, and Mr. Ma- 
 berley, of Little Queen-street, Lincoln's-inn-fields, 
 who had appeared as evidences against some of the 
 rioters, on their examinations before the magistrates, 
 had each of them their houses stripped, and the con- 
 tents committed to the flames. Sir George Saville's 
 house, in Leicester-fields, underwent the same fate,- 
 because lie had prepared and brought the bill into 
 parliament for the relief of the catholics. 
 
 All the military in town were ordered on duty, on 
 Tuesday ; but,notwithstanding every precaution, Lord 
 Sandwich was wounded, in attempting to go down to 
 the House of Peers; his carriage was demolished, and 
 he was rescued, with diihculty, by the military.- 
 About six o'clock in the evening, one party went to 
 the liouse of Justice Hyde, in St. Martin's-street,- 
 
 Leicester-'
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIJRONS. Q65 
 
 Leicester-fiekls, which they destroved : another 
 party paraded through Long-acre and Holborn, to 
 Newgate, declaring, as the>^ went along, that they 
 would release the confined rioters. When they 
 arrived at the prison, they demanded their comrades 
 of Mr. i\kerman, the keeper, but he persisted in his 
 dut}', and refused; on which the mob broke the 
 windows; some battered the doors and entrances 
 into the cells, with pick-axes and sledge hammers; 
 others climbed the walls with ladders, while several 
 collected iire-brands, and whatever combustibles 
 they could find, and flung: into his dwellins-house. 
 The flames spread from Mr. Akerman's house to the 
 chapel, and thence through the whole prison ; in 
 consequence of which, all the prisoners, to the 
 amount of three hundred, among whom were four 
 ordered for execution on the following Thursday, 
 were released. 
 
 Even this was but a moiety of the mischief of this 
 terrible night. Not satiated with the destruction of 
 this great building, a party was sent among the 
 catholics, in Devonshire-street, Red-lion-square ; ano- 
 ther to the house of Justice Cox, in Great Queen- 
 street, which was soon destroyed; a third broke open 
 the doors of the New Prison, Clerkenwell, and turned 
 out all the confined; a fourth destroyed the furniture 
 and effects, writings, &c. of Sir John Fielding; and 
 a fifth desperate and infernal gang went to the ele- 
 gant house of J^M'd Mansfield, in B]oomsbury-S(juare, 
 which they, with the most unrelenting fury, set fire 
 to, and consumed. The loss here was immense, both 
 to l^ord Mansfield, as an individual, and to the pub- 
 lic. A most valuable collection of ]>ictures; some of 
 the scarcest manuscripts said to be in the possession 
 of any private person in the world, with all his lord- 
 ship's notes on great law cases, and the constitution 
 of England, were sacrificed by madmen and villains; 
 VOL. II. >i m and
 
 966 HISTORY AM) SURVEY OF 
 
 and Lord and Lady Mansfield were with difficulty 
 preserved . from their rage, by making their escape 
 through a back door, a few minutes before these 
 miscreants broke in and took possession of the 
 house. The military was sent for, but arrived too 
 iate ; they were obliged, however, to Arc in their 
 own defence, and six men and a woman were killed, 
 and several wounded. Not contented with the ha- 
 vock and destruction they had been guilty of in 
 Bloomsbury, the}^ went from thence to his lordship's 
 country seat, at Ken-wood, which would certainly 
 have shared the same fate, had they not been 
 repelled by a party of horse, which had been sent 
 thither for the preservation of this delightful place. 
 The inhabitants were obliged, this night, to illumi- 
 nate their windows. 
 
 It is impossible to give any adequate description 
 of the events of Wednesday. Notice was sent round 
 to the public prisons of the King's-bench, Fleet, &c. 
 by the mob, at what time they would come and burn 
 them down. The same kind of infernal humanity 
 was exercised towards Mr. Langdale, a distiller, in 
 Holborn, and several other Romish individuals. 
 Three boys went through the streets, and in parti- 
 cular, down Holborn, in the middle of the day, with 
 iron bars, oot from the railinsf before Lord Mansfield's 
 house, extorting money at every shop, huzzaing, and 
 shouting, "No Popery 1" and, though numbers were 
 ])assing and re-passing, the inhabitants durst not re- 
 fuse them money, nor attempt to secure them. Small 
 parties, of the like daring nature, were formed in 
 other parts, and the whole city was laid under con- 
 tribution. One man, in particular, was mounted on 
 horseback, and refused to take any thing but gold. 
 Two men, in the broad day, not contented with the 
 former mischief, got into Mr. Maberly's house, in 
 Queen-street, and staid for upwards of an hour, 
 
 knocking
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ^67^ 
 
 knocking down the wainscoting, and every bit^of 
 wood- work they could, with safety to themselves ; 
 and, though a great many peaceable well-dressed 
 people looked on, no one molested them. In the 
 afternoon, all the shops v/ere shut, and bits of blue 
 silk, by way of flags, hung out, at most houses, with 
 the words, " No Popery," chalked on the doors and 
 window-shutters, by way of deprecating the fury of 
 the insurgents, from which no person thought him- 
 self secure. ;; 
 As soon as the day was drawing towards a close,t 
 one of the most awful and dreadful spectacles this, 
 country ever beheld was exhibited. The mob had 
 not only declared their resolution of firing the pri-j 
 sons, and some private houses, but had avowed their 
 int<3ntion to destroy the Bank, Gray's-inn, the Tem- 
 ple, Lincoln's-iim, the grand arsenal at Woolwich, 
 and the royal palaces. An universal stupor had seized 
 the minds of men; they looked at one another, and 
 waited, with a resigned consternation, for the events 
 which were to follow. Government, indeed, had 
 exerted itself to the utmost, as far as their .power, 
 under the direction of the civil : magistrates, would 
 extend. Now, however, it v/as become necessary 
 to make use of the royal prerogative, and give dis- 
 cretionary power to the military. Nothing could 
 convey a more awful idea of the mischief which 
 was dreaded, than the strong guard which was 
 placed in the lloyal Exchange, for the protec- 
 tion of the Bank; as nothing, perhaps, could have 
 equalled the national desolation, had the .diabolical 
 purposes of the insurgents, upon this place, suc- 
 ceeded. Besides this, soldiers were distributed at 
 Guildhall, in the inns of court, in almost every place 
 tenable as a fortificalion, and in some private houses; 
 and the cannon was disposed to the best advantage 
 in the park. 
 
 With
 
 ^6S HISTORY, AND SURVE'S OF 
 
 With minds thus pre-disposed to terror, by so- 
 many objects of devastation, and in a city^ which, 
 but a few days before, enjoyed the most perfect tran- 
 quijhty, let those, who were not spectators, judge 
 what the inhabitants felt, when they beheld, at the 
 same instant, the flames ascending, and rolling in 
 vast and voluminous clouds, from the King's-bench 
 and Fleet-prisons, from New Bridewell, from the 
 toll-gates, on Blackiriar's-bridge, from houses in every 
 quarter of the town, and, particularly, from the bot- 
 tom and middle of llolborn, wdiere the conflagration 
 was horrible beyond description. The houses that 
 were first set on fire, at this last-mentioned place, 
 both belonged to Mr. Langdale, an eminent distiller, 
 and contained immense quantities of spirituous li- 
 quors. It is easy to conceive what fury these would 
 add to the flames; but to form an adequate idea of 
 the distress of the neighbouring inhabitants, or, in- 
 deed, of the inhabitants in every part of the city, is 
 not so easy. Men, women, and children, were run- 
 ning up and down with beds, glasses, bundles, or 
 whatever they wished most to preserve. In sti'eets, 
 where there were no fires, numbers were removing 
 their goods and effects at midnight. The tremendous 
 roar of the insatiate and innumerable fiends, who 
 were the authors of these horrible scenes, was heard 
 at one instant, and, at the next, the dreadful report 
 of soldiers' muskets, firing in platoons, and at various 
 places: in short, every thing that could impress the 
 mind with ideas of universal anarchy, and approach- 
 ing desolation, seemed to be accumulating. Sleep 
 and rest were things not thought of; the streets were 
 swarming with people, and uproar, confusion, and 
 terror, reigned in every part. 
 
 It is hardly possible to collect, iu one point of 
 view, the havock of this night; had half the mischief 
 the mob had threatened been effected, nothing less
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. S69 
 
 than national bankruptcy and destruction could 
 have ensued : that they were prevented at those 
 places, on the safety of which the very existence of 
 the empire might be said to depend, was owing, not 
 to their want of will but power, and to the exertion 
 of government. They made tAvo attempts upon the 
 Bank, but were so much intimidated by the strength 
 with which they beheld it guarded, that their at- 
 tacks were but feebly conducted. They were led 
 on, to the first, by a brewer's servant, on horseback, 
 who had decorated his horse with the chains of 
 Newgate, but were repulsed at the first fire from the 
 military ; and their second succeeded no better. 
 They made an effort to break into the Pay-office, 
 likewise, and met the same fate. Several of them 
 fell in these skirmishes, and many more were 
 wounded; as the importance of these places made 
 it necessary to show but little lenity. 
 
 It is impossible to ascertain the number of un- 
 happy wretches, who lost their lives in the course of 
 this dreadfiil night. The attacks of the military 
 were not so fatal to tliem as their own inordinate ap- 
 petites. Numbers died with inebriation, especially 
 at the distilleries of the unfortunate Mr. Langdale, 
 from whose vessels the licjuor ran down the middle 
 of the street, was taken up by pailfulls, and held to 
 the mouths of the besotted multitude, many of whom 
 killed themselves with drinking non-rectified spirits, 
 and were burnt, or buried in the ruins. Eight or 
 nine of these miserable wretches were found, 
 and dragged out. The same scenes of beastly 
 drunkenness happened in many other places: at 
 Mr. Cox's ; at Lord Mansfield's, where an ill-look- 
 ing fellow, about nineteen, that was wounded, and had 
 his hair clotted with blood, was too drunk, at one 
 o'clock the next day, to be made sensible; at New- 
 gate, likewise, many of them had made so free with 
 
 1. the
 
 270 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the liquor, that they could not get away, and were 
 burnt in the cells. In the streets, men were lying 
 upon bulks and stalls, and at the doors of empty 
 houses, drunk to a state of insensibihty, and to, a 
 contempt of danger: boys and women were in the- 
 same condition, and many of the latter with infants 
 in their arms. : - 
 
 On the following day, the metropolis presented 
 the image of a city recently stormed and sacked: all 
 business at an end, houses and shops shut up: the 
 Royal-Exchange, public buildings, and streets, pos- 
 sessed and occupied by troops ; smoking and burn- 
 ing ruins, with a dreadful void and silence, where, 
 so lately, all had been hurry, noise, and business. 
 
 The arrangement of the militar}^ on this day, pro- 
 duced so good an effect, that there was no riot or 
 disturbance in any part of the town during the 
 night, and the next day (Friday), peace and tran- 
 quillity were restored : the only uneasiness felt, was, 
 that the metropolis was under martial law. To cahn 
 the minds of the inhabitants on this subject, a hand- 
 bill was circulated in every quarter of the town, to 
 inform the public, that the prisoners would not be 
 punished by martial law, but by the ordinary tri- 
 bunals. 
 
 A council was held on Friday morning; in conse- 
 quence of which, a warrant was issued by the secre- 
 tary of state, for apprehending Lord George Gordon. 
 He was brought to the war-office in the evening, 
 where he underwent a long examination before se- 
 veral of the lords of the privy-council, and, at half- 
 past nine o'clock, was committed close prisoner to 
 the Tower. The guards that attended him, were by 
 far the most numerous that ever escorted a state 
 prisoner. A large party of infantry was in the front. 
 His lordship followed in a coach, in which were two 
 officers : behind the coach was General Carpenter's 
 
 regiment
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 271 
 
 regiment of dragoons ; after which came a colonel's 
 guard of the foot guards; and besides these, a party 
 of militia marched on each side of the coach. 
 
 Though the ill-judged assembling of the Protestant 
 Association, by collecting an inmiense concourse of 
 idle, dissolute people, may be considered as the ori- 
 gin of this dreadful insurrection, it would be unjust 
 to charge the great body of them with the intention 
 of carrying their point by such means. (,)n the con- 
 trary, as soon as they found the evil consequences of 
 their meeting, and the use made of their name, a 
 circular letter was sent to every member, earnestly 
 requesting him not to wear the blue cockade, whicii 
 had been assumed by the mol), and, by every means 
 in his power, to prevent tumults, which must 
 inevitably impede the accomplishment of their 
 wishes. T 
 
 It is impossible, perhaps, to trace the cause of this 
 tumult, which certain Iv was very different from a 
 religious one, to its true source. There is too much 
 reason to believe, that it was the consequence of a 
 deep-laid plot, among the enemies of Great Britain, 
 and that the opportunity of this meeting was consi- 
 dered so favourable to its completion, that it was 
 seized before the arrangements, necessary to give it 
 full effect, were made. This uiay account for the 
 want of method, so conspicuous in the proceedings 
 of the rioters. Had they, in the first moments of 
 dismay, attacked the Bank and public ottices, instead 
 of the chapels, and houses of individuals, national 
 ruin must have followed; for there can be no doubt 
 that they would have succeeded, when the supine- 
 ness of the civil power, in the first days of the riots, 
 is considered. Though parties of soldiers were con- 
 tinually dispatched to the assistance of the ma- 
 gistrates, these were too much intimidated to act 
 with cilect; and the officers of the military durst 
 
 nut
 
 279 UISTORV AND SURVEY OF 
 
 not take the respoosibility upon themselves. This 
 negligence became a subject of complaint, and the 
 lord mayor was ordered to attend the privy-council, 
 to account for his inactivity ; before whom he made 
 no scruple of acknowledging, that " the rioters were 
 so violent, and such was his temerity, that he 
 thought death would be his portion." His conduct, 
 on this occasion, called forth the severity of Mr. 
 Burke's ironical talents ; who pleaded, in his lord- 
 ship's behalf, in the House of Commons, " that all 
 men were not made alike: the lord mayor, he sup- 
 posed, was of a timid nature, and without the na- 
 tural courage and capacity, that fit some men to act 
 a wise and decided part in trying situations : neither 
 had he made up the disadvantages of his natural in- 
 firmity and timidity, by study and culture. As he 
 never dreamt, in his younger days, of filling so im- 
 portant a station as that of lord mayor of the city of 
 London, it was probable he had neglected those ta- 
 lents that might be requisrte, in certain emergencies, 
 to discharge \he duties of it: for these reasons, he 
 hoped they would have mercy on ihepoor lord mayor, 
 in consideration of his natural weakness, and total 
 want of education /" 
 
 Shortly after the suppression of the riots, special 
 commissions were issued for trying the rioters, in 
 London and the Borough. The total number exe- 
 cuted in London was eighteen. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 8th 
 of July, a motion was made to address his majesty, 
 thanking him for his care and attention to the citi- 
 zens of London, in granting them such aid as be- 
 came necessary to subdue the late dangerous riots ; 
 they being too formidable for the controul of the 
 <iivil authority; which, after long and violent de- 
 bates, was carried in the affirmative, by a small 
 
 majoritv. 
 
 A singular
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 273 
 
 A singular circumstance attended the election 
 for representatives of the city, which took place 
 in September, in consequence of the dissolution 
 of parliament. Alderman Kirkman, one of the 
 candidates, who had a majority of votes, died on 
 the same day, and previous to the closing of the 
 poll. It was, however, found necessary to include 
 his name in the return ; and a new writ was issued 
 on the meeting of parliament. 
 
 On the 2d day of October, the chamberlain was 
 ordered, by the court of common-council, to lay 
 before them an account of the monies paid out of 
 the chamber, on account of the lord mayor ; which 
 being produced, a motion was made, and carried in 
 the affirmative, that the sum of eight hundred and 
 fourteen pounds one shilling, paid on account of 
 the lord mayor's view of the river, and expedition 
 to Windsor, ought not to be defrayed by the 
 city; being totally unnecessary, and highly extra- 
 vagant. 
 
 In consequence of its being mentioned, that the 
 audit-dinners were, in general, very extravagant, 
 a motion was made, and unanimously agreed to, 
 that, in future, the expenses of auditing the city 
 and bridge-house accounts, do not exceed fifty 
 pounds. 
 
 A motion was also made, that the chamberlain 
 do not pay the lord mayor more than the sum of 
 three hundred and fifty-two pounds nineteen shil- 
 lings, the balance due to his lordship, out of 
 the ample allowance given by the city. The lord 
 mayor refused to put the question for some time, 
 but, having consented, it was resolved in the af- 
 firmative. 
 
 On the 26th, the court proceeded in the plan 
 of retrenchment they had begun, and limited the 
 
 VOL. II. N n e^xpenses
 
 274- HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 expenses of the courts of conservancy to three 
 hundred pounds, in every mayoralty. It was also 
 resolved, that no money be paid out of the cham- 
 ber, without the special direction of the court of 
 common-council. 
 
 CHAP. XIY.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 275 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 Trial of Lord George Gordon. — Committee to inquire info 
 the City Expenditure. — The Damages sustained in the 
 Riots levied upon the Inhabitants. — The Lord Mayor 
 found guilty of Misconduct in the Time of the Riots. — ■ 
 Petition to Parliament, for Assistance to re-huild New- 
 gate. — Further Consideration of the Expenses of the last 
 Mayoralty. — An Election for a Member of Parliament 
 prevents the swearing the new Sheriffs. — Refusal of his 
 Majesty to receive the Remonstrance of the Livery on 
 
 the Throne. Change in Administration. Address of 
 
 Thanks. — Action against a Freeman, who had not served 
 an Apprenticeship. — New Sessions- house opened. — Set^ 
 tlement of the Claim of the Common- council to be admit- 
 ted Governors of the Royal Foundations. Company of 
 
 Shipwrights admitted to their Livery, — Prelijninaries of 
 
 Peace signed. Discontents oj the Sailors. Petition 
 
 against the Receipt Tax. — Claim of the Jews to be ad-^ 
 mitted Freemen. — Proclamation of Peace. — New Mode 
 
 of Execution. Total Change of Ministry. — Addresses 
 
 to his Majesty in consequence. — The Freedom of the City 
 presented to Mr. Pitt. — He is elegantly entertained at 
 
 Grocers' -hall. The Fleet-prison rated to the Poor. 
 
 Dissolution of Parliament. Contested Election for 
 
 JVestminster .--City Scrutiny .— Commemoration of Han- 
 del. — First Aerial Voyage. 
 
 The trial of Lord George Gordon for high treason 
 look {)lace in tlie court of King's-bench, on the 5th 
 of February, 177B. He was charged, as the author 
 of the late riots, with " levying war, by assembling 
 great multitudes together, and striving, by terror and 
 outrage, to compel parliament to repeal a law." The 
 trial lasted from eight o'clock in the morning to 
 near six in the following morning, when the jury 
 brought in a verdict of acquittal. The burst of ap- 
 l)lau!se which took place, on this, was very great : 
 
 V after
 
 276 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 after it had subsided, Lord George addressed the 
 jury, in confirmation of his innocence, and stating, 
 that he had been the object of a wicked and infa- 
 mous persecution ; but he was checked by one of 
 the jurors, who told him, that their decision had 
 turned upon a very nice point. Lord George then 
 left the hall, attended by his brothers. 
 
 A vacancy having occurred for the office of 
 treasurer to the hospitals of Bridewell and Bethlem, 
 by the death of Nathaniel Thomas, Esq. a court of 
 common-council was held, on the 28th of February, 
 for filling it up. Previous to the election, a reso- 
 lution was entered into, that whosoever should be 
 elected, do give five thousand pounds security for 
 the faithful discharge of the duty; after which, Brass 
 Crosby, Esq. and Alderman, was unanimously chosen 
 to the office. 
 
 In the same court a committee w^as voted, to con- 
 sist of six aldermen and twelve commoners, to be 
 ballotted for at the next court, who were to inquire 
 into and report to the court the state of the annual 
 revenue and expenditure of the city, together with 
 their opinion whether any and what regulations are 
 proper and necessary to be made for increasing the 
 one or lessening the other. 
 
 The court of King's-bench was much employed, 
 in the beginning of March, with actions for damages 
 sustained during the riots. They were brought 
 against the magistrates of the districts where the 
 injury was committed, to obtain a compensation 
 from the inhabitants of them, according to the pi^- 
 visions of the riot act. The quantum of damages 
 was, in most cases, the only point for the considera- 
 tion of the juries; and when the amount of these 
 was ascertained, a pound-rate was levied upon the 
 inhabitants for the payment. 
 
 An
 
 LOXDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 277 
 
 An information filed ex officio by the attorney 
 general against Mr. Alderman Kennet, charging him 
 with wilfully, obstinately, and perversely, neglecting, 
 as lord mayor of the city of London, on Sunday, the 
 4th of June, to use the necessary means, and not 
 exercising his authority to quell the rioters in Rope- 
 makers' Alley, Moorfields, when present at the head 
 of military assistance, and for not reading the riot 
 act, was tried at Guildhall, before Lord Mansfield 
 and a special jury. After a long trial, the jury with- 
 drew, and, in about an hour, returned with a verdict 
 of guilty of neglecting to do his duty, but not wil- 
 fully and obstinately. The judge had left the court, 
 and the clerk refused to record this verdict, on which 
 the jury went to Lord Mansfield, at hie house, who 
 told them the verdict must be general guilty or 
 not guilty. It was then given generally " guilty." 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 4th of 
 May, it was agreed to petition parliament for assist- 
 ance towards rebuilding the prison of Newgate, and 
 a committee was appointed to prosecute the same, 
 with power to draw on the chamber for any sum 
 not exceeding three hundred pounds. 
 
 The subject of the expenses attendant on the 
 late lord mayor's excursion to Windsor under the 
 name of a court of conservancy was again brought 
 forward in the court of common-council, on the l6th 
 of June, when the resolution of the court, of the 2d 
 of October preceding, to prohibit the chamberlain 
 from paying more than three hundred and fifty-two 
 pounds nineteen shillings to the then lord mayor, as 
 the balance due to him for the expenses of his 
 mayoralty, was rescinded; it being the opinion of 
 very able lawyers that he could recover his whole 
 demand by an action at law. A resolution was then 
 passed, " that one thousand pounds be paid to 
 Brackley Kennet, Esq. in lieu of all demands he 
 
 may
 
 278 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 may have on this city on account of his mayor-^ 
 alty. 
 
 A vacancy having occurred for the representation 
 of the city of London by the death of Mr. Hayley, 
 an election for his successor commenced the 24th of 
 September, which, being hkely to continue beyond 
 the 29th, the day of swearing in the new sheriffs, 
 it became a question whether the sheriffs who began 
 the poll could hold over till its close, or whether 
 the new sheriffs could make a return to the writ, if 
 they were permitted to act from the time of their 
 being sworn in ; but as the decision of this point 
 might have been productive of litigation, the re- 
 corder and common-serjeant advised a meeting of 
 the common-council, to absolve the gentlemen who 
 had entered into recognizance to take the office, from 
 their bonds, and afterwards to call the livery toge- 
 ther and proceed to a new election of sheriffs, by 
 which means the old sheriffs would necessarily be 
 kept in office beyond the time of the poll for mem- 
 ber of parliament : this advice being approved of 
 was carried into execution, and a court of hustings 
 being held on the 4th of October, the same gentle- 
 men were re-chosen and sworn into that office. 
 
 At the end of this year a petition, address, and re- 
 monstrance to the king was voted in common-hall, 
 and the usual deputation appointed to wait upon his 
 majesty to know when he would receive it. This 
 produced a letter from the lord-chamberlain to the 
 lord-mayor, informing him that his majesty was not 
 to receive the remonstrance on the throne: in con* 
 sequence of which, a common hall was held on 
 the 1st of February, 1782, in which it was resolved, 
 " That whoever advised the king to deviate from the 
 accustomed mode, admitted by his majesty, of re- 
 ceiving the livery of London sitting on his throne, 
 is an enemy to the rights and privileges of the citir 
 
 zens
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 279 
 
 zens of this great capital of the British empire," and 
 a committee was appointed for the purpose of obtain- 
 ing a restoration of these riglits. 
 
 But this breach between the court and city was = 
 not of long duration. A complete change in admi- 
 nistration took place in March; and on the \'2th of 
 April, an address of thanks on the occasion was pre- 
 sented to his majesty by the lord-mayor, 12 alder- 
 rpen, the recorder, and about 150 common-council, 
 attended by all the city officers. 
 
 A cause was tried at Hicks's-hall in that month, 
 of considerable importance to the rights of the free- 
 men of the city companies. The prosecution v\as 
 instituted by one of the companies against a trades- 
 man admitted to his freedom l)y themselves, for car- 
 rying on his trade without having served an appren- 
 ticeship to it, contrary to th^ statute of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth. On the trial, however, it was proved that, 
 although the defendant had not served a regular ap- 
 prenticeship, he had acquired a sufficient knowledge 
 of the trade to enable him to exercise it with skill, 
 which was held to be within the meaning of the sta- 
 tute, and a verdict was given for the defendant. 
 
 The new sessions-house for the county of Mid- 
 sex was opened on the 1st of July, by Mr. Main- 
 waring, chairman of the bench of justices, who de- 
 livered a very copious, comprehensive, and explicit 
 charge to the grand jury, as soon as they were 
 sworn, ^riie magistrates, who were ten in number, 
 then proceeded to the dispatch of business as usual. 
 A dispute had subsisted for some years between 
 the common-council of London, and the acting go- 
 vernors of the royal foundations of St. Bartholomew's, 
 Christ's, Bridewell, and Bethlem, and St. Thomas's 
 Hospitals, relative to the right of the former to par- 
 ticipate in the government. At length, an amicable 
 compromise took place between them, in pursuance 
 
 of
 
 580 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of which an act of parhament was passed, and re-" 
 ceived the royal assent in the beginning of this 
 month, empowering the common-council to appoint 
 twelve of their own number to be governors of each 
 of these foundations respectively, who were to re- 
 main so while they continued members of the com- 
 mon-council. 
 
 A court of aldermen was held on the 8th of Octo- 
 ber, to receive the report of a committee appointed to 
 examine the merits of a petition from the company 
 of shipwrights, praying to be allowed their livery. 
 The report statedthat the free shipwrights were an .. 
 ancient company, they having traced the inrolment 
 of an apprentice as far back as the reign of Richard 
 II. and that, therefore, it was the opinion of the 
 committee that they ought to have livery; Avith 
 which opinion the court coincided, and precepts 
 were ordered to be issued accordingly in future. 
 
 About this time the depredations committed in 
 and about the metropolis, by footpads and street- ' 
 robbers, had encreased to such a height, and were 
 attended with such peculiar circumstances of atro- 
 city, that severe measures were found necessary to 
 check them. Accordingly, a letter was sent from 
 the secretary of state to the recorder, directing him 
 to report all cases of robbery, accompanied by acts 
 of cruelty, to his majesty, immediately after con- 
 viction, who had determined to grant no pardon or 
 respite to such offenders, on any solicitation what- 
 ever. 
 
 Circular letters were also sent to the magistrates 
 of the different districts, commanding ihem to em- 
 ploy their utmost care and vigilance in the suppres- 
 sion of night-houses, and other places of resort for 
 the idle and dissolute. 
 
 Preliminaries of peace having been signed at Pa- 
 ris on the sath of January, 1/8.3, a letter was sent 
 
 2 tq
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 281 
 
 to the lord-mavor on the arrival of the messenger, to 
 acquaint him with this pleasing event. 
 
 Great discontents prevailed among the sailors in 
 the month of March of this year, on account of the 
 numbers of foreigners who, having been taken into 
 the merchant service during the war, and being still 
 continued therein, prevented the men discharged from 
 the king's service from procuring employment. Be- 
 ing thus deprived of the means of obtaining a liveli- 
 hood, they attacked some vessels in the river, and un- 
 rigged them, and at length assembled in a considera- 
 ble body, determined to proceed to the Admiralty, and 
 aftervv'ards to St. James's, to seek redress. On their ap- 
 proach, all the entrances into the park were shut 
 and guarded ; but about seven hundred of them 
 scaled the walls on the Westminster side. As soon 
 as they were discovered in the Bird-cage walk, a de- 
 tachment of the guards was ordered to meet them. 
 On their approach near each other, a conversation 
 took place between some of the sailors, Justice Ad- 
 dington, and the officer of the guard ; when the 
 sailors informed them, that they sought only for some 
 means of future employment, and this they meant 
 to do peaceably: on which the magistrate informed 
 them, that the meeting of such large bodies was 
 dangerous and illegal; but that, if they would draw 
 up a clear account of their wants and grievances, he 
 would endeavour to get them redressed; with which 
 they appeared to be perfectly satisfied, and retired 
 with regularity and order. 
 
 On the 1 lih of June, the sheriffs presented a peti- 
 tion to the F[ouse of Commons from the citizens of 
 London, complaining of the bill pending in thathouse 
 for laying; a stamp duty on receipts, and praying to 
 be heard by counsel against it. This produced a long 
 and animated debate, in which the right of the city 
 to have their petitions received without a previous 
 
 VOL. II. notihcation
 
 ^82 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 notification of their contents, was acknowledged, 
 though the privilege was stated to be of little value, 
 since the house might chuse whether they would 
 take them into consideration or not ; but, notwith- 
 standing the strenuous exertions of the lord-mayor 
 to obtain permission for counsel to be heard against 
 it, that part of their prayer was rejected on a division 
 by 178 to Ij. 
 
 At a court of aldermen held on the 2 2d of July, 
 the recorder and common-serjeant made a report on 
 the long pending cause referred to their considera- 
 tion respecting the Jews, whether they can legally 
 claim the freedom of this city, and exercise the rights 
 and franchises of freemen. Their opinion was, that 
 Jews publicly baptized, and conforming to the laws 
 of the country, may, after the renunciation of their 
 errors, be entitled to the privileges of citizens of 
 London. 
 
 On the 29th of August, a letter was sent by the 
 secretary of state to the lord mayor, informing him 
 that the definitive treaties of peace were to be signed 
 on the 3d of September; and, on the arrival of the 
 news that this event had actually taken place, a se- 
 cond letter was sent, in order that public notice 
 tliereof might be given in the city ; and, on the 6th 
 of October, peace was proclaimed with the usual so- 
 lemnities, amidst an innumerable concourse of peo- 
 ple, who testified their joy by loud and reiterated 
 acclamations. 
 
 The mode of executing criminals at Tyburn had 
 long been complained of as tending rather to intro- 
 duce depravity, by a want of solemnity, than to 
 operate as a preventative of crimes, by exhibiting 
 an awful example of punishment to the dissolute. 
 To remedy this serious evil in the police of the me- 
 tropolis, both the place and manner of execution 
 were changed. A temporary scaffold was construct- 
 ed,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 283 
 
 ed, to be placed as occasion required in the open 
 space before the debtor's door of Newgate, having a 
 moveable platform for the criininals to stand on, 
 which, by means of a lever and rollers, falls from un- 
 der them. The whole of this building is hung with 
 black, and the regulations which are observed ou 
 these mournful occasions are calculated to produce 
 that impression on the minds of the spectators, which 
 is the true end of all punishment. The first execu- 
 tion here took place on the 9th of December, 
 
 Few pohtical questions ever agitated the whole 
 kingdom more powerfully than the change of admi- 
 nistration, which took place at the end of the year 
 1784. It would be incompatible with the design of 
 this work to enter into the detail of the causes from 
 which this change arose, the means by which it was 
 ■effected, or the consequences which resulted from 
 it. iSufhce it, therefore, to observe, that on the 18th 
 of December, at twelve o'clock at night, a message 
 from his majesty was delivered to Lord North and 
 Mr. Fox, the two secretaries of state, importing that 
 he had no farther occasion for their services; and di- 
 recting that the seals of office should be delivered to 
 him by the under secretaries, as a personal interview 
 would be disagreeable. This was followed by 
 the dismissal or resignation of nearly all the mi- 
 nistry, and Mr. Pitt was appointed first lord of the 
 treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. 
 
 From this period until the month of March was 
 exhibited the singular spectacle of a minister in a 
 constant minority, yet retaining his situation through 
 the support of the king and the nation, in despight 
 of reiterated petitions and representations from the 
 House f)f Commons to the throne to procure his 
 dismissal. 
 
 In such a conjuncture, the city of London could 
 not be expected to be inactive. Accordingly, an 
 
 adddress
 
 28-i HISTORY AND SURVEY 01- 
 
 address of thanks, from the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and common-council, to his majesty, for dismissing 
 his late counsellors, was presented, on the l6th of 
 January; containing the strongest assurances of their 
 determination to support him in the constitutional 
 exercise of his prerogatives. This address was very 
 graciously received. Similar addresses were presented 
 from the merchants and traders of London, the city 
 of Westminster, the borough of Southwark, the 
 county of Middlesex, and many other places. 
 
 The freedom of the city was also presented to Mr. 
 Pitt, and, on the 28th of February, an elegant en- 
 tertainment was provided for him at Grocers'-hall, 
 of which company he had accepted the freedom ; to 
 which he went in procession, attended by the com- 
 mittee appointed to present him with the freedom of 
 the city, the sheriffs, and the town-clerk. At Tem- 
 ple-bar, they were met by the city colours, and those 
 of the Grocers' company. In the evening there was 
 an illumination: many windows were broken by the 
 mob, on his return from the city; and, in St. James's- 
 street, an aiTray happened between them and some 
 chairmen, at Brookes's, in which the latter proved 
 victorious, and Mr. Pitt was obliged to quit his car- 
 riage, and retire to White's for protection. His 
 coach was much injured, and, in revenge, the mob 
 that dragged it, went and broke Mr. Fox's windows, 
 in St. James's-place. 
 
 A cause came on, in the court of King's-bench, 
 in the course of this month, on an appeal from the 
 sessions, to determine whether the Fleet-prison was 
 rateable to the poor; which was argued before a full 
 bench of the judges, who were unanimously of 
 opinion that it was liable. 
 
 The great and memorable contest, between admi- 
 nistration and the House of Commons, having been 
 so far determined in favour of the former, that a long 
 
 mutiny
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 985 
 
 mutiny bill was passed, without which a dissolutioQ 
 of parliament could not have taken place; it was 
 thought most adviseable to have recourse to that 
 measure, in order to get at the true sense of the na- 
 tion. Accordingly, the parliament was dissolved on 
 the 25th of March. In the general election, which 
 followed, the ministry gained a most complete and 
 numerous majority; but it was impossible that they 
 could succeed everv where. The struofsle for the 
 
 r- 1 " 
 
 representation of the city of Westminster, was as ob- 
 stinate as that which had taken place in the house. 
 The election commenced on the 1st of April, and 
 was continued, with various success, until the 17th of 
 May; when it was necessarily terminated by the 
 meeting of parliament on the following day. But, 
 though an end was put to the poll, no members were 
 returned: a scrutiny was demanded, and granted; 
 which, consequently, compelled the high-bailiff to 
 make a special statement of the events of the elec- 
 tion, and the impossibility of his making the usual 
 return. It cannot be supposed, that an election by 
 so numerous a body, and carried on for so long a 
 time, should be unaccompanied with extraordinary 
 circumstances; but it will be unnecessary to dwell 
 upon them here, since, by a subsequent act of parlia- 
 ment, for regulating the duration of elections, the 
 recurrence of them is prevented in future. 
 
 The city election terminated on the (ith of April; 
 but, when the sheriffs met at Guildhall, on the 10th, 
 to declare the numbers on the poll, it appeared that 
 Alderman Sawbridge, the lowest of the successful 
 candidates, had polled 2823, and Mr. Atkinson, 
 2816; on which a scrutiny was demanded by the 
 latter. It is remarkable, that the last scrutiny for 
 the city liappened exactly fifty years before, viz. on 
 the 9th of April, ITSl, and tJie majority was then, 
 
 as
 
 286 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 as now, 7; the numbers being, forBosworth, 33'26-y 
 for Selwyn, 3319. 
 
 The grandest musical performance ever attempted 
 in any country, was exhibited in Westminster Ab- 
 bey, in Ma}^ and June, of this year, in commemora- 
 tion of Handel. It originated in a conversation be- 
 tween some amateurs, in which it was lamented, 
 that no public occasion existed for collecting- 
 all the vocal and instrumental performers of emi- 
 nence into one band, which would produce a per- 
 formance on so grand and magnificent a scale, as no 
 other part of the world could equal. The birth and 
 death of Handel, the former of which was a complete 
 century, and the latter exactly a quarter of a century, 
 before this period, was immediately recollected as 
 offering a desirable opportunity for making the at- 
 tempt. The plan was speedily communicated to the 
 different musical societies in the metropolis, and 
 coming, at length, to the knowledge of the king, 
 was honoured with his sanction and patronage. 
 Westminster Abbey, where the remains of the great 
 musician were deposited, was thought the properest 
 place for the performance ; and it was determined to 
 appropriate all the profits arising from it to charitable 
 purposes. No sooner was the project known, than 
 the greater part of the practical musicians in the 
 kingdom manifested their zeal for the enterprise; 
 and many of the most eminent professors, waving 
 all claim to precedence, offered to perform in any 
 subordinate station. The first performance took place 
 on the 26th of May ; the number of performers 
 amounted to five hundred and twenty-two, and that 
 of the audience to nearly five thousand; of which, 
 at least, two thirds were ladies ; feathers and all 
 extraneous ornaments being forbidden, the neat- 
 ness and simplicity of their dresses added charms 
 
 2 to
 
 LONDON And its environs. 287 
 
 to their natural beauty, and produced such an as- 
 semblage of fine women, as no other country in 
 the universe could boast of. There were five per- 
 formances in the whole, the second of which was at 
 the Pantheon ; and the total amount of the receipts 
 for tickets, including two rehearsals, was eleven thou- 
 sand eight hundred and forty-two guineas: after 
 payment of the expenses, which amounted to up- 
 wards of five thousand pounds, the remainder was 
 given to charities, as follows : to the Musical Fund, 
 six thousand pounds; to the Westminster Hospital, 
 ,one thousand pounds. 
 
 The attention of the metropolis was excited in a 
 high degree, on the 15th of September, by the first 
 aerial voyage ever undertaken in this kingdom. 
 Mr. Lunardi ascended from the Artillery-ground 
 with a balloon, thirty-three feet in diameter, amidst 
 the admiration and dread of an immense concourse 
 of spectators, about two o'clock in the afternoon; 
 and, after a voyage of three hours, descended in a 
 meadow, five miles beyond Ware, in Hertfordshire. 
 
 CHAP. XLVL
 
 28S HISTORY AXD SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XLYI. 
 
 Termination of the IVestminster Scrutiny . — Alarm in West-' 
 
 minster-hall. Billjor regulating the Police. — Case of 
 
 Alderman IVboldridge.— Opposition to the Shop-tax. — In- 
 crease of the Recorder's Salarij. Firs in the Chamber- 
 lain's Office. Cause relative to the Navigation of the 
 
 Thames. — Election of Auditors. — Attempt on the King's 
 
 Life. Salary to the Bailiff of Southw ark. The City 
 
 Eights infringed by the proposed Commercial Treaty. — 
 Disputes with the Surrey Magistrates, relative to the Ju- 
 risdiction of the Borough. Rupture in the Channel of 
 
 the New River. — Petition against Forestalling. — Forged 
 Extraordinary Gazette. — Armament. — Press -warrants, 
 — Petition against the Slave-trade. — Fire in the Savoy. 
 — Great Fall of Rain. — IVestminster Election. — Illness 
 of the King, — Severe Frost. — Recovery of his Majesty. — 
 
 Rejoicings. Addresses of Congratulation. General 
 
 Thanksgiving. — Royal Procession to St. Paul's — Splen- 
 did Illuminations. --Repeal of the Shop-tax. --The Opera 
 House burnt. — Election of a Recorder. 
 
 Early in the year 1785, the proceedings on the 
 Westminster scrutiny were brought before the House 
 of Commons, with a view to obtain an order for its 
 discontinuance ; but it was not until after several pe- 
 titions from the inhabitants had been presented, and 
 three warm debates, that the house acquiesced, and, 
 on the 3d of March, ordered the high bailiff to make 
 a return. The votes of only two parishes had been 
 investigated, although eight months had elapsed; 
 and, during this time, the unsuccessful candidate 
 had only reduced his opponent's majority by eigh- 
 teen. 
 
 A remarkable occurrence happened in Westmin- 
 ster-hall, during the sitting of the court of King's- 
 bench, on the 22d of April. In consequence of a 
 
 very
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 289 
 
 very high wind, some of the stones from the upper 
 part of the building fell through the sky-light ; the 
 fragments of the glass fell among the judges on the 
 bench, and a considerable part of the ceiling was 
 scattered about among the barristers and officers of 
 the court. Impressed with the idea that the whole 
 fabric was tumbling, their lordships, and all the 
 bar, made a precipitate retreat; but, soon finding that 
 it was a premature alarm, the court was resumed. 
 In this confusion, several gentlemen of the bar were 
 much hurt; particularly a Mr. Stebbing, who, being 
 thrown backwards over one of the benches, was 
 trampled over by his affrighted brethren, and re- 
 ceived several severe bruises. Such an accident 
 never happened before in the great hall of pleas. 
 
 In the month of June, a bill was introduced into 
 the House of Commons, for regulating the police of 
 the metropolis, which was understood to be the pro- 
 duction of a gentleman who had taken uncommon 
 pains with it, and had consulted those best enabled 
 to assist in maturing such a plan : but it was not 
 fortunate enough to obtain the approbation of the 
 corporation of the city of London. A petition was 
 presented from the court of aldermen, complaining 
 in high terms of the projected measure. Their alarm 
 was represented, by one of their body, to be equal to 
 that which would have been excited, if a general 
 <-onflagration had been begun in the city of London. 
 The petition stated, that, under colour of correcting 
 abuses, the bill overturned the forms established by 
 the wisdom of our ancestors, and effected an entire 
 subversion of the chartered rights of the greatest 
 city in the world. 
 
 It was in vain urged, that the commissioners ap- 
 pointed by the bill would have no power within the 
 jurisdiction of tlie corporation of London; that it was 
 expressly provided, that no warrant from them should 
 
 VOL. II. p p be
 
 290 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 be executed in the city, until it was backed by the 
 lord mayor, or one of the aldermen, and that, when 
 executed, the person apprehended in virtue of it, was 
 ordered to be carried before some of the citv ma- 
 gistrates: nothing could allay the apprehensions of a 
 body so tenacious of their privileges; and, in the 
 end, their opposition proved fatal to the bill. 
 
 The long-contested question, relative to the power 
 of the court of aldermen to remove one of their 
 body, was finally .determined in the court of King's- 
 bench, on the 11th of June. Some years before, in 
 consequence of several accusations brought against 
 Alderman Wooldridge, repeated summonses were sent 
 to him, to attend in his place in the court of alder- 
 men, to answer to them ; all of which being unat- 
 tended to, he was declared to have forfeited his seat, 
 and a wardmote was held for the election of an al- 
 derman in his stead. At a subsequent period he 
 attended, and claimed to be received as alderman ; 
 which being refused, he obtained a mandamus from 
 the court of King's-bench, to be restored : the return 
 to this mandamus had been argued in November 
 preceding, but the court required further time to de- 
 cide upon it; and, on this day, the final argument 
 was heard, when the court unanimously pronounced 
 judgment in favour of the city, declaring their opi- 
 nion, that the court of aldermen had the power to 
 remove one of the aldermen, upon a just and rea- 
 sonable cause; and that, in the present instance, 
 theit exercise of that rioht was perfectly legal. 
 
 Among the taxes laid on by parliament, for the 
 service of the year 178 j, was one for charging a dut}' 
 upon shops, which experienced a most determined 
 opposition from the inhabitants of London and West- 
 minster. The resistance to it, on the part of the ci- 
 tizens, was so great, that, when the commissioners 
 appointed to carry it into execution, met at Guildhall, 
 
 on
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, ?9 1 
 
 on the6th of July, for that purpose, a motion was made, 
 and carried in the affirmative, by a majority of 50 to 4, 
 to adjourn the consideration of the act until the last 
 day of September. This adjournment, however, did 
 not prevent some of the commissioners from qualify- 
 ing themselves, as was intended it should; for which 
 reason, at a court of common-council, held in Sep- 
 tember, a resolution was passed to submit a case, for 
 the opinion of counsel. Whether the commissioners, 
 now pretending to be qualified to act under the shop- 
 tax act, have any legal power, distinct from the com- 
 missioners at large, to direct an assessment to be 
 made and levied, previous to the day to which the 
 consideration of that act was adjourned? A motion 
 was likewise made, and carried, to direct the hall- 
 keeper, not to permit the persons presuming to act 
 as commissioners to meet in Guildhall, until the opi- 
 nion of counsel was known. 
 
 In a few days after, the minority of the commissron- 
 ers attempted to go into the council-chamber, at 
 Guildhall, but were refused admittance; on which 
 they seated themselves on the hustings, and weie 
 proceeding to business, when Mr. Merry, who had 
 moved the resolution for denying them the use of 
 the hall, passing through, and ol)serving ihem, de- 
 manded their business there ? Words ensued, which 
 were followed by blows, and, in the end, Mr. Merry 
 tore their papers, and threw them, with their pens 
 and ink, over the rail, inU) the hall. Both parties 
 were taken before the lord mayor, who was hold- 
 ing a session, assisted by the recorder and se- 
 veral of the aldermen. His lordship, however, de- 
 clined giving any opinion on the business, and ad- 
 vised the parties either to make it up, or refer it to a 
 jury. 
 
 On the 30th, the commissioners met pursuant to 
 their adjournment, when the opinioii of the recorder 
 
 and
 
 292 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 and common-serjeaiit was laid before them; which 
 was, that those who had quahfied had acted legally, 
 and that the others had put it out of their own power 
 to qualify, except under them ; and that the corpo- 
 ration of London were masters of Guildhall, and had 
 an undoubted right to prevent any persons assem- 
 bling there, whenever they thought proper. As thisi 
 opinion rendered the proceedings of the majority in- 
 effectual to prevent the execution of the act, the 
 meeting was adjourned sine die. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 22d 
 of October, the recorder's salary was increased, by 
 unanimous consent, to one thousand pounds per 
 annum. 
 
 A common-hall was held, on the 4th of Novem- 
 ber, for the purpose of coming to some resolutions 
 w4th respect to the shop-tax; when those submitted 
 by Alderman Skinner, expressive of the inequahty 
 and grievous burthen of the tax, were unanimously 
 agreed to. 
 
 And, on the 1 5th of December, the retail shop- 
 keepers met at the London-tavern, and agreed to pe- 
 tition parliament for a repeal of the tax. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 7th of February, 1786, 
 a fire broke out in a room adjoining to the chamber- 
 lain's office, in Guildhall, and, notwithstanding 
 speedy assistance, burnt so furiously for some time, 
 that the whole of that office was destroyed, together 
 with all the books of accounts, several bonds, and a 
 considerable sum in bank-notes and cash. Part of 
 the court of King's-bench was also damaged; but 
 the fire was at length got under, without communi- 
 cating to the other offices, 
 
 A cause was tried, at the Lent azzizes for the 
 county of Surrey, which lasted three days. It was 
 brought by the corporation of the city of London, as 
 conservators of the river Thames, against a ship- 
 
 2 wright
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 293 
 
 Wright at Rotherhithe, for obstructing the navigation 
 by erecting a floating dock : the jury, after five hours 
 deliberation, found the defendant guilty. 
 
 Some extraordinary circumstances attended the 
 election of auditors on Midsummer day. It has been 
 the immemorial usage of the city of London to have 
 four auditors, the two senior of whom go out in ro- 
 tation every year, and two new ones are elected; but 
 on this occasion, Messrs. Tomlins and Loveland, who 
 had served two years, refused to be removed, and 
 their friends supported their re-election. The re- 
 corder explained the law to the common-hall, but the 
 livery would not acquiesce in the explanation, and 
 persisted in their right to choose them. In this di- 
 lemma the sherifl^s thouifht it adviseable to return the 
 M'hole six to the court of aldermen, with a declara- 
 tion that the majority of hands were in favour of the 
 four old ones ; but that, by the law and usage of the 
 city, the two first were ineligible. A poll w^as, how- 
 ever, demanded by them, which also terminated in 
 their favour ; yet, as after a diligent investigation of 
 the city records for several hundred years, their elec- 
 tion was found to be contrary to the city laws, the 
 other four were declared duly elected. 
 
 The business came afterwards before the court of 
 King's-bench, on a rule to show cause why a mand- 
 amus should not be directed to the lord mayor and 
 aldermen of the city of London, to admit Mr. Tom- 
 lins to the office of one of the auditors of the said 
 city ; when the affidavits on the part of the court of 
 aldermen proved the immemorial existence of the 
 custom, which was further strengthened by an act of 
 common-council in the rejnn of one of the Edwards; 
 for which reason the court refused the mandamus, 
 and the custom was establi!»hed as the lex loci of the 
 city. 
 
 An
 
 ?94 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 An attempt having been made on the hfe of the 
 king-, by a woman named Nicholson, who, under 
 pretence of presenting a petition, struck at him with 
 a concealed knife, an humble and affectionate ad- 
 dress of congratulation from the lord-mayor, alder- 
 men, and commons of the city of London, was pre- 
 sented to his Majesty on the 11th of August, which 
 was most graciously received. The procession, on 
 the occasion, was uncommonly numerous ; the lord- 
 mayor being attended by most of the aldermen, the 
 two sheriffs, the recorder, and other city officers, and 
 between two and three hundred of the common- 
 council. 
 
 At a court of common-council held on the 15th 
 of November, a report from the committee of 
 bye-laws, recommending a salary of seven hun- 
 dred pounds per annum to Sir Watkin Lewis, the 
 bailiff of South wark, in lieu of fees, was taken into 
 consideration. Debates ensued, in the course of 
 which, the report was severely censured; but it 
 was at length carried, on a division, to allow five 
 hundred pounds per annum, until the decision of a 
 suit, which was pending between the city and the 
 sheriff of Surrey, respecting the jurisdiction of the ci- 
 ty within the borough of Southwark. 
 
 A commercial treaty with France was in the 
 course of negotiation in the latter part of this year, 
 by some of the provisions of which, the right of 
 package, scavage and balliage of the city of Lon- 
 don would have been taken away, as well as the 
 rights of the fellowship and all other free porters, 
 free watermen, lightermen, &c. On the discovery 
 of which, a committee of the court of aldermen were 
 appointed to make the necessary representations on 
 the subject to Mr. Pitt, who gave them an assurance, 
 that, although their rights would have been unin- 
 tentionally
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 29^ 
 
 tentioiially invaded and taken away, if this applica- 
 tion had not been made; yet, being now fully pos- 
 sessed of them, he should certainly think it his duty 
 to protect them in the most ample manner. 
 
 At a quarter sessions of the peace held at St. Mar- 
 garet's-hill, Southwark, in January 1787, the magis- 
 trates of the county of Surrey came to resolutions re- 
 specting the city's claim of jurisdiction in the bo- 
 rough of Southwark to the following effect : That 
 the town and borough of Southwark has alwavs been 
 part of the county of Surrey; and that its inhabitants 
 have been, and ought to be, subject to the authority 
 of the magistrates of the said county : That the 
 mayor, commonalty and citizens of London have not 
 a right to hold general or other sessions of the peace 
 within the same : That the sheriff of the county of 
 Surrey has had the execution of all writs, &c. within 
 the said town and borough, and that, therefore, the 
 county ought and will defend any suit brought 
 against him or his officers by the mayor and citizens 
 of London. .And a committee was appointed to 
 manage the defence and assert the rights of the 
 countv. 
 
 On the other side, at a court of common-council, 
 held on the 25th of January, the resolutions of the 
 Surrey magistrates were taken into consideration, and 
 the following counter resolutions were passed: That 
 the town and borough of Southwark, having been 
 granted by various charters to the mayor, commonal- 
 ty and citizens of London, is, and ought to be, sub- 
 ject to their jurisdiction: That the mayor, recorder, 
 and aldermen who have passed the chair, have a right 
 to hold sessions of the peace within the said town and 
 borough : That tlie interference of the sheriff of the 
 county of Surrey, in the exocution of writs, &c. is an 
 infringement of the liberties of this city, and a viola- 
 tign of the express words of the charters : That this 
 
 court
 
 296 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 court will maintain and support this city's rights and 
 privileges within the said town and borough ; and it 
 was referred to the committee of bye-laws to take 
 such proper measures as they should be advised. 
 
 The old custom of meeting the judges at church 
 on the first Sunday in term, was revived in Hilary 
 term of this year; on which occasion the lord-mayor, 
 twelve aldermen, and the two sheriffs, met Lord 
 Loughborough, five of the judges, the recorder, and 
 Serjeants at law, at St. Paul's. After the service, 
 they proceeded to the mansion-house, and were ele- 
 gantly entertained by the lord mayor. 
 
 In the afternoon of the 1.3th of April, in conse- 
 quence of a breach in an arch turned to support the 
 course of the New River, the whole of the water 
 of it made its way into Hackney-brook, which it 
 swelled so much as to occasion the overflowing of 
 all the neighbouring low lands. Fortunately, this 
 accident happened in the day-time; in consequence 
 of which, all the labourers employed on the differ- 
 ent parts of the river, near the spot, were set to work 
 upon it, and, by forming a new temporary channel, 
 till the arch could be repaired, prevented the damage 
 from spreading so much as it must have done, had it 
 occurred during the night. 
 
 On the 4th of May, a petition was presented to 
 the House of Commons, from the lord mayor, alder- 
 men, and council, for leave to bring in a bill or bills, 
 to prevent forestalling and regrating, and for licens- 
 ing salesmen, factors, and others, employed in the 
 sale of cattle or other provisions. 
 
 This petition originated in the different reports 
 received from a committee appointed in the latte^ 
 part of the preceding year, to take into consideration 
 the causes of the high price of provisions. From 
 their resolutions, which were presented at different 
 times, it appeared that the number of cattle and 
 
 sheep.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 297 
 
 sheep, brought to Smithfield-market, had decreased 
 to a very considerable degree, during the last two or 
 three years, in consequence of the practice of fore= 
 stalling, at places in the vicinity of the metropolis; 
 and that, by comparing the prices of meat, at other 
 corporation towns, with those at London, the diifer- 
 ence appeared to be much greater than the expense 
 and risk of bringing provisions to town required. 
 For these, and many other subordinate reasons, they, 
 therefore, recommend an application to the iegisla- 
 tiu'e, to prevent the continuance of these evils. 
 
 The pernicious practice of gambling, in the Alley, 
 produced a singular attempt to affect the price of 
 stocks, on the ^2'2d of this month, which was, how- 
 ever, defeated by the clumsy manner in which it 
 was executed: an old woman was sent to the Royal 
 Exchange, about noon, to cry an Extraordinary Ga- 
 zette, w hich was printed on stamped paper, and had 
 every external appearance of being genuine; but the 
 singularity of its publication being confined to one 
 person, soon led to the discovery of the deception, 
 and the vender was apprehended; however, on exa- 
 mination, she appeared to ha\'e been the dupe of a 
 man, who had given them to her, with strict injunc- 
 tions not to sell them before she came to the Ex- 
 change; she was therefore discharged. 
 
 In consequence of advices received by govern- 
 ment, of some hostile preparations, and movements 
 of the Trench, press-warrants were issued on the 91st 
 of September ; and, on the 2d of October, the lord 
 mayor had a meeting with the first lord v>f the Ad- 
 miralty, on the subject of backing them by the city 
 magistrates. At this conference, the lord mayor 
 stated liis doubts of the legality of such warrants 
 in the city; but this objection being over-ruled by 
 the authority of the crown lawyers, lie urged his 
 want of authority, without the concurrence of his 
 VOL. n. a ([ fellow-
 
 29S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 fellow-citizens legally assembled, and therefore de- 
 sired time. This being agreed to, his lordship called 
 a court of common-council, on the 11th, to whom 
 he reported the substance of his conference with 
 Lord Howe, and recommended the adoption of some 
 measure for encouraging seamen in the city, to enter 
 voluntarily into his majesty's service: on which it 
 was resolved to give a bounty of forty shillings to 
 every able, and twenty shillings to every ordinary 
 seaman, who should enter. Notice of this resolution 
 being communicated to the lords of the Admiralty, a 
 letter was returned, expressive of his majesty's ap- 
 probation and acceptance of the offer. 
 
 Notwithstanding this proceeding, however, some 
 press-warrants were executed in the city, without the 
 authority of the lord mayor, which produced an in- 
 quiry in the court of aldermen, when it turned out, 
 that they had been circulated through the seconda- 
 ries' office; on which the sheriffs were desired not to 
 suffer them to be issued in future. 
 
 This prospect of hostility was not of long dura- 
 tion : in consequence of mutual explanations, it 
 was agreed to reduce the navies on both sides to a 
 peace estabhshment; and, on this arrangement tak- 
 ing place, it appeared, that the whole amount of 
 bounties, paid by the chamber of London, did not 
 exceed five hundred pounds. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 1st of 
 February, 1788, a petition to the House of Commons, 
 against the slave-trade, was unanimously agreed to; 
 as was another, for a repeal of the shop-tax. 
 
 The Savoy-prison was discovered to be on fire, in 
 the afternoon of the 14tli of April, which, on inquiry, 
 was found to be wilfully done, by a desperate set of 
 deserters, who were there, in confinement, with a 
 view to have made their escape in the confusion. 
 On the alarm being giveo, the guard drove the in- 
 Q cendi^ries
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 299 
 
 cendiaries into a cell, where thov were suffered to re- 
 main, with the prison burning about them, till the 
 fire was extinguished, when they were conveyed to 
 different prisons. Several of them were severely 
 wounded before they submitted. 
 
 A greater fall of rain began, about four o'clock in 
 the afternoon of the 26th of June, and continued, in- 
 cessantly, for two hours, accompanied by some tre- 
 mendous claps of thunder, than had been remem- 
 bered in London for many years. The streets were 
 totally impassable to foot-passengers ; and, near 
 Northumberland-house, where Saint Martin's-lane 
 joins the Strand, the current ran so strong, that 
 carriages durst not ventiu'e through it. At the bot- 
 torn of Northumberland-street, such a stoppage took 
 place, that the lower part of a house was blown up, 
 as was the pavement, half-way over the street. 
 Great damage was done, and much property de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 During- the fall of rain, a ball of fire burst, about 
 the middle of George-street, broke the windows of 
 several houses, and entered one house, where it 
 split a cupboard in the parlour, defaced some pic- 
 tures, and melted part of the water-pipe in the 
 kitchen : and, about five o'clock, part of the wall in 
 Tower-ditch gave way, to the length of upwards of 
 twenty yards. 
 
 Lord Jiood having vacated his seat for Westmin- 
 ster, by accepting the office of one of the Lords of 
 the Admiraltv, the election was fixed for the 18th of 
 July ; when he was opposed by Lord John Towns- 
 hend, who had a majority of 823, at the close of the 
 poll, on the 4th of August. •. Never was party viru- 
 lence more conspicuous, than on this election ; the 
 consequences of which were such mobs, riots, and 
 disturbances, as were disgraceful to all concerned. 
 
 On
 
 UOO HISTORY AND SURVEY OV 
 
 On the 2d of October, a considerable number of 
 inhabitants of the Borough, freemen of London, met 
 at St. Margaret's-hill, and drew up an address to the 
 lord mayor and corporation of London, praying that 
 the freemen, in that part of their jurisdiction, whose 
 rights had long lain dormant, may be restored, and 
 that the lord mayor would be pleased to issue pre- 
 cepts for electing a competent number of common- 
 council-men, to represent them in the city of 
 London. 
 
 The close of this year was marked by an event, 
 which occasioned grief and consternation in all ranks 
 of a loyal and affectionate people. Early in October, 
 his majesty was attacked with the first symptoms of 
 a disorder, which was at first supposed to be rheu- 
 matic, and the proper methods were employed to 
 remove it from the stomach to the extremities. On 
 the 24th of that month, he had a levee at St. 
 James's, for the purpose of quieting the alarm which 
 the report of his indisposition had spread; but, 
 shortly after, his disorder took a new and unfortu- 
 nate turn, and, before the end of the first w^eek in 
 November, it was generally known, that it had set- 
 tled into a constant delirium. The day appointed 
 for the meeting of parliament was fast approaching, 
 and no power existed, which could either prorogue 
 it farther, or open it. In this conjuncture, all, who 
 by their rank and situation in the state were required 
 to take a part in so new and unexpected an exi- 
 gence, assembled in the capital, waiting the event in 
 awful expectation. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this history, to en- 
 ter into the discussion of the measures proposed for 
 supplying the temporary deficiency in the regal 
 power, except for the purpose of recording the sen- 
 timents of the citizens of London on the subject. 
 
 It
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 301 
 
 It will, therefore, be sufficient to observe, that, a 
 question having been raised in the House of Com- 
 mons, on the right of the Prince of Wales to exercise 
 the full powers of sovereign, during his father's in- 
 disposition, it was opposed by Mr. Pitt and the ad- 
 ministration, who contended for a restricted regency; 
 and, on a division, this opinion was carried, by 268 
 to 204. On the day following, it was moved in the 
 court of common-council, " that the thanks of this 
 court be given to the Right Honourable William Pitt, 
 and the 267 worthy members of the House of Com- 
 mons, for their strenuous support of the important 
 rights of the lords and commons of this realm, to 
 provide the means of supplying the defect of the 
 personal exercise of the royal authority, arising from 
 his majesty's indisposition :" which, after great de- 
 bates, was carried in the affirmative : and, on the 
 7th of January, a similar resolution was voted by a 
 very numerous meeting of the merchants, bankers, 
 and traders of London. 
 
 This winter was remarkable for a very severe frost, 
 which began on the 25th of November, and lasted 
 exactly seven weeks. The greatest cold was on the 
 5th of .Tanuarv, when the thermometer stood at 
 eleven degrees below the freezing point, in the mid- 
 dle of the city. During this frost the Thames was 
 completely frozen over below London-bridge, and 
 was covered with booths, puppet-shews, and wild- 
 beasts, so as to have the appearance of a fair. The 
 watermen being deprived of their usual means of ob- 
 taining a livelihood, broke the ice close to the shore 
 and laid planks across the openings, which they 
 sutjfered no one to pass without paying. On the 
 evening of the thaw, which came very suddenly, 
 the confusion on the sides was extreme, but no ac- 
 cident of any consequence occurred. 
 
 Tlie
 
 302 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The scene on the Thames, after the breaking of the 
 frost, was dreadful beyond example ; the large bodies 
 of ice floating on the river made it necessary to moor all 
 the ships to the shore; many, however, drifted, and one 
 lying oif Rotherhithe, was so pressed by the strength 
 of the tide and the weight of ice, that it carried away 
 the beams of a house to which it was fastened, and 
 levelled it with the ground, by which accident five 
 persons asleep in their beds were killed. 
 
 ]3uring this inclement season, the distresses of the 
 poor were not forgotten. Liberal subscriptions were 
 entered into by the affluent for their relief, and a 
 court of common-council met on the 13th of Janua- 
 ry, to take the state of the poor into consideration, 
 when the sum of one thousand five hundred pounds 
 was ordered to be paid out of the city cash, for the 
 relief of such poor inhabitants as did not receive 
 alms of the parish. At this court, a letter was read 
 from the Prince of Wales's treasurer to the chamber- 
 lain, inclosing his royal highness's draft for one thou- 
 sand pounds, to be applied in the same manner as 
 his majesty's bounty had usually been ; but which, 
 from the unfortunate state of the king's health, was 
 this year delayed. On which it was unanimously 
 resolved to return the grateful acknowledgments of 
 the court to his royal highness, for his spontaneous 
 and truly princely beneficence. 
 
 His majesty's gradual restoration to health became 
 apparent early in the month of February ; the first 
 decisive report of the physicians to that effect was, 
 however, made on the l!2th; on which day a court 
 of common-council was met for settling the various 
 committees. While they were employed in this bu- 
 siness, the report was brought to the lord-mayor, 
 who interrupted the proceedings to read it. It stated 
 that his majesty was " in a progressive state of amend- 
 ment ;''
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 30 
 
 Q 
 
 ment; " which joyful intelhgence was received with 
 an involuntary emotion of applause throughout the 
 court. 
 
 The 10th of March was the day appointed for 
 making an official declaration of his majesty's 
 complete recovery. In the morning, the bells 
 rang in all the churches ; and, at noon, the Park 
 and Tower-guns were fired. On the river, every 
 vessel was decorated with the colours of the 
 nation to which it belonged. French, Spanish, 
 Dutch, Portuguese, Prussian, Russian, Dane, and 
 Swede vied with each other in exhibiting tokens of 
 joy ; many of them had devices on their streamers, 
 with the words Long live t lie King, in large capitals, 
 either at the mast head, or on the bow-sprit. 
 
 Of the illuminations at night, it is impossible to 
 give an adequate description. They were literally 
 general: all the inhabitants seemed to strive who 
 should give the most beautiful and picturesque de- 
 vices, and who testify their loyalty in the most con- 
 spicuous manner. In short, so general was the tri- 
 bute of affection to our beloved monarch, that, could 
 he have surveyed the splendour, and witnessed 
 every accompanying demonstration of gladness, he 
 would have quitted the scene with as proud feelings 
 as ever animated the bosom of a king. It was a 
 trophy that reflected as much true dignity on the 
 sovereign, as it did honour to the nation. 
 
 On the lyth, the city addresses of congratulation 
 to the king and queen were presented. It was his 
 majesty's particular request that, on this occasion, 
 when the pressure of the national business bore heavy 
 upon him, the numerous attendance of the court 
 of common-council might be dis])ensed with ; in 
 consequence of which, the court catiie to a resolu- 
 tion that the addresses should be presented by the 
 lord-mayor and sheriils, assisted by the recorder. 
 
 Addresses
 
 304 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Addresses to their rnajesties, on this happy event, 
 were also voted in a common-hall, held on the 7th 
 of April, 
 
 The '^25d of April being appointed, by royal pro- 
 clamation, to be observed as a day of general thanks- 
 giving, his majesty was pleased to go in public to 
 the cathedral church of St. Paul, accompanied by 
 the queen, the royal family, both houses of parlia- 
 ment, the great officers of state, and the whole cor- 
 poration of London. The universal joy and loyalty 
 which pervaded the cities of London and Westmin- 
 ster, the grandeur of the spectacle exhibited, in the 
 more than triumphal, the religious entry of our be- 
 loved sovereign, filled the mind with the most sub- 
 lime and awful ideas. 
 
 The procession began a quarter before eight, by 
 the House of Commons, in coaches (1 67 members 
 attending), followed by the speaker, in his robes, 
 seated in his state-coach, with his mace-bearer and 
 chaplain, from Palace-yard; and, passing through the 
 entrance at the Horse-guards, into St. James's-pavk, 
 went out at the Stable-yard, and ranged along Pall- 
 mall and Charing-cross, followed by three knights- 
 marshalmen, the clerk of the crown, masters in chan- 
 cery, and the twelve judges, in the capacity of assist- 
 ants to the House of Peers. After them, the peers 
 in coaches, in the order of precedency, as they were 
 marshalled by the black rod ; beginning with Lord 
 Malmesbury, as youngest baron, and ending with the 
 Duke of Norfolk, the premier duke. The lord 
 high chancellor, in his robes of office, and in his 
 state-coach, closed this part of the procession. 
 
 Soon after the members of both houses had passed, 
 the male branches of the royal family appeared in 
 different carriages, in due order of precedency. 
 Their majesties set out from the queen's palace soon 
 after ten, in the order previously arranged by his 
 
 majesty
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 306 
 
 majesty himself. Between eleven and twelve the 
 king's carriage arrived at Temple-bar, where the 
 lord mayor was in waiting, attended by six delegates 
 from the corporation; viz. Sheriffs Curtis and Sir 
 Benjamin Hammett, as aldermen, and deputies 
 Leekey and Birch, with Messrs. Wadd and Dixon, 
 as commoners. The lojd mayor and his associates 
 came thither in coaches, soon after nine, and were 
 politely accommodated, by the banking-house of 
 Mr. Child, in the great room immediately over the 
 Bar, till, on notice of the king's approach, they all 
 mounted their beautiful white palfreys, which were 
 richly caparisoned, the saddles and bridles new for 
 the occasion, silver-stitched, silver roses, and silk 
 reins; the furniture blue and gold, with tassels of 
 gold fringe ; the fronts of the bridles richly embroi- 
 dered with the words, " God save the King !" White 
 fur caps to the holsters, richly wrought with gold ; 
 and each horse decorated with three dozen of fa- 
 vours, blue and white. The lord mavor was in a 
 rich gown of crimson velvet; the two aldermen in 
 their scarlet gowns, and the four commoners in their 
 mazarine gowns, dressed uniformly in dark blue coats, 
 white waistcoats and breeches, with purple roses in 
 their shoes, and at their knees. Each of them had a 
 walking page, carrying a hat, adorned with a beau- 
 tiful cockade of purple and gold, inscribed, " Long 
 live the King '." After they had taken horse, the 
 lord mayor dismounting in form, surrendered the 
 city sword to his majesty; who having graciously 
 returned it, the lord mayor, on horseback, carried it 
 bare-headed before the king to St. Paul's. The she- 
 riffs and tour commoners rode also bare-headed. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the magnificence of the 
 procession from 'I emple-bar. 
 
 Immediately after the lord chancellors carriage, 
 the movement was as follows : 
 
 VOL. II. R r IJigh-
 
 306 HISTORY AND SURVEY Of 
 
 High-bailiff of Westminster. 
 
 Master of the Horse. 
 
 Duke of Cumberland, 
 
 Duke of Gloucester. 
 
 Duke of York. 
 
 Prince of VV'ales. 
 
 Attendants. 
 
 Six pioneers. 
 
 Colonel Sir Watkin Lewes, on horseback. 
 
 The Artillery Company. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Two pair of colours. 
 
 Fifteen of the Toxophilites, or ancient Society of 
 
 Archers, dressed in a green uniform, with their bows 
 
 in their hands, and elegant belts to their quivers; 
 
 on which were embroidered, " Long hve the King !" 
 
 City Arms. 
 City marshal, four common-councilmen, and the 
 sheriffs, on horseback. 
 Lord mayor on horseback. 
 His mace-bearer on foot; and six servants, in rich 
 liveries of purple and silver. 
 The city counsel. 
 Their MAJESTIES, drawn by eight cream-coloured 
 horses, attended by six pages, and six footmen ; in 
 a private carriage, pannels and front of glass, in- 
 stead of leather. 
 
 The Princesses in two carriages. 
 
 Attendants in two coaches. 
 
 The different guards of honour in the procession 
 
 Were formed from the Oxford Blues; and the whole 
 
 was closed by a troop of the royal regiment of Horse 
 
 Guards. 
 
 All the charity-children entered the church at the 
 north and south doors, by seven o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and remained till the church was cleared. They 
 had a place appropriated for their appearance, much 
 
 in
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 307 
 
 ill the same manner as at their anniversary meeting. 
 This was at the particular desire of her majesty. 
 
 The clergy, with the minor canons, and their 
 friends, entered the church, at the Dean's-gate, at 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 The aldermen, with their ladies, and the principal 
 city officers, between eight and nine, proceeded 
 from the Mansion-house, along Cheapside, to the 
 south entrance of St. Paul's church. 
 
 The corporation were represented in the proces^r 
 sion from Temple-bar, as we have already stated, by 
 a deputation. The other members of the body cor- 
 porate assembled, at eight o'clock, in Guildhall, 
 whence, in about half an hour, they began to parade 
 on foot, in their mazarine gowns, through Cheapside, 
 Newgate-street, the Old-bailey, and Ludgate-street, 
 They were in two divisions, each attended with a 
 suitable standard, and an excellent band of music. 
 The first division was led by Deputies Hillier, Ni- 
 chols, Wrench, and Mr. Pope; the other by Depu^ 
 ties White, Merry, Mr. Box, and Mr. Slade; all with 
 wands, painted blue and gold, and elegant cockades, 
 of purple and gold. Entering the church, at the 
 north-west gate, they remained in the morning-prayer- 
 chapel, until the king's arrival was announced; when 
 they ushered his majesty into the choir, and imme- 
 diately took their seats. 
 
 The peers and members of the House of Common^ 
 soon after entered the west door of the church. 
 
 The female nobility, gentry, and others, came 
 down llolbori), proceeded along Snow^-hill and New- 
 gate-street, down Warwick-lane, along Paternoster- 
 row, and were set down at Cannon-alley, opposite to 
 the north door of the church, where an awning was 
 ferected ; their carriages then proceeded to the end 
 of Paternoster-row, turned round to the left, into 
 Newgate-street, down St. Martin's-le-Grand, into 
 Aldcrsgate-strect, where thev waited. 
 
 Their
 
 308 IIISTOTIY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Their majesties were met at the west door of St. 
 Paul's, by the Bishop of London, the Dean of St. 
 Paul's (Bishop of Lincoln) ; the canons residentary; 
 Ganci king at arms, and the rest of the heralds; the 
 band of gi:;ntlemen pensioners and the yeomen of the 
 guard. The sword of state was carried before his 
 ^iajesty by the Marquis of Stafford into the choir, 
 where the king and queen placed themselves under 
 a canopy of slate, at the west end of it, opposite to 
 the altar. 
 
 The peers had their scats in the area, as a house 
 of lords ; and tlie commons were in the stalls. The 
 upper galleries were allotted to the ladies of the bed- 
 chamber, the maids of honour, and such ladies of 
 distinction as attended on the occasion. The foreign 
 ministers were placed in the two lower galleries 
 next to the tlu'one ; and the lord-mayor and alder- 
 men, with their ladies, in the lower galleries, near 
 the altar. 
 
 Immediately on their majesties being eated, divine 
 service commenced. The sermon was preached by 
 the Bishop of London ; after which, an anthem, se- 
 lected for the occasion, by the king, was sung by 
 the gentlemen of the choir. The whole was finished 
 about three o'clock, when their majesties returned 
 with the same state to Buckingham House. 
 
 The streets through which the procession passed, 
 were filled with rejoicing spectators. Before most of 
 the houses were placed temporary galleries, crowded 
 with beauty and fashion. Every precaution which 
 prudence could suggest was taken to guard against 
 the accidents w hich might have been expected from 
 such a numerous assemblage of people ; but they 
 were unnecessary, good humour had so completely 
 taken possession of every individual, that the mili- 
 tary, who were stationed to keep the multitude in 
 prder, had nothing to do but to see the procession, 
 with their fellow-citizens in the rean 
 
 On
 
 XONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 309 
 
 On the following evening, a general illumination 
 took place throughout London and Westminster, 
 which, for splendour and magnificence, surpassed 
 all former exhibitions. All the public offices, the 
 housesof the nobility and gentry, as well as many 
 of those of private individuals, were decorated wdth 
 transparencies, or elegant designs in coloured lamps; 
 while even in the humble garret of the indigent, the 
 gleam of loyalty and affection twinkled as cheerful- 
 ly, if not as brightly, as in the splendid mansion of 
 the opulent. 
 
 The repeal of the shop-tax, which was obtained in 
 the course of this session of parliament, was celebrated 
 on the I6th of June, by a dinner at the London Ta- 
 vern, to which the ten representatives of London, 
 Westminster, Middlesex, and Southwark, were in- 
 Tited, in testimony of the respect and gratitude of 
 the shopkeepers for their exertions to relieve them 
 from this burthen. 
 
 A dreadful fire consumed the Opera House, on tlie 
 right of the 17th of June. The performers were re- 
 hearsing a ballet on the stage, when they were sud- 
 denly alarmed by flakes of fire fiilling on their heads. 
 In a few minutes after, the whole building was in a 
 blaze, which, from the vast quantity of combustible 
 materials on the premises, and the calmness of the 
 evening, rose in a spiral column to an extraordinary 
 height. The light was so powerful that, for a few 
 minutes, the vviiole western front of St. Paul's cathe- 
 dral was as minutely visible as at noon day. 
 
 On Midsummer day, Serjeant Adair resigned the 
 ofhce of recorder. John William Rose, Esq. was 
 elected his successor on the 30th, and his salary fix- 
 ed at six hundred pounds per annum. 
 
 CHAP. XLVn.
 
 310 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XLYII. 
 
 /litempted Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acis.--^ 
 Resolutions of the Commoii-coitncil on this Suhject. — The 
 
 Monster. Election of Common- Serjeant. — Action for 
 
 the Penalty for not serving the Office of Sherijf. — Storms 
 
 of IVind. Trial ivith the Corporation of Lyim. Re^ 
 
 markahle high Tide. — Committee to s^iperintend the Erec- 
 tion of Monuments in St. Paul's. — Further Proceedings 
 
 relative to pressing Liverymen. Consideration 0/ tlw 
 
 Sixteenth Standing Order of the Court of Common -coun- 
 cil. — Decision of the Court of King's-hench, on the Claim 
 of the City to an exclusive Jurisdiction in Southwark. — ■ 
 The Pantheon burnt. — Attempt to set Fire to the House 
 of Commons. — Proclamation against seditious Meetings. 
 
 — Address. Riot in Mount-street. New System of 
 
 Police. — Proceedings of the disaffected — Resolutions of 
 
 the Corporation of London. Debating Societies. — De- 
 
 fensive Measures at the Tomer. Declaration of th^ 
 
 Merchants, Bankers, and others. — General Loyalty, 
 
 The endeavours of the Protestant dissenters, ta 
 procure a repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, 
 having failed in the last session, by a very small ma- 
 jority, they were this year renewed with increased 
 ardour; and, in the hope of strengthening their in- 
 terest, the claims of the Roman Catholic dissenters 
 were also included in their application to parliament. 
 This junction of opposing interests, added to the 
 violent political conduct of their leaders, induced 
 moderate men to withhold that support, which the 
 great body of the dissenters were, perhaps, entitled 
 to; and induced the friends of the established church 
 to exert a greater degree of vigour, in opposing their 
 pretensions. Among other measures, calculated to 
 give weight to this opposition, a common-council 
 met. on the 26th of February, 1790, for the especial 
 4 * purpos^e
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. '3i\ 
 
 purpose of taking into consideration the steps taken 
 by the dissenters to obtain the repeal of these acts, 
 and whether any, and what, proceedings were ne- 
 cessary to be taken by that court ; when, after a cahii 
 and dispassionate investigation of the subject, the 
 following resolutions were carried by a very great 
 majority. 
 
 1. *' That it is the indispensable duty of this 
 court, to support the rights and privileges of the 
 church of England, as by law established ; they 
 being essentially connected with, and forming a part 
 of, our happy consitution. 
 
 IL " That a full, perfect, and free toleration, in 
 the exercise of religious duties, must be the wish and 
 glory of every liberal mind; but, to remove the two 
 bulwarks to our sacred constitution, in church and 
 state, by a repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, 
 would tend to produce that civil anarchy, which at 
 first pointed out to the legislature the necessity of 
 making such wise and salutary restrictive laws. 
 
 III. " That this court do consider themselves 
 called upon to strengthen the hands of those friends 
 to the esttiblished church, in the House of Commons, 
 who have, twice, successfully opposed the repeal of 
 the Corporation and Test Acts, by expressing their 
 public thanks for such conduct; and to solicit the 
 members of this court, who have seats in parliament, 
 strenuously to resist every attempt that shall be 
 made to obtain that repeal." 
 
 On the discussion of the question in the House 
 of Commons, the motion, which, last year, was lost 
 by only 20, was now negatived by 189- 
 
 Soon after this period, the streets of the metropo- 
 lis were infested by a villain of a non-descript spe- 
 cies in this country, and, for that reason, known by 
 the appellation of the Momier. It was his practice 
 to follow gome well-dressed lady, whom he found 
 
 unaccompanied
 
 312 kiSTORY X!^b SURVEY OF 
 
 unaccompanied by a man ; and, sometimes, aftet 
 using gross languap^e, sometimes without saying a 
 word, to give her a cut with a sharp instrument^ 
 concealed in his hand, either through herstaysj 
 or through her petticoats, behind. Several ladies 
 had been thus attacked and wounded by this fellow, 
 who had always the address to escape undetected; 
 when, on the l.jth of June, a Miss Porter, who had 
 been assaulted by him in the manner described, was 
 walking in the Park, in company with a gentleman, 
 and met him. She immediately exclaimed, " The 
 wrefc/i has just passed us 1" and pointed him out to 
 the gentleman, who followed and apprehended him. 
 On the 8th of July, he was brought to his trial at the 
 Old-bailey, and found guilty upon the clearest evi- 
 dence; but the judge reserved the sentence upon a 
 point of law. The decision of the judges on this 
 point being that the indictment was defective in 
 form, he escaped the capital part of the charge; but 
 was afterwards tried for this, and two other assaults^ 
 and, being convicted of the whole of them, was sen- 
 tenced to six years imprisonment. 
 
 The death of Mr. Nugent, who had held the office 
 of common-serjeant from the year 17.^8, occasioned 
 a vacancy for that office ; the election for which 
 came on the 22d of July, when Mr. Sylvester 
 was chosen, during pleasure. But this limitation 
 being thought inconsistent with the nature of his 
 office^ part of which is to act as judge in the first 
 criminal court in the kingdom, it was rescinded by 
 the next court. 
 
 A cause was tried, in the sheriff's court, at Guild- 
 hall, on the 21st of October, in which John Wilkes, 
 Esq. as chamberlain of the city of London, was plain- 
 tiff, and John Pardoe, Esq. defendant. The action 
 was brought to recover the penalty of six hundred 
 pounds, which is ordained by a bye-law of the 
 
 court
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 3 i .I 
 
 court of common-council, to be paid for declining to 
 serve the oftice of sheriff, to which Mr. Pardoc had- 
 been elected, in the year 1783, but refused to serve, 
 on the ground of his being incapacitated. As it ap- 
 peared that Mr. Pardoe, when he was chosen sheriti^", 
 was sixty-nine years of age, in an infirm state of 
 health, and totally unfit to serve the office, the jury, 
 which was special, gave a verdict in his favour. 
 
 The month of December was remarkable for two 
 violent storms of wind; the first was on the morning-^ 
 of the 15th, by which considerable damage was done; 
 and the second, wliich was much more destructive, 
 began between four and five o'clock in the morning 
 of the 23d, aud was attended with successive flashes, 
 of lightning, and continued rolls of loud thunder. 
 Fart of the copper roofing of the new stone buildings, 
 in Lincoln's-inn, was blown over the six clerks' of-» 
 fice, into Chancery-lane, and some pieces of it over 
 the roofs of the houses in the opposite side of the 
 lane, so that it must have been carried upwards of a 
 hundred feet through the air. Many houses were 
 much damaged by stacks of chimnies falling through, 
 the roofs, and some lives were lost; and, in the 
 country, the effects of the storm were equally vio^. 
 lent: its severity was also felt in France. 
 
 The case of the city of London against the corpo- 
 ration of Lynn, came on to be argued in the court of 
 lving\s-bench, on the 28th of January, 179 L It was 
 a writ of error, from the court of Common-pleas, 
 where a trial at bar was had on a writ dc essciido (jui^ 
 etum dc Theulonio (of being (juit from toll), brought 
 by the city of London, to assert the right of their ci- 
 tizens to be exempted from a toll on corn, demanded 
 by the cor[)oration of Lynn. The cause was tried in 
 May, 178<), by a special jury of the county of Nor- 
 folk, who found a verdict in favour of the citizens of 
 I>ondon ; and the errors were now assigned on the 
 
 VOL. II. s s informality
 
 314 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 informality of the declaration, which did not state, 
 that the city of London had received an injury, on 
 •which an action could be maintained, the corporation 
 of Lynn having demanded, but not received, or dis- 
 trained for, the toll in question. On this defect in 
 the declaration, the judgment was reversed; but the 
 rights of the citizens of London were not at all af- 
 fected by this decision. 
 
 In the afternoon of the 2d of February, there was 
 the highest flood in the Thames, that ever was known. 
 Above Westminster-bridge, it overflowed the banks 
 on both sides. It was near two feet deep in Palace- 
 yard, and ran into Westminster-hall, so as to prevent 
 people from passing, for two hours. Boats came 
 through the passage, from Old Palace-yard to the 
 Thames, and rowed up to Westminster-hall gate. 
 The inhabitants of Milbank-street were conveyed to 
 and from their houses in boats. The two Scotland- 
 yards, and Privy-gardens, were entirely under water, 
 and impassable in many places, for some hours. 
 
 The damasre done in the warehouses on the 
 wharfs was immense; they were overflowed, almost 
 without exception. The water rose above the Cus- 
 tom-hjDuse quay. Tower-wharf, Bank-side, Queen- 
 hithe, Wapping High-street, Thames-street, Tooley- 
 street, &c. and filled all the adjoining cellars ; and 
 most of the gardens and fields, between Blackfriar's- 
 road and Westminster-bridge, were overflowed. 
 
 A o^eneral meetins: of the roval academicians was 
 held, at Somerset-house, on the 6th of May, for the 
 election of a committee, for the purpose of deter- 
 mining on the propriety of the subjects and situa- 
 tions of the monuments to be erected in St. Paul's 
 cathedral; when Messrs. West, Hamilton, Nollekins, 
 Banks, Dance, and Sir William Chambers, were' 
 chosen ; who, with the president of the Royal Aca- 
 j^emy, for the time being, are invested, by the lord 
 
 chancellor,
 
 LdNDbN kiijy Its ENVIRONS. 31 J 
 
 chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop 
 of London, and the dean and chapter, with the sole 
 power of adjudging situations. 
 
 On the night of the 30th of May, there was an 
 alarming insurrection in the King's-bench prison; 
 an attempt being made by the greater part of the 
 prisoners to escape. JNIuch mischief was done to the 
 inner part of the building, and the outer door would 
 have been forced, had not a party of horse and foot 
 arrived, very opportunely, to restore order, which 
 they eife€ted, happily without bloodshed, before ele- 
 ven o'clock. The principals in this riot were removed 
 to Newgate on the following day. 
 
 The right of the liverymen to be exempted front 
 the operation of press-warrants, was again discussed, 
 on the 6th of June, in the coUrt of Common-pleas, 
 in the case of two of the liver}^ who, having been im- 
 pressed, were brought into court by writs of habeas 
 «*:orpus. The main question, however, was not de- 
 termined; the two men being discharged by consent, 
 on their own recognizances, to appear on the second, 
 day of the following term, if called upon. 
 
 A court of common-council was held at Guildhall 
 on the 11th of October, to take into consideration a 
 question adjourned from a former court, relative to 
 the l6th standing order, viz. "That no member shall 
 be permitted to be put in nomination as a candidate 
 for an}' place of emolument, in the gift of this court, 
 unless he shall, previously thereto, have engaged to 
 take the first opportunity to resign his seat, in case 
 he prove successful." After a warm debate the court 
 divided, when the numbers appeared to be, for re- 
 taining the standing order 100, for suspending it 39. 
 
 The long depending cause between the magis- 
 trates of Surrey and the city of London, was argued 
 l^efore the court of King's-bench, on the 19th of No- 
 vember, on a special verdict. The facts were that a 
 
 j^encral
 
 316 HISTORY A5;i) SURVEY OF 
 
 general meeting of the justices of Surrey was held on 
 the -ith of September, for the purpose of granting li- 
 cences to publicans ; that the magistrates of Lon- 
 don did not attend this meeting, but met on a sub- 
 sequent day, and granted licences to certain publi- 
 cans, who had been refused them by the justices of 
 Surrey. For this conduct the magistrates of London 
 were indicted, and the question for the decision of 
 the court was, " whether the city of London had an 
 •exclusive jurisdiction to grant licences in the borough 
 f)f South wark, or possessed only a concurrent juris- 
 diction with the justices of Surrey ?" 
 
 After the case had been argued on both sides, the 
 court determined that the city of London had not an 
 exclusive, but a concurrent jurisdiction, and there- 
 fore had acted illegally. This question was therefore 
 determined against the city. 
 
 Between one and two o'clock in the morning of 
 the 14th of January, 1792, a fire broke out in one of 
 the new buildings which had been added to the Pan- 
 theon, to enlarge it sufficiently for the performance 
 of operas. Before any engmes- readied the spot, the 
 fire had got to such a height, that all attempts to save 
 the building were in vain. The flames, owing to 
 the scenery, oil, paint, and other combustible matter 
 in the house, were tremendous, and so rapid in their 
 progress, that not a single article couW be saved. 
 Fortunately, the height of the walls ])revented the 
 conflagration from spreading to the adjoining buikU 
 ings. 
 
 An attempt was made to set the House of Com- 
 mons on fire on the 9th of May, which was happily 
 rendered abortive by the diligence of the watchman 
 of the house. Qn perceiving a smell of something 
 burning, he communicated his suspicions to jNIr. 
 Bellamy, who caused a search to be made, and found 
 ihe ceiling of a water-closet, immediately under the 
 
 house^
 
 LONDOS and its ENVIR05S. 5!7 
 
 house, had been broken, and a pair of worsted 
 breeches, stuffed with combustible matter, burning 
 between the joists. But for this providential discove- 
 ry, it is j)robable that both houses of parhament. 
 with the whole of Westminster-hail and the Court of 
 Requests would, from the quantity and dryness of 
 the timber contained in them, have fallen a sacrifice? 
 to this destructive element. 
 
 On the 2 1 St, a roval proclamation was issued 
 against seditious meetings and publications ; incon- 
 sequence of which the common -council of London, 
 with an alacrity of zealous aliection, which reflects 
 honour on the tirs-t corporation in the universe, met 
 on the '25t\i, and agTced, unanimously, to present 
 an address to his majesty, " expressing their most 
 grateful thanks for the additional proof he has given- 
 of his most gracious care and attention to the safety 
 and happiness of his loyal subjects, in directing the 
 late proclamation to be issued against seditious pub- 
 lications and criminal correspondencies/' 
 
 This address was presented on the 1st of June, 
 by the Lord-mayor, Aldermen, and Common-coun- 
 cil; and was received witli great satisfaction. 
 
 A very dangerous riot took place on the 5th of this 
 month, in Mount-street, Grosvenor-square, occasi- 
 oned by the apprehension of^ a number of ser- 
 vants who had assembled at a public house in the 
 neighbourhood to make merry on the king's birth 
 night, by a dance. On the following moining, ii 
 mob assembled in front of the \\ atch-house, and de- 
 manded their release, which, not being complied 
 with, they broke the windows. In the mean time 
 some magistrates met at the watch-house, and ex- 
 amined the servants, all of wliom were dischargedj 
 except six, including the publican and hddler. Tlie 
 mob continuing to increase, the military were sent 
 for, and the riot act being read, the crowd dispersed. 
 
 Tranquillity
 
 Sis HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Tvaiiquillity appearing to be restored, the soldier^ 
 were ordered away in the afternoon. In the even- 
 ing the mob assembled again and attacked the watch» 
 house, which they broke into and began to de- 
 mohsh, throwing the benches and furniture into the 
 street. A party of iijuards reached the six>t in time 
 to prevent the total destruction of it, but had much 
 difficulty to disperse the rabble, who proceeded im- 
 mediately to the attack of a house in Audley-street, 
 belonging to one of the constables, where it was also 
 necessary to require the as«stance of the military^ 
 to prevent mischief. Happily the tumult ended 
 here without bloodshed ; for those who assembled 
 on tlie following day appeared to have no motive 
 biit curiosity, to see the devastation of the former 
 night. 
 
 It had been long acknowledged, that some reform- 
 ation in the police of Westminster was wanted, though 
 the mode of effecting it, so as to unite general secu- 
 rity with general liberty, had not been hit upon. With 
 a view to accomplish this most difficult of the labours 
 of legislation j a bill was introduced into parliament, 
 early in the month of March, in pursuance of vvhichy 
 regular offices were to be established for the admi- 
 nistration of that branch of justice, which falls with- 
 in the jurisdiction of a justice of peace. Three jus- 
 tices to be appointed to each office, with fixed sala- 
 ries, and the fees taken in all the offices to be conso- 
 lidated in one fund, for the payment of them ; and, to 
 annihilate that reproach to the magistracy, kno\\'n 
 by the name of Trading Justices, no person in the 
 commission of the peace was* to receive any fees, ex- 
 cept at the established offices. 
 
 Some opposition was made to this bill in its pro- 
 gress ; but as it was only proposed for an experiment, 
 being limited in its duration, and parliament would be 
 enabled to judge of its expediency at the expiration 
 .1 of
 
 LONDON AND ITS EWinONS. S19 
 
 of the term, and continue it or not as the result sliould 
 warrant, it was passed. 
 
 The act was carried into execution, on the 91st 
 of August, being- extended to the other suburbs of 
 the metropolis ; and the following offices were ap- 
 pointed : viz. Queen-square, Westminster; Great 
 Marlborough-street; Hatton-garden ; Worship-street, 
 Shoreditch ; Lambeth-street, Whitechapel ; High- 
 street, Shadvvell ; and Union-street, Southwark : all 
 of which have been since continued. 
 
 At this period the machinations of those who 
 sought the overthrow of the British constitution be- 
 came daily more apparent : numerous cheap publi- 
 cations were industriously disseminated, in which 
 every degree of subordination was represented as in- 
 consistent with the natural rights and equality of man, 
 and the societies formed for giving more extension 
 to these doctrines were rapidly imiting into one 
 bod}^ under the name of the Corresponding Society. 
 
 These proceedings aroused the loyalty of the citi- 
 zens of London, who approved themselves the 
 firm and decided friends of our happy constitution. 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 29th of 
 November, the lord mayor, in a speech replete with 
 manly firmness, represented the necessity of support- 
 ing the king and constitution, and the full force of 
 the recommendation was felt by every member of 
 tlie court ; as the following resolutions, which were 
 unanimously voted, will testify. 
 
 L That it is the duty of all corporations to pre- 
 serve their fidelity to their sovereign, to be watchful 
 for the safety of the sacred constitution of the coun- 
 try, and to maintain, to the utmost of their power, 
 the peace, the property, and the personal security of 
 every freeman, living under its firotection ; as it i* 
 cq^uaily the diUy of every freeman to bear true alle- 
 giance
 
 3^20 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 giaiice to the king, and be obedient to the existing 
 laws of the iavid. 
 
 IL Tbat this corporation, regarding the blessings 
 which the subjects of the British empire enjoy, un- 
 der the present mild and happy government, as in- 
 estimable, will strengthen its exertions by every pos- 
 sible means, to suppress all unlawful and seditious 
 assemblies within this city, and to bring to justice 
 every disturber of the public tranquillity. 
 
 III. That this corporation, in the most solemn 
 manner, doth her*.'by call upon every good citizen 
 to co-operate with them to the same salutary end ; 
 to discourage every attempt which may be mode to 
 excite the tears of the metropolis, by weak and de- 
 signing men ; and each, in his own person, to be 
 ready, at all times, to accompany and assist the ma- 
 gistrates of the city, in the suppression of every 
 tumult. 
 
 IV. That this court doth remind their constituents, 
 the freemen of London, of the oath by which they 
 are bound, to this purpose ; viz. the first, second, and 
 last clauses of a freeman's oath. ^' Ye shall swear 
 that 3^e shall be good and true to our sovereign lord 
 King George. Obeysant and obedient ye shall 
 be to the mayor and ministers of the city. Ye shall 
 ?\lso keep the king's peace in your own person. Ye 
 shall know no gatherings, conventicles, nor conspi- 
 racies, made againt the king's peace, but ye shall 
 warn the mayor thereof, or let it to your power." 
 
 V. That it be recommended to the aldermen and 
 common-council, in their respective wards, to consi- 
 der of the best means of preserving tranquillity, and 
 of securing obedience to the laws. 
 
 VI. That these resolutions be printed in all the 
 public papers of the united kingdoms, signed by the 
 town-clcrk. 
 
 vn.
 
 LONDON A:S"D Its ENVIRdNS. 321 
 
 VII. Thnt the thanks of this court be given to the 
 Right Hon. Sir James Sanderson, lord mayor of this 
 city, for the wise and timely caution taken by him 
 to prevent any breach of the peace, by the assem- 
 bling of persons, under the pretence of publicly de- 
 bating on a political subject ; and that this court will, 
 to the utmost of their power, give every assistance 
 to his lordship, to carry into effect his majesty's most 
 gracious proclamation. 
 
 The last resolution alluded tO a transaction which 
 had occurred a short time before. Among other 
 modes resorted to by the inciters of discontent, was, 
 that of propagating their insidious doctrines through 
 the medium of debating societies, political lectures^ 
 &c. where, though the nominal subject related to 
 some event in the ancient history of Greece or Rome^ 
 or was drawn from those which had recently hap- 
 |)ened in France, such allusions were made, n^ were 
 evidently designed to bring the government of this 
 country into disrepute. Such a meeting was pub- 
 licly announced, to be held at the King's-arms 
 tavern, in Cornhill, on the evening of the 27th; 
 but, when the orators and their auditory assem- 
 bled, they found the place in the occupation of 
 the peace-officers, who denied them admission* 
 This occasioned some shght tumult, and it was 
 found necessary for the lord mayor to attend, with 
 the city marshals, for the purpose of dispersing the 
 crowd. 
 
 The apprehensions (J some sudden insurrectionj 
 was, at this time, so strong, that government thought 
 it expedient to make great preparations for the de- 
 fence of the Tower, by opening entrenchments, 
 raising parapets, and mounting cannon on the walls. 
 All the breaches were filled up; and, on the west 
 side of the Tower, some hundreds of old rum- 
 puncheons, filled with earth, were placed as a bar- 
 
 voL. II T t ricade.
 
 322 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ricade. At the same time the Bank was double guarded j 
 the villages, in the environs of the capital, were filled 
 with soldiery, sufficient to protect the lives and pro- 
 perty of the inhabitants of the metropolis, in case 
 of a sudden alarm; and the court of lieutenancy of 
 the city ordered a company of the London militia 
 to be constantly on duty at the Artillery-house, 
 night and day, to be ready at a moment's notice, in 
 case of a disturbance. 
 
 In this crisis, the merchants, bankers, traders, and 
 other inhabitants of London, thought it necessary to 
 come forward, with a public declaration of their firm 
 attachment to the constitution, and of their resolu- 
 tion to support the same. A meeting, for this pur- 
 pose, was accordingly held, on the 5th. of December, 
 at Merchant Taylors'-hall, which was attended by 
 upwards of three thousand persons ; when, the de- 
 claration being twice read, and unanimously agreed 
 to, was left at the hall, for receiving the signatures 
 of all the above descriptions, who should approve of 
 it. In a few days, this well-timed and judicious 
 declaration was signed by upwards of eight thousand 
 persons of the first consequence in the metropolis. 
 
 Enough has been said to show the general dispo- 
 sition of the people of London, in support of a go- 
 vernment by king, lords, and commons, at this pe- 
 riod of apprehension and dismay; it will, therefore, 
 be unnecessary to particulaiize the immense number 
 of similar declarations made by bodies of every de- 
 scription. In fact, it would require the enumeration 
 of nearly every ward, parish, company, and society, 
 in the metropolis. 
 
 CHA1\ XLVIIL
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRON??. 353 
 
 CHAP. XLVlIf. 
 
 Preparations for IVar. — Bounty to Seamen. — Address. — - 
 Tumult in Oxford-street.- — Suhscriptioyi for the Troops, 
 — Fire at Hawlcy's IVharf. — Calaynitous Accident at the 
 Haymarket Theatre. — Propositions for the Defence of the 
 City. — The Colours taken at Martinico, deposited in Sf. 
 Paul's Cathedral. — Illuminations for Lord Howe's Vic- 
 tory. — Address of Congratulation. — Subscription for the 
 wounded Seamen, and for the Widows and Children of 
 the killed. — Dreadful Conflagration at Ratcliffe. — Vio~ 
 
 lent Storm.- — Recruiting-houses destroyed. Seditious 
 
 Practices. — State Trials. — A Vessel driven through Lon- 
 
 don-hridge. Petition to the House of Commons for 
 
 Peace. Address to the King. Actjor improving the 
 
 Entrances to the City. High Price of Provisions. 
 
 Riots.' — Covent-garden Church burnt. Outrage offered 
 
 to the King. — Address of CongratulatiMi. — Trial of one 
 of the Ruffians. — Address of the City of London, on the 
 Prospect of Pea-ce. — Loyalty Loan. — Difference of Opi- 
 nion, between the Livery and Commo7i~ council, on ilie 
 Subsidy to the Emperor ef Germany. 
 
 The political intercourse between Great Britain 
 and France, uhicli had been suspended tVom riie 
 time of Louis's imprisonuient by his subjects, in Au- 
 gust of the preceding year, was so nearly broken off 
 at theconnuencement of 1793, that both sides made 
 preparations for war. The city of London, true to 
 the professions thoy had made of supporting the king: 
 and government, took an early opportunity of prov- 
 ing their sincerity by unanimously voting, in a court 
 of common-council, held on the 10th of January, a 
 bounty of forty siiillings to every able seaman, and 
 twenty shilhngs to every landsman who should en- 
 ter at Guildhall for the service of his majesty's navy, 
 *' as au huml'k testimony of tht-ir zeal and allbc- 
 
 lion
 
 324 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 tion for his majesty's most sacred person and govern^- 
 ment, and of their unshaken attachment to tlie glo- 
 rious constitution of these kingdoms." And, on 
 the 12th of February, a court of common-council was 
 held, called expressly for the purpose of taking into 
 consideration the propriety of addxessing his majesty 
 on the state of affairs, which was very numerously 
 attended: when amotion was made and seconded, 
 " that an humble and du-tiful address be presented 
 to his majesty, thanking him for the paternal care 
 taken by his majesty for the preservation of the pub- 
 lic tranquillity, expressive of abhorrence of the late 
 atrocious acts at Paris, and assuring his majesty of the 
 readiness and determination of his faithful citizens to 
 support the honour of his crown, and the weltkre of his 
 kingdoms, against the ambitious designs of France, 
 in their declaration of war against tbis country. 
 This motion being unanimously agreed to, a com- 
 mittee was appointed to draw up the address, which 
 was presented by the whole court on the l6th, and 
 most graciously received. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 23d of June, a dread- 
 ful affray took place in the neighbourhood of Ox- 
 ford-street. A large party of labouring people had 
 been collected at a house in Oxford-buildings, on 
 occasion of a child's death : a dispute arose among 
 ihem, which terminated in a general battle ; the 
 victors in which, not satisfied with their triumph 
 over their opponents, began to commit outrages in 
 the neighbourhood. The v^atchmen were beaten, 
 and the captain of the patrole so severely v/ounded, 
 that he died shortl}'^ after. A party of the guards ar- 
 rived about three o'clock in the morning, and were 
 immediately assailed with brick-bats; they, however, 
 succeeded in securing fifty-four of the rioters, after 
 which tranquillity was restored ; but it was found 
 necessary to keep the soldiers on guard at the watch- 
 houses
 
 LOJTDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 325 
 
 houses in the neighbourhood all the following day 
 and night. 
 
 The loyalty, patriotism, and humanity of the citi- 
 zens, were strikingly exemplified by a vote of com- 
 mon-council, passed on the 21st of November, that 
 the sum of five hundred pounds be subscribed by 
 this court, towards supplying the British troops, now 
 serving on the continent, wiih comfortable cloathing 
 and other necessaries, during the winter; and that 
 ward committees be forthwith appointed to receive 
 the further subscriptions of other corporate bodies, 
 or of individuals, and to carry the same into the most 
 immediate effect. 
 
 The w hole of the w^arehouses at Hawley's wharf, 
 near the Hermitage, with several adjoining houses, 
 three vessels, and some small craft in the dock, and 
 a great quantity of sugars, rum, and hemp, were en- 
 tirely destroyed by fire on the 9d of December. 
 During this conflagration a new and astonishing phe- 
 nomenon struck every beholder with awe. The 
 united mass of near one thousand four hundred casks 
 of sugar, melted by the irresistible heat, burst into 
 a flame, and flowed through the streets in one bright 
 stream of liquid fire. 
 
 A most melancholy accident happened at the en- 
 trance of the pit door of the little theatre in the Hay- 
 market, on the 3d of February, 1794, occasioned by 
 the extreme pressure of a crowd assembled to gain 
 admittance to the house. On opening the door, some 
 of those most ti>rward were thrown down by the 
 press behind, and others fell over them, while the 
 same impulse continued to force those who followed 
 forward, by which means the unfortunate suf- 
 ferers were literally trampled to death. Fifteen 
 were taken up lifeless, and upwards of twenty 
 others suffered material injury by i^rnises and broken 
 iimbs-. 
 
 An
 
 326 HISTORY AND SURVEY Or 
 
 An especial court of common-council was held, 
 on the 17th of April, to consider " if any, and what, 
 steps are necessary for the defence of this city at 
 the present moment, and in case of any emer- 
 gency." 
 
 No opposition Avas made to the first motion, 
 " That it is the indispensable duty of this corpora- 
 tion, at all times, and more especially at this import- 
 ant crisis, to manifest, in the strongest manner, their 
 zeal for the constitution, by the most vigorous exer- 
 tions in defence of their king and country." But the 
 second proposition, which was for raising a regiment 
 of infantry, and a troop of cavalry, occasioned a differ- 
 ence of opinion ; it being contended, that the mihtia 
 of the city was its constitutional defence ; and an 
 amendment to that effect was negatived by a majo- 
 rity of only five. A conversation, rather than a de- 
 bate, then took place, on the original question, which 
 concluded by a general consent to adjourn it, and to 
 appoint a committee of all the aldermen, and a com- 
 moner out of each ward, to take the business into 
 consideration, and to suggest a plan that might meet 
 with the unanimous wishes of the corporation. 
 
 The report of this committee was received on the 
 24th. It recommended the raising a regiment of in- 
 fantry, but, at the same time, declared it to be their 
 unanimous opinion, that the militia of the city are its 
 proper military defence, and that the court of lieute- 
 nancy be requested to put them upon a plan essential 
 for its internal safety. On the question for agreeing 
 with the report, it was moved to add the words, " so 
 far as relates to the London mihtia ; and to re-com- 
 mit tlie consideration of such additional aid, as may 
 seem meet to be adopted for the defence- of the 
 city, until the determination of the commissioners 
 of lieutenancy shall have been ascertained." This 
 amendment was carried in the alfirmative. 
 
 'i The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 327 
 
 The king having been pleased to order the colours 
 taken at Martinico to be deposited in St. Paul's 
 cathedral, they were carried there in grand military 
 procession by twenty-nine Serjeants, escorted by de- 
 tachments from the horse and foot guards, on the 17th 
 of May. 
 
 The news of the splendid victory obtained by 
 Lord Howe on the 1st of June, reached London on 
 the evening of the 13th ; and was first publicly 
 announced to the audiences at the Opera House and 
 theatres. The joyful intelligence was received with 
 rapturous burets of applause, and " Kule Britannia" 
 and " God save the King" were sung, and repeatedly 
 encored. On the three following nights the cities 
 of London and Westminster were illuminated with 
 a splendour, only exceeded on occasion of the king's 
 recovery. 
 
 A court of common-council was immediately sum- 
 moned, aiid met on the 17th, when an address of 
 congratulation to his majesty was agreed to: after 
 which the court came to resolutions, " That the 
 thanks of the court be given to Earl Howe, and the 
 officers and sailors in the fleet under his command, 
 for the important victory over the French fleet ; and 
 that the freedom of the city be presented to him in a 
 gold box, of one hundred guineas value ; and also, 
 that the sum. of five hundred pounds be paid into 
 the hands of Mr. Taylor, master of Lloyd's Coffee- 
 house, as the subscription of the city for the relief of 
 the wounded petty officers, soldiers, and seamen, and 
 the widows and children of those who fell in the 
 late action with the French fleet.'' 
 
 On the 23d of Julv, about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, a fire broke out at RatclifFe, which con- 
 sumed more houses than any one conflagration since 
 the great fire of London. It was occasioned by the 
 boiling-over of a pitch-kettle at a barge builder's, 
 
 from
 
 ^8 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 from whose warehouses it communicated to a 
 barge laden with salt-petre, and. from that to the 
 salt-petre warehouses belonging to the East India 
 Company. The scene now became dreadful; the 
 wind blowing strong from the south directed the 
 flames towards Ratcliffe High-street, which being 
 narroWj took fire on both sides, which prevented 
 the engines from being of any service. From hence 
 it extended towards Stepney, until, having reached 
 an open space of ground, it stopped for want of 
 materials to consume. About ten o'clock at night 
 its devastations on the side next Limehouse were 
 checked by the great exertions of the firemen and 
 inhabitants. It was a very remarkable circumstance 
 that an extensive building, the dwelling-house of a 
 Mr. Bere, standing almost in the center of the con- 
 flagration, remained uninjured, not even a single 
 pane of glass being cracked. 
 
 On making a survey of the extent of the damage, 
 it appeared that out of one thousand two hundred 
 houses, of which the hamlet consisted, not more 
 than five hundred and seventy were preserved from 
 the destructive element. About four hundred fami- 
 lies were deprived of their all, and thrown on the 
 public benevolence. In this distress, government 
 sent one hundred and fifty tents from the Tower, 
 which were pitched in an enclosed piece of ground^ 
 adjoining to Stepney church-yard, for the reception 
 of the sufferers, and provisions were distributed 
 among them from the vestry. A subscription was 
 also immediately opened at Lloyd's Coffee-house 
 for their relief; and some of the gentlemen in the 
 neighbourhood attended at the avenues leading to 
 the desolated scene, for the purpose of soliciting the 
 benevolence of th(Be whom curiosity might lead to 
 witness the distresses of their fellow-creatures ; and 
 it may be recorded among the instances of the uni- 
 versal
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 32^ 
 
 versal chanty peculiar to this nation, that the col- 
 lection from the visitants, on the Sunday following, 
 amounted to upwards, of eight hundred pounds ; 
 four hundred and t\}:enty-six pounds of which was 
 in copper, and thirty-eight pounds fourteen shillings 
 in farthings. The total sum collected was upwards 
 of sixteen thousand pounds. 
 
 The oldest inhabitant of London never witnessed 
 so dreadful a storm as that which took place on the 
 7th of August, about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 The rain fell in torrents, and was accompanied by 
 long and tremendous peals of thunder, and vivid 
 flashes of lightning. One of these was seen to come 
 down, and strike the street on the east side of Tem- 
 ple-bar, producing an eftect similar to an explosion- 
 of gunpowder; every particle of straw, mud, and 
 even the water, being completely swept from the 
 pavement, while the houses on both sides of the 
 street were violently shaken, and the doors of some 
 of them forced open : fortunately, the rain had dri- 
 ven every person from the street. Among other da- 
 mage done by the violence of this storm, the- centre 
 beam of the roof of Lloyd's coffee-house was split, 
 and great part of the ceiling fell into the coffee-room, 
 followed by a torrent of rain, wliich in a few minutes 
 covered the whole floor. Many balls of fire fell in 
 the streets, particularly at the west end of the town ; 
 by which several people were thrown down, but only 
 one person was killed. 
 
 On the l5th, a young man, who had been in- 
 veigled into a recruiting office, in Johnson's-court. 
 Charing-cross, where, in consequence of his endea- 
 vouring to escape, he had been detained by force, 
 threw himself from the window of a garret in which 
 he was confined, and was killed upon the spot. 
 This cil'cumstance very naturally attracted the atten- 
 tion of passengers, and a crowd was speedily col- 
 
 voL. II. u n lected,
 
 330 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 lected, who, fired by indignation, demolished the 
 house, and were not dispersed, by a party of 
 guards, without great difficulty. On the following 
 day (Saturday), and Monday, the populace seemed 
 determined not to spare any of the recruiting houses 
 in the neighbourhood, but were kept under some 
 restraint by large bodies of the horse and foot guards; 
 though even these could not prevent them from 
 breaking the windows of them. On Tuesday, a 
 house in Whitcomb-street was attacked, and only 
 saved by the timely intervention of the military. On 
 Wednesday, the recruiting houses in the city were 
 attacked, and more or less damage done to all of 
 them, notwithstanding the exertions of the lord 
 mayor, assisted by the military, frr, as soon as the 
 mob found themselves interrupted in one place, 
 they went to another. At length, by the firm, yet 
 temperate, behaviour of the magistrates and military, 
 on Thursday, these disturbances were quelled with- 
 out bloodshed; but it was judged necessary to keep 
 the soldiers upon duty during the following day. 
 
 Some circumstances, which occurred in the course 
 of this 3;ear, have been purposely omitted in the or- 
 der of chronology, that they might be brought into 
 one point of view, since they ail relate to the state 
 trials, which took place in October and November. 
 
 The existence of the Corresponding Societ}^ has 
 been already mentioned ; by the unwearied exertions 
 of its leaders, it had now assumed a formidable 
 aspect, being composed of an immense number of 
 the middling and lower orders of the community, 
 who, not only in their meetings, but also in common 
 conversation, were equally free in their censures of 
 the war, and in their wishes for the success of the 
 Frencli. The avoAved object of their association 
 was, a reform in parliament; l)ut they were charged 
 with views of another kind; witli a design of de- 
 stroying
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 331 
 
 stroying the constitution, and introducing a republi- 
 can form of government: and, that this accusation, 
 so far as it regarded some of the leading members, 
 was well founded, cannot be denied, though the in- 
 discriminate application of it to all was certainly 
 wrong. 
 
 To whatever extent the anti-monarchical doctrine 
 might have prevailed among them, the systematic 
 organization of all their proceedings, and the regular 
 correspondence kept up between every part of the 
 united kingdoms, could not fail to excite the jealousy 
 of government, even had their language been more 
 guarded ; and hence a watchful eye was kept upon 
 all th-^ir actions. They did not, however, seem to 
 entertain any dread of ministerial power; they con- 
 tinued to hold their meetings, and declare their sen- 
 timents, with the most unhmited freedom, though 
 these were, sometimes, of such a nature as laid them 
 open to the charge of sedition. But the circum^ 
 stance, which rendered them principally pbiioj^ious, 
 was the intimate connection they held with the con- 
 vention that assembled in Scotland, some of the 
 principal leaders of which had been tried, and found 
 guilty of high-treason. 
 
 It was evident, from the papers found in the pos- 
 session of some of the Scotch delegates, that an in- 
 tention existed of calling a similar meeting in Eng- 
 land ; and subsequent discoveries in London con- 
 firmed the fact, in this state of things, therefore, it 
 was determined by government, to apprehend the 
 leading members of the Corresponding Society; and, 
 accordingly, on the 12th of ^lay, Thomas Hardy, 
 their secretary, was taken into custody, and, on the 
 same day, a message from the king was delivered to 
 the House of Commons, informing them that sedi- 
 tious practices liad been carried on by societies in 
 
 London,
 
 33^ HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 London, in correspondence with other societies, to 
 the intent of assembhng a convention, to represent 
 the people of England, in defiance and opposition to 
 parliament, and on principles subversive of the laws 
 and constitution of the kingdom. 
 
 The parliamentary proceedings, on this communi- 
 cation, are not within the scope of this history; the 
 reader, who wishes for information on that head, is, 
 therefore, referred to the newspapers and periodical 
 publications of the time. 
 
 The apprehension of Hardy was followed by that 
 of Daniel Adams, secretary to the Society for Con- 
 stitutional Information, the celebrated John Home 
 Tooke, the Rev. Mr. Joyce, domestic tutor to Lord 
 Mahon, John Thelwall, and several others; all of 
 whom, after being examined before the privy-coun- 
 cil, were committed to the Tower. 
 
 On the 25th of October, they were brought to trial, 
 before a special commission, at the Old-bailey ; a 
 bill of indictment having been previously found by 
 the grand jury. The first person tried, was Thomas 
 Hardy. His trial lasted eight days ; but the evidence 
 not being sufficient to substantiate the commission 
 of such an overt act, as is required to constitute the 
 crime of bigh-treason, he was acquitted. 
 
 Mr. Tooke was next tried, and acquitted for the 
 same reason ; as was Mr. Thelwall, whose trial fol- 
 lowed ; after which the other prisoners were brought 
 to the bar, pro forma; but no evide'u^e was adduced 
 against them. 
 
 Thus finished these important trials, which, what- 
 ever opinion may be formed of the views andr^de^ 
 signs of the objects of them, will remain a lasting 
 memento of the valuable privilege of the trial by 
 jury ; nor will it be any impeachment of the up- 
 rightness of the jurors in these cases, to suppose, that, 
 
 if
 
 LONDON AN» ITS ENVIRONS. 333 
 
 if the indictments had been preferred for offences of 
 an inferior nature, their verdicts would have been' 
 different. 
 
 On the 19th of January, 1795, two vessels, cut 
 from their moorings by the large bodies of ice drift- 
 ing in the river, were driven with such force against 
 London-bridge liv the tide, that one of them, a large 
 West Indiaman, cariied away all her masts against 
 the ballustrades of the bridge, knocked down two 
 of the lamps, bending the irons in an astonishing 
 manner, and, with a crash that shook the whole 
 fabrick, passed through the centre arch with incredi- 
 ble velocity, and drifted up the river to Blackfriar's- 
 bridge, which she also went through, and continued 
 her course till she came above Somerset House, 
 when she drove on shore and was secured. The 
 crew, perceiving their danger, took to the boat a few 
 minutes before she reached the bridge. The other 
 vessel struck against the starlings of one of the 
 smaller arches and did not go through. 
 
 About this period the desire of the citizens, to be 
 restored to the blessings of peace, was very universal, 
 though the means by which it was to be obtained 
 seem to have produced a diversity of sentiment be- 
 tween the difterent classes of them. On the 26th of 
 January, a petition was presented to the IJouse of 
 Commons from the lord mayor, aldermen, and livery- 
 men of London, praying, that the Jlouse, disclaim- 
 ing all right of interfering in the internal concerns of 
 France, will be pleased to take such measures as they 
 in their wisdom shall think proper, for the purpose 
 of promoting a speedy peace between Great IBritairr 
 and the power with whom we are at war. 
 
 This was followed, on the 'iSth, by an address'to 
 his majesty from the lord mayor, aldermen, and 
 common-council, in which ihey express their wishes 
 that his majesty will employ every means which 
 
 3 shall
 
 334 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 shall be most proper to defend this country against 
 its foreign and domestic enemies, and to restore to 
 us the blessings of peace, whenever it can be done 
 consistently with the honour and dignity of the 
 state ; and with that permanent security which is, 
 above all things, important to the maintenance of 
 our trade, commerce, and pros})erity. 
 
 In the course of this session of parliament, an act 
 
 was passed for widening the passage into the city 
 
 through the Strand, by the removal of Butcher-row ; 
 
 and also for making a new communication from the 
 
 -top of Snow-hill to Holborn-bridge. 
 
 The price of bread, and the probability of its 
 farther advance was, at this time, a subject of serious 
 concern. It had early engaged the attention of 
 government and of corporate bodies; and a com- 
 mittee had been appointed by the common-council 
 of London to consider the best means of reducing 
 the high price of provisions. 
 
 On the 7th of July, the lord mayor reported to the 
 court of aldermen the result of a conference with 
 his majesty's privy council, on this subject ; after 
 which, he made a similar communication to the 
 court of common-council, the purport of which was 
 that it be recommended to the public to reduce the 
 consumption of every article made of the finest sort 
 of flour, as much as possible, and to encourage the 
 use of such articles of food as may be a substitute 
 for wheat. These suijoestions beins: taken into con- 
 sideration, as well as the distresses of the poor, reso- 
 lutions were passed, requesting subscriptions in the 
 different w^ards for relieving the industrious poor, 
 which the court began by subscribing one thousand 
 pounds to be divided among the wards according to 
 their respective wants. 
 
 Some disgraceful tumults were incited on the 12th 
 of July, by a fifer of the name of Lewis, who, being 
 
 refused
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 335 
 
 refused liquor by a publican at Charing-cross, and 
 turned out of the house for misconduct, collected an 
 immense mob by a fictitious story of his companion 
 having been kidnapped, and then confined in the 
 cellar, from which he had himself escaped with 
 great difficulty. The indignant crowd, tbrgetting 
 the respect due to the laws, and yielding to the im- 
 pulse of the moment, broke open the door, and de- 
 stroyed every article of furniture the house con- 
 tained, before the military, who were sent for, could 
 disperse them. 
 
 On the two following days, the mob again assem- 
 ])led, both at Charing-cross, and. in St. George's- 
 fields; where they attacked the recruiting houses, 
 some of which they gutted, and made bonfires of 
 the furniture; nor could their riotous proceedings 
 be checked, until the horse-guards were obliged to 
 gallop among them, b}' which numbers were tram- 
 pled under the horses' feet, and severely wounded. 
 Lewis, the instigator of this disturbance, was appre- 
 hended and committed to prison. 
 
 On the 17th of September, the parish church of 
 St. Paul, Coven t-garden, was destroyed by fire, said 
 to have been occasioned by the negligence of the 
 pluml)ers, who were repairing the lead-work of the 
 cupola. The conmiunion-plate was saved, but every 
 other article belonging to the edifice, including the 
 valuable and celebrated organ, was devoured by the 
 flames. 
 
 The minds of the lower class of people had been 
 industriously poisoned, by the most inflammatory 
 liaranp^ues and resolutions, at dilferent meetings of 
 the Corresponding Society, one of which was held, 
 on tile ^()th of October, in the fields, near Copen- 
 hagen-house, Islington, to vote an address to the 
 nation, on its critical and calamitous state ; a remon- 
 strance to his majesty, for the neglect and contempt 
 
 shown
 
 3J6 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 shown to a former address; and a string of resolu- 
 tions, applicable to the alarming- crisis, all of which 
 were adopted by the acclamation of the multitude. 
 The event which followed, showed the state of irri- 
 tation these proceedings had created. 
 
 On the '29th, the king went in state to open the 
 parliament, on which occasion a crowd assembled, 
 ten times as numerous as that usually produced ; 
 for they amounted to at least two hundred thou- 
 sand. "^Frorn the time that his majesty left the pa- 
 lace, he was hissed and hooted at by a gang of ruf- 
 fians, but no violence was offered until he arrived 
 opposite the Ordnance Oihce, when a bullet from an 
 an- gun perforated the glass pannel of the coach, but 
 most happily failed to accomplish the diabolical pur- 
 pose it was evidently intended to effect. 
 
 In Palace yard, a stone was thrown which shatter- 
 ed one of the side windows; and on his majesty's re- 
 turn, followed by the same gang, another stone was 
 thrown opposite to Spring-garden terrace, which 
 struck the woodrwork of the coach, without doing 
 any injury to it. 
 
 After his majesty had alighted at St. James's, the 
 mob attacked the state coach with stones and 
 bludgeons, by which every particle of glass belonging 
 to it was demolished, and considerable injury done 
 to the carved-work and pannels. 
 
 In a short time, the king went in his private coach 
 from St. James's to Buckinghani-liouse, and, in the 
 park, was attacked by sixteen or seventeen ruffians, 
 w^ho broke outtVom the mass of the crowd; but, for- 
 tunately, the horse-guards arrived to his rescue, just 
 as one of them was attempting to force open the 
 door. 
 
 This daring outrage excited the horror and detest- 
 ation of all ranks of people, and was followed by 
 loyal and affectionate ad<li>;ases of congralulation 
 
 from
 
 LOJ^DON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 337 
 
 from every part of the kingdom: that from the city 
 of London was presented on the 6th of November,' 
 and most graciously received^ 
 
 The trial of Kyd Wake, one of the gang who fol- 
 lowed his majesty's coach on the first day of the 
 session, hissing and otherwise insulting him, came 
 on in the court of King's-bench, on the 20th of 
 February, 1796, when the facts charged in the in- 
 dictment being fully proved, the jury, without 
 hesitation, returned a verdict of guilty. The judg-^ 
 ment of the court, which was pronounced on the first 
 day of the next term, was, to be imprisoned and 
 kept to hard labour in Gloucester gaol for five years, 
 and to stand on the pillory, in one of the public 
 streets of Gloucester, on a market day, within the 
 first three months of his imprisonment, at the ex- 
 piration of which, he- was to find security for one 
 thousand pounds, for his good behaviour for ten 
 years. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 28th 
 of April, the sum of two hundred pounds was voted 
 to that excellent institution, the Humane Society. 
 
 On the meeting of the new parliament, the king 
 having informed them, that the steps he had pur- 
 sued had opened the way to an immediate and di- 
 rect negotiation for peace, the common-council of 
 London thought themselves called upon to address 
 his majesty, to thank him for this communication, 
 and to assure him that, in the event of iiis bcinsf 
 unable to obtain a just, honourable, and solid peace, 
 it was the united determination of the citizeiiB of 
 London to support and assist him with increased 
 vigour and activity. In his answer, his majesty 
 thanked them for these fresh assurances of attach- 
 ment, and promised an unremitting attention to the 
 welfare and happiness of the city of London. 
 
 VOL. II. XX Among
 
 33S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Among the measures resorted to by the minister, 
 for raising the supplies, was that of having recourse 
 to a vokmlary loan of eighteen millions. This plau 
 was communicated to the lord mayor, on the 1st of 
 December, with a request that he would make it 
 known to the corporation and the public companies; 
 but so eager were the monied men to embark in it, 
 that the common-council, which was summoned to 
 meet on the 5th, for the purpose of giving their sup- 
 port to the measure, could only be admitted to sub- 
 scribe one hundred thousand pounds by an especial 
 favour; and many of the public companies were un- 
 able to get their subscriptions entered. 
 
 During the recess of parliament, administration 
 had found it necessary to advance a sum of money 
 to the Emperor of Germany, for the common pur- 
 poses of the war; which, not having been voted 
 previous to the dissolution, v*as, consequently, with- 
 out the sanction of parliament. 
 
 On this subject, the sentiments of the livery and 
 the common-council of London, were again at vari- 
 ance. The former resolved, in a common-hall, held 
 on the Uth, to instruct their representatives to move 
 or support a motion for censuring ministers, for hav- 
 ing taken upon themselves to send money to the 
 Emperor of Germany, without the consent of parlia- 
 ment; and the latter, in a court of common-council, 
 held on the 20th, agreed to a motion, approving of 
 the pecuniary aid to the Emperor of Germany, which 
 had enabled'him to withstand the despefate attempts 
 of the French ; given a decided and favourable turn 
 to the war; and opened a fairer prospect of obtaining 
 an honourable peace to Great Britain and her allies. 
 
 CHAP. XLIX.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 339 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 Stoppage of the Cash-pay jytents at the Bank. — Resolutions 
 of the Merchants and Bankers thereon. — Refusal of hk 
 Majesty to receive a Petition from the Livery on the 
 Throne. Violent Proceedings of that Body, — Counter- 
 declaration of a great Number of Liverymen. — The Earl 
 of Lauderdale becomes a Candidate for the Office of She- 
 riff. General Thanksgiving. — Royal Procession to St. 
 
 Paul's. Meeting of Merchants, Jor the Purpose of a 
 
 voluntary Contribution in Aid of the Exigencies of the 
 State. — Subscription of the Corporation. — Armed Asso- 
 ciations in (he different IVards. — Rupture in the Bank of 
 the New Rivtr. — A French Admiral's Siuord presented 
 
 to the City by Lord Nelson. Proceedings of the Court 
 
 of Common-council. — Offer of Mrs. Darner to execute a 
 
 Bust of Lord Nelson, for the City. Grand Review of 
 
 the Volunteers. Subsequent Inspection of them. — Fire 
 
 in the King' s-bench Prison.— High Price of Provisions, 
 — Petition to the House of Commons for Peace. — A Pis- 
 tol fired at the King, in Drury-lane Theatre. Second 
 
 Review of the Volunteers — Riot in the Home of Correc- 
 tion in Cold-bath-fields. And at the Corn-viarket. — - 
 
 Resolution of a Common-hall, on his Majesty's Refusal 
 
 to receive their Petition on the Throne. Address from 
 
 the Common -council. — ^Royal Proclamation, recommend- 
 ing Economy in the Consumption of Grain, 
 
 Various causes having produced an unprece- 
 dented demand for specie, an order of council was 
 issued, on the 'JGth of February, 1797, statins: it to 
 hii indispensably necessary, for the public service, 
 that the dircx-tors of the Hank of England should for- 
 bear issuing any cash in payment, until the sense of 
 parliament could be taken upon the subject, and the 
 proper measures adopted thereon, for maintaining the 
 means of circulation, and supporting pubhc and com- 
 mercial credit, Ai\i\.) on the following day, a notice 
 
 was
 
 3:10 HISTORY AKD SURVEY OF 
 
 was given from the Bank, that the directors meant 
 to continue their usual discounts, paying the amount 
 in Bank-notes, and that the dividend warrants would 
 be paid in the same manner. 
 
 • . The consequences of this stoppage in the cash- 
 payments of the Bank, would, very probably, have 
 been productive of serious inconveniences in trade, 
 had not the bankers and most opulent merchants of 
 London, sanctioned it by their approbation of the 
 measure. To give publicity to their approval, a 
 meeting of persons of this description was held at 
 the Mansion-house ; at which a declaration of their 
 readiness to receive Bank-notes, in payment of sums 
 due to them, and to endeavour to make payments in 
 the same manner, was -signed, and afterwards pub- 
 lished in the newspapers. 
 
 On investigating the causes of this extraordinary 
 event, in parliament, the prosperous state of the 
 Bank was made so apparent, that public confidence 
 returned with the knowledge of its stability; and the 
 small notes, which the directors were empowered to 
 issue, are now received with as much facility as their 
 larger ones used to be. 
 
 The right of the livery of London to have their peti- 
 tions and addresses presented to the king onthe throne^ 
 became again the subject of discussion in the course 
 of this year. A conunon-hall v.'as held, on the 2:3d 
 of March, in which a petition to his majesty, praying 
 him to dismiss his ministers, as the first step towards 
 obtaining a speedy, honourable, and permanent 
 peace, was voted; and the sheriffs, with the city re- 
 presentatives were requested to present it to his ma- 
 jesty on the throne. On the 1st of April, the lord 
 mayor laid before the livery a letter he had received 
 from the sheriffs, acquainting him that his majesty 
 would receive the petition on the next, or any other 
 levee day ; but, '43 it did jiot come from the city, in 
 
 itii
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. Sil 
 
 its corporate capacity, he would not receive it on tiie 
 throne. On this, the hvery directed the sherifts, at- 
 tended by the remembrancer, to demand a personal 
 audience of his majesty, to know when he would be, 
 pleased to receive their address and petition on ther 
 throne. They accordingly obtained an audience, and 
 delivered the message directed by the livery; to which 
 they received an answer from his majesty, refusing- 
 to receive it upon the throne, for the reasons already 
 given, and repeating his readiness to receive it at the 
 levee, provided the number of persons presenting it 
 did not exceed the usual number of ten. 
 
 This report being read at another common-hall, 
 held on the I'ith, two resolutions were passed^ de- 
 claratory of the rights of the livery; and another was 
 offered, which, not being specified in the summons, 
 the lord mayor declared he could not put, consist- 
 ently with his duty to the livery, who might thus 
 be surprised into measures, for which they were not 
 previously prepared. After much altercation, the 
 lord mayor ordered the insifjnia of olhce to be taken 
 up; and the hall was, of course, dissolved. 
 
 A fourth common-hall was held on this sul^ject, 
 on the 1 1th of May, when several strong resolutions 
 were entered into, relative to the rights of the livery, 
 and the misconduct of his majesty's ministers, for 
 the dismissal of whom their representatives were di- 
 rected to move an address in parliament: after which, 
 a vote of censme \\as passed against the lord uiayor, 
 for dissolving the last common-hall, and t:onvening 
 this for purposes short of those specified in the re- 
 quisition. 
 
 A counter-declaration was, however, signed, by 
 two thousand and ninety-six liverymen, expressive 
 of their dissent and disaj>probation of the violent 
 proceedings at these comaion -halls ; and of their 
 ftvffsion and abhorrence of all proceedings, tending 
 
 to
 
 04r2 HISTORY AND SURVEY Of 
 
 to excite discord, or to sanction measures of turbu- 
 lence. And a meeting ^tf the livery was held, at the 
 London-tavern, on the 26th of May, in which it was 
 resolved, that the above-mentioned declaration "is a 
 noble vindication of the character of a great and re- 
 spectable body of men, who have been among the 
 foremc^t in defence of true constitutional freedom:" 
 and the resolution concluded by approving the con- 
 duct of the lord ma^'or, the censure against whom 
 was unmerited, and highly indecent. 
 
 The election for sheriils, on Midsummer-day, was 
 marked by the singular circumstance of a peer ofter- 
 ing himself a candidate ior that office. From what 
 has been said above, it will be seen that party poli- 
 tics ran high in the city : this election was consi- 
 dered, by both sides, as a criterion to judge of their 
 comparative strength. The popular party were 
 strengthened by the addition of the Earl of Lau- 
 derdale, who had purchased his freedom a few days 
 before, and had become a member of the needle- 
 makers' company, in order to qualify him to become a 
 candidate. Mr. S. F. Waddington joined his lordship, 
 and their pretensions were supported by those who 
 had led the resolutions of censure against admi- 
 nistration, and against the lord mayor, at the late 
 common-halls; but the show of hands gave them so 
 little hopes of success, that no poll was demanded. 
 After the usual business of the day was disposed of, 
 a resolution was put, and carried, " That the thanks 
 of this meeting be given to the Right Hon. the I^rd 
 Mayor, for the faithful and zealous discharge of his 
 public duties, for his constant impartiality, and for 
 his attention to the livery on every occasion." 
 
 The 19th of December was appointed to be held 
 as a day of thanksgiving, for the three great naval 
 victories atchieved by Lords IJovve, St. Vincent, and 
 Puncan ; on which occasion their majesties attended 
 
 divine
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 34:5 
 
 divine service at St. Paul's cathedral. The procession, 
 on this day, began with two colours taken from the 
 French, three from the Spaniards, and four from the 
 Dutch, labelled, " June, 1794," " February, 1797/' 
 and " October, 1797." They were carried on artillery 
 waggons ; each set followed by a party of lieutenants of 
 the navy, who had served in the several engagements 
 in which they were won. After these came a large 
 detachment of marines, with music playing; and 
 then the following admirals, in carriages, Lord Dun- 
 can, Sir C. Thompson, Sir R. Onslow, Sir A. Gard- 
 ner, Sir T. Fasley, Sir R. Curtis, Sir H. Nelson, 
 Lord H. Seymour, Caldwell, Waldegrave, Hamilton, 
 Goodall, Younef, Lindsay, Gambler, BazeJey, and 
 Captain Sir H. 'Frollope. The naval part of the pro- 
 cession was followed by the two houses of parlia- 
 ment, the royal family, and then their maj.^sties, in 
 a similar manner to the procession on the king's re- 
 cover v. 
 
 The death of Alderman Wilkes, which happened 
 on the 26th of December, occasioned a vacancy for 
 the office of chamberlain. A common-hall, for the 
 election of his successor, was held on the 2d of Ja- 
 nuary, 1798, when the candidates were, Sir Watkin 
 Lewes, and Alderman Clark. On the show of hands, 
 there was a oreat maiority in favour of Mr. Clark; 
 but a poll was demanded in favour of bir Watkin; 
 which began at half past two, and closed, for the day. 
 at four, when Sir Watkin Lewes declined giving the 
 livery any further trouble; the numbers being 39S to 
 48. The unusually great number polled in this short 
 space is an ample testimony of the high esteem in 
 which the unobtrusive merits of the present cham- 
 berlain are held by his fellow-citizens; there being, 
 perhaps, no instance of so many liverymen having 
 voted in the same time, on any other occasion. 
 
 A meeting 
 3
 
 344 HISTORY AND SUJlVElf OF 
 
 A meeting of the most respectable merchants and 
 traders of London, was tield at the Royal Exchange, 
 on the 9th of February, for the purpose of entering 
 into a voluntary subscription for the service of the 
 country. The lord mayor, accompanied by a consi- 
 derable number of the principal bankers, merchants, 
 &c. appeared, on a temporary hustings, about one^ 
 o'clock, and, in a short speech, stated the object of 
 the meeting. He was followed by Mr. Bosanquet, 
 who entered more fully into the propriety and ne^ 
 ccssity of the measure, and proposed, that books 
 should be opened at the Exchange, for receiving 
 subscriptions, which was unanimously agreed to.. 
 Four separate books were then opened on the hus- 
 tings, and, at the close of the day, the exact sum 
 subscribed was, forty-six thousand five hundred and 
 thirty-four pounds fourteen shillings and six pence; 
 and the number of subscribers was two hundred 
 and eighteen. 
 
 On the 13th, a court of conimon-council was hcld,^ 
 for the purpose of voting a sum of money, in aid of 
 the voluntary contributions, when, after some con- 
 versation, the sum of ten thousand pounds ^yas 
 agreed to, with very few dissenting voices. After 
 the court broke up, several of the aldehTien and 
 commons subscribed in their individual capacities. 
 
 In consequence of a conference the lord mayor 
 bad had with the Duke of York, and a letter he had 
 received from the Secretary of State, in relation to 
 forming armed associations in the several wards of 
 the city, a court of common-council was held, on 
 the .19th of April, to take the proposed measure into 
 consideration, which met with general approbation ; 
 and, after a conversation of some length, on the 
 means of carrying it into effect, it was agreed to 
 request the lord mayor to convene his brethren, the 
 
 aldermen,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 343 
 
 aldermen, for the purpose of submitting the plan to 
 them. When they met, they came to an unanimous 
 resolution, to call meetings of the inhabitant house- 
 holders in each ward ; which was done on tiie 1st 
 of May. The propositions were the same in each 
 ward; viz. for the inhabitant householders, that were 
 able men, to learn the use of arms; those not capable 
 of bearing arms, to be appointed special constables; 
 to be commanded by their own aldermen ; to choose 
 a committee, to form regulations, and recommend of- 
 ficers ; and, in case of need, to be united into one 
 body, under the direction of the lord mayor and court 
 of aldermen. These propositions were unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
 While these measures were pursued in the city, 
 parochial and district meetings were general in every 
 part of the metropolis; and a volunteer force was 
 shortly established, which relieved government from 
 much care, and enabled it to make a much more ad- 
 vantageous disposition of the regulars, in case of ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 On the 2d of September, in the afternoon, the 
 north-east bank of the New River suddenlv burst, 
 about half a mile from Hornsey-house, and inundated 
 the lands between that place and Tottenham free- 
 hold, for a circuit of three or four miles ; the lower 
 parts of them to a depth of four feet. 
 
 On the 4th of October, the Hon. Capt. Capei 
 waited on the lord mayor, with the sword of the 
 French admiral, M. Blanquet, which was surren- 
 dered in the naval action at the Nile, and intended 
 by Sir Horatio Nelson as a present to the city of 
 London, accompanied by the following letter. 
 
 " Mv T ord Vanguard, Month of the Nile, Aug. 8. 
 
 *' Having the honour of being a freeman of the 
 
 city of London, 1 take the liberty of sending to your 
 
 VOL. II Y y lordship
 
 346 HISTORY AND bCRVEY OF 
 
 lordship the sword of the commanding- French n(U 
 miral (M. Blanquet), who survived after the battle of 
 the 1st. off the Nile ; and request that the city of 
 London will honour me with the acceptance of it, 
 as a remembrance that Britannia still rules the 
 waves; which, that she may ever do, is the fervent 
 prayer of your lordship's most obedient servant, 
 
 " H. Nelson." 
 
 This letter, and the sword, were laid before a 
 court of common-council, on the 10th, who referred 
 it to a committee, to consider the best manner of 
 disposing of the sword, and report to the next court. 
 It was then unanimously resolved to address his 
 majesty on the glorious victory over the French, off 
 the Nile, on the 1st of August, by his majesty's fleet, 
 under the command of Sir Horatio, now Baron Nel- 
 son, of the Nile; which was presented on the 2-irth, 
 and very graciously received. 
 
 The report from the committee was laid before 
 the court, on the l6th, and unanimously agreed to. 
 It was, that they had come to the following resolu- 
 tion, " That the sword, delivered up to our gallant 
 hero, Lord Nelson, by the French admiral, M. Blan- 
 quet, be put up in the most conspicuous place in 
 the common-council chamber, with the following 
 inscription, engraved on a marble tablet : 
 
 " The sword of Mons. Blanquet, 
 
 the commanding French admiral, 
 
 in the glorious engagement of the Nile, 
 
 on the 1st of August, 1798, 
 
 presented to the court 
 
 by the Right Hon. Rear Admiral Lord Nelson.'^ 
 
 The lord mayor was then requested to communi- 
 cate to Lord Nelson the high sense which the court 
 
 . entertain
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 347 
 
 entertain of this invaluable present. After which, 
 the thanks of the court, with a sword of two hundred 
 guineas value, were voted to Lord Nelson ; and also 
 the thanks of the court to Captain Berry, the cap- 
 tains, officej-s, and seamen, for their important ser- 
 vices ; and the freedom of the city was voted to Cap- 
 tain Berry, to be presented in a box of one hundred 
 guineas value. 
 
 At a court of common-council, held on the 23d 
 of January, 1799, the lord mayor produced a letter 
 from the Hon. Mrs. Darner, otfering her services to 
 execute, and present to the court, a bust of Lord 
 Nelson, either in bronze or marble; wliich were ac- 
 cepted, and the thanks of the court unanimously 
 voted for her liberal proposal. 
 
 The anniversary of his majesty's birth was marked, 
 this year, by a spectacle, such as no king, of this or 
 any other country, had ever been gratified with. The 
 day commenced with a grand review of sixty-six 
 corps of volunteers, who, from motives of the purest 
 patriotism, had formed themselves into military asso- 
 ciations, and learned the use of arms, for the most 
 honourable purpose; that of maintaining the inde- 
 pendence of their native country. So large a body 
 oi' men, thus standing forward to surround his ma- 
 jesty's person, and to manifest their determination to 
 defend his rights, as well as their own, was, certainly, 
 the most superb spectacle, that a people, satisfied 
 with their own constitution, and desiring no improve- 
 ment, but what its own principles admit of, could dis- 
 play. Its best characteristic was, the unanimity of 
 sentiment, by which tlie whole body was animated, ll 
 was not an ebullition of party spirit, or of ministerial 
 address; but it was the united emotion of attach- 
 ment to the king's person, and love for the British em- 
 pire, which, through all the divisions and differences 
 of opinion, is the real aim of everv genuine Briton. 
 
 The
 
 348 ttlSXORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The numbers of this assemblage of citizen-sol- 
 diers, armed in defence of the best sovereign, and 
 the happiest and most perfect constitution, on the 
 earth, were variously represented at the time; but, 
 from the returns made to the commander in chief, it 
 appears, that the actual amount was eight thousand 
 nine hundred and eighty-nine; viz. in the right line, 
 extending from the Serpentine-river, to the north- 
 east gate of Kensington-gardens, one thousand seven 
 hundred and seventy-four; in the centreline, ex- 
 tending along the north side of the park, two thou* 
 sand five hundred and seventy-five ; in the left line, 
 extending from Cumberland-gate to Hyde-park-cor- 
 ner, three thousand six hundred and thirty-twOo 
 Total of infantry, seven thousand nine hundred and 
 eighty one. Cavalry, formed in the low^er-part of 
 the park, with their right to Hyde-park-corner, and 
 their left towards Kensington, three hundred and 
 sixty-eight. Volunteer cavalry, employed in clear- 
 ing the ground, six hundred and forty. Total of 
 cavair}^, one thou;^and and eight. 
 
 The day was very unfavourable; but this circum- 
 stance^ though it might diminish the' brilliancy, did 
 not derange the military array, or repress the curio- 
 sity of the public; the crowd assembled on the oc- 
 casion being estimated at not less than a hundred and 
 fifty thousand, including all the beauty and fashion 
 of the metropolis; and the whole of this immense 
 body were gratified, without tumult or confusion, by 
 the provident regulation of not admitting carriages 
 into the park. 
 
 On the 21st, his majesty honoured the volunteer 
 corps with a more minute inspection, in different 
 parts of the metropolis, selected for the conveniency 
 of being near their usual places of assembling. This 
 inspection commenced at nine o'clock in the morn- 
 ing-, and was not concluded untilfive in the afternoon. 
 
 His
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 349 
 
 His majesty was accompanied by their Royal High- 
 nesses the Prince of Wales, the Dukes of York, 
 Kent, Cumberland, and Gloucester, and an immense 
 concourse of general and other officers. 
 
 A dreadful fire broke out in the King's-bench 
 prison in the evening of the l.ith of July, which 
 raged with such fury, that between eighty and an 
 hundred of the prisoners' rooms were destroyed 
 before it was extinguished. 
 
 The increasing price of provisions made it again 
 necessar}' to attend to the wants of the industrious 
 poor. A meeting was therefore held at the London 
 Tavern, on the 6th of December, to take into con- 
 sideration the means of giving them assistance 
 during this pressure, when it was agreed to open a 
 subscription similar to that in 179-5, from the applica- 
 tion of which such advantae-es had been derived at a 
 comparatively small expense. 
 
 While the liberality of the affluent was thus ex- 
 ercised, the wisdom of government was employed in 
 seeking remedies for the evil, and the means of pre- 
 venting its extension. With this view, and in order 
 to prevent an useless expenditure of wheaten flour by 
 the consumption of new bread, a bill was passed, in 
 February, 1800, prohibiting any baker in London or 
 Westminster, or within ten miles of the Royal Ex- 
 chansfe, from sellinir bread until it had been baked 
 tvventy-foin* hours, under a penalty of five pounds for 
 every loaf sold. 
 
 At a common hall, held on the 19th of February, 
 it was resolved to present a petition to the House of 
 Commons, praying them to take such measures as 
 they might think proper for the purpose of restoring 
 the blessings of peace ; tiud the representatives of 
 the city were instructed to suj)port the same in the 
 IJouse of Commons. 
 
 A most
 
 330 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 A most alarming and extraordinary cireumstancG 
 occurred at the Theatre Koyal Drury-lane, on the 
 evening of the 15th of May. At the moment when 
 his majesty entered the box, a man in the pit stood 
 up, and fired a pistol at him. The house was im- 
 mediately in an uproar, and the cry of " seize him" 
 burst from every part of the theatre. The king, ap- 
 parently not the least disconcerted, came forward in 
 the box ; and the man who committed the crime 
 was conveyed from the pit. The indignation of the 
 audience could not be tranquillized until after repeat- 
 ed assurances that the culprit was in custody. On 
 his examination he proved to be insane. He had 
 been a soldier in the 1 oth light dragoons, and had 
 received eight wounds in his head, from which it, 
 w as believed his malady arose. He was tried for the 
 offence, on the '26th of June, and acquitted on the 
 ground of insanity, after which he was conveyed to a 
 mad-house to be taken care of. 
 
 The celebration of his majesty s birth was again 
 commenced with a review of the volunteer force of 
 the metropolis and its vicinity, which differed in 
 nothing from that of the preceding year, except in 
 an increase of numbers, nearly twelve thousand being 
 under arms on this day. 
 
 Soon after the prorogation of parliament, m hich 
 took place on the 29th of July, apprehensions of 
 tumult and riot alarmed many of the inhabitants of 
 London. About the middle of August a refractory 
 spirit iiad manifested itself among the felons in the 
 prison in Cold Ikth Fields. This was attributed to 
 various publications on the state of this prison, which 
 had appeared a short time before; and it was, per- 
 haps, increased by the friendly attention of certain 
 members of parliament, whose phiIanthro])y, it was 
 gbserved, was chiefly directed to men obnoxious to 
 
 government, 
 3
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 551 
 
 government, and to objects from which there was 
 the greatest reason to hope tor the reputation of be- 
 nevolence. However this may be, their turbulence 
 at length assumed a serious aspect ; and, on the 
 evening of the l-ith, when the bell rung as the 
 signal for locking up, instead of retiring to their 
 cells, they collected together, appearing to have some 
 design in agitation. However, after a trifling re- 
 sistance, they were compelled to separate, and sub- 
 mit to being locked up. Immediately they began 
 the most dismal exclamations of " Murder ! Starv- 
 ing!" &c. which collected a considerable mob romid 
 the prison, who answered them with loud shouts. 
 Thus encouraged, they continued their cries, be- 
 seeching the mob to force the gates and pull down 
 the walls to release them. In this dilemma it was 
 found necessary to apply for assistance from the 
 civil magistrates and the military associations in the 
 neighbourhood, by whose exertions tranquillity was 
 again restored. 
 
 The attempts of the disaffected to incite the popu- 
 lace to outrage w^ere but too successful in the month 
 of September. Written hand-bills were thrown 
 about at this time, provoking the people to rise, and, 
 in particular, two large ones, of the al)Ove tendency, 
 were stuck on the INIonument, on Sunday the 14tli, 
 inviting them " as thev valued their ridits as 
 hnglishmen, to attend at the Corn-market on IMondav, 
 which \\ould soon reduce the ])rice of bread to six- 
 pence the quartern loaf." These incitements to po- 
 pular outrage induced the lord mayor to take the 
 necessary precautions to secure the public peace; he 
 collected the civil officers, and applied to the volun- 
 teer corps, from whom he received assurances of .sup- 
 port, and that they would await his orders. In the 
 morning of Monday the mob assembled at the Corn- 
 market, to which the lord mayor immediately repaired, 
 
 anci
 
 36'2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 and persuaded them to disperse, which they did ; 
 but as soon as he quitted the spot, they returned. 
 Several of the dealers in corn were illtreated by 
 them, and the windows of some houses in the neigh- 
 bourhood were broke ; and when, in the end, they 
 were driven off by the volunteers, they attacked the 
 houses of some bakers and corn-factors, at Shore- 
 ditch, Whitechapei, and Blackfriars-road. This spirit 
 of riot and discontent continued during the whole 
 week; but the vigour and promptitude of the ma- 
 gistrates, seconded by the firmness and humanity of 
 the volunteers, prevented the mistaken multitude 
 from effecting any greater mischief, than the break- 
 ing of windows and lamps ; which was happily ac- 
 complished without bloodshed. 
 
 Another attempt was made, in this year, to get a 
 petition from a common-hall, received by his ma- 
 jesty upon the throne, but without success; on which 
 a resolution was passed, on the 9th of October, 
 " That whoever advised his majesty to persist in re- 
 fusing to his faithful subjects free access, in these times 
 of peculiar difficulty and distress, is equally unwor- 
 thy of his majesty's confidence, and an enemy to the 
 rights and privileges of the citizens of London/' 
 
 A court of common-council was held, on the 
 14th, when an address, to the same purport as the 
 petition of the livery, praying his majesty to convene 
 the parliament, on account of the excessive price of 
 €very article of life, was agreed to. This address 
 was presented to the king, on the l6th ; but it was 
 rendered unnecessary, by directions having been 
 previously given to summon the parliament for the 
 dispatch of business. 
 
 On the 3d . of December, his majesty in council, 
 in compliance with the request of the two houses, 
 issued his royal proclamation, exhorting all persons, 
 who have the means of procuring other food than 
 
 .. , corn.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 353 
 
 corn, to use the strictest economy in the use of every 
 kind of grain, by abstaining from pastry, and reducing 
 the consumption of bread in their respective fami- 
 hes; and also, ail persons keeping houses, especially 
 those for pleasure, to restrict their consumption of 
 grain, as far as circumstances will admit. 
 
 %* In conformity to the notice given in No. 15, 
 the history of the public transactions of London 
 will now be discontinued, to be resumed in an 
 appendix, in which every occurrence of mo- 
 ment, from the commencement of the present 
 century to the termination of the work, will be 
 recorded. In order, however, to prevent the 
 history of the year 1800 from being incom- 
 plete, we shall now briefly notice two events, 
 which, being terminated in the 19th century, 
 belong more properly to it. 
 
 The most prominent of these, as affecting the 
 commerce of London, is the commencement of 
 the wet docks, in different places, for the greater 
 accommodation of vessels employed in its trade. 
 Nothing can show more stron^^lv the necessity 
 that existed for extending and improving the 
 conveniencies of the port of London, than the 
 following statement of the increase in the num- 
 ber of vessels, and their tonnage, engaged in 
 the trade of the river Thames, in the course of 
 the 18th century, which amounted to six thou- 
 sand five hundred and forty-seven vessels of 
 different descriptions, and one million three 
 hundred and twenty-seven thousand seven hun- 
 dred and sixty-three tons, viz. 
 
 VOL. II. z z Increase
 
 D54t HISrORY A>"D SURVEY OF 
 
 Vessels. Tons. 
 
 Increase in the coasting trade, 4613 927,550 
 
 in the foreign trade, 
 
 Ikitish vessels, - oS7 *i50,3o2 
 
 Foreign ditto, - 1317 149,861 
 
 Total 6547 1,327,763 
 
 A full account of these docks will be given in 
 another part of the work. 
 
 The other is, the loss and inconvenience experienced 
 by the underwriters and merchants of London, 
 towards the conclusion of the year, by an un- 
 expected embargo being laid on all the British 
 shipping in the ports of Russia. No less than 
 one hundred and five vessels w^ere detained at 
 Petersburgh, seventy-one at Riga, and a consi- 
 derable number in the other ports, the greater 
 part of which were from London ; and all the 
 seamen belonging to them were marched in small 
 parties to a great distance up the country. The 
 distress and anxiety of the wives and families of 
 these men, were, however, something alleviated 
 by a liberal subscription, entered into by ths 
 principal merchants concerned in the Russian 
 trade, for their relief, who also agreed to conti- 
 nue the pay of the men till they should be li- 
 berated and permitted to return. 
 
 HISTORY
 
 HISTORY AND SURVEY 
 
 OF 
 
 London 8^ its Environs. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 SURVEY OF LONDON, WESTMINSTER, AND SOUTHWARK,, 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 General description of London. — Situation. — Soil. — Ex^ 
 tent. — Streets. — Supply of Hater. — Salubrity. — Popu- 
 latio7i. — Boundaries of London ivithin the JValh. — 
 Liberties of London. — Bills of Mortality, 
 
 -London is delightfully situated in a spacious 
 valley, on the banks of the Thames, at the distance 
 of sixty miles from the sea. It stands on a bed of 
 gravel intermixed with clay, and is defended from 
 the bleak winds of the north by the rising grounds 
 about IsHngton, and the hills of ilighgate and llamp- 
 slead, while it lies delightfully open to the more 
 genial western breezes. Its length, from oast to 
 west, is aI)Out seven miles, and its greatest breadth, 
 from north to south, nearly four miles ; though, in 
 some places, it is not much more than half tliat 
 width. The circumference of tlie contiguous build- 
 ings is about t\^cnty-five miles, and the area of the 
 
 whole
 
 3v56 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 whole is between eight and nine square miles. 
 This includes the three principal divisions, viz. the 
 cities of London and Westminster, and the Borough 
 of Southwark, with their respective suburbs. The 
 two former are situated on the northern bank of the 
 river, at a place where it forms a crescent : the last 
 on the south bank, on a spot which was anciently 
 a morass ; and the communication between them is 
 kept up by means of three grand stone bridges. 
 
 The principal streets of London are wide and airy, 
 and surpass all others in Europe for accommodation 
 and convenience. The carriage way in the middle 
 of them is paved with granite or Scotch pebbles ; 
 «nd, on each side, is a broad raised path for foot 
 passengers, formed of flags, Portland stone, or Moor- 
 stone. The soil and mud which accumulates in the 
 streets, are taken away at stated intervals, by scaven- 
 gers employed by the different parishes, and the 
 waste water is conveyed into the Thames, through 
 arched vaults built under them for that purpose, 
 called sewers ; communicating with each house by 
 smaller ones, and vvitl^ the streets by gratings placed 
 in the channels. 
 
 An air of neatness and comfort prevails very gene- 
 rally through all parts of the metropolis, except 
 those inhabited by the lowest order of the people ; 
 and the streets appropriated to retail shops have an 
 unrivalled aspect of wealth and splendour. 
 
 No city in the world is better supplied with water 
 than London, every house in which, may receive a 
 regular supply of this necessar}' article, three times a 
 week, by paying a moderate annual sum to one of 
 water-companies. 
 
 This ample supply of water, as it affords the means 
 of cleanliness, is one of the most effectual pre- 
 ventives of the malignant diseases with which London 
 was formerly infected. But though this may be 
 
 cousidered
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 357 
 
 considered as the principal, it is not the only cause 
 of the present salubrity of the metropolis: the width 
 of the streets being greatly increased, a much freer 
 circulation of air is obtained, while the subterrane- 
 ous sewers or drains prevent the stagnation of foul 
 and putrid water, and carry off a great quantity of 
 filth which would otherwise lie and corrupt in the 
 streets. 
 
 The population of London has been a very fertil« 
 source of conjecture to historiographers. The re- 
 turns under the population act however, though per- 
 haps somewhat incorrect, leave very little to be 
 guessed at on this subject. According to them the 
 number is as follows. 
 
 London, within the walls 
 
 without the walls 
 
 Out-parishes in Middle- 
 sex and Surrey - 
 City and liberties of 
 
 Westminster 
 Inns of court extra-parochial 
 Parishes not within the 
 bills of mortality 
 
 Total 
 
 Houses. ] 
 
 Persons. 
 
 
 1 Inha- 
 1 bited. 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 By how 
 
 many 
 Fami- 
 lies oc- 
 cupied. 
 
 Male. 
 
 Female 
 
 Total 
 
 of 
 Persons. 
 
 10224 
 i 20680 
 
 i 56207 
 
 1 823 1 
 
 1230 
 
 1 
 
 14657 
 
 16229 
 36178 
 
 93886 
 
 40833 
 
 8i6l 
 
 1 
 
 28181; 
 
 37020 
 69827 
 
 163S99 
 
 71301 
 
 1293 
 
 50059 
 
 33151 
 77402, 
 
 200627 
 
 86909 
 614 
 
 67773 
 
 75171 
 147229 
 
 364526 
 
 158210 
 
 1907 
 
 117803 
 
 121229 
 
 216073^ 
 
 .393369 
 
 47 1476i 664845 
 
 In
 
 358 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 In this account, the number of uninhabited houscii 
 is omitted, as well as that of occasional residents ; 
 and some allowance must also be made for those 
 having two residences, within this extent; some of 
 whom may have been returned at both places, and 
 others not returned at either; while many have been 
 kept back from distrust, and others omitted through 
 occasional absence. 
 
 The city of London, distinguished from the other 
 parts of the metropolis, consists of two principal divi- 
 sions; that part of it within the walls, and that with- 
 out. The boundaries of London, within the walls, 
 are as follow: from the Thames, the wall runs north- 
 ward, on the east side of Fleet-ditch, two hundred 
 and seventy vards, to within thirty vards of the south- 
 west angle of Lud gate-street: thence it runs near 
 one hundred and forty yards east, till it reaches 
 within twenty yards of Ludgate : thence the wall 
 continues northward (a httle to the east of the Old- 
 bailey), three hundred and thirty yards, to forty yards 
 to the north of Newgate ; then eastward, three hun- 
 dred and ninety yards, to fifty-five yaixls eastward of 
 Aldersgate; from whence it runs northward, two 
 hundred and forty yards, to within thirty yards of 
 the south-west angle of the church of St. Giles, Crip- 
 pfegate; from thence to Cripplegate, and so continu- 
 ing eastward ly, one thousand yards, to Bishopsgate, 
 and thence, south-eastv^ardly, four hundred and 
 eighty yards, to Aldgate; from whence it runs still 
 south-castwardly, four hundred and sixty-live yards, 
 to within twenty yards of the middle of the north 
 part of Tower-ditch: in the whole, three thousand 
 three hundred and fifteen yards; to which adding 
 the distance from tlie Tower to Fleet-ditch, which is 
 two thousand one hundred and seventy yards, the 
 whole circumference of the city, within the walls, 
 appears to be five thousand four hundred and eighty-
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. JoO 
 
 five yards, or three miles, and two hundred and five 
 yards. 
 
 The whole ground, within the walls of the city of 
 London, amounts to three hundred and seventy- 
 three acres, and four-fifths of an acre. 
 
 Surrounding this is a large space of ground, within 
 the liberty or freedom of the city, encompassed by an 
 irregular line, called the /iue of separation, which 
 divides the city from the county of JNliddlesex. 
 
 This line begins at the river east ofthe Temple, which 
 it surrounds on the east and north sides; then passing 
 through part of Shire-lane and Bell-yard, it comes 
 into Chancery-lane by the liberty of the Rolls, and 
 from thence into Holborn, almost opposite to Cray's- 
 Inn-lane, where there is a bar. From hence it winds 
 through Brooke-street, FurnivaFs-Inn, Leather-lane, 
 Hatton -garden, and Chick-lane, to the common-sewer, 
 from whence it returns westward to Cow-cross, and 
 then to Smithfield-bars. It now passes between Long- 
 lane and Charter-house-lane to Goswell-street, from 
 whence it extends across Golden-lane, White-cross- 
 street, and Grub-street, to Moorgate, and along the 
 north-side of Moorfields, dividing it from the manor 
 of Finsbury. It then runs northward to Norton-fal- 
 gate, and from thence through Spitalfields and 
 Hv^entworth-street to White-chapel. It now passes 
 by the Little Minories to Goodman's fields, from 
 whence it returns westward to the JNlinories, and still 
 continues inclining to the west, till it meets the 
 wall, where it abuts upon the Tower liberty. 
 
 The whole extent of ground between the city 
 wall and this line does not exceed three-hundred 
 acres, though the length of the line is twenty one 
 thousand three hundred and seventy feet. 
 
 The bills of mortality were instituted in 1^92, in 
 order to ascertain the mnnber of persons who died, 
 
 durino:
 
 360 
 
 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 during a great pestilence which then raged and con- 
 tinued to the end of December, 1595. After this 
 they were discontinued until 1603, since which 
 time a regular series of them has been preserved. At 
 first they only included a hundred and nine parishes, 
 but by the gradual addition of others the whole now 
 amounts to a hundred and forty -six. They are as 
 follows. 
 
 Within the walls. 
 
 St. Alban,in Wood-street 
 Alhalfows, Barking 
 Alhallows, in Bread-street 
 Alhallows the Great 
 Alhallows, in Honey-lane 
 Alhallows the Less 
 Alhallovvs, in Lombard-st. 
 Alhallows, Staining 
 Alhallovvs onLondon- wall 
 St. Alphage, near Sion-col- 
 
 lege 
 St. x\ndrew Hubbard 
 St. Andrew Undershaft 
 St. Andrewby the Ward- 
 robe 
 St. Anne within Alders- 
 gate 
 St. Anne, in Black-friars 
 St. Anthony, vulgarly 
 
 Austin 
 St. Bartholomew, by the 
 
 Exchange 
 St. Benedict, vulgarly 
 
 Benuet Finck 
 St. Ben net, Gracechurch 
 St. Bennet, at Paul's wharf 
 St. Bennet, Sherchog 
 
 St. Botolph, at Billingsgate 
 Christ-church parish 
 St. Christopher's parish 
 St. Clement, near East-, 
 
 cheap 
 St. Dionis Backchurch 
 St. Dunstan, in the East 
 St. Edmund the King 
 St. Ethelburga's parish 
 St. Faith, under St. Paul's 
 St. Gabriel, inFenchurch- 
 
 street 
 St. George, in Botolph- 
 
 lane 
 St. Gregory, by St. Paul's 
 St. Helen,near Bishopgate 
 St. James, in Duke's place 
 St. James, at Garlickhithe 
 St. John Baptist, near 
 
 Dowgate 
 St. John the Evangelist 
 St. John Zachary 
 St. Katherine Coleman 
 St. Katherine-cree-church 
 St. Laurence, Jewry 
 St. Laurence, Poultry 
 St. Leonard, in Eastcheap 
 4- St,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 36t 
 
 St. Leonard,iii Foster-lane 
 St. Magnus, by London- 
 bridge 
 St. Margaret, in Lothbury 
 St. Margaret Moses 
 St.Margaret, in New Fish 
 
 street 
 St. Margaret Pattens 
 St. Martin^in Ironmonger 
 
 lane 
 St. Martin, within Lud- 
 
 gate 
 St. Martin, Orgars 
 St. Martin, Outwich 
 St. Martin, Vintry 
 St. Mary, Abchurch 
 St. Mary, Aldernianbury 
 St. Mary, Aldermary 
 St. Mary-le-bow, in 
 
 Cheapside 
 St. Mary Bothaw, at Dow- 
 
 hngsgate 
 St. Mary, Colechurch 
 St. Mary at Hill, near 
 
 Billinoso-ate 
 
 O O 
 
 St. Mary Magdalen, in 
 
 Milk-street 
 St. Mary Magdalen, in 
 
 Old Fish-street 
 St. Mary Mounthaw 
 St. Mary, Somerset 
 St. Mary, Staining 
 
 St. Mary, \A'oolchurch 
 St. Mary Woolnoth 
 St. Matthew, in Friday-st, 
 St. Michael Bassishaw 
 St. Michael, in Cornhill 
 St. Michael, in Crooked-1. 
 St. INIichael, at Qu.-hithe 
 St. Michael-le-quern 
 St. Michael Royal 
 St. Michael, in Wood-st^ 
 St. Mildred, in Bread-st. 
 St. Mildred,in the Poultry 
 St. Nicholas Aeons 
 St. Nicholas Coleabbev 
 St. Nicholas Olave 
 St. Olave, in Hart-street 
 St. Olave,in the OldJewrv 
 St. Olave, in Silver-street 
 St. Pancras, in Pancras-la. 
 St. Peter, in Cheapside 
 St. Peter, in Cornhill 
 St. Peter, near PauFsr 
 
 wharf 
 St. Peter-le-Poor, in 
 
 Broad-street 
 St. Stephen, in Coleman- 
 
 street 
 St. Stephen, in Walbrook 
 St, Svvithin,at Loiidon-st. 
 St. Thomas the Apostle, 
 
 . Trinity parish 
 St. Vedast, alias Foster 
 
 Without the Walls. 
 
 St. Andrew in Holborn St. Botolph without Al- 
 St. Barrhoieniew the Grt. ders2:ate fe'<it^ 
 
 St. BartJjoleuR'W the Less St. Botolph without Ald- 
 voL. 11. A a a St. Botulph
 
 362 
 
 HISTORY a?;d survey op 
 
 St. Botolph without Bi- St. John, in Southwark 
 
 shopsgate St. Olave, in Southwark 
 
 St. Bridget, vulgarly St. St. Saviour, in Southwark 
 
 Bride St. Sepulchre, without 
 
 St. Dunstan in the West 
 
 Newgate 
 St. Thomas, in Southwark 
 Trinitv, in the Minories. 
 
 St. George, in Southwark 
 St. Giles, without Crip- 
 plegate 
 
 In Middlesex and Surrey. 
 
 St. Anne, in Middlesex St. Katherine, by the 
 
 Christ-church, in Surrey 
 
 Christ-church, in Mid- 
 dlesex 
 
 St. Dunstan, at Stepney 
 
 St. George, in Blooms- 
 bury 
 
 St. George, in Middlesex 
 
 St. George, in Queen's- 
 square 
 
 St. Giles, in the Fields 
 
 St. James, at Clerkenwell St. Matthew, at Bethnal 
 
 St. John, at Clerkenwell green 
 
 St. John, at Hackney St. Paul, at Shadwell 
 
 St. John, at Wapping 
 
 City and Liberties of Westminster. 
 
 St. Anne, in Westminster St. Margaret, in West 
 St. Clement Danes minster 
 
 Tower 
 
 St. Leonard, in Shoreditch 
 St. Luke, in Middlesex 
 St. Mary, at Islington 
 St. Mary, at Lambeth 
 St. Mary Magdalen, Ber- 
 
 mondsey 
 St. Mary, at Newington 
 St. Mary, at Rotherhithe 
 St. Mary, in Whitechapel 
 
 St. Martin, in the Fields 
 
 St. Mary-le-Strand 
 
 The Precinct of the Sa- 
 
 St. George, Hanover- 
 square 
 
 St. James, in Westmin- 
 ster voy 
 
 St. John the Evangelist, St. Paul, 
 /vjjn Westminster den 
 
 Each of these will form a subject of separate con 
 sidcration, beginning with the city of London. 
 
 in Covent-gar-. 
 
 CHAP. II
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 36 
 
 Q 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Description of the JValls. City Gates. — Postern Gate. — = 
 
 Aldgate. — Bishopsgate. Moorgate. Cripplegate. — 
 
 Aldersgate. — Newgate. — Ludgate. — Bridgegate. — JVa- 
 ter-gates. — The Town-ditch. — Division of the City into 
 
 Wards. The Numler of them increased. Table of 
 
 them. 
 
 The period at which the wall of London was ori- 
 ginally built, as has been already mentioned, cannot 
 BOW be determined ; neither is there any certainty 
 whether the first wall extended along the side of the 
 i:iver, though it undoubtedly did so in the time of 
 the Saxons. 
 
 The ancient historian, Fitzstephen, informs us, 
 that there was a tower palatine on the east of the 
 city, and two castles on the west: the first was the 
 square white Tower of London, built at the south- 
 east corner of the city wall, and the others, the cas- 
 tles of Baynard and Mountfitchet; the last of which 
 was situated in Blackfriars, on the spot of ground 
 since occupied by the King's printing-oifice. 
 
 On the land-side, the wall was guarded by lofty 
 towers, fifteen in number, some remains of which 
 were visible latel3\ Maitland mentions three, all of 
 which have been demolished, so that not a trace re- 
 mains. When perfect, the walls are supposed to 
 have been twenty-two feet high, and the towers forty. 
 
 Dr. A\^oodvvard had an opportunity of examining 
 the fabric and composition of this \Aall, in the year 
 1707, when a part of it was pulled down, near Bi- 
 shopsgate, to make way for new buildings. From his 
 account of the materials, and the disposition of them, 
 there can be no doul^t that the old wall wasRomtjn; 
 to which considerable additions had afterwards been 
 made, both in the height and thickness, though at 
 
 what
 
 364 HISTORY a:sd survey of 
 
 what time could not be asceitained. The most per- 
 fect part of this wall, now remaining, is behind 
 Bethlem-hospital, in the street known by the name 
 of London-wall. 
 
 In former ages, the citizens considered their walls 
 of such importance, that, to prevent their receiving 
 any injury, they made a law, that no tenement 
 should be built within five yards of them. 
 
 There appears to have been, anciently, but four 
 gates in the wall of the city ; viz. Aldgate on the east; 
 Aldersgate on the north; Ludgate on the west; and 
 Bridgegate, upon London-bridge, on the south: but, 
 in process of time, several other gates and posterns 
 were erected, for the convenience of bringing goods 
 and provisions into the city, and for the accommoda- 
 tion of the citizens, in passing to their fields and 
 gardens. 
 
 In the description of the city gates, we shall be- 
 gin with the south-east angle of the ancient city wall, 
 where the old Tower of London, commonly called 
 the White Tower, is situated. 
 
 The Fostern-gate stood at the east end of Postern- 
 row, on Tower-hill; and, by a part of it which was 
 remaining when Stow wrote his Survey of London, 
 appeared to have been a strong, handsome, arched 
 gate. It was erected soon after the conquest, partly 
 with Kentish stones, and partly with stones brought 
 from Caen, in Normandy. 
 
 The destruction of this gate commenced in the 
 year 1190, when William Longchamp, Bishop of 
 Ely, and Chancellor of England (the favourite of 
 Richard I.) caused a part of the city wall to be 
 broken down, to enlarge the Tower of London, 
 which he then encompassed with a wide ditch, and 
 an embattled wall, which is the outer wall of the 
 Tower at this time. 
 
 4 The
 
 9 
 o 
 
 M 
 
 <
 
 LOXDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 365 
 
 The Postern-gate, being thus deprived of the sup- 
 port of the city wall, on one si^le, fell down in the 
 year 1*40, and was never rebuilt; but in the place 
 of it was erected a mean building of timber, lath, 
 and loam; which is likewise decayed, and ail re- 
 mains of it totally removed. 
 
 In the place where this gate s4ood, there are now 
 several posts set up, to prevent the passage of carts 
 and coaches, room being left, between the posts, for 
 foot-passengers. 
 
 Adjoining hereto is a descent, by several steps, to 
 an excellent spring of water, called the Postern- 
 spring ; near to which is an iron bowl, fastened by a 
 chain, for the use of any person who chuses to drink 
 the water, which is greatly esteemed. It has been 
 lately wailed in. 
 
 Aldgate^ or, Ealdgaie (which signifies Old Gate )^ 
 was one of the four original gates of the city, and 
 that through which the Roman vicinal way led to 
 the Xrajectus, or ferry at Old-ford. The ear- 
 liest mention we can l?nd of it, is in a charter 
 granted by King Edgar, about the year 967. 
 
 This gate being in a very ruinous condition, was 
 pulled down in the year 1606, and rebuilt; but it 
 was not completed till 1609. 
 
 In digging the foundation, several Roman coins 
 were discovered, resemblances of two of which j\fr. 
 Bond, one of the surveyors of the work, caused to be 
 cut in stone, and placed on each side of the east 
 front, where they remained till the demolition of 
 the gates. 
 
 In a large square, on the same side of the gate, 
 was placed the statue of King James I. in gilt ar- 
 mour, with a golden lion, and a chained unicorn, 
 both couchant at his feet. 
 
 On the west side of the jjatc was a fi2:ure of For- 
 tune, g-ilt, and standing on a globe, with a prosper* 
 
 ous
 
 366 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ous sail spreading- over her head; under which wa^ 
 carved the king's arms, with the motto, Dieu et 
 mon Droits and a httle below it, Vivat Hex : some- 
 what lower, on the south side, stood Peace, with a 
 dove perched on one hand, and a gilded wreath in 
 the other. 
 
 On the north side of the gate was the figure of 
 Charity, with a child at her breast, and another in 
 her hand. 
 
 On the top of the gate was a vane, supported by a 
 gilt sphere ; on each side of which stood a soldier 
 holding a bullet in his hand, on the top of the up^ 
 per battlements. 
 
 Over the arch of the gate were carved the folloW'^ 
 ing words; 
 
 Senatus Populusqiie Londinensis 
 
 Fecit, 1609, 
 
 Humphrey Weld, Maior, 
 
 There were two posterns through this gate; that 
 on the south side of which was made as late as the 
 year 1734'. There was likewise apartments over the 
 gate, which were appropriated to the use of one of 
 the lord mayor's carvers, but had, of late years, been 
 used as a charitv-school. 
 
 Bishopsgaie was situated one thousand four hun- 
 dred and forty feet north-west from the former. 
 Though the building of this gate is attributed to 
 Erkenwald, Bishop of London, about the year 67-5^ 
 Stow could find no mention made of it earlier than 
 the year 1210, when William Blound, one of the 
 sheriffs of London, sold his land and gardens without 
 Bishopsgate, to the wardens of London-bridge. 
 
 Henry 111. granted several privileges to the An- 
 seatic merchants, for which they were bound to 
 keep this gate in repair ; and also to defend it when- 
 ever
 
 'A 
 
 5 
 
 0} 
 
 
 ^^ -/IF 

 
 LONDON AND ITS Ei^IRONS. 367 
 
 ever it should be attacked by an enemy. Accord- 
 ingly, it was elegantly rebuilt by them in 1479- 
 
 On the south side over the gateway, was placed 
 a stone image of a bishop with a mitre on his head: 
 he had a long beard, eyes sunk, and an old mor- 
 tified face, and was supposed to represent St. Erken- 
 wald. 
 
 On the north side was another figure of a bishop 
 *\Mth a smooth face, reaching out his right hand to 
 bestow his benedictions, and holding a crosier in his 
 left, who is thought to have been Bishop William the 
 Norman. This last was accompanied by two other 
 figures in stone?, supposed to represent king Alfred, 
 and his son KIdred, Karl of Mercia. In the year 
 1551, the above mentioned merchants prepared 
 «tone for rebuilding the gate; but that company 
 being dissolved about this period, a stop was put to 
 the work, and the old gate remained till the year 
 .1731, when it was quite taken down, and rebuilt at 
 the expeuj^e of the city. When it was almost finish- 
 ed, the arch of the gate fell down ; but though it 
 was a great thoroughfare, and this accident happen- 
 ed in the middle of day, no person was hurt. 
 
 Over the gateway, was a carving of the city arms, 
 supported by dragons, and on each side of the gate 
 was a postern for the convenience of foot pas- 
 
 sengers. 
 
 The rooms in the ancient gate were appropriated 
 to the use of one of the lord mayor's carvers; but, in 
 the stead thereof, he has been of late years paid 
 twenty pounds per annum by the city. 
 
 In the year 1 4 1 5, during the mayoralty of Thomas 
 falconer, the wall of the city was broken near 
 Coleman-street, and a postern built which was 
 since called Moonratc, from its vicinitv to Moor- 
 Tields, a 
 
 In
 
 368 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 In the year 1511 this postern was re-edified, 
 dikes and bridges were made, and the ground levelled, 
 and made more commodious for the citizens to pass 
 to their adjacent fields and gardens. 
 
 The iate ediiice, which was one of the most mag- 
 nificent gates of the city, Avas erected in the year 
 164-7 , and consisted of a lofty arch, and two posterns 
 for foot passengers. 
 
 The upper part of the gate was adorned with Co* 
 ,1'inthian pilasters, supporting their proper entablatures, 
 and with a round pediment, in which was the city 
 arms : and the apartments over the gate were appro- 
 priated to the use of one of the lord mayor's carvers. 
 
 About the year 1636, the city wall between 
 Bishopsgate was broken down opposite Winchester- 
 street, and a postern gate made there for the ac* 
 commodation of foot passengers ; but this has been 
 taken away, and the foot-way considerably enlarged. 
 
 In the year 1 635 the posterns of Basinghall and 
 x\ldermanbury were erected ; but these also have 
 been taken away, by order of the lord mayor, alder- 
 men, and common-council ; and the several passages 
 through London-wall to Fore-street, are now open, 
 elegant and commodious. 
 
 At the distance of one thousand and thirty-two 
 feet to the west of Moorgat,e, stood dipplegate^ so 
 named from a number of cripples, who formerly 
 begged there. 
 
 The great antiquity of this gate cannot be doubt- 
 ed; for, in the history of Edmund, king of the East 
 Angles, written by Albas Floriacensis, and since 
 that, by John Lydgate, Monk of Bury, it is asserted, 
 that, in the year 1010, the Danes ravaging the king- 
 dom of the East Anoles, Alwin, Bishop of Helme- 
 ham, caused the body of King Edmund the Martyr 
 to be conveyed from Bury St. Edmunds, through the 
 
 kin8:dom
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 369 
 
 kingdom of the East Saxons, and into London, by 
 the way of Cripplegate, where it is pretended that 
 the body wrought miracles, making some of the lame 
 walk upright, praising God. 
 
 Its antiquity likewise appears from the charter of 
 William the Conqueror, confirming the foundation 
 of the college in London, called St. Martin the 
 Great, in which are these words : " I do give and 
 grant unto the same church, and canons, serving 
 God therein, all the lands, and the moor without 
 the postern, which is called Cripplegate, on either 
 part of the postern." This gate was formerly used 
 as a prison, to which debtors, and persons charged 
 with trespasses, were committed. 
 
 In the year 1244, this gate was rebuilt by the 
 company of Brewers of London ; and, in the year 
 1483, Edmund Shaw, Mayor of the city, bequeathed 
 by his will four hundred marks, which, with the re- 
 mains of the old gate, was to build a new one ; and 
 this was accordingly performed in the year 14-91. 
 . The last account we have of any reparation of this 
 gate, is in the year 1663, when the following inscrip- 
 tion was placed upon it: 
 
 " This gate was repaired and beautified, and the 
 foot-postern new made, at the charge of the city of 
 London, the fifteenth vear of the reiarn of our so- 
 vereign Lord King Charles 11. and in the mayoralty 
 of Sir John Robinson, Knight and Baronet, Lieu- 
 tenant of the Tower of London, and Alderman of 
 this ward; A. D. 1663. 
 
 This gate, which was a plain solid edifice, and 
 void of all ornament, had more of the appearance of 
 a fortification than any other gate of the city. The 
 rooms over it were occupied by the water-bailiff of 
 the city ; and the gate had only one postern. 
 
 Mr. Maitland has given it as his opinion, that, in the 
 year lOU), this was the only gate in the north-wall of 
 
 VOL. II. 11 b b the
 
 S70 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the city, as it stood more convenient for one of the 
 original gates than Aldersgate ; and he thinks that 
 this orate was oricrinally erected over the Roman 
 mihtary way, wliich was called the Ermine street, 
 and led from London to Hornsey. 
 . It is not impossible that the custom of making 
 proclamation at the end of Wood-street, in Cheap- 
 side, may have arisen from the circumstance of its 
 having been one of the old Roman military ways. 
 
 Aldersgate^ which Mas situated one thousand two 
 hundred and sixty-five feet south- west of Cripplegate, 
 w'as, according to the opinion of Stow, one of the ori- 
 ginal gates of the city ; but Maitland could find no 
 mention of it before the conquest ; whence he con- 
 cludes that it was not erected before that period. 
 
 This gate being in so ruinous a condition as t© be 
 in danger of falling, the lord mayor, aldermen, and 
 common-council, ordered it to be taken down, which 
 was accordingly done in the year 1()16, when it was 
 rebuilt in a sulDstantial manner ; Mr. William Par- 
 ker, Merchant-taylor, having bequeathed a thousand 
 pounds towards the expense of a new edifice. 
 
 In a large square over the arch of the gate was the 
 figure of King James I. on horseback. Above his 
 head were quartered the arms of England, Scotland, 
 and Ireland. 
 
 In a niche on the east side was the Prophet Jere- 
 miah, with the words of the 25th verse of the 17th 
 chapter of his book. In a mcheon the west side 
 stood the Prophet Samuel, with the 1st verse of the 
 12th chapter of the 1st book of that prophet. On 
 the south side was the effigies of King James I. in 
 his royal robes, sitting in a chair of state, done in 
 relief. 
 
 This gate was very much damaged by the great 
 fire in 1666 ; but was repaired and beautified, at the 
 
 3 expense
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 OZZl 
 
 t <
 
 ..Ill 
 
 "I|I!IH1 
 
 'i(nii I 
 
 "'■:;'::i!t":if Ijll :!» 
 
 Il:,: 
 
 •i\fl 
 
 ''r:mt:J'' 
 
 I II ! 
 
 IM 
 
 !!l|li'll. 
 
 '.:i!; 
 
 Ill MMili 
 
 
 K
 
 LONDON AND ITS JENVIRONS. 371 
 
 expense of the city, in the year 1670, during the 
 mayoralty of Sir Samuel Stirling, Knight. 
 
 The apartments over tlie gate were appropriated 
 to the use of the common crier of the city , and by 
 the sides of the gate were two posterns for the con- 
 venience of foot passengers. 
 
 Nezogate was situated at the distance of one 
 thousand and thirty-seven feet south-west from the 
 spot where Aldersgate did stand; and it is the 
 opinion of most of our antiquarians, that it obtained 
 its name from being erected in the reign of Henry I. 
 several hundred years after the four original gates of 
 the city. 
 
 Ilowel dissents from this opinion, and asserts that 
 it was only repaired in the above-mentioned reign, 
 and that it was anciently denominated Chamberlain- 
 gate : but if this be true, it is very extraordinary 
 that tiiis gate is not once mentioned before the 
 conquest. 
 
 It appears, however, from ancient records, that it 
 was called Newgate, and was a common jail for 
 felons taken in the city of London, or the county of 
 Middlesex, as early as the year 1218 ; and that so 
 lately as the year 1457, Newgate, and not the 
 Tower, was the prison for the nobility and great 
 olficers of state. 
 
 Newgate, being much damaged by the fire of 
 London in 1666, A\as repaired in the year 167^- 
 
 The west side of this gate was adorned with three 
 ranges of Tuscan pilasters, with their entablatures, 
 and in the intercohimniations were four niches, in 
 one of which was a figure representing liberty, 
 having the word Libert as inscribed on her cap ; and 
 at her feet a cat, in allusion to the storv of Sir 
 
 Richard Whiltingtou. 
 
 The
 
 372 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The east side of the gate was hkewise adorned 
 with a range of pilasters, and in three niches the 
 figures of justice, mercy, and truth. 
 
 At the distance of seven hundred and ninety- 
 seven feet south of Newgate, was situated Luclgate, 
 which, according to Geftrcy of Monmouth, derived 
 its name from King Lud, a Briton, who, according 
 to that author, built it about sixty years before the 
 birth of Christ. 
 
 But, as Geffrey's [)retended history is now uni- 
 versally acknowledged to be the mere production of 
 an inventive brain, his assertion has no weight with 
 the judicious; for it is certain that the ancient 
 Britons had no walled towns. This name, there-, 
 fore, is with much greater appearance of probability, 
 derived from the rivulet Flood, Flud, Vloat, Fleote, 
 or Fleet, which ran into Fleet-ditch, and it was very 
 probably called Ludgate, instead of its original name, 
 Fludgate. 
 
 In the- year 1.'373, this gate was constituted a 
 prison for poor debtors, who were free of the city; 
 and it was afterwards greatly enlarged by Sir Stephen 
 Forster. 
 
 This gentleman had been a prisoner there, and was 
 begginir at the gate, when a rich widow passing by, 
 asked iiim what sum would procure his discharge ; 
 and, on his answering twenty pounds (which at 
 that time w^as a considerable sum) she generously 
 advanced the money. 
 
 His liberty being thus obtained, his kind benefac- 
 tress tobk him into her service, in which, by his in- 
 defatigable application to business, and his oblig- 
 \n% behaviour, he gained the aiVections; of his 
 mistress, and married her; after which he had 
 such great success m trade, that he became lord 
 
 raavor
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 373 
 
 ma} or of London, and obtained the honour of knight- 
 hood. 
 
 In his prosperity, Sir Stephen thought of the place 
 of his continement, and, acquainting his lady with a 
 design he had formed of enlarging the prison, she 
 also determined to contribute to the execution of so 
 benevolent a plan. 
 
 Hereupon, they caused several of the houses near 
 the gate to be pulled down, and in their stead erect- 
 ed a strong square stone building, containing the 
 following rooms, viz. the porch, the paper-house, the 
 watch-hall, the upper and lower lumberies, the 
 cellar, the long ward, and the chapel; in the last of 
 which were the following inscriptions : 
 
 " This chapel was erected and ordained for the 
 divine worship and service of God, by the Right 
 Honourable Sir Stephen Forster, Knight, some 
 time lord-mayor of this honourable city, and by 
 13ame Agnes his wife, for the use and godly exer- 
 cise of the prisoners in this prison of Ludgate, 
 Anno 1454." 
 
 Devout soules that passe this way, 
 
 For Stephen Forster, late Maior, heartily pray, 
 
 And Dame Agnes, his spouse to God consecrate, 
 
 That of pitie this house made for Londoners in Ludgate. 
 
 So that for Lodging and water, prisoners here nought pay. 
 
 As their keepers shall all answere at dreadful doomes-day. 
 
 These venerable founders not only settled a salary 
 for a chaplain of this prison, but ordered that all the 
 rooms in these additional buildings should, be for 
 ever free to all unfortunate citizens, and that they, 
 on providing dieir own bedding, should pay nothing 
 at their discharge for loduinof or chamber rent: but 
 tiie avaricious dispositioii of the keepers broke 
 tlu-ough this appointment, and for many years, they 
 took rent for the rooms, contrary to the express order 
 of the uenerous donor. 
 
 Bridarafc
 
 374- HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Brklcgate stood upon London-bridge, from whence 
 its name was derived, and was supposed to have been 
 one of the four principal gates of the -city, before the 
 conquest, when there was only abridge of timber 
 over the Tiiames. 
 
 In the year 14 J6, this gate with the tower upon it 
 fell down, and being rebuilt, was burnt in the year 
 1171, by some riotous mariners of Kent. 
 
 The gate erected after this being greatly damaged 
 by hre in 17'^^^, was soon afterwards taken down and 
 rebuilt: it was compleated in 1758, two posterns 
 being added for the convenience of foot passengers. 
 
 Over the arch, on the south side, were the king's 
 arms, with the following inscription underneath: 
 " This gate was widened from eleven to eighteen feet 
 in the mayoralty of Edwa/d Bacher, Knt. S. P. Q. L. 
 
 Stow, and later writers also name a considerable 
 number of gates on the river side, viz. Dowgate, Wolf- 
 gate, Ebgate, Oistergate, Botolphgate, Billingsgate, 
 &;c. But they appear to have been only wharfs or 
 places for landing goods. None of these were of any 
 note except the first, called properly Dur or the 
 watcr-gnte^ where there was a Trajectus or Ferry, in 
 the Watling-strcet, which crossed the Thames, at 
 this place and was continued to Dover. 
 
 The town ditch was a stupendous piece of work, 
 midertaken by the Londoners themselves ; which, 
 notwithstanding a very o^reat number of hands was 
 employed, took upwards of two years to be completed, 
 being two hundred feet in breadth, and extending, on 
 the outside of tiie wails, from the Tower to Christ's 
 Hospital. According to some, this additional defence 
 was undertaken between the years 1190 and 1193, 
 though others think it was not begun until 121:3, in 
 the reign of King John. Lor some centuries, the ci- 
 tizens were at great expense in cleansing, and keeping 
 it open, but the last attempt, in 1 695, was so unsuc- 
 cessful,
 
 f^^?:^m^?~yT^T^-'^^m^^^^^'^?^^^^^?^^ 
 
 I fWi ' -^: i^!pPp!sP?v?- ir' i^^'a~^^^J:ft'"^???- ' :^'^yv-"l l li--i^ 
 
 
 :M'f'"^^ 
 
 %: 
 
 
 • v, . . . . It " ™ 
 
 f^J'f- pL^
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 375 
 
 cessful, owing- to the increased height of the adja- 
 cent ground, which caused it to fill again very shortly, 
 that it was thought useless, as well as too expensive, 
 to cleanse it again, and it was therefore given up. 
 
 The division of the city into ^\ ards, or aldermanries, 
 is very ancient, but the number of them is unknown, 
 prior to 128,3, when, according to the Liber albus, 
 it was divided into twenty four wards ( See Vol. I p. 
 160) each of which was empowered to chuse its own 
 aldermen and common-councilmen. It is probable 
 that this was the first instance of that privilege being 
 granted to the commons of London ; for Ralph de 
 Arderne was seized in fee of an aldermanry or ward 
 in London ; which descending to his son Thomas, he, 
 in 1277, sold it, with all its appurtenances to llalph 
 le Feure, for twenty marks, and a quit-rent of one 
 clove or slipof gilliflower at Easter. This ward was 
 afterwards purchased by Thomas Farendon, from 
 whom it derives its present name ; which leads to a 
 belief that anciently the wards chanoed their names 
 with their masters. The division of this ward into 
 two, increased the number to twenty five; and when 
 in 15 JO, the liberties of the Borough of Southwark 
 were granted to the mayor, aldermen and commonalty 
 ot the city of London, a twenty-sixth ward was 
 formed, by the name of Bridge ward without: and 
 this number has continued ever since. 
 
 Of these wards tlurteen are on the east side of 
 Walbrook, viz. 
 
 1 Portsoken ward with- 7 Cornhill ward. 
 out Aldgate. 8 Langbourn ward 
 
 2 Tower-street ward [) IJiiliUgsgate ward 
 
 ;3 Aldgate ward 10 Bridge Ward widiin 
 
 4 Lime-sti'e(^t ward 1 1 Candle wick-street 
 
 5 Bishopsgate ward, ward 
 
 within and without. 12 Walbrook ward 
 
 6 Broad-strert ward 13 Dowgate ward. 
 
 Wards
 
 376 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Wards to the west of Walbiook, twelve, viz. 
 
 14 Vintry ward 20 Aldersgate ward 
 
 15 Cordwaiiier-street within and without. 
 
 w ard 5 1 Far i ngdon ward within 
 
 16 Cheap ward '2'-2 Bread-street ward 
 
 17 Coleman-street ward 23 Queen-hythe ward 
 ISBassishaw ward 24 Castle Baynard ward 
 19 Cripplegate ward ; 25 Faringdon ward 
 
 within and without. without. 
 
 And 26. Bridge ward without, in the Borough of 
 Southwark. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 tONDON AND ITS ENYIHONS. $ff 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of Portsoken ivard without Aldgate — Anciently a Guild 
 called Knighten Guild — Bou7ids — Precincts — Principal 
 Streets — JVhitechapel — Minories — Parish of the Trinity 
 
 in the Minories Houndsditch — Parish of St. Botolph, 
 
 Aldgate, 
 
 This ward takes its name from being situated en- 
 tirely without the wall of the city; the word Portso- 
 ken signifying a liberty or franchise at the gate. It 
 was anciently a guild, called knighten guild, from 
 having been granted by King Edgar to thirteen 
 knights who had distinguished themselves by their 
 valour. In the year 1115, the descendants of these 
 kniijihts surrendered all the lands and soke belonsfincr 
 to this guild, to the priory of the Holy Trinity within 
 Aldgate; from which time the prior of that convent 
 was admitted as one of the aldermen of London to 
 govern the land and soke, who, according to the cus- 
 toms of the city, sat in the court, and accompanied 
 the mayor and aldermen in public processions, 
 cloathed in scarlet or such other livery as they used, 
 until the year 1.531, when the priory was surren- 
 dered to King Henry VUl. whogave it to Sir Thomas 
 Audley, Lord Chancellor, by whom the church was 
 pulled down. Since this dissolution, thewardof I'ortso- 
 ken has been governed by a temporal person, elected 
 by the citizens, as the aldermen of the other wards 
 are. 
 
 The ancieiit liounds of the knighten guild ex- 
 tended further to the south and east than those of 
 the present ward, and included all East SmithHeld, 
 St Cathaiiiie's, with the mills fonnded in King 
 Stephen's days, and the outward stone wall and new 
 
 VOL. II. c c c ditch
 
 375 UISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ditch of the Tower, which were made in the time 
 of Richard I. by Wiiham Longshampe, Bishop of Ely ; 
 but part of these were afterwards forcibly withheld 
 by the constables of the Tower. The ward is now 
 bounded on the east by the parishes of Spitalfields, 
 Stepney, and St George's in the east; on the north 
 by Bishopsgate ward; on the west by Aldgate ward, 
 and on the south by Tower-hill. It has an alderman, 
 five common council-men, five constables, nineteen 
 inquest-men, and a beadle; and is divided into five 
 precincts, viz. Houndsditch, High-street, the Bars, 
 Tower-hill, and Convent-garden. The principal streets 
 within these limits are Whitechapel, as far as the 
 bars; the Minories and Houndsditch. 
 . Whitechapel is a spacious street, beginning just 
 without the s-pot where Aldgate stood. It takes its 
 name from the church of St. Mary Matfellon, which 
 stands in it, and was originally a chapel of ease to St. 
 Dunstan, Stepney, called from the colour of its out- 
 side, the White-chapel. On the south side of this 
 street is a lar^^e market for carcases of butcher's meat ; 
 and, beyond the bars, is a market three times a week 
 for hay and straw. On the north side are several 
 considerable inns for the accommodation of travel- 
 lers, and the resort of coaches, waggons, &c. this 
 being the principal eastern entrance into London 
 from the county of Essex. 
 
 Parallel to the wall,between Whitechapel and Little 
 Tower-hill, is the street called the ISlinories; so called 
 from certain nuns of the order of St. Clare, or mino- 
 resses, for whose reception, Blanch, queen of Navarre, 
 wife of Edmund, Ivarl of Lancaster, founded a convent 
 there in 1993. 
 
 This street, fiom being as despicable as any in the 
 city, i« now the residence of considerable trades- 
 men, among whom are several distinguished gun- 
 smiths. Tlie west side of it hns b»^en almost entirely 
 
 rebuilt
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 379 
 
 rebuilt with very large, uniform and elegant houses, 
 and several new streets have been made, leading into 
 Crutched Friars. On this side also, are America 
 Square, the Crescent, and the Circus, inhabited prin- 
 cipally by eminent merchants. 
 
 On the east side of the Minories, is a passage 
 leading to the place called the Little Minories,in which 
 is situated the parish church of the Trinity in the 
 jNlinories. This church stands on part of the site 
 of the convent mentioned above, which on its sup- 
 pression in 1>593 was taken down; a number of 
 small houses being built in its stead, and a small 
 church for the use of the inhabitants, which was de- 
 dicated to the Holy Trinity, from whence it derives 
 its present appellation ; and the epithet Minories was 
 added to it from its situation on the spot formerly 
 occupied by the minoresses convent. This church, 
 which was rebuilt in 1706, is of brick, with a flat 
 roof, covered with plain tiles, and has two aisles. 
 There is no steeple to this church, but it has a hand- 
 sdfiie turret, at the west end. It is the burial place 
 of the family of the Legge's, Earls of Dartmouth; to 
 one of whose ancestors, a house called the King's, 
 built on the site of the suppressed monastery, was 
 granted by Charles II. 
 
 The curate of this parish, for it is neither rectory 
 nor vicarage, holds the same by an instrument of do- 
 nation under the Great Seal of England. The in- 
 come is very small, being only twenty five pounds' 
 per annum, collected from the inhabitants, besides 
 surplice fees. 
 
 The parish being the close of the monastery, is a 
 particular liberty, and exempt from the jurisdiction 
 of London, although part of the ward of Fortsoken. 
 
 lloundsditch also runs parallel to the city wall, 
 and extends from Whitechapel to Bishopsgate-strcet. 
 U is a long street, and was formerly a filthy ditch, 
 
 which
 
 SQO HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 which took its name from being the place into uhich 
 dead dogs and all kinds of dirt were thrown. Into 
 this ditch, Canute ordered the body of Kdrick, a no- 
 ble Saxon, who had basely murdered hi-s master, Ed- 
 mund Ironside, to be thrown, as unworthy of sepul- 
 ture, after he had been tormented to death by burn- 
 ing torches. This street was first inhabited by bed-^ 
 ridden people, for whom some prior of the Holy Tri- 
 nity, to which priory the ground belonged, had 
 built small cottages ; and it was customary for the 
 devout inhabitants of the city to walk that way, pur- 
 posely, that they might bestow their alms upon some 
 of these objects, who were laid on beds near the win- 
 dows, which opened so low towards the street, that 
 every passer-by might see them ; each of them was 
 covered with a clean hnen cloth, and a pair of beads 
 laid on it, intended to show their helpless state, and 
 that they were incapable of all but prayer. This 
 street was first paved in the year 1503. 
 
 At the south-east corner of this street, opposite 
 to the Minories, stands the parish church of St. 
 Botolph, Aldgate, It is one of the four churches 
 in London, dedicated to that favourite saint, Botolph, 
 the Briton. This church is a rectory of very ancient 
 foundation, the patronage of which was, originally, 
 in the proprietors of Portsoken-ward, who, in the 
 year 1115, gave it to'the prior and convent of the Holy 
 Trinity, At the dissolution of that priory, it was 
 seized by the crown; and, in 1577, Queen Elizabeth 
 ' gave it to Robert EloUiwell, for a term of years, at 
 the expiration of which, it was granted by James I, 
 to Francis Morrice,' from whom' it descended to se- 
 veral others, and the impropriation has ever since 
 continued in private hands. 
 
 The old church, which was rebuilt by the prior 
 and canons of the Holy Trinity, a short time before 
 the dissolution of that convent, escaped the fire io 
 
 1666\
 
 LONDON AND ITS £NVIR0NS. 381 
 
 1666, but bad become so ruinous, in IZ^l, that it 
 was taken down, and the present edifice completed 
 in three years after. It is built with brick, and is a 
 plain, massy, yet handsome structure. It consists of 
 a body of a regular shape, and a lofty well-propor- 
 tioned steeple, formed of a tower and spire; but its 
 greatest ornament is the bold rustic at the corners. 
 The body is well enlightened, and the inside neatly 
 ornamented. Nearly half of this parish is without 
 the freedom. 
 
 Here are two charitvrschools; one in the freedom, 
 founded by Sir John Cass, alderman, for fifty boys 
 and forty girls. The other, in East Smithfield, for 
 forty boys and thirty girls, founded by Sir Samuel 
 Starling, knight, and alderman of the city of Lon- 
 don ; who, by his last will and testament, bearing 
 date the 7th day of August, A. D 1673, gave cer- 
 tain copyhold lands and tenements, lying in East 
 Smithfield, in the parish of St. Mary, Whitechapel, 
 belonging to the manor of Stepney, in the county of 
 Middlesex, the rents amounting to the value of 
 twenty-two pounds yearly, as a foundation of a cha- 
 rity-school, for the better education of the poor 
 youths of the parish of St. Botolph's, without Aid- 
 gate ; the schoolmaster to be a bachelor of arts, of 
 the university of Cambridge, chosen by the inquest 
 of the ward of Portsoken, and the leet-jury of the 
 manor of East Smithfield, and to teach a school in a 
 brick house, which he, the said Sir Samuel Starling, 
 built at his own charge, at the east end of the town- 
 house, or quest-house, upon Little Tower-hill, in tho 
 manor of East Smithfield. 
 
 CriAP. IV
 
 ^03 HISTORY AhD SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of To Locr- street Ward. Bounds .-^-Principal Streets.—^ 
 
 Thames- street. — St. Dunstan's in the East. — Coal-me- 
 ter's Office.— Harp-lane.— Baker's Hall. ^The Custom- 
 
 house. I^Vater-lane.-—JMincmg.lane.—. Cloth worker's 
 
 Hall. — Mark-lane. — The Corn Exchange. — Seething- 
 
 lane. — Allhallows Barking. Hart-street. — St. Ola.ve, 
 
 Hart-street. — Wkittingtoii' s Palace, 
 
 The first Mard in the east part of the city, within 
 the wall, takes its name from Tower-street, \vhich is 
 so denominated from its leading, nearly in a direct 
 line, to the principal entrance of the tower. It is 
 bounded on the east by Tower-hill, and part of Aid- 
 gate-ward ; on the north by Langbourn-ward ; on the 
 west by Billingsgate-ward; and on the south by the 
 river Thames. It extends from the Tower, in the 
 east, to the mid-way between Great Dice-quay and 
 Smart's-quay, in the west ; and from the west corner 
 of Tower-dock, in the south, to within seventy feet 
 of the north-end of Rood-lane, in the north. 
 
 Within these boundaries are contained a great 
 number of streets, lanes, &c. the principal of which' 
 are, Tower-street, part of Thames-street, Seething- 
 lane, Mark-lane, Hart-street, Idol-lane, St. Dunstan's-- 
 hill. Harp-lane, &c. Great and Little Tower-hill, 
 forming a precinct distinct from the other parts of: 
 this ward, will be considered separately, with the 
 other out-parts, when the survey of the wards is 
 completed. 
 
 The precincts within the ward are twelve; viz. 
 Dolphin, Mincing-lane, Salutation, Rood, Dice-quay, 
 Ralph's-quay, Bear-quay, Petty Wales, Rose, Seeth- 
 ing-lane, Mark-lane, and Angel precincts. It has an 
 
 alderman,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 3S5- 
 
 alderman, twelve common-councilmen, twelve con- 
 stahles, thirteen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 Thames-street is a place of considerable trade, and 
 inhabited by great dealers, as well wholesale as re- 
 tail. Though this street is broad, yet, on account of 
 the Custom-house, and the several quays a^d wharfs 
 on the south-side of it, the inhabitants and passen- 
 gers are greatly annoyed by the number of carts 
 continually passing to and fro. 
 
 At the west end of Thames-street, on the north 
 side, is Idol-lane, between which and St. Dunstan's- 
 hill, stands the beautiful church of St. Dunstan in 
 the East. This church is dedicated to St. Dunstan, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury; and the addition of the 
 East, is given to distinguish it from St, Dunstan in 
 Fleet-street. 
 
 It suffered greatly by the fire of London, in 1666; 
 the body of the church was repaired in a short time, 
 though the steeple was not erected till about 167B. 
 It is built in the style, called modern Gothic, eighty- 
 seven feet in length, sixty-three in breadth, and 
 thirty-three in height, to the roof: the steeple, which 
 is constructed in the same style as the body of the 
 church, is one hundred and twenty-five feet high. 
 The tower is light, supported by out-works at the 
 angles, and divided into three stages, terminating at 
 the corners by fom- handsome pinnacles, in the midst 
 of which rises the spire, on the crowns of four pointed 
 arches; a bold attempt in architecture, and one 
 proof, among many, of the great geometrical skill of 
 Sir Christopher Wren, who planned and built this 
 elegant tower. 
 
 The patronage of tliis rectory was anciently in 
 the prior and canons of Canterbury, who, in the year 
 136d, granted the same to Simon Islip, their arch- 
 bishop, and his successors, in whom it still remain;*. 
 
 It
 
 381. HISTORY AND SURVEY OF ■ 
 
 It is one of the thirteen pecuHars in this city, bes- 
 longing to the archi-episcopal see of Canterbury. 
 
 On the north side of this church is the Coal-meters' 
 office, in which are entered all ships that arrive in 
 the port of London with coals. There are fifteen 
 principal meters belonging to this office, who ap- 
 point a sufficient number of persons to measure the 
 coals, to prevent impositions, which would otherwise 
 happen, both in respect of tlie duty, and the measure 
 to buyers. 
 
 These principal meters have each four deputies, 
 or labouring meters, who must be approved by the 
 lord ma3'or and aldermen, as upon them the care of 
 weighing and measuring coals principally depends; 
 their business being to attend each ship, to top the 
 vats, and to return an account of the coals measured 
 to the coal office, in order to ascertain and collect the 
 duties; for which they receive one penny per chal- 
 dron for all coals measured, and two pence per 
 ton for all that are weighed. Both the principal 
 and under meters take an oath, of their admis- 
 sion into office, to give jnst measure, without par- 
 tiality or favour; to buy no coals, except for their 
 own use, nor to sell any, while in that office; and 
 not to take more for their trouble than was anciently 
 allowed. 
 
 Farther to the east, is Harp-lane, on the east side 
 of which is Baker's-hall; a plain neat edifice, on the 
 site of the dw*elling-house of John Chichley, Esq. 
 formerly chamberlain of London. The room called 
 the hall, is beautiful, and pretty large, adorned with 
 a fine wainscot screen, having four columns and tv/o 
 pilasters, with entablatures of tlie Corinthian order. 
 At the opposite end are pictures of St. Clement, the 
 patron of this company, and of Justice, between 
 which are their arms, very largo, and finely painted. 
 
 Near 
 $
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, L>85 
 
 Near the south east angle of Thames-street, front- 
 ing the river, stands the Custom-house= Tiiis is a 
 commodious building, erected for the receipt of 
 his majesty's customs on goods imported ana ex- 
 ported. 
 
 In ancient times, the business of the Custom- 
 house was transacted in a more irregular manner at 
 Billingsgate; but, in the year 1559, an act being, 
 passed, that goods should be no where landed, but in 
 such places as were appoiiited by the cominissioners 
 of the revenue, this was the spot fixed upon for 
 the entries in the port of London, and here a custom- 
 house was ordered to be Erected, it was, however, 
 destroyed by the fire of London, in 1666-, and was 
 rebuilt, with additions, two years after, by King 
 Charles li. in a much more magnificent and com- 
 modious manner, at the expense of ten thousand 
 pounds ; but that being also destroyed in the same 
 manner, in 17 IS, the present structure v/as erected 
 in its stead. 
 
 This edifice is built with britk and stone, and is 
 calculated to stand for ages. It has underneath, and 
 on each side, large warehouses for the reception of 
 goods on the public account, and that side of the 
 Thames, for a great extent, is filled with wharfe, 
 quays, and cranes, for landing them. It is one hun- 
 dred and eighty-nine feet in length; the centre is 
 twenty -seven feet deep, and the wings considerably 
 more. The centre stands back from the river; the 
 wings approach much nearer to it, and the building 
 is judiciousjiy and handsomely decorated: under the 
 wings is a colonade, of the Tuscan order, and the 
 upper story is ornamented with Ionic columns and 
 pediments. It consists of two flovors, in the upper- 
 most of which is a spacious room, fifteen feet high, 
 that runs almost the whole length of the build- 
 in?: this room is called he Lone- Room, and here 
 
 VOL. I J. tD d d bit
 
 386 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 sit the commissioners of the customs, with their 
 officers and clerks. The inner part is well disposed, 
 and sufficiently enlightened ; and the entrances are 
 so well contrived, as to answer all the purposes of 
 convenience for the transaction of such extensive 
 business. 
 
 The government of the Custom-house is under the 
 care of nine commissioners, who are intrusted with 
 the whole management of ail his majesty's customs 
 in all the ports of England ; and also the oversight of 
 all the officers belonging to them. Each of these 
 commissioners has a salary of one thousand pounds 
 per annum, and both they, and several of the princi- 
 pal officers under them, hold their places by patent 
 from the king, The other officers are appointed by 
 w^arrant from the lords of the treasury. 
 
 Opposite the Custom-house quay is Water-lane, 
 which leads up a winding hill to Tower-street. In this 
 lane stood the Trinity-house ; but the business of 
 the company has lately been transferred to a nevy 
 buildino, on the north side of Tower-hill, which will 
 be noticed in the survey of the Tower liberties. 
 
 On the north side of Tower-street is Mincing- 
 lane, anciently called Mincheon-lane, which is hand- 
 somely built, and well inhabited; on the east side of 
 which, near the north end, stands Clothworkers'- 
 hall, a neat brick building, with fluted columns of 
 the same, having Corinthian capitals of stone. The 
 hall is a lofty room, adorned with wainscot to the 
 cieling, which is of curious fret-work. The screen at 
 the south end is of oak, with four pilasters, their en- 
 tablatures and compass pediment of the Corinthian 
 order, enriched with the arms of the company and 
 palm branches. The west end is adorned with the 
 figures of King James and King Charles I. richly 
 carved, as large as life, in their robes, with regalia, 
 all gilt and highly finished. At this end of the hall 
 9 is
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 387 
 
 is a spacious window of stained glass, on which are 
 the king's arms, as also those of Sir John Robinson, 
 Bart, his majesty's lieutenant of the Tower of Lon- 
 don, lord mayor of the city in the year 1663, and 
 president of the artillery company. 
 
 Mark-lane is next to Mincing-lane; and was 
 anciently called Mart-lane, from a mart or free 
 market kept there. It is well built, and chiefly in- 
 habited by merchants of opulence. On the east side 
 of it, near Tower-street, stands the Corn Exchange. 
 This building, which is very neat, is adapted for 
 transacting business in the corn and meal trade. 
 Next the street is an ascent of three steps to a range 
 of eight lofty Doric columns, those at the corners 
 being coupled; between them are iron rails, and three 
 iron gates. These columns, and two others in the 
 inside, support a plain building two stories high, 
 containing two coffee houses, to which there are 
 ascents by two flights of stone steps, underneath the 
 edifice. Within the iron gates is a small square, 
 paved with broad stones. This is surrounded by a 
 colonadc, composed of six columns on each side, 
 and four at the ends. Above the entablature is a 
 handsome balustrade, surrounding the whole square, 
 with an elegant vase placed over each column. 
 Round the colonade is a broad space covered in, 
 with windows in the roof, for the use of the corn- 
 factors, who have each a desk, on which the samples 
 of corn to be sold are shown. The market days are 
 Monday, AV^ednesday, and Friday. 
 
 Seething-lane also leads out of Tower-street, to 
 Hart-street and Crutchcd Friars. At the south east 
 corner of this lane stands the parish church of All- 
 hallows Barking. The name of this church is de- 
 rived from its dedication to all the Saints, and from 
 having, in ancient time, been a vicarage in the gdft 
 of the Abbess and convent of Barking, in Essex: but 
 
 aft«r
 
 5SS HISTORY AKD SUR^vEY OF 
 
 after th-eir dissolution, the advowson of it was giveii 
 by King Henry YIIL to the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, in whose successors it still remains. The anti- 
 quity of the church appears from a chapel having' 
 been founded in it by King Richard I. 
 
 This is one of the few churches that escaped the ' 
 fire in 1666; it is of considerable extent, being one 
 hundred and eighty feet long, sixty-seven broad, and 
 thirty-five high. The steeple is a plain tower, with 
 a well proportioned turret, the altitude of which, 
 altogether, is about eighty feet. Hound the church 
 is a battlement, and the body.of itis well enlightened 
 by two rows of Gothic windows. 
 
 At the north-west corner of Seething-lane is Hart- 
 street, in which is situated the parish church called 
 St. Olave, Hart-street ; so denominated from its 
 dedication to Olave, or Oiaus, King of Normandy, 
 who took part with the English against the Danes in 
 defence of the Christian religion; for which, and 
 the punishment he suffered on account of this reli- 
 gion, he had the honour of being canonized. 
 
 This church also escaped the fire of London, since 
 which time it has had several repairs and additions, 
 particularly a new portico, which is formed of Corin- 
 thian pilasters, with an arched pediment. The church 
 is built of brick and stone, and the body of it forms 
 an exact square of fifty -four feet in length and 
 breadth ; the height of the roof is thirty feet, and 
 that of the steeple sixty. The windovt-s are large 
 and Gothic, -and everything exceeding plain, except 
 the portico. The tov/er consists of a single story 
 above the roof, and is also very plain ; but it is 
 crowned v/ith a well proportioned turret. 
 
 in Hart-street, four doors from Mark-lane, up a 
 gate-way, is the remains of the residence of the cele- 
 brated Whittington. Iji the old kases, it is de- 
 soribed by the name of Whittington's Palace ; and 
 
 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENyiRONS, 389 
 
 ihe appearance of it, especially externally, leaves no 
 doubt of the fact. It forms three sides of a square; 
 but the original appearance of the lower part .of it is 
 much altered^ Ufide? the wiiidows of the first 
 story, are the arms, of the twelve companies of Lon- 
 don, carved in basso relievo ; the one on the right 
 is, however, concealed by a cistern. . The principal 
 room has the remains of grandeur : it is twenty-five 
 feet long, fifteen feet broad, and ten feet high; the 
 cieling is elegantly carved iii fancied compartments; 
 the wainscot, which is also carved, is carried up to 
 the height of six feet; above it is a continuation of 
 Saxon arches, in basso relievo ; between each arch 
 is a human figure. This building escaoed the in- 
 quiring eye of Stow; neither is it mentioned by 
 Maitlandf 
 
 CHAP V.
 
 390 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of Aldgate tvard.-—Boiinds. -^-Precincts. '-—Principal 
 street. — Aldgate High-street. — Priory of the Holy Tri- 
 nity.-'Parisfiof St. James Duke's Place — St. Michael's 
 Chapel. — hicreased height of the Ground in this neigh- 
 lourhood. — -St. Andrew Undershaft.- — Stoiu's Monu- 
 me?it. — St. Mary Axe. — Ironmonger's Hall. — St. Ca- 
 
 tharine Coleman. Blanch- apeltoji. London- streets 
 
 — Fenchurch Buildings. — Nor thumlerlajid- alley . — St. 
 Catharine Cree.--Crutched Friars. — East India PFare- 
 house. 
 
 The second ward within the walls on the east 
 side of the city is Aldgate ward, which takes its 
 name from the gate. It is bounded on the north 
 and east by Fortsoken ward ; on the south by 
 Tower-street ward, and on the west by Lang- 
 bourn, Lime-street, and Bishopsgate wards. It 
 is divided into seven precincts; and is governed by 
 an alderman, six common-council-men, twenty in- 
 quest-men, and a beadle; besides the officers be-* 
 longing to St. James's, Duke's Place. 
 
 The principal streets in this ward are^ Aldgate 
 High-street ; Leadenhall-street, as far as Lime-street ; 
 Fenchurch-street, as far as Fishmonger's-alley inclu-* 
 sive ; Jewry-street, and Crutched Friars, as far as 
 Seething-lane ; Shoemaker-row ; Bevis Marks to 
 Camomile-street ; St. Mary Axe ; and Lime-street 
 to CuUum-street. The east sides of St. Mary Axe 
 and Lime-street, and the north corner of Mark-lane, 
 limit the extent of the ward west-ward ; and it 
 reaches to Tower-hill on the south. 
 
 Aldgate High-street begins where Aldgate formerly 
 stood, and reaches west-ward as far as the stone 
 pump at the junction of Leadenhall-street and Fen- 
 church-street ; from its communication with White- 
 chapel, it is a great thoroughfare. 
 
 To
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 391 
 
 To the north of this street formerly stood the pri- 
 ory of Holy Trinity, founded by Queen Maud, wife 
 to King Henry I, in the year 1 108, for canons regular 
 of the order of St. Augustin, with great endowments; 
 among which the said king granted the port of Aid- 
 gate, and the soke thereunto belonging, &c. And 
 in order to establish this foundation, the four parishes 
 of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Michael, St. Catharine, 
 and the Blessed Trinity, were united in the one pa- 
 rish of the priory of the Holy Trinity, called Christ- 
 church: the prior of which was always an alder- 
 man of London, and of the ward of Portsoken ; who 
 sometimes officiated in person, and sometimes ap- 
 pointed a temporal deputy. The priory was built 
 on a piece of ground upwards of three hundred feet 
 long, in the parish of St. Catharine, towards iVldgate, 
 near the parochial chapel of St. Michael. This pri- 
 ory was said to have been the richest in England, and 
 was, probably for that reason, selected to be the first 
 that was dissolved by Henry VTII. in the year 1531 ; 
 who gave it to Sir Thomas Audley, speaker of the par- 
 liament, for his services in opposition to Cardinal 
 Wolsey. Sir Thomas demolished the priory, and con- 
 verted it into a large mansion, where he resided 
 when he was lord chancellor. The only daugh- 
 ter of Sir Thomas being married to the Duke of 
 Norfolk, this estate descended to the duke, and was 
 from that time known by the name of the Duke's 
 place, which it has retained to this day. But the 
 Duke of Norfolk losing his head on Tower-hill, this 
 mansion descended to Thomas Howard, Earl of 
 Suffolk, eldest son to the said duke, by Audley's 
 daughter; who, by indenture of bargain and sale, 
 dated 21 July, 31- Eliz. sold the same to the mayor, 
 commonalty, and citizens of London, to have and to 
 hold, to them and their successors. 
 
 Some remains of this edifice may still be. traced, 
 enveloped m more modern buildings; from which it 
 
 appears
 
 liiSrORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 appears that the architecture was of the round arch, 
 or what is called the Saxon style. One of the en- 
 tranMs was brought to view in 1800, by an acci- 
 deiital fire, but is; again hidden. 
 . 'A short time before the priory of Holy Trinity 
 w^as dissolved, the inhabitants within its boundaries, 
 who had been deprived of their parish churches, to 
 make way for that religious foundation', petitioned 
 and obtained leave, under certain conditions and 
 restrictions, to build a chapel in the church-yard of 
 the said priory, for their own convenience, which, 
 escaping the fate of the religious houses at the dissolu- 
 tion of the priory, became the only place, after the 
 conventual church was pulled down, for the inhabi- 
 tants within thatdistrict to repair to for divine service. 
 This, however, creating some dislike among the in- 
 habitants of Duke's-place, they were desirous of 
 raising a proper parish church for themselves, on the 
 ground within their ov/n precinct: to effect which, 
 they applied to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his 
 assistance ; who having obtained the king's warrant 
 under the broad seal, for proceeding in their pious 
 intention, prevailed v/ith the lord mayor, aldermen. 
 and common-council, to build them a church with 
 the stones of the conventual church, which then 
 remained on the premises. This was accordingly 
 done ; and the church was consecrated and dedicated 
 to St. James, on the second of January, 1652. It is 
 now known by the name of St James, Duke's place; 
 and although the parish is in the ward of Aidgate, yet 
 it is a precinct within itself, under a minister, two 
 constables, two head boroughs, and fifteen jury-men. 
 This liberty formerly enjoyed great privileges, in 
 which they appear to have 'beeii more protected by 
 the power of the Norfolk family than by right: since 
 the lord mayor is entitled to hold a court leet and 
 baron, ajid' the city officers can arrest for debt^ and 
 execute v/arrants within it; yet artificers and traders 
 
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 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 393 
 
 ©pen shops and exercise their arts here although not 
 freemen of the city. The Jews settled here, princi- 
 pally, in the time of Ohver Cromwell. The church, 
 having escaped the fire, in \666, still retains its ori- 
 ginal form. The bodv, which was rebuilt in 1727, 
 is well enlightened; and the tower, which is com- 
 posed of four stages, is terminated by a very singu- 
 lar kind of turret, in the form of a canopy. It is a 
 curacy, the patronage of which being jn the lord 
 mayor and commonalty of London, the parish claims 
 a right of exemption from the Bishop of London's 
 jurisdiction, in matters ecclesiastical. 
 
 A little to the north of St. James's church, in 
 Duke's-place, is a Jews' synagogue, which has been 
 lately so enlarged as almost to join the church. 
 
 Besides this, ttiere are three other svnauoo-ues in 
 this ward; one near the north end of Bury-street, by 
 London-wall; another at the end of Church-row, and 
 a third, in a building which was formerly Bricklayer's- 
 hall, situated behind the houses that are nearly op- 
 posite to St. Catharine Cree-church. 
 
 Beneath the house, at the south-east corner of 
 Leadenhall-street, are the remains of the parochial 
 chapel of St. Michael, mentioned above; which 
 serve to show, to what a prodigious height this part 
 of the city has been raised ; for the shafts of the pil- 
 lars are buried at least sixteen feet in the ground, 
 which, with ten feet for the present internal altitude, 
 warrant the conclusion, that the street pavement 
 is, at this time, twenty-six feet higher than the level 
 of this spot, when the chapel was founded. The 
 two aisles remain, the pillars and arches of which 
 are in fine preservation, and the keys of the arches 
 arc sculptuR:d with well executed masks; the walls 
 nre of square pieces of chalk, in the manner of Ro- 
 chester caslle, and exhibit as skilful masonry as anv 
 building in this age of refinement. The length of 
 VOL. II. £ e e the
 
 394 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the chapel, from north to south, contrary to our 
 mode of building sacred edifices, is forty-eight feet, 
 and, from east to west, its breadth is sixteen feet. 
 
 Stow records another proof of the increased height 
 of this neighbourhood. He says, * " Betwixt this, 
 Belzeter's (Billiter) lane, and Lime-street, was (ef 
 later time), a frame of three fair houses, set up in the 
 year 1590, in place where before was a large garden 
 plot, inclosed, from the high-street, with a brick wall; 
 which wall being taken down, and the ground dig- 
 ged deep for cellarage, there was found, right under 
 the said brick wall, another wall of stone, with a, 
 gate, arched of stone, and gates of timber, to be 
 closed in the midst, towards the street, the timber of 
 the gates was consumed, but the hinges of yron still 
 remained on their staples, on both the sides. More- 
 over, in that wall were square windows, with bars of 
 yron, on either side the gate; this wall was, under- 
 ground, about two fathoms deepe, as 1 then esteemed 
 it, and seemeth to bee the ruins of some house 
 burned in the raigne of King Stephen, when the fire 
 began in the house of one Alewarde, near London- 
 stone, and consumed east to Aldgate; whereby it 
 appeareth how greatly the ground of this citie hath 
 been in that place raysed." 
 
 On the north side of Leadeuhall-street, and at the 
 south east corner of St. Mary Axe, stands the parish 
 church of St. Andrew, the Apostle, better known by 
 the name of St. Andrew Undershaft. It obtained 
 the latter appellation from a high May-pole, or shaft, 
 which was set up, annually, on May-day, in the mid- 
 dle of the street, opposite the south door of the 
 church, and was higher than the church-steeple. 
 After the insurrection of the apprentices, on Evil 
 May-day, in the year lol7, the shaft was hung upon 
 a range of hooks, under the pent-houses of a long 
 
 * Sun'aie, p. 1-W. 
 3 row
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 395 
 
 row of neighbouring buildings, where it remained 
 until the third ot'Edvvard VI. when a fanatic preacher, 
 called Sir Stephen, curate of St. Catharine, Cree- 
 church, preaching at St. PauFs-cross, declaimed 
 against it, as being made an idol, by naming the 
 church under that shaft; which so inflamed his 
 equally fanatic auditory, that, in the afternoon of the 
 same day, it was, with great labour, lowered from 
 the hooks, and sawed in pieces; each man taking 
 for his share, the portion which had lain over his 
 door. 
 
 The church w^as originally founded in 1362; but 
 it had become so ruinous, that the present one was 
 begun to be built about the year 1502, and, for the 
 most part, finished, at the charge of William Fitz- 
 Williams, who was sheriff in 1507; the north side, 
 however, was erected by Stephen Jenyns, lord mayor, 
 in 1 508 ; whose arms are carved above all the pillars 
 on that side. It was not completed until 1532. 
 This church escaped the flames, in 1666. It is a 
 plain Gothic structure, with a square tower, termi- 
 nated by battlements, with pinnacles at the corners; 
 within which rises a turret, that contains six bells. 
 The leuf^th of the church is ninetv-six feet ; its 
 breadth fifty-four, and its height, to the roof, forty- 
 two. The altitude of the square tower is seventy- 
 four feet, and that of the turret seventeen feet, it 
 i.s a rectory, in the patronage of the Bishop of Lon- 
 don. The window over the altar, contains the por- 
 traits of lidward \T. Elizabeth, James I. and Charles 
 I. and II. and is a fine specimen of the art of painting 
 on glass, in the 17th century. 
 
 In this church was interred the faithful and able 
 historiographer of the city, John Stow. He died on 
 the 5th of April, 1605, and, to the shame of his time, 
 in great poverty. His monument is still in being: 
 he is represented sitting with a table before him, on 
 
 which
 
 i>96 HISTORY AMD SURVEY OF 
 
 which is an open book, with many books lying- be- 
 side him. The figure has a reverend aspect, with a 
 short white beard, the crown of the head bald, and 
 short hair above the ears; it is of terra-cotta, or 
 burnt earth, painted; a common practice in those 
 days, though novv' considered a new invention. 
 
 The name of a church, which stood formerly on 
 the north side of Leadenhall-street, is still pre- 
 served in that of the street called St. Mary Axe. 
 This church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and 
 received the appellation of " at the Axe," from a 
 sign which hung opposite the east end of it. But 
 this parish being, about the year lo65, united to that 
 of St. Andrew Undershaft, the church of St. Mary 
 \\'i& let as a warehouse, and for mechanical purposes, 
 till, at length, it became so ruinous, that it was en- 
 tirely taken down. 
 
 On the north side of Fenchurch-street, is a very 
 noble hall, erected in the year 1748, by the Iron- 
 mongers, for transacting their affairs as a body cor- 
 porate. This cdihce is entirely fronted with stone, 
 and the whole lower story is wrought in rustic. The 
 centre part of the building projects a little ; and in 
 this are a large arched entrance, and two windows, 
 with two others on each side. Over this rustic story 
 rises the superstructure, which has a light rustic at 
 the corners, to keep up a corres|X)iidence with the 
 rest of the building: the part which projects, is orna- 
 mented with four Ionic pilasters, coupled, byt with 
 a large intercoluniniation. In the middle is a very 
 noble Venetian window, and over it a circular one. 
 In each space, between the pilasters, is a smaller win- 
 dow, w ith an angular pediment ; and over these are 
 also circular ones; but the sides have arched win- 
 dows, with square ones over them. The central 
 part is crowned with a pediment, supported by these 
 pilasters, and in its plane arc carved the arms of the 
 
 company.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 397 
 
 company, with handsome decorations in relievo. Tha 
 rest of the building is terminated by a balustrade 
 crowned with vases. 
 
 On the opposite side of Fenchurch-street, in 
 Church-row, formerly JNIagpye-alley, stands the pa- 
 rish church of St. Catharine Coleman, which is so 
 denominated from its dedication to St, Catharine, a 
 virgin of Alexandria, celebrated for lier great know- 
 ledge in philosophy, and as being a martyr for the 
 Christian faith. It received the addition of Cole- 
 man, from a great yard or garden, called, at that 
 time, Coleman-haw, in the parish of the Trinity, af- 
 terwards Christ-church. It is a rectory of ancient 
 foundation, even so far back as the year 13A6. The 
 old church was substantially repaired, and a south 
 aisle added, in f-i.89, by Sir WiUiam White, Lord 
 Mayor of London. It escaped the fire of London, 
 in 1666; but, being much buried by the raising of 
 the street, in 1734, it was pulled down, aud the pre- 
 sent church was erected at the expense of the ])a- 
 rish, under the sanction of an act of parliament, I'i 
 Geo. 11. whereby, and by another act passed for the 
 same purpose, the parishioners were enabled to raise 
 money, by annuities, at the rate of eight pounds per 
 cent, per annum, and to rate the inhabitants, to pay 
 the said annuities. 
 
 This church was originally in the patronage of the 
 Dean of St. Martin's-le-Crand, Loudon, and so con- 
 tinued till that religious house, with its aj)purte- 
 nances, was annexed to the abbey of Westminster: 
 afti^r which it fell to the crown, and the advowson 
 was given, by Queen Mary, on the :5d of March, in 
 the first year of her reign, to the IVishop of London, 
 and his successors in that see, for ever. The present 
 church has a lofty body, well lighted with two rows 
 of windows. The steeple is a plain tower, crowned 
 with battlements; and the Uoor is raised somucli 
 
 above
 
 S9S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 above the surface of the street, that there is an ascent 
 of several steps into the church, from the church- 
 yard ; by which means, there is Httle reason to ex- 
 pect this edifice will ever fall under the like disad- 
 vantage with the former. 
 
 in this parish was the manor of Blanch-Apleton, 
 now called Blind Chapel-court, at the north-east 
 corner of Mark-lane. In the Jd of Edward IV. all 
 basket-makers, wire-drawers, and other foreigners, 
 were permitted to have shops in the manor of 
 Blanoh-Apelton, and no where else, within the city 
 or suburbs. 
 
 Between the church and Mark-lane, is a street, 
 called London-street, from being built on the spot 
 where the London-tavern, the first house of that de- 
 scription, in the city, formerly stood. 
 
 Opposite this church is a very neat street, called 
 Fenchurch-buildings; to the east of which is North- 
 umberland-alley, so called from the mansion-house 
 of the two earls of Northumberland, in tiie reion of 
 Henry YL one of whom lost his life in the battle of 
 St. Alban's; the other in that of Towton. Being 
 afterwards deserted by the Percies, the gardens were 
 made into bowling-alleys, and other parts into dicing 
 houses ; but, in Stow's time, " this ancient and only 
 patron of mis-rule," was forsaken by her gamesters, 
 and converted into a number of small cottages, for 
 strangers and others. 
 
 At the south-east angle of Crec-clnirch-lanc, in 
 Leadenhall-street, stands the church of St. Catharine 
 Cree. This church received its name from being 
 dedicated to St. Catharine, an Egyptian virgin, and 
 is distinguished from other churchts of the same 
 name, by the addition of Cree, or Christ, fiom its 
 situation in the cemetery of the conventual church 
 of the iloly Trinity, which was origiun'ly called 
 Christ-church. 
 
 ^ Iving
 
 LONDON? AND ITS ENVIRON^S. 395 
 
 King Henry YIll. in his grant of the priory of 
 Holy Trinity to Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord) And- 
 ley, gave this church also; the prior and canons of 
 Christ-church having been, originally, and always, 
 patrons thereof. When Lord Audley died, he, by 
 his will, bequeathed it to the master and fellows of 
 Magdalen-college, in Cambridge, and their succes- 
 sors, whom he enjoined to serve the cure for ever ; 
 who leased out the impropriation to the parishioners 
 for ninety-nine years; but a dispute arising, between 
 the college and the parish, at the expiration of the said 
 lease, in 1725, about a renewal, a lease was granted 
 to Jerome Knapp, haberdasher of London; and, in 
 order to settle the difference, it was agreed, that one 
 hundred and fifty jx)unds per ann. should be raised 
 by the parishioners, in lieu of tythes, &c. out of 
 which tlie officiating curate should be paid fifty 
 pounds per annum, for the first ten years, besides 
 surplice fees, &c. and, after the expiration of that 
 term, seventy pounds per annum, besides surplice 
 fees; and this agreement was confirmed by act of 
 parliament, in the month of May, 1727- 
 
 The present structure was erected in 1G3(), and 
 the dial post and clock, in 1662. It is built of stone, 
 in a mixed style. It has rounded battlements on the 
 top, and a sfjuare tower, with battlements of the same 
 kind. This tower is crowned with a square turret, 
 over which is a dome, aiul from its sununit rises the 
 weathercock. Tho length of the <"liurch is ninety 
 feet; the breadth hlty-one ; the altitude of the roof, 
 which is square, supported by pilasters and cohunns 
 of the Composite order, is thirty-seven feet; and tliat 
 of the steeple, is seventy-fi\'e feet. 
 
 At the west end of this church, adjoining to the 
 steeple, stands a pillar of the old church, as it was 
 erected. 'I'his pillar, from the base to the chapiter, 
 upon which the arch was turned, being eighteen 
 
 feet
 
 iOO HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 feet high, and but three to be seen above ground, 
 shows the height to which the floor ot" the new 
 church has been raised above that of the old. 
 . This churcli is a curacy; and the parishioners have 
 the privilege of choosing their own unnister, who 
 must be Ucensed by the Bishop of London. 
 
 Crutch{!d-friars is so called from a house of the 
 Crouched or Crossed Friars ( Fratres Sancfi Cruets ), 
 Avhich stood there, and was founded in the vear 
 1298, by Ralph Hosier and William Sabernes, who 
 became friars in it. Originally, they carried in their 
 hands an iron cross, which thev afterwards chaniT-ed 
 into one of silver. On their garments, they wore a 
 cross of red cioth. A prior of this house, not so ob- 
 servant as he ought to have been of the rules of con- 
 tinence prescribed by the order, was caught, on a 
 Friday, a day of more than ordinary mortification and 
 devotion, in the apartment of a lewd woman, by 
 some of the visitors appointed by the Vicar-general, 
 Cromwell, The scandalized visitors pocketed a bribe 
 of thirty pounds, given them by the detected prior, 
 and reported the transaction to their employer. This 
 hastened the dissolution of the house, which was 
 granted by Henry YIIl. to Sir Tliomas AVyatt, who 
 built a handsome mansion on the site. The friars' 
 hall was converted into a glass-house, the first manu- 
 facture of that article in England; which, on the 4th 
 of September, 1 575, was destroyed by fire. On the 
 site of this religious house, now stands a most magni- 
 ficent warehouse for teas, belonging to the East India 
 company, it is a regular oblong square, of two hun- 
 dred and fifty feet, by a hundred and sixty ; inclos- 
 ing a court of a hundred and fifty feet, by sixty, en^ 
 tered by an arched gateway. 
 
 CHAP. VI.
 
 LOi<rDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 401 
 
 CHAP. Vi. 
 
 Of L'lme-strect IVard. — Bounds. — Prccincls ,-^Princit)al 
 Plaices, — LeadenhalL — East India House. 
 
 The next is Lime-street ward, so called from the 
 street, which is supposed to have received this name 
 from making- or selling lime there. It is bounded on 
 the east and north by Aldgate ward, on the west by 
 Bishopsgate ward, and on the south by Langhourn 
 ward. It is divided into four precincts, and is under 
 the government of an alderman, four common- 
 council-men, four constables, thirteen inquest-men, 
 and a beadle. Though this ward runs through 
 several parishes, there is not any church in it, neither 
 is there a whole street throughout it. The only 
 two buildings in it deserving of notice, are Leaden- 
 hall and the East India House. 
 
 Leadenhall is situated on the south side, and near 
 the west end of tlie street of that name, it was 
 originally a manor-house, belonging to Sir Hugh 
 Neville, in the year 1:309; and was purchased by 
 the munificent Whittington in 1408, who afterwards 
 presented it to the city. In 1419, Sir Simon Eyre 
 erected a public granary here, built with stone, in' its 
 present form. He also built a chapel within the 
 square, which he intended to apply to the uses of a 
 foundation for a warden, six secular priests, six clerks, 
 and two choristers ; and also for three schoolmasters: 
 and he left three thousand marks to the Drapers' 
 Company to fulfil his intent, which was never ex- 
 ecuted ; but, in 1 i66, there was a fraternity of 
 sixty priests here, founded by William Rouse/ and 
 
 VOL. II. r fV TWO
 
 402 HISTORY AKD SUllVEY OF 
 
 two ctliers, some of whom celebrated divine service 
 to the market people daily. 
 
 This house was used for many other purposes : 
 anciently it was the city arsenal, and, from its 
 strength, it v/as considered as the chief fortress with- 
 in the city, in case of popular tumults. Stow says, 
 thatin his 3"outh, thecommonbeam for weighing wool 
 and other wares, was in a part of the north quadrant, 
 on the east side of the north gate ; on the west side of 
 the gate were scales to weigh meal. The other 
 three sides were reserved, for the most part, to the 
 making and resting of the pageants showed at Mid- 
 simnmer, in the watch. The remnant of the sides 
 and quadrants were employed for the stowage of 
 wool-sacks, but not closed up. The lofts above 
 Avere partly used by painters in working for the deck- 
 ing of pageants and other devices; and the residue 
 'was let to merchants and to woolwinders and pack- 
 ers, to wind and pack their wool therein. 
 
 In its present state it is used as a market for pro- 
 visions and various other articles, and is supposed to 
 be the most extensive in Europe. It consists of 
 three courts or yards, the first of which is that at the 
 north east corner of Gracechurch, opening into 
 Leadenhall-street. It contains a great number of 
 stalls or standings for butchers ; and, as there is but 
 little meat sold here, except beef, it is distinguished 
 by the name of the Beef-market. On Tuesdays this 
 yard is a market for leather; on Thursdays the wag- 
 gons from Colchester and other parts come with 
 baize, &c. and also the fellmongers with their wool; 
 on Fridays it is a market for raw hides ; and on 
 Saturdays, for beef. 
 
 The second market-yard is called the Green-yard, 
 as being once a green plot of ground ; afterwards it 
 was the city's store-yai<l for materials for building 
 
 and
 
 L0^'D0?7 AND ITS ENVTROKS. 40;j 
 
 Qfid the like, but now a market for veal, mutton, 
 lamb, &c. This yard hath in it a hundred and 
 forty stalls, all covered over, and of the bigness of 
 those in the Beef-market. In the middle of this 
 Green-yard-market, is a row of shops, with rooms 
 over them for Fishmongers ; and also on the south 
 ^ide and west end are houses and shops for fish- 
 mongers. Towards the east end of this yard is 
 erected a market-house, standing upon columns, 
 with vaults underneath, and rooms above, with a 
 bell-tower, and a clock, and under it are but- 
 chers^ stalls. The tenements round about this 
 yard, are, for the most part, inhabited by cooks, 
 victuallers, and such like ; and in the passages, lead- 
 ing out of tlie streets into this market, are fish- 
 mongers, poulterers, cheesemongers, and such like 
 traders. 
 
 The third market, belonging to Leadenhall, is 
 called the Herb-market, because only herbs, roots, 
 fruit, &c. are sold there. The west, east, and nci h 
 sides, have walks round them, covered over for shel- 
 ter, and standing upon columns; in which walks 
 there are twenty-eight stalls for gardeners, with cel- 
 lars under them. 
 
 Being rebuilt in the year 1730, it is now called. 
 New Market, or Nashe's Rents^ and hath shops in 
 it, chiefly for butchers, and a new passage into Lime- 
 street. There is, also, in this yard, one range of 
 stalls, covered over, for such as sell tripe, neats'- 
 feet, sheeps'-trotters, &c. And, on the south-side, 
 the tenements are taken up by victualicrs, poul- 
 terers, cheesemongers, butchers, and such like. Be- 
 yond this, are, likewise, some shops, built in the year 
 1730, in that part called, the Old Bacon-market, 
 which are chiefly occupied by poulterers, and such 
 as deal in bacon. 
 
 On
 
 404 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 On the same side of the street, a little more to the 
 east, stands the East India-house, which was greatly 
 enlarged, and new fronted, in the year 1799: it 
 occupies the site of the house and gardens, formerly 
 belonging to the Earls of Craven, of whom the con^- 
 pany rented it, prior to 172^^^vhen the old East India- 
 house wasbuilt. The principal entrance, from Leaden- 
 hall-street, is through a portico, consisting of six fluted 
 columns, of the jonic order, supporting a frieze, de- 
 corated with antique ornaments, surmounted by a 
 pediment, in the tympanum of which is an elegant 
 group of emblematical figures. The principal figure 
 \n this group represents his majesty, leaning on his 
 sword, which is in his left hand, and extending the 
 shield of protection, with his right arm, over Britan- 
 nia, who is embracing Libert}'. On one side, INIer- 
 curj^ attended by Navigation, and followed by trir 
 tons and sea-horses, emblematical of Commerce, in- 
 troduces Asia to Britannia, at whose feet she poms 
 out her rich productions. On the other side is Or- 
 der, accompanied by Religion and Justice. Behind 
 these appears the city barge, and other emblems of 
 London, near which are integrity an,d Industry. The 
 ■western angle is filled by the Thames, and the eastern 
 by the Ganges; indicative of their respective posi- 
 tions. On the apex of this pediment is a pedestal, 
 on which is Britannia, seated on her lion, and hold- 
 ing, in her left hand, a spear, with a cap of liberty 
 upon it. Above one extremity of the portico is Eu- 
 rope, seated on a horse, and above tlj.e other, Asia, 
 on a cameL 
 
 Under this portico is the door of the hall, from 
 iwhich a long passage leads to a court, surrounded by 
 offices for diflerent purposes. In it are two of Tip- 
 poo's long tyger guns, the muzzles of which are 
 moulded to represent the extended jaws of that fe- 
 rocious
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 40^ 
 
 .jfooious animal: the workmanship of these pieces is 
 worthy of admiration. 
 
 The court room is on the right of the entrance: k 
 is very elegantly iittecl up, and well lighted by two 
 rows of windows, on the left hand side. The chim- 
 ney-piece is of fine white marble, the cornice of 
 >vhich is supported by two caryatides of statuary 
 marble, on pilasters of veined marble. Above this 
 is an emblematical design, in fine white marble, 
 representing Britannia seated on a globe, under r^ 
 rock, by the sea side, with a trident in her left hand, 
 and her right arm on a shield, bearing the union 
 cross. Behind her are two boys; one leaning on a 
 cornucopia, the other playing with its contents. Be^ 
 fore her are three female figures: the first, reprcr 
 scnting India, ofifers her a casket of jewels, from 
 which a strinc^ of diamonds are hanc^ino' down. Next 
 her is Asia, holding an incense pot in one hand, and 
 the bridle of a camel in the other. The third figure 
 represents Africa, decorated with the spoils of an 
 elephant, and one hand resting on the head of a lion. 
 On the shore is the sfod of the Thames, holding- a 
 rudder in his right hand, and a cornucopia in his left. 
 Above all are the companys' arms, tastefully deco- 
 rated. In this room are elegant paintings of lort 
 St. George, Bombay, Fort William, Tellicherry, the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena. There are 
 many other good paintings in the difierent rooms, 
 particularly, two portraits of Marquis Cornwaliis and 
 Governor Hastings, in the room for the committee 
 of correspondence, both bequeathed to the company 
 by William Larkin, Esq. In the upper story of the 
 building is a room fitted up as a library, in which a 
 collection of books, in all the oriental languages, is form- 
 ing. It is already rich in specimens of Hindostanee, 
 l^ersian, and Chinese manuscripts and printed works, 
 
 and
 
 406 HISTORY AND SURVEY 09 
 
 and contains a complete set of the materials for print- 
 ing a book in the Chinese language ; consisting not 
 only of the blocks with which each page is printed, 
 but also of the tools for cutting them; the ink, press, 
 &c. Here is also a museum of natural curiosities, 
 and several specimens of antiquities, particularly the 
 Roman pavement, lately found before the house in 
 Leadenhall-street, 
 
 CHAP. VII.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 407 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of Bishopsgate War d.-^-Boiinds. '-^Divisions. '—'Precincts » 
 — Principal Streets. — Gracechurch-street. — Leadenhall 
 Herh'Tnarket — Bishopsgate-street. — Old Houses. — Lon" 
 
 doTi'-tavern, — Antiquities. Crosby -square. — Remains 
 
 of Richard Illd's House. Great St. Helen's. — Parish 
 
 Church of St. Helen. Bancroft's Monument. — Judd's 
 
 Alms-houses. — Little St, Helens — Leather-sellers' Hall, 
 Old Priory. — Roman Pavement. — Church of St. Ethel* 
 lurgJu — Marine Society. — St. Botolph luithout Bishops- 
 gate. — Old Bet hlem.-— London lVbrkhouse.--Devonshire' 
 square. — Old ylrtillery -ground. — Hospital of St, Mary 
 Spital. — Spital Sermons. — New Broad-street, 
 
 The ward of Bishopsgate takes its name from the 
 gate, which stood ahnost in the centre of it, between 
 the ends of Camomile-street and Wormwood-street. 
 It is bounded on the east by Aldgate-ward, Port- 
 soken-ward, and part of the Tower Uberty ; on the 
 south, by Langbourn-ward ; on the west, by Broad- 
 street-ward, and on the north, by Shoreditch. It 
 extends, from the bars, at the north end, near Spital- 
 scjuare, on both sides of tlic way, as far as tlie pump, 
 at the corner of St. Martin Outwich, and then,, 
 winding by the west corner of Leadenhall, dowu 
 Gracechurch-street, as far as Fenchurch-street and 
 Lombard-street. 
 
 Tiiis ward consists of two parts ; viz. Bishopsgate 
 within, and Bichopsgate without, and is divided into 
 nine precincts; five in the former, and four in the, 
 latter part. It is governed by one alderman, fourteen 
 couuuon-council-men, including two deputies, seven 
 constables, thirteen inquest-men, and two beadles. 
 
 The
 
 405 HISTORY A^'t) SUllVEY OF 
 
 The principal streets and places in this- ward 
 are, Bishopsgate-street, Gracechurch-street, Crosby- 
 square, Great and Little St. Helens, Old Bethlem, 
 Devonshire-square, and New Broad-street. 
 
 Grace, or Grass-church-street, so called from a 
 grass-market, formerly held there, is a spjidiOus well- 
 built street, inhabited, principally, by respectable 
 shopkeepers. It begins at Eastcheap, and ends at 
 the cross-way formed by it, Leadenhall-street, Bi- 
 shopsgate-street, and Cornhill ; but the part of it be- 
 tween Lombard-street and Eastcheap, is not in this 
 ward. 
 
 Leadenliall Herb-market, the principal entrance 
 to which is from Gracechurch-street, is in this ward. 
 It is large, and well supplied with vegetables of all 
 kinds. 
 
 Bishopsgate-street is very long and spacious, and 
 consists, principally, of handsome buildings; but as 
 it all escaped the fire in 1666, except the south 
 end, many of the houses still remain specimens of the 
 ancient architecture of London ; particularly a public 
 house, on the west side, at the corner of Half-moon- 
 alley, known by the sign of Sir Paul Pindar; The 
 White-hart Tavern, another building, equally cele- 
 brated for its antiquity, stood just without the gate ; 
 the date, in front of it, is 1 430 ; but all remains of the 
 old edifice had disappeared, when Pennant wrote his 
 Account of London. 
 
 The south end of this street was again burned in 
 the year 1765, and an elegant row of buildings- 
 erected on the spot; among which is the London- 
 tavern, where large meetings of merchants and 
 others are frecjuently held, as well for business as 
 for purposes of pure conviviality. In clearing the 
 rubbish, to make way for these buildings, the re* 
 mains of an ancient church or chapel were disco- 
 vered 
 
 4
 
 i/(ry/r}r rv/r/' >■ //* /////^ * /7//f/rry,j, * AJ/,j/^y/,f//^r/<' • //^^vv 
 
 "nHuhni hf r.lhuthr,' Stati.u*fiv I'.^url .luo.tt.iJ^oji .
 
 LON'DOX AND ITS ENVIRONS. 409 
 
 WreO, which had long served for the uses of cel- 
 iariiio- to the four house* that covered this rehc of 
 yiitiquity; but when, or by whom, this old church 
 Was founded, ca'nnot be traced. The inside of it 
 measured forty feet in length, and twenty-six in 
 breadth. The roof was only ten feet nine inches 
 fium the floor, occasioned by the raising of the 
 ground in this part of the city. 
 
 It was conjectured, that the )3remises here men- 
 tioned were the remains of a church, which once 
 stood at the top of, or above, Cornhill, dedicated to 
 St. Andrew the Apostle; from >vhich the other 
 church, at the corner of St. jNlary Axe, dedicated to 
 the same saint, was distinguished by the addition of 
 Undershaft. 
 
 About twelve feet farther to the north, and under 
 the house, where the'Jire was supposed to have be- 
 gun, there was another stone building, thirty feet 
 long, fourteen feet broad, and eight feet high, with 
 a door on the north side, a window at the east end, 
 and the appearance of another at the w^est end. This 
 building was covered with a semicircular arch, made 
 of small pieces of chalk, in the form of bricks, and 
 rubbed with stone, resembling the arches of a bridge: 
 but this structure did not appear to have any con- 
 nection with the first; nor does any ancient history 
 give us the least account thereof, nor of any reli- 
 gious or other remarkable foundation in this neiirh- 
 bourhood, that could be so strangely buried. 
 
 On the east side of Bishopsgate-street is Crosby- 
 scjuare, so called from Sir John Crosby, Knt. who 
 built a large house here, in 1466. This house was 
 the city residence of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 
 while the measures, which, eventually, secured him 
 the crown, were concerting. Part of this house still 
 remains, on the north side of the entrance into the 
 square, which is chiefly buili on the garden-ground 
 
 VOL. II. G i^f-r that
 
 410 - HISTOIIY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 that belonged to the house. The part, improperly 
 called Richard llld.'s chapel, is still very entire. It 
 is a beautiful Gothic building, with a bow window 
 at one end; the roof, which is of timber, elegantly 
 carved, is very worthy of admiration. This building 
 is now the residence of a packer. 
 
 At a short distance nortli of this square, in a hand- 
 some open place, called, from the church, Great St. 
 Helen's, stands the parish church of St. Helen, so 
 denominated from its dedication to St. Helena, the 
 mother of Constantine the Great. The patronage of 
 it appears to have been anciently in lay hands; for, 
 in the reign of Henry il. one Ranulph, with his son 
 Robert, granted it to the Dean and Chapter of St. 
 Paul's, by whom it was, some time after, granted to 
 William Fitzwilliain, who, in 1212, founded the priory 
 of St. Helen, and conferred the advowson of the 
 church on the prioress and nuns, in whom it conti- 
 nued till the suppression of their convent, in 1539, 
 when it came to the crown. In the year lo51, Ed- 
 ward yi. granted the advowson to Nicholas Ridley, 
 Bishop of London, and his successors; which grant 
 was confirmed by Queen Mary, in 1553: but it ap- 
 pears to have reverted to the crown afterwards ; for, 
 in 156s, Queen Elizabeth granted it, by lease, to 
 Cffizar Aldermarie, and Thomas Colcel, in trust for 
 the parishioners, for a term of twenty-one years; 
 which lease being expired, she sold it to INIichael 
 and Edward Stanhope, to be held by them, their 
 heirs and assigns, in soccage. It has, however, been 
 since re-granted to the Dean and Chapter of St. 
 Paul's. 
 
 This church, which escaped the fire of London, in 
 1666, is a Gothic structure of the lighter kind, con- 
 sisting of a plain body, w ith large windows. The 
 length of it is one hundred and eleven feet, its 
 breadth fifty, and its altitude thirty-eight; that of 
 
 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 411 
 
 the tower, which was not built till 1669, is sixty- 
 eight feet. It is adorned with rustic work at the 
 corners, and crowned with a turret and dome, wherein 
 are two bells. 
 
 In this church are several very curious monu- 
 ments; particularly that of I'rancis Bancroft, one of 
 the lord mayor's officers, who liavino-, in a course of 
 years, amassed a very considerable sum of money, by 
 the most mercenary and illegal practices in his office, 
 left the principal part of it in trust to the Drapers' 
 company, to found and maintain an alms-house, foi 
 twenty-four alms-men, a chapel, and a school, and 
 to keep this monument, which he erected in his 
 life-time, in oood and substantial repair; within 
 which he is emboweled, embalmed, and in a chest, 
 or box, made with a lid, to fall down, with a pair of 
 hinges, without any fastening; and a piece of square 
 glass in the lid, just over his face. It is a very plain 
 monument, almost square, and has a door for the 
 sexton to go in and clear it from dust and cobwebs; 
 but the keys of the iron rails about the monument, 
 and of the vault door, are kept by the clerk of the 
 Drapers' company. The minister has twenty shil- 
 lings for preaching a sermon, once a year, in comme- 
 moration of Mr, Bancroft's charities ; on which occa- 
 sion, the alms-men and scholars attend at church, and 
 are, by the will of the founder, entertained with a 
 good dinner, at some neighbouring public-house. The 
 sexton has forty shillings a year for keeping the mo- 
 nument clear of dust. 
 
 On the left hand side of the entrance into Great 
 St. Helen's, are a set of alms-houses, founded by Sir 
 Andrew Judd, Knt. as appears by a tablet in front of 
 the building, though some of the historians of Lon- 
 don assert, that he was only the executor of Lady 
 Holies, the relict of Sir William Holies, lord mayor 
 
 in
 
 1!2 HISTORY AKD SURVEY OF 
 
 ill the year 153], by whom the money for this foun- 
 dation was devised. They are for the reception of 
 six poor men or women, and the Skinners' company 
 are trustees of the charitv, which has been so much 
 mcreased by the contributions of other benefactors, 
 that the houses have been rebuiU, and the pensions 
 of the poor inhabitants, which at first was only se- 
 ven pence per week, increased. 
 
 Immediately adjoining- to Great St. Helen's, is 
 Little St. Helen's, on the site of the priory men- 
 tioned before; the remains of which were to be seen, 
 till very lately, in Leathersellers'-kall, now^ pulled 
 down, to make way for a handsome range of new 
 buildings, to be called St. Helen's-place. This com- 
 pany purchased the priory of Queen Elizabeth, and, 
 with part of the materials, luiilt the largest and most 
 elegant hall at that time in London. Their business 
 is now carried on in a house at the east end of the 
 place, built by them at the same period, of which 
 the upper panes of the windows, on the first floor, 
 are formed of painted glass, said to have been taken 
 from the priory. This house may be considered as 
 a perfect specimen of the architecture of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth's reign. All that is now left of the priory, is 
 in the cellars under the two old houses, on the right 
 hand side of St. Helen's-place. 
 
 In digging foundations for some houses on the 
 north side of the entrance, from Bishopsgate-street, 
 in 1732, a tesselated Roman pavement was disco- 
 vered, which, from its north-east direction, under 
 the neighbouring houses, was, probably, another part 
 of that found in Camomile-street, in 17U. 
 
 Near the corner of Little St, Helen's, in Bishops- 
 gate-street, stands the church of St. Ethelburga, so 
 called from its dedication to the first christian prin- 
 cess of the Saxon race, the daughter of Etfielbert, 
 3 King
 
 LOKDOX AND ITS ENVIRONS. 41 
 
 q 
 
 King" of Kent, who embraced the christian XfchgioUj 
 and became the patron of Austin, tlie EngHsU 
 apostle. 
 
 The advowson of this church, which is a rectorv, 
 was in the prioress and nuns of St. Helen, till the 
 suppression of their convent, in the year lo.39; 
 w4ien coming to the crown it was some time after 
 granted by Queen Elizabeth, to the Bishop of Lon-» 
 don and his successors, who have ever since col- 
 lated and inducted to the same ; and in ecclesi-; 
 astical matters it is subject to the archdeacon,, This 
 church is very ancient, having escaped the fire of 
 London. The body is irregular, and in the Gothic 
 style, with very large windows : and the steeple is 
 a tall spire, supported on a square tower. Tlic 
 length of this church is fifty-four feet, its breadth, 
 twenty-five, and its altitude, thirty-one ; and that of 
 the spire is about ninety feet. The earliest account 
 of this church, on record, is in 1366, when Robert 
 Kilwardeby was rector. 
 
 Adjoining to this church is a very handsome 
 building, occupied by the Marine Society, who for- 
 merly transacted their business in an apartment over 
 the Royal Exchange. This society was begun in 
 17.56, by a voluntary association of Jonas Elanway, 
 Esq. the justices Fielding and Welsh, and several 
 merchants and others, for cloathing and fitting out 
 such orphan, friendless, and destitute boys, as were 
 willing to engage in the service of the navy. This 
 excellent scheme was prosecuted with such zeal, 
 that man>y thousands have, through its means, been 
 rescued from an abandoned course of life, and ren- 
 dered serviceable to their, king and country. The 
 society was incorporated on the" 9 1-th of June, 1779: 
 and, whether we consider it as a{)rominent feature of 
 well regulated police, or as a nursery fur seanu'M, its 
 advantages will be strikingly evident, and entitle it 
 to the warmest support of the benevolent, In ad- 
 dition
 
 41-i HISTORY AxN'D SURVEY OF 
 
 dition to their first plan, the society have a vessel 
 fitted for the reception of 100 boys, which lies be- 
 tween Deptford and Greenwich, and is provided 
 with proper officers to instruct them in nautical and 
 moral duties. 
 
 On the west side of the street, beyond the place 
 where the gate stood, is the parish church of St. 
 Botolph, without Bishopsgate. This church, which 
 appears to be of very ancient foundation, received 
 its name from being dedicated to St. Botolph, an 
 English Saxon saint, who died about the year 680 : 
 but the first authentic account of it is in 1323, when 
 John de Northampton resigned the rectorship, which 
 then was, and still is, in the gift of the Bishop of 
 London. The old church, which Stow says was 
 upon the very bank of the town ditch, escaped the 
 fire of London ; but at length became so ruinous, 
 that it was taken down in 1726, and rebuilt, being 
 finished in 1729. 
 
 The present structure is massy and spacious ; the 
 body is built with brick, and well enlightened, and 
 the roof hid by a handsome balustrade. The stee- 
 ple, though heavy, maintains an air of magnificence. 
 In the center of the front is a large, plain, arched 
 window, decorated at a distance with pilasters of the 
 Doric order. Over this window is a festoon, and 
 above that an angular pedim^ent; on each side is a 
 door, crowned with windows, and over these there 
 are others of the port hole kind ; above which rises 
 a square tower, crowned with a dome, whose base 
 is circular, and surrounded by a balustrade in the 
 same form ; by the side of which, on the corners of 
 the tower, are placed urns with flames. From this 
 part rises a series of coupled Corinthian pillars, sup- 
 porting other urns like the former, and over them 
 rises the orgive dome, crowned with a very large 
 vase, with flames. The roof within-side is arched, 
 except over the galleries, and tvvo rows of Corin- 
 thian
 
 LOiCDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 415 
 
 thian columns support both the galleries and arch, 
 which extends over the bodv of the church, and is 
 neatly adorned with fret work. 
 
 At a small distance from the north side of this 
 church is a very narrow place called Alderman's 
 Walk, nearly adjoining to which are a street and 
 several courts, known by the general name of Old 
 Bethlem. On this spot formerly stood a priory^ 
 founded in the year 1246, by Simon Fitzmary, she- 
 riff of London, for the support of a community of 
 brothers and sisters, and dedicated to St. Mary of 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 This priory, however, undergoing the fate of all 
 other religious houses, was suppressed by King 
 Heniy Ml. and in the year lo46, the mayor and 
 commonalty of London purchased the said priory 
 from the crown ; and it was by them converted into 
 an hospital for the cure of lunatics, at a certain ex- 
 pense to be paid weekly by the relations or parish of 
 the patient admitted. And at a court of aldermen 
 held the seventh of April, 5 Edward VI. it was or- 
 dered, that the inhabitants within the precinct of 
 Bethlehem should be from thenceforth united to the 
 parish of St. Botolph without Bishopsgate. 
 
 This priory enclosed all the estate and ground, 
 in len^Tth, from Bishopsgate-street, east, to the great 
 ditch in the west, which was called deep ditch, di- 
 viding the said lands from Moorfields, and in breadth, 
 to the land of Ralph Downing, viz. Downing's-alley 
 in the north, and to the land of the church of St. 
 Botc^lph in the south. 
 
 The site and lands of this priory, after its dissolu- 
 tion, being disposed of to the citizens, it was imme- 
 diately let out to divers tenants, and was built upon 
 and divided into streets, alleys, and courts, except 
 a square piece of ground, consisting of about one 
 acre, which is at the north east extrcniity (jf the 
 
 lower
 
 416 ritSTORY AND SURVEY Ofe^ 
 
 lower Moorfields, commonly known by the name of 
 Broker's-row, where formerly was the place called 
 deep ditch. 
 
 In the year 1568, Sir Thomas Rowe, merchant- 
 lay lor and Lord Mayor of London, caused thiiS 
 ground to be inclosed with a brick wall, to be a 
 common burial-ground, at a low rate^ for such pa- 
 rishes in London, as wanted convenient burial places. 
 lie called it the New church-yard near Bethlehem, 
 and established a sermon to be preached there on 
 Whitsunday, annually ; which, for many years, was 
 honoured with the presence of the Lord-mayor and 
 aldermen. This, however, has been for a consider- 
 able time discontinued, and the burial place shut up. 
 
 A little further north of the church, near Half- 
 moon-alley, is a large brick building, known by the 
 name of the London Workhouse. This building 
 was established by act of parliament in the year 
 1649, for the relief and employment of tlie poor, 
 and the punishing vagrants and disorderly persons 
 within the city and liberties of London. In l66'i, 
 another act of parliament was passed, by \vhich the 
 governors, consisting of the lord mayor, aldermen, 
 and fifty-two citizens, chosen by the common- 
 council, were constituted a body corporate with a 
 common seal. The lord mayor, for the time. being, 
 vvtis appointed president of the corporation, which 
 was allowed to purchase lands or tenements to the 
 annual value of three thousand pounds; and the 
 common-council were empowered to rate the several 
 wards, precincts, and parishes of this city, for its 
 support. 
 
 The several parishes, besides their assessments, 
 formerly paid one shilling per week for each child 
 they had in the work-house; but, in the year 1751, 
 the governors |;ame to a resolution, that no more 
 children, paid for by the parishes to which they be- 
 longed,
 
 loNtdon and its environs. 417 
 
 longed, should be taken into the house; and since 
 that time it has been resolved, that only such 
 children should be taken in as were committed by 
 the governors or magistrates of the city, found 
 begging in the streets, pilfering, or lying about in un- 
 inhabited places. 
 
 These children are dressed in russet cloth, with 
 a round badge upon their breasts, representing a 
 poor boy and a sheep, with this motto, God's pro- 
 vidence is my inheritance. The boys are taught to 
 read and write, and the principal part of their time is 
 spent in weaving, &c. the girls are employed in 
 sewing, spinning, and other labour, by which they 
 are qualified for services. When they are arrived 
 at a proper age, the boys are bound out apprentices 
 to trades or the sea ; and the girls are placed in re- 
 putable families. 
 
 When assistance is wanted to defray the expense 
 attending the Workhouse, the governors apply to the 
 court of common-council, who, on each application, 
 order the sum of two thousand pounds to be paid by 
 a proportionate assessment on the respective parishes 
 in the city. 
 
 Since the prison of Ludgate has been taken down, 
 the debtors, citizens of London, have been confined 
 in a part of this building. 
 
 Returning again to the east side of the street, op- 
 posite to Old Bcthlem is Devonshire-square. On this 
 spot was formerly a magnificent structure erected by 
 .hisper Fisher, one of the six clerks in chancery, 
 whose fortune not being ansvvera[)le to his house, it 
 was called in derision, Fisher's Folly. It afterwards 
 belonged to the Earls of Oxford; and, lastly, to the 
 Dutchess of Devonshire, whose name is still preserved 
 to the street and square built on the spot. 
 
 At a small distance north-east from this square, 
 was a place called, ancieiidy. Tassel Close, which 
 
 VOL. II. H h ll WUi
 
 41 S HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 was let to the cross-bow-makers, who used to prac- 
 tise a game on it of shooting at the poppinjay. On 
 the dechne of archery, and the invention of gun- 
 powder, this close was surrounded by a brick wall, 
 and served as an Artillery Ground, where the gun- 
 ners of the Tower used weekly to practice the 
 art of gunnery. The last prior of St. Mary Spital 
 granted this Artillery Ground for thrice ninety- 
 wine years, for the exercise of great and small artil- 
 lery ; and hence this ground became subject 
 to the Tower. The artillery company received a 
 charter from King Henry, which was afterwards con- 
 firmed by Queen Elizabeth : and, in 1622, an 
 armoury was erected in it, containing five hundred 
 sets of arms. The company, at length, grew so nu- 
 merous, that this ground was too small for them ; 
 and when they removed to the present Artillery 
 Ground, this spot was distinguished by the name of 
 the Old Artillery Ground. It is now converted into 
 streets and lanes, but the name is still retained in 
 Artillery-street. 
 
 Contiguous to this field, on the north, where 
 Duke and Steward-streets are situated, stood the 
 priory and hospital of St. Mary Spital, which was 
 founded in the year 1107, by Walter Brune and his 
 wife Rosia, for canons regular. At the time of its 
 surrender to Henry Vlll. in 1539, it was valued at 
 four hundred and seventy-eight pounds per annum, 
 and contained one hundred and eighty beds for the 
 accommodation of poor objects, who were carefully 
 provided with all the necessaries of life. 
 
 To this hospital the lord mayor, aldermen, and 
 sheriffs, repaired annually in their formalities, at- 
 tended by the governors and children of Christ's 
 Hospital, and accompanied by many persons of dis- 
 tinction, to hear the sermons that were preached on 
 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, in Easter week. 
 
 These
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 419 
 
 These sermons, which were always on the subject 
 of the resurrection of our Saviour, were deHveredby 
 some of the most eminent of the city divines, from 
 a pulpit cross, situated in the church yard, like that 
 at St. Paul's; opposite to which was a handsome 
 house, two stories high, for the reception of the 
 mayor and his company. 
 
 This custom was kept up till the year 1 64^2^, but in 
 the grand rebellion the pulpit was broken down by 
 the fanatics, and the preaching discontinued. It 
 was, however, so far revived at the restoration, that 
 the Spital sermons have been since preached at St. 
 Bride's in Fleet-street. 
 
 The street leading from the gate to Shoreditch was 
 first paved, ift pursuance of an act of parliament, 
 in 154.3. 
 
 Between the church-yard of St. Botolph, and the 
 south-east corner of Moorfields, was a long street, 
 with several smaller ones contiguous, called Petty 
 France, from having been first inhabited by people 
 of that nation. On this spot now stand the elegant 
 streets called New Broad-street and Broad-street- 
 buildings, the residence of merchants of the fust 
 respectability. 
 
 CHAP. \ 111.
 
 420 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. YIII. 
 
 Of Broad-street ivard. — Bounds. — Trecincts. — Principal 
 
 Streets. — Broad- street. — Excise-ojfice. St. Peter-le- 
 
 Puor. — Austin Friars. — Dutch Church. — Winchester'- 
 street. — Pinners' -hall. — llireaclneedle- street . — French 
 Protestant Church. — Hospital of St. Anthony. — South 
 Sea House. — St. Martin Outwich. — Merchant Taylors' 
 Hall. — St. Bennet Fink. — Allhalloivs, London-wall.— 
 Carpenters' -hall. — Throgmor ton- street. --Drapers' -hall. 
 St. Bartholomew, Exchange. — Bank of England. — ■ 
 Eoyal Exchange. 
 
 This ward takes its name from a street in it, 
 M'htch obtained the appellation of Broad-stjeet for 
 being, before the fire of London, one of the widest 
 within the v,ails of the city. It is bounded on the 
 north and east by Bishopsgate ward ; on the south 
 by Cornhill and Wallbrook wards, and on the west 
 by Coleman-street ward. 
 
 It is divided into ten precincts, and extends from 
 the north-east corner of Hchnet-court, in Worm- 
 wood-street, to the iron gate near the back part of 
 Bethlem Hospital ; from thence to St. Margaret's 
 church in Lothbury ; then turning to the south- 
 west to St. Wildred's-court, in the Poultry, which is 
 its south-west extremity : from hence it passes 
 along Thread needle-street, and across Finch- lane to 
 St. Martin's Outwich ; and, keeping to the eastward 
 of Bi'oad-street, terminates in Helmet-coint. It is 
 governed by an alderman, ten common-council- 
 men, ten constables, thirteen inquest-men, and a 
 beadle. 
 
 Within its limits are included Old Broad-street, 
 Thread, or Threenecdle-street, Bartholomew-lane, 
 'i'hrogmorton-street, Winchester-stn^et. Austin Friars, 
 and part of Londgn-wall. 
 
 In
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 421 
 
 In surveying this ward we shall begin at that part 
 of it from which it derives its name, viz. Broad -street. 
 On the east side of this street stands the Excise- 
 ofiice, a handsome plain stone building, of four 
 stories in height, with an entrance through the 
 middle of it into a large yard, in which is another 
 building of brick, nearly the size of the principal one. 
 The front building stands on the site of ten alms- 
 houses, founded by Sir Thomas Gresham in lJ7o ; 
 and the back one, with the yard, occupies the space 
 on which Gresham College formerly stood. J^art of 
 it is in Bishopsgate ward. From the centre of both 
 buildings, are long passages and staircases to the gal- 
 leries, in which are the numerous offices for the 
 commissioners and clerks in the ditierent departments 
 of the excise- 
 
 This is the principal office of excise in liis 
 majesty's dominions, and the business of it is con- 
 ducted by nine commissioners, under whom are a 
 great number of olticers, both within and without the 
 house. These receive the duties on beer, ale, and 
 spirituous liquors ; on tea, coffee, and chocolate ; 
 on malt, hops, soap, starch, candles, paper, vellum, 
 parchment, and other exciseable connnodities : for 
 the surveying and collecting of wiiich duties a great 
 number of out-door officers are employed in d liferent 
 districts or divisions, throughout the kingdom, to 
 prevent frauds and losses. Before these com- 
 missioners all cases of seizure for frauds committed 
 jn the several branches of the revenue under their 
 direction, are tried : and from their determination 
 |;here is no appeal except to the commissioners of 
 f^ppeal, who are part of themselves, for a rehearino-. 
 
 On the west side of Broad-street, nearly opposite 
 to the back entrance of the South-sea-house, is si- 
 tuated the parish church of St. Peter-le-jx)or. This 
 cliurch is of very ancient foundation, as aj)pears 
 
 froui
 
 423 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 from a register of it so far back as the year 1181. 
 It was dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle, and is dis- 
 tinguished from other churches of that name by the 
 additional epithet of ],e Poor, which Stow conjectures 
 was given to it from the ancient state of the parish, 
 though, in his time, there were many fair houses in 
 it, possessed by rich merchants and others. 
 
 The old church projected a considerable distance 
 beyond the line of the houses, and was a great ob- 
 struction to the passage of the street, in consequence 
 of which, an act of parliament was passed, in 1788, 
 for taking it down and rebuilding it, further back, 
 taking in the site of a court behind. This desirable 
 object was completed in 1791, at an expense of 
 upwards of four thousand pounds, of which the 
 city of London subscribed four hundred; the re- 
 mainder was raised by annuities in the parish. The 
 west end of this nevv^ church is elegantly simple : 
 the door is in the centre, between doubled Ionic 
 columns; the ends of the front are adorned with 
 pilasters of the same order, between which and the 
 columns, are a blank window on each side. Above 
 the door is a moulded pediment, with a plain tympa- 
 num, over which rises a square tower, in two stories; 
 the first plain, for the clock and bells, the second 
 ornamented with double Corinthian pilasters at the 
 corners, on each of which stands a handsome vase. 
 The whole is surmounted with an elegant bell- 
 shaped dome, terminated by a weathercock. It is a 
 rectory, the advowson of which appears to have been 
 always in the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. 
 
 At a small distance west of this church is Austin 
 Friars, built on the site of a priory dedicated to St. 
 Augustine, or Austin, Bishop of Hippo, in Africa, 
 and founded for the friars Eremites of that order, by 
 Mumphry Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex. The 
 lounder and liis family built a very fair and capacious 
 
 church;
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 433 
 
 church; but this, with the other buildings within its 
 precincts, w^ere granted awa}^ in parcels, by King 
 Henry VIll. In the fourth year of his reign, Edward 
 VI. granted all the church, except the choir and 
 steeple, to a congregation of Germans, and other 
 strangers, who fled here for the sake of religion, and 
 ordered it to be called, The Temple of the Lord 
 Jesus. Several successive princes have confirmed 
 it to the Dutch, by whom it is still used as a place 
 of worship. 
 
 It is a large and spacious Gothic edifice, supported 
 by two rows of stone pillars. At the east end are 
 several steps, leading to a large platform, on v>'hich 
 is placed a long table, with seats against the wall, 
 and forms round, for the use of persons receiving 
 the holy communion: the windows, on one side, 
 have the words, Jesus Temple., painted on them, in 
 several places. At the west end is a library, that 
 contains several vahiable manuscripts, among which 
 are the letters of Calvin, Peter !Slartyr, and other 
 foreign reformers. 
 
 This place of worship, which is now called the 
 Dutch church, in Austin Friars, is served by two 
 ministers, who preach twice every Sunday, and once 
 in the week. They administer the sacrament on the 
 last Sunday in every month, and exchange churches 
 every first Sunday in the month, \\\X\\ the Walloon 
 congregation, for the administration of the Eucharist; 
 their own church in Threadneedle-street being too 
 small. The ministers have good salaries, and the 
 church provides a sufficient subsistence for their 
 widows. 
 
 Part of the house, gardens, and cloisters, belong- 
 ing to this priory, were granted to Sir William Pau- 
 let, lord-treasurer to Henry Vlil. who erected a 
 stately edifice on the site, w^hich afterwards de- 
 volved to jiis son, the Marquis of Vfinchester, with 
 
 4 the
 
 42 Jb HISTORY A^"D SURVEY OF 
 
 the choir and steeple of the conventual church, who 
 disposed of the pavement thereof, with all the mag- 
 nihcent sepulchral monuments of the nobility^ for 
 the pitiful sum of one hundred pounds; he also 
 stripped the roof of the lead, and converted the 
 builchng- into a stable. The remains of the mansion- 
 house are still to be seen in the old Pay-office, at 
 the corner of Winchester-street, now converted into 
 duelling and counting-houses for merchants. Win- 
 chester-street was built on the ground of the gardens, 
 and contains several houses worthy of the notice of 
 the antiquary, particularly that in the south west 
 angle, which is supposed to be the one alluded to 
 by Strype, when he says, " Here was a great 
 messwage, called the Spanish Ambassador's House, 
 of late inhabited by Sir James Iloublon, Knt. and 
 alderman of London." 
 
 At the up]}er end of Pinners'-court, in Winchester- 
 street, stands Pinners' or Pinmakers'-hall, a very 
 antique building, principally used as a dissenting 
 meeting-house. This was also a part of the Au- 
 gustine priory, which was converted into a glass- 
 house, for the manufacture of Venice-glass, before 
 it became the property of the Pinners' company. 
 
 The Walloon, or French protestant church, stands 
 on the north side of Threadneedle-street, opposite. 
 Pinch-lane. It is founded upon the site of the 
 chapel of the hospital of St. Anthony. Divine ser- 
 vice is performed here, in the French tongue, after 
 the manner of the church of England. The old 
 building being entirely destroyed by the fire of Lon- 
 don, the present church was erected at the sole 
 expense of the French protestants. It is a small, 
 but neat place of worship, with a convenient vestry 
 at the south east corner. 
 
 The hospital of St. Anthony was a cell to the 
 priory of St. Anthony, of Mcnna, and the building 
 
 was
 
 LOKDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 426 
 
 was originally a synagogue, which was granted by 
 Henry Hi. ni the year 1231, to the monks of this 
 fraternity. About the year 1.^38, they erected a 
 free school, on a piece of garden ground, that was 
 given to them, on the north side of the hospital, 
 which, in a short time, flourished so much, as to 
 rival St. Paul's School; and, as an encouragement 
 to this foundation, Henry \[. granted divers lands, 
 in the county of Southampton, towards the mainte- 
 nance of five of their scholars, at the University of 
 Oxford; each of whom were to be allowed ten 
 pence per week. 
 
 At the general suppression of the monasteries, by 
 I lenry Viil. the revenues of tliis hospital were valued 
 at tifty-five pounds six shillings and eight pence per 
 annum. Edward Vi. granted it to the Dean and 
 Canons of Windsor, and their successors for ever, lu 
 the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, the foreign pro- 
 testants having but one place of worship, in the 
 city, viz. the church in Austin Friars, the French, 
 by the assistance of Grindal, Bishop of London, ob- 
 tained of the Dean and Cha})ter of Windsor, a lease 
 of the chapel of St. Anthony's hospital, in Thread- 
 needle-street, which they have occupied ever since. 
 
 At the north east extremity of Threadneedle- 
 street, is the Suuth-Sea-house. This house stands 
 upon a large extent of ground, running backward as 
 far as Old Broad-street, facing the church of St. 
 leter-le-Four. Tlie back front was originally the 
 Lxcise-olhce, and then the South-Sea company's 
 office, and it is now distinguished by the name'of 
 the Old South-Sea-house. It is a substantial and 
 handsome building of brick, ornamented with Port- 
 land stone. The front, in Threadneedle-street, is 
 very beautiful. The entrance is a gateway, leading 
 into a court, with a piazza, formed of Doric pillars. 
 The walls are remarkably solid, and the interior is 
 VOL. II. : 1 i very
 
 426 HISTORY AND SURVF.Y OF 
 
 very commodious : oue room, in particular, is pecu- 
 liarly lofty, spacious, and elegant. 
 
 Directly opposite, and partly in Bishopsgate* 
 street, stands the parish cliurch of St, Martin Out- 
 \vich. Tliis church, whicli is dedicated to St. Martin, 
 Bishop of Tours, in l^Vance, about the year 376, is 
 of great antiquity. It derives its additional name of 
 Outwich from the family of Oteswich. Stow names 
 four of them, who were buried here, viz. Martin, 
 Nicholas, William, and Jolm, who were proprietors 
 of it. In the year lt3i^j, John de Warren, Earl of 
 Surrey, presented to this living; but he dying with- 
 out issue, and leaving his estates to the crown, the 
 advowson was purchased, in l;j87, by the above 
 family, ^\ho, in the sixth year of the reign of Henry 
 II. gave it, with four messuages, seventeen shops, 
 and the appurtenances, in the said parish, to the 
 master and wardens of the Taylors and Linen 
 armourers, and to their successors, to be employed 
 for the perpetual help and relief of the poor brethren 
 and sisters of the said company: by virtue of which 
 grant, the company of Merchant-Taylors have ever 
 since enjoyed the right of patronage to this church. 
 
 The old*^ church, which was built in 1540, was 
 one of the few that escaped the fire of London; but 
 the ravages of time, assisted by the injuries it 
 sustained from a fire in Bishopsgate-street, in 176v5, 
 had affected it so much, that it was taken down, in 
 1795, and the present structure, the first stone of 
 which was laid on the 4th of May, 1796, has been 
 erected in its stead ; which afforded an opportunity 
 of enlarging the entrance into Threadneedle-street, 
 by taking off the angle, which before projected into 
 that street. It is a plain neat building of brick, ex- 
 cept the east end, which is of stone; above which 
 rises a low circular tower, surmounted by a dome. 
 It is a rector V. 
 
 On
 
 LON'DOX AND ITS ENVIRONS. 437 
 
 On the same side of Threacinecdle-street, a little 
 further westward, is IMerchaiit-'raylors'-hall. in t!ie 
 front of this edifice is a large iiandsoine door-case, 
 adorned with two demi-columns ; the entablature 
 and pediment of which are of the Composite order. 
 Above the entrance is the arms of the company, 
 finely carved in stone. Withinside are tapestry 
 hangings, containing the history of their patron, St. 
 John the Baptist, which, though very old, are curious 
 and valuable. The great hall is so extensive, that 
 it is better adapted for the reception of large assem- 
 blies, than any other in the city, and is therefore 
 occasionally used for such purposes. 
 
 At the south west end of the street, stands the 
 parish church of St. Bennet Fink. This church is 
 so called from its dedication to St. Benedict, an 
 Italian saint, and founder of the order of Benedictine 
 monks ; and it received the additiona] name of Fink, 
 from one Robert Fink, who rebuilt it. It is of ancient 
 foundation, and, though at present only a curacy, yet 
 was originally a rectory; John de l)ranketree being 
 rector thereof, before the year l:3'2:j. The patronage 
 of this church, which was formerly in the family of 
 the Nevils, falling to the crown, King Edward IV- 
 gave it to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor; and 
 the impropriation being in the said dean and chapter, 
 it is supplied by one of the canons, who is licensed 
 by the Jiishop of London. 
 
 The old churrh l)eing destroyed by fire, in \G66. 
 the present building was erected in I(>7.'3. 'Ihe body 
 is of an ellijUical form, enlightened by large arched 
 windows, which reach to the roof. I'his is encom- 
 passed with a balustrade^ and crowned with a Ian- 
 tern; a dome rises u|)on the whole extent of the 
 tower, and on its toj) is a turret. The churchyard 
 was given to the ])arishioners, as a free burial place, 
 \\ithout any expense. 
 
 Re turn in 2:
 
 42S , HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Returning now to London-wall, a little to the east 
 of Bethlem Hospital stands the parish church of AU- 
 hallovvs, London- wall. The patronage of this 
 church, which is a rectory, was anciently in the 
 prior and convent of the Holy Trinity, near Aldgate, 
 who presen ted Thomas Richer deSanston to it, in 1 :335. 
 At the dissolution of religious houses, in the time 
 of Henry VHI. this church, with the priory to 
 which it belonged, was surrendered to the crown, in 
 whom the advowson still remains. The old church 
 escaped the fire of London, but became so ruinous 
 that, in 176.5, the parishioners obtained an act of par- 
 liament to empower them to pull it down, too ether 
 with the parsonage house, and to enable them to 
 raise money by annuities to rebuild it. 
 
 The present church is built with brick and stone, 
 and though plain is very neat. It is longer than the 
 old church, and the rector's house stands at tlie 
 north-east corner of the church-yard. 
 
 Nearly opposite the east enrl of Bethlem Hospital, 
 on the south side of the street, is a court with an 
 entrance by a large pair of iron gates, called Car- 
 penters' Buildings, at a small distance from which 
 is situated Carpenters'- hall. This building is very 
 old, and, like manv of the city halls before the fire 
 of London, is principally composed of timber and 
 plaster, yet is not devoid of beauty. It has a very 
 pleasant prospect into the gardens of Drapers'-hall. 
 At present it is used as a carpet warehouse. 
 
 On the north side of Throgmorton-strect is 
 Drapers'-hall. This is a spacious and noble edifice, 
 built upon the ruins of a palace erected on that 
 spot by Thomas Cromwell, J^'.arl of Essex, in the 
 reiu:n of Kin^r Henrv VTIL on the site of several tene- 
 ments belonging to the priory of St. Augustine, which 
 he purchased at its suppression. But the garden 
 belonging to the edifice not being of sufficient ex- 
 tent
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 429 
 
 tent to gratify his inordinate ambition, he, in an 
 arbitrary manner, Avithout the consent of either 
 landlord or tenant, caused the fences of the neigh- 
 bouring gardens to be removed t\ventv-t\\o feet 
 northward, and having added the ground to his own 
 garden, inclosed it with a high brick wall. 
 
 AmoncT the sufferers was Stow's father, who 
 had a garden adjoining to Cromwell's, with a house 
 standing close to the south paling of it. This house 
 was raised from the ground, and, being placed on 
 rollers, was removed back to that distance without the 
 knowledge of the owner, who could not obtain satis- 
 faction for the injury, so greatly was the power of 
 this oppressor dreaded. 
 
 'J'his noble mansion being forfeited to the crown 
 by his attainder and execution for high treason, it 
 was purchased by the company of Drapers, who con- 
 verted it into a hall for transacting the business of 
 their corporation : and that l)uilding being destroyed 
 by the fire of London, the company built the pre- 
 sent hall, which is a most elegant building, com- 
 posing the four sides of a quadrangle, each of which 
 is elevated on columns, and adorned with arches 
 formed in a piazza round a square court ; and 
 between each arch is a shield, mantling, and other 
 fretwork. On the east side is the common-hall, the 
 ascent to which is by a grand stair-case, and within, 
 it is adorned with a stately screen and fine wainscot. 
 On the screen, between the two doors, hangs the 
 picture, a three quarters length, of Henry Fitz- 
 Ahvyn, a draper, and the first J^ord ^layor of Lon- 
 don. At the north end of this room are the pictures 
 of King William III. King George L and King 
 George IL in their royal robes, at full length, and 
 ' as large as life. 
 
 At the north-west angle of this room a door opens 
 into another, called the court room, richly \^ ainscot^'d 
 a ' &nd
 
 i30 HISTORY Ax\D SURVEY OF 
 
 and furnished ; at the east end of which hangs 
 an original picture of Mary Queen of Scots, at full 
 length, with her infant son, King James 1. in hep 
 hand. From this court room another door, at the 
 west end, opens into a large gallery, at the north 
 end of which a folding sash door opens into a square 
 room called the Ladies' Chamber ; in this the 
 company formerly treated their wives and friends 
 with a ball. In the center of this room hangs a 
 large and beautiful chandelier of cut glass, presented 
 to the company by Sir Joseph Eyles, Knt. and over 
 the chimneypiece is a fine picture of Sir Robert 
 Clayton, Knt. sometime Lord mayor of London. 
 The south end of this gallery leads into the apart- 
 ments allotted to the clerk, which are very commo- 
 dious and elegant, with offices below for the trans- 
 acting of business. And these apartments, with the 
 accommodation for the upper porter, fill up the 
 whole front of tl^s noble building. 
 
 At the north-west angle of this quadrangle there 
 is a paved passage to the gardens belonging to the 
 hall. Over this passage, upon an arch built of brick 
 and stone, is a strong room, covered with a large 
 back or cistern of Mater. This is the record room, 
 where the company keep their writings, books, and 
 papers ; and their plate, which for quantity and 
 workmanship, is said to exceed that of all the other 
 companies. The gardens, which are pleasant and 
 commodious, are open every day, except Sundays 
 and M'et days, for the recreation of all persons de^ 
 cently dressed. The ground which they occupy is 
 very nearly a square : the middle is inclosed with 
 iron rails, and laid out in grass beds, gravel wafks, and 
 borders of flowers, with a statue of Flora in the 
 center. Without the rails are fine spacious walks, 
 kept in good order, and agreeably shaded with rows 
 of lime-trees. At the south-west corner is a very 
 
 handsome
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 431 
 
 handsome pavilion for the accommodation of com- 
 pany in hot weather, when tired with walking : and 
 near the north east angle is a very commodious house 
 for the use of the upper beadle of the company. 
 The north side lies open to Carpenters'-hail ; and 
 at the south-east angle there is a garden, inclosed 
 Avith walls ; on the south side of which, under the 
 ladies' chamber, is a private room elegantly furnish- 
 ed, where the managers, or ruling part of the com- 
 pany, hold their committees, or previous meetings, 
 before matters are presented to a general court. 
 
 At the south-east corner of Bartholomew-lane 
 stands the parish church of St. Bartholomew, Ex- 
 change. This church is of very ancient foundation ; 
 for, in the year 13.31, John de Tyerne was presented 
 to this living, on the death of John de Aldeburgh, 
 the rector ; and it was become so decayed, that it 
 was entirely rebuilt in the year 1438. 
 
 The old church was burnt down by the fire of 
 London, after which the present building was erected. 
 It consists of a very irregular body, with a tower 
 crowned with arches, supported by columns of the 
 Corinthian order. The living, at the time of the re- 
 formation, being in the gift of the abbey of St. Mary 
 of Grace, it fell, with the dissolution of that relij^ious 
 house, into the hands of the crown, in whom it has 
 continued to the present time. 
 
 Almost at the extremity of this ward, occupying a 
 a space surrounded by four streets, viz. Bank Build- 
 ings, Bartholomew-lane, Lothbury, and Princes- 
 street, stands that extensive and magnificent edifice, 
 the Bank of England. The south, or principal front, 
 is composed of a center building, eighty feet in 
 length, of the Ionic order, raised on a rustic base- 
 m( nt ; and two win^s, each ornamented with a 
 colonade of double Corinthian pillars, with recesses 
 between. At the extremities of each wing is an 
 
 angular
 
 432 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 angular pediment, with a circular niche, hi which 
 are well executed busts. Through the principal 
 front, there are one large and two small entrances 
 into a quvuirangle, on the north side of which stands 
 the great hall. The front of this building is an ele- 
 gant specimen of Corinthian architecture, having an 
 angular pediment ; in the tympanum of which is a 
 fine figure, in alto relievo, of Britannia, with her 
 shield and spear, and, at her feet, a cornucopia, pour- 
 ing out fruit. The interior of the hall is seventy- 
 nine feet long, and forty feet broad: it is wainscoted 
 to the height of eight feet, and the ceiling is orna- 
 mented with fret-work. In this hall is a fine marble 
 statue of Willitiijii III. the founder of the Bank. On 
 the pedestal of this statue is a Latin inscription ; the 
 translation of which is as follows : 
 
 For restoring efficacy to the laws, 
 
 Authority to the courts of justice, 
 
 Dignity to the parliament, 
 
 To all his subjects their religion and liberties, 
 
 And confirming these to posterity, 
 
 By the 
 
 Succession of the illustrious House of Hanover 
 
 to the British throne : 
 
 To the best of princes, William HI. 
 
 Founder of the Bank, 
 
 This corporation, from a sense of gratitude, 
 
 Has erected this statue. 
 
 And dedicated it to his memory, 
 
 In the year of our Lord, M.DCC.XXXIA''. 
 
 And the first year of this building. 
 
 On the east side of this quadrangle is an entrance 
 into that part of the building, called the Rotunda, 
 appropriated for the sale of stock: here are, also, 
 the , greater part of the oifices fur transferring and 
 
 issuing
 
 LONDON AND llS ENVIRONS. 433 
 
 issuing dividend warrants. On the west side is the 
 office for paying dividend warrants, and a passage, 
 by the side of a small garden, formerly the cemetery 
 of St. Christopher's parish, to the office for transfer- 
 ring the three per cent, reduced stock, which stands 
 on the site of the church. The east side of the 
 building, in Bartholomew-lane, for nearly two thirds 
 of its length, is occupied by a range of Corinthian 
 columns, similar to those in the wings; the remainder 
 of this side, with the north and west sides, however, 
 are much heavier, which is a considerable blemish 
 to the building, especially in Bartholomew-lane, 
 where the change takes place in a very abrupt man- 
 ner. On this side is the principal entrance into the 
 rotunda. On the north side, there is an arched 
 gateway, opening into another quadrangle, of the 
 Corinthian order, from which there is corvenient 
 access to several of the public offices. Abeve the 
 four columns, on the south side of this quadrangle, 
 are four elegantly carved figures, representing the 
 four quarters of the globe; and at the top of the 
 centre of the building is Britannia, with her attri- 
 butes. The west, and part of the north side, are yet 
 unfinished. Under the whole are large vaults, with 
 strong walls, and iioii gates, for the preservation of 
 the cash and bullion ; and. as an additional security 
 against fire, there is a reservoir of water on the 
 top of the building, by means of which, every 
 place of consequence can be inundated in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 In laying the foundation of the principal front of 
 this building, in 1732, oyster-shells were found, at 
 a depth of upwards of thirty feet below the surface; 
 which appears to corroborate a tradition, recorded 
 by Stow, that the ancient bed uf the Thames was as 
 for to the north as Bucklersbury. 
 
 VOL. II. Kk k At
 
 434 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 At the upper end of Capel-court, in Bartholomew- 
 lane, opposite the east entrance of the Bank, is the 
 Stock Exchange, a plain, neat building, with a stone 
 front, except the attic story, which is of brick. This 
 place was erected in 1801, for the exclusive use 
 of the subscribers, who consist of the principal 
 stock-brokers, and is fitted up in a very convenient 
 manner. 
 
 CJIAP. IX.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 435 
 
 CHAR IX. 
 
 Of Cornhill IVard. Bounds. Vrecincts, — Principal 
 
 Streets. Cornhill. — Bir chin-lane. Change-alley. — 
 
 Pope' s-head-alley . The Standard. The Royal Ex- 
 change. — St. Michael, Cornhill. — The King's Beam. — 
 St, Peter, Cornhill. 
 
 The next ward to the south, is Cornhill-ward, so 
 called from the principal street in it, which, in an- 
 cient times, was a market for corn. It is bounded 
 on the east by Bishopsgate-ward ; on the north by 
 Broad-street-ward; on the west by Cheap-ward, and 
 on the south by Laiigbourn-ward. 
 
 Its extent is very small; for, beginning at the 
 south-east corner of the church of St. Martin Out- 
 wich, it winds through several courts and alleys, to 
 the western extremi'ty of Cornhill, whence it returns, 
 in as tortuous a direction, to St. Peter's-alle}^, in 
 Gracechurch-street, and then, turning northward, it 
 extends about fifty feet into Bishopsgate-street, and 
 afterwards passes, by the east side of ISIerchant- 
 Taylors'-hall, to its commencement at the church. 
 
 This ward is divided into four precincts, and is 
 governed by an alderman, six common-council-men, 
 four constables, sixteen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 Cornhill, whi^h is the principal street in this ward, 
 is very spacious, and consists of large houses, well 
 inhabited. 'I he unifoimity of appearance, in most 
 oi these buildings, arises from the many fires which 
 have h;ippened on both sides of this street, whereby 
 tlie old Ikjuscs were destroyed, and those erected in 
 their stead being all in a more modern style. 
 
 On the north side of Cornhill are several lanes, 
 courts, and alleys, inhabited by merchants, or traders 
 
 of
 
 436 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 of eminence, viz. Finch-lane, Freeman's-court,Sweet- 
 ing's-alley, Castle-alley, &c. and also the handsome 
 opening lo the Bank, called Bank-street. 
 
 On the south side are Birchin-lane, in which are 
 the offices of the London Assurance Company, and 
 the Sierra Leone Company ; 'Change-alley, Fope's- 
 head-allev, &c. 
 
 'Change-alley is so called from its vicinity to the 
 Royal Exchange, and is well known to the mercan- 
 tile and commercial part of the world, from the great 
 business dailv transacted here ; and the coffee-houses, 
 called Garra way's. Baker's, &c. intended for the 
 reception and entertainment of merchants, brokers, 
 &c. who assemble here from all parts of the world. 
 But no more of this alley is in Cornhill-ward, than 
 the north passage, and the front houses. 
 
 Pope's-head-alley is principally inhabited by bro- 
 kers, and others, Avhose avocations require their at- 
 tendance at the Bank, Stock-Exchange, &:c. Its 
 name is derived from a tavern beino: formerly situ- 
 ated in the front of it, having the Pope's head for a 
 sign. The author of the New View of London says 
 it w^as one of the most ancient of that calling he could 
 find in London; and that wine, about Henry VL's 
 time, was there sold for one penny per pint, and 
 bread given into the bargain. Stow thinks it was, 
 in old time, a prince's palace. 
 
 In the centre of the four ways of Cornhill, Lead- 
 enhall, Bishopsgate, and Gracechurch streets, w^as a 
 conduit, called the Water-standard, placed there in 
 the year 1.582; the origin of which, according to 
 Stow, was this: "A Dutchman, of the name of Peter 
 Morris, having contrived a forcing pump, for that 
 purpose, conveyed the water of the Thames, in 
 leaden pipes, over the steeple of St. Magnus's church, 
 at the north end of London-bridge, and from thence 
 into divers houses in Thames-street, New Fish-street, 
 
 and
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 4^7 
 
 and Grass-street, up to the north-west corner of 
 Leadenhall, the highest ground in all the city; where 
 the waste of the main pipe, rising into this standard 
 (provided at the charges of the city), with four 
 spouts, runneth four ways, at every tide, according 
 to covenant, plentifully serving to the commodity of 
 the inhabitants near adjoining, in their houses, and 
 also cleansing the channels of the street, towards 
 Bishopsgate, Aldgate, the Bridge, and the Stocks- 
 market; but now, no such matter; by whose default 
 1 know not." * 
 
 The most remarkable buildings in tiiis ward, are, 
 the Royal-Exchange, and the parish churches of St.. 
 Michael and St. Beter. 
 
 The Burse, or meeting-place for merchants, was 
 anciently situated in Lombard-street, but tl^e incon- 
 venience of this place had occasioned frequent com- 
 plaints among the merchants. At length, Sir Tho- 
 mas Gresham, in the years 1566 and 1567, erected a 
 spacious and magnilicent edifice for this purpose, in 
 Cornhill; which was no sooner finished, than Queen 
 Elizabeth honoured it with the title of the Royal- 
 Exchanoe. 
 
 Sir Thomas Gresham, by his last will, dated 
 November i26, 1579, be(iueathcd this building, with 
 all its appurtenances, and the profits arising there- 
 from, to the mayor and citizens of London, and the 
 company of mercers, to be equally enjoyed and pos- 
 sessed by them, on condition that the citizens, out 
 of their moiety, should pa^y the sum of fifty pounds 
 per annum, to four persons who should read lectures 
 on divinity, astronomy, c:eometry, and music, at his 
 mansion-house in Broad-street, afterwards called 
 (Gresham College. Also, that they should pay six 
 pounds thirteen shillin;^s and four pence per annum 
 to eight alms-peoph.' lising behind the said college; 
 
 * Sucvaip, p. 18, 
 
 :3 and
 
 438 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 and ten pounds yearly to each of the prisons of New- 
 gate and Ludgate, the King's-bench, Marshalsea, 
 and Wood-street Compter. The mercers, out of 
 their moiety, were to pay to three lecturers fifty 
 pounds per annum each, for reading on the sub- 
 jects of law, physic, and rhetoric, at his mansion- 
 house ; and to expend one hundred pounds per 
 annum on four quarterly dinners at their own hall, 
 for the entertainment of their company ; with ten 
 pounds yearly to Christ's, St. Bartholomew's, Beth- 
 lehem, and St. Thomas's Hospitals ; and the like 
 siun to the Poultry Compter. But this stately fabrick 
 being consumed in the fire of 1666, the foundation 
 of the present magnificent edifice was laid in the 
 year 1667, and it was completed in 1669, as' appears 
 by the following inscription above the inner 
 side of the south entrance, Excam.bium hoc anno 
 M. DC. LXVI. in cineres redactum, in plus quam 
 antiquum splendorem, Praetore Wilhelmo Turnero, 
 Equite, anno M. DC. LXIX. restitutum fuit. 
 
 The site of the Old Royal Exchange not being- 
 capacious enough to receive the intended new 
 fabric, the city and the Mercers' Company, the 
 trustees under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, pur- 
 chased a piece of ground for enlarging it, at the 
 expense of seven thousand two hundred and seven- 
 teen pounds, eleven shillings, which added to fifty- 
 eight thousand nine hundred and sixty-two pounds, 
 the charge of building, makes the whole expense of 
 the Royal Exchange amount to sixty-five thousand 
 nine hundred and seventy-nine pounds eleven shil- 
 lings. 
 
 The ground plot of this building is two hundred 
 and three feet in length, and one hundred and 
 seventy-one feet broad. The area in the middle 
 contains sixty-one square perches, and is surrounded 
 with asubstantial and regular stone building, wrought 
 
 ill
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 439 
 
 in rustic, with a spacious piazza round it. In the 
 center of tlie principal fronts, which are north and 
 south, are grand entrances into the area, under very 
 lofty and noble arches. 
 
 The south front in Cornhill is the principal : on 
 each side of the entrance are Corinthian columns, 
 supporting a compass pediment; and in the inter- 
 columniation on each side, in the front next the 
 street, is a niche, with the figures of King Charles I. 
 and King Charles 11. in Roman habits, well executed. 
 Over the aperture, on the cornice between the two 
 pediments, are the king's arms in relievo. On each 
 side of this entrance is a range of windows between 
 demi-columris and pilasters oi the Composite order; 
 above v/hich the buildinq; is decorated with a 
 balustrade. 
 
 From the centre, in this front, rises a lanthorn and 
 turret one hundred and seventy-eight feet high, on 
 the top of which is a fane in the form of a grass- 
 hopper, that insect being the crest of Sir Thomas 
 Greshara's arms: this fane is made of polished 
 brass, and is esteemed a very curious piece of work- 
 manship. 
 
 The north front in Thread needle-street is adorned 
 with pilasters of the Composite order, but has neither 
 columns nor statues on the outside; and instead of 
 the two compass pediments, has a triangular one. 
 
 The inner court, as hath been already o])served, 
 is surrounded with a wide lofty piazza, serving to 
 shelter the merchants, who meet tliere, from the in- 
 clemency of the weather. Over the arches of this 
 quadrangular piazza is an tntablature standing 
 round, and a compass pediment in the middle of the 
 cornice of each of the four sides. On the north side, 
 under the pediment, are the king's arms; on the 
 soutli, the city arms; on the east. Sir Tlioinas Gres- 
 
 sham's
 
 44^0 HIsrORY A^D SURVEY Oi 
 
 sliam's arms; and on the west, the mercers' arms', 
 With their respective enrichments. 
 
 There are twenty-four niches in the intercolumns, 
 in twenty of which are the statues of the kings and 
 queens of England, in their royal robes, and with 
 regalia, except three, which are in Roman habits. 
 
 On the south side are the statutes of Edward I. 
 Edward III. Henry V. and Henry VI. 
 
 On the west side, Edward IV. Edward V. with the 
 crown hanging over his head ; Henry Vll. and 
 Henry Vlll. 
 
 On the north side, Edward V.l. Mary, Elizabeth, 
 James I. Charles L Charles H. and James H. 
 
 On the east side, Wfiiiam and Mary in one niche, 
 Queen Anne, George I. George H. and his present 
 majesty King George III. 
 
 Under the piazzas, within the area, are twenty- 
 eight niches, all vacant except that in which Sir 
 Thomas Gresham's statue is placed in the north- 
 west angle ; and that in the south-west, where the 
 statue of Sir John Barnard was placed in his life-time 
 by his fellow-citizens, to express their sense of his 
 merit as a merchant, a magistrate, and faithful repre- 
 sentative of the citv of London. 
 
 In the centre of the area is erected, on a marble 
 pedestal, about eight feet high, another statue of 
 King Charli s II. in a Roman habit, executed by 
 Mr. Gibbon, and encompassed with iron rails. On 
 the south side of the pedestal, under an imperial 
 crown, a sceptre, palm branches, and other decora- 
 tions, is the tbllowing inscription : 
 
 Carolo II.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 441 
 
 Carolo II. CtEsari Britannico, 
 
 -Patriae Fatri, 
 
 Regum Optimo, Clementissirao, Aiigustissimo, 
 
 Generis humani deliciijs, 
 
 Utriusque Fortiinae Victor), 
 
 Pacis EuropaB arbitro. 
 
 Marium Dominio ac Vindici, 
 
 Societas Mercatorum adventurur. Angliae 
 
 Quae per CCCC jam prope annos, 
 
 Regia benignitate floret, 
 
 Fidei intemerataeetgratitudinis seternae, 
 
 Hoc testimonium 
 
 Venerabiinda posuit 
 
 Anno saluti humanae JNl.DC.LXXXIV. 
 
 On the west side of the pedestal, is cut in rehevo, 
 a cupid resting his hand on a shield, containing the 
 arms of France and England quartered, and holding 
 in his left a rose 
 
 On the north side are the arms of Ireland on a 
 shield, supported by a cupid. 
 
 On the cast side are the arms of Scotland, with 
 a cupid holding a thistle. And, on the base of 
 the pedestal, oii the south, is the following inscrip- 
 tion : 
 
 " This statue was repaired and beautified by the 
 company of Merchant-Adventurers of England anno 
 1 7 '30 ; John Hanbury, Esq. governor.'" 
 
 In this area, and under the surrounding piazza, 
 the merchants, and other persons engaged in mer- 
 cantile connexions, meet every day to transact busi- 
 ness, between the hours of twelve at noon, and 
 three o'clock ; and for mutual conveniency, those 
 engaged in the same branches of trade, asscml^le 
 in distinct parts, or, as they are called, The Walks, 
 
 voLr. II. L I i a view
 
 449 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 a view of which may be seen by the foUowin 
 sketch or plan. 
 
 hi" 
 
 
 
 NORTH. 
 
 Threadrteedle-street. 
 
 
 
 
 East Country 
 Walk. 
 
 Irish Walk. 
 
 
 Scotch 
 
 Walk. 
 
 Dutch and 
 Jewellers' Walk. 
 
 
 
 Silk- 
 
 meni' 
 
 Walk. 
 
 Clothiers' 
 Walk. 
 
 Ham- 
 
 brugh 
 Walk. 
 
 Salters* 
 Walk. 
 
 
 > 
 ^3 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 Grocers' and 
 Druggists' 
 
 Walk. «MJ Brokers' &c, 
 S®^ of Stocks 
 
 ^^ Walk. 
 
 Italian 
 Walk. 
 
 
 n 
 re 
 
 5' 
 
 era 
 
 
 
 Barbadoes 
 Walk. 
 
 Canary 
 Walk. 
 
 
 French 
 Walk. 
 
 
 , 
 
 Vi 
 
 vt 
 
 rginia 
 'alk. 
 
 Jamaica 
 
 Walk. 
 
 ■ 
 
 Spanish 
 Walk. 
 
 Jev 
 
 Wa 
 
 Js' 
 ilk. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cornhil 
 S U T 
 
 
 
 
 
 Under the north and south fronts are spacious 
 stair-cases, which lead to a gallery that extends 
 round the four sides of the building, and in which 
 were formerly about two hundred shops, occupied by 
 milliners, haberdashers, ^c. but those shops have 
 been long deserted ; and the galleries are now occu- 
 pied by the Royal Exchange Assurance Office, the 
 Lord Mayor's Court Office, the Merchants' Seamens' 
 Office, Lloyd's Subscription Coftee-houses, the rooms 
 appropriated for the Gresham lectures, and a num- 
 ber of counting-houses for merchants and under- 
 writers. The shops m the lower part of the building 
 are mostly used as counting-houses by stock-brokers, 
 3 Uudev
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 443 
 
 Under the whole are vaults, kept by the East India 
 company, as magazines for pepper. 
 
 In the turret is a good clock, which goes with 
 chimes, at the hours of three, six, nine, and twelve ; 
 it has four dials, and is so regulated as to become a 
 standard of time to all the mercantile parts of the 
 town. 
 
 On the south side of Cornhill, farther to the east, 
 is the parish church of St. Michael, Cornhill. This 
 church, which is a rectory, owes its name to its 
 dedication to St, Michael, the Archangel, and to its 
 situation. 
 
 The patronage of it appears to have been anciently 
 in the abbot and convent of Evesham, erroneously 
 called Covesham, who, in the year 1 133, granted the 
 same to Sparling, a priest, with all the lands there- 
 unto belonging, except those held by Orgar le 
 Proud, at the rent of two shillings a year; in consi- 
 deration of which grant, the said Sparling covenanted 
 and agreed, not only to pay, annually, to the abbot 
 and canons, the sum of thirteen shiUings and four 
 pence, but likewise to supply the house of the said 
 abbot (when in London), with fire, water, and salt. 
 
 Sometime afterwards, the rectory reverted to the 
 convent, and they continued patrons of it, until the 
 year 1.)0.'3, when, by a deed, bearing date Decem- 
 ber 3, they conveyed the advowson to the Drapers' 
 company, in consideration of a perpetual annuity of 
 five pounds six shillings and eisi^ht pence, in iuadition 
 to an ancient pension of six shillings and eight pence 
 annually, paid to the abbot and canons, out of the 
 said church; since which time, the patronage has 
 continued to be in the Drapers' company. 
 
 The old church being destroyed by the fire of 
 London, in 1666, the present Gothic structure arose, 
 in its stead ; the body of which is seventy feet longe 
 sixty broad, thir ty-five in hciglit, and one hundrd 
 
 and
 
 441 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 and thiitv feet to the top of the tower. The lower 
 part of the tower occupies the centre of the church; 
 and, on each side, there is a regular extent of build- 
 ing. The principal door opens in the lower stage of 
 the tower, which rises with angulated corners fronj 
 the ground, forming a kind of base, terminated at 
 the height of the body of the church. The second 
 stage, which is plain and lofty, has two tall windows, 
 one over the other, properly shaped for the style of 
 the building : this is terminated with a truly Gothic 
 cornice, i'he third stage is exactly in the form of 
 the two others, only they are plain, and this is co- 
 vered with ornaments; the angulated corners are 
 fluted, and terminated by cherubs' heads, under a 
 cornice; the plain face, between, has four windows, 
 in two series. Above the cornice, over the upper- 
 most of these windows, runs a battlement, on the 
 plain faces of the tower, and from the corners are 
 carried up four beautiful fluted turrets, cased, a part 
 of their height, with Doric turrets; these terminate 
 in pinnacle heads, from within which rises a spire at 
 each corner, crowned with a vane. The tower con- 
 tains an excellent ring of bells, remarkable for their 
 melody. 
 
 Here is a lecture every Sunday morning, and on 
 every holiday, founded by John llayney, Esq. who 
 left houses, in Gracechurch-street, to the company 
 of Drapers, charged with the payment of forty 
 pounds per aimum, for the support thereof. 
 
 ContiguoHS to this church, on the south side, was 
 anciently situated a handsome cloister, and a church- 
 yard, wherein was a pulpit-cross (resembling that of 
 St. PauTs), erected by Sir John Rudstone, mayor of 
 this city, in 1528; who purchased ground in the 
 jieighbourhood, and not only enlarged the said 
 churchyard, but likewise erected convenient apart- 
 ments for the choristers, who daily officiated in the 
 
 church;
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 445 
 
 church ; but the choir being dissolved, in the reign 
 of Henry A 111. the apartments were converted into 
 habitations for decayed parislii oners. 
 
 Almost opposite to this church, in Cornhill, stood, 
 anciently, the King's weigh-house, or beam, for 
 weighing foreign merchandize; to which belonged a 
 number of porters, and also a cart and four horses, 
 for the convenience of conveying goods to and from 
 the weio-h-house. 
 
 Near the south-east corner of Conihill, stands the 
 church of St. Peter, Cornhill, which, if the following 
 inscription, engraved on a tablet of brass, and hanging 
 in the church, near the baptismal font, can be relied 
 on, is bv far the most ancient of the Christian 
 churches in Britain. It must, however, be observed, 
 that, independently of the general disbelief of the 
 existence of a king, named Lucius, the only autho- 
 rities for which are, Geffry of Monmouth, and Joce- 
 line of Furnes, the style appears to be much too mo- 
 dern, and is probably a fabrication, about the time of 
 Henry YI. 
 
 " Be hit known to all men, that the yeerys of owr 
 Lord God, an. CLXXIX. Lucius, the tyrst Christen 
 king of this lond, then cally'd Brytayne, fowndyd the 
 fyrst chyrch in London ; that is to sey, the chyrch of 
 Sent Peter, apon Cornhyl ; and he fowndyd ther an 
 archbishop's see, and made that chirch the metropo- 
 litant and cheef chirch of this kindom, and so endury'd 
 the space of CCCC yeerys, and more, unto thecom- 
 myng of Sent Austen, an a])0styl of Englond; the 
 whvch was sent into the lond by Sent Greeorv, the 
 doctor of the chirch, in the tyme of King Ethelbert ; 
 and tlien was the archbishoppys see and pol removed 
 from the aforesaid chirch of St. Peters, upon Corn- 
 hyl, unto Derebernaum, that now ys callyd Canter- 
 bury, and ther yt remevnvth to this dev. 
 
 '' And
 
 4t6 rilSTOEY AKD SURVEY Of 
 
 " And Millet Monk, vvhych came into this lond 
 wyth Sent Austen, was made the fyrst Bishop of 
 London, and hys see was made in Fowllys chirch. 
 And this Lucius, kyng, was the fyrst foundyr of Pe- 
 ter's chyrch, aponCornhyl; and he regnyed king, 
 in thys ilond, after Brut. MCCXLV. yeerys. And 
 theyeerys of owr Lord God a CXXIV. Lucius was 
 crownyd kyng ; and the yeers of hys reygne, LXXVll 
 yeerys; and he was beryd, aftyr sum cronekil, at Lon- 
 don, and, after simi cronekil, he was beryd at Glow- 
 cester, at that plase wher the order of Sent Francys 
 standyth." 
 
 Whatever credit may be given to the antiquity of 
 this church, from the above inscription, it is certain 
 that the church, known in ancient records by the 
 name of St. J^eter, super Cornhill, that is, above, or 
 at the top of Cornhill, is of very ancient foundation. 
 The earliest authentic account, however, we find of 
 this church, is, that William Kingston, before the 
 year 129S, gave to it his tenement in Grass-street, 
 called the Horse-mill; and that there anciently be- 
 longed to the church a public library, well furnished 
 with books; which being privately disposed of, the 
 building was converted into a school for the educa- 
 tion of youth. 
 
 This church is a rectory, the patronage of which 
 appears to have been in a i"amily of the Nevils; for 
 the Lady Alice, relict of Sir Hugh Nevil, in the year 
 1^62, made a feoffment thereof to Richard, Earl of 
 Arundel and Surrey ; and, passing afterwards through 
 various hands, it was, in the year 1411, conveyed, by 
 Richard Whittington, and others, to the lord mayor 
 and -commonalty of London ; in whom the right of 
 advovvson still remains. 
 
 -Ihe old edifice was totally destroyed by the fire, 
 in 1G66; soon after which the present structure was 
 
 erected.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 447 
 
 erected. It is a very substantial building, eighty 
 feet long, forty-seven feet broad, forty feet high, to 
 the roof, and one hundred and forty feet to the top 
 of the steeple. The body is plain, with a single 
 series of windows. The tower is also plain, with 
 one window in each stage; and the dome, which 
 supports the spire, is of the lantern kind. The spire 
 is crowned with a ball, on which is a vane, in the 
 form of a key, alluding to the key of St. Peter. 
 
 fTIAP. X.
 
 i-iS HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 CHAP, X. 
 
 Of Langhourn IVard. — Anciently Fenny-ahout. — Bounds, 
 
 Precincts. — 'Principal Streets. — Lombard-street. — 
 
 Fenchurch-street, — Allhalloivs Staining. — Hall of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company. — Peivterers'-hall. — St. Dionis 
 Backchnrch. — White-hart-court. — Quakers' meeting. — 
 ylllhallows, Lomlard-street.- — St. Edmund the King. — 
 
 Phnenix Fire-office. Pelican Life Insurance-office. 
 
 St. Mary Woolnoth. — Post-office. 
 
 Langbourn Ward takes its name froma rivulet^ 
 or bourn, which proceeded from a spring, near Church- 
 row, adjoining to the church of St. Catharine Cole- 
 man, in Fenchurch-street. This rivulet took its course 
 westward, from the above spring, through Lombard- 
 street, as far as the church of St. Mary Woolnoth, 
 where, turning south, and breaking into many small 
 rills, shares, or streams, it gave name to Sharebourn- 
 lane, or Southbourn-lane, as some have written it, 
 from running southward into the Wallbrook. 
 
 By the spreading of this stream, near the spring- 
 head, the contiguous street became so swampy, or 
 fenny, especially about the church, which stood in 
 the mid-way, between Mincing-lane, and Rood-lane, 
 that It was thence called Fenchurch-street; and the 
 ward also partook of the same appellation, and was 
 enrolled, on the city records, by the name of Fenny- 
 about. 
 
 Langbourn-ward is bounded on the east by Aid- 
 gate-ward ; on the south, by Tower-street, Billings- 
 gate, Candlewick, and Bridge-within wards; on the 
 west, by Waiibrook-ward ; and on the north, by Aid- 
 gate and Lime-street-wards. 
 
 It
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 4':49 
 
 It is divided into twelve precincts, and isgovei'fted 
 by an alderman, ten coniinon-council-meo, twtive 
 constables, sixteen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 The principal streets in this ward are Fenchurch- 
 street, and JLonibard-street ; tbe latter of which ob' 
 tained its name honi the Lombards, or Italian mer- 
 chants, ^vllo settled there ; and by this name it way 
 known, so early as the reign of Edward 11. In this 
 street are several principal lanes and courts, which 
 are filled with the houses of merchants and emiaent 
 traders : thosr:; on the south side, are, St. Swithin'sr 
 laiie, Sherbourn-lane, Abchurch-lane, St. Nicholas- 
 lane, and St. CL'metitVlane; those on the north side, 
 ai'e, t^ope's-Li:^ad-all^y, Exchange-alley, Birchin-lane, 
 and Gk"ortre-vard. 
 
 In Fenchnrch-street are, also, several principal 
 streets and lanes, which are well inhabited ; on the 
 south side, are Fhilpot-lane, Rood-lane, Mincing- 
 kne, and Mark-lane ; and, on the north side, Lime- 
 street, Cuilum-street, &c. 
 
 At the eastern extremity of this ward, is the parish 
 church of Allhallows Staining-, on the west side, and 
 near the north end of Mark-lane. 
 
 This church is believed to be of Saxon origin, be- 
 cause i)f the additional epithet of Stane, now cor- 
 ruptly called Staining; which our antiquaries are 
 of opinion was given to it, on account of being bcilt 
 with stone, to distinguish it from some of the other 
 churches in this city, of the Sr»me name, that were 
 built of wood. Tlie first authentic mention (>f it is 
 in the year 1329, when Edward Camel was incum- 
 bent thereof. 
 
 It was anciently a rectory, under the patronage of 
 the De Walthams, and others, till about 1:369, whtn 
 Simon, Bishop of London, upon the petition of the 
 abbot and convent of CJrace, near the rower, ar)pro-. 
 priated it to them and their successors, with power to 
 VOL. 11. M m ni convert
 
 430 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 convert the profits to their own use, and to supply 
 tlie cure with either a monk or a secular priest, re- 
 moveable at their pleasure. This curacy devolving;, 
 with the abbey, to the crown, it was sold, on the 7th 
 of October, 16j7, by King- James the First, to George 
 Bingley, and others, to be held of the crown, in soc- 
 cage; and, coming afterwards to the J.ady Slany, 
 was by her bequeathed to the company of Grocers, 
 who have since held the advowson. 
 
 This church escaped the fire, in 1666; but it was 
 in so ruinous a state, that the body of it fell down, 
 three years after, and the whole was rebuilt, at the 
 expense of the parishioners, as it now appears. It is 
 a very plain edifice, enlightened with Gothic win- 
 dows; but the front, which is of free-stone, is of the 
 Tuscan order. It has a square tower, crowned with 
 a small turret. The length of the church is seventy- 
 eight feet, its breadth thirty-two, and its height 
 twenty-four ; and the altitude of the tower is se- 
 venty feet. 
 
 In this parish, on the north side of Fenchurch- 
 street, but backward from the street, at the upper 
 end of Culver-court, is the hall belonging to the 
 Hudson's Bay Company. It is a very elegant brick' 
 building, adorned with pilasters, architraves, &c. In 
 this hall is a vast pair of horns, of the Moose deer, 
 weighing fifty-six pounds; and, in another room, the 
 picture of an elk, killed in the presence of Charles 
 XI. of Sweden, which weighed twelve hundred and 
 twenty-nine pounds. 
 
 On the same side of Fenchurch-street is Lime- 
 street ; on the west side of which is Pewterers'-hall, 
 a very good and convenient building. In the court- 
 room is a portrait of Sir William Smallwood, who was 
 master of the company in the reign of Henry VII. 
 and gave them the hall, with a garden, and six tene- 
 ments adjoining. 
 
 IS ear
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 451 
 
 Near the south-west corner of Lime-street, behind 
 the houses in Fenchurch-street, stands the parish 
 church of St. Oionis, Backchurch. It owes its name 
 to being dedicated to St. Dionis, Dionysius, or Den- 
 nis, an Athenian areopagite, or judge, wlio, being 
 converted to Christianity, and afterwards made Bi- 
 shop of Athens, travelled into France, where he suf- 
 fered martyrdom, by being beheaded, and has been 
 since adopted as the patron saint of the French na- 
 tion. The epithet of Backchurch was added, from 
 its situation behind a row of houses, to distinguish 
 it from the cliurch of St, Gabriel, which, before the 
 fire in 1666, stood in the middle of Fenchurch-street; 
 wherefore ttiose churches were anciently known by 
 no other appellation but those of Fore and Back- 
 church. 
 
 The oldc'jt authentic mention of this church, is 
 in the year 15SS, when Reginald de Standon was 
 rector of it. it is one of the thirteen peculiars in 
 the city, belonging to the x\rciibishop of Canterbury. 
 The patronage was formerly in the prior and canons 
 of that church ; but at the dissolution of the priory, 
 it was conferred upon the dean and chapter, who 
 have remained patrons ever since. 
 
 The old editice was destroyed in 1666, and the 
 present structure was erected in 167-1', except the 
 steeple, which was not added until ten years after. 
 It is a plain stone building, of the Ionic order, with 
 a tower and tuo-et; in which are ten bells, and a set 
 of chimes. The length of the church is sixty-six 
 feet, its breadth lifty-nine, and the height of the roof 
 thirty-four feet; that of the tower and turret is ninety 
 feet. 
 
 Nearly opposite to the west end of Fenchurch- 
 street, in Gracechurch-street, is Whity-hart-court, 
 which consists of neat buildings, mostly inhabited by 
 
 Quakers,
 
 45S HISIORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 Quak€rs. On one side of this court is a very hand- 
 some met ting-house, the principal one belonging to 
 -that sect in the metvopohs. 
 
 tfom this court there is a psssage into l.ombard- 
 ^trcct, "U'hich contains many j>pod and lofty liouses, 
 ^hietiy tl* residences of bankers, and eminent 
 tiiadejvmen. 
 
 ■At the east e«d of it, behind the houses on the 
 iJOith side, stands the parish church of Alihaiiows, 
 ^Lombard-street, it is a rectory, and one of ike Arch- 
 bidiop "Of Canterbury's pecuhars. Ihe advowsou ap- 
 pears to hav-g been ancieiitiy in lay hniids; for Brith- 
 mf'Y, a eitizen of London, with the approbation of 
 Stigand, the archbishop, and Godric, th.e dean, save 
 it, with a messuage adjoining, to the church of Can- 
 terbury, in the year \063; by virtue of which dona- 
 tion, the right of patronage still remains in the Dean 
 and Chapter of the Metropolitan church. 
 
 Ihis was the last rebuilt of the churches destroyed 
 bv the fire in \666, not beino- finished until 1694. 
 It is a neat, plain, well-proportioned building. Ihe 
 body is enlightened by a single series of large w in- 
 dows; and the tower, which is square, is terminated 
 by a plain battlement. The length of the chur<*h is 
 eighty-fouT feet, ils breadth fifty-two, its height 
 •thirty, and that of the tower eighty-frvei feet. 
 
 A little to the west of this church, bc^tw^eenGeorge- 
 <yard and Birchin-lane, stands that of vSt. Edmund the 
 King-. 
 
 Ihis church received its name from being dedi- 
 cated to Edmund, the Saxon king, who was mur- 
 dered by the Danes, in the ye-ar 870; and though 
 the origin of its foundation cfmnot be ascertained 
 with any degree of certainty, yet, from Several cir- 
 efcumstances, it is reasona})!e fe) ^I'ppose,- that it w afi 
 '''*>riginally-builtdurini( the tr>T>eofthe Saxon heptarchy. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIROSTS. *,53 
 
 The oH church was destroyed by the fire of Lon- 
 doiJ, after which the present structure was erected 
 on its ruins. The situation of this building difiers 
 from most other churches in London; for, instead 
 of east and west, it stands full north and south; by 
 "which the altar is placed at the north end of the 
 church. It is sixty-nine feet long, thirty-nine feet 
 broad, and thirty-two feet high, to the roof, which is 
 flat. At the south end is a square tower, from which 
 projects a dial over the street ; and upon the tower 
 is a short spire, with its base fixed on a broad 
 lantern. 
 
 This church is a rectory, the patronage of which is 
 now in the Archbishop of Canterbury. Jn the year 
 117^, there was a dispute between the Dean and 
 ChaptvM- of St. PauFs, and the prior and canons of 
 the Trinity convent, within Aldgate, concerning the 
 patronage ; which was determined by C»ilbert, Bishop 
 of London, in favour of the latter. The parish ia 
 united with that of St. Nicholas Ac/>ns, the church 
 ol' which, before the lire of London, stood on the west 
 side of xSicholas-lanc, and was a rectory in the gift 
 of the crown. 
 
 Farther west, on the opposite sides of the street, 
 are the Phoenix Jb'ire-office and the Pelican Life 
 Insurance-office, both handsome modern buildings, 
 particularly the last. 
 
 ■ - At the north-enst comer of ^hei bourne-lane, on 
 the south side of l^f)m bard-street, stands the p.^rish 
 church of St. Mary Wooln nth, which is so called from 
 its dedication to the Virgin: Mary, ami its being 
 originally situated f)e<aT the W"(3)t»lftt^|)l-e; the svllable 
 m>tli, corrupted from w<?ii)'i, fflirrlifyhlg' near, 'i'he 
 Wooistripie was die' piarfe 'if<.'«' I'W wgl^iiin^r' vcoic^l, and 
 .stood in the churchyardOf i^t^'Macy Woolchurch 
 Haw, to the east ot the ibS©cic*-market. 
 
 1 This
 
 454? HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 This church is of some antiquity, as appears front 
 John de Norton being rector thereof, in the year 
 1355; and, from various circumstances, it is sup- 
 posed that a Roman temple, perhaps the Temple of 
 Concord, stood originally on this spot; for, in digging 
 the foundation for the present edifice, which is one 
 of the fifty new churches, appointed by parliament 
 to be erected within the bills of mortality, in the 
 year 1719, there were found a considerable number 
 of tusks and bones of boars and goats, with several 
 models and pieces of metal ^ some tesselated work, 
 part of an aqueduct, and a great variety of Roman 
 earthen vessels, both for sacred and profane uses; 
 and at the bottom was found a well, full of dirt, 
 which being removed, a fine spring of salubrious 
 water arose, wherein was fixed a pump. 
 
 The old church was not entirely destroyed by the 
 fire of London: the steeple escaped the flames, and 
 the walls were repaired. But these, in length of 
 time, falling greatly to decay, it was thought neces- 
 sary to pull down the whole; in consequence of 
 which, it was rebuilt of stone, in the year 1719, in 
 the manner it now appears. 
 
 This is a very handsome structure, but the orna- 
 ments of it are hid from the sight, by the neighbour- 
 ing buildings. The window? are on the south side, 
 where the edifice is entirely surrounded by houses; 
 and the front of it, which is bold and majestic, is so 
 obscured, that it cannot be seen to advantage, nor 
 can the tower be properly viewed, but from the tops 
 of the houses. On the north side, which fronts Lom- 
 bard-street, instead of windows, there are three very 
 large and lofty niches, adorned with Ionic columns, 
 and surrounded with a bold rustic; and over these is 
 a large cornice, upon which is placed a balustrade. 
 The entrance is at the west end, by a lofty rustic 
 
 arch,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 456 
 
 arch, over which rises a broad shaliovv tower, orna- 
 mented with six composite columns in the front, and 
 two on the sides ; upon this are raised two small 
 towers in front crowned with balustrades ; from one 
 end of which rises a flag-statf, with a vane. 
 
 I'his church is a rectory, the patronage of which 
 was anciently in the prioress and convent of St. He- 
 i-en's, in Bishopsgate-street, till, at the dissolution, it 
 fell to the crown ; when King Henry Vlil. granted 
 it to bir Martin Bowes, in whose family the j^atronage 
 has ever since continued. 
 
 The living of this church was greatly improved hy 
 the parish of St. Mary Woolchurch being annexed to 
 ii, the patronage of which is in the crown; and, from 
 the time St. Mary Wooluoth was erected, it has been 
 the parochial church for both parishes. 
 
 Adjoining to this church is the Post-office, a spa- 
 cious brick building, but undeserving of praise as a 
 national tdihce. It stands behind the houses, in 
 Lomoard-btreet, from which there is a passage, under 
 an arched gateway, leading into a small paved court; 
 there are also passages into Abchurch-lane, and Sher- 
 bourn-lane. It was originally the residence of Sir 
 Robert \'vner, lord mavor, in 167*^, who built it on 
 the site of a much-frequented tavern, which was 
 burnt in the great fire ; but a great part of it was 
 rebuilt, and considerable improvements made in it, 
 in 1804. 
 
 The original establishment of the Post-ofTice, in 
 England, is buried in obscurity, t is certain, that a 
 species of post, though of what nature cannot be as- 
 certained, was in existence as early as the reign of 
 Edward ill. The earliest mention of a chief post- 
 master for England, is in Camden's Annals, under 
 tliedate of I.08I ; but what his office was, or how it 
 was manajj^ed, docs not ap|>ear clearly ; and, proba- 
 j^ly, from the limited state of the correspondence of 
 
 the
 
 456 HIST0KY AND PURVEY Of 
 
 the countfy, it vvu9 oi" tritliug consequence. James i. 
 eiiected the'fir^t Jpoat-Qtjiice tor the conveyance of 
 letters to and. from tbfeign .parts, which he placed 
 under the coutroid of one Matthew de Qiiester, or 
 de I'iicjuesitr. 1 his oftice was afterwartls claimed 
 by Lord Sliinhope, but, iu lb3'i, was contirratdaud 
 contiuued to VViiham l^^izel, and Thomas Wither- 
 ings, hy King Charles 1. it would apixar, that, pre- 
 vious to this time, private persons were accustomed 
 tp convey tetters, to and from foreign parts, by ail 
 such interference with the postmaster's office being 
 expressly prohibited ; and, in lt)36, ail private inland 
 posts w.ttre forbiddeo. 
 
 But the imjjortance of this branch of the public 
 revenue djoes not seem to have J>een much attended 
 to by government before .the usurpation; till which 
 period, the posts were confined to a few of the 
 principal roatis. The outline of the more regular and 
 exten^sive plan, which was aftervx ards adopted, ori- 
 ginated with Mr. Edmund Frideaux, attorney-gene- 
 ral to the commonwealth, who was appointed post- 
 master, by an ordinance r^f both houses of parhament; 
 in the execution of which oifice, he first established 
 •d^vseeklij conveyance of letters into all pans of the 
 nation. In 15o3, this revenue was farmed for ten 
 thousand pounds; and, after deducting the charges 
 of postmasters,. &c. produced a benefit of seven thou- 
 sand jiounds per annum to the pubhc. At this pe- 
 riod, thecoounon-council of London endoavoure(i to 
 setup a post-oifice, in opposition to Frideaux's; but 
 they were checked by a resolution of the House of 
 Commons,, declaring the oifice of postmaster to be 
 in the sole power and disposal of the parliament. 
 
 In lGo6, a new and regular general post-office was 
 erected by the authority of the protector and his par- 
 liament, upon nearly the same plan as has been con- 
 tinued ever since ; and by an act of puliament, 
 ■: ' passed
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. AS? 
 
 passed soon after the restoration, in l6C0, the regu- 
 lations of 1056 were re-established, with some im- 
 provements, which continued, with very httle alter- 
 ation, until ttie year IZS-t, when a mode of convey- 
 ing the mails, upon a plan first suggested by Mr. 
 John j-'almer, of Bath, in 1782, was carried into exe- 
 cution, betbrc the adoption of this plan, letters were 
 conveved in carts, or by bovs on horseback, without 
 protection froiU robbers, and liable to delays. 2\h. 
 Palmer's proposal was, to contract with the owners 
 of the diligences and stage-coaches, which were esta- 
 blished to every town of note in the kingdom, to 
 carry the mails, with guards for their protection. 
 This they were induced to do at a very low rate, 
 from tlie additional recommendation to passengers, 
 their carriages would thereby acquire, in point of se- 
 curity, regularity, and dispatch; and, notwithstand- 
 ing the strong opposition to the measure, in its out- 
 set, experience has shown, that this combination of 
 interests has been alike benelicial to the revenue, 
 the correspondent, the passenger, and the coach- 
 master. 
 
 Here is also the principal office of the Two-penny 
 post, for the speedy convey an;^e. of letters and small 
 parcels, not exceeding four ounces in weight, within 
 the metropolis, and a distance often miles round it; 
 but, bv the lust res^ulation, letters delivered out of 
 town, are charg(^d three pence. 
 
 This useful method of circulating letters was pro- 
 jected by one David Murray, an upholder, in Pater- 
 noster-row, in the year 168:3, who communicated the 
 scheme to Mr. William Dockwra, who carried it on, 
 for some time, with great success, till the govern- 
 ment laid claim to it as connected, and ])artly inter- 
 fering with the General Post-olHce, which was part 
 of the crown revenue; it was, therefore, annexed to 
 VOL. II. N n u the
 
 453 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 the General Post-office, and Dockwra was gratified 
 with a pension of two hundred pounds a year, during 
 his hfe. 
 
 The present establishment of the General Post- 
 office, consists of two postmasters-general, a secre- 
 tary, surveyor, comptroller-general, and a great num- 
 ber of clerks and assistants. I'here are fifty receiving- 
 houses, for general post letters, and upwards of one 
 hundred and fifty for two-penny post letters, in dif- 
 erent parts of the metropolis. 
 
 CHAP. XI.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 469 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Of Bllilngsgate JVard. — Bounds. — Precincts. — Principal 
 
 Streets. Billingsgate. — St. Mary at Hill. Loj]g 
 
 Duration of a Corpse. — Ancient Custom of the FelLotu- 
 
 ship Porters. St. Andrew Hubbard. — King's Weigh- 
 
 Jiouse. — Rood-lane. St. Margaret Pattens. — St. Ga- 
 
 hriel Fenchurch. St. George, Boiolph-lane, — Si, Bo- 
 
 tolph, Billingsgate. — Butchers' -hall. 
 
 Billingsgate Ward is situated on the river 
 side, and is bounded on the south by the Thames, 
 on the east by Tower street ward, on the north by 
 La;igl>ourn-ward, and on the west by the v\ard of 
 Bridge-within. 
 
 it is divided into twelve precincts, and is governed 
 by an alderman, ten common-council-men, eleven 
 constables, fourteen inquest-men, and a bead>e. 
 
 The principal streets in this ward are, part of 
 Thames-street, Botolph-lane, St. Mary's hill, Hood- 
 lane, and Pudding lane. The situation of this ward, 
 near the river, the Custom house, and several wharfs, 
 gives it great advantages in trade, and occasions it 
 to be well inhabited, and in a continual hurry of bu- 
 siness at the several quays and w haifs, on the south 
 side of Thames-street. Of these, liillingsgute, from 
 which the ward derives its name, is of most note ; 
 not so much for iandino; and loadina: of mer^ handize, 
 as for being the only port for fish in London, and the 
 greatest market for that article in England, i^nd, 
 perhaps, in the world. It is an extensive water gate, 
 or port for small vessels, to which those laden with 
 oranges, lemons, Spanish onions, and other commo- 
 dities, resort, as weW as the fishing boats. Here, 
 also, is tlie |X)rt for the Gravesend boats to take in 
 their fares; from whence they are obliged (under a 
 penalty), to depart at the rinoing of a bell, erected 
 at the stairs for that purpose, which is rung for a 
 
 quarter
 
 460 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 quarter of an hour to give notice of the time of high 
 water at London-bridge. 
 
 The earliest -authentic notice of this place as a 
 port or quay, is that quoted in vol. I. page 28, from 
 Dr. Howell's History of the \forld, under the date of 
 079, about which time Ethelred made laws at Vv an- 
 tage for regulating the customs to be paio here, 'ihis 
 was, for a considerable time, the mostunportant place 
 in the metropolis, for the landing of almost every arti- 
 cle of commerce, after Queenhy the was forsaken ; but 
 it did not become a celebrated fish-market until the 
 year 1699, when an act of parliament was passed for 
 making it a free port for fish, which might be sold 
 there every dav in the week, feundav excnpted, and 
 for permitting the resale of the fish so bought, ni 
 every part of the city. 
 
 Opposite to Billingsgate is the street called St. 
 Mary's Hill, on the west side of which is the parish 
 church of St. Mary, called, from its situation, bt. 
 Mary at Hill, or on the Hill. The date of the founda- 
 tion of this church is equally uncertain with that of 
 most of the churches in this city: the first circum- 
 stances met with concerning it, are that Rose de 
 Wrytel founded a chantry in the church of St. Mary 
 at Hill, in the year 1330, and that Ptichard de 
 Hackney presented Nigellus Dalleye to this living 
 in the year 1337. Stow, on the authority of Fabian, 
 W'ho was living at the time, relgjtes a singular occur- 
 rence at the rebuilding of this church in 1497. He 
 says, " In the year 1497, in the moneth of Aprill,-as 
 labourers digged for the foundation of a wall, within 
 the church of St. Marie-hill, neare unto Belingsgate, 
 they found a coffin of rotten timber, and therein the 
 corps of a woman, whole of skinne, and of bones, 
 undisevered, and the joynts of her arms plya- 
 bje, without breaking the skynne, upon whose 
 sepulchre this was engraven: ' Here lieth the bodies. 
 
 of
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 461 
 
 of Richard Hackney, fishmonger, and Alice his wife : 
 the which Richard was sheriffe in the fifteenth of 
 Edward 11. (13!5>:3). Her bodie was kept above 
 groundethree or four dayes without noysance, but 
 then it waxed uusavorie, and so was againe buried." 
 
 Though this church w^as considerably injured by 
 the fire in 1666, it did not require rebuilding, and 
 was therefore repaired, after which the parish of St. 
 Andrew Hubbard, the church of which was totally 
 burnt, was united to it. It is a well proportioned 
 Gothic structure of stone, consisting of a plain body 
 enlightened by large windows, with a cupola in the 
 middle, and a square tower, crowned with a hand- 
 some turret, at the end. The dimensions are, length 
 ninety-six feet, breadth sixty feet, altitude, to the 
 ceiling, twenty-six feet, to the centre of the cupola, 
 thirty-eight feet, to the top of the turret, ninety-six 
 feet. 
 
 It is a rectory, the advowson of which appears to 
 have been always in lay hands; and, in 1638, was 
 purchased by the parishioners, in whom it has ever 
 since remained : but since the parish of St. Andrew 
 Hubbard has been united to it, the Duke of North- 
 umberland, who is patron of that parish, presents iu 
 turn. 
 
 Annually, on the Sunday after Midsummer- day, 
 according to ancient custom, the fraternity of Fellow- 
 ship-porters, of the city of London, repair to this 
 church in the morning, where, during the reading of 
 the Psalms, they reverently approach the altar, two 
 and two, on the rails of which are placed two basons; 
 and into tliese they put their respective offerings. 
 They are generally followed by the congregation, and 
 the money offered is distributed among the aged, 
 poor, and infirm members of that fraternity. 
 , The parish of St. Andrew. Hubbard was a rectory, 
 formerly called St. Andrew, Juxta Eastcheap, and 
 1 was
 
 462 HISTORY AND SUHVEY OF 
 
 was founded before 1 389 ; in which year tlie Earl of 
 Pembroke presented Robert Clayton to the rectory, 
 in the room of Walter Palmer, deceased. On the 
 death of the Earl of Pembroke, without issue, the 
 patronage devolved to the Earls of Shrewsbury, in 
 whose family it continued till 1460, when John, Earl 
 of Shrewsbury, was killed, at the battle of Northamp- 
 ton, when it came to Edward IV. After this, it had 
 divers patrons, till Algernon, Earl of Northumber- 
 land, presented Ihomas Parker, who was burnt out 
 in \666. 
 
 After the fne, the ground on which this church 
 stood, with the cbiu'chyard, in Little Eastcheap, be- 
 tween Botolph-lane, and Love-lane, and also the site 
 of the parsonage house, were sold to tiie city of Lon- 
 don, for public uses: some of the purchase-money 
 was paid to the parish of St. Mary at Hill, towards 
 the repairs of that church, and the remainder was 
 appropriated to making a provision for the rector and 
 his successors, in lieu of the parsonage-house. On 
 one part of the ground was erected the King's weigh- 
 house, which before stood on Cornhill. The ori2ri- 
 nal intent of this weigh-house was, to prevent frauds 
 in the weight of merchandize brought from beyond 
 sea. It was under the government of a master and 
 four master porters, with labouring porters under 
 them, who used to have carts and horses to fetch the 
 merchants' goods to thebeam, and to carry them back: 
 but little has been done in this office of late years; 
 as a compulsive power is wanting to oblige merchants 
 to have their goods weighed. 
 
 At the south-east angle of Rood-lane, stands the 
 parochial church of St. Margaret I'attcns. This 
 church received its name from its dedication to 1^t. 
 Margaret, virgin and martyr, and its situation, which^ 
 at the time of its foundation, was a laiKj, occupied 
 only by makers and dealers in pattens. This lane, 
 
 however,
 
 LONDON AKD ITS ENVIRONS. 403 
 
 howev^er, was afterwards called Rood-lane, on ac- 
 count of a rood, or cross, set up in the churchyard of 
 St. Margaret, when the church was pulled down to 
 be rebuilt. This cross, or rood, was blessed in a 
 particular manner, and privileged by the Pope with 
 many indulgences, for the pardon of the sins of those 
 who came to pray before it, and to make their offer- 
 ings towards the rebuilding of St. jNlargaret's church. 
 But the church being finished in the year LI 38, soon 
 after the Reformation, some people unknown assem- 
 bled, without noise, in the night of the 22d of May, 
 in that year, who broke the rood to pieces, and de- 
 molished the tabernacle in which it was erected'. 
 
 The old church was destroyed in 1666, after which 
 the present one was immediately erected, and the 
 parish of St. Gabriel Fenchurch was united to it. It 
 is built part of stone, and part of brick, and consists 
 of a plain body, sixty-six feet in length, fifty-two 
 feet broad, and thirty-two feet in height. The win*, 
 dows are arched, with port-hole windows over them. 
 Above the front door is a large Doric window, with 
 a cherub's head, and a large festoon over it; and, 
 above these is a pediment, which stretches from the 
 steeple to the end of the church. The tower rises 
 square to a considerable height, and is terminated by 
 four plain pinnacles, crowned with balls, and a bal- 
 lustrade, within which rises a very solid spire, termi- 
 nated by a ball and vane. 
 
 The original foundation of this church was in, or 
 before the year 1324; for the first rector upon 
 record is Hamo de Chyrch, presented by Lady Mar- 
 garet Nevil, on the 1 tth of June, in that year. And 
 the patronage thereof remained in the family of the 
 Nevils till the year I39'i, when it came to Robert 
 Rikeden, of Essex, and Margaret his wife; who, in 
 1403, conveyed it, by agreement, to Richard Whit- 
 tington and other citizens of London, together with 
 
 the
 
 46* HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 the advowson of St. Peter Cornhill, and the manor of 
 Leadenhall, &c. which agreement the said Whitting- 
 ton and others confirmed, in 1411, to the mayor and 
 commonalty of London ; in whom the right of pre- 
 sentation has ever since remained. 
 
 The parish of St. Gabriel Fenchurch, which was 
 annexed to this parish after the fire of London, is in 
 Langbourn-ward. It was also a rectory, founded 
 before the year 1321; when John Paynell appears 
 to have been rector, and was dedicated to the angel 
 Gabriel. The patronage of this rectory was in the prior 
 and convent of the Holy Trinity, within Aidgate, 
 until the suppression of their priory, when it devolved 
 to the crown, in whom it still remains. 
 
 On the west side of Botolph-lane stands the pa-; 
 rish church of St. George, Botolph-lane; which is 
 so called from its situation, and being dedicated to 
 St. George of Cappadocia, the patron of the English 
 nation. It is an ancient rectory, Robert de Haliwell 
 being rector in the year 1321 ; and was originally in 
 the gift of the abbot and convent of St. Saviour's, 
 Berniondsey, at whose dissolution it came to the 
 crown. 
 
 The old church was burnt down in 1666, soon 
 after which the present edifice was erected. It is a 
 neat small building of stone, enlightened with a sin-; 
 gle series of tall windows ; and the steeple consists 
 of a plain tower, ornamented with vases at the four 
 corners. In length it is fifty-four feet, in breadth 
 thirty-six feet, and its height, to the roof, is thirty-; 
 six feet ; that of the steeple is eighty-four feet. 
 
 After the fire, the parish of St. Botolph, Billings^ 
 gate, was added to this parish. The church stood in 
 Thames-street, opposite to Botolph-lane, which was 
 named from it. It was also a rectory, the advowson 
 of which was anciently in lay hands; but, in 119i<, 
 was claimed by the Dean and Chapter of St. PauFs:, 
 
 under
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 465 
 
 under a deed of gift from one Odgarus, his sons, and 
 the mother of Dionisia Bociimeter, who, with her 
 husband, John, also claimed it. The dean and chap- 
 ter, however, prevailed, and it continued in their 
 gift till the church was annexed to that of St. George; 
 since w^iich time, the crown and the chapter present 
 
 alternately. 
 
 In Pudding-lane, at the western extremity of this 
 ward, stands Butcher's-hall, a small neat building, in 
 which are three handsome rooms, wainscoted, and 
 decorated with fret-work. 
 
 \*/atermans'-hall, which formerly stood in Cold- 
 liarbour, was removed into this ward, in the year 
 1786. Its present situation is on the west side of 
 St. Mary's-hill. It is a neat building, partly of stone, 
 and partly of brick. The principal entrance, which 
 is at the south end, is through a rustic basement 
 story, above which rises four pilasters, of the Ionic 
 order, supporting a plain triangular pediment. Above 
 the door, are the arms of the company. 
 
 vo^ IT. ooo CHAP. XIL
 
 466 HISTORY AND SURVEY 0%^ 
 
 CHAP. Xll. 
 
 Of Bridge IVcird IVithui. Extefit. Bounds. Pre- 
 cincts. Principal Streets. St. Magnus. — St. Mar- 
 garet, New Fish-%treet. The Monument. StBtunet^ 
 
 Grasschurch. — St. Leonard^ Eastchcap. — Fishmongers^ - 
 hall. 
 
 This ward takes its name from its situation and 
 connection with the bridge, which, when it was co- 
 vered with buildings, formed three of the precincts;' 
 for the ward begins at the south end of the bridge^ 
 and stretches, direct north, up I'ish-street-hill and 
 Gracechurch-street, as far as Lombard-street and 
 Fenchurch-sti'eet, including all the bridge, the 
 greatest part of the alleys and courts, on the east 
 side, and all the alleys, courts, and lanes, on the west 
 side of Thames-street, between Old Swan-lane, and 
 Somer's-key, part of MichaeFs-lane, and part of 
 Crooked -lane. 
 
 This ward is bounded on the south by Southwark 
 and the river Thames ; on the north by Langbourn- 
 ward ; on the east by Billingsgate-ward, and on the 
 west by Candlewick and Dowgate-w^ards. 
 
 It is divided into fourteen precincts, and is go- 
 verned by an alderman, fifteen common-council- 
 men, fifteen inquest-men, fourteen constables, and a 
 beadle. 
 
 The principal streets in it are, Fish-street-hill, part 
 of Gracecliurch-strcet, Upper and Lower Thames- 
 street, and Eastcheap. 
 
 In Thames-street, at the north-east corner of the 
 bridge, stands the parish church of St. Magnus; so 
 called from its dedication to St. Magnus, who suf- 
 fered martyrdom in the city of Cesarea, under the 
 
 I Emperor
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 467 
 
 Emperor Aurelian, for his stedfast adherence to the 
 Christian rehgion. it is a rectory, the patronage of 
 which was anciently in the Abbots and Convents of 
 ^Westminster and Bermondsey, who presented alter- 
 natel}^ till the general suppression of monasteries, 
 when it fell to the crown. In 1653, Queen Mary, 
 by letters patent, granted it to the Bishop of London 
 and his successors, in whom it still remains. 
 
 The date of the foundation of this church cannot 
 l>e traced, but the Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr, 
 built upon the bridge by Peter of Colechurch, be- 
 fore 1209, was in this parish. 
 
 The old church was destroyed by the fire in 1666, 
 and when rebuilt, it was made the parochial church 
 for this- parish and that of St. Margaret, New Fish- 
 street, which is annexed to it by an act of parlia- 
 ment ; but part of the ground on which the old 
 church stood was laid into the street for widenino- 
 the passage. 
 
 The body of the present structure was erected in 
 the year 1676, but the steeple was not added till 
 several years after. It is a spacious and massy stone 
 building, plain, but well ornamented. Ihe corners 
 have rustic quoins, and the body is enlightened by 
 tall arched windows, over each of wiiich is a cornice 
 supported by scrolls, and between these is a cherub 
 over the center of each window, ,Vt the wt^st 
 end, on each side the door, rise coupled })ilas- 
 ters from a plain course, which support a pedi- 
 ment. The door on the north side is also placed 
 under a pediment, hut without the decorations of 
 the other. The roof is hid bv a kind of attic 
 course, from which the tower rises square and plain ; 
 and from this the dial, which is richly ornamented, 
 projects over the street. The course above this is 
 adorned at the corners with coupled pilasters of the 
 [onic order, supporting an open work in the place of a 
 
 balustrade.
 
 468 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 balustrade, with large urns at the corners. From 
 within this open work rises the lanthorn, which has 
 also Ionic pilasters and arched w^indows in all the 
 intercohunniations. The doom rests upon these 
 pilasters ; and on its crown is placed a piece of open 
 work like that which surrounds the base of the 
 lanthorn ; on w hich is raised the turret that supports 
 the vane. In this church is a peel of ten bells. 
 
 Before the fire the parochial church of St. Mar- 
 garet stood on the east side of Fish- street-hill, which 
 was formerly called New Fish-street, from the num- 
 ber of fishmongers who inhabited it. The patronage 
 of this church, which was a rectory, was in the abbot 
 and convent of Westminster, till the dissolution, 
 when it fell to the king with the Abbey of Westmin- 
 ster ; and was given by Queen INIary, in the first 
 year of her reign, to the Bishop of London and his 
 successors, in whom it still continues. The first 
 mention of this church is in 1328, before which 
 time, Roger de 15redefeld and Edward de Hoseland 
 had been rectors thereof. 
 
 On the site of this church, one of the noblest 
 pieces of architecture in the world was erected, by 
 an act of parliament, to commemorate the great and 
 dreadful conflagration of the city in 1666. This bold 
 and stately column, which is emphatically called the 
 Monument, was begun by Sir Christopher Wren, in 
 1 67 1 , and finished by him in 1677, at an expense of 
 fourteen thousand five hundred pounds. 
 
 It is a round fluted pillar of the Doric order, built 
 of the best Portland stone, two hundred and two 
 feet in height from the ground, the exact distance of 
 the spot where the fire began. The diameter of the 
 shaft or body of the column is fifteen feet ; the 
 ground plinth or lowest part of the pedestal is twenty- 
 eight feet square ; and the pedestal is forty feet in 
 height. Over the capitol is an iron balcony, encom- 
 passing
 
 '"i//t^ey CA^/^ / t.^^///^/^i^/ :> 
 
 f,u'..j'r,i l'\ 1 f<,^KejS<.tiuiurs Ccur-t-Xcr iScj .
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 469 
 
 jiassing a cone thirty-two feet high, supporting a 
 blazing urn of gilt brass. In the place of this urn, 
 which was set up contrar^^ to Sir Christopher's 
 opinion, was originally intended a colossal statue, u) 
 gilt brass, either of King Charles II. as founder of 
 the new city, after the manner of the Roman pillars, 
 which were terminated with the statues of their 
 Caesars; or else an erect figure of a woman, crown- 
 ed with turrets, holding a sword and cap ©f main- 
 tenance, with other ensigns of the city's grandeur and 
 re-edification. 
 
 Within is a large stair-case of black marble, contain- 
 ing three hundredand forty-five steps, each ten inches 
 and a half broad, and six inches thick. The w^est side 
 of the pedestal isadorned with curious emblems, by the 
 masterly hand of Mr. Cibber, father of the poet-laureat, 
 denoting the destruction and restoration of the city, 
 in which the eleven principal figures are done in 
 alto, and the rest in basso relievo. The first female 
 figure represents the city of London, sitting among 
 the ruins, in a languishing posture, with her head de- 
 jected, hair dishevelled, and her hand carelessly 
 lying on her sword. Behind is Time, gradually 
 raising her up : at her side a woman, representing 
 Providence, gently touching her with one hand, and 
 with a winged scepter in the other, directing her to 
 regard the goddesses in the clouds, one with a cor- 
 nucopia, denoting plenty, the other with a ])alm 
 branch, the emblem of peace. At her feet a bee- 
 hive, showing that by industry and application the 
 greatest misfortunes arc to be overcome. Behind 
 Time are citizens exulting at his endeavours to re- 
 store her ; and beneath, in the midst of the ruins, is 
 a dragon, who, as supporter of the city arms, with 
 his f)aw endeavours to preserve the same. Still 
 farther at the north end is a view of the city in 
 flames ; the i'diabitants in consternation, with their 
 
 arms
 
 470 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 arms extended upwards, as crying out for succour. 
 Opposite the city, on an elevated pavement, stands 
 the king', in a Roman habit, with a laurel on his 
 head, and a truncheon in his hand ; and, approach- 
 ing her, commands three of his attendants to de- 
 scend to her relief ; the first represents the sciences, 
 with a winged head and circle of naked boys dancing 
 thereon, holding Nature by the liand, with her nu- 
 merous breasts ready to give assistance to all ; the 
 second is Architecture, with a plan in one hand, and 
 a square and pair of compasses in the other : and 
 the third is Liberty, waving a hat in the air, showing 
 her joy at the pleasing prospect of the city's speedy 
 recovery. Behind the king stands his brother, the 
 Duke of York, with a garland in one hand to crown 
 the rising city, and a sword in the other for her de- 
 fence. The two figures behind are Justice and For- 
 titude; the former with a coronet, and the latter 
 with a reined hon : and under the royal pavement, in 
 a vault, lieth Envy, gnawing a heart, and incessantly 
 emitting pestiferous fumes from her envenomed 
 mouth. In the upper part of the plinth the recon- 
 struction of the city is represented by builders and 
 labourers at work upon houses. 
 
 On the other three facades of the plinth are Latin 
 inscriptions; that on the north side is thus rendered: 
 " In the year of Christ, 1666, September 2, east- 
 ward from hence, at the distance of two hundred and 
 two feet (the height of this column), a terrible fire 
 broke out about midnight; which, driven on by a 
 high wind, not only wasted the adjacent parts, but 
 also very remote places, with incredible noise and 
 fury. It consumed eighty-nine churches, the city 
 gates, Guildhall, many public structures, hospitals, 
 schools, libraries, a vast number of stately edifices, 
 thirteen thousand dwelling houses, and four hundred 
 streets. Of the twenty-six wards it utterly destroyed 
 
 fifteen,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 47t 
 
 fifteen, and left eight others shattered and half burnt. 
 The ruins of the city were four hundred and thirty- 
 six acres, from the Tower by the Thames side to the 
 Temple church ; and from the north-east along the 
 wall to Holborn -bridge. To the estates and fortunes 
 of the citizens it was merciless, but to their lives very 
 favourable, that it midit in all thins^s resemble the 
 last coiiila oration of the world. The destruction 
 was sudden ; for, in a small space of time, the city 
 was seen most flourishing, and reduced to nothing. 
 Three days after, when, in the opinion of all, this fatal 
 fire had baffled all human counsels and endeavours, it 
 stopped, as it were by a command from heaven, and 
 was on every side extinguished." 
 
 The inscription on the south side is translated 
 thus : 
 
 " Charles the Second, son of Charles the Martyr, 
 King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender 
 of the Faith, a most gracious prince, commiserating 
 the deplorable state of things, whilst the ruins were 
 yet smoaking, provided for the comfort of his citizens, 
 and ornament of his city, remitted their taxes, and 
 referred the petition of the magistrates and inhabitants 
 to parliament ; who immediately passed an act, that 
 public works should be restored to greater beauty 
 with public money, to be raised by an impost on 
 coals : that churches, and the cathedral of St. .Paul's, 
 should be rebuilt from their foundations with all 
 magnificence ; that the bridges, gates, and prisons, 
 should be new made, and sewers cleansed, the streets 
 m^de straight and regular; such as were steep, 
 levelled, and those too narrow to be made wider; 
 and that the markets and shambles should be re- 
 moved to separate places. They also enacted, that 
 every house should be built with party-walls, and all 
 in front raised of equal height, and those walls all of 
 squared stone or brick ; and that no ©lan should 
 
 delay
 
 47'2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 delay building beyond the space of seven years. 
 Moreover, care was taken, by law, to prevent all 
 suits about their bounds. Also, anniversary praj^ers 
 were enjoined ; and, to perpetuate the memory hereof 
 to posterity, they caused this column to be erected. 
 The work was carried on with diligence, and London 
 is restored, but whether with greater speed or beauty, 
 may be made a question. At three years' time, the 
 world saw that finished, which was supposed to be 
 the business of an age." 
 
 The inscription on the east side is in English, 
 thus : 
 
 " This pillar was begun. 
 Sir Richard Ford, Knight, being lord mayor of Lon- 
 don, in the 3'ear I671. 
 Carried on in the mayoralties of 
 Sir George Waterman, Knt. ] 
 Sir Robert Hanson, Knt. j 
 Sir William Hooker, Knt. y lord mayors. 
 Sir Robert Viner, Knt. I 
 
 Sir Joseph Sheldon, Knt. J 
 And finished, 
 SirThomasDavies being lord mayor, in the year 1677." 
 The prevailing opinion of the citizens of London, 
 and of the generality of protestants, of all denomi- 
 nations, after this terrible devastation, was, that it 
 had been occasioned by the contrivances of the pa- 
 pists; for which reason, the following inscription was 
 engraved round the pedestal. 
 
 " This pillar was set up in perpetual remembrance 
 of the most dreadful burning of this protestant city, 
 begun and carried on by the treachery and malice of 
 the popish faction, in the beginning of September, in 
 the year of our Lord, I666, in order to the carrying 
 on their horrid plot for extirpating the protestant reli- 
 gion, and old English liberty, and introducing popery 
 and slavery.^' 
 
 This
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 47^ 
 
 This inscription was expunged in the time of 
 James II. but was restored in the next reign. 
 
 The cornice of the pedestal is adorned with the 
 king's arms, the sword, mace, cap of maintenance, 
 &c. enriched with trophies ; and at each angle are 
 winged dragons, the supporters of the city arms. 
 
 This monument is, undoubtedly, the noblest mo- 
 dern column in the world, and, in some respects, 
 may vie with the most celebrated ones of antiquity. 
 In height, it greatly exceeds the pillars of the Em- 
 peror's Trajan and Antoninus, the stately remains of 
 Roman grandeur, as well as that of Theodosius, at 
 Constantirople; for the largest of the Roman co- 
 Inmns, which was that of Antoninus, was only one 
 hundred and seventy-two feet and an half in height, 
 and twelve feet three inches in diameter, English 
 measure. 
 
 At the south-west corner of Fen church-street, 
 stands the parochial church of St. Bennet, Grass- 
 church; so called from its dedication to St. Benedict, 
 or Bennet, and its vicinity to the Grass-market, which 
 was anciently held before its west door. It is a rec- 
 tory, the patronage of which appears to have re- 
 mained in the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, ever 
 since the year 1190. 
 
 The old church was destroyed by the fire of Lon- 
 don ; since which it has been rebuilt, and made the 
 parochial church for this parish, and that of St. 
 Leonard, Eastcheap. It is built principally of stone, 
 and is a regular, convenient, and neat edifice, sixty 
 feet in length, thirty feet in breadth, and thirty-two 
 feet in height, and the altitude of the spire is one 
 hundred and forty-nine feet. It has a handsome 
 balustrade at the top, and a very high spire, of the 
 obelisk kind, the base of which is supported by four 
 porticoes. The inside is wainscoted, and handsomely 
 pewed ; the pulpit well veneered, carved, and adorned 
 VOL. II. p p p with
 
 474 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 vith cherubs, &c. Here is also a curious font of flue 
 carved uoik. 
 
 ' Ihe ciiuicii of St. Leonard, Eastcheap, was burnt 
 down in l6()(), and never rebuilt, it was dedicated 
 to Leonard, a JM'ench saint, and Bishop of I^imoges, 
 and was some time named St. I^eonard Milk-church, 
 from William Melker, the builder thereof. 
 
 The patronage of this rectory, which w as anciently 
 in the prior and convent of Canterbury, is at present 
 in the Dean and Chapter of that see ; who, since its 
 union with St. Bennet, Grasschurch, present alter- 
 nately with the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. The 
 site of it is now only a burial place for the in- 
 habitants of this parish. It is one of the thirteen 
 peculiars belonging to the Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury. 
 
 At a small distance from the bridge, on the west 
 side of this ward , fronting the Thames, is Fishmongers '- 
 hall, a very handsome building, erected since the 
 destruction of the old hall, by the great fire, and 
 commanding a fine view of the river and the 
 bridge. 
 
 The front entrance to this hall is from Thames- 
 street, by a passage that leads into a large square 
 court, paved with flat stones, and encompassed by 
 the great hall, the court-room for the assistants, and 
 other grand apartments, with galleries. These are 
 of an liandsome construction, and are supported by 
 Ionic columns, with an arcade. The back front, or 
 that next the Thames, has a grand double flight of 
 stone steps, which lead to the first apartments from 
 the wharf. The door is adorned with Ionic columns, 
 and these suj^port an open pediment, in which is a 
 shield, with the arms of the company. The win- 
 dows are ornamented with stone cases, and the 
 quoins of the building arc wrought with a handsome 
 
 rustic. 
 
 In
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. A75 
 
 In the great hall is a wooden statue of Sir William 
 Walworth, armed with his dagger; and also another 
 of St. Peter: the former belonged to this company, 
 and the latter is, with great propriety, adopted as 
 its patron saint. In the court-room are several pic- 
 tures of the various species of sea and river fishes : 
 and the arms of the benefactors to the company 
 are emblazoned in painted glass in the different 
 windows. 
 
 CHAP. XIII.
 
 -^76 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of Candhwlck-street IVnrd — Bounds. — Precincts. --"Prin- 
 cipal Streets. — Great East cheap. — Boar' s-hea<l Tavern, 
 St. Michael, Crooked-lane. — St. Clement, Eastihcap. — 
 St. Martin Or gar. — St.Manj Abchurch, — St. Lawrence 
 Tounteneij, 
 
 This ward takes its name from the street now 
 called Cannon-street, but formerly Candlewick, or 
 Candlevvright-street, from being principally inha- 
 bited by candlewrights, or makers of tallow and wax 
 candles. It is bounded on the east by Bridge- ward; 
 on the south by Bridge and Dowgate wards ; on the 
 west by Dowgate and Walibrook wards, and on the 
 north by Langbourn-ward. 
 
 Though it is but a small ward, it is divided into 
 seven precincts, and is governed by an alderman, 
 eight common-council-men, seven constables, thir- 
 teen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 The principal streets in this ward are, Great East- 
 cheap, and the west end of Cannon-street : the remain- 
 der of it consists of courts, alleys, and parts of some 
 considerable lanes. 
 
 Great Eastcheap begins at the top of Fish-street- 
 hill, and runs westward to the end of Clement's-lane, 
 where Cannon-street begins; and took its name, ori- 
 ginally, from a market kept there, to serve the east 
 part of the city ; which market was removed to 
 Leadenhall-square; and by the early account we 
 have of Kastcheap-market, and its vicinity to the 
 ferry, or Roman trajectus, over the Thames, we have 
 great reason to suppose this to be the first, or one of 
 the first markets in London, even of a Roman date. 
 In which state it continued for many ages, espe- 
 4 cially
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 477 
 
 cially for victuals : as may be collected from the song 
 called London Lickpenny, made by Lydgate the 
 poet, in the reign of King Henry V. who, in the 
 person of a countryman, coming to London, and 
 walking through the city, says, " In Westcheap 
 I was called on to buy fine lawn, Paris thread, cotton, 
 iinible, and other linen clothes, and such like, (but 
 not a word of silks). In Cornhill to buy old apparel 
 and household stuff. In Candlewriuht-street, the 
 drapers proferred me cheap cloth. In Eastcheap, 
 the cooks cried, hot ribs of beef roasted, pies well 
 baked, and other victuals. There was clatterins: of 
 pots, harp, pipe, and sawtrie ; yea by cock, nay by 
 cock, for other greater oaths were spared. Some 
 sang of Jenkin and Julian, &c. all which melody 
 liked the passenger ; but he wanted money to abide 
 by it, and therefore gat him into a Gravescnd barge, 
 and home into Kent." ' 
 
 Here stood the Boar's head Tavern, immortalized 
 by Shakespeare as the scene of the frolicsome ex- 
 jlloits of Sir John Falstaflf and the Prince of Wales, 
 afterwards Henry V. But the mirth of these cele- 
 brated guests was not always confined within due 
 limits ; nor was the heir apparent the only one of 
 the blood-roval who indulged in such excesses. His 
 brothers John and Thomas being here at supper, on 
 St. John s eve, in the vcar 1410, raised such a riot 
 in the street, between two and three o'clock in the 
 morning, that the mayor and sheriffs were called up 
 to quell it. This the princes took as an insult to 
 their dignity. 'Hie mugistrates were summoned 
 before the kinsr by the celel)rated Chief Justice 
 Gascoyne, but they stood on their defence and were 
 honourably dismissed, it being proved that they had 
 done no more than their duty, for the maintenance 
 M the peace. 
 
 The
 
 475 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The site of this tavern is now covered by modern 
 buildings, but the memory of it is preserved by a 
 carving of a boar's head in the front of one of the 
 houses ; and on the opposite side of the street, is 
 that of a mermaid, probably the sign of another tavern. 
 
 On the south side of Eastcheap, is St. Michael's- 
 lane, in which stands the church of St. Michael, 
 Crooked-lane, so called from its dedication to St. 
 Michael the Arch-angel, and its situation at the 
 coi ner of Crooked-lane. 
 
 This church is of ancient foundation, John de 
 Borham appearing to have been rector thereof in the 
 year 1304, at which time it was a very ordinary 
 small building, and stood amidst lay-stalls and 
 slaughter-grounds used by the butchers of East- 
 cheap-market. But, in 1366, John Loveken or 
 Loufken, four times Lord Mayor of London, ob- 
 tained a grant of the ground where the lay-stalls 
 were, and built a handsome and capacious church 
 thereon. This church received considerable addi- 
 tions from Sir William Walworth, lord mayor, in 
 the year 1374, and formerly servant to Loveken. 
 He likewise founded a college for a master and 
 nine priests ; settled his own new-built house, ad- 
 joining to the church, for a habitation of the said 
 master and chaplains, or priests for ever, and was 
 buried in the north chapel by the choir. 
 
 This church, however, being entirely destroyed 
 by the great conflagration in 1666, the present edi- 
 fice arose in its stead. It is a plain structure built 
 with stone, and enlightened by a series of large 
 arched windows. The Tower, which is at the west 
 end, is carried square to a considerable height, and 
 the uppermost window in the center of each face, is 
 ornamented with a head, and handsome festoons; 
 frctm hence, instead of a balustrade, is a range of 
 
 opeii
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 479 
 
 open work of the Gothic kind, with vases at the cor- 
 ners. From within this part the tower rises circular, 
 diminishing in three stages, with an open buttress 
 rising from each corner of the square tower to the 
 top of the first stage: from this buttress rises a large 
 scroll, wich extends to the top of the second, and a 
 smaller to the top of the third stage, above which 
 rises a short round spire of a peculiar kind, swelling 
 out at the bottom, and then rounding off to a small 
 height, where it is terminated by a gilt ball and 
 vane. The length of this church is seventy-eight 
 feet, its breadth forty-six feet, height, to the roof, 
 thirty-two feet, and to the top of the pinnacle, one 
 hundred feet. 
 
 The patronage was anciently in the prior and con- 
 vent of Canterbury, in whom it continued till the 
 year 1408; since which time, it has been in the 
 archbishops, and is one of the thirteen peculiars in 
 the citv, belonsjing: to that see. 
 
 In Clement's-lane, at the western extremity of 
 Eastcheap, stands the parish church of St. Clement, 
 Eastcheap. 
 
 This church was dedicated to St. Clement, disci- 
 ple of St. Peter, the Apostle, who was ordained 
 Bishop of Rome, in the year 93; and it received the 
 addition of Eastcheap from its situation, and to dis- 
 tinguish it from other churches dedicated to the 
 same saint. The date of its foundation is lost ; but 
 William de Southlee appears to have been rector of 
 it prior to the year 1:309; and, before the suppression 
 of religious houses, it was in the gift of the abbot 
 and convent of St. Peter's, Westminster. But, in the 
 lirst year of her reign, Queen Mary gave the advow- 
 son thereof to the Bishop of l^ondon, whose succes- 
 sors have continued patrons of it from that time to 
 the present. 
 
 The
 
 4S0 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The old church was burnt down in 1666, and the 
 present building was erected in 1686. It is a neat, 
 though plain, structure, of the Composite order, 
 having a square tower, finished with a ballustrade 
 round the top. The length of this church is sixty- 
 four feet, its breadth forty feet, the height of the roof 
 thirty -four teet, and that of the tower eighty-eight 
 feet. It is a rectory, and the living v\as considerably 
 aug-mented by the parish of St. Martin Orgar being 
 annexed to it. 
 
 The church of St. Martin Orgar stood on the east 
 side of St. Martin's-lane, near Cannon-street, and 
 was so denominated from its dedication to St. Mar- 
 tin, and from Ordgarus, who was supposed to be the 
 founder of it. It was also a rectory, the patronage 
 of which was granted by Ordgarus, with the consent 
 of his wife and sons, to the Dean and Chapter of 
 St. Paul's, about the year 1181, in whom it still 
 remains; and since the union of this parish to that 
 of St. Clement, they present alternately with the 
 Bishop of London. 
 
 The remains of this church being found capable 
 of repair, after the fire in 1666, a body of French 
 protestants, in communion with the church of Eng- 
 land, obtained a lease of the tower and ruinous nave, 
 from the minister and churchwardens, which being 
 confirmed by parliament, they repaired it, and con- 
 verted it into a place of worship for their own use. 
 
 Near the south end of Abchurch-lane, which is 
 on the opposite side of Cannon-street, stands the 
 parish church of St. Mary, Abchurch ; so called from 
 its dedication to the Virgin Mary ; the additional 
 epithet of x\b, or Up-church being given to it. 
 
 It appears that a church, dedicated to St. Mary, 
 has stood upon this spot from very early times; and 
 we find, that, in the year 1448, the patronage of it 
 
 was
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 48f 
 
 was in the prior and canons of St. jNIary Overy's; but 
 coming to the crown, in the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth, her majesty granted the perpetual advowson to 
 Corpus Christi College, in Cambridge,- in whom it 
 still remains. 
 
 The old church was destroyed by the fire of Lon- 
 don, soon after which the present building was 
 erected. It is built of brick, strengthened with rustic 
 quoins of stone at the corners, with three windows 
 on each side ; the middle window rising higher, and 
 taking up the space above, while the others, which 
 are smaller, have round windows over them : the 
 window and door-cases are also of stone. The tower 
 is square, the corners of which are strengthened in 
 the same manner as the body; and in the centre of 
 each square is a window, ornamented like the rest. 
 From the tower rises a dome, on the summit of which 
 stands a plain spire, supported by a lantern base. The 
 altar-piece, vv'hich is very curiously carved, is deserv- 
 ing of notice. The length of the church is sixty- 
 three feet, its breadth sixty feet, the height of the 
 roof fifty-one feet, and that of the steeple one hun- 
 dred and forty feet. 
 
 After the fire, the parish of St. Lawrence Pounte- 
 ney was annexed to this parish, the church of the 
 former not being rebuilt. It was situated on the west 
 side of Lawrence Pounteney-lane, and took the ad- 
 dition of Pounteney from its great benefactor. Sir 
 John Pounteney, lord mayor in the years 1312, 13 JO, 
 1331, and 1333, who founded a colleo^e of Jesus and 
 Corpus Christi, in the ancient church, for a master, 
 warden, thirteen priests, and four choristers; which 
 was confirmed by Kdward HI. in the year 1346. 
 
 The patronage of this church and college was in it:^ 
 own chaplains, untiUhe dissolution of the college,when 
 it came to the crown ; and was granted, by Queen Eli- 
 zabeth, to Edward Dorening and Roger Rant, to be 
 
 VOL. II. <-i HH li*-'ld
 
 182 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 held of her and her successors, as an appendage of 
 the manor of East Greenwich, paying a fee-farm rent 
 of fom* pounds six shillings and nine pence a year to 
 the croAvn, and ten pounds, annually, to a stipendi- 
 ary priest, serving cure there. Soon after this, the 
 parishioners purchased the grant, for one hundred 
 and forty pounds, by which means they obtained the 
 advowson, which has continued in them ever since. 
 The site of the old church is now used as a cemetery 
 for the inhabitants of this parish. 
 
 CHAP. XIV.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 483 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Of Wkllhrook JVard. — Bounds. — Precincts. Principal 
 
 Streets. The Mansion-house. Stock's 'market. St, 
 
 Stephen, JFalibrook. JVallhrook-house. — St. Swithin. 
 
 — London-stone, — St, Mary, Bothaw. — Suiters' -hall. 
 
 This ward takes it name from a street in it, which 
 runs from the south-west corner of the mansion- 
 house towards the Thames. The name of this street 
 was derived from a rivulet, which took its rise to the 
 north of iNloorfields, and was called Wallbrook, on 
 account of its entering the city through the wall, 
 between Bishopsgate and Moorgate. After many 
 turnings and windings, it directed its course down 
 this street, and emptied itself into the Thames, to 
 the west of Dowgate. Anciently, this stream was 
 open, and had several bridges over, which were kept 
 in repair by certain religious houses, or by indivi- 
 duals; but it has been long arched, and built upon, 
 so that its subterraneous course is, at this time, but 
 very little known. 
 
 It is bounded on the east by Langbourn and Can- 
 dlewick-street-Avards; on the north by Cheap-ward, 
 on the west by Cordwainers'-ward, and on the south 
 by Dowgate-ward. It is divided into seven precincts, 
 and is governed by an alderman, eight common- 
 council-men, seven constables, thirteen inquest-men, 
 and a beadle. 
 
 'ihe principal streets and lanos are, Wallbrook, 
 Bucklersbury, Budge-row, Dowgatc-hill, Cannon- 
 street, Bearbinder-lane, St. Switliiii's-lane, and the 
 west end of Lombard-street. "^ 
 
 I'he most distinguished building in this ward is 
 the ]Mnnsion-house of the lord mayor, a building of 
 
 considerable
 
 484 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 considerable magnificence, though, from its confined 
 and low situation, it has an appearance of heaviness, 
 which, on an elevated spot, in an area proportionate 
 to its magnitude, it would be free from. It is sub- 
 stantially built of Portland-stone, and has a portico 
 of six lofty columns, of the Corinthian order, in the 
 front, the pilasters under the pediment, and on each 
 side, being of the sanie order. The basement story 
 is very massy, and built in rustic. In the centre of 
 this story, is the entrance to the kitchen, cellars, and 
 other offices; and on each side rises a tlight of steps, 
 oi very considerable extent, leading u\) to the por- 
 tico, in the middle of which is the door that opens 
 to the apartments and offices where business is trans- 
 acted. The stone balustrade of the stairs is conti- 
 nued along the front of the portico, and the columns, 
 which are wrought in the proportions of Pal lad io, 
 support a large angular pediment, adorned with a 
 very noble piece of sculpture, representing the dig- 
 nity and opulence of the city of London ; finely de- 
 signed, and well executed by Mr. Taylor. 
 
 The principal figure represents the genius of the 
 city, in the dress of the goddess Cybele, cloathed 
 with the imperial robe, alluding to her being the ca- 
 pital of this kingdom, with a crown of turrets on her 
 head; holding the praetorian wand in her right hand, 
 and leaning with her left on the city arms. She is 
 placed between two pillars, or columns, to express 
 the stability of her condition ; and on her right hand, 
 stands a naked boy, with the fasces and axe in one 
 hand, and the sword, with the cap of liberty upon it, 
 in the other, to show, that authority and justice are 
 the true supports of liberty, and that, while the for- 
 mer are exerted with vigour, the latter will continue 
 in a state of youth. At her feet lies a figure, repre- 
 senting Paction, as it were in agony, with snakes 
 twining round his head ; intimating, that the exact 
 
 government
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 4Si 
 
 government of this city, not only preserves herself, 
 but retorts just punishment on such as envy her 
 happy condition. In the group, farther to the right, 
 the chief figure represents an ancient river-god, his 
 head crowned with flaos and rushes, his beard louf^, 
 a rudder in his ri^ht hand, and his left arm leaning 
 on an urn, which pours forth a copious stream ; the 
 swan, at his feet, shows this to be the Thames: the 
 ship, behind, and the anchor and cable below him, 
 very emphatically express the mighty tribute of 
 riches paid by the commerce of this river to the city 
 to which it belongs. On the left hand there appears 
 the figure of a beautiful woman, in an humble pos- 
 ture, presenting an ornament of pearls with one hand, 
 and pouring out a mixed variety of riches from a cor- 
 nucopia, or horn of plenty, with the other; signify- 
 ing the abundance which flows from the union of 
 domestic industry and foreign trade. Behind her is 
 a stork, and two naked boys, playing with each other, 
 and holding the neck of the stork, to signify that 
 piety, brotherly love, and mutual affection, produce 
 and secure that vast stock of wealth, of various kinds, 
 which appears near them in bales, bags, and hogs- 
 heads; so that every thing in this piece is not barely 
 beautiful and ornamental, but, at the same time, in- 
 structively expressive of the happy condition of that 
 great city, for the residence of whose chief magistrate 
 this noble building was erected. 
 
 Beneath tliis portico are two scries of windows, 
 which extend along the whole front; and above 
 these is an attic story with square windows, crowned 
 with a balustrade. 
 
 The building is much deeper than it is wide ; it 
 has an area in tiie middle, and at the f «rlhest end is 
 an Egyptian hall, which is the length of the front, 
 very lofty, and l e.sii:ned for public entertainments. 
 Near the er^ds^ut ea;.'h side is a window of extraordi- 
 nary
 
 4S6 niSTOllY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 nary height, placed between coupled Corinthian 
 pilasters, and extending to the top of the attic story. 
 
 The inside apartments and oltices are exceeding 
 not)le, and elegantly furnished. On the west side 
 of the building is a commodious door for the admit- 
 tance of private company; and on the east side is the 
 entrance to the Justice-room. The greatest incon- 
 venience which attends this edifice arises from its 
 being so crowded with houses, especially on the 
 sides, that the rooms are dark ; and even in the front 
 there is not a sufficient area to enliii;hten the build- 
 ing. Notwithstanding this imperfection, it is cer- 
 tainly a very noble structure, and well calculated for 
 the discharge of that business, and the dignity of that 
 magistrate for whom it was erected. 
 
 The whole expense of building the jNIansion- 
 house (including the sum of three thousand nine 
 iiundred pounds, paid ibr purchasing houses to be 
 pulled down) amounted to forty-two thousand six 
 hundred and thirty-eight pounds eighteen shillings 
 and eight pence. 
 
 Stock's Market, on the site of which the Mansion- 
 house was erected, was built in the year 12S2, by 
 Henry Wallis, the mayor, on a void space to the 
 north of St. Mary, Woolchurch, where formerly had 
 stood a pair of stocks for the punishment of offenders; 
 and the rents of the houses were appropriated to the 
 maintenance of London-bridge. This pJace, which 
 was appointed to be a market for fish and flesh, 
 took its name from the stocks, and in the year ]J'2!2, 
 it was ordained that none should sell fish or flesh out 
 of this and the other markets, upon pain of forfeit- 
 ing the articles exposed to sale for the first offence; 
 and of losing their freedom for the second. 
 
 in this market stood the famous equestrian statue, 
 set up in honour of Kin^^ Charles II. by Sir Robert 
 Vyner, lord mayor in 1()7'5. His lo|;ds.hip, in liis 
 
 haste
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 487 
 
 haste to exhibit this testimony of his loyalt3% found a 
 statue of John Sobieski, King of Poland, tramphng 
 on a Turk, ready cast at a founders ; and, disregard- 
 ing the incongruity of the costume, he christened tlie 
 Pole by the name of Charles II. and the prostrate 
 Turk, by that (jf Oliver Cromwell ; and thus new 
 named, it arose on thisspot,in honour of his sovereign. 
 
 At a small distance from the south end of the 
 INIansion-house, and on the east side of Wallbrook, 
 stands the parish church of St. Stephen, Wallbrook, 
 which owes its name to its dedication to St. Stephen, 
 the Protomartyr, and its situation. It appears by 
 ancient records that a church dedicated to the same 
 patron, was situated near this spot, but on the oppo- 
 site side of the stream, prior to the year 1 1 35, when 
 it was o-iven to the monastery of St. John in Colches- 
 ter, by Eudo, Sewer to Henry I. How long the 
 patronage was possessed by this fraternity, or for 
 what consideration they parted with it does not ap- 
 pear; but in 1428, it belonged to John Duke of Bed- 
 ford ; in which year Robert Chichely, Mayor, gave a 
 plot of ground on the east side of the water course, 
 two hundred and eight feet and a half in length, and 
 sixty-six in breadth, to the parish of St. Stephen, to 
 build a new church thereon, and for a church'yard : 
 and in the following year he laid the first stone of the 
 buildinsf fen- himself, and the second for William 
 Stondon, a former mayor, deceased, who left money 
 for the purchase of the ground, and towards the 
 charge of the building ; the remainder being suppli- 
 ed by Chichely. 
 
 Robert Whittington, Draper, afterwards made a 
 knight of the bath, purchased the advowson of this 
 rectory from the Duke of Redford, in 143?. From 
 him it passed into the family of Lee, two of whom of 
 the name of Kichard, supposed to be father and son, 
 the former being a knight and the latter an esquire, 
 
 served
 
 488 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 sMved the office of mayor in 1460 and U69. The 
 last of these presented to it in 1474, after which he 
 gave it to the Grocers' Company, in whom it still 
 remains. 
 
 The old church being destroyed by the fire of 
 London, the present edifice was erected in its stead, 
 by Sir Christopher Wren ; and is considered by 
 many to be the master-piece of that great architect : 
 it is even asserted that Italy cannot produce any 
 modern structure equal to this in taste, proportion, 
 elegance and beauty. 
 
 It is a noble structure of stone, but its external 
 beauties are hid from the sight by the adjacent build- 
 ings, except the steeple, which 'is square to a consi- 
 derable height, and is then surrounded with a balus- 
 trade, within which rises a very light and elegant 
 tower in two stages ; the first adorned w ith Corin- 
 thian, and the second with Composite columns ; 
 and covered with a dome, from which rises a 
 
 ■^3 
 
 vane. 
 
 The principal beauties of this church are, how- 
 ever, within; where the dome, which is spacious 
 and noble, is finely proportioned to the church, and 
 divided into small compartments elegantly decorated, 
 and crowned with a lantern ; the roof, which is 
 also divided into compartments, is supported by 
 very noble Corinthian columns, raised on their 
 pedestals. It has three aisles, and a cross aisle; is 
 seventy-five feet long, thirty-six feet broad, thirty- 
 four feet high to the roof, and fifty-eight feet to the 
 lantern. On the sides under the lower roof are 
 circular windows, but those which enlighten the 
 npper roof are small arched ones. Over the altar, at 
 the east end, is a large beautiful painting of the 
 Stoning of St. Stephen, which was presented by the 
 Rev. Dr. Wilson, and put up in the month of Sep- 
 tember, 1776. The painting and frame together 
 
 3 cost
 
 LOKDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 489 
 
 cost seven hundred guineas. The christening roiit 
 is of fine white marble, curiously carved. 
 
 After the tire of London, the new church of St. 
 Stephen was made the parochial church of this 
 parish and that of St. Bennet, Sherehog, in Cheap 
 ward, the church of which was not rebuilt. 
 
 Adjoining to the church-yard of St. Stephen, is 
 Wallbrook-house, the old Mansion-house of the 
 family of JPollexfen, which sharing the common fate 
 of the general conilagration in 1666, was rebuilt in 
 the following year by Sir Henry Follexfen, Chief 
 Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in the reign 
 of Charles 11. It stands on lofty brick arches, of ex- 
 quisite workmanship and great antiquity ; and may 
 be reasonably supposed to stand on the site of some 
 religious house formerly dedicated to St. Stephen. 
 It is an elegant brick building, of the Corinthian 
 order, with double windows. Nothing of the an- 
 cient grandeur of the house remains in the inside but 
 the mouldings and a beautiful carved stair-case. 
 
 At the south-west angle of St. Svvithin's-lane, in 
 Cannon-street, stands the parish church of St. 
 Swithin. This church is so called from its being de- 
 dicated to St. Swithin, Bishop of Winchester, and 
 chancellor to King Egbert, who died in the year 
 806. By ancient records it appears that there was 
 a church on this spot, dedicated to the same saint, 
 before the year 1J31 ; but how long it was standing 
 before that time is uncertain : however, the old 
 structure was destroyed by the fire of London, and 
 the pr(#cnt edifice erected in its stead. 
 
 This is a plain, solid and strong building of stone, 
 sixty-one feet long, and forty-two broad ; the roof is 
 forty feet, and the steeple one hundred and fifty feet 
 high. The body is well enlightened, and the 
 windows are arched and v/ell proportioned. 
 
 VOL. II. Rrr The
 
 490 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ^^he patronage of this church appears to have been 
 anciently iu the prior and convent of Tortington, 
 in the diocese of Chichester, in whom it coiitmued 
 till the dissohition of their monastery ; when coming. 
 to the crown, Heniy \ Hi. in the year 1 5i{), granted 
 the same, together with a stately mansion, on 
 the north side thereof, where Oxford-court now 
 stands, to .^ohn Earl of Oxford, wiio soon after dis- 
 posing of the same, it passed through several handsy 
 and was, at length, purchased by the company of 
 Salters, in whom the patronage slill remains. 
 
 Auainst the south wall of St. Swithm's church is 
 placed the famous old stone, called London-stone. 
 'Ihis stone was uiuch worn away before the tire of 
 London ; but it is now cased over with a new stone, 
 cut hollow, so that the old one mav be seen. 
 
 This stone, which has been carefully preserved foi-. 
 many ages, is of great antiquity, as appears from its- 
 being mentioned by the same name, so early as in 
 the time of Etheistan, King of the West Saxons.- 
 It formerly stood nearer the channel opposite the 
 same place ; and, being fixed upright in the ground, 
 was so well fastened with bars of iron, that it was. 
 perfectly secured from receiving any damage by^ 
 carriages. 
 
 The antiquity of this stone cannot be traced; but,, 
 from the most reasonable conjecture, it is supposed 
 to be of Romun origin ; for, as the ancient Roman 
 colony extended, from the river Thames, no higher 
 than Cheapside, and Watling-street was the princi- 
 pal street, or Praetorian way, it has been supposed, 
 with great probability, that this stone was'the centre, 
 from whence they measured the distances to their 
 several statioijs throughout England, more especially 
 a§ these distances coincide very exactly. 
 
 Some of our forefathers were of opinion, that it was 
 set up in signification of the city's devotion towards 
 
 Christ,
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 491 
 
 ChrisI-, and of his care and protection of the c^, 
 under tlie type of a stone, on which it was founded, 
 and, by his favour, so long preserved. ■ This is the 
 idea which prevails in these hues of Fabian, in praise 
 of London : 
 
 It is so sure a stone that that Is upon sette, 
 For though some ha^e it thrette 
 With.Manases grym and grette 
 Yet hurte had it none : 
 Chrysie is the very stone 
 That the citie is set uppon. 
 Which from al hys foone 
 Hath ever preserved yt. 
 
 Another conjecture is, that as this street was an- 
 ciently the principal one in the city, as Cheapside is 
 at present, London-stone might have been the place 
 where piiblic proclamations and notices were given 
 to the citizens. This conjecture has, indeed, some 
 argument to support it; for, in the year 1450, when 
 Jack Cade, the Kentish rebel, came through Soutli- 
 w^ark into London, he marched to this stone, where 
 was a great concourse of people, among whom was 
 the lord mavor. On this stone Jack Cade struck his 
 sword, and said, " Now is Mortimer lord of this 
 city.^' 
 
 It is also said, that this stone was set up for the 
 tendering and making of payments by debtors to 
 their creditors, at their appointed days, till, in after- 
 times, they were usually made at the font, in St. 
 TauTs church, or the Royal Exchange. 
 
 These, however, are but conjectures ; nor can we 
 say more, than that it is very singular, so much care 
 shriuld have been taken to preserve the stone, and 
 so little to preserve the histo^-y of its origin. 
 
 To the ])arish of St. Swithin is annexed that of St. 
 Mary iJothaw, the church of which stood, before,' the 
 fire of London, on the east side of Turnwheel-lane, 
 between London-stone and VVallbrook-corner, near 
 
 J3owgate-
 
 4-92 HISTORY AND SURVEY Ol' 
 
 Dowgate-hill. This church took its additional name 
 from its vicinity to a boat-haw, or boat-buildei^s- 
 yard, in that neighbourhood, and was of great anti- 
 quity; for, in the year 1167, Wibert, the prior, and 
 the convent of Christ-church, in Canterbury, granted 
 certain lands and houses, on the north side of it, to 
 one Ernis, and his heirs, in consideration of an an- 
 nual payment of ten shillings in money, a towel, of 
 the value of eight pence, two pitchers, at six pieces 
 of money, and a salt-seller at four; which were to be 
 delivered to the prior's steward, for the use of his 
 house. 
 
 The patronage of this rectory, which is one of the 
 thirteen peculiars of the see of Canterbury, was re- 
 tained by the convent of Christ-church, until their 
 suppression, when it came to the Dean and Chapter 
 of that see, in whom it has ever since remained; and 
 they present alternately with the Salters' company. 
 
 Behind St. Swithin's church is Salters'-hall, the 
 chief entrance of which is out of Swithin s-lane. It 
 is a plain brick building, a part of which is let out 
 for a place of worship, to a congregation of Presby- 
 terians. 
 
 In this hall are portraits of several of the kings of 
 England, and a remarkable fine one of Sir Christo- 
 pher Wren, as Urge as life. 
 
 CHAP. XV.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 493 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Of Dowgate JVard.'—Bounds. Precincts. — Extent. — - 
 
 Principal Streets. Ebgate. Cold Harbour. AlU 
 
 hallows the Great. ALlliallows the Less. The Steel- 
 yard. — Joiners' Hall. — Innholdcrs' Hall. — Dyers* Hall, 
 
 Skinners' Hall. — Tallow-chandlers' Hall. — Pluml- 
 
 ers' Hall. — Roman Antiquities, Mei-chant Taylors* 
 
 School. 
 
 Dow gate-Ward received its name from an an- 
 cient gate, in the original wall that run along the 
 north side of the Thames, which was called the 
 Dowr, or Water-gate, and was situated on the spot 
 where the Roman trajectus, or ferry, passed. 
 
 This ward is bounded on the east by Candlewick 
 and Bridge wards, on the north by Wallbrook-ward, 
 on the west by Vintry-ward, and on the south by the 
 river Thames. It is divided into eight precincts, and 
 is under the government of one alderman, eight 
 common-council-men, eight constables, fifteen in- 
 quest men, and a beadle. 
 
 It extends from Martin's-lane, in the east, to 
 Cloak-lane, in the west, and from Cannon-street, in 
 the north, to the Thames, in the south, nearly in the 
 form of a square; within which tract are contained, 
 Dowgate-hill and dock, the Steel-yard, St. Lawrence 
 Pounteney-hill, Diixford, now Duck's-foot-lane, Suf- 
 folk-lane, Bush-lane, Chequer-yard, and Cloak-lane. 
 
 At the eastern extremity of this ward, on the river- 
 side, is Old Swan-lane and Stairs, the ancient Eb- 
 gate. 
 
 West from this is Cold Harbour, a narrow lane, 
 
 consisting principally of warehouses, but formerly 
 
 the site <>f a magnificent mansion, of which mention 
 
 is made so early as the 1 :3th of I-ldwardll. when it was 
 
 •^ let
 
 494 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 let by the name of the Cold Harbrough (or Inn), in 
 the parish of All Saints, ad fsnum. Ihis aft r wards 
 became the property of Sir John Foimteney, ai.a took 
 the name of Pounteney's-:nn, and was by him sold to 
 Humphrey Bohnn, Lar! of Hereford and iissex. ' In 
 1397, .iiohn Holland, Duke of Exeter, and Earl of 
 Huntingdon, lodged here, and gave a isaniptuons 
 entertainment in it, to his brother-in-law, King 
 liichard li. Passing- tl:r'>:ugh yaiious hands, it bt;- 
 came the residence of Cuthljcrt I oiistal. Bishop^ of 
 Durham, when Henry Vill. took Durham-house, 
 near Charing-cross, into his: own hands. Ihe bisliop 
 enjoyed this house until the }'ear 16d3, when, being 
 deposed from his bishopric, it was also taken from 
 him, and given by Edward VI. a few days before his 
 death, to the Earl of Shrews' ury, who changed its 
 name to Shrewsbury-house. At the bottom of this 
 lane, fronting the Thames, was situatetl VVaternlans'- 
 ha!l, which is now removed to St. Iviarj's hill, in 
 Billingsgate-ward. 
 
 Proceeding westward, at the north-east corner of 
 Allhallows-lane, stands the parochial church of All- 
 hallows the Great. 
 
 This chuTch,- which is dedicated to All Saints, was 
 originally called Allhallows ad Eo^num, in the Uopery, 
 from its vicinity to a hay-wharf, and its situation 
 among ropemakers; and Allhallows the More, to 
 distinguish it from another church, which stood a 
 httle to the east of it, and was called Allhallows. the 
 Less; but being both destroyed by the fire in 1666, 
 tfie latter was not rebuilt, and the two parishes were 
 united. . 
 
 The church of Allhallows the Great was founded 
 by the noble family of theDespencers,who presented 
 to it in the year 1361 ; from whom it passed to the 
 Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, and at last to the 
 crown. Tn 154-6, Henry VllL gave this church to 
 
 C Ihomas
 
 LONDON AND ITS environs; 495 
 
 Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, in whose suc- 
 c; ssors it has coiitinued to the present time. It is a 
 rectory, and one of the thirteen peculiars, in Loridon, 
 brdonj^iiig- to the see of Canterbury. The present 
 eaifjce was fiiiished m 168 J. It was planned by Sir 
 Cnr-stopner Wren, but not executed with the same 
 accuracy that was designed, it is eighty-seven feet 
 long, sixty feet broad, and thirty-three feet hi'^h, to 
 tiieroof, built of stono, strong and solid. The walls 
 are plain and massy, the ornaments few and simple, 
 and tiie windows very large, ihe tower is plain, 
 square, and divided into hve st iges, terminating 
 square and plan, without spire, turret, or pinnacle. 
 The cornice is supported .by scrohs, and over these, 
 rise's a balustrade, of solid construction, suitable to 
 the' rest of the building. ..•,..-■; 
 
 Ahhallows the Less, which was also called Allhal- 
 lows on the Cellars, or, super Cellanuni, because it 
 stood abo-e vaults, let out for cellars, was also a rec- 
 tory, the advowson of which was in the Bishop of 
 Wincnester, until the coilegeof St. Lawrence Pounte- 
 ney was founded, when Sir .John Pounteney purchased 
 it, and rebuilt the church, wh;ch he appropriated to ' 
 his college ; by which means it became a donative, 
 or curacy. 
 
 At the general suppression of religious houses, by- ■ 
 Henry Vtli. this ciuircli came to the crown, and in 
 the year l.';77, Queen lilizabeth granted it to AV'iU 
 Iiam V'erle, for a term <»f twent3'^-one years. In the 
 second year of hi 3 reign, her successor, James L sold 
 it to Richard Blake, and others, and their heirs or 
 assigns, in free soccage, for ever; since whicli time 
 it has PMuaincd in private hands. 
 
 At a sh >rt d'scance from Allhallows church is the 
 Steel-yard, the wharf originally aliotterl to the An- 
 seatic mei'driirs, for landing and storing up their 
 goods. This w^as the great repository of the wheat • 
 
 and
 
 4^96 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 and other grain, the cables, masts, tar, Wemp, flax, 
 linen cloths, wax, steel, and other merchandize, im- 
 ported by the Easterlings; and on this spot stood the 
 Guildhalda Teutonicorum, or Guildhall of the Ger- 
 mans. They called it Staple-hoff, or, Hou e of Ge- 
 neral Trade; from the contraction of which name, 
 to Stael-hofF, our appellation. Steel-yard is derived, 
 and not from the steel landed here, which was but a 
 single article of their very extensive commerce. The 
 importance of their trade was such as to procure 
 them great privileges; among others, the being free 
 from all subsidies to the king, and also of having an 
 alderman of London to be their judge in case of dis-^ 
 putes. 
 
 But as the inestimable advantages of commerce b&* 
 came better understood, the impolicy of suffering 
 foreigners to command our markets, was too striking 
 to be overlooked ; and, on the one hand, the privi- 
 leges enjoyed by these people, were gradually 
 abridged, while, on the other, every facility was 
 given to the fonnation of commercial societies of 
 natives, by which means the profits of their trade were, 
 in time, diverted into Enghsh hands, and, conse- 
 quently. Englishmen became the holders of the pro- 
 visions and naval stores, which had compelled our 
 dependance upon them. At length, in 1597, their 
 house was finally shut up, and its inhabitants ex- 
 pelled the kingdom. 
 
 The Steel-yard is now the great repository of the 
 imported bar-iron, which supplies our metropolis 
 with that necessary article ; and the yards and ware- 
 houses are filled with an immense quantity of it. 
 
 Nearly at the western extremity' of this ward, in a 
 lane, formerly called Friars'-lane, but now Joiners'- 
 hail-buildings, is the hall of the Joiners' company. 
 
 This buildino- is remarkable fora magnificent skreen 
 at the entrance into the hall-room, having demi- 
 
 savages.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 497 
 
 savages, and a variety of other enrichments, curiously 
 carved in wainscot. The great parlour is beautifully 
 pannelled with cedar. 
 
 On the north side of Thames-street, a little east 
 from Joiners'-hall-buildings, is Great Elbow-lane, in 
 which is a very handsome and convenient hail, be- 
 longing to the company of Innholders. 
 
 At a small distance from this hall, in Little Elbow- 
 lane, is another neat building, used as a hall by the 
 Dyers' company. Their hall, which was formerly si- 
 tuated near Old Swan-lane, in Thames-street, being 
 destroyed by the conflagration in 1666, and a number 
 of warehouses erected in its place, the company have 
 converted this house into a hall to transact their af- 
 fairs in. 
 
 On the west side of Dowgate-hill is Skinners'-hall, 
 a very handsome edifice, built with bricks of differ- 
 ent colours: the hall-room is elegantly wainscoted 
 with oak, and the great parlour is pannelled with 
 cedar. The entrance to this building is through an 
 arched door-way, in a modern stone-fronted building, 
 in which are the offices for the clerk and other per- 
 sons belonging to the company. In the beginning of 
 the last century, the East India Company had the 
 use of this hall, for which they paid the company 
 three hundred pounds per annum. 
 
 At a small distance from this hall, but further to 
 the north, stands Tallow-chandlers'-hall, a very hand- 
 some and spacious building, adorned with friezes, 
 formed with columns and arches of the Tuscan 
 order. 
 
 Opposite to Skinners'-hall is Chequer-yard, which 
 runs into Bush-lane. It is principally occupied with 
 warehouses and stables ; and at the north-east angle 
 is Plumbers'-hall, a small but convenient building. 
 
 In digging foundations for the houses in Scott's- 
 yard, Bush-lane, after the fire in 1666, a tess lated 
 
 v©L. II. sss pavement,
 
 498 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 pavement, and the remains of a large hall, were dis- 
 covered at the depth of twenty feet : the former was 
 believed to have been the pavement of the Roman 
 governors' palace, and the hall a court of justice, 
 supposed to have been destroyed in the great con- 
 flagration made by Queen Boadicea. These build- 
 inas seemed to have been situated close to the river, 
 and near the trajectus, or ferry ; for without the south 
 wall were four holes in the ground, full of wood coals, 
 which might be the remains of the piles that had 
 been placed there for the support of the city wall. 
 
 From Bush-lane there is a passage into Suffolk- 
 iane, on the east ^ide of which stands Merchant 
 Taylors' school. 
 
 This school was founded by the company of Mer- 
 chant Taylors, in the year 1651, for the education of 
 boys. It was anciently kept in a house, which be- 
 longed to the Duke of Buckingham, and was called 
 the Manor of the Rose; but that edifice being de- 
 stroyed by the fire in 1666, the present structure uaS 
 erected u))on the same spot, at the expense of the 
 Merchant Taylors' company. 
 
 The school is a long and spacious building, sup- 
 ported on the east by stone pillars, forming an hand- 
 some cloister, within which are apartments for the 
 three ushers. Adjoining to this is a library, sup- 
 ported also by stone pillars, and well furnished with 
 cllassic and other books, for the use of the school ; 
 and on the south of the library is the chapel. Con- 
 tiguous to these is a large house appropriated to the 
 use of the head master. 
 
 The school consists of eight forms, in which near 
 three hundred boys have their education ; an hun- 
 dred of whom, according to the constitutions of the 
 foundation, are taught gratis; an hundred more at 
 five shillings, and fifty at two shillings and six pence 
 per quarter. 
 
 The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRON'S. 499 
 
 The head master re 'eivcs from the company a sa- 
 lary of ten pounds six shiirmgs per annum, and thirty 
 shiUings fur water; Ll sides the quarterage from the 
 scholars, which renders his salary very considerable. 
 The first usher has thirty pounds per annum, and the 
 two others twenty-live pounds, and all of them have 
 proper apartments. 
 
 Several of the scholars are annually sent to St. 
 John's College, Oxford, winch was founded by Sir 
 Thomas White, chiefly for their use; since they have 
 forty-six fellowships in it. 
 
 For the better inquiry into the proficiency of the 
 scholars, there are four probations in the year, per- 
 formed only by the master and ushers; the first on 
 the 1 1th of iNlarch, the second on the 15th of June, 
 the third on the 11th of September, and the fourth 
 on the 11th of December, not being Sundays, and 
 then upon the next day following. 
 
 For the farther satisfaction of the master, wardens, 
 and court of assistants, of the Merchant Taylors, the 
 probations themselv^es undergo an examination twice 
 every 3^ear, by two judicious men, well learned in 
 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, appointed by the master 
 and wardens of the company. Lpon these days, 
 which are between the 1 1th and 21st of March and 
 September, the master and wardens, or at least two 
 of them, are present. The examination, which is 
 performed in the chapel, begins at six in the morn- 
 ing, and ends at eleven. These are called the Doc- 
 tors' days. After the examination is finish' d, the 
 audience, which are generally numerous, return into 
 the school, where public exercises are performed by 
 the eight senior scholars, or monitors of the school. 
 
 There is also anotlier public examination of the 
 scholars of the upper form, by the president and fel- 
 lows of St. John's College, Oxford, annually, per- 
 f(;rmed upon {ho \ itli of June, i>reviousto the elcc- 
 
 4> tioa
 
 500 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 tion of scholars to be made upon that day, to fill up 
 the vacant fellowships in that college. And after 
 the public exercises are finished, the dean of the col- 
 lege addresses himself to the scholars, out of whose 
 number the vacancy is to be filled up, in a Latin 
 speech suited to the occasion. At this time an ac- 
 count is usually printed, containing the names and 
 order of the head scholars, their birth, admission, and 
 continuance in the head form ; and also an account 
 of the subjects of the orations. 
 
 CHAP. XVI.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ^501 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 OfVintry JVard. — Bounds. — Prccivcts.— Principal Streets. 
 — Queen-street. — rintners' Hall. — St. James, Garlick- 
 
 hill. — St. Michael Royal. JVhittingto7i' s College. 
 
 Tower Royal. — Queen's IVardrobe. — St. Martin Vintry. 
 —Cutlers' Hall. — St. Thomas Apostles, 
 
 The name of this ward is derived from the Vintry, 
 a part of the bank of the river Thames, where the 
 merchants of Bourdeaux landed their wines, which 
 they were obhged to sell within forty days after land- 
 ing, until the 28th of Edward 1. when they were 
 permitted to store them in cellars and vaults. This 
 spot was at the south end of Three Cranes'-lane, so 
 called from the cranes with which the wine was 
 landed . and at the north-east corner of this lane in 
 Thames-street, opposite to College-hill, anciently 
 stood a spacious and stately edifice, called theVintry, 
 from the stowing of wine there. In this magnificent 
 fabric, Henry Picard, who had been lord mayor in 
 1336, entertained the kings of England, Scotland, 
 France, and Cyprus, with a sumptuous banquet, in 
 the year 1363 ; as noticed in vol. I, p. 241. 
 
 This ward is bounded on the east by Wallbrook 
 and Dowgate wards ; on the north by Cordwainers'- 
 ward; on the west by Qweenhithe-ward ; and on the 
 south by the river Thames. It is divided into nine 
 precincts, and is governed by an alderman, nine 
 common-council-men, nine constables, thirteen in- 
 quest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 The principal streets in it are, part of Thames- 
 street, from Little Elbow-lane, in the east, to Towns- 
 end lane, in the west, part of Queen-street, Great St. 
 Thomas Apostles, Garlick-hill, aud College-hill. 
 
 Queen-
 
 ^02 HISTORY AND SURVEY OP 
 
 Queen-Street is a large street, and well inhabited^ 
 but only the lower part of it is in this ward. At the 
 south extremity of this street is the flight of steps, 
 or landing-place, where the lord mayor takes water, 
 when he goes to Westminster to be sworn into his 
 office, before the Barons of the Exchequer. 
 
 Between this street and Anchor-lane, stands Vint- 
 ners'-hall, a handsome building, in Thames-street, on 
 the spot where once stood the house of Sir John 
 Stody, lord mayor, in 1357, who gave it to the com- 
 pany. It was then called the Manor of the Yintry. 
 The present building incloses a square court, with a 
 large handsome iron gate in the front, next the street, 
 hung upon columns wreathed with grapes and leaves, 
 and a Bacchus upon three tons on each pillar. 
 
 The hall is adorned with a beautiful screen, on 
 the top of which are placed the public pageants. 
 On one side is a good bust of St. Martin (the tutelary 
 saint of the company), and on the other the Beggar. 
 A fine old painting of St. Martin and the Beggar, 
 brought from Italy, is likewise in the hall, and an old 
 sun-dial, in painted glass, motto, Dum spectas^ 
 
 In the court-room are five large portraits of 
 Charles 11. James 11. and his queen ; George, Prince 
 of Denmark, and Sir Thomas Rawlinson, lord 
 mayor in 1706 ; and a good painting of St. JNIartin 
 and the Ikggar. Here is also preserved a most 
 curious piece of old tapestry, in two com))artments; 
 in the one is represented St. Martin dividing his 
 cloak with the beggar ; and, in the other, the same 
 saint Is officiating at the high altar as the Bishop of 
 Tours. The date of this piece is 1466. 
 
 Behind the hall is a garden, with a passage to the 
 Thames 
 
 At the south-east corner of Garlick-hill stands the 
 parochial chuix-li gf St. James, Garlick'hill. This 
 
 church
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 503 
 
 church is so called from its dedication to the above 
 saint, and its vicinity to a g-arhck market, which was 
 anciently held in the neighbourhood, and called 
 Garlick Hythe, from being a wharf on the bank of the 
 river. It is a rectory, the patronage of which ap- 
 pears to have been in the abbot and convent of 
 Westminster, till the suppression of their monaster}^; 
 when coming to the crown. Queen Mary, in th(j 
 year ]553, granted the same to the Bishop of Lon- 
 don and his successors, in whom it still remains. 
 The earliest mention of this church is, that it was re- 
 built bv Richard de llothinir, sheriff in 1396. 
 
 The old church being destroyed by the fire of 
 London, the present edifice was begun ten years 
 after, and thoroughly completed in 1682. It is built 
 of stone, seventy-five feet long, forty-live feet broad, 
 and fortv feet hioh to the roof: the altitude of the 
 steeple is ninety-eight feet. The tower is divided 
 into three stages, in the lowest of which is a very 
 elegant door with coupled columns of the Corinthian 
 order. In the second is a large window, over 
 ■which is another of a circular form not opened. In 
 the third story is a window larger than the former; 
 and the cornice above this supports a range of open 
 work in the place of battlements, on a balustrade. 
 Above this is the tnrret, which is composed of fouF 
 stages, and decorated with columns, scrolls and Oi'- 
 naments. From the body of the church projects a 
 very handsome dial ; on the top of which is a statue 
 of St. James, to whom the church is dedicated. 
 
 On the east side of College-hill is the parish 
 church of St. Michael, Iloyal, so denominated from 
 its dedication to St. Michael, and its vicinity to the 
 Tower Royal. It is a rectory, the patronage of which 
 appears to have been in the prior and canonsof Can- 
 terbury as early as the year 1285, when Hiig^h de 
 Derby was coljated hereto. 
 
 The
 
 50 Jb HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The church was rebuilt, and, by licence from 
 Henry IV. in the year 1410, made a college of the 
 Holy Spirit and St. Mary, by Sir Richard Whitting- 
 ton, four times mayor, for a master, four fellows, 
 clerks, choristers, &c. contiguous to which was 
 erected an alms-house, denominated God's house, 
 or hospital, for the accommodation of thirteen per- 
 sons, one of whom to be chief, with the appellation 
 of tutor. 
 
 To encourage so laudable an undertaking, the 
 lord mayor and commonalty of London, in the year 
 1411, granted a spot of ground whereon to erect the 
 intended college and hospital. But Sir Richard 
 dying before the accomplishment of the work, it was 
 soon after finished by his executors; who made laws 
 for the good government thereof, by which, the 
 master of the college (besides the accustomed rights 
 and profits of the church) was to have an annual 
 salary of ten marks; the chaplains eleven marks 
 each ; the first clerk eight marks; the second seven 
 and a half; the choristers, each five marks a-year; 
 the tutor of the alms-house sixteen-pence a week ; 
 and each of the brethren, fourteen-pence. 
 
 The extensive charity and numerous acts of 
 benevolence of this worthy citizen, could not, how- 
 ever, secure an undisturbed repose to his ashes ; for, 
 in the reio-n of Edward YI. the incumbent of the 
 parish, a wicked and rapacious priest, imagining that 
 Whittington's beautiful monument was a repository 
 of something more valuable than his terrestrial re- 
 mains, caused it to be broken open; but being disap- 
 pointed of his expected prey, robbed the body of its 
 leaden covering, and re-committed it to the tomb. 
 In the following reign the body was again disintered, 
 and inclosed in lead, and for the third time deposited 
 in its sepulchre, where it remained unmolested till 
 
 the
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. oOo 
 
 the great fire of London involved its resting place in 
 the common ruin. 
 
 While this college remained, the master and war- 
 dens of the Mercers' company, who were trustees of 
 it, nominated the rector for the approbation of the 
 monks of Canterbury. It is at present one of the 
 thirteen j^eculiars belonging to that see. 
 
 The old church was destroyed by the fire in 1666, 
 after which the present structure was erected in its 
 stead, and made parochial, for this and the adjoining 
 parish of St. Martin, Vintry, the church of which 
 was not rebuilt. It is a plain, substantial, stone 
 building, enlightened by a single series of large 
 arched windows, placed so high that the doors open 
 under them. The tower is divided into three stages, 
 and is surrounded at top with carved opqn work, 
 instead of a balustrade: from hence rises a light and 
 elegant turret, adorned with Ionic columns, which 
 ends in a reguUu' diminution, and supports the vane. 
 
 The Tower Royal, formerly situate at the north 
 end of the street now so called, was a spacious, 
 strong, and magnificent mansion, pertaining to the 
 kings of this realm, but its origin cannot now be 
 traced, though it is sujiposed to have been founded 
 by Henry 1. However this may be, it was certainly 
 inhabited by King Stephen, who, having called Wil- 
 liam de Ypres from Flanders, with a number oK 
 Flemings, to assist him ag-ainst the Empress Maud, 
 was so satisfied with his services, that he permitted 
 him to build a house for himself, nearly adjoining, 
 at the west end of the church of St. Thomas the 
 Apostle. 
 
 In the early part of the reign of Edward I. this 
 appears to have been the residence of a private indi- 
 vidual, of the name nf Simon Beawmes; but it is 
 probable that h(i was only a tenant; for Eduard I if. 
 
 VOL. jr. T 1 1 in
 
 506 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 in the forty-third year of his reign, gave it, by the 
 name of his inne, called the Royal, in his City of 
 London, unto ius College of St. Mephen, at West- 
 minster. 
 
 ISotwithstandina this gift, it must have reverted 
 to the crown; for, in aicliard ll.'s reign, it was 
 called t:'.e ^^ueen's Wardrobe; as Stow thus relates 
 from iMosard: 
 
 " King iiichaid, having, in Smithfield, overcome 
 and dispersed the rebels, he, his lords, and all his 
 company, entered the city of London with great jo}^ 
 and went to the lady priijcess, his mother, who was 
 then lodged in the 'lower Royal, called the Queen's 
 M ardrobe, whore she had remained three days and 
 two nights, right sore abashed. But when she saw 
 the kjng her son, she was greatly rejoiced, and said, 
 * Ah, son ! what great sorrow have 1 suffered for 
 you this day !' The king answered and said, ' Cer- 
 tainly, Madam, I know it well, but now rejoice and 
 thank God; for 1 have this day recovered mine he- 
 ritage, and the realm of England, which I had near 
 hand lost/^ 
 
 Hence it is probable, that this Avas a place of con- 
 siderable strength at that time; for, when the rebels 
 had got poss« ssion of the Towner of London, the 
 qui en-moiher being obliged to fly, came hither for 
 security : and it may be supposed that the king also 
 iodg: d here ; for, in 1386, when Leon III. King of 
 Armenia, who had been expelled his kingdom by 
 the i ui ks, fled to England for refuge : this was the 
 res df-nce < f ilichard. 
 
 The pa sh church of St. Martin, Vintry, annexed 
 to that of St. Michael Royal, stood at the south-east 
 con er-.f 'vueen-street, in Thames-street, the site of 
 whi h IS n')vv used as a cemetery for the inhabitants 
 of this parish. 
 
 It
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS, 607 
 
 It appears to have been of Saxon original, and its 
 patronage must have been anciently in lay hands, 
 from Ralph Peverell having given it, in the reign of 
 William the Conqueror, to the abbot and canons of 
 St. Peter's, in the city of Gloucester, who retained it 
 till the suppression of the convent, when it came to 
 the crown, and was granted by Edward VI. to the 
 Bishop of Worcester and his successors; in whom it 
 still continues, and who present in turn with the Dean 
 and Chapter of Canterbury. 
 
 A httle to the north-east of this church-yard is 
 Cloak-lane, on the south side of which stands Cut- 
 lers'-hall, a small but very neat brick building, con- 
 veniently fitted up for transactmg the business of the 
 company. 
 
 The church of St. Thomas Apostles stood on the 
 north side of Great St. Thomas Apostles, before the 
 fire of l^ondon; but not being rebuilt, the parish is 
 united to that of St. Mary Aldermary. 
 
 It is a rectory, the patronage of which appears to 
 have been always in the Dean and Chapter of St, 
 Paul's, but subject to the archdeacon; and its anti- 
 quity may be inferred from tlie house of William de 
 Ypres, mentioned above, being built at its west 
 end. 
 
 ] 
 
 CHAP. XVII.
 
 oOS msimiv Ai<u sukvey of 
 
 CHAP. XVTI, 
 
 OJ Cordicaiiier-street ff^ard. — Bounds. — Principal Streets. 
 — Prdcincts. — St.Mary-le-Boiv. — Remains of a Roman 
 Causeway. — Crownsila. — Boj/le's Lectures. — Si. Mary^ 
 
 Aldcrmary. — St. ylnthonyy or AnthoUn's. St. John 
 
 Baptist, JVallhrook. 
 
 This ward took its name iVom the street now called 
 Bow-lane, which had anciently the naoje of Cord- 
 wainers'-street, from cordwainers, or shoemakers, 
 curriers, and other workers in leather, residing in it. 
 The name was afterwards changed to Hosier-lane, 
 when the shoemakers were replaced by hosiers ; and 
 these, in their turn, being superseded by other traders, 
 the present name was taken from the church at its 
 north end. 
 
 It is bounded on the east by Wallbrook-ward, on 
 the north by Cheap-ward, on the west by Bread- 
 street-ward, and on the south bv \ intrv-ward. It 
 extends from the course of Wallbrook in the east, 
 along Watling-street, as far as Red-liou-court, in the 
 west ; within which extent it includes these princi- 
 pal streets, or paits of them, viz. Watling-street, Bow- 
 lane, Queen-street, Pancras-lane, Size-lane, Budge- 
 TDw, and Little St Thomas x\postles. 
 
 It is divided into eight precincts, and governed by 
 an alderman, eight common-council-men, eight con- 
 stables, fourteen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 The principal buildings in this ward are three pa- 
 rish churches, viz. St. Mary-le-Bow, St. Mary Alder- 
 mary, and St. Anthony, or Antholiu's; the fust of 
 which is the most distinguished, and stands in Cheap- 
 side, near the north-west corner of Bow-lane. 
 
 This
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 609 
 
 This church took its name ftom being dedicated 
 to the Virgin Mary, and received the additional epi- 
 thet of LeBow, from being the first church in Lon- 
 don built upon stone arches, at that time called Bows, 
 It was founded in or before the reign of William the 
 Conqueror, and w^as at first called New Mary church, 
 but afterwards obtained the name of De Arcubus, or 
 Le Bow, in W^cstcheap. 
 
 In the history of the ancient edifice, we find, that 
 in the year 1271, a great number of people were de- 
 stroyed, and many more maimed, by the falling of 
 the steeple; after which it remained without one for 
 many years, but was gradually repaired, by the do- 
 nations and legacies of charitable persons; so that, 
 in 1469, the common-council ordained that Bow-bell 
 should be rung at nine of the clock every night ; and 
 in the year lol'i, it was finished upon the old plan, 
 with stone brought from Caen, in Normandy ; that 
 is to say, with arches and five lanterns, one at each 
 corner, and one at the top, upon the arches, which 
 were intended to have been glazed, and to have 
 lights placed in them every night, in the winter, to 
 give light to passengers in the street: and thus it 
 continued till it was destroyed, with the other build- 
 ings in the citv, bv the fire in \66G. 
 
 The present noble structure was built by the great 
 Sir Christopher Wren, and is chiefly admired for the 
 elegance of its steeple, which is built entirely of 
 Portland-stone, and was finished in 1680. It is ex- 
 tremely light in its appearance, and, though \'^ry 
 high, and full of openings, secure from any second 
 fall, by the geometrical proportion and lightness of 
 its several parts. The length of this church is sixty- 
 five feet. Its breadth sixty-three feet, the height of 
 the roof, thirty-eight feet, and that of the steeple, 
 two hundred and twentv-jive feet. 
 
 The
 
 510 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 The tower is square from the ground, and in this 
 form rises to a considerable height, but with more 
 ornament as it advances. The principal decoration 
 of the lower part is the entrance, which is a noble^ 
 lofty, and well-proportioned arch, on two of the sides 
 faced with a bold rustic, and raised on a plain solid 
 course from the foundation. Within the arch is a 
 portal of the Doric order, the frieze ornamented in 
 tryglyphs, and with sculpture in the metopes: over 
 this arch is an opening, with a small balcony, which 
 answers to a window on the other face. The first 
 stage is terminated by an elegant cornice, over which 
 rises a plain course, whence a dial projects. Above 
 this, in each face, is a large arched window, with 
 coupled Ionic pilasters at the sides near the corners. 
 The cornice over the windows supports an elegant 
 balustrade, with attic pillars over the Ionic columns, 
 supporting turrets, each composed of four handsome 
 scrolls, which join at the top, where are placed urns 
 with flames. From this part the steeple rises circu- 
 lar. There is a plain course to the height of half the 
 scrolls, and upon this are raised a circular range of 
 Corinthian columns, while the body of the steeple 
 is continued round and plain within them. These 
 support a second balustrade, with very large scrolls, 
 extending from it to the body of the steeple. Above 
 these are placed a series of composite columns, and 
 from the entablature rises another set of scrolls, sup- 
 porting the spire, which rests upon four balls, and is 
 terminated by a globe, whence rises a vane, in the 
 form of a dragon. In this steeple are twelve bells, 
 said to be superior in harmony to any set in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The author of the Critical Review of the Public 
 Buildings, says, " The steeple of Bow-church is a 
 master-piece in a peculiar style of building: it is, 
 
 beyond 
 
 1
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ^1 I 
 
 beyond question, as perfect as human imagination 
 can contriv^e or execute; and, till we see it outdone, 
 we shall hardly think it to be equalled." 
 
 In digging the foundation for this church, Sir 
 Christopher Wren discovered that part of the ancient 
 Roman colony, which ran from the Thames north- 
 ward. On opening the ground, a foundation appeared, 
 firm enouoh for the intended fabric, which, on in- 
 spection, was found to consist of the remains of a 
 temple, or church of Roman workmanship, entirely 
 buried under the level of the present street. On 
 this he determined to erect the new building ; and. 
 as the old church stood about forty feet backward 
 from the high street, by purchasing the ground of 
 one private house, in front, not then rebuilt, he was 
 enabled to bring the steeple forward, so ^ to range 
 with the houses in Clieapside. Here, to his great 
 surprise, he suiik about eighteen feet through made 
 ground, and then imagined that he was come to the 
 natural soil and hard gravel ; but, on farther inspec- 
 tion, it appeared to be a Roman causeway, of rough 
 stone, close and well rammed with Roman brick and 
 rubbish at the bottom, all firmly cemented. On this 
 causeway, which was four feet thick, Sir Christopher 
 determined to lay the foundation of the tower and 
 steeple, as being most proper to bear a weighty and 
 lofty structure. 
 
 North of this church, between the church-vard and 
 the end of Bow-lane, stood the building, called the 
 Crown-sild, or shed, in which the royal family and 
 their attendants took their stations, to sec the just- 
 ings, processions, &c. After the f<ill of the wooden 
 stage, in 1.3^9 (vol. I. p. 21 i), Kdward III. caused a 
 spacious stone building to be erected here; which 
 continued to be used for this purpose until the times 
 of Henry IV. who, in the tvvelith year of his reign, 
 sold it to Stf^phen Spilman, and other';. And in Bow 
 
 clunch-yard
 
 ol2 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 church-yard stood one of the public grammai 
 schools founded by Henry VI. This venerable 
 piece of antiquity remained until the year 17^7 ; 
 though the purposes for which it was erected had 
 been long discontinued. This church, which is the 
 chief of the thirteen peculiars in this city belonging 
 to the see of Canterbury, is a rectory, the patronage 
 of which appears to have been always in the arch- 
 bishop. After the (ire, the parishes of Allhallows, 
 Honey-lane, and St. Pancras, were annexed to it ; 
 both of which are in Cheap-ward. 
 
 The celebrated metaphys.cal lectures, instituted 
 by the Honourable Robert Boyle, have been 
 generally preached at this church. This gentleman 
 vested a sum of tifty pounds per annum in trustees, 
 to be applied for preaching eight sermons yearly, 
 viz. on the first Mondays of January, February, 
 ISIarch, April, May, September, October, and No- 
 vember, by such minister and at such church, as the 
 trustees should think proper: but no preacher to be 
 continued longer than three years. The object of 
 these sermons is to prove and establish the Christian 
 religion against Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, Atheists, 
 and Deists; but not to interfere in controversies 
 among Christians. 
 
 Near the middle of Bow-lane on the east side, is 
 the parochial church of St. Mary Aldermary. 
 
 This church, which is a rectory, owes its name 
 to its dedication to the Virgin Mary ; and the addi- 
 tional epithet of Aldermary, to Older, or Elder Mary, 
 horn its being the oldest church in this city dedicat- 
 ed to the said virgin. It is one of the peculiars' 
 beiongin<> to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 was founded before the conquest, under the Saxon 
 kings. 
 
 In the year 1.510 Sir Henry Keble, Lord Mayor 
 of London, bequeathed one thousand pounds to- 
 wards
 
 LOKDOT^ AND ITS ENVIRONS, 513 
 
 wards rebuilding this church. And, in 1626, Wil- 
 liam llodoway gave, towards the building of the 
 steeple then greatly decayed, the sum of three 
 thousand pounds ; and Richard Pierson, about tiie 
 same yei\v, gave two hundred marks towards the 
 same works, with condition that this steeple, thus 
 to be built, should follow its ancient pattern, 8nd go 
 forward, and be hnished, according to the founda- 
 tion of it laid before by Sir Henry Keble, which, 
 within three years after, was so finished, that, not- 
 withstanding the body of the church was burnt in 
 the Hre of 1666, the steeple remained firm and 
 good. That part of it which was consumed was 
 afterwards rebuilt in its present form by the munifi- 
 <;ence of f lenry Rogers, Esq. as appears by a Latin 
 inscrif)tioi4 over the westdooi of the church. 
 
 This Gcjthic edifice is very spacious, it being an 
 hundred feet in length and sixty-three in breadth; 
 the height of the roof is forty-five feet, and that of 
 tlie steeple an hundred and thirty-five. The body 
 is enlightened by a single series of larore Gothic 
 windows. The wall has well contrived buttresses 
 and battlements ; these buttresses run up pilaster 
 lashion, in two stages, not projecting in the old man- 
 ner from the body of the building. The tower, 
 which is full of ornament, consists of five stages, 
 each of which, except the lowest, has one Gothic 
 window ; and the pinnacles, which are properly so 
 many turrets, are continued at each corner down to 
 the ground, divided into stages as the body of tho 
 tower, and cabled with small pillars bound round it, 
 with a kind of arched work, and subdivisions be- 
 tween. 
 
 After the fire of London the parish of St. Thomas 
 the Apostle was annexed to this church; which 
 being in the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, the 
 
 VOL. II. u u u Xrchbishojk
 
 514? HISTORY AND SURVEY Or 
 
 ArchbisViop of Canterbury and the Dean of St. 
 Paul's present alternately to the united livings. 
 
 At the south-west corner of Sise-lane, on the 
 north side, and near the west end of Watling-street, 
 stands the parish church of St. Anthony, commonly 
 called M. Antholin, or St. Antlin. 
 
 This church is so called from its dedication to St. 
 Anthony, an Egyptian hermit, and founder of the 
 order of Eremites of St. Anthony. The time of its 
 foundation is not certainly known ; but that it is of 
 great antiquity appears from its being in the gift of 
 the canons of St. Paul in the year 1181. It was re- 
 built by Thomas KnoUes, Lord Mayor of London, 
 in the year 1:399 : and again, in 1513, by John Tate, 
 mercer. In 161 6 it was repaired and beautified at 
 the expense of one thousand pounds, raised by the 
 contribution of several munificent inhabitants ; but 
 being destroyed by the fire of London, it was rebuilt 
 m the year 1682, in the same manner it now appears. 
 
 It iS built of stone, of the Tuscan order; and is 
 sixty -SIX feet in length, fifty-four in breadth, forty- 
 four in height, and the altitude of the steeple is one 
 hucdred and fifty-four feet. The roof is a cupola of 
 an elliptic form, enlightened by four port-hole 
 windows, and supported by columns of the Comj)o- 
 site order, 1 he steeple consists of a tower, and a 
 very neat octangularspire ornamented with apertures 
 in three stages. The windows at the base of the 
 spire have regular cases, and are crowned with pedi- 
 m 11 is supporting urns. Those of the middle stage 
 hav^ shields, with more free ornaments, which also 
 support their vases ; and the crown of the spire with 
 the decorations under the vane, are exceeding hand- 
 some. 
 
 To this parish is annexed that of St. John 
 Baptist, whose church, before the fire of London, 
 
 stood 
 1
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. ^15 
 
 Stood close by Wallbrook. The antiquity of this 
 church appears from the mention of it by Ralph de 
 Diceto, Dean of St. Paul's, in the year 1181, whose 
 canons were the patrons, and gave it to the convent 
 of St. Helen, London, in whom it continued till the 
 suppression of their nunnery, when it came to the 
 crown, in which it still remains: so that the pre- 
 sentation to these united parishes is alternately 
 the crown and the dean and chapter of St. raul's 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL
 
 5X6 HISTORY AM) SCRVEY OF" 
 
 CHAP, xviii. 
 
 Of Cheap-ward. — Bo7nids. — Extent. — Prmcip^al Streets. 
 — Precincts. --The Punltry .--Scalding-alley .- - St . Mil- 
 dred's, Poultry. — St . Maryy Colechurch.-- Poultry Comp- 
 ter, — Grocers' Hall. — Old Jewry. — Mercers' Hall. — ■ 
 5^. Martin, Ironmonger-lane . — Guildhall. — Guildhali 
 Chapel. — St. Lawrence, Jewry. — Honey-lane Market, 
 — Alllialloius, Honey -lane. — St. Pancras, Sopcr-lane. 
 St. Bennei Sherehog. — Bucklershury. — Barge-yard. — 
 Great Conduit^ in Cheapside. 
 
 This ward is situated in the centre of the city, 
 and took its name from the Saxon word Chepe^ 
 which signifies a market. That held in Cheapside 
 was called West Cheap, to distinguish it from the 
 one held between Candlewick-street and Tower- 
 street, which was called East Cheap. 
 
 It is bounded on the east by }3road-street and 
 Wallbrook wards ; on the north by Bassishaw and 
 Coleman-street wards ; on the west by Queenhithe 
 and Cripplegate Avard!< and on the south by Cord- 
 wainer-street ward. 
 
 It extends from the entrance of Mildred's- court 
 in the north-east, to near the east corner of Milk- 
 street, in the north-west; and from the w^est corner 
 of the Mansion-house on the south-east, to within 
 thirty-three feet of Bow-lane in the south-w^est: 
 within which extent are included the Poultry, the 
 east end of Cheapside, Bucklersbury, part of Pan- 
 cras-lane. Queen-street, and Bow-lane, on the south 
 side; (irocers '-alley, part of the Old Jewry, Iron- 
 monger-lane, King-street, Lawrence-lane, Honey- 
 lane market, and the principal part of Cateaton-street 
 on the north side. 
 
 This
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 617 
 
 Tliis ward is divided into nine precincts, and \s 
 under the government of an alderman, twelve eom- 
 mon-conncii-men, eleven constables, thirteen in- 
 quest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 When Stocks-market was the principal one in the 
 city, the east end of Cheapside was inhabited by 
 ])oulLercrs, from whence it rt ceived the appellation 
 of the Poultrv, which it still retains. 
 
 Almost opposite to the market, on the course of 
 the Wallbrook, anciently stood a slaughter-house for 
 the killing of beasts and scalding of swine: v/hence 
 it was called the Scalding-house; but this, with all 
 the other slaughter-houses in the city, being put 
 down by act of parliament, the site of it was occu- 
 pied by a range of buildings, which retained the name 
 of Scalding- Alley for many years. It is now called 
 St. Mildred's-court, on the west side of which is si- 
 tuated the parish church of St. Mildred, Poultry. 
 
 This church is a rectory, and derives its name 
 from its dedication to St. JVIildred, a Saxon princess, 
 and its situation. It appears to be of ancient founda- 
 tion, for John de Asswel was collated to it in the 
 year 1^'2,'5; and in the eighteenth of Ed^vard ill. 
 we find it with the Chapel of (.'orpus Christi and Si. 
 Mary de Coneyhope annexed, which chapel stood at 
 the end of Coneyhope-lane, or the Rabbit-market, 
 now called Grocers'-alley : but being suppressed by 
 King Henry YIII. on account of a fraternity founded 
 therein, it was purchased by one Thomas I Jobson, a 
 haberdasher, who turned the chapel into a ware- 
 house. 
 
 The old church, which had been rebuilt in I4o0, 
 was burnt down in l60'(i, after which the present 
 structure was erected, and the parish of St. Mary 
 Colechurch united to it. 
 
 It is a plain substantial stone building, enlighten- 
 ed by a series of huge windows, and strengthened 
 
 with
 
 ^18 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 V. ith rustic at the coiners. The tower is crowned 
 MJth a plain course, without pinnacles, turret, or any 
 other oruanient, except a clock, whose dial projects 
 about half-way over the street. The length of this 
 church is fift^^-six feet, its breadth forty-two feet, the 
 height of the roof thirty-six feet, and that of the 
 touer seventy-five feet. Within, it is paved with 
 Purbeck stone, the chancel with the same, mixed 
 with black marble. There is a handsome gallery at 
 the west end, and a good pulpit. 
 
 The patronage of this church was in the convent 
 and prior of St. Mary Overy's, in Southwark, till the 
 suppression of that religious house, when it came to 
 the crown ; since which time, the lord chancellor 
 presents to the living. 
 
 St. Mary, Colechurch, stood at the south-west cor- 
 ner of the Old Jewry. It derived its name from the 
 Virgin Mary, to whom it was dedicated, and the ad- 
 ditional epithet from one Cole, the builder of it. The 
 date of its foundation does not appear, but it must 
 have been very ancient ; for Thomas Becket, who 
 was constituted Archbishop of Canterbury, in 11 62, 
 was baptized here. It is a curacy, in the gift of the 
 company of Mercers. 
 
 At a small distance to the west of St. Mildred's 
 church, is the Poultry Compter. This, and the 
 compter in Giltspur-street, are supposed to derive 
 their name from the people confined in them being 
 obliged to account for the cause of their commitment 
 before they are discharged. The charge of these pri- 
 sons is committed to the sheriffs, under whom there 
 are a great number of officers, belonging alike to each 
 prison, who give security to the sheriffs for the true 
 and faithful execution of their several offices. 
 
 The poorer sort of prisoners, in these compters, 
 receive some assistance from the sheriffs, who gene- 
 rally go round the respective markets of the city twice 
 
 a year.
 
 i)eti(h#d ti Li^AvM. >Ui' A'ACiirUI* uluOi^ 
 
 C2y^yrf:sr.j '^^^^/Z, (2^rt^Aj). 
 
 fu^tuh£^ hy T Hagfar, J'tatCentnf Court . Oer^ Utff^ .
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. oVJ 
 
 a year, to gather contributions for their support : and 
 there are several benefactions, made by charitabfb 
 persons, for the relief of those who may happen to 
 be detained, for want of beino' able to dischaioe the 
 prison fees. 
 
 At the north end of Grocers'-alley, a little to the 
 west of the Poultry Compter, is Grocers'-hall. Ibis 
 building is situated on a spot of ground, purchased 
 by the Grocers' company, in the year 14^1 1, of lio- 
 bert Fitz-Walter, for three hundred and twentv 
 marks. It is well designed and executed, i'ai' the 
 purposes of a common-hali, stately, ornanientai, and 
 so capacious, that, for many years, it served for the 
 uses of the Hank of England, which wtis kept in this 
 hall till therewas an office built on purpose, in lliread- 
 needie-street. This hall contains a portrait and sta- 
 tue of Sir .John Cutler, who is said to have built the 
 parlour and dining-room over it. The ancient stone 
 and brick building, at the north-west corner of the 
 garden, inhabited by the beadle of the company, is 
 very probably part of the ancient city mansion, of 
 the noble family of Fitz-'^falter, and, consequently, 
 the oldest building within the city walls. 
 
 From Grocers'-alley there is a passage, called 
 Dove-court, which leads into the Old Je\vry. This 
 street was originally called the Jewry, from beiiif 
 the residence of the Jews in this city,^ prior to their 
 banishment by Edward \. and when, on their re- 
 admission into England, they settled near A Ideate, 
 in a place call('d from them and their then poverty, 
 Poor .lewry-lane, this, their ancient place of abode, 
 received die appellation of the Old Jewry. 
 
 iktween this street and Ironmonger lane, is Mer- 
 cers'-hall and chapel. 
 
 This building is situated on the spot that was 
 once occupied by an hospital dedicated to St. Iho- 
 rnas of Acors, or Aeons, and was founded for a mas- 
 ter
 
 520 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 ter and brethren of the Augustine order, by Thomas 
 ritz-'i heobaid de Heili, and his wife Agnes, sister 
 to rhoinas-a-Bccket, who was born in the reign of 
 Kiiig iienry II. 
 
 On the dissohitionof religious houses, in the reign 
 of tienry \ 111. this hospital was purchased by the 
 Mercers' company, who had the gift of the master- 
 ship, and was opened by them, immediately, under the 
 name of Alercers'-chapel. Thev were both destroyed 
 by the fir€ of London, soon after which the present 
 structure was erected. 
 
 The front of this building, next Cheapside, is ex- 
 ceeding handsome ; the door-case is enriched with 
 the figuns of two Cupids, manthng the company's 
 arais, with festoons, &c. Over the door is a balcony, 
 adorned with two pilasters of the Ionic order, and a 
 pediment, with the figures of Faith, Hope, and Cha- 
 rity, and other enrichments. The inner-court is 
 adorned with piazzas, formed of columns of the Doric 
 order, i he hall-room and great parlour are wain- 
 scoted with oak, and ornamented with Ionic pilasters; 
 and the ceiling is beautifully decorated with fret- 
 work. The chapel is neatly wainscoted, and paved 
 with black and white marble. 
 
 The entrance into this hall, from Ironmonger-lane, 
 is decorated with rustic ^tone pillars, supporting an 
 arch, on the key-stone of which are the company's 
 arms. The door is pannelled, and the upper com- 
 partment, on each side, is also filled with the arms 
 carved in wood. 
 
 Farther north, on the same side of Ironmonger- 
 lane, formerly stood the parish church of St. ISIartin, 
 Ironmonger-lane, which received its name from being 
 dedicated to one Martin, a Hungarian, who, for his 
 implacable hatred and persecution of the Arians, was 
 tleemed worthy of being canonized. 
 
 It
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 521 
 
 It was anciently called St. Martin, Pomary, from 
 its vicinity to an orchard, which being afterwards 
 Converted into a street, or lane, principally inhabited 
 by ironmongers, occasioned the alteration in its dis- 
 tinctive appellation. 
 
 It is a rectory, the patronage of which was in lay 
 hands, until Ralph Tricket, in the reign of Henr}^ IlL 
 granted it to the prior and canons of St. Bartholo- 
 mew, in Smithfield, which was confirmed bv Henrv, 
 in 1233 ; from which time it continued in that con- 
 vent, till its dissolution by Henry A'Ul. when it fell 
 to the crown ; in which it still remains. 
 
 The church being destroyed by the fire of London, 
 it was not rebuilt ; but the parish was annexed to 
 that of St. Olave, Jewry. 
 
 West from Ironmonger-lane is King-street, at 
 the northern extremity of which is Guildhall-yard, 
 a spacious paved court, the north side of which is 
 wholly filled by the principal front of Guildhall. 
 
 This is the hall in which all the affairs belonoinsr 
 to the corporation of London are transacted. From 
 its extensis'C size, it is well adapted for assembling 
 the livery, for the election of members of parliament, 
 the lord mavor, sheriffs, and other citv oiiicers: and 
 in this hall the corporation give public entertain- 
 ments to our kings and other great personages. 
 
 The oriij-inal Guildhall stood in the street called 
 Aldermansbury, from their meeting there, and 
 is supposed to have been built by Edward the 
 Confessor; it being known by that name in the year 
 1 189. Stow remembered its ruins, and says, that, in 
 his days, it was used as a carpenter s yard. 
 
 The present building was begun in the year 1411, 
 and completed in about ten years; towards defraying 
 the expense of which, contributions were made by 
 most of the city companies, and several sums were 
 received fwm private benefactors. 
 
 VOL. II. XXX This
 
 5!J2 TIISTOIIY AlfD SURVEY OTF 
 
 This! old hall was greatly damaged by the fire of 
 London, but was soon after repaired and beautified, 
 at the expense of two thousand five hundred poinids; 
 from which reparation it has stood to the present 
 time. 
 
 The entrance into this building is by a large gate, 
 .under a Gothic arch. Over this rises the new front, 
 erected in the year 1789; which consists of four 
 fluted pilasters, between which are Gothic windows. 
 In the space above the great door, there are two 
 scries of windows, above which is the city motto, 
 " Domine dirige nos ;" and the top of the building 
 is crowned with the city arms. In the side compart- 
 'inerits are four ranges of windows, and the top is ter- 
 minated by reversed arches. The pilasters are higher 
 :than the other parts of thefront, and are crowned with 
 turrets, in two stages; the two centre ones are 
 decorated with the mace, and the other two w ith the 
 city sword. 
 
 The hall is one hundred and fifty-three feet long, 
 forty-eight feet broad, and fifty-five feet high, lire 
 roof is flat, and divided into pannels; and the sides 
 are adorned with demi-piilars. 
 
 On the north side of the hall, nearly opposite to 
 the entrance, is a flight of steps, leading to the re- 
 spective offices ; above which is a balcony, sup- 
 ported by twelve iron pillars, in the form of paim-trees. 
 On each side the steps is a small inclosure, used, 
 occasionally, as offices for clerks to write in. Be- 
 neath each of these is a prison, called Little Ease, 
 from the ceiling being so low, that a confined ])erson 
 cannot stand upright: this is a place of punishment 
 for disobedient apprentices, who may be committed 
 there at the discretion of the chamberlain. 
 
 In the front of the balcony is a clock, on the 
 frame of which are carved the four cardinal virtues, 
 with the figure of Time on the top, and a cock on 
 
 each
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 523 
 
 «acli side of him. But the most singrular ornaments 
 of this balcony are two gigantic images, which stand 
 one on each side the balcony. These enormous li- 
 gures are in the Roman warlike dress, and have lau- 
 rel crowns on their heads. The one on the right 
 leans on a small shield, on wliich is emblazoned a 
 'black eagle, on a field, Or; and bears a long weapon, 
 the lang-bard of the Germans, used in guarding the 
 halls of the great, in ancient times. The weapon, 
 and the arms on the shield, denote this to be in- 
 tended to represent a Saxon. The other, which re- 
 presents an ancient Briton, has a sword by his side, 
 and a bow and quiver on his back. In his right hand 
 he holds a long pole, with a ball stuck full of spikes, 
 suspended from its top; a weapon which had been 
 in use among our ancestors. 
 
 The origin and sionification of these colossal fi« 
 gures, has given rise to many mgenious conjectures, 
 the most reasonable of which appears to be that 
 which considers them as types of municipal power : 
 such statues being found in the places of judgment, 
 in many parts of Germany, where they are called 
 Weichbtlds^ and are set up as symbolic of the privi- 
 leges of the town, and protectors of its freedom and 
 laws; -ii^eicli signifying a to^^•n, and bild a secure or 
 privileged place. 
 
 The Roman costume in Avhich they are habited is 
 not so easily accounted for: perhaps it was adopted 
 by the sculptor, to show that London was a city, 
 adorned and enlarged by the Romans, and a Roman 
 colony. 
 
 Round the liall are fourteen dcmi-pillars, of the 
 clustered (jothic kind, (m the capitals of which arc 
 the royal arms, the arms of l^nndon, and those of the 
 twelve principal city companies. 
 
 In the intercolumniations, and at the west end of 
 the hall, are pr)rtraits of the judges, who so particu- 
 larly
 
 324 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 larly distinguished themselves in determining the 
 differences between landlords and tenants after the 
 fire of London, without the expense of law -suits. 
 To these was afterwards added thai of Lord Cam^ 
 den, who, when chief justice of the court of com- 
 mon-pleas, obtained this mark of esteem from 
 the city by his decision against the legality of 
 general warrants. 
 
 At the east end of the hall is the court of hustings, 
 above which are the city's arms, and portraits of 
 their present majesties, Kings George IL and L 
 and Wilham IlL and Queens Caroline, Anne, and . 
 Mary ; in the order here described, beginning at the 
 center. 
 
 Close to the hustings, on the north side of the hall, 
 is the monument erected to the memory of the late 
 Earl of Chatham ; which consists of a grand group 
 of complete statues in alto relievo, designed to con . 
 vey the idea of the national prosperity under the 
 auspices of this celebrated statesman. To this end, 
 Lord Chatham is represented as the pilot of the state, 
 resting on a rudder, with his right arm supporting 
 commerce, who sits by his side, attended by the four 
 quarters of the globe, in the act of pouring the con- 
 tents of a capacious cornucopia into the lap of 
 Britannia, who is seated upon her Hon. Before 
 Lord Chatham stands a female figure, representing 
 the city of London, crowned with turrets; her right 
 hand resting upon a shield with the city arms there- 
 on, and her left arm extended towards commerce : 
 her whole attitude seeming to bespeak that protec- 
 tion which the position of his arm shows him already 
 inclined to afford her. Various emblems are intro- 
 duced with great propriety in different parts of the 
 work ; such as a mariner's compass and a top-mast, 
 in the hands of commerce, and at her feet, a sail 
 furled to the yard and an anchor. Below London is 
 
 a bee-hivCj
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 625 
 
 a bee-hive, symbolical of industry, and behind her 
 shield are the insignia of the city. 
 
 The following inscription is inserted on a tablet, at 
 the foot of the monument. 
 
 *' In grateful acknowledgment to the Supreme Dis- 
 poser of events, who, mteriding to advance this 
 nation, for such time as to his wisdom seemed 
 good, to an high pitch of prosperity and glory ; by 
 inianimity at home — by confidence and reputation 
 abroad — by alliances wisely chosen, and faithfully 
 observed — by colonies united and protected— by 
 decisive victories by sea and land - by conquests 
 made by arms and generosity in every part of the 
 gl6be— and by commerce, for the first time united 
 with and made to flourish by war- was pleased to 
 raise lip, as the principal instrument in this mcmo^ 
 rable world — 
 
 William Pitt! 
 
 *' The mayor, aldermen, and common-coimcil, mind- 
 ful of the benefits which the city of London re- 
 ceived in her ample share in the general prosperity, 
 have erected, to the memory of this eminent 
 statesman and powerful orator this monument in 
 her Guildhall : that her citizens may never meet 
 for the transaction of their affairs, without beinir 
 reminded, that the means by which providence 
 raises a nation to greatness, are the virtues infused 
 into great men; and that to withhold from those 
 virtues, either of the living or the dead, the tribute 
 of esteem or veneration, is to deny themselves the 
 means of happiness and honour. 
 ♦' This distinguished person, for the services rendered 
 to K'lwj^ Cieorge the Second, and to King (Jeorge 
 the Third, was created 
 
 Earl of Chatham. 
 
 " The
 
 /)26 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 " The British Nation honoured his memory with a 
 public funeral, and a public monument, amongst 
 her illustrious sons in Westminster Abbey." 
 
 Beneath the tablet is a medallion, containing the 
 caf>' of liberty, and ornamented with branches of 
 laurel. 
 
 At the west end of the hall is the sheriffs' courts, 
 above which is a white marble statue of Alderman 
 Beckford, who died in 1770, during his second 
 mayoralty. lie is represented as large as life, dressed 
 in his robes, and standing in the attitude he appeared 
 when he made a reply to the king on his majesty's 
 answer to the city remonstrance, May 23, 1770. 
 On each side of him is a figure sitting in a languish- 
 ing posture : that on the right hand represents the 
 city of London ; and that on the left, Commerce. 
 The head of Commerce is adorned with a crown ; 
 |ier right arm, which holds a cornucopia, almost 
 empty, rests on a mariner's compass, and her left 
 arm supports an anchor. The city of London is dis- 
 tinguished by resting her right arm, which supports 
 her head, onan escutcheon containing the city arms; 
 in her left hand is the city sword inverted; on her 
 head is the cap of maintenance; and by her hes the 
 city mace. Beneath the statue is a large tablet of 
 black polished marble, on which are written the 
 words spoken by ]Mr. Alderman Beckford to the 
 king ; and which were the occasion of this statue 
 being erected. The likeness of Mr. Beckford in 
 this figure is so strong, and the attitude in which he 
 stands so natural on such an occasion, that little 
 more than sound is wanting to realize the re- 
 presentation. The words on the pedestal are as 
 follows: 
 
 " Most
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 527 
 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign, 
 
 " Will your majesty be pleased so far to condescend, 
 as to permit the mayor of your loyal city of Lon- 
 don, to declare in your royal presence, on behalf 
 of his fellow-citizens, how much the bare appre- 
 hension of your majesty's displeasure would, at 
 all times, affect their minds ; the declaration of 
 that displeasure has already filled them with inex- 
 pressible anxiety, and with the deepest affliction. 
 
 " Permit me, sire, to assure your majesty, that your 
 majesty has not, in all your dominions, any sub- 
 jects more faithful, more dutiful, or more affec- 
 tionate to your majesty's person and family, or 
 more ready to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in 
 the maintenance of the true honour and dignity 
 of your crown. 
 
 " We do therefore with the greatest humility and 
 submission, most earnestly supplicate your ma- 
 jesty, that you will not dismiss us from your pre- 
 sence without expressing a more favourable 
 opinion of your faithful citizens, and without 
 some comfort, without some prospect at least of 
 redress. 
 
 *' Permit me, sire, further to oliserve, that whoever 
 has already dared, or shall hereafter endeavour, 
 by false insinuations and su,o;gestions, to alienate 
 your majesty's affections from your loyal subjects 
 in general, and from the city of London in parti- 
 cular, and to withdraw your confidence to and re- 
 gard for your people, is an enemy to your ma- 
 jesty's person and family, a violator of the public 
 peace, and a betrayer of our happy constitution, as 
 it was established at' the glorious and necessary 
 revolution." ' • ' 
 
 Ascending the steps, on the right hand, are the 
 
 offices belonging to the chamberlain and the 
 
 1 treasurv.
 
 598 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 treasury. Fronting the steps is the lord mayor'^ 
 court, in which the sessions of the peace for the city 
 of Loudon and the sittings of the court of King's- 
 bench are held. This room is adorned with paint- 
 ings of the four cardinal virtues. On the left hand 
 is the court of Common Pleas, over the entrance 
 into which is a painting of the relief of (Jibraltar by 
 Lord Howe. The court of Exchequer sits up stairs. 
 The different apartments in this part of the hall are 
 used occasionally by the commissioners of bank- 
 rupts. 
 
 At the back of the hall is a very elegant room for 
 the lord mayor, aldermen, and common-council, tc 
 hold their courts in. In the common-council cham- 
 ber is a capital collection of paintings, presented to 
 the city of London by the late Alderman Boydell, 
 among which is Mr. Copley's celebrated picture of 
 the siege of Gibraltar. 
 
 Adjoining to the north-west part of the hall is 
 that most essential requisite of festivity, the kitchen. 
 This was erected by Sir John Shaw, who, for 
 the first time, gave the mayor's feast here in the 
 year K500 : these had been formerly given at 
 Grocers'-hall. 
 
 On the east side of Guildhall-yard, between Guild- 
 hall and Black well-hall is Guildhall Chapel, which 
 was a college or chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalen 
 and All Saints, and commonly called London Col- 
 lege. This college was founded, according to StoWy 
 about the year 1299, by Peter Forneloe, Adam 
 Francis, and Henry Frowike, for a custos and four 
 chaplains. 
 
 This college being old and ruinous, Henry VL 
 upon application to him by the mayor and citizens 
 of London, granted them a licence to rebuild and 
 enlarge it ; and the chaplains, &c. belonging to it 
 were iucreased, by the founding of divers chantries, 
 
 to
 
 IX)KDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 5Q9 
 
 to a custos, seven chaplains, three clerks, four cho- 
 risters, and seven alms-people. The mayor and 
 chamberlain were the patrons of this foundation, and 
 the Bishop of London the ordinary; and, in 154-2, 
 Bishop Bonner made statutes for its better govern- 
 ment. 
 
 This college was suppressed by Henry VIII. and, 
 in the year 1551, Edward \T. granted it to the mayor 
 and commonalty of London, for the sum of four 
 hundred and lifK^-six pounds thirteen shillings and 
 four pence, to be held in soccage of the manor of 
 East Greenwich ; since which time it has been called 
 CfLiildhall-chapel. 
 
 This edihce, which is perfectly in the Gothic 
 taste, was defaced, but not burnt down, by the fire 
 in 16()6, and has been since repaired. In several 
 niches are figures, in stone, of King Edward \ 1. 
 Queen Elizabeth, and King Charles I. treading on a 
 globe. The windows are spacious; there is a gallery 
 at the west end; the walls are hung with tapestry; 
 there is a wainscot covering over the aldcrmens' 
 seats, and a particular seat for the lord mayor, adorned 
 with cartouches; a handsome wainscot pulpit and 
 desk, and a mat altaj-picce, inclosed with rails and 
 banisters. 
 
 Divine service used to be performed here, before 
 the lord mayor and akhrmen, weekly, as well as on 
 particular occasions ; but this practice has been dis- 
 continued for some years; and the Court of Requests 
 is now held here. 
 
 Contiguous to this chapel, on the south, was a 
 spacious library, well furnished with books, which 
 was erected by the executors of the muinhcent 
 Whittiniiton, and William Burv. But nothi' j es- 
 caped the grasp of that rapacious minister, the Tro- 
 tector Somer«;vr, Avho iniquitously spoiled it of its 
 valuable collection of books. 
 
 VOL. tr. V y y At
 
 530 HISTORY AND SLIIVEY OF 
 
 At the south-west comer of Guildhall-yard, is the 
 parish church of St. Lawrence, Jewry, which runs 
 westward, on the north side of Cateaton-street. It 
 is dedicated to Lawrence, a Spanish saint, born at 
 Huesca, in the kingdom of Arragon; who, after hav- 
 ing undergone the most grievous tortures, in the 
 persecution under Valerian, the emperor, was cruelly 
 broiled alive upon a gridiron, with a slow fire, till he 
 died, for his strict adherence to Christianit}'; and the 
 additional epithet of Jewry, from its situation among 
 the Jevi'S, was conferred upon it, to distinguish it 
 from the church of St. Lawrence, Pounteney, now 
 demolished. 
 
 This church, which was anciently a rectory, being 
 given by Hugo de Wickenbroke, to Baliol college, 
 in Oxford, anno l!29i, the rectory ceased; where^ 
 fore Richard, Bishop of London, converted it into a 
 vicarage; the patronage of which still continues in 
 the master and scholars of that college. 
 
 The old church being destroyed by the fire in 1666, 
 it was rebuih, at the expense of the parishioners, as- 
 sisted by a very hberal benefaction from Sir John 
 Langham, and the parish of St. Mary Magdalen, 
 Milk-street, was annexed to it. 
 
 The present structure is eighty-one feet long, 
 sixty-eight feet broad, forty feet high, to the roof, 
 and the altitude of the steeple is one hundred and 
 thirty feet. The body is enlightened by two series 
 of windows, the lower ones large and uniform, and 
 the upper small. At the east end is a pediment, 
 with niches, supported by Corinthian columns. The 
 lower, which is lofty, is terminated by a balustrade, 
 "with plain pinnacles; and within this balustrade rises 
 a kind of lantern, which supports the base of the 
 spire. 
 
 At the western extremity of this ward is Honey- 
 lane-market, which is famous for the choice quality 
 
 6f
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 531 
 
 of the provisions brought to it. It is the smallest 
 market in the city, being only one hundred and 
 ninety-three feet from east to west, and ninety-seven 
 feet from north to south. In the centre is a large 
 square market-house, standing on pillars, with rooms 
 over it, and a bell tower in the middle. Here are 
 also a number of standing stalls for butchers, fruit- 
 erers, &c. and the passages into the market are in- 
 habited by poulterers, and other dealers m pro- 
 visions. 
 
 This market occupies the sites of two churches, 
 burnt down in 1666 ; viz. that of St. Mary Magda- 
 len, Milk-street, which belonged to Cripplegate- 
 ward, and that of Allhallovvs, Honey-lane, in this 
 w'ard, which stood where the east end of the mar- 
 ket now is. It is a rectory, the advowson of which 
 belongs to the Grocers* company, who, since its union 
 with St. Maiy-le-Bow, and St. Pancras, Soper-lane, 
 present in turn with the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 St. Pancras, Soper-lane, stood on the north side 
 of Pancras-lane, and took its name from its dedica- 
 tion to St. Pancras, a young Phrygian nobleman, 
 who for his strict adherence to the Christian faith, 
 suffered martyrdom, at Rome, under tbe Emperor 
 Dioclesian, and from its vicinity to Soper-lane, now 
 Queen-street. It is a rectory, the patronage of 
 which was in the prior and canons of Canterbury, 
 till they granted the advowson to Simon, the arch- 
 bishop, in the year 1365; since which time, it has 
 remained in the archbishops of that see. 
 
 On the same side of Pancras-lane, a little further 
 to the east, stood the parish church of St. Bennet, 
 Sherehog, which is said to derive its name from one 
 Benedict Shorne, a fishmonger, who rebuilt it. It 
 was originally dedicated to St. Osyth, a queen and 
 martyr; but the ambition of this disciple of St. Pe- 
 ter, was superior to his gallantry; he therefore ousted 
 1 the
 
 j32 history and survey of 
 
 the female saint, and procured the tutelage of the 
 church, by the name of St. Bennet, or Benedict, 
 thouoh his canonization is doubtful. The addi- 
 tional epithet is a coFi'uption of his surname, which 
 was gradually changed to Shrog, Shorehog, and, 
 at length, to Sherebog. After the tire in 1666, 
 this parish was united to that of St. Stephen, Wall- 
 brook. It is a re<-tory, the patronage of which 
 was in the prior and convent of St. Mary, Oveiy's, 
 in Southwark, till their dissolution, when it came 
 to the crown ; in which it still continues. 
 
 Bucklesbury, corruptly called Bucklersbury, re- 
 ceived its name from one Buckle, lord of the ma- 
 nor, who resided, and kept his court, in a spacious 
 stone building, called the Old Barge, fiom such 
 a sio-n beinc^ in front of it. The site of his man- 
 sion is now occupied by Barge-yard ; to which 
 place, according to tradition, boats and barges came 
 from the Thames, up the Wallbrook, when its na- 
 vig-ation was open. 
 
 Opposite to Barge-yard, on the north side of 
 Bucklersbury, vsas a royal mansion, denominated 
 SerrACs, or Sewete's Tovv^er. In 1:344, King Ed- 
 Avard HI. constituted this his exchange, or market- 
 place, for bullion; and, in \35S, he granted it, 
 with all its appurtenances, to the dean and canons 
 of the collegiate church of St. Stephen, at West- 
 minster. 
 
 At the west end of the Poultry, where Bucklers- 
 bury meets Cheapside, formerly stood the great 
 conduit, which was first erected fur the reception 
 of water, conveyed hither from Paddington, by 
 leaden pipes under ground. 
 
 .CHAP. XIX.
 
 LOKDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 633 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Of Coleman-street IVard. — Bounds. — Extent. — Precincts, 
 — Principal Streets. — St. Olave, Jewry. — First Syna- 
 gogue. — The Prince's IVardrohe. — Armourers' Hall.—— 
 St. Stephen, Coleman-street. Lothhury.- — St. Marga- 
 ret, Lothhiiry. — Founders' Hall. — Lower Mooijields,-— 
 Bethlem Hospital, 
 
 Coleman-street, from which this ward takes 
 its deiioiuination, was probably so called from a per- 
 son of that name, who might be the builder, ownef, 
 or principal inhabitant of that part of the city. 
 
 This ward is bounded on the south by Cheap- 
 ward, on the east by Bishopsgate, Broad-street, and 
 Cheap-wards, on the north by Bishopsgate and Crip- 
 j)legate-wards, and Upper Moorfields, and on the 
 west by Bassishaw ward. 
 
 It begins, on the east side, upon the course of 
 Wallbrook, in Lothbury, and extends to the end of 
 Ironmonger-lane, on the south side of the street, and 
 to the end of Basinghall-street, on the north side ; 
 and, in a north and south direction, it extends from 
 Moorgate to the garden belonging to Grocers'-hall. 
 
 It is divided into six precincts, and is governed by 
 an alderman, six common-council-men, six consta- 
 bles, thirteen inquest-men, and a beadle ; and the 
 principal streets in it are, Coleman-street, part of the 
 Old Jewry, I.othbury, and Cateaton-street. 
 
 On the west side of the Old Jewry stands the pa- 
 rish church of St. Olave, Jewry. 
 
 This church is of very ancient foundation, and 
 was originally called St. Olave, Upwell, from its 
 being dedicated to the saint of that name, and, pro- 
 bably, from a well under the east end, where, at this 
 time, and for many years past, has stood a pump for the 
 use of the public ; but this name afterwards gave way. 
 
 tOi
 
 '^34f HISTORY AKD SURVEY dt^ 
 
 to that of Jewry, owing to the great number of Jew& 
 that took up their residence in this neighbourhood. 
 
 This parish was a rectory, in the gift of the Dean 
 and Chapter of St. Paul's, till about the year 1181^ 
 when it was transferred by them, with the chapel of 
 St. Stephen, Coleman-street, to the prior and con- 
 vent of Butley, in Suftblk, and bectlme a vicarage. 
 At the suppression of that convent, t!;e impropriation 
 was forfeited to the crown, in whom it has continued 
 to the present time. When the old church was 
 burned down, in 1666, the parish of St. Martin, Iron- 
 monger-lane, was annexed to it ; the patronage of 
 which is also in the crown. 
 
 The present structure was erected soon after the 
 fire of London, and is built partly of brick, and 
 partly of stone. It is seventy-eight feet long, twenty- 
 four feet Droad, thirty-six feet high, to the roof, and 
 eighty-eight feet high, to the top of the tower and 
 pinnacles. The door is of the Doric order, well pro- 
 portioned, and covered with an arched pediment. 
 The tower is very plain, on the upper part of which 
 rises a cornice, supported by scrolls, and upon this- 
 a plain attic course. On the pillars, at the corners, 
 are placed the pinnacles upon balls; and each pin- 
 nacle is terminated at the top by a ball. The body 
 of the church is vt^ell enlightened, the floor is paved 
 with Purbeck, and the walls are wainscoted. The 
 pulpit is enriched with carvings of cherubims ; the 
 floor of the altar, on which the communion-table 
 stands, is paved with black and white marble, and iu 
 the front of the altar are the king's arms. 
 
 In this church are three curious pieces of painting, 
 viz. 
 
 1. Queen Elizabeth, lying on a fine couch, with 
 her regalia, under an arched canopy, on which arc 
 placed her arms. 
 
 2. King Charles L 
 
 3. The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 635i 
 
 3. The figure of Time, with wings dis!)iayed, a 
 scythe in his right tiand, and an hour-glass m his left; 
 Qt his foot is a cupid dormant, and under hun a ske- 
 leton, eight feet long. 
 
 Near to the north-east corner of the Old Jewry 
 stood the first svnaffooue of the Jews, which was 
 destroyed in the massacre of that nation, when 
 seven hundred Jews were uuu'dered, and their goods 
 spoiled by the citizens of London, in the year 126^2. 
 The site tiiereof was given by Queen Eleanor to 
 the friars called de penitentia Jesus, or de Sacca, an 
 order of i,ei:ging friars, 66 Henry III. After whose 
 suppression, by a decree of the council of Lyons, 
 Kmg Edward I. in the year 130o, granted leave to 
 the said friars to assign unto Robert Eitz- Walter 
 their chapel and church, of old time called the syna- 
 gogue of the .lews, which near adjoined witli its 
 back front to the mansion place of the said Robert, 
 now Grocers'-rhall. The site of that synagogue, 
 &c. after various alterations, is now partly covered 
 with a good private dwelling-house in front, and 
 backward with a handsome capacious meeting-house 
 of the presbytcriau den »mination ; and with two 
 alms-houses in \A indmill-court, for nine poor 
 >vidows of armourers and braziers, founded by JMr, 
 Tindal, and endowed with six shillings per quarter, 
 and nine bushels of coals annual!}': and with twenty 
 shillings per quarter to those widows who are incapa- 
 ble of doins: any business. 
 
 On this spot, in ancient times, stood a large stone 
 building, erected on the site of the .lews' houses, 
 which reached from the ]r<nish church of St. (Jlave 
 to the north end of the Old Jewry, and from thence 
 west to the north end of Ironmonger-lane ; and from 
 the corner of ironmonger-lane, almost to the parish 
 church of St. Martin; but of what antiquity, or by 
 whom the same was built, or for what use, is un- 
 certain ;
 
 63b HISTORY AND SURVl^Y OF 
 
 certain ; more than that King Henry VI. in the six- 
 teenth of his reign, gave the ofiice of porter or 
 keeper thereof to John Stent, for the term of his 
 life, by the name of his principal palace in the Old 
 Jewry. And King Richard 111. committed the 
 keeping of the prince's wardrobe (for so it was after- 
 wards called) to his trusty servant John Kendall, 
 his secretary, by his patent, dated December 1^» 
 1483, and left him to dwell in the same. And in 
 the third year of Edward VI. it was alienated from 
 the crown, being called a great messuage, under the 
 name of the Prince's Wardrobe, to which belonged 
 divers houses, edifices, gardens, &c. being sold to 
 Sir Anthony Cope, a privy councellor to that king, 
 for sixty pounds, and in consideration of his services ; 
 the yearly value being reckoned at six pounds twelve 
 shillings and four-pence. 
 
 Nearly opposite the north end of the Old Jewry 
 is Coleman-street, which is a broad spacious street, 
 and well inhabited by eminent merchants, and re- 
 putable tradesmen and shop-keepers. Near the 
 jiorth-east corner of this street stands Armourers'- 
 hall, which is an old plain brick building. 
 
 On the west side of this street, near the soutli 
 end, stands the parochial church of St. Stephen, 
 Coleman-street ; so called from its dedication to St. 
 Stephen, the protomartyr, and its situation. 
 
 This church is of great antiquity, and was origi- 
 nally a chapel belonging to the Dean and Chapter 
 of St. Paul's, who, between the years 1171, and 
 1181, granted the church of St. Olave, Jewry, toge- 
 iher with this chapel as an appendage to it, to the 
 prior and abbot of Butley, in Suflblk. 
 
 This chapel was made parochial in the year 14j6, 
 but continued under the patronage of the prior and 
 canons of Butley, till the suppression of that con- 
 vent, when it came to the crown. However, in the 
 4 year
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 537 
 
 year 1577, Queen Elizabeth granted the patronage, 
 together with the church and rectory, to Thomas 
 Paskins, and others; and, in 1590, to Wilham Daniel, 
 Serjeant at law, and other parishioners; which rec- 
 tory impropriate, and right of advowson, have been 
 held by the parish, in fee-farm of the crown, ever 
 since. 
 
 The old church sharing the common fate in the 
 dreadful fire of London, the present structure was 
 erected about four years after. It is a neat and solid 
 building, principally of stone, strengthened with 
 rustic a^ the corners, and enlightened by one series 
 of large windows, with an handsome cornice, and 
 has a very extensive roof, without a single pillar to 
 support it. The steeple is a square tower, crowned 
 with a lantern, which has four faces, and encloses a 
 bell to call the parishioners to prayers. The front is 
 adorned with a cornice, two pine-apples, and the fi- 
 gure of a cock, handsomely carved. The length of 
 this church is seventy-five feet, its breadth thirty-five 
 feet, the height of the roof, twenty-four feet, and 
 that of the tower, sixty-five feet. On the north side 
 is the church-yard, and on the south is a large pave- 
 mei t, that covers a burial vault, the whole length of 
 the church. To this pavement there is an ascent by 
 several steps, through a gate, over which is cut, in 
 stone, a beautiful representation of the general re- 
 surrection. 
 
 Speaking of Lothbury, Stow says, " This street is 
 possessed, for the most part, by founders, who cast 
 candlesticks, chaffing-dishes, spice-mortars, and such 
 like copper or latten wares, and do afterwards turn 
 them with the foot, and not with the wheel, to make 
 them smooth and bright, which turning and scratting, 
 as some do term it, making a loathsome noise to the 
 by-passers, that have not been used to the like, it is 
 therefore by them disdainfully called Lothbury." 
 
 VOL. II. ' z 2 z This
 
 538 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 This street is now well-buiit, and inhabited by mer- 
 chants. 
 
 On the south side of it, at the east end, are the 
 new buildings of the Bank, which occupy the whole 
 of that side of the street, from Bartholomew-lane, 
 farther west than the place where Princes-street for- 
 merly terminated. 
 
 Opposite to the west end of these buildings, is 
 the parochial church of St. Margaret, Lothbury. 
 
 This church is so called from being dedicated to 
 St. Margaret, a virgin saint of Antioch, who suf- 
 fered martyrdom in the reign of the Emperor De- 
 cius ; and it received the additional epithet of Loth- 
 bury, from its situation, and to distinguish it from 
 other churches dedicated to the same saint. 
 
 This church is a rectory, the foundation of which 
 is of great antiquity, as appears from John de Has- 
 lingfield, who was presented to it, by the abbess and 
 convent of Barking, in Essex, on the l6th of August, 
 in the year 1 303. The patronage continued in that 
 convent till the general suppression of religious houses, 
 when it fell to the crown, in whom it has continued 
 to the present time. 
 
 The original church being greatly decayed by time, 
 a new one was built in the year 14 iO; but that be- 
 ing destroyed by the general conflagration, the pre- 
 sent edifice was erected in its stead, and completely 
 fmished in the year 1690. It is a plain, neat build- 
 ing, and is situated on the ancient watercourse of 
 Wallbrook. It is sixty-six feet long, fifty-four broad, 
 thirty-six in height, to the roof, and one hundred and 
 forty feet to the top of the steeple. The body is well 
 enlightened by a row of lofty windows, over which 
 the wall is terminated by a balustrade, and the prin- 
 cipal door is ornamented with Corinthian columns, 
 which support an angvdar pediment. The tower has 
 large windows in the uppermost stage, and is termi- 
 nated
 
 LONDON AKD ITS ENVIRONS. 539 
 
 i^atecl a little above by a plain cornice, upon Avliich 
 is raised a small dome, that supports a slender spire. 
 The inside is wainscoted, the floor neatly paved, and 
 the altar-piece handsomely ornamented. The font 
 for baptism is exceeding beautiful, the bason being 
 carved with a representation of the Garden of Eden 
 and the Fall of JNlan, the Salvation of Noah and his 
 Family, in the Ark; the Baptism of Jesus by John 
 Baptist, and Philip baptizing the Eunuch. The cover 
 is ornamented with the figure of vSt. Margaret, and abo 
 the figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
 
 On the north side of Lothburv, between this 
 church and Coleman-street, is Founders'-court ; so 
 named from a building at the north end of it, called 
 FoundersMiall. 
 
 This hall, which is a plain but convenient build- 
 ing, not only serves the purposes of the comjiany it 
 belongs to, but is also used as a place of worship by 
 a Presbyterian cono-reijation. 
 
 The northern extremity of this ward is terminatcrl 
 by that part of Moorfields, called the Lower Quar- 
 ters, which lie along the front of Bethlem Hospital. 
 This space is divided into four quadrangles, planted 
 with elm-trees, and divided bv 2:ravellcd walks, 
 ■which, some j-eais ago, were so much frequented as 
 a promenade by the fashionable part of the citizens, 
 as to obtain the appellation of the City Mall ; but at 
 present they are very much neglected. The houses 
 on the north and east sides, are inhabited principally 
 by brokers ; and the south side is wholly occupied 
 by ]?ethlem-hospital. ' 
 
 This hospital (as before observed in the survey of 
 Kishopsgat«>ward), was founded for lunatics, near 
 the north-east corner of Lower Moorfields, in Bi- 
 shopsgate parish; but that l»ecoming riiinou^^, as 
 ^vell as too small to answer the purposes of the cha- 
 ritVj the lord mayor, aldermen, and Connnon-coun- 
 
 4 oil,
 
 o40 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 cil, granted the governors the spot of ground where- 
 on the present edifice stands, the foundation of 
 which was laid in the month of April, 167-5: but the 
 wings on each side were not erected till some years 
 after the building was completed. 
 
 This noble structure is five hundred and forty 
 feet in length, and forty feet in breadth. The mid- 
 dle and ends, which project a little, are adorned 
 with Corinthian pilasters, entablatures, foliage, &c. 
 and, rising above the rest of the building, have each 
 a flat roof, with a handsome balustrade of stone, in, 
 the center of which is a handsome turret. That in 
 the middle is adorned with a clock and three dials, 
 on the top of which is a gilt ball and vane. The 
 ■whole is built of brick and stone, and inclosed by a 
 handsome v/all, formed of the same materials, six 
 hundred and eighty feet long. In the centre of this 
 wall, which goes in with a grand semicircular sweep, 
 is a large pair of fine iron gates, supported by stone 
 piers, on the top of which are two statues, in a re- 
 clining posture ; one representing Raving, and the 
 other Melancholy, Madness. These figures are 
 finely expressed, and were executed by Mr. Gib- 
 ber, who carved the emblematical figures on the 
 Monument. This wall incloses a range of gardens, 
 neatly adorned with walks of broad stone, grass- 
 plats, and trees. In the east division, which is se- 
 parated by the entrance into the hospital, those of 
 the lunatics, who are well enough to be suffered to 
 go about, are allowed to walk, and enjoy the benefit 
 of the fresh air. 
 
 The expense of erecting this edifice, besides that of 
 building the wings, amounted to near seventeen 
 thousand pounds. 
 
 Notwithstanding the magnificence of this struc- 
 ture, it shows more of good intention than of good 
 tastCj in the g^tvernors of this charity, under whose 
 
 direction
 
 LONDON AXI> ITS ENVIRONS. ;541 
 
 direction it was built ; the style of arciiiteclure be- 
 ino- very improper for an hospital for lunatics, in 
 which simplicity and regularity were alone to be at- 
 tended to ; or, if pilasters were thought necessary, 
 those of the Tuscan order would have suited the 
 design much better than the Corinthian. Another 
 striking defect is in the centre pavilion, which should 
 have had more appearance of being the principal 
 part of the building. 
 
 The inside of this building chiefly consists of two 
 galleries, one over the other, which are one hun- 
 dred and ninety-three yards long, thirteen feet high, 
 and sixteen feet broad, exclusive of the cells. These 
 galleries are divided in the middle by two iron gates, 
 in order to separate the men from the women ; the 
 latter being confined to the western part, and the 
 former to the eastern part of the hospital. At the 
 entrance, between these two gates, on the right 
 hand, is a handsome apartment for the steward, 
 who is the manager, under the direction of the 
 committee. On the left is a spacious room, in which 
 the committee sit to receive and discharge patients. 
 Below stairs is a good kitchen, and all necessary 
 offices for keeping and dressing provisions, washing, 
 &c. and at the south-east corner is a bath, for the use 
 of the patients. 
 
 There are about two hundred cells, or rooms for 
 patients in this hospital, each of which is provided 
 with a bed ; but, when the state of the patient is 
 such as to require it, this is replaced with fresh clean 
 straw. 
 
 This hospital was formerly open for the admission 
 of the public, to the grtat prejudice of many of the 
 unhappy patients ; but, by the present regulations, 
 no person is admitted \Ailhout a ticket, signed by 
 one of the governors, 
 
 ciLvr. XX.
 
 542 IIISTOEY AND eUEVEY OF 
 
 CHAR XX. 
 
 Of Bassishaw Ward. — Bounds. — Precincts. — Basinghall- 
 
 street. — Blackwell Hall. St. Michael^ Bassishaw.-^ 
 
 Masons' Hall. Weavers' HalL Girdlers' Hall. — 
 
 Coopers' Hall. 
 
 This is a very small ward, consisting principally 
 of one large street, called Basinghall-street. It is 
 bounded on the east and south by Coleman-street- 
 ward, on the west by Cripplegate and Cheap-wards, 
 and on the north by Cripplegate-ward. It is divided 
 into two precincts, and is governed by an alderman, 
 four common-council-men, three constables, seven- 
 teen inquest-men, and a beadle. 
 
 Basinghall-street derives its name from the man- 
 sion-house of the family of the Basing-s, several of 
 whom served the chief offices in the city, in the 13th 
 and 14th century. It was originally called Basing's- 
 haw, or hall; but, descending to Mr. Thomas Bake- 
 well, it changed its name to Bakewell's-hall. It af- 
 terwards fell to the crown, and, in the year 1397, 
 was sold by King Richard II. with its gardens and 
 appurtenances, to the mayor and commonalty of 
 London, for fifty pounds; since which time, it has 
 been coiTuptly called Blackwell-hall, and used as a 
 weekly market for woollen cloths. 
 
 The old hall had become so ruinous, that, in 
 l6o8, it was pulled down, and rebuilt, at an expense 
 of two thousand five hundred pounds; the principal 
 part of which was defrayed by Richard May, Mer- 
 ohant-taylor. This building being destroyed by the 
 fire in l66(i, the present structure was erected in 
 1672. 
 
 It
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 543 
 
 It is a square building, with two courts in the 
 middle, surrounded with warehouses, and has two 
 spacious entrances, or gates for carriages; one from 
 Basinghall-street, and the other from Guildhall-yard, 
 where is the principal front, and a door-case, adorned 
 with two columns of the Doric order, with their en- 
 tablature, and a pediment, in which are the king's 
 arms, and, a little lower, the city arms, enriched 
 with cupids, &c. There is also an entrance to it from 
 Cateaton-street. 
 
 Within these buildings are different apartments, 
 or warehouses, called the Devonshire, the Glouces- 
 tershire, the Worcestershire, the Kentish, the Med- 
 ley, the Spanish, and the Blanket-halls ; in which 
 each piece of cloth pays one penny for pitching, 
 and a halfpenny per week for resting. The profits 
 are applied towards the support of Christ's Hospital ; 
 the governors of which have the sole management 
 of the warehouses. 
 
 This market may be said to be the greatest wool- 
 len cloth-market in the world ; and therefore it has 
 always been the particular care of the city of Lon- 
 i-lon to keep it under the best established regulations 
 and orders; for, so early as the 21st of Richard II. it 
 was ordained, that no manner of person should sell 
 any woollen cloths, except they were first brought, 
 harboured, and discharged, at the common market 
 of Blackwell-hall, upon pain of forfeiture thereof. 
 And that ordinance was confirmed by an act of com- 
 mon-council, held on the 1st of August, B Hejiry 
 VIII. with this addition, that no manner of person, 
 being a freeman of this city, suffer any manner of 
 person whatsoever, be he free or foreign, to buy or 
 sell any manner of woollen cloths, harboured or 
 lodged, contrary to the said ordinance, within his 
 shop, chamber, or other place within his house, un- 
 less
 
 544 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 less the said cloths were first brought to Blackwell- 
 hall, and there bought and sold, under the penalty 
 of six shilling's and eight pence for'every broad cloth, 
 three shillings and four pence for every kersey, 
 and twenty pence for every dessein of Bridgevvater, 
 and other pieces of cloth : double for a second of- 
 fence, and disfranchisement for a third. 
 
 There is only one church in this ward, which is situ- 
 ated on the west side, and nearly in the centre of Ba- 
 singhall-street, and is called St. Michael, Bassishaw. 
 
 This church received its name from being dedi- 
 cated to St. Michael, the Archangel, and from its si- 
 tuation. It is a rectory, and was originally founded 
 about the year 1140; at which time it was in the 
 gift of the prior and canons of St. Bartholomew, 
 Smithfield. The register of London gives no name 
 of a rector, before Ralph de Waltham, who died in 
 1327, when the presentation belonged to Henry 
 Bodyke, citizen of London ; but, about a century 
 after, it fell to the Dean and Chapter of St. 
 Paul's, who, from that time, have continued pa- 
 trons thereof. 
 
 The old church, which was very beautiful, was 
 
 entirely destroyed by the fire of London; and the 
 
 present structure was completed in 1679. The walls 
 
 of this building, which are of brick, are strengthened 
 
 with rustic work at the corners, and the body is well 
 
 enlightened by a single series of large windows. At 
 
 the east end, where t"he top is terminated by an arch, 
 
 the light is given by three windows ; one of them 
 
 upright, and the two others circular. The steeple 
 
 consists of a stone tower, crowned with a turret, 
 
 from which rises a kind of spire. The length of this 
 
 church is seventy feet, the breadth fifty feet, the 
 
 height of the roof forty-two feet, and that of the 
 
 tower seventy-five feet. 
 
 ■^ The
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 545 
 
 The other public buildings in this ward, are, four 
 of the companies' halls, viz. on the east side of 
 Basinghall-street, Masons'-hall, a small but very 
 convenient stone building, in Masons'-alley. 
 
 Weavers'-hall, which is a handsome building, 
 neatly adorned in the inside with hangings, fret- 
 work, and a skreen of the Ionic order. 
 
 Girdlers'-hall ; a handsome and convenient build- 
 ing, finished in 16S1, well wainscoted within, and 
 with a skreen of the Composite order. 
 
 On the west side of Basinghall-street : 
 
 Coopers'-hall ; a stately well-built edifice, of brick. 
 The hall is a handsome room, wainscoted to the 
 height of fourteen feet, and paved with marble. Of 
 late years this hall has been used for the drawing of 
 the lotter}'. 
 
 VOL. 11 A a a a CHAP. XXL
 
 6\6 IHSTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Of C'npplcgatc IVard. — Bounds,— -'Division,'— ^xtefit,-^ 
 
 Precincts. Principal Streets.'^- Aldermanlury. St. 
 
 Mary, Aldermanbnry, St. Alphage.-^Sion College.—' 
 
 Curriers' Hall. St. Alhan, IVood-street. St. Olave, 
 
 Silver-street. — St. Michael, Wood-street. — Wax-chand- 
 lers' Hall. Haberdashers' Hall. Addle- street.-—' 
 
 Brewers' Hall. — Plasterers' Hall. Silver-street.-— 
 
 Monkwell-street. Barbers' Hall. Nicholas's Alms- 
 
 houses. — Lamb's Chapel. — Rogers's Ahis- houses, --^St. 
 Mary Magdalen, Milk-street. 
 
 This ward takes its name from the gate which 
 has been already described, in page 368 of this vo- 
 lume. It is bounded on the east by Cheap, Bassi- 
 shaw, and Coleman-street wards, and Little Moor- 
 fields ; on the north by the parish of St. Luke, Old- 
 street ; on the west bv Aldersjrate-ward, and on tlie 
 south by Cheap-ward. 
 
 It consists of two parts, viz. Cripplegate within, 
 and Cripplegate without the walls, and extends from 
 Cheapside, on the south,, to beyond Bridgewater- 
 square, in the north ; and from Moorfields, in the 
 east, to Jewin-street, in the west. 
 
 It is divided into thirteen precincts, viz. nine 
 within the walls, and four without ; and is governed 
 by an alderman, twelve common-council-men, thir- 
 teen constables, thirty-four inquest-men, and three 
 beadles. 
 
 The principal streets and lanes, within the walls, 
 are Milk-street, Aldermanbury, Love-lane, Lad-lane, 
 Wood -street, all but about seventy feet on the west, 
 towards Cheapside, Addle-street, Silver-street, and a 
 small part of Cheapside, reaching about one hun- 
 dred and seventy feet, eastvvard. from Wood-street.
 
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 6A7 
 
 111 this district are included parts of Cateaton -street, 
 London-wall, Little Wood-street, Hart-street, Monk- 
 well-street, Maiden-lane, and Gutter-lane. 
 
 The chief places without the walls are, Fore-street, 
 Moor-lane, part of Grub-street, Whitecross-street, to 
 beyond Beech-lane, Redcross-street, }3eech-Iane, tlie 
 principal part of Barbican, all Bridgewater-square, 
 and the east end of Jewin-street. 
 
 In this chapter we shall treat of that part within 
 the walls. 
 
 Aldermanbury has been already noticed in Cheap» 
 ward, as the place where the first bury, or hall, for 
 the meetings of the aldermen was situated. The ear- 
 liest notice of this place appears to be in the regis- 
 ter of the parish of St. Mary, at Osney, near Oxford ; 
 in which an entry is made of certain grounds and 
 rents, in the Aldermanbury of London, given to 
 that parish, in the year 1189, by Richard Renery, 
 one of the sheriffs of London. 
 
 On the west side of this street, between Love- 
 fane and Addle-street, stands the parish-church of 
 St. Mary, Aldermanbury, which is of ancient foun- 
 dation; as is evident from a sepulchral inscription, 
 in the old church, bearing the date of 1116. The 
 patronage was formerly in the Dean and Chap- 
 ter of St. Paul's, who, in the year 1331, with the 
 consent of Stephen, Bishop of London, appropri- 
 ated it to the adjoining hospital of Elsing Spital ; 
 butwnth a proviso, that the dean and chapter should 
 have the patronage of both, and that, upon the ap- 
 pointment of a custos to this church and hospital, he 
 was to swear fealty to the dean and ciiapter, and to 
 pay them an ancient pension of a mark a year, due 
 from this church, and six shillings and eight pence 
 yearly, for the hospital, as granted by the founder, 
 William do l-'Jsing, in testimony of its sul)jection to 
 the church of St. Paul, it was also agreed that the 
 
 custos
 
 348 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 custos should find a priest to ser\^e the cure, who 
 was to be approved by the dean and chapter. 
 Hence it appears, that this church was, at that time 
 a curacy, as it still continues: but, after the dissolu- 
 tion of the hospital, the patronage was granted to 
 the parishioners, who have ever since presented 
 to it. 
 
 The old church being destroyed by the dreadful 
 fire in 1666, the present structure was finished ten 
 years after. It is built of stone, and very plain; the 
 body is well enlightened, and the corners are wrought 
 with rustic. It is seventy-two feet long, and forty^ 
 live broad ; the roof is thirty-eight feet high, and the 
 steeple about ninety feet. It has a plain sohd tower, 
 constructed in the same manner as the body, and 
 the angles in the upper stage strengthened with 
 rustic ; the cornice is supported by scrolls, and above 
 it is a plain attic course. In this rises a turret, with 
 a square base that supports the dial. This turret is 
 arched, but the corners are massy, and its roof 
 is terminated in a point, on which is placed the 
 vane. 
 
 On the south side of this church stood a conduit, 
 erected by Sir William Eastfield, in 1438, for sup* 
 plying the neighbouring inhabitants with water, 
 from Tyburn ; which being destroyed by the fire 
 in 1666, was soon afterwards rebuilt: but, when 
 the plentiful supply of water rendered these build- 
 ings useless, this, with those in Cheapside, and 
 without Cripplegate, were pulled down in 1730, 
 and the stones employed in repairing the gate upon 
 London-bridge. 
 
 At the north-west corner of Aldermanbury stands 
 the parish church of St. Alphage; so called from its 
 dedication to St. Alphage, or Elphage, a noble An- 
 gfo-Saxon saint, Bishop of Winchester, and after- 
 wards Archbishop of Canterbury, who was put to 
 
 death 
 
 «r.
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 6-ig 
 
 death by the Danes, at Greenwich, on the 17th of 
 April, 1014. 
 
 The first church in London, dedicated to this 
 saint, stood adjoining to the city wall, near the east 
 side of Cripplegatc. But, it being demolished at 
 the suppression of religious houses, by Henry VIII. 
 and the site thereof turned into a carpenter's yard, 
 the south aisle of the church of St. Mary, Elsing Spi- 
 tal, was converted into the parish church. 
 
 The advowson of this church, which is a rectory, 
 was anciently in the Dean and Canons of St. Marlin's- 
 le-Grand, in whom it continued till Henry MI. an- 
 nexed it to St. Peter's, Westminster, when the ab- 
 bot and convent became the patrons of it; but that 
 convent being dissolved. Queen Mary, in the year 
 1553, granted the patronage thereof to Edmund, 
 Bishop of London, and his successors, in whom it 
 still remains. 
 
 This church escaped the fire of London, but be- 
 came so ruinous, that it was rebuilt in 1770. It is 
 a very small but neat edifice, built of brick and 
 stone, and w'ell enlightened. It has neither tower, 
 nor any other ornament on the top ; but the doors of 
 entrance, one of which is on the south side of Lon- 
 don-wall, and two others at the north end of Aldcr- 
 manbury, are very neatly ornamented; and each 
 front is crowned with a pediment. On the sides of 
 the front, next London-wall, are two handsome 
 stone pillars ; and in the centre of the front, in AU 
 dermanbiiry, is a spacious arched window, with a 
 small port-hole window on each side, and a neat ba- 
 lustrade beneath it. Part of the old church remains 
 at the north-west corner of the present one. 
 
 Adjoining to the west end of this churih stands 
 Sion Colh^ge, on the site of Elsing Spital, which was 
 ?incicntly a house of nuns; but this establishment 
 coming- to decay, William jilsing, mercer, in the ycut
 
 ^50 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 1329, began the foundation of an hospital for the 
 support of one hundred blind men, in the same 
 place ; towards the erecting of which he gave his 
 two houses in the parishes of St. Alphage, and 
 our Blessed Lady, in Aldermanbury, near Cripple- 
 gate. 
 
 This house was afterwards a priory, or hospi- 
 tal of St. Mary the V^irgin, founded in the year 
 1332, by AYilliam Elsing, for canons regular; of 
 which Elsing himself became the first prior ; and 
 was surrendered on the eleventh of May, in the 
 22ud of Henry VIII. 
 
 Sion college owes its foundation to Dr. Thomas 
 White, vicar of St. Dunstan's in the west, who, 
 among other charities, left 30001. to purchase and 
 build the same, with alms-houses for twenty poor 
 people, ten men and ten women. He also gave one 
 hundred and sixty pounds per annum for ever to the 
 college and alms-houses ; one hundred and twenty 
 pounds for the support of the alms-people, and forty 
 pounds per annum for the expenses of the founda- 
 tion. 
 
 The original building was begun in the year 1627, 
 and the work being completed agreeable to the will 
 of the founder, a charter was procured under the great 
 seal of England, in the reign of Charles I. for incor^ 
 porating the clergy of London; by which all the 
 rectors, vicars, lecturers, and curates, were con- 
 stituted fellows of this college , and the Bishop of 
 London was appointed visitor. Out of the incum- 
 bents were annually to be elected as governors, a 
 president) two deans, and four assistants, who were 
 to meet quarterly to hear a Latin sermon, and after- 
 wards to be entertained at dinner in the college hall, 
 at the expense of the foundation. In 1632 the 
 governors and clergy agreed upon having a common 
 seal, on which was the figure of the Good Samaritan, 
 
 with
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 551 
 
 with this inscription, Vade et fac similiter; and 
 round it, SigiUum Collegii de Sion Londini. 
 
 To this college belongs a very spacious library, 
 which was added to it after its first institution, at the 
 sole expense of the Rev. John Simpson, Rector of 
 St. Olave, Hart-street, and one of the executors of 
 Dr. White's will. A gi'eat number of books were 
 brought to this library from the old cathedral of St, 
 Paul, in the year 1647, and many others were given 
 by private benefactors. But, in 1666, one third 
 part of the books, the alms-houses, several chambers 
 for students, and the apartments reserved for the 
 governors and fellows to meet in, and for the re- 
 sidence of the librarian and clerk, were destroyed by 
 the great fire. However, the whole edifice wa? 
 afterwards rebuilt in the plain manner it now appears. 
 The new library has, at different times, been greatly 
 enlarged ; particularly by a part of the Jesuits' books 
 seized in the year 1679; by the donation of Lord 
 Berkley, who gave half of his uncle Cook's books to 
 it, by several legacies, to be laid out annually in 
 books; by a great number of private benefactors; 
 and lastly, by the books that it has been some time 
 a custom for every incumbent within the city and 
 suburbs of London, to give, on his taking possession 
 of his living. For the preservation and care of this 
 library, there is a librarian, who has a genteel apart- 
 ment on the south side of the college. 
 
 The alms-houses are built under the library on the 
 >vest side of the square, ten within the college for 
 the men, and ten without it for the women. Four 
 of these alms-people are nominated by the city of 
 Bristol, where Dr. White was born; eight by the 
 Merchant Taylors' Company; six by the parish of 
 St. Dunstan, where he was minister forty-nine years; 
 and two by St. Gregory's parish, where he had lived 
 about twenty years. 
 
 Westward
 
 S52 HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 Westward from Sioii College, and beyond Philip* 
 lane, is Curriers'-court, at the upper end of which is 
 a neat, convenient hall belonging to the company of 
 Cnrriers. 
 
 A little farther to the west is Wood-street, on the 
 east side of which, at the south-west corner of Love- 
 lane, stands the parochial church of St, Albans, 
 Wood-street. 
 
 This church is a rectory, and takes its name from 
 its dedication to St. Alban, the British Protomartyr* 
 Its origin is involved in obscurity, but it is supposed 
 to have been founded by Alfred, when he restored 
 the city, in 886, after it had been ravaged by the 
 Danes : others, however, imagine, from the church 
 being built of the same materials as a square tower 
 remaining at the north corner of Love-lane as late 
 as the year 1632, and which was believed to have 
 been part of King Athelstan's palace, that its founda- 
 tion is to be attributed to that monarch. Whichever 
 of these opinions be true, the original building re- 
 mained till 1634, when it was taken down and a 
 new church erected on the same spot ; which was 
 destroyed thirty-two years after l3y the fire of 
 London. 
 
 The present church was built upon the same 
 model as the former ; and is sixty-six feet in length, 
 fifty-nine feet in breadth, and thirty-three feet in 
 height to the roof. It is a Gothic structure, with a 
 plain body and large windows, and the wall is crown- 
 ed with a square battlement. It has a handsome 
 tower, ninety-six feet in height, which is divided 
 into four stages, supported by Gothic pilasters, each 
 crowned with its own cornice. In the lower stage, 
 one window occupies the middle of the space, both 
 in front and on the sides, the bars forming a double 
 series of Gothic arches: and the pilasters are carried up 
 straight at the sides, the remainder of the space being 
 
 4 left
 
 L0J5D0N AND ITS ENVIRONS. 553 
 
 left plain. The second stage is enlightened by port- 
 hole windows ; and the otiier two stages have long- 
 Gothic windows. The sunimit of tlie tower is 
 edged with battlement work, plain and close, and its 
 verge is crowned with handsome pinnacles, one at 
 each corner and one in the middle of each face. 
 
 The patronage of this church was originally m the 
 abbot and convent of St. Albans, in Hertfordshire, 
 from whom it passed into the hands of the master, 
 brethren, and sisters of the hospital of St. James, at 
 Westminster. How long they possessed it does not 
 appear, but Henry Vl. g^-anted it to the provost and 
 fellows of Eaton college, which was founded by him, 
 and it has remained in them ever since. 
 
 When this church was re-erected after the fire of 
 London, the parish of St. Olave, Silver-street, the 
 church of which was also burnt, was annexed to it. 
 
 The parish of St. Olave,- Silver-street, is a rectory, 
 the church whereof stood at the south-west corner 
 of Silver-street. It was a small church, the 
 patronage of Avhich was always in the Dean 
 and Chapter of St Paul's, who, since the fire, 
 have presented alternately with the provost and' fel- 
 lows of Eaton college. The site of the church is 
 now a burying place for the parishioners. 
 
 Farther south, on the west side of Wood-street, 
 stands the parish church of St. Michael, Wood-street. 
 
 This church is of some antiquity, as appears by 
 John de Eppewell, being rector thereof in the year 
 1:328. The old church being destroyed by the fire 
 of London in 1666, the present structure was finish- 
 ed a few years after, and the parish of St. Mary 
 StdiniuG: annexed to it. The east end of this build- 
 ing is ornamented with four Ionic columns, raised 
 upon a continued pedestal, with arches between, and 
 supportnio a handsome pediment, in the middle of 
 which is a circular window. Between the columns 
 
 VOL. II. u b b b are
 
 564: HISTORY AND SURVEY OF 
 
 arc three upright arched windows that fill the whole 
 space. The rest of the body is plain, and the win- 
 dows are so high, that the doors open under them. 
 The tower consists of three plain stages, with large 
 windows, from the uppermost of which rises a 
 small square course, the foundation of the base of 
 the turret. The base is cut away from the breadth 
 of the tower, gradually, to the diameter of the turret, 
 which is plain, but handsome ; and from its top rises 
 a ball that supports the vane. It is sixty-three feet 
 long-, forty-two feet broad, thirty-one feet high, to 
 the roof, and the altitude of the tower is ninety 
 feet. 
 
 The patronage of this rectory was anciently in 
 the abbot and convent of St. Alban's, in whom it 
 continued till the suppression of their monastery, 
 when, coming to the crown, it was sold, with the 
 appurtenances, by King Henry VIII. in the year 
 1.344, to Wilham Barwell, who, in the year I088, 
 conveyed the same to John IVIarsh, and others, 
 in trust for the parish, in which it still continues. 
 
 On the west side of Wood-street is Maiden-lane; 
 on the south side of which is Wax-chandlers'-hall, 
 a handsome modern brick building, well fitted up 
 for the use of the company. Over the centre win- 
 dow, on the north side, is the arms of the company, 
 and, over the two end windows, a bee-hive, carved 
 in stone. 
 
 Nearly opposite to this, at the corner of Staining- 
 lane, stands Ilaberdashers'-hall. This is a very 
 handsome ancient brick building. The room, called 
 the hall, is very spacious and lofty, and is paved with 
 niarble and Purbeck-stone. At the west end, where 
 there are two apertures, is a skreen, beautifully or- 
 namented with pilasters of the Corinthian order. 
 
 On the east side of Wood-street is Addle-street; 
 the original name of which is supposed to have 
 
 been
 
 LOXDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 655 
 
 been Adel, or Noble-street; which appellation it 
 received from its vicinity to Athelstaii's palace.' 
 Near the east end of this street is Brewers'-hall ; a 
 large and commodious building, supported by very 
 neat pillars, and with a handsome- entrance into a 
 court, paved with free-stone. 
 
 Nearly adjoining to this is a very neat and con- 
 venient hall, belonging to the Plasterers' company. 
 
 Opposite to Addle-street is Silver-street; so called 
 from having been formerly inhabited by working 
 silversmiths. On the south side of this street is a 
 well-built Independent meeting-house. 
 
 On the north side of Silver-street, directly oppo- 
 site the cemetery of St. Olave's parish, is Monkwell- 
 street, which took its name from being the resi- 
 dence of the monks of St. James's hermitage, and 
 from a well belonging to them. On the west side 
 of this street, near the centre, is Barbers'-hall. 
 
 This building was designed by that great archi- 
 tect Inigo Jones, and, though of a simple con- 
 struction, is exceeding elegant, and considered as 
 one of his master-pieces. The grand entrance from 
 Monkwell-street is enriched with the company's 
 arms, large fruit, and other decorations. The court- 
 room has a fret-work ceiling, and is adorned with 
 several beautiful paintings, particularly a very hand- 
 some piece, by llans Holbein, of King Henry VTii. 
 uniting the barbers and surgeons into one company, 
 which contains portraits of eighteen of the most 
 eminent members of the company at that time. The 
 theatre belonging to the hall, at the time tlicse 
 companies were united, contained some chirurgical 
 curiosities ; but since the fiarbers and Surgeons 
 have been made separate bodies, the latter have 
 taken those curiosities away, and the theatre has 
 ever since been shut up and deserted. 
 
 Nearly
 
 356 IJISJORX AND SURVEY OJ" 
 
 Nearly opposite to this hall are the alms-liouses^ 
 founded in tlie year 157^, by Sir Ambrose Nicholas, 
 iviiight, lord mayor and Salter, for twelve widows of 
 members of that company. 
 
 At the north-west corner of Monkwell-street, is 
 Lamb's-chapel-court ; so called from the chapel 
 which is situated there. 
 
 This chapel was founded as early as the time of 
 King Edward I. when it was dedicated to St. James, 
 and distinguished by the name of St. James's-chapel, 
 or, Hermitage on the Wall, from its being situated so 
 near to London-wall. This hermitage belonged to 
 the abbot and convent of Gerondon, in Leicester- 
 shire, who kept two Cistertian monks of their ow n 
 order in this place. At the general dissolution of 
 religious houses, it was granted by Henry VUl. to 
 Wilham Lamb, a gentleman of his chapel, and, af- 
 terwards, a cloth-worker of this city; who bequeathed 
 it, with his house and appurtenances, to the value of 
 thirty pounds per annum, to the Cloth-workers' 
 company, for paying a minister to read divine ser- 
 vice, in this chapel, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and 
 Fridays, and to relieve a certain number of poor 
 people, at different times throughout the year. 
 
 The company of Cloth-workers have four ser- 
 mons preached to them annually, in this chapel, on 
 four principal festivals in the year, viz. the Annun-? 
 ciation of the Blessed \nrgin, the feast of St. John 
 Baptist, the feast of St. INlichael the Archangel, and 
 the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. On these days, 
 the master, wardens, and livery of the company, go 
 in their formalities to the chapel, and hear a sermon; 
 after which they relieve twelve poor men, and as 
 many women, with one shilling each, in money; 
 and, at Michaelmas, they give to each of them a 
 gown, a shift, and a pair of shoes. Hence this 
 
 § chapel
 
 LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 557 
 
 chapel has acquired the appellation of Lamb'^- 
 chapel. 
 
 Opposite to Lamb's-chapel -court is a small street, 
 called Hart-street, on the north side of which is a 
 a charitable foundation, by Mr. Robert Rogers, 
 leather-seller and merchant-adventurer, for six an- 
 cient couple, who have each two rooms, and re- 
 ceive four pounds per annum, from the city of Lon- 
 don, in whom the gift of this charity was left by 
 the founder. 
 
 The church of St. Mary Magdalen, Milk-street, 
 stood where the west end of Honey-lane-market 
 now is. It is an ancient rectory, as appears from a 
 letter from King Henry I. to the Dean and Chapter 
 of St. Paul's, who have always been the patrons of it, 
 respecting its rights and privileges. 
 
 END OF VOL. II 
 
 i'rir.l«d Ly J. D. T)cwick, Aklcisj;at8-»tre«t.
 
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