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Title: Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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LONDON AND NEIGHBOURHOOD***
Transcribed from the 1873 William Collins, Sons and Company edition by
David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
[Picture: Cover of book]
[Picture: Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall,
Crimean and Canning Monuments. Penitentiary, Vauxhall Bridge, Lambeth
Suspension Bridge, Lambeth Place, and Bethlehem Hospital in the distance]
COLLINS’
ILLUSTRATED
GUIDE TO LONDON
AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD:
BEING A
CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE CHIEF PLACES OF INTEREST IN THE
METROPOLIS, AND THE BEST MODES OF OBTAINING ACCESS
TO THEM: WITH INFORMATION RELATING TO
RAILWAYS, OMNIBUSES, STEAMERS, &c.
* * * * *
With fifty-eight Illustrations by Sargent and others,
AND
A CLUE-MAP BY BARTHOLOMEW.
* * * * *
LONDON:
WILLIAM COLLINS, SONS, AND COMPANY,
17 WARWICK SQUARE, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1873.
PREFACE.
IN this work an attempt is made to furnish Strangers with a handy and
useful Guide to the chief objects of interest in the Metropolis and its
Environs: comprising also much that will be interesting to permanent
Residents. After a few pages of General Description, the various
Buildings and other places of attraction are treated in convenient groups
or sections, according to their nature. Short Excursions from the
Metropolis are then noticed. Tables, lists, and serviceable information
concerning railways, tramways, omnibuses, cabs, telegraphs, postal rules,
and other special matters, follow these sections. An ALPHABETICAL INDEX
at the end furnishes the means of easy reference.
The information is brought down to the latest date, either in the Text or
in the Appendix at the end. And the Clue-map has, in like manner, been
filled in with the recently opened lines of Railway, &c., as well as with
indications of the Railways sanctioned, but not yet completed.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
HOTEL CHARGES viii
GENERAL DESCRIPTION 9
A FIRST GLANCE AT THE CITY 15
A FIRST GLANCE AT THE WEST-END 27
PALACES AND MANSIONS, ROYAL AND NOBLE 33
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; WESTMINSTER HALL; GOVERNMENT OFFICES 40
ST. PAUL’S; WESTMINSTER ABBEY; CHURCHES; CHAPELS; 47
CEMETERIES
BRITISH AND SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUMS; SCIENTIFIC 62
ESTABLISHMENTS
NATIONAL GALLERY; ROYAL ACADEMY; ART EXHIBITIONS 68
COLLEGES; SCHOOLS; HOSPITALS; CHARITIES 70
THE TOWER; THE MINT; THE CUSTOM HOUSE; THE GENERAL 77
POST-OFFICE
THE CORPORATION; MANSION HOUSE; GUILDHALL; MONUMENT; ROYAL 84
EXCHANGE
THE TEMPLE; INNS OF COURT; COURTS OF JUSTICE; PRISONS 90
BANKS; INSURANCE OFFICES; STOCK EXCHANGE; CITY COMPANIES 93
THE RIVER; DOCKS; THAMES TUNNEL; BRIDGES; PIERS 97
FOOD SUPPLY; MARKETS; BAZAARS; SHOPS 109
CLUBS; HOTELS; INNS; CHOP-HOUSES; TAVERNS; COFFEE-HOUSES; 116
COFFEE-SHOPS
THEATRES, CONCERTS, AND OTHER PLACES OF AMUSEMENT 121
PARKS AND PUBLIC GROUNDS; ZOOLOGICAL, BOTANICAL, AND 125
HORTICULTURAL GARDENS
ALBERT HALL AND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 129
OMNIBUSES; CABS; RAILWAYS; STEAMERS 136
SHORT EXCURSIONS—
UP THE RIVER 143
DOWN THE RIVER 154
CRYSTAL PALACE, &C. 162
APPENDIX.
TABLES, LISTS, AND USEFUL HINTS—
Suburban Towns and Villages, within Twelve Miles’ 169
Railway-Distance
Chief Omnibus Routes 171
Tramways 173
Clubs and Club-Houses 173
The London Parcels’ Delivery Company 174
Money-Order Offices, and Post-Office Savings-Banks 175
London Letters, Postal and Telegraph System 175
Reading and News-Rooms 176
Chess-Rooms 177
Theatres 177
Concert Rooms 178
Music Halls 178
Modes of Admission to Various Interesting Places 179
Principal, Public, and Turkish Baths 180
Medicated Baths 181
Cabs 182
Hints to Strangers 183
Commissionaires or Messengers 183
THE GREAT INTERCEPTIVE MAIN DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF LONDON 184
INDEX 185
HOTEL CHARGES.
THERE is only one class of hotels in and near London of which the charges
can be stated with any degree of precision. The _old_ hotels, both at
the West-End and in the City, keep no printed tariff; they are not
accustomed even to be asked beforehand what are their charges. Most of
the visitors are more or less _recommended_ by guests who have already
sojourned at these establishments, and who can give information as to
what _they_ have paid. Some of the hotels decline to receive guests
except by previous written application, or by direct introduction, and
would rather be without those who would regard the bill with economical
scrutiny. The _dining_ hotels, such as the _London_ and the _Freemasons’
Tavern_, in London, the _Artichoke_ and various whitebait taverns at
Blackwall, the _Trafalgar_ and _Crown and Sceptre_ taverns at Greenwich,
and the _Castle_ and _Star and Garter_ taverns at Richmond, are costly
taverns for dining, rather than hotels at which visitors sojourn; and the
charges vary with every different degree of luxury in the viands served,
and the mode of serving. The hotels which can be more easily tested, in
reference to their charges, are the _joint-stock_ undertakings. These
are of two kinds: one, the hotels connected with the great railway
termini, such as the _Victoria_, the _Euston_, the _Great Northern_, the
_Great Western_, the _Grosvenor_, the _Charing Cross_, the _Midland_ and
_Cannon Street_; while the other group are unconnected with railways,
such as the _Westminster Palace_, the _Langham_, the _Salisbury_, the
_Inns of Court_, _Alexandra_, _&c._
COLLINS’
ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO LONDON.
Whether we consider London as the metropolis of a great and mighty
empire, upon the dominions of whose sovereign the sun never sets, or as
the home of more than three millions of people, and the richest city in
the world to boot, it must ever be a place which strangers wish to visit.
In these days of railways and steamers, the toil and cost of reaching it
are, comparatively speaking, small; and, such being the case, the supply
of visitors has very naturally been adjusted to the everyday increasing
opportunities of gratifying so very sensible a desire. To such persons,
on their arrival at this vast City of the Islands, we here, if they will
accept us as their guides, beg to offer, ere going into more minute
details, a
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Without cumbering our narrative with the fables of dim legendary lore,
with regard to the origin of London—or _Llyn-Din_, “the town on the
lake,”—we may mention, that the Romans, after conquering its ancient
British inhabitants, about A.D. 61, finally rebuilt and walled it in
about A.D. 301; from which time it became, in such excellent hands, a
place of not a little importance. Roman remains, such as fine tesselated
pavements, bronzes, weapons, pottery, and coins, are not seldom turned up
by the spade of our sturdy excavators while digging below the foundations
of houses; and a few scanty fragments of the old Roman Wall, which was
rather more than three miles round, are still to be seen. London, in the
Anglo-Norman times, though confined originally by the said wall, grew up
a dense mass of brick and wooden houses, ill arranged, unclean, close,
and for the most part terribly insalubrious. Pestilence was the natural
consequence. Up to the great plague of 1664–5, which destroyed 68,596,
some say 100,000 persons—there were, dating from the pestilence of 1348,
no fewer than some nine visitations of widely-spreading epidemics in Old
London. When, in 1666, the great fire, which burnt 13,200 houses, spread
its ruins over 436 acres, and laid waste 400 streets, came to force the
Cockneys to mend their ways somewhat, and open out their over-cramped
habitations, some good was effected. But, unfortunately, during the
rebuilding of the City, Sir Christopher Wren’s plans for laying its
streets out on a more regular plan, were poorly attended to: hence the
still incongruous condition of older London when compared, in many
instances, with the results of modern architecture, with reference to
air, light, and sanitary arrangements. On account of the rubbish left by
the fire and other casualties, the City stands from twelve to sixteen
feet higher than it did in the early part of its history—the roadways of
Roman London, for example, being found on, or even below, the level of
the cellars of the present houses.
From being a city hemmed within a wall, London expanded in all
directions, and thus gradually formed a connection with various clusters
of dwellings in the neighbourhood. It has, in fact, absorbed towns and
villages to a considerable distance around: the chief of these once
detached seats of population being the city of Westminster. By means of
bridges, it has also absorbed Southwark and Bermondsey, Lambeth and
Vauxhall, on the south side of the Thames, besides many hamlets and
villages beyond the river.
By these extensions London proper, by which we mean the _City_, has
gradually assumed, if we may so speak, the conditions of an existence
like that of a kernel in a thickly surrounding and ever-growing mass. By
the census of 1861, the population of the _City_ was only 112,247; while
including that with the entire metropolis, the number was 2,803,034—or
_twenty-five times_ as great as the former! It may here be remarked,
that the population of the _City_ is becoming smaller every year, on
account of the substitution of public buildings, railway stations and
viaducts, and large warehouses, in place of ordinary dwelling-houses.
Fewer and fewer people _live_ in the City. In 1851, the number was
127,869; it lessened by more than 15,000 between that year and 1861;
while the population of the _whole_ metropolis increased by as many as
440,000 in the same space of time.
If we follow the Registrar-General, London, as defined by him, extends
north and south between Norwood and Hampstead, and east and west between
Hammersmith and Woolwich. Its area is stated as 122 square miles. From
the census returns of 1861, we find that its population then was
2,803,921 souls. It was, in 1871, 3,251,804. The real _city_ population
was 74,732.
The growth of London to its present enormous size may readily be
accounted for, when we reflect that for ages it has been the capital of
England, and the seat of her court and legislature; that since the union
with Scotland and Ireland, it has become a centre for those two
countries; and that, being the resort of the nobility, landed gentry, and
other families of opulence, it has drawn a vast increase of population to
minister to the tastes and wants of those classes; while its fine natural
position, lying as it does on the banks of a great navigable river, some
sixty miles from the sea, and its generally salubrious site and soil—the
greater part of London is built on gravel, or on a species of clay
resting on sand—alike plead in its favour.
At one time London, like ancient Babylon, might fairly have been called a
brick-built city. It is so, of course, still, in some sense. But we are
greatly improving: within the last few years a large number of
stucco-fronted houses, of ornamental character, have been erected; and
quite recently, many wholly of stone, apart altogether from the more
important public buildings, which of course are of stone. Of distinct
houses, there are now the prodigious number of 500,000, having, on an
average, about 7.8 dwellers to a house. For our own part we are somewhat
sceptical as to this average. But we quote it as given by a professedly
good authority.
The Post-Office officials ascertained that there was built in one year
alone, as long ago as 1864, no fewer than 9,000 new houses. Though, by
comparison with the houses of Edinburgh and some other parts of the
kingdom, many of these are small structures, with but two rooms, often
communicating, on a floor, a visitor to London will find no difficulty in
seeing acres of substantial residences around him as he strolls along
through the wide, quiet squares of Bloomsbury, the stuccoed and more
aristocratic quarters of Belgravia and South Kensington, or by the old
family mansions of the nobility and gentry in, say, Cavendish, Grosvenor,
or Portman Squares, and the large and more modern houses of many of our
wealthy citizens in Tyburnia and Westburnia, farther westward of the
Marble Arch. But of this more anon.
We have often heard foreigners laughingly remark of sundry London
houses—apropos of the deep, open, sunk areas, bordered by iron railings,
of many of them—that they illustrate, in some sense, our English reserve,
and love of carrying out our island proverb—viz., that “every
Englishman’s house is his castle,”—in its entirety, by each man
barricading himself off from his neighbours advances by a fortified
_fosse_!
Without particular reference to municipal distinctions, London may (to
convey a general idea to strangers) be divided into four principal
portions—the _City_, which is the centre of corporate influence, and
where the greatest part of the business is conducted; the _East End_, in
which are the docks, and various commercial arrangements for shipping;
the _West End_, in which are the palaces of the Queen and Royal family,
the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the residences of most
of the nobility and gentry; and the _Southwark and Lambeth_ division,
lying on the south side of the Thames, containing many manufacturing
establishments, but few public buildings of interest. Besides these, the
northern suburbs, which include the once detached villages of Hampstead,
Highgate, Stoke Newington, Islington, Kingsland, Hackney, Hornsey,
Holloway, &c., and consist chiefly of private dwellings for the
mercantile and middle classes, may be considered a peculiar and distinct
division. It is, however, nowhere possible to say (except when separated
by the river) exactly where any one division begins or ends; throughout
the vast compass of the city and suburbs, there is a blending of one
division with that contiguous to it. The outskirts, on all sides,
comprise long rows or groups of villas, some detached or semi-detached,
with small lawns or gardens.
The poet Cowper, in his _Task_, more than a hundred years ago,
appreciatively spoke of
“The villas with which London stands begirt,
Like a swarth Indian with his belt of beads.”
We wonder what he would think now of the many houses of this kind which
extend, in some directions, so far out of town, that there seems to be no
getting beyond them into the country.
From the Surrey division there extends southward and westward a great
number of those ranges of neat private dwellings, as, for instance,
towards Camberwell, Kennington, Clapham, Brixton, Dulwich, Norwood,
Sydenham, &c.; and in these directions lie some of the most pleasant
spots in the environs of the metropolis.
The flowing of the Thames from west to east through the metropolis has
given a general direction to the lines of street; the principal
thoroughfares being, in some measure, parallel to the river, with the
inferior, or at least shorter, streets branching from them. Intersecting
the town lengthwise, or from east to west, are three great leading
thoroughfares at a short distance from each other, but gradually
diverging at their western extremity. One of these routes begins in the
eastern environs, near Blackwall, and extends along Whitechapel,
Leadenhall Street, Cornhill, the Poultry, Cheapside, Newgate Street,
Holborn, and Oxford Street. The other may be considered as starting at
London Bridge, and passing up King William Street into Cheapside, at the
western end of which it makes a bend round St. Paul’s Churchyard; thence
proceeds down Ludgate Hill, along Fleet Street and the Strand to Charing
Cross, where it sends a branch off to the left to Whitehall, and another
diagonally to the right, up Cockspur Street; this leads forward into Pall
Mall, and sends an offshoot up Waterloo Place into Piccadilly, which
proceeds westward to Hyde Park Corner. These two are the main lines in
the metropolis, and are among the first traversed by strangers. It will
be observed that they unite in Cheapside, which therefore becomes an
excessively crowded thoroughfare, particularly at the busy hours of the
day. More than 1000 vehicles _per hour_ pass through this street in the
business period of an average day, besides foot-passengers! To ease the
traffic in Cheapside, a spacious new thoroughfare, New Cannon Street, has
been opened, from near London Bridge westward to St. Paul’s Churchyard.
The third main line of route is not so much thronged, nor so interesting
to strangers. It may be considered as beginning at the Bank, and passing
through the City Road and the New Road to Paddington and Westbourne. The
New Road here mentioned has been re-named in three sections—Pentonville
Road, from Islington to King’s Cross; Euston Road, from King’s Cross to
Regent’s Park; and Marylebone Road, from Regent’s Park to Paddington.
The main cross branches in the metropolis are—Farringdon Street, leading
from Blackfriars Bridge to Holborn, and thence by Victoria Street to the
King’s Cross Station; the Haymarket, leading from Cockspur Street; and
Regent Street, already mentioned. There are several important streets
leading northward from the Holborn and Oxford Street line—such as
Portland Place, Tottenham Court Road, King Street, and Gray’s Inn Lane.
The principal one in the east is St. Martin’s-le-Grand and Aldersgate
Street, which, by Goswell Street, lead to Islington; others
are—Bishopsgate Street, leading to Shoreditch and Hackney; and Moorgate
Street, leading northwards. A route stretching somewhat
north-east—Whitechapel and Mile End Roads—connects the metropolis with
Essex. It is a matter of general complaint that there are so few great
channels of communication through London both lengthwise and crosswise;
for the inferior streets, independently of their complex bearings, are
much too narrow for regular traffic. But this grievance, let us hope, is
in a fair way of abatement, thanks to sundry fine new streets, and to the
Thames Embankment, which, proceeding along the northern shore of the
river, now furnishes a splendid thoroughfare right away from Westminster
Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge, by means of which the public are now
enabled to arrive at the Mansion House by a wide street—called Queen
Victoria Street, and, by the Metropolitan District Railway, to save time
on this route from the west.
We shall have occasion again to allude to the Thames Embankment some
pages on, and therefore, for the present, we will take
A FIRST GLANCE AT THE CITY.
London is too vast a place to be traversed in the limited time which
strangers usually have at their disposal. Nevertheless, we may rapidly
survey the main lines of route from east to west, with some of the
branching offshoots. All the more important buildings, and places of
public interest, will be found specially described under the headings to
which they properly belong.
The most striking view in the interior of the city is at the open central
space whence Threadneedle Street, Cornhill, Lombard Street, King William
Street, Walbrook, Cheapside, and Princes Street, radiate in seven
different directions. (See illustration.) While the corner of the Bank
of England abuts on this space on the north, it is flanked on the south
by the Mansion House, and on the east by the Royal Exchange. It would be
a curious speculation to inquire how much money has been spent in
constructions and reconstructions in and around this spot during half a
century. The sum must be stupendous. Before new London Bridge was
opened, the present King William Street did not exist; to construct it,
houses by the score, perhaps by the hundred, had to be pulled down. Many
years earlier, when the Bank of England was rebuilt, and a few years
later, when the Royal Exchange was rebuilt, vast destructions of property
took place, to make room for structures larger than those which had
previously existed for the same purposes. For some distance up all the
radii of which we have spoken, the arteries which lead from this heart of
the commercial world, a similar process has been going on to a greater or
less extent. Banking-houses, insurance-offices, and commercial
buildings, have been built or rebuilt at an immense cost, the outlay
depending rather on the rapidly increasing value of the ground than on
the actual charge for building. If this particular portion of the city,
this busy centre of wealth, should ever be invaded by such railway
schemes as 1864, 1865, and 1866 produced, it is difficult to imagine what
amounts would have to be paid for the purchase and removal of property.
Time was when a hundred thousand pounds per mile was a frightful sum for
railways; but railway directors (in London at least) do not now look
aghast at a million sterling per mile—as witness the South-Eastern and
the Chatham and Dover Companies, concerning which we shall have to say
more in a future page.
[Picture: Bank of England, Royal Exchange, Mansion House, &c. (Cornhill,
Lombard, Threadneedle Streets.)] {16}
The seven radii of which we have spoken may be thus briefly described, as
a preliminary guide to visitors: 1. Leaving this wonderfully-busy centre
by the north, with the Poultry on one hand and the Bank of England on the
other, we pass in front of many fine new commercial buildings in Princes
and Moorgate Streets; indeed, there is not an old house here, for both
are entirely modern streets, penetrating through what used to be a close
mass of small streets and alleys. Other fine banking and commercial
buildings may be seen stretching along either side in Lothbury and
Gresham Streets. Farther towards the north, a visitor would reach the
Finsbury Square region, beyond which the establishments are of less
important character. 2. If, instead of leaving this centre by the north,
he turns north-east, he will pass through Threadneedle Street between the
Bank and the Royal Exchange; [Picture: King William Street, Gracechurch
Street, &c. (Bank and Royal Exchange in the distance.)] next will be
found the Stock Exchange, on the left hand; then the Sun Fire Office, and
the Bank of London (formerly the Hall of Commerce); on the opposite side
the City Bank, Merchant Taylor’s School, and the building that was once
the South Sea House; beyond these is the great centre for foreign
merchants in Broad Street, Winchester Street, Austin Friars, and the
vicinity. 3. If, again, the route be selected due east, there will come
into view the famous Cornhill, with its Royal Exchange, its well-stored
shops, and its alleys on either side crowded with merchants, brokers,
bankers, coffee-houses, and chop-houses; beyond this, Bishopsgate Street
branches out on the left, and Gracechurch Street on the right, both full
of memorials of commercial London; and farther east still, Leadenhall
Street, with new buildings on the site of the late East India House,
leads to the Jews’ Quarter around Aldgate and Houndsditch—a strange
region, which few visitors to London think of exploring. “Petticoat
Lane,” perhaps one of the most extraordinary marts for old clothes, &c.,
is on the left of Aldgate High Street. It is well worth a visit by
connoisseurs of queer life and character, who are able to take care of
themselves, and remember to leave their valuables at home. 4. The fourth
route from the great city centre leads through Lombard Street and
Fenchurch Street—the one the head-quarters of the great banking firms of
London; the other exhibiting many commercial buildings of late erection:
while Mincing Lane and Mark Lane are the head-quarters for many branches
of the foreign, colonial, and corn trades. 5. The fifth route takes the
visitor through King William Street to the Monument, Fish Street Hill,
Billingsgate, the Corn Exchange, the Custom House, the Thames Subway, the
Tower, the Docks, the Thames Tunnel, London Bridge, and a host of
interesting places, the proper examination of which would require
something more than merely a brief visit to London. Opposite this
quarter, on the Surrey side of the river, are numerous shipping wharfs,
warehouses, porter breweries, and granaries. The fire that occurred at
Cotton’s wharf and depôt and other wharfs near Tooley Street, in June,
1861, illustrated the vast scale on which merchandise is collected in the
warehouses and wharfs hereabout. {18} Of the dense mass of streets lying
away from the river, and eastward of the city proper, comprising
Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Stepney, &c., little need be
said here; the population is immense, but, excepting the Bethnal Green
Museum and Victoria Park, there are few objects interesting; nevertheless
the observers of social life in its humbler phases would find much to
learn here. 6. The southern route from the great city centre takes the
visitor, by the side of the Mansion House, through the new thoroughfare,
Queen Victoria Street—referred to at a previous page—to the river-side.
It will therefore be useful for a stranger to bear in mind, that the best
centre of observation in the city is the open spot between the Bank, the
Mansion House, and the Royal Exchange; where more omnibuses assemble than
at any other spot in the world; and whence he can ramble in any one of
seven different directions, sure of meeting with something illustrative
of city life. The 7th route, not yet noticed, we will now follow, as it
proceeds towards the West End.
The great central thoroughfare of Cheapside, which is closely lined with
the shops of silversmiths and other wealthy tradesmen, is one of the
oldest and most famous streets in the city—intimately associated with the
municipal glories of London for centuries past. Many of the houses in
Cheapside and Cornhill have lately been rebuilt on a scale of much
grandeur. Some small plots of ground in this vicinity have been sold at
the rate of nearly _one million sterling_ per acre! On each side of
Cheapside, narrow streets diverge into the dense mass behind—Ironmonger
Lane, King Street, Milk Street, and Wood Street, on the north; and among
others, Queen Street, Bread Street, where Milton was born, and where
stood the famous Mermaid Tavern, where Shakespeare and Raleigh, Ben
Jonson and his young friends, Beaumont and Fletcher, those
twin-dramatists, loved to meet, to enjoy “the feast of reason and the
flow of soul,” to say nothing of a few flagons of good Canary wine, Bow
Lane, and Old ’Change, on the south. The greater part of these back
streets, with the lanes adjoining, are occupied by the offices or
warehouses of wholesale dealers in cloth, silk, hosiery, lace, &c., and
are resorted to by London and country shopkeepers for supplies. Across
the north end of King Street stands the Guildhall; and a little west, the
City of London School and Goldsmiths’ Hall. At the western end of
Cheapside is a statue of the late Sir Robert Peel, by Behnes. Northward
of this point, in St. Martin’s-le-Grand, are the buildings of the Post
and Telegraph Offices; beyond this the curious old Charter House; and
then a line of business streets leading towards Islington. Westward are
two streets, parallel with each other, and both too narrow for the trade
to be accommodated in them—Newgate Street, celebrated for its Blue Coat
Boys and, till the recent removal of the market to Smithfield, for its
carcass butchers; and Paternoster Row, still more celebrated for its
publishers and booksellers. In Panyer Alley, leading out of Newgate
Street, is an old stone bearing the inscription:
When ye have sovght the citty rovnd,
Yet stil this is the highst grovnd.
Avgvst the 27, 1688. {20}
[Picture: Old stone]
At the west end of Newgate Street a turning to the right gives access to
the once celebrated Smithfield and St. John’s Gate. South-west of
Cheapside stands St. Paul’s Cathedral, that first and greatest of all the
landmarks of London. In the immediate vicinity of St. Paul’s, the names
of many streets and lanes (Paternoster Row, Amen Corner, Ave Maria Lane,
Creed Lane, Godliman Street, &c.) give token of their former connection
with the religious structure and its clerical attendants. The enclosed
churchyard is surrounded by a street closely hemmed in with houses, now
chiefly dedicated to trade: those on the south side being mostly
wholesale, those on the north retail. An open arched passage on the
south side of the churchyard leads to Doctors’ Commons, once the
headquarters of the ecclesiastical lawyers.
[Picture: St. Paul’s, West End of Cheapside, Paternoster Row, &c.
(Newgate Street and Fleet Street in the distance.)]
Starting from St. Paul’s Churchyard westward, we proceed down Ludgate
Street and Ludgate Hill, places named from the old Lud-gate, which once
formed one of the entrances to the city ‘within the walls.’ The Old
Bailey, on the right, contains the Central Criminal Court and Newgate
Prison, noted places in connection with the trial and punishment of
criminals. On the left of Ludgate Hill is a maze of narrow streets;
among which the chief buildings are the new Ludgate Hill Railway Station,
Apothecaries’ Hall, and the printing office of the all-powerful _Times_
newspaper, in Printing-House Square. The printer of the _Times_, Mr.
Goodlake, if applied to by letter, enclosing card of any respectable
person, will grant an order to go over it, at 11 o’clock only, when the
second edition of “the Thunderer” is going to press. At the bottom of
Ludgate Hill we come to the valley in which the once celebrated Fleet
River, now only a covered sewer, ran north and south from St. Pancras to
Blackfriars, where it entered the Thames. A new street, called Victoria
Street, formed by pulling down many poor and dilapidated houses, marks
part of this valley; while Farringdon Street, where a market, mostly for
green stuff, is held, occupies another part. Newgate Street and Ludgate
Hill are on the east of the Fleet Valley; Holborn and Fleet Street on the
west. The Holborn Valley Viaduct crosses at this spot. And of this
wonderful triumph of engineering skill we have now to speak.
[Picture: Holborn Valley Viaduct]
It was an eventful day in the annals of the Corporation of the City of
London, when Queen Victoria, on November 6, 1869, declared Blackfriars
Bridge—about which more hereafter—and Holborn Valley Viaduct formally
open. The Holborn Valley improvements, it should be remembered, were
nothing short of the actual demolition and reconstruction of a whole
district, formerly either squalid, over-blocked, and dilapidated in some
parts, or over-steep and dangerous to traffic in others. But a short
time ago that same Holborn Valley was one of the most heart-breaking
impediments to horse-traffic in London. Imagine Holborn Hill sloping at
a gradient of 1 in 18, while the opposite rising ground of Skinner
Street—now happily done away—rose at about 1 in 20. Figure to yourself
the fact, that everything on wheels, and every foot passenger entering
the City by the Holborn route, had to descend 26 feet to the Valley of
the Fleet, and then ascend a like number to Newgate, and you will at once
see the grand utility of levelling up so objectionable a hollow. To
attempt to give a stranger to London even a faint idea of what has been
accomplished by Mr. Haywood’s engineering skill, by a necessarily brief
description here, is an invidious task. Nevertheless, we must essay it;
premising, by-the-by, that if our readers while in London do not go to
see the Viaduct for themselves, our trouble will be three parte thrown
away. The whole structure is cellular, to begin with. To strip the
subject of crabbed technicalities, imagine for a moment a long succession
of—let us call them—railway-like arches supporting the carriage-way:
these large vaults being available for other purposes. Outside this
carriage-way, and under the edge of the foot-paths on either side, is a
subway, some 7 feet wide and 11 feet or so high. Against the walls of
this sub-way are fixed, readily connectable, gas mains and water mains
and telegraph tubes. This was the first time all these important pipes
had been so cleverly arranged in one easily accessible place. They are
ventilated and partially lighted through the pavement, and by gas. Under
each sub-way goes a sewer, with a path beside it for the sewer men when
at work. Outside the sub-way are ordinary house vaults of two or three
storeys high, according to the height of the Viaduct. These are divided
by transverse walls; and, when houses are built against it, the Holborn
Valley Viaduct will be shut out from sight, except in the case of the
simple iron girder bridge over Shoe Lane, and the London, Chatham, and
Dover bridge, with its sub-ways for gas and water pipes, and the fine
bridge over Farringdon Street. You will, we trust, now see how
marvellously every yard of space has been utilized by the engineer, from
the roadway down to the very foundations. A few words must now be said
about the splendid bridge over Farringdon Street. This has public
staircases running up inside handsome stone buildings—the upper parts of
which have been let for business purposes. It is a handsome skew bridge
of iron, toned to a deep bronze green by enamel paint, and richly
ornamented; its plinths above ground, its moulded bases, and its shafts,
are respectively of grey, black, and exquisitely polished red granite.
Its capitals are of grey granite, also polished, and set off by bronze
foliage. Bronze lions, and four statues of Fine Art, Science, Commerce,
and Agriculture, stand on the parapet-line on handsome plinths. These,
and the projecting balconies and dormer window of the stone buildings
just named, with their four statues of bygone civic worthies,—Fitz
Aylwin, Sir William Walworth, Sir Thomas Gresham, and Sir Hugh
Myddleton,—enhance the effect of the whole.
Poor Chatterton, “the marvellous boy, the sleepless soul that perished in
his pride,” after poisoning himself, in 1770, ere he was eighteen years
of age, in Brooke Street, on the north side of Holborn, was laid in a
pauper’s grave, in what was then the burying-ground of Shoe Lane
Workhouse, and is now converted to very different purposes.
Let us now come to Fleet Street. This thoroughfare—the main artery from
St. Paul’s to the west—for many years has been emphatically one of
literary associations, full as it is of newspaper and printing-offices.
The late Angus B. Reach used humorously to call it, “The march of
intellect.” Wynkyn de Worde, the early printer, lived here, and two of
his books were “fynysshed and emprynted in Flete Streete, in ye syne of
ye Sonne.” The _Devil_ tavern, which stood near Temple Bar, on the south
side, was a favourite hostelrie of Ben Jonson. At the _Mitre_, near
Mitre Court, Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith, and Boswell, held frequent
rendezvous. The _Cock_ was one of the oldest and least altered taverns
in Fleet Street. The present poet-laureate, in one of his early poems,
“A Monologue of Will Waterproof,” has immortalized it, in the lines
beginning—
“Thou plump head waiter at the _Cock_,
To which I most resort,
How goes the time? Is ’t nine o’clock?
Then fetch a pint of port!”
[Picture: Fleet Street from Mitre Court to Temple Bar. (The Temple, the
River, Lambeth, and Houses of Parliament in the distance.)]
Dr. Johnson lived many years either in Fleet Street, in Gough Square, in
the Temple, in Johnson’s Court, in Bolt Court, &c., &c.; and in Bolt
Court he died. William Cobbett, and Ferguson the astronomer, were also
among the dwellers in that court. John Murray (the elder) began the
publishing business in Falcon Court. Some of the early meetings of the
Royal Society and of the Society of Arts took place in Crane Court.
Dryden and Richardson both lived in Salisbury Court. Shire Lane (now
Lower Serle’s Place), close to Temple Bar on the north, can count the
names of Steele and Ashmole among its former inhabitants. Izaak Walton
lived a little way up Chancery Lane. At the confectioner’s shop, nearly
opposite that lane, Pope and Warburton first met. Sir Symonds D’Ewes,
‘Praise-God Barebones,’ Michael Drayton, and Cowley the poet, all lived
in this street. Many of the courts, about a dozen in number, branching
out of Fleet Street on the north and south, are so narrow that a stranger
would miss them unless on the alert. Child’s Banking House, the oldest
in London, is at the western extremity of Fleet Street, on the south
side, and also occupies the room over the arch of Temple Bar. St.
Bride’s Church exhibits one of Wren’s best steeples. St. Dunstan’s
Church, before it was modernized, had two wooden giants in front, that
struck the hours with clubs on two bells—a duty which they still fulfil
in the gardens belonging to the mansion of the Marquis of Hertford in the
Regent’s Park. North of Fleet Street are several of the _Inns of Court_,
where lawyers congregate; and southward is the most famous of all such
Inns, the large group of buildings constituting the _Temple_. In the
cluster of buildings lying east from the Temple once existed the
sanctuary of Whitefriars, or _Alsatia_, as it was sometimes called, a
description of which is given by Scott in the _Fortunes of Nigel_. The
streets here are still narrow and of an inferior order, but all
appearance of Alsatians and their pranks is gone. The boundary of the
city, at the western termination of Fleet Street, is marked by Temple
Bar, consisting of a wide central archway, and a smaller archway at each
side for foot-passengers. There are doors in the main avenue which can
be shut at pleasure; but, practically, they are never closed, except on
the occasion of some state ceremonial, when the lord mayor affects an act
of grace in opening them to royalty. The structure was designed by Sir
Christopher Wren, and erected in 1672. The heads of decapitated
criminals, after being boiled in pitch to preserve them, were exposed on
iron spikes on the top of the Bar. Horace Walpole, in his _Letters_ to
Montague, mentions the fact of a man in Fleet Street letting out
“spy-glasses,” at a penny a peep, to passers-by, when the heads of some
of the hapless Jacobites were so exposed. The last heads exhibited there
were those of two Jacobite gentlemen who took part in the rebellion of
1745, and were executed in that year. Their heads remained a ghastly
spectacle to the citizens till 1772, when they were blown down one night
in a gale of wind.
Having thus noticed some of the interesting objects east of Temple Bar,
we will now take
A FIRST GLANCE AT THE WEST END.
The Strand—so called because it lies along the bank of the river, now
hidden by houses—is a long, somewhat irregularly built street, in
continuation westward from Temple Bar; the thoroughfare being incommoded
by two churches—St. Clement Dane’s and St. Mary’s—in the middle of the
road. On the site of the latter church once stood the old Strand
Maypole. The new _Palace of Justice_, about whose site there have been
so many Parliamentary discussions, will stand on what is at present a
huge unsightly space of boarded-in waste ground, formerly occupied by a
few good houses, between Temple Bar and Clement’s Inn, and many wretched
back-slums. Not having the gift of prophecy as to its future, and warned
by so many long delays in its case, we hazard no conjecture as to the
time when it will gladden our eyes. In the seventeenth century the
Strand was a species of country road, connecting the city with
Westminster; and on its southern side stood a number of noblemen’s
residences, with gardens towards the river. The pleasant days are long
since past when mansions and personages, political events and holiday
festivities, marked the spots now denoted by Essex, Norfolk, Howard,
Arundel, Surrey, Cecil, Salisbury, Buckingham, Villiers, Craven, and
Northumberland Streets—a very galaxy of aristocratic names. The most
conspicuous building on the left-hand side is Somerset House, a vast
range of government offices. Adjoining this on the east (occupying the
site once intended for an east wing to that structure), and entering by a
passage from the Strand, is a range of rather plain, but massive brick
buildings, erected about thirty years ago for the accommodation of King’s
College; and adjoining it on the west, abutting on the street leading to
Waterloo Bridge, is a still newer range of buildings appropriated to
government offices—forming a west wing to the whole mass. The Strand
contains no other public structure of architectural importance, except
the spacious new Charing Cross Railway Station and Hotel on the south
side. The eastern half of the Strand, however, is thickly surrounded by
theatres—Drury Lane, Covent Garden, the Olympic, the Charing Cross, the
Adelphi, the Vaudeville, the Lyceum, the Gaiety (built on the site of
Exeter ’Change and the late Strand Music Hall, as is the Queen’s on that
of St. Martin’s Hall in Long Acre), the Globe, and the Strand Theatres,
are all situated hereabouts. Exeter Hall is close by, and—pardon the
contrast of ideas—so is Evans’s Hotel and Supper Rooms, long famous for
old English glees, madrigals, chops and steaks, and as a place for
friendly re-unions, without the objectionable features of many musical
halls.
Northumberland House, the large mansion with the lion on the summit,
overlooking Charing Cross, is the ancestral town residence of the
Percies, Dukes of Northumberland. Over the way is St. Martin’s Church,
where lie the bones of many famous London watermen—the churchyard used to
be called “The Waterman’s Churchyard”—and those of that too celebrated
scoundrel and housebreaker, Jack Sheppard, hanged in 1724. There also
lies the once famous sculptor, Roubilac, several monuments from whose
chisel you can see in Westminster Abbey. Here, too, are interred the
witty, but somewhat licentious dramatist, Farquhar, author of _The Beau’s
Stratagem_; the illustrious Robert Boyle, a philosopher not altogether
unworthy to be named in the same category with Lord Bacon and Sir Isaac
Newton; and John Hunter, the distinguished anatomist.
The open space is called Charing Cross, from the old village of Charing,
where stood a cross erected by Edward the First, in memory of his Queen
Eleanor. Wherever her bier rested, there her sorrowful husband erected a
cross, or, as Hood whimsically said, in his usual punning vein, apropos
of the cross at Tottenham,
“A Royal game of Fox and Goose
To play for such a loss;
Wherever she put down her orts,
There he—set up a _cross_!”
At the time of the Reformation you could have walked with fields all the
way on the north side of you from the city to Charing Cross. The history
of the fine statue of Charles the First, by Le Sœur, is curious. It was
made in Charles the First’s reign, but, on the civil war breaking out ere
it could be erected, was sold by the Parliament to a brazier, who was
ordered to demolish it. He, however, buried it, and it remained
underground till after the Restoration, when it was erected in 1674. It
marks a central point for the West End.
[Picture: Trafalgar Square]
Southward are Whitehall and the Palace of Westminster; to the west,
Spring Gardens, leading into St. James’s Park; north-west lie Pall Mall
and Regent Street. By-the-way, it just occurs to us that the old game
_Paille Maille_, from which Pall Mall took its name, was a sort of
antique forerunner of croquet! The former game, much beloved by Charles
the Second, was played by striking a wooden ball with a mallet through
hoops of iron, one of which stood at each end of an alley. Eastward is
the Strand. On the north, Trafalgar Square, with Nelson’s statue and
Landseer’s four noble lions couchant—which alone are worth a visit—at its
base. There are also statues to George IV., Sir Charles James Napier,
and Sir Henry Havelock. A statue of George the Third—with, we think, in
an equestrian sense, one of the best “seats” for a horseman in London—is
close by. The National Gallery bounds the northern side. Of the two
wells which supply the fountains in this square, one is no less than 400
feet deep.
Turning southward from this important western centre, the visitor will
come upon the range of national and government buildings—the Admiralty,
the Horse Guards, the Treasury, the Home Office, &c., &c.—in Whitehall,
particulars of which will be given a few pages further on under
_Government Offices_. Then there are the fine Banqueting House at
Whitehall, and some rather majestic mansions in and near Whitehall
Gardens—especially one just erected by the Duke of Buccleuch. Beyond
these, in the same general direction, are the magnificent Houses of
Parliament, Marochetti’s equestrian statue of Richard Cœur de Lion,
Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall, Mr. Page’s beautiful new Westminster
Bridge, and a number of other objects well worthy of attention.
Returning to Charing Cross, the stranger may pursue his tour through
Cockspur Street to Pall Mall, and thence proceed up Regent Street. As he
enters this new line of route, he will perceive that the buildings assume
a more important aspect. They are for the most part stucco-fronted, and
being frequently re-painted, they have a light and cheerful appearance.
In the Haymarket are Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Haymarket Theatre; and
near at hand are many club-houses and Exhibition-rooms. Pall Mall
displays a range of stone-fronted club-houses of great magnificence. At
the foot of Regent Street is the short broad thoroughfare of Waterloo
Place, lined with noble houses, and leading southwards to St. James’s
Park. Here stands the column dedicated to the late Duke of York; not far
from which is the Guards’ Memorial, having reference to troops who fell
in the Crimea. From this point, for about a mile in a northerly
direction, is the line of Waterloo Place, Regent Street, and Portland
Place, forming the handsomest street in London. At a point a short way
up we cross Piccadilly, and enter a curve in the thoroughfare, called the
Quadrant; at the corners of which, and also in Upper Regent Street, are
some of the most splendid shops in London, several being decorated in a
style of great magnificence. Regent Street, during the busy season in
May and June, and during the day from one till six o’clock, exhibits an
extraordinary concourse of fashionable vehicles and foot-passengers;
while groups of carriages are drawn up at the doors of the more elegant
shops. Towards its upper extremity Regent Street crosses Oxford Street.
The mass of streets west from it consist almost entirely of private
residences, with the special exception of Bond Street. In this quarter
are St. James’s, Hanover, Berkeley, Grosvenor, Cavendish, Bryanstone,
Manchester, and Portman Squares—the last four being north of Oxford
Street; and in connection with these squares are long, quiet streets,
lined with houses suited for an affluent order of inhabitants. In and
north from Oxford Street, there are few public buildings deserving
particular attention; but a visitor may like to know that hereabouts are
the Soho, Baker Street, and London Crystal Palace Bazaars. The once
well-known Pantheon is now a wine merchant’s stores.
The residences of the nobility and gentry are chiefly, as has been said,
in the western part of the metropolis. In this quarter there have been
large additions of handsome streets, squares, and terraces within the
last thirty years. First may be mentioned the district around Belgrave
Square, usually called _Belgravia_, which includes the highest class
houses. North-east from this, near Hyde Park, is the older, but still
fashionable quarter, comprehending Park Lane and May Fair. Still farther
north is the modern district, sometimes called _Tyburnia_, being built on
the ground adjacent to what once was “Tyburn,” the place of public
executions. This district, including Hyde Park Square and Westbourne
Terrace, is a favourite place of residence for city merchants and other
wealthy persons. Lying north and north-east from Tyburnia are an
extensive series of suburban rows of buildings and detached villas, which
are ordinarily spoken of under the collective name St. John’s Wood:
Regent’s Park forming a kind of rural centre to the group. Standing
higher and more airy than Belgravia, and being easily accessible from
Oxford Street, this is one of the most agreeable of the suburban
districts.
[Picture: Bunyan’s Tomb, Bunhill Fields]
If, instead of the Strand and Piccadilly route, or the Holborn and Oxford
Street route, a visitor takes the northernmost main route, he will find
less to interest him. The New Road, in its several parts of City Road,
Pentonville Road, Euston Road, and Marylebone Road, forms a broad line of
communication from the city to Paddington, four miles in length. Though
very important as one of the arteries of the metropolis, it is singularly
deficient in public buildings. In going from the Bank to Paddington, we
pass by or near Finsbury Square and Circus, the buildings and grounds of
the Artillery Company at Moorfields, the once famous old Burial-ground at
Bunhill Fields, St. Luke’s Lunatic Asylum, the Chapel in the City Road
associated with the memory of John Wesley, the old works of the New River
Company at Pentonville, the Railway stations at King’s Cross (Great
Northern), and St. Pancras (Midland),—the vast span of this station’s
roof is noteworthy,—and Euston Square (L. and N. Western), several
stations of the Metropolitan Underground Railway, St. Pancras and
Marylebone churches, and the entrance to the beautiful Regent’s Park.
But beyond these little is presented to reward the pedestrian.
It is well for a visitor to bear in mind, however, that all the routes we
have here sketched have undergone, or are undergoing, rapid changes,
owing chiefly to the wonderful extension of railways. Cannon Street,
Finsbury, Blackfriars, Snow Hill, Ludgate Hill, Smithfield, Charing
Cross, Pimlico, &c., have been stripped of hundreds, nay, thousands of
houses.
PALACES AND MANSIONS, ROYAL AND NOBLE.
[Picture: St. James’s Palace and Park. (Green Park in the distance.)]
These two preliminary glances at the City and the West End having (as we
will suppose) given the visitor some general idea of the Metropolis, we
now proceed to describe the chief buildings and places of interest,
conveniently grouped according to their character—beginning with
_Palatial Residences_.
St. James’s Palace.—This is an inelegant brick structure, having its
front towards Pall Mall. Henry VIII. built it in 1530, on the site of
what was once an hospital for lepers. The interior consists of several
spacious levée and drawing rooms, besides other state and domestic
apartments. This palace is only used occasionally by the Queen for
levées and drawing-rooms; for which purposes, notwithstanding its
awkwardness, the building is better adapted than Buckingham Palace. The
fine bands of the Foot Guards play daily at eleven, in the Colour Court,
or in an open quadrangle on the east side. The Chapel Royal and the
German Chapel are open on Sundays—the one with an English service, and
the other with service in German.
Buckingham Palace.—This edifice stands at the west end of the Mall in St.
James’s Park, in a situation much too low in reference to the adjacent
grounds on the north. The site was occupied formerly by a brick mansion,
which was pulled down by order of George IV. The present palace (except
the front towards the park) was planned and erected by Mr. Nash. When
completed, after various capricious alterations, about 1831–2, it is said
to have cost about £700,000. The edifice is of stone, with a main
centre, and a wing of similar architecture projecting on each side,
forming originally an open court in front; but the palace being too small
for the family and retinue of the present sovereign, a new frontage has
been built, forming an eastern side to the open court. There is,
however, little harmony of style between the old and new portions. The
interior contains many magnificent apartments, both for state and
domestic purposes. Among them are the Grand Staircase, the Ball-room,
the Library, the Sculpture Gallery, the Green Drawing-room, the Throne
Room, and the Grand Saloon. The Queen has a collection of very fine
pictures in the various rooms, among which is a _Rembrandt_, for which
George IV. gave 5000 guineas. In the garden is an elegant summer-house,
adorned with frescoes by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer, Stanfield, and
other distinguished painters. This costly palace, however, with all its
grandeur, was so badly planned, that in a number of the passages lamps
are required to be kept lighted even during the day. Strangers are not
admitted to Buckingham Palace except by special permission of the Lord
Chamberlain, which is not easily obtained. In the front was once the
_Marble Arch_, which formed an entry to the Palace, and which cost
£70,000; but it was removed to the north-east corner of Hyde Park in
1851.
[Picture: Buckingham Palace, and West End of St. James’s Park. (Queen’s
Garden and Hyde Park Corner in the distance.)]
Marlborough House.—This building, the residence of the Prince and
Princess of Wales, is immediately east of St. James’s Palace, being
separated from it only by a carriage-road. It was built by Sir
Christopher Wren, in 1709, as a residence for the great Duke of
Marlborough. The house was bought from the Marlborough family by the
Crown in 1817, as a residence for the Princess Charlotte. It was
afterwards occupied in succession by Leopold (the late king of the
Belgians) and the Dowager Queen Adelaide. More recently it was given up
to the Government School of Design; and the Vernon and Turner pictures
were for some time kept there. The building underwent various
alterations preparatory to its occupation by the Prince of Wales.
Kensington Palace.—This is a royal palace, though no longer inhabited by
royalty, occupying a pleasant situation west of Hyde Park. It was built
by Lord Chancellor Finch late in the 17th century; and soon afterwards
sold to William III. Additions were made to it from time to time.
Certain portions of the exterior are regarded as fine specimens of
brickwork; and the whole, though somewhat heavy in appearance, is not
without points of interest. During the last century Kensington Palace
was constantly occupied by members of the royal family. Many of them
were born there, and many died there also. The present Queen was born in
the palace in 1819. The Prince and Princess of Teck reside there at
present. This, like the other royal palaces, is maintained at the
expense of the nation; though not now used as a royal residence,
pensioned or favoured families occupy it.
[Picture: Lambeth Palace from the River]
Lambeth Palace.—This curious and interesting building, situated in a part
of the metropolis seldom visited by strangers, is the official residence
of the archbishops of Canterbury. It is on the south bank of the Thames,
between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges. The structure has grown up by
degrees during the six centuries that Lambeth has been the archiepiscopal
residence; and on that account exhibits great diversities of style.
Leaving unnoticed the private and domestic apartments, the following are
the portions of the irregular cluster possessing most interest. The
_Chapel_, some say, was erected in the year 1196; it is in early English,
with lancet windows and a crypt; but the roof, stained windows, and
carved screens, are much more recent. The archbishops are always
consecrated in this chapel. The _Lollard’s Tower_, at the western end of
the chapel, was named from some Lollards or Wickliffites supposed to have
been imprisoned there. It is about 400 years old. The uppermost room,
with strong iron rings in the walls, appears to have been the actual
place of confinement; there are many names and inscriptions cut in the
thick oak wainscoting. The _Hall_, about 200 years old, is 93 feet long
by 78 feet wide; it is noticeable for the oak roof, the bay windows, and
the arms of several of the archbishops. The _Library_, 250 years old,
contains about 15,000 volumes and numerous manuscripts, many of them rare
and curious. The _Gatehouse_ is a red brick structure, with stone
dressings. The _Church_, near it, is one of the most ancient in the
neighbourhood of London; it has been recently restored in good taste.
Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered here, in 1381,
by Wat Tyler’s mob, who stormed the palace, burned its contents, and
destroyed all the registers and public papers. Lambeth Palace is not, as
a rule, shewn to strangers.
[Picture: Lambeth Palace—Lollard’s Tower]
Mansions of the Nobility.—London is not well supplied with noble mansions
of an attractive character; they possess every comfort interiorly, but
only a few of them have architectural pretensions. _Northumberland
House_, lately alluded to, at the Charing Cross extremity of the south
side of the Strand, looks more like a nobleman’s mansion than most others
in London. It was built, in about 1600, by the Earl of Northampton, and
came into the hands of the Percies in 1642. _Stafford House_ is perhaps
the most finely situated mansion in the metropolis, occupying the corner
of St. James’s and the Green Parks, and presenting four complete fronts,
each having its own architectural character. The interior, too, is said
to be the first of its kind in London. The mansion was built by the Duke
of York, with money lent by the Marquis of Stafford, afterwards Duke of
Sutherland; but the Stafford family became owners of it, and have spent
at least a quarter of a million sterling on the house and its
decorations. _Apsley House_, at the corner of Piccadilly and Hyde Park,
is the residence of the Dukes of Wellington, and is closely associated
with the memory of _the_ Duke. The shell of the house, of brick, is old;
but stone frontages, enlargements, and decorations, were afterwards made.
The principal room facing Hyde Park, with seven windows, is that in which
the Great Duke held the celebrated Waterloo Banquet, on the 18th of June
in every year, from 1816 to 1852. The windows were blocked up with
bullet-proof iron blinds from 1831 to the day of his death in 1852; a
rabble had shattered them during the Reform excitement, and he never
afterwards would trust King Mob. [Picture: Apsley House, Hyde Park
Corner, Wellington Statue. (Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in the
distance.)] _Devonshire House_, in Piccadilly, faces the Green Park, and
has a screen in front. It has no particular architectural character; but
the wealthy Dukes of Devonshire have collected within it valuable
pictures, books, gems, and treasures of various kinds. _Grosvenor
House_, the residence of the Marquis of Westminster, is situated in Upper
Grosvenor Street, and is celebrated for the magnificent collection of
pictures known as the _Grosvenor Gallery_; a set of four of these
pictures, by Rubens, cost £10,000. _Bridgewater House_, facing the Green
Park, is a costly modern structure, built by Sir Charles Barry for the
Earl of Ellesmere, and finished in 1851. It is in the Italian Palazzo
style. Its chief attraction is the magnificent _Bridgewater Gallery_ of
pictures, a most rare and choice assemblage. This gallery contains no
fewer than 320 pictures, valued at £150,000 many years ago—though they
would now, doubtless, sell for a much higher sum. {40} _Holland House_,
Kensington, is certainly the most picturesque mansion in the metropolis;
it has an old English look about it, both in the house and its grounds.
The mansion was built in 1607, and was celebrated as being the residence,
at one time of Addison, at another of the late Lord Holland. The stone
gateway on the east of the house was designed by Inigo Jones.
_Chesterfield House_, in South Audley Street, was built for that Earl of
Chesterfield whose “Advice to his Son” has run through so many editions;
the library and the garden are especially noted. _Buccleuch House_, in
Whitehall Gardens, is recently finished. _Lansdowne House_, in Berkeley
Square, the town residence of the Marquis of Lansdowne, contains some
fine sculptures and pictures, ancient and modern. Scarcely less
magnificent, either as buildings or in respect of their contents, than
the mansions of the nobility, are some of those belonging to wealthy
commoners—such as Mr. Holford’s, a splendid structure in Park Lane; Mr.
Hope’s, in Piccadilly, now the _Junior Athenæum Club_; and Baron
Rothschild’s, near Apsley House, lately rebuilt.
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; WESTMINSTER HALL; GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
Houses of Parliament.—This is the name usually given to the _New Palace
of Westminster_, which is not only Sir Charles Barry’s greatest work, but
is in all respects one of the most remarkable structures of the age. The
building, which occupies a site close to the river, and close also to the
beautiful new Westminster Bridge, was constructed in consequence of the
burning of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834. It is perhaps the
finest modern Gothic structure in the world—at least for civil purposes;
but is unfortunately composed of a stone liable to decay; and, to be
critical, its ornaments and details generally are on too minute a scale
for the magnitude of the building. The entire structure covers nearly
eight acres. [Picture: Houses of Parliament from the River] Certain old
plain law courts on the north are intended to be removed. The chief
public entrance is by Westminster Hall, which forms a vestibule to the
Houses of Parliament and their numerous committee-rooms. The rooms and
staircases are almost inconceivably numerous; and there are said to be
two miles of passages and corridors! The river front, raised upon a fine
terrace of Aberdeen granite, is 900 feet in length, and profusely adorned
with statues, heraldic shields, and tracery, carved in stone. The other
façades are nearly as elaborate, but are not so well seen. It is a
gorgeous structure, which, so long ago as 1859, had cost over two
millions. A further cost of £107,000, for frescoes, statuary, &c., &c.,
had been incurred by the end of March, 1860; and the constant outgoings
for maintenance of the fabric, and additions thereto, must every year
represent a heavy sum. Nevertheless, the two main chambers in which
Parliament meets are ill adapted for sight and hearing. On Saturdays,
both Houses can be seen free, by order from the Lord Chamberlain, easily
obtained at a neighbouring office; and certain corridors and chambers are
open on other days of the week. Admission to the sittings of the two
Houses can only be obtained by members’ orders; as the benches
appropriated in this way are few in number, such admissions are highly
prized, especially when any important debate is expected. On the
occasion when the Queen visits the House of Lords, to open or prorogue
Parliament, visitors are only admitted by special arrangements.
Among the multitude of interesting objects in this stupendous structure,
the following may be briefly mentioned. The _House of Peers_ is 97 feet
long, 45 wide, and 45 high. It is so profusely painted and gilt, and the
windows are so darkened by deep-tinted stained glass, that the eye can
with difficulty make out the details. At the southern end is the
gorgeously gilt and canopied throne; near the centre is the woolsack, on
which the Lord Chancellor sits; at the end and sides are galleries for
peeresses, reporters, and strangers; and on the floor of the house are
the cushioned benches for the peers. At either end are three
frescoes—three behind the throne, and three over the strangers’ gallery.
The three behind the throne are—“Edward III. conferring the Order of the
Garter on the Black Prince,” by C. W. Cope; “The Baptism of Ethelbert,”
by Dyce; and “Henry Prince of Wales committed to Prison for assaulting
Judge Gascoigne,” by C. W. Cope. The three at the other end are—“The
Spirit of Justice,” by D. Maclise; “The Spirit of Chivalry,” by the same;
and “The Spirit of Religion,” by J. C. Horsley. In niches between the
windows and at the ends are eighteen statues of Barons who signed Magna
Charta. The _House of Commons_, 62 feet long, 45 broad, and 45 high, is
much less elaborate than the House of Peers. The Speaker’s Chair is at
the north end; and there are galleries along the sides and ends. In a
gallery behind the Speaker the reporters for the newspapers sit. Over
them is the Ladies’ Gallery, where the view is ungallantly obstructed by
a grating. The present ceiling is many feet below the original one: the
room having been to this extent spoiled because the former proportions
were bad for hearing.
Strangers might infer, from the name, that these two chambers, the Houses
of Peers and of Commons, constitute nearly the whole building; but, in
truth, they occupy only a small part of the area. On the side nearest to
Westminster Abbey are _St. Stephen’s Porch_, _St. Stephen’s Corridor_,
the _Chancellor’s Corridor_, the _Victoria Tower_, the _Royal Staircase_,
and numerous courts and corridors. At the south end, nearest Millbank,
are the _Guard Room_, the _Queen’s Robing Room_, the _Royal Gallery_, the
_Royal Court_, and the _Prince’s Chamber_. The river front is mostly
occupied by _Libraries_ and _Committee Rooms_. The northern or Bridge
Street end displays the _Clock Tower_ and the _Speaker’s Residence_. In
the interior of the structure are vast numbers of _lobbies_, _corridors_,
_halls_, and _courts_. The Saturday tickets, already mentioned, admit
visitors to the _Prince’s Chamber_, the _House of Peers_, the _Peers’
Lobby_, the _Peers’ Corridor_, the _Octagonal Hall_, the _Commons’
Corridor_, the _Commons’ Lobby_, the _House of Commons_, _St. Stephen’s
Hall_, and _St. Stephen’s Porch_. All these places are crowded with rich
adornments. The _Victoria Tower_, at the south-west angle of the entire
structure, is one of the finest in the world: it is 75 feet square and
340 feet high; the Queen’s state entrance is in a noble arch at the base.
The _Clock Tower_, at the north end, is 40 feet square and 320 feet high,
profusely gilt near the top. After two attempts made to supply this
tower with a bell of 14 tons weight, and after both failed, one of the
so-called ‘Big Bens,’ the weight of which is about 8 tons, (the official
name being ‘St. Stephen,’) now tells the hour in deep tones. There are,
likewise, eight smaller bells to chime the quarters. The _Clock_ is by
far the largest and finest in this country. There are four dials on the
four faces of the tower, each 22½ feet in diameter; the hour-figures are
2 feet high and 6 feet apart; the minute-marks are 14 inches apart; the
hands weigh more than 2 cwt. the pair; the minute-hand is 16 feet long,
and the hour-hand 9 feet; the pendulum is 15 feet long, and weighs 680
lbs.; the weights hang down a shaft 160 feet deep. Besides this fine
Clock Tower, there is a _Central Tower_, over the Octagonal Hall, rising
to a height of 300 feet; and there are smaller towers for ventilation and
other purposes.
Considering that there are nearly 500 carved stone statues in and about
this sumptuous building, besides stained-glass windows, and oil and
fresco paintings in great number, it is obvious that a volume would be
required to describe them all. In the _Queen’s Robing Room_ are painted
frescoes from the story of King Arthur; and in the _Peers’ Robing Room_,
subjects from Biblical history. The _Royal Gallery_ is in the course of
being filled with frescoes and stained windows illustrative of English
history. Here, among others, specially note the late D. Maclise’s
stupendous fresco, 45 feet long by 12 feet high, representing “The
Meeting of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo;” and the
companion fresco, “The Death of Nelson.”
Westminster Hall.—Although now made, in a most ingenious manner, to form
part of the sumptuous edifice just described, _Westminster Hall_ is
really a distinct building. It was the old hall of the original palace
of Westminster, built in the time of William Rufus, but partly
re-constructed in 1398. The carved timber roof is regarded as one of the
finest in England. The hall is 290 feet long, 68 wide, and 110 high.
There are very few buildings in the world so large as this unsupported by
pillars. The southern end, both within and without, has been admirably
brought into harmony with the general architecture of the Palace of
Parliament. Doors on the east side lead to the House of Commons; doors
on the west lead to the _Courts of Chancery_, _Queen’s Bench_, _Common
Pleas_, _Exchequer_, _Probate_, _and Divorce_, &c. No building in
England is richer in associations with events relating to kings, queens,
and princes, than Westminster Hall. _St. Stephen’s Crypt_, lately
restored with great splendour, is entered from the south end of the Hall.
Somerset House, in the Strand, was built in 1549 by the Protector
Somerset; and, on his attainder and execution, fell to the Crown. Old
Somerset House was pulled down in 1775, and the present building erected
in 1780, after the designs of Sir Wm. Chambers. The rear of the building
faces the Thames, its river frontage being 600 feet long, and an
excellent specimen of Palladian architecture. In Somerset House are
several Government offices—among the rest, a branch of the Admiralty, the
Inland Revenue, and the Registrar-General’s department. More than 900
clerks are employed in the various offices. The rooms in which Newspaper
Stamps are produced by ingenious processes, and those in which the
Registrar-General keeps his voluminous returns of births, marriages, and
deaths, are full of interest; but they are not accessible for mere
curiosity. The learned Societies are removed to Burlington House,
Piccadilly.
[Picture: Somerset House, King’s College, Waterloo Bridge, &c. (St.
Clement’s and St. Mary’s Churches in the distance.)]
Government Offices.—A few words will suffice for the other West-End
Government offices. The _Admiralty_, in Whitehall, is the head-quarters
of the Naval Department. The front of the building was constructed about
1726; and the screen, by the brothers Adam, about half-a-century later.
Most of the heads of the Admiralty have official residences connected
with the building. The _Horse Guards_, a little farther down Whitehall,
is the head-quarters of the commander-in-chief. It was built about 1753,
and has an arched entrance leading into St. James’s Park. [Picture:
Whitehall, Horse Guards, Government Offices, &c. (Westminster Abbey and
Houses of Parliament in the distance.)] The two cavalry sentries,
belonging either to the Life Guards or to the Oxford Blues, always
attract the notice of country visitors, to whom such showy horsemen are a
rarity. The _Treasury_, the _Office of the __Chancellor of the
Exchequer_, the _Home Office_, the _Privy-council Office_, and the _Board
of Trade_, together occupy the handsome range of buildings at the corner
of Whitehall and Downing Street. The interior of this building is in
great part old; after many alterations and additions, the present front,
in the Italian Palazzo style, was built by Sir Charles Barry in 1847.
The _Foreign Office_, the _India Office_, and the _Colonial Office_,
occupy the handsome new buildings southward of Downing Street. The _War
Office_ in Pall Mall is a makeshift arrangement: it occupies the old
quarters of the Ordnance Office, and some private houses converted to
public use. After many discussions as to architectural designs, &c., the
so-called “Battle of the Styles” ended in a compromise: the Gothic
architect (Mr. G. G. Scott, R.A.) was employed; but an Italian design was
adopted for the new Foreign and India Offices.
ST. PAUL’S; WESTMINSTER ABBEY; CHURCHES; CHAPELS; CEMETERIES.
St. Paul’s Cathedral.—This is the most prominent object in the
metropolis. The lofty dome, seen for miles around, stands in the centre
of an enclosed churchyard of limited dimensions, at the head of Ludgate
Hill. A church is said to have existed here four hundred years before
the Norman conquest; and, under various shapes and extensions, it
remained till destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. An entirely
new edifice was then erected in its stead, the important work being
committed to Sir Christopher Wren. It was opened for divine service in
1697, and finished in 1710—one architect and one master-mason having been
engaged on it for 35 years. {47a} The cathedral is built in the form of
a cross, 514 feet in length by 286 in breadth. {47b} Outwardly, the
walls, which have a dark sooty appearance, except where bleached by the
weather, exhibit a double range of windows. There are three porticos at
as many entrances on the north, west, and south. That on the west is the
principal, with twelve lofty Corinthian pillars below, and a second order
carrying the pediment above; the angles are crowned with handsome
bell-towers, much larger than ordinary church steeples, and 222 feet
high. [Picture: St. Paul’s Cathedral and Churchyard, from Ludgate Hill]
But this entrance, which fronts Ludgate Hill, is not much used; the
common entrance is by the north portico and flight of steps. On
entering, the impression produced by the vastness of the internal space
is great, although the walls want something in tone and relief.
(Subscriptions are being gradually raised for richly adorning the
interior.) There are two domes, an outer and an inner, having a brick
cone between them. The inner dome has six paintings relating to events
in the life of St. Paul: they were painted by Sir James Thornhill, and
have recently been renovated. In the choir is much beautiful carving, by
Grinling Gibbons. In various parts of the cathedral are statues and
monuments of John Howard, Dr. Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Bishop Heber,
Nelson, Cornwallis, Abercrombie, Sir John Moore, Lord Heathfield, Howe,
Rodney, Collingwood, St. Vincent, Picton, Ponsonby, and others. In the
_Crypt_ beneath are the tombs of Wellington, Nelson, Wren, Collingwood,
Picton, Reynolds, Lawrence, Opie, West, Fuseli, Turner, Rennie, and other
eminent men. Service is performed on Sundays at 10.30 A.M. and 3.15
P.M.; on week-days at 8.0, 10.0, and 4.0. A screen, on which the organ
stood, has lately been removed, throwing open the beautiful choir to view
from the nave. The organ has been placed on the north side of the choir.
Several times in the year service is performed under the dome on Sunday
evenings by gaslight; and an additional organ for this service has been
set up in the south transept. The appearance of the dome at these times,
with a soft light shed around it, is extremely beautiful; and the
congregation generally assembled is enormous. If the stranger pleases to
pay the required fees, he may mount, by means of stairs and ladders, to
the top of the dome; and he will be amply repaid by the extensive view
from the balcony or gallery, which comprehends the whole of London, with
the country beyond its outskirts, and the Thames rolling placidly in its
winding course between dense masses of houses. The _Whispering Gallery_,
at the bottom of the inner dome, renders audible the slightest whisper
from side to side. The _Library_ contains chiefly ecclesiastical works
for the use of the Chapter. The two _Golden Galleries_ are at the top of
the inner and outer domes. The _Ball_ and _Cross_, reached by more than
600 steps, are at the summit of the building; the ball, about 6 feet in
diameter, is reached with some difficulty. The _Clock-work_ and _Great
Bell_ always attract the notice of visitors. The pendulum measures 14
feet in length, while the mass at its extremity is one hundredweight.
The great bell, which is only tolled when a member of the royal family
dies, is placed in the southern turret above the western portico; it
weighs 4½ tons, and is 10 feet in diameter. The fine deep tones of this
mighty bell, on which the hours are struck, sweep solemnly, in a quiet
evening, across the metropolis, and are at times heard distinctly by
families at their firesides far out in the suburbs. Altogether, St.
Paul’s is a magnificent structure; and though it cost a million and
a-half of money in the erection—a great sum in the seventeenth
century—the amount was well spent on so worthy an object. St. Paul’s is
open, during the greater part of the day, free to the public, but no
place is exhibited during divine service.—Fee for admission to the
whispering gallery and the two outer galleries, 6d.; the ball, 1s. 6d.;
the clock, great bell, library, and geometrical staircase, 6d.; and the
crypt, 6d.
[Picture: Tomb of Nelson—crypt]
Westminster Abbey.—Nearly opposite the Houses of Parliament stands
Westminster Abbey, open to inspection on the north, west, and east, but
much crowded upon by private dwellings on the south. In very early times
this spot of ground was a small insular tract, surrounded by the waters
of the Thames, and called Thorney Island. Here a monastic institution
was founded on the introduction of Christianity into Britain. Under
Edward the Confessor an abbey was raised upon the site of the ruined
monastic building. The ground-plan, as usual, bore the form of the
cross. Rights and endowments were granted; and the edifice assumed a
great degree of architectural grandeur. It had become the place for the
inauguration of the English monarchs; and William the Conqueror was
crowned here with great pomp in 1066. Henry III. and Edward I. enlarged
the abbey; and the building continued nearly in the state in which they
left it, until Henry VII. added a chapel, built in the perpendicular
style, on which the greatest skill of the architect and the sculptor was
displayed; exhibiting one of the most splendid structures of the age, and
so highly esteemed, that it was enjoined that the remains of royalty
alone should be interred within its walls. During the reign of Henry
VIII., the abbey was considerably defaced; but on the surrender of its
revenues, Henry raised Westminster to the dignity of a city, and its
abbey was constituted a cathedral. It was, however, afterwards re-united
to the see of London, in 1550. (An archbishopric of Westminster, created
by the Pope a few years ago, is connected only with Roman Catholic
matters, and is not recognised by the English law.) Westminster Abbey,
during the reign of William and Mary, was thoroughly repaired, and the
towers added at the western entrance, under the direction of Sir
Christopher Wren. These towers, however, though good in outline and
general mass, are not in harmony with the rest of the building. The
length of the abbey is 416 feet; breadth at the transept, 203 feet; and
at the nave, 102 feet; height of the west towers, 225 feet. The exterior
measurement, including Henry VII.’s Chapel, is 530 feet.
[Picture: Westminster Abbey, and St. Margaret’s Church]
On entering at the great western door between the towers, the
magnificence of the abbey soon becomes apparent. The interior displays
grand masses of marble columns separating the nave from the side aisles.
A screen, surmounted by a noble organ, divides the nave from the choir;
while beyond the eye soars, amid graceful columns, tracery, and decorated
windows, to the summit of the eastern arch that overlooks the adjacent
chapels. The walls on both sides display a great profusion of sepulchral
monuments, among which are some finely executed pieces of sculpture, and
touching memorials of those whose exploits or exertions have deserved the
notice of posterity; but too many, unfortunately, are in very bad taste.
Above the line of tombs are chambers and galleries, once occupied by
ecclesiastics; solemn and dreary in their antiquity, though relieved by
occasional sunbeams glancing across the misty height of the nave. The
northern window is richly ornamented with stained glass.
[Picture: Westminster Abbey—Chapel of Henry VII.]
The Chapel of Edward the Confessor is at the eastern end of the choir,
and contains the shrine of St. Edward: that it was an exquisite piece of
workmanship, is evident even in its decay. Here also is the
coronation-chair, under which is placed the celebrated stone brought from
Scone, in Scotland, by Edward I. in 1297. The Chapel of Henry VII. is
also at the eastern end; and among the ashes of many royal personages
interred here are those of Mary and Elizabeth. The ascent to this
splendid work of Gothic art is by steps of black marble. The entrance
gates display workmanship of extraordinary richness in brass. The effect
produced on entering this chapel is striking: the roof is wrought in
stone into an astonishing variety of figures and devices; the stalls are
of oak, having the deep tone of age, with Gothic canopies, all
elaborately carved. Here, before the remodelling of the order, used to
be installed the knights of the Order of the Bath. In their stalls are
placed brass plates of their armorial insignia, and above are suspended
their banners, swords, and helmets; beneath the stalls are seats for the
esquires. The pavement is composed of black and white marble; beneath
which is the royal vault. The magnificent tomb of Henry VII. and his
queen stands in the body of this chapel, in a curious chantry of cast
brass, admirably executed, and interspersed with effigies, armorial
bearings, and devices relating to the union of the red and white roses.
The number of statues and monuments in Westminster Abbey is very great.
Most of them are contained in side-chapels, of which there are several:
viz., St. Benedict’s, St. Edmund’s, St. Nicholas’s, St. Paul’s, St.
Erasmus’s, John the Baptist’s, and Bishop Islip’s; besides Henry VII.’s
and Edward the Confessor’s Chapels, already mentioned. These Chapels
contain about ninety monuments and shrines, some of great beauty. The
Choir, the Transept, and the Nave, also contain a large amount of
sculpture—many specimens in wretched taste, by the side of some of the
first works of Flaxman, Chantrey, Roubiliac, Nollekins, Bacon,
Westmacott, Gibson, Behnes, and others. _Poets’ Corner_, occupying about
half of the south transept, is a famous place for the busts and monuments
of eminent men—including Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Drayton, Ben
Jonson, Milton, Butler, Davenant, Cowley, Dryden, Prior, Rowe, Gay,
Addison, Thomson, Goldsmith, Gray, Mason, Sheridan, Southey, Campbell,
&c. Lord Macaulay and Lord Palmerston were recently buried in the
Abbey—the one in January, 1860; the other in October, 1865. William
Makepeace Thackeray does not lie there, but at Kensal Green, though his
bust is placed next to the statue of Joseph Addison. On the 14th June,
1870, Charles Dickens was interred there. His grave is situated at the
foot of the coffin of Handel, and at the head of the coffin of R. B.
Sheridan, and between the coffins of Lord Macaulay and Cumberland the
dramatist. Near to England’s great humorist, towards his feet, lie Dr.
Johnson and Garrick, while near them lies Thomas Campbell. Shakespeare’s
monument is not far from the foot of the grave. Goldsmith’s is on the
left. A monumental brass, to the memory of Robert Stephenson, has
recently been inlaid in the floor of the nave. The _Cloisters_ and the
_Chapter House_ contain some curious old effigies.
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church, with a dean and chapter, who
possess a considerable authority over the adjoining district, and a
revenue of about £30,000 per annum. The abbey may be considered as
sub-divided into chapels; but in the present day divine service (at
7.45,10, and 3) is performed only in a large enclosed space near the
eastern extremity of the building—except on Sunday evenings during a
portion of the year, when service is performed in the nave, in a similar
way to the Sunday evening services under the dome of St. Paul’s. This
evening service, at 7 o’clock, is very striking in effect. There are
usually a considerable number of strangers present at the services,
particularly at that on Sunday evenings. The entrance chiefly used is
that at Poets’ Corner, nearly opposite the royal entrance to the Houses
of Parliament; but on Sunday evenings the great western entrance is used.
There is admittance every week-day free to the chief parts of the
building, and to other parts on payment of a fee of 6d.
Parish and District Churches.—When we consider that the metropolis
contains nearly 1000 churches and chapels, it may well be conceived that
only a few of them can be noticed here. In addition to St. Paul’s and
the Abbey, the following are worth the notice of strangers. _St.
Michael’s_, Cornhill, has lately been restored and re-decorated in an
elaborate manner by Mr. Gilbert Scott. _St. Bartholomew’s_, Smithfield,
which has been lately restored, was once the choir and transepts of a
priory church; it is interesting, not only for some of its monuments, but
for the varieties of Norman and Gothic styles which it exhibits. _St.
Stephen’s_, Walbrook, close to the Mansion House, is especially worthy of
attention; as the interior is considered to be one of Wren’s happiest
conceptions. _Bow Church_, or the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, occupies a
conspicuous position on the south side of Cheapside, and has a spire of
great elegance, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The clock projects
over the street from the lower part of the tower. Standing as this
church does, in the centre of the city, those who are born within the
sound of its bells are jocularly called _Cockneys_, a name equivalent to
genuine citizens. [Picture: St. Stephen’s, Walbrook] The consecration of
the Bishop of London takes place at Bow Church. _St. Bride’s_, Fleet
Street, is adorned with one of the most beautiful of Sir Christopher
Wren’s steeples. _The Temple Church_ is described in the section
relating to the Temple and other Inns of Court. _St. Saviour’s_ is by
far the most important parish church on the Surrey side of the water. It
is near the foot of London Bridge, on the west side of High Street,
Southwark. It originally belonged to the Priory of St. Mary Overy, but
was made a parish church in 1540. The Choir and the Lady Chapel are
parts of the original structure, and are excellent examples of the early
English style; they have been restored in the present century. Many
other parts of the building deserve notice. The _Savoy Church_, between
the Strand and the Thames, near Waterloo Bridge, was once the Chapel of
the Hospital of St. John the Baptist; it was destroyed by fire in 1864,
and re-built in 1866. _St. Paul’s_, Covent Garden, built by Inigo Jones,
is noticeable for its massive Doric portico. _St. James’s_, Piccadilly,
one of the least sightly of brick churches outside, has an interior which
exhibits Wren’s skill in a striking degree. _St.
Martin’s-in-the-Fields_, at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square,
has always been admired for its elegant spire and portico, constructed by
Gibbs. _St. George’s_, Hanover Square, is chiefly celebrated for the
fashionable marriages that take place there; the exterior, is, however,
picturesque. _Whitehall Chapel_ was originally intended as part of a
royal residence. It is, in fact, the Banqueting House of the palace of
Whitehall, the only remaining portion of what was once an extensive pile.
The former brick structure is entirely gone. The present edifice, built
by Inigo Jones in the time of James I., is considered to be one of the
finest specimens of Italian architecture in England. Charles I. was
executed on a scaffold erected in front of one of the windows. The
interior of Whitehall is about 112 feet long, 56 wide, and 56 high,
forming exactly a double cube; the ceiling is painted by Rubens, with
mythological designs in honour of James I. The building, being
appropriated to no other use, was converted into a chapel in the time of
George I., and was modernized in the interior, about 30 years ago, by Sir
Robert Smirke. _Old St. Pancras Church_, in Pancras Road, a small but
venerable structure, has in recent years been altered and adapted as a
District Church. Its churchyard was remarkable for the number of artists
and other eminent persons interred in it; at one time it was the great
metropolitan burial-place for Roman Catholics, and consequently an
unusual number of foreigners of celebrity, French _emigrés_ during the
Reign of Terror, &c., were buried there. Recently, however, the old
graveyard has been sadly cut about by the pickaxes and shovels of railway
excavators, engaged by the Midland Railway, which passes thereby.
It is worthy of note, that Sir Christopher Wren built the large number of
_fifty-three_ churches in London after the Great Fire. Nearly all of
them are still standing. Among the most noted are St. Paul’s; Bow
Church; St. Stephen’s, Walbrook; St. Bride’s; St. Andrew’s, Holborn; St.
Sepulchre’s; St. Antholin’s, Watling Street; Christ Church, Newgate; St.
Clement Danes; St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East; St. James’s, Piccadilly; St.
Lawrence, Jewry; St. Magnus, London Bridge; St. Martin’s, Ludgate; and
St. Mary, Aldermanbury.
Among churches and chapels of the Establishment, of more recent date, the
following are worth looking at:—_New St. Pancras_, near the Euston
Railway Station, is the most notable example in London of an imitative
Greek temple; it was built by Messrs. Inwood, in 1822, and cost nearly
£80,000. _St. Marylebone_, in the Marylebone Road, built by Mr. Hardwick
in 1817, cost £60,000; the interior is heavy in appearance, having two
tiers of galleries; in few London churches, however, is divine service,
according to the established ritual, performed on a more impressive
scale. _St. Stephen’s_, Westminster, in Rochester Row, was built wholly
at the expense of Miss Burdett Coutts, and is a fine example of revived
Gothic; the choral service on Sundays is grand and complete. _St.
Paul’s_, at Knightsbridge, and _St. Barnabas_, at Pimlico, especially the
latter, are noticeable for the mediæval revivals, in arrangements and in
service, which belong to what is called the high-church party. _All
Saints’ Church_, Margaret Street, is, perhaps, the most sumptuous of
modern London churches. Although small, it cost £60,000. Mr.
Butterfield was the architect. The exterior is of red and black brick,
very mediæval in appearance. The interior is ornate, with polished
granite piers, alabaster capitals, coloured marble decorations,
stained-glass windows, and frescoes by Dyce. _St. James the Less_, in
Garden Street, Westminster, is a truly remarkable specimen of
coloured-brick architecture, both within and without; Mr. Street was the
architect; and the cost was defrayed by the daughters of the late Dr.
Monk, Bishop of Gloucester. A very noteworthy and costly brick church
has been constructed in Baldwin’s Gardens, Gray’s Inn Lane, from the
designs of Mr. Butterfield, and at the sole cost of Mr. J. G. Hubbard.
It is dedicated to _St. Alban_. The Rev. A. Mackonochie, whose extreme
ritualistic views have several times brought his name prominently before
the public, was the incumbent.
Catholic, Dissenting, and Jewish Places of Worship.—It is almost
impossible to give an exact enumeration of the places of worship in
London, seeing that so many new ones are in the course of building. But
the following figures, based on information supplied by the London
Post-Office Directory, and otherwise, will, it is hoped, be found to
convey a very fair approximate notion on the subject. In that Directory,
then, there will be found the names of about 100 city parishes. But of
these, some 40 have, of late years, been united to other parishes. Thus,
All Hallow’s, Honey Lane, is united with St. Mary-le-Bow; St. Mary
Magdalen, in Milk Street, is united with St. Lawrence, Jewry; and so
forth. Many of the parishes so united have their own churches now
closed, or in course of demolition, and worship is provided for them at
the churches of the particular parishes into which they have been merged.
Without counting the city proper, there are, in London, 50 parish
churches, and at least 300 district churches and chapels belonging to the
Church of England. The Roman Catholics have 41 churches and chapels,
without reckoning sundry religious houses. The Wesleyans have 152. The
recognised Dissenters from the Wesleyan body have 4; the Baptists, 109;
the Independents, 109; the United Methodist Free Church, 27; Primitive
Methodists, 16; the Unitarians, 8; Methodist New Connexion, 8; the
Quakers, 5; the Presbyterians (English) 15; the Church of Scotland, 5;
the Calvinists have 2; the Calvinistic Methodists, 3; the Welsh
Calvinistic Methodists, 4. The Jews have 12 Synagogues; there are 3
French Protestant churches; 9 German (Reformed) churches and chapels;
Swiss Protestant, 1; Swedenborgians, 2; Plymouth Brethren, 3; Catholic
Apostolic (not Roman) 6; 1 Swedish, and 1 Greek church; 1 Russian chapel,
and 3 meeting-houses of Free Christians; 1 Moravian; and some 40 other
places for public worship, belonging to miscellaneous denominations. Of
Roman Catholic churches, the chief is _St. George’s Cathedral_, near
Bethlehem Hospital—a very large, but heavy Gothic structure; the tower
has never been finished for want of funds. [Picture: The Tabernacle] The
service here is more complete than at any other Roman Catholic structure
in England. _St. Mary’s_, near Moorfields; the _Spanish Chapel_, near
Manchester Square; and the _Italian Church_, in Hatton Wall—are three
other Roman Catholic chapels that attract many strangers by their
excellent music. The _Catholic and Apostolic Church_, in Gordon Square,
may be regarded as the cathedral of the so-called Irvingites (a
designation, however, which they repudiate); it is one of the best modern
examples of early English, but there are no funds available for finishing
the tower. The minister of the National Scotch Church, in Crown Court,
Drury Lane, is the celebrated Rev. J. Cumming, D.D., whose preaching
attracts large congregations. Of the dissenting chapels in London, by
far the most remarkable is Mr. Spurgeon’s _Tabernacle_, built at a cost
of about £30,000, at Newington, near the Elephant and Castle; everything,
within and without, has been made subservient to the accommodating of
4000 or 5000 persons, all of whom can hear, and nearly all see, the
celebrated preacher. The principal _Jews’ Synagogue_ is in Great St.
Helen’s, near Leadenhall Street—remarkable rather for the ceremonies, at
certain seasons of the year, than for anything in the building itself. A
synagogue exists for the Jews residing in the western half of the
metropolis, in Great Portland Street.
Cemeteries.—Intramural burial is now forbidden in London. The chief
cemeteries are those at Highgate, Finchley, Abney Park, Mile-End, Kensal
Green, Bethnal Green, Ilford, Brompton, Norwood, Nunhead, and Camberwell.
There is a very fine view of London, on a clear day, from the
first-named. Kensal Green contains the graves of many distinguished
persons. Princess Sophia was buried at the last-named cemetery; and a
sedulous visitor would discover the tombs and graves of Sydney Smith, the
daughters and a grandchild of Sir Walter Scott, Allan Cunningham, John
Murray, Thomas Hood, Liston, Loudon, Callcott, Birkbeck, Brunel,
Thackeray, and other persons of note. Cardinal Wiseman lies interred in
the Catholic Cemetery adjacent to Kensal Green. The _Great Northern
Cemetery_, near Colney Hatch, lately opened, has special railway
facilities from the King’s Cross Station. The _Woking Necropolis_, in
Surrey, is too far distant to be included within London; nevertheless,
the admirable railway arrangements, from a station of the South-Western,
in the Westminster Road, make it, in effect, one of the metropolitan
cemeteries. If the old burial-grounds are no longer attended to for
funerals, many of them are deeply interesting for their memorials of the
past. _Old St. Pancras Churchyard_ has already been named; and another
worthy of attention is _Bunhill Fields_ burying-ground. It has been
called the ‘Campo Santo’ of Dissenters, for there lie the remains of
Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan, John Owen, George Fox, (who founded the sect
of the Quakers about 1646,) Dr. Isaac Watts, and many a stout defender of
nonconformity.
BRITISH AND SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUMS; SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENTS.
British Museum.—This is a great national establishment, containing a vast
and constantly-increasing collection of books, maps, drawings, prints,
sculptures, antiquities, and natural curiosities. It occupies a most
extensive suite of buildings in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury,
commenced in 1823, and not even now finished. The sum spent on them is
little less than £1,000,000. Sir Richard Smirke was the architect. The
principal, or south front, 370 feet long, presents a range of 44 columns,
the centre being a majestic portico, with sculptures in the pediment.
Since its commencement, in 1755, the collection has been prodigiously
increased by gifts, bequests, and purchases; and now it is, perhaps, the
largest of the kind in the world. The library contains more than _eight
hundred thousand_ volumes, and is increasing enormously in extent every
year. The Reading-Room is open only to persons who proceed thither for
study, or for consulting authorities. A reading order is readily
procured on written application, enclosing the recommendation of two
respectable householders, to “the Principal Librarian.” It is open
nearly 300 days in the year, and for an average of eight hours each day.
No general inspection of this room by strangers is allowed, except by a
written order from the secretary, which can, however, readily be obtained
on three days in the week. The porters in the hall will direct to the
secretary’s office; and strangers must be careful to observe the
conditions on which the order is given. The present reading-room, opened
in 1857, and built at a cost of £150,000, is one of the finest apartments
in the world; it is circular, 140 feet in diameter, and open to a
dome-roof 106 feet high, supported without pillars. This beautiful room,
and the fireproof galleries for books which surround it, were planned by
Mr. Panizzi, the late chief librarian.
The portions of the British Museum open to ordinary visitors consist of
an extensive series of galleries and saloons on the ground and upper
floors, each devoted to the exhibition of a distinct class of objects.
Among others are—terracottas, Roman sculptures and sepulchral
antiquities, Sir T. Lawrence’s collection of casts, British antiquities,
ethnological specimens, Egyptian antiquities, several saloons containing
the Elgin and Phigalian Marbles, Nineveh and Lycian sculptures, &c. The
rooms containing objects in natural history and artificial curiosities
are handsomely fitted up with glass-cases on the walls and tables. Days
may be spent in examining this vast assemblage of objects; and to assist
in the inspection, catalogues for the entire Museum may be purchased at
the door at a cheap price. [Picture: Reading Room, British Museum] The
following will convey an idea of the order in which the general contents
of the Museum meet the eye. Outside the building, in unsightly glass
sheds under the porticos and colonnades, are ancient Greek sculptures
from Asia Minor, chiefly from the famous Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; they
are temporarily so placed until room can be found for them elsewhere. On
entering the hall or vestibule, and ascending the staircase, the
galleries of natural history are reached—stuffed quadrupeds, including a
_gorilla_ purchased from M. Chaillu; stuffed birds; birds’ eggs; shells
in immense variety and of surpassing beauty; minerals; and fossils.
These occupy the eastern, northern, and part of the southern galleries.
The western, and the rest of the southern galleries, are occupied by
numerous antiquarian and ethnological collections—including Egyptian
mummies and ornaments, Greek and Etruscan vases, Greek and Roman bronzes,
ancient and mediæval porcelain, ivory carvings, and specimens of the
dresses, weapons, instruments, &c., of various nations. On the
ground-floor, to the right of the hall, visitors are admitted to a room
containing a curious collection of manuscripts, autographs, and early
printed books; and to the King’s Library, a beautiful apartment,
containing the books presented by George IV. This room also possesses a
small but extremely choice display of Italian, German, and Flemish
drawings and engravings; together with a few _nielli_, (black engravings
on silver plates.) The west side of the ground-floor is occupied by the
ancient sculptures—Egyptian, Greek, Assyrian, Lycian, Roman, &c.—A
refreshment-room for visitors was opened in 1866, and is situated in the
western basement.
The British Museum is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and the
whole of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun weeks. It is closed on the first
week in January, May, and September, and on Christmas-day, Good-Friday,
and Ash-Wednesday. The hour of opening is 10 o’clock; that of closing
varies from 4 till 6 o’clock, according to the season of the year.
During many years past there have been newspaper controversies and
parliamentary debates touching the disposal of the rich contents of the
Museum. Almost every part is filled to overflowing; but much diversity
of opinion exists as to which portion, if any, shall be removed to
another locality. Burlington House and the South Kensington Museum, each
has its advocates. Immediate removal of part of the contents has been
decided on.
[Picture: Kensington Museum]
South Kensington Museum.—This very interesting national establishment is
situated at South Kensington, near the Cromwell and Exhibition Roads, on
ground bought out of the profits of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The
varied contents have been either presented to, or purchased by, the
nation, with the exception of a few collections which have been lent for
temporary periods. They consist of illustrations of manufactures and the
useful arts; models of patented inventions; collections of raw produce,
derived from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; a museum of
educational appliances; casts from sculptures and architectural
ornaments; objects of ornamental art, both mediæval and modern; naval
models, &c. Besides these, there are the fine collections of paintings
presented to the nation by Mr. Sheepshanks, and other liberal donors; and
a portion of the Vernon collection, the rest being at the National
Gallery. Turner’s pictures, bequeathed to the nation in his will, were
kept here for some years, but were removed to the National Gallery in
1861. There are, among the group of buildings, some devoted to the
Government Department of Science and Art; but the Museum generally is, so
far as concerns the public, distinct. The Gallery of British Art
contains many hundred pictures, including choice specimens by Turner,
Wilkie, Mulready, Landseer, Leslie, Hogarth, Wilson, Gainsborough,
Reynolds, Lawrence, Constable, Loutherbourg, Callcott, Collins, Etty,
Stanfield, Roberts, Uwins, Creswick, Maclise, Webster, Eastlake, Ward,
Cooke, Cooper, Danby, Goodall, &c. The rooms containing these pictures,
planned by Captain Fowke, are remarkable for the admirable mode of
lighting, both by day and in the evening. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and
Saturdays, the admission is free from 10 A.M. till 10 P.M.; on the other
three days, called _students’_ days, 6d. is charged from 10 A.M. till 4,
5, or 6, according to the season. This is one of the very few free
exhibitions open in the evening (thrice a-week) as well as the daytime.
Bethnal Green Museum.—This is really a branch of the South Kensington
Museum, and is situated not far from Shoreditch Church. It is accessible
by omnibus from most parts of the City and the West End, and is not far
distant from Victoria Park. It was formally opened, in 1872, by the
Prince and Princess of Wales. At the present, its great attraction is
the picture gallery; but it promises to become as popular as any museum
in London, especially as technical information will become an essential
feature of its future existence. It is open under the same regulations
as are observed at the South Kensington Museum.
Museum of Economic Geology.—This small but interesting establishment,
having an entrance in Jermyn Street, is a national museum for the
exhibition of all such articles as belong to the mineral kingdom. It was
built from the designs of Mr. Pennethorne, and was opened in 1851.
Though less extensive than the British and South Kensington Museums, it
is of a very instructive character. Besides the mineral specimens, raw
and manufactured, it contains models, sections, and diagrams,
illustrative of mining, metallurgy, and various manufactures. It is
open, _free_, every day, except Friday.
Museum of the College of Surgeons.—This building, on the south side of
Lincoln’s Inn Fields, can be visited by strangers only through the
introduction of members of the College. The Government, about seventy
years ago, bought John Hunter’s Anatomical Museum, and presented it to
the College. The contents of the museum are illustrative of the
structure and functions of the human body, both in the healthy and the
diseased state; they have been classified and arranged with great skill
by Professor Owen.
United Service Museum.—This is situated in Whitehall Yard. Admission is
obtained through the members of the United Service Institution. The
contents of the museum consist of models, weapons, and implements
interesting to military men. Here see the robe worn by Tippoo Sahib,
when killed at Seringapatam, in 1799. Also observe Siborne’s
extraordinary model of the battle of Waterloo; and notice the skeleton of
the horse which Napoleon rode at that battle.
East India Museum.—Near the building last noticed, in Fife House,
Whitehall, is deposited the collection known as the East India Museum,
formerly deposited at the India House, in Leadenhall Street, and now
belonging to the nation. It comprises a very curious assemblage of
Oriental dresses, jewels, ornaments, furniture, musical instruments,
models, paintings, tools, implements, idols, trinkets, &c. Among the
rest is the barbaric toy known as _Tippoo’s Tiger_. It consists of a
figure of a tiger trampling on a prostrate man, whom he is just about to
seize with his teeth; the interior contains pipes and other mechanism,
which, when wound up by a key, cause the figure of the man to utter cries
of distress, and the tiger to roar. Such was one of the amusements of
Tippoo Sahib! The museum is open free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays, from 10 till 4.
Royal Institution.—This building, in Albemarle Street, is devoted to the
prosecution of science, by means of lectures, experiments, discussions,
and a scientific library. It has been rendered famous by the brilliant
labours of Davy and Faraday. Admission is only obtainable by membership,
or by fees for courses of lectures.
Society of Arts.—This institution has existed in John Street, Adelphi,
for a long series of years. Its object is the encouragement of arts,
manufactures, agriculture, and commerce. Under the auspices of the late
Prince Consort, it was mainly instrumental in bringing about the two
great International Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862. The lecture-room
contains six remarkable pictures by Barry, illustrative of ‘Human
Culture.’ Every year there are free exhibitions of manufactures and new
mechanical inventions.
Scientific Societies.—There are many other Scientific Societies which
hold their meetings in London; but only a few of them possess buildings
worthy of much attention, or contain collections that would interest a
mere casual visitor. The _Royal_, the _Astronomical_, the _Geological_,
the _Chemical_, and the _Linnæan_ Societies, the _College of Physicians_,
the _Institution of Civil Engineers_, and others of like kind, are those
to which we here refer. Many of these societies are at present
accommodated with the use of apartments at the public expense, in
Burlington House, Piccadilly.
NATIONAL GALLERY; ROYAL ACADEMY; ART EXHIBITIONS.
National Gallery.—This building, in Trafalgar Square, is the chief
depository of the pictures belonging to the nation. In 1824, the
Government purchased the Angerstein collection of 38 pictures, for
£57,000, and exhibited it for a time at a house in Pall Mall. The
present structure was finished in 1838, at a cost of about £100,000, from
the designs of Mr. Wilkins. Since that year till 1869, the Royal Academy
occupied the eastern half, and the National Gallery the western. In the
last-named year, the Royal Academy was removed to Burlington House; and
the whole of the building is now what its name denotes. This National
Gallery now comprises the Angerstein collection, together with numerous
pictures presented to the nation by Lord Farnborough, Sir George
Beaumont, the Rev. Holwell Carr, Mr. Vernon, and other persons; and, most
recent of all, the Turner collection, bequeathed to the nation by that
greatest of our landscape painters. Every year, likewise, witnesses the
purchase of choice old pictures out of funds provided by Parliament. The
grant annually is about £10,000. To accommodate the constantly
increasing collection, the centre of the building was re-constructed in
1861, and a very handsome new saloon built, in which are deposited the
choicest examples of the Italian Schools of Painting: forming, with its
contents, one of the noblest rooms of the kind in Europe. To name the
pictures in this collection would be to name some of the finest works of
the Italian, Spanish, Flemish, and French schools of painters. Some of
the most costly of the pictures are the following:—Murillo’s ‘Holy
Family,’ £3000; Rubens’s ‘Rape of the Sabines,’ £3000; Francia’s ‘Virgin
and Child,’ £3500; Sebastian del Piombo’s ‘Raising of Lazarus,’ 3500
guineas; Coreggio’s ‘Holy Family,’ £3800; Perugino’s ‘Virgin and Child,’
£4000; Claude’s ‘Seaport,’ £4000; Rubens’s ‘Judgment of Paris,’ £4200;
Raffaelle’s ‘St. Catherine,’ £5000; Rembrandt’s ‘Woman taken in
Adultery,’ £5250; Correggio’s ‘Ecce Homo,’ and ‘Mercury instructing
Cupid,’ 10,000 guineas; and Paul Veronese’s ‘Family of Darius,’ £14,000.
Royal Academy, Burlington House.—The Academy was established in 1768, for
the encouragement of the fine arts. Until the finishing of Mr. Wilkin’s
building, the Academy held its meetings and exhibitions in a small number
of rooms at Somerset House. Students are admitted on evidence of
sufficient preliminary training, and taught gratuitously; but so far as
the public is concerned, the Royal Academy is chiefly known by its famous
Annual Exhibition of modern English pictures and sculptures, from May to
July. This Exhibition is a very profitable affair to the Academy. Royal
commissions and parliamentary committees find a difficulty in
investigating the revenues, privileges, and claims of the Academy; it is
known, however, that the schools are maintained out of the profits.
Concerning the building in Trafalgar Square, most persons agree that the
main front is too much cut up in petty detail, and that one of the finest
sites in Europe has thus been comparatively neglected. Some have
humorously nicknamed it “The National Cruet Stand.”
National Portrait Gallery.—This infant gallery, established by the nation
in 1857, is now at Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The object is to
be strictly confined to the collecting of a series of national portraits
of persons of any note, whether of early or of late days. A sum of £2000
a-year is voted for this purpose. The collection is yet only small, but
very interesting, and is yearly increasing. Open free on Wednesdays and
Saturdays.
Soane Museum.—This closely-packed collection, presented to the nation by
the late Sir John Soane, the architect, occupies the house which he used
to inhabit, at No. 13, on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Every
nook and corner of about 24 rooms is crowded with works of
art—sarcophagi, ancient gems and intaglios, medals and coins, sculptures,
sketches and models of sculptures, books of prints, portfolios of
drawings, Hogarth’s famous series of pictures of the ‘Rake’s Progress,’
and numerous other examples of _vertu_, some of which cost large sums of
money. The place is open every Wednesday from February to August
inclusive, and every Thursday and Friday in April, May, and June, from 10
till 4. Still, these are very insufficient facilities (only 56 days out
of the 365 in the year) for seeing a fine collection of treasures.
Orders for admission are sent, on application, by post.
Art Exhibitions.—There are always numerous picture exhibitions open in
the summer months—such as those formed by the _British Institution_, the
_Society of British Artists_, the _Society of Painters in Water Colours_,
&c.; concerning which information can be seen in the advertisement
columns of the newspapers. At the British Institution there is a spring
exhibition of modern pictures, and a summer exhibition of ancient. The
price of admission to such places is almost invariably One Shilling.
Other exhibitions, pertaining more to entertainment than to fine arts,
are briefly noticed in a later section.
COLLEGES; SCHOOLS; HOSPITALS; CHARITIES.
London, as may well be imagined, is largely supplied with institutions
tending to the proper care of the young, the aged, the sick, and the
impoverished. A few of the more important among them are worthy of the
attention of strangers.
Colleges.—The two chief colleges in London are connected with the _London
University_. This University is a body of persons, not (as many suppose)
a building. The body was established in 1837, to confer degrees on the
students or graduates of many different colleges in and about London. It
occupies apartments at Burlington House, Piccadilly, lent by the
government for examining purposes; but it neither teaches nor gives
lectures. _University College_, in Gower Street, was originally called
_London University_; but since 1837, the more limited designation has
been given to it. [Picture: University College] It was founded in 1828,
on the proprietary system, to afford a good middle-class education at a
moderate expense, without limitation as to religious tests. Hence it is
much frequented by Jews, Parsees, Hindoos, &c. The whole range of
college tuition is given, except divinity; with the addition of much
fuller instruction in science and in modern languages than was before
given in colleges. The building, with its lofty portico, might possibly
have presented a good appearance if the plans of the architect had been
carried out; but, through want of funds, the wings have never been built,
and the structure is ridiculously incomplete. The college possesses a
fine collection of casts from Flaxman’s sculptures, usually open to
inspection by strangers. _King’s College_, in the Strand, has been
already mentioned as adjoining Somerset House on the east. It was
founded in the same year as University College, expressly in connection
with the Established Church of England. There was some sectarian
bitterness between the two establishments at first, but both have settled
down into a steady career of usefulness. The teaching of divinity, and
the observance of church-service as part of the routine, are maintained
at King’s College. _Gordon College_, or _University Hall_, in Gordon
Square, is an establishment mainly supported by Unitarians; the building
itself, as a modern imitation of the old red-brick style, is worthy of a
passing glance. _New College_, at St. John’s Wood, for
Congregationalists or Independents; the _Baptist College_, in the
Regent’s Park; the _English Presbyterian Theological College_, Guildford
Street, W.C.; the _Wesleyan College_, in the Horseferry Road; _Hackney
College_; and a few others of less note—are establishments maintained by
various bodies of dissenters; some for educating ministers for the
pulpit; some for training schoolmasters and schoolmistresses. Of the
buildings so occupied, the handsomest is New College. This was
established, a few years ago, as a substitute for _Highbury_, _Homerton_,
and _Coward_ Colleges, all belonging to the Congregationalists. _Gresham
College_: this is not a college in the modern sense of the term; it is
only a lecture-room. Sir Thomas Gresham left an endowment for an annual
series of lectures, and residences and stipends for the lecturers. The
charity was greatly misused during the 17th and 18th centuries. Public
attention having been called to the subject, a new lecture hall was
built, a few years ago, at the corner of Basinghall and Gresham Streets,
out of the accumulated fund; and lectures are delivered here at certain
periods of each year. The subjects are divinity, physic, astronomy,
geometry, law, rhetoric, and music. The lectures take place in the
middle of the day, some in Latin, some in English; they are freely open
to the public; but the auditors, at such an hour and in such a
place—surrounded by the busy hum of commerce—are very few in number.
Among the training colleges for schoolmasters and mistresses may be named
the _National Society’s_ at Battersea; _St. Mark’s Training College_,
Fulham Road; the _Training Institution_ for schoolmistresses, King’s
Road, Chelsea; the _British and Foreign_ in the Borough Road; and the
_Home and Colonial_ in Gray’s Inn Road. At Islington is a Church of
England Training College for missionaries. The _College of Preceptors_,
in Queen Square, resembles the London University in this, that it confers
a sort of degree, or academical rank, but does not teach. Many so-called
colleges are either proprietary or private schools.
Great Public Schools.—The chief of these in London is _Westminster
School_, not for the building itself, but for the celebrity of the
institution; although the college hall, once the refectory of the old
abbots of Westminster, is interesting from its very antiquity. The
school, which was founded in 1560, lies south-west of Westminster Abbey,
but very near it. Some of our greatest statesmen and scholars have been
educated here. _St. Paul’s School_, situated on the eastern side of St.
Paul’s Churchyard, was founded in 1521, by Dean Colet, for the education
of ‘poor men’s children.’ Like many others of the older schools, the
benefits are not conferred so fully as they ought to be on the class
designated. The presentations are wholly in the hands of the Mercers’
Company. The now existing school-house, the third on the same site, was
built in 1823. The _Charter House School_, near Aldersgate Street, is
part of a charity established by Thomas Sutton in 1611. Among other
great men here educated were the late Sir Henry Havelock, and W. M.
Thackeray. There is an Hospital or Almshouse for about 80 ‘poor
Brethren,’ men who have seen better days; and there is a school for the
free education of 40 ‘poor Boys,’ with many more whose parents pay for
their schooling. The chapel and ante-chapel, the great hall and
staircase, and the governor’s room, are interesting parts of the
building. _Christ’s Hospital_, or the _Blue Coat School_—as it is
commonly called from the colour of the boys’ dress—is situated within an
enclosure on the north side of Newgate Street, and is one of the most
splendid among the charitable foundations of London. The buildings stand
on the site of a monastery of Grey-friars, which was granted by Henry
VIII. to the city for the use of the poor; and his son and successor,
Edward VI., greatly extended the value of the gift by granting a charter
for its foundation as a charity school, and at the same time endowing it
with sundry benefactions. The hospital was opened, for the reception and
education of boys, in 1552. Charles II. added an endowment for a
mathematical class; and with various augmentations of endowment, the
annual revenue is now understood to be no less than £40,000. This income
supports and educates nearly 1200 children, 500 of whom, including girls,
are boarded at the town of Hertford, for the sake of country air. The
management of the institution is vested in a body of governors, composed
of the lord mayor and aldermen, twelve common-councilmen chosen by lot,
and all benefactors to the amount of £400 and upwards. The children are
admitted without reference to the City privileges of parents; about one
hundred and fifty are entered annually. It is undeniable, however, that
many children are admitted rather through interest than on account of the
poverty of their parents. After instruction in the elementary branches
of schooling, the greater number of the boys leave the hospital at the
age of fifteen; those only remaining longer who intend to proceed to the
university, or to go to sea after completing a course of mathematics.
There are seven presentations at Cambridge, and one at Oxford, open to
the scholars. The buildings of the institution embrace several
structures of large dimensions, chiefly ranged round open courts, with
cloisters beneath; and a Church, which also serves as a parochial place
of worship. The only part of the establishment, however, worth examining
for its architecture is the Great Hall, occupying the first floor of a
building of modern date, designed by Mr. Shaw, in the Gothic style. It
measures 187 feet long, 51 feet broad, and 47 high, and possesses an
organ-gallery at the east end. In this magnificent apartment the boys
breakfast, dine, and sup. Before meals, one of the elder inmates repeats
a long grace or prayer, at the commencement of which the whole of the
boys, in lines at their respective tables, fall on their knees. The boys
are dressed in the costume selected for them in Edward VI.’s reign; the
outer garments consisting of a long dark-blue coat, breeches, and yellow
worsted stockings. The ‘public suppers,’ on Thursdays in Lent, are worth
the attention of strangers: (tickets from governors.) _Merchant Taylors’
School_, situated in a close part of the City behind the Mansion House,
was founded in 1561 by the Merchant Taylors’ Company. The present
structure was built in 1673, with the exception of some of the
classrooms, which are much more modern. About 260 boys are educated,
wholly on the presentation of members of the Company; and there are
numerous fellowships at St. John’s College, Oxford, open to the scholars.
_Mercers’ Free Grammar School_, in College Hill, is a small establishment
of similar kind. The _City of London School_, in Milk Street, Cheapside,
is one of the most modern of these _Grammar_ Schools, as they are called.
It was founded in 1835, and possesses several Exhibitions for successful
senior scholars.
Other Schools.—The schools established under the auspices of the National
Society, called _National_ Schools, are very numerous, but need hardly be
noticed here. The _British and Foreign School Society_, in the Borough
Road, and the _Home and Colonial School Society_, in Gray’s Inn Road,
train up teachers without reference to religious tests; whereas the
_National Society_ is in connection with the Church of England. Many
very superior schools for girls, under the designation of _Ladies’
Colleges_, have been established in the metropolis within the last few
years, in Harley Street and in Bedford Square, &c. The _Government
School of Art for Ladies_ is in Queen Square, Bloomsbury. The _National
Art Training School_ is at South Kensington.
The London School Board, elected in 1870, under the new Education Act,
has its _locale_ at 33 New Bridge Street, Blackfriars. It has,
practically speaking, almost entire control of the educational systems of
the metropolis, and is armed with inquisitorial powers that remind us of
the ancient Star Chamber. Still, the system of election of the members
of the Board gives a certain guarantee of responsibility, that makes its
prestige, at least, without suspicion.
Schools of Telegraphy are established at 138 Regent Street, W., and 24
City Road, E.C., where the art is fully instructed, to resident and
non-resident pupils.
Hospitals and Charitable Institutions.—A small volume might readily be
filled with a list of London’s charitable institutions. The charities
connected in some way with the corporation of London are _Christ’s
Hospital_, for boarding and educating youth, already mentioned;
_Bethlehem Hospital_, Lambeth, for insane patients; _St. Thomas’s
Hospital_, for treating poor patients diseased and hurt; and _St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital_, West Smithfield, for the same purpose. The City
companies likewise support a number of beneficiary institutions, such as
the _Ironmongers’ Almhouses_ at Kingsland, and others of like kind. The
following hospitals are the most important among the large number founded
and supported by private benevolence:—_Guy’s Hospital_, Southwark;
_London Hospital_, Whitechapel Road; _Westminster Hospital_, near the
Abbey; _St. George’s Hospital_, Hyde Park Corner; _Middlesex Hospital_,
Charles Street, Oxford Street; _University College Hospital_, Gower
Street; _St. Luke’s Hospital_, for the insane, City Road; _King’s College
Hospital_, near Clare Market; _Small-Pox Hospital_, Highgate Rise; the
_Foundling Hospital_, Great Guildford Street; the _Consumption Hospital_,
Brompton; _Charing Cross Hospital_, Agar Street; the _Lock Hospital_,
Harrow Road; and the _Royal Free Hospital_, Gray’s Inn Road. Besides
these, there are several Lying-in hospitals, a Floating hospital on the
Thames, now substituted by a part of Greenwich Hospital being devoted to
a similar use; various Ophthalmic hospitals, and numerous Dispensaries
and Infirmaries for particular diseases. Institutions for the relief of
indigent persons, Deaf and Dumb asylums, Blind asylums, and Orphan
asylums, are far too numerous to be specified. In short, there are in
this great metropolis about 250 hospitals, dispensaries, infirmaries,
asylums, and almshouses; besides at least 400 religious, visiting, and
benevolent institutions for ministering to the various ills, mental and
moral, bodily or worldly, to which an immense population is always
subject. It is supposed that these several institutions receive in
subscriptions considerably over £2,000,000 annually. Some of the
hospital buildings above named are large and majestic in appearance.
When, for the Charing Cross extension of the South-Eastern Railway, St.
Thomas’s Hospital and site, which formerly stood close to London Bridge
Station, were purchased for a sum not very much under £300,000, it was
arranged to rebuild the hospital between the south end of Westminster
Bridge and Lambeth Palace. This hospital, which is now completed,
affords a fine object from a steamboat passing up the river, and is
certainly one of the noblest buildings of its class in Europe.
THE TOWER; THE MINT; THE CUSTOM HOUSE; THE GENERAL POST OFFICE.
This section treats of four important government buildings situated in
the eastern half of the metropolis.
The Tower of London.—This famous structure, or rather group of
structures, is a cluster of houses, towers, barracks, armouries,
warehouses, and prison-like edifices, situated on the north bank of the
Thames, and separated from the crowded narrow streets of the city by an
open space of ground called Tower-hill. The Tower was founded by William
the Conqueror, probably on the site of an older fortress, to secure his
authority over the inhabitants of London; but the original fort which he
established on the spot was greatly extended by subsequent monarchs; and
in the twelfth century it was surrounded by a wet ditch, which was
improved in the reign of Charles II. This ditch or moat was drained in
1843. Within the outer wall the ground measures upwards of twelve acres.
Next the river there is a broad quay; and on this side also there was a
channel (now closed) by which boats formerly passed into the main body of
the place. This water-entrance is known by the name of Traitors’ Gate,
being that by which, in former days, state prisoners were brought in
boats after their trial at Westminster. There are three other entrances
or postern-gates—Lion Gate, Iron Gate, and Water Gate—only two of which,
however, are now used. The interior of the Tower is an irregular
assemblage of short streets and courtyards, bounded by various
structures. The _White Tower_, or _Keep_, is the oldest of these
buildings; and the _Chapel_ in it is a fine specimen of a small Norman
church. Other towers are the _Lion Tower_, near the principal entrance;
the _Middle Tower_, the first seen on passing the ditch; the _Bell
Tower_, adjacent to it; the _Bloody Tower_, nearly opposite _Traitors’
Gate_; the _Salt Tower_, near the Iron Gate; _Brick Tower_, where Lady
Jane Grey was confined; _Bowyer Tower_, where the Duke of Clarence is
said to have been [Picture: Chapel in Tower] drowned in the butt of
malmsey; and _Beauchamp Tower_, where Anne Boleyn was imprisoned. These
old towers are very curious, but few of them are open to the public. The
principal objects of interest are a collection of cannon, being trophies
of war; the horse armoury, a most interesting collection of suits of mail
on stuffed figures; and the crown and other insignia of royalty. In the
_Horse Armoury_, a long gallery built in 1826, is an extensive collection
of armour, arranged by Sir Samuel Meyrick, a great authority on this
subject. It comprises whole suits of armour, consisting of hauberks,
chausses, surcoats, baldricks, breast-plates, back-plates, chain-mail
sleeves and skirts, gauntlets, helmets, frontlets, vamplates, flanchards,
and other pieces known to the old armourers. About twenty complete suits
of armour are placed upon stuffed figures of men, mostly on stuffed
horses. Four of the suits belonged to Henry VIII., Dudley Earl of
Leicester, Henry Prince of Wales, and Charles I.; the others are merely
intended to illustrate the kinds of armour in vogue at certain periods.
One suit, of the time of Richard III., [Picture: Traitor’s Gate, Chapel
White Tower] was worn by the Marquis of Waterford at the Eglinton
tournament in 1839. The gallery also contains some other curiosities
relating to the armour of past days. _Queen Elizabeth’s Armoury_ is in
the White Tower, the walls of which are 13 feet thick, and still contain
traces of inscriptions by state prisoners in troubled times: the armoury
contains many curious old shields, bows, Spanish instruments of torture,
petronels, partisans, beheading axe and block, thumb-screws, Lochaber
axes, matchlocks, arquebuses, swords, &c. Immediately outside these
Armouries, in the open air, are some curious cannon and mortars belonging
to different ages and different countries. The new _Barracks_ occupy the
site of the Small Arms Armoury, destroyed by fire in 1841, when 280,000
stand of arms were destroyed. The _Lions_ in the Tower were among the
sights of the place for nearly 600 years; they were in a building near
the present ticket-office, but were given to the Zoological Society in
1834. The _Jewel House_, a well-guarded room to the east of the
Armouries, contains a valuable collection of state jewels. Among them
are the following:—_St. Edward’s Crown_, used at all the coronations from
Charles II. to William IV.; the _New State Crown_, made for the
coronation of Queen Victoria, and valued at more than £100,000; the
_Prince of Wales’s_ and the _Queen Consort’s Crowns_ (the most recent
wearer of the last was Queen Adelaide); the _Queen’s Diadem_; the _Royal
Sceptre_, _Queen’s Sceptre_, and _Queen’s Ivory Sceptre_; the _Orb_ and
the _Queen’s Orb_; _St. Edward’s Staff_ and the _Rod of Equity_; the
_Swords of Mercy and of Justice_; the _Coronation Bracelets_ and _Royal
Spurs_; the _Ampulla_ for the holy oil, and the _Coronation Spoon_; the
silver-gilt _Baptismal Font_, used at the christening of royal children;
and the famous _Koh-i-noor_, or ‘Mountain of Light,’ the wonderful
diamond once belonging to Runjeet Singh, chief of Lahore, but now the
property of Queen Victoria,—it was an object of great interest at the two
great Exhibitions in 1851 and 1862. Strangers, on applying at an office
at the entrance from Tower-hill, are conducted through a portion of the
buildings by warders, who wear a curious costume of Henry VIII.’s
time—some years ago rendered incongruous by the substitution of black
trousers for scarlet hose. These warders, or _beef-eaters_ (as they are
often called), go their rounds with visitors every half-hour from 10 till
4. The word “beef-eaters” was a vulgar corruption of _beaufetiers_,
battle-axe guards, who were first raised by Henry VII. in 1485. They
were originally attendants upon the king’s buffet. A fee of 6d. is
charged for seeing the Armouries, and 6d. for the Jewel House. From time
to time, when foreign politics look threatening, the Tower undergoes
alterations and renovations to increase its utility as a fortress; and it
is at all times under strict military government.
The Mint.—This structure, situated a little north-east of the Tower, is
the establishment in which the coinage is in great part made, and wholly
regulated. The rooms, the machinery, and the processes for coining, are
all full of interest. The assaying of the gold and silver for coinage;
the alloying and melting; the casting into ingots; the flattening,
rolling, and laminating of the ingots to the proper thickness; the
cutting into strips, and the strips into circular blanks; the stamping of
those blanks on both surfaces; and the testing to ascertain that every
coin is of the proper weight—are all processes in which very beautiful
and perfect apparatus is needed. Copper and bronze coins are mostly made
for the government at Birmingham. From a statement made in parliament,
in August, 1869, by the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, we gathered that _98
millions of sovereigns_ had been coined in the Mint since 1850. But of
these no fewer than 44 millions had been lost to our coinage, because
many of the sovereigns, being overweight, had been sent to the Continent
to be melted down as bullion! There are nearly 500 millions of copper
coin in circulation; and of silver coin, from crown pieces down to
threepenny pieces, something like the astounding number of 286,220,000.
Permission to view this interesting establishment could at one time only
be obtained by special application to the Master of the Mint, who has an
official residence at the spot; but since the death of the late Master,
Dr. Graham, that office will not in future be filled up. A letter to the
Deputy Master will probably obtain the required order to view. We should
add that the removal of the Mint to Somerset House is now seriously
contemplated. It is urged that the price of its present site, if sold,
would readily defray cost of removal.
Custom House.—This important building, situated on the north bank of the
Thames, between London Bridge and the Tower, occupies a site on which
other and smaller custom houses had previously stood. The east and west
ends of the present structure were finished in 1817 by Mr. Laing; but the
central portion was rebuilt afterwards from the designs of Sir Robert
Smirke. The river front is extensive, and although not architecturally
fine, the general appearance is effective. One of the few broad terraces
on the banks of the Thames is that in front of the Custom House; it is a
good position from whence strangers can view the shipping in the river.
The ‘Long Room’ in this building is 190 feet long by 66 broad. By way of
illustrating the enormous amount of business done here, we may mention,
that in the years 1867–68, the amount of Customs’ receipts collected in
the port of London was _more_ than [Picture: Billingsgate, Coal Exchange,
and Custom House. (Fenchurch Station, behind at the right.)] that of all
the _other ports_ of _Great Britain_ taken together, and five times that
of the whole of Ireland. In 1867, the port of London gross receipts were
£10,819,711; and in 1868, £10,694,494. The vast Customs’ duties for the
port of London, amounting to nearly half of those for the whole United
Kingdom, are managed here.
[Picture: General Post Office, &c. (Tower, Monument, and London Bridge
in the distance.)]
General Poet Office.—This large building, at the corner of Cheapside and
St. Martin’s-le-Grand, was finished in 1829, from the designs of Sir
Robert Smirke. It is in the Ionic style, with a lofty central portico;
beneath which is the entrance to the spacious hall (80 feet long, 60 feet
wide, and 53 feet high), having also an entrance at the opposite
extremity; but the central Hall is now entirely enclosed, owing to the
recent great extension of the Postal business. A Money-order Office has
been built on the opposite side of the street; and the Post Office has
been added to in various ways, to make room for increased business. The
main building, which contains a vast number of rooms, is enclosed by a
railing; and at the north end is a courtyard, in which mail-vans range up
and depart with their load of bags, at certain hours in the morning and
evening, for the several railway termini. At other portions of the
building the foreign, colonial, and India mails are despatched. From six
to seven o’clock in the evening a prodigious bustle prevails in putting
letters into the Post Office; and on Saturday evening, when the Sunday
newspapers are posted, the excitement is still further
increased—especially just before six, by which hour the newspapers must
be posted. The establishment, some four years ago, employed 20,000
clerks, sorters, and letter-carriers in the various parts of the United
Kingdom; and since the Post Office took over the business of the
Telegraph Companies, the number of its employés is greatly increased.
The postage charged on foreign and colonial letters is too small to pay
for the mail-packets and other expenses; profit is derived only from the
inland letters. There are now in London and the suburbs about 730
pillar-boxes and wall-boxes; without counting receiving houses.
Newspapers and book packets must not be put in town pillar-boxes. A very
useful novelty, _Post Office Savings’ Banks_, was introduced in 1861. In
the year 1840, in which the uniform rate of one penny per letter of half
an ounce weight, &c., commenced, the revenue of the Post Office was only
£471,000. Its revenue received during the year 1871–72 was no less than
£6,102,900, and every year the receipts are increasing. New postal
buildings of great extent have been erected on the opposite side of the
street.
THE CORPORATION; MANSION HOUSE; GUILDHALL; MONUMENT; ROYAL EXCHANGE.
It will be convenient to group here certain buildings belonging to the
Corporation of London; and to prefix to a notice of them some account of
the mode in which the city of London is governed.
The Corporation.—With respect to civic jurisdiction, the city of London
is governed in a peculiar manner. In virtue of ancient charters and
privileges, the city is a species of independent community, governed by
its own laws and functionaries. While all other boroughs have been
reformed in their constitution, London has been suffered to remain, as
yet, in the enjoyment of nearly all its old usages. The city is civilly
divided into twenty-five wards, each of which has an alderman; and with
one alderman without a ward, the number of aldermen is 26. Each is
chosen for life, and acts as magistrate within his division. The freemen
of the various wards elect representatives annually to the
common-council, to the number of 206 members. The lord mayor, aldermen,
and common-council, compose the legislative body for the city. The lord
mayor is chosen by a numerous and respectable constituency, called _the
livery_, or liverymen; these are certain qualified members of trading
corporations, who, except in electing the lord mayor, sheriffs, members
of parliament, &c., do not directly interfere in city management. The
Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common-council have certain
legislative and executive duties, partly with and partly without the
immediate aid of the lord mayor. The revenue of the city corporation is
derived from sundry dues, rents, interest of bequests, fines for leases,
&c. The magistracy, police, and prisons cost about £40,000 annually; but
this is exclusive of large sums disbursed by the court of aldermen. The
lord mayor is elected annually, on the 29th of September, from among the
body of aldermen. The livery send a list of two candidates to the court
of aldermen, and one of these, generally the senior, is chosen by them.
He enters office, with much pomp, on the 9th of November, which is hence
called Lord Mayor’s Day. The procession through the streets on this
occasion attracts citizens as well as strangers. The advocate and legal
adviser of the corporation is an official with the title of Recorder.
The lord mayor and corporation exercise a jurisdiction over Southwark and
other precincts. Westminster, which is not connected in civic matters
with London Proper, is under the jurisdiction of a high-bailiff. The
city returns 4 members to Parliament, besides the 16 returned by
Westminster, Southwark, Marylebone, Tower Hamlets, Finsbury, Lambeth,
Chelsea, and Greenwich.
In 1829, the old mode of protection by _Watchmen_ was abolished in all
parts of the metropolis except the city, and a new _Police Force_
established by Act of Parliament. This has been a highly successful and
beneficial improvement. The new police is under the management of
commissioners, who are in direct communication with the Secretary of
State for the Home Department; under the commissioners are
superintendents, inspectors, sergeants, and constables. The district
under their care includes the whole metropolis and environs, with the
exception of the city, grouped into 21 divisions, each denoted by a
letter. The constables wear a blue uniform, and are on duty at all times
of the day and night. Three-fourths of the expenses are paid out of the
parish rates, but limited to an assessment of 8d. per pound on the
rental; the remainder is contributed from the public purse. The
corporation have since established a Police Force for the city on the
model of that above mentioned. In addition to two Police Offices for the
city, at the Mansion House and Guildhall, there are eleven for the
remaining parts of the metropolis,—viz., Bow Street, Clerkenwell, Great
Marlborough Street, Thames, Worship Street, Southwark, Marylebone,
Westminster, Lambeth, Greenwich and Woolwich, and Hammersmith and
Wandsworth. The Thames Police have a peculiar jurisdiction over the
river. In 1836, a horse patrol was added to the Bow Street
establishment, consisting of inspectors and patrols, whose sphere of
action is the less frequented roads around the metropolis. With all
these means of preserving the peace and preventing crime, the metropolis
is now one of the most orderly cities in the world; and provided
strangers do not seek the haunts of vice, but pursue their way steadily,
they run little or no risk of molestation. The number of metropolitan
police in 1872 was about 9,000; of city police, 700—including, in both
cases, superintendents, inspectors, &c., &c. The commissioner of
metropolitan police is Lieutenant-Colonel E. Y. W. Henderson, C.B., 4
Whitehall Place, S.W.; the commissioner of city police is Colonel James
Fraser, C.B., 26 Old Jewry, E.C.
The _Drainage_ of London was a matter barely understood at all, and in no
wholesome sense practised, till some time after the Board of Works was
formed, in 1855, when their best efforts to check a rapidly growing
evil—viz., the casting of London’s poisonous sewage into the Thames at
our very doors—were called into play. The estimated cost of one of the
most colossal schemes of modern times was, at its outset, put down at
something over three millions; and when the vast plan for main drainage
was commenced, in 1859, a sanitary revolution began. A far greater sum,
however, must be expended ere the idea is wholly carried out. It is
obviously out of our power, in our limited space, to do anything more
than give the reader a mere rough notion of the good to be done and the
difficulties to be overcome. The plan was to construct some 70 odd miles
of gigantic sewers on either side of the Thames. The north side of the
river has three different lines of sewers, which meet at the river Lea,
and thereafter go along, in one huge embankment, to Barking Creek, on the
Thames, 14 miles below London Bridge. With certain differences, the
sewage of the south side of the Thames is amenable to the same kind of
treatment. By some returns, furnished in June, 1870, by the engineer of
the Metropolitan Board of Works, it appears that the average daily
quantity of sewage pumped into the river Thames at Crossness was 170,934
cubic metres, and at Barking 152,808 cubic metres—equivalent to about as
many tons by weight. That quantity, of course, will every year, as
London grows, increase. As the sewers on the north side of the river get
more near to the sea, they can be seen. The south side sewers are nearly
all out of sight. As the tide flows, the filth of London, by their
means, is poured into the water. As it ebbs, the sewage is carried out
to sea. Powerful steam-engines, for pumping up sewage from low levels,
are used as they are required. The clerk of the Metropolitan Board of
Works, who may be seen at Spring Gardens, Charing Cross, will, we should
fancy, oblige any gentleman with engineering proclivities with an order
to view what has already been accomplished by marvellous ability and
enterprise,—whose results can in no fair sense gain anything like fair
appreciation without personal inspection.
London is _Lighted_ by sundry joint-stock gas companies; the parishes
contract with them for street lights, and individuals for the house and
shop lights. Gas was first introduced into London, in Golden Lane, in
1807; in Pall Mall in 1809; and generally through London in 1814. There
are something like 2,500 miles of gas-pipes in and about London.
The first of the public _Baths_ and _Wash-houses_ was established near
the London Docks in 1844. The number, of course, has vastly increased.
Many of them are maintained by the parish authorities, and are very
cheap.
The first public _Drinking Fountain_ in London was erected, near St.
Sepulchre’s Church, close to Newgate, in 1859. There are now nearly 200
such fountains and troughs for animals in London.
In 1833, by an agreement among the Fire Insurance offices, there was
established a regular fire-suppression police, or _Fire Brigade_,
consisting of a superintendent, foremen, engineers, sub-engineers, and
firemen; numerous engines are in constant readiness at fifty-four
different stations. (The brigade is now placed under public control,
supported by a house-rate.) The fires in London exceed 1,500 annually,
on an average.
Mansion House.—This is a tall square mass of dark stone building, nearly
opposite the Bank and the Royal Exchange, with a portico of six
Corinthian columns in front, resting on a low rustic basement. This
edifice, which extends a considerable depth behind, is the official
residence of the Lord Mayor of London, provided by the city corporation.
Besides an extensive suite of domestic apartments, it contains a number
of state-rooms, in which company is received and entertained. The chief
of these rooms are the Egyptian hall and the ball-room, which have a
grand appearance. Some fine sculptures by British artists—the best of
which are Foley’s ‘Caractacus and Egeria,’ and Bailey’s ‘Genius and the
Morning Star’—have recently been added; the corporation having voted a
sum of money for this purpose. The lord mayor’s annual stipend is £5,997
8s. 4d., with certain allowances, we believe, not stated; and in the
Mansion House he has the use of a superb collection of plate: he is
likewise allowed the use of a state-coach, &c. Every lord mayor,
however, expends more than this sum during his year of office in grand
banquets.
Guildhall.—This may be regarded as the _Town-hall_, or what the French
would call the _Hotel de Ville_, of London; where are held meetings of
the livery to elect members of parliament, lord mayor, sheriffs, and
others, and where the grandest civic entertainments are given. It is
situated at the end of King Street, Cheapside. The building is old, but
received a new front, in a strange kind of Gothic, in 1789. The interior
of the grand hall is 153 feet long, 48 feet broad, and 55 feet high; it
is one of the largest rooms in London, and can accommodate about 3,500
persons at dinner. Two clumsy colossal figures, called Gog and Magog,
the history of which has never clearly been made out, are placed at the
west end of the hall. Around it are some fine marble monuments to Lord
Mayor Beckford, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Chatham,
and his son, William Pitt. Note the stained glass with the armorial
bearings of the twelve great city companies; also observe, in the passage
leading to the common-council chamber, the portrait of General Sir W. F.
Williams, the heroic defender of Kars in 1855. At the top of the council
chamber will be seen Chantrey’s statue of George III.; a picture of the
siege of Gibraltar, by Copley; and Northcote’s ‘Wat Tyler slain by Lord
Mayor Walworth,’ with other pictures and portraits. Near by are several
offices for corporate and law courts. The _Library_ contains many
valuable antiquities, books, coins, pottery, &c., and some interesting
autographs. Note that of Shakespere, on a deed of purchase of a house in
Blackfriars. The _Crypt_ is a curious underground vault. On Lord
Mayor’s Day the grand dinner usually costs about £2,200. On the 18th
June, 1814, when the Allied Sovereigns dined here, the gold plate was
valued at £200,000.
The Monument.—This may be regarded as a corporate structure, although it
answers no useful purpose. It is a fluted Doric column, situated in a
small space of ground adjoining the southern extremity of King William
Street, on the descent to Lower Thames Street. It was begun in 1671, and
finished in 1677, at a cost of about £14,500, in commemoration of the
Great Fire of London, which began at the distance of 202 feet eastward
from the spot, in 1666; and its height has on that account (so we are
told) been made 202 feet. It is a handsome column, with a gilt finial
intended to represent flames of fire. Visitors are allowed to ascend by
a winding stair of 345 steps to the top; fee, 3d. No better place can be
chosen from which to view the river, the shipping, and the city
generally.
The Royal Exchange.—This is a handsome quadrangular building on the north
side of Cornhill, having in the centre an open court with colonnades.
The chief entrance faces an open paved space on the west, on which is
placed an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. The building was
erected from plans by Mr. Tite, and was opened in 1844; it occupies the
site of the former Exchange, which was accidentally destroyed by fire.
The pediment contains sculptures by Sir R. Westmacott, R.A. The lower
part of the exterior is laid out as shops, which greatly injure the
architectural effect; the upper rooms are occupied as public offices, one
of which is _Lloyd’s_, or, more properly, _Lloyd’s Subscription Rooms_,
where merchants, shipowners, shippers, and underwriters congregate. A
statue of the Queen is in the centre of the quadrangular area. The busy
time on ’Change is from 3 till 4 o’clock, Tuesday and Friday being the
principal days.
THE TEMPLE; INNS OF COURT; COURTS OF JUSTICE; PRISONS.
The buildings noticed in this section belong partly to the crown, partly
to the corporation of London, and partly to other bodies.
The Temple.—Contiguous to the south side of Fleet Street is a most
extensive series of buildings, comprising several squares and rows,
called the _Temple_; belonging to the members of two societies, the
_Inner_ and _Middle Temple_, consisting of benchers, barristers, and
students. This famous old place, taken in its completeness, was, in
1184, the metropolitan residence of the Knights Templars, who held it
until their downfall in 1313; soon afterwards it was occupied by students
of the law; and in 1608 James I. presented the entire group of structures
to the benchers of the two societies, who have ever since been the
absolute owners. The entrance to Inner Temple, from Fleet Street,
consists of nothing more than a mere gateway; the entrance to Middle
Temple was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. _Middle Temple Hall_, 100
feet long, 42 wide, and 47 high, is considered to have one of the finest
Elizabethan roofs in London. A group of chambers, called _Paper
Buildings_, built near the river, is a good example of revived
Elizabethan. A new _Inner Temple Hall_ was formally opened, in 1870, by
the Princess Louise. In October, 1861, when the Prince of Wales was
elected a bencher of the Middle Temple, a new _Library_ was formally
opened, which had been constructed at a cost of £13,000; it is a
beautiful ornament to the place, as seen from the river. The _Temple
Church_, a few yards only down from Fleet Street, is one of the most
interesting churches in London. All the main parts of the structure are
as old as the time of the Knights Templars; but the munificent sum of
£70,000 was spent, about twenty years ago, in restoring and adorning it.
There are two portions, the _Round Church_ and the _Choir_, the one
nearly 700 years old, and the other more than 600. The monumental
effigies, the original sculptured heads in the Round Church, the
triforium, and the fittings of the Choir, are all worthy of attention.
The north side of the church has recently been laid open by the removal
of adjoining buildings; and in their place some handsome chambers are
erected. Hard by, in the churchyard, is the grave of Oliver Goldsmith,
who died in chambers (since pulled down) in Brick Court. The Sunday
services are very fine, and always attract many strangers. The _Temple
Gardens_, fronting the river, are probably the best in the city.
_Lincoln’s Inn_ was once the property of the De Lacie, Earl of Lincoln.
It became an Inn of Court in 1310. The fine new hall—worth seeing—was
opened in 1845. The Chapel was built in 1621–3, by Inigo Jones. He also
laid out the large garden in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, close by, in 1620.
Lord William Russell was beheaded here in 1683. In Lincoln’s Inn are the
Chancery and Equity Courts.
_Graves Inn_, nearly opposite the north end of Chancery Lane, once
belonged to the Lords Gray of Wilton. It was founded in 1357. Most of
its buildings—except its hall, with black oak roof—are of comparatively
modern date. In Gray’s Inn lived the great Lord Bacon, a tree planted by
whom, in the quaint old garden of the Inn, can yet be seen propped up by
iron stays. Charles the First, when Prince Charles, was an honorary
member of Gray’s Inn, and Bradshaw, who tried him, was one of its
benchers.
_Sergeant’s Inn_, Chancery Lane, is what its name denotes—the Inn of the
sergeants-at-law. _Sergeants Inn_, Fleet Street, is let out in chambers
to barristers, solicitors, and the general public. The last remark
applies to the other small Inns of Chancery in and about Holborn and
Fleet Street.
Till the new _Law_ Courts are erected in Central Strand, London has no
Courts of Law well built or convenient. The _Westminster Courts_ are
little better than wooden sheds. So are the _Lincoln’s Inn Courts_. But
they still are worth a visit. At the _Old Bailey_, near Newgate, is the
_Central Criminal Court_, for the trial of prisoners accused of crimes
committed within ten miles of St. Paul’s. Nominally, this court is free;
but practically, a small _douceur_ is always extorted by the ushers for a
place. In the other courts this practice of ‘tipping’ is less common.
The _Bankruptcy Court_, in Basinghall Street, the _Clerkenwell Sessions
House_, the _County Courts_, and the _Police Courts_, are other
establishments connected with the administration of justice; but the
business of the first will shortly be transferred westward.
The Record Office.—Connected in some degree with the Courts of Law and
Equity, is the _New Record Office_, Fetter Lane, where is deposited a
vast body of unprinted documents belonging to the state, of priceless
value, including the far-famed _Doomsday Book_; they having been
previously scattered in various buildings about the metropolis. Apply to
the deputy-keeper for an order to inspect any but state papers of later
date than 1688, for which the Home Secretary’s special order is
requisite.
Prisons.—_Newgate_, the chief criminal prison for the city and county, in
the Old Bailey, was a prison in the _new gate_ of the city as early as
1218. Two centuries after it was re-built, and in the Great Fire (1666)
burnt down. It was re-constructed in 1778–80; its interior burnt in the
Gordon ‘No Popery’ riots in 1780; and its interior again re-constructed
in 1857. Debtors are no longer confined here; the few who come under the
new law—which has almost abolished imprisonment for debt—being sent to
_Holloway Prison_ under the new law. Till public executions were
abolished, criminals came out for execution in the middle of the Old
Bailey, through the small iron door over which is suspended a grim
festoon of fetters. They are now hanged privately inside the jail. The
condemned cells are on the north-east side of Newgate. To view the
prison, apply to the sheriff or the lord mayor. The chief debtors’
prison _was_ the _Queen’s Bench_, in Southwark. It is now a _Military
Prison_. The _City Prison_, Holloway, a castellated structure, was built
in 1855, as a substitute for other and overcrowded jails in London.
Other prisons are the _House of Correction_, Cold Bath Fields, capable of
holding 1,200 prisoners; the _House of Correction_, at Wandsworth; the
_House of Correction_, Westminster; _Millbank Penitentiary_, near the
Middlesex end of Vauxhall Bridge, which could, if wanted, hold 1,200
prisoners, and cost £500,000; _Pentonville Model Prison_; _Female
Prison_, Brixton; _Surrey County Jail_, Horsemonger Lane, on the top of
which the infamous Mannings were hanged in 1849; and the _House of
Detention_, Clerkenwell, which the Fenians tried to blow up. The last
prison is for persons not convicted.
BANKS; INSURANCE OFFICES; STOCK EXCHANGE; CITY COMPANIES.
Bank of England.—This large establishment is situated north of the Royal
Exchange; the narrow thoroughfare between being _Threadneedle Street_, in
which is the principal front. This is unquestionably the greatest bank
in the world. The present structure was mostly the work of Sir John
Soane, at various periods between 1788 and 1829. About 1,000 clerks,
messengers, &c., are employed here, at salaries varying from £50 to
£1,200 per annum. The buildings of the Bank are low, but remarkable in
appearance. In the centre is the principal entrance, which conducts to
an inner open court, and thence to the main building. The Dividend and
Transfer Offices, with which fund-holders are most concerned, lie in the
eastern part of the building. Thus far the place is freely open to
visitors. The whole buildings and courts include an area of about eight
acres. The teller’s room shews a scene of great activity—clerks counting
and weighing gold and silver, porters going to and fro, and crowds of
tradesmen and others negotiating business at the counters. The other and
more private parts of the Bank can be seen only by an order from a
director. The most interesting departments are the bullion-office, in a
vaulted chamber beneath—where there commonly are some 14 to 17 millions
in bullion, as a reserve—entering from one of the many open courts; the
treasury; the apartments in which the notes of the Bank are printed; and
the weighing-office, where coin-balances of exquisite construction are
used. In the printing department there is a large steam-engine, which
moves printing-machines, plate-presses, and other mechanism—the whole
being in beautiful order, and forming a very interesting sight. The Bank
is guarded at night by its own watchmen, and a detachment of Foot Guards.
Joint-Stock and Private Banks.—Some of the handsomest modern buildings in
London are those belonging to the Banking Companies. The _London and
Westminster_, the _London Joint-Stock_, the _Union_, the _City_, the
_Australian_, and numerous other Companies, have two or more
establishments each, some as many as half-a-dozen—the head bank always
being in the busy centre of trade, the ‘City.’ Some of these are elegant
structures; and all are planned with great skill in reference to interior
arrangements. The private bankers, such as Glyn, Barclays, Lubbocks,
Coutts, &c., rival the companies in the architectural character of their
banks; and some of their establishments, such as Child’s, near Temple
Bar, are curious old places. Many have lately been rebuilt in a
substantial and handsome style.
Insurance Offices.—These form another extensive group, which has conduced
much to the improved street appearance of modern London. All the best
conducted Life and Fire Insurance Companies are wealthy; and they have
devoted part of their wealth to the construction of commodious and often
elegant offices. The _County_, the _Royal Exchange_, the _Sun_, the
_Phœnix_, the _Amicable_, the _Equitable_, the _Imperial_, are among the
most noted of these insurance offices. The chief buildings are within a
small circle, of which the Royal Exchange is the centre; another group is
about Fleet Street and Blackfriars; and a western group lies in and near
the Regent Street line.
Stock Exchange.—This building, of which scarcely anything can be seen on
the outside, lies up a paved passage called Capel Court, in Bartholomew
Lane, on the east side of the Bank of England. Dealers and brokers in
the public funds, and in all kinds of joint-stock shares and debentures,
meet and transact business here. They buy and sell, not only for
themselves, but for the public generally; and the amount of business
transacted every day is enormous. The establishment is maintained by
about 900 members, who pay £10 a-year each. They endeavour to enforce
strict honesty in each other’s dealings; but they sedulously refuse to
allow a stranger even to pass the threshold of their Temple of Wealth.
Various Commercial Buildings.—A stranger has only to look at a detailed
map or a directory, to see how numerous are the buildings, especially in
the city, applied in various ways to commerce and trading on a large
scale. The _Trinity House_ on _Tower Hill_; the chambers of the building
that was once the _South Sea House_, near Leadenhall Street; those of the
large but irregular structure called _Gresham House_, in Bishopsgate
Street—are all worthy of a glance, some for their architectural
character, and all for the importance of the work transacted in them.
The _East India House_, in Leadenhall Street, has been pulled down;
commercial chambers in great number, and let at enormous rentals, have
been built on the site.
City Companies.—In nothing is the past history of the metropolis, the
memory of _Old_ London, kept alive in a more remarkable way than by the
_City Companies_, or _Trading Guilds_, which are still very numerous.
All were established with a good purpose, and all rendered service in
their day; but at the present time few have any important duties to
fulfil. The age for such things is nearly past; but the companies have
revenues which none but themselves can touch; and out of these revenues
many excellent charities are supported. Several of the companies have
halls of great architectural beauty, or curious on account of their
antiquity. Twelve, from their wealth and importance, are called the
_Great_ Companies; and all of these have halls worthy of note. They are
the _Mercers’_, _Drapers’_, _Fishmongers’_, _Goldsmiths’_, _Skinners’_,
_Merchant Taylors’_, _Haberdashers’_, _Salters’_, _Ironmongers’_,
_Vintners’_, _Grocers’_, and _Clothworkers’_. Every year banquets are
given in the halls of these great companies—often under such
circumstances as to give political importance to them. _Mercers’ Hall_,
on the north side of Cheapside, has a richly ornamental entrance.
_Grocers’ Hall_, in the Poultry, is remarkable rather for the age of the
company (more than 500 years) than for the beauty of the building; it is
interesting to note that the Long Parliament was entertained at
city-dinners in this hall. _Drapers’ Hall_, in Throgmorton Street, built
in 1667, replaced a structure which had belonged to Thomas Cromwell, Earl
of Essex, in the time of Henry VIII., and which was destroyed by the
Great Fire. _Fishmongers’ Hall_, the most majestic of the whole, stands
at the northern end of London Bridge, on the west side; it was built in
1831, as part of the improvements consequent on the opening of New London
Bridge, on a site that had been occupied by an older hall since the time
of the Great Fire. _Goldsmiths’ Hall_, just behind the General
Post-Office, is too closely hemmed in with other buildings to be seen
well; it is one of Mr. Hardwick’s best productions, and was finished by
him in 1835, on the site of an older hall. _Skinners’ Hall_, Dowgate
Hill, was built (like so many others of the city halls) just after the
Great Fire in 1666; but was newly fronted in 1808. _Merchant Taylors’
Hall_, Threadneedle Street, is the largest of the city halls. It was
rebuilt after the Great Fire, and has long been celebrated for the
political banquets occasionally given there—this being considered the
leading Tory Company, and the Fishmongers’ the leading Whig Company.
_Haberdashers’ Hall_, near Goldsmiths’ Hall, is quite modern; the present
building having been constructed in 1855. _Salters’ Hall_, St. Swithen’s
Lane, was rebuilt in 1827. _Ironmongers’ Hall_, Fenchurch Street, was
erected in 1748, on the site of an older structure; the banqueting-room
was remodelled a few years ago with great richness. In 1861 this company
held an _Exhibition of Art_, notable for the rarity and beauty of the
objects collected; it was the first thing of the kind organized among
these companies, and was in all respects creditable to those who planned
and managed it. _Vintners’ Hall_, Upper Thames Street, is small and
unpretentious. _Clothworkers’ Hall_, Mincing Lane, is an elegant Italian
Renaissance edifice, erected in 1858, from the designs of Mr. Angell.
Among the minor halls are the _Apothecaries’_, Blackfriars;
_Stationers’_, behind Ludgate Hill; _Armourers’_, Coleman Street; _Barber
Surgeons’_, Monkwell Street, (which contains some fine paintings;)
_Weavers’_, Basinghall Street; _Saddlers’_, Cheapside; and _Paper
Stainers’_, Little Trinity Lane. At the last-named hall an interesting
exhibition of specimens of decorative painting was held in 1864. The
city companies are about eighty altogether. Some, which tell most
singularly of past times, and of the difference between the past and the
present, are the _Cooks’_, the _Bowyers’_, the _Fletchers’_, the
_Woolmen’s_, the _Scriveners’_, the _Broderers’_, the _Horners’_, the
_Loriners’_, the _Spectacle Makers’_, the _Felt Makers’_, the _Patten
Makers’_, the _Parish Clerks’_, and the _Fan Makers’_ companies. All
these, except the _Spectacle Makers’_ and the _Parish Clerks’_, have now
no halls. Eight others, formerly existing, have become extinct. The
only three which are actually trading companies at the present day are
the _Goldsmiths’_, the _Apothecaries’_, and the _Stationers’_. The
Goldsmiths’ company assay all the gold and silver plate manufactured in
the metropolis, stamp it with the ‘Hall-mark,’ and collect the excise
duty upon it for the Government; the Apothecaries’ sell medicines, and
have a certain jurisdiction in relation to medical practice; the
Stationers’ publish almanacs, and register all copyright books.
THE RIVER; DOCKS; THAMES TUNNEL; BRIDGES; PIERS.
We shall next describe certain features connected with traffic _on_,
_under_, and _over_ the Thames.
The River and its Shipping.—The Thames stream rises in the interior of
the country, at the distance of 138 miles above London, and enters the
sea on the east coast about sixty miles below it. It comes flowing
between low, fertile, and village-clad banks, out of a richly ornamented
country on the west; and, arriving at the outmost suburbs of the
metropolis, it pursues a winding course, between banks thickly lined with
dwelling-houses, warehouses, manufactories, and wharfs, for a space of
several miles, its breadth being here from an eighth to a-third of a
mile. The tides affect it for fifteen or sixteen miles above the city;
but the salt water comes no farther than Gravesend, or perhaps
Greenhithe. However, such is the volume and depth of water, that vessels
of great magnitude can sail or steam up to London. Most unfortunately,
the beauty of this noble stream is much hidden from the spectator, there
being very few quays or promenades along its banks. With the exception
of the summit of St. Paul’s or the Monument, and the Custom House quay,
the only good points for viewing the river are the bridges, which cross
it at convenient distances, and by their length convey an accurate idea
of the breadth of the channel. Formerly there were many light and
fanciful boats for hire on the Thames; but these are now greatly
superseded by small steamers, which convey crowds of passengers up and
down the river.
The part of the river between London Bridge and Blackwall, an interval of
several miles, constitutes the _Port_; and here are constantly seen lying
at anchor great numbers of vessels. The portion immediately below the
bridge is called the _Pool_, where coal-ships are usually ranged in great
number. It is curious to watch, while passing up and down the river, the
way in which coals are transferred, by labourers called _coal-whippers_,
from the ships into barges, in which they are conveyed to the wharfs of
the several coal-merchants. At wharfs between the Custom House and the
bridge lie numerous steam-vessels which ply to Greenwich, Woolwich,
Gravesend, Margate, and other places of resort down the Thames; also
steamers for continental ports. London, as has already been observed,
possesses no line of quays on the river. The trade with the ships is
carried on at wharfs jutting upon the water. The Thames is placed under
strict police regulations with respect to trade; certain places being
assigned to different classes of vessels, including those which arrive
from the Tyne, Wear, and Tees with coal, and all coasters. The trade
connected with the Port is mostly carried on in the closely built part of
the metropolis adjacent to the Thames. Almost the whole of this district
consists of narrow streets, environed by warehouses and offices, making
no external show, but in which an incalculable amount of trade is
transacted.
[Picture: Entrance West India Docks]
The Docks.—As a relief to the river, and for other reasons, there are
several very large _Docks_. The lowest or most eastern are the _Victoria
Docks_, in Essex, just beyond the river Lea. They cover an area of 200
acres, and have been the means of introducing many improvements in the
accommodation of shipping. The _hydraulic lift_ at these docks, for
raising and supporting ships during repair, is well worth looking at.
Next are the _East India Docks_, constructed in 1806; they consist of two
docks and a basin, covering 32 acres. Near these are the _West India
Docks_, the entrances to which are at Blackwall and Limehouse; in these
large _depôts_ of shipping connected with the West India and other trade
may at all times be seen some hundreds of vessels, loading or unloading
in connection with the warehouses around. The largest of these docks is
24 feet deep, 510 feet long, and 498 wide; and, with a basin, they cover
nearly 300 acres. Farther up the river, and near the Tower, in the
district called Wapping, are the _London Docks_ and _St. Katharine’s
Docks_. The London Docks consist of one enclosure to the extent of 20
acres, another of smaller dimensions, a basin, and three entrances from
the river. These are surrounded by warehouses for the reception of
bonded goods, and beneath the warehouses are vaults for bonded liquors.
The principal warehouse for the storing of tobacco in bond till it is
purchased and the duties paid, is situated close beside a special dock
called the Tobacco Dock. The Tobacco Warehouse occupies no less than
five acres of ground, and has accommodation for 24,000 hogsheads of
tobacco. The sight of this extraordinary warehouse, and of the
Wine-Vaults, is not soon to be forgotten. The vaults are arched with
brick, and extend east and west to a great distance, with diverging lines
also of great length, the whole being like the streets of an underground
town. Along the sides are ranged casks of wine to an amount apparently
without limit. There is accommodation for 65,000 pipes. These cellars
being dark, all who enter and go through them carry lights. Admission
may be had by procuring an order from a wine-merchant to taste and
examine any pipes he may have in bond: a cooper accompanies the visitor
to pierce the casks. Besides this large vault, which principally
contains port and sherry, there are other vaults for French wines, &c.
_St. Katharine’s Docks_, between the Tower and the London Docks, were
formed in 1828, on a site which required the removal of more than 1,200
houses and 13,000 inhabitants; the earth obtained by the excavation was
employed in raising the site for some of the new streets and squares of
Pimlico. There are twelve acres of water area, and about as much of
quays and warehouses. On the south of the Thames are the _Commercial_
and the _Grand Surrey Docks_, the great centre of the timber trade. The
various docks are the property of joint-stock companies, who receive
rents and dues of various kinds for their use.
Thames Tunnel.—With the view of effecting a ready communication for
wagons and other carriages, and foot-passengers, between the Surrey and
Middlesex sides of the river, at a point where, from the constant passage
of shipping, it would be inconvenient to rear a bridge, a _tunnel_ or
sub-river passage was designed by a joint-stock company. The idea of
tunnelling under the river, by the way, was not a novel one. In 1802 a
company was got up with a similar notion, Trevethick, the inventor of the
high-pressure engine, being its engineer. It came to nought; and in 1825
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Marc Isambard Brunel began his tunnel, at a point
about two miles below London Bridge, entering on the southern shore at
Rotherhithe, and issuing at Wapping on the other. The water broke in in
1827, and again in 1828, when six men perished. After all the funds were
exhausted, and the Government had advanced no less than £246,000 by way
of loan, the work, after many delays, was opened in 1843. The total,
cost was £468,000. The tunnel consisted of two archways, 1,300 feet
long, the thickness of the earth being about 15 feet between the crown of
the tunnel and the river’s bed. As a speculation—toll 1d.—it never paid.
The descent was by a deep, dirty staircase; and only one arch was open
for foot-passengers. But now that the East London Railway Company have
purchased it, a wholesome change has come. Some 40 trains are now
running backwards and forwards through it, from Wapping to Rotherhithe,
and thence to Deptford and New Cross, and _vice versâ_. And so, at last,
the once well-nigh useless scheme, which wore out Brunel’s heart, has
been, some twenty-two years after his death, made of great service to
that part of London.
The Tower Subway.—In the neighbourhood of the Tunnel a subway has been
formed, consisting of an iron tube, 7 feet in diameter, laid below the
bed of the Thames. It belongs to a Limited Liability Company. It was
commenced in February, 1869, and opened for tramway traffic on 12th
April, 1870. Being a losing speculation, the tramway cars ceased to run
on 7th December, 1870; but it was opened for foot-passengers on the 24th
of that month, and it is the intention of the Company to continue it only
as such. It is reached at each end by a spiral staircase of 96 steps.
Its whole length is 1225 feet. A charge of ½d. is made for each person
passing through this Tunnel. The Tunnel is well lighted up with gas, and
the average heat by the thermometer is 65 degrees.
[Picture: Albert Bridge, Chelsea]
Bridges.—The communication between the northern and southern sections of
the metropolis is maintained by means of various bridges. Excluding
_Albert Suspension Bridge_, (between Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, and Albert
Road, leading into Battersea Park,) commenced in 1865, and not yet open,
the number is 14—as follow: 1. _London Bridge_, built by Rennie, and
opened in 1831; it is 928 feet long, and 54 wide; it has 5 arches, of
which the centre is 152 feet span, and cost, with the approaches,
£2,000,000. This is regarded as one of the finest granite bridges in the
world. 2. _South-Eastern Railway Bridge_, to connect the London Bridge
Station with a new terminus in Cannon Street; this bridge, having five
lines of railway, is midway between London Bridge and the one next to be
named. 3. _Southwark Bridge_, by Rennie, was opened in 1819; it is of
iron, 708 feet long, with three magnificent arches, the centre one of 402
feet span; it was a toll bridge, and cost £800,000. In 1865, it was made
free, and remains so, by arrangement between the Company and the
Corporation. 4. _Blackfriars Railway Bridge_, with four lines of rail,
connects the Metropolitan Railway north of the Thames with the Chatham
and Dover Railway on the south. [Picture: Blackfriars Bridge] 5. _Old
Blackfriars Bridge_, by Mylne, was opened in 1769; it consisted of 19
arches, and was 995 feet long. The foundations, however, having become
decayed, the bridge was pulled down, and a magnificent new one, by Mr.
Cubitt, built its place. A wooden bridge of remarkable construction,
with a foot-way _over_ the carriage-way, did duty for traffic till the
opening of Mr. Cubitt’s present structure. This was formally done by the
Queen in person, November 6, 1869. The entire width of the new bridge is
75 feet, the foot-paths being 15 feet each, with a fine road between
them, 45 feet in breadth from kerb to kerb. The entire length of the
bridge, including approaches, is 1,272 feet, and its centre arch has a
span of 185 feet in the clear. It has four piers. All its iron (except
the ornamental portion, which is of cast metal) is hammered. With its
handsome polished red granite piers, Portland stone capitals, and florid
Venetian Gothic ornamentation, light-looking yet massive iron arches,
spandrils, and parapets, and its general _tout ensemble_, new Blackfriars
is, bearing all things in mind, one of the cheapest permanent bridges
thrown across the Thames. Its total cost is under £400,000. 6.
_Waterloo Bridge_, one of the most magnificent in the world, was built by
Rennie, and was opened in 1817; it is flat from end to end, 1,380 feet
long, or 2,456 with the approaches; it consists of nine beautiful arches
of 120 feet span, and cost £1,000,000; a toll of one halfpenny per
passenger yields a very poor return on this outlay. 7. _Hungerford
Suspension Bridge_ has been replaced by a fine new bridge, partly for
foot-passengers, and partly for the Charing Cross extension of the
South-Eastern Railway. 8. _Old Westminster Bridge_, opened in 1750, is
now all removed, to make way for a beautiful new bridge of iron, with
granite piers, built by Mr. Page, opened for traffic in 1862. It is
about 1,160 feet long by 85 feet wide. 9. _Lambeth Bridge_, a wire-rope
suspension bridge of economical construction, from Westminster to near
Lambeth Church, was opened in 1862. 10. _Vauxhall Bridge_, built by
Walker, was opened in 1816; it is of iron, 798 feet long, and consists of
nine equal arches. 11. _Pimlico Railway Bridge_, from Pimlico to the
commencement of Battersea Park, connects the Victoria Station with the
Brighton and other railways. 12. _Chelsea Suspension Bridge_, very near
the bridge last named, gives easy access from Chelsea to Battersea, and
is a light and elegant structure. 13. _Battersea Bridge_ is an old
wooden structure, unsightly in appearance, inconvenient to passengers
over it, and still more so to steamboats under it. 14. _West London
Extension Railway Bridge_, opened in 1863, crosses the Thames from a
point a little above Cremorne Gardens to Battersea town; it is a link to
connect various railways on the north of the river with others on the
south. _Putney Bridge_, _Hammersmith Suspension Bridge_, _Barnes Railway
Bridge_, and _Kew Bridge_, may or may not be included in this series,
according to the acceptation of the indefinite word ‘Metropolis.’
Steam-boat Piers.—If you wish to go eastward of London Bridge, on the
north side of the river, you will find steam-boats at London Bridge to
take you to Thames Tunnel Pier, Limehouse, Blackwall, and North Woolwich.
On the south side, at the Surrey end of London Bridge, you can take boat
for Rotherhithe, Commercial Docks, Greenwich, Charlton, and Woolwich. If
you wish to go westward from London Bridge, on the north side, you can
take boat thence for the following piers:—Bridge, Paul’s Wharf, Temple
Stairs, Waterloo Bridge, Hungerford Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Millbank,
Pimlico, Thames Bank, Chelsea, and Battersea; and on the south side, at
Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Stairs, Vauxhall, Battersea Park, Wandsworth,
Putney, Hammersmith Bridge, and Kew. The steamers make an amazing number
of trips each way daily, between these several piers, at intervals
varying with the season, and at fares ranging from one penny to
fourpence. For example, the fare by the _Citizen_ boats from London
Bridge to Westminster is 1d.; to Pimlico, 2d.; Chelsea and Battersea, 3d.
If you wish to go _quickly_ from Westminster Bridge to London Bridge, you
will avoid delays at piers by getting one of the penny boats which run
every ten minutes from Westminster to London Bridge, only calling at
Hungerford. Steamers for Kew, in the summer, run about every half-hour
from London Bridge, calling at intermediate up-river piers—return ticket,
1s. From Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, you can go to Kew for 4d. And on
Sundays and Mondays you can go up as far as Richmond, if the tide allow,
at half-past 10 a.m. from Hungerford—return ticket, about 1s. 6d. For
more distant journeys, such as to Erith, Gravesend, Sheerness, Southend,
&c., by excursion steam-boats. To Gravesend and back, the fare is 1s.
6d.; Sheerness and Southend and back, 2s. 6d. Boats generally leave
Hungerford Bridge for Gravesend and Erith every half-hour up to 12, and
leave London Bridge at 2 and half-past 4 p.m.; they leave Hungerford
Bridge for Southend and Sheerness at various times from half-past 8,
calling at London Bridge, returning in the afternoon or early evening.
[Picture: The Thames Embankment]
The Thames Embankment is one of the noblest works in the metropolis. As
long ago as 1666 Sir Christopher Wren advocated such a scheme. Till Mr.
Bazalgette, the engineer to the Metropolitan Board of Works, (who, by the
way, planned the main drainage,) came forward with his plans, there had
been scores of others, all over-costly and few practicable. The work was
virtually begun in 1862. Both south and north embankments are now open.
The former (or _Albert Embankment_) was opened the entire length, from
Westminster Bridge to Vauxhall, on the 1st September, 1869; the latter,
(or _Victoria Embankment_,) from Westminster Bridge to Blackfriars, in
the middle of July, 1870. What the ultimate cost will be of both these
gigantic works it is for us here impossible to tell. Already the
metropolitan public hare paid for their new Thames boulevard £1,650,000.
And now—in the case of the northern embankment, for example—let us
consider what vast difficulties have had to be surmounted. The words of
an excellent authority put the matter very concisely as follows:—“The
river had to be dammed out for some thirty-eight acres—the mud had to be
dredged out down to the London clay—the granite walls had to be built
below low-water mark; behind these the low-level sewer had to be
constructed. Over this, again, had to come the subway, and behind all
the District Railway, which runs at an average of about eighteen feet
below the surface. It is not known what materials were required for the
railway; but what was used for the Embankment is known. It was:—Granite,
650,000 cubic feet; brickwork, 80,000 cubic yards; concrete, 140,000
cubic yards; timber, (for cofferdam, &c.,) 500,000 cubic feet; caissons,
(for ditto,) 2,500 tons; earth filling, 900,000 cubic feet; excavation,
144,000 cubic feet; York paving, 90,000 superficial feet; broken granite,
50,000 yards superficial. The railway works would make these totals
still more formidable. London is now the metropolis of engineering
works, but there is no part of it in which so many and such varied and
difficult kinds centre as in the Thames Embankment. A section of it
would be a study for engineers for all time.”
The public foot-way had been open since July, 1868. It was for the
formal opening of the carriage-way that the Prince of Wales, on 13th
July, 1870, drove from Westminster Bridge to Blackfriars along the
Northern Embankment’s carriage-way. This is sixty-four feet wide, and
the foot-way on the land-side is sixteen feet wide, and that on the
river-side is twenty feet wide. Along the river-side are planted rows of
trees, which in a few years will afford an unbroken line of shade,
doubtless. As the railway works were completed sufficiently to admit of
it, this main roadway has been extended to the Mansion-House, by means of
a new street—_Queen Victoria Street_—referred to in a former page. There
is thus one broad, airy thoroughfare between the Houses of Parliament,
and the West End, and the heart of the city.
It will be obvious that though so much has been done, much yet remains to
be accomplished ere the Thames Northern Embankment is regularly
completed. The carriage-way, for the present, has only been gravelled
and macadamized. The reason is, that in newly-made rotten earth its
sinking down must be allowed for, for some time, ere it can all be paved,
like London Bridge, with “granite pitching.” Four regular approaches
into the Strand—by way of Villiers, Norfolk, Surrey, and Arundel
Streets—have been made; and there are three other ways which go from
Westminster, Whitehall, and Blackfriars; another is in progress from
Charing Cross.
Starting from the western end, the Metropolitan District Railway has
already open, along this embankment, five stations, called Westminster,
Charing Cross, Temple, Blackfriars, and Mansion House.
The wall of the Thames Northern Embankment just alluded to is, to quote
once more, “constructed generally of brickwork faced with granite, and is
carried down to a depth of 32½ feet below Trinity high-water mark, the
foundation being of Portland cement concrete. The level of the roadway
generally is four feet above Trinity high-water mark, except at the two
extremities, where it rises to Westminster and Blackfriars Bridges to an
extreme height of about 20 feet above high-water. The rising ground for
both these approaches is retained by a granite faced wall, similar in
character to the general Embankment wall.
“The face of the Embankment forms a graceful curve, having a plane face
to about mean high-water level, and being ornamented above that level
with mouldings, which are stopped at intervals of about seventy feet with
plain blocks of granite, intended to carry lamp standards of cast-iron,
and relieved on the river face by bronze lions’ heads carrying mooring
rings. The uniform line of the Embankment is broken at intervals by
massive piers of granite, flanking recesses for pontoons or landing
stages for steamboats, and at other places by stairs projecting into the
river, and intended as landing-piers for small craft. The steamboat
piers occur at Westminster, Charing Cross, and Waterloo Bridges; and
those for boats midway between Westminster and Charing Cross, and between
Charing Cross and Waterloo Bridge; and both are combined opposite Essex
Street. It is intended eventually to surmount the several blocks and
pedestals with groups of statuary.”
FOOD SUPPLY; MARKETS; BAZAARS; SHOPS.
Food Supply.—The _Quarterly Review_, on one occasion, illustrated, in a
whimsical way, the vastness of the system. The following is described as
the supply of meat, poultry, bread, and beer, for one year:—72 miles of
oxen, 10 abreast; 120 miles of sheep, do.; 7 miles of calves, do.; 9
miles of pigs, do.; 50 acres of poultry, close together; 20 miles of
hares and rabbits, 100 abreast; a pyramid of loaves of bread, 600 feet
square, and thrice the height of St. Paul’s; 1000 columns of hogsheads of
beer, each 1 mile high.
Water and Coal Supply.—The _water_ used in the metropolis is chiefly
supplied by the Thames, and by an artificial channel called the _New
River_, which enters on the north side of the metropolis. The water is
naturally good and soft. The spots at which it is raised from the Thames
used to be within the bounds of the metropolis, at no great distance from
the mouths of common sewers; but it is now obtained from parts of the
river much higher up, and undergoes a very extensive filtration. Nine
companies are concerned in the supply of water,—viz., the _New River_,
_East London_, _Southwark and Vauxhall_, _West Middlesex_, _Lambeth_,
_Chelsea_, _Grand Junction_, _Kent_, and _Hampstead Water Companies_.
Some of the works, within the last few years, constructed by these
companies, up the river, are very fine. Returns furnished to the
Registrar-General by the London Water Companies shewed that the average
daily supply of water for all purposes to the London population, during
the month of May, 1870, was 107,540,811 gallons, of which it is estimated
the supply for domestic purposes amounted to about 88,381,700 gallons, or
26 gallons per day per head of population. The metropolis is supplied
with _coal_ principally from the neighbourhood of Newcastle, but partly
also from certain inland counties; the import from the latter being by
railway. Newcastle coal is preferred. It arrives in vessels devoted
exclusively to the trade; and so many and so excessive are the duties and
profits affecting the article, that a ton of coal, which can be purchased
at Newcastle for 6s. or 7s., costs, to a consumer in London, from 22s. to
27s. The quantity of coal brought to London annually much exceeds
5,000,000 tons, of which considerably more than 2,000,000 come by
railway. The wholesale dealings in this commodity are managed chiefly at
the _Coal Exchange_, a remarkable building just opposite Billingsgate.
[Picture: Smithfield Market]
Markets.—London contains nearly 40 markets for cattle, meat, corn, coal,
hay, vegetables, fish, and other principal articles of consumption. The
meat-markets are of various kinds—one for live animals, others for
carcases in bulk, and others for the retail of meat; some, also, are for
pork, and others principally for fowls. The _New Cattle Market_,
Copenhagen Fields, near Pentonville, built, in 1854, to replace old
_Smithfield Market_, covers nearly 30 acres, and, with outbuildings,
slaughterhouses, &c., cost the City Corporation about £400,000. It is
the finest live stock market in the kingdom. The present _Smithfield
Market_, near the Holborn Viaduct, for dead meat and poultry, is a
splendid building, 625 feet long, 240 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Wide
roads on its north, east, and west sides, accommodate its special
traffic. A carriage road runs right through it from north to south, with
spacious and well ventilating avenues radiating from it. There are in
this market no less than 100,000 feet of available space. It has cost
upwards of £180,000 already. There are underground communication with
several railways, to bring in, right under the market, meat and poultry
from the country, and meat from the slaughterhouses of the Copenhagen
Fields Cattle Market. _Newgate Market_, as a market, no longer exists.
_Leadenhall Market_ is a _depôt_ for meat and poultry. At Whitechapel
there is a meat market also. The minor meat markets require no special
note here. _Billingsgate_, the principal fish market of London, near the
Custom House, was greatly extended and improved in 1849. It is well
worth visiting any morning throughout the year, save Sunday, at five
o’clock. Ladies, however, will not care to encounter its noise, bustle,
and unsavoury odours. The fish arriving in steamers, smacks, and boats
from the coast or more distant seas, are consigned to salesmen who,
during the early market hours, deal extensively with the retail
fishmongers from all parts of London. The inferior fish are bought by
the costermongers, or street-dealers. When particular fish are in a
prime state, or very scarce, there are wealthy persons who will pay
enormously for the rarity; hence a struggle between the boats to reach
the market early. At times, so many boats come laden with the same kind
of fish as to produce a glut; and instead of being sold at a high price,
as is usually the case, the fish are then retailed for a mere trifle.
Fish is now brought largely to London by railway, from various ports on
the east and south coasts. The yearly sale of fish at Billingsgate has
been estimated at so high a sum as £2,000,000.
_Covent Garden Market_ (connected by Southampton Street with the Strand)
is the great vegetable, fruit, and flower market. This spot, which is
exceedingly central to the metropolis, was once the garden to the abbey
and convent of Westminster: hence the name _Convent_ or _Covent_. At the
suppression of the religious houses in Henry VIII.’s reign, it devolved
to the Crown. Edward VI. gave it to the Duke of Somerset; on his
attainder it was granted to the Earl of Bedford; and in the Russell
family it has since remained. From a design of Inigo Jones, it was
intended to have surrounded it with a colonnade; but the north and a part
of the east sides only were completed. The fruit and vegetable markets
were rebuilt in 1829–30. The west side is occupied by the parish church
of St. Paul’s, noticeable for its massive roof and portico. Butler,
author of _Hudibras_, lies in its graveyard, without a stone to mark the
spot. In 1721, however, a cenotaph was erected in his honour in
Westminster Abbey. The election of members to serve in Parliament for
the city of Westminster was held in front of this church: the hustings
for receiving the votes being temporary buildings. The south side is
occupied by a row of brick dwellings. Within the square thus enclosed
fruit and vegetables of the best quality are exposed for sale. A large
paved space surrounding the interior square is occupied by the
market-gardeners, who, as early as four or five in the morning, have
carted the produce of their grounds, and wait to dispose of it to dealers
in fruit and vegetables residing in different parts of London; any
remainder is sold to persons who have standings in the market, and they
retail it to such individuals as choose to attend to purchase in smaller
quantities. Within this paved space rows of shops are conveniently
arranged for the display of the choicest fruits of the season: the
productions of the forcing-house, and the results of horticultural skill,
appear in all their beauty. There are also conservatories, in which
every beauty of the flower-garden may be obtained, from the rare exotic
to the simplest native flower. The _Floral Hall_, close to Covent Garden
Opera House, has an entrance from the north-east corner of the market, to
which it is a sort of appendage as a Flower Market. Balls, concerts,
&c., are occasionally given here. The _Farringdon_, _Borough_,
_Portman_, _Spitalfields_, and other vegetable markets, are small
imitations of that at Covent Garden.
The cultivation of vegetables in the open ground within ten miles
surrounding London, has arrived at great perfection; and so certain is
the demand, that the whole is regularly conveyed by land or water to the
metropolis; insomuch that persons residing in the neighbourhood of those
well-arranged gardens are really less readily accommodated than the
inhabitants of the metropolis, and have no supply of vegetables but such
as have already been sent to London, and thence back to retailers in
their own locality. There are also large supplies of foreign fruit and
vegetables. The annual produce of the garden-grounds cultivated to
supply the London markets with fruit and vegetables has been estimated at
the enormous weight of 360,000 tons, or 1,000 tons _per day_.
Corn.—The greater part of the _corn_ used for bread and other purposes in
the metropolis is sold by corn-factors at the _Corn Exchange_, Mark Lane;
but the corn itself is not taken to that place. Enormous quantities of
flour are also brought in, ground at mills in the country and in foreign
parts.
Malt liquors.—The _beer_ and _ale_ consumed in the metropolis is, of
course, vast in quantity, though there are no means of determining the
amount. If, by a letter of introduction, a stranger could obtain
admission to Barclay & Perkins’s or Truman & Hanbury’s breweries, he
would there see vessels and operations astonishing for their
magnitude—bins that are filled with 2,000 quarters of malt every week;
brewing-rooms nearly as large as Westminster Hall; fermenting vessels
holding 1,500 barrels each; a beer-tank large enough to float an up-river
steamer; vats containing 100,000 gallons each; and 60,000 casks, with 200
horses to convey them in drays to the taverns of the metropolis!
Shops and Bazaars.—The better-class London retail shops, for wealth,
variety, and vast number, are among the greatest wonders of the place.
They speak for themselves. The wholesale establishments with which New
Cannon Street, Wood Street, and the south side of St. Paul’s
Churchyard—noticeably the gigantic warehouses of Messrs. Cook &
Co.—abound, if, by a letter of introduction, an order of admission can be
obtained, would strike a stranger—in spite of less external display, save
as regards size—as more wonderful still, so enormous is the amount of
their business operations, and of capital incoming and outgoing.
There are about 7,400 streets, lanes, rows, &c., in the metropolis. From
Charing Cross, within a six miles radius, there are something over 2,600
miles of streets. As regards trades generally, it is hard even to get
anything like an approximate notion of their numbers. As the _Post
Office London Directory_ says, new trades are being added to the list
every year. Thus, we are told, 57 new trades were so added in the year
1870. But to specify a few, there are, say, about 130,000 shopkeepers,
or owners of commercial establishments, who carry on more than 2,500
different trades. Loss of much of London’s shipping trade, &c., has
indeed driven hundreds of emigrants of late from our east-end waterside
neighbourhoods. But London has gone on growing all the same, and trade
with it. Among these trades are, without counting purely wholesale
dealers, about 2,847 grocers and tea dealers, 2,087 butchers, 2,461
bakers, 1,508 dairymen, &c., 2,370 greengrocers and fruiterers, more than
595 retail fishmongers, 891 cheesemongers, (this computation does not
include the small shops in poor neighbourhoods which sell almost
everything,) 2,755 tailors, (not including about 500 old-clothesmen,
wardrobe-dealers, &c.,) about 3,347 bootmakers, about 450 hatters, and so
forth. All these are master tradesmen or shopkeepers, irrespective of
workmen, foremen, shopmen, clerks, porters, apprentices, and families.
We may add, that in the pages of that very large book the _London Post
Office Directory_, no less than 52 columns and over are occupied by the
long list of London publicans.
The principal Bazaars of London are the _Soho_, _London Crystal Palace_,
(Oxford Street,) and _Baker Street_ bazaars, to which should be added the
_Burlington Arcade_, Piccadilly, and the _Lowther Arcade_, (famous for
cheap toys,) in the Strand. The once celebrated _Pantheon_, in Oxford
Street, is now a wine merchant’s stores. Many small bazaars exist.
The Bazaar system of oriental countries, in which all the dealers in one
kind of commodity are met with in one place, is not observable in London;
yet a stranger may usefully bear in mind that, probably for the
convenience both of buyers and sellers, an approach to the system is
made. For instance, _coachmakers_ congregate in considerable number in
Long Acre and Great Queen Street; _watchmakers_ and _jewellers_, in
Clerkenwell; _tanners_ and _leather-dressers_, in Bermondsey; _bird_ and
_bird-cage sellers_, in Seven Dials; _statuaries_, in the Euston Road;
_sugar-refiners_, in and near Whitechapel; _furniture-dealers_, in
Tottenham Court Road; _hat-makers_, in Bermondsey and Southwark;
_dentists_, about St. Martin’s Lane; &c. There is one bazaar, if so we
may term it, of a very remarkable character—namely, _Paternoster Row_.
This street is a continuation of Cheapside, but is not used much as a
thoroughfare, though it communicates by transverse alleys or courts with
St. Paul’s Churchyard, and, at its western extremity, by means of
Ave-Maria Lane, leads into Ludgate Hill. Paternoster Row, or ‘the Row,’
as it is familiarly termed, is a dull street, only wide enough at certain
points to permit two vehicles to pass each other, with a narrow pavement
on each side. The houses are tall and sombre in their aspect, and the
shops below have a dead look, in comparison with those in the more
animated streets. But the deadness is all on the outside. For a
considerable period this street has been the head-quarters of booksellers
and publishers, who, till the present day, continue in such numbers as to
leave little room for other tradesmen—transacting business in the
book-trade to a prodigious amount. At the western extremity of
Paternoster Row a passage leads from Amen Corner to Stationers’ Hall
Court, in which is situated Stationers’ Hall, and also several
publishing-houses.
Mudie’s Library.—While on the subject of books, we may remind the visitor
that the most remarkable _lending library_ in the world is situated in
London. _Mudie’s_, at the corner of New Oxford Street and Museum Street,
affords a striking example of what the energy of one man can accomplish.
At this vast establishment the volumes are reckoned by hundreds of
thousands; and the circulation of them, on easy terms, extends to every
part of the kingdom. The chief portion of the building is a lofty
central gallery, of considerable beauty.
CLUBS; HOTELS; INNS; CHOP-HOUSES; TAVERNS; COFFEE-HOUSES; COFFEE-SHOPS.
Club-houses.—During the last forty or fifty years new habits amongst the
upper classes have led to the establishment of a variety of
_Club-houses_—places of resort unknown to our ancestors. There are at
present, including many fifth-rate clubs, about 84 clubs in London. A
London club-house is either the property of a private person, who engages
to furnish subscribers with certain accommodation, on paying a fixed sum
as entrance-money, and a specified annual subscription; or else it
belongs to a society of gentlemen who associate for the purpose. Of the
first class, the most noted are _Brookes’s_ and _White’s_, both situated
in St. James’s Street, The second class of clubs is most numerous: the
principal among them being the _Carlton_, _Junior Carlton_, _Reform_,
_Athenæum_, _Oriental_, _Conservative_, _Travellers’_, _United
University_, _Oxford and Cambridge_, _Army and Navy_, _Guards’_, _United
Service_, _Junior United Service_, _Union_, _Arthur’s_, and _Windham_
clubs. The houses belonging to these clubs respectively are among the
finest at the West-end of London, and may easily be distinguished in and
about Pall Mall, St. James’s Street, and Waterloo Place. No member
sleeps at his club; the accommodation extends to furnishing all kinds of
refreshments, the use of a library, and an ample supply of newspapers and
periodicals in the reading-room. The real object of these institutions
is to furnish a place of resort for a select number of gentlemen, on what
are really moderate terms. The Athenæum Club, (near the York Column,)
which consists chiefly of scientific and literary men, is one of the most
important. It has 1,200 members, each of whom pays thirty guineas
entrance-money, and seven guineas yearly subscription. As in all other
clubs, members are admitted only by ballot. The expense of the house in
building was £35,000, and £5,000 for furnishing; the plate, linen, and
glass cost £2,500; library, £5,000; and the stock of wine in cellar is
usually worth about £4,000. The other principal clubs vary from nine to
thirty guineas entrance-fee, from six to eleven guineas annual
subscription, and from 600 to 1,500 members. During part of the life of
the late M. Soyer, the _kitchen_ of the Reform Club-house was one of the
sights of the West-end. The _Garrick Club_, in Garrick Street, W.C.,
consists chiefly of theatrical and literary men. The same remark applies
to the _Arundel_, in Salisbury Street, Strand. The _Whittington Club_,
in the Strand, was the humblest of its class, and bore little resemblance
to the others; it was rather a literary and scientific institution, with
a refreshment department added.
The Albany.—The _Albany_ consists of a series of chambers, or suites of
apartments, intended for ‘West-end bachelors.’ No person carrying on a
trade or commercial occupation is allowed to live within its limits.
There are two entrances, one in Piccadilly and one in Burlington Gardens.
The chambers are placed in eleven groups, denoted by letters of the
alphabet, A to L. There are about 60 suites of apartments, many of which
are occupied by peers, members of parliament, honourables and right
honourables, and naval and military officers. Canning, Byron, and
Macaulay, are named amongst those who have lived in this singular place.
Hotels and Inns.—It has been conjectured (though probably in excess of
the truth) that at all times there are 150,000 strangers residing for a
few days only in the metropolis; and to accommodate this numerous
transient population, there is a vast number of lodging and
boarding-houses, hotels, and other places of accommodation. There are
upwards of 500 better-class hotels, inns, and taverns. There are about
120 private hotels not licensed, and therefore do not keep exciseable
liquors for sale. There are about 5,200 public-houses licensed to sell
wines, spirits, and malt liquors. There are more than 1,964 beer-shops,
where malt liquors only are sold.
The fashionable hotels are situated west of Charing Cross—as, for
instance, _Claridge’s_, Brook Street, Grosvenor Square; _Fenton’s_, St.
James’s Street; _Limmer’s_, George Street, Hanover Square; the
_Clarendon_, in New Bond Street; the _Burlington_, in Old Burlington
Street; _Grillon’s_, in Albemarle Street; _Long’s_, in Bond Street; the
_Palace_, Pimlico; _Wright’s_, Dover Street; _Morley’s_, Trafalgar
Square; _Hatchett’s_, Dover Street; _Maurigy’s_, Regent Street; _Marshall
Thompson’s_, Cavendish Square; the _Albemarle_, Albemarle Street; the
_Hyde Park_, near the Marble Arch; the _Alexandra_, Hyde Park Corner; &c.
In and about Covent Garden there are several good hotels for single
gentlemen; among others, the _Cavendish_, the _Bedford_, the _New_ and
_Old Hummums_, and the _Tavistock_. One or two others, in Bridge Street,
Blackfriars, are excellent hotels. Foreign hotels of a medium class are
numerous in and about Leicester Square. Another class of hotels or inns
are those from which stage-coaches at one time ran, and which were
resorted to by commercial and other gentlemen; for example, the _Golden
Cross_, (now renovated and extended,) near Charing Cross; the _White
Horse Cellar_, Piccadilly; the _Bell and Crown_, Holborn; the _Castle and
Falcon_, Aldersgate Street; and the _Bull-in-Mouth_, (now called the
_Queen’s_,) opposite the General Post Office, in St. Martin’s-le-Grand.
These have all become comfortable middle-class hotels, with railway
booking-offices attached; but the fall of the stage-coach trade has
lessened their importance to a great extent. To these we may add certain
large inn and tavern establishments at other parts of the town—such as
the _Bridge House Hotel_, at London Bridge; the _Angel_, at Islington;
and the _Elephant and Castle_, Newington Causeway.
The almost universal defect of the older class of hotels in London is,
that they are too often private dwellings extemporized for purposes of
public accommodation—not buildings erected with the distinct object for
which they are used. Hence the London hotels, generally, are confined
and awkward in their arrangements—a huddle of apartments on different
levels, narrow passages, and the offensive odour of cookery being common.
Rarely is there anything to parallel the larger hotels of New York, or
the _Hotel du Louvre_ at Paris. The nearest approach to these foreign
establishments is found in certain hotels adjoining the railway termini,
of recent construction. These are the _Euston_ and _Victoria Hotels_,
near Euston terminus; the _Great Northern Hotel_, adjoining the King’s
Cross terminus; the _Great Western Hotel_, at the Paddington _terminus_;
_the Grosvenor Hotel_, at the Pimlico terminus; the _London Bridge
Terminus Hotel_, adjoining the Brighton Railway terminus; the fine
_South-Eastern Railway Hotel_, Cannon Street; the _Westminster Palace
Hotel_, Victoria Street, Westminster; the _Midland_, at St. Pancras; and
the _Charing Cross Railway Hotel_. At these new and extensive hotels the
accommodation is on a better footing than in the older and generally
small houses. But notwithstanding these additions, it is indisputable
that the amount of hotel accommodation is still meagre and defective.
The want of large good hotels in central situations, to give
accommodation at moderate charges, remains one of the conspicuous
deficiencies of the metropolis. The _Langham_, however, in Portland
Place, is an excellent hotel. So is the _Salisbury Hotel_, Salisbury
Square, Fleet Street. The idea of building a large hotel in the Strand,
near St. Mary’s Church, was, by-the-by, abandoned in favour of the new
_Globe Theatre_; while that handsome building, the _Inns of Court Hotel_,
in Holborn and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, has never yet been properly
finished, and is now (1873) a failure.
In and about London, we may mention, are sundry extensive and
highly-respectable taverns, which, though principally designed for
accommodating large dining and other festive gatherings, lodge gentlemen
with every comfort. Among these may be mentioned the _London Tavern_;
the _Albion_, in Aldersgate Street; several in Fleet Street, near
Blackfriars Bridge; the _Freemasons’ Tavern_, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln’s Inn Fields; and so forth. There is, besides, a class of
taverns whose chief business is supplying dinners and slight
refreshments, also the accommodation of newspapers, and which are
resorted to chiefly by commercial men. Each of these has a distinct
character. _Garraway’s_ and _Lloyd’s_, at the Royal Exchange, were once
coffee-houses, but now are associated with marine intelligence,
stock-trading, and auctions; and in Cornhill, opposite, the _North and
South American Coffee-house_ supplies American newspapers; and here also
are to be seen the captains of vessels who are preparing to sail to
different ports in the western continent and islands. At the _Jerusalem_
and _East India Coffee-house_, Cowper’s Court, Cornhill, information
relating to East India shipping and captains may be obtained. _Peele’s
__Coffee-house_, in Fleet Street, is celebrated for keeping files of
newspapers, which may be consulted; this accommodation, as respects
London papers, may also be had at some other places. Other economical
Reading-Rooms are noticed in the _Appendix_.
Chop-houses, Coffee-shops, and Dining-rooms.—The next class of houses of
this nature comprises _Chop-houses_, but also doing the business of
taverns, and resorted to chiefly by business-men—as the _Chapter_, in
Paternoster Row; the _Mitre_, the _Cock_, the _Cheshire Cheese_, and the
_Rainbow_, in Fleet Street. Many such houses are to be met with near the
Bank of England, in Cheapside, Bucklersbury, Threadneedle Street,
Bishopsgate Street, and the alleys turning out of Cornhill. The _Ship
and Turtle_, in Leadenhall Street, was a famous turtle-house; and others
are noted for some specialty.
London contains a very numerous class of _Coffee-shops_, of a much more
humble, though perhaps more useful nature, at which coffee, cocoa, tea,
bread and butter, toast, chops and steaks, bacon and eggs, and cold meat,
may be obtained at very moderate prices; a few pence will purchase a
morning or evening meal at such places; and many working-men dine there
also. There are about 1,500 houses of this class in London. There is
another class of _Eating-houses_ or _Dining-rooms_, resorted to for
dinners by large numbers of persons. _Lake’s_, _His Lordship’s Larder_,
and one or two others, in Cheapside; _Izant’s_, and several others in and
near Bucklersbury; the _Chancery Dining-rooms_, in Chancery Lane; the
_Fish Ordinary_ at the _Three Tuns_ in Billingsgate, and at _Simpson’s_
in Cheapside; and several dining-rooms in and near the Haymarket and
Rupert Street—may be reckoned among the number. A good but simple dinner
may be had at these houses for from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. At the _St.
James’s Hall Restaurant_, in Regent Street; _Blanchard’s_, Regent Street,
corner of Burlington Street; the _Albion_, Russell Street, near Drury
Lane Theatre; the _London_, Fleet Street, nearly opposite the Inner
Temple gate; _Simpson’s_, in the Strand, opposite Exeter Hall; and last,
but by no means least, at _Speirs and Pond’s Restaurant_, at Ludgate
Station of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway; a very fair dinner may
be had, at prices varying from, say, a minimum of half-a-crown up to a
greater cost, according to the state of the diner’s tastes and finances.
At the _Gaiety Restaurant_, adjoining the Gaiety Theatre, a good dinner
may be had. At Cremorne Gardens, too, there used to be a good _table
d’hôte_ for 2s. 6d.
Temperance Hotels.—There are several good houses of this character.
Among others may be named _The Waverley_, King Street, Cheapside;
_Angus’s_, Bridge Street, Blackfriars; _Anderson’s_, Theobald Road; and
_Ling’s_, South Street, Finsbury.
THEATRES, CONCERTS, AND OTHER PLACES OF AMUSEMENT.
Theatres.—There are altogether in London a large number. Of these the
following are the principal:—_Her Majesty’s Theatre_, on the western side
of the Haymarket, is the original of the two Italian Opera Houses in
London; it was built in 1790, on the site of an older theatre, burnt down
in 1867, and re-built in 1869. It is occasionally unoccupied. The
freehold of some of the boxes has been sold for as much as £8,000 each.
The Opera Season is generally from March to August; but the main
attractions and the largest audiences are from May to July. The _Royal
Italian Opera House_, occupying the site of the former Covent Garden
Theatre, was built in 1858, on the ruins of one destroyed by fire. The
building is very remarkable, both within and without. Under the
lesseeship of Mr. Gye, and the conductorship of Mr. (now Sir Michael)
Costa, operas have been produced here with a completeness scarcely
paralleled in Europe. When not required for _Italian Operas_, the
building is occupied usually by an _English Opera_ Company, or
occasionally for miscellaneous concerts. The _Floral Hall_, adjoining
this theatre, is occasionally engaged for concerts. _Drury Lane
Theatre_, the fourth on the same site, was built in 1812; its glories
live in the past, for the legitimate drama now alternates there with
entertainments of a more spectacular and melodramatic character. The
_Haymarket Theatre_, exactly opposite Her Majesty’s, was built in 1821;
under Mr. Buckstone’s management, comedy and farce are chiefly performed.
The _Adelphi Theatre_, in the Strand, near Southampton Street, was
rebuilt in 1858; it has for forty years been celebrated for melodramas,
and for the attractiveness of its comic actors. The present lessee, Mr.
Webster, has the merit of having introduced many improvements for the
comfort of the audience. The _Lyceum Theatre_, or _English Opera House_,
at the corner of Wellington Street, Strand, was built in 1834; it was
intended as an English Opera House, but its fortunes have been
fluctuating, and the performances are not of a definite kind. The
_Princess’s Theatre_, on the north side of Oxford Street, was built in
1830; after a few years of opera and miscellaneous dramas, it became the
scene of Mr. Charles Kean’s Shakspearian revivals, and now resembles most
of the other theatres. _St. James’s Theatre_, in King Street, St.
James’s, was built for Braham, the celebrated singer; it was a losing
speculation to him; and although a really beautiful theatre inside, its
managerial arrangements have been very changeable of late years. The
_Olympic Theatre_, in Wych Street, Drury Lane, is small, but well
conducted and successful. The _Strand Theatre_, near the Olympic, has
been remarkable for its burlesque extravaganzes. The _New Globe
Theatre_, Newcastle Street, Strand, and the _Gaiety_, 345 Strand, and
lastly the _Vaudeville_, (for comedy, farce, and burlesque,) near the
_Adelphi_, are all of comparatively recent erection; so are the _Court
Theatre_, near Sloane Square; the _Charing Cross Theatre_, King William
Street; the _Queen’s Theatre_, Long Acre, late _St. Martin’s Hall_; and
the _Holborn Theatre_. The _New Royalty_, or _Soho Theatre_, in Dean
Street, Soho, was once a private theatre, belonging to Miss Kelly, the
celebrated actress. The _Prince of Wales’s Theatre_, in Tottenham
Street, is the old Tottenham Theatre in a renovated and greatly improved
condition. Some of Mr. T. W. Robertson’s best comedies have been
produced here within the last few years. _Sadler’s Wells_, near the New
River Head, was at one time remarkable for the ‘real water’ displayed in
melodramas. The _Marylebone Theatre_, between Regent’s Park and the
Edgeware Road; the _Grecian_, in the City Road; the _Britannia_, at
Hoxton; the _City of London_, in Norton Folgate; the _Standard_, in
Shoreditch; and the _Pavilion_, in Whitechapel, are Theatres noticeable
for the large numbers of persons accommodated, and the lowness of the
prices of admission. On the Surrey side of the Thames are _Astley’s
Amphitheatre_, in the Westminster Road, (the Circus is now removed;) the
_Victoria Theatre_, in the Waterloo Road; and the _Surrey Theatre_, in
Blackfriars Road. The performances at these several theatres commence at
an hour varying from half-past six (some of the minors) to half-past
eight (two Opera houses) in the evening, but the most usual hour is
seven; and, as a general rule, there is half-price at a later hour in the
evening. During the run of the Christmas pantomimes there are a few
additional performances at two in the afternoon. It has recently been
estimated that 4,000 persons are employed at the London theatres, earning
daily food for probably 12,000; and that the public spend about £350,000
at those places annually.
Concerts.—The principal Concert Rooms in London are, _Exeter Hall_, _St.
James’s Hall_, _Hanover Square Rooms_, the _Music Hall_, in Store Street,
the _Floral Hall_, _Willis’ Rooms_, and the _Queen’s Concert Room_,
attached to Her Majesty’s Theatre. All these places are engaged for
single concerts; but there are also musical societies and choral bodies
which give series of concerts every year. Among these are the _Sacred
Harmonic Society_, (Exeter Hall,) the _National Choral Society_, (same
place,) the _Philharmonic Society_, (Hanover Square Rooms,) _Mr. Henry
Leslie’s Choir_, the _New Philharmonic_, (St. James’s Hall,) the _Musical
Society_, the _Musical Union_, the _Glee and Madrigal Society_, the
_Beethoven Society_, the _Monday Popular Concerts_, &c. The _Oratorio_
performances at Exeter Hall, by the Sacred Harmonic and National Choral
Societies, are considered to be the finest of the kind in Europe. There
are occasional _Handel Choral Meetings_ at the same place, under Sir
Michael Costa, supported by 1,600 singers.
Tavern Music Halls.—Numerous Rooms connected with taverns have been
opened in London, within the last few years, for musical performances.
The music is a singular compound of Italian, English, and German operatic
compositions, fairly executed, with comic songs of the most extravagant
kind; to these are added what the performers please to term ‘nigger’
dances, and athletic and rope-dancing feats—the whole accompanied by
drinking and smoking on the part of the audience. The chief among these
places are, _Canterbury Hall_, near the Westminster Road; the _Oxford_,
in Oxford Street; the _Royal Music Hall_, late _Weston’s_, in Holborn;
the _Alhambra_, in Leicester Square; the _Philharmonic_, Islington, near
the _Angel_. _Evans’_, in Covent Garden, does not as a rule admit
females, though ladies, friends of the proprietor, &c., are occasionally
allowed to look down on the proceedings from wired-in private boxes above
the line of the stage. _Evans’_ has long been honourably known for its
old English glees, catches, madrigals, &c., good supper, and gentlemanly
arrangements and audiences. The _Raglan_, the _Winchester_, the _South
London_, and others, are of plainer character. Charge, usually 6d. to
1s. Mr. Morton, the former proprietor of _Canterbury Hall_, provided a
capital gallery of pictures, (_Punch’s_ ‘Royal Academy over the Water,’)
placed freely open to the visitors to the Music Hall.
Entertainments.—There is a class of London amusements, called
_Entertainments_, which has come much into fashion within a few years.
They generally last about two hours, from eight till ten in the evening.
The late Mr. Albert Smith was one of the first to commence these
entertainments, with his ‘_Overland Route_,’ ‘_Mont Blanc_,’ and
‘_China_;’ and the names of other well known entertainers are, Mr.
Woodin, Mr. and Mrs. German Reed, Mr. John Parry, Mr. A. Sketchley, Mr.
and Mrs. Howard Paul, &c. Delineation of character, painted scenery,
descriptive sketches, singing, music, ventriloquism—some or all of these
supply the materials from which these entertainments are got up.
Sometimes the _programme_ of performances is of a less rational
character, depending on the incongruities of so-called negro melodists;
while occasionally a higher tone is adopted, as in ‘_Readings_,’ by
various persons. The principal halls or rooms in which these
entertainments are held are the _Egyptian Hall_, Piccadilly; the _Gallery
of Illustration_, Regent Street; the minor rooms at _St. James’s Hall_;
and the _Music Hall_, in Store Street. The prices of admission generally
vary from 1s. to 3s. The leading pages of the daily newspapers, and more
especially of the _Times_, will always shew which of these entertainments
are open at any particular time.
Miscellaneous Amusements.—The sources of information just mentioned will
also notify particulars of numerous other places of amusement, which need
not be separately classified. Among these are the _Polytechnic
Institution_, Regent Street, (famous for Mr. Pepper’s ‘Ghosts;’) and
_Madame Tussaud’s Waxwork_, Baker Street, Portman Square, (a favourite
exhibition with country visitors.) To all such places the charge of
admission is 1s. Among _Pleasure Gardens_, for music, dancing, tight and
slack rope performances, &c., _Cremorne Gardens_, at Chelsea, _St. Helena
Gardens_, at Rotherhithe, the _Riverside Gardens_, at North Woolwich, and
the _Surrey Gardens_, near Walworth, are the principal; _Vauxhall
Gardens_ have disappeared as places of amusement, and have been
supplanted by bricks and mortar. The so-called _Tea Gardens_ are much
more numerous, and are supported rather by the profit on the beverages
sold, than by the fee charged for admission.
A few additional particulars concerning _Free Exhibitions_, _Shilling
Exhibitions_, and Exhibitions available only by Introduction, are given
in the _Appendix_.
PARKS AND PUBLIC GROUNDS; ZOOLOGICAL, BOTANICAL, AND HORTICULTURAL
GARDENS.
Much has been done within the last few years towards adorning the
metropolis with health-giving parks and grounds freely open to the
public. The gardens of three scientific societies, gradually brought
into a very attractive state, are also accessible, though not without
payment.
St. James’s Park.—This is so called from St. James’s Palace, which partly
bounds it on the north. Originally these grounds were a marshy waste,
which was drained and otherwise improved by Henry VIII.; who also took
down an ancient hospital dedicated to St. James, and built on its site
the palace now called St. James’s. Charles II. improved the grounds by
planting the avenues of lime-trees on the north and south sides of the
park; and by forming the _Mall_, which was a hollowed, smooth, gravelled
space, half a mile long, skirted with a wooden border, for playing at
ball. The southern avenue was appropriated to aviaries; hence it derived
the appellation Birdcage Walk. The centre of the park was occupied by
canals and ponds for aquatic birds. William III. threw the park open to
the public for their recreation. Within the last thirty years the park
has been greatly improved. It is nearly a mile and a-half in
circumference, and covers about 90 acres; and the avenues form delightful
shady promenades. In the centre is a fine piece of water, interspersed
with islands, and dotted with swans and water-fowl; a bridge was built
across this water in 1857. On each side are spacious lawns, enriched
with lofty trees and flowering shrubs. The lawns are separated from the
avenues by iron railings, and at different parts are keepers’ lodges.
There are nine or ten entrances to the park, the Queen’s Guard doing duty
at each, day and night. At the east side is a large gravelled space,
called the _Parade_, on which, about ten o’clock every morning, the
body-guards required for the day are mustered—and here the regimental
bands perform for a time in fine weather. Here also guns are fired on
state occasions. At the south side of the parade is placed a huge
mortar, brought from Spain, where it was used during the Peninsular war;
it can propel a bombshell nearly four miles. At the north end of the
parade is a piece of Turkish ordnance, of great length, brought from
Alexandria, in Egypt. A little farther north from the parade is a broad
flight of steps, giving entrance to the park from Waterloo Place,
constructed by order of William IV.; these steps are surmounted by a
lofty column, commemorative of the late Duke of York, which occupies the
spot where formerly stood Carlton House, the favourite residence of
George IV. while Prince Regent. (Near here the band of the
Commissionaires plays on summer evenings.) Farther along the Mall, or
avenue, is Marlborough House; next to which is St. James’s Palace,
separated by Stafford House from the Green Park. At the western end is
Buckingham Palace; and on the southern side, Birdcage Walk, and the
Wellington Barracks. This park, all things considered, is one of the
greatest ornaments to the metropolis. The lake or water is a famous
skating-place in winter; and having been brought to a maximum and nearly
uniform depth of four feet, there is little danger of drowning by the
breakage of the ice.
The Green Park.—This park, less attractive than St. James’s, and
occupying about 60 acres, rises with a gentle slope to the north of
Buckingham Palace, and is bounded on its east side by many fine mansions
of the nobility—including those of the Duke of Sutherland, and the Earls
Spencer, Ellesmere, and Yarborough. In a north-westerly direction from
the palace is a broad road called Constitution Hill, connecting St.
James’s Park with Hyde Park Corner. On the north is the line of
terrace-like street forming the western portion of Piccadilly. The whole
of the Green Park is surrounded by iron railings, and is interesting from
its undulating grassy surface, which rises considerably on the north
side. From the highest ground there is a pleasing prospect of Buckingham
Palace, and of St. James’s Park, with its ornamental grounds and avenues
of tall trees; and behind these Westminster Abbey and the new Houses of
Parliament majestically rise, accompanied by the turrets of other
buildings. At the north-west angle of the park, where Constitution Hill
joins Piccadilly, is a triumphal arch of the reign of George IV.,
elaborately decorated, but possessing little general effect. The largest
equestrian statue in England, that of the Duke of Wellington, stands on
this arch; where it was placed in defiance of the opinion of persons of
taste, who protested against the incongruity of such an arrangement.
Across the way is the handsome entrance to Hyde Park, close to Apsley
House, the great Duke’s residence; and here, in the after-part of the
day, in fine weather, may be seen an extraordinary concourse of
foot-passengers, vehicles, and equestrians, going to and returning from
Hyde Park; also the general traffic between Piccadilly and Kensington,
Brompton, and other places in a westerly direction.
Hyde Park.—This fine open place is part of the ancient manor of Hida,
which belonged to the monastery of St. Peter, at Westminster, till Henry
VIII. appropriated it differently. Its extent is about 390 acres, part
of which is considerably elevated. The whole is intersected with noble
roads and paths, and luxuriant trees, planted singly or in groups,
presenting very diversified prospects. Near the south-east corner, the
entrance from Piccadilly, on an elevated pedestal, stands a colossal
bronze statue of Achilles, cast from the cannon taken at the battles of
Salamanca and Waterloo, weighing thirty tons, and (as the inscription
informs us) ‘erected to the Duke of Wellington and his companions in arms
by their countrywomen.’ [Picture: Knightsbridge, Albert Gate, Hyde Park,
&c. (Brompton and Kensington Roads in the distance.)] It cost £10,000,
and was the work of Sir R. Westmacott. The south-east entrance to the
park, near Apsley House, is marked by a handsome series of arches and
balustrades, from the designs of Mr. Decimus Burton. The north-east
entrance, at the end of Oxford Street, now comprises the _Marble Arch_,
removed from the front of Buckingham Palace. The other entrances, of
which there are several, are less ornate. The long sheet of water called
the _Serpentine_ enriches the scenery of Hyde Park. Near its western
extremity is a stone bridge, of five large and two smaller arches,
erected in 1826, giving access to the gardens of Kensington Palace; and
the portion of the Serpentine contained within the gardens has lately
been rendered very attractive, by the formation, at its head, of a small
Italian garden, with fountains, statuary, &c. The carriage-drive on the
northern bank of the Serpentine is called the _Ladies’ Mile_. On the
level space of Hyde Park troops of the line and volunteers are
occasionally reviewed. There is a well-stored magazine near the western
side. The broad road through the park to Kensington is denominated
Rotten Row, and is a fashionable resort for equestrians of both sexes,
but is not open to wheel-carriages. Other roads display countless
elegant equipages of wealth and fashion; while the footpaths, which are
railed off from the roads, are favourite places of resort for visitors,
who enjoy the salubrity of the air, and the gaiety of the scene, more
particularly between five and seven on a summer afternoon. There are
several entrances open from early morning till ten at night. No stage or
hackney coaches, carts, or waggons, are permitted within the gates of
Hyde Park—with the exception of a road-way, made at the time of the
International Exhibition in 1862, and since kept up, across the park,
near Kensington Gardens, for passenger-vehicles. The Serpentine is much
frequented for bathing and skating. It has been recently cleaned out,
and drained to that end; the Royal Humane Society have a receiving-house
near at hand, to aid those whose lives may be endangered. The morning
and evening hours for bathing are defined by regulations placarded in
various places. The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first of its kind, was
held in a Crystal Palace near the south-west corner of the park. The
Exhibition building of 1862 was beyond the limits of the park. The
_Albert Memorial_ is at the Kensington end of Hyde Park.
London International Exhibition.—Not far beyond Prince’s Gate, Hyde Park,
is the London International Exhibition of 1873, which opened on the 1st
May, and will continue open till the 30th September of this year. The
ground plan and the view of the building which we give will save
unnecessary expenditure of our space, which is obviously limited.
[Picture: Ground Plan] Among the many objects of interest are shewn
selected specimens as follows:—Pictures, Oil and Water Colour; Sculpture;
Decorative Furniture, Plate, Designs, Mosaics, &c.; Stained Glass;
Architecture and Models; Engravings; Lithography; Photography as a Fine
Art; Porcelain; Earthenware of all kinds; Terra-Cotta and Stoneware;
Machinery used for Pottery of all kinds; Woollen Manufactures; Carpets;
Worsted Manufactures; Machinery, in motion, used in Woollen and Worsted
Manufactures; Live Alpacas, remarkable for their hair and wool, and other
animals; Educational Works and Appliances; Scientific Inventions and
Discoveries; Horticulture. In the Royal Albert Hall musical art is
represented daily.
[Picture: London International Exhibition, 1873]
Kensington Gardens.—At the western extremity of Hyde Park lie Kensington
Gardens, a large piece of ground laid out in the ornamental park style,
interspersed with walks, and ornamented with rows and clumps of noble
trees. Besides entrances from Hyde Park, there are others from the
Knightsbridge and Bayswater Roads. Near the west end of the grounds
stands Kensington Palace. The gardens have been more than once
considerably extended, so that they now measure about two and a-half
miles in circumference. There are some beautiful gates on the south
side, which were contributed by the Coalbrook Dale Company to the Great
Exhibition of 1851. These grounds form a most delightful public
promenade during fine weather; especially on summer evenings, when one of
the Guards’ bands frequently plays near the south-east corner.
Regent’s Park.—This beautiful park is situated considerably away from the
other parks, in a northerly direction from the Marylebone Road. It
consists of a nearly circular enclosure of about 470 acres, laid out on
the approved principles of landscape gardening; its centre is enriched
with lakes, plantations, shrubberies, and beds of flowers. Many of the
Metropolitan Volunteer Rifle Corps exercise and drill in this park, in
all except the winter months. The park is surrounded by extensive ranges
of buildings, forming terraces, variously designated, and decorated with
sculpture in agreement with their respective orders of architecture:
producing an effect of much grandeur, though, in some instances, of
questionable taste. Three or four isolated mansions occupy sites within
the park. The outer drive is two miles in circuit; the inner drive is a
perfect circle, with two outlets. At Mr. Bishop’s Observatory, near this
inner circle, Mr. Hind made most of his important discoveries of
asteroids and comets. Near the south-eastern corner of the park the
_Colosseum_ stands conspicuous. It is now closed. The Zoological and
Botanical Gardens will be described presently. Some distance north of
the Colosseum are St. Katharine’s Hospital and Chapel—a very luxurious
provision for ‘six poor bachelors and six poor spinsters.’ Near the
Colosseum was the once celebrated exhibition called the _Diorama_, which
was some years ago converted into a Baptist chapel, at the cost of Sir
Morton Peto.
Primrose Hill.—This spot now deserves to be ranked among the public parks
of London. It is immediately north of the Regent’s Park. The Crown
owned part of it, and obtained the rest by purchase from Eton College.
The hill-top, the grassy slopes, and the gravelled paths are kept in
excellent order; and a stranger should not lose an opportunity of viewing
the ‘world of London’ from this spot in early morning. By permission of
the authorities, a refreshment-room has been established for visitors;
and a ‘Shakspeare Oak’ planted, April 23, 1864, which, however, “came to
grief.”
Victoria Park.—This, the only park in the east or poorer division of
London, consists of about 270 acres. Having been formed only a few
years, the trees have not yet grown to a full size; but it is gradually
becoming a pleasant spot, with flower-beds, lakes, walks, and shady
avenues. This park is especially distinguished by possessing the most
magnificent _Public Fountain_ yet constructed in the metropolis; it was
provided by the munificence of Miss Burdett Coutts, at a cost of £5,000;
the design, due to Mr. Darbyshire, is that of a Gothic structure, crowned
by a cupola 60 feet high. Being near the densely populated districts of
Bethnal Green and Mile End, the park is a great boon to the inhabitants.
It lies between those districts and Hackney, and easy access to it can be
obtained from two stations on the North London Railway—those of Hackney
and Hackney Wick, or Victoria Park. The fountain just mentioned is near
the Hackney entrance. Improved access is also opened from Whitechapel,
from Mile End, and from Bow.
Battersea Park.—This park, of about 180 acres, on which £300,000 has been
spent, lies between Vauxhall and Battersea, and is the only public park
which comes down to the Thames. Nothing can exceed the change exhibited
on this spot. Until recently it was a miserable swamp, called Battersea
Fields; now it is a fine park, interesting to look at, and healthful to
walk in. A beautiful suspension bridge, from the designs of Mr. Page,
connects this park with Chelsea, on the other side of the river; and near
it is another bridge for railway traffic.
Kennington Park.—A few years ago there was an open common at Kennington,
dirty and neglected, and mostly held in favour by such classes as those
which held the Chartist meeting in 1848. It is now a prettily laid-out
public park—small, but well kept.
Finsbury Park, Stoke Newington, near Alexandra Park, was opened in
August, 1869.
Southwark Park was opened about the same time. Though small, they are
great boons to the working classes.
Zoological Gardens.—At the northern extremity of the Regent’s Park are
the _Zoological Gardens_, the property of the Zoological Society, and
established in 1826. These gardens are very extensive; and being removed
from the dingy atmosphere, noise, and bustle of London, present an
agreeable and country-like aspect. The grounds have been disposed in
picturesque style—here a clump of shrubby trees and border of flowers,
indigenous and exotic; there a pretty miniature lake; and at intervals a
neat rustic cottage, with straw-thatched roof and honeysuckled porch.
Much of the ground, also, is occupied as green meadows, either subdivided
into small paddocks for deer and other quadrupeds, or dotted with movable
trellis-houses, the abodes of different kinds of birds which require the
refreshing exercise of walking on the green turf. Throughout the whole,
neat gravel-walks wind their serpentine course, and conduct the visitor
to the carnivora-house, reptile-house, bear-pit, monkey-house, aviaries,
aquaria, and other departments of the establishment. The collection of
animals is unquestionably the finest in England. The gardens are open
every week-day, from 9 till sunset, for the admission of visitors, who
pay 1s. each at the gate, or 6d. on Mondays. On Saturday afternoon, in
summer, one of the Guards’ bands generally plays for an hour or two. On
Sunday Fellows are admitted, and non-Fellows by a Fellow’s order.
[Picture: Zoological Gardens]
Botanical Gardens.—These are also situated in the Regent’s Park,
occupying the chief portion of the space within the inner circle. They
belong to the Botanical Society, and contain a very choice collection of
trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants generally. Admission by strangers can
only be obtained through the medium of the members, or occasionally on
the payment of rather a high fee. On the days of the principal flower
and plant shows, these gardens are especially distinguished by the
display of aristocratic fashion and beauty.
[Picture: Horticultural Gardens]
Horticultural Gardens.—These beautiful new grounds are objects of
attraction on many accounts—their merit in connection with garden
architecture, the interest attending the flower-shows there held, and the
special relation existing between the grounds and the Exhibitions at
Brompton. You can enter them by the gates in Exhibition Road and Prince
Albert Road, South Kensington. A few years ago, besides an office in
London, the society had only facilities at Chiswick for holding the great
flower-shows. The present arrangement is in all respects a superior one.
Twenty acres of land were purchased or rented from the Commissioners of
the Great Exhibition of 1851, between the Kensington and Brompton Roads;
the subscribers of the purchase-money being admitted to membership on
favourable conditions. The ground is laid out in three terraces, rising
successively in elevation, and surrounded by Italian arcades open to the
gardens. There are also cascades and waterworks. The highest terrace
has a spacious conservatory, to form a winter-garden. Mr. Sidney Smith
is the architect. The last Great Exhibition building was so planned as
to form a vast southern background to the gardens; and the latter were
spread out in all their beauty, as seen from certain points in the
former. During the summer months the gardens are open on certain
occasions to the public by paying, the days and terms being duly
advertised in the newspapers and journals. Near these gardens is the
towering _Royal Albert Hall of Science and Art_, which was formally
opened by Queen Victoria, on the 29th of March, 1871. The fact of 8,000
people attending within one building to witness the opening of it, will
shew its vast size. The sum of £200,000, up to that date, had been
expended on it. The Hall, in some sense, has been erected in memory of
the late Prince Consort, whose aspirations, during his honourable life
here, were always towards whatever tended to the moral and intellectual
culture of the people of this country. The management of the undertaking
is entrusted to the energetic attention of the scientific men to whom we
owe the South Kensington Museum.
OMNIBUSES; TRAMWAYS; CABS; RAILWAYS; STEAMERS.
Omnibuses.—Very few indeed of the regular old-fashioned coaches are now
to be seen in London. Most of the places within twenty miles of the
metropolis, on every side, are supplied with omnibuses instead. The
first omnibus was started by Mr. Shillibeer, from Paddington to the Bank,
July 4, 1829. From a return with which, by the courtesy of Colonel
Henderson, C.B., Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard,
we were kindly favoured, we gathered, that up to date of the
communication in question,—viz., 28th June, 1870,—the number of such
vehicles licensed in the Metropolitan district was 1,218. Every omnibus
and hackney carriage within the Metropolitan district and the City of
London, and the liberties thereof, has to take out a yearly license, in
full force for one year, unless revoked or suspended; and all such
licenses are to be granted by the Commissioners of Police, whose officers
are constantly inspecting these public vehicles. Generally speaking,
each _omnibus_ travels over the same route, and exactly the same number
of times, day after day, with the exception of some few of the omnibuses
which go longer journeys than the rest, and run not quite so often in
winter as in summer. Hence the former class of omnibus comes to be
associated with a particular route. It is known to the passengers by its
colour, the name of its owner, the name given to the omnibus itself, or
the places to and from which it runs, according to circumstances. The
designations given to the omnibuses, whether meaning or unmeaning in
themselves, are found to be very convenient, because they are generally
written in large conspicuous characters. This being an important matter
to strangers, we shall give a condensed list of some of the chief omnibus
routes in London in the _Appendix_.
Large omnibuses, to work on _street tramways_, after having been tried
within the last few years, having evoked angry discussion between
opponents and defenders, and having been entirely withdrawn, have now
been revived, from Brixton Church to Kennington Gate, on the Mile End and
Whitechapel Roads, City Road, Kingsland, &c., &c., and are rapidly
extending.
There are, to a male visitor, few better ways of getting a bird’s-eye
view of London than by riding outside an omnibus from one end of London
to the other, as, according to the omnibus taken, the route can be
greatly varied.
Cabs.—These convenient vehicles have completely superseded the old
pair-horse hackney-coaches in London; no vehicle of the kind being now
ever seen. There are, according to the return above quoted, 6,793 of the
modern single-horse hackney-coaches in the metropolis altogether—of two
different kinds, ‘four-wheelers’ and ‘Hansoms,’ (named after the
patentee.) The ‘four-wheelers’ are the more numerous; they have two
seats and two doors; they carry four persons, and are entirely enclosed.
The ‘Hansoms’ have two very large wheels, one seat to accommodate two
persons, and are open in front; the driver is perched up behind, and
drives his vehicle at a rapid rate.
Railways.—If omnibuses and cabs are more important than railways to
strangers while _in_ London, railways are obviously the most important of
the three when coming to or departing from London. The following are a
few particulars concerning such railways as enter the metropolis.
_London and North-Western Railway_ has its terminus just behind Euston
Square. The noble portico in front—by far the finest thing of the kind
connected with railway architecture—has been rendered ridiculous by the
alterations in the buildings behind it; for it is now at one corner of an
enclosed court, instead of being in the centre of the frontage. A new
hall leading to the booking-offices, finished in 1849, is worthy of the
great company to which it belongs; the vast dimensions, the fine statue
of George Stephenson, and the _bassi-rilievi_ by Thomas, render it an
object deserving of a visit. This station is the London terminus of a
system exceeding 1,446 miles.
The _Midland Railway_ has a magnificent terminus in the Euston Road, and
a junction with the Metropolitan line. It has already more than 800
miles open.
_Great Northern Railway_ has its terminus at King’s Cross—a building more
remarkable for novelty than for beauty. This company, a severe
competitor to some of older date, has few stations near London; but the
directness of the line of railway renders it important as an outlet to
the north. A good hotel is contiguous to the terminus. The goods’ depôt
has become famous for the vast quantity of coal brought to the
metropolis.
_Great Western Railway_ has its terminus at Paddington, where a fine new
station was built a few years ago. A style of arabesque polychrome
decoration has been adopted, not seen at other metropolitan stations.
Paddington is the head-quarters of the broad-gauge system, which extends
to Weymouth in one direction, to Truro in a second, to Milford Haven in a
third, and to Wolverhampton in a fourth; but some of the broad-gauge
lines belong to other companies; while, on the other hand, this company
has adopted the double-gauge on about 400 miles of its line. The
terminus has a splendid new hotel adjoining it.
_West London Railway_ (now better known as the _West London Extension
Railway_) can hardly be said to have an independent commercial existence.
It was an old and unsuccessful affair, till taken up by four of the great
companies, and enlarged in an important way. It now includes a railway
bridge over the Thames at Battersea; it is connected with the London and
North-Western, the Great Western, and the Metropolitan, on the north, and
with the South-Western, the Brighton, and the Chatham and Dover, on the
south. There are stations at Kensington, Chelsea, and Battersea.
_Hammersmith and City Junction Railway_ crosses the last-named line at
Shepherds’ Bush, and joins the Great Western at Kensal New Town, a mile
or two beyond Paddington.
_North and South-Western Junction Railway_ is, perhaps, valuable rather
as a link between the greater railways, than as an independent line. It
joins the North London at Camden Town, and the South-Western at Kew; and
has stations at Kentish Town, Hampstead, Finchley New Road, Edgeware
Road, Kensal Green, Acton, and Hammersmith. It establishes through
trains with other companies; and although it has no actual London
terminus of its own, it is a great convenience to the western margin of
the metropolis, for the fares are low.
_South-Western Railway_ has its terminus in the Waterloo Road, which has
been placed in connection with the London Bridge Station. The main lines
of the company extend to Portsmouth in one direction, Dorchester in
another, and Exeter in a third; while there is a multitude of
branches—from Wimbledon to Croydon, from Wimbledon to Epsom and
Leatherhead, from Wandsworth to Richmond and Windsor, from Barnes to
Hounslow, from Staines to Reading, &c. There is no good hotel whatever
near the Waterloo or Vauxhall Stations—a defect which seems to need a
remedy.
_Victoria and Crystal Palace Railway_ is a concern in which so many
companies have an interest, that it is not easy to define the ownership.
The Victoria Station, within a quarter of a mile of the Queen’s Palace,
Pimlico, is very large, but certainly not very handsome. The _Grosvenor
Hotel_, attached to it, may rank among the finest in the metropolis. The
Brighton, the Chatham and Dover, and the Great Western, are accommodated
at this station, where both the broad and narrow gauges are laid down.
The railway leads thence, to join the Brighton at Sydenham and Norwood,
by a railway-bridge across the Thames; it has stations at Battersea,
Wandsworth, Balham, Streatham, Norwood, and the Crystal Palace; and
throws off branches to meet the lines of the other three companies above
named.
_London_, _Brighton_, _and South Coast Railway_ has for its terminus a
portion of the great London Bridge Station, contiguous to which a hotel
has been constructed. It also has termini at Victoria and Kensington.
The line leads nearly due south to the sea at Brighton, and then along
the sea-coast, from Hastings in the east to Portsmouth in the west.
There are also several branches to accommodate Surrey and Sussex. Taken
altogether, this is the most remarkable _pleasure-line_ in England,—the
traffic of this kind between London and Brighton being something
marvellous.
_South-Eastern Railway_ has another portion of the large but incongruous
London Bridge Station in its possession. The seaside termini of the line
are at Margate, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover, and Hastings. The Greenwich and
North Kent branches are important feeders; while there are others of less
value. The company have spent a vast sum of money in extending their
line to the north of the Thames—by forming a city station in Cannon
Street, with a bridge over the river midway between London and Southwark
Bridges; and a West-end Station at Charing Cross, with a bridge over the
river at (what was till lately) Hungerford Market. There is also a
connection with the South-Western terminus in the Waterloo Road. The
company have been forced to pay a sum of £300,000 for St. Thomas’s
Hospital, as the only means of insuring a convenient course for this
extension—a striking instance of the stupendous scale on which railway
operations are now conducted.
_London_, _Chatham_, _and Dover Railway_ is a very costly enterprise. It
may be said to start from two junctions with the Metropolitan, has a
large station near Ludgate Hill, (involving great destruction of
property,) crosses the Thames a little eastward of Blackfriars Bridge,
and proceeds through Surrey and Kent to Sydenham, Bromley, Crays,
Sevenoaks, Chatham, Sheerness, Faversham, Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate,
Canterbury, Dover Pier, &c. It also comprises a curvilinear line from
Ludgate to Pimlico, with stations at Blackfriars, Newington, Walworth,
Camberwell, Loughborough Road, Brixton, Clapham, Wandsworth Road, and
Battersea; and a branch to Peckham, Nunhead, and the Crystal Palace.
_Blackwall Railway_, with which is associated the _Tilbury and Southend_,
has its terminus in Fenchurch Street. The station is small and
unattractive; but it accommodates a wonderful amount of passenger
traffic. The original line extended only from London to Blackwall, with
intermediate stations at Shadwell, Stepney, Limehouse, West India Docks,
and Poplar. An important branch from Stepney to Bow establishes a
connection with the Great Eastern Railway valuable to both companies. At
Stepney also begins the Tilbury and Southend line, passing through
Bromley, Barking, and numerous other places. Accommodation is provided,
a little way from the Fenchurch Street Station, for a large amount of
goods traffic. The line is now leased in perpetuity to the Great Eastern
Company.
_Great Eastern Railway_ has its terminus in Bishopsgate Street, or rather
Shoreditch, and a large depôt and station at Stratford. The Shoreditch
station is large. This terminus, however, will shortly be removed to
Broad Street, City. The lines of this company are numerous, and ramify
in many directions towards the east, north-east, and north. Its terminal
points (with those of the associated companies) at present
are—Peterborough, Hunstanton, Wells, Yarmouth, Aldborough, and Harwich;
with less distant termini at Ongar and North Woolwich.
_North London Railway_, consisting wholly of viaduct and cutting, has its
terminus at Broad Street, Finsbury. All its stations are considered to
be in London. It joins the London and North-Western near Primrose Hill,
and the Blackwall at Stepney. It has intermediate stations at Camden
Road, Caledonian Road, Islington, Cannonbury, Kingsland, Dalston,
Hackney, Victoria Park, and Bow. Trains run every quarter of an hour, in
both directions, at fares varying from 2d. to 4d.; and the number of
passengers is immense.
_Metropolitan Railway_, from Finsbury to Paddington, is a very remarkable
one, nearly all tunnel, and requiring the carriages to be constantly
lighted with gas. It runs from Westminster Bridge, _viâ_ Pimlico,
Brompton, Kensington, Notting Hill, and Bayswater, to Paddington, where
it joins the Great Western. It then goes under Praed Street and the New
Road to King’s Cross. There it joins the Great Northern, and thence goes
on to Holborn Bridge, Smithfield Dead Meat Market, and Moorgate Street.
Since the opening of the Metropolitan District Extension Railway, you can
go at present (July, 1870) from the Mansion House, under the Northern
Thames Embankment, before described, to Westminster Bridge, &c. There
are stations near the Mansion House, the terminus; at Blackfriars, the
Temple, Charing Cross, and Westminster.
_Steamers_ and _Steamboat Piers_ have been already referred to.
SHORT EXCURSIONS.
WE shall now direct the stranger’s attention to a few places of interest
easily accessible from the metropolis—beginning with those situated
westward, or up the river.
UP THE RIVER.
[Picture: Chelsea Hospital]
Chelsea.—Chelsea, once a village, is now a part of the metropolis,
Pimlico and Belgravia having supplied the intervening link. During the
last century a pleasant ramble across the fields was much in favour to
the _Chelsea bunhouse_; but no one thinks of Chelsea now, except as part
of London. Sloane Square and Street, and Hans Place, were named after
Sir Hans Sloane, who lived in that neighbourhood. The chief place of
interest at Chelsea is the _Hospital_ for retired invalid soldiers, an
institution similar to the asylum for old seamen at Greenwich. The
hospital, which is situated on a flat stretch of ground bordering the
Thames, and was planned by Sir Christopher Wren, consists chiefly of one
large edifice of red brick, several stories in height, forming a centre
and two wings, or three sides of a square, with the open side towards the
bank of the Thames. On the north, in which is the main entrance, the
style of architecture is simple, being ornamented with only a plain
portico. The inner part of the centre building is more decorated, there
being here a piazza of good proportions, forming a sheltered walk for the
veteran inmates. In the centre of the open square stands a statue, by
Grinling Gibbons, of Charles II., in whose time the hospital took its
rise. The only parts of the structure considered worthy to be shewn to
strangers are the chapel and old dining-hall, both in the central
building. The chapel is neat and plain in appearance; the rows of
benches being furnished with prayer-books and hassocks, and the floor
being paved with chequered marble. Above the communion-table is a
painting of the Ascension, by Sebastian Ricci. The dining-hall is
equally spacious, but is now disused as a refectory. In the hall and
chapel are about 100 flags, taken by British troops in various battles.
The usual number of in-pensioners is about 500, and of out-pensioners not
fewer than 60,000 to 70,000, who reside in all parts of the United
Kingdom. The former are provided with all necessaries, while the latter
have each pensions varying according to their grade. The inmates wear an
antique garb of red cloth, in which they may be seen loitering about the
neighbourhood.
Near Sloane Square is situated a large building forming the _Royal
Military Asylum_, familiarly called the _Duke of York’s School_, for the
support and education of about 500 poor children, whose fathers were
non-commissioned officers and privates in the army. Each regiment of the
British army contributes annually one day’s pay, to aid in supporting the
institution. Between Sloane Square and Chelsea Bridge is the fine new
Barracks for the Foot Guards: the only handsome barrack structure in the
metropolis.
[Picture: Star and Garter, Putney]
Chelsea to Chiswick.—_Battersea Park_, elsewhere described, is just
opposite Chelsea. Beyond the park are _Battersea_ and _Wandsworth_,
places containing very few objects of interest; and backed by _Clapham_
and _Wimbledon_, where many London merchants and tradesmen have their
private residences. Beyond Wandsworth lie _Putney_, _Barnes_, and
_Mortlake_, where the river makes a great bend towards Kew. Between
Putney and Kew many _Regattas_, or boat-races, take place during the
summer; especially the famous annual contest, from Putney to Mortlake,
between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge: these are among the
most pleasant of the up-river scenes. Omnibuses, steamboats, and the
South-Western Railway, give abundant accommodation to the places here
named. On the Middlesex side of the river, just beyond Chelsea, are
_Cremorne Gardens_. Next, we get into a region of Market-Gardens, from
which London is supplied with vast quantities of fruit and vegetables.
_Walham Green_, _Parson’s Green_, and _Fulham_, lie in the immediate
vicinity of these gardens. Strangers would find an hour or two
pleasantly spent hereabouts. The bishops of London have their palace at
Fulham, a picturesque old structure. After passing _Hammersmith_, where
there is a pretty suspension bridge, we come to _Chiswick_, noted for its
market-gardens; here is the house in which Hogarth died; and in the
churchyard is his tomb, with an inscription by David Garrick. The Duke
of Sutherland has a fine mansion at Chiswick; and near at hand are the
old gardens of the Horticultural Society.
[Picture: Palm-House, Kew Gardens]
Kew Gardens.—_Kew_ is one of the pleasantest villages near London. When
we have crossed the Thames from Brentford, by the bridge, we come upon
the green, bounded on three sides by countryfied-looking houses, and on
the fourth by the splendid gardens. The place is very easily reached—by
omnibuses from the city to the Middlesex end of the bridge; by steamers
every half-hour during summer; and by trains from the Waterloo and the
North London Stations. It may be well to remember, however, that the
so-called Kew Station is not actually at Kew. There is another, however,
near the Gardens. By far the most interesting object at Kew is the
famous _Botanic Gardens_. This is a very beautiful establishment,
maintained at the public expense. It contains a rare collection of
plants, obtained from all parts of the world, arranged and labelled in
admirable order by Dr. Dalton Hooker. The flower-beds, hot-houses, and
conservatories, are very numerous. The _great palm __house_, with its
exotics, reaching to a height of 60 feet, and constructed at a cost of
£30,000, forms a grand object. The new _temperate-house_ was constructed
from the designs of Mr. Burton; 212 feet long, 137 wide, and 60 high,
with two wings 112 feet by 62. Extensive new works have been
added—including a lake having a communication with the Thames by a tunnel
under the river-terrace, and a winter-garden, or enclosed conservatory,
more than twice as large as the palm-house. Three detached buildings
have been fitted up as a _Museum of Economic Botany_. The _Pleasure
Grounds_ form a kind of Park contiguous to the Botanic Gardens; the
gardens are 75 acres in extent, and the grounds 240 acres. This
beautiful place is freely open to the public in the afternoon, on Sundays
as well as week-days, after one o’clock.
[Picture: Richmond Bridge]
Richmond.—_Richmond_ is a village situated on the south bank of the
Thames, at about 9 miles by land from Hyde Park Corner, and 16 miles by
following the windings of the river. The most pleasant mode of
conveyance to it used to be by one of the small steamboats from
Hungerford Pier; for then an opportunity was afforded of seeing numerous
beautiful and interesting spots on both banks of the river. The river is
now, however, so shallow, that steamers can seldom reach this spot; and
the trip is usually made by railway—from the Waterloo and Vauxhall
Stations, and from all stations on the Blackwall, North London, and North
and South Western lines. Omnibuses also run very frequently from the
City and West End. Richmond stands on a slope overhanging the river.
Opposite the village is a stone bridge crossing the Thames. South from
the village, a pretty steep bank ascends to the green and bushy eminence
called _Richmond Hill_; and from the terrace on its summit a view is
obtained of the beautifully wooded country up the river, stretching away
to Windsor. Among numerous villas, ornamental grounds, and other
attractive objects, may be seen _Twickenham_, situated in the immediate
vicinity, on the left bank of the Thames. In the house for which the
present was erected as a substitute, lived Pope the poet, and his body is
entombed in the church. [Picture: Pope’s Villa] Close by Twickenham is
_Strawberry Mill_, once the seat of Horace Walpole, and now belonging to
Lady Waldegrave. Moving onwards along the brow of the eminence, and
passing the well known but expensive hotel called the _Star and Garter_,
we enter the famous _Richmond Park_, which is eight miles in
circumference, and enriched with magnificent trees. These extensive
grounds were at one time connected with a royal palace, but there is now
no such edifice—one or two hunting-lodges excepted; the park is, however,
still a domain of the Crown, and freely open to the public. Foreigners
are great admirers of this vicinity.
[Picture: Hampton Court]
Hampton Court.—_Hampton_ is about 13 miles from London by railway, and 24
by water. Trains run there very frequently, and at low fares, from
Waterloo Station. The village is unimportant, but rendered pleasant by
its large and open green. The chief object of attraction is _Hampton
Court Palace_, situated within an enclosed garden near the north bank of
the Thames. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey, and a
portion of the structure which he reared is still extant in the northern
quadrangle. Here was the scene of the humiliation and forfeiture of that
favourite of Henry VIII., who at this place often held his court, and
made it the scene of his Christmas festivities; there Edward VI. was
born; here were held the masques, mummeries, and tournaments of Philip
and Mary, and Elizabeth; here James I. held his court and famous meeting
of controversialists; here Charles I. was immured as a state prisoner,
and took leave of his children; here was celebrated the marriage of
Cromwell’s daughter and Lord Falconberg; here Charles II. sojourned
occasionally with his dissolute courtiers; here lived William and Mary
after the revolution of 1688; and here, till the reign of George II.,
royal courts were sometimes held. The palace, in external appearance, is
a lofty and magnificent structure of red brick, with stone cornices and
dressings. The older part, including the famous Great Hall, the scene of
the court masques and revels, is of the time of Henry VIII.; the eastern
part, including the public rooms and the long garden front, was built by
Wren for William III. Altogether, the edifice consists of three
quadrangles. Entering by the grand staircase, which is decorated with
paintings by Antonio Verrio, the visitor is conducted through a suite of
lofty and large apartments, furnished in an old-fashioned style. The
guard-room, which is first in order, contains, besides a series of
English admirals by Kneller and Dahl, a variety of ancient warlike
instruments. In the next apartment are portraits of various beauties of
Charles II.’s court, painted by Sir Peter Lely, who has here depicted
several lovely countenances, though a sensual character is common to them
all. In the third room, or audience-chamber, is seen what is generally
regarded as the finest painting in the palace—a portrait of Charles I. on
horseback, by Vandyck. The third room has also some good pictures; among
others, a painting of the family of Louis Cornaro, a person celebrated
for his extraordinary temperance. The picture, which is from an original
by Titian, shews Cornaro and three generations of descendants, who appear
in the act of adoration at a shrine. There are likewise portraits of
Titian and his uncle, painted by Titian himself, and a spirited
battle-piece by Giulio Romano. The fourth apartment, or Queen’s
drawing-room, is enriched with an exceedingly fine painting of Charles
I., a whole length, by Vandyck, esteemed the best likeness we have of
that monarch. There is a well known and beautiful print from it by Sir
Robert Strange, the prince of English line-engravers. In the next room,
or state bedchamber, the visitor will see a portrait of Ann Hyde,
daughter of Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, and mother of the successive queens,
Mary and Anne. The Queen’s dressing-room and writing-closet, and Queen
Mary’s state bedchamber, which follow, contain many fine pictures, by
Holbein, Sir Peter Lely, Sebastian del Piombo, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert
Durer, and others. A series known as the Beauties of the Court of
William and Mary comprises portraits (by Kneller) more staid than those
of the court of Charles II., and, it must be admitted, more tame and
dull. After having traversed these stately and silent halls, one of
which contains a valuable collection of historical portraits, the visitor
is led out through the gallery lately containing the famous Cartoons of
Raphael—which were transferred in 1865 to the South Kensington Museum.
Another room contains a fine series of Cartoons by Andrea Mantegna. The
whole of the pictures at Hampton Court are little less than 1000 in
number.
The palace garden has a _Vinery_, where there is a grape vine ninety
years old, which has sometimes yielded 3000 bunches of grapes in one
year. The garden also possesses a _Maze_, a source of great delight to
holiday juveniles. On the opposite side of the Hampton Wick Road from
the palace gardens, is _Bushy Park_, a royal domain, embellished with an
avenue of horse-chestnut trees, which present a splendid sight when in
full bloom. The palace grounds are also exceedingly beautiful. Bushy
Park is open for omnibuses and other vehicles, as well as for
pedestrians. The palace is open free every day except Friday, from 10
till 4 or 6, according to the season; and the grounds or gardens till
dusk. This is one of the very few public buildings in or near the
metropolis open on Sundays.
Windsor.—Passing over the country between Hampton and Windsor, which does
not comprise many spots interesting to strangers, we come to the famous
royal domain. _Windsor_ is situated in the county of Berks, at the
distance of 22 miles west from London by the road through Brentford; but
it may now be reached in an hour or less by the Great Western Railway
from Paddington, or the South-Western from Waterloo Bridge. Windsor
occupies a rising-ground on the south bank of the Thames, and is
interesting for its ancient and extensive castle, the grandest royal
residence in this country. The gates of the castle are close upon the
main street of the town, and lead to enclosures containing a number of
quadrangles, towers, gates, mansions, barracks, and other structures.
[Picture: Round Tower, Windsor] The principal portion of the castle
occupies two courts, an upper and lower, of spacious dimensions, and
having between them a large round tower or keep, in which the governor
resides. The top of this keep is 220 feet above the Thames, and twelve
counties can be seen from it in fine weather. In the lower court is St.
George’s Chapel, an elegant Gothic edifice, in which service is performed
on Sundays, occasionally in presence of the royal residents. Besides the
chapel and keep, the chief parts of the castle attractive to strangers
are the state apartments in the upper or northern court; these are
exhibited _free_ to visitors on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Fridays. Tickets can be obtained of Messrs. Colnaghi, 13 and 14 Pall
Mall East. The days, hours, and conditions of visiting are notified on
the tickets. The apartments here meant are the _old_ state rooms, not
those actually occupied by the Queen, her family, and retinue.
[Picture: Windsor Castle]
Outside the castle, facing the north, is the famed _terrace_, from which
a view is obtained over a most beautiful expanse of country. On another
side are the new royal stables, the finest in England, having, with the
Riding House, cost £70,000. In the gardens immediately adjoining the
Queen’s apartments, the royal family, before the death of the Prince
Consort, were wont occasionally to promenade, at an hour when the public
might see them. The _Home Park_, bounding the palace on two sides, is
not open to the public; but the _Great Park_ is freely open, to persons
on foot, on horseback, or in vehicles. The _Long Walk_ through this
park, extending 3 miles, is one of the finest things of the kind in
England.
[Picture: Eton College]
_Eton College_, with its school-rooms for 900 boys, chapel, quadrangles,
and playing-fields, lies beautifully situated opposite Windsor Castle.
A ramble from the Slough Station, near Eton, would take a visitor to the
scenes rendered memorable by Gray’s _Elegy_.
DOWN THE RIVER.
Deptford.—This was once of some importance as a shipbuilding place, a
dockyard having been established here ever since the time of Henry VIII.;
but the government establishments have recently been given up to the
victualling and store departments. Deptford may now be considered part
of the metropolis—and a very dirty part it is, containing few objects
that would interest a stranger. Peter the Great of Russia studied as a
shipwright at Deptford dockyard in 1698, to fit himself for creating a
Russian navy.
[Picture: Greenwich]
Greenwich.—This favourite place lies on the south bank of the Thames, a
little below Deptford, about six miles below London Bridge, following the
windings of the river, but only about four miles by railway, from the
London Bridge Station. It is noted for the _Trafalgar_, _Ship_, _Crown
and Sceptre_, and other taverns, where _whitebait dinners_ have become
celebrated. Diners at these places, however, will require long purses.
Greenwich is chiefly interesting, however, for its national
establishments. Towards its eastern extremity stands the _Hospital_,
which faces the Thames, and has a command of all that passes on the
river. This superb hospital consists of four edifices, unconnected with
each other, but apparently forming an entire structure, lining three
sides of an open square, the fourth side being next the water. It is
mostly built of stone, in majestic style; and along nearly the greater
part are lofty colonnades, with handsome pillars, and covered overhead,
to protect those underneath from the weather. The square interval in the
centre, which is 273 feet wide, has in the middle a statue of George II.,
by Rysbrach. A portion of these beautiful buildings was originally
planned by Inigo Jones, another portion by Sir C. Wren, and the rest by
later architects. It was William and Mary who, in the year 1694, here
established an hospital for superannuated and disabled seamen, to which
purpose the buildings were till lately devoted. The institution is
supported by the interest on £2,800,000, funded property, the rental of
estates in the north of England, and a national grant. In 1865 it
accommodated about 1300 pensioners, 150 nurses, and a variety of officers
for the government of the place. The inmates were old sailors, with
countenances well browned by tropical suns, or bleached by the tempests
of the ocean; here one hobbling on a wooden leg, there one with an empty
sleeve, and occasionally one with only one eye. Their clothes were of a
dark-blue colour, of an antiquated fashion. Their old cocked-hats had
been superseded by hats of more modern shape; the boatswains, or other
warrant-officers, being allowed a yellow trimming or lace to their
garments. An abundance of food was allowed, the clothing warm and
comfortable, the accommodations in the rooms good; and each man,
according to his rank, had from three to five shillings a-week, as an
allowance for pocket-money. The outer gateway, and the interior parts of
this establishment, were under the care of the pensioners themselves, who
shewed the utmost attention to strangers, manifesting a frankness and
good-nature characteristic of the profession of the sailor. Small sums
were taken for exhibiting some of the buildings, but the money went to
the general fund, or for the board and education of the children of
seamen. The visitor did not fail to glance into the _refectory_ and
_kitchen_, which were freely open, and see the old men at their meals.
It may seem singular thus to speak of this famous establishment in the
_past_ tense; but in truth the purpose of Greenwich Hospital is changed.
By an arrangement made in 1865, nearly all the pensioners (except sick
and decrepit) have left the building, with a greatly increased
money-allowance; most of them now living with their relations or friends.
[Picture: Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital]
One attractive part of the establishment is the _Painted Hall_, in the
west wing. It consists of a great room and one smaller, a vestibule, and
a flight of steps. The appearance of the whole interior, on entering, is
very imposing, the ceiling and one end being covered with paintings; and
although these paintings, exhibiting a mixture of fantastic heathen gods
and goddesses with royal and other portraits, are not in judicious taste,
they serve to give a good general effect to the noble apartment. Along
the walls are hung a collection of pictures, partly portraits of
celebrated navigators and admirals, and partly depicting distinguished
naval victories: each being a present to the institution by some
benefactor. A good portrait of Captain Cook, by Dance, presented by Sir
Joseph Banks, adorns the vestibule. A number of portraits, by Sir Peter
Lely, Dahl, Sir Godfrey Kneller, and others, were presented by George IV.
There are also several by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The painted ceiling of
the great room was executed by Sir James Thornhill in 1703 and subsequent
years. It is related that, in consequence of the length of time he had
to lie on his back painting the ceiling, the artist could never
afterwards sit upright. In the smaller apartment are shewn several
models of ships of war, admirably executed; the coat worn by Nelson at
the battle of the Nile; the astrolabe of Sir Francis Drake, a curious
brass instrument of antique fashion, used for nautical observation; and
some interesting relics of the ill-fated voyage of Sir John Franklin.
The Hall is open free to the public on Monday and Friday; on other days
the charge is 4d. On Sunday it may be seen after morning-service. The
_Chapel_ is also worth a visit; it contains a fine picture by Benjamin
West, the ‘Shipwreck of St. Paul;’ and monuments to two admirals, by
Chantrey and Behnes. A monument or obelisk to the memory of Lieutenant
Bellot, who perished in one of the Arctic Expeditions, has been placed on
the noble Hospital-terrace, fronting the river.
The _Park_, extending behind the hospital—open free to the public until
dusk—comprehends a considerable space of ground, nearly 200 acres, of
great natural and artificial beauty. A pathway amidst lines of tall
trees leads to a piece of rising-ground or mount, which, on holidays,
generally exhibits a mirthful scene, in which ‘running down Greenwich
hill’ plays a great part. On the summit is the _Royal Observatory_,
founded by George III. for the promotion of astronomical science, and the
scene of the labours of some men of distinguished ability. An
astronomer-royal, supported by a parliamentary grant, constantly resides
and pursues investigations in the Observatory. From this spot British
geographers measure the longitude. The collection of instruments kept
and used in this building is superb and costly; but the public are not
admitted to see them. An electric _time-ball_ falls every day at one
o’clock precisely; and an _electric clock_, a _standard barometer_, and
_standard measures of length_, (of rigorous accuracy,) are placed for
public use by the side of the entrance-gates.
Limehouse to North Woolwich.—If a stranger be willing to lay aside the
ideas of mere _pleasure_ spots, he will find much to look at and think
about in the stretch of river margin here denoted. First comes the _Isle
of Dogs_, joining Limehouse on the east. This strange horseshoe-shaped
piece of ground is almost wholly below the level of the river, the
inroads of which are only prevented by embankments. The northern neck of
the peninsula (for it is not strictly an island) is occupied by the West
India Docks; the middle portion is not much appropriated to any useful
purpose, on account of the lowness of the site; the river edge is fringed
with shipbuilding and factory establishments. The _Great Eastern_ was
here built at Messrs. Scott Russell’s works. A new church has been built
at _Cubitt Town_, the name now given to the eastern part of the Isle.
Next below the Isle of Dogs are _Poplar_ and _Blackwall_, now forming one
town—observable for the shipyard of Messrs. Green, the terminus of the
Blackwall Railway, the East India Docks, and two or three river-side
taverns where _whitebait dinners_ are much in fashion during the season.
Then comes the spot, Bow Creek, at which the River Lea enters the Thames,
so closely hemmed in by shipyards and engine-factories, that the Lea
itself can barely be seen. The great shipyard of the Thames Company,
late Messrs. Mare’s, is situated here. Next we come to the extensive and
convenient _Victoria Docks_, occupying ground which was previously mere
waste. Beyond the Docks are new centres of population gradually
springing up, called _Silvertown_ and _North Woolwich_, with large
factories and a railway station. Still farther east, near _Barking
Creek_, there may be seen the vast outfall of the great system of
drainage for the northern half of the metropolis.
Woolwich.—Taking the south side of the river instead of the north, and
availing himself of steamers or of trains, (from Charing Cross, Fenchurch
Street, or Shoreditch,) the stranger finds the next place of importance
below Greenwich to be _Woolwich_. This is a busy town in Kent, eight
miles from London by land, and ten following the course of the river.
Here, in the reign of Henry VIII., a dockyard for the construction of
vessels of the royal navy was established; and ever since that time the
place has been distinguished as an arsenal for naval and military stores.
The dockyard was closed 1st October, 1869. From the river, a view is
obtained of the arsenal, now greatly improved. The ground of the
arsenal, for nearly a mile in length, is bounded on the river side by a
stone quay, and is occupied in part by prodigious ranges of storehouses
and workshops. Among these is included a laboratory for the preparation
of cartridges, bombs, grenades, and shot; a splendid manufactory for
shells and guns; a gun-carriage factory of vast extent; and a store of
warlike material that never fails to fill a stranger with amazement.
Adjoining are barracks for artillery and marines, military hospitals, &c.
On the upper part of Woolwich Common is situated a royal military academy
for the education of young gentlemen designed for the army. Strangers
(if not foreigners) are admitted to the arsenal only by a written order
from the War Office. The number of government establishments in and near
Woolwich is very large; and there is generally something or other going
on which a stranger would be interested in seeing.
[Picture: Woolwich]
Below Woolwich.—Numerous steamers during the day, trains on the Tilbury
Railway, and others on the North Kent Railway, give easy access to a
number of pleasant places lower down the river than Woolwich. On the
Essex side are _Rainham_, near which onion gardens are kept up;
_Purfleet_, where vast stores of government gunpowder are kept; _Grays_,
where immense quantities of chalk are dug, and where copious springs of
very pure water are found in the chalk beds; and _Tilbury_, where there
is a regular fortification for the defence of the river, and a
steam-ferry over to Gravesend. [Picture: Tilbury Fort] On the Kent side
are _Plumstead Marshes_, where artillery practice by Woolwich officers is
carried on; _Crossness Point_, where the fine buildings connected with
the Southern Outfall Sewer are situated, (and near which were the great
Powder Magazines that blew up in October, 1864;) _Erith_, with its pretty
wooded heights; _Greenhithe_, where the late General Havelock passed some
of his early years, and where Alderman Harmer built a mansion with the
stones of old London Bridge; and _Northfleet_, where much shipbuilding is
carried on. Beyond Northfleet is _Gravesend_, a famous place for Cockney
picnics, but fast losing its rural character. Commercially, Gravesend is
important as being the place where the customs’ authorities recognise the
port of London to begin; all ships, incoming and outgoing, are visited by
the officers here, pilots embark and disembark, and much trade accrues to
the town in consequence.
[Picture: Gravesend Reach]
CRYSTAL PALACE, &c.
There are many pretty spots in different directions in the vicinity of
London, away from the river, worthy of a visit. On the north-west are
_Hampstead_, with its noble Heath and its charming variety of landscape
scenery; and _Harrow_, with its famous old school, associated with the
memory of Byron, Peel, and many other eminent men. To its churchyard
Byron was a frequent visitor: “There is,” he wrote to a friend in after
years, “a spot in the churchyard, near the footpath on the brow of the
hill looking towards Windsor, and a tomb (bearing the name of Peachey)
under a large tree, where I used to sit for hours and hours when a boy.”
Nearly northward are _Highgate_, with its fringe of woods, and its
remarkable series of ponds; _Finchley_, once celebrated for its
highwaymen, but now for its cemeteries; _Hornsey_, with its ivy-clad
church, and its pretty winding New River; and _Barnet_, with its great
annual fair. On the north-east are _Edmonton_, which the readers of
‘_John Gilpin_’ will of course never forget; _Enfield_, where the
government manufacture rifles on a vast scale; _Waltham_, notable for its
abbey and its gunpowder mills; and _Epping Forest_—a boon to picnic
parties from the eastern half of London. ‘Fairlop Oak’ (Hainault Forest)
has disappeared.
South of the Thames, likewise, there are many pretty spots, quite
distinct from those on the river’s bank. _Wimbledon_, where volunteers
assemble; _Mitcham_, near which are some interesting herb-gardens;
_Norwood_, a pleasant spot, from which London can be well seen;
_Lewisham_ and _Bromley_, surrounded by many pretty bits of scenery;
_Blackheath_, a famous place for golf and other outdoor games; _Eltham_,
where a bit of King John’s palace is still to be seen; the _Crays_, a
string of picturesque villages on the banks of the river Cray; &c.
_Dulwich_ is a village about 5 miles south of London Bridge. Here Edward
Alleyn, or Allen, a distinguished actor in the reign of James I., founded
and endowed an hospital or college, called _Dulwich College_, for the
residence and support of poor persons, under certain limitations. On
21st June, 1870, a new college, a modern development and extension of the
old charity, was formally opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The new buildings are entirely devoted to educational purposes, and they
have accommodation for 600 or 700 boys. The founder bequeathed some
pictures to the institution, and the collection was vastly increased by
the addition of a large number, chiefly of the Dutch and Flemish schools,
bequeathed in 1810 by Sir Francis Bourgeois. A gallery, designed by Sir
John Soane, was opened in 1817; and this now forms a most attractive
sight to all who delight in the fine arts. The gallery is open free
every week-day from 10 to 5 in summer, and from 10 to 4 in winter.
Crystal Palace.—One especial object of interest in the southern vicinity
of London is the far-famed _Crystal Palace_. This structure, in many
respects one of the most remarkable in the world, owed its existence to
the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. The materials of that
building being sold to a new company towards the close of that year, were
transferred to an elevated spot near Sydenham, about 7 miles from London.
The intention was to found a palace and park for the exhibition of
objects in art and science, and to make it self-paying. The original
estimate was £500,000, but the expenditure reached nearly £1,500,000—too
great to render a profitable return likely. The palace and grounds were
opened in 1854; the water-towers and great fountains some time
afterwards. The marvels of this unparalleled structure cannot be
described within a limited space. [Picture: Crystal Palace] The building
is about 1600 feet long, 380 wide, and, at the centre transept, nearly
200 high. It consists of a nave and three transepts, all with arched
roofs, and all made chiefly of iron and glass. Within, the building
consists of a central nave, having marble fountains near the two ends,
and lined with statues and plants throughout its whole length. On each
side of the nave are compartments to illustrate the sculpture and
architecture of different ages and countries; such as Greek, Roman,
Assyrian, Pompeian, Egyptian, Alhambraic or Saracenic, Romanesque,
Byzantine, Mediæval, in its English, French, and German varieties,
Renaissance, Palladian, and Elizabethan. Other compartments illustrate
certain industrial groups, such as cutlery, porcelain, paper, encaustic
tiles, &c. On the first gallery are large collections of pictures,
photographs, and casts from medallions and small works of art. Near the
centre transept are all the necessary arrangements for two
concert-rooms—one on a stupendous scale, in which 5000 singers and
instrumentalists can sometimes be heard at once. [Picture: Interior,
Crystal Palace] An orchestra of unparalleled dimensions is constructed
here for great festival commemorations, and similar musical meetings.
The botanical collection within the building is very fine; and to
preserve the exotic plants, one end of the building is maintained at a
high temperature all the year round. Some portions of the galleries are
let out as stalls or bazaars to shopkeepers; and very extensive
arrangements are made for supplying refreshments. In an upper gallery is
a museum of raw produce. In long galleries in the basement are exhibited
agricultural implements, and cotton and other machinery in motion.
[Picture: Crystal Palace Fountains]
The park and gardens are extensive, occupying nearly 200 acres; they are
beautifully arranged, and contain an extremely fine collection of flowers
and other plants, occupying parterres separated by broad gravel-walks.
The terraces, stone balustrades, wide steps, and sculptures, are all on a
very grand scale. The fountains are perhaps the finest in the world,
some of them sending up magnificent streams of water to a great height,
and some displaying thousands of minute glittering jets interlacing in
the most graceful manner. A portion of the water is made to imitate
cascades and waterfalls. The jet from the central basin rises to 150
feet; and those from the two great basins to 250 feet. There are two
cascades, each 450 feet long, 100 wide, and having a tall of 12 feet.
When the whole of the waterworks are playing, there are 12,000 jets in
all; and when this continues for the length of time customary on some of
the ‘grand days,’ the water consumed is said to amount to 6,000,000
gallons. Two water-towers of enormous height, (nearly 300 feet from the
foundations,) to which water is pumped up by steam-engines, supply the
water-pressure by which the fountains are fed. The illustrations of
extinct animals and of geology, in the lower part of the grounds, are
curious and instructive.
Railway trains, running frequently during the day, give access to the
Crystal Palace, from the Pimlico and London Bridge stations of the
Brighton Company, from the Kensington and Chelsea stations of the West
London Railway, from the Waterloo station of the South-Western _viâ_
Wimbledon, and from the Ludgate Hill and other stations of the Chatham
and Dover. The last-named company have built an elegant and convenient
‘high-level’ station, in front of the main centre transept. The Crystal
Palace is a shilling exhibition; but the greater number of visitors only
pay 1s. 6d. each for a ticket (third class) which insures admission to
the palace and grounds, and the railway journey there and back; first and
second class tickets are higher; and there are days on which admission to
the palace is also higher. A whole week might be spent in examining the
various treasures; for the Crystal Palace and grounds are interesting in
each of the following features:—Sculpture; Illustrations of Architecture;
Pictures and Photographs; Illustrations of Mechanics and Manufactures;
Botany; Ethnology, or Illustrations of National Characteristics;
Palæontology, or Extinct Animals; Geology; Hydraulic skill in the
Fountains; and Musical facilities of an unprecedented kind. There are
also facilities in the grounds for Cricket, Archery, Boating, Athletic
Exercises, and Sports of other kinds, either regularly or occasionally.
The directors must be credited with the undoubted excellence of their
Choral Festivals and Orchestral Concerts. For great holiday
demonstrations, too, there is nothing else at all equal to the Crystal
Palace in the kingdom; and railways give access to it from almost every
part of the metropolis.
Alexandra Park and Palace.—This is situated on the north side of London,
near Hornsey, and is reached by means of the Great Northern Railway. It
has long remained closed for want of funds, but is expected to be opened
in June. Its objects, &c., are similar to those of the Crystal Palace.
The building was erected from the remains of the Exhibition of 1862.
[Picture: Albert Memorial]
[Picture: London Stone. Supposed to be an ancient Roman terminal stone,
whence, as from a centre, the miles were reckoned throughout Britain.]
APPENDIX.
TABLES, LISTS, AND USEFUL HINTS.
Suburban Towns and Villages within Twelve Miles’ Railway-distance.
THE distances are measured from the terminal stations of the great
Companies’ lines. The names of these stations are abbreviated thus:
_Padd._—Paddington; Great Western.
_Eust._—Euston Square; London and North Western.
_K. C._—King’s Cross; Great Northern.
_Shore._—Shoreditch; Great Eastern.
_Fen._—Fenchurch Street; London and Blackwall.
_L. B._—London Bridge; South-Eastern, and London and Brighton.
_Wat._—Waterloo; London and South-Western.
_Vic._—Victoria or Pimlico; Crystal Palace and other railways.
_N. L._—North London.
_Lud._—Ludgate Hill; London, Chatham, and Dover.
_St. Panc._—St. Pancras; Midland.
The places accommodated by the North London Railway have no mileage
distances named; for all the stations on that line are equally within the
metropolitan limits. The Metropolitan Railway is not here mentioned at
all, for a similar reason. For all stations on the South-Eastern, the
distance from Charing Cross is about 1¾ miles farther than from London
Bridge. On the Chatham and Dover, most of the stations are about
equidistant from the Ludgate and Victoria termini. The places reached by
steamers are marked _St._; while _Om._ signifies Omnibus, in cases where
there is no very available railway route. When a town is some little
distance from the nearest station, two mileages are named: thus,
‘Beddington, 10½ Croydon + 2½,’ implies that after a railway journey of
10½ miles to Croydon, there are 2½ miles of road.
Abbey Wood, Kent L. B. 12
Acton, Midd. from all N. L. Stations.
Anerley, Surrey L. B. 7½
Balham, Surrey Vic. 5
— L. B. 11
Barking, Essex Shore. & Fen. 7
Barking Road, Essex Shore. & Fen. 5
Barnes, Surrey Wat. 7
—, from all N. L Stations.
Barnet, Herts. K. C. 10½
Battersea, Surrey St. & Om.
Battersea Park Vic. 1
Beckenham, Kent L. B. 9
— Lud. & Vic. 10
Beddington, Surr. L. B. 10½ Croydon +2½
Bickley, Kent Lud. & Vic. 13
— L. B. 12
Blackheath, Kent L. B. 6
Blackwall, Middlesex Fen. 4½
— St. & Om.
Bow, Middlesex Fen. & Shore 4
Brentford, Middlesex Wat. 10
— Padd. 13
Brixton, Surrey Vic. 3
— Lud. 4
Bromley, Kent L. B. 10
— Lud. & Vic. 11
—, Middlesex Fen. 4
Buckhurst Hill, Essex Fen. & Shore. 10
Bushey Park, Midd. Wat. 13
Camberwell, Surrey Lud. & Vic. 4
Carshalton, Surrey L. B. 12
Catford Bridge, Kent L. B. 6
Charlton, Kent L. B. 7
— St.
Chelsea, Middlesex St. & Om.
Chigwell, Essex Fen. & Shore, to
Ilford or Woodford.
Chiswick, Middlesex Wat. 8
Clapham, Surrey Wat. 4
— Vic. 2½
Clapton, Midd., from all N. L. Stations to Hackney.
Colney Hatch, Midd. K. C. 6
Crouch End, Midd. K. C. 4 Hornsey + 1½
Croydon, Surrey L. B. 10½
— Vic. 12
Crystal Palace, L. B. 7
Surrey
— Vic. 9
— Lud. 9
Dalston, Middlesex, all N. L. Stations.
Deptford, Kent L. B. 3½
Ditton, Surrey Wat. 12 Kingston + 2
Dulwich, Surrey Lud. & Vic. 5
Ealing, Middlesex Padd. 6
East Ham, Essex Fen. 6
Edgeware, Middlesex K. C. & Om. 8½
Edmonton, Middlesex Shore. 9½
Elstree, Herts St. Panc. & Om. 11
Eltham, Kent L. B. 6 Blackheath + 2
Enfield, Middlesex Shore. 12
Finchley, Middlesex, from all N. L. Stations to Finchley Road.
— K. C. 7¼
Forest Gate, Essex Shore. 5
Forest Hill, Surrey Vic. 11
— L. B. 5
Fulham, Middlesex Wat. 6 Putney + ½
— St. & Om.
Gipsy Hill, Surrey L. B. 8
— Vic. 8
Greenwich, Kent L. B. 4½
— St. & Om.
Hackney, Midd., from all N. L. Stations.
Hadley, Midd. K. C. 10 Barnet + 1
Ham, Surrey, Wat. 12 Kingston + 2
Hammersmith, Midd., from all N. L. and Metropolitan Stations.
— St. & Om.
Hampstead, Midd., from all N. L. Stations.
Hanwell, Middlesex Padd. 7½
Harlington, Midd. Padd. 9 Southall + 3½
Harrow, Middlesex Eust. 12
Hatcham, Kent L. B. 4
Hayes, Kent L. B. 10 Bromley + 2
—, Midd. Padd. 7 Hanwell + 3
Hendon, Midd. St. Panc. & Om 7
Herne Hill, Surrey Lud. & Vic. 6
Highgate, Middlesex K. C. 4¾
— Om.
Holloway, Middlesex K. C. 2
Homerton, Midd., from all N. L. Stations to Hackney.
Hornsey, Middlesex K. C. 4
Hounslow, Middlesex Wat. 12
Ilford, Essex Shore. 7
Isleworth, Middlesex Wat. 12
Kensal Green, Midd., from N. L. Stations.
Kensington, Midd., from Metrop Stats.
Kentish Town, Middlesex from all N. L. Stations.
Keston, Kent L. B. 10 Bromley + 4
Kew, Surrey Wat. 9
—, from all N. L. Stations.
— St. & Om.
Kilburn, Middlesex Eust. 3
Kingsland, Midd., from all N. L. Stations.
Kingston, Surrey Wat. 12
Lady Well, Kent L. B. 5
Lea Bridge, Essex Shore. 5½
Lee, Kent L. B. 6 Blackheath + 1
Lewisham, Kent L B. 5
Leytonstone, Essex Shore. & Fen. 6
Loughton, Essex Shore. & Fen. 12
Low Leyton, Essex Shore. & Fen. 5
Maldon, Surrey Wat. 10
Merton, Surrey Wat. 9
Mill Hill, Middlesex K. C. 8¼; Om. 7
Mims, Midd. K. C. 12 Potter’s Bar + 2
Mitcham, Surrey Wat. 10
— L. B. 10½ Croydon + 4
Morden, Surrey Wat. 8 Wimbledon + 2
Mortlake, Surrey Wat. 8
Muswell Hill, Midd. K. C. 4 Hornsey + 1½
New Cross, Kent L. B. 3
North Woolwich, Ess. Shore. & Fen. 7
— St.
Norwood, Surrey L. B. 8½
— Vic. 8
Parson’s Green, Om. 4
Middlesex
Peckham, Surrey Lud. 5
Penge, Surrey L. B. 7
— Lud. & Vic. 9
Plaistow, Essex. Fen. 5
Plumstead, Kent L. B. 10
Ponders’s End, Midd. Shore. 12
Poplar, Middlesex Fen. 4
Potters’s Bar, Midd. K. C. 12
Putney, Surrey Wat. 6
— St. & Om.
Richmond, Surrey Wat. 10
— from all N. L. Stations.
— St. & Om.
Roehampton, Surr. Wat. 6 Putney + 1½
Romford, Essex Shore. 12
Shacklewell, Midd. Om. 3
Shepherd’s Bush, Metrop. Stats.
Midd.
Shooter’s Hill, Kent L. B. 9 Woolwich + 2
Shortlands, Kent L. B. 10
— Lud. & Vic. 10
Snaresbrook, Essex Fen. & Shore. 7
Southall, Middlesex Padd. 9
Southgate, Middlesex K. C. 7
Stamford Hill, Midd. Om. 4
Stanmore, Middlesex Om. 10
Stepney, Midd. from all N. L. Stations.
Stockwell, Surrey Om. 4
Stoke Newington, Midd. from all N. L. Stations.
Stratford, Essex Shore. & Fen. 4
Streatham, Surrey L. B. 10
— Vic. 6
Teddington, and Wat. 13
Bushey Park
Thornton Heath, Surr. Vic. 9
Tooting, Surrey L. B., Vic. & Lud. 8
Tottenham, Middlesex Shore. 8
Totteridge, Herts. K. C. 10½ Barnet + 2
Turnham Green, Midd. Om. 5
— from all N. L. Stations, Wat. and Lud.
Twickenham, Midd. Wat. 11¼
— from all N. L. Stations.
Vauxhall, Surrey Wat. 1½
— St.
Walham Green, Midd. Om. 3
Walthamstow, Essex Shore., Station at 5¾, and Om.
Lea Bridge
Wandsworth, Surrey Wat. 5
— Vic. 2
Wanstead, Essex Shore. & Fen,
Snaresbrook Station.
Welling, Kent L. B. 9 Woolwich + 2½
West Ham, Essex Fen. 4
West Wickham, Surr. L. B. 10½ Croydon + 4
Whetstone, Midd. K. C. 6 Colney Hatch + 2
Willesden, Middlesex Eust. 6½
Wimbledon, Surrey, Wat. 7
Woodford, Essex Shore. & Fen. 9
Wood Green, Midd. K. C. 5
Woolwich Dockyard, L. B. 8
Kent
— Arsenal L. B. 9
——Dockyard and St.
Arsenal
CHIEF OMNIBUS ROUTES.
There are few better ways for a man to see London, on a fine day, than by
riding through it on an omnibus. These vehicles mostly begin to run
about 8.30–9 a.m., and cease about 12 p.m. To give more than a mere
general notion as regards a few of the chief omnibus routes, is
impossible in our limited space here. The fares range, for the most
part, from a minimum of 2d. to a maximum of 6d. They are painted inside
the omnibus: the main localities passed on the way, outside. The groups
of these conveyances known by distinctive _names_, (all the omnibuses of
each group having one common name,) are chiefly the following:—
_Atlas_—colour, green—running between St. John’s Wood and Camberwell
Gate, and _vice versa_, _via_ Oxford Street, and over Westminster
Bridge—every 5 minutes.
_City Atlas_—green—between Swiss Cottage, St. John’s Wood, and London
Bridge Station, and _vice versa_, _via_ Oxford St., Holborn, Bank—every 7
minutes.
_Bayswater_—light green—from Notting Hill and Bayswater to Mile-End Gate,
_via_ Oxford Street, Holborn, Cornhill, Whitechapel—every 6 minutes.
_Bayswater_ to _London Bridge Station_, _via_ Oxford Street, Holborn,
Cheapside—every few minutes.
_Bayswater_ to _Shoreditch Station_—Oxford Street, Holborn, Cheapside,
Threadneedle Street, Bishopsgate Street—every hour.
_Citizen_—_Paddington_ to _London Bridge Station_—Edgeware Road, (only,)
Oxford Street, Holborn, Bank—every 8 minutes.
Other omnibuses also run to and from Paddington, as follows:—
_Paddington_ to _London Bridge Station_—green—Royal Oak, Edgeware Road,
New Road, City Road, Bank—every 10 minutes.
_Paddington_ to _Fenchurch Station_—Some of the above go to Fenchurch
instead of London Bridge Station.
_Paddington_ to _Whitechapel_—green—as above to Bank, then Cornhill and
Aldgate—frequent.
_Paddington_ to _Charing Cross_—red—Edgeware Road, Oxford and Regent
Streets, Charing Cross—every 8 minutes.
* * * * *
_Favorite_—green—Holloway to London Bridge, _via_ Highbury, Islington,
City Road, Bank, King William Street—about every 8 minutes.
_Favorite_—green—Holloway to Westminster, Islington, Exmouth Street,
Chancery Lane, Westminster Abbey, Victoria Street.
_Favorite_—blue—Holloway Road, Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, Euston
Road, Portland Road, Regent Street, Piccadilly, Knightsbridge, South
Kensington, Museum, “Queen’s Elm”—every 9 minutes.
_Havelock_—Kingsland Gate to “Elephant and Castle,” _via_ Shoreditch,
Bishopsgate Street, London Bridge, Borough—at frequent intervals.
_Paragon_—green—Brixton to Gracechurch Street, Kensington, “Elephant and
Castle,” London Bridge—every 10 minutes.
_Buxton_ to _Oxford Street_—Kensington, Westminster Bridge, Charing
Cross, Regent Street—every half hour.
_Royal Blue_—blue—Pimlico, Piccadilly, Strand, Cheapside, Fenchurch
Street Station—every 8 or 10 minutes.
_Waterloo_—blue—from “York and Albany,” Regent’s Park, by Albany Street,
Regent Street, Westminster Bridge, “Elephant and Castle” to Camberwell
Gate—every 6 minutes.
_Westminster_—brown—Pimlico to Bank, _via_ Lupus Street, Vauxhall Bridge
Road, Westminster, Strand, &c.—every 6 minutes.
* * * * *
Such are a few of the numerous omnibus routes of London. From such
places as Charing Cross and the London Bridge Stations, you can get an
omnibus for almost any part of London, up till nearly midnight; while, by
the aid of a map, no matter in what quarter you may be, you will speedily
find out how best to consult your particular tastes in the way of
locomotion and sight-seeing. In the case of gross incivility or
overcharge, you have a simple remedy by taking the conductor’s number and
applying for a summons at the nearest police office. If you are curious
in the matter of social contrasts, say, you might do worse than by
getting up outside a _Stratford and Bow_ (green) omnibus, at the Oxford
Street Circus, and riding—for sixpence all the way—_via_ Regent Street,
Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square, Strand, Fleet Street, St. Paul’s, past the
Mansion House and the Bank, Royal Exchange, Cornhill, Leadenhall Street,
Aldgate, Whitechapel Road, Mile End, to Stratford. If your tastes should
lead you westward, an enjoyable shilling’s worth may be obtained by
riding on the _Richmond_ (white) omnibus, from St. Paul’s Churchyard to
that prettily situated little town.
LONDON TRAMWAYS.
There are now _three_ Tramway Companies in London:—1. _The Metropolitan
Street Tramways Company_, (_Limited_.) They run regularly from
Westminster Bridge to Clapham and Brixton, at about every 5 minutes from
each terminus, Fare 3d. 2. _North Metropolitan Tramways Company_: (1)
From Aldgate, along Whitechapel and Mile End Road (through Bow) to
Stratford Church; (2) From Moorgate Street to the Angel, Islington,
thence to Kingsland, Stoke Newington, &c. Both running every 5 minutes,
Fares 2d.; (3) another route is by Old Street to Stoke Newington and
Clapton. 3. _Southall_, _Ealing_, _and Shepherd’s Bush Tram Railway
Company_, (_Limited_.) This company is constructing lines in the western
suburbs of London. There are tramways in the north-west of town.
CLUBS AND CLUB HOUSES.
There are, in all, in London, about ninety. The following is a list of
the principal club-houses:—
Alpine 8 St. Martin’s Place,
Trafalgar Square.
Army and Navy 36 to 39 Pall Mall, S. W.
Arthur’s 69 and 70 St. James’s Street.
Arundel 12 Salisbury Street,
Strand.
Athenæum 107 Pall Mall.
Brooks’s 59 St. James’s Street.
Carlton 94 Pall Mall.
City Carlton 83 King William Street,
E.C.
Cavendish 307 Regent Street.
City of London 19 Old Broad Street,
City.
Conservative 74 St. James’s Street.
East India United Service 14 St. James’s Square.
Garrick 13–15 Garrick Street,
Covent Garden.
Gresham 1 Gresham Place, City.
Guards’ 70 Pall Mall.
Junior Athenæum 29 King Street, St.
James’s.
Junior Carlton 30 to 35 Pall Mall.
Junior United Service 11 and 12 Charles Street, St.
James’s.
Junior Army and Navy 13 Grafton Street, Bond
Street.
Naval and Military 94 Piccadilly.
New University 57 St. James’s Street.
Oriental 18 Hanover Square.
Oxford and Cambridge 71 to 76 Pall Mall.
University
Portland 1 Stratford Place,
Oxford Street.
Pratt’s 14 Park Place, St.
James’s.
Reform 104 Pall Mall.
Smithfield 47 Halfmoon Street,
Piccadilly.
St. James’s 106 Piccadilly.
Travellers’ 106 Pall Mall.
Union Trafalgar Square,
(S.W. Corner.)
United Service 116 and 117 Pall Mall.
United University 5 Pall Mall, East.
Westminster 23 Albemarle Street.
Whitehall Parliament Street.
White’s 37 and 38 St. James’s Street.
Windham 11 St. James’s Square.
THE LONDON PARCELS DELIVERY COMPANY.
This Company—whose chief office is in Roll’s Buildings, Fetter Lane,
Fleet Street, and whose minor receiving houses, at shops, &c., are very
numerous—delivers parcels at a tariff of 4d. if under 4 lbs. weight, and
within three miles distance; under 14 lbs. within a like range, 6d.; and
so on up to a cwt., which will be delivered for 1s. 2d., subject to the
aforesaid condition. Over three miles distance, the charge for
delivering a parcel under 1 lb. to any part of London and its environs
will be 4d., under 7 lbs., 6d., and so forth. For a parcel under 112
lbs., if carried beyond three miles, sender will be charged 1s. 6d. To
more distant places, minimum charge is 6d. Light but bulky packages
charged for by measurement. The Company does not undertake to _collect_
parcels from the houses of the senders.
MONEY-ORDER OFFICES, AND POST-OFFICE SAVINGS-BANKS.
The _London Postal District_, to which special rules relate, includes
every town and village within twelve miles of the General Post-office.
Reference has already been made to the number of post-offices,
receiving-houses, and pillar-boxes, in this area. There are 500
_Money-order Offices_, the whole of which (with a very few exceptions)
have within a recent period been made _Post-office Savings-banks_ also.
The facilities thus afforded to strangers visiting London for a few days,
for receiving or transmitting money, are very great. A Post-office
Money-order will convey sums of a few pounds without risk of loss, at a
cost of a few pence, either from the visitor to his country friends, or
from them to him. The Post-office Savings-banks are even still more
convenient; for a person residing in the country, and having money in the
savings-banks, _can draw it out in London_ during his visit, or any part
of it, with a delay of a day or two, free of expense. In whatever part
of London a visitor may be, he is within five or ten minutes’ walk of a
Money-order Office; and at any such office he can, for six hours a day,
(10 till 4,) obtain the requisite information concerning both of these
kinds of economical monetary facilities.
LONDON LETTERS, POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.
As just stated, the _London District Post_ operates within twelve miles
of the General Post-office: that is, within a circle of twenty-four miles
in diameter. There are a few outlying patches beyond this circle, but
they need not here be taken into account. This large area is now divided
into eight _Postal Districts_, each of which has a name, an initial
abbreviation, and a chief office. They are as follows:—
E. C. _Eastern Central_ St. Martin’s-le-Grand, (head
office.)
W. C. _Western Central_ 126 High Holborn.
N. _Northern_ Packington Street, Islington.
E. _Eastern_ Nassau Place, Commercial Road,
East.
S. E. _South-Eastern_ 9 Blackman Street, Borough.
S. W. _South-Western_ 8 Buckingham Gate.
W. _Western_ 3 Vere Street, Oxford Street.
N. W. _North-Western_ 28 Eversholt Street, Oakley Square.
The use of the district system is, that if a letter, arriving from the
country, has on the outside the _district initials_ as well as the
address, it has a fair chance of _earlier delivery_; and if sent from one
part of London to another, such chance is the greater. The reason for
this is, that much of the sorting is effected at the eight chief district
offices, if the initials are given, to the great saving of time. An
official list of a vast number of streets, &c., with their district
initials, within the London District Post, is published at 1d., and is
obtainable at most of the principal receiving-houses.
The portion of each district within about three miles of the General
Post-office is called the Town Delivery, and the remainder the Suburban
Delivery. Within the town limits there are twelve deliveries daily: the
first, or General Post, commencing about 7.30, and mostly over in London
about 9; the second commencing about 8.15, and the third at 10.30. The
next nine are made hourly. The last delivery begins about 7.45. There
are seven despatches daily to the suburban districts. The first, at 6.30
a.m., to all places within the London District limits. A second, at
9.30, to suburbs within about four miles of the General Post-office. The
third, at 11.30, takes in almost all the London district. The fourth
despatch, at 2.30 p.m., goes to spots within about six miles of the
General Post-office. The fifth, at 4.30, comprises the whole of the
suburban districts, and, except in the more outlying country spots,
letters are delivered same evening. The sixth, at 6 p.m., goes to places
under four miles from the General Post-office. The last despatch is at 7
p.m. Letters to go by it should be posted at the town post-offices or
pillar-boxes by 6 p.m., or at the _chief_ office of the district to which
they are addressed. They will thus probably be delivered the same night,
within about six miles of the General Office. The suburban deliveries
begin one to two hours after despatch, according to distance.
It is always well to remember, that for any given delivery, a letter may
be posted rather later at the chief office than at any of the minor
offices of each district; that _letters_ only, not newspapers,
book-parcels, manuscripts, &c., may be put in pillar-boxes; and that
letters posted during the night, (from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.,) have a chance
of earlier delivery than otherwise, seeing that the pillar-boxes are
cleared at 5 in the morning, and, as a rule, we believe, earlier than the
receiving-houses. Outgoing letters for the evening mails are received at
most offices till 5.30, and at the chief office of each district till 6.
By affixing an extra penny stamp, the letter is receivable till 6 at the
minor, and till 7 at the chief offices.
Telegraph Offices.—Telegrams may be sent from all Postal Offices within
the London district. The charge for 20 words, not including address, is
1s.
READING AND NEWS-ROOMS.
Jerusalem Coffee-house, Cowper’s Court, Cornhill, (Indian, China, and
Australian newspapers.)
3 Wallbrook.
154 Leadenhall Street, (Deacon’s.)
13 Philpot Lane.
Royal Exchange, Lloyds’, (Subscribers only.)
King’s Head, Fenchurch Street.
26 Fore Street, Cripplegate.
88 Park Street, Camden Town.
83 Lower Thames Street.
177, 178 Fleet Street, (Peele’s—files of the _Times_ for many years.)
24 King William Street, (Wild’s.)
34 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, (St. George’s.)
22 Paddington Green, (Working Men’s.)
Patent Museum Library, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, (free.)
British Museum Library, (apply for ticket; enclosing letter of
introduction from respectable householder.)
* * * * *
There are Reading and News Rooms belonging to a large number of learned
societies and public institutions; but these are for the most part
accessible only to members.
CHESS ROOMS.
A chess player may meet with competitors at any one of the several chess
rooms. The best are Simpson’s, (Limited Co.,) late Ries’s, _Divan_,
opposite Exeter Hall, Strand; Kilpack’s, Covent Garden, (also an American
Bowling Saloon;) and Pursell’s, Cornhill. Many Coffee-shops are provided
with chess-boards and men, and many dining and chop houses have
chess-rooms up-stairs.
THEATRES.
There are at present about thirty-seven London Theatres, but those named
below are all that need here be considered.
Adelphi Strand.
Alhambra Leicester Square.
Astley’s Amphitheatre 6½ Bridge Road, Lambeth.
Royal Amphitheatre Holborn.
Britannia Theatre Hoxton Old Town.
Charing Cross King William Street, Strand.
City of London 36 Norton Folgate.
Covent Garden, (Opera House) Bow Street.
Court Theatre Sloane Square.
Drury Lane Brydges Street.
Gaiety Strand.
Garrick Leman Street, Goodman’s Fields.
Globe Strand.
Grecian City Road.
Great Eastern Whitechapel Road.
Haymarket East side of Haymarket.
Holborn Holborn.
King’s Cross Liverpool Street, King’s Cross.
Her Majesty’s, (Opera House) West side of Haymarket.
Lyceum Wellington Street, Strand.
Marylebone New Church Street, Lisson Grove.
Olympic Wych Street, Drury Lane.
Opera Comique Strand.
Pavilion 85 Whitechapel Road.
Philharmonic Islington.
Princess’s 73 Oxford Street.
Prince of Wales’s 4 and 5 Tottenham Street.
Queen’s, (late St. Martin’s Hall) Longacre.
Royalty, or Soho 73 Dean Street, Soho.
Sadler’s Wells St. John’s Street Road.
St. James’s 23 King Street, St. James’s.
Standard 204 Shoreditch, High Street.
Strand Between 168 and 169 Strand.
Surrey 124 Blackfriars Road.
Vaudeville Strand.
Victoria 135 Waterloo Road.
CONCERT ROOMS.
Willis’s Rooms, King Street, St. James’s.
Hanover Square Rooms.
Exeter Hall, 372 Strand, Choral Societies, Sacred Harmonic, &c.
St. James’s Hall, Quadrant and Piccadilly,—Concerts occasionally.
16 Store Street, Bedford Square, „ „
St. George’s Hall, Langham Place.
Princess’s Concert Room, Princess’s Theatre,—Concerts occasionally.
Queen’s Concert Room, (attached to Her Majesty’s Theatre,)—Concerts
occasionally.
Myddleton Hall, Upper Street, Islington.
Agricultural Hall, Islington,—Concerts occasionally.
MUSIC HALLS.
Alhambra {178} Leicester Square, (east side.)
Alhambra (Temperance) Music Hall Shoreditch.
Borough Music Hall 170 Union Street.
Cambridge Music Hall Commercial Street.
Canterbury Hall Lambeth Upper Marsh.
Deacon’s Sadler’s Wells.
Evans’ Covent Garden.
Islington Philharmonic Hall {179} High Street, Islington.
Marylebone High Street
Metropolitan Music Hall 125 Edgeware Road.
Middlesex Drury Lane.
The Oxford 6 Oxford Street, (east end.)
Pavilion Music Hall Tichborne Street, Haymarket.
Raglan Music Hall 26 Theobald’s Road.
Regent Vincent Square, Westminster.
South London Music Hall 92 London Rd., St. George’s
Fields.
Royal (late Weston’s) Music Hall 242 High Holborn.
Wilton’s Music Hall Wellclose Square.
Winchester Hall Southwark Bridge Road.
MODES OF ADMISSION TO VARIOUS INTERESTING PLACES.
Free.
_British Museum_.—_Chelsea Hospital_.—_Courts of Law and Justice_ (at the
Criminal Court and the Police Courts a fee is often needed.)—_Docks_,
(but not the vaults and warehouses without an introduction.)—_Dulwich
Gallery_.—_East India Museum_, Fife House, Whitehall.—_Greenwich
Hospital_, (a small fee for some parts.)—_Hampton Court Palace_, (Sundays
as well as week-days).—_Houses of Parliament_, (some portions every day;
more on Saturdays.)—_Kew Botanic Garden and Pleasure Grounds_, (Sundays
as well as week-days.)—_Museum of Economic Geology_, Jermyn
Street.—_National Gallery_.—_National Portrait Gallery_.—_Patent Museum_,
(adjoining the South Kensington Museum.)—_Soane’s Museum_, Lincoln’s Inn
Fields.—_Society of Arts_ Exhibition of Inventions, (in the spring of
each year.)—_St. Paul’s Cathedral_, (fees for Crypt and all above
stairs.)—_Westminster Abbey_, (a fee for some of the
Chapels.)—_Westminster Hall_.—_Windsor Castle_, (at periods notified from
time to time.)—_Woolwich Repository_, (the Dockyard was closed in
October, 1869, and a letter of introduction is needed for the Arsenal.)
Private Picture Galleries are sometimes opened free; of which notice is
given in the newspapers.
Shilling Admissions.
The number of Shilling Exhibitions open in London is at all times very
large, but more especially in the summer months. The first page of the
_Times_ contains advertisements relating to the whole of them; while the
penny papers contain a considerable number. As the list varies from time
to time, we cannot print it here; but the following are the chief places
where the exhibitions or entertainments are held. (Theatres and Music
Halls are not included; because the terms of admission vary to different
parts of those buildings. We may here add that _Burford’s_ and the
_Colosseum_ have long been closed.)—_Cremorne Gardens_, Chelsea.—_Crystal
Palace_, Sydenham, (2s. 6d. on Saturday, 1s. on other days.)—_Egyptian
Hall_, Piccadilly, (sometimes two or three exhibitions at once, in
different parts of the building.)—_Gallery of Illustration_, Regent
Street.—Various temporary exhibitions in large rooms situated in the
Haymarket, Pall Mall, Regent Street, Piccadilly, and Bond
Street.—_Picture Exhibitions_, (such as the _Royal Academy_, the _British
Institution_, the _Society of British Artists_, two _Water Colour
Societies_, &c.)—_Polytechnic Institution_, Regent Street.—_Polygraphic
Hall_, Strand.—_Tussaud’s Waxwork_, Baker Street Bazaar.—_Zoological
Gardens_, (sixpence on Mondays.)
Admit by Introduction.
Among the places to which admission may be obtained by personal
introduction, or by letter, the following may be named:—_Antiquarian
Society’s Museum_, Somerset House.—_Armourer’s Museum_, (ancient armour,)
81 Coleman Street.—_Asiatic Society’s Museum_, 5 New Burlington
Street.—_Bank of England Museum_, (collection of coins.)—_Botanical
Society’s Gardens and Museum_, Regent’s Park.—_College of Surgeons’
Museum_, Lincoln’s Inn Fields.—_Guildhall Museum_, (old London
antiquities.)—_Linnæan Society’s Museum_, Burlington House.—_Mint_,
(process of coining,) Tower Hill.—_Missionary Museum_, (idols, rude
implements, &c.,) Bloomfield Street, Finsbury.—_Naval Museum_, (formerly,
now at South Kensington.)—_Private Picture Galleries_, (several.)—_Royal
Institution Museum_, Albemarle Street.—_Trinity House Museum_, (models of
lighthouses, &c.,) Tower Hill.—_United Service Museum_, Scotland
Yard.—_Woolwich Arsenal_.
_N.B._—These lists are subject to constant change.
PRINCIPAL PUBLIC AND TURKISH BATHS.
(Those printed in _italics_ are public baths, established rather for the
benefit of the working and middle classes, than for the sake of profit.
At most of them a third-class cold bath can be obtained for 1d.; from
which minimum the prices rise to about 6d. or 8d. Many of the so-called
_Turkish_ baths are ordinary baths in which the arrangements for the
Turkish or Oriental system have recently been introduced. There are also
a few _Medicated Baths_, kept by medical practitioners for the use of
invalids.)
_Bermondsey Baths_ 39 _Spa Road_, _Bermondsey_.
_Bloomsbury_ _Endell Street_, _St. Giles’s_.
Cadogan 155 Sloane Street, Chelsea.
Coldbath 25 Coldbath Square, Clerkenwell.
Culverwell’s 10 Argyll Place and 5 New Broad Street.
Islington Cross Street.
Lambeth 8 Mount Street, Lambeth.
Mahomed’s 42 Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Metropolitan 23 Ashley Crescent, City Road.
Old Roman 5 Strand Lane.
Old Royal 10½ and 11 Bath Street, Newgate Street.
Pentonville Pentonville Road, (south side.)
_Poplar_ _East India Road_.
Portland Great Portland Street, (east side.)
Royal York 54 York Terrace, Regent’s Park.
Russell 56 Great Coram Street, Russell Square.
Russian 16a Old Cavendish Street.
_St. George’s_ 8 _Davis Street_, _Berkeley Square_, _and_ 88
_Buckingham Palace Road_.
— 22 _Lower Belgrave Place_.
_St. James’s_ 16 _Marshall Street_, _Golden Square_.
_St. Martin’s_ _Orange Street_, _Leicester Square_.
_St. Marylebone_ 181 _Marylebone Road_.
Wenlock Wenlock Road, City Road.
_Westminster_ 21 _Great Smith Street_, _Westminster_.
_Whitechapel_ _Goulston Square_, _Whitechapel_.
Turkish.
191 Blackfriars Road, S.E.
184 Euston Road, N.W.
155 Sloane Street, S.W.
282 Goswell Road, E.C.
7 Kennington Park Road, S.E.
1 Upper John Street, Golden Square, W.
55 Marylebone Road, N.W.
42 Somerset Street, Portman Square, N.W.
Medicated Baths.
Ballard’s Chapel Place, Cavendish Square.
Campion’s 155 Sloane Street, Chelsea.
Mahomed’s 42 Somerset Street, Portman Square.
CABS.
Practically speaking, the new law ordering cabmen to display a flag, on
which is painted their tariff per mile and per hour, is a dead letter.
Few or none shew flags, and many have none to shew. Cab proprietors can
now charge what they please, provided they take out a license from the
Commissioners of Metropolitan Police, on which is endorsed the rate by
distance or by time intended to be charged, and the number of persons to
be carried. No fare less than one shilling is to be offered. The driver
is to give passenger a card which specifies the licensed price per hour
or per mile. As regards luggage, for each package carried outside 2d.
extra is charged. For each person _above two_ 6d. extra on the entire
journey. If such extra person be a child under 10 years of age, 3d. Two
children of such age to be reckoned as one person. If cab be discharged
more than four miles from Charing Cross by radius, an extra charge will
be made for such excess of distance, as per sum stated on cabman’s card.
Every full mile of such excess will be charged for at per tariff per mile
stated on such card. Driver is not compelled to drive more than 6 miles.
For every quarter of an hour he is kept waiting, if the cab be hired by
time, one-fourth of his tariff per hour. If hired by distance, for every
quarter of an hour of waiting, the rate charged per mile. By time, for
any period under one hour, the sum stated on driver’s card as charged per
hour. As a general rule, cabmen charge 2s. per hour for four-wheeled
cabs, and 2s. 6d. for “Hansom;” and by distance, 1s. for the first mile,
and 6d. for the second, and so on. Property left in hackney carriages
should be asked for at the office for property left in such carriages, at
the office of the Commissioners of Police, Great Scotland Yard, Charing
Cross. Cabmen are bound, under a penalty, to take such lost property to
the nearest police station within 24 hours. In case of disagreement
between a cabman and his passenger, the latter can compel the cabman to
drive to the nearest police office; and if a Magistrate be then sitting,
he will at once settle the dispute. If such office is closed, the cabman
may be required to drive to the nearest police station, where the
complaint will be entered, and adjudicated at the magistrate’s next
sitting. Our readers cannot do better than purchase (price 1s.) a little
book on the subject of Cab Fares and Regulations, published under the
auspices of the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police. It can be
ordered through any bookseller, or may be purchased direct, at the office
for its sale, a few doors north of the entrance to Great Scotland Yard.
In it will be found a list of fares, and the distances in yards, from
many parts in London to others. Its usefulness will amply repay our
readers for their small outlay in its purchase.
HINTS TO STRANGERS.
Whether you know the proper cab-fare or not, always make a bargain with
the cabman when hiring his vehicle; and take a note of his number.
Keep the right hand side of the pavement when walking.
If out with other country friends, keep well together.
Observe caution while crossing crowded thoroughfares.
In asking for information, apply to shopkeepers, or to policemen, rather
than to passers-by.
The London police are, for the most part, reliable men; and strangers in
any doubt or difficulty can generally obtain useful aid from them.
Be on your guard against pickpockets in crowds, street exhibitions, and
omnibuses.
Beware of strangers who endeavour to force their acquaintance on you, and
affect to be unacquainted with London; they are often low sharpers.
Keep no more cash about you than is needed for the day’s supply.
Be cautious in opening your purse or looking at your watch in the
streets.
Avoid low neighbourhoods after dark; if there is anything worth seeing
there, see it in the daytime.
Disregard street-beggars; residents only (and not always even they) can
tell the deserving from the undeserving.
COMMISSIONAIRES OR MESSENGERS.
These are a body of retired soldiers of good character, who were
originally organized in 1859, by Captain Walter. Their central office,
open day and night, is at Exchange Court, 419_a_ Strand, where men can
always be hired. But they are also to be seen, and are easily
recognisable by their neat dark green uniform and badge, in most large
thoroughfares. Their tariff is,—twopence for half-a-mile or under; and
threepence for any distance over half-a-mile to a mile. Back fare, or
charge for return, (unless bearing a return message,) is not allowed. A
charge of one penny per mile extra, if the parcel carried weighs more
than 14 lbs. If engaged by time, sixpence per hour, twopence a quarter
of an hour, half-a-crown for a day of eight hours. By special
arrangement, they may be hired at from 15s. to 20s. per week.
THE GREAT INTERCEPTS MAIN DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF LONDON.
North of the Thames are the _High Level_, the _Middle Level_, the _Low
Level_, and the _Western District Sewers_, together with an _Outfall_ at
Barking Creek. The High Level drains Hampstead, Highgate, Kentish Town,
Highbury, Stoke Newington, Hackney, and passes under Victoria Park to Old
Ford; its length is about 9 miles. The Middle Level runs by way of
Kensal Green, Kensington Park, Notting Hill, Bayswater, Oxford Street,
and so under a number of minor streets, to Old Ford, being about 12 miles
long. The Low Level commences near Pimlico, and passes along under the
Thames embankment to Blackfriars, whence it is to go through the City and
Whitechapel to West Ham. The Western District Sewers drain Acton,
Hammersmith, Fulham, Chelsea, &c., on a plan different from that of the
main drainage in other localities. The Outfall, an immense work 6 miles
long, continues the Upper and Middle Level Sewers from Old Ford to West
Ham, and all the three sewers thence to Barking Creek, where stupendous
arrangements are made for conducting the flow of the sewage into the
Thames. The drainage south of the Thames comprises a _High Level Sewer_,
a _Low Level Sewer_, and an _Outflow_. The High Level drains Clapham,
Brixton, Streatham, Dulwich, Camberwell, &c.; the Low Level keeps nearer
the Thames, by Wandsworth, Battersea, Vauxhall, Lambeth, Southwark,
Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe, to Deptford; while the Outfall continues
both these lines of sewers through Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich, and
across Plumstead Marshes to Crossness Point, where the works are situated
for conveying the sewage into the river.
INDEX
Abney Park Cemetery, 61
Achilles’s Statue, 127
Adelphi Theatre, 28, 121
Admiralty, 30, 46
Admission to Places of Interest, 178
Albert Suspension Bridge, 102
Aldermen, 85
Aldgate, 18
Aldgate High Street, 18
Alexandra Park, 167
Alhambra, 124
Amusements, 125
Apothecaries’ Hall, 97
Apsley House, 38, 39
Armouries, Tower, 78
Arsenal, Woolwich, 160
Art Exhibitions, 70
Artillery Ground, 32
Arundel Street, 27
Astley’s Amphith., 123
Austin Friars, 17
* * * * *
Bank of England, 15, 93
Bank of London, 17
Banks, 94
Baptist College, 72
Barclay & Perkins’s, 113
Barnes, 145
Barnet, 162
Baths, 180
Battersea, 104, 144
— Bridge, 104
— Park, 133
Bazaars, 31, 113
Belgrave Square, 31
Berkeley Square, 31
Bethnal Green, 19
Bethnal Green Cemetery, 61
Bethnal G. Museum, 66
Billingsgate, 18, 111
Birdcage Walk, 126
Bishopsgate Street, 18
Blackfriars’ Bridge, 22, 103
Blackheath, 163
Blackwall, 159
— Railway, 141
Blue Coat School, 73
Board of Trade Office, 47
Boat-races, 145
Bolt Court, 25
Bond Street, 31
Book-trade, 115
Botanical Gardens, 134
Bow Church, 56
Bow Lane, 19
Bread Street, 19
Breweries, 113
Bridges, 102
Bridgewater Gallery, 40
— House, 40
Brighton Railway, 140
Britannia Theatre, 122
British Institution, 70
— Museum, 62
Broad Street, 17
Bromley, 163
Brooke Street, 24
Bryanstone Square, 31
Buccleuch House, 40
Buckingham Palace, 34
Bunhill Fields, 32
Burlington House, 69
* * * * *
Cabs and Cab Fares, 137, 182
Cannon Street, 14, 33
Canterbury Hall, 124
Cattle Market, 110
Cavendish Square, 31
Cecil Street, 27
Cemeteries, 57, 61
Central Criminal Court, 21
Chancery Lane, 25
Chapels, 55
Charing Cross, 28, 30
— Railway Station and Hotel, 27
— Theatre, 28, 122
Charitable Institutions, 76
Charles I.’s Statue, 28
Charter House, 20
Charter House School, 73
Chatham and Dover Railway, 141
Cheapside, 15, 19
Chelsea, 144
— Bridge, 104
— Hospital, 143
Chess Rooms, 176
Chesterfield House, 40
Child’s Banking Ho., 26
Chiswick, 145
Chop-houses, 120
Christ’s Hospital, 73
Churches, 55
City Bank, 17
—Companies, 97
—of Lond. School, 20, 75
—Prison, 93
— Road, 32
—, the, 12, 15
Clapham, 144
Clement’s Inn, 27
Clock, Westminster, 43
Clothworkers’ Hall, 97
Clubs and Club Houses, 116, 173
Coal Exchange, 110
Cockspur Street, 30
Coffee-houses, 120
— shops, 120
Colleges, 70
Colonial Office, 47
Colosseum, 132
Commercial Docks, 100
Commissionaires, 183
Common Council, 85
Companies’ Halls, 96
Concert Rooms, 123, 178
Constitution Hill, 127
Corn Exchange, 18, 113
Cornhill, 15, 18
Corporation, 84
Cotton’s Wharf, 18
Courts of Law, 44, 92
Court Theatre, 122
Covent G. Market, 111
— Theatre, 28
Crane Court, 25
Craven Street, 27
Crays, 163
Cremorne Gardens, 125
Crossness Point, 161
Crystal Palace, 163
— Railway, 139
Custom House, 18, 81
* * * * *
Deptford, 154
Devonshire House, 39
Dining-rooms, 120
Dissenting Chapels, 59
Docks, 18, 99
Doctors’ Commons, 20
Doomsday Book, 92
Downing Street, 47
Down River Excur., 154
Drainage System, 86, 184
Drapers’ Hall, 96
Drury Lane Theatre, 28, 121
Duke of York’s Column, 30
Duke of York’s School, 144
Dulwich College, 163
* * * * *
East India Docks, 99
— Museum, 67
Edmonton, 163
Egyptian Hall, 124
Electric Time-ball, 158
Eltham, 163
Enfield, 163
English Presbyterian Theological Coll., 72
Entertainments, 124
Environs of London, 169
Epping Forest, 163
Erith, 161
Essex Street, 27
Eton College, 154
Euston Road, 32
— Station, 32
Evans’s Hotel and Supper Rooms, 28, 124
Exchequer Office, 47
Excursions, 143
Exeter Hall, 28
Exhibition, International, 129
Exhibitions, &c., 179
* * * * *
Farringdon St., 22
Fenchurch Station, 141
— Street, 18
Finchley, 162
— Cemetery, 61
Finsbury Park, 133
— Square, 32
Fire Brigade, 88
Fires, Great, 10, 18, 80
Fishmongers’ Hall, 96
Fish Street, 18
Fish-supply, 111
Fleet Street, 22, 24
— Valley, 21
Floral Hall, 112
Food-supply, 109
Foreign Office, 47
Fountains, 88, 133, 166
Free Exhibitions, 179
Fulham, 145
* * * * *
Gaiety Theatre, 28, 122
Gall. of Illustration, 12
George III.’s Statue, 30
George IV.’s Statue, 29
Globe Theatre, 28, 122
Gog and Magog, 89
Goldsmiths’ Hall, 20, 96
Gough Square, 25
Government Offices, 45
Gracechurch Street, 18
Grand Surrey Docks, 100
Gravesend, 161
Grays, 161
Gray’s Inn, 91
Great E. Railway, 141
— Nor. Railway, 138
— W. Railway, 138
Grecian Theatre, 122
Greenhithe, 161
Green Park, 38, 127
Greenwich, 155
— Hospital, 155
— Park, 158
Gresham House, 95
— Lectures, 72
— Street, 17
Grocers’ Hall, 96
Grosvenor Gallery, 39
— Hotel, 118
— House, 39
— Square, 31
Guards’ Memorial, 30
Guildhall, 20, 88
* * * * *
Haberdashers’ Hall, 96
Hackney College, 72
Hammersmith, 145
Hampstead, 162
Hampton Court Palace, 149
Hanover Square, 31
— Rooms, 123
Harrow, 162
Havelock’s Statue, 30
Haymarket Theatre, 30, 121
Henry VII.’s Chapel, 51
H. M. Theatre, 30, 121
Highest Ground in London, 20
Highgate, 162
— Cemetery, 61
Hints to Strangers, 183
Holborn, 22
— Hill, 23
— Theatre, 122
— Valley Viaduct, 22
Holford House, 40
Holland House, 40
Home Office, 30, 47
Hornsey, 162
Horse Guards, 30, 46
Horticultural Gardens, 135
Hospitals, 76
Hotel Charges, viii
Hotels, 117
Houndsditch, 18
House of Correction, 93
Houses and Streets, 11
— of Parlt., 30, 49
Howard Street, 27
Hudson’s Bay House, 18
Hungerford Bridge, 104
Hyde Park, 31, 127
— Square, 31
* * * * *
India House, 95
— Office, 47
Inns, 117
— of Court, 26, 91
Insurance Offices, 94
International Exhibition, 129
Ironmonger Lane, 19
Ironmongers’ Hall, 96
Isle of Dogs, 159
* * * * *
Jewel House, Tower, 80
Jewish Synagogues, 59
Jews’ Quarter, 18
Johnson’s Court, 25
Junior Athenæum Club, 40
* * * * *
Kennington Park, 133
Kensal Green, 61
Kensington Garden, 131
— Palace, 36
Kew Gardens, 146
King’s College, 27, 45, 72
— Cross Station, 138
King Street, 19
King William St., 13, 18
Koh-i-noor, 80
* * * * *
Lady’s Mile, 129
Lambeth Bridge, 104
— Palace, 36
Landseer’s four Lions, 29
Lansdowne House, 40
Leadenhall Market, 111
— Street, 18
Letter Deliveries, 175
Lewisham, 163
Lighting, 87
Limehouse, 159
Lincoln’s Inn, 91
Lloyd’s, 90
Lombard Street, 15, 18
London and N.-W. Railway, 138
London Bridge, 15, 18, 102
— Hotel, 119
— Station, 140
London, Chatham, and Dover Bridge, 23
London Docks, 100
— in Roman times, 9
— Stone, 168
— University, 70
Long Walk, Windsor, 154
Lord Mayor’s Show, 85
Lothbury Street, 17
Lower Serle’s Place, 25
Ludgate Hill, 21
— Railway Station, 21
Ludgate Street, 21
Lyceum Theatre, 28, 122
* * * * *
Maclise’s Great Picture, 44
Mall, 126
Malt Liquors, 113
Manchester Square, 31
Mansion House, 15, 19, 88
Markets, 110
Mark Lane, 18
Marlborough House, 35
Marylebone Road, 32
— Church, 33
— Theatre, 122
May Fair, 31
Medicated Baths, 181
Mercers’ Grammar School, 75
Mercers’ Hall, 96
Merchant Taylors’ Hall, 96
Merchant Taylors’ School, 75
Metropolitan Railway, 33
Mile-End Cemetery, 61
Military Prison, 93
Milk Street, 19
Millbank Prison, 93
Mincing Lane, 18
Mint, 81
Mitcham, 163
Mitre Court, 24
Model Prison, 93
Money-Order Office, 175
Monument, 18, 89
Moorgate Street, 16
Mortlake, 145
Mudie’s Library, 115
Museum, British, 62
Museum of College of Surgeons, 67
Museum, Geological, 66
Music Halls, 123, 178
* * * * *
Napier’s Statue, 29
National Gallery, 30, 68
— Portrait Gallery, 69
Nelson’s Column, 29
— Tomb, 49
New College, 72
Newgate, 92
— Market, 111
— Prison, 21
— Street, 20, 22
News Rooms, 176
Norfolk Street, 27
Northfleet, 161
N. and S.W. Junction, 139
North London Railway, 141
Northumberland House, 28, 38
Northumberland Street, 27
North Woolwich, 159
Norwood, 163
* * * * *
Observatory, Greenwich, 158
Old Bailey, 21, 92
Old ’Change, 19
Old Roman Wall, 9
Omnibus Routes, 136, 171
Open House, 121
Oratorios, 123
Oxford Music Hall, 124
— Street, 31
* * * * *
Paddington, 32
— Station, 138
Palace of Justice, 27
Pall Mall, 29
Pantheon, 114
Panyer Alley, 20
Parcels’ Delivery Co., 174
Park Lane, 31
Parks, 125
Parson’s Green, 145
Paternoster Row, 20
Pavilion Gardens, 125
Peel’s Statue, 20
Penitentiary, Millbank, 93
Pentonville Road, 32
Petticoat Lane, 18
Philharmonic Music Hall and Theatre, 124
Piccadilly, 30
Pimlico, 33
— Station, 140
Plague, Great, 10
Plumstead Marshes, 161
Pneumatic Despatch, 101
Police, 85
Polytechnic Inst., 125
Pool, the, 98
Pope’s Villa, 148
Poplar, 159
Population, 11
Portland Place, 30
Portman Square, 31
Port of London, 98
Postal System, 175
Post-office, General, 83, 175
P.O. Savings Banks, 175
Poultry, 16
Primrose Hill, 132
Prince of Wales’ Theatre, 122
Prince’s Street, 15
Princess’s Theatre, 122
Printing House Sq., 21
Prisons, 92
Privy Council Office, 47
Purfleet, 161
Putney, 145
* * * * *
Quadrant, 30
Queen’s Bench Prison, 93
Queen’s Theatre, 28, 122
Queen Street, 19
Queen Victoria Street, 14, 19, 107
* * * * *
Railway Bridges, 104
— Distances, 169
— Hotels, 118
Railways, 138
Rainham, 161
Reading Rooms, 63, 176
Record Office, 92
Regent’s Park, 132
Regent Street, 29, 30
Registrar-General’s Office, 45
Richard Cœur de Lion’s Statue, 30
Richmond, 147
— Bridge, 147
— Hill, 148
— Park, 149
Roman Catholic Chapels, 59
Rotherhithe, 101
Rothschild’s House, 40
Rotten Row, 129
Routes through London, 13
Royal Academy, 69
— Albert Hall, 131
— Exchange, 15, 19, 90
— Humane Society, 129
Royal Institution, 67
— Military Asylum, 144
Royal Music Hall, 124
* * * * *
Sacred Harmonic Concerts, 123
Sadler’s Wells, 122
— Court, 25
Salisbury Street, 27
Savoy Chapel, 57
Schools, Public, 73
—, Various, 75
Scientific Societies, 68
Sergeant’s Inn, 92
Serpentine, 129
Sheepshanks’ Pictures, 65
Shilling Exhibitions, 179
Shoe Lane, 23
Shops, 113
Skinners’ Hall, 96
Shoreditch Station, 141
Smithfield, 20, 110
Snow Hill, 33
Soane Museum, 70
Society of Arts, 67
— of British Artists, 70
Soho Bazaar, 114
— Theatre, 122
Somerset House, 27, 44
South-Eastern Railway, 140
South-Eastern Railway Bridge, 103
South Kensington Museum, 64
South Sea House, 17, 95
Southwark Bridge, 103
— Park, 133
South-Western Railway, 139
Spitalfields, 18
Spring Gardens, 29
Spurgeon’s Tabernacle, 60
St. Bride’s Church, 26
St. Clement Dane’s Church, 27
St. Dunstan’s Church, 26
St. George’s Cathedral, 60
St. Helena Gardens, 125
St. James’s Church, 58
— Hall, 124
—Palace, 33
St. James’s Park, 29, 33, 38, 125
— Square, 31
— Theatre, 122
St. John’s Gate, 20
— Wood, 31
St. Katherine’s Docks, 100
— Hos., 132
St. Martin’s Church, 28
St. Martin’s-le-Grand, 20
St. Mary’s Church, 27
St. Pancras’ Church, 33
— Station, 32
St. Paul’s Cathedral, 20, 47
— Churchyard, 20, 112
— School, 73
Stafford House, 38
Star and Garter, Putney, 145, 149
State Paper Office, 92
Stationers’ Hall, 97
Steam-boat Piers, 105
Steamers, 142
Stepney, 19
Stock Exchange, 17
Strand, 27, 29
— Theatre, 28, 122
Strawberry Hill, 148
Streets, 113
Suburban Villages, 169
Sun Fire Office, 17
Surrey Gardens, 125
— Street, 27
— Theatre, 123
* * * * *
Taverns, 119
Tea Gardens, 125
Telegraphs, 175, 176
Temperance Hotels, 121
Temple, 26, 90
— Bar, 26, 27
— Church, 91
— Gardens, 91
Thames, and Shipping, 97
Thames Embankment, 14, 106
Thames Subway, 18
— Tunnel, 18, 101
Theatres, 121, 176
Threadneedle St., 17, 93
Tilbury, 161
— and Southend Railway, 141
_Times’_ Office, 21
Tobacco Dock, 100
Tooley Street, 18
Tower of London, 18, 77
Tower Subway, 101
Trades, Number of, 114
Trafalgar Square, 29
Training Colleges, 73
Tramways, 173
Treasury, 30, 46
Trinity House, 95
Turkish Baths, 180
Turner’s Pictures, 68
Tussaud’s Exhibition, 125
Twickenham, 148
Tyburnia, 31
* * * * *
United Service Museum, 67
University College, 71
— Hall, 72
Upper Regent Street, 30
Up River Excursions, 143
* * * * *
Vaudeville Theatre, 28, 122
Vauxhall Bridge, 104
— Gardens, 125
Vegetable Markets, 111
Vernon Pictures, 68
Victoria Docks, 99
— Park, 132
— Station, 140
— Street, 22
— Theatre, 123
— Tower, 43
Villiers’ Street, 27
Vintners’ Hall, 97
* * * * *
Walbrook, 15
Walham Green, 145
Waltham, 163
— Abbey, 163
Wandsworth, 144
War Office, 47
Water-colour Exhib., 70
— Supply, 109
Waterloo Bridge, 27, 45, 104
— Place, 30
— Station, 139
Wellington’s Statue, 39
Wesleyan College, 72
Westbourne Terrace, 31
West-End, 19, 27
— India Docks, 99
— London Rail, 139
Westminster Abbey, 30, 51
— Bridge, 30, 41, 104
— Hall, 30, 41, 44
— Palace, 29
— Palace Hotel, 119
— School, 73
Weston’s Music Hall, 124
Wharfs, 98
Whitebait Taverns, 155, 159
Whitechapel, 19
— Market, 111
Whitecross Street Prison, 92
Whitehall, 29
— Banqueting House, 30
— Chapel, 57
— Gardens, 30
Wimbledon, 144, 163
Winchester Street, 17
Windsor, 151
— Castle, 153
Wine Vaults, Docks, 100
Woking Necropolis, 61
Wood Street, 19
Woolwich, 159
Wren’s Churches, 58
* * * * *
Zoological Gardens, 133
* * * * *
* * * * *
WILLIAM COLLINS & CO., PRINTERS,
HERRIOT HILL WORKS, GLASGOW.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES
{16} Most of the illustrations are _bird’s-eye views_, taken from
house-tops and church-towers, in order to shew as many public buildings
as possible. The reader will attribute to this cause any apparent
distortion of perspective, as compared with views taken from level
ground.
{18} This tremendous conflagration was one of the largest ever known in
London since 1666, involving the loss of property valued at two millions
sterling. The ruins were still hot, steaming and smoking, seven weeks
after the fire commenced. Mr. Braidwood, chief of the London Fire
Brigade, perished in the ruins; a public funeral testified to the esteem
in which he was held.
{20} This is not what is called LONDON STONE. That famous stone will be
found on the side of St. Swithin’s Church, New Cannon Street. (See p.
168.)
{40} Tickets of admission can generally be obtained, during the season,
of Messrs Smith, 137 New Bond Street. Days of admission, from 10 till 5,
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
{47a} The total cost, including 200 tons of iron-railing, was
£1,511,202.
{47b} It is strange that, in relation to the best known building in
London, great discordance reigns concerning the total _height_. Wren’s
son, in the _Parentalia_, simply states that the lantern is 330 feet from
the ground; Maitland gives the total height at 340 feet; many authorities
name 360 feet; while several Hand-books and Guides, following the
pamphlet sold in the cathedral, raise it to 404 feet. This last
statement agrees with the Cockney tradition, that St. Paul’s is twice as
high as the Monument. A careful examination of the vertical section,
however, shews that the height is about 356 feet above the marble
pavement of the cathedral, 375 above the level of the crypt, and 370
above the pavement of the churchyard. It will thus be sufficiently near
the truth to say that St. Paul’s is 365 feet high—a familiar number, easy
to remember.
{178} Is also a theatre.
{179} Is also a theatre.
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