London City by Walter Besant

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Title: London City

Author: Walter Besant

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Language: English

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The Survey of London

LONDON

CITY

Pictorial Agency.

INTERIOR OF ROYAL EXCHANGE.—(Page 128)

LONDON

CITY

BY

SIR WALTER BESANT

LONDON

ADAM & CHARLES BLACK

1910

PREFACE

With this volume we begin what may be called the second part of the Survey. All that has preceded it has dealt with

the history of London as a whole; now we turn to London in its topographical aspect and treat it street by street, with all
the historical associations interwoven in a continuous narrative with a running commentary of the aspect of the streets
as they were at the end of the nineteenth century, for the book is strictly a Survey of London up to the end of the
nineteenth century. Sir Walter Besant himself wrote the greater part of the volume now issued, calling it “The
Antiquities of the City,” and it is exclusively confined to the City. For the topographical side of the great work, however,
he employed assistants to collect material for him and to help him; for though, as he said, he had been “walking about
London for the last thirty years and found something fresh in it every day,” he could not himself collect the mass of
detail requisite for a fair presentation of the subject. In the present volume, therefore, embedded in his running
commentary, will be found detailed accounts of the City Companies, the City churches and other buildings, which are not
by his hand. A word as to the plan on which the volume is made may be helpful. In cases where the City halls are
standing, accounts of the Companies they belong to are inserted there in the course of the perambulation; but where the
Companies possess no halls, the matter concerning them is relegated to an Appendix. The churches, however, being
peculiarly associated with the sites on which they are standing, or stood, are considered to be an integral part of the City
associations, and churches, whether vanished or standing, are noted in course of perambulation. A distinction which
shows at a glance whether any particular church is still existing or has been demolished is made by the type; for in the
case of an existing church the name is set in large black type, as a centre heading, whereas with a vanished church it is
given in smaller black type set in line.

The plan of the book is simplicity itself; it follows the lines of groups of streets, taken as dictated by common sense

and not by the somewhat arbitrary boundaries of wards. The outlines of these groups are clearly indicated on the large
map which will be found at the end of the volume.

v

vi

CONTENTS

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY

GROUP I

PAGE

Streets North and South of Cheapside and the Poultry
1

GROUP II

Streets North of Gresham Street and West of Moorgate Street
63

GROUP III

Streets between Moorgate and Bishopsgate Streets
91

GROUP IV

Streets between Fenchurch and Bishopsgate Streets
146

GROUP V

Thames Street and the Streets North and South of it
190

The Tower of London
288

GROUP VI

Newgate Street and the Streets North and South of it
300

St. Paul’s
327

GROUP VII

Fleet Street and the adjacent Courts (including the Temple and the Rolls)
362

The Temple
370

The Ancient Schools in the City of London
385

APPENDICES

1. The City Companies
433

2. Mayors and Lord Mayors of London from 1189 to 1900
455

3. A Calendar of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London from 1189 to 1900
461

INDEX
483

vii

viii

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Interior of Royal Exchange

Frontispiece

Cheapside Cross (as it appeared on its erection in 1606)

5

St. Mildred, Poultry

18

Inside the Poultry Compter

19

St. Lawrence, Jewry

26

SS. Anne and Agnes

27

Blackwell Hall, 1819

31

Mercers’ Hall: Interior
Facing
32

Mercers’ Hall

35

City of London School, Milk Street

39

Church of St. Vedast

43

Goldsmiths’ Hall, 1835

45

Gerard’s Hall Crypt in 1795

57

The Armourers’ and Brasiers’ Almshouses, Bishopsgate Without, 1857

65

St. Mary, Aldermanbury, in 1814

70

Porch of St. Alphage, London Wall, 1818

72

Sion College, London Wall, 1800

73

Grub Street Hermit

77

St. Giles, Cripplegate

81

London Wall

83

The Pump in Cornhill, 1800

93

St. Peter’s, Cornhill

96

Confectioner’s Shop, Cornhill

98

Garraway’s Coffee-House

99

Pope’s House in Plough Court

103

St. Mary Woolnoth
Facing
106

Altar of St. Mary Abchurch

109

Salters’ Hall, 1822

113

St. Stephen, Walbrook
Facing
118

The Mansion House and Cheapside

120

Stocks Market

123

Bank of England Fountain
Facing
126

St. Benet Finck

129

ix

St. Martin Outwich

131

Gresham College

135

Carpenters’ Hall, London Wall, 1830

144

Ironmongers’ Hall in the Eighteenth Century

149

A Remarkable Old House in Leadenhall Street

154

Leadenhall Street

155

Skin Market, Leadenhall, 1825

157

Leadenhall Chapel in 1812

160

Crypt in Leadenhall Street, 1825

161

Aldgate in 1830

169

St. Andrew Undershaft

173

Bishopsgate Street, showing Church of St. Martin Outwich, and the Pump, 1814

177

St. Helen, Bishopsgate, 1817

179

Cornhill Military Association, with a View of the Church of St. Helen’s, and Leathersellers’ Hall
Facing
180

Council Room, Crosby Hall, 1816

181

Principal Entrance to Leathersellers’ Hall. Demolished 1799

184

St. Ethelburga, Bishopsgate Street

186

St. Botolph, Bishopsgate

187

Blackfriars Bridge, 1796

193

Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Hill

198

Stationers’ Hall in 1830

199

Stationers’ Hall (Interior)

201

Fleur-de-lys Court

203

British and Foreign Bible Society House
Facing
206

The College of Arms

209

Doctors’ Commons, 1808

211

Queen Victoria Street
Facing
214

A Bas-relief of a Gardener, Gardeners’ Lane, 1791

219

Council Chambers, Vintners’ Hall

230

Whittington’s House

236

Cannon Street, looking West
Facing
250

Old Merchant Taylors’ School, Suffolk Lane, Cannon Street

254

Fishmongers’ Hall, present day

260

London Bridge
Facing
260

Fishmongers’ Hall in 1811

261

x

St. Magnus

262

The Monument in 1752

265

The Coal Exchange

271

Billingsgate Market
Facing
272

Custom House
Facing
274

Clothworkers’ Hall

277

Whittington’s House, Crutched Friars, 1796

279

Pepys’ Church (St. Olave, Hart Street)

281

Trinity House, Tower Hill

284

Remains of London Wall, Tower Hill, 1818

285

Block, Axe, and Scavenger’s Daughter

288

Newgate Market, 1856

304

Newgate, 1799

305

Christ’s Hospital, from the Cloisters, 1804

308

An Exciting Game, Christ’s Hospital

319

The Oxford Arms, Warwick Lane

323

The Post Office, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Bull and Mouth Inn, London

329

St. Paul’s Cathedral

334

Paternoster Row (as it was)

343

Paternoster Row
Facing
346

The City Boundary, Aldersgate

349

St. Bartholomew the Great

353

General Post Office
Facing
354

Cloth Fair

356

Old Coach and Horses, Cloth Fair

357

Long Lane, Smithfield, 1810

358

Bartholomew Fair, 1721

359

Fleet Street
Facing
364

Izaak Walton’s House in Fleet Street

366

St. Dunstan in the West (Old Church)

368

Inner Temple Gate House
Facing
374

Supposed House of Dryden, Fetter Lane

380

Dr. Johnson’s House

381

Fleet Ditch, West Street, Smithfield, as it was in 1844

383

St. Paul’s School (before its removal to Hammersmith)

402

xi

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY

It seems convenient in treating of the history and archæology of the City to take the streets in groups, each group

being in connection with the main street to which it belongs. We may in this fashion conveniently arrange the streets as
follows:—

(1)
Those north and south of Cheapside and the Poultry.

(2)
Those north of Gresham Street and west of Moorgate Street.

(3)
Those between Moorgate and Bishopsgate Streets.

(4)
Those between Fenchurch and Bishopsgate Streets.

(5)
Thames Street and the streets north and south of it.

(6)
Newgate Street and the streets north and south of it.

(7)
Fleet Street and the adjacent Courts (including the Temple and the Rolls).

GROUP I

Cheapside.—We begin with the true heart of London, West Chepe, as it was formerly called, and the streets lying

north and south of this marketplace. St. Paul’s Churchyard and Foster Lane mark our western boundary; Princes Street
and Walbrook, our eastern; Gresham Street (formerly Cateaton Street) is on the north, and Cannon Street on the south.

By the time of Queen Elizabeth we find the West Chepe, with its streets north and south, laid out with something

like the modern regularity. We must therefore go back to earlier centuries to discover its origin.

West Chepe, from time immemorial, has been the most important market of the City. It was formerly, say in the

twelfth century, a large open area. This area contained no fewer than twenty-five churches, of which nine still exist. The
churches are dotted about in apparent disorder, which can be partly explained. For the market of Chepe was extended
in fact from the Church of St. Michael le Querne on the west, to that of St. Christopher le Stock on the east, and lay
between the modern Gresham Street in the north and Watling Street in the south.

It is ordered in Liber Albus that all manner of victuals are to be sold between the kennels of the streets. The so-

called streets were narrow lanes, many of which remain to the present day.

There was, however, a principal way, not a street in our sense of the word, on either side of which, on the north and

on the south, as well as along the middle, were stalls and shops. These stalls were at first mere wooden sheds; the goods
were exposed by day and removed at night; in course of time they became permanent shops with living rooms at the
back and an upper chamber. Among the sheds stood “selds.” The seld was a building not unlike the present Covent
Garden Market, being roofed over and containing shops and store-houses. Several “selds” are mentioned in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These were the “great-seld” in the Mercery, called after the Lady Roisia de
Coventre. This was near the house of St. Thomas of Acon, where now stands the Mercers’ Hall. There was also the
“great seld of London,” in the ancient parish of St. Pancras, therefore on the south side of Cheapside. There was again
the “seld of Fryday Street serving for foreign tanners, and time out of mind occupied with these wares”; and there was a
seld held in 1304 by John de Stanes, mercer.

In the Liber Albus the seld is distinguished from the “shop, the cellar or solar.” It is also alluded to in the same book

as the place where wool and other commodities are sold. Bakers were forbidden to store their bread in selds longer than
one night. The seld was therefore a warehouse, a weighing place, as well as a shop. Since we hear nothing about selds in
the Calendar of Wills after the fourteenth century, we may infer that a change had been made in the methods of the
market. The change in fact was this. North and south of what is now Cheapside were arranged in order the stalls of those
who sold everything; these stalls were protected from the weather; the various branches or departments of the market
were separated by narrow lanes. It is impossible at this time to assign all the various trades accurately each to its own
place—in fact, they always overlapped; but we can do so approximately. The names of the streets belonging to
Cheapside are a guide. For instance, Wood Street, Milk Street, Honey Lane, Ironmonger Street, Old Jewry, the Poultry,
Scalding Alley, Soper Street, Bread Street, Friday Street, Old Change, explain a great part of the disposition of the
ancient market.

When we consider that twenty-five churches stood in or about the great market, and that they were all presumably

more ancient than the Conquest, we may deduce the fact that the stalls very early became closed shops, and in many
cases permanent houses of residence, and that the market contained a large resident population by which industries
were carried on as well as shops. With certain wares, such as milk, honey, wood, spices, mercery, salt-fish, poultry, meat,
and herbs, there was no other industry than that of receiving, packing, and distributing. We therefore find few churches
between Wood Street and Ironmonger Lane, the chief seat of these branches; while on the south side, for the same
reason, there are still fewer churches.

The South Chepe was occupied by money-changers, salt-fish dealers, leather-sellers, bakers, mercers, pepperers,

and herb-sellers. Soap-makers were there also at one time, but they were banished to another part of the City before
the time of Edward the Second. “Melters,” i.e. of lard and tallow, were also forbidden to carry on their evil-smelling
trade in West Chepe so far back as 1203.

A brief study, therefore, enables us to understand, first, why the churches stand thickly in one part and thinly in

another; next, that West Chepe was a vast open market containing a resident population, crowded where industries
were carried on, and sparse where the goods were simply exposed for sale; and, thirdly, that the place could be easily
converted into a tilting ground, as was done on many occasions, by clearing away the “stationers,” that is to say, the
people who held stalls or stations about the crosses in Cheapside. On one occasion, at least, this was done, to the great
indignation of the people.

There are certain places in the country, and on the Continent, where the mediæval market is still preserved in its

most important features. For instance, there is the market-place of Peterborough, which is still divided by lanes, and
which has areas allotted to the different trades; and that of Rheims, where the ancient usages are preserved and
followed, even to the appearance of Autolycus, the Cheap Jack, and the Quack, who may be seen and heard on every
market day.

We may take Stow’s description of the Elizabethan Chepe:
“At the West end of this Poultrie, and also of Bucklesbury, beginneth the large street of West Cheaping, a market

place so called, which street stretcheth west till ye come to the little conduit by Paule’s gate, but not all of Cheape ward.
In the east part of this street standeth the great conduit of sweet water, conveyed by pipes of lead underground from
Paddington for the service of this city, castellated with stone, and cisterned in lead, about the year 1285, and again new
built and enlarged by Thomas Ilam, one of the sheriffs 1479.

“About the midst of this street is the Standard in Cheape, of what antiquity the first foundation I have not read. But

Henry VI., by his patent dated at Windsor the 21st of his reign, which patent was confirmed by parliament 1442,
granted license to Thomas Knolles, John Chichele, and other, executors to John Wells, grocer, sometime mayor of
London, with his goods to make new the highway which leadeth from the city of London towards the palace of
Westminster, before and nigh the manor of Savoy, parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster, a way then very ruinous, and the
pavement broken, to the hurt and mischief of the subjects, which old pavement then remaining in that way within the
length of five hundred feet, and all the breadth of the same before and nigh the site of the manor aforesaid, they to break
up, and with stone, gravel, and other stuff, one other good and sufficient way there to make for the commodity of the
subjects.

“And further, that the Standard in Cheape, where divers executions of the law beforetime had been performed,

which standard at the present was very ruinous with age, in which there was a conduit, should be taken down, and
another competent standard of stone, together with a conduit in the same, of new, strongly to be built, for the
commodity and honour of the city, with the goods of the said testator, without interruption, etc.

“Of executions at the Standard in Cheape, we read, that in the year 1293 three men had their right hands smitten

off there, for rescuing of a prisoner arrested by an officer of the city. In the year 1326, the burgesses of London caused
Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, treasurer to Edward II., and other, to be beheaded at the standard in Cheape (but

1

2

3

4

this was by Paule’s gate); in the year 1351, the 26th of Edward III., two fishmongers were beheaded at the standard in
Cheape, but I read not of their offence; 1381, Wat Tyler beheaded Richard Lions and other there. In the year 1399,
Henry IV. caused the blank charters made by Richard II. to be burnt there. In the year 1450, Jack Cade, captain of the
Kentish rebels, beheaded the Lord Say there. In the year 1461, John Davy had his hand stricken off there, because he
had stricken a man before the judges at Westminster, etc.

“Then next is a great cross in West Cheape, which cross was there erected in the year 1290 by Edward I. upon

occasion thus:—Queen Elianor his wife died at Hardeby (a town near unto the city of Lincoln), her body was brought
from thence to Westminster; and the king, in memory of her, caused in every place where her body rested by the way, a
stately cross of stone to be erected, with the queen’s image and arms upon it, as at Grantham, Woborne, Northampton,
Stony Stratford, Dunstable, St. Albones, Waltham, West Cheape, and at Charing, from whence she was conveyed to
Westminster, and there buried.

“This cross in West Cheape being like to those other which remain to this day, and being by length of time decayed,

John Hatherle, mayor of London, procured, in the year 1441, license of King Henry VI. to re-edify the same in more
beautiful manner for the honour of the city, and had license also to take up two hundred fodder of lead for the building
thereof of certain conduits, and a common granary. This cross was then curiously wrought at the charges of divers
citizens: John Fisher, mercer, gave six hundred marks toward it; the same was begun to be set up 1484, and finished
1486, the 2nd of Henry VII.

“In the year 1599, the timber of the cross at the top being rotted within the lead, the arms thereof bending, were

feared to have fallen to the harming of some people, and therefore the whole body of the cross was scaffolded about, and
the top thereof taken down, meaning in place thereof to have set up a piramis; but some of her majesty’s honourable
councillors directed their letters to Sir Nicholas Mosley, then mayor, by her highness’ express commandment concerning
the cross, forthwith to be repaired, and placed again as it formerly stood, etc., notwithstanding the said cross stood
headless more than a year after. After this (1600) a cross of timber was framed, set up, covered with lead, and gilded,
the body of the cross downward cleansed of dust, the scaffold carried thence. About twelve nights following, the image of
Our Lady was again defaced, by plucking off her crown, and almost her head, taking from her her naked child, and
stabbing her in the breast, etc. Thus much for the cross in West Cheape” (Stow’s Survey, 1633, pp. 278-80).

CHEAPSIDE CROSS (AS IT APPEARED ON ITS

ERECTION IN 1606).

From an original Drawing in the Pepysian Library,

Cambridge.

The cross was the object of much abuse by the Puritans, who at last succeeded in getting it pulled down. “On May

2nd, 1643, the Cross of Cheapside was pulled down. A troop of horse and two companies of foot waited to guard it; and,
at the fall of the top cross, drums beat, trumpets blew, and multitudes of caps were thrown into the air.... And the same
day, at night was the leaden popes[1] burnt in the place where it stood, with ringing of bells and a great acclamation”
(Wilkinson’s Londina Illustrata).

To continue Stow’s account:
“Then at the west end of West Cheape Street, was sometime a cross of stone, called the Old Cross. Ralph Higden, in

his Policronicon, saith, that Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, treasurer to Edward II., was by the burgesses of
London beheaded at this cross called the Standard, without the north door of St. Paul’s church; and so is it noted in other
writers that then lived. This old cross stood and remained at the east end of the parish church called St. Michael in the
Corne by Paule’s gate, near to the north end of the old Exchange, till the year 1390, the 13th of Richard II., in place of
which old cross then taken down, the said church of St. Michael was enlarged, and also a fair water conduit built about
the 9th of Henry VI.

“In the reign of Edward III., divers joustings were made in this street, betwixt Sopers lane and the great cross,

namely, one in the year 1331, the 21st of September, as I find noted by divers writers of that time.

“In the middle of the city of London (say they), in a street called Cheape, the stone pavement being covered with

sand, that the horses might not slide when they strongly set their feet to the ground, the king held a tournament three
days together, with the nobility, valiant men of the realm, and other some strange knights. And to the end the beholders
might with the better ease see the same, there was a wooden scaffold erected across the street, like unto a tower,
wherein Queen Philippa, and many other ladies, richly attired, and assembled from all parts of the realm, did stand to
behold the jousts; but the higher frame, in which the ladies were placed, brake in sunder, whereby they were with some
shame forced to fall down, by reason whereof the knights and such as were underneath, were grievously hurt; wherefore
the queen took great care to save the carpenters from punishment, and through her prayers (which she made upon her
knees) pacified the king and council, and thereby purchased great love of the people. After which time the king caused a
shed to be strongly made of stone, for himself, the queen, and other estates to stand on, and there to behold the
joustings, and other shows, at their pleasure, by the church of St. Mary Bow, as is showed in Cordwainer street ward”
(ibid.).

In 1754 Strype writes:
“Cheapside is a very stately spacious street, adorned with lofty buildings; well inhabited by Goldsmiths, Linen-

Drapers, Haberdashers, and other great dealers. The street, which is throughout of an equal breadth, begins westward
at Paternoster Row, and, in a straight line, runs to the Poultry, and from thence to the Royal exchange in Cornhill. And,
as this Street is yet esteemed the principal high street in the City, so it was formerly graced with a great Conduit, a
Standard, and a stately Cross; which last was pulled down in the Civil Wars. In the last Part, almost over-against
Mercers Chapel, stood a great Conduit; but this Conduit, standing almost in the Middle of the street, being
incommodious for Coaches and Carts, was thought fit by the Magistracy, after the great Fire, to be taken down, and built
no more.”

The great Conduit of Chepe, commenced in 1285, brought the water from Paddington, a distance of 3½ miles. It

stood opposite Mercers’ Hall and Chapel. It was a stone building long and low, battlemented, enclosing a leaden cistern.
In the year 1441 at the west end of Chepe and in the east end of the Church of St. Michael le Querne, the smaller conduit
was erected. Both conduits were destroyed in the Great Fire—the larger one was not rebuilt. The Standard opposite
Honey Lane was in later years fitted with a water cock always running. At the Standard many public executions took
place (Strype, vol. 1. p. 566).

Hardly any street of London is more frequently mentioned in annual documents than Chepe. There are many

ancient deeds of sale and conveyances still preserved at the Guildhall, relating to property in Chepe. In the Calendar of
Wills, houses, etc., in Chepe are bequeathed in more than two hundred wills there quoted; many ordinances concerning
Chepe are recorded in Riley’s Memorials.

5

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7

Stow has given some of the history of Chepe. His account may be supplemented by a few notes on other events and

persons connected with the street.

The antiquity of the street is proved by the discovery of Roman coins, Roman tesserae, Romano-British remains of

various kinds, and Saxon jewels. It is not, however, until the thirteenth century that we find historical events other than
the conveyance, etc., of land and tenements in Cheapside.

In the thirteenth century a part of Cheapside, if not the whole, was called the Crown Field; the part so called was

probably confined to a space on the east of Bow Church.

In the year 1232 we find the citizens mustering in arms at Mile End and “well arrayed” in Chepe.
In 1269 it is recorded that the pillory in Chepe was broken, and so remained for a whole year by the negligence of

the bailiffs, so that nobody could be put in pillory for that time. The bakers seized the opportunity for selling loaves of
short weight—even a third part short. But in 1270, on the Feast of St. Michael, the sheriffs had a new pillory made and
erected on the site of the old one. Then the hearts of the bakers failed them for fear, and the weight of the loaves
increased.

In 1273 the Mayor removed from Chepe all the stalls of the butchers and fishmongers, together with the stalls

which had been let and granted by the preceding sheriffs, although the persons occupying them had taken them for life
and had paid large sums for their leases. This was a political move, the intention being to deprive the stall-keepers of
their votes. The Mayor, however, defended the action on the ground that the King was about to visit the City, and that it
behoved him to clear the way of refuse and encumbrances.

In the year 1326 a letter was sent by the Queen and her son Edward calling upon the citizens of London to aid with

all their power in destroying the enemies of the land, and Hugh le Despenser in especial. Wherefore, when the head of
Hugh was carried in triumph through Chepe, with trumpets sounding, the citizens rejoiced.

In October of the same year when the Bishop of Exeter, Walter de Stapleton, was on his way to his house in “Elde

Dean’s Lane” to dine there, he was met by the mob, dragged into Chepe with one of his esquires, and there beheaded.
Another of the Bishop’s servants was beheaded in Chepe the same day.

On the birth of Edward III. on November 13, 1312, the people of London made great rejoicings, holding carols, i.e.

dances and songs, in Chepe for a fortnight, while the conduits ran wine.

In 1482 a grocer’s shop in Cheapside with a “hall” over it—perhaps a warehouse—was let for the rental of £4 : 6 : 8

per annum. The owner of the shop was Lord Howard, created Duke of Norfolk in 1483.

References to Cheapside multiply as we approach more modern times. In 1522, when Charles V. came to England,

lodgings were appointed for his retinue. Among them was a house in Cheapside, a goldsmith’s. It contained one parlour,
one kitchen, one chamber, and one bed. The murder of Dr. Lambe in 1631, the execution of William Hacket in 1591, the
burning of the Solemn Covenant in 1661,—these are incidents in the history of Cheapside. Many other events belonging
either to the history of the City or of the realm have been mentioned elsewhere.

In the sixteenth century one of the sights of London was the Goldsmiths’ Row, built in 1491 on the site of certain

shops and selds. Stow calls the Row “a most beautiful frame of faire houses and shops consisting of ten faire
dwellinghouses and fourteen shops, all in one frame, builded foure stories high, beautified towards the street with the
Goldsmith’s Arms and the likeness of woodmen, in memory of his name, riding on monstrous beasts all richly painted
and gilt.” Maitland, who certainly could not remember it, says that it was “beautiful to behold the glorious appearance of
the Goldsmith’s shops in the South row of Cheapside, which in a course reached from the Old Change of Bucklersbury
exclusive of four shops only, of three trades, in all that space.”

Coming now to a description of Cheapside as it is at present, we find a statue of Sir Robert Peel standing on a block

of granite. The whole is more than 20 feet in height. The statue was put up in 1855, and on the pedestal is the inscription
of Peel’s birth and death. On the north of Cheapside is a large stone block of building in one uniform style with shops on
the ground floor. This contains the Saddlers’ Hall, and in the middle is the great entrance way solidly carried out in
stone.

8

9

THE SADDLERS COMPANY

The date of the formation of the Company, and the circumstances under which it was founded, are unknown. It existed at a very

remote period. There is now preserved in the archives of the Collegiate Church of Saint Martin’s-le-Grand a parchment containing a
letter from that foundation, in which reference is made to the then ancient customs of the Guild. This document is believed to have been
written about the time of Henry II., Richard I., or John, most probably in the first of these reigns. In this letter reference is made to
“Ernaldus, the Alderman of the Guild.” This Ernaldus is stated by Mr. Alfred John Kempe, in his work Historical Notices of the
Collegiate Church of Saint Martin’s-le-Grand, to have lived before the Conquest, by which it may be inferred that the Company is of
Anglo-Saxon origin.

King Edward I., A.D. 1272, granted a charter. King Edward III., by his charter 1st December, 37 Edward III., A.D. 1363, granted

that as well in the City of London as in every other city, borough, or town where the art of Saddlers is exercised, one or two honest and
faithful men of the craft should be chosen and appointed by the Saddlers there dwelling to superintend and survey the craft. This charter
was exemplified and confirmed by Henry VI., Henry VII., and Henry VIII.

Richard II., by charter 20th March, 18 Richard II., A.D. 1374, granted to the men of the mystery of Saddlers of the City of London,

that for the good government of the mystery they may have one commonalty of themselves for ever, and that the men of the same
mystery and commonalty may choose and appoint every year four keepers of the men of the commonalty to survey, rule, and duly
govern the same. Furthermore, that the keepers and commonalty, and their successors, may purchase lands, to the yearly value of
twenty pounds, for the sustentation of the poor, old, weak and decayed persons of the mystery, and this charter was exemplified,
ratified, and confirmed by Edward IV.

Queen Elizabeth, by charter 9th November, 1 Elizabeth, A.D. 1558, exemplifies, ratifies, and confirms the previous charters, and

reincorporates the Company by the name of the wardens or keepers and commonalty of the mystery or art of Saddlers of the City of
London. The charter names and appoints four wardens to hold office from the date of the charter until the 14th August then following,
and authorises them to keep within their common hall an assembly of the wardens or keepers or freemen of the same mystery, or the
greater part of them, or of the wardens, and of eight of the most ancient and worthy freemen, being of the assistants of the mystery, and
that the wardens and eight of the assistants at least being present shall have full power to treat, consult, and agree upon the articles and
ordinances touching the mystery or art aforesaid, and the good rule, state, and government of the same. Power is given to elect four
wardens on the 14th August yearly. Power of giving two votes is given to the master at doubtful elections. Powers are also given for the
government and regulation of the trade.

This is one of the most ancient, as it is also one of the most interesting, of the City Companies. Their original quarter was at St.

Martin’s-le-Grand. The saddle played an important part in every man’s life at a time when riding was the only method of travelling.

The saddlers were connected with the Church of St. Martin’s-le-Grand and made some kind of convention with the Canons, the

nature of which is uncertain. Probably the Canons promised them their aid in support of their rights and privileges, in return for which
their religious gifts and fees were paid to the Church of St. Martin. The mystery of saddlery, like all others, overlapped, and encroached
upon, other mysteries and crafts. Then there followed quarrels. Thus in 1307 (Riley, Memorials, p. 156) there was an affray between the
saddlers on one side and the loriners, joiners, and painters on the other, on account of such encroachments. The quarrel was adjusted by
the Mayor and Aldermen. Another trouble to which so great a trade was liable, was the desire of the journeymen to break off into
fraternities of their own. This pretension was seriously taken in hand in 1796, and such fraternities were strictly forbidden.

The Company has had three halls, all on the same site. The first was burned in the Great Fire; the second in 1822; the present hall

was built after the second fire, and is at No. 141 Cheapside.

At the corner of Wood Street is what remains of the churchyard of St. Peter’s, Westcheap, the building of which was

destroyed in the Great Fire: a railed-in space, gravel covered and uninteresting, except for the magnificent plane-tree
which spreads its branches protectingly over the low roofs in front. On the walls of the old houses near are fixed two
monuments, and a little stone tablet rather high up, with the inscription:

“Erected at the sole cost and charges of the Parish of St. Peter’s, Westcheap, A.D. 1687,”

followed by the names of the churchwardens.

The Church of St. Peter, Westcheap, was also called SS. Peter and Paul. After the Great Fire its parish was annexed to that of

St. Matthew, Friday Street. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1302.

The patronage of the church was in the hands of the Abbot of St. Alban’s before 1302. Henry VIII. seized it and granted it in 1545 to

the Earl of Southampton, in whose successors it continued up to 1666.

Houseling people in 1548 were 360.
A chantry was founded here at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Nicholas de Faringdon, Mayor of London, 1313 and 1320, for

himself and Rose his wife, to which Lawrence Bretham de Faversham was admitted chaplain, October 24, 1361; the endowment fetched
£29 : 3 : 4 in 1548, when Sir W. Alee was priest. There was another at the Altar of the Holy Cross.

Sir John Munday, goldsmith, Mayor, was buried here in 1527; also Sir Alexander Avenon, Mayor in 1569; and Augustine Hind,

clothworker, Alderman, and Sheriff of London, who died in 1554.

The only charitable gifts recorded by Stow are: £2 : 4 : 4, the gift of Sir Lionel Ducket; 3s. 4d., the gift of Lady Read; 7s. 6d., the gift

of Mr. Walton.

John Gwynneth, Mus. Doc. and author, was rector here in 1545; also Richard Gwent, D.D., and William Boleyn, Archdeacon of

Winchester.

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ST. MARY-LE-BOW

But the ornament of Cheapside is St. Mary-le-Bow, which derived its additional name from its stone “bows” or arches. The date of

its foundation is not known, but it appears to have been during or before the reign of William the Conqueror. The court of the
Archbishop of Canterbury was held here before the Great Fire; and though the connection between the church and the ecclesiastical
courts has ceased, it is still used for the confirmation of the election of bishops. The “Court of Arches” owes its name to the fact that it
was held in the beautiful Norman crypt which still survives. The church has been made famous, Stow observes, as the scene of various
calamities, of which he records details. In 1469 the Common Council ordained the ringing of Bow Bell every evening at nine o’clock, but
the practice had existed for already more than a century; in 1515 the largest of the five bells was presented by William Copland. The
church was totally destroyed in 1666, as well as those of St. Pancras, Soper Lane and Allhallows, Honey Lane; the two last were not
rebuilt, their parishes being annexed to St. Mary’s. Wren began building the present church in 1671 and completed it in 1680. The cost
was greater than any other of Wren’s parish churches by £3000, £2000 of which was contributed by Dame Williamson. The steeple was
repaired by Sir William Staines in the eighteenth century, and again in 1820 by Mr. George Gwilt. In 1758, seven of the bells were recast,
new ones were added, and the ten were first rung in 1762 in honour of George III.’s birthday; the full number now is twelve. In 1786 the
parish of Allhallows, Bread Street, was united with this.

The earliest date of an incumbent is 1242.
The patronage of the church has always been in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury and his successors, but Henry III.

presented to it in 1242.

Houseling people in 1548 were 300.
The church measures 65 feet in length, 63 feet in breadth, and 38 feet in height; it contains a nave and two side aisles. The great

feature of the building is the steeple, which is the most elaborate of all Wren’s works and only exceeded in height by St. Bride’s. It rises at
the north-west end of the church and measures 32 square feet at the base. The tower contains three storeys. The highest is surmounted
by a cornice and balustrade with finials and vases, and a circular dome supporting a cylinder, lantern, and spire. The weather-vane is in
the form of a dragon, the City emblem. The total height is 221 feet 9 inches. The Norman crypt already mentioned still remains,
consisting of three aisles formed by massive columns; it probably formed part of the building in William I.’s time.

Chantries were founded here:
By John Causton, to which John Steveyns was admitted chaplain, December 2, 1452; by John Coventry, in the chapel of St.

Nicholas; by Henry Frowycke, whose endowment fetched £15 : 10s. in 1548; by John de Holleghe, whose endowment produced £7 in
1548; by Dame Eleanor, Prioress of Winchester, whose endowment yielded £4 in 1548.

The original church does not appear to have contained many monuments of note. Among the civic dignitaries buried here was

Nicholas Alwine, Lord Mayor in 1499, whose name is familiar to readers of The Last of the Barons.

Sir John Coventry, Mayor in 1425, was also buried here.
There is a tablet fixed over the vestry-room door, commemorating Dame Dionis Williamson, who gave £2000 towards the building

of the church. On the west wall a sarcophagus commemorates Bishop Newton, rector, who won celebrity by his edition of Milton first
published in 1749.

The parish possessed a considerable number of charities and gifts:
George Palin was donor of £100, to be devoted to the maintenance of a weekly lecture.
Mr. Banton, of £50 for the same purpose. There were others, to the total amount of £60.
There was one Charity School belonging to Cordwainer and Bread Street Wards for fifty boys and thirty girls, who were put to

employments and trades when fit.

The following are among the notable rectors:
Martin Fotherby (d. 1619), Bishop of Salisbury; Samuel Bradford (1652-1731), Bishop of Gloucester; Samuel Lisle (1683-1749),

Bishop of Norwich; Nicholas Felton (1556-1626), Bishop of Bristol; Thomas Newton (1704-1782), Bishop of Bristol; and William Van
Mildert (1765-1836), Bishop of Llandaff, and later the last Prince-Bishop of Durham.

Quaint sayings and traditions have gathered more thickly about St. Mary’s than about any of the City churches.

Dick Whittington’s story has made the name familiar to every British child; while to be born “within sound of Bow Bells”
is more dignified than to own oneself a Cockney. In sooth-saying we have the prophecy of Mother Shipton that when the
Grasshopper on the Exchange and the Dragon on Bow Church should meet, the streets should be deluged with blood.
They did so meet, being sent to the same yard for repair at the same time, but the prophecy was not fulfilled.

The ringing of the Bow bells in the Middle Ages signified closing-time for shops, and the ringer incurred the wrath of

the apprentices of Chepe if he failed to be punctual to the second.

We now proceed to the Poultry.
Stow thus describes the place:
“Now to begin again on the bank of the said Walbrooke, at the east end of the high street called the Poultrie, on the

north side thereof, is the proper parish church of St. Mildred, which church was new built upon Walbrooke in the year
1457. John Saxton their parson gave thirty-two pounds towards the building of the new choir, which now standeth upon
the course of Walbrooke.”

Strype says of it:
“The Poultry, a good large and broad Street, and a very great thoroughfare for Coaches, Carts, and foot-passengers,

being seated in the Heart of the City, and leading to and from the Royal Exchange; and from thence to Fleet Street, the
Strand, Westminster, and the western parts: and therefore so well inhabited by great tradesmen. It begins in the West,
by the old Jewry, where Cheapside ends, and reaches the Stocks market by Cornhill. On the North side is Scalding Alley;
a large place, containing two or three Alleys, and a square Court with good buildings, and well inhabited; but the greatest
part is in Bread Street Ward, where it is mentioned.”

Roman knives and weapons have been found in the Poultry. The valley of the Walbrook, 130 feet in width, began its

slope here. Nearly opposite Princes Street, a modern street, there was anciently a bridge over the stream. We find in the
thirteenth century an inquest held here over the body of one Agnes de Golden Lane, who was found starved to death, a
rare circumstance at that time, and only possible, one would think, considering the charity of the monastic houses, in the
case of a bedridden person forgotten or deserted by her own people. In the fourteenth century there are various
bequests of shops and tenements in the Poultry. In the fifteenth century we find that there was a brewery here, near
the Compter; how did the brewer get his water? In the same century the Compter—which was one of the two sheriffs’
prisons—seems to belong to one Walter Hunt, a grocer. In the sixteenth century one of the rioters of 1517 was hanged in
the Poultry; there was trouble about the pavements and complaints were made of obstructions by butchers, poulterers,
and the ancestors of the modern coster, who sold things from barrows, stopping up the road and refusing to move on.
Before the Fire there were many taverns in the Poultry; some of them had the signs which have been found belonging to
the Poultry.

The later associations of the place have been detailed by Cunningham:
“Lubbock’s Banking-house is leased of the Goldsmiths, being part of Sir Martin Bowes’s bequest to the Company in

Queen Elizabeth’s time. The King’s Head Tavern, No. 25, was kept in Charles II.’s time by William King. His wife
happening to be in labour on the day of the King’s restoration, was anxious to see the returning monarch, and Charles, in

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