WESTMINSTER.

I NOW return to the extremity of the weſtern part of our capi⯑tal on the oppoſite ſhore. In the time of queen Elizabeth, the ſhore correſpondent to Lambeth was a mere marſhy tract. Mill-bank, MILL-BANK. the laſt dwelling in Weſtminſter, is a large houſe, which took its name from a mill which once occupied its ſite. Here, in my [59] boyiſh days, I often experienced the hoſpitality of the late Sir Robert Grovenour, its worthy owner, who enjoyed it, by the pur⯑chaſe, by one of his family, from the Mordaunts, earls of Peter⯑borough. All the reſt of his vaſt property about London devolved on him in right of his mother, Mary, daughter and heireſs of Alexander Davies of Ebury in the county of Middleſex. I find, in the plan of London by Hollar, a manſion on this ſpot, under the name of Peterborough-houſe. It probably was built by the firſt earl of Peterborough. It was inhabited by his ſucceſſors, and retained its name till the time of the death of that great but irregular genius Charles, earl of Peterborough, in 1735. It was rebuilt in its preſent form by the Grovenour family.

A LITTLE farther was the antient Horſe-ferry between Weſtmin⯑ſter and Lambeth: HORSE-FERRY. ſuppreſſed on the building of Weſtminſter-bridge.

A LITTLE beyond the Horſe-ferry ſtands the church of St. John the Evangeliſt, one of the fifty voted by parlement, to give this part of the town the air of the capital of a chriſtian country. It was begun in 1721, and finiſhed in 1728. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh. Notwithſtanding it is deſervedly cenſured for its load of ornaments, they are by no means deſtitute of beauty. The aim at exceſs of magnificence is not a fault peculiar to the builder.

AT a ſmall diſtance to the eaſt is that noble ſpecimen of gothic architecture,WESTMINSTER ABBY. the conventual church of St. Peter's abby of Weſt⯑minſter. The church is ſaid to have been founded about the year 610, by Sebert king of the Eaſt-Saxons, FOUNDED BY SEBERT. on the ruins of the temple of Apollo, flung down, quoth legend, by an earthquake. [60] The king dedicated his new church to St. Peter; who deſcended in perſon, with a hoſt of heavenly choriſters, to ſave the biſhop of Mellitus the trouble of conſecration. The ſaint deſcended on the Surry ſide, in a ſtormy night; but, prevaling on Edric, a fiſher⯑man, to waft him over, performed the ceremony: and, as a proof, left behind the chriſm, and precious droppings of the wax candles, with which the aſtoniſhed fiſherman ſaw the church illuminated. He conveyed the ſaint ſafely back; who directed him to inform the biſhop that there was no farther need of conſecration. He likewiſe directed Edric to fling out his nets, who was rewarded with a miraculous draft of falmons: the ſaint alſo promiſed to the fiſherman and his ſucceſſors, that they never ſhould want plenty of ſalmon, provided they preſented every tenth to his church. This cuſtom was obſerved till at leſt the year 1382. The fiſher⯑man that day had a right to ſit at the ſame table with the prior; and he might demand of the cellerer, ale and bread; and the cel⯑lerer again might take of the fiſh's tail as much as he could, with four fingers and his thumb erect.

THE place in which it was built was then ſtyled Thornie iſland, from its being over-run with thorns and briers; and it was be⯑ſides inſulated by a branch of the Thames. This church was burnt by the Danes; BURNT BY THE DANES. REBUILT BY EDGAR. and reſtored by the incontinent king Edgar, in 958, under the influence of St. Dunſtan, the moſt continent of men, and ſuch a lover of celibacy that he drove out of the church every married prieſt. Edgar raviſhed nuns: but he founded or re-founded fifty monaſteries; and planted, with very poor endow⯑ments, in this, twelve monks of the Benedictine order.

AGAIN BY ED⯑WARD THE CONFESSOR.IT was reſerved for the pious Confeſſor to rebuild both church and abby; he began the work in 1049, and finiſhed it in a moſt [61] magnificent manner in 1066, and endowed it with the utmoſt munificence. An abby is nothing without reliques.RELIQU [...]S. Here was to be found the veil, and ſome of the milk of the virgin: the blade-bone of St. Benedict: the finger of St. Alphage: the head of St. Maxilla: and half the jaw-bone of St. Anaſtaſia. The good Edward was buried in his own church. William the Con⯑queror beſtowed on his tomb a rich pall: and in 1163, Henry II. lodged his body in a coſtly ferretry, tranſlating it from its priſtine place.

WHETHER from the decay of the building,REBUILT A THIRD TIME BY HENRY III. or a particular zeal and affection Henry III. had for the royal Confeſſor, I cannot ſay, but that prince pulled down the Saxon pile, and rebuilt it in the preſent elegant and magnificent ſtyle. In 1245 he began this great work, in the mode of architecture which began to take place in his days. He did not live to complete his deſign, which was carried on by his ſucceſſor, and finiſhed in his fourteenth year. A caſual fire deſtroyed the roof; but by the piety of Edward and ſeveral of the abbots it was reſtored to the beauty and ſplen⯑dor we ſo juſtly admire.

HENRY performed two acts of pious reſpect to the remains of the founders of this abby, which muſt not be omitted. He tran⯑ſlated thoſe of Sebert into a tomb of touchſtone, beneath an arch made in the wall. Above were paintings, long ſince defaced, done by order of the king, who was ſtrongly imbued with the love of the arts. Mr. Walpole ^* has preſerved ſeveral of the precepts for number of paintings in this church, and other places. Among [62] them is directions for painting duos CHERUMBINOS cum hilar i vultu et jocoſo.

SHRINE OF ED⯑WARD THE CON⯑FESSOR, BY CAVALINI.BUT what does that prince the moſt honor is the ſhrine ^*, which he cauſed to be made in honor of the Confeſſor, placed in a chapel which bears his name. This beautiful moſaic work was the performance of Peter Cavalini, inventor of that ſpecies of ornament. It is ſuppoſed that he was brought into England by the abbot Ware, who viſited Rome in 1256. Weever expreſsly ſays, ‘He brought from thence certain workmen, and rich por⯑phery ſtones, whereof hee made that curious, ſingular, rare pavement before the high altar; and with theſe ſtones and workmen he did alſo frame the ſhrine of Edward the Con⯑feſſor ^‡.’ This beautiful memorial conſiſts of three rows of arches; the lower pointed: the upper round. And on each ſide of the lower is a moſt elegant twiſted pillar, an ornament the artiſt ſeems peculiarly fond of. Children, or childiſh age, has greatly injured this beautiful ſhrine, by picking out the moſaic, through the ſhameful connivance of the attendant vergers.

ANOTHER, BY THE SAME ARTIST.THIS is not the only ſpecimen of Cavalini's, ſkill, which we poſſeſs in this kingdom. Mr. Walpole has, at his beautiful villa near town, another ſhrine of his workmanſhip, brought, in 1768, from the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome; and placed in a chapel in his gardens. It was erected, in 1256, over the bodies of the holy martyrs Simplicius, Fauſtina, and Beatrix, by John James Capoccio, and Vinia his wife. It differs in form from [63] the ſhrine of St. Edward, but is formed of the ſame materials, and adorned with the ſame twiſted columns.

ALONG the freeze of the ſcreen of the chapel, are fourteen legendary ſculptures reſpecting the Confeſſor. They are ſo rudely done, that we may conclude that the art at this time was at a very low ebb. The firſt is the trial of queen Emma. The next the birth of Edward. Another is his coronation. The fourth tells us how our ſaint was frightened into the abolition of the dane-gelt, by his ſeeing the devil dance upon the money bags. The fifth is the ſtory of his winking at the thief who was robbing his treaſury. The ſixth is meant to relate the appearance of our SAVIOUR to him. The ſeventh ſhews how the invaſion of England was fruſtrated by the drowning of the Daniſh king. Eighthly is ſeen the quarrel between the boys Toſti and Harold, predicting their reſpective fates. In the ninth ſculpture is the Confeſſor's viſion of the ſeven ſleepers. Tenthly, how he meets St. John the Evangeliſt in the guiſe of a pilgrim. Eleventhly, how the blind were cured by their eyes being waſhed in his dirty water. Twelfthly, how St. John delivers to the pilgrims a ring. In the thirteenth they deliver the ring to the king, which he had un⯑knowingly given to St. John as an alms, when he met him in the form of a pilgrim. This was attended with a meſſage from the Saint, foretelling the death of the king. And the fourteenth ſhews the conſequential haſte made by him to complete his pious foundation ^*.

IN this very chapel is a third proof of the ſkill of either Cava⯑lini [64] or ſome of his pupils.HENRY III. HIS TOMB BY THE [...]E. It is an altar tomb of Henry himſelf, enriched like the ſhrine, and with wreathed columns at each cor⯑ner ^*. The figure of this prince, who died in 1272, is of braſs, and placed recumbent. This is ſuppoſed to have been the firſt brazen image known to have been caſt in our kingdom. The little book, ſold to the viſitors of this ſolemn ſcenery at the door, will be a ſufficient guide to the fine and numerous funebrial memorials of the place. Let me only obſerve, that here may be read an excellent lecture on the progreſs of theſe efforts of human ſkill, from the ſimple altar tomb to the moſt oſtentatious proofs of human vanity. The humble recumbent figure with uplifted hands, as if deprecating the juſtice of Heaven for the offences of this mortal ſtate; or the proper kneeling attitude, ſupplicating that mercy which the pureſt muſt ſtand in need of, may be ſeen here in various degrees of elegance. The careleſs lolling attitude of heroes in long gowns and flowing perriwigs, next ſucceed; and after them, buſts or ſtatues vaunting their merits, and attended with ſuch a train of Pagan deities, that would almoſt lead to ſup⯑poſe oneſelf in a heathen Pantheon inſtead of a Chriſtian church.

IN the antient tombs there is a dull uniformity. The ſides are often embelliſhed with figures of the offspring of the deceaſed; often with figures of mourners, pleureurs, or weepers ^†, frequently in monaſtic habits, as whole convents were wont (and ſtill are ac⯑cuſtomed, [65] in Catholic countries) to pour out their pious inhabi⯑tants to form proceſſions at the funerals of the great. The tomb of Aymer de Valence, in this abby, is ſurrounded by his mourners.

IN the reign of queen Elizabeth, and James I. begins to appear a ray of taſte in the ſculptors. I ſhall inſtance one of the ſix ſons of Henry lord Norris, who appear kneeling round his magnificent cenotaph (for he was buried at Rycot) in the chapel of St. An⯑drew. This figure has one hand on his breaſt, the other a little removed from it, in attitude of devotion, inexpreſſibly fine. Lord Norris died in 1589 ^*.

ANOTHER proof is in the monument of Sir Francis Vere, who died in 1608, diſtinguiſhed by thirty years of able ſervice in the low countries, in the reign of Elizabeth. He lies in a gown re⯑cumbent; over him four [...]ne figures of armed knights, kneeling on one knee, ſupport a marble ſlab, on which are ſtrewed the various parts of his armour. At Bredah is the tomb of Ingel⯑bert II. count of Naſſau, who died in 1504; executed on the ſame idea.

THE figure of young Francis Hollis, ſon of John earl of Clare, cut off at the age of eighteen, in 1622, on his return from a cam⯑paign [66] in the Netherlands, has great merit. He is placed, dreſſed like a Grecian warrior, on an altar, in a manner that did great credit to Nicholas Stone, or rather to the earl, to whom Mr. Wal⯑pole juſtly attributes the deſign.

THE figure of Doctor Buſby, maſter of Weſtminſter ſchool, who died in 1695, is elegant and ſpirited. He lies reſting on one arm; a pen in one, a book in the other hand: his countenance looking up. His looſe dreſs is very favorable to the ſculptor, who has given it moſt graceful flows: the cloſe cap alone is inimical to his art.

I CANNOT go through the long ſeries of tombs: nor will I at⯑tempt, like the Egyptians of old, to bring the ſilent habitants to a poſthumous trial, or bring their frailties to light. I will only mention the crowned heads who here repoſe, till that day comes which will level every diſtinction of rank, and ſhew every individual in his proper characters. Qualis erat, ſays a beautiful and modeſt inſcription, iſte dies indicabit.

EDWARD I.THE ſecond of our monarchs who lies here, is the renowned Edward I. in an altar tomb, as modeſt and plain, as his fame was great. A long inſcription in monkiſh lines imperfectly records the deeds of the conqueror of Scotland, and of the antient Britons. In 1770, antiquarian curioſity was ſo urgent with the reſpectable dean of Weſtminſter, as to prevale on him to permit certain mem⯑bers of the ſociety, under proper regulations, to inſpect the remains of this celebrated hero; and diſcover, if poſſible, the compoſition which gave ſuch duration to the human body.

IN the minute relation given by that able and worthy antiquary the late Sir Joſeph Ayloffe, bart. almoſt every particular is given. [67] On lifting up the lid of the tomb, the royal body was found wrapped in a ſtrong thick linen cloth, waxed on the inſide: the head and face were covered with a ſudarium or face-cloth of crim⯑ſon ſarcenet, wrapped into three folds, conformable to the napkin uſed by our Saviour in his way to his crucifixion, as we are aſſur⯑ed by the church of Rome. On flinging open the external mantle, the corpſe was diſcovered in all the enſigns of majeſty, richly ha⯑bited. The body was wrapped in a fine linen cere-cloth, cloſely fitted to every part, even to the very fingers and face. The writs de cera renovanda circa corpus regis Edwardi primi ^* being extant, gave riſe to this ſearch. Over the cere-cloth was a tunic of red ſilk damſk; above that a ſtole of thick white tiſſue croſſed the breaſt, and on this, at ſix inches diſtant from each other, quatre-foils of philligree-work, of gilt metal ſet with falſe ſtones, imitat⯑ing rubies, ſapphires, amethyſts, &c.; and the intervals between the quatre-foils on the ſtole, powdered with minute white beads, tacked down into a moſt elegant embroidery, in form not unlike what is called the true lover's knot. Above theſe habits was the royal mantle of rich crimſon ſattin, faſtened on the left ſhoulder with a magnificent fibula, of gilt metal richly chaſed, and orna⯑mented with four pieces of red, and four of blue, tranſparent paſte, and twenty-four more pearls.

THE corpſe, from the waiſt downwards, is covered with a rich cloth of figured gold, which falls down to the feet and is tucked beneath them. On the back of each hand was a quatre-foil like thoſe on the ſtole. In his right hand is a ſceptre with a croſs of copper gilt, and of elegant workmanſhip, reaching to the right [68] ſhoulder. In the left hand is the rod and dove, which paſſes over the ſhoulder and reaches the royal ear. The dove ſtands on a ball placed on three ranges of oak leaves of enamelled green; the dove is white enamel. On the head is a crown charged with tre⯑foils made of gilt metal ^*. The head is lodged in the cavity of the ſtone-coffin, always obſervable in thoſe receptacles of the dead. I refer the reader to the Archaelogia for the other minutiae atten⯑dant on the habiting of the royal corſe. It was dreſſed in con⯑formity to antient uſage, even as early as the time of the Saxon Sebert. And the uſe of the cere-cloth is continued to our days: in the inſtance of our late king, the two ſerjeant-ſurgeons had £. 122. 8 s. 9 d. each for opening and embalming; and the apothecary £. 152 for a fine double cere-cloth, and a due quantity of rich perfumed aromatic powders ^†.

ELIANOR HIS QUEEN.ELIANOR of Caſtile, the beautiful and affectionate queen of Edward, was in 1290 depoſited here. Her figure ^‡, in copper gilt, reſts on a tablet of the ſame, placed on an altar tomb of Petworth marble.

THE murdered prince Edward II. found his grave at Gloceſ⯑ter: his ſon,EDWARD III. the glorious warrior Edward III. reſts here. His fi⯑gure at full length, made of copper once gilt, lies beneath a rich gothic ſhrine of the ſame material. His hair is diſheveled, his beard long and flowing. His gown reaches to his feet. Each hand holds a ſceptre. The figures of his children in braſs ſur⯑round the altar tomb ^‖. His worthy queen Philippa was inter⯑red [69] at his feet^*. Her figure in alabaſter repreſents her as a moſt maſculine woman. She died in 1369: her royal ſpouſe in 1377. His latter end was marked with misfortunes; by the death of his ſon the Black Prince; by a raging peſtilence; but more by his unſeaſonable love in his doating years. How finely does Mr. Gray paint his death, and the gay entrance of his ſuc⯑ceſſor into power, in the bitter taunt he puts into the mouth of a Britiſh bard!

THE tomb of the waſteful unfortunate prince Richard II. and his firſt conſort Anne, daughter of Wincelaus king of Bohemia, RICHARD II. is the next in order^†. Their figures, in the ſame metal as the for⯑mer, lie recumbent on it. He had directed theſe to be made in his life-time, by B. and Godfrey, of Woodſtreet, goldſmiths: the expence of gilding them coſt four hundred marks. The counte⯑nance [70] of Richard is very unlike the beautiful painting of him on board,HIS PORTRAIT. ſix feet eleven inches high, by three feet ſeven inches broad. He is repreſented ſitting in a chair of ſtate, with a globe in one hand, the ſceptre in the other; a crown on his head; and his dreſs extremely rich and elegant; many parts marked with his initial, R. ſurmounted with a crown. His coun⯑tenance remarkably fine and gentle, little indicative of his bad and oppreſſive reign^*.

THIS picture, after the teſt of near four hundred years, is in the higheſt preſervation; and not leſs remarkable for the elegance of the coloring, than the excellent drawing, conſidering the early age of the performance. We muſt allow it had been re-painted; but nothing ſeems altered, if we may collect from the print made by Vertue, excepting a correction in the ſite of the croſs iſſuing out of the globe. The back ground is elevated above the figure, of an uneven ſurface, and gilt. The curious will find, in Mr. Walpole's Anecdotes, vol. i. an ingenious conjecture of the method of painting in that early period, which has given ſuch amazing duration to the labors of its artiſts.

THIS portrait was originally hung up in the choir of the abby; but about a dozen years ago was removed to the Jeruſalem chamber.

HENRY V.WITHIN a beautiful chapel of gothic workmanſhip, of open iron-work, ornamented with various images, is the tomb of the gallant prince Henry V. ^† a ſtriking contraſt to the weak and [71] luxurious Richard. This was built by Henry VII. in compli⯑ment to his illuſtrious relation and predeceſſor. His queen Ca⯑therine had before erected his monument, and placed his image, cut in heart of oak, and covered over with ſilver, on an altar tomb; the head was (as the guide tells us) of ſolid ſilver, which, in the reign of Henry VIII. was ſacrilegiouſly ſtolen away. The wooden headleſs trunk ſtill remains.

ON each ſide of this royal chapel is a winding ſtaircaſe, incloſ⯑ed in a turret of open iron-work, which leads into a chauntry founded for the purpoſe of maſſes, for the repoſe of the ſoul of this great prince. The front looks over the ſhrine of the Confeſ⯑ſor. Here is kept a parcel of human figures, which in old times were dreſſed out and carried at funeral proceſſions; but at preſent very deſervedly have got the name of the ragged regiment. More worthy of notice is the elegant termination of the columellae of the two ſtaircaſes, which ſpread at the top of the turrets into roofs of uncommon elegance.

ONE end of this chauntry reſts againſt that of the chapel of Henry VII. Among the ſtone ſtatues placed there is the French patron St. Dennis, moſt compoſedly carrying his head in his hand.

ON the ſouth ſide of the chauntry, over his monument, is the repreſentation of his coronation. The figure of Henry is diſtin⯑guiſhed by a wen under his chin. It is probable that it was be⯑longing to that monarch, as it is not to be ſuppoſed that the ſculptor would have added a deformity^*.

CATHERINE, his royal conſort,HIS QUEEN. had leſs reſpect payed to her [72] remains. She had ſunk from the bed of the conqueror of France, to that of a common gentleman: yet gave to theſe kingdoms a long line of princes. She died in 1437, and was interred in the chapel of our lady in this church. When her grandſon Henry VII. ordered that to be pulled down, to make room for his own magnificent chapel, he ungratefully neglected the remains of this his anceſtreſs, and ſuffered them to be flung careleſsly into a wooden cheſt, where they ſtill reſt near her Henry's tomb.

EDWARD V. AND HIS BROTHER.NEXT is the cenotaph of the two innocents, Edward V. and his brother Richard duke of York. In the reign of Charles II. certain ſmall bones were found in a cheſt under a ſtaircaſe in the Tower. Theſe, by order of Charles, were removed here; and, under the ſuppoſition of their belonging to the murdered princes, this memorial of their ſad fate was erected, by order of that hu⯑mane monarch, after a deſign by Sir Chriſtopher Wren ^*.

HENRY VII. HIS CHAPEL.IN order of time I muſt paſs into the beautiful chapel of Henry VII. nearly the rival in elegance with that of King's College Cam⯑bridge. Who can look at the roof of either without the higheſt admiration! Henry, finding the chapel of the Confeſſor too much crouded to receive any more princes, determined on the building of this. That of the Virgin was ſacrificed to it; alſo an adjacent tavern, diſtinguiſhed by the popular ſign of the White Roſe. Ab⯑bot Iſlip, on the part of the king, laid the firſt ſtone, on Febru⯑ary 11th, 1503. The royal miſer ſcrupled no expence in this piece of vanity. By his will it appears, that he expreſsly intended it as the mauſoleum of him and his houſe, and that none but the [73] blood royal ſhould be interred in this magnificent foundation. It was built at the expence of fourteen thouſand pounds ^*. In the body of this chapel is his ſuperb tomb, the work of Pietro Torregiano, a Florentine ſculptor; who had, for his labor and the materials, one thouſand pounds. This admirable artiſt continued in London till the completion of his work in 1519. But the reigning prince and Torregiano were of tempers equally turbu⯑lent, ſo they ſoon ſeparated ^†. To him is attributed the altar tomb of Margeret counteſs of Richmond, with her figure recum⯑bent in braſs. Henry VII. had made a ſpecial proviſion for this tomb in his will ^‡, for the images and various other ornaments,HIS TOMB. which were to decorate this his place of reſt. The tomb itſelf is, as he directed, made of a hard Baſaltic ſtone, called in the language of thoſe days Touche. The figures contained in the ſix bas reliefs in braſs on the ſides, are ſtrong proofs of the ſkill of the artiſt. The figures ſuit the ſuperſtition of the times: St. Michael and the devil, joined with the Virgin and Child: St. George with St. Anthony and his pig: St. Chriſtopher, and perhaps St. Anne: Edward the Confeſſor, and a Benedictine monk: Mary Magdalen, and St. Barbara: and ſeveral others. One pretence is a reſpect to his grandmother, whoſe bones he left flung into an ordinary cheſt. He and his quiet neglected queen lie in braſs on an altar tomb within the beautiful brazen precinct; his face reſembles all his portraits. I have ſeen a model, a ſtill ſtronger likeneſs, in poſſeſſion of Mr. Walpole; a buſt in [74] ſtone taken from his face immediately after his death. A ſtronger reluctance to quit the poſſeſſions of this world could never be expreſſed on the countenance of the moſt griping mortal.

WITHIN the grate of the tomb was an altar of a ſingle piece of touchſtone, deſtroyed by the fanatics, to which he bequeathed ‘our grete piece of the holie croſſe, which, by the high proviſion of our Lord God, was conveied, brought, and delivered to us from the iſle of Cyo, in Grece, ſet in gold and garniſhed with perles and precious ſtones: and alſo the preciouſe relique of oon of the legges of St. George, ſet in ſilver parcel gilte, which came into the hands of our broder and couſyn Lewys, of France, the time that he wan and recovered the citie of Mil⯑lein, and given and ſent to us by our couſyne the cardinal of Amboiſe ^*.’

QUEEN ELIZA⯑BETH AND MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.HERE alſo reſt, freed from the cares of their eventful reigns, the rival queens, Elizabeth, and the unhappy Mary Stuart. The ſame ſpecies of monument incloſes both, in this period of the revival of the arts. The figures of each lie under an elegant canopy ſupported by pillars of the Corinthian order ^†. Two great blemiſhes obſcure the characters of this illuſtrious pair. Elizabeth will never be vindicated from treachery, hypocriſy, and cruelty in the death of Mary. The love of her ſubjects was the pretext: the reality, a female jealouſy of ſuperior charms at the bottom, with the ſpretae injuria formae, diſcovered in a letter of paſſion, accuſing another female ^‡, perhaps equally touched with [75] the ſame tormenting paſſion. The long and undeſerved ſuffer⯑ings of Mary, from one of her own ſex, a ſiſter princeſs, from whom ſhe had reaſon to expect every relief, makes one forget her crime, and fling a veil over the fault of diſtreſſed, yet criminal beauty.

THE peaceful pedant James I, his amiable Henry, JAMES TO GEORGE II. and the royal rakiſh Charles, the ſecond of the name; the ſullen miſ-treat⯑ed hero William, his royal conſort the patient Mary, Anne, glori⯑ous in her generals, and George II. repoſe within the royal vault of this chapel. No monument blazons their virtues: it is left to hiſtory to record the buſy, and often empty tale of majeſty. George I. was buried at Hanover; his ſon cauſed a vault to be made in this for himſelf, his Caroline, and family, and directed that the ſide-board of her coffin, and that of his own (when his hour came) to be conſtructed in ſuch a manner as to be removed, ſo that their loving duſt might intermingle.

I SHALL drop theſe ſubjects of mortality, with pointing out a ſingle monument of inferior note. A very fine figure of Time, cut in Italy, in white marble, holds in his hand a ſcroll, with an inſcription of uncommon elegance, written by Doctor Friend, to commemorate the premature death of the honorable Philip Car⯑teret, at the age of 19. Time thus ſeems to addreſs himſelf to him ^*:

I SHALL quit theſe ſolemn ſcenes ^† with the beautiful reflec⯑tion of Mr. Addiſon, made on the ſpot: and hope it may have the ſame weight with the reader, as it has on me whenever I pe⯑ruſe the following piece of inſtructive eloquence. ‘When I look (ſays the delightful moraliſt) upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me: when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate deſire goes out: when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tomb-ſtone, my heart melts with compaſſion: when I ſee the tomb of the parents them⯑ſelves, I conſider the vanity of grieving for thoſe whom we muſt quickly follow: when I ſee kings lying by thoſe who depoſed them, when I conſider rival wits placed ſide by ſide, or the holy men that divided the world with their conteſts and diſputes, I reflect with ſorrow and aſtoniſhment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind. When I read the ſeveral dates of the tombs, of ſome that died yeſterday, [77] and ſome ſix hundred years ago, I conſider that great day when we ſhall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together.’

ON the diſſolution, this great monaſtery, the ſecond mitred abby in the kingdom, underwent the common lot of the religious houſes. In 1534, the abbot, William Benſon, ſubſcribed to the king's ſupremacy, and in 1539 ſurrendered his monaſtery into the royal hands, and received as a reward the office of firſt dean to the new foundation, conſiſting of a dean and twelve preben⯑daries. He alſo erected it into a biſhoprick, but its only bi⯑ſhop was Thomas Thirleby; it being ſuppreſſed in 1550, on his tranſlation to Norwich. When the protector Somerſet ruled in the fulneſs of power, this magnificent, this ſacred pile narrowly eſcaped a total demolition. It was his deſign to have pulled it down to the ground, and to have applied the materials towards the palace he was then erecting in the Strand, known by the name of Somerſet-houſe. He was diverted from his deſign by a bribe of not fewer than fourteen manors.— Mortals ſhould be very de⯑licate in pronouncing the vengeance of Heaven on their fellow-creatures: yet, in this inſtance, without preſumption, without ſu⯑perſtition, one may ſuppoſe his fall to have been marked out by the Almighty, as a warning to impious men. He fell on the ſcaffold on Tower-hill, lamented only becauſe his overthrow was effected by a man more wicked, more ambitious, and more deteſted than himſelf. In their ends there was a conſent of juſtice: both died by the ax: and both of their headleſs bodies were flung, within a very ſhort ſpace, into the ſame place, among the attainted herd.

IN the reign of queen Mary, the former religion of the place experienced a brief reſtoration. She with great zeal reſtored it [78] to the antient conventual ſtate; collected many of the rich habits and inſignia of that ſplendid worſhip; eſtabliſhed fourteen monks, and appointed for their abbot John Feckenham, a man of great piety and learning, who, on his expulſion in the ſucceeding reign, finiſhed his days in eaſy cuſtody in Wiſbech caſtle.

IN 1560 it was changed into a collegiate church, conſiſting of a dean and twelve ſecular canons, and thirty petty canons, and other members, two ſchool-maſters, and forty king's or queen's ſcholars, twelve almſmen, and many officers and ſervants ^*. But there ſeems to have been a ſchool there from the firſt foundation of the abby. Ingulphus, abbot of Crowland, ſpeaks of his having been educated at it; and of the diſputations he had with the queen of the Confeſſor, and of the preſents ſhe made him in money in his boyiſh days ^†.

CLOISTERS, AND CHAPTER-HOUSE.BESIDES the church, many of the antient parts remain. The cloiſters are entire, and filled with monuments. The north and weſt cloiſters were built by abbot Littlington, who died in 1386: he alſo built the granary, which was afterwards the dormitory of the king's ſcholars; of later years rebuilt.

THE entrance into the chapter-houſe (built in 1250) is on one ſide of the cloiſter, through a moſt rich and magnificent gothic portal, the mouldings moſt exquiſitely carved: this is divided into two gothic doors. After a deſcent of ſeveral ſteps, is the chap⯑ter-houſe, an octagon, each ſide of which had moſt ſuperb and lofty windows, now filled up, and lighted by leſſer. The opening into this room is as noble as that from the cloiſter. The ſtone [79] roof is deſtroyed, and one of plank is ſubſtituted. The central pillar remains, light, ſlender, and elegant, ſurrounded by eight others; bound by two equidiſtant faſciae, and terminated in capi⯑tals of beautiful ſimplicity. By conſent of the abbot, in 1377, the commons of Great Britain firſt held their parlements in his place; the crown undertaking the repairs. Here they ſat till the year 1547, when Edward VI. granted the chapel of St. Stephen for that purpoſe. It is at preſent filled with the public records, among which is the original Domeſday book, now above ſeven hundred years old: it is in as fine preſervation as if it was the work of yeſterday.

BENEATH the chapter-houſe is a very ſingular crypt. The roof, which forms the floor of the former, is ſupported by a ſhort round pillar, quite hollow. The top ſpreads into maſſy plain ribs, the ſupports of the roof. The walls are not leſs than eighteen feet thick, and form a moſt firm baſe to the ſuperſtructure. They had been pierced with ſeveral ſmall windows, which are now loſt by the vaſt increaſe of earth on the outſide ^*; one is juſt viſible in the garden belonging to Mr. Barrow.

THE Jeruſalem chamber was part of the abbot's lodgings; and built by Littlington. It is noted for having been the place where Henry IV. breathed his laſt: he had been ſeized with a ſwoon while he was paying before the ſhrine of St. Edward; and, being carried into this room, aſked, on recovering, where he was? being informed, he anſwered, (I will ſpeak his reply in the words of Shakeſpear, borrowed from hiſtory)

The devil is ſaid to have practiſed ſuch a deluſion on pope Sylveſter II. having (on conſultation) aſſured his holineſs that he ſhould die in Jeruſalem; and kept his word, by taking him off as he was ſaying maſs, in 1003, in a church of that name in Rome ^*.

I OMITTED to mention the revenues of this great houſe, which, in its monaſtic ſtate, Speed makes to amount to £. 3977 per ann. Dugdale to £. 3471.

SANCTUARY.NOT far from the abby ſtood the Sanctuary, the place of refuge abſurdly indulged, in old times, to criminals of certain denomina⯑tions. The church belonging to it was in form of a croſs, and double; one being built over the other. Such is the account that Doctor Stukely gives of it, for he remembered it ſtanding ^†: it was of vaſt ſtrength; and was with much labor demoliſhed. It is ſuppoſed to have been the work of the Confeſſor. Within its precincts was born Edward V; and here his unhappy mother took refuge, with her younger ſon Richard, to ſecure him from his cruel uncle, who had already poſſeſſion of the elder brother. Seduced by the perſuaſions of the duke of Buckingham, and [...] archbiſhop of York, ſhe ſurrendered the little innocent, who was inſtantly carried to his brother in the Tower, where they were ſoon after involved in one common fate.

[81]TO the weſt of the ſanctuary ſtood the Eleemoſynary or Almory, where the alms of the abby were wont to be diſtributed. But it is ſtill more remarkable for having been the place where the firſt printing preſs ever known in England was erected. It was in the year 1474; when William Caxton, probably encouraged by the learned Thomas Milling, then abbot, produced The Game and Play of the Cheſſe, the firſt book ever printed in theſe kingdoms. There is a ſlight difference about the place in which it was printed, but all agree that it was within the precincts of this reli⯑gious houſe. Would the monks have permitted this, could they have foreſeen how certainly the art would conduce to their overthrow, by the extenſion of knowlege, and the long-concealed truths of Chriſtianity?

BENEATH the ſhadow of the abby ſtands the church of St. Mar⯑geret, built originally by Edward the Confeſſor.ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH. The pariſh church had been in the abby, to the great inconveniency of the monks. It was rebuilt in the time of Edward I. and again in that of Edward IV. This church is honored with the remains of the great Sir Walter Raleigh, who was interred here on the ſame day on which he was beheaded in Old Palace Yard. It was left to a ſenſible churchwarden to inform us of the fact, who in⯑ſcribed it on a board, about twenty years ago.

THE eaſt window is a moſt beautiful compoſition of figures.ITS FINE WIN⯑DOW. It was made by order of the magiſtrates of Dort, and by them deſigned as a preſent to Henry VII; but he dying before it was finiſhed, it was put up in Waltham abby: there it remained till the diſſolution; when it was removed to Newhall in Eſſex, afterwards part of the eſtate of general Monk, who preſerved it from demoli⯑tion. In 1758 it was purchaſed from the then owner by the in⯑habitants [82] of the pariſh for four hundred guineas. By the oppoſi⯑tion and abſurdity of a cotemporary prebend, this fine ornament run a great riſque of being pulled down again. The ſubject is the crucifixion; a devil is carrying off the ſoul of the hardened thief; an angel receiving that of the penitent. Silly enough! but the other beauties of the piece might ſurely have moved the reverend zealot to mercy. The figures are numerous, and finely done. On one ſide is Henry VI. kneeling; above him his patron ſaint, St. George. On the other ſide is his queen in the ſame atti⯑tude, and above her the fair St. Catherine with the inſtruments of her martyrdom. This charming performance is engraved at the coſt of the Society of Antiquaries.

PALACE AT WESTMINSTER.THE royal palace which clames ſeniority in our capital, was that of Weſtminſter, founded by the Confeſſor, who was the firſt prince who had in it regular reſidence. It ſtood near the Thames: the ſtairs to it on the river ſtill keep the name of Palace ſtairs; and the two Palace Yards were alſo belonging to this extenſive pile.

THE New Palace Yard is the area before the hall. In old times a very handſome conduit, or, as it was called, fountain, graced one part: and oppoſite to the hall, on the ſite of the preſent paſ⯑ſage into Bridge-ſtreet, ſtood a lofty ſquare tower, which, from its uſe, was called the Clock Tower. This may be ſeen in Hollar's print, N^o 6, and in the old plan of London, as it was in the be⯑ginning of the reign of queen Elizabeth.

WESTMINSTER-HALL.MANY parts of this antient palace exiſt to this day, ſunk into other uſes. Succeeding monarchs added much to it. The great hall was built by William Rufus, or poſſibly rebuilt; a great hall being too neceſſary an appendage to a palace, ever to have been [83] neglected. The entrance into it from New Palace Yard, was bounded on each ſide by towers ^*, moſt magnificently ornamented with numbers of ſtatues in rows above each other, now loſt, or concealed by modern buildings; a mutilated figure of an armed man, ſuppoſed to have been one, was diſcovered under the Ex⯑chequer ſtaircaſe in 1781 ^†. The ſize may be eſtimated, when we are told that Henry III. entertained in this hall, and other rooms, ſix thouſand poor men, women, and children, on new-year's day, 1236. It became ruinous before the reign of Richard II. who rebuilt it in its preſent form in 1397; and in 1399 kept his Chriſtmas in it, with his characteriſtical magnificence. Twenty-eight oxen, three hundred ſheep, and fowls without number, were daily conſumed. The number of his gueſts each day were ten thouſand. We need not wonder then, that Richard kept two thouſand cooks. They certainly were deeply learned in their profeſſion; witneſs The Forme of Cury, compiled about 1390, by the maſter cooks of this luxurious monarch, in which are pre⯑ſerved receits for the moſt exquiſite diſhes of the time. This book was printed by the late worthy Guſtavus Brander, eſq with an excellent preface by that able antiquary the reverend Mr. Pegge. Mr. Brander favored me with a copy: but, excepting a magician of Laputa could conjure up a few of Richard's cooks, I deſpair of ever treating my brethren with a feaſt à l'antique.

THIS room exceeds in dimenſion any in Europe, which is not ſupported by pillars; its length is two hundred and ſeventy feet; the breadth ſeventy-four. Its height adds to its ſolemnity. The [84] roof of timber, moſt curiouſly conſtructed, and of a fine ſpecies of gothic.

PARLEMENTS HELD IN IT.PARLEMENTS often ſat in this hall. In 1397, when, in the reign of Richard II. it was extremely ruinous, he built a temporary room for his parlement, formed with wood, and covered with tiles. It was open on all ſides, that the conſtituents might ſee every thing that was ſaid and done: and, to ſecure freedom of debate, he ſur⯑rounded the houſe with four thouſand Cheſhire archers, with bows bent, and arrows nocked ready to ſhoot ^*. This fully anſwered the intent: for every ſacrifice was made to the royal pleaſure.

COURTS OF IUSTICE.COURTS of juſtice, even in early times, ſat in this hall, where monarchs themſelves uſually preſided; for which reaſon it was called Curia Domini Regis, and one of the three now held in this hall is called the court of king's-bench. The firſt chief juſtice was Robert Le Brun, appointed by Henry III. The judges of the courts were made knights bannerets, and had materials given them for making moſt ſumptuous habits for the occaſion. Among others, they had for a cloak cxx bellies of minever pure, i. e. the ermine, which they retain to this day; but I obſerve green to be the predominant color of their robes. The judges in old times rode to court: at firſt on mules; but in the reign of queen Mary, they changed thoſe reſtive animals for eaſy pads.

CHARLES I. TRIED HERE.THE ſolemn trial of Charles I. was held in this hall, before a packed court of judicature: during the intervals of this mockery of juſtice, he was carried to the neighboring houſe belonging to Sir Thomas Cotton, in which a room was fitted up by Mr. Kinner⯑ſley, a ſervant of the king's, belonging to the wardrobe. This was [85] the reſidence of his father, Sir Robert, the famous antiquary, and owner of the noble collection of manuſcripts, which, with great public ſpirit, he got together and ſecured for ever to the uſe of his country. They were at firſt kept in Cotton-houſe, which was purchaſed by the crown. They were afterwards removed to another houſe in Weſtminſter, and finally depoſited in the Britiſh Muſeum. Let me add, that the room in which the books were originally lodged, had been the oratory of Edward the Con⯑feſſor.

THE houſe of lords is a room ornamented with the tapeſtry which records our victory over the Spaniſh Armada. HOUSE OF LORDS. It was be⯑ſpoke by the earl of Nottingham, lord high admiral, and comman⯑der in chief on the glorious day. The deſign was drawn by Cornelius Vroom, and the tapeſtry executed by Francis Spiering. Vroom had a hundred pieces of gold for his labor. The arras it⯑ſelf coſt £. 1628. It was not put up till the year 1650, two years after the extinction of monarchy, when the houſe of lords was uſed as a committee-room for the houſe of commons. The heads of the naval heroes who commanded on the glorious days, form a matchleſs border round the work, animating poſterity to emulate their illuſtrious example!

IN the Prince's chamber, where his majeſty puts on his robes when he comes to the houſe of lords, is a curious old tapeſtry, repreſenting the birth of queen Elizabeth. Anne Bullen in her bed; an attendant on one ſide, and a nurſe with the child on the other. The ſtory is a little broken into by the loſs of a piece of the Arras, cut to make a paſſage for the door. But beyond is Henry with his courtiers; one of which ſeems diſpatched to bring [86] back intelligence about the event. On the ſouth ſide of this room are three gothic windows.

COURT OF REQUESTS.THE court of requeſts is a vaſt room modernized; at preſent a mere walking-place. The outſide of the ſouth end ſhews the great antiquity of the building, having in it two great round arches, with zigzag mouldings, our moſt antient ſpecies of archi⯑tecture. This court has its name becauſe the maſters of it here received the petitions of the ſubjects to the king, in which they requeſted juſtice; and the maſters adviſed the ſuppliants how they were to proceed ^*.

THAT court of juſtice ſo tremendous in the Tudor and part of the Stuart reign, the Star Chamber, ſtill keeps its name; which was not taken from the ſtars with which its roof was ſaid to have been painted (which were obliterated even before the reign of queen Elizabeth), but from the Starra ^†, or Jewiſh covenants, which were depoſited there by order of Richard I. in cheſts under three locks. No ſtarr was allowed to be valid except found in thoſe repoſitories: here they remained till the baniſhment of the Jews by Edward I. In the reigns of Henry VII. and VIII. a new-modelled court was erected here, conſiſting of divers lords ſpiritual and temporal, with two judges of the courts of common law, with the intervention of a jury ^‡. The powers of this court were ſo ſhamefully abuſed, and made ſo ſubſervient to the revenge of a miniſtry, or the views of the crown, as to be abo⯑liſhed by the reforming commons in the 16th of Charles II ^‖, to [87] the great joy of the whole nation. The room is now called the Painted Chamber, and is uſed as the place of conference between the lords and commons. It makes a very poor appearance, being hung with very antient French or Arras tapeſtry, which, by the names worked over the figures, ſeems to relate to the Trojan war. The windows are of the antient ſimple gothic. On the north outſide, beyond the windows, are many marks of receſſes, groins, arms, on the remains of ſome other room.

NUMBERS of other great apartments are ſtill preſerved on each ſide of the entrance into Weſtminſter-hall, in the law court of ex⯑chequer, and adjacent; and the ſame in the money exchequer, and the dutchy of Lancaſter: all theſe had been the parts of the antient palace.

AT the foot of the ſtaircaſe is a round pillar, having on it the arms of John Stafford, lord treaſurer from 1422 to 1424. On the oppoſite part are the arms of Ralph lord Botelar, of Sudley, trea⯑ſurer of the exchequer in 1433 ^*.

CLOSE to Mr. Waghorn's coffee-houſe, in Old Palace Yard, GUY FAUR'S CELLAR. is the vault or cellar in which the conſpirators of 1605 lodged the barrels of gunpowder, deſigned at one blow to annihilate the three eſtates of the realm in parlement aſſembled. To this day, the manner in which Providence directed the diſcovery is un⯑known. The plot evidently was confined to a few perſons of deſ⯑perate zeal and wickedneſs: they did not dare to truſt ſo dreadful a deſign to the multitude. The ſucceſs, they knew, muſt be fol⯑lowed with a general inſurrection, and completion of their wiſhes. The opportunity would have been too irreſiſtible, even to thoſe [88] who, in cool blood, would have rejected with horror a plan ſo truly diabolical.

HOUSE OF COM⯑MONS, ONCE ST. STEPHEN'S CHAPEL.THE commons of Great Britain hold their aſſemblies in this place, which was built by king Stephen, and dedicated to his nameſake the protomartyr. It was beautifully rebuilt by Edward III. in 1347, and by him made a collegiate church, and a dean and twelve ſecular prieſts appointed ^*. Soon after its ſurrender to Edward VI. it was applied to its preſent uſe. The revenues at that period were not leſs than £. 1085 a year.

WEST FRONT.THE weſt front, with its beautiful gothic window, is ſtill to be ſeen as we aſcend the ſtairs to the court of requeſts; it conſiſts of the ſharp-pointed ſpecies of gothic. Between it and the lobby of the houſe is a ſmall veſtibule of the ſame ſort of work, and of great elegance. At each end is a gothic door, and one in the middle, which is the paſſage into the lobby. On the ſouth ſide of the outmoſt wall of the chapel, appear the marks of ſome great gothic windows, with abutments between; and beneath, ſome leſſer windows, once of uſe to light an under chapel. The inſide of St. Stephen's is adapted to the preſent uſe, and plainly fitted up.

SUB-CHAPEL.THE under chapel had been a moſt beautiful building: the far greater part is preſerved, but frittered into various diviſions, oc⯑cupied principally by the paſſage from Weſtminſter-hall to Palace Yard.

THE far greater part of the under-chapel of St. Stephen, is poſ⯑ſeſſed by his grace the duke of Newcaſtle, as auditor of the ex⯑chequer. One ſide of the cloiſter is entirely preſerved,BEAUTIFUL CLOISTER. by being found convenient as a paſſage: the roof is gothic workmanſhip, ſo elegant as not to be paralleled even by the beautiful workmanſhip in the chapel of Henry VII. Several parts are walled up for the meaneſt uſes; even a portion ſerves, with its rich roof, for a coal-hole. That which has the good fortune to be allotted for the ſteward's room, is very well kept. In one part of the roof is cut a neat, and, I believe, true repreſentation of the front of the cha⯑pel, bounded on each ſide by a turret. Another of the ſame kind, held by an angel, appears on the wall.

ON one ſide of the cloiſter,SMALL ORATORY AND CHAUNTRY. projects into the area a ſmall ora⯑tory, as richly ornamented as other parts of this building: above is a neat chauntry in the ſame ſtyle. A gallery runs over each ſide of the cloiſter, with windows of light ſtone tracery, looking into the court or area, which is deformed by a modern kitchen and its appendages.

FROM one part of the gallery is a ſtairs,ANTIENT SQUARE TOWER. which leads to a very antient ſquare tower of ſtone, ſtanding almoſt cloſe to the ſide of Weſtminſter-hall. It probably was a belfry, to hold the bells that rouſed the holy members of the chapel to prayer.

IN what is called the grotto room,SCULPTURES OF ST. STEPHEN. are fine remains of the roof and columns of this ſub-chapel. The roof is ſpread over with ribs of ſtone, which reſt on the numerous round pillars that compoſe the ſupport. The pillars are ſhort; the capitals round [90] and ſmall, with a neat foliage intervening. In a circle on the roof, is a martyrdom of St. Stephen, cut in ſtone. In another circle, is a repreſentation of St. John the Evangeliſt caſt into a cauldron of boiling oil, by command of the emperor Domitian.

WOOL-STAPLE.NOT far from Weſtminſter-hall, in New Palace Yard, ſtood the ſtaple of wool, removed to Weſtminſter, and ſeveral other places in England, in 1353, by Edward III. Theſe before had been kept in Flanders: but this wiſe meaſure brought great wealth into the kingdom, and a conſiderable addition to the royal revenue: for the parlement in thoſe days granted to the king a certain ſum on every ſack exported. Henry VI. had ſix wool-houſes here, which he granted to the dean and canons of St. Stephen's ^*. The concourſe of people, which this removal of the wool-ſtaple to Weſtminſter occaſioned, cauſed this royal village to grow into a conſiderable town: ſuch is the ſuperiority of commerce. Part of the old gate⯑way to the ſtaple was in being as late as the year 1741, when it was pulled down to make room for the abutment of the new bridge ^†.

WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.THE firſt ſtone of that noble ſtructure was laid on January 24th, 1739, by Henry earl of Pembroke, a nobleman, of whom Mr. Walpole ſays, none had a purer taſte in architecture. It was built after the deſign of Monſieur Labelye, an ingenious architect, a native of France. The laſt ſtone was laid in November 1747, ſo that it was eight years and nine months in completing, at the expence of £. 389,500. Its length is 1223 feet; the number of arches fourteen, that in the center ſeventy-ſix feet wide. In this bridge, grandeur and ſimplicity are united. Fault has been [91] found with the great height of the baluſtrades, which deny to the paſſengers a clear view of the noble expanſe of water, and the fine objects, eſpecially to the eaſt, which are ſcattered with no ſparing hand. I cannot agree with the happy thought of the French tra⯑veller ^*, who aſſures us, that the cauſe was to prevent the ſuicide to which the Engliſh have ſo ſtrong a propenſity, particularly in the gloomy month of November; for, had they been low, how few could reſiſt the charming opportunity of ſpringing over, whereas at preſent, the difficulty of climbing up theſe heights is ſo great, that the poor hypochondriac has time to cool; and, deſiſting from his glorious purpoſe, think proper to give his days their full length, and end them like a good chriſtian in his peaceful bed.

THE tide has been known to riſe at this bridge twenty-two feet;TIDE. much to the inconveniency of the inhabitants of the lower parts of Weſtminſter, for at ſuch times their cellars are laid under water; but its height depends much on the force and direction of the wind at the time of flood.

BEYOND this palace, to the north,CANON, OR CHANNEL ROW. ſtood ſome ſtreets and lanes by the water-ſide, diſtinguiſhed in older times by the reſidence of ſome of our nobility. In Canon Row, ſo named from being inhabited by the canons of the church, but corrupted into Chan⯑nel Row, was the ſtately houſe built by the termagant Anne Stan⯑hope, wife to the protector Somerſet; whoſe diſpute, about ſome point of female precedency, is ſaid to have contributed in ſome degree to her huſband's fall. She left this houſe to her ſon Ed⯑ward earl of Hertford. Here William earl of Derby had, in 1603, a fair manſion; and Henry Clinton earl of Lincoln, another; and [92] in this row, Anne Clifford tell us, that on the firſt of May, 1589, ſhe was begotten by her moſt valiant father George earl of Cum⯑berland, on the body of her moſt virtuous mother Margaret, daughter of Francis earl of Bedford. Aſtoniſhing accuracy!

IN this part of the town were ſome other houſes of our nobi⯑lity. In the remote Tothil ſtreet, ſtood the houſes of lord Grey, and of lord Dacres, mentioned in Norden's map of London, in 1603; and in Lea's map, publiſhed in 1700, is the earl of Linde⯑ſey's houſe near Old Palace Yard; of which I find no other ac⯑count, than that it was inhabited, in 1707, by one of the Dormers, earl of Caernarvon ^*.

PALACE OF WHITEHALL.IMMEDIATELY beyond theſe buildings began the vaſt palace of Whitehall. It was originally built by Hubert de Burgh earl of Kent, the great, the perſecuted juſticiary of England, in the reign of Henry III. He bequeathed it to the Black Friars in Holborn, and they diſpoſed of it to Walter de Grey archbiſhop of York, in 1248. It became for centuries the reſidence of the prelates of that ſee, and was ſtyled York-houſe. In it Wolſey took his final leave of greatneſs. The profuſion of rich things; hangings of cloth of gold and of ſilver; thouſands of pieces of fine Holland; the quantities of plate, even of pure gold, which covered two great tables ^†, (all of which were ſeized by his cruel rapacious maſter) are proofs of his amazing wealth, ſplendor, and pride. Henry deigned to purchaſe the palace from his fallen ſervant: the antient palace of Weſtminſter having ſome time before ſuffered greatly by fire. From this time it became the reſidence of our [93] princes, till it was almoſt wholly deſtroyed by the ſame element in 1697.

HENRY had an uncommon compoſition: his ſavage cruelty could not ſuppreſs his love of the arts: his love of the arts could not ſoften his ſavage cruelty. The prince who could, with the utmoſt ſang froid, burn Catholics and Proteſtants, take off the heads of the partners of his bed one day, and celebrate new nup⯑tials the next, had, notwithſtanding, a ſtrong taſte for refined plea⯑ſures. He cultivated architecture and painting, and invited from abroad artiſts of the firſt merit. To Holbein was owing the moſt beautiful gate at Whitehall, built with bricks of two colors,FINE GATE. glaz⯑ed, and diſpoſed in a teſſelated faſhion. The top, as well as that of an elegant tower on each ſide, were embattled. On each front were four buſts in baked clay, in proper colors, which re⯑ſiſted to the laſt every attack of the weather: poſſibly the arti⯑ficial ſtone revived in this century. Theſe, I have been lately informed, are preſerved in a private hand. This charming ſtruc⯑ture fell a ſacrifice to conveniency within my memory: as did another in 1723, built at the ſame time, but of far inferior beau⯑ty ^*. The laſt blocked up the road to King-ſtreet, and was called King's-gate. Henry built it as a paſſage to the park, the tennis-court, bowling-green, the cock-pit, and tilting-yard; for he was extremely fond of athletic exerciſes; they ſuited his ſtrength and his temper.

IT was the intention of William duke of Cumberland, to re⯑build the beautiful gate, firſt mentioned, at the top of the long [94] walk at Windſor, and for that purpoſe had all the parts and ſtones numbered; but unfortunately the deſign was never executed.

TILT-YARD.THE tilt-yard was equally the delight of his daughter Eliza⯑beth, as ſingular a compoſition: for, with the trueſt patriotiſm, and moſt diſtinguiſhed abilities, were interwoven the greateſt va⯑nity,VANITY OF QUEEN ELIZA⯑BETH. and moſt romantic diſpoſition. Here, in her ſixty-ſixth year, with wrinkled face, red perriwig, little eyes, hooked noſe, ſkinny lips, and black teeth ^*, ſhe could ſuck in the groſs flatterie; of her favored courtiers. Eſſex (by his ſquire) here told her of her beauty and worth. A Dutch ambaſſador aſſured her majeſty, that he had undertaken the voyage to ſee her majeſty, who for beauty and wiſdom excelled all other beauties in the world. She labored at an audience to make Melvil acknowlege that his charming miſtreſs was inferior in beauty to herſelf ^†. The artful Scot evaded her queſtion. She put on a new habit of every foreign nation, each day of audience, to attract his admiration. So fond was ſhe of dreſs, that three thouſand different habits were found in her wardrobe after her death. Mortifying reflection! in find⯑ing ſuch alloy in the greateſt characters.

SHE was very fond of dancing. I admire the humour ſhe ſhewed in uſing this exerciſe, whenever a meſſenger came to her from her ſucceſſor James VI. of Scotland: for Sir Roger Aſton aſſures us, that whenever he was to deliver any letters to her from his maſter, on lifting up of the hangings, he was ſure to find her dancing to a little fiddle, affectedly, that he might tell James, by [95] her youthful diſpoſition, how unlikely he was to come to the throne he ſo much thirſted after ^*.

HENTZNER, who viſited this palace in 1598,HER LIBRARY. informs us that her royal library was well ſtored with Greek, Italian, Latin, and French books. Among others, was a little one in her own hand⯑writing, addreſſed to her father. She wrote a moſt exceeding fair hand, witneſs the beautiful little prayer book, ſold at the late dutcheſs of Portland's ſale for £. 106, written in five languages,HER LEARNING. two in Engliſh, and one in Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. At the beginning was a miniature of her lover the Duc d'Anjou, at the end one of herſelf, both by Hilliard: by the firſt ſhe artfully in⯑ſinuated that he was the primary object of her devotions. His mother, Catherine de Medicis, had been told by an aſtrologer, that all her ſons were to become monarchs. Anjou viſited England, and was received with every ſpecies of coquetry. On the firſt of January, 1581, in the tilt-yard of this palace,GREAT TOURNA⯑MENT HELD IN HONOR OF THE DUC D'ANJOU. the moſt ſump⯑tuous tournament ever celebrated, was held here in honor to the commiſſioners ſent from France to propoſe the marriage. A ban⯑queting-houſe, moſt ſuperbly ornamented, was erected at the ex⯑pence of above a thouſand ſeven hundred pounds. ‘The gallerie adjoining to her majeſties houſe at Whitehall,’ ſays the minute Holinſhed, ‘whereat hir perſon ſhould be placed, was called,ROMANTIC FOOLERIES. and not without cauſe, the caſtell or fortreſſe of perfect beautie!’ Her majeſty, at the time aged forty-eight, received every flat⯑tery that the charms of fifteen could clame. ‘This fortreſſe of perfect beautie was aſſailed by Deſire, and his four foſter chil⯑dren.’ The combatants on both ſides were perſons of the firſt [96] rank: a regular ſummons was firſt ſent to the poſſeſſor of the caſtell, with the delectable ſong of which this is part:

Which ended, ‘two canons were fird off, one with ſweet powder, and the other with ſweet water: and after there were ſtore of prettie ſcaling ladders, and then the footmen threw floures, and ſuch fanſies againſt the wals, with all ſuch deviſes as might ſeeme fit ſhot for Deſire.’ In the end Deſire is repulſed, and forced to make ſubmiſſion; and thus ended an amorous foolery; which, if the reader is endowed with more patience than myſelf, he may find to fill near ſix great pages in the hiſtorian aforeſaid^*.

NOBLE BAND OF KNIGHTS TIL⯑TERS.TWO principal heroes of the time were Sir Henry Lee, knight of the garter, the faithful devoted knight of this romantic prin⯑ceſs,SIR HENRY LEE, THE QUEEN'S CHAMPION; and George earl of Cumberland. The firſt had made a vow to preſent himſelf armed at the Tilt-Yard, on the 27th of Novem⯑ber annually, till he was diſabled by age. This gave riſe to the annual exerciſes of arms during the reign. The ſociety conſiſted of twenty-five of the moſt diſtinguiſhed perſonages about the court ^†. Among them was Sir Chriſtopher Hatton, and even the lord chancellor,DISABLED BY AGE, RESIGNS IN GREAT FORM. I think Sir Thomas Bromley. Age overtook Sir Henry in the thirty-third year of her majeſty: when he retired with great ceremony, and recommended as his ſucceſſor the fa⯑mous [97] hero, the earl of Cumberland, of whom I have given an am⯑ple account in another place^*. Sir Henry, in the year 1590, in⯑veſted his ſucceſſor with much form; and in the true ſpirit of chivalry and romance, in the preſence of the queen and the whole court, armed the new champion and mounted him upon his horſe. His own armour he offered at the foot of a crowned pillar, near her majeſty's feet: after which he clothed himſelf in a coat of black velvet pointed under the arm, and inſtead of a helmet, co⯑vered his head with a buttoned cap of the country faſhion^†. He died aged 80, in the year 1611, and was interred in the once elegant little church of Quarendon, near Ayleſbury. It is difficult to ſay whether that or the tomb is moſt ruinous. The figure of the knight appears in armour reclining, with one hand ſupport⯑ing his head, the other on his ſword; on his neck is a rich collar with the George pendant; his hair is ſhort and curled; his face bearded and whiſkered. He lies beneath a rich canopy, ſupported by ſuits of armour like antient trophies. The epitaph tell us,

In a work which furniſhed ſo few architectural ſubjects for the engraver, I preſent the reader with the portrait of this venerable knight, taken from an original in poſſeſſion of the late Mrs. Sydney Lee, of Cheſter; who with great politeneſs obliged me with a re⯑duced copy. He was ſprung from a Cheſhire family, the ſame which produced the Lees, earls of Lichfield. Sir Henry has by [98] him a large dog, to which he once was indebted for his life. By accident it was left one night in his bed-chamber, unknown to a faithleſs ſervant, who entered the room with an intent to rob and murder his maſter, but was ſeized on his entrance by the affection⯑ate animal.

THE other print is one of Sir Henry's aſſociates in the gallant ſociety, Robert earl of Leiceſter, clad for the tilt-yard, in complete armour^*.

OTHER AMUSE⯑MENTS OF ELIZABETH. Rowland White has left us a curious account of the amuſe⯑ments of this reign, and with what ſpirit her majeſty purſued her pleaſures as late as her ſixty-ſeventh year. ‘Her majeſty ſays ſhe is very well. This day ſhe appoints a Frenchman to doe feate [...] upon a rope in the conduit court. To-morrow ſhe hath com⯑manded the beares, the bull, and the ape to be bayted in the tilt-yard. Upon Wedneſday ſhe will have ſolemne dawncing^†.’

THE cieling of this noble room cannot be ſufficiently admired. It was painted by Rubens, who had three thouſand pounds for his work. The ſubject is the apotheoſis of James I; it forms nine compartments; one of the middle, repreſents our pacific monarch on his earthly throne, turning with horror from Mars, and other of the diſcordant deities, and as if it were giving himſelf up to the amiable goddeſs he always cultivated, to her attendants. Commerce and all the fine arts. This fine performance is painted on can⯑vaſs, and is in fine preſervation; but, a few years ago, underwent a repair by Mr. Cipriani, who, as I am told, had two thouſand pounds for his trouble. Near the entrance is a buſt of the royal founder.

LITTLE did James think that he was erecting a pile from which his ſon was to ſtep from the throne to the ſcaffold. He had been brought, in the morning of his death, from St. James's acroſs the park, and from thence to Whitehall, where, aſcending the great ſtaircaſe, he paſſed through the long gallery to his bed⯑chamber, the place allotted to him to paſs the little ſpace before he received the fatal blow. It is one of the leſſer rooms marked with the letter A, in the old plan of Whitehall. He was from thence conducted along the galleries and the banquetting-houſe, through the wall, in which a paſſage was broken^†, to his laſt [100] earthly ſtage. This paſſage ſtill remains, at the north end of the room, and is at preſent the door to a ſmall additional building of late date. At the time of the king's death, contiguous to the banquetting-houſe was a large building with a long roof, and a ſmall cupola riſing out of the middle^*. The late dutcheſs of Portland did me the honor of ſhewing to me a rich pearl ſur⯑mounted with a crown, which was taken out of the ear of the murdered monarch, after his head was ſtruck off^†.

THE banquetting-houſe has been, many years paſt, converted into a chapel. George I. appointed a ſalary of £. 30 a year to he paid to certain ſelect preachers, to preach here every Sunday.

CABINET OF CHARLES I.THE collection of paintings formed by this moſt accompliſhed prince, was eſteemed the firſt in Europe. They were kept in a room called the Cabinet-room, in this palace; which was built by order of prince Henry, from a deſign of Inigo Jones. I have a view of it, and ſome of the antient parts of Whitehall which ſtood next to St. James's park. This building is diſtinguiſhed by the Venetian window. It ſtood on the fite of the duke of York's houſe. Vanderdort was appointed keeper, with a ſalary of £. 50 a year. On the death of Henry it was confirmed to him by Charles, at the reduced ſalary of forty. The view is taken from a drawing by Levines, an artiſt who had worked under Rembrandt. This I owe to the liberality of Doctor Combes.

IN 1680 a complete plan of this great palace was taken by John Fiſher, and engraven by Vertue, in 1747.PLAN OF WHITEHALL. It appears that extended along the river, and in front along the preſent Parlement and Whitehall ſtreet, as far as Scotland Yard; and on the other ſide of thoſe ſtreets to the turning into Spring Garden, beyond the Admiralty, looking into St. James's Park. The merry king, his queen, the royal brother, prince Rupert, the duke of Monmouth, and all the great officers, and all the courtly train, had their lodg⯑ings within theſe walls; and all the royal family had their diffe⯑rent offices, ſuch as kitchens, cellars, pantries, ſpiceries, cyder-houſe, bake-houſe, wood-yards and coal-yards, and ſlaughter-houſe. We ſee among the fair attendants of queen Catherine, many names which make a great figure in Grammont, and other chronicles of the time: ſuch as the counteſs of Caſtlemaine, Mrs. Kirk, and Mrs. Killegrew. As to Nell Gwynne, NELL GWYNNE. not having the honor to be on the good queen's eſtabliſhment, ſhe was obliged to keep her diſtance, at her houſe in what was then called Pall-mall. It is the firſt good one on the left hand of St. James's Square, as we enter from Pall-mall. The back room on the ground floor was (within memory) entirely of looking glaſs; as was ſaid to have been the cieling. Over the chimney was her picture; and that of her ſiſter was in a third room. At the period I mention, this houſe was the property of Thomas Brand, eſq of the Hoo, in Hertſordſhire.

THE other royal favorites had the ſanction of offices, ſuch as maids of honor and the like, which, in all ages, like charity, were ſure to cover a multitude of ſins.

[102]I MUST not omit, that from the palace into the Thames were two ſtairs, one public, the other the privy ſtairs for the uſe of majeſty alone; the firſt is ſtill in uſe, the other is made up in the old wall adjacent to the earl of Fife's, but the arch of the portal remains entire. Henry, and his daughter Elizabeth, made all their parties by water or on horſeback; or now and then the laſt went mounted on a litter, carried on men's ſhoulders. Coaches had been introduced into England by Henry Fitzalan earl of Arundel, one of her admirers; but the ſpirited princeſs ſeems to have diſ⯑dained the uſe. She rode in a dreſs of form and magnificence equal to what ſhe appeared in at the drawing-room; but never put on breeches or boots, like the late Czarina; nor yet the equi⯑vocal dreſs of the ladies of the preſent age.

NO one is unacquainted with the noble and commodious im⯑provements which ſucceeded. The ſpace occupied by the former palace, moſt part of Privy Garden, is covered with houſes of nobi⯑lity or gentry, commanding moſt beautiful views of the river. Among the firſt (on the ſite of the ſmall-beer cellar, of which a view is preſerved in N^o 4. of Hollar's prints of Whitehall) is the houſe of the earl of Fife. EARL OF FIFE'S. From his judicious embankment, is a matchleſs view of its kind, of the two bridges with the magnifi⯑cent expanſe of water, Somerſet-houſe, St. Paul's, and multitudes of other objects leſs magnificent, but which ſerve to complete the beautiful ſcene.

A HEAD of Charles I. when prince of Wales, done in Spain, when he was there in 1625, on his romantic expedition to court the Infanta. It is ſuppoſed to have been the work of Velaſco.

A PORTRAIT of William earl of Pembroke, lord high chamber⯑lain in the beginning of the reign of Charles I; a ſmall full length in black, with his white rod in one hand, his hat in the other, ſtanding in a room looking into a garden. Such is the merit of this piece, that, notwithſtanding it is ſuppoſed to have been the performance of Jameſon, the Scotch Vandyck; yet it has been often attributed to that great Flemiſh painter ^*.

IN the vacant part of Privy Garden is ſtill to be ſeen a noble ſtatue in braſs of our abdicated monarch, executed by Grinling Gibbons, the year before he deſerted his throne.

THE horſe-guards had their ſtables in the place they occupy at this time: but the preſent elegant building was erected in the reign of his late majeſty, after a deſign, I think, by Vardy. I have given a print ^† of the Horſe-guards as they were in the time of Charles II. In it is the merry monarch and his dogs; and in the back view, the banquetting-houſe, one of the gates, the pre⯑ſent treaſury in its antient ſtate, and the top of the cockpit.

THE Admiralty-office ſtood originally in Duke-ſtreet Weſtmin⯑ſter; but in the reign of king William was removed to the preſent [104] ſpot, to the houſe then called Wallingford-houſe, I believe from its having been inhabited by the Knollys's, viſcounts Wallingford. From the roof, the pious Uſher, archbiſhop of Armagh, then liv⯑ing here with the counteſs of Peterborough, was prevaled on to take the laſt ſight of his beloved maſter Charles I. when brought on the ſcaffold before Whitehall. He ſunk at the horror of the ſight, and was carried in a ſwoon to his apartment.

THE preſent Admiralty-office was rebuilt in the late reign: it is a clumſy pile, but properly veiled from the ſtreet by Mr. Adams's handſome ſkreen ^*

PALACE FOR KINGS OF SCOTLAND.A LITTLE farther to the north ſtood, in the place now occu⯑pied by Scotland-yard, a magnificent palace built for the reception of the Scottiſh monarchs, whenever they viſited this capital. It was originally given by king Edgar to king Ken, for the humiliating purpoſe of his making to this place an annual journey, for the purpoſe of doing homage for the kingdom of Scotland, and in after times for Cumberland and Huntingdon, and other fiefs of the crown. Here Margaret, widow of James V. of Scotland, and ſiſter to Henry VIII. reſided for a conſiderable time after the death of her huſband: and was entertained with great magnifi⯑cence by her royal brother, as ſoon as he was reconciled to her ſecond marriage with the earl of Angus.

CHARING-CROSS.A LITTLE above ſtood one of the celebrated memorials of the affection of Edward I. for his beloved Elianor, being the croſs erected on the laſt ſpot on which the body reſted in the way to the abby, the place of ſepulture. This and all the others were built after the deſigns of Cavalini. This was deſtroyed by the religious [105] fury of the reformers. From a drawing communicated to me by Doctor Combes, it appears to have been of an octagonal form, and in an upper ſtage ornamented with eight figures: but the gothic parts far from being rich.

THE croſs was in the next century replaced by a moſt beauti⯑ful and animated equeſtrian ſtatue in braſs,FINE STATUE OF CHARLES I. of Charles I. caſt in 1633, by Le Soeur. It was not erected till the year 1678, when the parlement had ordered it to be ſold and broke to pieces: but John River, the brazier who purchaſed it, having more taſte or more loyalty than his maſters, buried it unmutilated, and ſhewed to them ſome broken pieces of braſs in token of his obedience. M. d' Archenholz gives a diverting anecdote of this brazier: that he caſt a vaſt number of handles of knives and forks in braſs, which he ſold as made of the broken ſtatue. They were bought with great eagerneſs; by the loyaliſts, from affection to their mo⯑narch; by the rebels, as a mark of triumph over the murdered ſovereign ^*.

ON the ſite of part of Northumberland-houſe, ST. MARY ROUN⯑CEVAL. ſtood the chapel of St. Mary Rounceval, a cell to the priory of Rouncevaux, in Navarre. It was founded by William Marſhal earl of Pembroke, in the time of Henry III. It was ſuppreſſed by Henry V. among the alien priories, but rebuilt by Edward IV. who fixed a frater⯑nity in it ^†. In the reign of Edward VI, a grant was made of the ſite to Sir Thomas Cawarden ^‡.

NOT far from hence, oppoſite to Charing-Croſs, was an hermi⯑tage, [106] with a chapel dedicated to St. Catherine ^*. This, in 1262, belonged to the ſee of Llandaff; for I find in that year that Wil⯑liam de Radnor, then biſhop, had leave from the king to lodge in the cloiſter of his hermitage at Charing, whenever he came to London ^†.

ON the north ſide of Charing-Croſs ſtand the royal ſtables, called, from the original uſe of the buildings on their ſite, the Mews; having been uſed for keeping the king's falcons, at leſt from the time of Richard II. In that reign the accompliſhed Sir Simon Burley, knight of the garter, was keeper of the king's falcons at the Meuſe, near Charing-Croſs. This office was by Charles II. granted to his ſon by Nell Gwyn, Charles duke of St. Albans, and the heirs male of his body. In the reign of Henry VIII. the king's horſes were kept here. In 1534 an accident by fire deſtroyed the building, with a great quantity of hay, and ſeve⯑ral great horſes. It was rebuilt in the reigns of Edward VI. and queen Mary. In the year 1732 the preſent handſome edifice aroſe.

ST. JAMES'S PALACE.ST. JAMES's palace was originally a hoſpital, founded and de⯑dicated to St. James, by ſome pious citizens, before the Conqueſt, for fourteen leprous females: and eight brethren were added afterwards, to perform divine ſervice. On the quarrel between the great earl of Warwick and lord Cromwel, about the cauſe of the firſt battle of St. Albans; lord Cromwel, fearing the rage of that violent peer, was at his own deſire lodged here, by way of ſecurity, by John Talbot earl of Shrewſbury, at that time lord treaſurer of England ^‡. It was ſurrendered to Henry VIII. in [107] 1531, who ſounded on its ſite the preſent palace, which Stowe calls a goodly manor. His majeſty alſo incloſed the park, which was ſubſervient to the amuſement of this and the palace of White⯑hall. Charles II. was particularly fond of it, planted the avenues, made the canal, and the aviary, adjacent to the Bird-cage walk, which took its name from the cages which were hung in the trees. Charles, ſays Cibber, was often ſeen here, amidſt crowds of ſpecta⯑tors, feeding his ducks, and playing with his dogs ^*, and paſſing his idle moments in affability even to the meaneſt of his ſubjects, which made him to be adored by the common people; ſo faſci⯑nating in the great are the habits of condeſcenſion!

DUCK ISLAND was erected into a government, and had a ſalary annexed to the office, in favor of M. St. Evremond, who was the firſt and perhaps the laſt governor ^†: and the iſland itſelf is loſt in the late improvements.

IT does not appear that the palace was inhabited by any of our monarchs till after the fire at Whitehall. James I. preſented it to his accompliſhed ſon Henry, who reſided here till his lamented death in 1612. Charles I. was brought here from Windſor, on January 19th ^‡, by the power of the army, which had determined on his death; his apartment was haſtily furniſhed by his ſervant Mr. Kinnerſley, of the wardrobe ^‖. Some of the eleven days which he was permitted to live, were ſpent in Weſtminſter-hall, and of the nights in the houſe of Sir Robert Cotton, adjacent to his place of trial. On the 27th he was carried back to St. James's, where he paſſed his three laſt days in exemplary piety. On the 30th he [108] was brought to the place of execution; and walked, unmoved at every inſult, with a firm and quick pace, ſupported by the moſt lively ſentiments of religion.

HIS ſon, the bigoted James, ſent to the prince of Orange, when he had approached in force near to the capital, a moſt neceſſitated invitation to take his lodgings at this palace. The prince ac⯑cepted it: but at the ſame time hinted to the frightened prince that he muſt leave Whitehall. It was cuſtomary to mount guard at both the palaces. The old hero lord Craven was on duty at the time when the Dutch guards were marching through the park to relieve, by order of their maſter. From a point of honor he had determined not to quit his ſtation, and was preparing to maintain his poſt; but, receiving the command of his ſovereign, he reluctantly withdrew his party and marched away with ſullen dignity ^*.

DURING the reign of king William, St. James's was fitted up for the reſidence of the princeſs Anne (afterwards queen) and her ſpouſe prince George of Denmark. From that time to the preſent it has been regularly the court of our monarchs.

JAMES, the ſon of James II. who ſo long made pretenſions to the Britiſh throne, was born in the room now called the old bed-chamber; at preſent the anti-chamber to the levee room. The bed ſtood cloſe to the door of a back-ſtairs, which deſcended to an inner court. It certainly was very convenient to carry on any ſecret deſign; and might favor the ſilly warming-pan ſtory, was not the bed ſurrounded by twenty of the privy-council, four other men of rank, twenty ladies, beſides pages and other atten⯑dants. [109] James, with imprudent pride, neglected to diſprove the tale: it was adopted by party, and firmly believed by its zealots. But, as James proved falſe to his high truſt, and his ſon ſhewed every ſymptom of following his example, there was certainly no ſuch pretence wanting for excluding a family inimical to the in⯑tereſts of the GREAT WHOLE.

UNCREDITABLE as the outſide of St. James's palace may look, it is ſaid to be the moſt commodious for regal parade of any in Europe. Every one knows that the furniture of this palace is un⯑becoming the place.PORTRAITE. Yet in a ramble I once made through the apartments, I ſaw ſeveral portraits of perſonages remarkable in their day. Among others (in one of the rooms behind the levee rooms) is a ſmall full-length of Henry prince of Wales, ſon of James I. He is dreſſed in green, ſtanding over a dead ſtag, and ſheathing a ſword. A youth, the accompliſhed lord Harrington, of Exton, is kneeling before him: each of them have hunting horns, and behind the prince is a horſe, and on the bough of a tree are the arms of England, and behind the young lord, another coat of arms, perhaps his own. Another fine ſmall piece, of Arthur, elder brother to Henry VIII. painted very young, with a bonnet on his head. Henry ſtands by him, and his ſiſter Margaret, of in⯑fant ages. This picture is by Mabuſe, who viſited England in the reign of their father.

HENRY VII. and VIII. full-lengths, and each of them with a queen before an altar. The fortunate Jane Seymour (who died in her bed) is the conſort of the ſon, here repreſented. This is a copy from Holbein, in ſmall, by Van Lemput [...]n 1667, taken by order of Charles II. The original was painted on the wall in the privy chamber of Whitehall, and deſtroyed in the fire of 1697.

[110]Two half-lengths, by Lely, of the dutcheſs of York, and her ſiſter.

A CHILD in the robes of the garter: perhaps the youngeſt knight known. He was the ſecond ſon of James II. while duke of York, by Anne Hyde his dutcheſs. On December 3d, 1666, he was elected knight of the garter, at the age of three years and five months. The ſovereign put the George round his neck; and prince Rupert, the garter round his little leg. Death, in the fol⯑lowing year, prevented his inſtallation ^*.

THE diminutive manhood of the dwarf Geoffry Hudſon, is to be ſeen in another picture. He appears leſs by being placed walk⯑ing under ſome very tall trees.

IN the lords old waiting-room is Henry Darnley, in black, tall and genteel. His hand is reſting on his brother Charles Stuart, earl of Lenox, dreſſed in a black gown.

IN another room is Charles II. of Spain, at the age of four, in black, with a ſceptre in his hand, ſtrutting and playing the mo⯑narch. He was inaugurated in 1665. His reign was unhappy. Spain at no period was in ſo low, ſo diſtreſsful a condition. His dominions were parcelled out in his life-time: but he diſappointed the allies, and, after ſome ſtruggle, the deſignation of his will in favor of the houſe of Bourbon took place.

HERE is to be ſeen the famous picture by Mabuſe, of Adam and Eve. Mr. Evelyn juſtly remarks the abſurdity of painting them with navels, and a fountain with rich imagery amidſt the beauteous wilds of paradiſe. Raphael, and Michael Angelo, made [111] the ſame miſtake of the navel, on which the learned Sir Thomas Brown ^* waſtes a long page and a half to diſprove the poſ⯑ſibility.

IN the queen's library (built by queen Caroline, QUEEN'S LIBRARY. and ornamented by Kent) now a lumber-room, I ſaw a beautiful view from Greenwich park, with Charles I. his queen, and a number of cour⯑tiers, walking. And two others, of the ſame prince and his queen dining in public. And another of the elector palatine and his ſpouſe at public table; with a carver, looking moſt ridiculous, a monkey having in that moment reared from the board and ſeized on his beard. Poſſibly this feaſt was at Guildhall, where he was moſt nobly entertained by the hoſpitable city, in 1612, when he made the match with the daughter of our monarch, which ended ſo unhappily for both parties.

TO the eaſt of St. James's palace, in the reign of queen Anne, MARLBOROUGH-HOUSE. was built Marlborough-houſe, at the expence of the public. It appears by one of Kip's views of St. James's, publiſhed before the exiſtence of this houſe, that it was built in part of the royal gardens, granted for that purpoſe by her majeſty. The preſent duke added an upper ſtory, and improved the ground floor, which originally wanted the great room. This national compliment coſt not leſs than forty thouſand pounds.

IN Pall-mall the duke Schomberg had his houſe.PALL-MALL. It was in my time poſſeſſed by Aſtley the painter, who divided it into three, and moſt whimſically fitted up the center for his own uſe.

TO take a review of the ſpace between this palace and Charing-Croſs, as it was about the year 1560, it will appear a tract of [112] fields; there were no houſes, excepting three or four on the eaſt ſide of the preſent Pall-mall: and a little farther, on the oppoſite ſide, a ſmall church, the name of which I cannot diſcover.

BY the year 1572, Cockſpur-ſtreet filled up the ſpace between thoſe houſes and Charing-Croſs. Pall-mall was alſo laid out as a walk, or a place for the exerciſe of the Mall, a game long ſince diſuſed. The north ſide was alſo planted with a row of trees. On the other ſide was the wall of St. James's park. Charles II. removed it to its preſent place, planted the park, and made all thoſe improvements, which we now ſee. It was Le Notre, the famous French gardener, the director of taſte under Louis XIV. who ordered the diſpoſition of the trees. Of late, the French have endeavoured to borrow taſte from us. In the days of Charles, HAYMARKET. HEDGE-LANE. the Haymarket, and Hedge-lane, had names; but they were literally lanes, bounded by hedges; and all beyond, to the north, eaſt, and weſt, was entirely country. In the fine plan of London, publiſhed by Faithorn, in 1658, no traces of houſes are to be met with in the former, any more than a ſingle one, named the Gaming-houſe, at the end next to Piccadilly. Windmill-ſtreet conſiſted of disjoined houſes; and a windmill, ſtanding in a field on the weſt ſide, proves from what its name was derived. All the ſpace occupied by the ſtreets radiating from the Seven Dials, was at that period open ground.

LEICESTER-HOUSE. Leiceſter-fields was alſo unbuilt; but the houſe of that name is found in the ſame plan, and on the ſite of the preſent. It was founded by one of the Sydnies earls of Leiceſter. It was for a ſhort time the reſidence of Elizabeth, daughter of James I. the titular queen of Bohemia, who, on February 13th, 1661, here [113] ended her unfortunate life ^*. It has been tenanted for a great number of years. It was ſucceſſively the pouting-place of princes. The late king, when prince of Wales, after he had quarrelled with his father, lived here ſeveral years. His ſon Frederick followed his example, ſucceeded him in his houſe, and in it finiſhed his days. No one is ignorant of the magnificent and inſtructive muſeum exhibited in this houſe by the late Sir ASHTON LEVER. It was the moſt aſtoniſhing collection of the ſubject of natural hiſtory ever collected, in ſo ſhort a ſpace, by any individual. To the diſgrace of our kingdom, after the firſt burſt of wonder was over, it became neglected: and when it was offered to the public, by the chance of a guinea lottery, only eight thou⯑ſand, out of thirty-ſix thouſand, tickets were ſold. Finally, the capricious goddeſs frowned on the ſpirited poſſeſſor of ſuch a number of tickets, and transferred the treaſure to the poſſeſſor of only two, Mr. Parkinſon; who, by his ſpirited attention to, and elegant diſpoſition of the Muſeum, well merited the favor.

BEHIND Leiceſter-houſe ſtood, in 1658, the Military-yard,THE MILITARY YARD. founded by Henry prince of Wales, the ſpirited ſon of our peace⯑ful James. M. Foubert afterwards kept here his academy for rid⯑ing and other gentleman-like exerciſes, in the reign of Charles II. It is to this day a noted riding-ſchool.

A LITTLE beyond ſtood Gerard-houſe, GERARD-HOUSE. the habitation of the gallant Gerard earl of Macclesfield ^†. It is loſt in the ſtreet of the ſame name. The profligate lord Mohun lived in this ſtreet, and was brought there after he was killed in the duel with the duke [114] of Hamilton. I have heard that his good lady was vaſtly diſ⯑pleaſed at the bloody corſe being flung upon the beſt bed.

COVENTRY-HOUSE ſtood near the end of the Haymarket, and gave name to Coventry-ſtreet. It was the reſidence of lord keeper Coventry; and Henry Coventry, ſecretary of ſtate, died here in 1686. This houſe is ſaid to be on the ſite of one called, in the old plans of London, the Gaming-houſe.

PICCADILLY.LORD Clarendon mentions a houſe of this name, in the follow⯑ing words. ‘Mr. Hyde (ſays he, ſpeaking of himſelf) going to a houſe called Piccadilly, which was a fair houſe for entertain⯑ment, and gaming, with handſome gravel-walks with ſhade, and where were an upper and lower bowling-green, whither very many of the nobility and gentry of the beſt quality re⯑ſorted for exerciſe and converſation ^*.’

AT the upper end of the Haymarket, ſtood Piccadilla-hall, where Piccadillas or Turn-overs were ſold, which gave name to that vaſt ſtreet, called from that circumſtance Piccadilly. This ſtreet was completed in 1642, as far as the preſent Berkeley-ſtreet. The firſt good houſe which was built in it was Burlington-houſe; the noble founder, father to the late earl of Burlington, ſaid he placed it there ‘becauſe he was certain no one would build be⯑yond him.’ Nobody is ignorant of the vaſt town that, ſince that period, has extended itſelf beyond this palace. After this roſe Clarges-houſe, and two others adjacent, inhabited, ſays Strype, by lord Sherbourne and the counteſs of Denby.

THE Peſt-houſe-fields were ſurrounded with buildings before the year 1700, but remained a dirty waſte till of late years, when [115] Carnaby-market occupied much of the weſt part. Golden-ſquare, of dirty acceſs, was built after the Revolution, or before 1700. In theſe fields had been the lazareto, during the period of the dreadful plague of the year 1665. It was built by that true hero lord Craven, who ſtayed in London during the whole time; and braved the fury of the peſtilence, with the ſame coolneſs as he fought the battles of his beloved miſtreſs Elizabeth, titular queen of Bohemia; or mounted the tremendous breach at Creutz⯑nach. He was the intrepid ſoldier, the gallant lover, the genuine patriot.

IN 1700 Bond-ſtreet was built no farther than the weſt end of Clifford-ſtreet. New Bond-ſtreet was at that time an open field, called Conduit Mead, from one of the conduits which ſupplied this part of the town with water: and Conduit-ſtreet received its name for the ſame reaſon.

GEORGE-ſtreet, Hanover-ſquare, and its church, roſe about the ſame time. The church was built by John James, ST. GEORGE's, HANOVER-SQUARE. and finiſhed in 1724. Its portico would be thought handſome had you ſpace to admire it. It now looks Brobdignagian. This was one of the fifty new churches, and the pariſh ſtolen out of that of St. Mar⯑tin in the Fields. It is the laſt pariſh in this part of Weſtminſter, excepting the diſtant Mary-bonne. Every part beſides was open ground, covered with dunghills, and all ſorts of obſcenity. May Fair was kept about the ſpot now covered with May Fair chapel,MAY FAIR. and ſeveral fine ſtreets. The fair was attended with ſuch diſor⯑ders, riots, thefts, and even murders, that, in 1708, it was pre⯑ſented by the magiſtrates. It revived again, and I remember the laſt celebrations: the place was covered with booths, temporary theatres, and every enticement to low pleaſure.

[116]AT the time of Sir Thomas Wiat's inſurrection, in February, 1554, part of the army marched to make their attack on London over this tract, then an open country as far as Charing-Croſs. On the ſpot called Hay-hill, near the preſent Berkeley-ſquare, there was a ſkirmiſh between a party of the inſurgents and another of the royal army, in which the former were repulſed. After the execution of Sir Thomas, his head (on that account) was ſet up on a gallows, at that place ^*, and his parboiled quarters in different parts of the neighborhood of the capital. Three of the inſurgents were alſo hung in chains near the head of their leader.

THIS extenſive tract, at preſent a vaſt ſeat of the moſt elegant population, is far from being deſtitute of places of devotion: but chapels aroſe inſtead of churches, ſubordinate to their reſpective rectors. In this enlightened age it was quickly diſcovered that "Godlineſs was profitable to many." The projector, the archi⯑tect, the maſon, the carpenter, and the plaſterer united their powers. A chapel was erected, well-pewed, well-warmed, dedi⯑cated, and conſecrated. A captivating preacher is provided, the pews are filled, and the good undertakers amply repayed by the pious tenantry.

HANOVER AND CAVENDISH SQUARES.IN 1716, Hanover-ſquare, and Cavendiſh-ſquare, were unbuilt: but their names appear in the plans of London of 1720. Oxford-ſtreet, from Princes-ſtreet eaſtward as far as High-ſtreet St. Giles's, was almoſt unbuilt on the north ſide. I remember there a deep hollow road, and full of ſloughs: there was here and there a rag⯑ged houſe, the lurking-place of cut-throats: inſomuch that I never was taken that way by night, in my hackney-coach, to a [117] worthy uncle's, who gave me lodgings at his houſe in George-ſtreet, but I went in dread the whole way. The ſouth ſide was built as far as Swallow-ſtreet. SOHO-SQUARE was begun in the time of Charles II. The duke of Monmouth lived in the center houſe, facing the ſtatue. Originally the ſquare was called, in honor of him, Monmouth-ſquare; and afterwards changed to that of King-ſquare. I have a tradition, that, on his [...]ath, the ad⯑mirers of that unfortunate man changed it to Soho, being the word of the day at the field of Sedgemoor. The houſe was pur⯑chaſed by the late lord Bateman, and let by the preſent lord to the Comte de Guerchy, the French ambaſſador. After which it was leaſed on building leaſes. The name of the unfortunate duke is ſtill preſerved in Monmouth-ſtreet.

AFTER this digreſſion, let me return into Piccadilly. BERKELEY-HOUSE.—Before the date of Burlington-houſe, was built a fine manſion, belonging to the Berkelies, lords, and afterwards earls Berkeley. It ſtood be⯑tween the ſouth end of Berkeley-ſquare and Piccadilly, and gave name to the ſquare and an adjacent ſtreet. The miſery and diſ⯑grace which the profligacy of one of the daughters brought on the houſe, by an intrigue with her brother-in-law, lord Grey, (afterwards engaged in the Monmouth rebellion) is too laſtingly recorded in our State Trials, ever to be buried in oblivion.

ON the ſite of this houſe, fronting Piccadilly, DEVONSHIRE-HOUSE. ſtands Devonſhire-houſe; long after the year 1700 it was the laſt houſe in this ſtreet, at that time the portion of Piccadilly. The old houſe, which was built by the firſt duke, was burnt in the reign of George II. It was rebuilt by the third duke, after a deſign by Kent. Here is an excellent library, and a very fine collection of medals. I once ſaw the houſe, by the favor of my friend the Reverend Doctor [118] Lort, at that time librarian; to whoſe liberal communications I have been invariably indebted. The portraits are ſo numerous in this noble houſe, that I muſt leave the complete liſt to thoſe who have more opportunities of forming it than I had. Among others, is a fine portrait of Marc Antonio de Dominis, the vain de⯑ſultory archbiſhop of Spalato, who, abjuring the Roman catholic religion, came over to England, and was appointed maſter of the Savoy. He had not been here long, but he publicly retracted all he had wrote againſt the church of Rome. James ordered him to depart the kingdom in three days. He had the folly to truſt himſelf at Rome; where, his ſincerity being doubted, he was flung into priſon, where he ended his days. He is painted by Tin⯑toret, repreſented in his ſtudy, ſitting, in black, and with a ſquare cap.

ARTHUR Goodwin, the friend of Mr. Hampden, and, like him, active in the cauſe of liberty; a fine full length, by Vandyck, 1639: in long hair; his dreſs a yellow cloak and jacket, and white boots.

HIS daughter Jane, ſecond wife of Philip lord Wharton; in black, enriched with chains of gold.

A HEAD of the favorite character of lord Clarendon, the virtu⯑ous and accompliſhed lord Falkland.

SIR Thomas Brown, author of the Religio Medici, his lady, and four daughters, by Dobſon. Sir Thomas and his lady are in black; one child is on her lap, two ſtand before him, on whom he looks with great affection. When I thought of a paſſage in his famous book, I could but ſmile at the number of children. His ſentiments on the conſequence of matrimony are moſt ſingular. I dare not quote the paſſage: but muſt refer the reader to the ſtrangeneſs of [119] his ideas on the ſubject ^*. Let it be remembered he was a bache⯑lor when he wrote.

THE delightful portrait of the Jewiſh Rabbi, by Rembrandt.

A HEAD of Titian, by himſelf. And another of the painter Carlo Cignani, alſo by himſelf.

THE unfeeling Philip II. by Titian; a full-length, in armour, enriched with gold. The only time he ever buckled it on, was when he ſhewed himſelf to his troops going on the aſſault of St. Quintin. He merited to be ſtripped of the honorable dreſs: he never appeared in the field; and carried on his wars like an aſſaſſin.

I WILL cloſe this very imperfect liſt, with the famous counteſs of Deſmond; a popular ſubject with the painters: and refer the reader to the account I have given of her in my viſits to that worthy peer the late earl of Kinnoul, in both my tours in Scotland.

THE collection of pictures by the great Italian maſters, is by far the fineſt private collection now in England.

THE houſe of that monſter of treachery, that profligate mini⯑ſter the earl of Sunderland, who, by his deſtructive advice, preme⯑ditatedly brought ruin on his unſuſpecting maſter James II. ſtood on or near the ſite of the preſent Melbourne-houſe. At the very time that he ſold him to the prince of Orange, he encouraged his majeſty in every ſtep which was certain of involving him and his family in utter ruin.

PICCADILLY is continued near half a mile farther to the weſt^†: the north ſide only conſiſts of houſes, moſt of them mean build⯑ings; but it finiſhes handſomely with the magnificent new houſe [120] of lord Bathurſt, at Hyde-park corner. On the ſouth ſide is the Green-park, bounded by a wall; but in many places are rows of benevolent railings, which afford a moſt elegant view of that park, the trees in that of St. James's, the majeſtic venerable abby ſoaring far above, and the more remote rural view of the Surry hills. Beyond the Turnpike-houſe, ſtood the houſe of a noble, celebrated by Mr. Pope for his paſſion for dancing; who de⯑manded an audience from queen Anne, after the death of George prince of Denmark, to adviſe her majeſty to diſpel her grief by applying to that exerciſe: ‘The ſober Laneſh [...]row dancing in the gout.’ I have heard it ſaid, that this was only his country-houſe; which might poſſibly have been, at that time.

ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL.IN 1733 aroſe on its ſite that great charity St. George's hoſpi⯑tal, founded by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants of Weſtminſter. The ſubſcriptions, in 1786, were £. 2,239. 5 s.; but the benevolence of the governors, or increaſe of accidents, cauſed an increaſe of expence, which threatened moſt ſerious con⯑ſequences, till the houſe was happily relieved by the bounty re⯑ceived from the third of the profits ariſing from the muſical en⯑tertainments of the abby.—This hoſpital has diſcharged from it, ſince it was opened, on the firſt of the year 1733, not fewer than a hundred and ſixty-four thouſand ſeven hundred and forty-ſix patients.

HYDE-PARK was in the late century, and the early part of the preſent, celebrated, by all our dramatical poets, for its large ſpace railed off in form of a circle,THE RING. round which the Beau-monde drove in their carriages, and in their rotation; exchanging as they paſſed ſmiles and nods, compliments, or ſmart repartees.

[121]OPPOSITE to this hoſpital at Hyde-park Corner, ſtood a large fort with four baſtions, which formed one of the many flung up in the year 1642. It is incredible with what ſpeed the citizens flung a rampart of earth all round the city and ſuburbs of London, and again round Southwark and Lambeth, ſtrengthened with bat⯑teries and redoubts at proper intervals. This was occaſioned by an alarm of an attack from the royal army. Men, women, and children aſſiſted by thouſands. The active part which the fair ſex took in the work is admirably deſcribed by the inimitable author of Hudibras; who, ſays he,

THERE were a few more great houſes,BERKSHIRE, OR CLEVELAND-HOUSE. not remote from St. James's palace, which merit mention. Berkſhire-houſe, belonging to the Howards, earls of Berkſhire, ſtood very near the royal reſi⯑dence. It was afterwards purchaſed, and preſented by Charles II. to that beautiful fury Barbara dutcheſs of Cleveland, and its honorable name changed into that of her diſhonored title. It [122] was then of great extent. She ſold part, which was built into various houſes. She built a large one for herſelf, which ſtill re⯑mains, and may be diſtinguiſhed by the row of round windows in the upper ſtory.

TART-HALL.TART-HALL ſtood near the preſent Buckingham-gate: it was built in 1638, by Nicholas Stone, for Alathea counteſs of Arundel, wife to Thomas earl of Arundel. After the death of the counteſs it became the property of her ſecond ſon, the unfortunate Wil⯑liam lord Stafford, a moſt gentle and amiable character, who fell an innocent victim to the deteſtable violence of party, and the perjured ſuborned evidence of the ever infamous Oates, Dugdale, and Tuberville. Good men, who had no ſhare in that part, hur⯑ried away by intemperate paſſion, were at the period diſgraced by their rage againſt this inoffenſive peer. Even the virtuous lord Ruſſel committed in this cauſe the ſingle opprobrium of his life: when the unhappy lord was condemned, RUSSEL could wiſh to deny the king the amiable prerogative of taking away the cruel, the diſgraceful part of the penalty. Within three years, this ex⯑cellent man himſelf taſted the bitter cup; but cleared, by royal indulgence, from the aggravating dregs, with which he wiſhed to agonize the dying moments of the devoted Stafford.

HERE were kept the poor remains of the Arundelian collection. They were buried during the madneſs of the popiſh plot. The mob would have miſtaken the ſtatues for popiſh ſaints. They were ſold in the year 1720; and the houſe ſoon after was pulled, down. Mr. Walpole; who ſaw the houſe at the time of the ſecond ſale, informed me that it was very large, and had a very venera⯑ble appearance.

ARLINGTON-HOUSE.HENRY BENNET earl of Arlington, one of the famous Cabal, [123] had a houſe near the ſite of the preſent Buckingham-houſe, which went by his name. It was afterwards purchaſed by John Sheffield duke of Buckingham, who, after obtaining an additional grant of land from the crown, rebuilt it, in a magnificent manner, in 1703.BUCKINGHAM-HOUSE. He deſcribes it moſt minutely, as well as his manner of living there, in a letter to the duke of Shrewſbury ^*. He has omitted his conſtant viſits to the noted gaming-houſe at Marybone, the place of aſſemblage of all the infamous ſharpers of the time. His grace always gave them a dinner at the concluſion of the ſeaſon, and his parting toaſt was, May as many of us as remain unhanged next ſpring, meet here again. I remember the facetious Quin tell⯑ing this ſtory at Bath, within the hearing of the late lord Cheſter⯑field, when his lordſhip was ſurrounded by a crowd of worthies of the ſame ſtamp with the above. Lady Mary Wortley alludes to the amuſement in this time; ‘Some dukes at Marybone bowl time away.’ Antiently there was a park at Marybone: for I find that in queen Elizabeth's, time, the Ruſſian ambaſſadors were entertained with the amuſement of hunting within its pale. The duke died in 1720. His dutcheſs, daughter to James II. by Catherine Sedley, lived here till her death. She was ſucceeded by the duke's natu⯑ral ſon, Charles Herbert Sheffield, on whom his grace had entailed it after the death of the young duke, who died a minor. It was purchaſed from Sir Charles by his preſent majeſty; is the retreat of our good king and queen; and dignified with the title of the QUEEN'S HOUSE.

The virtuous chancellor the earl of Clarendon, CLARENDON-HOUSE. had a houſe [124] facing the upper end of St. James's-ſtreet, on the ſite of the pre⯑ſent Graften-ſtreet. It was built by himſelf, with the ſtones in⯑tended for the rebuilding of St. Paul's. He purchaſed the ma⯑terials; but a nation ſoured with an unſucceſsful war, with fire, and with peſtilence, imputed every thing as a crime to this great and envied character: his enemies called it Dunkirk-houſe, calum⯑niating him with having built it with the money ariſing from the ſale of that town, which had juſt before been given up to the French, for a large ſum, by his maſter. Clarendon was ſo ſenſible of his vanity, of his imprudence, in building ſo large a houſe, and of the envy it drew upon him, that he thinks fit to apologize for that act of his; which he declares ſo far exceeded the propoſed expence, as to add greatly to the embarraſſment of his affairs ^*. It coſt fifty thouſand pounds, and three hundred men were em⯑ployed in the building. It was purchaſed from his lordſhip by George M [...]k duke of Albemarle, and afterwards by another noble⯑man, inferior indeed in abilities, but not inferior in virtues. In 1670,ATTACK ON THE DUKE OF OR⯑MOND BY BLOOD. James duke of Ormond, in his way to Clarendon-houſe, where his grace at that time lived, was dragged out of his coach by the infamous Blood, and his aſſociates, who intended to hang his grace at Tyburn, in revenge for juſtice done, under his adminiſtration in Ireland, on ſome of their companions. This refinement in revenge ſaved the duke's life: he had leiſure to diſengage himſelf from the villain on horſeback, to whom he was tied; by which time he was diſcovered by his affrighted domeſtics, and reſcued from death. Blood was ſoon after taken in the attempt to ſteal the [125] crown. The court had uſe for ſo complete a villain, and ſunk follow as to apply to his grace for pardon for the offence againſt him; the duke granted it with a generous indignation. Blood had a penſion of five hundred a year, and was conſtantly ſeen in the preſence-chamber: as is ſuppoſed, to ſhew to the great un⯑complying men of the time, what a ready inſtrument the miniſtry had to revenge any attempt that might be made againſt them in the cauſe of liberty.

I WOULD not make this little work a Tyburn chronicle;MURDER OF MR. THYNNE. yet I cannot omit the horrible aſſaſſination, in 1681, of Thomas Thynne, eſq of Longleat, by the inſtigation of count Koningſmark, in re⯑venge for his having married lady Elizabeth Ogle, the rich heireſs, on whom the count had a deſign. The three aſſaſſins were exe⯑cuted in Pall-mall on the bloody ſpot: but the court, in love with profligacy, contrived to ſave the principal ^*. The gallant William earl of Devonſhire would have avenged the death of his friend: the count accepted the challenge; but his conſcience pre⯑vented him from meeting the earl. He afterwards met with a fate ſuited to his actions: he attempted an intrigue, in 1686, in Germany, with a lady of diſtinguiſhed rank: he was one night waylayed, by order of the jealous huſband; was literally cut to pieces, and his remains flung into a privy, which was inſtantly bricked up.

JERMYN,JERMYN-HOUSE. and St. Alban's ſtreets took their names from the gal⯑lant Henry Jermyn earl of St. Alban's, who had a houſe at the head of the laſt. He was ſuppoſed to have been privately mar⯑ried to the queen dowager, Henrietta Maria. By this time miſ⯑fortunes had ſubdued that ſpirit which had contributed to preci⯑pitate [126] her firſt huſband into the ruin of his houſe. She was awed by her ſubject-ſpouſe^*: her fear of him was long obſerved before the nearneſs of the connection was diſcovered.

ST. JAMES'S CHURCH.ON the ground of this gay peer, was built the preſent church of St. James, founded in the latter part of the reign of Charles II. and conſecrated in the firſt of James II. and named in honor of both ſaint and monarch. London was ſo vaſtly increaſed about this period, that a new church in this place was neceſſary. Ac⯑cordingly, as much was taken from the pariſh of St. Martin in the Fields, as to form another. It is a rectory, to which, at firſt, the biſhop of London had a right of two turns in the preſentation. Lord Jermyn, nephew to the earl, had the third: but the laſt was fully reſigned to the biſhop.FINE FONT BY GIBBONS. The moſt remarkable thing in the church is the fine font of white marble, the work of Grinlin Gib⯑bons. It is ſupported by the tree of life; the ſerpent is offering the fruit to our firſt parents, who ſtand beneath: on one ſide of the font is engraven the Baptiſt baptizing our Saviour: on ano⯑ther, St. Philip baptizing the eunuch: and on the third, Noah's ark, with the dove bringing the olive-branch, the type of peace to mankind ^†.

THE chancel, above the altar, is enriched with ſome beautiful foliage in wood, by the ſame great artiſt.

THE STRAND; ITS ANTIENT STATE.THE further progreſs of this part of the town I ſhall defer mentioning till I have reached the moſt eaſtern part of Weſtmin⯑ſter. I ſhall reſume my account at the opening of the Strand into Charing-Croſs, by obſerving, that in the year 1353, that fine [127] ſtreet the Strand was an open highway, with here and there a great man's houſe, with gardens to the water-ſide. In that year it was ſo ruinous, that Edward III. by an ordinance directed a tax to be raiſed upon wool, leather, wine, and all goods carried to the ſtaple at Weſtminſter, from Temple-bar to Weſtminſter-abbey, for the repair of the road; and that all owners of houſes adjacent to the highway ſhould repair as much as lay before their doors. Mention is alſo made of a bridge to be erected near the royal pa⯑lace at Weſtminſter, for the conveniency of the ſaid ſtaple ^*: but the laſt probably meant no more than a ſtairs for the landing of the goods, which I find ſometimes went by the name of a bridge.

THERE are ſeveral inſtances of grants for building, in this ex⯑tenſive road, in very early times. Edward I. granted to Walter le Barbur, a void ſpace in the high-ſtreet, in the pariſh of St. Clement Danes and St. Mary Strand: and Robert le Spencer had from the ſame prince another grant.

THERE was no continued ſtreet here till about the year 1533:THE STREET COMPLETED IN 1533. before that, it entirely cut off Weſtminſter from London, and no⯑thing intervened except the ſcattered houſes, and a village which afterwards gave name to the whole. St. Martin's ſtood literally in the fields. But about the year 1560 a ſtreet was formed, looſely built; for all the houſes on the ſouth ſide had great gardens to the river, were called by their owners names, and in after-times gave name to the ſeveral ſtreets that ſucceeded them, pointing down to the Thames; each of them had ſtairs for the conveniency of tak⯑ing boat, of which many to this day bear the names of the houſes. As the court was for centuries, either at the palace at Weſtminſter [128] or Whitehall, a boat was the cuſtomary conveyance of the great to the preſence of their ſovereign. The north ſide was a mere line of houſes from Charing-Croſs to Temple-bar; all beyond was country. The gardens which occupied part of the ſite of Convent-garden were bounded by fields, and St. Giles's was a diſtant coun⯑try village. Theſe are circumſtances proper to point out, to ſhew the vaſt increaſe of our capital in little more than two centuries.

IN the ſame century was a ſecond epoch reſpecting the build⯑ings of this part of the town. The firſt was at the time we have mentioned, or, to ſpeak from ſtrong authority, as they appear in the plan of London, made about the year 1562, by Ralph Aggas ^*. Our capital found itſelf ſo ſecure in the glorious government of Elizabeth, that, by the year 1600, moſt conſiderable additions were made to the north of the long line of ſtreet juſt deſcribed. St. Martin's-lane was built on both ſides. St. Giles's church was ſtill inſulated: but Broad ſtreet, and Holborn, were completely formed into ſtreets with houſes, all the way to Snow-hill. Convent-garden, and Lincoln's-inn-fields, were built, but in an irregular manner. Drury-lane, Clare-ſtreet, and Long-acre, aroſe in the ſame period.

NORTHUMBER⯑LAND-HOUSE.THE preſent magnificent palace, Northumberland-houſe, ſtands on the ſite of the hoſpital of St. Mary Rounceval. Henry VIII. granted it to Sir Thomas Caverden. It was afterwards transferred to Henry Howard earl of Northampton; who, in the time of James I. built here a houſe, and called it after his own name. He left it to his kinſman the earl of Suffolk, lord treaſurer; and, by the [129] marriage of Algernoon Percy, earl of Northumberland, with Eliza⯑beth daughter of Theophilus earl of Suffolk, it paſſed into the houſe of the preſent noble owner. The greater part of the houſe was built by Bernard Janſen, an architect in the reign of James I; the portal, ſince altered by the late duke of Northumberland, by a cotemporary architect, Gerard Chriſtmas, who left on it his mark, C. Ae ^*. I muſt not omit, that in this houſe is the noble picture of the Cornaro family, by Titian. It is very unfortunate that nothing can be more confined than the ſituation of this great houſe. The noble front is pent up by a very narrow part of the Strand; and behind by a cluſter of mean houſes, coal-wharfs, and other offenſive objects, as far as the banks of the Thames. Fortunately, by the favor of government, it enjoys the power of giving the place the moſt magnificent improvement. The late duke received a leaſe from the crown of all the intervening ground as far as the river; and, within theſe very few years, an abſolute exchange for certain lands in Northumberland, to erect batteries on againſt foreign invaſion, at the period when the pro⯑ject of univerſal fortification prevaled. A little time may ſee every nuſance removed, and a terrace ariſe in their ſtead, emulat⯑ing that of Somerſet-houſe.

A LITTLE farther is Hungerford ſtairs and market;HUNGERFORD STAIRS. which take their name from the great family of the Hungerfords of Fairleigh, in Wiltſhire. Sir Edward, created knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles II. had a large houſe on the ſite, which he pulled down, and multiplied into ſeveral others.

ON the other ſide of the Strand, ST. MARTIN'S IN THE FIELDS. almoſt oppoſite to Hungerford-market, [130] ſtands the church of St. Martin in the Fields, once a pariſh of vaſt extent; but much reduced at preſent by the robbing it of the tract now divided into the pariſhes of St. James, St. Anne, and St. Paul, Covent-garden. We cannot trace the time of its foundation. It was early beſtowed on the abbot and convent of St. Peter, Weſtminſter. In 1222, there was a diſpute between the abbot and the city of London, about the juriſdiction of this church. And in 1363, we firſt find the name of a vicar, in room of Thomas Skyn, who had reſigned. In the reign of Henry VIII. a ſmall church was built here at the king's expence, by reaſon of the poverty of the pariſhioners, who poſſibly were at that period very few. In 1607 it was enlarged, becauſe of the increaſe of build⯑ings. In 1721 it was found neceſſary to take the whole down, and in five years from that time, this magnificent temple ^† was completed, at the expence of near thirty-ſeven thouſand pounds. This ſeems the beſt performance of Gibbs, the architect of the Ratcliff Library. The ſteeple is far the moſt elegant of any of that ſtyle which I named the Pepper-box; and with which (I beg pardon of the good people of Glaſgow) I marked their boaſted ſteeple of St. Andrew.

YORK-HOUSE.HEATH, archbiſhop of York, about the year 1556, purchaſed a houſe a little beyond Hungerford-market, which had originally been the inn or lodgings of the biſhops of Norwich. When Henry VIII. had diſpoſſeſſed the primates of York of their houſe at Whitehall, the daughter, by way of reparation, made to them a grant of Suffolk-houſe, in Southwark; which he ſold, and with the ^* [131] money purchaſed Norwich-houſe, which afterwards was called York-houſe, when George Villiers duke of Buckingham became owner of it. On his diſpoſal of it, ſeveral ſtreets were laid out on the ſite and ground belonging to it. Theſe go under the general appellation of York-buildings; but his name and title is preſerved in George, YORK-BUILDINGS. Villiers, Duke, and Buckingham ſtreets, and even the particle of is not forgotten, being preſerved in Of-alley.

THE gate to York-ſtairs is the work of Inigo Jones, and deſerv⯑ing of all the praiſes beſtowed on it by the author of the Critical Review.

DURHAM-YARD takes its name from a palace,DURHAM-PLACE. built originally by the illuſtrious Thomas de Hatfield, elected biſhop of Durham in 1345; deſigned by him for the town reſidence of him and his ſucceſſors. It was called Durham-place, i. e. palace. Be it known to all whom it concerns, that the word is only applicable to the habitations of princes, or princely perſons, and that it is with all the impropriety of vanity beſtowed on the houſes of thoſe who have luckily acquired money enough to pile on one another a greater quantity of ſtones or bricks than their neighbors.GREAT FEAST⯑ING HERE IN 1540. At this place, in 1540, was held a moſt magnificent feaſt, given by the challengers of England, who had cauſed to be proclamed, in France, Flanders, Scotland, and Spain, a great and triumphant juſting to be holden at Weſtminſter, for all comers that would un⯑dertake them. But both challengers and defendants were Engliſh. After the gallant ſports of each day, the challengers rode unto this Durham-houſe, where they kept open houſehold, and feaſted the king and queen (Anne of Cleves) with her ladies, and all the court. ‘In this time of their houſe-keeping, they had not only feaſted the king, queen, ladies, and all the court, as is afore⯑ſhewed: [132] but alſo they cheered al the knights and burgeſſes of the common houſe in the parliament; and entertained the maior of London, with the aldermen and their wives, at a din⯑ner, &c. The king gave to every of the ſayd challengers, and their heires for ever, in reward of their valiant activity, 100 marks, and a houſe to dwel in of yeerely revenue, out of the lands pertaining to the hoſpital of S. John of Jeruſalem ^*.’

IN this a [...] part of the following year, is moſt ſtrongly exem⯑plified the unfeeling heart of this cruel prince, His ſudden tranſitions from nuptials, and joyous feſtivities, to the moſt tyran⯑nical executions, often for offences of his own creation. In that ſmall ſpace of time, he married one queen, and put her away, be⯑cauſe he thought her a Flanders mare. He eſpouſed another, and (not without cauſe) put her and the confident to her incontinence to death. He cauſed to be executed a hopeful young peer, and three young gentlemen, for a common manſlaughter reſulting from a ſudden fray. He burnt numbers for denying the religion of Rome, and inflicted all the barbarous penalties of high treaſon on multitudes, for denying a prerogative which he had wreſted from the pope, the head of that very worſhip which he ſupported with ſuch rigour.

IN the reign of Edward VI. the mint was eſtabliſhed in this houſe, under the management of Sir William Sharrington, and the influence of the aſpiring Thomas Seymour, lord admiral. Here he propoſed to have money enough coined to accompliſh his deſigns on the throne. His practices were detected: and he ſuffered death. His tool was alſo condemned; but, ſacrificing his maſter [133] to his own ſafety, received a pardon, and was again employed un⯑der the adminiſtration of John Dudley earl of Northumberland. It afterwards became the reſidence of that ambitious man; who, in May 1553, in this palace, cauſed to be ſolemnized, with great magnificence, three marriages; his ſon, lord Guildford Dudley, with the amiable lady Jane Grey: lord Herbert, heir to the earl of Pembroke, with Catherine younger ſiſter of lady Jane: and lord Haſtings, heir to the earl of Huntingdon, with his youngeſt daugh⯑ter lady Catherine Dudley ^*. From hence he dragged the reluc⯑tant victim, his daughter-in-law, to the Tower, there to be in⯑veſted with regal dignity^†. In eight ſhort months his ambition led the ſweet innocent to the nuptial bed, the throne, and the ſcaffold.

DURHAM-HOUSE was reckoned one of the royal palaces belong⯑ing to queen Elizabeth; who gave the uſe of it to the great Sir Walter Raleigh.

DURHAM-YARD is now filled with a moſt magnificent maſs of building, called the Adelphi, ADELPHI. in honor of two brothers its archi⯑tects. Before the front to the Thames is a terrace, commanding a charming view to the river, when not obſcured by the damps and poiſonous fogs, which too often infeſt the air of the lower part of our capital.

To the north of Durham-place, fronting the ſtreet,THE NEW EXCHANGE. ſtood the New Exchange, which was built under the auſpices of our mo⯑narch, in 1608. The king, queen, and royal family, honored the opening with their preſence, and named it Britaines Burſſe. It [134] was built ſomewhat on the model of the Royal Exchange, with cellars beneath, a walk above, and rows of ſhops over that, filled chiefly with milleners, ſempſtreſſes, and the like. This was a faſhionable place of reſort. In 1654 a fatal affair happened here. Mr. Gerard, a young gentleman, at that time engaged in a plot againſt Cromwell, was amuſing himſelf in the walk beneath, when he was inſulted by Don Pantaleon de Saa, brother to the ambaſſa⯑dor of Portugal, who, diſliking the return he met with, determined on revenge. He came there the next day with a ſet of bravos, who, miſtaking another gentleman for Mr. Gerard, inſtantly put him to death, as he was walking with his ſiſter in one hand, and his miſtreſs in the other. Don Pantaleon was with impartial juſ⯑tice tried and condemned to the axe. Mr. Gerard, who about the ſame time was detected in the conſpiracy, was likewiſe condemned to die. By ſingular chance both the rivals ſuffered on the ſame ſcaffold, within a few hours of each other; Mr. Gerard with in⯑trepid dignity: the Portugueſe with all the puſillanimity of an aſſaſſin^*.

THE WHITE MILLENER.ABOVE ſtairs ſat, in the character of a millener, the reduced dutcheſs of Tyrconnel, wife to Richard Talbot, lord deputy of Ire⯑land under James II; a bigotted papiſt, and fit inſtrument of the deſigns of the infatuated prince, who had created him earl before his abdication, and after that duke of Tyrconnel. A female, ſuſ⯑pected to have been his dutcheſs, after his death, ſupported her⯑ſelf for a few days (till ſhe was known, and otherwiſe provided for) by the little trade of the place: had delicacy enough to wiſh [135] not to be detected; ſhe ſat in a white maſk, and a white dreſs, and was known by the name of the White Millener.

THIS exchange has long ſince given way to a row of good houſes, which form a part of the ſtreet.

A LITTLE beyond was Ivy-bridge, which croſſed the Strand, and had beneath it a way leading to the Thames. This was the boundary between the liberties of the dutchy of Lancaſter and thoſe of Weſtminſter. Near this bridge the earls of Rutland had a houſe, at which ſeveral of the noble family breathed their laſt. The earls of Worceſter had a very large houſe between Durham-place and the Savoy, with gardens to the water-ſide. The great earl of Clarendon lived in it, before his own was built, and payed for it the extravagant rent of five hundred pounds a year. This was pulled down by their deſcendant, the duke of Beaufort; and the preſent Beaufort-buildings roſe on its ſite. This had origi⯑nally been the town-houſe of the biſhops of Carliſle ^*. Oppoſite to theſe was the garden belonging to the abbot of Weſtminſter; which extended quite to St. Martin's church: it was called the Convent Garden, and retains the name to this day. It was granted, after the diſſolution, by Edward VI. firſt to the protector Somer⯑ſet: and afterwards to lord Ruſſel, created earl of Bedford. About 1634, Francis earl of Bedford began to clear away the old build⯑ings, and formed the preſent handſome ſquare. The arcade and the church were the work of Inigo Jones. Bedford-houſe, the former town-houſe of the noble family, ſtood in the Strand, but has long ſince given way to Little Bedford-ſtreet.

HERE is beſides the church of St. Mary le Savoy. CHURCH OF ST. MARY LE SAVOY. It was ori⯑ginally the chapel to the hoſpital; but was made parochial on the impious deſtruction of St. Mary le Strand by the duke of Somer⯑ſet. The roof is remarkably fine, flat, and covered with elegant ſmall compartments cut in wood; and ſhields, containing em⯑blems of the paſſion, ſurround each, with a neat garland.

AMONG the monuments, in the chancel, that in memory of the wife of Sir Robert Douglas merits notice. The lady, who died in 1612, is but a ſecondary figure, and placed kneeling be⯑hind her huſband, dreſſed in a vaſt diſtended hood. Before her is her huſband, in an eaſy attitude, reclined, and reſting on his right arm; the other hand on his ſword. He is repreſented in armour, with a robe over it; on his head a fillet, with a bead round the edge: a motto on his arms, Toujour ſans taches ^*. The ſculptor has much merit in this figure.

IN a pretty gothic niche, on the oppoſite ſide (occupied proba⯑bly in old times by the image of our lady) is now the figure of a kneeling female, with a counteſs's coronet on her head. This commemorates Jocoſa, daughter of Sir Alan Apſley, lieutenant of the Tower: firſt, wife to Lyſter Blunt, eſq and afterwards, of William Ramſay, earl of Dalhouſie.

ANOTHER fine monument of a recumbent lady, in a great ruff [138] and long gown, with her arms cut on it, attracts our notice; but unfortunately the inſcription is loſt.

BURLEIGH, O [...] EXETER HOUSE.BURLEIGH-HOUSE was ſaid to have been a noble pile, built by that great ſtateſman the lord treaſurer Burleigh, who died here in 1598. It was built with brick, and adorned with four ſquare turrets. It was afterwards called Exeter-houſe, from the title of his ſon and ſucceſſor. On its ſite was erected Exeter-exchange. It had been a very handſome pile, with an arcade in front, a gal⯑lery above, and ſhops in both. The plan did not ſucceed; for the New Exchange had the preference, and ſtole away both tenants and cuſtomers. A part of the old houſe is ſtill to be ſeen. All originated in ſacrilege. On the ſite ſtood a houſe belonging to die parſon of St. Martin's: Sir Thomas Palmer, a creature of the duke of Somerſet, obtained it by compoſition, in the time of Ed⯑ward VI. and began to build there a magnificent houſe of brick and timber ^*. This afterwards came into the hands of lord Burleigh, who finiſhed it in the magnificent manner we have mentioned.

WIMBLEDON-HOUSE.A LITTLE farther (where Doyley's warehouſe now ſtands) was Wimbledon-houſe, built by Sir Edward Cecil, ſon to the firſt earl of Exeter, and created by Charles I. viſcount Wimbledon.

NOT far from hence ſtood the Strand Bridge, which croſſed the ſtreet, and received the water which ran from the high grounds, through the preſent Catherine ſtreet, and delivered it into the Thames.

OTHER ANTIENT BUILDINGS.ON the ſouth ſide of the Strand ſtood a number of buildings, which fell victims to ſacrilege, in the reign of Edward VI. St. [139] Mary le Strand, was a very antient church and pariſh, a rectory, in the gift of the biſhops of Worceſter, who had near it their inn, or town reſidence. The biſhops of Litchfield and Coventry had another, built by Walter de Langton, elected biſhop of that ſee in 1296. It was alſo called Cheſter Inn, CHESTER INN. as that biſhoprick was at the time annexed to the former. The biſhops of Landaff had alſo another houſe or inn. Finally, the Strand Inn, an inn of Chancery, belonging to the Temple ^*. I muſt ſtop a moment to ſay, that Occleve, the poet of the reign of Henry V. ſtudied the law here: the place of his education is called Cheſtres Inn ^†; but, as that was never appropriated to the ſtudy of the law, I little doubt but it is a miſtake for this adjacent houſe. Every one of theſe were levelled to the ground by the protector Somerſet, to make way for the magnificent palace which bears his name.SOMERSET-HOUSE. The architect is ſuppoſed to have been one John of Padua, who had a ſalary in the preceding reign, under the title of devizor of his majeſty's buildings ^‡, which was continued to him in the reign of the ſon. No atonement was made, no compenſation to the owners. Part of the church of St. John of Jeruſalem, and the tower, were blown up for the ſake of the materials. The cloiſters on the north ſide of St. Paul's underwent the ſame fate, together with the charnel-houſe and chapel: the tombs were deſtroyed, and the bones impiouſly carried away and flung into Finſbury Fields. This was done in 1549, when the building was firſt be⯑gan: poſſibly the founder never enjoyed the uſe of this palace; [140] for in 1552 he fell a juſt victim on the ſcaffold. The crime of ſacrilege is never mentioned among the numerous articles brought againſt him. This is no wonder, ſince every great man in thoſe days, proteſtant and papiſt, ſhewed equal rapacity after the goods of the church.

AFTER his death his palace fell to the crown. Queen Eliza⯑beth lived here at certain times, moſt probably at the expence of her kinſman lord Hunſdon, to whom ſhe had given the uſe. Anne of Denmark kept her court here: and Catherine queen of Charles II. lived here for ſome time in the life of her unfaithful ſpouſe; and after his death, till ſhe retired into her native country.

ANTIENT B [...]ING.THE architecture of old Somerſet-houſe was the mixture of Gre⯑cian and Gothic, introduced into England in the reign preceding its erection. The back-front, and the water-gate, were built from a deſign of Inigo Jones, after the year 1623. A chapel was be⯑gun by him in that year, and afterwards finiſhed. It was intended for the uſe of his catholic ſpouſe the Infanta of Spain; but, on the failure of that romantic match, it ſerved for the uſes of the profeſ⯑ſors of her religion.

AS Charles II. did not find it compatible with his gallantries that his ſpouſe Catherine ſhould be reſident at Whitehall, he lodged her, during ſome part of his reign, in this palace. This made it the haunt of the Catholics: and poſſibly, during the phrenetic rage of the nation at that period againſt the profeſſors of her religion, occaſioned it to have been made the pretended ſcene of the murder of Sir Edmonbury Godfrey, MURDER OF SIR EDMONBURY GODFREY. in the year 1678. The infamous witneſſes againſt his ſuppoſed murderers declared, that he was waylaid, and inveigled into the palace, under pre⯑tence [141] of keeping the peace between two ſervants who were fight⯑ing in the yard: that he was there ſtrangled, his neck broke, and his own ſword run through his body: that he was kept four days before they ventured to remove him; at length, his corpſe was firſt carried in a ſedan-chair to S [...]ho, and then on a horſe to Primroſe-hill, between Kilburn and Hampſtead. There it certainly was found, transfixed with the ſword, and his money in his pocket, and his rings on his fingers. The murder therefore was not by robbers, but the effect of private revenge: but it is not probable that it was committed within theſe walls; for the aſſaſſins would never have hazarded a diſcovery by carrying the corpſe three miles, when they could have ſo ſafely diſpoſed of it into the Thames. The abandoned characters of the evidences, Prance and Bedloe (the former of whom had been treated with moſt horrid cruelties, to compel him to confeſs what he declared he never was guilty of) together with the abſurd and irreconcileable teſti⯑mony they gave on the trial, has made unprejudiced times to doubt the whole. That he was murdered there is no doubt: he had been an active magiſtrate, and had made many enemies. The marks of ſtrangling round his throat, and his broken neck, evince the impoſſibility of his having put an end to his own ex⯑iſtence, as ſome have inſinuated. But the innocence of the three poor convicts would not avail, the torrent of prejudice prevaling againſt them; and they were executed, denying the facts in the moment of death. One was a Proteſtant: the other two Roman Catholics, and belonging to the chapel; ſo probably were fixed on, by the inſtigators of the accuſation, in order to involve the queen in the uncharitable ſuſpicion.

[142]THIS tragedy became at the time the ſubject of many me⯑dals ^*. On one is the buſt of Sir Edmondbury, and two hands ſtrangling him: on the reverſe, the pope giving his benediction to a man ſtrangling another on the ground. On a ſecond, with the ſame buſt, is the repreſentation of the carrying the magiſtrate on horſeback to Primroſe-hill. A third, makes him walking with his broken neck, and ſword buried in his body: and on the re⯑verſe, St. Dennis with his head in his hand, with this inſcription:

THE preſent magnificent building is after a deſign by Sir Wil⯑liam Chambers: when completed, it is to be the ſtation of numbers of our public offices. The Navy Office, and indeed almoſt every one, excepting the Treaſury, the Secretary of State's, the Admi⯑ralty, and the War Office.

THE Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquarians, hold their meetings here: and here alſo are annually exhibited the works of the Britiſh painters and ſculptors.

THE terrace on the ſouth ſide is a walk bounded by the Thames, and unparalleled for grandeur and beauty of view.

BATH'S INN.TO the eaſt of Somerſet-houſe, ſtood Bath's Inn, inhabited by the biſhops of Bath and Wells, in their viſits to the capital. It was wreſted from them, in the reign of Edward VI. by lord Thomas Seymour, high admiral, and received the name of Seymour-place. This was one of the ſcenes of his indecent dalliance with the princeſs Elizabeth, afterwards queen. At firſt he certainly [143] was not ill received, notwithſtanding he had juſt eſpouſed the unhappy Catherine Parre. Ambition, not luſt, actuated this wretched man: his deſigns on Elizabeth, and conſequently on the crown, ſpurred him on. The inſtrument of his deſign was Thomas Parrye, cofferer to the princeſs, to whom he offered, for her grace's accommodation, his houſe and all the furniture, during her ſtay in London ^*. The queen's death, and her own ſuſpicions on her death-bed, give juſt cauſe of the fouleſt ſur⯑miſes ^†. His execution, which ſoon followed, put an end to his projects, and ſaved Elizabeth, and the nation, from a tyrant, poſ⯑ſibly worſe than him from whom they had been juſt releaſed.

THIS houſe in after-times paſſed to Thomas Howard earl of Arundel, and was called Arundel palace. The Duc de Sully, ARUNDEL PALACE. who was lodged in it during his embaſſy to England, on the acceſſion of James I. ſays, it was one of the fineſt and moſt commodious of any in London, from its great number of apartments on the ſame floor: the views from the extenſive gardens, up and down the river, were remarkably fine. Here was kept the magnificent collection of ſtatues formed by the earl. Howſoever faulty the noble hiſtorian may have repreſented him in ſome reſpects, his judgment in the fine arts will remain indiſputable. His relation, the duke of Norfolk, had a houſe at a very ſmall diſtance from this. Both were pulled down in the laſt century, but their names are retained in the ſtreets which roſe on their ſites.

AFTER it came into the poſſeſſion of the duke of Norfolk (the [144] ſame who preſented his library to the Royal Society) he permit⯑ted that learned body to hold their meetings in Arundel-houſe; but on its being ordered to be pulled down, the meetings were re⯑moved to Greſ [...]am college ^*.

AN OLD CROSS.OPPOSITE to Cheſter Inn, ſtood an antient croſs. According to the ſimplicity of the age, in the year 1294, and at other times, the judges ſat without the city, on this croſs, to adminiſter juſtice; and ſometimes they made uſe of the biſhop's houſe for that purpoſe.

MAY-POLE.IN the beginning of the preſent century, ſomewhat eaſt of the ſite of the croſs was the rural appearance of a May-pole. In 1717, it fell to decay, and the remainder was begged by Sir Iſaac New⯑ton, who cauſed it to be carried to Wanſted, in Eſſex, where it was erected in the park, and had the honor of raiſing the greateſt tele⯑ſcope then known. On its place roſe the firſt of the fifty new churches, which is known by the name of the New Church in the Strand. The firſt ſtone was laid in 1714. The architect was Gills; who loaded it with ornaments to ſuch a degree as to gain very little credit to his own taſte, or that of his employers.

DRURY-HOUSE.IN Drury-lane, which points towards the church, ſtood Drury-houſe, the habitation of the great family of the Druries, and, I be⯑lieve, built by Sir William Drury, knight of the Garter, a moſt able commander in the Iriſh wars; who unfortunately fell in a duel with Sir John Boroughs, in a fooliſh quarrel about prece⯑dency ^†. I cannot learn into whoſe hands it paſſed afterwards. During the time of the fatal diſcontents of the favorite Eſſex, it [145] was the place where his imprudent adviſers reſolved on ſuch counſels, as terminated in the deſtruction of him and his adhe⯑rents.

IN the next century we find the heroic William lord Craven, AFTERWARDS CRAVEN-HOUSE. afterwards earl Craven, poſſeſſed of this houſe: he rebuilt it in the form we now ſee, a large brick pile now concealed by other build⯑ings. It is at preſent a public-houſe. In ſearching after Craven-houſe, I inſtantly knew it by the ſign, that of the queen of Bohe⯑mia's head, his admired miſtreſs, whoſe battles he firſt fought, animated by love and duty. When he could aſpire at her hand, it is ſuppoſed he ſuccceded: it is ſaid they were privately mar⯑ried; and that he built for her the fine ſeat at Hampſtead Mar⯑ſhal, in the county of Berks, which was deſtroyed by fire. I have before given an account of this illuſtrious nobleman ^*. I may repeat the ſervice he rendered to this his native city in particular. He was ſo indefatigable in preventing the ravages of the frequent fires of thoſe days, that it was ſaid, that his very horſe ſmelt it out. He, and the duke of Albemarle (the noted Monk) heroi⯑cally ſtayed in town during the dreadful peſtilence; and, at the hazard of their lives, preſerved order in the midſt of the terrors of the time.

IN the court in Craven-buildings is a very good portrait of this hero, in armour, with a truncheon in his hand, and mounted on his white horſe: on each ſide is an earl's and a baron's coronet, and the letters W. C. It is painted al freſco, and in good preſer⯑vation.

THE theatre royal, in this ſtreet, originated on the Reſtoration. [146] The king made a grant of a patent for acting in what was then called the Cock-pit, and the Phoenix. The actors were the king's ſervants, were on the eſtabliſhment, and ten of them were called Gentlemen of the Great Chamber, and had ten yards of ſcarlet cloth allowed them, with a ſuitable quantity of lace ^*.

IT is ſingular that this lane, of later times ſo notorious for in⯑trigue, ſhould receive its title from a family-name, which, in the language of Chaucer, had an amorous ſignification:

IN this neighborhood, towards the Temple, are ſeveral little ſeminaries of law, or inns of Chancery, belonging to the Inner and Middle Temple: ſuch as Lions-inn, in uſe as long at leſt as the reign of Henry V; the New-inn, where the ſtudents of the Strand-inn neſtled, after they were routed from thence by the duke of Somerſet; and Clements-inn, mentioned in the time of Edward IV. I muſt not omit, that in New-inn the great Sir Thomas More had the early part of his education, before he re⯑moved to Lincoln's-inn ^†.

CHURCH OF ST. CLEMENT DANES.BETWEEN Clements-inn and the Strand, is the church of St. Clement Danes, called ſo either from being the place of inter⯑ment of Harold the Barefooted, or of the maſſacre of certain Danes who had taken refuge there: it was one of the churches built on this tract before the Conqueſt. At the time of the inſurrection of the unhappy earl of Eſſex, a piece of artillery was placed on the [147] top of the tower, which commanded Eſſex-houſe. The preſent was rebuilt in 1640 ^*. Here, beneath a tomb with his figure expreſſed in braſs, was buried John Arundel, biſhop of Exeter, who died in 1503, at Exeter-houſe, the town reſidence of the biſhops of Exeter. EXETER-HOUSE. It was founded by Walter Stapleton, biſhop of that ſee, and lord treaſurer of England, unfortunately a favorite with Edward II. in thoſe factious days: he was ſeized by the mob, hurried to Cheap-ſide, where they beheaded him, and carried his corpſe before his own palace, and there buried it beneath a heap of ſand. The houſe was ſaid to have been very magnificent. Lacy, biſhop of Exeter in the reign of Henry VI. added a great hall. The firſt lord Paget, a good catholic, made no ſcruple of laying violent hands on it, in the grand period of plunder. He improved it greatly, and called it after his own name.PAGET-HOUSE. At this houſe it was alleged that the great duke of Somerſet deſigned the aſſaſſination of ſeveral of the council. This involved the noble owner in his ruin. In the reign of queen Elizabeth, it was poſſeſſed by the great earl of Leiceſter, and changed its name to Leiceſter-houſe. LEICESTER-HOUSE. The earl left it by will ^† to his ſon-in-law Robert earl of Eſſex, the unfortunate imprudent favorite of Elizabeth, and it was called after his name. This was the ſcene of his frantic actions;ESSEX-HOUSE. from hence he ſallied on the vain hope of exciting the city to arm in his behalf againſt its ſovereign; to this place he forced his way back, and after a ſhort ſiege ſubmitted, and ſoon afterwards re⯑ceived his due puniſhment, reluctantly inflicted by his miſtreſs, heſitating between fear and unſeaſonable love. The memory of [148] theſe tranſactions is ſtill retained in the name of Eſſex-ſtreet, and Eſſex-ſtairs, and Devereux-court. In the laſt, on the outſide of a houſe, is placed a buſt of the parlement general, ſon of the un⯑fortunate favorite.

TEMPLE-BAR.THE Strand was divided, in 1670, from Fleet-ſtreet, by the gate called Temple-bar; before the great fire, by nothing but poſts, rails, and chains. On this gate have been the ſad exhibition of the heads of ſuch unhappy men who attempt the ſubverſion of the government of their country. The laſt (and may they be the laſt!) were of thoſe who fell victims, in 1746, to principles fortu⯑nately extinct with the family from which they originated. This gate is the weſtern limit of Farringdon Ward Without, or the weſtern extremity of the city of London. On the right hand are the entrances into the Temple, THE TEMPLE. one of our celebrated ſeats of law, which took its name from that gallant religious military order the knights templars. They were originally cruſaders, who hap⯑pening to be quartered in places adjacent to the holy temple in Jeruſalem, in 1118, conſecrated themſelves to the ſervice of reli⯑gion, by deeds of ^* arms. Hugo de Paganis, Geoffry of St. Omers, and ſeven others, began the order, by binding themſelves, after the manner of the regular canons of St. Auguſtines, to chaſtity and obedience, and profeſſing to protect the pilgrims to the Holy Land from all wrong and robbery on the road. At firſt they ſubſiſted on alms, and had only one horſe between two of them; a rule was appointed for them, and they wore a white habit, af⯑terwards diſtinguiſhed by a red croſs on their left ſhoulder. By [149] their devotion, and the fame of their gallant actions, they became very popular in all parts of Europe; and ſo enriched by the favor of princes, and other great men, that, at the time of their diſſolu⯑tion, the order was found poſſeſſed of ſixteen thouſand manors. It became at laſt ſo infected with pride, and luxury,FALL OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. as to excite general hatred; a perſecution, founded on moſt unjuſt and ficti⯑tious accuſations, was formed againſt them in France, under Philip le Bel. Their riches ſeem to have been their chief crime: num⯑bers of innocent and heroic knights ſuffered in the flames, with the piety and conſtancy of martyrs; ſome of them, at the ſtake, ſum⯑moned their chief enemies, Clement V. and Philip, to appear in a certain time at the divine tribunal; both of thoſe princes died about the time preſcribed, which, in an age of ſuperſtition, proved the validity. This potent order came into England in the reign of king Stephen, and had their firſt houſe in Holborn, which was called the Old Temple. They founded the New Temple in 1185, where they continued till the ſuppreſſion of the order in 1310, when they were condemned to perpetual penance, and diſperſed into ſeveral monaſteries. Edward II. granted this houſe, and all their other poſſeſſions in London, to Thomas earl of Lancaſter, and, after his rebellion and forfeiture, to Aymer de Valence, earl of Pem⯑broke; on his death, they reverted to the crown, and were given to the knights hoſpitallers of the order of St. John of Jeruſalem, a few years after they had ſo valiantly driven the Turks out of the iſle of Rhodes. Theſe knights again granted the Temple to the ſtudents of the common law, in the reign of Edward III. to whoſe uſe it has been ever ſince applied.

THE church was founded by the templars in the reign of Henry II. upon the model of that of the holy ſepulchre,ITS ROUND CHURCH. and was [150] conſecrated in 1185, by Heraclius, patriarch of Jeruſalem. The entrance is through a door with a Saxon arch. Within, the form is circular, ſupported by ſix round arches, each reſting on four round pillars, bound together by a faſcia. Above each arch is a window with a rounded top, with a gallery, and rich Saxon arches interſecting each other. On the outſide of the pillars is a conſiderable ſpace, preſerving the circular form. On the lower part of the wall are ſmall pilaſters meeting in pointed arches at top, and over each pillar a groteſque head.

JOINED to this building, is a large choir of a ſquare form, with narrow gothic windows, evidently built at another time. On the outſide is a buttreſs between every window.

MONUMENTS.ON the floor of the round church are two groups of knights. In the firſt are four, each of them croſs-legged, three of them in complete mail, in plain helmets flatted at top, and with very long ſhields. One is known to have been Geoffry de Magnaville, created earl of Eſſex in 1148. His end was ſingular; for, driven to deſpair by the injuſtice of his monarch king Stephen, he gave looſe to every act of violence. He was mortally wounded at an attack of Burwel caſtle, in Cambridgeſhire; and, being found by ſome templars, was dreſſed by them in the habit of the order and carried from the ſpot: as he died excommunicated, they wrapped his body in lead, and hung it on a crooked tree in the Temple orchard. On being abſolved by the pope (it being proved that he expreſſed great penitence in his laſt moments) he was taken down, and buried firſt in the cemetery, and afterwards in the place where we find this memorial of him ^*.

[151]ONE of theſe figures is ſingular, being bare-headed, and bald, his legs armed, his hands mailed, his mantle long, round his neck a cowl, as if, according to a common ſuperſtition in early days, he had deſired to be buried in the dreſs of a monk, leaſt the evil ſpirit ſhould take poſſeſſion of his body. On his ſhield are three fleurs de lis.

IN this group is a ſtone coffin of a ridged ſhape, conjectured to have been the tomb of William Plantagenet, fifth ſon of Henry III.

IN the ſecond group are other figures, but none of them croſs-legged, except the outmoſt: all are armed in mail. The helmets much reſemble the former, but two are mailed. One figure is in a ſpirited attitude, drawing a broad dagger; one leg reſts on the tail of a cockatrice, the other in the action of being drawn up, with the head of the monſter beneath. None of the eight figures, except Geoffry de Magnaville, are aſcertained; but Cambden con⯑jectures that three are intended to commemorate William earl of Pembroke, who died in 1219, and his ſons William and Gilbert, likewiſe earls of Pembroke, and Marſhals of England ^*. In the firſt group, one of them bears a lion on his ſhield, the arms of that great family. Gilbert was brought up to the church, and, notwithſtanding he was totally unſkilled in exerciſes of chivalry, would enter into the gallant liſts; but mounting a fiery courſer, was run away with, flung off, and killed, at a tournament at Ware, in 1242.

THE being repreſented croſs-legged is not always a proof of the deceaſed having had the merit either of having been a cru [...]ſa⯑der, [152] or having made a pilgrimage to the holy ſepulchre. I have ſeen, at Mitton in Yorkſhire, two figures of the Sherbornes, thus repreſented; one died in 1629, the other in 1689: who, I ve⯑rily believe, could never have had any more than a wiſh to enter the holy land.

TO theſe antient monuments may be added that of a biſhop, in his epiſcopal dreſs, a mitre, and a croſier, well executed in ſtone.

OF illuſtrious perſons of later date, is the famous Plowden, a Shropſhire man, treaſurer of this ſociety in 1572, and a lawyer of moſt diſtinguiſhed abilities. Cambden ſays of him, that in inte⯑grity he was ſecond to none of his profeſſion. His figure is re⯑preſented recumbent, and in his gown.

HERE is interred the celebrated Selden, who died in 1654. He was the beſt ſkilled in the conſtitution, and the various branches of antiquity, of any man. Yet, towards the cloſe of his life, he was ſo thoroughly convinced of the vanity of all human knowlege, as to ſay, that the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th verſes of the ſecond chapter of the epiſtle to Titus, afforded him more ſolid conſola⯑tion than all that he had ever read.

SIR John Vaughan, born at Trawſcoed, in Cardiganſhire, lies near his friend Mr. Selden: both their principles were anti-monar⯑chical. After the Reſtoration, he declined preferment offered by the chancellor Clarendon, but afterwards accepted the office of chief juſtice of the common pleas, from the enemies of that illuſ⯑trious character. He died in 1674.

HALL.THE magnificent hall was rebuilt in the treaſurerſhip of Plow⯑den. It is ornamented with paintings by Sir James Thornhill: and by two full-length portraits of thoſe pillars of the law, [153] Lyttleton, who died in 1481; and his commentator, the able but inſolent Coke, who departed in 1634.

THE account of the great feaſt given in this hall, by the ſer⯑jeants, in 1555, is extremely worth conſulting ^*; and alſo of the hoſpitable Chriſtmaſſings of old times. Dudley earl of Leiceſter once enjoyed them, and, with the romance of his miſtreſs, ſtyled himſelf Palaphilos, prince of Sophie. He was entertained here by a perſon repreſenting a ſovereign prince. Palaphilos, on ſeeing him, calls Largeſs, and receives inſtantly a chain of the value of a hundred talents. I muſt refer to the Origines Judiciales ^† for the relation of the ceremony of the reign of the Lord of Miſrule, and of his courtiers, Sir Francis Flatterer, Sir Randle Rackabite, and Sir Bartholomew Baldbreech; with the humour of hunting the fox and the cat round the hall, with ten couples of hounds, and all the other merry diſports of thoſe joyous days.

IN the parlement chamber are painted all the arms of the trea⯑ſurers, ſince the firſt who poſſeſſed the office. It is alſo adorned with ſome of Gibbon's carving.

THE Middle Temple gate was erected by Sir Amias Powlet, on a ſingular occaſion. It ſeems that Sir Amias, about the year 1501, thought fit to put cardinal Wolſey, then parſon of Lymington, into the ſtocks ^‡. In 1515, being ſent for to London, by the cardinal, on account of that antient grudge, he was commanded not to quit town till farther orders. In conſequence, he lodged five or ſix years ^‖ in this gateway, which he rebuilt; and, to pacify his emi⯑nence, [154] adorned the front with the cardinal's cap, badges, cogni⯑ſance, and other devices, of this butcher's ſon: ſo low were the great men obliged to ſtoop to that meteor of the times ^*!

THE TEMPLE GARDEN.THE garden has of late been moſt judiciouſly enlarged, by a conſiderable embankment into the river; and part of the filthy muddy ſhore is converted into a moſt beautiful walk. The view up and down the water is moſt extremely rich. Blackfriars-bridge, part of Weſtminſter-bridge, the Adelphi, and the elegant back-front of Somerſet-houſe, rival the world in variety and magnificence of objects. If elegance alone was to be conſulted, it is heartily to be wiſhed that theſe embankments may make a farther progreſs; the defect of which, alone, gives to the Seine, at Paris, a boaſted ſuperiority. Without the prejudices of an Engliſhman, I will ven⯑ture to dare a compariſon of the bridges; but the moſt partial foreigner will never hazard the compariſon of the rivers.

SHAKESPEARE (whether from tradition, or hiſtory, I know not) makes the Temple garden the place in which the badge of the white and red roſe originated, the diſtinctive badge of the houſes of York and Lancaſter, under which the reſpective partizans of each arranged themſelves, in the fatal quarrel which cauſed ſuch torrents of Engliſh blood to flow.

THE DEVIL TAVERN.NEAR Temple-bar is the Devil Tavern, ſo called from its ſign of St. Dunſtan ſeizing the evil ſpirit by the noſe with a pair of [155] hot tongs. Ben Jonſon has immortaliſed it by his Leges Convi⯑viales, which he wrote for the regulation of a club of wits, held here in a room he dedicated to Apollo; over the chimney-piece of which they are preſerved. The tavern was in his days kept by Simon Wadloe; whom, in a copy of verſes over the door of the Apollo, he dignified with the title of King of Skinkers.

OPPOSITE to this noted houſe is Chancery-lane, CHANCERY-LANE. the moſt antient of any to the weſt. It was built in the time of Henry III. and then called New-lane; which was afterwards changed into its pre⯑ſent name, on account of its vicinity to the courts.

SERJEANTS-INN is the firſt which opens into the lane:SERJEANTS-INN. it takes its name from having been in old times the reſidence or lodgings of the ſerjeants at law, as early at leſt as the time of Henry VI. It was at that time, and poſſibly may be yet, held under a leaſe from the dean and chapter of York. In 1442 William Antrobus, citizen and taylor of London, held it at the rent of x marks a year, under the law Latin deſcription of Unum meſſuagium cum gar⯑dino in parochia S. Dunſtani, in Fleet-ſtreet, in ſuburbio civitatis LONDINI, quod nuper fuit Johannis Rote, & in quo Joh. Ellerkar, et alii ſervientes ad legem nuper inhabiterunt ^*.

CLIFFORDS-INN is the next, ſo named from its having been the town reſidence of Robert de Clifford, CLIFFORDS-INN. anceſtor to the earls of Cumberland. It was granted to him by Edward II; and his widow granted it to the ſtudents of the law, in the next reign, for the yearly rent of ten pounds ^†.

FARTHER up is the Rolls. THE ROLLS. The houſe was founded by Henry III. for converted Jews, who there lived under a learned Chriſtian, [156] appointed to inſtruct and govern them. In 1279, Edward I. cauſed about two hundred and eighty Jews, of both ſexes, to be hanged for clipping. He beſtowed one half of their effects on the firſt preachers, who undertook the trouble of converting the unbelieving race; and the other half for the ſupport of the con⯑verts: the houſe was called Domus Converſorum. In 1377, it was firſt applied to its preſent uſe: and the maſter was called Cuſtos Rotulorum: the firſt was William Burſtal, clerk. The maſters were ſelected out of the church, and often king's chaplains, till the year 1534, when Thomas Cromwel, afterwards earl of Eſſex, was appointed. It is an office of high rank, and follows that of chief juſtice of the king's bench. The maſter has his chaplain, and his preacher.

CHAPEL.THE chapel is adjacent to the houſe, and was built by Inigo Jones; begun in 1617, and finiſhed at the expence of two thou⯑ſand pounds. It was conſecrated by George Mounteigne, biſhop of London, and the ſermon preached by the famous Doctor Donne. Among the monuments is one of the maſters, Sir Edward Bruce, created by James I. after his acceſſion, baron of Kinloſs. He is repreſented lying reclined, with his head reſting on one hand. His hair is ſhort; his beard long, and divided towards the end; his dreſs a long furred robe. Before him is kneeling a man in armour, poſſibly his ſon lord Kinloſs, who periſhed in the deſperate duel between him and Sir Edward Sackville, in 1613; and anceſ⯑tor to the earls of Elgin and Ayleſbury. The ſad relation is given by Sir Edward himſelf. He ſeems ſolely actuated by honor. His rival by the deepeſt ^* revenge.

[157]HE was one of the ambaſſadors ſent by James to congratulate queen Elizabeth on the defeat of Eſſex's inſurrection. He then commenced a ſecret correſpondence with the ſubtle Cecil; and, when James came to the throne, was, beſides the peerage, re⯑warded with the place of maſter of the rolls for life. He died January 14th 1610.

THE monument of John Yonge, D. L. L. is the work of Tor⯑regiano ^*. His figure is recumbent on a ſarcophagus, in a long red gown, and deep ſquare cap; his face finely executed, poſſibly from a caſt after his death; his chin beardleſs. Above him is the head of our Saviour, and two cherubims: reſiſtleſs ſuperſti⯑tions of the artiſt. This gentleman was appointed maſter of the rolls in 1510, and died in 1517.

THERE is another handſome monument, of Sir Richard Alling⯑ton, knight (ſon of Sir Giles Allington, of Horſeheath, in Cam⯑bridgeſhire, knight, anceſtor, by his firſt wife, of the lords Alling⯑ton) who lies here, by the accident of his marriage with Jane daughter of John Cordall, eſq of Long-Melford, in Suffolk, and ſiſter and coheir of Sir William Cordall, of the ſame place, knight, and maſter of the rolls. Sir Richard, I preſume, died here: the date of his death is 1561. His figure is repreſented kneeling, in armour, with a ſhort beard and hair. His wife is oppoſite; and beneath, on a tablet, are three female figures, alſo kneeling: theſe were his daughters. After his death his widow lived in Holborn, at a houſe ſhe built, which long went by the name of Allington-place. She appears, by ſome of the parochial records of this town, to have been a lady of great charity.

[158]MY countryman Sir John Trevor, who died maſter of the rolls, in 1717, lies here. Wiſely his epitaph is thus confined, ‘Sir J. T. M. R. 1717.’ I will not repeat the evil, which regard to vera⯑city obliged me to ſay of him in another place ^*. Some other maſters reſt within theſe walls; among them, Sir John Strange, but without the quibbling line, ‘Here lies an honeſt Lawyer, that is Strange!’

CHICHESTER RENTS.ADJACENT to Chancery-lane, the biſhops of Chicheſter had their town houſe. It was built in a garden, once belonging to John Herberton, and was granted to them by Henry III. who excepted it out of the charter of the Domus Converſorum ^†. At preſent the ſite is covered with houſes, known by the name of Chicheſter Rents.

LINCOLN'S-INN.THE gate to Lincoln's-Inn is of brick, but no ſmall ornament to the ſtreet. It was built by Sir Thomas Lovel, once a member of this inn, and afterwards treaſurer of the houſhold to Henry VII. The other parts were rebuilt at different times, but much about the ſame period. None of the original building is left, for it was formed out of the houſe of the Black Friars, which fronted Hol⯑born; and of the palace of Ralph Nevil, chancellor of England, and biſhop of Chicheſter, built by him in the reign of Henry III. on a piece of ground granted to him by the king. It continued to be inhabited by ſome of his ſucceſſors in the ſee. This was the original ſite of the Dominicans, or Black Friars, before they removed to the ſpot now known by that name. On part of the ground now covered with buildings, Henry Lacy, earl of Lin⯑coln, [159] built an Inne, as it was in thoſe days called, for himſelf, in which he died in 1312. The ground did belong to the Black Friars, and was granted by Edward I. to that great earl. The whole has retained his name. One of the biſhops of Chicheſter, in after times, did grant leaſes of the buildings to certain ſtudents of the law, reſerving to themſelves a rent and lodgings for them⯑ſelves, whenever they came to town. This ſeems to have taken place about the time of Henry VII.

THE chapel was deſigned by Inigo Jones; CHAPEL. it is built upon maſſy pillars, and affords, under its ſhelter, an excellent walk. This work evinces that Inigo never was deſigned for a gothic architect. The lord chancellor holds his ſittings in the great hall. This, like that of the Temple, had its revels, and great Chriſtmaſſes. ANTIENT REVELS. Inſtead of the Lord of Miſrule, it had its King of the Cocknies. They had alſo a Jack Straw; but in the time of queen Elizabeth he, and all his adherents, were utterly baniſhed. I muſt not omit, that in the ſame reign ſumptuary laws were made to regulate the dreſs of the members of the houſe; who were forbidden to wear long hair, or great ruffs, cloaks, boots, or ſpurs.REGULATIONS ABOUT BEARDS. In the reign of Henry VIII. beards were prohibited at the great table, under pain of paying double commons. His daughter Elizabeth, in the firſt year of her reign, confined them to a fortnight's growth, under penalty of 3s. 4d.; but the faſhion prevaled ſo ſtrongly, that the prohibition was repealed, and no manner of ſize limited to that venerable excreſcence!

LINCOLN'S-INN-FIELDS would have been one of our moſt beautiful ſquares, had it been built on a regular plan.LINCOLN'S-INN-FIELDS. The diſpoſition of it was, in 1618, committed to the care of the lord chancellor, the earls of Worceſter, Pembroke, Arundel, and [160] others. Inigo Jones drew the ground-plot, and gave it the exact dimenſions of the baſe of one of the pyramids of Egypt. In the ſide called Portugal Row, is Lindeſey-houſe, once the ſeat of the earls of Lindeſey, and of their deſcendants the dukes of Ancaſter; built after a beautiful deſign of that great architect. The view of this ſide of the ſquare, and of Lincoln's-Inn gardens, is moſt particularly pleaſing, when ſhone on by the weſtern ſun. Here alſo was, in the time of king William, a playhouſe, erected within the walls of the tennis-court, under the royal patronage. In this theatre Betterton, and his troop of actors, excited the admiration of the public, if we may credit Cibber, as much as Roſcius did the people of Rome, or G [...]rrick thoſe of England in recent days.

EXECUTION OF LORD RUSSEL.ON another ſtage, of a different nature, was performed the ſad tragedy of the death of the virtuous lord Ruſſel, who loſt his head in the middle of the ſquare, on July 21ſt, 1683. Party writers aſſert that he was brought here in preference to any other ſpot, in order to mortify the citizens with the ſight. In fact, it was the neareſt open ſpace to Newgate, the place of his lordſhip's confine⯑ment: otherwiſe the dragging him to Tower-hill, the uſual con⯑cluding ſcene on theſe dreadful occaſions, would have given his enemies full opportunity of indulging the imputed malice.

NEWCASTLE-HOUSE.IN the ſame ſquare, at the corner of Queen-ſtreet, ſtands a houſe inhabited by the well known miniſter, the late duke of Newcaſtle. It was built about the year 1686, by the marquis of Powis, and called Powis-houſe, and afterwards ſold to the late noble owner. The architect was captain William Winde.

IN the laſt century Queen-ſtreet was the reſidence of many of our people of rank. Among others was Conway-houſe, the reſi⯑dence of the noble family of that name; Paulet-houſe, belonging [161] to the marquis of Wincheſter; and the houſe in which lord Herbert, of Cherbury, finiſhed his romantic life.

ON the back part of Portugal Row, is Clare-market; cloſe to which, the ſecond John earl of Clare had a palace of his own building, in which he lived about the year 1657, in a moſt princely manner ^*.

I SHALL purſue, from Queen-ſtreet, my journey weſtward, and point out the moſt remarkable places which roſe into being be⯑tween the years 1562 and 1600, and incidentally of ſome others of later date. I have before mentioned the ſtreets which roſe in that period. Let me add,LONG-ACRE. that Long-acre was built on a piece of ground, once belonging to Weſtminſter-abby, called the ſeven acres, and which, in 1552, were granted to John earl of Bedford.

ST. GILES's church, and a few houſes to the weſt of it,ST. GILES'S IN THE FIELDS. in the year 1600, was but barely ſeparated from Broad-ſtreet. The church is ſuppoſed to have belonged to an hoſpital for lepers, founded about the year 1117, by Matilda queen to Henry I. In antient times it was cuſtomary to preſent to malefactors, on their way to the gallows (which, about the year 1413, was removed from Smithfield, and placed between St. Giles's High-ſtreet, and Hog-lane) a great bowl of ale, as the laſt refreſhment they were to receive in this life ^†. On the door to the church-yard is a curious piece of ſculpture, repreſenting the laſt day, containing an amazing number of figures, ſet up about the year 1686.

HERE was executed, in the moſt barbarous manner, the famous Sir John Oldcaſtle, baron Cobham. His crime was that of adopt⯑ing [162] the tenets of Wycliffe. He was miſrepreſented to our heroic prince, Henry V. by the bigoted clergy, as a heretic and traitor; and that he was actually at the head of thirty thouſand Lollards, in theſe very fields. About a hundred inoffenſive people were found there: Cobham eſcaped; but was taken ſome time after in Wales. He ſuffered death on this ſpot: was hung on a gallows, by a chain faſtened round his body, and, thus ſuſpended, burnt alive. He died, not with the calm conſtancy of a martyr, but with the wildeſt effuſions of enthuſiaſtic ravings.

CHURCH.THIS church was rebuilt in 1625. By the amazing raiſing of the ground by filth, and various adventitious matter, the floor, in the year 1730, was eight feet below the ſurface acquired in the intervening time. This alone made it neceſſary to rebuild the church, in the preſent century. The firſt ſtone was laid in 1730; it was finiſhed in 1734, at the expence of ten thouſand pounds, in a manner which does great credit to its architect, Mr. Henry Flitcraft.

IN the church-yard I have obſerved with horror a great ſquare pit, with many rows of coffins piled one upon the other, all ex⯑poſed to ſight and ſmell. Some of the piles were incomplete, expecting the mortality of the night. I turned away diſguſted at the view, and ſcandalized at the want of police, which ſo little re⯑gards the health of the living as to permit ſo many putrid corpſes, tacked between ſome flight boards, diſperſing their dangerous effluvia over the capital.

NEAR the church was the houſe of Alice dutcheſs Dudley, who died here in 1669, aged ninety. She was the widow of the great Sir Robert Dudley, ſon to Robert earl of Leiceſter, who, by various untoward circumſtances, was denied legitimacy, and his paternal [163] eſtates. He aſſumed the title of duke of Northumberland, and lived and died in great eſtimation in Tuſcany. This lady was ad⯑vanced to the title of dutcheſs by Charles I. She merited the honor by the greatneſs of her mind and extent of her charities. Her body was interred at Stonely, in Warwickſhire, the place of her family, ſhe being third daughter of Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stonely, anceſtor of the late lord Leigh. A fine monument was erected to her honor at Stonely ^*, and a grateful memorial of her in this church.

THE mention of St. Giles's bowl, naturally brings one to the late place of the concluſion of human laws. It was called in the time of Edward III. when the gentle Mortimer finiſhed his days here, The Elms; but the original as well as preſent name was Tybourne, TYBOURNE. not from tye and burn, as if it was called ſo from the manner of capital puniſhments, but from Bourne, the Saxon word for a brook, which gave name to a manor before the Conqueſt. Here was alſo a village and church denominated St. John the Evangeliſt, which fell to decay, and was ſucceeded by that of Mary bourne, corrupted into Mary-la-bonne. About the year 1238, this brook furniſhed nine conduits for ſupplying the city with water: but the introduction of the New River ſuperſeded the uſe of them. Here the lord mayor had a banquetting-houſe, to which his lordſhip and brethren were wont to repair on horſeback, attended by their ladies in waggons: and, after viewing the conduits, they returned to the city, where they were magnificently entertained by the lord mayor ^†.

[164]IN 1626, queen Henrietta Maria was compelled by her prieſts to take a walk, by way of penance, to Tyburn. What her offence was we are not told; but Charles was ſo diſguſted at this inſo⯑lence, that he ſoon after ſent them, and all her majeſty's French ſervants, out of the kingdom ^*.

I SHALL return through the mile and a quarter of country, at this time formed into Oxford-ſtreet, as handſome a one as any in Europe, and, I believe, the longeſt. After paſſing through Broad-ſtreet, and getting into Holborn, is Bloomſbury, the ancient manor of Lomeſbury, in which our kings in early times had their ſtables: all the ſpace is at preſent covered with handſome ſtreets, and a fine ſquare. This was firſt called Southampton-ſquare; and the great houſe which forms one ſide, built after a deſign of Inigo Jones, BEDFORD-HOUSE. Southampton (now Bedford) houſe. From hence the ami⯑able relict of William lord Ruſſel dates her letters; this being her reſidence till her death in 1723. The late duke fitted up the gallery, and bought the cartoons, copied by Sir James Thornhill, at the ſale of that eminent artiſt.

MONTAGUE-HOUSE.MONTAGUE-HOUSE (now the Britiſh Muſeum) was built on a French plan, by the firſt duke of Montague, who had been ambaſſa⯑dor in France. The ſtaircaſe and ceilings were painted by Rouſſeau and La Foſſe: the apotheoſis of Iris, and the aſſembly of the gods, are by the laſt. His grace's ſecond wife was the mad dutcheſs of Albemarle, widow to Chriſtopher, ſecond duke of that title. She married her ſecond huſband as emperor of China, which gave oc⯑caſion to a ſcene in Sir Courtly Nice. She was kept in the ground apartment during his grace's life, and was ſerved on the knee to the day of her death, which happened in 1731, at Newcaſtle-houſe, at [165] Clerkenwell ^*. The ſecond duke and dutcheſs lived only in one of the wings, till their houſe at Whitehall was completed.

I MUST mention, that to the eaſt of Bloomſbury-ſquare, POWIS-HOUSE. in Great Ormond-ſtreet, ſtood in my memory Powis-houſe, originally built by the marquis of Powis, in the laſt century. When it was occu⯑pied by the Duc d'Aumont, ambaſſador from Louis XIV. in 1712, it was burnt down, and rebuilt at the expence of that magnificent monarch. It was of brick, and ornamented with fluted pilaſters. On the top was a great reſervoir, as a guard againſt fire, and it alſo ſerved as a fiſh-pond. This houſe was pulled down and the ground granted on building leaſes.

I SHALL juſt mention Red-lion-ſquare, RED-LION-SQUARE. not far to the ſouth of this houſe, merely for the ſake of ſome lines on its clumſy obeliſk:

NOT far from Holborn, is the church of St. George, ST. GEORGE's BLOOMSBURY. in Bloomſ⯑bury, which, with its magnificent porch ſupported by pillars of the Corinthian order, placed before a plain body, and its won⯑drous ſteeple, I cannot ſtigmatize ſtronger than in the words of Mr. Walpole, who ſtyles it a maſterpiece of abſurdity. On the tower is a pyramid, at each corner of which are the ſupporters of England, a lion and an unicorn alternate, the firſt with its heels upwards: and the pyramid finiſhes with the ſtatue of George I. The architect was Nicholas Hawkſmoor. The church was con⯑ſecrated [166] in 1731: and is a pariſh taken out of that of St. Giles. The ſquare was, in the beginning of this century, the reſidence of many of our nobility; in later times, that of the more wealthy gentlemen of the long robe.

WE now enter again on the ſtormy latitude of the law. Lin⯑coln's-Inn is left a little to the ſouth. Chancery-lane gapes on the ſame ſide, to receive the numberleſs malheureuſes, who plunge un⯑warily on the rocks and ſhelves with which it abounds. The antient ſeminary of the law,GRAY'S-INN. Gray's-Inn, ſtands on the north ſide. It was originally the reſidence of the lord Grays, from the year 1315, when John, the ſon of Reginold de Grey, reſided here, till the latter end of the reign of Henry VII. when it was ſold, by Edmund lord Grey of Wilton, to Hugh Dennys, eſq by the name of the manor of Portpole; and in eight years afterwards it was diſpoſed of to the prior and convent of Shene, who again diſpoſed of it to the ſtudents of the law. Not but that they were ſeated here much earlier, it appearing that they had leaſed a reſidence here from the lord Grays as early as the reign of Edward III. ^* It is a very extenſive building, and has large gardens belonging to it. Gray's-Inn-Lane is to the eaſt. I there obſerved, at a ſtone ma⯑ſon's, a manufactory of ſtone coffins quite a l'antique, ſuch as we ſometimes dig up in conventual ruins, or old churches. I en⯑quired whether they were deſigned for any particular perſons, but was told they were only for chance cuſtomers, who thought they ſhould lie ſecurer lodged in ſtone than in wood.

THE OLD TEMPLE.NEAR the entrance into Chancery-lane were the bars: adjacent ſtood the Old Temple, founded in 1118, the firſt ſeat of the knights templars, before they removed to the New Temple. About [167] the year 1595, one Agaſter Roper ^*, who was engaged in building on the ſpot, diſcovered ruins of the old church, which was of a circular form, and built of ſtone brought from Caen in Nor⯑mandy.

A LITTLE beyond is Southampton-buildings, SOUTHAMPTON-HOUSE. built on the ſite of Southampton-houſe, the manſion of the Wriotheſleys earls of South⯑ampton. The King's-head tavern, facing Holborn, is the only part which now remains: the chapel to the houſe is now rented by Mr. Lockyer Davies, as a magazine for books. Here ended his days Thomas, the laſt earl of that title, the faithful virtuous ſer⯑vant of Charles I. and lord treaſurer in the beginning of the reign of the ungrateful ſon. He died in 1667, barely in poſ⯑ſeſſion of the white rod, which his profligate enemies were with difficulty diſſuaded from wreſting out of his dying hands. He had the happineſs of marrying his daughter and heireſs to a nobleman of congenial merit, the ill-fated lord Ruſſel. Her virtues underwent a fiery trial, and came out of the teſt, if poſſible, more pure. I cannot read of her laſt interviews with her devoted lord, without the ſtrongeſt emotions. Her greatneſs of mind ap⯑pears to uncommon advantage. The laſt ſcene is beyond the power of either pen or pencil. In this houſe they lived many years. When his lordſhip paſſed by it in the way to execution, he felt a momentary bitterneſs of death in recollecting the happy moments of the place. He looked towards Southampton-houſe: the tear ſtarted into his eye, but he inſtantly wiped it away ^†.

NOT far from hence, on the north ſide, in the ſtreet called [168] Brook-ſtreet, BROOK HOUSE. was Brook-houſe, the reſidence of Sir Fulke Grevill [...] lord Brook, the nobleman whoſe chief ambition was to be thought, as he cauſed to be expreſſed on his tomb at Warwick, the friend of Sir Philip Sydney. He was a man of abilities, and a particular patron of learned men; who repayed his bounty, by what coſt them little, numbers of flattering dedications. He died by the hand of Ralph Haywood, a gentleman who had paſſed moſt of his days in his lordſhip's ſervice. For ſome reaſon unknown, he had left him out of his will, and was weak enough to let him know of it. In September, 1628, Haywood entered into his lord's bed⯑chamber, and, expoſtulating with great warmth on the uſage he met with, his lordſhip anſwering with aſperity, received from him a mortal wound with a ſword. The aſſaſſin retired into ano⯑ther room, in which he inſtantly deſtroyed himſelf with the ſame inſtrument. His lordſhip languiſhed a few days, and, after grate⯑fully forming another codicil, to reward his ſurgeons and atten⯑dants for their care, died in his 75th year ^*.

FURNIVALS-INN.IN this neighborhood, on each ſide of Holborn, is a tremendous array of inns of courts. Next to Brook-ſtreet is Furnivals-Inn, in old times the town abode of the lord Furnivals, extinct in the male line in the 6th of Richard II. Thavies-Inn is another,THAVIES INN. old as the time of Edward III. It took its name from John Tavye; who directed, that, after the deceaſe of his wife Alice, his eſtates, and the Hoſpicium in quo apprentici ad legem habitare ſolebant, ſhould be ſold in order to maintain a chaplain, who was to pray for his ſoul and that of his ſpouſe. The original uſe of this inn continues to this day.

[169]A THIRD is Staples-Inn, STAPLES-INN. ſo called from its being a ſtaple in which the wool merchants were uſed to aſſemble: but it had given place to ſtudents in law, poſſibly before the reign of Henry V. And a fourth is Barnard [...]s-Inn, originally Mackworth's-Inn, BARNARD'S-INN. hav⯑ing been given by the executors of John Mackworth, dean of Lin⯑coln, to the dean and chapter of Lincoln, on condition that they ſhould find a pious prieſt to perform divine ſervice in the cathe⯑dral of Lincoln, in which John Mackworth lies interred. As to Scroop's-Inn, it was an inn for ſerjeants at the law, in the time of Richard II.; it took its name from having once been the town-houſe of one of the lord Scroops, of Bolton. It is now an extinct vulcano, and the crater uſed as a quiet court, bearing its antient name.

HATTON-STREET, the late Hatton-garden, HATTON-GARDEN. ſucceeded to the town-houſe and gardens of the lord Hattons, founded by Sir Chriſ⯑toper Hatton, lord keeper in the reign of queen Elizabeth. He firſt attracted the royal notice by his fine perſon, and fine dancing; but his intellectual accompliſhments were far from ſuperficial. He diſcharged his great office with applauſe; but, diſtruſting his legal abilities, never acted without the aſſiſtance of two able lawyers. The place he built his houſe on, was the orchard and garden belonging to Ely-houſe. By his intereſt with the queen he extorted it from the biſhop, Richard Cox, who for a long time reſiſted the ſacrilege. Here he died, and was interred in the cathedral of St. Paul's.

THIS palace was long before diſtinguiſhed by the death of a much greater man; for, at this houſe of the biſhop of Ely, ſay hiſ⯑torians, John duke of Lancaſter, otherwiſe John of Gaunt, in 1398, breathed his laſt, after (according to Shakeſpeare) giving his dying fruitleſs admonition to his diſſipated nephew Richard II.

[170] ELY-HOUSE.ADJACENT ſtood, in my memory, Ely-houſe, the reſidence of the biſhops of Ely. John de Kirkby, who died biſhop of Ely, in 1290, laid the foundation of this palace, by bequeathing ſeveral meſſuages in this place; others were purchaſed by his ſucceſſor William de Luda; at length the whole, conſiſted of twenty, ſome ſay forty acres, was incloſed in a wall. Holinſhed has recorded the excellency of the ſtrawberries cultivated in the garden by biſhop Morton. He informs us that Richard duke of Gloceſter (after⯑wards Richard III.) at the council held in the Tower, on the morning he put Haſtings to death, requeſted a diſh of them from the biſhop. Mr. Groſe has given us two repreſentations of the buildings and chapel. Here was a moſt venerable hall, ſeventy-four feet long, lighted with ſix gothic windows; and all the furni⯑ture ſuited the hoſpitality of the times: this room the ſerjeants at law frequently borrowed to hold their feaſts in, on account of its ſize.GREAT FEASTS HELD HERE. In the year 1531, eleven gentlemen, who had juſt been honored with the coif, gave a grand feaſt here five days ſucceſ⯑ſively. On the firſt, the king and his queen, Catherine of Arra⯑gon, graced them with their preſence. For quantity of proviſions it reſembled a coronation feaſt: the minutiae are not given; but the following particular of part will ſuffice ^* to ſhew its greatneſs, as well as the wonderful ſcarcity of money in thoſe days, evinced by the ſmallneſs of the prices compared to thoſe of the preſent days:

THE chapel (which was dedicated to St. Etheldreda, CHAPEL. foundreſs of the monaſtery at Ely) has at the eaſt end a very handſome gothic window, which looks into a neat court, lately built, called Ely-place. Beneath is a crypt of the length of the chapel. The cloiſters formed a ſquare on the ſouth ſide.

THE ſeveral buildings belonging to this palace falling into ruin, it was thought proper to enable, by act of parlement, in 1772, the biſhop to alienate the whole. It was accordingly ſold to the crown, for the ſum of ſix thouſand five hundred pounds, together with an annuity of two hundred pounds a year, to be payed to the biſhop and his ſucceſſors for ever. Out of the firſt, five thouſand ſix hundred was applied towards the purchaſe of Albemarle-houſe, in Dover-ſtreet, with other meſſuages and gar⯑dens. The remainder, together with three thouſand pounds paid as dilapidations by the executors of biſhop Mawſon, was applied [172] towards building the handſome houſe at preſent occupied, in Do⯑ver-ſtreet, by my reſpected friend the preſent prelate. This was named Ely-houſe, and is ſettled on the biſhops of Ely for ever. It was the fortune of that munificent prelate Edmund Keene, to rebuild or repair more eccleſiaſtical houſes than any churchman of modern days. He beſtowed moſt conſiderable repairs on the parſonage-houſe of Stanhope, in the biſhoprick of Durham. He wholly rebuilt the palace at Cheſter. He reſtored almoſt from rain that at Ely; and, finally, Ely-houſe was built under his in⯑ſpection.

TO revert to antient times. John duke of Lancaſter, ſtyled uſually John of Gaunt, reſided in this palace, and died here in 1399: poſſibly it was lent to him, during the long poſſeſſion that biſhop Fordham had of the ſee, after the duke's own palace, the Savoy, was burnt by the inſurgents.

ST. ANDREW's HOLBORN.FROM hence is a ſteep deſcent down Holborn-hill. On the ſouth ſide is St. Andrew's church, of conſiderable antiquity, but rebuilt in the laſt century in a plain neat manner. Here was buried Thomas Wriotheſley, lord chancellor in the latter part of the life of Henry VIII; a fiery zealot, who, not content with ſeeing the amiable innocent Anne Aſkew put to the torture, for no other crime than difference of faith, flung off his gown, degraded the chancellor into the Bourreau, and with his own hands gave force to the rack ^*. He was created earl of South⯑ampton, juſt before the coronation of Edward VI; but, obſtinately adhering to the old religion, he was diſmiſſed from his poſt, and confined to Southampton-houſe,, where he died in 1550.

[173]THE well-known party tool Doctor Sacheverel was rector of this church. He had the chance of meeting in his pariſh a per⯑ſon as turbulent as himſelf, the noted Mr. Whiſton: that ſin⯑gular character took it into his head to diſturb the doctor while he was in his pulpit, venting ſome doctrine contrary to the opinion of that heterodox man. The doctor in great wrath de⯑ſcended from on high, and fairly turned wicked Will. Whiſton into the ſtreet.

IN aſcending to Weſt Smithfield, Cock-lane is left to the right;COCK-LANE GHOST. a ridiculous ſcene of impoſture, in the affair of the Cock-lane ghoſt, which was to detect the murderer of the body it lately inhabited, by its appearance in the vault of St. John's church, Clerkenwell. The credulity of the Engliſh nation was moſt fully diſplayed, by the great concourſe of people of all ranks, to hear the converſation held by one of the cheats with the ghoſt. It ended in full detec⯑tion and exemplary puniſhment of the ſeveral perſons concerned in the villainy.

SMITHFIELD is celebrated on ſeveral accounts: at preſent,SMITHFIELD. and long ſince, for being the great market for cattle of all kinds.BARTHOLOMEW-FAIR. For being the place where Bartholomew-fair was kept; which was granted, during three days annually, by Henry II. to the neighbor⯑ing priory. It was long a ſeaſon of great feſtivity; theatrical per⯑formances by the better actors were exhibited here, and it was frequented by a great deal of good company; but, becoming the reſort of the debauched of all denominations, certain regulations took place, which in later days have ſpoiled the mirth, but pro⯑duced the deſired decency. The humours of this place will never be loſt, as long as the inimitable print of Bartholomew-fair, of our Hogarth, ſhall exiſt.

[174] PLACE FOR TOURNAMENTS;FOR a long ſeries of reigns, Smithfield was the field of gallant tilts and tournaments: and alſo the ſpot on which accuſations were decided by duel, derived from the Kamp-fight ordeal of the Saxons. Here, in 1374, the doating hero Edward III. in his ſixty-ſecond year, infatuated by the charms of Alice Pierce, placed her by his ſide in a magnificent car, and, ſtyling her the Lady of the Sun, conducted her to the lifts, followed by a train of knights, each leading by the bridle a beautiful palfrey, mounted by a gay damſel: and for ſeven days together exhibited the moſt ſplendid juſts in indulgence of his diſgraceful paſſion.

HIS grandſon, Richard II. in the ſame place held a tourna⯑ment equally magnificent. ‘There iſſued out of the Towre of London, ſays the admiring Froiſſart, "fyrſt threeſcore courſers apparelled for the juſtes, and on every one a ſquyer of honour riding a ſoft paſe. Than iſſued out threeſcore ladyes of ho⯑noure mounted on fayre palfreyes, and every lady led a knight by a cheyne of ſylver, which knights were apparelled to juſt.’ I refer to my author ^* for the reſt of the relation of this ſplendid ſpectacle; certainly there was a magnificence and ſpirit of gal⯑lantry in the diſſipation of thoſe early times, which cheriſhed a warlike and generous ſpirit in the nobility and gentry of the land. Something like is now ariſing, in the brilliant ſocieties of archers in moſt parts of Britain, which, it is to be hoped, will at leſt ſhare the hours conſumed in the enervated pleaſures of muſic; or the dangerous waſte of time in the hours dedicated to cards.

FOR TRIALS BY DUEL;I WILL not treſpaſs on my readers patience any more on this ſubject, than juſt to mention one inſtance of duel. It was when [175] the unfortunate Armourer entered into the liſts, on account of a falſe accuſation of treaſon, brought againſt him by his apprentice, in the reign of Henry VI. The friends of the defendant had ſo plied him with liquor, that he fell an eaſy conqueſt to his accuſer. Shakeſpear has worked this piece of hiſtory into a ſcene, in the ſecond part of Henry VI. but has made the poor Armourer con⯑feſs his treaſons in his dying moments: for in the time in which this cuſtom prevaled, it never was even ſuſpected but that guilt muſt have been the portion of the vanquiſhed. Let me add, that when people of rank fought with ſword and lance, Plebeian com⯑batants were only allowed a pole, armed with a heavy ſand-bag, with which they were to decide their guilt or innocence.

IN Smithfield was alſo held our Autos de Fè; but,FOR EXECUTIONS. to the credit of our Engliſh monarchs, none were ever known to attend the ceremony. Even Philip II. of Spain never honored any, of the many which were celebrated by permiſſion of his gentle queen, with his preſence, notwithſtanding he could behold the roaſting of his own ſubjects with infinite ſelf-applauſe, and ſang-froid. The ſtone marks the ſpot, in this area, on which thoſe cruel exhibitions were executed. Here our martyr Latimer preached patience to friar Foreſt, agonizing under the torture of a ſlow fire, for denying the king's ſupremacy: and to this place our martyr Cranmer com⯑pelled the amiable Edward, by forcing his reluctant hand to the warrant, to ſend Joan Bocher, a ſilly woman, to the ſtake. Yet Latimer never thought of his own conduct in his laſt moments; nor did Cranmer thruſt his hand into the fire for a real crime, but for one which was venial through the frailty of human nature.

THE laſt perſon who ſuffered at the ſtake in England was Bar⯑tholomew Legatt, who was burnt here in 1611, as a blaſphemous [176] heretic, according to the ſentence pronounced by John King, biſhop of London. The biſhop conſigned him to the ſecular arm of our monarch James, who took care to give to the ſentence full effect ^*.—This place, as well as Tyburn, was called The Elms, and uſed for the execution of malefactors even before the year 1219.—In the year 1530, there was a moſt ſevere and ſingular puniſhment inflicted here on one John Rooſe, a cook, who had poiſoned ſeventeen perſons of the biſhop of Rocheſter's family, two of whom died. By a retroſpective law, he was ſentenced to be boiled to death, which was done accordingly.—In 1541, Mar⯑g [...]ret Davie, a young woman, ſuffered in the ſame place and manner, for the ſame ſpecies of crime.—In Smithfield the arch⯑rebel Wat Tyler met with, in 1381, the reward of his treaſon and inſolence. The youthful king, no longer able to bear his bruta⯑lity, ordered him to be arreſted; when the gallant Walworth, lord mayor of London, ſtruck him off his horſe, and the atten⯑dants of the monarch quickly put him to death.

I CANNOT help indulging myſelf with the mention of William Pennant, an honeſt goldſmith, my great great great great great great uncle, who, at his houſe, the Queen's-head in Smithfield, ac⯑quired a conſiderable fortune in the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth, and the beginning of that of James I. It appears by his will, dated May 4th 1607, that he was employed by the court, for numbers of his legacies were to the royal ſervants. His legacy to Sir William Forteſcue, knight, his wife's brother, has now a ſingular appearance:—one chain of gold and pearle, weigh⯑ing about 12 ounces and a quarter; one billament of gold and [177] pearl, being 19 pieces; a round ſalt of ſilver and a cover thereto, weighing 15 ounces and ſomewhat more; ſix white ſilver ſpoons; one feather bed, bolſter, two pillows, two blankets, one blue rug; a teſtearn of ſatten, figured ruſſet and black, and vallance to the ſame; 5 curtains of taffety ſarcenet; one chair, and a ſtool with a back of ſatten figured ruſſet; ten black, and ſix ſtools covered with black wrought velvet; and alſo a great cheſt covered with black leather, with an in-lock and all things in it, excepting cer⯑tain plate hereafter bequeathed. He left to his nephew Hugh Pennant, of Bychton, Flintſhire, the manor of Moxhall, in Eſſex, with a conſiderable eſtate; but the fruits of the labors of this in⯑duſtrious tradeſman, were all diſſipated by a gentleman of the family, who fortunately quitted this life before he had waſted our paternal acres. But the charities of William Pennant, to the poor of Whiteford, Flintſhire, are more permanent: for to this day they completely cloath twenty poor people; and in a few years more the truſtees of the bequeathed lands flatter themſelves with the hopes of doubling the number.

WE now reach a great extent of holy ground, conſecrated for the purpoſes of monaſtic life, or for the humane purpoſe of af⯑fording relief to our diſtreſſed brethren, in their paſſage through this world. I have not in view a conventual hiſtory of London: but only mean to give a brief account of thoſe foundations which have a clame to pre-eminence. The church of St. Bartholomew the Greater is a ſmall diſtance from Smithfield; CHURCH OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. it is only the choir of the antient building, and the center on which ſtood the great tower. In the choir are the remains of the old architecture; maſſy columns, and round arches: part of the cloiſters are ſtill preſerved in a neighboring ſtable, and conſiſts of eight arches. [178] Adjacent is part of the ſouth tranſept, now converted into a ſmall burying-ground.PRIORY OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. This was a conventual church, belonging to a priory of Black Canons, founded in 1102, by one Rahere, min⯑ſtrel or jeſter to Henry I; who, quitting his profligate life, became the firſt prior of his own foundation. Legend relates, that he had a moſt horrible dream, out of which he was relieved by St. Bar⯑tholomew himſelf, who directed him to found the houſe, and to dedicate it to him. Rahere has here a handſome monument, beneath an arch divided by elegant tabernacle-work. His figure is recumbent, with an angel at his feet, and a canon in a great hood kneeling on each ſide, as if praying over him. It was after⯑wards repaired by William Bolton, the laſt prior. At the diſſolu⯑tion its revenues, according to Dugdale, were £. 653.15s. It was granted by Henry to Sir Richard Rich. Queen Mary re-peopled it with Black, or Preaching Friars; but on the acceſſion of Elizabeth, they were turned out. Rich, who was made lord chancellor in the reign of Edward VI. made it his place of reſi⯑dence; as did Sir Walter Mildmay, chancellor of the exchequer to queen Elizabeth.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW's HOSPITAL.ST. BARTHOLOMEW's hoſpital will ever be a monument of the piety of Rahere; for from him it took its origin. On a waſte ſpot, he obtained a grant of a piece of ground from his maſter, and built on it an hoſpital for a maſter, brethren, and ſiſters; and for the entertainment of poor diſeaſed people, till they got well; of diſtreſſed women big with child, till they were delivered, and were able to go abroad; and for the ſupport of all ſuch children whoſe mothers died in the houſe, till they at⯑tained the age of ſeven years. It was given to the neighboring priory, who had the care of it. Its revenues at the diſſolution [179] were £. 305, according to Dugdale. The good works of Rahere live to this day. The foundation was continued through every reign. The preſent handſome building, which ſurrounds a ſquare, was begun in 1729. The extent of the charity is ſhewn, by ſaying, that in the laſt year there were under the care of the hoſpital three thouſand ſeven hundred and fifty in-patients; and eight thouſand one hundred and twenty three out patients.

THE great ſtaircaſe is admirably painted by Hogarth, at his own expence. The ſubjects are, the good Samaritan, and the pool of Betheſda. In another part is Rahere laying the founda⯑tion ſtone; a ſick man carried on a bier attended by monks. The hall is at the head of the ſtaircaſe, a very large room, orna⯑mented with a full-length of Henry VIII. who had good reaſon to be complimented, as he preſented this houſe to the citizens. Doctor Ratcliff is alſo here at full-length. He left five hundred pounds a year to this hoſpital, for the improvement of the diet; and one hundred a year for buying of linen. Happy had it been had all his wealth been ſo directed, inſtead of waſting it on that vain mauſoleum, his library at Oxford. The patron ſaint has over the chimney-piece his portrait, but not in the offenſive circum⯑ſtances which Spagnolet would have placed it in; for he is cloathed, and has only the knife, the ſymbol of his martyrdom, in his hand. In the windows is painted Henry VIII. delivering the charter to the lord mayor; by him is prince Arthur, and two noblemen with white rods.

AT no great diſtance from this hoſpital ſtands (within the walls of the city) that of Chriſt-church; CHRIST-CHURCH HOSPITAL, a royal foundation for orphans and poor children, who are taken care of, and apprenticed,ONCE THE GREY FRIARS. at dif⯑ferent ages, to proper trades. It was originally the houſe of the [180] Grey Friars, or Mendicants, of the order of St. Francis, founded by John Ewin, ITS FINE CHURCH. mercer, about the year 1225. The church was reckoned one of the moſt ſuperb of the conventual: and roſe by the contributions of the opulent devout. Margaret, daughter of Philip the Hardy, and ſecond queen to Edward I. in 1306 began the choir. Iſabella, queen to Edward II. gave threeſcore and ten pounds; and queen Philippa, wife of Edward III. gave threeſcore and two pounds, towards the building. John de Bretagne, duke of Richmond, built the body of the church, at a vaſt expence: and Gil⯑bert de C [...]are, earl of Glouceſter, gave twenty great beams out of his foreſt at Tunbridge. No order of monks ſeem to have the powers of perſuaſion equal to theſe poor friars. They raiſed vaſt ſums for their buildings among the rich: and few of their admirers, when they came to die, who did not conſole themſelves with the thought of lying within their expiating walls; and if they were particularly wicked, thought themſelves ſecure againſt the aſſault of the devil, if their corpſe was wrapped in the habit and cowl of a friar.

PERSONAGES INTERRED HERE.MULTITUDES therefore of all ranks were crowded in this holy ground. It boaſts of receiving four queens; Margaret, and Iſa⯑bella, FOUR QUEENS. above mentioned; Joan, daughter to Edward II. and wife of Edward Bruce, king of Scotland; and, to make the fourth, Iſabella wife of William Warren, titular queen of Man, is named. Of theſe, Iſabella, whom GRAY ſo ſtrongly ſtigmatizes,

I hope was wrapped in the friars garment, for few ſtood more in need of a daemonifuge. With wonderful hypocriſy, [181] ſhe was buried with the heart of her murdered huſband on her breaſt ^*.

HERE alſo reſt Beatrix, daughter of Henry III. and dutcheſs of Bretagny. Iſabella, daughter of Edward III. and wife of Ingel⯑ram de Courcy, created earl of Bedford. John Haſtings earl of Pembroke, ſlain in Woodſtoke-park, at a Chriſtmas feſtivity, in 1389. He was then very young, and, being deſirous of inſtruction in feats of chivalry, ran againſt a ſtout knight of the name of John Saint John: but it remains uncertain whether his death was the reſult of deſign or accident ^†.

John Duc de Bourbon, one of the noble priſoners taken at the battle of Azincourt, after eighteen years impriſonment, in 1443 here found a tomb. Walter Blunt lord Mountjoy, lord treaſurer of England in the time of Edward IV, and many other ^‡ illuſ⯑trious perſons, were depoſited here.

AMONG the unfortunate who fell victims to the executioner, in the wretched times of too many of our monarchs, as often un⯑juſtly as otherwiſe, were the following. I do not reckon, in the liſt of the firſt, the ambitious profligate Roger Mortimer, para⯑mour of Iſabella, wife to the unhappy Edward of Caernarvon. He was ſurprized with the queen in Nottingham caſtle. In vain did ſhe cry, Bel fitz, bel fitz, ayez pitie du gentile Mortimer. He was hurried to London, and, after a ſummary hearing, dragged to Tyburn, where he hung like a common malefactor two days upon the gallows.

SIR Robert Treſilian, chief juſtice of England; and Sir Nicholas [182] Brembre, the ſtout mayor of London, ſuffered the ſame ignomi⯑nous death in the next reign. The firſt, as a warning to all judges for too great a complaiſance to the pleaſure of the court; Sir Nicholas, for his attachment to his royal maſter. Treſilian fell lamented: eſpecially as the proceedings were hurried in a tumul⯑tuary manner, and more indicative of revenge than juſtice. Su⯑perſtition records, that when he came to Tyburn, he declared that he ſhould not die while he had any thing about him; and that the executioner, on ſtripping him, found certain images, the head of a devil, and the names of divers others ^*. The charm was broken, and the judge died.

HERE, in 1423, were interred the mangled remains of Sir John Mortimer, knight, a victim to the jealouſy of the houſe of Lan⯑caſter againſt that of York. He was put to death on a fictitious charge, by an ex poſt facto law, called the Statute of Eſcapes, made on purpoſe to deſtroy him: he was drawn to Tyburn, and underwent the rigorous penalty of treaſon ^†. Thus was Henry VI. ſtained with blood even in his infancy, and began a bloody reign with ſlaughter, continued to the end of his life, by ambition and cruelty not his own.

IN the ſame ground lies another guiltleſs ſacrifice, Thomas Bur⯑det, eſq anceſtor of the preſent Sir Robert Burdet. He had a white buck, which he was particularly fond of; this the king, Edward IV. happened to kill. Burdet, in anger, wiſhed the horns in the perſon's body who had adviſed the king to it. For [183] this he was tried, as wiſhing evil to his ſovereign, and for this only loſt his head ^*.

TO cloſe the liſt, in 1523, a murdreſs, a lady Alice Hungerford, obtained the favor of lying here. She had killed her huſband; for which ſhe was led from the Tower to Holborn, there put into a cart with one of her ſervants, and thence carried to Tyburn and executed ^†.

THE library founded here in 1429,LIBRARY. by the munificent Whitting⯑ton, muſt not be forgotten. It was a hundred and twenty-nine feet long; thirty-one broad: it was cieled with wainſcot, had twenty-eight deſks, and eight double ſettles of wainſcot. In three years it was filled with books, to the value of five hundred and fifty-ſix pounds: of which Sir Richard contributed four hundred pounds; and Doctor Thomas Winchelſey, a friar, ſupplied the reſt. This about thirty years before the invention of printing.

ON the diſſolution, this fine church, after being ſpoiled of its ornaments for the king's uſe, was made a ſtorehouſe for French prizes, and the monuments either ſold or mutilated. Henry, juſt before his death, touched with remorſe, granted the convent and church to the city, and cauſed the church to be opened for divine ſervice. It was burnt in 1666, and rebuilt by Sir Chriſtopher Wren, at a ſmall diſtance from its former ſite. I muſt mention, that with the old church was deſtroyed the tomb of lady Veneti [...] Digby ^‡.

THE buildings belonging to the friars were by Edward VI. [184] applied to this uſeful charity: that amiable young prince had not any reaſon to be ſtimulated to good actions: but it is certain that, after a ſermon of exhortation, preached before him by Ridley, biſhop of London, he founded three great hoſpitals in this city, judiciouſly adapted to the neceſſities of the poor, divided into three claſſes: the hoſpital of St. Thomas, Southwark, for the ſick or wounded poor; this for the orphan; and that of Bridewell for the thriftleſs. Charles II. founded alſo here a mathematical ſchool for the inſtruction of forty boys, and training them up for the ſea. Many able mathematicians and ſeamen have ſprung from this inſtitution. In the laſt year, a hundred and ſixty-eight were apprenticed out; of which nine were from the laſt-mentioned inſtitution. The governors have a ſeminary to this hoſpital at Hertford. At London and at Hertford are nine hundred and eighty-two children.

PART of the old buildings and cloiſter are yet remaining; but the greater part was rebuilt in the laſt century, under the direction of Sir Chriſtopher Wren. The writing ſchool was founded in 1694, by Sir John Moor, alderman, who is honored with a ſtatue in front of the building.

GREAT HALL.IN the great hall is a fine picture of Charles II. in his robes, with a great flowing black wig. At a diſtance is a ſea view with ſhipping: and about him a globe, ſphere, teleſcope, &c. It was painted by Lely, in 1662.

HERE is the longeſt picture I ever ſaw. King James II. amidſt his courtiers, receiving the preſident of this hoſpital, ſeveral of the governors, and numbers of the children, all kneeling; one of the governors with a grey head, and ſome of the heads of the children, are admirably painted. Chancellor Jefferies is ſtanding by the [185] king. This was painted by Verrio, who has placed himſelf in the piece, in a long wig.

THE founder is repreſented in another picture ſitting, and giv⯑ing the charter to the governors, who are in their red gowns kneeling; the boys and girls are ranged in two rows; a biſhop, poſſibly Ridley, is in the piece. If this was the work of Holbein, it has certainly been much injured by repair.

IN the court-room is a three-quarters length of Edward, a moſt beautiful portrait, indiſputably by the hand of that great painter. The figure is moſt richly dreſſed, with one of his hands upon a dagger.

IN this room are the portraits of two perſons of uncommon merit. The firſt is of Sir Wolſtan Dixie, lord mayor in 1585. He is repr [...]nted in a red gown furred, a rich chain, and with a rough beard. The date on his portrait is 1593. He was de⯑ſcended from Wolſtan Dixie, who was ſeated at Catworth, in Hun⯑tingdonſhire, about the reign of Edward III. Sir Wolſtan was the founder of the family of baronets, ſettled at Market-Boſworth, in Leiceſterſhire, which was beſtowed by him on his great nephew in the reign of queen Elizabeth ^*. Sir Wolſtan was diſtinguiſhed by the magnificent pageantry of his mayor's day; and by the poetical incenſe beſtowed on the occaſion by George Peele, A. M. of Chriſt-church College, Oxford: who, among other things, wrote the life of our laſt prince Llewelyn, the loves of king David and the fair Bathſheba, and the tragedy of Abſalom ^†. But Sir Wolſtan immortalized himſelf by his good deeds, and the greatneſs of his [186] charities. At Boſworth he founded a free-ſchool; every priſon in the capital felt his bounty; he portioned poor maidens in mar⯑riage; contributed largely to build a peſt-houſe; eſtabliſhed two fellowſhips in Emanuel College, Cambridge, and two ſcholarſhips; and left to this hoſpital an annual endowment of forty-two pounds for ever.

BUT a lady, dame Mary Ramſay, wife of Sir Thomas Ramſay, lord mayor in 1577, greatly ſurpaſſed Sir Wolſtan in her chari⯑table deeds. By the gift of twenty pounds a year, to be annually paid to the maſter and uſher of the ſchool belonging to this hoſ⯑pital; and alſo to the hoſpital the reverſion of a hundred and twenty pounds annually. She was complimented with having her picture placed in this room. She is dreſſed in a red-bodied gown and petticoat. She augmented fellowſhips and ſcholarſhips; cloathed ten maimed ſoldiers, at the expence of twenty pounds annually; ſhe did not forget the priſoners in the ſeveral gaols; ſhe gave the ſum of twelve hundred pounds to five of the compa⯑nies, to be lent to young tradeſmen for four years; ſhe gave to Briſtol a thouſand pounds, to be laid out in an hoſpital; ſhe mar⯑ried and portioned poor virgins; and, beſides other charities I omit, left three thouſand pounds to good and pious uſes. This excellent woman died about the year 1596, and was interred in the church of St. Mary Woolnoth ^*.

CHARTER-HOUSE-SQUARE.IN this ſquare, at the time called the Charter-houſe Yard, was a town-houſe belonging to the earls of Rutland, which, in the year 1656, was converted into an opera-houſe, over which Sir William [187] d' Avenant preſided ^*; for in thoſe times of hypocriſy, tragedies and comedies were not permitted.

THE Charter-houſe is the next object of attention.CHARTER-HOUSE. This had been a houſe of Carthuſians (from which the name is corrupted) founded by Sir Walter de Manni, a moſt ſucceſsful commander in the French wars, under Edward III. He had purchaſed, in the year 1349, a piece of ground conſiſting of thirteen acres, for the purpoſe of interring the dead, at a time in which a dreadful peſti⯑lence raged. Not fewer than fifty thouſand people were buried in it, during the time of this dreadful calamity; which ſhews how very populous London muſt have been at that period. In the preceding year Ralph Sratford, biſhop of London, had bought another piece of land, adjoining to this, which he incloſed with a brick wall, built on it a chapel, and applied to the ſame uſe, under the name of Pardon Church-yard. Here alſo were buried ſuicides, and ſuch who had been executed. They were brought here in what was called the Friars cart, which was tilted, and covered over with black: in it was a pendent bell, ſo that notice was given, as it paſſed along, of the ſad burden it was carrying ^†.

SIR WALTER firſt intended to found here a college for a war⯑den, dean, and twelve ſecular prieſts; but, changing his deſign, he, in conjunction with Northburgh, biſhop of London, founded a priory for twenty-four monks, of the rigid order of Carthuſians, which was finiſhed in 1370 ^‡. The laſt prior but one, John Howghton, ſubſcribed to the king's ſupremacy in 1534; yet, was [188] executed ſoon after, for his oppoſition to the royal will. Three years after that there was a ſecond ſubſcription, in which William Trafford, the laſt prior, and two and twenty of his houſe, ſubſcribed to the king's ſupremacy ^*. At the diſſolution its revenues were reckoned, according to Dugdale, at £ 642 a year. It was firſt granted, in 1542, to John Bridges and Thomas Hall, for their joint lives; and in April 1555, to Sir Edward North, who ſold it to Thomas duke of Norfolk, for twenty-five hundred pounds; and his ſon the earl of Suffolk, the rapacious treaſurer, alienated it to Thomas Sutton, eſq for thirteen thouſand pounds.

MR. SUTTON's FOUNDATION.THAT gentleman made a moſt dignified uſe of his purchaſe. In the time of James I. he converted it into a moſt magnificent hoſpital, conſiſting of a maſter, a preacher, a head ſchool-maſter, and ſecond maſter, with forty-four boys, eighty decayed gentle⯑men, who had been ſoldiers or merchants, beſides phyſician, ſurgeons, regiſter, and other officers and ſervants of the houſe. Each decayed gentleman has fourteen pounds a year, a gown, meat, fire, and lodgings: and one of them may, if he chuſes, attend the manciple to market, to ſee that he buys good proviſions. This is the greateſt gift in England, either in proteſtant or catho⯑lic times, ever beſtowed by a ſingle man, till we come to the time of the foundation of Guy's Hoſpital, in Southwark.

THERE is ſcarcely any veſtige of the conventual building, which is ſaid to have ſtood in the preſent garden. The preſent extenſive houſe was the work of the duke of Norfolk. It was inhabited by the noble purchaſer: the laſt time, it was made his eaſy priſon; for, having been committed to the Tower in 1569, [189] he was permitted to return to his own houſe, under the cuſtody of Sir Henry Nevil, the plague at that time raging within the Tower liberties. But ſoon relapſing into his romantic deſign of a marriage with the unhappy Mary Stuart, he was here ſeized, and conveyed to his former place of confinement. In the great hall are the Howard arms, and the date 1571; the very year of his final impriſonment.

HIS grandſon, lord Thomas Howard, was in poſſeſſion of this houſe at the acceſſion of James I. This monarch, to ſhew his reſpect for a family which had ſo ſeverely ſuffered in the cauſe of his mother, made his firſt viſit, on entering his new capital, on May 7th 1604, to this nobleman. His majeſty and his train were moſt ſplendidly entertained here four whole days ^*; at his depar⯑ture, he was as profuſe of his honors as he had been at Theo⯑balds juſt before, for he dubbed here not fewer than fourſcore knights.

IN one of the great apartments is a very good half-length of Mr. Sutton, in a black gown furred, and with a white beard. He himſelf intended to have filled the poſt of maſter; but being ſeized with his laſt illneſs, by deed nominated the Reverend John Hut⯑ton to the office. He died December 12th, 1611, aged 79: his body was embalmed, kept in his own houſe till May 1612, when it was depoſited with great pomp in Chriſt-church; from whence, in 1614 (the chapel in his hoſpital being by that time finiſhed) it was carried on the ſhoulders of the poor into the vault prepared for its reception. His figure, in a gown, lies recumbent on the tomb: on each ſide is a man in armour ſtanding upright; and [190] above a preacher addreſſing a full congregation. This was the work of Nicholas Stone, who (including a little monument to Mr. Law, one of Mr. Sutton's executors) had four hundred pounds for his performance ^*.

GEORGE VILLIERS, the ſecond of that name, duke of Bucking⯑ham, full-length, in a long wig, and robes of the garter.

THE earl of Shaftſbury, in his chancellor's robes, ſitting.

CHARLES TALBOT, firſt earl, and afterwards duke of Shrewſ⯑bury, a full-length, in robes of the garter, with a white rod, as lord treaſurer, in 1714, delivered to him by the queen, with her dying hand. A nobleman of fine abilities, and fine addreſs, wa⯑vering and unſettled: a ſtrong revolutioniſt; yet, in a little time, ſeduced into a plan of dethroning the very prince whom he had invited over. He died neglected by all parties; permanent only in the proteſtant religion, to which he was an early convert by the arguments of our great Tillotſon. He died in February 1718, giving, almoſt with his laſt breath, aſſurance of his adherence to the church of England.

THE duke of Monmouth, in a long black wig, dreſſed, if I remember right, like the former.

THE munificent Sheldon, archbiſhop of Canterbury, is repre⯑ſented here, ſitting. He did honor to his promotion by his pa⯑tron Charles II. whom he attended in his exile. He was equally conſpicuous for his charity and his piety. He expended above ſixty-ſix thouſand pounds in public and private benefactions, in relieving the miſerable diſtreſſed in the time of the peſtilence, and in redeeming Chriſtian ſlaves. His theatre at Oxford is a magnifi⯑cent [191] proof of his reſpect to the univerſity in which he had moſt honorably preſided, as warden of the College of All Souls.

HERE is a three-quarters piece of Doctor Thomas Burnet, maſter of this houſe, highly celebrated for his learning, and equally ſo for the ſpirit with which he reſiſted the obtruſion of a Roman catholic into the office by James II. He was the author of the famous Sacred Theory of the Earth, a beautiful and eloquent philoſo⯑phical romance: and of the Archaelogia Philoſophica. This laſt ſubjected him to ſuch cenſure, for the ſceptical opinions it con⯑tained, as to prevent his farther preferment. He died in 1715. He is repreſented as a thin man, of a good countenance, in a black gown, and ſhort hair.

THE hero William earl Craven is the laſt; a full-length, in ar⯑mour, with a truncheon; and a diſtant view of a camp.

THESE noblemen had all been governors of this great charity.

IMMEDIATELY beyond the Charter-houſe, PRIORY OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. ſtood the priory of St. John of Jeruſalem, of the warlike order of the knights hoſpi⯑talers. After the taking of Jeruſalem from the Saracens, there was a vaſt concourſe of pilgrims to the holy ſepulchre. A pious man of the name of Gerardus, aſſociating with other perſons of his religious turn, aſſumed a black garment, with a white croſs on it, with eight ſpikes; and undertook the care of an hoſpital, before founded at Jeruſalem, for the uſe of the pilgrims; and alſo to protect them from inſults on the road, either in coming or re⯑turning. Godfrey of Bologne firſt inſtituted the order; and, in reward of the valour of Gerardus, at the battle of Aſcalon, en⯑dowed the knights with great eſtates, to enable them to ſupport the end of their order: the kings of France were the ſovereigns. After the loſs of Jeruſalem, they retired from place to place; but, [191] [...] [192] having taken Rhodes, fixed there, and were then ſtyled knights of Rhodes. But, in 1522, on the loſs of that iſland, they retreated to Malta, and were afterwards known by the name of knights of Malta. The order, before the ſeparation of England from the church of Rome, conſiſted of eight nations. The world is filled with their prodigious valour.

JORDAN BRISET, and M [...]riel his wife, perſons of rank, founded this houſe in the year 1100, and it received conſecration from Heraclius, patriarch of Jeruſalem. This order at firſt ſtyled itſelf ſervant to the poor ſervants of the hoſpital at Jeruſalem; but their vaſt endowments infected them with an uncommon degree of pride. The whole order had, in different parts of Chriſtendom, nineteen thouſand manors. In 1323, the revenues of the Engliſh knights templars were beſtowed on them. This gave them ſuch importance, that the prior was ranked as firſt baron of England, and lived in the higheſt ſtate. Their luxury gave offence to the rebels of Kent and Eſſex, in 1381. Theſe levellers burnt their houſe to the ground; but it ſoon roſe with double ſplendor. The firſt prior was Garnerius de Neapoli; the laſt, Sir William Weſton, who, on the ſuppreſſion by Henry VIII. had a penſion of a thou⯑ſand a year; but died on Aſcenſion-day, 1540, the very day that the houſe was ſuppreſſed ^*, entirely of a broken heart. His monument is preſerved by a drawing in the collection of Doctor C [...]mbes. His figure lay recumbent, beneath rich gothic arches. It had a long beard, and is repreſented greatly emaciated. Its revenue at that time, according to Dugdale, was £. 2,385.12s. 8d.

[193]THE houſe and church remained entire during the reign of Henry, ST. JAMES's CLERKENWELL. for he choſe to keep in them his tents and toils for the chace. In that of his ſon, the church, which for the beauty of its tower (which was graven, gilt, and enameled) was blown up with gunpowder, by order of the protector Somerſet, and the ſtones carried towards the building his palace in the Strand. In the next reign, apart of the choir which remained, and ſome ſide-chapels, were repaired by cardinal Pole, and Sir Thomas Treſham was ap⯑pointed lord prior ^*: but the reſtoration was ſhort-lived, being again ſuppreſſed by Elizabeth.

THE buildings covered a great extent of ground: and are now occupied by St. John's-ſquare. The magnificent gateway ſtill remains; James I. made a grant of it to Sir Roger Wilbraham, who made it his habitation.

AYLESBURY-HOUSE and gardens were other parts of the poſ⯑ſeſſions of thoſe knights. They were granted to the Bruces, earls of Ayleſbury; who made the houſe their reſidence. Earl Robert, deputy earl-marſhal, dates numbers of his letters, in 1671, from Ayleſbury-houſe, Clerkenwell. Ayleſbury-ſtreet now covers the ſite of the houſe and gardens.

THE ſame Jordan Briſet, BENEDICTINE NUNS. not ſatisfied with the former great en⯑dowment, gave to one Robert, a prieſt, fourteen acres of land almoſt adjoining to the firſt, to build on them a religious houſe. He accordingly founded one to the honor of God and the aſſump⯑tion of our lady, which he filled with Black Nuns of the order of St. Benedict. The firſt prioreſs was Chriſtina; the laſt, Iſabella Sackville, of the family of the preſent duke of Dorſet. She ap⯑pointed [194] pointed her couſin, lord Buckhurſt, executor of her will, made February 19th 1569, if his lordſhip would undertake the trouble. She was buried in the conventual church; a ſmall braſs plate informs us ſhe died in the reign of queen Elizabeth.

SIR Thomas Chaloner, tutor to prince Henry, built a fine houſe in the cloſe of the priory, and on it inſcribed theſe apt verſes,

THE church was made parochial. Part of the cloiſters re⯑main, at leſt till very lately, as did part of the nun's hall. In very antient records it was ſtyled,PARISH CLERKS OUR ANTIENT ACTORS. Eccleſia Beatae Mariae de fonte Clericorum, from a well near it, at which the pariſh-clerks of Lon⯑don were accuſtomed to meet annually to perform their myſteries, or ſacred dramatical plays. In 1391, they performed before the king and queen, and whole court, three days ſucceſſively. Theſe amuſements, with much more ſubſtantial peace-offerings, were preſented to Richard, to divert his reſentment againſt the good citizens, for a riot of no very great moment againſt the biſhop of Saliſbury ^†. And in 1409, they performed the creation of the world, which laſted eight days; and moſt of the nobility and gentry of England honored them with their preſence.—But to re⯑turn to the church. Beſides the venerable prioreſs, here was in⯑terred the lord prior of the knights hoſpitalers above-mentioned, [195] Sir William Weſton, who lies under a tomb, beneath an arch of neat gothic work. The braſs is loſt, but there is ſtill his effigies repreſented in his ſhroud, emaciated by death; but admirably cut in ſtone. Weever preſerves part of his epitaph; but it gives us nothing hiſtorical ^*. That great collector of funeral monuments and inſcriptions lies here himſelf. He died in 1634 ^†, aged 56, and left his own quaint epitaph:

I SHALL conclude, with having obſerved here the plain monu⯑ment of Gilbert Burnet, biſhop of Saliſbury. His literary merits and demerits have been ſo fully diſcuſſed, that I rather chuſe to refer the readers to the writers who have undertaken the taſk. Let his excellent diſcharge of his epiſcopal function, expiate the errors, which his enemies, of each party, ſo liberally impute to him.

NOW I am on the outſide of the church again, let me, in this revival of archery, direct the attention of the brethren and ſiſters of the bow to the epitaph of Sir William Wood, a celebrated archer, who died in 1691, aet. 82. May their longevity equal his! but when they have made their laſt ſhot, I hope that the Royal Britiſh BOWMEN have provided an abler bard, to celebrate their ſkill, than fell to the lot of poor William Wood ^‡.

[196]CLOSE to Clerkenwell-green ſtands Albemarle, or Newcaſtle-houſe; the property and reſidence of the mad dutcheſs, and widow of the ſecond duke of Albemarle, and laſt ſurviving daughter and coheireſs of Cavendiſh duke of Newcaſtle, who died here in 1734. At p. 164 ſome account is given of this lady. The houſe is en⯑tire, and at preſent occupied by a cabinet-maker. In the garden is the entire ſide of the cloiſter of the nunnery, and part of the wall, and a door belonging to the nuns hall. Scattered over the ground are the remains of the antient monuments of Sir Richard Weſton, and others, ſhamefully ruined, being flung here during the rebuilding of the church.

OPPOSITE to this houſe is another, very large, aſcended to by a long flight of ſteps. It is now divided into three houſes. It is called Oliver Cromwell's; and tradition ſays, it was his place of conference with Ireton, Bradſhaw, and others. If it had been his reſidence, it probably was uſurped from ſome of the loyaliſts, and made his manſion, before he attained his fullneſs of power, and lived in regal ſtate at Whitehall.

NEW RIVER HEAD.In the fields, at a ſmall diſtance from Clerkenwell, is the New River Head, the great repoſitory which ſupplies the largeſt por⯑tion of our capital with water. To give a greater extent of ſervice, of late years another reſervoir has been made on the heights, at a little diſtance to the north of the former. This is ſupplied with water from the firſt by means of an engine, which is worked by horſes, forcing the water up the aſcent; from hence it ſtreams down to places which the other had not the power of benefiting. Theſe reſervoirs may be called the HEART of the work. The element, eſſentially uſeful as the vital fluid, at firſt ruſhes through veins of vaſt diameter; divides into leſſer; and [197] again into thouſands of ramifications, which ſupport the life of this moſt populous city.

NO one ought to be ignorant that this unſpeakable benefit is owing to a WELSHMAN! Sir HUGH MIDDELTON, of Denbigh; who, on September 20th, 1608, began, and on September 29th, 1613, completed the great work. He brought the water from Amwell, in Hertfordſhire, a diſtance of twenty, but, from the ne⯑ceſſity of making a detour to avoid hills and vallies, it was increaſ⯑ed to thirty-eight miles three-quarters and ſixteen poles. Yet it was impoſſible to eſcape difficulties. His daring ſpirit penetrated the hills in ſeveral places: and carried the river over two vallies. Over one it extended ſix hundred and ſixty feet in length, and thirty in height; and over another, four hundred and ſixty-two feet in length. The original ſource of this river was, by the vaſt increaſe of London, found inadequate to its wants. The New River company found it neceſſary to have recourſe to another ſupply. They applied to parlement for powers to obtain it from the river Lee, the property of the city. London oppoſed the bene⯑fit intended its inhabitants; but in vain, parlement wiſely deter⯑mined againſt their objections: ſo the bleſſing was forced upon them! and the river Lee ſupplies the greater part of the wants of the city. Sir HUGH MIDDELTON was ruined by the execution of his project. So little was the benefit underſtood, that, for above thirty years, the ſeventy-two ſhares, it was divided into, ſhared only five pounds apiece. Each of theſe ſhares was ſold originally for a hundred pounds. Within this twelvemonth they were ſold at nine thouſand pounds a ſhare; and lately at ten thou⯑ſand: and are increaſing, becauſe their profits increaſe, on which their dividends are grounded. Half of the ſeventy-two ſhares [198] are called king's ſhares, and are in leſs eſtimation than the others, becauſe ſubject to a grant of five hundred pounds a year, made ſo long ago as the reign of James I. when the water was firſt brought to London, or ſoon after.

I NOW deſcend to the Temple, and reſume my journey along Fleet-ſtreet, as far as the ſouthern extremity of the walls of London, the antient precinct; to follow them to their oppoſite end near the Tower; to deſcribe their neighboring ſuburbs, and the parts of the city bordering on their interior ſides. Theſe, with the city itſelf, ſhall form the final conſideration, together with the ſuburbs which point to Blackwall, and form a ſtreet of amazing extent.

ST. DUNSTAN'S CHURCH.JUST beyond the entrance into Chancery-lane, is St. Dunſtan's church. The ſaint to whom it was dedicated was a perſon of great ingenuity; and excelled in painting, engraving, and muſic. From the following lines it appears that he was the inventor of the Aeolian harp:

For this he was repreſented to king Athelſtan as a conjuror. He was an excellent workman in braſs and iron. It was when thus employed at his forge, that he ſeized the devil by the noſe with the red-hot tongs, till he roared again. The daemon had viſited him in a female form, and ſuffered for intruding on this woman-hating ſaint.

[199]HIS church is probably of very antient foundation: yet the firſt mention of it is in 1237, when the abbot and convent of Weſtminſter beſtowed it on Henry III; who beſtowed the profits on the Domus Converſorum, or the houſe for converted Jews. The two figures of ſavages on the outſide of the clock, ſtriking the quarters with their clubs, were ſet up in 1671, and are much admired by the gaping populace.

NEXT to the Temple, is another Serjeant's-Inn, deſtined, origi⯑nally, for the ſame purpoſe as that in Chancery-lane. And nearer to the Thames, a little eaſt of the King's-bench Walks, THE WHITE FRIARS. ſtood the church and convent of Carmelites, or White Friars; founded in 1241, by Sir Richard Grey, anceſtor of the lord Greys of Codnor. Edward I. beſtowed on them more ground, that they might en⯑large their buildings. The order originated from the hermits of Mount Carmel, who inhabited the mountain which Elias and Eliſeus inhabited. On the diſſolution its revenues were £. 63. 2s. 4d. Part of the houſe was granted by Henry to Richard Moreſque; and the chapter-houſe, and other parts, to his phyſician William Butts, immortalized by Shakeſpear. Edward VI. be⯑ſtowed the houſe inhabited by Doctor Butts, together with the church, to the biſhop of Worceſter, and his ſucceſſors. It was afterwards demoliſhed, with all its tombs, and ſeveral houſes, in⯑habited in the reign of Edward VI. by people of faſhion. That church was built by Sir Robert Knolles, a great warrior in the time of Edward III. and Richard II; who was honorably interred here in 1407. John Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, in 1382, in his youthful years. Elizabeth wife of Henry earl of Kent, who had waſted his ſubſtance by gaming. That noble family had for [200] ſome time a houſe in the White Friars. John lord Gray, ſon to Reginald lord Gray, of Wilton, in 1418: and numbers of others of the common gentry.

BOLT-COURT.I MUST by no means omit Bolt-court, the long reſidence of Doctor SAMUEL JOHNSON, a man of the ſtrongeſt natural abili⯑ties, great learning, a moſt retentive memory, of the deepeſt and moſt unaffected piety and morality, mingled with thoſe numerous weakneſſes and prejudices which his friends have kindly taken care to draw from their dread abode. I brought on myſelf his tranſient anger, by obſerving, that in his tour in Scotland he once had ‘long and woeful experience of oats being the food of men in Scotland, as they were of horſes in England.’ It was a national reflection unworthy of him, and I ſhot my bolt. In re⯑turn he gave me a tender hug ^*. Con amore, he alſo ſaid of me. The dog is a Whig ^†. I admired the virtues of lord Ruſſel, and pitied his fall. I ſhould have been a Whig at the Revolution. There have been periods ſince, in which I ſhould have been, what I now am, a moderate Tory; a ſupporter, as far as my little influence extends, of a well-poiſed balance between the crown and people: but, ſhould the ſcale preponderate againſt the Salus populi, that moment may it be ſaid, The dog's a Whig!

SALISBURY-COURT.FARTHER to the weſt of White Friars, is Saliſbury-court, once the inn or city manſion of the biſhops of Saliſbury; afterwards of the Sackvilles: held at firſt by a long leaſe from the ſee, and then [201] changed by biſhop Jewel, for a valuable conſideration from that great family. It was ſucceſſively called Sackville-houſe, and Dor⯑ſet-houſe. The great lord Buckhurſt, created by James I. earl of Dorſet, wrote here his Porrex and Ferrex, a tragedy,DORSET-HOUSE. which was performed at Whitehall, before queen Elizabeth. He was equally great as a ſtateſman and author. Here alſo died two of his ſuc⯑ceſſors: the laſt was the gallant earl (of whom lord Clarendon gives ſo great a character) who retired here on the murder of his royal maſter, and never after quitted the place.

THE houſe being pulled down,THEATRE. was ſucceeded by other build⯑ings, among which was a magnificent theatre, built after the Reſtoration, by Sir Chriſtopher Wren; in which the company of comedians, called the duke of York's ſervants, performed under the patentee, Sir William Davenant. Here Betterton, and the beſt actors of the time, entertained the public, till its taſte grew ſo de⯑praved that the new manager, Doctor Davenant, was obliged to call in aid, muſic and rich ſcenery, to ſupport his houſe.

THE church of St. Bride's, with its fine ſteeple, built by the ſame great architect, but loſt in the various houſes of the ſtreet,ST. BRIDE'S CHURCH. ſtands farther on, on the ſouth ſide. It was dedicated to St. Brid⯑get; whether ſhe was Iriſh, or whether ſhe was Scotch; whether ſhe was maiden, or whether ſhe was wife, I will not dare to determine the conteſt. Her church was originally ſmall; but, by the piety of William Viner, warden of the Fleet about the year 1480, was enlarged with a body and ſide-ailes, and ornamented with grapes and vine-leaves, in alluſion to his name. It was deſtroyed by the great fire, and rebuilt ſoon after in its preſent form.

NOT far from this church lived the famous printer, Wynkyn de [202] Worde, at his inn or houſe, the Faulcon; but I find he enprynted his Fruyte of Tymes, in 1515, at the ſygne of the ſonne, in Fleet-ſtreet.

BRIDEWELL.NOT far from the White Friars, near the weſt ſide of Fleet-ditch, was a well, dedicated to one of the St. Brides, or Bridgets. This gave name to the pariſh-church, and the ancient palace of Bridewell, which was honored with the reſidence of ſeveral of our monarchs, even as early as king John. It was formed partly out of the remains of an antient caſtle,ARX PALATINA. the weſtern Arx Palatina of the city, which ſtood near the little river Fleet, near to the Thames. In 1087, William the Conqueror gave many of the choiceſt materials towards the rebuilding of St. Paul's cathedral, which had been deſtroyed by fire. And Henry I. gave as many of the ſtones, from the walls of the caſtle-yard, as ſerved to incloſe and form the gates, and precinct of the church. Notwithſtanding this, the dwelling remained, and became the reſidence of ſeveral of our monarchs ^*. To this palace that arbitrary prince convened all the abbots, and other heads of religious houſes, Engliſh and foreign, and ſqueezed out of them a hundred thouſand pounds; in thoſe days an enormous ſum. From the Ciſtercians, who would not own his ſupremacy, not leſs than thirty-three thouſand. Henry VIII. rebuilt the palace, in a moſt magnificent manner, for the reception of the emperor Charles V. who viſited England in 1522. After all the expence, the emperor lodged in Black Friars, and his ſuite in the new palace; and a gallery of communication was flung over the ditch, and a paſſage cut through the city wall [203] into the emperor's apartments. The king often lodged here, particularly in 1529, when the queſtion of his marriage with queen Catherine was agitated at Black Friars. It fell afterwards into decay, and was begged by the pious prelate Ridley, from Edward VI. to be converted to ſome charitable purpoſe.HOUSE OF CORRECTION. That of a houſe of correction was determined on, for vagabonds of each ſex and all denominations. The firſt time I viſited the place, there was not a ſingle male priſoner, and about twenty female. They were confined on a ground-floor, and employed in beating of hemp. When the door was opened, by the keeper, they ran towards it like ſo many hounds in kennel; and preſented a moſt moving ſight: about twenty young creatures, the eldeſt not ex⯑ceeding ſixteen, many of them with angelic faces, diveſted of every angelic paſſion; and featured with impudence, impenitency, and profligacy; and cloathed in the ſilken tatters of ſqualid finery. A magiſterial! a national opprobrium!!!—What a diſad⯑vantageous contraſt to the Spinhuis, in Amſterdam, where the con⯑fined ſit under the eye of a matron ſpinning or ſewing, in plain and neat dreſſes, provided by the public. No trace of their former lives appears in their countenances; a thorough reformation ſeems to have been effected, equally to the emolument and honor of the republic. This is alſo the place of confinement for diſ⯑obedient and idle apprentices. They are kept ſeparate, in airy cells; and have an allotted taſk to be performed in a certain time. They, the men and women, are employed in beating hemp, pick⯑ing oakum, and packing of goods, and are ſaid to earn their maintenance.

BUT Bridewell is not only a priſon for the diſſolute,A HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. but a hoſ⯑pital [204] for the education of the induſtrious youth. Here twenty Arts maſters (as they are ſtyled) conſiſting of decayed tradeſmen, ſuch as ſhoemakers, taylors, flax-dreſſers, and weavers, have houſes, and receive apprentices, who are inſtructed in ſeveral trades; the maſters receiving the profit of their labors. After the boys have ſerved their time with credit, they are payed ten pounds to begin the world with; and are entitled to the freedom of the city. They are dreſſed in blue, with a white hat. The proceſſion of theſe, and the children of Chriſt's Hoſpital, on Eaſter Monday and Tueſday, to St. Bride's church, affords to the humane the moſt pleaſing ſpectacle, as it excites the reflection of the mul⯑titudes thus reſcued from want, profligacy, and perdition. The number of vagrants, and other indigent and miſerable people, received into this houſe the laſt year, was ſeven hundred and ſix⯑teen; many of whom had phyſic, and other relief, as their neceſ⯑ſities required, at the expence of the hoſpital.

COURT OF JUSTICE.SOME of the original building yet remains; as does the magni⯑ficent flight of antient ſtairs, which leads to the preſent court of juſtice, which is a handſome apartment. Contiguous to it is the room of puniſhment; but in our mild country, no other inſtru⯑ment is to be ſeen in it but a large whipping ſtocks. This is ſaid to have been the place in which the ſentence of divorce was pro⯑nounced againſt the worthy princeſs, which had been concluded on in the oppoſite monaſtery.

HALL. FINE PICTURE BY HOLBEIN.THE hall opens into the court-room. Over the chimney is the celebrated portrait of Edward VI. by Holbein, repreſenting that monarch beſtowing the charter of Bridewell, to Sir George Barnes, the lord mayor: by him is William earl of Pembroke, a great [205] favorite and diſtinguiſhed character; and Thomas Goodrich, biſhop of Ely, and lord chancellor of England: and in a corner is the head of the celebrated painter. There are doubts whether this picture was completed by Holbein; for his death, and that of the king, very ſoon followed the ſolemnity it records.

SIR William Withers, lord mayor of London, is painted, repre⯑ſented on horſeback. He was preſident in 1741, and beſtowed on this hoſpital the iron gates and marble pavement.

SIR William Turner, in long hair, furred robe, and gold chain; the face very fine. This gentleman was lord mayor in 1669; a native of Kirk Leedham, in Yorkſhire, and a moſt liberal benefactor to his native place. He was painted by Mr. Beale, for Mr. Knollys, who preſented it to the governors of Bridewell.

ANOTHER portrait, of Sir Robert Geoffry, with long wig, and furred robes, dated 1593. Two very fine portraits, of Charles II. ſitting, and James II. ſtanding, by Lely. Finally, a picture of Slingſby Bethel, eſq lord mayor in 1756; the laſt work of the painter Hudſon.

THE creek, called Fleet-ditch, FLEET-DITCH. had its entrance from the Thames immediately below Bridewell; and reached as far as Holborn-bridge, at the foot of Holborn-hill; and received into it the little river Fleet, Turnmill brook, and another called Oldbourn, which gave name to that vaſt ſtreet. The tide flowed up as high as Holborn-bridge, and brought up barges of conſiderable burden. Over it were four ſtone bridges, and on the ſides extenſive quays and warehouſes. It was of ſuch utility, that it was ſcoured and kept open at vaſt expence; and, not later than 1606, near twenty-eight thouſand pounds were expended for that purpoſe.

[206]IN the performing of this work, at the depth of fifteen feet, were found ſeveral Roman utenſils; and a little deeper, a great quan⯑tity of Roman coins, in ſilver, copper, braſs, and other metals, but none in gold. At Holborn-bridge were found two brazen Lares, about four inches long; one a Bacchus, the other a Ceres. It is a probable conjecture that theſe were thrown in by the affrighted Romans, at the approach of the enraged Boadicia, who ſoon took ample revenge on her inſulting conquerors. Here were alſo found numbers of Saxon antiquities, ſpurs, weapons, keys, ſeals, &c.; alſo medals, croſſes, and crucifixes, which might likewiſe have been flung in on occaſion of ſome alarm.

THIS canal was afterwards neglected, and became a nuſance; was filled up, and a ſewer formed beneath to convey the water to the river. The fine market, which extends the whole length of the old ditch, roſe in its place in 1733; in which year an act was paſſed to empower the lord mayor and citizens to fill up the ditch at their own expence, and to veſt the ſee-ſimple of the ground in them and their ſucceſſors for ever. I recollect the preſent noble approach to Blackfriars-bridge, the well-built open⯑ing of CHATHAM-PLACE, a muddy and genuine ditch. This had been the mouth of the creek, which, as Stow informs us, in 1307 was of depth and width ſufficient ‘that ten or twelve ſhips navies at once, with merchandizes, were wont to come to the aforeſaid bridge of Fleete ^*.’ It muſt be recollected, that at this period there were drawbridges upon London-bridge, through which ſhips of a certain ſize might paſs, and diſcharge their car⯑goes in the mouth of the Fleet.

[207]THIS end of Blackfriars-bridge now fills the filthy mouth of Fleet-ditch. BLACKFRIARS-BRIDGE. This elegant ſtructure was built after the deſign of Mr. Robert Mylne. It conſiſts of nine arches, the center of which is a hundred feet wide. The whole length nine hundred and ninety-five feet; the breadth of the carriage-way twenty-eight feet; of the two footways ſeven each. Over each pier is a receſs, an apology for the beautiful pairs of ionic pillars which ſupport them. The effect of this ſingular application of columns is beautiful from the river. The equinoctial tides riſe here to the heighth of eigh⯑teen or twenty feet.—The firſt ſtone of this bridge was laid on October 30th, 1760; and it was completed about the latter end of the year 1768; at the expence of £. 152, 840. 3s. 10d ^*. The magnificent proſpect from the top is ſo well deſcribed in the Tour through London ^† (a little book that no walker of taſte ſhould be without) that I muſt refer my reader to that judicious and pleaſing compilation, to which I freely acknowlege my frequent obliga⯑tion.

ON the eaſt ſide of Fleet-market, ſtands the Fleet-priſon, FLEET-PRISON. for debtors, founded at leſt as early as the firſt of Richard I. It was alſo the place of confinement for ſuch who had incurred the diſpleaſure of that arbitrary court, the Star Chamber. This pri⯑ſon became ſuch a ſcene of cruelty, that, in the year 1729, a moſt benevolent ſet of gentlemen, prototypes of the GOOD HOWARD, formed themſelves into a committee, to ſearch into the horrors of the gloomy gaol.

All theſe barbarities were realized. The Houſe of Commons, the year preceding, had taken up the enquiries ^*; and found that Hug⯑gins, warden of the Fleet, and Bambridge, his deputy, and William Acton, turnkey, had exerciſed moſt ſhocking cruelties. Thoſe monſters were tried for the murder of five unhappy men, who died under the moſt horrid treatment from them. Yet, notwith⯑ſtanding the proſecution was recommended from the throne, and conducted by the ableſt lawyers, to the concern of all good men theſe wretches eſcaped their merited puniſhment ^†.

PROFLIGATE MARRIAGES.IN walking along the ſtreet, in my youth, on the ſide next to this priſon, I have often been tempted by the queſtion, Sir, will you be pleaſed to walk in and be married? Along this moſt lawleſs ſpace was hung up the frequent ſign of a male and female hand conjoined, with, Marriages performed within, written beneath. [209] A dirty fellow invited you in. The parſon was ſeen walking be⯑fore his ſhop; a ſqualid profligate figure, clad in a tattered plaid night-gown, with a fiery face, and ready to couple you for a dram of gin, or roll of tobacco. Our great chancellor, lord HARD⯑WICK, put theſe daemons to flight, and ſaved thouſands from the miſery and diſgrace which would be entailed by theſe extempo⯑rary thoughtleſs unions.

I SHALL now give a general view of the Walls, CITY WALLS. the antient de⯑fence of the city; and of the Town-ditch, a work of conſiderable labor. In my progreſs I ſhall point out whatſoever was remark⯑able in the adjacent ſuburbs, or the parts within the city which border on the walls. There never was any alteration made in the courſe of this firſt precinct, which was preſerved through all ſucceeding ages; and in every reparation or additional ſtrength which was thought neceſſary. Its direction was from the firſt irregular. The Romans, as was frequently the caſe, conſulted the neceſſity of the ground ^*. It commenced at the Palatine-tower, ran in a ſtrait line along the eminence of Ludgate-hill, and above Fleet-ditch, as far as Newgate; then ſuddenly was carried north⯑erly to a ſpot a little beyond Alderſgate, and at that place ran ſtrait in a northern direction almoſt to Cripplegate; from whence it reſumed a ſtrait eaſtern courſe as far as Biſhopſgate, in which a long remnant of the wall, ſtill called London Wall, is to be ſeen. From Biſhopſgate it aſſumes a gentle curvature pointed to the Tower, over the ſite of which it originally paſſed, and pro⯑bably finiſhed in a Caſtellum in this, as it did in the weſtern extre⯑mity. Another wall guarded the river, and ran the whole length [210] of the ſouth ſide of the city, on the direction of the vaſt ſtreet called Thames-ſtreet. But all this I ſhall particularize in my walk round the antient walls.

TOWN-DITCH.I SHALL firſt mention another conſiderable addition to the ſtrength of thoſe fortifications. The Town-ditch was a ſtupendous piece of work, began in the reign of king John, in 1211, by the Londoners themſelves, poſſibly as a protection againſt their own monarch; who, in reſentment to them, had juſt removed the Ex⯑chequer to Northampton. It was two hundred feet broad, and extended, on the outſide of the walls, from Tower-ditch quite to Chriſt's Hoſpital. Notwithſtanding the multitude of hands em⯑ployed, it was not finiſhed in leſs than two years. It was filled with water, as is evident from the quantity of good fiſh Stow in⯑forms us was taken in it ^*. The citizens for ſome centuries were at great expence in cleanſing and keeping it open: but, after the laſt attempt, in 1595, the work was given over, it became ſtable land, and was ſoon covered with buildings.

THE weſtern wall terminated near the river with a ſort, which I apprehend to have been the caſtle of Montfitchet, ſoon to be mentioned.

BLACK FRIARS.WITHIN the walls, oppoſite to Bridewell, ſtood the great houſe of Black Friars, or Dominicans; founded by the intereſt and ex⯑hortations of Robert Kilwarby, archbiſhop of Canterbury, about 1276; when Gregory Rockſley, and the barons of London, pre⯑ſented him with the ground. Edward I. and his queen Elianor became great benefactors; by the aſſiſtance of whom, the arch⯑biſhop built the monaſtery, and a large church richly ornamented. [211] This obtained every immunity which any religious houſe had. Its precinct was very large, had four gates, and contained numbers of ſhops; the inhabitants of which were ſubject only to the king, the ſuperior of the houſe, and their own juſtices. It alſo became a ſanctuary for debtors, and even malefactors; a privilege which it preſerved even long after the ſuppreſſion of religious houſes.

To make way for this foundation, two lanes were pulled down, and part of the city wall; which laſt was rebuilt immediately by a charter granted by Edward I. for that purpoſe.CASTLE OF MONTFICHET. The caſtle of Montfichet alſo fell a ſacrifice to this houſe. It was built by Gil⯑bert de Montfichet, a follower of the Conqueror: and, growing ruinous, by gift of the king the materials were uſed for the build⯑ing of the church, on the ſite of this antient tower. The church became a faſhionable place of interment of people of rank; and to be buried in the habit of the order, was thought to be a ſure pre⯑ſervative againſt the attacks of the devil. Among other illuſtri⯑ous perſonages was Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, and his wife Margaret, ſiſter to Alexander II. king of Scotland; the heart of queen Elianor; lord Fanhope; that patron of learning John Tip⯑toft, earl of Worceſter, beheaded in 1470; James Touchet, earl of Audley, beheaded in 1497; Sir Thomas Brandon, knight of the Garter; William Courteney, earl of Devonſhire; and much other great and noble duſt.

IN the ſame church were alſo held ſeveral parlements. The remarkable one of 1450, in the reign of Henry VI. was adjourned from Weſtminſter to this place; here the weak monarch vainly endeavoured to divert the ſtorm raiſed by his ſubjects againſt the favorite of his queen, William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk; and by a poor expedient, a ſimulated exile, drove him to inſtant death.

[212]HERE, in 1524, Henry VIII. held another, in order to oppreſs his ſubjects with an aid of eight hundred thouſand pounds, to carry on his imprudent wars. The virtue of the commons reſiſted the demand, and gave him ony a moderate tax. This was called the Black parlement, as it began amongſt the Black Monks, at Weſtminſter; and ended among the Black Friars.

HERE cardinal Campeggio, and cardinal Wolſey, ſat, in 1529, as judges and legates, on the queſtion of divorce between Henry and the ill-fated princeſs Catherine of Arragon; Henry and his queen at that time reſiding in the palace of Bridewell, ready to attend the farcical citations of that court. And in this place Wolſey him⯑ſelf fell from all his greatneſs; for here began the parlement which gave the ſentence of premunire, the laſt ſtroke to all his proſpe⯑rity.

WITH all the great events which honored this houſe, its reve⯑nues, at the diſſolution, were only one hundred pounds fifteen ſhillings and five pence. Biſhop Fiſher held it in commendam; and in 1538, with fifteen brethren, ſurrendered it to the king. Edward VI. afterwards granted it to Sir Thomas Cawarden.

IN the reign of queen Elizabeth, the Black Friars became a place much inhabited by people of faſhion. Among others, lord Herbert, ſon of William, fourth earl of Worceſter, had a houſe here, which queen Elizabeth, in 1600, honored with her preſence, on occaſion of his nuptials with the daughter and heireſs of John lord Ruſſel, ſon of Francis earl of Bedford. The queen was met at the water-ſide by the bride, and carried to her houſe in a lectica by ſix knights; her majeſty dined there, and ſupped in the ſame neighborhood, with lord Cobham; where there was ‘a memora⯑ble maſke of 8 ladies, and a ſtraunge dawnce new invented. [213] Their attire is this: each hath a ſkirt of cloth of ſilver; a rich waſtcoat wrought with ſilkes, and gold and ſilver; a mantell of carnacion taffete, caſt under the arme; and there haire looſe about there ſhoulders, curiouſly knotted and interlaced. Mrs. Fitton leade; theſe 8 ladys maſkets chooſe 8 ladies more to dawnce the meaſures. Mrs. Fitton went to the queen, and woed her dawnce: her majeſty (the love of Eſſex rankling in her breaſt) aſked what ſhe was? Affection, ſhe ſaid: Affection! ſaid the queen, Affection is falſe. Yet her majeſtie roſe up and dawnced ^*.’ At this time the queen was ſixty: ſurely, as Mr. WALPOLE obſerved, it was at that period as natural for her to be in love!—I muſt not forget, that in her paſſage from the bride's to lord Cobham's, ſhe went through the houſe of Doctor Puddin, and was preſented by the doctor with a fan.—The Count de Tillier, ambaſſador of France, in the latter end of the reign of James I. reſided here. During his reſidence in England, the dreadful acci⯑dent, called the Fatal Veſpers, happened near his houſe. A cele⯑brated preacher of the order of the Jeſuits, father Drury, FATAL VESPERS. gave a ſermon to a large audience of Britiſh ſubjects, in a ſpacious room up three pair of ſtairs. In the midſt of the diſcourſe the floor fell, and ninety-four perſons, beſides the preacher, periſhed. It is diſguſting to reflect on the uncharitable bigotry of the times. The Proteſtants conſidered the accident as a judgment on the Catholics, for their idolatry: the Catholics attributed it to a plot of the Proteſtants, to bring deſtruction on their diſſenting bre⯑thren.

APOTHECARIES-HALL is within this precinct;APOTHECARIES-HALL. a large and [214] handſome building, in which medicines of all kinds are prepared, and ſold at a cheap rate: here alſo are made up the cheſts of medicines for the army and navy. It was finiſhed in 1670: but I am not acquainted with the time of the firſt eſtabliſhment of this uſeful inſtitution: perhaps in that of James I. there being in the hall the portrait of that monarch, and a buſt of his apothe⯑cary, Gideon Dilaune.

KING'S PRINT⯑ING-HOUSE.WITHIN this diſtrict was the King's Printing-houſe; in which bibles, common prayers, proclamations, and every thing reſpecting the public, were heretofore printed. Here, in the time of Charles I. was made that dreadful omiſſion, in the ſeventh commandment, of, Thou SHALT commit adultery; for which archbiſhop Laud very properly laid a heavy fine on the Stationers company, to whom the printing of the ſacred book is committed by patent. The SPECTATOR wittily obſerves, that he fears that many young profli⯑gates, of both ſexes, are poſſeſſed of this ſpurious edition, and ob⯑ſerve the commandment according to that faulty reading.

LUDGATE.THE firſt gate in this ſouthern part of the walls is Ludgate, which ſtood on the middle of Ludgate-hill. This, and every other gate in the city, are at preſent pulled down, Temple-bar excepted. Ludgate was built during the wars of the barons with king John: in 1215, they entered the city, and deſtroyed the houſes of the devoted Jews; and with their houſes repaired the walls, and built this gate. When it was taken down to be re⯑built, in 1586, a ſtone, with this inſcription in Hebrew, was found lodged in the wall. ‘This is the ward of Rabbi Moſes, the ſon of the honorable Rabbi Iſaac.’ It was in my memory a wretched priſon for debtors; it commenced what was called a free-priſon, in 1373, but ſoon loſt that privilege. It was enlarged, [215] and had the addition of a chapel, by Sir Stephen Forſter, on a very romantic occaſion. He himſelf had been confined there, and, begging at the grate, was accoſted by a rich widow, who aſked him what ſum would purchaſe his liberty. She payed it down, took him into her ſervice, and afterward married him. In the chapel was an inſcription in honor of him and Agnes his wife, dated 1454, the year in which he enjoyed the honor of being lord mayor of the city.

THIS gate gave a concluſion to the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat. When he had, with ſome loſs, led his forces along the Strand and Fleet-ſtreet, in hopes of being joined by the citizens, he found it ſhut againſt him, and ſtrongly manned; ſeized with de⯑ſpondency, he retreated a little down the hill, and, flinging himſelf on a bench oppoſite to the inn called The Bell Savage, began to re⯑pent the raſhneſs of his enterprize and lament his folly. He was ſummoned by a herald to ſubmit; which he agreed to, requeſting that it might be to a gentleman; and accordingly yielded him⯑ſelf into the hard of Sir Maurice Berkely, or Sir Clement Par⯑ton ^*.

THE Bell Savage continues an inn to this day:BELL SAVAGE. but the ſign is diſuſed. Stow ſays that it received its name from one Iſabella Savage, who had given the houſe to the company of Cutlers. The painter gave it a very diverting origin, deriving it from a Bell and a Wild Man; ſo painted a bell, with a ſavage man ſtanding by it. The SPECTATOR alone gives the real derivation; which is from La Belle Sauvage, a beautiful woman, deſcribed in an old French romance as being found in a wilderneſs in a ſavage ſtate ^†.

[216] OLD BAILEY.ON the outſide of Ludgate, the ſtreet called the Old Bailey runs parallel with the walls as far as Newgate. In this ſtreet ſtood Sydney-houſe (at preſent occupied by a coach-maker) once the reſidence of the Sydnies, till they removed to Leiceſter-houſe ^*. The Seſſions-houſe, in which criminals of the county of Middleſex, and the whole capital, are tried, is a very elegant building, erected within theſe few years. The entrance into the area is narrow, to prevent a ſudden ingreſs of mob. Above it is the figure of Juſtice. Every precaution has been taken to keep the court airy, and to prevent the effect of the effluvia ariſing from that dreadful diſ⯑order the gaol-fever. The havoke it made in May, 1750, was a melancholy admonition to thoſe intereſted in every court of juſ⯑tice. My reſpected kinſman Sir Samuel Pennant, lord mayor; baron Clark; Sir Thomas Abney, judge of the common pleas; the under ſheriff, ſome of the counſel, and ſeveral of the jury, and of other perſons, died of this putrid diſtemper. Several of theſe fatal accidents have happened in this kingdom, which makes the ſur⯑prize the greater, that the neglect of the ſalutary precautions was continued till the time of this awakening call.—MR. HOWARD has given us a view and plan of the great gaol of Newgate, as now rebuilt. Some of the defects of the old one are remedied: but this FRIEND TO MANKIND ſeems ſtill to think it is not free from errors; and that, without great care, the priſoners are yet liable to the fatal fever, the reſult of one of thoſe errors^†.

SURGEONS THEATERBY a ſort of ſecond ſight, the Surgeons Theatre was built near this court of conviction and Newgate, the concluding ſtage [217] of the lives forfeited to the juſtice of their country, ſeveral years before the fatal tree was removed from Tyburn to its preſent ſite. It is a handſome building, ornamented with ionic pilaſters; and with a double flight of ſteps to the firſt floor. Beneath them is a door for the admiſſion of the bodies of murderers, and other felons; who, noxious in their lives, make a ſort of reparation to their fellow-creatures, by becoming uſeful after death.

THE new priſon, which retains the name of Newgate, NEWGATE; from the gate which, till within theſe few years, formed a part of it, is immediately beyond the Seſſions-houſe: a maſſy building, with an extenſive front of ruſtic-work, with all the appearance of ſtrength and ſecurity. Yet, in the infamous riots of 1780, the felons confined even in the ſtrongeſt holds were releaſed; ſtones of two or three tons in weight, to which the doors of their cells were faſtened, were raiſed by that reſiſtleſs ſpecies of crow, well-known to houſebreakers by the name of the Pig's-foot. Such was the violence of the fire, that the great iron bars of the win⯑dows were eaten through; and the adjacent ſtones vitrified.

THE gate ſtood a little beyond this building:WHEN BUILT. as a military way has been traced under it, there can be no doubt but there had been one during the time the city was poſſeſſed by the Romans: but the place had been made up, and no veſtiges of it left. The gate, which ſupplied its place, is ſuppoſed by Stow to have been erected between the years 1108 and 1128, when Richard Beau⯑veyes, biſhop of London, by enlarging the precincts of St. Paul's, had obſtructed the uſual way under Ludgate, and made this new outlet neceſſary. Mr. Howel ſays, that the original name was Chamberlain-gate. It had been for ages a priſon, even as long as [218] the year 1218; and for perſons of rank, long before the Tower was uſed for that purpoſe. Robert Baldock, chancellor to Edward III. was ſent there; where, ſays Fabian, he ended his days miſera⯑bly ^*: Sir Thomas Percie, lord Egremond, and other people of diſtinction, were committed to that priſon in 1457. In 1412, this gate was rebuilt by the executors of the famous Sir Richard Whittington, out of the effects he had allotted for works of cha⯑rity: his ſtatue, with the cat, remained in a nich to its final demolition, on the rebuilding of the preſent priſon. It was de⯑ſtroyed in the fire of 1666, and rebuilt in its late form. It had one great arch, and one poſtern for paſſengers: and on each ſide a half hexagon tower.

NEW COMPTER.TO the north of Newgate, immediately acroſs the ſtreet (and, with the eaſt end of St. Sepulchre's church, forming the entrance of Giltſpur-ſtreet) is lately built a vaſt pile, of a proper ſtrength and ſimplicity, intended to ſupply the place of one or both of the city priſons, called Compters.—This, with the edifices juſt mention⯑ed, form all together a ſuperb, but melancholy group of public buildings; and are a noble improvement of this ſpot; which, a few years ago, was much incumbered with a number of old houſes, interrupting the free courſe of the air, the view, and the intercourſe of paſſengers.

THE Bagnio in this court ſeems the firſt we had in our capital:BAGNIOS. a neat contrived building, ſays Strype, after the Turkiſh faſhion, for the purpoſes of ſweating and hot-bathing; and much approved by the phyſicians of the time. It probably was ſomewhat of the nature of Dominicetti's plan. At length it became, beſides, a ſort of Hotel, or lodging-houſe, for any ſhort ſpace. This, and the Hummums in Covent-garden, were the only houſes of the kind which ſupported a fair character; till Pero's, in St. James's-ſtreet, was ſet up: ſince which, the conveniency of Hotels, on the French model, is univerſally experienced.

IN the wall of a houſe in Pannier-all [...]y, in this, or rather Blow⯑bladder-ſtreet, is a figure in [...]one of a naked boy, ſitting on ſome⯑thing like a pannier; and beneath is this inſcription:

The ſtone has very much the appearance of an antient ſepulchral one; and might have had the inſcription cut on it to inform the public of the elevated ſituation of the place.

[220] CHURCH OF ST. SEPULCHRE.THE church of St. Sepulchre, or the holy ſepulchre, before-men⯑tioned, ſtands at a ſmall diſtance from the ſite of the gate, on the north ſide of Snow-hill. It was dedicated to the holy ſepulchre at Jeruſalem: but whether the original church, which was of a great ſize, and long ſince demoliſhed, was of the form of that in Judea, is unknown. It was rebuilt in the reign of Henry VI. or Edward IV. Popham, chancellor of Normandy, who is mentioned as having been buried in the church of the Chartreux, was a great benefactor to this church. The famous captain John Smith, who perhaps under⯑went more romantic adventures, and deeds of arms, than any man who ever exiſted, reſted here, in 1631, from his turmoils. I refer to his hiſtory for his wondrous acts of chivalry; for the kindneſs he experienced among the Turks, from the beauteous lady Tragebyſanda! the charitable lady Calamata! and the bleſſed Pokahontas! the great king of Virginia's daughter.

A SOLEMN exhortation was formerly given to the priſoners, appointed to die at Tyburn, in their way from Newgate. Mr. Robert Dow, merchant taylor, who died in 1612; left 26s. 8d. yearly for ever, that the bell-man ſhould deliver from the wall to the unhappy criminals, as they went by in the cart, a moſt pious and aweful admonition. And alſo another, in the priſon of New⯑gate, on the night before they ſuffered. I give them in the note, as they are affectingly good ^*.

[221]FROM a little beyond Newgate, the walls take a north-eaſternly direction, as far as Alderſgate.

I STILL purſue my journey along the northern ſuburbs; paſs into Alderſgate-ſtreet, near the ſite of its antient gate. Alderſgate-ſtreet [222] is open and airy, and remarkable for the antiquity of ſeveral of its houſes.LONDON-HOUSE. London-houſe, the reſidence of the later biſhops of the dipreſe, is now no more: its place is covered with the warehouſes of Mr. Sedd [...], the greateſt and moſt elegant repoſitory of goods in the article of the cabinet manufactory, in the world. Stow in⯑forms us it was once called Petre-houſe, having been the property of the lords Petre: an anceſtor of theirs, Sir William Petre, who died in 1572, was a benefactor to the pariſh of St. Botclph, Alderſ⯑gate ^*, in which the family reſided. I do not know the time when the family alienated the place, or when it became the reſi⯑dence of the biſhops of London; but ſuſpect that they occupied their palace near St. Paul's, till it was deſtroyed in the great fire. London-houſe has long ſince been ſold, under the powers of an act of parlement: and the houſe in St. James's-ſquare (the preſent town-houſe of the biſhops of London) purchaſed for their uſe. The laſt tenant of London-houſe was, I think, old Rawlinſon, the nonjuring titular biſhop of London, who rented it. He died about twenty years ago; and left his antiquities to the univerſity of Oxford.

THANET-HOUSE.ALMOST oppoſite to London-houſe, is Thanet-houſe. It was firſt called Dorcheſter-houſe, having been the reſidence of the marquis of Dorcheſter ^†. In after times the town ſeat of the Tuftons, earls of Thanet: a magnificent old houſe, built about the time of Charles I. It was hired or purchaſed by the incendiary ſtateſman lord Shaftſbury, for the purpoſe of living in the city, to inflame [223] the minds of the citizens; among whom he uſed to boaſt he could raiſe ten thouſand briſk boys by the holding up of his finger. He attempted to get into the magiſtracy; but, being diſappointed in his views, and terrified at the apprehenſion of the detection of a conſpiracy, he had entered into againſt his prince, fled, in 1683, into Holland, where he ſoon died of the gout, heightened by rage, and fruſtrated ambition ^*. This houſe, after undergoing various fortunes, in 1750 was converted into a lying⯑in hoſpital; a moſt humane inſtitution, ſupported by voluntary contributions, which doth great honor to its patrons.

IN this ſtreet was alſo the town houſe of the Nevils, WESTMORELAND AND NORTHUMBER⯑LAND HOUSES. earls of Weſtmoreland; a magnificent pile, now frittered into various tene⯑ments, but ſtill keeps its name under that of Weſtmoreland court. The other great northern family was lodged not far from hence, but within the walls, in a ſtreet now called Bull-and-Mouth ſtreet; the Percies, earls of Northumberland: but the buſineſs of thoſe potent peers was chiefly in the camp; for they ſeldom viſited town but to brave the ſovereign or the favorite.

LAUDERDALE-HOUSE ſtood on the eaſt ſide of the northern end of the ſtreet. It was the town ſeat of the duke of Lauderdale: LAUDERDALE-HOUSE. but its place is now covered with the diſtillery belonging to Meſſrs Bote and Walſh.

[224]THE Bull-and-Mouth Inn, not far from the ſite of the gate, muſt not be paſſed by, on account of the wonderful perverſion of the name. It originally ſignifies the mouth of Boulogne Harbour; which grew into a popular ſign after the coſtly capture of that place by Henry VII.

BARBICAN.THE Barbican, which I mentioned, at page 9, as originally a Roman Specula, or watch-tower, lay a little to the north of this ſtreet. It was an appendage to moſt fortified places. The Saxons gave them the title of Burgh-kenning. They were eſteemed ſo important, that the cuſtody was always committed to ſome man of rank. This was entruſted to the care of Robert Ufford, earl of Suffolk, by Edward III. by the name of Baſe-court; which de⯑ſcended, by the marriage of Cecilia, one of his daughters, to Sir John Willoughby, afterwards, lord Willoughby, of Parham. In the reign of queen Mary, it was poſſeſſed by Catherine, widow of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, in her own right baroneſs Wil⯑loughby, of Ereſhy; and then wife of Thomas Bertie, anceſtor of the duke of Ancaſter: this lady, in her zeal againſt popery, had dreſſed a dog in a rochet or ſurplice, uſed by biſhops; and, in affront to biſhop Gardiner, had named a dog after him ^*. This induced her and her huſband to quit their houſe at the Barbican, and retire into foreign parts, till the danger was over. The man⯑ſion was called Willoughby-houſe, was of a great ſize, and inhabited by her ſon, who was called Peregrine, becauſe he happened to be born abroad during the flight of his parents.

BRIDGEWATER-HOUSE.THE earls of Bridgewater had alſo a houſe in the Barbican, [225] called after their title. It was burnt down in 1675, and lord Brackley, eldeſt ſon of the then earl, and a younger brother, with their tutor, unfortunately periſhed in the flames. The ſite is now called Bridgewater-ſquare, or garden. It was in the laſt century, at the time Newcaſtle was beſieged, celebrated for its orchards, productive of ſuch quantities of fruits, ſays Mr. EVELYN, as never were produced before or after that time. Mr. EVELYN attributes this to the decreaſe of ſmoke, reſulting from the ſcarcity of coal in the capital from that event. He inveighs with great indigna⯑tion at the increaſe of that ſpecies of fuel; and at the introduction of ſo many manufactories, productive of ſmoke, which not only deformed our nobleſt buildings with the ſooty tinge, but alſo, from the quantity of coal, brought on catarrhs, coughs, and con⯑ſumptions, in a degree unknown in Paris, and other cities, who make uſe of wood only. His words are ſtrong: ‘The city of London,’ ſays he, ‘reſembles rather the face of mount Aetna, the court of Vulcan Stromboli, or the ſuburbs of Hell, than an aſ⯑ſembly of rational creatures, and the imperial ſeat of our incom⯑parable monarch ^*.’ The project of this good and able writer, of ſupplying London with wood-fires, was certainly very humane: but, from the deſtruction of the woods even in his days, was as little feaſible as it would be at preſent.

GARTER-PLACE was another great houſe in this quarter.GARTER-PLACE. It had been built by Sir Thomas Writhe, or Writhſley, garter king at arms, and uncle to the firſt earl of Southampton ^†.

ST. ALBAN's church, in Wood-ſtreet, I mention on account of [226] its antiquity, having been founded in the time of king Athelſtan, or about 924. Stow relates, that Roman bricks were in his time to be ſeen mixed with the building ^*. Athelſtan had alſo a houſe near, which gave name to Adel-ſtreet, or King Adel-ſtreet, as it is called in old writings ^†.

HEAD OF JAMES V.IN this church, flung among Plebeian ſculls, was the head of the unfortunate James V. of Scotland. His body, for a long time, had remained embalmed at the monaſtery at Shene. After the diſſolution, it was caſt among ſome rubbiſh, where ſome work⯑men wantonly cut off the head; which was taken by Young, glazier to queen Elizabeth, who was ſtruck with its ſweetneſs, ariſing from the embalming materials. He kept it for ſome time at his houſe in Wood-ſtreet; but at laſt gave it to the ſexton, to bury among other bones in the charnel-houſe ^‡. Such is often the end of ambitious greatneſs.

REDCROSS-STREET.FROM the Barbican, Redcroſs-ſtreet, one of the antient ſtreets, points down towards Cripplegate. In it the mitred abbot of Ramſey had his town-houſe. It was afterward called Drury-houſe, from its having been in after-times the reſidence of Sir Drue Drury.

ST. GILES'S, CRIPPLEGATE.ON approaching Cripplegate, is the church of St. Egidius, St. Giles. That name always imports ſomething of beggary: accord⯑ingly, this gate received its name from the number of cripples and beggars, with which it was haunted formerly. St. Giles was their patron; he was a noble Athenian, and of ſo great charity as at [227] length to give away the very coat he wore on his back, which he beſtowed on a ſick beggar; who, no ſooner put it on, but he was reſtored to health. The ſame legend relates alſo to St. Martin. He had in this very ſtreet a fraternity, founded by Henry V. who built here, for its uſe, a handſome houſe. In the church reſt from their labors ſome of my brethren; ſuch as John Speed, JOHN SPEED. the famous Engliſh hiſtorian and topographer; and Robert Glover, ROBERT GLOVER. Somerſet herald, an indefatigable ſearcher of antiquities; and the zealous John Fox, the famous martyrologiſt.JOHN FOX.

NOT far from this church, within the walls, in Monkwell-ſtreet, BARBER SUR⯑GEONS-HALL. ſtands Barber Surgeons-hall; which is eſteemed one of the beſt works of Inigo Jones. The theatre, for the operations, is ellipti⯑cal, and finely contrived. Since the ſeparation of the company of the ſurgeons from that of the barbers, the building is in a manner deſerted. Originally the chirurgic art, and that of ſhav⯑ing, went, in this city, hand in hand, as they do to this day in ſeveral parts of Europe. The barbers were firſt incorporated by Edward IV. in 1461; but, prior to that, they had been formed into a body by Thomas Moreſtead, ſurgeon to Henry IV, V, and VI, who died in 1450: and the grant had been ſolicited by him, Jacques Fries, phyſician to Edward IV, and John Hobbes, his phyſician and ſurgeon: at length it was incorporated by that prince, and his brother Gloceſter, in the name of St. Coſme and Damianus, brethren, phyſicians, and martyrs. The company proſ⯑pered for ſome time, till, finding that numbers had crept in among them, leſs ſkilled in the lancet than the razor, from the want of power of examining into the ſkill of the chirurgical members, they obtained a new charter from Henry VIII. in which both pro⯑feſſions were united. A fine picture by Holbein, PICTURE BY HOLBEIN. preſerved in this [228] hall, commemorates the event. Henry, in all his bluffneſs of ma⯑jeſty, is repreſented giving them their new charter: among them is Doctor Butts, immortalized by Shakeſpeare, in his play of Henry VIII. There are ſeventeen of the company repreſented. I refer to the Gentleman's Magazine, for April, 1789, for their names. I may mention what the inquiſitive author hath omitted; that John Chambre, phyſician to Henry VIII. was in orders, and was dean of the royal chapel and college, adjoining to Weſtminſter-hall: and that Thomas Vycary, was a citizen of London, and ſer⯑jeant ſurgeon to Henry VIII. ^* and the three ſucceeding ſove⯑reigns. Aylif is another, who had been ſheriff of London, and a merchant of Blackwell-hall. I relate part of his ſtory from his epitaph:

BY this charter, barbers were not to practiſe ſurgery, farther than drawing of teeth: and ſurgeons were ſtrictly prohibited from [229] the feat or craft of barbery, or ſhaving. Uſe was to make both perfect. But by the year 1745, it having been diſcovered, that the above arts were foreign to, and independent of each other, the barbers and the ſurgeons were, by act of parlement, ſepa⯑rated, and made diſtinct corporations. It was very fit that an aſſo⯑ciation, which was now become ludicrous, ſhould be diſſolved: our ſurgeons began at that period to riſe into great fame. True it is, that pupils then went to Paris to improve in the art: at pre⯑ſent, Europe looks up to our ſurgeons as on the ſummit of the profeſſion.

IT will be curious to turn back from theſe times to thoſe of Henry VIII. to compare the ſtate of ſurgery: when at one time there were very few, as Gale tells us, worthy to be called ſurgeons. His account of thoſe employed in the army is very humorous. "I remember," ſays he, ‘when I was in the wars at Muttrel (Montreuil) in the time of that moſt famous prince king Henry VIII. there was a great rabblement, that took on them to be ſurgeons: ſome were ſow-gelders, and ſome horſe-gelders, with tinkers, and coblers. This noble ſect did ſuch great cures, that they got themſelves a perpetual name; for, like as Theſſalus's ſect were called Theſſalions, ſo was this noble rabblement, for their notorious cures, called Dog-leaches; for in two dreſſings they did commonly make their cures whole and found for ever; ſo that they neither felt heat nor cold, nor no manner of pain after. But when the duke of Norfolk, who was then general, underſtood how the people did die, and that of ſmall wounds, he ſent for me, and certain other ſurgeons, commanding us to make ſearch how theſe men came to their death; whether it were by the grievouſneſs of their wounds, or by the lack of knowledge of the ſurgeons; and we, according [230] to our commandment, made ſearch through all the camp; and found many of the ſame good fellows, which took upon them the names of ſurgeons; not only the names, but the wages alſo. We aſking of them whether they were ſurgeons or no, they ſaid they were; we demanded with whom they were brought up, and they, with ſhameleſs faces, would anſwer, either with one cunning man, or another, which was dead. Then we de⯑manded of them what chirurgery ſtuff they had to cure men withal; and they would ſhew us a pot, or a box, which they had in a budget; wherein was ſuch trumpery as they did uſe to greaſe horſes heels withal, and laid upon ſcabbed horſes backs, with rewal, and ſuch like. And others, that were cob⯑lers and tinkers, they uſed ſhoe-maker's wax, with the ruſt of old pans, and made therewithal a noble ſalve, as they did term it. But in the end, this worthy rabblement was committed to the Marſhalſea, and threatened, by the duke's grace, to be hanged for their worthy deeds, except they would declare the truth what they were, and of what occupations; and in the end they did confeſs, as I have declared to you before ^*.’ I muſt not overlook another picture:DR. SCARBOROUGH. it is of Doctor Scarborough, after⯑wards Sir Charles, phyſician to Charles II. James II. and king William. He was early appointed, by the College of Phyſicians, to read anatomical lectures at this hall. He is dreſſed in the red gown, hood, and cap, of a doctor in phyſic; and is in the attitude of ſpeaking: one hand on his breaſt, the other a little ſtretched out. On the left is another figure, the demonſtrating ſurgeon, dreſſed in the livery-gown of the city of London; whoſe buſineſs it [231] was to handle and ſhew the parts of the diſſected bodies. Accord⯑ingly, he holds up the arm of a dead body, placed on a table, partly covered with a ſheet, with the ſternum naked, and laid bare, and the pectoral muſcles appearing. He read theſe lectures with great applauſe ſixteen or ſeventeen years; and deſervedly attained the character of the ableſt phyſician of his time, of great abilities and extenſive learning ^*. He died in 1693. I never ſaw the elegy on Mr. Cowley, imputed to him by Mr. Granger: but the poet left one on his friend and phyſician, which he con⯑cludes with this advice:

To the north-eaſt of this hall, near St. Alphage's church,SION COLLEGE. op⯑poſite to the weſtern wall, is Sion College, founded on the ſite of Elſing Hoſpital or priory ^†, by Thomas White, rector of St. Dun⯑ſtan's in the weſt, in the reign of queen Elizabeth; who gave three [232] thouſand pounds for the purchaſe and building the college. It is governed by a preſident, two deans, and four aſſiſtants, annually choſen: and all the clergy of London, and its ſuburbs, are fellows. They have under their care alms-houſes for ten poor men, and as many women. John Sympſon, rector of St. Olave's, who ſuperin⯑tended the building ^*, added, at his own expence, for the uſe of the ſtudious part of the London clergy, a library one hundred and twenty feet long; and amply filled with books. The origi⯑nal hoſpital was founded by William Elſing, mercer, in 1329 (on the ſite of a decayed nunnery) for the ſupport of a hundred blind men. He afterwards changed it into a priory, and became him⯑ſelf the firſt prior; who, with four canons regular, were to ſuper⯑intend the miſerable objects.

GRUD-STREET.I PASS by Cripplegate, by the ſouth ends of Whitecroſs-ſtreet, and Grub-ſtreet: the laſt celebrated for the (ſuppoſed) reſidence of authors of the leſs fortunate tribe, and the trite jeſt of the more favored. In this ſame ſtreet dwelt John Fox, above-mentioned: and the very remarkable Henry Welby, eſq of Lincolnſhire, who lived in his houſe, in this ſtreet, forty-four years, without ever be⯑ing ſeen by any human being. He was to the hour of his death, (October 29th, 1636) poſſeſſed of a large eſtate; but an attempt being made on his life, by his ungrateful younger brother, he took the frantic reſolution, thus to ſeclude himſelf from the world. He paſſed his days in moſt exemplary charity. His management, in his ſtrange retreat, is too long to relate: the curious reader will find the whole in the 369th page of the Phoenix Britannicus.

THE Fletchers, Bowyers, Bowſtring-makers, and of every thing [233] relating to archery, inhabited, in old times, this ſtreet. It is the laſt ſtreet, in this part of the town, which was in being about the time of Aggas's map: all beyond (as far as Biſhopſgate-ſtreet with⯑out) were gardens, fields, or moraſs: the laſt the original ſtate of this part of the preſent London. FINSBURY, AND MOORFIELD [...]. This tract was in the manor of Finſbury, or rather Fenſbury; and, in the days of the hiſtorian Fitzſtephen, was an errant fen; of which he gives the following account, in his deſcription of the paſtimes of the citizens, in his time; in which is given the aukward ſubſtitute of the ſkate. "And," ſays the hiſtorian, ‘when that vaſt lake, which waters the walls of the city towards the north, is hard frozen, the youth in great numbers go to divert themſelves on the ice; ſome tak⯑ing a ſmall run, for an increment of velocity, place their feet at a proper diſtance, and are carried ſliding ſideways a great way. Others will make a large cake of ice, and, ſeating one of their companions upon it, they take hold of one's hands and draw him along, when it happens, that, moving ſwiftly on ſo ſlippery a plain, they all fall headlong. Others there are who are ſtill more expert in theſe amuſements on the ice; they place certain bones, the leg-bones of animals, under the ſoles of their feet, by tying them round their ankles, and then, taking a pole ſhod with iron into their hands, they puſh themſelves forward by ſtriking it againſt the ice, and are carried on with a velocity equal to the flight of a bird, or a bolt diſcharged from a croſs⯑bow ^*.’

ON the north part of theſe fields ſtood the Dogge-houſe, DOG-HOUSE. in which were kept the hounds for the amuſement of the lord mayor. [234] Here reſided the Common Hunt, an officer, the ſecond in rank among thoſe who formed the Praetorian eſtabliſhment: Maſter Sword-bearer alone took place of him: Maſter Common Hunt followed him, and was to wait for his lordſhip's commands, on Mondays, Wedneſdays, Fridays, and Saturdays ^*.

IT was, in the time of Edward II. of ſo little value, that the whole was let at the rent of four marks a year. It could only be paſſed over on cauſeways, raiſed for the benefit of travellers. In 1414, Thomas Fauconer, mayor, opened the poſtern in the wall, called Moorgate, MOORGATE. to give the citizens a paſſage into the country. He alſo began to drain this watery tract. In 1512, Roger Atch⯑ley, mayor, made further progreſs in the work ^†. Succeſſive at⯑tempts brought the ground into the ſtate we ſee it at preſent: moſt part of which, except the ſtill-neglected Moorfields, is covered with ſtreets.

BETHLEM, OR BEDLAM.BETWEEN Biſhopſgate and Moorfields ſtood the hoſpital of St. Mary of Bethlem; founded by Simon Fitz-mary, ſheriff of London, in 1247, for a prior, canons, brethren, and ſiſters, of a peculiar order; ſubject to the viſitation of the biſhop of Bethlem. They were to be dreſſed in a black habit, and diſtinguiſhed by a ſtar on their breaſt ^‡. In 1403 moſt of the houſes belonging to this hoſpi⯑tal were alienated, and only the maſter left, who did not wear the habit of the order. It ſeems to have been inſtituted for the recep⯑tion and cure of lunatics: and had dependent on it ſome leſſer houſes. Stow mentions one in St. Martin's in the Fields: but a [235] certain king, diſliking that perſons under ſuch unhappy circum⯑ſtances ſhould be ſo near the royal palace, cauſed them to be re⯑moved to Bethlem, without Biſhopſgate. In 1523, Stephen Gen⯑nings, merchant-taylor, with great humanity left by will forty pounds towards the purchaſing of this hoſpital for the reception of lunatics. The mayor and commonalty had taken ſome ſteps to execute his deſign: but in 1545 were prevented by the muni⯑ficence of their monarch, who beſtowed it on the city of London, when it was converted to the humane purpoſe of receiving perſons laboring under this moſt dreadful of maladies. At firſt (the medical relief excepted) their expences were borne by their friends, or their pariſhes; but this edifice being found too ſmall, and growing ruinous, in 1675 the lord mayor and aldermen, remov⯑ing the ſite to the preſent place, began the noble hoſpital we now ſee; and, great as it is, finiſhed it in the next year, at the expence of ſeventeen thouſand pounds. The front and wings extend five hundred and forty feet; and make a magnificent appearance. It was built on the plan of the palace of the Tuilleries, at Paris. Louis XIV. was ſo incenſed that his palace ſhould be made the model for a lunatic hoſpital, that it was ſaid, he ordered a plan of the palace of our monarch at St. James's to be taken, for offices of the vileſt nature ^*.

THE humanity of our nation, in 1734, was the cauſe that two large wings were added for the reception of incurables, of which there were lately one hundred, in that terrible ſtate, maintained within theſe walls. The whole number of diſtracted people, ad⯑mitted in the laſt year, was two hundred and twenty-eight; cured [236] and diſcharged, a hundred and eighty-nine; buried, fourteen; remained under cure two hundred and eighty.

OVER the gates are two capital figures, of raving and melan⯑choly Madneſs, the work of Caius Gabriel Cibber, the father of the admirable comedian and wit Colley Cibber. Pope ſatirizes himſelf, when he makes theſe fine figures the mere vehicle of abuſe on the ſon, by calling them ‘His brazen brainleſs brothers.’ But Colley Cibber, after very long-ſuffering, took ample revenge, in a ſhort but bitter Philippic againſt our great poet; which touched his pride ſo much as to contribute to bring him ſpeedily to the grave.

ST LUKE's HOSPITAL.OPPOSITE to Bethlem Hoſpital, on the north ſide of Moorfields, ſtood the hoſpital of St. Luke, a long plain building, till of late appropriated to the ſame purpoſes, but totally independant of the former. It was founded on the humane conſideration that Beth⯑lem was incapable of receiving all the miſerable objects which were offered. Of late years, the patients were removed from the old hoſpital, to a new one, erected under the ſame name, in Old-ſtreet, on the plan of the former, extending in front three hundred and ninety-three feet. Since the firſt admiſſion of patients, on July 30th, 1751, to the ſame day 1787, three thouſand ſix hun⯑dred and ſeventy-five have been admitted: of which ſixteen hun⯑dred and ſixty-eight have been diſcharged cured: and twelve hundred and two uncured. The old hoſpital is now pulled down, and replaced by a handſome row of houſes. By a very liberal regulation, uncured patients may be taken in again, on the pay⯑ment of five ſhillings a week: ſo that their friends may, if they [237] pleaſe, try a ſecond time the force of medicine on their unhappy relations or connections.

THE pariſh of St. Luke's was taken out of that of St. Giles's Cripplegate, by an act in his late majeſty's reign. I mention it merely to direct the reader's attention to the ſteeple of the new church, which terminates moſt ſingularly in a fluted obeliſc.

ON the weſt ſide of Moorfields is the Artillery Ground: ARTILLERY GROUND. a large piece of ground laid out for the purpoſe of proving the artillery; and for exerciſing the military belonging to the city. It was ori⯑ginally in Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, where ſome land belonging to the priory of St. Mary Spittle was uſed for the ſame purpoſe. Wil⯑liam, laſt prior of this houſe, granted it, for three ninety-nine years, to the fraternity of artillery, or the gunners of the Tower, for the practice of great and ſmall ordnance; and was long called the Artillery Garden. This ſociety was greatly patroniſed by Henry VIII: his daughter Elizabeth favored it in a high degree; as became a princeſs whoſe dominions were threatened with per⯑petual invaſion from her potent rival. The earl of Warwick (Am⯑broſe Dudley) was maſter of the ordnance; under him, but more particularly under William Thomas, maſter gunner of the queen's ſhip the Victory, in 1584, the art was flung into ſyſtem. Thomas propoſed to the council, that the charter granted to the Fraternity by Henry ſhould be confirmed, and that the earl of Warwick ſhould be governor; and that a certain number of able gunners ſhould be appointed to inſtruct in the art, and that none ſhould be appointed to any of her majeſty's ſhips or forts, but whom they ſhould approve. This plan was rejected: and the ground remained to the gunners of the Tower ^*.

[238] ARTILLERY COMPANY.IN 1585 a new military ſociety aroſe in the city; which, in thoſe affrighted times, finding itſelf grievouſly harraſſed by continual muſters and exerciſing of men, found a remedy in the gallant ſpirit of ſeveral of the citizens. A number (among whom were many ſkilful officers, who had ſerved with credit abroad) formed themſelves into a reſpectable body of volunteers, exerciſed them⯑ſelves, and trained others to the art of war. Within two years there were near three hundred merchants, and others, capable of training and teaching ſoldiers the management of their pieces, pikes, and halbards; to march, counter-march, and ring. They made a conſiderable figure at the camp at Tilbury, in the cele⯑brated year 1588. After that time, this uſeful diſcipline was neglected; but in 1610 it revived, and the volunteers became ſo numerous as to amount in time to ſix thouſand men. The old place of exerciſe being too ſmall for the purpoſe, they removed to the New Artillery Ground. In the year 1614, there was a gene⯑ral muſter; and the citizens, bravely furniſhed, under twenty cap⯑tains, made a moſt creditable appearance. In 1622 they began to build on one ſide an armoury, which is excellently ſupplied. Charles II. when prince, and his brother James duke of York, entered into this company: and on the Reſtoration the duke him⯑ſelf took the command, and called it his own company. The preſident, and other officers, conſiſt of the leading perſons in the city: and one of the royal family is captain-general. It conſiſts of three hundred men.

BESIDES this military force, the city has ſix regiments of militia, commanded by gentlemen of the firſt rank in the city: theſe are under a lieutenancy peculiar to London; and are exerciſed.

IT was this body, then known by the name of the Trained-bands, [239] which decided the fate of the civil war of the laſt century. On every occaſion they behaved with the ſpirit and perſeverance of the moſt veteran troops. They were commanded by Skippon, captain of the Artillery Garden, who had ſerved long in Holland; and raiſed himſelf from a common ſoldier to the rank of captain, and proved himſelf an excellent officer. From the ſervice he had been in, he came over with full prejudice againſt church and ſtate, ſo was greatly in the confidence of his party ^*. He was totally illiterate; but his ſpeeches to his ſoldiers had more weight in their ears than the fineſt oratory. On marching to join the earl of Eſſex, this was his ſpeech: ‘Come, my boys, my brave boys, let us pray heartily, and fight heartily: I will run the ſame for⯑tune and hazards with you. Remember the cauſe is for GOD, and for the defence of yourſelves, your wives, and children. Come, my honeſt brave boys, pray heartily and fight heartily, and GOD will bleſs you ^†.’

ON the back of Bethlem hoſpital is a long ſtreet,LONDON WALL. called London Wall, from being bounded on the north by a long extent of the wall, in which are here and there a few traces of the Roman maſonry.

A SMALL walk brought me to Biſhopſgate-ſtreet Without. DEVONSHIRE-SQUARE. On the eaſt ſide is Devonſhire-ſquare: the earls of Devonſhire had a town-houſe near the ſtreet, which was called after their name. William, the ſecond earl, died in it in 1628. It was originally built by Jaſper Fiſher, a clerk in Chancery. Stow calls it a large and beautiful houſe, with gardens of pleaſure, bowling-allies, and [240] the like. His vanity ruined him, and his houſe got the name of Fiſher's Folly. It had a quick ſucceſſion of owners. It belonged to Mr. Cornwallis; to Sir Roger Manners; and to Edward earl of Oxford, lord high chamberlain ^*, the ſame who is recorded to have preſented to queen Elizabeth the firſt perfumed gloves ever brought into England. Her majeſty lodged in this houſe in one of her viſits to the city: probably when this gallant peer was owner. After him it fell to the Cavendiſhes; but that they reſided in this neighborhood long before is to be ſuppoſed, as their an⯑ceſtor, Thomas Cavendiſh, treaſurer of the exchequer to Henry VIII. interred his wife in St. Botolph's, the pariſh church: and by will, dated April 13th, 1523, bequeaths a legacy towards its repairs ^†.

NEAR it was another fair houſe, built by one of our nobility, lord John Powlet ^‡; I conjecture, an anceſtor of the duke of Bolton. I imagine him to have been the ſecond marquis of Win⯑cheſter, before he came to his title.

ST. MARY SPITTLE.ON the eaſt ſide of the north end of this ſtreet ſtood the priory and hoſpital of St. Mary Spittle; founded, in 1197, by Walter Brune, ſheriff of London, and Roſia his wife, for canons regular of the order of St. Auguſtine. It was noted for its pulpit croſs, at which a preacher was wont to preach a ſermon conſolidated out of four others, which had been preached at St. Paul's Croſs, on Good Friday, and the Monday, Tueſday, and Wedneſday in Eaſter week; and then to give a ſermon of his own. At all which ſer⯑mons the mayor and aldermen were to attend, dreſſed on each occaſion in different colored robes. This cuſtom continued till [241] the deſtruction of church government, in the civil wars of the laſt century. At the diſſolution, here were found not fewer than a hundred and fourſcore beds, well furniſhed for the reception of the poor ^*.

THE great population of this part of the town, called Spittle-fields, was owing to the bleſſed proſecutions of the Hugonots, in the reign of Louis le Grand; who ſent thouſands of his induſtrious ſubjects into our kingdom, to transfer to his bittereſt enemies the arts and manufactures of his own kingdom. They flouriſhed in this place to a great degree: at preſent they ſuffer a temporary depreſſion from the giddineſs of faſhion, which, of late, prefers the vegetable material of cotton, to that produced from the antient ſilkworm ^†.

IN April 1559, queen Elizabeth viſited St. Mary Spittle ^‡ in great ſtate; poſſibly to hear a ſermon given from the croſs. She was attended by a thouſand men in harneſs, with ſhirts of mail, and corſlets, and morice pikes ^‖, and ten great pieces carried through London unto the court, with drums and trumpets ſound⯑ing, and two morice-dancings, and in a cart two white bears.

IN 1617, numbers of lords, and others of the king's moſt honorable privy council (his majeſty being then in Scotland) heard a ſermon preached here by the Reverend Doctor Page, of Deptford; and afterwards rode with the lord mayor, Sir John Leman, fiſhmonger, to his houſe near Billingſgate, where they [242] were entertained with a moſt ſplendid dinner ^*. In honor of Sir John, and his brother fiſhmongers, Anthony Monday wrote his Chryſonaleia, or Golden Fiſhing.

BISHOPSGATE-STREET WITHOUT.BISHOPSGATE-STREET WITHOUT, extends to Shoreditch, a long ſtreet, not named from Shore, the huſband of the ill-fated Jane Shore, but from its lord, Sir John de Sordich, a perſon deeply ſkilled in the laws, and much truſted by Edward III. and who was ſent by him, in 1343, to the pope Clement VI. to remonſtrate to his holineſs againſt his clame of preſenting to Engliſh livings, and filling them with foreigners, who never reſided on their cures, and drained the kingdom of its wealth. This, it may be eaſily ſuppoſed, the pope took much amiſs; inſomuch that Sir John thought it beſt to make a ſpeedy retreat ^†. It appears likewiſe that this knight was a very valiant man, and ſerved the king with his ſword, as well as his tongue.

LONG after, Shoreditch acquired much fame from another great man, Barlo, an inhabitant of this place, and a citizen; who acquired ſuch honor as an archer, by his ſucceſs in a ſhooting-match at Windſor, before Henry VIII. that the king named him on the ſpot Duke of Shoreditch. For a great ſeries of years after this, the captain of the archers of London retained the title. On the 17th of September, 1583, the Duke (at the expence of the city) had a magnificent trial of ſkill: he ſent a ſummons to all his officers, and chief nobility, with all their train of archery in and about London, to be ready to accompany him to Smithfield. In obedience, appeared the marquis of Barlo, and the marquis of [243] Clerkenwell, with hunters who wound their horns: the marquiſes of Iſlington, Hogsden, Pankridge, and Shacklewell, who marched with all their train fantaſtically habited. Near a thouſand had gold chains; and all were gorgeouſly attired. The ſum of ar⯑chers were three thouſand; their guards, with bills, four thouſand; beſides pages and henchmen. And the duke ſallied out to meet them from Merchant Taylors hall ^*, to exhibit ſuch a ſight that was never ſeen before, nor ever will again: unleſs a combination of the modern ſocieties of archers ſhould treat the capital with the revival of this antient and worthy pageantry.

THE building of Biſhopſgate, which divides the ſtreet,BISHOPSGATE. is attri⯑buted to Erkenwald, elected biſhop of London in 675: the re⯑paration of it, to William, prelate at the time of the Conqueſt. Henry III. confirmed to the Hans merchants certain privileges, for which they were bound to ſupport this gate. Accordingly, in 1479, it was elegantly rebuilt by them. In memory of the founder, and the firſt repairer, there were two ſtatues of biſhops: and beſides, two others, conjectured to have been deſigned for Alfred, and Aeldred earl of Mercia, to whoſe care that great prince had committed the gate.

NOT far without the gate ſtands an inn or tavern,WHITE HART. called the White Hart, of moſt antient date, not leſs than 1480, which is ſtill perpetuated in large figures in the front: but none of the origi⯑nal building appears to be left. I believe there are but very few houſes in London remaining, of greater age than the time of queen Elizabeth, or James I. The great fire almoſt entirely deſtroyed thoſe in the city. In Holborn, Broad St. Giles's, and St. John's [244] Lane, Clerkenwell, are ſome old houſes: in Catherine Wheel Alley, in this ſtreet, is a very old houſe in a ruinous ſtate: and there are ſome alſo about Temple-bar. It is no wonder that we have ſo few; till about the year 1200 there were very few ſtone houſes, and none tiled or ſlated: they were built with wood, and thatched with ſtraw or reeds. In the year 1189, Richard I. ordered that they ſhould be built with ſtone to a certain height, and that they ſhould be covered with ſlate or burnt tile. This order was re⯑peated, but it was long before it was obeyed. This is not much to be wondered at; for, above a century afterwards, ſuch ſimpli⯑city reigned, that one Peter Spileman made fine for his lands to Edward II. to find (among other things) litter for the king's bed, and hay for his horſe ^*.

HOUND [...]DITCH.I WILL continue my journey eaſtward from Biſhopſsgate. On the outſide, parallel to the walls, runs Houndſditch, now a long ſtreet, formerly a filthy ditch; which took its name from being the place into which dead dogs, and all manner of dirt was thrown. Into it, as worthy of no better ſepulture, was thrown the noble Edric, the murderer of his maſter Edmund Ironſide; after having been drawn by his heels from Baynard's-caſtle, and tormented to death by burning torches. Here it was cuſtomary for pious peo⯑ple to walk, on purpoſe to relieve the bed-ridden, who lay on a ground floor, covered with a neat cloth, and with a pair of beads, to ſhew to charitable paſſengers their helpleſs ſituation, and that they were incapable of doing more than pray for them.

DUKE'S PLACE.DUKE'S PLACE is a conſiderable place, much inhabited by the Jews: it ſtands on the ſite of the priory of the Holy Trinity, or [245] Chriſt-church; founded, in 1108, by Matilda, wife to Henry I:PRIORY OF CHRIST-CHURCH. the prior was always an alderman of London, and of Portſoken ward; who, if he happened to be exceedingly pious, appointed a ſubſtitute to tranſact temporal matters. Norman was the firſt prior; and he and his ſucceſſors rode, on ſolemn days, with the aldermen, but in their monaſtic habits. This is ſaid to have been the richeſt priory in England; and poſſibly for that reaſon was ſelected to be the firſt which was diſſolved ^*. Henry VIII. granted it to Sir Thomas Audley, afterwards lord chancellor of England; who inhabited the priory, and died there in 1554. By the marriage of his daughter and ſole heireſs Margaret, to Thomas duke of Norfolk, it was conveyed into the Howard family; and received the name of Duke's Place. In 1562, he rode through the city with his dutcheſs, to his reſidence here, attended by a hundred horſe in his livery, with his gentlemen before him in coats guarded with velvet, preceded by the four heralds, Claren⯑cieux, Somerſet, Red Croſs, and Blue Mantle. So reſpectable was the appearance of our ancient nobility.

TWO gateways, and ſome parts of the ruins of this priory, may be ſtill traced, enveloped in more modern buildings: ſome of the ſouth tranſept may be diſcovered in certain houſes; from which it appears that the architecture was of the round arch, or Saxon ſtyle ^†.

A CURIOUS inveſtigator of antiquities hath lately recovered the beautiful little chapel of St. Michael, near Aldgate, under the houſe of Mr. Relph, in Leadenhall-ſtreet ^‡. It is ſuppoſed to have [246] been built by prior Norman, about the year 1108, in the gothic architecture. Its dimenſions are forty-eight feet by ſixteen; and is built with ſquare pieces of chalk. The arches are very elegant, ſupported by ribs, which converge, and meet on the capitals of the pillars; which are now nearly buried in the earth; but are ſup⯑poſed to be covered with ſixteen feet of ſoil. The whole addition of ſoil, ſince its foundation, is ſuppoſed to have been twenty-ſix feet; an amazing increaſe, which might almoſt occaſion one to ſuſpect it to have been the ſub-chapel of ſome now-loſt church.

THE church of St. James, Duke's Place, roſe out of the ruins of this priory, in the time of James I. and the mayoralty of Sir Edward Barkham.

ALDGATE.EALDGATE, or Aldgate, which ſignifies Old Gate, ſtands in the place where the wall forms an angle, and takes a ſoutherly direc⯑tion, and terminated in a poſtern near Tower-hill. It was one of the four principal gates; the Roman road paſſed under it, ſo one muſt have exiſted on the ſite in the earlieſt times. It was alſo one of the ſeven that had double doors, as was evident by the hinges, which exiſted in the time of Stow. Mention is made of it in the reign of Edgar, by the name of Ealdgate. In the fierce wars between king John and his barons, the latter entered the city through this gate, and committed great ravages among the houſes of the religious. Their chieftains repaired, or rather re⯑built Aldgate, after the Norman manner; and made uſe of ſtone brought from Caen, and a ſmall brick called the Flanders tile, which probably has been often miſtaken for Roman. This gate was of great ſtrength, and, what was peculiar to it, had a deep well within.

IN 1471, the Baſtard Falconbridge, at the head of five thouſand [247] riotous people, attacked the city on this ſide, won this gate, and forced a way in for a few of his forces; but, the portcullis being let down, they were all ſlain. The valiant alderman of the ward, and the recorder, ordered it to be drawn up, and ſallying forth, defeated the Baſtard with great ſlaughter. In 1606, this gate was taken down and rebuilt, under the care of Martin Bond, afore⯑mentioned: as a proof of its antiquity, many Roman coins were found among the foundations.

IMMEDIATELY without the gate, is the church of St. Botolph's,ST. BOTOLPH'S, ALDGATE. Aldgate. This is one of four dedicated, in London, to this favo⯑rite ſaint. In it is the vault of the Darcies, of the north; and the tomb of Thomas lord Darcie, knight of the Garter; with his figure on it, repreſenting him aſleep, with a ſhroud wrapped round him; his face, breaſt, and arms naked. The figure is at preſent deformed by freſh painting, and the inſcription rendered illegible. This nobleman, diſliking the innovations in religious matters, took a ſecret part in the inſurrection called the Pilgrimage of grace: and, in conjunction with the archbiſhop of York, was ſuppoſed to have given up to Aſke, chief of the malecontents, the caſtle of Pontefract, on very frivolous pretences. He loſt his head on Tower-hill, in 1537, and was interred in this church. He had been in high favor with the king; was entruſted by him, in 1510, with fifteen hundred archers, and four great ſhips, to aſſiſt Ferdi⯑nand againſt the Moors of Africa; but that monarch, having brought his deſigns to ſucceed to his wiſh, diſmiſſed lord Darcie and his forces with rich rewards ^*.

HERE alſo was buried another victim to the unrelenting Henry, [248] Sir Nichol's Carew, his maſter of the horſe, and knight of the Garter. This gentleman was charged with nothing more than of being of council with Henry Courtney, marquis of Exeter, for the imaginary plot of depoſing his maſter, and making cardinal Pole king in his ſtead: for this, on March 3d, 1538, he ſuffered on Tower-hill. By the inſtructions of his keeper, he imbibed the principles of the reformers, and died profeſſing their religion.

HOUSE OF JOHN STOW.NEAR Aldgate lived and died the able hiſtorian John Stow. He relates a cruel execution on a gibbet, erected on the pave⯑ment before his houſe, on the bailiff of Rumford, in the time of Edward VI. In that age there were moſt barbarous and tyrannous puniſhments, by martial law, againſt all ſpreaders of rumors. The times were turbulent, but ſlighter penalties than death might have ſufficed. The unhappy man, on the ladder, declared, in the preſence of our hiſtorian, ‘That he knew not for what offence he was brought to die, "except for words by me ſpoken yeſter⯑night to Sir Stephen, curate and preacher of this pariſh; which were theſe. He aſked me, What news in the countrey? I anſwered, Heavy newes. Why, quoth he? It is ſayd, quoth I, that many men bee up in Eſſex; but, thanks be to God, all is in good quiet about us. And this was all, as God be my judge." Upon theſe words of the priſoner, Sir Stephen, to avoide the reproach of the people, left the citie, and never was heard of ſince among them to my knowledge.’ —I ſhall have farther occaſion to ſpeak of Sir Stephen, who was a fanatical fire⯑brand of thoſe days.

WHITECHAPEL.ON the outſide of the gate, begins the long ſtreet and ſuburbs of Whitechapel. The church ſtands very diſtant from the entrance into the ſtreet. It was originally a chapel of eaſe to Stepney, and [249] known, as early as the year 1336, by the name of the church of St. Mary Matfelon; which is ſaid to ſignify, in the Hebrew, Mary lately delivered of her holy child: as the townſhip was ſtyled Villa Beatae Mariae de Matfelon ^*. It is now a very rich rectory, in the gift of Brazen-noſe College, Oxford.

IN this pariſh ſome of our nobility had formerly their villas, for the ſake of the country air. Here Cromwel earl of Eſſex, the ſhort-lived miniſter of Henry VIII. had a houſe; and the fa⯑mous Gondamor retired here, when diſengaged from his bubble, James I.

PARALLEL to the walls, between Aldgate and the Tower, MINORIES; is the ſtreet called the Minories; named from certain poor ladies of the order of St. Clare, or minoreſſes, who had been invited into Eng⯑land by Blanch queen of Navarre, wife to Edmund earl of Lan⯑caſter; who, in 1293, founded here, for their reception, a convent. On its ſuppreſſion it was converted into a dwelling-houſe, and granted by the king to ſeveral great people, who inhabited it. The biſhops of Bath and Wells once had it, in lieu of their man⯑ſion in the Strand: and in 1552, Henry Grey, duke of Suffolk, poſſeſſed it by patent from Edward VI. On his attainder it re⯑verted to the crown, in which it continued till the Reſtoration. Soon after, a new houſe was built on it, called the King's, for what reaſon is unknown. Charles granted it to Colonel William Legge, who reſided there, died in it in 1672, and was buried from thence, with great funeral pomp, in the adjoining church, that of Trinity Minories: and his deſcendants, of the Dartmouth family, ſtill con⯑tinue to make it the place of their interment.

[250] NOW A FINE STREET.THIS ſtreet, from being as deſpicable as any in the city, has of late years been moſt excellently rebuilt; is filled with ſeveral ſpacious ſhops; is become a fine ſtreet; and, on one ſide, has its ſquare, its circus, and its creſcent.

GOODMAN'S FIELDS.BEHIND this ſtreet is Goodman's Fields, or rather ſquare. Stow, in his ſimple manner, tells, that in his time one Trolop, and afterwards Goodman, were the farmers there; and that the ‘fields were a farme belonging to the ſaid nunrie; at the which farme I myſelfe (ſays he) in my youth, have fetched manye a halfe peny worth of milk, and never had leſſe then 3 ale pints for a halfe penny in the ſummer, nor leſſe then one ale quart for a halfe penny in the winter, alwaies hot from the kine ^*.’

THE theatre in Goodman's Fields will always be remembered by my cotemporaries, as the ſtage where Garrick firſt ſhewed thoſe powers, which, for ſuch a number of years, aſtoniſhed and charmed the public: his firſt appearance was on October 19th, 1741. One Odel founded the playhouſe in this ſquare, in 1728. As Sir John Hawkins expreſſes it, a halo of brothels ^† ſoon incircled that, as it does all theatres: and drove away the induſtrious inhabitants. This theatre was rebuilt, in an expenſive manner, by Henry Giffard, in 1737; but was ſuppreſſed by the excellent act for the licenſing of places of dramatical entertain⯑ment. Yet it was ſupported a few years by an evaſion, during which time, Mr. Garrick entered himſelf of the company. He drew an audience of nobility and gentry, whoſe carriages filled the whole ſpace from Temple-bar to Whitechapel ^‡.

[251]ON the weſt ſide of this portion of the walls,HOUSE OF CROSSED FRIARS; ſtood the houſe of the Crutched or Croſſed Friars, or Fratres ſanctae Crucis. The order was inſtituted, or at leſt reformed, about the year 1169, by Gerard, prior of St. Mary de Morello, at Bologna. They aſtoniſh⯑ed the Engliſh by appearing among them, in 1244, and requiring from the opulent, a houſe to live in, telling them they were privi⯑leged by the pope to be exempt from being reproached by any body; and that they had from him power to excommunicate thoſe who were hardy enough to reprove them. Two citizens, Ralph Hoſier, and William Sabernes, were wiſe enough to accom⯑modate them with a houſe in this place, and became friars in it. Originally they carried in their hands an iron croſs, which they afterwards changed into one of ſilver. They wore a croſs, made of red cloth, on their garment; which at firſt was grey, and in later times altered to blue. One Adams was the firſt prior: Edmund Streatham, the laſt. Their annual income was only £. 52. 13 s. 4 d. Henry VIII. granted their houſe to Sir Thomas Wyat, GRANTED TO SIR THOMAS WYAT. the elder, who built a handſome manſion on part of the ſite. This was the gentleman whom Anthony Wood ^* (not without juſtice) calls the delight of the muſes, and of mankind. He had the honor to be in great intimacy with the congenial peer, Henry earl of Surry. They were the refiners of our poetry: the elegant effuſions of their muſes are united in a little book publiſhed in 1585, intitled, ‘Songes and Sonnets, by the right honorable Henry Howard, late earl of Surry, and others.’ Sir Thomas died in 1541, of a violent fever, in Dorſetſhire, contracted by hard riding to conduct to court the emperor's ambaſſador, who had landed at [252] Falmouth. He was highly celebrated by his noble friend, and by every perſon of genius in the age in which he lived.

LUMLEY-HOUSE.THIS houſe afterwards became the reſidence of John lord Lum⯑ley, a celebrated warrior in the time of Henry VIII; who diſtin⯑guiſhed himſelf greatly at the battle of Floddon, by his valour, and the number of men he brought into the field. Notwithſtanding this, his zeal for the old religion engaged him in the Pilgrimage of Grace; from which he with much dexterity extricated himſelf and followers. But his only ſon ſoon after loſt his head, for his concern in a freſh inſurrection. John lord Lumley, grandſon of the firſt, was among the few nobility of that time who had a taſte for literature. He had the good fortune to marry his ſiſter Bar⯑bara to my illuſtrious countryman Humphrey Llwyd, of Denbigh ^*, and by his aſſiſtance formed a conſiderable library, which at pre⯑ſent makes a moſt valuable part in the Britiſh Muſeum.

THE NAVY OFFICE.IN the place of this roſe the Navy Office, a building of no beauty; in which the comptroller of the navy uſed to reſide, and all buſineſs reſpecting the payment of ſeamen's wages, and many other naval matters, were tranſacted; but this office is now re⯑moved to Somerſet-houſe. In the place of the Old Navy Office, the India company have erected a moſt magnificent warehouſe, a regular oblong ſquare, of about two hundred and fifty feet, by a hundred and ſixty; incloſing a court of a hundred and fifty, by ſixty, entered by an arched gateway. This is the great repoſitory of the teas. I am told that the ſearchers, who have frequent oc⯑caſions to thruſt their arms deep into the cheſts, often feel numb⯑neſſes and paralytic affections?

[253]THE friars hall was converted into a glaſs-houſe,A GLASS-HOUSE. for the mak⯑ing of drinking glaſſes; which, with forty thouſand billets of wood, was deſtroyed by fire, in 1575 ^*. The manufacture was ſet up in 1557, and was the firſt of the kind known in England. I may add here, that the fineſt flint glaſs was firſt made at the Savoy; and the firſt glaſs plates for looking-glaſſes, and coach windows, in 1673, at Lambeth, under the patronage of George Vil⯑liers, duke of Buckingham.

I FIND among the liſt of perſons interred in the church belong⯑ing to theſe friars, the name of Sir Rhys Gryffydd, a Welſhman, who loſt his head on Tower-hill, in 1531. His ſervant, John Hughes, was hanged at Tyburn the ſame afternoon ^†. I cannot learn what their crime was, in a reign when very trifling matters, and often bare ſuſpicion, brought on a capital penalty.

NEAR this place ſtood another Northumberland-houſe, inhabited,NORTHUMBER⯑LAND-HOUSE. in the reign of Henry VI. by two of the earls of Northumberland: one loſt his life in the battle of St. Albans; the other, his ſon, in that of Towton. Being deſerted by the Percies, the gardens were converted into bowling-allies, and other parts, ſays Stow, into dicing-houſes. This, I imagine, was the firſt of thoſe pernicious places of reſort, for he calls it ‘their antient and only patron of miſrule.’

IN Mark-lane, near this place, ſtood the magnificent houſe ^‡ built by Sir William Sharrington, a chief officer of the mint,SHARRINGTON-HOUSE. in the reign of Edward VI. He was the inſtrument of the ambition [254] of Thomas Seymour, lord admiral: he fell with his maſter, was condemned and attained: and Sharrington-houſe beſtowed on the earl of Arundel, being thought a fit habitation for that great peer, on account of its ſize and ſplendor. Let me add, that Sir William was pardoned, emerged from his misfortunes, and ſoon raiſed another conſiderable eſtate, under the favor of Seymour's rival, Dudley duke of Northumberland ^*; poſſibly at the price of the admiral's blood, againſt whom he was chief evidence. Mr. WALPOLE has a drawing of Sir William, after Holbein.

ALL HALLOWS BARKING.AT the bottom of this lane, in Tower-ſtreet, ſtands the church of All Hallows Barking. Legend ſays, that Edward I. when prince of Wales, was admoniſhed, by a viſion, to erect an image here to the glorious virgin; and, in caſe he viſited it five times in the year, he was to be victorious over all nations, and in particular over Scotland and Wales. The image grew into great repute, and vaſt were the pilgrimages to it, till the ſuppreſſion. An indulgence of forty days was granted to every one who performed this act of devotion ^†.

PERSONS BE⯑HEADED BURIED THERE.IN this church were depoſited, for a time, the bodies of that accompliſhed nobleman Henry Howard ^‡, earl of Surry, and two prelates, who ended their days by the ax on Tower-hill. The aſhes of the ill-fated Surry were, in 1614, removed to Framling⯑ham, in Suffolk. The pious Fiſher (whoſe head was placed on a pole on the bridge) and the indiſcreet Laud. The firſt was re⯑moved to the chapel in the Tower, to reſt by the ſide of his friend [255] Sir Thomas More ^*. The remains of Laud, beheaded in 1644, lay here till 1663, when they were removed to St. John's College, Oxford, over which he had preſided ^†.

IN this pariſh was deſigned a hoſpital for poor prieſts, and for lunatics of both ſexes, as early as the time of Edward III; but not taking effect, it was granted to the hoſpital of St. Katherine; which was to find a chaplain to pray for the ſoul of Robert Denton, who had piouſly intended the firſt foundation ^‡.

FROM Aldgate the walls ran ſouthward to the Thames, and ended, as is generally ſuppoſed, with a fort; on the ſite of which aroſe the preſent TOWER of London. To the north of it was a poſtern, for the benefit of foot paſſengers: it was originally a fair and ſtrong gate, built of ſtone brought out of Kent, POSTERN GATE. and Caen in Normandy. It ſtood till the year 1440, when it fell down; not, as is conjectured, from the pulling down of three hundred feet of the adjacent wall in 1189, for the purpoſe of enlarging and ſtrengthening the Tower, but from decay;THE TOWER OF LONDON. it being made at the ſame time with that fortreſs, which was built by the Conqueror in his firſt year, and ſtrongly garriſoned with Normans, to ſecure the allegiance of his new and reluctant ſubjects.

THE firſt work ſeems to have been ſuddenly flung up in 1066, on his taking poſſeſſion of the capital: this included in it a part of the antient wall; for, ſoon after the murder of Sir Thomas Over⯑bury, a diſpute aroſe whether he was poiſoned in the liberties of the city, or in the county of Middleſex: on examination, part of the antient wall was diſcovered; and his apartment found to be [256] to the weſt of it, and in conſequence the criminals were tried within the juriſdiction of the city. Had it been on the other ſide, it would have been adjudged to have been within the county. There is another proof of this fortreſs having been built upon the remains of another more antient; for, in 1720, in digging on the ſouth ſide of what is called Ceſar's chapel, were diſcovered ſome old foundations of ſtone, three yards broad, ſo ſtrongly cemented that it was with the utmoſt difficulty they were forced up.

WHITE TOWER.THE great ſquare tower called the White Tower, and by the Welſh, Twr Gwyn, or Twr y Bryn-gwyn, was erected in the year 1078, when it aroſe under the directions of the great military ar⯑chitect Gundulph, biſhop of Rocheſter ^*; who gave this noble ſpe⯑cimen of innovation in the art of caſtle-building, and which was purſued by him in the execution of Rocheſter-caſtle, on the banks of the Medway. Stow tells us, from Edmund de Haddenham, that during the time Gundulph was employed in this work, he was lodged in the houſe of one Edmere, a citizen of London ^†. This building was long dignified with the name of Ceſar's tower; but that illuſtrious invader probably never ſaw London: originally it ſtood by itſelf. Fitzſtephen gives it the name of Arx Palatina, the Palatine tower; and ſays, with his uſual romance, that the mortar of the foundation was tempered with the blood of beaſts. The commander had the title of Palatine beſtowed on him, being, as was the caſe with ſeveral of the great men of that time, who had places of importance truſted to their care, endowed with [257] regal powers; ſuch, for example, as the earl palatine, Hugh Lupus, had in the county palatinate of Cheſter ^*.

WITHIN this tower is a very antient chapel, for the uſe of ſuch of our kings and queens who wiſhed to pay their devotion here. By Stow's deſcription (for I never ſaw it) it ſeems coeval with the building: he deſcribed it as having a long flight of ſteps to it, as being darkſome, and venerable for the pillars, which are very plain; but that it was in his time filled with our valuable old records ^†.

IN 1092 a violent tempeſt did great injury to the Tower; but it was repaired by William Rufus, and his ſucceſſor. The firſt added another caſtellated building on the ſouth ſide, between it and the Thames, which was afterwards called St. Thomas's Tower. Beneath that was Traitors-gate, through which ſtate priſoners were brought from the river: and under another, properly enough called The Bloody; for, till theſe happier ages, there was little dif⯑ference between confinement, and the ſcaffold, or private aſſaſſi⯑nation.

HERE fell the meek uſurper Henry VI. by the dagger of the profligate Glouceſter. Here, full of horrors, died,MURDERS WITHIN THE TOWER. by the hands of hired ruffians, the unſteady Clarence. Here the ſweet innocents Edward V. and his brother, duke of York, periſhed victims to the ambition of their remorſeleſs uncle. And the empoiſoning of Sir [258] Thomas Overbury makes up the ſum of the known murders, the reproaches of our antient fortreſs. We have here a ſtrait room or dungeon, called, from the miſery the unhappy occupier of this very confined place endures, the Little Eaſe. But this will appear a luxurious habitation, when compared with the inventions of the age of Louis XI. of France; with his iron cages, in which perſons of rank lay for whole years; or his Oubliettes, dungeons made in form of reverſed cones, concealed with trap-doors, down which dropped the unhappy victims of the tyrant, brought there by Triſtan l'Hermite, his companion and executioner in ordinary. Sometimes their ſides were plain, ſometimes ſet with knives, or ſharp-edged wheels; but in either caſe, they were true Oubliettes: the devoted were certain to fall into the land where all things were forgotten.

THE Tower was firſt incloſed by William Longchamp, biſhop of Ely, and chancellor of England, in the reign of Richard I. This haughty prelate having a quarrel with John, third brother to Richard, under pretence of guarding againſt his deſigns, ſur⯑rounded the whole with walls embattled, and made on the out⯑ſide a vaſt ditch,DITCH. into which, in after times, the water from the Thames was introduced. Different princes added other works. The preſent contents, within the walls, are twelve acres and five rods; the circuit, on the outſide of the ditch, one thouſand and fifty-two feet. It was again incloſed with a mud-wall by Henry III: this was placed at a diſtance from the ditch, and occaſioned the taking down of part of the city wall; which was reſented by the citizens; who, pulling down this precinct of mud, were puniſhed by the king with a fine of a thouſand marks.

LIONS TOWER.EDWARD IV. built the Lions tower: it was originally called the [259] Bulwark; but received the former name from its uſe.ROYAL MENAGERY. A mena⯑gery had very long been a piece of regal ſtate; Henry I. had his at his manor of Woodſtock, where he kept lions, leopards, lynxes, porcupines, and ſeveral other uncommon beaſts. They were afterwards removed to the Tower. Edward II. commanded the ſheriffs of London, to pay the keepers of the king's leopards ſix pence a day, for the ſuſtenance of the leopards; and three half-pence a day for the diet of the keeper, out of the fee-farm of the city. I ſhould have mentioned before, that Henry iſſued his order to the ſheriffs, to ſupply four pence a day for the maintenance of his white bear (urſo noſtro albo), and his keeper, in the Tower of London. They were alſo to provide a muzzle, and an iron chain to hold the ſaid bear out of the water; and a long cord to hold it during the time it was fiſhing in the Thames: they were beſides ordered to build a ſmall houſe in the Tower for the king's ele⯑phant (elefantem noſtrum) and to make proviſion both for beaſt and keeper ^*.

THE royal menagery is to this day exceedingly well ſupplied. In April 1787, there was a leopard, of a quite unknown ſpecies, brought from Bengal. It was wholly black, but the hair was marked, on the back, ſides, and neck, with round cluſters of ſmall ſpots, of a gloſſy and the moſt intenſe black; the tail hung ſeve⯑ral inches beyond the length of the legs, and was very full of hair. Here were alſo two tigers: one had been here ſome time, and its ground-color had faded into a pale ſickly ſandineſs; the other, young and vigorous, and almoſt freſh from its native woods, was [260] almoſt of an orange color; and its black ſtripes, and the white parts, were moſt pure in their kinds ^*.

THE little book ſold in the Tower, will give a very ſatisfactory account of all its curioſities, natural and artificial. To that I refer my reader.

TOWER-HILL.FOR a conſiderable time, there was a diſpute between the crown and the city, about the right to the Tower-hill (the Gwyn⯑fryn of the Welſh). In the reign of Edward IV. the king's offi⯑cers erected there a gallows, and a ſcaffold for the execution of offenders. The citizens complained; and Edward immediately diſavowed the act, by public proclamation. From that time the fatal apparatus is always provided by the city. The condemned are delivered to the ſheriffs by the lieutenant, who receives from the former a receipt for their delivery; the ſheriffs then ſee execu⯑tion done, as in other places.

THE FIRST PER⯑SON BEHEADED ON TOWER-HILL.THE firſt whom I recollect to have ſuffered here by the more honorable death of the ax, was in 1388, when Sir Simon de Burley, knight of the Garter, tutor of Richard II. and the moſt accompliſhed man of his time, fell a victim to the malice of the potent faction, which had uſurped the regal authority. Queen Anne, the good queen Anne, went on her knees to the luke of Gloceſter, the king's uncle, to implore mercy; and continued in that attitude three hours before the inexorable tyrant.

THE FORMER ROUGH TREAT⯑MENT OF PRISONERS.THERE was, during a very long period, a barbarous meanneſs, a ſpecies of inſult to the unhappy criminals, which is in our days happily changed into every ſpecies of tenderneſs and humanity, [261] conſiſtent with public juſtice and ſecurity. In revenge for the death of Sir Simon, and many others who ſuffered in the ſame cauſe, the great earl of Arundel, Richard Fitzalan, was hurried inſtantly from the place of trial, the palace at Weſtminſter, to Tower-hill: his arms and his hands were bound; and the king glut⯑ted his eyes with the bloody ſcene. That great peer Thomas duke of Norfolk, who was confined here in the laſt year of Henry VIII. was reduced to beg for ſheets. He was to have loſt his head, but was ſaved by the death of the tyrant on the very day ordered for his execution. He was kept in cuſtody during the next ſhort reign, but was releaſed on the acceſſion of queen Mary. He mounted his horſe, at the edge of fourſcore, to aſſiſt in quelling the inſurrection of Sir Thomas Wyat, in 1554. This ſerved to fill the Tower with new ſubjects for the mean inſults of the times. Sir Thomas, and the reſt of the priſoners, were brought into the Tower through the Traitors-gate. The lieutenant received them, one by one, with inſults and groſs abuſe. When Sir Thomas appeared, gallantly dreſſed, the lieutenant actually collared him: Sir Thomas gave him a fierce and reproachful look, bravely telling him, This is no maſterie now!

ONE perſon of rank ſuffered here by the more infamous way of the halter. I ſhould not mention Sir Gervis Elwayes, SIR GERVIS ELWAYES. lieutenant of the Tower, who ſuffered here, in 1615, for his concern in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, but for the great inſtruction which may be gathered from his end, and his excellent dying ſpeech. For there is ſomething very peculiar in his admonition to the ſpectators, againſt appealing to Heaven by a raſh vow; for, having been greatly addicted to gaming, he had ſaid ſeriouſly in his [262] prayers, Lord, let me be hanged if ever I play more: and yet he broke it a thouſand times ^*. Of what utility would be a ſenſible collection of theſe proofs of the FINGER OF GOD, exemplified to mankind in the detection and puniſhment of every ſpecies of crime!

CHAPEL OF THE TO [...].THE church of St. Petrus ad Vincula, within the Tower, has been the undiſtinguiſhing repoſitory of the headleſs bodies of numbers, who ended their days on the adjacent hill; or, when greatly favored, within the fortreſs. The antient church was much more ſplendid, it being occaſionally the place at which the kings of England performed their oriſons. In Henry III.'s time here were ſtalls for the king and queen; a chancel dedicated to St. Peter, and another to St. Mary. The church was adorned with a fine croſs, images of ſaints, and various paintings, benè & b [...]nis coloribus. Alſo ſeveral holy figures in painted glaſs; all done by that early lover and patron of the arts in England, the monarch juſt mentioned ^†.

EXECUTED PERSONS BURIED THERE.TO the preſent church, after his execution, was finally removed the body of the conſcientious amiable prelate Fiſher, biſhop of Rocheſter; FISHER, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER. a victim to his opinion of the pope's ſupremacy, and the treachery of the attorney-general Rich, who, under pretence of conſulting him, obtained his confidence, and betrayed him. The pope rewarded his orthodoxy with a cardinal's hat, but it did not arrive till the poor biſhop's head was on a pole on London-bridge. His headleſs corſe was removed, to be near that of his friend, who ſuffered about three weeks after, in the ſame cauſe, the [263] great Sir Thomas More. SIR THOMAS MORE. But his body did not long keep com⯑pany with that of his brother ſufferer, nor his head on the bridge. His affectionate daughter, Margaret Roper, procured the one to be removed to Chelſea; and the head, accidentally blown into the Thames, to be given to her. She kept it during life as a re⯑lique, and directed that after her death it ſhould be lodged in her arms and buried with her.

THE beauteous Anna Bullen, ANNA BULLEN. on May 19th, 1536, for a fictiti⯑ous charge of adultery, by a tyrant luſting for a new object: and the profligate Catherine Howard, on a full conviction of the ſame crime; reſt here. George lord Rochford, the innocent bro⯑ther of the former, involved in the accuſation, preceded her to the grave by two days; as his infamous wife, a cauſe of their death, accompanied, unpitied, her miſtreſs Catherine Howard, in execution and in ſepulchre. It is impoſſible not to moralize on comparing the manner in which ſhe was brought priſoner to this fatal fortreſs, with the gay and ſplendid pageantry, which attended her and her ſavage ſpouſe from Greenwich by water to the ſame place, on May 29th, 1533; and from the Tower, two days after, with ſtill greater magnificence, to her coronation. She rejoiced too publickly on the death of Catherine of Arragon, whoſe place ſhe moſt wrongfully uſurped: in leſs than five months, ſhe herſelf fell as a criminal ^*.

THAT meteor Thomas Cromwel, earl of Eſſex, THOMAS CROM⯑WEL, EARL OF ESSEX. the great promo⯑ter of the ſuppreſſion of religious houſes, experienced the com⯑mon lot of the preceding. He ſuffered, among other charges, [264] for being a favorer of heretics; yet died in the firm profeſſion of the Catholic religion.

THOMAS SEYMOUR, BARON SUDLEY.THE turbulent Thomas Seymour, baron Sudley, and lord high admiral, in 1549 was beheaded, and buried in this church, by a warrant from his own brother, the protector Somerſet. On Janu⯑ary 24th, 1552, the protector himſelf mounted the ſame ſcaffold, and, notwithſtanding his high rank, was flung into the ſame grave among the attainted herd: and his ambitious rival, the inſtru⯑ment of his death,JOHN DUDLEY, DUKE OF NOR⯑THUMBERLAND. John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, loſt his head and was laid by his ſide, on the 22d of Auguſt, 1553. So ſhort, ſo vain are the dreams of power and ambition!

ROBERT DEVE⯑REUX, EARL O [...] [...].THE favorite earl of Eſſex, Robert Devereux, was reluctantly given to the block by his fond miſtreſs, after a long ſtruggle be⯑tween fear and affection. Mr. Walpole obſerves, that it was a faſhion to treat the paſſion of that illuſtrious princeſs as a ro⯑mance. She, it is alleged, was ſixty-eight, but it was forgotten that the earl was only thirty-four. Let their ages have been re⯑verſed, you would never have heard of the unhappy love of Eli⯑zabeth.

DUKE OF MONMOUTH.BENEATH the communion table repoſes the handſome, reſtleſs, ungrateful ſon of Charles II. the duke of Monmouth. His ambi⯑tion, like that of many of thoſe he followed to this place, occa⯑ſioned his death. He is ſaid to have died calmly; and to have acknowleged the guilt of rebellion: but love preſerved her influ⯑ence to the laſt moment. He was married very young, and for intereſted motives. He had made a connection of the moſt tender nature with lady Harriet Wentworth, who lived with him as his wife. He could not, with all the arguments of our beſt divines, be convinced of the ſin of adultery; he called her the choice of [265] his ripened years. I have been told a tradition, that lady Harriet had placed herſelf in a window, to take a laſt and farewel look; he was maſter enough of himſelf to make her a graceful bow. With more certainty can I ſay, that the king, on the evening of the execution, viſited the widowed dutcheſs, to give aſſurance of his attention to her and her children. Conſolation ſhe did not want, for ſhe had been ſeparated from him; and when, at the duke's earneſt requeſt, ſhe had an interview with him in the Tower, their interview was, as Barillon expreſſes it, aigre de part et d' autre ^*.