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Memorials of the Counties of England
General Editor:
REV. P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.
MEMORIALS OF OLD LONDON
VOLUME II.
[Illustration: CRAB TREE INN, HAMMERSMITH 1898
_From a painting by Philip Norman, LL.D._]
MEMORIALS OF OLD LONDON
Edited by
P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Author of
_The City Companies of London and their Good Works_
_The Story of our Towns_
_The Cathedral Churches of Great Britain_
_&c. &c._
In Two Volumes
VOL. II.
With Many Illustrations
London
Bemrose & Sons Limited, 4 Snow Hill, E.C.
and Derby
1908
[All Rights Reserved]
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
Page
The Palaces of London
By Rev. R. S. Mylne, B.C.L., F.S.A. 1
Elizabethan London
By T. Fairman Ordish, F.S.A. 21
Pepys's London
By H. B. Wheatley, F.S.A. 52
The Old London Bridges
By J. Tavenor-Perry 82
The Clubs of London
By Sir Edwd. Brabrook, C.B., F.S.A. 99
The Inns of Old London
By Philip Norman, LL.D. 113
The Old London Coffee-Houses
By G. L. Apperson, I.S.O. 135
The Learned Societies of London
By Sir Edwd. Brabrook, C.B., F.S.A. 150
Literary Shrines of Old London
By Elsie M. Lang 166
Crosby Hall
By the Editor 182
The Pageant of London; with some account of the City Churches,
Christ's Hospital, etc.
By the Editor 193
Index 223
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. II.
Crab Tree Inn, Hammersmith, 1898 _Frontispiece_
(_From a painting by Philip Norman, LL.D._)
Page, or
Facing Page
The Houses of Parliament (_From a photo. by Mansell & Co._) 4
A View of the Savoy Palace from the River Thames 6
(_From an engraving published by the Society of Antiquaries
in 1750, from a plan by G. Virtue_)
Portion of an exact Survey of the Streets, Lanes, and Churches 8
(_Comprehended by the order and directions of the Right
Honourable the Lord Mayor, 10th December, 1666_)
The Prospect of Bridewell 10
(_Published according to Act of Parliament, 1755, for Stow's
Survey_)
The Palace of Whitehall (_From a photo. by Mansell & Co._) 14
St. James's Palace " " " 16
St. James's Palace, from Pall Mall and from the Park 18
(_From an old print_)
Plan of London in the time of Queen Elizabeth (1563) 24
(_From an old print_)
Shooting Match by the London Archers in the Year 1583 44
(_From an old print_)
A View of London as it appeared before the Great Fire 56
(_From an old print_)
The Great Fire of London (_From an old print_) 76
South-West View of Old St. Paul's " " 80
Sir John Evelyn's Plan for Rebuilding London after the Great Fire
(_From an old print_) 82
The Undercroft of St. Thomas of Canterbury on the Bridge 84
The Surrey End of London Bridge (_Drawn by J. Tavenor-Perry_) 89
The Foundation Stone Chair " " " 93
Old Westminster Bridge " " " 96
Badge of Bridge House Estates " " " 98
An Early Letter of the Royal Society, dated January 18th, 1693-4 152
Cheapside, with the Cross, as they appeared in 1660 170
(_From an old print_)
Crosby Hall (_From a drawing by Whichillo, engraved by Stour_) 184
St. Paul's Cathedral, with Lord Mayor's Show on the water 190
(_From an engraving by Pugh, 1804_)
Christ's Hospital (_From an old print_) 194
Carrying the Crug-basket 196
Wooden Platters and Beer Jack 198
Piggin, Wooden Spoon, Wooden Soup-ladle 199
Christ's Hospital: The Garden (_From a photo._) 200
Old Staircase at Christ's Hospital 202
The Royal Exchange (_From an engraving by Hollar, 1644_) 218
THE PALACES OF LONDON
BY THE REV. R. S. MYLNE, B.C.L. (OXON), F.S.A. F.R.S. (SCOTS.)
The housing of the Sovereign is always a matter of interest to the
nation. It were natural to expect that some definite arrangement
should be made for this purpose, planned and executed on a grand and
appropriate scale. Yet as a matter of fact this is seldom the case
amongst the western nations of Europe. Two different causes have
operated in a contrary direction. One is the natural predilection of
the ruler of the State for a commodious palace outside, but not far
from, the capital. Thus the great Castle of Windsor has always been
_par excellence_ the favourite residence of the King of England. The
other is the growth of parliamentary institutions. Thus the entire
space occupied by the original Royal Palace has become the official
meeting-place of the Parliament; and the King himself has perforce been
compelled to find accommodation elsewhere.
Look at the actual history of the Royal Palace of _Westminster_, where
the High Court of Parliament now is accustomed to assemble. It was on
this very spot that Edward the Confessor lived and died, glorying in
the close proximity of the noble abbey that seemed to give sanctity to
his own abode. Here the last Saxon King entertained Duke William of
Normandy, destined to be his own successor on the throne. Here he gave
the famous feast in which he foretold the failure of the crusades, as
Baring Gould records in his delightful _Myths of the Middle Ages_. Here
Edward I. was born, and Edward III. died. The great hall was erected by
William Rufus, and the chapel by King Stephen. Henry VIII. added the
star chamber. The painted chamber, decorated with frescoes by Henry
III., was probably the oldest portion of the mediæval palace, and just
beyond was the prince's chamber with walls seven feet thick. There was
also the ancient Court of Requests, which served as the House of Lords
down to 1834. The beautiful Gothic Chapel of St. Stephen was used as
the House of Commons from 1547 to 1834. The walls were covered with
frescoes representing scenes from the Old and New Testaments. In modern
times they resounded to the eloquence of Pitt, Fox, Burke, and Canning.
The curious crypt beneath this chapel was carefully prepared by H.M.
Office of Works for the celebration of the marriage of Lord Chancellor
Loreburn last December, and a coffin was discovered while making
certain reparations to the stonework, which is believed to contain the
remains of the famous Dr. Lyndwode, Bishop of St. David's from 1442 to
1446.
In the terrible fire on the night of October 16, 1834, the entire
palace was destroyed with the exception of the great hall, which, begun
by William Rufus, received its present beautiful roof of chestnut wood
from Henry Yeveley, architect or master mason to Richard II.
The present magnificent Palace of Westminster was erected by Sir
Charles Barry between 1840 and 1859 in the Gothic style, and is
certainly one of the finest modern buildings in the world. The river
front is remarkably effective, and presents an appearance which at once
arrests the attention of every visitor. It is quite twice the size of
the old palace, formerly occupied by the King, and cost three millions
sterling. It is certainly the finest modern building in London.
Some critics have objected to the minuteness of the decorative designs
on the flat surfaces of the walls, but these are really quite in accord
with the delicate genius of Gothic architecture, and fine examples of
this kind of work are found in Belgium and other parts of the Continent.
Every one must admit the elegance of proportion manifested in the
architect's design, and this it is which makes the towers stand out so
well above the main building from every point of view; moreover, this
is the special characteristic which is often so terribly lacking in
modern architecture. One wonders whether Vitruvius and kindred works
receive their due meed of attention in this twentieth century.
Within the palace the main staircase, with the lobby and corridors
leading to either House of Parliament, are particularly fine, and form
a worthy approach to the legislative chambers of the vast Empire of
Great Britain.
The Palace of the _Savoy_ also needs some notice. The original house
was built by Peter, brother of Boniface, for so many years Archbishop
of Canterbury, and uncle of Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry
III. By his will Peter bequeathed this estate to the monks of Montjoy
at Havering-at-Bower, who sold it to Queen Eleanor, and it became the
permanent residence of her second son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, and
his descendants. When King John of France was made a prisoner after the
battle of Poitiers in 1356, he was assigned an apartment in the Savoy,
and here he died on April 9, 1364. The sad event is thus mentioned in
the famous chronicle of Froissart:--
"The King and Queen, and all the princes of the blood, and
all the nobles of England were exceedingly concerned from the
great love and affection King John had shewn them since the
conclusion of peace."
The best-known member of the Lancastrian family who resided in this
palace is the famous John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. During his
time, so tradition has it, the well-known poet Chaucer was here
married to Philippa, daughter of Sir Paon de Roet, one of the young
ladies attached to the household of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster,
and the sister of Catherine Swynford, who at a later period became
the Duke's third wife. However this may be, the Savoy was at that
time the favourite resort of the nobility of England, and John of
Gaunt's hospitality was unbounded. Stow, in his _Chronicle_, declares
"there was none other house in the realm to be compared for beauty and
stateliness." Yet how very transitory is earthly glory, all the pride
of place and power!
In the terrible rebellion of Wat Tyler, in the year 1381, the Savoy
was pillaged and burnt, and the Duke was compelled to flee for his
life to the northern parts of Great Britain. His Grace had become very
unpopular on account of the constant protection he had extended to the
simple followers of Wickcliffe.
After this dire destruction the Savoy was never restored to its former
palatial proportions. The whole property passed to the Crown, and King
Henry VII. rebuilt it, and by his will endowed it in a liberal manner
as a hospital in honour of St. John the Baptist. This hospital was
suppressed at the Reformation under Edward VI., most of the estates
with which it was endowed passing to the great City Hospital of St.
Thomas. But Queen Mary refounded the hospital as an almshouse with
a master and other officers, and this latter foundation was finally
dissolved in 1762.
Over the gate, now long destroyed, of King Henry VII.'s foundation were
these words:--
"Hospitium hoc inopi turbe Savoia vocatum
Septimus Henricus solo fundavit ab imo."
[Illustration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.]
The church, which is the only existing remnant of former splendour,
was built as the chapel of Henry VII.'s Hospital, and is an
interesting example of Perpendicular architecture, with a curious and
picturesque belfry. In general design it resembles a college chapel,
and the religious services held therein are well maintained. Her late
Majesty Queen Victoria behaved with great generosity to the church of
the Savoy. In her capacity of Duchess of Lancaster she restored the
interior woodwork and fittings, and after a destructive fire in 1864
effected a second restoration of the entire interior of this sacred
edifice. There is now a rich coloured roof, and appropriate seats for
clergy and people. There is also preserved a brass belonging to the
year 1522 from the grave of Thomas Halsey, Bishop of Leighlin, and
Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, famous in Scottish history for his
piety and learning. There is also a small figure from Lady Dalhousie's
monument, but all the other tombs perished in the flames in 1864. The
history of the central compartment of the triptych over the font is
curious. It was painted for the Savoy Palace in the fourteenth century,
afterwards lost, and then recovered in 1876.
Amongst the famous ministers of the Savoy were Thomas Fuller, author of
the _Worthies_, and Anthony Horneck. In the Savoy was held the famous
conference between twelve bishops and twelve Nonconformists for the
revision of the Liturgy soon after the accession of King Charles II. In
this conference Richard Baxter took a prominent part.
In this brief sketch nothing is more remarkable than the great variety
of uses to which the palace of the Savoy has been put, as well as the
gradual decay of mediæval splendour. Still, however, the name is very
familiar to the multitudes of people who are continually passing up and
down the Strand. Yet it is a far cry to the days of Archbishop Boniface
of Savoy, and Edmund Earl of Lancaster.
_Bridewell_ is situated on a low-lying strip of land between the Thames
and the Fleet, just westwards of the south-western end of the Roman
wall of London. In early days this open space only possessed a tower
for defensive purposes, just as the famous Tower of London guarded the
eastern end of the city. Hard by was the church of St. Bride, founded
in the days of the Danes, most likely in the reign of King Canute, and
here there was a holy well or spring. Hence arose the name of Bridewell.
In 1087, ancient records relate, King William gave choice stones from
his tower or castle, standing at the west end of the city, to Maurice,
Bishop of London, for the repair of his cathedral church.
From time to time various rooms were added to the original structure,
which seem chiefly to have been used for some state ceremonial or
judicial purpose. Thus in the seventh year of King John, Walter de
Crisping, the Justiciar, gave judgment here in an important lawsuit.
In 1522 the whole building was repaired for the reception of the famous
Emperor Charles V., but that distinguished Sovereign actually stayed in
the Black Friars, on the other side of the Fleet.
King Henry VIII. made use of Bridewell for the trial of his famous
divorce case. Cardinal Campeggio was President of the Court, and in the
end gave judgment in favour of Queen Catharine of Aragon. Yet, despite
the Cardinal, Henry would have nothing more to do with Catharine, and
at the same time took a dislike to Bridewell, which was allowed to fall
into decay--in fact, nothing of the older building now remains. King
Edward VI., just before his own death in 1553, granted the charter
which converted Bridewell into a charitable institution, and after many
vicissitudes a great work is still carried on at this establishment for
the benefit of the poor of London. In May, 1552, Dr. Ridley, Bishop
of London, wrote this striking letter to Sir William Cecil, Knight, and
Secretary to the King:--
"Good Master Cecyl,--I must be suitor with you in our Master
Christ's cause. I beseech you be good unto him. The matter is,
Sir, that he hath been too, too long abroad, without lodging,
in the streets of London, both hungry, naked and cold. There
is a large wide empty house of the King's Majesty called
Bridewell, which would wonderfully serve to lodge Christ in,
if he might find friends at Court to procure in his cause."
Thus the philanthropic scheme was started, and brought to completion
under the mayoralty of Alderman Sir George Barnes.
[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE SAVOY PALACE FROM THE RIVER THAMES.
_Published by the Society of Antiquaries in 1750, from a plan by G.
Virtue._
AAA The great building, now a barracks.
BB Prison for the Savoy, and guards.
CCC Church of St. Mary le Savoy.
D Stairs to the waterside.
EFG Churches of German Lutherans, French and German Calvinists.]
_St. James's_ is the most important royal palace of London. For many a
long year it has been most closely associated with our royal family,
and the quaint towers and gateway looking up St. James's Street possess
an antiquarian interest of quite an unique character. This palace,
moreover, enshrines the memory of a greater number of famous events in
the history of our land than any other domestic building situated in
London, and for this reason is worthy of special attention.
Its history is as follows:--Before the Norman Conquest there was a
hospital here dedicated to St. James, for fourteen maiden lepers.
A hospital continued to exist throughout the middle ages, but when
Henry VIII. became King he obtained this property by an exchange, and
converted it, as Holinshed bears witness, into "a fair mansion and
park" when he was married to Anne Boleyn. The letters "H. A." can still
be traced on the chimney-piece of the presence chamber or tapestry
room, as well as a few other memorials of those distant days. And what
days they were! Queen Anne Boleyn going to St. James's in all the
joyous splendour of a royal bride, and how soon afterwards meeting her
cruel fate at the hands of the executioner! Henry VIII. seldom lived at
St. James's Palace, perhaps on account of the weird reminiscences of
Anne Boleyn, but it became the favourite residence of Queen Mary after
her husband Philip II. returned to Spain, and here she died in utter
isolation during the dull November days of the autumn of 1558. Thus the
old palace is first associated with the sad story of two unhappy queens!
But brighter days were coming. Prince Henry, the eldest son of James
I., settled here in 1610, and kept a brilliant and magnificent court,
attached to which were nearly 300 salaried officials. Then in two
short years he died, November 6, 1612. Then the palace was given to
Charles, who afterwards ascended the throne in 1625, and much liked
the place as a residence. It is closely associated with the stirring
events of this romantic monarch's career. Here Charles II., James II.,
and the Princess Elizabeth were born, and here Marie de Medici, the
mother of Queen Henrietta Maria, took refuge in 1638, and maintained a
magnificent household for three years. It is said her pension amounted
to £3,000 a month! Her residence within the royal palace increased the
unpopularity of the King, whose arbitrary treatment of Parliament led
to the ruinous Civil War. The noble House of Stuart is ever unfortunate
all down the long page of history, and the doleful prognostications of
the Sortes Vergilianæ, sought for by the King, proved but too true in
the event.
We quote six lines of Dryden's translation from the sixth book of the
_Æneid_, at the page at which the King by chance opened the book--
"Seek not to know, the ghost replied with tears,
The sorrows of thy sons in future years.
This youth, the blissful vision of a day,
Shall just be shewn on earth, and snatched away.
. . . . .
"Ah! couldst thou break through Fate's severe decree,
A new Marcellus shall arise in thee."
Dr. Wellwood says Lord Falkland tried to laugh the matter off, but the
King was pensive.
[Illustration: PORTION OF AN EXACT SURVEY OF THE STREETS, LANES, AND
CHURCHES.
_Comprehended by the order and directions of the Right Honourable the
Lord Mayor 10th December, 1666._]
The fortunes of war were against this very attractive but weak monarch,
who was actually brought as a prisoner of the Parliament from Windsor
Castle to his own Palace of St. James, there to await his trial on a
charge of high treason in Westminster Hall!
Certain of his own subjects presumed to pass sentence of death upon
their own Sovereign, and have become known to history as the regicides.
Very pathetic is the story of the scenes which took place at St.
James's on Sunday, January 28, 1649. A strong guard of parliamentary
troops escorted King Charles from Whitehall to St. James's, and Juxon,
the faithful Bishop of London, preached his last sermon to his beloved
Sovereign from the words, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel." His Majesty then
received the Sacrament, and spent much time in private devotion. On the
morrow he bade farewell to his dear children the Duke of Gloucester and
the Princess Elizabeth, praying them to forgive his enemies, and not to
grieve, for he was about to die a glorious death for the maintenance of
the laws and liberties of the land and the true Protestant religion.
Then he took the little Duke of Gloucester on his knees, saying,
"Sweetheart, now they will cut off thy father's head," and the young
prince looked very earnestly and steadfastly at the King, who bade him
be loyal to his brothers Charles and James, and all the ancient family
of Stuart. And thus they parted.
Afterwards His Majesty was taken from St. James's to the scaffold at
Whitehall. There was enacted the most tragic scene connected with the
entire history of the Royal Family of England. At the hands of Jacobite
writers the highly-coloured narrative is like to induce tears of grief,
but the Puritans love to dwell on the King's weaknesses and faults.
Yet everyone must needs acknowledge the calm nobility and unwavering
courage of the King's bearing and conduct.
"He nothing common did or mean
Upon that memorable scene,
But with his keener eye
The axe's edge did try;
Nor called the gods with vulgar spite
To vindicate his helpless right,
But bowed his comely head
Down, as upon a bed."
The great German historian Leopold von Ranke is rightly regarded as
the best and most impartial authority on the history of Europe in the
seventeenth century. This is what he says on the martyrdom of Charles
I.:--
"The scaffold was erected on the spot where the kings were
wont to show themselves to the people after their coronation.
Standing beside the block at which he was to die, he was
allowed once more to speak in public. He said that the war
and its horrors were unjustly laid to his charge.... If at
last he had been willing to give way to arbitrary power, and
the change of the laws by the sword, he would not have been
in this position: he was dying as the martyr of the people,
passing from a perishable kingdom to an imperishable. He died
in the faith of the Church of England, as he had received it
from his father. Then bending to the block, he himself gave
the sign for the axe to fall upon his neck. A moment, and the
severed head was shown to the people, with the words: 'This
is the head of a traitor.' All public places, the crossings
of the streets, especially the entrances of the city, were
occupied by soldiery on foot and on horseback. An incalculable
multitude had, however, streamed to the spot. Of the King's
words they heard nothing, but they were aware of their purport
through the cautious and guarded yet positive language of
their preachers. When they saw the severed head, they broke
into a cry, universal and involuntary, in which the feelings
of guilt and weakness were blended with terror--a sort of
voice of nature, whose terrible impression those who heard it
were never able to shake off."
These weighty words of Ranke are well worth quoting, as well as the
conclusion of the section of his great book in which he sums up his
estimate of Charles's claim to the title of martyr:
"There was certainly something of a martyr in him, if the man
can be so called who values his own life less than the cause
for which he is fighting, and in perishing himself saves it
for the future."
[Illustration: THE PROSPECT OF BRIDEWELL.
_Published according to Act of Parliament, 1755, for Stow's Survey._]
King Charles I., then, is fairly entitled to be called a martyr in the
calm and unimpassioned judgment of the greatest historian of modern
times in the learned Empire of Germany, who tests the royal claim
by a clear and concise definition, framed without any regard to the
passionate political feeling which distracted England in the days of
the Stuarts.
And it was in the Palace of St. James that Charles I. passed the last
terrible days of his earthly life.
On the Restoration, King Charles II. resided at Whitehall, and gave
St. James's to his brother James, Duke of York. Here Queen Mary II.
was born, and here she was married to William of Orange late in the
evening on November 4, 1677. Here also Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, died
in 1671, having lived many years more or less in seclusion in the old
palace.
James afterwards married Mary of Modena as his second wife, and here
was born, on June 10, 1688, Prince James Edward, better known as the
Old Pretender, whose long life was spent in wandering and exile, in
futile attempts to gain the Crown, in unsuccessful schemes and ruinous
plots, until he and his children found rest within the peaceful walls
of Rome.
Directly after he landed in England, King William III. came to St.
James's, and resided here from time to time during his possession of
the Crown, only towards the end of his reign allowing the Princess
Anne to reside in this palace, where she first heard of King William's
death. The bearer of the sad news was Dr. Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury.
Immediately on his arrival in England, George I., Elector of Hanover,
came straight to St. James's just as King William III. had done. In his
_Reminiscences_, Walpole gives this quaint anecdote:--
"This is a strange country," remarked the King. "The first
morning after my arrival at St. James's, I looked out of the
window, and saw a park with walks and a canal, which they told
me were mine. The next day Lord Chetwynd, the ranger of my
park, sent me a fine brace of carp out of my canal: and I was
told I must give five guineas to Lord Chetwynd's servant for
bringing me my own carp, out of my own canal, in my own park."
Many things seem to have surprised King George I. in his English
dominions, and he really preferred Hanover, where he died in 1725.
George II. resided at St. James's when Prince of Wales, and here his
beloved wife, Queen Caroline of Anspach, died on November 20, 1737.
Four years previously her daughter Anne had here been married to the
Prince of Orange. It now became customary to assign apartments to
younger children of the Sovereign in various parts of the palace, which
thus practically ceased to be in the King's own occupation. The state
apartments are handsome, and contain many good portraits of royal
personages. The Chapel Royal has a fine ceiling, carved and painted,
erected in 1540, and is constantly used by royalty. George III. hardly
ever missed the Sunday services when in London.
Of course the original palace covered more ground than is now the
case, and included the site of Marlborough House and some adjacent
gardens, now in private ownership. The German Chapel Royal, which now
projects into the grounds of Marlborough House, was originally erected
by Charles I. for the celebration of Roman Catholic worship for Queen
Henrietta Maria, and at the time gave great offence to all the nobility
and people of the land.
"Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis." Marlborough House was
originally built by Sir Christopher Wren for the great Duke of
Marlborough, on a portion of St. James's Park given by Queen Anne for
that purpose. Here died the Duke, and his famous Duchess Sarah. The
house was bought by the Crown for the Princess Charlotte in 1817, and
was settled on the Prince of Wales in 1850. There are still a number of
interesting pictures in the grand salon of the victories of the Duke of
Marlborough by Laguerre. The garden covers the space formerly occupied
by the Great Yard of old St. James's Palace.
Altogether, it is quite clear from the above brief account that St.
James's is the most important of the royal palaces of London, and more
closely connected than any other with the long history of English
Royalty. From the days of Henry VIII. to the present time there has
always been a close personal connection with the reigning Sovereign of
the British Empire.
The Palace of _Whitehall_ presents a long and strange history. Hubert
de Burgh, Earl of Kent, Chief Minister of King Henry III., became
possessed of the land by purchase from the monks of Westminster for
140 marks of silver and the annual tribute of a wax taper. Hubert
bequeathed the property by his will to the Black Friars of Holborn, who
sold it in 1248 to Walter de Grey, Archbishop of York, for his Grace's
town residence.
When Cardinal Wolsey became possessed of the northern archiepiscopal
See, he found York House too small for his taste, and he set to work
to rebuild the greater part of this palace on a larger and more
magnificent scale. On the completion of the works he took up his
abode here with a household of 800 persons, and lived with more than
regal splendour, from time to time entertaining the King himself to
gorgeous banquets, followed by masked balls. At one of these grand
entertainments they say King Henry first met Anne Boleyn. A chronicler
says the Cardinal was "sweet as summer to all that sought him."
When the great Cardinal fell into disgrace, and the Duke of Suffolk
came to Whitehall to bid him resign the Great Seal of England, his
Eminence left his palace by the privy stair and "took barge" to Putney,
and thence to Esher; and Henry VIII. at once took possession of the
vacant property, and began to erect new buildings, a vast courtyard,
tennis court, and picture gallery, and two great gateways, all of which
are now totally destroyed. It was in this palace that he died, January
28, 1547.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Whitehall was famous for its
magnificent festivities, tournaments, and receptions of distinguished
foreign princes. Especially was this the case in 1581, when the French
commissioners came to urge the Queen's marriage with the Duke of
Anjou. Here the Queen's corpse lay in state before the interment in
March, 1603. James I. likewise entertained right royally at Whitehall,
and here the Princess Elizabeth was married to the Elector Palatine
on February 14, 1613. King James also employed that distinguished
architect Inigo Jones to build the beautiful Banqueting House, which
is all that now remains of Whitehall Palace, and is one of the finest
architectural fragments in London. The proportions are most elegant,
and the style perfect. Used as a chapel till 1890, it is now the United
Service Museum, while the great painter Rubens decorated the ceiling
for Charles I. in 1635.
The whole plan of Inigo Jones remained unfinished, but Charles I. lived
in regal splendour in the palace, entertaining on the most liberal
scale, and forming the famous collection of pictures dispersed by the
Parliament. Here it was that the masque of Comus was acted before the
King, and other masques from time to time. After Charles's martyrdom,
Oliver Cromwell came to live at Whitehall, and died there September 3,
1658. On his restoration, in May, 1660, King Charles II. returned to
Whitehall, and kept his court there in great splendour. Balls rather
than masques were now the fashion, and Pepys and Evelyn have preserved
full descriptions of these elegant and luxurious festivities, and all
the gaiety, frivolity, and dissoluteness connected with them, and
the manner of life at Charles's court. The King died in the palace
on February 6, 1685, and was succeeded by his austere brother James,
who, during his brief reign, set up a Roman Catholic chapel within the
precincts of the royal habitation, from which he fled to France in 1688.
[Illustration: THE PALACE OF WHITEHALL.]
King William III. preferred other places of residence, and two
fires--one in 1691, the other in 1698--destroyed the greater part of
Whitehall, which was never rebuilt.
_Buckingham_ Palace is now the principal residence in London of His
Majesty King Edward VII. Though a fine pile of building it is hardly
worthy of its position as the town residence of the mighty Sovereign of
the greatest Empire of the world, situated in the largest city on the
face of the globe.
King George III. purchased Buckingham Palace in 1761 from Sir Charles
Sheffield for £21,000, and in 1775 it was settled upon Queen Charlotte.
In the reign of George IV. it was rebuilt from designs by Nash; and in
1846, during the reign of Queen Victoria, the imposing eastern façade
was erected from designs by Blore. The length is 360 feet, and the
general effect is striking, though the architectural details are of
little merit. In fact, it is a discredit to the nation that there is no
London palace for the Sovereign which is worthy of comparison with the
Royal Palace at Madrid, or the Papal Palace in Rome, though the reason
for this peculiar fact is fully set forth in the historical sketch of
the royal palaces already given. King Edward VII. was born here in
1841, and here drawing-rooms and levées are usually held. The white
marble staircase is fine, and there are glorious portraits of Charles
I. and Queen Henrietta Maria by Van Dyck, as well as Queen Victoria
and the Prince Consort by Winterhalter. There is also a full-length
portrait of George IV. by Lawrence in the State dining-room.
In the private apartments there are many interesting royal portraits,
as well as a collection of presents from foreign princes. There is a
lake of five acres in the gardens, and the whole estate comprises about
fifty acres. There is a curious pavilion adorned with cleverly-painted
scenes from Comus by famous English artists. The view from the east
over St. James's Park towards the India Office is picturesque, and
remarkably countrified for the heart of a great city. The lake in
this park is certainly very pretty, and well stocked with various
water-fowl. The Horse Guards, Admiralty, and other public offices at
the eastern extremity of this park occupy the old site of the western
side of the Palace of Whitehall.
_Kensington_ Palace was the favourite abode of King William III. He
purchased the property from the Earl of Nottingham, whose father had
been Lord Chancellor, and employed Sir Christopher Wren to add a storey
to the old house, and built anew the present south façade. Throughout
his reign he spent much money in improving the place, and here his
wife, Queen Mary II., died on December 28, 1694. In the same palace
King William himself breathed his last breath on March 8, 1702.
Queen Anne lived principally at St. James's, the natural residence for
the Sovereigns of Great Britain; but she took much interest in the
proper upkeep of Kensington, and it was here that her husband died on
October 20, 1708, and herself on August 1, 1714. Shortly before, she
had placed the treasurer's wand in the hands of the Duke of Shrewsbury,
saying, "For God's sake use it for the good of my people," and all the
acts of her prosperous reign point to the real validity of the popular
title given by common consent--the good Queen Anne.
She planted the trees on "Queen Anne's Mount," and gave gorgeous fêtes
in the Royal Gardens, whose woodland scenery possesses a peculiar
charm all its own. The noble groves and avenues of elm trees recall
St. Cloud and St. Germain in the neighbourhood of Paris, and are quite
exceptionally fine. Thus Matthew Arnold wrote:--
"In this lone open glade I lie,
Screened by deep boughs on either hand;
And at its end, to stay the eye,
Those black crowned, red-boled pine trees stand."
[Illustration: ST. JAMES'S PALACE.]
And Chateaubriand declares:--
"C'est dans ce parc de Kensington que j'ai médité l'Essai
historique: que, relisant le journal de mes courses d'outre
mer, j'en ai tiré les amours d'Atala."
And Haydon says:--
"Here are some of the most poetical bits of tree and stump,
and sunny brown and green glens and tawny earth."
George II. died here very suddenly on October 25, 1760, but the
Sovereigns of the House of Hanover chiefly made use of the place
by assigning apartments therein to their younger children and near
relatives. Here it was that Edward Duke of Kent lived with his wife
Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, and here their only daughter, the renowned
Queen Victoria, was born, May 24, 1819, and here she resided till her
accession to the throne in 1837.
Kensington Palace, then, is chiefly celebrated for its associations
with William III. and Queen Victoria. In the brief account of the royal
palaces here given, it will be seen that none of the sites, with the
exception of St. James's, remained for any long period of time the
actual residence of the Sovereign, while three--Westminster, Bridewell,
and the Savoy--had passed out of royal hands for residential purposes
before the Reformation of religion was completed. Another curious fact
relates to the origin of the title to these sites, inasmuch as three of
these estates were obtained from some ecclesiastical corporation, as
the Archbishop of York, or the Hospital of St. James, though Buckingham
Palace was bought from Sir Charles Sheffield, and Kensington from the
Earl of Nottingham.
No account of the palaces of London can be regarded as complete which
omits to mention Lambeth. For more than 700 years the Archbishops of
Canterbury have resided at this beautiful abode, intensely interesting
from its close association with all the most stirring events in the
long history of England. The estate was obtained by Archbishop Baldwin
in the year 1197 by exchange for some lands in Kent with Glanville,
Bishop of Rochester. In Saxon times Goda, the sister of King Edward the
Confessor, had bestowed this property upon the Bishopric of Rochester;
so that it has been continuously in the hands of the Church for near
900 years. The fine red-brick gateway with white stone dressings,
standing close to the tower of Lambeth Church, is very imposing as
seen from the road, and was built by Archbishop Cardinal Moreton in
1490. In the Middle Ages it was the custom to give a farthing loaf
twice a week to the poor of London at this gateway, and as many as
4,000 were accustomed to partake of the archiepiscopal gift. Within
the gateway is the outer courtyard of the palace, and at the further
end, towards the river Thames, rises the picturesque Lollard's tower,
built between 1434 and 1445 by that famous ecclesiastical statesman
Archbishop Chicheley, founder of All Souls' College, Oxford. The quaint
winding staircase, made of rough slabs of unplaned oak, is exactly
as it was in Chicheley's time. In this tower is the famous chamber,
entirely of oaken boards, called the Lollards' prison. It is 13 feet
long, 12 feet broad, and 8 feet high, and eight iron rings remain to
which prisoners were fastened. The door has a lock of wood, fastened
with pegs of wood, and may be a relic of the older palace of Archbishop
Sudbury. On the south side of the outer court stands the hall built by
Archbishop Juxon during the opening years of Charles II.'s reign, with
a fine timber roof, and Juxon's arms over the door leading into the
palace. This Jacobean hall is now used as the library, and contains
many precious manuscripts of priceless value, including the _Dictyes
and Sayings of the Philosophers_, translated by Lord Rivers, in which
is found a miniature illumination of the Earl presenting Caxton on his
knees to Edward IV., who is supported by Elizabeth Woodville and her
son Edward V. This manuscript contains the only known portrait of the
latter monarch.
[Illustration: ST. JAMES'S PALACE, FROM PALL MALL AND FROM THE PARK.]
An earlier hall had been built on the same site by Archbishop Boniface
in 1244.
From the library we pass by a flight of stairs to the guard room, now
used as the dining hall. The chief feature is the excellent series of
oil portraits of the occupants of the primatial See of Canterbury,
beginning in the year 1504. The mere mention of the principal names
recalls prominent events in our national history.
There is Warham painted by Holbein. He was also Lord Chancellor, and
the last of the mediæval episcopate. There is Cranmer, burnt at Oxford,
March 21, 1555. There is Cardinal Pole, the cousin and favourite of
Queen Mary. There is Matthew Parker, the friend of Queen Elizabeth,
well skilled in learning and a great collector of manuscripts, now for
the most part in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
There is William Laud, painted by Van Dyck, the favourite Counsellor
and Adviser of Charles I. At the age of 71 he was beheaded by order of
the House of Commons--an act of vengeance, not of justice. There is
William Juxon, who stood by Charles I. on the scaffold, and heard the
ill-fated King utter his last word on earth, "Remember." But we cannot
even briefly recount all the famous portraits to be found at Lambeth.
The above selection must suffice.
The chapel, also, is a building of singular interest. Beneath is
an ancient crypt said to have been erected by Archbishop Herbert
Fitzwalter, while the chapel itself was built by Archbishop Boniface
of Savoy between 1249 and 1270. The lancet windows are elegant, and
were filled with stained glass by Archbishop Laud, all of which was
duly broken to pieces during the Commonwealth. The supposed Popish
character of this glass was made an article of impeachment against Laud
at the trial at which he was sentenced to death. Here the majority of
the archbishops have been consecrated since the reign of King Henry
III. Archbishop Parker was both consecrated and also buried in the
chapel, but his tomb was desecrated and his bones scattered by Scot
and Hardyng, who possessed the palace under Oliver Cromwell. On the
restoration they were re-interred by Sir William Dugdale. At the west
end is a beautiful Gothic confessional, high up on the wall, erected
by Archbishop Chicheley. Archbishop Laud presented the screen, and
Archbishop Tait restored the whole of this sacred edifice, which
measures 12 feet by 25 feet. Formerly the archbishops lived in great
state. Thus, Cranmer's household comprised a treasurer, comptroller,
steward, garnator, clerk of the kitchen, caterer, clerk of the spicery,
yeoman of the ewery, bakers, pantlers, yeoman of the horse, yeoman
ushers, besides numerous other less important officials.
Cardinal Pole possessed a patent from Queen Mary, authorising a
household of 100 servants. The modern part of the palace was built by
Archbishop Howley in the Tudor style. He held the See from 1828 to
1848, and was the last prelate to maintain the archiepiscopal state of
the olden time.
ELIZABETHAN LONDON
BY T. FAIRMAN ORDISH, F.S.A.
The leading feature of Elizabethan London was that it was a great port.
William Camden, writing in his _Britannia_, remarked that the Thames,
by its safe and deep channel, was able to entertain the greatest
ships in existence, daily bringing in so great riches from all parts
"that it striveth at this day with the Mart-townes of Christendome
for the second prise, and affoordeth a most sure and beautiful Roade
for shipping" (Holland's translation). Below the great bridge, one of
the wonders of Europe, we see this shipping crowding the river in the
maps and views of London belonging to the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The Tower and the bridge were the city's defences against attack by
water. Near the Tower was the Custom House, where peaceful commerce
paid its dues; and between the Custom House and the bridge was the
great wharf of Billingsgate, where goods were landed for distribution.
Near the centre of the bridge was a drawbridge, which admitted vessels
to another great wharf, Queenhithe, at a point midway between London
Bridge and Blackfriars. Between the bridge and Queenhithe was the
Steelyard, the domain of the merchants of the Hanseatic League. Along
the river front were numerous other wharves, where barges and lighters
unloaded goods which they brought from the ships in the road, or from
the upper reaches of the Thames. For the river was the great highway
of London. It answered the needs of commerce, and it furnished the
chief means of transit. The passenger traffic of Elizabethan London was
carried on principally by means of rowing-boats. A passenger landed at
the point nearest to his destination, and then walked; or a servant
waited for him with a saddle-horse. The streets were too narrow for
coaches, except in two or three main arteries.
The characteristic of present-day London, at which all foreigners
most marvel, is the amount of traffic in the streets. In Elizabethan
London this characteristic existed in the chief highway--the Thames.
The passenger-boats were generally described as "wherries," and they
were likened by Elizabethan travellers to the gondolas of Venice; for
instance, by Coryat, in his _Crudities_, who thought the playhouses
of Venice very beggarly compared with those of London, but admired
the gondoliers, because they were "altogether as swift as our rowers
about London." The maps of the period reveal the extraordinary number
of "stairs" for landing passengers along both banks of the river,
besides the numerous wharves for goods. John Stow, the author of the
_Survey of London_, published first in 1598, and again in a second
edition in 1603, describes the traffic on the river. "By the Thames,"
he says, "all kinds of merchandise be easily conveyed to London, the
principal storehouse and staple of all commodities within this realm.
So that, omitting to speak of great ships and other vessels of burthen,
there pertaineth to the cities of London, Westminster, and borough of
Southwark, above the number, as is supposed, of 2,000 wherries and
other small boats, whereby 3,000 poor men at the least be set on work
and maintained." Many of these watermen were old sailors, who had
sailed and fought under Drake. The Armada deliverance was recalled
by Drake's ship, which lay in the river below the bridge. The voyage
of the Earl of Essex to Spain, the expeditions to Ireland and to the
Low Countries, formed the staple of the gossip of these old sailors
who found employment in the chief means of locomotion in Elizabethan
London.
There was only the single bridge, but there were several ferries.
The principal ferry was from Blackfriars and the Fleet river to a
point opposite on the Surrey side, called Paris Garden stairs--nearly
in a line with the present Blackfriars Bridge. At Westminster was
another, from the Horseferry Road to a point a little west of Lambeth
Palace--almost in the line of the present Lambeth Bridge. The river was
fordable at low tide at this point; horses crossed here--whence the
name Horseferry--and possibly other cattle, when the tide was unusually
low.
The sea is the home of piety. Coast towns, ports, and havens, reached
after voyages of peril, are invariably notable for their places of
worship, and for customs which speak touchingly--like the blessing
of fishermen's nets, for instance--of lives spent in uncertainty and
danger. Thus, the leading characteristic of Elizabethan London being
its association with the sea and its dependence on the river, we find
that its next most striking characteristic was the extraordinary
number of churches it contained. The great cathedral predominated more
pronouncedly than its modern successor. From the hill on which it was
based it reared its vast bulk; its great spire ascended the heavens,
and the multitude of church towers and spires and belfries throughout
the city seemed to follow it. The houses were small, the streets were
narrow; but to envisage the city from the river, or from the Surrey
side, was to have the eye led upwards from point to point to the summit
of St. Paul's. The dignity and piety of London were thus expressed,
in contradiction to human foibles and failings so conspicuous in
Elizabethan drama. The spire of St. Paul's was destroyed by lightning
early in the reign of Elizabeth; and the historian may see much
significance in the fact that it was not rebuilt, even in thanksgiving
and praise for the deliverance from the Great Armada. The piety of
London dwindled until it flamed forth anew in the time of the Puritan
revolt.