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LONDON

BY

WALTER BESANT

AUTHOR OF "ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN"
"FIFTY YEARS AGO" ETC.

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_

[Illustration]

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE

Copyright, 1892, by HARPER & BROTHERS.

_All rights reserved._




PREFACE


In the following chapters it has been my endeavor to present pictures of
the City of London--instantaneous photographs, showing the streets, the
buildings, and the citizens at work and at play. Above all, the
citizens: with their daily life in the streets, in the shops, in the
churches, and in the houses; the merchant in the quays and on 'Change;
the shopkeeper of Cheapside; the priests and the monks and the friars;
the shouting of those who sell; the laughter and singing of those who
feast and drink; the ringing of the bells; the dragging of the criminal
to the pillory; the Riding of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen; the river
with its boats and barges; the cheerful sound of pipe and tabor; the
stage with its tumblers and its rope-dancers; the 'prentices with their
clubs; the evening dance in the streets. I want my pictures to show all
these things. The history of London has been undertaken by many writers;
the presentment of the city and the people from age to age has never
yet, I believe, been attempted.

The sources whence one derives the materials for such an attempt are, in
the earlier stages, perfectly well known and accessible to all. Chaucer,
Froissart, Lydgate, certain volumes of the "Early English Text Society,"
occur to everybody. But the richest mine, for him who digs after the
daily life of the London citizen during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, is certainly Riley's great book of _Extracts from the City
Records_. If there is any life or any reality in the three chapters of
this book which treat of the Plantagenet period, it is certainly due to
Riley.

As regards the Tudor period, the wealth of illustration is astonishing.
One might as well be writing of the city life of this day, so copious
are the materials. But it is not to Shakespeare and the dramatists that
we must look for the details so much as to the minor writers, the
moralists and satirists, of whom the ordinary world knows nothing.

The reign of Charles II. directs one to the Plague and to the Fire. I
was fortunate in finding two tracts, one dealing with the plague of
1603, and the other with that of 1625. These, though they are earlier
than Charles II., were invaluable, as illustrating the effect of the
pestilence in causing an exodus of all who could get away, which took
place as much in these earlier years as in 1666. Contemporary tracts on
the state of London after the Fire, also happily discovered, proved
useful. And when the Plague and the Fire had been dismissed, another
extraordinary piece of good fortune put me in possession of certain
household accounts which enabled me to present a bourgeois family of the
period at home.

Where there is so much to speak about, one must exercise care in
selection. I have endeavored to avoid as much as possible those points
which have already been presented. For instance, the growth of the
municipality, the rise of the Guilds and the Companies, the laws of
London, the relations of the City to the Sovereign and the State--these
things belong to the continuous historian, not to him who draws a
picture of a given time. In the latter case it is the effect of law, not
its growth, which is important. Thus I have spoken of the pilgrimizing
in the time of Henry II.; of the Mysteries of that time; things that
belonged to the daily life; rather than to matters of policy, the
stubborn tenacity of the City, or the changes that were coming over the
conditions of existence and of trade. Again, in Plantagenet London one
might have dwelt at length upon the action taken by London in successive
civil wars. That, again, belongs to the historian. I have contented
myself with sketching the churches and the monasteries, the palaces and
the men-at-arms, the merchants and the workmen.

Again, in the time of George II., the increase of trade, which then
advanced by leaps and bounds, the widening of the world to London
enterprise, the part which London took in the conquest of India and the
ejection of France from North America belong to history. For my own part
I have preferred to show the position, the influence, and the work of
the Church at a time generally believed to be the deadest period in the
whole history of the Church of England. This done, I have gone on to
illustrate the day-by-day life of the citizens, with the prices of
things, the management, and the appearance of the City.

One thing remains to be said. Mr. Loftie, in his _History of London_
(Stadford), first gave the world a reconstruction of the ground--the
_terrain_--of London and its environs before ever a house was erected or
an acre cleared. The first chapter of this book--that on Roman London
and After--is chiefly due to a study of this map, and to realizing what
that map means when applied to the scanty records of Augusta. This map
enabled me to recover the years which followed the retreat of the
Romans. I cannot allow this chapter to be called a Theory. It is, I
venture to claim for it, nothing less than a Recovery.

  WALTER BESANT.

    UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB:
        _May 2, 1892_.




CONTENTS


CHAP.                                                               PAGE

   I. AFTER THE ROMANS                                                 1

  II. SAXON AND NORMAN                                                43

 III. PLANTAGENET                                                    105

  IV. PLANTAGENET--_CONTINUED_                                       155

   V. PLANTAGENET--_CONTINUED_                                       215

  VI. TUDOR                                                          263

 VII. TUDOR--_CONTINUED_                                             320

VIII. CHARLES THE SECOND                                             371

  IX. GEORGE THE SECOND                                              429

      INDEX                                                          501




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                                    PAGE

_Stowe's Monument, in North Aisle of St. Andrew Undershaft_            2

_Roman Marble Sarcophagus._ Guildhall                                  4

_Statues of Mercury, Apollo, and Jupiter or Neptune: found
in the Thames, 1837_                                                   6

_Bronze Articles for Domestic Use_                                     8

_Bronze Fibulae and other Ornaments: found in London_                  11

_Roman Pavement: Leadenhall Street_                                   14

_Bronze Bust of the Emperor Hadrian: found in the Thames._
British Museum                                                        17

_A Bit of Roman Wall._ From a Photograph by W. H. Grove,
174 Brompton Road                                                     20

_Lamps and Lamp-stand_                                                23

_Sepulchral Cists, etc.: found in Warwick Square, Newgate
Street, 1881._ British Museum                                         32

_Roman Keys._ Guildhall                                               34

_Toilet Articles--Hair-pins; Hair-pin (Sarina, Wife of Hadrian);
Bone Comb and Case (Cloakham); Bone Comb (Lower Thames Street)_       36

_Statuettes: found in Thames Street, 1889._ Guildhall                 39

_Roman Amphorae_                                                       41

_London Stone, Cannon Street, as it appeared in 1800_                 45

_Battle between Two Armed Knights_                                    49

_River Tilting in the Twelfth Century_                                52

_Crypt: Remains of the Collegiate Church of St. Martin-le-Grand,
N.E._                                                                 54

_The Founder's Tomb, St. Bartholomew the Great, E.C., founded 1123_   57

_South Ambulatory, Church of St. Bartholomew, founded 1123_           61

_St. Katherine's by the Tower_                                        64

_Interior of the Church of St. Katherine's by the Tower_              65

_Dowgate Dock_                                                        68

_St. Saviour's Dock_                                                  70

_North-east View of St. Saviour's_                                    73

_Plan of Saxon Church, Bradford-on-Avon_                              76

_Saxon Church, Seventh or Eighth Century, Bradford-on-Avon_           77

_Sculptured Angel, Saxon Church_                                      78

_View of Interior of Saxon Church, showing very remarkable
Chancel Arch and Entrance_                                            79

_First Stone London Bridge, begun A.D. 1176_                          82

_Crypt, or Lower Chapel, of St. Thomas's Church, London Bridge_       84

_West Front of Chapel on London Bridge_                               85

_Part of London Wall in the Church-yard of St. Giles, Cripplegate_    88

_Entrance to Knights Hospitallers_                                    90

_Buildings of Knights Hospitallers_                                   91

_Crypt in Bow Church, from the North Side, near the East
End of the Nave_                                                      95

_Interior of Porch of the Parish Church of St. Alphege, London
Wall, formerly the Chapel of the Priory of St. Elsynge Spital_        97

_The Arms and Seals of the Prior and Convent of St. Saviour
at Bermondsey_                                                       101

_A City Monument_                                                    107

_Ruins (1790) of the Nunnery of St. Helen, Bishopsgate Street_       110

_St. Helen's, Bishopsgate_                                           113

_South-west View of the Interior of the Church of St. Helen,
Bishopsgate Street_                                                  116

_Church of St. Augustin (St. Austin)_                                119

_Church of Austin Friars_                                            122

_Christ's Hospital, from the Cloisters_                              126

_The Charter House_                                                  130

_Ruins of the Convent of Nuns Minories, 1810_                        133

_Bow Church, Mile End Road_                                          137

_North-east View of Waltham Abbey Church, Essex_                     140

_Waltham Abbey Church, Essex, before Restoration_                    145

_Porch of St. Sepulchre's Church_                                    148

_South View of the Palace of the Bishops of Winchester, near
St. Saviour's_                                                       151

_Charing Cross._ Erected by Edward I. in memory of Queen
Eleanor of Castile                                                   156

_Church of St. Paul's before the Fire_                               158

_Monuments of St. Paul's which survived the Fire (east end
of North Crypt)_                                                     160

_Ancient North-east View of Bishopsgate Street_                      162

_The College of Arms, or Herald's Office_                            164

_Bridewell_                                                          165

_View of the Savoy from the Thames_                                  165

_View of the South Front of Baynard's Castle, about 1640_            167

_View of Cold Harbor, in Thames Street, about 1600_                  171

_Crosby House, Bishopsgate Street_                                   173

_Interior of Crosby Hall_                                            175

_Interior of part of Crosby Hall, called the Council Room,
looking East_                                                        178

_Gateway, etc., in Crosby Square (now destroyed)_                    180

_Crosby Hall_                                                        183

_North-east View of Crosby Hall, showing part of the Interior
of the Great Hall_                                                   187

_Gerrard's Hall_                                                     191

_Bridewell Palace, about 1660, with the Entrance to the Fleet
River, part of the Black Friars, etc._                               195

_The Thames Front, A.D. 1540_                                        197

_Ancient Court of Bridewell Palace_                                  201

_Old Charing Cross_                                                  216

_The Strand (1547), with the Strand Cross, Covent Garden, and the
Procession of Edward VI. to his Coronation at Westminster_           241

_Arms of Sir Richard Whittington_                                    244

_Arms granted to the Craft of the Ironmongers of London by
Lancaster King of Arms, A.D. 1466_                                   246

_Guildhall, King Street, London_                                     248

_Blackwell Hall, King Street_                                        251

_Ancient Plate_                                                      254

_The Conduit, near Bayswater_                                        257

_South-east View of Stepney Church_                                  259

_Boar in Eastcheap_                                                  264

_The View of London Bridge from East to West_                        271

_The Pool_                                                           275

_Burghley House_                                                     283

_Ilford Almshouses_                                                  287

_Old Tavern_                                                         289

_Front of Sir Paul Pinder's House, on the West Side of
Bishopsgate Street Without_                                          291

_The Royal Exchange, Cornhill_                                       295

_The Steel Yard, etc., Thames Street, after the Great Fire of 1666_  299

_Collegii Greshamensis a Latere Occidentali Prospectus A.D. 1739_    302

_Curious Pump_                                                       305

_Newgate_                                                            315

_Sign of the Three Kings, Bucklersbury_                              321

_The Manner of Burning Anne Askew, John Lacels, John Adams,
and Nicolas Belenian, with certane of ye Counsell sitting in
Smithfield_                                                          326

_Old Fountain Inn in the Minories._ Taken down in 1793               329

_South-west View of an Ancient Structure in Ship Yard, Temple Bar_   335

_Obsequies of Sir Philip Sidney_                                     341

_Dr. Shaw preaching at St. Paul's Cross_                             347

_The Old Bull and Mouth Inn, St. Martin's-le-Grand._ Now
pulled down                                                          353

_Globe Theatre_                                                      357

_Inside of the Red Bull Playhouse_                                   359

_South View of Falcon Tavern, on the Bank Side, Southwark,
as it appeared in 1805_                                              363

_Palace of Whitehall in the Reign of James II._                      373

_Hungerford Market_                                                  380

_Cheapside_                                                          382

_Fleet Street_                                                       385

_Below Bridge_                                                       389

_Old East India House_                                               396

_Sion College_                                                       398

_John Bunyan's Meeting-house in Zoar Street_                         401

_Old Grocers' Hall, used for Bank of England_                        403

_London after the Fire_                                              405

_Old St. Paul's, with the Porch of Inigo Jones_                      411

_Houses in St. Katherine's._ Pulled down in 1827                     432

_Lud Gate_                                                           435

_Davenant's School_                                                  439

_Sign_                                                               444

_St. Dunstan's in the West_                                          445

_Approach to London Bridge_                                          447

_Above Bridge_                                                       452

_St. James's Palace--March of the Guards_                            456

_Ranelagh_                                                           459

_North View of the Marshalsea, Southwark_                            461

_Charing Cross_                                                      463

_A Dish of Tea_                                                      469

_Visiting Card_                                                      478

_Vauxhall_                                                           481

_Sir John Fielding's Court, Bow Street_                              487

_Interior of St. Stephen, Walbrook_                                  491

_Concert Ticket_                                                     493




LONDON




I

AFTER THE ROMANS


The only real authorities for the events which took place in Britain
during the fifth and sixth centuries are Gildas and the _Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle_. There are other writers--Ethelwerd, for instance, who copied
the _Chronicle_, and adds nothing; and Nennius, whose work, edited by
one Mark the Hermit in the tenth century, was found in the Vatican. The
first edition was published in London in the year 1819, in the original
Latin, by the Rev. William Gunn. Nennius gives a brief account of King
Arthur and his exploits, but he affords little or no information that is
of use to us. The work of Richard of Cirencester is extremely valuable
on account of its topography; it is also interesting as the work of the
first English antiquary. But he belonged to the fourteenth century, and
has added nothing to the history, of which he knew no more--less,
indeed--than we ourselves can discover. The book named after Geoffrey of
Monmouth is not worth a moment's serious consideration. In Bede's
_Ecclesiastical History_ passages may be found which throw side lights
on this period, but they are few.

[Illustration: STOWE'S MONUMENT, IN NORTH AISLE OF ST. ANDREW
UNDERSHAFT]

Gildas, called Badonicus, is supposed to have been born in or about the
year 520, in Wales. A great mass of legend has collected about the name
of Gildas. He was the son of a British kinglet; his three-and-twenty
brothers fought under King Arthur. He himself preached, taught, and in
the matter of miracles was greatly blessed. He wrote--if he did
write--about the year 560, and is therefore contemporary with the events
of which he speaks. His book contains a vast quantity of rhetoric to a
very small amount of history. Unfortunately for him, he was called by
his admiring fellow-monks, in his lifetime, _Sapiens_--the Wise.
Perhaps, in order to live up to this designation, he was fain to assume
the garb and language of a prophet, and, with what he thought prophetic
force, which we now perceive to be ecclesiastical inflation, he
proceeded to admonish princes and people of their sins. Every age, to
the ecclesiastical prophet as