School_, not for the building itself, but for the celebrity of the
institution; although the college hall, once the refectory of the old
abbots of Westminster, is interesting from its very antiquity. The
school, which was founded in 1560, lies south-west of Westminster Abbey,
but very near it. Some of our greatest statesmen and scholars have been
educated here. _St. Paul’s School_, situated on the eastern side of St.
Paul’s Churchyard, was founded in 1521, by Dean Colet, for the education
of ‘poor men’s children.’ Like many others of the older schools, the
benefits are not conferred so fully as they ought to be on the class
designated. The presentations are wholly in the hands of the Mercers’
Company. The now existing school-house, the third on the same site, was
built in 1823. The _Charter House School_, near Aldersgate Street, is
part of a charity established by Thomas Sutton in 1611. Among other
great men here educated were the late Sir Henry Havelock, and W. M.
Thackeray. There is an Hospital or Almshouse for about 80 ‘poor
Brethren,’ men who have seen better days; and there is a school for the
free education of 40 ‘poor Boys,’ with many more whose parents pay for
their schooling. The chapel and ante-chapel, the great hall and
staircase, and the governor’s room, are interesting parts of the
building. _Christ’s Hospital_, or the _Blue Coat School_—as it is
commonly called from the colour of the boys’ dress—is situated within an
enclosure on the north side of Newgate Street, and is one of the most
splendid among the charitable foundations of London. The buildings stand
on the site of a monastery of Grey-friars, which was granted by Henry
VIII. to the city for the use of the poor; and his son and successor,
Edward VI., greatly extended the value of the gift by granting a charter
for its foundation as a charity school, and at the same time endowing it
with sundry benefactions. The hospital was opened, for the reception and
education of boys, in 1552. Charles II. added an endowment for a
mathematical class; and with various augmentations of endowment, the
annual revenue is now understood to be no less than £40,000. This income
supports and educates nearly 1200 children, 500 of whom, including girls,
are boarded at the town of Hertford, for the sake of country air. The
management of the institution is vested in a body of governors, composed
of the lord mayor and aldermen, twelve common-councilmen chosen by lot,
and all benefactors to the amount of £400 and upwards. The children are
admitted without reference to the City privileges of parents; about one
hundred and fifty are entered annually. It is undeniable, however, that
many children are admitted rather through interest than on account of the
poverty of their parents. After instruction in the elementary branches
of schooling, the greater number of the boys leave the hospital at the
age of fifteen; those only remaining longer who intend to proceed to the
university, or to go to sea after completing a course of mathematics.
There are seven presentations at Cambridge, and one at Oxford, open to
the scholars. The buildings of the institution embrace several
structures of large dimensions, chiefly ranged round open courts, with
cloisters beneath; and a Church, which also serves as a parochial place
of worship. The only part of the establishment, however, worth examining
for its architecture is the Great Hall, occupying the first floor of a
building of modern date, designed by Mr. Shaw, in the Gothic style. It
measures 187 feet long, 51 feet broad, and 47 high, and possesses an
organ-gallery at the east end. In this magnificent apartment the boys
breakfast, dine, and sup. Before meals, one of the elder inmates repeats
a long grace or prayer, at the commencement of which the whole of the
boys, in lines at their respective tables, fall on their knees. The boys
are dressed in the costume selected for them in Edward VI.’s reign; the
outer garments consisting of a long dark-blue coat, breeches, and yellow
worsted stockings. The ‘public suppers,’ on Thursdays in Lent, are worth
the attention of strangers: (tickets from governors.) _Merchant Taylors’
School_, situated in a close part of the City behind the Mansion House,
was founded in 1561 by the Merchant Taylors’ Company. The present
structure was built in 1673, with the exception of some of the
classrooms, which are much more modern. About 260 boys are educated,
wholly on the presentation of members of the Company; and there are
numerous fellowships at St. John’s College, Oxford, open to the scholars.
_Mercers’ Free Grammar School_, in College Hill, is a small establishment
of similar kind. The _City of London School_, in Milk Street, Cheapside,
is one of the most modern of these _Grammar_ Schools, as they are called.
It was founded in 1835, and possesses several Exhibitions for successful
senior scholars.
Other Schools.—The schools established under the auspices of the National
Society, called _National_ Schools, are very numerous, but need hardly be
noticed here. The _British and Foreign School Society_, in the Borough
Road, and the _Home and Colonial School Society_, in Gray’s Inn Road,
train up teachers without reference to religious tests; whereas the
_National Society_ is in connection with the Church of England. Many
very superior schools for girls, under the designation of _Ladies’
Colleges_, have been established in the metropolis within the last few
years, in Harley Street and in Bedford Square, &c. The _Government
School of Art for Ladies_ is in Queen Square, Bloomsbury. The _National
Art Training School_ is at South Kensington.
The London School Board, elected in 1870, under the new Education Act,
has its _locale_ at 33 New Bridge Street, Blackfriars. It has,
practically speaking, almost entire control of the educational systems of
the metropolis, and is armed with inquisitorial powers that remind us of
the ancient Star Chamber. Still, the system of election of the members
of the Board gives a certain guarantee of responsibility, that makes its
prestige, at least, without suspicion.
Schools of Telegraphy are established at 138 Regent Street, W., and 24
City Road, E.C., where the art is fully instructed, to resident and
non-resident pupils.
Hospitals and Charitable Institutions.—A small volume might readily be
filled with a list of London’s charitable institutions. The charities
connected in some way with the corporation of London are _Christ’s
Hospital_, for boarding and educating youth, already mentioned;
_Bethlehem Hospital_, Lambeth, for insane patients; _St. Thomas’s
Hospital_, for treating poor patients diseased and hurt; and _St.
Bartholomew’s Hospital_, West Smithfield, for the same purpose. The City
companies likewise support a number of beneficiary institutions, such as
the _Ironmongers’ Almhouses_ at Kingsland, and others of like kind. The
following hospitals are the most important among the large number founded
and supported by private benevolence:—_Guy’s Hospital_, Southwark;
_London Hospital_, Whitechapel Road; _Westminster Hospital_, near the
Abbey; _St. George’s Hospital_, Hyde Park Corner; _Middlesex Hospital_,
Charles Street, Oxford Street; _University College Hospital_, Gower
Street; _St. Luke’s Hospital_, for the insane, City Road; _King’s College
Hospital_, near Clare Market; _Small-Pox Hospital_, Highgate Rise; the
_Foundling Hospital_, Great Guildford Street; the _Consumption Hospital_,
Brompton; _Charing Cross Hospital_, Agar Street; the _Lock Hospital_,
Harrow Road; and the _Royal Free Hospital_, Gray’s Inn Road. Besides
these, there are several Lying-in hospitals, a Floating hospital on the
Thames, now substituted by a part of Greenwich Hospital being devoted to
a similar use; various Ophthalmic hospitals, and numerous Dispensaries
and Infirmaries for particular diseases. Institutions for the relief of
indigent persons, Deaf and Dumb asylums, Blind asylums, and Orphan
asylums, are far too numerous to be specified. In short, there are in
this great metropolis about 250 hospitals, dispensaries, infirmaries,
asylums, and almshouses; besides at least 400 religious, visiting, and
benevolent institutions for ministering to the various ills, mental and
moral, bodily or worldly, to which an immense population is always
subject. It is supposed that these several institutions receive in
subscriptions considerably over £2,000,000 annually. Some of the
hospital buildings above named are large and majestic in appearance.
When, for the Charing Cross extension of the South-Eastern Railway, St.
Thomas’s Hospital and site, which formerly stood close to London Bridge
Station, were purchased for a sum not very much under £300,000, it was
arranged to rebuild the hospital between the south end of Westminster
Bridge and Lambeth Palace. This hospital, which is now completed,
affords a fine object from a steamboat passing up the river, and is
certainly one of the noblest buildings of its class in Europe.
THE TOWER; THE MINT; THE CUSTOM HOUSE; THE GENERAL POST OFFICE.
This section treats of four important government buildings situated in
the eastern half of the metropolis.
The Tower of London.—This famous structure, or rather group of
structures, is a cluster of houses, towers, barracks, armouries,
warehouses, and prison-like edifices, situated on the north bank of the
Thames, and separated from the crowded narrow streets of the city by an
open space of ground called Tower-hill. The Tower was founded by William
the Conqueror, probably on the site of an older fortress, to secure his
authority over the inhabitants of London; but the original fort which he
established on the spot was greatly extended by subsequent monarchs; and
in the twelfth century it was surrounded by a wet ditch, which was
improved in the reign of Charles II. This ditch or moat was drained in
1843. Within the outer wall the ground measures upwards of twelve acres.
Next the river there is a broad quay; and on this side also there was a
channel (now closed) by which boats formerly passed into the main body of
the place. This water-entrance is known by the name of Traitors’ Gate,
being that by which, in former days, state prisoners were brought in
boats after their trial at Westminster. There are three other entrances
or postern-gates—Lion Gate, Iron Gate, and Water Gate—only two of which,
however, are now used. The interior of the Tower is an irregular
assemblage of short streets and courtyards, bounded by various
structures. The _White Tower_, or _Keep_, is the oldest of these
buildings; and the _Chapel_ in it is a fine specimen of a small Norman
church. Other towers are the _Lion Tower_, near the principal entrance;
the _Middle Tower_, the first seen on passing the ditch; the _Bell
Tower_, adjacent to it; the _Bloody Tower_, nearly opposite _Traitors’
Gate_; the _Salt Tower_, near the Iron Gate; _Brick Tower_, where Lady
Jane Grey was confined; _Bowyer Tower_, where the Duke of Clarence is
said to have been [Picture: Chapel in Tower] drowned in the butt of
malmsey; and _Beauchamp Tower_, where Anne Boleyn was imprisoned. These
old towers are very curious, but few of them are open to the public. The
principal objects of interest are a collection of cannon, being trophies
of war; the horse armoury, a most interesting collection of suits of mail
on stuffed figures; and the crown and other insignia of royalty. In the
_Horse Armoury_, a long gallery built in 1826, is an extensive collection
of armour, arranged by Sir Samuel Meyrick, a great authority on this
subject. It comprises whole suits of armour, consisting of hauberks,
chausses, surcoats, baldricks, breast-plates, back-plates, chain-mail
sleeves and skirts, gauntlets, helmets, frontlets, vamplates, flanchards,
and other pieces known to the old armourers. About twenty complete suits
of armour are placed upon stuffed figures of men, mostly on stuffed
horses. Four of the suits belonged to Henry VIII., Dudley Earl of
Leicester, Henry Prince of Wales, and Charles I.; the others are merely
intended to illustrate the kinds of armour in vogue at certain periods.
One suit, of the time of Richard III., [Picture: Traitor’s Gate, Chapel
White Tower] was worn by the Marquis of Waterford at the Eglinton
tournament in 1839. The gallery also contains some other curiosities
relating to the armour of past days. _Queen Elizabeth’s Armoury_ is in
the White Tower, the walls of which are 13 feet thick, and still contain
traces of inscriptions by state prisoners in troubled times: the armoury
contains many curious old shields, bows, Spanish instruments of torture,
petronels, partisans, beheading axe and block, thumb-screws, Lochaber
axes, matchlocks, arquebuses, swords, &c. Immediately outside these
Armouries, in the open air, are some curious cannon and mortars belonging
to different ages and different countries. The new _Barracks_ occupy the
site of the Small Arms Armoury, destroyed by fire in 1841, when 280,000
stand of arms were destroyed. The _Lions_ in the Tower were among the
sights of the place for nearly 600 years; they were in a building near
the present ticket-office, but were given to the Zoological Society in
1834. The _Jewel House_, a well-guarded room to the east of the
Armouries, contains a valuable collection of state jewels. Among them
are the following:—_St. Edward’s Crown_, used at all the coronations from
Charles II. to William IV.; the _New State Crown_, made for the
coronation of Queen Victoria, and valued at more than £100,000; the
_Prince of Wales’s_ and the _Queen Consort’s Crowns_ (the most recent
wearer of the last was Queen Adelaide); the _Queen’s Diadem_; the _Royal
Sceptre_, _Queen’s Sceptre_, and _Queen’s Ivory Sceptre_; the _Orb_ and
the _Queen’s Orb_; _St. Edward’s Staff_ and the _Rod of Equity_; the
_Swords of Mercy and of Justice_; the _Coronation Bracelets_ and _Royal
Spurs_; the _Ampulla_ for the holy oil, and the _Coronation Spoon_; the
silver-gilt _Baptismal Font_, used at the christening of royal children;
and the famous _Koh-i-noor_, or ‘Mountain of Light,’ the wonderful
diamond once belonging to Runjeet Singh, chief of Lahore, but now the
property of Queen Victoria,—it was an object of great interest at the two
great Exhibitions in 1851 and 1862. Strangers, on applying at an office
at the entrance from Tower-hill, are conducted through a portion of the
buildings by warders, who wear a curious costume of Henry VIII.’s
time—some years ago rendered incongruous by the substitution of black
trousers for scarlet hose. These warders, or _beef-eaters_ (as they are
often called), go their rounds with visitors every half-hour from 10 till
4. The word “beef-eaters” was a vulgar corruption of _beaufetiers_,
battle-axe guards, who were first raised by Henry VII. in 1485. They
were originally attendants upon the king’s buffet. A fee of 6d. is
charged for seeing the Armouries, and 6d. for the Jewel House. From time
to time, when foreign politics look threatening, the Tower undergoes
alterations and renovations to increase its utility as a fortress; and it
is at all times under strict military government.
The Mint.—This structure, situated a little north-east of the Tower, is
the establishment in which the coinage is in great part made, and wholly
regulated. The rooms, the machinery, and the processes for coining, are
all full of interest. The assaying of the gold and silver for coinage;
the alloying and melting; the casting into ingots; the flattening,
rolling, and laminating of the ingots to the proper thickness; the
cutting into strips, and the strips into circular blanks; the stamping of
those blanks on both surfaces; and the testing to ascertain that every
coin is of the proper weight—are all processes in which very beautiful
and perfect apparatus is needed. Copper and bronze coins are mostly made
for the government at Birmingham. From a statement made in parliament,
in August, 1869, by the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, we gathered that _98
millions of sovereigns_ had been coined in the Mint since 1850. But of
these no fewer than 44 millions had been lost to our coinage, because
many of the sovereigns, being overweight, had been sent to the Continent
to be melted down as bullion! There are nearly 500 millions of copper
coin in circulation; and of silver coin, from crown pieces down to
threepenny pieces, something like the astounding number of 286,220,000.
Permission to view this interesting establishment could at one time only
be obtained by special application to the Master of the Mint, who has an
official residence at the spot; but since the death of the late Master,
Dr. Graham, that office will not in future be filled up. A letter to the
Deputy Master will probably obtain the required order to view. We should
add that the removal of the Mint to Somerset House is now seriously
contemplated. It is urged that the price of its present site, if sold,
would readily defray cost of removal.
Custom House.—This important building, situated on the north bank of the
Thames, between London Bridge and the Tower, occupies a site on which
other and smaller custom houses had previously stood. The east and west
ends of the present structure were finished in 1817 by Mr. Laing; but the
central portion was rebuilt afterwards from the designs of Sir Robert
Smirke. The river front is extensive, and although not architecturally
fine, the general appearance is effective. One of the few broad terraces
on the banks of the Thames is that in front of the Custom House; it is a
good position from whence strangers can view the shipping in the river.
The ‘Long Room’ in this building is 190 feet long by 66 broad. By way of
illustrating the enormous amount of business done here, we may mention,
that in the years 1867–68, the amount of Customs’ receipts collected in
the port of London was _more_ than [Picture: Billingsgate, Coal Exchange,
and Custom House. (Fenchurch Station, behind at the right.)] that of all
the _other ports_ of _Great Britain_ taken together, and five times that
of the whole of Ireland. In 1867, the port of London gross receipts were
£10,819,711; and in 1868, £10,694,494. The vast Customs’ duties for the
port of London, amounting to nearly half of those for the whole United
Kingdom, are managed here.
[Picture: General Post Office, &c. (Tower, Monument, and London Bridge
in the distance.)]
General Poet Office.—This large building, at the corner of Cheapside and
St. Martin’s-le-Grand, was finished in 1829, from the designs of Sir
Robert Smirke. It is in the Ionic style, with a lofty central portico;
beneath which is the entrance to the spacious hall (80 feet long, 60 feet
wide, and 53 feet high), having also an entrance at the opposite
extremity; but the central Hall is now entirely enclosed, owing to the
recent great extension of the Postal business. A Money-order Office has
been built on the opposite side of the street; and the Post Office has
been added to in various ways, to make room for increased business. The
main building, which contains a vast number of rooms, is enclosed by a
railing; and at the north end is a courtyard, in which mail-vans range up
and depart with their load of bags, at certain hours in the morning and
evening, for the several railway termini. At other portions of the
building the foreign, colonial, and India mails are despatched. From six
to seven o’clock in the evening a prodigious bustle prevails in putting
letters into the Post Office; and on Saturday evening, when the Sunday
newspapers are posted, the excitement is still further
increased—especially just before six, by which hour the newspapers must
be posted. The establishment, some four years ago, employed 20,000
clerks, sorters, and letter-carriers in the various parts of the United
Kingdom; and since the Post Office took over the business of the
Telegraph Companies, the number of its employés is greatly increased.
The postage charged on foreign and colonial letters is too small to pay
for the mail-packets and other expenses; profit is derived only from the
inland letters. There are now in London and the suburbs about 730
pillar-boxes and wall-boxes; without counting receiving houses.
Newspapers and book packets must not be put in town pillar-boxes. A very
useful novelty, _Post Office Savings’ Banks_, was introduced in 1861. In
the year 1840, in which the uniform rate of one penny per letter of half
an ounce weight, &c., commenced, the revenue of the Post Office was only
£471,000. Its revenue received during the year 1871–72 was no less than
£6,102,900, and every year the receipts are increasing. New postal
buildings of great extent have been erected on the opposite side of the
street.
THE CORPORATION; MANSION HOUSE; GUILDHALL; MONUMENT; ROYAL EXCHANGE.
It will be convenient to group here certain buildings belonging to the
Corporation of London; and to prefix to a notice of them some account of
the mode in which the city of London is governed.
The Corporation.—With respect to civic jurisdiction, the city of London
is governed in a peculiar manner. In virtue of ancient charters and
privileges, the city is a species of independent community, governed by
its own laws and functionaries. While all other boroughs have been
reformed in their constitution, London has been suffered to remain, as
yet, in the enjoyment of nearly all its old usages. The city is civilly
divided into twenty-five wards, each of which has an alderman; and with
one alderman without a ward, the number of aldermen is 26. Each is
chosen for life, and acts as magistrate within his division. The freemen
of the various wards elect representatives annually to the
common-council, to the number of 206 members. The lord mayor, aldermen,
and common-council, compose the legislative body for the city. The lord
mayor is chosen by a numerous and respectable constituency, called _the
livery_, or liverymen; these are certain qualified members of trading
corporations, who, except in electing the lord mayor, sheriffs, members
of parliament, &c., do not directly interfere in city management. The
Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common-council have certain
legislative and executive duties, partly with and partly without the
immediate aid of the lord mayor. The revenue of the city corporation is
derived from sundry dues, rents, interest of bequests, fines for leases,
&c. The magistracy, police, and prisons cost about £40,000 annually; but
this is exclusive of large sums disbursed by the court of aldermen. The
lord mayor is elected annually, on the 29th of September, from among the
body of aldermen. The livery send a list of two candidates to the court
of aldermen, and one of these, generally the senior, is chosen by them.
He enters office, with much pomp, on the 9th of November, which is hence
called Lord Mayor’s Day. The procession through the streets on this
occasion attracts citizens as well as strangers. The advocate and legal
adviser of the corporation is an official with the title of Recorder.
The lord mayor and corporation exercise a jurisdiction over Southwark and
other precincts. Westminster, which is not connected in civic matters
with London Proper, is under the jurisdiction of a high-bailiff. The
city returns 4 members to Parliament, besides the 16 returned by
Westminster, Southwark, Marylebone, Tower Hamlets, Finsbury, Lambeth,
Chelsea, and Greenwich.
In 1829, the old mode of protection by _Watchmen_ was abolished in all
parts of the metropolis except the city, and a new _Police Force_
established by Act of Parliament. This has been a highly successful and
beneficial improvement. The new police is under the management of
commissioners, who are in direct communication with the Secretary of
State for the Home Department; under the commissioners are
superintendents, inspectors, sergeants, and constables. The district
under their care includes the whole metropolis and environs, with the
exception of the city, grouped into 21 divisions, each denoted by a
letter. The constables wear a blue uniform, and are on duty at all times
of the day and night. Three-fourths of the expenses are paid out of the
parish rates, but limited to an assessment of 8d. per pound on the
rental; the remainder is contributed from the public purse. The
corporation have since established a Police Force for the city on the
model of that above mentioned. In addition to two Police Offices for the
city, at the Mansion House and Guildhall, there are eleven for the
remaining parts of the metropolis,—viz., Bow Street, Clerkenwell, Great
Marlborough Street, Thames, Worship Street, Southwark, Marylebone,
Westminster, Lambeth, Greenwich and Woolwich, and Hammersmith and
Wandsworth. The Thames Police have a peculiar jurisdiction over the
river. In 1836, a horse patrol was added to the Bow Street
establishment, consisting of inspectors and patrols, whose sphere of
action is the less frequented roads around the metropolis. With all
these means of preserving the peace and preventing crime, the metropolis
is now one of the most orderly cities in the world; and provided
strangers do not seek the haunts of vice, but pursue their way steadily,
they run little or no risk of molestation. The number of metropolitan
police in 1872 was about 9,000; of city police, 700—including, in both
cases, superintendents, inspectors, &c., &c. The commissioner of
metropolitan police is Lieutenant-Colonel E. Y. W. Henderson, C.B., 4
Whitehall Place, S.W.; the commissioner of city police is Colonel James
Fraser, C.B., 26 Old Jewry, E.C.