which comprehended nearly the whole space now occupied by gardens between
the bridge and the water gate. {176}
This order of mendicants took their name from their founder, and were
sometimes called “Preachers” from their office, and “Black Friars” from
their dress.
The convent, like those of the Austin and Franciscan friars, was placed
on the margin of the river, outside the walls and adjacent to the
bridges.
From the rich architectural remains, &c. which have occasionally been dug
up here, the church must have been a spacious and elegant building; but,
in common with the other convents, it shared the fate of the dissolution
of monasteries, and was sold by Henry the Eighth in 1543. The hand of
man, combined with the operations of time, had, previously to 1823, left
but few vestiges either of the convent where Richard and George
Plantagenet, two sons of Edward the Fourth, were born, or the more recent
fortifications erected on this interesting spot,—where several military
transactions were determined in various periods of our domestic history.
The bank on which this friary stood was levelled in the above-mentioned
year, when the foundations of several walls were cleared to a
considerable extent, and numerous capitals, pieces of mullions, with
remains of stained glass, enamelled tiles, &c. were discovered by the
workmen employed in the construction of a new building and wharf.
Several stone graves were also brought to view, the masonry of which was
well finished, and formed so as nearly to fit the corpse. After clearing
the soil from these tombs, skeletons were found encased in red sand, but
without the least trace of any thing in which the body might have been
enveloped. The only remains of this once noble pile are the materials
used in the construction of a stable and the wall surrounding the
gardens. Adjoining is