And take in Pimlico, and kill the bush
At every tavern."
In 1609, was printed a tract entitled _Pimlyco_, or _Prince Red Cap,
'tis a Mad World at Hogsden_. Sir Lionel Hash, in Green's _Tu Quoque_,
sends his daughter "as far as Pimlico for a draught of Derby ale, that
it may bring colour into her cheeks." Massinger mentions,
"Eating pudding-pies on a Sunday,
At Pimlico or Islington."--_City Madam._
Aubrey, in his _Surrey_, speaks of "a Pimlico Garden on Bankside."
Pimlico, the district between Knightsbridge and the Thames, and St.
James's Park and Chelsea, was noted for its public gardens: as the
Mulberry Garden, now part of the site of Buckingham Palace; the Dwarf
Tavern and Gardens, afterwards Spring Gardens, between Ebury-street
and Belgrave-terrace; the Star and Garter, at the end of
Five-Fields-row, famous for its equestrianism, fireworks, and dancing;
and the Orange, upon the site of St. Barnabas' church. Here, too, were
Ranelagh and New Ranelagh. But the largest garden in Pimlico was
Jenny's Whim, already described. In later years it was frequented by
crowds from bull-baiting in the adjoining fields. Among the existing
old signs are, the Bag o' Nails, Arabella-row, from Ben Jonson's
"Bacchanals;" the Compasses, of Cromwell's time (near Grosvenor-row);
and the Gun Tavern and Tea-gardens, Queen's-row, with its harbours and
costumed figures taken down for the Buckingham Gate improvements.
Pimlico is still noted for its ale-breweries.
LAMBETH,--VAUXHALL TAVERNS AND GARDENS, ETC.
On the south bank of the Thames, at the time of the Restoration, were
first laid out the New Spring Gardens, at Lambeth (Vauxhall), so
called to distinguish them from Spring Garden, Charing Cross. Nearly
two centuries of gay existence had Vauxhall Gardens, notwithstanding
the proverbial fickleness of our climate, and its ill-adaptation for
out-door amusements. The incidents of its history are better known
than those of Marylebone or Ranelagh Gardens; so that we shall not
here repeat the Vauxhall programmes. The gardens were finally closed
in 1859, and the ground is now built upon: a church, of most beautiful
design, and a school of art, being the principal edifices.
"Though Vauxhall Gardens retained their plan to the last, the lamps
had long fallen off in their golden fires; the punch got weaker, the
admission-money less; and the company fell in a like ratio of
respectability, and grew dingy, not to say raffish,--a sorry
falling-off from the Vauxhall crowd of a century since, when it
numbered princes and ambassadors; 'on its tide and torrent of fashion
floated all the beauty of the time; and through its lighted avenues of
trees glided cabinet ministers and their daughters, royal dukes and
their wives, and all the red-heeled macaronies.' Even fifty years ago,
the evening costume of the company was elegant: head-dresses of
flowers and feathers were seen in the promenade, and the entire place
sparkled as did no other place of public amusement. But low prices
brought low company. The conventional wax-lights got fewer; the punch
gave way to fiery brandy or doctored stout. The semblance of Vauxhall
was still preserved in the orchestra printed upon the plates and mugs;
and the old fire-work bell tinkled as gaily as ever. But matters grew
more seedy; the place seemed literally worn out; the very trees were
scrubby and singed; and it was high time to say, as well as see, in
letters of lamps, 'Farewell for ever!'"[52]
Several other taverns and gardens have existed at different times in
this neighbourhood. Cumberland Gardens' site is now Vauxhall
Bridge-road, and Cuper's Garden was laid out with walks and arbours by
Boydell Cuper, gardener to Thomas, Earl of Arundel, who gave him some
of the mutilated Arundelian marbles (statues), which Cuper set up in
his ground: it was suppressed in 1753: the site is now crossed by
Waterloo Bridge Road. Belvidere House and Gardens adjoined Cuper's
Garden, in Queen Anne's reign.
The Hercules Inn and Gardens occupied the site of the Asylum for
Female Orphans, opened in 1758; and opposite were the Apollo Gardens
and the Temple of Flora, Mount-row, opened 1788. A century earlier
there existed, in King William's reign, Lambeth Wells, in Three Coney
Walk, now Lambeth Walk; it was reputed for its mineral waters, sold at
a penny a quart, "the same price paid by St. Thomas's Hospital." About
1750 a Musical Society was held here, and lectures and experiments
were given on natural philosophy by Erasmus King, who had been
coachman to Dr. Desaguliers. In Stangate-lane, Carlisle-street, is the
Bower Saloon, with its theatre and music-room, a pleasure-haunt of our
own time. Next is Canterbury Hall, the first established of the great
Music Halls of the metropolis.
The Dog and Duck was a place of entertainment in St. George's Fields,
where duck-hunting was one of its brutal amusements. The house was
taken down upon the rebuilding of Bethlehem Hospital; and the
sign-stone, representing a dog squatting upon his haunches, with a
duck in his mouth, with the date 1617, is imbedded in the brick wall
of the Hospital garden, upon the site of the entrance to the old
tavern; and at the Hospital is a drawing of the Dog and Duck: it was a
resort of Hannah More's "Cheapside Apprentice."
Bermondsey Spa, a chalybeate spring, discovered about 1770, was
opened, in 1780, as a minor Vauxhall, with fireworks, pictures of
still life, and a picture-model of the Siege of Gibraltar, painted by
Keyse, the entire apparatus occupying about four acres. He died in
1800, and the garden was shut up about 1805. There are Tokens of the
place extant, and the Spa-road is named from it.
A few of the old Southwark taverns have been described. From its being
the seat of our early Theatres, the houses of entertainment were here
very numerous, in addition to the old historic Inns, which are fast
disappearing. In the Beaufoy collection are several Southwark Tavern
Tokens; as--The Bore's Head, 1649 (between Nos. 25 and 26
High-street). Next also is a Dogg and Dvcke token, 1651 (St. George's
Fields); the Greene Man, 1651 (which remains in Blackman-street); ye
Bull Head Taverne, 1667, mentioned by Edward Alleyn, founder of
Dulwich College, as one of his resorts; Duke of Suffolk's Head, 1669;
and the Swan with Two Necks.
FOOTNOTE:
[52] See the Descriptions of Vauxhall Gardens in _Curiosities of
London_, pp. 745-748. _Walks and Talks about London_, pp. 16-30.
_Romance of London_, vol. iii. pp. 34-44.
FREEMASONS' LODGES.
Mr. Elmes, in his admirable work, _Sir Christopher Wren and his
Times_, 1852, thus glances at the position of Freemasonry in the
Metropolis two centuries since, or from the time of the Great Fire:
"In 1666 Wren was nominated deputy Grand Master under Earl Rivers, and
distinguished himself above all his predecessors in legislating for
the body at large, and in promoting the interests of the lodges under
his immediate care. He was Master of the St. Paul's Lodge, which,
during the building of the Cathedral, assembled at the Goose and
Gridiron in St. Paul's Churchyard, and is now the Lodge of Antiquity,
acting by immemorial prescription, and regularly presided at its
meetings for upwards of eighteen years. During his presidency he
presented that Lodge with three mahogany candlesticks, beautifully
carved, and the trowel and mallet which he used in laying the first
stone of the Cathedral, June 21, 1675, which the brethren of that
ancient and distinguished Lodge still possess and duly appreciate.
"During the building of the City, Lodges were held by the fraternity
in different places, and several new ones constituted, which were
attended by the leading architects and the best builders of the day,
and amateur brethren of the mystic craft. In 1674 Earl Rivers resigned
his grand-mastership, and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was
elected to the dignified office. He left the care of the Grand Lodge
and the brotherhood to the deputy Grand Master Wren and his Wardens.
During the short reign of James II., who tolerated no secret societies
but the Jesuits, the Lodges were but thinly attended; but in 1685, Sir
Christopher Wren was elected Grand Master of the Order, and nominated
Gabriel Cibber, the sculptor, and Edward Strong, the master mason at
St. Paul's and other of the City churches, as Grand Wardens. The
Society has continued with various degrees of success to the present
day, particularly under the grand-masterships of the Prince of Wales,
afterwards King George IV.,[53] and his brother, the late Duke of
Sussex, and since the death of the latter, under that of the Earl of
Zetland; and Lodges under the constitution of the Grand Lodge of
England are held in every part of the habitable globe, as its
numerically and annually-increasing lists abundantly show."
Sir Francis Palgrave, in an elaborate paper in the _Edinburgh Review_,
April, 1839, however, takes another view of the subject, telling us
that "the connexion between the operative masons,[54] and those whom,
without disrespect, we must term a convivial society of good fellows,
met at the 'Goose and Gridiron, in St. Paul his Churchyard,' appears
to have been finally dissolved about the beginning of the eighteenth
century. The theoretical and mystic, for we dare not say ancient,
Freemasons, separated from the Worshipful Company of Masons and
Citizens of London about the period above mentioned. It appears from
an inventory of the contents of the chest of the London Company, that
not very long since, it contained 'a book wrote on parchment, and
bound or stitched in parchment, containing 113 annals of the
antiquity, rise, and progress of the art and mystery of Masonry.' But
this document is not now to be found."
There is in existence, and known to persons who take an interest in
the History of Freemasonry, a copperplate List of Freemasons' Lodges
in London in the reign of Queen Anne, with a representation of the
Signs, and some Masonic ceremony, in which are eleven figures of
well-dressed men, in the costume of the above period. There were then
129 Lodges, of which 86 were in London, 36 in English cities, and
seven abroad.
Freemasonry evidently sprang up in London at the building of St.
Paul's; and many of the oldest Lodges are in the neighbourhood. But
the head-quarters of Freemasonry, are the Grand Hall, in the rear of
Freemasons' Tavern, 62, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's Inn Fields: it
was commenced May 1, 1775, from the designs of Thomas Sandby, R.A.,
Professor of Architecture in the Royal Academy: 5000_l._ was raised by
a Tontine towards the cost; and the Hall was opened and dedicated in
solemn form, May 23, 1776; Lord Petre, Grand-Master. "It is the first
house built in this country with the appropriate symbols of masonry,
and with the suitable apartments for the holding of lodges, the
initiating, passing, raising, and exalting of brethren." Here are held
the Grand and other lodges, which hitherto assembled in the Halls of
the City Companies.
Freemasons' Hall, as originally decorated, is shown in a print of the
annual procession of Freemasons' Orphans, by T. Stothard, R.A. It is a
finely-proportioned room, 92 feet by 43 feet, and 60 feet high; and
will hold 1500 persons: it was re-decorated in 1846: the ceiling and
coving are richly decorated; above the principal entrance is a large
gallery, with an organ; and at the opposite end is a coved recess,
flanked by a pair of fluted Ionic columns, and Egyptian doorways; the
sides are decorated with fluted Ionic pilasters; and throughout the
room in the frieze are masonic emblems, gilt upon a transparent blue
ground. In the intercolumniations are full-length royal and other
masonic portraits, including that of the Duke of Sussex, as
Grand-Master, by Sir W. Beechey, R.A. In the end recess is a marble
statue of the Duke of Sussex, executed for the Grand Lodge, by E. H.
Baily, R.A. The statue is seven feet six inches high, and the pedestal
six feet; the Duke wears the robes of a Knight of the Garter, and the
Guelphic insignia: at his side is a small altar, sculptured with
masonic emblems.
FOOTNOTES:
[53] The Prince was initiated in a Lodge at the Key and Garter, No.
26, Pall Mall.
[54] Hampton Court Palace was built by Freemasons, as appears from the
very curious accounts of the expenses of the fabric, extant among the
public records of London.
WHITEBAIT TAVERNS.
At what period the lovers of good living first went to eat Whitebait
at "the taverns contiguous to the places where the fish is taken," is
not very clear. At all events, the houses did not resemble the
Brunswick, the West India Dock, the Ship, or the Trafalgar, of the
present day, these having much of the architectural pretension of a
modern club-house.
Whitebait have long been numbered among the delicacies of our tables;
for we find "six dishes of Whitebait" in the funeral feast of the
munificent founder of the Charterhouse, given in the Hall of the
Stationers' Company, on May 28, 1612--the year before the Globe
Theatre was burnt down, and the New River completed. For aught we know
these delicious fish may have been served up to Henry VIII. and Queen
Elizabeth in their palace at Greenwich, off which place, and Blackwall
opposite, Whitebait have been for ages taken in the Thames at
flood-tide. To the river-side taverns we must go to enjoy a "Whitebait
dinner," for, one of the conditions of success is that the fish should
be directly netted out of the river into the cook's cauldron.
About the end of March, or early in April, Whitebait make their
appearance in the Thames, and are then small, apparently but just
changed from the albuminous state of the young fry. During June, July,
and August, immense quantities are consumed by visitors to the
different taverns at Greenwich and Blackwall.
Pennant says: Whitebait "are esteemed very delicious when fried with
fine flour, and occasion during the season a vast resort of the _lower
order of epicures_ to the taverns contiguous to the places where they
are taken." If this account be correct, there must have been a strange
change in the grade of the epicures frequenting Greenwich and
Blackwall since Pennant's days; for at present, the fashion of eating
Whitebait is sanctioned by the highest authorities, from the Court of
St. James's Palace in the West, to the Lord Mayor and _his_ court in
the East; besides the philosophers of the Royal Society, and her
Majesty's Cabinet Ministers. Who, for example, does not recollect such
a paragraph as the following, which appeared in the _Morning Post_ of
the day on which Mr. Yarrell wrote his account of Whitebait, September
10th, 1835?--
"Yesterday, the Cabinet Ministers went down the river in the Ordnance
barges to Lovegrove's West India Dock Tavern, Blackwall, to partake of
their annual fish dinner. Covers were laid for thirty-five gentlemen."
For our own part, we consider the Ministers did not evince their usual
good policy in choosing so late a period as September; the Whitebait
being finer eating in July or August; so that their "annual fish
dinner" must rather be regarded as a sort of prandial wind-up of the
parliamentary session than as a specimen of refined epicurism.
We remember many changes in matters concerning Whitebait at Greenwich
and Blackwall. Formerly, the taverns were mostly built with
weather-board fronts, with bow-windows, so as to command a view of
the river. The old Ship, and the Crown and Sceptre, taverns at
Greenwich were built in this manner; and some of the Blackwall houses
were of humble pretensions: these have disappeared, and handsome
architectural piles have been erected in their places. Meanwhile,
Whitebait have been sent to the metropolis, by railway, or steamer,
where they figure in fishmongers' shops, and tavern _cartes_ of almost
every degree.
Perhaps the famed delicacy of Whitebait rests as much upon its skilful
cookery as upon the freshness of the fish. Dr. Pereira has published
the mode of cooking in one of Lovegrave's "bait-kitchens" at
Blackwall. The fish should be dressed within an hour after being
caught, or they are apt to cling together. They are kept in water,
from which they are taken by a skimmer as required; they are then
thrown upon a layer of flour, contained in a large napkin, in which
they are shaken until completely enveloped in flour; they are then put
into a colander, and all the superfluous flour is removed by sifting;
the fish are next thrown into hot lard contained in a copper cauldron
or stew-pan placed over a charcoal fire; in about two minutes they are
removed by a tin skimmer, thrown into a colander to drain, and served
up instantly, by placing them on a fish-drainer in a dish. The
rapidity of the cooking process is of the utmost importance; and if it
be not attended to, the fish will lose their crispness, and be
worthless. At table, lemon juice is squeezed over them, and they are
seasoned with Cayenne pepper; brown bread and butter is substituted
for plain bread; and they are eaten with iced champagne, or punch.
The origin of the Ministers' Fish Dinner, already mentioned, has been
thus pleasantly narrated:
Every year, the approach of the close of the Parliamentary Session is
indicated by what is termed "the Ministerial Fish Dinner," in which
Whitebait forms a prominent dish; and Cabinet Ministers are the
company. The Dinner takes place at a principal tavern, usually at
Greenwich, but sometimes at Blackwall: the dining-room is decorated
for the occasion, which partakes of a state entertainment. Formerly,
however, the Ministers went down the river from Whitehall in an
Ordnance gilt barge: now, a government steamer is employed. The origin
of this annual festivity is told as follows. On the banks of Dagenham
Lake or Reach, in Essex, many years since, there stood a cottage,
occupied by a princely merchant named Preston, a baronet of Scotland
and Nova Scotia, and sometime M.P. for Dover. He called it his
"fishing cottage," and often in the spring he went thither, with a
friend or two, as a relief to the toils of parliamentary and
mercantile duties. His most frequent guest was the Right Hon. George
Rose, Secretary of the Treasury, and an Elder Brother of the Trinity
House. Many a day did these two worthies enjoy at Dagenham Reach; and
Mr. Rose once intimated to Sir Robert, that Mr. Pitt, of whose
friendship they were both justly proud, would, no doubt, delight in
the comfort of such a retreat. A day was named, and the Premier was
invited; and he was so well pleased with his reception at the "fishing
cottage"--they were all two if not three bottle men--that, on taking
leave, Mr. Pitt readily accepted an invitation for the following year.
For a few years, the Premier continued a visitor to Dagenham, and was
always accompanied by Mr. George Rose. But the distance was
considerable; the going and coming were somewhat inconvenient for the
First Minister of the Crown. Sir Robert Preston, however, had his
remedy, and he proposed that they should in future dine nearer London.
Greenwich was suggested: we do not hear of Whitebait in the Dagenham
dinners, and its introduction, probably, dates from the removal to
Greenwich. The party of three was now increased to four; Mr. Pitt
being permitted to bring Lord Camden. Soon after, a fifth guest was
invited--Mr. Charles Long, afterwards Lord Farnborough. All were still
the guests of Sir Robert Preston; but, one by one, other notables were
invited,--all Tories--and, at last, Lord Camden considerately
remarked, that, as they were all dining at a tavern, it was but fair
that Sir Robert Preston should be relieved from the expense. It was
then arranged that the dinner should be given, as usual, by Sir Robert
Preston, that is to say, at his invitation; and he insisted on still
contributing a buck and champagne: the rest of the charges were
thenceforth defrayed by the several guests; and, on this plan, the
meeting continued to take place annually till the death of Mr. Pitt.
Sir Robert was requested, next year, to summon the several guests, the
list of whom, by this time, included most of the Cabinet Ministers.
The time for meeting was usually after Trinity Monday, a short period
before the end of the Session. By degrees, the meeting, which was
originally purely gastronomic, appears to have assumed, in consequence
of the long reign of the Tories, a political, or semi-political
character. Sir Robert Preston died; but Mr. Long, now Lord
Farnborough, undertook to summon the several guests, the list of whom
was furnished by Sir Robert Preston's private secretary. Hitherto, the
invitations had been sent privately: now they were dispatched in
Cabinet boxes, and the party was, certainly, for some time, limited to
the Members of the Cabinet. A dinner lubricates ministerial as well as
other business; so that the "Ministerial Fish Dinner" may "contribute
to the grandeur and prosperity of our beloved country."
The following Carte is from the last edition of the _Art of Dining_,
in Murray's _Railway Reading_:--
_Fish Dinner at Blackwall or Greenwich._
La tortue à l'Anglaise.
La bisque d'écrevisses.
Le consommé aux quenelles de merlan.
De tortue claire.
Les casseroles de green fat feront le tour de la table.
Les tranches de saumon (crimped).
Le poisson de St. Pierre à la crême.
Le zoutchet de perches.
" de truites.
" de flottons.
" de soles (crimped).
" de saumon.
" d'anguilles.
Les lamproies à la Worcester.
Les croques en bouches de laitances de maquereau.
Les boudins de merlans à la reine.
Garnis { Les soles menues frites.
de { Les petits carrelets frites.
persil { Croquettes de homard.
frit. { Les filets d'anguilles.
La truite saumonée à la Tartare.
Le whitebait: _id._ à la diable.
_Second Service._
Les petits poulets au cresson--le jambonneau aux épinards.
La Mayonnaise de filets de soles--les filets de merlans à
l'Arpin.
Les petits pois à l'Anglaise--les artichauts à la Barigoule.
La gelée de Marasquin aux fraises--les pets de nonnes.
Les tartelettes aux cerises--les célestines à la fleur
d'orange.
Le baba à la compôte d'abricots--le fromage Plombière.
Mr. Walker, in his _Original_, gives an account of a dinner he
ordered, at Lovegrove's, at Blackwall, where if you never dined, so
much the worse for you:--
"The party will consist of seven men besides myself, and
every guest is asked for some reason--upon which good
fellowship mainly depends; for people brought together
unconnectedly had, in my opinion, better be kept separately.
Eight I hold the golden number, never to be exceeded without
weakening the efficacy of concentration. The dinner is to
consist of turtle, followed by no other fish but Whitebait,
which is to be followed by no other meat but grouse, which
are to be succeeded simply by apple-fritters and jelly,
pastry on such occasions being quite out of place. With the
turtle, of course, there will be punch; with the Whitebait,
champagne; and with the grouse, claret; the two former I
have ordered to be particularly well iced, and they will all
be placed in succession upon the table, so that we can help
ourselves as we please. I shall permit no other wines,
unless, perchance, a bottle or two of port, if particularly
wanted, as I hold variety of wines a great mistake. With
respect to the adjuncts, I shall take care that there is
cayenne, with lemons cut in halves, not in quarters, within
reach of every one, for the turtle, and that brown bread and
butter in abundance is set upon the table for the Whitebait.
It is no trouble to think of these little matters
beforehand, but they make a vast difference in convivial
contentment. The dinner will be followed by ices, and a good
dessert, after which coffee and one glass of liqueur each,
and no more; so that the present may be enjoyed without
inducing retrospective regrets. If the master of a feast
wish his party to succeed, he must know how to command; and
not let his guests run riot, each according to his own wild
fancy."
THE LONDON TAVERN,