appropriated, we are not to wonder that a Market formerly existed
upon that of London; although the circumstance is marked only by the
order for its removal, which we find mentioned by Maitland in his
‘_History_,’ volume i. page 104, in the following terms. ‘In the fifth
year of this King’s reign,’ that is to say Edward I. 1276,--‘it was
ordained, that there should not be kept a Market on London Bridge,
nor in any other place, except those appointed for that purpose: also
that no person should go out of the City to Southwark to buy cattle,
or any wares which might be bought in the City, under the penalty of
the forfeiture of the thing bought. This is the first Ordinance of
the Common Council we find on record, concerning the regulation and
appointment of Markets in this City.’ The margin of Maitland’s work
states that he derived this information from the book entitled ‘_Liber
Albus_,’ preserved in the Record Chamber of the City of London, folio,
130 a. Now this same White Book, which I imagine to have been so called
from its having once had a cover of cream-coloured calf, was a most
curious and elaborate work, compiled, as it is supposed by Strype, by
one J. Carpenter, who was Town Clerk in the reign of Henry V., and a
great benefactor to the City. It is dated November 5th, 1419, in the
Mayoralty of Master Richard Whyttington, and the 7th year of the Reign
of Henry V. and ‘it contains laudable customs not written, wont to be
observed in the City, and other notable things worthy of remembrance
here and there scatteringly, not in any order written.’ Some of these
memoranda, as the Latin Prologue to the volume sets forth, are short
indexes to the contents of other City Books, Rolls, and Charters,
which are cited by their names, or marks; and in the 4th Book, folio
70 a, there is a reference to another record marked A, page cxxx.,
concerning the market on London Bridge, which was probably the occasion
of Maitland’s marginal note, as the ‘_Liber Albus Transcriptum_,’
itself, has not in any part of it a page numbered 130. The volume then,
in which this very ancient order of the Common Council is really
contained, is a small folio of a moderate thickness, cased in boards,
covered with white leather, having a coating of rough calf over it.
The outside is garnished with bosses and clasps, now black with age;
and in the centre, a metal border holds down a piece of parchment, on
which is written in Latin the title of the volume, in a clear black
letter, guarded by a plate of horn: informing us that it was begun in
the 4th year of the reign of Edward I. 1275, and finished in his 22nd
year, 1293. The leaves are of parchment, with the contents written in
a small Court-hand in Latin; and on folio 130 a, is this entry. ‘Also
that no Market place shall be kept upon London Bridge, nor in any other
place excepting the appointed stations.’ On the preceding folio, namely
129 b, there is also this farther order concerning the Bridge: ‘Item,
that no regraters,’--that is to say those who both bought and sold in
the same market or fair,--‘shall come from below London Bridge, for
the buying and preparing of bread in the City; because the Bakers of
Southwark are not permitted by the statutes of our City, to come from
without the City.’ Before I quit these venerable records of London,
I must observe to you that they contain an almost infinite number of
very curious memoranda concerning London Bridge, which would occupy no
trivial time, either to collect or relate; since in the same ‘_Liber
Albus_’ are numerous references to such particulars, see ‘for a taste
now,’ as _Touchstone_ saith, the articles entitled ‘Of the Customs
of the Bridge, Part I. folio xii. a;’--‘of the Fees’--of Fish,--‘of
the Bridge Bailiff, folio xii. b;’--‘concerning the keeping, rent, and
course, of the water under the wall,’--Wall-brook;--‘of the cleansing
of Fleet-ditch, and of the Bridge of London, and the roads about
London,’ book iv. page 16 a; ‘That the Quays and house of St. Botolph
be built and repaired by the keepers of the Bridge, volume E. folio
cxxv.;’ and ‘Writ for the keepers of the Bridge against the Parson
of Wolchurchaw, concerning the stalls on the same. Volume G. folio
clviii.’ Such are a few of the very many historical notices relating to
London Bridge, preserved in the Civic Records; ‘Books,’ says Strype,
in the interesting Preface to his first edition of Stow’s Survey,
London, 1720, never afterwards reprinted,--‘Books, that contain such a
treasure, as, notwithstanding what Mr. Stow, as well as others, have
extracted thence, and published, many other things in vast variety
still remain there unprinted,’ and, we may almost add, unknown. Alas!
my good Sir, can we wonder at the paucity of historical narrative, when
we reflect how often its very sources are undiscovered? Too many of our
topographers, ‘content to dwell in decencies for ever!’ flatter each
other, and copy each other’s errors; but how seldom do we see one, who,
diving deeply into the broad stream of Antiquarian lore, brings up----”
“Mr. Postern,” said I, with some warmth, “this is actually intolerable;
there is really nothing but what serves you for a Jack o’lanthorn to
go astray by. Whether it be a book, or a bit of musty morality, which
has nothing at all to do with the matter, away go you over hedges and
ditches, and through a thousand thickets and sloughs, rather than keep
the straight road; and dragging me along with you, over the boots in
mire. I think, on the whole, indeed, that my estate is gracious that
you have not _all_ the Bridge Records at command, for then should I be
overwhelmed, and _you_ be ten times more wearisome. Come back then, my
good Sir; do pray come back again, and finish the reign of Edward I.,
as it was connected with the history of London Bridge.”
“I own,” answered Mr. Postern, in his usual undisturbed manner, “that
your patience is somewhat tried by these details; but ever remember,
Mr. Barbican, I pray you, that our ancient Charters, with all their
barbarisms and tautology, our old Latin Chronicles, with all their
monkish fables and rudeness, our brief Patent Rolls, with all their
dryness and seeming want of interest,--ever remember that these are
the sure foundations on which all History is built. Simple truth was,
in general, the only aim of the first Chroniclers, to which later ages
have added grace of style, vividness of description, and interest of
narrative, to adorn their antique fidelity and plainness.
“But to proceed.--We are not made acquainted, Sir, with any particulars
of the repairs which followed these inquisitions concerning London
Bridge; but in the 9th year of King Edward I.--1280,--there was the
following Patent issued for its support: the original of which is
preserved with the other Patent Rolls in the Wakefield Tower, in the
Tower of London, 9th Edward I. Membrane 25-27; a copy of the Latin
is printed in Hearne’s ‘_Liber Niger_,’ which I have already quoted,
volume i. page *472; and English translations are to be found in Stow’s
‘_Survey_,’ volume i. page 59; and Maitland’s ‘_History_,’ volume i.
page 47. The words of the Patent were these.
“‘Concerning the Relief and Reparation of the Bridge of London.
‘The King to all his Bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, to whom,
&c.--these presents shall come,--Greeting. It hath been lately
represented unto us, and it grieves us to see, that the Bridge of
London is in so ruinous a condition; to the repair of which unless
some speedy remedy be put, not only the sudden fall of the Bridge,
_but also the destruction of innumerable people dwelling upon it, may
suddenly be feared_.’--I pray you to take notice of this expression,
my good Sir, because it is an undeniable proof of the very early
occupation of the platform of London Bridge by residences.--‘And that
the work,’ continues the Patent, ‘which may now be helped by some
before it fall, may, for want of a supply, come to the expense of a
damage not to be repaired; Wherefore we, who are bound to take care of,
and, by all gentle means, to provide for both the public and private
good, and with affection specially to embrace those whom we perceive
to be in want of our assistance, and to receive them under our Royal
protection; We command and require you, that when the keepers of the
said costly work of the Bridge aforesaid, or their messengers, who are
under our especial protection and license, shall come to you to collect
everywhere throughout our realm aids for the said work from pious
devotion, you do admit them friendly through the contemplation of God,
in respect of Charity, and for evidence of devotion in this behalf: not
bringing on them, nor permitting to be brought upon them, injuries,
molestations, damage, impediment, or grievance: and if any damage be
done them, that ye make them amends without delay. And when ye shall
be required by the aforesaid keepers, or their messengers, to help in
the reparation of the aforesaid Bridge, ye will cheerfully contribute
somewhat of your goods thereto, according to your abilities. And let
each of you endeavour to outrun the other in such memorable works of
Charity, for which ye must have merit with God, and shall gain thanks
of us. In testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Walsingham, on
the eighth day of January.
“‘And it is also commanded to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors,
Rectors, and to all other Ministers of the Holy Mother Church, to whom
these presents shall come, that when they, the keepers of the costly
work of the Bridge aforesaid, or their messengers, who are under our
especial protection and license, shall come to you to gather supplies
for the said work, everywhere throughout your Dioceses, Rectories,
or other jurisdictions whatsoever, from the pious and devout, you
do admit them from the contemplation of God, the regard of Charity,
and for evidence of devotion in this matter. Admitting them to excite
the people by their pious persuasions, and charitably to invoke the
assistance of their alms for the repair of the Bridge aforesaid. Not
bringing upon them,’--and so forth to the end, as before.
“And, because, says Stow, when he has finished this instrument,
‘because these voluntary alms and charitable benevolences were not like
to bring in the whole charge of the business, therefore the next year,
_viz._ the 10th of Edward I., Anno 1281, the same King issued out other
Letters Patents for taking Customs of all commodities for the same in
London, and that for a certain term of years.’ These grants are also
in the Tower, and the first occurs in the Patent Roll of the 10th of
Edward I. Membrane the 18th; for you must remember that the earliest
articles are the highest in number on the Roll, which counts from
bottom to top, though the printed Calendar, or Index, reverses this
order. The Latin text of King Edward’s Patent is in Hearne, as before,
page *474, and the translation of it is as follows.
“‘Concerning the Reparation of London Bridge.
‘The King to his Mayor of London, Greeting: Because of the sudden ruin
of the Bridge of London, we command you to associate with you two or
three of the more discreet and worthier Citizens of the City aforesaid,
to take, until our Parliament after Easter next approaching, in supply
of the reparation of the Bridge aforesaid, the Customs hereafter
written; namely, of every man crossing the water of Thames, or going
over the aforesaid Bridge of London upon either side, one Farthing;
both unto Southwark, and from Southwark unto London, by reason of the
deficiency of repair of the Bridge aforesaid: Of every Horseman so
crossing the same, one penny; and for every pack carried on a horse,
so crossing over the same, one halfpenny. But we command, in the
mean time, that not any thing be taken on the same on this occasion,
excepting for the supply of the repairs of the Bridge aforesaid. In
testimony of which, &c. Witness the King, at Cirencester, the Fourth
day of February.’
“Before the appearance of the new Patent confirming the foregoing,
there was, however, issued that grant to which I have already shewn
you that Maitland has a reference; and which is to be found recorded
on the Roll of the same year as the preceding, Membrane the 11th. Stow
also refers to it; and Hearne, on page *475, prints it in the original
Latin; in English it ran thus.
“‘That the Mayor and Commonalty of London have power to rent three
waste portions of land in divers places in London for the support of
London Bridge.--The King to all to whom these presents shall come.
Whereas by the testimony of our beloved and faithful Ralph de Hengham,
and William de Brumpton, and of others worthy of credit, we have been
informed, that it is not to our damage, nor to the hurt of our City of
London, if we grant unto our beloved Henry le Waleys, the Mayor, and
the Commonalty of the same City, that those vacant places adjoining the
wall of the Church of Wolchurch, on the Northern side of the Parish of
Wolchurch; and that the other waste places adjoining the wall of the
Churchyard of the Church of St. Paul, on the Eastern side, between the
Gate of St. Augustine, and the Street of West-Cheap: of which places
one half lieth in the Parish of St. Augustine, and the other half in
the Parish of St. Michael, at the Corn-Market; and that the other empty
places adjoining the wall of the aforesaid Burial-place of the Church
of St. Paul, on the Northern side, between the great gate of the said
Burial-place, over against the aforesaid Church of St. Michael; also
the other gate in the same wall towards the West, over against the
narrow way of Ivy lane, that they may build thereon, and rent them
for the support of the Bridge at London. We grant for us, and for our
heirs, to the aforesaid Henry, and the Commonalty, that the places
aforesaid may be built upon and rented for the benefit of them, and
of the same City, as they shall see greater cause to expedite them:
and they, the said buildings and rents, are to be held of them and of
their heirs for ever, for the support of the aforesaid Bridge, without
occasion or impediment, of us and of our heirs, our Justices and our
Bailiffs whomsoever. In testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at
Hartlebury, the 24th day of May.’
“And now I am to remind you, Mr. Barbican, that the Parish Church of
St. Mary Woolchurch stood, until after the Fire of London, on that
spot of ground once occupied by the Stock’s Market, and now by the
Mansion-House; and a part of those waste places, which adjoined to St.
Paul’s Church Yard, was situate on the Eastern side of that street
which we at present term Old ’Change, because of the Royal Exchange for
the receipt of coined bullion, which was once kept there. The Street of
West-Cheap, mentioned in the foregoing grant, was our modern Cheapside;
and St. Austin’s Gate stood on the Northern side of Watling-street,
forming the South-East end of Old ’Change. Stow tells us, in volume
i. of his ‘_Survey_,’ page 637, that in consequence of the preceding
license of Edward I. Henry Walleis built one row of houses on the
Eastern side of Old ’Change, the profits of which belonged to London
Bridge. The other portion of those vacant pieces of ground lay in the
Parish of St. Michael _ad Bladum_, as the Latin original hath it, which
is to say St. Michael at the Corn, or, corruptly speaking, St. Michael
Quern, because there was formerly a Corn-Market on the site of it; and
its famous Church, which was never rebuilt after the fire, stood, as
Stow tells you, page 684, where Newgate Street and Pater Noster Row,
‘like two rivulets joining into one, fall into Cheapside.’ These vacant
spaces, therefore, that were given to London Bridge were in Pater
Noster Row; the houses in which, says Stow, page 664, ‘from the first
North gate of St. Paul’s Church Yard, unto the next gate, were first
built without the wall of the Church Yard, by Henry Walleis, Mayor,
in the Year 1282. The rents of those houses go to the maintenance of
London Bridge.’ This estate, as the deed informs us, lay over against,
or to the South of, the _Venella_, that is to say the narrow Street or
Way, which, even in 1281, was called Ivy Lane.
“This year was, indeed, prolific in Royal Grants, for the benefit of
London Bridge; for, in support of that gift of Customs to be taken upon
it, which I have already recited, King Edward also issued the following
instrument which stands on the Patent Rolls of the 10th of his reign,
Membrane the 9th: You will find a copy of the Latin in Hearne, page
*476; and translations of it are in Stow, volume i. page 59, and in
Maitland, volume i. page 47.
“‘Concerning the Customs taken for the Repair of London Bridge.
‘The King to his Mayor of London. When lately, by reason of the sudden
ruin of London Bridge, we commanded you, that associating with you
two or three of the more discreet and loyal Citizens of the aforesaid
City, ye should take, until our Parliament after Easter next past, in
supply of the reparation of the Bridge aforesaid, a certain Custom,
as in those Letters Patents which we have caused to be made from that
time to you, is more fully contained. We, being willing that the taking
of the said Customs be continued longer, command you, that from the
Feast of St. Margaret the Virgin, next coming,’--namely, the 20th of
July,--‘unto the end of the Three Years next following completed, ye
take the underwritten Custom of the aforesaid Bridge. That is to say,
of every man on foot, bringing merchandise or other saleable goods, and
crossing the Bridge aforesaid, and betaking himself to other parts, one
Farthing: of every Horseman, crossing that Bridge, and betaking himself
to other parts with merchandise or other saleable things, as aforesaid,
one Penny: of every Pack carried on a horse, and passing over that
Bridge, one Halfpenny. Nor will we, in the mean time, that any thing be
there taken on this occasion, but for the supply of the reparation of
the said Bridge. But the aforesaid term of Three Years being completed,
let the above-mentioned Custom cease and become void. In testimony of
which thing, &c. for the aforesaid term of Three Years, this may last.
Witness the King, at Chester, the Sixth day of July.’
“It is, however, worthy of remark, Mr. Geoffrey, before I pass
downwards to another Year, that both Stow, at page 60, and Maitland,
page 47, speak of this as the first Grant of Customs to London Bridge,
and allude to that which I before rehearsed, as the second; when the
months in which they were issued, are no less distant than February and
July, independent of the direct reference which this latter deed has
to the commencement and terms of the former. The mistake has probably
arisen from the peculiarity of numbering the skins on the Patent Roll,
counting from the lowest end of it, which I have already mentioned to
you, since the first instrument is on the eighteenth Membrane, and the
latter on the ninth.
“My next notice of London Bridge is of a nature far less happy than
are these Patents for its support, for the Christmas of 1281 proved
a most fatal season to it; since Stow, in his ‘_Annals_,’ edited
by Edmund Howes, London, 1631, folio, page 201, tells us, though
without mentioning his authority, that ‘from this Christmas till the
Purification of Our Lady, there was such a frost and snow, as no man
living could remember the like; where-through, five arches of London
Bridge, and all Rochester Bridge, were borne downe, and carried away
with the streame; and the like hapned to many bridges in England. And
not long after, men passed over the Thames betweene Westminster and
Lambeth, and likewise over the River of Medway betweene Stroude and
Rochester, dry-shod. Fishes in ponds, and birds in woods, died for want
of food.’ It would appear as if this devastation had not been very
quickly repaired, for, when added to the former ruinous state of the
Bridge, the complete demolition of more than a fourth part of it, made
it not only a very lamentable, but almost hopeless undertaking. Then,
too, the very recent repetitions of grants for its repair and support,
rendered the same course nearly impracticable, though old Stow tells
us, in his ‘_Survey_,’ volume i. page 61, that ‘in the year 1289,
the Bridge was so sore decayed for want of reparations, that men were
afraid to pass thereon; and a subsidy was granted towards the amendment
thereof. Sir John Britain being Custos of London, Anno 1289, a great
collection, or gathering, was made of all Archbishops, Bishops, and
other ecclesiastical persons, for the reparations of London Bridge.’
Of the writs for such collections I have, perhaps, already given you
sufficient specimens.
“Several years now passed, unmarked in our Bridge Annals but by the
renewal of those various tolls, of which, but a short time since,
I related to you the particulars; which circumstances not only too
fatally prove into how lamentable a state of decay our venerated
edifice had then fallen; but what is infinitely worse, those repeated
Royal grants and tolls as plainly indicate the dearth of that public
spirit, which had erst lived in the glorious Peter of Colechurch.
I will but observe then, that Stow, at page 60 of his ‘_Survey_,’
and Maitland, who probably merely copied him, at page 47 of his
‘_History_,’ both record the fact, that in the 27th and 30th Years of
King Edward I., namely in 1298 and 1301, the same tolls and customs
were continued for the repair of London Bridge. You will find the
former of these grants entered on the Patent Roll for the proper year,
in the Tower, under the title of ‘_Pontage for London_,’ Membrane 29;
but as the instrument is of some considerable length, I shall prefer
giving you a similar shorter one hereafter, being the last Pontage
Patent issued by that King.
“And now, Mr. Barbican, we come to speak of a new matter connected
with London Bridge, and a singularly curious one it is, inasmuch as
it shews the great antiquity and power of the Bridge Master; but for
the better illustration of it, have patience with me, I pray you,
for a few moments, whilst I recall to your memory a point of legal
history to which it is collaterally related. In the times of our Saxon
ancestors, you may recollect one superior Court of Judicature, called
the _Wittenagemote_, or General Council of Wise Men, was sufficient
for the whole Kingdom. When William I., however, came to be Sovereign,
he contrived to separate from it the Ecclesiastical and Judicial
authority, by establishing a new and permanent Court in his own Palace,
called in history by the various names of _Curia Regis_, the King’s
Court, and _Aula Regia_, or _Aula Regis_, the King’s Hall. This was
divided into several different departments, the principal of which
were composed of the King’s great Officers of State, who were resident
in his Palace. Thus, the Lord Marshal generally presided in affairs
relating to honour and arms, and the military and national laws;
the Lord Chancellor kept the King’s Seal, and had cognizance of all
instruments to which it was attached; the Lord Treasurer was the chief
authority in all matters concerning the Revenue; and certain persons
well acquainted with the Laws, called the King’s Justices, assisted by
the Greater Barons of Parliament, formed a Court of Appeal in difficult
cases, over which presided the Chief Justiciary of all England. For a
considerable time this universal Court was bound to follow the King’s
household in all its progresses and expeditions, to the great delay of
equity, and the extreme trouble of the people; so that in the articles
of petition, which preceded the ‘_Magna Charta_’ of King John, Section
8, it was solicited that Common Pleas, or causes, should no longer
follow the King’s Court, but be held in some certain and permanent
place. This article was one to which John consented more readily than
to any other in his Great Charter, as the power of the Chief Justiciary
being already very considerable, he readily confirmed it by Chapter
xvii. of his grant. This officer’s place, however, was even then but
little altered, as he remained in Westminster Hall, where the _Curia
Regis_ had originally sat; and in the same building a Court of Common
Pleas was established, for the determination of all causes concerning
land, and injuries between subject and subject. The other departments
of the _Aula Regia_, naturally beginning to decline, soon after this
separation, King Edward I. then new modelled the whole judicial polity
of England, by dividing it into other Courts.
“Now, Sir, my intention in bringing to your memory these historical
memoranda, is, to remind you that abstracts of written proceedings of
these Courts, sometimes called the _Placita Rolls_, or Rolls of Pleas,
are yet preserved, recorded in Law Latin in a current Court-Hand full
of contractions, some being in the Tower of London, and others in
the Chapter House at Westminster. These Rolls contain pleadings as
well made in the ancient _Curia Regis_, as in the Courts subsequently
erected; though, those of the reigns of the First and Second Edwards
are chiefly of pleas in the King’s Bench, which is the last fragment
of the King’s Hall, because it _may_ be removed with the Sovereign’s
person, wherever he goes; and, although he be not actually present,
yet he is still supposed to be so, since the style of the court is yet
‘_coram ipso Rege_,’ before the King himself. Now, a collection of
abstracts from the Placita Rolls of the various Courts, having been
made, and the contents being thus of a very miscellaneous character as
to their original time and place, it has been printed by order of the
Commissioners of Records under the title of ‘_Placitorum Abbreviatio_,’
or Abstracts of the Pleadings preserved in the Chapter House at
Westminster, London, 1811, folio.