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Title: London City
Author: Besant, Walter
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "London City" ***
_The Survey of London_
LONDON
CITY
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
INTERIOR OF ROYAL EXCHANGE.—(Page 128)
]
LONDON
CITY
BY
SIR WALTER BESANT
[Illustration]
LONDON
ADAM & CHARLES BLACK
1910
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
With this volume we begin what may be called the second part of the
Survey. All that has preceded it has dealt with the history of London as
a whole; now we turn to London in its topographical aspect and treat it
street by street, with all the historical associations interwoven in a
continuous narrative with a running commentary of the aspect of the
streets as they were at the end of the nineteenth century, for the book
is strictly a Survey of London up to the end of the nineteenth century.
Sir Walter Besant himself wrote the greater part of the volume now
issued, calling it “The Antiquities of the City,” and it is exclusively
confined to the City. For the topographical side of the great work,
however, he employed assistants to collect material for him and to help
him; for though, as he said, he had been “walking about London for the
last thirty years and found something fresh in it every day,” he could
not himself collect the mass of detail requisite for a fair presentation
of the subject. In the present volume, therefore, embedded in his
running commentary, will be found detailed accounts of the City
Companies, the City churches and other buildings, which are not by his
hand. A word as to the plan on which the volume is made may be helpful.
In cases where the City halls are standing, accounts of the Companies
they belong to are inserted there in the course of the perambulation;
but where the Companies possess no halls, the matter concerning them is
relegated to an Appendix. The churches, however, being peculiarly
associated with the sites on which they are standing, or stood, are
considered to be an integral part of the City associations, and
churches, whether vanished or standing, are noted in course of
perambulation. A distinction which shows at a glance whether any
particular church is still existing or has been demolished is made by
the type; for in the case of an existing church the name is set in large
black type, as a centre heading, whereas with a vanished church it is
given in smaller black type set in line.
The plan of the book is simplicity itself; it follows the lines of
groups of streets, taken as dictated by common sense and not by the
somewhat arbitrary boundaries of wards. The outlines of these groups are
clearly indicated on the large map which will be found at the end of the
volume.
CONTENTS
THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY
GROUP I
PAGE
STREETS NORTH AND SOUTH OF CHEAPSIDE AND THE POULTRY 1
GROUP II
STREETS NORTH OF GRESHAM STREET AND WEST OF MOORGATE STREET 63
GROUP III
STREETS BETWEEN MOORGATE AND BISHOPSGATE STREETS 91
GROUP IV
STREETS BETWEEN FENCHURCH AND BISHOPSGATE STREETS 146
GROUP V
THAMES STREET AND THE STREETS NORTH AND SOUTH OF IT 190
THE TOWER OF LONDON 288
GROUP VI
NEWGATE STREET AND THE STREETS NORTH AND SOUTH OF IT 300
ST. PAUL’S 327
GROUP VII
FLEET STREET AND THE ADJACENT COURTS (INCLUDING THE TEMPLE AND THE
ROLLS) 362
THE TEMPLE 370
THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS IN THE CITY OF LONDON 385
APPENDICES
1. THE CITY COMPANIES 433
2. MAYORS AND LORD MAYORS OF LONDON FROM 1189 TO 1900 455
3. A CALENDAR OF THE MAYORS AND SHERIFFS OF LONDON FROM 1189 TO
1900 461
INDEX 483
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Interior of Royal Exchange _Frontispiece_
Cheapside Cross (as it appeared on its erection
in 1606) 5
St. Mildred, Poultry 18
Inside the Poultry Compter 19
St. Lawrence, Jewry 26
SS. Anne and Agnes 27
Blackwell Hall, 1819 31
Mercers’ Hall: Interior _Facing_ 32
Mercers’ Hall 35
City of London School, Milk Street 39
Church of St. Vedast 43
Goldsmiths’ Hall, 1835 45
Gerard’s Hall Crypt in 1795 57
The Armourers’ and Brasiers’ Almshouses,
Bishopsgate Without, 1857 65
St. Mary, Aldermanbury, in 1814 70
Porch of St. Alphage, London Wall, 1818 72
Sion College, London Wall, 1800 73
Grub Street Hermit 77
St. Giles, Cripplegate 81
London Wall 83
The Pump in Cornhill, 1800 93
St. Peter’s, Cornhill 96
Confectioner’s Shop, Cornhill 98
Garraway’s Coffee-House 99
Pope’s House in Plough Court 103
St. Mary Woolnoth _Facing_ 106
Altar of St. Mary Abchurch 109
Salters’ Hall, 1822 113
St. Stephen, Walbrook _Facing_ 118
The Mansion House and Cheapside 120
Stocks Market 123
Bank of England Fountain _Facing_ 126
St. Benet Finck 129
St. Martin Outwich 131
Gresham College 135
Carpenters’ Hall, London Wall, 1830 144
Ironmongers’ Hall in the Eighteenth Century 149
A Remarkable Old House in Leadenhall Street 154
Leadenhall Street 155
Skin Market, Leadenhall, 1825 157
Leadenhall Chapel in 1812 160
Crypt in Leadenhall Street, 1825 161
Aldgate in 1830 169
St. Andrew Undershaft 173
Bishopsgate Street, showing Church of St.
Martin Outwich, and the Pump, 1814 177
St. Helen, Bishopsgate, 1817 179
Cornhill Military Association, with a View of
the Church of St. Helen’s, and
Leathersellers’ Hall _Facing_ 180
Council Room, Crosby Hall, 1816 181
Principal Entrance to Leathersellers’ Hall.
Demolished 1799 184
St. Ethelburga, Bishopsgate Street 186
St. Botolph, Bishopsgate 187
Blackfriars Bridge, 1796 193
Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Hill 198
Stationers’ Hall in 1830 199
Stationers’ Hall (Interior) 201
Fleur-de-lys Court 203
British and Foreign Bible Society House _Facing_ 206
The College of Arms 209
Doctors’ Commons, 1808 211
Queen Victoria Street _Facing_ 214
A Bas-relief of a Gardener, Gardeners’ Lane,
1791 219
Council Chambers, Vintners’ Hall 230
Whittington’s House 236
Cannon Street, looking West _Facing_ 250
Old Merchant Taylors’ School, Suffolk Lane,
Cannon Street 254
Fishmongers’ Hall, present day 260
London Bridge _Facing_ 260
Fishmongers’ Hall in 1811 261
St. Magnus 262
The Monument in 1752 265
The Coal Exchange 271
Billingsgate Market _Facing_ 272
Custom House _Facing_ 274
Clothworkers’ Hall 277
Whittington’s House, Crutched Friars, 1796 279
Pepys’ Church (St. Olave, Hart Street) 281
Trinity House, Tower Hill 284
Remains of London Wall, Tower Hill, 1818 285
Block, Axe, and Scavenger’s Daughter 288
Newgate Market, 1856 304
Newgate, 1799 305
Christ’s Hospital, from the Cloisters, 1804 308
An Exciting Game, Christ’s Hospital 319
The Oxford Arms, Warwick Lane 323
The Post Office, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Bull
and Mouth Inn, London 329
St. Paul’s Cathedral 334
Paternoster Row (as it was) 343
Paternoster Row _Facing_ 346
The City Boundary, Aldersgate 349
St. Bartholomew the Great 353
General Post Office _Facing_ 354
Cloth Fair 356
Old Coach and Horses, Cloth Fair 357
Long Lane, Smithfield, 1810 358
Bartholomew Fair, 1721 359
Fleet Street _Facing_ 364
Izaak Walton’s House in Fleet Street 366
St. Dunstan in the West (Old Church) 368
Inner Temple Gate House _Facing_ 374
Supposed House of Dryden, Fetter Lane 380
Dr. Johnson’s House 381
Fleet Ditch, West Street, Smithfield, as it was
in 1844 383
St. Paul’s School (before its removal to
Hammersmith) 402
THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY
It seems convenient in treating of the history and archæology of the
City to take the streets in groups, each group being in connection with
the main street to which it belongs. We may in this fashion conveniently
arrange the streets as follows:—
(1) Those north and south of Cheapside and the Poultry.
(2) Those north of Gresham Street and west of Moorgate Street.
(3) Those between Moorgate and Bishopsgate Streets.
(4) Those between Fenchurch and Bishopsgate Streets.
(5) Thames Street and the streets north and south of it.
(6) Newgate Street and the streets north and south of it.
(7) Fleet Street and the adjacent Courts (including the Temple and the
Rolls).
GROUP I
=Cheapside.=—We begin with the true heart of London, West Chepe, as it
was formerly called, and the streets lying north and south of this
marketplace. St. Paul’s Churchyard and Foster Lane mark our western
boundary; Princes Street and Walbrook, our eastern; Gresham Street
(formerly Cateaton Street) is on the north, and Cannon Street on the
south.
By the time of Queen Elizabeth we find the West Chepe, with its streets
north and south, laid out with something like the modern regularity. We
must therefore go back to earlier centuries to discover its origin.
West Chepe, from time immemorial, has been the most important market of
the City. It was formerly, say in the twelfth century, a large open
area. This area contained no fewer than twenty-five churches, of which
nine still exist. The churches are dotted about in apparent disorder,
which can be partly explained. For the market of Chepe was extended in
fact from the Church of St. Michael le Querne on the west, to that of
St. Christopher le Stock on the east, and lay between the modern Gresham
Street in the north and Watling Street in the south.
It is ordered in _Liber Albus_ that all manner of victuals are to be
sold between the kennels of the streets. The so-called streets were
narrow lanes, many of which remain to the present day.
There was, however, a principal way, not a street in our sense of the
word, on either side of which, on the north and on the south, as well as
along the middle, were stalls and shops. These stalls were at first mere
wooden sheds; the goods were exposed by day and removed at night; in
course of time they became permanent shops with living rooms at the back
and an upper chamber. Among the sheds stood “selds.” The seld was a
building not unlike the present Covent Garden Market, being roofed over
and containing shops and store-houses. Several “selds” are mentioned in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These were the “great-seld” in
the Mercery, called after the Lady Roisia de Coventre. This was near the
house of St. Thomas of Acon, where now stands the Mercers’ Hall. There
was also the “great seld of London,” in the ancient parish of St.
Pancras, therefore on the south side of Cheapside. There was again the
“seld of Fryday Street serving for foreign tanners, and time out of mind
occupied with these wares”; and there was a seld held in 1304 by John de
Stanes, mercer.
In the _Liber Albus_ the seld is distinguished from the “shop, the
cellar or solar.” It is also alluded to in the same book as the place
where wool and other commodities are sold. Bakers were forbidden to
store their bread in selds longer than one night. The seld was therefore
a warehouse, a weighing place, as well as a shop. Since we hear nothing
about selds in the _Calendar of Wills_ after the fourteenth century, we
may infer that a change had been made in the methods of the market. The
change in fact was this. North and south of what is now Cheapside were
arranged in order the stalls of those who sold everything; these stalls
were protected from the weather; the various branches or departments of
the market were separated by narrow lanes. It is impossible at this time
to assign all the various trades accurately each to its own place—in
fact, they always overlapped; but we can do so approximately. The names
of the streets belonging to Cheapside are a guide. For instance, Wood
Street, Milk Street, Honey Lane, Ironmonger Street, Old Jewry, the
Poultry, Scalding Alley, Soper Street, Bread Street, Friday Street, Old
Change, explain a great part of the disposition of the ancient market.
When we consider that twenty-five churches stood in or about the great
market, and that they were all presumably more ancient than the
Conquest, we may deduce the fact that the stalls very early became
closed shops, and in many cases permanent houses of residence, and that
the market contained a large resident population by which industries
were carried on as well as shops. With certain wares, such as milk,
honey, wood, spices, mercery, salt-fish, poultry, meat, and herbs, there
was no other industry than that of receiving, packing, and distributing.
We therefore find few churches between Wood Street and Ironmonger Lane,
the chief seat of these branches; while on the south side, for the same
reason, there are still fewer churches.
The South Chepe was occupied by money-changers, salt-fish dealers,
leather-sellers, bakers, mercers, pepperers, and herb-sellers.
Soap-makers were there also at one time, but they were banished to
another part of the City before the time of Edward the Second.
“Melters,” _i.e._ of lard and tallow, were also forbidden to carry on
their evil-smelling trade in West Chepe so far back as 1203.
A brief study, therefore, enables us to understand, first, why the
churches stand thickly in one part and thinly in another; next, that
West Chepe was a vast open market containing a resident population,
crowded where industries were carried on, and sparse where the goods
were simply exposed for sale; and, thirdly, that the place could be
easily converted into a tilting ground, as was done on many occasions,
by clearing away the “stationers,” that is to say, the people who held
stalls or stations about the crosses in Cheapside. On one occasion, at
least, this was done, to the great indignation of the people.
There are certain places in the country, and on the Continent, where the
mediæval market is still preserved in its most important features. For
instance, there is the market-place of Peterborough, which is still
divided by lanes, and which has areas allotted to the different trades;
and that of Rheims, where the ancient usages are preserved and followed,
even to the appearance of Autolycus, the Cheap Jack, and the Quack, who
may be seen and heard on every market day.
We may take Stow’s description of the Elizabethan Chepe:
“At the West end of this Poultrie, and also of Bucklesbury, beginneth
the large street of West Cheaping, a market place so called, which
street stretcheth west till ye come to the little conduit by Paule’s
gate, but not all of Cheape ward. In the east part of this street
standeth the great conduit of sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead
underground from Paddington for the service of this city, castellated
with stone, and cisterned in lead, about the year 1285, and again new
built and enlarged by Thomas Ilam, one of the sheriffs 1479.
“About the midst of this street is the Standard in Cheape, of what
antiquity the first foundation I have not read. But Henry VI., by his
patent dated at Windsor the 21st of his reign, which patent was
confirmed by parliament 1442, granted license to Thomas Knolles, John
Chichele, and other, executors to John Wells, grocer, sometime mayor of
London, with his goods to make new the highway which leadeth from the
city of London towards the palace of Westminster, before and nigh the
manor of Savoy, parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster, a way then very
ruinous, and the pavement broken, to the hurt and mischief of the
subjects, which old pavement then remaining in that way within the
length of five hundred feet, and all the breadth of the same before and
nigh the site of the manor aforesaid, they to break up, and with stone,
gravel, and other stuff, one other good and sufficient way there to make
for the commodity of the subjects.
“And further, that the Standard in Cheape, where divers executions of
the law beforetime had been performed, which standard at the present was
very ruinous with age, in which there was a conduit, should be taken
down, and another competent standard of stone, together with a conduit
in the same, of new, strongly to be built, for the commodity and honour
of the city, with the goods of the said testator, without interruption,
etc.
“Of executions at the Standard in Cheape, we read, that in the year 1293
three men had their right hands smitten off there, for rescuing of a
prisoner arrested by an officer of the city. In the year 1326, the
burgesses of London caused Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter,
treasurer to Edward II., and other, to be beheaded at the standard in
Cheape (but this was by Paule’s gate); in the year 1351, the 26th of
Edward III., two fishmongers were beheaded at the standard in Cheape,
but I read not of their offence; 1381, Wat Tyler beheaded Richard Lions
and other there. In the year 1399, Henry IV. caused the blank charters
made by Richard II. to be burnt there. In the year 1450, Jack Cade,
captain of the Kentish rebels, beheaded the Lord Say there. In the year
1461, John Davy had his hand stricken off there, because he had stricken
a man before the judges at Westminster, etc.
“Then next is a great cross in West Cheape, which cross was there
erected in the year 1290 by Edward I. upon occasion thus:—Queen Elianor
his wife died at Hardeby (a town near unto the city of Lincoln), her
body was brought from thence to Westminster; and the king, in memory of
her, caused in every place where her body rested by the way, a stately
cross of stone to be erected, with the queen’s image and arms upon it,
as at Grantham, Woborne, Northampton, Stony Stratford, Dunstable, St.
Albones, Waltham, West Cheape, and at Charing, from whence she was
conveyed to Westminster, and there buried.
“This cross in West Cheape being like to those other which remain to
this day, and being by length of time decayed, John Hatherle, mayor of
London, procured, in the year 1441, license of King Henry VI. to
re-edify the same in more beautiful manner for the honour of the city,
and had license also to take up two hundred fodder of lead for the
building thereof of certain conduits, and a common granary. This cross
was then curiously wrought at the charges of divers citizens: John
Fisher, mercer, gave six hundred marks toward it; the same was begun to
be set up 1484, and finished 1486, the 2nd of Henry VII.
“In the year 1599, the timber of the cross at the top being rotted
within the lead, the arms thereof bending, were feared to have fallen to
the harming of some people, and therefore the whole body of the cross
was scaffolded about, and the top thereof taken down, meaning in place
thereof to have set up a piramis; but some of her majesty’s honourable
councillors directed their letters to Sir Nicholas Mosley, then mayor,
by her highness’ express commandment concerning the cross, forthwith to
be repaired, and placed again as it formerly stood, etc.,
notwithstanding the said cross stood headless more than a year after.
After this (1600) a cross of timber was framed, set up, covered with
lead, and gilded, the body of the cross downward cleansed of dust, the
scaffold carried thence. About twelve nights following, the image of Our
Lady was again defaced, by plucking off her crown, and almost her head,
taking from her her naked child, and stabbing her in the breast, etc.
Thus much for the cross in West Cheape” (Stow’s _Survey_, 1633, pp.
278-80).
[Illustration:
CHEAPSIDE CROSS (AS IT APPEARED ON ITS ERECTION IN 1606).
From an original Drawing in the Pepysian Library, Cambridge.
]
The cross was the object of much abuse by the Puritans, who at last
succeeded in getting it pulled down. “On May 2nd, 1643, the Cross of
Cheapside was pulled down. A troop of horse and two companies of foot
waited to guard it; and, at the fall of the top cross, drums beat,
trumpets blew, and multitudes of caps were thrown into the air.... And
the same day, at night was the leaden popes[1] burnt in the place where
it stood, with ringing of bells and a great acclamation” (Wilkinson’s
_Londina Illustrata_).
To continue Stow’s account:
“Then at the west end of West Cheape Street, was sometime a cross of
stone, called the Old Cross. Ralph Higden, in his _Policronicon_, saith,
that Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, treasurer to Edward II., was
by the burgesses of London beheaded at this cross called the Standard,
without the north door of St. Paul’s church; and so is it noted in other
writers that then lived. This old cross stood and remained at the east
end of the parish church called St. Michael in the Corne by Paule’s
gate, near to the north end of the old Exchange, till the year 1390, the
13th of Richard II., in place of which old cross then taken down, the
said church of St. Michael was enlarged, and also a fair water conduit
built about the 9th of Henry VI.
“In the reign of Edward III., divers joustings were made in this street,
betwixt Sopers lane and the great cross, namely, one in the year 1331,
the 21st of September, as I find noted by divers writers of that time.
“In the middle of the city of London (say they), in a street called
Cheape, the stone pavement being covered with sand, that the horses
might not slide when they strongly set their feet to the ground, the
king held a tournament three days together, with the nobility, valiant
men of the realm, and other some strange knights. And to the end the
beholders might with the better ease see the same, there was a wooden
scaffold erected across the street, like unto a tower, wherein Queen
Philippa, and many other ladies, richly attired, and assembled from all
parts of the realm, did stand to behold the jousts; but the higher
frame, in which the ladies were placed, brake in sunder, whereby they
were with some shame forced to fall down, by reason whereof the knights
and such as were underneath, were grievously hurt; wherefore the queen
took great care to save the carpenters from punishment, and through her
prayers (which she made upon her knees) pacified the king and council,
and thereby purchased great love of the people. After which time the
king caused a shed to be strongly made of stone, for himself, the queen,
and other estates to stand on, and there to behold the joustings, and
other shows, at their pleasure, by the church of St. Mary Bow, as is
showed in Cordwainer street ward” (_ibid._).
In 1754 Strype writes:
“Cheapside is a very stately spacious street, adorned with lofty
buildings; well inhabited by Goldsmiths, Linen-Drapers, Haberdashers,
and other great dealers. The street, which is throughout of an equal
breadth, begins westward at Paternoster Row, and, in a straight line,
runs to the Poultry, and from thence to the Royal exchange in Cornhill.
And, as this Street is yet esteemed the principal high street in the
City, so it was formerly graced with a great Conduit, a Standard, and a
stately Cross; which last was pulled down in the Civil Wars. In the last
Part, almost over-against Mercers Chapel, stood a great Conduit; but
this Conduit, standing almost in the Middle of the street, being
incommodious for Coaches and Carts, was thought fit by the Magistracy,
after the great Fire, to be taken down, and built no more.”
The great Conduit of Chepe, commenced in 1285, brought the water from
Paddington, a distance of 3½ miles. It stood opposite Mercers’ Hall and
Chapel. It was a stone building long and low, battlemented, enclosing a
leaden cistern. In the year 1441 at the west end of Chepe and in the
east end of the Church of St. Michael le Querne, the smaller conduit was
erected. Both conduits were destroyed in the Great Fire—the larger one
was not rebuilt. The Standard opposite Honey Lane was in later years
fitted with a water cock always running. At the Standard many public
executions took place (Strype, vol. 1. p. 566).
Hardly any street of London is more frequently mentioned in annual
documents than Chepe. There are many ancient deeds of sale and
conveyances still preserved at the Guildhall, relating to property in
Chepe. In the _Calendar of Wills_, houses, etc., in Chepe are bequeathed
in more than two hundred wills there quoted; many ordinances concerning
Chepe are recorded in Riley’s _Memorials_.
Stow has given some of the history of Chepe. His account may be
supplemented by a few notes on other events and persons connected with
the street.
The antiquity of the street is proved by the discovery of Roman coins,
Roman _tesserae_, Romano-British remains of various kinds, and Saxon
jewels. It is not, however, until the thirteenth century that we find
historical events other than the conveyance, etc., of land and tenements
in Cheapside.
In the thirteenth century a part of Cheapside, if not the whole, was
called the Crown Field; the part so called was probably confined to a
space on the east of Bow Church.
In the year 1232 we find the citizens mustering in arms at Mile End and
“well arrayed” in Chepe.
In 1269 it is recorded that the pillory in Chepe was broken, and so
remained for a whole year by the negligence of the bailiffs, so that
nobody could be put in pillory for that time. The bakers seized the
opportunity for selling loaves of short weight—even a third part short.
But in 1270, on the Feast of St. Michael, the sheriffs had a new pillory
made and erected on the site of the old one. Then the hearts of the
bakers failed them for fear, and the weight of the loaves increased.
In 1273 the Mayor removed from Chepe all the stalls of the butchers and
fishmongers, together with the stalls which had been let and granted by
the preceding sheriffs, although the persons occupying them had taken
them for life and had paid large sums for their leases. This was a
political move, the intention being to deprive the stall-keepers of
their votes. The Mayor, however, defended the action on the ground that
the King was about to visit the City, and that it behoved him to clear
the way of refuse and encumbrances.
In the year 1326 a letter was sent by the Queen and her son Edward
calling upon the citizens of London to aid with all their power in
destroying the enemies of the land, and Hugh le Despenser in especial.
Wherefore, when the head of Hugh was carried in triumph through Chepe,
with trumpets sounding, the citizens rejoiced.
In October of the same year when the Bishop of Exeter, Walter de
Stapleton, was on his way to his house in “Elde Dean’s Lane” to dine
there, he was met by the mob, dragged into Chepe with one of his
esquires, and there beheaded. Another of the Bishop’s servants was
beheaded in Chepe the same day.
On the birth of Edward III. on November 13, 1312, the people of London
made great rejoicings, holding carols, _i.e._ dances and songs, in Chepe
for a fortnight, while the conduits ran wine.
In 1482 a grocer’s shop in Cheapside with a “hall” over it—perhaps a
warehouse—was let for the rental of £4 : 6 : 8 per annum. The owner of
the shop was Lord Howard, created Duke of Norfolk in 1483.
References to Cheapside multiply as we approach more modern times. In
1522, when Charles V. came to England, lodgings were appointed for his
retinue. Among them was a house in Cheapside, a goldsmith’s. It
contained one parlour, one kitchen, one chamber, and one bed. The murder
of Dr. Lambe in 1631, the execution of William Hacket in 1591, the
burning of the Solemn Covenant in 1661,—these are incidents in the
history of Cheapside. Many other events belonging either to the history
of the City or of the realm have been mentioned elsewhere.
In the sixteenth century one of the sights of London was the Goldsmiths’
Row, built in 1491 on the site of certain shops and selds. Stow calls
the Row “a most beautiful frame of faire houses and shops consisting of
ten faire dwellinghouses and fourteen shops, all in one frame, builded
foure stories high, beautified towards the street with the Goldsmith’s
Arms and the likeness of woodmen, in memory of his name, riding on
monstrous beasts all richly painted and gilt.” Maitland, who certainly
could not remember it, says that it was “beautiful to behold the
glorious appearance of the Goldsmith’s shops in the South row of
Cheapside, which in a course reached from the Old Change of Bucklersbury
exclusive of four shops only, of three trades, in all that space.”
Coming now to a description of Cheapside as it is at present, we find a
statue of Sir Robert Peel standing on a block of granite. The whole is
more than 20 feet in height. The statue was put up in 1855, and on the
pedestal is the inscription of Peel’s birth and death. On the north of
Cheapside is a large stone block of building in one uniform style with
shops on the ground floor. This contains the Saddlers’ Hall, and in the
middle is the great entrance way solidly carried out in stone.
THE SADDLERS COMPANY
The date of the formation of the Company, and the circumstances
under which it was founded, are unknown. It existed at a very remote
period. There is now preserved in the archives of the Collegiate
Church of Saint Martin’s-le-Grand a parchment containing a letter
from that foundation, in which reference is made to the then ancient
customs of the Guild. This document is believed to have been written
about the time of Henry II., Richard I., or John, most probably in
the first of these reigns. In this letter reference is made to
“Ernaldus, the Alderman of the Guild.” This Ernaldus is stated by
Mr. Alfred John Kempe, in his work _Historical Notices of the
Collegiate Church of Saint Martin’s-le-Grand_, to have lived before
the Conquest, by which it may be inferred that the Company is of
Anglo-Saxon origin.
King Edward I., A.D. 1272, granted a charter. King Edward III., by
his charter 1st December, 37 Edward III., A.D. 1363, granted that as
well in the City of London as in every other city, borough, or town
where the art of Saddlers is exercised, one or two honest and
faithful men of the craft should be chosen and appointed by the
Saddlers there dwelling to superintend and survey the craft. This
charter was exemplified and confirmed by Henry VI., Henry VII., and
Henry VIII.
Richard II., by charter 20th March, 18 Richard II., A.D. 1374,
granted to the men of the mystery of Saddlers of the City of London,
that for the good government of the mystery they may have one
commonalty of themselves for ever, and that the men of the same
mystery and commonalty may choose and appoint every year four
keepers of the men of the commonalty to survey, rule, and duly
govern the same. Furthermore, that the keepers and commonalty, and
their successors, may purchase lands, to the yearly value of twenty
pounds, for the sustentation of the poor, old, weak and decayed
persons of the mystery, and this charter was exemplified, ratified,
and confirmed by Edward IV.
Queen Elizabeth, by charter 9th November, 1 Elizabeth, A.D. 1558,
exemplifies, ratifies, and confirms the previous charters, and
reincorporates the Company by the name of the wardens or keepers and
commonalty of the mystery or art of Saddlers of the City of London.
The charter names and appoints four wardens to hold office from the
date of the charter until the 14th August then following, and
authorises them to keep within their common hall an assembly of the
wardens or keepers or freemen of the same mystery, or the greater
part of them, or of the wardens, and of eight of the most ancient
and worthy freemen, being of the assistants of the mystery, and that
the wardens and eight of the assistants at least being present shall
have full power to treat, consult, and agree upon the articles and
ordinances touching the mystery or art aforesaid, and the good rule,
state, and government of the same. Power is given to elect four
wardens on the 14th August yearly. Power of giving two votes is
given to the master at doubtful elections. Powers are also given for
the government and regulation of the trade.
This is one of the most ancient, as it is also one of the most
interesting, of the City Companies. Their original quarter was at
St. Martin’s-le-Grand. The saddle played an important part in every
man’s life at a time when riding was the only method of travelling.
The saddlers were connected with the Church of St. Martin’s-le-Grand
and made some kind of convention with the Canons, the nature of
which is uncertain. Probably the Canons promised them their aid in
support of their rights and privileges, in return for which their
religious gifts and fees were paid to the Church of St. Martin. The
mystery of saddlery, like all others, overlapped, and encroached
upon, other mysteries and crafts. Then there followed quarrels. Thus
in 1307 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 156) there was an affray between the
saddlers on one side and the loriners, joiners, and painters on the
other, on account of such encroachments. The quarrel was adjusted by
the Mayor and Aldermen. Another trouble to which so great a trade
was liable, was the desire of the journeymen to break off into
fraternities of their own. This pretension was seriously taken in
hand in 1796, and such fraternities were strictly forbidden.
The Company has had three halls, all on the same site. The first was
burned in the Great Fire; the second in 1822; the present hall was
built after the second fire, and is at No. 141 Cheapside.
At the corner of Wood Street is what remains of the churchyard of St.
Peter’s, Westcheap, the building of which was destroyed in the Great
Fire: a railed-in space, gravel covered and uninteresting, except for
the magnificent plane-tree which spreads its branches protectingly over
the low roofs in front. On the walls of the old houses near are fixed
two monuments, and a little stone tablet rather high up, with the
inscription:
“Erected at the sole cost and charges of the Parish of St. Peter’s,
Westcheap, A.D. 1687,”
followed by the names of the churchwardens.
=The Church of St. Peter, Westcheap=, was also called SS. Peter and
Paul. After the Great Fire its parish was annexed to that of St.
Matthew, Friday Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1302.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Abbot of St.
Alban’s before 1302. Henry VIII. seized it and granted it in 1545 to
the Earl of Southampton, in whose successors it continued up to
1666.
Houseling people in 1548 were 360.
A chantry was founded here at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary
by Nicholas de Faringdon, Mayor of London, 1313 and 1320, for
himself and Rose his wife, to which Lawrence Bretham de Faversham
was admitted chaplain, October 24, 1361; the endowment fetched £29 :
3 : 4 in 1548, when Sir W. Alee was priest. There was another at the
Altar of the Holy Cross.
Sir John Munday, goldsmith, Mayor, was buried here in 1527; also Sir
Alexander Avenon, Mayor in 1569; and Augustine Hind, clothworker,
Alderman, and Sheriff of London, who died in 1554.
The only charitable gifts recorded by Stow are: £2 : 4 : 4, the gift
of Sir Lionel Ducket; 3s. 4d., the gift of Lady Read; 7s. 6d., the
gift of Mr. Walton.
John Gwynneth, Mus. Doc. and author, was rector here in 1545; also
Richard Gwent, D.D., and William Boleyn, Archdeacon of Winchester.
ST. MARY-LE-BOW
But the ornament of Cheapside is St. Mary-le-Bow, which derived its
additional name from its stone “bows” or arches. The date of its
foundation is not known, but it appears to have been during or
before the reign of William the Conqueror. The court of the
Archbishop of Canterbury was held here before the Great Fire; and
though the connection between the church and the ecclesiastical
courts has ceased, it is still used for the confirmation of the
election of bishops. The “Court of Arches” owes its name to the fact
that it was held in the beautiful Norman crypt which still survives.
The church has been made famous, Stow observes, as the scene of
various calamities, of which he records details. In 1469 the Common
Council ordained the ringing of Bow Bell every evening at nine
o’clock, but the practice had existed for already more than a
century; in 1515 the largest of the five bells was presented by
William Copland. The church was totally destroyed in 1666, as well
as those of St. Pancras, Soper Lane and Allhallows, Honey Lane; the
two last were not rebuilt, their parishes being annexed to St.
Mary’s. Wren began building the present church in 1671 and completed
it in 1680. The cost was greater than any other of Wren’s parish
churches by £3000, £2000 of which was contributed by Dame
Williamson. The steeple was repaired by Sir William Staines in the
eighteenth century, and again in 1820 by Mr. George Gwilt. In 1758,
seven of the bells were recast, new ones were added, and the ten
were first rung in 1762 in honour of George III.’s birthday; the
full number now is twelve. In 1786 the parish of Allhallows, Bread
Street, was united with this.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1242.
The patronage of the church has always been in the hands of the
Archbishop of Canterbury and his successors, but Henry III.
presented to it in 1242.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The church measures 65 feet in length, 63 feet in breadth, and 38
feet in height; it contains a nave and two side aisles. The great
feature of the building is the steeple, which is the most elaborate
of all Wren’s works and only exceeded in height by St. Bride’s. It
rises at the north-west end of the church and measures 32 square
feet at the base. The tower contains three storeys. The highest is
surmounted by a cornice and balustrade with finials and vases, and a
circular dome supporting a cylinder, lantern, and spire. The
weather-vane is in the form of a dragon, the City emblem. The total
height is 221 feet 9 inches. The Norman crypt already mentioned
still remains, consisting of three aisles formed by massive columns;
it probably formed part of the building in William I.’s time.
Chantries were founded here:
By John Causton, to which John Steveyns was admitted chaplain,
December 2, 1452; by John Coventry, in the chapel of St. Nicholas;
by Henry Frowycke, whose endowment fetched £15 : 10s. in 1548; by
John de Holleghe, whose endowment produced £7 in 1548; by Dame
Eleanor, Prioress of Winchester, whose endowment yielded £4 in 1548.
The original church does not appear to have contained many monuments
of note. Among the civic dignitaries buried here was Nicholas
Alwine, Lord Mayor in 1499, whose name is familiar to readers of
_The Last of the Barons_.
Sir John Coventry, Mayor in 1425, was also buried here.
There is a tablet fixed over the vestry-room door, commemorating
Dame Dionis Williamson, who gave £2000 towards the building of the
church. On the west wall a sarcophagus commemorates Bishop Newton,
rector, who won celebrity by his edition of Milton first published
in 1749.
The parish possessed a considerable number of charities and gifts:
George Palin was donor of £100, to be devoted to the maintenance of
a weekly lecture.
Mr. Banton, of £50 for the same purpose. There were others, to the
total amount of £60.
There was one Charity School belonging to Cordwainer and Bread
Street Wards for fifty boys and thirty girls, who were put to
employments and trades when fit.
The following are among the notable rectors:
Martin Fotherby (d. 1619), Bishop of Salisbury; Samuel Bradford
(1652-1731), Bishop of Gloucester; Samuel Lisle (1683-1749), Bishop
of Norwich; Nicholas Felton (1556-1626), Bishop of Bristol; Thomas
Newton (1704-1782), Bishop of Bristol; and William Van Mildert
(1765-1836), Bishop of Llandaff, and later the last Prince-Bishop of
Durham.
Quaint sayings and traditions have gathered more thickly about St.
Mary’s than about any of the City churches. Dick Whittington’s story has
made the name familiar to every British child; while to be born “within
sound of Bow Bells” is more dignified than to own oneself a Cockney. In
sooth-saying we have the prophecy of Mother Shipton that when the
Grasshopper on the Exchange and the Dragon on Bow Church should meet,
the streets should be deluged with blood. They did so meet, being sent
to the same yard for repair at the same time, but the prophecy was not
fulfilled.
The ringing of the Bow bells in the Middle Ages signified closing-time
for shops, and the ringer incurred the wrath of the apprentices of Chepe
if he failed to be punctual to the second.
We now proceed to the =Poultry=.
Stow thus describes the place:
“Now to begin again on the bank of the said Walbrooke, at the east end
of the high street called the Poultrie, on the north side thereof, is
the proper parish church of St. Mildred, which church was new built upon
Walbrooke in the year 1457. John Saxton their parson gave thirty-two
pounds towards the building of the new choir, which now standeth upon
the course of Walbrooke.”
Strype says of it:
“The Poultry, a good large and broad Street, and a very great
thoroughfare for Coaches, Carts, and foot-passengers, being seated in
the Heart of the City, and leading to and from the Royal Exchange; and
from thence to Fleet Street, the Strand, Westminster, and the western
parts: and therefore so well inhabited by great tradesmen. It begins in
the West, by the old Jewry, where Cheapside ends, and reaches the Stocks
market by Cornhill. On the North side is Scalding Alley; a large place,
containing two or three Alleys, and a square Court with good buildings,
and well inhabited; but the greatest part is in Bread Street Ward, where
it is mentioned.”
Roman knives and weapons have been found in the Poultry. The valley of
the Walbrook, 130 feet in width, began its slope here. Nearly opposite
Princes Street, a modern street, there was anciently a bridge over the
stream. We find in the thirteenth century an inquest held here over the
body of one Agnes de Golden Lane, who was found starved to death, a rare
circumstance at that time, and only possible, one would think,
considering the charity of the monastic houses, in the case of a
bedridden person forgotten or deserted by her own people. In the
fourteenth century there are various bequests of shops and tenements in
the Poultry. In the fifteenth century we find that there was a brewery
here, near the Compter; how did the brewer get his water? In the same
century the Compter—which was one of the two sheriffs’ prisons—seems to
belong to one Walter Hunt, a grocer. In the sixteenth century one of the
rioters of 1517 was hanged in the Poultry; there was trouble about the
pavements and complaints were made of obstructions by butchers,
poulterers, and the ancestors of the modern coster, who sold things from
barrows, stopping up the road and refusing to move on. Before the Fire
there were many taverns in the Poultry; some of them had the signs which
have been found belonging to the Poultry.
The later associations of the place have been detailed by Cunningham:
“Lubbock’s Banking-house is leased of the Goldsmiths, being part of Sir
Martin Bowes’s bequest to the Company in Queen Elizabeth’s time. The
King’s Head Tavern, No. 25, was kept in Charles II.’s time by William
King. His wife happening to be in labour on the day of the King’s
restoration, was anxious to see the returning monarch, and Charles, in
passing through Poultry, was told of her inclination, and stopped at the
tavern to salute her. No. 22 was Dilly, the bookseller’s. Here Dr.
Johnson met John Wilkes at dinner; and here Boswell’s life of Johnson
was first published. Dilly sold his business to Mawman. No. 31 was the
shop of Vernor and Hood, booksellers. Hood of this firm was father of
the facetious Tom Hood, and here Tom was born in 1798” (_Hand-book of
London_).
Here is a little story. It happened in 1318. One John de Caxtone,
furbisher by trade, going along the Poultry—one charitably hopes that he
was in liquor—met a certain valet of the Dean of Arches who was carrying
a sword under his arm, thinking no evil. Thereupon John assaulted him,
apparently without provocation, and drawing out the sword, wounded the
said valet with his own weapon. This done, he refused to surrender to
the Mayor’s sergeant, nor would he give himself up till the Mayor
himself appeared on the spot. We see the crowd—all the butchers in the
Poultry collected together: on the ground lies the wounded valet,
bleeding, beside him is the sword, the assailant blusters and swears
that he will not surrender, the Mayor’s sergeant remonstrates, the crowd
increases, then the Mayor himself appears followed by other sergeants, a
lane is made, and at sight of that authority the man gives in. The
sergeants march him off to Newgate, the crowd disperses, the butchers go
back to their stalls, the women to their baskets, the costers to their
barrows. For five days the offender cools his heels at Newgate. Then he
is brought before the Mayor. He throws himself on the mercy of the
judge, sureties are found for him that he will keep the peace, and he
consents to compensate the wounded man.
For Stocks Market, St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, on the site of which the
Mansion House stands, and the vicinity, formerly included in the
Poultry, see Group III.
At the east end of the Poultry is =Grocers’ Alley=, formerly Conyhope
Lane, of which Stow says:
“Then is Conyhope Lane, of old time so called of such a sign of three
conies hanging over a poulterer’s stall at the lane’s end. Within this
lane standeth the Grocers’ hall, which company being of old time called
Pepperers, were first incorporated by the name of Grocers in the year
1345.” The Grocers’ Hall really opens into Princes Street.
THE GROCERS COMPANY
The Company’s records begin partly in Norman-French, partly in Old
English, as follows: “To the honour of God, the Virgin Mary, St.
Anthony and All Saints, the 9th day of May 1345, a Fraternity was
founded of the Company of Pepperers of Soper’s Lane for love and
unity to maintain and keep themselves together, of which Fraternity
are sundry beginners, founders, and donors to preserve the said
Fraternity.”
(Here follow twenty-two names.)
The same twenty-two persons “accorded to be together at a dinner in
the Abbot’s Place of Bury on the 12th of June following, and then
were chosen two the first Wardens that ever were of our Fraternity,”
and certain ordinances were agreed to by assent among the
Fraternity, providing that no person should be of the Fraternity “if
not of good condition and of this craft, that is to say, a Pepperer
of Soper’s Lane or a Spicer in the ward of Cheap, or other people of
their mystery, wherever they reside”; for contributions among the
members, for the purposes of the Fraternity, including the
maintenance of a priest; the wearing of a livery; arbitration by the
Wardens upon disputes between members; attendance at Mass at the
Monastery of St. Anthony on St. Anthony’s Day, and at a feast on
that day or within the octave, at which feast the Wardens should
come with chaplets and choose and crown two other Wardens for the
year ensuing; attendance at the funerals of members; the taking of
apprentices; assistance of unfortunate members out of the common
stock; and that “any of the Fraternity may according to his
circumstance and free will devise what he chooses to the common box
for the better supporting the Fraternity and their alms.”
From external evidence it appears that for two centuries at least
before 1345 there had existed a Guild of Pepperers, who had
superseded the Soapers in Soper’s Lane, and probably absorbed them.
The twenty-two Pepperers, who in 1345 founded the social,
benevolent, and religious fraternity of St. Anthony, were of “good
condition,” probably the most influential and wealthy men in the
Pepperers’ guild; in founding the new brotherhood “for greater love
and unity” and “to maintain and assist one another,” they did not
desert their old guild, but formed a new fraternity within it. They
did not seek, apparently, to alter the institution of the Guild of
Pepperers, nor did they adopt a distinctive title for themselves;
but the movement was obviously an important one, and attracted
notice and jealousy, which was perhaps increased by the foreign
connections of some of the members. So rapidly did the Company gain
favour and strength that in 1383, not forty years after its
foundation, there were one hundred and twenty-nine liverymen of whom
not less than sixteen were Aldermen. At that time, no doubt, the
Company exercised a preponderating influence in the City of London.
The new brotherhood was styled the Fraternity of St. Anthony from
1348 to 1357. After this year there is an hiatus in the Company’s
records, and when these recommence in 1373 the title is “company” or
“fraternity” of “gossers,” “grosers,” “groscers,” or “grocers.”
The origin of the term “grocer” and its application to the Company
are involved in considerable obscurity. As far as can be
ascertained, the first use of the word, officially, is against the
Company from without, and in an aspect of reproach. It occurs in a
petition to the King and Parliament in 1363, against the new
fraternity that “les Marchantz nomez Grossers engrossent toutes
maneres de marchandises vendables.”
It is by no means improbable that the term, first suggested by less
successful rivals in trade, was adopted by the leading dealers “en
gros” for the name of the company, which formed round the Fraternity
of St. Anthony, and probably absorbed the whole Guild of Pepperers.
From this time forward the Company began to act with energy in the
interests of trade. In 1394 we find them, together with some Italian
merchants, presenting a petition to the Corporation complaining of
the unjust mode of “garbling,” _i.e._ cleansing or purifying spices
and other “sotill wares.” The petition was entertained, and the
Company were requested to recommend a member of their own body to
fill the office, and on their nomination Thomas Halfmark was chosen
and sworn garbeller of “spices and sotill ware.”
The fraternity, after holding their meetings for three years at
the Abbot of Bury’s, assembled in 1348 at Fulsham’s house at the
Rynged Hall, in St. Thomas Apostle, close to St. Anthony’s Church
in Budge Row, Watling Street, where they at this time obtained
permission to erect a chantry, etc., and called themselves the
Fraternity of St. Anthony. They ultimately collected at
Bucklersbury (“Bokerellesbury”), at the Cornet’s Tower, which had
been used by Edward III. at the beginning of his reign as his
exchange of money and exchequer. Here the Company began to
exercise the functions entrusted to them of superintending the
public weighing of merchandise.
In 1411 a descendant of Lord FitzWalter, who, in the reign of Henry
III., had obtained possession of the chapel of St. Edmund which
adjoined his family mansion, sold the chapel to the Company for 320
marks, and in the next reign the Company purchased the family
mansion and built their Hall upon the site. The foundation stone was
laid in 1427 and the building was completed in the following year.
The expenses were defrayed by the contributions of members. Five
years later the garden was added.
In 1428 the Company’s first charter of incorporation was granted by
King Henry VI., and they became a body politic by the name of
“Custodes et Communitas Mysterii Groceriæ Londini.” Nineteen years
later the same king granted to the Company the exclusive right of
garbling throughout all places in the kingdom of England, except the
City of London.
In 1453 the Company, having the charge and management of the public
scale or King’s Beam, made a regular tariff of charges. It appears
that to John Churchman, grocer, who served the office of sheriff in
1385, the trade of London is indebted for the establishment of the
first Custom House. Churchman, in the sixth year of Richard II.,
built a house on Woolwharf Key, in Tower Street Ward, for the
tronage or weighing of wools in the port of London, and a grant of
the right of tronage was made by the King to Churchman for life. It
is probable that Churchman, being unable of himself to manage so
considerable a concern as the public scale, obtained the assistance
of his Company, and thus the management of the weigh-house and the
appointment of the officers belonging to it came into the hands of
the Grocers Company.
Henry VIII. granted to the City of London the Beam with all
appurtenances, and directed its management to be committed to some
expert in weights. The City thereupon gave the management to the
Company, only requiring one-third of the profits. The Company
enjoyed, uninterruptedly, these privileges up to 1625, when a
dispute arose with the City, and an agreement was made whereby the
Company were to appoint four under-porters, and present four
candidates for Master Porter, the Lord Mayor to choose one of them.
Several disputes followed with the Corporation, who in 1700 ejected
the officers appointed by the Company, and tried their right at law.
No result is reported, but the Company filled up vacancies after
that date, and up to 1797, when a Bill was passed for making Wet
Docks at Wapping, and this appears to have had the effect of
depriving the Company of their privileges.
The Company throughout this period kept, in common with others, a
store of corn, according to ancient custom, for the supply of the
poor at reasonable prices when bread was dear.
The Company was also bound to maintain an armoury at their Hall.
At the time of the Great Plague in 1665 the Company were assessed in
various sums of money for the relief of the poor, and they also
provided a large quantity of coals.
The next year the Great Fire of London inflicted losses on the
Company from which it did not recover for nearly a century. The
Company’s Hall and all the adjacent buildings (save the turret in
the garden, which fortunately contained the records and muniments of
the Company) and almost all the Company’s houses were destroyed. The
silver recovered from the ruins of the Hall was remelted and
produced nearly 200 lbs. weight of metal; this was sold for the
Company’s urgent present necessities. In 1668 Sir John Cutler came
forward and proposed to rebuild the parlour and dining-room at his
own charge. In the same year ninety-four members were added to the
Livery. The next year a petition was presented to Parliament praying
for leave to bring in a Bill to raise £20,000 by an equal assessment
upon the members of the Company of ability. The application to
Parliament failed, and an effort was then made to raise the £20,000
among the members, but only £6000 was subscribed.
In January 1671 a Special Court was summoned to consider a Bill
exhibited in Parliament by some of the Company’s creditors, praying
for an Act for the sale of the Company’s Hall, lands, and estates to
satisfy debts; and to make members of the Court liable for debts
incurred. A Committee was appointed and in 1672 the Hall was, at the
instance of the Governors of Christ’s Hospital, sequestered, and the
Company ejected till 1679, when, after great difficulties and
impediments, money was borrowed to pay off the debts and get rid of
the intruders. In 1680 the Court of Assistants agreed that the most
effectual way of regaining public confidence was to rebuild the
Hall.
In order to prevent a second sequestration an Inquisition was taken
in 1680 before Commissioners for Charitable Uses, and, pursuant to a
decree made by those Commissioners, a period of twenty years was
allowed to the Company to discharge their debts. The next year, to
secure an accession of influence and talent for the support of the
Company, sixty-five members were added to the Court, and a number of
Freemen were summoned, and eighty-one members added to the Livery.
In 1683 the Company arranged, by arbitration, their difficulties
with the Governors of Christ’s Hospital, and their prospects
appeared more hopeful when the celebrated Writ of Quo Warranto was
issued by King Charles II. against the City charters and liberties.
The Company, with the view of propitiating the King, by deed under
seal, voluntarily surrendered the powers, franchises, privileges,
liberties, and authorities granted or to be used or exercised by the
Wardens and Commonalty, and the right of electing and nominating to
the several offices of Wardens, Assistants, and Clerk of the
Company, and besought his Majesty to accept their surrender. Charles
II. obtained judgment upon the Quo Warranto against the City, and
all the redress that the Company could obtain was the grant of
another charter under such restrictions as the King should think
fit. His successor, James II., with a view to secure the goodwill
and support of the City, sent for the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and
voluntarily declared his determination to restore the City charters
and liberties as they existed before the issuing of the Writ of Quo
Warranto; and subsequently Judge Jeffreys came to Guildhall and
delivered the charters with two grants of restoration to the Court
of Aldermen.
The history of the Company during the eighteenth century is an
account of pecuniary difficulties and the gradual extrication by the
public spirit and foresight of the members.
As regards the profession or trade of the members, a return exists
of the whole numbers for the year 1795 when the Court contained 32,
the livery numbered 81, and the freemen 228. Of these, 40 were
Grocers.
The number of the Livery returned in 1898 was 183. The Corporate
Income was £37,500; the Trust Income was £500.
The advantages of being a member of the Company are as follows:
(1) Freemen are entitled to apply on behalf of their children for
the Company’s presentations (six in number) to Christ’s Hospital;
for the Company’s Scholarships for free education at the City of
London School. The orphan children of freemen are alone eligible for
the three presentations to the London Orphan Asylum.
Freemen are entitled to take apprentices.
Freemen, and widows and daughters of freemen, in needy circumstances
may apply for relief, either temporary or permanent. Loans to
freemen are practically abolished.
(2) Twelve months after a liveryman has been elected he is entitled,
provided he live within twenty-five miles of the polling place,
Guildhall, to be put upon the Register of Voters for the City, which
entitles him to a vote at the election of Members of Parliament for
the City; a liveryman is also entitled to vote at the election of
the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London. The livery receive
invitations from the Master and Wardens to the four public dinners
in the months of November, February, May, and July, in each year,
and at every fifth dinner an invitation for a friend as well.
In some years when the honorary freedom of the Company is bestowed
on distinguished personages, there is an extra public dinner to
which the livery are invited. At the public dinner in May, called
the Restoration Feast, a box of sweetmeats is presented to every
guest. Liverymen, and the widows and daughters of liverymen in needy
circumstances may apply for relief, either temporary or permanent.
The Hall of the Company has always occupied the same site since the
first erection in 1427, when the Wardens bought part of the demesne
of Lord FitzWalter in Conyhope Lane.
This building perished in the Great Fire of 1666. A new hall was
built, but in 1798-1802 this building was pulled down and rebuilt.
Alterations and additions were made in 1827, when the present
entrance into Princes Street was constructed. There were formerly
three ways of access to the hall—one from the Old Jewry; one by the
lane called Grocers’ Alley; and one by Scalding Lane from St.
Mildred, Poultry, of which a scrap of the churchyard still remains.
The two lanes opened on a small _Place_ on the north side of which
was Grocers’ Hall and on the south side the Poultry Compter.
The hall destroyed in 1666 would have become by this time historical
as the place to which the Houses removed from Westminster in 1642
after the attempt to seize the five members on 4th January of that
year. The Committee appointed by both Houses met first at Guildhall
and adjourned to Grocers’ Hall to “treat of the safety of the
Kingdoms of England and Ireland.” It was in this hall that the City
entertained the Houses, June 17, 1645, in the midst of the Civil
War, and on June 7, 1649, when the Civil War was over. For forty
years, 1694-1734, the Grocers’ Hall was rented and occupied by the
Governors and Company of the Bank of England.
The Company numbered among its members Charles II., James II.,
William III., the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, George Canning, and
many others.
In the eighteenth century, the “Lane” was chiefly occupied by houses
called spunging houses; here persons were confined by the sergeants
belonging to the Poultry Compter, so that they might come to some
compromise with their creditors, and not be taken into prison.
Hawkesworth, essayist and man of letters, was originally clerk to an
attorney in this court. Boyse, the ragged poet, was confined in one of
the spunging houses. Here he wrote the Latin letter to Cave:
INSCRIPTION FOR ST. LAZARUS’S CAVE.
Hodie, teste coelo summo,
Sine pane, sine nummo;
Sorte positus infeste,
Scribo tibi dolens moeste.
Fame, bile, tumet jecur:
Urbane, mitte opem, precor,
Tibi enim cor humanum
Non a malis alienum:
Mihi mens nec male grato,
Pro a te favore dato.—ALCÆEUS.
Ex gehenna debitoria,
Vulgo domo spongiatoria.
The Alley led to an open court. In this open place in 1688 a cart-load
of seditious books was burned.
The east side of the Place is at present occupied by one wall of the
Gresham Life Assurance Society, a magnificent building facing Poultry.
It has finely proportioned polished granite columns with Corinthian
capitals adding strength to the frontage, and a balcony with parapet
running horizontally across the front. This was rebuilt in 1879. It
stands on the site of St. Mildred, Poultry.
=The Church of St. Mildred, Poultry=, was situated on the north side
of the Poultry. It was rebuilt in 1456, and, after being destroyed
by the Great Fire, again rebuilt in 1676, when the parish of St.
Mary Colechurch was annexed. In 1872 it was taken down, and the
parish joined to St. Olave, Jewry. The earliest date of an incumbent
is 1247. The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior
and Convent of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, 1325; Henry VIII., 1541,
and so continued in the Crown.
Houseling people in 1548 were 277.
Chantries were founded here by Solomon Lanfare or Le Boteler,
citizen and cutler, at the Altar of Blessed Virgin Mary, to which
Wm. de Farnbergh was admitted chaplain, October 4, 1337; by Hugh
Game, poulterer, who endowed it with rents, which fetched £10 in
1548, when John Mobe was priest; by John Brown, for himself, his
wife, Margaret his daughter, and Giles Walden, etc., to which John
de Cotyngham was admitted chaplain, April 6, 1366. One John Mymmes
had licence from Richard II. to found the Guild of Fraternity of
Corpus Christi here; the endowment fetched £10 : 8 : 8 in 1548, when
John Wotton was priest thereof. Here was a “Little Chapell” valued
at 60s. in 1548.
Thomas Ashehill was buried here; he gave great help in rebuilding
the church about 1450; also Thomas Morstead, chirurgeon to Henry
IV., V., and VI., and one of the sheriffs of London. In more recent
times, Wm. Cronne was commemorated; he was a Fellow of the Royal
Society and of the College of Physicians, and died in 1706.
A great number of benefactors are recorded by Stow, of which the
most notable are: William Watson, of £100, whereof £65 was received;
William Tudman, of £247 in all, for various charities; Sarah Tudman,
of £80; Lady Elizabeth Allington, £200, towards rebuilding.
One free school is recorded, called Mercers’ School (Stow).
John Williams (d. 1709), Bishop of Chichester, 1696, was rector
here; also Benjamin Newcome, D.D., Dean of Rochester.
On the east side of Grocers’ Hall Court stood the =Poultry Compter=.
Strype describes the place and its government.
[Illustration:
ST. MILDRED, POULTRY
]
“Somewhat west to this Church is the Poultry Compter, being the Prison
belonging to one of the Sheriffs of London, for all such as are arrested
within the City and liberties thereof. And, besides this Prison, there
is another of the same Nature in Wood Street for the other Sheriff; both
being of the same nature, and have the like officers for the Execution
of the concerns belonging thereunto, as shall be here taken notice of.
So that what is said here for Poultry Compter, belongs also to Wood
Street Compter.
“The Charge of those prisons is committed to the Sheriffs.
“Unto each Compter also belongs a Master Keeper; and under him two
Turnkeys, and other servitors.
[Illustration:
INSIDE THE POULTRY COMPTER
]
“The poorer sort of prisoners, as well in this Compter, as in that in
Wood Street, receive daily relief from the sheriff’s table, of all the
broken meat and bread. And there are divers gifts given by several well
disposed people, towards their subsistence. Besides which, there are
other benevolences frequently sent to all the prisons by charitable
persons; many of which do conceal their names, doing it only for charity
sake. And there are other gifts, some for the releasement of such as lie
in only for prison fees; and others, for the release of such, whose
debts amount not to above such or such a sum” (Strype, vol. i. p. 567).
This was the only prison in London with a ward set apart for Jews. “Here
died Lamb, the conjuror (commonly called Dr. Lamb), of the injuries he
had received from the mob, who pelted him (June 13, 1628), from Moorgate
to the Windmill in the Old Jewry, where he was felled to the ground with
a stone, and was thence carried to the Poultry Compter, where he died
the same night. The rabble believed that the doctor dealt with the
devil, and assisted the Duke of Buckingham in misleading the king. The
last slave imprisoned in England was confined (1772) in the Poultry
Compter. This was Somerset, a negro, the particulars of whose case
excited Sharpe and Clarkson in their useful and successful labour in the
cause of negro emancipation” (Cunningham’s _Hand-book of London_).
When Whitecross Street Prison (1815-1870) was erected, the prisoners
were removed there from the Poultry, and the site of the Compter was
built upon partly by a Congregational Chapel, the congregation of which
removed to the Holborn Viaduct when the City Temple was built.
The prison was burned down in the Fire, whereupon the prisoners were
taken to Aldgate until it was rebuilt. It was an ill-kept, unventilated,
noisome place.
It is worthy of note that the earliest bequest to the Compter mentioned
in the _Calendar of Wills_ belongs to the fifteenth century, and that
most of the legacies to the prisoners were made after the Reformation
and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In some of them we find mention of
the “Hole” and of the “Twopenny Ward.”
In 1378 there was an altercation between the Mayor and one of the
sheriffs. Allusion is made to that sheriff’s “own compter” in Milk
Street, which may be taken for that of Wood Street, as the Compter lay
between the two, though it stood in Bread Street until the year 1555. In
the year 1382 a sumptuary law was issued restricting the dress of women
of loose life, and those who offended were to be taken to one of the
Compters. In 1388 we find the porter of a Compter insulting Adam Bamme,
alderman, for which he was removed from his office. We find also a
householder taken to the Compter for refusing to pay his rates and
abusing the collector. In 1413, an old man named John Arkwythe, a
scrivener, was summoned by Alderman Sevenoke for allowing the escape of
a certain priest caught in adultery in St. Bride’s Church. John Arkwythe
lost his temper, clutched the Alderman by the breast and threatened him.
They sent him to Newgate, but, considering his age, they let him go,
only depriving him of the freedom of the City. In 1418, one William
Foucher, for contempt of Court, was sent to solitary imprisonment in the
Compter, and prohibited from speaking to any one except those who should
counsel him repentance and amendment.
From these cases it would appear that the Compters were used partly as
houses of detention before trial, and that trial was frequently deferred
in order that the offender might endure a term of imprisonment in
addition to the pillory, or the release on finding security, which would
follow.
West of Grocers’ Alley is the =Old Jewry=, one of the most interesting
places in the whole of London on account of its having been the Ghetto,
though not a place of humiliation, for the Jews of London. When they
came to London they received this quarter for their residence; why this
place, so central, so convenient for the despatch of business, was
assigned to them, no one has been able to discover. In the learned work
of Mr. Joseph Jacobs (_The Jews of Angevin England_) he shows that Jews
were in Oxford and Cambridge as well as in London in the time of the
Normans.
The older name of the street was Colechurch Street. In the Receipts and
Perquisites of the Tower from the Jews of London are found the
following:
For two pounds found in the Jewry for
forfeit 60s.
[The sense of this entry is doubtful. Perhaps the two pounds were
forfeited and 60 is wrongly transcribed for 40 (lx. for xl.).]
(Guildhall MS. 129, vol. ii. p. 95_a_.)
From a certain Christian woman found in the
Jewry for the purpose of making an
exchange. She fled and threw away the
money 100s. (_ibid._ p. 97).
From a certain goldsmith fighting in the
Jewry, of a fine 21s. (_ibid._ p. 96).
From Nicholas, the convert, goldsmith of
London, for his boys fighting in the Jewry 100s. (_ibid._ p. 97).
From a certain Christian found in the Jewry
by night 7s. 11½d. (_ibid._ p. 97).
From a certain boy coming into the Jewry 66s. 8d. (_ibid._ p. 97).
From John of Lincoln because he was found in
the Jewry by night £6 (_ibid._ p. 97).
From a certain Christian woman in the Jewry
by night 18s. (_ibid._ p. 97).
It thus appears that the Jewry was walled in with gates. Had it been a
simple street, a thoroughfare, there could have been no objection to any
one passing through. As for the teaching of the Church respecting Jews,
these extracts from Mr. Jacob’s book will show the hatred which was
inculcated towards them.
“If any Christian woman takes gifts from the infidel Jews or of her own
will commits sin with them, let her be separated from the church a whole
year and live in much tribulation, and then let her repent for nine
years. But if with a pagan let her repent seven years.
“If any Christian accepts from the infidel Jews their unleavened cakes
or any other meat or drink and share in their impieties, he shall do
penance with bread and water for forty days; because it is written ‘to
the pure all things are pure.’
“It is allowable to celebrate mass in a church where faithful and pious
ones have been buried. But if infidels or heretics or faithless Jews be
buried, it is not allowed to sanctify or celebrate mass; but if it seem
suitable for consecration, tearing thence the bodies or scraping or
washing the walls, let it be consecrated if it has not been so
previously.”
The earliest mention of the Jews occurs in the _Terrier of St. Paul’s_,
1115:
“In the ward of Haco ... in the Jew’s street (?Old Jewry) the land of
Lusbert, in the front on the west side, is 32 feet in breadth. Towards
St. Olave’s is fourscore and fifteen feet; again towards St. Olave’s is
65 feet, and in the front 13 feet. The land in the front is 73 feet, and
in depth 41 feet, and pays 10s.”
In 1264, and again in 1267, the popular hatred of the Jews broke out
with unmistakable violence. They fled to the Tower, while the mob
destroyed and sacked their buildings.
In 1290 they were banished.
Their synagogue, which stood in the north-east corner of the present
street, was given to the Fratres de Saccâ (see _Mediæval London_, vol.
ii. p. 365), and on their dissolution it was ceded to Robert FitzWalter
and converted into a merchant’s residence. Here lived and died Robert
Large to whom Caxton was apprenticed.
The later history of the street may be quoted from Cunningham:
“The last turning but two on the east side (walking towards Cateaton
Street) was called Windmill Court, from the Windmill Tavern, mentioned
in the curious inventory of ‘Innes for Horses seen and viewed,’
preparatory to the visit of Charles V. of Spain to Henry VIII., in the
year 1522. ‘From the Windmill,’ in the old Jewry, Master Wellbred writes
to Master Knowell, in Ben Jonson’s play of _Every Man in his Humour_.
Kitely, in the same play, was a merchant in the Old Jewry. The house or
palace of Sir Robert Clayton (of the time of Charles II.), on the east
side, was long a magnificent example of a merchant’s residence,
containing a superb banquetting-room, wainscotted with cedar, and
adorned with battles of gods and giants. Here the London Institution was
first lodged; and here, in the rooms he occupied as librarian, Professor
Porson died (1808). Dr. James Foster, Pope’s ‘modest Foster’—
Let modest Foster, if he will, excel
Ten Metropolitans in preaching well—
was a preacher in the Old Jewry for more than twenty years. He first
became popular from Lord Chancellor Hardwicke stopping in the porch of
his chapel in the Old Jewry, to escape from a shower of rain. Thinking
he might as well hear what was going on, he went in, and was so well
pleased that he sent all his great acquaintances to hear Foster.”
Alexander Brown, the cavalier song-writer, was an attorney in the Lord
Mayor’s Court in this street, and Bancroft, who built the almshouses of
Mile End, was an officer in the court. Sir Jeffrey Bullen, Lord Mayor,
1457, lived in this street, where he was a mercer.
In the fifteenth century there was standing in Old Jewry, north of St.
Olave’s Church, and extending to the north end of Ironmonger Lane and
down the lane as far as St. Martin’s Church, a large building of stone
“very ancient,” the history and purpose of which were unknown except
that Henry VI. appointed one John Stert, keeper of the place, which he
called his principal palace in the Old Jewry. It was standing when Stow
was a boy, but he says the outward stone-work was little by little taken
down, and houses built upon the site. It was known as the Old Wardrobe.
I know of no other reference to this place, but one would like to learn
more. The taking away of the stone “little by little” accounts in like
manner for the gradual disappearance of the ruins of the monastic
houses.
The modern street is not of much interest. The City Police Office is in
a court of some size near the north end. The Old King’s Head is in an
elaborate building faced with red sandstone, and a grimy blackened old
brick house close by contains the Italian Consulate.
In Frederick Place are two rows of Georgian houses in dull brick,
varying only slightly in detail. The iron link-holders of a past fashion
still survive on the railings before some of the houses. No. 8, at the
south-eastern corner, contains some curious and interesting mantels. One
of these has a central panel representing a boar hunt; this is in relief
enclosed in a large oval. There are fine details also in other
fireplaces in the house.
But these are not the only objects of interest in Frederick Place, for
in exactly the opposite corner, the north-west, in a house numbered 4,
are one or two fireplaces which surpass these in beauty if not in
quaintness. In one of the rooms there is a very high and
well-proportioned white marble mantelpiece, with singularly little
decoration, which is yet most effective. All these houses are now used
as offices by business men, and the evidences of bygone domestic
occupation add a human interest to the daily routine.
=St. Mary Colechurch= was situated in the Poultry at the south-west
corner of the Old Jewry. It was burnt down in the Great Fire, and
not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of St. Mildred,
Poultry. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1252.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of Henry III., who
presented to it one Roger de Messendene, April 21, 1252; then the
Master and Brethren of St. Thomas de Acon; afterwards Henry VIII.,
who granted it to the Mercer’s Company, April 21, 1542.
Houseling people in 1548 were 220.
Chantries were founded here by Thomas de Cavendish, late citizen and
mercer, at the Altar of St. Katherine, to which Roger de Elton was
instituted chaplain, March 15, 1362-63; Agnes Fenne, who left by
Will, dated March 28, 1541, £140 to maintain a priest for twenty
years; Henry IV. granted a licence to William Marechalcap and others
to found a Fraternity in honour of St. Katherine, February 19,
1399-1400; a further licence was granted by Henry VI., June 19,
1447, the endowment of which fetched £9 in 1548, when Robert Evans
was Chaplain.
No monuments are recorded by Stow. In this church St. Thomas à
Becket and St. Edmund were baptized. The parish had one gift-sermon,
but no other gifts or legacies are recorded.
Thomas Horton (d. 1673), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, 1649, was a
rector here.
=The Church of St. Olave, Jewry=, stood on the west side, near the
middle of Old Jewry, and was sometimes called St. Olave, Upwell. It
was destroyed in the Great Fire and rebuilt in 1673. It was
subsequently taken down. The tower, which alone was left, is now
part of a dwelling-house. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1252.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s, who granted it in 1171 to the Prior and Convent of
Butley, Suffolk, when it became a vicarage. Henry VIII. seized it,
and so it continues in the Crown.
Houseling people in 1548 were 198.
The open space, belonging to the ancient graveyard, abuts on
Ironmonger Lane.
A chantry was founded here by John Brian, rector, who died in 1322,
and a licence was granted by the King, August 20, 1323; Robert de
Burton, chaplain, exchanged with William de Aynho, June 15, 1327. In
1548 the endowment fetched £13 : 1 : 4.
Robert Large, Mayor in 1440, and donor of £200 to the church, was
buried here. Among the later monuments is one in memory of Sir
Nathaniel Herne, Governor of the East India Company; he died 1679.
The church was not rich in charitable gifts and legacies. Among the
benefactors, Sir Thomas Hewet gave £5 : 4s. yearly; Henry Lo gave
£10 for ever; Gervase Vaughan gave a house, rented at £14 per annum,
to provide bread for the poor every Sunday.
On the west side of Old Jewry there was a free school, said to be
founded by Thomas à Becket in 1160, for 25 scholars. There were two
almshouses for 9 poor widows of armourers, each of whom received 6s.
per quarter, and 9 bushels of coal a year; those past labour
received £1 a quarter. These were the gift of Mr. Tindal, citizen
and armourer of London.
Anthony Ellys, D.D. (1690-1761), Bishop of St. David’s, was rector,
also Joseph Holden Pott (1759-1847), Archdeacon of London.
Old Jewry runs through into Gresham Street, which is roughly parallel
with Cheapside.
=Gresham Street=, formerly called Catte, Cateaton, or Ketton Street, or
Cattling Street, when changed to its present name also swallowed up Lad
Lane and Maiden Lane.
Catte Street is mentioned in a deed dated the Saturday after Ascension
1294, in which Hugh de Vyenne, Canon of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, grants to
the master and scholars of Balliol, _inter alia_, four shillings of
yearly rent from the tenement held by Martin the arbitrator, in Catte
Street, opposite the church of St. Lawrence, also the same amount from
the tenement of Adam de Horsham opposite the church.
On the Feast of Ascension in the year 1360 a case of great interest was
heard at the Hustings of common pleas.
In this case, John de Wyclif, Master of Balliol, Oxford, was attached to
make answer to Nicholas Marchant in a plea of distresses taken. Wyclif
is accused of having made an unlawful seizure upon the freehold of
Nicholas in the parish of St. Lawrence, Jewry, on Wednesday after the
Feast of St. Gregory that year. From the pleading it appears that the
house was once the property of “one Thippe, wife of Isaac of Suthwerk, a
Jewess”; after her exit from England it came to King Edward, grandfather
of Edward III. Their tenement in Catte Street was given (so the
pleadings show) by that king to Adam de Horsham, mercer, uncle of
Nicholas above named, at a rent of one penny per annum to the King.
Wyclif joins the suit. Nicholas has to pay arrears and is amerced
[hitherto Wyclif’s mastership of Balliol was ascribed to date from 1361,
hence the importance of this MS.] (Historical MS. Commission, Report
IV., p. 448).
There is another ancient mention of Catte Street, belonging to the year
1281, in which one Aaron, a wealthy Jew and a money-lender, contracts
with Rudolph the mason for the building of a house in Catte Street.
From Aldermanbury westward to Wood Street, Gresham Street was formerly
called Lad Lane. The name occurs certainly as early as 1301, as
containing a house belonging to Coke Bateman, a Jew. It is first found
in the _Calendar of Wills_ in 1362, after which we hear no more of it
till 1419. Here a Roman pavement was found.
One of the most important of the old coaching inns, the Swan with two
Necks, stood in Lad Lane. From this place an amazing number of coaches
and wagons set out every day. The sign is still to be seen over the
entrance to the London and South Western Railway Company’s yard.
The street was widened in 1845. It has a picturesque appearance, for the
houses project irregularly at the corners of the cross streets. The
Church of St. Lawrence occupies part of the north side.
ST. LAWRENCE, JEWRY
The date of the foundation of St. Laurence or Lawrence, Jewry, is
not known, but the church was burnt down by the Great Fire, and
rebuilt by Wren 1671-76, when the parish of St. Mary Magdalene was
annexed. The new building was erected at the expense of the
parishioners, assisted by a liberal subscription from Sir John
Langham. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1321. The patronage of
the church was in the hands of Henry de Wickenbroke, who, May 30,
1294, gave the Rectory to Balliol College, Oxford, when a Vicarage
was here ordained, and in this college it still continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 148.
The church measures 82 feet in length, 71 feet in breadth, and 39
feet in height. It contains only one aisle, on the north side,
separated from the rest of the building by Corinthian columns. Above
the columns is a richly worked entablature, which is continued all
round the church. The east front has a façade formed by four
Corinthian columns with entablature, supporting the pediment. The
tower, which is three storied, is surmounted by a square turret,
supporting a square pedestal, and above this by an octagonal
spirelet with a ball and vane; the vane is in the form of St.
Laurence’s emblem, the gridiron. The total height is 160 feet.
Chantries were founded here: For William de Kancia at the Altar of
St. John, July 10, 1321; by Thomas Wytton at the Altar of Virgin
Mary, the endowment of which fetched £8 : 4 : 8 in 1548, when Thomas
Sandlord was chaplain; by William Myldreth at the Altar of St.
Michael the Archangel, the endowment of which yielded £7 : 6 : 8 in
1548, when Rowland Robynsonne was chaplain; by Simon Bonyngton,
whose endowment fetched £22 : 13 : 4 in 1548 when Thomas Sylvester
was chaplain; by Simon Bartlett, whose endowment yielded £5 : 4 : 8
in 1548, when Thomas Ballard was chaplain; by Simon Gosseham, for
two chaplains, whose endowment fetched £14 : 6 : 8 in 1548, when
Thomas Begley and Henry Whorleston were the priests.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
ST. LAWRENCE, JEWRY
]
The old church was the burying-place of a considerable number of
eminent citizens. Among them were: Richard Rich, ancestor of the
Earls of Warwick and Holland, who died in 1469; Sir Geffney Bullen,
Lord Mayor in 1459 and great-great-grandfather to Queen Elizabeth;
Sir Richard Gresham, Lord Mayor in 1537 and father of Sir Thomas
Gresham; Sir Michael Dormer, Lord Mayor in 1541; Roger Thorney, who
founded a Fellowship at Jesus College, Cambridge; Dame Alice Avenon,
a benefactress to the parish. Against the west wall there is a
monument displaying three busts, in memory of Alderman Sir William
Halliday, sheriff in 1617; this was erected in 1687 by Dame Margaret
Hungerford in place of that destroyed by the Fire. Dr. John Wilkins,
Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and vicar here in 1662, was
buried under the north wall of the chancel. There are monuments also
to John Tillotson, lecturer here for some years, and to Dr. Benjamin
Whichcote, the celebrated preacher, who succeeded Wilkins as vicar.
On the western part of the south wall a large monument commemorates
Mrs. Sarah Scott, who died in 1750, leaving £700 for parish
purposes. Sir John Langham was a donor of £250 for the purpose of
church repairing, etc., and no gifts or bequests belonging to the
parish are recorded by Stow, except two weekly lectures each at £30
per annum, the donors of which are not stated by him. There was one
Grammar School, kept over the vestry. William Bell, Master of
Balliol College, Oxford, in 1494 was a rector here; also William
White, Master of Balliol College, Oxford 1125-39; Edward Reynolds
(1629-1698), Bishop of Norwich; Seth Ward (1617-1689), Bishop of
Exeter; John Mapletoft (1631-1721), President of Zion College; and
Benjamin Morgan Cowie (1816-1900), Dean of Exeter.
Gresham College stands at the end of a row of uniform plaster-faced
houses. The College itself is a great yellow-plastered building with
disproportionately heavy cornice and rigid balconies.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by J. Coney._
SS. ANNE AND AGNES
]
In Guildhall Yard is a fine view of the ornamental gateway of the
Guildhall. On the east is the Guildhall Tavern, and on the west, beyond
the church, is an open space, formerly the churchyard, with a few
plane-trees dotted about, and a fountain of Gothic design, erected in
1866, with statues upon it representing St. Lawrence and the Magdalene.
St. Martin’s House, on the north side, is a modern red sandstone
building.
St. Anne’s Churchyard, with one or two plane-trees of good size, makes a
break in the line of modern houses beyond.
SS. ANNE AND AGNES, ALDERSGATE
This church stands on the north side of Gresham Street, towards the
west end. The date of the foundation of the original church is
uncertain, but mention is made of it in a deed dating between
1193-1212, in St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was damaged by fire in 1548,
reconstructed and again destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. The
present building was completed by Wren in 1681. The earliest date of
an incumbent is 1322.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of:
The Dean and Canons of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, 1322; the Abbot and
Convent of Westminster, 1510; the Bishop of Westminster by grant of
Henry VIII., January 11, 1540-41; the Bishop of London and his
successors by grant of Edward VI., July 4, 1550; confirmed by Queen
Mary, March 3, 1553-54.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The present building is of brick, and measures 53 feet square, and
35 feet in height. Within this area four Corinthian columns form
another square. The tower, rising at the west, measures 14 feet at
the base and culminates in a vane; the total height is 95 feet.
A chantry was founded here by Thomas Juvenal and Alice his wife at
the Altar of St. Nicholas; to which Richard Grant was instituted
chaplain, April 10, 1363.
The church formerly contained monuments to Stephen Brackynbury,
gentleman, Usher to Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary, and Queen
Elizabeth. William Gregory, Mayor of London, 1461, was buried here,
but no monument remained in 1598.
The principal benefactors were William Gregory, alderman and
skinner, and John Werke, goldsmith, both of whom bequeathed a number
of houses to the parish in the fifteenth century.
Some of the most notable rectors were: John Hopton (d. 1558), Bishop
of Norwich; Samuel Freeman, Dean of Peterborough, 1691; and Fifield
Allen, Archdeacon of Middlesex.
At the corner of Noble Street is the churchyard of St. John Zachary,
which parish is now incorporated with St. Anne and St. Agnes. This is a
fairly large piece of ground surrounded by brick houses. There are many
upright tombstones among the blackened shrubs within. Beyond there is a
large building of red brick finished with piers of polished granite.
=The Church of St. John Zachary=, which was situated in Maiden Lane,
was burnt down in the Great Fire and its parish annexed to that of
St. Anne, Aldersgate. It was built or founded by a monk named
Zachary. The earliest date of an incumbent is some year between 1217
and 1243.
The church has always been in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of
St. Paul’s, from the earliest record up to 1666, when the parish was
annexed to that of St. Anne and St. Agnes.
Houseling people in 1548 were 240.
Chantries were founded here by Thomas Lichfield in 1320; for Roger
Beynyn and Isabel his wife before 1322.
Stow records that the monuments in this church were well preserved
in his time. Some of the most notable persons commemorated were: Sir
James Pemberton, who founded a free school in Lancashire, and was
donor of many other charitable gifts (died 1613); Philip Strelley
(d. 1603), benefactor to the parish, and Henry de Spondon, rector
here in 1366.
There were some small legacies belonging to the parish, but few
names are recorded by Stow. Colonel Henry Drax was donor of £20, and
his wife of £30. Philip Strelley, of 40s. a year.
By the subscribers of the united parishes thirty boys and twenty
girls were taught, clothed, and put out as apprentices.
William Byngham, founder of Christ Church College, Cambridge, was
rector here.
In Gresham Street are also the halls of two City Companies.
THE HABERDASHERS COMPANY
It has been surmised that the haberdashers were originally a branch of
the mercers, and formed a trade association for the protection and
general supervision of the trade carried on by the haberdashers and
milliners. They are supposed to have existed as early as the year 1372,
being mentioned in the City records as having then promulgated their
first ordinances. By the Company’s earlier minute books they seem to
have been at one time associated with the felt-makers.
The first charter granted to the Haberdashers Company was by Henry VI.
(June 3, 1448); it authorised and empowered the liegemen of the mystery
of haberdashers to erect and found a guild or fraternity in honour of
St. Katherine. The charter grants that the fraternity shall be a
perpetual and incorporate fraternity of haberdashers of St. Katherine of
London, to hold lands to themselves and their successors and with a
common seal.
Henry VII. by charter united the crafts of hurriers and hatter merchants
into one craft, and by another charter, 17th Henry VII., he united the
hurriers and hatter merchants with the craft of haberdashers, and
declared they should be one craft and perpetual commonalty by the name
of Merchant Haberdashers.
Henry VIII.—November 1511—by charter of this date confirmed previous
charters, and, on the application of the Merchant Haberdashers, altered
and translated the style of the said guild into the name of the Master
and Four Wardens of the Guild of Fraternity of St. Katherine, of the
Craft of Haberdashers, in the City of London. It enacted that no
foreigner or stranger in London should make any caps or hats for the use
of any stranger, unless admitted by the master and wardens, under pain
or forfeiture of the thing made, one half to go to the Mayor and
Commonalty of the City, and the other to the use of the mystery or craft
aforesaid.
Philip and Mary—1557—by charter of this date confirmed all previous
charters.
Elizabeth—June 19, 1578—by charter confirmed all previous charters, and
it is under this charter that the Company is now governed.
It is thought there can be little doubt that the Haberdashers Company
was originally established for trade purposes, and was in former times
associated with other trades, as the felt-makers and hatters. The
before-mentioned charters of incorporation gave the Company considerable
powers for regulating the trade in haberdashery, and for enforcing its
orders in reference thereto, and these powers were no doubt exercised
for many years. In course of time, however, the business or trade of
haberdashery became so interwoven with other trades, such as drapers,
milliners, mercers, hosiers, etc., that there is no longer any distinct
business of haberdashery. The Company, however, being anxious to help
those who are engaged in it have for the last eight or nine years
advertised that the sum of £100 will be annually awarded as prizes to
the actual inventors of new patterns, designs, or specimens of articles
of haberdashery proper, provided such inventors were not manufacturers
or dealers. No control is now exercised by the Company in reference to
the trade of haberdashery.
Freemen are eligible for pensions and gifts if in needy circumstances.
The children of freemen have the privilege of competing for certain
exhibitions in the gift of the Company.
Liverymen are also eligible for the pensions and gifts under similar
circumstances, and their children have like privileges for competing in
exhibitions. They are also eligible (provided their fathers or
grandfathers are not members of the governing body) for educational
grants which are made voluntarily by the Company annually towards
defraying the cost of education, and liverymen’s children who have
distinguished themselves in their studies are also eligible for four
exhibitions of £40 each, also voluntarily given by the Company and
tenable for three years, for the purpose of pursuing their studies in
the higher branches of learning. The children of liverymen and freemen
have also a priority of claim over outsiders for admission to the
Company’s Aske’s Schools at Hatcham and West Hampstead and Acton.
The members of the governing body, on attending courts and committees
(but not otherwise), receive fees for their attendance.
The present number of pensioners is 152, and the amount paid to them
£2999 : 10s.
The present number of recipients of annual gifts is 40, and the
amount paid to them £215 : 2s.
It is believed that few, if any, of the recipients of the above
pensions and gifts carry on or have carried on the trade the name of
which is borne by the Company. Considerable grants are made every
year to poor clergy and poor hatters.
In addition to the above yearly gifts various sums are from time to
time voluntarily granted to poor members of the Company, their
widows and families, amounting in 1879 to £276 : 10s.
The Hall is at 77 Gresham Street. It was built by Wren but burned
down in 1864.
The Trust Income of the Company is expended in schools and
almshouses, the most important schools being Aske’s, referred to
above. There are other almshouses at Monmouth, at Newland in
Gloucestershire, and at Newport, Salop. There are also schools at
Monmouth, Pontypool, Newport, Salop, and Bunbury connected with the
Company. They give several exhibitions, and they grant pensions and
give large subscriptions to philanthropic objects.
THE WAX CHANDLERS COMPANY
There is no documentary evidence in the possession of the Wax
Chandlers’ Company of an earlier date than 45th Edward III., A.D.
1371, which is a petition to the Court of Aldermen of the City of
London for leave to choose searchers for bad wares, and for approval
of byelaws then submitted for the regulation of the craft. The
prayer of this petition seems to have been acceded to, for Walter
Rede and John Pope were in the same year chosen and sworn to oversee
the said craft, and the defaults from time to time found to present
to the mayor and aldermen, etc. These documents are set out (p. 104)
in the Report of the Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in
England and Wales dated 1837. That the craft of wax chandlers had an
association previous to this date there are no documents to show,
although from the petition it would appear that it had, but without
power to enforce obedience to its orders.
The following is a list of the charters, etc., granted at various
times to the Company:
1. Charter of 1 Richard III., 1484. 2. Grant of arms, 2 Richard
III., 1485. 3. Further grant of arms, 28 Henry VIII., 1536. 4.
Exemplification and confirmation of said charter of Richard III. by
Philip and Mary, 7th June, 4 and 5 Philip and Mary. 5. Letters
Patent of confirmation of said charter by Queen Elizabeth, 2
Elizabeth, 1560. 6. Ditto, ditto. King James I., 2 James I., 1604.
7. Charter of 15 Charles II., 1663. 8. Byelaws pursuant to
last-mentioned charter, and the statute 19 Henry VII., approved and
signed and sealed by the Lord Chancellor and two Chief Justices of
the King’s Bench and Common Pleas, dated June 28, 1664, referred to
at p. 100 of the above-mentioned report. 9. Charter of 1 James II.,
1685 (this charter was avoided under the General Statute).
At present they have a livery of twenty-seven, a Corporate Income of
£1370, a Trust Income of £230, and a hall in Gresham Street.
The use of wax tapers and candles not only in the churches, but also
in the houses of the wealthy sort, caused the material to be
valuable and the mystery of preparing it prosperous. The Company was
in fact in great credit until the Reformation, when the greater part
of its work—that of providing lights for the churches—vanished.
In ancient documents the =Guildhall Yard= is mentioned frequently, as
might be expected. In Agas’s map the yard is enclosed, and entered by a
gateway. Some of the land belonged to Balliol College, Oxford. It was
widened by taking off part of the churchyard of St. Lawrence, Jewry.
Here were the taverns of the Three Tuns and the White Lyon. Sir Erasmus
de la Fountaine had property here and gave his name to Fountain Court.
A passage out of Guildhall Yard and others out of Basinghall Street and
Cateaton Street led to the two courts of =Blackwell= or =Bakewell Hall=.
[Illustration:
BLACKWELL HALL, 1819
]
Of this historic mansion Stow speaks at some length. He says that it was
built upon vaults of stone brought from Caen in Normandy, and that it
was covered over in painting and carved stone with the arms of the
Basings or Bassings, viz. “a gyronny of twelve points gold and azure.”
This family when Stow writes was “worn out.” In the 36th year of Edward
III., one Thomas Bakewell was living in this house. In the 20th of
Richard II., for a sum of £50, licence was given to transfer this hall
with certain messuages appertaining to the mayor and commonalty of the
City. Here was established the year after, by Whittington, thrice Mayor,
a weekly market for cloth, no foreigners being allowed to sell cloth
anywhere except in Blackwell Hall and in the courts thereof. In the year
1588 the house, being decayed, was taken down and rebuilt. In the Great
Fire the Hall was destroyed, together with a great quantity of cloth
stored by country manufacturers in its warehouses. “What,” says Lord
Clarendon, “have we lost in clothe if the little Company [the
stationers] lost £200,000 in books?”
“The late edifice of Blackwell Hall appears to have been erected about
the year 1672, and it exhibited the dull and prison-like appearance of
the older storehouses of London, in the unglazed transom-windows with
iron bars, contained in the front. The attic was ornamented with a
cornice and pediment, and in the centre was a heavy stately stone
gateway between two Doric columns, surmounted by the royal arms, carved
in a panel above; and the city arms, impaling those of Christ’s
Hospital, supported by winged boys, were sculptured in the head of the
arch. The disposition of the interior consisted of two quadrangular open
courts, one beyond the other, surrounded by buildings of freestone.
Within the Hall were several large rooms or warehouses, both above and
on the ground floor, in which the factors employed by the clothiers
exposed their cloths on the established market days, Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday, the first being the principal. These apartments formed the
Devonshire, Gloucester, Worcester, Kentish, Medley, Spanish, and Blanket
Halls, etc., in which one penny was charged for the pitching of each
piece of cloth, and one halfpenny per week each for resting there. The
profits paid to Christ’s Hospital arising from those charges are said to
have produced £1000 yearly” (Wilkinson’s _Londina Illustrata_, vol. ii.
p. 36).
The changes gradually made in the cloth trade caused the decay of the
market. In 1815 an Act was passed enabling the Mayor and Corporation to
pull down the hall of St. Mary Magdalene Chapel, which was stated to be
in a ruinous condition, and to replace it by buildings for courts.
The present Art Gallery, the Museum, the Library, Guildhall Buildings,
the Courts, etc., stand upon the site of the Hall, the Chapel, and the
adjacent ground. The Hall was taken down in 1819.
The Guildhall, like the Mansion House, Royal Exchange, etc., is so woven
in with the history of the City that an account of it must be sought in
the historical volumes preceding this.
We may return to the Poultry by the next north and south thoroughfare,
namely:
=Ironmonger Lane=, which is frequently mentioned in early deeds and
documents. As early as the middle of the twelfth century documents are
spoken of in “Ismongers’ Lane,” in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch. In
1245 there are shops, solars, and cellars in the street. Riley (_Mem._
128. 15) presents two most interesting inquests connected with two
murders in this street. The lane is called variously Ismongers’,
Iremongers’, and Ironmongers’.
On the east side of this street, near Cheapside, was the Church of St.
Martin Pomeroy.
=St. Martin Pomeroy= is supposed by Stow to have gained its second
name from an apple garden there, but it was more probably from a
family named Pomeroy. In 1629 the church was repaired, but it was
burnt down in the Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being
united to that of St. Olave, Jewry. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1361.
[Illustration:
_Photo. Sandell, Ltd._
MERCERS’ HALL
]
The patronage of the church before 1253 was in the hands of Ralph
Tricket, who gave it in 1253 to the Prior and Canons of St.
Bartholomew, Smithfield; after the Reformation it continued in the
Crown up to 1666, when it was annexed to St. Olave.
Houseling people in 1548 were 120.
Chantries were, founded here: For Henry atte Roth, chandeler, to
which Richard Scot was admitted, February 7, 1391-92; for William
Love, to which Stephen Benet was collated, January 24, 1391-92. Only
two monuments are recorded by Strype, neither of which commemorate
persons of eminence. There was a free school, said to have been
founded by Thomas à Becket, in the Old Jewry, for twenty-five
scholars. There were also two almshouses for nine widows of
Armourers or Braziers, the gift of Mr. Tindal, citizen and armourer
of London.
John Kingscote, Bishop of Carlisle, 1462, was rector here.
In Ironmonger Lane is the Mercers’ Hall.
THE MERCERS COMPANY
The Mercers, although not incorporated until the year 1393 (17th
Richard II.), were in very early times associated voluntarily for
the purposes of mutual aid and comfort. They come to light as a
fraternity first in the time of Henry II., for Gilbert à Becket, the
father of St. Thomas of Canterbury, is said to have been a mercer;
and in the year 1192, Agnes de Helles, sister of St. Thomas, and her
husband, Thomas Fitztheobald de Helles, in founding the hospital of
St. Thomas of Acon, which is distinctly stated to have been built on
the spot where the future archbishop was born, constituted the
fraternity of mercers patrons of the hospital. The hospital and the
Company were intimately connected until the Reformation, and afford
a good example of the connection of secular guilds and
ecclesiastical foundations in the Middle Ages, secular guilds being
established for the promotion of trade and almsdeeds, and
ecclesiastical foundations for devotion and almsdeeds.
It is probable that a guild could not be carried on without the
King’s licence at this early date; and it would seem a necessary
interference that the mercers had a licence at the time of Henry
II., from their not appearing among the “adulterine” guilds, or
guilds set up without the King’s licence, which were fined in 1180
for being established without such licence.
The Merchant Adventurers Company gradually became detached from the
Mercers Company in the course of the fifteenth century, especially
by the opening of the trade with Flanders in the year 1497; and yet
more so in 1564, when Queen Elizabeth, by charter, constituted the
Merchant Adventurers a distinct body politic or corporation in
England; but the Mercers Company still kept up an intimate
connection with the “Brotherhood beyond the Sea,” the last link
connecting the two companies being only severed by the Great Fire of
London in 1666, which destroyed the office which the Merchant
Adventurers held of the mercers under Mercers’ Hall.
It is probable, however, that trade in former times was separated
into main divisions, the staple and the miscellaneous, now known as
mercery. Silk, when first imported, fell in England into the latter
division, hence the combined appellation “silk mercers”; but on the
Continent the word was applied to the vendors of all goods carried
about for sale. Cervantes, speaking of the original history in
Arabic of Don Quixote, says he purchased it of a book mercer; and
Guicciardini, in his description of the Netherlands, speaks of
merceries as well of silk as of other materials, and in another
place says that mercery comprehends all things sold by retail or by
the little balance or scales. Skinner, in his _Etymologicon_,
published in 1671, says “that a mercer was _mercator peripateticus_”
or an itinerant merchant.
The master and wardens superintended the taking of apprentices by
their members, searching the weights and measures of shopkeepers
belonging to the Company, and otherwise regulating their commercial
dealings. The Company appointed brokers of mercery wares, under the
first charter to the City by Edward II., by which it was declared
that there should be no brokers in the City but those chosen by the
merchants in the mysteries in which they exercised their office, and
under the charter of Edward III., which declared that none should
exercise the office of broker in foreign merchandise in London
unless chosen by the merchants of the mysteries in which they should
act. The Company also appointed a common meter of linen cloth and
silk, a common weigher of raw silk, and tackle porters to do their
work at the waterside. The Company no longer appoint to any of these
offices, because of the different methods of carrying on business
which have obtained in modern times.
In the 13th year of Edward II. the Companies had advanced towards
the phase of “Livery Companies.” “_Moultz des gens de Mesters en
Loundres furent vestus de suite._”
The Company seem to have exercised some supervision over the
retailers of silk and other mercery wares previous to the reign of
Queen Elizabeth; but such supervision was probably not founded on
any legal basis, as a petition to the privy council at the
commencement of that queen’s reign, praying that these rights should
be recognised, was unsuccessful.
The numbers of the Company have been recruited by the admission of
apprentices, and from the sons of mercers, who have from very early
times been always entitled to the freedom; and one reason for the
smallness of the Company may probably have been the old custom,
established so long ago as 1347, that no strangers should be
admitted to the freedom without the consent of the generality. The
Company has never been very numerous. In 1347, when it was
refounded, 103 persons paid their entrance fees; in 1527 the Company
numbered 144; in 1707, when most numerous, 331; and on December 31,
1880, 166.
The earliest date of which there is a record in the Company’s books
is the year 1347, when it was reorganised, if not refounded.
The statement that no one should take as an apprentice one who had
carried packs through the country, called pedlars, seems to show
that a mercer at this time had ceased to be, if he had ever been, a
pedlar.
Previous to the charter granted by Richard II., the mercers did not
pretend to be a corporation, but simply a member of the City. In
their petition to Parliament in 10th Richard II., against Nicholas
Brembre, then mayor, they call themselves “the folk of the mercerie,
a member of the city.” The Company, having at this time no hall of
their own, assembled either in the house of one of the wardens, or
in the hall or church of the hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, the
site of which is now occupied by their chapel and hall, and
subsequently occasionally at the Prince’s Wardrobe in the Old Jewry.
They had then no landed property, and their income was derived from
subscriptions, apprentice fees, and fines, and amounted to about £20
a year.
The Company’s first charter, enrolled at the Record Office (the
original of which has been lost), is dated at Westminster the 13th
January, 17th Richard II. (1393).
The most important event in the early history of the Mercers Company
was the appointment of the Company as trustees of the charities of
Sir Richard Whittington, several times master or principal warden of
the Company, and four times Lord Mayor of London. He died in the
year 1422-23. It is not necessary to enumerate precisely the
munificent works of charity which were carried out by Sir Richard
Whittington in his lifetime, or by his executors after his death;
suffice it to say that he, or they by his direction, rebuilt the
parish church of St. Michael Royal, rebuilt the prison of Newgate,
built or repaired the City conduits, contributed very largely to the
building of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and of the Guildhall, to the
library of the Corporation of London, and the library of the
Greyfriars, and established a chaplain at St. Paul’s. Whittington
appointed John Coventry, John White, John Carpenter, and William
Grove to be executors of his will, which was proved in March
1422-23. On the 12th November, 3rd Henry VI. (1424), his executors
obtained a charter from the King to found Whittington college and
almshouses. Of both these foundations the Mercers Company were made
trustees.
The Company’s second charter was granted by Henry VI. at the prayer
of the executors of Whittington.
On the accession of Edward IV. it became necessary for the quieting
of men’s titles that the grants made by the Lancastrian kings should
be confirmed, and accordingly the statute 1st Edward IV. cap. 1 was
passed, by which it was enacted that all liberties and franchises
granted by Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI., to counties or
corporations, and among others to the wardens and commonalty of the
Mystery of Mercers of the City of London, should be of the same
force and virtue as if they had been granted by kings reigning _de
jure_. The Mercers Company is the only company named in the Act, the
others being included in general words.
[Illustration:
MERCERS’ HALL
]
1463. This year is a most important one in the Company’s annals, as
in it the court of assistants was first established. The business of
the Company having very much increased, both on account of their
connection with the Merchant Adventurers Company and also from the
management of the trusts of Whittington, Abbot, and Estfield, it was
felt that the whole burden of the Company’s affairs should not be
cast upon the wardens, and that it was not desirable that the
generality should be constantly called together. For many years
previous to this date it had been the practice that the wardens, and
the aldermen free of the Company, and their peers, should hold
assemblies for the devising of ordinances or other matters, their
deliberations being afterwards submitted to a general court for
approval. On the 23rd of July 1463, at a general court of the
Company, the following resolution was passed: “It is accorded that
for the holding of many courts and congregations of the fellowship
it is tedious and grievous to the body of the fellowship, and
specially for matters of no great effect, that hereafter yearly
shall be chosen and associate to the custoses for the time being, 12
other sufficient persons to be assistants to the said custoses, and
all matters by them, or most part of them, finished, to be holden
firm and stable, and the fellowship to abide by them.”
The rest of the history of the Mercers Company is mainly occupied by
a recital of charities which were placed in their hands to
administer. It is sufficient to call attention to the many and
splendid endowments which have been placed in the hands of the
Company.
The general court appoint three trustees of the Prisons’ Charities
Trust, decide when the corporate seal shall be affixed, and
determine the amount of fees which shall be paid for attendance at
general courts, courts of assistants, and committees. The fee paid
to a member for his attendance at general courts and courts of
assistants is £4 : 4s., and to a member attending a committee, £2 :
2s.
(1) A freeman is entitled from Lady Campden’s legacy for loans, and
from the money legacies for loans, to have the loan of not more than
£500 without interest for not more than five years, giving approved
security.
He is entitled, if his circumstances warrant it, and within the
limits of the Company’s nominations, to have his sons placed in
Christ’s Hospital under Daniel Westall’s gift, and clothed, boarded,
and educated there from eight years old to fifteen, and perhaps to
nineteen; and his daughters educated out of the Company’s funds at
an expense not exceeding £50 per annum, from nine years of age to
fifteen, and if they show reasonable proficiency and ability to
seventeen, under regulations approved by the general court.
He is also entitled in case of old age, misfortune, or infirmity to
receive relief proportioned to his circumstances out of the
Company’s or out of Sir Richard Whittington’s estate, which was left
to the Company specially for that purpose; and his widow and
daughters are entitled to relief under similar circumstances.
(2) Liveryman.—A liveryman is entitled to the same advantages as a
freeman, and in addition is invited to three dinners in the course
of the year. He has the right to attend common hall, and to vote at
elections of lord mayors and sheriffs and of such other officers of
the Corporation of London as are elected by the livery; and if
resident within a radius of twenty-five miles from the City, to vote
at elections of members of Parliament for the City of London.
He is eligible, and if of sufficient position and standing he is
generally called in rotation by the court of assistants, to be a
member of their body.
(3) Master, Warden, or otherwise a member of the governing body.—A
member of the court of assistants is summoned to general courts as
well as to meetings of the court of assistants (which are held
weekly, except during Christmas and Easter weeks and six weeks in
August and September). He is also eligible to be placed on
committees appointed by the court and on the Gresham committee.
He is invited to dine at all dinners in the Company’s hall.
He recommends in rotation to appointments to Mercers’ School, and to
out-pensions on the Whittington estate, and to the Whittington
almshouses.
The court of assistants appoint nine governors of St. Paul’s School
under the provisions of the scheme, and also governors and members
of the council and of the executive committee of the City and Guilds
of London Institute for the Advancement of Technical Education.
The master and wardens are members of every committee appointed by
the Company. They distribute Alderman Walthall’s and Lady
Hungerford’s gifts, appoint preachers in Mercers’ Chapel under
various gifts, and are _ex officio_ governors of St. Paul’s School.
They also receive under various wills of benefactors to the Company
certain small annuities, and are entitled to the surplus of
Blundell’s estate, which surplus amounted in 1880 to £205 : 9 : 9.
A member of the Company will probably come on to the court of
assistants when he is about forty-five years of age, and he remains
a member for life.
The Company does not carry on any trade or occupation whatever.
The Mercers’ Hall is interesting as standing on the site of the
ancient House of St. Thomas Acon. On the dissolution the Mercers
purchased the buildings of the House.
The Mercers had occupied a house adjoining for more than a hundred
years before this acquisition. The Religious House itself was
undoubtedly on the site of the house where Thomas was born. The
buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire. The second hall was
built on the same site with another chapel in which service is held
every Sunday evening. Fragments of the ancient buildings can still
be seen. The present hall is said to have been designed by Wren. The
entrance in Cheapside was built in 1879.
Among the more distinguished members of this great Company have been
Whittington, Caxton, and Sir Thomas Gresham, Sir Henry Colet, Sir
Baptist Hicks. The present number of the livery is returned in
_Whitaker_ as 187; the Corporate Income as £48,000; the Trust Income
as £35,000.
For an account of the Hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, which at first
extended from Ironmonger Lane to Old Jewry, see _Mediæval London_, vol.
ii. p. 262.
=King Street= was constructed after the Fire, in order to give a nobler
approach to the Guildhall. Pepys refers to the ground having been
already bought in December 1667. Strype says that “it is well inhabited
by Norwich Factors and other wholesale dealers of wealth and
reputation.” He calls it New King Street.
=Trump Street= or =Trump Alley= is not named in Agas, Stow, or Ogilvy;
Strype calls it Duke Street.
The mention of John Carsyl, Tromppour, Trumper or Trumpet-maker (1308),
also of William Trompeor (1321) and William le Trompour, gives Riley
occasion for the following notes:
“The persons who followed this trade mostly lived, in all probability,
in Trump Street, formerly Trump Alley (a much longer street then than it
is now), near the Guildhall; their principal customers not improbably
being the City waits, or watchmen; each of whom was provided with a
trumpet, also known as a “wait,” for sounding the hours of the watch,
and giving the alarm. In reference to this trade it deserves the remark,
that the only memorial that has come down to us of the Chapel of St.
Mary the Virgin, and of St. Mary Magdalen and all Saints, formerly
adjoining the Guildhall, is a massive stone coffin (now in the Library
at Guildhall) with its lid, whereon is sculptured a cross between two
trumpets, and around its margin the following inscription: Godefrey le
Trompour: gist: ci: Deu: del: ealme: eit: merci. ‘Godefrey the Trompour
lies here, God on the soul have mercy.’ In Trump Alley, close adjoining,
he probably lived, sold trumpets, and died—if we may judge from the
character of the writing, in the latter half of the fourteenth century”
(Riley’s _Memorials_, p. xxi).
=St. Lawrence Lane.=—“Antiquities in this lane I find none other, than
that among many fair houses, there is one large inn for receipt of
Travellers called Blossoms inn, but corruptly Bosoms inn, and hath to
sign St. Laurence the Deacon, in a border of blossoms or flowers”
(Stow’s _Survey_).
Cunningham adds as follows:
“When Charles V. came over to this country in 1522, certain houses and
inns were set apart for the reception of his retinue, and in St.
Lawrence Lane, at ‘the signe of Saint Lawrence, otherwise called Bosoms
yn, xx beddes and a stable for lx horses’ were directed to be got ready.
The curious old tract about Bankes and his bay horse (_Maroccus
Extaticus_) is said to be by ‘John Dando, the wier-drawer of Hadley, and
Harrie Runt, head ostler of Besomes Inne.’”
The inn was also called “Bossamez” Inn and Boscham’s Inn.
=Honey Lane Market= was established soon after the Fire. Strype thus
speaks of it (vol. i. p. 566):
“Adjoining to this street, on the north side, is Honey Lane, being now,
as it were, an alley with a Freestone pavement, serving as a passage to
Honey Lane Market; the former Lane, and other buildings, being since the
fire of London converted into this market. Among which buildings, was
the Parish Church of St. Allhallow’s, Honey Lane; and, because it was
thought fit not to rebuild it, the parish is united to St. Mary-le-Bow.
This Market is well served, every Week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
and Saturdays, with Provisions. The Place taken up by this Market is
spacious. In the middle is a large and square Market-house, standing on
pillars, with rooms over it, and a bell-tower in the midst. There are in
the market one hundred and thirty-five standing stalls for butchers,
with racks, blocks, and others necessaries, all covered over, to shelter
them from the injury of the weather; and also several stalls for
fruiterers. The west end of the market lieth open to Milk Street, where
there is a cock of conduit water for the use of the market. There are
two other passages into it, that is, one out of St. Lawrence’s Lane,
besides that which comes out of Cheapside; which passages are inhabited
by grocers, Fishmongers, Poulterers, Victuallers, and Cheesemongers.”
Complaints are found in the wardmote book of people making fires in the
market; of butchers killing sheep and lambs there; and of the annoyance
caused by the farmers letting soil and refuse lie about the place. Honey
Lane, which led to it, is said by Stow to be so called, being a dark and
narrow place, on account of the constant washing required to keep it
clean—a far-fetched derivation. The name is indeed very ancient. In a
grant, dated 1203-15, made by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s to one
Richard de Corilis mention is made of “Huni” Lane, and in another grant
of the same period the house in question, “a stone built house,” is
mentioned in between Milk Street and “Huni” Lane. There was one Elias de
Honey Lane in 1274.
The market was closed in 1835 and the City of London School built on its
site. The school has now been removed to the Embankment and the place is
let out in offices.
=The Church of Allhallows, Honey Lane=, stood on the north side of
Cheapside in Honey Lane. It was burnt down in the Great Fire and the
parish was then annexed to St. Mary-le-Bow. Honey Lane Market was on
the site of the church. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1327.
The patronage was in the hands of: Simon de Creppyng, citizen, who
presented in 1327; several private persons, among whom was Thomas
Knoles, Mayor of London, 1399; the Grocers Company, 1471-1666, when
it was annexed to St. Mary-le-Bow.
Houseling people in 1548 were 150.
[Illustration:
CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL, MILK STREET
]
Chantries were founded here for John Fourneys, citizen, and
Katherine his wife, at the Altar of Blessed Virgin Mary, August 22,
1396 (Pat. 20 Rd. II. p. i. m. 21), and by Alexander Speat, Thomas
Trompington, John Downe, and Henry Edelmeton. Sir John Norman, Mayor
of London, 1453, was buried in this church. No bequests or
charitable gifts are recorded in Parish Clerk’s Summary of 1732.
Among the notable rectors were Thomas Garrard, who was burnt at
Smithfield, and John Young, Bishop of Gallipoli.
=Milk Street= is one of the streets of Cheapside which peculiarly
recalls the site of the old market by its name. There is not much
recorded of this street. Sir Thomas More was born here, “the brightest
star,” says Fuller, “that ever shone in that _via Lactea_.” In the
Calendar of Wills the street is repeatedly mentioned as containing
shops. The earliest date on which it occurs is 1278. In Riley’s
_Memorials_ we find a cook living here in 1351; in 1377 the sheriff has
“his own Compter” in this street; in 1390 one Salamon Salaman, a mercer
of Milk Street, gets into trouble for having putrid fish in his
possession; and in 1391 one William of Milk Street, no name or trade
given, is falsely imprisoned by means of a conspiracy.
Milk Street in the thirteenth century was the residence of certain Jews.
Thus in 1247 Peter the Jew had a house there; and in 1250 leave was
granted to John Brewer to build a chapel in his house, formerly that of
Benedict the Jew; and in 1285 Cresse the Jew had a house there. In 1294
Martin the Arbalestin lived in Milk Street; and in 1285 the mayor had
his residence there, his house being rented of the Prior of Lewes.
=The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street=, formerly stood on
the east side, towards the south end of Milk Street, Cheapside. It
was burnt down in the Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being
annexed to that of St. Lawrence, Jewry. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1162.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s continuously from 1162, until it was burnt down, when
the parish was annexed; the Dean and Chapter now share the alternate
patronage of the amalgamated parish (see Hist. MSS. Rept. ix. p.
18^{bc} 19^a as to a lawsuit concerning the patronage).
Houseling people in 1548 were 220.
Chantries were founded here by: Robert de Kelsey, about 1334, for
himself, Julian his wife, Hen. de Galeys, and Sara de Eldham, to
which Hen. de Kelsey was admitted chaplain, September 5, 1336; the
above Robert de Kelsey endowed it with the “Caufare” in Westcheap,
which fetched £3 : 14 : 8 in 1548; John Offam, whose endowment
fetched £14 : 9 : 6 in 1548, when William Baker was priest; Thomas
Kelsey, whose endowment fetched £12 : 13 : 4 in 1548.
A great number of the monuments in this church had been defaced by
Stow’s time. He records the interment of Thomas Knesworth, mayor in
1505; Sir John Langley, mayor in 1576. No names of benefactors are
recorded by him.
Lawrence Bothe, Bishop of Durham 1457, of York 1476, was rector
here; also John Bullingham (d. 1598), Bishop of Gloucester.
=Wood Street= or Lane is the next important thoroughfare westward. It is
supposed by Stow to have been so called because it was built wholly of
wood; but Stow suggests also an alternative derivation, that it may have
been named after one Thomas Wood, sheriff in 1491. The latter suggestion
must be ruled out, because in 1394 a testator bequeathed his “mansion”
in Wood Street. It is worthy of note that the first mention of the
street is of houses, rents, and tenements, and so it continues until the
end of the thirteenth century, when we begin to hear of shops; in 1349 a
brewery is spoken of—the water, as in the case of Mugwell Street, must
have been furnished by one of the numerous City wells. There were many
inns in Wood Street: the Bell, the Coach and Horses, the Castle, and the
Cross Keys. The Castle is still commemorated in a stone slab.
=The Church of St. Michael, Wood Street=, was sometimes called St.
Michael Hogge or Huggen from one of that name who lived in the lane
which runs down by the church. It was destroyed by the Great Fire
(with the exception of the steeple) and rebuilt by Wren, who
completed it in 1675, when the parish of St. Mary Staining was
annexed. It was repaired in 1888, and taken down at the end of the
nineteenth century. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1150.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot of St.
Albans before 1150; Henry VIII., who seized it in 1540 and sold it
in 1543 to William Burwell; John Marsh and others in trust for the
parish—it so continued up to 1666, when St. Mary Staining was
annexed and the patronage was alternately in the Crown and
parishioners.
Houseling people in 1548 were 317.
The latest church was very plain and measured 63 feet in length, 42
feet in breadth, and 31 feet in height. The east front had four
Ionic pilasters supporting a pediment, and in the spaces between the
columns there were three circular-headed windows. The tower, which
was connected with the church by a porch, contained three stories,
terminated by a parapet which was surmounted by a narrow spire with
a vane; the total height was 130 feet.
Richard de Basingstoke founded a chantry here before 1359, probably
at the Altar of St. John Baptist. Amongst those buried in the old
church was Alderman John Lambarde, sheriff, 1551, who was father to
Stow’s great friend William Lambard, the antiquary; he died in 1554.
The church contained a monument to Queen Elizabeth.
The legacies of charity left to the parish were: 8s. per annum, of
which Lady Read was donor; 5s. per annum, of which Mr. Hill was
donor; £2 for 20 years, of which Mr. Longworth Cross was donor; £1
per annum, of which Mr. Bowman was donor. There were also
ground-rents amounting to £36 : 4s. leased for 61 years.
Anthony Ellis or Ellys (1690-1761), Bishop of St. David’s, was a
rector here; also Thomas Birch (1705-66), Secretary to the Royal
Society, 1752-65.
The modern =Wood Street=, for a considerable distance after Gresham
Street, is one series of immensely high warehouses, on which the
vertical lines of bricks between the plate-glass windows are the most
prominent feature. The effect of these lines is rather neat and
workmanlike; horizontally beneath the windows are carved stone designs
of flowers and fruit in very heavy relief. On the other side of the
street are the entries into Pickford’s Yard under an old
eighteenth-century house of the plainer sort.
The Church of St. Alban, Wood Street, is too far north to fall within
our present section; but as it belongs to this street it must find a
place here.
ST. ALBAN, WOOD STREET
The Church of St. Alban, the only one remaining in this street, is
on the west side, in the Cripplegate Ward. In 1632 it was pulled
down, but was rebuilt in 1634, probably by Inigo Jones, but was
destroyed by the Great Fire, and the present building is the work of
Wren, who completed it in 1685. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1244.
The patronage of the church, as far as can be traced, was in the
hands of: St. Alban’s Abbey, who exchanged it in 1077 to Westminster
Abbey; St. James’ Hospital, Westminster, presented before 1244;
Provost and Fellows of Eton, 1477, with whom it remained up to 1666,
when the parish of St. Olave, Silver Street, was annexed and the
patronage shared alternately with the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The church is in a quasi-Gothic style and somewhat after the model
of the church destroyed by the Fire. It measured 33 feet in height,
66 feet in length, and 59 feet in breadth, and has two side aisles
divided from the central portion by clustered columns and flat
pointed arches. The church terminates at the east in an apse,
containing three stained-glass windows. It has been greatly altered
and modernised, the most striking alteration being the formation of
the apse and the substitution of three smaller windows for the
original large east window. The tower attains a height of 85 feet
and terminates in an open parapet; it is surmounted by eight
pinnacles of 7 feet each, giving a total altitude of 92 feet. On the
north side there is a small churchyard, separating the church from
Little Love Lane.
There was a chantry founded here by Roger Poynel before 1366. The
church formerly contained monuments to Sir John Cheke (1514-57),
tutor of Edward VI. and others.
The donors of charitable gifts were: William Peel, of St. Mary
Savoy, who bequeathed an annuity of £10 in 1623 for the use of the
poor; Gilbert Keat; Susan Ibel, £40 for providing coals for the
poor; Richard Wynne, £20 to be distributed among eight poor people,
at 2s. 6d. apiece; Thomas Savage, citizen and goldsmith, donor of
premises in Holborn Bridge; Mr. Londson, £1 : 6s. per annum for
bread for the poor, through the Company of Embroiderers.
There was a charity school for fifty boys and twenty-five girls,
supported by voluntary contributions from the Church of St. Alban
and others, from which the boys were apprenticed and the girls
placed out to service. The parish had in 1732 a workhouse hired in
the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate.
The following are some of the notable vicars of the church: William
Watts (d. 1649), chaplain to Charles I.; John Adams (1662-1720),
chaplain to William III. and Queen Anne.
=Foster Lane= was originally St. Vedast’s. It is mentioned in a document
of 1281 as St. Fauster’s, which was actually a corruption of St.
Vedast’s. It was, before the Fire, a neighbourhood much frequented by
goldsmiths and jewellers; William Fleetwood, Recorder of London in 1571,
dated some of his letters to Lord Burleigh from Foster Lane.
=St. Vedast’s= Church, commonly known as St. Fauster’s or
Foster’s. It was severely damaged by the Fire, and rebuilt by
Wren; the steeple was erected in 1697, the old one having been
retained until then. The parish was united after the Fire with St.
Michael-le-Querne, and St. Matthew, Friday Street, to which St.
Peter, Westcheap, had been annexed. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1291.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury; the Archbishop of Canterbury
before 1396, in whose successors it continued up to 1666, when the
parish of St. Michael-le-Querne was annexed and the patronage was
alternately shared with the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s up to
1882, when St. Matthew, Friday Street, with St. Peter, Westcheap,
were annexed; the patronage is now in the hands of the Bishop of
London for two turns, the Duke of Buccleugh for one turn.
Houseling people in 1548 were 460.
The church measures 69 feet in length, 51 feet in breadth, and 36
feet in height, and consists of a nave and south aisle separated by
arches supported on four Tuscan columns. The steeple, which rises at
the south-west, consists of a tower, surmounted by three stages, the
lowest of which is concave, the second convex, and the third an
obelisk-shaped spire; the total height is about 160 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By Galfridus atte gate for himself and
his wives Joan and Alice, about 1447, when Edmund Brennyng was
admitted chaplain—the lands fetched £8 : 6 : 8, which was augmented
by Christopher Tury and yielded in all £14 : 10s. in 1548, when John
Markehame was priest, “of the age of 59 years, of mean qualities and
learning”; by William de Wyndesore for himself and Tolonia his wife;
by John de Wyndesore, brother of the above William; by Mr. Cote in
1530, who gave £160 to purchase lands for the endowing of it, which
were not purchased, but one Mr. Hayton, in 1548, finds a priest; by
William Tryston, who endowed it £6 : 14 : 4, which was augmented by
Simon Atwoll to £18 : 5 : 2 in 1548, when Albert Copeman was priest,
“of the age of 39 years, of mean qualities and mean learning.”
John Longson, Master of the Mint, was buried in this church in 1583.
Among the later interments Stow records those of: William Fuller,
D.D., Dean of Durham, who suffered imprisonment for his loyalty in
the times of the rebellion; Sir John Johnson, Alderman of the City,
who died in 1698; and William Hall, deputy of this ward, who died in
1680; Robert Herrick was baptized here in 1591. No legacies or gifts
are recorded by Stow.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by G. Shepherd._
CHURCH OF ST. VEDAST
]
Thomas Rotherham (1423-1500), afterwards Archbishop of York, was
rector here; also Isaac Maddox (1697-1759), Bishop of St. Asaph and
of Worcester; Adam Moleynes (or Molyneux, d. 1450), LL.D., Bishop of
Chichester, who was slain by the marines at Portsmouth, incited by
Richard, Duke of York; Thomas Blage (d. 1611), Dean of Rochester;
Nathaniel Marshall (d. 1730), Canon of Windsor.
In Gresham Street, between Foster Lane and Gutter Lane corners, is the
Goldsmiths’ Hall.
THE GOLDSMITHS COMPANY
The Goldsmiths Company is mentioned in the year 1180, when it
appears to have been a voluntary association. It doubtless had its
origin in a combination of goldsmiths, for their mutual protection,
and to guard the trade against fraudulent workers. In the year 1300
the existence of the Company is recognised by a statute, viz., the
28th Edward I., cap. 80, which provides for the standards of gold
and silver, and enacts that all articles of those metals shall be
assayed by the wardens of the craft, to whom certain powers of
search are also given.
The first of the Company’s charters was granted to them by Edward
III., in the first year of his reign (1327).
It states that it had been theretofore ordained that all those who
were of the goldsmiths’ trade should sit in their shops in the High
Street of Cheap (Cheapside), and that no silver or plate, nor vessel
of gold or silver, ought to be sold in the City of London, except at
the King’s Exchange, or in the said street of Cheap amongst the
goldsmiths, and that publicly, to the end the persons of the said
trade might inform themselves whether the sellers came lawfully by
such vessel or not; that no gold or silver shall be manufactured to
be sent abroad but what shall be sold at the King’s Exchange, or
openly amongst the goldsmiths, and that none pretending to be
goldsmiths shall keep any shops but in Cheap.
By two subsequent charters Edward III. confirmed and extended the
privileges before granted, and he gave the Company licence to
purchase and hold tenements and rents to the value of £20 per annum,
for the relief of infirm members.
Richard II., by letters patent of the sixteenth of his reign, after
reciting that Edward III. had allowed the Company of the said craft
to accept charitable donations, and to purchase estates as
aforesaid, and that they might retain a chaplain to celebrate Mass
amongst them every day, confirmed the liberties granted by Edward
III. and granted and licensed the men of the craft that thenceforth
they may be a perpetual community or society amongst themselves.
Henry IV., by letters patent of his fifth year, recited and
confirmed the preceding charters of Edward III. and Richard II.
Henry VI., by letters patent of his first year, also recited and
confirmed the charter of Henry IV.
Edward IV., by letters patent of his second year, recited and
confirmed the charters of his predecessors.
Moreover, he granted that the said then wardens and their successors
may be a corporation or body corporate to consist of and be called
the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City
of London. That they may be capable in law to purchase, take, and
hold in fee and perpetuity lands, tenements, rents, and other
possessions whatsoever of any persons whomsoever that shall be
willing to give, devise, and assign the same to them. That they may
have perpetual succession and a common seal.
Henry VII., by letters patent of the twentieth year of his reign,
confirmed the whole of the preceding charters, and on account of the
Company being opposed in their trade search and assay, granted by
Edward IV., gave them the additional power to imprison or fine
defaulters in the trade at their discretion; to seize and break
unlawful work; to compel the trade, within three miles of the City,
to bring their work to the Company’s common hall, to be assayed and
stamped; and gave them power for ever, when it was not standard, to
utterly condemn the same, without rendering account to the Crown.
The whole of the liberties and franchises granted to the Company by
the preceding charters are set forth and confirmed by inspeximus
charters of 1st of Henry VIII., 1st of Edward VI., 1st of Mary, 3rd
of Elizabeth, 2nd of James I., and 18th of Charles II.
The Company also received a charter from James II. dated 4th of May
in the first year of his reign, whereby, amongst other things, that
monarch reserved to the Crown a right of control over the
appointment of the wardens and clerk. The statute was made void by
the Act of Parliament 2nd William and Mary, cap. 8.
The Company have also a copy of that part of the following patent
which relates to their property, viz. 4th of Edward VI. The King to
Augustine Hynde, and others.
The Company have also an exemplification under the great seal of
letters patent granted to them by James I., in the seventeenth year
of his reign (July 24, 1619), confirming to them the possession of a
large quantity of property in the City of London.
The powers of the Company are exercised at the present time chiefly
under the Acts of 12th George II., cap. 26, and 7th and 8th
Victoria, cap. 22.
As before stated, it appears that the Company was at first a
voluntary association, and had for its chief objects the protection
of the mystery or craft of goldsmiths; but it was evidently also
formed for religious and social purposes, and for the relief of the
poor members.
[Illustration:
_From a drawing by Thos. H. Shepherd._
GOLDSMITHS’ HALL, 1835
]
The powers exercised by this voluntary association over the craft
were subsequently confirmed to them by their charters. The wardens
fined workmen for making wares worse than standard, entered their
shops and searched for and seized false wares, settled disputes
between masters and apprentices, and frequently punished rebellious
apprentices by flogging, levied heavy fines upon members for slander
and disobedience of the wardens, and for reviling members of the
livery; and generally exercised a very powerful and absolute
control, not only over the members of the fellowship, but also over
all other persons exercising the goldsmiths’ trade.
For the purpose of the assay they had an assay office in the early
part of the fourteenth century. The statute of 28th Edward I. enacts
that no vessel of gold or silver shall depart out of the hands of
the workman until it is assayed by the wardens of the craft, and
stamped with the leopard’s head; the leopard being at that time part
of the royal arms of England.
The Company and its members, even at this early period, appear to
have acted as bankers and pawnbrokers. They received pledges, not
only of plate, but of other articles, such as cloth of gold and
pieces of napery.
The London goldsmiths were divided into two classes, natives and
foreigners. They inhabited chiefly Cheapside, Old Change, Lombard
Street, Foster Lane, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, Silver Street,
Goldsmiths’ Street, Wood Street, and the lanes about Goldsmiths’
Hall. Cheapside was their principal place of residence; the part of
it on the south side, extending from Bread Street to the Cross, was
called “the Goldsmiths’ Row.” The shops here were occupied by
goldsmiths, and here the Company possess many houses at the present
time. The Exchange for the King’s coin was close by, in what is now
called Old Change.
The native and foreign goldsmiths appear to have been divided into
classes, and to have enjoyed different privileges. First, there were
the members of the Company, who were chiefly, but not exclusively,
Englishmen; their shops were subject to the control of the Company;
they had the advantages conferred by the Company on its members, and
they made certain payments for the support of the fellowship. The
second division comprised the non-freemen, who were called
“Allowes,” that is to say, allowed or licensed. There were the
“Allowes Englis,” “Allowes Alicant,” “Alicant Strangers,”
“Dutchmen,” “Men of the Fraternity of St. Loys,” etc. All these paid
tribute to the Company, and were also subject to their control. The
quarterage paid by the members, and the tribute so paid by the
“Allowes,” constituted the Company’s original income. We find
frequent mention of efforts made by the English goldsmiths to
prevent foreign goldsmiths from settling in London, but they did not
succeed. The wise men of the craft probably knew that the best
artists were foreigners, and were willing to profit by observation
of their works and mode of working. In 1445, thirty-four persons,
who were strangers, were sworn, and paid 2s. a head. In 1447 Carlos
Spaen paid £8 : 6 : 8 to the alms of St. Dunstan, to be admitted a
freeman, and in 1511 John de Loren paid £20 for the same object.
The wardens also frequently obliged foreigners applying for the
freedom to produce testimonials from the authorities of the towns
abroad where they had resided.
The government of the trade under the Company’s charters continued
up to the reign of Charles the Second. But some time before this
period, and in the interval between it and the passing of the Act of
the 12th George II., cap. 26, the powers which had been granted to
the Company began to be questioned, and the Company experienced
difficulty in putting them into force. In 1738 the Company
considered it expedient to obtain an Act of Parliament.
And the 12th George II., cap. 26, passed in 1739, was prepared by
the officers of the Company, brought into Parliament by them, with
the assent of the government of the time, and all the cost of
soliciting it and getting it passed was paid for by the Company,
although it is a public Act.
Under this Act the Assay Office is regulated. The Company are
empowered thereby to make charges for the assaying and marking plate
sufficient only to defray the expenses of the office, and are
prohibited from making any profit thereby or deriving any pecuniary
advantage therefrom.
It may here be mentioned that at a very early period we find members
of the governing body of the Company, both wardens and assistants,
who were not of the craft. Amongst others, the leading bankers,
themselves the descendants in trade of the old goldsmiths, from the
time of the Stuarts to the present time, have been some of the most
conspicuous members of the body. Amongst them we find the names of
Sir Martin Bowes, who was Master of the Mint in the reign of
Elizabeth; Sir Hugh Myddelton, the enterprising founder of the New
River; Sir Francis Child, of Temple Bar; Sir Charles Duncombe, Sir
James Pemberton, Sir Robert Vyner; and in the 19th century, Robert
Williams and Thomas Halifax, Henry Sykes Thornton, William Banbury,
John Charles Salt, Herbert Barnard, William Newmarch, William
Cunliffe Brooks, Robert Ruthven Pym, Arthur B. Twining, Charles
Hoare, and Robert Williams, jun.
It remains to mention the connection of the Company with the coinage
of the realm in what is called the trial of the Pyx, an office which
has been performed by the Company ever since the reign of Edward I.
Its object is to ascertain that the metal of which the gold and
silver money coined by the Mint is composed is standard, and that
the coins themselves are of the prescribed weight.
This duty was performed in ancient times at uncertain intervals, and
usually had for its immediate object the giving an acquittance to
the Mint Master, who was bound to the Crown by indentures to coin
money of the prescribed fineness and weight. But the Coinage Act of
1870 provides for and establishes an annual trial, and since that
date the Pyx has been brought to Goldsmiths’ Hall and tried
annually.
In 1900, for the first time, at the request of H.M.’s Treasury, a
Pyx from each of the Colonial Mints coining Imperial Coinage was
tried.
Formerly a jury of competent freemen, summoned by the wardens, was
charged by the Lord Chancellor, who subsequently received their
verdict.
The jury is sworn by the Crown Remembrancer, who, the trial having
been made and the verdict of the jury reduced to writing, attends at
the Hall and receives them; after which their names are published in
the _Gazette_.
The number of the livery is 150. The Hall is in Foster Lane.
Privileges of membership:
A freeman of the Company has no advantages as such, except that if
he be a deserving man and in need of pecuniary assistance he is
eligible to receive, and would certainly receive, aid from the
Company, either by pension or donation.
When the Guild first had a Hall we know not, but the Hall has stood
on its present site for upwards of 550 years.
About 1340, land and a house at St. Vedast Lane and Ing Lane[2]
corner, formerly belonging to Sir Nicholas de Segrave, was bought.
This land still underlies part of the present Hall, and was in the
midst of the gold- and silver-smiths’ quarter. In 1407, Sir Dru
Barentine built the Goldsmiths a second Hall, wherefrom a gallery
led to his house. Within the great hall were arras hangings,
streamers, banners, tapestried benches, worked cushions, and a
screen bearing their patron’s (St. Dunstan’s) silver-gilt statue
bejewelled. There were chambers, parlour, ‘say-house, chapel with
coloured hangings, great kitchen, vaults, granary, armoury, clerk’s
house, beadle’s house, assayer’s house. This Hall decayed. Borrowing
money, they built a third and larger, 1635-40, Stone being surveyor.
After the Great Fire they repaired and partly rebuilt their Hall,
1666-69, raising money slowly. Jarman was architect. The buildings,
brick and stone, surrounded a paved quadrangle entered through the
Doric archway in Foster Lane.
The great hall was “magnificent” with marbled floor, moulded
ceiling, pillared screen, high wainscot, painted banners, costly
plate. Within 140 years they found this Hall decaying. They pulled
it down and built the present (fourth) Hall in 1830-35, Philip
Hardwick being architect.
Like the Drapers, the Goldsmiths Company has taken up the cause of
Technical Higher Education.
* * * * *
On the west side of Foster Lane stood also =St. Leonard’s Church=,
which was the parish church for St. Martin’s-le-Grand. It was burnt
down in the Great Fire and its parish annexed to that of Christ
Church, Newgate Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1291.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: the Dean and Canons
of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, 1291; the Abbot and Convent of
Westminster, 1509; Henry VIII., who seized it in 1540; the Dean and
Chapter of Westminster, 1553-54, in whose successors it continues,
they being the alternate patrons of Christ Church, Newgate Street.
Houseling people in 1548 were 452.
A chantry was founded here by and for William de Wyndesore, at the
Altar of Virgin Mary, before 1368, when his endowment fetched £3 :
13 : 4. There are few charities recorded by Stow.
The church of =St. Mary Staining= was situated on the north side of
Oat Lane, Foster Lane, and derived its name Staining from Painter
Stainers dwelling there; or, according to some from _stein_, the
Saxon for stone, other churches being built of wood. It was repaired
and redecorated in 1630, and was burnt down in the Great Fire, but
not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of St. Michael, Wood
Street; the site of this church was made a burying-ground. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1270.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prioress and
Convent of St. Mary, Clerkenwell; Henry VIII., and so continued in
the Crown till the Great Fire, when the parish was annexed to St.
Michael, Wood Street.
Houseling people in 1548 were 98.
Two monuments only are recorded by Stow, one in memory of George
Smithes, goldsmith and alderman, who died in 1615, and the other of
Sir Arthur Savage, knighted at Cadiz in 1596, who was General of
Queen Elizabeth’s forces in France at the siege of Amiens; he died
in 1632.
The parish received three legacies, payable yearly, namely: 15s. 6d.
from Lady Read and Mr. Hill; £1 : 4s. from Mr. Lawne; and 1s. 6d.
from Mr. Dean.
What Gresham Street is on the north of our present section, so =Watling
Street= is on the south. It runs roughly parallel with Cheapside and
Poultry. Stow says of it:
“Then for Watheling Street, which Leland called Atheling, or Noble
Street; but since he showeth no reason why, I rather take it to be so
named of that great highway of the same calling. True it is that at the
present the inhabitants thereof are wealthy drapers, retaillers of
woollen cloths, both broad and narrow, of all sorts, more than in any
one street of this city.”
How came Watling Street, the old country road, into the City? The old
Roman road, as it approached the Thames, passed down the Edgware Road.
Where is now the Marble Arch it divided into two, of which the older
part crossed the marsh, and so over Thorney Island? The other ran along
what is now Oxford Street and Holborn.
It then crossed the valley of the Fleet and entered the City at the New
Gate. If now we draw a line from Newgate to London Stone, just south of
its present position, we shall find that it passes the north-east course
of St. Paul’s precinct, cutting it off, so to speak, and meets the
present Watling Street where it bends to the south of Bow Lane; it then
follows the old Budge Row as far as the Stone. That was the original
Watling Lane of the City. The Saxons, however, who found the streets a
mass of confused ruins, built over part of the old Watling, and
continued it as far as the south-east course of St. Paul’s. The street
has few antiquities apart from its churches.
There is no mention of Watling Street in Riley’s _Memorials_.
In the Calendar of Wills we find shops in this street in 1307, a brewery
in 1341, a widow’s mansion in 1349, and shops in 1361, “lands,
tenements, and rents” in 1373, a house called “le Strelpas” in 1397. The
other references to Watling Street are those of “tenements” only.
The yearly procession of the City rectors with the mayor and aldermen
started from St. Peter’s, Cornhill, marched along Chepe as far as St.
Paul’s Churchyard, turning to the south and so to “Watling Street
Close,” which was the eastern entrance to the churchyard.
After the Fire, while the rubbish was being cleared away, on the east of
the street were discovered nine wells in a row. They were supposed to
have belonged to a street of houses from Watling Street to Cheapside.
But one hardly expects to find a well in every house.
In Watling Street and its continuation, Budge Row, were the following
churches, beginning at the west end: St. Augustine’s; Allhallows, Bread
Street; St. Mary Aldermary; St. Anthony’s. For St. Augustine’s see p.
62, and for Allhallows see p. 58.
ST. MARY ALDERMARY
The Church of St. Mary Aldermary stands in a triangle formed by Bow
Lane, Queen Victoria Street, and Watling Street. It is called Alder,
Older, or Elder, Mary, from its being the oldest church in the City
having that dedication. Sir Henry Keble, Lord Mayor in 1510, began
to rebuild it, and left at his death £1000 towards its completion;
this was augmented by William Rodoway and Richard Pierson in 1626.
The building was destroyed by the Great Fire, but rebuilt by Wren in
1681-82. For this purpose the legacy of £5000 was applied, which had
been left by Henry Rogers for the rebuilding of a church;
stipulation, however, was made that the new church should be an
exact imitation of Keble’s, so that Wren was forced to adopt methods
very different from his own. The building was greatly restored in
1876-77. The church now serves for four parishes—its original one,
that of St. Thomas the Apostle, of St. Antholin, and of St. John the
Baptist. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1233.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of Henry III., 1233;
the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury, 1288, who
exchanged it with the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1401, in whose
successors it continued up to 1666, when the parish of St. Thomas
was annexed; and thus the Archbishop shared the patronage
alternately with the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 400.
The church is in the Tudor style of architecture, and consists of a
nave, chancel, and two side aisles, separated from the central part
by clustered columns and slightly pointed arches. It is 100 feet
long, 63 feet broad, and about 45 feet high. The north side of the
chancel is longer than the south, which gives the church a somewhat
curious appearance. The tower, the upper portion of which was
rebuilt about 1701, contains four storeys, with an open parapet, and
is surmounted by four pinnacles. The total height is 135 feet.
Sir Henry Keble, the founder of the original church, was buried
here, and a monument erected to him in 1534; also Sir William
Laxton, mayor, 1556, and Henry Gold, one of the rectors here, who
was executed at Tyburn in 1534. “The Holy Maid of Kent” was also
buried here. The monuments in the present church are of little
interest. Over the west door there is a Latin inscription recording
the munificence of Henry Rogers. Mr. Garret gave £100 to the
lecturer of this church, to endure as long as the Gospel was
preached. The particulars of the numerous other gifts and charities
did not come into the possession of Stow. There were two almshouses
for the poor of the Salters Company, who are four in number, each of
whom has an allowance of 1s. per week.
Thomas Browne (d. 1673), chaplain to Charles I., was rector here;
also Robert Gell (1595-1665), Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge;
Offspring Blackall (1654-1716), Bishop of Exeter; White Kennett
(1660-1728), Bishop of Peterborough; Henry Ware, Bishop of
Chichester; Henry Gold, who was executed at Tyburn, 1534; George
Lavington, D.D. (1684-1762), Bishop of Exeter.
=Budge Row=, northward, was spelt Begerow in 1376. Of it Stow says: “So
called of Budge fur and the Skinners dwelling there.”
At the south-western corner of Sise Lane, in Budge Row, there is a
rectangular railed-in space about a dozen feet by six, sheltered by the
corner of the adjoining house. Against the wall, facing eastward, is a
monument in stone of considerable size. Two columns with Corinthian
capitals support an architrave, and enclose a view in slight relief of
=St. Antholin’s= as it was. Beneath the view are the words:
Here stood the parish church of St. Antholin, destroyed in the Great
Fire, A.D. 1666, rebuilt 1677 by Sir Christopher Wren, architect.
On the bases of the columns are inscribed the names of the churchwardens
of St. Antholin’s and St. John Baptist’s, Walbrook, respectively. While
the following inscription is beneath:
The change of population in the City during two centuries rendering
the church no longer necessary, it was taken down A.D. 1875, under
the Act of Parliament for uniting City Benefices; the funds derived
from the sale of the site were devoted in part to the Restoration of
the neighbouring church of St. Mary Aldermary, where are also
erected the monumental tablets removed from St. Antholin, and the
erection at Nunhead of another church dedicated to St. Antholin
greatly needed in that thickly populated district.
And again, right across the bases of the pillars and the stone, run the
words:
In a vault beneath are deposited the greater part of the human
remains removed from the Old church. The remainder are laid in a
vault in the City of London Cemetery at Ilford, where also a
monument marks the place of interment.
The Church of =St. Anthony= or =Antholin= stood on the north side of
Budge Row, at the corner of Shoe Lane, in Cordwainer Street Ward. It
derived its name from being dedicated to St. Anthony of Vienna, who
had a cell here founded by Henry II., but it is not known when the
church was first built. About 1399 it was rebuilt, and again in
1513, but the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed it. From Wren’s design it
was rebuilt, and completed in 1682; it was remarkable for its tower,
with a spire all of freestone. In 1874 the building (except the
steeple) was taken down, and in 1876 the steeple was also
demolished, the materials of which were sold for £5. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1181.
The patronage of the church was always in the hands of the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s, who granted one part to John, son of Wizo the
goldsmith, about 1141.
Houseling people in 1548 were 240.
In 1623 a very beautiful gallery was added to the church, every
division of which (52 in number) was filled with the arms of kings,
queens, and princes of the kingdom, from Edward the Confessor to
Frederick, Count Palatine of the Rhine.
Chantries were founded here by: Nicholas Bole, citizen and skinner,
at the Altar of St. Katherine, to which William Pykon was admitted
chaplain, 1390, on the resignation of Richard Hale—the endowment
fetched £6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Robert Smythe was chaplain; John
Grantham, whose endowment fetched £4 in 1548.
In this church Thomas Hind and Hugh Acton, benefactors to the
parish, were buried. There was also a monument to William Daunsey,
mercer and alderman of the City.
Some of the donors of gifts and charities were: the Mercers and
Drapers, of £6 respectively; Sir William Craven and William Parker,
£100, to which £118 were added by the parishioners, for establishing
a daily lecture. There were a considerable number of charities in
this parish.
Among the rectors of this church were William Colwyn, who made a
recantation at St. Paul’s Cross, Advent 1541, and Thomas Lamplugh
(1615-91), Archbishop of York.
On the opposite side of the street extends for some way a really old
brick building, evidently built immediately after the Fire. Over a
centre window is a curved pediment of brickwork. Beneath, an opening
leads into a yard, and the building is used by Stationers. The west side
of the lane is modern.
=St. Pancras Lane= was formerly Needlers’ Lane. The church, the parish,
the chantries and endowments, and the parishioners are mentioned
frequently in the _Calendar of Wills_. The earliest entry there is of
A.D. 1273, where John Hervy bequeaths to Juliana his daughter his
mansion in the parish of St. Pancras, and to his daughter Johanna his
shop in the parish of Colechurch. The Lane, except that it contained two
parish churches, was of little importance.
Pancras Lane is an open space, once the graveyard of St. Pancras, Soper
Lane. The houses are dull brick and stucco. The graveyard bears a great
similarity to all that is left of the others; it is covered with dingy
gravel and decorated by blackened evergreens. The iron gate bears a
little shield telling that it was erected in 1886. There are one or two
tombs still left.
The Church of =St. Pancras, Soper Lane=, stood near a street called
Soper Lane, but since the Fire called Queen Street. It was repaired
1621, and in 1624 Thomas Chapman the younger built a porch to it.
The building was destroyed by the Great Fire, when its parish was
annexed to that of St. Mary-le-Bow. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1312.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, who granted it, April 25,
1365, to the Archbishop of Canterbury, in whose successors it
continued up to 1666, when the church was destroyed in the Great
Fire and the parish annexed to St. Mary-le-Bow.
Houseling people in 1548 were 146.
Chantries were founded here by: John Causton at the Altar of St.
Anne, which was augmented by Simon Rice and Lettice his wife, before
1356, to which William de la Temple was presented by the King,
January 10, 1374-75—the endowment was valued at £13 in 1548, when
Adam Arnolde was priest; Margaret Reynolds, who bequeathed £233 :
6 : 8, which the Mercers had, and guaranteed a rent charge of £8 :
13 : 4 for the same to find a priest.
The church originally contained monuments to John Stockton, mercer
and mayor, 1470; Richard Gardener, mercer and mayor, 1478; and
Thomas Knowles, twice Lord Mayor.
Two charitable gifts are recorded by Stow, the donors of which were
Thomas Chapman, whose benefaction was lost by Stow’s time, and
Thomas Chapman his son, to the amount of £11 : 3 : 8.
Only a few steps farther on is another melancholy little spot, with a
stone slab on the wall near with inscription as follows: “Before the
dreadful Fire, Anno 1666, stood the church of St. Benet Sherehog.” The
railing and low wall were put up in 1842. Within the enclosure stands a
tomb over the “Family Vault of Michael Davison, 1676.”
The church was called =St. Benet Sherehog=, from one Benedict
Shorne, or Shrog, or Shorehog, who was connected with it in the
reign of Edward II. It was repaired in 1628, but destroyed by the
Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to St. Stephen,
Walbrook, and its site made into a burying-ground. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1285.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior and
Convent of St. Mary Overy, of Southwark, 1324; then the Crown, since
Henry VIII. seized it in 1542.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
Chantries were founded here: For Ralph le Fever and Lucy his
wife—the endowment fetched £3 : 11 : 8 in 1548, when Anthony Gyplyn,
lately deceased, had been priest; for Thomas Romayn and Julia his
wife, to which John de Loughebourgh was admitted, August 12, 1326.
Edward Hall, who wrote the large chronicle from Richard II. to Henry
VIII., was buried here. The church formerly contained a monument to
Sir Ralph Warren, twice Lord Mayor of London, who died in 1553. Mrs.
Katherine Philips of Cardigan, the poetess, who died in 1664, was
also buried here.
Only one charitable gift is recorded by Stow in this parish, that of
£5 per annum left by Mr. Davison for keeping his family vault in
repair. Some of this was used for charitable purposes.
John Wakering (d. 1425), Bishop of Norwich, was rector here.
=Queen Street= was constructed in part after the Fire, and covers the
old Soper Lane, so called from the soap-makers who formerly lived here
(though Stow wants to derive the name from an ancient resident). The
south end, leading to the river, seems to have been the later part.
Soper Lane is mentioned in the _Calendar of Wills_ as early as 1259,
when Nicholas Bat, a member of the old City family of that name,
bequeathed to his wife rents in Sopers’ Lane.
Here, in 1297, there sprang up an evening market—“Eve Chepynge”—called
the New Fair. It was established against the knowledge of the mayor by
“strangers, foreigners, and beggars,” and was the cause of many deeds
made possible by selling in the dark, and of much strife and violence.
Therefore it was abolished.
In the reign of Edward II. Soper Lane was the market-place of the
Pepperers; seventy years later of the Curriers and Cordwainers. In the
reign of Queen Mary there were many shops here for the sale of pies.
In the year 1316 the “good folks in Soper Lane, of the trade of
Pepperers,” agreed upon certain regulations for the observance of the
trade and the prevention of dishonesty.
In 1375 we find cordwainers between Soper Lane and the Conduit.
The name of Size Lane is derived from St. Osyth.
For =Bucklersbury= we will first let Stow speak:
“Bucklersbury, so called of a manor and tenements pertaining to one
Buckle, who there dwelt and kept his courts. This manor is supposed to
be the great stone building, yet in part remaining on the south side of
the street, which of late time hath been called the Old Barge, of such a
sign hanged out near the gate thereof. This manor or great house hath of
long time been divided and letten out into many tenements; and it hath
been a common speech, that when Walbrooke did lie open, barges were
rowed out of the Thames, or towed up so far, and therefore the place
hath ever since been called the Old Barge.
“Also on the north side of this street, directly over against the said
Bucklersbury, was one ancient and strong tower of stone, the which tower
King Edward III., in the 18th of his reign, by the name of the king’s
house, called Cornet stoure in London, did appoint to be his Exchange of
money there to be kept. In the 29th he granted it to Frydus Guynysane
and Landus Bardoile, merchants of Luke, for twenty pounds the year. And
in the 32nd he gave the same tower to his college or free chapel of St.
Stephen at Westminster, by the name of Cornet Stoure at Bucklersbury in
London. This tower of late years was taken down by one Buckle, a grocer,
meaning in place thereof to have set up and built a goodly frame of
timber; but the said Buckle greedily labouring to pull down the old
tower, a part thereof fell upon him, which so sore bruised him that his
life was thereby shortened, and another that married his widow set up
the new prepared frame of timber, and finished the work.
“This whole street called Bucklersbury on both the sides throughout is
possessed of grocers and apothecaries towards the west end thereof: on
the south side breaketh out one other short lane called in records
Peneritch street; it reacheth but to St. Sythe’s Lane, and St. Sythe’s
church is the farthest part thereof, for by the west end of the said
church beginneth Needler’s Lane, which reacheth to Soper Lane, as is
aforesaid” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 276).
The origin of the name of Bucklersbury is Bukerel, and not Buckle;
Bukerel was the name of an old City family. Andrew Bukerel was mayor
from 1231 to 1236.
Many Roman antiquities, pavements, bronzes, Samian ware, spoons, etc.,
have been found in Bucklersbury. A bronze armlet also found there may
belong to pre-Roman times. The street is mentioned in many ancient
documents, beginning with the thirteenth century. In the fifteenth
century there were tenements here known as “Sylvestre tour” assigned by
the Dean of St. Stephen, Westminster, to the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, druggists, furriers,
herbalists, and tobacconists had shops in Bucklersbury.
In 1688 there was a Roman Catholic chapel in Bucklersbury, which was one
of those destroyed or burned by the mob, chiefly consisting of London
apprentices, during the riots pending the arrival of the Prince of
Orange.
An argument between the Dean and Canons of St. Paul’s and a carpenter of
Bucklersbury shows that the parish of St. Benet Sherehog was called in
1406 the parish of St. Osyth, in which part of Bucklersbury stood. In
1455 the former name is given to the parish.
Bucklersbury was cut in two when Queen Victoria Street was made. The
upper portion consists chiefly of large modern many-windowed business
houses. Near the north-east corner there is an old brick house
containing part of Pimm’s restaurant. In the southern half Barge Yard is
modern. The Bourse Buildings, occupied by a great number of engineers,
accountants, and business men of all sorts, take up a large part of the
street.
Passing westward we come to =Bow Lane=, which was formerly called in the
lower part Hosier Lane, from the trade of those who occupied it, and in
the upper part, for a similar reason, Cordwainers’ Street.
The street spoken of in the _Calendar of Wills_ by the name of Hosier
Lane belonged to the parish of St. Sepulchre without the wall. The same
street is mentioned in Riley’s _Memorials_.
For the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow see p. 10.
In its modern aspect Bow Lane is not uninteresting.
A covered entry, inappropriately named New Court, leads into a
fascinating corner. There is a gateway really and ruinously old; it is
said to have survived the Fire. The ironwork pattern is lost now in
meaningless and broken twists, though there is a semblance of what might
have been a monogram over the centre gate. The houses all round the
court evidently date from the period directly after the Fire. That
facing the street is of red brick toned by age, and is said to have been
the residence of a Lord Mayor. The others are of dark brick, picked out
in red. No. 5 contains the offices of the _Financial World_.
Beyond it a narrow passage leads at an angle round to the churchyard. A
more spacious way runs beside the church itself. At the corner of this
is a polished granite drinking fountain, erected in 1859, supporting
green painted dolphins.
In the churchyard a scene of confusion and turmoil daily takes place on
the pavement which lies over the bones of the “ancient dead.” Great
wooden crates and packing-cases are littered about. They are from that
large modern building on the west, facing the church, belonging to
warehousemen and manufacturers. But one old seventeenth-century house,
of a date immediately succeeding the Fire, remains, on the south side of
the churchyard, facing Cheapside. Its quiet blackened bricks and flat
windows have beheld many a change of scene on the stage before it. The
ground-floor windows and doorway are connected by an ornamental cornice.
The red bricks of the church in Bow Lane contrast with a long narrow
building of the eighteenth century which is squeezed against them. These
contrast with the gaping cellars and basements of the more modern
buildings.
Of =Bread Street= there is very early mention. In 1204 the leprous women
of St. James’s received a charter respecting a certain tenement in
Chepe, at the head of Bread Street; in 1290 this tenement again becomes
the subject of a charter. In 1263 there was a fire which consumed a part
of Bread Street.
“So called of bread in old time there sold: for it appeareth by records,
that in the year 1302, which was the 30th of Edward I., the bakers of
London were bound to sell no bread in their shops or houses, but in the
market: and that they should have four hall-motes in the year, at four
several terms, to determine of enormities belonging to the said Company.
“Bread Street is now wholly inhabited by rich traders; and divers fair
inns be there, for good receipt of carriers and other travellers to the
city. It appears in the will of Edward Stafford, Earl of Wyltshire,
dated the 22nd of March, 1498, and 14 Hen. VII., that he lived in a
house in Bread-street in London, which belonged to the family of
Stafford, Duke of Bucks afterwards; he bequeathing all the stuff in that
house to the Lord of Buckingham, for he died without issue” (Strype,
vol. i. pp. 686-687).
The bakers gave continual trouble to the City by their light-weight
loaves and their bad bread. When they were “wanted” by the alderman they
gat themselves out of the City and to their hills beyond the
jurisdiction of the mayor. It was ordained, in order to meet this
difficulty, that the servants who sell the bread thus complained of
should be punished as if they were masters. It was also discovered that
“hostelers and habergeons” bought bread in the market and sold it to
their guests at a profit. This was not allowed in mediæval times. It was
ordered that every loaf was to be bought of a baker, with his special
stamp, and sold at the price regulated by the assize of bread.
But there were others besides bakers who used the market of Bread
Street, Cheapside; it became a place for cooks. In 1351, one Henry
Pecche bought a caper pasty of Henry de Passelowe, cook at the Stocks,
and found on opening it that the fowl was putrid. The case coming before
the mayor, experts were called in, among them six cooks of Bread Street
and three of Ironmonger Lane. The story shows how the exclusive
character of a market had to be broken up for the conveniences of the
people. Here we have cooks carrying on their trade in three different
parts of the great market of Chepe. A few years later, one of the Bread
Street cooks, John Welburgh Man by name, was convicted by the evidence
of his neighbours of selling a pie of conger, knowing the fish to be
bad.
In 1595 a singular discovery was made at the north-east end of this
street. In the construction of a vault was found, 15 feet deep, a “fair”
pavement, and at the farther end a tree sawed into five steps—Stow says:
“which was to step over some brook running out of the west towards
Walbrooke; and upon the edge of the said brook, as it seemeth, there
were found lying along the bodies of two great trees, the ends whereof
were then sawed off, and firm timber as at the first when they fell,
part of the said trees remain yet in the ground undigged. It was all
forced ground until they went past the trees aforesaid, which was about
seventeen feet deep or better; thus much hath the ground of this city in
that place been raised from the main.”
The first turning to the east going down Bread Street was, until
recently, called the Spread Eagle Court. One of the corner houses of
this court is supposed to have been the work-place of John Milton, whose
father traded under the sign of the “Spread Eagle.” He was baptized in
the church of Allhallows. House and church were destroyed in the Fire,
but the register remains.
On the corner house between Watling and Bread Streets is a stone slab
fixed to the wall; this bears a bust of the poet in _alto relievo_. The
rest of the building, which runs along Watling Street as far as Red Lion
Court, is in new red brick, dated 1878. It has ornamental brickwork and
festoons here and there, and the roof terminates in curiously shaped
gables, some of which follow the old shell pattern. The doorways and
windows are carried out in stone. The penthouse pediment over Milton’s
bust is also in brick. Beneath, two little red cherubs hold a laurel
wreath. Below the head is the one word—Milton; and lower follows the
inscription:
Born in Bread Street, 1608.
Baptized in the Church of Allhallows, which stood here ante 1678.
The Mermaid, like many other London inns, stood in a court with an
entrance from Friday Street and from Bread Street.
On the west side of Bread Street, on a site which, when Stow wrote, was
occupied by “large houses for merchants and fair inns for passengers,”
stood the Bread Street Compter, one of the two sheriffs’ prisons. As we
have seen, it was later removed to Wood Street.
Behind St. Mildred’s Church stood =Gerard’s Hall=, the entrance from
Basing Lane. Of this place Stow speaks at length:
“On the south side of this lane is one great house, of old time built
upon arched vaults, and with arched gates of stone, brought from Caen in
Normandy. The same is now a common hostrey for receipt of travellers,
commonly and corruptly called Gerards hall, of a giant said to have
dwelt there. In the high-roofed hall of this house sometime stood a
large fir pole, which reached to the roof thereof, and was said to be
one of the staves that Gerard the giant used in the wars to run withal.
There stood also a ladder of the same length, which (as they say) served
to ascend to the top of the staff. Of later years this hall is altered
in building, and divers rooms are made in it. Notwithstanding, the pole
is removed to one corner of the hall, and the ladder hanged broken upon
a wall in the yard. The hosteler of that house said to me, ‘the pole
lacketh half a foot of forty in length’: I measured the compass thereof,
and found it fifteen inches.
“I read that John Gisors, mayor of London in the year 1245, was owner
thereof, and that Sir John Gisors, knight, mayor of London, and
constable of the Tower 1311, and divers others of that name and family,
since that time owned it. William Gisors was one of the sheriffs 1329.
More, John Gisors had issue, Henry and John; which John had issue,
Thomas; which Thomas deceasing in the year 1350, left unto his son
Thomas his messuage called Gisor’s Hall, in the parish of St. Mildred in
Bread Street: John Gisors made a feoffment thereof, 1386, etc. So it
appeareth that this Gisor’s Hall, of late time by corruption hath been
called Gerard’s Hall for Gisor’s Hall; as Bosom’s inn for Blossom’s inn,
Bevis Marks for Buries Marks, Marke Lane, for Marte Lane, Belliter Lane
for Belsetter’s Lane, Gutter Lane for Guthuruns Lane, Cry Church for
Christ’s Church, St. Michel in the Querne for St. Michel at corne, and
sundry such others. Out of this Gisor’s Hall, at the first building
thereof, were made divers arched doors, yet to be seen, which seem not
sufficient for any great monster, or other man of common stature to pass
through, the pole in the hall might be used of old time (as then the
custom was in every parish), to be set up in the summer as May-pole,
before the principal house in the parish or street, and to stand in the
hall before the screen, decked with holme and ivy, at the feast of
Christmas. The ladder served for the decking of the may-pole and roof of
the hall. Thus much for Gisor’s hall, and for that side of Bread street,
may suffice” (Stow’s _Survey_, 393-394).
[Illustration:
GERARD’S HALL CRYPT IN 1795
]
The crypt of this house escaped the Fire. On its site was erected an inn
called Gerard’s Hall, which contained seventy-eight bedrooms, and was
one of the principal hotels of the City. The whole was removed for the
construction of Cannon Street; Basing Lane, which ran from Bread Street
to Bow Lane, disappeared at the same time.
ST. MILDRED, BREAD STREET
The Church of St. Mildred, Bread Street, still stands. It is on the
east side of the street, a little to the south of Cannon Street, and
is supposed to have been rebuilt in 1300 by Lord Trenchaunt, of St.
Alban’s, knight, whose monument was in the church. It was destroyed
by the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren in 1683, when the parish of
St. Margaret Moses was annexed. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1170.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, who had it in 1300, and
granted it to John Incent and John Oliver, 1333; the above Prior and
Convent.
Houseling people in 1548 were 216.
The present church measures 62 feet in length, and 36 feet in
breadth, while the total height, to the summit of the cupola, is 52
feet. The interior remains practically in its original state. The
carvings about the altar-piece and pulpit are attributed to Grinling
Gibbons. The steeple, which rises at the south-east, consists of a
plain brick tower, lantern, and slender spire culminating in a ball
and vane. The total height is 140 feet, but only the upper portion
is visible, owing to the buildings surrounding it.
A chantry was founded here by Stephen Bull, citizen, of which Thomas
Chapman was chaplain, April 26, 1453.
The church originally contained monuments to: Lord Trenchaunt, a
great benefactor, who was buried here about 1300; also Sir John
Shadworth, mayor, 1401, who gave a parsonage house and other gifts
to the church. Here too John Ireland and Ellis Crispe were buried in
1614 and 1625, the grandfather and father of Sir Nicholas Crispe,
the devoted adherent of Charles I., who is greatly eulogised for his
loyalty by Dr. Johnson; he died in 1666.
Few details of the charities belonging to the parish are recorded by
Stow; Thomas Langham and Mr. Coppinger being the only names
mentioned besides those commemorated by monuments.
Thomas Mangey (1688-1755), D.D., Prebendary of Durham, was a rector
here; also Hugh Oldham (d. 1519) of Exeter.
=The Church of Allhallows, Bread Street=, stood on the east side of
the street. In 1625 the building was repaired, but ruined by the
Great Fire shortly after. It was subsequently rebuilt. In 1878 it
was taken down. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1284.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior and
Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury; Archbishop of Canterbury,
April 24, 1365, by gift (1284-85) from the above, in whose
successors it continued up to 1666, when St. John’s, Watling Street,
was annexed to it, these being annexed to St. Mary-le-Bow by Order
in Council dated July 21, 1876.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
On the south side of the chancel there was a small part of the
church, called “The Salters’ Chapel,” containing a window with the
figure of the donor, Thomas Beaumont, wrought upon it. The church
originally had a steeple, but in 1559 it was destroyed by lightning
and not restored. The King granted a licence to Roger Paryt and
Roger Stagenhow to found a guild in honour of our Lord, April 12,
1394 (Pat. 17 Rd. II. p. 2 m. 15). Some of the most notable
monuments were those of Thomas Beaumont of the Company of Salters,
John Dunster, a benefactor of the church, and Arthur Baron.
The following were among the numerous benefactors: David Cocke,
£100; William Parker, £100; John Dunster, £200, to be laid out in
lands and tenements; Edward Rudge, £200, to be laid out in lands and
tenements; Lady Middleton, £100.
The most notable rectors of the church were: William Lyndwood (d.
1446), Chancellor to the Archbishop of Canterbury; Thomas Langton
(d. 1501), Bishop of St. David’s. John Milton was baptized in this
church.
A tablet formerly affixed to the exterior of the church in
commemoration of the event was put up outside St. Mary-le-Bow after
the destruction of Allhallows.
=Friday Street.=—“So called,” says Stow, “of fishmongers dwelling there,
and serving Friday’s market.” In the roll of the Scrope and Grosvenor
controversy, the poet Chaucer is recorded as giving evidence connected
with this street, for when he was once in Friday Street he observed a
sign with the arms of Scrope hanging out; and on his asking what they
did there, was told they were put there by Sir Robert Grosvenor.
Cunningham also notes as follows: “The Nag’s Head Tavern, at the
Cheapside corner of Friday Street, was the pretended scene of the
consecration of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. The real consecration took place in the adjoining
church of St. Mary-le-Bow; but the Roman Catholics chose to lay the
scene in a tavern. ‘The White Horse,’ another tavern in Friday Street,
makes a conspicuous figure in the _Merry Conceited Jests of George
Peele_. In this street, in 1695, at the ‘Wednesdays Clubs,’ as they were
called, certain well-known conferences took place, under the direction
of William Paterson, which ultimately led to the establishment of the
Bank of England.”
In the year 1247, certain lands in Friday Street are held by the nuns of
“Halliwelle.” In 1258, one William Eswy, mercer, bequeathed to the Earl
of Gloucester all his tenements in Friday Street for 100 marks, wherein
he was bound to the Earl, and for robes, capes, and other goods received
from him. In 1278, Walter de Vaus left to Thomas, his uncle, shops in
Friday Street. Therefore in the thirteenth century the street was
already a lane of shops. The date shows that the former character of
Chepe market as a broad open space set with booths and stalls had
already undergone great modifications. Other early references to the
street show that it was one of shops. Chaucer’s evidence shows that a
hundred years later there were “hostelers” or “herbergeours” living
there.
In 1363, certain citizens subscribed money as a present to the King.
Among them is one Thomas, a scrivener of Friday Street, and in 1370 we
find one Adam Lovekyn in possession of a seld which has been used for
time out of mind by foreign tanners. He complains that they no longer
come to him, but keep their wares in hostels and go about the streets
selling them in secret.
In Friday Street at the corner in Watling Street is a railed-in space,
all that remains of an old churchyard, the churchyard of St. John the
Evangelist. This is a piece of ground containing very few square yards,
separated from the street by high iron railings, and filled with stunted
laurel bushes and other evergreens. A hard gravel walk runs round a
circular bed of bushes, and on one side stands a raised tomb-like
erection. On the wall are one or two slabs indicating the names of those
who are buried in the vault below.
=The Church of St. John the Evangelist= was burnt down in the Great
Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to Allhallows, Bread
Street, and both of these to St. Mary-le-Bow, by Order in Council,
1876. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1354.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, before 1354; Henry VIII.
seized it in 1540; the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church,
Canterbury, 1546 up to 1666, when it was annexed to Allhallows,
Bread Street.
Houseling people in 1548 were 100.
A chantry was founded here by William de Angre, before 1361, whose
endowment fetched £8 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when John Taylor was
chaplain. No monuments of any note are recorded by Stow.
In the north part of Friday Street is Blue Boar Court on the east side.
This court was rebuilt in 1896, but previous to this was surrounded by
old houses. One of these, No. 56, was interesting as having been the
City home of Richard Cobden until 1845. It is said that this house was
built on the site of a garden attached to Sir Hugh Myddelton’s house in
Cheapside. The cellars beneath the building once covered the bullion
belonging to the Bank of England. This was at the time when the Bank was
in a room of the old Grocers’ Hall.
=The Church of St. Matthew, Friday Street=, was situated on the west
side of the street near Cheapside. It was burnt down in the Great
Fire, and rebuilt from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren in 1685;
it was then made the parish church for this and St. Peter’s,
Westcheap, which was annexed to it. About 1887 the building was
pulled down. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1322.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot and
Convent of St. Peter, Westminster, 1322, then Henry VIII., who
seized it and gave it to the Bishop of Westminster, January 20,
1540-41; the Bishop of London, March 3, 1553-54; it continued in his
successors up to 1666, when St. Peter’s, Cheapside, was annexed, and
the patronage was shared alternately with the patron of that parish.
Houseling people in 1548 were 200.
The church was plain, without aisles, measuring 64 feet by 33 feet
and having a tower 74 feet high.
Chantries were founded here: By Adam de Bentley, goldsmith, for
himself and Matilda his wife, to which Adam Ipolite de Pontefracto
was admitted chaplain, June 14, 1334; by Thomas Wyrlyngworth, at the
Altar of St. Katherine, to which John Donyngton was admitted
chaplain, November 13, 1391: the King granted his licence, June 16,
1404; by John Martyn, whose endowment fetched £10 in 1548, when
Henry Coldewell was priest, “70 years of age, meanly learned”; for
Nicholas Twyford, _miles_, about 1400.
The church originally contained monuments to Sir Nicholas Twyford,
goldsmith and mayor, who died 1583, also Sir Edward Clark, Lord
Mayor in 1696. Sir Hugh Myddelton, the designer of the New River,
was a parishioner, and was buried here in 1631.
A legacy of £5 a year was left to the poor of the parish by Mrs.
Cole.
James Smith, Edward Clark, and others contributed to the furnishing
of the necessities of the church. The parish was to receive £240 out
of the “cole-money” for the use of the parish or poor (Stow).
John Thomas (1691-1766), Bishop of Lincoln, 1744, of Sarum 1761-66,
was rector here; also Edward Vaughan (d. 1522), Bishop of St.
David’s; John Rogers, who was burnt at Smithfield, 1555; Lewis
Bayley (d. 1631), Bishop of Bangor, and Michael Lort (1725-90),
Vice-President of Society of Antiquaries; Henry Burton, the ardent
Puritan, who was put in the pillory and imprisoned for his religious
opinions and attacks.
=The Church of St. Margaret Moses= was situated on the east side of
Friday Street, opposite Distaff Lane, now merged in Cannon Street,
and derived its name from one Moses, who founded it. It was burnt
down in the Great Fire and its parish annexed to that of St.
Mildred, Bread Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1300.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Robert Fitzwalter,
the founder, who gave it in 1105 to the Priors and Canons of St.
Faith, Horsham, Norfolk, being confirmed to that house by Pope
Alexander III. in his Bill dated at Turin, May 26, 1163; Edward
III., who seized it from St. Faith, as an alien priory, and so it
continued in the Crown till the parish was annexed to St. Mildred,
Bread Street, in 1666.
Houseling people in 1548 were 240.
Chantries were founded here by: Nicholas Bray, whose endowment
fetched £8 : 16 : 8 in 1548, when John Griffyn was “priest of the
age of 46 years, of virtuous living and of small learning”; John
Fenne, whose endowment yielded £9 : 10s. in 1548, when John
Brightwyse was “priest of the age of 46 years, of honest behaviour
and indifferently learned”; Gerard Dannyell, whose endowment fetched
£8 in 1548, when Nicholas Prideoux was priest.
The church originally contained monuments to Sir Richard Dobbes,
mayor, 1551; Sir John Allot, mayor, 1591.
Only two legacies are recorded by Stow: 18s. per annum, the gift of
John Bush; 16s. per annum, the gift of John Spot.
John Rogers, who was burnt at Smithfield in 1555, was rector here.
=Distaff Lane.=—“On the west side of Friday Street, is Mayden lane, so
named of such a sign, or Distaffe lane, for Distar lane, as I read in
the record of a brew-house called the Lamb, in Distar Lane, the 16th of
Henry VI. In this Distar Lane, on the north side thereof, is the
Cordwainers, or Shoemakers’ hall, which company were made a brotherhood
or fraternity, in the 11th of Henry IV. Of these cordwainers I read,
that since the fifth of Richard II. (when he took to wife Anne, daughter
to Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia), by her example, the English people had
used piked shoes, tied to their knees with silken laces, or chains of
silver or gilt, wherefore in the 4th of Edward IV. it was ordained and
proclaimed, that beaks of shoone and boots, should not pass the length
of two inches, upon pain of cursing by the clergy, and by parliament to
pay twenty shillings for every pair. And every cordwainer that shod any
man or woman on the Sunday, to pay thirty shillings.
“On the south side of this Distar Lane, is also one other lane, called
Distar Lane, which runneth down to Knightrider Street, or Old Fish
Street, and this is the end of Bread Street Ward” (Stow’s _Survey_, p.
393).
The other lane was afterwards called Little Distaff Lane. Another name
for this street was Maiden Lane. There was another Maiden Lane in Thames
Street, and a third in Lad Lane, and a fourth on Bank side.
Distaff Lane is absorbed by Cannon Street, and the “Little Distaff Lane”
has been promoted by the omission of the adjective.
=Old Change.=—Of this street Stow tells us everything that is of
interest:
“A street so called of the King’s exchange there kept, which was for the
receipt of bullion to be coined. For Henry III., in the 6th year of his
reign, wrote to the Scabines and men of Ipre, that he and his council
had given prohibition, that none, Englishmen or other, should make
change of plate or other mass of silver, but only in his Exchange at
London, or at Canterbury. Andrew Bukerell then had to farm the Exchange,
and was mayor of London, in the reign of Henry III. In the 8th of Edward
I., Gregory Rockesly was keeper of the said Exchange for the king. In
the 5th of Edward II., William Hausted was keeper thereof; and in the
18th, Roger de Frowicke.
“These received the old stamps, or coining-irons, from time to time, as
the same were worn, and delivered new to all the mints in England, as
more at large in another place I have noted.
“This street beginneth by West Chepe in the north, and runneth down
south to Knightrider Street; that part thereof which is called Old Fish
Street, but the very housing and office of the Exchange and coinage was
about the midst thereof, south from the east gate that entereth Pauls
churchyard, and on the west side in Baynard’s castle ward.
“On the east side of this lane, betwixt West Cheape and the church of
St. Augustine, Henry Walles, mayor (by license of Edward I.), built one
row of houses, the profits rising of them to be employed on London
Bridge” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 35).
Lord Herbert of Cherbury lived in a “house among gardens near the Old
Exchange.”
St. Paul’s School was founded by Dean Colet in 1509, and the schoolhouse
stood at the east end of the Churchyard, facing the Cathedral. It was
destroyed by the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren, and then again taken
down and rebuilt in 1824, and subsequently removed to Hammersmith to the
new building designed by Alfred Waterhouse, R.A., in 1884. For further,
see “Hammersmith” in succeeding volume. The old site in St. Paul’s
Churchyard is now covered by business houses.
ST. AUGUSTINE
At the corner of Old Change and Watling Street stands St.
Augustine’s Church.
It was burnt down by the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren in 1682, and
the parish of St. Faith’s annexed to it. The steeple, however, was
not completed till 1695. As it possessed no proper burying-ground of
its own, a portion of the crypt of St. Paul’s was used for the
interment of parishioners. The earliest date of an incumbent was
1148.
The patronage of the church was always in the hands of the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s, who granted it to Edward, the priest, in
1148.
Houseling people in 1548 were 360.
The present church measures about 51 feet in length, 30 feet in
height, and 45 feet in breadth; it is divided into a nave and side
aisles by six Ionic columns and four pilasters. The steeple rises at
the south-west, consisting of a tower, lantern, and spire. It is 20
feet square at the base, and has three stories. The lantern is very
slender. The total altitude is 140 feet. No chantries are recorded
to have been founded here. The ancient church contained few
monuments of note. The present building has a tablet to the memory
of Judith (died 1705), the first wife of the eminent lawyer William
Cowper.
Some of the benefactors were: Thomas Holbech, rector of the parish,
1662, who gave £100 towards finishing the church; Dame Margaret
Ayloff, £100. After the parish of St. Faith’s was annexed, gifts to
the amount of £700 were received from various sources.
William Fleetwood (1656-1723), Bishop of St. Asaph, was rector here;
also John Douglas (1721-1807), Bishop of Carlisle and of Sarum, and
Richard H. Barham (1788-1845), author of _The Ingoldsby Legends_.
With this we end the first section of the City.
GROUP II
The second group of streets will be those lying north of Gresham Street,
with Noble Street and Monkwell Street on the west, and Moorgate Street
on the east. This part of the City is perhaps less rich in antiquities
and associations than any other. The north part was, to begin with,
occupied and built over with houses much later than the south. For a
long time the whole area north of Gresham (then Cateaton) Street and
within the Wall presented the appearance of gardens and orchards with
industrial villages as colonies dotted here and there, each with its
parish church and its narrow lane of communication with the great market
of Chepe. Some of the names, as Oat Lane, Lilypot Lane, Love Lane,
preserve the memory of the gardens and their walks.
In this district grew up by degrees a great many of the industries of
the City, especially the noisy trades and those which caused annoyance
to the neighbours, as that of the foundry, the tanyard, the tallow
chandlers.
An examination of the _Calendar of Wills_ down to the fifteenth century
is in one sense disappointing, because it affords no insight into the
nature of the trades carried on in the area before us. On the other
hand, it curiously corroborates the theory that this part of the City
was in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries purely industrial,
because among the many entries referring to this quarter there is but
one reference, down to the seventeenth century, of any shops. There are
rents, tenements—“all my Rents and Tenements” several times repeated;
land and rents—“all my Land and Rents”; there are almshouses, Halls of
Companies, gardens; but there are no shops, and that at a time when the
streets and lanes about Cheapside are filled with shops!
The Companies’ Halls offer some index to the trades of the quarter.
There are still Broderers’ Hall, Curriers’ Hall, Armourers’ Hall,
Coopers’ Hall, Parish Clerk’s Hall, Brewers’ Hall, Girdlers’ Hall; and
there were Haberdashers’ Hall, Mercers’ Hall, Wax Chandlers’ Hall,
Masons’ Hall, Plaisterers’ Hall, Pinners’ Hall, Barber Surgeons’ Hall,
Founders’ Hall, Weavers’ Hall, and Scriveners’ Hall, which have now been
removed elsewhere or destroyed. These trades, we may note, are for the
most part of the humbler kind.
=Coleman Street= is described by Stow as “a fair and large Street on
both sides built with divers fair houses, besides alleys with small
tenements in great numbers.”
Cunningham enumerates the chief events connected with the street:
“The five members accused of treason by Charles I. concealed themselves
in this street. ‘The Star,’ in Coleman Street, was a tavern where Oliver
Cromwell and several of his party occasionally met.... In a conventicle
in ‘Swan Alley,’ on the east side of this street, Venner, a wine-cooper
and Millenarian, preached the opinions of his sect to ‘the soldiers of
King Jesus’” (see _London in the Time of the Stuarts_, p. 68 _et seq._).
“John Goodwin, minister in Coleman Street, waited on Charles I. the day
before the King’s execution, tendered his services, and offered to pray
for him. The King thanked him, but said he had chosen Dr. Juxon, whom he
knew. Vicars wrote an attack on Goodwin, called ‘The Coleman-street
Conclave Visited!’ Justice Clement, in Ben Jonson’s _Every Man in his
Humour_, lived in Coleman Street; and Cowley wrote a play called _Cutter
of Coleman-street_. Bloomfield, author of ‘The Farmer’s Boy,’ followed
his original calling of a shoemaker at No. 14 Great Bell-yard in this
street.”
ST. STEPHEN, COLEMAN STREET
The Church of St. Stephen, Coleman Street, was “at first a Jews’
synagogue, then a parish church, then a chapel to St. Olave’s in the
Jewry, now (7 Edward IV.) incorporated as a parish church” (Stow).
It is situated on the west side of Coleman Street, near to the south
end. It was consumed by the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1311.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s, who granted it to the Prior and Convent of
Butley; Henry VIII. seized it, and in the Crown it continued till
Queen Elizabeth granted it, about 1597, to the parishioners, in
whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 880.
The church is plain, long and narrow, without any aisles, measuring
75 feet in length and 35 feet in breadth. The steeple, which rises
at the north-west, consists of a stone tower, a lantern, and small
spire, the total height being about 65 feet.
Chantries were founded here by: William Grapefig, for which the King
granted a licence, August 6, 1321, and to which John de Maderfield
was admitted chaplain, June 23, 1324; Rodger le Bourser, for which
the King granted his licence, August 1, 1321; Stephen Fraunford and
John Essex, both citizens of London, of which John de Bulklegh was
chaplain, who died in 1391: founded July 1361; Edward IV., who
endowed it with lands, etc., which fetched £50 : 5 : 4 in 1548.
Anthony Munday, the dramatist, arranger of the City pageants and the
continuation of Stow’s _Survey_, who died in 1633, was buried here.
A very large number of legacies and charitable gifts are recorded by
Stow, amongst which are: £640, the gift of Christopher Eyre, for the
building and maintenance of six almshouses; £100, the gift of Sir
Richard Smith, for coals for the poor; £100, the gift of Hugh Capp,
for lands for the poor; £400, the gift of Barnard Hyde, to purchase
land for six poor people for ever.
In White Alley there were six almshouses built by Christopher Eyre
for six poor couples, each of whom were allowed £4 per annum.
Richard Lucas (1648-1715), author of several theological works, was
a rector here; also John Davenport (1597-1670), he was one of the
leaders of a party who went over to America in 1637, and founded
Newhaven in Connecticut. He had a design of founding a university
(Yale), but this was not carried into effect until sixty years
later.
Over the stuccoed gateway of the churchyard is a skull and
cross-bones, with an elaborate panel in relief below, representing
the Last Judgment; this is a replica in oak of the original panel,
which was removed, for its better preservation, to the Vestry.
As for the present street the most notable building is the Armourers’
Hall.
THE ARMOURERS AND BRASIERS COMPANY
The trade of armourer was of great importance in the ages when men
went out to war clad in iron. There were many kinds of armour. Some
were taught to make helmets and some corslets. There was armour of
quilted leather worn under the armour or acting as armour.
[Illustration:
_T. H. Shepherd._
THE ARMOURERS’ AND BRASIERS’ ALMSHOUSES, BISHOPSGATE WITHOUT (1857)
]
A great number of people lived by the making of armour. The custom
of wearing armour decayed gradually, not rapidly. It is still kept
up for purposes of show but no longer for any use in defence.
The origin of the Company of Armourers and Brasiers is lost in
antiquity. The Company was, however, founded previously to the
beginning of the fourteenth century, for records are in existence
showing that at that time (1307-27) the Company had vested in it the
right of search of armour and weapons. It would appear from
documents in the possession of the Company that as early as the year
1428 the Company was in the possession of a hall. In the year 1453
the Company was incorporated by a charter from King Henry VI. by the
title of “The Fraternity or Guild of St. George of the Men of
Mistery of Armorers of our City of London,” and had licence granted
to it to appoint a chaplain to its chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral.
It is believed that the Company of Brasiers was incorporated about
the year 1479 by Edward IV., and that the craft of bladesmiths was
incorporated with the Company of Armourers about the year 1515, but
the Company has no authentic evidence in its possession as to these
facts.
In the year 1559, Queen Elizabeth granted a charter of Inspeximus,
confirming the Letters Patent of King Henry VI.
In the year 1618, King James I., in consideration of the sum of
£100, granted Letters Patent confirming the title of the Fraternity
or Guild of St. George of the Men of Mystery of Armourers in the
City of London, to the messuages and lands then held by it. The
greater part of these messuages and lands is still in the possession
of the Company.
In the year 1685, King James II. granted Letters Patent to the
Company which (_inter alia_) directed that all edge tools and
armour, and all copper and brass work wrought with the hammer within
the City of London, or a radius of five miles therefrom, should be
searched and approved by expert artificers of the Company.
In the year 1708 the Company of Armourers was, by Letters Patent
granted by Queen Anne, incorporated with the Brasiers under the
corporate title of “The Company of Armourers and Brasiers in the
City of London.” In this charter it is recited that of late years
many of the members of the Company of Armourers had employed
themselves in working and making vessels, and wares of copper and
brass wrought with the hammer, and that for want of powers to search
and make byelaws to bind the workers of such wares in the City of
London, frauds and deceits in the working of such goods and vessels
had increased, and power was thereby granted to the Company of
Armourers and Brasiers to make byelaws for the government of the
Company; and also of all persons making any work or vessel of
wrought or hammered brass or copper, in the Cities of London and
Westminster, or within a radius of five miles thereof, and with
authority to inflict fines and penalties against persons offending
against such byelaws. And the Company was invested with power to
inspect and search for all goods worked or wrought with the hammer
and exposed to sale within such limits as aforesaid. No person was
allowed to sell or make armour or vessels, or wares of copper or
brass wrought with the hammer, unless he was a member or had been
apprenticed to a member of the Company.
It would appear that the master and wardens exercised a very
extensive jurisdiction in ancient days, fining and punishing members
of the Company for social offences as well as for infringements of
the byelaws of the Company, and hearing and adjudicating upon all
questions arising between members of the Company and their
apprentices, and also inflicting fines on persons making or selling
goods of an improper quality.
This Company is still in the habit of binding apprentices to masters
engaged in the trades of workers of brass and copper, and of
pensioning infirm members of those trades. Their workshops were
situated close to London Wall, below Bishopsgate, probably in order
to remove their hammering as far as possible from the trading part
of the City.
The Company is governed by a Master, an Upper Warden and a Renter
Warden, with eighteen assistants, and, together with the livery, now
number 91. The Hall is at 81 Coleman Street. Stow mentions the Hall
on the north end of Coleman Street and on the east side of it. “The
Company of Armourers were made a Fraternity or Guild of St. George
with a Chantry in the Chapel of St. Thomas in Paul’s Church in the
1st of Henry VI.”
On the north side of King’s Arms Yard extends the elaborate and very
handsome building of the Metropolitan Life Assurance Society, which has
its entrance at the corner of Moorgate Street. This has deeply recessed
windows, and the corner is finished off by an octagonal turret which
begins in a projecting canopy over the door, and is carried up to the
roof. In niches here and there are small stone figures. This building is
the work of Aston Webb and Ingress Bell in 1891. Opposite, in great
contrast, are oldish brick houses, very plain in style. Round the
northern corner into Coleman Street is carried a building which is
chiefly remarkable for the amount of polished granite on its surface. On
the west, a little higher up, is another entrance of the Wool Exchange
from which a large projection overhangs the street. There is a lamb in
stonework over the door.
=Basinghall Street= (or Bassishaw Street) runs from London Wall to
Gresham Street. The street used to contain the Masons’, Weavers’,
Coopers’, and Girdlers’ Halls. Only the Girdlers’ and Coopers’ Halls now
remain. The names Basinghall and Bassishaw are frequently supposed to
have the same origin. Riley, however, quotes a passage in which (A.D.
1390) there is mention of the “Parish of St. Michael Bassishaw in the
Ward of Bassyngeshaw,” which he considers indicates that the word
Basseshaw is Basset’s haw, and Bassyngeshaw is Basing’s haw, referring
to two families and not one. There is a great number of references to
Basings and to Bassets. Yet the names seem to refer to the same place.
Thus in 1280 and 1283 we hear of houses in Bassieshaw. In 1286 we hear
of houses in Bassinge haw. Basinghall was the hall or house of the
Basings, an opulent family of the thirteenth century. Solomon and Hugh
Basing were sheriffs in 1214; Solomon was mayor in 1216; Adam Basing was
sheriff in 1243. Basinghall passed into the hands of a family named
Banquelle or Bacquelle. John de Banquelle, Alderman of Dowgate, had a
confirmation and quit claim to him of a messuage in St. Michael,
Bassieshawe, in 1293.
At the south-west corner of Basinghall Street was a fine stone house
built by a “certain Jew named Manscre, the son of Aaron.” Thomas
Bradberry (d. 1509) kept his mayoralty there.
THE GIRDLERS COMPANY
The Girdlers Company traces its existence to a very early period,
and cannot, in the strict sense of the word, be said to have been
founded. It is believed to have been a fraternity by prescription,
which owed its origin to a lay brotherhood of the order of Saint
Laurence, maintaining themselves by the making of girdles and
voluntarily associating for the purpose of mutual protection and for
the regulation of the trade which they practised, and the
maintenance of the ancient ordinances and usages established to
ensure the honest manufacture of girdles with good and sound
materials.
The earliest public or State recognition of the Company of which it
now possesses any evidence consists of Letters Patent of the first
year of King Edward III., A.D. 1327, addressed to them as an
existing body, as “les ceincturiers de notre Citée de Loundres,” by
which the “ancient ordinances and usuages” of the said trade are
approved and their observance directed. The King also grants licence
to the girdlers that they shall have power to elect one or two of
their own trade to seek out false work and present it before the
mayors or chief guardians of the places where found, who shall cause
the same to be burnt and those who have worked the same to be
punished; all amercements resulting therefrom to belong to the
mayors of the places where the false work is found.
Some ten years later we find the girdlers presenting a code of laws
for the governance of their trade to the mayor and aldermen;
therefore, though their charter enabled them to search into and
discover bad work, it gave them no power to make laws for the
safeguarding of the trade. Moreover, the charter gave them no power
over wages, nor did it compel the workers of the trade to join the
Fraternity, nor did it empower them to hold land, to sue or to be
sued. Considering these omissions, the document quoted by Riley
ought not, strictly speaking, to be considered a charter.
The said Letters Patent were confirmed in 1 Richard II. (1377) and 2
Henry IV. (1401), and the Company was incorporated in 27 Henry VI.
(1448) by the Master and Guardians of the Mystery of Girdlers of the
City of London.
Further confirmations were made in 2 Edward IV., 10 Elizabeth, 15
Charles I., and 1 James II.
No important change in the original constitution of the Company was
made by any of the charters prior to that of 10 Elizabeth, which
directed that the three arts or mysteries called Pinners,
Wyerworkers, and Girdlers should be joined and invited together into
one body corporate and polity, and one society and company for ever,
and did incorporate them by the name of the Masters and Wardens or
Keepers of the Art and Mystery of Girdlers, London.
It does not appear that the Pinners and Wyerworkers brought any
accession of property to the Girdlers.
The Hall has always been in Basinghall Street. Here it is mentioned
by Stow along with Masons’ Hall and Weavers’ Hall.
No. 1 on the east of Basinghall Street was probably built early in the
nineteenth century; the buildings which follow it are chiefly modern.
The whole street is rather fine, though too narrow for much effect.
There are in it many great “houses,” “chambers,” and “buildings”
occupied in floors. Gresham Buildings are faced with dark-coloured stone
and rise comparatively high. The ground-floor walls on the exterior are
covered with the most elaborate stonework representations of flowers and
foliage. The City of London Court in the passage known as Guildhall
Buildings is picturesquely built in a perpendicular style of Gothic. A
great square stone building opposite was built in 1890, and next to it a
plain Portland stone edifice contains the Lord Mayor’s court office. The
City Library and Museum form a picturesque group of buildings in the
west of Basinghall Street.
Near at hand is the Coopers’ Hall with a narrow frontage.
THE COOPERS COMPANY
The Coopers Company was incorporated in 1501 by charter of King
Henry VII., dated 29th April, in the sixteenth year of his reign.
There is no record, however, of any anterior charter. There is no
doubt that the Coopers were one of the early mysteries or
brotherhoods of the City of London, though it is difficult to assign
a correct date of their origin. The Company’s archives, however,
show that the Company had existed for a considerable period prior to
the date of its incorporation. A subsequent charter was granted on
the 30th August, in the thirteenth year of King Charles II. This is
the governing charter, and its provisions regulate the management of
the Company to the present day. Under the statute of 23 Henry VII.
cap. 4, power is given to the wardens of the Company with one of the
mayor’s officers to gauge all casks in the City of London and the
suburbs, and within two miles’ compass without the suburbs, and to
mark such barrels when gauged. By a subsequent Act, 31 Elizabeth,
cap. 8, “for the true gauging of vessels brought from beyond the
seas, converted by brewers for the utterance and sale of ale and
beer,” brewers were prohibited from selling or putting to sale any
ale or beer in any such vessels within the limits before mentioned
before the same should be lawfully gauged and marked by the master
and wardens of the Coopers Company. The Company do not now exercise,
and have not for a considerable period exercised, any control over
the trade of coopers.
It is quite certain that a craft so technical and so useful as that
of the cooper must have been constituted as a guild as soon as
craftsmen began to work together at all. In the year 1396 (Riley, p.
541), “the goodmen of the trade of Coopers” presented a code of
ordinances for the regulation of the trade. They complained that
certain persons of the trade were in the habit of making casks out
of wood which had been used for oil and soap casks, so that ale or
wine put into these casks was spoiled. Therefore it is certain that
their guild did not possess authority over the trade at that time.
This is shown again in 1413, when certain Master Coopers again
complained to the mayor that one Richard Bartlot, fishmonger, had
made 260 vessels called barrels and firkins of unseasoned wood and
of false measure. These vessels were ordered to be destroyed.
Perhaps in order to prevent similar practices, it was decreed that
every cooper should mark his work by his own trade-mark.
The Corporate Income of the Company is given in 1898 as £2400; the
Trust Income as £5000; the number of the livery as 200. Their Hall
is 71 Basinghall Street, on the site of two previous halls.
Close by is the “Wool Exchange and Colonial Office” with an open entry
supported by polished granite pillars, whose capitals are carved as
rams’ heads. This is rather a fine building, with segmental windows set
closely all across the frontage. Bevois House, just completed, takes a
good line of curvage and is of white stone. Before Guildhall Chambers
there is an old house built of narrow red bricks, with semicircular
pillars on each side of the centre window frame, and above, on a slab of
stone, the date 1660. The site of =St. Michael’s Church= is here. A row
of straight ordinary business houses succeeds. On the east are
=Guildhall Chambers=, plastered houses built round an asphalt court. The
centre one has a small portico with Ionic columns; the rest of the court
is plain and severe, but not ineffective.
=The Church of St. Michael, Bassishaw=, was situated on the west
side of Basinghall Street. It was rebuilt in the fifteenth century,
but destroyed by the Great Fire, and again rebuilt, by Wren, between
1676 and 1679. In 1895 the church was closed, a commission having
been issued in 1893 by the Bishop of London to inquire into the
expediency of uniting this with the parishes of St. Lawrence, Jewry,
and St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1286.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Canons of St. Bartholomew’s about 1140, given by the Bishop of
London; Henry III.; Thomas de Bassinges, 1246, who left it to his
wife by will dated 1275; Henry Bodyk, 1327, who left it to Johanna
his wife; Nicholas de Chaddesdon, who sold it in 1358 to Sir John de
Beauchamp, brother to the Earl of Warwick; Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul’s, 1435, in whose successors it continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 500.
The present church measures 70 feet in length, 50 feet in breadth,
and 42 feet in height, and includes a nave and two side aisles
separated by Corinthian columns. The ceiling is divided into panels,
and is pierced with openings to admit the light. The tower, which
rises at the west, contains four stories concluded by a cornice and
parapet; above this is a lead-covered octagonal lantern in two
stages surmounted by a short spire with ball, finial, and vane. The
total height is 140 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By John Hannem, citizen, before 1326;
by John Asche, whose endowment, “called the bell on the hope,”
fetched £3 : 6 : 8; by James Yardeford, Knt., whose endowment
yielded £16 in 1548.
A considerable number of monuments are recorded by Stow, the most
notable of which are those of Sir John Gresham (d. 1556), Lord Mayor
of London, uncle to the more famous Sir Thomas Gresham; and Dr.
Thomas Wharton (d. 1673), a physician who gained great glory from
his labours during the Plague of 1665.
The parish received a large number of gifts and charities, some of
which were as follows: £9 from Lady Anne Vaughan, for lectures; £10
from Sir Wolstan Dixey, for lectures; £20 from Lady Anne Bacon; £70
from Sir Robert and Lady Ducie.
George Gardiner (d. 1589), chaplain to Queen Elizabeth and
Chancellor of Norwich, was rector here; also George Lavington
(1684-1762), Bishop of Exeter 1746-47.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by G. Shepherd._
ST. MARY, ALDERMANBURY, IN 1814
]
=Aldermanbury= is another ancient City street. The name, according to
Stow, is derived from the Court of Aldermen formerly held in the first
Guildhall, the ruins of which, on the east side of the street, were
standing in his day. They had then been converted into a carpenter’s
shop. Here, in 1383, Sir Robert Tressilian, Lord Chief Justice, had his
residence. At the north end of this street, before the memory of men
living in 1415, a postern had been built leading from the City to the
moor. In Riley’s _Memorials_ there is a full account of a crowded
meeting of citizens in the Guildhall, July 2, 1415, to consider the
state of the moor and certain nuisances outside the postern and within
Bishopsgate. It was resolved to lay out the moor, then a waste place, in
gardens to be allotted to citizens at a certain rental. The street is
frequently mentioned from the thirteenth century. In the sixteenth
century the street had become a place of residence for the better sort.
“Here be divers fair houses on both sides meet for merchants and men of
worship.”
ST. MARY, ALDERMANBURY
This church is of very ancient date, as appeared from a sepulchral
inscription, said to have been in the old church, dated 1116. The
building was destroyed by the Great Fire, and re-erected by Wren in
1668-76. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1200.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s, who, June 1113, appropriated it to Elsing
Spital, with certain restrictions. The living is now in the gift of
the parishioners.
Houseling people in 1548 were 371.
The church measures 72 feet in length, 45 feet in breadth, and 38
feet in height, and includes two aisles separated by six Corinthian
columns from the nave. Externally, the church is rather imposing.
The east front has a handsome cornice and pediment, with carved
scrolls and figures. The steeple, which rises at the west, consists
of a tower completed by a cornice and parapet. This is surmounted by
a square turret in two stages, and a concave roof tapering to a
point, with a finial and vane; the total height is about 90 feet.
There is a churchyard on the south side, open to the public for
several hours daily.
Chantries were founded here: By William Estfelde, augmented by
Stephen Bockerell, at the Altar of St. George, for Stephen, Isabella
his wife, and William his son, before 1363; by Henry Bedeyk—the
advowson thereof was released to Sir John de Beauchamp by John de
Bovenden and Katherine his wife, in 1359; by Adam de Bassyng.
A considerable number of citizens of repute were buried in the old
church, amongst whom the two most interesting to posterity are Henry
Condell (d. 1627) and John Heminge (d. 1630), the fellow-actors of
Shakespeare and editors of the folio of 1623. The celebrated divine
Edmund Calamy (the elder) was rector here for some years, and was
buried in 1666 beneath the ruined building with which he had been so
long connected. In the register of the church the marriage of Milton
with his second wife Katherine Woodcock, 1656, is entered. The
remains of Judge Jeffreys, interred in the Tower after his death
there in 1689, were removed here and deposited in a vault beneath
the communion table in 1693.
According to Stow, there were no legacies or bequests to the church,
but a legacy to the poor, by the Lady Gresham, of £3 per annum, paid
by the Mercers Company.
Among other celebrated rectors are Edmund Calamy the younger, and
Dr. Kennett (d. 1728), author of Kennett’s Register, afterwards
Bishop of Peterborough.
ST. ALPHAGE
At the north end of Aldermanbury at the corner of London Wall, is
the Church of St. Alphage. This parish church originally stood on
the other side, against the Wall. It is dedicated to St. Alphage,
Archbishop of Canterbury, who was canonised in 1012. Its old
churchyard may still be seen. It is built on part of the site of the
hospital and priory founded by William Elsing in 1329 and 1332. The
priory harboured one hundred poor blind men, and suffered
suppression along with the rest at the Dissolution. Under Henry
VIII. a remnant of the priory church became parochial and was
extensively repaired and rebuilt in 1624, 1628, and 1649. It escaped
the Great Fire, but was taken down in 1774 and the present building
erected by Sir William Staines and opened in 1777. Part of the
original structure may still be seen in the porch. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1137.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Deans and
Canons of St. Martin’s-le-Grand before 1324, from whom it passed to
the Abbot and Convent of Westminster from 1505; the Bishop of
Westminster by grant of Henry VIII., January 20, 1540; the Bishop of
London by gift of Edward VI. in 1550, confirmed by Mary, March 3,
1553-54, in whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 345.
The present church possesses two fronts, an eastern and
north-western; the north-west door leads into a porch, the pointed
arches of which show it to have once formed part of the old priory
church. This is the only relic of past times. The interior is plain,
the ceiling flat, and there are no aisles.
A chantry was founded here by John Graunte, whose endowment yielded
£15 : 10 : 8 in 1548.
The church contains a handsome monument on the north wall to Sir
Rowland Hayward, Lord Mayor in 1570 and 1591; it was placed on the
south side of the old church. On the same wall, farther east, a
marble monument commemorates Samuel Wright, who at his death in 1736
left charitable bequests to the extent of £20,950.
[Illustration:
PORCH OF ST. ALPHAGE, LONDON WALL, 1818.
]
Some of the donors of gifts were Sir Rowland Hayward, 20d. for bread
every Sabbath day for the poor, 1591, and John Brown, £30 for church
repairs, 1629.
There was a school for fifty boys and twenty-five girls, who were
clothed and educated and put out to trades and service at the charge
of the ward. There were also ten almshouses for ten men and ten
women, each of whom was allowed £4 per annum, founded by the Rev.
Dr. Thomas White. Part of the almshouses in Monkwell Street belonged
to this parish.
A notable rector of this church was Philip Stubbs (1665-1738),
Archdeacon of St. Alban’s.
Just opposite to Philip Street is still preserved the old churchyard of
St. Alphage, a rectangular railed-in space with ivy growing over the old
wall that forms the backbone. On a slab near the centre is the
inscription:
The burial ground of St. Alphage containing part of the old Roman
City wall. Closed by Act of Parliament 1853. Laid out as a garden
1872.
To the west of the churchyard once stood Sion College. This was built in
1623 with almshouses attached, according to the will of Dr. Thomas
White, vicar of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West. It stood on the site of
Elsing Spital (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 248).
[Illustration:
SION COLLEGE, LONDON WALL, 1800
From an original drawing in the possession of the President and
Fellows of Sion College.
]
Sion College had a fine library left by the will of Dr. John Simson,
rector of St. Olave, Hart Street, and a third of these books was burnt
in the Great Fire, which almost destroyed the College. Up to 1836 the
College enjoyed the privilege of receiving a gratuitous copy of every
published book. The City clergy were Fellows of the College. In 1886 a
new building on the Embankment was opened to take the place of the old
one, and now the ancient site is covered by business houses.
THE CURRIERS COMPANY
The Curriers were incorporated by James I. in April 30, 1606, for a
master, two wardens, twelve assistants, and 103 liverymen.
The exact date of the origin of the Company is unknown, but it must
have had some sort of existence previous to 1363, for in that year
it is recorded that the Company contributed five marks to aid King
Edward III. in carrying on his wars with France.
There are no documents in existence referring to the origin of the
Company.
Many indications of the antiquity of this Fraternity occur. It was
attached to the White Friars’ Church in Fleet Street. The Curriers
settled in Soper Lane; they asked for ordinances in 1415; they were
authorised to appoint the City scavengers.
Their Hall is the third erected on the same site; it was founded in
1874. The first Hall perished in the Fire. The quarter where the
curriers lived and worked was in the north facing London Wall, where
they built their Hall.
Of =Addle Street= Stow says: “The reason of which name I know not.” It
may have been derived from “Ethel,” meaning noble. In it is the Brewers’
Hall.
THE BREWERS COMPANY
In the year 1445 the Brewers were first incorporated. Like many
other trades, they had been associated long before. Thus in 1345 the
Brewers (Riley’s _Memorials_, p. 225) are treated as a body, being
ordered not to use the water of the Chepe conduit for making beer
and ale, seeing that it was wanted for the supply of the citizens.
(Fishmongers at the same time were forbidden to use the water for
washing their fish.)
The original charter of February 22, 1445, granted by Henry VI.,
after citing the Brewers Company as one of the ancient mysteries,
incorporates the Company into one body and perpetual community.
The charter granted 11th November, 2 Elizabeth, and the charter of
August 29, 1563, confirm the previous charter of Henry VI.
The charter of July 13, 21 Elizabeth, appears to have been granted
owing to the great increase of persons engaged in and practising the
trade of brewing. The charter incorporates all persons in or about
the City of London or the suburbs, or within two miles of the City.
The charter of 6th April, 15 Charles I., recites previous charters,
but increases the jurisdiction of the corporation over the brewing
trade in or about the City of London to a limit of four miles.
This charter of Charles I. confers a great deal of power on those in
authority over the trade. It allows them to make rules and
ordinances, and generally to exercise supervision over all members
of the trade in and about the City, and within a four-mile radius.
Byelaws on the strength of this charter were framed for the Company
on July 9, Charles I., 1641.
The charter of 18th March, 1 Charles II., after reciting the charter
of 22nd February, 16 Henry VI., the confirmation of the said charter
by Queen Elizabeth on August 29, 1563, and a surrender of the right
to elect master, warden, or assistant, incorporates the Company
again, nominates William Carpenter to be master till June 24, 1686,
further nominates wardens and assistants; provides for the
institution of search and quarterage, and for the binding of
apprentices; gives the corporation the right to inspect brew-houses
within certain limits, and to inflict penalties; orders that every
assistant elected shall be a communicant, and allows the commonalty
to distil aqua-vitæ or spirits.
The deed of July 1, 1684, surrenders the Company’s charter and all
rights appertaining to it.
The charter of 18th March, James II., after reciting the charter of
16 Henry VI., and 4 Elizabeth, 1563, and the surrender of their
charter by the Company, orders all brewers within eight miles of the
City or suburbs of London to be of the corporation; establishes
search and quarterage payments according to the number of servants
employed; gives the Company power to make laws or set penalties;
grants a licence in mortmain to purchase lands up to the value of
£60; orders every master, warden, assistant, and clerk to take the
oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and to subscribe the declaration;
orders each person elected to be a communicant.
The Company have a copy of byelaws drawn up in the year 1714, and
signed by all the members of the court.
The present constitution, orders, rules, and conditions, as drawn up
by the master, wardens, and assistants, were made on July 13, 1739.
They provide for the holding of the courts; the election of masters,
wardens, and assistants; for certain penalties for refusing to
serve; for the auditing of accounts, for the election to the livery
and freedom; for binding apprentices; for making the search and
quarterage; for certain restrictions in the case of freemen; for
power for the master and wardens to sue for penalties; for the
taking of the oaths, and the signing of the declarations.
In February 13, 1857, the byelaws were altered under the Act of 6
William IV., as far as regards the taking of oaths, and an order was
made that a declaration should be substituted for the oath.
The Company is governed by a master, three wardens, and twenty-six
assistants.
This Company is one of the richest of the City Companies; it has an
annual income of £2500 and administers Trusts and charities to the
extent of £25,000 more; it has a livery of 47; it admits none but
members of the trade. The Company has always, as might be expected,
been rich and flourishing.
THE BRODERERS COMPANY
The first charter of the Company of Broderers, or embroiderers, is
dated in 1561, and this is the earliest definite evidence now in the
possession of the Company of the date of its existence as a Company,
though the association existed long before incorporation. In an
indenture of conveyance of certain of the Company’s property in
Gutter Lane, dated 5 Henry VIII., one Thomas Foster (the grantee) is
described as a citizen and broyderer, and “The wardens of the
mystery of broyderers within the city of London” are described as a
definite body in the will of the same Thomas Foster.
25th October, 3 Elizabeth, 1561.—Original charter of Queen
Elizabeth.
Incorporates the freemen of the mystery or art of the broderers of
the City of London and the suburbs by the name of Keepers or Wardens
and Society of the Art or Mystery of the Broderers of the City of
London, to have perpetual succession and a common seal, to bring and
defend actions, and especially in the City of London to hold lands
of the annual value of £30, for the assistance and support of poor
men and women of the mystery.
Grants powers to the keepers or wardens from time to time to make
good and salutary statutes and ordinances for the good regulation
and government of the mystery and the freemen thereof, which shall
be inviolably observed.
Grants to the keepers or wardens power to overlook and govern the
art and all using the same in the City and suburbs thereof, the City
of Westminster, Saint Katherine’s in Middlesex, and the borough of
Southwark, and to punish all men for not truly working or selling.
20th April, 7 James I., 1609.—Original charter of James the First.
Contains only a recital and confirmation of the charter of Queen
Elizabeth without any alteration or addition.
The above is an abstract of the subsisting charter of the Company.
It was the Broderers who produced the palls used by many Companies
at the funerals of their members. They also made the pulpit cloths
and altar cloths of the churches, the vestments of the clergy, the
caparison of horses, and the decoration of arms and armour.
The livery in 1900 was 28. Their Trust Income about £32 : 9s. The
beautiful art of embroidery is encouraged by this Company by
scholarships at the Royal School of Art Needlework, Decorative
Needlework Society, and Clapton and Stamford Hill Government School
of Art.
=Milton Street=, one of the dreariest and dullest of thoroughfares,
deserves some comment, having originally been that Grub Street for ever
associated with starveling authors. In 1600 it was inhabited by bowyers,
fletchers, bowstring-makers and such occupations. There were many
bowling alleys and dicing houses. Andrew Marvell speaks of the Puritans
of Grub Street.
It was in the eighteenth century that the poorer sort of literary men
seem to have lived here.
Swift and Pope both ridiculed Grub Street writers; and Swift’s advice to
Grub Street verse-writers is worth quoting:
I know a trick to make you thrive:
Oh! ’tis a quaint device:
Your still-born poems shall survive,
And scorn to wrap up spice.
Get all your verses printed fair,
Then let them well be dried:
And Curll must have a special care
To leave the margin wide.
Lend these to paper-sparing Pope,
And when he sits to write,
No letter with an envelope
Could give him more delight.
When Pope has filled the margin round,
Why then recall your loan;
Sell them to Curll for 50 pound,
And swear they are your own!
Let us commemorate some of the Grub Street poets and a few others of the
same obscure kind. The names of those selected justify my assertion that
the miseries of poets fell only on those who were profligate, indolent,
or incapable.
Samuel Boyse, a colonist, so to speak, of Grub Street, since he
evidently belonged to that and no other quarter, was not a native of
London, but of Dublin, where his father was a dissenting minister of
great name and fame. The young man was sent to Glasgow University, where
he brought his university career to a close by marrying a wife at the
age of nineteen. As he had no means of his own, he was obliged to take
his wife, with her sister, to Dublin, where his father supported them,
selling an estate he had in Yorkshire to defray his son’s debts. On his
father’s death Samuel Boyse removed to Edinburgh, where he published a
volume of poems and wrote an elegy on the death of Lady Stormont.
He had many introductions, but his natural indolence forbade his taking
advantage of them. He seems to have been unable to converse with persons
in higher life, and when letters failed he made no further effort to win
their favour. Like all the poets of Grub Street, he was of a grovelling
habit, and loved to make friends with men of low life and habit; at the
same time he was selfishly extravagant, and would feast upon a casual
guinea while his wife and child were starving at home. The casual guinea
he mostly got by writing begging letters.
[Illustration:
GRUB STREET HERMIT
]
At one time he was so far reduced that he had no garment of any kind to
put on; all, including his shirts, were at the pawnbrokers; he sat up in
bed with a blanket wrapped round him through which he had cut a hole for
his arm, in which condition he wrote his verses. He died in 1749 in a
lodging in Shoe Lane. A friend endeavoured to get up a subscription to
save him from a pauper’s funeral. It was in vain; the parish officers
had to take away the body.
The man was a hopeless tenant of Grub Street, without foresight, without
prudence, without care, except for the present, without dignity or
self-respect; his poetry was third-rate, yet there are fine passages in
it; he had scholarly tastes, especially for painting and music, and in
heraldry he was well skilled. In a word, Samuel Boyse is quite the most
illustrious example of the poetaster who has failed to reach even the
lower levels of genius; whose life was utterly contemptible; who would
have brought, had such a man been worth considering, discredit by his
sordidness and his want of principle, morals, and honour, upon the
profession of letters.
Another case is that of Thomas Britton. He was born about the year 1650
at Higham Ferrers. He was apprenticed to a small coalman in Clerkenwell
and followed the same trade. He walked the streets carrying his sack on
his back, dressed in the blue frock of his profession. When he had
disposed of his coal he walked home, looking at the book-stalls and
picking up bargains. It was a splendid time for picking up bargains.
There were still the remnants of the old Monastic libraries and MSS.
together with the old books which had escaped the Great Fire.
Many collectors used to search about among the same book-stalls. Britton
became known to them and was employed by them. The Earls of Oxford,
Pembroke, Sunderland, and Winchelsea, and the Duke of Devonshire, were
among those collectors.
Presently it was discovered that the small coalman, besides being an
excellent hand at discovering an old book, was also a very good
musician. Then the wonderful spectacle was to be seen of the great ones
of the earth—the aristocracy, the wits, the musicians—assembling in an
upper room of an itinerant pedlar of small coals to hear a concert of
music. Handel played the harpsichord here; Dubourg played the violin.
These concerts were begun in 1678 and continued for many years. Britton
himself played the viol de gamba. But he was not only a musician and a
bibliophile, he was also an antiquarian; he was a collector of music; in
addition to all these things, he was also a chemist and had a laboratory
of his own. He died in 1714, aged about sixty-four. He was buried in
Clerkenwell Churchyard.
Let us not forget the famous Tom Brown. Though most of his life was
spent in London, he was a native of Shifnal in Shropshire. He was sent
to Christ Church, Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a linguist,
a scholar, and a writer of pieces which were certainly witty whatever
else they might be. He was so brilliant as a wit that he found it
necessary to exchange Oxford for London, where he nearly starved.
However, he obtained, just in time to save him, the school of
Kingston-on-Thames, which he held for a while, giving it up after a very
short tenure of office. Once more he came to London, and became poet,
satirist, descriptive writer, and libeller. He was one of the earliest
authors by profession, having, in fact, no other means of livelihood
than the proceeds of his writings. There is very little known concerning
his life; he is said to have been deficient in the courtliness which was
necessary in the society of Addison and the wits of society; indeed, he
belonged to a somewhat earlier time. He had no patron among the
nobility, though it is related that he was once invited to dinner by the
Earl of Dorset, who placed a bank-note for £50 under his plate. This was
the solitary exception, however. Nothing is known as to his private
circumstances, though it would be extremely interesting to learn what
sums he received for his Dialogues, Letters, and Poems. He closed a
short, merry, godless, waggish life at the early age of forty-one, a
fact which suggests drink and good living, with other easy ways of
shortening life. He is said—which one readily believes—to have died in
great poverty, and he was buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey.
An unfortunate poet named William Pattison belongs to Grub Street. He
was the son of a farmer in Sussex. By the kindness of Lord Thanet he was
sent to school and to Cambridge. He quarrelled, however, with the tutor
of this College, and took his name off the boards. He then went up to
London intending to live by his pen. It was a very bad time for living
by the pen, and the boy, for he was no more, arrived with a very slender
equipment of experience and knowledge. He began by soliciting
subscriptions for a volume of poems; he seems to have had no friends;
but he made some impression at the coffee-house by clever talk. When he
had brought out his poems and spent all the subscription money, he fell
into absolute indigence and was forced to accept a post as assistant in
the shop of the notorious Curll. Before he did that, he wrote to Lord
Burlington a poem called _Effigies Authoris_, in which he said that he
was destitute of friends and money, half-starved, and reduced to
sleeping on a bench in St. James’s Park. To another person he writes, “I
have not enjoyed the common necessaries of life these two days.” He did
not long continue in this post of bookseller’s assistant, because
small-pox attacked him and he died. He was not yet twenty-two years of
age.
Not with less glory mighty Dulness crowned
Shall take through Grub Street her triumphant round,
says Pope in “The Dunciad.”
Among others who lived in Grub Street was Foxe the martyrologist.
General Monk is said to have had a house in a court off Grub Street. As
to the origin of the later name of the street, it is in doubt, some
asserting it was from a builder named Milton, and others that it was so
called from Milton’s many residences in the neighbourhood. The latter
explanation sounds probable; Milton lived at different times in
Aldersgate Street, in Jewin Crescent, in Little Britain, and in Bunhill
Fields, all within the district.
Eastward is Moorgate Street Station, and not far from it St.
Bartholomew’s Church, founded in 1850 to meet new demands. Northward in
White Street is the =City of London College=. This is a very large
building occupying all the space between White’s Court and Finsbury
Street. The lower part is red brick and above is glazed white brick. The
character of the building changes just before the corner, having stone
facings and a turret angle, which springs from above the first floor.
This institution was founded in 1848 and was first established at Crosby
Hall. It removed to Sussex Hall, Leadenhall Street, in 1881, and the
present building was opened in 1884. In 1895 the secondary portion in
White Street, connected with the main building by means of a bridge, was
added. The institution was first established as Metropolitan Evening
Classes. In 1891 it became, under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners,
one of the constituent Institutes of the City Polytechnic. It is in
union with the Society of Arts, the Science and Art Department, and the
City and Guilds of London Technical Institute. The number of individual
students in attendance during the session 1894-95 was 2257 (College
Calendar, 1895-96). Besides languages, sciences, and arts, the
curriculum includes a practical knowledge of technical subjects. There
is accommodation for 4000 students.
In Redcross Street the long line of wall bounding the yard of the
Midland Railway goods station occupies much of the east side. Beyond
this is a grey brick house partly stone faced, and very ugly, with “Lady
Holles’ School for Girls, founded 1702,” running across the front. The
west side of the street is all composed of manufactories and warehouses
in various styles.
There is a tree-covered space in the middle of =Bridgewater Square=.
Along the south side is Tranter’s Temperance Hotel, a dingy building, in
the same style as the houses in the street just mentioned. On the west
near the south end are one or two old tiled houses. On the north the new
building of the Cripplegate Without Boys’ School rises high, with narrow
frontage and projecting bow window in the centre resting on a bracket.
Up near the roof is the figure of a boy in a long coat standing in a
niche. At this school there is accommodation for 260 boys; of these 150
are clothed by Trust, and an outfit on leaving and a situation found for
all who pass the VIIth Standard.
The houses on either side of the school are of recent date, but from
that on the west, to the west corner, stretches a long row of old houses
with windows under the tiles on the roof. The west side of the square is
almost wholly eighteenth century, in the usual style. The staircases are
panelled, and have spiral balusters. The rooms are all completely
wainscotted, and have heavily recessed fireplaces. The entrance ways are
completely panelled, and many door lintels and window frames are
perilously askew.
ST. GILES, CRIPPLEGATE
By far the most interesting object in the ward without the Walls is
the Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, which stands at the south end
of Red Cross Street. It was built about 1090 by Alfure, who became
the first Hospitaller of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; the building
was replaced by a second church, towards the end of the fourteenth
century, and this was burnt down in 1545. It was at once rebuilt,
and escaped the Great Fire of 1666, and has remained substantially
the same up to the present time. It is of exceptional interest in
contrast with the uniformity of Wren’s City churches. In 1791 the
pitch of the roof was raised, and during the latter half of the
eighteenth century there was extensive restoration. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1181.
The patronage of the church has been in the hands of the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s, who received it from Almund the priest in
1100, or thereabouts, up to the present time.
Houseling people in 1548 were 2440.
This church is in the Perpendicular style and contains a nave,
chancel, and two side aisles separated from the central part by
clustered columns and pointed arches. The total length is 146 feet 3
inches, and the height 42 feet 8 inches; the total height of the
steeple 146 feet 3 inches, that of the four pinnacles rising from
the corners of the parapet of the tower 12 feet 9 inches.
Chantries were founded in the church: By Richard Chaurye, whose
endowment fetched £4 in 1548; by Matthew Ashebye, whose endowment
yielded £9 : 7 : 8 in 1548. The King granted his licence to found
the Fraternity of Our Lady and St. Giles, September 21, 1426; there
were several chantries endowed here by John Bullinger, William Lake,
and William Serle, and by William Grove and Richard Heyworth.
[Illustration:
_From a drawing by W. Pearson._
ST. GILES, CRIPPLEGATE
]
Among the several memorial windows of the church the most
interesting is that at the west of the south aisle, comprising three
subjects, erected in memory of Edward Alleyne, the founder of
Dulwich College. The earliest monument now existing is of Thomas
Busby, who died in 1575. On the west wall, at the end of the north
aisle, is a tablet commemorating the martyrologist John Foxe, who
died in the parish in 1587. Sir Martin Frobisher was buried here,
but it was not till 1888 that a monument was erected to his memory,
on the eastern part of the south wall. On the same wall, farther
west, John Speed is commemorated, author of various works dealing
with the history of Great Britain. The chief interest attaching to
this church is the fact that in it John Milton was buried in 1674;
there is a stone commemorating him. In 1793 a monument in the shape
of a bust was erected to him at the expense of Samuel Whitbread, and
in 1862 a cenotaph designed by Edmund Woodthorpe was placed in the
south aisle. The church contains numerous other monuments, a great
many of which have a considerable degree of interest; many of them
have been erected to the memory of benefactors and vicars. It was
here that the wedding of Oliver Cromwell was solemnised in 1620; the
register also contains entries to another family whose name is also
linked with Milton’s—that of the Egerton’s, Earls of Bridgewater.
The greatest of the benefactors recorded by Stow seems to have been
Throckmorton Trotman, who gave to the parish £547 in all. In later
times, Sir William Staines, Lord Mayor in 1800, was a liberal donor,
founding and endowing four almshouses for decayed parishioners; also
the Rev. Frederick W. Blomberg, D.D., vicar of this church in 1833.
There was a school for 150 boys in the Freedom; also another for 50
girls, supported by the donation of the Lady Eleanor Holles, the
Haberdashers’ Free School. There were six almshouses, founded by Mr.
Allen, also the Lorrimer’s almshouses.
John Buckeridge (d. 1631), Bishop of Rochester, was vicar here; also
William Fuller (d. 1659), Dean of Durham; Lancelot Andrewes
(1555-1626), Bishop of Chichester, Ely, and Winchester; John Rogers,
(1679-1729), chaplain to the Prince of Wales (afterwards George
II.); John Dolben (1625-86), Archbishop of York; William H. Hale
(1795-1870), Master of Charterhouse.
The churchyard contains a drinking fountain in the shape of the old
Cripplegate, which is neatly laid out and intersected by a public
footpath; there is also an interesting relic, a bastion of the old
London Wall, 36 feet wide and about 12 feet high, the most perfect
fragment of the wall now existing. It is of inconsiderable height, not
more than 12 feet, and made of many odd pieces of different kinds of
stone, laid in cement. It looks solid enough to last another 400 years.
Ivy grows over it and over the adjoining wall, which is a modern
addition. Within this bastion was formerly a small religious house
called St. James-on-the-Wall (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 368).
The backs of great warehouses and the east side of the box-like vicarage
surround the churchyard. Over the entry from =Fore Street= are several
very old houses. We are outside the limits of the Fire here, as the date
of the entry, 1660, testifies. This entry has a semicircular canopy or
pediment containing this date, and the names of the churchwardens of the
period, deeply and clearly cut. On either side are the representations
of two large hour-glasses. A skull and cross-bones on the one side, and
an hour-glass on the other, are carved in relief below, and the whole is
covered with plaster. The backs of the houses are covered with
overlapping pieces of wood which rise right up to the gable ends. Facing
the street, there are projecting bays running up the front containing
windows.
The street, =London Wall=, until the middle of the eighteenth century,
consisted of a south row of houses facing the wall itself. In two places
the space before the wall was occupied by churchyards, that of
Allhallows-on-the-Wall and that of St. Alphage. Farther to the east, St.
Martin Outwich also had a burial-ground beside the wall. The pulling
down of the wall, the building of houses upon it and against it on
either side, was the work of many years. To this day there are houses on
the north side of the street to which access is gained by a step,
showing that they were built actually on the wall. Towards the end of
the eighteenth century a long piece of wall, where is now the opening to
Finsbury Square, was taken down to allow of more sunshine in the front
of Bethlehem Hospital. The appearance of the street at that time was
very pleasing. Sion College, the churches of Allhallows and St. Alphage,
and the Armourers’ Hall, with the venerable wall on the north, gave it a
very striking and picturesque character. It is a great pity that the
wall was taken down. The distance marked by the length of a lane
connecting London Wall with the south side of Fore Street gives the
breadth of the wall and of the town ditch beyond.
[Illustration:
LONDON WALL
]
At the east end of London Wall is the church of
ALLHALLOWS, LONDON WALL
This church stands on the old Roman wall erected in the third
century, and probably marks the site of one of the earliest
Christian churches built in this country.
The earliest authentic records give particulars of a church on the
present site, which dates from the year A.D. 1300, and there is
little doubt that it replaced an earlier structure, which had stood
since the Norman Conquest, and had fallen into disrepair. In A.D.
1474 Allhallows Chapel was constructed, probably for the
accommodation of the Ankers, or Anchorites, who were closely
associated with the church. The most famous of these was Sir Simon,
or Master Anker, the author of a devotional book which has been
preserved in the British Museum, entitled _The Fruits of
Redemption_, who was a great benefactor to Allhallows.
In A.D. 1527 a new aisle was added to the church. Possibly Sir
Simon, when he attached himself to Allhallows, discarded the loft
over the chapel, and settled himself in a cell in the bastion of the
old Roman wall, which now forms the vestry. If, as is probable, he
had taken a vow never to emerge from his retirement, it may be that
when the new aisle was added he was persuaded to place his eloquence
at the disposal of the parishioners, by consenting to preach on
condition that a private passage was made from his cell leading
straight into the pulpit. This would explain why, when the present
church was built, the conditions were reproduced by which the pulpit
is not accessible from the church, but can only be reached by a
staircase leading through the vestry.
The list of rectors can only be traced back to A.D. 1335, but there
is an interesting record in the _Croniques de Londres_, which
mentions that in A.D. 1320 the priest of Allhallows (whose name is
not given) was murdered by Isabel de Bury, who took refuge in the
church, but the Bishop of London would not allow her to seek
sanctuary there, so she was seized, and was hanged five days
afterwards.
The patronage of Allhallows was for many centuries in the hands of
the Prior and Convent of Holy Trinity, Aldgate. At the dissolution
of the monasteries in the sixteenth century it passed to the Crown,
and since then has belonged to the Lord Chancellor.
The church was fortunate enough to escape destruction during the
Great Fire in 1666, but it fell into a ruinous state about a century
later, and had to be demolished. The present structure, for the
erection of which a special Act of Parliament was passed, was
commenced in A.D. 1765, and cost £3000. The architect was George
Dance the younger, and it was his brother, Sir Nathaniel Dance
Holland, R.A., who presented to the church the magnificent painting
which hangs over the altar. It was a copy made by himself of the
famous picture in the Church of the Conception at Rome by Pietro
Berretini di Cortona, a Florentine painter of repute who died in
1669. The subject is the restoration to sight of Saul of Tarsus (St.
Paul) by Ananias at Damascus. The fifteenth-century monk in the
crowd gives a quaint touch of mediævalism to the scene.
The architecture of the church deserves a passing notice. The plan
is intended to reproduce a modified Roman Basilican church, but the
evidences of the Greek revival are shown in the character of the
Ionic capitals of the interior columns, as well as in the famous
Greek honeysuckle ornament, which appears both in the Roman
barrel-vault of the ceiling and in the frieze round the interior
walls. The church is almost unique in representing the transition
stage between the Italian renaissance and the short-lived
introduction of the Greek style.
Among the most famous rectors during the nineteenth century were the
Rev. William Beloe, the well-known translator of Herodotus and Aulus
Gellius; the Rev. Robert Nares, the Shakespearian glossary writer;
and the Rev. George Davys, who was tutor to the late Queen Victoria,
and became successively Rector of Allhallows, Dean of Chester, and
Bishop of Peterborough.
Returning to our section, from which we have somewhat strayed, we find
Wood Street has been already described.
In =Noble Street= stood the houses of Sir Nicholas Bacon and Sergeant
Fleetwood, Recorder of London. This street is dismissed by Stow in a few
words; it faced the City Wall westward, and so long as the Wall was
preserved there was an open space of twenty feet at least free from
buildings, while without there was the City Ditch. It began at the end
of Foster Lane, having the Church of St. John Zachary in the east, and
on the west, separated by a block of houses, the Church of St.
Anne-of-the-Willows. Going up the street we pass Lilypot Lane, Oat Lane,
leading to St. Mary Staining Church (see p. 47), and two or three
courts.
At the south end of Noble Street was Engain Lane, called also Maiden
Lane, Ingelene Lane, or Ing Lane. Here a Roman pavement was found
(_Proceedings of Soc. Antiq. Series_, i. 2. p. 184). Riley, in his
Introduction to the _Memorials_, thinks that this lane is lost. He
supposes, however, that the St. Michael “Hoggene Lane” was St. Michael
Queenhithe, instead of St. Michael by Huggin Lane, which is adjacent.
A continuation of Maiden Lane is St. Anne’s Lane or Distaff Lane.
In 1339, William de Clif bequeaths tenements in Igene Lane “elsewhere
called Ing Lane and Engaynes end, afterwards Maiden Lane” (Prideaux,
_Goldsmiths’ Company_, vol. i. p. 4). In 1560, “Mother Lowndes” had a
melting furnace in Maiden Lane. In 1627, Lord Nowell had the lease of a
house in the lane. In 1642, Lord Campden wanted to purchase the messuage
of which he held a lease, but was refused. In Staining Lane stood the
almshouses of the Haberdashers for the men of that Company.
In the modern Noble Street the new Post Office Hotel is a conspicuous
object on the east. Close by is Ye Noble Restaurant. Lilypot Lane is one
consecutive series of the less ornamental style of modern brick and
stone warehouses. Ye Olde Bell next to Oat Lane is evidently an old
house, and, seen in the vista of the street, has a considerable bow
forward. It is plastered. The coat-of-arms over the wooden doorway of
the Coachmakers’ Hall arrests attention for a moment. Then we see Nos.
16 and 17 on either side over the entry of Fitchett’s Court, which are
really old. They are of roughened red brick, dating from the rebuilding
after the Fire. Fitchett’s Court is a narrow stone-flagged _cul de sac_
lined on either side with similar houses. At the upper end is a modern
glass-roofed building. It is inhabited chiefly by manufacturers’ agents,
but is quaint, with a projecting bowed window near the entry, and a dark
woodwork doorway with two carved brackets supporting the cornice. The
house mentioned above in Noble Street on the north of the Court is The
Royal Mail Tavern. The remainder of this street contains no point of
interest. The Coachmakers’ Hall stands on the east side of Noble Street,
north of Oat Lane.
THE COACHMAKERS COMPANY
The Hall stands on the site of Shelley House, owned by Sir Thomas
Shelley _temp_ Henry IV. Afterwards it was named Bacon House by
Nicholas Bacon. “A plain man, direct and constant, without all
finesse and doubleness,” who dwelt here till the Queen, Elizabeth,
made him Lord Keeper in 1558, when he moved hence. He was the father
of Lord Bacon, the philosopher. He sometime rebuilt this house, and
was buried in St. Paul’s, where his effigy yet remains. After the
Lord Keeper’s departure, William Fleetwood, Recorder of London,
lived here between 1575 and 1586, yet he seems to have died in a
house of his own building, in Noble Street, to the north of this
(1593-94). By continual industry, advanced by natural good parts, he
attained to the name of an eminent lawyer. He was a man of a merry
conceit, eloquent and very zealous against vagrants, mass-priests,
and papists. In 1638, Sir Arthur Savage and others sold the house to
one Charles Bostock, scrivener. Now, the Common Scriveners had been
a Company of this City by prescription, time out of mind. They made
regulations for their profession in 1373; in 1390 they began their
Common Paper, a book of ordinances and signatures, still extant. Yet
there is no account of any Hall for them. In 1497 they met at the
dwelling-place of Henry Woodcock, their warden; in 1557 at Wax
Chandlers’ Hall. Their Charter of Incorporation (January 28,
1616-17) ordained a Hall, so in 1631 they bought Bacon House for
£810. After the Great Fire of 1666 they rebuilt this.
Afterwards the Coachmakers Company treated for its purchase, and
bought it with houses in Oat Lane, for £1600, raised by gift. For
though coaches had become common since the seventeenth century
began, and the Coach and Coach-Harness Makers had been incorporated
in 1677, they had up till then no Hall.
Early in the nineteenth century the Hall had become a warehouse,
whose counting-house retained the Coachmakers’ arms and a name-list
of their benefactors. In 1841 they rebuilt it; in 1843 furnished it
anew by subscription.
In 1870, borrowing money, they built the present Hall.
THE COACH AND COACH-HARNESS MAKERS COMPANY
The date of the first charter is 31st May, 29 Charles II., 1677, and
is for the general protection and supervision of the trade of
coachmakers and coach-harness makers.
In the early days of the Company, the master, wardens, and
assistants used to visit all the workshops within the prescribed
limits of the Company’s sphere of action, but that seems to have
engendered bad feelings among the various members of the trade, and
so gradually fell into desuetude; but in 1864 the Company granted
the free use of the hall for the operative Coachmakers’ Industrial
Exhibition, which was opened under the auspices of the Marquis of
Lansdowne and the Very Reverend Dean Milman, D.D. From that time to
the present the Company have continuously offered prizes to those
connected with the trade.
At present the number of the livery is 115. The Corporate Income is
£970; there is no Trust Income. The Company have of late held
exhibitions and offered prizes for the encouragement of
coach-building.
St. Olave’s Churchyard is on the south side of Silver Street. A stone
inscription tells us that the road was widened 8 feet in 1865 just at
this point. The disused graveyard is now open to the public as a
recreation ground, and the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association have
distributed seats about among the old tombs. Low down by the steps at
the entrance is a stone slab bearing a heading of a skull and
cross-bones, and beneath the following words:
This was the parish church of St. Olave’s, Silver Street, destroyed
by the Dreadful Fire in the year 1666.
ST. OLAVE, SILVER STREET
This church was situated on the south side of Silver Street, in
Aldersgate Ward. It was destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt,
its parish being annexed to that of St. Alban’s, Wood Street. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1343.
The patronage of the church was always in the hands of the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 130.
No monuments of any interest are recorded.
The parish received two charitable gifts: a messuage purchased for
£58, the gift of Roger James; and £5 : 10s., to be paid every tenth
year, the gift of Bernard Hyde.
In Silver Street, No. 24 is the Parish Clerks’ Hall.
PARISH CLERKS
The Parish Clerks were first incorporated by 12 Henry III., 1232,
and confirmed by 14 Henry IV., 1412. In 1547, the first year of
Edward VI., all lands and properties belonging to fraternities not
being mysteries and crafts, were declared Crown possessions; thus
the Parish Clerks suffered the loss of their hall in Bishopsgate,
which was sold to Sir Robert Chester in 1548. In vain they disputed
the King’s claim; in vain obtained powerful support in the City, and
hoped to win the day: Sir Robert pulled down their hall, and they
were homeless. Then they took quarters at the north-west corner of
Broad Lane in the Vintry; the site is now thrown into the roadway of
Queen Street Place. Immortal Machyn, in his diary, 1562, records
that, after service at the Guildhall chapel and procession, that
year the Parish Clerks went to “their own” hall to dine; this was
the Broad Lane house. Little enough is known of the premises: the
Clerks were paying thirty-one nobles (£10 : 6: 8) rent in 1583; in
1592 they commenced publishing the Bills of Mortality; on renewing
the lease in 1628, for forty years, they handed to “the superior”
£40 as fine. By this time they had been reincorporated by the 8
James I., 1611, and were confirmed by 12 Charles I., 1636. They seem
to have covered their rent from 1648 onwards by letting the lower
rooms and cellars on lease for £11 per annum. In 1625 the Star
Chamber granted them permission to set up a printing-press in this
hall for the purpose of issuing the weekly Bills of Mortality. Here
also the Company appointed its own joiner, carpenter, and
bricklayer, nor omitted to secure the all-important cook. By 1637
the bricklayer had new-tiled the roof; he charged £12: also the
joiner had wainscotted the parlour, but the Clerks thought his bill
of £13 rather too much; he must include “some convenient work in
addition,” to be set up above the three doors in the newly
wainscotted room, then they would pay him and appoint him their
official joiner. The Great Fire destroyed this hall two years before
the lease was up. For some time the Court of the Company wandered
from tavern to tavern, but in 1671 ultimately settled at their
present hall in Silver Street.
=Monkwell Street=, anciently written Mugwell, Muggewell, or Mogwell
Street, was so called, according to Stow, after a well in the Hermitage
of St. James at the north end of the street. The Hermitage was a cell
belonging to Garendon Abbey where two or three of the brethren resided
as chaplains. There is no doubt about the house or the Hermitage, and
very possibly there was a well within its small precinct. At the same
time the ancient form of the name, Mugwell, does not suggest the word
Monk. It seems probable that the name was originally Mugwell, and that
after the Dissolution the memory of the well was kept up by a corruption
of the name. The street appears to have been outside the industries of
North London. It is mentioned many times in the _Calendar of Wills_, but
never in connection with workshops or trading shops. Between 1277 and
1576 there are the entries of the street. They all speak of rents,
tenements, and houses. In the year 1349 we find a brewery in the street.
This naturally inclines us to think that there must have been a well—?
Mugwell—to supply the brewery. In Riley’s _Memorials_ it is mentioned
once only in connection with a tourelle of London Wall near the street.
The Hermitage was succeeded by Lamb’s Chapel.
THE BARBERS
This Fraternity should also be of extreme antiquity. When or why the
barbers took upon themselves the practice of surgery I do not know.
It was the custom of the Roman Catholic Church to allow
ecclesiastics to become physicians on the condition (Council of
Tours, 1163) that they abstained from fire and steel; Rabelais, for
instance, in the fifteenth century, practised medicine subject to
this condition. But some kinds of surgery are necessary:
bone-setting, for instance, which was understood and performed by
the common people; dentistry, which at first fell into the hands of
barbers but afterwards became a separate mystery practised by
itinerants; cupping, blood-letting, the dressing of wounds, and
amputations also fell into the hands of the barbers. But not of all
the barbers. Surgery advanced by degrees; it became a distinct
profession before it was recognised.
That the barbers practised blood-letting is proved by an ordinance
of 1307 forbidding them to put blood in their windows in view of
folks. In 1308, Richard le Barber is presented to the mayor and
admitted Master over the trade of Barbers. He swore to make scrutiny
among the craft, and if he found any keeping brothels or acting
unseemly he would distrain upon them. The oath indicates that
barbers were suspected of keeping disorderly houses; in fact they
looked after the bagnios, which were always regarded with
well-founded suspicion. Barbers were often appointed as gatekeepers.
The reason would seem difficult to find, until it is remembered that
it was strictly forbidden that lepers should enter the City, and
that barbers were better able than other men from their medical
knowledge to detect them.
The earliest admission of a surgeon is recorded in the year 1312.
John of Southwark is described as “cirurgicus.” Clearly he was that
and nothing else; not a shaving man at all.
Some of them were wealthy. For instance, Hamo the Barber in 1340 was
assessed at £10 as his contribution towards a forced loan of £5000
to the King.
In the year 1376, the fraternity was ruled by two masters
representing the two divisions of barbers—who could also let blood
and draw teeth—and surgeons.
In the year 1388, the King sent writs all over the kingdom to
inquire into the constitution of the guilds and fraternities then
existing in the country. The returns appear to have been lost. But
the return sent in by the barbers still exists in a copy preserved
at Barbers’ Hall. It is published _in extenso_ in Mr. Sidney Young’s
book. It is a long document, and it pours a flood of light upon the
guilds and their laws. The original is in Norman French.
Since the barbers were not yet incorporated, they had no authority
except over their own members. They could not, therefore, prevent
the formation of a Fraternity of Surgeons, who practised without any
reference to the barbers. In 1376, the barbers, no doubt because of
this rival guild, complained against incompetent persons practising
surgery, and prayed that two masters should rule the craft, and that
none should be admitted without examination. In 1390, the Surgeons’
Guild obtained powers to appoint five masters for the directing of
those practising surgery and of women as well as men. The surgeons
thereupon tried to exercise the right of scrutiny over the barbers,
who claimed and obtained the protection of the City.
In the year 1461, Edward IV. granted the barbers a Charter of
Incorporation.
The preamble to the Letters Patent, 1 Edward IV., by which the
Company were incorporated, recites that the Freemen of the Mystery
of Barbers of the City of London, using the Mystery or Faculty of
Surgery, had for a long time exercised and sustained and still
continued to exercise and sustain great application and labour, as
well about the curing and healing wounds, blows, and other
infirmities as in the letting of blood and drawing of teeth, and
that by the ignorance and unskilfulness of some of the said barbers,
as well freemen of the said City as of others being foreign
surgeons, many misfortunes had happened to divers people by the
unskilfulness of such barbers and surgeons in healing and curing
wounds, blows, hurts, and other infirmities, and that it was to be
feared that the like or worse evils might thereafter ensue unless a
suitable remedy was speedily provided in the premises.
And it was thereby granted to the freemen of the said mystery of
barbers in the said City of London, that the said mystery and all
the men of the said mystery, should be one body, and one perpetual
community, with power for electing two masters or governors, and
that the said masters or governors and commonalty and their
successors might make statutes and ordinances for the government of
the said mysteries. And that the masters or governors for the time
being, and their successors, should have the survey, search,
correction, and government of all the freemen of the said City being
surgeons, using the mystery of barbers in the said City, and other
surgeons being foreigners practising the mystery of surgery within
the said City and suburbs thereof, and the punishment of them for
offences in not perfectly executing, performing, and using the said
mystery, and should have the survey of all manner of instruments,
plaisters, and other medicines, and the receipts used by the said
barbers and surgeons for the curing and healing of sores, wounds,
hurts, and such like infirmities. And that no barber using the said
mystery of surgery within the said City or suburbs should be
thereafter admitted to exercise the same mystery unless he had first
been approved of as well instructed in that mystery by the said
masters or governors, or their successors sufficiently qualified in
that behalf.
By the Act of Parliament of 32 Henry VIII., after reciting that
within the said City of London there were then two several and
distinct companies of surgeons exercising the science and faculty of
surgery, the one company called the Barbers of London, and the other
called the Surgeons of London, and that the former were incorporated
by the Letters Patent of 1 Edward IV., but the latter had not any
manner of incorporation; it was enacted that the two several and
distinct companies, and their successors, should from thenceforth be
united and made one entire and whole body corporate, which should
thereafter be called by the name of Masters or Governors of the
Mystery or Commonalty of Barbers and Surgeons of London.
The Letters Patent of 1 James and 5 Chas. I., granted and confirmed
to the united companies: All and singular the manors, messuages,
lands, tenements, customs, liberties, franchises, immunities,
jurisdictions, and hereditaments of the united companies of barbers
and surgeons then held by them and enjoyed under any letters patent
of any former kings and queens or by colour of any lawful
prescription, with power to make byelaws, annual elections, appoint
examiners of surgeons, and that no person should exercise surgery
within the cities of London and Westminster or within the distance
of seven miles of the said cities, unless previously examined; and
by the public letters testimonial of the said company, under their
common seal, and admitted to exercise the said art or mystery of
surgery under the penalty therein mentioned; and that all persons so
examined and admitted as aforesaid might exercise the art in any
other places whatsoever of the kingdom of England, with power to
appoint lectures for instruction in the principles and rudiments in
the art of chirurgery.
By the Act of 18 Geo. 2, cap. 15, after reciting the
before-mentioned Acts, and that the barbers had for many years past
been engaged in a business foreign to and independent of the
practice of surgery, and the surgeons being then become a numerous
and considerable body, and finding their union with the barbers
inconvenient in many respects, and in no degree conducive to the
progress of the art of surgery, and that a separation of the
corporation of barbers and surgeons would contribute to the
improvement of surgery, it was enacted that the said union and
incorporation of barbers and surgeons should, after June 24, 1745,
be dissolved, and the surgeons were constituted a separate and
distinct body corporate by the name of the Master, Governors, and
Commonalty of the Art and Science of Surgeons of London; and the
barbers were thereby constituted a body corporate and commonalty
perpetual, which should be called by the name of the Master,
Governors, and Commonalty of the Mystery of Barbers of London.
The Barbers Company, since their separation from the surgeons, have
continued to conduct the affairs of the Company.
The Hall of the Company is mentioned by Stow with certain
particulars of their history:
“In this west side is the Barbers-Chirurgeons’ hall. This Company
was incorporated by means of Thomas Morestede, esquire, one of the
sheriffs of London 1436, chirurgeon to the kings of England, Henry
IV., V., and VI.: he deceased 1450. Then Jaques Fries, physician to
Edward IV., and William Hobbs, physician and chirurgeon for the same
king’s body, continuing the suit the full time of twenty years,
Edward IV., in the 2nd of his reign, and Richard, Duke of
Gloucester, became founders of the same corporation in the name of
St. Cosme and St. Damiane. The first assembly of that craft was
Roger Strippe, W. Hobbs, T. Goddard, and Richard Kent; since the
which time they built their hall in that street, etc.”
The number of the livery is about 120. There are no particulars as
to the Corporate Income of the Company. The Trust Income is about
£650 per annum.
GROUP III
The third group of streets is that which is bounded on the south by
Cannon Street, on the east by Bishopsgate Street and Gracechurch Street,
and on the west by Moorgate Street, Princes Street, and Walbrook, and
northward by the City limits.
This, with Cheapside, includes the very heart and centre of the City. In
it are the streets called Cornhill, Lombard Street, Threadneedle Street,
Throgmorton Street, Lothbury, Princes Street, and Broad Street. Here
were formerly the ecclesiastical foundations of the Austin Friars and
St. Anthony’s. Here are the Royal Exchange, the Bank of England, the
Mansion House, the offices of many Banks and of Companies; the site of
such well-known houses as the Baltic, the South Sea House, Garraway’s,
the Jerusalem, the London Tavern. In Lombard Street we have the first
house of City Firemen and the first Post Office. In Broad Street is the
site of Gresham House, afterwards Gresham College, founded with such a
noble ambition, fallen now to so poor a place.
In this place it is proposed to take the principal streets and lanes and
to set down whatever points of interest have not been touched upon in
the large History of London.
=Cornhill= has been a crowded street from time immemorial. Stow says
that there was here a corn market. It does not seem proved, however,
that there ever was one here. Loftie points out that the London corn
market was on the east side of St. Michael-le-Querne, opposite Bread
Street. It has been suggested that the family of Coren Hell or Corn Hill
gave their name to the ward. In 1125 there is Edward Heep Cornhill among
those engaged in the conveyance of the Portsoken to the Holy Trinity
Priory. But a market of some sort was most certainly held here, and it
may have been originally a corn market.
We must not suppose that the division of trades and markets was ever
rigidly observed. If there were bakers in Bread Street, there may have
been bakers elsewhere for the general convenience. Then in 1347 (Riley’s
_Memorials_, p. 236) there was a corn market in Gracechurch Street and
another in Newgate Street. The market was opposite the Franciscan House,
so that perhaps we may accept Stow’s statement and conclude that the
corn market of Cornhill gradually receded eastward into Gracechurch
Street, where it was presently absorbed by Leadenhall Market, which is
reckoned by Stow as in Cornhill.
In 1310 proclamation was made in the City as follows:
“It is ordered and commanded on the King’s behalf, that no man or woman
shall be so daring or so bold as from henceforth to hold a common market
for any manner of merchandise in the highway of Chepe after the hour of
None, as heretofore they have done; nor yet in any other place within
the City, save only upon Cornhulle; and that, from Matins until the hour
of None, and not after: on pain of forfeiture of the goods so carried
there to sell, by way of holding common market there” (Riley’s
_Memorials_, p. 75).
The hour of “None” is from two to three. What was the meaning of this
proclamation? Why must the markets of Chepe be closed at three while
those of Cornhill remained open? But in 1369, because many cheats had
been possible by selling things after dark, it was ordered that at the
ringing of the bell upon the Tun at sunset (not the bell of St.
Mary-le-Bow, which only belonged to West Chepe), all shops and stalls
were to be closed.
The Tun, of which mention has often been made in other volumes of this
book, was a small prison, something like a tun, built by Henry le Waleys
in 1282. Beside it was a conduit built by the same citizen. And there
was a standard for Thames water brought there by the contrivance of one
Peter Morris, a Dutchman. Distances were reckoned from the standard of
Cornhill.
Here were stocks for the sturdy beggar, the lazar, should he venture
into the City, and fraudulent dealers. Here was a pillory for similar
offenders; one William Felde stood in it in 1375 for cheating hucksters
of ale. Here Gyleson also, in 1348, was so put to public shame for
selling putrid pork, some of which was burned under his nose to his
unspeakable discomfort.
The earliest occupants of Cornhill, according to Strype, were drapers.
It is, however, certain that other trades were established there. Thus
in 1302 there is a baker of Cornhill; in 1318 a bakehouse opposite the
Pillory; in 1345 the City poulterers are ordered not to sell east of the
Tun on Cornhill, while the “foreign” poulterers are sent to Leadenhall;
in 1342, “false” blankets are burned in Cornhill; in 1347 there is a
turner of Cornhill; in 1364 a tailor; in 1365 the pelterers are ordered
to carry on their business in Cornhill, Walbrook, and Budge Row only; in
1372 the blacksmiths are confined for the exhibition of their wares to
Gracechurch Street, St. Nicholas Fleshambles’ (Newgate), and the Tun of
Cornhill.
The punishment of common clerks illustrated by Stow is noted elsewhere.
As regards the Tun, he writes:
[Illustration:
THE PUMP IN CORNHILL, 1800
]
“By the west side of the foresaid prison, then called the Tun, was a
fair well of spring water curbed round with hard stone; but in the year
1401, the said prison house, called the Tun, was made a cistern for
sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead from Tiborne, and was from
thenceforth called the Conduit upon Cornhill. Then was the well planked
over, and a strong prison made of timber called a cage, with a pair of
stocks therein set upon it, and this was for night walkers. On the top
of which cage was placed a pillory, for the punishment of bakers
offending in the assize of bread, for millers stealing of corn at the
mill, for bawds, scolds, and other offenders. As in the year 1468, the
7th of Edward IV., divers persons being common jurors, such as at
assizes were forsworn for rewards, or favour of parties, were judged to
ride from Newgate to the pillory in Cornhill, with mitres of paper on
their heads, there to stand, and from thence again to Newgate, and this
judgment was given by the mayor of London. In the year 1509, the 1st of
Henry VIII., Darby, Smith, and Simson, ringleaders of false inquests in
London, rode about the city with their faces to the horse tails, and
papers on their heads, and were set on the pillory in Cornhill, and
after brought again to Newgate, where they died for very shame, saith
Robert Fabian.
“The foresaid conduit upon Cornhill, was in the year 1475 enlarged by
Robert Drope, draper, mayor, that then dwelt in that ward; he increased
the cistern of this conduit with an east end of stone and castellated it
in comely manner” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 208).
In the time of Stow there were still standing some of the old houses,
built of stone in accordance with the regulations of Henry Fitz Aylwin
and other mayors. The danger of fire was thus diminished. But those
houses which in many cases were built round open courts, covering a
large space and of no more than two stories in height, were gradually
taken down and houses of four or five stories built in their place, a
fact which must be remembered when we read of the Great Fire. All those
broad courts and open spaces which might have checked the Fire at so
many points were gone in 1666, and replaced by high houses standing
together and by narrow courts.
The Royal Exchange, the Bank of England, and the Mansion House are so
mixed up with the general history of London that they must be sought for
in the volumes that have preceded this.
The Weigh-house was the place where all merchandise brought across the
sea was taken to be weighed at the King’s beam. “This house hath a
master, and under him four master porters, with porters under them: they
have a strong cart, and four great horses, to draw and carry the wares
from the merchants’ houses to the beam and back again” (Stow, p. 73).
The house was built by Sir Thomas Lovell, “with a fair front of
tenements towards the street.” The cart therefore was taken into an
inner court through a gateway, as we might expect.
There were many taverns in and about Cornhill.
In the sixteenth century was still standing one of the old stone houses
of which we have spoken. This was popularly known as “King John’s
House.” Now at the granting of the commune to the City, John lodged at
the house of Richard Fitz Richer, the sheriff. Possibly this was the
house. Pope’s Head Alley marks the site of the Pope’s Head Tavern, which
had the ancient arms of England, three leopards between two angels,
engraved in stone on the front. Stow thinks it may have been a royal
palace.
A perspective view of =Cornhill= at the present day gives a very fine
effect. The sides are lined with large buildings on the erection of
which no time or expense has been spared, and the protuberant stone
decoration and the lines of enriched windows give on the whole an
appearance of wealth and dignity. Yet, taken singly, there are few of
these buildings that deserve any commendation. There is a sameness and
want of originality. Everywhere are round-headed windows and stone
foliage; everywhere the same shaped roof projections and pinnacles. The
flagged space in front of the Royal Exchange is decorated by trees in
tubs, and on it stands an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington.
This was executed by Sir Francis Chantrey in 1844. The Royal Exchange
lines the side of the street for some distance and all round the
ground-floor are shops, etc. Beyond it is a second open space. The
statue here facing southward is of Rowland Hill. The figure is on a
block of polished granite.
Beyond Finch Lane the Union Bank of Australia stands out as one of the
exceptions to the general monotony of the street. It is of white stone,
in a severe style without undue excrescences, and the chief ornament is
a row of sculpturesque figures supporting the cornice.
On the south side of Cornhill an entrance to St. Peter’s Church first
attracts attention.
ST. PETER, CORNHILL
This church is possibly the most ancient in the City. It was
practically rebuilt in the reign of Edward IV. and thoroughly
renovated in 1632, but so damaged by the Great Fire that after
attempts at restoration it had to be rebuilt. The present building
was erected by Wren in 1680-81. The earliest known date of an
incumbent is 1263—one John de Cabanicis. There is an unbroken
succession since John de Exeter, 1282.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the family of Nevil
before 1263, one of whom, Lady Alice Nevil, conveyed it in 1362 to
Richard, Earl of Arundell, for a term of years; in 1380 to Thomas
Coggeshall and others; in 1402 to Hampweyde Bohern, Earl of
Hereford. It was again conveyed about, or shortly before, 1395 to
Robert and Margaret Rykedon and others, who presented to it in 1405;
it was confirmed to Richard Whittington and others in 1408, who in
turn confirmed it in 1411 to the Mayor and Commonalty of London, in
whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 500.
The church measures 80 feet in length, 47 feet in breadth, and 40
feet in height, and contains a nave and two aisles separated from
the central portion by Corinthian columns. There is a very fine
screen, one of the only two erected in the City of London, and the
only one remaining in its original position. The steeple, which
rises at the south-west, attains a height of 140 feet, and consists
of a tower and cornice surmounted by a cupola, an octagonal lantern,
and a spire, terminating in St. Peter’s emblem, the Key. The view of
the exterior is blocked on the north by intervening houses, but on
the south the church is open to the churchyard.
Chantries were founded here by Roger FitzRoger previous to 1284; by
Nicholas Pycot at the Altar of St. Nicholas in 1312; by Philip de
Ufford at the Altar of St. Katherine in 1321; by Robert de la Hyde
at the Altar of St. George in 1328; by William Elliot (William of
Kingston) at the Altar of the Holy Trinity, for himself, Sarah and
Alynor his wives, and for his father and mother in 1375; by John
Foxton at the Altar of St. George in 1382; by John Waleys at the
same altar in 1409; and by Dame Alice Brudenel in 1437 to the Altar
of St. Nicholas. There were also chantries founded by Richard
Morley, Peter Mason, and John Lane. The Guild or Fraternity of St.
Peter was established in this church by Henry IV. in 1403 at the
intercession of Queen Johanna, William Aghton being rector. The
valuation of the Rectory _temp_ Henry VIII. was £39 : 5 : 7½, to
which was added tenths from the chantries amounting to £14 : 14 : 4.
A large number of monuments are recorded by Stow, some of the most
notable of which were in memory of: William of Kingston; Margery
Clopton, widow of Robert Clopton; Sir Christopher Morice, Master
Gunner of England to Henry VIII.; Sir Henry Huberthorne, Merchant
Taylor, and Lord Mayor of the City; Francis Breerewood, Treasurer of
Christ’s Hospital; Sir William Bowyer. John Carpenter, the famous
Town Clerk of London and compiler of the _Liber Albus_, was also
buried here. In the vestry is an interesting tablet copy of one
hanging in St. Paul’s Cathedral from A.D. 1300, and preserved from
the Great Fire, to the effect that this church was the first founded
in London, and that it was erected by King Lucius in 179—a legend
which Stow himself appears not to have believed. There is here,
also, the old key-board and organ-stops used by Mendelssohn when he
played in St. Peter’s in 1840 and 1842. The portraits of Bishop
Beveridge and Bishop Waugh, both of whom were rectors here for some
years, hang on the walls. A fine manuscript Vulgate, with
illuminations, written for the Altar of the Holy Trinity in St.
Peter’s, is also preserved in the vestry.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by G. Shepherd._
ST. PETER’S, CORNHILL
]
Among the most important charities were those of: Laurence Thompson,
1601, who left £100 in trust for tea, coal, and bread for the poor
of the parish. William Walthal, 1606, who left £246 : 13 : 4, £200
of which was to be lent to the struggling shopkeepers of the parish,
the interest to be distributed in bread and coal. The Robert Warden
(1609) bequest for Ash Wednesday sermons and Sunday bread to be
administered through the Poulterers Company. The Lucy Edge (1630)
bequest for the weekly lecture. Sir Benjamin Thorowgood’s (1682)
bequest of three shops at the west end of the church for the
maintenance of the organ and organist; and the Gibbs’ bequest
(1864). Of these, all, with the exception of the Lucy Edge and
Gibbs’ bequests, which provide for the Thursday lecturer, and part
of the Robert Warden bequest, which provides for the Ash Wednesday
sermon before the Poulterers Company, have been appropriated, with
other endowments, by the City Parochial Charities, out of which
common fund a yearly allowance is made for the upkeep of the Church.
John Hodgkin, Bishop of Bedford, 1537, was rector here; also John
Taylor (d. 1554), Bishop of Lincoln; Francis White (d. 1638), Bishop
of Ely; William Beveridge (1637-1708), Bishop of St. Asaph; John
Waugh, Bishop of Carlisle, 1723—he is buried in front of the present
altar.
Next door to the church is another of the exceptions in the street, a
well-designed terra-cotta building. The building is in a late
Perpendicular or Tudor style, and is appropriately named Tudor Chambers.
St. Peter’s Alley leads to the graveyard at the back of the church,
which is cut in two by an abnormally broad sweeping way up to the centre
door. Plainly built chambers of many stories look down on the dusty
evergreens of the churchyard. The next object of interest is the deeply
recessed and beautifully ornamented porch of St. Michael, which stands
back a little from the line of the street. By the side of the church is
St. Michael’s Alley, which leads us to the graveyard. In this a small
cloister or entry with vaulted roof leads through to the churchyard, a
space of newly turned soil with a fringe of the inevitable evergreen
bushes.
The great London coffee-house was set up in St. Michael’s Alley in 1652
by one Pasqua Rosee.
ST. MICHAEL, CORNHILL
The body of St. Michael’s Church was destroyed in the Great Fire and
rebuilt by Wren in 1672; the tower was injured and pulled down in
1722, when the present tower, also the work of Wren, was erected. In
1858 it was greatly altered by Sir Gilbert Scott. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1287.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Alnoth the priest,
before 1133, who granted it to the Abbot and Convent of Evesham, who
gave it in 1133 to Sparling the priest; the Abbot and Convent of
Evesham, who granted it in 1505 to Simon Hogan, who bequeathed it to
the Drapers’ Company, who presented to it in 1515, and in whose
successors it continued.
The church measures 87 feet in length, 60 feet in breadth, and 35
feet in height, and contains two aisles divided from the nave by
Doric columns. The church was originally in the Italian style, but
the alterations in 1858-60 by Sir Gilbert Scott give the appearance
of a nineteenth-century imitation of mediævalism. The tower is
Gothic in architecture, and contains three stories crowned by a
parapet from the angles of which four pinnacles rise up. The total
height is 130 feet. The church has always been famous for its bells,
of which it possesses 12.
Chantries were founded here by: Walter de Bullingham, to which John
de Bourge was admitted chaplain, August 22, 1390; Thomas Baker
augmented the endowment by £2 : 18 : 8; Ralph More was chaplain in
1548, “a man of 50 yrs. who hath lyen bedridden this 18 years”;
Simon Smith; William Comerton at the Altar of Blessed Virgin Mary;
Hamo Box, for which the King granted his licence, July 28, 1321;
William Rus, whose endowment for this and other purposes fetched
£27 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when William Penne was priest “of the age of
38 years, and of indifferent learning and hath none other living but
this his yearly stipend of £8”; Andrew Smythe, who endowed it with
lands, etc., which fetched £12 in 1548, when John Paddye was priest
“of the age of 26 years, indifferently learned, having no other
living or promotion over and above his stipend of £7 : 6 : 7”; Simon
Mordonne, mayor, 1368, who left tenements valued at £9 in 1548, when
John Campyon was priest, “of the age of 66 years, a good singer and
indifferently well learned, having none other living besides this
his stipend of £6 : 18 : 4”; John Langhorne, who endowed it with
tenements which yielded £10 : 8s. in 1548, when Abail Mortcock was
priest, “of the age of 36 years, whose qualities, conversation, and
learning is as the other and hath none other living but this his
stipend of £6 : 13 : 4.” The King granted his licence to Peter Smart
and others to found a guild in honour of St. Anne and Our Lady,
September 27, 1397, which was valued at £17 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when
Sir William Bryck was chaplain “of the age of 33 years, moderately
well learned.” John Shopman and others have licence to found a guild
in honour of Blessed Virgin Mary with special devotion to St.
Michael the Archangel, October 4, 1442.
[Illustration:
CONFECTIONER’S SHOP, CORNHILL
]
Alderman Robert Fabian (d. 1513) was buried here in 1513; he
compiled an elaborate chronicle, _The Concordance of Histories_,
dealing with France as well as England. This church is specially
connected with the antiquary John Stow, and both his father and
grandfather were buried here. Against the north walk there is a
monument in memory of John Vernon, erected in place of one consumed
by the Fire, by the Merchant Taylors in 1609; he was a donor of
several large legacies. In 1609 John Cowper was buried here—founder
of a family whose memory is still preserved in connection with
Cowper’s Court, Cornhill. To this family the poet Cowper belonged.
The parish was extremely rich in charitable gifts. Brass tablets are
affixed to the sides of the tower recording the dates, etc., of
repairs, and the benefactors in connection, amongst whom are the
following: Sir John Langham, £500; Sir Edward Riccard, £100; James
Clotheroe, £50. Other benefactors were Robert Drope, donor of £30,
and his wife Jane, afterwards Viscountess Lisle, of £90.
William Brough (d. 1671), Dean of Gloucester, and author of several
religious works, was rector here; also Robert Poole-Finch
(1724-1803), chaplain of Guy’s Hospital and a preacher of some
eminence.
No. 15 Cornhill is the oldest shop of its class in the Metropolis. The
window is set in a carved wooden framework, painted green, which
encloses the small glass panes in three arches. It was established as a
confectioner’s shop in the time of George I., and it is a confectioner’s
still. Within, the low roof and thick woodwork testify its age. It might
easily be overlooked, as the brick house rising above it presents no
noticeable feature.
Of =Change Alley= one has to note that Jonathan’s Coffee-house was the
resort of those who dealt and dabbled in stocks.
[Illustration:
GARRAWAY’S COFFEE-HOUSE
]
Why did ‘Change Alley waste thy precious hours,
Among the fools who gap’d for golden show’rs?
No wonder if we found some poets there,
Who live on fancy and can feed on air;
No wonder they were caught by South-Sea schemes,
Who ne’er enjoyed a guinea but in dreams.
Here also were Garraway’s and Robins’ Coffee-houses. In 1722 “the better
sort,” according to Defoe, who carried on business as a hosier in
Freemason’s Court, met at these coffee-houses before going to the
Exchange.
The present Stock Exchange was not erected till the year 1801.
Strype thus speaks of the Alley as it was after improvements:
“Exchange Alley, that lies next eastward, hath two passages out of
Cornhill; one into Lombard Street, and another bending east into Birchin
Lane. It is a large Place vastly improved, chiefly out of an house of
Alderman Backwall’s, a Goldsmith, before the Great Fire, well built,
inhabited by tradesmen; especially that passage into Lombard Street
against the Exchange, and is a place of a very considerable concourse of
Merchants, seafaring men and other traders, occasioned by the great
Coffee houses, Jonathan’s and Garraway’s, that stand there. Chiefly now
brokers, and such as deal in buying and selling of Stocks, frequent it.
The Alley is broad and well paved with free-stones, neatly kept. The
Fleece Tavern, seated in Cornhill, hath a passage into this Alley, being
a very large house and of great resort.” At No. 41 Thomas Gray the poet
was born on December 24, 1716.
Change Alley is at present a winding and tortuous thoroughfare. It bears
the date 1886 over the western entry, and contains many red and glazed
white brick houses. Close by this entry is the Bakers’ Chop House, a
curious little old building with projecting windows of dark wood.
In the next portion of Change Alley is a well-built red brick building
by R. Norman Shaw, with a slab on the north-east corner bearing the
inscription:
The site of Garraway’s Coffee House, rebuilt 1874;
and beneath is a large stone grasshopper.
=Gracechurch Street=, called also Grass church, Garscherche, and
Gracious Street, was formerly a market for hay, corn, malt, cheese, etc.
There was uncertainty about the name, for in 1329 we find it written
Grescherche Street, in 1333 Grascherche Street, a form of the name which
is afterwards repeated.
In 1275 there is a will by one Martin de Garscherche bequeathing
property to his sons and daughters; in 1294, 1311, and 1324, we hear of
tenements in Garscherche, which seems as if the place was then an open
market, not yet settled down to a street; perhaps, however, the dignity
of a street was sometimes conferred upon it, for in 1296 there is
mention of Leadenhall in Garscherch Street, and in 1342 it is also named
as a street.
In 1320 one of the supervisors of shoes was Richard le Cordewaner of
“Gras cherche”; in 1347 a jury of “Graschirche,” consisting of a butcher
and eleven others, accused John de Burstalle of selling corn at more
than the legal price, and he was sent to prison for forty days; in 1372
it was ordained that the blacksmiths should send their work either to
“Graschirche” or to the “Pavement” by St. Nicholas Fleshambles, or by
the Tun on Cornhill, and should stand by their work openly. Therefore
the market here was not confined to hay and corn. In 1386 one Thomas
Stokes was in trouble for pretending to be an officer and taker of ale
for the household of the King, under which pretence he marked with an
arrowhead several barrels in the brewery of William Roke of Graschirche.
There was therefore a brewery in the market. One finds so many breweries
scattered about the City that one asks how they got the water; it must
certainly have been drawn up from a local well. Another case of
personating an officer of the King was that of William Redhede in 1417,
who tried to carry off certain bushels of wheat at Graschirche
pretending that they were for the King. He was clapped into prison and
then put in pillory. “Upon the three market days ensuing he was to be
taken each day from the Prison of Newgate to the Market called ‘le
Cornmarket’ opposite to the Friars Minors and there the cause of the
judgment aforesaid was to be proclaimed: and after that he was to be
taken through the middle of the high street of Chepe to the Pillory on
Cornhille; and upon that he was to be placed on each of those three days
there to stand for one hour each day, the reason of his sentence being
then and there proclaimed, and after that he was to be taken from thence
through the middle of the high street of Cornhill to the Market of
Graschirche aforesaid, where like proclamation was to be made: and from
thence back to prison.”
Roman remains, such as vases, bronzes, coffins, have been found in this
street.
In 1654 Brethmer, citizen of London, gave to the Church at Canterbury
his messuage at “Gerscherche” as also the Church of Allhallows, Lombard
Street.
The street is continually mentioned in connection with tenements,
messuages, houses, and rents.
In more modern times Richard Tarleton the actor lived in Gracechurch
Street, at the sign of the Saber. Probably he acted in the courtyard of
the Cross Keys in the same street, licensed in 1570, but only for that
year. Many pageants and processions were conducted through Gracechurch
Street.
In Gracechurch Street at the corner of Fenchurch Street was St. Benet’s
Church.
=St. Benet, Grasschurch=, was so called after St. Benedict. The date
of its foundation is unknown. It was burnt down in the Great Fire,
rebuilt and finished in 1685. In 1868 the building was pulled down,
and in 1869 and 1870 the site was occupied by offices. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1170.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s, who granted it about 1142 to Algarus the priest, for
his life.
Houseling people in 1548 were 223.
A chantry was founded here in the chapel of St. Mary and St.
Katherine for Lady Joan Rose; the endowment fetched £14 : 3 : 4 in
1548.
Few notable monuments in this church are recorded by Stow. It
originally contained Queen Elizabeth’s monument. The parish was rich
in charitable gifts, some of the donors of which were: Mrs. Doxie of
£50, for the better maintenance of the parson; Lady Elizabeth Newton
£40, and many others whose names are not recorded.
In modern Gracechurch Street, at the corner of Eastcheap, is a fine new
building of the National Provident Institution for Mutual Life
Assurance. The courts opening out of the street are lined with countless
window reflectors and are very monotonous. The Russian Bank is fine and
of great height; on the west there is a long line of brick and stucco
buildings which can boast no style at all. The street is given over to
merchants, solicitors, bankers, agents, etc. The great building at the
corner of Lombard Street is the City Linen Company Bank, and is
conspicuous by reason of its stone ornamentation.
The northern portion of the street is not remarkable for architectural
beauty. The street consists chiefly of great square blocks of buildings
interspersed with dull early nineteenth-century brick boxes. In Bell
Yard there is an almost unbroken line of old houses on the south side,
and at the end the half-embedded gilt bell over a public-house points to
the name-derivation. On the east of Gracechurch Street a high arch of
rusticated stone leads to Leadenhall market (see p. 160). Gracechurch
Buildings follow, and Bull’s Head Passage, leading to Skinner’s Place,
is lined by open stalls. The flat end of St. Peter’s, Cornhill, faces
Leadenhall Buildings.
=Lombard Street.=—Shops and tenements are mentioned belonging to Lombard
Street in the fourteenth century. The _Calendar of Wills_ has a
reference in the year 1327. Riley’s earliest reference is 1382.
When the street first received its name is not known. Stow ventures back
no further than Edward II., but there were Italian merchants before that
time:
“Then have ye Lombard Street, so called of the Longobards, and other
merchants, strangers of divers nations assembling there twice every day,
of what original or continuance I have not read of record, more than
that Edward II., in the 12th of his reign, confirmed a messuage,
sometime belonging to Robert Turke, abutting on Lombard Street, toward
the south, and toward Cornehill on the north, for the merchants of
Florence, which proveth that street to have had the name of Lombard
Street before the reign of Edward II. The meeting of which merchants and
others there continued until the 22nd of December, in the year 1568; on
the which day the said merchants began to make their meetings at the
burse, a place then new built for that purpose in the ward of Cornhill,
and was since by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth, named the Royal
Exchange.”
The Lombards came over at first as collectors of the papal revenue; but
they did much more than this: they opened up trade between the Italian
towns and London—every year the fleets of Genoa and Venice brought goods
from the East and from the Mediterranean. Moreover, the Italians in
England sent wool from England instead of precious metals by way of
Florence, if not other cities. Their wealth enabled them to take the
place of the Jews in their expulsion; if the City was suddenly and
heavily taxed they made advances to the merchant who could not
immediately realise. Of course they charged heavy interest—as heavy as
the necessities of the case permitted—and they became unpopular. The
lending of money, forbidden and held in abhorrence, was absolutely
necessary for the conduct of business: those who carried on this trade
naturally lived together, if only to be kept in knowledge of what was
going on. And as the progress of trade went on, their power increased
year by year. Lombard Street, where they lived, was the daily mart of
the London merchants before the erection of the Exchange.
[Illustration:
POPE’S HOUSE IN PLOUGH COURT
]
“Jane Shore’s husband was a goldsmith in this street; so at least the
old ballad, printed in Percy’s _Reliques_, would lead us to believe. No.
68, now Messrs. Martin, Stones and Martin’s (bankers), occupies the site
of the house of business of Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal
Exchange. When Pennant wrote, the Messrs. Martin still possessed the
original grasshopper that distinguished his house. ‘How the Exchange
passeth in Lombard Street’ is a phrase of frequent occurrence in Sir
Thomas Gresham’s early letters. No. 67, now in the occupation of Messrs.
Glyn and Co. (bankers), belongs to the Goldsmiths’ Company, to whom it
was left by Sir Martin Bowes, an eminent goldsmith in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth. Guy, the founder of Guy’s Hospital, was a bookseller in this
street. The father of Pope, the poet, was a linendraper in Lombard
Street; and here, in 1688, his celebrated son was born. Opposite the
old-fashioned gate of the Church of St. Edmund the Martyr is a narrow
court, leading to a Quakers’ Meeting-house where Penn and Fox frequently
preached” (Cunningham’s _Handbook_).
The house in which Pope is said to have been born is that at the end of
Plough Court.
Between the Church of St. Edmund and the west end of the street were two
mansions formerly belonging, one to William de la Pole, Knight Banneret,
and “King’s Merchant” in the reign of Edward III., and afterwards to his
son, Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, and the other to Sir Martin
Bowes, mayor, 1545. Here also was the Cardinal’s Hat Tavern, one of the
oldest of the City taverns, mentioned in 1492.
The modern street gives a general impression similar to that of
Cornhill. Everywhere we are confronted by solid banks and insurance
offices, which seem to divide the ground between them.
George Yard contains the imposing building of the Deutsche Bank in
London, as well as a couple of large houses let in flats, and presents a
decidedly dignified appearance. The Bank is an immense building, with a
granite-columned portico, and rusticated stonework round it.
Of the two churches now remaining in this street, one is
ST. EDMUND, KING AND MARTYR
This church was anciently called by some St. Edmund Grass-Church,
because of its proximity to the grass market. It was burnt down in
the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren in 1690. In 1864 and 1880 the
church was restored. After the Great Fire, the parish of St.
Nicholas Acon was annexed. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1150.
The patronage was in the hands of the Prior and Convent of Holy
Trinity, London, but Henry VIII. seized it and granted it to the
Archbishop of Canterbury in 1545, in whose successors it continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 240.
The present church measures 59 feet in length, 40 feet in breadth,
and 57 feet 9 inches in height. It is singular from its standing
north and south, but this was forced upon Wren by the position of
the ground at his disposal. There are no aisles. The steeple, which
rises at the south, consists of a three-storied tower and octagonal
lantern and spire, and a pedestal supporting a finial and vane. The
lantern is ornamented at the angles by flaming urns, in allusion to
the Great Fire. A projecting clock is attached to the face of the
second story and is a prominent feature in Lombard Street. The total
height is 136 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By Thomas Wyllys for himself and
Christian his wife, whose endowment fetched £24 in 1548, when
Richard Auncell was chaplain; by and for Matilda at Vane, relict of
John Atte Rose, dedicated to SS. John, Peter, and Thomas the martyr,
to which John Reynes was admitted chaplain on the resignation of
William Belgrave, September 25, 1382; by Richard Toky for himself
and Matilda his wife, to which William Howes de Blackolm was
admitted chaplain, October 20, 1362; by John Longe, whose endowment
fetched £35 in 1548, when William Myller and Edward Mamyn or Hamonde
were chaplains.
The old church contained a monument to John Shute, a
painter-stainer, who wrote one of the earliest English works on
Architecture. He died in 1563. On the east wall a monument
commemorates Dr. Jeremiah Milles, Dean of Exeter, President of the
Society of Antiquaries, and rector of the united parishes, who died
in 1784.
Addison was married in this church to the Dowager Countess of
Warwick and Holland in 1716.
This parish was not rich in charitable gifts. Some of the donors
were: Richard Jaie of 45s. for bread, etc., for the poor; Mrs. Joan
Lowen of 52s.; Mrs. Anne Whitmore, £5.
ALLHALLOWS, LOMBARD STREET
This church went by the name of Allhallows “Grasse Church” from its
proximity to the grass and hay market. It was consumed by the Great
Fire, but subsequently rebuilt and completed by Wren in 1694. The
parish of Allhallows was one of the thirteen “Peculiars” of the
Archbishop of Canterbury in the City of London. The earliest date of
an incumbent is 1279.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Brihterus, citizen
of London, who in 1052 gave it to the Prior and Convent of Christ
Church, Canterbury; the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, in whose
successors it continued, who first presented to it in 1552.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The interior of the church is constructed on a rectangular plan,
without aisles, and with only one pillar, rising at the centre of
the west gallery. It is 84 feet in length, 52 feet in breadth, and
the height 30 feet. The church contains much good woodwork, the
carved oak altar-piece being especially fine. The stone tower, which
rises at the south-west, is divided into three stories, the lowest
of which has a large doorway at its south face; the second is
pierced by a circular-headed window, and the third by square
openings with louvres, each surmounted by a cornice. The height of
the tower is about 85 feet. The church is entered by a porch and
vestibule through a doorway in the tower.
Chantries were here founded by: John Chircheman, citizen, and
Richard Tasburgh, late parson of Heylesdon County, Norfolk, July 15,
1392 (Pat. 16 Richard II. p. i. m. 25); John Buck, whose endowment
yielded £40 : 6s. in 1548; John Maldon, whose endowment yielded
£20 : 3 : 4 in 1548, when Edward Hollonde was priest; William
Trystor, who endowed it with £6 : 6 : 8 in 1548.
The most notable of the monuments in this church is to the memory of
Simon Horsepoole, Sheriff of London in 1591.
The sole donor of charities seems to have been this same Simon
Horsepoole, who appointed to this parish £4 : 4s. per annum.
The original church was indebted for its south aisle, steeple, and
other sections to John Warner, Robert Warner, and the Pewterers.
Clothes were found for forty boys, as well as books, and the boys
were put out as apprentices by a Society of Langbourn Ward.
The most notable rectors were: Robert Gilbert, Bishop of London,
1436; Thomas Langton (d. 1501), Bishop of St. David’s and Sarum, and
of Winchester; Francis Dee (d. 1638), Bishop of Peterborough.
At the corner formed by the junction of Lombard and King William Streets
stands the Church of
ST. MARY WOOLNOTH
“The church was founded by Wulfnuth, son of Earl Godwin, about the
time of the Confessor. This name was corrupted into Woolnoth” (Rev.
J. M. S. Brooke, Rector). It was rebuilt, according to Newcourt,
from its very foundations about 1438. Though damaged by the Great
Fire, it was not destroyed, and Wren repaired and rebuilt various
parts in 1677. In 1716 the building was pulled down and the present
church, the work of Nicholas Hawksmoor, was commenced and finished
in 1727. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1252.
The patronage of the church, before 1252, was in the hands of: The
Prioress and Convent of St. Helen’s, London; then Henry VIII., who
seized it and granted it to Sir Martin Bowes, Alderman and Mayor of
London, whose son and heir, Thomas Bowes, sold it to William Pelham,
December 19, 1571; Robert Viner Miles, and several other persons,
the last being Sir George Broke-Middleton, who presented to it in
1883.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The interior of the church is almost square. It contains twelve
Corinthian columns, placed at the angles in groups of three, and
supporting an entablature prolonged to the walls by means of
pilasters. There is a clerestory above, pierced on its four sides by
semicircular windows. The tower, which rises at the west, contains
the doorway in its basement story; the cornice is surmounted by a
pedestal supporting composite columns, and the summit is divided
into two turrets with balustrades above. The north front has three
niches, each enclosing two Ionic columns on pedestals; the south
front is plain.
Chantries were founded here by: Gregory de Rokeslie, Mayor of
London, 1275-81, for himself and Amicia his wife, to which John de
Pory was admitted chaplain, July 15, 1333; Thomas Noket, for himself
and for Alice, wife of Gregory de Norton, called atte Shire, at the
Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Anne, in the south side of
the church, to which William Weston was admitted chaplain, January
28, 1400-1401; the endowment fetched £13 : 6 : 8 in 1548, when
William Wentors, or Ventrys, and Richard Browne were chaplains;
Henry Brige, Knt., whose endowment yielded £13: 13 : 4 in 1548, when
John Meres was priest.
Sir Hugh Brice, keeper of the King’s Exchange under Henry VII., was
buried in this church; he built a chapel here called the “Channel”;
also Sir Thomas Ramsey, Lord Mayor in 1577; William Hilton, Merchant
Taylor and Taylor to Henry VIII., and Sir Martin Bowes, patron of
the church for over thirty years.
Among the later monuments, Stow records one in memory of Sir William
Phipps, who discovered a sunken Spanish ship in 1687 containing
silver to the value of £300,000 sterling, and one commemorating Sir
Thomas Vyner, goldsmith, and Mayor of London, who died in 1665.
The list of legacies and bequests was too long for insertion, Stow
says, but was to be seen by any one in the Parish Book. He records a
gift of £1 : 6s. per annum from Sir Nicholas Rainton, and one of
£3 : 15 : 8 paid by the Merchant Taylors.
Richard Rawlins (d. 1536), Bishop of St. David’s, was rector here;
also John Newton, author of “Olney Hymns.”
=King William Street= contains few associations of interest, having been
built, as its name implies, in the reign of the fourth monarch of that
name, whose statue on a pedestal, which outrivals every other in the
City on the score of weight alone, stands at the south end. This is the
work of W. Nixon and was set up in December 1844. The figure is 15 feet
3 inches high, and the whole statue weighs 20 tons. Special arrangements
had to be made for carrying the Metropolitan Railway beneath it. The
statue is on the site of the Boar’s Head Tavern, noted in old days as a
famous rendezvous, and familiar to readers of Shakespeare from
Falstaff’s frequent resort thither. Goldsmith and Washington Irvine have
written on the Boar’s Head Tavern, which rose again after the Fire; the
sign of the later house is preserved in the Guildhall Museum.
King William Street was cut through various lanes, which are now dealt
with. At the north end in Gresham Place is Gresham Club, which was built
in 1844; the architect was Henry Flower. It is for merchants and City
men; the entrance fee is twenty guineas, annual subscription eight
guineas, and the membership is limited to 500. It is a grey stone
building with triangular stone pediments projecting over the upper
windows.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
ST. MARY WOOLNOTH
]
=St. Clement’s Lane= leads to St. Clement’s Church. I find a reference
to rents in Clement’s Lane in 1322. In 1371 the “good folk” of
Candelwyke Street and Clement’s Lane petitioned the mayor against
certain plumbers who proposed to melt their lead in a place hard by
called the Woodhaugh; they said that the vapours were noxious and even
fatal to human life, that trustworthy people would depose to the
mischief caused by inhaling these fumes, and that the shaft of the
furnace was too low. In the end the plumbers were allowed to go on with
their work, provided that they raised the shaft. In the lane was the
bank in which Samuel Rogers was a partner.
In Church Court, we come to the ancient graveyard of St. Clement, a
minute space with one great shapeless tomb in the centre of the asphalt
and a few small erect tombstones in the little border running inside the
railings.
ST. CLEMENT, EASTCHEAP
The Church of St. Clement was destroyed by the Great Fire, but
rebuilt by Wren in 1686, when St. Martin’s Orgar was annexed to it.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1309.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot and
Convent of Westminster, 1309; then Henry VIII., who seized it and
gave it to the Bishop of Westminster in 1540; next the Bishop of
London, by Mary, March 3, 1553-54, in whose successors it continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 271.
The present building measures 64 feet in length, 40 feet in breadth,
and 34 feet in height. It has one aisle on the south side, separated
from the rest of the church by two high-based columns. The square
tower at the south-west is built of brick, with stone dressings, and
contains three stories, with a cornice and balustrade above. The
total height is 88 feet.
Chantries were founded here: by John Chardeney for himself and
Margaret his wife, to which William Hocchepound was admitted
chaplain, July 23, 1371, at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
for William Ivery.
There were very few monuments in this church originally. In the west
window is a memorial to Thomas Fuller, the church historian, Bishop
Bryan Walton, and Bishop Pearson. Fuller and Pearson were lecturers
here for some time; the preaching of Pearson on the Creed and
Thirty-nine Articles made him famous. Walton, the compiler of the
Polyglot Bible, was created Bishop of Chester, 1660. The
stained-glass window on the southern side was erected in 1872 by the
Clothworkers’ Company in memory of Samuel Middlemore, who died in
1628, leaving a charitable bequest to the parish. Henry Purcell and
Jonathan Battishill, the musical composers, who were organists at
the church, are commemorated by brass tablets.
There were several gifts belonging to the parish, but the names of
the donors are not recorded by Stow.
Sir Thomas Gooch (1674-1754), Bishop of Bristol, of Norwich and of
Ely, was rector here.
=St. Nicholas Lane=, also one of the most ancient lanes in London. In
1258 we find that one Ralph was chaplain in the Church of St. Nicholas
Acon. In 1275 the church is endowed with a small rent; in 1279, a
testator bequeaths his “Stone house” in the lane; and in many subsequent
entries the lane is mentioned. The dedication of the church may possibly
indicate the date of its foundation. It was in the eleventh century that
the bones of St. Nicholas were brought from Myra in Asia Minor, then in
the hands of the Mohammedans, to Bari on the Adriatic, where they still
lie. There grew up quite suddenly an extraordinary belief in the power
of this saint. Pilgrimages were instituted, in which thousands flocked
to his tomb; miracles were multiplied at the sacred spot; the churches
without end were dedicated to his name of Nicholas. In England 372
churches are said to be named after him. It would be interesting to
learn the date of this dedication. May we, however, connect this saint
of Italian pilgrimage with the coming of Italian merchants to London?
St. Nicholas was the protector of sailors, virgins, and children.
Cunningham calls him also the protector of merchants, but of merchants
as sailors. His emblem was the three purses, round and filled with gold,
or the three golden balls. We may therefore at least assume that this
was the church of the “Lombards” and the financiers from Italy. The
churchyard still remains, a square patch of ground, railed in, very
similar to the generality of such quiet little spaces. It has asphalt
paths running in and out of stunted evergreen bushes. Nicholas Passage
runs on the south side, and near is the Acorn public-house, an old
house, with its sign of a huge gilt acorn hanging over the door.
=St. Nicholas Acon= was situated on the west side of Nicholas Lane,
near Lombard Street; it was burnt down in the Great Fire, and not
rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of St. Edmund the King and
Martyr, and its site turned into a burying-ground. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1250.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of Godwin: and Thurand
his wife gave it in 1084 to the Abbot and Convent of Malmesbury;
Henry VIII. seized it, 1542, and so it continued in the Crown up to
1666, when it was annexed to St. Edmund the King; since then the
patronage is alternately in the Crown and the Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Houseling people in 1548 were 154.
Johanna Macany, who left large legacies to the parish about 1452,
was buried in this church, also John Hall, Master of the Company of
Drapers; he died in 1618.
No legacies or gifts are recorded by Stow except that of Johanna
Macany, of which he gives full details.
Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester in 1554, was rector here.
Of =Birchin Lane= Stow says it should be Birchover Lane. It is also
spelt Berchernere and Borcherveres Lane. It is frequently mentioned in
the _Calendar of Wills_. In 1260 there is “land” in the lane; in 1285
there is a mansion house; there are a bakehouse and shops in 1319; in
1326, a tenement; twenty years later, other tenements; in 1358, a place
called “la Belle”; in 1363, lands and a tenement; and in 1372, tenements
in “Berchers” Lane. In 1386 and the following century we have it spelled
Birchin Lane. In 1348, Riley quotes the name as Bercherners Lane.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the lane was inhabited by
“fripperers,” _i.e._ old-clothes men. Here was Tom’s Coffee-house,
frequented by Garrick. Chatterton wrote a letter to his sister from this
house. In a court leading out of Birchin Lane is the George and Vulture,
a well-known tavern, which still preserves the custom of serving chops
and steaks on pewter.
=Abchurch Lane= gives its name to the church of St. Mary Abchurch,
which, according to Stow, is also Upchurch (see below). The parish of
Abchurch or Abbechurch is mentioned as early as 1272 and 1282, and
tenements in Abbechurch Lane are devised by a testator of the year 1297.
ST. MARY ABCHURCH
The additional name signifies “Up-church,” and is accounted for by
the position of the edifice on rising ground. The church was burnt
down by the Great Fire and rebuilt in 1686 from the designs of Sir
Christopher Wren, when the parish of St. Lawrence Pountney was
annexed. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1323.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency_.
ALTAR OF ST. MARY ABCHURCH
]
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior and
Convent of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, who exchanged it to the Master
and Wardens of Corpus Christi College near St. Lawrence Pountney,
1448; Henry VIII., who seized it in 1540, and so continued in the
Crown till Elizabeth, in 1568, granted it to Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, with whom it continued. Elizabeth’s grant was procured by
Archbishop Parker, who gave her the rectory of Penshurst in Kent, in
order that he might make over the patronage of a London living to
his old college.
Houseling people in 1548 were 368.
The church is almost square, measuring 63 feet in length and 60 feet
in breadth, and is surmounted by a cupola 51 feet in height
supported by pendentives attached to the walls; the latter is
decorated with painting by Sir James Thornhill. The altar-piece is
adorned with carving, which is considered to be some of Gibbon’s
finest work. The steeple consists of a tower of four stories,
finished by a cornice, and surmounted by a cupola, lantern, and
lead-covered spire, with ball and cross; the total height is about
140 feet. The building is of red brick with Portland stone
dressings.
Chantries were founded here: By and for Simon de Wynchecombe,
citizen and armourer, in the chapel of Holy Trinity, to which Robert
de Bruysor Chesterson was admitted, November 18, 1401—a licence was
granted by the King to found this, July 26, 1359; by John Lyttelton;
by Simon Wryght.
The church formerly contained monuments to Sir James Hawes and Sir
John Branch, mayors in 1574 and 1580; and to Master Roger Mountague,
“illustrious Precedent of Bounty and pious Industry.” Against the
eastern wall, there is a large monument to Sir Patience Ward, mayor
in 1680, and senior member for the City of London in the Convention
Parliament of 1688-89.
The parish had no legacies or charitable gifts of any considerable
amount. Mrs. Hyde gave £3 : 18s. for bread. The Merchant Taylors
Company (the gift of several benefactors) gave £16 : 19 : 6 for
coal.
=Sherborne Lane.=—Stow asserts that originally Langbourn Water,
“breaking out of the ground in Fenchurch Street, ran down the same
street, Lombard Street, to the west end of St. Mary Woolnoth’s church,
where, turning south and breaking into small shares, rills, or streams,
it left the name of Share-borne Lane,” or as he had also read it,
South-borne Lane, “because it ran south to the river Thames.” Wheatley
thinks that _Scrieburne_, from _scir_, a share (_sciran_, to divide), is
the more likely etymology. This “long bourne of sweet water,” Stow
further relates, “is long since stopped up at the head, and the rest of
the course filled up and paved over, so that no sign thereof remaineth
more than the names.” The existence of the stream indeed is more than
problematical. The lane is narrow, and now occupied wholly by business
premises more or less modern. The back of the City Carlton Club shows on
the west side, and near the north end is the narrow way into St.
Swithin’s Lane at the south end of the street (possibly Plough Alley);
and the back way into the old General Post Office “by the sign of the
Cock” (east side, north end), both shown in Strype’s 1754 map, have
vanished. The former is built up; the latter is occupied by King William
Street, which was cut clean through St. Mary Woolnoth’s churchyard and
the old General Post Office (formerly the residence of Sir Robert Vyner,
Lord Mayor, 1675). Before the Fire the General Postmaster lived “at his
house in Sherburne Lane neere Abchurch,” and hither “_The Carriers’
Cosmographie_, by John Taylor, the Water Poet,” written in 1637, bids
repair all who desired to send letters abroad or to various parts of the
kingdom.
The name occurs as early as A.D. 1300, and is very frequently referred
to in the _Calendar of Wills_, but under quite another form, viz. as
“Shiteburn Lane.” Stow’s derivation of “Sharebone” or “Southbone” Lane
will not, therefore, hold.
=St. Swithin’s Lane.=—Oxford Court in this lane was so called from John
de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, who died here in 1562.
As early as 1277 we find houses in St. Swithin’s Lane. In 1310 we find
turners of St. Swithin’s Lane.
The houses are of modern brick and stone, some of them are finished with
polished granite piers. The great richly wrought iron gates before the
courtyard of Salters’ Hall immediately attract attention. The hall
itself, built in 1823, is painted and stuccoed, and has a fine Ionic
portico. Salters’ Hall was used as a Presbyterian chapel in the reign of
William III.
THE SALTERS COMPANY
The first evidence of the existence of the Company is a Patent Roll
of 17 Richard II., 1394; but from documents in their possession,
there is every reason to believe that the Company had a much earlier
existence.
In 1454 Thomas Beamond, citizen and salter (at one time sheriff in
London), left to the wardens of the brotherhood and guild of the
Body of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Church of All Saints, Bread
Street, London, and their successors for ever, land in Bread Street,
whereon had recently been erected the “Salters’ Hall,” together with
other property, out of the rents and profits of which he directed
that the hall should be repaired or rebuilt as occasion might
require. This will also gave directions for certain religious
observances, and for the support of poor Salters in almshouses, etc.
At some time subsequently to 1454 an attempt was made to prove that
the religious guild and the Company of Salters were distinct
corporations, and that Mr. Beamond intended to bequeath the property
mentioned in his will to the spiritual body exclusively, but the
legal decision was that the religious guild and the Salters Company
were identical.
In the reign of Edward IV., 1465, ordinances were made for the good
government of the “Company of Salters”; and in a suit presented by
Lord Arundel against the Company (about the same time) it was proved
that the Company of Salters and the guild or fraternity mentioned in
the Patent Roll of Richard II. were identical corporations.
1507.—Ordinances were confirmed by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord
Treasurer, and the two Lord Chief Justices, to the wardens and
fellowship of the mystery and craft of Salters in the City of
London, and keepers of the fraternity of Corpus Christi in the
Church of Allhallows, Bread Street.
1530.—Arms were granted to the Company by Thomas Benolt,
Clarencieux. This deed of grant is in the Company’s possession.
1539.—The hall in Bread Street was burnt down, and rebuilt by the
Company.
1551.—In consideration of a large payment made by them King Edward
VI. reconveyed to the Company of Salters the whole of the annual
payments issuing out of their property in respect of superstitious
uses, which had been held forfeited to the Crown at the time of the
abolition of chantries in the reign of Henry VIII. (1545).
1559.—First charter of incorporation granted by Queen Elizabeth to
the “Keepers or Wardens and Commonalty of the art or mystery of
Salters, London.” About the same time some new ordinances were drawn
up and doubtless sanctioned by the proper authorities, which make
provision for the government of the guild, and prescribe oaths for
its various members and officers; and also conferred the right of
search in the premises of persons using the art or mystery of
Salters in the City of London and suburbs thereof, for unwholesome
merchandise and false weights and measures.
1607-1609.—Acts of Parliament passed in the reign of James I.,
confirming to the Company all their property.
In these years a fresh charter and statutes were granted by the
King.
1613 to 1619.—The Company’s Irish estate was acquired by payment to
the Crown of the sum of £5000 (being the twelfth part of £60,000
raised by the twelve chief companies) with the object of planting an
English and Scotch Protestant colony there.
1641.—Oxford House (with gardens), which formerly stood on the
present site of the Company’s hall and offices, was purchased with
corporate funds of the Company, and used as their hall: this was the
third, that left by Mr. Beamond (1454) having been destroyed by fire
and rebuilt about 1539.
1666.—The whole of the Company’s estate in London and the greater
part of their archives were destroyed by the “great fire,” whereby
heavy losses were entailed on them.
1684, 1685.—King James II. granted the Company another charter, but
the whole of these proceedings were rendered void by an Act passed
in the following reign, William and Mary, under which the Salters
Company, amongst others, were restored to their ancient rights,
privileges, and franchises.
1821, 1827.—The hall of the Company, erected after the Fire in 1666,
was taken down, and the existing building was erected, being the
fifth hall of the Company.
The application of salt to the preservation of food, and
particularly of fish for consumption in winter, must have given rise
to a distinct trade for that purpose in the earliest times; and, as
civilization advanced, the term “Salter” no doubt became more
extended in its commercial interpretation, until it included, as in
the present day, all persons trading wholly or partially in salt,
such as oilmen, drysalters, and druggists.
Salt manufacturers and merchants, oilmen, druggists, and grocers
(who made salt one of their trading commodities) have been and are
largely represented on the guild.
The number of liverymen is given as 183; the Corporate Income is
£20,000; the Trust Income is £2000.
The only advantage incident to the position of a freeman is a claim
for relief, if in pecuniary distress.
Liverymen are entitled to vote at the election for the office of
renter warden, of assistant, of master and of wardens; and, if free
of the City of London, for candidates for the office of Lord Mayor,
and for some officers of the corporation; also, if free of the City,
and resident within a radius of twenty-five miles, for members of
Parliament for the said City. All liverymen not in receipt of
pecuniary assistance are invited to entertainments of the Company,
and have a claim for relief should they fall into misfortune.
The present Salters’ Hall and garden, with some adjoining land, occupies
the site of the “fair and large built house” which Sir Robert Aguylum
devised in 1285-86 to the priors of Tortington in Sussex for their town
inn or mansion. The Dissolution brought it to the Crown, and Henry
VIII., in 1540, gave it to John de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Then it became
known as Oxford Place or House. Mary probably restored it; at all events
Elizabeth regranted it in 1573 to the Earldom of Oxford, then held by
Edward, grandson of John de Vere above named. The new tenant apparently
resided here in good style. Stow quaintly tells of his pomp. “He hath
been noted within these forty years to have ridden into this City, and
so to his house by London Stone, with 80 gentlemen in a livery of
Reading tawny, and chains of gold about their necks, before him, and one
hundred tall yeomen in the like livery to follow him, without chains but
all having his cognisance of the blue boat embroidered on their left
shoulder.” He appears not to have remained here long, for Sir Ambrose
Nicholas, salter, kept his mayoralty here in 1575, and Sir John Hart
dwelt here as Lord Mayor in 1589. Hart bought the place from the Earl,
who was then dissipating his great estates from motives of pique and
indignation against his father-in-law, Cecil, Lord Burleigh.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. H. Shepherd_.
SALTERS’ HALL, 1822
]
The house was sold to the feofees of the Salters Company in 1641. The
Great Fire of 1666 probably destroyed only a part of the great house
(Wilkinson in _Londina Illustrata_ goes too far in maintaining that the
building wholly escaped, but is probably nearer right than those who say
it was quite destroyed), statements to the contrary notwithstanding,
for, at the request of the Bishop of London, the parishioners of St.
Swithin’s assembled in the long parlour for worship whilst their church
was building, and several of the companies held their courts here until
their halls had risen from the ashes. The destroyed portion, perhaps
indeed the whole, and the wall of the great garden, and some adjoining
houses, were rebuilt about this time by the Company and their tenants.
The history of the Salters’ Hall has already been told.
In 1687 a congregation of “protestant dissenters” took from the Company,
on moderate terms, a lease of certain ground on which part of Oxford
House had stood before the Fire. Here they built their meeting-house,
where Mr. Mayo preached until his death in 1695, drawing, by his
eloquence, congregations so large that it is said even the windows were
crowded when he preached. William Long, writer for Matthew Henry’s
_Commentary_, was minister in 1702. In 1716 he and Mr. John Newman,
popular with the congregation, became co-pastors. In 1719 the general
body of dissenting ministers met here to discuss means for stopping the
spread of Arianism. “You that are against subscribing to a declaration
as a test of orthodoxy, come upstairs,” cried the Arians and the
private-judgment men of a stormy synod. “And you that are for declaring
your faith in the doctrine of the Trinity, stay below,” replied Mr.
Bradbury of New Court. A count showed fifty-seven to have gone up, and
fifty-three to have remained down, giving the “scandalous majority” of
four. Arianism meanwhile had become the coffee-house topic of the town.
In March 1726 Long died, and Newman became sole pastor till his death in
1741. In the reign of William III., Robert Bragge started a “Lord’s Day
evening lecture,” popular for many years, but afterwards removed by the
originator to his meeting-house in Lime Street. The celebrated Thomas
Bradbury shortly afterwards revived it at Salters’ Hall Chapel, and for
more than twenty years delivered it to crowded audiences. Samuel Baker
continued it on Bradbury’s resignation in 1725. Presbyterians of some
eminence followed him, as Dr. William Prior, Dr. Abraham Rees, Dr.
Philip Furneaux, and Hugh Farmer (1761), the writer of an exposition on
demonology and miracles, which aroused sharp controversy. When the
Salters determined to rebuild their hall, they gave the congregation
notice to quit by Lady Day 1821. Whereupon the congregation acquired
premises in Oxford Court, upon the site of which they erected a handsome
new meeting-house completed in 1822. But the glory of the place as a
dissenting centre was departing, and the Presbyterians abandoned it.
Then came some erratic fanatics who called themselves “The Christian
Evidence Society,” and their meeting-house was “Areopagus.” Their leader
went bankrupt and the experiment collapsed. In 1827 the Baptists
reopened the place, and remained there for some years, but, shortly
before 1870, removed to Islington, where to this day the “Salters’ Hall”
Chapel in the Baxter Road preserves the memory of the struggles,
quarrels, and triumphs of the old City meeting-house. In Tom Brown’s
_Laconics_ (1709) is this allusion: “A man that keeps steady to one
party, though he happens to be in the wrong, is still an honest man. He
that goes to a Cathedral in the morning, and Salters’ Hall in the
afternoon, is a rascal by his own confession.”
In _Hudibras Redivivus_ (1706) this is found:
I thumb’d o’er many factious Reams,
Of canting Lies, and Poets’ Dreams,
All stuffed as full of Low-Church Manners,
As e’er was Salters’ Hall with Sinners.
On the south side of St. Swithin’s Lane is Founders’ Hall. The hall is
on the first floor, and there are shops below. The building is of stone
with pilasters running up the front, and the coat-of-arms is over the
door, which has a very projecting cornice. The hall was rebuilt 1877. On
the north side of Salters’ Hall is New Court showing through behind a
covered entry. The opposite side of St. Swithin’s Lane seems to contain
the offices of an absolutely unlimited number of companies. The court,
opening out of it, consists of uninteresting earth brick houses shut in
by an iron gate. The City Carlton Club is in Nos. 28 and 29. It is a
Conservative Club, with fifteen-guinea entrance fee, and eight-guinea
subscription. The building is of stone with a porch over the door. There
are bay windows with polished granite columns. Richard Roberts was the
architect.
THE FOUNDERS COMPANY
The Founders Company existed as a “Mistery” prior to the year 1365,
as appears from a petition to the City of London from the “Good Men
of the Mistery of the Founders of the City of London.” This petition
is to be found in the Letter Books at Guildhall, and the entry is
also evidence that ordinances were granted on the 29th July, 39
Edward III. The Company possesses no copy of these ordinances.
In the year 1389 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 512), certain “good folks
of the trade of Founders” made plaint to the mayor and aldermen as
to the bad work put into candlesticks, stirrups, buckles, and other
things, and they prayed that certain ordinances which they submitted
should be accepted by the mayor and made law. Among these ordinances
was one to the effect that two or three masters should be chosen and
sworn to guard and oversee the trade.
In Williams’ _History_ of this Company (1867) he gives the above
petition word for word under the date of 1365. It is certain from
this document, as with many other Companies, that as yet the
Fraternity of Founders had no power or authority to enforce good
work on pains and penalties.
They were incorporated January 1, 1614, for a master, 2 wardens, 15
assistants, and 100 liverymen. At present the number of the livery
is 79; their Corporate Income is £1855; their Trust Income is £102;
and their Hall is in St. Swithin’s Lane. The original home of the
Founders was that part of London north of Lothbury.
The name of Founders’ Court marks the site; this was formerly the
lane which led through the Company’s buildings to a garden beyond;
the buildings stretched from St. Margaret Street to Coleman Street,
Moorgate Street not then existing. This hall was burnt down in the
Great Fire and rebuilt. The Company let off portions of their hall,
and in 1853 let the whole on a long lease and bought a house in St.
Swithin’s Lane, on the site of which they built their present hall
in 1877.
ST. SWITHIN’S CHURCH
St. Swithin, to whom this church is dedicated, was Bishop of
Winchester and Chancellor to King Egbert. Formerly the usual
designation of the church was St. Swithin’s in Candlewick Street,
but Newcourt (1708) states that St. Swithin, London Stone, was
becoming the more common title. The stone at that time stood on the
south side of the road opposite to the church. No record exists of
the original foundation of the church. Probably it was built soon
after the death of St. Swithin in 862, or at any rate before A.D.
1000. It is mentioned in the taxation book of Pope Nicholas IV. in
1291. The first rector given by Newcourt is Robert de Galdeford, who
resigned in 1331. In 1420 licence was obtained to rebuild and
enlarge the church and steeple, and Sir John Hend, Lord Mayor, 1391
and 1404, was, says Stow, “an especial benefactor thereunto, as
appeareth by his arms in the glass windows, even in the tops of
them.” The hall of the Drapers Company was at that time Sir John
Hend’s house in St. Swithin’s Lane. The church thus rebuilt
consisted of a chancel and a nave separated from the north and south
aisles by pillars. There was a chapel of St. Katherine and St.
Margaret. From the date of rebuilding it is evident that the style
of the architecture was Early Decorated. The maps of Aggas (1560)
and Newcourt (1658) agree in showing a small battlemented church,
with a square battlemented tower (without spire) at the west end and
level with the street. In 1607-1608 the church was “fully beautified
and finished at the cost and charge of the parishioners.” It was
again repaired shortly before the Great Fire, when £1000 was spent
upon it. The church was burnt down in the Great Fire, and rebuilt by
Wren in 1678, when the neighbouring parish of St. Mary Bothaw was
annexed. In 1869 and 1879 it was entirely “rearranged.”
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Sir Robert Aguylum,
Knt., who gave it by will dated February 28, 1285, to Richard, Earl
of Arundel, who has licence from the King to assign it to the Prior
and Convent of Tortington, June 21, 1367; the Prior and Convent of
Tortington, Sussex, in whose successors it continued up to 1538,
when Henry VIII. seized it and granted it June 8, 1536, to John de
Vere, Earl of Oxford, who sold it, 1561, to John Hart, citizen and
alderman of London, who gave it to George Bolles (his son-in-law),
citizen of London, from whose descendants it was purchased about
1683; the Salters Company, in whose successors it continued up to
1666, when the parish of St. Mary Bothaw was annexed, and the
patronage shared alternately with the Dean and Chapter of
Canterbury; Elizabeth Beachcroft presented to it in 1765, the
Salters Company having parted with their share of the patronage.
Houseling people in 1548 were 320.
The church measures 61 feet in length, 42 feet in breadth, and 41
feet in height. It is surmounted by an octagonal cupola, divided by
bands, and powdered with stars on a blue ground. The tower, which
rises at the north-west, is square but contracted at the top into an
octagonal shape. Above this a simple spire rises with a ball and
vane. The total height is 150 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By Roger de Depham at the Altar of SS.
Katherine and Margaret, to which William de Kyrkeby was presented,
November 5, 1361—in 1548 the mayor and commonalty of London paid to
carry out the object of Roger de Depham’s will, £5 : 6 : 8; by
William Newe, who endowed it with lands, etc., which fetched £17 :
8 : 4, when John Hudson was priest; by James de Sancto Edmund, who
left five marks per annum for an endowment in 1312; by Geoffrey
Chittick, who gave lands to endow it which fetched £13 : 6 : 8 in
1548, when Sir Roger Butte was priest; by John Betson, who endowed
it with all his lands in this parish, which yielded £13 : 6 : 8 in
1548, when Richard Hudson was priest.
Sir John Hart and Sir George Bolles, patrons of the church, were
both buried here, but their monuments perished in the Great Fire.
There is a large tablet affixed to a column on the north side of the
church commemorating Michael Godfrey, first deputy governor of the
Bank of England; he was slain in 1695 by a cannon ball at Namur,
whither he was sent on business to King William’s camp.
In 1663 Dryden was married here to Lady Elizabeth Howard.
Only two charities are recorded by Stow: 12d. per week in bread,
50s. per annum in coals for the poor, the gift of Henry Hobener;
£10 : 10s. for a weekly lecture, the gift of Thomas Wetnal.
The parish churchyard is situated in Salters’ Hall Court, by which it is
separated from the church. It is elevated above the court and contains
two trees, two or three bushes and shrubs, and a few tombstones. Across
it is a right-of-way to the premises of the National Telephone Company,
to which it has the appearance of being a garden.
=George Street= was anciently Bearbinder Lane. Riley notes
“Berbynderslane” in the City records so early as 1358. It was renamed
George Street within the nineteenth century. If Charlotte Row, west of
the Mansion House, was so called in honour of Queen Charlotte, surely
this was rechristened in honour of George III., whom she married in
1761. It is quite small compared with its former extent, for it once ran
from Walbrook past the south side of St. Mary Woolchurch into St.
Swithin’s Lane, and also had a northern limb, passing the west end of
Dove Court, into Lombard Street. Now the Mansion House stands upon all
the old course west of Walbrook churchyard, and the northern limb is
built over. This was the fatal spot where the plague of 1665 first made
its appearance within the City. Defoe, in his history of the dire
disease, relates how a Frenchman living in Long Acre, near the
plague-stricken houses, moved hither “for fear of the distemper.” Alas!
he was already stricken, and in the beginning of May he died, the first
victim within the City walls. Strype calls Bearbinder Lane “a place of
no great account as to trade: well inhabited by merchants and others.”
In his time about thirty yards at the east end were reckoned in
Langbourn ward, and apparently also most of the northern arm. It now
belongs wholly to Walbrook ward, and is merely a narrow passage
containing no houses older than the nineteenth century.
We now take =Walbrook=, leaving Cannon Street to be dealt with
subsequently. The memory of the stream of the Walbrook coming down from
the heights to the north is preserved in the name of this short street.
In 1279 and in 1290 we find that there were houses on the banks of the
stream. In the year 1307, there was one William le Marischale living
beside the stream. It must have been almost impossible, even then, to
live near the stream, because it was a common open sewer with latrines
built over it. These were farmed by certain persons. Part of the stream,
however, was covered over by the year 1300; it was not till the close of
the sixteenth century that it was completely covered over. Empson and
Dudley, the instruments of Henry VII.’s extortions, lived in Walbrook;
and later Sir Christopher Wren is said to have lived here at the house
afterwards No. 5.
The modern street is chiefly composed of ordinary stone-faced business
houses. But on the west side are three charming seventeenth-century
buildings of mellow red brick, Nos. 10, 11, and 12. On the centre one is
a stone tablet supported by brackets, and covered by a projecting
cornice; this bears date 1668. A little farther up on the opposite side
an eighteenth-century brick house stands over the entry to Bond Court.
The doorway immediately opposite the entry is a nice piece of woodwork.
There are also one or two doorways of different designs in the northern
part of the court. These belong to old houses, though those buildings on
the west facing them are quite modern.
Returning to the street, the ornamental front of the City Liberal Club,
founded 1874, draws attention to itself. The front is of light stone
with the windows and doorway framed in granite. Farther north on the
same side is Ye Olde Deacons Tavern, next door to Bell Court, a narrow
passage of no particular interest. Representations of almost every trade
occupy the street; it contains two great houses let in flats, one of
which, Worcester House, seems to be especially given up to the offices
of company promoters.
ST. STEPHEN, WALBROOK
St. Stephen, Walbrook, stands at the back of the Mansion House. It
was formerly often called St. Stephen-upon-Walbrook, from the fact
that its first site was actually upon the bank of the stream so
named. There is only one other church in the City dedicated to St.
Stephen, viz. St. Stephen, Coleman Street. The date of its
foundation is not known, but it dates back at least as far as the
reign of Henry I.; Eudo Dapifer’s gift of it to his Abbey of St.
John, Colchester, in 1096, being the earliest reference to it. It
was rebuilt early in Henry VI.’s reign, chiefly through the agency
of Robert Chicheley, Lord Mayor in 1411 and 1421. It was totally
consumed by the Fire, and rebuilt by Wren in 1672, when the
neighbouring parish of St. Benet Sherehog was annexed. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1315.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Eudo, Steward to
Henry I., who gave it to the Abbot and Convent of St. John,
Colchester, who held it up to 1422; John, Duke of Bedford, who sold
it in 1432 to Sir Robert Whytingham, Knt., who gave it to Richard
Lee in 1460, who gave it in 1502 to the Grocers Company, in whose
successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 250.
This church is, after St. Paul’s Cathedral, considered Wren’s
masterpiece. It is oblong in shape, traversed by four rows of
Corinthian columns, which divide it into five aisles, of which the
central is the broadest; it is crowned by a circular dome supported
on eight arches. The effect thus produced of the circle springing
from an octagonal base is especially graceful. The building measures
82½ feet in length, 59½ feet in width, and the height to the dome is
63 feet, to the ceiling of the side aisles 36 feet. The tower
contains four stories; upon it the steeple is placed, tapering to a
spirelet with finial and vane; the total height is about 130 feet.
Against the wall of the north transept is a picture of St. Stephen
being carried from the scene of his martyrdom; this is by Benjamin
West, P.R.A., and is generally considered his best work; it was
presented by the rector, Dr. Wilson, and put up in 1776, though it
then stood over the reredos.
Chantries were founded here: By Lettice Lee, whose endowment fetched
£14 : 10s. in 1548; by William Adams, who left £126 : 13 : 4 as an
endowment for a priest to sing for his soul “as long as the money
would endure”—this in 1548 was in the hands of one named Myller of
Lynn, Norfolk.
The church originally contained a monument in memory of Sir Thomas
Pope, the founder of Trinity College, Oxford. The oldest monument
is one in memory of John Lilbourne, citizen and grocer of London,
who died in 1678. On the north wall two physicians are
commemorated—Nathaniell Hodges, who wrote a treatise on the
Plague, and died in 1688; and Percival Gilbourne, who died 1694.
In 1726 Sir John Vanbrugh the architect was interred here; he was
also a playwright.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
ST. STEPHEN, WALBROOK
]
According to Stow, the parish possessed £100 per annum, employed in
repairing the church, etc., the exact uses of which were unknown. He
records a legacy of £20 per annum for charitable uses left by one
named Dickenson.
Henry Chicheley, L.L.D. (d. 1443), Archbishop of Canterbury, was a
rector here; also Thomas Wilson (1703-84), author of the _History of
St. Margaret’s_; John Kite (d. 1537), Archbishop of Armagh; and
Thomas Howell (1588-1646), Bishop of Bristol.
The Church of St. Stephen stood on the west side of the original course
of Walbrook stream. Over the new course of the stream a “covering” or
small bridge was made for access to the church, and in 1300 the
parishioners were found, by inquisition before the mayor, to be under
the obligation of repairing it. Little is known of this building; that
it possessed a belfry is shown from an entry in the coroner’s roll of
1278, which records the death of one William le Clarke, who, having gone
pigeon-nesting in the belfry, accidentally fell as he was climbing the
beams, and so ruptured and crushed his body on one of them that he died.
The fatal beam was thereupon “appraised at four pence, and two
neighbours nearest to the church were attached, each by two sureties, to
see the fine or deodand paid” (Riley’s _Memorials of London_, p. 13).
The “parsonage house,” before the Great Fire, stood, Stow tells us, on
the site of the first church, next to the course of the Walbrook. It was
rebuilt by one Jerome Raustorne (or Rawstorne) upon a lease of forty
years, commencing 1674, and by this, Newcourt says, was “reserved to the
parson £17 a year ground-rent.” The parish at this time enjoyed an
income of £100 a year, and with part of this, supplemented by sums of
money received from leases, and from compensations for encroachments and
new “lights” made upon the churchyard at the rebuilding of the City
after the Fire, the Vestry determined to build a new rectory house. The
leave of the Grocers Company, as patrons, and a faculty from the Bishop
of London, dated 1692-93, having been obtained, the new house was built
(between 1693 and 1708) adjoining the west end of the church by the
tower on a piece of ground, about 20 feet square, previously occupied by
a portion of the ante-Fire edifice. It was considered that the rector
had a title to some portion of the ground, and to half the compensation
money paid for new lights, and accordingly it was provided that in case
the rector or any of his successors should find it inconvenient or
inadvisable to live in the house, then the Vestry should let the same
from year to year, the parish to have two-thirds of the rental, and the
remaining third to go to the rector. This house is still standing, but
is let out for offices, the rector living at Brockley. It is a quaint
and small house, which almost touches the church wall at the back. Two
of its rooms stand over the church porch. The original staircase and
panelled walls remain. It is the only old house standing on the east
side of Walbrook. The churchyard is situated at the east end of the
church. It has a round flower-bed in the centre, two trees, and several
bushes, and is kept in excellent order. It is entered from Church Row by
an iron gate, and from the church by the door in the east wall.
The Mansion House occupies the sites of Stocks Market and St. Mary
Woolchurch Haw.
ST. MARY WOOLCHURCH HAW
This church was situated on the eastern side of the market. It
probably derived its name “Woolchurch” from the fact that a beam was
erected in the churchyard for the weighing of wool. It was probably
built about the time of William I. by one Hubert de Ria, founder of
the Abbey of St. John in Colchester. His son Eudo Dapifer, Steward
to the Conqueror, endowed his newly-built Abbey and Convent of St.
John, Colchester, with it. The charter of foundation (1096) calls it
St. Mary de Westcheping, or Newchurch, and states that Ailward Gross
the priest held the living by gift of Hubert de Ria. The exact words
are these, and constitute the earliest mention of the church:
[Illustration:
_Photochrom Co., Ltd._
THE MANSION HOUSE AND CHEAPSIDE
]
_Et ecclesiam S. Mariae de Westcheping, London, quae vocatur
Niewecherche, concedente Ailwardo Grosso, presbytero qui in eadem
ecclesia et donatione antecessoris mei Huberti de Ria personatum
consecutus fuerat_ (Newcourt 1. p. 459).
In the “Taxatio Ecclesiastica” of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) occurs
reference to _ecclesia Sancte Marie de Wolchurche hawe_, indicating
that the names of St. Mary de Westcheping and Niewecherche had alike
disappeared to give place to a title in some way derived from the
wool staple and market. This is Stow’s etymology of the name. Mr. J.
H. Round doubts the theory; he suggests that this St. Mary’s was a
daughter-church to St. Mary Woolnoth (_Athenæum_, August 17, 1889,
p. 223) (Woollen-hithe-hatch, or haw). This would give as the full
and new name of our “Niewecherche” St. Mary-in-Woollenhaw,
Church-Haw, and by contraction St. Mary Woolchurch Haw. It is
actually styled St. Mary Wolmaricherch in 1280-81, which certainly
appears to support Mr. Round’s theory.
The first rector given by Newcourt is John Dyne, who resigned in
1382. By licence granted 1442 (20 Henry VI.), the church was
rebuilt; the new building stood farther south than the old, in
accordance with a condition imposed by the licence, which ordained
it to be 15 feet from the Stocks Market “for sparing of light to the
same.” The foundation stone of this new building was discovered when
digging the foundations of the Mansion House in 1739.
The stone was drawn by R. West, engraved by Toms, and relegated to
an obscurity from which it has never since emerged: its whereabouts
is unknown. The new church, whose foundation was laid on May 4,
1442, is described by Stow as “reasonably fair and large.”
The church was destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt, its
parish being annexed to the neighbouring one of St. Mary Woolnoth.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1349.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Hubert de Ria,
father of Eudo, Steward of the Conqueror’s household; Abbot and
Convent of St. John, Colchester, being the gift of Eudo; Henry VIII.
seized it, and thus it continued in the Crown until the church was
burnt down and the parish annexed to St. Mary Woolnoth, of which the
Crown shares the alternate patronage.
Houseling people in 1548 were 360.
Chantries were founded here by: Anne Cawood, at the Altar of St.
Nicholas, whose endowment fetched £8 in 1548, when Henry Cockes was
priest, and to which John Chamberlayne was admitted June 2, 1525;
Roger Barlow, whose endowment fetched £3 : 6 : 8 in 1548, which was
spent on maintaining the Cawood chantry: by Godwine le Hodere in
1313 for himself and his wife, for which the King granted his
licence July 8, 1321.
The church formerly contained monuments to several benefactors,
amongst whom were John Winger, mayor in 1504, donor of £20 for
church purposes; Richard Shaw, sheriff in 1505, and donor of £20.
Stow records that the list of legacies and gifts was too long for
the churchwardens to give account of in their parochial visitation
of 1693, but that it could be seen in the parish registers.
William Fuller (1608-75), Bishop of Lincoln, was rector here.
Of the =Wool Haw= it is interesting to know: “They set up a beam for the
tronage or weighing of wool in the churchyard of St. Mary, Westcheping,
which was henceforth known as the Wool Haw or yard, and became a wool
market. The date is not known, but it was before 1275 (‘S. Mary de
Wolcherche’ occurs in a will of 1265 (see _Calendar of Wills_, vol. i.
p. 26)). ‘Les Customes de Wolchirchaw’ as ordained in the reign of
Edward I., were as follows (_Liber Albus_, p. 216):—‘For one pound of
wool (sold) to a foreigner (non-freeman) one halfpenny; and for one
sack, only one halfpenny. For two woolfels and more, one halfpenny, and
for one hundred only one halfpenny. For one pound of woolen yarn, one
halfpenny; for one hundred only one halfpenny. If any foreigner brings
wool, woolfels, or yarn through the city for sale, to the value of ten
pence and more, he shall pay as custom one farthing.’
“The weighing of wool was continued here until 1383 (6 Richard II.) when
John Churchman, having built the Custom House upon Wool Quay (Tower
Ward) the tronage was discontinued in this spot” (Strype).
When the watercourse of the Walbrook was open, there was a bridge over
it at the junction of Walbrook, Broad Street, and Cheap wards. At the
east side of the Mansion House, running from Mansion House Street to
Church Row, is Mansion House Place. It contains only the sides of
buildings.
Previously to the erection of the Mansion House, Mansion House Place
formed merely the east side of Stocks Market, and was planted with rows
of trees. On the east, about the middle, was a court, and in it, says
Strype (1720), “a good large house, the habitation of Godfrey Woodward,
one of the attorneys of the Sheriff’s court.” Strype’s map shows the
position of the court, which opened into a fair-sized quadrangle.
=Stocks Market.=—In Plantagenet London the Westcheping (Westcheping
comprised at least the present Cheapside, Poultry, and Mansion House
Street) had an open space, “very large and broad,” where the Mansion
House now stands. South of the space was St. Mary Woolchurch Haw,
already described; in the space itself a pair of stocks for punishment
of offenders. By patent of Edward I., in 1282, Henry Waley, several
times mayor, built sundry houses in the City, whose profits were
destined for the maintenance of London Bridge. The void space by the
Woolchurch he built and otherwise turned into a market, known as “Les
Stokkes,” otherwise Stocks Market, sometimes Woolchurch Market. He
appointed it a market-place for fish and flesh. The keepers of the
bridge let out the stalls to fishmongers and butchers for term of their
lives, until 1312-13, when John de Gisors, mayor, and the whole
commonalty decreed that life-leases should not be granted in future
without the consent of the mayor and commonalty (for full text of the
decree see Strype, 1754 ed.). In 1322, Edward II. sent Letters Patent
from the Tower commanding that no one should sell fish or flesh save in
the markets of Bridgestreet, Eastcheap, Old Fish Street, St. Nicholas
Shambles, and Stocks Market—a first offence to be punished by forfeiture
of such fish or flesh as was sold, second offence by loss of freedom;
and it was accordingly thus decreed by the mayor, Hamo de Chigwell. The
rents of the market at that time amounted to £46 : 13 : 4 per annum.
Foreigners, _i.e._ non-freemen, were allowed to sell in this “house
called the Stocks,” but under conditions. None might cut meat after 2
P.M. rung at St. Paul’s; meat cut and remaining unpurchased at that time
was all to be sold by vespers, “without keeping any back or carrying any
away.” In 1320 three alleged “foreigners” were accused of selling their
pork and beef by candlelight, after curfew had rung at St.
Martin’s-le-Grand. One did not appear to defend himself, one
acknowledged his offence; the meat of both was forfeited. The third
contended that he possessed the City freedom, and his meat was returned
to him (Riley, _Memorials of London_).
The “butchers of the Stokkes” were jealous of their honour. In 1331 they
petitioned Sir John Pountney, mayor, and the aldermen, that ordinance
should be made against certain abuses. Their prayer was granted;
henceforth no butcher having once or twice failed in payment should
trade in the market until he had paid his debts. The trade had evidently
got into bad repute owing to insolvent butchers. Likewise no “foreigner”
was to sell by retail in the market; no butcher to “take another’s man”
except such man had paid his former master that he owed him, otherwise
the new master was to be held responsible for his servant. Also that
butchers of the market who had bought their freedom should be obliged to
live in the City. Hitherto some of them had dwelt in Stratford, and had
thus avoided bearing “their part in the franchise of the City.”
Infringement of the ordinance was punishable by a fine of 40s. payable
to the Chamber of London (Riley, _ibid._).
[Illustration:
STOCKS MARKET
]
By degrees the flesh and fish trade centred hereabouts overflowed into
the King’s highway from Cheap conduit to the market, and became an
obstruction. The common serjeant complained to the mayor and aldermen in
1345. As a result, ordinary butchers, poulterers, and fishmongers were
to confine their operations to their houses and shops: market men to
sell within the market. On fish days the fishmongers were to occupy the
market enclosure, and the butchers the pent-house adjoining; on flesh
days the enclosure was for the butchers, and the pent-house for the
fishmongers. Obstruction of the highway henceforth entailed forfeiture
of goods exposed for sale. That same year the common serjeant found
three butchers selling from stalls in the highway of Poultry, and
confiscated their meat (Riley, _ibid._).
The butchers of the “Stokkes” gave £17 to Edward III. for the carrying
on of the French Wars. This was a large contribution, showing their
prosperous condition. Their brethren, St. Nicholas Shambles, gave only
£9, those of West Cheap only £8; the greater Companies £20 to £40, the
lesser mostly below £7. This old market was under strict supervision. In
1319 the market wardens cited one William Sperlyng for offering two
putrid beef carcases for sale. A jury of twelve pronouncing the carcases
putrid as alleged, the unhappy man was ordered to be put in the pillory
and to have the two carcases burned beneath him (Riley), as in the case
of the pork butcher already mentioned. In 1351 one Henry de Passelewe,
cook, was cited before the commonalty on a charge of selling at the
Stocks a pasty in which the two capons baked therein were “putrid and
stinking, and an abomination to mankind: to the scandal, contempt and
disgrace of all the City,” and the manifest peril of the life of the
purchaser. Passelewe contended that when sold the capons were “good,
well-flavoured, fitting and proper.” However, eight good and trusty
cooks pronounced them “stinking and rotten, and baneful to the health of
man.” So poor Passelewe was sentenced to the pillory, the offensive
pasty to be carried before him, and a proclamation to be made as to the
reason of his punishment.
Considerable prejudice existed against non-freemen using the market. In
1382 Adam Carlelle, late alderman of Aldgate, approached the places of
the “foreign fishmongers” and “in a haughty and spiteful manner cursed
the said strangers, saying that he did not care who heard it or knew of
it, but that it was a great mockery and badly ordained than such ribalds
as those should sell their fish in the City, and further that he would
rather a fishmonger who was his neighbour in the City should make 20s.
by him, than such a ribald barlelle was adjudged to have thus expressed
contempt for the command of the king and the ordinance of the City, and
was excluded from ever holding any offices of dignity in the City”
(Riley, _Memorials_).
In 1410 (2 Henry IV.) it was found necessary to rebuild the market, and
the work was completed in the next year. The annual rents were valued at
£56 : 19 : 6 in 1507, an increase of £10 on 185 years. In 1543, only 36
years later, the sum reached £82 : 3s. per annum. The market must have
been fully let at that time: fishmongers had 25 stalls, producing £34 :
13 : 4 in rent; the butchers rented 18 stalls at £41 : 16 : 4; there
were also 16 upper chambers rented at £5 : 13 : 4—total £82 : 3s. per
annum (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 243, 1754).
In 1509 (1 Henry VIII.) the dwellers about the Stocks obtained leave of
the Common Council to substitute for a leaden water-pipe at the
south-east of the market a stone conduit, or, as it is called in the
petition, “a portico of stone, with a cesterne of lead therein” from
which water was “to bee drawne out by cocks.” Time wrought changes in
the market and its uses. After the Great Fire, the fishmongers and most
of the butchers gave place to the sellers of fruits, roots, and herbs.
It was of note, says Strype (1720), “for having the choicest in the kind
of all sorts, surpassing all other markets in London.” The post-Fire
market was increased by the addition of the sites of St. Mary Woolchurch
Haw and its churchyard, the sites of three houses belonging to the
parish, purchased for £350, and of the site of the rectory house,
obtained at a perpetual rental of £10 per annum. Thus the new market was
230 feet from north to south, and 108 feet from east to west, measured
at the middle; besides the open roadways or passages on the west and
east sides. The eastern side was planted with “rows of trees, very
pleasant.” The market-place itself had twenty-two covered fruit stalls,
most of them at the north side; two ranges of covered butchers’ stalls,
with racks, blocks, and scales, in the south-east corner; the remaining
space was occupied by gardeners and others who sold “fruits, roots,
herbs, and flowers” (Strype, 1720). Well might Shadwell ask in his _Bury
Fair_ (1689), “Where is such a garden in Europe as the Stocks Market?”
Here follows an amusing description of it taken from a paper called _The
Wandering Spy_ (1705):
“I saw Stocks Market, all garnished with nuts, and pears, and grapes,
and golden pippins, all in rank and file most prettily. And then on the
other side for physic herbs there is enough to furnish a whole country,
from the nourishing Eringo, to the destructive Savine, where a man may
buy as much for a penny as an apothecary will afford for half-a-crown,
and do a man twice as much good as their specific bolusses, hipnotic
draughts, sudorific hausteses, anodyne compositions, and twenty other
flip-flops with hard names, which only disorder the body, put nature
into convulsions, and prepare a man for the sexton. But here a man may
consult a female doctor in a straw hat without fee, have what quantity
he pleases, of what herb he pleases, be his distemper what it will, and
convert it into a juice, concoction, syrup, purge, or glister, in a
quarter of an hour, without any danger to body or pocket” (Malcolm,
_Londinium Redivium_).
Oak Apple Day, 1672, was a gala day for the market. Then it was that Sir
Robert Vyner inaugurated the “nobly great statue of King Charles II. on
horseback” which he had, at his own charge, caused to be set upon the
conduit at the north end of the same. The King was represented in
armour, his head uncovered; the horse trampled beneath its feet the
fallen form of Oliver Cromwell. The whole, which was of white marble,
stood upon a freestone pedestal 18 feet high, carved with the royal arms
and niches containing dolphins. Handsome iron gates and rails enclosed
this loyal tribute to a great king. That day the market conduit ran with
wine; three years afterwards Sir Robert Vyner was Lord Mayor. Alas! the
glory of the statue, as of the monarch it portrayed, was short-lived. It
was soon criticised as a clumsy work, and the revelation of its history
turned it into a laughing-stock. Early in the eighteenth century it was
discovered that the loyal Vyner had found somewhere abroad a statue of
John Sobieski, King of Poland, conqueror of the Turks at Choozim. The
statue represented the King’s horse trampling on a Turk. It lay on the
sculptor’s hands. Sir Robert, seeing the means of paying his sovereign a
compliment without great expense, obtained the statue, and secured
Latham to substitute the head of Charles for that of the Pole. The
downtrodden Turk was christianised into Cromwell, only, unfortunately,
Latham omitted to alter the Turk’s turban, which remained intact and
incongruous upon Oliver’s head, and served as a confirmation of the
story. There is a lampoon on the statue worth quoting. It occurs in Lord
Rochester’s _History of the Insipids_ (1676):
Could Robert Vyner have foreseen
The glorious triumphs of his master,
The Woolwich Statue gold had been,
Which now is made of alabaster:
But wise men think had it been wood
’Twere for a bankrupt king too good.
When Stocks conduit was removed, the “ridiculous statue” was relegated
to the rubbish heaps of Guildhall; finally the Common Council granted it
to Mr. Robert Vyner, a descendant of Sir Robert, in 1779, and it was
taken by its new owner to adorn his country seat at Gantly Park,
Lincolnshire. The year 1737 saw the end of Stocks Market in this place.
On March 12 the sheriffs petitioned the House of Commons to remove it to
Fleet Ditch, and to erect the Mansion House upon its site. Their prayer
was granted; the market was removed at Michaelmas 1737, and the ancient
market-place was enclosed with a broad fence. In its new home the name
which it had borne for 255 years was lost, and it became known as the
Fleet Market. At Michaelmas 1829, exactly 82 years after its removal, it
was closed and the site cleared to form Farringdon Street. St.
Christopher le Stocks, so called from its proximity to the market, stood
on part of the site of the present Bank of England. Seven streets now
meet before the Bank and pour forth omnibuses, cabs, and other vehicles
in an endless stream of traffic. Below are the white-bricked subways of
the electric railway which form a safe crossing for those who cannot
ford the river of traffic.
=St. Christopher le Stocks= stood on the north side of Threadneedle
Street in the ward of Broad Street. The date of its foundation is
unknown. The building was much injured by the Great Fire and
subsequently repaired. In 1780, after the Gordon Riots, it was taken
down and its site is now covered by part of the Bank of England. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1280.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The family of Nevil
in 1281; the Bishop of London, 1415, in whose successors it
continued up to 1783.
Houseling people in 1548 were 221.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
BANK OF ENGLAND FOUNTAIN
]
The church originally contained monuments to Robert Thorne, a donor
of £4445 to the parish for charitable uses; William Hampton, mayor,
1472, and great benefactor, and other donors. Few of these were to
be seen after the Fire.
Chantries were founded here: By John Walles, mercer, whose endowment
fetched £10 : 13 : 4 in 1548; for Thomas Legg, to which William
Swynbrok was admitted chaplain, January 10, 1370-71; for John
Gedney, Mayor of London, 1427, at the Altar of Holy Trinity; for
Margerie de Nerford, William de Bergh, cl. and Christian Vaughan,
widow, at the Altar of Holy Trinity, for which the King granted his
licence, February 23, 1406-1407: the endowment was valued at £10 :
4s. in 1548; by John Plonkett, whose endowment fetched £13 : 17 : 8
in 1548; by Alice, wife of Benedict Harlewyn, late citizen and
clothier, at the Altar of Holy Trinity, for the king, John Wenlok,
Knt., herself, Richard, Duke of York, and Benedict her husband; the
King granted his licence, March 20, 1461-62: the endowment fetched
£5 : 13 : 4 in 1548.
Robert Thorne was donor of more than £4445 to the parish. John
Kendrick was also a great benefactor, whose will is recorded in full
by Stow. Sir Peter le Maire bequeathed £100 to the poor of the
parish. There were many other donors of smaller amounts.
Among notable vicars were John Pearson (1631-86), Bishop of Chester,
the theologian, and William Peirse, Bishop of Peterborough in 1630.
The site of the Church of St. Bartholomew is now also absorbed by the
Bank.
=St. Bartholomew Exchange=, formerly called Little St. Bartholomew,
stood at the south-east corner of St. Bartholomew Lane, over against
the Royal Exchange. The date of its foundation is unknown, but about
1438 it was rebuilt. In 1840 it was sold, and possession given to
Kames William Freshfield, junr., for the Bank of England; instead
thereof the Church of St. Bartholomew, Moor Lane, was built. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1331.
The patronage was in the hands of: Simon Goddard, citizen and draper
of London, who bequeathed it to his heir, Johanna, in 1273-74;
Edward III. in 1364; Richard Plessy; Abbot and Convent of St. Mary
Graces, 1374, confirmed February 19, 1422-23; Henry VIII., and
continued in the Crown.
Houseling people in 1548 were 392.
Chantries were founded here for: Richard de Plessis, Dean of the
Arches, who died 1362, when John Radyng was admitted chaplain; Mary,
wife of Sir John Lepington.
Sir William Capell, mayor, 1509, was buried here, also James
Wilford, sheriff, 1499. The church originally contained a monument
to Richard Croshawe, Master of the Company of Goldsmiths. He lived
in this parish for thirty-one years, and left by his will over £4000
for the maintaining of lectures, relief of the poor, and other
charitable uses. There are no other gifts recorded.
Ralf Brideoake (1613-78), Bishop of Chichester, was rector here;
also John Sharp (1645-1714), Archbishop of York, and Zachary Pearce
(1690-1774), Bishop of Rochester and Bangor.
=Threadneedle Street.=—The derivation of this extraordinary name is very
uncertain. Stow calls it Threeneedle Street, and it may possibly have
arisen from some tavern with the sign of the three needles. The arms of
Needlemakers Company are “three needles in fesse argent.” This is one of
the humbler Companies and has no hall.
On the north side there were in the sixteenth century “divers fair and
large” houses, after which came the Hospital of St. Anthony, close to
the Royal Exchange.
The very interesting foundation of St. Anthony is considered elsewhere,
as so long an account would interrupt our perambulation unduly. One of
the oddest customs at a time when there were so many odd customs, was
that the pigs belonging to this house were allowed to roam about the
City as they pleased, and on the 17th January, any year, had the
privilege of going into any house that was open. But in 1281, and again
in 1292, there are no exceptions made to the rule that all pigs, to
whomsoever they may belong, shall be killed, if found in the street.
An open concrete-covered space beyond the Royal Exchange lines part of
this street. Here there is a fountain erected in 1878 by the exertions
and donations of an alderman. A gilded canopy overhangs a stone group of
a mother and two children. The pedestal and basins are of granite. On
the east there is a seated figure of Peabody, life size. The buildings
on the north side of the street do not require much comment; the North
British & Mercantile Insurance Company is the most noticeable, because
the horizontal lines are broken by the deeply recessed windows. The
Postal Telegraph Office next door has a little tower on the summit, and
the frontage is sprinkled with rather conventional stone panels and has
a superfluity of stone ornament. The Consolidated Bank, after the
following corner, has a plain frontage, which makes a deep frieze across
the upper part more striking; this is an allegorical subject in a stone
_bas relievo_ under a heavy cornice. The National Bank of India is a
solid, well-proportioned building with symmetrical columns of polished
granite running up the front.
=St. Benet Finck= was situated on the south side of Threadneedle
Street, east of the Royal Exchange. It was dedicated to St. Benedict
and took its additional name from its founder, Robert Fincke. The
date of its foundation is unknown. It was burnt down in the Great
Fire, and rebuilt by Wren, who completed it in 1673. The church was
taken down in 1842, and its parish united with that of St.
Peter-le-Poer. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1323. The
patronage of the church was in the hands of: The family of Nevils in
1281, who presented to it as a Rectory; Master and Brethren of the
Hospital of St. Anthony, then the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, 1474,
up to 1844, when it was annexed to St. Peter-le-Poer.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300 and above.
Wren’s church was elliptical in shape, and measured 63 feet by 48
feet. It was traversed by six composite columns, which, with the
connecting arches, supported the roof. The steeple, which rose to a
height of 110 feet roughly, consisted of a tower, lead-covered
cupola, and lantern.
The original church contained monuments to John Wilcocks and Dame
Anne Awnsham (d. 1613), both benefactors of the parish. After the
Great Fire a Table of Benefactors was set up to the memory of:
George Holman, donor of £1000 to the rebuilding of the church; Anne
Thriscrosse, donor of £100 for apprenticing poor children, and
several other donors. On a table in the organ loft there was an
inscription to Mrs. Sarah Gregory, donor of £600 for various
charitable purposes. In 1662 Richard Baxter, the celebrated
Nonconformist divine, was married here.
In Threadneedle Street, at the corner of =Bartholomew Lane=, is the Sun
Fire Office with glittering gilt suns over the corner and windows. The
angle has been sliced off to form an entrance. A heavy wreath of foliage
in stone surrounds the window above. The architect was C. R. Cockerell.
A graceful new building in white stone with engaged pillars fluted,
rising from the top of the ground-floor, contains the Life Alliance and
Fire Office in Bartholomew Lane. Next door is Bartholomew House with the
usual stereotyped stone detail, and a couple of somewhat cumbrous stone
figures reclining over each side window. Capel Court leads to the Stock
Exchange.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by G. Shepherd._
ST. BENET FINCK
]
At No. 40 Threadneedle Street is a paved courtyard shut in by iron gates
and behind an archway, striking because of its size and the massiveness
of its stonework. This leads to entrances of the National Provincial
Bank of England, and the Mercantile Bank of India. Beyond it is the
Baltic and South Sea House. This differs from all the preceding
buildings because it belongs to the eighteenth century, as the deep
tinge of its well-preserved bricks tells.
The centre window and doorway are encased in stonework, and the solidity
of the whole structure is in contrast with its “bubble” reputation. It
is now occupied as chambers by merchants, brokers, etc., and the
secretary of the Baltic Company finds lodging here among others.
On the south side of Threadneedle Street we have the Bank of
Australasia. Then two great doorways with an interval between them.
These bear over them the arms of the powerful Merchant Taylors Company,
whose hall is behind.
MERCHANT TAYLORS COMPANY
The precise date of the foundation of the Company is not known, but
one of the earliest civic records mentioning the Taylors as a
separate craft, is the “Chronicle of the Mayors and Sheriffs of
London,” which narrates their dispute with the Goldsmiths in
November 1267.
In 1299 Edward I. granted them his licence to adopt the name of
“Taylors and Linen Armourers of the Fraternity of St. John the
Baptist.” Stow says that on St. John Baptist’s Day, 1300, a master
(Henry de Ryall) and four wardens were chosen, the master being then
called “the pilgrim,” as travelling for the whole Company, and the
warders “the purveyors of alms or quarterages,” plainly showing that
the gild was originally a charitable as well as a commercial
fraternity.
In March 1326 the first charter was granted to the Company by Edward
III.
In 1371 the Company, under this charter, made an ordinance to
regulate their trade, with the special object of recovering damages
from workmen miscutting the cloth entrusted to them.
The Company acquired that portion of their Threadneedle Street
estate upon which their present hall stands in 1331.
In 1351 they enrolled their first honorary member; and about 1361
obtained a grant of a chapel at the north side of St. Paul’s, in
honour of St. John the Baptist, for daily service and prayers for
“the preservation of them that are or shall be of the fraternity.”
In 1480 the Company received their first grant of arms, taking
religious emblems, viz. a holy lamb set within a sun, the crest
being within the pavilion, Our Blessed Lady St. Mary the Virgin,
Christ her Son standing naked before her, holding between His hands
a vesture (_tunica inconsutilis_).
In 1484 the celebrated controversy for precedence in processions,
etc., between the Taylors and Skinners arose, which was settled by
the award of the Lord Mayor that each Company should have precedence
in alternate years, and that each should invite the other to dine
once in every year. This custom has been ever since kept up, the
master and wardens of the Taylors dining with the Skinners on the
first Thursday in December, the master and wardens of the Skinners
with the Taylors on the 14th July.
It was not till 1502 that the Company attained to the full
privileges which they afterwards enjoyed. Under Henry VII.’s
charter, not only were the Company made “Merchant” Taylors, but they
ceased to be exclusively Taylors, and were permitted to receive
others into their fraternity.
The principal object of the guild was the preservation of the trade
or calling of the fraternity, no one being permitted to work in
London as a “tailor” unless a freeman of the Company. For the
protection of the trade the right of search was vested in the guild,
such search being a guarantee to the public that the honest usages
of trade were observed, and to the fraternity that their monopoly
was not infringed. Before a tailor’s shop was opened a licence had
to be obtained from the master and wardens of the Company, and they
granted the licence only when satisfied of the competency of the
freeman. Until the abolition of Bartholomew Fair in 1854, after an
existence of 700 years, the beadle of the Company used annually to
attend the fair and to proceed to the drapers’ shops, taking with
him the Company’s silver yard stick as the standard by which to test
the measures used for selling cloth in the fair.
In 1555, anticipation of the foundation of Merchant Taylors’ School,
Sir Thomas White, a member of the Court of the Merchant Taylors
Company, founded St. John’s College, Oxford, reserving forty-three
out of its fifty endowed fellowships for scholars from the school.
The Company’s school was founded in 1561 on Lawrence Pountney Hill.
Great Crosby School, near Liverpool, of which the Company are sole
trustees and managers, was founded in 1618 by John Harrison.
In 1622 Dr. Thomas White established Sion College, giving to the
Company the nomination to eight of the twenty almshouses which he
connected with the college.
In 1666 the losses sustained by the Company in the Fire of London
obliged them to let their land in the City upon small ground-rents
to enable their tenants to rebuild, and their resources were thus
much crippled.
The number of the livery is 288. The Corporate Income is £37,000;
the Trust Income is £13,000. Their hall is at 30 Threadneedle
Street.
Privileges of membership:
(1) The only advantages that a freeman in easy circumstances
possesses is eligibility for the livery, and prospectively for the
court, and the comfortable assurance that, should he fall into
poverty by misfortune and maintain his respectability, he will
receive a pension from the Company varying in amount from £5 to £40
a year, and that, should his wife and daughters be left in poverty,
they will be assisted by the Company to earn a living. Freemen are
eligible for certain gifts and loans of money for their advancement
in life.
Poverty from ill-health, old age, or incapacity to earn a
livelihood, alone constitutes a claim to a pension or donation.
The only patronage enjoyed by individual members of the court is the
power of presenting boys to the Company’s school in London. Each
member of the court has two or sometimes three presentations
annually, according to vacancies.
The present magnificent hall was built in 1671 by Jerman. It has
been altered and improved, but it remains much the same as when
Jerman handed it over to the Company.
The Company has almshouses and schools, notably the great school on
the site of the Charter House. It also gives largely to the City and
Guilds of London Technical Institute.
At the east end of Threadneedle Street, where it meets Bishopsgate
Street, stood St. Martin Outwich.
[Illustration:
ST. MARTIN OUTWICH
]
=St. Martin Outwich= was called Oteswich or Outwich from four
brothers of that name who founded it. It escaped the Great Fire, but
was rebuilt in 1796 by the Merchant Taylors Company. In 1873 the
parish of St. Martin Outwich was united with that of St. Helen,
Bishopsgate, and the former church pulled down; the Capital and
Counties Bank stands on its site. The earliest date of an incumbent
is 1300.
The patronage of the Church was in the hands of: Edward III., who
granted it to John de Warren, Earl of Surrey, in 1328; the
Oteswiches, who, by their trustee, John Churchman, conveyed it to
the Merchant Taylors Company, July 15, 1406, who presented it up to
1855.
Houseling people in 1548 were 227.
A chantry was founded here by John de Bredstrete, whose endowment
for this and other purposes fetched £4 : 3 : 4 in 1548. The King
granted his licence to found the Guild of St. Baptist, July 15,
1406.
Money fetched 5 per cent in 1548, for one John Kyddermester the
elder by his will bequeathed £200 to purchase £10 by year to keep an
obite, etc., in St. Martin Outwich.
A considerable number of monuments are recorded by Stow. Some of the
most notable are those in memory of: Matthew Pemberton, Merchant
Taylor, donor of £50 for repairing the chapel of St. Lawrence;
Richard Staper, alderman, 1594, and greatest merchant of his day;
George Sotherton, sometime Master of the Merchant Taylors Company,
and M.P. for the City of London, who died in 1599. All the monuments
in St. Martin Outwich were removed to St. Helen, Bishopsgate, on the
union of the parishes.
No detailed account of the charities is recorded by Stow. The
benefactors whose names are given, were: Sir Henry Rowe, donor of £5
yearly; Mrs. Taylor, donor of £2 : 15s., for two special sermons a
year.
George Gardiner (d. 1589), chaplain to Queen Elizabeth and Dean of
Norwich, was rector here; also Richard Kidder (1633-1703), Bishop of
Bath and Wells; Samuel Bishop (1731-95), head master of Merchant
Taylors’ School.
There was near the church a well with two buckets; this was
afterwards turned into a pump.
There are references to “rents” in =Broad Street= as early as 1258; in
1278, Matthew de Hekham, on his way from Broad Street to the Jewry, was
murdered by Jews; in 1331 there is the conveyance of a very large and
substantial house belonging to Edmund Crepin, citizen, and deed of hire
by Sir Oliver Ingham, Knt. In 1387, the parson of St. Peter’s, Broad
Street, brings to the mayor and aldermen a breviary called “Portehers,”
_i.e._ for carrying about, bequeathed to the prison of Newgate by the
late Hugh Tracy, chaplain, so that priests and clerks there imprisoned
might say their service from it. And he also obtained permission to
visit the prison from time to time in order to see that the book was
well kept.
“East from Currier’s row is a long and high wall of stone, inclosing the
north side of a large garden adjoining to as large an house, built in
the reign of King Henry VIII., and of Edward VI., by Sir William Powlet,
lord Treasurer of England. Through this garden, which of old time
consisted of divers parts, now united, was sometimes a fair footway,
leading by the west end of the Augustine Friars church straight north,
and opened somewhat west from Allhallows church against London wall
towards Moregate; which footway had gates at either end, locked up every
night; but now the same way being taken into those gardens, the gates
are closed up with stone, whereby the people are forced to go about by
St. Peter’s church, and the east end of the said Friars church, and all
the said great place and garden of Sir William Powlet to London Wall,
and so to Moregate.
“This great house, adjoining to the garden aforesaid, stretcheth to the
north corner of Broad Street, and then turneth up Broad Street all that
side to and beyond the east end of the said Friars church. It was built
by the said lord treasurer in place of Augustine Friars house, cloister,
and gardens, etc. The Friars church he pulled not down, but the west end
thereof, inclosed from the steeple and choir, was in the year 1550
granted to the Dutch nation in London, to be their preaching place: the
other part, namely, the steeple, choir, and side aisles to the choir
adjoining, he reserved to household uses, as for stowage of corn, coal,
and other things; his son and heir, Marquis of Winchester, sold the
monuments of noblemen (there buried) in great number, the paving-stone
and whatsoever (which cost many thousands), for one hundred pounds, and
in place thereof made fair stabling for horses. He caused the lead to be
taken from the roofs, and laid tile in place whereof; which exchange
proved not so profitable as he looked for, but rather to his
disadvantage” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 184).
This house stood on the north side of what was afterwards called
Winchester Street; the garden and grounds between it and the nave of
Austin Friars’ Church having been built over. The beautiful steeple of
the church, in spite of the remonstrances of the parishioners and of a
letter of remonstrance addressed to the Marquis by the mayor and
aldermen, was pulled down in 1604. The letter, the earliest in favour of
the preservation of ancient monuments, is given in Strype, vol. i. p.
442:
“RIGHT HONORABLE, MY VERY GOOD LORD—There hath been offered of late,
unto this Court, a most just and earnest Petition, by divers of the
chiefest of the Parish of St. Peter the Poor, in London, to move us
to be humble Suitors unto your Lordship in a Cause, which is
sufficient to speak for itself, without the Mediation of any other,
viz.:—for the Repairing of the ruinous Steeple of the Church,
sometime called, The Augustine Friars, now belonging to the Dutch
Nation, situate in the same Parish of St. Peter the Poor: The Fall
whereof, which, without speedy Prevention, is near at hand, must
needs bring with it not only a great deformitie to the whole City,
it being, for Architecture, one of the beautifullest and rarest
Spectacles thereof, but also a fearful eminent danger to all the
inhabitants next adjoining. Your Lordship being moved herein, as we
understand, a year since, was pleased then to give honorable
Promises with Hope of present help, but the effects not following
according to your honorable intention, we are bould to renew the
said Suit agayne; eftsoons craving at your Lordship’s hands a due
consideration of so worthy a work, as to help to build up the House
of God; one of the cheefest fountains, from whence hath sprung so
great glory to your Lordship’s most noble descendency of the
Powlets; whose steps your Lordship must needs follow, to continue,
to all posterity, the fame of so bountiful benefactors both to
Church and Commonwealth.
“So that I trust we shall have the less need to importune your
Lordship in so reasonable a suite; first, Bycause it doth
principally concern your Lordship, being the Owner of the greatest
part of the said Speare, or Steeple; but especially that by
disbursing of a small sum of money, to the value of 50 or 60 £s,
your Lordship shall do an excellent work, very helpful to many, and
most grateful to all, as well English as strangers; who, by this
means, shall have cause to magnify to the world this so honorable
and charitable an action. And I and my brethren shall much rejoice
to be releeved herein by your Lordship’s most noble disposition,
rather than to fly to the last remedie of the Law of the Land;
which, in this case, hath provided a Writ De reparatione facienda.
“Thus, hoping as assuredlie on your Lordship’s favour, as we pray
incessantlie for your continual Felicitie, we humbly take leaves of
your Lordship. From London, the 4th of August, 1600.
“Your Lordship’s humbly to be commauned,
NYCHOLAS MOSLY, MAYOR. RICHARD
MARTYN, JOHN HART, HENRY
BILLINGSLY, STEPHEN SOAME, WILLIAM
RYDER, JOHN GARRARD, THOMAS
BENNETT, THOMAS LOWE, LEONARD
HOLIDAY, ROBERT HAMPSON, RY.
GODARD, JOHN WATTES, THO. SMYTHE,
WILLIAM CRAVEN, AND HUMPHREY
WELD.”
The ancient Church of Austin Friars was given by Edward VI. to the Dutch
congregation, in whose possession it still continues. All that remains
is the nave. In 1862 this was badly damaged by fire, but was carefully
restored, the window tracery and roof dating from that time as well as
many other additions. For an account of the Austin Friars, see _Mediæval
London_, vol. ii. p. 345.
Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, lived in Broad Street in Queen
Elizabeth’s reign, Lords Weston and Dover in that of Charles I.
“Here was a Glass House where Venice Glasses were made and Venetians
employed in the work; and Mr. James Howel (author of the familiar
Letters which bear his name) was Steward to this house. When he left
this place, scarce able to bear the continual heat of it, he thus
wittily expressed himself, that had he continued still Steward he should
in a short time have melted away to nothing among those hot Venetians.
This place afterwards became Pinners’ Hall” (Cunningham’s _Handbook_).
General Monk (February 1660) took up his quarters at the Glass House. On
the north side was the Navy Pay Office, on the south the Excise Office.
On the site of the Excise Office was Gresham College. Sir Thomas
Gresham, who died in 1596, bequeathed his dwelling-house in Bishopsgate
Street for the purposes of the college, besides presenting the
Corporation of the City of London and the Mercers Company with the Royal
Exchange on the condition that they carried on lectures in the college
as he prescribed. His house was a very fine one, well suited for the
purpose he had in view. After the death of his widow in 1596, lectures
on seven subjects were appointed and the work began. The house escaped
the Great Fire of 1666, and the mayor took the college for courts and
meetings; the merchants used the inner court for their Exchange, and
temporary shops were put up for the use of those who had been burned out
by the destruction of the Exchange. In the history of the college there
has been a good deal of litigation, the full story of which may be found
in Maitland and elsewhere.
[Illustration:
GRESHAM COLLEGE
]
The following Regulations are given in Stow and Strype, in 1720, in
full. They are here abridged:
1. Precedency of the Professors.
The three Professors of Divinity, Law, and Medicine to be
Governor or President of the College in turn.
2. The Professors to live in the College.
3. The Professors to be unmarried.
4. To have a common table, and not to entertain friends as guests at
more than three meals in one month.
5. The Year to consist of five terms:
(1) To begin on the Monday before Trinity Term and to continue
one month.
(2) From the first Monday in September and to continue a
fortnight.
(3) From the Monday before Michaelmas Term and to continue to
the end of that Term.
(4) From the Monday after Epiphany to continue two months or
sixty days.
(5) From the Monday seven night after Easter Day to the end of
Easter Term.
6. The Divinity Lecture to be read on Monday and Wednesday at 8 A.M.
in Latin and on Friday in English.
7. The Divinity Lecturer to deal especially with the controversies
which affect the Church of Rome.
8. The Law and Physick Lectures to be read, like the Divinity
Lecture, twice in Latin and once in English.
9. The other lectures in Astronomy, Geometry, Rhetoric, and Music to
be read alternately in Latin and English.
10. The Professors to wear their hoods and gowns.
11. A keeper of the House to be appointed by the Lord Mayor.
The college was intended to be a rival, in some sort, to Oxford and
Cambridge. It seems never to have succeeded in attracting students. Dr.
Johnson attributed its failure to the fact that the lectures were free,
and that what is given is not valued. The House was pulled down in 1768
and the Excise Office took its place. The lectures were then read in a
room at the Royal Exchange. In 1843 the present building was erected and
the college entered upon a new course. So far, however, it does not seem
to fulfil the intentions of the Founder as a great educational centre.
Isaac Barrow, Robert Hooke, and Christopher Wren have been Professors in
the college. The Royal Society held its meetings here for fifty years
(1660-1710).
ST. PETER-LE-POER
In Broad Street at present still stands St. Peter-le-Poer, nearly
opposite the Excise Office. It escaped the Great Fire, but was
rebuilt in 1791 from the designs of Jesse Gibson. In 1842-44 St.
Benet Finck was demolished, and its parish was united with this. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1356.
So far as there is any record, since 1181 at least, the patronage of
the church has always been in the hands of the Dean and Chapter of
St. Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 160 or 200.
The church is circular in shape, with a recess at the north for the
altar; a gallery originally ran round the building, but in 1888 the
greater part of this was removed. The steeple rises at the south,
the only side on which the exterior is visible, owing to surrounding
buildings. It consists of a square tower, supporting a stone cupola
which is terminated by a vane.
The most interesting monument which the present church contains is
that in memory of Dr. Richard Holdsworth, rector here in 1623, who
was for some time imprisoned by the Long Parliament. He was Master
of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and several times Vice-Chancellor of
the University. The church originally contained monuments to: John
Lucas, Master of the Requests to Edward VI., who died 1556; Robert
Calthrop, mayor, 1588; Sir William Roche, mayor, 1540; and Sir
William Garaway, at whose expense a new aisle was made in 1616,
costing £400.
Some of the charities given yearly to the poor were: £4, the gift of
Lady Ramsey; £5, the gift of John Quarles, for bread; £20, the gift
of Lady Richard, for housekeepers at Christmas time; £30, the gift
of Gerard Vanheithuysens, to be distributed among the poor.
There were six almshouses in Broad Street, the gift of Sir Thomas
Gresham.
Richard Holdsworth (1590-1649), Dean of Worcester, was rector here;
also Benjamin Hoadley (1676-1761), successively Bishop of Bangor, of
Hereford, of Sarum, of Winchester.
Opposite the church of St. Peter-le-Poer stood the “old” South Sea
House, and behind it the yards used by the Company. This was the back of
South Sea House, the front of which was at the east end of Threadneedle
Street where it runs into Bishopsgate Street. The City of London Club
now has its premises here; it is a large building with a massive porch,
built by P. Hardwick.
Of the other business houses in this street there is nothing to say. At
the corner of Winchester Street is Winchester House (modern), which
keeps alive the memory of old Winchester House, standing until 1839, the
town house of the marquises of Winchester.
The Pinners’ Hall was formerly in this street (see Appendix).
=Wormwood Street= is a continuation of London Wall, facing it. “In the
street,” says Strype, “briefly, there be divers courts and alleys.” In
other words, that part of London was occupied as lately as 1720 or 1750
by a population of industrial folk not yet driven out by the increase of
merchants’ offices and banks. There appear to have been no antiquities
in this street, unless we reckon a small burial-ground belonging to St.
Martin Outwich, which lay in the point of the wall.
Of =London Wall= we have already spoken.
Northward are three stations, Broad Street, Bishopsgate Street, and
Liverpool Street.
There are dreary rows of old brick houses on either side of the part of
New Broad Street which runs east and west. Towards the west end of the
street are one or two well-built business houses. The site of the Jews’
Synagogue is occupied by Blomfield House, largely inhabited by
secretaries of companies and syndicates. When we turn the corner into
the part of New Broad Street running north and south, we find some large
modern buildings. On the east the building is uniform for a considerable
way. Broad Street House occupies all the frontage between the two
passages of St. Botolph’s Churchyard. It is stone fronted and is in an
Italian style. Dashwood House behind it covers a very large area of
ground. It is of ugly design in red brick with each line of windows in a
different style. Both of these are largely occupied by agents,
engineers, secretaries of companies, etc. Dashwood House looks out on
the churchyard. This is an uninviting strip of ground surrounded on the
south by the backs of warehouses. A small house at the east end is
called “The Old Watchhouse,” and bears an inscription to the effect that
it was rebuilt in 1771 by an alderman named James Townsend.
In Blomfield Street was formerly the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital,
now removed to the City Road. The Hospital had its origin in 1804 when
some gentlemen founded a free dispensary for eye diseases.
There are some large buildings on the east known as Blomfield Buildings,
also the London Provident Institution Savings Bank, and the headquarters
of the London Missionary Society. The bank bears an inscription to the
effect that it was erected 1835 and enlarged 1875. This Society was
first formed a hundred years ago (January 15, 1795) in the Castle and
Falcon Inn, Aldersgate Street, and it now sends missionaries to every
quarter of the world. Close by is St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Chapel,
stucco-covered, and a Roman Catholic School. At the corner of =East
Street= is a fine building called Finsbury House, with grey granite
columns of considerable strength running from the ground-floor upwards.
It is well proportioned and has a well-finished angle.
Finsbury Circus is surrounded by a uniform line of dull brick houses
having their ground-floors covered with yellow stucco. At one point only
do the area railings give way, and that is at the London Institution,
built of Portland stone, with a heavy portico and fluted columns. The
Institution was established in 1806 in Old Jewry and afterwards removed
to King’s Arms Yard, Coleman Street. It was incorporated a year after
its establishment. The present building was founded in 1815 and opened
four years later.
A great many solicitors have their offices in the Circus, and there is
also a sprinkling of surgeons, accountants, and secretaries of
companies. The centre of the Circus is occupied by a wide space of grass
surrounded by a thick shrubbery of trees.
Northward of this is =Finsbury Square=, built in 1789 by George Dance.
At the junction of Finsbury Pavement and Moorgate Street stood Moor Gate
from which northwards outside the walls stretched the great open moor,
the playground of the London citizens; this is now all built over with
the exception of the Square and Circus mentioned above.
=Moorfields= so frequently occurs in documents before the end of the
eighteenth century, and played so large a part in the life of the
Londoner, that it deserves some notice. The earliest mention made of it
is in the reign of Henry II., and was apparently a large open mere or
marsh on which water lay in parts, so that in winter it was covered with
ice, and formed a playground where the young citizens practised a
primitive kind of skating. It was drained in 1627, and in Queen
Elizabeth’s time was much resorted to for the practice of archery. It
was also used as a general rendezvous for all who desired to meet
without the gates, a perpetual fair, a drying ground, a preaching place,
and many other things. It is generally said that the houseless people
assembled here after the Great Fire; but Moorfields could have
accommodated but a tenth part of them, so that the camps must have
extended northward and westward far beyond the limits of Moorfields into
Finsbury Fields northwards and to Islington.
Various attempts were made from time to time to enclose parts of
Moorfields and build on the space, and these were resisted by the
citizens with much ardour; but the spreading tide heeds not resistance,
and gradually the whole area was built over—even in the seventeenth
century the fields were enclosed and surrounded by shops.
Moor Gate was rebuilt in 1672, and the central gateway made higher than
usual that the City Trained Bands might march through with pikes erect.
From end to end Moorgate Street is composed of comparatively uniform
stucco-fronted houses in a hideous Victorian style, with little
projecting pediments and cornices over the windows. To this there is one
exception, at the south-east corner, in the British and Fire Insurance
Office, a stone and grey granite building of imposing size.
Great Swan Alley is a narrow entry which comes out just beside Ye Old
Swan’s Nest public-house, which is a new stone-faced building. At the
north-east corner are Swan Chambers, designed by Basil Champneys in
1891.
Moorgate Court (late Coleman Street Buildings) contains the Institute of
Chartered Accountants, a very fine building of stone, with panels of
female figures in relief; on each panel is a shield, and the words Arts,
Sciences, Crafts, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Manufacture, Mining,
Railways, Shipping, India, Colonies, Building are inscribed on these
shields. This frieze extends across the whole frontage, but is cut up by
intersecting columns. It is the work of Hamo Thorneycroft. The angle at
the corner has the merit of being thoroughly unconventional. The figure
of Justice surmounts the balcony. The building was designed by John
Belcher, 1892. Facing south is a red brick and stone building known as
Moorgate Court. This is in a picturesque style of Perpendicular Gothic,
and the building over the projecting porch is carried up to the roof,
giving relief to the frontage. Altogether this is an unexpectedly
picturesque Court. In the covered entry leading to it from Moorgate
Street are two old doorways, the northern one fascinating, with
grotesque faces on the keystone of the lintel, and vertical Wrenian
ornaments on either side. Looking back at the entry from the street we
see that these doorways belong to a very old plaster house, with tiled
roof, which stands back from the street line, overlooking two shops, one
on either side the entry, which are finished with parapets. The windows
in the tiled roof also peep over a parapet. This is the only picturesque
bit in that very ugly but useful thoroughfare—Moorgate Street.
Close at hand the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation have fitted
up their ground-floor with pink terra-cotta which jars with the yellow
plaster above. Altogether, to the east of Moorgate Street lie an amazing
number of quiet courts, without beauty, but lined by respectable solid
brick-and-plaster houses.
Between Moorgate and Old Broad Streets east and west, and London Wall
and Throgmorton Street north and south, lies a typical business quarter.
In Copthall Buildings we see great modern houses. The Chambers here are
filled by stock-jobbers and stockbrokers. Copthall Avenue is made up of
fine well-built houses and little old ones. Lanthorn, Moorgate,
Throgmorton, Copthall Houses are all in a sensible but not displeasing
style. Some are of the lighter red brick and light stone which shows up
well in a London Street, others in grey stone and granite. Copthall
House, which runs round the corner along the south part of Sun Court,
has windows bayed in imitation of an old style. Basil Champneys was the
architect. For the old houses, Nos. 4 and 6 on the east side date from
the seventeenth century. Nos. 10 and 12 are of about the same date. Nos.
22, 24, and 26 farther northward are also old, and are perhaps early
eighteenth century; their discoloured bricks and the bent lines of the
windows and doorway bear testimony to their years.
Of =Lothbury= there is not much to say; it contains the Bank of
Scotland, and the chief office of the London and Westminster Bank, and
numerous companies are promoted and worked from this address.
The building at the corner of Tokenhouse Yard is in the style known as
Venetian Gothic. It is harmoniously carried out. There is a somewhat
deeply recessed doorway. The building bears a frieze or panel on it
which divides an upper window into two parts. It was designed by G.
Somers Clarke and built in 1866. No. 19, the Auction Mart in Tokenhouse
Yard, owns the same architect, and is characterised by the same air of
neatness and finish.
ST. MARGARET, LOTHBURY
St. Margaret, Lothbury, was probably rebuilt about 1440; the
building was destroyed by the Great Fire; the present church was
designed by Wren and completed in 1690. It serves, besides its own
original parish, for 6 other parishes—those of St. Christopher, St.
Bartholomew by the Exchange, St. Olave Jewry, St. Martin Pomeroy,
St. Mildred in the Poultry, and St. Mary Colechurch. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1181.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: the Abbess and
Convent of Barking, Essex, 1303. Henry VIII. who seized it, and so
it continues in the Crown to the present time.
Houseling people in 1548 were 279.
The church measures 66 feet in length, 54 feet in breadth, and 36
feet in height. It contains a nave, chancel, and one aisle,
separated by Corinthian columns. The south aisle, which is railed
off, contains a side-altar at the east. The steeple consists of a
three-storied tower and cornice, surmounted by a lantern and obelisk
with finial and vane; its total height is 140 feet.
Chantries were founded here by: John le Boteler, sen., citizen, for
himself and Matilda his wife, for which the King granted his
licence, August 2, 1321; John Julyan, whose endowment fetched £7 :
4 : 0 in 1548, when John Badye was priest; John Iforde, whose
endowment yielded £6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Patrick Faber was
priest.
Reginald Coleman, son of Robert, who is supposed to be the first
builder of Coleman Street, was buried here in 1483. Also John Benet,
rector of the parish and a great benefactor; John Dimocke, who
served Henry VIII. and Edward VI.; Nicholas Style, Alderman of
London, who died in 1615.
On the demolition of St. Olave’s, a monument to Alderman John
Boydell, the engraver (Lord Mayor in 1790), was removed to this
church.
Anthony Bedingfield gave £100 to the parish; Mary Barnes, £100;
Thomas Bremley, £5; Henry VIII., £3 : 6 : 8; John Hanson, £50 for
the completion of the church. Many other names are recorded on the
Table of Benefactors.
=Throgmorton Street= takes its name from Sir Nicholas Throckmorton who,
tradition says, was poisoned by Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Queen
Elizabeth’s favourite. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was born in 1515 and
died in 1570. There is nothing to warrant the statement that he was
poisoned by Dudley, with whom he was on friendly terms. What was the
name of the street before the life and death of Sir Nicholas
Throckmorton? Stow simply says that in Throgmorton Street, Thomas
Cromwell built a large house in the place of certain tenements. The
house in 1541 became the property, and the second hall, of the Drapers
Company. It could hardly have been named after a man at that time only
twenty-six years of age.
There were, however, other Throckmortons; the name in the _Dictionary of
National Biography_ occupies nearly eight pages. Most of them lived a
good deal in London; all of them occupied good positions; the street,
formerly part of Lothbury, may have received its name from one or other
of the family. The following imperfect genealogy of the family will
illustrate this possibility:
Sir John Throgmorton (Under Treasurer of Chamberlain of Exchequer) Lived
in London, where his will is dated (d. 1445).
+Alianora, heiress of Sir Guy de la Spirn of Coughton.
├── Sir Thomas (d. 1472).
│ └── Sir Robert, Privy Councillor Henry VII. (d. 1518).
│ └── Sir George
│ +Katherine, daughter of Lord Vaux.
│ ├── Thomas (d. 1614).
│ │ └── Thomas, Baronet, 1642.
│ ├── Clement.
│ │ └── Job (1545-1601), Puritan Controversialist.
│ ├── Sir Nicholas (1515-1570).
│ │ └── Etc.
│ └── Sir John (Master of Requests, lived in London, d. 1580).
│ └── Francis, Conspirator (b. 1554, executed Aug. 1584).
├── John.
└── Seven daughters.
We have here a choice of four generations of Throckmortons, all more or
less intimately connected with London, any one of whom may have given
his name to the street.
The courts leading out of Throgmorton Street on the north were, in 1750,
Whalebone Court, Angel Court, Copt Hall Court, Warnford Court, and
Austin Friars. On the south were formerly Bartholomew Lane, Bartholomew
Court, Shorters Court, and Crown Court. All of these, except Whalebone
and the Bartholomew Courts, still exist.
The present =Throgmorton Street= is lined by the usual business houses
in a decorative style, with a general uniformity pervading all. The
Drapers’ Hall occupies a great part of the northern side with its
curving frontage and highly decorative frieze.
THE DRAPERS COMPANY
The association from which the Drapers Company derive their origin
appears to have partaken of the nature of a social and religious as
well as a commercial guild. The exact date of their foundation
cannot be ascertained, but they undoubtedly existed as a brotherhood
at a very early period. Madox (_Hist. Exch._ p. 391) mentions the
Gilda Parariorum, whereof John Maur was alderman, among the
adulterine guilds amerced in the 26 Henry II. (1180). The Company
possess a certificate by William Camden, Clarencieux King-of-Arms,
certifying the arms borne by Henry Fitz Alwin, Lord Mayor 1198-1212,
and that he was a member of the Drapers Company.
The earliest charter of which the Company have any record is the
Charter of Privileges of 38 Edward III.
The earliest ordinances of which the Company possess any record
purport to be a revision of an earlier set made in 1322. The revised
ordinances were made in 1418.
The earliest accounts in the possession of the Company are those of
the wardens for the year 1415. In that year the number of members is
shown to exceed 100, and quarterage was received from 83 persons,
and due from 13 more.
The arms of the Company were first granted by Sir William Bruges,
Garter King-of-Arms, March 10, 1439-40. This grant was confirmed
with the addition of crest and supporters by William Harvey,
Clarencieux, July 10, 1561, and again confirmed with a slight
alteration by Sir William Segar, Garter, June 6, Jac. I. 1613.
In 1607 the Company obtained an entirely new charter (4 Jac. I.,
19th January), incorporating them by their ancient style of “The
Masters and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or
Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers
of the City of London,” and vesting the government in the master,
four wardens and assistants. Under this charter the government of
the Company has been carried on down to the present day.
(1) The advantages incident to the position of a freeman of the
Company consist of the eligibility to participate in the various
charitable funds held by the Company in trust for their members, and
to become liverymen of the Company.
(2) Liverymen of the Company, as such, have no pecuniary or other
direct advantages, but they constitute the class from which the
governing body is elected, and every liveryman, except in cases of
special disqualification, is in his turn placed in nomination for
the governing body.
(3) The master is entitled to, and is paid, certain small bequests
which amount to £2 : 13 : 4 per annum.
The wardens are also entitled to certain bequests and allowances
which amount on an average to £106 : 4 : 10 per annum. This sum is
not paid to them, but goes towards the cost of the election dinner
in August, which in ancient times was provided by the wardens.
The members of the governing body, as such, have no direct pecuniary
or other advantages.
Freemen and liverymen of the Company receive no fees.
The fees paid to the master, wardens, and other members of the
governing body, for their attendance at courts and committees during
the last ten years, average £3225 : 12 : 6 per annum.
No pensions or donations are paid to liverymen. Liverymen who have
become reduced in circumstances, and have applied for and received
the return of their livery fine, are then eligible to receive
charitable assistance as freemen.
Assistance by way of pension or donation is not granted to any
member of the Company except on full inquiry into his circumstances,
to ascertain that he is in need of assistance, and that his
necessity is not occasioned by his own improvidence or misconduct.
The number of the livery of the Drapers is 300; their Corporate
Income is £50,000; their Trust Income is £28,000.
The Drapers have had several places of meeting. The first is said to
have been the Church of St. Mary Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate; the
next, where Nos. 19 to 23 St. Swithin’s Lane now is. This was
formerly the house of Sir John Hend, draper, Lord Mayor 1391 and
1404, who materially assisted towards the rebuilding of St.
Swithin’s Church in 1420. In 1479 the Company’s annals have this
entry respecting tithes: “Paid to the parson of St. Swithin for our
place for a year VIs. VIIId.,” implying that it had now regularly
passed into the Company’s hands. Herbert, in his _History of the
London Livery Companies_, has sifted out information regarding this
hall, which tells much concerning its apartments, and the brave
feasts held therein on election days and other occasions. The great
hall was strewed with rushes and hung mostly with tapestry, but the
upper end, above the dais for the high table, with blue buckram. It
must have been of large dimensions, capable of dining two to three
hundred persons, and here assembled bishop and prior and parson,
Lord Mayor and Mayoress, to feast with the master and wardens and
brethren and sisters of the Drapers Company all seated at table in
due order of rank. The sisters had a dining-room of their own, “the
ladies’ chamber,” and there was a “chekker chamber” laid with mats
and set apart for “maydens,” but both married and unmarried ladies
usually dined in hall with the brothers of the fraternity. Besides
the refectory, there was a large kitchen with its three fire-places,
and there were buttery and pantry, a store-house for cloth, and “a
scalding yard”; also a court-room, a “great chamber” or livery-room,
and parlours hung with tapestry or painted green, and all contained
beneath the shelter of leaded roofs. The Drapers continued to feast
and transact their business here until 1541, when they bought the
house in Throgmorton Street which had belonged to Thomas Cromwell,
Earl of Essex.
The Earl had suffered attainder under Henry VIII. This estate formed
the finest hall that any City Company had hitherto obtained. It
contained, besides the buildings, a large garden at the back. This
garden was still preserved until a few years ago, when the greater
part of it was sold and converted into offices.
The hall, after the Fire, was rebuilt, but a hundred years
afterwards, in 1774, it was greatly damaged by another fire. The
present hall was altered and remodelled, with the addition of a
screen, in 1866-70.
In February 1660 General Monk made Drapers’ Hall his headquarters.
The Company point to many illustrious members. The Pulteneys, Earls
of Bath; the Capels, Earls of Essex; the Brydges, Dukes of Chandos
were descended from members of the Drapers Company.
What was said of the Mercers may be repeated of this Company. They
administer their great Trust Income in the endowment of hospitals,
schools, and almshouses; and they have large funds for purely
charitable and philanthropic purposes. Of late the Drapers Company
have taken up the cause of Technical Education; at the People’s
Palace they have a Polytechnic attended by thousands of students,
with classes of instruction in all the principal trades.
At the north end of Throgmorton Avenue, near London Wall, is the
Carpenters’ Hall.
THE CARPENTERS COMPANY
A brotherhood or guild of carpenters is believed to have existed in
London about 1350, but under what circumstances we have no
information. The first charter to the present Company was granted in
1477, 17 Edward IV. This granted to certain freemen of the mystery
of carpentry of the City of London, that they or any of them might
establish a brotherhood or guild within the City to remain for ever,
to consist of one master, three wardens, and commonalty of freemen
of the mystery of carpentry abiding in the City of London, and the
suburbs and precincts of the same, and of the brethren and sisters
of the freemen of the said mystery, and of all others who of their
devotion will be of the same brotherhood or guild; and that the same
master, wardens, and commonalty should be one body and one
commonalty, incorporated by the name of Master, Wardens, and
Commonalty of the Mystery of Freemen of the Carpentry of the City of
London.
This charter was exemplified, ratified, and confirmed by Philip and
Mary (a Charter of Inspeximus), and also by Elizabeth; the latter
exemplification being dated 8th November, 2 Elizabeth.
James I., by charter (dated 15th July, 5 James I.), granted to the
master, wardens, and commonalty of the mystery of freemen of the
carpentry of the City of London, that they should exercise the
powers of search, correction, and government of all the freemen of
the art or mystery of Carpenters of the City, or using or exercising
the said art or mystery within the said City or the suburbs of the
same, or within two miles thereof, together with powers for the
inspection of timber, and regulation of matters relating to the
trade.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. W. Shepherd._
CARPENTERS’ HALL, LONDON WALL, 1830
]
Charles I., by charter (dated 17th July, 16 Charles I.), reciting
the preceding charters, and that various frauds and deceptions were
practised in the trade, granted to the master, wardens, and
commonalty of the Company, that the master, wardens, and assistants
for the time being, to the number of twelve or more, of which the
master and wardens for the time being to be four, being met together
upon summons to be made for that purpose, should have full power and
authority to appoint, constitute, and make ordinances, decrees, and
constitutions in writing for the good rule and government of the
master, wardens, and commonalty of the mystery, and of all other
persons being free of the art or mystery, or using the same art or
mystery within the City of London, or liberties of the same, and for
declaring in what manner the master, wardens, and commonalty, and
all such persons as aforesaid, should behave themselves, and use the
occupation of the said art or mystery.
Charles II., by charter (dated 20th October, 26 Charles II.),
reciting and confirming the preceding charters, granted, upon the
humble petition of the master and wardens of the Company, the
oversight and government of all and singular persons, whether
freemen of the said mystery, or using or occupying the same within
the City of London, or within four miles of the same, together with
very extensive powers and privileges for exercising the oversight,
search, and measurement of all and all manner of timber, timber
stuff, and materials, and the works and workmanship thereto within
the before-mentioned limits.
In 1666 an Act of Parliament was passed ordering brick building in
place of wood, and all carpenters, etc., not freemen of the City
employed in the building were, for the space of seven years, to be
allowed the liberty of working as freemen, and all who should so
help for seven years were to enjoy the same liberty for their lives.
In 1693 an Act of Common Council was passed by which all persons
carrying on the trade of carpentry in the City of London were
compelled to bind their apprentices to the Carpenters Company.
The Company is now governed by a master, three wardens, and a
varying number of assistants.
The livery numbers 150. The hall in Throgmorton Avenue was built
when the old hall at London Wall was taken down in 1876. The
Corporate Income of the Company is £16,000 and the Trust Income is
£1180.
GROUP IV
The next group is a triangle, of which Bishopsgate Street and Fenchurch
Street are two sides. It is a part of very considerable interest, though
not so full of history as Cheapside or Thames Street. It contains the
great market of Leadenhall Street, which is itself a continuation of
that market which extended eastward from West Chepe to the Poultry, to
Cornhill, to Gracechurch Street or Grass Street, and so to Leadenhall,
the distributing market of London, and from London to the country. Its
financial centre was Lombard Street before the Exchange was built. At
two points it had a City gate; it had three monastic houses, St.
Helen’s, The Papey, and the Holy Trinity; it has been for three hundred
years especially a Jewish quarter; it had the East India Houses one
after the other, and it has within its borders the most ancient church
in the City, that of St. Ethelburga, with three other churches which
were not destroyed by the Fire.
=Fenchurch Street.=—The origin of the name has been generally accepted
as from a supposed situation in a marsh or fen. According to Stow, “of a
fenny or moorish ground, so made by means of this borne”—“Langborne.” We
may admit the fenny ground, but we are not obliged to admit the
existence of a stream here. Maitland, who loves to be precise, says that
the stream rose in a place called Magpie Alley close to St. Katherine
Coleman, and ran down Fenchurch Street and Lombard Street as far as the
west end of St. Mary Woolnoth, where it turned south at Sherborne Lane
(whence the name) and divided into many rivulets, where it fell into the
Thames. Now, no trace of any such stream has ever been found. Moreover,
though the levels of the streets have been raised by many feet, they
have been raised in proportion, and if such a stream now ran along
Fenchurch Street, it would run up-hill for half its course. Further, the
name Sherborne does not mean what Maitland thinks at all. Its real
meaning may be found in the _Calendar of Wills_ (vol. i. p. 147, and on
many other pages). Langborne appears as Langford in an early list.
Somewhere near the end of Sherborne Lane was the wall, and perhaps the
fosse of the Roman citadel. But Stow, and Maitland after him, call the
ward Langborne and Fennie About. Langborne was one part—that of which
Lombard Street is the principal part—and Fennie About the other, in the
marshy ground.
The ward is mentioned in a murder case (Riley’s _Memorials_) in 1276.
Reference to the parish occurs repeatedly between 1276 and 1349
(_Calendar of Wills_). There are mentioned messuages, rents, tenements,
shops, a brew-house, etc., in the parish. The street is mentioned
separately later. In the fourteenth century there are dwelling-places,
tenements, mansion-houses, brew-houses, bakehouses, and shops. But there
are no signs of a fen in or about the street. It is suggested that as
Gracechurch Street is the street of Grass, so Fenchurch Street is
Foin-church, the street of Hay, both streets belonging to the market of
hay, grass, and corn. But Professor Skeat replies to this suggestion:
“It is impossible to derive _fen_ from the French _foin_. No French _oi_
becomes _e_ in English. But it might be derived from the Anglo-French
_fein_, which is the corresponding word to the French _foin_ and had the
same sense. In this case it ought to be possible to find the spelling
_fein_. Otherwise _fen_ can only mean _fen_. Note that the English _fen_
may be spelt also _fenne_. But the Anglo-French _fein_ could not take
either _n_ or _ne_ at the end of it. I suspect Stow is right. I see no
evidence to the contrary.”
Again, writing later, Professor Skeat says: “I think we can get at
Fenchurch now, by help of the history.
“Fen was an extremely common word in Middle English, not merely in the
sense of _morass_, but in the sense of the modern word _mud_. ‘Mud’ is
quite a late word, but I presume that the thing was known in the City
even in the earliest times, and the name of it was ‘fen.’ This being so,
it is tolerably certain that if the name originally was anything that
could be readily turned into _fen_, that would soon become the
pronunciation and the ‘popular’ etymology.
“If we start from the idea of Hay, we proceed through the Norman form
which was not _foin_ (this could never have given us _fen_), but _fein_
or _fayn_, or _fain_, pronounced as modern English _fain_ (the nasal _n_
in Norman being of little account except after the simple vowels _a_ and
_e_). But the corresponding verb ‘to cut hay’ was actually ‘fener.’ The
phrase ‘Li fain estoient fené’ is quoted from Froissart in Godefroy’s
_Old French Dictionary_, s.v. _Fener_. And the verb _fener_ is still in
use in Burgundy.
“It is easy to see how the word _fain_ could thus be associated with a
pronunciation _fen_, and Englishmen who knew no French (there were
plenty of them) may very well have imagined in their hearts that the
reference was to the mud in the streets. That there _was_ mud may be
taken for granted. There is some left still.
“There was also a remarkable adjective _feneresse_, whence the word
_feneresse_, a female seller of hay. And there was a word _fenerie_
which meant a barn for hay. And _feneron_, a hay maker.”
Professor Skeat later repeats that if the word for hay is used by itself
in London, it will be in the form of fein-fain. The spelling Fanchurch
is especially valuable; in fact, it settles it, for _fan_ may be short
for _fain_ whereas _fan_ cannot be another form of _fen_.
There are extant many ancient deeds connected with this street. Here was
a brew-house called Le George super le Hoop.
Roman remains have been found here, vases, things in bronze, and an iron
candlestick.
At No. 119 Fenchurch Street is a tavern known as the Elephant. It stands
on the site of a house called the Elephant and Castle. In the Great Fire
this house, being built of stone, resisted the flames, and offered
shelter to many homeless people. Is the same thing related of the
churches? They, too, were built of stone. Why did not they resist the
flames?
Wallace was taken, on his arrival in London as a prisoner, to the house
of William de Leyre in Fenchurch Street.
At the King’s Head Tavern, Queen Elizabeth was regaled with pork and
peas on a certain visit to the City.
In Fenchurch Street at present, on the south side, the building numbered
3 and 4, which contains the Castle Mail Packet Company, is well
designed, with wide, deeply-recessed windows enriched by mouldings. The
ground-floor is encased in grey polished granite. Langbourn Chambers is
a huge mass of building. Down the side of the street are various plain
brick buildings of different ages interspersed with modern erections,
stone fronted.
The huge building at the west corner of Mark Lane running round into
Fenchurch Street is so covered with stone ornamentation, statues, etc.,
that the red brickwork is hardly to be seen. This is the London Tavern,
and contains the City Glee Club. Both Mark and Mincing Lanes abound in
great commercial buildings. Fen Court has an old stuccoed house over the
tunnel-like entrance, but in itself is all composed of flat-windowed
expressionless offices. These look down on the ancient graveyard, a very
large space for one of the City churches. It is surrounded by railings,
and divided down the centre by a flagged path. Several flat tombstones
lie in the middle, and one or two altar tombs complete the quiet
picture, over which the leaves of the wych-elms throw shadows. Those who
have read Mrs. Riddell’s tragic story _George Geith of Fen Court_ will
remember her description of the Court. Beyond Fen Court is the Spread
Eagle Bread Company, a fine old house of the beginning of the eighteenth
century. The gilt eagle spreads its wings in front of a square red-brick
block with antiquated windows, and a general tint of age.
The Ironmongers’ Hall, a large building, faces Fenchurch Street.
THE IRONMONGERS COMPANY
The earliest notice of the craft is in 1351. The first charter
incorporating the Company was granted by Edward IV. in the year
1463, but it appears that a voluntary company or fraternity of
members of the iron trade had existed for many years previous to
that date.
There followed an Inspeximus Charter of Philip and Mary, dated June
20, 1558, which confirmed the charter of Edward IV.; Letters Patent
of the second year of Queen Elizabeth, dated November 12, 1560, by
which the charter of Edward IV. was further confirmed. James I., by
Letters Patent dated June 25, 1605, confirmed the privileges and
possessions of the Company. He also, in 1620, confirmed the Company
in the possession of certain lands and tenements therein mentioned,
in consideration of £100 paid to him. James II., by charter dated
March 18, 1685, confirmed all their privileges and granted new and
additional privileges, and by Letters Patent, dated November 19,
1688, he confirmed the last-mentioned charter.
Stow merely mentions the Hall, which occupied the area between
Fenchurch and Leadenhall Streets. It existed in 1494 and was rebuilt
in 1587. The present Hall was erected in 1748-50 on the site of an
Elizabethan house which had escaped the Fire.
The number of liverymen varies; it is now thirty-seven. The
Corporate Income is £12,000; the Trust Income is £11,000.
[Illustration:
IRONMONGERS’ HALL IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
]
1. Freemen are invited to two dinners yearly, and they, their wives,
and children are entitled to the benefit of the various charities
bequeathed for their use by members of the Company or others,
particulars of which are furnished to them on admission to the
freedom.
2. Liverymen form the court and receive fees for their attendance on
courts and committees for transacting the business of the Company
and the charities. The amount of fees paid to members of the Company
for their attendances at courts and committees during the last ten
years averages £735 for each year. No fees are paid out of the trust
estates.
3. The master and wardens have no privileges beyond the other
liverymen, and no liveryman receives any money from the charities.
ST. KATHERINE COLEMAN
St. Katherine Coleman stands on the south side of Fenchurch Street,
farther east. Its second name is derived from its proximity to a
garden, anciently called “Coleman’s Haw.” In 1489 Sir William White,
Draper and Lord Mayor, enlarged the church; it was further enlarged
in 1620 and a vestry built in 1624. It escaped the Great Fire of
1666, but by the subsequent elevation of Fenchurch Street its
foundations were buried. In 1734 the building was pulled down and
the present one erected from the designs of an architect named
Horne. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1346.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Dean and Canons
of St. Martin’s-le-Grand since 1346, then the Abbot and Convent of
Westminster, 1509; Thomas, Bishop of Westminster, by grant of Henry
VIII., January 20, 1540-41; Bishop of London by grant of Edward VI.
in 1550, confirmed by Queen Mary, March 3, 1553-54, in whose
successors it continued. The present building is of brick, with
stone dressings. The tower rises at the west.
Sir Henry Billingsley, Lord Mayor of London, was buried here in
1606. A few monuments are recorded by Strype, but the individuals
commemorated are of little note. The finest monument still preserved
is that to Lady Heigham (d. 1634), wife of Richard Heigham,
gentleman pensioner to King Charles I.
Sir H. Billingsley left £200 for the poor at his death, but his
heirs did not carry out his instructions. Jacob Lucy was donor of
£100; Thomas Papillon of £61. Other names also were recorded on the
Table of Benefactors erected in 1681. There was a workhouse
belonging to the parish.
=St. Gabriel, Fenchurch=, was situated in the middle of Fenchurch
Street between Rood Lane and Mincing Lane. It was burnt down by the
Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to St. Margaret
Pattens by Act of Parliament. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1321.
The patronage of this church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Holy Trinity, 1321-1519; the Crown from 1540 up to 1666,
when the church was burnt down and the parish annexed to St.
Margaret Pattens.
Houseling people in 1548 were 200.
For Rood Lane, Mincing Lane, and the other streets south of Fenchurch
Street leading to Thames Street, see Group V.
=Billiter Street=, not, as Stow says, from its first owner Belzetter,
but from being the quarter in which stood the Bell Founders. Agnes,
sister of Thomas à Becket, had land in Bellzetter Lane, parish of St.
Michael, Aldgate. The lane is mentioned in the _Calendar of Wills_ in
1298, and on many occasions afterwards. Strype, in 1720, calls it a lane
of very ordinary account, the houses being very old and of timber (the
place escaped the Fire), the inhabitants being “inconsiderable, as small
brokers, chandlers, and the like.” But the chief “ornament” of this
place was Billiter Square, which was then newly built with good brick
houses “well inhabited.”
=Lime Street= runs between Fenchurch and Leadenhall Streets.
In 1576 a passage was constructed at the north-east corner of this
street; in the necessary excavation was discovered what Stow calls a
“hearth” made of Roman tiles, every tile half a yard square and two
inches thick. It was six feet under ground, corresponding in depth with
Roman remains found on Cornhill. The passage was duly set up and was
standing.
The name of the street occurs in the _Calendar of Wills_ for the year
1298. We are now approaching that imaginary belt of the City lying
between the markets and Thames Street, in which the merchants and the
nobles mostly had their houses. Stow enumerates a long list of the great
houses in Lime Street:
“In Lime Street are divers fair houses for merchants and others; there
was sometimes a mansion-house of the kings, called the King’s Artirce,
whereof I find record in the 14th of Edward I., but now grown out of
knowledge. I read also of another great house in the west side of Lime
Street, having a chapel on the south and a garden on the west, then
belonging to the Lord Nevill, which garden is now called the Green yard
of the Leaden hall. This house, in the 9th of Richard II., pertained to
Sir Simon Burley, and Sir John Burley his brother; and of late the said
house was taken down, and the forefront thereof new built of timber by
Hugh Offley, alderman. At the north-west corner of Lime Street was of
old time one great messuage called Benbrige’s inn; Ralph Holland,
draper, about the year 1452 gave it to John Gill, master, and to the
wardens and fraternity of tailors and linen-armourers of St. John
Baptist in London, and to their successors for ever. They did set up in
place thereof a fair large frame of timber, containing in the high
street one great house, and before it to the corner of Lime Street three
other tenements, the corner house being the largest, and then down Lime
Street divers proper tenements; all which the merchant-tailors, in the
reign of Edward VI., sold to Stephen Kirton, merchant-tailor and
alderman: he gave, with his daughter Grisild, to Nicholas Woodroffe the
said great house, with two tenements before it, in lieu of a hundred
pounds, and made it up in money £366 : 13 : 4. This worshipful man, and
the gentlewoman his widow after him, kept those houses down Lime Street
in good reparations, never put out but one tenant, took no fines, nor
raised rents of them, which was ten shillings the piece yearly: but
whether that favour did overlive her funeral, the tenants now can best
declare the contrary.
“Next unto this, on the high street, was the Lord Sowche’s messuage or
tenement, and other; in place whereof, Richard Wethell, merchant-tailor,
built a fair house, with a high tower, the second in number, and first
of timber, that ever I learnt to have been built to overlook neighbours
in this city.
“This Richard, then a young man, became in a short time so tormented
with gouts in his joints, of the hands and legs, that he could neither
feed himself nor go further than he was led; much less was he able to
climb and take the pleasure of the height of his tower. Then is there
another fair house, built by Stephen Kirton, alderman; Alderman Lee did
then possess it, and again new buildeth it; but now it is in the custody
of Sir William Craven.
“Then is there a fair house of old time called the Green gate; by which
name one Michael Pistoy, a Lumbard held it, with a tenement and nine
shops in the reign of Richard II., who in the 15th of his reign gave it
to Roger Corphull, and Thomas Bromester, esquires, by the name of the
Green Gate, in the parish of St. Andrew upon Cornhill, in Lime Street
ward; since the which time Philip Malpas, sometime alderman, and one of
the sheriffs, dwelt therein, and was there robbed and spoiled of his
goods to a great value by Jack Cade, and other rebels, in the year 1449.
“Afterwards, in the reign of Henry VII., it was seised into the King’s
hands, and then granted, first, unto John Alston, after that unto
William de la Rivers, and since by Henry VIII. to John Mutas, a Picarde
or Frenchman, who dwelt there, and harboured in his house many
Frenchmen, that kalendred wolsteds, and did other things contrary to the
franchises of the citizens; wherefore on evil May-day, which was in the
year 1517, the apprentices and others spoiled his house; and if they
could have found Mutas, they would have stricken off his head. Sir Peter
Mutas, son to the said John Mutas, sold this house to David Woodroffe,
alderman, whose son, Sir Nicholas Woodroffe, alderman, sold it over to
John Moore, alderman, that then possessed it.
“Next is a house called the Leaden porch, lately divided into two
tenements; whereof one is a tavern, and then one other house for a
merchant, likewise called the leaden Porch, but now turned to a cook’s
house. Next is a fair house and a large, wherein divers mayoralties have
been kept, whereof twain in my remembrance; to wit, Sir William Bowyer
and Sir Henry Huberthorne” (Stow’s _Survey_, pp. 162-163).
In modern Lime Street the first thing that attracts attention is an old
iron gateway leading to a little paved yard where once stood St. Dionis
Backchurch. Laid in a horizontal row are nine tombstones, on which one
can look down. A steep flight of stone steps leads up to the parish
offices, and the backs of business houses surround the court. At No. 15
is the Pewterers’ Hall.
THE PEWTERERS COMPANY
The earliest information respecting the Company is found in the
records of the City of London, 22 Edward III., A.D. 1348, when the
mayor and aldermen are prayed by the good folk of the trade to hear
the state and points of the trade, to provide redress and amendment
of the defaults thereof for the common profit, and to ordain two or
three of the trade to oversee the alloys and workmanship.
In the year 1443 (22 Henry VI.), in consequence of the complaints of
“the multitude of tin which was untrue and deceyvable brought to the
City, the defaults not being perceptible until it comes to the
melting,” the mayor and aldermen granted to the Company the right to
search and assay all the tin which was brought into the City of
London.
Edward IV. (1473-74) incorporated the Company by royal charter.
This power was recognised and confirmed by charters granted
successively by Henry VIII., Philip and Mary, Queen Elizabeth, James
I., and Queen Anne.
An Act of Parliament confirming the Company’s powers to search for
bad wares was passed in 1503-1504, 19 Henry VII. c. 6., confirmed by
other Acts, 4 Henry VIII. c. 7., 1512-13; 25 Henry VIII. c. 9.,
1533-34; and a statute 33 Henry VIII. c. 4., 1541-42, prohibited the
hawking of pewter.
The maintenance of the good faith of the trade appears to have been
one of the primary considerations in the proceedings of the Company.
In 1555 it was resolved that any member buying metal of tylors,
labourers, boys, women, or suspected persons, or between six at
night and six in the morning, if the metal should prove to have been
stolen, should not only be dismissed the Company, but stand to such
punishment as the Lord Mayor and aldermen might direct.
The Company appear to have furnished a certain number of men with
arms for the defence of the City, and to have kept at the Hall
equipments for them—calyvers, corslets, bills, pikes, etc.—and to
have appointed an armourer to preserve them in good condition.
The Company used to cast into bars such tin as was to be transported
out of the realm, whereby the poor of the Company were wont to
provide for part of their living; but after these bars were made by
strangers beyond the sea, the poor were greatly “hindered.” A
petition was presented to Queen Elizabeth in 1594, and after a delay
of four years Letters Patent were granted to the Company, giving
permission for a small charge to be made on the smelting and casting
of bars of tin.
The fellowship of the craft and mystery of Pewterers of London and
elsewhere represented, before Henry VIII.’s reign, one of the best
handicrafts within the realm.
The master and wardens appear at the commencement of the seventeenth
century to have exercised the right to nominate the casters of tin
in London, and the Company received a small royalty on the casting,
which was distributed to the poor of the Company. They also appear
to have had from the Council of the Revenue of the Prince of Wales
an allotment of certain proportions of the tin produced in Cornwall,
and to have derived some profit from the privilege. In fact, the
pewter trade in London was supplied with tin from Cornwall through
the Company, and frequent disputations are recorded between the
Company and the Prince’s Council as to the rate, which was sometimes
said to be so high that the poor of the Company could not live
thereby.
At a later period the Company, in order to prevent the public from
imposition, and to sustain the credit of the pewterers’ trade,
appointed the standard assays of the various wares and the weight of
metal for each article.
The Hall stands upon a piece of ground presented to the Company by
W. Smallwood, Master, 1487. The first building was destroyed in the
Great Fire and the present one is that which replaced it.
The Company now have a livery of 103; a Corporate Income of £5400;
and a Trust Income of £233.
The Ordinances of the Pewterers were submitted to the mayor and
aldermen in 1348. They may be found in Riley (_Memorials_, 241).
They contain clauses similar to those in the ordinances of other
trades, including the power of appointing overseers of their own
body. Two years later we find a Pewterer named John de Hiltone
brought before the mayor on the charge of making “false”
salt-cellars and “potels.” The “false” vessels were forfeited. The
use of pewter for domestic purposes was universal. Dishes, plates,
basins, drinking cups, measures were all made of pewter. There are
luncheon-rooms in the City at the present day where steaks and chops
are served on pewter: at Lincoln’s Inn the dishes are still of
pewter; in the last century children and servants took their meals
off pewter. These facts explain the flourishing condition of the
Company and its large income.
* * * * *
=St. Dionis Backchurch= was situated at the south-west corner of
Lime Street behind Fenchurch Street, from which position it probably
derived its name of Backchurch. It was burnt down by the Great Fire,
and rebuilt by Wren in 1674, and the steeple added in 1684. In 1878
this building was pulled down by an Order in Council. Part of the
money obtained from the site was given to the foundation of a new
church of St. Dionis at Parsons Green erected in 1885. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1288.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: In 1248, the Prior
and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury; then the Dean and Chapter
of Canterbury 1552, in whose successors it continued up to 1878,
when the church was demolished and the parish annexed to Allhallows,
Lombard Street.
Houseling people in 1548 were 405.
Chantries were founded here: By John Carby, Alderman of London,
whose endowment fetched £13 in 1548, when James Servaunt was priest;
by Maude Bromeholme, whose endowment yielded £5 : 7 : 4 in 1548; by
John Wrotham, whose endowment was £15 : 7 : 4, when Nicholas
Metcalfe was chaplain.
The church originally contained a considerable number of monuments,
the most notable of which were in memory of John Hewet of the
Clothworkers Company and benefactor of the parish; Sir Robert
Jeffreys, Knt., Alderman and Lord Mayor of the City, who died in
1703; and Edward Tyson, M.D.
Some of the donors of charitable gifts were: Dame Elizabeth Clark,
£30; Robert Williams, £25, towards a bell; James Church, £10. Many
others gave various fittings for the church.
Lionel Gatford (d. 1665); Archdeacon of St. Alban’s, was rector
here; also Nathanial Hardy (1618-1670), Dean of Rochester.
[Illustration:
A REMARKABLE OLD HOUSE IN LEADENHALL STREET
From a drawing by S. Rawle. Published January 1801.
]
=Leadenhall Street= was so named after the Leadenhall, _i.e._ the hall
covered with lead, which stood at the corner of that street and
Gracechurch Street. An early reference to the place is found in the
_Calendar of Wills_ in the year 1296, when certain “rents near la
Ledenhalle in Gracechurch Street” are mentioned. The next reference does
not occur till the year 1369. But in Riley’s _Memorials_, we are told
that on the eve of St. John the Baptist, June 24, the mayor delivered to
the chamberlain “one silver mark arising from a certain small garden
annexed to Leden Hall, which mark was taken ... for completing the
pavement belonging to the Court of Leaden Hall.” Riley gives a very
brief history of the place:
“At the beginning of the 14th century, it was occasionally used as a
Court of Justice; see the MS. _Liber de Antiqu. Legibus_, at Guildhall,
fol. 61. In October, 1326, after the flight of Edward II., the Commons
of London met there, when making terms with the Constable of the Tower”
(Riley, _Memorials_, p. 138).
Stow gives a long account of the various hands through which the _manor_
of Leadenhall passed, confusing the hall with the manor on which it was
built. In the year 1411, according to Stow, the manor came into
possession of the City.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. H. Shepherd._
LEADENHALL STREET
]
“Then in the year 1443, the 21st of Henry VI., John Hatherley, mayor,
purchased licence of the said king to take up two hundred fodder of
lead, for the building of water conduits, a common granary, and the
cross in West Chepe, more richly, for the honour of the City. In the
year next following, the parson and parish of St. Dunstan, in the east
of London, seeing the famous and mighty man (for the words be in the
grant, _nobilis et potens vir_), Simon Eyre, citizen of London, among
other his works of piety, effectually determined to erect and build a
certain granary upon the soil of the same city at Leadenhall, of his own
charges, for the common utility of the said city, to the amplifying and
enlarging of the said granary, granted to Henry Frowicke, then mayor,
the aldermen and commonalty, and their successors for ever, all their
tenements, with the appurtenances, sometime called the Horsemill, in
Grasse Street, for the annual rent of four pounds, etc. Also, certain
evidences of an alley and tenements pertaining to the Horsemill
adjoining to the said Leaden hall in Grasse Street, given by William
Kingstone, fishmonger, unto the parish church of St. Peter upon
Cornehill, do specify the said granary to be built by the said
honourable and famous merchant, Simon Eyre, sometime an upholsterer, and
then a draper, in the year 1419. He built it of squared stone, in form
as now it showeth, with a fair and large chapel in the east side of the
quadrant, over the porch of which he caused to be written, _Dextra
Domini exaltavit me_ (The Lord’s right hand exalted me). Within the said
church on the north wall, was written, _Honorandus famosus mercator
Simon Eyre hujus operis_, etc. In English thus: ‘The honourable and
famous merchant, Simon Eyre, founder of this work, once mayor of this
City, citizen and draper of the same, departed out of this life, the
18th day of September, the year from the incarnation of Christ 1459, and
the 38th year of the reign of King Henry VI.’” (Stow’s _Survey_, p.
162).
Before the middle of the fourteenth century Leadenhall had become a
market for poultry. In 1345 it was ordered that strange folk, _i.e._
people from outside the City, bringing poultry for sale should no longer
hawk it about from house to house, but should take it to the Leaden
Hall, and should there sell it, and nowhere else. Also that citizens who
sell poultry should offer it on the west side of the Tun of Cornhill
(Riley, pp. 220, 221).
The market was not, however, confined to the sale of poultry, as is
proved by the following request of the commons of the City, in the year
1503:
“Please it, the lord mayor, aldermen and common council, to enact, that
all Frenchmen bringing canvass, linen cloth, and other wares to be sold,
and all foreigners bringing wolsteds, sayes, Stamins, Kiverings, nails,
iron work, or any other wares, and also all manner of foreigners
bringing lead to the city to be sold, shall bring all such their wares
aforesaid to the open market of the Leaden Hall, there and no where else
to be sold and uttered, like as of old time it hath been used, upon pain
of forfeiture of all the said wares showed or sold in any other place
than aforesaid; the show of the said wares to be made three days in the
week, that is to say, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; it is also thought
reasonable that the common beam be kept henceforth in the Leaden Hall,
and the farmer to pay therefore reasonable rent to the chamber; for
better it is that the chamber have advantage thereby than a foreign
person; and also the said Leaden Hall, which is more chargeable now by
half than profitable, shall better bear out the charges thereof; also
the common beam for wool at Leaden Hall, may yearly pay a rent to the
chamber of London, toward supportation and charges of the same place;
for reason it is, that a common office, occupied upon a common ground,
bear a charge to the use of the commonalty; also, that foreigners
bringing wools, felts, or any other merchandises or wares to Leaden
Hall, to be kept there for the sale and market, may pay more largely for
the keeping of their goods than free men” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 164).
[Illustration:
SKIN MARKET, LEADENHALL, 1825
]
A granary was kept at Leaden Hall, the use of which depended entirely on
the forethought of the mayor. Thus, in 1512, Roger Acheley, the mayor,
found that there were not one hundred quarters of wheat in all the
garners of the City. He took immediate steps, and not only imported
wheat for present necessities, but also filled the granaries of the
City. Stow adds a note as to the activity of the mayor: “He kept the
market so well, that he would be at the Leaden Hall by four o’clock in
the summer mornings; and thence he went to other markets, to the great
comfort of the citizens.”
In 1529 a petition was presented by the Commons to the Common Council on
the uses to which Leaden Hall might be put. It should not be let out to
farm to any person or to any Company incorporate for any time of years,
and they proceeded to give their reasons.
About the year 1534 an effort was made to convert Leadenhall into a
Burse. This failed, and the Burse continued to be held in Lombard Street
until the building of the Royal Exchange. This is interesting, because
it shows that Gresham was not alone in desiring to have a convenient
building for the meeting of the merchants.
“The use of Leaden Hall in my youth (says Stow) was thus:—In a part of
the north quadrant, on the east side of the north gate, were the common
beams for weighing of wool and other wares, as had been accustomed; on
the west side of the gate were the scales to weigh meal; the other three
sides were reserved for the most part to the making and resting of the
pageants showed at Midsummer in the watch; the remnant of the sides and
quadrants was employed for the stowage of wool sacks, but not closed up;
the lofts above were partly used by the painters in working for the
decking of pageants and other devices, for beautifying of the watch and
watch-men; the residue of the lofts were letten out to merchants, the
wool winders and packers therein to wind and pack their wools” (p. 166).
The market in 1754 is thus described by Strype:
“Leadenhall is a very large building of Free-stone, containing within it
three large Courts or Yards, all encompassed with buildings, wherein is
kept a market, one of the greatest, the best, and the most general for
all provisions in the City of London, nay of the Kingdom; and, if I
should say of all Europe, I should not give it too great a praise. The
building hath flat battlements leaded at the top; and, for the
conveniency of People’s coming to this great market, which is kept every
day of the week, except Sundays, for one thing or the other, besides the
principal entrance out of Leadenhall Street, there are two or three
others, one out of Lime Street, and the rest out of Gracechurch Street.
“Of the three Courts or Yards that it consists of, the first is that at
the north-east corner of Gracechurch Street, and opens into Leadenhall
Street; this court or yard contains, in length, from north to south, one
hundred and sixty-four feet, and, in breadth, from east to west, eighty
feet; within this court or yard, round about the same, are about one
hundred standing stalls for butchers for the selling only of beef, and
therefore this court is called the Beef Market, many of which stalls are
eight, ten, or twelve feet long, and four, five, or six feet broad, with
racks, hooks, blocks, and all other conveniences for the sale of their
meat: All which stalls are either under warehouses above head, or
sheltered from the weather by roofs over them. This yard is, on
Tuesdays, a market for leather, to which the tanners do resort. On
Thursdays the waggons from Colchester, and other parts, come with Baiz,
etc., and also the Felmongers with their wool; and on Fridays it is a
market for raw hides, besides Saturdays for Beef, as also other
provisions.
“The second market-yard is called the Green yard, as being once a green
Plat of Ground. Afterwards it was the City’s Store-yard for Materials
for building, and the like, but now a market only for veal, mutton,
lamb, etc. This yard is one hundred and seventy feet in length, from
east to west, and ninety feet broad from north to south: It hath in it
one hundred and forty stalls for the butchers, all covered over, and of
the bigness of those in the beef-market. In the middle of this Green
yard Market, north to south, is a row of shops, with kitchens, or rooms
over them, for fishmongers; and, also, on the south side and west end,
are houses and shops also for fishmongers. Towards the east end of this
yard is erected a fair market-house, standing upon columns, with vaults
underneath, and rooms above, with a bell-tower and a clock, and under it
are butchers’ stalls. The tenements round about this yard are, for the
most part, inhabited by cooks, victuallers, and such-like; and, in the
passages leading out of the streets, into this market, are fishmongers,
poulterers, cheesemongers, and such-like traders for provision.
“The third market belonging to Leadenhall is called the Herb Market, for
that herbs, roots, fruits, etc., are only there sold. This market is
about one hundred and forty feet square; the west, east, and south sides
have walks round them, covered over for shelter, and standing upon
columns; in which walks there are twenty-eight stalls for gardeners,
with cellars under them. There is also, in this yard, one range of
stalls covered over for such as sell tripe, neats-feet, sheeps-trotters,
etc., and, on the south side, the tenements are taken up by Victuallers,
Cheesemongers, Butchers, Poulterers, and such-like.
“The rooms in the stone building about the beef-market, which is
properly Leadenhall, are employed for several uses, as the west side was
wholly used for the stowage of wares belonging to the East-India
Company; on the east side is the meal-warehouse and the Wool-hall; on
the south end is the Colchester Baiz-hall, and at the north end is the
warehouse for the sealing of leather.
“The general conflagration of this city, in 1666, terminated in that
part of the City near adjoining to this hall; all the houses about it,
and within the yards belonging to it, being destroyed, there did, of
this fabric, only remain the stonework; since which, the Courts and
yards belonging to this building, and some other adjacent grounds
purchased by the City, are wholly converted into a market for the City’s
use; the place for the reception of Country butchers, and others who
brought provisions before to the City, being then only in Leadenhall
Street, between Gracechurch Street and Lime Street, which was very
incommodious to the market people, as well as to the passengers.”
[Illustration:
LEADENHALL CHAPEL IN 1812
]
=Leadenhall Market= is in four rays of varying lengths; the longest is
about 80 feet, the shortest about 30. These are covered in by a wide
arched roof of glass, supported by girders, and are about 30 feet wide.
At each entrance there is a similar design. On either side a couple of
massive fluted columns are surmounted by griffins, which support the
arch. These are decorated with gilt. Over the entry is an arch of great
height, with a stone relief, and on the frieze below the words
“Leadenhall Market.” The market was built in 1881, designed by Sir
Horace Jones, and is occupied to a very great extent by poulterers and
butchers. There are roughly about fifty holdings and two taverns, the
Lamb and the Half Moon.
There was a chapel in the market, to which was attached a Fraternity of
the Trinity of sixty priests, with other brethren and sisters, in which
service was celebrated every day.
The chapel was taken down in 1812 (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p.
373).
In Leadenhall Street have been found Roman remains, a pavement, pottery,
etc.
A crypt existed under the house 153 Leadenhall Street until 1896, when
it was destroyed.
[Illustration:
CRYPT IN LEADENHALL STREET, 1825
]
“Under the corner house of Leadenhall and Bishopsgate Streets, and two
houses on the east, and one on the north, side thereof, was situate a
very ancient church of Gothic construction, the principal part of which
is still remaining under the said corner house, and two adjoining in
Leadenhall Street; but part of the north aisle beneath the house
contiguous in Bishopsgate Street, was lately obliged to make way to
enlarge the cellar. When or by whom this old church was founded I cannot
learn, it not being so much as mentioned by any of our historians or
surveyors of London that I can discover.
“Some other ancient architectural remains, perhaps originally connected
with the former, were also found under the houses extending up the
eastern site of Bishopsgate Street. The description of their situation,
given by Maitland, fixes their locality to the side of the very house at
which the fire of 1765 commenced; and which appears to have continued
until that time in the same kind of occupation as it was when the
ensuing account of these ruins was written. ‘At the distance of 12 feet
from this church,’—namely the remains already noticed at the north-east
corner of Leadenhall Street—‘is to be seen, under the house at the late
Mr. Macadam’s, a peruke-maker in Bishopsgate Street, a stone building of
the length of 30 feet, breadth of 14, and altitude of 8 feet 6 inches
above the present floor; with a door in the north-side, and a window at
the east end, as there probably was one in the west. It is covered with
a semi-circular arch, built with small piers of chalk in the form of
bricks, and ribbed with stone, resembling those of the arches of a
bridge. What this edifice at first was appropriated to is very
uncertain; though, by the manner of its construction, it seems to have
been a chapel; but the ground having been since raised on all sides, it
was probably converted into a subterraneous repository for merchandise;
for a pair of stone stairs, with a descending arch over them, seems to
have been erected since the fabric was built’” (Wilkinson, _Londina
Illustrata_).
The most important house in the street next to the Leadenhall itself was
the East India House, which stood near to the Hall. The Company first
met, according to tradition, at the Nag’s Head Tavern, Bishopsgate; they
then had a house in Leadenhall Street; they took on lease in
1701—perhaps it was their first house—Sir William Craven’s large house
in Leadenhall Street, with a tenement in Lime Street. This is probably
the house pictured in a print in the British Museum.
In 1726 the “Old” East India House was built, of which several parts
were retained in the new buildings of 1799.
Hardly any part of the City, unless it be the south of Cornhill, is so
honeycombed with courts and passages as the quarter upon which we are
now engaged. For the most part they are not distinguished by any
historical associations. Some of them formerly contained taverns and
inns. The courts are greatly diminished in size; some of them were
narrow lanes with houses standing face to face, a few feet apart; some
of them formerly contained gentlemen’s houses. Why were these houses
built in a court? The explanation is easy. The town-house of noble or
merchant was built like a college: a gateway with a chamber over it in
front, rooms beside the gate in case of a nobleman with a retinue; in
other cases a wall enclosing a garden in a square, on either side rooms,
at the back the Hall and what we call reception rooms, with the private
rooms of the family. When land became more valuable the rooms beside the
gateway became shops, then there was building at the back of the shops,
the sides became contracted, and there were left at last only the court,
the gateway, and the house beyond. There are several places in the City
where this history of a house may be traced, the modern offices being
built on the site of the old foundation, the gateway having disappeared,
and the court still remaining.
“Anno 1136. A very great fire happened in the City, which began in the
house of one Ailward, near London Stone, and consumed all the way east
to Aldgate, and west to St. Erkenwald’s shrine in St. Paul’s Cathedral,
both which it destroyed, together with London Bridge, which was then
constructed of wood.
“It is reasonable to conjecture, that the accumulation of ruins these
extensive fires occasioned left the distressed inhabitants little choice
in their determination; and as it would have caused infinite trouble and
inconvenience to have cleared and removed the same, they wisely
preferred sacrificing a few (to them) useless buildings, raised and
levelled the ground, and began a foundation for new dwellings on the
site of the roofs of some of their remaining habitations. The amazing
descent to the banks of the Thames from several parts of the City
confirms the opinion that most of the buildings denominated crypts,
oratories, or undercrofts, were, in their pristine states, level in
their foundations with the dwelling-places of their original builders.
What greatly adds to the probability is the circumstance of our being
informed that near Belzeter’s Lane (Billiter Lane) and Lime Street,
three new houses being to be built, in the year 1590, in a place where
was a large garden plot enclosed from the street by a high brick wall,
upon taking down the said wall and digging for cellarage, another wall
of stone was found directly under the brick wall with an arched gateway
of stone, and gates of timber to be closed in the midst towards the
street. The timber of the gates was consumed, but the hinges of iron
were then remaining on their staples on both sides: moreover, in that
wall were square windows with bars of iron on each side this gate. The
wall was above two fathoms deep under the ground, supposed to be the
remains of those great fires before mentioned. Again, we learn, on the
east side of Lime Street opening into Fenchurch Street, on that site,
after the fire of 1666, Sir Thomas Cullum built thirty houses, and that
a short time previous to 1757, the cellar of one of the houses giving
way, there was discovered an arched room, ten feet square and eight feet
deep, with several arched doors round it stopped up with earth”
(Wilkinson, _Londina Illustrata_, vol. ii. p. 43).
In 1660 the mayor, Sir Thomas Allen, resided in Leadenhall Street and
entertained Monk. At the corner of St. Mary Axe stood, in the fifteenth
century, the town-house of the De Veres, Earls of Oxford.
Gibbon’s great-grandfather, one of the last of the younger sons of
county families who came to London and went into trade, had his shop as
a draper in Leadenhall Street.
In this street Peter Anthony Motteux, translator of _Don Quixote_, kept
an “East India” shop. He was a Huguenot, and could speak and understand
many languages. He was also employed as a linguist at the Post Office.
In addition to his shop and his office, he worked as a poet and man of
letters generally; being the author of plays, prologues, and epilogues.
He is best known by his completion of Urquhart’s _Translation of
Rabelais_. He was a loose liver, and died in a disorderly house in St.
Clement Danes. Like the lady of Père la Chaise, “Resigned unto the
Heavenly Will, His wife kept on the business still.”
ST. KATHERINE CREE
St. Katherine Cree, in Leadenhall Street, is on the site of the
cemetery of the Priory of Holy Trinity, whence it derives its name
Creechurch or Christchurch. This priory is said to have been built
in the same place where Siredus sometime began to erect a church in
honour of the Cross and of St. Mary Magdalen. This ancient church
contributed thirty shillings to the Dean and Chapter of Waltham. The
abbey church here is also dedicated to the Holy Cross, and when
Matilda founded Christ Church or Trinity she gave to the Church of
Waltham a mill instead of this payment. But little is known of the
building of Siredus; but Matilda’s Priory is said to have occupied
parts of the parishes of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Michael, St.
Katherine, and the Blessed Trinity, which now was made but one
parish of the Holy Trinity, and was in old time of the Holy Cross or
Holy Rood parish. At this time, therefore (1108), the old parish of
the Holy Rood had disappeared, and four parishes appear on its site.
In the perambulation of the old soke of the Priory we find the
parishes of Coleman Church (St. Katherine), St. Michael, St. Andrew
(Undershaft), and of the Trinity (now St. James’s, Duke’s Place),
but St. Mary Magdalen and Holy Rood are not mentioned. This loss of
St. Mary Magdalen is not easily explained. Could the Church of St.
Andrew have been dedicated formerly to St. Mary Magdalen? Such
changes in dedication are known, and, even in this ward or soke,
Stow tells us that St. Katherine Coleman was called St. Katherine
and All Saints.
This would make up all the parishes which are given at the several
periods in this locality. The existence of St. Katherine Coleman and
St. Katherine Cree as two distinct parishes adjoining is remarkable.
The parish of St. Katherine Coleman belonged to the ancient
establishment of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, and so remained until the
Dissolution. Was it a part of this parish which was taken into the
precinct of the Trinity? The inhabitants of the enclosed parish of
Cree Church at first used the Priory church, but it was agreed
afterwards that they should have a church erected, and use the
Priory church only at certain times. This would be what we might
expect of a part of a parish detached at the establishment of the
Priory, but which desired to be released from the control of the
prior, and to be a parish of itself, with its own church. We must
not confound the parish of St. Mary Magdalen with a small parish of
St. Mary the Virgin, St. Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins. This was on
the west side of St. Mary Axe, and belonged to the Priory of St.
Helen. The church was destroyed, and the parish united, by Edmund
Grindal, Bishop of London, to St. Andrew, Undershaft, in the year
1561.
The parishioners had been allowed to worship at an altar in the
Priory church, but this being inconvenient, St. Katherine’s was
built through the agency of Richard de Gravesend, Bishop of London,
1280-1303. It was rebuilt in 1628-1630, possibly after the design of
Inigo Jones. The steeple, which was built in the early sixteenth
century, is still standing. The church was consecrated by Laud in
1631. In 1874 the parish of St. James’s, Duke’s Place, was annexed.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1436.
The patronage of which was in the hands of the Prior and Canons of
Holy Trinity, London. Henry VIII. seized it in 1540, and soon after
granted it to Sir Thomas Audley, who gave it, by his will dated
April 19, 1544, to the Master and Fellows of Magdalene College,
Cambridge, in whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 542.
The church is a mixture of the Gothic and classical styles. It
contains two narrow aisles separated from the nave by Corinthian
columns and round arches, above which is a clerestory. The roof is
groined, and the arms of the City and several City Companies are
displayed on it. The building is 94 feet long, 51 feet broad, and 37
feet high. It is larger than the original church, of which the sole
relic now existing is a pillar at the south-west, less than three
feet above ground, owing to the higher level of the new church. The
stone steeple rises at the west and consists of a tower surmounted
by a Tuscan colonnade with a cupola and vane; its total height is 75
feet.
A chantry was founded here at the Altar of St. Michael.
The church is not rich in historical monuments. It contains,
however, the tomb of Nicholas Throckmorton, Chief Butler of England
and intimate friend of Lady Jane Grey and Queen Elizabeth.
Tradition said that Hans Holbein was buried here, but there is no
evidence for it except that he died in the vicinity.
There is a brass in the floor in front of the communion table,
commemorating Sir John Gayer, Lord Mayor in 1646 and staunch
adherent of Charles I., for which he suffered imprisonment.
At the west end there is a bas-relief to Samuel Thorpe (died 1791):
this is only interesting as being the work of the elder Bacon.
Sir John Gayer bequeathed £200 for charitable purposes, amongst them
a fee for a sermon to be preached on October 16 annually, and though
the charity is now diverted, yet the “Lion sermon,” in commemoration
of the donor’s delivery from a lion in Arabia, is still kept up.
There was a charity school at the end of Cree Church Lane, in which
forty boys were clothed and taught, by subscriptions from the
inhabitants of the ward.
Roger Maynwaring (1590-1653), Bishop of St. David’s, was a perpetual
curate here; also Nicholas Brady (1659-1726), joint author of Tate
and Brady’s version of the Psalter.
The north of Leadenhall Street between St. Katherine Cree and Aldgate,
from the year 1130 and the suppression of the Religious Houses, was
covered with the buildings of the Priory of the Holy Trinity already
described (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 241).
The buildings of the Priory were given by the King to Sir Thomas Audley
in 1531 after the surrender.
The Earl of Suffolk, son of the Duke who was beheaded in 1572, sold the
house and precinct to the City of London, and built Audley End in Essex.
The City seems to have pulled down the mansion and laid out the grounds
in streets and courts. The disposition of these seems to preserve, to a
certain extent, that of the old Priory.
When the people began to settle in the precinct, they found themselves,
although so close to St. Katherine Cree, without a parish church. They
therefore petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury, who obtained
permission of the King to build a new church here, and to erect a new
parish. The church was finished and dedicated to St. James in 1622. The
memory of the consecration is described at length by Strype. This
quarter was assigned to the Jews by Oliver Cromwell in 1650. Here is the
Great Synagogue of the German Jews.
St. James’s was one of the most notorious of the many places for
irregular marriages, those without licence, because as standing in the
ancient precinct of the Priory it was without the jurisdiction of the
bishop.
=St. James’s, Duke’s Place=, escaped the Great Fire of 1666.
In 1873 the church was pulled down and its parish united with that
of St. Katherine Cree Church. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1622.
This church was in the gift of the Lord Mayor and Commonalty of
London from 1622.
Few monuments, and none of much note, are recorded by Stow. Booker,
an astrologer, was commemorated by a stone inscription.
Sir Edward Barkham is the only benefactor whose name is recorded by
Stow.
The modern Leadenhall Street is at the west end full of fine,
well-executed Chambers. Of these, New Zealand Chambers are the most
noticeable. The building is by R. Norman Shaw in the pseudo-ancient
style. It was erected in 1872, and is carried out in red brick. The
bayed windows on either side of the entrance are placed in wide recesses
which run right up the frontage. Africa House is in a commonplace style,
but has rather good stone panels on the front. On the north Leadenhall
House is solidly faced in granite, with granite columns on the frontage.
West India House is neatly built in white stone.
Farther eastward the street is singularly dull; it is lined at first by
dreary blocks of imitation stone buildings. These are succeeded by brick
buildings all turned out of the same mould. The north side is better
than the south, and is chiefly made up of solid, well-built houses on
various designs.
At No. 153 the ground-floor is occupied by a bric-à-brac shop. Below the
parapet there is a curious triangular pediment let into the brickwork.
This encloses a round stone with an inscription on it, of which the
first word seems to be “incendio”; on either side is a small shelf.
The London Joint Stock Bank is a few doors off. No. 140, an Aerated
Bread Shop, is fantastically built, in imitation of an old style. The
Peninsular & Oriental Steamship Company is in a stone and terra-cotta
building, with well-designed figures in slight relief in the corners of
the windows.
=Aldgate=, spelt otherwise Alegate or Algate, was probably, but not
certainly, opened and constructed by Queen Matilda, Consort of Henry I.,
who is also said to have built the bridge over the Lea at Bow. There
seems no reason for doubting the story.
On the spelling of the name Professor Skeat writes, September 18, 1897:
“It occurs to me to say that in any case of interpreting spellings, the
date of the spelling is of the greatest service. We now know the
meanings of all the vowel symbols at all dates. If we can obtain a few
early spellings of Aldgate, with approximate dates, we ought to be able
to decide it. We have to remember that _all_, in composition meant
‘wholly,’ and was adverbial as in Al-mighty, and ‘wholly gate’ gives no
sense. If ‘for all’ were intended, it would be _alra_, _aller_, or
_alder_, the genitive of plural. This is not a question of etymology but
of grammar. On the other hand, if the M.E. _Ald_ [now spelt _Old_] were
meant, I have proof that a Norman scribe would be apt to omit the _d_;
so that _Alegate_ would, in fact, be quite regular. And it would _not_
necessarily become _Oldgate_ in course of time; just as Acton, though it
means _Oaktown_, is called Acton still. This is due to what we call the
preservation of a short or shortened vowel, owing to stress.”
And again, writing on 21st September, he says:
“The list of spellings which you send me is most interesting, but it is
not easy to explain it. I can remember a time when I should have drawn
the conclusion that they are very much against connecting the word with
the Old Mercian _ald_, which we now spell _old_. But my recent
investigations tell the other way; not only were perfectly common words
persistently (but regularly) mis-spelt in Domesday and early charters,
from the time of the Conquest till about 1350, but in many instances (as
would likely be the case in official documents) such habits became
stereotyped. The early scribes were nearly all Norman, and they brought
in Norman spelling to that extent that the whole of modern English is
pervaded by it; indeed, no one who does not know the phonetic laws of
Anglo-French can explain why the word _house_ is spelt with _ou_, or the
word _build_ with _ui_.... The explanation of the spelling Ald in 1270
is probably simply this: that this particular charter (contrary to
practice) was entrusted to an English scribe. It is a simple
supposition—English spellings began to prevail in these matters in the
period from 1350-1400, and it is just here that we get two instances.
The Normans learnt Latin easily: to an English scribe it was a foreign
language. This is why the French scribes were preferred for writing
Latin documents. After 1400 such French spellings as affect the true
sound are rare; this is why, after that the E. form prevails. But we
must remember that many Englishmen do not fully pronounce the _d_ in
_Aldgate_ even now, but slur it over; and in days of phonetic spelling
such things were reproduced. I should say the evidence can only be
explained, on the _whole_, from the supposition that the English word
was _Ald_, preserved in composition instead of being turned into _old_
(as it did when standing alone); and this will explain _eald_ also, as
_eald_ is the Wessex form of _Ald_, adopted in 1598 as a mere bit of
pedantry, but at the same time showing that the belief then prevailed.
This is all I have to say about Aldgate.”
The gate was rebuilt by Norman, first Prior of Holy Trinity. The
weigh-house for weighing corn was in the gateway.
After the Fire, Aldgate was used for the prisoners who had been confined
in the Poultry Compter.
In 1374 the gate was let on lease to Geoffrey Chaucer. Here followeth
the lease itself:
“To all persons to whom this present writing indented shall come, Adam
de Bury, Mayor, the Aldermen, and the Commonalty of the City of London,
greeting. Know ye that we, with unanimous will and assent, have granted
and released by these presents unto Geoffrey Chaucer the whole of the
dwelling-house above the gate of Algate, with the rooms built over, and
a certain cellar beneath, the same gate, on the South side of that gate,
and the appurtenances thereof; to have and to hold the whole of the
house aforesaid, with the rooms so built over, and the said cellar, and
the appurtenances thereof, unto the aforesaid Geoffrey, for the whole
life of him, the said Geoffrey. And the said Geoffrey shall maintain and
repair the whole of the house aforesaid, and the rooms thereof, so often
as shall be requisite, in all things necessary thereto, competently and
sufficiently, at the expense of the same Geoffrey, throughout the whole
life of him, the same Geoffrey. And it shall be lawful for the
Chamberlain of the Guildhall of London, for the time being, so often as
he shall see fit, to enter the house and rooms aforesaid, with their
appurtenances, to see that the same are well and competently, and
sufficiently, maintained and repaired, as aforesaid. And if the said
Geoffrey shall not have maintained or repaired the aforesaid house and
rooms competently and sufficiently, as is before stated, within forty
days after the time when by the same Chamberlain he shall have been
required so to do, it shall be lawful for the said Chamberlain wholly to
oust the before-named Geoffrey therefrom, and to re-seise and resume the
same house, rooms, and cellar, with their appurtenances, into the hand
of the City, to the use of the Commonalty aforesaid; and to hold the
same in their former state to the use of the same Commonalty, without
any gainsaying whatsoever thereof. And it shall not be lawful for the
said Geoffrey to let the house, rooms, and cellar, aforesaid, or any
part thereof, or his interest therein, to any person whatsoever. And we,
the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty aforesaid, will not cause any gaol
to be made thereof, for the safekeeping of prisoners therein, during the
life of the said Geoffrey; but we and our successors will warrant the
same house, rooms, and cellar, with their appurtenances, unto the
before-named Geoffrey, for the whole life of him, the same Geoffrey, in
form aforesaid: this however excepted, that in time of defence of the
city aforesaid, so often as it shall be necessary, it shall be lawful
for us and our successors to enter the said house and rooms, and to
order and dispose of the same, for such time, and in such manner, as
shall then seem to us to be most expedient. And after the decease of the
same Geoffrey, the house, rooms, and cellar aforesaid, with their
appurtenances, shall wholly revert unto us and our successors. In
witness whereof, as well the Common Seal of the City aforesaid as the
seal of the said Geoffrey, have been to these present indentures
interchangeably appended. Given in the Chamber of the Guildhall of the
City aforesaid, the 10th day of May, in the 48th year of the reign of
King Edward, after the Conquest the Third” (Riley’s _Memorials_, pp.
377-378).
“This,” says Stow, “is one and the first of the four principal gates,
and also one of the seven double gates, mentioned by Fitzstephen. It
hath had two pair of gates, though now but one; the hooks remaineth yet.
Also there hath been two portcloses; the one of them remaineth, the
other wanteth, but the place of letting down is manifest.”
“This gate being very ruinous, was pulled down Anno 1606; when, in
digging for a new foundation, divers Roman coins were discovered, two of
which Mr. Bond, the Surveyor, caused to be cut in stone, and placed in
the east front on each side the passage. The first stone of this edifice
was laid Anno 1607, at the depth of sixteen feet, and finished Anno
1609.
“Here was only one postern, and that on the north side, for
foot-passengers; and a water-conduit at the south-east angle thereof;
but the last being disused for many years, two houses were erected in
lieu of it, in the year 1734, and a postern made on the south side of
the gate. The apartments over this gate are appropriated to the use of
one of the Lord Mayor’s Carvers, and at present are lett to the Charity
School founded by Sir John Cash” (Maitland, vol. i. pp. 22-23).
The gate was taken down in 1761.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. H. Shepherd._
ALDGATE IN 1830
]
In 1291, Thomas de Alegate leaves to his wife Eleanor, his houses within
Alegate (_Calendar of Wills_). The street is often mentioned afterwards.
The ward of Aldgate in the year 1276 was called the ward of John of
Northampton, the then alderman. There was a hermitage on the south side
of the gate within a garden; the garden was let, in 1325, to one Peter a
“blader,” or corn merchant. It is not stated whether the hermitage was
then occupied. There were houses beside the gate in 1354. The Prior of
Holy Trinity, Aldgate, was alderman _ex officio_ of Portsoken Ward; in
1378 we find him sworn to fill the office “and faithfully to do all
things touching that office.”
In 1349, the _Calendar of Wills_ speaks of tenements in “Algate Street.”
Roman remains have been found in Aldgate; at the gate there was a
“Roomland”; without the gate was a great pit for the burial of those who
died of the plague. In 1315 Sir John de Sandale, leaving London on
business of the King, put the Great Seal into the custody of Sir William
de Ayremynn at his inn near Aldgate. In the same year he received at his
inn Edward de Baliol, newly returned from beyond the sea.
At the east end of the street, under a house facing the pump, was still
to be seen, until 1868, a crypt formerly supposed to have been that of
an ancient church, dedicated to St. Michael and taken down when the
Priory of the Holy Trinity was first founded.
This handsome Gothic structure, which is situated between the east end
of Leadenhall and Fenchurch Streets, under the houses fronting the pump
at Aldgate, is still remaining entire, exhibiting a most beautiful
specimen of ancient architecture.
It is shown (_L. & M. Archæological Journal_, iv. p. 223 _et seq._) that
the crypt could not have been that of St. Michael’s Church. The paper
referred to proved that the Church of St. Michael was not on that site
at all. It quotes from the _Liber Dunthorne_ the boundaries of the soke
of the monastery of the Trinity, which are very nearly the same as those
of Aldgate ward.
It concludes that it was more likely the crypt of a great house, perhaps
the ward house.
Rowland Taylor, before being burned for heresy, was taken to the
Woolpack, an inn without Aldgate, and kept there.
A curious story is told concerning the Duke of Buckingham in 1663. “When
the Duke came from Newmarket he stayed at an Inn by Aldgate. Here a
fellow told him his fortune, saying that he would die unfortunately, as
his father did, or that a similar attempt would be made upon him by the
1st of April. On the Tuesday prior to the date of the letter, the usher
of the duke’s hall went to bed about 9 at night and rose again about one
in the morning and came up at the back and private way to the duke’s
chamber where only he, his lady, and a maid were talking. The maid
opened the door at his knock and the usher rushed in with a naked sword,
at which the maid squeaking gave my lord an alarm and he turning back
snatched up a knife and by his boldness daunted the fellow so that he
got within him, became master of his sword, and by that time company
came in. The duke sent after the fortune-teller but the writer did not
know whether he had heard of him.”
Northward of Aldgate, Mitre Street leads to Mitre Square which is
surrounded by large new buildings belonging to merchants. The ward
school is reached through a rounded tunnel-like entry and proves a
pleasant surprise. In itself it is only a square old brick house without
an atom of style or ornament, but before it is a garden plot where lilac
bushes grow, and over the blackened bricks of the house and adjoining
wall climb big trees, hiding the dinginess. From here we get a view of
the old red-tiled roofs of the houses in Duke Street. In the school
there is free education, and 110 children are clothed at the expense of
the charity.
At the back of the ward school stood, until 1874, St. James’s, Duke’s
Place (see p. 165).
ST. BOTOLPH, ALDGATE
St. Botolph, Aldgate, stands at the junction of Aldgate Street and
Houndsditch, and is said to have been originally founded about the
reign of William the Conqueror. The old building remained standing
till 1741, when it was pulled down and the present one erected under
the direction of the elder Dance and completed in 1744. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1362. The patronage of the church was in the
hands of: The Prior and the Canons of Holy Trinity, London; Henry
VIII.; Robert Halywell, by grant of Elizabeth; George Puttenham,
granted by Elizabeth in the 30th year of her reign; Francis Morrice,
by James I., in the 7th year of his reign, since which time it has
been held by several private persons, but is now in the hands of the
Bishop of London. The benefice, which had been previously united
with that of St. Katherine by the Tower, was in 1899 united with
that of Holy Trinity Minories.
Houseling people in 1548 were 1530.
The present church is built of brick, with stone dressings. It
includes two side-aisles separated from the central portion by
Tuscan columns, supporting a flat ceiling. There are a great many
windows, mostly filled with stained glass. The tower stands at the
south, facing Aldgate High Street, and is surmounted by a small
spire.
Chantries were founded here: For John Romeney, at the Altar of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, to which Humphrey de Durham was admitted
chaplain, June 3, 1365; by Thomas Weston, whose endowment fetched
£5 : 6 : 8 in 1548; by Alex. Sprot and John Grace, whose endowments
yielded £22 : 15 : 8 in 1548.
The most interesting monument in this church is a tomb inscribed to
the memory of Thomas, Lord Darcy and Sir Nicholas Carew, both of
whom were concerned in the Roman Catholic plots against Henry VIII.
and beheaded on Tower Hill, the former in 1537 and the latter in
1538. The memory of Robert Dowe, the charitable Merchant Taylor, is
preserved by a monument erected by his Company, originally affixed
to a pillar in the chancel, but now removed to the east gallery.
A great number of benefactors are recorded by Stow, some of the most
notable of whom were: Robert Cockes, donor of £100; George Clarke,
donor of £200 for a public school, and other large sums for parish
purposes. The sum total of all the yearly gifts belonging to this
parish recorded, amounted to £151 : 15 : 8.
There were two charity schools, one in the Freedom having fifty boys
and forty girls, erected by Sir John Cass, alderman; the other, in
East Smithfield, having forty boys and thirty girls maintained by
subscription.
James Ardene (1636-91), D.D., Dean of Chester, 1682, was perpetual
curate here in 1666; also White Kennett (1660-1728), Bishop of
Peterborough.
St. Botolph’s Churchyard is a wide gravelled space with seats provided
by the Metropolitan Public Spaces Association. There is an altar-tomb
near the centre, and a row of flat tombstones of the usual pattern set
back against the wall of the church. There are a few plane-trees and a
row of little limes. It is a pleasant breathing space, used by the
poorest of humanity, who come here for a little rest and sleep.
=High Street, Whitechapel=, is of great width and contains some large
new brick and stone buildings. The Three Nuns Hotel, an immense
red-brick building erected in 1877, and recently added to, stands near
the station. By Crown Place, No. 23, is an old bow-windowed chop-house.
On the east the chief feature is the large number of shops or stalls
open to the street, covered by an awning or by a glass roof. These
belong chiefly to butchers, and have a characteristic aspect. The last
five or six houses before Mansell Street are all of considerable age and
very picturesque.
Returning now westward we find:
The church and parish of =St. Mary Axe=, which are mentioned in the
_Calendar of Wills_ in the thirteenth century. Stow says of it:
“In St. Marie street had ye of old time a parish church of St. Marie
the Virgin, St. Ursula and the eleven thousand Virgins, which church
was commonly called St. Marie at the Axe, of the sign of an axe,
over against the east end thereof, or St. Marie Pellipar, of a plot
of ground lying on the north side thereof, pertaining to the
Skinners in London. This parish, about the year 1565, was united to
the parish church of St. Andrew Undershaft, and so was St. Mary at
the Axe suppressed and letten out to be a warehouse for a merchant.”
Cunningham corrects this statement. The church was called St. Mary
Axe because it possessed an Axe, one of the three with which the
11,000 Virgins were beheaded.
The parish is now united with that of St. Andrew Undershaft.
ST. ANDREW UNDERSHAFT
The Church of St. Andrew Undershaft stands at the corner of St. Mary
Axe, and on the north side is the churchyard, a little space where a
few young trees grow. It derives its name from the May-day custom of
setting up a pole higher than the steeple before the south door.
This custom was discontinued after “Evil May Day” (see _Tudor
London_, p. 24). The present building, occupying the site of the
original one, of unknown date, was erected, according to Stow, in
1520, at the expense of a Sir Stephen Jennings, William
Fitzwilliams, and others. The work of restoration has been carried
on here during the last thirty years. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1361. The patronage has always been in the hands of the
Bishop of London, in whose successors it continues; he presented to
it in 1361.
The church is a late example of the Perpendicular style, consisting
of a nave and two side aisles, and surmounted by a tower, rebuilt in
1830, which is about 91 feet in height, and contains six bells. The
aisles are divided from the nave by clustered columns and obtusely
pointed arches, and above this is the clerestory. The spandrels
between the arches were embellished with scriptural paintings in
1726, but they are now much faded. In 1875 the series of full-length
portraits of Edward VI., Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., and
Charles II., were transferred from the east window to the west, and
modern stained glass took their place. A chantry was founded here by
Alan de Chepe in 1311.
The most interesting monument is that of the great antiquarian John
Stow; it is made of terra-cotta and is placed near the eastern end
of the north wall. There is another dedicated to Sir Hugh
Hammersley, sheriff 1618, and Lord Mayor 1627, part of the sculpture
of which is very fine. On the east wall of the north aisle is a
brass to Nicholas Levin, sheriff in 1534, and a liberal contributor
to the work of building the church; the brass is not large, but
twenty well-defined figures have been introduced. Sir William
Craven, Lord Mayor, 1640, a great benefactor to the parish, was
interred here, but has no monument; also Peter Antony Motteux, who
wrote comedies and masques, and died in 1718. Seven remarkable old
books are preserved in the vestry, Foxe’s _Acts and Monuments_, Sir
W. Raleigh’s _History of the World_, and others; a fragment of the
chain which formerly fastened Foxe’s book to a desk is still
retained.
This church and parish received many charitable gifts, some of the
donors of which were: Robert Gayer, £50; Sir Thomas Rich, £400; the
widow of Mr. Van Citters, £200, for the apprenticeship of two parish
children, 1706; and Joseph Chamberlain, £121 : 1s. in 1706. There
was a charity school for fifty boys and thirty girls who were
clothed, taught, and put out as apprentices by contribution. Among
the most notable rectors were: John Russell (died 1494), Bishop of
Rochester; John Pricket, Bishop of Gloucester; Robert Grove
(1631-1696), Bishop of Chichester; and William Walsham How
(1823-1897), Bishop of Bedford and of Wakefield.
[Illustration:
ST. ANDREW UNDERSHAFT
]
Stow died in this parish and, it is believed, in St. Mary Axe itself,
his windows overlooking the grounds and ruins of St. Helen’s nunnery.
Another parish church stood in St. Mary Axe, at the north end against
the wall. It was called St. Augustine’s-in-the-Wall. In the year 1430
the church was allotted to the Fraternity of the Papey, the house for
poor priests.
The house was suppressed in the reign of Edward VI., and was afterwards
occupied by Sir Francis Walsingham (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p.
377).
The modern St. Mary Axe is not interesting. The old house at the corner
of Great St. Helen’s is the first to be noticed. Next to it is another
old one, stuccoed. A few doors northward is the Grapes public-house.
Then follow a succession of more or less new warehouses, with narrow
frontage, chiefly in red brick, not unpicturesquely designed. A very new
red brick building with much ornamental detail is St. Anne’s Chambers,
Nos. 37 to 41. This is succeeded by the ward school, which is of red
brick and bears its name across its frontage. It is the ward school of
Cornhill and Lime Street, and was established 1710. The present building
was erected in 1846. A little model of St. George and the Dragon gives a
touch of vivacity to its appearance. Beyond this are large brick
business houses and warehouses. Bishopsgate Avenue is occupied chiefly
by stationers and printers.
=Bevis Marks.=—“Then next is one great House, large of Rooms, fair
Courts and Garden Plots, sometime pertaining to the Bassets, since that,
to the Abbots of Bury in Suffolk, and therefore called Buries Marks,
corruptly Bevis Marks. And since the Dissolution of the Abbey of Bury,
to Thomas Heneage the Father, and Sir Thomas Heneage the Son.
“This House and Ground is now encreased into many Tenements: And among
the rest, the Jews of London have of late built themselves a large
Synagogue here, wainscotted round. It stands East and West like one of
our Churches. The great Door is on the West: Near to which West End is a
long Desk upon an Ascent, somewhat raised from the rest of the Floor;
where I suppose the Law is read. The East wall is in part railed in; and
before the Wall is a Door, which is to open with a Key, where their Law
seems to be laid up. Aloft on this Wall are the Ten Commandments, or
some part of them, inscribed in Golden Hebrew Letters without Points.
There be seven great Branched Candlesticks of Brass hanging down from
the Top; and many other Places for Candles and Lamps. The Seats are
Benches, with Backs to them that run along from West to East” (Strype,
vol. i. bk. ii. p. 73).
The modern Bevis Marks is lined on the west by substantial red-brick
buildings chiefly occupied by merchants.
=Heneage Lane=, leading out of Bevis Marks, a narrow and dark
thoroughfare, contains the synagogue of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
It is a plain structure externally, built in the year 1700. Standing in
the midst of its courts and almshouses the place has somewhat the
appearance of a Spanish convent. The interior is spacious and fitted
with two galleries, one for women. The children attend service under one
of the galleries.
The derivation of =Houndsditch= as given by Stow is as unsavoury as the
reputation the street later earned. “Called Hounds-ditch for that in old
time when the same lay open much filth (conveyed forth of the Citie)
especially dead dogges was there laid or cast.” Beyond the mud wall that
enclosed the ditch was a “fayre field” where were the almshouses of the
Priory of Holy Trinity.
“In my youth, I remember,” continues Stow, “devout people as well men as
women of the Citie, were accustomed oftentimes, especially on Frydayes
weekely, to walke that way purposely, and there to bestow their
charitable almes; every poor man or woman lying in their bed within
their window, which was toward the street open so low, that every man
might see them.”
At present looking down Houndsditch from Bishopsgate Within the street
presents a not unpicturesque appearance. On the south, indeed, it is one
continuous row of dull brick box-like houses, but on the north one or
two old projecting houses break the line. No. 96 is an old stuccoed
house which projects in a broad bay above the first floor. Besides these
old houses several high plain warehouses break up the monotony of the
street line. Houndsditch is the centre of the old-clothes trade. To the
north lie huge warehouses and industrial dwellings.
=Bishopsgate=.—There were two northern gates to the Roman wall: one of
them corresponding with Newgate and the other with Bishopsgate. But the
Saxon and mediæval Bishopsgate was not built on the site of the Roman
gate, but a little to the west. The foundations of the Roman gate have
been found in Camomile Street; they were built with carved stones taken
from some Roman building, perhaps a villa, an illustration of my theory
that the wall was built in great haste and that all the stone buildings
of the City were used in its construction.
The massive masonry of the ancient “Newgate” has also been found close
by the later gate in Giltspur Street.
The traffic along Bishopsgate Street, which led into the Roman Fort, and
to the Bridge from the north and eastern parts of the island, caused a
settlement and a street to be established here long before the wall was
built. For the same reason, when the City began to fill up after its
long period of desolation, the line was one of the first to be settled
again, while on either side there were vacant spaces, orchards, fields,
and gardens. Houses and shops sprang up both within and without the
wall; the latter only when the Norman power had removed the fear of
another siege. It is impossible to say with any certainty when the
street was actually recognised as such. Thus, to quote such facts as are
accessible in Riley’s _Memorials_, in the _Calendar of Wills_, etc., we
find that in 1259, 1272, 1285, and 1288 there are mentioned “houses
near, or within, Bishopsgate,” and in 1309 and 1311 there are “houses
without” Bishopsgate. In 1329 we find a brew-house in Bishopsgate
Street. Again, in 1314 the shops of one Roger Poyntel are in danger by
reason of an overhanging elm-tree, thanks to which we learn that there
were at that time residents close by the gate; in 1305 a tourelle in the
wall near the gate is given to William Coeur de Lyon, chaplain, on
condition that he keeps it in repair; in 1314 another tourelle near the
gate is given to John de Elyngham, chaplain in charity, on the same
condition; in 1318 the upper chamber of the gate, together with a
tourelle on the east, and a garden against the wall, is granted to John
de Long, an Easterling, or member of the Hanseatic League, on the same
condition. In 1324 he renounced his lease and, apparently, went home.
(Here we have an instance of a Hanseatic merchant living outside the
_Domus_, or _Aula Teutonicorum_, where they were all supposed to live.
But no absolute rule about anything can be laid down in these
centuries.) The Almaines or Easterlings who were responsible for the
repair and maintenance of the gate, were exempt from toll. On the other
hand (another illustration of the conflicting “rights” of the time), the
Bishop of London claimed one stock out of every cart-load of wood that
passed through the gate. Let the Bishop, then, keep the hinges in
repair!
The gate was built, it is said, by Bishop Erkenwald in 685. One
supposes, since he did not rebuild on the Roman foundations, that a way
had been made through the wall on the west side, and that traffic had,
for convenience, chosen that way. The gate was considered, in some
sense, to be under the special care of the Bishop. But the burden of its
maintenance was laid upon the Hanseatic merchants. The case was tried
and decided in 1282, when the merchants were ordered to keep the gate,
and to find men and money if necessary in its defence for one-third of
the cost. On the antiquities of the gate, hear also Stow:
“The eldest note that I read of this Bishopsgate, is that William Blund,
one of the sheriffs of London, in the year 1210, sold to Serle Mercer,
and William Almaine, procurators or wardens of London Bridge, all his
land, with the garden, in the parish of St. Buttolph without
Bishopsgate.
“Next I read in a charter, dated the year 1235, that Walter Brune,
citizen of London, and Rosia his wife, having founded the priory or new
hospital of our blessed Lady, since called St. Mary Spittle without
Bishopsgate, confirmed the same to the honour of God and our blessed
Lady, for canons regular.
“Also in the year 1247, Simon Fitzmary, one of the sheriffs of London,
the 29th of Henry III., founded the hospital of St. Mary, called Bethlem
without Bishopsgate.
“This gate was again beautifully built in the year 1479, in the reign of
Edward IV., by the Haunce merchants.
“Moreover, about the year 1551, these Haunce merchants, having prepared
stone for that purpose, caused a new gate to be framed, there to have
been set up, but then their liberties, through suit of our English
merchants, were seized into the king’s hand; and so that work was
stayed, and the old gate yet remaineth.”
[Illustration:
BISHOPSGATE STREET, SHOWING CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN, OUTWICH, AND THE
PUMP, 1814
]
In 1731 the old gate was taken down and another erected. This, with the
other City gates, was removed in 1760.
If we walk down Bishopsgate Street Within, we cannot do better than take
Stow with us, remembering that he is writing in the year 1598:
“And first to begin on the left hand of Bishopsgate street, from the
gate you have certain tenements of old time pertaining to a brotherhood
of St. Nicholas, granted to the parish clerks of London, for two
chaplains, to be kept in the chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, near unto the
Guildhall of London, in the 27th of Henry VI. The first of these houses
towards the north, and against the wall of the city, was sometime a
large inn or court called the Wrestlers, of such a sign, and the last in
the high street towards the south was sometime also a fair inn called
the Angel, of such a sign. Among these said tenements was on the same
street side a fair entry, or court, to the common hall of the said
parish clerks, with proper almshouses, seven in number, adjoining, for
poor parish clerks, and their wives and their widows, such as were in
great years not able to labour. This brotherhood, amongst other, being
suppressed, in the reign of Edward VI. the said hall, with the other
buildings there, was given to Sir Robert Chester, a knight of
Cambridgeshire; against whom the parish clerks commencing suit, in the
reign of Queen Mary, and being like to have prevailed, the said Sir
Robert Chester pulled down the hall, sold the timber, stone, and lead,
and thereupon the suit was ended. The almshouses remain in the queen’s
hands, and people are there placed, such as can make best friends; some
of them, taking the pension appointed, have let forth their houses for
great rent, giving occasion to the parson of the parish to challenge
tithes of the poor, etc.”
After mentioning St. Ethelburga, St. Helen’s, and St. Andrew Undershaft,
he goes on:
“Then have you one great house called Crosby place, because the same was
built by Sir John Crosby, grocer and woolman, in place of certain
tenements, with their appurtenances, letten to him by Alice Ashfeld,
prioress of St. Helen’s, and the convent, for ninety-nine years, from
the year 1466 unto the year 1565, for the annual rent of £11 : 6 : 8.
“Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and lord protector, afterwards king, by
the name of Richard III., was lodged in this house; since the which
time, among other, Anthonie Bonvice, a rich merchant of Italy, dwelt
there; after him, Garmain Cioll, then William Bond, alderman, increased
this house in height, with building of a turret on the top thereof: he
deceased in the year 1576, and was buried in St. Helen’s church. Divers
ambassadors have been lodged there; namely, in the year 1586, Henry
Ramelius, chancellor of Denmark, ambassador unto the queen’s majesty of
England from Frederick II., the king of Denmark; an ambassador of
France, etc. Sir John Spencer, Alderman, lately purchased this house,
made great reparations, kept his mayoralty there, and since built a most
large warehouse near thereunto.
“From this Crosbie place up to Leaden Hall corner, and so down Grass
Street, amongst other tenements, are divers fair and large built houses
for merchants and such like.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Schnebbelie_.
ST. HELEN, BISHOPSGATE, 1817
]
“Now for the other side of this ward, namely, the right hand, hard by
within the gate, is one fair water conduit, which Thomas Knesworth,
mayor, in the year 1505, founded: he gave £60, the rest was furnished at
the common charges of the city. This conduit hath since been taken down
and new built. David Woodroffe, alderman, gave £20 towards the
conveyance of more water thereunto. From this conduit have you, amongst
many fair tenements, divers fair inns, large for receipt of travellers,
and some houses for men of worship; namely, one most spacious of all
other thereabout, built of brick and timber by Sir Thomas Gresham,
knight, who deceased in the year 1579, and was buried in St. Helen’s
church, under a fair monument, by him prepared in his life: he appointed
by his testament this house to be made a college of readers, as before
is said in the chapter of schools and houses of learning.
“Somewhat west from this house is one other very fair house, wherein Sir
William Hollis kept his mayoralty, and was buried in the parish church
of St. Helen. Sir Andrew Jud also kept his mayoralty there, and was
buried at St. Helen’s: he built almshouses for six poor alms people near
to the said parish church, and gave lands to the Skinners, out of the
which they are to give 4s. every week to the six poor alms people, 8d.
the piece, and 25s. 4d. the year, in coals amongst them for ever”
(Stow’s _Survey_, p. 181).
Shakespeare, who lived for a time in St. Helen’s, and therefore knew
Crosby Hall well, has introduced it in Richard III. Sir Thomas More
lived here for a time, the guest of Bonvici, to whom from the Tower he
wrote, and in whose gown, of silk camlet, he went to his execution. In
1547 Bonvici let the house on lease to William Roper, More’s son-in-law,
and to his nephew William Rastell, a printer. Under Edward VI., Bonvici,
Rastell, and Roper went abroad, but came home under Mary. Meantime
Edward VI. had conferred the house upon Sir Thomas D’Arcy, afterwards
Lord D’Arcy, who seems to have sold it to William Bond, alderman and
sheriff. Sir John Spencer next became the owner of the house. He
received the Duc de Sully, Grand Treasurer of France, with all his
retinue.
The way in which the inheritance of this great merchant came to the
Comptons is told by Hare:
“Sir John Spencer, having but a poor opinion of the Compton family in
that day, positively forbade the first Earl of Northampton to pay his
addresses to his daughter, who was the greatest heiress in England. One
day, at the foot of the staircase, Sir John met the baker’s boy with his
covered barrow, and, being pleased at his having come punctually when he
was ordered, he gave him sixpence; but the baker’s boy was Lord
Northampton in disguise, and in the covered barrow he was carrying off
the beautiful Elizabeth Spencer. When he found how he had been duped,
Sir John swore that Lord Northampton had seen the only sixpence of his
money he should ever receive, and refused to be reconciled to his
daughter. But the next year Queen Elizabeth, having expressed to Sir
John Spencer the sympathy which she felt with his sentiments upon the
ingratitude of his child, invited him to come and be “gossip” with her
to a newly-born baby in which she was much interested, and he could not
refuse; and it is easy to imagine whose that baby was. So the Spencer
property came to the Comptons after all” (Hare, vol. i. pp. 284-85).
[Illustration:
CORNHILL MILITARY ASSOCIATION, WITH A VIEW OF THE CHURCH OF ST.
HELEN’S AND LEATHERSELLERS’ HALL
]
In 1642 the Earl of Northampton was killed at Hopton Heath, beside the
King. Here lived the Countess of Pembroke, Sidney’s sister, immortalised
by Ben Jonson’s epitaph. In 1640 Sir John Langham, sheriff in 1642,
leased the house; it is said to have been used as a prison for
Royalists. His son, Sir Stephen Langham, succeeded, and in his time a
great part of the house was destroyed by fire. In 1672, its great hall
became a Presbyterian meeting-house; it was then turned into a packers’
warehouse. In 1831 it was converted into an institute for lectures and
is now a restaurant.[3]
[Illustration:
COUNCIL ROOM, CROSBY HALL, 1816
]
The streets and courts leading out of Bishopsgate Street Within are
neither important nor numerous. On the west side going south from the
gate were inns called the Vine, the Four Swans, the Green Dragon, the
Black Bull, and the Cross Keys (in Gracechurch Street).
Beginning at the south end of the modern Bishopsgate we see on the west
the Bank of Scotland, the National Bank of Australasia, and the Delhi
and London Bank, housed under one roof in a large stone building with
the lower windows enclosed in exceptionally high and bold arches. Baring
Bros. Bank is opposite. It is a plain, well-proportioned brick building,
symmetrical and without tawdry ornament; it was designed by R. Norman
Shaw. It is flanked on either side by a public-house, The Black Lion and
the City of London Tavern. Just opposite the entrance of Threadneedle
Street the Wesleyan Centenary Hall attracts attention by its size and
solidity. Four immense fluted columns run up the facade to a frieze and
triangular pediment. It was erected in 1839. Close by is the Bank of
Scotland. It looks out on the really fine National Provincial Bank of
England at the north corner of Threadneedle Street. This has fluted
stone columns running up to the frieze along the whole frontage. They
enclose very tall, round-headed windows, and above the windows are deep
panels of great size executed in _basso-relievo_. It was erected in 1833
and the architect was J. Gibson. Along the parapet of the roof at
intervals are placed statues which break the hard line.
Immediately opposite the entry, on the east side of the square we see a
dreary block of brick houses; these are Crosby Buildings, and are fully
occupied by representatives of trade and commerce. On the south side
there is an old stuccoed house with a square pillared porch. The next
house is of red brick with decorative brick panels let in on the face.
This is an old house which has been recased. Its fine stuccoed doorway
is still preserved. On the west a large red brick building bearing date
1876 fills up the space, and on the north is an old brick house with a
plain projecting pediment over the door, and brackets similar to those
on the south side. No. 7 in the north-east corner is a new stone house
of plain but rather original design. A couple of little plane-trees grow
up at either end of the quiet square.
A covered entry leads from Crosby Square to Great St. Helen’s. The first
part of this tortuous thoroughfare is lined by the side of Crosby
Buildings, modern brick, on the one side, and the end of the stuccoed
synagogue, which stands back from the frontage of the street, on the
other. About this part, and the narrow lane which succeeds it running
north and south, there is little to say; the substantial business spirit
pervades even the bricks and mortar. But in the open space beyond,
facing the church, are some features of interest. Nos. 8, 9, and 10 have
all been rebuilt in the large-windowed flat modern style. No. 7 is a
fine old red brick house. No. 2 is a delightful one and has an
ornamental doorway with fluted columns and pilasters supporting the
lintel, beneath which on either side are cherubs’ heads. Across the wide
space before the quaint and interesting church are other red brick
houses, some old and some of more modern date. Close by the entry the
builder is at work on the site of some charming old gabled houses
demolished within the last five years.
ST. HELEN, BISHOPSGATE
There is a well-known tradition that a church was built here in the
fourth century by the Emperor Constantine, and there is a record
preserved which proves that the church was in existence before the
year 1010. A church standing on this site was given by one Ranulph,
and Robert his son, to the Dean and Canons of St. Paul’s at a date
unknown. About 1212, permission was obtained to found the Priory of
St. Helen for nuns of the Benedictine Order and with this the real
history of the church begins. It is always stated that the north
aisle of the church was used by the nuns, while the south was
occupied by the parishioners, but the first rector mentioned dates
from 1541, that is to say, after the suppression of the Religious
Houses. On the dissolution of the priory in 1538 the church was
given in its entirety to parochial uses. It was largely repaired in
1631 (under the direction of Inigo Jones), in 1841, 1865, and again
in 1891-93. In 1873 the Parish of St. Martin Outwich was united with
this, its church having been pulled down.
Houseling people in 1548 were 220.
The church consists of two parallel naves, each of 122 feet in
length and about 25 feet in width, and a south transept, out of
which two eastern chapels open. In the north wall is an arched
doorway which led from the choir into the priory, also a hagioscope
through which the nuns were able to discern the high altar from the
cloisters. All this part and some of the south transept dates from
the thirteenth century; the side chapels were added about the middle
of the fourteenth and the rest dates from the fifteenth century.
A chantry was founded in honour of the Holy Ghost for the soul of
Adam Fraunceys, to which Joan, Prioress of the Convent of St. Helen,
presented Robert Gryngeley, May 18, 1399, and for Agnes his wife
(Hennessey’s _Chantries_, p. 39).
The church contains a remarkable number of interesting monuments.
The following are commemorated: Alderman John Robinson, Merchant
Taylor and merchant of the Staple of England; died 1599. Francis
Bancroft, who bequeathed over £28,000 to the Drapers Company for the
erection of almshouses and a school for boys; he died 1727. Martin
Bond, M.P. in 1624 and 1625 for the City of London. Alberticus
Gentilis, Merchant Adventurer and a prolific legal author who was an
exile from Italy on account of his Protestant opinions; he became
Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford and died in 1608. Sir Thomas
Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange and Gresham College, who died
in 1579. Sir Andrew Judde, Lord Mayor in 1550, and a great
benefactor of the parish. Sir Julius Cæsar, judge, Master of the
Rolls under James I.; his monument was executed by Nicholas Stone,
Master Mason to King Charles I. Sir William Pickering, Knt., soldier
and scholar, whose monument is the most magnificent in the church;
he distinguished himself greatly under Henry VIII., Edward VI.,
Mary, and Elizabeth; he died in 1574. Sir John Crosby, already
mentioned in connection with Crosby Hall. Sir John Spencer, Lord
Mayor in 1594, commonly known as “Rich Spencer” on account of his
vast wealth. The Rev. J. E. Cox, D.D., who was Vicar-in-charge of
the united parishes, wrote _The Annals of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate,
London_; he was for nine years in succession Grand Chaplain of
England. On the floors of the two chapels there are several brasses
very well executed.
A considerable number of benefactors are recorded by Stow, but the
amounts of their gifts were small individually. Sir John Crosby, at
his death in 1475, bequeathed 500 marks for the repair of the
church. In more recent times Francis Bancroft bequeathed over
£28,000; this has been devoted to founding a school at Woodford,
Essex, for boys—100 boarders and 200 day-boys. Sir Andrew Judde left
the Skinners Company trustees for the accomplishment of charitable
aims.
There were five almshouses near the church for as many decayed
Skinners and their wives. Six almshouses also were founded by Sir
Andrew Judde; in Little St. Helen Street there were seven houses for
the same number of widows, each of whom had £5 : 4s. per annum.
Thomas Horton (d. 1673), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, 1649, was
rector here.
For an account of the ancient nunnery of St. Helen, see _Mediæval
London_, vol. ii. p. 313.
St. Helen’s Place is a quiet corner with monotonous rows of Early
Victorian or Georgian brick houses finished off with yellow paint. No.
1, near the entrance, and No. 2 have slight pillared porches over their
doorways. In the northeast corner the small but richly-decorated front
of the Leathersellers’ Hall attracts attention. The place is shut off
from the street by spiked iron gates.
THE LEATHERSELLERS COMPANY
Dealers in leather are supposed to have existed as a society or
corporation in Britain from the time of the Romans.
[Illustration:
PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE TO LEATHERSELLERS’ HALL. DEMOLISHED 1799
]
The “leathersellers,” as a company, are first mentioned about A.D.
1372, in Edward III.’s reign, when their “probi homines,” or “bons
gentz,” their wardens or seniors, came before the Court of Aldermen,
together with those of the craft of Pursers, afterwards amalgamated
with the Leathersellers Company, and jointly presented a bill or
“supplication” desiring some stringent regulations to be made for
the prevention of the sale of other than genuine leather, and to
prevent fraudulent colouring of leather.
The leathersellers were known as a corporation in London, and were
governed by ordinances, 1377-99.
The first charter of incorporation was granted to the Company by 22
Henry VI., 1444. It is still in their possession, and, “after
reciting the petition of Thomas Bigge and fourteen others, men of
the mistery of leathersellers of the city of London, sets forth an
ordinance made by Richard Whittington, mayor, and the aldermen of
the city, 21 Richard II., A.D. 1398, that two or four of the better
or more approved men of the mistery should yearly be chosen and
sworn to guard and oversee defaults in the same mistery, and to
present, from time to time, to the mayor and chamber of the said
city aforesaid for the time being; and that none of the mistery
aforesaid, to wit, master or servant, should be rebellious or
contrarious to such men so chosen and sworn, duly exercising search
in the said mistery, nor points, or laces, unless they were well and
sufficiently made, nor straps of the leather of sheep or calf, nor
thereof any other work, should falsely or deceitfully be wrought to
the deception of the people under pain of the heavy punishment upon
such cases ordained, and the payment of 6s. 8d.; to wit, to the use
of the Chamber of the city aforesaid 40d., and to the use of the
said mistery 40d.”
There are now 151 members of the livery. They have a Corporate
Income of £17,000 and a Trust Income of £3000. With the
Leathersellers were incorporated the White Tawyers, or makers of
white leather; the Pouchmakers, the Pursers, the Mailmakers, the
Galoche-makers, the Tiltmongers, the Leather-dressers, the
Parchment-makers and the Leather-dyers.
The earliest quarters of the trades connected with Leather were in
the north under London Wall. Here they had their first hall. After
the dissolution of the Religious Houses the Company obtained the
site of the nunnery known as St. Helen’s. Part of the house was
converted into the Company’s Hall, the old Refectory becoming the
Company’s place of meeting and banqueting. This ancient structure
was destroyed in 1797, the present one was built in 1878.
The low small Church of =St. Ethelburga= peers over some old houses,
which seem to have stuck to it as barnacles to a decayed ship.
ST. ETHELBURGA THE VIRGIN
This church is dedicated to Ethelburga, who was sister of Erconwald,
fourth Bishop of London, and first Abbess of Barking. In all
probability the parish was formed and the church was built in the
century which succeeded the Conquest. It escaped the Great Fire, and
has subsequently had a great deal of attempted restoration. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1304.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: the Prioress and
Convent of St. Helen’s, London, 1366; then Henry VIII. seized it and
it was granted in 1569 to the Bishop of London, and continues with
his successors.
Houseling people in 1548 were 140.
The present church, originally Early English, appears to have been
altered at the close of the fourteenth century or early fifteenth.
It is very small, measuring less than 60 feet by 30, and under 31
feet in height, and is almost crowded out by houses. Entrance is
obtained through an archway between two shops, the upper stories of
which conceal everything but the top of the west window and turret.
It contains a south aisle separated from the rest by four pointed
arches, with a clerestory above. The roof is divided into
compartments and slopes slightly at the sides. The arch at the
entrance of the nave is fine and there are remnants of wood-carving,
probably of the sixteenth century, on the porch.
A chantry was founded here at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary
by Gilbert Marion, and Christina his wife, to which Thomas More was
admitted chaplain, December 15, 1436.
There are tablets affixed to the wall commemorating parishioners,
but little interest attaches to the individuals. The only two
connected with this church of any eminence are John Larke, a friend
of Sir Thomas More, who was executed in 1554 for denying the King’s
supremacy; and Luke Milbourne (1649-1720), Dryden’s hostile critic,
rector here in 1704. William Bray (d. 1644), chaplain to Archbishop
Laud, was also sometime rector.
In Clark’s Place is a building containing the Marine Society, with the
statues of a woman and boy in a niche. In Bishopsgate Street, No. 68, is
an old stuccoed house with projecting upper stories. No. 67 is also old
though not so noticeable.
Part of Ethelburga House and the numbers on the north, as far as 23
inclusive, are in this ward. The corner house has a stone mitre of large
size on its corner and an inscription, rather quaintly worded,
announcing that the gate stood formerly “adjoining to this spot.”
Looking back down Bishopsgate from here we get a fine perspective view.
The modern buildings are of all heights, but distance blends them not
inharmoniously, leaving enough variety to be pleasing.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by R. West, 1736._
ST. ETHELBURGA, BISHOPSGATE ST.
]
The Mail Coach public-house is at the corner, and on the opposite house
is a small mitre in memory of the Bishopsgate.
Just outside the City Wall is
ST. BOTOLPH, BISHOPSGATE
This church escaped the Great Fire of 1666, but was rebuilt in
1725-29 by James Gold. In 1615 the City gave the parishioners
additional ground on the west for burial purposes. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1323.
The patronage of the church has always been in the hands of the
bishops of London since 1323.
Houseling people in 1548 were 650.
The building includes two aisles, separated from the main body by
composite columns. There are galleries on the north, south, and
west. The steeple rises at the east end, and the chancel, therefore,
is formed beneath the tower. It is built of stone and consists of
three stories, the third of which is completed by a small composite
temple surrounded by a balustrade and surmounted by an urn. The
remainder of the exterior is of red brick with stone dressings.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
ST. BOTOLPH, BISHOPSGATE
]
Sir Paul Pindar, a great benefactor to the church, who acted as
James I.’s Turkish Ambassador in 1611, was buried in this church,
and a monument was erected to his memory. Close to this, also in the
chancel, is a brass plate in memory of Sir William Blizard,
President of the Royal College of Surgeons, who died in 1835. John
Keats was baptized here in 1795, and Edward Alleyn, founder of
Dulwich College, in 1566. Here also Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of
Argyll and father of the celebrated first marquis, was married in
1609.
There were a considerable number of small charitable gifts belonging
to this parish. Of the larger, Ralph Pindar was a donor of £60;
Nicholas Reive, of £406 : 5s. in 1626; William, Earl of Devonshire,
of £100.
There was one charity school for twenty-five boys and twenty-five
girls, who were taught and made apprentices by subscription and
legacies. Also almshouses in Lamb’s Court for the poor of the
parish, maintained by Dulwich College, and three almshouses by the
pesthouse for three poor widows, the gift of Lady Lumley.
Some of the notable rectors were: Alfred Earle, Bishop of
Marlborough, in 1888; Charles James Blomfield (1786-1857), Bishop of
Chester; John Lake (1624-89), Bishop of Chichester.
On the site of Spital Square, Bishopsgate Street Without, stood the
ancient house called St. Mary Spital, for an account of which see
_Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 322.
Bishopsgate Street Without is a curious mixture of old houses, some with
grotesque features, and modern buildings presenting only a strip of
much-ornamented stone or brick frontage. After the Great Eastern Hotel
on the west, the frontage of the station presents a very long row of
uniform buildings in new red brick with stone dressings and ornamental
gable ends. The famous old house named Paul Pindar’s was pulled down to
make way for these.
Paul Pindar (b. 1565) was the son of Ralph Pindar, alderman’s deputy for
the ward of Bishopsgate. At sixteen he was apprenticed to one Parvish,
an Italian merchant who sent him to Venice as his factor, and he stayed
there many years. In 1615 he was sent to Turkey as Ambassador by request
of the Turkey Company, and he remained there for nine years. He returned
in 1623, and was knighted. The King offered him also the Lieutenancy of
the Tower, which he declined. Charles thereupon made him Farmer of
Customs.
In 1639 he possessed £236,000, out of which he gave large sums to the
King. He died August 22, 1650. The row of houses that now stand on the
site of his house have fairly good shops on the ground-floors, and there
are one or two archway entrances into the station premises near the
north end. The Black Raven public-house is one of these. Acorn Street,
Skinner Street, and Primrose Street need very little comment. They are
chiefly composed of the sides of houses fronting Bishopsgate, and some
ordinary modern brick buildings.
Nos. 131-2-3 are old plaster houses, and No. 120, beyond Acorn Street,
has a projecting bay window carried up two stories. This is also an old
house. These are all on the west side. On the east, beginning again from
the south end, the first building to attract attention is the
Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station, erected 1885. It is an improvement on
the monstrosities continually perpetrated in the name of the Fire
Brigade. The Bishopsgate Institute is near Brushfield Street. It fronts
Bishopsgate with an elaborate yellow terra-cotta façade, and has an open
entry. The entrance to the Bishopsgate Chapel is under an old stuccoed
house, and the chapel itself is a large stuccoed building. Beyond this,
after a Great Northern Receiving Office, are some very old houses,
plastered with rough stucco in imitation of stone. These are Nos. 82 to
84. One of them has wooden rusticated work from above the first story to
the top of the gable end. The date 1590 is stated to have been visible
on one of them within the memory of man. On the corner house of Spital
Street is a tablet noting the point of the City Bounds. This was placed
here in 1846.
GROUP V
We come next to those streets which run north and south of Thames
Street. The area is bounded on the north by Ludgate Hill, St. Paul’s
Churchyard, Cannon Street, and Fenchurch Street; on the south by the
Thames; on the east by Tower Hill and the site of London Wall; and on
the west by the bed of the Fleet River, now New Bridge Street. For the
sake of convenience we will begin at the west end.
The wall of the City originally crossed Ludgate Hill at the gate, and
ran down nearly in a straight line to the river. The Castle or Tower of
Montfichet was in the middle of this piece of wall, and Baynard’s Castle
was at the south end of it. The Tower of Montfichet passed into the
Fitzwalter family, who also owned the soke beside it. Now, when the
first enmity broke out between John and Fitzwalter, all the castles and
houses of the latter were dismantled and destroyed by the King’s
command. In 1276 the Dominicans begged permission to occupy a piece of
ground lying between the wall and the river Fleet. Lord Fitzwalter gave
the Friars the site of Castle Baynard and of Montfichet. They also
obtained permission to pull down the town wall at this place, and to
rebuild it farther west, so as to include their ground. Here the Black
Friars settled and built great buildings, and claimed the right of
sanctuary. Westward of the Black Friars was the house of the Carmelites,
called the White Friars. They claimed right of sanctuary also, a right
which descended to a haunt of rogues, called Alsatia, an account of
which may be read in _The Fortunes of Nigel_:
“The ancient sanctuary at Whitefriars lay considerably lower than the
elevated terraces and gardens of the Temple, and was therefore generally
involved in the fogs and damps of the Thames. The brick buildings by
which it was occupied crowded closely on each other.... The wailing of
children, the scolding of their mothers, the miserable exhibition of
ragged linens hung from the windows to dry, spoke the wants and
distresses of the wretched inhabitants; while the sounds of complaint
were mocked and overwhelmed in the riotous shouts, oaths, profane songs,
and boisterous laughter that issued from the alehouses and taverns,
which, as the signs indicated, were equal in number to all the other
houses.”
Where is now Bridge Street was formerly the Fleet River, and on its
western bank was Bridewell Palace, a palace where the Norman kings held
Court.
The old palace, burnt down in the Great Fire, was built round two
courtyards; in its later days rebuilt, it followed the frequent fate of
such ancient monuments, and became partly a “hospital” for poor boys,
partly a prison for vagrants and other unwanted persons. It was also a
hospital for lunatics, and was put under the same management as
Bethlehem in 1557. Bridewell is also fully described in _London in the
Eighteenth Century_. The part of London bounded north and south by Fleet
Street and the River, east and west by New Bridge Street and the Temple,
is now almost entirely occupied by mammoth printing-offices; yet on the
Embankment are one or two buildings of note: Sion College, opened here
in 1886 to supersede the old building on London Wall; the Guildhall
School of Music; the City of London School for Girls (all modern).
After Blackfriars Bridge, running behind the line of wharves and
warehouses, begins Thames Street, Upper and Lower, once one of the
principal thoroughfares in London, a London that knew nothing of what is
now called the “West End.” It is now a noisy street “pestered” with
drays and vans, with cranes and their accompaniments, so that to walk
therein in work-hours is a perilous proceeding.
Yet this ancient street, Thames Street, is, not even excepting West
Chepe, the most interesting and the most venerable of all the streets of
London. It is the seat of the export and the import trade. From Thames
Street the City sent abroad the products of the country—the iron, the
wool, the skins and hides; from Thames Street the City distributed the
imports to the various parts of the country.
Off the wharves of Thames Street lay the shops of all the nations of
Western Europe. In the narrow lanes leading down to the stairs between
the quays lived the seafaring folk and those who worked for them, and
those who worked for the merchants.
London at one time was roughly divided into belts of population. The
first belt is that of the Service. It consists of the foreshore between
Thames Street and the river, with the lanes and houses upon it. The
second is that of the Merchants, between Thames Street and the Markets
of West and East Chepe. The third is that of the Markets. The fourth
that of the Industries between the Markets and the Wall.
As to the first: The Wall of London, when it was first erected, was
carried along the river from the south-west angle to the Walbrook.
Beyond the Walbrook the south wall of the Roman fortress formed a
river-wall, which was continued as far as the south-east angle.
Beyond that stream the south wall of the Roman fort was allowed to
remain as the river-side wall of the City, when all the rest of the
Roman buildings, temples, public edifices, tombs, and villas were
ruthlessly pulled down to build the wall towards the end of the fourth
century.
Now, the wall between the south-west angle and the Walbrook ran along
the middle of Thames Street. At the time of its construction there were,
therefore, no buildings between the wall and the river. It was built
about the middle of the bank, which sloped to the river below, with a
narrow stretch of mud at low tide; and above it rose on the hill which
still exists, to the higher ground on which the City stood. The breadth
of the foreshore varied, but, of course, it was not very great. The
first break in the wall was that which allowed for the waters of the
Walbrook. Here there was the first port—the Roman port. It may have been
the only port, unless, in their haste to complete the wall, which was
undoubtedly built under the pressure of panic, the builders deliberately
excluded other ports. In that case there may have been many, for nothing
was easier than to make a small port, such as the two which still remain
of Billingsgate and Queenhithe. A small square space was dug in the mud
and shingle of the foreshore. It was maintained by piles placed close
together along the three sides of the square, leaving the fourth side
open for the ships. Other piles furnished support for wharves and quays.
It is therefore quite possible that there may have been other such
ports. Puddle Dock may have been one. In the absence of any evidence
which might lead one even to form a conjecture, we may believe that
Queenhithe, originally Edred’s hithe, was of later, or Saxon,
construction; while Billingsgate, close to London Bridge and Bridge
Gate, was probably still earlier.
What happened, therefore, was this: On the increase of trade, when
London was again settled in the sixth century, wharves and quays began
to be pushed out on piles upon the foreshore of Billingsgate and
Walbrook, or afterwards at other places, when a break in the wall
allowed access to the City. When Queenhithe was constructed as an
additional port, another break was needed in the wall, and wharves and
quays were built along this part of the foreshore as well. The erection
of the wharf on piles was speedily followed by the erection of tenements
for the people between the wharf and the wall on the bank. The wharf
extended laterally; the houses grew up laterally with the wharf; the
wharf was pushed out farther upon the mud of the low tide; the wall was
broken into here and there at intervals, continually growing less in
length. These breaks are marked, possibly, by the ancient stairs, such
as those of Paul’s Wharf and Trig Stairs.
In a word, the whole of the first belt, that of the Service, is later
than the Roman wall. It belongs, therefore, to the Saxon period, and in
great part, perhaps, to the early Norman times. It seems likely that, if
the riverside wall had been pierced or broken in parts, the Danish and
Norwegian besiegers would have attacked the City at those vulnerable
points. A narrow stream, such as Walbrook, with wharves on either side,
could be easily defended by chains drawn across; but a dozen places
where the wall was broken—and there was nothing to defend it except
wooden wharves and wooden huts—would have been difficult to defend.
[Illustration:
BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE, 1796
]
Thames Street in later times, when the wall had disappeared, became the
most crowded, the most busy part of the City. Its south side was wholly
occupied by wharves, warehouses, and the dwellings of the working
people, the Service of the port. On the north side and in the streets
rising up the hill were the houses of the merchants and the better
class—the second belt of the City. Here stood the townhouses of the
nobles among the equally stately houses of the merchants. Here kings
were entertained by the mayors and aldermen. The great number of
churches shows not only the crowded condition of this part, but also the
wealth of the merchants by whom the churches were founded, rebuilt,
adorned, and endowed.
The breadth of the foreshore as at present built upon varies from 150
feet at its narrowest, which is at the western end, to 450 feet at its
broadest, which is on either side of the Walbrook. The modern breadth,
however, must not be taken to represent the breadth in the twelfth
century. The excavations for London Bridge in 1831 disclosed three
distinct lines of piles, representing three several occasions when the
foreshore was built upon. And the oldest plan of London, called after
one Agas, clearly represents the erection by the riverside built upon
piles. There are no churches on this belt of reclaimed land. As it was
gradually added to the City, so it was gradually added to the riverside
parishes. Four churches are built on the south side of Thames Street,
viz. Allhallows the Great, Allhallows the Less, St. Botolph, and St.
Magnus. The dedication of the last two proclaims their late origin. The
last, for instance, must belong to the late eleventh or the twelfth
century. The very small size to which the parishes would be reduced if
we took away the reclaimed foreshore seems to indicate that much was
reclaimed before the Norman Conquest. The dedication of the churches
along Thames Street—St. Peter, St. James, St. Michael, St. Mary, St.
Andrew—has been supposed to indicate the site of Roman churches. Perhaps
the parish boundaries may have been adjusted from time to time.
“Roomland” was the name given to the quays and the adjacent plots of
land of Queenhithe, Dowgate, Billingsgate, etc., whereon goods might be
discharged out of vessels arriving there.
In 1311 and in 1349 we find mention of houses built upon “la Romeland”
by St. Michael, Queenhithe. In 1338, and again in 1349, we read of a
tenement near the King’s garden upon _le Romelonde_, near the Tower. In
1339 we learn that there was a Roomland in the parish of Allhallows
Barking. After 1374 we find no more mention of any Roomland. Perhaps the
limits of the quays were by this time contracted and defined; perhaps
the foreshore had been enlarged and the “land” behind had been built
upon.
Thames Street was the Exchange, the place of meeting for the merchants.
One supposes, however, that the lesser sort transacted business at the
taverns. Here walked in great dignity Aylwin of London Stone, the first
mayor; Whittington, Philpott, Rokesley, and the Beckets, Faringdons,
Walworths, Sevenokes, and all the great men of the City, each in his
generation, not only building up their own fortunes, but fighting
against disorder and crime in their wards, and against encroachments
from the sovereign.
The Fire swept through the street, raging among the stores of the
warehouses, laying low churches, destroying monuments, and burning up
old memories and associations.
The warehouses were at once rebuilt, but, according to Malcolm (1803),
many of the buildings had in his time become ruinous or decayed. There
is very little left of the building immediately after the Fire: hardly a
single warehouse, and on the north side only one or two of the mansions
built by the merchants. The two ports, Billingsgate and Queenhithe,
still remain, though the trade of the City is no longer carried on upon
the quays. The Custom House still stands very nearly on its old site;
the bridge has been moved farther west; there are other City
bridges—Blackfriars and Southwark; one can still walk down lanes as
narrow as when they were first reclaimed from the foreshore; and there
are still one or two of these narrow lanes where, as of old, the people
of the Service live.
The following is a list of the old signs in Thames Street:
“The White Bear” inn; “The White Lion” inn near London Bridge; “The
White Lion” inn at the White Lion Wharf; “The Blew Ancor” inn; “The Old
Swan” inn; “The Bull Head” inn; “The Naggs Head Tavern” inn; “The
Princes Arms” inn; “The Fling Hors” inn; “The Lion and Key” inn; “The
Black Bell inn; “The Woodmongers Arms” inn; “The Crose Bulets” inn; “The
Suggar Lofe” inn; “The Lobster” inn; “The Bear and Ragged Staff” inn;
“The Two Fighting Cocks” inn; “The Blue Boar and Three Horse Shoes” inn;
“The Horse Shoe” inn; “The Royal Arms on Shield” inn; “The Cross against
Barkin Church” inn.
Thames Street itself is the subject of a great many references in the
_Calendar of Wills_ dated from 1275 to 1688. The earliest is in 1275,
after which they occur repeatedly. In 1280 a tenement is mentioned as
that of Ernald Thedmar; in 1282 Henry de Coventre bequeathed to his wife
his mansion in the Vintry from Thames Street to the waterside.
So far, we have spoken of Thames Street and the riverside generally; let
us now take our section in detail.
Only a short way to the north lay =Ludgate=, one of the principal
entrances to the City.
Ludgate can hardly have been so named later than the Norman Conquest.
Stow, in his explanation of the ancient street leading from Aldgate to
Ludgate, clearly conveys the belief that it was an ancient gate. Perhaps
the necessity of land communications from the City to Westminster caused
the piercing of this gate and the construction of the causeway and the
bridge over the valley and stream of the Fleet. In that case, one would
naturally think of King Knut and his palace at Westminster. The name is
said to mean a postern.
Ludgate was either repaired or rebuilt in 1215, when the barons, in arms
against King John, entered London and destroyed the houses of the Jews,
using the stones in the restoration of the City walls and of Ludgate
more especially. Stow records a curious confirmation of this
circumstance, the discovery, when the gate was rebuilt in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, of a stone with a Hebrew inscription, signifying the
sign or note of Rabbi Moses, the son of Rabbi Isaac. On the east side,
in a niche, on this renewal, were placed the statues of Lud and his two
sons in Roman costumes; and on the west side the statue of Queen
Elizabeth. When the gates were taken down (1761-62), Lud and his sons
were given by the City to Sir Francis Gosling, who intended to set them
up at the east end of St. Dunstan’s Church, in Fleet Street. This,
however, he did not carry into effect, and the king and his two sons
were deposited in the parish bone-house. The statue of Elizabeth met
with a better fate, having a niche assigned it in the outer wall of old
St. Dunstan’s, Fleet Street. The Lud gate of 1586 was gutted in the
Great Fire, and the stonework seriously injured.
Ludgate was first erected into a prison in the reign of Richard II., and
was anciently appropriated to the freemen of the City and to clergymen.
The place soon became too small for the growing occasions of the City,
and it was enlarged at the expense of Dame Agnes Forster, widow of
Stephen Forster, mayor in 1454.
“Formerly Debtors that were not able to satisfy their debts, put
themselves into this prison of Ludgate for shelter from their creditors.
And these were merchants and tradesmen who had been driven to want by
losses at sea. When King Philip, in the month of August, 1554, came
first through London, these prisoners were thirty in number, and owed
10,000 pounds, but compounded for 2000 pounds, who represented a
well-penned Latin speech to that Prince to redress their miseries, and
by his royal generosity to free them. ‘And the rather for that place was
not Sceleratorum Carcer, sed Miserorum Custodia, _i.e._ a gaol for
villains, but a place of restraint for poor unfortunate men; And that
they were put in there, not by others, but themselves fled thither; and
that not out of fear of punishment, but in hope of better fortune.’ The
whole letter was drawn by the curious pen of Roger Ascham, and is extant
among his epistles, _Lib._ III.” (Cunningham).
The rules and customs of Ludgate are given by Strype:
“If a freeman or freewoman of London be committed to Ludgate, they are
to be excused from the Ignominy of irons, if they can find sureties to
be true prisoners, and if the sum be not above £100. There is another
custom for the liberal and mild imprisonment of the citizens in Ludgate;
whereby they have indulgence and favour to go abroad into any place,
under the guard and superintendency of their keeper; with whom they must
return again to the prison at night.
“This custom is not to hinder and delay Justice nor to defraud men of
their debts and executions, as it is quarrelled against by some, but
serves for a mitigation of their punishment; and tends rather for the
expedition of their discharge, and speedy satisfaction of their
creditors. While they may go and inform themselves, upon their mutual
reckonings, both what they owe, and what is due unto them.” For further
account of this prison see _London in the Eighteenth Century_, pp.
581-87.
In the year 1659, one Marmaduke Johnson, a prisoner in Ludgate,
presented a memorandum on the prison and its Government to the Lord
Mayor. In this document he sets forth the history of the prison, its
constitution and laws, its officers, its charities, and the grievances
of the prisoners.
A great many benefactors have left money to the prison, amounting in all
to about £60 a year. In addition, the Lord Mayor allowed the prisoners a
basket of broken meat every day; and provisions of some kind were every
day, to some small extent, bestowed upon them by the markets. Besides
which there were two grates, one in Ludgate, and the other on the
Blackfriars side, where all day long a man stood crying, “Pity the poor
prisoners.” There were about fifty of the prisoners “on the Charity,” as
it was called. But the warders and turnkeys, by their exactions, got
most of the money.
=Ludgate Hill= was formerly Bowyer Lane. On the south, until a few years
ago, were to be seen some fragments of London Wall, now vanished.
On the top of Ludgate Hill, and on the west side of St. Paul’s, Digby,
Grant, Winter, and Bates were executed, January 30, 1606, for their
participation in the Gunpowder Plot.
The houses on the south side of the hill were set back when the street
was widened in modern times. On the north side there are several old
ones.
ST. MARTIN, LUDGATE
This church was rebuilt in 1437 for Sir John Michael, then mayor,
but was destroyed by the Great Fire, and rebuilt from the designs of
Wren in 1684. The benefice was united with the united benefices of
St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, and St. Gregory by St Paul’s,
by Order in Council, 1890. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1322.
The patronage of the church, long before 1322, was in the hands of:
The Abbot and Convent of Westminster; Henry VIII., who seized it and
granted it to the Bishop of Westminster, January 20, 1540-41; the
Bishop of London, by grant of Edward VI., 1550, confirmed by Queen
Mary, March 3, 1553-54, in whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 476.
The interior of the church is noticeable as being broader and higher
than it is long, its width being 66 feet, height 59 feet, and length
51 feet. The appearance is rendered cruciform by four composite
columns, which, with pilasters on the walls, support entablatures at
the angles of the church. The ceiling is lowered in the quadrangular
corners thus formed. The tower rises at the centre of the south
front, and contains three stories; this is concluded by a cornice,
above which there is a narrow stone stage surmounted by an octagonal
cupola, with a lantern and balcony. The steeple is completed by a
tapering spire, with ball, finial, and vane; its height is 158 feet.
It is said to have been especially built by Wren to form a
foreground to the towering dome of St. Paul’s.
Chantries were founded here by: William Sevenoke, whose endowment
fetched £3 : 6 : 8 in 1548; Michael de London and John le Hatte,
augmented by Roger Payn, William Pows, Simon Newell, and Thomas
Froddashame, to which John de Derby was admitted as chaplain,
January 11, 1392-93, on being vacated by Roger Shirrene; William
Alsone, who also founded chantries in Northants and Derbys.
William Sevenoke, grocer, who founded a free school and almshouses
in the town of Sevenoaks, Kent, Mayor of London, 1419, was buried
here and commemorated by a monument. The other monuments recorded by
Stow are of little note. No benefactors are recorded by Stow.
Sixty boys and fifty girls, belonging to the charity school of the
ward, were clothed and disposed of (when fit) by subscriptions from
the inhabitants.
William Glyn (d. 1558), Bishop of Bangor, was rector here; also
Richard Rawlins (d. 1536), Bishop of St. David’s.
[Illustration:
_Photochrom Co., Ltd._
LUDGATE CIRCUS AND LUDGATE HILL
]
On Ludgate Hill we find also Stationers’ Court, where is the Stationers’
Hall.
THE STATIONERS COMPANY
The Company was incorporated in 1557, but it is believed that a
brotherhood or society existed upwards of a century and a half
previously, called the Brotherhood or Society of Text-writers.
There was a Gild of Stationers as early as the beginning of the
fifteenth century. It appears to have been a branch of the
Scriveners, and to have left them to carry on the preparation of
legal documents while they themselves took over the production of
books. The charter of the Company shows that it was regarded as a
company of printers, and that Queen Mary intended it to be
especially a guard against the issue of heretical doctrines.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. H Shepherd._
STATIONERS’ HALL IN 1830
]
The original charter was destroyed in the Fire of London, but the
Company have a copy of it; also of the charter granted by William
and Mary, confirming the privileges granted by the charter of 1556.
The Company has continued ever since its incorporation, and still
is, a trade guild consisting exclusively of members of the trade of
a stationer, printer, publisher, or bookmaker, and their children,
and descendants born free. The greater number of printers’
apprentices in the City of London are bound at Stationers’ Hall, and
the Company’s pensioners, and the recipients of the charities under
their control, are principally journeymen printers, compositors, and
pressmen.
The Company was originally established for the purpose of fostering
and encouraging the trade of a printer, publisher, and stationer,
and from the time of its original foundation to this date a limited
number of liverymen of the Company have carried on at Stationers’
Hall the trade of a publisher for their own benefit, and a division
of profits has been annually made amongst the partners. Other
portion of the profits has been distributed annually amongst poor
freemen of the Company, applied towards the necessary expenses of
the Company, and invested in the purchase of the hall and premises
adjoining. The capital for this trade was originally subscribed by
the members of the Company in certain proportions or shares, and
these shares have been regularly transmitted from time to time since
1605, as in the case of shares of trade companies.
The copyright registry was first established by the Company at the
commencement of the sixteenth century or even earlier. It would
appear from the ancient records that a register of copies had
existed previous to the incorporation. In 1565 rules were made by
the Company regulating the transmission of copies upon the decease
of the owner, and requiring them to be entered in the books of the
Company. In 1584 the Privy Council (through the Lord Mayor) ordered
that all copies should be entered in the Company’s register, and
copyrights were from time to time transferred by entries in these
registers. Between 1580 and 1615, there are letters from the Lords
of the Council and the Lord Mayor calling attention to the
publication of certain books of a traitorous or mischievous
tendency. There is no mention of any power or authority belonging to
the Stationers Company for the suppression of these books. On one
occasion the Wardens of that Company are ordered to produce the
printer of a certain pamphlet with the person who was circulating
it. Various orders were from time to time issued by the Lords of the
Privy Council and High Commissioners, regulating printing. In 1660 a
committee of the House of Commons was appointed to prepare a Bill
regulating printing, and in 1662 the Bill was passed, and was known
as the Licensing Act. It required all printed works to be registered
at Stationers’ Hall. This Act expired in 1681, and in 1710 the first
copyright Act was passed, which has been superseded by the Act of
1842. The Act of 1710 required copies to be entered at Stationers’
Hall before publication, and the Act of 1842 makes entry at
Stationers’ Hall a condition precedent to the title to sue for
protection against infringements. As a printer, not as a novelist,
Samuel Richardson was a member.
The most ancient hall stood in Milk Street, Cheapside, but in 1553
the Company moved to St. Peter’s College, near the Deanery of St.
Paul’s, and in 1611 they purchased Abergavenny House in Stationers’
Court. This was burnt in the Great Fire. The present building was
erected in 1670, and in 1805 the exterior was cased in Portland
stone, according to a design by the Company’s architect, Robert
Mylne, F.R.S.
The present livery is 284; the Corporate Income is but small, and
the Trust Income £1200.
The Company formerly published almanacks, primers, “A.B.C.’s,”
psalters, and school books, in which they maintained a valuable
monopoly until the middle of the eighteenth century, when it was
declared illegal.
The Company established a school at Bolt Court, Fleet Street, in
1861; this is now at Ridge Road, Hornsey. The school has
accommodation for more than three hundred boys.
This corner of London to the south of Ludgate Hill was covered with
narrow lanes and courts into which light was admitted by the
construction of Queen Victoria Street. It is the site of the
=Blackfriars’ Precinct=. This house was in the hands of the Dominicans.
See _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 354.
Church Entry marks the site of
=St. Anne, Blackfriars=, standing adjacent to the walls of
Blackfriars’ Monastery; it was consecrated in 1597 by Edmund
Stanhope, Doctor of Laws, by virtue of a commission from the Bishop
of London. It was enlarged on the south side in 1613, which was
consecrated by the Bishop of London in 1617. The church was burnt
down in the Great Fire and not rebuilt, but the parish was annexed
to St. Andrew by the Wardrobe. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1597.
The patronage was in the hands of the Crown and parishioners
alternately, since the Great Fire when it was burnt down, and the
parish was annexed to St. Andrew by the Wardrobe; before this the
parishioners presented.
Isaac Oliver, miniature painter, was buried here.
[Illustration:
STATIONERS’ HALL (INTERIOR)
]
The charities and reliefs recorded in this parish were few. John
Bobhurst was a donor of £2 per annum, also Edward Corbet and Mrs.
Miller. The greatest benefactor was Peter Jorge, who founded a free
school, appointing Sion College trustees.
Forty boys and thirty girls were to be taught reading and writing,
and some useful work besides. All were to be given clothing once a
year and two to be put out as apprentices. The school was endowed
with £150 a year, and salaries for teachers. As there were many
tailors among the foundation, the children of such were to have
preference of admission (Stow and Strype).
St. Anne’s had some notable vicars, among them William Gouge (or
Goughe), D.D., forty-six years minister of the parish. In November
1633 “Mr. William Goughe, Doctor of Divinity, prayed to be admitted
freeman of the Society of Apothecaries, and was so.”
On the west is an open space fairly wide, with asphalt centre and
scrubby bushes round. This is jealously guarded by iron rails and wall
from all intruders. It was sacred ground, the churchyard, though there
are no monuments or stones left to bear testimony. Close beside the
churchyard in a carpenter’s shop are certain old arches belonging to the
Dominicans’ Buildings.
Westward there is a small court, called Fleur-de-Lys, on the west side
of St. Anne’s churchyard, which escaped the Fire, though here the Fire
had raged most hotly. A little consideration will show the reason. An
open space called Church Entry lay between the backs of the Fleur-de-Lys
Houses and St. Anne’s Church and churchyard. Now the church stood high,
and during the continuance of the Fire the wind blew steadily from the
east. The view of the City after the Fire shows that the walls of the
churches and of many houses were still standing. Therefore, even though
the roof was burned, the flames blew _over_ this court, while, when the
roof had fallen, the walls of the church sheltered the little court on
the other side. I dare say that, had we a more exact account of the
Fire, it would be found that many houses or courts escaped in the same
way.
“Eminent inhabitants—(of Blackfriars), Isaac Oliver, the
miniature-painter. He died here in 1617, and was buried in St. Anne’s,
Blackfriars. Lady Ayres, wishing to have a copy of Lord Herbert of
Cherbury’s picture to wear in her bosom, went ‘to Mr. Isaac the painter
in Blackfriars, and desired him to draw it in little after his
manner.’—Cornelius Jansen, the painter (d. 1665). He lived in the
Blackfriars for several years, and had much business, but left it a
little before Van Dyck’s arrival. Sir Anthony Van Dyck, from his
settlement in England in 1632, to his death in 1641. The rent of his
house, ‘at a moderate value,’ was estimated, in 1638, at £20, and the
tithe paid £1 : 6 : 8. His daughter Justina was born here December 1,
1641, and baptised in St. Anne’s, Blackfriars, December 9, 1641, the day
of her father’s death. Ben Jonson, who dates his dedication of Volpone
or The Fox ‘from my house in the Blackfriars, this 11th day of February,
1607.’ Here he has laid the scene of The Alchemist. The Earl and
Countess of Somerset were living in the Blackfriars when Overbury was
murdered. The precinct no longer exists, but is now a part of the ward
of Farringdon Within. I have not been able to trace any attempt to
assert its privileges later than 1735, when in the July of that year the
Court of Common Council brought an action against Daniel Watson, for
opening a shop and vending shoes in the Blackfriars without being free
of the City. The court of King’s Bench gave it in favour of the City.
The sheriffs could arrest here many years before” (Cunningham).
Note that the Earl of Northumberland had a town house in 1612 in the
unfashionable precinct of Blackfriars.
[Illustration:
FLEUR-DE-LYS COURT
]
Within the precinct were—and are—several places of interest. The
Blackfriars Theatre was built in 1576. It was rebuilt or extensively
repaired in 1596 when Shakespeare and Richard Burbage were sharers. In
1633 it was let by Cuthbert and William Burbage for a rent of £50. The
building was pulled down in 1655 and tenements put up in its place.
Playhouse Yard preserves the memory of the theatre.
Standing at the western end of Queen Victoria Street and taking a
general view we see St. Paul’s Station of the L.B. and S.C. Railway.
=Water Lane= runs by the railway. Here is the Apothecaries’ Hall.
THE APOTHECARIES COMPANY
Two opposite forces acted upon the City Companies: one separating
them and multiplying Companies for different parts of the same trade
or craft; the other uniting in one Company crafts which were related
chiefly by using the same material. Thus the Barbers divided into
Barbers and Surgeons; the Grocers into Grocers and Apothecaries;
while at one time the Weavers included in their body all those
trades which had to do with woven stuffs, and were so powerful that
they threatened to rule the whole City. It happened sometimes that
some trades were injured by the inability of the Company to look
after them. Thus it was quite natural that the Grocers who imported
drugs and spices and oils used by Apothecaries should include these
persons in their own livery. But, the wardens not being skilled in
the use of medical prescriptions and preparations, could not look
after their own people. Consequently complaints became general of
the ignorance and incompetence of Apothecaries for want of proper
supervision. Towards the end of the sixteenth century these
complaints were brought forward categorically. It took time for the
matter to be understood, and it was not until 1617 that James
bestowed a separate charter upon the Apothecaries in spite of the
remonstrances of the Grocers.
The objects of this charter, concisely stated, are to restrain the
Grocers (the former associates of the Apothecaries) or any other
City Company from keeping an apothecary’s shop or exercising the
“art, faculty, or mystery of an apothecary within the City of London
or a radius of seven miles.” To allow no one to do so unless
apprenticed to an apothecary for seven years at least, and at the
expiration of such apprenticeship such apprentice to be approved and
allowed by the master and wardens and representatives of the College
of Physicians, before being permitted to keep an apothecary’s shop,
or prepare, dispense, commix, or compound medicines. To give the
right of search within the City of London or a radius of seven miles
of the shops of apothecaries or others, and “prove” the drugs, and
to examine within the same radius all persons “professing, using, or
exercising the art or mystery of apothecaries.”
It also confers the power to burn “before the offender’s doors” any
unwholesome drugs, and to summon the offenders before the
magistrates.
And to buy, sell, or make drugs. Up to the passing of the
Apothecaries Act, 1815, so far as the prescribed radius extended,
the three first-stated objects of the charter and the existence of
the society in relation to its members were identical. A member of
the Society of Apothecaries and an apothecary of the City of London
or within seven miles were convertible terms.
As regards the fourth object prescribed by the charter, the Society,
doubtless from its want of means, has never itself until the present
time bought, sold, or made drugs, but owing to the great difficulty
of its members obtaining pure drugs it allowed them to raise money
themselves and create stock or shares for that purpose, and to carry
on such trade in the name of the Society for their own personal
profit as a private Company or partnership under various titles.
Owing to such trade having ended in a loss, this private partnership
was dissolved in 1880, and the Society is now itself carrying on the
trade at its own risk.
As regards the three first-stated powers of the charter, the Society
(by means of the Apothecaries Act of 1815) extended them so greatly
as to effect not only a revolution in their own sphere of
operations, but also in the medical profession and in the relations
subsisting between the latter and the general public.
This Act (after placing the right of search referred to in the
third-stated power of the charter on a more precise and practical
basis, but to which it is unnecessary to allude as having fallen
into necessary desuetude by the various Pharmacy and Poisons Acts)
created a court of 12 examiners to be appointed by the master,
wardens, and court of assistants, who were to examine all persons in
England and Wales as to their skill and ability in the science and
practice of medicine, and five examiners to examine assistants for
the compounding and dispensing of medicine. It authorised the
Society to receive fees for granting the respective licences, and
(saving the rights of the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons) it
empowered the Society to recover penalties for practising or
compounding without such licences.
The Apothecaries Act, 1815, contained, however, two restrictions
which were removed by the Apothecaries Act Amendment Act, 1874,
namely, (_a_) the obligation of the 12 examiners being members of
the Society of Apothecaries, and being of at least 10 years’
standing, and (_b_) of candidates for examination having served an
apprenticeship of five years to an apothecary.
The Act of 1874 also contains other provisions which relate more to
questions of medical legislation than this present inquiry. Shortly
the effect of the Act of 1815 was to make the Society of
Apothecaries one of the three great medical licensing bodies for
England and Wales [the number of its present licentiates is between
8000 and 9000], and of the Act of 1874 was to throw open the
Society’s examinerships, and to confer on it a freedom in reference
to future medical reform to an extent not exceeded by any other
body.
The Company consists of about 400 members including the court, the
livery, and the yeomanry or freemen.
The hall, which stands on the eastern side of Water Lane, formerly
consisted of the town house of Lady Howard of Effingham. It was, of
course, destroyed by the Fire, but the buildings which were erected
after the Fire have a delightful air of quiet and peace, such as
belongs very fitly to a scientific society. The hall stands behind a
small paved court; on the left hand is the shop, at the north end of
the hall are the offices, the library and the court rooms. The
Physic Gardens at Chelsea also belong to the Apothecaries on certain
conditions, especially that the Company should every year present to
the Royal Society fifty dried specimens of plants growing in these
gardens, till the number of 2000 was reached. As this was in 1731,
that number has long since passed and the Company’s debt is paid.
Among the more eminent members of this Company have been William and
John Hunter, Jenner, Smollett, Humphry Davy, Dr. Sydenham, Erasmus
Wilson, and Sir Spencer Wells. Oliver Goldsmith and Keats were also
members.
=Printing House Square= contained the King’s Printing House.
“The first I have discovered was John Bill, who, ‘at the King’s Printing
House in Black Friars,’ printed the proclamations of the reign of
Charles II., and the first London Gazette, established in that reign.
Charles Eyre and William Strahan were the last King’s printers who
resided here, and in February, 1770, the King’s Printing House was
removed to New Street, near Gough Square, in Fleet Street, where it now
is. The place still continues to deserve its name of Printing House
Square, for here every day in the week (Sunday excepted) _The Times_
newspaper is printed and published, and from hence distributed over the
whole civilized world. This celebrated paper, finding daily employment
on the premises for between 200 and 300 people, was established in
1788,—the first number appearing on the 1st of January in that year.”
(Cunningham.) _The Times_ office is a very notable feature in Queen
Victoria Street by reason of its great height and conspicuous clock.
Queen Victoria Street and Upper Thames Street gradually diverge at a
very acute angle. The former is on a lower level than the latter, and is
divided from it for about seventy yards by a low wall only, with an open
space crossed by steps. In Queen Victoria Street on the left is the
square tower of St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, outlined in white stone, and
thrown into relief by a rather ornamental red-brick building which
stands in front.
=St. Andrew’s Hill= was sometimes called Puddle Dock Hill. In Ireland
Yard stood the house bought by Shakespeare in 1612, and bequeathed by
him to his daughter Susanne Hall. In Green Dragon Court there stood,
until a year or two ago, one of the oldest of the London taverns from
which the court took its name.
=The Wardrobe.=—On the north side of St. Andrew’s church stands a small
square which, with its trees and the absence of vehicles or shops, is
one of the most quiet spots in the whole City. This square was formerly
the court of the town house built by Sir John Beauchamp (d. 1359), whose
tomb in St. Paul’s Cathedral was commonly called Duke Humphrey’s tomb.
Before his death the house became the property of King Edward III. who
made it a Royal Wardrobe House, and so it remained until the Great Fire.
James I. gave the collection of dresses—called by Fuller a “Library of
antiquaries wherein to read the fashion and mode of garments in all
ages”—to the Earl of Dunbar, by whom they were all sold and dispersed.
The wardrobe was taken after the Fire to the Savoy and then to
Buckingham Street, Strand. The last keeper was Ralph, Duke of Montagu
(d. 1709).
When Charles V. came to England in 1522, among the lodgings assigned to
his suite was the house of Margaret Hanley, “under the Wardrobe side,
having two chambers and two beds.”
=Wardrobe Place= is a delightful spot with an air of brooding quietness.
The houses are nearly all old “post fire,” dating from about 200 years
ago. That on the east side of the entry is black with age, and the lines
in the brickwork waver as they cross its front. Next to it on the east
side of the court is a plaster-fronted one, and then a row of three
dark-brick houses with the so-called “flat arch” of brighter red bricks
glowing above the rectangular windows. Nearly a dozen twisted plane
trees, all young, and measured by inches only in circumference, straggle
irregularly from the cobblestones of the courtyard. On the west side
there are charming houses in the same style as the above-mentioned. The
largest of these, No. 2, is wainscotted from floor to ceiling, and has
in many rooms great projecting fireplaces forming recesses on either
side half the width of the rooms. From the south-east corner there is a
covered-in passage leading to the back of the Old Bell Hotel, and with
Wardrobe Chambers opening into them.
ST. ANDREW BY THE WARDROBE
The church derived its title from its proximity to the
King’s Wardrobe above described. It was formerly called St.
Andrew-juxta-Baynard’s Castle. After the Great Fire, the church was
rebuilt by Wren and completed in 1692, and the parish of St. Anne,
Blackfriars, was united with it. The earliest date of an incumbent
is 1261.
The patronage of this church was in the hands of: The family of
Fitzwalter, Lords of Woodham, 1361, which becoming extinct, it
passed to Thomas, Lord Berkeley, then to Richard, Earl Warwick, who
married Berkeley’s daughter; the three daughters of the Countess of
Warwick, viz. Lady Talbot, afterwards Countess of Shrewsbury; Lady
Ross; and Lady Latimer, afterwards Countess of Dorset in 1439; and
the Crown, since St. Anne’s, Blackfriars, was annexed to it.
Houseling people in 1548 were 450.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency_.
BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY HOUSE
]
This church measures 75 feet in length, 59 in breadth, and 38 feet
in height, and contains two side aisles divided from the nave by
square pillars, encased in wood to the height of the top of the
galleries. The ceiling is exceptionally fine, with beautifully
moulded wreaths. The exterior is of red brick with stone dressings.
The tower, which is square and of four stories, rises at the
south-west; the two lower ones contain windows, the third a clock,
and the highest has square-headed openings with louvres. A cornice
and balustrade complete the tower, which is about 86 feet in height.
Chantries were founded here by: John Parraunt, armiger, for himself
and Clemencia his late wife, and for John Loc, alias Foxton, citizen
and fishmonger, and Margaret, his wife (licence was granted December
3, 1409; the endowment fetched £12 : 3 : 4 in 1518 when Thomas Mores
was priest, “aged 54, meanly learned”); Humphrey Talbot, whose
endowment fetched £7 : 6 : 8 in 1548.
There are three pyramidal monuments of white marble to three
successive rectors—the Rev. William Romaine, a celebrated preacher;
the Rev. William Goode, rector in 1795; and the Rev. Isaac Saunders,
who held the living for nearly twenty years.
Some of the donors of charities were: John Lee, of a house and
wharf, leased for £30 per annum; Mrs. Paradine, £3 per annum; Mrs.
Cleve, thirteen penny loaves to be dealt out every Sunday.
There was a free school founded by a private person for the benefit
of the children of poor tailors, where forty boys and thirty girls
were taught and clothed. Also three almshouses maintained by the
rent of an adjoining house, built partly by charity of the Lady
Elizabeth, Viscountess Chomondeley, and partly at the expense of the
inhabitants, in 1679.
Among the most notable of the rectors were: Philip Baker (d. 1601),
Vice-Chancellor Cambridge University; William Savage (d. 1736),
Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge; William Romaine (1714-1795),
Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London; William Goode
(1762-1816), President of Sion College; John Harding (1805-74),
Bishop of Bombay.
A little passage, right-of-way to the public, goes round the north and
east sides of the church, and at the corner where this joins St.
Andrew’s Hill stands the old Rectory House. This is a charming old
building, dating from soon after the Fire. There is, curiously enough,
no oak in the woodwork, excepting only in the cross-pieces of the
window-frames. The fireplace in the study is of interest, fashioned of
marble and tiles set in polished wood; and on the overmantel there is a
little slab bearing the words, all in capital letters:
Laus Deo per Jesum Christum. Church Missionary Society, Instituted
April 12, 1799, in this room; the committee meetings of the Society
were held from June 17, 1799, to January 3, 1812: and here on
January 2, 1804, its first missionaries were appointed to preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The house betrays its age in all its lines, and though there is no other
special feature worthy of comment in it, the tiny garden behind is well
worth a visit; it contains a plane-tree, and is a curious little oasis
in a wilderness of bricks and mortar.
=Queen Victoria Street= was only begun in 1867-68 as a direct
thoroughfare from the embankment to the Mansion House. It was formally
opened November 4, 1871.
The headquarters of the British and Foreign Bible Society is solidly
designed, with pilasters running up the front between the windows. Over
the great door, supported by blocks of polished granite, is a heavy
stone balcony, and three smaller balconies project from the windows
above. An ornamental cornice runs round the roof. The architect was Mr.
Edward l’Anson.
The library contains the Fry collection of English Bibles, the most
complete ever made. This was purchased by the Society for £6000. It
includes a copy of the earliest edition of _Coverdale_ printed abroad
1535, and one of the earliest editions printed in England two years
later. In the cases about the room are many objects of interest—a German
Bible printed 1473; Codex Zacynthus, a palimpsest, of which the earlier
writing is supposed to date from the fifth or sixth century, the later
from the twelfth. The Society was founded in 1804. Its object is simply
to “circulate the Bible without note or comment, in all languages and in
all lands.”
Since its foundation over 140 million copies of the Bible, whole or in
parts, have been issued. The Society now produces the Bible in about 330
languages and dialects. The University Press monopolises the printing of
English Bibles, and much of the printing of the Society in foreign
languages is done abroad. The only actual printing carried on in Queen
Victoria Street is that done by one man, who works with two hand-presses
for the blind. But the issue of fresh copies by the Society comes to an
average of 13,000 for every working day.
The General Post Office Savings Bank offices, with a frontage of about
250 feet, are next door. The garden belonging to the old Doctors Commons
stretched across the roadway at this point, and was only finally cleared
away in 1867 at the making of the new street.
The Heralds’ College or College of Arms is a fine old building in
deep-coloured brick. The front stands back from the street, and is
supported by two wings. The small courtyard resulting is separated from
the street front by high iron railings and gates. There are two brick
and stone piers at each gateway, with that favourite ornament of the
Stuart period—stone balls—on their summits. The back of the eastern wing
abuts on Peter’s Hill, and the wide, outside flap shutters of an
old-world style give the little hill a quaint aspect. The College was
rebuilt after the Fire, and restored at the opening of Queen Victoria
Street. It was originally Derby House, built by the first Earl of Derby
and presented in 1555 by Queen Mary to the then Garter King-of-Arms; so
it has long been devoted to its present use. Returning to Queen Victoria
Street we see opposite in enormous gilt letters, each four or five feet
long, “Salvation Army International Headquarters” right across the front
of a great building.
=Addle Hill=, like Addle Street, is supposed to be derived from the
Saxon Adel, _noble_. It has been found written Adling Hill. The whole
space between Addle Hill and Bell Yard, and between Queen Victoria
Street and Carter Lane, with the exception of Knightrider Street, is now
occupied by General Post Office Savings Bank Department. Northward, on
the south side of St. Paul’s Churchyard, near the west end, was the
church of St. Gregory mentioned elsewhere.
=Carter Lane= was formerly divided into Great and Little Carter Lane.
From the Bell Inn, Bell Yard, in Carter Lane, the only letter addressed
to Shakespeare that is known to exist was sent to him by Richard
Quiney—“To my loveing good friend and country man, Mr. William
Shakespeare, deliver these.” Bell Yard led to the Prerogative Will
Office, Doctors’ Commons.
Carter Lane, also called Shoemakers’ Row, is mentioned in the _Calendar
of Wills_ in the year 1295. The west end still retains that name in
Ogilby’s map of 1677. In 1424 the exchequer paid to John Kyllyngham,
master of a house called The Bell in Carter Lane, the sum of £17 : 14 :
8 for costs and expenses of Sir Gilbyn de Lauvoy, knight, and John de la
Roe, Esq., and their servants and horses for twenty-eight days. The said
Sir Gilbyn and John de la Roe had been sent to the Holy Land by Henry V.
“upon certain important causes.” Deeds of the fourteenth century speak
of tenements in Carter Lane. In this street were several taverns of note
such as the White Horse, the Sun, the Bell, and the Saracen’s Head. Here
was a famous meeting-house in which many of the most distinguished of
Nonconformist ministers preached.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency_.
THE COLLEGE OF ARMS
]
Here is the school for St. Paul’s choir-boys, with a stencilled frieze.
The playground is on the roof.
=Creed Lane= was formerly called Sporier Row. An inn in Sporier Row is
assigned in the fifteenth century by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s
to their canons. After the Fire there were differences as to the sites
and boundaries of houses destroyed in Creed Lane. The Lane was widened
in 1750 as one of the improvements made at that time.
Dean’s Court has now warehouses erected on the north and east sides. The
house over the archway was said to have been occupied by Sir Christopher
Wren as his office during the building of St. Paul’s. Within this court
were also the vicar general’s, the commissary and the consistory courts,
and offices for procuring marriage licences.
St. Peter’s College adjoined Dean’s Court on the west side in St. Paul’s
Churchyard (see under the Stationers Company, p. 199).
When Charles V. came to London in 1522, Doctors’ Commons among other
places furnished for his suite a hall, a parlour, and three chambers
with feather beds. Mention is made of the dining-hall of Doctors’
Commons and of the “entre going into the great canonicale House now
naymed the Doctors’ Commons with a chamber over the said entre,” and of
other parts of the building.
This ancient College or House of Doctors of Law was swept away in
1861-67 in consequence of alterations in legal procedure. The courts
were removed, and the business of the proctors was merged in the
ordinary work of the High Courts of Justice and the Bar.
The Deanery itself is on the west side standing back behind a high brick
wall, painted yellow. It is attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, and was
built soon after the Great Fire. The stone piers of the gates are
surmounted by cones. The building itself is tiled with three dormer
windows standing out from the roof and heavy projecting eaves. In the
interior there is no carving or anything of antiquarian interest calling
for remark, but the front door has some rich wood-carving in the style
of Grinling Gibbons.
Paul’s Chain and the greater part of St. Bennet’s Hill are now Godliman
Street. The origin of the name “Godliman” is unknown. Cunningham says
that the earliest mention of the name is 1732. It is not found in Ogilby
nor in Strype. It has been spelt “Godalmin.”
A little court named Paul’s Bakehouse seems to have been asleep while
the rest of the world passed it by. It is true the house immediately
fronting the entry is covered with ugly yellow plaster, but it is by no
means obtrusively modern, and if we except an iron railing in the corner
over an area in the north-east, and the house above it, the remainder of
the court has been touched by time alone since it left the builders’
hands in the seventeenth century. The houses on the north and south
sides are of brick; the northern ones bulge forward out of the
perpendicular, and they have low wooden doorways. That in the south-west
corner is supported by grooved pilasters. The northern building claims a
better staircase in the interior—a staircase with spiral balusters and
carved woodwork, low and substantial.
=Knightrider Street.=—Why this street should be named, as Stow says,
“after knights riding” more than any other street, it is impossible to
explain. One may, however, suppose that it was named after some branch
of the Armourers’ or Loriners’ Craft. Dr. Linacre lived here.
Knightrider Street now extends to Queen Victoria Street, but formerly
the eastern part from Old Change was called Old Fish Street. Do Little
Lane, between Carter Lane and Knightrider Street, now Knightrider Court,
is found in many ancient documents called “Dolite,” “Do Lyttle,”
“Doelittle” in deeds of Edwards I., II., and III.
[Illustration:
DOCTORS’ COMMONS, 1808
From a drawing by Rowlandson and Pugin.
]
ST. NICHOLAS COLE ABBEY
The church stands in Knightrider Street; it has been known by
several other names, Coldenabbey, Coldbey, etc. It was burnt down in
the Great Fire, and rebuilt from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren
in 1677, when the parish of St. Nicholas Olave was annexed. In 1873
it was thoroughly repaired. Four other parishes were subsequently
united. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1319.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Dean of St.
Martin’s-le-Grand, then the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, 1532.
Henry VIII., who seized it, and so continued in the Crown till Queen
Elizabeth granted it in 1559 to Thomas Reeve and George Evelyn, from
whom it passed to several private persons and at length came to the
Hacker family in 1575, one of whom, Colonel Francis Hacker, was
involved in the beheading of Charles I.; he was finally executed as
a traitor, his estate including this advowson being forfeited and
thus it came to the Crown, and so continued until St. Nicholas Olave
was annexed after the Great Fire, when the patronage was shared
alternately with the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 180.
The interior of the church, which contains no aisles, measures 63
feet in length, 43 feet in breadth, and 36 feet in height. The
steeple, which rises at the north-west, consists of a tower of four
stories concluded by a cornice with urns at each angle; above this a
spire rises, completed by a balcony, and supporting a square
pedestal with a finial, ball, and vane. The total height is about
135 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By John Sywarde and Thomas Blode, who
endowed it with lands which fetched £6 in 1548, when Anthony Little
was priest “of 50 years and of mean learning”; by John Tupley, who
left lands and tenements valued at £12 : 8 : 4 in 1548, when Ralph
Jackson was priest “of 30 years of age and very well learned”;
Thomas Barnard, John Saunderash, and William Cogshale, who gave
their lands in Distaff Lane to endow the same, which yielded £7 :
6 : 8 in 1548, when William Benson was priest, “46 years of age, and
a very poor and sickly man.”
The church contained no monuments of any special note. Walter Turke,
mayor in 1349, was interred here.
Barnard Randolph bequeathed £900 to this parish and St. Mary
Magdalene for charities; he died in 1583. No other names are
recorded by Stow.
Herbert Kynaston (1809-1878), High Master of St. Paul’s School, was
rector here. But the most notable among the rectors is the most
recent, Prebendary Shuttleworth, whose death in 1900 left a gap
difficult to fill. Among the most notable of his social schemes was
the foundation of a social club for young men and women who work in
the City (see p. 219).
Old Fish Street, partly wiped out by Knightrider Street, was a row of
narrow houses built along the middle of the street like the old houses
at Holborn Bars, or like Butchers’ Row behind St. Clement Danes; or like
Holywell Street, Strand. Stow says:
“These houses, now possessed by fishmongers, were at the first but
moveable boards or stalls, set out on market-days to show their fish
sold; but procuring license to set up sheds, they grew to shops, and by
little and little to tall houses of three or four stories in height, and
now are called Fish Street.”
=St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street=, was situated on the north
side of Knightrider Street at the west corner of the Old Change. It
was destroyed by the Great Fire, and subsequently rebuilt and made
the parish church for this and the parish of St. Gregory; but it was
again burnt down in 1886, and has not been rebuilt.
In 1890 these two parishes were united to St. Martin, Ludgate. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1162.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s, as a vicarage, about 1162, but about 1319 it was a
rectory in the same patronage and has so continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 360.
The church formerly contained a considerable number of monuments,
but the individuals commemorated were of comparatively little note.
Among them was one, Barnard Randolph, common sergeant of the City of
London, and benefactor of the parish. He died in 1583.
Some of the charitable gifts recorded by Stow are: A messuage,
leased at £28 per annum, the gift of Thomas Berry; 40s. per annum,
the gift of Justice Randall; £3 : 18s. per annum, the gift of the
Company of Wax Chandlers.
In St. Gregory’s Parish, in the Ward of Castle Baynard, there was a
school purchased at the cost of Alderman Barber, where thirty boys
and twenty girls were educated. There was one almshouse upon Lambeth
Hill.
John Hewitt was rector here; he was tried by Cromwell’s High Court
of Justice in 1658 and beheaded. Also William Crowe (d. 1743),
Chaplain in Ordinary to George II.
=Sermon Lane.=—According to Stow this was originally Sheremonier’s Lane.
The name is found as “Sarmoneres,” “Sarmoners,” “Sarmouneris,” and
“Seremoneres” Lane. The most interesting mention of the Street is
contained in the Hist. MSS. Comm. Rept. IX., Part I. 26b. (A.D. 1315):
“Whereas a house belonging to the Chapter of St. Paul’s, at the
north-east corner of ‘Sarmouneris’ Lane, has been assigned to Sir
Nicholas Housebonde, minor canon of St. Paul’s, for his residence, the
said Sir Nicholas has complained that it is inconvenient for the purpose
on account of the grievous perils which are to be feared by reason of
its distance from the cathedral and the crossing of dangerous roads by
night, and the attacks of robbers, and other ill-disposed persons, which
he had already suffered, and also on account of the ruinous condition of
the building and the crowd of loose women who live around it. The
Chapter, therefore, assigns to him a piece of ground at the end of the
schools upon which to make a house.”
In Sermon Lane is the charity school. It was built in the beginning of
the eighteenth century. Two quaint figures of charity children, each
perhaps a couple of feet high, project from the first floor. The boy
dressed in the long lapelled coat, the girl in panniers, apron, and cap.
The house is of brick. The two lower floors have ordinary wide arched
windows, but the two upper ones have each a unique display of no less
than nine narrow, circular headed windows in a row extending across all
the front. These give a curious cloistral aspect to the place. Over the
doorway and two ground-floor windows are scrolls fixed up, but on one
only is there an inscription, which is clearly readable, as follows:
To the Glory of God and for the benefit of the poor children of this
parish of Castle Baynard Ward this house was purchased at the sole
cost of John Barber, Esq., Alderman of this ward, in the year of our
Lord 1722.
And on an immense plaster slab running all across the story above is
“Castle Baynard Ward School, supported by voluntary contributions.”
=St. Bennet’s Hill.=—Strype: “Upon Paul’s Wharf Hill, within a great
Gate, and belonging to that gate next to the Doctors’ Commons are many
fair Tenements, which in their Leases made from the Dean and Chapter go
by the name of _Camera Dianæ_, or Diana’s Chamber. So denominated from a
spacious building that in the time of Henry II. stood where they now are
standing. In this Camera, an arched and vaulted structure, this Henry
II. kept, or was supposed to have kept, that jewel of his heart, fair
Rosamund, whom there he called Rosa Mundi; and hereby the name of Diana.
To this day are remains and some evident testifications of turnings
tedious and windings as also of a passage underground from this House to
Castle Baynard, which was, no doubt, the king’s way from thence to his
_Camera Dianæ_.”
In 1452 (Hist. Comm. IX.) the “Inn called _Camera Dianæ_,” _alias_
Segrave, in the parish of St. Benet is assigned by the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s to a Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral. And in 1480 we
find the _Camera_ described as a messuage with a garden let at eight
marks a year to Sir John Clay; it was formerly occupied by Lord Berners,
“but probably belonging to Richard Lichefield, Canon Residentiary, who
pays to the Chapter 26s. a year for the obit of Richard Juvenis.
ST. BENET, PAUL’S WHARF
St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf, is sometimes called St. Bennet Huda, or At
the Hyth, and sometimes St. Benet Woodwharf. The date of the
foundation of the original church is unknown. It was destroyed by
the Great Fire, and the present building, the work of Wren, was
finished in 1683. The neighbouring church of St. Peter was not
rebuilt and after the Fire the parishes were united. This rectory
has ceased to be parochial, its parish having been united with that
of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey. In 1879 the church was handed over to
the Welsh congregation by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners ratified
by an Order in Council. The patron is the Bishop of London. It is
now used for services for Welsh residents in London. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1150.
The patronage of the church had always been in the hands of the Dean
and Chapter of St. Paul’s since 1150 up to 1879.
Houseling people in 1548 were 336.
The present church is built of red brick, with stone quoins and
festoons over the windows. It is 54 feet long, 50 feet broad, and 36
feet high. There is one aisle, on the north side, separated from the
nave by two Corinthian columns on lofty bases. The steeple, rising
at the north-west, reaches a height of 115 feet and consists of a
square-based tower, with a cornice, a cupola with oval openings, and
a lantern supporting a ball and vane.
A chantry was founded here at the Altar of Our Lady for Sir William
de Weyland, to which John Love de Canterbury was admitted, April 10,
1334.
This church formerly contained monuments to: Sir William Cheyne,
Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, who died in 1442; Dr. Richard
Caldwell, President of the Royal College of Physicians, who died in
1585; Inigo Jones was buried here in 1652, but his memorial perished
in the Great Fire; there is a marble tablet to his memory on the
north-side wall. Many heralds and dignities of the Ecclesiastical
Courts were buried in this church owing to its contiguity to the
College of Arms and Doctors’ Commons, among whom are John Charles
Brooke, William Oldys, author of the _Life of Raleigh_, who died in
1761, also Mrs. Manley, author of the _New Atlantis_, who died in
1724. Elias Ashmole, the antiquary, was married here.
There was a charity school here for twenty poor boys; also
almshouses, consisting of six tenements for six poor widows. Each
widow received 7s. 4d. per quarter from Christ’s Hospital, 9s. 6d.
at Christmas from the Embroiderers, and 25s. each at Christmas from
the churchwardens. In the event of marriage, the benefit of this
foundation was forfeited.
As this brings us down to Thames Street again, we must retrace our steps
and come right along the river-side from the westward limit of our
section.
[Illustration:
_Photo. York & Son._
QUEEN VICTORIA STREET
]
Puddle Dock was called Waingate in Stow’s time; it was possibly an
artificial port constructed like Queenhithe, in the mud of the
foreshore. Beside the dock, in the sixteenth century, was a brewery, the
first of the many river-side breweries.
Baynard’s Castle has already been mentioned. There was no house in the
City more interesting than this. Its history extends from the Norman
Conquest to the Great Fire—exactly 600 years; and during the whole of
this long period it was a great palace. First it was built by one
Baynard, a follower of William. It was forfeited in A.D. 1111, and given
to Robert Fitzwalter, son of Richard, Earl of Clare, in whose family the
office of Castellan and Standard-bearer to the City of London became
hereditary. His descendant, Robert, in revenge for private injuries,
took part with the barons against King John, for which the King ordered
Baynard’s Castle to be destroyed. Fitzwalter, however, becoming
reconciled to the King, was permitted to rebuild his house. It was again
destroyed, this time by fire, in 1428. It was rebuilt by Humphrey, Duke
of Gloucester, on whose attainder it reverted to the Crown. During one
of these rebuildings it was somewhat shifted in position. Richard, Duke
of York, next had it, and lived here with his following of 400 gentlemen
and men-at-arms. It was in the hall of Baynard’s Castle that Edward IV.
assumed the title of king, and summoned the bishops, peers, and judges
to meet him in council. Edward gave the house to his mother, and placed
in it for safety his wife and children before going out to fight the
Battle of Barnet. Here Buckingham offered the crown to Richard.
Alas! why would you heap those cares on me?
I am unfit for state and majesty;
I do beseech you, take it not amiss
I cannot, nor I will not, yield to you.
Henry VIII. lived in this palace, which he almost entirely rebuilt.
Prince Henry, after his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, was conducted
in great state up the river, from Baynard’s Castle to Westminster, the
mayor and commonalty of the City following in their barges. In the time
of Edward VI. the Earl of Pembroke, whose wife was sister to Queen
Catherine Parr, held great state in this house. Here he proclaimed Queen
Mary. When Mary’s first Parliament was held, he proceeded to Baynard’s
Castle, followed by “2000 horsemen in velvet coats, with their laces of
gold and gold chains, besides sixty gentlemen in blue coats with his
badge of the green dragon.” This powerful noble lived to entertain Queen
Elizabeth at Baynard’s Castle with a banquet, followed by fireworks. The
last appearance of the place in history is when Charles II. took supper
there just before the Fire swept over it and destroyed it.
Baynard’s Castle is mentioned repeatedly in ancient documents. During a
lawsuit heard before the Justices Itinerant at the Tower of London (14
Edward II.) a charter of Henry I. was produced granting permission to
the Bishop of London to make a wall over part of the ditch of Baynard’s
Castle, and referring back to the possession of the castle by Eustace,
Earl of Boulogne, in 1106. In 1307 there were mills “without” Castle
Baynard, which were removed as a nuisance. The Brethren of the Papey had
a tenement adjoining Baynard’s Castle.
In 1276 Gregory Rokesley, mayor, gave the Archbishop of Canterbury two
lanes or ways next the street of Baynard’s Castle. In 1423 a great fire
destroyed a part of the castle. In 1501 Henry VII. rebuilt the place or
restored it. In 1463 Cicely, Duchess of York, wrote from “our place at
Baynard’s Castle.” In 1551 the castle was in the hands of Lord Pembroke,
whose wife, Anne Parr, sister of Queen Catherine Parr, died there,
February 28, 1552, and was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The house, as it stood a little before the Fire, was a striking and
picturesque palace. The river-front was broken by three towers of
unequal height and breadth; the spaces between these were ornamented by
tourelles containing the windows; a gateway with a portcullis opened
upon the river with a broad stone “bridge” or pier, and stairs. Within,
it contained two courts.
After the Fire the site of Baynard’s Castle lay for a long time
neglected. Ogilby’s map shows an area not built upon, approached by a
lane from Thames Street, called Dunghill Lane. At the river-edge is a
small circle denoting a tower. Strype says that it was all burned down
except a little tower. Strype also says that the site was converted into
“Buildings and Wharves,” but his map shows neither.
Near Baynard’s Castle, but not marked on the maps, was a place called
Butchers’ Bridge, where the offal and blood of the beasts killed in the
shambles, Newgate, were thrown into the river. It was ordered (43 Edward
III.) that the bridge, a pier or jetty such as at New Palace Yard was
called Westminster Bridge, should be taken away, and the offal should be
carried out of the City.
Stow speaks of another tower on the west side of Baynard’s Castle, built
by Edward II. “The same place,” he says, “was since called Legate’s Inn,
where be now divers wood wharves.”
On the east side of the castle stood “a great messuage” belonging to the
Abbey of Fécamp. During the wars Edward III. took it, and gave it to Sir
Simon Burley, from whom it was called Burley House.
Next came another great house, called Scrope’s Inn, “belonging to Scrope
in the 31st of Henry VI.”
Paul’s Wharf, a “common stair,” was very ancient, and may very well mark
the site of an early break in the wall. In 1354 Gilbert de Bruen, Dean
of St. Paul’s, bequeaths his “tenements and wharf, commonly called
‘Paule’s Wharf,’ to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s and their
successors, so that they maintain a chantry in the Chapel of St.
Katherine” (in the cathedral) “for the good of his soul and the souls of
others.”
In 1344 there was a dispute concerning the right of free access to the
river by Paul’s Wharf. The matter was referred to certain wardsmen.
“They say that Paul’s Wharf used to be common to the whole city for
taking water there, but they say that Nicolas de Tailleur, ‘heymonger,’
tenant by rent service of Dominus William de Hagham, collects the
quarterly payments of those who take water there against the custom of
the city.”
Paul’s Wharf was also called the Wharf of the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul’s.
Beyond Paul’s Wharf was a great house, formerly—_i.e._ in the fourteenth
century—called Beaumont’s Inn, but given by Edward IV. to Lord Hastings.
In 1598 it was called Huntingdon House, as belonging to the Earls of
Huntingdon.
=St. Peter, Paul’s Wharf=, stood at the south-east corner of St.
Peter’s Hill in Upper Thames Street. It was sometimes called St.
Peter’s Parva. It was destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt,
its parish being annexed to that of St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf. Its
burying-ground may still be seen amidst the surrounding warehouses.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1315.
The church has always been in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul, since 1181, and continued in their successors up to
1666, when the church was burnt down and the parish annexed to that
of St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf.
Chantries were founded here by: William Bernard for himself and
Isabel his wife, to which James Payne was admitted January 22,
1542-43; Walter Kent.
No monuments remained in Stow’s time except that in memory of Queen
Elizabeth.
Fish Wharf was near Queenhithe. In 1343 Thomas Pykeman, fishmonger,
bequeathed to his wife the messuage wherein he lived, situate upon “la
Fisshewharfs,” with shops, for life. In 1347 Simon de Turnham,
fishmonger, ordered the sale of “his shops and solars” at “le
Fisshewharfs in the parish of St. Mary Somerset.” In 1374 the Fishwharfs
is said to be in the parish of St. Magnus. Now, there are four parishes
between St. Mary Somerset and St. Magnus. The latter “Fish Wharf” is
probably “Fresh” Wharf in St. Magnus’s parish. In 1291 Thomas Pikeman
(father of the above named [?]), Henry Poteman, and John Aleyn,
fishmongers of Fishers’ Wharf, pray that they may be allowed to go on
selling fish, fresh or salted, in their houses on the above wharf by
wholesale or retail, as their ancestors have been accustomed to do. The
Fish Wharf of St. Magnus was also called the Fish Wharf at the Hole.
=St. Mary Mounthaw= was situated on the west side, about the middle
of Old Fish Street Hill, and derived its name “Mounthaw” or
“Mounthault” from its having belonged to the family of Mounthaul or
Monhalt who owned a house in the parish. It was destroyed by the
Great Fire and its parish annexed to that of St. Mary Somerset, its
site being made into a burying-ground for the inhabitants. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1344.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The family of
Mounthault, who sold it to Ralph de Maydenstone, about 1234, who
gave it to his successors the Bishop of Hereford, in whose
successors it continued till 1666, when the church was burnt down
and the parish annexed to St. Mary Somerset, who shared the
alternate patronage of that church up to 1776.
A chantry was founded here by John Gloucester, late citizen, before
1345, to which John Whutewey was admitted, February 18, 1381.
Two monuments only are mentioned by Stow, one in memory of John
Gloucester, alderman in 1345, and John Skip, Bishop of Hereford,
1552.
Twenty-four boys and twenty girls were taught and clothed by the
gentlemen of Queenhithe Ward.
The parish, together with others, had a gift of 8s. per annum left
by Randolph Bernard, and 40s. per annum left by Robert Warner.
Boss Alley, now vanished, preserved the memory of a “boss” of water
placed there by the executors of Whittington. Beside Boss Alley was a
house once belonging to the Abbots of Chertsey in Surrey, as their inn
when they came to town. It was afterwards known as Sandie House. “I
think the Lord Sands has been lodged there.”
Trig Lane follows, leading down to Trig Stairs:
A pair of stairs they found, not big stairs,
Just such another pair as Trig Stairs.
Broken Wharf is mentioned so far back—_e.g._ 1329 and 1349—that one
suspects that the wall, not the wharf, was at this place broken. In 1598
a stone house stood beside the wharf, with arched gates. It belonged in
the forty-third year of Henry III. to Hugh de Bygod; in the eleventh of
Edward III. to Thomas Brotherton, the King’s brother, Earl of Norfolk,
Marshal of England; and in the eleventh of Henry VI. to John Mowbray,
Duke of Norfolk.
Within the gate of this house (now belonging to the city of London)
is lately—to wit, in the years 1594 and 1595—built one large house
of great heith called an engine, made by Bevis Bulmar, gentleman,
for the conveying and forcing of Thames water to serve in the middle
and west parts of the city. The ancient great hall of this messuage
is yet standing, and pertaining to a great brewhouse for beer
(Stow’s _Survey_).
=St. Mary Somerset= was situated on the north side of Upper Thames
Street, opposite Broken Wharf, and was so-called from a man’s name
Summer’s Hith. It was burnt down in the Great Fire, and rebuilt from
the designs of Sir Christopher Wren in 1695, when St. Mary Mounthaw
was annexed to it. The building, with the exception of the tower,
was pulled down in 1868. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1280.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: William de
Staundon, who gave it by will, dated November 20, 1273, to Arabella
de Staundon, his wife; Sir John de Peyton, 1335; Edward III., 1363
(see Braybroke, _London Review_, 146, as to a dispute about the
patronage when Thomas de Bradeston claimed it); Richard II., as
custodian of Thomas de Bradeston, 1387; Walter de la Pole, in right
of his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas de Bradeston; Thomas de
Ingaldesthorp, cousin and heir of Walter de la Pole; Henry VI.,
1435; William Norris, Knight, married to Isabel, daughter of Edmund
de Ingaldesthorp, 1478; Edward VI., 1550; Mary, 1554; G. Comb,
generosus, 1560; Elizabeth, 1585; George Coton, 1596; and several
others until the Great Fire in 1666, when the parish was annexed to
St. Mary Mounthaw.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
Chantries were founded here: By and for John Gildesburgh, in the
time of Edward III., at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
King granted in mortmain to Richard, son of W. de Segrave, May
18—the endowment fetched £4 : 6 : 8 in 1548, when John Bordell was
priest; by Thomas Wilforde, who had a licence from Henry IV., whose
endowment fetched £3 : 7 : 4 in 1548, when John Moryalle was priest.
Most of the monuments of the original church were defaced by Stow’s
time, and those which he records are of individuals of little
eminence. In later times the memory of Gilbert Ironside, Bishop of
Hereford, was honoured by a stone inscription within the communion
rails.
Ralph Bernard left 8s. per annum, and John Moysier 7s. 6d. per
annum. No other gifts or charities are recorded by Stow.
Twenty-four boys and twenty girls were clothed and educated at the
charge of the gentlemen of Queenhithe Ward.
Samuel Croxall, D.D. (d. 1752), Chancellor of Hereford, was rector
here.
Timber Hithe crossed the narrow lanes parallel to Thames Street. It is
now called High Timber Street. These lanes have changed their names;
“Dunghill Lane,” for instance, became Gardeners’ Lane. There used to be
here a quaint little figure of a gardener, dated 1670, of the kind to be
found at one time in many parts of London, but now very scarce.
[Illustration:
A BAS-RELIEF OF A GARDENER, GARDENERS’ LANE, 1791
]
In Fye Foot Lane is the Shuttleworth Club, founded in 1889 by Prebendary
Shuttleworth. It was intended to provide “a comfortable place of social
intercourse, culture and recreation,” for men and women in business in
the City. The affairs of the Club are managed by the members themselves,
and no religious test of any kind is required. The Club at first went by
the name of St. Nicholas, but it was rechristened the Shuttleworth Club
in honour of the founder. Every form of recreation is provided—from
cricket in the summer months, and dancing, to lectures and chess. In the
basement there is a fine billiard room with two tables. On the ground
floor there is a refreshment bar, where alcoholic as well as
non-alcoholic beverages are provided, and also dining-rooms, which look
out at the back of the house on the dreary little strip of ground—all
that remains of St. Mary Somerset Churchyard. The experiment is
interesting, as this is the first mixed Club established in the City.
Of =Bread Street Hill= there seems to be no recorded history; here on
the west side once stood
=St. Nicholas Olave=, destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt,
its parish being annexed to that of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1327.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Bishop of
London, by whom it was given in 1172 to the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul’s, with whom it continued up to 1666, when the parish was
annexed to St. Nicholas Cole Abbey.
Houseling people in 1548 were 163.
Thomas Lewen, sheriff in 1537, who died 1555, was buried here; also
Blitheman, organist of the Queen’s Chapel, who died 1591; John
Widnell, Master of the Merchant Taylors Company.
Stow says that the parish received no gifts for any purposes.
Hugh Weston (d. 1558), Dean of Westminster, was a rector here. The
churchyard still remains.
Perhaps of all the many points of interest in Thames Street, that open
dock or harbour called Queenhithe is the most interesting. It
originally, as we have seen, belonged to one Edred, a Saxon, but fell
into the hands of King Stephen, as valuable property had a way of
falling into kings’ hands in those early days. After being held by an
intermediate possessor, William de Ypres, who gave it to a convent, it
came again to the Crown, and was given by King John to his mother, the
Dowager Queen Eleanor. It was a valuable property by reason of the dues
collected from the ships unlading here. King Henry VIII.
commanded the constables of the Tower of London to arrest the ships
of the Cinque Ports on the River of Thames, and to compel them to
bring their corn to no other place, but to the Queen’s Hithe only.
In the eleventh of his reign he charged the said constable to
distrain all fish offered to be sold in any place of this city, but
at the Queen Hithe (Stow).
In pursuance of this order the larger ships, as well as the smaller
ones, were compelled to come up beyond London Bridge, and were admitted
by a drawbridge. In 1463 the “slackness” of the drawbridge impeded their
progress, and Queenhithe suffered accordingly. At Queenhithe were
delivered goods varying in quantity and quality, but the two great
trades were in fish: for the fish-market, the principal one—Billingsgate
not being then a free and open port—was at Old Fish Market; and grain,
in memory whereof we may still see the vane on the top of St. Michael’s
Church in the form of a ship made to contain exactly a bushel of corn.
It was in Henry III.’s reign that the “farm” of Queenhithe was granted
to the Lord Mayor and Commonalty of the City to be held by them, but the
profits were soon “sore diminished,” partly by reason of the competition
of Billingsgate.
=St. Michael, Queenhithe=, was situated on the north side of Upper
Thames Street, and was sometimes called St. Michael, Cornhith. It
was burnt down in the Great Fire, and rebuilt from the designs of
Wren in 1677, when the parish of Trinity Church was annexed. In 1876
the building was pulled down. Several portions of the building and
fittings were preserved; the font has been removed to St. Paul’s, as
well as a number of the monuments, and the old oak pulpit to St.
James’, Garlickhithe. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1150.
The church has always been in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 100.
Chantries were founded here: By Richard Marlowe, ironmonger and
mayor of London, 1409 and 1417; by Stephen Spelman, who died in 1414
and endowed it with lands, which fetched £11 : 16 : 8 in 1548, when
Thomas Gilbank was priest; by Robert Parres, Thomas Eure, and John
Clarke, who endowed it with tenements, etc., which fetched £7 : 13 :
4, when Sir Thomas Bigge was priest.
Few monuments are recorded by Stow, as many had been quite defaced
by his time. He mentions Stephen Spelman as a benefactor to the
church in 1404; and here was buried also Richard Marlow, mayor in
1409, who gave £20 to the poor of the parish, and Richard Gray,
donor of £40.
The gifts and benevolences belonging to the parish were registered
in the parish book, but the details of them are not recorded by
Stow.
There was a school for forty-three boys and girls.
John Russell (1787-1863), D.D., headmaster of Charterhouse, was
rector here.
=Huggin Lane= was known as Hoggene Lane in 1329, 1373, 1429, 1430, 1431,
1433 (see _Calendar of Wills_). In its south-east corner stood the
Church of St. Michael, Queenhithe. The churchyard still remains.
In =Little Trinity Lane= is the Painter Stainers’ Hall, opposite to
which was the Lutheran Church. In Great Trinity Lane was the Church of
the Holy Trinity, not rebuilt after the Fire.
THE PAINTERS OR PAINTER STAINERS COMPANY
This Company was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, 1582, for a
master, 2 wardens, 19 assistants, and a livery of 124. The present
livery is 130; their Corporate Income is £700; their Trust Income is
£2300. Their hall is in Little Trinity Lane. The history of the
Company has been written by Mr. John Gregory Grace, late master. It
was an ancient Gild, but how ancient cannot be learned. In the
fifteenth century the Painters sent unto the mayor and aldermen the
usual petition that they might be allowed to choose two persons of
their Mystery who should be authorised to make search for bad and
“false” work. This Company originally included painters of portraits
and other kinds, as well as decorators, sign painters, etc. It
might, in fact, have become the City Academy of Arts, and it seems a
great pity that its nobler side was lost sight of. The hall,
formerly the residence of Sir John Brown, Sergeant Painter to Henry
VIII., was destroyed by the Great Fire and rebuilt immediately
afterwards. The Company can show many distinguished names on the
roll of members, including those of Sir Peter Lely, Sir Godfrey
Kneller, Antonio Verrio, Sir James Thornhill, and Richard Lovelace.
=Holy Trinity the Less= was situated in Knightrider Street. In 1607
and 1629 it was rebuilt and repaired, but it was destroyed in the
Great Fire of 1666, and its parish annexed to that of St. Michael,
Queenhithe. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1323.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, before 1316; Henry VIII.
seized it, when it soon came, either by exchange or grant, to the
Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, with whose successors it continued
till 1666, when the church was destroyed and the parish annexed to
St. Michael, Queenhithe.
Houseling people in 1548 were 170.
Chantries were founded here by: Thomas Cosyn; John Bryan.
John Bryan was buried in this church—he was an alderman in the reign
of Henry V. and a great benefactor; also John Mirsin, auditor of the
Exchequer in 1471.
No legacies or gifts are recorded by Stow.
There was a school for forty-three boys and girls belonging to St.
Michael, Queenhithe.
John Rogers, who was burnt as a heretic at Smithfield in 1555, was a
rector here; also Francis Dee (d. 1638), Bishop of Peterborough.
=Great Trinity Lane=, together with Great St. Thomas Apostle and the
west half of Cloak Lane, formerly counted as part of Knightrider Street,
which joins the western end of Great Trinity Lane.
It was changed to the present style after the Fire. In 1888 the
underground “Mansion House” station ousted all the houses on the south
side of the lane; but Jack’s Alley was a right-of-way into Keen’s
mustard factory—its loss had to be made good, and hence the iron bridge
which crosses the station from the lane to the factory: really it is an
alley suspended in mid-air.
Great St. Thomas Apostle was an important street in old days. It was
so-called from the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle.
At St. Paul’s Cathedral is a document of 1170 relating to =St.
Thomas-the-Apostle=; that is the earliest reference. In 1181 the
book of Dean Ralph de Diceto describes it as “Ecclesia Sancti
Thomae,” a church with burial-ground belonging. The Cathedral canons
collated to it, and one Stephen was then priest. The name at that
time is simply written “St. Thomas”; it was the only church of the
name in the City. A few years later the church dedicated to St.
Thomas à Becket was founded in Cheapside and styled St. Thomas of
Acres: after that, necessity of distinction caused the earlier
church to be known as “St. Thomas-ye-Apostle.” Of the building,
scant information exists. Roesia de Burford erected upon the south
side a new chapel shortly before 1329.[4] At about the same time a
partial or complete rebuilding of the church took place: John
Bernes, mercer, Lord Mayor 1371, was a substantial contributor to
the new work, and a coat-of-arms existing in the stone work and the
windows until Stow’s time (1598) was believed to attest his
munificence. A Fraternity of St. Eligius, or Eloy, Bishop of Noyon,
had quarters here, and there was an altar to their saint. In the
years 1629-1630 the building was “well repaired and finely
varnished” at a cost of nearly £300. Then in 1666 came the trial by
fire, and the church succumbed. The parish was united to St. Mary
Aldermary, and the Dean and Chapter, as patrons of St. Thomas, were
allotted alternate presentation to the united living. The sites of
the church and rectory were thrown into Queen Street, cut from
Cheapside to Thames Street soon after the Fire. Some small portion
of the churchyard remained, east and west of the new thoroughfare.
Part of the western space was shortly built upon; the very houses
still stand, with the tree-planted churchyard as a garden entrance:
beneath the garden are the vaults, once used as a last resting-place
for deceased parishioners, now as a wine store. The western space
still contained some remains of the church until plastered over in
1828. The ground was curtailed by the widening of Queen Street and
the allotment of a rectory site for St. Mary Aldermary in 1851. Thus
it has been reduced to a tiny and flagged square. On the north wall
a tablet bears this inscription: “Near this spot stood the church of
St. Thomas the Apostle, destroyed in the Great Fire of London,
September 1666: the burial ground belonging to which, extending 55
feet northward of Cloak Lane, and 20 feet on an average eastward of
Queen Street, was circumscribed to the space here enclosed a.d.
1851, when by virtue of an Act of Parliament 10 and 11 Vict. cap.
CCLXXX, the remnant of the ground was taken to widen Queen Street
and Cloak Lane. All remains of mortality which could be discovered
were carefully collected and deposited within the vault beneath this
stone. H. B. Wilson DD, rector: Matthew T. Bishop: John Pollock:
churchwardens.” The earliest date of an incumbent is 1365.
The patronage of the church has always been in the hands of the Dean
and Chapter of St. Paul’s, and was given to them in the twelfth
century by Wicelonis the priest and Gervasius his nephew.
Houseling people in 1548 were 298.
Chantries were founded here: By Thomas Romayn, whose will was dated
December 21, 1312, for himself and Juliana his wife, to which John
Wariner, priest, was admitted chaplain, April 20, 1368; by Roger
atte Wine, whose endowment fetched £2 : 13 : 4 in 1548; by William
Champneys, to which Walter Badewynde de Canterbury dio was admitted
chaplain, June 12, 1368—the endowment fetched £5 : 6 : 7 in 1548
(the above three were consolidated and united in January 9,
1400-1401, when Thomas Jordan was admitted chaplain); by Richard
Chawry, who gave to the Salters Company certain lands, etc., to find
a priest, which were valued at £6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Sir George
Walpole was chaplain; by William Brampton, who endowed it with
lands, etc., which fetched £6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Sir John Barnes
was chaplain.
Very few monuments of special interest are recorded by Stow. John
Foy, citizen and Merchant Taylor, was buried here in 1625; he was a
benefactor of the parish.
The charitable gifts belonging to this parish were few and small:
£13 : 0 : 4 the gift of Mr. Hinman; £2 : 12s. the gift of Mr.
Beeston; and others to the amount of £5.
Two almshouses for the poor of the Salters Company belonging to St.
Mary Aldermary.
John Walker (d. 1741), Archdeacon of Hereford, was rector here; also
Thomas Cartwright (1634-1689), Bishop of Chester.
Just beyond its eastern end, across the present College Hill, stood the
=Tower Royal=. The wine merchants of La Reole, near Bordeaux, settled in
and round the present College Hill during or before the reign of Edward
I. The hill and the immediate neighbourhood became termed “the Reole”:
the word “Royal” is a corrupted form, and has nothing to do with kings.
The tower, tenement, or inn situated in “the Reole” stood on the north
of Cloak Lane, at College Hill corner; it extended eastwards nearly to
the Walbrook, northwards perhaps to Budge Row. It had a south gate, and
probably also a courtyard opening into the lane; and a west gate
standing on the hill. Perhaps Henry I. was the founder: Stow wishes us
to believe that Stephen lodged here, “as in the heart of the City for
his more safety,” which is very likely true.
The theory that the tower, or main building, was reserved to the King
finds support in 1331, when Edward III. granted “La Real” to Queen
Phillippa for life, to serve as her wardrobe. A few years later
Phillippa repaired, perhaps rebuilt, it; particulars of the work done
still survive (Cottonian MS.). In 1369, a few months after Phillippa’s
death, the King gave this “inn (hospitum) with its appurtenances, called
le Reole” to the canons of his college of St. Stephen’s, Westminster,
the annual value being then £20. By some means the place still continued
at the royal disposal, both to dwell in and to grant away. When the Wat
Tyler rebellion in 1381 drove Johanna, the King’s mother, from the Tower
of London, she took refuge here, the place being then called the Queen’s
Wardrobe: thither came Richard II. when he returned from Smithfield,
after the death of Tyler. Richard was still here in 1386, “lying in the
Royal,” as Stow has it, when he granted a charter of £1000 per annum to
the refugee Leon VI., King of Armenia. The place was granted by Richard
III. to John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. In later times the Tower became
neglected, and converted into stabling for the King’s horses. When Stow
wrote (1598), it was divided into tenements let out to divers persons.
All perished in the Great Fire; but at the rebuilding the south entrance
and courtyard in Cloak Lane were plainly marked by Balding’s Yard; the
west gateway by Tower Royal Court in what was then Tower Royal Street,
but is now the upper end of College Hill. Neither survived; but a small
lane called Tower Royal, in Cordwainer Ward, marks the western boundary.
West of the Church of St. Thomas Apostle, reaching to Bow Lane, was the
great house called =Ypres Inn=, first built by William of Ypres, who
came over from Flanders with other Flemings to aid Stephen against
Matilda.
In the year 1377 John of Ypres lived there: on a certain day came John
of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Lord Henry Percy the marshal to dine
with him. Both the Duke and Percy had been defending Wyclyf before the
Bishop of London: the citizens, enraged, sought the life of both, going
in pursuit of them to the Savoy. A knight of the Duke’s hastened to
Ypres Inn with the news: the frightened Duke “leapt so hastily from his
oysters that he hurt both his legs against a form,” refused the
consolation of wine, left the Inn with Percy by a back gate, and taking
a boat at the Thames “never stayed rowing” until he came to Kennington,
where he was safe. Thus the hunters missed the fox at his hole, whilst
the fox, lying in hiding at the hunter’s back door, conveyed himself to
a place of security. What eventually happened to the Inn is not
recorded.
=Garlick Hill=, or Garlick Hithe, where, one supposes, garlick was
formerly sold, has at present in it nothing remarkable except the Church
of St. James. “Garleckhithe” occurs in a record of 1281. Of old time,
Stow relates, garlic was sold upon the Thames bank near this hill: as a
strong flavouring it was much in vogue for the dressing of food among
the common folk: and an ordinance of 1310 relating to Queenhithe, close
by, makes reference to ships with cargoes of garlic and onions. Here, no
doubt, the garlic market was held, hence this particular hithe, hive,
harbour, or quay was the Garlickhithe, and the church on the hill just
above was called St. James-at-Garlickhithe. At the north-east corner of
the hill stood Ormond Place, a great stone house, sometimes the
residence of the Earls of Ormond. It had just been demolished when Stow
wrote his _Survey_, and tenements and a tavern built on the site. The
hill was “well built and inhabited” after the Great Fire, says Strype.
Sir John Coke was living here in 1625.
ST. JAMES, GARLICKHITHE
“St. James _versus vinitariam_” occurs in a document of about
1170;[5] “St. James in Garleckhithe” is found written in 1281:[6]
both names were at that time used without distinction, but the
former was eventually dropped. “Vinitarium” or Vintry applied to the
general district of the wine trade situated hereabouts;
“Garleckhithe,” to the harbour, just below the church, where the
garlic-monger made sale of his wares. St. James is the saint here
honoured.
The earliest church is well-nigh recordless: it was in part rebuilt
and chiefly restored by Richard de Rothing, probably the same who
was sheriff in 1326; here, within the walls of his munificence, was
he buried. He did not complete the restorations. John de Rothing,
Richard’s son, left by will in 1375 money towards completing the
repairs, towards the rebuilding of the old belfry, and for
re-erecting a doorway in the north side.
It was burnt down in the Great Fire, and rebuilt from designs by
Wren, 1676-1683. During the last century the church was several
times repaired, but not substantially altered. The earliest date of
an incumbent is 1259.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot and
Convent of Westminster, 1252; Henry VIII. seized it in 1540 and
granted it to Thomas Thirlby, Bishop of Westminster, the same year,
viz. January 20, 1540-1541; the Bishop of London, by grant of Edward
VI. in 1550, confirmed by Mary, March 3, 1553-1554.
Houseling people in 1548 were 400.
The church measures 75 feet in length, 45 feet in breadth, and 40
feet in height. There are two side-aisles separated from the nave by
Ionic columns, six on either side, with a clerestory above. This is
interrupted at the centre, and three eastern and three western
columns each bear half of it, thus presenting a cruciform
appearance. The tower, measuring 20 feet square at the base, rises
at the west, surmounted by a dome, lantern, ball finial, and vane;
the total height is 125 feet. The transitions are softened by vases
and urns. Above the door projects a bracket clock topped by the
grotesque figure of St. James in pilgrim’s garb, locally known as
“old Jimmy Garlick.” Much of the woodwork in the interior was
brought from St. Michael, Queenhithe, when that church was pulled
down.
Chantries were founded here: By John Whitthorn, of three
chaplains—one Thomas Haverbergh, chaplain, exchanges it with William
Gedelston, rector of Ongar ad Castrum, Essex, July 31, 1381; by
William Hawye, at the Altar of St Katharine, whose endowment fetched
£12 : 18 : 8 in 1548, when Thomas Dale was priest; by John de
Oxenford, citizen and vintner, which was augmented by Roger de
Fordham, whose will is dated next after the Feast of St. Barnabas,
1349; by Thomas Lincoln and Richard Lyon in 1548, when John Borell
was chaplain; by Thomas Bodynge, whose endowment yielded £22 : 10s.
in 1548.
Richard Rothing, the reputed founder of this church, was buried
here. So also were the following: Walter Nele, vintner, sheriff in
1337; John Oxenford, vintner, mayor in 1341; John Wroth, fishmonger,
mayor in 1360; John Bromer, fishmonger, alderman in 1474; William
Venor, grocer, mayor in 1389; William Moor, vintner, mayor in 1395;
Robert Chichele, grocer, mayor in 1421; James Spencer, vintner,
mayor in 1527; Richard Lyons, sheriff in 1374, beheaded by Wat
Tyler; Richard Platt, brewer, founder of a free school and
almshouses in Hertfordshire. There were tombs of importance:
especially curious were those of Richard Lyons and the Countess of
Worcester, which had either great brasses or recumbent effigies;
also the tombs of Sir George Stanley, K.G., and his first wife; John
Stanley; Lord Strange, 1503; and the Countess of Huntingdon. The
church owned many precious things: an inventory of its jewels in
1449 is still preserved at Westminster Abbey.
There was a charity school in Maiden Lane, which by the subscription
of the whole ward maintained fifty boys.
Arthur Bulkely (died 1553), Bishop of Bangor, was rector here. Also
Charles Booth, Bishop of Hereford, 1516.
Adjoining to the church on the south side stood a house called “The
Commons”: it had been given by one Thomas Kente for keeping his
anniversary in the church. Here dwelt the chantry priests, who held the
tenure. When the chantries were suppressed by Edward VI. “The Commons”
was valued at 53s. 4d. a year: no fewer than nine “incumbents,” who had
life interests in the chantry property of the parish, received pensions
under Mary in 1555-1556. The total chantry property fetched £2551 : 3s.
In the church was founded a Guild or Fraternity of St. James in 1375: it
was practically a religious Benefit Society: the members, men and women,
were sworn together for the amendment of their lives: on one Sunday in
the year they held an annual feast: they paid entrance fees and
periodical subscriptions. A member of seven years’ standing was eligible
for a sickness or old age allowance of fourteen-pence a week, and in
case of false imprisonment a needy member would be granted a sum of
thirteen-pence a week. In the year 1566 the church was repaired. The
parish bought the rood-loft which had been taken in Protestant propriety
from St. Martin Vintry; the woodwork was utilised for their new
fittings. Edmund Chapman, the Queen’s joiner, carried out the work. He
was afterwards buried in the church, and his monument narrated that:
Fine pews within this church he made,
And with his Arms support
The table and the seats in choir
He set in comely sort.
Here it was that Sir Richard Steele heard the Common Prayer read so
distinctly, emphatically and fervently that inattention was
impossible.[7] The reader who drew forth his praise was the then rector,
Philip Stubbs, afterwards Archdeacon of St. Albans. There is kept in the
church a shrouded corpse in a remarkable state of preservation; formerly
it was one of the show things for the benefit of the churchkeeper, but
though still above ground it is not now publicly exposed. The parish
registers date back to 1536, two years before Thomas Cromwell made a
general order for the keeping of such records. They are amongst the
oldest in the City. Before the Great Fire there stood south of the
church, nearly opposite to Vintners’ Hall, a parsonage. In 1670 it was
rebuilt and leased to one Richard Corbet for forty-one years.
Opposite, at the corner of Garlick Hill, was Ormond Place, residence of
the Earls of Ormond. Farther east, on the same side, stood =Ringed
Hall=. At the west end of the Church of St. Thomas was a lane called by
Stow Wringwren Lane, a most interesting survival. Of old not only were
wines imported into Vintry ward, but grapes were grown here. The
Anglo-Saxon name for wine-press was “winwringa”; that word reversed into
“wringa-win” is undoubtedly contained in the corrupted form of
“Wringwren.” Perhaps a wine-press stood in the lane; the proximity of
“Ringed” Hall seems to strengthen the probability.
The lane called =Worcester Place= serves to mark the site of Worcester
House, the old residence of the Earls of Worcester. One of them, John
Tiptoft, Lord High Treasurer of England, dwelt here in the reign of
Edward IV. This earl was a patron of Caxton, and a great lover of books;
to Oxford University he gave volumes to the value of 500 marks. He was
beheaded on Tower Hill in 1470, when, as Fuller puts it, “the axe then
did in one blow cut off more learning than was in the heads of all the
surviving nobility.” Nevertheless he was known as “The Butcher of
England.” He had impaled forty Lancastrians at Southampton, and slain
the infant children of Desmond, the Irish chief. One of the countesses
of Worcester was buried in the old church of St. James, Garlickhithe,
close by. By the end of Elizabeth’s reign the premises were let out in
tenements. In 1603 they were in possession of one Matthew Paris,
girdler, who left them, by will bearing that year’s date, to his mother
Katherine, then living in Aldermanbury.[8] The Fruiterers Company were
then occupying one or more of the tenements as their Hall, although they
were not incorporated until 1606. Their choice of this locality
indicates that much of the fruit trade was centred here. Worcester House
perished in the Great Fire. The Fruiterers were too poor to establish a
new hall, but met in that of the Parish Clerks.
=Maiden Lane= appears as “Kyrunelane” in 1259. Stow writes it Kerion
Lane, “of one Kerion sometime dwelling there,” but this etymology is
guesswork, as shown by the earlier forms. Before the Fire the lane
contained “divers fair houses for merchants,” says Stow, and the
Glaziers’ Hall.
=Queen Street= was cut shortly after the Great Fire of 1666 in common
with King Street, Cheapside, to connect the Guildhall with the Thames;
thus the Lord Mayor now had a straight course for his procession when he
“took water” at the Three Cranes Stairs on his way to be sworn at
Westminster Hall. The new thoroughfare included the present Queen Street
Place, and was named New Queen Street in honour of the wife of Charles
II. The prefix “New” subsequently vanished. Close to Queen Street in
Upper Thames Street is the Vintners’ Hall (see p. 229). The rectory
house of the parish stands on a portion of St. Thomas the Apostle
Churchyard; the remainder of the churchyard on this side of the street
consists of a small flagged square enclosed by a railing. The portion of
the churchyard on the west side of the road, opposite, contains two
houses; they are the only houses remaining of the post-Fire rebuilding.
In front, the churchyard serves them for a garden; its two fine
plane-trees set off their quaint red brick walls and pillared and
pedimented doorways. The southern house has a delightful room on the
first floor, now used as the board room of the Tredegar Iron Company.
The mantel is exquisite, carved with all the beauty of the Grinling
Gibbons school; the walls are wainscotted; the doors all solid mahogany,
over each a carved panel; the medallion cornice, of minutely beautiful
detail, once carried a panelled ceiling now removed. An ante-room has a
second delicately carved mantel, and a panelled ceiling.
=St. Martin Vintry= stood at the south corner of Royal or
Queen Street, Upper Thames Street. Authentic history dates
back to the Conqueror’s reign, when Ralph Peverell gave the
Church of St. Martin, London, to the Abbey Church of St.
Peter, Gloucester. In a document at St. Paul’s (_Hist. MSS.
Comm. Rep._ IX.) of the year 1257 “St. Martin de Beremanes
churche” is met with. In the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries “St. Martin de Barmannes-cherche” and St. Martin
Vintry are both used. The church was rebuilt in the beginning
of the fifteenth century, several bequests having been left
for the purpose. It was burnt down in the Great Fire and not
rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of the church, St.
Michael Royal. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1250.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Bishop of
Winchester; Ralph Peverell; Abbot and Convent of St. Peter’s,
Gloucester, from 1388; Henry VIII.; Bishop of Worcester by grant of
Edward VI., in whose successors it continued up to 1666, when the
parish was annexed to St. Michael Royal.
Houseling people in 1548 were 460.
A chantry was founded here by John Gisors or Jesores, for himself
and Isabel his wife, to which Geoffrey Stowe was admitted chaplain,
September 5, 1368.
Very few monuments of interest are recorded by Stow. Sir John
Gisors, mayor in 1311, was buried here; also Sir Ralph Austrie and
Sir Cuthbert Hacket, mayors. A considerable number of those
commemorated were “Vinetarii.”
According to Stow, there were no bequests or legacies belonging to
the church, or for public uses; though there were a few for the
poor. The Stationers Company was donor of £2 : 10s., for bread; the
Dyers Company was donor of £4 every two years, for clothing; and
George Lucas was donor of £2.
In St. Martin, Vintry, there was a workhouse, and thirteen
almshouses founded by Sir Richard Whittington, each person being
allowed 3s. 10d. a week.
Bruno Ryves (1596-1677), who suffered much persecution in Puritan
times, Dean of Chichester and of Windsor, was rector here.
The site became a burial-ground. A part is now covered with buildings,
but the remainder forms a small square, planted with trees—three great
elms, two small limes, one large plane: six trees in all—really quite a
leafy wood for the City! The paths and flower-beds are well tended. A
few gravestones impart an aspect of sepulchral solemnity. Thus the site
of St. Martin Vintry is not wholly effaced.
The =Vintry= stood east of Queenhithe; it was a wharf on which “the
merchants of Bordeaux craned their wine out of lighters and other
vessels, and then landed and made sale of them within forty days after,
until the 28th of Edward I., at which time the said merchants complained
that they could not sell their wines, paying poundage, neither hire
houses nor cellars to lay them in.”
This was remedied by building storehouses with vaults and cellars for
storage, where formerly had stood a row of cooks’ shops.
On the Vintry wharf were three cranes standing. They gave the name to
Three Cranes Lane. At Three Cranes Stairs, in 1552, the Duke of Somerset
was landed on his way to the Tower. In 1554 Queen Mary landed here, when
she paid a visit to the Guildhall and “showyd hare mynde unto the Mayor,
aldermen, and the whole craftes of London in hare owne person.”
On the south side of Thames Street, just above the Three Cranes wharf
and opposite to St. Martin Vintry, stood a large house built of stone
and timber; below it were vaults for the stowage of wines, for it was a
wine merchant’s mansion known as “The Vintry.” John Gisors, vintner,
mayor 1311, 1312, and 1314, constable of the Tower, dwelt here; also
Henry Picard, vintner, Lord Mayor, 1356. In the year 1363 Picard
sumptuously feasted in this house Edward III.; John II. of France, the
Black Prince’s prisoner; David, King of Scots; the King of Denmark; the
King of Cyprus, and many nobles. Truly an illustrious gathering. It is
said that the toast of “five times five,” still drunk, owed origin to
this feast of the five kings. Picard kept his hall for all comers that
were willing to play dice with him; his wife, the Lady Margaret, kept
her chamber to the same intent for the princesses and ladies. The King
of Cyprus won fifty marks from Picard, but afterwards lost a hundred
marks and was at pains to conceal his chagrin. “My Lord and King,” said
the host, “be not agrieved, I covet not your gold but your play, for I
have not bid you hither that I might grieve you, but that amongst other
things I might try your play.” Thereupon Picard restored the monarch’s
marks and good humour at one and the same time, “plentifully bestowing
of his own among the retinue.” Moreover, he gave rich gifts to King
Edward and to the nobles and knights who had that day dined with him “to
the great glory of the citizens of London.” (Stow).
THE VINTNERS COMPANY
It is probable that a fraternity or company of the Mystery of
Vintners, by the name of the Wine Tunners of Gascoigne, has existed
in London from time immemorial.
The Company is mentioned in a Municipal Ordinance of the year 1256.
By letters patent, 37 Edward III., it was ordained and granted,
amongst other things, that no merchant should go into Gascony for
wines, nor use the trade of wine in England, except those who in
London were enfranchised in the said mystery there, or who, in other
cities, boroughs, and towns, had skill therein, and that no stranger
should retail wines; and that the merchants of the said mystery of
Vintners should elect four persons to see that all wines were sold
by retail in taverns at a reasonable price for such wine, and of
such conditions, as they were known, or named, to be; and that the
taverners should be ruled by such four persons, and likewise that
the said four persons should correct and amend all defaults that
should be found in the exercise of the said mystery, and inflict
punishments by their good advice and consideration, if need were,
without the mayor, bailiff, or other chief magistrate; and the King
gave licence to the said Merchant Vintners to export cloth, fish,
and herrings in exchange for wines; and did ordain that all wines
coming to London should be landed above London Bridge, westward
towards the Vintry, so that the King’s butler and gauger and
searchers might have knowledge thereof, and take the customs and
prices of right due. Which Letters Patent were exemplified and
confirmed by inspeximus by King Henry the Sixth by Letters Patent,
bearing date the eighth day of November, in the sixth year of his
reign.
By another charter of King Henry VII., the King and Queen ordained
and constituted the mystery of Vintners of the City of London a
mystery of itself, and the freemen and commonalty thereof were to be
one body corporate and politic, in deed, fact, and name, by the name
of the master and wardens and freemen and commonalty of the mystery
of Vintners of London.
Other charters are recited from Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen
Elizabeth.
The members of the Vintners Company, by patrimony or servitude, and
their widows have, by its various charters, the right to sell
foreign wine without a licence; and the court of assistants as the
governing body, when a complaint is made that the privilege is
abused by any member, summons him to attend, and after hearing the
evidence on both sides, adjudicates according to its discretion. The
utmost penalty is disfranchisement.
The Company exercises control only over its own members.
The Company claims to exercise through its members the privilege of
selling foreign wine without licence throughout England.
[Illustration:
COUNCIL CHAMBER, VINTNERS’ HALL
Vintner Sheriff receiving the Congratulations of his Company.
]
It appears that from time immemorial this Company also enjoyed the
exclusive right of loading and landing, rolling, pitching and
turning all wines and spirits imported to, or exported from the City
of London, and all places within three miles of the same. From this
franchise which was, and still is exercised by its tackle porters,
the Company derived a very considerable emolument till in the years
1799, 1800, 1804, and 1805, several Acts of Parliament were passed,
by which this privilege was in a great measure curtailed. The
Company indemnifies those persons employing its tackle porters
against all losses of wines and spirits caused through their
negligence or accident.
The number of liverymen called during ten years is 206. The
Corporate Income is £9500; the Trust Income is £1500.
1. A freeman or his widow has a claim to relief. When admitted by
patrimony or servitude, a freeman, or his widow, enjoys the
privilege of a “Free Vintner,” and, if exercising such privilege, is
exempt from “Billeting,” _i.e._ having soldiers or sailors quartered
in his or her house.
2. The average annual sum distributed amongst the members of the
court of assistants has amounted, during the last ten years, to
£886 : 11s., being about £50 each per annum (income tax free).
Members of the court receive no pensions or donations.
No fees are paid to liverymen or freemen.
The average annual sum paid to liverymen and freemen, and their
widows, in pensions and donations during the last ten years has
amounted to £2503.
3. The qualifications for a pension are: being a member or widow of
a member in reduced circumstances, between the ages of fifty and
sixty, or, if younger, being in ill-health. For a donation:
membership, or being the widow or child of a member.
The site of Vintners’ Hall appears in reliable records of the
fourteenth century. Strype has the account of it: That Sir John
Stodeye, who held it of Edward III. in free burgage, gave it in
1329, under style of the Manor of the Vintry, to John Tuke, parson
of St. Martin Vintry, as a feoffment; that Tuke’s successors claimed
it as belonging absolutely to the church, whereas it really
appertained to the Vintners’ Company; that an inquisition was held
in relation thereto before Sir Ralph Joslyn, in 1477; that a trial
in the Exchequer followed; and that finally Richard III. decided the
ownership in favour of the Company,[9] reciting the above statements
in his grant. It is difficult to harmonise this account with other
known facts; therefore, leaving it on record, we pass to better
authenticated matter. Now, Edmund de Sutton owned the site in the
reign of Edward III.; upon the Thames bank lay his quay, towards the
high street of the Vintry his houses, cellars, and solars. Upon the
east stood Spital Lane and the tenements of the Abbess of St. Clare
in Aldgate; on the west, Cressingham Lane and the tenement of John
Cressingham; through the midst ran the boundary line between St.
Martin Vintry parish and St. James-at-Garlickhithe. Sutton’s
possession was disputed, trial followed, and Sutton “recovered it
from Walter Turke by Writ of Novel disseisin.” Turke was alderman of
the ward, and mayor, 1349. Then in 1352 Edmund de Sutton granted the
whole to John de Stodeye who was sheriff that year. The Vintners
Company had as yet no licence in mortmain; perhaps Stodeye was
acting as feoffee for them, perhaps not. Stow relates that he gave
Spital Lane, “with all the quadrant wherein Vintners’ Hall now
standeth, with the tenements round about, to the Vintners”; but the
statement proves nothing either way. Stodeye’s will is dated 1375;
it makes no mention of the property. His heirs granted it to
feoffees, and it passed from one to another as a feoffment, until
finally vested in the Company by the wills of Guy Shuldham (1446)
and John Porter (1496).[10] Shuldham’s will[11] conveys the
impression that of his own bounty he added to the original property
of which he was feoffee. To his foundation are attributed the
Vintners’ almshouses. His will describes them as “thirteen little
mansions lying together.” He directs that in them should dwell rent
free thirteen poor and needy men and women of the Vintners’ craft,
each to have a penny every week; any of them to be ejected for
misconduct after three warnings. These “little mansions” were
probably on the Spital Lane (at that time Stodeye’s Lane) side of
the Hall; after the Great Fire they were removed to Mile End. Not
much is known of the old premises, but Shuldham’s will tells us
something. There was a great hall and a refectory, a parlour with a
leaden roof, and adjoining it a counting-house with two rooms above;
a kitchen, pantry and buttery, a coal-house, and a “yard” with a
well. No doubt the yard lay betwixt hall and river, and answered to
what was the garden in later years. When the Vintners “built for
themselves a fair hall and thirteen almshouses” (to quote John
Stow), these miscellaneous and doubtless inconvenient buildings
disappeared. In 1497 the premises were inspected for the purpose of
assessing the fine for amortising them pursuant to the act.[12] Here
a new pair of stocks was erected in 1609 for punishment of deserving
members; here General Monk was feasted and entertained by special
music on April 12, 1660, shortly after the Restoration. Six years
later a restoration of a different sort was required; the Great Fire
had wrought its work of woeful ruin, and the Vintners Company must
needs rebuild. In 1823 the hall was almost entirely rebuilt again.
=College Street.=—The Walbrook stream, crossing the street, divided
Vintry from Dowgate ward. It was spanned by a bridge called in the
twelfth century Pont-le-Arch, also, but probably later, Stodum Bridge.
The earliest style of the lane east of that bridge was “Les Arches
Lane,” and that would be derived from the bridge. Later, just as St.
Mary de Arcabus became St. Mary-le-Bowe, so this lane became “the lane
called Le Bowe”; a will of 1307 so styles it. Quite possible Little
College Street did not then exist, or existed only as a path on the east
side of the brook; if the latter, there would thus be a bow-like passage
from Dowgate Hill to Thomas Street, and both shape and name would be
singularly in accord. West of the bridge the lane was probably, and in
common with the present College Hill, “Paternoster Lane”; afterwards the
hill became “the high street called le Riole,” but this lane seems to
have retained the old title until Stow wrote of it. When Walbrook stream
became arched over, the strict division between Paternoster Lane and Le
Bowe Lane disappeared. The course of Walbrook so divided the lane that
the north side from the church to Skinners’ Hall was included in
Paternoster Lane, and the south side opposite was part of Bowe Lane;
this distinction would naturally disappear on the covering of the brook.
Before that event Le Bowe Lane would be all in the parish of Allhallows
the Great; in 1307 reference is made to it in the parish of St.
Michael’s (_Wills in the Court of Hustings_, pt. i. p. 190), so that the
covering of the brook appears already to have taken place, at least in
part, by that date. By Stow’s time Le Bowe Lane had become Elbow Lane,
and ran by a crescent course from Dowgate Hill to Thames Street;
Paternoster Lane continued as before. Stow makes an error in each case;
he misses the true etymology of the former, implying that its elbow-like
bending was the origin of its name, and he surmises that “Les Arches”
was the old title for Paternoster Lane, which was not so. After the
Great Fire the whole thoroughfare from College Hill to Dowgate Hill
became Elbow Lane, and later Great Elbow Lane; the bend into Thames
Street was renamed Little Elbow Lane. Subsequently the present styles
were adopted, and, like College Hill, commemorate Whittington’s College.
College Street is quaint: on the south side No. 24 has been rebuilt, and
No. 27 refaced since the post-Fire rebuilding; otherwise the Vintry
portion remains unaltered. The Skinners’ Hall and all the garden
belonging to it are close by, though the entry is on Dowgate Hill (see
p. 238).
In College Street is the Innholders’ Hall.
THE INNHOLDERS COMPANY
From the records of the Company it appears that it was a Guild or
Fraternity by prescription under the name of “Hostiller” before the
same was incorporated by charter.
Its earliest known record is a petition preferred on the 12th
December, 25 Henry VI. (1446), by certain “Men of the Mistery of
Hostillars of the City,” in the chamber at Guildhall before John
Colney, mayor, and the aldermen of the City praying them to confirm
certain ordinances which were ordered to be entered upon the Record
and observed in all future times.
The next record is a petition preferred on 28th October, 13 Edward
IV., 1437, by the wardens and certain men of the Mistery of
Hostillers in the chamber of Guildhall, before Mr. Hampton, mayor,
and the aldermen of the City, stating that the craft or mistery were
called hostillers and not innholders as they were indeed, by which
no diversity was perceived between them in name and their servants
being hostillers indeed, and praying that they might be called
innholders and in no wise hostillers, which was ordained
accordingly.
On 31st July, 1 Richard III., 1483, another petition was preferred.
The present number of liverymen is 86; the Corporate Income is
£1900; the Trust Income is £225.
The Innholders were an ancient fraternity which grew out of the
Hostelers or Hostillers and the Haymongers. The former provided a
bare lodging for travellers; the latter provided stabling. The
visitor or lodger had to go to the tavern for his food and drink.
The Innholder advanced a step; he received the traveller with his
horses and his following. If the traveller was a trader, the inn
received his wagon, his merchandise; while the stable belonging to
the inn received his horses. The inn provided food, wine, and ale.
The old Hosteler became the servant of the Innholder and was at last
restricted to service in the stable.
Stow describes the hall as a fair house. After the Great Fire it was
rebuilt (about 1670) by Wren and Jarman, and the west side of the
great hall facing Little College Street is of this date. The present
College Street front was built in 1886 from designs by Mr. J.
Douglass Mathews, architect. It is a very handsome three-storied
building of red brick. The door is of remarkably fine carving, of
curious form, having the appearance of two doors, the smaller
imposed upon the greater. Above the door under a pedimental canopy
are the Company’s arms. The great hall, which dates from the old
building, is a plain apartment, with wainscotted walls, and a flat
square-panelled ceiling. The fire-place is framed in a fine piece of
marble, and the mantel is of carved wood.
The reception-room is remarkable for a splendid ceiling, said to be
Wren’s. It has a handsomely moulded oval panel, covering the centre,
whilst the four corners bear respectively: the date 1670, the arms
of Charles II., the City arms, and the Innholders’ arms. The room is
panelled and has a good oak overmantel.
In the window of the staircase is some old seventeenth-century
stained glass, removed from a window of the great hall. One piece
has the arms of Deputy John Knott, “3rd time master 1670”; the other
the arms of Captain Richard Pennar, “once master 1678.” The modern
court-room is of the 1886 rebuilding, and has a good moulded ceiling
and carved overmantel. It contains two curious old pictures. One the
arms of Charles II., bearing the mark “C.R.2,” and showing Might and
Power crushing down Rebellion whilst a peaceful king reigns. The
other is a representation of the Nativity in the Inn at Bethlehem,
said to have been presented by Charles II. It depicts St. Joseph
holding a crucifix. The star in the Innholders’ arms is the Star of
Bethlehem, which is, of course, shown in this picture.
ST. MICHAEL ROYAL
St. Michael Royal on College Hill derived its name Royal from the
adjacent lane “La Riole” (see p. 223); it was sometimes called St.
Michael Paternoster from Paternoster Lane. “Paternoster-cherch” is
first found written in the _Calendar of Wills_ (Court of Hustings,
Part I. p. 3) in 1259; “St. Michael de Paternoster-cherch” in 1284;
and “Paternostercherche near la Rayole” in 1301. It was rebuilt by
Sir Richard Whittington. Early in the fifteenth century the old
church was small, frail, and ruinous: it stood where it now stands,
but north and east lay unbuilt spaces, green with grass, and
possibly tree-planted. Across the green to the north stood “The
Tabard,” the dwelling-house of Whittington, who rebuilt the church
on a larger scale, granting land of his own for the purpose in 1411.
The site available measured 113 feet long from east to west, just as
now there is a graveyard 26 feet long. The new building had a
castellated parapet: the tower stood at the west end, square,
embattled, surmounted by a great cross. Beneath the tower a great
doorway opened upon Paternoster Lane. It was destroyed in the Great
Fire and rebuilt by Edward Strong, Wren’s master-mason, in 1694; the
steeple was added in 1713. The church of St. Martin Vintry was not
rebuilt after the Fire, its parish being annexed to this. The
parishes of Allhallows the Great and Allhallows the Less were also
annexed in 1893. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1282.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, 1282; the Dean and Chapter of
Canterbury from 1550 to 1666, when St. Martin Vintry was annexed and
the patronage was alternate with the Bishop of Worcester.
Houseling people in 1548 were 213.
The church is oblong in shape, 67 feet in length, 47 feet in width,
and 38 feet in height. The oak altar-piece is said to be the work of
Grinling Gibbons, and above it there is a painting by William
Hilton, R.A., presented in 1820 by the directors of the London
Institution. The tower is square and contains three stories
terminated by a cornice and parapet, with vases at the angles; it is
surmounted by a shallow dome on four arches, and encircled by Ionic
columns. Above this the steeple is octagonal, crowned by a pedestal
with finial and vane. The total height is 128 feet 3 inches. The
church was repaired and the interior arrangements remodelled in
1864; in 1895 was again repaired; at this date the carved woodwork
and the organ case from Allhallows the Great were utilised on the
demolition of that church. Beneath the tower is preserved a carving
of the royal arms (William and Mary); this stood above the reredos
before the placing of the picture there in 1820. The tower contains
one bell.
A chantry was founded here by Lawrence Duket in 1289.
The church contained but few monuments of note. There was one in
memory of John Haydon, mercer, Sheriff 1582, and benefactor of the
parish. Sir Richard Whittington, the founder of the church, was also
commemorated; he was buried here with his wife, and the traditional
site of the tomb, which was destroyed in the Great Fire, is where
the sanctuary rail and organ are.
The only monument of any interest in the present building is one to
Sir Samuel Pennant, who died 1750, during his mayoralty; he died of
gaol fever, caught in discharging his duty in visiting Newgate.
There is a memorial tablet to Jacob Jacobsen on the west wall;
Bishop Wadington’s arms can be seen in the south-west window.
Reginald Peacock, Bishop of Chichester, 1449, was rector here; also
William Ive (d. 1485), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford; Humphrey Hody
(1659-1707), Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford; and Richard Smith
(1500-1563), Dean of Douai and a great pillar of the Catholic
Church.
Under Whittington’s will, the church became collegiate in 1424. A
college of St. Spirit and St. Mary, the college house, the almshouse,
also of Whittington’s foundation, and a parcel of ground then a garden,
but intended for consecration as a new churchyard, were grouped north of
the church, between that and Whittington’s own dwelling. They probably
composed a quadrangle. The almshouse was called “God’s House or
Alms-house or the hospital of Richard Whittington.” It was for twelve
poor folk, men and women, and a “tutor” who had custody of the goods,
and was to preserve order. He had a separate apartment—the twelve others
lived more together; all dined and supped in common hall. They were to
pray daily for their founder, his wife and others; to behave seemly; to
read, work, or meditate; to dress in dark brown, “not staring nor
blazing in colour.” The college house was for the accommodation of five
fellows or chaplains, two clerks, and four choristers; these composed
the collegiate staff. The fellows were secular priests, that is to say,
not regulars or conventual clergy; they were to be masters of art, poor
men, unbeneficed. One of them was to occupy the position of master. The
church ceased as a rectory when it became a collegiate. The then rector
was appointed the first master and he was to continue his parochial
duties.
Before the end of the century the members had formed themselves into a
fraternity—_Fraternitas Scantæ Sopluæ_—for the reading of a divinity
lecture. A little later a divinity reader was provided by a bequest, and
another legacy was allotted to the fellows, so that each should deliver
two additional sermons every year, either in the City or out.
Whittington’s estates originally produced £63 per annum for the college
and £40 per annum for the almshouse. At the suppression of the former,
under Edward VI., the value was returned at only £20 : 1 : 8 per annum;
the college house and garden were sold for £92 : 2s. to Armagil Waad, or
Wade, Clerk of the Council, in 1548. The almshouse was not then
affected, but was and is administered by the Mercers Company. It was
rebuilt after the Great Fire. In 1808 the almshouse people were removed
to Highgate. The Mercers’ School, rebuilt in Old Jewry in 1670, removed
to Budge Row in 1787, and burnt down and removed to 20 Red Lion Court,
opposite to St. Antholin’s, Watling Street, in 1804, was settled in the
old almshouses on their becoming empty. In 1832 the premises were
rebuilt. Externally they present a plain structure of stone, with a
great projecting cornice; the interior is spacious, the flagged
playground still preserves a suggestion of collegiate cloisters. Here
almsmen walked, here college fellows paced, here hearty schoolboys
shouted—now all is silent and untenanted. The Mercers’ School is now
removed to Holborn.
The name College Hill does not occur in Stow, but Newcourt’s map of 1658
so styles it: it bore reference to Whittington’s College. As the Duke of
Buckingham’s “Litany” (1679) has it, there was thus “Nought left of a
College, but College Hill.” Ogilby’s post-Fire map (1677) names the
street College Hill only so far north as Cloak Lane; above that it was
Tower Royal Street: both portions are now reckoned as College Hill as
far as Cannon Street. At the corner of the present Maiden Lane was
situated, in the fourteenth century, the house and tavern of Richard
Chaucer, vintner, step-grandfather to Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet.
Perhaps the latter dwelt here.
After the Great Fire “a very large and graceful building” with great
courtyards was erected on College Hill. Here lived the second and last
Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, “for the more security of his trade, and
convenience of driving it among the Londoners.” This dissolute but
clever courtier was nicknamed “Alderman Buckingham” and satirised by
Dryden as “Zimri” who was “everything by starts and nothing long.” The
house was sometime the residence of Sir John Lethieullier, merchant and
alderman, sheriff in 1674; it has since disappeared, but portions of the
courtyard remain. One of these is Newcastle Court, on the west of
College Hill, now merely a yard between backs of great houses, and a
postern entrance to the Cloak Lane Police Station.
[Illustration:
WHITTINGTON’S HOUSE
]
Of the general houses which Strype (1720) says were “well built and
inhabited by merchants and others,” none remain, except Nos. 3 and 4 on
the west side, of which the latter has a quaintly carved tympanum above
the front door: and Nos. 21 and 22 on the east side. The two last or
some part of them stand upon the site of “The Tabard,” Whittington’s own
dwelling-house. Here are two stories of cellars in the northern house,
whose foundation walls are built from stones possibly once forming the
materials of Whittington’s mansion. Both premises have massive
staircases, and the southernmost possesses some well-carved doorcases.
The little courtyards before them are each entered through a great porch
with timbered sides, and heavy panelled doors shut it off from the
street. The arched gateways of the porches are pedimented, the tympanums
filled with a profusion of luxuriant carvings—grotesque heads, drapery,
garlands of flowers and fruit. Above the gateways stand porch-rooms;
still higher little latticed dormer windows peep out of the quaint,
tiled roofs. The porches are the pride of the hill, and well serve to
mark so illustrious a site.
Stow calls =Dowgate Hill= “the high street called Downgate,” and by that
he doubtless includes both the hill on the north side of Thames Street
and Dowgate Dock on the south side of the same. The east side is now
wholly occupied by the immense wall of Cannon Street hotel and station.
Only a portion of the former is in the ward. Beneath the latter, opening
upon the street, are several cellars called Dowgate vaults. Previously
to the erection of the station a lane called Chequer Yard ran from
opposite Dyers’ Hall to Bush Lane. Stow terms it Chequer Lane, or Alley,
“of an inn called the Chequer.” Its former name, he says, was Carter
Lane, “of carts and carmen having stables there.” Strype calls it “a
pretty good open space.” Malcolm (1802) says Chequer Yard then consisted
of a vast range of warehouses, many stories in height, always filled
with tobacco, cotton, coffee, etc. Amongst these were the Plumbers’ Hall
warehouses. Here formerly stood Plumbers’ Hall (see Appendix) and the
Chequer Inn. “The Chequer” is mentioned as a brew-house so early as the
reign of Richard III., when it appears to have appertained to the Erber.
It was rebuilt as an inn after the Great Fire, and stood in a courtyard
on the south side of the lane, near the west end. It had a gate and a
passage into Dowgate Hill. Strype (1720) says it was “an inn of no great
account, being chiefly for livery stables and horses.” In Strype’s 1754
edition all mention of the inn is omitted, so that it had, presumably,
vanished during the intervening thirty-four years. At the north-west
corner of Chequer Yard was the site of the Erber (p. 245). Previously to
the erection of the station, the hill forked opposite to Skinners’ Hall
and turned into Cannon Street by two narrow lanes. Of these the
north-eastern was Turnwheele Lane, “from a turnpike in the middle
thereof”; the north-western retained the name of Dowgate Hill. They had
between them at the fork a block of buildings. When the station was
built, Turnwheele Lane was covered and Dowgate Hill was widened by
absorbing the block. Towards “the upper end of the hill, stood the fair
Conduit-upon-Dowgate,” mentioned by Stow as “castellated, and made in
the year 1568, at charges of the citizens.” In Ryther’s map, 1604
(British Museum), it is shown to stand in the middle of Dowgate Hill
opposite the end of Cloak Lane. It was destroyed in the Great Fire and
not rebuilt. Allen, in his _History of London_, places it at the
south-east corner of Walbrook, in Walbrook ward; evidently he is
mistaken. On the west side the ward begins at the corner of Cloak Lane,
of which only a part of the southern side is in Dowgate. Thence
proceeding southwards is Tallow Chandlers’ Hall (see p. 243).
At 8 Dowgate Hill is
THE SKINNERS COMPANY
It is probable that, like other traders who came to London in early
times, men following the trade of Skinners were assigned some
separate locality in the town and associated together for the
purposes of a guild.
In course of time, as the guild grew in importance, the Skinners
seem to have absorbed or affiliated unto themselves two other
trades, the Upholders and the Tawyers.
It is clear that as long ago as the reign of Henry VI. the guild
included among its members other than those who exercised the trades
of Skinner, Tawyer, and Upholder, for in one of the Company’s books,
dated 25th July, 23 Henry VI., there is a list of names of the
brethren and sistren of the guild at that time. They amount to
twenty in all, and include one doctor, three gentlemen, nine of no
trade or description, two butchers, one dyer, one joiner, one
skinner, one grocer, as brethren, and one sister as silkwife.
The Company has a copy of the charter of Henry VI., but none of that
of Philip and Mary. They are Inspeximus charters, as also is that of
22nd March, 2 Elizabeth.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth differences arose between the
working “artesans” of the guild and the rest of the fraternity,
especially the governing body, which continued for many years and
culminated in a surreptitious application in 1606 by the Artisan
Skinners for new Letters Patent from the Crown without the consent
or privity of the master and wardens of the guild, and in December
1606 (4 James I.) a charter was issued. Full inquiry was made. The
Lord Mayor and aldermen made their report to the lords of the Privy
Council, who thereupon ordered (March 22, 1606) that the privy seal
that had been procured by the Artisan Skinners for this new charter
appertaining to the Company of Skinners should be cancelled.
The charters and title deeds of the Skinners Company were
surrendered in 1625 like those of the other City Companies, but in
1641 their privileges were restored.
After the restoration of King Charles II. the Skinners Company
obtained the charter dated 20th June, 19 Charles II. It grants
nothing new, but merely confirms to the master and wardens of the
guild or fraternity all they had under any of their previous
charters.
Passing to 1744, the Artisan Skinners appear to have thought that if
they could only be more fully represented on the governing body of
the Company, their trade grievances would be redressed, and they
accordingly, in October 1744, presented a remonstrance to the Court.
The result of this was that in three months the master and three
wardens were served with a copy of a rule for a mandamus commanding
them to choose a number of Artisan Skinners to be wardens and
assistants. The governing body, in reply, set out the whole of the
proceedings of 1606, but the mandamus was ultimately issued and a
return made to the writ. At the hearing, counsel for the
prosecutors, the artisans, informed the Court of King’s Bench that
he had perused the return and could not find any fault with it, and
accordingly the judges ordered the return of the master and wardens
to be affirmed.
In December 1747 similar hostile proceedings were renewed, and led
finally to an information for a false return being filed against the
master and wardens in June 1748. The cause came on for trial at the
King’s Bench bar on the 24th April following, and the jurors,
without going out of court, brought in a verdict of not guilty.
The number of liverymen is 200; the Corporate Income is £27,500; the
Trust Income is £17,500.
A freeman of the Skinners Company is eligible, as vacancies from
time to time occur, to a presentation for his child to Christ’s
Hospital, ten such presentations being given to the Company under
the benefaction of Mr. William Stoddart. Besides being eligible for
certain almshouses and pensions, poor freemen who have fallen into
straitened circumstances obtain charitable assistance from the
Company at the discretion of the governing body, as also do the
widows and children of such poor freemen. Freemen are entitled to a
preference among applicants for loans under trusts administered by
the Company. They are also with their sons and apprentices eligible
under certain conditions for exhibitions founded by the Company, and
their sons will have a preference for admission into the Company’s
Middle School, referred to in another part of this return, if there
should not be room for all the candidates. Liverymen have similar
claims. They also attend at dinners given to the livery at the
Company’s Hall, and have the privilege of occasionally introducing
friends at such dinners. The master and wardens and other members of
the court have similar rights and privileges. They also receive fees
as members of the governing body in respect of their attendance at
courts and committees as already stated.
Assistance is granted by the Company to members if it appears upon
inquiry that from misfortune or by reason of sickness, infirmity, or
from other good cause they are in need.
Stow describes Skinners’ Hall as “a fair house, which was sometime
called Copped Hall by Downgate.” Copped Hall was purchased by the
Skinners, together with several small tenements adjacent, in the
reign of Henry III. (about 1260-62). The Company afterwards held it
under a licence of mortmain granted by that king. It was
subsequently alienated, though by what means is uncertain, and in
1326, according to Stow, it was possessed by Ralph de Cobham, the
brave Kentish warrior, who made Edward III. his heir. Edward III.
restored the hall to the Skinners at about the time of the Company’s
legal incorporation (1327).
Of Copped Hall no plan exists, but it is probable that four small
tenements occupied the Dowgate Hill frontage (50 feet), and it is
known that there was a court or quadrangle somewhat like the present
one with an entrance from it direct into the hall. It perished in
the Great Fire of 1666, soon after which the rubbish and lead were
sold. There still remain, however, some of the old walls, and the
great stone fireplace of the kitchen was discovered when excavating
in the present cellars about 1870. On October 15, 1668, a committee,
of which Sir George Waterman, Master of the Skinners, and Sir Thomas
Pilkington were members, was appointed to carry out the rebuilding,
the Company meanwhile holding their courts in various places as at
Salters’ Hall, the Red Bull Inn, Bishopsgate, and in the church of
St. Helen.
In November 1688 “the front houses at Skinners’ Hall” were ordered
to be rebuilt; in the February following the Renter was empowered to
make a gateway of stone or timber as he thought fit; and the
quadrangle was ordered to be 40 feet square. By 1672 the rebuilding
must have been practically finished, for Sir George Waterman kept
his mayoralty here in 1672-73, renting the hall for £160.
The Dowgate Hill front was rebuilt under the Company’s surveyor in
1777, and Mr. Jupp, afterwards surveyor to the Company, also made
some alterations. This front is somewhat like that of Old Covent
Garden Theatre in the time of Garrick. It is a regular three-storied
building of the Ionic order. The basement part to the level of the
first story is of stone, and rusticated; from this rise six
pilasters supporting an entablature and pediment all of the same
material. In the tympanum are the Company’s arms. In the facade are
two doorways, one leading to the quadrangle before the great hall,
the other to the clerks’ offices. Across the quadrangle is a carved
doorway, the principal entrance to the lobby in front of the great
hall. This hall is a very handsome apartment. It was rebuilt 1849-50
under the direction of Mr. G. B. Moore, and was restored and
decorated in 1891 at much expense. Up to that time the walls had
been wainscotted; they are now panelled in light oak to a higher
level, the panelling being crowned by a fine frieze decorated with
raised shields, and a cornice. The carved roof is richly decorated
and contains a wagon-headed skylight. The entrance to the hall is at
the north end through a splendid carved oak screen, which in 1891
supplanted the original Ionic screen ordered for the hall in 1760.
Behind the hall is a small Committee room with a good fireplace,
above which is a carved panel in the style of Grinling Gibbons.
Beyond is the court room. On the floor above is the great cedar
parlour or withdrawing room. It is a magnificent chamber, redolent
with the scent of the red cedar, in which material the whole of the
interior is executed. The cedar wood is said to have been presented
by the East India Company. The walls are wainscotted up to the
frieze and cornice, the former of which is carved both in light and
dark wood, the whole being richly gilt. From the cornice springs the
coved ceiling, which is panelled and painted, and which, some years
ago, when the room was redecorated under the mastership of Mr.
Charles Barry, architect, was substituted for the old ceiling. The
doors are handsomely carved and pedimented. Over the fireplace is a
panel carved in Grinling Gibbon’s best style, displaying the
Company’s arms wreathed about with festoons of dark wood on the
light cedar panel.
At one end, in glass cases, are two curious coloured statuettes, one
representing Edward III., the other Sir Andrew Judd, both neat
pieces of work.
The grand staircase is well designed, and displays some of the massy
carving and rich ornaments in vogue just after the Great Fire.
Attached to the hall is a small garden, in which are a tree and
several flower-beds, also a curiously embossed cistern dated 1768.
The original cost of the Skinners’ Hall was, according to the _New
View of London_ (1708), £18,000, but much has since been spent upon
it. Several Lord Mayors and sheriffs have kept their year of office
here, and in 1691 the new East India Company, before their
incorporation with the old Company, began to hold their meetings
here, paying an annual rent of £300. In consequence of these
meetings the new Company afterwards presented to the hall a carved
mahogany court-table and silver candlesticks.
THE DYERS COMPANY
The Dyers Company was in existence in 1381, and probably even
earlier.
The first charter was that granted by Henry VI. in 1471; this was
renewed by Edward IV. in 1472. The charter was confirmed or renewed
by Henry VIII., Edward VI., Elizabeth, and Mary. An Inspeximus
charter was granted, 2 Elizabeth 1559 and by 4 James I. 1606; James
II. gave the Company a charter 1688, and they were re-incorporated
by Anne 1704.
The number of the livery is now 61; the Corporate Income is £5000;
the Trust Income £1000.
The Company has the right to keep swans on the river Thames. This
privilege they share with the vintners, and the “Barge masters” of
both Companies have the care of the swans.
Dyers’ Hall extends from Skinners’ Hall to the corner of College
Street, and occupies the site of Jesus’ Commons, which was, says
Stow (1598), “a college of priests, a house well furnished with
brass, pewter, napery, plate, etc., besides a fair library well
stored with books, all which of old time was given to a number of
priests that should keep commons there, and as one left his place,
by death or otherwise, another should be admitted into his room, but
this order within this thirty years being discontinued, the said
house was dissolved, and turned to tenements.”
The Dyers’ Hall consists of a plain four-storied building, the
basement being of stone, the upper part of white brick with stone
facings. Part of the lower story is let out as business premises,
the corner at College Street being allotted to the Bunch of Grapes
Inn. The great hall is a large and lofty room, but comparatively
plain. It is relieved by rather handsome frieze and cornice and is
lighted by two windows, one at either end.
The Company’s Hall in use prior to 1666 stood at the south end of
what is now Dyers’ Hall Wharf, Upper Thames Street. It was destroyed
in the Great Fire and apparently rebuilt in a stately manner, but
again destroyed by fire in 1681. (Malcolm, 1802.) For several years
the Company met in Salters’ Hall. Maitland (1739) says “the Company
has converted one of their houses in little Elbow Lane into a hall
to transact their business in.” This fell down in 1768. The next
hall was erected about 1770. It was a tolerably spacious unassuming
building, the exterior distinguished by a double flight of steps,
but was not of any architectural merit. The present hall was built
1839-40 (Charles Dyer, architect). Some additions and alterations
were made to it 1865-67 by D. A. Corbett, architect. (See Lond. and
Mid. _Arch. Trans._ vol. v. p. 452.)
The Dyers’ Wharf estate is now covered with warehouses. Those on the
riverside are known as the Monument Bonded Warehouses. The archives
of the Company were destroyed in the Great Fire.
The slope of Dowgate Hill is now a gradual one, but Stow speaks of it as
of rapid descent, and relates that in 1574 the channels became so
swollen and swift in a heavy storm of rain, that a lad of eighteen,
endeavouring to leap over near the conduit, was taken with the stream
and carried thence against a cartwheel that stood in the watergate,
“before which time he was drowned and stark dead.” Strype (1720)
mentions that the hill was still so steep that in great rains floods
arose in the lower parts. Ben Jonson speaks of “Dowgate torrents falling
into Thames.”
Dowgate Wharf or Dock is supposed to have gained its name from its steep
descent to the river, as it was sometimes called Downgate, but this
derivation sounds highly improbable. One of the most ancient ferries
over the Thames was at Dowgate. On the east side of the dock is Walbrook
Wharf, showing the spot where the ancient stream, the Walbrook, reached
the Thames.
Robert Green the dramatist, from whom Shakespeare borrowed the plot of
his _Winter’s Tale_, died (1592) in an obscure lodging at the house of a
shoemaker in Dowgate, indebted to his landlord for the bare necessaries
of life.
At the north end of Dowgate Hill near Cloak Lane stood St. John the
Baptist’s Church.
=St. John the Baptist= was situated on the west side of Dowgate Hill
in the ward of Walbrook. _Ecclesia Sancti Johannis super Walbroc_,
occurs about 1181; _ecclesia Sancti Johis de Walbrook_ is set down
in the “Taxatio Ecclesiasticus” of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291). The
first mention of the church is contained in a book at the Cathedral
(Newcourt, i. p. 371) compiled in the time of Ralph de Diceto made
dean 1181. The entry is as follows:—“_Ecclesia Sancti Johannis super
Walbroc_ est Canonicorum, & reddit eis ii sol. per manum _Vitalis_
clerici, solvit Synodalia ivd, Archidiacono xiid. & habet in domino
suo quondam terram, quae reddit ii sol. & est de feodo _Willimi de
la Mare_, & etiam terrulam, quae est inter ecclesiam & _Walbroc_ &
reddit iii sol. non habet coemiterium.”
Thus the earliest church stood upon the east side of the stream, a
little tract of land intervening between its west wall and the bank.
When the watercourse was diverted to flow more eastwards, the
chancel bordered on the brook. It was rebuilt about 1412, and again
in 1621, but destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666, when its parish
was annexed to that of St. Antholin. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1150.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul’s in 1150, who granted it to the Prioress and
Convent of St. Helen about 1373, till it was seized by Henry VIII.
and so continued in the Crown up to 1671, when it was annexed to St.
Antholin.
Houseling people in 1548 were 375.
Only two monuments are recorded by Stow as being of note—W.
Combarton, Skinner, who gave lands to the church, buried 1410; and
John Stone, Taylor, Sheriff 1464.
The site of the building was converted into a churchyard, and upon the
wall is a stone with this inscription:
“‘Before the dreadfull Fire, anno domini 1666, here stood the parish
church St. John Baptist, upon Walbrook—William Wilkins, James
Whitchurch, churchwardens this present year anno domini 1674.’ The
above stone was refaced, and the letters fresh cut anno domini
1836—Rev. John Gordon M.A. rector, Edward Jones, Lewis Williams,
churchwardens.”
The parsonage was not rebuilt, and Strype notes (1754, vol. i. p. 516)
that neither its site nor that of its garden was given in the 1693
visitation. Newcourt (_Repertorium_, i. p. 371) further notes that the
same visitation records great encroachments having been made on the
churchyard since the Fire “to some of which the parish had consented,
and others have been done by the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen,
without the consent of the Archbishop and Bishop of London (as ’tis
said) and the Chamberlain of London receives the rent for them.”
It was reserved for the commercial civilisation of this century to
“encroach” the churchyard out of existence. The Act of the Metropolitan
Railway gave the Company power to construct their Cannon Street Station
(1883) under the burial-ground, and to remove the human remains. The
churchyard is no more; the greater part of its site is enclosed by a
brick wall which screens the opening in the roof of the station below.
At the extreme west end an asphalted square has been railed in and
reserved as a home for gravestones, and a large ornament bearing this
melancholy and curious inscription:
Sacred to the memory of the dead interred in the ancient church and
churchyard of St. John the Baptist upon Walbrook during four
centuries. The formation of the District Railway having necessitated
the destruction of the greater part of the churchyard, all the human
remains contained therein were carefully collected and re-interred
in a vault beneath this monument A.D. 1884.—Rev. LEWIS BORRETT
WHITE, D.D., rector; JOHN R. W. LUCK, EDWARD WHITE, churchwardens.
But why sacred to the memory of the dead during “four centuries” only?
Had not those buried previously to 1484 any right to commemoration? The
churchyard existed in 1378 and the church in 1181. Truly inscription
writers are marvellous in their discriminating powers. The vault
containing the remains is situated alongside the railway line beneath.
Very interesting discoveries were made when excavating for the station.
Mr. E. P. Seaton, the resident engineer, has preserved some careful
notes, from which the following is an extract: “At the west end of the
churchyard was found a subway running north and south. The arch was
formed of stone blocks (Kentish rag) placed 3 feet apart, the space
between being filled up with brickwork. The sides were of worked red
ragstones, 8 by 11 inches, and 3 feet long (some 1 foot 4 inches long),
surrounded with rough rubble masonry, set in mortar of a brown colour.
The flat bottom varied from 2 to 4 feet in thickness and was formed of
random rubble masonry. The brick invert was of much later date, about 6
inches thick and almost a semicircle. The space between the underside of
that and the bottom was filled with made earth. A portion of the arch
had been broken in, and was filled with human bones. The other parts of
the subway or sewer were filled with hand-packed stones. This is
supposed to be the centre of the ancient Walbrook (this supposition is
quite correct) and made earth was found to a distance of 35 feet from
the surface. Clay of a light grey colour was then found, impregnated
with the decayed roots of water-plants. The foundations (it is a matter
of regret that no plan of the foundations was taken; the opportunity is
now lost for ever) of the old church of St. John the Baptist, destroyed
1666, and pulled down about 1677, were discovered about 10 to 12 feet
from the surface and composed of chalk and Kentish ragstones. They ran
about north-north-east to south-south-west. Piles of oak were found
which seem to denote that the church was built on the edge of the brook,
which must have been filled up during the Roman occupation, as numerous
pieces of Roman pottery were found.” The bottom of the Walbrook valley
was reached at 32 feet below the present street level, and is now 11
feet below the level of the lines in the station. During the excavations
the piles and sill of the Horseshoe bridge which crossed the Walbrook
hereabouts were also found near the churchyard, together with the
remains of an ancient boat. These were unfortunately too rotten to
preserve, but a block of Roman herring-bone pavement, formerly
constituting part of a causeway or landing-place on the brook, is now at
the Guildhall Museum. It was found beneath the churchyard 21 feet below
the present level of the street, and was presented by the rector and
churchwardens. Most of the Samian pottery and Roman coins found at this
time were also presented to the Guildhall.
THE TALLOW CHANDLERS COMPANY
The first charter of incorporation of this Company bears date the
8th of March 1462, 2 Edward IV., wherein the then members of the
Company are described as “our beloved and faithful subjects, the
Freemen of the Mystery or Art of Tallough Chandlers of our City of
London.”
It is evident, however, that a company, guild, or other association
of tallow chandlers existed in London before the date of the above
charter, seeing that in the year 1426, or thirty-six years prior
thereto, Letters Patent were granted by Henry VI. to the mayor of
the City of London, and the master and wardens of the Mystery or
Craft of Tallow Chandlers of the same city for the time being,
empowering them to search for and destroy all bad and adulterated
oils.
Also in the year 1456, or six years prior to the said charter, a
grant of arms and crest was made by John Smert, Garter King-at-Arms,
to John Priour, John Thurlow, William Blakeman, and Richard
Grenecroft, sworn wardens or keepers (gardiens) and several other
notable men of the trade and of the Company of Tallow Chandlers
(Chandeliers de Suif) of the City of London, on behalf of and in the
name of their whole confraternity.
At present there is a livery of 102; the Corporate Income was not
returned to the Commissioners. The Trust Income is £220. Maitland
says that the Fraternity anciently dealt not only in candles, but
also in oils, vinegar, butter, hops, soap, etc.
Stow designates the hall of the Tallow Chandlers “a proper house.”
After the Great Fire it was rebuilt (1672). In 1884 a large red
brick and terra-cotta building of five stories, standing upon a
granite base, was erected on Dowgate Hill instead, and upon the site
of the old house of the Company’s clerk and beadle, and the hall is
now approached by a vestibule running under this building. The
vestibule leads into an open quadrangle, which was diminished when
the above-mentioned house was built. It is surrounded by a Tuscan
piazza of ten arcades. This piazza in part belongs to the 1672
building. It was restored in 1871. The building itself is of red
brick. On the first floor is the great hall, a handsome apartment 50
feet long by 27 feet wide, having a decorated ceiling, and walls
wainscotted with oak panelling and looking-glass to a height of 30
feet. On the south wall are three great mirrors; in a broken
pediment over the central one are the arms of Charles II. At the
north end is a carved oak screen, in the centre of which are the
entrance doors, of handsome carved work filled with stained glass,
erected in 1894. The screen itself is of the 1672 building. A heavy
carved frieze and cornice passes round the hall above the long
windows. The pictures include two by Sir Godfrey Kneller. The court
parlour is the handsomest room. It is wainscotted to the ceiling,
which is magnificently panelled in oak, and richly gilt, having in
the centre an oval compartment enclosed by an exquisitely moulded
wreath of flowers. The rest is divided into squares and oblongs,
filled with groups of flowers and fruit.
An inscription tells us:
“This parlour was wainscotted at the expense of Sir Joseph Sheldon,
Knt., a member of this Company and Lord Mayor of this City A.D.
1675. Who also gave this Company a barge with all its furniture.”
On the second floor is the court-room, which is also wainscotted to
the ceiling.
Dowgate, the Steelyard, and Cold Harbour were all very near together.
The Steelyard was so called from the beam of steel by which goods
imported into London were weighed. It stood just where Cannon Street
Station now is. It had a fine hall and courtyard, and was for 300 years
held by the members of the Hanseatic League, a community of foreigners
who enjoyed the monopoly of importing hemp, corn, wax, linen and many
other things into England, to the great loss of our own traders. (See
_London in the time of the Tudors_, p. 82.)
Beyond the station is the City of London Brewery. The archway spanning
the central entrance to this occupies the site of an earlier arch which
once carried the choir and steeple of Allhallows the Less, and led to
what Stow speaks of as “the great house called Cold Harbrough.” Its site
is now covered by the brewery. The name of the house is conjectured to
be a corruption of the German words Colner Herberg (Cologne Inn), which
passed into Coln Harbrough, Cole Harbrough, Cold Harbrough, and Cold
Harbour. Cologne being one of the principal of the Hanse towns, the
proximity of the steelyard makes this derivation appear likely. There
are several Cold Harbours in England, none of them remarkable for bleak
situations, but most of them existing in places where commerce once
greatly throve. The house stood at the water’s edge. It was a large
building, with steps leading down to the river through an arched door.
About the year 1600 it is represented with five gables facing the water,
and rows of mullioned diamond-pane windows—a beautiful building. It had
the right of sanctuary, though how or when gained is not known.
Until 1607 Cold Harbour had been outside the City jurisdiction, for it
is one of the places added to the City’s rule by the charter of James I.
to the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London in that year. It must
have been deserted by its original inhabitants, the Cologne merchants,
before the reign of Edward II. It belonged to the Poultney family, and
was for some time called Poultney’s Inn.
“In the year 1397, 21 Richard II., John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, was
lodged there, and Richard II., his brother, dined with him. It was then
counted a right fair and stately house: but in the next year following
Edmond, Earl of Cambridge, was there lodged, notwithstanding the said
house still retained the name of Poultney’s Inn in the reign of Henry
VI., the 26th of his reign” (Stow).
In 1410 Henry IV. gave it to Henry, Prince of Wales, for life. Margaret,
Countess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII., lodged here temporarily; in
the reign of Henry VIII., the Bishop of Durham’s house, already
mentioned, “being taken into the King’s hands,” Cuthbert Tunstall,
Bishop of Durham, was lodged in “the Cold Harbrough.” This Bishop of
Durham remained here until 1553, when he was deposed from his bishopric
and Cold Harbour was taken from him. It was granted by Edward VI.,
together with its appurtenances and six houses or tenements in the
parish of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East, and certain lands in Yorkshire, to
the Earl of Shrewsbury and his heirs. Edward VI. is said to have given
it to the Earl at the instance of the Duke of Northumberland, “who
practised to gain as many of the nobility as he could to his purpose.”
It then became known as Shrewsbury House. Francis, fifth Earl of
Shrewsbury, who died in 1560, and his son, the sixth Earl, the guardian
for fifteen years of Mary, Queen of Scots, took it down, “and in place
thereof built a great number of small tenements, now letten out for
great rents to people of all sorts” (Stow). The Earl died in 1590. The
tenements were destroyed in the Fire of 1666. No remains of the building
exist unless Wren utilised some of the stones in rebuilding Allhallows
the Great. Hubbard, writing in 1843, says that a foundation wall of the
house and the ancient stairs still survived in his time.
Stow calls =The Erber= a “great old house” and says that Geoffrey
Scroope held it by gift of Edward III. in 1341. It subsequently belonged
to John Nevil, Earl of Raby, who appears to have died some years prior
to 1396. The last of the honourable family of the Scroopes to possess it
was William de Scroope, Knt., who lived in the reign of Henry IV. He
gave it for life to his brother Ralph Nevil, Earl of Westmoreland, who
married, as his second wife, Joan, daughter of the Duke of Lancaster.
Ralph Nevil died, seised of the Erber, in 1426, and his wife in 1441.
Their son Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury, was lodged here in 1547. He
died in 1460, and the Erber passed to his son Richard, Earl of Warwick
and Salisbury, “the king-maker,” who was slain at the battle of Barnet
Field in 1471. In 1474, George, Duke of Clarence, who had married
Isabel, daughter of “the king-maker,” then received it from Edward IV.
who gave it to him and his heirs so long as there was living male issue
of the Marquis Montacute. If the said male issue should die during the
duke’s life, then the duke to remain seised for life, taking precedence
of the rights of all others than the marquis and his issue. The Duke of
Clarence died in 1479. After his death, Edward, his son, was seised of
the Erber, and George, Duke of Bedford, son of John Nevil, Marquis
Montacute, dying without male issue in 1483, the lands remained in the
hands of Edward till 1500, when he was attainted and the lands thus came
to the Crown. Here they remained until 1512, when Henry VIII. gave them
to John, Earl of Oxford, and his heirs male. In 1513 the King gave the
reversion to Sir Thomas Bulleyn, Knt., and his male heirs. In 1514 he
restored Margaret, daughter and heir to George, Duke of Clarence, and to
all the lands of Richard, Earl of Salisbury, “who by colour of
restitution entered, and was attainted in 1540. So the lands came back
to the Crown, and were given in the next year to Sir Philip Hoby, who in
1545 sold the Erber to one Doulphin, a draper, who in 1553 sold it to
the Drapers Company. Strype, who gives these particulars, says that
notwithstanding this account “by some lawyers and historians in those
days,” it appears by the Rolls (1405) that there was a surrender of the
Erber from Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, to the King for the use of John
Darrel, and Walter de Arkham; that Richard III. possessed it under the
name of “The King’s Palace,” and that one Ralph Dowel, a yeoman of the
Crown, was keeper of this place. Dowel seems to have repaired not only
the Erber, but also other houses belonging to it, “particularly a
brewhouse called the Chequer,” as appears by a ledger-book of the King’s
in which the accounts of Dowel are said to be examined by John Hewyk,
one of the King’s auditors. Orders were given to Lethington, bailiff of
the lordship of the Clavering in Essex, “to content him,” but £14 : 18 :
3 still remained in arrears due to him for the repairs. Stow says that
the Erber had been lately rebuilt by Sir Thomas Pullison, and that it
was afterwards inhabited by Sir Thomas Drake.
=St. Mary Bothaw= was situated on the east side of Turnwheele Lane,
Cannon Street. The date of foundation is unknown. Newcourt mentions
Adam Lambyn as a rector, who died 1279. In the Taxation Book of Pope
Nicholas IV., 1291, the church occurs as Sancte Marie de Bothaw. It
was destroyed by the Great Fire, but not rebuilt, its parish being
annexed to that of St. Swithin. Stow supposes, for want of a better
theory, that “this church being near unto the Down-Gate in the river
of Thames, hath the addition of Bothaw, or Boat Haw, of near
adjoining to a haw or yard, wherein of old time boats were made, and
landed from Downgate to be mended.” Strype mentions that it seems
“of old to be called St. Mary de Bothache,” and Mr. Loftie in his
_London City_ (1891) says that the name is “most likely from ‘la
board hatch,’ a wooden gate-lock called also in some ancient
documents ‘Board-Hatch.’” The map by Agas _c._ 1560, and Hollar’s
view of London, call the church St. Mary Buttolph Lane. It is
somewhat remarkable that Dowgate is almost the only one of the older
City gates which has no Church of St. Botolph near by, as at
Billingsgate, Aldgate, Bishopsgate, and Aldersgate. The term St.
Mary Bothol occurs more than once in records of the sixteenth
century. Can it be that the name bears witness to the existence of a
St. Botolph’s Church here, which was dedicated to the Virgin, with
the name Botolph attached as a remembrance of the former
appellation? The earliest date of an incumbent is 1281.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, before 1281; the Dean and
Chapter of Canterbury from 1552 up to the time it was annexed to St.
Swithin in 1666.
Houseling people in 1548 were 182.
Chantries were founded here: By Lady Joan Fastolf, to which Robert
Kirke was instituted, May 10, 1445; by and for John, son of Adam de
Salusbury, who endowed it with a tenement called the “Key” in
Coleman Street, which fetched £7 in 1548; by and for John Hamond,
before 1387; by James le Butler; by Hugh Fostall.
Many noble persons were buried here, as appeared from the arms in
the windows, the defaced tombs, and print of plates torn up and
carried away. The most remarkable, perhaps, was that of Sir Henry
Fitz-Alwine, draper, the first Lord Mayor of London, who continued
in his position for twenty-four years. Here, too, Robert Chicheley,
grocer and mayor of London in 1422, was buried; he appointed by his
will that 2400 poor men should each have a good dinner on his
birthday, and he also gave a plot of land for the building of the
parish church, called St. Stephen’s, Walbrook.
No charitable gifts are recorded by Stow.
At the construction of Cannon Street station and hotel, in 1866-68, the
churchyard was built over. Its site is now immediately under the steps
leading from the hotel to the forecourt, and is occupied by part of a
corridor, a carpenter’s shop, a knife-cleaning room, and a coal cellar,
all of which belong to the hotel basement.
The north-western side of the station forecourt stands upon the site of
=Turnwheele Lane=, a narrow turning which formerly led from Cannon
Street by a westerly slope into Dowgate Hill, which it joined opposite
the northern boundary of Skinners’ Hall. Stow calls it “a little lane
with a turnpike in the middle thereof.” Strype (1720) terms it
Turnwheele Lane, but the _New Remarks of London_ (1732) style it
Turnmill Lane. By the eastern side of the station runs Allhallows Lane
leading northward into Bush Lane. The church of Allhallows the Great
stood here until 1898, and east of it was Allhallows the Less.
=Allhallows the Great= was situated on the south side of
Thames Street. This church has been known, at various times,
as All Saints, Allhallows-ad-foenum, Allhallows-in-the-Hay,
Allhallows-in-the-Ropery (“because,” says Stow, “of hay sold
thereunto at Hay Wharf, and ropes of old time made and sold in
the high street”), Allhallows the More (“for a difference from
Allhallows the Less”), Allhallows the Great, which has been
the name at least since the Fire. Of its first foundation
there is no record, but from the fact that the riverside is
the oldest inhabited part of the City it may be nearly coeval
with the establishment of Christianity in London. The first
actual mention of it is in 1361 when, according to Newcourt,
one Thomas de Wodeford was rector. In 1627 and 1629 it was
repaired and redecorated, and a gallery built at the west end,
but the whole was destroyed by the Great Fire. In 1683 it was
rebuilt, the architect being Wren, and Allhallows the Less,
its neighbour, united with it by Act of Parliament. In 1877
the tower and north aisle were taken down to widen Thames
Street. The church was taken down in 1898. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1279.
The patronage was in the hands of the family of Le Despensers before
1314; Richard Beauchamp; Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick and
Salisbury, 1465; George, Duke of Clarence, before 1480; Edward,
eldest son of Isabel, Duchess of Clarence, 1480; Edward IV.; Henry
VII., as a gift from Anne, widow of Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick
and Salisbury; Henry VIII.; the Archbishop of Canterbury, by
exchange, 1569, in whose successors it continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 550.
There was a large cloister originally on the south side of the
church, but it was in a considerable state of ruin in 1627.
The plan was nominally an oblong square, but, owing probably to the
desire of Wren to make use of the old foundations, its walls were
neither built parallel nor four-square. The length was 87 feet, the
height 33 feet, and the width 60 feet, of which the nave was made 48
feet wide and a north aisle 12 feet wide. To the north aisle was
also attached a heavy square tower, occupying a portion of the
aisle. The elevation was finished with a cornice and parapet. The
tower rose above the second division from the east to a height of 86
feet. The church was celebrated for its beautiful woodwork, which,
on its demolition, was removed to St. Michael Royal.
Chantries were founded here by: Richard de Preston, citizen and
grocer, at the Altar of St. Katherine, for himself and Agnes his
wife, and to which Alfred Lyndon was admitted chaplain in 1396;
Peter Cosin whose will is dated 1291 (Pat. 43 Edward III. p. 2 m.
12); Sir Nicholas Lovin for himself and dame Margaret his wife;
William Lichfield, augmented by Thomas Westhowe, both of which
endowments fetched £8 : 16 : 8 in 1548; and William Peston.
The church formerly contained monuments to: William Lichfield,
Doctor of Divinity; John Brickles, a great benefactor. Queen
Elizabeth’s monument, “If Royal Vertues, etc.,” was also in this
church.
Two charity schools were erected in 1715, consisting of thirty boys
and twenty girls supported by voluntary subscriptions from the
inhabitants of the ward.
Among the notable rectors of this church are: Thomas White
(1628-98), Bishop of Peterborough; Hon. James York, Bishop of Ely,
1781; Robert Richardson, D.D. (1732-81), Dean of Lincoln; Edward
Waddington (d. 1731), Bishop of Chichester; William Vincent
(1739-1815), Dean of Westminster; William Cave, author (1637-1713).
In 1877 a new vestry was built on the south side of the church. It is
approached from Allhallows Lane by steps, through an arched doorway,
above which stands what is called “the tower,” a mean erection and a
mere apology for a tower. Its height does not extend beyond the church
roof. The vestry is fitted with the panelling and the pedimented doorway
brought from the old north aisle, from which also come the two
fantastically and beautifully carved wooden shields, now placed
respectively over the fireplace and the door. The ceiling is a neat
piece of panelling. The room is used for the holding of the Dowgate
wardmotes. The churchyard (south of the church) is much higher than the
lane at its side. It contains one tree, several tombs, and in the
north-west corner the vestry-room. The enclosure remains an open space
even after the demolition of the church.
Allhallows Church was dismantled in 1894. The screen, the pulpit, the
altar rails, the brass candelabra, and some of the woodwork went to St.
Margaret, Lothbury; the organ case, the font rails, the statues of Moses
and Aaron, most of the carved woodwork, the monuments, and the
stained-glass arms of Bishop Waddington went to St. Michael, Paternoster
Royal. The carved-wood altar was allotted to the new Church of
Allhallows, North St. Pancras, which was to be erected partially from
the funds arising out of the sale. The clock by Ericke was bought by a
gentleman connected with the City of London Brewery, where it now
stands. The site and the materials of the fabric were sold by auction on
July 31, 1894, for £31,100.
ALLHALLOWS THE LESS
Allhallows the Less was situated on the south side of Thames Street,
to the east of Allhallows the Great; it was called by some
Allhallows-on-the-Cellars, from its standing on vaults. It is said
to have been built by Sir John Poultney. After the Great Fire the
church was not rebuilt and the parish was annexed to Allhallows the
Great. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1242.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Bishops of
Winchester in 1242; master and chaplains of Corpus Christi College,
Candlewick Street.
Houseling people in 1548 were 200.
The steeple and choir of this church stood on an arched gate, which
was the entry to a great house called Cold Harbour. Dormers were
made on the south side of the church in 1613 to lighten it, and
several galleries subsequently added.
A chantry was founded here by James Andrew, the endowment of which
fetched £8 : 9 : 4 in 1548.
The donors of charities to this church were: Elizabeth Bannister,
£5; Anne Hope, £5; Roger Daniel, £8; and Samuel Goldsmith, £6, paid
by the Company of Dyers.
Two charity schools were erected in 1715 consisting of thirty boys
and twenty-eight girls supported by voluntary contributions from the
inhabitants of the ward.
=Cannon Street= was formerly Candlewick Street. It was part of the
ancient Roman highway that ran through the City and was once called
Watling Street throughout its whole length. Many deeds are extant
relating to Candlewick Street.
Roman remains have been found in Cannon Street including tessellated
pavements and a bronze statuette of Hercules.
In 1369 mention is made of the “Yeldehalle” in Candlewick Street,
probably the “Hula Dacorum,” Hall of the Danes mentioned in the _Liber
Albus_, where we learn that it was occupied by the Cologne merchants and
perhaps by those of Dinant also. The building was probably the “Great
stone Binn” called “Olde Hall” mentioned by Stow.
One of the Caxton family, of whom there were so many in the City, named
William de Caxton, lived here in 1342, and left to the Rector of St.
Swithin his mansion in this street for the maintenance of a chantry.
The _Calendar of Wills_ proves that we are in the most populous and
ancient part of London. Between 1259 and 1350 there are more than fifty
references to Candlewyke Street. The place is famous for its weavers,
and especially for the coarse cloth they made here called “burel.” There
was a fraternity of the “Burellers” working here. In 1334 one hundred
foot-soldiers were provided with “gowns” of cloth made in Candlewyke
Street. There was also a petition drawn up by the “good-folk” of this
street and Clement’s Lane against the melting of lead in their midst.
From Eastcheap to Walbrook, the title was for many centuries Candlewick,
Candlewright, or Canewyke Street. “Candelwykestrete” is mentioned in the
City Records as early as 1308; “Canewykestrete” appears 1376-99, and
again as “Cainwicke St.” in the map of Ralph Agas c. 1560. Stow gives
three possible derivations: (1) From Candlewright, a maker of candles;
(2) from the yarn or cotton candle-wick; (3) from candle-wike, a “wike”
being a place where things are made. The proximity of Tallow Chandlers’
Hall in Dowgate Hill points to this as the candlemakers’ quarter of the
City, and favours the first and third theories rather than the second.
In Ryther’s map of London, 1604, it is styled “Conning Streete,”
(probably a misprint for Canning Street), and Newcourt in his 1658 map
of London calls it “Cannon Street,” so that the change from Candlewick
to Canwyke, Conning, and Cannon appears to have taken place within a
comparatively short space of time.
The weavers of woollen cloths, brought from Flanders by Edward III.,
probably dwelt here: “cloth of Candelwykestrete” is mentioned in City
records in 1334; and Stow says that these weavers obtained permission in
1371 to meet in the churchyard of St. Lawrence Pountney close by. They
appear not to have remained long in the neighbourhood, but their advent
led to a settlement of many drapers in this part of the City and
ultimately to the founding of the Drapers’ Hall in St. Swithin’s Lane.
In Stow’s time the street was “possessed by rich drapers, sellers of
woollen cloth, etc.” After the Great Fire the street, Strype says, was
“well built and inhabited by good tradesmen.”
There are two churches in the street, which is now extended to the
south-east corner of St. Paul’s, sweeping away Distaff Lane, Basing
Lane, Little St. Thomas Apostle, and a bit of Budge Row. London Stone is
in this street. Beside London Stone Henry Fitz Ailwyn or Alwyne, first
mayor of London, had his residence. Here lived the Earl of Oxford, who,
about the year 1540, according to Stow, rode to his house with eighty
gentlemen in “livery of Reading tawny,” and chains of gold about their
necks and “one hundred tall yeomen in the like livery to follow him
without chains, but all having his cognizance of the blue boar
introduced on their left shoulders.” This retinue was discountenanced by
the Tudors and fell into disuse. Perhaps this earl was the last to
maintain so great a following.
London Stone was probably the pillar set up in the Roman fort to mark
the _milliarium_, the beginning of mile.
Some have supposed this stone to be the remains of a British druidical
circle or religious monument. Strype quotes Owen of Shrewsbury as giving
rise to this view by his assertion that “the Druids had pillars of stone
in veneration, which custom they borrowed from the Greeks, who, as
Pausanius writeth, adored rude and unpolished stones.” Malcolm suggests
that, if it is of British origin, “policy may have induced the Romans to
preserve it, as a relic highly valued by the Londoners, or as the
monument of some great event.” The general opinion, since Camden’s time,
seems to be that the stone is of Roman origin, but its first purpose
still remains uncertain. Stow notes that some considered it to have been
set “as a mark in the middle of the City within the wall; but, in truth,
it standeth far nearer to the river of Thames than to the wall of the
City.” He says, also, that others thought it was set for the payment of
debts, on appointed days, “till, of later times, payments were most
usually made at the font in Pont’s Church (St. Paul’s), and now most
commonly at the Royal Exchange.”
Sir Christopher Wren was of opinion that “by reason of its large
foundation, it was rather some more considerable monument in the Forum;
for, in the adjoining ground to the south, upon digging for cellars
after the Great Fire, were discovered some tessellated pavements, and
other extensive remains of Roman workmanship and buildings.” Originally,
no doubt, the erection was of considerable proportions, and a suggestion
is made in the _Parentalia_ that this milliarium was not in the form of
a pillar as at Rome, but probably resembled that at Constantinople,
which must have been a large building “for under its roof, according to
Cedrenus, and Seidas, stood statues of Constantine and Helena, Trajan,
an equestrian statue of Hadrian, a statue of Fortune, and many other
figures and decorations.”
[Illustration:
CANNON STREET, LOOKING WEST
]
Strype considers it likely that this stone was, in after days, the place
from which proclamations and public notices were made. This is confirmed
in _Pasquill and Marforius_ (1589): “Set up this bill at London Stone.
Let it be done solemnly with drom and trumpet.” Malcolm considers that
it was certainly regarded for some ages as “a rallying point for the
citizens in times of insurrection, as Guildhall would now be.” At any
rate, when in 1540 Jack Cade, “the Kentish rebel, who feigned himself to
be Lord Mortimer,” forced his way into the City from Southwark, he
marched to London Stone, where he found a great concourse of citizens,
the Lord Mayor being among them. Here, according to Holinshed’s account,
he struck his sword upon the stone, exclaiming, “Now is Mortimer Lord of
this City,” as if, Pennant remarks, “that had been a customary ceremony
of taking possession.” This scene occurs in the second part of _Henry
IV._, Act iv. Sc. 6, where Shakespeare makes Cade enter Cannon Street
with his followers, and strike the stone with his _staff_ instead of his
_sword_. To quote Fabian, “Rome, Carthage, and Jerusalem have been caste
downe” with many other “cytyes,” yet
Thys, so oldely founded,
Is so surely grounded,
That no man may confounde yt,
It is so sure a stone
That yt is upon sette,
For though some have it thrette
With Manasses grym and great,
Yt hurt hath it none:
Chryste is the very stone
That the Citie is set upon:
Which from all his foon
Hath ever preserved it.
By means of dyvyne servyce
That incontinuall wyse
Is kept in devout guyse
Within the mure of it.
However great the stone may have been in the beginning, the ravages and
fires of London could have left but little of the original remaining in
the sixteenth century.
After the Fire its foundations were disclosed by Wren: no doubt a
certain part of its upper end had been destroyed in the flames and
possibly damaged in clearing away debris, but at all events a small
portion of it, in shape somewhat like a cannon ball, was saved, says
Strype, and placed within “a new stone handsomely wrought, cut hollow
underneath, so as the old stone may be seen, the new stone being over it
to shelter and deface the venerable one.” Strype’s map shows that the
stone, in its new case, was at first re-erected on the old site on the
south side of the street. On December 13, 1742, it was complained of as
an obstruction, and was removed by order of the churchwardens of St.
Swithin, at a cost of 12s., to the opposite of the “kerbstone” on the
north side of the street. By kerbstone is here meant the stone
protecting the foot of the buildings and not (as now) a stone protecting
a pavement. At the beginning of 1798 the church was about to undergo a
complete repair, and the historic stone was actually doomed to be
removed as a nuisance. Fortunately Mr. Thomas Maiden, a printer of
Sherborne Lane, championed the cause, and prevailed on one of the parish
officers to preserve it and to have it replaced against the church wall.
The enclosing stone, “somewhat like a Roman altar,” had formerly a
curved bar of iron projecting across the elliptical aperture through
which the relic is seen; but the present grill was placed over the front
of the case in 1869, when the present inscription, in English and Latin,
was cut in the wall of the church over the stone at the instance of a
Committee consisting of members of the London and Middlesex
Archæological Society, and the parish officers. At the same time a
careful examination of the stone itself was made. It was found to
measure about a foot cube, and that instead of being basaltic, capable
of giving off sparks when struck by steel, it was in reality an oolite,
such as the Romans used extensively in their buildings, and sometimes
for coffins and sepulchral monuments, thus corroborating the idea of its
Roman origin.
In Cannon Street is the Cordwainers’ Hall.
THE CORDWAINERS COMPANY
The Allutarii or Cordwainers appear to have been voluntarily
associated together as a craft or mystery from very remote times,
probably as early as the Conquest, in close connection with the
municipality of London. Its object was to encourage and regulate the
trades connected with the leather industry, and included the
flaying, tanning, and currying of hides, and also the manufacture
and sale of shoes, boots, goloshes, and other articles of leather.
In the thirteenth and following centuries several branches separated
and formed distinct communities, such as the girdlers, tanners,
curriers, and leather sellers.
The first existing Ordinance of the Cordwainers (Allutarii) is found
in _Liber Horn_, folio 339, and was made in the 56th year of King
Henry III., Anno Domini 1272.
The Company was originally called the “Allutarii,” and became first
connected with the “Coblers” in the 14th century. Maitland explains
that the Cobler was not only the maker but the vendor of boots and
shoes. As people in cold countries always wanted shoes, the Guild or
Fraternity of shoemakers was certainly ancient. In 1375 the
“reputable” Cordwainers submitted their ordinances to the mayor. In
1378 we learn that “discreet” men of the trade had authority to
seize hides badly tanned. In 1395 the Cordwainers and the
Coblers—_i.e._ the workers in new and old shoes—adjusted their
differences, but that in 1409 the dissensions between them broke out
again and were once more composed. In 1387 three journeymen
cordwainers were haled before the mayor, charged with illegally
forming a Fraternity of themselves excluding the masters. Another
indication of the existence of an ancient Fraternity is that of the
brawling and fighting in 1304 of the cordwainers and the tailors.
The first charter of incorporation was granted by King Henry VI.
1439, whereby, in consideration of the payment of fifty marks, he
granted to the freemen of the Mysterie of Cordwainers (Allutariorum)
of the City of London that they should be one body or commonalty for
ever, that they should every year elect and make of themselves one
master and four wardens to rule and govern the said mysterie, and
all men and workers of the mysterie and commonalty, and all workmen
and workers whatsoever of tanned leather relating to the said
mysterie, to search and try black and red tanned leather and all new
shoes which should be sold or exposed for sale, as well within the
said City as without, within two miles thereof.
The above charter was exemplified and confirmed by the charter 4 and
5 Philip and Mary (June 17, 1557).
The charter or Letters Patent of Queen Elizabeth, dated August 24,
in the fourth year of Her Majesty’s reign (A.D. 1562), exemplifies
and confirms the exemplification of Philip and Mary.
The charter further grants to them the government of all persons
exercising the said trade within the City of London and three miles
round about the said City and suburbs, the privilege having
previously run only to two miles. Also the power of making bylaws
for such purpose is thereby given to the master, wardens,
assistants, and commonalty.
King James I., in the tenth year of his reign, granted another
charter to the Company.
A new charter was granted by King James II. in the first year of his
reign, but it would appear that this charter was afterwards annulled
by Act 2 William and Mary, cap. 9; but this same Act restored and
confirmed all previous charters.
The first Hall was burned in the Great Fire: it stood in Great
Distaff Street; since this street was swallowed up by Cannon Street,
the Hall, rebuilt after the Fire, and again in 1788, and greatly
altered since then, has now a frontage in Cannon Street.
The livery is now 100; the Corporate Income is £7700; the Trust
Income £1600.
Of the cordwainers, Stow speaks as follows:
“In this Distar Lane, on the north side thereof, is the
Cordwainers’, or Shoemakers’ hall, which company were made a
brotherhood or fraternity, in the 11th of Henry IV. Of these
cordwainers I read, that since the 5th of Richard II. (when he took
to wife Anne, daughter of Vesalaus, King of Boheme), by her example,
the English people had used piked shoes, tied to their knees with
silken laces, or chains of silver or gilt, wherefore in the 4th of
Edward IV. it was ordained and proclaimed, that beaks of shoone and
boots should not pass the length of two inches, upon pain of cursing
by the clergy, and by parliament to pay twenty shillings for every
pair. And every cordwainer that shod any man or woman on the Sunday
to pay thirty shillings.”
Suffolk House, in =Suffolk Lane=, stands upon the site of the old
Merchant Taylors’ School, and hence also upon the site of the =Manor of
the Rose=.
This was a famous mansion once called Poultney’s Inn, from Sir John
Poultney, who dwelt here after his removal from Cold Harbour. This was
probably in 1348, for in that year (the year after he founded his
college of Corpus Christi, by the church of St. Lawrence Poultney (or
Pountney) on Lawrence Poultney Hill) he gave the Cold Harbour to the
Earl of Hereford and Essex, for “one Rose at Midsummer, to him and his
heirs for all services, if the same were demanded” (Stow). It seems most
probable that this light “service” is accountable for the name of the
Manor of the Rose. Subsequently the Manor belonged to John Holland, Duke
of Exeter, then to William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, attainted and
beheaded 1450. His son John, made Duke of Suffolk in 1463, does not
appear to have possessed it, but his son John, Earl of Lincoln, owned it
at the time of his attainder in 1487. It remained with the Crown until
1495, when it was restored to Edmund de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, on
whose forfeiture of it by treason it was granted in 1506 to Edward
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who kept possession of it until he was
attainted and beheaded in 1521. Shakespeare (_Henry VIII._, Act i. Sc.
2) alludes to “The Rose within the parish of St. Lawrence Poultney,” in
connection with the Duke of Buckingham. After remaining with the Crown
for about four years it was granted in 1526 to Henry Courtenay, Earl of
Devon, who had recently been created Marquis of Exeter. He was beheaded
in 1539, when the property again fell to the Crown. In 1540 it was
granted to Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, Earl of Sussex, whose son
and grandson held it in turn. In 1560-61 it was sold and shortly after
divided into moieties, of which one part was afterwards sold for the use
of the Merchant Taylors’ School. All that remained intact of the mansion
perished in the Fire of 1666, except a few portions of which the chief
were a wall in Ducksfoot Lane, and a crypt extending from Suffolk Lane
to Lawrence Poultney Hill. At the rebuilding of the City, No. 3 Lawrence
Poultney Hill stood over this crypt, which remained until that house was
pulled down in 1894, when, despite the protests of the antiquarians, the
crypt was ruthlessly destroyed.
[Illustration:
OLD MERCHANT TAYLORS’ SCHOOL, SUFFOLK LANE, CANNON STREET
]
After the Fire the school was rebuilt on the old site, in 1675, the
head-master’s house being erected adjoining it.
The school premises were enlarged at various times, especially in 1829.
In 1875 they became too small for the requirements of the school, and
the old Charterhouse School having been removed to Godalming, the
Charterhouse site was bought by the Merchant Taylors Company for
£90,000, and Merchant Taylors’ School was moved to its present quarters.
The old premises were taken down, and Suffolk House was erected in part
upon their site in 1882.
The pious Robert Nelson, author of the _Fasts and Festivals_, was born
in Suffolk Lane, June 22, 1656. His father, John Nelson, was a wealthy
trader to the Levant.
Strype calls =Ducksfoot Lane= Duxford. The name is, perhaps, a
corruption of Duke’s Footmen’s Lane, tradition asserting that this lane
contained the servants’ entrance to the Duke of Suffolk’s house, the
Manor of the Rose. In that case “footmen” is equivalent to retainers, or
men-at-arms, whose quarters would probably be at the back of the
mansion. Wilson (_History of St. Lawrence Poultney_) thinks it was once
called Duke’s-foot-lane, meaning a narrow way to the mansion.
The only old house in the Lane is No. 2, which possesses a very
interesting interior. The building is now used for offices, but was
originally a merchant’s residence. The old dining-room is a fine
chamber, having panelled walls profusely decorated with florid designs
in raised composition. The panel over the chimney-piece is particularly
good. The entablature of the handsome mantel is supported by fluted
Ionic pilasters, the frieze filled with flowers and fruit, and the
keystone embellished with a curious rural scene. There are several other
quaint mantels in the house, one being of coloured marbles exquisitely
painted with figures and scenes. The great staircase with its
wainscotted walls and fine balusters is a good piece of work. The
cellars are very extensive, and there are traces of a subterranean
passage which formerly led to the Thames. The staircase and the old
dining-room were copied by Mr. John Hare, and staged at the Garrick
Theatre for Mr. Pinero’s play _The Profligate_, first performed in 1889.
=Laurence Pountney Hill.=—Stow calls this hill St. Laurence Hill. The
part from Cannon Street to Suffolk Lane was formerly Green Lettice Lane,
but was renamed under the present title only, on the widening of Cannon
Street, 1853-54. The two houses at the corner of Suffolk Lane are
splendid specimens of early eighteenth-century architecture. Both are
finished with a handsome cornice. The doorways of both are side by side
and have lintels and architraves of such rich carving as to be
unsurpassed in the City by any doorways of similar size and style. The
lintels are both concave: that on the southern house contains garlands
of flowers, a cherub’s head, and the date 1703, that on the northern
consists of a large scallop shell having in it two naked children. The
staircase in the northern house, with its fine twisted balusters, is one
of the best original staircases left in the City. The southern house has
been modernised for business premises and spoiled. Next below is a plot
recently bared, where was the vault alluded to under Suffolk Lane.
At the north-east corner of Ducksfoot Lane is an old house, a good
specimen of the domestic architecture after the Fire. Next to it
eastwards is the southern half of St. Lawrence Pountney Churchyard now
disused. It contains three trees and several tombs. In summer a
large-leafed plant covers almost the whole area. Across the enclosure is
another fine old house, now used for offices, containing handsome rooms
and a fine balustered well-staircase.
Dr. William Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood, came
to live with his brother Eliab opposite St. Lawrence Pountney Church,
after the surrender of Oxford. Both Eliab and another brother Daniel
were rich and distinguished merchants on the hill. Richard Glover, the
author of _Leonidas_, was also an eminent merchant on this hill.
The character of Laurence Pountney Lane on both sides (except the modern
warehouses on the east side at the corner of Upper Thames Street) is
that of the rebuilding after the Fire. Perhaps as a whole this lane
preserves this character better than any other thoroughfare in the ward.
At the Upper Thames Street end, on the west side, is a house which,
though rebuilt on the Upper Thames Street front, retains the old side
wall. This is still pierced with narrow windows filled with little
squares of glass in lead-work. On the same side of the lane are several
carved lintels, and well-panelled deeply recessed doorways. Near the
lower end is an old house beneath which is an archway leading to a
courtyard, cellars, and offices. The house is partly tenanted by Messrs.
Cooper, Box & Co., who first made beaver hats here in 1830 or
thereabouts. The back part at the end of the yard, and the front windows
were added about 1855. The cellars at the rear of the yard used to
contain the vats in which the beaver hats were dyed. The lease of the
house dating from shortly after the Fire is still in existence. In the
yard is an arched doorway of stone, and solid arches of the same
material support the walls of the house in the basement cellars. The
stone no doubt came out of the ruins of buildings destroyed in the Fire;
possibly some of it from the Manor of the Rose.
At the beginning of 1543 Master Arundel kept a house of entertainment in
this lane, much resorted to by the gay young men of that time. Henry,
Earl of Surrey, the poet, was summoned before the Privy Council to
answer certain charges, when Mistress Arundel, being examined, said that
the Earl of Surrey and other young noblemen frequented her house. They
ate meat in Lent and committed other improprieties. At Candlemas they
went out at 9 o’clock at night, with stone bows, and did not return till
past midnight; and next day there was a great clamour of breaking of
windows, both of houses and churches, and shouting at men in the street,
and the voice was that those hurts were done by my lord and his company.
Again at night, rowing on the Thames, they used these stone bows to
shoot, as she was told, “at the queens on the Bankside” (MS. quoted by
Froude, vol. iv. p. 253).
=St. Lawrence Poultney= or =Pountney= was situated on the west side
of Laurence Pountney Lane, between Cannon Street and Thames Street
in the Ward of Candlewick Street. Thomas Cole added to it a chapel
of Jesus, for a master and a chaplain, and this together with the
parish church was made into a college by John Poultney and confirmed
by Edward III. At the suppression of the religious houses it was
valued at £97 : 17 : 11 and surrendered in the reign of Edward VI.
The church was burnt down by the Great Fire and its parish annexed
to that of St. Mary Abchurch. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1318.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The chaplains of
this college; Henry VIII., who seized it and so continued in the
Crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Edward Dorening and Roger
Rant as an appendage of the manor of East Greenwich.
Houseling people in 1548 were 270.
No benefactors are recorded by Stow. There are few monuments
recorded, and those of little note: John Oliffe, alderman, was
buried in the church in 1577; also Robert and Henry Radcliffe, Earls
of Sussex.
William Latymer was master of this college; he was prosecuted for
complaining with John Hooper, of Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London.
In Martin’s Lane a high tower resembling the steeple of a church
projects at the end of a block of modern buildings. The old clock, which
is attached and hangs out over the street, makes the resemblance to a
church more noticeable. The building was erected on the site of the old
church of St. Martin Orgar. The churchyard below is comparatively large
and includes a row of trees. It is considerably above the level of the
street. At the east end are some old seventeenth or eighteenth century
houses with rusticated woodwork beneath their gables. On the west side
of the lane No. 7 is an old eighteenth-century house, a fine specimen,
with brick courses across its frontage.
=St. Martin Orgar= was situated in St. Martin’s Lane, near
Candlewick Street. It was burnt down in the Great Fire and not
rebuilt, its parish being annexed to St. Clement’s, Eastcheap. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1348.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Orgarus, who gave
it about 1181 to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s, who held it up
to 1666, when the church was burnt down.
Houseling people in 1548 were 280.
Chantries were founded here by: William Cromer, whose endowment
fetched £30 : 15 : 4 in 1548, when John Carre was priest; John
Weston, who gave to the Augmentation of Our Lady’s Mass to be “songe
by note” £12 : 18 : 8 a year in 1548; William Oreswicke, whose
endowment for two chaplains fetched £13 : 5 : 0 in 1548.
The church contained monuments to: William Crowmer, mayor, who built
a chapel on the south side of the church, and who was buried there
in 1433; Sir Humphrey Browne, Lord Chief Justice (d. 1562); Sir
Allen Cotton, lord mayor (d. 1628). There was also a monument to
Queen Elizabeth.
According to Stow the parish enjoyed the benefits of many
benefactors. Among others, Benedict Barnham was donor of £10 yearly;
Thomas Nicolson of £5; Sir Humphrey Walwyn of £5; and James Hall of
three tenements to the value of £18 : 10 : 0.
Brien Walton (d. 1661), Bishop of Chester, was rector here.
=Crooked Lane= has been partly destroyed to make way for the approach to
London Bridge, which has also swallowed up St. Michael’s Lane and Great
Eastcheap. In Crooked Lane stood a house before the Fire called “the
Leaden Porch,” which belonged to one Sir John Sherston in the fifteenth
century. The lane also contained St. Michael’s Church, the burial-place
of William Walworth.
=St. Michael, Crooked Lane=, was situated on the east side of
Miles’s Lane, Great Eastcheap, and was one of the thirteen
“Peculiars” in the City, subject to the Archbishop of Canterbury. It
was repaired and redecorated in 1610, but burnt down by the Great
Fire and rebuilt from Wren’s designs in 1687; the steeple was not
built till 1698. In 1831 the building was pulled down, its parish
being united with those of St. Magnus and St. Margaret. The earliest
date of an incumbent is 1286.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, before 1286; the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who presented in 1408, in whose successors it continued
up to 1848, when the church was annexed to St. Magnus the Martyr.
Houseling people in 1548 were 354.
The church built by Wren, which was without aisles, measured 78 feet
in length and 46 feet in breadth. The tower was surmounted by a
circular lantern in three stages, supporting a cupola with a lofty
vane and cross, and reached a height of about 100 feet.
Chantries were founded here: By William Walworth (mayor 1380) of
five chaplains; he endowed it with lands, etc., which fetched £20 :
13 : 4 in 1548, when the priests were William Berte, Thomas Harper,
William Hale, William Clayton, and John Nesehame; by John Rothinge,
who left £6 yearly, which is appropriated to finding a Walworth
chaplain; by Walter Morden, who endowed it with the “bores hedde” in
Eastcheap, valued at £4 a year; by William de Burgo, who had the
King’s licence June 21, 1318, whose endowment fetched £6 : 13 : 4 in
1548; by Pentecost Russel and Gerard de Staundon at the altar of St.
Thomas Martyr and St. Edmund; the King granted his licence July 14,
1321, for himself, his father and mother, and G. de Staundon, late
parson of Stevenage, Herts; by Henry Grubbe, for which the King
granted his licence April 20, 1371; by Roger Steere, who endowed it
with tenements valued at £8 : 8 : 0 yearly, which is spent towards
finding the Walworth chaplains; by William Jordan, who left £5 :
16 : 8 to find a priest, but this was also appropriated to the
Walworth chaplains; by Robert Brocket, who endowed it with £7 a
year; by John Longe, who left 10s. per annum; March 10, 1380-81—the
King granted his licence to William Walworth, citizen and merchant
of London, to unite diverse chantries in this church, founded by
Pentecost Russell; Matilda and Roger Steere; John Harewe; John
Abell; W. Burgh; Henry Grubbe; William Jordan; Walter Mordon; and
Thomas atte Leye, which by changes of time are insufficient to
maintain these chantries, and he was further empowered to found a
college of one master and nine chaplains there.
The church formerly contained monuments to: John Lovekin,
fishmonger, four times Lord Mayor, through whom the church, 1348,
1358, 1365, and 1366, was rebuilt; also Sir William Walworth, the
mayor who overthrew Wat Tyler—he enlarged the church with a new
choir and side-chapels and founded a college in connection with it;
Sir John Brug, mayor 1520, donor of £50.
No legacies or charitable gifts are recorded by Stow.
John Poynet (d. 1556), Bishop of Rochester and of Winchester, was
rector here; also Adam Molens or Molyneux (d. 1450), Bishop of
Chichester, who was slain at Portsmouth by the Marines, incited by
Richard, Duke of York; Giovanni Giglii (d. 1498), Bishop of
Worcester.
At the end of =Swan Lane= is Old Swan Pier, beneath which are the famous
Old Swan Stairs; these now consist of stone steps followed by a flight
of wooden ones, descending straight into the water. Stow calls them “a
common stair on the Thames.” In 1441, when the Duchess of Gloucester did
penance at Christchurch-by-Aldgate, she landed here, and walked the rest
of the way. When persons did not care to risk “shooting London Bridge,”
it was customary for them to land at these stairs, walk to the other
side of the bridge, and then take to the water again. Pepys in his
_Diary_ (1661) mentions taking Mr. Salisbury to Whitehall: “But he could
not by any means be moved to go through the bridge, and we were fain to
go round by the Old Swan Pier”; and Boswell says that he and Johnson
“landed at the Old Swan and walked to Billingsgate,” where they took
oars for Greenwich.
The race for Doggett’s Coat and Badge, open to watermen, is rowed
between the Old Swan and the White Swan at Chelsea. Near these stairs
was John Hardcastle’s counting-house, where were first brought forth the
Hibernian Society, the London Missionary Society, the British and
Foreign Bible Society, and the Religious Tract Society.
At the end of Swan Lane (west side) is the entrance to the subway called
Waterside. It passes beneath Tennants’, Commercial, and Dyers’ Hall
wharves, in front of Red Bull Wharf (the only place where it emerges
into the open), and ultimately runs under the City of London Brewery
into All Hallows Lane. In Strype’s 1754 map the whole of the riverside
from Swan to All Hallows Lane is shown as a broad path (40 feet wide)
open to the water, and called New Key, upon which debouch all the lanes
leading from Thames Street to the shore. It was part of a design of Wren
for improving the river-bank after the Great Fire. In a map of 1819 the
“key,” though mostly open, is shown to be a subway under a portion of
the brewery. It is marked as a “Public Way.” It has been gradually
covered over by the extension of the brewery and the wharves, so that
now what was once a riverside walk has become a subway, from which the
water is nowhere visible, unless one of the wharf doors happens to be
open.
The Fishmongers’ Hall rises squarely beside London Bridge, and not far
off is the Monument, with an absurd _chevaux de frise_ of spikes rising
from its golden ball, and representing flames, very much as they are
represented in the contemporary illustrations of the Fire. St. Magnus’s
white steeple makes a good foreground.
THE FISHMONGERS COMPANY
The origin of the Fishmongers Company is lost in remote antiquity;
it is unquestionable that it existed prior to the reign of Henry
II., and originated in an association or brotherhood.
The Fishmongers Company lost the greater part of its earlier
records, books, and muniments in the Great Fire of London; the
earliest existing record in the possession of the Company being a
court book dating from 1592.
The privileges of the Company were confirmed by royal charters in
the reign of Edward I., 1272, Edward II., 1307, and Edward III.,
1327.
The first extant charter is in Norman French, dated July 10, 1364,
37 Edward III.
It recites that from ancient times, whereof memory runs not, it was
a custom that no fish should be sold in the City of London but by
fishmongers, except stockfish, which belongs to the mistery of
stockfishmongers (subsequently incorporated with the fishmongers),
and further recites that the mistery of fishmongers had grants from
the King’s progenitors in ancient times, that the fishmongers should
choose yearly certain persons of the mistery to well and lawfully
rule the same.
The foregoing charter was confirmed by a proclamation of the
following year, July 12, 1365, 38 Edward III., which granted further
power and privileges to the mistery of fishmongers of the City of
London.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
FISHMONGERS’ HALL, PRESENT DAY
]
By a further mandate of King Edward III., dated July 24 in the same
year, the King granted to the fishmongers of the said city, and of
the liberty of the halmote of the same mistery, that no person,
stranger or inhabitant, should in any manner occupy the mistery of
fishmongers in the said city, or intermeddle therewith, unless he
were of the same mistery; and that the fishmongers of the same
liberty should be able in every year to elect four persons (to be
sworn) to oversee the buying and selling of fish in the said city,
and well and faithfully to rule the said mistery “for the common
commodity of our people.”
In the twenty-second year of King Richard II., May 9, 1399, another
charter was granted.
By an Inspeximus of 6 Henry VI., July 10, 1427, the charter of King
Richard II. was confirmed.
By charter of 23 Henry VII., dated July 3, 1508, the Letters Patent
of 11 Henry VI., 1433, are set forth and ratified and confirmed.
By a charter of 24 King Henry VII., dated September 20, 1508, the
stockfishmongers of the City of London were incorporated by the name
of “The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mistery of Stockfishmongers of
the City of London,” with perpetual succession and a common seal.
In the twenty-seventh year of King Henry VIII., 1537, a charter was
granted by which the two corporations of the Fishmongers Company and
Stockfishmongers Company were incorporated as one company, and in
the same year a deed was executed between the two companies
regulating the terms of such union.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
LONDON BRIDGE
]
The rest of the brief history furnished by the Company is a recital
of the later charters, which do not seem of very great importance.
The number of liverymen in 1898 was 344; the Corporate Income was
£46,053; the Trust Income was £7235.
Freemen, the widows of freemen, and freewomen, being in poor
circumstances, are eligible for pecuniary relief by way of grant or
pension, or for election to the Company’s almshouses. The children
of freemen are eligible for weekly pensions or pecuniary relief.
Loans are also made by the Company in special cases in aid of
freemen in necessitous circumstances.
The Company has established a number of educational exhibitions for
the children of deserving freemen, and subscribe liberally to the
City of London Institute.
[Illustration:
FISHMONGERS’ HALL IN 1811
]
The children of freemen are also eligible for the nominations to
Christ’s Hospital in the gift of the Company.
Liverymen have the usual privileges, and receive invitations in turn
to dine at livery dinners in the Company’s hall.
The Company’s first hall was the house of Lord Fanhope given to the
Fishmongers by him in the reign of Henry VIII. It was rebuilt after
the Fire by Jarman. It stood on the north foot of the present
bridge. The present hall was erected when New London Bridge
swallowed up its predecessor.
ST. MAGNUS, LONDON BRIDGE
St. Magnus stands on the south side of Thames Street at the bottom
of Fish Street Hill; it was called the “Martyr” from its dedicatory
saint, who suffered martyrdom in Cæsarea in the time of Aurelian the
Emperor. It was burnt down by the Great Fire, and rebuilt by Wren,
who completed it in 1676, with the exception of the steeple, which
was not added till 1705. The parish of St. Margaret, New Fish
Street, was annexed to this after the Fire. In 1831 that of St.
Michael, Crooked Lane, was also annexed. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1247.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by G. Shepherd._
ST. MAGNUS
]
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Bermondsey before 1252, and the Abbot and Convent of
Westminster alternately, since 1252; Henry VIII. seized it, and
granted it to the Bishop of Westminster, January 20, 1540-41; Bishop
of London by grant of Edward VI. in 1550, confirmed by Queen Mary,
March 3, 1553-54, in whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 535.
The building is one of the most beautiful of all the City churches;
it measures 90 feet in length, 59 feet in breadth, and 41 feet in
height. It contains a nave and side-aisles separated by slender
Ionic columns standing a considerable distance from each other. The
steeple rising near London Bridge is seen to great advantage, and is
considered one of the best of Wren’s works. It consists of a tower
with a cornice, parapet, and vases, surmounted by an octagonal
lantern with a cupola, which, in its turn, is surmounted by a
slender lantern and spire, with a finial and vane. The total height
is 185 feet.
Chantries were founded here by: Andrew Hunt, whose endowment fetched
£6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Gilbert Smythe was chaplain; Thomas
Makinge, whose endowment yielded £16 in 1548, when Thomas Parker was
chaplain; Sir John Deepdene, Knt., for himself and Elizabeth his
wife, at the Altar of Blessed Virgin Mary, and also at the same
altar by Robert Ramsey, for himself and Jane his wife, for which the
King granted his licence, February 5, 1404-1405—the endowments
fetched £16 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Joseph Stepneth was chaplain;
Ralph de Gray, whose endowment fetched £4 in 1548; Hugh Pourt, who
was sheriff of London 1303, for himself and Margaret his wife, at
the Altar of Blessed Virgin Mary, to which Hugo de Waltham was
admitted chaplain, October 10, 1322—this chantry was augmented by
Roger Clovill, and the King granted his licence in mortmain, June
10, 1370; John Bever, for the support of two priests, whose
endowment fetched £20 : 6 : 8 in 1548, but no priests have been
found since Henry IV.’s time—the King granted his licence, May 26,
1448, to constitute the Guild of S. Maxentius and S. Thomas; Andrew
Hunt and several others founded and endowed the Brotherhood of Salve
Regina, whose gifts fetched £49 : 0 : 4 in 1548, when John Swanne
and William Bunting were the chaplains.
The old church was the place of sepulture of several persons of note
in their day, amongst whom may be mentioned Henry Yeuele,
master-mason to Edward III., Richard II., and Henry IV.; Sir W.
Gerrard, mayor in 1555; and Sir John Gerrard, mayor in 1601; and
Thomas Collet, for twenty years deputy of this ward, who died in
1703. On the demolition of St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, the
remains of Miles Coverdale were brought here, as he had been rector
of the church 1563-66. His monument is on the east wall, south of
the communion table.
Sixty boys and forty girls were maintained in the Candlewick and
Bridge Wards.
The parish did not possess many large charitable gifts: Samuel Petty
was donor of £600, of which only £250 was received, owing to the
bonds not being good; Susanna Chambers, £17; Thomas Arnold, £2 :
12s.; John Jennings, £13.
Besides Miles Coverdale, other rectors of note were: Richard de
Medford or Mitford, Bishop of Chichester in 1389; Maurice Griffith
(d. 1558), Bishop of Rochester.
=Great Eastcheap=, now destroyed, was in Stow’s time a market-place for
butchers: it had also cooks mixed among the butchers and such others as
sold victuals ready dressed of all sorts. “For of old time when friends
did meet and were disposed to be merry, they went not to dine and sup at
taverns but to the cooks, where they called for meat what they liked
which they found ready dressed and at a reasonable rate.” In Great
Eastcheap was the immortal tavern of the Boar’s Head, already mentioned
p. 106.
There was apparently another Boar’s Head in this ward. Maitland mentions
it:
“In this Ward there was a house called The Boar’s Head, inhabited by
William Sanderson, which came to King Edward VI. by the Statute about
Chantries; which, with the shops, cellars, solars, and other Commodities
and easements, he sold in the second of his reign, together with other
lands and tenements, to John Sicklemore and Walter Williams for two
thousand six hundred and sixty-eight pounds, and upwards” (Maitland,
vol. ii. p. 793).
=Fish Street Hill=, or New Fish Street, formerly Bridge Street, led to
Old London Bridge past St. Magnus’s Church. It contained an ancient
stone house which had once been occupied by the Black Prince, and was
afterwards converted into an inn called the Black Bell. Very frequent
mention is made of Bridge Street. Here lived Andrew Horne, fishmonger,
City Chamberlain, author of the _Liber Horne_. A note which concerns him
may be found in Riley’s _Memorials_, A.D. 1315. Among the signs of the
street were the “King’s Head”; the “Harrow”; the “Swan and Bridge”; the
“Star”; the “Mitre”; the “Golden Cup”; the “Salmon”; the “Black Raven”;
the “Crown”; the “Maiden Head”; the “White Lion”; the “Swan,” etc.
Foundations of Roman buildings have been found here. Riley has notices
of the street between 1311 and 1340. Notices are found in the _Calendar
of Wills_ from 1273. In the Guildhall MSS. the earliest mention of the
street is 1189. In this street stood the Church of St. Margaret, not
rebuilt after the Fire. This church was on the west above Crooked Lane.
=St. Margaret, New Fish Street=, sometimes called St. Margaret,
Bridge Street, stood on the east side of Fish Street Hill, where the
Monument now stands; it was destroyed by the Great Fire, and its
parish united to that of St. Magnus the Martyr. The earliest date of
an incumbent is 1283.
The patronage of the church, before 1283, was in the hands of: The
Abbot and Convent of Westminster, 1283-84; Henry VIII., who granted
it to the Bishop of Westminster, January 20, 1540-41; the Bishop of
London, by grant of Edward VI. in 1550, confirmed by Queen Mary,
March 3, 1553-54, in whose successors it continued up to 1666, when
the parish was annexed to St. Magnus.
Houseling people in 1548 were 200.
Chantries were founded here by: Roger de Bury, for which the King
granted his licence in 1318; John Coggeshall, at the Altar of St.
Peter—his endowment fetched £13 : 10s. in 1548, when Richard Bec was
chaplain; Thomas Dursley, whose endowment yielded £4 in 1548; John
Rous, whose endowment fetched £5 in 1548; Robert Whaplode, whose
endowment yielded 40s. in 1548.
Only one monument of note is recorded by Stow, that of John
Coggeshall, 1384, and the reason of his eminence is not stated.
Some of the chantries belonging to this parish were: £2 : 10s., the
gift of John Wybert; £2, the gift of Katherine Parry; £1 : 10s., the
gift of Mr. Mosyer.
Candlewick and Bridge Wards maintained sixty boys and forty girls.
John Seton (d. 1568), Prebendary of York, author of _Dialectica_;
William Cotton (d. 1621), Bishop of Exeter; Samuel Hasnet,
Archbishop of York 1629, are among the notable rectors.
On the east side, higher up, stood the Church and burial-ground of St.
Leonard’s Milk Church, also destroyed by the Fire and not rebuilt (see
p. 266). The most important building in Fish Street is, of course, the
Monument.
For =The Monument= we quote the account taken by Maitland from the life
of Sir Christopher Wren:
“In the year 1671, the Surveyor began the building of the great fluted
column of Portland Stone, and of the Dorick Order (commonly called the
Monument of London, in memory of the burning and rebuilding of the
City), and finished it in 1677. The Artificers were obliged to wait
sometimes for Stones of proper scantlings; which occasioned the work to
be longer in execution than otherwise it would have been. The altitude
from the pavement is two hundred and two feet, the diameter of the shaft
or body of the column is fifteen feet, the ground bounded by the Plinth
or lowest part of the pedestal is twenty-eight feet square, and the
pedestal in height is forty feet. Within is a large staircase of black
marble, containing three hundred and forty-five steps, ten inches and an
half broad, and six inches rising. Over the Capital is an Iron Balcony,
encompassing a Cippus or Meta, thirty-two feet high, supporting a
blazing urn of brass gilt. Prior to this, the Surveyor (as it appears by
an original drawing) had made a design of a pillar of somewhat less
proportion, viz.: fourteen feet in diameter, and after a peculiar
device: For, as the Romans expressed by Relievo, on the pedestals, and
round the shafts of their Columns, the history of such actions and
incidents as were intended to be thereby commemorated; so this Monument
of the conflagration and resurrection of the City of London was
represented by a pillar in flames; the flames, blazing from the
loopholes of the shaft (which were to give light to the stairs within),
were figured in brasswork gilt, and on the top was a Phoenix rising from
her ashes, of brass gilt likewise.” The total expense was about £14,500.
[Illustration:
THE MONUMENT IN 1752
From a drawing by Signor Canalsti.
]
The height (202 feet) is supposed to be equal to its distance eastward
from the house in Pudding Lane in which the Fire broke out. Inside are
345 steps, by which any one after paying 3d. may ascend to the caged-in
platform near the top. The pedestal has Latin inscriptions on the north,
south, and east panels. In 1681 a further inscription, running round the
base of the pedestal, was added as follows:
This pillar was set up in perpetual remembrance of that most
dreadful burning of this Protestant City begun and carried on by y^e
treachery and malice of y^e Popish factio, in y^e beginning of
Septem in y^e year of our Lord 1666 in order to y^e carrying on
their horrid plott for extirpating the Protestant religion and old
English liberty, and the introducing Popery and slavery.
This was obliterated in the reign of James II., but recut in that of his
successor, causing Pope’s comment:
Where London’s column, pointing to the skies,
Like a tall bully rears its head and lies.
The obnoxious inscription was not erased until 1831.
On the west panel of the pedestal is a bas-relief representing Charles
II. in Roman dress attended by Liberty, Genius, and Science.
In the background the City is being rebuilt, and at the King’s feet Envy
tries to rekindle the flames.
ST. LEONARD, EASTCHEAP
This church stood at the corner of Eastcheap on Fish Street Hill; it
was sometimes called St. Leonard Milk Church, from one Am. Milker,
who built it. It suffered considerably from a fire in 1618, but was
subsequently well repaired. The building was destroyed by the Great
Fire, and its parish annexed to that of St. Benet, Gracechurch
Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1348.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, 1353; Henry VIII., who seized
it in 1540, and soon after gave it to the Dean and Chapter of
Canterbury.
Houseling people in 1548 were 260.
Chantries were founded here by: Reginald de Canterbury, citizen, at
the Altar of St. Thomas the Archbishop in 1329, when John de
Lacelbrigge was admitted chaplain; William Ivorye, whose endowment
yielded £8 : 6 : 8 in 1548; John Bromesburye and John Wasselbye,
whose endowments fetched £10 in 1548; Margery Bedyn, whose endowment
yielded £10 : 8s. in 1548; Hugo Browne, whose endowment fetched
£18 : 11s. in 1548; John Doggett, whose endowment yielded £10 in
1548; Robert Boydon.
A considerable number of monuments were recorded by Stow to have
been well preserved. That of the greatest antiquity was one in
memory of John Johnson, who died 1280. Several were erected to
various members of the Doggett family, of whom Walter Doggett was
sheriff in 1380, John Doggett, a citizen of eminence in his day,
buried 1456 (_circa_); Robert Fitzhugh (d. 1436), Bishop of London,
was rector here.
=Pudding Lane= was formerly Rother Lane, or Red Rose Lane. It was
called, according to Stow, “Pudding Lane, because the butchers of
Eastcheap have their scalding houses for hogs there, and their puddings
with other filth of beasts are voided down that way to their dung boats
on the Thames. This lane stretcheth from Thames Street to Little East
Cheap, chiefly inhabited by basket makers, turners and butchers, and is
all of Billingsgate Ward” (Cunningham). But the lane has its chief claim
to remembrance in the fact that here originated the Great Fire.
In Stow’s time it was occupied by basket-makers, turners, and butchers.
On the north-east of the lane stood Butchers’ Hall, destroyed by the
Fire, and rebuilt; burned again in 1829; rebuilt in 1831; removed to
Bartholomew Close in 1884.
ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH
St. George’s Church was burnt down in the Great Fire, rebuilt by
Wren in 1674, and became the parish church for St. Botolph’s,
Billingsgate, which had been also destroyed but not re-erected. In
1895 the building was closed on account of its dilapidated state.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1321. [Since pulled down.]
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Prior and
Convent of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, in 1321; then the Crown, since
1541 up to 1666, when it was annexed to St. Botolph, Billingsgate,
and with it to St. Mary-at-Hill.
Houseling people in 1548 were 123.
The present church measures 54 feet in length, 36 feet in breadth,
and 36 feet in height. It has two side-aisles, each separated from
the nave by two composite columns, placed far apart. The tower,
which rises at the north-west, consists of three stories, concluded
by a cornice and parapet, the angles of which are adorned with
vases. The total height is about 84 feet.
Stow records a chantry founded by Roger Delakere.
The monuments of the original church were well preserved, Stow says.
Those commemorated, however, were of comparatively little eminence;
amongst them were William Combes, donor of £40; James Mountford,
another benefactor to the church, who died 1544. Among the more
recent ones was one in memory of George Clint, parish clerk for
thirty years, who died in 1605.
=Monument Street= was only opened about ten years ago, and cost half a
million of money; this was spent partly in compensation to the
dispossessed leaseholders. It was designed to afford a wide and direct
route to the City for the fish brought from Billingsgate. A row of new
red brick buildings lines part of the way on the right; at the corner of
St. Mary-at-Hill is a post-office. Beyond these buildings is the ancient
graveyard of St. Botolph, Billingsgate, which church was burnt in the
Great Fire and not rebuilt. The graveyard is now used as a public
recreation ground, and is fronted by a neat wall with a parapet, and on
either side of the gate is a high brick pier with a lamp on the summit.
On the south side of Monument Street fragments of waste ground remain
still unbuilt on, and form receptacles for decayed fish and garbage.
For the Coal Exchange see p. 270.
THE WATERMEN
In the sixth year of the reign of Henry VIII. an Act was passed
regulating the traffic of watermen, ferrymen, and bargemen on the
Thames, and settling the fares to be charged by them. In 1555 a
court was held by the “Company,” and in 1648 a proclamation
compelled certain “dirtboats and bumboats” to submit to the
regulations of “the Company.” The Lightermens Company was united to
the Watermens in 1667. But the first charter of incorporation was
not granted until 7 and 8 George IV., 1827; and this was amended by
two acts of Victoria in 1859 and 1864.
After the Great Fire the Watermen’s Hall was erected on the
south-west corner of the Cold Harbour quay, where Strype’s map shows
it. It was a handsome brick building, and was in use by the Company
until 1780, when, their premises being required for an extension of
the brewery, they vacated them, afterwards removing to their present
hall in St. Mary-at-Hill. The old hall faced the Thames upon New
Key, and in front to the river there was a large flight of stone
stairs, open at all times to watermen and the public. They had been
in uninterrupted use for a long period since the Great Fire, and had
neither gate nor other obstruction. They became at length much
dilapidated, and were “altogether removed and the wharf closed up”
says Wilkinson, a few years prior to 1825. The hall, wharf, and
stairs are shown in an engraving published by S. and N. Buck in
1749.
Love Lane was formerly Rope Lane, afterwards Lucas Lane, and then
corruptly Love Lane.
It is a crooked winding thoroughfare paved by flags, and the houses are
mainly inhabited by fish salesmen who work at Billingsgate. Beyond the
church are large warehouses, and business houses in the usual style.
The back of a famous old house now used as a ward school is in Love
Lane, but its front faces on to a cobble-stone yard connected with
Botolph Lane by a covered entry. Within the house everything points to
its having been the residence of some one of wealth and taste. The hall
is paved with alternate slabs of black and white marble. The staircase
is wide and beautifully proportioned and decorated. The date 1670 is on
the ceiling; on the first floor four doors with rich wood carving on the
pediments and lintels attract attention. Ceilings and fireplaces alike
bespeak careful work. One of the latter is inlaid in different coloured
marbles with a white marble plaque of a sleeping child. But downstairs,
in a small room on the ground floor, is the chief feature of interest.
The walls and panels are literally covered with oil-paintings with the
artist’s name and the date “R. Robinson, 1696.” The subject seems to be
life in different parts of the globe. The ceiling is of oak heavily
carved, though, alas! whitewashed.
The house is now a ward school, and though in repair shows inevitable
signs of wear and tear. The hall pavement is stained and broken, the
carved woodwork thickly covered with paint and varnish, yet in spite of
all this is a place well worth seeing, probably the oldest
dwelling-house in the City.
=St. Andrew Hubbard=, sometimes called St. Andrew, Eastcheap,
formerly stood in Love Lane. It was burnt down in the Great Fire and
not rebuilt. The parish was then annexed to St. Mary-at-Hill. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1366.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Earl of
Pembroke in 1323; John, Lord Talbot, cousin and heir of the above,
1427; Edward IV., who restored it, 1463, to the Earl of Shrewsbury,
who presented it in 1470; the Earl of Northumberland up to 1666,
when it was annexed to St. Mary-at-Hill, after which the alternate
patronage was shared with the Duke of Somerset.
Houseling people in 1548 were 282.
The charitable gifts recorded of this parish are very few; the
donors of them were: Margaret Dean, 3s. 4d. per annum; Mr. Jacobs,
£1 : 6 : 4; Mr. Green, £1. All were for the use of the poor.
The most notable rector was John Randall (1570-1622), Fellow of
Lincoln College, Oxford.
In =Little Eastcheap= was the weigh-house, built on the site of St.
Andrew Hubbard, and rebuilt after the Fire.
“Which said Weighhouse was before in Cornhill. In this House are weighed
merchandizes brought from beyond seas to the King’s Beam, to which doth
belong a Master, and under him four Master Porters, with labouring
Porters under them. They have Carts and Horses to fetch the goods from
the Merchants’ Warehouses to the Beam, and to carry them back. The house
belongeth to the Company of Grocers, in whose gifts the several
Porters’, etc., places are. But of late years little is done in this
office, as wanting a compulsive power to constrain the merchants to have
their goods weighed; they alleging it to be an unnecessary trouble and
charge” (Cunningham).
=Philpot Lane= was named after Sir John Philpot, mayor.
At the south-east end of =Rood Lane= is the Church of St. Margaret
Pattens, so called, according to Stow, because pattens were sold there.
Formerly the lane was called St. Margaret Pattens, but when about
1536-38 the church was rebuilt, a rood was set up in the churchyard and
oblations made to the rood were employed in building the church. But in
1538 the rood was discovered to be broken, together with the
“tabernacle” wherein it had been placed. There was then a colony or
settlement of basket-makers in the parish, among whose houses a fire
broke out in the same month, which destroyed twelve houses and took the
lives of nine persons.
ST. MARGARET PATTENS
This church was rebuilt, as Stow records, in the reign of Henry
VIII.; thoroughly repaired in 1614 and 1632, but destroyed by the
Great Fire. The present church was completed by Wren in 1687. The
parish of St. Gabriel’s, Fenchurch, was annexed to it after 1666.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1305.
The derivation of the name is obscure; Stow’s conjecture has already
been given.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The family of the
Nevils in 1281; Robert Rickenden and Margaret his wife, who
confirmed it to Richard Whittington, who bestowed it on the Mayor
and Commonalty of London in 1411, with whom it continued up to 1666
when St. Gabriel’s was annexed, and it was therefore shared
alternately with the Crown.
Houseling people in 1548 were 223.
The church measures 66 feet in length, 52 feet in breadth, and 32
feet in height, and consists of a nave, chancel, and north aisle.
The steeple consists of a tower, terminated by a cornice and
balustrade, with four pinnacles at the corners, above which a spire
rises, culminating in a ball and vane. The spire, which is 200 feet,
is taller than any other of Wren’s similar ones, and the steeple
comes third in order of height of those of his churches. There is a
picture on the north side of the church which is said to be the work
of Carlo Maratti (1625-1713), a Roman painter. The church is famous
for its canopied pews, the only ones in the city; in one of these
the initials C. W., supposed to be those of Sir Christopher Wren,
and the date 1686, are inlaid.
A chantry was founded here by: Peter at Vyne, at the Altar of
Blessed Virgin Mary, to which John Skelton was admitted chaplain
1472-73.
The original church does not seem to have possessed any monuments of
note. Of the later ones, the most interesting are those of: Giles
Vandeput, erected by his son, Sir Peter Vandeput, who was sheriff in
1684, and donor of £100 to the parish; Sir Peter Delme, Lord Mayor
in 1723, whose monument is the work of Johan Michael Rysbrack, or
Rysbrach, of Antwerp; Dr. Thomas Birch, Secretary of the Royal
Society, and author, who was rector here for nearly nineteen years,
was buried in the chancel, 1766. The side altar of the north aisle
contains a Della Robbia plaque representing the Virgin and Child, in
memory of Thomas Wagstaffe, the ablest of the non-jurors, appointed
rector here in 1684 and deprived in 1690.
Sir Peter Vandeput was donor of £100 to the parish; —— Collyer of
£5; Thomas Salter of £20; Richard Camden of £20. The other
charitable gifts recorded amounted to £6 per annum.
John Milward (1556-1609), chaplain to James I., was rector here;
also Thomas Birch (1705-66), Secretary to the Royal Society; and
Peter Whalley (1722-91), head-master of Christ’s Hospital, and
author of various works.
ST. MARY-AT-HILL
We pass on to St. Mary-at-Hill; a church well known on account of
the energetic work of its rector, Rev. W. Carlile, founder of the
Church Army, who popularises church work among his poor parishioners
by lantern services and other devices. The date of the foundation of
the original church is not known, but there is evidence of its
existence in the middle of the fourteenth century. In 1616 it was
thoroughly repaired, but the body of it was destroyed by the Great
Fire and rebuilt by Wren, 1672-77. The stone tower remained standing
till 1780, when it was considered insecure and pulled down, when it
was replaced by the present one. In 1892 the church was closed for
two years, while 3000 bodies were removed from beneath the flooring
to Norwood Cemetery. The parish of St. Andrew Hubbard was not
rebuilt after the Fire, and was annexed to this. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1337.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of Richard Hackney,
sheriff of London, who presented to it in 1337, and so on; it
remained in private persons up to 1640, when the parishioners
presented to it, up to 1666, when the parish of St. Andrew Hubbard
was annexed to it, the patronage now being alternate, Sir Henry Peek
having presented last in right of St. Andrew Hubbard in 1891.
Houseling people in 1548 were 400.
The church measures 96 feet in length and 60 feet in breadth, and is
crowned by a cupola which rises to the height of 38 feet. The cupola
is divided into panels and is supported by four Doric columns,
forming two side aisles. The ceiling to the east and west of this is
arched, as well as that of the side aisles between the columns, so
that the appearance of the roof is thus rendered cruciform. There is
a great quantity of carving in the church, but of a late date, being
the work of Mr. W. Gibbs Rogers, who executed it in 1848-49 when the
church was remodelled.
Chantries were founded here: By Rose Wrytell, at the Altar of St.
Edmund the King, before 1336. She left six marks for an endowment,
and Michael de Leek was licensed as chaplain, November 5, 1365. The
value was £8 : 2 : 6 in 1548, when Christopher Burley was priest at
the age of 43 years, “a good singer and well learned.” By John
Weston, whose endowment fetched £8 : 13 : 4 in 1548. By John Nasing,
at the Altar of St. Katherine. Harry Yorkflete the chaplain
exchanged it with John atte Welle, February 20, 1395-96; Thomas
Lewes was priest in 1548, “of the age of 42 years, a good singer and
player on the organ and prettily learned.” By William Cambridge,
whose endowment fetched £10 : 6 : 8 in 1548, when Matthew Berye was
priest, “of the age of 40 years, a good singer and indifferently
well learned.” By John Cawston, whose endowment yielded £20 : 17 : 8
in 1548, when Edmond Alston was priest, “of 36 years, a good singer
and handsomely learned.” By Richard Gosselinge, whose endowment
produced £9 in 1548, when John Sherpyn was priest, “of the age of 44
years, a teacher of children.” By John Bodman, whose endowment
fetched £14 : 6 : 8 in 1548.
The church formerly contained a considerable number of monuments,
but the persons commemorated are of comparatively little eminence.
Sir John Hampson, Knight and alderman, was buried here in 1607.
Within the communion rails of the present building the body of the
Rev. John Brand lies interred, who died in 1806; he was Fellow and
Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, and rector here for some
years. Edward Young, the poet, was married here to Lady Elizabeth
Lee, in 1731.
£10 or £11 per annum were given to the poor by several benefactors,
to be expended on bread. Other gifts recorded by Stow are: £40, from
Sir William Leman, for the maintenance of a Divinity Lecture; from
Jane Revel; £4 : 10s. to be paid every tenth year, from Bernard
Hyde.
Andrew Snape, D.D., Master of Eton College, Vice-Chancellor of
Cambridge 1721-23, was rector here.
At the south-eastern corner of St. Mary-at-Hill stands the mighty
building of the Coal Exchange. The material used is Portland stone, and
the great tower and cupola which rises above the street still retains
its whiteness. The Exchange was opened in 1849. Monday is the principal
market day, but markets are also held on Wednesdays and Fridays. Under
the Exchange are the remains of an old Roman bath, which was discovered
when the foundations were being made. Strype says that above the stairs
at Billingsgate “the coalmen and woodmongers meet every morning about
eight or nine o’clock, this place being their Exchange, for the coal
trade which brings a great resort of people and occasions a great trade
to the inhabitants. And this place is now more frequented than in
ancient time, when Greenhithe was made use of for the same purpose, this
being more commodious. And therefore it was ordained to be the only port
for all such sorts of merchandise.”
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
THE COAL EXCHANGE
]
Up to 1846 Billingsgate Fish-market contained only sheds and squalid
buildings in which the fish trade was carried on. But in that year J. B.
Bunning, the City architect, was employed to build a regular market. In
1872 the great increase of the trade and the necessity for further
accommodation induced the Corporation to pull down this building and
rebuild on a larger scale. Old Darkhouse Lane and Billingsgate Stairs
were utilised to gain an increased site as the great bulk of the Custom
House prevented any expansion eastward.
Sir Horace Jones was the architect. The building is of an Italian design
and is of Portland stone with facings of yellow brick and polished grey
granite plinths and wall linings. A long arcade faces Thames Street, and
at each end there are pavilion buildings. Within, the basement has an
area of about 20,000 superficial feet. On the ground floor the area is
39,000 square feet. The roof is on the Louvre glass principle carried on
lattice girders of 60 feet span. There is a gallery with an area of 4000
feet; this is utilised for the sale of haddocks and dried fish.
=St. Botolph, Billingsgate=, stood against St. Botolph’s Lane, on
the south side of Thames Street. It was repaired in 1624, but burnt
down by the Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to
St. George, Botolph Lane. It stood against the Bridge Gate of the
first London Bridge, just as the other three churches of St. Botolph
stood at Aldgate, Aldersgate, and Bishopsgate. The earliest date of
an incumbent is 1343.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of St. Paul’s, who received it from Orgarus about 1181.
Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
Chantries were founded here: By and for Thomas Snodyland, late
rector, who died 1349, in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of
which Nicholas de Wansyngdon was chaplain, and exchanged it April
11, 1163—the King granted a licence for it December 15, 1371; by
John Pickman, at the Altar of Our Lady, whose endowment fetched £10
in 1548, when Thomas Serle was priest, “of the age of 50 years, of
good consideration and learning touching ordinary things”; by Thomas
Aubrey, whose endowment fetched £8 : 6 : 8 in 1548, when Thomas
Baynton was priest, “of the age of 60 years, of good consideration
and learning”; by Roger Smallwood. Here was founded the Fraternity
of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist. The endowment fetched £14 in
1548, when William Lucay was priest, “of the age of 50 years, a man
of good conversation and small learning.”
The church originally contained many monuments, but most of them had
disappeared by 1633. John Rainwell, mayor, 1426, had been buried in
it; also Stephen Forster, mayor in 1454.
Some of the donors of charitable gifts to the parish were: Robert
Fellows, of £25; William Fellows, of £25; Thomas Barber, of £6 :
18 : 6, and others of small amounts.
The parishes of St. George, Botolph Lane, and St. Botolph,
Billingsgate, in conjunction with the other part of Billingsgate
ward, maintained forty boys by subscription.
Laurence Bothe, rector here, became Bishop of Durham, 1457; of York,
1476-80 (died): also William Sherlock (d. 1707), Dean of St. Paul’s.
=Billingsgate=, like Queenhithe, is an artificial port, constructed with
great ease by digging out the foreshore of mud and shingle, and
protecting the square harbour thus formed by piles of timber, on which
beams were laid to form a quay, and sheds were built up for the
protection of the merchandise.
The port was close to the north end of the first bridge, so that goods
landed here might be easily carried into the Roman fort, while the port
itself was protected by the fort. After the desertion of London by the
Romans, the occupation by the Saxons, and the revival of trade,
Billingsgate remained the principal port, though a large share of the
trade went to Queenhithe. The mouth of the Walbrook seems to have ceased
very early in the history of London to be a port. Billingsgate robbed
Queenhithe of its trade in spite of all injunctions of restraint.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency, Photo._
BILLINGSGATE MARKET
]
The fish-market has long since overwhelmed every other kind of
merchandise. The language and manners, the rough customs, and the
drinking habits of the Billingsgate fish-wives are proverbial. They have
now, however, all vanished, and the market is as quiet and decorous as
any other. A curious custom is noted by Cunningham. The porters who
plied at Billingsgate used to invite the passengers to stop and salute a
certain post. If one complied, and paid down sixpence, they gave him a
name, and pretended to be his sponsors. If one refused, they laid hold
of him and bumped him against the post. The custom reminds one of the
same bumping practised in walking the bounds of the parish; it had
probably the same origin, in keeping alive the memory of something by
the infliction of pain. The custom remained when the cause and reason
had long been forgotten.
This end of Thames Street was called Petty Wales. Stow has an
interesting note on this subject:
“Towards the east end thereof, namely, over against Galley key, Wool
key, and the Custom House, there have been of old time some large
buildings of stone, the ruins thereof do yet remain, but the first
builders and owners of them are worn out of memory, wherefore the common
people affirm Julius Cæsar to be the builder thereof, as also of the
Tower itself. But thereof I have spoken already. Some are of another
opinion, and that a more likely, that this great stone building was
sometime the lodging appointed for princes of Wales, when they repaired
to this city, and that, therefore, the street in that part is called
Petty Wales, which name remaineth there most commonly until this day,
even as where the kings of Scotland were used to be lodged betwixt
Charing Cross and White Hall, it is likewise called Scotland, and where
the earls of Britons were lodged without Aldersgate, the street is
called Britain Street, etc.
“The said building might of old time pertain to the princes of Wales, as
is aforesaid, but is since turned to other use.”
The Custom House itself, with its magnificent frontage and fine quay, is
the fifth built upon the same spot. The first was built in 1385. The
second, third, and fourth were all destroyed by fire. No doubt the
Custom officers could tell fine tales of exciting adventure, of ruin or
fortune, of clever evasions and despicable tricks; but these things are
secret. The House itself, with the ships, the busy wharfingers, the
boatmen, and the general liveliness of the scene, are all that are
apparent. Yet it requires little imagination to see the enormous
importance of the business done in this solid building of Smirke’s. A
great source of our national income, a large part of the nation’s
wealth, comes from this house. Tons of goods—ranging from hemp, honey,
leeches, tobacco, to manufactured goods, marble, sugar, and spirits—are
daily surveyed by the Customs officers. Our total imports for 1901 were
worth nearly £522,000,000.
Beyond the Custom House is Wool Wharf, then several small quays, of
which one, Galley Quay, carries a history in its name. It was so called
because the Venetian and Genoese galleys here discharged their cargoes.
There is a tradition of some religious house having stood here also.
Hear what Stow says:
“In this Lane of old time dwelt divers strangers, born of Genoa and
those parts; these were commonly called galley men, as men that came up
in the galleys brought up wines and other merchandises, which they
landed in Thames Street, at a place called Galley key; they had a
certain coin of silver amongst themselves, which were halfpence of
Genoa, and were called Galley halfpence; these halfpence were forbidden
in the 13th of Henry IV., and again by parliament in the 4th of Henry V.
And it was enacted that if any person bring into this realm Galley
halfpence, suskins, or dodkins, he should be punished as a thief; and he
that taketh or payeth such money shall lose a hundred shillings, whereof
the king shall have the one half, and he that will sue the other half.
Notwithstanding, in my youth, I have seen them pass current, but with
some difficulty, for that the English halfpence were then, though not so
broad, somewhat thicker and stronger.”
THE BAKERS COMPANY
The Guild or Fraternity of Bakers would seem to have been in
existence as early as any other, seeing that the craft or mystery of
baking is the most ancient in existence. In the reign of Henry II.,
A.D. 1155, the Fraternity was charged in the Great Roll of the
Exchequer with one mark of gold for their Guild.
The Bakers Company, as the united Company of White and Brown bakers,
was first incorporated by charter of Henry VIII., dated July 22,
1509, to make, create, build, and establish a certain perpetual
fraternity or guild of one master and four keepers of the commonalty
of freemen of the mystery of bakers of the City of London and
suburbs thereof then dwelling, or thereafter to dwell, and of the
brothers and sisters freemen of the said mystery and others who
would choose to be of the same fraternity or guild within the City
aforesaid, and that the same master, four keepers, and commonalty
should for ever continue to be one corporate body, with power to
elect annually from among themselves one master and four keepers for
the superintending, ruling, and governing of the said mystery and
commonalty.
Previous to 1509 there were separate Companies of White Bakers and
Brown Bakers, and the White Bakers appear to have been incorporated
as early as 1307. From 1509 to 1622 the two Companies remained
united as the Bakers Company, but in 1622 the Brown Bakers,
conceiving themselves in some way ill-used or neglected, succeeded
in getting a separate charter of their own, and remained a separate
Company for thirty to forty years, when a peace was patched up, and
the two Companies were finally united in the Bakers Company.
Their hall in Harp Lane, formerly Hart Lane, is said by Stow to have
been the residence of one of the Chichele family, a grand-nephew of
the Archbishop and grandson of his brother the mayor or his brother
the sheriff. It was burned down in 1714 and rebuilt in 1719. The
genealogy below shows how this John Chichele was related to the
Archbishop of Canterbury and Founder of All Souls.
[Illustration:
_Photo. York & Son._
CUSTOM HOUSE
]
John Chichele
├── Henry, Archbishop.
├── Robert, Sheriff, 1402; Mayor, 1411.
└── William, Alderman and Sheriff, 1409.
├── John, Chamberlain.
│ └── Twenty-four children.
└── William, Archdeacon.
The livery consists of 111; the Corporate Income is about £1580; the
Trust Income is £320.
Roman remains have been found in =Tower Street=. Mention is made of the
street from the thirteenth century, if not earlier, but the street is
singularly lacking in historical associations. Here the Earl of
Rochester, escaping from his friends, took up lodgings and pretended for
some weeks, not without success, to be an Italian physician. Here was
the tavern frequented by Peter the Czar after getting through his day’s
work.
At the west end of Tower Street was a “fair house” once belonging to one
Griste, by whom Jack Cade was feasted. After the feast he requited his
host by robbing him.
There is also a house once owned by Sir John Champney, mayor in 1534. He
built a high tower of brick, proposing, in his pride, to look down upon
his neighbours. But he did not succeed, being punished by blindness. The
house was afterwards occupied by Sir Percival Hart, Knight Harbinger to
the Queen.
ST. DUNSTAN IN THE EAST
St. Dunstan in the East stands on St. Dunstan’s Hill, between Great
Tower Street and Upper Thames Street, and was anciently known as St.
Dunstan Juxta-Turrim. The date of its foundation is not known, but
an enlargement is recorded in 1382. It was partially destroyed in
the Great Fire and restored under Wren’s hands in 1698. This
building, with the exception of the steeple, was pulled down in
1810, and in 1817 the body of the present church was built of
Portland stone in the Perpendicular style by Laing and Tite. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1312.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Prior and
Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury, who granted it, April 24,
1365, to Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his successors,
in whom it continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 900.
The present church is in the Perpendicular Gothic style, and
contains two side aisles divided from the central portion by slender
clustered columns and pointed arches, with a clerestory above. It
measures 115 feet in length, 65½ feet in breadth, and 40 feet in
height. The steeple is one of Wren’s most striking works. The tower,
measuring 21 square feet at the base, has four stories, surmounted
by four tall pinnacles; from behind these spring four arched ribs,
supporting a lantern and spire, terminating in a ball and vane. The
total height is 180 feet 4 inches. Though it is fragile in
appearance, it is very scientifically and strongly constructed. The
central east window has been closely copied from fragments which
were found during the excavations previous to rebuilding, and is the
work of Mr. John Buckler. Many of the windows contain the
coats-of-arms of benefactors, the work of Messrs. Baillie.
The only relics of the wood-carving by Grinling Gibbons which
adorned Wren’s church are the arms of Archbishop Tenison, primate
from 1695, now placed in the vestry-room; and the organ case for
Father Smith’s organ—this was sold to St. Alban’s Abbey, but is to
be brought back.
Several chantries were founded here: The Fraternity of Our Lady
founded by John Joye; by Joan Maken and Alice Lynne, at the Altar of
Jesus—their endowment fetched £20 : 11 : 8 in 1548, when Philip
Matthew was chaplain; for Richard de Eymne in 1285; by John Bosham
cl., and Alice, who was the wife of Nicholas Potyn, at the Altar of
Holy Trinity, for John and Alice, and for Nicholas Potyn (the King
granted his licence June 20, 1408; the endowment fetched £17 : 16 :
8 in 1548, when Robert Neale was priest); by Richard Coldbrok, whose
endowment fetched £13 : 3 : 4 in 1548, when Thomas Rock was priest;
by William Barret, at the Altar of Our Lady—his endowment yielded
£12 in 1548, when John Flude was chaplain.
Before the Great Fire, the church contained a monument to Sir John
Hawkins, the naval hero; and here Admiral Sir John Lawson, who was
mortally wounded in the sea-fight with the Dutch off Lowestoft in
1665, was buried. The present building contains a considerable
number of monuments, but few of those commemorated were persons of
eminence. There is a monument on the north wall to Sir John Moore,
President of Christ’s Hospital, and friend and partisan of Charles
II.; he died in 1702. The largest monument is one on the south side
of the chapel to Sir William Russell, who died in 1705. On the north
wall there is a tablet in memory of Richard Hale, in gratitude for
his granddaughter’s (Lady Williamson) gift of £4000 for the
rebuilding of the church. The most recent memorial is one affixed to
the north wall commemorating Colonel John Finnis, one of the heroes
of the Indian Mutiny 1857.
The names of a large number of benefactors are recorded by Stow,
among them, Sir Bartholomew James, William Sevenoaks, Sir William
Hariott, whose coat-of-arms is to be seen in the windows of the
north and south walls. William Bateman was a donor of £200, and
Gilbert Keate of £120.
Richard Smith (1503-63), Dean of Douai, was rector here 1554-57;
also John May (d. 1598), Bishop of Carlisle; Dr. John Jortin
(1698-1770), author of _The Life of Erasmus_; John Morton,
Archbishop of Canterbury; William Barlow (d. 1613), Bishop of
Rochester and Bishop of Lincoln.
=Mincing Lane= is so called from having been at one time the residence
or the property of certain Minchuns or Nuns, Stow says, belonging to St.
Helen’s. This house was only founded in 1212.
This street is not mentioned in Riley’s _Memorials_. In the _Calendar of
Wills_ it occurs in 1273, “houses in Menechinlane”; also in 1294; in
1304, “land and shops in Minchom Lane.” In 1362, “Mengeonlane”; and many
other dates up to 1620.
From end to end this street is lined with solid business houses chiefly
in dark imitation stone. A building which attracts attention about
half-way down on the east side is the Commercial Sale Rooms, occupying
Nos. 30 to 34. This is new, of light-coloured stone, and along the
frontage of the top floor run small granite columns in couples. Dunster
Court is surrounded by offices, etc. In it is Dunster House, occupied
chiefly by brokers and merchants. Next to it is the Clothworkers’ Hall.
THE CLOTHWORKERS COMPANY
The craft of Fullers, and the Fraternity of Sheermen, arose out of
an association of persons subsidiary to the ancient “Gild” of
Tellarii, or woollen weavers, together with the Burrellers and
Testers, who seem to have been absorbed into the great guilds or
companies of Drapers and Merchant Taylors, all being associations of
persons connected with the fabrication, finishing, or vending of
cloth. The earliest notice existing in the Company’s archives is in
1456, respecting the Sheermen.
It appears, by reference to patent roll of 19 Edward IV., membrane
28, “Pro Pannariis Civitatis London,” that the wardens of the
fellowship of Sheermen, albeit unincorporate, had the power of
search over their own craft, “according to the laudable custom of
the city,” but the master wardens and fellowship of the two crafts
and mysteries of Drapers and Taylors, were thereby assured that no
charter of incorporation should be given to the Sheermen, etc.
The Fullers were incorporated the next year, 28th April, 20 Edward
IV., “Pro Fraternitate in arte Fullorum.” They would appear to have
been resident in the neighbourhood of Whitechapel Church, that
parish having been called “Villa Beatæ Mariæ de Matfellon,” a
designation derived, as has been supposed, from the fact of the herb
called “Matfellon” (“Fullers’ Teasel”), used extensively by the
fullers inhabiting that quarter, growing in a field hard by where
their tenter grounds were situate; the patron saint of the Fullers,
as of the Clothworkers afterwards, being the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Fullers’ Hall was in Billiter Square.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Thos. H. Shepherd._
CLOTHWORKERS’ HALL
]
The Sheermen received their charter, “Incorporatio de lez Shermen,
Lond.,” 24th January, 23 Henry VII., 1507-8.
The guilds or companies of Fullers and Sheermen were united and
reincorporated under the name and style of “The Master Wardens and
Commonalty of Freemen of the Art or Mystery of Clothworkers of the
City of London,” 18th January, 19 Henry VIII.
A freeman or woman of the Company is entitled, if well accounted and
continuing of good name and fame, and having fallen into poverty or
necessity, to be refreshed weekly, monthly, or quarterly towards his
or her sustentation and living, out of the corporate funds of the
Company, as well as out of the trust funds specifically left for
that purpose by benefactors; also to be decently buried on their
decease at the costs of the Company. There are a limited number of
almshouses for freemen and women, founded by members of the Company,
and there are trust funds likewise left by former benefactors for
the relief and sustentation of decayed or worn-out members.
The livery is 180 in number; the Corporate Income is £42,000; the
Trust Income is £18,000. The hall is at 41 Mincing Lane. Stow merely
mentions the existence of the hall. The original hall was burned
down in the Fire, rebuilt, taken down in 1856, and rebuilt by Samuel
Angell, architect. Among the most distinguished members of this
Company were Samuel Pepys, President of the Royal Society, and
Master of the Company in 1677; and Lord Kelvin, who filled similar
positions.
This rich Company has long been remarkable even among the other
wealthy Companies of the City for the encouragement and advancement
of technical education. It has either wholly or in part endowed
technical and scientific schools at Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield,
Keighley, Bristol, and other places. It has contributed to the City
and Guilds of London Technical Institute sums amounting to £118,350,
and in addition gives an annual subsidy of £3300.
=Mark Lane=, once Mart Lane, is mentioned in the thirteenth century; in
1276, Robert le Chaloner had a house in Mark Lane in the ward of William
de Hadestocke, _i.e._ Town Ward. And the _Calendar of Wills_ mentions
the lane a little later and has many references to it. In 1750 it
contained “divers large houses for merchants, though some of them are
old timber houses.” The street escaped the Fire.
Milton’s friend Cyriack Skinner lived here. Isaac Watts was assistant
preacher in a meeting-house in this street.
Mark Lane is of the same general character as Mincing Lane, but
possesses a point of distinction in the Corn Exchange. The new building
is on the east side, a little to the south of the old one. This is a
fine building, erected 1881 by Edward l’Anson. The high glass roof is
supported in the interior by rows of light stone columns. The old Corn
Exchange, rebuilt 1747 by J. Woods, has a heavy colonnade of fluted
Doric columns which attracts attention in the line of the street. In a
small court opposite the new building is a fine doorway, and passing
down the entry we find ourselves facing a splendid old red-brick City
mansion in good repair. Brick pilasters ending in ornate stuccoed
capitals run up to a frieze or cornice above the first floor. The
elaborate pediment over the doorway is supported by fluted columns and
encloses a design of cherubs and foliage.
On the east side of Mark Lane we have Nos. 69 and 70 of rather unusual
design, and the remainder of the street is one uniform sweep of
buildings in an unobtrusive and useful style.
On the west side near the north end was the church of Allhallows
Staining.
=Allhallows Staining= was so called from its having been built of
stone and not of timber. It was not burnt down in the Great Fire,
but fell down suddenly in 1669, and was rebuilt in 1694. The
building was taken down in 1870. The earliest date of an incumbent
is 1258.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The family of de
Waltham, 1285; the Abbey and Convent of St. Mary Graces; the Crown;
George Bingley and others; Lady Slaney, 1802, who bequeathed it to
the Grocers Company.
Houseling people in 1548 were 424.
The church contained a beautiful east window of pointed glass
presented by the Company of Grocers.
Chantries were founded here by: William de Grenestede, to which John
de Paxton, priest, was admitted November 27, 1362; William Palmer,
whose endowment fetched £3 : 6 : 8 in 1548.
This church contained monuments to: John Gostin, a benefactor to the
parish; Sir Richard Yate, Knight Ambassador for Henry VIII.; William
Frith, painter; and Ralf Hanson, a benefactor of the church.
Some of the donors of charitable gifts were: John Gostin, of 800
bushels of coal; Mary Baynham, of £5 : 4s.; Thomas Bulley, Esq., of
£15 for the minister and poor; William Winter, of £30 for the
education of six boys. Six boys were taught to read and write, and,
when qualified, put out as apprentices, with each of whom was given
£10, in accordance with the will of William Winter.
=Hart Street, Crutched Friars, Seething Lane.=—These streets may all be
taken together. The most remarkable historical association of the
streets is the Crutched Friars’ House, on the site of which was
afterwards erected the Navy Office. The square court of the office,
which had one entrance in Crutched Friars and another in Seething Lane,
was originally the cloister garth of the convent. The Navy Office has
been removed, but the square remains, and one may still see the lions
that were placed at the principal entrance. Pepys lived for nine years
in Seething Lane so as to be near his office. Sir Francis Walsingham
lived and died in this street, and here the Earl of Essex had his town
house.
[Illustration:
WHITTINGTON’S HOUSE, CRUTCHED FRIARS, 1796
]
The monastery of the Crutched or Crossed Friars was founded in 1298. The
symbol was a cross worn upon their habit; this cross was made of red
cloth. Henry VIII. granted their house to Sir Thomas Wyatt, who built a
new mansion on part of the site.
After the destruction of the house, the site of the church became a
“Carpenter’s yard, a tennis court, and the like.” The Friars’ Hall
became a glasshouse until 1575, when it was destroyed by fire. There
appear to be no remains at all of the monastic buildings. For account,
see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 342.
It was in Crutched Friars that the massive fragment of the three seated
goddesses, the _Dea Matres_, was found.
Here were the Milbourne Almshouses.
“Concerning this gift of Sir John Milbourn, it appears by Dolphin’s will
that he built thirteen Almshouses in his Life time on a Plot of Ground
in the Parish of St. Olave’s near the Tower Algate Ward, next adjoining
on the South part of the Choir, or Chancel of the Conventual Church of
the Priory of Crossed Friers of London, and the Convent of the said
Place, within the Precinct sometime of their House.”
Pepys’ connection with Seething Lane has already been mentioned.
In Hart Street lived Sir Richard Whittington; his house was round a
courtyard entered by a gateway not far from Mark Lane.
ST. OLAVE, HART STREET
This church is at the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane. It
was formerly called St. Olave Juxta-Turrim. The date of its
foundation is unknown, but the present building was probably
constructed during the fifteenth century. Stow speaks of Richard and
Robert Cely as the “principal builders and benefactors,” but gives
no date. It was expensively repaired early in the reign of Charles
I. and again in 1863 and 1870, when several interesting relics were
transferred from Allhallows Staining, which was annexed. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1314.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of the family of
Nevils, 1281, from whom it passed to John Luffwick, and others about
1398, and so passed to several private persons, up to 1557, when it
came to the Windsor family, from whom it passed to Sir Andrew
Riccard, Knt., who in 1672 bequeathed it to trustees for the parish,
of whom there are five.
Houseling people in 1548 were 1435.
The present church is built in the Perpendicular style, and contains
two side aisles separated from the central portion by clustered
columns and pointed arches with a clerestory above. It is one of the
smallest of the City churches being a square of only 54 feet.
There are many interesting monuments, the most ancient of which is a
brass in memory of Sir Richard Haddon, mercer, twice Lord Mayor
(1506 and 1512). On the east wall of the south aisle William Turner
is commemorated, Dean of Wells and physician to Protector Somerset;
he was the author of a botanical book, _Herbal_, the first of its
kind published in English. Against the north wall there is a
monument to Sir Andrew Riccard (d. 1672), one of the greatest
merchants of his age. The most interesting person connected with
this church is Samuel Pepys, the Diarist, Secretary to the Admiralty
in 1673, and President of the Royal Society 1684-85. He was buried
here in 1703, and a monument erected to him in 1884 and unveiled by
the late James Russell Lowell. His colleague, Admiral Sir John
Mennis, is also commemorated by a tablet at the south end of the
chancel; he was Comptroller of the Navy and part author of _Musarum
Deliciae_. In the parish register the baptism of Robert Devereux,
3rd Earl of Essex, is entered; he commanded the parliamentary forces
at the outbreak of the Civil War.
The most notable of the benefactors to this parish were: Sir John
Worstenholm, donor of £100; Andrew Windsores, of £6 : 13 : 4; Sir
James Dean, of £5 : 4s.
In Crutched Friars there were fifteen almshouses belonging to the
Drapers Company for as many decayed freemen of that Company and
their wives, to whom 5s. per month was allowed and one load of coals
per annum. In Gunpowder Alley there were ten almshouses (the gift of
Lord Banyan in 1631, but surrendered to the parish by 1732), which
allowed each of their poor in that place 1s. to 4s. per week and
two, three, or four bushels of coals at Christmas.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
PEPYS’ CHURCH (ST. OLAVE, HART STREET)
]
Dr. Daniel Mills, to whom Samuel Pepys frequently refers in his
_Diary_, was rector here for thirty-two years.
=Seething Lane= betrays some characteristic features. A pair of similar
eighteenth-century houses with porches stand on each side of the
entrance to Catherine Court. Opposite them are old grimy warehouses.
Succeeding these are huge buildings known as Corn Exchange Chambers. No.
40 on the east is an old stuccoed house, and facing the church are more
towering warehouses. The churchyard is a quaint little spot, with many
tombstones inclining at every imaginary angle and a few twisted young
elm-trees. The gateway is curious, being surmounted by a peculiar
_chevaux de frise_ of spikes and ornamented by three stuccoed skulls.
Catherine Court is delightful in its completeness. Every house in the
two long sober coloured rows, which face one another across a narrow
flagged space, is of the same date. The date is given on an oval slab
set in the wall at the east end, “Catherine Court, Anno Dom. 1725.”
ALLHALLOWS BARKING
The church of Allhallows Barking stands at the east end of Tower
Street near Mark Lane Station. It was dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin Mary and all Saints, whence its name. The date of its
foundation is unknown, but it is to the convent of Barking that its
foundation is probably due, which might carry it back to the end of
the seventh century. It was endowed and enlarged by Richard I.,
Edward I., and Richard III. During the seventeenth century it was
repaired five times; it narrowly escaped the Great Fire of 1666.
There was extensive restoration during the last century. The
earliest date of an incumbent is 1269.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The kings of
England, while it was a rectory, 1269; the Abbess and Convent of
Barking from 1387, when it became a vicarage; the Crown, at the
suppression in 1540, who exchanged it with the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who presented in 1584, and in whose successors it
continues.
Houseling people in 1548 were 800.
The church consists of a nave and chancel together with north and
south aisles. It is 108 feet in length, 67 feet in breadth, and in
height 35 feet to the ceiling of the nave, but to that of the aisles
considerably less. The western portion is older than the chancel,
and probably the original building only occupied the site of the
present nave. The massive pillars at the west end are of Norman
character in contrast to the slender columns of the eastern arches,
probably not erected before the fifteenth century. The large east
window, in the Late Decorated style, seems to have been left
untouched during the numerous alterations of the seventeenth
century. The present tower, erected in 1659 after the original had
been destroyed by an explosion, is of plain brick, with a turret and
weather-vane, and rises above the west end of the nave. The original
tower rose from the west end of the south aisle. The total height of
it is 80 feet.
Chantries were founded here by: Adam de Blackeneye, citizen, for
himself and Cecilia his wife, A.D. 1295 (his will, dated 1310);
Thomas Crolys, and Thomas Pilke, before 1365; John Cade; Robert
Tate, mayor of London, who died in 1488; Richard I., augmented by
Edward I., who erected there an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
Edward IV. granted a licence to found a fraternity here (Pat. 9
Edward IV. p. 2. m. 2). This chapel was newly built by Richard III.,
who founded a college here consisting of a dean and six canons.
Owing to the proximity of the Tower, Allhallows was frequently used
for the temporary interment of the remains of those who perished on
the scaffold on Tower Hill. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Bishop
Fisher, and Archbishop Laud, found here a temporary grave. Humphrey
Monmouth, sheriff in 1535, is one of the most notable persons buried
here. Allhallows contains the best collection of monumental brasses
to be found in any London church. Some of the most noteworthy are: A
Flemish brass, in memory of Andrew Evyngar; that of William Thynne,
one of the earliest editors of Chaucer’s works; William Armer, of
the Clothworkers Company; and the Tonge brass, the oldest in the
City. Under the east window of the south aisle is a monument by
Peter Scheemakers, the sculptor of several monuments in Westminster
Abbey; the name of the Quaker William Penn is associated with this
church, where he was baptized in 1644.
Some of the donors of charitable gifts were: Margaret Martin, £1 :
6 : 8 per annum for the poor; William Armer; Alice Polstead, £6 :
13 : 4 per annum; William Haines, £5 per annum. The parish received
a very large number of gifts.
A school was founded in this parish, 1692, by Alderman Hickson for
twenty boys. There was also a hospital for the insane, in the time
of Edward III.
The most notable vicar was Thomas Ravis (d. 1609), who became Bishop
of London.
=Jewry= was formerly called Poor Jewry Street. This street originally
consisted of mean tenements, and was greatly improved by the removal of
the wall which admitted air into the street and gave space for building.
Stow says that “in time of old” there were Jews living in this place,
whence its name. In his time there were only a few poor tenements. The
name “Poor Jewry” is found in the Records of 1438. As the Jews were
banished in 1290, we may therefore conclude that the name was certainly
older than that date.
=Trinity Square=, Tower Hill, is of an irregular shape, including an
oval garden. It is named after Trinity House, which stands on the north
side. In Ogilby’s map is a part of Great Tower Hill. Cooper’s Row was
then called Woodruff Lane; George Street was then George Yard, where was
the postern of the wall. North of George Street there is still a long
piece of the wall standing within certain warehouses. Here are also
other walls and fireplaces which are said to have belonged to a
workhouse. I cannot, however, discover that there was any workhouse on
this spot. This is apparently the same part of the wall that is figured
in Wilkinson’s _Londina Illustrata_.
=Trinity House.=—Maitland’s account of the house and the corporation is
as follows:
“In Water Lane is situated Trinity House which belongs to an ancient
Corporation of Mariners, founded in King Henry VIII.’s time, for the
Regulation of Seamen, and security and convenience of ships and mariners
on our coasts. In the said King’s reign lived Sir Thos. Spert, Knight,
Comptroller of the Navy to that King; who was the first founder and
master of the said society of Trinity House; and died Anno 1541, and was
buried in the chancel of Stepney church. To whose memory the said
Corporation, Anno 1622, set up a monument there for him eighty years and
one after the decease of the said Spert, their founder. And by an
inscription antienter than that set up by the said corporation, lost
long since in the church, but preserved by Norden; we learn, that this
gentleman had three wives, Dame Margery, Dame Anne, and Dame Mary, all
lying in the chancel there; and that his Coat of Arms was Two Launces in
Saltier, between four Hearts, on a Chief, a ship with the sails furled.
He was commander of the biggest ship then that the sea bore, namely,
_Henry Grace de Dieu_, built by King Henry VIII. near the beginning of
his reign.
“The house, where the corporation usually meets, belonged to them before
the great Fire, but how long I know not. They took a long lease and
rebuilt it. This house was burnt down about the year 1718 again, but is
now by the said Brotherhood built up fairly a second time.
“This corporation one of the considerablest in the Kingdom, is governed
by a master, four wardens, eight assistants, and the eldest brothers of
the Company, as they are called, one and thirty in all. The rest of
their Company are called Younger Brothers, without any fixed number: For
any seafaring men that will, are admitted into the Society under that
name: But they are not in the Government.
[Illustration:
TRINITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL
]
“Their service and use is, that they appoint all pilots: They set and
place the buoys and seamarks for the safe direction of ships in their
sailing. For which they have certain duties payable by Merchant-men.
They can licence poor seamen, antient and past going to sea, to exercise
the calling of a waterman upon the Thames, and take in fares, tho’ they
have not been bound to any one free of the Watermen’s Company. They do
maintain in pensions at this time two thousand poor seamen, or their
widows; every one of which have at least half-a-crown paid them every
first Monday in the month, and some more, besides accidental distressed
seamen.
“They have three fair Hospitals, built by themselves; two at Deptford,
and one at Mile End, near London. That at Mile End is a very handsome
structure with a fair chapel, and is peculiar for decayed
Sea-Commanders, masters of vessels, or such as have been pilots, and
their widows.
“And thus as they do a great deal of good, so they have large revenues
to do it with: Which arise partly, from sums of money given and
bequeathed unto them for charitable uses, partly from Houses and Lands
also given them, and particularly and chiefly from ballast. For they
only have, by Act of Parliament, the benefit of providing ballast for
ships in the Thames; and all ships that take in ballast pay them 12d. a
ton: For which it is brought to their ship’s side. They have also
certain light-houses, as at Scilly and Dungeness in the West. To which
Houses all ships pay one half-penny a tun.”
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Schnebbelie._
REMAINS OF LONDON WALL, TOWER HILL, 1818
]
The house that was burned down in 1718 was again rebuilt and pulled down
in 1787, when the Corporation removed to Tower Hill.
Lastly, in this group of streets, we arrive at =Tower Hill=. The
memories of this place are summed up by Stow and others.
“From and without the Tower ditch west and by north is the said Tower
Hill, sometime a large plot of ground, nowe greatly strengthened
[straitened] by means of incrochments (unlawfully made and suffered) for
gardens and houses.... Upon this Hil is alwayes readily prepared, at the
charges of the Citie, a large scaffold, and gallows of timber, for the
execution of such traitors or other transgressors as are delivered out
of the Tower, or otherwise to the sheriffes of London, by writ, there
were to be executed.... On the north side of this hill is the said Lord
Lumley’s house.”
The scaffold was removed about the middle of the 18th century.
Many were the disputes between the King and the City as to the setting
up of scaffold and gallows, which the King claimed to do, as Tower Hill
was in the Liberties of the City and not the City itself. Among notable
persons executed there are the names of:
Bishop Fisher, June 22, 1535; Sir Thomas More, July 6, 1535:
Going up the scaffold, which was so weak that it was ready to fall,
he said hurriedly to the Lieutenant, “I pray you, Master Lieutenant,
see me safe up, and for my coming down let me shift for
myself.”—Roper’s _Life_.
Cromwell, Earl of Essex, July 28, 1540; Margaret, Countess of
Shrewsbury, mother of Cardinal Pole, May 27, 1541; Earl of Surrey the
poet, January 21, 1547; Thomas, Lord Seymour of Sudeley, the Lord
Admiral, beheaded March 20, 1549, by order of his brother the Protector
Somerset; the Protector Somerset January 22, 1552; Sir Thomas Wyatt,
1554; John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Northumberland, 1553; Lord
Guildford Dudley (husband of Lady Jane Grey), February 12, 1553-54; Sir
Gervase Elways or Helwys, Lieutenant of the Tower, hanged for his share
in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury; Earl of Strafford, May 12, 1641;
Archbishop Laud, January 10, 1644-45; Sir Harry Vane, the younger, June
14, 1662 (“The trumpets were brought under the scaffold that he might
not be heard”); William Howard, Lord Viscount Stafford, December 29,
1680, beheaded on the perjured evidence of Titus Oates and others;
Algernon Sidney, December 7, 1683:
Algernon Sidney was beheaded this day; died very resolutely, and
like a true rebel, and republican.—Duke of York to Prince of Orange,
December 7, 1683.
Duke of Monmouth, July 15, 1685; Sir John Fenwick, January 28, 1697;
Earl of Derwentwater and Lord Kenmuir, implicated in the Rebellion of
1715; Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino, August 18, 1746:
Kilmarnock was executed first and then the scaffold was immediately
new strewn with sawdust, the block new covered, the executioner new
dressed, and a new axe brought. Then old Balmerino appeared,
treading the scaffold with the air of a general, and reading
undisturbed the inscription on his coffin.—Walpole to Mann, August
21, 1746.
Simon, Lord Lovat, April 9, 1747. He was not only the last person
beheaded on Tower Hill, but the last person beheaded in this country.
The Tribulation on Tower Hill, mentioned by Shakespeare, has puzzled his
commentators; the reference seems to be to a Puritan congregation, but
it is hard to see why they should be ready to endure “the youths that
thunder at a playhouse.”
“_Porter._ These are the youths that thunder at a playhouse, and fight
for bitten apples; that no audience but the Tribulation of Tower Hill,
or the limbs of Limehouse, their dear brothers, are able to
endure.”—Shakespeare, _Henry VIII._, Act v. Scene 4.
In 1543 Marillac, the French Ambassador, lived on Tower Hill, and the
Duke of Norfolk (son of the victor of Flodden) and his brother, Lord
William Howard, frequently paid him “mysterious midnight visits.” Lady
Raleigh lodged on Tower Hill while her husband was a prisoner in the
Tower.
“The Lady Raleighe must understand his Ma^{ts} Expresse Will and
commandment that she resort to her house on Tower Hill or ellswhere
w^{th} her women and sonnes to remayne there, and not to lodge hereafter
w^{th}in the Tower.”—Orders concerning the Tower of London, to be
observed by the Lieutenant (Sir Wade’s Reg., 1605, 1611; Addit. MSS.
Brit. Mus., No. 14,044).
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was born on Tower Hill,
October 14, 1644.
“Your late honoured father dwelt upon Great Tower Hill on the east side,
within a court adjoining to London Wall.”—P. Gibson to William Penn, the
Quaker (_Sir W. Penn’s Life_, 615).
At a public-house on Tower Hill, known by the sign of the Bull, whither
he had withdrawn to avoid his creditors, it is said Otway, the poet,
died of want, April 14, 1685; but the precise locality and manner of his
death are disputed. In a cutler’s shop on Tower Hill Felton bought the
knife with which he stabbed the first Duke of Buckingham of the Villiers
family; it was a broad, sharp hunting knife, and cost one shilling. The
second duke often repaired in disguise to the lodging of a poor person,
“about Tower Hill,” who professed skill in horoscopes. Smith has
engraved a view of a curious old house on Tower Hill, enriched with
medallions, evidently of the age of Henry VIII., and similar to those at
old Whitehall and at Hampton Court.
Hatton, writing in 1708, describes Tower Hill as a place where there are
“many good new buildings mostly inhabited by gentry and merchants.”
TOWER OF LONDON
By W. J. LOFTIE
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
BLOCK, AXE, AND SCAVENGER’S DAUGHTER
]
Romance has been more busy with this one building than with all the
other edifices of England put together. A volume might be filled with
the stories founded in the imaginations of Harrison Ainsworth and his
predecessors and imitators. The benefactors, about whose doings he has
so much to tell, were first appointed here by Edward VI., to the number
of fifteen from the Yeomen of the Guard. The interesting drawings made
by George Cruikshank of chambers in towers now long since restored away
or otherwise destroyed have been mixed up with fictitious pictures of
Lady Jane kneeling at a _prie-Dieu_ on a straw-strewn scaffold, while a
hangman brandishes an axe; or of the burning of a sorcerer in the
confined space of Tower Green, with flames which would have been
sufficient to consume the buildings of the whole fortress. Many as were
the inhabitants from time to time, many as were the prisoners, great or
small, no “executions,” that is, no putting to death by process of law,
ever took place within the precincts, except those of four ladies of the
court of Henry VIII. and one other under Queen Mary, while political
considerations and fear of a popular movement in favour of the culprit
led to the death in the same semi-private place of one of Queen
Elizabeth’s some time favourites, Essex. To believe the tale-writers,
the Tower and its courtyards were ordinary places of public punishment.
It is often remarked as a matter of surprise that no blocks, no axes
have remained like jewels and inscriptions in various stone towers. But
if we ask why there should be any, we get no answer. The block long
shown is probably an ordinary chopping block for faggots and of no great
antiquity. The axe is of Roman make, and is known to have been brought
here in 1687. Some curious correspondence is in existence as to the
preparation of a block by the Sheriff of Middlesex for the decapitation
of Lord Lovat. The culprit was so old, obese, and infirm that it was
proposed to arrange for the provision of block at which he could kneel
without lying down, and some measurements were, it is believed,
furnished to the Sheriff with this object. I well remember as a child
being permitted, in the old Tower Armoury, to lay my head on Queen Anne
Boleyn’s block, as it was called. But Queen Anne, we know, had no block,
and was kneeling up when the French executioner, sent by Lord Wentworth,
then Governor of Calais, cut off her head by the sweep of a sword.
Almost as unfortunate as Ainsworth’s anachronisms are those of
innumerable historical writers who confound the Constable with the
Lieutenant and both with the Tower Major.
Things are very different now, from the visitors’ point of view, to what
they were years ago or less. In those days the so-called “Horse Armoury”
was the principal object of attraction. This was built as a long wooden
shed on the south side of the White Tower, and was filled with
fictitious figures on which some of the ancient armour was shown as that
of successive English kings from the Conqueror to James II. We emerged
from this gallery by a staircase which led us up into the crypt of the
Norman chapel through a window in the apse. It was impossible for any
one who had not previously undergone architectural training to recognise
the crypt in “Queen Elizabeth’s Armoury,” as this chamber was called. A
priest’s cubicle in the side wall was pointed out as “Sir Walter
Raleigh’s dungeon,” but the Queen’s robe, covered with mock jewelry, was
an object of far greater interest. At every point make-believe was the
rule, and when we at last visited a great hall, the roof, side-walls,
and pillars of which bristled with swords, bayonets, flint locks, and
other similar adornments, our powers of recognising that we were
traversing the rooms of the White Tower, which, before the reign of
Henry III., formed the principal residence of Rufus, Beauclerc, and
other descendants of the Conqueror, were completely obscured. We could
perhaps see that we had been made parties to a fiction which dwarfed the
most flagrant of Ainsworth or even Victor Hugo, but better counsels
prevailed when Hepworth Dixon pointed out, in his two volumes entitled
_Her Majesty’s Tower_, the great educational value of a visit to these
ancient precincts and the difficulty, under existing arrangements, of
obtaining any clear ideas. By degrees everything has been changed. The
visitor can pause at every step and can obtain without difficulty the
fullest information. In one particular, a serious mistake was committed.
The inscribed stones in the Beauchamp Tower were removed and grouped in
a single chamber, and it was not perceived till too late that thus they
lost more than half their historical value and all that kind of value
which may be termed sentimental. There are inscriptions in all the
inhabited buildings, and it is satisfactory to know that the mistake has
not been repeated, while the example, coupled with the modern aspect of
the Beauchamp Tower, forms a useful lesson for would-be architectural
restorers.
The Tower of London formed the principal feature of a system of
fortification by which William the Norman proposed at once to defend
London from without and to prevent the Londoners from rebellion against
his authority. The other castles are generally supposed to be those of
Wallingford and of Berkhampstead. Here, as a feature of Alfred’s rebuilt
Roman Wall, there was a bastion of extra size, and there are supposed
references to a building which may have stood on the site afterwards
covered by the Norman Keep, or possibly a little lower on the line of
the Roman Wall, where the Wakefield Tower, much altered, now serves for
the preservation and exhibition of the crown jewels.
The Norman Keep has been known at least since the time of Henry III. as
the White Tower. It was commenced in or near 1078, the architect being
Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, who seems to have laboured here, at
Rochester Cathedral and Castle, at West Malling, and probably in other
places until well on in the reign of Henry I. When, in 1108, he died,
his works here and elsewhere were still uncompleted. He probably left
the Keep, to which there was no entrance except by a system of
scaffolding and ladders connected with the Cold Harbour Tower and the
Wakefield Tower by strong walls enclosing a narrow triangular court. The
precinct surrounding this fortress gradually grew partly within, partly
without, the City boundaries, until it extended over the Outer Ward, as
far as the Bell Tower to the west, the Devereux on the north, and the
Martin on the east. It included the parish church, afterwards known as
St. Peter’s, and the Lanthorn Tower on the south-east, part of an
extension of the royal apartments. Adjoining the palace there was a
little later, say, in the reign of Henry III., an open space or “garden”
south of the White Tower. What had formed the Outer Ward of the Norman
Castle now became the Inner Ward of still more extensive precincts under
Richard and John. Bishop Longchamp took in a further tract to eastward.
King John in 1210 and later years strengthened himself against the
Barons of Magna Charta by increasing the outer fortifications, and work
went on constantly during the long reign of Henry III. and did not add
to his popularity with London citizens. Under Edward I. we first hear of
the Barbican, afterwards, down to 1834, known as the Lion Tower. There
are two interesting views of this building in Ainsworth’s book: one
evidently a careful woodcut of Cruikshank’s drawing on the spot before
the destruction of the building; the other an etching with imaginary
figures. Outside the defences at this corner was the so-called Conning
or Con Tower, a building of timber, opening into a narrow passage. It
led out at right angles to the north. The wooden gate, on this site,
still faces this way, and it is probable that not only the Tower gates
but the City gates at Newgate and Bishopsgate were similarly planned, a
point too often forgotten.
As early as 1347 gunpowder was made in the Tower for the French wars of
Edward III.—“pulvis pro ingeniis suis,” as we read. The Salt Tower must
have received its name from the storage of saltpetre. In 1381 Richard
II. was lodged here for safety from Wat Tyler’s mob; and here they
seized the Archbishop Sudbury and murdered him. It was here in 1399 that
Richard II. surrendered the crown to Henry IV. Jack Cade’s mob attacked
the Tower unsuccessfully. It was attacked again ten years later with a
similar result, and after this period the history of the fortress as a
fortress may be said to terminate.
From the time the Tower combined the functions of a palace and a prison
it became customary for every new sovereign to ride in state to the
coronation at Westminster through the City from the gate of the Tower.
Thus it was that Queen Anne (Boleyn), who had figured in such a
procession, was afterwards a prisoner and was here condemned to death
and beheaded on Tower Green. Here again her daughter, Elizabeth, after
having been a prisoner during the reign of her sister Mary, passed out
to her coronation, pausing on the way at the Lion Tower, where in a
short prayer she compared herself to Daniel emerging in safety from the
lion’s den. The last English king who thus went to Westminster was
Charles II. He and his brother James II. were lodged in the Tower on
several occasions of public danger, but the Civil War, then recently
ended, had shown plainly the weakness of mediæval fortification against
artillery. At the time of the death of Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex, who
in 1683 committed suicide or was murdered in his lodgings in the
Lieutenant’s House, both Charles and his brother were in the royal
apartments.
When the Tower ceased to be used as a palace, the old buildings to the
south of the Keep fell into ruin and have now all disappeared. They
included an annex of some size and importance which contained a few
Roman bricks, possibly taken from such parts of the wall as here reached
the river’s bank. The garden disappeared with the hall and the wardrobe,
and even the names of the buildings adjoining were changed. The Garden
Tower is now called the Bloody, and the odd reason used to be given that
it was because here the sons of Edward IV. were smothered. This is
extremely unlikely, and the name of the gateway was more likely derived
from the supposed suicide of Henry Percy, eighth Earl of Northumberland,
who was found dead in his bed with three bullets through his heart on
June 21, 1585. The Hall Tower, since the disappearance of the adjoining
Hall (in which Queen Anne Boleyn was tried), has been renamed _The
Wakefield_, and here the regalia, described below, are now shown. This
is the sole relic, with the White Tower, of the Norman buildings of
Gundulf. There is a Norman crypt, but the upper structure has been
“restored” away, with large but unsightly windows, and there is a bridge
for the convenience of the Keeper of the Crown Jewels, whose apartments
are in St. Thomas’s Tower, usually renamed _The Traitors Gate_. Between
the archway of this gate and the _Byward Tower_, the chief entrance from
the outer ward, is a long wall, facing which, on the north side of the
narrow roadway, the buildings of the Lieutenant’s Lodgings look over the
walls of the inner ward, ending with the _Bell Tower_. The bell now does
duty at St. Peter’s Church. The roadway is continued to the north as
Mint Street, which further on used to be known as Irish Mint Street.
From the corner under the Bell Tower we see the _Beauchamp Tower_, and
beyond it again the _Devereux_. There is a walk along the leads of the
roofs connecting the Bell with the Devereux, and here, it is said by the
romance writers, Lady Jane, confined in the Lieutenant’s Lodgings, used
to meet her husband, who carved her name in his chamber in the Beauchamp
Tower. The Lieutenant’s Lodgings have of late been renamed _The King’s
House_, and in the late reign, the Queen’s House, a change for which no
reason has ever been assigned.
The towers along the south curtain of the outer ward are the _Cradle_,
so named probably from an arrangement for receiving supplies from a boat
on the Thames, the _Well_, and the _Develin_ or Galleyman’s, so named
after an old warder. On the north side are three comparatively modern
forts, called _Legge’s Mount_, _North Bastion_, and _Brass Mount_, the
first from George Legge, Lord Dartmouth, Master General of the Ordnance
in 1682.
On the eastern side of the inner ward are some old and, for the most
part, unrestored buildings known as _Martin’s Tower_, at the
north-eastern corner; _Constable’s Tower_, _Broad Arrow_, and the _Salt
Tower_, already mentioned. The regalia used to be kept in the Martin,
which was also known as the Burbidge or Brick Tower. Here in 1671 the
crown, then in the custody of Talbot Edwards, was stolen by Colonel
Blood, who carried it nearly to the gate of the Byward Tower before he
was stopped. He was eventually pardoned by Charles II. The Broad Arrow
shows us what some of us remember—the Beauchamp before Salvin’s ruthless
“restoration.”
The Church of _St. Peter ad Vincula_ was so called from the Romanist
saint’s day, August 1, on which it was consecrated, and not from any
allusion to the Tower as a prison. It has often of late been described
as a Chapel Royal, but if there is any Chapel Royal in the Tower it is
St. John’s. What we now see was built in 1512, after a fire. The old
church was long vacant because of the murder, by the parson, of a friar
named Randolph in 1419. Edward IV. proposed to place here a dean and
chapter, but died before anything was arranged. Edward VI. put the
church under the care of the Bishop of London, and it has since usually
been served by a chaplain appointed by the Crown. The organ was formerly
in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall. There are few monuments, but the
burial-places in the chancel of the headless bodies of two of the wives
of Henry VIII., as well as of the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland
and some others, are marked by an encaustic pavement, highly
inappropriate to what Lord Macaulay described as the saddest spot on
earth.
There are several oratories in the different towers, as, for example,
the apartments over the Traitors’ Gate, known as St. Thomas’s Tower,
where the Keeper of the Jewels is lodged. A similar place for private
prayer in the Wakefield Tower has been in great part obliterated. Here,
according to an ancient tradition, the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards
Richard III., stabbed Henry VI. at his devotions in 1471.
The yeoman waiters or warders are not Yeomen of the Guard, but members
of a separate corps. There are forty yeomen, all old soldiers and
ranking as sergeant majors in the army. They seemed to have been called
beefeaters from the very beginning in Tudor times. The word “yeomen” is
often reckoned as “gentlemen,” being next below “esquire.” They were
only fifteen at first, but Charles II. improved their position and
increased their numbers. Part of their duty used to be to assist the
yeoman gaoler in the custody of prisoners. Persons condemned were by
them handed over to the Sheriff of Middlesex at the Con Gate, where the
City and Tower precincts meet.
THE JEWELS
The crown and other parts of the regalia of the state were long
treasured in the Martin Tower. They were previously in a building
adjoining the palace, on the south side of the White Tower. The removal
took place about 1641, which may be the date at which the palace
buildings were finally pulled down. There had been a “secret jewell
house” in the White Tower in which the most precious or venerable
objects were kept. At the time of the Great Rebellion they were taken to
Westminster and were all broken up and, as far as possible, destroyed.
This sacrilege, for so it must be called, took place in 1649, in the
August which followed the death of Charles I. A certain number of
articles were sent back to the Tower, no doubt to be melted down at the
Mint. These last included “Queen Edith’s crown” of silver-gilt and “King
Alfred’s crown” of gold wirework, with a few slight jewels set in it and
two bells. This must have been an object of the highest antiquity,
perhaps reaching back to the eleventh century. It need hardly be
remarked that “Queen Edith” is a wholly mythical person in this
connection, no wife of a sovereign of the house of Wessex being called
“Queen” or wearing a crown. The Confessor’s wife was “the lady Edith,”
his mother “the old lady.” There is no saying what England lost by the
wholesale destruction of these old crowns. There is a certain
satisfaction in reflecting that the Roundhead treasury was not greatly
benefited, the value of the objects sold or melted amounting only to
£14,221 : 15 : 4. The Crown jewels as we see them now consist mainly of
those required at a coronation, but the old “Regalia” comprised “one
christall pott” standing on crystal balls and mounted with silver gilt,
with a mannikin on the handle, valued then at £9; two gold trencher
plates at £85; more than two dozen crystal cups mounted in gold, and
many set with jewels; crystal and gold dishes; a crystal watch, valued
at £30; salt-cellars of all kinds of precious materials; twenty-six
agate bowls and cups—agate was thought to protect the drinker against
poison; mazers, some mounted in gold; an “old rusty knife, forke, and
spoone,” garnished with gold—it is often asserted that Charles II.
brought in the use of forks, but there were several forks in the old
collection; candlesticks; an old woman of gold for a salt-cellar, and
numerous objects of mother-of-pearl. In addition there were many single
stones, and among them “one ruby ballass pierced, and wrapt in a paper
by itselfe, valued at £4.” The Puritan framers of the catalogue did not
dare evidently to call any attention to the historical and monarchical
associations of this stone. It remained unsold until Oliver Cromwell
coming into sole power, and perhaps foreseeing that, if he lived, these
things might be useful in a coronation, stopped the sale and destruction
of the Crown jewels. This ruby, though it is not of first-rate quality
and is pierced, was saved and is identified by antiquaries as the jewel
which Peter, King of Castile, gave to the Black Prince in 1367, as part
payment, it is supposed, for his help in the battle of Najera. Peter,
who received the name of “the Cruel,” is said to have fought the Moorish
king of Grenada for the sake of his jewels, of which this was one, and
to have murdered him in cold blood. Henry V. wore it at Agincourt, in
1415, in his helmet. Another relic of the old regalia is the sapphire in
the front of the circlet. It was carried away by James II. when he left
England in 1688, and was restored by Cardinal York (Henry IX.) by will,
with some other jewels, to George III., in 1807. Another sapphire
figures in the cross on the summit of the State crown, as it did on that
of Queen Victoria. Its history points to its having been worn by Edward
the Confessor in a ring. The legend connecting it with the present
regalia is in the _Coronation Book of Edward VII._, p. 56 (Cassell and
Company, 1902). A silver-gilt spoon of thirteenth-century work, possibly
of twelfth, is the only other object known to have been in the old
regalia.
The other objects exhibited were chiefly made for the coronation of
Charles II. Silver or silver-gilt plate of that period is very scarce,
and the examples before us, most of which were made by Sir Robert Vyner,
are of the highest quality of which the period was capable. It is not
necessary to go through the different items of which the collection
consists. It will be sufficient to warn the visitor that when he reads
on the label “Crown of St. Edward,” he must take it as if the words were
“Crown (made by Vyner in imitation of that in the old regalia called the
Crown) of St. Edward.” The State crown was worn by King Edward VII. at
his coronation and is the same as that of Queen Victoria, somewhat
enlarged. It is of silver and has about 3000 diamonds, 227 pearls, 5
rubies, 17 sapphires, and 11 emeralds. The Sword of State was carried by
the Marquis of Londonderry, the Sceptre by the Duke of Argyll, and the
Sword of Mercy by the Duke of Grafton. At the coronation of George III.
the sword was forgotten and was left behind in St. James’s Palace. The
Lord Mayor’s sword was borrowed in the Abbey and was borne by the Earl
of Huntingdon. The right sword was, however, brought and laid on the
altar before the close of the service. At the coronation of George IV.
it was carried by the Duke of Dorset, and at that of William IV. by the
Duke of Wellington. At the coronation of Queen Victoria the sword was
borne by Lord Melbourne. Three other swords were borne at the coronation
of George IV., those, namely, of temporal justice, of spiritual justice,
and of mercy.
A visitor who has time should not leave the Wakefield Tower without
seeing an interesting series of stars, collars, and badges of the
different orders of knighthood. They are exhibited in the side cases, as
are also the silver trumpets of the Guards and other objects of the
kind.
THE ARMOURY
Although great stores of arms were accumulated in the Tower during the
Tudor reigns, we do not know of any special collection of ornamental
suits until much later. The armourers of Henry VIII.—men from Italy, and
in particular from Milan and Mantua, whence such words as milliner,
portmanteau, and others—dwelt and worked at Greenwich, where in the
Green Chamber were twelve suits of tilting armour for men and horses, in
the Great Chamber, nine, and in the Harness Chamber, seven, some of them
still incomplete when the inventory was made in 1631. The tilting suits
were removed to the Tower in 1660. Previously the arms stored there were
chiefly for soldiers, and comprised, in the reign of Elizabeth, 2000
equipments for foot-soldiers, known as demi-lances, as many corslets,
1000 shirts of mail, 3000 morions or helmets, and as many steel caps,
called “skulles” in the inventory. Towards the end of the reign the more
ornamental horse and tilting armour began to be brought up from
Greenwich, but the removal was not complete till the time of Charles
II., when the old palace was pulled down to make way for the first
buildings of what is now Greenwich Hospital.
Soon after, the picturesque building, now used as a military hospital,
was designed by Sir Christopher Wren for the reception of the armour.
About the same time, Wren’s friend, Grinling Gibbons, was employed to
carve the horses on which the full knightly panoply could be exhibited.
Some of these horses still remain and must be admired as real works of
art. Previously, no doubt, the equestrian armour was placed upon horses
such as are now called clothes-horses in a house, or saddle horses in a
harness room, convenient enough for the purpose, but unsuitable for any
scenic effect.
The armour was next removed to the Small Armoury. The name does not mean
that the building was small, but that it was designed for the storage
and exhibition of small arms, as distinguished from cannon and other
great guns. It was situated where the Waterloo Barracks are now, and was
entirely destroyed by fire in 1841, having become a store and being full
of inflammable material. It must have resembled the central part of the
great barrack at Winchester, built also by Wren. It was 245 feet long by
60 wide. Founded by James II., it was finished by William and Mary, who
at the opening dined in the great room in state “having all the warrant
workmen and labourers to attend them, dressed in white gloves and
aprons, the usual badges of the orders of masonry,” as Dodsley tells us,
writing in 1761. The “entablature and triangular pediment of the Doric
order” of which he speaks, “and the king’s arms, with enrichments of
trophy work,” were saved, and are now built into a wall on the south
side of a storehouse near the new Lanthorn Tower. The great Small
Armoury was undisturbed in 1821, but large quantities of weapons had
overflowed into the White Tower, where an armourer named Harris, whose
operations were much admired in their day, with his successors, arranged
them in various fantastic designs, many of them very ingenious. It was
Harris who made the trophies of arms at Hampton Court. “He was a common
gunsmith, but after he had performed this work, which is the admiration
of people of all nations, he was allowed a pension from the Crown for
his ingenuity.” This Small Armoury contained, at the time of the fire in
1841, 280 stands of muskets and small arms, ready for use.
The horse armoury had fortunately been removed some ten or twelve years
before the fire. A shed-like gallery, already mentioned, was built south
of the White Tower, and was ready in 1826, when the collection was
removed and arranged by Sir Samuel Meyrick. The visitor on entering saw
a long line of equestrian figures, twenty-two in number, clothed in the
armour supposed to belong to various reigns from Edward I. to James II.
As a fact, very little of the armour dated before the time of Henry
VIII., and the chain mail on a figure labelled Edward I. probably came
from India. A rearrangement was made by Mr. Hewitt about 1859, and a
catalogue. Ten years later a further arrangement was carried out by Mr.
Planché. In 1883, the whole collection was removed to the upper stories
of the White Tower, where it has been examined and put into something
like order by Lord Dillon, whose views are considerably more scientific
than those of Meyrick, Hewitt, or Planché. The change in the aspect of
the collection is considerable, and the visitor may be certain of a
great number of pieces of which few could be considered authentic
before. Lord Dillon calls attention to the mounted figure in chain mail
which used to do duty for Edward I. and before that, for William the
Conqueror. There are several other suits of Oriental armour, but this
one seems, in part at least, to be Persian. The only dated suit was sent
to Charles II. by the Great Mogul about 1660. In the so-called Council
Chamber is a suit worn by Lord Waterford at the Eglinton Tournament. It
shows armour of the time of Richard III. Several suits made for Henry
VIII. are beside it, and some also from Nuremberg of the same date. The
finest “was sent over in 1514, having been made by Conrad Sensenhofer,
whose mark is on the helmet. It was a present from the Emperor
Maximilian to his ally and relative, Henry VIII. Another maker is well
represented, Missaglia of Milan, by a suit for foot combats. Another
bears the Burgundian “cross ragulé,” which must not be confused with the
ragged staff of Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth’s Earl of Leicester. This
last-named suit is very rich in extra pieces for the protection of the
left side in tournaments. Another was worn by Dymoke of Scrivelsby at
the coronation of George II. It would be tedious to go through all the
armour, but a case in the first room contains an extensive collection of
helmets, many of them modern imitations, made in Germany, of ancient
forms. “The genuine tilting helmets,” says Lord Dillon, “will be
distinguished from false ones by the arrangement of the ocularium or eye
slit, which in the modern examples would allow of the easy insertion of
the opponent’s lance point.”
It may be worth while here to observe that in the lists two knights
passed each other on the left hand. In many modern pictures of mediæval
fights we see the knights each with his lance in the right hand and
pointing towards another knight on his right. This would have been
impossible, the weight of the lance alone being sufficient to make it
so. If the combatant struck his opponent, he must infallibly have put
his shoulder out and probably would also have broken some of his ribs
with his heavily mailed elbow. In old pictures, and particularly in
those representing tilt yards, the knights will be seen keeping the “off
side,” the lance being held diagonally across the horse’s neck, the
elbow being free so that no fracture ensues when the point strikes
anything hard. The extra pieces in the so-called Leicester’s suit were,
therefore, as Lord Dillon points out, “for the tilt yard and protected
the left side, that on which the riders passed each other.” Pictures in
the National Gallery and illuminated manuscripts in the British Museum
may be consulted on this subject.
Of the more miscellaneous objects in the collection it is not necessary
to say much here. Everything is carefully labelled. There is some Greek
bronze armour from Cumæ near Naples. The series of halberds is
remarkably fine and varied, as are the swords, the maces, early
fire-arms, and gauntlets. We may sum up, in the words of the _Guide_ of
1888, and make up our minds “that of the early linen armour,
supplemented with iron, of the Bayeux Tapestry, we have no examples
extant; that of the Crusaders and their ‘panoply’ in the twelfth century
we are almost equally ignorant; that monumental brasses and illuminated
manuscripts enable us both to judge how the knight was armed in the
thirteenth century, and also to identify a rare helmet here and there as
of the same period; but that for authentic suits of _cap a pie_ and even
much less, and for horse armour, apart from mere saddlery or harness, we
must depend on a period long after the invention and common use of guns
and gunpowder, a period when the skill of the armourer was exercised to
ornament tilting suits, defence against fire-arms proving impossible.”
For an account of the ancient foundation known as St. Katherine’s by the
Tower see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 335.
ST. PETER AD VINCULA
For history see p. 292.
The earliest date of an incumbent is 1355.
The patronage of the church has always been in the hands of the
Crown; it was constituted a rectory with a rector and three
chaplains by Edward III., February 10, 1353-54.
The chapel consists of a nave and chancel and an aisle on the north
side, separated from the nave by columns of the Decorated period of
architecture. It is 66 feet in length, 54 feet in width, and 25 feet
in height.
In this church are buried: Anne Boleyn; Katherine Howard; Sir Thomas
More; Cromwell, Earl of Essex; Lady Shrewsbury; Admiral Lord
Seymour; the Protector Somerset; John Dudley, Earl of
Northumberland; Lady Jane Grey; Lord Guilford Dudley; Sir Thomas
Overbury; Sir John Elcot; Okey the Regicide; the Duke of Monmouth;
Lords Lovat, Kilmarnock, and Balmerino, and others of lesser note.
=The Minories= lies within Portsoken Ward. Stow says:
“This Portsoken which roundeth as much as the Franchise at the gate, was
sometime a guilde and had this beginning as I have reade. In the dayes
of King Edgar more than 600 yeres since, there were thirteen knights
wellbeloved to the king and realme (for service by them done) which
requested to name a certain portion of land on the east part of the
Citte, left desolate and forsaken by the inhabitants by reason of too
much servitude. They besought the king to have this land, with the
Libertie of a guilde for ever; the king granted to their request with
conditions following that is that each of them should victoriously
accomplish three combates, one above the ground, one under ground, and
the thirde in the water, and after this at a certaine day in East
Smithfield they should run with speares against all commers, all which
was gloriously performed.”
Of the Minories, Stow says:
“From the west part of this Tower Hill towards Ealdegate being a long
continual street amongst other smaller buildings in that row there was
sometimes an abbey of Nunnes of the order of St. Clare called the
Minories.”
This abbey was founded in 1293 by Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, King Edward
I.’s brother, and was suppressed in 1539. For account see _Mediæval
London_, vol. ii. p. 329.
The Minories was later noted for its gunsmiths. “In place of this house
of Nunnes is now builded divers faire and large houses, for armour, and
the habiliments of war.”
HOLY TRINITY, MINORIES
On the suppression of the abbey its chapel became a parish church
for the inhabitants of the old monastic precincts. It escaped the
Great Fire, but was entirely rebuilt in 1706, at the expense of
Daniel King, Lady Pritchard and the parishioners. The earliest date
of an incumbent is 1595.
The patronage of the church originally in the hands of the Crown
passed by its union with St. Botolph, Aldgate (1899), to the Bishop
of London.
The building is very unpretentious. Since 1899 it has been used as a
Sunday School and parish institute. It has no proper tower, only a
turret at the west end. There is some fine carving at the west end,
preserved from the old church and bearing the date 1620.
No chantries were founded here.
The church contains monuments to Colonel William Legge,
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance to Charles I. and Charles II.,
who died in 1672, also his son, first Lord Dartmouth, Admiral of the
Fleet, who died in 1691. When the vaults were examined in 1849 a
head was brought to light, said to be that of Henry Grey, Duke of
Suffolk, father of Lady Jane Grey, which had been preserved from
decay by sawdust; it is now kept in a glass case in the vestry of
St. Botolph, Aldgate. The church was attended by Sir Isaac Newton,
when Master of the Mint.
Daniel King was donor of £200 and Lady Pritchard of £100 in 1706,
for the rebuilding of the church. No legacies or bequests are
recorded by Stow.
GROUP VI
The sixth group of streets in our division of the City contains all
those streets lying north of St. Paul’s Churchyard and Ludgate Hill.
We may consider this group as connected with Newgate Street and the
streets to the north, and Paternoster Row with the streets and lanes to
north and south. These lie partly in the ward of Farringdon Within and
partly in that of Farringdon Without.
Probably at or before the beginning of the thirteenth century, certainly
in its latter half, the present two wards of Farringdon Without and
Farringdon Within formed but one ward under one alderman. That ward in
early records is found named, as are most other wards, after its
successive aldermen, thus: “Ward of Anketin de Auvergne” (1276-77)
(Riley’s _Memorials_); “the ward which was that of Ralph le Fevre”
(1278); “Ward of William de Farndone” (1283); “Warda Willelmi de
Farendone infra et extra” (1286-87). Yet just before the last date the
ward was called after the two City gates which it contained, thus:
“Warda de Lodgate et Neugate: Willelmus de Farndon [aldermannus]” (_c._
1285) (Sharpe, _Calendar of Wills_); and so it continued some time, for
we find: “Warda Ludgate et Neugate presentat Nicholaum de Farndon
[aldermannum]” (1293). In each case the whole ward, both within the
gates and without, is intended, but it is said that the part without the
gates was sometime known as the “Ward of Fletestrete” (Riley’s
_Memorials_). In the fourteenth century the name of William de Farendone
became permanently attached to this ward, as: [warda] “Farndon Infra
[et] Farndon Extra: Nicholaus de Farndon [aldermannus]” (1319-20)
(Sharpe); [warda] “Farndone infra et extra” (1320) (Riley); “Warda de
Farndone” (1320); “Garde de Faryngdone” (1383). In 1393 the ward was
made into two wards, each with its separate alderman. Henceforward the
aldermanry without the walls was known by an equivalent to the present
style, as: “Ward of Farndone Without” (1415) (Riley); “Ward of Faryndone
Without” (1416) (Riley); “Ward of Faryngdon Without” (1444) (_Catalogue
of Ancient Deeds_); “Warde of Faringdon Extra, or Without” (1598)
(Stow); and so on with varieties of spelling.
The Roman gate of the west stood a little to the north of the later
gate. The massive alcoves of the gate were uncovered in Giltspur Street
near the end of the nineteenth century.
According to Stow, the “New Gate” was erected by Henry I. to relieve the
traffic which had been stopped by the enclosures of St. Paul’s Precinct.
Formerly, he said, the traffic had been conducted along a single street
leading from Aldgate to Ludgate. There is evidently some confusion here.
The “West Gate” is mentioned in a charter dated 857. It is possible that
it means Ludgate; it is not, however, probable that the Saxons allowed
the trade of the north and the west, which was brought down the great
highway to the marsh of Thorney and was then, even before the Roman
occupation, diverted along Oxford Street and Holborn, to resume its old
course across the Marsh and Thorney Island, or that they would have gone
out of their way to construct a new line of route along the present
Piccadilly and the Strand.
It seems perfectly certain that the old line of trade was followed,
partly because trade always does follow in accustomed lines, and partly
because there was no reason why it should not do so. I read, therefore,
the history of Newgate as follows:—The Roman Highway lay along Oxford
Street and Holborn; it crossed the valley of the Fleet by a causeway
through the mud and by a bridge over the stream—the causeway kept in
place by piles and the bridge also resting on wooden piles. On the other
side, the causeway sloped up the bank to the west gate, which stood on
the hill as part of the Roman wall. When the Saxons in the sixth century
came in to the City the causeway and the bridge had been swept away and
destroyed; the old gate was ruinous. The merchants themselves, when they
resumed the former trade, found it easier to break through the wall than
to clear away the ruins of the old gate. They then made their own
causeway and built their own bridge over the marshy valley and the
stream. When Alfred restored the walls, he accepted the new gate and
probably strengthened it, and built up the wall over the old Roman gate.
This gate it was which Henry I. rebuilt, not, as Stow says, built. By
this time, however, Ludgate had been opened as a postern; another
causeway and another bridge had been built across the valley, and houses
were springing up along the rising ground of Fleet Street and the
Strand. And it is also quite possible that the rebuilding of the gate
led to some reconstruction of the line of way through the City.
Henry I., therefore, rebuilt New Gate.
It was a prison from the first. All the City gates were prisons, the
upper chambers being strong and easily guarded by the permanent watch
below. Newgate, however, became a more important prison than any of the
others, “as appeareth,” says Stow, “by records in the reign of King John
and of other kings.”
It would take a whole volume to pass in review the prisoners of Newgate.
Let me take one—an obscure person—because he belongs to the life of
London, whereas the better known prisoners belong to the history of the
country. It was on the eve of Pentecost, 1388, that William Wotton,
Alderman of Dowgate, went to the Shambles in Newgate Street and asked of
one Richard Bole, a butcher, the price of certain pieces of beef.
Richard replied that it was four shillings. “That,” said the Alderman,
“is too dear.” Quoth Richard, impudently, “I do verily believe that the
meat is too dear for thee; who, I suppose, never bought as much meat as
that, for thine own use.” Observing, then, that the inquirer wore an
Alderman’s hood, he asked, “Art thou an Alderman?” “Yes,” William Wotton
replies; “why askest thou?” Whereupon he said, “It is a good thing for
thee and thy fellows, the Aldermen, to be so wise and wary, who make but
light of riding on the Pavement, as some among ye have been doing.” Here
we have reference to some grievance of the day. Why should the Aldermen
ride upon the pavement? One supposes that the pavement was meant for the
convenience of the stalls and not intended for horses. It was
constructed in 1339.
However, William Wotton very speedily had this impudent butcher laid by
the heels in Newgate. He was haled before the Mayor and sentenced to six
months’ imprisonment, after which he was to carry a lighted taper
through the Shambles and Chepe as far as St. Lawrence Lane, when he was
to offer his taper at the Guildhall Chapel. His fellows of the same
trade, however, petitioned, and the imprisonment was remitted; but he
walked in procession bearing that lighted taper, an object-lesson to
those who would beard an Alderman.
In the fifteenth century the want of ventilation and the confinement of
many in so narrow a place bred gaol-fever, which never afterwards left
the prison. In 1419 the gaolers of Newgate all died, and prisoners to
the number of sixty-four.
The case of Hugh le Bever may also be mentioned. He was charged with the
murder of his wife Alice. He refused to plead. He was therefore taken to
Newgate and there put in penance until his death. That is to say, he was
placed in solitary confinement—one can still see the narrow cell in the
old gate-prisons (for example, that at Rouen)—and there left to his own
meditations, with a daily allowance of bread and water. One wonders how
long the poor wretch lingered there. Perhaps his mind fell into a
comatose condition in which the days passed on without any other feeling
than that of blank misery, while the body grew weaker. Perhaps he went
mad. Perhaps he begged to be taken out and hanged. So difficult it was,
so heavy the task of making the people obedient to the law.
In the fourteenth century we find a new departure of a remarkable
character. There sprang up a new thing in the land—a feeling of
compassion for the misery of the unhappy prisoners of Newgate and other
gaols in London. The wills beginning in the year 1348 show bequests for
the poor prisoners. From 1348 to 1500 the wills published in the
_Calendar_ show eighty-one such bequests. This is very curious. It shows
an humanising influence of some kind—what was it? Not the influence of
monks and friars, because their spiritual force was fast declining. Was
it the Lollarding with which the City of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries was notoriously “infested”? The question is not easy to
answer. But the fact remains. Further, we find that light bread was
confiscated and given to the prisoners of Newgate; that all other kinds
of food when confiscated for any reason, were also sent there; and that
broken meats were sent to the prison from all men’s tables. It would
appear, therefore, that no food was supplied to prisoners at the time,
an inhuman practice, followed, until their abolition, by all the
debtors’ prisons, causing for hundreds of years miseries unspeakable and
incredible, were it not that compassion is a plant of such slow growth
and so fragile.
The outbreak of gaol fever of 1419 was caused by the well-meant but
injudicious action of the Mayor and Corporation.
They issued an ordinance, the reason of which is explained by the
preamble.
“Whereas the commendable intentions and charitable purpose of those who
have been governors and presidents of the City of London heretofore have
ordained a prison, called Ludgate, for the good and comfort of poor
freemen of the said city who have been condemned, to the end that such
poor prisoners might, more freely than others who are strangers, dwell
in quiet in such place, and pray for their benefactors, and live upon
the alms of the people.... Now, from one day to another, the charitable
intentions and commendable purposes aforesaid are frustrated and turned
to evil, inasmuch as many false persons, of bad disposition and purpose,
have been more willing to take up their abode there, so as to waste and
spend their goods upon the ease and licence that there is within, than
to pay their debts; and, what is even more, do therein compass,
conspire, and imagine oftentimes, through others of their false _coin_,
to indict good and loyal men for felonies and treasons of which they
have never been guilty.”
In other words, freemen of the City chose rather to live in the gaol of
Ludgate, on the alms provided for poor prisoners, than to work and pay
their debts; and, worse still, they made use of their time to get up
conspiracies against honourable citizens. The only remedy that could be
devised was to move all the prisoners to Newgate, and close the gaol.
This was done in the month of June, but in November, Richard Whittington
being mayor, it was found that most of the wretches taken to Newgate had
died there, “by reason of the fetid and corrupt atmosphere”; whereupon
Ludgate was reopened, “seeing that every person is bound to support and
be tender of the lives of men.”
In April 1431, Whittington being dead, the prisoners of Ludgate were
once more removed to Newgate, and, to the general indignation, eighteen
of them were led through the streets, pinioned as if they had been
felons, to the Sheriff’s Compter, probably with the view of not crowding
Newgate again. But in June of the same year they were all taken back to
Ludgate, which remained a debtor’s prison for the citizens of London
till the year 1762, when the gate was taken down and the prisoners
removed to the London Workhouse in Bishopsgate Street. This double
removal looks as if works of enlargement or of repair were in progress
at Ludgate. Twenty years later, in 1454, it was greatly enlarged by Dame
Agnes Forster; see also p. 196.
Meanwhile, however, New Gate and Prison had been enlarged or practically
rebuilt by Whittington, who began it, and his executors, who finished
it. He seems to have furnished the prison with additional chambers on
the south side. It is pleasant to think that one of the last actions of
this great and good man was to improve the “fetid and corrupt atmosphere
in the noxious Prison of Newgate.”
It may be remarked that the gate was decorated with a bas-relief of the
famous cat, showing that there was current in Whittington’s own life the
story of the cat.
[Illustration:
NEWGATE MARKET, 1856
]
Other works of repair, enlargement, and restoration were carried on in
1555 and in 1630. In 1666 the gate and prison were destroyed in the
Great Fire, but rebuilt in 1672.
The gate was removed in 1767, and now the prison has been demolished
also.
The modern account of Newgate Prison will be found in _London in the
Eighteenth Century_, p. 538.
Outside Newgate and on the western edge of the river, there was a suburb
dating from very early times. It grew up round Smithfield where horses
were bought and sold, and where young men shot with the bow and ran and
wrestled. It contained the people who belonged to the service of the
religious houses there, and those who belonged to the hospital. We also
find, outside Newgate, “rents” in the thirteenth century, and bakehouses
and tanneries also outside Newgate, while the spurriers in 1355 are
enjoined to work in their quarters outside Newgate until curfew rings
from St. Sepulchre’s Church.
[Illustration:
NEWGATE, 1799
]
Within Newgate, where a “pavement” was constructed to keep the stalls
from the mud of the unpaved street, was the Market of the Shambles. Here
were two churches—St. Ewen’s, at the north-east corner of Warwick Lane,
and St. Nicholas Fleshambles in what is now King Edward Street, formerly
Butcher’s Lane or Stinking Lane. Both parishes were united to form that
of Christ Church after the Dissolution.
Newgate Market is generally spoken of as a meat market only, which in
later years it became; but formerly many other things were sold there.
It is the natural tendency of markets to admit goods for sale other than
those for which they were created.
Thus we find in the fourteenth century that wheat was sold in the “corn
market of Newgate”; that poulterers who were freemen had to sell their
fowls either in Newgate Market or else west of the Tun in Cornhill; that
cheese brought into the City by “foreigners” had to be sold in the
market between the Shambles and Newgate, and nowhere else; that
blacksmiths were forbidden to sell their goods except in the pavement of
Newgate or else by the Tun of Cornhill; and that pork was also sold in
the market. Further investigations would doubtless bring to light the
fact that it became a general market.
There was a great deal of trouble with the butchers. They were an unruly
class—we have seen how one of them was put to shame for impudence; they
persisted in pouring the blood from the shambles down the gutters; they
carried the offal through the streets, and threw it into the river at
the Temple. In 1369 strict ordinances were passed that animals should be
slaughtered outside the walls. As the butchers disobeyed the law it was
again proclaimed two years later, with the exception for the butchers of
East Chepe and the Stocks. I do not think, however, that the slaughter
of beasts was ever carried on without the walls. The market stood all
along Newgate Street, with a “Middle Row” of sheds, under which were the
stalls for the sale of grain, cheese, butter, poultry, etc., besides
that of meat. The butchers also had their stalls in Butchers’ Lane. The
Middle Row became like that in Holborn—a row of houses over shops. This
Middle Row must have made Newgate Street narrow and intolerably dark and
close. The Great Fire swept it away, and among the improvements made
after the Fire it was ordered “that the Ground where the Middle Row of
the Shambles stood and the ground of the four late houses in Newgate
Market between Warwick Lane End and the Bell Inn there shall be laid
into the streets” (Maitland).
Those who can remember Newgate Street before the butchers’ shops were
taken to Smithfield, can bear witness to the horrible appearance of the
street, lined as it was with butchers’ shops, where the passenger, who
never went through the street if he could avoid it, was jostled by
greasy blue smocks, and saluted on the cheek with ribs and legs of
bleeding ox flesh. The end of Newgate Street and of Paternoster Row
facing Cheapside was, in 1720, called Jackanapes Row, a modern name
given for some unknown reason. Passing along Newgate Street on the north
side we come to Christ’s Hospital.
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
When we pass from the pre-Reformation schools to the great institution
of Christ’s Hospital, which has become indissolubly associated with the
name of Edward VI., the first Protestant king of England, we might
expect to find that we passed from darkness to light; from groping in
the dark after fragmentary hints of evidence, to an era of charters and
documents well known and well understood. Yet there is no great school
the history of which has been more misunderstood or misrepresented than
that of Christ’s Hospital. In 1898, at the laying of the foundation
stone of the new buildings at Horsham, Sussex, which are destined to
convert Christ’s Hospital from a London school into a “non-local” public
school, the Duke of Cambridge, as Chairman of the Governors of Christ’s
Hospital, gave the layer of the stone, the Prince of Wales, a succinct
version of the story of its origin.
“It was founded,” he said, “by the saintly King Edward the VIth, who,
besides assigning it a site in the City of London, with his own hands
inserted in the charter power to take lands in mortmain, which has
enabled the munificence of subsequent benefactors to provide for nearly
three and a half centuries for the nurture and education of children.”
So the historian of Cambridge University, Mr. J. Bass Mallinger,[13]
speaking of Edward VI. had said: “Upwards of 30 Free Grammar Schools
founded at this time have permanently associated the name of Edward VI.
with popular education”; and among the thirty free grammar schools
founded by him, he includes Christ’s Hospital.
Carlisle, in his _Endowed Grammar Schools_, made a more cautious
statement.
“The precise endowment of the institution by the Royal Founder is not
known. It is certain that part of the premises which it now comprises,
commonly called Grey Friars and the Cloisters, with a part of the
building, were given by Edward VI.”
A closer examination of the facts will show us that Christ’s Hospital
was not founded as a grammar school; that neither site nor buildings
were given by Edward VI.; and that he did not inscribe a licence in
mortmain with his own hand. Christ’s Hospital was founded as a Foundling
Hospital and Ragged School for gutter children of both sexes, by the
inhabitants of London, by means of public subscriptions and rates, on a
site and in buildings already acquired by the City from Henry VIII., and
Edward VI.’s contribution to it consisted of a piece of parchment, some
confiscated church linen, and his name.
Perhaps the most startling revelation to those who have heard so often
of the magnificence of the foundation of Edward VI., is to find that
Christ’s Hospital at first had no endowments beyond its sites and
buildings, and never received a penny of income from the property
comprised in Edward’s charter.
Christ’s Hospital is alone among the great public schools in that it has
entirely departed from the class and the objects for which it was
originally intended. Winchester and Eton, Westminster and St. Paul’s
were intended always for the same class or classes which now frequent
them. The scholars were meant to be, and were, taken from the poorer
members of the upper middle class, squires, parsons, barristers,
merchants, and the like, “who could not, without help, send their sons
to the University”; the commoners or paying boys from the richer members
of the same class. Christ’s Hospital, unlike these, was intended for the
poorest of the poor. Its foundation was not due, like that of the other
ancient public schools, to any single founder, or to any desire to
further education. It was a part of a great scheme to put down
pauperism, and so effect by voluntary and charitable effort what in
Elizabeth’s day and since has been effected, or attempted, by compulsion
and the Poor Law. It was intended to rid the streets of London of the
curse of sturdy rogues and vagabonds, on principles which were strictly
in accordance with the doctrines of political economy, and would be
highly approved by the Charity Organisation Society. It aimed at getting
rid of the poor by setting those who were merely unfortunate to work,
while making things unpleasant for the undeserving and idle, and by
bringing up their children in the way they should go to earn their own
living.
[Illustration:
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL, FROM THE CLOISTERS, 1804
]
The establishment of Christ’s Hospital is inextricably mixed up with
that of the other “Royal Hospitals,”[14] St. Bartholomew’s and St.
Thomas’s Hospital and the Bridewell. It may be traced to a movement to
rid London, and especially the parish churches, of the crowds of poor,
some sick and diseased, some mere idle “rogues and vagabonds.”
Historians like Father Gasquet in his _Henry VIII. and the Monasteries_,
following some older authors, _laudatores temporis acti_, write as if
beggary and vagrancy were a special product of the Reformation Era, and
were caused by the suppression of the monasteries. This is putting the
cart before the horse. It could easily be shown that hundreds of years
earlier the State made efforts to put them down. But for the present
purpose we need go no further back than the first part of the sixteenth
century. In London an Act of Common Council,[15] passed in 1518, before
Luther had ever been heard of beyond Wittemburg, and long before the
suppression of monasteries had even been dreamt of by Henry, directed
that for getting rid of “all mighty beggars, vagabonds, and all other
suspect and evil-disposed persons out of this city, every alderman in
his ward shall get two or three persons in each parish to form lists of
all persons living on alms, and certify them to the Common Council.”
But, while the monasteries and friaries, and especially the latter—those
great schools of pauperism and seminaries of beggary—were continually
creating new swarms of the poor they were supposed to relieve, any real
diminution of beggary was hopeless. We find the Common Council in 1533,
before the suppression, vainly trying to abate the evil by the
institution of a voluntary poor-rate, directing the aldermen to “weekly
depute some honest persons of every parish to gather the devotions of
the parishioners, and the same to be delivered at the church doors to
poor folk,” so as to prevent them crowding into the churches, carrying
their disgusting sores and infection with them.
Almost immediately after the dissolution of the monasteries, August 1,
1540, the City began to negotiate with Henry VIII. for the purchase of
the “four houses and churches of Friars,” the Black, White, Grey, and
Austin, because they were the finest buildings in the City after St.
Paul’s and St. Martin-le-Grand. The Grey Friars’ Church was no less than
300 feet long. The City urged that they would be “a very great comfort,
aid and refuge for the avoiding and eschewing” of plague and sickness.
They offered “a thousand marks esterling (£666 : 13 : 4), if they can be
gotten no better cheap, down for them.”[16] Sir Richard Gresham was the
negotiator, and had to inform the court of aldermen that His Highness
thought the citizens “pinchpence” to offer so little, and refused. At
last, however, in 1547, they came to an agreement, not for all the
houses unfortunately, but for the Grey Friars only. They also acquired
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, which had been dissolved as part of the
Priory of St. Bartholomew, and Bethlehem or Bedlam Hospital, which,
being in the hands of the secular clergy, had not been dissolved. What
was paid for the grant does not appear in the documents; though that
something considerable was paid there is little doubt. On December 27,
1547, the City got a conveyance from Henry, confirmed by charter of the
same date, with a licence in mortmain precisely in the same words as the
one which, we are told, was so providentially invented by Edward VI.; as
was perhaps not surprising since the formula was some two centuries old.
Henry purported to make the grants of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and the
Grey Friars’ Church, cloisters, and conventual buildings with the whole
precinct, and all the houses in it, valued at some £50 a year, because
he considered “the miserable estate (the poor, aged, sick, sore and
impotent people), as well men as women, lying and going about begging in
the common streets of the City of London[17] and the suburbs of the
same ... to the great infection and [an]noyance of his grace’s loving
subjects.”
St. Bartholomew’s was to be a hospital or house for the poor. The Grey
Friars was not granted for a hospital but for a church. It was to be a
parish church for the Grey Friars’ precinct, Newgate and St. Sepulchre’s
parish, with a vicar; “a visitor of Newgate,” or prison chaplain, and
five other priests, partly curates, partly chantry-priests, all to be
appointed by the corporation of the City. The City, that is, “the Mayor
and Commonalty and citizens,” were given a licence in mortmain to hold
lands up to the value of a thousand marks a year for the purposes of
this grant. By the same grant they were made the custodians of the
Bethlehem Hospital.
The Common Council, on obtaining possession of the Grey Friars’ Church,
promptly gutted it[18] of all its famous and beautiful tombs, royal and
civic alike, stripping down its stall-work, and reducing the dimensions
of the nave. In fact, they emulated the Crown and nobility in the work
of plunder and destruction, not sparing their own ancestors.
At first efforts were made to maintain St. Bartholomew’s Hospital by
voluntary donations, “a weekly collection of the devotion of the
people,” but this was found not to “take any good success or semblance
of good contynnance,” and by an order of Common Council, September 29,
1547, “a moietie or half deale of one hole fiftene” was levied for its
support. In December 1543 certain dues levied in respect of the
measuring of leather up to 500 marks a year were granted to it; and the
other 500 marks to be paid out of the half-fifteenth[19] was assessed
instead on the Companies at the rate of £24 a quarter from the Mercers
down to 13s. 4d. a quarter from small Companies like the Glaziers.
In 1549 the City was already in treaty with the Protector Somerset[20]
“for the alteration of parcel of the foundacion of the house of the
poor.” Nothing, however, was done during his stormy reign, which ended
by his being sent to the Tower in January 1550. In the following Lent,
Lever,[21] the Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge, preached some
famous sermons at St. Paul’s Cross, inveighing against the breach of the
Acts of dissolution both of monasteries and chantries, according to
which the proceeds were to be applied “for erecting of Grammar Schools,
the further augmenting of the Universities and better provision for the
poor.” He voiced, not merely the wishes of his own college and
university, but also those of the City of London. Edward VI.’s action
has been attributed to a sermon of Ridley “the martyr,” the Bishop of
London, in 1552. It seems doubtful, however, whether Ridley was the
prime mover or only an agent of the City. A letter of his own, intended
to be pathetic, but which surely must have had a ring of comicality even
to his contemporaries, goes to show that Lord Mayor Sir Richard Dobbs
was the originator of the movement.
“O Dobbs, Dobbs, alderman and Knight, thou in thy year didst win my
heart for evermore for that honourable act, that most blessed work of
God, of the erection and setting up of Christ’s holy hospitals and truly
religious houses which by thee and through thee were begun.... Thou
didst plead their cause (the cause of Christ’s ‘silly members’) yea and
not only in thine own person thou didst set forth Christ’s cause but to
further the matter thou broughtest me into the Council Chamber of the
City before the Aldermen alone, whom thou hadst assembled there together
to hear me speak what I would say as an advocate by office and duty in
the poor man’s cause.”[22]
The Bishop, in fact, acted as the Bishops of London now do, as a kind of
public orator and common vouchee of all charitable organisations; he was
not the originator or organiser.
The detailed story of the foundation is told in an account written by J.
Howes, “Renter” of Christ’s Hospital, in the form of a delightful
dialogue between Dignity (an Elizabethan alderman) and Duty, or Howes
himself.[23]
Dobbs, he tells us, with the Bishop and a few others, “devised a book”
to provide for the various classes of poor. “First[24] they devised to
take out of the streets all the fatherless children and other poor men’s
children that were not able to keep them, and to bring them to the late
dissolved house of the Grey Friars, which they devised to be an Hospital
for them, where they should have meat and drink and clothes, lodging and
learning, and officers to attend upon them. They also devised that there
should be provision made to keep the sick from the whole, and laid a
‘platte’ (a plot or plan) to have purchased Finsbury Court, and there to
have kept the children in fresh air in the time of sickness, because
they feared lest through the corrupt nature of the children, who might
infect one another, being packed up in one house, and so put the whole
city in danger of infection. Then the Governors devised that the sucking
children and such as were not able to learn should be kept in the
country and always at Easter brought home.” The lame and aged poor were
to be removed to St. Thomas’s Hospital, forthwith; the “Lazar” people
should be removed out of the streets, and have monthly pensions paid to
them to the end they should not annoy the King’s subjects resorting to
the City; and all the decayed poor citizens should be made known and
every one of them have weekly a pension according to his necessity. But
“all the idle and lusty rogues, as well men as women, should all be
taken up and conveyed into some house where they should have all things
necessary and be compelled to labour.” A committee of thirty was
appointed to collect statistics. They reported that the number to be
provided for was—
Fatherless children 300
Sore and sick persons 200
Poor men overburthened with their children 350
Aged persons 400
Decayed householders 650
Idle vagabonds 200
————
2100
————
They then set to work to provide ways and means.
The committee of thirty found close on £1500 themselves. The parsons
were set to work to extract weekly “pensions” from their parishioners;
boxes were distributed to the wardens of every Company. There was a
“devise that every honest householder in London should have a bill
printed, wherein there was a glass window left open for his name and for
his sum of money,” and the churchwardens were to get these filled in.
In February 1551[25] the City began to negotiate for the purchase of
“the Hospitall in Suthwarke,” the Hospital of St. Thomas à Becket in
Southwark, which until the Dissolution had been in the hands of
Augustinian canons. On the 25th March the Privy Council granted an order
for the purchase to be carried into effect. A detailed estimate of the
charges and net income of the hospital on the proposal to purchase is
extant at the Record Office.[26] From this it appears that the total
gross value of its possessions was £314 : 17 : 1: the charges for the
poor, the priests, and so on were estimated at £154 : 17 : 1, leaving a
surplus of about £160 a year. Of this, £36 odd was derived from land
estimated at twenty years’ purchase, and £123 from houses and cottages
taken at fourteen years’ purchase. The City paid £2461 : 2 : 6 down for
the grant of the endowment, with the hospital site and buildings thrown
in. The transaction was completed by Letters Patent of August 12 and 13,
1551, which included a licence in mortmain up to £46 a year above the
issue of the lands, _i.e._ £200 a year in all.
Having acquired St. Thomas’s Hospital for the sick poor, the City next
set itself to work to petition[27] the King for a grant of the old
palace of Bridewell. For the proposed inhabitants of this they had in
“readiness most profitable and wholesome occupations for the continuing
in godly exercise ... which is the guider and begetter of all wealth,
virtue and honesty.” This was followed up by a further grant of the
Savoy Hospital, founded by Henry VII. on the site of the old mansion of
John of Gaunt, and completed by Henry VIII. It was intended for old
soldiers and pilgrims.
We gather from Howes that the motives of the King in making the grant of
Bridewell, and of the revenues of the Savoy Hospital, to Christ’s
Hospital were not of the very highest order.
“What” [says Dignity] “should move the King to depart from so beautiful
a house as Bridewell was, so richly garnished, with so great charges,
and being so late builded, and to convert the lands of the Savoy to the
City?”
“The situation of Bridewell” [replies Duty] “was such that all the cost
was cast away; there was no coming to it but through stinking lanes or
over a filthy ditch, which did so continually annoy the house, that the
King had no pleasure in it. And therefore the King being required by the
citizens to converte it to so good a use God moved his heart to bestow
it to that use, rather than to be at any charge in keeping of it, or to
suffer it to fall down; and so not profitable to any. And this, I am
sure, was the reason that moved the King. For at that time it stood void
and was daily spoiled by the keepers. And now as touching the turning
over of the Savoy lands you shall understand that the Savoy was erected
by King Henry VIIth in the time of papistry chiefly for pilgrims,
wayfaring men, and for maimed and bruised soldiers that they might have
meat, drink and lodging for a time. The pilgrims being suppressed and so
no use of them, and as for such wayfaring men and soldiers as that house
did commonly harbour, [they] were none other but common rogues and idle
pilfering knaves, which they received in at night and every morning
turned out at the gates without meat, drink or clothes; and so lay
wandering all day abroad seeking their adventure in filching and
stealing, and at night came and were received in again. And so the Savoy
was nothing else but a nursery of all villany. The revenues and profits
of the rents came wholly to the use of the Masters, who were priests,
and officers of the house. And so the virtuous prince King Edward had
great reason in converting the lands to the City, where the poor
received the profits.”
The Savoy lands were worth £450 a year; but the institution was in debt
to the amount of £178, which the City had to pay off, and they also had
to pension the officers of the Savoy Hospital to the extent of £101 :
6 : 8 a year.
According to Howes, all the income from endowment went to St. Thomas’s
Hospital, the Bridewell was maintained by labour, and Christ’s Hospital
chiefly by the liberal devotion of the citizens; but if any one of these
three wanted then the other two did supply the lack.
Meanwhile on July 26, 1552, the City began to repair the Grey Friars for
the use of the poor children.
Separate committees of the thirty above-mentioned were appointed to
prepare or “make sweet” the various places for the poor. That for
Christ’s Hospital consisted of Mr. Roe, “which was afterwards Lord
Mayor,” as Treasurer, and Stephen Cobbe, John Blondell, Thomas Lodge,
Thomas Bartlett, Thomas Eaton, and Richard Grafton as “surveyors.” “The
late dissolved Grey Friars at that time[28] stood void and empty, only a
number of ‘whores and rogues’ harboured therein at nights; saving one
Thomas Bryckett, vicar of Christchurch, with whom the Governors
compounded and bought all his tables, bedsteads and other things; and
made out of his lodgings ‘a compting house and lodging for their
clerk.’” Then they appointed officers: a warden, clerk, steward, butler,
under-butler, cook, two porters; surgeon, barber, tailor, coal-keeper, a
“mazer” or bowl scourer, a matron, twenty-five sisters or nurses, a
porter, and a sexton. With them were also the schoolmasters in the old
triple division of grammar, song, and writing, with reading (assumed in
the ordinary grammar school to have been already mastered) added.
There was—
£ _s._ _d._
A Grammar Schoole Mayster, John Robynson, whose yearly
fee was 15 0 0
A Grammar Usher, James Seamer 10 0 0
A Teacher to wrighte, John Watson 3 6 8
Schoolmasters for the Petties ABC, Thomas Lowes and
Thomas Cutts, whose yearly fees to each of them was 2 13 4
A schule maister for musicke 2 13 4
A teacher of pricksonge whose yearly fee was 2 13 4
John Watson the writing master was also clerk, in which latter capacity
he received £10 a year. The status of the various teachers may be judged
from the fact that the head surgeon received the same stipend as the
head schoolmaster; the under-surgeon received £4 against the usher’s
£10, while the arts got £8. The “Absies,” _i.e._ ABC or elementary
schoolmaster, received 13s. 4d. a year more than the barber, and a great
deal less than the porters, who had £6 a year each.
The foundation was a stupendous charitable effort, the money it cost
being certainly underestimated by the common reckoning at twelve times
the then value, or £30,000 of our money. It included, for instance, “500
feather beds, and 500 pads of straw to put under the feather beds, and
as many blankets and 1000 pair of sheets” from one contractor alone. In
all, double that number was provided. But many “there were that brought
feather beds, coverlets, sheets, blankets, shirts and smocks, and
disbursed great sums of money, which never came to any public account.”
The “virtuous prince” himself was most generous. He issued a warrant
under his own hand “that all the linen belonging to the churches in
London should be brought and delivered to the Governors for the use of
the poor, reserving sufficient for the Communion Table, with towels and
surplices for the ministers and churches.” The linen, we are told, did
good service, “and especiale in St. Thomas Hospital.”[29]
In November 1552[30] no less than 380 children were taken into the
house. At first the “idle men and women” were also brought into Christ’s
Hospital “and put in what is now (_i.e._ in 1582) the schoolmaster’s
house, where they were kept from doing any further harm, although not
employed to any occupations, for the place served not.” When Bridewell
was obtained, the workhouse folk were removed there; but this was not
before midsummer 1554.[31]
The preparation of Christ’s Hospital was entirely done by voluntary
contributions. For St. Thomas’ the City granted £100, and “turned over”
to it “£50 a year of that which had been purchased from the King.” But
no endowment income was forthcoming for Christ’s Hospital. Nor is it
possible to ascertain how much capital was given for Christ’s Hospital
alone as the contemporary “State and charge of the new erected
Hospitals—A.D. 1553”[32] gives the cost of St. Thomas’ indistinguishably
mixed with that of Christ’s Hospital. The total was £2479 : 15 : 10,
towards which £2476 was received in subscriptions and donations.
Though Christ’s Hospital was in full working order from November 1552,
the legal foundation, which appears to have been delayed by the
conclusion of the arrangements about Bridewell, was not complete till
June 1553. An “Indenture of Covenants,” dated June 12, 7 Edward VI.
(1553), was made in English between the King and the mayor, commonalty,
and citizens of London, which was carried out by Letters Patent in Latin
on the 26th June. The patent contained grants of the manor of Bridewell,
the lands belonging to the Savoy Hospital, and the bedding in the same;
but not the hospital itself. It created the City Corporation a special
corporation with a separate common seal by the name of “the Governors of
the possessions, revenues and goods of the Hospitals of Edward the
Sixth, King of England, of Christ, Bridewell and St. Thomas the
Apostle,” and gave them a licence in mortmain to hold lands for the
purposes of the three hospitals up to 4000 marks (£3333 : 16 : 8) a
year.
The charter in the most distinct terms emphasises the poor law character
of the foundation, and states also with equal distinctness that the idea
did not originate with the King. “Whereas we pitying the miserable
estate of the poor, fatherless, decrepit, aged, sick, infirm and
impotent persons, languishing under various kinds of diseases, and also
of our special grace thoroughly considering the honest and pious
endeavours of our most humble and obedient subjects the Mayor and
Commonalty and citizens of our city of London, who by all ways and
methods diligently study for the good provision of the aforesaid poor
and of every sort of them”—such is the preamble to the grant. The
charter deals with every class of destitute poor: sick, aged, orphans;
the poor by misfortune; and rogues and vagabonds; the wilfully poor. The
preamble states as its object “that neither children yet being in their
infancy shall lack good education and instruction, nor when they shall
attain riper years shall be without honest callings and occupations, nor
that the sick or diseased when they be recovered and restored to healthe
may remain idle and lazy vagabonds, but that they in like manner may be
placed and compelled to labour.” In like manner the conclusion of the
charter is a grant to the corporation of power to search towns and
playhouses, and arrest ruffians, vagabonds, and beggars.
The story of the boy king inserting the licence in mortmain with his own
hands is absurd. The licence, occupying a good quarto page of close
print, is in the usual legal common form. The story arose, no doubt,
from an exaggerated version of Strype’s[33] tale that “space was left in
the patent for His Grace to put in what sum it pleased him” up to the
yearly value of which the City might hold lands in mortmain for the
hospitals, not Christ’s Hospital alone, but all together. “He looking on
the void place called for pen and ink, and with his own hand wrote this
sum, 4000 marks by the year.” Unfortunately for the story, in the patent
the sum is written in the same hand as the rest of the document, and the
sum had been previously settled, since it appears in the agreement
executed a fortnight before, and could not have been altered without a
breach of contract. In the agreement it is written in a different hand
to the rest of the document; but there is no reason to think that it was
Edward’s own hand, which it does not the least resemble. So much for the
legend of St. Edward the VI. It is as apocryphal as the picture, said to
be by Holbein, which hangs in the Great Hall of Christ’s Hospital and
shows Edward on his throne surrounded by the Council, giving the charter
to the Lord Mayor on his knees, while 15 boys and 15 girls of the
Hospital kneel in the foreground, the smallest boy and girl facing the
throne and holding up their hands in rapt admiration. It is a matter of
history that the poor boy-king died within a week of the date of the
charter—July 6, 1553,—and was invisible for many days before he died; a
passing glimpse of him being exhibited to assure the people that he was
still alive.
The foundation of Edward VI. nearly succumbed under his successor Mary.
When “she came out of Norfolk and was to be received into London, the
Governors set up a stage without Aldgate and placed themselves and the
children on the stage, and prepared a child of the Free School to make
an oracion to hir. But when she came near unto them she cast her eye
another way and neither stayed nor gave any countenance to them.” “She
did not like ‘the blewe boyes,’” said Howes; “but if they had been so
many Grey Friars she would have given them better countenance.”
According to him, “the Friars made great friends and great means to be
restored to that house because it stood whole, and was not spoiled, as
other houses were, but they never durst open their mouths to suppress
that house as long as Friar John was within the land.” He tells a famous
tale, “how Friars Peto and Perrin did their good wills to have subverted
all.” But Friar John, a Spaniard, was brought by the rest of the
Commissioners to have his opinion, who, “being there at dinner-time and
seeing the poor children set at the tables in the hall and seeing them
served with meat, he was so wrapt in admiration that suddenly he burst
into tears, and said in Latin to the company that he had rather be a
scullion in their kitchen than steward to their king.” “Alfonsus,” the
King’s Confessor, also supported them, while Dr. Story was made a friend
by having been given the lease of the house where he dwelt, which was
“parcel” of the Friars, for he thought that if the Friars were restored
that then they would bring his house in question; while the Bishop of
Chichester being tenant of the chief lodging of the Prior was also
friendly for the same reason. The children were therefore kept
undisturbed, though Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, when Chancellor,
“clapped Mr. Grafton fast in the Fleet for two days because he suffered
the children to learn the English Premier when they should have learned
the Latin Absies (A, B, Cs).”
There is plenty of evidence as to the class of children taken into
Christ’s Hospital. The most striking is a passage from Howes’ book. “A
number of the children,” he says, “being taken from the dunghill, when
they came to sweet and clean keeping and to a pure diet died
outright.... And a number of them would watch daily when the porters
were absent that they might steal out and fall to their old occupation.”
This is corroborated by the Court Book of the Hospital, which
unfortunately only begins in December 1556, with such entries as this:
May 10, 1557, “Graunted that a woman child left on Mr. Gunter’s stall in
Cornhill, and by him kept since Candlemas, should be admitted.” November
8, “a woman childe left in a pewe at St. Peter’s, Cornhill, admitted.”
March 14, 1557, a child “found in Thames Streete near the Bridge
admitted.” In the “Children’s Register,” beginning 1563, we come across
many names pointing to the foundling origin of the children. Richard
Nomoreknowen, five years old. He died in the sick-ward in 1570.
Augustine Old Change, six years old. “To service, March 30, 1567.”
“Dorothy Buttriedore” (she had evidently been deposited behind the
buttery door), “three years old. To service, 1570. Delivered to Mr. His
for his own, but received back. Delivered to Margaret Garraway for her
own, 1571; again to F. Tousbury, April 19, 1572.” “Jane Fridaiestreete,
aged six, sent to service 1568.” Perhaps the two quaintest names were
“Grace-That-God-sent-us,” “delivered out on the 19th, and died April 21,
1563,” and “Jane-that-God-sent-us,” sent to service 1568.
Stow says of Christ’s Hospital: “A full Courte shal be when xiij of the
Governours of this said Hospitall be assembled at the least, whereof two
shal be Aldermen, the one of them to be the President, with ten
Commoners besides the Thresorer; and what these xiij Persons or vij of
them at the leaste, the President being one of the Number, shal decree,
ordaine or agree upon, the same shal stand in Force, and shal not be
altered nor disallowed except by a like Courte to be called in that
behalfe.
“Item. That no Governour be taken into this Hospitall in the Place of
any that shal happen to die within the Year except it be at a full
Courte, to be holden as afore, for weighty Causes; and the Name of him
so admitted, to be presented to the Maior and Courte of Aldermen, before
he be called to receive his Charge.
“Item. That no Sale of Land, Tymber, or Wood, Lease, Alienation,
Buildinge, or Reparation be determined or done, of Lands or Tenements
geven to th’ onlye Use of Christ’s Hospitall, or in any wise belonginge
properlie to the same, except at a full Courte, to be holden in the said
Hospitall as before.
“Item. That no Reward be given to any Person above the Some of v
Shillings at once; which must be done by the consent of the Thresorer
and one of the Almoners at the least; except first the same be graunted
and determined in a full Courte, as before.
“Item. That there be no Leases lett in Reversion but one Year before the
ould Lease be expired; and that no such Graunt be made but by a full
Courte, as before, or els not; and that all the same Leases be drawn in
Paper by a Scryvenor, one of the Governours of the saide Hospitall,
before they be engrossed; and he to be allowed for every Draught
accordinge to the Quantitie: And the Clerke of the said Hospitall to
engrosse them, and to procure the Sealing of all such Leases before the
Lord Maior and Courte of Aldermen, in the Chamber of London, where the
Common Seal of the Hospitall doeth remaine.
“That noe manner of Bargaines be made for Timber, Tile, or such like, or
any other Necessaries for the saide howse, before the same be determined
at a full Courte, to be holden as before; and the Persons then and there
to be named and appointed which shal be the Doers thereof” (Stow,
Appendix II.).
In 1680 Sir John Frederick rebuilt the hall at his own expense; Sir
Robert Clayton rebuilt the east cloister and south front. In 1825 the
Hospital was largely rebuilt.
The two chief classes in the school are the Grecians and Deputy
Grecians; of which many of the former go on to the universities with
exhibitions. The Mathematical School was founded by Charles II. in 1672,
and the boys are called “King’s boys.” The King’s boys and Grecians are
the only boys who remain in the school after the age of fifteen. The
ancient costume, consisting of long blue gown, leather belt, yellow
stockings, combined with an absence of head-covering, makes the boys
conspicuous wherever they may be. The old customs of supping in public
in Lent, and the visit to the Lord Mayor on Easter Tuesday, are still
kept up. But the old English diet of bread and beer for breakfast was
done away with in 1824.
Among the most distinguished names of old scholars are those of S. T.
Coleridge, the poet (d. 1834), Charles Lamb (d. 1834), Leigh Hunt (d.
1859). The system of admission is by presentations by governors; the
Lord Mayor makes two presentations annually. A governor must give at
least £500.
For an account of the Grey Friars see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p.
348.
[Illustration:
_Photo, R. W. Thomas._
AN EXCITING GAME, CHRIST’S HOSPITAL
]
CHRIST CHURCH
Christ Church, which unites the ancient parishes of St. Ewen’s and
St. Nicholas and part of St. Sepulchre, stands on the eastern part
of the noble Franciscan Church which was greatly destroyed by the
Fire.
On the suppression of the convent of the Franciscans, their Church
was named Christ Church and was made parochial. After the Great Fire
it was rebuilt by Wren between 1687 and 1704. St. Leonard’s, Foster
Lane, was annexed to this parish in 1672. The earliest date of a
custodian is 1225. The earliest date of a vicar is 1547.
The patronage of the church was given by Henry VIII. to the
governors of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, in whose successors it
continues.
The present building contains two side-aisles separated from the
nave by slender Corinthian columns. At the east part of the church
shelves are attached to the north and south walls, to hold loaves
for distribution among the poor. The steeple attains a height of 153
feet.
The original church of the Franciscans was a favourite place of
sepulture. Dame Mary Ramsey, a benefactress to Christ’s Hospital and
other institutions, was buried here in 1596, and a modern tablet
records her deeds on the north wall of the church. The two most
conspicuous monuments are those of the Rev. Samuel Crowther and the
Rev. Michael Gibbs, both of whom were vicars of the parish for many
years. Lady Venetia, wife of Sir Kenelm Digby, was buried here. Also
the celebrated Nonconformist, Richard Baxter, in 1691, and his wife
in 1681. On the east wall a tablet commemorates John Stock, who at
his death in 1781 bequeathed £13,000 to charitable purposes.
No large gifts are recorded in this parish by Stow: John Bankes was
donor of £1 for a sermon; Thomas Barnes was donor of £1 for a
sermon, and several others were donors of the same amounts.
There were two charity schools, one for fifty boys and one for forty
girls.
Some of the most notable vicars were: Sampson Price (1585-1620);
William Jenkyn (1613-1685); Robert Cannon (1663-1722), Prebendary of
Westminster; Joseph Trapp, D.D. (1679-1747); and William Bell
(1731-1816), Prebendary of Westminster.
=King Edward Street= was formerly Butchers’ Lane or Stinking Lane or
Chick Lane. The Franciscans, on their coming to London, were allotted a
piece of ground on the west side of this lane, probably the least
desirable place of residence in the whole city. When we read of shops
and tenements in the Shambles, this is the place intended.
=Roman Bath Street= comes next. This place was formerly called Pinnock’s
Lane, _i.e._ Pentecost Lane. Houses in Pentecost Lane are mentioned as
early as 1280. It contained the forbidden slaughter-houses. At the upper
end stood the Royal Bagnio. There were two Bagnios—this of Pinnock’s
Lane and another in Long Acre. The Royal Bagnio was opened in 1679; it
was simply a turkish bath, a place for sweating and hot bathing: for a
time it was very much esteemed as a preventative against some forms of
disease and a cure for headache. The Royal Bagnio contained one large
room with a cupola and several smaller rooms, the walls of which were
lined with Dutch tiles. The place was converted into a hot and cold
bathhouse, and finally closed and pulled down in 1876.
ST. SEPULCHRE
This church was rebuilt, Stow says, about the time of Henry VI. or
Edward IV., mainly by “one of the Pophames.” The greater part was
destroyed by the Great Fire, and in 1670 it was again rebuilt, by
whom is uncertain. It received considerable alterations in 1738,
1837, 1863, 1875, and again 1878-80. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1249.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: Roger, Bishop of
Sarum (1107-39), who gave it to the Prior and Convent of St.
Bartholomew, Smithfield ; Henry VIII., who seized it and so it
continued in the Crown up to 1609, when James I. gave the advowson
of the Vicarage to Francis Philips and others; the President and
Scholars of St. John’s College, Oxford, who presented to the
Vicarage in 1662, and in whose successors it continued.
Houseling people in 1548 were 3400.
The church consists of a nave, chancel, and two side-aisles, and an
adjunct on the north side called the chapel of St. Stephen; it
measures 150 feet in length, 81 feet in width, and 149 feet 11
inches in height, to the summit of the tower. The organ was built by
Renatus Harris, and is considered one of his finest productions; its
case is said to have been the work of Grinling Gibbons.
A chantry was founded here by: John de Tamworth, who had a licence
from the King to assign one messuage and sixteen cottages in the
suburbs of London, for a chaplain to sing for his soul, on certain
days in this church, February 20, 1373-74. Here also was founded the
Brotherhood of Our Lady and St. Stephen, endowed by various persons
with rents, etc., which fetched £9 : 13 : 4 in 1548.
Roger Ascham, Queen Elizabeth’s tutor, and author of _Toxophilus_
and the _Scholemaster_, who died in 1568, was buried here, but has
no memorial. Here also the remains of Captain John Smith were
interred in 1631; he was Governor of Virginia and Admiral of New
England, and author of the _General History of Virginia_. His
monument has perished, but there is a replica of the original
inscription on a plate on the south wall. Sir Robert Peake, a
distinguished cavalier and engraver, was also interred here in 1667,
but no one else of eminence appears to have been buried in the
church.
In 1605 Robert Dowe gave £50 to the parish on condition that the
night before every execution a hand-bell, which he presented, should
be rung in front of the condemned prisoners’ dungeon, and an
exhortation given them. His donation has now passed into the hands
of the Charity Commissioners. No names of benefactors are recorded
by Stow. According to the Record of the Parish Clerk of 1732 the
donations of the poor, for ever, amounted to £250, besides which
there were forty-seven other donations of less value than £40 or £20
per annum. Richard Reeves left £100 per annum. In addition, the
stock of money given by eight persons was £500, and eight others
gave £128 : 15s. per annum to provide coals and fuel.
There were two charity schools, one for fifty boys and one for fifty
girls, and without the Liberty there were two for thirty boys and
twenty girls. There were also three almshouses, for eight poor
people, who had from 5s. to 15s. paid them every quarter by the
Company of Armourers.
Rowland Lee (d. 1543), D.D., Bishop of Lichfield, was a rector here;
also C. Blake (1664-1739), divine and poet; and John Rogers, who was
burnt at Smithfield, 1555.
=Giltspur Street=, which is alternately called by Stow Knightrider’s
Street, is obviously connected with the knights riding to Smithfield.
At the south end is a low building with the inscription, “The water
house erected 1791.” To the north of this are the schools, in a long low
building covered with rough stucco. Little wych-elms and limes shadow
the small playground before them. The row of houses succeeding are all
similar—plain, severe brick; in the middle is the White Hart Hotel.
Green Dragon Yard is closed by iron gates; the next court is very small.
Near Windmill Court is the Plough public-house. The houses here are
either brick or stucco; some old, some modern.
At the north end, on the Fortune of War public-house, at the corner of
Hosier Lane, is a quaint little stucco figure of a fat child about a
couple of feet high. This is _Pie Corner_, the spot where the Great Fire
ended.
=Cock Lane= is a filthy, narrow little street, and looks almost
deserted, as many of the buildings are untenanted. Bits of paper and
refuse bestrew the pavement, grimy old warehouses stand in melancholy
disorder with dirty little yards between. It is chiefly associated with
the ridiculous imposture known as the Cock Lane Ghost, which deceived
even Dr. Johnson. For Smithfield see p. 357.
Turning now to the streets south of Newgate, we find =Warwick Lane= is
mentioned in the Guildhall MSS. as early as 1206; by Riley (_Mem._) in
1313, and in the _Calendar of Wills_ in 1364; in Eldedene Street (Old
Dean Street) Hon. Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter, had a town house.
In the _Chronicle of the Mayors and Sheriffs_ a brief account of his
murder by the mob is presented.
Warwick Inn, Stow says, was formerly described as a messuage in Eldedene
Lane in 28th Henry VI., when Cecily, Duchess of Warwick, possessed it.
There were other houses in the Lane in the fourteenth century. It was in
this house that the Earl of Warwick maintained his following of 600 men
when he was in London.
We have already read (pp. 4, 6) of the beheading of Walter Stapleton,
Bishop of Exeter, in Cheapside; he was seized as he was riding towards
his hostel in “Eldedeaneslane” to dine there; and just then he was
proclaimed a traitor: upon hearing of which he took to flight and rode
towards St. Paul’s church, where he was met and instantly dragged from
his horse, and carried into “Chepe”: and there he was despoiled, and his
head cut off. Also one of his esquires, William Walle by name, and John
de Padington, warden of the said bishop’s manor, were beheaded the same
day in Chepe. On the same day towards Vespers came the choir of St.
Paul’s and took the headless body of the bishop into St. Paul’s, where
they were given to understand that he had died under sentence, upon
which the body was carried to the church of St. Clement [Danes].
About the same date is a grant by Godfrey de Acra, chaplain to the Dean
and Chapter of St. Paul’s, and to a perpetual chaplain who shall
celebrate for him and his benefactors in the chapel of St. James, in St.
Paul’s, of all his houses, rents, etc., in the parish of St. Faith,
“inter vicum veteris Decani versus occidentem et vicum Cecilie de Turri
versus orientem.” He made provision for the maintenance of the chaplain,
and for the distribution of the money on his anniversary: Thomas Fitz
Thomas, Mayor of London, and eleven others are named as witnesses
(Historical MSS., Com. Rep. IX. Pt. I. p. 9a).
Sir John Paston (1475) writes to his brother, John Paston, or to his
uncle, William Paston, in Warwick Lane. The street had, therefore, in
the fifteenth century received its new name after the great house of the
Earl of Warwick. In 1496 William Paston wills that all “godes moveable
in Warwikes Inn” shall be sold to pay his debts. When Charles V. came to
England in 1522, two houses in Warwick Lane were assigned to his
retinue—that of Mistress Lewes having a little entry, a hall, two
chambers, and three feather beds; the other that of Edward Sharnebroke
having one hall, four chambers, two parlours, a chapel, four feather
beds, with houses of office, and a stable for eight horses.
In the Historical MSS. Report IX. there are many deeds and documents in
which this street is mentioned. Roman remains have been found here.
In the street stood the _College of Physicians_ built by Wren.
The first house of the College was that of Linacre, physician to Henry
VIII., the founder of the College in Knightrider Street: the Physicians
then moved to Amen Corner and, after the Fire, to Warwick Lane, where
they continued until 1823 when the new College in Pall Mall East was
opened by Sir Henry Halford.
There were two famous inns in Warwick Lane, of which one was the Bell.
“Archbishop Leighton used often to say that if he were to choose a place
to die in, it should be an Inn; it looking like a pilgrim’s going home,
to whom this world was all as an Inn, and who was weary of the noise and
confusion in it. He added that the officious tenderness and care of
friends was an entanglement to a dying man; and that the unconcerned
attendance of those that could be procured in such a place would give
less disturbance. And he obtained what he desired; for he died [1684] at
the Bell Inn in Warwick Lane.”
[Illustration:
THE OXFORD ARMS, WARWICK LANE
]
The inn has gone, but Old Bell Inn Yard, now a railway booking-office
wagon yard, is there to mark the site. On the west side was an equally
famous inn, the Oxford Arms.
At the Oxford Arms Inn lived John Roberts, from whose shop issued the
majority of the squibs and libels on Pope. The inn was south of Warwick
House.
Views of this picturesque old inn have been preserved in the Crace
collection.
The Cutlers’ Hall adds vivid colour to Warwick Lane farther north by its
brilliant red brick, and its handsome frieze in relief. It is faced with
red sandstone. The next few houses look doubly grimy by contrast with
their neighbour.
THE CUTLERS COMPANY
An Ordinance of the Cutlers was enrolled in the Guildhall in the
year 1380. Their dissensions with the Sheath-makers were settled in
1408; and in 1413 we find (Riley, p. 597) the freedom of the City
withdrawn from one William Wysman because, being already a member of
the trade of Cutlers, he had joined that of the Coursers
(horse-dealers).
There are no means for supplying the exact date of the foundation of
the Company, but it would appear that it was in existence in the
year 49 Edward III., as at that time it was stated to have elected
two members of the Court of Common Council.
It would appear that the first charter granted to the Company was in
the reign of Henry V., 1415, which was confirmed by a charter of
Henry VI. in 1422. Charters were also granted by Henry VIII. in
1509, Philip and Mary in 1553, Elizabeth in 1558, and James I. in
1607. James II., in 1685, revoked these charters; but in 1668 the
Act of James II. was made void, and by a statute of William and Mary
in 1689 the charter of James I. was confirmed, and it was
subsequently reaffirmed by a charter of Queen Anne in 1703. The
charter, therefore, of James I., which was granted in 1607, is now
the governing charter of the Cutlers’ Company. The Company has no
means of furnishing an abstract of the earlier charters, nor would
this appear to be necessary, inasmuch as they are documents of
record.
The Cutlers were united some time with the Sheath- and Haft-makers,
a fact commemorated in their arms, the supporters of which are two
elephants.
In 1898 the number of the livery was 100; the Corporate Income was
£5350; the Trust Income £50.
On the south side of Cloak Lane, east of College Hill, is the old
site of Cutlers’ Hall. The history is retraceable to the twelfth
century. Lawrence Gisors, living, apparently, in the reign of Henry
III., possessed this land: his son Peter succeeded; Peter’s son
John, by will enrolled 1282, ordained that his houses in St.
Michael, Paternostercherche parish, should be sold to fulfil his
testament:[34] the site in question was presumably involved. Stow
records, without giving a date, that it afterwards passed to Hugonis
de Dingham; moreover, that in 1296 Richard de Wilehale confirmed to
Paul Butelar the edifices upon the same land. The boundaries at the
time were: the stream of Walbrook on the east; Wilehale’s own
tenement to the south; Paternoster-church Lane, now College Hill, on
the west. Butelar was to pay yearly “one clove Gereflowers[35] at
Easter, and to the prior and convent of St. Mary Overie, Southwark,
six shillings.” Simon Dolseley, pepperer, mayor 1359, owned it and
bequeathed it for life to his wife Johanna by will dated 1362.[36]
In the year 1451 Thomas Frill executed to the Cutlers Company a
conveyance of messuages in College Hill and Cloak Lane. The property
consisted of two houses: one became converted into the Company’s
Hall, and one served as a house for their beadle. The Fire of 1666
necessitated complete rebuilding. The new hall was erected in
1667-68; it received Maitland’s praise in 1739 as “convenient and
beautiful.” Allen, 1828, differs: in his eyes it was “a plain brick
building, totally devoid of architectural adornment.”
When the Cutlers’ old Hall was pulled down the present College Hill
Chambers was built upon its site.[37]
On the north-west corner of Warwick Lane is an effigy of Guy, Earl of
Warwick. He is dressed as a knight in armour, and the stone bears date
1668. The capital letters “G. C.” on one side, and below are the words—
Restored J. Deykes 1817 a ch. 492, Pennant’s _London_, 5th edit.
The last word and the date are only conjectural, being considerably worn
away.
=White Hart Street=, on the east side of Warwick Lane, connected it with
Newgate Market, the square afterwards called Paternoster Square. White
Hart Street was chiefly occupied by poulterers.
=Rose Street= connected Newgate Street with Newgate market.
=Ivy Lane= occurs in 1312, where an Inquisition was held as to a piece
of land between that and Warwick Lane. It was also called Fulk-mere-lane
or Folks-mare-lane. Riley (_Memorials_, p. xii.) thinks that Ivy Lane
was inhabited in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by wax
chandlers, who supplied wax tapers for St. Paul’s and the City churches.
The symbolic use of the lighted taper, borne through the streets by way
of punishment and penance, is not easy to understand in a country and an
age when, happily, ecclesiastical symbolism is little practised. There
was a club held at the King’s Head Tavern in Ivy Lane, 1749-65. Dr.
Johnson was a member. Every visitor to London turns out of St. Paul’s
Churchyard or Newgate Street to see the sign still remaining on the east
wall of Panyer Alley. It consists of a pannier with a boy sitting upon
it, and the inscription—
When you have sought the City round,
Yet still this is the highest ground,
with the date August 26, 1668. I believe that this is not the highest
ground. The site of the “Standard” in Cornhill is slightly higher.
Newgate Street formerly ended at Panyer Alley, where Blowbladder Street
began, which ran on into Cheapside, and is now included in it.
It is evident, by a glance at the map, that Newgate Street was here a
continuation of Cheapside. So far Stow’s statement about the continued
street from Aldgate to Ludgate is confirmed. But if we consider the
improvements effected here after the Fire, we shall understand that
there was at first no thought of a continuation of Cheapside into
Newgate.
Newgate Street, then, ended at Panyer Alley. What followed was a narrow
lane bending sharply to the south. Into this lane on the north ran
another narrow lane, now St. Martin’s-le-Grand. Panyer Alley was a
passage only wide enough for one person at a time, and there were many
of these narrow passages from one street to another. After the Fire,
Blowbladder Street was enlarged to the breadth of 40 feet. This increase
of width made it possible for Newgate Street to appear as a continuation
of Cheapside; the lane running through St. Martin’s-le-Grand was also
enlarged to the breadth of 40 feet; and Panyer Alley was enlarged to the
breadth of 9 feet and paved with freestone. Further, to block the
passage from Cheapside to Newgate, there stood outside Paternoster Row
the parish church of St. Michael le Querne.
=St. Michael le Querne= derived its name Querne, or Corn, from its
proximity to a corn-market. It was repaired in 1617, but burnt down in
the Great Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of St.
Vedast. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1274.
The church has always been in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul’s.
Houseling people in 1548 were 350.
Chantries were founded here: By Robert Newcomen, at the Altar of the
Blessed Virgin Mary about 1304, for himself and for Matilda his
wife—William Wilton was chaplain and died in 1370; by John Combe, at the
Altar of St. Katherine, for himself, and Petronella his wife—licence was
granted by the King, May 18, 1405; by John Lydat, whose will was dated
June 23, 1545—he gave £7 : 10s. for a priest for seven years; by John
Mundham before 1310.
John Leland, the antiquary, was buried here in 1552; his monument
perished in the Fire, but his great work, _The Itinerary_, still
remains. The church also contained a monument in memory of John Bankes
who died in 1630, leaving £6000 to be distributed amongst various
charities and parishes. In 1605 Sir Thomas Browne, author of _Religio
Medici_, was baptized here.
There were several bequests given to the poor for clothing and bread;
but no names are recorded by Stow.
Anthony Tuckney (1599-1670), Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, was rector here; also George Downham (d.
1634), Bishop of Derry.
ST. PAUL’S
By W. J. LOFTIE
St. Paul’s Church is the cathedral of the diocese of London, and was so
dedicated by its first founder. According to Beda, this was Ethelbert,
King of Kent, “who had command over all the nations of the English as
far as the river Humber.” His nephew, Sebert, King of the East Saxons,
held London in 604, when Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury,
sent Mellitus to preach Christianity north of the Thames. He does not
seem to have succeeded very well, and after the deaths of Augustine,
Ethelbert and Sebert, Mellitus was expelled. From that time for sixty
years or more, we hear nothing of St. Paul’s, and the next bishops of
the East Saxons do not seem to have lived in London. They converted the
kings who made Rendlesham, Tillingham, and Tilbury their headquarters.
The City within the Roman wall was probably but sparsely inhabited. The
Anglo-Saxons disliked Roman sites, and especially hated the repair of
walls. There is a tradition that Erkenwald, or Archibald, the fourth
bishop, incited the Londoners to this task and himself built the
northern gate, since named Bishopsgate. Another tradition relates that
at his death, which is variously placed in 685 and 693, the citizens
buried his body in the cathedral. In 1148, it was translated into a
sumptuous tomb. Against the whole legend of St. Erkenwald, as it grew in
the Middle Ages, there is so much of inconsistent anachronism to be
alleged that we must pass it by, merely assuming that a bishop of that
name comes fourth on the list, that he was designated by Ini, King of
Wessex, a predecessor of Alfred, as “Erkenwald, my bishop,” and that he
made a serious effort to restore the bishopric to the “bishop’s stool”
of Mellitus.
Authentic history, however, does not begin till the time of King Alfred.
Even here we cannot be certain of the name of the bishop for whom the
King built or rebuilt the cathedral church, but it was probably
Heathstan, or Ethelstan, who died in 898. It is not even certain that
the old site was retained. When Alfred came to London he saw its
capabilities as a bulwark against the Danes: but the Roman wall was
empty. For thirty years, we read, London had lain desolate. Alfred
repaired the wall. He probably built the church. He revived as much as
he could the ancient memories. The two land gates were placed nearly,
though not exactly, on the Roman sites—one, Bishopsgate, opening on the
two great northern roads, and the other, Westgate, on the Watling
Street. It is possible that he repaired the bridge. The church was
placed in the triangular space cut off by the course of the Watling
Street from the bridge through the City, and when the wards were divided
this corner became the _Warda Episcopi_.
The bishop figures as an alderman in the first list of the wards which
has come down to us. It must have been drawn up about forty years after
the Norman Conquest, and is now preserved in the cathedral library. It
is a list of the City lands which belonged to St. Paul’s, arranged in
wards, of which twenty are enumerated. The first is the bishop’s. The
bishop, at this time always a Norman, or Frenchman, as he was called,
was probably but little acquainted with English, and his jurisdiction
was exercised by a deputy, called in Latin _prepositus_, that is
provost. A provost was the abbot’s deputy at Bury St. Edmund’s, and the
title was later also assumed by other laymen who acted for
ecclesiastical personages, as the provost of the Alderman of Portsoken,
who was the Prior of Aldgate.
When William the Conqueror granted to the citizens the brief charter
which is still at Guildhall, he addressed the bishop and the portreeve.
The King, that is, wrote to the alderman who had charge of the
ecclesiastical government, and to the alderman who had charge of the
civil government:—“William, King, greets William, Bishop, and Gosfrith,
Portreeve.” Bishop and Alderman William, a Norman who had been chaplain
to Edward the Confessor, had succeeded Bishop Robert, also a Norman, in
1051. He was succeeded by Hugh de Orivalle, another Norman, in 1075; so
we obtain approximately the date of the charter, namely, between 1066
and 1075. The date of the document in which we have mention of the
Bishop’s ward was after 1108, from internal evidence, but probably
before 1115.
The constitution of the cathedral was according to the system which has
been aptly named “the old foundation.” This pattern was followed in
other cathedrals throughout England wherever there was no monastery
attached to the church; and as the municipal government of London was
imitated in other cities, so the “Government Spirituell” of St. Paul’s
was taken as a model at York, Chichester, Exeter, Wells, Hereford,
Lincoln, and six or seven other churches where there were no monks. The
services were conducted by priests, who held estates both singly and as
a corporation. There were generally more canons than estates. At St.
Paul’s there were thirty, and a majority of them had each a manor
somewhere in the neighbourhood of London. There they lived like other
lords of manors, with their wives and children, much respected, no
doubt, for their “clergy,” or clerkly learning, in districts where none
of their neighbours could read or write, except, perhaps, the parsons of
the parish churches, who in many cases, like their patrons, had wives
and children. Their chief anxieties besides those common to a country
life were the fear of Danish incursions, and the chance of being able to
leave their prebendal stalls to their sons. The care of the estates,
both in the City and in places more distant from the church, constantly
occupied the chapter. To it we owe the list of wards mentioned above.
Newcourt tells us of a meeting of the canons in 1150, which was long
remembered as a settlement of various important questions. It was known
as the “Constitution concerning bread and beer.” Among the prebendal
manors some are described in Domesday Book as being “held by the Canons
for their food.” One of these is Willesden. There was a Canon of
Willesden, but apart from his estate the rest of the manor was held by
“villains,” their rent going towards the provision of bread and beer in
the bakery and brewery at St. Paul’s. It was resolved in 1150 to break
up the whole manor, in order to endow those canons who had previously
depended only on “surplice fees.” Mapesbury, Brondesbury, and Brownswood
may be named as being called from the first canons after this
arrangement. Walter Map, in particular, is remembered still for his
witty poems, in rhyming Latin, satirising the married clergy; and the
name may be seen on a prebendal stall (12th on south side) in St.
Paul’s.
[Illustration:
THE POST OFFICE, ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, AND BULL AND MOUTH INN, LONDON
]
The staff of the cathedral consisted first of the dean; next to him were
four archdeacons, London, Essex, Middlesex, and Colchester, to which, at
the Reformation, St. Albans was added, to be transferred with the
archdeaconries of Essex and Colchester to the new See of St. Albans in
1877. It should be observed that previously Essex came next after London
in dignity and before Middlesex, Colchester, and St. Albans, a little
historical point on which it would be easy to enlarge. After the
archdeacons came the precentor “likewise called Cantor,” whose office it
was “to look after the singing-men and singing”; the treasurer, whose
office does not seem to have existed till after the Conquest; and the
chancellor, who was at first called “magister scholarum,” and had charge
of education in the City, with the duty of appointing the master of St.
Paul’s School, “not,” says Newcourt, “that long after founded by Dean
Colet,” but that which was endowed by Bishop Richard Belmeis or Balmes
in the reign of Henry I. After these officers came the thirty canons, of
whom there are some further notes below. In 1845 the canons, generally
now described as “prebendaries,” were superseded by four canons
residentiary, who with the dean and the archdeacons form the present
chapter. They have no prebendal estates but are called canons. A college
of minor canons was formed at an early period, and incorporated by
charter of Richard II. in 1394. It consists of eight members, formerly
twelve, answering to the Vicars at Wells. The close stands in the
parishes of St. Augustine, St. Faith, St. Mary Magdalene, and St.
Gregory. The arms of the Dean and Chapter are “Gules, two swords, in
saltire, proper; in chief the letter, D. or.” One sword, on a shield, is
carved in many places and forms a kind of badge; the same sword,
emblematic of St. Paul, appearing also in the arms of the City, where it
is often mistaken for the dagger of Walworth.
It may be added here that there seems to be evidence that at first St.
Paul’s was one of the three or four City parish churches; that the Dean
and Chapter gradually divided the _warda episcopi_ into smaller parishes
and built churches on them, while the clergy of St. Paul’s ceased to
perform parochial functions. It is not now reckoned parochial, though in
rare cases marriages have been performed in it by special licence, and
there is a register which begins in 1697, the year of the opening of the
new church.
Before the Reformation the estates of the bishop, the dean, and the
canons were very extensive, and formed almost a semicircle round the
City, from Stepney on the east to Willesden on the west. Other estates
were in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex, while there were
isolated holdings in all the City wards. The canons at first preserved
their prebendal estates with jealous care, residing on them and, as has
been said, hoping to leave them to their sons. After the enforcement of
the celibacy of the clergy as one of the consequences of King John’s
submission to the Pope, the canons leased away their estates until there
was nothing left. Thus, in 1315, Robert Baldock leased Finsbury to the
mayor and commons of London at £1 a year, and the lease was only
terminated by the Ecclesiastical Commission in 1867. The manor of
Portpoole formed the chief estate of the Lords Grey of Ruthin, and is
now Gray’s Inn. Rugmere, part of which is Bloomsbury, part St. Giles’s,
Wenlakesbarn, Ealdstreet, now Old Street, Hoxton, Cantlers, Islington,
and the rest, were all leased away, and are now, for the most part, the
principal endowments of wealthy noblemen. Cantlers, now Kentish town,
paid £80 a year to the lord of the manor, now presumably to the
Commissioners. The owner of the lease is the Marquis Camden. This is one
example only. As late as the middle of thirteenth century we find
mention of the families of canons. A very prominent member of the
chapter in 1145 was prebendary of St. Pancras, Osbert “de Auco,” who was
succeeded by his son, Robert, whose son, John, does not seem to have
become a priest; and Robert de Auco was succeeded at his death by
Walter, the son of the bishop. Before 1138 we meet with the names of
Wlured and his two sons, all canons. Gervase of Canterbury, a canon, had
a son, John. Richard, a canon, was son of Archdeacon Richard. The manor
of Caddington Major, now called Aston Bury in Bedfordshire, was held by
Roger the Archdeacon, son of Robert the Archdeacon. A little earlier we
find that Ralph Flambard, appointed Bishop of Durham in 1099, who
figures in the history of the Tower of London in the reign of Henry II.,
and who died in 1128, was prebendary of Tatenhall. His son, Elias, was
prebendary of Sneating, near Kirkeby in Essex, where he was succeeded by
William, son of Archdeacon Otho, at whose death Ralph, brother of Canon
Elias, a younger son of the Bishop of Durham, succeeded to the stall. Of
another of the married archdeacons, Nicholas Croceman, we read that he
held Oxgate, and that his son, another Nicholas, succeeded him in both
archdeaconry and canonry. One of the two Bishops Balmes had two sons,
Henry, prebendary of Mora, and Walter, of Newington, in the reign of
Henry II. The first bishop appointed by Richard I. was his treasurer,
the son of Nigel, Bishop of Ely; he was one of the most eminent of those
who held the See of London in the twelfth century, and figures as Bishop
Richard Fitz Neal. In short, before the beginning of the thirteenth
century we may assume that most of the secular clergy were married men,
and the enforcement of celibacy, no doubt, was one of the causes of the
unpopularity of the Church in London before the Reformation; while it
led indirectly to the alienation of the prebendal estates.
Old St. Paul’s is the name by which the building destroyed in the Great
Fire of 1666 is usually distinguished. All that is left of it may be
traced within the railings on the south side of the present cathedral.
The original church of Alfred and his successors perished in 962, and
the new building then set up was burnt in 1136. Old St. Paul’s may be
said, therefore, to date from the middle of the twelfth century, but it
was continually being altered and added to until 1633, when it was
completed by the construction of a magnificent portico at the west end
by Inigo Jones. The spire seems to have been the tallest in Christendom,
rising 520 feet to the eagle and cross, which contained a portion of the
true cross. It was finished in 1498, but was burnt in 1561 and never
rebuilt. The nave and choir each contained twelve bays united by a wide
transept. The arches of the nave and transept were Norman, of the east
end pointed, a great rose window terminating the Chapel of St. Mary, and
overlooking the west end of Cheap, on which it encroached. The
Corinthian pillars of the portico did not look incongruous with the
Romanesque nave and the similar little church of St. Gregory which stood
on the south side. The western towers, one of which was described as the
Lollard’s Tower, were low but massive. A bell tower was at the east end
of the churchyard until Sir Miles Partridge won it “at one cast of the
dice,” says Dugdale, from Henry VIII., and pulled it down. The famous
Paul’s Cross, where public sermons were preached, stood on the north
side of the choir, and a chapel, or charnel house, near it, “having
under it a vault, wherein the bones taken out of sundry graves in that
cemetery were, with great respect and care decently piled together.”
This chapel had a warden and an establishment of priests. Another
similar chapel was in “Pardon Church Yard,” a little to the westward,
and had a cloister painted with the Dance of Death, with “English verses
to explain the meaning, translated out of French by John Lydgate, a monk
of St. Edmond’s Bury,” says Dugdale. Over the cloister was a library.
Another cloister, of which some relics remain, was on the south side of
the nave and was built in 1332, together with a chapter-house. This
building occupied the site of a garden, south of which, between the
church and Paul’s Wharf, was a tilt yard, used by Lord Fitzwalter for
drilling the City Trained Bands. It is marked for us by Paul’s Chain and
Knightrider Street. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the
doctrine of masses for the dead attained a great height, and it is
believed that at least one hundred mass priests attended daily at St.
Paul’s. Churches were no longer built in the City but chantries
multiplied everywhere, especially after the Black Death in the middle of
the fourteenth century.
The church was very full of monuments. Some were shrines of legendary
saints, among which may be reckoned the supposed tombs of King Sebert
and Bishop Erkenwald, both held in great veneration. What Becket became
at Canterbury, the canons tried to make of Erkenwald at St. Paul’s, and
the shrine was covered with gold and precious stones. There were many
relics, including the arm of Mellitus, and most of the oblations seem to
have been preserved in the north aisle of the choir till Henry VIII.
sent them in cart loads to the Jewel Tower. (More may be read on the
subject in Sparrow Simpson’s _St. Paul’s and Old City Life_.) The
monuments included many chantries with altars, no fewer than
seventy-three being enumerated in the fourteenth century. The cost may
be estimated by what Dr. R. Sharpe tells us. A bequest of twenty-five
shillings secured three hundred masses. There were thirty-five of these
altars at the Reformation, employing only fifty-four priests owing to a
movement for uniting them, and there were fifty-four obits. The mass
priests and their dissolute lives had, no doubt, much to do with the
welcome accorded in London to the reforms of Henry VIII. and Edward VI.
Among the finest monuments were those of John of Gaunt; Sir John
Beauchamp, which was usually called Duke Humphry’s; and of many of the
bishops, including Bishop William Kemp, Chishull, and others. After the
Reformation many “marble hearses” of great size and magnificence were
erected, among others to Dean Colet, Sir William Hewit, Sir Nicholas
Bacon, Sir William Cokain, the earl and countess of Pembroke, William
Aubrey, John Wolley, Sir Thomas Heneage, and especially to Sir
Christopher Hatton, the largest in the church. Fragments still survive
of some of them, and the curious effigy of Dean Donne (d. 1631), rising
like an Arabian genie from an urn, has been repaired and stands in the
south aisle of the choir.
The Fire of 1666 broke out on the 2nd September among the bakers’ shops
in Pudding Lane, a thoroughfare of Eastcheap answering to Bread Street
in Westcheap. It reached St. Paul’s on the 3rd, and is briefly described
by Pepys on the 7th as “a miserable sight,” the roofs destroyed, “the
body of the quire fallen into St. Fayth’s.” Evelyn speaks of the
scaffolds which were up for the repairs as hastening the ruin, and of
the melting lead running down the streets in a stream. He specially
laments the loss of Inigo Jones’s portico—immense stones calcined,
ornaments, columns, capitals of massy Portland stone flying off. “The
lead over the altar at the east end was untouched and among the divers
monuments the body of one bishop remained entire.”
Wren, after the Fire, found St. Paul’s completely ruined. The marble
portico was reduced to a heap of lime; the roofs had fallen in; the
choir had sunk. Nearly all the monuments had perished; and an attempt by
Dean Sancroft and the canons to repair a portion at the west end only
added to the general destruction. Nevertheless, it was not till June 21,
1675, that the first stone was laid of a new cathedral. Various
experiments had been made in the meanwhile, but they only demonstrated
the untrustworthy character of the foundations. Contrary to what we
often hear about the mediæval builders, it was abundantly evident that
here their moving principle had been to produce the greatest effect by
the cheapest means, stability being everywhere sacrificed to show. The
King, Charles II., and his brother, afterwards James II., hindered
Wren’s work in many ways, design after design being rejected as not
suitable for the Romanist worship they secretly hoped to re-establish.
Wren at length obtained leave to proceed with his task, but one of the
models he had prepared is still to be seen in the triforium. Many other
causes interfered to check the work, and it was long after both the
kings, as well as their successor, Queen Mary II., were dead, in 1697,
that the choir was ready for use. A celebration of the Peace of Ryswick
took the place of any form of consecration, such as would now be thought
needful, and the building was completed in most essential particulars by
1718, when Wren was superseded by a wholly incompetent architect named
Benson, chiefly remembered as building the unfortunate balustrade with
which he endeavoured to dwarf Wren’s dome. Wren had already been
overruled as to the decoration of the dome. Benson was dismissed in
1720. A silly story is constantly repeated as to St. Paul’s having been
completed by one architect, under one bishop, and with one clerk of the
works. But Bishop Henchman was in office when Wren began his work, and
was succeeded by Compton in 1675, who saw the choir finished. After him,
in 1713, came Robinson, who was still in office at the time of Wren’s
death. It was under this bishop that Wren was dismissed and subsequently
Benson, and a third architect, Robert Mylne, came in. So, too, several
clerks of the works were employed, among whom we may name Thomas Strong,
who died in 1681; his brother, Edward, who died in 1723; and Christopher
Kempster, who seems to have been told off by Wren to build St. Stephen,
Walbrook, which even more than St. Paul’s commemorates the genius of the
great architect. Kempster himself was the architect of the market-house
at Abingdon, often attributed to Inigo Jones; he died in 1715.
[Illustration:
_Photochrom Co., Ltd._
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
]
It is well, if possible, to approach St. Paul’s from the west. When it
comes into sight from the end of Fleet Street, the dome is seen to
advantage, rising clear of surrounding buildings on the top of a hill.
In this respect it surpasses the only cathedral church in England which
can be compared to it, namely Salisbury, which stands on low ground. If
we compare it with Lincoln or Durham we miss the magnificent central
feature. The dome competes, especially in a city, very successfully with
a spire. As we approach Ludgate Hill, the tower of St. Martin, 158 feet
high, offers a measure to the eye—the needlessly ugly railway viaduct
interfering much less than was feared at first. From Ludgate the two
western towers, supporting the double portico, are well seen, and are
esteemed as among the best of Wren’s compositions. The towers, of which
the southern carries the clock and the great bell, are 220 feet high.
The whole west front, as seen from the entrance of St. Paul’s
Churchyard, is 180 feet in height and the same in width. The lower
pillars of the portico are 40 feet high. The statue in the front was
sculptured by Francis Bird in 1712, mutilated by a lunatic in 1743, and
restored a few years ago. Between it and the steps, an inscription, cut
in the granite pavement, commemorates the fact that here the aged Queen
Victoria gave public thanks for the sixty years of her reign in 1897.
The exterior of the church shows two orders, the lower Corinthian, and
the upper, what Wren described as “a Composition.” In the tympanum over
the portico is a relief by Bird representing the conversion of St. Paul,
and on the pediment above are statues of St. Paul between St. Peter and
St. James. The railing, now removed from the front, is of iron, cast at
Lamberhurst in Sussex. The plan of the cathedral is cruciform, the
transepts north and south ending with graceful semicircular porticoes.
The east end has a semicircular apse. The cupola, which, as Gwilt says,
rises from the body of the church “in great majesty,” should be seen
from near the statue of Peel in Cheapside. A fountain within the rails
marks the site of Paul’s Cross. From the south a fine view can be
obtained from the little garden in which the foundations of the
cloisters and chapter-house have been uncovered. The gilt cross is 365
feet above the pavement. The colonnade round the dome is of the
composite order, consisting of 32 pillars standing on a circular
pedestal 20 feet high and 112 feet in diameter. The columns are not in
pairs as at St. Peter’s, but are placed at regular intervals, every
fourth intercolumniation being filled with masonry. A sense of stability
is thus gained without any sacrifice of lightness.
The best idea of the interior will be obtained by entering at the west
end. The great central door is only opened on state occasions; but by
either side door we find ourselves in a vestibule with the morning
chapel on the north and the consistorial court, which has been made a
chapel of the order of St. Michael and St. George, on the south. The
carved oak screens should be observed. At the entrance of the nave are
fine bronze candelabra. The nave consists of three bays clear, which we
enter from the vestibule. There are side aisles, the full width being
102 feet. The height of the central aisle is 89 feet. Beyond the nave,
which is 340 feet long, we see the area under the dome, 112 feet across.
Beyond this, the choir extends eastward 140 feet. A screen is seen
behind the communion table, beyond which in the apse there is a chapel.
The screen, erected from the designs of Messrs. Bodley and Garner in
1888, takes the place of a baldacchino, which Wren is said to have
intended. The whole length from the west door to the apse is 500 feet.
The transept from the north door to the south is 250 feet long, or half
the length, and this simple proportion occurs throughout the building;
but the western towers are two-thirds the height of the cupola, being
exactly double the height of the adjacent roofs. The windows are 12 feet
wide and 24 feet high; the aisles are 19 feet in clear width by 38 feet
in height. The vestibule is a square of 47 feet and 94 feet high. So,
too, the space under the dome, which is 108 feet wide, is 216 feet high.
The side aisles lead to the dome and transepts by an ingenious but
simple plan, which Wren is believed to have adapted from that of Ely
Cathedral. The inner dome appears very high when we stand under it, but
it hardly rises above the colonnade of the outer dome. A cone of
brick-work which interposes between the outer and the inner dome carries
at its apex the ball and cross. The ball is 6 feet 2 inches in diameter,
but it is only to be attained by a long ascent from the whispering
gallery, 200 feet above the pavement. A curious echo may be remarked
here. Above the whispering gallery an ascent of 108 steps, some 70 feet,
takes us to the stone gallery, formed by the balustrade round the
external base of the dome, from which a fine view of the far-reaching
City may be obtained. A winding and difficult stair leads under the
outer dome to the golden gallery, about 100 feet higher, and a farther
climb of 45 feet is needed before we reach the ball, within which six
people may be seated. The best external view is from the golden gallery.
The same staircase by which we approach the dome takes us to the
triforium over the south aisle of the nave. At the western extremity is
the library, and in a room adjacent may be seen a large model which Wren
made of his first design for the church. In the gallery at the west end
is the collection of ancient records belonging to the Dean and
Chapter—some of which are dated as early as the reigns of the Saxon
kings, the immediate successors of Alfred.
A door into the south-west tower opens just beyond the library, and
admits to the so-called geometrical staircase.
The organ was originally constructed by the famous “Father Schmidt.” He
gave special attention to the wooden pipes. Some of his stops are still
in use, but the instrument which formerly stood across the entrance to
the choir and interrupted the view from the nave and the dome, has been
divided and greatly improved, while some of the pipes, which were
useless for want of room, are now placed in convenient spaces above the
stalls and even in the triforium.
Returning to the dome we may see and admire the choir stalls, carved in
wood by Grinling Gibbons. Beautiful wreaths of flowers, carved by him in
stone, may be found in many places on the vaulting. The iron work in the
gates, the doors of the choir and many other places well repays
examination. It was chiefly designed by Tijou. A pair of bronze
candelabra on the steps of the reredos are copied from an ancient pair
in a Belgian church, which are said to have been taken from old St.
Paul’s after the Fire.
In the south choir aisle are the altar tombs of Dean Milman and Bishops
Blomfield and Jackson. A statue of Bishop Heber is at the farther end,
and against a pier the (restored) monument of Dean Donne, from the old
church, representing him in his shroud rising from an urn. In a modern
chapel at the extreme east end is the altar tomb of Canon Liddon (d.
1890).
Very few of the monuments in St. Paul’s can be admired. Beginning at the
western end the first we meet is a recumbent figure on a marble
sarcophagus of Lord Leighton (d. 1896). Next is a low cenotaph to
General Gordon, murdered at Khartoum, 1885. The great Wellington
monument is still incomplete, but is the best example of English
sculpture in the church. It was first placed in the south-west chapel or
consistorial court, where it could not be seen. In 1895 Lord Leighton,
at that time President of the Royal Academy, formed a committee which
obtained leave to remove it to the middle arch on the north side of the
nave. It is now seen to great advantage, though wanting the equestrian
figure. The great Duke lies on his bier “with his martial cloak around
him.” The “cartouches” at either side bear his arms, above the marble
arch, which is supported over his head on composite columns. The shafts
are formed of oak leaves. Two bronze groups on the arch represent Virtue
trampling upon Vice, and Truth silencing Falsehood. Alfred Stevens, the
sculptor, died in 1875, aged 58.
In the third bay, against the north wall, is the singular but poetical
monument by Marochetti, of the brothers Lamb, successive Viscounts
Melbourne. The elder, William, was Queen Victoria’s first prime minister
and died in 1848. The younger, Frederick, Lord Beauvale, died five years
later. An ebony door, on which the names and dates are inscribed in
gold, is guarded on either side by the Angels of Death and of the
Resurrection, sculptured in white marble. The design and sentiment excel
the execution.
Several large monuments are in the south aisle of the nave, chiefly in
very bad taste. Almost every panel in both aisles has its tablet
commemorating naval or military heroes. The pulpit is a memorial of an
officer, Fitzgerald; and the tombs of several other men of Indian fame,
including three Napiers, are in the north transept, and compete in
poverty of design and sculpture with Bacon’s absurd figure of Dr.
Johnson, who was buried at Westminster, and his John Howard (d. 1790),
the first statue set up in the church. Somewhat better than its
neighbours is Rossi’s monument, in the north transept, of Lord Rodney
between figures supposed to represent Fame and the Historic Muse. Nelson
and Cornwallis face each other across the south transept, each
surrounded by allegorical groups, wholly inappropriate to the place.
There are also monuments of Sir John Moore, Sir Ralph Abercromby, Lord
Heathfield, Lord Howe, Sir Henry Lawrence, and many more of which it may
safely be said that not one is worthy either of the situation or of the
personage commemorated. Mr. Birch quotes the opinion that at St. Paul’s
the apostles are placed outside and the heathen divinities within. Much
more satisfactory is the brief inscription over the inner portico of the
north door which speaks of the career of Sir Christopher Wren “who lived
not for his own good but for that of the public,” and ends with the
words—“Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice”; to which we may add
Wren’s own saying, “Building is for eternity.”
The roof of the choir and of the apse beyond it now glow, as Wren
desired they should, with colour and gold. The designs by Sir William
Richmond, K.C.B., R.A., have been carried out under his personal
superintendence in English mosaic, which should be viewed with a strong
opera-glass. The faces of the principal figures represented will repay a
little trouble. The central figure at the east end is above life-size
but carefully adapted to the general proportions, already mentioned, of
the building. Each panel is a picture, and the scheme is worked out in
the stained glass of the windows, while the harmony of colour, form, and
proportion produces an effect upon the mind comparable only with that of
the best music. Unfortunately, the designs for the figures of prophets
and evangelists, under the dome, seem to have been made in ignorance or
defiance of the conditions by which Sir William Richmond has been
guided; while they are dull, heavy, and dark in colour. They were
produced some fifty years ago, and have a highly discordant effect.
Sir William Richmond’s work has been carried out in conformity with a
settled plan, based upon the proportions of the whole building. At the
east end, the roof of the apse shows the figure of Our Lord seated, with
uplifted hands. In the adjoining panels right and left are Recording
Angels, attended by winged cherubim. The lower rectangular spaces are
filled with figures of the Virtues and such scenes as the sacrifice of
Noah and the blessing of Abraham. Many other allusive and allegorical
subjects fill the panels of the vaulting as far as the entrance of the
choir, supplemented by abundant gilding and by marble inlay, all
carefully harmonised and subdued so as to produce a gorgeous but not a
garish effect. The stained-glass windows are similarly subdued to the
general scheme of colour, and the result gives great encouragement to
those who would see the dome similarly treated if not the nave and
transepts also—a work of such magnitude that few of us can hope ever to
see it accomplished.
* * * * *
A door in the south transept admits the visitor to the crypt, a very
interesting part of the church. It appeals to the architect and
scientific builder as well as to the historical student and the
sightseer. We can study Wren’s methods of construction here much more
readily than above, and can, moreover, see where he was eventually
forced to alter the plans with which he commenced operations, and which
were in his mind in the preparative work here apparent. First at the
foot of the steps we reach “the Artists’ Corner.” At the eastern end,
just where it is believed the high altar of Old St. Paul’s was placed,
is the grave of the great architect himself. It is inscribed with the
memorable sentence already quoted as over the northern entrance. Close
by are the graves of Reynolds, Turner, Landseer, and other great
painters including Lord Leighton and Sir J. E. Millais. Some eminent
architects are near—Mylne, who succeeded as surveyor of St. Paul’s, and
Cockerell who came after him. Goss, part of whose funeral ode on
Wellington is inscribed on his tombstone, and Boyce represent music. In
the crypt too were laid the scanty remains found in the Arabian desert
of Palmer and his companions, murdered in 1882. Sir Bartle Frere and
another great colonial statesman, Dalley, are both laid here. But to
most visitors no tombs or memorials are so interesting as those of
Nelson and Wellington. In a kind of chapel marked by its own candelabra,
and situated just under the choir, the lofty sarcophagus which contains
the body of the great Duke forms a conspicuous object in the view. It is
formed of a large block of red porphyry from Cornwall, standing on a
pedestal of the same stone, and a base of grey granite—all studiously
plain. The funeral took place in 1852, three months after Wellington’s
death; even then the sepulchre was not ready and the coffin rested for
some weeks on the Nelson tomb farther east. Beside the Duke are the
remains of Sir Thomas Picton, his comrade and lieutenant at Waterloo.
Picton was killed in the battle, and his body was brought home to his
house in Edwardes Street, now Seymour Street, Portman Square. Thence it
was removed to the vaults of the chapel of St. George, now altered, in
the Uxbridge Road, where it rested till 1859, when, nearly seven years
after Wellington’s funeral, it was brought here. The tomb of Nelson is
under the dome. He died on October 21, 1805, at the great victory of
Trafalgar, and his body was brought home and buried here. It had been
intended that his coffin should be enclosed in a black marble
sarcophagus which, lying unused in Wolsey’s Chapel at Windsor, was
presented by the King for the purpose. It had been sculptured by a
Florentine named Bernardo da Rovezzano, for Cardinal Wolsey, and
remained in the chapel. The wooden coffin, made of the mast of
_L’Orient_, blown up at the battle of the Nile, which had been presented
to Nelson by his friend Hallowell, of the _Swiftsure_, was too large to
go into the marble sarcophagus, which is still empty. It stands on a
fine base of black and white marble, and Nelson’s body is in the masonry
below. Beside Nelson sleep Collingwood (d. 1810), the second, and
Northesk (d. 1831), the third in command at Trafalgar.
To the west of Nelson’s tomb is preserved the funeral car or hearse made
for the burial of the Duke of Wellington—a monumental work in itself. It
was cast from cannon taken in the Duke’s victories, from designs by
Redgrave, and is so fine as to have led many critics to attribute it to
Stevens—wrongly, however, as Redgrave’s drawings are still extant.
Quite apart from the tombs here to be seen and the names of great men on
every side, this crypt is well worth a visit. We observe in it, the care
and attention to details which Wren bestowed upon every part of his
great design. He altered the axis of the new church, the east end of
which is slightly to the northward of that of old St. Paul’s. By this
means he obtained fresh ground for the more important parts of his
foundations. The great piers which support the dome do not stand where
those which supported the old central tower stood. At one place, said to
be near the north-east corner, he found that a gravel pit had been made
and “the hard pot earth,” on which he depended, had been removed. He
sunk a pit to where, at the very foot of the hill on which St. Paul’s
stands, he found a firm foundation, and laid upon it a mass of masonry,
10 feet square, on which he could rely. It was not his intention to
interrupt the view of the central aisle by placing the organ over the
entrance to the choir, but, in the crypt, we see that when he had to
comply with the taste of the time, he built “a row of columns and arches
to strengthen the floor for the extra weight it was called upon to
carry.”
The modest _Guide_, by Mr. Gilbertson, which is to be had at the ticket
office at the foot of the stairs to the dome, contains by far the best
account of the church. It is supplemented by a description of the
mosaics, mentioned above. For a magnificent series of views a volume by
the late Mr. Birch on the _City Churches_ may be named. There is no
modern history of the cathedral which can be recommended to the student
as, so far, the great collection of records preserved in the library has
not been used by historians. Milman and Longman do not seem to have been
aware of its existence. The late Dr. Sparrow Simpson, whose delightful
but desultory volumes have already been mentioned, made many extracts
from these manuscripts, but his example has hardly been followed.
The manuscripts were well catalogued in 1883, by Sir H. Maxwell Lyte,
for the Historical Manuscripts Commission.
=St. Faith= was situated under the choir of old St. Paul’s. In 1549,
Jesus Chapel in the cathedral being suppressed by Edward VI., the
parishioners of St. Faith’s were allowed to remove from their crypt
to this chapel. It continued so till St. Paul’s was burnt down, when
the parish was annexed to St. Augustine’s by Act of Parliament
(1670). The earliest date of an incumbent is 1277.
The patronage of this church has always been in the hands of: The
Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s—as far back as 1148; and in 1277
Robert le Seneschal was rector.
Houseling people in 1548 were 400.
A considerable number of monuments are recorded by Stow, but none
are of much note. The most interesting is that of Katherine, third
daughter of Edward, Lord Neville.
There was a table in the south aisle of the church with the names of
the benefactors, amongst whom were: John Sanderson, donor of £150,
and Elizabeth Underwood, donor of £70.
Richard Layton (d. 1544), Dean of York, was rector here.
=St. Gregory by St. Paul’s= was situated on the south side of St.
Paul’s, near the west end, in the ward of Castle Baynard. The date
of its foundation is not known, but it is said that the body of
Edmund, King of the East Angles, who was put to death by the Danes
in 870, rested here for three years. It was burnt down by the Great
Fire and not rebuilt, its parish being annexed to that of St. Mary
Magdalene, Old Fish Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is
1181.
It was a Rectory in the gift of the Prebendary of St. Pancras and
formed part of the manor of that prebendary. It was appropriated in
1445 to the minor canons of St. Paul’s, and so continued until the
church was annexed to St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, in 1666.
Houseling people in 1548 were 600.
A chantry was founded here by Robert Rosamonde, whose endowment
fetched £13 : 18s. in 1548, when Peter Jacksonne was priest, aged
thirty-nine years, “a teacher for children, and hath, for that he
was a religious person, a pension of £5 : 6 : 8 over and besides
this his stipend of £6 : 13 : 4.”
No monuments of any special note are recorded in this church by
Stow.
There was a school in this parish for thirty boys and twenty girls,
purchased at the expense of Alderman Barber; and one almshouse, upon
Lambeth Hill.
John Hewitt, tried by Cromwell’s High Court of Justice and beheaded
in 1658, was rector here, and was buried in this church.
In =St. Paul’s Churchyard= the chapter-house first attracts our
attention, a square, plain, red-brick building, with a modern office for
the cathedral architect on one side; the top story was added in the last
twenty years of the nineteenth century. These additions are not so
noticeable as might be supposed, but are wonderfully harmonised by smoke
and weather already. The building is finished with Portland stone, and
the two semicircular projecting pediments over the two front doorways
are of the same material. In each of these there is a curious niche or
recess, which was evidently designed to receive a coat-of-arms, but no
coat-of-arms has ever been placed there. The age of the chapter-house is
indefinite. Mr. Penrose, the cathedral architect, judges it to have been
built shortly after the year 1700. There is negative evidence to show
that it did not exist before that date, for in a design of Wren’s,
showing the limits of old St. Paul’s, the frontage of houses to the
street is incompatible with the position of the chapter-house, and the
buildings are also marked as ordinary dwelling-houses. But this plan is
not altogether trustworthy, for it does not give the cathedral
foundations correctly, and may therefore be inaccurate in other
particulars. It is supposed, on account of this inaccuracy, to have been
one of the later plans, probably made about 1700, when the old
foundations had been built over and forgotten. It bears no date, and the
evidence must be taken for what it is worth. Knight, in his _London_,
gives a print dated 1701, and says that Wren repaired and restored the
chapter-house after the Fire, which is obviously incorrect.
Within the chapter-house all is simple and solid. A square wainscotted
hall, paved with plain white marble slabs, deep-set doors and windows in
the thickness of the walls, and a fine, wide, shallow-stepped staircase
with well-worked iron supports to the handrail. The character of the
balustrade changes above the first floor, and the handrail is supported
by spiral wooden balusters. The walls of the finely proportioned
chapter-room are all wainscotted, otherwise there is nothing to remark
upon. This room is occasionally lent to ecclesiastical conferences. In
one of the other rooms are eight panels, 2 feet 6 by 1 foot 9 inches,
enclosed in small gilt frames. These hang rather high up round the
walls. They are monotint, and are Sir James Thornhill’s original designs
for the frescoes in the dome of the cathedral. These designs are
excellently clear, and show what the now faded frescoes must have been.
The archdeacon of the cathedral has a suite of rooms in the
chapter-house, and the remainder of the house is carried out in the same
plain domestic style.
The north side of the churchyard consists of a row of dingy brick
buildings of various heights and ages. One or two are showing signs of
decrepid old age, others still flourishing, with the names of their
tradesmen occupants in mighty gilt letters across their smoky fronts.
The irregular roofs of tiles or slates, with fantastic little iron
railings high up, or windows peeping over the parapets, are sufficiently
original to be interesting. Every class of goods seems to find
representatives here—we see confectioners, milliners, bootmakers,
photographers, etc. The Religious Tract Society has one entrance in the
churchyard. On the east side we find all the houses modern, in the
modern style, with stone facings; they are chiefly occupied by
manufacturers.
We turn next to =Paternoster Row=.
In every large town on the Continent, wherever a cathedral has been
erected, there are streets occupied by shops where all kinds of
ecclesiastical things are made and sold, such as beads, crucifixes, wax
tapers, service books, meditations, and such like. Paternoster Row
served this purpose for St. Paul’s in the first instance, and, as there
is only one other street so called, namely, the lane of Paternoster in
the Riole, one may reasonably conclude that, with this other street, it
supplied all the churches and all the faithful of the City with these
things. We read of “Paternoster” meaning rosaries, and of a
“Paternostrer” or one whose trade it was to make rosaries, etc. There
are frequent references to both Paternoster “Street” of St. Michael le
Querne, and Paternoster Lane, or Paternoster Church Lane of St. Michael,
Paternoster Royal. Of the first, for instance, there are houses and
rents spoken of in wills of 1312 and 1321.
This is, in fact, one of the most ancient, as well as one of the most
interesting of the City Streets.
We can catch glimpses here and there of the actual residents of this
street, the place where they made the rosaries. They should have been a
quiet and God-fearing folk; but they were not. In 1381 one Godfrey de
Belstred was assaulted by three “Paternostrers” of this parish, whether
for purposes of robbery or in a quarrel does not appear; he was picked
up wounded, and carried off to die. In the same century we find persons
owning houses in this street; one, William de Ravenstone, Almoner of St.
Paul’s, leaves by will a house in Paternoster Row. Did his functions
permit him to live outside the precinct which sheltered such a goodly
company of ecclesiastics? About the same time William Russell—surely the
earliest mention of that illustrious name—bequeaths his house in the
Row; Garter King-at-arms has a house there; John de Pykenham,
Paternostrer, leaves various tenements to his wife, who claims as one of
them a house in the Row. William le Marbler, a vintner, has a house
there; the name shows that a man might by this time leave the trade of
his father, and take to another without changing his surname, just as
the name of Chaucer, who never belonged to the “gentle craft,” means
shoemaker. There are other instances of “Paternostrers,” all of whom
belong to the Parish, if not to the Row, which formed the most important
part of it.
[Illustration:
PATERNOSTER ROW (AS IT WAS)
]
The street, in fact, belonged to two parishes; one of these was the
parish of St. Faith under Paul’s (see p. 340). St. Faith’s parish
includes Paternoster Square, the Row, and Ivy Lane, with little fringes
or strips, on the north and south. The east end of the Row is in the
parish of St. Michael le Querne (see p. 326). This little parish, whose
church is now St. Vedast’s, Foster Lane, included no more than 250 feet
of the Row, with that part of Chepe west of Foster Lane, and the
buildings on the north-west of the cathedral precinct. If you stand now
on the site of the church, you will find it difficult to understand how
there could be room for a parish church and a graveyard on the little
space between the Row and the west end of Cheapside. By measurement,
however, you will ascertain that a line drawn from the shop at the end
of the Row to the corner of Cheapside is 130 feet in length, while a
line drawn perpendicular to the buildings is 110 feet. Now the mediæval
builders were ingenious in cramming churches and halls into small areas.
I have laid down the church as it might have been, and I put the present
statue of Peel at the crossing of the transepts if it was a cruciform
church. I do not think, however, that it was cruciform, but that it
consisted of a nave and chancel only, with a small burial-ground on the
north, and a tower on the east side. The Fire of 1666 left it rootless,
broke its windows, melted its glass, calcined its marbles, and destroyed
its woodwork. It also burned up the coffins with their contents in the
vaults. The parish was poor and small; the “Paternostrers” existed no
longer; the parishioners decided not to rebuild the church; they
amalgamated their parish with another; they widened the way that led
from Newgate Street into Cheapside; and the bones of the dead, which
were now so much grey powder, were trampled in the mud and dust of the
street.
When the Reformation came, the trade of the street was annihilated.
Fortunately for the poor “Paternostrers” the work of destruction was not
sudden; it took time for the old services and the old ceremonies, which
required their handiwork, to be abolished. What they did when the
accession of the Protestant party to power closed their shops; how they
got rid of their unsold stock, their piles of rosaries, beads,
crucifixes, candlesticks; what new trades they learned; what
bankruptcies and disasters fell upon them, no one knows. There is no
chronicle to tell of the immediate effects of the Reformation on the
trade and the common life of the City. It is, however, certain that the
Paternostrers had to try something else.
They vanish; the historian hears no more of them; they rejoiced, we may
be very sure, when Queen Mary brought back the ancient things; they
trembled when Queen Elizabeth showed herself as independent and as
masterful as her father.
But the place is central; it is a quiet and convenient place, retired
from the noisy market; it is essentially a street for business of a
quiet kind. Therefore the people who had formerly occupied the stalls of
Broken Cross, the Standard, and the Great Cross, changed their quarters
and took the small shops of the Paternostrers, where they sold paper,
parchment, ink, pens, and the like—being the forerunners of the
booksellers.
But the day of the booksellers was not yet. Paternoster Row was too
large for the stationers; the mercers, silkmen, and lacemen found out
the place and began to crowd out the stationers. It became the principal
place for the sale of these fashionable goods; in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries all the great ladies went to Paternoster Row for
their fineries; latterly the lane was thronged with carriages.
Then came the Fire.
After the Fire, according to Strype, the mercers migrated to Covent
Garden, Henrietta Street, and King Street. According to Defoe, the Row
was rebuilt after the Fire, for the convenience of these trades; “the
spacious shops, back warehouses, skylights, and other conveniences made
on purpose for their trade are still to be seen.” He goes on to say that
the other traders were then dependent on the more important shops:
lacemen were in Ivy Lane, button shops at the Cheapside end, shops for
crewels and fringe in Blowbladder Street. He says that this continued
for twenty years after the Fire, and that the mercers began then to
migrate to Covent Garden, where, however, they did not remain many
years. They then returned to the City and established themselves on
Ludgate Hill.
But all the mercers and silkmen did not desert the Row. In 1720 there
were still some “with many tirewomen.” It is at this period that we
first hear of booksellers in the Row. Their previous quarters, before
the Fire, had been St. Paul’s Churchyard not far off. After the Fire,
some of them went to the upper end of Paternoster Row, where there were
built “large warehouses for booksellers well situated for learned and
studious men’s access thither, being more retired and private” (Strype).
Others retreated, their stocks destroyed by the Fire, in an impoverished
condition, to the cheaper street of Little Britain, where they continued
for eighty years, when they began to flock into Paternoster Row.
“From the manufacture of paternosters to the publication and sale of
books is a long step. The Row, however, gradually lost all its mercers,
lacemen, and silkmen, and became the home of books, old and new. Other
booksellers there were in other parts, but not many—Dodsley, for
instance, in Pall Mall, Murray in Fleet Street, Newbery in St. Paul’s;
but the greater number had their shops, being booksellers as well as
publishers, in the Row. No longer did the coaches rumble along the
narrow street; posts placed across forbade the passage of coach or cart;
it became the most quiet street in all London. Gradually another change
fell upon the place: the booksellers’ shops disappeared, and with them
the throng of scholars who had been wont to meet and talk among the
books. The Row became a wholesale place, whither the ‘trade’ came to
buy; printers, bookbinders, and papermakers came for orders; and needy
authors came, hat in hand, in the hope of picking up a guinea.
“There is a book called _Travels in Town_, written in the year 1839. The
author, speaking of the output of books, boldly states that they had all
to pass through Paternoster Row—certainly an exaggeration, but by far
the greater number had to do so. The busiest day in the month was
Magazine day, when the new magazines were sold to the trade. About
400,000 copies left the Row that morning. When we consider the nature of
these magazines—the _Gentleman_, _Tait’s_, the _New Monthly_, the
_Metropolitan_, _Blackwood’s_, _Fraser’s_—there can be no doubt that
among the better class of readers the magazine occupied a much more
important place then than it does at present.
“The Row kept up its character as the headquarters of the book trade for
many years. But other changes have set in. There now are as many
publishers outside the Row as in it. We find publishers about Covent
Garden and Charing Cross; booksellers there are, of course, everywhere.
The _Directory_ gives a list of over four hundred publishers, of whom
not more than forty or fifty need be taken into account. Of the four
hundred, however, the Row still numbers thirty; while of booksellers,
stationers, and other persons connected with the book trade, there are
another thirty in the Row. So the old literary atmosphere hangs about
the place, and, though most of the greater publishers are gone, there
are enough left to keep up the traditions of the past. And north of the
Row, in Paternoster Square and the courts and lanes, other publishers
and booksellers are found who lend their name to make the Row and its
vicinity still the headquarters of new books.
“As for the social side of the Row. It once boasted two places of resort
where men could meet and dine, or sit and talk. The first of them was
Dolly’s Chop House. This house was built in the time of Queen Anne for a
certain cook named Dolly. It is said to have stood on the site of an
ordinary kept by Tarleton the Elizabethan mime. If this is true, there
was probably, according to the conservative habits of our people, a
tavern kept up on the spot continuously. It was not the custom, in the
early years of the eighteenth century, to create a new tavern, but to
carry on an old one. However, Dolly’s remained a place of great resort
for more than a hundred years. It seems to have been famous for its
beefsteaks.
“The other, a more important place, was the Chapter Coffee House. This
place was in the eighteenth century the resort of the booksellers; here
they met for the sale, among themselves, of copyrights, and for the
sharing of any new enterprise in new books. Here also met many of the
wits and writers during the last half of that century—Goldsmith,
Johnson, Lloyd, Churchill, and many others came here to sup and to talk.
Chatterton found his way here, sitting in a corner and thinking himself
already admitted among the acknowledged poets of the day. In the early
part of this century the coffee house was frequented by a knot of
writers of some importance in their own day. There was Alexander
Stevens, Dr. Buchan, the Rev. W. Murray, the Rev. Dr. Berdmore, Walker
‘the rhetorician,’ Dr. Towers, Dr. Fordyce, Johnson, called in his day
‘king of the booksellers,’ Phillips, editor of the _Monthly Magazine_,
Alexander Chalmers, Macfarlane, and others whose names are well-nigh
forgotten, who yet thought themselves no mean citizens, and formed a
group which came here every night and talked. Sad it is to think that to
these circles, as well as to that of the Chapter Coffee House, Time will
apply the sponge and efface their names and their sayings from the
memory of the world.” (_Paper on Paternoster Row._)
[Illustration:
PATERNOSTER ROW AS IT IS
]
=Ave Maria Lane= was “so called” (Stow) “because of stationers and text
writers who wrote and sold there all sorts of books then in use, namely,
A.B.C. with the Pater Noster, Ave, Creed, the Graces, etc.”
On the east side of Ave Maria Lane was the “Vicarage” of the Vicars
Choral of St. Paul’s, “bounded on the east by the Penitentiarie’s house;
on the west by Ave Maria Lane; on the south by the highway leading
through St. Paul’s churchyard; and on the north by the Bishop’s Palace.”
The Garden of the Bishop of London’s Palace on the west was divided from
Ave Maria Lane by a great brick wall reaching to an old house in
Paternoster Row, the Three White Lyons.
The site of the Bishop’s Palace was in London House Yard. The Palace was
pulled down in 1650 and tenements built upon its site.
Here has been demolished the old tavern, No. 8, distinguished by its
sign of the Goose and the Gridiron. The tavern stood, perhaps, on the
site of the Mitre, where, in 1642-44, was exhibited a collection of
curiosities which, according to their Catalogue, must have consisted
mainly of rarities similar in kind to those of “Tradeskins Ark” at
Lambeth, or of the Royal Society when lodged at Gresham College. The
Catalogue says they are “daily to be seen at the place called the Music
House at the Mitre near the west end of St. Paul’s Church.” The sign may
have been designed in burlesque of that of the Swan and Harp in
Cheapside, as cited in _Little London Directory_ of 1677. It formed the
meeting-place of the St. Paul’s Masonic Lodge, to which Wren belonged
for many years. He presented to the sodality of the Lodge, the mallet
and trowel that had been used in laying the first stone of St. Paul’s
(_Midd. and Herts. Notes and Queries_, vol. ii. p. 179).
=Amen Corner= is chiefly modern, but the two brick houses next the gate
which shuts in Amen Court are both ancient, one of them being restored.
Through great claret-painted wooden gates we pass to Amen Court where
there is an unbroken line of old seventeenth-century houses facing the
back of Stationers’ Hall. These are all of brick, creeper-covered, with
iron lamp-holders arching over the doorways, and link sockets attached.
One or two have quaint old iron scrapers. They were built by Sir C.
Wren. The court is the ecclesiastical residence for many of the
dignitaries connected with St. Paul’s. A gravelled walk leads round the
corner by a buttressed wall to the more modern part. Quite a large
garden space lies before the houses. The later row, built in 1876, are
in a modern Queen Anne style, and the material used is glowing red
brick.
The lodge or entrance to this side from the lane stands back behind
picturesque iron gates with red brick piers surmounted by great urns.
Over the foot entry is a Latin inscription, and in the street on a stone
slab set in the brickwork under a projecting cornice are the words:
Pro omnibus mortus christus ut et qui vivunt jam non sibi vivant sed ei
qui pro ipsis mortuus est et resurrexit.
In Ave Maria Lane are the ordinary business houses.
Amen Corner formerly ran from Ave Maria Lane as far as the wall. The
present court has been constructed on part of the ground formerly
occupied by the Oxford Arms Inn. Stationers’ Hall (see p. 199) was also
built against the wall; its small garden is the old burial-ground of St.
Martin, Ludgate Hill.
St. Martin’s Lane had St. Martin-le-Grand on the east side. This was a
house for Augustine canons, and William of Wykeham was one of its deans.
It formed a precinct with its own liberty, which survived the
Dissolution. In the sanctuary Forrest, the murderer of the little
princes in the Tower, died (see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 234).
Stow tells the story of the famous action in which the City challenged
the claims of sanctuary set up by St. Martin’s in the year 1442.
“This college claimed great privileges of sanctuary and otherwise, as
appeareth in a book, written by a notary of that house, about the year
1442, 19 Henry VI., wherein, amongst other things, is set down and
declared, that on the 1st of September, in the year aforesaid, a
soldier, prisoner in Newgate, as he was led by an officer towards the
Guildhall of London, there came out of Panyer Alley five of his
fellowship, and took him from the officer, brought him into sanctuary at
the west door of St. Martin’s church, and took grithe of that place; but
the same day Philip Malpas and Robert Marshall, then sheriffs of London,
with many others, entered the said church, and forcibly took out with
them the said five men thither fled, led them fettered to the Compter,
and from thence, chained by the necks, to Newgate; of which violent
taking the dean and chapter in large manner complained to the king, and
required him, as their patron, to defend their privileges, like as his
predecessors had done, etc. All which complaint and suit the citizens by
their counsel, Markham, sergeant at the law, John Carpenter, late common
clerk of the city, and other, learnedly answered, offering to prove that
the said place of St. Martin had no such immunity or liberty as was
pretended; namely, Carpenter offered to lose his livelihood, if that
church had more immunity than the least church in London.
Notwithstanding, after long debating of this controversy, by the king’s
commandment, and assent of his council in the starred chamber, the
chancellor and treasurer sent a writ unto the sheriffs of London,
charging them to bring the said five persons with the cause of their
taking and withholding afore the king in his Chancery, on the vigil of
Allhallows. On which day the said sheriffs, with the recorder and
counsel of the City, brought and delivered them accordingly, afore the
said lords; whereas the chancellor, after he had declared the king’s
commandment, sent them to St. Martin’s, there to abide freely, as in a
place having franchises, whiles them liked, etc.” (Stow). The whole of
the district is now being gradually covered by the mighty buildings of
the General Post Office, which has inherited the name of its
predecessor, and is known as St. Martin-le-Grand. For the history see
_London in the Nineteenth Century_, p. 307.
[Illustration:
THE CITY BOUNDARY, ALDERSGATE
]
=Aldersgate=, formerly called Aldrechegate and Aldresgate, was built
during the Saxon occupation. It is named in the laws of Ethelred. It is
also mentioned in the _Calendar of Wills_, but not very early. Riley
contains some interesting notices of the gate and the ward.
Thus in 1277 an inquest is held on the unlucky Matilda, wife of Henry le
Coffeur, who fell down, being drunk, broke her right arm, and soon after
died, and was laid in the house of the said Henry in the ward of Anketin
de Auvergne, _i.e._ Aldersgate. In 1339 the Chamberlain of Guildhall
expended 20s. 4d. on the pavement of the gate of Aldersgate, the
pavement being one of cobbled stones laid close and rammed down. The
first pavements were those laid down in much frequented places such as
the City gates and markets, where otherwise the feet of the passers-by
would make pools of mud. In 1346 a certain Simon is hanged for robbery
in the ward of Aldersgate—observe that the name of the alderman is no
longer given to the ward. In 1350 mention is made of shops within
Aldersgate. In 1375, there are ordinances, already referred to,
concerning “foreign” poulterers. In 1379 there are ordinances respecting
the cattle-market of Smithfield without Aldersgate. In 1391 a scrivener
stands in pillory without Aldersgate for forgery.
Aldersgate was not thrown open as a highway. Bishopsgate received the
traffic from the north; Aldgate from the east; Newgate from the west;
and Bridge Gate from the south. Aldersgate simply opened upon the moor
beyond which was the great forest. It became necessary to have this gate
for access to Smithfield, when that place began to be used as a market
for horses and cattle; as the City playground, and as the site of races,
wrestling matches, and archery practice. It was also, later, used as a
place of execution; and it was partly occupied by religious houses.
Stow’s derivation from the “Elder” or “Older” gate is too far-fetched.
It is named probably from one Ealdered, its earliest name being
“Aldredesgate.” It is mentioned in a deed witnessed by Henry of London
Stone, Mayor of London. In 1274 John Blackthorn is alderman of this
ward, but in 1115 there is found in the documents of St. Paul’s a Warda
Brickmarii Montlarii, Ward of Brickman, the Moneyer, which is probably
Aldersgate.
Stow says of it:
“This is the fourth principal gate and hath at sundry times been
increased with buildings, namely, on the south, or inner side, a great
frame of timber hath been added, and set up, containing divers large
rooms and lodgings; also on the east side is the addition of one great
building of timber, with one large floor, paved with stone or tile, and
a well therein curbed with stone, of a great depth, and rising into the
said room, two stories high from the ground; which well is the only
peculiar note belonging to that gate, for I have not seen the like in
all this City to be raised so high” (Stow).
“The gate described by Stow was taken down in 1617, and rebuilt the same
year from a design by Gerard Christmas, the architect, as Vertue
thought, of old Northumberland House. On the outer front was a figure in
high relief of James I. on horseback, with the prophets Jeremiah and
Samuel in niches on each side; on the inner or City front an effigy of
the King in his chair of state. King James, on his way to take
possession of his new dominions, entered London by the old gate; the new
gate referred to this circumstance, with suitable quotations from
Jeremiah and Samuel placed beneath the figures of the two prophets. The
heads of several of the regicides were set on this gate, which suffered
by the Great Fire, but was soon after repaired and ‘beautified.’ The
whole fabric was sold on the 22nd of April, 1761, and immediately taken
down. I may add that it is written Aldrichgate in the London Chronicle
of Edward IV.’s time, printed by Sir Harris Nicholas; and that John Day,
the printer of Queen Elizabeth’s time, dwelt ‘over Aldersgate,’ much in
the same manner as Cave subsequently did at St. John’s” (Cunningham).
Milton took a “pretty garden-house” in Aldersgate Street on his return
from his foreign tour.
ST. BOTOLPH, ALDERSGATE
This church is opposite the General Post Office, at the corner of
Little Britain. The building was repaired in 1627, but was damaged
by the Great Fire. It was pulled down in 1754, when the present
church was erected. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1333.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Dean of St.
Martin-le-Grand, as a Rectory, 1333; the Dean and Canons of St.
Martin-le-Grand, as a Donative or Curacy, united to St. Martin’s
December 18, 1399; the Abbot and Convent of Westminster; the Dean
and Chapter of Westminster, who are still the patrons.
Houseling people in 1548 were 1100.
The present church is divided into a nave and side aisles by
Corinthian columns, and contains galleries on the north, south, and
west sides respectively. The building is of brick. The tower rises
at the west, crowned by a turret. There is a façade of four Ionic
columns on the east side, constructed in 1831. The churchyard is of
considerable size and extends to the south and west of the church;
it is open to the public and is well laid out.
Chantries were founded here: For Thomas de Lilsington and Lucy his
wife; by John Bothe. Here was the Brotherhood of Holy Trinity at
that altar in the south part of the which, and for which the King
granted a licence to Lady Johanna Asteley, Robert Cawode, and Thomas
Smythe, sen., July 9, 1446.
The oldest monument remaining is that of Dame Anne Packington, a
benefactress to the parish, who died in 1563. There are also
monuments to Sir John Micklethwait, President of the College of
Physicians, and Dr. Bernard, also a medical practitioner of the
seventeenth century; to Richard Chiswell, principal bookseller of
his time, who died in 1711; and to Daniel Wray, F.R.S., F.S.A., one
of the original Trustees of the British Museum and friend of the
poets Dyer and Akenside.
The charitable gifts belonging to this parish recorded by Stow are
very numerous. Richard Chiswell, bookseller, was the donor of £50 to
the schools at his death; Mrs. Hannah Jones of £60 in all during her
life and at her death.
Fifty boys and fifty girls were clothed and educated by
subscription.
The churchyard has been converted into a pleasant garden with smooth
grass plots and irregularly growing trees, and is locally known as the
Postmen’s Park. In the _Daily Chronicle_ of April 16, 1896, a
condensation of a speech by Mr. Norman, senior, churchwarden of St.
Botolph Without, appeared, part of which was as follows:
“The land in question had been let by the Charity Commissioners for
building in spite of the protests of the parishioners. It was in digging
for foundations that an enormous quantity of human remains came to
light, and the workmen at last became disgusted and refused to remove
any more the masses of bones disturbed. The building lessees, however,
determined to go on and legal proceedings were taken. The result was a
declaration by the judge that although about one half of the site was a
portion of the churchyard, technically, the whole site had now been
dealt with in such a way as to enable the central governing body to
build upon it.
“Many tons of human remains were still unexcavated, while a vast
quantity piled pell-mell against the church tower—preparatory to the
intended removal—had been covered with a few inches of earth. It seemed
impossible that the central governing body should now treat the ground
as a building site, especially as one of their principal duties was the
preservation of open spaces where they were most wanted, viz. in the
heart of the City, besides which they had now vested in them the whole
of the parish property of the value of about £100,000. He had every hope
that they would see their way to foregoing the small profit derivable
from letting the site for building purposes, and he believed there was
now a probability of the ground being secured for the public, in which
event the churchyard garden would not only be preserved, but enlarged
and greatly improved.”
On the west side of St. Martin’s Lane, Aldersgate, near Blowbladder
Street stood a great house called Northumberland House, which at one
time belonged to the Percies. Henry IV. gave it to the Queen and it was
called her wardrobe; in Stow’s time it was a printing house.
In Bull and Mouth Street stood the Bull and Mouth Inn. It became one of
the famous coaching inns of London.
The principal towns served from the Bull and Mouth were: Holyhead,
Oxford, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Kidderminster, Worcester, Leominster,
Ludlow, Hereford, Kendal, Glasgow, Leeds, Halifax, Sheffield,
Nottingham, and Northampton. Coaches started from these places daily,
three times, or twice a week. The traffic appears strangely divided;
this, however, was due to the competition of other coaches. Thus, a
coach started twice a day for Birmingham, and also twice a day for
Kendal.
Twenty-one coaches ran out of the Bull and Mouth every Monday. The same
number came in. Other days were quite as busy. Besides, there were the
wagons, of which twelve went out every week. The offices of the Post
Office are now built over the site of this inn.
Farther north to the west of Aldersgate is the district ravaged by the
fire of 1897, which burned down blocks of houses and streets. Jewin
Crescent and Australian Avenue were the centre of the conflagration, but
both have risen from their ashes. In Jewin Street Milton lived before
his third marriage.
=Little Britain= was in the reigns of the Stuarts the centre of the
bookselling trade, as Paternoster Row was later. Here lived Richard
Chiswell (d. 1711), “the Metropolitan bookseller”; also Samuel Buckler,
publisher of the _Spectator_; and Benjamin Franklin lodged for a time in
“Little Britain.” But the association which confers the greatest
distinction upon the street is that it was for a short time the
residence of Milton when he lodged with the bookseller Millington about
1670.
The street at present is lined on one side by the uniform row of the
buildings in the hospital precincts; these are of dingy brick with
stuccoed ground-floor. On the east, there are a few modern buildings
mingled with one or two older ones, which give the street a quaint
aspect. No. 37 and the two numbers to the south of it are decidedly
picturesque.
A full account of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and Priory has been given
in _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 251.
The Priory on its suppression was granted to Sir Richard, afterwards 1st
Baron, Rich, with the exception of the choir and south transept of the
church, which were given to the parishioners, and it is this beautiful
fragment that now forms the church of St. Bartholomew the Great.
[Illustration:
ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT
]
ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT
The date of the first prior, Rahere, was 1123, that of the first
rector 1544.
When the Priory was suppressed, the patronage was given by Henry
VIII. to Sir Richard Rich, who granted it to Queen Mary. It was
inherited by Queen Elizabeth, who regranted it to Sir Richard (then
Lord) Rich, in whose family it remained until it was purchased by
William Phillips early in the nineteenth century, in whose
descendants it now remains.
From West Smithfield, the entrance to the church is through an Early
English arch with the dogtooth ornament. The length of the church is
over 130 feet, the breadth 57 feet; the Lady Chapel, built early in
the fourteenth century, is about 60 feet long by 26 feet wide. The
style of the building is mainly Norman, and was executed by Rahere
(1123-1144) and his successor Thomas of St. Osyth (1144-1174);
during the next half-century the Early English nave was added. The
clerestory, in the Perpendicular style (1405), is in marked contrast
with the Norman Triforium beneath it: the ambulatory passes behind
the altar. The most striking innovation early in the fifteenth
century was the pulling down of the Norman apse and the erection of
an east wall, rendering the eastern portion of the church square
instead of semicircular; a new apse was built, however, by Aston
Webb, to whom also is due the flat oak ceiling of the tower, erected
in 1886, and the north transept, and the north and west porches, in
1893. A bone crypt is situated beneath the eastern part of the Lady
Chapel, and was vaulted by arches of a single span of 22 feet; it
was restored in 1895. Three bays of the east walk of the cloister
exist, and were restored in 1905. The tower, built in 1628, contains
five of the oldest bells in London, dating from before 1510.
Many chantries were founded here, but went with the suppression in
1539.
This church contains a number of interesting monuments. The most
notable is that of the founder, Rahere, placed on the north side of
the church within the communion rails. In the south aisle there is
the tomb of Sir Walter Mildmay (d. 1589), one of Queen Elizabeth’s
ablest statesmen, and founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. On the
south wall there is a monument to Edward Cooke, a physician of
repute who died in 1652; this is composed of a soft kind of marble,
known as “weeping marble,” because in a damp atmosphere it breaks
out into moisture. The renovation of the church has caused it to
weep no more. Thomas Roycroft, the printer of the Polyglot Bible (d.
1677), has a memorial by the Lady Chapel screen, erected by his son
Samuel. On the north wall of the choir a tablet records the death of
John Whiting, who, on his death in 1704, left the parish a sum of
money for educational purposes, which is still applied in accordance
with his wishes. Sir John Deane, the first rector here and founder
of the Witton Grammar School, Northwich, in 1557, is commemorated by
a brass opposite the founder’s tomb. The font in the south transept
is that in which the painter Hogarth was baptized in 1697; he was
created a life-governor of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in
acknowledgment of his gift of staircase paintings when the Hospital
was rebuilt.
There were many charities attached to this parish after Stow’s time
(1605), but they were all swept away under Bryce’s Act except John
Whiting’s schools.
Thirty boys and twenty girls were maintained by subscription and
John Whiting’s gift.
Perhaps the most notable rector was Thomas Westfield (1605-1644),
Bishop of Bristol.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE LESS
This church served as the Hospital chapel in monastic times, and has
been used as a parish church for those within the Hospital precincts
since the dissolution of the priory. In 1789 the interior of the
tower was remodelled by the younger Dance, but in 1823 the church
was practically rebuilt by Thomas Hardwick. It has since been
restored, and the only trace of the old work is to be found in the
vestibule beneath the tower. The date of the first custodian was
1223. The date of the first vicar was 1532.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Priors of St.
Bartholomew, Smithfield, up to 1532; the Governors of St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital.
The interior was remodelled on an octagonal plan by Dance in 1789;
this shape is obtained by means of clustered columns and arches
although the area enclosed by the walls is almost square. Above the
arches there is a clerestory pierced by windows. The ceiling is
groined.
No chantries are recorded to have been founded here.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
GENERAL POST OFFICE
]
The old church contained a large number of monuments and a few have
been preserved. The most ancient is one in memory of William
Markeley, who died in 1439. There is a tablet erected by Sir Thomas
Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, to his wife Anne.
Sir Ralph Winwood, James I.’s ambassador to Holland and Secretary of
State, was buried here; also James Heath, author. In 1573 Inigo
Jones was baptized in this church. His father was a clothworker
living in or near Cloth Fair.
No charitable gifts or bequests are recorded by Stow.
=Bartholomew Close= is a curious place with many ramifications.
Beginning at the south end, in the bit adjoining Westmoreland Buildings,
there is nothing of especial interest. The old house at the end facing
westward is used for offices, the remainder containing printing,
publishing, and manufacturing premises. The great wide space,
Bartholomew Close proper, has been to a very great extent rebuilt. On
the east there are plain substantial business houses. At the corner of
the entrance from Little Britain there is a large eighteenth-century
house in excellent repair. This has a line of no less than nine windows
across its breadth and is four stories in height. It has evidently been
at one time a single dwelling-house. It is now cut up into three
numbers, and contains many offices. On the north side of the Close there
is a row of houses of the Georgian period which occupy the site of the
Frater of the Monastery. These stand back a little from the line of the
street. One has a small garden, and the others covered entries or
one-storied offices before them.
The next arm of the Close, running up to the passage to the church,
contains also a long line of old houses on the west. Many of these have
small shops on the ground-floor; some possess the slightly bowed windows
in fashion at the time they were built.
THE BUTCHERS COMPANY
As early as the year 1180 the fraternity or guild of Butchers of the
City, then and long after called “bochers,” was in existence.
This Company was incorporated in the year 1606, having existed
without a charter from time immemorial. I venture to advance the
theory that one reason why the Butchers did not seek corporation
before this date was the authority which the City claimed and
exercised in all matters connected with food, and especially with
meat, fish, and bread; and that which every alderman exercised in
his own ward. Thus it was the duty of the alderman to be notified as
to the names of every person in the ward exercising any trade
connected with food; and the mayor’s regulations as to the trade of
butcher (see _Liber Albus, passim_) seem to leave little need for
the scrutiny of a Master.
The principal seat of the butchers was in Newgate Street, then
called St. Nicholas Shambles. The spot was chosen as a place near
the principal communications of the City with the north and west
respectively. Animals brought in to be slaughtered had not far to go
within the City. Moreover, it was not a crowded part of London, and
was removed from the principal place of trade and from the port. The
butchers had also a market at the “Stocks,” and another at East
Chepe. There was, however, a very great dislike to living near the
Shambles or to keeping shops and stalls near those of the butchers.
Thus Riley (_Memorials_) quotes a complaint against the butchers
that they carried their offal through the streets to a jetty called
Butchers’ Bridge. The way, I suppose, was down Warwick Lane, Creed
Lane, and St. Andrew’s Hill to Puddle Dock or near it. The carriage
of this stuff, often stinking and always dripping blood along the
street, caused great complaints. Thus orders were issued one after
the other in 1368, 1369, and 1371, commanding the butchers to find a
place outside the City for a slaughter-house. The law was never
obeyed: probably the butchers made some kind of compromise or were
more careful in the carriage of the offal. They had already a place
on the banks of the Fleet to which they were allowed to cart their
refuse, on condition that it was thrown in at the turn of the tide.
The livery of the Company is 159; their trust and charitable Income
amounts to £831 a year.
Daniel Defoe, son of James Foe, citizen and butcher, was a member of
this Company by patrimony; admitted January 12, 1687.
[Illustration:
CLOTH FAIR
]
The first glimpse of =Cloth Fair= from the Smithfield end is full of
interest and attraction. It abounds in very old houses with projecting
stories and gable ends. Many of these have the bowed curve of old age
resembling the curving back of an old man. In others door-lintels and
window-frames have slipped out of their horizontal lines. Barley Mow
Passage is dull; it contains only plain warehouse-like buildings. In
Cloth Fair, Nos. 6 to 4 are covered with rough stucco and have bayed
windows and gable ends. These are the fronts of those seen over the
churchyard. In New Court are buildings of a similar nature. There are
interspersed with these quaint remnants of old domestic architecture
business houses of no particular style. No. 13 on the north side, and
the next one or two following it, are really old, and then we come to
the corner of Kinghorn Street, where one of the oldest taverns remaining
in London stands. This is the Dick Whittington. The corner is rounded
off, and each story projects a little farther than the lower one. There
is an ornamental cornice and gable end; the whole is covered with rough
stucco.
[Illustration:
OLD COACH AND HORSES, CLOTH FAIR
]
=Smithfield.=—Stow says: “Then is Smithfield Pond, which of old times in
recordes was called Horse Poole, for that men watered horses there, and
was a great water. In the 6th of Henry the fifth a new building was made
in this west part of Smithfielde betwixt the said Pool and the River of
the Wels or Turnemill Brooke in a place (then called the Elmes, for that
there grew many Elme trees), and this had been the place of execution
for offenders, since the which time the building there hath been so
increased that now remaineth not one tree growing.”
[Illustration:
LONG LANE, SMITHFIELD, 1810
]
The Elms here mentioned was the place of public execution until the
middle of the thirteenth century; an honour transferred to St.
Giles-in-the-Fields, and later to the more notorious Tyburn. Among the
best known of those who suffered execution at Smithfield is William
Wallace. Jack Straw, the rebel, was hanged at Smithfield, and here took
place the picturesque scene, when the beautiful boy-king, Richard II.,
met Wat Tyler, and showed courage such as won admiration for the promise
of his future, a promise destined to remain unfulfilled. Then and later
Smithfield was the great jousting field and playground of London. Many
were the brilliant tourneys held here, when knights met in chivalrous
contest, and all the flower of England’s manhood drew together to try
prowess at arms.
Smithfield, however, will be always best remembered by the blood of the
martyrs which watered the ground. The spot where these cruelties took
place is probably somewhere near the gate of St. Bartholomew’s. Between
1555 and 1611, many were the sufferings endured at Smithfield. Timbs
says that of the 277 martyrs in Mary’s reign the greater number suffered
here.
[Illustration:
BARTHOLOMEW FAIR, 1721
]
In Henry VIII.’s reign poisoners were boiled to death at Smithfield. A
place more closely associated with the life of London than this could
hardly be imagined, yet nowadays who associates Smithfield with anything
but markets!
In the centre of the open space is an inclined plane winding downward
with a corkscrew turn until it passes into the basement of the Meat
Market. Northward is the huge building erected by Act of Parliament in
1860, the year preceding the dismarketing of Newgate, which was closed
at its opening seven years later. Sir Horace Jones was the architect,
and the style is that generally known as Italian. The chief points of
architectural effect are the four towers, the frontispieces or façades
of the public roadway, which passes through the market from north to
south, and the pedimented gateways to the east and west fronts. The plan
or interior arrangement of the ground-floor is exceedingly simple. A
great central roadway runs through from north to south. This was a
compromise or concession to existing interests. It is from 50 to 60 feet
wide, and the gateways at the entrances are very fine.
That on the south is ornamented by emblematical figures representing
London and Edinburgh, and that on the north by similar figures symbolic
of Dublin and Liverpool.
The central roadway is bisected by an east and west avenue 25 feet in
width. The entrance gates at the ends of this are somewhat similar to
those of the larger roadway. Six smaller avenues run parallel to the
central roadway, cutting this secondary avenue at right angles. The
blocks between the avenues contain the shops. These average about 36
feet by 15, and have offices and accommodation rooms above. The four
corner blocks formerly contained taverns, but only two of these now
remain. The roof is an adaption of the Mansard principle, and is filled
in with glass louvres. A peculiar feature of the market is the great
underground basement which is hollowed out to a depth of 22 feet, and
extends even some distance beyond the limits of the building. This is
supported by iron girders measuring roughly about five miles, and
containing about 3000 tons of wrought iron. This is intersected by
railway lines. Over the northern half the Metropolitan Railway has
running powers; the southern forms a depot of the Great Western Railway.
There are here two hydraulic hoists, and the meat brought by the Great
Western lines is hoisted straight into the market. The circular
depression mentioned as being in the centre of West Smithfield is in
connection with this depot. All other meat is brought in vans and
unloaded in the usual way. From 1 o’clock in the middle of the night for
three mornings in the week, and from 2 o’clock the other two mornings
the market is open, and closes alternately at 1 o’clock and 2 o’clock in
the daytime.
From very early times Smithfield has been a market in addition to its
manifold other uses. Stow says:
“There be the pens or folds, so called of sheep there parted, and penned
up to be sold on market days.”
The Poultry Market adjoining was opened December 1, 1875. It covers an
area of rather less than 1½ acres. It is similar generally in exterior
treatment to the market already described but differs in small
particulars. It is also on a different plan internally from the Meat
Market, having a square of shops round the outer edge and four
intersecting avenues which cut it up into central blocks. Here every
shop has its cellar beneath, and the vaults which run beneath the
avenues are occupied by a cold-air storage company, to whom belongs the
great ventilating shaft in the triangular bit of land facing King
Street. The London, Chatham, and Dover line also cuts diagonally beneath
the market, but though the tunnelling is raised a little above the level
of the flooring it still leaves room for vaults where it passes. There
is one tavern in the Poultry Market.
The General Market is more expensive to the holder than either of the
above, for it is let by tender to the highest bidder, whereas the
others, by Act of Parliament, cannot claim a higher rental than a penny
per square foot, and something extra for office space, etc.
This market was built to supersede the old Farringdon Market, and was at
first meant for vegetables. At the time (1883) there was a movement
towards a new Fish Market, and so the building was devoted to that
purpose. The fish business, however, was not successful, and in December
1889 the market was transformed into a general market supplementary to
the meat and poultry. It is now fully occupied, and brings in a very
good rental.
The Fish Market on Snow Hill was opened in 1888. It is of triangular
shape, and contains an inner triangle also. This is managed on much the
same plan as the rest, but does not seem to be very successful; for some
reason the fish trade does not flourish at Smithfield.
For a full account of Bartholomew Fair, so popular while it lasted, see
_London in the Eighteenth Century_, p. 465.
GROUP VII
FLEET STREET AND ADJACENT STREETS
On the south side, Fleet Street presents a long line of historical
associations—Bridewell, the Carmelites or Whitefriars, the Fleet Prison,
Alsatia, and Sanctuary. These are all described in other parts of this
work (see _London in the Eighteenth Century_). On the north side are the
courts and streets of later origin. These, with the houses and shops of
that side, present memories chiefly of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
Roman remains have been found all along the river on the west of the
City. In the year 1800 was discovered a sepulchral monument, now in the
Guildhall Museum; a tessellated pavement was found in 1681, near St.
Andrew’s, Holborn; in 1595, a stone pavement supported on piles was
found near Chancery Lane, the piles proving the marshy character of the
ground; the “old Roman bath” is in Strand Lane; in 1722, in digging for
the foundations of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, an arch, a stone
sarcophagus, and other Roman relics were found; and on Thorney Island
itself numerous Roman remains have been discovered. In other words,
there were Roman villas and residences all along the river from Ludgate
to Westminster inclusive.
Fleet Street began to be settled before the thirteenth century; in 1228,
one Henry le Buke slew another in Fleet Street and took sanctuary in St.
Mary Overies, Southwark. In 1311, certain servants of the King’s
household were arrested for a burglary in Fleet Street; at the same time
complaints were made that the way from “La Barre du Novel Temple” and
the Palace of Westminster was choked with bushes and thickets. One of
the residents of Fleet Street supplied Edward II. with boots and tassels
of silk in 1321. Shortly after, the houses from the Temple Church
northwards were erected by the Templars.
The history of Fleet Street from the sixteenth century is much more
detailed than can be given here; the reader must be referred to the
special histories of the street and the locality. It suffered greatly in
the Plague of 1625, when over 500 of the parishioners of St. Dunstan’s
were carried off.
The Fire of London terminated on this side in the third house, east of
St. Dunstan’s Church. The plan of the ruins drawn up by Wren and Hooke
shows that Fleet Street was 37 feet in width west of Fetter Lane; at
Water Lane it was 70 feet; at St. Bride’s Court 63 feet; thence to Bride
Lane 32 feet; and to Fleet Bridge only 23 feet. Shoe Lane was only 9
feet wide at the south end; Water Lane 11 feet at the north, and 26 at
the south; Salisbury Court 23 feet at the north end. After the Fire
parts of Fleet Street were set back, and the street made more convenient
for the increasing traffic.
Fleet Street is especially remarkable for its taverns, its booksellers,
and its banking-houses. In a valuable paper contributed by Mr. Hilton
Price to the _Archæological Journal_, December 1895, may be found a list
as complete as can be hoped for of all the houses in Fleet Street with
their signs. The learned writer has collected 315 signs, and has been
able to fix 250 of them.
Among the taverns we may notice:
(1) The _Devil_, called also _St. Dunstan’s_, or the _Old Devil_, sacred
to the memory of Ben Jonson. Here was the _Apollo_, a room in which all
kinds of clubs and societies met and entertainments were held. Ben
Jonson’s “Rules” are well known. They are painted in letters of gold on
a black board still preserved in Childs’ Bank:
Welcome all who lead or follow
To the oracle of Apollo—
Here he speaks out of his pottle,
Or the tripos, his Tower bottle;
All his answers are divine,
Truth itself doth flow in wine.
Hang up all the poor hop drinkers,
Cries old Sim, the King of Skinkers;
He who the half of life abuses,
That sits watering with the Muses,
Those dull girls no good can mean us;
Wine it is the milk of Venus,
And the poets’ horse accounted:
Ply it and you all are mounted.
’Tis the true Phoebian liquor;
Cheers the brain, makes wit the quicker,
Pays all debts, cures all diseases,
And at once three senses pleases.
Welcome all who lead or follow
To the oracle of Apollo.
PRICE, _Signs of Old Fleet Street_.
(2) The _Rainbow_, opened in 1657 as a coffee-house by one James Farre,
barber surgeon. It was the second coffee-house in London.
(3) The _Mitre_, where the Society of Antiquaries dined from 1728 to
1775 on St. George’s Day. Here also the Royal Society held its meetings
for some years.
(4) The _Bolt in Tun_, an ancient tavern of the fifteenth century. The
_Daily News_ now occupies its site.
(5) The _Cock_. Everybody knows Tennyson’s lines. The tavern has been
taken down and the site built over.
Mr. Hilton Price enumerates nearly fifty more.
If the street was full of taverns, it was equally the favourite place of
business for printers and booksellers. Again referring to Mr. Price’s
paper we can compile the following list, omitting names of no importance
in the commercial history of literature.
Richard Pynson (1493). At Temple Bar.
William How (1571-90). Printer over Temple Bar.
Ward and Mundee. Booksellers over Temple Bar (1578).
John Starkey (1660-81). At the _Mitre_, between the Temple gates.
Publisher of Shadwell’s Plays.
Richard Tottell (1553-97). Printer between the Temple gates.
Abel Roper }
John Martyn } The _Sun_, next the _Rainbow_. Publishers (1652-75) of
H. Herringman } Dugdale’s _Baronage_.
Bernard Lintot, No. 16. The _Cross Keys and Cushion_ (1704-28).
Publisher for Pope, Colley Cibber, and Gray.
Arthur Collins (1709-14). Publisher of the _Peerage_.
William Sandby (1786). Bookseller, afterwards partner in Snow & Co.,
Strand.
William Griffin (1556-71).
John MacMurray, afterwards John Murray, who succeeded William Sandby
(1760-1812).
John Pemberton (1709- ), No. 53, at the _Golden Buck_. Published
(1716) _The Cries of London_.
Jacob Tonson. At the _Judge’s Head_ (1682-98). Published Dryden’s works,
and was secretary to the Kit Kat Club.
Edmund Curll. At the _Bible and Dial_ (1709).
Richard Banks. At the _White Hart_ (1539). Printer.
Thomas Fisher. At the _White Hart_ (1600). Published first edition of
_Midsummer Night’s Dream_.
Roger Warde. At the _Castle_, opposite the Conduit (1593). Printer.
Wynkyn de Worde. At the _Sun_, over against the Conduit (1502-34).
Thomas Berthelet. At the _Lucrece_, near the Conduit. King’s Printer
(1528-55).
Thomas Marsh. At the _Prince’s Arms_ (1556-87). Printer of Stow’s
_Chronicle_.
Richard Pynson, at the _George_, near Clifford’s Inn. Printer
(1493-1527).
William Middleton (1525-47) }
Robert Redman (1529-40) }
Eliz. Pickering (1540) } at the same house. Printers.
William Redman (1556) }
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
FLEET STREET
]
Robert Copland, an assistant of Caxton (1508-47).
William Copland (1553-69). Printer of Juliana Berner’s _Book of
Hawking_, etc.
In addition to this long list, Mr. Hilton Price gives the names of 702
booksellers and printers. It is true that their names cover two
centuries at least, but they show conclusively that the real home of the
book trade from the sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth was
Fleet Street. As we have seen, there were booksellers in St. Paul’s
Churchyard, in Paternoster Row, in Little Britain at different times,
but Fleet Street contained by far the greater number of those in the
“trade.”
A third point of interest in Mr. Price’s list is that of the
banking-houses and goldsmiths who kept “running cashes.” Among these are
the names of Blanchard and Child, afterwards Child; James Chambers
(1680), from whom are descended Messrs. Gosling and Sharpe; John Mawson
& Co. (1677), the forerunners of Messrs. Hoare & Co.; James Heriot,
brother of George Heriot of Edinburgh; and others of less note.
We must not forget to notice the residence of Izaak Walton. Mr. Price
places it at the third house in the south-west corner of Chancery Lane.
At the corner was the King’s Head Tavern; next, on the west side, the
sign of the Harrow; the next house, sometimes called the Harrow and
Crown, was Izaak Walton’s.
It is apparent from the preceding that Fleet Street, from the fourteenth
century at least, has always been a place of great resort. The large
number of taverns was chiefly due, without doubt, to the Inns of Court
and the lawyers. Suitors from all parts of the kingdom had to come to
Fleet Street; in its courts they found lodgings and in its taverns they
found refreshment and feasting. The place was convenient also for the
Court end of town, and for the people of the great nobles living in the
Strand; there were no merchants in the street; the trade was all of the
retail character, such as bookselling; when banks began to be
established Fleet Street was much more convenient for the country
gentlemen and nobles than Lombard Street; its coffee-houses were more
easy of access to the lawyers, poets, wits, and actors who lived in the
Inns of Court and about Covent Garden, than those of the City or Charing
Cross.
The preceding lists do not exhaust the well-known names connected with
Fleet Street. In addition, to mention only a few, are those of Cowley,
the poet; Drayton; many of the early printers, successors of Caxton;
many booksellers of note; Milton, Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith, Samuel
Richardson, Tompion the watchmaker, Alderman Waithman, William Hone,
Douglas Jerrold, the many distinguished writers who have created the
_Daily Telegraph_, the _Daily Chronicle_, the _Daily News_, the
_Standard_, and the host of papers and journals whose offices are in the
street. In the burial-ground of St. Andrew’s, Shoe Lane, lie the remains
of Thomas Chatterton; in Fetter Lane Wesley and Whitefield preached; in
this street was published Abbott’s _Weekly Register_; we may also
enumerate Sedley the poet, Jacob Tonson, John Hoole, Crockford of
gambling fame, Sir Symonds D’Ewes, antiquary, Henry Woodfall, Printer
“without Temple Bar,” and Charles Knight. It may, indeed, be fairly
stated that, during the whole of the eighteenth and a large part of the
nineteenth century, Fleet Street was the haunt of all the literary men
of the time, and that at the present moment it is the most important
centre of journalism. On the east of Ludgate is the office of _The
Times_; all the other London dailies, and a great number of provincial
and colonial journals, have their offices in Fleet Street. But poets,
novelists, dramatists, and scholars are no longer found in this street;
they belong to West End Clubs and no longer congregate in taverns and
coffee-houses.
[Illustration:
IZAAK WALTON’S HOUSE IN FLEET STREET
]
Bell Yard, Temple Bar, one side of which is now occupied by the High
Courts of Justice, is called by Pope in 1736 a “filthy old place.”
=Shire Lane=, now built over by the Courts, was known also as Rogers
Lane; it was also called Sheer Lane; this lane, in spite of an evil
name, possessed many associations. Here, at an inn called the Trumpet,
Isaac Bickerstaffe was supposed to receive his friends, and was fabled
to have his residence. In this lane was founded the Kit Kat Club, a
society of gentlemen devoted to the Protestant interest; here lived
Elias Ashmole, the antiquary; here Sir Charles Sedley, the dramatic
poet, was born; and here in a spunging-house Theodore Hook made the
acquaintance of Dr. Maginn.
On the south side of Fleet Street, Wynkyn de Worde, the printer, lived
in Falcon Court; in Mitre Court was the Mitre, where Dr. Johnson and
Boswell met to drink port. The Royal Society used to dine at the Mitre
(1743-80). Sarah Malcolm, whose portrait was taken by Hogarth, was
hanged opposite Mitre Court for the murder of Lydia Duncombe, Elizabeth
Harrison, and Anne Price. Ram Alley, now Hare Court, opposite Fetter
Lane, was one of the later places of sanctuary; that is to say, a place
where bailiffs and writs were not admitted. It had a passage into the
Temple and another into Serjeant’s Inn, and was, as might be expected, a
place of evil reputation.
The date of the first building of St. Dunstan’s Church is not known, but
it was before the thirteenth century. It narrowly escaped the Fire, and
was extensively repaired in 1701. The church, which was taken down in
1829-30, was a later edifice; it occupied part of the present street,
and had a row of shops along its south side. It was famous for its
“Saints,” a couple of figures which struck the hours. They were
purchased by the Marquis of Hertford and set up at St. Dunstan’s Villa,
Regent’s Park. The statue of Queen Elizabeth, originally on the west
front of Ludgate, was happily preserved, and still stands over the
vestry of the new church.
ST. DUNSTAN IN THE WEST
This church stands on the north side of Fleet Street, between Fetter
Lane and Chancery Lane, in the ward of Farringdon Without. It
escaped the Great Fire, but very narrowly. It was extensively
repaired in 1701, and towards the close of 1829 taken down; the new
building, the work of John Shaw, was set back 30 feet from the
former site, and consecrated in 1833. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1318.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot and
Convent of Westminster as a Rectory, who gave it to Henry III. about
1272, when he founded the Domus Conversorum, then the Custos Domus
Conversorum; Edward II. and his successors; the Abbot and Convent of
Alnwick, October 29, 1386—a vicarage was ordained here in 1437, in
the same patronage, and so continued up to 1540; Henry VIII.;
William James, 1556; Lord Dudley, by grant of Edward VI.; Sir
Richard Sackvill, Knt.; George Rivers; Simeon Trustees since 1834.
Houseling people in 1548 were 110.
The interior of the present church is octagonal in shape, containing
seven recesses, separated from each other by clustered columns and
pointed arches, with a clerestory above. The roof is groined and is
formed by eight beams of iron, united at the centre. The tower,
which rises at the south, contains three stories, and is surmounted
by an octagonal lantern; the whole is terminated by a high open
parapet. At each angle of the tower there are large pinnacles. The
total height of the steeple is 130 feet. The body of the church is
chiefly composed of brick, but the tower is of yellow freestone.
Chantries were founded here: For Richard Bardelby, Prebendary of
Dunnington in York, who died in 1316, at the altar of St. Michael;
by Robert Hez, whose endowment fetched £10 : 19 : 8 in 1548, but
there hath been no priest found for twenty years before that time,
and so the money is employed in repairs of the church; for Nicholas
Coningstow, John Knape at the Altar of St. Katherine; by John Burrel
de Askham, for himself and for John de Langeton and Simon Flemyng,
for which the King granted his licence, May 8, 1375. Here was
founded the Brotherhood of Our Lady and St. Dunstan, wherein was the
Guild of St. Anne, endowed by William Chapman, valued at £11 in
1548, when Randall Smith was chaplain; within the same Guild was a
Chantry, founded by William Marshall, whose endowment fetched £22 in
1548, when William Neale was chaplain; and yet another Chantry was
endowed in the same Brotherhood by William Westwood, and for which
the King granted his licence July 22, 1440, at the Altar of St. Mary
in the south part of the church.
[Illustration:
ST. DUNSTAN IN THE WEST (OLD CHURCH)
]
A large number of monuments belonging to the old church are affixed
to the walls, commemorating Gerard Legh, a member of the Inner
Temple, who died 1563; Cuthbert Fetherstone, the King’s doorkeeper,
who died 1615; Alexander Layton, a famed swordsman, who died 1679,
and others. Among later monuments are those of two Sir Richard
Hoares, both Lord Mayors, in 1712 and 1745, whose descendants were
liberal benefactors of the new church. Ralph Bane, Bishop of
Lichfield and Coventry, and Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, were
buried here in 1559, also Dr. Thomas White, founder of Sion College.
Here, too, were baptized the great Earl of Strafford in 1593, and
Bulstrode Whitelocke in 1605, author of the _Memorials of English
Affairs_. William Tyndale was a frequent preacher in this church,
and in more recent times William Romaine was appointed Lecturer
(1749). In 1895 a stained-glass window at the north-west was erected
in memory of Izaak Walton.
A considerable number of gift sermons are recorded by Stow: Dr.
White gave £18; Mr. Adams gave £2. The total of the smaller
contributions was £5 : 6 : 8.
There were two charity schools, one for fifty boys, four of whom
were taught navigation; the other for forty girls, who were fitted
for service. These were established in 1708, and an infants’ school
was founded shortly after in Fetter Lane. The three still exist as
“fee-paying” church schools.
Among the clergy of the church have been William Tyndale (d. 1536);
Dr. Thomas White (d. 1624), founder of Sion College; Dr. John Donne
(1573-1631), Dean of St. Paul’s; the silver-tongued Dr. William
Bates, ejected in 1660; Richard Baxter (1615-91); and William
Romaine (1714-95).
THE TEMPLE
By W. J. LOFTIE
The Temple is situated on the left bank of the Thames, partly within the
City of London and partly within the ancient county of Middlesex. It
consisted originally of the Inner, Middle, and Outer Temples, of which
the first and second were in what was described in the thirteenth
century as “the suburb of London,” and afterwards as the ward of
Farringdon Without. This former suburb had many descriptions and
designations, owing to its geographical situation between two tributary
brooks or bournes and the tidal waters of the Thames. The brooks have
now disappeared under ground, but the Fleet, along the City wall, and
the Millbrook, where Mill Ford Lane is now, formed the east and west
boundaries of a green slope between Fleet Street and the river. Strictly
speaking, this whole region, as far as the wall, was in Westminster, but
Henry III. and the citizens divided it between them when the London
boundaries were pushed out to “The Bar of the New Temple,” and when
Peter of Savoy built his palace on the open strand beyond it. After the
Conquest the only access to the City was by a lane which followed a
ridge of higher ground from the Roman landing-place at the Millbrook,
and it entered the City walls at Newgate. When Ludgate, a postern, as
its name denotes, was opened and a bridge crossed the Fleet, all was
changed, and the easy way from Westminster by land no longer led up
Show-well-lane (now Shoe Lane) to Newgate, but through Fleet Street to
Ludgate. Then a church was built at St. Bride’s Well, the Whitefriars or
Carmelites settled beside it in 1241, and the Templars, an order of
military monks, bought the lands called after them the Inner and Middle
Temples, with, outside the City bar, the fields known as the Coney
Garth, Fickett’s Field, and the Outer Temple as tilting and exercising
grounds. Fetter Lane recalls the existence of armourers who made
fetters, that is, lance rests, for the knights, and the City still pays
an annual rent to the Crown for the forge, where, no doubt, weapons were
mended and war-horses shod. The Templars had lived at first at the
Holborn end of Chancery Lane, where Southampton Buildings are now, and
after they migrated here in 1184 their house was called the New Temple.
It was situated on the eastern part of the site, and the circular church
was built in the year following, namely 1185, the choir being added in
1240. As long as the Templars remained here it seems probable that their
buildings did not extend any farther west. The local names, such as
Fountain Court, Garden Court, Elm Court, are all in the Middle Temple,
and seem to contain reminiscences of the time when it was still part of
the gardens. The names in the Inner Temple, Cloister Court, King’s Bench
Walk, Crown Office Row, have an appearance of greater antiquity; but Fig
Tree Court is in the same division, and Brick Court in the Middle
Temple, so it will not do to press the argument very far.
In December 1307 the Temple was seized by the Sheriffs of London in
obedience to a writ issued by King Edward II., and the order was soon
after formally suppressed. The Templars had long been remarkable for
their wealth and pride; their campaigns in the Holy Land were
ineffective, chiefly on account of their quarrels with the Hospitallers,
and in most European kingdoms they were suspected of sorcery, heresy,
and other crimes. Their suppression was attended with greater cruelty
abroad than in England, and though some thirty members of the order were
sent to the Tower, most of them were subsequently released, and a
pension was granted to some. The “New Temple” was given by the King as a
residence to his cousin, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. He died in
1324, but had left the Temple long before, having in 1314 transferred it
to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, with the King’s consent. The grant
includes Fickett’s Field, and as Lancaster’s wife was the heiress of
Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, he came into possession, by a curious
coincidence, of the future sites of Lincoln’s Inn, the two Temples, and
the new Law Courts, as well as of the Savoy. Lancaster was beheaded at
Pontefract in 1322, but was esteemed a saint and martyr by the people on
account of his long opposition, first to Gaveston, and later to the
Despencers, the unworthy favourites of Edward II. Meanwhile the
Hospitallers or Knights of St. John at Clerkenwell obtained a papal
decree that they were to succeed to the property of the Templars, and in
1324 they were allowed to take possession. The Pope made it a condition
that the Temple was not to be put to profane uses, and the new owners in
promptly letting it to the lawyers—who were in those days almost all in
holy orders, clergy, that is, able to read and write—may have supposed
they were fulfilling the papal injunction.
A survey was made about this time, and from it and other indications we
may form some idea of what the house was like when the Templars lost it.
The chapel of St. Mary stood where it still is, and beside it the
smaller chapel of St. Anne. There were already two gates. The Master’s
house was eastward of the church, but nearer than the present house, and
formed, with the treasury and the hall, a quadrangle round the chapel.
This treasury was occasionally used by King John and King Henry before
the regalia was lodged in the Tower. John was here himself in 1212;
Henry III. in 1232, when he seized the money of Hubert de Burgh,
deposited in the treasury; and Edward I. in 1283. The library probably
occupies the site. The treasurer’s house adjoined, as it does still; and
there was a cloister, as there is still. Notwithstanding the number of
years between the expulsion of the Templars and the organisation of the
lawyers, the old names were preserved. The chaplain was the Master, the
treasurer was the chief of the lawyers. It would seem as if the old
titles of the officials were kept alive by the buildings.
We obtain a glimpse of the daily life of these new Templars from
Chaucer. If he lived in the Savoy, as he seems to have done, before he
went to Westminster, he had the lawyers close at hand, and in one of his
_Canterbury Tales_ he tell us that the Manciple belonged to the Temple,
where he had thirty masters, for whom he was caterer. From which we may
conclude that the number of lawyers had reached thirty in 1380, unless,
indeed, there were several houses full. The servants of the Templars,
the _servientes_ or serjeants, survived the expulsion of their masters,
and after they died out their place was taken by the common law
practitioners, who formed themselves into a society or inn, which
adjoined the Temple on the northeast as early as 1333; while in 1337 we
begin to hear of two halls, and in the reign of Henry VI. the Templars
consisted of two separate bodies, which professed absolute equality. The
Inner, however, is very much richer than the Middle Temple and has more
members. Every year the benchers of one dine with the benchers of the
other; and when James I. granted the site without any rents or
restrictions, such as had survived till then, his charter is addressed
to the members of both societies.
Meanwhile, the Outer Temple had been leased to the Bishops of Exeter,
and the land between Fickett’s Field and Lincoln’s Inn to the Bishop of
Chichester. Another bishop had lodgings actually within the Temple. On
the east side of Inner Temple Lane, north of the porch of the Round
Church, was Ely House, with its chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury.
The Great Fire of 1666 made the Temple its western terminus. The
Master’s house was burned, but the chapel was spared, the flames ceasing
within a very few feet of the chancel. Wren built the new gate facing
Chancery Lane and the Master’s house, removing it to where it still
stands. His style, if not his hand, may also be seen in other buildings,
such as the doorways in King’s Bench Walk. The archway of the Inner
Temple Gate dates from 1607, but the front of the house above it in
Fleet Street has been refaced lately in a suitable style.
It may be well to note here that the other round churches in England
were not built by the Templars; there are three—St. Sepulchre at
Cambridge, St. Sepulchre at Northampton, and St. John of Jerusalem at
Little Maplestead, in Essex. The last named was probably built by the
Hospitallers. There is also a round chapel in Ludlow Castle.
The visitor will probably go first to the chapel. It is usual to mark
its importance and size by calling it “the Temple Church.” It was built
by the Templars, the round part, Norman in style, being consecrated in
1185 by Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who happened to be in England
on a begging tour. With its porch, it has been rebuilt, repaired,
improved, and “restored,” until very little of the original masonry, if
any, remains. The choir was added in 1240 and was a very pure and
beautiful example of the “Early English” or first pointed style. It has
been ever since very obnoxious to ignorant builders, and a mere list of
the alterations would perhaps produce an impression that nothing is left
worth seeing. This is not the case; but it is true that after an
ornamental reparation in 1685, another after a fire ten years later, and
again after forty years, it must have seemed very venerable and still in
parts very picturesque even after a general repair in 1811. The
monuments, some very magnificent, others historically interesting, were
still undisturbed, and, from the recumbent effigies in the Norman round
nave to the judges in their robes and collars in the chancel, formed an
unequalled series of curious and sometimes fine works of art. The
exquisite carving of the Corinthian reredos behind the communion table
sufficed to bring the various inconsistent styles together. But the
first notions of those who began to study old English architecture led
to an attack on this incongruity in 1824. The Norman carvings were all
replaced by modern work and some additions. The arcade, with its
grotesque heads, was set up in 1827, and though it is out of place and,
moreover, deceptive, will certainly be admired. Various ancient
buildings, one of them the chapel of St. Anne, were removed. But it was
not until 1830 that the great restoration was begun. During the progress
of these disastrous operations the circular church was vaulted in stucco
and painted; the flooring was lowered, the tombs and effigies of the
knights removed and their bones cast out; the chancel was gutted, the
monuments taken down, much injured in the process, and finally “as far
as possible” set up again in the triforium, a few being hidden away
under the bellows of the organ; the beautiful reredos was taken away,
the whole chancel repaved, revaulted, and painted; the church filled
with tiers of pews, hiding any Gothic memorials which were allowed to
remain; and finally, all the windows were reglazed, in a style supposed
to be Early English and, at all events, no worse than what would be put
in at the present day to judge by some neighbouring examples. All this
work of destruction went on for ten years and cost more than £70,000.
On entering the church now, the visitor is surprised that so much
remains to be admired. A semicircular arch, in the Norman style of 1824,
admits us to the Round Church, where the arches are pointed. The
effigies of the knights have been replaced on the floor in neat groups,
and labelled, but somewhat conjecturally, with the names of certain
Earls of Pembroke and others who are recorded to have been buried here.
The diameter of this part of the church, which is now the nave, is 58
feet, the choir beyond being 58 feet in width and 82 feet in length. The
central part of the nave is the same in width as the middle aisle of the
three in the choir, namely 23½ feet, while the circular aisle and each
of the side aisles are 15½ feet. The three aisles are 37 feet high and
the modern roof of the nave 60 feet. The seats are of dark oak and rise
in tiers on each side. Two modern doors open on the north side, and a
stair, winding and very narrow, conducts the visitor to the triforium of
the Round Church. Here, in a very unsuitable situation, are most of the
monuments removed from the chancel.
The monuments comprise an interesting series of all periods from the
Reformation down, and some fragments of sculpture removed, with the
complete tombs at the time of the “restoration,” in 1830. One of the
oldest represents Edward Plowden who died in 1584. The brasses were
formerly very numerous but have all disappeared, together with a great
many tablets, such as Pepys describes in 1666 when he says he looked
“with pleasure on the monuments and epitaphs.” Plowden adhered to
Romanism, but his epitaph contains a quotation from the Book of Common
Prayer. There is a monument to Oliver Goldsmith erected in 1837. In the
church is a bust of the “Judicious” Hooker (d. 1600); a tablet to John
Selden (d. 1654); and at the south-east end, partly hidden by the pews,
an effigy supposed to represent Silvester Everden, Bishop of Carlisle,
killed by a fall in 1254. At the entrance to the triforium is the only
one left of many small chambers which formerly adjoined the church; it
is labelled by the vergers the Penitential Cell, I do not know why.
North of the chapel is the little plot of ground in which Oliver
Goldsmith was buried in 1774. It is so small that, when a gravestone was
laid down in 1860, there was little choice as to the exact place, which,
however, is really unknown.
The arms of both Temples may be seen in many places in the church. Those
of the Middle Temple consist of a red cross on a white ground, with a
figure of the Pascal Lamb in the centre, being the arms of the Templars.
The arms of the other society are, strictly speaking, not heraldry,
being, on a blue ground, a representation of the Greek mythical Pegasus,
in white. It is said to be derived from an ancient device or badge
representing two knights of the Temple on one horse, and was adopted in
1503.
Though the Inner Temple must be considered older than the Middle Temple,
there is less to be seen in it. The Hall is not beautiful externally. It
was built in 1869 by Sidney Smirke, and the exterior gives one no idea
that the interior is worth a visit. However, the fine open timber roof
and a very handsome screen will be admired, as well as the heraldry in
the windows. The Library is spacious within and convenient, but suffers
without, like the Hall, from a want of proportion.
[Illustration:
INNER TEMPLE GATE HOUSE
By permission of the London County Council.
]
The eminent inhabitants have been very numerous. A mere list would
occupy many pages. In the Master’s house have lived Sherlock, Dean of
St. Paul’s; his son, the Bishop of London; Vaughan, Dean of Llandaff;
and Alfred Ainger. Charles Lamb was born in 1775 at No. 4 Inner Temple
Lane—now rebuilt. Thackeray had chambers at 10 Crown Office Row. William
Cowper lived in the Inner Temple in 1755. Dr. Johnson was living at 1
Inner Temple Lane in 1763. The house has been pulled down to make way
for Johnson’s Buildings. Among the great lawyers were Lyttleton, as well
as Coke, who wrote upon him; Sir Julius Cæsar; Finch, Earl of
Nottingham; Thurlow; Tenterden; Daines Barrington, the correspondent of
White of Selborne; Thesiger, Lord Chelmsford; but perhaps the greatest
of them all was Murray, Earl of Mansfield, whose chambers were at 5
King’s Bench Walk.
The principal feature of the Middle Temple is the ancient Hall, and the
greatest glory of the Hall is that a play by William Shakespeare was
acted in it in February 1602. This was _Twelfth Night_, which had not
then been printed, and is supposed to have only just been written. John
Manningham, a student then in the Temple, describes it in his Diary, now
in the British Museum. The Christmas and Candlemas festivities in the
Hall, of which the play formed part, are described at great length by
Dugdale.
The Hall was built in 1572, the screen in 1574, so that the local legend
which says the wood of some ships of the Spanish Armada was used cannot
be true. The heraldry is copious and interesting, both in the windows
and on the panelling and roof, some of it being as old as the Hall. The
whole building is of great interest architecturally. The windows are
strictly Gothic, while everything else is Elizabethan or later in form.
The screen has Tuscan columns and round arches, and is exquisitely
carved from a bold design. The internal length is 100 feet, the width
42, and the height 47. The roof is extremely fine but simple in
construction.
The Library is an imposing but modern building south of the Hall and
garden near the Embankment. It is in an early style of Gothic, the
principal room being 86 feet long, 42 wide, and 63 high, designed by H.
R. Abraham in 1861. A couple of stories of offices and an external
staircase are rather picturesque, and the whole building is by far the
best erected in either Temple during the last fifty years. A gateway
near, leading to the Embankment, can only be described as an eyesore.
Returning through the gardens to Fountain Court we note several sundials
near the Hall, in Pump Court and Brick Court, one in particular near the
exit to the Outer Temple—_Vestigia nulla retrorsum_—which seems to
convey a warning to those who seek the lawyers. The largest sundial is,
however, in the Inner Temple, the famous “Blackamoor,” removed thither
when Clement’s Inn was pulled down. It is of lead, and replaces one
mentioned by Lamb which bore the uncivil motto, “Begone about your
business.” In Brick Court, near the fountain, with the Middle Temple
Hall on one side, memories of three if not four great authors seem to
meet. Goldsmith bought the chambers at 2 Brick Court, looking on the
fountain and the Hall, about 1765, and lived here till his death in
1774. Here he wrote _The Deserted Village_ and _The Traveller_, and
described in _Animated Nature_ the doings of a rookery in the old trees
on which his windows opened. The place is also connected with Thackeray,
who describes the chambers in his _English Humourists_. We have already
named Shakespeare and the performance of _Twelfth Night_ in the Hall,
but there is direct mention of the gardens and their roses in the First
Part of _Henry VI._ But to most of us it is Dickens who is most clearly
remembered when we stand by the fountain. In _Martin Chuzzlewit_ he
brings Ruth Pinch here to meet John Westlock. “The Temple fountain might
have leaped up twenty feet to greet the spring of hopeful maidenhood
that in her person stole on, sparkling through the dry and dusty
channels of the Law.” With Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Dickens and Thackeray
we might close the list of eminent inhabitants, but the Middle Temple
has been very fortunate in this respect. Edmund Burke was here before
1750. Tom Moore was a student in 1799, and Sheridan some twenty years
earlier. Among the eminent lawyers may be named the Norths, Rowden,
Clarendon, Somers, Cowper, Blackstone, Eldon, Stowell, and Talfourd—a
goodly list, though far from complete.
Chancery Lane will be found in the succeeding volume under Holborn, but
the liberty of the Rolls is dealt with here.
THE ROLLS AND THE RECORD OFFICE
A fine new building in Chancery Lane, extending to Fetter Lane, stands
on the site occupied by an ancient institution called The Rolls. The
early history of the Rolls has yet to be written. It is intimately
connected from the first with that of the Jewish Colony which came to
England from Rouen with William I. At that time the canon law forbade
Christians to take usury. The Jews were the licensed usurers of the
King. A masterly essay, prefixed to the _Catalogue_ of the Jewish
Exhibition in 1887, explains the situation in a few words: “the
exchequer treated the money of the Jews as held at the pleasure of the
King.” Special Justices were appointed to preside in the Jews’
Exchequer; all deeds, contracts, bonds, and other documents relating to
monetary transactions had to be registered and placed in charge of the
Rolls Court or Record Office at the King’s palace at Westminster. The
Hebrew word _Shetár_, which means a legal document, gave its name to the
Star Chamber, and long after the Jews had left England the court held
there retained the old name. We may assume that the chief of the
justices of this Rolls Court was the principal controller of the whole
colony, and that, when Henry III. opened the House for Converts, it fell
naturally under the same jurisdiction. Accordingly we find from the
first that the Master of the Rolls was also connected with the House of
Converts. A similar house was founded at Oxford, but this one in London
owed its continued existence to the fact that the Master of the Rolls
lived in it. When the law was relaxed and the Jews ceased to be the only
usurers, the Master’s jurisdiction extended to the Lombards and Italian
bankers, and when, sixty years after the foundation of the house, the
Jews were expelled, the double office continued to exist and in the same
place. Converts were still received there till the reign of Charles II.
Meanwhile, under the Commonwealth, the laws of 1290 against the Jews had
been in great part rescinded; but the Master of the Rolls continued to
be called “Keeper of the House of Converts” down to 1873, when Sir
George Jessel, himself a Jew, was appointed Master of the Rolls but not
Keeper of the House.
The history of the house has been detailed by Mr. W. J. Hardy. It became
ruinous early in the eighteenth century, and a new building of good
proportions was erected by Colin Campbell in 1717. This, in its turn,
was pulled down to make way for the Record Office. With it also perished
the chapel, usually called “The Rolls Chapel,” of which Sir Henry
Maxwell Lyte, who holds the office of Deputy Keeper, instituted in 1837,
has written an account, appended to the Fifty-Seventh Annual Report in
1896.
The first Master of the Rolls who is known to have also been Keeper of
the House of Converts was Adam de Osgodeby, appointed in 1307. The next
Master was William Ayremyne, who also held both offices, but they were
not formally united till 1378. The house stood in Chancery Lane, a
little to the north of the present principal entrance of the Record
Office. Henry III. endowed it with 700 marks a year, calling it “the
house in New Street in the suburbs of London which he had founded for
converts from Judaism.” It was rebuilt by William Burstall, Master in
1372, together with the chapel. Here, and in the subsequent house, the
successive Masters held their court and also lived. At the opening of
the new law courts all the space was surrendered to the Records, the
house disappeared, and, though a strong effort was made to save it, the
chapel too, except the monuments. The present great building, begun in
1856, from designs by Pennethorne, in a very stiff style of Gothic, was
completed in 1897. The Rolls and other documents have gradually been
housed in it, comprising all those which were previously in the Tower,
the Chapter House, Westminster, Carlton Ride, St. James’s, and the State
Paper Office, including the paybooks of the Navy, the registers of the
Duchy of Lancaster, and many other sets of manuscripts. The final
designs were made by Sir John Taylor of the office of Works, and though
the Chancery Lane front harmonises very well with Pennethorne’s work it
is a good deal less stiff. Two statues on the inner face of the entrance
tower represent Henry III. and Edward III., and the removal was effected
in October 1895. All the floors are now fireproof, and the cases to
contain the Rolls are of steel with slate shelves. The Chancery Lane
front is 225 feet long and 84 feet high. There are two great public
reading-rooms where both legal and historical researches are daily
carried on, with the learned assistance of a large staff of clerks,
trained to decipher the most crabbed writing and to translate mediæval
Latin and law French, as well as to calendar thousands of documents
bearing on the ancient official correspondence here preserved—such
subjects as Chancery and Exchequer proceedings, court rolls, colonial
letters and despatches, domestic state papers, accounts, and a hundred
other kinds of affairs of public and private interest and importance.
The most interesting part of the Record Office used to be the Rolls
Chapel. An arch of the fourteenth century, probably of Burstall’s
building, has been set up in the garden against an east wall. The site
of the destroyed chapel is on the left as we pass through the principal
entrance from Chancery Lane. Here a handsome hall, with five fine
windows in the Perpendicular style, has been built for a museum. On the
north side very nearly as they stood in the chapel are two most
interesting monuments, and a third which was formerly on the opposite
side. The rest of the space is taken up with the desks and cases
described below. The museum is open free every afternoon.
The monuments comprise those of Masters of the Rolls and of members of
their families whose graves were underneath the flooring of the chapel.
The most ancient is that of John Yong, Master from January 22, 1508.
Three converts, we are told, one man and two women, were received during
his keepership of the house, which lasted till his death. Yong was Dean
of York, and an eminent diplomatist under Henry VIII. He was a friend of
Erasmus, who dedicated a book to him of Colet and the other early
reformers. He died of the “sweating sickness” on April 25, 1516, the day
on which he had made his will, enjoining upon his executors that he
should be buried in the Rolls Chapel. The monument is by Pietro
Torregiano, who was employed at Westminster at the time on the effigy of
Henry VII. Yong is represented recumbent in a long red gown with tippet
and hood and a square cap, such as we see in Holbein’s portraits. Behind
the figure are the heads of Christ and two cherubs, all of which show
traces of colour and gilding as well as the sarcophagus below, and
Yong’s arms, Lozenge vert and argent, on a chevron, azure, 3 annulets,
or, on a chief of the second, a goat’s head erased between two scallop
shells, gules. This motto is on the sarcophagus: “Dominus firmamentum
meum.” In his report (1896) Sir H. Maxwell Lyte proves that the whole
monument was removed probably from the chancel of the chapel when it was
pulled down in the seventeenth century. The cherubs’ heads he considers
later than the rest of the sculpture. A brief inscription mentions the
date of Yong’s death and adds that “his faithful executors” placed this
monument in 1516, the year of his death. It is curious to observe that
there were living in 1516 three men of the same name, John Yong, all
scholars of Winchester, all fellows of New College, Oxford, and a fourth
who was Norroy King of Arms. Of them one, who was suffragan to
Fitzjames, the Bishop of London, who had become blind, and Bishop of
Gallipoli, _in partibus_, is usually confused with his namesake the Dean
of York, who was Master of the Rolls; indeed, Sir H. Maxwell Lyte
remarks that neither the tomb nor the epitaph gives any indication that
“he was titular bishop of Gallipoli.” Bishop Yong, who does not seem to
have shared his namesake’s reforming views, survived him for ten years.
Two other fine monuments with effigies are to Richard Alington, who died
in 1561, and to Edward Bruce, Lord Bruce of Kinloss, who died in 1611.
There are several tablets, a statue of George I., and a bust of Lord
Romilly.
The cases contain typical manuscripts, many of them finely illuminated.
Among them are examples of royal charters, (A); letters patent, (B);
volumes like the “Black Book of the Exchequer,” (C); Rolls with
pictures, (D); and on the centre table the two volumes which contain the
celebrated “Domesday Survey,” completed in 1086. In case E is the great
book which contains the agreement between Henry VII. and the Abbot of
Westminster concerning the masses to be celebrated “for ever” in the
King’s chapel. Some very fine illuminations are in the treaty of peace
with Francis I. (Case F). Letters and despatches of interest will be
found in the remaining cases, such as the account of Nelson’s death
(Case I); Great Seal for Virginia and for New York, and a letter of
George Washington to George III. (Case M); besides boxes and coffers
made for the preservation of important books or documents.
* * * * *
Of =Fetter Lane= Stow says: “There is Fewter Lane which stretches south
into Fleet Street, by the east end of St. Dunstan’s Church and is
so-called of fewters (or idle people) lying there as in a way leading to
gardens; but the same is now of latter years on both sides built through
with many fair houses.”
Others derived the name from the fetters of criminals or the fetters or
rests on the breastplates of the knights riding through to forays in
Fickett’s Field (Lincoln’s Inn Fields) adjoining (see p. 370). Tom
Payne, who wrote _The Rights of Man_, lived at No. 77, and it is said
that Dryden lived at No. 16, now demolished.
=Crane Court= is lined by rows of old buildings mingled with some
warehouses of more modern date. The tiled roofs and projecting parapets,
with rows of little windows peeping out under the roof, are in contrast
with the new red brick of the building belonging to the Scottish
Corporation erected in 1880. This is at the north end of the court,
facing the entry, and is on the site of the building temporarily
occupied by the Royal Society. The earlier building was built by Sir C.
Wren, and contained a fine hall with richly stuccoed ceiling; the walls
were hung with pictures by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Wilkie, etc., but
unfortunately it was destroyed by fire, November 1877, together with all
relics. The Scottish Corporation originated in a Society formed shortly
after the accession of James I. for relieving the unfortunate poor among
those of the Scottish nation who had followed their king to England.
In 1782 the premises in Crane Court were bought from the Royal Society
for £1000. The fire which destroyed the hall destroyed almost all
records. On July 21, 1880, the present hall was opened by the Duke of
Argyll. On the ground-floor is a spacious chapel in which are held the
monthly religious services, and where the pensioners are accommodated on
pay days; above are the offices and the hall for the meeting of the
governors. Professor T. L. Donaldson was the architect, and he has tried
to infuse as much of the national sentiment as possible into the design.
[Illustration:
SUPPOSED HOUSE OF DRYDEN, FETTER LANE
]
In Johnson’s Court Dr. Johnson lived (1766-76) at No. 7. The Court,
however, is not named after him. The Society of Arts was founded in this
court.
In Bolt Court are several old stucco buildings. One at the north end
contains the London County Council Technical Education Board. Another on
the east has a curious old doorway with “The Medical Society of London”
in well-worn letters running round the upper part of a bas-relief. The
house belonged to Dr. Lettsom, who was the founder of the Medical
Society. Johnson lived in Bolt Court at No. 8, but the house was burned
down in 1849. The present technical schools are on the site.
As already stated, Johnson’s Court was not named after the learned
doctor, though he lived here, in No. 7, from 1766 to 1776. James
Ferguson the astronomer died at No. 4 in 1776. William Cobbett also
lived in Bolt Court.
[Illustration:
_Pictorial Agency._
DR. JOHNSON’S HOUSE.
]
=Gough Square= is also associated with the name of the great
lexicographer. The Society of Arts have placed a circular tablet on the
wall of the house, No. 17, which faces eastward. Johnson lived here from
1741 to 1758. The house is an old eighteenth-century brick one, not very
large, and not remarkable in any way. A printer and a publisher share
the ground-floor, and above is a reading club. The doorway is slightly
decorative, and the heavy woodwork of the door itself and the massive
chain remain as they were in Johnson’s time. The Club was founded by a
Mr. Campbell in 1887 for the recreation and assistance of working lads
and girls in the district. There are now one hundred members. The
remainder of the Square varies in character. On the south side, and at
the east end, there are old eighteenth-century brick houses of the usual
pattern. One or two of the doorways have carved brackets, and one fluted
pilasters. Over the entry from Goldsmith Street is another house similar
in character, but the rest of the north side is of obtrusively new brick
buildings. The Square continuing southward contains some warehouses and
a few old houses.
The name of =Water Lane= was changed to Whitefriars Street. Thomas
Tompion (d. 1713), the “father of English watch-making,” lived at the
corner.
=Salisbury Square= occupies the site of the courtyard of Salisbury
House, the residence of the Bishops of Salisbury, afterwards called
Dorset House. In Dorset Gardens beside the river was the Duke’s Theatre.
Betterton, Harris, Underhill, and Sandford, actors, lived in this court.
Here also lived for a time John Dryden, Shadwell, and Lady Davenant,
widow of Sir William Davenant. But the chief glory of Salisbury Court or
Square is its memory of Richardson, novelist and printer. His house was
in the north-west angle, his printing offices on the east side; here he
wrote _Pamela_; here, for a time, Goldsmith was his press corrector. The
theatre called the Salisbury Court Theatre was constructed in 1629 out
of the barn or granary at the lower end of the court. It was the
seventeenth theatre opened in London within a period of sixty years. The
house was pulled down in 1649: rebuilt in 1660, and occupied by the
Duke’s Company until their new theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields was ready
for them. It was destroyed in the Great Fire. The Duke’s Theatre in
Dorset Gardens, opened on November 9, 1671, stood facing the river on a
different site. In Salisbury Square is the headquarters of the Church
Missionary Society.
ST. BRIDE
St. Bride’s or St. Bridget’s is another Fleet Street church. It
derives its name from St. Bridget, a saint of the seventh century.
No mention of the church has been discovered earlier than 1222. It
was destroyed by the Great Fire and rebuilt in 1680 by Wren; the
steeple, one of his greatest achievements, was added in 1701. This
has been struck several times by lightning, and in 1764 part of it
was taken down and lowered by 8 feet. The earliest date of an
incumbent is 1306.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: The Abbot and
Convent of Westminster as a rectory from 1306 up to 1507, when a
vicarage was ordained in the same patronage; Dean and Chapter of
Westminster, in whose successors it continues, since 1573.
Houseling people in 1548 were 1400.
The interior of this church is considered to be one of the best
specimens of Wren’s work. It is entered by a porch within the tower,
and is divided into a nave and aisles by an arcade of doubled
columns on both sides. The length of the church is 111 feet, its
breadth 57 feet, and its height, to the roof of the nave, 41 feet.
The height of the tower to the top of the parapet is 120 feet, above
which the spire rises in four octagonal stories, surmounted by an
obelisk and vane. There are vases at the corners of the parapet,
introduced to soften the transitions. St. Bride’s Avenue, designed
by J. B. Papworth in 1825, affords an open view of this steeple,
before obstructed by intervening houses.
The only relics of the old church which now survive are a font in
the west part of the middle aisle, and outside, on the north, the
entry stone to the vault of the Holdens, dated 1657.
Chantries were founded here: For William de Evesham, John de Uggeley
and Lettice his wife, at the Altar of St. Katharine, of which Thomas
de Weston was chaplain in 1564—the endowment fetched £6 : 10s. in
1548; by Nicholas Sporinge, citizen of London, for himself and for
Thomas Bryx and Elene his wife at the Altar of St. John Baptist, of
which Ralph Archer was chaplain (d. 1383); for John de Merlawe in
1315; by John Ulstrape, whose endowment fetched £10 : 13 : 4 in
1549, when Robert Walker was chaplain; by John Wigan and John Hill
whose endowments yielded £15 : 14 : 8 in 1548; by Simon atte Nax,
whose endowment fetched £15 : 14 : 4 in 1548 when John Matthew and
Philip Dey were chaplains. Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Sarum,
Walter Devereux, Miles, Lord of Ferrers, and Master Alexander Leigh
had licence to found a guild here, May 26, 1475.
This church contains many interesting monuments, and is especially
rich in memories of the poets. The Rev. John Pridden, a zealous
antiquary, who died in 1825, is commemorated by a tablet on the
north wall; here, too, a brass plate has been placed to the memory
of John Nichols, author of _The History and Antiquities of the
County of Leicester_ and other works. Wynkyn de Worde, the
sixteenth-century printer, was buried in this church; also Sir
Richard Baker, author of the _Chronicle of the Kings of England_;
and also, perhaps, Richard Lovelace, the cavalier poet. Samuel
Richardson, the novelist, who died in 1761, was interred in the
middle aisle. In the vestry-room there is a portrait of the Rev.
Thomas Dale, a former vicar (see below). Milton is recorded to have
taken up his abode for a short time in lodgings in St. Bride’s
Churchyard on his return from his travels.
[Illustration:
FLEET DITCH, WEST STREET, SMITHFIELD, AS IT WAS IN 1844
]
Only two benefactors’ names are recorded by Stow—Robert Lewis, who
gave £30 per annum for coals for the poor, and Robert Dove, £50 for
a bell to warn prisoners of their approaching death.
There was one charity school for fifty boys and fifty girls, who
were clothed, taught, and apprenticed by voluntary subscriptions,
added to a yearly collection at the church door.
John Taylor or Cardmaker was vicar here; he was burnt at Smithfield
for heresy, May 30, 1555. Also Richard Bundy, D.D. (d. 1739),
Prebendary of Westminster; John Thomas (1712-93), Bishop of
Rochester; Thomas Dale (1797-1870), Dean of Rochester.
The =Fleet River=, which gave its name to all this district, was
anciently known as Turnmill Brooke or the River of Wells, under which
name Stow speaks of it. He says that in 1307, at a parliament held at
Carlisle, Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, complained of the “decay” of this
river, for “whereas in times past the course of water running at London,
under Oldbourne Bridge, and Fleet Bridge into the Thames had been of
such breadth and depth that 10 or 12 ships, navies, at once with
merchandizes, were wont to come to the foresaid Bridge of Fleet, and
some of them to Oldbourne Bridge, now the same course by filth of the
tanners and such others, was sore decayed.” He also complained of the
diversion of the water by mills of the Templars at Baynard’s Castle.
After this the river was cleansed and the mills removed, but the old
depth was never restored so that the river became a mere brook and was
called Turnmill Brook. The Fleet Bridge, connecting Fleet Street with
Ludgate Hill, was destroyed in the Great Fire and another built which
was removed in 1765.
Fleet Ditch became very dirty and proved a nuisance; it is several times
referred to in no complimentary terms in the _Trivia_ and the _Dunciad_.
Part of it was arched over and the Fleet Market held here. In 1765, the
Thames end was arched over at the building of Blackfriars Bridge. Since
1841, the whole has been covered in and now runs underground as a sewer;
its course is marked by Farringdon Street and New Bridge Street.
THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS IN THE CITY OF LONDON
By A. F. LEACH.
The history of schools in London, like the history of schools in England
and mediæval Europe at large, necessarily begins with the history of its
great churches. Throughout England until the Reformation, and, in theory
at all events, until the Revolution, schools were ecclesiastical
institutions, and education was a matter of purely ecclesiastical
cognizance. The Ordinary, that is, the judge of the Ecclesiastical Court
of first instance, had everywhere cognizance of all matters in dispute
which concerned schools and scholars, their internal discipline and
their relations to the external world. It could and did settle the
question of school supply, how many schools there should be, and where.
If we want to know, therefore, what were the earliest and chief schools
of London, we have only to ask, What were the earliest and chief
churches of London? When we say churches, we must be careful to remember
that the word churches for such purpose means churches of the secular
clergy; that is, college and parish churches, not those of monasteries
and religious orders. We must be careful not to confuse the two, and not
to talk of St. Paul’s Cathedral Church as conventual, or of St.
Martin’s-le-Grand Collegiate Church as a monastery. To do so is
precisely like confusing New College, Oxford, with a Jesuit seminary, or
Trinity, Cambridge, with a Salvation Army barracks.
The chief secular churches of London were, first and foremost, St.
Paul’s Cathedral; next, the great Collegiate Church of St.
Martin’s-le-Grand, now, alas! swallowed up by the General Post Office;
and third, the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, the London church of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the seat of his supreme ecclesiastical court,
which has given its name to the Court of Arches, and was his “peculiar”
property, exempt from the jurisdiction of the Ordinary, the Bishop of
London.
In these three churches, some of the earliest extant documents of St.
Paul’s reveal the existence of grammar schools, which were already old
in the year 1138. These three schools, and they alone, constituted the
whole of the public provision for education in London until the year
1441, when another grammar school was established in St. Antony’s
Hospital. Some other schools were afterwards founded in connection with
other churches before the Reformation. But while its earlier and its
later pre-Reformation rivals have all disappeared, the earliest and
greatest of all, the grammar school of the Cathedral Church of St.
Paul’s, London, commonly called St. Paul’s School, with its unbroken
pedigree of 800 years and upwards still ranks among the chief schools of
the country, and holds as marked a position of pre-eminence in the
greater London of 1900 as it did in the old narrow city of London in
1100.
The story of London schools should, then, be simplicity itself; the more
so as it suffers from a lack of material. Yet it has been so obscured
and complicated by successive writers that it has been converted into a
tangled and twisted texture of guesses and fables, which we must
endeavour to unravel.
It ought not to have been so. For, earlier probably than any other city
in Europe, except York, London found its _vates sacer_, who for the
admiration of his own and the information of later ages, sung the
glories of its schools and scholars, their studies and their sports.
Alcuin’s ninth-century poem[38] in Latin hexameters “On the Archbishops
and Saints of the Church of York,” giving a vivid account of St. Peter’s
School there, of which he was himself master in the third quarter of the
eighth century, is the earliest account we have of any English school.
The picture, drawn in poetic Latin prose of the twelfth century by “the
son of Stephen,” of London schools and scholars, as they were during the
boyhood of Becket, is not less full or vivid. One almost suspects from
the way in which quotations from Latin poets are lugged in “by the
hairs” that Fitzstephen was himself at one time a schoolmaster, before
he became Becket’s chancellor and ended as a judge. At all events, he
took a keen interest in schools and schoolboys, and devoted a good third
of his famous description of London to the games and sports of the
London schoolboy.
“In London,”[39] he says, “the three principal churches have famous
schools privileged and of ancient pre-eminence, though sometimes
through personal favour to some one noted as a philosopher more
schools are allowed. On feast days the masters celebrate assemblies
at the churches, arrayed in festive garb. The scholars hold
disputations, some augmentatively, others by way of question and
answer. These roll out enthymemes, those use the forms of perfect
syllogisms. Some dispute merely for show, as they do at
collections;[40] others for the truth which is the grace of
perfection. The sophists and pretenders are pronounced happy because
of the mass and volume of their words; others play upon words. The
rhetoricians with rhetorical speeches speak to the point with a view
to persuasion, being careful to observe the precepts of their art,
and to leave out nothing that belongs to it.
“The boys of the different schools hold contests in verse, or pose
each other on the principles of grammar or the rules of preterites
and supines. Others in epigrams, rhymes and metres use the old
street eloquence, with Fescinnine licence scourging their
schoolfellows, without mentioning names; hurling abusive epithets
and scoffs at them: with Socratic salt girding at the failings of
their fellows, or perhaps of their elders; and in bold dithyrambics
biting them with the sharp tooth of Theon. The audience
ready to laugh
With crincled noses redouble their shrill guffaws.”
The beginning of this passage states as plainly as can be that there
were schools attached to the three principal churches, that they were
ancient even then, and privileged. By privileged is meant, not as Lord
Lyttelton[41] in his _Henry II._ interprets it, that “by particular
privilege was taught not only grammar, but poetry, rhetorick and
logick”; but, as the context shows, that these schools were the only
schools allowed at all, though occasionally a special schoolmaster was
allowed on sufferance and by personal favour. Stow, who was the first to
quote this passage, went on[42] to identify the three schools. The
first, he supposed rightly, was St. Paul’s. But for the second he puts
“S. Peter’s at Westminster,” and supports it by a quotation from
Ingulphus’ _Chronicle_, now admitted on all hands to be a
fifteenth-century forgery. The third, says Stow, “seemeth to have been
in the monastery of St. Saviour at Bermondsey in Southwark. For other
priories, as of St. John by Smithfield, St. Bartholomew in Smithfield,
St. Mary Overies in Southwark, and that of the Holy Trinity in Aldgate,
were all of later foundation.”
This is a curious conglomeration of errors: which has unfortunately been
blindly adopted by subsequent writers. Even if there had been a grammar
school at Westminster, it could not possibly be described in the twelfth
century as being in London, since Fitzstephen himself speaks of
Westminster as being two miles off. The placing of a London school at
St. Saviour’s, Bermondsey, is even more open to the same objection of
not being in London.
It is an interesting question from what MS. of Fitzstephen Stow derived
his knowledge of this passage about schools. Out of four ancient MSS.
now extant, only one, and that the latest, contains the passage. These
MSS. are: (i.) MS. Lambeth 138 (wrongly referred to as 1168 in the Rolls
edition of Fitzstephen). This is of the thirteenth century and has not
the Description of London at all. (ii.) MS. Douce 289 at the Bodleian.
This is also of the thirteenth century. It has the Description of
London, but having lost its first leaf has only the last few words about
schools, (iii.) MS. Cotton, Julius, A, xi., at the British Museum. This
is of the early fourteenth century and has not got the Description at
all. (iv.) Lansdowne MS. 398, late in the fifteenth century. This is the
only MS. which has the Description of London and its schools in full,
and it does not mention the churches which kept them. On the other hand,
the Description of London, apart from the Life, is written at the
beginning of the _Liber Custumarum_ of the City of London, now in the
Guildhall, a MS. of the first half of the fourteenth century. It
contains the passage about the schools and after the word churches
inserts “viz. the Bishop’s see, the church of St. Paul’s, the church of
Holy Trinity and the church of St. Martin.” Mr. Riley, in his edition of
the _Liber Custumarum_, thinks that Stow had this book before him. But
the omission by Stow of the names of the three churches, and his bad
guess as to what the churches were, seem to show conclusively that the
Guildhall MS. was unknown to him, unless he garbled it for the sake of
avoiding a difficulty.
As we have seen, Stow says that Trinity Priory was not founded till
after the time of which Fitzstephen was writing. In this he was
mistaken. The Priory purports in its chartulary[43] to have been founded
by “good Queen Mold,” the wife of Henry I., in 1108, and its most
interesting endowment, the Portsoken, the land of the English Knights’
Gild outside Aldgate, in virtue of which the Prior of Christchurch, or
Creechurch, as it was nicknamed, was _ex officio_ an Alderman of the
City of London, was given in 1125. There does not, however, seem to be
any mention of a school in connection with the church before or after
the foundation of the Priory either in its chartulary, or elsewhere.[44]
On the other hand, we have testimony contemporary with the time of which
Fitzstephen was writing, and many subsequent references, extending up to
the time of Henry VIII., which show conclusively that the three churches
with schools were St. Paul’s, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, and St.
Mary-le-Bow, and that they preserved their monopoly till the middle of
the fifteenth century. There was therefore no room for any recognised
school in, or connected with, Trinity Church. Three explanations appear
to be possible. (i.) There was a school in Trinity Church while it was a
secular church, belonging to the College Church of the Holy Cross,
Waltham, which ceased on its being converted into a Priory. (ii.) There
was an adulterine or unlicensed school there, put down by the very
document which conveys the contemporary testimony as to what the
legitimate and privileged schools were. But more probably (iii.) the
words are an interpolation due to a gloss by some badly-informed
commentator.
The curious thing is that in the very passage quoted, Stow cites, though
inaccurately, a patent of Henry VI. by which, as we shall see, authority
was given for the erection of certain schools, besides those at St.
Paul’s, at St. Martin’s-le-Grand, and St. Mary-le-Bow in Cheap. It is
rather strange that Stow did not know of the famous document at St.
Paul’s, which tells us plainly what these three ancient and famous
schools were. But then he had not the advantage we enjoy of Sir Henry
Maxwell-Lyte’s admirable Calendar of the St. Paul’s Muniments.[45] The
one in question runs thus:
Henry, by the Grace of God, minister of the church of Winchester, to
the Chapter of St. Paul’s and William, Archdeacon, and their
officers, greeting.
I command you by your obedience that after three summonses, you
launch the sentence of excommunication against those who, without a
license from Henry, the Schoolmaster, presume to teach (anywhere) in
the whole city of London; except those who teach the schools of St.
Mary of the Arch and St. Martin’s the Great. Witness, Hilarius, at
Winchester.
It is at first sight mysterious that Henry of Blois, Bishop of
Winchester, should, even though he was King Stephen’s brother, thus
interfere in the affairs of another diocese. The explanation is that he
was in fact acting as Bishop of London at that time, holding the See
during its vacancy _in commendam_, or in charge. This fact enables us to
fix the date. It must lie between 1138, when, according to the
chronicler, Ralph de Diceto,[46] who was Dean of St. Paul’s, “the Pope
with the King’s consent, committed the care of the church of London to
Henry, Bishop of Winchester,” and 1140, when “the Empress (Matilda) was
received by the Londoners for their lady, and she made Robert of the
Seal, bishop of London.” Rival schoolmasters had no doubt taken
advantage of the relaxation of discipline during the prolonged vacancy
of the See, consequent on the Pope’s setting aside the election of the
Abbot of St. Edmund’s Bury to it, to set up “adulterine” or unlicensed
schools. When the See was placed under a strong guardian, the arm of the
church was stretched out to defend the monopoly of its children.
But the injunction against rival schools was not, as has been
represented by Dugdale,[47] any special favour to Henry the schoolmaster
of St. Paul’s. It was merely in accordance with the common law of the
church. We find precisely the same kind of proceeding going on at
Winchester itself[48] at about the same time, and again as late as 1629;
while copious instances of its use are to be found at Canterbury in the
fourteenth, and at York and Beverley[49] in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries.
Master Henry had been appointed schoolmaster by Richard Belmeis, Bishop
of London, and his appointment is still extant among the archives of St.
Paul’s, not only in a chartulary copy but in the actual original itself.
As it is probably the oldest instrument of its kind in England, it is
given in full.
COLLATION OF THE SCHOOL[50]
Richard, by the Grace of God, Bishop of London, to William, Dean,
and the whole assembly of his brethren, and to William of Oschendon
his steward, and all his men, Greeting and blessing in Christ.
I make known to you, my beloved, that I have granted to Henry, my
canon, the pupil of Master Hugh, the school of St. Paul’s, as
honourably as the church in best and most honourable wise ever held
it, and the land of the court (_atrio_) which the aforesaid Hugh
enclosed there to house himself in; and the meadow which I had
granted to the same Hugh in Fulham, 4 acres; namely, the whole land
from the ditch to the Thames (he paying) 12d. a year by way of
acknowledgment at Michaelmas; and, in alms, the tithes of Ealing and
the tithes of Madeley.
Witnesses, William of Winchester, William of Occhenden, steward, and
Hugh de Cancerisio.
On the strength of this and a previous document, Bishop Stubbs
speaks[51] of Bishop Richard de Belmeis, de Bello Manso (or Fairhouse),
as having “founded” the “schools” (_sic_) “of St. Paul’s.” The previous
document is only preserved in a copy in the early chartulary called
Liber A. It is addressed to W. Dean and the whole assembly of canons
(_fratrum conventui_) and informs the bishop’s “best beloved sons” that
he has “confirmed (_stabilisse_) to Hugh the Schoolmaster, _ex officio_
as Master, and to his successors in that dignity, the place of Mr.
Durand in the corner of the Tower, where Dean William placed him by my
orders between Robert de Auco and Odo.” The Bishop then proceeds, “I
grant to him and to the privilege of the school the custody of all the
books of my church,” and orders the dean to have a list of the books
made out in an indenture, one part of which is to be placed in the
treasury, the other to be kept by the schoolmaster, who is to be given
seisin of the books; while any books that have been lent out, whether
theological (_divinorum_) or of secular learning, are to be returned, on
pain of excommunication. Hugh was also “to have the keys of the
cupboards” (_armariorum_, aumbreys as they are now somewhat affectedly
called) “which I ordered to be made for the purpose.”
As no witnesses are recorded, the date of this cannot be fixed, except
as being between 1111, when William became Dean, and 1127, when Bishop
Richard died. It must, of course, be before the document appointing
Henry as schoolmaster in succession to this same Hugh.
Neither of the two documents supports Bishop Stubbs’ statement that
Bishop Richard “founded” the “schools” of St. Paul’s. It is odd that the
Bishop should have fallen into this mistake, as Dugdale[52] described
the documents quite accurately, as grants to the Schoolmaster of St.
Paul’s. Both of the grants imply that the schoolmaster’s office or
“dignity” was in existence before. The later document is, of course, as
it is called, merely a collation; an appointment of a new master, Henry,
who had himself been a scholar in the school, to succeed a deceased
master, Hugh. The earlier one merely confirms, not grants, to an
existing officer or dignitary of the cathedral the residence he already
enjoyed, at the same time annexing that particular residence to the
office, while giving him the apparently[53] new duty of taking care of
the books belonging to the church. The title of Master applied to Durand
suggests that he too had been schoolmaster before Hugh, and lived in the
same house as Hugh did, but that the house, then only an ordinary
prebendal house, was now definitely made the schoolmaster’s official
residence.
It is particularly unfortunate that Bishop Stubbs should also have been
misled by the plural form used in the original for a school into
misunderstanding the mention of the school of St. Paul’s for a reference
to schools, meaning more than one. There has been no more prolific
source of misrepresentation as to the whole status and history of
mediæval schools than this misunderstanding. Yet it is beyond doubt that
until the middle of the fifteenth century the word school was habitually
not _scola_ but _scolæ_.[54] The official title of a grammar
schoolmaster was not _Magister Scole Gramatices_ or _Gramaticalis_ but
_Magister Scolarum Gramaticalium_. He was schoolsmaster not
schoolmaster. This was the style almost universally used in official and
formal documents up to the reign of Edward VI. In less formal documents,
such as Account Rolls and the like, the singular form began to oust the
plural as nearly as possible in the year 1450. Before that time, though
there are occasional uses of the word in the singular, the normal use
was in the plural. A few references to original documents will be enough
to show the identity of meaning of the singular and plural forms. Thus,
in an inquiry as to St. Cross Hospital near Winchester in 1373,[55] when
evidence was given that among the 100 poor fed every day in the
Hundredmen’s Hall, there were 13 poor scholars sent from the Grammar
School of Winchester; some witnesses call them “poorer scholars of the
grammar school (_scole gramaticalis_) of the city of Winchester,” and
others, “poor scholars from the grammar school (_scolis gramaticalibus_)
there,” the school being called indifferently the grammar school and the
high school of the city of Winchester. Again in the Winchester College
Account Roll for 1394, the head-master of the college grammar school,
which was not the same as the City grammar school, is called both
_Magister Scolis_ and _Magister Scole_. This evidence is the more
clinching as it is rare at that date to find the word school in the
singular at all. Indeed, except at Winchester and London, as will be
seen presently, where there seems to have been a higher standard of
classical accuracy, I do not know of another instance of the word school
in the singular in the fourteenth century.
The clearing up of this point is important, as the plural use has made
people[56] search for two or more schools, and in consequence has led
them to confound two entirely different schools, the Grammar School for
the world at large, and the Song School chiefly, if not exclusively, for
the choristers; and, in consequence, to maintain that the mediæval
grammar schools were poor starved things, where a dozen choristers at
most stumbled through their declensions and their psalter.
The documents of Richard de Belmeis then are not the foundation of St.
Paul’s School. On the contrary, they point to it as previously existing,
and to the schoolmaster as already one of the dignitaries or principal
persons of the chapter. The true date of foundation and the real founder
of St. Paul’s School must be sought in the foundation and founder of St.
Paul’s Cathedral Church itself. The first foundation was in 604,
when[57]
Augustine, Archbishop of the Britains, ordained two Bishops,
Mellitus and Justus: Mellitus to preach to the province of Essex,
separated from Kent by the river Thames, and close to the Eastern
sea, whose metropolis is London city placed on the banks of the said
river, an emporium for many nations, coming by land and sea; whose
king then was Saberet (or Sebert) nephew of Ethelbert by his sister
Ricula, though placed under the power of Ethelbert, who then ruled
all the English race up to the Humber. When the province received
the word of truth on the preaching of Mellitus, King Ethelbert made
in the city of London the church of St. Paul the Apostle, in which
he and his successors had their bishop’s See.
After Ethelbert and Sebert died in 616[58] there was a reaction to the
old religion, and Mellitus fled abroad. When he tried to return, after
the conversion of Ethelbert’s successor in Kent, London would not have
him. It remained heathen till Oswi, King of the Northumbrians, converted
Sigebert, a refugee prince, who, on returning home, made Cedd bishop of
the East Saxons. But no mention is made of London as his See, and
Tilbury[59] rather appears to have been his principal church. He died of
the plague in 664. Wine,[60] expelled from Winchester, bought the See of
London from Wulfhere, King of the Mercians, somewhere about 666.
Thenceforward the history of the See and church is unbroken. It is only
therefore from this last date that we can reckon the continuous history
of St. Paul’s Cathedral or its school. There is no direct reference to
the school in Bede, as there is to that of Canterbury, when the King of
the East Angles got schoolmasters thence in 631. But the place[61] where
lived the learned Nothelm, Bede’s principal informant as to the history
of southern England, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, and Erkenwald
or Earconwald, bishop from 675 to 692, whose name and fame in later
ages, as the local saint of London, completely eclipsed that of St. Paul
himself, much as St. Swithin did that of St. Peter at Winchester, can
hardly have failed to maintain a school, any more than Canterbury or
York or Winchester.
The original statutes of St. Paul’s Cathedral have not survived. The
earliest statute affecting the school appears in a collection made
during the deanery of Henry of Cornhill,[62] 1243 to 1254, who had been
Chancellor of St. Paul’s from 1217 till he became Dean. It is a statute
relating to the duties of the Chancellor. When present, it is said,
the Chancellor makes out the table (_tabulam_) of lessons, masses,
Epistles, Gospels, acolytes, and performers of the service in course
for a week (_ebdomadariis_) and hears the lessons [_i.e._ the reader
has to read them over to him beforehand to see that he reads them
correctly]. On feast days he hears the Bishop read, hands him the
book to be read from at the beginning of mattins; and, clothed in a
silk cope, holds the book for the Bishop to read at the last of the
[nine] lessons. [The Chancellor himself, a later statute informs us,
read the 6th lesson.] He introduces the clerks of lower grade to be
ordained, and after examining them in school presents them to the
Bishop for ordination, and administers justice to every one who
makes any complaint as to their conduct. All scholars living in the
city are under him, except those of a school of the Arches, and a
school in the Basilica of St. Martin’s the Great, who claim that
they are privileged in these and other matters. The Chancellor also
keeps the chest with the school books in it.
The reference to a school (_unam scolam_) in St. Mary-le-Bow and St.
Martin’s respectively, may be compared with the plural for the same
schools in the writ of Bishop Henry of Blois.
In the digest of the statutes of St. Paul’s made during the deanery of
Ralph of Baldock, 1294-1304, the words as to the Chancellor’s supremacy
over the schools are repeated almost verbatim; but the plural form
_scolarum_ is used instead of the singular for the single schools at St.
Martin’s and St. Mary-le-Bow respectively. This is pretty conclusive
testimony of the identity in meaning of plural and singular for a single
school. In this latter digest we find further details about the
chancellor and a special statute, headed, “of the appointment of an M.A.
to the Grammar School (_scolæ grammaticæ_).” The body of the statute is
part of the statute as to the chancellor. It says:
The Chancellor appoints a master of arts to the Grammar School
(_scolis_) and is bound to keep the school itself (_scolas ipsas_)
in repair. He composes the letters and deeds of the Chapter. He
reads whatever has to be read in Chapter. He is the chief keeper of
the seal, and receives a pound of pepper for every deed that is
sealed or renewed, the Chapter receiving 3s.
“If the Dean has to be ordained”—we may remember that William of Wykeham
was Dean of St. Martin’s-le-Grand when still only an acolyte, and
Reginald Pole, though a cardinal and an ex-dean, was not a priest till
the day before he became Archbishop of Canterbury—“the Chancellor calls
him by the title of St. Paul’s.”
The chancellor is
the chief keeper of the school books in the chest, and ought to show
them once a year to the Dean and others appointed for the purpose,
and a copy of the list of them is to be kept by the Dean, the
Chancellor and a third brother [_i.e._ canon] appointed for the
purpose.
It is possible, of course, though not perhaps very probable, that there
were no written statutes of St. Paul’s affecting the school earlier than
those quoted. Whether there were written statutes or not, the writs of
Bishop Richard prove the schoolmaster’s office to have been in existence
at least 150 years before this earliest written statute. But we might
have positively asserted that there was such an officer if those writs
had not existed, because the maintenance of a schoolmaster was part of
the customary constitution of cathedral churches. Alcuin’s
description[63] of the duties of himself and his predecessor, Ethelbert
or Albert, afterwards archbishop, as schoolmaster at York in the eighth
century, shows a schoolmaster fulfilling precisely the same mixture of
legal, clerkly, and educational duties which appear in the famous
Institution of St. Osmund at Salisbury in the eleventh and the statutes
of St. Paul’s in the thirteenth century. As early as 832 a definite
conciliar decree embodied in the written canon law the obligation,
already crystallised into custom, that every cathedral church should
maintain a school.
When Earl Harold[64] founded, or rather augmented, in 1060 the
collegiate church of secular canons of the Holy Cross of Waltham with a
dean and twelve canons, the principal person next to the provost or
dean, as he is indifferently called, was the schoolmaster. The history
of the foundation was written for us by one who was made a canon before
1144, having been “from tender years brought up in the church and taught
Latin in its bosom.”[65] He was one of those who were turned out in
1177, when, with vicarious liberality, Henry II. converted the college
into a priory of regular or Augustinian canons, in satisfaction of his
vow to found a monastery in expiation of Becket’s death. This canon
tells us[66] how Harold having heard that the Dutch was the best model,
imported Master Athelard, a native of Liege, who had been educated at
Utrecht, to assist Wulfwin the Dean in settling the constitution of the
church. Our author himself, who does not give his name, says that his
master[67] was “Master Peter, son of Master Athelard.” For the secular
canons were, like their modern successors, allowed to marry, and this
was the real reason why the favourers of monkery charged them with evil
living. He tells us how
a copious stream of learning flowed from this Peter after the
fashion of the Dutch (_Teutonicorum_) and yet the lessons and
classics and verse composition in no way lessened the practice of
singing in the churches. So far from boyish habits were they, that
they walked in procession, stood, read and sang, with as much
gravity as if they had been monks; and chanted and sang by heart
solos or in duets or trios, without book whatever had to be sung at
the steps of the choir or in the choir itself.... As they came in
procession, like canons getting up to mid-night matins, from school
to choir, so when leaving choir they go to school.
Here, then, we see that a school, a grammar school, was regarded as an
integral and necessary, and a most important part of the foundation of a
collegiate church before the Conquest.
Similar evidence comes from another collegiate church of pre-Conquest
foundation, that of St. Mary, Warwick. This church, situate in the
middle of the town, is recorded in Domesday Book as possessing a hide of
land. There was also a collegiate church of All Saints, a kind of
garrison chapel, in the castle, the stronghold founded by Ethelfled, the
Lady of the Mercians, against the Danes in 916, but which after the date
of Domesday Book passed into the hands of one of the Norman invaders.
Forty years after Domesday Book, in 1123, disputes having arisen between
the two churches, the second Norman lord, Roger de Beaumont, confirmed
to these two churches all their respective property as they held it in
his father’s time. Then by a separate deed he confirmed “in alms,”
_i.e._ in perpetuity free from feudal service, “to the church of St.
Mary of Warwick the school (_scolas_) of the said church, that the
service of God in the same may be improved by the attendance of
scholars.” By a similar deed he must have confirmed All Saints in its
school, as a writ of King Henry I. addressed to this Earl Roger and the
ecclesiastical lords, the Bishops of Worcester and Chester, directs
“that the Church of All Saints, Warwick, shall have all its customs and
judgments of iron and water (_i.e._ the right of administering the
ordeal) as they did in the time of Edward, and in like manner shall have
its school (_scolas_).” A few years later the two collegiate churches
were consolidated, the canons of All Saints being transferred from the
castle, their residence there “being inconvenient,” and the property of
the united church of St. Mary and All Saints was confirmed to it first
by the Earl, then by the Bishop, including “the school of Warwick and
trial of iron, water and duel.” So here again the school, and the right
to keep it, is regarded as one of the most important attributes of a
pre-Conquest collegiate church.
The statutes made on the new foundation of Salisbury Cathedral within
twenty-five years of the Norman Conquest are preserved. They are not
indeed in a contemporary document, but written in a thirteenth-century
hand in a new version of these statutes made on the removal of the
cathedral from Old Sarum to the present Salisbury in 1220. There seems
no reason to doubt their authenticity.
These are the dignities and customs of the church of Salisbury which
I, Osmund, bishop of the same church, in the name of the Holy
Trinity, in the year 1091, have instituted and granted to the
persons and canons of the same, with the advice of the Archbishop
and the assent of King William.
The Dean and Chanter (Precentor), Chancellor and Treasurer shall be
always resident in the church of Salisbury, without any kind of
excuse....
The chanter ought to teach the choir as to singing and can raise or
lower the chant.
The Treasurer is chief in the custody of the treasures and ornaments
and the giving out of lights.
In like manner the Chancellor (_cancellarius_) (is chief) in
teaching school and correcting the books.
Dean and Chapter, Treasurer and Chancellor have double commons, the
rest of the Canons single commons.
The Sub-Dean holds under the Dean the archdeaconry of the city and
suburbs, the Succentor under the Precentor that which belongs to the
choir (_cantariam_).
If the Dean fails, the Sub-Dean fills his place, so the Succentor
has the Precentor’s.
The Schoolmaster (_archischola_) ought to hear the lessons and
determine on them, carry the seal of the church, compose letters and
deeds, and mark readers on the list, and the Precentor in like
manner the singers.
Here, then, we find four principal persons, of whom one, the chancellor,
is also called schoolmaster. He is the legal and educational, while the
chanter or precentor is the musical officer of the chapter. In the
fourteenth century copy of the statutes of York Minster it is said of
the chancellor that he “was anciently called Schoolmaster”; and the
twelfth-century historian of the Minster, a contemporary of Bishop
Richard of Belmeis, describes how Thomas of Bayeux, the first Norman
archbishop there, had just established or (as we may infer)
re-established a provost and schoolmaster; but afterwards, about 1090,
established that which afterwards became the regular cathedral
“foursquare” constitution of dean (instead of provost), precentor,
treasurer, and chancellor.
In the oft-quoted Liber A at St. Paul’s, written in the thirteenth
century, the copies of the writs of Bishop Richard of Belmeis and Henry
of Blois, with some later documents, are headed “Of the Schoolmaster
(_De Magistro Scolarum_) and Chancellor, seven letters”: and a marginal
note to a later document of Bishop Richard Fitz Neal (1189-99),
increasing the endowment of the schoolmaster, runs, “Note—the tithes
given to the Schoolmaster of St. Paul’s, now the Chancellor.”
The analogy, therefore, of other cathedral and collegiate churches,
corroborated as they are by the records of St. Paul’s itself, the
knowledge that we have of the existence of schools, not only at great
capitals like Canterbury, Winchester, and York, but even at small places
like Warwick and Waltham, amply justify us in asserting confidently that
the schoolmaster and school of St. Paul’s existed not merely before the
days of Bishop Richard de Belmeis, but before the Conquest, and in all
reasonable probability from the days of Bishops Wine and Earconwald.
What were these London schools? What did they teach? Lord Lyttelton[68]
in his History of Henry II. spoke of them as “schools or rather
colleges,” meaning university colleges, and Sir George Buck in 1631
described them as the _Third Universitie of England_.[69] This was
because of the mention of logic, and the statement that, not indeed as
Lyttelton says, “many” but other “schools” were occasionally opened “by
persons of note in philosophy,” by special favour.
But to infer from this a University of London in the twelfth century is
to transfer to it the ideas of the eighteenth century. The _Trivium_,
the “trivial task” of the twelfth century school-boy, included rhetoric
and dialectic as well as grammar. Grammar meant not only grammar
strictly speaking, but the general study of classical literature.
Rhetoric included not only the art of persuasion, the rules of oratory,
but generally Latin composition, prose, and verse,[70] and declamation
or recitation. Rhetoric was naturally incomplete without dialectic or
logic, the art of argument. So powerful during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries did dialectic become, that not only did theology
become almost a branch of logic but grammar itself was taught and
practised “dialectically.” The “rostrum,” on which dialectic and
rhetoric were practised, was to be found in the school of Winchester
College as late as 1650.
The distinction drawn by Fitzstephen between the boys who capped verses
and the other scholars who held debates in rhetoric and logic was not
coincident with that between a grammar school and a university college.
The word “boy” was used strictly, as it still was as late as the
Elizabethan statutes of grammar schools, for those under fourteen years
of age, who were carefully distinguished on the one hand from children
or infants under seven, and from youths (_juvenes_) of fourteen to
twenty-one. Then, as now, youths of eighteen and upwards were found in
the grammar schools, and William of Wykeham, and the advisers of Henry
VI. in the foundation of Eton, all Wykehamists, were no innovators
raising the age of schoolboys when they prescribed nineteen as the
leaving age for the scholars of Winchester and Eton.
There is therefore no necessary ground for the inference that the
schools of London in the first half of the twelfth century bore any
different character from that which they had in the fifteenth or
sixteenth centuries, when the same schools are described simply as
grammar schools.
On the other hand, the period of which Fitzstephen wrote was that of the
origin of universities. It saw the birth of Bologna, of Paris, and of
Oxford. At Paris, the university grew out of the extension and the
rivalry of the schools, the grammar schools, of the cathedral church of
Notre Dame and the collegiate church, as it then was, of St. Geneviéve.
At Oxford there is every reason to believe that the university developed
in like manner from the schools of the collegiate churches, as they then
were, of St. Frideswide and St. George in the Castle.[71] The
“University” side of the schools finally emancipated itself, at an
earlier period even than at Paris, from ordinary ecclesiastical control,
through the conversion of these two collegiate churches into houses of
regulars, and the extinction therewith of their control of secular
scholars, while the Chancellor of Lincoln was too remote to exercise any
effective government such as was exercised by the Chancellor of Paris.
It was quite within the bounds of probability then that London also
would develop a university out of the three ancient schools, and the
permitted rivalry, by special favour, of the schools of other “doctors
of philosophy.” But it was not to be. London even then was too great a
commercial emporium, the prizes of successful trade were too attractive,
business was too absorbing, the hum of markets and wharves was too loud
for the voice of learning to make itself heard, or for schools, whether
of theology or arts, to attract the pick of the intellect of the City.
Paris, though the political capital, was not also the commercial capital
of France, where Rouen, the independent capital of a rival power,
occupied, to it, the position which the Port of London bore to London.
The King’s Court and the King’s Chancery were the main avenues to
success for clerks, and even so late as the reign of Henry III. the
Castle of Winchester and Beaumont House at Oxford, or the Manor of
Windsor, rather than the Tower of London, or even Westminster Hall, were
the favourite resorts of the King’s Court, and the residence of the
royal treasury and the royal chancery. Hence London never developed an
Abelard and a mainly theological university like Paris. The settlement
at Westminster of the royal courts, and the superior importance in
England of the common law to the civil law for somewhat similar reasons,
prevented London from producing an Irnerius or a Gratian and giving rise
to a legal university such as that of Bologna. Indeed the greater fame
of Paris and Bologna universities themselves was in the cosmopolitan
spirit which, under the centralising influence of the Roman Church, made
learned Europe almost a single nation, a potent obstacle to the
development of a university of London.
No exact definition of a university has yet been given, nor is capable
of being given, and it may be doubted whether there is any university
now in existence which really corresponds to the mediæval university.
But one salient mark of a university, a number of teachers and a number
of adult students in the higher faculties, in theology and law, or
philosophy, certainly existed at Paris in the days of Abelard, and to
some extent in Oxford, but did not seemingly exist in London, or if it
did exist was quenched by Henry of Blois’ mandate.
If the London schools formed a university in 1138, _a fortiori_ did the
School of York form one in 735. In Alcuin’s description of the School of
York as it flourished under Archbishops Egbert and Albert, an even
greater multiplicity of subjects was taught than in the three schools of
London in Fitzstephen’s day. Albert, its master,[72] “moistened thirsty
hearts with diverse streams of teaching and varied dews of learning,
giving to some the science of the art of grammar, pouring on others the
rivers of the tongues of orators; these he polished on the whetstone of
law, those he taught to sing together in Æolian chant, making others
play on the flute of Castaly, and run with the feet of lyric poets over
the hills of Parnassus.” Here we get the Grammar, Song, and Rhetoric of
later days. Song had in London in 1130 already been relegated to a
separate school. At York there was taught also arithmetic and geometry,
and the method of calculating the ecclesiastical calendar, the music of
the spheres, astronomy, physiography, “the rising and falling of the
wind, the movements of the sea, the earth’s quake,” and natural history,
“the nature of men, cattle, birds, and beasts.” Above all, Albert taught
theology. This curriculum is considerably more extensive than that of
the London schools, embracing many of what we should now regard as
university subjects. York afterwards branched off into three schools—the
Chancellor’s Theological School; the Grammar School under the
Chancellor’s deputy, who became the Schoolmaster par excellence; and the
Song School under the precentor. Yet as we should not call York School
under Albert or Alcuin a university merely because many subjects were
taught in it, neither can we dub the London schools of the twelfth
century a university.
We must therefore negative the claims of London to the possession of a
university in the first half of the twelfth century. But we can at least
claim that St. Paul’s School occupied the same position then as now, as
the chief day-school for the sons of middle-class citizens. Becket’s
biographer tells us what his education was: “Thomas spent the years of
infancy, boyhood, and youth quietly in his father’s house, and in
passing through the City school (_scolis urbis_); but when he became a
young man he went to study at Paris (_Parisius studuit_). As soon as he
came back, he was taken into public life in London, being made a clerk
and accountant in the Sheriff’s office.” The true translation of _scolis
urbis_ is the city school; and the city school meant the school of the
cathedral church of the City, the School of London. To this school
Becket, whose father had at one time been sheriff of London, was sent.
After leaving school, Becket went, in modern parlance, to Paris
University before entering on professional life. He was born in 1118,
so, as he may be presumed to have gone to Paris at about eighteen or
nineteen years of age, he must have gone there about 1137, the time when
John of Salisbury, the greatest writer of the age, was also there,
sitting at the feet of Abelard, then lecturing in the College of St.
Geneviéve. Mr. Rashdall, laying down a somewhat arbitrary definition,
maintains that Paris was not then, strictly speaking, a university,
though he admits it was such probably by the middle of the century.
However that may be, it is clear that in Becket’s case, as in John of
Salisbury’s, the schools of Paris, not the schools of London, were
regarded as giving “university” training. Fifty years later Becket would
have gone to Oxford and the “martyrdom” would never have occurred. As it
was, after his English and Pauline training, he was, with disastrous
results, inoculated with the “fool fury of the Seine.” Still, St. Paul’s
School may claim in him one of the earliest and most famous known
Paulines, Henry the schoolmaster being the earliest.
It has to be confessed that from Becket’s time onwards to Colet’s we
know scarcely anything of St. Paul’s School beyond the bare fact
evidenced by the statutes already quoted of 1243-54 and 1294-1304, and
certain fourteenth- and fifteenth-century documents to be presently
quoted, that it was pursuing the even tenor of its way. While there are
documents at Canterbury containing very full evidence of the great
position occupied by the Grammar School of the Archbishop and the
Grammar schoolmaster there in the first half of the fourteenth century,
while an unbroken series of the Acts of the Chapters of York and Lincoln
preserve continual notices of the grammar schools of York and Lincoln,
there is an absolute dearth of such records at St. Paul’s. One solitary
Chapter Act Book of the Canons of St. Paul’s remains, and that is one of
the last quarter of the fifteenth century. It is singularly
uninteresting, being almost entirely concerned with continual renewals
of leave of absence granted to the canons who were called Residentiary
because, unlike the other canons, they were supposed to be always
resident; with renewals of leases and the division of the spoil among
the residentiary canons, and the “correction” of vicars—choral and minor
canons—for devotion to the forbidden sex. All we know is that the
Grammar School went on and that it was not the Song School or a
choristers’ school, because we have conclusive evidence that this Song
School was a different institution. Two statutes[73] in terms
corresponding to those about the chancellor and the Grammar schoolmaster
deal with the precentor (_cantor_) and the Song schoolmaster. “It is the
Precentor’s duty to rule [or teach, _regere_] the choir in the raising
and lowering of the chant, and in singing the psalms. It is his duty
through the Song Schoolmaster to place the singers’ names on the table,
to stir up the lazy to sing, and gently rebuke those who run about the
choir in a disorderly fashion. On the greater feasts, if he is in choir
and instructed as a singer, he begins the antiphons after the Benedictus
and Magnificat and the processional chants and sequences. He examines
the boys to be brought into the choir and given a title as choristers.”
A statute as to those choristers made during the deanery of Ralph de
Diceto, the historian, between 1180 and 1200,[74] shows that they were
already then boarded in the Almonry. “As the boys of the Almonry ought
to live on Alms” (or, as we might say, “as charity boys ought to live as
such”) “they are to sit on the ground in the canons’ houses, not with
the vicars at table, lest they become uppish and drunken and perhaps too
pampered, and so unfit for the service of the church. Besides they
sometimes go too early without saying goodbye to their host; and
sometimes when they return to the Almonry from the feast, they despise
the living there and spread evil reports of their Master.” The statute
refers to the custom under which the residentiary canons had to give
three meals daily to two minor canons, two chaplains, four vicars
choral, two Almonry boys; the vergers and bell-ringers. The Master
referred to was not the Grammar schoolmaster, as has been rashly assumed
by some, but the Almoner, the master of the almshouse. To the early
cathedral churches a hospital or almshouse was as essential an appendage
as a choir and a Grammar School. Some of them still survive. The Dean of
Hereford is still _ex officio_ Master of St. Ethelbert’s Hospital,
attached to St. Ethelbert’s Cathedral. York had its St. Peter’s
Hospital, the ruins of the chapel of which, afterwards called St.
Leonard’s Hospital, may still be seen. St. Paul’s, therefore, had its
almonry, a Norman-French word for almshouse, and its almoner. In
statutes made in 1263 the almoner is enjoined to distribute alms
according to the method ordained by those who gave endowments for the
purpose; poor people and beggars who die in or near the churchyard he is
to bury gratis without delay. “He is to have, moreover, daily with him 8
boys fit for the service of the church, whom he is to have instructed
either by himself or by another master in matters pertaining to the
service of the church and in literature [_i.e._ grammar] and good
behaviour; taking no payment for the same.”
An Almoner’s Register begun in 1345 is fortunately extant,[75] which
records the statutes, charters, and customs of the office. In it, the
almoner records against himself that “if the Almoner does not keep a
cleric to teach the choristers grammar, the schoolmaster of St. Paul’s
claims 5s. a year for teaching them, though he ought to demand nothing
for them because he keeps the school for them, as the Treasurer of St.
Paul’s once alleged before the Dean and Chapter is to be found in
ancient deeds.” The allegation that the Grammar School was kept for the
choristers is historically untrue, though it is probably true that the
choristers ought to have been admitted free to it. At least, the
question was solemnly raised at Beverley in 1312,[76] when the Grammar
schoolmaster wished to make all choristers beyond the original number
attending the Grammar School pay fees; but the succentor, the Song
schoolmaster, contended that he was bound to teach all the choristers
free, and after inquiry by the Chapter into the “ancient customs” of the
church it was decided that he was so bound, only the succentor was not
to defraud him by admitting boys to the choir merely for the sake of
getting free education in the Grammar School. Whatever may have been the
choristers’ rights in the matter, the fact that the Grammar schoolmaster
claimed and received payment for them shows with absolute conclusiveness
that the Grammar School was not a choir school or a choir-boys’ school.
Yet Mr. Lupton, late Surmaster of St. Paul’s School, in his _Life of
Colet_ actually cites[77] the will of one of the almoners, William of
Tolleshunt, made in 1329, as proof that the Cathedral school, which he
confuses with the Almonry school, “not only existed and flourished, but
contained within itself the germs of a University.” Yet what are the
facts? The Almoner says:[78] “I bequeath a shilling to each senior and
6d. to each junior of the boys of the church whom I educated in the
Almonry. Also I give them my best Hugocio and the big and little
Priscian, bound in one volume, Isidore’s Etymology, and all my grammar
books, except those which my clerk Ralph has, and all the volumes of
sermons which the Boy-Bishops used to preach in my time, to remain in
the Almonry for ever for the use of the boys living in it, and never to
be lent outside, or given away or sold.” The will goes on, “I bequeath
also my books of the art of Dialectic (of which John of Stoneground has
the old and new Logic), with the books of Natural History and other
books of that art, in order that these books may be lent to boys apt for
learning (_ad scolatizandum_) when they leave the Almonry; due security
being taken for their return, to prevent their being alienated. The
books of physic also, of which I have several about medicines; and also
the books of the civil law, viz. the Institutes, Code, Digest, and
Authentics, and these legal works I give to the use of the boys in the
manner above written.”
[Illustration:
ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL (BEFORE ITS REMOVAL TO HAMMERSMITH)
]
Says Mr. Lupton: “There were works on Logic, on Physic, on Medicine, on
Civil Law ... all were expressly bequeathed to the use of the boys.”
Yes, but while the grammar books were for the use of the boys in the
Almonry, these other books were, by the express terms of the will, to be
lent to boys who had left the Almonry, when they went on to university
studies, so that the very words cited to show that this school was
something more than a grammar school prove the exact opposite; and this
very case cited to show that the school in question was the St. Paul’s
Cathedral Grammar School shows that it was a district foundation and
intended only for the eight boys in the Almonry. That these eight boys,
afterwards increased to ten, were the choir-boys, is shown by the will
of Bishop Richard of Newport,[79] in 1315, giving to this very William
of Tolleshunt, Almoner, one of his executors, and to the Almoner for the
time being a house near St. Paul’s the rents of which, after paying £1
to the maintenance of the Lady Chapel, were to be applied “to the
support of one or two of the Almonry boys for two years after they have
changed their voices.” Again, among the earlier statutes of the Almonry
it is ordered that “the boys after entering the choir are not to leave
it except when their duty requires it.” William of Tolleshunt himself,
too, bequeaths by his will a trust estate bequeathed to him some six
years before “for the Almonry boys serving the choir, for their shoes.”
In 1348 Sir John Pulteney,[80] knight, gave 20s. a year to the almoner
to provide the choristers with summer clothes.[81] In return for the
shoes the boys had to sing _De Profundis_, with the usual Pater Noster,
Ave Maria and collects, every morning on getting up and every evening on
going to bed; and for the summer clothes to sing an anthem after complin
with prayers for the dead in the Pulteney Chapel. In 1358 William of
Ravenstone,[82] Almoner, gave a tenement called the Stonehouse in
Paternoster Row “for the support of an additional chorister or two.”
That the choristers when clever were meant to go on to the universities
is clear from a payment out of the chantry of Bishop Ralph (Baldock) who
died in 1313. He gave 3s. “to poor students being sometyme choristers of
the said cathedral church towards ther exhibicion yearly,” while a later
benefactor Thomas Ever, in the reign of Henry IV., gave a like sum
specifically “to the poore choristers of Paules towards their exhibicion
in the University.”
There is no question, therefore, that, while there was a grammar school
maintained for the benefit of the choristers, it was quite distinct from
the choir school for teaching them singing, and from the Cathedral
Grammar School open to all boys. Or perhaps it would be more correct to
say that the choir-boys, being lodged and boarded in the Almonry, had a
tutor provided for them to see that they learnt grammar. For one can
hardly call the teaching of eight or ten choristers a school.
There would not have been any need to insist on this school so much at
length if the whole matter had not been thrown into confusion through
the labours of a certain Miss Hackett who devoted herself in the first
quarter of the 19th century to the interests of the choir-boys of St.
Paul’s, who were then left without any proper schooling or care. She,
with great energy, routed out all she could find in the records of St.
Paul’s or elsewhere, relating to the choir-boys, and published it in a
pamphlet misnamed _Correspondence and Evidences respecting the Ancient
Collegiate School attached to St. Paul’s Cathedral_.[83] She succeeded
in establishing in Chancery the claim of the choir-boys on the revenues
of the Almonry. But her zeal outran her discretion, as whenever she saw
in any of the records of St. Paul’s anything about a school or
school-boys, she at once attributed it to the choir school and
choirboys, and attacked the Chancellor, as well as the Almoner, on the
ground that the St. Paul’s Grammar School was for the choir-boys. In
this she failed. But she did a great deal of harm to the Cathedral
Grammar Schools in general by imbuing people with the notion that they
were mere choir-schools. Mr. Lupton makes the Grammar School to have
been in Sharmoveres (now Sermon) Lane. Sharmoveres is a name of naught.
It is simply a misreading of “Sarmoners,” _i.e._ Sermoners’ Lane, from a
house which is said in a document of Edward I.’s reign to have belonged
to “Adam le sermoner.” Sermon Lane is the modern shortening. This was
not the Grammar School nor even the Almonry school, but a house
bequeathed to the Almonry. Sermon Lane is at the west end of St. Paul’s,
some little way from the church. The Grammar School was at the opposite
or east end, in the churchyard, and quite close to the church.
Having thus cleared away the confusion between the Grammar School and
the choristers’ boarding-house we must leave the history of the Almonry
without following it further, and for a little while turn from the
history of St. Paul’s School to that of its two mediæval rivals.
ST. MARY-LE-BOW GRAMMAR SCHOOL
The history of the school of St. Mary-le-Bow is unfortunately soon
exhausted. The only references to it, apart from the various mentions of
it in connection with the two other privileged schools, which I have
been able to find, are in the Archbishop’s Register at Lambeth. The
first of these is an order from Archbishop Robert Winchelsea,[84]
September 25, 1309, settling a dispute as to the right of appointment of
the schoolmaster. It is addressed “To our official,” _i.e._ the Official
Principal or Judge of the Archbishop’s Consistory Court. The archbishop
says that he had received a petition from “Mr. John, rector of the
Grammar School (_scolarum gramaticalium_) of the Church of the Blessed
Mary le Bow (_de arcubus_) London,” showing that he had been appointed
master of the school by the Dean of the church (the Dean of the Arches,
as he is now called), to whom “by ancient and hitherto peacefully
observed custom the order and government and appointment of Master is
well known to belong.” But “after he had quietly taught (_rexerit_) the
school,” the Official, “wishing to change this custom,” had appointed
one Mr. Robert Cotoun and removed Mr. John. The Archbishop informed the
Official that, if the facts were as stated, he was to let Mr. John enjoy
the teaching of the said school freely.
The fact that the patronage of the school was vested in the Dean of
Arches explains why we do not find appointments of the master in the
Archbishop’s Registers as we do in the case of the Canterbury Grammar
School. On March 23, 1382/3, however, an entry in Archbishop Courtney’s
Register shows him committing to “his beloved son, William Poklyngton,
clerk, the teaching and governance of the Grammar School of the deanery
of our Church of Blessed Mary of the Arches now vacant and to our
disposition belonging,” and appointing him master of the same school.
The peculiar form of the appointment suggests that it was made by the
Archbishop either because the deanery was vacant, or because the
appointment had lapsed to him in default of the Dean. For some reason
unknown this entry is cancelled in the original MS.
On October 4, 1399, Archbishop Arundel[85] “at his manor of Lambeth”—it
is never called a palace in ancient documents; his “palace” was at
Canterbury—in like manner “committed the teaching and governance of the
Grammar School of the Arches of London with all its rights and
appurtenances in the Deanery of the Arches” to “Mr. Thomas Barym, master
in grammar.”
The school was clearly still in existence in 1446, when it is mentioned
among the five grammar schools authorised by the ordinance of the
ecclesiastical authorities, confirmed by Henry VI. Letters Patent of
that year to be discussed later. These Letters Patent were interpreted
by Stow[86] into a creation of the school of St. Mary-le-Bow. “In this
parish,” he says, “was a Grammar-School by commandment of Henry VI.,
which school was of old time kept in a house for that purpose prepared
in the churchyard, but that school being decayed, as others about the
city, the school house was let out for rent, in the reign of King Henry
the 8th for 4s. a year, a cellar for 2s. a year, and two vaults
underneath the church for 15s. both.” It is probable, however, from the
terms of the Letters Patent, that the school was held actually in the
church, since St. Paul’s School is expressly described as being in the
churchyard, while this school is, with equal exactness, described as
being in the church.
THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL OF ST. MARTIN’S-LE-GRAND
Of the third ancient school, that of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, there seems
to be no history recoverable. Presumably when Henry VII. annexed the
college to Westminster Abbey the documents were transferred too. But
only one small Register of St. Martin’s, written in the fifteenth
century, remains in the Westminster Chapter Muniments, and there is no
mention in it of the school. There is, however, one reference to the
schoolmaster in the City Letter Books.[87] “On Thursday before 24
August, 26 Edward I., 1298, John, the cap, hat, or hood-maker (cappeler)
of Fleet Street entered into a recognizance to Master Hugh of
Whittington (Wytington), schoolmaster (_Magistro scolarum_) of St.
Martin’s-le-Grand for payment of £8 at Michaelmas year. Afterwards
Master John of Whittington, brother and executor of the said Hugh, came
and acknowledged that he had been satisfied of such sum. Therefore it
was cancelled.” The entry is enough to show that the school was going on
and that the master was a man of substance, being able to lend the then
considerable sum of £8.
* * * * *
The latter half of the fourteenth century was signalised by considerable
activity in the foundation of new, or changes in old, grammar schools.
This was due to two conflicting forces. On the one hand, it was due, as
it was expressed in Wykeham’s foundation deed of New College, Oxford, to
“the general disease of the clerical army, which through the want of
clergy, caused by pestilence, wars, and other miseries of the world, we
have seen greviously wounded,” or, as it was more shortly put in
changing the appointment of a master of St. Peter’s School, York, in
1369, from a five-years’ appointment to a life tenure, to “the late
Death and the rarity of M.A.s.” The demand for clergy to fill the ranks
thinned by the Black Death of 1349 and its subsequent outbreaks, caused
a demand for grammar schools. On the other hand, the incipient revolt of
the townspeople against clerical domination which manifested itself in
the substitution of lay for clerical ministers in the field of politics,
and by the open propagation of Lollard opinions against image worship,
transubstantiation, confession, and the celibacy of the clergy, and so
forth, in the field of religion, created a demand for learning and for
schools. The conflict of the two opposing forces is shown in the
petition presented to Richard II. in 1394 (the very year, it may be
noted, of the transfer of Winchester College, founded in 1382, to its
present buildings) by the ecclesiastical authorities of London, who
claimed the monopoly of education in “the three ancient and privileged
schools.” “The King’s devout chaplains and orators, William,[88]
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Dean of your frank
chapel of St. Martin’s-le-Grand and the Chancellor of the Church of St.
Paul in London,” set out how to them, “as well by the law spiritual as
by customary prescription in that behalf, the order, management, and
examination of the masters of certain schools of the faculty of grammar
in London and the suburbs, belonged, belong, or ought to belong, to
them, with the advice of the Bishop of London, from time immemorial.”
“Yet” they complained, “lately certain strangers, feigning themselves
Masters of grammar, having no sufficient learning in that faculty,
without the assent, or knowledge, and against the will of the
petitioners, wilfully usurped their jurisdiction, and kept General
Grammar Schools in the City in deceit and fraud of the children, to the
great prejudice of the King’s lieges, and the jurisdiction of Holy
Church. But when the three Masters of the schools of St. Paul’s, the
Arches, and St. Martin’s for the care and profit of the king’s subjects,
had gone to law against the foreign masters in Court Christian,
according to ecclesiastical law, their adversaries had sued them in the
secular courts to make them abandon their pleas.” The petitioners,
therefore, asked the King, both because of his interest in his free
chapel of St. Martin, and of the prejudice done to the petitioners, to
direct letters to issue under the Privy Seal to the mayor and aldermen
“to attempt nothing whereby the jurisdiction of Holy Church, or the
process between the parties in Court Christian might be disturbed.”
Whether the Privy Seal asked for was issued does not appear. Parliament
was then supporting the Lollards.[89] But next year Richard was fetched
back from his Irish War to put them down, and the leading Lollards had
to recant on pain of death. Certain it is that the three church schools
retained their monopoly for nearly half a century more. It was then
attacked and broken up by assailants from within the pale of the church
itself and by orthodox churchmen. The first breach of it, apparently for
purely educational reasons, was made by the establishment of a grammar
school in St. Anthony’s Hospital in Threadneedle Street.
ST. ANTHONY’S HOSPITAL AND SCHOOL
This hospital was so interesting an institution in itself, and the
erection and career of its school have been so much misrepresented, that
its history is worth telling at some length. Stow’s[90] account of this
hospital is rather long but not very correct. It “was sometime a cell to
St. Anthonies of Vienne. For I read that King Henry III. granted to the
brotherhood of St. Anthony of Vienne, a place among the Jews, which was
sometime their synagogue, and had been builded by them about the year
1231; but the Christians obtained of the King that it should be
dedicated to our blessed Lady, and since, an hospital being there
builded, was called St. Anthonies in London. It was founded in the
parish of St. Bennett Fynke ‘for a mayster, two priestes, one
scholemayster and 12 poore men.’” “Moreover, king Henry VI. in the
twentieth of his reign gave unto John Carpenter, D.D., master of St.
Anthonies Hospital and to his brethren and their successors for ever his
manor of Ponington, with the appurtenances” and other property “towards
the maintenance of 5 scholars in the University of Oxford to be brought
up in the faculty of arts, after the rate of 10d. a week for every
scholar, so that the said scholars before their going to Oxford, be
first instructed in the rudiments of grammar at the College of Eton,
founded by the same king. In the year 1474 Edward IV. granted to William
Say, B.D., master of the hospital of St. Anthony’s to have priests,
clerks, scholars, poor men, and brethren of the same, clerks or lay men,
quoristers, proctors, messengers, servants in household and other things
whatsoever, the like as the Prior and Convent of St. Anthony’s of
Vienne. This Hospital was united, annexed and appropriated unto the
Collegiate Church of St. George in Windsor about the year 1485. This
goodly foundation, having a free school and almshouses for poor men,
builded of hard stone, adjoining to the west end of the church, was of
old time confirmed by Henry VI. in the year 1447.” Such is his account
of the origin of the foundation. He then deals with its latter end. “One
Johnson (a schoolmaster there) became a prebendary of Windsor and then
by little and little followed the spoil of this hospital. He first
dissolved the choir, conveyed the plate and ornaments, then the bells,
and lastly put out the Almsmen from their houses, appointing them
portions of 12d. a week to each (but now I hear of no such matter),
their houses with other be now letten out for rent, and the Church is a
preaching-place for the French nation. The school-house was commanded in
the reign of Henry VI., and sithence also, above other; but now it is
decayed and come to nothing, by taking from it what thereunto belonged.”
The Hospital was at first a cell of the Hospital of St. Anthony at
Vienne, a hospital famous throughout the world. There is no mention of
any local habitation of the brethren of St. Anthony in England before
1249. Then in a document at Windsor, dated 1253, a grant to the hospital
of the earlier date is mentioned, when the Church of All Saints,
Hereford, was bestowed upon it by Henry III., and in 1253 a letter from
Pope Alexander IV. congratulates the same king on having granted to the
Master and Brethren of St. Anthony’s “a place in London among the Jews.”
For further on this subject see _Mediæval London_, vol. ii. p. 268.
Later writers have for the most part followed Stow. Thus Mr. Lupton in
his _Life of Dean Colet_ repeats[91] the story that the original
foundation included a schoolmaster; and says that Edward IV. “augmented
it. The school continued into the reign of Elizabeth, the rest of the
property was not left to wait for the inquisition of Henry VIII.,” and
then repeats, as typical, Stow’s story of the plunder by Prebendary
Johnson. Again, Dr. Sharpe says,[92] “The Hospital appears to have
always supported a Schoolmaster from its foundation.”
As a matter of fact, the school was no part of the original foundation
of the hospital, and only made its appearance when the main institution
had undergone a complete revolution. The hospital existed for at least
100 years longer, and the school began at least 200 years later, and
continued for nearly 100 years more than Stow leads us to believe. The
life of the hospital lasted for as nearly as possible four centuries. It
began about 1249; it ended in 1666. For the first 150 years of its
existence it was in tutelage to a foreign and monastic parent. A brief
period of independence followed under native English clerical (not
monastic) rulers, for some three-quarters of a century; and the era of
its complete and formal release from tutelage was signalised by the
foundation of the Grammar School in it, which enjoyed the highest
reputation for about 100 years. The institution was then again placed
under an external master. But the school continued to flourish, and,
instead of being destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth, lasted into the
reign of Charles II., under whom both school and hospital perished,
never to be revived, in the Great Fire of London.
In 1434 John Carpenter became master or warden of the hospital, and he
must be regarded as the second founder of the hospital and the actual
founder of its school. He was a very considerable person in his day,
being a great promoter of education and supporter of the secular clergy
as against the regulars, the monks, black canons, and friars. His fine
tomb, restored out of all antiquity by the ill-directed gratitude of
Oriel College, is still to be seen in the ancient collegiate church of
Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol. He was anxious to establish the secular
canons of that church as his episcopal chapter instead of, or at least
in addition to, the monks of Worcester. Indeed he actually called
himself Bishop of Westbury and Worcester. He became Provost of Oriel in
1425, and Master of the hospital at least seven years later.
Carpenter was mixed up with the foundation of Eton as well as with that
of St. Anthony’s School. When he was made Bishop of Worcester, he was
consecrated in the collegiate church of Eton, and it was as a trustee of
Eton and Oriel, and only nominally in his capacity as Master of St.
Anthony’s, that the grants, mentioned by Stow,[93] of the manor of
Ponington, and quit-rents from several places in Hampshire, were made to
him and the brethren of the hospital. What became of this grant it seems
impossible to find out. No mention of it occurs in the accounts of the
hospital, nor do the authorities of St. George’s, Windsor, Eton, or
Oriel know anything of the property. Probably it was one of the
Lancastrian grants for the benefit of Eton on which Edward IV.’s Act of
Resumption operated, and so passed away from Eton and Oriel for ever.
In 1441 the revolution in the constitution of the hospital was
consummated. A Bull of Pope Eugenius IV. released the brethren of the
hospital from the obligation to use a common dormitory and refectory,
which by the Augustinian rule they were bound to use (though it is
stated that there was no such dormitory or refectory), and enabled the
clerks who served it to live in any decent place, until a dormitory and
refectory were provided—a politic way of completely authorising its
conversion into a house of seculars. At the same time, by the licence of
Robert (Gilbert), Bishop of London, the church of St. Benet Finck was
entirely appropriated to the hospital, and converted from a rectory into
a vicarage. This was in order that the revenues of the rectory, worth
sixteen marks a year, might be applied to the maintenance of “a master
or fit Informer in the faculty of grammar,” “to keep a grammar school
(_regere scolas gramaticales_) in the precinct of the hospital or some
fit house close by, to teach, instruct, and inform gratis all boys and
others whatsoever wishing to learn and become scholars (_scolatizare_).”
Its foundation was only one of a long series of school foundations which
marked the period of the reign of Henry VI., who, far more than Edward
VI., is entitled to the credit of being the patron king of school-boys.
Eton, Newport, Shropshire, Newland, Wye (now the Wye Agricultural
College, Kent), Alnwick, Towcester, are some among the grammar schools
still existing which were founded in the ten years 1440-50; while there
were many more which are no longer existing or have been degraded into
elementary schools, or converted into exhibition funds. The movement was
the first breath of the Renaissance stirring the dry bones of the
schools. It was the outcome of a beginning of reaction against the
excessive cult of scholastic logic, and a desire to return to the
humanities of the “artists” as opposed to the sophistry of the
theologians. Considering the conspicuous part taken in the new movement
by men like Beckington, Waynflete, and Say, all Wykehamists, we may
attribute a considerable share of it at least to the influence of
Wykeham’s foundation at Winchester.
The most striking manifestation of the new spirit is seen in the Letters
Patent granted in 1439, giving leave to William Byngham, rector of St.
John Zachary in London, to found the College of God’s House in
Cambridge, at first an annex to Clare Hall, and afterwards incorporated
with Christ’s College. In his petition for the licence Bingham said that
he had found all over the country grammar schools, formerly flourishing,
now fallen into abeyance for lack of proper teachers. He therefore asked
for leave to found a college of a master and twenty-four scholars for
the training of Grammar schoolmasters, who were to issue thence to teach
school all over the country. This, then, is the first Training College
on record. In its statutes the importance of the classics was insisted
on, not merely, as in the days of Wykeham and the foundation of
Winchester, because grammar was the key which unlocked the Holy
Scriptures, and was the gate to the liberal sciences “and theology, the
mistress of all,” but because “it was necessary in dealing with law and
other difficult matters of State and also the means of mutual
communication and conversation between us and strangers and foreigners.”
Here spoke the citizen of London and the man of the modern world. In
much the same way Waynflete, himself ex-Headmaster of Winchester and
first Headmaster of Eton, in his foundation of Magdalen College School,
carried on by him from 1448 though not finally endowed and settled till
1480, provided by his statutes for the demyes being trained in grammar
“that they might go out and teach others,” and he particularly ordered
that they were not prematurely to be made sophisters.[94]
In 1443 Walter Lyhert, who succeeded Carpenter on his promotion to the
See of Worcester, in the provostship of Oriel, also succeeded him as
Warden (Custos), as he was now called, of St. Anthony’s. He in turn
became a bishop, being promoted to Norwich in 1445. He was succeeded in
the Mastership of St. Anthony’s by William Say, a Wykehamist of some
fame, afterwards Dean of St. Paul’s. Under his rule the new constitution
was completed. By Bull of January 28, 1446, the Pope granted, on the
request of Henry VI. as patron, power to make new statutes for the
hospital and its inmates to the Bishop of Worcester (Carpenter), the
Bishop of Norwich (Lyhert), William Waynflete, then Provost of Eton, and
William Say, then master of the hospital. The school, like that of Eton,
was thus inaugurated on the model and under the guidance of members of
the College of William of Wykeham, which Henry VI. dearly loved and
deeply studied, and to which he paid the sincere homage of exact
imitation. The statutes made by Carpenter and the rest are not
forthcoming, but considering the auspices under which they were made, we
may safely conclude that they followed their model as closely as did
those of Eton, so far as what was presumably mainly a day-school could
follow the statutes of what was mainly a boarding-school. There are
indeed not wanting minor indications that some scholars at least boarded
in the hospital. We know at all events that in two things in which Eton
departed from the Winchester model, St. Anthony’s followed suit, namely,
the raising of the stipend of the master from £10 to £16, and the
direction that the school should be a free school to all who chose to
come. We also know that, as at Winchester and Eton, a singing master was
established and a Song School; for in 1440, David Fythian, who was
rector of St. Bennet Finck, and John Grene, clerks, at the request of
John Carpenter (and we may be sure at his expense and in consideration
of a payment by him) had granted a rent of ten marks issuing out of “the
Cowpe on the Hoope” in All Saints parish, London Wall, with power of
distraint on it and another brew-house called the Dolphin and a tavern
called the Bell in Southwark, to pay “John Bennet of London, clerk,
yearly 8 marks, and 4 yards of new cloth of gentlemens’ suit” for
teaching singing “to the boys, who are and shall be in the church of the
said hospital.” This meant, of course, the choristers. In 1449 the
brewery called the Cup on the Hoop was definitely devised by will,
which, when enrolled in the Hustings Court, at once operated as a
conveyance and dispensed with the necessity of a licence in mortmain, to
William Say, then Master, and the Brethren of St. Anthony’s, “for
maintenance of a clerk to teach assiduously all the boys of the house
chanting with the organ (_cantico organico_) and plain song,” but while
John Benatt (_sic_) remained, the Master was not bound to find another
teacher. The hospital was to enjoy the residue after providing for the
Song schoolmaster.
There is a series of documents connected with the hospital, the exact
purport of which it is a little difficult to make out, but they seem to
suggest some intention on the part of John Carpenter to benefit alike
St. Anthony’s School and Oriel College, Oxford, by exhibitions at the
university; bringing the school, though in a much modified degree, into
the same sort of relationship with that college which Winchester bore to
New College, or Eton to King’s, or Westminster afterwards to Christ
Church and Trinity, Cambridge.
Oriel College,[95] Oxford, possesses a conveyance, June 27, 1424, to
John Carpenter and Henry Sampson, both fellows and afterwards provosts,
and others of land at Dagenham in Essex. Nine years later, the manor or
manors of Valence Gallants and lands at Frystelings and Copped Hall were
conveyed to a similar body of feoffees. In 1442 the manor of Easthall
was acquired. By deed of June 27, 1447, all these properties were
conveyed to Carpenter and Sampson, and in 1451 by Carpenter, then Bishop
of Worcester, to Oriel College, on condition of their granting them to
St. Anthony’s, reserving a pension “for the exhibition of certain poor
scholars in St. Mary’s Hall, Oxford,” a dependency of the College. By
deed of 14th November in the same year, the college granted the lands to
the hospital, reserving a rent-charge of twenty-five marks, and by deed
of 20th November,[96] William Say, “Master or Warden of the house or
hospital of St. Anthony and the brethren of the same” granted an annual
rent of £20 to the Provost and fellows “of the Royal College, commonly
called Oreall,” payable in St. Mary’s Church, Oxford, “for the
exhibition and maintenance of scholars to study there according to the
form and effect of certain provisions or ordinances to be made by John,
Bishop of Worcester.” By another deed of the same day, the Bishop, John
Carpenter, declared the conditions of the exhibitions, but, alas! only
in general terms; and whether any ordinances were actually made by
Carpenter, and if so, what has become of them, is unknown.
When the exhibitions were established seems rather obscure. The earliest
extant accounts, now at Windsor, of the hospital are for 1478-79 and
1494-95, and contain no mention of the Essex property or of scholars at
Oxford. But in 1501-2, the rental includes the manors of Valence and
Easthall and lands called Frystelyng’s lands in Essex let for £13 a
year; and among the expenses is the item “The skolers of Oxford
stypents, £10 : 18s.” The first entry in the Oriel College accounts of
any money received for scholars is December 6, 1504, when, £10 : 6 : 8
was received by the College “for Mr. Tretyng” and paid over to him. In
1521-22, the St. Anthony’s account, which is for expenses only, includes
“for the exhibicion of the scolers of Oxford in Seynt Mary Haule £10 :
7s.” St. Mary’s Hall was originally the rectory house of St. Mary’s
Church, which was appropriated to Oriel College, who still appoint the
vicar; and was probably the original home of the college and always
remained a dependency of it.
Hardly had the hospital and school thus been put upon a sound basis than
the Wars of the Roses substituted the Yorkists for the Lancastrians on
the throne. The Yorkist accession and the Restoration of Charles II. are
the only epochs in English history since the Norman Conquest in which
the successful party have not been content with the enjoyment of power
and the prospect of having things all their own way for the future, but
have set themselves _more Gallico_ to destroy the good deeds of the
opposite party and root out their remembrance, if possible, from the
land. All the foundations of Henry VI. were threatened with destruction.
For the purpose apparently of proving himself the true heir of the
Plantagenet Edwards, Edward IV. professed the most extreme devotion to
the collegiate church of Windsor. He showed his devotion in the
vicarious way common in those days, by endowing it with the plunder of
other places. An Act of Parliament on Edward’s accession in 1460
declared all the grants of the three Lancastrian Henries void. Part of
the possessions of Eton was granted to other places; while the whole
institution was by a Bull of Union in November 1463 annexed to St.
George’s, Windsor. Whether, as has been represented,[97] it was intended
that the school should cease to exist, is very doubtful. When St.
James’s Hospital, Westminster, was granted to Eton itself as St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital, Oxford, had been to Oriel College, and St.
Julian’s Hospital, Southampton, to Queen’s College, Oxford, those
colleges only took the net surplus after keeping up the hospitals.
Windsor in like manner was probably only intended to get the surplus
after keeping up Eton school. However, the Bull was strongly opposed by
William Westbury, the provost and ex-headmaster. In 1467 a large part of
the Eton estates was restored to it, and in 1470 King Edward IV. himself
asked for the revocation of the Bull of Union and obtained a commission
from the Pope for the purpose, and a final decree revoking it was
pronounced by Cardinal-Archbishop Bouchier on August 30, 1476. It was,
one can hardly doubt, by way of compensation to Windsor for the loss of
Eton College that St. Anthony’s Hospital was, in 1475, annexed and
appropriated to it in the same way as Eton had been. The terms of the
annexation were absolute.[98] The King granted to “the Warden of Dean of
the College of the Blessed Mary, St. George and Edward the Confessor in
his castle of Windsor and to the chapter of the same college the
Wardenship, advowson, parsonage, donation, collation, presentation, and
free bestowal of the house, hospital or free chapel of St. Anthony,
London, by whatever name it might be called, and the house hospital, or
free chapel itself, with all its liberties, franchises, privileges,
immunities, lands, tenements, rents, services,” etc., etc., belonging
thereto, “to hold in pure and perpetual alms to their own use whenever
it next became vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise”; and with
power to take possession without any further process. On June 2, 1475,
Dean and Chapter appointed Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, and
others their attorneys to take possession of the hospital, they having
got Peter Courtney, then master of the hospital, to resign in
consideration of a pension of 100 marks or £66 : 13 : 4 a year. As in
1478 he became himself Dean of Windsor, he did not suffer much by the
transaction.
Nor, indeed, did the hospital or school, which went on for at least 200
years more. Absolute as the terms of annexation were they seem to have
been interpreted not as an abolition of the hospital, but only as a
transfer to the dean and chapter of the right to the surplus, formerly
taken by the master for his own use, estimated in the pension
arrangement at 100 marks.
This comes out clearly in one of the earliest Account Rolls of the
hospital after the transfer, which is fortunately preserved at Windsor,
and gives an exact picture of the way the hospital was managed. It is
for the year 1478-79 when David Hopton, Canon of Windsor, acted as
Master of the hospital. The total income was the very large sum of
£539 : 19s. or about £10,800 a year of our money. Of this only £18 : 2 :
4 was derived from rents or property, and that rental was subject to
outgoings in the way of quit-rents of £7 : 6 : 8 and repairs to the
extent of £9 : 5s.; so that the endowment was really a minus quantity.
The whole of the rest of the revenue was derived from voluntary
subscriptions, which are called in the accounts “procurations,” being
collected by procurators or proctors, exactly on the same principle that
collections on Church Briefs were made after the Reformation. Indeed
these and other like accounts make it clear[99] that the system of
Church Briefs,[100] only abolished in 1828, was not of post-Reformation
origin, but was extremely ancient. The right of collecting in a
particular district was farmed out to different people who paid a fixed
rent for the privilege for a term of years, and pocketed in return for
the expenditure of their time and trouble whatever they managed to
extract from the pockets of the faithful beyond the stipulated rent.
Some specimens of St. Anthony’s Hospital leases to these farmers are
preserved. There is one for the year 1479. It’s an Indenture made
between the Dean or Warden of St. George’s College, the Master of St.
Anthony’s, London, or in England, and the Canons of Windsor of the one
part, and Thomas Morton of Worcester of the other part. In the same form
as in a lease of land the Dean and Canons transfer, grant, and let to
the aforesaid Thomas “all goods, profits, and commodities for any reason
given, or to be given, assigned, or to be assigned, bequeathed, or to be
bequeathed to and for the Hospital of St. Anthony in and throughout the
whole bishopric of Hereford and archdeaconry of Oxford in places exempt
[from the ordinary’s authority] as well as not exempt; with all pigs and
other animals in the places aforesaid”; and constitute the said Thomas
their lawful proctor and receiver in the premises, with full power of
appointing substitutes, and without rendering any account. The term was
ten years and the rent reserved £30 a year, payable in two half-yearly
payments at Michaelmas and St. Philip and St. James’s Day. If the rent
was in arrear the Dean and Canons were at liberty to dismiss the said
Thomas and appoint another proctor in his place. The total rents of the
Hospital shown in the account for 1478-79 derived in this fashion were:
Bishoprics of Salisbury and Ely, and
archdeaconries of Lincoln, Stow, Huntingdon, and
Leicester, and Deanery of Rutland (3 proctors in
one lease) £128 13 4
Archdeaconries of Northampton, Bedford, Bucks, and
the jurisdiction of St. Alban’s (1 proctor) 40 0 0
Bishoprics of Exeter and Bath and Wells (3
proctors) 44 0 0
Bishopric of Rochester, and Deaneries of Shoreham
and Croydon, with church of Criff 4 0 0[101]
Archdeaconries of Derby, Stafford, Coventry, and
Shrewsbury (2 proctors) 22 0 0
Archdeaconries of Chester and Lancaster 11 0 0
Bishopric of London 22 0 0
Bishopric of Winchester 26 10 0
Bishopric of Chichester 8 0 0[102]
Province of York and Isle of Man (2 proctors) 76 13 4[103]
Bishopric of Winchester 28 13 4
Bishopric of Hereford and Archdeaconry of Oxford 29 6 8[104]
Archdeaconry of Canterbury 26 13 4
Bishopric of Norwich 44 0 0
Bishoprics of St. David’s and Llandaff 8 0 0[105]
Bishoprics of Bangor and Asaph 4 16 8
£523 16 8
The rentals are interesting as showing approximately the relative wealth
and population of the various districts of England at the time. The
superior wealth of the south over the north and the eastern over the
western parts stands out clearly. The total receipts, equal in value to
over £10,000 a year of our money, show an astounding liberality on the
part of the givers of the voluntary donations and subscriptions by which
the Hospital was maintained.
The expenditure is only given under a few different headings in gross,
the reader being referred for details to a “paper book” which is not
forthcoming. The wages of ministers, “priests, clerks, other ministers
and servants” came to £45 : 12 : 8; the “robes of the said priests,
clerks, scholars, poor, and other ministers and servants” cost £10 :
13 : 9. Bread made by Hobald, a baker of London, £21 : 18 : 7; beer
bought from divers brewers at 1-1/2d. and 1d. a gallon, £35 : 11 : 8;
other purchases (_cati_) £70 : 14s. “Foreign” expenses totalled £40 :
5 : 11-1/2d. The Sacrist of the Chapel received £4 : 0 : 9 for general
expenses; a general obit, 8s. 8d., and Thomas Sainge’s obit, 6s. 8d. The
clothes of the poor of the Hospital consisted of ten shirts and eight
pairs of drawers of fustian at 3-1/2d. a yard; ten pairs of shoes at 2s.
5d. each; and ten pairs of stockings (caligis) of wool at 8d. a yard,
and cost 19s. 11-1/2d. A new vestry at All Saints’, Hereford, was
erected for £10 : 17 : 11. Repairs on the Hospital and the Swan next
door came to £82 : 12 : 2-1/2d. So that the “arrears” (_arregaia_,
meaning in mediæval accounts, not money due, but the clear surplus),
amounting to £98, were handed over to the Treasurer of St. George’s,
Windsor, “for the wages of 7 clerks and 7 choristers there.” In this
amount, unfortunately, the salaries of the schoolmasters are not given
separately, nor the number of “the children” or boys attending the
school. Indeed, beyond the bare fact of its existence we know little of
the history of St. Anthony’s School up to this time. It comes to light
incidentally in a letter[106] from William Selling, Prior of Canterbury,
to Thomas Bourchier, Cardinal-Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1472. “Please
it your good fatherhood to have in knowledge that, according to your
commandment, I have provided for a Schoolmaster for your ‘Gramerscole’
in Canterbury, the which hath lately taught grammar at Winchester and
St. Anthony’s in London, that as I trust to God shall so guide him that
it shall be worship and pleasure to your lordship and profit and
increase to them that he shall have in governance.” As Archbishop
Bourchier’s own nephew, the heir to the earldom of Essex, was a commoner
at Winchester College,[107] this reference to the master of St,
Anthony’s as having been also a master at Winchester, probably usher or
second master there, shows that St. Anthony’s School already stood high
in reputation.
There is a much more detailed account than that above given in English
for the year 10 Henry VII., 1494-95, which gives the expenses of the
Hospital for the Michaelmas quarter, day by day, being in fact one of
the “paper books” referred to in the Latin account. It is extremely
interesting by reason of its details, telling us exactly what the Master
and “the Hall,” _i.e._ clergy and schoolmaster on the one hand, and “the
Hospital,” _i.e._ almsfolk and “children,” had for dinner every day. The
account begins on Michaelmas Day, when two of the traditional geese[108]
were given to the Hall “at dener” at a cost of 18d., while “the Hospital
and chyldryn” were put off with two loins of veal at 8d. The Master, a
Canon of Windsor, is the only one who is debited with anything for
breakfast, but that was a substantial one, consisting of a neck of
mutton and chicken. The others presumably only had the commons of bread
and beer. At “soper,” “the Hall” enjoyed ten chickens for 15d, while
“the Hospital and children” had two quarters of mutton for 7d., with a
halfpenny for “erbis,” or vegetables, and 5d. for “potage fleich”; the
day’s diet cost 4s. 9d. Next day all fared well with seven ribs of roast
beef and stewed veal at dinner; and three-quarters of mutton at supper.
The 1st of October there was “potage fleich” and loins of mutton for
dinner; mutton and two “coneys” or rabbits for supper. On the 2nd of the
month there was again “pottage flesh,” and pork for dinner, “for all the
house”; ten chickens for supper for “the Hall”; mutton for the rest.
Friday, October 3, though it was the feast of the dedication of the
church, was no-flesh day. There was a “sewe” for 4d.; twenty plaice for
all the house, twenty small pike, a quarter and a half of roach, and
fresh herrings. The total cost was 9s. 5-1/2d. Presumably there were
strangers. Saturday was again a no-flesh day. There was milk, 3d., and
butter, 7d., for dinner, in the form of frumenty probably; salt salmon
for “the Hall” and stockfish for “the Hospital” at dinner; five barbels
for “the Hall,” and 100 eggs for “all the house” at supper, while the
Master had, all to himself, oysters at 1d.
The next week began with “half a beeff to lay in powdyr for the weke,
6s. 8d.,” while the Sunday dinner consisted of roast pork for dinner and
mutton for supper. Pork, veal, beef, and mutton, varied with conies and
soup, and for “the Hall” chickens; meat twice a day, and never the same
at dinner and supper, show that our ancestors lived on a very much more
generous and wholesomely varied diet than is commonly supposed. The two
fast days only represented a pleasing change of diet: “Lamprons” or
lampreys “for sew,” bream, fresh herrings and salt salmon on Friday;
milk and butter “for dinner,” haddocks and whitings, 100 eggs on
Saturday, were really not unsatisfying. The varieties of the fish menu
were very extensive; it comprised sturgeon, cod, stockfish, fresh
salmon, haddock, halibut, roach with shrimps (for sauce apparently),
trout, carp, turbot, plaice, mackerel, thornbacks, gudgeons, guinards,
flounders, smelts, sprats, mussels, crayfish, crabs, lobsters, eels, and
conger eels, besides those already mentioned. On All Saints’ Day, which
fell on a non-fast day, there was a warden-pie for all the house, the
wardens, or pears, which cost 6d., while the flour cost 7d., and the
“serypp” or sirop, 4d. On St. Nicholas’ Day, December 6, there was
“fruit for them that ete no fish,” and 2 lb. of almonds. Among birds,
besides cocks and fowls, geese frequently appear, with mallards,
plovers, woodcocks, and larks, the latter for the Master’s table only.
Beer as usual flowed in streams. The “good man” of the Swan—the brewery
next door belonging to the Hospital—supplied for one quarter eighteen
barrels of “threehalpenny ale,” and ten barrels of penny ale (a penny a
gallon), while another brewer at the Checker supplied fifteen barrels of
1-1/2d., and ten barrels of 1d. beer. Beer, of course, served for
breakfast and tea as well as dinner and supper. Still the quantity used
was enormous. At St. Cross Hospital, Winchester, every poor man had a
gallon a day, and at St. Anthony’s the provision must have been on the
same scale. Wine was only drunk at the Master’s table, and that only on
feast days.
On Christmas Day everybody had mutton for breakfast. There was a filet
of pork for “force gruel,” six geese and fourteen fowls for all the
house at dinner, while “the Hall” had eight conies besides. There were
eight plovers, six cocks, and three dozen larks for the Master’s dinner
and supper; and mallards or wild duck for “the Hall,” at supper; a
gallon of cream for the Master’s custard, a gallon of milk for curd. Two
and a half gallons of red wine and “claryet” were drunk. There was
dessert: 4 lb. of “raysons” and currants at 5d.; 2 lb. of great raisins,
2d.; 4 lb. prunes, 8d.; ½ lb. ginger, 10d.; 3 lb. dates, 7-1/2d.; 1
quarter of cloves and mace, 8d.; ½ lb. “saundre,” 7d.; ½ oz. saffron,
8d.; comfits, “counfeits,” 1 lb., 5d.; 4 lb. of almonds, 8d. On Boxing
Day, the Hall had a “pottle of Malmsey to their brawn, 6d.,” and another
gallon and half of wine. On New Year’s Day the Master had, among other
things, half a lamb; curd for tart, and oranges, which, with butter,
cost 2d. On Twelfth Day, the Epiphany, the whole house enjoyed mutton
and frumenty, made of milk and wheat, for breakfast. Dinner included
four fillets of pork in mortrews, bake-meats and tarts. But the great
event was a “wassayle.” To this there went 3 gallons of red wine at 2s.;
3 lb. sugar, 12s.; 2 gallons of “strok” (what was that?); a curd, powder
of cinnamon, ginger and other spices, and pears. It was a mighty brew,
and must have been almost as trying as a Winchester “egg-flip” on
Founder’s Commemoration.
The staff of the Hospital (besides the Master, who was one of the Canons
appointed for a year, who only resided at intervals) consisted first and
foremost of “Master Nicholas,” the Grammar schoolmaster, at 50s. a
quarter, or £10 a year—being at the same rate of pay as that of the
headmasters of Winchester and Eton. Then there were four priests, of
whom the senior, Sir John Galaway, received £4 : 13 : 4 a year, as
against £5 a year given to a Fellow of Winchester for performing much
the same functions, while the three others got £4 a year. A clerk (not
called Sir), John Marche, “Maister of the children of the Song-School,”
also got £4 a year. Then came six clerkes at £2 : 13 : 4 a year each.
The poor usher, or “oysshur,” of the Grammar School only got 6s. 8d. a
quarter, or £1 : 6 : 8 a year, a sad contrast to the £6 : 13 : 4 of the
usher of Winchester College. It was less than the wages of the cook of
St. Anthony’s, who got £2 a year, and the same as those of the butler or
buttery man. Even his name is not given. Probably the explanation is
that John Goreham, one of the priests, or one of the clerks acted also
as usher. Of course, as was the case at Winchester and Eton, and all the
College and Hospital schools, these salaries were in addition to board,
lodging, and “liveries,” or broad cloth for their gowns.
In the next extant account, 17 Henry VII., 1502-3, Mr. David was
“skolemaister,” but received only 20s. a quarter, the same as R. Hall
“the maister of Queresters”—a term which the Wykehamist will recognise
as a living word. It looks as if this reduction of the schoolmaster’s
salary was due to greed on the part of the Dean and Chapter of Windsor,
who wished to have a larger surplus to put in their own pockets. Rogers
was the usher, and received 6s. 8d. The livery of the schoolmaster and
priests consisted of 4 yards of cloth at 3s. 4d. a yard, while that of
the “clerks,” including the Master of the children, was only 3¼ yards,
and the usher’s livery was the same as that of the clerks, sexton, and
butler, 3 yards at 3s. The 12 “chylder” had 2½ yards at 2s. 4d. It is a
little difficult to understand who the twelve children were. In a
subsequent account for Michaelmas to Christmas 1521, twelve whose names
are given had cloth for gowns; but then comes a heading “For the
chylthern of the Songe Scole,” under which six only out of the twelve
received hose and shoes, and had them repaired as well. Are the other
six to be regarded as scholars in the Grammar School, or, as is perhaps
more probable, choristers on probation?
The next extant account is for 1521-22, when Mr. Ball was the
schoolmaster and Richard-a-Lee the Song schoolmaster. The latter was
succeeded in 1522 by William Johnson, who, although he got £5 a year as
against the Grammar schoolmasters’ £4, was still reckoned on a lower
grade among the clerks, while the schoolmaster was always ranked with
the priests. There had apparently been a considerable curtailment in
expenditure as the surplus handed over to Windsor this year was no less
than £210, or more than double the sum they derived from it in their
first year.
The next schoolmaster whose name is known was Edmund Johnson. This was
the “one Johnson,” of Stow’s account of “the spoil of the Hospital,”
which is nothing more than a baseless libel. Edmund Johnson, or Jonson,
was admitted a scholar of Winchester, at the age of eleven, in 1514, and
became a Fellow of New College in 1522, remaining such for two years,
and is described in the New College Register as having become “a
schoolmaster.” Whether he was appointed to St. Anthony’s then, there are
no means of knowing. Edmund Johnson was a “clerk” in the Hospital in
1522, and perhaps acted as usher, as no usher’s name is given. He can
hardly be the same man. At all events he is described as “Scolemaster of
the Grammar Schole in the said Hospitall” in a lease of November 16, 35
Henry VIII., _i.e._ 1543, by the Dean and Chapter to him of a house
fronting “Saint Anthonies yarde,” being, perhaps, the house which had
been usually occupied by the Master of the Hospital. The lease contained
a reservation “for the use of the Scolemaister for the time then being,”
of “the scolle house and the rome over yt, with the chambre next
adioyning to the same schole.”
In 1546, the first of the Acts for the dissolution of colleges and
chantries was passed, and commissioners were appointed under it to
certify the chantries and their value. They included St. Anthony’s
Hospital under the heading of Berkshire, it being treated as part of
Windsor in that county.[109] They reported, on the authority of “Sir
Anthonye Baker, clerk, Master of the Hospital,” that in the parish of
St. Benedict Fink, London, was “one hospytall of St. Anthony, founded to
fynde one master, 2 prestes, one scolemaster, and 12 pore men there,
perpetually to serve and saye the devyne service and to praye for the
soules of there founders.” This is the statement which misled Stow and
the other historians into thinking that the school was part of the
original foundation. The correct description of the foundation of Henry
VI.’s time was misread as a description of the original foundation under
Henry III., to which it was wholly inapplicable.
The value of the lands and possessions of the Hospital is put in the
chantry certificate at £55 : 6 : 8 gross, with deductions of £4 : 1s.,
bringing it down to £51 : 5 : 8. The stipends of the two priests were £8
each; of the curate of Seynt Benet Fynkes, £8; and of “the clerk that
keepeth our Lady’s mass,” £9. These four make up the four priests we
find in the Hospital accounts. The steward received £5, while the poor
cost £31 : 17s.; the “sexten” had £2. The schoolmaster’s stipend was
£16; so that so far from the school being plundered at this time, the
Master was far better paid than several of his predecessors, and
received more than the Masters of Winchester or Eton.
The total expenses came to £95 odd. “And so lacketh for the proportion
of the same house £40 : 11 : 11, which ys borne by the Dean and Cannons
of Wyndsore, whereunto this Hospytalle is annexede [and] unytide.” This
is a somewhat slim way of putting the fact that the surplus expenses of
the Hospital were met by subscriptions from the public to such an
amount, that instead of the Dean and Chapter of Windsor defraying the
deficit out of their own revenues, a sum three or four times as large as
the whole revenue from endowment of the Hospital found its way into
their pockets.
The Chantries Dissolution Act of Henry was only permissive, giving the
King, during his life, power to take possession of any chantries or
colleges he chose; and advantage was taken of it to enter on barely half
a dozen colleges, of which Windsor was not one. In 1547, a new Act of
dissolution of colleges and chantries was passed in Edward VI.’s first
Parliament; but Windsor was, alone among colleges that were not
educational, specially exempted from its provisions. There is, however,
a certificate, by the Chantry Commissioners of London and Middlesex, for
the parish of St. Benet Finck, in which, while certifying a chantry in
the parish church, they say complainingly (the certificates were in fact
drawn up by the church wardens) that the Dean and Chapter of Windsor “is
parson,” and the value of the same £16, “and but one priest by them
found to serve the same, which priest is very unhable to serve the
same.” They add that “within the said parish is a Grammar Scole by the
name of a Fre Scole, called Saynt Anthonies, the Scolemaister whereof is
nowe Maister Edmond Johnson, and his wages paid by the Stewarde of Seynt
Anthonyes, and how muche is not knowen.”
Now Stow is said to have been born about 1525. He tells us in a passage
which is a _locus classicus_ in the history of London schools as much as
the famous “Description” of Fitzstephen himself, that in his youth,
which, for this purpose, we may take to be from 1535 to 1545, the
arguing of the schoolboys as to the principles of grammar of which
Fitzstephen wrote, was still continued.[110]
For I myself in my youth have yearly seen on the eve of St.
Bartholomew the Apostle, the scholars of divers grammar schools
repair unto the churchyard of St. Bartholomew, the Priory in
Smithfield, where, upon a bank, boarded about under a tree, some one
scholar hath stepped up, and there hath opposed and answered, till
he were by some better scholar overcome and put down, and then the
overcomer, taking the place, did like as the first, and in the end
the best opposers and answerers had rewards; which I observed not
but it made both good schoolmasters and also good scholars
diligently against such times to prepare themselves for the
obtaining of this garland. I remember there repaired to these
exercises amongst others the Masters and scholars of the free
schools of St. Paul’s of London, of St. Peter’s of Westminster, of
St. Thomas Acon’s Hospital and of St. Anthony’s Hospital; whereof
the last named commonly presented the best scholars and had the
prize in those days.
It is very doubtful, for reasons which will appear when we come to deal
with Westminster and St. Thomas Acon’s, whether Stow’s memory was
accurate when he brought scholars from Westminster and the Mercers’
School to St. Bartholomew’s before its dissolution. However that may be,
Stow goes on:
This Priory of St. Bartholomew being surrendered to Henry VIII.
those disputations of scholars in that place surceased; and was
again, only for a year or twain, in the reign of Edward VI., renewed
in the cloister of Christ’s Hospital, when the best scholars then
still of St. Anthony’s school, howsoever the same be now fallen both
in number and estimation, were rewarded with bows and arrows of
silver given to them by Sir Martin Bowes, goldsmith.
Now, as Christ’s Hospital was only founded on June 26, 1552, and then,
as we shall see, as a mere Foundlings’ Hospital, and Edward VI. died in
the following January, there was not time for these renewed contests in
his reign and Stow’s memory must have been at fault. The resuscitation
of the contests is more likely to have taken place in the reign of Mary
when the “old learning” and boy-bishops and the like revived with the
“old religion.” However that may be, the school continued to flourish
under Elizabeth, on Stow’s own showing.[111]
Nevertheless, however, the encouragement failed. The schollers of
Paules meeting with them of St. Anthonies, would call them “Anthonie
pigs” and they againe would call the other “Pigeons of Paules,”
because many pigeons were bred in Paules church, and Saint Anthonie
was always figured with a pig following him, and, mindfull of the
former usage, did for a long season disorderly in the open streete
provoke one another with “Salve tu quoque! placet tibi mecum
disputare?” “Placet.” And so proceeding from this to questions in
grammar, they usually fell from wordes to blows, with their satchels
full of bookes, many times in great heaps, that they troubled the
streets and passengers; so that finally they were restrained, with
the decay of St. Anthonies schoole.
Strype,[112] in his edition of Stow a century later, gives further
evidence:
This school kept equal credit with that of Paul’s; both which had
the greatest reputation in the city in former times. I meet[113]
with a merry retainer at Queen Elizabeth’s Court, giving an account
of the great entertainment she had in her progress, anno 1575, at
Kenilworth Castle by the Earl of Leicester: “I went to school
forsooth both at Polles and also at St. Antoniez! In the 5th form
past Æsop’s fables, I wiz; read Terence, ‘Vos, isthœc intro
auferte,’ and began with my Virgil ‘Tityre tu patulae.’ I could
[_i.e._ knew] my Rules: and could construe and pars with the best of
them.”
Strype tells us also how this school used at a certain time of the year
to go in procession. “Thus I find in the year 1562 on the 15th day of
September there set out from Mile End 200 children of this St. Anthonies
School, all well be-seen, and so along through Algate down Cornhill to
the Stocks and so to the Freer Austins, with streamers and flags and
drums beating. And after, every child went home to their fathers and
friends.” This September outing was an old custom in schools. It was for
a nut gathering. It appears in the accounts of St. Anthony’s on
September 3, 1510, when “a sporting day in the cuntre” cost “the
Hospital” 18d., the almsmen and choristers being entertained at home for
7d. William Malim mentions it as one of the Eton holidays in 1560;
indeed, the drums and flags strongly suggest the Eton “montem.” Payments
for such an outing occur frequently in the accounts of Winchester
College. It forms the subject of a “theme” at Winchester by Christopher
Johnson, Headmaster in 1560-70. As late as 1711[114] “nutting-money” was
one of the regular payments exacted from Winchester scholars.
Stow’s story of the suppression of the street-shows of the scholars is
borne out by the curious injunction issued by the Lord Mayor on August
20, 1561.[115]
Item, yt was agreyd that precepts shall forthewith be made to every
one of my maisters the Aldermen for the stayinge of all
skolemaysters and teacher of youthe within this cytye from makynge
of eny more musters or commen and open shewes of theyr skollers,
within the said cyttye or without, in ryche apparrell or otherwyse,
eyther on horseback or on foote, upon payne of imprysonment.
Edmund Johnson above mentioned became a Canon of Windsor in 1560 and
apparently died in 1562.[116] So that the school was in fact at the
height of its fame and success under the very man whom Stow accuses of
having ruined it. Its fame and greatness outlived its so-called spoiler.
Edmund Johnson, so far from being considered a spoiler of school, ought
to be enrolled among the many great schoolmasters whom Winchester
produced, along with Christopher Johnson, the witty Latin poet, who
ruled over Winchester itself at the same time (1558-68) and was perhaps
a relation.
Among the archives of St. Paul’s Cathedral is a stray account of St.
Anthony’s Hospital for the year 1564, and it shows both almshouse and
school going on; the twelve almspeople duly receiving their shilling a
week and the “Instructor of the school (scolarum) in grammar” his due
stipend of £16 a year.
After Johnson’s departure a fall may have taken place in the character
of the school, but if so, that was not his fault. Strype indeed goes out
of his way to correct Stow, and carefully tells us[117] that “it was in
being in Elizabeth’s time when one Hilton a great and good man was
master.” He must have succeeded Johnson. In 1584 another master, Thomas
Browne, was schoolmaster and receiver of the Hospital, as one of his
accounts[118] remaining shows. He duly paid twelve almsfolk 7s. a week
and his own wages £16, besides £1 for himself as receiver.
Even as to its then state and the state of the Hospital itself, there is
reason to believe that Stow’s information was wrong and was probably
derived from a tainted source. For in 1590 a determined attack on the
Hospital was made by one of the band of informers who infested the
reigns of Elizabeth and James I. It was a favourite device for some
speculative attorney or money-lender to hunt up old monastic or chantry
lands, allege that they had been confiscated to the Crown under the Acts
for the dissolution of monasteries or of chantries, as the case might
be, but had been concealed from it by the tenants, or other holders; and
to obtain a grant from the Crown of such concealed lands by letters
patent. Sometimes these patents were in the form of roving commissions
for concealed lands over whole counties, sometimes for all the
possessions of specific monasteries or chantries, sometimes for specific
lands belonging to such foundations. The Crown in any case gained the
cash paid down for the grant. The informer, if he recovered the whole
property, made an enormous gain. More often he only levied blackmail on
the proprietor, who was glad for a moderate payment to escape the
trouble and vexation of a law suit, with the Crown as nominal plaintiff.
The practice went on as late as 1620, when a too determined attack on
the chantry lands of the City Livery Companies induced the Companies to
combine and pay the Crown a sum down for quiet possession of the lands
and for an Act of Parliament which stopped all further proceedings for
concealed lands. The facts of the St. Anthony’s case are these:—
In 1589 Edward Wymarke and John Leake obtained from Queen Elizabeth a
grant by letters patent of all the lands of St. Anthony’s Hospital, as
lands which had properly passed to the Crown, but had been “concealed”
by the Dean and Chapter of Windsor.
They then brought an action for ejectment in the Queen’s Bench against
Timothy Lucy, gentleman, and Thomas Cooper, farmers of the manors of
Valence Galant and Easthall and other lands in Essex. The Dean and
Chapter took counter action by a Bill on the Equity side of the Court of
Exchequer to restrain further proceedings in the ejectment. Leake
alleged that the Dean and Chapter “compounded with the poor and put them
out of their houses, and others that would not remain in a corner there
until their end.” The church was shut up and “so remained until it was
appointed to the French nation, long in Her Majesty’s time.” “The School
was no more a Free School; but the Master had £16 per annum allowed him,
and compounded with the parents of the children to be taught there, at
his pleasure; and now of late the curate of the parish church is farmer
of the parsonage and master of the school and a preacher abroad, and by
reason of his other calling there are now very few scholars, the master
not employed, a bad room to dwell in and a school in name, but not free
or of credit.”
The patentees, however, generously offered that if the Lord Treasurer
should think “that in passing the patent Her Majesty was hardly dealt
with in it, or your zeal for the school to be maintained which is no
Free School, so your Honour would procure from Her Majesty a foundation
and take the patronage. I can be content there go a better maintenance
to the Master, viz. £30 per annum or more, or to do any act your Honour
should think conscionable.”
The Dean and Chapter in their answer did not deny that they had
diminished the number of priests, clerks, choristers, and scholars in
the Hospital, but urged that they no longer got £323 a year as they used
to do “by begging,” but now spent more on the Hospital by twenty nobles
a year at least than they received. As to the School they said “the
Schoolmaster teacheth as many freely as his grant bindeth him unto, for
it was never free for all that come thither, but only for the poorer
sort.” The schoolmaster himself, Mr. Brown, put in a separate answer. He
alleged that “the School was never free to all comers, but only for the
choristers of the house and all such other destitute children; as may be
gathered by sundry ancient accompts. The Schoolmaster is bound by the
words of his patent to entertain 40 poor scholars, whose friends are not
able to pay for their teaching, if so many come, and offer their
children to be taught freely.” He said that he had never refused any who
claimed to be free. As for compounding, that was granted him, in regard
that the revenues of the house will neither allow him an usher, nor his
diet, as his predecessors had, among the priests. He denied that he was
curate of the church as well as schoolmaster, though he acknowledged
that having “the lease of the appropriation come into his hands he
thought himself bound to do some duty in the church as well as in the
school, and therefore entered the ministry the sooner.” “Neither,” he
remarked, “is it so strange or odious a matter for a schoolmaster to be
a preacher as it seemeth in Mr. Leake’s eyes,” though in this we may
fairly say that Mr. Leake’s eyes were more far-seeing than the
parson-schoolmaster’s. Then he pays a tribute to his predecessor. “This
place prospered well enough under a schoolmaster who was also a
preacher, Mr. Edmund Johnson. But then there was some hope that learning
and religion might be rewarded; but the daily decreasing and falling
away of which reward, as by other sinister means so most apparently by
concealments” (this was a side blow at Mr. Leake), “hath discouraged
parents to bring up their sons at their book, but even in the
Universities also at this day, more is the pity.” He then utters the
complaint which the unsuccessful schoolmaster, like the unsuccessful in
all professions, has always made, and makes, that there is too much
competition. “If there be fewer scholars in S. Anthony’s than have been
heretofore, the true cause thereof has to be imputed to the multitude of
teachers in every corner both of the city and country, and to the wonted
reward of learning, and not to the want of diligence in the schoolmaster
there.” Finally, he challenges the facts. “If trial be made it may be
that both the number and the learning of his scholars may fall out
better than Mr. Leake would have it.”
The end of the whole matter was that it was referred to Her Majesty’s
General Attorney, Sir John Pepham, and the Solicitor General, Thomas
Gerton. They certified that as the grant of Edward IV., confirmed by
Innocent the Pope, had made the Hospital unconditionally a possession of
St. George’s College, the purchasers from Her Majesty ought not to
molest the Dean and Canons or any of their Governors in the said lands.
So Mr. Leake and his friends took nothing by their pains.
Not many years later, however, the Chapter, on the ground that the
Hospital cost more than they got from it, tried to withhold payment of
the scholarship fund from Oriel College. This roused Oriel to look up
the documents, and they counterclaimed not merely the customary £10 :
8s. but the whole twenty-five marks of the original grants and
threatened to enter on the Essex lands if it was not paid. Thereon the
Windsor Chapter filed a Bill in chancery. Lord Keeper Bacon’s decree,
November 17, 1617, founded on an award of Sir Henry Savile, T. Frith, a
canon of Windsor, and Joshua Sanders, confirmed the right of Oriel to
some payment; but in the absence of any proof from Oriel that they had
ever received more, and the presence of proof on the part of Windsor
that since they became possessed of St. Anthony’s they had never paid
more, the decree was for £10 : 8s. a year only. Windsor paid £30 for
costs. The sum of £10 : 8s. a year is still paid to Oriel College by
Windsor College, though it is to be feared that not many scholars are
now maintained by the payment.
In 1600 St. Anthony’s School must have been in very low water. A curious
compact was made by Mr. Thomas Smith, the schoolmaster in that year,
with Mr. Thomas Bradshaw. The latter was to come to the school with “a
dozen of his own scholars at the least” and to teach all the poor
children in the parish of St. Benet Finck “being offered and brought
unto him according to the limitation of the patent,” and hold the office
of teacher or master conjointly with Mr. T. Smith, taking all the
profits of his own pupils, while Mr. Smith was to take the profit on
those brought in by him. Neither was to interfere with the teaching or
management of the other’s scholars, except in case one of them was ill
or absent, when the other was to teach the whole school. The scholars
belonging to either were to be placed equally on both sides of the
school. Finally, on payment at any time of £10 by Bradshaw, he was to
have an assignment of Smith’s patent and place. The Chapter do not seem
to have relished this bargain, as there are some notes attached to this
agreement as to the terms of the original grant to Smith, which included
a condition to appoint a deputy, and to teach free as many children as
were brought thither up to forty; and to keep a register of such free
scholars, to be exhibited to the Dean whenever required, and it is
remarked that the arrangement with Bradshaw was a breach of these
conditions. A draft surrender of the mastership by Smith, May 1, 43
Elizabeth (1601), is with this paper. It was not, however, executed by
him, as ten years afterwards he is found still keeping the Hospital
accounts as receiver and paying himself “pro informatione scholarium.”
In 1622-23 William Walker acted in the same capacity as receiver and
schoolmaster, and duly paid himself and twelve almsmen and women their
stipends. In 1661-62, the latest account preserved shows him still
acting in the double capacity, but receiving the augmented salary of £25
a year.
In 1666 St. Anthony’s was burnt with the rest of London. The church was
rebuilt after the Fire for the French Church, and still continues. But
the school seems never to have been rebuilt, and when Strype published
his edition of _Stow_ in 1720 it no longer existed. So ended this once
famous school.
* * * * *
We must now return from the later history of St. Anthony’s School to its
beginning. It was founded, as we have seen, in 1441. Five years
afterwards there is a series of documents which are evidence of some
struggle going on in regard to education in London, the exact purport
and the result of which are equally obscure. All we know is that on May
3, 24 Henry VI., _i.e._ 1446, a writ of Privy Seal was sent to the
Chancellor directing him to issue letters patent, which was duly done on
May 6, dealing with schools in London. The letters patent are of course
in Latin, in which language they long remained, but the Privy Seal,
which is verbatim to the same effect, was in English. It begins by a
recital which is almost an echo of the Petition to Parliament in 1394.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London “considered the
great ‘abusions’ that have been of long time in London, that many and
divers persons not sufficiently instructed in grammar presumed to hold
common grammar schools in great deceit of their scholars, as also of the
friends that find them to school,” and so they had “in their great
wisdom” devised a remedy. They had ordained 5 schools of grammar and “no
moo” within the said city; “one within the churchyard of St. Paul;
another within the collegiate church of St. Martin; the third in Bow
Church (Beate Marie de Arcubus, in the Letters Patent); the fourth in
the church of St. Dunstan in the East; the 5th in our hospital of St.
Anthony within our said city.” This they had openly declared by their
letters patent thereupon made. The King, therefore, ordered his letters
patent to be made confirming the letters of the bishops, and commanding
“all our subjittes of our said citee “that they, nor none of them,
trouble nor impeach the masters of the said schools in any wise in this
“partie,” but rather help and assist them inasmuch as in them is. The
letters patent were duly issued on the day the writ of Privy Seal was
delivered, as the Act of Parliament required. This patent was
misinterpreted by Stow[119] as creating schools “besides St. Paul’s” in
the places named, only he puts St. Dunstan on the West for St. Dunstan
in the East. He repeats this error[120] apropos of Bow Church, which he
says was a grammar school by commandment of Henry VI., whereas, as we
have seen, it existed before the reign of Henry II. Stow then goes on:
“And in the next year, to wit 1394 (_sic_), the said King ordained by
Parliament that four other Grammar schools should be created.” It is
curious that in all the editions till Strype’s this extraordinary error
of making 1394 the next year to 1446 was repeated. No doubt Stow had
become acquainted with the ordinance of Richard II. and mixed it up with
that of Henry VI. and never noticed the confusion. It is the case that
in February 1446/7 an ordinance was made in Parliament about London
schools. It was founded upon a very remarkable petition. The full wise
and discreet Commons were asked “to consider the great number of Grammar
Schools that sometime were in divers parts of the realm, beside those
that were in London and how few ‘ben in these days.’ This,” they say,
“causes great hurt not only in the spiritual part of the church, where
often times it appears too openly in some persons with great shame”—we
feel inclined to call Name, name!—“but also in temporal part, to whom it
is full expedient to have competent congruity for many causes”—whatever
that may mean. The petitioners go on to point out how London is “the
common concourse of this land,” not only for Londoners born, but for
others who come up, “some for lack of schoolmasters in their own
country, and some for the great alms of Lords, Merchants and others,” so
that many poor creatures would never have gained the “virtue and
cunning” they have without such alms. Therefore they say it is desirable
to have in London “a sufficient number of Schools and good Informers of
Grammar” (the headmaster of Winchester’s title is _Magister
Informator_), “and not for the singular avail of 2 or 3 persons,
grievously to hurt the multitude of young people of all this London.”
“For where,” they sententiously observe, “there is a great number of
learners and few teachers, and all the learners be compelled to go to
the same few teachers, and to no other, the Masters wax rich in money,
and the learners poor in cunning, as experience openly shows, against
all virtue and order of weal public.”
Four parsons, Mr. William Lichfield of All Hallows the Great, Thames
Street; Mr. Gilbert (Worthington) of St. Andrew’s in Holborn, suburb of
the City; Mr. John Cole of St. Peter’s, Cornhill; and John Neell of St.
Mary Abchurch, and Master of St. Thomas Acon’s Hospital, were, they say,
stirred to devotion and pity by such considerations, and therefore asked
that the rectors and their successors in their respective parishes may
“ordain, create, establish and set a person sufficiently learned in
grammar, and there to teach to all that will learn” with power of
removal and new appointment in the rectors. The answer was “The King
wills that it be do as it is desired, so that it be done by the advice
of the Ordinary, or else of the Archbishop of Canterbury for the time
being.”
It has been assumed that these schools were set up accordingly. Stow
states it for a fact as to St. Peter’s, Cornhill,[121] St. Andrew’s,
Holborn,[122] and St. Thomas of Acon’s Hospital,[123] and has been
followed by other writers. It is doubtful if a single one of these
schools was ever established, except that in St. Thomas of Acon’s
Hospital. The very unusual form of the King’s answer to the petition at
once raises suspicion. The first clause of it is the common formula for
consent to a “private” bill, “Le roi fait comme il est desiré.” But it
is followed by the very significant condition “so that it be by the
advice of the Ordinary, the Bishop of London, or the Archbishop.” A veto
was thus given to the very two officials who, doubtless under much the
same pressure, had, only the year before, limited the schools in London
to five: of which three were immemorial, that of St. Anthony’s Hospital
in an exempt place of the Crown’s patronage was already established with
the consent of the Bishop, and the fifth St. Dunstan’s was, like St.
Mary-le-Bow, a “peculiar” of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is not
very likely, therefore, that the Archbishop and Bishop would be eager to
assist in almost doubling the number of authorised schools in London. As
regards St. Andrew’s and All Hallows the Great it is practically certain
that no school was ever established. The two petitioning parsons of
these churches both died very soon afterwards. The will of Gilbert
Worthington of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, is given in Strype’s edition of
_Stow_.[124] It was made July 28, 1447, and was proved on August 12
following. The only reference to schools or education in it is a bequest
of five marks to his brother Walter to put him to school, and 40s. to
the poor scholars of God’s House in Cambridge, just founded by Bingham.
The inscription on his tomb, also preserved,[125] makes no mention of
any school foundation. Neither Stow nor any one else states that there
was any evidence of a school at St. Andrew’s. The date of the death of
the parson of All Hallows, William Lichfield, is not given by Newcourt
in the _Repertorium_, but as it there appears that Thomas Westleigh,
S.T.B., was appointed to the rectory, vacant on the death of Lichfield,
on November 1448, he must have died some time before that date. No proof
of any grammar school having been kept here has yet been produced.
Whether a school was established in St. Thomas’s Hospital is also
doubtful. There is no trace of such a school in the documents published
by Sir John Watney in his account of the Hospital, privately printed by
the Mercers Company in 1592. The Hospital was surrendered to King Henry
VIII., October 20, 1538. The Mercers Company, whose hall was next door
and who had used its church for their purposes, almost immediately,
December 18, 1538, opened negotiations with the King to buy it. On April
21, 1541, the King sold it to them for £969 : 17 : 6, an enormous sum,
equivalent to some £20,000 of our money, subject to the conditions that
they should keep three chaplains to pray for his soul, and also a Free
Grammar School with a sufficient master to teach 25 children and
scholars freely for ever. This was the origin of the Mercers’ School,
and this alone is the reason for supposing that there had been a grammar
school in the Hospital before. Until the Mercers allow their records to
be ransacked by some expert with an eye open to the evidence as to
schools, it is impossible to assert that there was or was not a school
in the Hospital. It is strange, if there was, that no evidence has yet
been forthcoming of its existence. The verdict must be, for the present
at least, that its existence is not proven.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
THE CITY COMPANIES
On August 14, 1880, the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the
City Companies issued a circular addressed to all the Companies. This
circular sought information on the various points as follows:
PART I
FOUNDATION AND OBJECT
Return A.—A statement of the date, ascertained or probable, of the
foundation of the Company, and of the circumstances, so far as they
can be discovered from its documents of foundation or archives, in
which the Company had its origin.
Return B.—A list of the charters, charters of inspeximus, and other
instruments of a similar nature whether originals or copies, which
have been at any time in the possession of the Company, together
with an abstract of the purport of each, regard being specially had
to any evidence which it may contain as to the object of the
foundation of the Company.
Return C.—A list of any trust deeds “founding, regulating, or
affecting” the Company, with the date of each, the names of the
parties thereto, and an abstract of the purport of each.
Return D.—A list with dates of any “decrees of Court,” whether of
the Courts of Common Law or of Chancery, or of any acts of the
Courts of Aldermen or of Common Council, “regulating or affecting”
the Company, with a statement of the effect of each decision.
Return E.—A list of any other documents, not included in the
descriptions in the preceding returns, which “found, regulate, or
affect” the Company, with dates and an abstract of the effect of
each.
Return F.—A concise history of the Company from the time of its
foundation to the present day, with special reference to the inquiry
contained in the commission as to “the objects for which the Company
was founded,” and “how far those objects are now being carried into
effect.”
Return G.—Has the Company a licence in mortmain? When was such
licence granted (referring to the document by description)? What is
its extent, and to what extent is it now unexhausted?
Return H.—Is there vested in the Company and how, whether by
charter, statute, order of the Court of Aldermen, act of Common
Council, or otherwise, any right of exercising superintendence over
or any duty or discretion to encourage in any way any and what art,
trade, or business? State the nature and local limits of such
control. In what manner and to what extent is such control now
exercised? If such control is not now exercised, state the
circumstances under which its exercise has fallen into desuetude.
Return I.—A list of the charities, eleemosynary, educational or
otherwise, which are under the management of the Company, stating in
each case the name of the founder, the date and nature of the
benefaction, its original and its present value as regards both
capital and income, and the purposes to which the funds have been
applied for each of the last preceding ten years.
The returns of the twelve Great Companies have been published (1884) in
a Blue Book. I had prepared at first to transcribe certain portions of
these returns from each Company; but the information after all belongs
to bodies which are private rather than public. One can understand that
a Company may on the whole desire not to set forth all its sources of
income, nor its methods of expenditure. The Company of Grocers indeed
entered their protest against an inquiry by the Crown, “without the
authority of Parliament, into what has been judicially declared to be
private property,” as being “without precedent, arbitrary, and a breach
of the liberties of the subject.” Moreover, the returns are so
voluminous that even an abridgment of the figures would occupy far more
space than it is possible to give. They may therefore remain in the Blue
Book open for the examination of any person curious to read them, and
competent to understand them. For the purpose of this work an epitome of
the history of each Company, and of the privileges of a Liveryman will
be quite sufficient. And for these I am indebted mainly to the Report of
the Commission.
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
The following is the chronological order in which the various Companies
obtained their charters of Incorporation. It will be observed that the
weavers claim to becoming a Corporate Body in 1154; that in the
fourteenth century there are 6 Companies incorporated; in the fifteenth
there are 19; in the sixteenth there are 15; in the seventeenth there
are 37; and in the eighteenth, 2.
1154. Weavers.
1233. Parish Clerks.
1327. Goldsmiths.
„ Skinners.
„ Merchant Taylors.
1394. Saddlers.
1399. Fishmongers.
1415. Cutlers.
1417. Haberdashers.
1428. Grocers.
1429. Cordwainers.
„ Drapers.
1437. Vintners.
„ Brewers.
1444. Leather Sellers.
1448. Girdlers.
1453. Armourers and Brasiers.
1461. Barbers.
1462. Tallow Chandlers.
1464. Ironmongers.
1471. Dyers.
1472. Musicians.
1474. Pewterers.
1477. Carpenters.
1481. Cooks.
1483. Wax Chandlers.
1501. Coopers.
1501. Plasterers.
1504. Poulterers.
1509. Bakers.
1515. Inn-holders.
1522. Carmen.
1527. Clothworkers.
1536. Fishmongers.
1556. Stationers.
1561. Broderers.
1568. Tylers and Bricklayers.
„ Girdlers.
1571. Blacksmiths.
1580. Joiners.
1581. Painters.
1604. Felt Makers.
„ Turners.
1605. Gardeners.
„ Shipwrights.
1606. Fishermen.
„ Curriers.
„ Fruiterers.
„ Butchers.
1611. Plumbers.
1614. Founders.
1617. Scriveners.
„ Apothecaries.
1618. Glaziers.
1621. Bowyers.
1626. Upholders.
„ Combmakers.
1628. Playing-card Makers.
1629. Spectacle Makers.
1631. Silkmen.
„ Clockmakers.
1637. Gunmakers.
1638. Soapmen.
„ Hatband Makers.
„ Horners.
„ Distillers.
„ Glovers.
1656. Needlemakers.
1657. Framework-knitters.
1663. Pipemakers.
1664. Glass Sellers.
1670. Tin-plate Workers.
„ Wheelwrights.
„ Pattenmakers.
1677. Masons.
„ Coachmakers.
1684. Farriers.
1693. Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers.
1709. Fanmakers.
1711. Loriners.
ORDER OF PRECEDENCE
In the year 1532, the Companies were placed at the Mayor’s Feast in the
Guildhall in the following order:—
1. Mercers.
2. Grocers.
3. Drapers.
4. Fishmongers.
5. Goldsmiths.
6. Skinners.
7. Merchant Taylors.
8. Vintners.
9. Ironmongers.
10. Merchant Haberdashers.
11. Salters.
12. Dyers.
13. Leathersellers.
14. Pewterers.
15. Cutlers.
16. Armourers.
17. Wax Chandlers.
18. Tallow Chandlers.
19. Shiremen.
20. Fullers.
21. Sadlers.
22. Brewers.
23. Scriveners.
24. Butchers.
25. Bakers.
26. Poulterers.
27. Stationers.
28. Inn-holders.
29. Girdlers.
30. Chirurgeons.
31. Founders.
32. Barbers.
33. Upholders.
34. Broderers.
35. Bowyers.
36. Fletchers.
37. Turners.
38. Cordwainers.
39. Painter-stainers.
40. Masons.
41. Plumbers.
42. Carpenters.
43. Pouchmakers.
44. Joiners.
45. Coopers.
46. Glaziers.
47. Linen Drapers.
48. Woodmongers.
49. Curriers.
50. Foystors.
51. Grey Tanners.
52. Tylers.
53. Weavers.
54. Blacksmiths.
55. Loriners.
56. Spurriers.
57. Wire Sellers.
58. Fruiterers.
59. Farriers.
60. Bladesmiths.
In Stow and Strype, 1755, there is a list of that date:—
Mercers.
Grocers.
Drapers.
Fishmongers.
Goldsmiths.
Skinners.
Merchant Taylors.
Haberdashers.
Salters.
Ironmongers.
Vintners.
Clothworkers.
Dyers.
Brewers.
Leather Sellers.
Pewterers.
Barbers.
Cutlers.
Bakers.
Wax Chandlers.
Tallow Chandlers.
Armourers.
Girdlers and Pinners.
Butchers.
Sadlers.
Carpenters.
Cordwainers.
Apothecaries.
Painter-stainers.
Curriers.
Masons.
Plumbers.
Inn-holders.
Founders.
Poulterers.
Cooks.
Coopers.
Tilers and Bricklayers.
Bowyers.
Fletchers.
Blacksmiths.
Joiners.
Weavers.
Woolpackers.
Woodmongers.
Scriveners.
Fruiterers.
Plaisterers.
Stationers.
Embroiderers.
Upholders.
Musicians.
Turners.
Basketmakers.
Glaziers.
Farriers.
Loriners.
Paviors.
Bottlemakers and Horners.
Glovers.
Felt Makers.
Long Bowstring Makers.
Watermen.
Silk-Throwsters.
Starchmakers.
Pinmakers.
Clockmakers.
Spectacle Makers.
Combmakers.
Parish Clerks.
Surgeons.
Card Makers.
Carmen.
Coachmakers.
Distillers.
Fanmakers.
Fishermen.
Frame-knitters.
Gardeners.
Glassmakers.
Gold and Silver Wire-drawers.
Gunsmiths.
Hatband Makers.
Needlemakers.
Pattenmakers.
Porters.
Shipwrights.
Silkmen.
Soapmakers.
Tin-plate Workers.
Tobacco-pipe Makers.
Wheelwrights.
Woolmen.
(Stow, vol. ii. pp. 335-336.)
Comparing the two lists we find in them changes of no great importance
in the order. The Dyers, for instance, are twelfth; the Fullers,
Chirurgeons, Foystors, Grey Tanners, Spurriers and Wire Sellers have
gone; and there are only sixty in the former to ninety-three in the
latter list.
If we compare the second list with that at the present time, we find
that no new Companies have been formed, but that the following have
disappeared from the list:—
Woolpackers.
Woodmongers.
Long Bowstring Makers.
Silk-Throwsters.
Starchmakers.
Pinmakers.
Combmakers.
Surgeons.
Carmen.
Fishermen.
Hatband Makers.
Porters.
Silkmen.
Soapmakers.
Tobacco-pipe Makers.
ASSOCIATIONS WHICH HAVE DISAPPEARED.
Good service has been done to the history of City Gilds, Fraternities,
and Associations by Hazlitt in his list of “Voluntary Associations which
have disappeared.” The voluntary associations include, however, a great
many which were gilds and even chartered companies, _e.g._ the Parish
Clerks, incorporated as a Fraternity by Henry III., and as a Company by
James I. I subjoin a mere list, referring the reader to Hazlitt for his
historical notes.
White and Brown Bakers.
Bladesmiths and Bladers.
Blockmakers.
Bracelers or Bracemakers.
Burillers.
Cappers.
Carmen.
Cheesemongers.
Combmakers.
Orders of the Ropery.
Free Fishermen.
Forcers or Casketmakers.
Fullers.
Furbishers.
Gardeners.
Hatband Makers.
Hatters.
Heamers.
Histolen and Haymongers.
Hurers, Hurriers or Milliners.
Linen Drapers.
Marblers.
Parish Clerks.
Pepperers.
Pinners.
Planers.
Porters.
Pouchmakers.
Pursers or Glovers Pursers.
Shearman or Returnders.
Sawyers.
Sheathers.
Shivers.
Silkmen.
Silk-throwers or Throwsters.
Soapers.
Spicers.
Spurriers.
Starchmakers.
Stockfishmongers.
Stringers.
Surgeons.
Tapissers.
Grey Thwyers or Tanners.
White Thwyers.
Tobacco-pipe Makers.
Vinegar Makers.
Watermen.
Woodmongers.
Woolpackers.
In the body of the book are incorporated accounts of all those Companies
which have Halls. These accounts are given as the Halls are met with in
perambulation. Below there follows a complete list of all existing
Companies, whether with or without Halls, page references being given to
those already described.
_The Apothecaries._ See p. 204.
_The Bakers._ See p. 274.
_The Armourers._ See p. 65.
_The Barbers._ See p. 88.
BASKETMAKERS
This Company is interesting because it has no charter, but is a
Fraternity “by Prescription,” as Maitland says. It is not one of those
mentioned in Stow’s list as having been present at the Mayor’s Feast of
the year 1532. And Strype, though he includes it among the Companies,
gives no account of it. The association was recognised by the Mayor’s
Court, 1569, and again in 1602-1603. It was also one of the Companies
which subscribed to the Irish Estate in 1615. There is no Hall. The
number of the Livery is limited to 30. The Company stated to the
Commissioners that they have never been in possession of houses, lands,
or other property.
THE BLACKSMITHS
This craft, like that of the Basketmakers, is one of the earliest arts
learned by man after the discovery of the metals. The Fraternity of the
Blacksmiths must, therefore, have existed from the time when workmen
first began to work together and to form associations. The trade is
gregarious. It requires the collective labour of several to conduct the
furnace, to beat and to mould the metal, to design, to shape the metal
in the rough, to make the instruments, etc. As the Blacksmiths are not
enumerated among the “adulterine” Gilds under Henry II., we may conclude
that they were recognised as of long standing even then.
In the year 1372 (Riley’s _Memorials_, p. 361) “the reputable men of the
Trade” delivered to the mayor and aldermen their Articles. We learn from
these that the places of sale or market for blacksmiths was Gracechurch
Street, the Pavement by St. Nicholas Fleshambles (Newgate Street), or
near the Tun upon Cornhill; that every Master should place his mark upon
his work; and that no one was to be free of the trade till he could show
that he was able to follow it.
This Company is reputed to have been incorporated by prescription by
King Edward III. in the year 1325.
It was incorporated by charter, and united to the Spurriers by Queen
Elizabeth in the year 1571, under which charter, confirmed by King
Charles I. in the year 1639, power was given to make bye-laws; certain
bye-laws so made were confirmed by the Lord Treasurer and by the Chief
Justices of the King’s Bench, and the Common Pleas, December 1640, and
under such charter and bye-laws the Company is now, as far as the usages
of the present day permit, carried on.
By the charter of King Charles I., “power to make reasonable laws and
ordinances in writing for the good rule, governing, and correcting of
the freemen of the said arts or mysteries within the City of London and
four miles of the said City.”
Maitland, writing in 1750, says: “They have a pleasant Hall in Lambeth
Hill.”
The Company has now no Hall; its Corporate Income is about £700; its
Trust Income is £136; the number of its Livery is 98.
THE BOWYERS
The making of bows, like the use of the smithy, was so ancient that
there must have been a Fraternity of Bowyers in very early times. They
existed as a Company by prescription, and, which is strange, they
received no charter of incorporation until the year 1620, when bows and
arrows were quite superseded by firearms.
Riley tells us that in the year 1871 (_Memorials_, p. 348) the Bowyers
and the Fletchers (Makers of Arrows) entered into a friendly
understanding that they would not meddle with the trade of each other,
excepting four men named, who would not assent and stood out. These were
brought before the mayor and explained that they had apprentices to both
crafts; that they had orders in both kinds to execute; and that they
asked for time, which was granted with a warning.
If bows are useless without arrows they are equally so without strings.
In the year 1416 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 435) the “reputable men of the
trade of Stringers,” _i.e._ Bowstring Makers, waited on the mayor; they
represented the necessity of looking after the workmanship of
bowstrings, and they prayed for leave to appoint Wardens of their own
with power to inspect the trade, which was granted. By these examples we
perceive that there were Companies which were recognised by the City,
and continued working together with authority over the trade for
centuries. It is not clear whether they had the right of holding
property. But they could, and did, impose penalties and fines upon
evildoers in their trade.
The following is from the Royal Commission:
The Company has a charter dated the 25th May 1621, which was confirmed
by another dated the 17th November 1668.
The following is an abstract of the purport of these charters:—
1. The style of this Company is the Master, Wardens, and Society of the
Mystery of Bowyers of the City of London.
2. James I. by his charter reciting that the Bowyers of the City of
London using the art or mystery of making of long bows, were an ancient
Fraternity in the City, but who had fallen into decay, and that the king
being willing as much as in him did lie to restore the ancient and
laudable exercise of archery with the long bow unto the end that the
said Fraternity might with better encouragement practise their trade
grants, that the Bowyers of London, and all and every person and persons
then using or who shall thereafter use the mystery of making long bows
in the City of London and liberties thereof, and being freemen of the
said City, and then free of the said Fraternity, or hereafter to be made
free, should be a body politic and corporate by the before-mentioned
name or style.
The charter grants that they shall be governed by one Master, two
Wardens, and thirteen Assistants, and the first Master, Wardens, and ten
of the first Assistants are thereby named and appointed the first Master
and Wardens, to continue in office until the Thursday next after the
feast of St. James the Apostle, 1622, and from thence until others
should be elected pursuant to the charter; and the Assistants, during
their natural lives, or until removed, and for the future election of
these officers is granted that the Master, Wardens, and Assistants, or
the greater part of them from time to time thereafter, upon Thursday
next after the feast of St. James the Apostle, 1622, may nominate and
choose one fit person of the Assistants to be Master and two to be
Wardens, who are to execute their offices for two whole years thence
next ensuing, and in case of death or removal otherwise to be chosen
within fourteen days.
The charter gives to the Wardens and Assistants power to elect a clerk
and beadle to hold office during pleasure.
The charter further declares that all freemen of the Company, and all
persons of the Mystery within three miles of the City of London and the
suburbs thereof, shall be contributory to the Company, and shall also
pay a quarterage of 8d. per quarter or 2s. 8d. per year. This charter,
or the enrolment thereof, was exemplified and confirmed by Charles II.
The charter gives the power of making bye-laws to the Master, Wardens,
and Assistants, or the greater part of them.
The Bowyers are now a small Company with a Livery of 25; an Income of
£550; property on Trust valued at £40 a year.
It is interesting to note that so little was the decline in the use of
the bow understood in the sixteenth century that in the year 1560 a
fixed price was imposed on the bow, viz. of 6s. 8d. each for the best,
3s. 4d. for the second best, and for the inferior qualities 2s.
The Company formerly had a Hall by “the corner of Monkswell Street,”
according to Stow; but according to Strype it was upon St. Peter’s Hill,
in the ward of Castle Baynard. After the Fire, he says, the Bowyers met
in some public-house for the conduct of their affairs. The _City
Directory_ says their Hall formerly stood in Noble Street, and was
destroyed in the Great Fire.
_The Brewers._ See p. 74.
BRODERERS
The first charter of the Broderers or Embroiderers was granted by
Elizabeth in 1561. This was confirmed by James I., and the Company was
re-incorporated by James II. in 1686. At one time during the reign of
Charles I. the trade in embroidery was at so low an ebb that a “great
part of the Company for want of employment are constrained to become
porters, water-bearers, and the like.”
The Company’s Hall was formerly in Gutter Lane.
_The Butchers._ See p. 355.
THE CARDMAKERS
This Company was incorporated under Charles I., 1629, as the Master,
Warden, and Commonalty of the Mystery of Makers of Playing-Cards of the
City of London. It is governed by a Master, 2 Wardens, and 18
Assistants. The whole Income of the Company is £50; the number of the
Livery is 100; there are no Trust monies or charitable endowments; and
there is no Hall.
THE CARMEN
The Carmen were made into a Fellowship by an Act of Common Council in
1665. They have no Hall.
_The Carpenters._ See p. 143.
THE CLOCKMAKERS
The Company was incorporated by charter of King Charles I., dated August
22, 1631.
This original charter is still possessed by the Company. By it all
persons using the Art or Mystery of Clockmaking, freemen of London, or
otherwise, within the City, its liberties or suburbs, or within ten
miles thereof, are incorporated by the name of the Master, Wardens, and
Fellowship of the Art or Mystery of Clockmaking of the City of London,
with power to make bye-laws for the government of its own members and
the regulation of the art, for the punishment of deceits and offences,
to seek for, examine, and destroy faulty and deceitful work of clock-
and watchmakers or mathematical instrument makers within the same
limits.
The Company has no Hall. The want of a Hall was constantly complained of
from the beginning, but the omission was never repaired. The Livery
consists of 71. Their property is about £930, with a Trust Income of
about £172.
_The Clothworkers._ See p. 276.
_The Coachmakers._ See p. 85.
THE COOKS
The official history is as follows:—
In consequence of the early records of the Company being destroyed by
fire, the date of its foundation is not known, and from the existing
documents in the Company’s possession its origin cannot be shown.
By inspeximus charter of George III. it appears that King Edward IV., in
the twenty-seventh year of his reign, granted unto his well-beloved
subjects the honest and freemen of the Mystery of Cooks of the City of
London, that they and all men of the same mystery should be in substance
and name one body, and one commonalty perpetual, with power to make two
Masters or Governors with the aid of two Wardens and Assistants to
govern the affairs of the mystery, and to have a common seal, and to
hold meetings, and to make laws and vary the same for the government of
the mystery.
By reference to the charter it will appear that power is given to the
Masters or Governors to exercise superintendence and jurisdiction over
every member of the mystery and the works of such; the local limits of
the same are defined by the charter to be within the Cities of London
and Westminster, their suburbs and liberties, and four miles’ compass
thereof. Such control, owing to a late decision in a court of law, has
fallen into abeyance.
The Livery is now 69; the Corporate Income is £2380; the Trust Income is
£180. There is now no Hall; their old Hall, which escaped the Great Fire
“by the space of a few houses,” was burned down in 1711 and never
rebuilt. It stood on the east side of Aldersgate Street, facing Little
Britain. At that time there was a passage leading beneath the houses in
Aldersgate Street to the Hall, which was “ancient and of small compass.”
Behind the Hall a garden and open land stretched toward a wide space
where once had been the ditch without the City wall. In the fire of 1711
all the early papers of the Company perished, together with their
charter. The Cooks’ Gild formerly included the Pastelers or Pie-bakers,
as one would expect. Stow calls them Cooks or Pastelars.
_The Coopers._ See p. 68.
_The Cordwainers._ See p. 252.
_The Curriers._ See p. 74.
_The Cutlers._ See p. 324.
THE DISTILLERS
Incorporated by Charles I., 1638, for a Master, 3 Wardens, 19
Assistants, and 122 Liverymen. It is obvious that this is a
comparatively modern Company. It has no Hall. The Livery numbers 55.
There is no return of income by Whitaker. Hazlitt states that the
Company possesses the freehold of a piece of land intended as a site for
a Hall, together with certain accumulated funds. The Company refused to
make any return to the Royal Commission.
_The Drapers._ See p. 142.
_The Dyers._ See p. 240.
THE FANMAKERS
Incorporated by Queen Anne, 1709, for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 20
Assistants. The Fanmakers have neither Livery nor Hall.
This Company, the youngest of all, is returned as having a Livery of
about 120 members, with an Income of £150.
THE FARRIERS
The Farriers of London were erected into a mystery by the Court of Mayor
and Aldermen in the year 1356. Among the City records is an entry made
in this year (Libro G. Fol. XXX.), acknowledging the said Company or
Fellowship by the name of the “Marshals of the City of London,” and
giving them power to govern the said craft of Farriers.
When we first hear of them thus, the mayor complains of them for “false
work,” and appoints two Master Farriers with authority to oversee and
govern the whole trade. They have therefore as yet no power of governing
themselves, but are under the control of the mayor.
The charter of the Company was granted by Charles II., January 17, 1684,
investing the Company with power and jurisdiction for the well ordering
and governing of the art and trade of the Brotherhood of Farriers, and
all who use or should use the same, within the Cities of London and
Westminster, and the liberties thereof, and within a radius of seven
miles.
Beyond the deeds and documents hereinbefore referred to, there are no
trust deeds founding, regulating, or affecting the Company.
Bye-laws, rules, orders, and ordinances were approved by the judges,
January 29, 1676. Livery specially restored by Court of Aldermen, June
23, 1692. Regulated by Act of Common Council, December 12, 1758.
In the Great Fire of 1666 most of the books and papers of the Company
were destroyed. The object for which the Company was founded was
rigorously exercised until very recent years, but latterly, owing to the
alterations in the habits of society and the increase of population, the
Company have not deemed it expedient to enforce their rights, although
at the same time they have not abandoned any part of their controlling
power.
The Livery now numbers 101; the Corporate Income is £240; there is no
Trust Income.
THE FELT MAKERS
Incorporated by James I. in 1604 for a Master, 4 Wardens, and 25
Assistants, with a Livery of 60.
The Company was a branch of the Haberdashers. They were a separate
association long before they received a charter. As a Company they have
always been one of the least important. The Livery numbers 65. The
Corporate Income “varies,” and the Trust Income is £126. There is no
Hall.
THE FISHERMEN
Incorporated by James II. in 1687. There is no history of the Company so
far as I know. They were the Free Fishermen of the Thames. They had
neither Hall nor a Livery. I suppose that the rights of the Thames
Conservancy were such that the Fishermen had none left for them. In
other words, their trade was regulated by the City authorities, which
ordered times and seasons, the size of the nets, etc., while the
Fishmongers Company regulated the sale of the fish. The reckless
destruction of the young fry, for instance, the pulling up of weirs, and
the use of narrow nets were practices denounced by the City on many
occasions. In the ordinances of 1528 concerning the Thames fishery there
is no mention of any Company or Fraternity of Fishermen. In 1698, eleven
years after the Company was incorporated, an Act of Parliament ordered
that these bye-laws should be submitted to the mayor and aldermen, that
the water bailiff of the City should retain the power of granting
licences for fishing in the river, and that he should have the right of
being one of the Wardens of the Company. And in the year 1741, when
other ordinances were made for the protection of the fishery, no mention
is made of the Company at all.
_The Fishmongers._ See p. 259.
THE FLETCHERS
The Fraternity of Fletchers or Arrowmakers (Fr. _flèche_) must be of
antiquity equal to that of the Bowyers, because bows and arrows are of
little use without each other. The Company can show no charter or any
early document.
It is probable that the Company was founded in the fifteenth century,
inasmuch as the grant of arms which is in its possession is dated in the
seventh year of Edward IV. None of the circumstances connected with the
foundation of the Company are known. It was founded by prescription and
not by grant.
In the year 1371 the Bowyers and the Fletchers came to an understanding
that they would refrain from interfering with each other, that the
Bowyers shall make bows and the Fletchers arrows. In 1403 the ordinance
of the Fletchers was proclaimed in the name of the mayor and aldermen.
This ordinance gave the Masters of the trade authority to oversee the
trade and make search for bad work.
Previously to the reign of Henry VII. it obtained a Livery, and in that
reign obtained a crest to its then ancient coat-of-arms. In point of
precedence it is the 39th Company of the City. No charter can now be
discovered, and the ancient books of the Company are supposed to have
been destroyed by fire. The oldest entry in connection with the cash
accounts of the Company now in its possession is dated January 25, 1775;
in connection with its proceedings, January 26, 1767; admission of
freemen, February 6, 1732: all these accounts have since been regularly
continued up to the present time. Numerous entries of very ancient dates
respecting this Company are to be seen in the journals and repertories
of the Corporation of London. They principally relate to differences
between this Company and the Bowyers, returns of the number of the
Livery, and the employment of foreigners. The Company has not a common
seal. The Wardens and Court of Assistants are the ruling body, and they
fill up their vacancies as they occur.
The Company is now very small. There are only 16 in the Livery; their
Corporate Income is no more than £100; and they have no Hall. They once,
it is true, had their own Hall. It was situated in St. Mary Axe.
_The Founders._ See p. 115.
FRAMEWORK-KNITTERS
The Framework-knitters made stockings of silk or other work in “a frame
or engine.” They were therefore a modern craft incorporated first by a
charter of Cromwell in 1657, and afterwards by Charles II., 1673, after
about a hundred years of work at their trade without incorporation. The
Company was to consist of a Master, 2 Wardens, 18 Assistants, and 82
Liverymen. The Company has no document in its possession which states
this.
The charter under which the Company is now constituted is dated August
19, 1663, and is the only charter or instrument of that nature which is
now or has for the past fifty years been in the possession of the
Company.
At present the number of the Livery is 100; their Corporate Income is
£310; their Trust Income is £130; they have no Hall. Their former Hall,
which stood in Red Cross Street, was sold to the Corporation.
THE FRUITERERS
The date of the foundation of the Company or Society of the Fruiterers
is uncertain, but they were incorporated by charter, granted by King
James I. in the third year of his reign “for the better order,
government, and rule of them,” by the name of “Master, Wardens, and
Commonalty of the Mystery of Fruiterers of London,” with perpetual
succession and power “to purchase, have, receive, and enjoy manors,
messuages, lands, tenements, liberties, privileges, jurisdictions,
franchises, and other hereditaments” “to them and their successors in
fee and perpetuity,” or for years or otherwise; “and also all manner of
goods, chattels, and things whatsoever,” with power to grant, let,
alien, assign, etc., and to sue and be sued, and to have a common seal.
And that there should be a Master, and 2 Wardens, and 5 or more of the
said Company, not exceeding 20, to be called the Assistants of the said
Company, with power to make bye-laws for the good rule and government of
the said Corporation.
Bye-laws were afterwards made, and they were allowed by the Lord Keeper
and Chief Justices in 1759.
These bye-laws relate chiefly to the constitution of the Court of the
Company. There are also regulations (long since obsolete) affecting the
trade, and some rules as to apprentices.
The present number of the Livery is 90; their Income is stated to be £90
a year; and they have no Hall. Strype, 1720, vol. i. bk. iii. p. 13,
asserts that the Fruiterers had a Hall in premises rebuilt on the site
of Worcester House; the Fruiterers Company, however, agree with Hatton,
1709, and Maitland, 1756, in stating that the Company had no Hall after
the Fire.
This little Company is chiefly known by their custom of presenting the
Lord Mayor, on October 7 every year, with an offering of English fruit.
The custom is said to have arisen in memory of the commutation of an old
civic right to a toll on all fruit brought into the City. The Company
also came forward some years ago in giving lectures on the culture of
fruit.
THE GARDENERS
Incorporated by James I., 1606, for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 18
Assistants. There is no return of property; the Livery now consists of
44 members. They have no Hall. The gardens of London have always until
the last two hundred years been a remarkable feature of the City, which,
in its northern and less densely populated parts, was filled with
gardens and trees, amidst which the industries of the City were carried
on; and many of the crafts had their Halls. It is quite certain that
some form of Fraternity or Gild must have been formed among the large
class of gardeners who cultivated these grounds. Stow, however, gives no
account of them. Their existence, however, is clearly indicated by Riley
(_Memorials_, p. 228), when he produces the petition of the “Gardeners
of the Earls, Barons, Bishops and Citizens” of London. The petition set
forth that they were formerly entitled to stand in front of the Church
of St. Augustine, by the gate of St. Paul’s, “there to sell the garden
produce of their said masters and make their profit.” Were the Earls,
Barons, and Bishops, then, market-gardeners? If not, did the gardeners
cultivate the land for their own exclusive profit? “And they prayed
permission to continue the custom.” The mayor and aldermen resolved in
reply that they had made themselves so great a nuisance by their
“scurrility and clamour” while the priests of St. Augustine were singing
mass that the permission must be withdrawn, and that they must set up
their market in the space between the south gate of St. Paul’s
Churchyard and the garden wall of the Black Friars, in other words, on
the space between Godliman Street and St. Andrew’s Hill, not nearly so
central a spot as that which they had formerly used.
There are other references in Riley to gardens. There was one called the
King’s Garden, near the Hermitage in London Wall. And in 1276 there is
the case of a man who fell from a pear-tree in the garden of one
Lawrence, in the parish of St. Michael, Paternoster Royal, then, as now,
the most crowded part of the City. There is also given the lease of a
“garden situate in Tower Ward, near London Wall.” Since there was an
open space all along the wall in which houses were not allowed to be
built, this space was without doubt mainly devoted to gardens, just as
the north bank of the ditch became afterwards a row of what we should
now call allotments, cultivated for vegetables and fruit.
_The Girdlers._ See p. 67.
GLASS SELLERS
Another little Company incorporated by Charles II., 1664, for a Master,
2 Wardens, 24 Assistants, and 44 Liverymen. The present number of
Liverymen is 38; their Corporate Income is _nil_; and their Trust
Income, the interest on a sum of £800.
THE GLAZIERS
Founded by Royal Charter of King Charles I., 1631, dated November 6,
after stating that the ancient Fraternity of the Mystery or Art of
Glaziers, London, had theretofore made many good orders for the
regulating themselves and their trade which had from time to time been
improved and enlarged in the reigns of several princes, but that they
were not sufficiently incorporated: The said charter incorporated the
then present freemen of that trade within the City of London and five
miles compassing the same, into one body corporate or politic by the
name of the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery or Art of Glaziers and
Painters of Glass, with power to make rules and orders for the good
government of their society, and to impose punishment by fine, or
otherwise, upon offenders.
The foregoing charter appears to have been surrendered in the first year
of the reign of King James II., and thereupon a new charter was issued
for the same purpose.
The present Livery numbers 60; its Corporate Income is about £260; its
Trust Income is £46.
The Hall was situated before the Great Fire in Maiden Lane, then Kerion
Lane. There is no difficulty in locating the site on the south side,
next to the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Vintry, upon what is now in part
the roadway of Queen Street. No. 11 Maiden Lane stands upon land once
adjoining, if not actually part of, the old Hall site. The Glaziers did
not rebuild their Hall after 1666, but met henceforth at the Hall of the
Loriners in London Wall; also, according to Strype (1720), in a house at
the Thames Street end of St. Peter’s Hill. When New Queen Street was
cut, shortly after the Fire, part of the Glaziers’ ground became a
corner site, having Thames Street on the south and the new road on the
west. In 1671 the Company sold land in these two streets for £490. Four
houses built upon land adjoining to St. Martin’s Churchyard remained in
the Company’s possession until 1850, when they were taken by the
Corporation for the widening of Queen Street. The Company has now no
Hall.
THE GLOVERS
Incorporated by Charles I. in 1639 for a Master, 4 Wardens, and 30
Assistants, with a Livery of 130. The Company refused to give any return
to the Royal Commission. The present Livery numbers 75. Hazlitt says
that in 1881 the Income of the Company was derived from a small sum of
£3800 in the stocks and the fines and fees of the freemen and the
Livery. The Glovers presented their ordinances to the mayor and aldermen
in 1349. It seems somewhat strange that a craft of such great importance
as that of glove-making should have been always one of the poorest
Companies in the City.
THE GOLD AND SILVER WYRE DRAWERS
The art or trade of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers is one of antiquity and
importance.
It appears that in the reign of James I., in consequence of a patent
granted by the King, the Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers of that day
attempted to bring over from France artizans to work the trade. The
Goldsmiths, however, rose in arms, declaring the King was not doing what
was conducive to the best interests of the kingdom, and the Lord Mayor
and aldermen were called upon to act in the matter, and in the end the
King withdrew the patent, and the trade continued undisturbed.
The charter under which the Company now exists was granted by 5 William
and Mary, 1693, for the better regulation, encouragement, and
improvement of the said trade, and grants that the freemen of the trade,
art, and mystery of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, and all others
exercising, or who should thereafter exercise the trade, art, or mystery
of drawing and flatting of gold and silver wyre, and making and spinning
of gold and silver thread and stuff within the Cities of London and
Westminster, the Borough of Southwark, and all other places within three
miles distant from the same, should be from thenceforth a body politic
and corporate by the before-mentioned style.
The governing body consists at present of a Master, 4 Wardens, and not
more than 26 Assistants. Their Livery now numbers 143; their Corporate
Income is £62; their Trust Income is £2. There is no Hall.
_The Goldsmiths._ See p. 44.
_The Grocers._ See p. 13.
THE GUNMAKERS
The Gunmakers Company was founded in 1637.
The circumstances under which the Company had its origin may be gathered
from the preamble of the Company’s charter, which recites “That divers
blacksmiths and others inexpert in the art of gun-making had taken upon
them to make, try, and prove guns after their unskilful way, whereby the
trade was not only much damnified, but much harm and danger through such
unskilfulness had happened to His Majesty’s subjects,” and for the
reformation of which evils the charter of incorporation was applied for
and granted.
As for and concerning said art, trade, and mystery of gun-making, and
the well ordering and government thereof within the said City, and
within four miles thereof.
Also for the punishment of abuses in manufacture of guns or any other
wrong or abuse.
Also for the support, rule, and government of the said Master, Wardens,
and Society, and their successors, and all others exercising the trade
within the limits aforesaid.
It recites that great deceits and abuses were frequently practised and
committed by divers inexpert persons using the art and mystery of
gun-making within the City of London and liberties and ten miles thereof
who for the most part made the said guns slightly and deceitfully to the
great endangering and prejudice of His Majesty’s subjects, and that
hand-guns, dags, and pistols, and parts thereof unartificially and
deceitfully made and wrought in foreign and other parts, and imported
into said City of London and places adjacent and were then altered and
sold to the danger of His Majesty’s subjects. To prevent such dangers
and abuses the Master, Wardens, and Society should have power.
To search, view, gauge, proof, trial, and marking of all manner of
hand-guns whatsoever great and small dags and pistols, and all and every
part and parcel of them as well those made in London, or the suburbs, or
within ten miles thereof. And all such others as should from foreign
parts, or otherwise, be brought thither to be sold for military service
or other employment in any of His Majesty’s dominions or foreign parts.
Such proof or trial to be with good and sufficient gun-powder and weight
of bullet of lead sizeable to every several gun according to the bore
and otherwise as therein mentioned.
All persons using, making, or selling guns, dags, pistols, barrels,
locks, or other parts thereof at their own costs to bring same to the
common Hall or other meet place of said Society to be duly viewed,
tried, stamped, and marked before the same be sold and delivered.
All such guns to be brought within ten days after making and finishing
thereof, and imported guns within ten days from the arrival thereof
within London or ten miles thereof.
The said Society and their successors to have stamps with the letters GP
crowned to mark therewith all hand-guns, dags, and pistols, or parts
thereof, when viewed and proved, and break up and destroy all improperly
made. And no persons to counterfeit such stamps.
That no persons exercise the art of gun-making but those who have served
seven years’ apprenticeship to said art, and presented their proof-piece
to said Master and Wardens, and approved by them.
The Livery now consists of 28; their Corporate Income from all sources
is £2400; they have no Trust Income; their Hall is at 46 Commercial Road
(outside the City). The Company had the right to examine all guns made
in London and within a ten miles’ radius. In the Proof House at
Whitechapel the Company still carries on the work for which it was
created.
_The Haberdashers._ See p. 29.
THE HORNERS
This is one of the oldest of the Fraternities, for it is mentioned in
the reign of King Henry III., 1268, when the King granted an annual fair
to Charlton, in Kent, for three days, at the eve, the day, and morrow of
the Trinity. The time for holding this fair was afterwards changed to
St. Luke’s Day (October 18). Philpot, who wrote in 1659, speaks of this
fair as kept yearly on that day, and called “horn fair” by reason of the
great “plenty of all sorts of winding horns and cups and other vessels
of horn there bought and sold.”
In the reign of King Edward III. the horners of the City of London were
classed among the forty-eight mysteries of the City. In the 50th year of
that king’s reign a controversy arose between the King and the
Corporation as to whether the Common Council of the City was to be
elected by the wards or the mysteries of the City. This led to an
ordinance being made by the City, with the consent of the King, that the
election was to be by the mysteries, pursuant to which ordinance
forty-eight mysteries deputed members to the Common Council; the
horners, ranking in the third class or smaller mysteries, were deputed
to send two members.
By statute 4 Edward IV. c. 8, it was enacted that from the feast of
Easter in the year 1466 no stranger (_i.e._ not a freeman of the
Company) not alien should buy any English horns unwrought of any
tanners, bochers, or other persons within the City of London and
twenty-four miles on every side next adjoining, and that no Englishman
or other person should sell any English horns unwrought to any stranger,
or cause them to be sent over the sea, so that the said horners would
buy the said horns at like price as they were at the time of the making
of the Act, upon pain of forfeiture of all such horns so bought, sold,
or sent. And the Wardens of the said mystery should have full power to
search all manner of ware pertaining to their mystery in all places
within the City of London and twenty-four miles adjoining, and within
the fairs of Stirbridge and Elie; and if they found any wares that were
defective and insufficient they might bring them before the mayor of
London, the mayor or bailiffs of the foresaid fairs to be forfeit
one-half to the King, the other half to the said Wardens. But after the
horners had taken so many horns as should be needful to their
occupation, they and all other persons might sell all the horns refused
to any stranger or other person to send beyond the sea or elsewhere.
The Company obtained from King Charles I. a charter of incorporation
dated the 12th January 1638.
In the year 1604 the Company obtained a lease of a storehouse and sheds
in Wentworth Street, Whitechapel, for 1000 years from Christmas 1604 at
the yearly rent of £4, in which they carried on the trade.
This property was sold for £2400 to the Metropolitan Board of Works for
the purposes of the Artizans’ Dwellings Act.
The control given by the charter of Charles I. to the Horners Company
over the trade has never been actually abandoned, but it has ceased to
be exercised.
In the year 1836 the Company petitioned the Court of Aldermen for a
Livery, which was granted to them on the 1st of December of that year,
the number of Liverymen being limited to 60.
At present the Livery numbers 48. Their Corporate Income is £89. They
have no Hall.
_The Innholders._ See p. 232.
_The Ironmongers._ See p. 148.
THE JOINERS
Incorporated by Elizabeth in 1569 for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 24
Assistants, with a Livery of 323.
The work for which the Fraternity existed was a branch of carpentry.
They made cabinets and carved work, doors, window-frames, and other
kinds of work which required special skill and training. The
subdivisions of carpentry were naturally difficult to arrange. An
agreement was made between the Carpenters and the Joiners, by which the
latter were allowed to take over bedsteads, chairs, stools, cabinets,
picture-frames, windows, doors, pews, pulpits, and all sorts of work.
The overlapping of trades once, if not more than once, caused a riot. It
was in the year 1327. On one side were the saddlers, and on the other
side the joiners, loriners, and painters. They met in Chepe, and in the
street of Cripplegate “strongly provided with an armed force, and
manfully began to fight,” so that many were killed or mortally wounded,
and the whole City was in alarm.
The Livery is now 102; the Corporate Income is £1300; there is no Trust
Income.
Stow describes the Joiners’ Hall as one of several “fair houses”
standing in Frier Lane. The Hall itself, but not the entrance into it
from Joiners’ Hall Buildings, was in Dowgate Ward. It was destroyed in
the Great Fire, but rebuilt. The post-Fire building is described as a
large edifice of brick, with four noble windows in elegant frames,
covered with pediments, and supported by consoles. The great Hall was
all wainscotted, and was very remarkable for a magnificent and curious
screen at its lower end. Upon this screen were “demi-savages and other
enrichments, well carved in right wainscot.” It is said to have cost
£130. The parlour was wainscotted with cedar, “with more curious
artifice and embellishments.” The ceiling was fretted with wainscot
work. The great Hall was destroyed by a fire in 1694, but the parlour,
though slightly damaged, was saved by the energy of the clerk, Mr.
Burroughs, who brought engines to play upon it from a window. It had
already been occupied as a dwelling and warehouse at the beginning of
the nineteenth century, and was afterwards pulled down, when a present
large warehouse was erected on its site. In Strype’s map a long building
appears to run down upon its western side in Joiners’ Hall Buildings.
From Joiners’ Hall Buildings, Vintry Ward, leading into the warehouse
yard, is the only remnant left of the Hall. The Company has now no Hall.
_The Leathersellers._ See p. 184.
THE LORINERS
Incorporated by Queen Anne, 1712, for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 24
Assistants, with a Livery of 69. It has now a Livery of 420, with a
Corporate Income of £1200. It has no Trust Income, and no Hall. Formerly
the Hall was at the north end of Basinghall Street. The Livery is the
largest of all the Companies, the reason being the admission of members
who merely wish to belong to a City Company for social purposes. The
Loriners’ work was the making of spurs, stirrups, horses’ bits, etc.
Their ordinances were passed and approved in 1245. They were then a Gild
or Association, and as such continued till their incorporation under
Queen Anne.
THE MAKERS OF PLAYING-CARDS
This Company was incorporated in 1628. At present it has a Livery of
100, with a Corporate Income of £50; no Trust Income, and no Hall.
THE MASONS
Nearly the whole of the records of the Worshipful Company of Masons
prior to the year 1666 appear to have been destroyed when the Hall of
the Company was burned in the Fire of London. The only documents in
existence of an earlier date are the grant of arms, dated the 12th
Edward IV., by which Clarencieux granted to the Craft and Fellowship of
Masons a coat-of-arms, which is the same as now used by the Company, and
a volume of accounts, the earliest of which is dated 1620, being the
accounts of the “Master and Wardens of the Company of Free Masons within
the City of London.” In the heading of the accounts the Company is so
styled until the year 1655-56, from which date to the present time the
accounts are headed as the accounts of “The Master and Wardens of the
Worshipful Company of Masons of the City of London.” The earliest
charter now in their possession is the 29th Charles II., A.D. 1677,
granted on a petition by the Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the
Company of Masons in London, but there is nothing to show whether or not
any earlier charter had been granted to them.
The number of the Livery is now 48; the Corporate Income is £550; there
is no Trust Income. They had a Hall in Basinghall Street, which no
longer exists. In the year 1356 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 280) ordinances
were passed for the regulation of the trade of masons. The ordinances
show that there had been dissension between the branches of “hewers” and
“light masons and settlers.” The late date of the charter does not mean
that the Fraternity began their existence at that date. They already had
a Livery and a Gild; they returned members to the Common Council in
1376, and they were probably even at that date an ancient body.
_The Mercers._ See p. 33.
_The Merchant Taylors._ See p. 130.
THE MUSICIANS
Instituted by charter granted on April 24, 9th Edward IV. (1473), and
reconstituted by James I., 1604, for a Master, 2 Wardens, 20 Assistants,
and 31 members. The present number of members is 50; the Corporate
Income is £400; there is no Trust Income; there is no Hall.
There were always musicians or minstrels presumably, therefore the
Fraternity was ancient. And, as it was absolutely necessary for
musicians to act together, the Fraternity began as soon as different
instruments were used at the same time. This is one of the very small
Companies.
THE NEEDLEMAKERS
Incorporated by Cromwell in 1656 for a Master, 2 Wardens, 18 Assistants,
and 48 Liverymen. The number of the Livery is now 66; their Corporate
Income is £230; they have no Hall. Charles II. set aside Cromwell’s
charter and gave one of his own. This also is one of the humbler
Companies. Their charter is set out at length by Maitland. I do not know
why, nor can I find in it any special clauses which should explain this
selection.
_The Painters._ See p. 221.
_The Parish Clerks._ See p. 87.
THE PATTENMAKERS
Incorporated by Charles II., 1670, for a Master, 2 Wardens, 22
Assistants, and 46 Liverymen. The Livery at present consists of 40; its
Corporate Income is £50; its Trust Income is £13. It has no Hall.
One of the smallest of the City Companies. The Pattenmakers are a branch
of the Pouchmakers, who (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 554) petitioned the
mayor and aldermen for powers to look after the trade of making
galoches, _i.e._ pattens, as a thing invented or introduced by
themselves. This power was duly granted to the pouchmakers. Very shortly
after the Pattenmakers appear as a separate Fraternity. Probably the
trade assumed large proportions. The protection of the feet from the
mud, garbage, and filth, then lying about the streets, caused a great
demand for the new kind of shoe. The quarter where the pattenmakers
lived is marked, according to Stow, by the name of St. Margaret Pattens
Church.
THE PAVIORS
There is no record of incorporation of this Company. Pavements are
mentioned “within Newgate,” “hard by St. Nicholas Fleshameles,” “before
the Friars Minors”—all apparently meaning the same place. The earliest
record the Company possesses is a small book, dated 1597, called “The
Booke of Stattutes of the Pavioures which is used soundryes Tymes.” The
kind of pavement consisted probably of the round cobble-stones,
afterwards used everywhere. Freestone pavements were ordered after the
Fire of London, but the order was not obeyed. The Company has no Hall.
The Company possesses no Livery, though a considerable number of
freemen.
_The Pewterers._ See p. 152.
THE PINMAKERS
Incorporated by Charles I. in 1636. They had a Master, 2 Wardens, and 18
Assistants, but no Livery. The Pinners, before this incorporation, were
united first with the Wire Makers, and then with the Girdlers. They had
a Hall in St. Mary-at-Hill, whence they moved to Old Broad Street. Their
Hall was for a long time a Nonconformist chapel. It was taken down in
1787. The Company no longer exists. They had also a Hall in Addle
Street, which they sold to the Plaisterers before the time of Stow.
THE PLAISTERERS
By charter of 16 Henry VII., March 10, 1501, the King gave power to
establish the Company as the Guild or Fraternity in honour of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, of men of the Mystery or Art of Pargettors in the
City of London, commonly called Plaisterers, to be increased and
augmented when necessary, and to be governed by a Master and two
Wardens, to be elected annually. The said Master and Wardens and
brotherhood were to be a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a
common seal, and they were empowered to purchase and enjoy in fee and
perpetuity lands and other possessions in the City, suburbs, and
elsewhere. And the charter empowered the said Master and Wardens to sue
and be sued as “The master and wardens of the Guild or Fraternity of the
Blessed Mary of Pargettors, commonly called Plaisterers, London.”
The charter of Elizabeth, February 10, 1597, confirmed the privileges of
the Company, and extended the authority of the Masters and Wardens to
and over all persons exercising the Art of Plaisterers, as well English
as aliens and denizens inhabiting and exercising the said art within the
City and suburbs and liberties thereof, or within two miles of the said
City.
The charter of 19 Charles II., June 19, 1679, confirmed the privileges
granted by the previous charters, and having in view the rebuilding of
the City, forbade any person to carry on simultaneously the trades of a
mason, bricklayer, or plaisterer, and also forbade any person to
exercise or carry on the Art of a Plaisterer without having been
apprenticed seven years to the mystery. And the jurisdiction of the
Company was extended to three miles’ distance from the City.
The present Livery consists of 52; they have a Corporate Income of
£1062; a Trust Income of £33. In Stow’s time they had a Hall in Addle
Street. This was burnt down in the Great Fire, rebuilt by Sir
Christopher Wren, and again burnt in 1882. Riley gives an agreement
(_Memorials_, p. 125), dated 1317, between one Adam a Plastrer and Sir
John de Bretagne, Earl of Richmond. The Fraternity probably existed at
the same time.
THE PLUMBERS
The Company had existence as a body from a very early period, as shown
by ordinances passed in the reign of King Edward III. 1365. These
ordinances may be found in Riley’s _Memorials_, p. 321.
The earliest charter of the Company was that of King James I. in 1611,
and it is believed to be the only charter in existence. The Company is
incorporated as the “Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of the Freemen of
the Mystery of Plumbing of the City of London,” for the better ordering,
rule, and government of the men of the mystery and Company aforesaid,
and of all those who then exercised and used or thereafter should
exercise and use the art and mystery of plumbing, or the materials,
works, merchandises, or things whatsoever to the said mystery relating,
and for the utility, advantage, and relief of the good and honest, and
for the terror and correction of the evil, deceitful, and dishonest. And
also that they might have, make, and exercise the superior scrutiny,
correction, and government of all and singular the freemen of the
mystery, as also all other persons using or exercising the art or
mystery in the limits aforesaid, and of their servants and apprentices.
And also the supervision, scrutiny, correction, reformation, emendation,
government, the assaye, touch, and the trial of all and singular
workings, works, weights, beams and scales, lead, solder, materials,
wares, matters, merchandises, and of all things whatsoever touching or
concerning the aforesaid mystery in the limits aforesaid. And also to
seize, take, and place in safe custody such materials, etc., aforesaid
from time to time so found deceptive, false, insufficient, unapproved,
and unlawful, there to remain until it should be determined thereof
according to the laws of the realm of England. And further also that it
should not be lawful for any person or persons of the art and mystery,
or any other person or persons whomsoever using or who might use the art
and mystery, to make work or expose for sale any solder or leaden
weights within the limits aforesaid or within three miles thereof,
unless the same be first proved and tried by the Master and Wardens
whether they are good, sufficient, true, and lawful according to the
laws of the realm and the customs of the City or not. And upon such
trial to impress or mark with the impression, image, or sign of St.
Michael the Archangel upon the same before their use or employ.
The present Livery consists of 40. The Company has a Corporate Income of
£880; a Trust Income of £20.
In Stow’s time the Plumbers had their Hall in Anchor Lane, a turning on
the south side of Thames Street, next to Vintners’ Hall. For these
premises they were tenants to the Vintners. After the Fire of 1666 the
Plumbers left their old quarters and built a new Hall in Chequer Yard,
where it is shown in Strype’s map, at the east end of the yard, north
side. Maitland (1739) calls it a good handsome building. Malcolm,
writing in 1802, says that it had lately been pulled down, and
warehouses of great extent, called after the name of the Company,
erected on its site. At about the same time a new Hall of red brick was
built in Bush Lane (then called Great Bush Lane). It was rebuilt in
1830, but finally pulled down to make way for Cannon Street Station.
Hallam (_Constitutional History_) says that the first instance of actual
punishment inflicted on Protestant dissenters was in 1567, when a
company of more than a hundred were seized during their religious
exercises at Plumbers’ Hall (the one in Anchor Lane), which they had
hired on pretence of a wedding; fourteen or fifteen of them were sent to
prison.
THE POULTERS
The ancient market of the Poulters was around the place still called the
Poultry (see p. 11); they also sold poultry in the stocks market in
Gracechurch Street and in Newgate Street. Riley’s _Memorials_ contain
many regulations and ordinances for the sale of poultry. One remarks
that the ordinances of the City in one respect, and in one only, were
observed with the greatest care: those, namely, relating to the sale of
food.
The Poulters Company existed by prescription as early as 1345. It was,
however, incorporated by Royal Charter in the nineteenth year of Henry
VII., on February 23, 1504. The charter was renewed by Queen Elizabeth,
February 22, in the thirtieth year of her reign, confirmed by Charles
II., on June 13, in the sixth year of his reign, and also by James II.
subsequently, but these charters, like those of many of the Companies,
were destroyed in the Fire of London in 1666. The charter under which
the Company now acts was granted by William and Mary, May 6, 1692.
In the year 1763 the charter was supplemented by an Act of the
Corporation of London and by another Act of the Corporation in 1820. The
charter gives power to the Company to inspect the poultry brought to
market, but that power has long since been suspended by the Acts of the
Legislature.
Their present Livery is 126; their Corporate Income is £1020; their
Trust Income is £430; they have no Hall.
_The Saddlers._ See p. 9.
_The Salters._ See p. 111.
THE SCRIVENERS
The Company now known as the Scriveners Company had existed from a very
early period as the Fraternity or Mystery of the Scriveners or Writers
of the Court Letter of the City of London, and was “time out of mind” a
society or Company by prescription. The Company has no document showing
the probable date of the foundation of this society, but their records
extend back to 47 Edward III., being the year 1374.
The Company cannot say what were the exact circumstances in which it had
its origin, but presumes that the Scriveners of London formed themselves
into a society for the purpose of more effectually protecting their own
interests and those of the occupation or craft which they carried on.
In the year 1373 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 372) the “Court Hand writers
and scriveners obtained their Ordinances.” These were chiefly directed
against “foreigners.”
It was incorporated by James I. in 1616 for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 24
Assistants, with a Livery of 53.
At the time of the Great Fire of London all the archives of the Company
were burnt except the ancient book called their common paper, and which
book is still extant.
Their present Livery is 50. Their Trust Income is £10. Their Corporate
Income is about £440. They have no Hall. Formerly they had a Hall in
Noble Street which they sold to the Coachmakers. “At present,” says
Maitland, 1750, “they are endeavouring by course of Law to oblige all
Attorneys of the City to become Members.” An attempt which does not seem
to have been successful.
The Scriveners’ work was much like that of solicitors of the present
day. They made wills, drew up conveyances and other legal documents.
They also wrote letters both of a business and a private nature. Some of
them became financiers and bankers. In fact, the step from drawing up
legal documents to advising on affairs of all kinds was easy and
natural.
THE SHIPWRIGHTS
The precise year of the foundation of the Company is unknown, but it is
mentioned in 1428 in the City records, from which it appears that it
existed as a Fraternity, having a trade guild or mystery and a religious
guild in connection with it, with a presumption in favour of its having
existed by prescription for some time before that period. In a parchment
book belonging to the Company there are ordinances of the religious
society, the earliest of which is dated in 1456. Additions were made
thereto in 1483, beginning, “In Dei nomine, Amen. It is not unknown to
all the brethren and sisters of the fraternitie of Saint Symon and Jude
hath been holden in London by the crafte of shipwrights of tyme out of
minde,” etc. After which follow various ordinances relating to the
taking of apprentices, and other matters, and more especially enjoining
its members “to viewe and serche that the brethren of that fraternitie
doe use in their said trades good and seasonable timber, and doe their
worke workmanlike as appertaineth.”
The Company was incorporated by James I. in 1605 for a Master, 2
Wardens, and 36 Assistants.
In 1613 commenced a dispute between the Company and the foreign
shipwrights who carried on their craft on the opposite side of the
river, at Redrithe or Rotherhithe. The foreign shipwrights (so-called
from being outside the liberties of the City) had, in the previous year,
obtained a charter of incorporation, acting upon which they sought to
exact fines from and impose duties upon the free shipwrights, at that
time working hard by at Ratcliffe, having previously been compelled to
leave the crowded part of the City by reason of the noise occasioned by
exercising their trade and from fear of fire. The free shipwrights
resented this treatment, and presented their case before the Court of
Aldermen. The City upheld the free shipwrights, and in 1620 their
ordinances were approved by the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen.
In 1631, from continued opposition, their funds were reduced so low that
they were allowed to make twelve persons free of the City by redemption;
and this number was from time to time increased. In 1638 another attempt
was made to free themselves from their rivals by representing their case
before the King in Council, which resulted in their being granted by the
King exemption from the jurisdiction of the new Corporation. This order
is dated Whitehall, March 17, 1638. In 1670 attacks were again renewed
on the free shipwrights by the new Corporation, and, their cases having
been laid before the High Court of Admiralty by Charles II., the
Attorney-General, on March 18, 1684-85, decided in favour of the
Company, which decision was approved by the King.
In 1782 a Livery was granted to the Company by the Court of Aldermen,
the number being limited to 100 and the fine to 15 guineas; in 1830 the
number was increased to 200 and the fine to 20 guineas.
Their members now number 200. Their Corporate Income is £830. They have
now no Hall.
The Company had formerly a Hall at Ratcliffe Cross, in Butcher Street,
but it has long since disappeared.
_The Skinners._ See p. 238.
THE SPECTACLE MAKERS
Incorporated by Charles I., 1629, for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 15
Assistants. The Company is numerically very strong, the Livery numbering
356. They have a Corporate Income of £1100, and a Trust Income of £45.
They have no Hall.
_The Stationers._ See p. 199.
_The Tallow Chandlers._ See p. 243.
THE TIN-PLATE WORKERS
This Company was incorporated by Charles II. in 1670 for a Master, 2
Wardens, and 20 Assistants. At present it has 80 members. There are no
particulars as to the Corporate Income, but there is a Trust Income of
£7:7s.
The history of the Company is obscure. Hazlitt thinks that it was a
branch of the Girdlers, that it was originally the Wire Workers, and
that it may also have been associated with the Wire Sellers and the Wire
Drawers. It has no Hall.
THE TURNERS
Incorporated by James I. in 1604 for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 24
Assistants, with a Livery of 144. At present there is a Livery of 193; a
Corporate Income of £700; but no Hall.
The principal work of the Turners originally was to make wooden
measures. It was therefore important that these measures should be true.
In 1310 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 78) six turners were sworn before the
mayor and aldermen, that they would in future make no other measures
than gallons, potells (pottles, then a measure of two quarts), and
quarts, and that they would not make false measures such as “chopyns”
(chopines) and “gylles” (gills). In 1347 (Riley, _Memorials_, p. 234)
some turners were brought before the mayor and aldermen, charged with
making false measures. Our earliest introduction, therefore, to the
Fraternity of Turners is not much to their credit. It is, however,
greatly to their credit that they now hold annual exhibitions of turnery
work in the City with prizes for its encouragement.
THE TYLERS AND BRICKLAYERS
This Company was incorporated by Elizabeth in 1568 for a Master, 2
Wardens, 38 Assistants, and 103 Liverymen. At present there is a Livery
of 73; a Corporate Income of £610; a Trust Income of £170; but no Hall.
The Tylers were an ancient Fraternity dating from the time when tiles
were first employed instead of thatch for roofing houses. As bricks were
not used in English architecture before the end of the fifteenth
century, there could have been no bricklayers. The connection of the men
who put on the roof with the men who built the house was natural.
THE UPHOLDERS
This Company was incorporated by Charles I. in 1627 for a Master, 2
Wardens, and 28 Assistants, with a Livery of 131 members. At present the
Livery consists of 20 members; they have a Corporate Income of £284; a
Trust Income of £20; but no Hall. The Fripperers, Philipers, or
Upholders were the buyers and sellers of second-hand clothes, fur robes,
furniture, and other things. There seems to have been a large trade of
this kind, chiefly in the parish of St. Michael’s, Cornhill.
_The Vintners._ See p. 229.
_The Watermen._ See p. 267.
_The Wax Chandlers._ See p. 30.
THE WEAVERS
This is certainly the oldest Gild of which we have historical
information. The weavers included under one Fraternity, at first, all
the trades which belong to the manufacture and use of textile stuffs.
The history of the Gild is briefly but clearly told by Loftie in his
_History of London_.
“The weavers, again, by their superior wealth, and their superior
organisation, were constantly exciting the envy, not only of other
trades but also of the city guild itself. They had taken care to obtain
acknowledgment as early as 1130, when Robert, son of Levestan, who may
have been their alderman, paid 16£ into the treasury for them. They had
a charter, more or less formal, in which Henry I. enacted that no one
should exercise their trade in London or Southwark except he be a member
of their guild. This was confirmed by Henry II. On the establishment of
the mayoralty the weavers had a narrow escape. In 1202 the citizens
offered the king sixty marks to suppress the guild, but they had money
as well as influence, and the king only renewed their privileges, while
he increased their annual payment. ‘Although,’ as Mr. Stubbs remarks,
‘there is no positive evidence to connect them and their
fellow-guildsmen with the factions of Thomas FitzThomas and Walter
Hervey, or with the later troubles under Edward I., it is not at all
unlikely that their struggle with the governing body was a continuous
one.’ Edward gave them a charter so worded that they assumed powers of
self-government, which the city authorities could not recognise, and in
the following reign a verdict against them was obtained after long
litigation.
“It was perhaps in consequence of this verdict that the old corporation
of the weavers resolved itself or was divided by a higher power into its
constituent elements, and we henceforth hear of the drapers, tailors,
and others, but no more of the weavers till long after. There is,
however, absolute silence on the subject in the works of London
historians. The phenomena are altogether peculiar, and but few facts can
be picked out as tolerably certain. The weavers touched on one side the
trade in linen, on the other that in wool. The woollen drapers were
naturally very much divided in their interests from the linen-armourers,
and the tailors who constructed garments, as well from the vegetable as
from the animal production, were distinct from those who wove the cloth.
We find, therefore, not only great dissension at times among the
weavers, but a strong tendency to establish separate interests. The
drapers, under their Latin designation of _panarii_, very soon divided
themselves from the tailors, _cissores_; and, though there is no
evidence of their separate existence before 1299, when the tailors’
records commence, it is very probable that from time to time they both
rebelled against the tyranny of the weavers. Certain it is, that this
powerful guild, which had subsisted through all changes and chances from
the time of Henry I. at least, now suddenly and unaccountably
disappears; while from its ashes rise the tailors—to whom long after, in
the reign of Henry VII. the title of ‘Merchant Taylors’ was conceded—the
clothworkers, at first ‘shermen’ and fullers, and the drapers, all of
which preserve, more or less dimly, a tradition of their previous united
state of existence” (vol. i. pp. 168, 170).
Was the old Gild of Weavers, that licensed by Henry I. and Henry II.,
entirely dissolved in consequence of the many branches which broke off
from the parent trunk? It would appear that since the Craft of the
Weavers was one thing and that of the Drapers was another, the Gild of
the Weavers would still remain, in which case, though we cannot say that
the Company is the most ancient, it would be quite true that the Company
is descended from the most ancient Fraternity known.
It has now a Livery of 106; a Corporate Income of £1067; and a Trust
Income of £1087. It formerly had a Hall in Basinghall Street. This was
destroyed in the Great Fire, and, though subsequently rebuilt, was
pulled down in 1856, when offices were built on the site.
THE WHEELWRIGHTS
The Company was founded by a charter granted by King Charles II.,
February 3, 1670, in compliance with a petition presented by divers
wheelwrights, in and near the City of London, praying that, as “certain
foreigners undertake the profession and trade of a wheelwright,
notwithstanding they are ignorant and unskilful therein, and altogether
incapable of making the works used in and about the said city, whereby
much mischief happeneth to persons in the streets, by falling of carts
and coaches, and great damage to merchants and others in their goods, as
also loss and danger to gentlemen occasioned by the ignorance and ill
work of the said foreigners, that never served to the said profession,
and other great inconveniences and misdemeanours used and practised in
the said art and trade,” they might, for the prevention thereof, be
incorporated into a body politic.
At present they have a Livery of 120; a Corporate Income of £300; no
Trust Income, and no Hall.
THE WOOLMEN
The date of the foundation of the Company was probably about 1300.
By the 27 Edward III. c. 23, the Company had the right of appointing
licencemen to wind wools. The Company possesses a book of ordinances
allowed and confirmed to the Company of Woolmen of the City of London by
the Lord Chancellor of England and the two chief justices of either
bench in the year 1587. Sixteen of the ordinances regulate the election
of the governing body and the clerk, etc. The Company also possesses an
order of the Court of Aldermen for granting a Livery to the Woolmen’s
Company, and in the report made by the Committee of Privileges and
subsequently approved and confirmed by the said court. The Company has
existed under various names, such as Woolpackers, Woolwinders, and
Woolmen; it was designated by all these titles in a proclamation of
Charles II., but for the last three hundred years it has been known
chiefly by the style of the Company of Woolmen.
The right of the Company to appoint and license duly qualified persons,
having previously examined them, to wind wools has long ceased to exist;
the last person licensed was in the year 1779. By proclamations in the
reign of Charles II., woolcombers were obliged to be licensed by the
Company.
The Master of the Woolmen’s Company has the right to nominate to the
Court of Assistants of the Merchant Taylors Company two poor members of
the Company as pensioners under Vernon’s Charity.
The Company lost its charter and most of its documents in the Fire of
London, when the Company’s Hall was burnt down.
Their members number 20. Their Corporate Income is £376; they have no
Trust Income, and no Hall. Considering that the staple trade of England
for many centuries was that of wool, there can be little doubt of the
extreme antiquity of this Company.
APPENDIX II
MAYORS AND LORD MAYORS OF LONDON FROM 1189 TO 1900
(LORD MAYORS SINCE 1354)
1189. Henry FitzAylwin.
1190. Henry FitzAylwin.
1191. Henry FitzAylwin.
1192. Henry FitzAylwin.
1193. Henry FitzAylwin.
1194. Henry FitzAylwin.
1195. Henry FitzAylwin.
1196. Henry FitzAylwin.
1197. Henry FitzAylwin.
1198. Henry FitzAylwin.
1199. Henry FitzAylwin.
1200. Henry FitzAylwin.
1201. Henry FitzAylwin.
1202. Henry FitzAylwin.
1203. Henry FitzAylwin.
1204. Henry FitzAylwin.
1205. Henry FitzAylwin.
1206. Henry FitzAylwin.
1207. Henry FitzAylwin.
1208. Henry FitzAylwin.
1209. Henry FitzAylwin.
1210. Henry FitzAylwin.
1211. Henry FitzAylwin.
1212. Henry FitzAylwin.
1213. Roger FitzAylwin.
1214. Serle Le Mercer.
1215. William Hardel.
1216. Jacob Alderman, for part, and Salomon De Basinges, for part.
1217. Serlo Le Mercer.
1218. Serlo Le Mercer.
1219. Serlo Le Mercer.
1220. Serlo Le Mercer.
1221. Serlo Le Mercer.
1222. Serlo Le Mercer.
1223. Richard Renger.
1224. Richard Renger.
1225. Richard Renger.
1226. Richard Renger.
1227. Roger Le Duc.
1228. Roger Le Duc.
1229. Roger Le Duc.
1230. Roger Le Duc.
1231. Andrew Bukerel.
1232. Andrew Bukerel.
1233. Andrew Bukerel.
1234. Andrew Bukerel.
1235. Andrew Bukerel.
1236. Andrew Bukerel.
1237. Andrew Bukerel.
1238. Richard Renger.
1239. William Joynier.
1240. Gerard Bat.
1241. Richard De Bungeye.
1242. Ralph Eswy.
1243. Ralph Eswy.
1244. Michael Thovy.
1245. John Gyseorz.
1246. John Gisors.
1247. Peter FitzAllan.
1248. Michael Thovy.
1249. Roger FitzRoger.
1250. John Norman.
1251. Adam Basing.
1252. John Tulesan.
1253. Nicholas Bat.
1254. Ralph Hardel.
1255. Ralph Hardel.
1256. Ralph Hardel.
1257. Ralph Hardel.
1258. Ralph Hardel.
1259. William FitzRichard.
1260. William FitzRichard.
1261. Thomas FitzThomas.
1262. Thomas FitzThomas.
1263. Thomas FitzThomas.
1264. Thomas FitzThomas.
1265. Thomas FitzThomas.
1266. William FitzRichard (Warden).
1267. Alan De La Souche (Warden).
1268. Sir Stephen De Edeworthe(Warden).
1269. Sir Hugh FitzOtes (Warden).
1270. John Addrien.
1271. Walter Harvy.
1272. Walter Harvy.
1273. Henry De Waleys.
1274. Gregory De Rokesle.
1275. Gregory De Rokesle.
1276. Gregory De Rokesle.
1277. Gregory De Rokesle.
1278. Gregory De Rokesle.
1279. Gregory De Rokesle.
1280. Gregory De Rokesle.
1281. Henry Waleis.
1282. Henry Waleis.
1283. Henry Waleis.
1284. Gregory De Rokesle.
1285. Sir Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1286. Sir Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1287. Sr Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1288. Sir John De Bretton (Warden).
1289. Sr Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1290. Sr Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1291. Sir John De Bretton (Warden).
1292. Sir Ralph De Sandwich (Warden).
1293. Sir John Le Breton (Warden).
1294. Sir John Le Breton (Warden).
1295. Sir John Le Breton (Warden).
1296. Sir John Le Breton (Warden).
1297. Henry Waleis.
1298. Henry Waleis.
1299. Elias Russel.
1300. Elias Russel.
1301. John Le Blount.
1302. John Le Blount.
1303. John Le Blount.
1304. John Le Blount.
1305. John Le Blount.
1306. Sir John Blount.
1307. Sir John Blount.
1308. Nicholas Dc Farndon.
1309. Thomas Romeyn.
1310. Richer De Refham.
1311. John Gisors.
1312. John Gisors.
1313. Nicolas De Farndon.
1314. John Gisors.
1315. Stephen De Abingdon.
1316. John De Wengrave.
1317. John De Wengrave.
1318. John Wengrave.
1319. Hamo De Chigwell.
1320. Nicolas De Farndon.
1321. Hamo De Chigwell.
1322. Hamo De Chigwell.
1323. Nicholas De Farndone.
1324. Hamo De Chigwell.
1325. Hamo De Chigwell.
1326. Hamo De Chigwell.
1327. Hamo De Chigwell.
1328. John De Grantham.
1329. Simon Swanlond.
1330. Sir John Pountney of De Polteneye.
1331. Sir John De Polteneye.
1332. John De Prestone.
1333. Sir John Polteneye.
1334. Reginald Del Conduyt.
1335. Nicolas Wotton.
1336. Sir John De Polteneye.
1337. Henry Darcy.
1338. Henry Darcy.
1339. Andrew Aubry.
1340. Andrew Aubry.
1341. John of Oxenford (died), and Simon Fraunceis.
1342. Simon Fraunceis.
1343. John Hamond.
1344. John Hamond.
1345. Richard Lacere.
1346. Geffrey Whyting.
1347. Thomas Legge.
1348. John Lovekyn.
1349. Walter Turk.
1350. Richard Kylsyngby.
1351. Andrew Aubrey.
1352. Adam Fraunceys.
1353. Adam Fraunceys.
1354. Thomas Legge.
1355. Simon Fraunceys.
1356. Henry Picard.
1357. John Stodeye.
1358 John Lovekyn.
1359. Simon Dolcelle.
1360. Sir Thomas Wroth.
1361. John Pecche.
1362. Stephen Caundyssh.
1363. John Notte.
1364. Adam of Bery.
1365. Adam of Bery.
John Lovekyn.
1366. John Lovekyn.
1367. James Andrew.
1368. Simon Morden.
1369. John Chichester.
1370. John Bernes.
1371. John Bernes.
1372. John Pyell.
1373. Adam of Bery.
1374. William Walworth.
1375. John Warde.
1376. Adam Stable.
Nicholas Brembre.
1377. Nicholas Brembre.
1378. John Philpot.
1379. John Hadley.
1380. William Walworth.
1381. John Northampton.
1382. John Northampton.
1383. Nicholas Brembre.
1384. Nicholas Brembre.
1385. Nicholas Brembre.
1386. Nicolas Exton.
1387. Nicolas Exton.
1388. Nicolas Twyford.
1389. William Venor.
1390. Adam Bamme.
1391. John Hende.
1392. William Staundon.
1393. John Hadley.
1394. John Frossh.
1395. William More.
1396. Adam Bamme (died).
Richard Whityngton.
1397. Richard Whytyngton.
1398. Drew Barentyn.
1399. Thomas Knolles.
1400. John Fraunceys.
1401. John Schadworth.
1402. John Walcote.
1403. William Askham.
1404. John Hende.
1405. John Wodecok.
1406. Richard Whytyngton.
1407. William Staundon.
1408. Drew Barantyn.
1409. Richard Merlawe.
1410. Thomas Knolles.
1411. Robert Chicheley.
1412. William Waldern.
1413. William Crowmere.
1414. Thomas Fauconer.
1415. Nicholas Wotton.
1416. Henry Barton.
1417. Richard Merlawe.
1418. William Sevenok.
1419. Richard Whytyngton.
1420. William Cambregge.
1421. Robert Chycheley.
1422. William Waldern.
1423. William Crowmere.
1424. John Michell.
1425. John Coventry.
1426. John Reynwell.
1427. John Gedeney.
1428. Henry Barton.
1429. William Estfield.
1430. Nicolas Wotton.
1431. John Welles.
1432. John Parveys.
1433. John Brokle.
1434. Roger Otle.
1435. Henry Frowyk.
1436. John Michell.
1437. William Estfield.
1438. Stephen Broun.
1439. Robert Large.
1440. John Paddisle.
1441. Robert Clopton.
1442. John Hatherle.
1443. Thomas Catworth.
1444. Henry Frowik.
1445. Simon Eyre.
1446. John Olney.
1447. John Gidney.
1448. Stephen Broun.
1449. Thomas Chalton.
1450. Richard Wifold.
1451. William Gregory.
1452. Godfrey Feldyng.
1453. John Norman.
1454. Stephen Forster.
1455. William Marche.
1456. Thomas Canynge.
1457. Geffrey Boleyne.
1458. Thomas Scot.
1459. William Hewlyn.
1460. Richard Lee.
1461. Hugh Wich.
1462. Thomas Coke.
1463. Matthew Philip.
1464. Ralph Joslyn.
1465. Ralph Verney.
1466. Sir John Yong.
1467. Thomas Holgrave.
1468. William Tailor.
1469. Richard Lee.
1470. Sir John Stokton.
1471. William Edward.
1472. Sir William Hampton.
1473. John Tate.
1474. Sir Robert Drope.
1475. Robert Basset.
1476. Sir Ralph Joslyn.
1477. Humphrey Hayford.
1478. Richard Gardener.
1479. Sir Bartholomew Jamys.
1480. John Browne.
1481. William Heriet.
1482. Sir Edmund Shaa.
1483. Sir Robert Billesdon.
{Sir Thomas Hill
1484. {Sir William Stocker.
{John Ward.
1485. Hugh Brice.
1486. Henry Colet.
1487. Sir William Horne.
1488. Robert Tate.
1489. William White.
1490. John Mathew.
1491. Hugh Clopton.
1492. William Martin.
1493. Sir Raph Astrie.
1494. Richard Chawry.
1495. Henry Colet.
1496. Sir John Tate.
1497. William Purchase.
1498. Sir John Percevall.
1499. Nicholas Aldwine.
1500. William Rennington.
1501. Sir John Shaa.
1502. Bartholomew Rede.
1503. Sir William Capell.
1504. Sir John Winger.
1505. Sir Thomas Kniesworth.
1506. Sir Richard Haddon.
1507. William Browne.
1508. Sir Stephen Jannings.
1509. Thomas Bradbury.
1510. Sir Henry Kebble.
1511. Sir Roger Acheley.
1512. Sir William Copinger in part, and Sir Richard Haddon for the
rest.
1513. Sir William Browne.
1514. Sir George Monox.
1515. Sir William Butler.
1516. Sir John Rest.
1517. Sir Thomas Exmewe.
1518. Sir Thomas Mirfine.
1519. Sir James Yardford.
1520. Sir John Brug or Bruges.
1521. Sir John Milborne.
1522. Sir John Mundy.
1523. Sir Thomas Baldrie.
1524. Sir William Bailey.
1525. Sir John Allen.
1526. Sir Thomas Seymer.
1527. Sir James Spencer.
1528. Sir John Rudstone.
1529. Sir Ralph Dodmer.
1530. Sir Thomas Pargitor.
1531. Sir Nicholas Lambert.
1532. Sir Stephen Peacock.
1533. Sir Christopher Askew.
1534. Sir John Champneis.
1535. Sir John Allen.
1536. Sir Ralph Warren.
1537. Sir Richard Gresham.
1538. Sir William Forman.
1539. Sir William Holleis.
1540. Sir William Roche.
1541. Sir Michael Dormer.
1542. John Cotes.
1543. Sir William Bowyer for part, and Sir Ralph Warren for the rest.
1544. Sir William Laxron.
1545. Sir Martin Bowes.
1546. Sir Henry Hobberthorne.
1547. Sir John Gresham.
1548. Henry Amcotes.
1549. Sir Rowland Hill.
1550. Sir Andrew Jud.
1551. Sir Richard Dobbes.
1552. Sir George Barne.
1553. Sir Thomas White.
1554. Sir John Lyon.
1555. Sir William Garret or Garrard.
1556. Sir Thomas Offley.
1557. Sir Thomas Curteis.
1558. Sir Thomas Leigh.
1559. Sir William Hewet.
1560. Sir William Chester.
1561. Sir William Harper.
1562. Sir Thomas Lodge.
1563. Sir John White.
1564. Sir Richard Mallory.
1565. Sir Richard Champion.
1566. Sir Christopher Draper.
1567. Sir Roger Martin.
1568. Sir Thomas Rowe.
1569. Sir Alexander Avenon.
1570. Sir Roland Heyward.
1571. Sir William Allen.
1572. Sir Lionell Ducket.
1573. Sir John Rivers.
1574. James Hawes.
1575. Ambrose Nicholas.
1576. Sir John Langley.
1577. Sir Thomas Ramsey.
1578. Sir Richard Pipe.
1579. Sir Nicholas Woodrofe.
1580. Sir John Branch.
1581. Sir James Harvie.
1582. Sir Thomas Blancke.
1583. Edward Osborne.
1584. Sir Thomas Pullison.
1585. Sir Wolstane Dixie.
1586. Sir George Barne.
1587. Sir George Bond.
1588. Sir Martin Calthrop for part, and Sir Richard Martin for the
rest.
1589. Sir John Hart.
1590. Sir John Allot for part, and Sir Rowland Heyward for the rest.
1591. Sir William Webb.
1592. Sir William Roe.
1593. Sir Cuthbert Buckle for part, and Sir Richard Martin for the
rest.
1594. Sir John Spencer.
1595. Sir Stephen Slany.
1596. Sir Thomas Skinner for part, and Sir Henry Billingsley for the
rest.
1597. Sir Richard Saltenstall.
1598. Sir Stephen Some.
1599. Sir Nicholas Mosley.
1600. Sir William Rider.
1601. Sir John Garrard.
1602. Robert Lee.
1603. Sir Thomas Bennet.
1604. Sir Thomas Lowe.
1605. Sir Leonard Halliday.
1606. Sir John Wats.
1607. Sir Henry Rowe.
1608. Sir Humphrey Weld.
1609. Sir Thomas Campbell.
1610. Sir William Cravon.
1611. Sir James Pemberton.
1612. Sir John Swinnerton.
1613. Sir Thomas Middleton.
1614. Sir Thomas Hayes.
1615. Sir John Jolles.
1616. Sir John Leman.
1617. George Bolles.
1618. Sir Sebastian Harvey.
1619. Sir William Cockain.
1620. Sir Francis Jones.
1621. Sir Edward Barkham.
1622. Sir Peter Proby.
1623. Sir Martin Lumley.
1624. Sir John Goare.
1625. Sir Allen Cotton.
1626. Sir Cuthbert Hacket of Aket.
1627. Sir Hugh Hammersley.
1628. Sir Richard Deane.
1629. Sir James Campbell.
1630. Sir Robert Ducy.
1631. Sir Robert Whitmore.
1632. Sir Nicholas Raynton.
1633. Sir Ralph Freeman for part, and Sir Thomas Moulson for the rest.
1634. Sir Robert Parkhurst.
1635. Sir Christopher Cletherow.
1636. Sir Edward Bromfield.
1637. Sir Richard Fenn.
1638. Sir Maurice Abbott.
1639. Sir Henry Garway.
1640. Sir William Acton, Knight and Baronet, discharged by the House
of Commons and Sir Edmund Wright, substituted.
1641. Sir Richard Gurney, Knight and Baronet, discharged by Parliament
August 12, and succeeded by Isaac Pennington.
1642. Sir Isaac Pennington.
1643. Sir John Woollaston.
1644. Sir Thomas Atkin.
1645. Sir Thomas Adams.
1646. Sir John Gayer.
1647. Sir John Warner.
1648. Sir Abraham Reynardson, imprisoned; Thomas Andrews for rest of
the year.
1649. Thomas Foot.
1650. Thomas Andrews.
1651. John Kendrick.
1652. John Fowke.
1653. Thomas Vyner.
1654. Christopher Pack.
1655. John Dethick.
1656. Robert Titchborne.
1657. Richard Chiverton.
1658. Sir John Ireton.
1659. Sir Thomas Alleyne, Knight and Baronet.
1660. Sir Richard Brown, Baronet.
1661. Sir John Frederick.
1662. Sir John Robinson, Knight and Baronet.
1663. Sir Anthony Bateman.
1664. Sir John Lawrence.
1665. Sir Thomas Bludworth.
1666. Sir William Bolton.
1667. Sir William Peake.
1668. William Turner.
1669. Sir Samuel Starling.
1670. Sir Richard Ford.
1671. Sir George Waterman.
1672. Sir Robert Hanson.
1673. Sir William Hooker.
1674. Sir Robert Vyner, Knight and Baronet.
1675. Sir Joseph Sheldon.
1676. Sir Thomas Davies.
1677. Sir Francis Chaplin.
1678. Sir James Edwards.
1679. Sir Robert Claydon.
1680. Sir Patience Ward.
1681. Sir John Moore.
1682. Sir William Pritchard.
1683. Sir Henry Tulse.
1684. Sir James Smith.
1685. Sir Robert Geffery.
1686. Sir John Peake.
1687. Sir John Shorter, died. Sir John Eyles appointed by the Crown.
1688. Sir John Chapman, died March 17, 1689.
Sir Thomas Pilkington.
1689. Sir Thomas Pilkington.
1690. Sir Thomas Pilkington.
1691. Sir Thomas Stampe.
1692. Sir John Fleet.
1693. Sir William Ashurst.
1694. Sir Thomas Lane.
1695. Sir John Houblon.
1696. Sir Edward Clarke.
1697. Sir Humphrey Edwin.
1698. Sir Francis Child.
1699. Sir Richard Levet.
1700. Sir Thomas Abney.
1701. Sir William Gore.
1702. Sir Samuel Dashwood.
1703. Sir John Parsons.
1704. Sir Owen Buckingham.
1705. Sir Thomas Rawlinson.
1706. Sir Robert Bedingfield.
1707. Sir William Withers.
1708. Sir Charles Duncombe.
1709. Sir Samuel Garrard.
1710. Sir Walter Heathcote, Baronet.
1711. Sir Robert Beachcroft.
1712. Sir Richard Hoare.
1713. Sir Samuel Stainer.
1714. Sir William Humphreys, Knight and Baronet.
1715. Sir Charles Peers.
1716. Sir James Bateman.
1717. Sir William Lewen.
1718. Sir John Ward.
1719. Sir George Thorold.
1720. Sir John Fryer, Baronet.
1721. Sir William Stewart.
1722. Sir Gerard Conyers.
1723. Sir Peter Delmé
1724. Sir George Merttins.
1725. Sir Francis Forbes.
1726. Sir John Eyles.
1727. Sir Edward Becher.
1728. Sir Robert Baylis.
1729. Sir Richard Brocas.
1730. Humphrey Parsons.
1731. Sir Francis Child.
1732. John Barber.
1733. Sir William Billers.
1734. Sir Edward Bellamy.
1735. Sir John Williams.
1736. Sir John Thompson.
1737. Sir John Barnard.
1738. Micjah Perry.
1739. Sir John Salter.
1740. Humphrey Parsons.
1741. Sir Robert Godschall, died June 26, 1742.
George Heathcote.
1742. Robert Willmot.
1743. Sir Robert Westley.
1744. Sir Henry Marshall.
1745. Sir Richard Hoare.
1746. William Benn.
1747. Sir Robert Ladbroke.
1748. Sir William Calvert.
1749. Sir Samuel Pennant, died May 20, 1750.
John Blachford.
1750. Francis Cokayne.
1751. Thomas Winterbottom, died June 4, 1752.
Robert Alsop.
1752. Sir Crisp Gascoyne.
1753. Edmund Ironside, died November 27, 1753.
Thomas Rawlinson.
1754. Stephen Theodore Janssen.
1755. Slingsby Bethell.
1756. Marshe Dickinson.
1757. Sir Charles Asgill, Baronet.
1758. Sir Richard Glyn, Knight and Baronet.
1759. Sir Thomas Chitty.
1760. Sir Matthew Blackiston.
1761. Sir Samuel Fludyer, Knight and Baronet.
1762. William Beckford.
1763. William Bridgen.
1764. Sir William Stephenson.
1765. George Nelson.
1766. Sir Robert Kite.
1767. Hon. Thomas Harley.
1768. Samuel Turner.
1769. William Beckford, died June 21, 1770.
Barlow Tregothick.
1770. Brass Crosby.
1771. William Nash.
1772. James Townsend.
1773. Frederick Bull.
1774. John Wilkes.
1775. John Sawbridge.
1776. Sir Thomas Halifax.
1777. Sir James Esdaile.
1778. Samuel Plumbe.
1779. Brackley Kennett.
1780. Sir Watkin Lewes.
1781. Sir William Plomer.
1782. Nathaniel Newnham.
1783. Robert Peckham.
1784. Richard Clarke.
1785. Thomas Wright.
1786. Thomas Sainsbury.
1787. John Burnell.
1788. William Gill.
1789. William Pickett.
1790. John Boydell.
1791. John Hopkins.
1792. Sir James Saunderson.
1793. Paul Le Mesurier.
1794. Thomas Skinner.
1795. Sir William Curtis, Baronet.
1796. Sir Brook Watson, Baronet.
1797. Sir John William Anderson, Baronet.
1798. Sir Richard Carr Glyn, Knight and Baronet.
1799. Harvey Christian Combe.
1800. Sir William Staines.
1801. Sir John Earner.
1802. Sir Charles Price, Baronet.
1803. John Perring.
1804. Peter Perchard.
1805. James Shaw.
1806. Sir William Leighton.
1807. James Ansley.
1808. Sir Charles Flower, Baronet.
1809. Thomas Smith.
1810. Joshua Jonathan Smith.
1811. Sir Claudius Stephen Hunter, Baronet.
1812. George Scholey.
1813. Sir William Domville, Baronet.
1814. Samuel Birch.
1815. Sir Matthew Wood, Baronet.
1816. Sir Matthew Wood, Baronet.
1817. Christopher Smith.
1818. John Atkins.
1819. George Bridges.
1820. John Thomas Thorpe.
1821. Christopher Magnay.
1822. William Heygate.
1823. Robert Waithman.
1824. John Garratt.
1825. William Venables.
1826. Anthony Brown.
1827. Matthias Prime Lucas.
1828. William Thompson.
1829. John Crowder.
1830. Sir John Key, Baronet.
1831. Sir John Key, Baronet.
1832. Sir Peter Laurie.
1833. Charles Farebrother.
1834. Henry Winchester.
1835. William Taylor Copeland.
1836. Thomas Kelly.
1837. Sir John Cowan, Baronet.
1838. Samuel Wilson.
1839. Sir Chapman Marshall.
1840. Thomas Johnson.
1841. Sir John Pirie, Baronet.
1842. John Humphrey.
1843. Sir William Magnay, Baronet.
1844. Michael Gibbs.
1845. John Johnson.
1846. Sir George Carroll.
1847. John Kinnersley Hooper.
1848. Sir James Duke, Knight and Baronet.
1849. Thomas Farncomb.
1850. Sir John Musgrove, Baronet.
1851. William Hunter.
1852. Thomas Challis.
1853. Thomas Sidney.
1854. Sir Francis Graham Moon, Baronet.
1855. Sir David Salomons, Baronet.
1856. Thomas Quested Finnis.
1857. Sir Robert Walter Carden, Baronet.
1858. David Williams Wire.
1859. John Carter.
1860. William Cubitt.
1861. William Cubitt.
1862. Sir William Anderson Rose.
1863. Sir William Lawrence.
1864. Warren Stormes Hale.
1865. Sir Benjamin Samuel Phillips.
1866. Sir Thomas Gabriel, Baronet.
1867. William Ferneley Allen.
1868. Sir J. C. Lawrence, Baronet.
1869. Robert Besley.
1870. Sir Thomas Dakin.
1871. Sir Sills John Gibbons, Baronet.
1872. Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, Baronet.
1873. Sir Andrew Lusk, Baronet, M.P.
1874. David Henry Stone.
1875. W. J. R. Cotton, M.P.
1876. Sir Thomas White.
1877. Sir T. S. Owden.
1878. Sir C. Whetham.
1879. Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott.
1880. Sir William M’Arthur.
1881. Sir J. W. Ellis, Baronet.
1882. Sir Henry Edmund Knight.
1883. Sir R. Nicholas Fowler, Baronet, M.P.
1884. George Swan Nottage, and Sir R. N. Fowler on his death.
1885. Sir John Staples.
1886. Sir Reginald Hanson, Baronet.
1887. Sir Polydore De Keyser.
1888. Sir James Whitehead, Baronet.
1889. Sir H. Aaron Isaacs.
1890. Sir Joseph Savory, Baronet.
1891. Sir David Evans.
1892. Sir Stuart Knill, Baronet.
1893. Sir G. R. Tylor, Baronet.
1894. Sir Joseph Renals, Baronet.
1895. Sir Walter H. Wilkin.
1896. Sir G. Faudel-Phillips.
1897. Lieut.-Col. Sir H. D. Davies.
1898. Sir John Voce Moore.
1899. Sir Alfred J. Newton, Baronet.
1900. Sir Frank Green.
APPENDIX III
A CALENDAR OF THE MAYORS AND SHERIFFS OF LONDON FROM 1189 TO 1900
MAYORS
Abbot, Sir Maurice 1638
Abingdon, Stephen de 1315
Abney, Sir Thomas 1700
Acheley, Sir Roger 1511
Acton, Sir William 1640
Adams, Sir Thomas 1645
Addrien, John 1270
Alderman, Jacob 1216
Aldwine, Nicholas 1499
Allen, Sir John 1525
„ „ 1535
„ Sir William 1571
Alleyne, Sir Thomas 1659
Allot, Sir John 1590
Amcoates, Henry 1548
Anderson, William 1862
Andrew, James 1367
Andrews, Thomas 1650
Ansley, James 1807
Asgill, Sir Charles 1757
Ashurst, Sir William 1693
Askham, William 1403
Astrie, Sir Ralph 1493
Atkin, Sir Thomas 1644
Atkins, John 1818
Aubry, Andrew 1339
„ „ 1340
„ „ 1351
Avenon, Sir Alexander 1569
Bailey, Sir William 1524
Baldrie, Sir Thomas 1523
Bamme, Adam 1390
Bamme, Adam 1396
Barber, John 1732
Barentyn, Drew 1398
„ „ 1408
Barkham, Sir Edward 1621
Barnard, Sir John 1737
Barne, Sir George 1552
„ „ 1586
Barton, Henry 1416
„ „ 1428
Basing, Adam 1251
Basset, Robert 1476
Bat, Gerard 1240
Bat, Nicholas 1253
Bateman, Sir Anthony 1663
Bateman, Sir James 1716
Baylis, Sir Robert 1728
Becher, Sir Edward 1727
Beckford, William 1762
„ „ 1769
Bedingfield, Sir Robert 1706
Bellamy, Sir Edward 1734
Benn, William 1746
Bennet, Sir Thomas 1603
Bernes, John 1371
Bery, Adam of 1364
„ „ 1365
„ „ 1373
Besley, Robert 1869
Bethell, Slingsby 1755
Billers, Sir William 1733
Billesdon, Sir Robert 1483
Billingsley, Sir H. 1596
Birch, Samuel 1814
Blakiston, Sir Matthew 1760
Blancke, Sir Thomas 1582
Blount, John le 1301
„ „ 1302
„ „ 1303
„ „ 1304
„ „ 1305
„ „ 1306
„ „ 1307
Boleyne, Geffrey 1457
Bolles, George 1617
Bolton, Sir William 1666
Bond, Sir George 1587
Bowes, Sir Martin 1545
Bowyer, Sir William 1543
Boydell, John 1790
Bradbury, Thomas 1509
Branch, John 1580
Brembre, Nicholas 1377
„ „ 1383
„ „ 1384
„ „ 1385
Breton Le, Sir John 1293
„ „ 1294
„ „ 1295
„ „ 1296
Bretton De, Sir John 1288
„ „ 1291
Brice, Hugh 1485
Bridgen, William 1763
Bridges, George 1819
Brocas, Sir Richard 1729
Brokle, John 1433
Bromfield, Sir Edward 1621
Broun, Stephen 1438
„ „ 1448
Brown, Anthony 1826
Brown, John 1480
Brown, Sir Richard 1660
Browne, William 1507
Browne, Sir William 1513
Brug, Sir John 1520
Buckingham, Sir Owen 1704
Buckle, Sir Cuthbert 1393
Bukerel, Andrew 1231
„ „ 1232
„ „ 1233
„ „ 1234
„ „ 1235
„ „ 1236
„ „ 1237
Bull, Frederick 1773
Bungeye, Reginald de 1241
Burrell, John 1787
Butler, Sir William 1515
Calthrop, Sir Martin 1588
Calvert, Sir William 1748
Cambell, Sir Thomas 1609
Cambell, Sir James 1629
Cambregge, William 1420
Canynge, Thomas 1456
Capell, Sir William 1503
Carr, Sir Richard 1798
Carroll, Sir George 1846
Carter, John 1859
Catworth, Thomas 1443
Caundyssh, Stephen 1362
Challis, Thomas 1852
Chalton, Thomas 1449
Champion, Sir Richard 1565
Champneis, Sir John 1534
Chaplin, Sir Francis 1677
Chapmann, Sir John 1688
Chawry, Richard 1494
Chester, Sir William 1560
Chicheley, Robert 1421
Chichester, John 1369
Chigwell, Hamo de 1319
„ „ 1321
„ „ 1322
„ „ 1324
„ „ 1325
„ „ 1326
„ „ 1327
Child, Sir Francis 1698
„ „ 1731
Chitty, Sir Thomas 1759
Chiverton, Richard 1657
Chycheley, Robert 1421
Clark, Richard 1784
Clarke, Sir Edward 1696
Clayton, Sir Robert 1679
Cletherow, Sir Christopher 1635
Clopton, Robert 1441
Clopton, Hugh 1491
Cockain, Sir William 1618
Cokayne, Francis 1750
Coke, Thomas 1462
Colet, Henry 1486
Colet, Henry 1495
Combe, Henry Christian 1799
Conyers, Sir Gerard 1722
Copinger, Sir William 1512
Cotes, John 1542
Cotton, Sir Allen 1625
Cotton (M.P.), W. J. R. 1875
Coventry, John 1425
Cowan, Sir John 1837
Craven, Sir William 1610
Crosby, Brass 1770
Crowder, James 1829
Crowmere, William 1413
Crowmere, William 1423
Cubitt, William 1860
„ „ 1861
Curteis, Sir Thomas 1557
Curtis, Sir William 1795
Dakin, Thomas 1870
Darcy, Henry 1337
„ „ 1338
Dashwood, Sir Samuel 1702
Davies, Sir H. D. 1897
Davies, Sir Thomas 1676
Deane, Sir Richard 1628
De Keyser, Sir Polydore 1887
Delme, Sir Peter 1723
Dethick, John 1655
Dickinson, Marshe 1756
Dixie, Sir Wolstane 1585
Dobbes, Sir Richard 1551
Dodmer, Sir Ralph 1529
Dolcelle, Simon 1359
Domville, Sir William 1813
Dormer, Sir Michael 1541
Drope, Sir Robert 1474
Duc, Roger le 1227
„ „ 1228
„ „ 1229
„ „ 1230
Ducket, Sir Lionell 1572
Ducy, Sir Robert 1630
Duke, Sir James 1848
Duncombe, Sir Charles 1708
Eamer, Sir John 1801
Edward, William 1471
Edwards, Sir James 1678
Edwin, Sir Humfrey 1697
Ellis, Sir J. W. 1881
Endeworthe, Sir Stephen 1268
Esdaile, Sir James 1777
Estfeld, William 1429
„ „ 1237
Eswy, Ralph 1242
„ „ 1243
Evans, David 1891
Exmewe, Sir Thomas 1517
Exton, Nicolas 1386
„ „ 1387
Eyles, Sir John 1726
Eyre, Simon 1465
Farncomb, Thomas 1849
Farndon, Nicholas de 1308
„ „ 1313
„ „ 1320
„ „ 1323
Fauconer, Thomas 1414
Faudel-Phillips, Sir G. 1896
Feldyng, Godfrey 1452
Fenn, Sir Richard 1637
FitzAylwin, Henry 1189
„ „ 1190
„ „ 1191
„ „ 1193
„ „ 1194
„ „ 1195
„ „ 1196
„ „ 1197
„ „ 1198
„ „ 1199
„ „ 1200
„ „ 1201
„ „ 1202
„ „ 1203
„ „ 1204
„ „ 1205
„ „ 1206
„ „ 1207
„ „ 1208
„ „ 1209
„ „ 1210
„ „ 1211
„ „ 1212
„ „ 1213
Fitz Otes, Sir Hugh 1269
Fitz Richard, William 1258
„ „ 1259
Fitz Richard, William 1260
„ „ 1266
Fitz Thomas, Thomas 1261
„ „ 1262
„ „ 1263
„ „ 1264
„ „ 1265
Finnis, Thomas Quested 1856
Fleet, Sir John 1692
Flower, Sir Charles 1808
Fludyer, Sir Samuel 1761
Foot, Thomas 1649
Forbes, Sir Francis 1725
Ford, Sir Richard 1670
Forman, Sir William 1538
Forster, Stephen 1454
Fowler, R. Nicholas 1883
Fraunceys, Adam 1352
„ „ 1353
Fraunceys, Simon 1355
Freeman, Sir Ralph 1633
Frederick, Sir John 1661
Frossh, John 1394
Frowik, Henry 1444
Frowyk, Henry 1435
Fryer, Sir John 1720
Gabriel, Sir Thomas 1866
Gardener, Richard 1478
Garrard, Sir James 1601
Garrard, Sir Samuel 1709
Garratt, John 1824
Garret, Sir William 1555
Garway, Sir Henry 1634
Gascoyne, Sir Crisp 1752
Gayer, Sir John 1646
Gedeney, John 1427
Geffrey, Sir Robert 1655
Gibbon, Sills John 1871
Gibbs, Michael 1844
Gidney, John 1447
Gill, William 1788
Gisors, John 1246
„ „ 1311
„ „ 1312
„ „ 1314
Glyn, Sir Richard 1758
Glyn, Sir R. Carr 1798
Goare, Sir John 1624
Godschall, Sir R. 1741
Gore, Sir William 1701
Graham, Sir Francis 1854
Grantham, John de 1328
Green, Sir Frank 1900
Gregory, William 1451
Gresham, Sir Richard 1537
Gresham, Sir John 1547
Gurney, Sir Richard 1641
Gyseorz, John 1245
Hacket or Aket, Sir Charles 1626
Haddon, Sir Richard 1506
Hadley, John 1379
Hadley, John 1393
Hale, W. S. 1864
Halifax, Sir Thomas 1776
Halliday, Sir Leonard 1605
Hammorsley, Sir Hugh 1627
Hampton, Sir William 1472
Hanson, Sir Reginald 1886
Hanson, Sir Robert 1672
Hardel, William 1215
Hardel, Ralph 1254
„ „ 1255
„ „ 1256
„ „ 1257
Harper, Sir William 1561
Hart, Sir John 1559
Harvey, Sir Sebastian 1618
Harvie, Sir James 1581
Harvy, Walter 1271
„ „ 1272
Hawes, James 1574
Hayes, Sir Thomas 1614
Hayford, Humphrey 1477
Heathcote, Sir Gilbert 1710
Hende, John 1391
„ „ 1404
Heriet, William 1481
Hewet, Sir William 1359
Hewlyn, William 1459
Heygate, William 1822
Heyward, Sir Rowland 1870
Hill, Sir Thomas 1484
Hoare, Sir Richard 1712
„ „ 1745
Holgrave, Thomas 1467
Holles, Sir William 1839
Hooker, Sir William 1673
Hooper, John Kinnersley 1847
Hopkins, John 1791
Horne, Sir William 1487
Houblon, Sir John 1695
Humphrey, J. 1842
Humphreys, Sir W. 1714
Ireton, Sir John 1658
Ironside, Edward 1753
Isaacs, Sir H. Aaron 1889
Jamys, Sir Bartholomew 1479
Janssen, S. T. 1754
Jennings, Sir Stephen 1508
Johnson, Thomas 1840
Johnson, John 1845
Jolles, Sir John 1615
Jones, Sir Francis 1620
Joslyn, Ralph 1464
Joslyn, Sir Ralph 1476
Joynier, William 1239
Jud, Andrew 1580
Kebble, Sir Henry 1510
Kelly, Thomas 1836
Kendrick, John 1651
Key, Sir John 1830
„ „ 1831
Kniesworth, Sir Thomas 1505
Knight, Henry Edmund 1882
Knill, Sir Stuart, Baronet 1892
Knolles, Thomas 1399
„ „ 1410
Kylsyngby, Richard 1350
Lacere, Richard 1345
Ladbroke, Sir Robert 1747
Lambert, Sir Nicholas 1531
Lane, Sir Thomas 1694
Langley, Sir John 1576
Large, Robert 1349
Laurie, Sir Peter 1832
Lawrence, Sir John 1664
Lawrence, William 1863
Lawrence, J. C. 1868
Laxton, Sir William 1544
Lee, Richard 1460
„ „ 1469
Lee, Robert 1602
Legge, Thomas 1347
„ „ 1345
Leigh, Sir Thomas 1558
Leighton, Sir William 1806
Leman, Sir John 1616
Levet, Sir Richard 1699
Lewen, Sir W. 1717
Lewes, Sir Watkin 1780
Lovekyn, John 1345
„ „ 1358
„ „ 1366
Lodge, Sir Thomas 1562
Lowe, Sir Thomas 1604
Lumley, Sir Martin 1632
Lusk, Andrew 1837
M’Arthur, William 1880
Magnay, Christopher 1821
Magnay, Sir William 1843
Mallory, Sir Richard 1564
Marche, William 1455
Marshall, Sir H. 1744
Marshall, Sir Chapman 1839
Martin, William 1492
Martin, Sir Roger 1567
Mathew, John 1490
Mercer, Serle le 1214
„ „ 1217
„ „ 1218
„ „ 1219
„ „ 1220
„ „ 1221
„ „ 1222
Merlawe, Richard 1409
Mertinns, Sir G. 1724
Mesurier, Paul le 1793
Michell, John 1424
„ „ 1436
Middleton, Sir Thomas 1613
Milborne, Sir John 1521
Mirfine, Sir Thomas 1518
Monox, Sir G. 1514
Moore, Sir John 1681
Moore, Sir J. Voce 1898
Mordon, Simon 1368
More, William 1395
Mosley, Sir Nicholas 1599
Mundy, Sir John 1522
Musgrave, Sir John 1850
Nash, William 1771
Nelson, George 1765
Newnham, Nathaniel 1782
Newton, Sir Alfred J. 1899
Nicholas, Ambrose 1575
Norman, John 1250
Norman, John 1453
Northampton, John 1381
„ „ 1382
Nottage, G. Swan 1884
Notte, John 1363
Offley, Sir Thomas 1556
Olney, John 1446
Osborne, Edward 1583
Otle, Roger 1434
Owden, T. S. 1877
Oxenford, John of 1341
Pack, Christopher 1654
Paddisle, John 1440
Pargitor, Sir Thomas 1530
Parkhurst, Sir Robert 1634
Parsons, Sir John 1703
Parsons, Humphrey 1730
„ „ 1740
Parveys, John 1432
Peacock, Sir Stephen 1532
Peake, Sir William 1667
Peake, Sir John 1686
Pecche, John 1361
Peckham, Robert 1783
Peers, Sir Charles 1715
Pemberton, Sir James 1611
Pennant, Sir Samuel 1749
Pennington, Sir Isaac 1642
Percevall, Sir John 1498
Perchard, Peter 1804
Perring, John 1803
Perry, Micajah 1738
Picard, Henry 1356
Pickett, William 1789
Pilkington, Sir Thomas 1689
„ „ 1690
Pipe, Sir Richard 1578
Pirie, Sir John 1841
Philip, Matthew 1463
Philpot, John 1378
Plomer, Sir William 1781
Plumbe, Samuel 1778
Polteneye, Sir J. de 1331
„ „ 1333
Polteneye, Sir J. de 1336
Pountney, Sir John 1330
Prestone, John de 1332
Pritchard, Sir William 1682
Proby, Sir Peter 1622
Pullison, Sir Thomas 1584
Purchase, William 1497
Pyell, John 1372
Ramsey, Sir Thomas 1577
Rawlinson, Sir Thomas 1705
Raynton, Sir N. 1632
Rede, Bartholomew 1502
Refham, Richard de 1310
Remington, William 1500
Renals, Sir Joseph 1894
Renger, Richard 1223
„ „ 1224
„ „ 1225
„ „ 1226
„ „ 1238
Rest, Sir John 1516
Reynardson, Sir Abraham 1648
Reynwell, Joseph 1426
Rider, Sir William 1600
Rivers, Sir John 1573
Robinson, Sir John 1662
Roche, Sir William 1540
Roe, Sir William 1592
Roew, Sir Thomas 1568
Rokesle, Gregory de 1274
„ „ 1275
„ „ 1276
„ „ 1277
„ „ 1278
„ „ 1279
„ „ 1280
„ „ 1284
Romeyn, Thomas 1309
Rudstone, Sir John 1528
Russel, Elias 1299
„ „ 1300
Sainsbury, Thomas 1786
Salomons, David 1855
Saltenstall, Sir Richard 1597
Salter, Sir John 1739
Sanderson, Sir Joseph 1792
Sandwich, Sir Ralph de 1285
„ „ 1286
Sandwich, Sir Ralph de 1287
„ „ 1289
„ „ 1290
„ „ 1292
Savory, Sir Joseph 1890
Sawbridge, John 1775
Schadworth, John 1401
Scot, Thomas 1458
Seymer, Sir Thomas 1526
Shaa, Sir Edmund 1452
Shaa, Sir John 1501
Shaw, James 1805
Sheldon, Sir Joseph 1675
Shorter, Sir John 1687
Sidney, Thomas 1853
Skinner, Sir Thomas 1596
Skinner, Thomas 1794
Slany, Sir Stephen 1595
Smith, Thomas 1809
Smith, Christopher 1817
Smith, Sir Joseph 1684
Some, Sir Richard 1598
Souche, Alan de la 1267
Spencer, Sir John 1594
Stable, Adam 1376
Stainer, Sir Samuel 1713
Staines, Sir William 1800
Stampe, Sir Thomas 1691
Staptes, John 1885
Starling, Sir Samuel 1669
Staundon, William 1392
„ „ 1407
Stephenson, Sir William 1764
Stewart, Sir William 1721
Stodeye, John 1357
Stokton, Sir John 1470
Stone, D. H. 1874
Swanlond, Simon 1329
Swinnerton, Sir John 1612
Tailor, William 1468
Tate, John 1473
Tate, Robert 1488
Tate, Sir John 1496
Thompson, Sir John 1736
Thompson, William 1828
Thorold, Sir George 1719
Thorpe, J. T. 1820
Thovy, Michael 1244
„ „ 1248
Titchborne, Robert 1656
Townsend, Joseph 1772
Truscott, Sir F. W. 1879
Tulesan, John 1252
Tulse, Sir Henry 1683
Turke, Walter 1349
Turner, William 1668
Turner, Samuel 1768
Twyford, Nicolas 1388
Tylor, Sir G. R. 1893
Venables, William 1825
Venor, William 1389
Verney, Ralph 1465
Vyner, Thomas 1653
Vyner, Sir Robert 1674
Waithman, Robert 1823
Walcote, John 1402
Waldern, William 1422
Waleys, Henry de 1273
„ „ 1281
„ „ 1282
„ „ 1283
„ „ 1297
„ „ 1298
Walworth, William 1374
Walworth, William 1380
Ward, Sir Patience 1680
Ward, Sir John 1718
Ward, John 1484
Warde, John 1375
Warner, Sir John 1647
Warren, Sir Ralph 1536
Waterlow, Sir S. H. 1872
Waterman, Sir G. 1671
Wats, Sir John 1606
Watson, Sir Brooke 1796
Webb, Sir William 1591
Webb, Sir Henry 1608
Welles, John 1431
Wengrave, John de 1316
„ „ 1317
„ „ 1318
Westley, Sir Robert 1743
Whetham, Sir C. 1878
White, William 1489
White, Sir Thomas 1553
White, Sir John 1563
White, Sir Thomas 1876
Whitehead, Sir J., Baronet 1888
Whitmore, Sir George 1631
Whyting, Geffery 1346
Whytyngton, Richard 1397
„ „ 1406
„ „ 1419
Wich, Hugh 1461
Wifold, Richard 1450
Wilkin, Sir Walter H. 1895
Williams, Sir John 1735
Willmot, Robert 1742
Wilson, Samuel 1838
Winchester, Henry 1834
Winger, Sir John 1504
Winterbottom, Thomas 1751
Wire, D. W. 1858
Withers, Sir William 1707
Wodecok, John 1405
Wood, Sir Matthew 1815
Wood, Sir Matthew 1816
Woollaston, Sir John 1643
Wotton, Nicolas 1335
„ „ 1415
„ „ 1430
Wright, Thomas 1785
Wroth, Sir John 1360
Yardford, Sir James 1519
Yong, Sir John 1466
SHERIFFS
(FROM 1889 THE SHERIFFS WERE SHERIFFS OF THE CITY ONLY)
Abbot, John 1428
Abbott, Maurice 1627
Abdy, Arthur 1630
Abell, William 1636
Abingdone, Stephen de 1314
„ Symonde 1319
Abney, Thomas 1693
Acton, William 1628
Adams, Thomas 1639
Addrien, John 1258
„ „ 1265
„ „ 1266
„ „ 1267
„ „ 1269
Adrian, John 1277
Ailmer, Lawrence 1501
Alate, John 1580
Alderman, Jukel 1195
„ Jacob 1200
Aldermanebyri, Simon de 1201
Aldernes, Robert 1512
Alderson, Sir George 1817
Alexander, Sir John 1802
Aleyn, Thomas 1414
Aleyne, John 1471
Allen, John 1518
Allen, William 1562
Allen, Edward 1620
Allen, William Ferneley 1837
Alley, Ralph 1545
Alley, Richard 1452
Alleyne, Thomas 1654
Alliston, Frederick Pratt 1898
Alsop, Robert 1732
„ „ 1746
Altham, Edward 1531
Altham, James 1557
Ambrose, Sir Thomas 1718
Amcoates, Henry 1542
Anderson, Henry 1601
Anderson, John William 1791
Andrewe, Jacob 1632
Andrews, Henry 1632
„ Thomas 1642
Ansley, John 1809
Antioch, Gerard de 1196
Arnold, Robert 1426
Arnentiers, D’, John 1299
Arras, Ralph de 1276
Asgill, Sir Charles 1752
Ashurst, William 1691
Askew, Christopher 1525
Askham, William 1397
Atherley, John 1431
Atkins, John 1809
Atkyn, Thomas 1637
Aubray, John 1373
Aubri, Andrew 1331
Aumesberry, Martyn 1293
Austrie, Ralph 1484
Austyn, Thomas 1388
Avenon, Alexander 1561
Avery, Samuel 1647
Ayleph, Sir John 1548
Aylesham, John 1343
Acheley, Roger 1504
Alwine, Nicholas 1494
Backhouse, Nicholas 1577
Backhouse, Rowland 1628
Bacon, William 1480
Bailey, William 1515
Baker, Will 1770
Baker, Thomas 1789
Balaunce, La, Ralph 1316
Baldrie, Thomas 1517
Bamme, Adam 1382
Bankes, Edward 1563
Banks, Sir Henry 1762
Banning, Paule 1593
Barentyn, Drew 1393
Baret, William 1379
Barkham, Edward 1611
Barnard, Sir John 1735
Barne, Edward 1563
Barne, Edward 1576
Barnham, Benet 1591
Barton, Hugh de 1313
Barton, Henry 1405
Barton, Ralph 1418
Basford, Roger 1513
Basinge, Robert de 1278
Basinges, Salomon de 1214
Basinges, Hugh de 1214
Basinges, Thomas de 1269
Baskerville, Humfrey 1561
Basset, Robert 1463
Basynstoke, Richard 1347
Bat, Gerard 1232
„ „ 1235
Bat, Nicholas 1244
„ „ 1247
„ „ 1251
Bateman, Anthony 1658
Bateman, James 1701
Batencourt, Luke de 1274
Bates, John 1784
Bath, Peter 1213
Battencourt, Luke de 1266
Bayley, E. K. 1879
Baylis, Robert 1724
Beachcroft, Robert 1700
Beaumond, Thomas 1422
Becher, Sir Edward 1721
Beckford, Thomas 1677
Beckford, William 1755
Bedingfield, Robert 1702
Bedyngton, Simon 1359
Bel, Robert le 1198
Bell, Sir Thomas 1815
Bellamy, Sir E. 1723
Benet, Thomas 1594
Benn, William 1742
Bennet, Thomas 1613
Bennett, John 1871
Benson, Sir William 1706
Berking, Richard de 1341
Bernard, Walter 1744
Bernes, John 1358
Bernewell, Thomas 1434
Berneye, Walter 1360
Bery, Adam of 1349
Besaunt, Robert 1195
Besley, Robert 1864
Betaigne, William de 1288
Bethell, Slingsby 1680
„ „ 1751
Bevan, Sir Alfred Henry 1899
Bide, John 1647
Bifield, Robert 1478
Biggs, Walter 1653
Billers, Sir William 1720
Billingsley, Henry 1584
Billisdon, Robert 1473
Birch, Samuel 1811
Blachford, John 1745
Blackhall, John 1799
Blades, John 1812
Blakeneye, Peter de 1310
Blakiston, Sir Matthew 1753
Blankes, Thomas 1574
Bledlowe, Thomas 1472
Blewitt, Samuel 1696
Blount, Ralph de 1275
Blount, Walter le 1282
„ „ 1285
Blount, Ralph le 1291
Bloxam, Matthew 1787
Bludworth, Sir Thomas 1662
Blund, Robert 1197
Blund, Norman 1202
Blund, William 1216
Blund, Roger 1233
Blund, Hugh 1243
Blund, Edward 1264
Blunt, Richard 1763
Bodeleyhg, William 1315
Bokointe, John 1191
Bole, Henry le 1292
Bolet, Edmund 1306
Boleyne, Geffrey 1446
Bolles, George 1608
Bolton, William 1660
Bond, John 1567
Bond, George 1578
Booth, Felix 1828
Boreford, John de 1303
Boseham, John 1378
Bosenho, Peter de 1301
Boteler, John 1419
Botiller, James 1308
Bow, Ralph de 1244
Bowes, Martin 1540
Bowyer, William 1536
Box, Thomas 1289
Box, Martyn 1283
Box, Henry 1294
Boxe, William 1570
Boydell, John 1784
Bradbury, Thomas 1498
Brakson, Adam 1347
Brampton, William 1394
Branche, John 1571
Brander, Alexander 1792
Brandon, Walter 1355
Branscombe, Sir James 1806
Breedon, Robert 1714
Breffit, Edgar 1875
Brembre, Nicholas 1372
Breton, John 1521
Brice, Thomas 1466
Brice, Hugh 1475
Bridgen, Will 1756
Bridges, George 1816
Brikalesworthe, William 1336
Brittaine, Thomas 1484
Brocas, Richard 1728
Brocke, John 1489
Broke, Robert 1590
Brokle, John 1425
Bromfield, Edward 1626
Brond, Hamo 1204
Brond, Thomas 1499
Brook, Geffrey 1406
Brooke, James 1738
Brouh, John 1466
Broun, Stephen 1431
Brown, Anthony 1824
Browne, John 1472
Browne, Richard 1648
Browne, William 1491
„ „ 1504
Bruges, John 1513
Brun, Walter 1203
Bruning, Adam 1259
Bryan, John 1418
Buckingham, Owen 1695
Buckworth, Sir John 1704
Buddele, John de 1271
Bufle, Walter le 1231
Bukerel, Thomas 1217
„ Andrew 1224
„ Stephen 1227
„ „ 1228
„ Matthew 1255
Bukylsworth, John 1365
Bull, Sir John 1718
Bull, Frederick 1771
Bunce, James 1643
Bungeye, Reginald de 1239
Bures, John 1358
Burnell, John 1778
Burnett, Sir Robert 1794
Burt, G. 1878
Butler, William 1507
Cadell, Thomas 1800
Caller, Robert le 1301
Calowe, William 1448
Calthrope, Martin 1579
Calvert, Sir William 1743
Cambell, Thomas 1600
Cambell, James 1619
Cambell, Robert 1630
Canyng, Thomas 1449
Caple, William 1489
Carden, Robert Walter 1850
Carroll, George 1537
Carter, John 1852
Cartwright, Sir John 1761
Cass, John 1711
Caswall, Sir George 1720
Catworth, Thomas 1435
Caumbregg, William 1415
Caundyssh, Stephen 1357
Caunterbury, John de 1288
Caunton, John 1525
Causton, Joseph 1869
Caustone, William 1316
Caustone, John de 1324
Cave, Thomas 1863
Cely, John 1382
Challenor, Sir Thomas 1762
Challis, Thomas 1846
Chalton, Thomas 1846
Chamberlaine, Richard 1560
Chamberleyn, William 1189
Chamberleyn, Gervais 1237
Chambers, Richard 1644
Champneis, John 1522
Champion, Walter 1529
Champion, Richard 1588
Champion, Sir George 1737
Champion, Sir William 1798
Chandler, Thomas 1657
Chaplin, Francis 1668
Chapman, William 1437
Chapman, Francis 1678
Chaumpes, Richard de 1300
Chaunceler, Roger 1326
Chaury, Richard 1481
Chertesey, Walter 1430
Chertsey, Robert 1547
Chester, Richard 1484
Chester, William 1554
Chichele, William 1409
Chichelegh, Robert 1402
Chichestre, John of 1359
Chikewel, Richard de 1281
Chikewel, Hamond de 1314
Child, Francis 1690
Child, Sir Francis 1722
Chircheman, John 1385
Chitty, Sir Thomas 1733
Clark, Richard 1777
Clarke, Roger 1599
Clarke, George 1641
Clarke, Edward 1690
Clarke, Sir Samuel 1712
Clarke, Thomas 1885
Clayton, Robert 1671
Cletherow, Christopher 1625
Clopton, William 1346
Clopton, Robert 1435
Clopton, Hugh 1486
Cnote, William 1400
Cockaine, William 1609
Cockerell, G. J. 1861
Cokam, Henry de 1227
„ „ 1228
„ „ 1236
Cokayne, Francis 1745
Coke, Thomas 1453
Coket, Walter 1380
Cole, William 1694
„ Benjamin 1752
Colet, Henry 1477
Collett, Joseph 1697
Colwich, Robert 1475
Combe, Harvey Christian 1791
Combe, William 1441
Combemartin, Henry 1328
Conder, Edward 1858
Conduit, Geoffrey at the 1306
Conduit, Reginald at 1320
Constantin, Richard 1321
Constantyne, William 1465
Conyers, Sir Gerard 1716
Cooke, Thomas 1692
Cooke, Charles 1716
Cooper, John Robert 1895
Copeland, William Taylor 1828
Copinger, William 1506
Cordall, John 1634
Corenhell, Henry de 1189
Corenhelle, Robert de 1245
„ „ 1258
„ „ 1269
Cornhill, Stephen de 1284
Cornish, Henry 1680
Cornwayle, Thomas 1378
Corp, Symon 1310
Cotaun, John 1325
Cote, Henry 1490
Cotes, John 1535
Coteller, Salomon de 1289
Cotterell, Thomas 1551
Cotton, Walter 1411
Cotton (M.P.), W. J. R. 1868
Cotton, Allen 1616
Cowan, Lieut.-Col. Phineas 1883
Coumbemartin, William 1303
Coventre, Henry de 1259
„ „ 1273
Coventry, John de 1416
Cowan, John 1831
Cowper, John 1551
Cox, Robert Albion 1801
Crane, Nicholas 1337
Cranmer, Samuel 1761
Craven, William 1600
Crawley, Sir Ambrose 1702
Crichton, William 1780
Crispe, Ellis 1625
Croll, Alexander Angus 1052
Crosby, Sir John 1470
Crosby, Brass 1764
Crosley, Charles Decimus 1854
Crosse, Thomas 1286
Crowder, John 1825
Crowmere, William 1405
Croydon, John 1346
Croydon, Richard 1363
Cubitt, William 1847
Cullum, Thomas 1646
Curteis, Thomas 1546
Curtis, William 1788
Dakin, Thomas 1864
Dandridge, James 1758
Daniel, Peter 1683
Danyel, Thomas 1480
Darcy, Henry 1327
Darling, Sir Robert 1766
Dashwood, Samuel 1683
Dauntsey, William 1530
Davies, Sir Thomas 1667
Davies, Edward 1747
Davies, Horatio D. 1887
Dawes, John 1513
Dawes, Jonathan 1671
Deane, Richard 1619
Delme, Sir Peter 1717
Denham, William 1534
Denmars, Bartholomew 1340
Dere, William 1450
Desanges, Sir Francis 1817
Desert, Roger le 1200
Dethick, John 1649
Dewar, Thomas Robert 1897
Deynes, John 1360
Dickinson, Marshe 1751
Dimsdale, Sir Joseph Cockfield 1894
Dobbes, Richard 1543
Dodmere, Ralph 1524
Doe, Charles 1664
Dolcelle, Simon 1348
Dolcelle, Thomas 1356
Domville, William 1804
Dormer, Michael 1529
Draper, Christopher 1560
Drope, Robert 1469
Duc, Roger le 1190
„ „ 1193
Duc, Peter le 1208
Duc, Roger le 1225
Ducket, Lionel 1564
Ducie, Robert 1620
Dufhous, Thomas 1428
Duke, Joseph 1836
Duket, Nicholas 1197
Duncombe, Charles 1664
Dunk, Thomas 1709
Dunstaple, John de 1295
Dureham, William de 1268
Dureme, Thomas le 1248
Duresme, William de 1252
Eamer, Sir John 1794
Eastwick, Stephen 1652
Edelmeton, Hendry de 1232
Edmonds, Simon 1646
Edward, William 1457
Edwards, James 1669
Edwin, Humphrey 1688
Egleton, Charles 1742
Elkin, William 1586
Elwes, Geffrey 1607
Ely, Robert de 1330
Elys, Roger 1395
English, Michael 1623
Errington, Charles 1759
Estfeld, William 1422
Eswy, Ralph 1234
„ „ 1239
„ „ 1242
Eswy, William 1254
„ „ 1256
Evans, David 1885
Evans, William 1839
Everard, Alan 1415
Exmewe, Thomas 1508
Exton, Nicholas 1384
Eyles, Sir John 1719
Eyles, Joseph 1724
Fabian, Robert 1493
Farebrother, Charles 1826
Farendon, William de 1280
Farmer, Sir William 1890
Farncomb, Thomas 1840
Farrington, Richard 1608
Fastolf, Hugh 1387
Faudel-Phillips, George 1884
Faulconer, Thomas 1403
Feast, Sir Felix 1723
Felde, John 1454
Feldyng, Godfrey 1445
Fenkel, John 1487
Fenn, James 1787
Fenne, Richard 1626
Ferrer, Thomas 1539
Fevre, Rahpe de 1276
Figgins, James 1865
Fingry, Henry de 1299
Firebrace, Basil 1687
Fitz Alan, Roger 1193
„ Aliz, William 1201
„ Aliz, Martin 1213
„ Athulf, William 1194
„ Athulf, Constantyn 1198
„ Athulf, Arnold 1199
„ Auger, Peter 1264
„ Barthelmeu, Richard 1199
Fitz Duraunt, Robert 1196
„ Geoffrey, Nicolas 1273
„ Jocey, Nicholas 1248
„ John, Robert 1229
„ John, John 1242
„ Mary, Symon 1233
„ Mary, Symon 1246
„ Neal, Thomas 1208
„ Peter, Joce 1211
„ Reyner, Richard 1189
„ Richard, William 1250
„ Thomas, Thomas 1257
„ Walter, Richard 1230
„ William, Martin 1225-6
„ Yzabel, William 1194
Fleet, John 1688
Flemyng, Richard 1460
Flower, Charles 1799
Floyer, Peter 1701
Fludyer, Sir Samuel 1754
Folsham, Benit de 1324
Foot, Thomas 1645
Forbes, Francis 1713
Ford, Thomas de 1263
Ford, Sir Richard 1663
Forman, William 1533
Forsham, Roger de 1339
Forster, Thomas 1355
Forster, Stephen 1444
Forth, John 1668
Forth, Dannet 1670
Foster, Harry Seymour 1891
Fowke, John 1643
Fowler, R. N., M.P. 1880
Fowles, Thomas 1686
Fraunceis, Simon 1328
Fraunceys, John 1390
Freeman, Ralph 1623
Freling, Bartholomew 1357
Fremyngham, John 1401
Frowick, Henry de 1274
Frowyk, Lawrence de 1246
„ „ 1251
Frowyk, Henry 1427
Fryer, Sir John 1715
Fulham, Adam de 1296
Furneaux, William de 1317
Furnese, Henry 1700
Fyfhede, John 1373
Gabriel, Thomas 1859
Gamage, Anthony 1574
Gardener, Richard 1469
Garlaund, John 1211
Garrard, John 1592
Garrard, Samuel 1702
Garratt, John 1821
Garret, George 1641
Garway, Henry 1627
Gascoyne, Sir Christopher 1747
Gayer, John 1635
Gayton, Robert of 1370
Gedeney, John 1417
Geffery, Sir Charles 1673
Gerard, William 1552
Gerrard, Jacob 1636
Geseorz, John de 1240
Gibbs, William 1644
Gibbs, Michael 1840
Gibbons, Sills J. 1865
Gibson, Nicolas 1538
Gill, William 1781
Girdelere, Robert 1368
Giseburne, Adam de 1243
Gisors, William 1329
Glocester, Richard de 1294
Glode, Sir Richard 1795
Gloucester, John 1345
Glover, William 1601
Glyn, Sir Richard 1752
Glyn, Richard Carr 1790
Goare, William 1615
Goare, John 1615
Godard, Richard 1596
Godchep, Jordan 1283
Godchep, Hamod 1315
Godschall, Sir Ribert 1735
Gold, Thomas 1675
Gomeldon, William 1670
Goodbehere, Samuel 1810
Goodhart, J. E. 1848
Gore, Sir William 1698
Gosling, William 1684
Gosling, Francis 1757
Gracedieu, Bartholomew 1697
Grantham, John de 1322
Grapefige, William 1257
Gray, Edward James 1888
Green, Benjamin 1707
Green, Frank 1897
Gregory, William 1436
Gresham, Richard 1531
Gresham, John 1537
Grey, Richard 1515
Gros, Stephen de 1210
Grosvenor, Sir John 1727
Grove, Roger 1505
Gurney, Richard 1589
Gurney, Richard 1633
Gwynne, Lawrence 1818
Habraham, William 1447
Hacket, Cuthbert 1616
Hadestok, Simonde 1265
Hadley, John 1375
Hadley, S. C. 1876
Hakeneye, Richard 1321
Hales, W. S. 1858
Hales, William 1437
Halifax, Thomas 1768
Hallingbury, Adam de 1295
Halton, Henry 1407
Hamerton, Charles 1793
Hampson, Robert 1598
Hampton, William 1462
Hand, George 1894
Hankey, Sir Henry 1732
Hanson, Sir Robert 1665
Hanson, Sir Reginald 1881
Hardel, William 1207
Hardel, Ralph 1249
Hardel, Robert 1235
Harding, Robert 1568
Hardy, John 1527
Hardyng, Robert 1478
Hariot, William 1468
Harley, Henry 1763
Harmer, Joseph 1833
Harne, Richard 1618
Harper, William 1536
Harris, Sir Augustus H. G. 1890
Harris, Sir Thomas 1764
Harris, Walter Henry 1889
Harrison, Gilbert 1633
Hart, John 1579
Hart, Sir William 1760
Hart, John 1774
Harvey, Sebastian 1609
Harvey, James 1573
Harvy, Walter 1268
Hatfeld, Robert 1371
Haunsard, William 1337
Hauton, Peter 1593
Hautyn, John 1327
Haverille, William de 1191
Haverille, Thomas de 1204
Haverin, Lucas de 1300
Hawes, John 1500
Hawes, Christopher 1503
Hawtein, Walter 1286
Hayden, John 1582
Hayes, Sir Thomas 1604
Hayford, Humphrey 1467
Hayley, George 1775
Heathcote, Sir Gilbert 1703
Heathcote, George 1739
Hede, Henry 1501
Hedges, William 1693
Heigham, John 1426
Heilin, Rowland 1624
Heliland, John 1206
Helyland, Ralph 1212
Helylaunde, Ralph 1217
Hempenale, Edmund 1345
Hende, John 1381
Hereford, William de 1287
Herlison, John 1190
Herne, Sir Nathan 1674
Herne, Sir William 1797
Hervi, Walter 1265
Hewlyn, William 1449
Heygate, William 1811
Heyleston, John 1379
Higgs, William A. 1887
Highlord, John 1634
Hill, Rowland 1541
Hill, Charles 1847
Hille, Thomas 1474
Hiltoft, John 1363
Hind, Augustine 1550
Hinggeston, John de 1334
Hoare, Sir Richard 1709
Hoare, Richard 1740
Hobberthorne, Henry 1542
Hodges, John 1622
Holand, Raphe 1429
Holbech, Hugh 1369
Holgrave, Thomas 1455
Holiday, Leon 1595
Hollyday, William 1617
Holmeden, Edward 1598
Hooker, Sir William 1665
Hopkins, Sir Ribert 1723
Hopkins, John 1784
Hopton, Charles 1708
Horewod, Thomas 1330
Horn, John 1272
„ „ 1275
Horne, Robert 1446
Horne, William 1476
Houblon, John 1689
House, Robert 1586
How, Richard 1678
Hoy, Michael 1812
Humphrey, John 1832
Humphrey, Sir William 1704
Hunter, C. S. 1808
Hunter, William 1844
Husbonde, John 1332
Hyde, William 1399
Ilam, Thomas 1479
Illidge, John 1834
Ireland, Thomas 1365
Iretan, John 1651
Irland, George 1461
Ironside, Edward 1748
Isaacs, Sir Henry A. 1886
Isaak, William 1688
Jackman, Edward 1564
Jamys, Nicolas 1423
Jamys, Bartholomew 1462
Janssen, S. T. 1749
Jarveis, Richard 1546
Jaye, Henry 1613
Jefferies, Jeffery 1699
Jeninges, Stephen 1498
Jennings, Nicholas 1523
Johnson, Thomas 1506
Johnson, Robert 1617
Johnson, John 1836
Johnson, Thomas 1838
Johnson, John 1873
Jolles, Sir John 1605
Jones, Sir Roger 1604
Jones, Francis 1610
Jones, Hugh 1862
Jones, Robert 1870
Joslyn, Ralph 1458
Joyner, William 1222
Jud, Andrew 1544
Juvene, Peter le 1209
Juvene, Constantine de 1212
Juvene, Joce le 1220
Karlyll, Adam 1388
Katcher, John 1587
Kaye, John de 1202
Keats, Frederick 1856
Kelly, Thomas 1825
Kendrick, John 1645
Kennard, R. W. 1846
Kennedy, R. H. 1855
Kensey, Thomas 1685
Keslingbury, Richard de 1342
Key, John 1824
Keyser, P. de 1882
Kimpton, William 1576
Kirby, Lieut.-Col Sir Alfred 1886
Kirby, Robert 1816
Kite, Sir Robert 1760
Knesworth, Thomas 1495
Knight, H E 1875
Knill, Stuart 1889
Knipe, Sir Randolph 1714
Knolles, Thomas 1394
Koudres, John de 1238
Kyme, John 1520
Kyrkby, John 1507
Ladbroke, Sir Robert 1743
Lainson, John 1835
Lambert, John 1551
Lambert, Richard 1566
Lambert, Daniel 1733
Langham, John 1642
Langston, Sir Stephen 1796
Large, Robert 1430
Laun, Robert de 1376
Laurie, John 1845
Lawrence, Sir Joseph 1900
Lawrence, William 1849
„ „ 1857
Laxstone, William 1540
Lee, Richard 1452
Lee, Robert 1594
Legge, Thomas 1344
Leigh, Thomas 1555
Leigh, Joseph 1814
Leighton, Sir William 1803
Lemon, John 1606
Lengleys, Walter 1277
Lequesne, Sir Joseph 1739
Lethieullier, C 1689
Leveson, Nicolas 1534
Levett, Richard 1691
Levett, Richard 1728
Lewen, William 1712
Lewes, Sir Walker 1772
Linton, Robert de 1254
Lion, John 1550
Liptrap, John 1795
Lobenham, Ralph 1412
Lock, William 1548
Lock, Sir John 1726
Lodge, Thomas 1559
Lok, John 1461
Lombe, Sir Thomas 1727
Long, John 1528
Louthe, William 1404
Lovekyn, John 1342
Loveye, John 1389
Lowe, Thomas 1595
Lucas, Adam 1340
Lucas, M. P. 1822
Lumbard, John 1460
Lumley, Martin 1614
Lusk, Andrew 1860
Lycett, Sir F. 1866
Lynge, John 1433
Lynne, Rauf 1349
Lyons, Richard 1374
Lytele, John 1353
Machel, John 1555
Magnay, Christopher 1813
Magnay, William 1841
Mallory, Richard 1557
Malpas, Philip 1439
Marberer, Hugh 1338
Marchall, Robert 1439
Marshall, Chapman 1850
Martin, William 1483
Martin, John 1532
Martin, Roger 1559
Martin, Richard 1581
Martin, Joseph 1770
Masham, William 1583
Maucaulay, G. M. 1790
Maunfeld, Gilbert 1392
Mazerier, William le 1278
„ „ 1281
Mechi, J. J. 1856
Mellish, William 1798
Menhil, Francis 1661
Merlawe, Richard 1402
Merttins, Sir George 1721
Michell, John 1414
Middilton, John 1450
Middleton, Thomas 1603
Miles, Sir John 1806
Milles, Henry 1571
Mills, Edward 1695
Milner, Tempest 1656
Milred, William 1425
Mirfine, Thomas 1511
Mokkinge, John de 1331
Monmouth, Humphrey 1535
Monox, George 1509
Montefiore, Moses 1837
Moore, Sir John Voce 1893
Moore, John 1383
Mordon, Simon 1364
Mordone, George de 1325
Mordone, Walter de 1335
More, Ralph de la 1279
More, W. J. 1386
Morgan, Walter Vaughan 1900
Morstede, Thomas 1436
Moseley, Nicholas 1590
Moulson, Thomas 1623
Muggeridge, Henry 1854
Mundy, John 1514
Munpelers, Richard de 1262
Murden, Jeremiah 1725
Muschamp, Thomas 1463
Musgrave, John 1843
Nash, Sir Nathaniel 1761
Nash, William 1767
Nedeham, Richard 1548
Nele, Walter 1337
Nelson, George 1757
Nevelun, Andrew 1215
Newenton, Thomas 1392
Newland, Thomas 1483
Newman, William 1789
Newnham, Nathaniel 1775
Newton, Alfred J. 1888
Nicholas, Ambrose 1566
Nicholl, John 1413
Nicholson, William 1781
Nicoll, Donald 1849
Nines, Nicholas 1502
Nissen, F. N. 1863
Nordon, Richard 1442
Norman, John 1234
Norman, John 1443
North, John 1376
North, Dudley 1682
Northampton, John de 1253
Norton, William 1408
Nottage, G. S. 1877
Notte, John 1350
Notyngham, Richard 1356
Offley, Thomas 1553
Offley, Hugh 1558
Ogg, Sir W. A. 1881
Oghgon, John 1385
Oleph, John 1568
Olyneye, John 1432
Osborne, Edward 1575
Ottele, Robert 1427
Owden, T. S. 1870
Packe, Christopher 1649
Paget, Robert 1536
Palmere, Roger 1309
Pargitor, Thomas 1521
Paris, Richard de 1271
Paris, Simon de 1302
Paris, Roger de 1304
Parkins, J W 1819
Parsons, Humphrey 1722
Parsons, John 1687
Partrich, Nicolas 1519
Pattesley, John 1432
Peacock, Stephen 1526
Peak, William 1660
Peake, John 1676
Pecche, John 1352
Peckham, Robert 1777
Peek, Richard 1832
Peers, Sir Charles 1707
Peers, Richard 1767
Pemberton, Hugh 1490
Pemberton, Joseph 1602
Pennant, Sir Samuel 1744
Pennington, Isaac 1638
Perchard, Peter 1793
Percivall, John 1486
Perkins, Frederick 1872
Perring, John 1800
Perry, Hugh 1632
Perry, Micajah 1734
Perveys, John 1418
Pesur, Joce le 1218
Philips, James 1653
Phillips, Sir Richard 1807
Phillips, B. S. 1859
Philpot, Matthew 1451
Picard, Henry 1348
Pickett, William 1783
Pikard, Richard 1253
„ „ 1260
Pike, Nicolas 1332
Pilcher, Jeremiah 1842
Pilkington, Thomas 1681
Pinchon, Nicolas 1532
Pindar, Thomas 1731
Pipe, Richard 1572
Pirie, John. 1831
Plomer, William 1774
Plomer, Sir Samuel 1810
Plimbe, Samuel 1776
Plimer, John 1459
Poland, W. H. 1830
Polle, Thomas 1403
Poole, John 1625
Porteen, Francis 1725
Poter, Walter le 1269
Pound, John 1895
Pountfreit, William 1338
Pountfreyt, Henry 1407
Poyntel, John 1318
Pranell, Henry 1585
Prat, Henry 1631
Prescot, Alexander 1612
Prestone, John de 1319
Price, Charles 1798
Priest, John 1532
Prior, John 1317
Pritchard, Sir William 1672
Probyn, Lieut.-Col. Clifford 1898
Prudhomme, William 1320
Pugh, Evan 1779
Pullison, Thomas. 1573
Purchase, William 1492
Pyat, Richard 1610
Pycot, Nicolas 1307
Pyell, John 1369
Pyke, Thomas 1410
Pykeman, Andrew 1377
Radcliffe, Anthony 1585
Rainton, Nicolas 1621
Ramsey, Thomas 1567
Raphael, Alexander 1834
Rawlins, Sir William 1801
Rawlinson, Thomas 1686
Rawlinson, Thomas 1748
Rawstorne, William 1677
Raymond, Jonathan 1679
Read, Bartholomew 1497
Reay, John 1814
Rede, Henry 1417
Refham, Richer de 1298
Remington, William 1487
Renals, Sir Joseph 1892
Renger, Richard 1221
Revell, Robert 1490
Reynardson, Abraham 1640
Reynolds, Richard 1532
Reynwell, William 1411
Rich, Peter 1682
Riche, Richard 1441
Richardson, W. H. 1829
Rider, William 1591
Ritchie, Sir James Thompson 1896
Rivers, John 1565
Rives, Sir Richard 1663
Roberts, John 1818
Robinson, John 1657
Roche, William 1524
Roe, William 1582
Roe, Henry 1597
Rogers, Sir Robert Hargreaves 1896
Rokele, John de la 1341
Rokesle, Gregory de 1263
„ „ 1265
„ „ 1270
Rokesle, Robert de 1284
„ „ 1293
Rotherham, Edward 1612
Rothing, Edward 1326
Rothwell, Richard 1819
Rous, Sir William 1736
Rowe, Thomas 1560
Rudge, Edward 1637
Rudstone, John 1522
Rumeye, Thomas 1290
Rumney, Sir William 1603
Russe, William 1429
Russel, Elias 1292
Russell, Samuel 1731
Rycard, Andrew 1651
Sainsbury, Thomas 1780
St. Albans, John of 1362
Salesbury, Adam de 1323
Salomons, David 1835
Saltenstall, Richard 1588
Salter, Sir John 1734
Saly, Thomas 1298
Samuel, Marcus 1894
Sanderson, Sir James 1785
Savory, J. 1882
Sawbridge, John 1769
Sayre, Stephen 1773
Schadworth, John 1391
Scholey, George 1804
Scot, Thomas 1447
Scudamore, Sir Clement 1605
Seman, Simon 1424
Sevenok, William 1412
Seymer, Thomas 1516
Seynter, Benedict le 1216
Shaa, Edmond 1474
Shaa, Sir Joseph 1496
Shard, Sir Isaac 1730
Sharpe, Joshua 1713
Shaw, James 1803
Shaw, John 1874
Sheldon, Sir Joseph 1666
Shelley, John 1471
Shelton, Nicolas 1511
Shoare, Richard 1505
Shorter, John 1675
Sidney, Thomas 1844
Skevington, John 1520
Skinner, Thomas 1587
Skinner, T. 1783
Slany, Stephen 1584
Sleigh, Edmund 1654
Smart, Sir Joseph 1698
Smelte, Richard 1354
Smith, Richard 1508
Smith, Thomas 1600
Smith, Humfrey 1629
Smith, John 1669
Smith, Sir James 1672
Smith, William 1741
Smith, Thomas 1805
Smith, Christopher 1807
Smith, Clarence 1883
Smith, J. J. 1808
Smithes, George 1611
Smyth, Symkyn 1468
Soame, Thomas 1635
Some, Stephen 1589
Somer, Henry 1495
Spencer, James 1518
Spencer, James 1583
Splyman, Stephen 1404
Spottiswoode, Andrew 1827
Stable, Adam 1391
Stable, Charles 1827
Stahes, Thomas de 1287
Staines, Sir William 1796
Stalbroke, Thomas 1467
Stampe, Thomas 1676
Stanier, Sir Samuel 1705
Staples, John 1877
Starling, Samuel 1661
Staundon, William 1386
St. Edmund, Fulke de 1289
Steed, William 1500
Stephenson, William 1756
Steward, John 1456
Stewart, William 1711
Steynethorpe, Gilbert of 1351
Stokker, John 1459
Stokker, Sir William 1493
Stokkes, John 1477
Stokton, John 1466
Stone, D. H. 1867
Storteforde, John de 1297
Storteforde, W. de 1297
Style, Nicolas 1607
Suckley, Henry 1451
Sutton, John 1413
„ „ 1440
Swan, John 1485
Sweetapple, John 1694
Swift, Richard 1851
Swinerton, John 1602
Syward, John 1343
Taillour, Philip le 1261
„ „ 1269
Tailor, William 1454
Tate, John 1464
Tate, Robert 1481
Tate, John 1485
Tatersale, Robert 1422
Taylor, Sir Robert 1782
Temse, Nathanael 1656
Tholouse, John 1543
Thomas, Nathaniel 1776
Thompson, William 1655
Thompson, William 1822
Thorgold, John 1367
Thorneye, William de 1339
Thorold, Sir Charles 1705
Thorowgood, Benjamin 1685
Thorpe, J. T. 1815
Thovy, Michael 1240
Thurstone, John 1516
Tilney, Ralph 1488
Titchborne, Robert 1650
Torriano, Sir John 1754
Totenham, William 1354
Townsend, James 1769
Towse, John 1640
Travers, John 1223
„ „ 1224
Trecothick, Barlow 1765
Treloar, Sir W. Purdie 1899
Truscott, T. W. 1871
Tulesan, John 1249
Tulse, Sir Henry 1673
Tunderle, Reginald de 1305
Turke, Walter 1334
Twentyman, W. H. 1861
Tyler, George Robert 1891
Vaillant, Paul 1759
Vallentine, James 1869
Vandeput, Peter 1684
Venables, William 1821
Venor, William 1387
Venor, William 1401
Verney, Ralph 1456
Vyel, John 1219
„ „ 1241
Vyel, William 1247
Wade, John 1398
Waithman, Robert 1800
Wakeley, John 1400
Walcote, John 1389
Waldern, William. 1399
Waldeyne, John 1453
Walebroc, Richard de 1261
Waleys, Henry 1270
Wallis, G. A. 1853
Walraven, John 1205
Walthall, William 1606
Walworth, William 1370
Wandesford, Thomas 1423
Ward, Sir John 1470
Ward, John 1479
Ward, Patience 1670
Ward, Sir John 1715
Ward, Thomas 1829
Warde, John 1366
Warley, Henry 1515
Warnar, John 1398
Warner, John 1494
„ „ 1639
Warner, Francis 1659
Warren, Raphe 1528
Water, John be the 1424
Water, Christopher 1451
Waterlow, Sir H. S. 1866
Waterlow, H. J. 1880
Waterman, George 1664
Watson, Brook 1785
Wattes, John 1596
Watts, Robert 1503
Wauborne, John de 1230
Waver, Henry 1465
Webbe, William 1581
Welbeck, William 1492
Welde, William 1353
Welde, Humphrey 1599
Welford, Richard de 1311
Welford, Thomas 1396
Welles, John 1420
Westbrook, William 1738
Westley, Robert 1733
Weston, John 1421
Westray, Thomas 1625
Wheelton, John 1839
Whetenale, William 1440
Whetham, Charles 1873
Whitaker, William 1749
Whitbread, Ive 1755
White, William 1482
White, Thomas 1547
White, John 1556
White, T. 1872
Whitehead, James 1884
Whitmore, George 1621
Whityngham, Geffery 1344
Whityngton, Richard 1393
Whydyngton, Robert 1416
Whytyngham, Robert 1419
Wich, Hugh 1444
Wifelde, Nicolas 1443
Wikyng, William 1481
Wilehale, John de 1238
Wilford, James 1499
Wilford, John 1544
Wilkes, John 1771
Wilkin, Col. Sir Walter 1892
Wilkinson, John 1519
Wilkinson, William 1538
Williams, Sir John 1729
Williams, Robert 1797
Williams, James 1820
Willmot, Robert 1741
Wilson, Rowland 1649
Wilson, Samuel 1833
Wincestre, Richard de 1205
Wincestre, Roger de 1207
Wincestre, William de 1229
Winchester, Nicolas de 1280
Winchester, Henry 1826
Windout, Thomas 1497
Winger, John 1493
Wite, William 1209
Winterbottom, Thomas 1746
Withers, William 1701
Wodecok, John 1397
Wodehous, William 1370
Wolfe, John 1696
Wood, Thomas 1491
Wood, Matthew 1809
Wood, Thomas 1838
Woodcock, Ralph 1580
Woolfe, Sir Joseph 1703
Woollaston, John 1638
Woolloton, Charles 1879
Woodroffe, David 1554
Woodroffe, Nicolas 1572
Worcester, William of 1350
Wotton, Nicolas 1406
Wright, Edmund 1629
Wright, Thomas 1779
Wroth, John 1351
Wymbledon, Richard 1219
Wymburne, Thomas de 1252
Wymondham, Adam 1368
Wynchecombe, Simon 1383
Wyteby, Adam de 1210
Yardford, James 1514
Yong, John 1455
INDEX
Abchurch Lane, 108
Adams, John, 42
Addison, Joseph, 104
Addle Hill, 208
Addle Street, 74
Aguylum, Sir Robert, 112, 116
Ainger, Alfred, 374
Aldermanbury, 70-71
Aldersgate, 349-51
Aldgate, 166-71
Alfred, King, 327
Alegate. See _Aldgate_
Allen, Fifield, 28
Allen, Sir Thomas, 163
Alleyne, Edward, 81, 187
Allhallows Barking, 282, 283
Allhallows, Bread Street, 58
Allhallows, Honey Lane, 38-9
All Hallows Lane, 259
Allhallows, Lombard Street, 105
Allhallows, London Wall, 83, 84
Allhallows Staining, 278-9
Allhallows the Great, 247-8
Allhallows the Less, 248-9
Allot, Sir John, 61
“Allutarii.” See _Cordwainers Company_
Almshouses. See _Churches_
Alwine, Nicholas, 11
Amen Corner, 347-8
Anchorites, 84
Ancient Schools, 385-429
Andrewes, Lancelot, Bishop of Chichester, Ely, and Winchester, 82
Anker, Sir Simon, 84
Apothecaries Company, 204-5
Architecture, 133
Ardene, James, Dean of Chester, 171
Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of, 187
Arkwythe, John, 20
Armourers and Brasiers Company, 65, 66
Armourers’ and Brasiers’ Hall. See _Armourers and Brasiers Company_
Armoury, The, 295-8
Arms, College of. See _Herald’s College_
Arts, Society of, 380
Ascham, Roger, 321
Ashehill, Thomas, 17
Assay Office, 46
Austin Friars, 134
Ave Marie Lane, 347-8
Avenon, Sir Alexander, 10
Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 84, 85
Baker, Philip, 207
Baker, Samuel, 114
Bakers, 55
Bakers Company, 274-5
Bakewell Hall. See _Blackwell Hall_
Battishill, Jonathan, 107
Balmerino, Lord, 286, 298
Baltic and South Sea House, 129
Bamme, Adam, 20
Bancroft, 22
Bane, Ralph, Bishop of Lichfield, 368
Bank of Australia, 130
Bank of England, 94
Bankers in Fleet Street, 365
Baptists, 114
Barbers Company, 88-90
Barham, Richard, 62
Barlow, William, Bishop of Rochester, 276
Barrington, Daines, 375
Barrow, Isaac, 136
Bartholomew Close, 355
Bartholomew Lane, 128
Basing, Adam, 67
Basing, Hugh, 67
Basing, Solomon, 67
Basinghall Street, 67
Bassishaw Street. See _Basinghall Street_
Bates, Dr. William, 369
Baxter, Richard, 128, 320, 369
Bayley, Lewis, Bishop of Bangor, 60
Baynard’s Castle, 190, 215, 216
Bearbinder Lane. See _George Street_
Beaumont’s Inn, 217
Becket, Thomas à, 399
Begerow. See _Budge Row_
Beggars, 308
Bell Inn, 323
Bell, William, Rector of St. Lawrence, Jewry, 27
Bell, William, Prebendary of Westminster, 320
Bell Yard, 102, 366
Belmeis, Bishop Richard de, 390
Beloe, William, 84
Berdmore, Dr., 346
Betterton, Thomas, 382
Beveridge, Bishop of St. Asaph, 97
Bevis Marks, 174
Bickerstaffe, Isaac, 367
Billingsgate, 192, 272-3
Billingsgate Fish Market, 271-3
Billingsley, Sir Henry, 150
Billiter Street, 150
Birch, Dr. Thomas, 249
Birchin Lane, 108
Birchover Lane. See _Birchin Lane_
Bishop, Samuel, 132
Bishopsgate, 175-9, 350
Bishopsgate Institute, 188
Bishopsgate Street Without, 188
Blackall, Offspring, Bishop of Exeter, 49
Blackfriars Bridge, 191-3
Blackfriars Precinct, 200
Blackfriars Theatre, 203
Blackstone, Sir William, 376
Blackwell Hall, 30-32
Blage, Thomas, 43
Blake, C., 321
Blizzard, Sir William, 187
Blomfield, Charles, Bishop of Chester, 188
Bloomfield, Robert, 64
Blowbladder Street, 325, 345, 352
Blue Boar Court, 60
Boar’s Head Tavern, 106, 263
Bodley, Sir Thomas, 355
Boleyn, Queen Anne, 289, 291, 298
Boleyn, William, 10
Bolt Court, 380
Booth, Charles, Bishop of Hereford, 225
Boss Alley, 218
Boswell, James, 259, 367
Bothe, Lawrence, Bishop of Durham, 40, 272
Bow Lane, 53, 54
Bowes, Sir Martin, 46, 103, 104, 106
Bowyer Lane. See _Ludgate Hill_
Bowyer, Sir William, 96
Boyse, Samuel, 17, 76
Bradberry, Thomas, 67
Bradbury, Thomas, 114
Bradford, Samuel, Bishop of Gloucester, 11
Brady, Nicholas, 165
Branch, Sir John, 110
Bray, William, 185
Bread Street, 54-8
Bread Street Hill, 220
Breerewood, Francis, 96
Brewers Company, 74, 75
Brice, Sir Hugh, 106
Brick Court, 375
Brideoake, Ralf, Bishop of Chichester, 127
Bridewell, 313, 315
Bridewell Palace, 190-91
Bridge Gate, 350
Bridge Street, 190
Bridgewater Square, 80
British and Foreign Bible Society, 207-8
Britton, Thomas, 78
Broad Street, 132-4
Broderers Company, 75
Broken Wharf, 218
Brotherton, Thomas, Earl of Norfolk, 218
Brough, William, 98
Brown, Alexander, 22
Brown, Tom, 78
Browne, Sir Thomas, 49, 326
Buchan, Dr., 346
Buckingham, 2nd Duke of, 170, 235
Buckler, Samuel, 352
Buckeridge, John, 82
Bucklersbury, 52
Budge Row, 6
Bulkely, Arthur, Bishop of Bangor, 225
Bull and Mouth Street, 352
Bullen, Sir Jeffrey, 22, 26
Bulleyn, Sir Thomas, 246
Bullingham, John, Bishop of Gloucester, 40
Bull’s Head Passage, 102
Bundy, Dr. Richard, 383
Burbage, Richard, 203
Burke, Edmund, 376
Burley House, 216
Burley, Sir Simon, 216
Burse, 158
Burton, Henry, 60
Butchers, 306
Butchers’ Bridge, 216
Butchers Company, 355-6
Butchers of the Stokkes, 122, 124
Busby, Thomas, 81
Bygod, Hugh de, 218
Cade, Jack, 251, 275
Cæsar, Sir Julius, 375
Calamy, Edmund, 71
Calamy, Edmund, the younger, 71
Caldwell, Dr. Richard, 214
Calendar of St. Paul’s Muniments, 389
Candlewick Street. See _Cannon Street_
Cannon, Robert, 320
Cannon Street, 249-52
Cannon Street Station, 242, 244
Capel Court, 129
Carew, Sir Nicholas, 171
Carlisle, Rev. W., 270
Carpenter, John, 409
Carpenter, John, 96
Carpenters Company, 143-5
Carter Lane, 208-9
Cartwright, Thomas, 223
Castle Mail Packet Company, 148
Cateaton Street. See _Gresham Street_
Catherine Court, 282
Cattle Street. See _Gresham Street_
Cattling Street. See _Gresham Street_
Cave, William, 248
Caxton, William de, 249
Chalmers, Alexander, 347
Champney, Sir John, 275
Change Alley, 99, 100
Chantries. See _Churches_
Chapter Coffee House, 346-7
Charles I., 215
Charter of London, 326
Chatterton, Thomas, 108, 346, 356
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 167-8, 372
Cheapside, 1-9;
conduit, 7;
cross, 4, 5, 6;
standard in Cheape, 3, 4
Chelmsford, Thesiger, Lord, 375
Chequer Lane. See _Dowgate Hill_
Cheyne, Sir William, 214
Chichele, Henry, Archbishop of Canterbury, 119, 275
Chichele, John, 274-5
Child, Sir Francis, 46
Christ Church, 319-20
Christian Evidence Society, 114
Christmas, Gerard, 350
Christ’s Hospital, 306-19
Church Court, 107
Churchill, Charles, 346
Church Missionary Society, 382
City Carlton Club, 110, 115
City Churches, 2-3
City Liberal Club, 118
City Linen Company Bank, 102
City of London Brewery, 244
City of London Club, 137
City of London College, 79-80
City of London Court, 68
City of London School, 38
City of London School for Girls, 191
Clarence, George, Duke of, 245
Clarendon, 376
Clark, Sir Edward, 60
Clayton, Sir Robert, 22
Cloak Street, 222
Clopton, Margery, 96
Cloth Fair, 356
Clothworkers Company, 276-8
Coach and Coach-harness Makers Company, 86
Coaches from London, 352
Coachmakers Company, 85, 86
Coal Exchange, 270, 271, 278
Cobbett, William, 381
Cobblers. See _Cordwainers Company_
Cobden, Richard, 60
Cock Lane, 321
Coffee-houses, 99, 100, 108, 346
Coke, Sir Edward, 375
Coke, Sir John, 224
Cold Harbour, 244
Colechurch Street. See _Old Jewry_
Coleman Street, 63, 64
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 319
Colet, Dean, 62
College Hill, 232, 235
College Street, 232
Colwyn, William, 50
Companies—Apothecaries, 204, 205;
Armourers and Brasiers, 65, 66;
Bakers, 274, 275;
Barbers, 88, 90;
Brewers, 74, 75;
Broderers, 76;
Butchers, 355, 356;
Carpenters, 143-5;
Clothworkers, 276-8;
Coach and Coach-harness Makers, 86;
Coachmakers, 85, 86;
Coopers, 68, 69;
Cordwainers, 252, 253;
Curriers, 274;
Cutlers, 324;
Drapers, 142, 143;
Dyers, 240;
Fishmongers, 259-61;
Founders, 115;
Fruiterers, 227;
Girdlers, 67, 68;
Goldsmiths, 44-47;
Grocers, 13-15, 204;
Haberdashers, 29, 30;
Innholders, 232, 233;
Ironmongers, 148, 149;
Leathersellers, 184, 185;
Mercers, 33, 429;
Merchant Adventurers, 33;
Needlemakers, 127;
Painters or Painter Stainers, 221;
Parish Clerks, 87;
Pinners, 68, 134, 137;
Saddlers, 9;
Salters, 111, 115;
Skinners, 238-40;
Stationers, 199-201;
Tallow Chandlers, 243-45;
Vintners, 229-32;
Watermens, 267;
Wax Chandlers, 30
Condell, Henry, 71
Conduits, 7, 94, 124
Consolidated Bank, 128
Conyhope Lane. See _Grocers’ Alley_
Copped Hall, 239
Copthall Avenue, 140
Copthall Buildings, 139
Cordwainers Company, 252, 253
Cordwainers’ Street. See _Bow Lane_
Cornhill, 91-9
Cornhill Conduit, 94
Cornhill, St. Michael’s, 97, 98
Cornhill, St. Peter’s, 95-7
Cotton, William, Bishop of Exeter, 264
Coventry, Sir John, 11
Coverdale, Miles, 263
Cowie, Benjamin Morgan, 27
Cowley, Abraham, 365
Cowper, John, 98
Cowper, William, 374
Cowper, William, Earl of, 376
Crane Court, 379
Craven, Sir William, 172
Creed Lane, 209
Crispe, Ellis, 58
Crockford, William, 366
Cromwell, Oliver, 64, 82, 165
Cronne, William, 17
Crosby Hall, 178-81
Crosby, Sir John, 178, 183
Crosby Square, 182
Crown Place, 172
Croxall, Samuel, 219
Crutched Friars, 279
Curll, Edmond, 364
Curriers Company, 74
Custom House, 273
Cutlers Company, 324
Dale, Thomas, 383
Danes, Hall of the, 249
Darcy, Thomas, Lord, 171
Davenant, Lady, 382
Davenport, John, 64
Davy, Sir Humphry, 205
Davys, George, Bishop of Peterborough, 84
Dean’s Court, 210
“Dea Matres,” 280
Dee, Francis, Bishop of Peterborough, 105, 222
Defoe, Daniel, 356
Derwentwater, Earl of, 286
Despenser, Hugh le, 8
Despencers, 371
Deutsche Bank, 104
Devereux, Robert, 280
Devon, Henry Courtenay, Earl of, 254
D’Ewes, Sir Symonds, 366
Diana’s Chamber, 213
Dickens, Charles, 376
Distaff Lane, 61
Dobbes, Sir Richard, 60
Doctors’ Commons, 210, 211
Doctors’ Commons, The Deanery, 210
Doggett’s Coat and Badge, 259
Dolben, John, Archbishop of York, 82
Do Little Lane, 211
Dolly’s Chop House, 346
Dominicans, the, or Blackfriars, 190, 200
Donne, Dr. John, 367
Dormer, Sir Michael, 26
Douglas, John, Bishop of Carlisle, 62
Dowgate Hill, 239
Dowgate Wharf, 241
Downham, George, Bishop of Derry, 326
Drake, Sir Thomas, 246
Drapers Company, 142, 143
Drayton, Michael, 365
Dryden, John, 116, 379
Ducksfoot Lane, 255
Dudley, Edmund, 117
Dudley, Lord Guildford, 286, 298
Duke Humphrey, tomb of, 206
Duncombe, Sir Charles, 46
Dung Hill Lane. See _Gardeners’ Lane_
Dyers Company, 240
Earle, Alfred, Bishop of Marlborough, 188
East India House, 162
East Street, 138
Edward IV., 215
Edward VI., 316
Elbow Lane. See _College Hill_
Elcot, Sir John, 298
Eldon, John Scott, Earl of, 376
Elizabeth, Queen, 215, 291
Ellys, Anthony, Bishop of St. David’s, 24, 41
Elms, 357-8
Elsing Spital, 73
Elways, Sir Gervase, 286
Empson, Sir Richard, 117
Engain Lane, 85
Erber, The, 245, 246
Erkenwald, Bishop, 176, 327, 332
Essex, Arthur Capel, 291
Essex, Cromwell, Earl of, 286, 298
“Evil May Day,” 172
Exchange, The Royal, 94, 95, 128
Excise Office, 134
Exeter, John Holland, Duke of, 253
Fabian, Robert, 98
Farmer, Hugh, 114
Farringdon Within, 300
Farringdon Without, 300
Felton, Nicholas, Bishop of Bristol, 11
Fenchurch Street, 146-8
Fen Court, 148
Fenwick, Sir John, 286
Ferguson, James, 381
Fetter Lane, 379
Fewter Lane. See _Fetter Lane_
Fickett’s Field, 371, 379
Finch Lane, 95
Finsbury Circus, 138
Finsbury Square, 138
Fire of 1666, The, 195, 265, 333, 372
Fish Market, 361
Fishmongers Company, 259-61
Fish Street Hill, 263
Fish Wharf, 217
Fitchett’s Court, 85
Fitz-Alwine, Sir Henry, 246, 250
Fitzwalter, Lord, 190
Fitzwalter, Robert, 215
Fleet River, 190, 383, 384
Fleet Street, 362-9
Fleetwood, William, 84, 86
Fleetwood, William, Bishop of St. Asaph’s, 62
Fleur-de-Lys Court, 202-3
Fordyce, Dr., 346
Fore Street, 82
Foster Lane, 42
Foster, Dr. James, 22
Fotherby, Michael, Bishop of Salisbury, 11
Founders Company, 115
Fountain Court, 375
Fox, George, 103
Foxe, John, 79, 81
Franklin, Benjamin, 352
Fratres de Saccâ, 22
Frederick Place, 23
Freeman, Samuel, 28
Friday Street, 58-60
Frobisher, Sir Martin, 81
Fruiterers Company, 227
Fuller, Thomas, 107
Fuller, William, Bishop of Lincoln, 121
Fuller, William, Dean of Durham, 43, 82
Furneaux, Dr. Philip, 114
Fye foot Lane, 219
Galley Quay, 274
Galoche-makers Company, 185
Gaol Fever, 303
Gardens, 63
Gardeners’ Lane, 219
Gardiner, George, 70, 132
Gardiner, Richard, 51
Garlick Hill, 224
Garlick Hithe. See _Garlick Hill_
Garrard, Thomas, 39
Garraway’s Coffee-house, 99, 100
Garrick, David, 108
Garscherche Street. See _Gracechurch Street_
Gates, 139, 169, 176, 178, 196, 300, 301, 349, 350
Gatford, Lionel, 153
Gell, Robert, 49
General Market, 360
General Post Office Savings Bank, 208
George Street, 117
George Yard, 104
Gerrard’s Hall, 56, 57
Gibbon, Edward, 163
Gibbons, Grinling, 295, 336
Giglii, Giovanni, Bishop of Worcester, 258
Gilbert, Robert, Bishop of London, 105
Girdlers Company, 67, 68
Girdlers’ Hall. See _Girdlers Company_
Gisors, John, 229
Gloucester, Duchess of, 259
Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, 215
Gloucester, Richard, Duke of, 178
Glover, Richard, 256
Glyn, William, Bishop of Bangor, 198
Godfrey, Michael, 116
Godliman Street, 210
Gold, Henry, 49
Goldsmith, Oliver, 205, 346, 365, 374, 375, 382
Goldsmiths Company, 43, 47
Goldsmiths’ Hall. See _Goldsmiths Company_
Goldsmiths’ Row, 8
Gooch, Sir Thomas, 107
Goode, William, 207
Goodwin, John, 64
Goose and the Gridiron Tavern, 347
Gouge, William, 202
Gough Square, 381
Gracechurch Buildings, 102
Gracechurch Street, 100
Gracious Street. See _Gracechurch Street_
Grasschurch Street. See _Gracechurch Street_
Gray, Thomas, 100
Great Eastcheap, 263
Great St. Helen’s, 182
Great St. Thomas Apostle Street, 222
Great Swan Alley, 139
Great Trinity Lane, 222
Green Dragon Court, 205
Green Dragon Yard, 321
Green, Robert, 241
Gregory, William, 28
Gresham Club, 106
Gresham College, 27, 134-6
Gresham Life Assurance Society, 17
Gresham Place, 106
Gresham, Sir John, 69
Gresham, Sir Richard, 26
Gresham, Sir Thomas, 103, 134, 183
Gresham Street, 24
Grey Friars’ Church, 310, 314
Grey, Lady Jane, 298
Griffith, Maurice, Bishop of Rochester, 108, 263
Grocers’ Alley, 13
Grocers Company, 13-16, 204
Grove, Robert, Bishop of Chichester, 173
Grub Street. See _Milton Street_
Guildhall, 27
Guildhall Chambers, 69
Guildhall School of Music, 191
Guildhall Yard, 30
Guy, Thomas, 103
Gwent, Richard, 10
Gwynneth, John, 10
Haberdashers Company, 29, 30
Haberdashers’ Hall. See _Haberdashers Company_
Hacket, William, 8
Hale, William, 82
Hall, Edward, 52
Hall, William, 43
Hammersley, Sir Hugh, 172
Hanseatic League, 244
Harding, John, 207
Hardy, Nathaniel, 153
Hare Court. See _Ram Alley_
Hart, Sir John, 112, 116
Hart, Sir Percival, 275
Hart Street, 279
Harris, 382
Harvey, Dr. William, 256
Hasnet, Samuel, Archbishop of York, 264
Haunce merchants, 176
Hawes, Sir James, 110
Hawkesworth, John, 276
Hawkins, Sir John, 276
Hayward, Sir Rowland, 72
Heneage Lane, 174
Heminge, John, 71
Henry V., 245
Henry VIII., 215
Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, 373
Herald’s College, 208-9
Herbert, Lord, of Cherbury, 62
Hermitage of St. James, 87
Herrick, Robert, 43
Hewitt, John, 213
High Courts of Justice, 366
Historical Manuscripts Commission, 340, 389
Hoadley, Benjamin, Bishop of Winchester, 137
Hodgkin, Bishop of Bedford, 97
Hody, Humphrey, 234
Hogarth, William, 354
Hoggene Lane. See _Huggin Lane_
Holdsworth, Richard, Dean of Worcester, 137
Holy Trinity, Minories, 299
Holy Trinity the Less, 221-2
Hone, William, 365
Honey Lane Market, 38
Hood, Thomas, 12
Hook, Theodore, 367
Hooke, Robert, 136
Hoole, John, 366
Hopton, John, Bishop of Norwich, 28
Horsepoole, Simon, 105
Horton, Thomas, 23, 183
Hosier Lane. See _Bow Lane_
Hospital, Royal London Ophthalmic, 137-8
Hospital, St. Anthony’s, 127
Hospitallers of St. John, 371
Hostillers Company. See _Innholders Company_
Houndsditch, 175
Howard, Katherine, 298
Howell, Thomas, Bishop of Bristol, 119
How, William Walsham, Bishop of Bedford, 173
Huggin Lane, 221
Hunt, Leigh, 319
Hunter, John, 205
Hunter, William, 205
Inner Temple, 374
Inner Temple, Masters of, 374
Innholders Company, 232-3
Institute of Chartered Accountants, 139
Ireland, John, 58
Ireland Yard, 205
Ironmonger Lane, 32
Ironmongers Company, 148-9
Ismongers’ Lane. See _Ironmonger Lane_
Ive, William, 234
Ivy Lane, 325, 344
Jansen, Cornelius, 202
Jeffreys, Judge, 71
Jenkyn, William, 320
Jenner, 205
Jerrold, Douglas, 365
Jesus’ Common, 240
Jewin Crescent, 352
Jewin Street, 352
Jewry, 283
Jews, 21-4, 40
Johnson, Edmund, 419, 422, 424
Johnson, Sir John, 43
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 259, 325, 346, 347, 365, 367, 375, 380, 381
Johnson’s Court, 380, 381
Jonathan’s Coffee-house, 99, 100
Jones, Inigo, 214, 255
Jonson, Ben, 202
Jortin, Dr. John, 276
Joustings, 6
Judde, Andrew, 183
Keats, John, 187, 205
Keble, Sir Henry, 49
Kennett, White, Bishop of Peterborough, 49, 71, 171
Ketton Street. See _Gresham Street_
Kidder, Richard, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 132
Kilmarnock, Earl of, 286, 298
King Street, 37
King Edward Street, 320
King William Street, 106
King’s Beam, 14, 15, 94, 268
Kingscote, John, Bishop of Carlisle, 33
Kit-Kat Club, 367
Kite, John, Archbishop of Armagh, 119
Kneller, Sir Godfrey, 221
Knesworth, Thomas, 40
Knight, Charles, 366
Knightrider Street, 210-12, 222
Knowles, Thomas, 51
Kynaston, Herbert, 212
Kyrunelane. See _Maiden Lane_
Lad Lane, 25
Lake, John, Bishop of Chichester, 188
Lamb, Charles, 319, 374
Lambarde, John, 41
Lambe, Dr., 8
Lamplugh, Thomas, Archbishop of York, 50
Lancaster, Thomas, Earl of, 371
Langbourn Chambers, 148
Langley, Sir John, 40
Langton, Thomas, Bishop of Winchester, 58, 105
Large, Robert, 22, 24
Latymer, William, 257
Laud, Archbishop, 286
Laurence Pountney Hill, 255
Lavington, George, Bishop of Exeter, 49, 70
Laxton, Sir William, 49
Leadenhall Chapel, 156, 160
Leadenhall, Court of, 154
Leadenhall Market, 156-60
Leadenhall Street, 154-66
Leather-dressers Company, 185
Leather-dyers Company, 185
Leathersellers Company, 184-5
Lee, Rowland, Bishop of Lichfield, 321
Legate’s Inn, 216
Leland, John, 326
Lely, Sir Peter, 221
Lettsom, Dr., 381
_Liber Albus_, 1, 2, 96
Life Alliance and Fire Office, 128
Lilypot Lane, 85
Lime Street, 150-52
Linacre, Thomas, 211, 322
Lincoln, John, Earl of, 253
Lisle, Samuel, Bishop of Norwich, 11
Little Britain, 352
Little Eastcheap, 268
Little Trinity Lane, 221
Lloyd, Edward, 346
Lombard Street, 102-4
Lombards, The, 102
London House Yard, 347
London Institution, 22
London Joint Stock Bank, 166
London Missionary Society, 138
London Stone, 116, 250-52
London Tavern, 148
London Wall, 82, 83, 137
Long, William, 114
Longson, John, 43
Lort, Michael, 60
Lothbury, 140
Lovat, Simon, Lord, 286, 289, 298
Love Lane, 268
Lovelace, Richard, 221
Lucas, Richard, 64
Lud, King, 196
Ludgate, 195-8
Ludgate Hill, 197, 198
Ludgate Prison, 196
Lyndwood, William, 58
Lyttleton, Sir Thomas, 375
Macfarlane, 347
Maddox, Isaac, 43
Maiden Lane, 227
Maiden Lane. See _Engain Lane_
Mailmakers Company, 185
Mangey, Thomas, 58
Mansfield, Murray, Earl of, 375
Mansion House, 94, 120
Mansion House Place, 122
Mapletoft, John, 27
Marillac, 287
Mark Lane, 278
Markets—Billingsgate Fish Market, 271-3;
Butchers’ Market, 263;
Corn Market, 91;
Evening Market, 52;
Honey Lane Market, 38;
Leadenhall Market, 156-60;
Meat Market, 359;
Newgate Market, 305, 306;
Shambles Market, 305;
Stocks Market, 122-6
Marshall, Nathaniel, 43
Martin the Arbalestin, 40
Martin’s Lane, 257
Martyrs, 359
Mary, Queen, 228
Matilda, Queen, 166
May, John, Bishop of Carlisle, 276
Mayden Lane. See _Distaff Lane_
Maynwaring, Roger, Bishop of St. David’s, 165
Meat Market, 359
Medford, Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 263
Mellitus, 327, 392
Mercers Company, 33-7, 429
Mercers’ Hall. See _Mercers Company_
Merchant Adventurers Company, 33
Merchant Taylors Company, 130-31
Merchant Taylors’ School, 254, 255
Metropolitan Life Assurance Company, 66
Middle Row, 306
Middle Temple, 374
Milbourne Almshouses, 280
Milbourne, Luke, 185
Mildmay, Sir Walter, 354
Mile End, 285
Milk Street, 39, 40
Milles, Dr. Jeremiah, 104
Milton, John, 55, 56, 58, 71, 79, 81, 352, 365, 383
Milton Street, 76-9
Milward, John, 269
Mincing Lane, 276
Minories, The, 298
Mitre Square, 170
Mitre Street, 170
Mitre Tavern, 347
Mogwell Street. See _Monkwell Street_
Molens (or Molyneux), Adam, Bishop of Chichester, 43, 258
Monasteries, 309
Monasteries, Dissolution of, 309
Monk, General, 79, 134, 143
Monkwell Street, 87
Monmouth, Duke of, 286, 298
Montfichet, Tower of, 190
Monument, The, 264-6
Monument Street, 267
Moor Gate, 139
Moore, Sir John, 276
Moore, Thomas, 376
Moorfields, 138, 139
Moorgate Court, 139
More, Sir Thomas, 40, 180, 298
Morice, Sir Christopher, 96
Morstead, Thomas, 17
Morton, John, Archbishop of Canterbury, 276
Motteux, Peter Anthony, 163, 172
Muggewell Street. See _Monkwell Street_
Mugwell Street. See _Monkwell Street_
Munday, Anthony, 64
Munday, Sir John, 10
Murray, Rev. W., 346
Myddelton, Sir Hugh, 46, 60
Nares, Robert, 84
National Bank of India, 128
National Provident Institution, 101
National Provincial Bank of England, 129
Navy Office, 279
Navy Pay Office, 134
Needlemakers Company, 127
Needler’s Lane. See _St. Pancras Lane_
Nelson, Robert, 255
New Court, 357
Newcome, Benjamin, Dean of Rochester, 18
Newgate, 301-3, 350
Newman, John, 114
Newton, Sir Isaac, 299
Newton, John, 106
Newton, Thomas, Bishop of Bristol, 11
Nicholas, Sir Ambrose, 112
Nichols, John, 383
Noble Street, 84
Norman, Sir John, 39
North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, 128
Norths, The, 376
Northumberland, Earl of, 203
Northumberland, John Dudley, Earl of, 298
Northumberland House, 352
Nottingham, Finch, Earl of, 375
Oak Apple Day, 125
Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation, 139
Okey the Regicide, 298
Old Change, 61
Old Fish Street, 212
Oldham, Hugh, 58
Old Jewry, 21
Old King’s Head, 23
Old St. Paul’s, 327-33, 337
Old Swan Pier, 258-9
Old Wardrobe, 23
Oldys, William, 214
Oliver, Isaac, 200, 202
Oriel College, 245
Ormond Place, 224
Overbury, Sir Thomas, 298
Oxford Arms Inn, 323, 348
Oxford Court, 110
Oxford de Veres, Earls of, 163
Oxford, John de Vere, 16th Earl of, 110, 112, 246
Painters or Painter Stainers Company, 221
Panyer Alley, 325, 348
Papey, Fraternity of, 174
Parchment-makers Company, 185
Parish Clerks Company, 87
Parker, Matthew, Archbishop of Canterbury, 59
Paston, Sir John, 322
Paternoster Row, 342-6
Paternoster Square, 344
“Paternostrers”, 342-4
Pattison, William, 79
Paul’s Bakehouse, 210
Paul’s Chain, 210
Paul’s Wharf, 216, 217
Payne, Tom, 379
Peacock, Reginald, Bishop of Chichester, 234
Peake, Sir Robert, 321
Pearce, Zachary, Bishop of Rochester, 127
Pearson, John, Bishop of Chester, 107, 127
Peel, Sir Robert, 8
Peirse, William, Bishop of Peterborough, 127
Pemberton, Sir James, 46
Pembroke, Countess of, 180
Pembroke, Earl of, 215
Pembroke, Aymer de Valence, Earl of, 371
Peninsular & Oriental Steamship Company, 166
Penn, William, 103, 287
Pepperers, Guild of, 14
Pepys, Samuel, 37, 279, 280, 281, 374
Petty Wales, 273
Pewterers Company, 152, 153
Phillippa, Queen, 223
Phillips, 347
Phillips, Mrs. Katherine, 52
Philpot Lane, 269
Phipps, Sir William, 106
Physicians, College of, 322
Picard, Henry, 229
Pickering, Sir William, 183
_Pie Corner_, 321
Pindar, Sir Paul, 187, 188
Pinners Company, 68, 134, 137
Plague, The Great, 117
Playhouse Yard, 203
Pole, Michael de la, Earl of Suffolk, 104
Pole, William de la, 104
Police Office, 23
Poole-Finch, Robert, 98
Pope, Alexander, 76, 103
Pope, Sir Thomas, 118
Pope’s Head Alley, 94
Porson, Prof. Richard, 22
Portpoole Manor, 330
Ports in Thames Street, 192
Postmen’s Park, 351
Pott, Joseph Holden, 24
Pouchmakers Company, 185
Poultney’s Inn, 253
Poultry, The, 1-20
Poultry Compter, 18-20
Poultry Market, 360
Poultry, St. Mildred, 17
Powlet, Sir William, 132
Poynet, John, Bishop of Winchester, 258
Price, Sampson, 320
Pricket, John, Bishop of Gloucester, 173
Printing House Square, 205
Prior, Dr. William, 114
Priory of the Holy Trinity, 165
Prisoners, treatment of, 302
Prison—Bread Street Compter, 56;
Ludgate, 196, 303;
Newgate, 301-303;
Poultry Compter, 18-20;
Tun, 92
Pudding Lane, 265, 266
Puddle Dock, 192, 214
Puddle Dock Hill. See _St. Andrew’s Hill_
Pump Court, 375
Purcell, Henry, 107
Pursers Company, 185
Pynson, William, 364
Pyx, 46
Queen Street, 52, 227
Queen Victoria Street, 207, 208
Queen’s Wardrobe, 223
Queenhithe, 192, 220
Rahere, 353
Ram Alley, 367
Ramsey, Sir Thomas, 106
Randall, John, 268
Ravis, Thomas, Bishop of London, 283
Rawlins, Richard, Bishop of St. David’s, 106, 198
Red Wool Wharf, 259
Redcross Street, 80
Rees, Dr. Abraham, 114
Regalia, 293-5
“The Reole.” See _Tower Royal_
Reynolds, Edward, Bishop of Norwich, 27
Rich, Lord, 353
Rich, Richard, 25
Richard II., 244
Richardson, Robert, 248
Richardson, Samuel, 365, 382, 383
Riley quoted, 32, 37, 40, 67, 70, 85, 87, 92, 102, 108, 110, 115, 117,
119, 124, 147, 153, 154, 168, 175, 264, 276, 325
Ringed Hall, 226
Robins’ Coffee-house, 99
Rogers, John, 60, 61, 222, 321
Rogers, John, 82
Rolls and Record Office, 376-9
Romaine, William, 207, 369
Roman Bath Street, 320
Roman remains, 12, 85, 101, 150, 161, 191, 243, 264, 271, 275, 362
Rood Lane, 269
“Roomland,” 194
Roper, William, 180
Rosamund, 213
Rose, Manor of the, 256
Rose Street, 325
Rother Lane. See _Pudding Lane_
Rotherham, Thomas, Archbishop of York, 43
Rowden, 376
Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, 137, 138
Royal Society, 136, 367
Roycroft, 353
Russell, John, Bishop of Rochester, 172
Russell, Sir William, 276
Ryves, Bruno, 228
Saddlers Company, 9
St. Alban, Wood Street, 41
St. Alphage, London Wall, 71-3
St. Andrew’s Hill, 205
St. Andrew Hubbard, 268
St. Andrew’s School, Holborn, 428
St. Andrew Undershaft, 172, 173
St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, 206, 207
St. Anne, Blackfriars, 200
SS. Anne and Agnes, Aldersgate, 27, 28
St. Antholin’s. See _St. Anthony_
St. Anthony, Church of, 50
St. Anthony, Fraternity of, 14
St. Anthony’s Hospital, 385, 407-426
St. Augustine’s, 62
St. Augustine’s in the Wall, 174
St. Bartholomew, 79
St. Bartholomew Exchange, 127
St. Bartholomew the Great, 353, 354
St. Bartholomew Hospital, 309, 310
St. Bartholomew the Less, 354, 355
St. Benet, Grasschurch, 101
St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf, 214
St. Benet Finck, 128
St. Benet Sherehog, 51, 118
St. Bennet’s Hill, 210, 213
St. Botolph, Aldersgate, 351, 352
St. Botolph, Aldgate, 171
St. Botolph, Billingsgate, 272
St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, 186-8
St. Bride, 382, 383
St. Christopher le Stocks, 126, 127
St. Clare, nuns of, 298
St. Clement, Eastcheap, 107
St. Clement’s Lane, 106
St. Dionis, Backchurch, 153
St. Dunstan in the East, 275, 276
St. Dunstan in the West, 367-9
St. Edmund, King and Martyr, 104
St. Ethelburga, the Virgin, 185, 186
St. Ewen’s, 305
St. Gabriel, Fenchurch, 150
St. George’s Church, Billingsgate, 266, 267
St. Giles, Cripplegate, 80-82
St. Gregory by St. Paul’s, 341
St. Helen, Bishopsgate, 182
St. Helen’s Place, 183
St. James, Duke’s Place, 165, 166
St. James, Fraternity of, 226
St. James, Garlick Hill, 224
St. James on the Wall, 82
St. John the Baptist, 241
St. John, the Evangelist, Friday Street, 59, 60
St. John Zachary, 28
St. Katherine Coleman, 149, 150
St. Katherine Cree, 164, 165
St. Lawrence, Jewry, 25, 26
St. Lawrence Lane, 37
St. Lawrence Poultney, 257
St. Leonard’s, 47
St. Leonard, Eastcheap, 266
St. Magnus, London Bridge, 261-3
St. Margaret, Lothbury, 140
St. Margaret, New Fish Street, 264
St. Margaret Moses, Friday Street, 60
St. Margaret Pattens, 269
St. Martin, Ludgate, 197, 198, 348
St. Martin-le-Grand, 9, 351
St. Martin-le-Grand School, 305, 306
St. Martin Orgar, 257
St. Martin Outwich, 131, 132
St. Martin Pomeroy, 32
St. Martin Vintry, 228
St. Martin’s Lane, Aldersgate, 352
St. Mary Abchurch, 109, 110
St. Mary Aldermanbury, 71
St. Mary Aldermary, 49
St. Mary Axe, 172
St. Mary Bothaw, 246
St. Mary-le-Bow, 10
St. Mary-le-Bow School, 404, 405
St. Mary Colechurch, 23
St. Mary-at-Hill, 270
St. Mary Magdalen, 178
St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, 40
St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, 212, 213
St. Mary Mounthaw, 217
St. Mary Somerset, 218
St. Mary Spital, 188
St. Mary Staining, 47, 48
St. Mary, Warwick, 395
St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, 120, 121
St. Matthew, Friday Street, 60
St. Michael, Bassishaw, 69, 70
St. Michael, Cornhill, 97, 98
St. Michael, Crooked Lane, 258
St. Michael, Queenhithe, 220, 221
St. Michael-le-Querne, 326
St. Michael, Royal, 233, 234
St. Michael, Wood Street, 41
St. Michael’s Alley, 97
St. Mildred, Bread Street, 57, 58
St. Mildred, Poultry, 17
St. Nicholas Acon, 108
St. Nicholas, Brotherhood of, 178
St. Nicholas, Cole Abbey, 211, 212
St. Nicholas, Fleshambles, 305
St. Nicholas Lane, 107
St. Nicholas Olave, 220
St. Olave, Hart Street, 86, 87
St. Olave, Jewry, 24
St. Olave, Silver Street, 86, 87
St. Pancras Lane, 51
St. Pancras, Soper Lane, 51
St. Paul’s, 327-41
St. Paul’s, Chapel of St. Faith, 340, 344
St. Paul’s, Chapter of, 330
St. Paul’s Chapter-house, 341
St. Paul’s Churchyard, 341, 345
St. Paul’s Crypt, 338
St. Paul’s, monuments in, 337-9
St. Paul’s, Mosaics, 338
St. Paul’s School, 62, 389-404
St. Peter, Cornhill, 95-97
St. Peter, Paul’s Wharf, 217
St. Peter-le-Poer, 136, 137
St. Peter, Westcheap, 10
_St. Peter ad Vincula_, 292, 298
St. Peter’s Alley, 97
St. Peter’s College, 210
St. Peter’s School, Cornhill, 428
St. Sepulchre, 320, 321
St. Stephen, Coleman Street, 64
St. Stephen, Walbrook, 118
St. Swithin’s Church, 116
St. Swithin Lane, 110
St. Thomas of Acon, 37
St. Thomas of Acon Hospital, 428
St. Thomas the Apostle, 222, 223
St. Thomas à Becket, 23
St. Thomas Hospital, 312
St. Vedast’s Church, 42, 43
St. Vedast’s Lane. See _Foster Lane_
Salisbury, Richard Nevil, Earl of, 245
Salisbury Court Theatre, 382
Salisbury Square, 382
Salters Company, 111-15
Salters’ Hall Chapel, 114-15
Salvation Army Headquarters, 208
Sandford, 382
Savage, Sir Arthur, 48
Savage, William, 207
Scalding Alley, 12
School of York, 398
Scottish Corporation, 379
Scriveners Company, 86
Scroope, Geoffrey 245
Scrope’s Inn, 216
Sebert, King of the East Saxons 327, 332
Sedley, Sir Charles, 366, 367
Seething Lane, 279, 281, 282
Sermon Lane, 213, 404
Seton, John, 264
Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas, Lord, 286, 298
Shadworth, Sir John, 58
Shakespeare, William, 203, 205, 208, 209, 254
Sharp, John, Archbishop of York, 127
Sheath-makers Company. See _Cutlers Company_
Sheer Lane. See _Shire Lane_
Sherborne Lane, 110
Sheremonier’s Lane. See _Sermon Lane_
Sherlock, William, 272, 374
Shire Lane, 366
Shoemakers’ Row. See _Carter Lane_
Shore, Jane, 103
Shrewsbury, Earl of, 245
Shrewsbury, Gilbert Talbot, Earl of, 134
Shrewsbury, Margaret, Countess of, 286, 298
Shrewsbury House, 245
Shuttleworth Club, 219
Shuttleworth, Prebendary, 212
Sidney, Algernon, 286
Signs (Old) in Thames Street, 195
Silver Street, 86
Sion College, 73, 131, 191
Size Lane, 52
Skeat, Prof., quoted, 147, 166, 167
Skinner, Cyriack, 278
Skinners Company, 238-40
Skinners’ Place, 102
Smith, Captain John, 321
Smith, Richard, 234, 276
Smithfield, 357-61
Smollett, Tobias George, 205
Snape, Andrew, 270
Somers, John, Lord, 376
Somerset, Duke of, 228, 286, 298
Soper Lane, 52
South Sea House, 127, 137
Speed, John, 81
Spencer, Sir John, 180, 183
Spital Square, 188
Sporier Row. See _Creed Lane_
Spread Eagle Court, 55
Stafford, William Howard, Lord Viscount, 286
Stapleton, Walter, Bishop of Exeter, 6, 322
Stationers Company, 199-201
Steele, Sir Richard, 226
Steelyard, The, 244
Stevens, Alexander, 346
Stock Exchange, 99, 129
Stocks Conduit, 124
Stocks Market, 122-6
Stockton, John, 51
Stow, John, quoted, 3, 7, 8, 11, 31, 37, 40, 48, 52, 55, 56, 58, 61,
63, 70, 74, 87, 91, 92, 108, 110, 112, 116, 118, 119, 121, 124, 127,
133, 135, 149, 150, 152, 155, 156, 158, 168, 172, 173, 175, 178,
183, 196, 198, 210, 213, 216, 218, 222, 223, 224, 227, 228, 231,
237, 245, 246, 247, 249, 259, 264, 266, 267, 269, 273, 274, 298,
301, 318, 322, 350, 357, 360, 379, 387, 388, 407, 408, 421, 422,
423, 426, 427, 428
Stowell, William Scott, Lord, 376
Strafford, Earl of, 286, 368
Straw, Jack, 358
Strype, John, quoted, 6, 12, 18, 37, 38, 55, 92, 100, 117, 122, 125,
133, 135, 150, 158, 174, 196, 213, 216, 231, 236, 237, 241, 246,
250, 251, 255, 421, 426
Stubbs, Philip, 72, 226
Suffolk Lane, 253-5
Suffolk, William de la Pole, Duke of, 253
Sully, Duc de, 180
Sun Fire Office, 128
Surgeons, Fraternity of, 88
Surrey, Henry, Earl of, 256, 286
Sussex, Fitzwalter, Earl of, 254
Swan with two Necks, 25
Swift, Dean, 76
Sydenham, Dr., 205
Synagogue, Great, 165
Talfourd, Sir Thomas, 376
Tallow Chandlers Company, 243, 244
Tarleton, Richard, 101
Taverns, 209
Taverns in Fleet Street, 363, 364
Taylor, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 97
Taylor, Rev. John, 383
Taylor, John, (poet), 110
“Tellarii.” See _Clothworkers Company_
Temple, The, 370-76
Temple Church, 372-4
Temple Church, monuments in, 374
Tenterden, Charles, Lord, 375
Thackeray, William, 374-6
Thames, River, foreshore of, 192, 194
Thames Street, 191-5
Thomas, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 60
Thomas, John, Bishop of Rochester, 383
Thorney, Roger, 26
Thornhill, Sir James, 221, 342
Threadneedle Street, 127
Three Cranes Stairs, 228
Throckmorton, Sir Nicholas, 141, 165
Throgmorton Street, 141
Thurlow, Edward, Lord, 375
Tillotson, John, 26
Tiltmongers Company, 185
Timber Hithe, 219
_Times, The_, 205
Tiptoft, John, Lord High Treasurer of England, 226
Tokenhouse Yard, 140
Tompion, Thomas, 365, 382
Tom’s Coffee-house, 108
Tonson, Jacob, 364, 366
Tower Hill, 285-7
Tower of London, 288-98
Tower, Royal, 223
Tower Street, 275
Towers, Dr., 346
Trained Bands, 139
Trapp, Joseph, 320
Trenchaunt, Lord, 58
Tressilian, Sir Robert, 70
Trig Lane, 218
Trinity, Fraternity of, 160, 161
Trinity House, 283-85
Trinity Square, 283
Trump Street, 37
Tuckney, Anthony, 326
Tun in Cornhill, 92
Tunstall, Cuthbert, Bishop of Durham, 245
Turner, William, 280
Turnmill Brook. See _Fleet River_
Turnwheele Lane, 237, 247
Twyford, Sir Nicholas, 60
Tyler, Wat, 357
Tyndale, William, 368, 369
Underhill, 382
Union Bank of Australia, 95
Van Dyck, Sir Anthony, 202
Van Mildert, William, Bishop of Llandaff, 11
Vanbrugh, Sir John, 118
Vane, Sir Harry, 286
Vaughan, Charles, 374
Vaughan, Edward, Bishop of St. David’s, 60
Venetian glass, 134
Venner, 64
Verrio, Antonio, 221
Vincent, William, 248
Vintners Company, 229-32
Vintry, the, 228
Vyner, Sir Robert, 46, 110, 125, 126
Vyner, Sir Thomas, 106
Waddington, Edward, Bishop of Chichester, 248
Waingate. See _Puddle Dock_
Waithman, 365
Wakering, John, 52
Walbrook, The, 117, 122, 192, 232
Walker (the rhetorician), 346
Walker, John, 223
Wallace, Sir William, 148, 358
Walsingham, Sir Francis, 279
Walton, Bryan, Bishop of Chester, 107, 258
Walton, Izaak, 368
Walworth, William, 258
Ward, Sir Patience, 110
Ward, Seth, Bishop of Exeter, 27
Wardrobe, The, 206
Wardrobe Place, 206
Warren, Sir Ralph, 52
Warwick, John Dudley, Earl of, 286
Warwick, Richard, Earl of, 245
Warwick Inn, 322
Warwick Lane, 321-4
Water Lane, 203, 382
Watermens Company, 267
Watling Street, 48, 49, 50, 55, 301
Watts, Isaac, 278
Watts, William, 42
Waugh, John, Bishop of Carlisle, 97
Wax Chandlers Company, 30
Wax Chandlers’ Hall. See _Wax Chandlers Company_
Weigh-house, 94, 268
Wells, Sir Spencer, 205
Wesley, John, 365
Wesleyan Centenary Hall, 182
West Chepe. See _Cheapside_
Westfield, Thomas, Bishop of Bristol, 354
Westmoreland, Ralph Nevil, Earl of, 245
Weston, Hugh, 220
Whalley, Peter, 269
Wharton, Dr. Thomas, 69
Whichcote, Dr. Benjamin, 26
White, Francis, Bishop of Ely, 97
White, Thomas, Bishop of Peterborough, 248
White, Dr. Thomas, 368, 369
White, William, 27
White Friars, 190
White Hart Street, 325
White Tawyers, 185
Whitechapel, High Street, 171, 172
Whitefield, George, 365
Whitelocke, Bulstrode, 368
Whittington, Sir Richard, 11, 34, 234, 280, 303, 304
Whittington’s College, 234, 235
Whittington’s Mansion, 236
Wilkins, Dr. John, 26
William of Kingston, 96
Williams, John, Bishop of Chichester, 18
Wilson, Sir Erasmus, 205
Wilson, Thomas, 119
Winchester Street, 133, 137
Windmill Court, 321
Winwood, Sir Ralph, 355
Wood Street, 9, 40, 41
Woodfall, Henry, 366
Wool Exchange, 69
Wool Haw, 121
Worcester Place, 226
Wormwood Street, 137
Wren, Sir Christopher, 10, 25, 28, 41, 42, 49, 50, 60, 64, 69, 71, 95,
97, 104, 105, 109, 116, 117, 118, 128, 136, 140, 197, 206, 210, 211,
214, 218, 220, 247, 250, 251, 262, 264, 269, 270, 275, 295, 319,
322, 333-6, 339, 340, 347, 362, 372, 379
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 279, 286
Wyclif, John de, 24
Wyerworkers Company, 68
Wykeham, William of, 348
Wynkyn de Worde, 364, 367, 383
Yong, John, 378
York, the Hon. James, Bishop of Ely, 248
York, Richard, Duke of, 215
Young, Edward, 270
Young, John, 39
Ypres Inn, 224
Ypres, John of, 224
THE END
_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.
-----
Footnote 1:
These were the leaden figures on the cross.
Footnote 2:
Now Foster Lane and Gresham Street respectively.
Footnote 3:
Since pulled down and re-erected as a Students’ Hall of Residence at
Chelsea.
Footnote 4:
_Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part I. p. 352.
Footnote 5:
Royal Commission on Historical MSS., Report IX.
Footnote 6:
_Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part I. p. 53.
Footnote 7:
_Spectator_, August 18, 1711.
Footnote 8:
_Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part II. p. 737.
Footnote 9:
Strype, 1720, vol. i. bk. iii. p. 2, and vol. ii. bk. v. p. 194.
Footnote 10:
The documents, eighteen in number, showing the exact history of the
property are to be found summarised in John Porter’s will as given in
the _Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part II. p. 596.
Footnote 11:
The will is given in Herbert’s _Livery Companies_, vol. ii. p. 636,
and is recited in the _Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings.
Footnote 12:
Hazlitt’s _Livery Companies_, p. 324.
Footnote 13:
_Social England_, iii. 229; _London, 1818_, ii. 20.
Footnote 14:
The story is estimated mainly from _The Royal Hospitals_, a collection
of “Memoranda” compiled by J. F. Firth, Town Clerk of London, for the
Common Council from original documents, in 1863, with a Supplement
added in 1867.
Footnote 15:
Repertory, iii. _f._ 190.
Footnote 16:
Letter Book P, _f._ 220 _b._
Footnote 17:
Indenture, December 27, 1547, _ad init._ _Royal Hospitals_, p. 20.
Footnote 18:
_Machyn’s Diary_ (Camden Society).
Footnote 19:
_Royal Hospitals_, p. 45, from Jor. 15 _f._ 325 _b._
Footnote 20:
Case p. 83, from Rep. _f._ 59, 6.
Footnote 21:
_Lever’s Sermons_, p. 81 (Auber’s Reprints).
Footnote 22:
Case from Strype’s _Stow_.
Footnote 23:
Printed for the Governors, January 1889, and annexed to the “Case.”
Footnote 24:
Case p. 106.
Footnote 25:
_Royal Hospitals_, Supplement, p. 3.
Footnote 26:
Particulars for grants, Augmentation Office, Gresham, Hill, and
others.
Footnote 27:
_Royal Hospitals_, Supplement, p. 36. The petition is only dated as
made in 1552.
Footnote 28:
_Grey Friars’ Chronicle._
Footnote 29:
Repertory 12, ii. _f._ 526 _b._
Footnote 30:
_Grey Friars’ Chronicle_.
Footnote 31:
In the first Account Book in Christ’s Hospital it appears that on
December 23, 1553, Guy Wade gave 50s. to Christ’s Hospital “on
condition that the house of occupations be erected before midsummer
next,” and it is entered as received on June 25, 1554.
Footnote 32:
Strype’s _Stow_; cp. Supplement to _Royal Hospitals_, p. 32, where it
is printed from Harl. MS. 604.
Footnote 33:
_Survey_ III. viii. Ed. 1754.
Footnote 34:
_Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part I. p. 57.
Footnote 35:
Clove pinks, from the French girofle.
Footnote 36:
_Calendar of Wills_ in the Court of Hustings, Part II. p. 75.
Footnote 37:
The present Hall dates from 1887.
Footnote 38:
_Early Yorkshire Schools_, vol. i. p. 2, Yorkshire Archæological
Society, 1899.
Footnote 39:
_Materials for the History of Thomas à Becket_, vol. iii. p. 4,
Rolls Series.
Footnote 40:
The true reading is no doubt _collectantes_ as in Pegge’s edition,
not _colluctantes_ as in the Rolls edition. Collections is a term
still in use for college examinations at Oxford. Anciently it was
a sort of “Speech Day” at which the masters collected fees of a
more or less voluntary character from their pupils.
Footnote 41:
_History of the Life of King Henry II._, London 1767, ii. 351.
Footnote 42:
_A Survey of London_, imprinted by John Wolfe, 1598, p. 54.
Footnote 43:
Now in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow; but there is an inaccurate
transcription in the Guildhall Library MS.
Footnote 44:
An entry in the Patent Rolls 19 Henry VI. ii. 19, “Pro Scolaribus S.
Trinitatis, London, et aliis” refers to the foundation of a College at
Oxford for the reception of the students from all the houses of
Augustinian canons in England, the Prior of Trinity being only the
first of a list, to whom with the Abbot of Waltham, the Prior of
Twineham (Christ Church, Hants), the Abbot of Leicester, the Priors of
Guisborough, Bridlington, St. Oswald’s, Nostell, Hexham, and Carlisle,
the Patent was addressed. This college was known as St. Mary’s
College, and Erasmus himself, an Augustinian canon, lived there when
at Oxford. The fact that the Augustinian houses each sent one or two
of their own members as students to the university does not imply that
they kept public grammar schools or did anything for general
education.
Footnote 45:
_Hist. MSS. Commission Report IX._, Appendix.
Footnote 46:
Vol. i. p. 252, Rolls Series.
Footnote 47:
_Dugdale’s History of St. Paul’s_, ed. 1716, p. 9: “Which Henry had
such great respect in those days that Henry de Bloys that famous
Bishop of Winchester (who was nephew to the King) commanded that none
should presume to teach school in London without his licence.”
Footnote 48:
_History of Winchester College_, by A. F. Leach (Duckworth & Co.,
1899), pp. 37 and 330.
Footnote 49:
See my _Early Yorkshire Schools_, Yorkshire Archæological Society,
1899, pp. 24, 27, 30, 80 _n._, 87-8.
Footnote 50:
This is the title given in the Chartulary called Liber A. It is not on
the original document.
Footnote 51:
_Ralph de Diceto_, Rolls Series, No. 68, Introd. p. xxi.
Footnote 52:
_History of St. Paul’s Cathedral_, by Sir William Dugdale, 2nd edition
by Edward Maynard, London, 1716.
Footnote 53:
But to judge from Alcuin’s poem and the Institution of St. Osmund, in
most cathedrals the schoolmaster was also librarian.
Footnote 54:
_Early Yorkshire Schools_, pp. lx, xxiv, xxv, and passim.
Footnote 55:
MS. in possession of the warden of New College, Oxford; see _History
of Winchester College_, pp. 33, 36.
Footnote 56:
Cp. _Life of Dean Colet_, by J. H. Lupton (George Bell, 1887), p. 156.
Footnote 57:
Bede, ii. 3, p. 85, ed. C. Plummer, Clarendon Press, 1896.
Footnote 58:
Bede, ii. 5, 6.
Footnote 59:
Bede, iii. 22.
Footnote 60:
Bede, iii. 7.
Footnote 61:
Bede, Preface, p. 6.
Footnote 62:
St. Paul’s Muniments, W. D. 19.
Footnote 63:
_Early Yorkshire Schools._
Footnote 64:
_The Foundation of Waltham Abbey_, by W. Stubbs (now Bishop of
Oxford), J. H. and J. Parker, Oxford, 1861.
Footnote 65:
Chap. xi. p. 10, literalibus institutus disciplinis.
Footnote 66:
P. 15.
Footnote 67:
Chap. xxv. p. 35.
Footnote 68:
_Henry the Second_, II. 315.
Footnote 69:
Appendix to Stow’s _Chronicle of England_, ed. 1631.
Footnote 70:
Rashdall, I. 111; from _Sarti_ on the Bologna Professors, II. ii.
Footnote 71:
“The Origin of Oxford,” _National Review_, September 1896.
Footnote 72:
_Early Yorkshire Schools_, p. 5.
Footnote 73:
_Statutes Baldock and Lisieux_, Part I. chap. liv.
Footnote 74:
Part VII. chap. vi. _ibid._
Footnote 75:
Harl. MS. 1080.
Footnote 76:
_Early Yorkshire Schools_, p. 94.
Footnote 77:
P. 155.
Footnote 78:
Harl. MS. 1080, p. 32.
Footnote 79:
_Calendar of Hustings’ Wills_, ed. Sharpe, i. 281.
Footnote 80:
_Calendar of Hustings’ Wills_, ed. Sharpe, i. 281.
Footnote 81:
_Calendar of Hustings’ Wills_, ed. Sharpe, i. 609.
Footnote 82:
_ibid._ ii. 21.
Footnote 83:
1832; printed by J. G. Nichols.
Footnote 84:
Lambeth MSS., _Register Winchelsea_, f. 24 b.
Footnote 85:
Lambeth, _Register Arundel_, f. 93 a.
Footnote 86:
P. 205.
Footnote 87:
Letter Book B, f. 33_b_, now calendared p. 73 of the _Calendar of
Letter Books_ edited by Dr. Sharpe, 1900, to whom I am indebted for
the reference. To avoid the charge of plagiarism in what is above
said, I should explain that the note on the page referred to was
supplied by me.
Footnote 88:
Courtney.
Footnote 89:
_England in the Age of Wycliffe_, by G. M. Trevelyan, p. 372.
Footnote 90:
Ed. cit. p. 145.
Footnote 91:
P. 18.
Footnote 92:
_London and the Kingdom._
Footnote 93:
See above.
Footnote 94:
Pat. 24 Henry VI. ii. m.
Footnote 95:
I am indebted to Mr. C. L. Shadwell, then Bursar, now Provost, whose
_Registrum Orielense_ and other writings on the history of the college
are well known, for this information.
Footnote 96:
_Windsor Muniments_, xv. 37, 10.
Footnote 97:
_Endowed Grammar Schools_ by Nicholas Carlisle, London, 1818, i. 56;
repeated by H. C. Maxwell-Lyte, _History of Eton College_, p. 62
(Macmillan, 1877).
Footnote 98:
Pat. 14 Edward IV. ii. 5, 26 February 1474/5.
Footnote 99:
Cp. collections for Beverley Minster in 1305 and later years (Surties
Society, No. 98, p. 102).
Footnote 100:
_Church Briefs_, by W. A. Bewes, London, 1896.
Footnote 101:
For one term only. It had just been let on a new lease (_jam
affirmatur_) to new proctors for £7 : 6 : 8 a year.
Footnote 102:
For one term only. It was let for £18 a year.
Footnote 103:
Let at £80 a year.
Footnote 104:
Let at £30 a year.
Footnote 105:
Part payment; full rent £13 : 6 : 8.
Footnote 106:
_Historical MSS. Commission Report IX._, Appendix, Canterbury, 105
_b_.
Footnote 107:
_History of Winchester College_, p. 193.
Footnote 108:
The earliest mention of the Michaelmas goose I have seen is in the
“charge of St. Nicholas Hospital, Pontefract,” in 1432; but it was
then ancient. The common story of its being derived from the fact that
Queen Elizabeth was eating goose on Michaelmas Day when she heard the
news of the Spanish Armada is manifest nonsense, as the Armada was
destroyed during the first week in August.
Footnote 109:
_English Schools at the Reformation_, by A. F. Leach (Constable & Co.,
1896), pt. ii. p. 8.
Footnote 110:
Stow, ed. 1598, p. 55.
Footnote 111:
Stow, ed. 1603, p. 75.
Footnote 112:
Strype’s _Stow_, ed. 1720, i. 121.
Footnote 113:
Strype gives no reference, but the story is to be found in Nichol’s
_Progresses of Queen Elizabeth_, i. 54, the writer being Laneham or
Langham, who calls himself “Clark of the Counsel Chamber door and also
Keeper of the same.”
Footnote 114:
_History of Winchester College_, p. 369.
Footnote 115:
Guildhall Records, Letter Book T., 46 _b_, 20th August, 3 Elizabeth.
Footnote 116:
Le Neve’s _Fasti Ecclesia Anglicance_ makes him die in 1560, but as
Pat. 5 Eliz., Pt. IV. m. 36 is quoted for the appointment on November
19 of his successor, Richard Ryve, it is clear that a mistake has been
made in reckoning the year Anno Domini, for the fifth year of Queen
Elizabeth began November 1562.
Footnote 117:
Vol. i. 63.
Footnote 118:
_Windsor Muniments_, xv. 37, 76.
Footnote 119:
P. 55. ed. 1598.
Footnote 120:
P. 205.
Footnote 121:
P. 152.
Footnote 122:
P. 316.
Footnote 123:
P. 214.
Footnote 124:
Vol. ii. 248.
Footnote 125:
Strype’s _Stow_.
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