wholesome sense practised, till some time after the Board of Works was
formed, in 1855, when their best efforts to check a rapidly growing
evil—viz., the casting of London’s poisonous sewage into the Thames at
our very doors—were called into play. The estimated cost of one of the
most colossal schemes of modern times was, at its outset, put down at
something over three millions; and when the vast plan for main drainage
was commenced, in 1859, a sanitary revolution began. A far greater sum,
however, must be expended ere the idea is wholly carried out. It is
obviously out of our power, in our limited space, to do anything more
than give the reader a mere rough notion of the good to be done and the
difficulties to be overcome. The plan was to construct some 70 odd miles
of gigantic sewers on either side of the Thames. The north side of the
river has three different lines of sewers, which meet at the river Lea,
and thereafter go along, in one huge embankment, to Barking Creek, on the
Thames, 14 miles below London Bridge. With certain differences, the
sewage of the south side of the Thames is amenable to the same kind of
treatment. By some returns, furnished in June, 1870, by the engineer of
the Metropolitan Board of Works, it appears that the average daily
quantity of sewage pumped into the river Thames at Crossness was 170,934
cubic metres, and at Barking 152,808 cubic metres—equivalent to about as
many tons by weight. That quantity, of course, will every year, as
London grows, increase. As the sewers on the north side of the river get
more near to the sea, they can be seen. The south side sewers are nearly
all out of sight. As the tide flows, the filth of London, by their
means, is poured into the water. As it ebbs, the sewage is carried out
to sea. Powerful steam-engines, for pumping up sewage from low levels,
are used as they are required. The clerk of the Metropolitan Board of
Works, who may be seen at Spring Gardens, Charing Cross, will, we should
fancy, oblige any gentleman with engineering proclivities with an order
to view what has already been accomplished by marvellous ability and
enterprise,—whose results can in no fair sense gain anything like fair
appreciation without personal inspection.
London is _Lighted_ by sundry joint-stock gas companies; the parishes
contract with them for street lights, and individuals for the house and
shop lights. Gas was first introduced into London, in Golden Lane, in
1807; in Pall Mall in 1809; and generally through London in 1814. There
are something like 2,500 miles of gas-pipes in and about London.
The first of the public _Baths_ and _Wash-houses_ was established near
the London Docks in 1844. The number, of course, has vastly increased.
Many of them are maintained by the parish authorities, and are very
cheap.
The first public _Drinking Fountain_ in London was erected, near St.
Sepulchre’s Church, close to Newgate, in 1859. There are now nearly 200
such fountains and troughs for animals in London.
In 1833, by an agreement among the Fire Insurance offices, there was
established a regular fire-suppression police, or _Fire Brigade_,
consisting of a superintendent, foremen, engineers, sub-engineers, and
firemen; numerous engines are in constant readiness at fifty-four
different stations. (The brigade is now placed under public control,
supported by a house-rate.) The fires in London exceed 1,500 annually,
on an average.
Mansion House.—This is a tall square mass of dark stone building, nearly
opposite the Bank and the Royal Exchange, with a portico of six
Corinthian columns in front, resting on a low rustic basement. This
edifice, which extends a considerable depth behind, is the official
residence of the Lord Mayor of London, provided by the city corporation.
Besides an extensive suite of domestic apartments, it contains a number
of state-rooms, in which company is received and entertained. The chief
of these rooms are the Egyptian hall and the ball-room, which have a
grand appearance. Some fine sculptures by British artists—the best of
which are Foley’s ‘Caractacus and Egeria,’ and Bailey’s ‘Genius and the
Morning Star’—have recently been added; the corporation having voted a
sum of money for this purpose. The lord mayor’s annual stipend is £5,997
8s. 4d., with certain allowances, we believe, not stated; and in the
Mansion House he has the use of a superb collection of plate: he is
likewise allowed the use of a state-coach, &c. Every lord mayor,
however, expends more than this sum during his year of office in grand
banquets.
Guildhall.—This may be regarded as the _Town-hall_, or what the French
would call the _Hotel de Ville_, of London; where are held meetings of
the livery to elect members of parliament, lord mayor, sheriffs, and
others, and where the grandest civic entertainments are given. It is
situated at the end of King Street, Cheapside. The building is old, but
received a new front, in a strange kind of Gothic, in 1789. The interior
of the grand hall is 153 feet long, 48 feet broad, and 55 feet high; it
is one of the largest rooms in London, and can accommodate about 3,500
persons at dinner. Two clumsy colossal figures, called Gog and Magog,
the history of which has never clearly been made out, are placed at the
west end of the hall. Around it are some fine marble monuments to Lord
Mayor Beckford, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Chatham,
and his son, William Pitt. Note the stained glass with the armorial
bearings of the twelve great city companies; also observe, in the passage
leading to the common-council chamber, the portrait of General Sir W. F.
Williams, the heroic defender of Kars in 1855. At the top of the council
chamber will be seen Chantrey’s statue of George III.; a picture of the
siege of Gibraltar, by Copley; and Northcote’s ‘Wat Tyler slain by Lord
Mayor Walworth,’ with other pictures and portraits. Near by are several
offices for corporate and law courts. The _Library_ contains many
valuable antiquities, books, coins, pottery, &c., and some interesting
autographs. Note that of Shakespere, on a deed of purchase of a house in
Blackfriars. The _Crypt_ is a curious underground vault. On Lord
Mayor’s Day the grand dinner usually costs about £2,200. On the 18th
June, 1814, when the Allied Sovereigns dined here, the gold plate was
valued at £200,000.
The Monument.—This may be regarded as a corporate structure, although it
answers no useful purpose. It is a fluted Doric column, situated in a
small space of ground adjoining the southern extremity of King William
Street, on the descent to Lower Thames Street. It was begun in 1671, and
finished in 1677, at a cost of about £14,500, in commemoration of the
Great Fire of London, which began at the distance of 202 feet eastward
from the spot, in 1666; and its height has on that account (so we are
told) been made 202 feet. It is a handsome column, with a gilt finial
intended to represent flames of fire. Visitors are allowed to ascend by
a winding stair of 345 steps to the top; fee, 3d. No better place can be
chosen from which to view the river, the shipping, and the city
generally.
The Royal Exchange.—This is a handsome quadrangular building on the north
side of Cornhill, having in the centre an open court with colonnades.
The chief entrance faces an open paved space on the west, on which is
placed an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. The building was
erected from plans by Mr. Tite, and was opened in 1844; it occupies the
site of the former Exchange, which was accidentally destroyed by fire.
The pediment contains sculptures by Sir R. Westmacott, R.A. The lower
part of the exterior is laid out as shops, which greatly injure the
architectural effect; the upper rooms are occupied as public offices, one
of which is _Lloyd’s_, or, more properly, _Lloyd’s Subscription Rooms_,
where merchants, shipowners, shippers, and underwriters congregate. A
statue of the Queen is in the centre of the quadrangular area. The busy
time on ’Change is from 3 till 4 o’clock, Tuesday and Friday being the
principal days.
THE TEMPLE; INNS OF COURT; COURTS OF JUSTICE; PRISONS.
The buildings noticed in this section belong partly to the crown, partly
to the corporation of London, and partly to other bodies.
The Temple.—Contiguous to the south side of Fleet Street is a most
extensive series of buildings, comprising several squares and rows,
called the _Temple_; belonging to the members of two societies, the
_Inner_ and _Middle Temple_, consisting of benchers, barristers, and
students. This famous old place, taken in its completeness, was, in
1184, the metropolitan residence of the Knights Templars, who held it
until their downfall in 1313; soon afterwards it was occupied by students
of the law; and in 1608 James I. presented the entire group of structures
to the benchers of the two societies, who have ever since been the
absolute owners. The entrance to Inner Temple, from Fleet Street,
consists of nothing more than a mere gateway; the entrance to Middle
Temple was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. _Middle Temple Hall_, 100
feet long, 42 wide, and 47 high, is considered to have one of the finest
Elizabethan roofs in London. A group of chambers, called _Paper
Buildings_, built near the river, is a good example of revived
Elizabethan. A new _Inner Temple Hall_ was formally opened, in 1870, by
the Princess Louise. In October, 1861, when the Prince of Wales was
elected a bencher of the Middle Temple, a new _Library_ was formally
opened, which had been constructed at a cost of £13,000; it is a
beautiful ornament to the place, as seen from the river. The _Temple
Church_, a few yards only down from Fleet Street, is one of the most
interesting churches in London. All the main parts of the structure are
as old as the time of the Knights Templars; but the munificent sum of
£70,000 was spent, about twenty years ago, in restoring and adorning it.
There are two portions, the _Round Church_ and the _Choir_, the one
nearly 700 years old, and the other more than 600. The monumental
effigies, the original sculptured heads in the Round Church, the
triforium, and the fittings of the Choir, are all worthy of attention.
The north side of the church has recently been laid open by the removal
of adjoining buildings; and in their place some handsome chambers are
erected. Hard by, in the churchyard, is the grave of Oliver Goldsmith,
who died in chambers (since pulled down) in Brick Court. The Sunday
services are very fine, and always attract many strangers. The _Temple
Gardens_, fronting the river, are probably the best in the city.
_Lincoln’s Inn_ was once the property of the De Lacie, Earl of Lincoln.
It became an Inn of Court in 1310. The fine new hall—worth seeing—was
opened in 1845. The Chapel was built in 1621–3, by Inigo Jones. He also
laid out the large garden in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, close by, in 1620.
Lord William Russell was beheaded here in 1683. In Lincoln’s Inn are the
Chancery and Equity Courts.
_Graves Inn_, nearly opposite the north end of Chancery Lane, once
belonged to the Lords Gray of Wilton. It was founded in 1357. Most of
its buildings—except its hall, with black oak roof—are of comparatively
modern date. In Gray’s Inn lived the great Lord Bacon, a tree planted by
whom, in the quaint old garden of the Inn, can yet be seen propped up by
iron stays. Charles the First, when Prince Charles, was an honorary
member of Gray’s Inn, and Bradshaw, who tried him, was one of its
benchers.
_Sergeant’s Inn_, Chancery Lane, is what its name denotes—the Inn of the
sergeants-at-law. _Sergeants Inn_, Fleet Street, is let out in chambers
to barristers, solicitors, and the general public. The last remark
applies to the other small Inns of Chancery in and about Holborn and
Fleet Street.
Till the new _Law_ Courts are erected in Central Strand, London has no
Courts of Law well built or convenient. The _Westminster Courts_ are
little better than wooden sheds. So are the _Lincoln’s Inn Courts_. But
they still are worth a visit. At the _Old Bailey_, near Newgate, is the
_Central Criminal Court_, for the trial of prisoners accused of crimes
committed within ten miles of St. Paul’s. Nominally, this court is free;
but practically, a small _douceur_ is always extorted by the ushers for a
place. In the other courts this practice of ‘tipping’ is less common.
The _Bankruptcy Court_, in Basinghall Street, the _Clerkenwell Sessions
House_, the _County Courts_, and the _Police Courts_, are other
establishments connected with the administration of justice; but the
business of the first will shortly be transferred westward.
The Record Office.—Connected in some degree with the Courts of Law and
Equity, is the _New Record Office_, Fetter Lane, where is deposited a
vast body of unprinted documents belonging to the state, of priceless
value, including the far-famed _Doomsday Book_; they having been
previously scattered in various buildings about the metropolis. Apply to
the deputy-keeper for an order to inspect any but state papers of later
date than 1688, for which the Home Secretary’s special order is
requisite.
Prisons.—_Newgate_, the chief criminal prison for the city and county, in
the Old Bailey, was a prison in the _new gate_ of the city as early as
1218. Two centuries after it was re-built, and in the Great Fire (1666)
burnt down. It was re-constructed in 1778–80; its interior burnt in the
Gordon ‘No Popery’ riots in 1780; and its interior again re-constructed
in 1857. Debtors are no longer confined here; the few who come under the
new law—which has almost abolished imprisonment for debt—being sent to
_Holloway Prison_ under the new law. Till public executions were
abolished, criminals came out for execution in the middle of the Old
Bailey, through the small iron door over which is suspended a grim
festoon of fetters. They are now hanged privately inside the jail. The
condemned cells are on the north-east side of Newgate. To view the
prison, apply to the sheriff or the lord mayor. The chief debtors’
prison _was_ the _Queen’s Bench_, in Southwark. It is now a _Military
Prison_. The _City Prison_, Holloway, a castellated structure, was built
in 1855, as a substitute for other and overcrowded jails in London.
Other prisons are the _House of Correction_, Cold Bath Fields, capable of
holding 1,200 prisoners; the _House of Correction_, at Wandsworth; the
_House of Correction_, Westminster; _Millbank Penitentiary_, near the
Middlesex end of Vauxhall Bridge, which could, if wanted, hold 1,200
prisoners, and cost £500,000; _Pentonville Model Prison_; _Female
Prison_, Brixton; _Surrey County Jail_, Horsemonger Lane, on the top of
which the infamous Mannings were hanged in 1849; and the _House of
Detention_, Clerkenwell, which the Fenians tried to blow up. The last
prison is for persons not convicted.
BANKS; INSURANCE OFFICES; STOCK EXCHANGE; CITY COMPANIES.
Bank of England.—This large establishment is situated north of the Royal
Exchange; the narrow thoroughfare between being _Threadneedle Street_, in
which is the principal front. This is unquestionably the greatest bank
in the world. The present structure was mostly the work of Sir John
Soane, at various periods between 1788 and 1829. About 1,000 clerks,
messengers, &c., are employed here, at salaries varying from £50 to
£1,200 per annum. The buildings of the Bank are low, but remarkable in
appearance. In the centre is the principal entrance, which conducts to
an inner open court, and thence to the main building. The Dividend and
Transfer Offices, with which fund-holders are most concerned, lie in the
eastern part of the building. Thus far the place is freely open to
visitors. The whole buildings and courts include an area of about eight
acres. The teller’s room shews a scene of great activity—clerks counting
and weighing gold and silver, porters going to and fro, and crowds of
tradesmen and others negotiating business at the counters. The other and
more private parts of the Bank can be seen only by an order from a
director. The most interesting departments are the bullion-office, in a
vaulted chamber beneath—where there commonly are some 14 to 17 millions
in bullion, as a reserve—entering from one of the many open courts; the
treasury; the apartments in which the notes of the Bank are printed; and
the weighing-office, where coin-balances of exquisite construction are
used. In the printing department there is a large steam-engine, which
moves printing-machines, plate-presses, and other mechanism—the whole
being in beautiful order, and forming a very interesting sight. The Bank
is guarded at night by its own watchmen, and a detachment of Foot Guards.
Joint-Stock and Private Banks.—Some of the handsomest modern buildings in
London are those belonging to the Banking Companies. The _London and
Westminster_, the _London Joint-Stock_, the _Union_, the _City_, the
_Australian_, and numerous other Companies, have two or more
establishments each, some as many as half-a-dozen—the head bank always
being in the busy centre of trade, the ‘City.’ Some of these are elegant
structures; and all are planned with great skill in reference to interior
arrangements. The private bankers, such as Glyn, Barclays, Lubbocks,
Coutts, &c., rival the companies in the architectural character of their
banks; and some of their establishments, such as Child’s, near Temple
Bar, are curious old places. Many have lately been rebuilt in a
substantial and handsome style.
Insurance Offices.—These form another extensive group, which has conduced
much to the improved street appearance of modern London. All the best
conducted Life and Fire Insurance Companies are wealthy; and they have
devoted part of their wealth to the construction of commodious and often
elegant offices. The _County_, the _Royal Exchange_, the _Sun_, the
_Phœnix_, the _Amicable_, the _Equitable_, the _Imperial_, are among the
most noted of these insurance offices. The chief buildings are within a
small circle, of which the Royal Exchange is the centre; another group is
about Fleet Street and Blackfriars; and a western group lies in and near
the Regent Street line.
Stock Exchange.—This building, of which scarcely anything can be seen on
the outside, lies up a paved passage called Capel Court, in Bartholomew
Lane, on the east side of the Bank of England. Dealers and brokers in
the public funds, and in all kinds of joint-stock shares and debentures,
meet and transact business here. They buy and sell, not only for
themselves, but for the public generally; and the amount of business
transacted every day is enormous. The establishment is maintained by
about 900 members, who pay £10 a-year each. They endeavour to enforce
strict honesty in each other’s dealings; but they sedulously refuse to
allow a stranger even to pass the threshold of their Temple of Wealth.
Various Commercial Buildings.—A stranger has only to look at a detailed
map or a directory, to see how numerous are the buildings, especially in
the city, applied in various ways to commerce and trading on a large
scale. The _Trinity House_ on _Tower Hill_; the chambers of the building
that was once the _South Sea House_, near Leadenhall Street; those of the
large but irregular structure called _Gresham House_, in Bishopsgate
Street—are all worthy of a glance, some for their architectural
character, and all for the importance of the work transacted in them.
The _East India House_, in Leadenhall Street, has been pulled down;
commercial chambers in great number, and let at enormous rentals, have
been built on the site.
City Companies.—In nothing is the past history of the metropolis, the
memory of _Old_ London, kept alive in a more remarkable way than by the
_City Companies_, or _Trading Guilds_, which are still very numerous.
All were established with a good purpose, and all rendered service in
their day; but at the present time few have any important duties to
fulfil. The age for such things is nearly past; but the companies have
revenues which none but themselves can touch; and out of these revenues
many excellent charities are supported. Several of the companies have
halls of great architectural beauty, or curious on account of their
antiquity. Twelve, from their wealth and importance, are called the
_Great_ Companies; and all of these have halls worthy of note. They are
the _Mercers’_, _Drapers’_, _Fishmongers’_, _Goldsmiths’_, _Skinners’_,
_Merchant Taylors’_, _Haberdashers’_, _Salters’_, _Ironmongers’_,
_Vintners’_, _Grocers’_, and _Clothworkers’_. Every year banquets are
given in the halls of these great companies—often under such
circumstances as to give political importance to them. _Mercers’ Hall_,
on the north side of Cheapside, has a richly ornamental entrance.
_Grocers’ Hall_, in the Poultry, is remarkable rather for the age of the
company (more than 500 years) than for the beauty of the building; it is
interesting to note that the Long Parliament was entertained at
city-dinners in this hall. _Drapers’ Hall_, in Throgmorton Street, built
in 1667, replaced a structure which had belonged to Thomas Cromwell, Earl
of Essex, in the time of Henry VIII., and which was destroyed by the
Great Fire. _Fishmongers’ Hall_, the most majestic of the whole, stands
at the northern end of London Bridge, on the west side; it was built in
1831, as part of the improvements consequent on the opening of New London
Bridge, on a site that had been occupied by an older hall since the time
of the Great Fire. _Goldsmiths’ Hall_, just behind the General
Post-Office, is too closely hemmed in with other buildings to be seen
well; it is one of Mr. Hardwick’s best productions, and was finished by
him in 1835, on the site of an older hall. _Skinners’ Hall_, Dowgate
Hill, was built (like so many others of the city halls) just after the
Great Fire in 1666; but was newly fronted in 1808. _Merchant Taylors’
Hall_, Threadneedle Street, is the largest of the city halls. It was
rebuilt after the Great Fire, and has long been celebrated for the
political banquets occasionally given there—this being considered the
leading Tory Company, and the Fishmongers’ the leading Whig Company.
_Haberdashers’ Hall_, near Goldsmiths’ Hall, is quite modern; the present
building having been constructed in 1855. _Salters’ Hall_, St. Swithen’s
Lane, was rebuilt in 1827. _Ironmongers’ Hall_, Fenchurch Street, was
erected in 1748, on the site of an older structure; the banqueting-room
was remodelled a few years ago with great richness. In 1861 this company
held an _Exhibition of Art_, notable for the rarity and beauty of the
objects collected; it was the first thing of the kind organized among
these companies, and was in all respects creditable to those who planned
and managed it. _Vintners’ Hall_, Upper Thames Street, is small and
unpretentious. _Clothworkers’ Hall_, Mincing Lane, is an elegant Italian
Renaissance edifice, erected in 1858, from the designs of Mr. Angell.
Among the minor halls are the _Apothecaries’_, Blackfriars;
_Stationers’_, behind Ludgate Hill; _Armourers’_, Coleman Street; _Barber
Surgeons’_, Monkwell Street, (which contains some fine paintings;)
_Weavers’_, Basinghall Street; _Saddlers’_, Cheapside; and _Paper
Stainers’_, Little Trinity Lane. At the last-named hall an interesting
exhibition of specimens of decorative painting was held in 1864. The
city companies are about eighty altogether. Some, which tell most
singularly of past times, and of the difference between the past and the
present, are the _Cooks’_, the _Bowyers’_, the _Fletchers’_, the
_Woolmen’s_, the _Scriveners’_, the _Broderers’_, the _Horners’_, the
_Loriners’_, the _Spectacle Makers’_, the _Felt Makers’_, the _Patten
Makers’_, the _Parish Clerks’_, and the _Fan Makers’_ companies. All
these, except the _Spectacle Makers’_ and the _Parish Clerks’_, have now
no halls. Eight others, formerly existing, have become extinct. The
only three which are actually trading companies at the present day are
the _Goldsmiths’_, the _Apothecaries’_, and the _Stationers’_. The
Goldsmiths’ company assay all the gold and silver plate manufactured in
the metropolis, stamp it with the ‘Hall-mark,’ and collect the excise
duty upon it for the Government; the Apothecaries’ sell medicines, and
have a certain jurisdiction in relation to medical practice; the
Stationers’ publish almanacs, and register all copyright books.
THE RIVER; DOCKS; THAMES TUNNEL; BRIDGES; PIERS.
We shall next describe certain features connected with traffic _on_,
_under_, and _over_ the Thames.