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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44683 ***
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.
+
+UNIFORM EDITION. Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+
+LONDON.
+
+With 125 Illustrations.
+
+    'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant
+    has here attempted, with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The
+    Author of "A Short History of the English People" and the historian
+    of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+    Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and
+    indelible pictures of the people of the past.... No one who loves
+    his London but will love it the better for reading this book. He who
+    loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest
+    pleasure.'--_Graphic._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his
+    beautifully illustrated book will call up in the minds of those who
+    bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and expectation. He
+    contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the
+    London of the present more living than before.'--_Spectator._
+
+
+WESTMINSTER.
+
+With 131 Illustrations.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and
+    its corporate life in a way which has never been surpassed--not even
+    equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he has made to
+    live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of
+    London to the mere dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster"
+    even better.... There is nothing but admiration to be expressed as
+    well for the plan as for the execution.'--_Daily Chronicle._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his
+    charming book on "London."... From beginning to end the narrative
+    never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one rises from its
+    reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and
+    a greater veneration for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the
+    past.'--_Guardian._
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON.
+
+With 120 Illustrations.
+
+    'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great
+    world they live in we cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to
+    the author's previous volumes. It is written by an enthusiast who is
+    also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of
+    life; and it passes before the reader's imagination a series of
+    indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic and monotonous South
+    London with the romance which is its due.'--_Literature._
+
+
+EAST LONDON.
+
+With 55 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles
+    Dickens.... He has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his
+    knowledge of the great city. He was grey before he attempted to
+    write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+    London"--books which have earned him his title as the historian of
+    London--and he has postponed his book on "East London" until his
+    sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian lore mingled with
+    human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is
+    this study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly
+    book.'--_Literary World._
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._
+
+
+FIFTY YEARS AGO.
+
+With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.
+
+    'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations
+    of George Cruikshank and the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise
+    lend additional effect.... The book is full of movement and colour,
+    and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of
+    Queen Victoria.'--_Speaker._
+
+Small 8vo. cloth (in the ST. MARTIN'S LIBRARY), gilt top, 2_s._ net
+each; feather, gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+    LONDON.                    WESTMINSTER.
+    SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.   JERUSALEM.
+    GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: F. S. Walker, R.E.
+
+S^t. Saviour's, Southwark.]
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+BY
+
+WALTER BESANT
+
+AUTHOR OF
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A NEW EDITION
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+LONDON
+CHATTO & WINDUS
+1912
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In sending forth this book on 'SOUTH LONDON,' the successor to my two
+preceding books on 'LONDON' and 'WESTMINSTER,' I have to explain in this
+case, as before, that it is not a history, or a chronicle, or a
+consecutive account of the Borough and her suburbs that I offer, but, as
+in the other two books, chapters taken here and there from the mass of
+material which lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which
+illustrate the most important part of History, namely, the condition,
+the manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now, like
+Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three hundred years
+ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing tide by an Embankment,
+joined to the Dover road by a Causeway, settled and inhabited by two or
+three Houses of Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots,
+and great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment from
+time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was built: and by a street
+of Inns and shops.
+
+I hope that 'SOUTH LONDON' will be received with favour equal to that
+bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief difficulty in writing it has
+been that of selection from the great treasures which have accumulated
+about this strange spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth
+part of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the showman in
+the 'Cries of London'--I pull the strings, and the children peep. Lo!
+Allectus goes forth to fight and die on Clapham Common: William's men
+burn the fishermen's cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy,
+rides out, all in white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington--saw one
+ever so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards the city:
+Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's army: the Minters
+make their last Sanctuary opposite St. George's: the Debtors languish in
+the King's Bench. There are many pictures in the box--but how many more
+there are for which no room could be found!
+
+I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor of the _Pall
+Mall Magazine_, where half of these chapters first had the honour of
+appearing, for the wealth of illustration of which he thought them
+worthy: and next to the artist, Mr. Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully
+and so cunningly carried out the task committed to him.
+
+  WALTER BESANT.
+
+    UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB:
+        _September 1898_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+     I. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS                                          1
+
+    II. EARLY HISTORY                                                 25
+
+   III. A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY                                         47
+
+    IV. THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON                              69
+
+     V. PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS                                         124
+
+    VI. A FORGOTTEN WORTHY                                           134
+
+   VII. THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON                                    153
+
+  VIII. THE PILGRIMS                                                 157
+
+    IX. THE LADY FAIR                                                179
+
+     X. ST. MARY OVERIES                                             191
+
+    XI. THE SHOW FOLK                                                206
+
+   XII. BELOW BRIDGE                                                 229
+
+  XIII. THE LATER SANCTUARY                                          241
+
+   XIV. IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY                                    248
+
+    XV. THE DEBTORS' PRISON                                          272
+
+   XVI. THE PLEASURE GARDENS                                         282
+
+  XVII. SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY                                       301
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                  _Frontispiece_
+_Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E._
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES                         3
+
+CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH                                        7
+
+FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET                                9
+
+BARKING CREEK                                                         11
+
+RELICS OF THE STONE AGE                                               15
+
+A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE                                              17
+
+RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE                                              19
+
+MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH                                    27
+
+LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000                                              29
+
+A DANISH HOUSE                                                        31
+
+SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                33
+
+A VIKING SHIP                                                         34
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            37
+
+DIAGRAM                                                               40
+
+THE GOKSTAD SHIP                                                      41
+
+SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR                                        43
+
+BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                       45
+
+THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY                                           51
+
+BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                                      52
+
+GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                           53
+
+ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK                                                  61
+
+'LE LOKE'                                                             63
+
+REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH     67
+
+THE LONG BARN                                                         70
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            71
+
+GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE                                    75
+
+THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH                                 77
+
+SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE                                              83
+_From Allen's History of Lambeth_
+
+THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII                    85
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796                                        91
+
+KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT                                              93
+_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE                                              95
+
+THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE                                        97
+
+GREENWICH, 1662                                                       99
+_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_
+
+GREENWICH HOSPITAL                                                   101
+_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE                                                       109
+
+BONNER HALL, LAMBETH                                                 111
+
+RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH                                     113
+_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' November 1822_
+
+BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH                                               114
+
+INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE                                 115
+_From an Engraving dated 1804_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER                                       116
+
+LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE                                      117
+
+DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER                                       119
+
+LOLLARDS' PRISON                                                     121
+
+WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK                                            137
+
+SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK             139
+
+THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET                143
+
+HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550                               149
+
+OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY                                     158
+
+OLD HALL, AYLESBURY                                                  159
+
+CANTERBURY PILGRIMS                                                  160
+
+15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH                                               165
+
+RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY                             165
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+14TH CENTURY MERCHANT                                                168
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+PEDLAR                                                               175
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_
+
+MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480                                                 177
+
+BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR                                                181
+
+GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY                                     187
+_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_
+
+A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                           192
+
+SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            193
+
+NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800                    194
+
+CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            195
+
+GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811                        197
+_From a Drawing by Whichelo_
+
+REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES                          199
+
+TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES                             201
+
+A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                 203
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790                                       204
+
+WINCHESTER PALACE                                                    207
+
+THE GLOBE THEATRE                                                    209
+_From the Crace Collection_
+
+BEAR GARDEN                                                          213
+
+THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616                               221
+
+INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE                                     223
+
+A FÊTE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590                                        231
+_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_
+
+THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814                                    233
+
+VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                  235
+_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_
+
+GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH                                                239
+
+MINT STREET, BOROUGH                                                 245
+
+OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK                                  249
+
+ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                                                250
+_From an old Print_
+
+SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY                     251
+
+JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY                                            252
+
+QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL                                253
+
+ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH                              254
+_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_
+
+THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE                                          255
+
+AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE                                                256
+
+JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE                                257
+
+THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK                                         258
+
+OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET                                            259
+
+COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN                                    261
+
+THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK                                     263
+
+ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK                                            265
+
+A SOUTH LONDON SLUM                                                  267
+
+THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK                                        268
+
+ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW                               269
+_From an Engraving by B. Cole_
+
+REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT     273
+_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_
+
+KING'S BENCH PRISON                                                  275
+
+ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON                              277
+
+VAUXHALL GARDENS                                                     283
+_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_
+
+VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET                                    285
+
+THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM                                            289
+
+A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY                                 301
+
+IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY                                         302
+
+THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK                                      303
+
+HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE                                            305
+
+CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                         307
+
+ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840                                            309
+
+DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780                                                311
+
+FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S                                      313
+
+RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK                                         315
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK                                                   317
+
+BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER                                             319
+
+THE GEORGE INN                                                       321
+
+LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA                             321
+
+ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S                          323
+
+THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S                                          325
+
+A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                           327
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
+
+
+I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow by the
+general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors on 'London' and
+'Westminster,' they will not attempt, or pretend, to present a
+continuous history of this region--or, indeed, a history at all: they
+will endeavour to do for this part of London what their predecessors
+have already attempted for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is
+to say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the Borough
+and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means the march of armies
+and the clash of armour, we shall here find little history. So far,
+also, as history means the growth of our liberties, the struggles by
+which they were won; the apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time,
+of the spirit of freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and
+the student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman--not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy to be held in the
+highest honour, of those who trace out the irresistible march of
+national freedom: I cannot join their company; I must be contented with
+the lowlier, yet somewhat useful, task of showing how the people, my
+forefathers, lived, and what they thought, and how they sang and
+feasted and made love and grew old and died.
+
+My South London extends from Battersea in the west to Greenwich in the
+east, and from the river on the north to the first rising ground on the
+south. This rising ground, a gentle ascent, the beginning of the Surrey
+hills, can still be observed on the high roads of the south--Clapham,
+Brixton, Camberwell. It now occupies the place of what was formerly a
+low cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the broad
+level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side of the river,
+which closed in on either side of Walbrook and made the foundation of
+London possible. If we draw a straight line from the mouth of the Wandle
+on the west to the mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall,
+roughly speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as well. The whole
+of this region constitutes the Great South Marsh: there is no rising
+ground, or hillock, or encroaching cliff over the whole of this flat
+expanse. Before the river was embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for
+eight miles in length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a
+half miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created, as the
+centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of branches, roots,
+reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches above high water; the
+spring-tide covered them--sometimes swept them away--then others began
+to form. In later times, after the work of embankment had been
+commenced, these islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington, Kennington.
+Even then, for many a long year, they were but little areas rising a
+foot or two above the level, covered with sedge, reeds, and tufts of
+coarse grass, hardly distinguishable from the rest of the ground around
+them. Before the construction of the river wall, no trees stood upon
+this morass, no flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and
+bushes grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of it:
+there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south side rose the
+cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and continually receding
+before the encroaching tide; on the north side ran the river; beyond the
+river the cliff stood up above the water's edge, where the tiny stream,
+afterwards named from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the
+rolling flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.
+
+[Illustration: View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.]
+
+Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide made their way
+across it into the Thames: at high tide their beds were lost in the
+shallows. Among them--to use names by which they were afterwards
+distinguished--were the Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne,
+and others which have disappeared and left no name. And so for
+unnumbered years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the reeds bent
+beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead, and the wild birds
+screamed, far away from the world of men and women, long after men and
+women began to wander about this Island called Albion. No one took any
+thought of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all along
+the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely the most desolate,
+dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere in the world. Those who wish
+to realise what manner of country it was which stretched away on the
+north and south of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it
+if they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the ruined
+Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low tide to east and
+north.
+
+In a previous volume dealing with another part of the country called
+London I showed to my own satisfaction, and, I believe, that of my
+readers, that long before there existed any London at all, except
+perhaps a village of a few fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or
+Thorney was a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to Dover and
+the southern ports. This position, new as it was, and opposed to the
+general and traditional teaching--opposed, for instance, to the
+traditional belief of Dean Stanley--has never been attacked, and may be
+considered, therefore, as generally accepted. When or how the trade of
+Thorney began, to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire.
+Indeed, I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the beginning
+and early history of the Southern settlements.
+
+The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called afterwards
+by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now Westminster. All the
+trade of the north passed over that little spot, on which arose a
+considerable town for the reception of the caravans. After resting a
+night or so at Thorney, the merchants went on their way. Those who
+travelled south, making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there
+was afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection of
+Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still survives in
+Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford, the travellers found
+themselves face to face with a mile of dangerous bog, marsh and swamp,
+through which they had to plod and plough their way, sinking over their
+knees, up to the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground, now
+called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their long chains of
+slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules from the north, this was
+the worst bit of the whole journey. Every day there were rivers to be
+forded, in which some of their slaves might get drowned or might escape;
+there were dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile
+tribes; there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this great
+swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed and floundered through
+it, over ankles, over knees, up to the middle, up to the neck, in mud
+and muddy water. The packhorses sank deep down with their loads; they
+took off the loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who
+threw them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they made a
+mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and slave-load; iron, lead,
+and skins: the merchant paid heavy tribute while he crossed the marshes
+and waded through the shallows of the broad tidal river.
+
+At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown person of
+engineering genius in advance of his time, that it might not be
+impossible to construct a causeway across this marsh; and that such a
+causeway would be extremely useful and convenient for those who used the
+Thorney Fords. Perhaps the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the
+work was the first causeway ever constructed in this country; perhaps
+the inventor began on the smallest possible scale, with a very narrow
+way across the marsh to the nearest dry ground, which was, of course,
+somewhere beyond Kennington; perhaps the work, colossal for the time,
+carried the merchants and their caravans across the whole extent of the
+marsh--five miles and more--to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was not unlike those
+which now run across the Hackney Marshes; that is to say, it was raised
+so high as to be above the highest spring tide, about six feet above the
+level of the marsh. It was constructed by driving piles into the mud at
+regular intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and
+filling up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle'--or from the nearest high ground, where is
+now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway, I take it, was about
+ten or twelve feet. The construction of the work rendered the passage
+across the marsh perfectly easy, and greatly facilitated that part of
+the trade of the island which lay in the midland and on the north.
+
+When was this causeway, the first step in road-making, constructed?
+Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however, that it is older than the
+Roman occupation; and for these reasons. When London was first visited
+by the Romans it was already a flourishing city with a '_copia
+negotiatorum_;' in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting
+the greater part of the trade which formerly passed through Thorney. Had
+the Romans built the causeway, they would have constructed it along a
+line drawn from one of the two old ferries to Deptford. The causeway,
+therefore, must have existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene,
+together with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway
+connecting the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the Romans
+strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled way, soft in bad
+weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman roads; faced it with stone,
+and made it durable. If South London were to be stripped of all its
+houses, the two causeways would be found still, hard and firm, beneath
+the mass of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.
+
+If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the end of
+Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the Old Kent Road, you
+will understand the lie of the causeway. And this causeway, understand,
+was the very first interference of the hand of man with the marshes
+south of the Thames. It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment
+against the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which flowed
+in on the other side--the Battersea side: it was simply a way across the
+marsh. For a long time--we cannot tell how long--it remained the
+principal way of communication for the trade of Britain between the
+north and the south, the midland and the south, the eastern counties and
+the south.
+
+[Illustration: Causeway across Southwark Marsh.]
+
+Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the merchants
+crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries of which no trace or
+memory remains, when they turned their eyes northward, first a level of
+mud, sprinkled with little eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the
+broad river, and beyond the river two streams, one fuller than the
+other, each in its own valley--that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House--falling into the river; a low
+cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh, as on the
+south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames, approaching close
+to the river, and actually overhanging it. On the river they saw
+numerous coracles, with fishermen catching salmon and every kind of fish
+in their nets. No river in the world was more plentifully stocked with
+fish; overhead flew screaming innumerable birds--geese, ducks,
+herne--which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling and stone by
+the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the river, the travellers by
+the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk. Then, perhaps, they
+remembered the plenty of the markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds,
+the vast quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that flew up
+from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that London--'the place
+or fort over the Lake'--was the settlement which furnished Thorney with
+a good part of her supplies. And this I verily believe to have been the
+real origin and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping birds for
+the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only; it will be set aside,
+most certainly, by those who are not pleased with the upsetting of old
+theories. To those who are able to realise the ancient condition of
+things and all it means, the suggestion will be received, I am
+convinced, as more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.
+
+Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of great resort, as I
+have shown in these pages already: every day passed into Thorney, and
+out of Thorney, long processions or caravans of merchants with
+merchandise carried by slaves--the most valuable part of their
+merchandise--and by packhorses and mules; they waded through the
+northern ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the causeway,
+and went south. Or else it was the reverse way. The place required a
+daily supply of food, and, as there were many travellers, a great
+quantity of food. If you go down the river from Thorney, you will find
+that the present site of London, on the two hillocks rising out of the
+river, was the first and only place where men could put up huts in which
+to live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for Thorney. If,
+therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing centre of trade long
+before London was a place of trade at all, then the original London must
+have been a settlement of fishermen and trappers who supplied the
+markets of Thorney.
+
+[Illustration: Fishers' Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.]
+
+In course of time--we are still in prehistoric times--the site of
+London was discovered by seamen and merchant adventurers exploring the
+rivers in their ships. It was found cheaper and easier and safer to
+carry goods to and from Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast
+along from Dover to the strait between Rum--the Isle of Thanet, and the
+mainland--to pass through the strait and up the river, was found easier
+and cheaper than to undertake the costly and dangerous march from Dover
+to Thorney Ford. This way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a
+certain part of the trade along the old causeway was diverted.
+
+The next step was the discovery of London as a port. There was no port
+at Thorney: on the site of London were the two natural ports of Walbrook
+and the mouth of the Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more
+salubrious than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays were
+erected, goods were landed; the high road which we call Oxford Street
+was constructed to connect London with the highway of trade--afterwards
+Watling Street; and the trade of London began.
+
+Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it was, you will
+observe that London at its first commencement had no communication with
+any part of the world except by water. The first road opened was, as I
+have said, the connection with Watling Street; what was the next? It was
+a connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was the road
+which we now call High Street, Borough. These two roads were the first
+communication between London and any other place; all the other roads,
+to the north and south and west and east, came afterwards. It was
+necessary for London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country. The High
+Street formed that open communication; it began not far to the west of
+St Saviour's Church, opposite the Roman Trajectus, the mediæval ferry,
+now St. Mary Overies Dock.
+
+Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from embanking the river,
+or draining the marsh, or making it inhabitable. If you walk across
+Hackney Marsh by one of its causeways any autumnal morning, especially
+after rain, you will understand something of what Southwark looked like.
+Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as yet not a square foot
+had been drained or reclaimed; yet the place was not so wild as it had
+been; the wild birds had been partly driven away by the noise and crowd
+of London, and by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and
+down. There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river backwards
+and forwards all day long. The causeways were crowded with people; but
+as yet nothing on the lowlands. Before the marshes could be drained the
+river had to be embanked.
+
+[Illustration: Barking Creek]
+
+No one knows when that was done. It was done, however. At some time or
+other a high earthwork was raised along the north and south banks of
+the river, enclosing the marshes, converting them into pasture and
+arable land, and keeping out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the
+most signal benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets and coast
+of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair, though most of it has
+stood splendidly. The wall gave way, however, at Barking in the time of
+Henry the Second; at Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early
+in the last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall was
+costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a low-lying ground,
+rich and fertile; orchards and woods began to grow and to flourish upon
+it; yet it was still swampy in parts, numerous ponds lay about on it,
+streams wound their way confined in channels, and let out through the
+embankment at low tide by culverts.
+
+Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot decide. Yet I
+think that the embankment came first; for the existence of
+Southwark--that of any part of South London--depended not on the bridge,
+but on the embankment and the ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the
+two causeways; the bridge; two ferries--one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct communication
+with Dover, with Thorney--thence with the midlands and the north: there
+could not fail to arise a settlement or town of some kind on the south
+of the Thames.
+
+Let us next consider the conditions under which the town of Southwark
+began to exist and to continue for a great many years.
+
+(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except the marsh which
+surrounded it and prohibited the approach of an army except along the
+causeway.
+
+(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and south of the
+embankment. Although the tide no longer ebbed and flowed among the reeds
+and islets of the marsh, yet it was covered with small ponds, some of
+them stagnant, others formed by the many streams which flowed towards
+the culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they escaped
+into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was attempted, the place
+caused agues and fevers for any who slept in its white miasma. In other
+words, not an embankment only, but drainage of some kind, had to be
+undertaken before life was possible on the marsh.
+
+(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no trade, on the
+south side. All merchandise coming up from the south for export at the
+port of London, all merchandise landed at the port for the south, had to
+be carried across the bridge.
+
+(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of London--the
+porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys, stevedores,
+lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the _employés_ of the merchants,
+their wives, women and children--all these people lived in London
+itself; they had their taverns and drinking shops; their sleeping places
+and eating places, in London; all the people employed in providing food
+and drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had to be a
+place without trade, without noise, without disturbance of workmen,
+without broils among the sailors or fights among foreigners.
+
+(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with fish.
+
+(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were along the line of
+the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.
+
+These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore, to find the
+place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses were all built
+beside or along the raised ways. We should next expect to find along
+the causeways that the houses belonged to the wealthier class.
+
+We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working men's
+quarters. The former because there were no ships; the latter because
+there were no markets. Lastly, we should not be surprised to find the
+place very early occupied by inns and places of accommodation for those
+who resorted to London.
+
+All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman remains are
+numerous; they are all found along the causeways; the existence of a
+Roman cemetery shows that it was a place of some importance. I say
+_some_, because its very limited extent proves that it was never a large
+place. I will return immediately to the Roman remains.
+
+There was, however, one trade, one class of working men which took up
+its abode along the embankment of Southwark: it was that of the
+fishermen, driven across the river by the growth of London. There was no
+room for the fishermen with their coracles and nets along the line of
+quays on the north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and
+a place to spread their nets,--they could not find either in the north;
+nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually by oars and
+keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up their huts along the
+embankment; for long centuries afterwards the fisherfolk continued to
+live in South London. The last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied,
+well into the present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is
+described as unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But
+the last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen were
+by that time almost starved out of existence. I am sure that the south
+was always their place of residence; the foreshore offered them what
+they could not find on the north bank. To him, however, who considers
+the fisheries of the Thames, there are many points on which, for want of
+exact information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he pleases.
+For instance, later on, there were fishermen living at Limehouse. Some
+of the Thames watermen lived here also--the legend of Awdry the ferryman
+assigns to him a residence on the south; their favourite place of
+residence, however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The Roman remains found up and down the place prove my assertion that
+the people who lived here were what we should call substantial. One need
+not catalogue the long list of Roman _trouvailles_; but, to take the
+more important, in the year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the
+foundations of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in
+St. Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet below
+the surface of the ground. In the following year, in the area facing St.
+Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight feet below the surface, there
+was found another, of a more elaborate design. Only a part of this was
+uncovered, as the Governors of the School forbade further investigation:
+it remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under the
+present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of King Street, at a
+depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found a great many Roman lamps, a
+vase, and other sepulchral deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer
+through Blackman Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered. In
+Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus Africanus. In Deverill
+Street, south of the Dover road, other coins were discovered; in St.
+Saviour's churchyard, a coin of Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved
+that an extensive Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient
+settlement. In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for the
+purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital, another
+tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and walls of other
+chambers, all built on piles, showing that the houses beside the
+causeway were thus supported in the marshy ground; Roman coins and
+pottery were also found here. Another pavement was discovered on the
+opposite side, south of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the
+corner of Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on which
+houses had been built. In many of the later buildings Roman tiles have
+been found. These remains are quite sufficient to prove that many
+wealthy people lived in Roman Southwark, and that they occupied villas
+built on piles beside the causeway.
+
+Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous for its inns,
+and since the same conditions prevailed in the fourth as in the
+fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the people
+who drove those long lines of packhorses laden with goods from London
+used Southwark as a place in which to deposit merchandise before taking
+it across the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage was
+cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the place was
+cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting place and a lodging
+for traders, Southwark was like Thorney in its palmy days--a place of
+entertainment for man and beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta;
+no place of meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual coming
+and going, which made the place lively and cheerful.
+
+Such were the origins of the settlements of South London. An embankment,
+a causeway, a fishery for the wants of Thorney first and of London next;
+then villas, put up by the better sort, attracted here, one believes, by
+the fresh air coming up the river with every tide, and by the quiet of
+the place. The settlement began quite early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery. The draining and
+drying of the low lands went on meanwhile gradually, gardens and
+orchards taking the place of the former marsh.
+
+[Illustration: A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely defenceless.
+The _Pax Romana_ protected it. Remember that London itself was not
+walled till the latter part of the fourth century. Why should it be? For
+more than three hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no
+wars and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore' beat back,
+and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark; the Legions beat back
+the marauders of Scotland and Ireland. Southwark, like the City its
+neighbour, needed no wall and asked for no defence.
+
+Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a glimpse in
+history of South London. The first is the rout of the usurper, the
+Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham Common.
+
+Towards the close of the third century the succession of usurpers who
+sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions of the Empire contained
+six who came from Britain. What effect these movements had upon the
+security of South London we have no means of learning. The history,
+however, of Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for
+reflection. The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be the Count
+of the Saxon Shore--in other words, Admiral of the Roman Fleet. In this
+capacity he kept the seas free from pirates; enriched himself, became
+famous for his courage and his generosity; usurped the title of Cæsar,
+fought with and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton; near
+the latter place--at Bittern--is still seen the quay at which his ships
+were moored. His rule, of which we know little, was certainly strong and
+firm. Coins exist in great numbers of Carausius. They represent his
+arrival: 'Expectate, veni'--'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports at London; he
+appointed a British senate. Then came the time when he must fight or
+die. Like the King of the Grove, the Usurper held his throne on that
+condition. Carausius, for some unknown reason, would not fight when the
+chance was offered--therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned in his
+stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life. He accepted the
+challenge; he awaited with an army of Franks and Britons the arrival of
+the Roman forces sent to quell him: he awaited them in London. When the
+enemy drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave battle
+to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath south of London,
+immediately beyond the rising ground--we now call the place Clapham
+Common--and there he fell bravely fighting. He had enjoyed the purple
+for three years. Perhaps, when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he
+was going to meet his fate--either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die--he reflected that for such a splendid three years' run
+it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life at the end.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE]
+
+This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London in history. We
+see the army marching across the Bridge and along the Causeway, shouting
+and singing. We see them a few hours later, flying from the field,
+rushing headlong over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas, are
+running over the Bridge after them. Once across the Bridge, the soldiers
+found that there was left in the City neither order nor authority. They
+therefore began to sack and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the
+inhabitants. Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were permitted
+to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore there could be no defence.
+The pillage went on until the victorious general had got his army--or
+some of it--across the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his
+troops, whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the defeated
+army made any organised opposition, we know not. All we are told is that
+the Roman soldiers fought hand to hand with those of the dead Usurper in
+the streets of London, and that the latter were all massacred.
+
+In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in the flight of
+another defeated host. The Britons had gone forth to fight the Saxon
+invaders; they met the enemy--Hengist and Æsc his son--at
+'Creeganford'--Crayford: they were defeated; four thousand of them were
+killed; they fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along the Causeway
+and through the narrow gates of the Bridge. Alas! the old villas along
+the Causeway are deserted and in ruins; the place has been desolate for
+many years--since the Saxons began to swarm about the country; the
+former residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two hundred long
+years, and to leave its memories of hatred behind it for fifteen hundred
+years at least. The gardens are grown over, the orchards are neglected,
+the inns are empty and ruinous.
+
+Before long there falls the silence of death upon the walled City and
+the Bridge and the settlements of the South. All alike are deserted: the
+tide idly laps the piles of the rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty
+wharves, bearing no keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river,
+there is no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy. The timbered
+face of the embankment gave way and crumbled into the river; the
+Causeway was eaten by the tides here and there; the low grounds once
+more became a marsh, and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their
+former haunts.
+
+I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural reasons which
+led to this desertion of the City. It appears to us strange and almost
+impossible that a great city should be so utterly deserted. Where,
+however, are the cities of Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the
+great cities of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore forced
+them to go. This was most certainly the case with London. Roger of
+Wendover, it is true, tells us that in the year 462 the Saxons took
+possession of London, and then successively of York, Lincoln, and
+Winchester, committing great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in
+every quarter, like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with the
+ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy scriptures they
+burned with fire; the tombs of the holy martyrs they covered with mounds
+of earth; the clergy who escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of
+the saints to the caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and
+deserts and the crags of the mountains.'
+
+I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in 1237) had access to
+documents of the time. I would rather incline to the belief that, given
+certain undoubted facts of battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented
+the world with a little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City would be only
+hastened. With the ruin and desolation of Augusta came also the ruin of
+the southern settlement.
+
+This silence--this desolation--lasted some hundred years. Then the men
+of Essex--the East Saxons--came down, a few at a time, and took
+possession of the deserted City; the merchants began timidly to bring
+their ships again with goods for trade; the East Saxons learned the
+meaning of bargains; Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City
+preserved its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but the Saxons
+called it Southwark. And they repaired the embankment and restored the
+ancient causeways, and cleared away the ruins.
+
+Another point of difference: in London the new streets, laid out without
+rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not follow the old Roman
+streets, which were quite obliterated and utterly forgotten--one cannot
+imagine a more decisive proof of complete desertion and ruin. In
+Southwark, on the other hand, the streets remained the same--they were
+the two causeways and the embankment--because none others were then
+possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it always has been, the
+ancient causeway connecting the new port of London with the Dover road.
+
+Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the vicissitudes which
+must happen in a period of continual warfare to an undefended suburb. In
+times of peace, when trade was possible, the place was what the
+Icelander Snorro Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise
+carried to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found accommodation
+there. But we cannot believe that when the Danish fleets brought their
+fierce warriors to the very walls of London, Southwark--or any other
+settlement--would continue to exist unfortified. That the place remained
+without a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the Danes,
+proves that it was regarded by itself as of small importance. This is
+also proved by another fact--namely, that the place was always occupied
+without defence. When, for instance, the Danes held London for twelve
+years, leaving it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people
+remained in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived here for
+greater convenience of their work; London by this time was impossible
+for them, because it was walled all along the river side. If peace was
+prolonged, inns were set up for the merchants: people built houses along
+the causeway. When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of South London for a
+thousand years--alternate occupation and abandonment.
+
+There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark. I would deal
+with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of the heretics is a
+personal friend of my own. It is that the site of the first or original
+London was on the South; that Roman London stood on the site of
+Southwark; and that, at some time or other, there was a transference of
+sites, the whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is even
+maintained that the name of Walworth proves that there was once a wall
+round the city of the south. To me the name of Walworth indicates the
+proximity of the high causeway running through its midst. The
+consideration of the site--the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site--is
+quite sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the Lake
+dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the building of
+cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway, the South of London was
+impossible for the residence of man.
+
+The transference of sites is a theory often called in to account for,
+and make possible, other theories. Thus, the late James Fergusson
+invented the transference of sites in order to bolster up certain
+theories of his own on the Holy Places of Jerusalem. Here, however,
+there is no theory: only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant
+of the boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said, was in Kent. All
+the Roman remains, as we have seen, are found by the Causeway and the
+Embankment--there never could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only
+answer that is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would settle
+themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry ground across the
+river?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+EARLY HISTORY
+
+
+Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except for its
+connection with London by bridge and ferry, and especially by bridge.
+Before the Ferry and the Bridge there was no Southwark. The history of
+Southwark is closely connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end
+of the Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south. I propose, in
+this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and one or two of its
+earlier battles.
+
+It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge there was
+the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the river and 'dump' them down in
+the marsh? But people had no business in the marsh. First came the
+Bridge and the Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But as yet there
+was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and the appearance of houses
+along the Causeway and on the Embankment. As the trade of London
+increased, so Southwark--I would we had the Roman name--increased in
+proportion. Inns were created for the convenience of merchants, trade
+was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge, just as it was
+diverted on the north by the military way connecting the great high road
+with London. When the Causeway was always filled with caravans and long
+trains of heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day covered with
+passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was demanded as a quicker and an
+easier way of getting across. Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One
+of these ran from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained for nearly
+two thousand years--say, from A.D. 100 to A.D. 1750. If a man wanted to
+get across the river, he did not make his way to London Bridge, and
+painfully walk across amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging
+horses and the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting across the
+river for the people: it was not; it was the means of conveying
+merchandise to and fro; it was a construction most important for
+military purposes; it was a barrier to prevent a hostile fleet from
+getting higher up the river; but, for the ordinary passenger, the boat
+was the quicker and the easier means of conveyance.
+
+When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It was not there
+A.D. 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked the City and murdered the
+people. It was there when Allectus led his troops out to fight the Roman
+legions. It was there very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved
+by the quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It is also
+proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of the wealthier
+class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely without supplies,
+had there been no bridge. We may take any time we please for the
+construction of the Bridge, so long as it is quite early--say, before
+the second century.
+
+The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such great certainty
+that I have no hesitation in presenting a drawing of it. As this Bridge
+has never before been figured by the pencil of any artist, it will be
+well for me to indicate the steps by which its reconstruction has been
+made possible.
+
+[Illustration: Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh]
+
+The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a bridge of any
+kind, unless in the primitive methods observed at Post Bridge and Two
+Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of stone laid across two boulders. The
+work, therefore, was certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have,
+in the next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that time
+by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of stone; many of these
+stone bridges still remain, in other cases the pieces of hewn stone
+still remain. The Bridge over the Thames, however, was of wood. This is
+proved by the fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that London
+had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the year 1176, when the
+first bridge of stone was commenced. Considerations as to the
+comparative insignificance of London in the first century, as to the
+absence of stone in the neighbourhood, and as to the plentiful supply of
+the best wood in the world from the forests north of the City, confirm
+the theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only, therefore,
+to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood elsewhere, in order
+to know how they built a bridge of wood over the Thames. And this we
+know without any doubt.
+
+First: they drove piles into the bed of the river--not upright piles,
+but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles side by side, and
+opposite to these two more; they connected the two piles by ties and the
+opposite piles with them by transverse girders. Across them they laid a
+huge beam--a tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the
+floor of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the parapet
+put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for greater safety, pressed
+down the piles and held them in place. To prevent the current from
+carrying them away, each double pair of piles was protected by a
+'starling,' formed by driving upright smaller piles in front at the
+piers and enclosing a space, which was filled up with stones, so that
+the force of the current was not felt by the great piles.
+
+In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will understand it better
+from the drawing, which shows the Bridge taken from the Embankment near
+the present site of St. Mary Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate
+in the long straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points for the
+convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes that these posterns
+could be easily closed and defended. This river-wall, we shall presently
+see, was standing in the time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the
+building of the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish Bridge, and the
+Norman Bridge.
+
+In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit: its
+foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses. The gate
+was altered. I do not suppose there was much of the original structure
+left when the East Saxons took possession of the City after a hundred
+years of desertion and decay. But a gate of some kind there must always
+have been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about sixteen feet. Like the
+very ancient stone bridges of Saintes and Avignon, the Bridge was from
+sixteen to twenty feet broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of
+Botolph Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the second
+Bridge--the first of stone--stood between the first and third, having
+St. Magnus' Church on the north and St. Olave's on the south side;
+together with its own chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to
+place it under the special protection of the saints most dear to London
+hearts.
+
+[Illustration: London Bridge, A.D. 1000]
+
+The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field of battle
+whenever the way of war came near to London. The first glimpse, as we
+have seen, which we catch of it is when Allectus and his forces crossed
+the river by the Bridge to give battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus
+on the Heath beyond the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same
+day, their columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated
+troops once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no one to
+lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against all comers; there
+was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could have kept the Romans out by
+that expedient. One wonders if all their officers were lying dead on
+the field, with Allectus, for the troops, who were Franks for the most
+part, seem to have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran about the
+City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate people.
+
+By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one could carry arms except
+the soldiers. The law was a safeguard against rebellion; but it opened
+the door to military revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among
+the civil population--always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus' Franks at their
+murderous work, and they cut them down. If it is true, as stated by the
+historians, that they were all cut off to a man, London must have been a
+horrible shambles.
+
+The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed army flying
+across the narrow way to seek shelter between the walls. It is in the
+year 467. They are the Britons flying from their defeat in Kent. After
+this there is silence--absolute silence, leaving not so much as a
+whisper, a tradition, or a legend; the silence that can only mean
+desertion--silence for a hundred and fifty years.
+
+[Illustration: A Danish House]
+
+When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City has shrunk within
+her ancient walls; and these have fallen into decay. Southwark no longer
+exists. We learn that the Bridge has been repaired, because there is
+easy communication with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is
+no fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there were no
+defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and in 857 the Danes
+entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,' apparently without opposition.
+In 872 they occupied London, apparently without opposition. We hear of
+no siege, of no fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls.
+Yet there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham--behind the
+walls. Why not in London? Because in London the walls, 5,500 yards in
+length, had become too long to man, or to defend, or to repair. The
+Danes ran into the City through the shattered gate; they leaped over the
+broken wall. What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment of
+women--we may understand from the page of the historian Saxo relating
+other sacks and sieges by the gentle Dane. As for the trade, the wealth,
+the name and fame of London--they all perished together. It was a ruined
+city, with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the Dane,
+that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken down; the
+settlements of the south were deserted: even the fishermen had left the
+Thames above and below London, and sought for safety in the retired
+creeks and safe backwaters along the coast of Essex. The London
+fisherman sallied forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey
+Island, and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls and
+the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace was restored to
+the City and order to the country. Then trade, which welcomes the first
+appearance of safety, began again. If the merchant feared the pirates of
+the Foreland, he could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could
+land at Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns sprang up,
+and Southwark began again.
+
+A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle' calls the
+Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken of by the Danish
+historian as an 'emporium.' I understand from the use of this word that
+the trade of London was carried on principally by way of Dover, because
+the seas were swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.
+
+The prosperity of the settlement, however, received another blow when
+the Danes once more, mindful of their former victories, sailed up the
+river with hope of again taking London. Southwark was defenceless. There
+was never any wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across the Bridge.
+The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they then went away. Some of the
+people returned, especially the fishermen, whose huts were easily
+repaired. When, however, the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes
+appeared every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself they
+were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers had told them that
+it was a feeble and a helpless place, perfectly incapable of resistance,
+with walls through whose wide gaps a whole army could march; and they
+fondly expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and power.
+
+In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner which was
+extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped a great fleet, manned
+the ships with stout-hearted citizens, sent the ships down the river,
+met the Danish fleet, engaged them, and routed them with great
+slaughter. Two years later they returned, eager for revenge--the revenge
+which they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on this
+occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance, under the two
+kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark. They were firmly resolved
+to take the City: with their warriors they would attack it by land, with
+their ships by water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless did,
+endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of trees; but the gates
+were well manned and well defended. On the river-side one half of the
+town kept open their communications; the other half were exposed to the
+arrows of the sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only that
+the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and that they
+withdrew.
+
+[Illustration: SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose ships were models
+to King Alfred when he founded the English Navy, must not be gathered
+from the drawings of the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are
+conventional in treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving
+specimen of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship of
+Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this and following page.
+One is taken from the tapestry, the other is the Gokstad vessel. The
+former carries about a dozen men, rather high out of the water, with
+straight sides, and would certainly capsize. The latter is a long,
+light, swift vessel, built for speed, and able to sail over quite
+shallow water; she is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for
+usefulness, cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the planks
+overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts, riveted and clinched
+on the inside. She is built of oak; her length from stem to stern, over
+all, is 78 feet; her keel is 66 feet; her breadth is 16½ feet; her depth
+is no more than 4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick
+as the others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The ship is
+pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder attached to the side of
+the stern; on each side hang 16 shields; she carried 64 rowers, and
+probably as many men besides. The decorations lavished on the ship were
+profuse. The figure-head was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were
+gilt; the ships were painted in long lines of bright colour--you can
+see that in the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the
+vessel--bows, figure-head, gunwale, stern-post--were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the mast was gilt.
+Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'
+
+[Illustration: A Viking Ship]
+
+Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in company, with
+Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they came, the oars sweeping in a
+long, measured swish of the water: swiftly flying up the broad river,
+the sunshine lighting up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and
+the bright arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall and
+strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and blue eyes. From
+the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge on the river, the citizens
+saw the splendid array rushing up to destroy them if they could. At the
+Bridge, the foremost stop: they go no farther; those behind cry
+'Forward!' and those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none
+to pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as when Olaf
+was to meet his death five years later in his last splendid sea-fight,
+they essayed to take the city by assault. They shot arrows with red-hot
+heads over the walls, to strike and set light to the thatch; they shot
+arrows at the citizens on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of
+the Bridge. If they could get within the City, these splendid savages,
+there would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of the
+thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons, and next day
+silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure lifted into the ships,
+bows turned outward; and the fleet would leave behind it a London once
+more desolate and naked and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered
+towards the end of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with
+destiny. Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been the
+history of London and of England.
+
+When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went back to their
+homes, and the daily business of life was carried on as usual. We may
+observe that if there had been a permanent settlement here--a town of
+any importance--they would have built a wall to protect it. But there
+was never any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or by
+the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting Southwark.
+
+But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon London. The
+whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged by the Danes: Swegen came
+over and proved the English weakness, and saw that time would help him,
+if he waited. Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.
+
+In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by Thurkitel, who
+afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred. He ravaged Kent and
+Essex, took up his winter quarters on the Thames, apparently at
+Greenwich, and laid siege to the City--but in vain. It is of course
+obvious that without ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers,
+the City could never be taken. The people beat him off at every assault
+with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in England was at the
+moment concentrated in London.
+
+The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen returned. This time,
+mindful of his former failure, and of Thurkitel's failure, he left his
+ships at Southampton; he marched upon London by way of Winchester, which
+he took on the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The reason is
+obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the Bridge was to engage a
+mere handful of men; there was no place except that and the Causeway.
+Swegen, therefore, passed over the ford of Westminster, and attacked the
+walls on the north side. Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the
+English service; by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off
+the field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to his arms;
+therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to hold out alone,
+sent hostages and submitted. It is reported that they were terrified at
+the threats of Swegen: he would cut off their hands and their feet; he
+would tear out their eyes; he would burn and destroy--and so forth. But
+these promises were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they frightened the
+defenders of any other city.
+
+The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that St. Edmund of Bury
+killed him for doubting his saintliness.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut. The expedition
+with which he proposed to reduce London was far finer and more powerful
+than that of Olaf and Swegen. The poetic description of it says that the
+ships were counted by hundreds; that they were manned by an army among
+whom there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility meant if all
+were nobles? A strange question for one so learned! The nobles of
+Denmark were simply the conquering race; nobility consisted in free
+birth, and in descent from the conquering race, not the conquered: it
+was not necessarily a small caste; it might possibly include the larger
+part of the people.
+
+Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege. First of all, he
+resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar the way. He therefore cut
+a trench round the south of the Bridge, by means of which he drew some
+of his ships to the other side of it. He then cut another trench round
+the whole of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he would
+starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as Cnut speedily
+abandoned the hope of success and marched off to look after Edmund, his
+investment of the City was certainly not a success.
+
+He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with what result history
+has made us acquainted. He then returned and resumed the siege of
+London. Edmund fought him again, and made him once more raise the siege.
+When Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began a third
+siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.
+
+In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged six times,
+and not once taken.
+
+Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal nature of the canal
+constructed by Cnut; they have looked for traces of it in the south of
+London before it was covered over by houses; they have gone as far
+afield as Deptford in search of these traces; they have even found them;
+and to the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal speaks
+of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal work. Freeman
+himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep it was, how long it was, how
+broad it was, I am going to explain.
+
+It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian, William
+Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so fortunate as to light
+upon the course of the long-lost trench of King Cnut.
+
+He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a direction
+nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of Rotherhithe to the
+river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs
+were, first, certain depressions in the ground; next, the discovery of
+oaken planks and piles driven into the ground for what he thought was
+the northern fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was constructed,
+a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches were found pointing
+northward, with stakes to keep them in position, forming a kind of water
+fence, such as, it is said, is still in use in Denmark. It will be seen
+that Mr. Maitland's theory has but a small basis of evidence, yet it
+seems to have been generally accepted--partly, I suppose, because it was
+so colossal.
+
+The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four miles and a half
+in length. Another writer, seeing the difficulties of so great a work,
+suggests another course. He would start from the site of the New Dock,
+Rotherhithe, and end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of
+only three and three-quarter miles!
+
+Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why it should be a
+long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.
+
+Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe or nearer the
+Bridge, he would have the same preliminary difficulties to encounter:
+that is to say, he would have to cut through the Embankment of the river
+at either end, and he would have to cut through the Causeway in the
+middle. In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two or
+three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the people had all
+run across the Bridge for safety at the first sight of the Danes, if
+there were any people at the time living in Southwark--which I doubt.
+
+We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers of sense and
+experience on whom he could depend for carrying out his canal in a
+workmanlike manner. A people who could build such perfect ships would
+certainly not waste time and labour in constructing a trench which would
+be any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which he was just able
+to drag his vessels round without destroying the banks. In other words,
+if a circular canal began at C B, and if we drew an imaginary circle
+round the middle of the canal, what was required was that the chord D F,
+forming a tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as
+the longest vessel. Now (see diagram)--
+
+    AD² - AE² = DE².
+
+If _r_ is the radius, AD and 2_a_ the breadth BC, and 2_b_ the length of
+the chord DF--
+
+    _r_² - (_r_ - _a_)² = _b_² ∴ _r_ = (_a_² + _b_²)/2_a_.
+
+This represents the length of the radius in terms of the length and
+breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is therefore the
+smallest radius possible for getting the ships through. Now, the ship of
+Gokstad, already described, was undoubtedly one of the finest of the
+vessels used by Danes and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger
+ships, but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over ships
+of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in length, considering
+the keel, which is all we need consider; 16½ feet in breadth, and 4 feet
+in depth. She drew very little water; therefore a breadth of canal less
+than the breadth of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet
+in length, so that _b_ = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal 12
+feet. Therefore 2_a_ = 12 or _a_ = 6 and _r_ = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London Bridge, we
+arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's work. That is to say, if he
+made a semicircular canal, in that case the length of the canal would be
+320 yards, which is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half,
+or even three miles and three-quarters.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOKSTAD SHIP]
+
+There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut make a semicircle
+when an arc would serve his turn? All he had to do was to draw an arc of
+a circle with the radius just found, to clear any obstacles in the way
+of approach to the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this method,
+because it was the only sensible thing to do. He would thus get off with
+a canal about fifty yards long, of which the only difficulty would be
+the cutting through the Embankment and the Causeway.
+
+What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this section of the
+Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen feet, she had only four feet
+in depth; without her company and crew, and their arms and provisions,
+she would thus draw no more than a few inches--certainly not more than
+eight inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight inches
+at the most. But there is still another consideration which lessened the
+labour materially. The ground behind the Embankment was a little lower
+than the river at high tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct
+a low wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to make
+their canal without excavating an inch. When that was done, the cutting
+of the Embankment let in the tide and did the rest. In this simple
+manner do we reduce Cnut's colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and
+a half long, into a piece of construction and demolition which would
+take a large body of men no more than a few hours.
+
+If, however, there actually was any digging to be done, we must remember
+that the ground was a level; that there were no stones or rocks in the
+way, and that it consisted of a soft black _humus_, the result of ages
+of successive growths of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a
+day by the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course, left the
+place to be repaired by any who pleased. The broken Embankment let in
+the tide; the broken Causeway cut off any approach to the river; but
+Southwark was deserted. When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired. Then all
+traces of the canal disappeared.
+
+Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at Southwark with
+a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty in passing the Bridge; he
+waited till flood-tide, and then sailed through 'on the south side.' It
+is quite impossible to explain this statement, or to make it agree with
+the difficulty felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may have been
+smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the fact as the Chronicler
+gives it.
+
+One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before we pass on to more
+modern times.
+
+[Illustration: Ships of William the Conqueror]
+
+After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived near London, he
+advanced to Southwark, where he found the Bridge closed to him--closed,
+I believe, by knocking away some of the upper beams. This, of course, he
+expected; his friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him
+acquainted with the changing currents of popular opinion. It is commonly
+stated that the citizens were terrified by the sight of Southwark in
+flames at his command. Southwark in flames! A few fishermen's huts were
+all that remained of the suburb, whose population since the time of the
+_Pax Romana_ had been so precarious and so changeful. Five hundred years
+of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion and ravage by Dane and
+Norseman, had not left of Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb,
+anything more than these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers
+burned them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the flames, and
+regarded them not, any more than he regarded the flames that followed in
+his track all the way from Senlac. He gazed across the river, and
+remembered that twice had London defied all the strength of Swegen; that
+three times had London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been victorious;
+he knew, because his friends in the City would allow no mistake on that
+point, that the spirit of the citizens was as high now as it had been
+then; that they still remembered with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that
+not a few were anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went on within the
+walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what faction fight; how the
+citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of wild faces, about their Folk-mote
+by St. Paul's. But of one thing we may be quite certain: that William
+did not expect the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they
+were not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark or
+not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians say. As
+for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this time there could hardly
+have been a single pile remaining of the original structure; yet it was
+constantly repaired.
+
+We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only the grey wall
+rising out of the level ground, without any ditch or moat outside, but
+also the Bridge of wooden piles with the transverse girders and beams
+for additional security, so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest
+of timbers like those which support the roof of an ancient hall. It was
+continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a mighty whirlwind blew
+down a good part of London, houses and churches and all. It has been
+assumed that the Bridge was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is
+silent on the subject. In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is
+again assumed that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle'
+is silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge had
+been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.
+
+[Illustration: BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by London, save that
+of 1666, spread through the whole City, from London Bridge, which it
+greatly damaged, all the way to St. Clement Danes on the west, and
+Aldgate on the east. One wonders what ancient monuments--walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers of the
+Forum--were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of the better sort,
+with their great halls and courtyards; small Saxon churches of wood or
+stone, with low towers and little windows. Possibly there was no great
+loss: it was already seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted.
+Roman remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of wood,
+with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries had not yet
+commenced. The Bridge, however, was either wholly or in part destroyed.
+It was repaired, because, fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his
+description of the City, speaks of the citizens watching the water
+sports from the Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary
+to the City. A hundred years of order in the City--with the seas cleared
+of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling the river with
+ships, and the quays with merchandise--crowded the Bridge all day long
+with trains of packhorses, and the less frequent rude carts with broad
+grunting wheels which would have quite taken the place of the horse but
+for the bad roads. Southwark, during this period of rest, had become
+once more a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were pushed farther
+east and west every year, until Lambeth and Rotherhithe were their
+quarters when the fish deserted the river and their occupation was gone.
+The Roman inns were gone, but new ones were springing up in their
+places. Bishops and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine
+air, open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of London;
+ecclesiastical foundations were already springing into existence. In a
+word, the settlements of the south, after four hundred years of ruin and
+desertion, were once more beginning a new existence. The day when
+William rode up to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception, marked a new
+birth for the long-suffering suburb of the Embankment and the Causeway.
+A hundred years later still--in 1176--they began to build their Bridge
+of Stone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY
+
+
+The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth century.
+But it is perfectly easy from them and from the historical facts to draw
+a map of all that country lying between Deptford and Battersea which we
+have agreed to call South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there
+were buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St. Margaret's
+Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand side, just under
+the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church. The Bridge was thus protected on the
+north by St. Magnus, on the south by St. Olave--two Danish saints--and
+in the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas à Becket.
+There were houses along the Embankment on either side, but more on the
+west of the Causeway than on the east. A few houses were built already
+on the low-lying ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south
+and south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's a single
+straight lane with no houses ran across country to Bermondsey Abbey; on
+the west of the Causeway another lane led to Kennington Palace, from
+which another lane led to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to
+the Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.
+
+The place was essentially a suburb. There were no trades or industries
+in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen had their cottages dotted
+about all along the Embankment; a few watermen lived here, but that was
+perhaps later: other working men there were none, save the cooks and
+varlets of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because the
+air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and because the
+place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster and the Court, many
+great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had their town houses here: the
+Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the
+Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John
+Fastolfe, also the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by
+bridge and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while they went
+across the river and transacted their business. It was a suburb which,
+in modern times, would be described as needing no poor rate. Later on
+there grew up, as we shall see, a class of the unclassed--a population
+of rogues and vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.
+
+The government of the place as a whole was difficult, or rather
+impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the Liberty of Bermondsey;
+that of the Bishop of Winchester; that of the King; that of the Mayor.
+The last contained the part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's
+Dock on the west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district was called the
+Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King to the City of London in the
+thirteenth century in order to prevent the place from becoming the home
+and refuge of criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained
+outside the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was not
+very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding shelter on
+the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It
+was from this unavoidable hospitality to persons escaping from justice
+that Southwark received a character which has stuck to it till the
+present day. In the centuries which include the twelfth to the
+fifteenth, however, South London, so far as it was populated at all,
+was the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark was spotless and
+its dignity enviable. London itself had no such collection of palaces
+gathered together so closely. As for the land, that lay low, but was
+protected by the Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats; there was an
+abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that parts of the land were dark
+at midday by reason of the trees growing so close together. The rivulets
+were pretty little streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside
+them; they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks grew
+wild flowers--the marsh mallow, the anemone, the hedgehog grass, the
+frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort; orchards flourished in the
+fat and fertile soil. The people had almost forgotten the special need
+of their Embankment. Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at
+Lambeth was broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square
+miles of country, including all that part which is now called Battersea.
+
+Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single house upon the
+whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole of Bermondsey Marsh. The
+houses began near what is now the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they
+faced the river, having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite to Wapping.
+
+The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty had its own
+prison. Thus there were the Clink of the Winchester Liberty, that of the
+Bermondsey Liberty, the 'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and
+the Marshalsea, all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And there
+were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the terror of
+evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In every parish
+there was the whipping post--one in St. Mary Overy's churchyard, put up
+after the time of the monks; one at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the
+pillory for neck and hands, generally with somebody on it, but the
+pillory was movable; there was the cage--one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge--women had to stand in the cage; there were stocks for feet
+wandering and trespassing; there were pounds for stray animals.
+
+Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's; in the precinct
+of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street called 'Long Southwark'--now
+High Street--from the Bridge to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not
+suppose that the markets of Southwark presented the same crowded
+appearance, and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those
+of Chepe and Newgate on the other side.
+
+Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in Southwark. The
+Princes of the Church arrived and departed, each with his retinue of
+chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen and livery. Kings and ambassadors
+rode up from Dover through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The
+mayor and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains sallied
+forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades of pilgrims for
+Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome, and Jerusalem rode out of
+Southwark when the spring returned; and every day there arrived and
+departed long lines of packhorses laden with the produce of the country
+and with things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was nothing but
+a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here for a few weeks and
+then went away; the great lords came here when they had business at
+Court and then went away again; the merchants came and went: by itself
+the place had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own at
+all.
+
+There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately; both are full of
+history. Let us consider the House of Bermondsey, because it is less
+generally known than the other of St. Mary Overy or Overies.
+
+[Illustration: The Monastery of Bermondsey]
+
+The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster of South
+London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey stood upon a low islet in the midst
+of a marsh; at the distance of half a mile on the north ran the river;
+half a mile on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which the House
+lay that the only road which connected it with the world was that lane
+called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie Lane, which ran from the Abbey
+to St. Olave's and so to London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a
+place of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated from
+the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been gradually drained
+and the Embankment continued through Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond
+the Greenwich levels, the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely
+fertile and wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.
+
+The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin Childe, a merchant
+of the City, an Alderman also and one of the ruling families of London.
+He was the son of an elder Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten
+Guild' which, with all its members and all its property--the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken--went over to the Priory of the Holy
+Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind was therefore hereditary
+in the family. The elder Ailwin became a monk, the younger founded a
+monastery; his son, the third of the family of whom we know anything,
+became the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years--the rest of his life.
+
+[Illustration: BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth century is full of
+a pathetic longing after a religious Order, if that could be found, of
+true and proved sanctity. One Order after the other arises; one after
+the other challenges respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto
+unknown kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who always
+admire voluntary privation of what they value so much--food and drink;
+it receives endowments, gifts, foundations of all kinds; it then departs
+from the ancient rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This
+is the simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the Cluniac was
+in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly kept: and for an
+austerity strictly enforced. It was a Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe
+set up in Bermondsey, and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the
+Cluniac House of Lewes, enriched.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien owing
+obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its revenues,
+therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received its Priors from
+abroad. In the reign of Henry the Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on
+account of the Alien Priories came to a head, and they were all
+suppressed, or at least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent.
+The Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of an
+Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until the Dissolution.
+
+The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage dotted about round
+London--places accessible in a single day's journey. Thus there were the
+three shrines of Willesden, Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each
+possessing an image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at Bermondsey
+there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited in the summer by pious
+pilgrims from London. The Rood had been fished up from the Thames, and
+no one knew its history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and
+of prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious. It was,
+moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below the Bridge would take
+the pilgrim over to the opposite shore in a few minutes, where a cross
+standing before a lane leading out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the
+way. It was but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.
+
+'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the Rood of
+North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among while ye abide in London;
+and let my sister Margery go with you to pray to them that she may have
+a good husband or she come home again.'
+
+One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should resign this
+valuable possession without a remonstrance. He made, in fact, the
+strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457 he sent over three monks with
+orders to lay the case before the King, and to invite his attention
+especially to the papers showing the clear and indisputable right of the
+Mother Convent to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no one heeded
+them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one replied to their
+arguments. This neglect was perhaps the cause why one of them died while
+in this country. The other two went home again, having accomplished
+nothing. One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:--
+
+    For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having spent
+    four months and a half on our journey, and following our Right with
+    the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we have
+    obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate, deprived
+    of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still worse, we
+    are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which are 38 in
+    number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies of your
+    Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our pleading
+    and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth, after paying
+    for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five crowns left, to
+    go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We will sell what we have:
+    we will go on: and God will provide. Nothing else occurs to write to
+    your Paternity: but that as we entered England with joy, so we
+    depart thence with sorrow: having buried one of our Companions--viz.
+    the Archdeacon, the youngest of our company. May he rest in Peace!
+    Amen.
+
+There is not at the present moment a single stone of this stately House
+visible, though there were many remains above ground one hundred years
+ago. It is a pity, because there is the association of two Queens, not
+to speak of many great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments,
+connected with this House secluded in the Marsh.
+
+The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois, widow of Henry the
+Fifth. The story is the most romantic, perhaps, of all the stories
+connected with our line of sovereigns and Queens and Royal Princes. It
+is not a new story, and yet it is not so well known that any apology is
+needed for telling it once more.
+
+Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine, began to live in the
+seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her widowhood. Among her household,
+the office of Clerk to the Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome
+Welshman named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a plain Welsh
+gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in the service of the Bishop
+of Chester. He distinguished himself at Agincourt in the following of
+some nobleman unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier--that is, a man with a pike or a
+bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw off when the battle
+began. The opportunities for a common soldier to distinguish himself in
+such an action were few, nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man
+from the ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire to
+the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen Tudor was
+regarded as a common soldier: since his father was a gentleman in the
+service of the Bishop of Chester, he himself would go to war as a
+gentleman in the service and wearing the livery of some noble lord.
+
+In this way, however, his promotion began. When the King married, Owen
+Tudor was attached to the household of the Queen. After the death of
+Henry he accompanied the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to
+the Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was wanted by the
+Queen--her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold. He was therefore brought
+into much closer and more direct relation with the Queen than other
+officers of the household. He pleased her by his appearance, his
+accomplishments, and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very
+well. There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or
+accomplishments he pleased. The fact remains that he did please the
+Queen, and that so much that she consented to a secret marriage with
+him. It was a dangerous step for this Welsh adventurer to take: it was a
+step which would cover the Queen with dishonour should it become known.
+That the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of the
+age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should be capable of
+union with any lower man; should ally her royal line with that of a man
+who could only call himself gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would
+certainly be considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal
+family, and the country at large.
+
+The marriage was not found out for some years. The Queen must have been
+most faithfully and loyally served, because children cannot be born
+without observation. Owen Tudor must have conducted matters with a
+discretion beyond all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the
+household knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and one daughter,
+in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of Hadham, was so called because
+he was born there; the second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen,
+of Westminster; the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.
+
+Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of Owen, which took
+place apparently before it was expected and without all the precautions
+necessary, in the King's House at Westminster. The infant was taken as
+soon as born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not likely
+that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge of his
+parents. He did take the child, however; and here the little Owen
+remained, growing up in a monastery, and taking vows in due time. Here
+he lived and here he died, a Benedictine of Westminster.
+
+It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, heard some whisper or
+rumour concerning this birth, or was told something about the true
+nature of the Queen's illness, for he issued a very singular
+proclamation, warning the world, generally, against marrying Queen
+dowagers, as if these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born, Humphrey learned
+the whole truth: the degradation, as he thought it, of the Queen, who
+had stooped to such an alliance, and the humble rank and the audacity of
+the Welshman. He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with some of her
+ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain in honourable confinement:
+he arrested Owen Tudor, a priest--probably the priest who had performed
+the marriage--and his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.
+
+All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At this point the
+story gets mixed. The King himself, we are told, then a lad of fifteen,
+sent to Owen commanding his attendance before the Council. Why did they
+not arrest him again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council--was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of them? He asked for
+a safe-conduct. They promised him one by a verbal message. Where was he,
+then, that all these messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I
+think he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal message, and
+demanded a written safe-conduct. This was granted him, and he returned
+to London. But he mistrusted even the written promise; he would not face
+the Council: he took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained. It is said
+that they tried to draw him out by sending old friends who invited him
+to the taverns outside the Abbey Precinct. But Owen would not be so
+drawn. He knew that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must have had some
+secret understanding with the King; for one day, learning that Henry
+himself was with the Council, he suddenly presented himself and pleaded
+his own cause. The mild young king, tender on account of his mother,
+would not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.
+
+He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome air: he made
+for Wales. Here the hostility of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was
+once more arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to Newgate, he and
+his priest and his servant. Once more they all three broke prison,
+'foully' wounding a warder in the achievement of liberty, and got back
+to Wales, choosing for their residence the mountainous parts into which
+the English garrisons never penetrated.
+
+When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed to return, and was
+presented with a pension of £40 a year. It is remarkable, however, that
+he received no promotion, or rank; that he was never knighted; and that
+the title of Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It
+certainly seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a gentleman
+was not recognised by the King or the heralds. Perhaps Welsh gentility
+was as little understood by these Normans as Irish royalty--yet, so far
+as length of pedigree goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to
+Normans.
+
+The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under the charge of
+Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and sister of the Earl of
+Suffolk. When the King came of age he remembered his half-brothers:
+Edmund was made Earl of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked
+before all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the foundress of
+Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge. Her son, as everybody
+knows, was Henry VII.
+
+As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began so well on the
+field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he should, for his step-son
+and King, under the badge of the Red Rose. When the Civil Wars began he
+joined the King's forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty.
+He fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's Cross,
+where another fight took place. The Lancastrians were defeated. Owen was
+taken prisoner, and was cruelly beheaded on the field. It was right and
+just that he should so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen
+twenty-four years.
+
+The unfortunate Katharine, whose _mésalliance_ gave us the strongest
+sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not long survive the disgrace
+of discovery. As to public knowledge of the fact, one cannot learn how
+widely it was extended. Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak
+of it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were acknowledged
+by the King there was no pretence at concealment. To be the son of a
+French Princess and a Welsh gentleman was not, after all, a matter for
+shame or concealment. Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her in less
+than a year after her imprisonment among the orchards and meadows of the
+Precinct. It is said that her remorse during her last days was very
+deep; not for her second marriage, but for having allowed her
+accouchement of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against which
+she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor shall lose all that
+Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas! had Henry of Windsor been Henry of
+Monmouth himself, he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there
+be a worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper and the son
+of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson of a madman and a
+Messalina.
+
+[Illustration: ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death. She asks for
+masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants: for her debts to be
+paid. And she says not one word about her children by Owen Tudor. She
+confesses by this silence that she is ashamed. She confesses by this
+silence that, being a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her
+widowhood to have been mated with any less than a King.
+
+'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son the King,
+'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly ye best may and
+will best tender and favour my will, in ordaining for my soul and body,
+in seeing that my debts be paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender
+and favourable fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but--where is the mention of her children? Perhaps, however,
+she knew that the King would provide for them.
+
+Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs were
+known'--Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel much sympathy with
+this unfortunate woman, yet there are few scenes of history more full of
+pathos and of mournfulness than that in which her boy was torn from her
+arms; and she knew--all knew--even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew--that the boy was to be done to death. When one talks of
+Queens and their misfortunes, it may be remembered that few Queens have
+suffered more than Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart
+from other Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that long war it
+seems impossible to find one single character, man or woman--unless it
+is King Henry--who is true and loyal. All--all--are perjured,
+treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is
+the friend and companion of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other
+side of him; treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen.
+Elizabeth met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was accused of being
+privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck: she was more
+Yorkist than her husband; she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and
+the White were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That she
+was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she bore. We must
+make allowance: she was always in a false position; Edward ought not to
+have married her; she was hated by her own party; she was compelled in
+the interests of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These things,
+however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we ought to feel for
+so many misfortunes.
+
+[Illustration: 'LE LOKE']
+
+She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey, where she could
+sit and watch the ships go up and down, and so feel that the world, with
+which she had no more concern, still continued. It has been suggested
+that she retired voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in
+the character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a daughter
+or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of Valois, she made an
+end not without dignity. Witness the following clause in her will:--
+
+    _Item._ Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the Queen's
+    Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward any of my
+    children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God Almighty to
+    bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as good a heart
+    and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my blessing and all
+    the aforesaid my children.
+
+In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an ecclesiastical
+foundation which has somehow dropped out of history and become no more
+than a name. If this were a history of South London it would be
+necessary to devote an equal space to other houses; to the churches and
+to the two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the religious
+foundations of South London without mention of the other great House,
+more ancient than that of Bermondsey. Few Americans who visit London
+leave it without paying a pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful
+church which glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that excellent
+poet whom the professors of literature praise and nobody reads, died and
+lies buried in this church; it was the church of the playerfolk: here
+lie buried Edmund Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and
+Philip Henslow. Here lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which
+the Church allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers and the strikers
+of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting. Here were tried notable
+heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and many more, while Gardiner and Bonner
+thundered and bullied. From this church the martyrs went forth to meet
+the flames. The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach them. The
+stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where they could read, mark,
+learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned teaching of Bonner and his
+friends.
+
+It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom of Cranmer and
+the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming Protestant reaction.
+So great was the horror, they say, of the people at the death of the
+Archbishop, that the whole nation was roused--and so on. For myself I
+like to think that, as the people would feel now, so, _mutatis
+mutandis_, they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much horror, I believe, as
+when from their own ranks, from their own houses, from their own
+families, men and women and boys were taken out and led to execution.
+Violent deaths--by beheading, by hanging, by the flames--were witnessed
+every day. How many were hanged by Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did
+not touch the people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country--the blameless Carthusians--suffered death
+as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir Thomas More; when
+witches were burned they looked on. It was when they saw their own
+brothers, sisters, cousins, dragged out and put to death without a
+cause, that they began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not
+the manner of death that affected them, because burning was a thing so
+common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest and godly folk, and
+the behaviour of the people at their death. Tender women chained to the
+stake suffered without a groan, only praying loudly till death came;
+people remembered, they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last prayer
+before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer stepped into his
+place with a smiling face and welcomed the fiery lane that led him to
+the place where he longed to be: was this, they asked, the courage
+inspired of God, or of the devil? They remembered how another washed
+his hands in the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone upon him; and
+it was even like unto the countenance of the Blessed Lord. The sight and
+the remembrance of the sufferings of their own folk, not the execution
+at a distance of an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome with a hatred from
+which it has not wholly recovered even in these latter days.
+
+The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both the great Houses
+of Southwark.
+
+It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there should be a
+provision for the poor, the sick, and those who were orphans. St. Mary
+Overy had a hospital adjoining the priory which was an almshouse
+certainly, and probably an orphanage as well. It was under the care of
+the Archdeacon of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry
+intended for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely secluded: it
+lay far from any highway; there were no houses, except farm buildings
+for the monastery's labourers; there were no poor, no sick, and no
+orphans. So that, when the great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and
+crossed the river by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would be well to
+rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark Causeway. This was
+done, and the Hospital of St. Mary was united with it, and the new
+foundation which Bishop Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was
+named after St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for
+the sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and sisters
+under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a school, and an infirmary;
+but not, as St. Bartholomew's was from the beginning altogether, only a
+hospital for the sick.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM
+THE SOUTH]
+
+As for the religious life of the place, it was in most respects like
+that of London. There were no houses for Friars, but the Friars came
+across the river _en quête_, 'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in
+the taverns were put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful
+(towards the end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty
+of life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries of the
+great Houses--the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester, the Abbots of
+Lewes, Hyde, and Battle--went about their errands; there were Gilds,
+notably that of St. George, which had their processions and their days:
+there were crosses and images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed
+his hat--in the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas à
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and bargee paid
+reverence.
+
+Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by the Church. There
+was whipping, but not the terrible murderous flogging of the eighteenth
+century; there were hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the
+credit of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush a man, but to
+shame him into repentance, and to give him a chance of retrieving his
+character. A man might be set in the stocks, or put in pillory, and so
+made to feel the heinousness of his offence. This punishment was like
+that which is inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned him,
+transported him, made a brute of him, and then hanged him. Did a woman
+speak despitefully of authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the
+cage besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should see her
+there and should ask what she had done. After an hour or two take her
+down; bid her go home and keep henceforth a quiet tongue in her head.
+This leniency was only for offences moral and against the law. For
+freedom of thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way. And
+it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted Royal Houses,
+Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side were Westminster,
+Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene, Theobald's, Hatfield,
+Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon, Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the
+Tower; on the south side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew,
+Hampton, Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House of
+Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these royal houses are
+now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves some ruins left of Edward IV.'s
+buildings; it still shows the moat and the old bridge, and the line of
+its former wall; but tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories
+of the Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King John.
+The sailors--now, alas! also gone--have deprived Greenwich of Edward VI.
+and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared
+away. Of Kennington, of which I have to speak in this place, not one
+stone remains upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is gone and
+forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although part of the
+ruins were still standing only a hundred years ago.
+
+The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace was
+deserted; it was pulled down before 1607--Camden says that even then
+there was not a stone remaining--there was not a single house within
+half a mile in every direction. There was no one, when the last stones
+had been carted away, left to remember or to remind his children that
+there had been a palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but
+no tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then came the
+destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was not even a cottage
+near the spot. This being so, it is not difficult to understand why the
+site was forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: THE LONG BARN]
+
+The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the substructures; a
+building of stone and thatch, part of the offices of the palace, also
+stood. They called it the 'Long Barn,' and when the distressed
+Protestants were brought over here in 1700 as many as the place would
+hold were crammed into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the
+country between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of the
+palace there was not a single person left who could carry on the
+tradition of the king's house that once stood here. Roque, the map-maker
+of 1745, knew nothing about it. In 1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At
+the beginning of the century houses began to rise here and there;
+streets began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens and
+the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a place which,
+as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred years. 'Is this
+fame?' might ask the king who crowned himself here, the king who died
+here, the king who was brought up here, the kings who kept their
+Christmas feast here, the kings who here received their brides, held
+Parliament, and went out a-hunting.
+
+The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot, son of Cnut--that
+is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there was no other house at Lambeth.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+The king who died in this house was that young Dane who appears to have
+been an incarnation of the ideal Danish brutality. He dragged his
+brother's body out of its grave and flung it into the Thames; he
+massacred the people of Worcester and ravaged the shire; and he did
+these brave deeds and many others all in two short years. Then he went
+to his own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic. For one
+so young it showed with what a yearning and madness he had been
+drinking. He went across the river--there was, I repeat, no other house
+in Lambeth except this, so that it must have been here--to attend the
+wedding of his standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of
+the Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate of
+Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for hard drinking,
+while the minstrels played and sang and the mummers tumbled. When men
+were well drunken the pleasing sport of bone throwing began: they threw
+the beef bones at each other. The fun of the game consisted in the
+accident of a man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed. The soldiers
+had no special desire to kill the old man: why couldn't he enter into
+the spirit of the game and dodge the bones? As he did not, of course he
+was hit, and as the bone was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a
+powerful hand, of course it split open his skull. One may be permitted
+to think that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a big beef
+bone which knocked him down; and as he remained comatose until he died,
+the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it said that even in sport his king
+had been killed at his wedding, gave out that the king fell down in a
+fit. This, however, is speculation.
+
+Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was compiled, the place
+was in the possession of a London citizen, Theodric by name and a
+goldsmith by trade. It was still a royal manor, because the goldsmith
+held it of Edward the Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a
+year. It is impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and price of
+other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the wages and pay of
+servants and officers; and when we have done all, we are still very far
+from understanding the value of money then or at any subsequent time.
+There are, you see, so many points which the writers on the value of
+money do not take into consideration. There is the price of bread; but
+then there were so many kinds of bread--wheaten bread, barley bread, oat
+bread, rye bread; and how much bread did a family of the working class
+consume? Flesh, fish, fowl, but how much of either did the working
+classes enjoy? Rent? But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent.
+There is, in a word, not only the market prices that have to be
+considered, but the standard of comfort--always a little higher than the
+practice--and the daily relations of the demand to the supply. So that
+when we read that this manor of Kennington was worth three pounds a year
+we are not advanced in the least. As most of the land was still marshy
+and useless, we may understand that the value was low.
+
+We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King Richard granted it on
+lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy with the title of Lord of the
+Manor. Henry III. came here on several occasions; here he held his
+Lambeth Parliament. He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the
+feasting and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.
+
+The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying map. If you walk
+along the Kennington Road from Bridge Street, Westminster, you presently
+come to a place where four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the
+left, and Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to the
+Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand side stood the
+palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house and grounds was executed;
+but by that time the mediæval character of the place was quite
+forgotten. It was a square house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King
+Henry III. at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing the
+'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the palace really was in the
+thirteenth or fourteenth century is to compare it with another palace
+built under much the same conditions, and intended to serve the same
+purpose. Fortunately there still stand, some miles to the east of
+Kennington, at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary palace,
+with a description of the place as it was before it was allowed to fall
+into ruins.
+
+We are not at this moment concerned with the history of Eltham.
+Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately place for five
+hundred years and more; that it passed through the hands of Bishop Odo;
+of the Mandevilles; of the De Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of
+Geoffrey le Scrope of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins
+with Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends with
+Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from Greenwich. Here
+Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth to a son, John of Eltham. The
+greatest builder at Eltham was Edward IV.
+
+The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited it, is said
+to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms on the ground floor
+and first floor called the King's side and the Queen's side. There were
+buildings and rooms of all kinds round the courtyard. The number of
+chambers in all was very great, and it is said, further, that the large
+courtyard covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area would give about
+two hundred and ten feet to each side of a square. This would be large
+for a college at Oxford or Cambridge. It would cover about the same area
+as that of New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for the
+'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms for the
+servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who accompanied the king, the
+grooms, armourers, makers and menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and
+scullions, and the women servants, and the wives and the children. A
+strong stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded the
+palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the bridge which
+crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate had its portcullis. The
+palace, in a word, was a fortress, for there was never a king in England
+who would have dared to keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified
+manor house, or outside a fortress--certainly not Henry III. or Edward
+IV.--unless, of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of his
+army.
+
+The existing remains of the palace correspond to this description. There
+is the moat, deep and broad; there is the bridge, the drawbridge gone.
+Within, the most important ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall.
+This is a most noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it
+was built; the two magnificent bays remain, with the double row of
+windows. It would be difficult to find a finer banqueting hall in the
+whole country than that of Eltham. In the grounds, the traces of the
+wall and those of other buildings ought to make it possible, with a very
+little excavation, to trace a plan of the whole house.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace]
+
+As was Eltham, so was Kennington. Both places were built for the same
+purpose about the same time. Both were castles erected on a plain
+without the aid of hillock, mound or running stream--unless the moat at
+Kennington was fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream or the
+ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn' on the east side of
+the palace belonged to the 'service'--it was kitchens, stables, armoury,
+brewery, or granary. The house itself had its principal entrance on the
+north. This is certain, because all the supplies were brought by what
+is now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or from Southwark.
+A gate on this side simplified the transference which took place when
+the court moved from one place to another; when everything--bedding,
+blankets, utensils of all kinds, plate, _batterie de cuisine_, the
+workmen with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen--was packed up
+and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington, or from
+Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods sent up from the City were
+also landed at Stangate, Lambeth, so as to get as short a land journey
+as possible. For these reasons I place the principal gate at the north.
+
+I have seen it stated--I know not with what truth--that the people of
+the streets now on the site have found substructures beneath their
+houses. If so, one would expect, what one cannot find, some tradition to
+account for the existence of these stone vaults.
+
+Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress of the Lambeth
+Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal residence; now completely
+vanished.
+
+Two other royal houses there were in South London, neither of which can
+be compared with Kennington. Greenwich, for instance, which appears in
+history from the time of King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V.,
+Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth--all had
+more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII. completed his
+buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left, that is, the mediæval
+fortress for the modern house. His Greenwich was not fortified. The
+accompanying view of it shows that it possessed none of the
+characteristics of the ancient residence, half castle, half manor house.
+Greenwich, however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would most certainly
+resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington, with certain small
+differences, just as one Benedictine monastery resembles in its general
+disposition another Benedictine monastery, and one Norman castle in
+general terms, and allowing for the site, resembles another.
+
+The other house of which I have spoken is that of Nonesuch. This house
+was not a reconstruction and an adaptation with much of the ancient
+work: it was newly built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was
+no suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the house
+stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful according to our ideas; nor was it what we
+now call a Tudor house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's
+interference with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from the heathen
+mythology. The house was pulled down by the Duchess of Cleveland, to
+whom Charles II. gave it. Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with
+Kennington, and must not detain us.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich]
+
+Let us next consider what it means when the king is said to have kept
+his Christmas at a place.
+
+During the festival--for twenty days--he kept open house, nominally.
+That is to say, all comers received food and drink: his guests, one
+supposes, were bidden. Every day during the festival the king sat at the
+feast wearing his crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the
+most prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day no
+fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the number was at
+Christmas no one knows. In addition to the ordinary following of the
+court--a huge army of chaplains, canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen
+archers, and servants--there were the bishops and abbots, the peers and
+barons, who came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own
+following of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment would
+be needed! The organisation was complete; everything was in departments,
+each under the yeomen: the chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the
+stables, the cellars. Yet what an army in each department! Then, since
+at Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master of the
+Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated following; among them
+were all those who played on the different instruments of music, those
+who sang, the buffoons, tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was
+in the time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over for
+the delectation of the English court--perhaps with the pious intention
+of showing what joys and attractions awaited the Crusaders in the Holy
+Land itself.
+
+Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and fifty
+years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:--
+
+'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at Grenewiche, wher was
+suche abundance of viands served to all comers of any honest behaviour,
+as hath been few times seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in
+the Hall, a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with
+artilerie, and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the frount
+of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and within the castle
+were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide all over with leves of
+golde, and every owde knit with laces of blewe silke and golde; on ther
+heddes, coyfes and cappes all of golde. After this castle had been
+carried about the hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng
+with five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche cloth of
+gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered with workes of
+fine gold bullion. These six assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them
+so lustie and coragious were content to solace with them, and upon
+farther communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came down and
+daunced a long space. And after the ladies led the knightes into the
+castle, and then the castle sodainly vanished out of their sight.
+
+'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with XI other were
+disguised after the manner of Italie, called a maske, a thing not seen
+afore in Englande; they were apparelled in garments long and brode,
+wrought all with gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the
+banket doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised in
+silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to daunce; some
+were content, and some that knew the fashion of it refused, because it
+was not a thing commonly seen. And after they daunced and commoned
+together as the fashion of the maske is, thei tooke their leave and
+departed. And so did the Quene and all the ladies.'
+
+When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed up the gear:
+the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes, pillows, curtains,
+tapestry and carpets. They were all laid upon waggons, the broad-wheeled
+creaking waggons which were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy
+lanes by teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies were
+carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the king and his
+followers rode; and so they went back to Westminster. The ferry carried
+over the heavy goods and the horses: the royal barges received the
+court. After them marched the whole rout--the two thousand archers
+without whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly, when
+the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians and the mummers
+and the singers marched off sadly. A whole twelvemonth before another
+Christmas! They marched in the direction of the City, and that night, as
+they report, there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the principal
+officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe, of the cellars, of
+the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation being kept up in readiness,
+though the king might not come back for years. This fact was illustrated
+a short time ago, when I was interested in watching the progress of a
+certain genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left his
+house; it was necessary to connect him with his own descendants. The
+link was found in the fact that this younger son had been received by
+Carey, warden of Hunsdon House, who made him one of his yeomen; a
+cheerless appointment, like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden
+and yeomen, representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and silent
+gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of emptiness, during
+which it is best to keep out of them. For my own part, I think the true
+way of enjoying a palace is to frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all
+that was said and to put down all that was done, but not to be an actor
+in a drama which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered about the court
+of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.? Richard murders his uncle,
+Henry IV. murders his cousin, Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it
+is true, murders no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a
+perpetual series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who looked
+on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for his history,
+while in the whole of that court there was no one whose head was safe on
+his shoulders except Froissart. Unfortunately, he says little about this
+palace which we are considering.
+
+There are many names of kings and princes connected with this house of
+Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally. During his reign it was the
+residence of John Earl of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl
+of Warren and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these and
+other names, had the writer time or the reader patience. In truth, the
+reader's patience is more to be considered than the writer's time, for
+the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting up names and notes and
+allusions, and of piecing together what, after all, his reader may not
+find of interest enough to carry him through. Edward III. made the manor
+part of the Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not find that
+Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly be haunted--especially
+the room in which he was to sleep--by the sorrowful shade of his
+murdered cousin. Nor did Henry V. come here during his short reign.
+Henry VI., however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with the palace
+was Catherine of Arragon.
+
+I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have seen the place as
+it was figured in 1636, when it was only an ordinary square house. The
+plan was drawn when Charles I. leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The
+destruction of the old house and the building of the new must have taken
+place during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When the new house
+was taken down I do not know.
+
+The name that we especially associate with Kennington Palace is that of
+Richard II. When the Black Prince died, in 1376, Richard remained at
+Kennington under the care of his mother and the tutorship of Sir
+Guiscard d'Angle, 'that accomplished knight.' The young prince started
+with the finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter years of
+his life, on the popular side against the old King and his supporters;
+the boy was endowed with a singular beauty of person, and, when he
+pleased, with a sweetness of manner most unusual even among princes,
+with whom affability is the first essential in princely manners. In
+addition to this he was destined to show on two occasions courage which
+almost amounted to insensibility--first, when he dispersed Wat Tyler's
+mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government. History shows how
+he threw away all his chances in reckless extravagance.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+
+(_From Allen's History of Lambeth_)]
+
+After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the Lord Mayor to
+pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington, with a riding worthy of the
+City. The day chosen was the Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One
+has frequent occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely regardless
+of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth upon a pageant as
+cheerfully in the cold of February as in the sunshine of August. On this
+occasion, one hundred and thirty-two citizens on horseback, with
+trumpets and other musical instruments, and a vast number of
+_flambeaux_, assembled at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond the Borough.
+First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of esquires--with red
+coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed the same number apparelled
+as knights in the same livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic
+figure, who represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty
+cardinals. They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with black
+vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell. This accounts for
+one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole number. The last man is not
+described. To them must be added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with
+men carrying the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy
+to the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company of
+'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after it and shouting.
+When it arrived at Kennington Palace they all dismounted and entered the
+hall, where they found the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and
+their attendants, together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great
+lords. The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who then
+produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them. Would you
+believe it?--every time the Prince threw, he won, which was in itself a
+remarkable circumstance. He carried off his winnings: a bowl of pure
+gold, chased and decorated; a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold
+ring. They then invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and
+other nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited to supper
+in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his mother. After supper,
+the tables were taken away--they were only planks laid on trestles and
+covered with white cloths--and the floor being cleared, the masquers had
+the honour of dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+_flambeaux_ were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well pleased with
+the reception they had met and the courtesy of the best behaved boy in
+the world.
+
+In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which arose out of
+Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between the Bishop of
+London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after the dismissal of Wyclyf,
+repaired to the house of John de Ypres, close beside the river, where he
+was sitting at dinner when one of his following ran hastily to warn him
+that the people were flocking together with intent to murder him if they
+could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the nearest stairs, took a
+boat across the river, and fled as quickly as possible to Kennington
+Palace, where he took shelter with the young Prince Richard and his
+guardians. The mob, finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to
+the Savoy, his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the Duke in
+countenance; they were then persuaded by the Bishop of London to go home
+without doing any more mischief. What would have happened one knows not,
+but the death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up the
+peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens. Hearing that
+Edward was _in extremis_, the Mayor and Aldermen waited on the Princess
+of Wales and Prince Richard informing them of the King's critical
+situation, and beseeching the Prince's favour to the City; they also
+begged him to interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's
+differences with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt
+freely forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity of his
+son Henry.
+
+[Illustration: The High Street Southwark as it appeared MDXLIII]
+
+It might be argued that the various impressions as regards London
+produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct towards the
+citizens when he grew older. The first experiment he had of the citizens
+was when they rode over in a goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold
+chains and finely appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he
+remembered that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a kind of
+impression which does not easily die away.
+
+His second impression of the City was when his uncle, John of Gaunt,
+came flying from the City, having barely escaped with his life, the
+people having gone on to wreck, if they could, his palace of the Savoy.
+A turbulent and dangerous people, then, as well as rich; a people to be
+kept down.
+
+He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way to be crowned at
+Westminster. All the way there was nothing but rich tapestry, carpets,
+scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet, pageants with cloth of gold,
+and the streets filled with men and women dressed in rich furs and
+silks, such as only great barons could afford. This third impression
+confirmed the first.
+
+His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate at the mercy of
+a large mob, unable to move or to help itself. He went into the City
+almost alone; he, by one single act of splendid courage, put an end to
+the insurrection. A City cowardly, therefore, and unable to act
+together. It was his City, moreover--the _Camera Regis_. Should not a
+prince do what he pleases with his own?
+
+When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City: how he believed
+its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed that it had no power
+to resist; how he made the way easy for his cousin to supplant him, let
+us bear in mind the lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for
+him in his youth.
+
+This King seizes on the imagination of all who think about him. His is
+one of the strangest of all the strange figures which crowd the National
+Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed with artistic instincts; a lover of
+music and all the fine arts; of singularly winning manners; the
+comeliest man in his whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in
+his court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in his youth never
+ceased to love; for whose soul--not for the soul of Henry
+IV.--Whittington, for instance, left money for masses--this is a figure
+among our English kings which has no parallel.
+
+One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last occasion on which
+Richard lodged there was when he brought home his little bride Isabel,
+the queen of eight years. They brought her from Dover, resting on the
+way at Canterbury and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the
+Mayor and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to do
+honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into their place
+and rode on with the procession. When they arrived at Newington, the
+King thanked the Mayor and permitted him to leave the procession and
+return home. He himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country
+lane from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this proves the
+existence of a path or lane where is now Upper Kennington Lane. At this
+palace the little queen rested a night, and next day was carried in
+another procession to the Tower. The knights rode before, and the French
+ladies came after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair
+hair falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up and
+smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be queen, which she
+had been practising ever since her betrothal. Needless to say that all
+hearts were ravished. The good people of London were ever ready to
+welcome one princess after another, and to lose their hearts to them,
+whether it was Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne
+Boleyn, or Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great a
+press was there that many were actually squeezed to death on London
+Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in breadth. Isabel's
+queenship proved a pretence: before she was old enough to be queen,
+indeed, her husband was in confinement; before she understood that he
+was a captive, he was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was
+over. The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself, desired
+to take the place of Richard; his father also desired the match, for the
+sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she was still, had the heart of a
+woman; she had learned to love her handsome, courteous, accomplished
+lord, who died before he could claim her; she refused absolutely to
+marry the son of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by
+persuasion; they did not dare to force her: let us believe that Harry of
+Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to marry him. There was
+nothing therefore left to do, but to send her home to what was certainly
+the most miserable court or palace in the world--that of her mad father.
+In the end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans. You may
+read the verses which he made upon her death. Isabel died in childbirth
+in her twenty-second year. As for Harry of Monmouth, as all the world
+knows, he was obliged to content himself with Isabel's younger sister,
+Katharine; we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to a
+suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay not so fine as
+that of Isabel, her sister.
+
+
+2. ELTHAM PALACE
+
+The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal House of
+Eltham, already mentioned in connection with Kennington. The place
+itself seems to have been a settlement of some kind, a town or village,
+in very ancient times. In the thirteenth century it was considered of
+importance enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before the Feast
+of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after. In the fourteenth
+century the market day was altered to Monday, but the Fair remained; in
+the fifteenth century the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair
+was changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul, on the
+Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and the Fair have long
+since been discontinued. The importance of both depended on the
+occasional presence of the Court, and when that was removed altogether
+from the place there was no longer any necessity for either market or
+Fair Day. Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many miles
+round. So long as it contained one of the recognised Palaces, even
+though years might pass by without a visit from the sovereign, there
+was, attached to the house, the permanent staff to a Governor or warder,
+with chiefs of the various departments and the men or assistants under
+them. The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a kind
+of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for all sorts of
+things. On those rare occasions when the Court was actually in Residence
+at Eltham, the market had to furnish supplies, to which all the country
+round had to contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may have been
+very great; no doubt word would be sent long beforehand if the King
+proposed to keep Christmas there. The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef
+put in the pickling tubs in November--vast quantities of beef, for,
+Christmas or not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt
+beef. At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay within easy
+reach of the London market; so was Westminster. Greenwich was accessible
+by ships from the lower reaches of the Thames as well as from London.
+Eltham, no doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there were of very
+little use. The annals of the Palace are simple, rather than scanty; in
+fact, there is plenty of mention made of the Palace, yet very little of
+importance is recorded concerning it. All that is recorded of it belongs
+to peace and festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl
+of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and the confiscation of his estates,
+the manor belonged partly to the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles.
+Thence it passed into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in succession.
+
+There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very ancient times.
+The historian says that he cannot ascertain when the Palace was built
+(see p. 74). Since the origin of the House is unknown, he argues that it
+must have been ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings
+and Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have to be
+catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance, the following list
+of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot pretend that it is of much
+interest.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796]
+
+In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace of Eltham with
+the Queen and his nobles. After this the name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of
+Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built
+a great deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He died at
+Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there seem to have been no
+other buildings. Now we come back to the kings, and we find historical
+associations in plenty, though not of a kind which is moving or
+interesting. It does not excite our curiosity much to learn that this
+king or that king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of
+association which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his favourite
+games with his followers without being overseen. One of his sons, John
+of Eltham, was born here. Edward III., when still under age, had a
+Parliament at Eltham in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for
+him at Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John, his
+prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here, when the Commons
+petitioned him to make Richard, his grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard
+the Second, as we should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar
+affection; it was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with his
+extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas here: on the last
+he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with great splendour and profusion.
+Henry the Fourth kept Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first,
+the Aldermen of London and their children went down from the City to
+perform a masque before the King, who received it well. At that moment
+he was certain to receive everything well that came from the City. On
+his last visit the disease broke out which killed him. Henry the Fifth
+was here once, in 1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings. Among other
+things, he built a new front to the Palace and is said to have built the
+Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities rivalled those of Richard the
+Second. Here his daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was
+born. Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham often.
+Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he preferred Greenwich as
+a residence as soon as that house was built. Elizabeth also came here
+only once or twice, preferring Greenwich, and James the First is only
+recorded to have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased to
+be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here[1]; the Manor was
+sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration it reverted to the
+Crown; the rest of the history concerns its occupancy by private
+families. On the death of Charles the Palace was surveyed; it is
+described as being built of brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see
+p. 74) one chapel, a hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two
+large cellars; and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12
+on the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms in the
+offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre of ground: the
+house was out of repair and uninhabitable. There were gardens attached
+to the house. A moat surrounded the house, of width 60 feet, except in
+the forest, where it was 115 feet. The moat still exists on the north
+side, and can be traced all round. Of the buildings little remains
+except the old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with
+its fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments only remain of
+the other buildings; but it is said to be possible, in the gardens at
+the back, to trace out the courts and the foundations of the chapel and
+offices. The Palace is approached by a bridge of about the same date as
+the Palace, viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with
+its picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one side, and
+the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an approach to the ruin as
+could well be imagined or created.
+
+[Illustration: KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT
+
+(_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_)]
+
+One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the year 1575, when
+Henry held one of the tournaments in which in his early manhood he so
+much delighted. This is Holinshed's account of it:--
+
+'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe night in the hall was made a
+goodlie castell, woonderouslie set out, and in it certeine ladies and
+knights; and when the king and queene were set, in came other knights
+and assailed the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at
+the last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out knights
+and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich and strangelie
+disguised; for all their apparell was in braids of gold, fret with
+moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on crimson sattin, loose and not
+fastned: the mens apparell of the same sute made like Iulis of
+Hungarie; and the ladies heads and bodies were after the fashion of
+Amsterdam. And when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of
+two hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'
+
+[Illustration: Remains of Eltham Palace]
+
+There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a place so
+beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting history. Kings and
+Courts delight me not, nor do I take pleasure in reading about
+tournaments and masques.
+
+There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to think upon as
+that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy who was going to become
+such an extravagant King. One would like to have seen Edward
+entertaining his prisoner, King John of France; and one wonders what
+sort of figure was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of
+Richard's splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.
+
+Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so many guests?
+To feed two thousand every day is a great undertaking. We are accustomed
+to believe that the roads in winter were so bad as to be impassable.
+Now, everything had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the
+roads. And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too, and the
+nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads. As was stated
+above, due notice was certainly given: a vast quantity of salt
+provisions was laid down in readiness: for the rest, the country was
+fertile and well cultivated. The Park contained deer--but they could not
+kill all; the Thames, only three miles away--but then, the roads!--was
+full of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne--again, those roads!--were the homes of
+myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the inland communications
+of the fourteenth century must have been a great deal better than those
+of the seventeenth century in order to allow of Christmas being kept in
+magnificence and profusion by two thousand people in a country village.
+
+[Illustration: The Moat Bridge Eltham Palace]
+
+The views which accompany this account are taken from Lysons: they were
+engraved in the year 1796. There is not much difference in the present
+aspect: the moat has been opened again: the buildings represented on the
+south side of the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had
+been used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for visitors
+or the drilling of Volunteers.
+
+
+3. GREENWICH PALACE
+
+The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with marshes on
+either side of it--the marsh of the Ravensbourne on one side, and the
+Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on the other side of it--is as old as
+history itself. Its position as the landing-place, or point of approach,
+to the lands of Kent, a place where ships might lie, pirates and
+invaders might seize and hold as a base of operations, very early called
+attention to its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him, throwing beef
+bones at his head. As the throwing of bones was a favourite evening
+pastime with the Danes, they probably meant little at first beyond a
+friendly reminder or an invitation to take part in the game: as the
+Archbishop made no response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. 72).
+The people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place was
+once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical memories connected
+with Greenwich of interest almost equal to those of Westminster, and far
+more important and interesting than those of Eltham.
+
+Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some of these
+memories.
+
+In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.
+
+In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas Beaufort, Duke of
+Exeter, who afterwards died here.
+
+In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, with permission
+to fortify and embattle the manor house, and to enclose a park of 200
+acres. This was the true beginning of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt
+the house, which he called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he
+enclosed the Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place reverted to the
+Crown. Edward the Fourth took great pleasure in the place and beautified
+it at much cost. In 1466 he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the
+Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard Duke of
+York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with the usual rejoicings.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH, 1662
+
+(_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_)]
+
+With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of residence. He
+added a brick front on the riverside (see p. 77). Here Henry the Eighth
+was born on June 28, 1491. He was baptised in the Parish Church, the
+predecessor of the present church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all
+other Palaces, and made it during the early years of his reign the scene
+of the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much. Here he
+married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510. Here he held the great
+tournament in which he himself, Sir Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and
+Edward Neville challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept
+Christmas here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of two
+entertainments held by the King at Greenwich--one a tournament in June,
+the other at Christmas:--
+
+'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes at Greenewich,
+the king & sir Charles Brandon taking vpon them to abide all commers.
+First came the ladies all in white and red silke, set vpon coursers
+trapped in the same sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a
+founteine curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces. After
+this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke dropped with fine
+siluer, on a courser trapped in the same. Then followed a knight in a
+horsselitter, the coursers & litter apparelled in blacke with siluer
+drops. When the fountein came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about,
+and so did the founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after
+them were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts: and
+when they came to the tilts end, the two knights mounted on the two
+courses abiding all commers. The king was in the founteine, and sir
+Charles Brandon was in the litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of
+trumpets entred sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer
+the castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the earle
+of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses with the king and
+sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king brake most speares, and likelie
+was so to doo yer he began, as in former time; the prise fell to his
+lot; so luckie was he and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in
+martiall actiuitie, whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....
+
+'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in most princelie maner. And on the
+Twelfe daie at night came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount.
+The mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full of
+broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin, and the
+flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet. On the top
+stood a goodlie beacon giuing light, round about the beacon sat the king
+and fiue other, all in cotes and caps of right crimson veluet,
+embrodered with flat gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles
+of gold. And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before the
+queene, and then the king and his companie descended and dansed. Then
+suddenlie the mount opened, and out came six ladies all in crimsin
+sattin and plunket, embrodered with gold and pearle, with French hoods
+on their heads, and they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount
+tooke the ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then the king shifted
+him, and came to the queene, and sat at the banket, which was verie
+sumptuous.'
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+
+(_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_)]
+
+Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and 1536.
+
+Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of France. Six or seven
+times more Henry kept Christmas at Greenwich. In 1543, the last
+occasion, he entertained twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners,
+and released them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.
+
+Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal Wolsey was her
+godfather.
+
+King Edward the Sixth died here.
+
+Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533. She, too, spent much
+of her time at Greenwich.
+
+King James also much delighted in this place: he added to the brickwork
+by the riverside: he also walled the park and laid the foundations of
+the house afterwards called the House of Delight. The Queen, who
+received the Palace in jointure, carried on this House, which was
+afterwards completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was called
+the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's Lodge. It was not
+until 1807 that the house was granted to the Commissioners of the Royal
+Naval Asylum.
+
+Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of river, it was
+thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent of the condition
+of the roads. In other respects the position of the place was
+unrivalled: it was on a slope rising from the river in front, and from
+lowlands on either side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh
+breeze that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there was no better
+air to be got than the air of Greenwich; that of Eltham, with its
+stagnant marsh and thick woods, was close and aguish in comparison: for
+view, the broad river rolled along the Palace front and bent round to
+east and west, so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in
+Limehouse Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed and
+flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up and down, outward
+bound or homeward bound. Sitting at her window, or walking on her
+terrace, Queen Elizabeth could for herself learn what was meant by the
+foreign trade of London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the river,
+streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could understand the
+coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could ask what the hoys and
+ketches, the lighters, and the barges carried up to the Port of London
+in such numbers: she could herself, and often did, embark upon the
+stream in summer, when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships
+more closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness the
+sad history of Thomas Appletree.
+
+It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about nine o'clock of
+the evening, that an accident happened which might have had fatal
+consequences. The Queen was taking the air in her private barge, between
+Greenwich and Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl of
+Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of state.
+Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were out in a small
+boat at the same time, and on the same part of the river. They were
+Thomas Appletree, a young servant of Francis Carey, two singing boys of
+the Queen's choir, and another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself
+of a 'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load with
+ball and then fire it at random up and down the river. One of these
+haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight to the Queen's barge,
+where it passed through both arms of the oarsman nearest Her Majesty.
+The man thus unexpectedly wounded, finding himself bleeding like a
+pig--for it was a flesh wound--threw himself down, bawling and roaring
+out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him with the assurance
+that he should be properly cared for, and ordered the barge to be taken
+back to the shore at once. The man, being treated, speedily recovered.
+Meantime, who had dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question
+was very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four lads
+brought up before them. It appearing that the only guilty person was
+Thomas Appletree, the other three were suffered to depart, and Thomas
+was tried. It was ascertained that there could be no question as to the
+loyalty of Thomas's master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt
+rested on the shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was therefore
+sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments, for treason.
+Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he was taken from Newgate and
+conducted on a hurdle with great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through
+the postern to Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy Thomas
+Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a dolorous journey on his
+hurdle, weeping copiously all the way, and many of the people weeping
+with him. Arrived at the gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the
+chronicler repeats faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last
+moments which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die acquitted
+themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded for treason, or a
+Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for being a priest.
+Appletree, for his part, spoke so movingly that the people all wept with
+him. Then the hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people cried,
+'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding up the Queen's
+Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton. But think not that the
+Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed the royal pardon. Not at all. He
+left Thomas on the ladder for a while; he made an oration on the
+heinousness of the offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for
+the safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened and all
+eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon, which the prisoner
+acknowledged in suitable language. Thomas Appletree was then taken back
+to the Marshalsea, where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after
+this. We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for this
+young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus would have
+nothing to do with it.
+
+Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John Willoughby's
+departure for the Arctic seas. He was going to endeavour to open a new
+way for trade round the N.E. Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia.
+He embarked at Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As
+he passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they brought
+out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see the sailing of the
+stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the ships passed on their way,
+and they carried the dying King back to his bed. In a day or two Edward
+was dead. In six months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too,
+frozen to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.
+
+If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich,
+you will find an account of it in Hentzner, that excellent traveller who
+remarked so much, and put all down on paper.
+
+'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported to have been
+originally built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and to have received
+very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the
+present Queen, was born, and here she generally resides; particularly
+in Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were admitted by
+an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the Lord Chamberlain, into the
+Presence-Chamber, hung with rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the
+English fashion, strewed with Hay,[2] through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman dressed in
+Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to introduce to the Queen
+any Person of Distinction, that came to wait on her: It was Sunday, when
+there is usually the greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall
+were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great Number
+of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and Gentlemen, who
+waited the Queen's coming out; which she did from her own Apartment,
+when it was Time to go to Prayers, attended in the following Manner:
+
+'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bare-headed; next came the Chancellor, bearing the Seals in
+a red-silk Purse, between Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter,
+the other the Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in the
+Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic; her Face
+oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her
+Nose a little hooked; her Lips narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the
+English seem subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false Hair, and that
+red; upon her Head she had a small Crown, reported to be made of some of
+the Gold of the celebrated Lunebourg Table:[3] Her Bosom was uncovered,
+as all the English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small, her Fingers
+long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her Air was stately, her
+Manner of Speaking mild and obliging. That Day she was dressed in white
+Silk, bordered with Pearls of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of
+black Silk, shot with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End
+of it borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an oblong
+Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all this State and
+Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another,
+whether foreign Ministers, or those who attended for different Reasons,
+in English, French and Italian; for, besides being well skilled in
+Greek, Latin, and the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of
+Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling; now
+and then she raises some with her Hand. While we were there, W. Slawata,
+a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to present to her; and she, after pulling
+off her Glove, gave him her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and
+Jewels, a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her Face, as
+she was going along, everybody fell down on their Knees.[4] The Ladies
+of the Court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and
+for the most Part dressed in white; she was guarded on each Side by the
+Gentlemen Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were presented to her,
+and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the Acclamation
+of, Long live Queen ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as it and the Service
+was over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the Queen returned in the
+same State and Order, and prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was
+still at Prayers, we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.
+
+'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and along with him another
+who had a Table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three Times
+with the utmost Veneration, he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling
+again they both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod again,
+the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when they had kneeled,
+as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the Table, they
+too retired with the same Ceremonies performed by the first. At last
+came an unmarried Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was dressed in
+white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three Times, in the
+most graceful Manner, approached the Table, and rubbed the Plates with
+Bread and Salt with as much Awe as if the Queen had been present: When
+they had waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon their Backs,
+bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four Dishes, served in
+plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were received by a Gentleman in the
+same Order they were brought, and placed upon the Table, while the
+Lady-taster gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the
+particular dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the Time
+that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and stoutest Men that can
+be found in all England, being carefully selected for this Service, were
+bringing Dinner, twelve Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring
+for Half an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number of
+unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the
+Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the Queen's inner and more
+private Chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes
+to the Ladies of the Court.
+
+'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants; and it is
+very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or Native, is admitted at that
+Time, and then only at the Intercession of somebody in Power.'
+
+On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down the Palace
+and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted various persons, and
+after many delays began the building. He only succeeded, however, in
+erecting what is now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted into a
+Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid institution, one of the
+glories of Great Britain, and a standing monument of the nation's
+gratitude to her sailors, and an ever present invitation to enter the
+navy, was closed, with that stupid indifference to sentiment which so
+often distinguishes the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.
+
+
+4. LAMBETH PALACE
+
+[Illustration: Lambeth Palace]
+
+The now huge town of Lambeth presents few points of interest either to
+the visitor or to the historian. There are no buildings of any antiquity
+except the Palace and the Church. There are no modern buildings at all
+worth notice. There have been two or three memorable houses which we
+shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so memorable as to deserve
+long description. The Bishops of Rochester had a house in the Marsh--the
+site is in Carlisle Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's
+Hospital, close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531, a
+wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service as cook,
+wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of people, and was
+boiled to death in oil--the only instance, I believe, of this dreadful
+punishment. The wretched man was tied naked to a post and slowly lowered
+into the boiling fluid. Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who
+lived in this house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed
+in some form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it with the Crown
+for a house thought more convenient in Southwark, close to Winchester
+House. The Crown gave it to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have
+let it on lease: thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether
+and became given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly house: then
+a dancing master taught his accomplishments in the house: then it became
+a school. Finally, the gardens were built over, the operations
+disclosing many interesting gates and 'bits.'
+
+Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk: it was called
+Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of the Palace, on the site
+now marked by Paradise Street. Here lived the old Duke whose life was
+saved by the death of Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the
+accomplished Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar, was the
+Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live in it; the house was
+neglected, probably because no tenant could be found for it. Finally, it
+was pulled down. It is interesting to note the town houses which stood
+upon the Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of Lewes;
+of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House of St. Mary Overies;
+Winchester House; Rochester House; Norfolk House; and later, the house
+of the St. Johns at Battersea. There are none between Bankside and
+Lambeth; that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars and
+Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.
+
+[Illustration: BONNER HALL, LAMBETH]
+
+Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt Hall, afterwards
+Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens afterwards called Vauxhall.
+In this house the unfortunate Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good
+deal might be written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.
+
+The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester, and the Duke of
+Norfolk stood close together and clustered round the church. The reason
+was the necessity of building on or near to the Embankment. Exactly
+opposite the south porch of the church may be observed a small and
+somewhat decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and separate
+existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of which this was the
+principal street and the centre. The village, in fact, did exist from
+very early times; its population for the most part earned their
+livelihood as Thames fishermen. They were the lineal successors of that
+fortunate Edric to whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the
+Abbey. There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down the river
+on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror is said to have burned
+Southwark it was the fishermen's cottages which he destroyed. None of
+these lived between Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the
+fact that there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer, until
+about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in Lambeth. The
+place is described as mean and rickety, with neither paving nor lamps;
+the woodwork of the cottages broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the
+windows stuffed with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags;
+the court a receptacle for everything.
+
+Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the nineteenth
+century, during which its population has been actually multiplied by
+ten, and more than ten, rising from 27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891,
+an enormous increase. The principal reason of this development is the
+introduction of a great many industries--potteries, vinegar factories,
+distilleries, salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.
+
+Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor a desirable
+place of residence. The perambulator looks about in vain for streets
+noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in vain for houses beautiful or
+ancient; there is nothing to reward him. Old houses there were before
+the great increase began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in
+parts it is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction.
+It has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall Gardens,
+on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is well laid out and
+planted; already it is a pretty piece of greenery, and, with Kennington
+and Battersea Parks, offers a much wanted breathing place for the
+multitudes of that quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by
+a statue of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting in a
+chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands an angel with
+outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel. He is obviously
+embarrassed by the situation. He feels that he ought to be dressed in
+some kind of Court costume--if he knew what--in order to receive the
+angel; or the angel might have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the
+statesman. The wings were probably in the way.
+
+[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+
+(_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' Nov. 1822_)]
+
+Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate, plays a very
+considerable part in the History of England. In 1232 and in 1234,
+Parliament was held here. In 1261 and 1280 Councils were held here. In
+1412 Archbishop Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as heretical of a
+great many opinions, insomuch that it became obviously dangerous to have
+any opinions at all. This, however, was the condition of mind most
+desired by the Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is
+needless to recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It was sometimes
+a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the care of the Archbishop at
+Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of
+Southampton, Lord Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable
+confinement, not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own chamber.
+
+[Illustration: BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH]
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+
+(_From an Engraving dated 1804_)]
+
+That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was necessary at a
+time when the clergy could only be tried in Ecclesiastical Courts, so
+that the Bishops could not send their criminous clerks to an ordinary
+prison. Hence it is that we frequently read of a priest brought before
+an Ecclesiastical Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards inveighed
+against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused the Bishops of too
+great leniency towards their delinquents and prisoners. In some cases,
+no doubt, the ecclesiastical prison was used to save a prisoner from the
+worst consequences of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour to believe
+that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth there were many who
+might have been burned but for the humanity which sometimes overrode
+even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.
+
+[Illustration: LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER]
+
+It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne, 'Lambeth
+Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain out of his prisons below
+his manor house at Lambeth. The Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the
+Archbishop who yet carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor
+man regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.
+
+The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained, the work of
+nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a full and complete history
+of the buildings, which would be outside the limits of the present
+chapter, the reader is referred to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J.
+Cave-Browne, called 'Lambeth and its Associations.'
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE]
+
+It is impossible to determine when the building of Lambeth Palace began.
+One thing is certain, that it has always been an Ecclesiastical Palace.
+The manor of Lambeth belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the
+Confessor. In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men, who
+with their families probably represented a population of about 200. They
+had a church, which stood on the site of the present church. Observe how
+all the old churches belonging to the Marsh stand on the
+Embankment--Rotherhithe; St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife of
+Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop and convent of
+Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it is said, took it from the
+Bishop; it was seized by William the Conqueror. William Rufus restored
+it to Rochester and added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert,
+Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the Bishop and
+convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth. Having got possession of
+the place, Hubert set to work to improve it. He obtained a weekly market
+and an annual fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.
+
+What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that he did build
+some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added other buildings; Boniface,
+A.D. 1260, found the buildings in great need of repair or insufficient.
+He was the first considerable builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair
+guess at the work of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded
+by the monastic Houses--this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House. We may also
+take it for granted that certain essential parts of the building, though
+they might be rebuilt with greater splendour, would not change their
+position. For instance, when in after years we find a chapel, a
+cloister, a water-tower, or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower,
+or entrance from the land--then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner of the
+Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the chapel he found a
+water-tower with a gate opening upon a creek of the river by which
+everything was received into the House, the door of communication with
+the outer world, while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up
+the creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt the
+cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his Hall. A Hall
+was absolutely necessary for a great house, and for an Archbishop's
+Palace it must be a splendid Hall. What is now called the Guard Room was
+probably at first part of the Archbishop's private apartments.
+
+[Illustration: Doorway in the Lollard's Tower]
+
+A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321. At that time
+there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his Chamber, his Hall, the
+Chancellor's Chambers, the Great Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain
+minor apartments--a modest list, but the dormitories and principal
+bedchambers are not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library,
+the offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have been
+there.
+
+Then we come to the later works, of which there are more than we need
+set down--are they not written in Ducarel the Laborious and in
+Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and ashes of ancient facts? The
+principal gateway as we now see it is the fifteenth century work of
+Cardinal Morton; it is built in the same style as the gateway of St.
+John's College, Cambridge, but is much larger and finer; with the
+Church, it forms a most effective group of buildings. The present Water
+Tower was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate--that is to say, the
+real gate of communication with the world. To this gate came all the
+visitors--Kings and Cardinals, Legates, Bishops and Ambassadors; and to
+this gate came the barges with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is
+said to have built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel.
+Cardinal Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably the
+piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller tower on the south face
+of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark here that the Tower never had any
+connection with Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy
+Lollard prisoners is without foundation.
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' PRISON]
+
+Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his three years of
+occupancy and 15,000_l._ of his own money in restoring the place for the
+honour and splendour of the Church. As for what has been done since that
+time, especially by Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed
+history of the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is
+a worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for the
+residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman Catholic
+predecessors, to a Church whose members love some splendour in their
+ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love splendour in their churches
+and stateliness in their ritual. They do not desire to make a Bishop
+rich: they do desire that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow
+circumstances: they desire that he should be able to take the lead in
+all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat in splendid
+state: he sat every day at a table loaded with costly and luxurious
+food: outwardly he was clothed with silken robes. But he touched nothing
+that was set before him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore
+next his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered his
+hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal Bishop of mediæval
+times. Our own is much the same: a simple life: a splendid house: modest
+wants: a large income: for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop, whether of
+the old or of the Reformed Faith.
+
+The Chapel has at least one memory which will always cling to it. Within
+its dark and gloomy crypt Anne Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to
+hear her sentence. She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am
+not qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing of
+evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I believe that
+those who have examined into the case are of opinion that Anne Boleyn
+fell a victim to the King's jealousy: to his change of mind towards her:
+and to her own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was
+persuaded into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I have
+sometimes thought that the King must have thought her guilty, otherwise
+he would have divorced her on a charge of adultery, and suffered her to
+live. If he did not believe her guilty, how could he, being, above all
+things, a man of human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had
+once loved to so horrible a death?
+
+Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard death by burning
+with quite the same horror as is now common. There is a story of
+Rogers--or Bradford--the martyr. Some one once begged his intercession
+to save a woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself will some day
+have your hands full of this gentle death.' Punishment was meant to be
+painful: the least painful form of death was that accorded to the
+noble--to be beheaded. If a man died by the executioner, it was expected
+that he should suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease
+and in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by the
+executioner.
+
+I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he must have believed
+in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly have allowed such a sentence;
+and that cruel as it seems to us, it did not seem so cruel at that time.
+There is, however, no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy, than that of
+Anne Boleyn.
+
+Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South London, is a
+monument of English History from the twelfth century downwards.
+Kennington appears at intervals; Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich
+practically begins with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St.
+Paul's, belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a place
+little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the Greater London,
+how many, I should like to ask, have ever seen the interior? Of the vast
+population of Lambeth, Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the
+centre, how many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or
+its buildings?
+
+Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come and go across the
+Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant eyes to rest for a
+moment on the grey walls and Tower of the Palace, how many are there who
+know, or inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.
+
+[2] He probably means rushes.
+
+[3] At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.
+
+[4] Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned
+by Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went
+to apprehend Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees.
+King James I. suffered his Courtiers to omit it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS
+
+
+The part which Processions of all kinds played in the mediæval life is
+so great that one must inquire how Southwark fared in this respect.
+Where Bishops, Abbots, and great Lords lived there were Processions
+whenever one arrived or one departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went
+to the King's House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If the Earl
+of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant company of
+gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King kept his Christmas at Eltham,
+he would be preceded by an endless train of carts groaning and grumbling
+along the road, filled with household gear and followed by the troops of
+scullions, cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal regiment,
+sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard, besides the
+nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with him for the Christmas
+festivities. The town itself had its Processions: the annual march of
+the Fraternity to church: the departure and the arrival of the pilgrims;
+the Ecclesiastical Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the
+royal pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed that
+Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the pageant which began at
+London Bridge: and that the place itself was quite passed by and
+unconsidered.
+
+Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have drawn up a short
+series of notes on the sights of which the Borough took a share.
+
+Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges in 1392, he
+was met by four hundred of the citizens, all mounted and clad in the
+same livery: they invited him to ride to Westminster through London.
+
+'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey to Southwark,
+where, at St. George's Church, he was met by a procession of the Bishop
+of London and all the religious of every degree and both sexes, and
+about five hundred boys in surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white
+steed and a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The citizens
+received them, standing in their liveries on each side the street,
+crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'
+
+The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North London. Again,
+on the return of the victorious Henry the Fifth from France there was a
+splendid Pageant, of which the South got some part, namely, the
+following:
+
+'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt, the Mayor
+of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient grained scarlet, and
+four hundred commoners clad in beautiful murrey, well mounted and trimly
+horsed, with rich collars and great chains, met the King at Blackheath;
+and the clergy of London in solemn procession, with rich crosses,
+sumptuous copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage, and as one who
+remembered from Whom all victories are sent, seemed little to regard the
+vain pomp and shows, insomuch that he would not suffer his helmet to be
+carried with him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung
+by minstrels of his glorious victory, because he would the praise and
+thanks should be altogether given to God.
+
+'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the tower, stood a
+gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an axe, and in his left the
+keys of the City hanging to a staff, as if he had been the porter. By
+his side stood a female of scarcely less stature, intended for his wife.
+Around them were a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The
+towers were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front of
+them was inscribed CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE (the City of the King of
+Righteousness).
+
+'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty column like a little
+tower, built of wood and covered with linen; one painted like white
+marble, and the other like green jasper. They were surmounted by figures
+of the King's beasts--an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms
+suspended from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a lion,
+bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.
+
+'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a tower, formed and
+painted like the columns before mentioned, in the middle of which, under
+a splendid pavilion, stood a most beautiful image of St. George, armed,
+excepting his head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry, with his
+arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of shields. On his right
+hung his triumphal helmet, and on his left a shield of his arms of
+suitable size. In his right hand he held the hilt of the sword with
+which he was girt, and in his left a scroll, which, extending along the
+turrets, contained these words, SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA. In a
+contiguous house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with sprigs
+of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied by organs, an
+anthem, supposed to be that beginning "Our King went forth to Normandy;"
+and whose burthen is "Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'
+
+When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432--
+
+'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry the Sixth was met
+at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2;
+the latter being dressed in white, with the cognizances of their
+mysteries or crafts embroidered on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his
+brethren in scarlet.
+
+'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised a mighty giant,
+standing with a sword drawn, and having this poetical speech inscribed
+by his side:
+
+    'All those that be enemies to the King,
+      I shall them clothe with confusion,
+    Make him mighty by virtuous living,
+      His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:
+      And him to increase as Christ's champion.
+    All mischiefs from him to abridge,
+    With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.
+
+'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived at the
+drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with silk and cloth of arras,
+out of which suddenly appeared three ladies, clad in gold and silk, with
+coronets upon their heads; of which the first was dame Nature, the
+second dame Grace, and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the
+King in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together with
+those which followed, the curious will find in their place. On each side
+of them were ranged seven virgins, all clothed in white; those on the
+right hand had baudricks of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had
+their garments powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost--sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God: and the others
+with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:
+
+    'God thee endow with a crown of glory,
+    And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,
+    And with a sword of might and victory,
+    And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,
+    A shield of faith for to defend thee,
+    A helm of health wrought to thine increase,
+    Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.
+
+'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which was "Welcome out
+of France."'
+
+The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou on her Coronation
+presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark, 'Peace and plenty,'
+with the motto 'Ingredimini et replete terram,'--Enter ye and replenish
+the earth--and the following verses were recited:
+
+    Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,
+      Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce
+    And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,
+      With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:
+      Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,
+    Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,
+      With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,
+    Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the words, 'Jam non
+ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21), and the following verses
+were addressed to the Queen:
+
+    So trustethe your people, with assurance
+      Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.
+    'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,
+      Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:
+    Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,
+      Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;
+    Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,
+      Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.
+    Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,
+      Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;
+    Wherein he and his might escape and passe
+      The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:
+    Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,
+      By meane of mercy found a restinge place
+    After the flud, vpon this Armonie.
+    Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,
+      Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,
+    Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,
+      Conducte by grace and power devyne;
+    Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine
+      By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.
+    Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne
+      Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.
+
+On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince Arthur there was a
+great Pageant. The part at the south entrance of the Bridge is thus
+described:
+
+'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two roodlofts;
+in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a wheel in her hand, in
+likeness of Saint Katherine, with many virgins on every side of her; and
+in the higher story was another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also
+with a great multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed.
+Above all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes, and in every
+square was a garter with this poesy in French, _Onye soit que male
+pens_, inclosing a red rose. On the tops of these tabernacles were six
+angels, casting incense on the Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer
+walls were painted with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and
+red; and at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane painted with the arms
+of England. The whole work was carved with timber, and was gilt and
+painted with biss and azure.'
+
+The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was that of Charles the
+Second at his Restoration:
+
+'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen met the King at
+St. George's Fields in Southwark, and the former, having delivered the
+City sword to his Majesty, had the same returned with the honour of
+knighthood. A very magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided
+with a sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He then
+proceeded towards London, which was pompously adorned with the richest
+silks and tapestry, and the streets lined with the City Corporations and
+trained bands; while the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious
+wines, and the windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such
+an infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body of the
+people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.
+
+'The procession was chiefly composed of the military. First marched a
+gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver, brandishing their swords,
+and led by Major-General Brown; then another troop of two hundred in
+velvet coats, with footmen and liveries attending them, in purple; a
+third led by Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver
+sleeves and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred, with
+blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and several
+footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two hundred and twenty,
+with thirty footmen in grey and silver liveries, and four trumpeters
+richly habited; another of an hundred and five, with grey liveries, and
+six trumpets; and another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three
+troops more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all gloriously
+habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came two trumpets with his
+Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men, in number fourscore, in red cloaks,
+richly laced with silver, with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed
+six hundred of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen in different
+liveries, with streamers, &c.; after whom came kettle-drums and
+trumpets, with streamers, and after them twelve ministers (clergymen) at
+the head of his Majesty's life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord
+Gerrard. Next the City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours,
+with the City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings, with footmen
+in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth of gold; the heralds
+and maces in rich coats; the Lord Mayor bare-headed, carrying the
+sword, with his Excellency the General (Monk) and the Duke of
+Buckingham, also uncovered; and then, as the lustre to all this splendid
+triumph, rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes of
+York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse with white colours;
+the General's life-guard, led by Sir Philip Howard, and another troop of
+gentry; and, last of all, five regiments of horse belonging to the army,
+with back, breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'
+
+On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick, William the Third made
+a triumphant entry into London:
+
+'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach, with Prince
+George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by four score other coaches,
+each drawn by six horses. The Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the
+King, the Lord Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal noblemen. Some
+companies of Foot Grenadiers went before, the Horse Grenadiers followed,
+as did the Horse Life-Guards and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the
+Gentlemen of the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's coach.
+
+'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor met his Majesty,
+where, on his knees, he delivered the sword, which his Majesty returned,
+ordering him to carry it before him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech
+suitable to the occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.
+
+'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained Bands, in buff
+coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded; then followed two of the
+King's coaches, and one of Prince George's; then two City Marshals on
+horseback, with their six men on foot in new liveries; the six City
+Trumpets on horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their
+halberds and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended by a servant
+on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor and Remembrancer, the
+two Secondaries, the Comptroller, the Common Pleaders, the two Judges,
+the Town Clerk, the Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the Common Crier
+and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of black damask and gold
+chain; each with a servant; then those who had fined for Sheriffs or
+Aldermen, or had served as such, according to their seniority, in
+scarlet, two and two, on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with
+their gold chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the
+Aldermen below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended by his
+Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on horseback, with
+two servants; and the Aldermen above the chair, in scarlet, on
+horseback, wearing their gold chains, each attended by his Beadle and
+four servants. Then followed the State all on horseback, uncovered,
+viz.: the Knight Marshall with a footman on each side; then the
+kettle-drums, the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms, Heralds of Arms,
+Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms on each side, bearing their
+maces, all bare-headed, and each attended with a servant. Then the Lord
+Mayor of London on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar
+and jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission, with four
+footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms supplying the place of
+Garter King at Arms on his right hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers
+supplying the place of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left
+hand, each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich coach,
+followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the Nobility, Judges,
+&c., according to their ranks and qualities, there being between two
+and three hundred coaches, each with six horses.'
+
+On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by the Mayor and
+Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark, with much the same state
+as that of William III. seventeen years before.
+
+The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many, had nothing to
+do with Southwark at all, except when they were water processions, in
+which case they could be seen as well from the South as from the North.
+But, in fact, Southwark was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants.
+The sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark. Why should
+the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has been shown over and
+over again, it consisted of nothing at all but a causeway and an
+embankment, and what was once a broad Marsh drained and divided into
+fields and gardens and woods.
+
+I have set down what royal processions Southwark was permitted to see,
+but I do not suppose that among the four hundred citizens who went out
+in one livery to meet King Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor
+do I suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter south of London
+Bridge. In other words, although in course of time there was
+appointed--never elected--an Alderman of the Bridge Without, at no time
+in these Pageants or in these functions was Southwark ever regarded as
+part of the City, nor were her wishes consulted or her interests
+considered.
+
+One Pageant alone--that of our own time--the splendid Pageant of 1897,
+reversed this position. As is well known, the Procession which
+celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign passed through the Borough as well as
+the City.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY
+
+
+I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only now remembered by
+the curious as the alleged original of Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare
+drew his incomparable knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then
+one can only say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a successful
+soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding in France.
+Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike, even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of
+taverns and of low company, with no dignity and no authority. The only
+point that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff lies
+in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a certain battle,
+one of the many which he fought: and that on his return from France, the
+English, exasperated at their losses, laid the blame as they always do
+upon their most distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his
+old age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so great: yet
+Fastolf was never a defeated general.
+
+Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional charge of
+cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.' he presents him running
+away:
+
+    _Captain._ Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?
+
+    _Fast._ Whither away? To save myself by flight.
+          We are like to have the overthrow again.
+
+    _Captain._ What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?
+
+    _Fast._        Ay,
+          All Talbots in the world to save my life.
+
+And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:
+
+    This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,
+    When but in all I was six thousand strong,
+    And that the French were almost ten to one,
+    Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
+    Like to a trusty knight, did run away.
+
+And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.
+
+Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people held the manors of
+Caister and Rudham. He was born in the year 1378, and became, after the
+fashion of the times, first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to
+Thomas of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.
+
+Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume of France and
+other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If so he must have been
+fighting in France or elsewhere across the seas as early as 1400.
+Perhaps he went over earlier. He was, at least, successful in getting
+promotion, and promotion in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed
+on a soldier incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at Agincourt: at the
+taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen: he was Governor of
+Condé-sur-Noireau and of other places, as they were taken. We find him,
+for instance, the Governor of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died,
+in 1422, he became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy and Governor of
+Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to observe that in spite of his great
+services he was not knighted until 1417, when he was already forty years
+of age. In 1426, he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company of
+archers he put to flight an army.
+
+His record does not lead one to expect a charge of cowardice. Yet the
+charge was brought. It was after the Battle of Patay, in which Talbot
+was taken prisoner and the English totally defeated. The reverse was
+attributed by Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than
+to his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation, which was
+made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably Lord Talbot persisted
+in his explanation of defeat. The age, it must be confessed, was not
+exactly chivalrous. The Wars of the Roses, which were about to begin,
+brought to light gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured
+princes as well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If Lord Talbot
+simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat upon Fastolf, it would
+be what other noble lords were perfectly ready to do in their anxiety to
+escape responsibility in the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then
+thought, which brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction. Yet
+the common people heard the reports brought home by the soldiers:
+nothing is more easy than a charge of treachery and cowardice: they knew
+nothing of the acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running away.
+
+After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of Caen: he raised
+the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the Duc de Bar: he was twice
+appointed ambassador: he fought in the army of the Duc de Bretagne
+against the Duc d'Alençon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of the
+war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord Talbot's accusation.
+
+In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his sword, put off his
+armour and returned to England. Few men could show a longer, or a finer,
+record of war. In 1441 he received from the Duke of York an annuity of
+£20 a year, 'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He
+spent the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very well
+understand that he was a man of great wealth when we read that the
+castle covered five acres of land.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+These are the achievements of the man. About his private life and
+character we have a great fund of information in the 'Paston Letters.'
+His latest biographer ('S. L. L.' in the 'Dictionary of National
+Biography') concludes from these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping
+man of business:' that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that
+he was a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure at his
+hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from the letters. At
+the same time we must consider, apart from the letters, the manners of
+the age and the conditions of the age.
+
+Let us take the charges one by one.
+
+First, that his dependents had much to endure from him.
+
+It was not a time when dependents spent their time as they pleased. In a
+well-ordered household every man had his post and his work. An old
+Knight who had fought for forty years and commanded armies was not at
+all likely to be a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no
+greater disciplinarian than the old soldier: no household is more
+sternly ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies, he had
+governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded despotic authority:
+he had found it necessary to master every branch of human activity,
+including the law and the chicanery of lawyers: as the general in
+command or the Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his dependents to
+consider his interests as before everything else. The stern old Captain,
+I can very well believe, looked to every one of his dependents for his
+share of work, and I can also very well believe that they feared him as
+the masterful man is always feared.
+
+One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.' But he gives no
+reasons.
+
+[Illustration: SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of spies,
+traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without becoming stern
+and hard. As a soldier he had to harden himself: as a governor he had to
+observe justice rather than pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish
+criminals. I picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be done as soon as
+he commanded it, at the coming of whom his servants became instantly
+absorbed in work, at whose footstep his secretaries dared not lift their
+heads.
+
+Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The letters are full
+of complaints about trespass, invasion of his rights, and attempts to
+over-reach him. How could a man choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at
+a time when the law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge
+his boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land robber was
+everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what was not his own. Private
+persons, simple esquires, had to fortify their houses against their
+neighbours and to prepare for a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret
+Paston, 'to get some crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and
+quarrel'--_i.e._ bolts--'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.' And she goes
+on to enumerate the warlike preparations made by her neighbour.
+
+Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and quarrels for
+his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains how Robert Hungerford,
+Knight, and Lord Moleyne and Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his
+house and manor of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and
+robbed and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.
+
+These are things which do sometimes make neighbours testy.
+
+But he is a 'grasping man of business.'
+
+Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon property
+belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and justice cannot be had.
+Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice Yelverton, resolve to address the
+Duke of Norfolk, and to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and
+Suffolk 'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice be
+hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should resolve to
+get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man 'grasping' because he
+stands up in his own defence? Read again the following. 'I pray you
+sende me worde who darre be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And
+sey hem on my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then they shall be
+quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say by God or the Devyll. And
+therefor I charge you, send me word whethyr such as hafe be myne
+adversaries before thys tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I
+see nothing unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.
+
+It is further objected that he had long-standing claims against the
+Crown, and was always setting them forth and pressing them. If his
+claims were just, why should he not press them? If a man makes a claim
+and does not press it, what does it mean except that he is afraid of
+pressing it or that it is an unjust claim?
+
+The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which were never
+settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable property well worth
+defending. He had no fewer than ninety-four manors: there were four
+residences--Caister: Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a
+sum of money in the treasure chest of 2,643_l._ 10_s._, equivalent to
+about 50,000_l._ of our money. There were no banks in those days and no
+investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate and armour and weapons:
+he spent, as a rule, the greater part of his income, showing his wealth
+and his rank by the splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for
+instance, had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.
+
+His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney Lane, which now
+leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring Street. The Knight had good
+neighbours. On the east of St. Olave's Church was the ancient house
+built in the 12th century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given
+by his successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next to
+the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between, the Abbot of
+Battle's Inn, a great building on the river bank, with gardens lying on
+the other side of what is now Tooley Street. The site was long marked by
+'The Maze' and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are no
+means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the place. It was
+certainly a building round a quadrangle capable of housing many
+followers, because he proposed to fill it with a garrison and so to meet
+Cade's insurgents. Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth
+would not be contented with a small house. On the south side of St.
+Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the Inn or House of
+the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile across the fields and gardens rose
+the towers and walls of St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there
+were other great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of Stoney
+Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses seldom precede fields. A
+house often degenerates, but is rarely converted into a meadow. This,
+however, did happen with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that
+the house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family, and being
+deserted by them was presently let out in tenements till it was pulled
+down and replaced by other buildings. According to these indications,
+then, Fastolf's house was the last of the great houses on the east side
+of London Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually sailed from
+Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions and supplies of all
+kinds for his house at Southwark. This fact not only proves that his
+household was very large, but it illustrates one way in which the great
+houses, the ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were
+victualled. If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to London it is
+certain that those who lived inland sent up caravans of pack-horses
+laden with the produce of their estates and sent up to town flocks of
+cattle and sheep and droves of pigs.
+
+[Illustration: The Site of Sir John Fastolf's House in Tooley Street]
+
+I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at Southwark
+against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for himself and for everybody
+with him, he was persuaded to retire across the river to the Tower
+before the rebels reached the gates. The story is one of the most
+interesting in the whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the
+truth, unless one looks into them for persons we already know, are
+somewhat dull in the reading.
+
+When the Commons of Kent were reported to be approaching London in the
+year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled his house in Southwark with old
+soldiers from Normandy and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the
+rebels and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when they
+caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn, a servant of Sir
+John, they were disposed to make an example of him. And now you shall
+hear what happened to John Payn in his own words, the spelling being
+only partly modernised.
+
+'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly to consedir the
+grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner haeth, and haeth had
+evyr seth the comons of Kent come to the Blakheth,[5] and that is at XV.
+yer passed whereas my maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre
+testator,[6] commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens of Kent,
+to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd: and al so sone as
+I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn[7] made the comens to take me. And
+for the savacion of my maisters horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way
+with the ij. horses; and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of
+Kent. And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng thedyr,
+and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with the horse. And I seyd
+that I come thedyr to chere with my wyves brethren, and other that were
+my alys and gossipps of myn that were present there. And than was there
+oone there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John Fastolfes
+men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes; and then the capteyn
+lete cry treson upon me thorough all the felde, and brought me at iiij.
+partes of the feld with a harrawd of the Duke of Exeter[8] before me in
+the dukes cote of armes, makyng iiij. _Oyes_ at iiij. partes of the
+feld; proclaymyng opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr for
+to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr, fro the
+grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce, as the seyd capteyn
+made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the
+whech mynnysshed all the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn,
+the whech was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he seid that the
+seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase with the olde sawdyors of
+Normaundy and abyllyments of werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan
+that they come to Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde
+lese my hede.
+
+'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns tent, and j. ax
+and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn of myn hede; and than my
+maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,[9] with other of my frendes, come and
+lettyd the capteyn, and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij.
+(a hundred or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane my
+lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to the capteyn, and to
+the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk, and aray me in the best wyse
+that I coude, and come ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th'
+articles, and brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.
+
+'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought hym th' articles,
+and enformed hym of all the mater, and counseyled hym to put a wey all
+his abyllyments of werr and the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went
+hymself to the Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j.
+(_i.e._ one) Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it coste me of my
+noune propr godes at that tyme more than vj. merks in mate and drynke;
+and nought withstondyng the capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte
+Whyte Harte in Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me
+oute of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne of muster
+dewyllers[10] furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of Bregandyrns[11]
+kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt naile, with leg-harneyse,
+the vallew of the gown and the bregardyns viijli.
+
+'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my chamber in your
+rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke awey j. obligacion of myn
+that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by a prest of Poules, and j. nother
+obligacion of j. knyght of xli., and my purse with v. ryngs of golde,
+and xvijs. vjd. of golde and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete
+of the touche of Milleyn;[12] and j. gowne of fyn perse[13] blewe furryd
+with martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,[14] and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;[15] and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede, whan that
+they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And there my Maister Ponyngs and
+my frends savyd me, and so I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle
+was at London Brygge;[16] and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt nere hand to
+deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle, and myght nevyr come
+oute therof; and iiij. tymes before that tyme I was caryd abought
+thorough Kent and Sousex, and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.
+
+'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey all oure godes
+movabyll that we had, and there wolde have hongyd my wyfe and v. of my
+chyldren, and lefte her no more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And
+a none aftye that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,[17] apechyd me to the
+Quene, and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of myn lyf, and
+was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and quarteryd; and so wold
+have made me to have pechyd my Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause
+that I wolde not, they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have
+sent me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j. coseyn of myn
+noune that were yomen of the Croune, they went to the Kyng, and got
+grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'
+
+Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest traitor in
+England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the garrisons of Normandy,
+and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was the cause of the 'lesyng of all the
+Kyng's tytyll and rights of an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'
+
+The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir John wants to
+know what the rebellion means. Let one of his men go and find out. Let
+him take two horses in case of having to run for it: the rebels will
+most probably kill him if they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's
+work: what can a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can he
+look for except to be killed some time or other? So John Payn takes two
+horses and sets off. As we expected, he does get caught: he is brought
+before Mortimer as a spy. At this point we are reminded of the false
+herald in 'Quentin Durward,' but in this case it is a real herald
+pressed into the service of Mortimer, _alias_ Jack Cade. Now the
+Captain is by way of being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story
+about him, that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts the affair in a
+courteous fashion. No moblike running to the nearest tree: no beating
+along the prisoner to be hanged upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner
+is conducted with much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at
+each is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the block are
+brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness of death. But his
+friends interfere: he must be spared or a hundred heads shall fall. He
+is spared: on condition that he goes back, arrays himself in his best
+harness and returns to fight on the side of the rebels.
+
+Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his master
+wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion in-so-much that
+Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats across the river to the
+Tower. But before going he tells the man that he must keep his parole
+and go back to the rebels to be killed by them or among them. So the
+poor man puts on his best harness and goes back.
+
+They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him in the crowd of
+those who fight on London Bridge.
+
+It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered London when he
+murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer, Sheriff of Kent, and plundered
+and fined certain merchants. He kept up, however, the appearance of a
+friend of the people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants, themselves,
+and the better class held the bridge.
+
+The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be remembered that
+the battle was fought on the night of Sunday the 5th of July, in
+midsummer, when there is no night, but a clear soft twilight, and when
+the sun rises by four in the morning. It was a wild sight that the sun
+rose upon that morning. The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts
+and cries, alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on. And all night
+long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms in readiness to take
+their place on the bridge. And all night the old and the young and the
+women lay trembling in their beds lest the men of London should be
+beaten back by the men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and
+sword to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the dead
+were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and were trampled upon
+until they were dead: and beneath their feet the quiet tide ebbed and
+flowed through the arches.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550]
+
+'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving themselves
+neither to be sure of goods nor of life well warranted determined to
+repell and keepe out of their citie such a mischievous caitife and his
+wicked companie. And to be the better able so to doo, they made the lord
+Scales, and that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and furtherance
+therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid, with shooting off the
+artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew Gough was by him appointed to
+assist the maior and Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other
+capteins, appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish men once to
+approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept for feare of sudden
+assaults, hearing that the bridge was thus kept, ran with great hast to
+open that passage where between both parties was a fierce and cruell
+fight.
+
+'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their tackling more
+manfullie than he thought they would have done, advised his companie not
+to advance anie further toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that
+they might see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide
+for the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the bridge foot to
+the draw bridge, and began to set fire to diverse houses. Great ruth it
+was to behold the miserable state, wherein some desiring to eschew the
+fire died upon their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to save
+themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in their houses choked
+and smothered. Yet the capteins not sparing, fought on the bridge all
+the night valiantlie, but in conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge,
+and drowned manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand, a
+hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a man of great
+wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie, the which in continuall
+warres had spent his time in service of the king and his father.
+
+'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge, till nine
+of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the Londoners were beaten
+backe to saint Magnus corner; and suddenlie againe, the rebels were
+repelled to the stoops in Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and
+wearie, agreed to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon
+condition that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell capteine
+for making him more friends, brake up the gaites of the kings Bench and
+Marshalsie and so were manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his
+matters in hand.' (Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)
+
+When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky Payn into prison
+and tried to get out of him some admission that might enable them to
+impeach Sir John of treason. This old soldier was not without some love
+of letters. One of his household, William Worcester, wrote for him
+Cicero 'De Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings of the
+Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by Stephen Perope
+his stepson.
+
+After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in Southwark but
+seldom. He went down into Norfolk, employed his ships in carrying stone
+and built his great castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He
+purposed founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven poor
+folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at Cambridge: he
+made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford. His intentions as to the College
+were never carried out, the bequest being transferred to Magdalen
+College, Oxford, for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor
+scholars. He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was in a
+losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great part of the
+odium that falls upon a general who is on the losing side: at the same
+time, in his own actions he was, almost without exception, victorious:
+and there does not seem any reason why he more than any other should
+bear the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in deference to
+popular opinion that no honours were paid to the veteran of so many
+fights. Perhaps he was not a _persona grata_ at Court. Certainly the
+story of Payn's imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450,
+and again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.
+
+[6] Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left
+Paston his executor, as will be seen hereafter.
+
+[7] Jack Cade.
+
+[8] Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed,
+he adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s
+sister. His herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and
+pressed into their service.
+
+[9] Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and
+carver to Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than
+one occasion afterwards.
+
+[10] 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to
+Elizabeth's reign.'--Halliwell.
+
+[11] A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small
+iron plates sewed on.--_See_ Grose's _Antient Armour_. The back and
+breast of this coat were sometimes made separately, and called a
+pair.--Meyrick.
+
+[12] Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.
+
+[13] 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so
+called.'--Halliwell.
+
+[14] Budge fur.
+
+[15] Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.
+
+[16] The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.
+
+[17] Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it
+Rochester, from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for
+_Roffensis_. The Bishop of Rochester's name was John Lowe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON
+
+
+The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten as the all-night
+battle of London Bridge, took place also on a Sunday, twenty years
+afterwards. It was the concluding scene, and a very fit end--to the long
+wars of the Roses.
+
+There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William Nevill, Lord
+Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the Bastard of Fauconberg, or
+Falconbridge. This man was a sailor. In the year 1454 he had received
+the freedom of the City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for
+his services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War divided
+families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to put Edward on the
+throne, his son did his best to put up Henry.
+
+He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet, and in that
+capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch of Burgundians to the
+help of Edward. He seems to have crossed and recrossed continually.
+
+A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled across country.
+On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was fought. At this battle
+Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle of Tewkesbury finished the hopes
+of the Lancastrians. Yet on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg
+presented himself at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of
+London Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission to march through
+the town, promising that his men should commit no disturbance or
+pillage. Of course they knew who he was, but he assured them that he
+held a commission from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.
+
+In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter, pointing out that
+his commission was no longer in force because Warwick was dead nearly
+three weeks before, and that his body had been exposed for two days in
+St. Paul's; they informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been
+disastrous to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of a
+great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince Edward was slain
+with many noble lords of his following.
+
+All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to disbelieve. I
+think that he really did disbelieve the story: he could not understand
+how this great Earl of Warwick could be killed. He persisted in his
+demand for the right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass through London? If
+he merely wanted to get across he had his ships with him--they had come
+up the river and now lay off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army
+across in less time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to
+hold London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians were
+gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian heir to the throne
+at least.
+
+However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter urging him to
+lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward, who was now firmly
+established.
+
+Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began to look to their
+fortifications: on the river side the river wall had long since gone,
+but the houses themselves formed a wall, with narrow lanes leading to
+the water's edge. These lanes they easily stopped with stones: they
+looked to their wall and to their gates.
+
+The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the City. Like a
+skilful commander he attacked it at three points. First, however, he
+brought in the cannon from his ships, laying them along the shore: he
+then sent 3,000 men across the river with orders to divide into two
+companies, one for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on
+Bishopsgate. He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge. His
+cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of the Tower. We
+should like to know more of this bombardment. Did they still use round
+stones for shot? Was much mischief done by the cannon? Probably little
+that was not easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great artillerie
+against their adversaries, and with violent shot thereof so galled them
+that they durst not abide in anie place alongst the water side but were
+driven even from their own Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great
+guns from the Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie artillerie'
+could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite--not above the bridge.
+
+The three thousand men told off for the attack on the gates valiantly
+assailed them. But they met with a stout resistance. Some of them
+actually got into the City at Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind
+them, and they were all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate,
+performed prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the gates and
+sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500 men by the Tower Postern
+and chased the rebels as far as Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were
+killed. Many hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if
+they had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.
+
+The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The gate on the south
+was fired and destroyed: three score of the houses on the bridge were
+fired and destroyed: the north gate was also fired, but at the bridge
+end there were planted half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind
+them waited the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not
+another Battle of the Bridge to relate.
+
+The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting possession of
+London, resolved to march westward and meet Edward. By this time, it is
+probable that he understood what had happened. He therefore ordered his
+fleet to await him in the Mersey, and marched as far as
+Kingston-upon-Thames. It is a strange, incongruous story. All his
+friends were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt a
+thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order? Perhaps, however, he
+did not think it impossible.
+
+At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas Fanute, Mayor of
+Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair words' to return. Accordingly, he
+marched back to Blackheath, where he dismissed his men, ordering them to
+go home peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600--his sailors,
+one supposes--he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and took his ships round
+the coast to Sandwich.
+
+Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over to the King
+fifty-six ships great and small. The King pardoned him, knighted him,
+and made him Vice-Admiral of the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in
+September we hear that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to
+Middleham, in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon London
+Bridge.
+
+Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had been 'roving,' _i.e._
+practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral of the English fleet
+go off 'roving'? Surely not. I take it as only one more of the thousand
+murders, perjuries, and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever
+stained the history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward--the death of every man, noble or simple, who might
+take up arms against him. So the Bastard--this fool who had trusted the
+King and given him a fleet--was beheaded like all the rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE PILGRIMS
+
+
+The town was full of those who carried in their hats the pilgrim's
+signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage, every shrine had its
+special signs, which the pilgrim on his return bore conspicuously upon
+his hat or scrip or hanging round his neck (see Skeat, _Notes to Piers
+Plowman_) in token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullæ were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop shell that of
+St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and the vernicle of Rome--the
+vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief of St. Veronica, which was
+miraculously impressed with the face of our Lord. These shrines were
+cast in lead in the most part. Thus in the supplement to the _Canterbury
+Tales_,
+
+    Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,
+    For men of contre should know whom they had sought;
+    Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,
+    And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked
+    His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.
+
+Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is this that thou
+wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped, full of images of
+lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and the cuffs are adorned with
+snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.' To which the reply is that he has
+been to certain shrines on pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to
+the Society of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but especially in
+the river when Old London Bridge was removed. Bells--_Campana
+Thomæ_--Canterbury Bells--were also hung from the bridles, ringing
+merrily all the way by way of a charm to keep off evil.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY]
+
+Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from one or other of
+the Inns of Southwark: there was the short pilgrimage and the long
+pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day: the pilgrimage of a month: and the
+pilgrimage beyond the seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the
+ships of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella, which
+was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to Rocamadom in Gascony: or
+to Jaffa for the Holy Places. The pilgrimage _outremer_ is undoubtedly
+that which conferred the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon
+the soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.
+
+In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner had a
+considerable choice. He might simply go to the shrine of St. Erkenwald
+at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor at Westminster, he might
+even confine his devotions to the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished
+to go a little further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the
+Oak; of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the north
+side of London and belonged to the City rather than to Southwark. For
+him of the Borough there was the shrine of Crome's Hill, Greenwich,
+which provided a pleasant outing for the day: it might be prolonged with
+feasting and drinking to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family
+could get a holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness that so many
+years were knocked off purgatory.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, AYLESBURY]
+
+For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far distant journeys
+to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as Venice, and then by a
+'personally conducted' voyage, the captain providing escort to and from
+the Holy Places. There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.
+
+For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of South London
+had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas of Canterbury was the only
+Saint. There were other Saints, of course, but St. Thomas was his
+special Saint. No other shrine was possible for him save that of St.
+Thomas. Not Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would more
+effectively assist his soul.
+
+[Illustration: CANTERBURY PILGRIMS]
+
+In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an account of what was
+done and what was shown at the shrines of Our Lady of Walsingham and St.
+Thomas of Canterbury.
+
+'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself up towards
+heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that behold it at a great
+distance with an awe of religion, and now with its splendour makes the
+light of the neighbouring palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the
+place that was anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are
+two lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome from
+afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent country echo far
+and wide with their rolling sound. In the south porch of the church
+stand three stone statues of men in armour, who with wicked hands
+murdered the holy man, with the names of their countries--Tusci, Fusci,
+and Betri....
+
+'_Og._ When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty of place
+opens itself to you, which is free to every one. _Me._ Is there nothing
+to be seen there? _Og._ Nothing but the bulk of the structure, and some
+books chained to the pillars, containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the
+sepulchre of I cannot tell who. _Me._ And what else? _Og._ Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance, but so
+that the view is still open from one end of the church to the other. You
+ascend to this by a great many steps, under which there is a certain
+vault that opens a passage to the north side. There they show a wooden
+altar consecrated to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and
+remarkable for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man is reported
+to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when he was at the point of
+death. Upon the altar is the point of the sword with which the top of
+the head of that good prelate was wounded, and some of his brains that
+were beaten out, to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.
+
+'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground; to that
+there belong two showmen of the relics. The first thing they show you is
+the skull of the martyr, as it was bored through; the upper part is left
+open to be kissed, all the rest is covered over with silver. There is
+also shown you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth, the
+girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to mortify his
+flesh....
+
+'_Og._ From hence we return to the choir. On the north side they open a
+private place. It is incredible what a world of bones they brought out
+of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands, fingers, whole arms, all which we
+having first adored, kissed; nor had there been any end of it had it not
+been for one of my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the
+officer that was showing them....
+
+'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the ornaments; and
+after that those things that were laid up under the altar; all was very
+rich, you would have said Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to
+them, if you beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....
+
+'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God! what a pomp of
+silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks! There we saw also St.
+Thomas's foot. It looked like a reed painted over with silver; it hath
+but little of weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. _Me._ Was there never a cross? _Og._ I saw none. There
+was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse and without embroidery
+or jewels, and a handkerchief, still having plain marks of sweat and
+blood from the saint's neck. We readily kissed these monuments of
+ancient frugality....
+
+'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the high altar there
+is another ascent as into another church. In a certain new chapel there
+was shewn to us the whole face of the good man set in gold, and adorned
+with jewels....
+
+'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. _Me._ Who was he, the
+abbot of the place? _Og._ He wears a mitre, and has the revenue of an
+abbot--he wants nothing but the name; he is called the prior because the
+archbishop is in the place of an abbot; for in old time every one that
+was an archbishop of that diocese was a monk. _Me._ I should not mind if
+I was called a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. _Og._ He
+seemed to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted with
+the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which the remainder of the
+holy man's body is said to rest. _Me._ Did you see the bones? _Og._ That
+is not permitted, nor can it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box
+covers a golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers an
+inestimable treasure. _Me._ What say you? _Og._ Gold was the basest
+part. Everything sparkled and shined with very large and scarce jewels,
+some of them bigger than a goose's egg. There some monks stood about
+with the greatest veneration. The cover being taken off, we all
+worshipped. The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who was the
+donor of it. The principal of them were the presents of kings....
+
+'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin Mary has her
+residence; it is something dark; it is doubly railed in and encompassed
+about with iron bars. _Me._ What is she afraid of? _Og._ Nothing, I
+suppose, but thieves. And I never in my life saw anything more laden
+with riches. _Me._ You tell me of riches in the dark. _Og._ Candles
+being brought in we saw more than a royal sight. _Me._ What, does it go
+beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? _Og._ It goes far beyond in
+appearance. What is concealed she knows best. These things are shewn to
+none but great persons or peculiar friends. In the end we were carried
+back into the vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell down on
+their knees and worshipped. _Me._ What was in it? _Og._ Pieces of linen
+rags.'
+
+At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim was to see
+the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed, and to make
+offerings at every exhibition of relics. Thus on beholding the precious
+place containing the milk of the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the
+following prayer:--
+
+'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord of heaven and
+earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts, we desire that, being
+purified by His blood, we may arrive at that happy infant state of
+dovelike innocence in which, being void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we
+may continually desire the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we
+grow up to a perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the Father and
+the Holy Spirit. Amen.'
+
+On being shown the little chapel which was the actual dwelling-place of
+the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto, the pilgrim prostrated
+himself and recited as follows:--
+
+'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin, the most happy
+of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that are impure do now come to
+visit and address ourselves to thee that art pure, and reverence thee
+with our poor offerings, such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable
+us to imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace of
+the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most inward bowels of
+our minds, and having once conceived Him, never to lose Him. Amen.'
+
+As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station a priest at
+each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to give openly in the
+sight of all, otherwise they would give nothing at all, so great was
+their piety. Nay, even with this stimulus, there were found some who,
+while they laid their offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would
+steal what another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of set
+prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no more hesitate to
+steal from the altar than to commit any other offence against morality.
+
+On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims were waylaid by
+roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled them with holy water, and
+showed them St. Thomas's shoe to kiss. In fact, what with the treasures
+brought home by pilgrims, presented to archbishops and kings, and sold
+by pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with relics; at
+the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were cupboards filled with
+holy bones and precious rags; but there were too many: the credulity of
+the people had been tried too much and too long. Erasmus shows the
+profound disbelief that he himself, if no other, entertained for the
+sanctity of the relics.
+
+[Illustration: 15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH]
+
+[Illustration: RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY]
+
+Thomas à Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years afterwards his
+remains were transferred from their original resting-place by Stephen
+Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the shrine prepared for them
+behind the high altar.
+
+Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently indicated by the
+extracts quoted above, was not alone in his opinions. Indeed, it
+required no great wisdom to perceive that a religious pilgrimage
+conducted without the least attention to the religious life was a
+mockery.
+
+Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers Plowman, long
+before, had expressed the same contempt for pilgrims:
+
+    Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes
+    For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;
+    Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,
+    And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.
+    Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves
+    Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.
+
+But there is a more serious indictment still.
+
+In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a prisoner for
+heretical opinions, was allowed to state these opinions to Archbishop
+Arundel. An account remains, written by the priest himself, of his
+arguments and of the Archbishop's replies. On the subject of pilgrimage
+he is very strong.
+
+'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and so I purpose all
+my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying that suche fonde people wast
+blamefully God's goods in ther veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes
+upon vicious hostelers, which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo werkis of
+mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and women. Thes poor mennis
+goodes and their lyvelode thes runners aboute offer to rich priestis,
+which have mekill more lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes
+they waste wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve after Goddis
+will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye, and over this foly, ofte
+tymes diverse men and women of thes runners thus madly hither and
+thither in to pilgrimage borowe hereto other mennis goodes, ye and
+sometymes they stele mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never
+again. Also, Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage, they
+will order with them before to have with them both men and women that
+can well syng countre songes and some other pilgremis will have with
+them baggepipes; so that every timme they come to rome, what with the
+noyse of their synging and with the sounde of their piping and with the
+jangeling of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came there away
+with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis. And if these men and
+women be a moneth in their pilgrimage, many of them shall be an half
+year after great jangelers, tale tellers, and lyers.'
+
+'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou seest not ferre
+ynough in this matter, for thou considerest not the great trauel of
+pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the thing that is praisable. I say to
+the that it is right well done that pilgremys have with them both
+singers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote
+striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe, or else
+take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away with suche myrthe
+the hurt of his felow. For with soche solace the trauel and weeriness of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth."'
+
+From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the Tabard Inn, High
+Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April in, or about, the year 1380,
+it remains for me to show what pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the
+fourteenth century. This company met by appointment the night before the
+day of departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met by
+chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or for a voyage
+round the Mediterranean, the members do not agree to meet: they find out
+that a party will start on such a date from such a place, and they join
+it. Part of the business of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark,
+was to organise and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As
+the ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the voyage
+there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so the Host of the
+Tabard charged so much for conducting and entertaining the party there
+and back again. That the company was collected in this manner and not by
+personal agreement, is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way
+in which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and talked
+together shows that society of the fourteenth century was no respecter
+of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great leveller of rank.
+
+The following is a list of the company:--
+
+1.--A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.--A Prioress: an
+attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.--A Monk and a Friar. 4.--A
+Merchant. 5.--A Clerk of Oxford. 6.--A Serjeant at Law. 7.--A Franklin.
+8.--A Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry Maker,
+all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.--A Sailor and a Cook. 10.--A
+Physician, 11.--The Wife of Bath. 12.--A Town Parson and a Ploughman.
+13.--A Reeve, a Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the
+Poet himself.
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY MERCHANT]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is generally supposed
+that they rode the whole way to Canterbury, which is sixty-six miles, in
+a single day. Their resting places have, however, been found by
+Professor Skeat. Allow them sixteen hours for the journey. This means
+more than four miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that in the
+fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six miles a day
+over such roads as then existed, and at a time of year when the winter
+mud had not yet had time to dry.
+
+It is not without significance that out of the whole number a third
+should belong to the Church. Among them the Prioress Madame Eglantine is
+a gentlewoman who might belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and
+dainty: fond of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her
+eating: wearing a brooch,
+
+    On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,
+    And aftir, _Amor vincit omnia_.
+
+The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who kept many horses and
+hounds and loved to hunt the hare.
+
+The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions: a wanton man
+who married many women 'at his own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly
+imposing light penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives and pins
+as gifts for the women:--a wholly worldly loose living Limitour.
+
+The character of the Town Parson, brother of the Ploughman, is perhaps
+the most charming of all this wonderful group of portraits.
+
+      A good man was ther of religioun,
+    And was a povre PERSOUN of a toun;
+    But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
+    He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
+    That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
+    His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
+    Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
+    And in adversitee ful pacient;
+    And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.
+    Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,
+    But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
+    Un-to his povre parisshens aboute
+    Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.
+    He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.
+    Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
+    But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
+    In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte
+    The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,
+    Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.
+    This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
+    That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
+    Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
+    And this figure he added eek ther-to,
+    That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
+    For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
+    No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
+    And shame it is, if a preest take keep,
+    A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.
+    Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,
+    By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.
+    He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
+    And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,
+    And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,
+    To seken him a chauntrie for soules,
+    Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
+    But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,
+    So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
+    He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.
+    And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,
+    He was to sinful man nat despitous,
+    Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,
+    But in his teching discreet and benigne.
+    To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,
+    By good ensample, was his bisinesse:
+    But it were any persone obstinat,
+    What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,
+    Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.
+    A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.
+    He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
+    Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
+    But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
+    He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.
+
+The Sompnour, _i.e._ Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts, was a
+scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were afraid of him: he
+loved strong meat and strong drink. If he found a good fellow anywhere
+he bade him have no fear of the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were
+in his purse.
+
+Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as the Monk, the
+Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his wallet pardons from Rome; and
+relics without end: all the imagination in the nature of certain classes
+was lavished upon the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power
+of imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of St.
+Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the Pardoner did.
+Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.
+
+    Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse
+    Is al my preching, for to make hem free
+    To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.
+
+It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a Limitour, and a
+Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge of religion: the first a man
+who dresses like a layman and thinks of nothing but of hunting--what,
+then, of the Rule? The second, and the third, are both corrupt and
+rotten to the very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual
+life had gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been described,
+figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times. They form the most
+trustworthy presentation of the time which we possess. The Knight is
+full of chivalry, truth, honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and
+lusty, is a lover and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have books than
+rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen were all well-to-do, in
+easy circumstances: the Physician was an astrologer, who understood
+natural magic, _i.e._ the influence of the stars; and made for his
+patients images: he knew the cause of every malady and how it was
+engendered--the profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in crimson and
+blue, lined with taffeta and silk--it would be interesting to know when
+physicians assumed the black dress of the last century. Lastly, his
+study was but little in the Bible.
+
+The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.
+
+    A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
+    That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
+    As lene was his hors as is a rake,
+    And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
+    But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
+    Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;
+    For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
+    Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
+    For him was lever have at his beddes heed
+    Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
+    Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
+    Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.
+    But al be that he was a philosophre,
+    Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
+    But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,
+    On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,
+    And bisily gan for the soules preye
+    Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
+    Of studie took he most cure and most hede.
+    Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
+    And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
+    And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.
+    Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,
+    And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
+
+Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in those days we
+should perhaps call a 'lower middle class' woman than that of the Wyf of
+Bath? She is dressed in all the splendour that she can afford: she
+frankly loves fine dress.
+
+    A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,
+    But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
+    Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
+    She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
+    In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
+    That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
+    And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
+    That she was out of alle charitee.
+    Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
+    I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
+    That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.
+    Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
+    Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.
+    Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
+    She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,
+    Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,
+    Withouten other companye in youthe;
+    But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.
+    And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;
+    She hadde passed many a straunge streem;
+    At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne
+    In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.
+    She coude muche of wandring by the weye.
+    Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
+    Up-on an amblere esily she sat,
+    Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat
+    As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
+    A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
+    And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
+    In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
+    Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,
+    For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything that is
+pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the restlessness of the
+woman: she can never have enough of pilgrimage: she loves the company:
+the change: the things that one sees: the people that one meets. She has
+journeyed three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne: apart from
+the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so good an Englishwoman
+would not neglect the saints of her own country: after Canterbury she
+would pilgrimise to Beverley and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and
+many a local saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her avowed
+intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth should die. Yet, she
+declared, she honoured holy virgins.
+
+    Let them be bred of purëd whete seed
+    And let us wyves eten barley brede:
+    And yet with barley bred men telle can
+    Our Lord Ihesù refreisshed many man.
+
+Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself sings the
+divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her nose: the Limitour plays
+on the rote: the Miller plays the bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full
+loud:' the Knight's son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an
+accomplishment was far more common in the fourteenth than in the
+nineteenth century.
+
+Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same as pilgrims.
+The latter, however, simply journeyed from home to the shrine and back
+again: the former was under vows of poverty, and continually travelled
+from shrine to shrine. The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore,
+palmers. The first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.
+
+When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow it is not
+intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French which was
+spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and by English ecclesiastics of
+higher rank. But why of Stratford le Bow? Because here was a
+Benedictine nunnery dating from the eleventh century. The beautiful
+little Parish Church of Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The
+Wyf of Bath is 'gat toothed,' _i.e._ her teeth are wide apart: Professor
+Skeat has discovered that an old superstition attaches to such teeth,
+that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who have such teeth will travel far
+and be lucky. Popular superstitions are so long lived that one has
+little doubt about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.
+
+[Illustration: PEDLAR
+
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_]
+
+Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the pilgrimage
+from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one day. Is not this
+conclusion based upon the fact that the last tale ends a day and the
+journey at the same time? Is there anything to prove that the
+pilgrimage could have been concluded in a day there and a day back? Why,
+I have said that it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the
+best: the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about three miles
+an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for refreshment. When Cardinal
+Morton journeyed from Lambeth to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he
+took a whole week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company of
+pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the Archbishop would
+not take so much as six days? Add to these considerations that Chaucer
+is a perfectly 'sane' writer: his work hangs together: it would have
+been impossible to get through all those stories with the intervals
+between and the times for rest in a single day.
+
+Another point occurs. There was at one time--I think--in the early days
+of pilgrimage--a special service appointed for the departure of
+pilgrims--a kind of consecration of the pilgrimage. There is no hint of
+such a service in Chaucer or in any other writer of the time, so far as
+I know. There is none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth
+century. One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the pilgrimage as
+a thing to be approached in an altogether reverential and religious
+spirit had quite gone out of it even when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of
+Erasmus.
+
+The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the manner of
+talk among the better class of people at that time, are curiously
+modern. Witness the description of the Parson and the Parson's Tale,
+which is a sermon: witness also the contempt and hatred of the poet for
+the shrines of religion: the impostor with his relics: the Sompnour and
+the Friar. Chaucer makes the two latter tell stories reflecting on each
+other, such great love had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The
+poet through his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:
+
+    I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose
+    To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.
+    And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende
+    To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
+    Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage
+    That highte Ierusalem celestial--
+
+and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage, taking for his
+text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand ye in the ways, and see,
+and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
+ye shall find rest for your souls.'
+
+[Illustration: MINSTRELS A.D. 1480]
+
+The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So was Erasmus. The riding
+all together: the festive meals at the inn: the mixture of men and women
+of all conditions: the change of thought and scene--could not but be
+useful and beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and revelry, with the
+'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains: that there was an idle parade
+of pretended relics, and an assumption of virtues and miracles for these
+relics: we can also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity
+that, when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as would
+load a big ship, were gathered together and burned, something was not
+introduced to take the place of pilgrimages and make the people move
+about and get acquainted with each other.
+
+What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the heretic?
+
+'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou
+considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest
+that thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well done,
+that pilgremys have with them both syngers and also pypers, that whan
+one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and
+hurteth hym sore, and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or
+his felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe
+for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with
+soche solace the trauell and werinesse of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE LADY FAIR
+
+
+The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The most ancient
+was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August, and annexed to the Priory
+by Henry I. St. James's Fair was held for the benefit of St. James's
+Lazar House: there was a Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to
+St. Katherine's Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded
+by Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton--the Horse
+Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham: at Lambeth. The Lady
+Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of comparatively late foundation,
+having been established in the year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV.
+empowering the City of London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on
+the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such
+fairs appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of the
+mediæval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that of Cloth
+Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon Cherry Fair: that of
+Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for cheese. Most of them, however,
+were general Fairs held for the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops
+were booths arranged in order side by side, and in streets. One street
+was for wool and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for
+spices: another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most towns had no
+trade except in provisions and drink. To the Fair people came from all
+quarters to buy or to sell: the country housewife laid in her stores of
+spices, sugar, wine, furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that
+she could not make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country within
+reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham, and Tooting, to
+buy their stores for the coming year. There was always, from the
+beginning, something of a festive nature about a Fair: the merry crowd
+suggested feasting and good company: the drinking tempted one on every
+side: there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.
+
+When internal communications were improved, and people could easily ride
+or drive to the neighbouring town, the permanent shop replaced the
+temporary booth, and the original purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it
+became, and continued until the end, merely a place of amusement, and,
+until it became riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses of
+the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the singular fact that the
+comic actor never ceases out of the land: I do not mean the man who can
+play a comic part to the admiration of beholders, but the man who has a
+genius for bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler, the
+posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and teacher of
+animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all trained to perform
+tricks: women danced on the tight rope: jugglers tossed knives and
+balls: men fought with quarterstaff, single-sticks, rapier, or fist:
+there were exhibitions of strange monsters: there were strange
+creatures. The nature of the show was proclaimed by a large painted
+canvas hung outside the booth.
+
+[Illustration: BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR]
+
+Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I saw in
+Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses dance and do other
+feates of activity on ye tight rope; they were gallantly clad _à la
+mode_, went upright, saluted the company, bowing and pulling off their
+hats; they saluted one another with as good a grace as if instructed by
+a dancing-master. They turn'd heels over head with a basket having eggs
+in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in their hands and
+on their heads without extinguishing them, and with vessels of water
+without spilling a drop. I also saw an Italian wench daunce and performe
+all the tricks of ye tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see
+her. Likewise here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'
+
+Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion was on September
+11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw
+Southwark Fair.' Eight years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of
+which he gives the following account:
+
+'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the
+puppet-show of Whittington, which is pretty to see; and how that idle
+thing do work upon people that see it, and even myself too! And thence
+to Jacob Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I never
+saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took acquaintance with a
+fellow who carried me to a tavern, whither came the music of this booth,
+and by and by Jacob Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak,
+whether he ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a mighty strong
+man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine, I away.'
+
+Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful picture of
+Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was in the daytime,
+remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not shrink from depicting scenes
+because they were brutal, or debauched--the pen that drew the Rake's
+midnight orgies could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent
+or abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture of the Fair
+in the evening as well as the afternoon we should have known why the
+City grew more and more disgusted at the orgies of the Lady Fair until
+it became impossible to tolerate it any longer.
+
+The Fair was held in the open street, between St. Margaret's Hill and
+St. George's Church. Beyond St. George's Church was open country, with a
+few houses, &c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical booths,
+Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres, that of Lee and
+Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of
+Troy.' At the other Theatre, there is a great show cloth called the
+Stage Mutiny, referring to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece
+promised is the 'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of
+the actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy playing a
+cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part with a magnificent
+wig and a towering plumed helmet. Alas! the great man is arrested at the
+moment of taking the picture: at the same moment the stage outside the
+booth gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.' There is
+a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter rides across the
+stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he has received: the dwarf
+Savoyard plays his bagpipe and makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's
+shop under the falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the
+slack rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower of St.
+George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer shows some of his
+tricks outside, but promises marvels inside the booth; the rustics gaze
+in speechless admiration in the face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we
+see the beginning of the line of booths, where everything was sold that
+was of no value--toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes, whips,
+canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings, cloth slippers,
+night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the yard, singing birds and
+cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter platters and mugs. All day long the
+noise went on: it began at noon: the people came from the country and
+from the city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time immemorial:
+the children were brought and treated to a fairing, the peep-show, and
+the play, and some gingerbread. In the afternoon the country lads
+wrestled for a hat--you can see the hat in the picture; and the girls
+ran a race for a smock--you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun of the fair
+began. Then all the quiet people within hearing stopped their ears: and
+all the decent people ran away: and the prentices, the rustics, the
+roughs of the Mint with their correspondencies of the other sex, had
+their own way until the weary players put out their footlights and lay
+down to sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the counters
+and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers' assistants. And then,
+one supposes, the prentices, the rustics, and the rogues went home
+again. And in the morning repentance and an aching head, and an empty
+purse.
+
+We may take it that all the amusements and shows which were brought out
+for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair while it lasted, were also
+exhibited at Southwark.
+
+The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to music and with
+singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds formed a large part of the
+Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,' there is an advertisement of dancing in
+a booth:
+
+'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S
+HEAD Musick Booth, in Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn,
+during the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine, Mum,
+Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be Sold; and where
+you will likewise be entertained with good Musick, Singing and Dancing.
+You will see a Scaramouch Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter
+Staff, the Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and the
+Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.
+
+'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and Jigg, and a Woman
+that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that we Challenge the whole Fair to
+do the like. There is likewise a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen
+Glasses on the Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and another Young
+Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well to the Admiration of all
+Spectators! _Vivat Rex!!_'
+
+And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair which we may very
+well believe to be Lady Fair. They tell us
+
+    How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,
+    The various fairings of the country maid.
+    Long silken laces hang upon the twine,
+    And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;
+    How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,
+    And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.
+    Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,
+    Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.
+    The lads and lasses trudge the street along,
+    And all the fair is crowded in his song.
+    The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells
+    His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;
+    Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,
+    And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;
+    Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,
+    Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.
+    Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,
+    Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.
+
+The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by the King's
+servants should have raised the character of the Fair. Perhaps it did.
+In any case, the Theatre of the Fair was not an unpromising place for a
+young actor to begin. The audience wanted nothing but the presentation
+of a story, and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in
+the fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He was
+therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials of his
+profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of the emotions. A
+stagey manner would be the result of too long continuance on these
+boards, but at the outset no kind of practice could be more useful.
+This was proved by the lovely Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the
+manager of Drury Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage, where she
+played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation of the finest
+actress and the most beautiful woman known up to that time.
+
+The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice in being able
+to remember one of these delightful shows. There was a great booth with
+a platform in front and canvas pictures hung up behind the platform. The
+orchestra occupied one end of the platform, playing with zeal between
+the performances. The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time: the clown and
+the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling, stood at the head of the
+broad stairs clanging cymbals and bawling that the play was just about
+to begin. The price of a seat was threepence, with a few rows at
+sixpence: the play lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of
+persecuted and virginal innocence--in white. The joy of the whole
+performance was to children beyond all power of words: the play: the
+music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the rollicking fun of the
+clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed by the roughness of the
+benches and the grass under our feet: and the general festivity of the
+noise, the music, the bawling outside make me remember Richardson's
+Theatre and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.
+
+I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially, a place
+in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that with so much dancing,
+drinking, love-making, singing, playing on the flowery slope that the
+authorities had to interfere. It is, indeed, a most melancholy
+circumstance that the people cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in
+the way they would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after
+the other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+
+(_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_)]
+
+May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable--those of
+Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair was founded in the year 1268,
+so that it was a very ancient institution, to be held on three days in
+the year--'the Eve, the day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of
+the Fair was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke, on
+October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a distinctive
+character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse Fair, Charlton became a
+Horn Fair. The obvious--and therefore popular--kind of fooling to be
+made out of horns and their associations--which are now quite lost and
+forgotten--as well as the day, which was also connected with those
+associations--made this Fair extremely popular. The people from London
+went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people from Greenwich and
+Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession, everyone wearing horns on
+his head, or carrying horns to affix to some other person's head. At the
+fair itself there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front: rams' horns
+were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the gingerbread was stamped
+with horns. The reason of this display was one quite forgotten by the
+people: viz. that a horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It
+was customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession, in
+women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see Chambers's 'Book of
+Days') in lashing the women with furze: probably in pretence only. The
+procession was discontinued in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.
+
+We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on Whit Monday. Long
+after Bartholomew Fair decayed and fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was
+one of the greatest holidays of the year for the London folk of the
+lower class. The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing
+in the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the fun of
+the booths and the shows.
+
+The former began early in the forenoon and went on until the evening.
+The people came down from London in boats for the most part, and by the
+Old Kent Road in vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the
+whole five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled with the
+working classes and the young men and maidens belonging to the working
+classes. The sports were primitive: the favourite amusement was for a
+line of youths and girls to run down hill hand in hand. The slope was
+steep, the pace was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling
+headlong or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the ring and
+thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing the Cockneys how to
+dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes through which could be seen the
+men hanging in chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or
+there were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every man, as it
+seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall into his arms.
+Outside the Park the street was filled with booths where everything
+could be bought, as at Lady Fair, which was worthless, including
+gingerbread. There were theatrical booths, shows of pictures,
+pantomimes, Punch and Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants,
+bearded ladies, mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of
+legerdemain, fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock
+fighting, and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening, beside
+the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The same cause which led to
+the suppression of the Lady Fair brought about that of Greenwich Fair.
+It was suppressed, I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in
+1851, but only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other, and making a
+noise, which, with the bellowing of the show folk, the blaring of the
+bands, the cries of the boys and girls on the merry-go-rounds, and the
+roar of the crowd, one will never forget. For my own part I am of
+opinion that the noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on
+in the evening would have gone on just as much outside the Fair as in
+it: and that it did very little harm to let the people enjoy themselves
+in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat drunken and somewhat
+indecent way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ST. MARY OVERIES
+
+
+London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty. One of
+them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great; the
+other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary Overy or Overies, now
+called St. Saviour's. This church, for some unknown reason, does not
+attract many English visitors. Americans go there in great numbers. It
+is so beautiful: it has so many historical associations: that I hope to
+interest more of our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the
+attractions of the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its
+history. These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47) given the
+legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two Norman knights, Pont
+de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the twelfth century, found here a
+small Religious House, called the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which
+had been created by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary
+herself was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the Lady
+Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies, which ought to be
+restored to the Church, seems to mean, not St. Mary of the Ferry, or St.
+Mary over the River, but St. Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or
+Shore. These two knights founded a new and larger House on the site of
+Mary Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to discover,
+if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman House fell into
+poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had the additional misfortune to
+lose these buildings and their Church, which were in great part, if not
+altogether, destroyed by the great fire of that year. A hundred years
+later the monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide the
+bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful: that their
+Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that condition for thirty
+years; that they had been unable to rebuild any of it except the
+campanile; and that they lived in constant terror of being inundated by
+the Thames. This shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall
+into a neglected state. At the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort--Shakespeare's Cardinal Beaufort--contributed largely
+to the rebuilding of the Church. Another benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the last years of his life, died here, and was
+buried in the Church. The monument of John Gower stands in the north
+aisle of the newly built nave. The Religious of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone who would
+say a prayer for the soul of the poet.
+
+[Illustration: A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+[Illustration: SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the Bishop of
+Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene of many important
+historical events. Just as Blackfriars was used for political Functions;
+just as Wyclyf was tried in St. Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies
+was used on occasions when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the
+matter in hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in 1406, with
+Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride was given away by Henry
+IV., and her dowry was 100,000 ducats. At her death she left the canons
+6,000 crowns for the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of James the
+First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure in Scottish history, a
+poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond of Hawthornden wrote that 'of
+former Kings it might be said that the nation made the Kings, but of
+this King, that he made the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being
+then thirty years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of Cardinal
+Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King Henry IV. The royal pair
+rode forth to Scotland laden with such gifts of plate and cloth of gold
+as Scotland had never before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal
+and his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the King was
+murdered in the presence of his wife, who was wounded in trying to save
+him, a sad ending to a marriage of love, and a tragic widowhood to the
+woman whom her poet had called
+
+    The fairest and the freshest younge flower
+    That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800]
+
+In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put out, and the
+place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose son became Viscount Montague
+and gave his new name to the ancient close of the Monastery. In the
+following year the Church was made a Parish Church, including the church
+of Mary Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St.
+Peter-le-Poor stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together with the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The nave gradually
+became ruinous and was taken down in 1838, when a new nave, the memory
+of which makes the whole Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put
+up. Its floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick wall. This
+terrible building has now been taken down and a nave rebuilt after the
+pattern of the original structure of the fourteenth century. Thus
+reconstructed, the church will soon, it is hoped, become the Cathedral
+Church of the Diocese of Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral
+organisation, being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The Church
+can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished company of the
+dead than can be found in most London churches. Here are buried,
+probably, Mary herself, the original founder, if she is not a legendary
+person: Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long line of
+unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the Augustinian House: John
+Gower, on whose monument can still be read the prayers he wrote for his
+own soul:
+
+    En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Père
+    Sauvé soit qui gist sous cest pierre.
+
+[Illustration: CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the first Duke of
+Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, is buried in the
+Lady Chapel, where his monument can be seen in black and white marble;
+Dyer the poet, who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence Fletcher, one of
+the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in the Church, 1608; Philip
+Henslow, the manager, buried in the chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried
+in the Church, 1625; Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' _i.e._ belonging to
+some other parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones in
+the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher, Edmund
+Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to record that they are
+buried somewhere in the Church.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+
+(_From a Drawing by Whichelo_)]
+
+Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure, commonly found in
+mediæval churches, of a body wasted by death: a wooden effigy of a
+knight: a monument to a quack of Charles the Second's time, and
+monuments to certain persons now forgotten; on one some lines in
+imitation of Herrick:
+
+    Like to the damask rose you see
+    Or like the blossom on the tree,
+    Or like the dainty flower of May,
+    Or like the morning of the day,
+    Or like the sun, or like the shade,
+    Or like the gourd which Jonas had,
+      Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,
+      Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.
+      The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,
+      The flower fades, the morning hasteth,
+      The sun sets, the shadow flies,
+      The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.
+
+The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things surviving of mediæval
+London, was very nearly destroyed by the ignorant Vandalism of about the
+year 1835. It was necessary in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west
+of the old Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:
+
+'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for the better
+display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that the Lady Chapel was
+swept away. The matter appeared in a fair way for being thus settled,
+when Mr. Taylor sounded the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas
+Saunders, Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners, however,
+decided to accept the proposals of the Committee. In the meantime, the
+gentlemen we have named were indefatigable in their exertions; and they
+were effectively seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there
+was a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and on a poll
+being demanded and obtained, there ultimately appeared the large
+majority of 240 for its preservation. The excitement of the hour was
+prudently used to obtain funds to restore it, which has been most
+successfully accomplished.'
+
+I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the Bishop, as being
+close to the Priory. On any map may be traced the extent of the Palace.
+On the north is Clink Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of
+the street; on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place; on
+the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the east is a street
+running south from St. Mary Overies Church. Winchester House, which thus
+covered a large piece of ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a
+wall. Many of the buildings, especially the great gate, remained
+standing almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony of a
+Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house must therefore
+be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for their accommodation.
+The map must not be accepted as laying down the exact site, the
+distances or the scale, or the arrangement of the courts and buildings.
+
+We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions and of the
+Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary and Winchester House had a
+good deal to do.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many melancholy
+sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, presided at a Court
+held in St. Mary Overies Church for the trial of heretics. The court was
+actually held in the Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they were found
+obstinate: they were committed to the Clink Prison hard by: on the next
+day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome, Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and
+several others, they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow at the
+uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty Taylor, end their
+course and receive their crowne. The next am I, which hourly looke for
+the Porter to open me the gates after them, to enter into the desired
+rest.'
+
+So began those fires from which the cause of Roman Catholicism long
+suffered, and is even now still suffering. For the popular judgment does
+not discern and separate. The burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped
+together in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The names,
+places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms as given by
+Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's advisers had deliberately
+done their best to make their form of Faith odious and hateful, they
+could not have devised a better plan than the burning of the people for
+religion's sake. It is generally thought and believed that the
+indignation of the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and
+preachers burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men do
+not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a Thomas More on
+his way to the block: or of a Cromwell: with equal indifference: these
+statesmen do not belong to the life of the people. In the Marian
+persecution they heard that Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at
+Oxford, but they offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that
+Ridley and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt, touched
+the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves. When,
+however, they found that not only Bishops and great people, but also
+their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were taken out from their
+workshops and tied three or four together to the stake, where they
+suffered the agonies of the fire and still continued to pray aloud with
+firmness: then the lesson went straight home to them; and for many a
+generation to come the people learned to loathe the very name of the
+religion which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred for
+believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.
+
+It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution were
+taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously taught from many
+centres. There were burnings at Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at
+Westminster: beyond St. George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the
+vast crowds which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear
+and hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary, 1556. 'The
+xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow, in iii cares
+xiij, xj men and ij women, and there bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and
+there where a xx M pepull.'
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to Smythfield to
+berne between vii and viij in the morning v men and ij women: on of the
+men was a gentyllman of the endor tempull, ys nam Master Grén; and they
+were all bornyd by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment
+throughe London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a tyme.'
+
+Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds gathered together
+to witness the sufferings of the victims, and to note their constancy in
+the hour of agony; secondly, that the authorities were becoming alarmed
+at the effect which these examples might have upon the young. No young
+people were permitted to be present. We may be sure that the prohibition
+was openly defied.
+
+As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires began, stricken,
+said his enemies, by the hand of God in punishment for his cruelties.
+His physicians, I believe, called it gout in the stomach, a reading
+which one prefers, because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them,
+and after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase, in
+the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which began at the
+church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued all the way to Winchester,
+where the place of his burial and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.
+
+Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it shall suffice. It
+must be remembered that Gardiner was not only a very great person, but
+that he was also believed to be the natural son of Bishop Woodville,
+and, if the belief was well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the
+Queen. But this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.
+
+[Illustration: A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK]
+
+'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the most reverentt
+father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and bysshope of Wynchastur,
+prelett of the gartter, and latte chansseler of England, and on of the
+preve consell unto Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded;
+and so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth of gold, and
+with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys bornyng, and
+iiij grett tapurs; and my lord Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord
+bysshope of Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and the morow
+masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the sarmon; and so masse
+done, and so to dener to my lord Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse
+was putt in-to a wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower
+the corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys armes, and v
+gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes and hods, then ij harolds in
+ther cote armur, master Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng,
+carehyng of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the way; and
+then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the nombur unto ij C. a-for
+and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges cam prestes and clarkes with crosse
+and sensyng, and ther thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to
+ever parryche tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as cam
+to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790]
+
+The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the south side of
+the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied that part of the ground on
+the north of the nave: the refectory, chapter house and dormitories, and
+other buildings stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary Overies Dock, which
+was also the south end of the ferry. The dock is there still, but where
+the wall of the Monastery stood, round the Garden, and one could see the
+orchards beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the Cloister
+stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct--there was
+certainly another on the side of the High Street--stood close to the
+west front of the Church. The Cloister received the name of Montagu
+Close, after the son of Sir Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If
+you pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a few
+fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in the wall of the
+Church; but all traces of the monastic buildings are entirely swept
+away.
+
+The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In post-Reformation
+times there was a school here--St. Saviour's school; there were also
+almshouses; there was a peaceful quiet kind of close, in which was heard
+the buzz of the boys in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in
+the sun; one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church lay the bones
+of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see Bishop Hooper and John
+Rogers stepping forth into the sunlight, their trial over, their
+sentence passed: their cheeks, perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes
+somewhat brightened, because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a
+man's courage must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian waded
+through the river, before they reached the shore beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE SHOW FOLK
+
+
+Southwark was a city of a various population. It had great Houses for
+nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns for the reception of
+merchants, coming up from Kent and the south country: it had a riverside
+people of fishermen and watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or
+down stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number of
+residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens which spread over
+the whole of the rich low-lying land now embanked, secure from floods
+and the highest tides. It contained, besides, a large number of rogues
+and vagabonds, fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called
+sanctuary, where the officers of the law did not dare to present
+themselves. In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the end of the
+last century, when the so-called Liberties of the Mint'--the last place
+of sanctuary--were finally abolished and only a slum remained to mark
+the site of a sanctuary.
+
+[Illustration: WINCHESTER PALACE]
+
+Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show Folk of Bankside.
+When the Show Folk began to live in Bankside I know not: their
+settlement originally was in Westminster outside the King's Palace,
+where there was always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling,
+mumming and such recreative performances; they were also, however, in
+great request in London by City Church, city company, and city tavern.
+Now there was no place for them within the walls: they had no company:
+there was neither a Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a
+Mummers'; nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which would
+admit them; there was no ward where they could get a street for
+themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed out. And not only were
+they a class apart but they were a class in contempt. It was always held
+contemptible to provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long time after,
+would take part in the buffoonery which the actor had then to exhibit:
+an atmosphere of disrepute attached to the calling, to those who
+followed the calling, and to the place where they lived: in the City,
+Aldermen had a way of connecting nocturnal disorders with these children
+of melody: where they resorted the taverns would carry on their
+revelries after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with the
+dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the Church Puritanic,
+set her face against those who devised entertainments, on the ground
+that the devisers were an ungodly and dissolute crew. Therefore they
+crossed the river. On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the
+City could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose--Heaven knows whether they did choose--without
+reproach: their taverns kept open house as long as they would stop to
+drink: there was singing every day without interference: there was
+merriment without the rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of
+being haled before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was no
+terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river was 'put in
+stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o' Sunday.' It was the Bishop
+of Winchester's Liberty, but he was content, on the whole, to leave the
+residents unmolested and in the possession of their guitars, their
+fiddles, their songs and their plays.
+
+[Illustration: THE GLOBE THEATRE
+
+(_From the Crace Collection_)]
+
+When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy for them to go
+across: they were ready at a moment's notice to arrange a pageant, or to
+take part in one: they could provide the beauteous maidens in white with
+long fair tresses who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold
+rose nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found hermits,
+and constructed caves for those godly men in the midst of Gracious
+Street: they found the music for the dragging of the traitor on a
+hurdle: for the march of the rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the
+Lord Mayor: for the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a
+miracle play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man: the
+Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and Goliath: or any
+other episode from the Bible--how many excellent players there were
+among them whose names have long since been forgotten! They knew how to
+present a Masque--not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by Ben
+Jonson and Inigo Jones--who commanded the King's purse--but a neat and
+creditable affair, with dresses appropriate, full of surprises, and
+furnished with mythological characters, for the Hall of a City Company
+on the day of the Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more
+debauched kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests--pity they were
+not rarer--and excellent fooling by their clowns. The modern art of
+acting did not begin at the Globe Theatre: there has never been any time
+when the actor was unknown: the only difference is that he was not
+formerly allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his _répertoire_: and now he is an artist and scorns the
+tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment of modern
+invention. The Company of Parish Clerks, for instance, were great
+promoters of sacred plays. Their poets--whose names are entirely
+lost--provided the words and arranged the scenes; the members of the
+company played the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they
+provided the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music. Many of the
+Parish Churches had their annual play on their Saint's Day. Thus the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret, which was taken down when St. Mary
+Overies' became St. Saviour's, had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July
+20), and often another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well. We
+have already observed that the Londoner of old never made any difference
+in the matter of Play or Pageant whether the time was summer or winter.
+He was like the Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his
+Riding, or his Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in
+July.
+
+Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal, were the people
+who looked after the bears and the dogs. Bull baiting, bear baiting,
+sometimes horse baiting, together with badger baiting, duck hunting,
+cock throwing, dog fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and
+common sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was wherever
+there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the centre and headquarters
+of the sport was South London, in the place called Paris Gardens. The
+popularity of the sport is shown by the simple facts that there was not
+only bull and bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or
+amphitheatres for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite St.
+George's Church, there was permanently established the bull ring to
+which an animal could be tied whenever one was found fit for the purpose
+of affording an hour's sport by the madness of his rage or the agonies
+of his death.
+
+The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the site of Paris
+Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They extended to the distance
+of about a quarter of a mile south of the river: sluggish streams and
+ditches ran across and round the gardens, which were so thickly planted
+with trees as to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil. These gardens
+were the chief home of the rough and cruel sports already mentioned:
+here were kept under the King's bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's
+dogs; and the bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young bull that
+was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears were not killed, they
+were all known to the people by name, such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson,
+and were valued in proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who
+with the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought over every day
+from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly fierce and savage. In
+these days we hardly know what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has
+become peaceful: formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog
+who was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was trained
+to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to wayfarers--remember
+the dog in the second part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always
+biting and rending some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed
+only by affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these days.
+Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull dogs who feared
+no one but their master, a man might journey from end to end of the
+country armed with nothing but a club. Such a dog would fight and would
+overcome a man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and stronger
+than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had horns and hoofs to
+dodge: but the bear afforded the best sport both for man and dog: he
+presented a nose and ears and a thick fur on which to spring, and to
+fasten the canine teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn
+and bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though in the
+end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the inside of the dog,
+with the heart and the breath of life!
+
+It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In a contemporary
+Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors, on May 25, 1559, were
+entertained at Court with a dinner, and after dinner with a bull and
+bear baiting, the Queen herself looking on from a gallery: the next day
+they were taken down the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris
+Gardens. Forty years later James the First entertained the Spanish
+Ambassador after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg paid a visit
+to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in London the English
+dogs, of which there were about 120, all kept in the same enclosure, but
+each in a separate kennel.
+
+'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two bears and a
+bull were baited; at such times you can perceive the breed and mettle of
+the dogs, for although they receive serious injuries from the bears,
+are caught by the horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as
+frequently to fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them back by
+the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at once were set on the
+bull; they, however, could not gain any advantage over him, for he so
+artfully contrived to ward off their attacks that they could not well
+get at him; on the contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by
+striking and butting at them.'
+
+[Illustration: BEAR GARDEN]
+
+And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is furnished by
+Hentzner in 1598:
+
+'There is still another place, built in the form of a Theatre, which
+serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they are fastened behind, and
+then worried by those great English dogs (_quos linguâ vernaculâ
+"Docken" appellant_), and mastiffs, but not without great risks to the
+dogs from the teeth of the one and the horns of the other, and it
+sometimes happens they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are
+immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded
+bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing in a circle with
+whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy; although he
+cannot escape from them because of his chain, he nevertheless defends
+himself vigorously, throwing down all who come within his reach and are
+not active enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English
+are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed, which in America is called
+_Tobaca_--others call it _PÅ“tum_--[i.e. _Petun_, the Brazilian name for
+Tobacco, from which the allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its
+appellation,] and generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose
+made of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry
+that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they draw the smoke
+into their mouths, which they puff out again through their nostrils like
+funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head. In
+these Theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the
+season, are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'
+
+Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about the country
+leading a bear which they offered to be baited for so much an hour at
+the inns which they passed. The master of the 'King's Game' had power to
+seize upon any mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and
+to bait in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn, both
+actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had licence to
+apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and bulls.
+
+There was another place where the refining influence of the bear baiting
+might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved in the lane called Bear
+Garden Alley. In Agas's map of 1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the
+'Bear Baiting:' a little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called
+the 'Bull Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings
+erected for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition to
+the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary. It is learnedly
+discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). The Spanish
+Ambassador in 1544 describes a bear baiting--but he does not say exactly
+where he saw it. 'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think,
+however, that he must mean Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears, some of them
+very large; they are driven into a circus, where they are confined by a
+long rope, while large and courageous dogs are let loose upon them as if
+to be devoured, and a fight takes place. It is not bad sport to witness
+the conflict. The large bears contend with three or four dogs, and
+sometimes one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves with
+their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their forelegs, that, if
+they were not rescued by their masters, they would be suffocated. At the
+same place a pony is baited, with a monkey on its back, defending itself
+against the dogs by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony, render the
+scene very laughable.'
+
+In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain 'Epigrams' against
+abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p.
+8).
+
+                  Every Sunday they will spend
+    One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.
+    At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail
+    To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.
+
+Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris Gardens, because
+an accident happened there.
+
+'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure of the clock in
+the afternoon, the old and under-propped scaffolds round about the Beare
+Garden, commonly called Paris Garden, on the south side of the great
+river Thames over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons, men and women,
+were slaine and many others sore hurt and bruised to the shortening of
+their lives. A friendly warning to all that delight themselves in the
+cruelties of beastes than in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true,
+professed faith, which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)
+
+The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.
+
+The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance, might get loose.
+Once the blind bear got loose: it was on December 9, 1554, and on the
+Bankside, probably at the amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught
+a serving man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by the
+hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).
+
+Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs spring up a rabble
+rout who made their living by them: the bearward, the serving man who
+kept the kennels, fed the dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears,
+looked after the amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided
+the drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there is a
+small square place which I take to be the survival of an open court in
+front of the circus. There is here a small tavern: the house itself is
+not ancient, but I believe that it stands on the site of the house which
+provided wine and beer for the spectators of the bear baiting. These
+sports, with others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds
+of people gathering together: the music which accompanied everything:
+caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places. Another attraction
+to the place may be only hinted at in these pages. Suffice it to say
+that all the profligate, all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the
+lovers of sport among the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside
+every evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and there
+they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured animals to
+their hearts' content.
+
+It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond it--the
+pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into the open country on
+every side of the City walls, but there was no place so pleasant as the
+Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside: none that offered so many and such
+various attractions. The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a
+play was forward: the number of those who loved the play more than the
+baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the citizens did
+not love the green fields and the woods: and these lay behind Paris
+Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking of the dogs and the roar of the
+crowd and the blare of the music and the stink of the kennels. Every
+summer evening the river was crowded with the boats taking the people
+across to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and Old
+Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As for the watermen,
+John Taylor, the water poet, says that there were 40,000 of them plying
+between Windsor and Gravesend, while the number of people who were
+carried over every day to the plays on Bankside was three or four
+thousand. Forty thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen in mid
+stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the highway between
+London and all riverside places; between London and Westminster; between
+London and Southwark, because even if one lived close to the bridge it
+was easier and quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over
+the bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people across the
+river every day would not want more than a thousand boats or two
+thousand watermen: at the same time the loss of their custom, which
+happened when the people went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for
+their play, would be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.
+
+We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting attracted less than
+the play acting: when the amphitheatres were turned into theatres: and
+when Bankside became the residence of the poets and the players. They
+came; unfortunately the other people did not go away. There remained the
+tribe of them who made the music and found the dancers and the tumblers,
+the mummers and the conjurers: there remained the men--a rough and
+brutal lot--who looked after the bears and the dogs: the men who wielded
+quarterstaff and showed sword play, a swaggering and bullying company:
+there remained the young bloods who came over from their peaceful shops
+and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation and talk of the
+place: there remained the ribald crew of men and women who naturally
+belong to such gatherings. There was another population at Westminster
+outside the King's House like unto this at Southwark: these, too,
+existed for the amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest class of
+London City. The poets came, therefore, to this place in order to be
+near these theatres: they brought no improvement in example, in morals,
+or in manners: they lived among the people, and their lives were mostly
+as disorderly and their morals as loose as the company among whom they
+walked and talked.
+
+Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be noted, consisted of
+two parts, the one wholly distinct from the other. The first part was
+the High Street with its four churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's,
+St. Olave's, and St. Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two
+Debtors' Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented by
+merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of packhorses, and
+of receiving as many waggons as could fill the courtyard. The Palaces
+were mostly gone, turned into inns or tenements. The whole place was a
+great House of Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no
+civic or corporate existence. But it was respectable.
+
+The other part lay on the west of the High Street, stretching along the
+river nearly as far as Lambeth. This was the disreputable quarter, the
+place of amusement: the people who lived there, one and all, made the
+providing of amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of
+livelihood. It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was sold, and
+there were no booths except those of Ursula, with roast sucking pig,
+black puddings, custards, and gingerbread. From every tavern all day
+long came the tinkling of the guitar and the trolling of some lusty
+voice and the silvery notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon
+because nature taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head
+from side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and pipe
+going before him. After him came the dogs straining at the chain which
+held them, barking madly in anticipation of the fight. Or it was a young
+bull who was led by two men to the ring where he would defend his life
+as long as the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of citizens and
+their wives, who made for the theatre where the flag was flying. On the
+open bank were placed tables for those who drank: the balladmonger sang
+his songs and sold them afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and
+went through his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London was there a
+scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than on Bankside, on an
+afternoon or evening in the summer. And then to go home again across the
+broad and peaceful river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the
+river, like the sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats,
+and still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the soft
+breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp, and the
+voices of those who sang, and the baying of the hounds from Paris
+Gardens.
+
+The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves many questions,
+and may be safely left to the antiquarian historian. The reader will
+find most of these questions raised and settled in a book, already
+quoted here, by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses, here as
+early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII. Gardiner proposed to have
+a solemn dirge in memory of the King, but, he complained to the Council,
+the players of Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in earnest.'
+
+Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether they acted in
+the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had a moveable stage, I do not
+know. It is, however, quite certain that before the end of the sixteenth
+century there were four theatres in Bankside--the _Rose_, whose site was
+somewhere in Rose Alley: the _Hope_ in Bear Garden Lane: the _Swan_ in
+Paris Gardens--that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars Road, not
+far from the Bridge: and the _Globe_. The site of the Globe is generally
+allowed to have been at a spot 150 feet south of Park Street, close to
+the Southwark Bridge Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more
+or less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously to
+the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player lived beside the theatre,
+and the place was the pleasure resort of the people, and the haunt of
+sporting men, and the school of the citizens, in history at least: and
+the pride and glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and villanies
+practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness of those who lived
+upon the Bank.
+
+The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those milder attacks
+which threatened from time to time were a deadly enemy to the players,
+for then the theatre must be closed and the Bear Garden too, for in
+crowds there was infection. Think what it meant to close these places of
+resort. The Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper--the Company: there were the
+servants 'in the front' and the servants behind, the 'supers,' the money
+takers, the boys who went round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale,
+new books and tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres must have thrown
+out of employ many hundreds of men, and, if we consider their wives and
+families, many thousands of people. Can we wonder if the players, one
+and all, were Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which
+allowed them their daily bread?
+
+[Illustration: The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616]
+
+But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit prevailed. When the
+Parliament conquered, the theatres were doomed. And in 1655, by command
+of Thomas Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same year it is
+mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been destroyed to make room for
+tenements.
+
+The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic spirit was rapidly
+growing stronger could not possibly be held in good repute. There was
+dancing in it: music: mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these
+things the misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The Mayor,
+long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never allow a theatre to
+be set up within his jurisdiction: had that jurisdiction extended beyond
+the various Bars: had there not, fortunately, happened to exist certain
+illogical and absurd Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no
+authority, there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare, no Ben
+Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things happened, we have to note
+the very remarkable fact that while the popular love for the theatre
+increased year by year; while the theatre became the teacher of history,
+the satirist of manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers
+and preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not at
+all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into the hands of
+the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the father of one of the
+most famous players, Nathan Field, wrote to the Earl of Leicester as
+early as 1585 reviling him for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil
+men as of late you did for players, to the great griefe of all the
+godly,' and adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes and
+plays.' And the same divine, two years later, wrote an attack upon the
+theatre in consequence of the accident at Paris Gardens which has been
+already mentioned. The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War,
+but it was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration allowed
+it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism continues, in a
+now feeble and impotent way, to consider the Theatre as the chosen home
+of the Devil.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE]
+
+Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready to meet all
+comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary
+Overies, denounced the Theatre and all connected with it. Field answered
+him manfully, telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in
+preaching from his pulpit against people who are licensed and
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal to the task
+of covering the preacher with derision; but derision seldom convinces or
+converts.
+
+The general opinion of players remains that they have at all times been
+a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;' borrowing; spending
+their money in riotous living. This opinion is not by any means always
+true. The musician, the mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all
+regarded much in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight
+like the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did not,
+like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not heal the sick;
+they knew no law; their only function in the world was to amuse; to make
+men laugh. It is very remarkable that directly the players ceased to be
+dependent on noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform, they became
+prudent men of business. They may have been a cheerful tribe; they were,
+however, well to do, and, so far as can be learned, a thrifty tribe.
+They made money, not by writing plays, nor by acting them, but by being
+shareholders in the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare, all appear to
+have lived in comfort, and to have died possessed of moderate fortunes.
+
+The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always been, penniless
+and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth century the earliest of the
+dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele, Nash, Greene--that turbulent roystering
+profligate band whom everybody loved while everybody reproved--had
+passed away. The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives. Yet they
+were often harassed for want of money. Three of them, Massinger, Field
+and Daborne, write to Henslow asking for an advance of 5_l._ on the
+security of a play which is worth ten pounds in addition to what they
+have had. All those, in fact, were poor, and remained poor, who
+attempted to live by poetic literature alone.
+
+The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let us consider the
+Company of Actors who played at the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the
+Lion, and lived on and near the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's
+(see Rendle's 'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the
+actors who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised here
+or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately, does not
+occur. Among the actors, and first and chief, was Richard Burbage--like
+Shakespeare, a Warwickshire man. In person he was under the middle
+stature, and grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who built the very
+first permanent theatre--called The Theatre at Shoreditch. In
+consequence of a dispute with the landlord, he pulled down the house,
+carried the timbers across the river to Bankside, and set up the Globe.
+
+There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded Tarlton in that line.
+He was a great dancer: on one occasion he danced all the way from
+Norwich to London, taking nine days for the work: he was accompanied by
+one Thomas Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with him along
+the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow of infinite drollery,
+with jokes and acting such as pleased the 'groundlings' well. There was
+a kind of entertainment popular at the time called a jig. It was a
+monologue for the most part, but might be played by two or more, in
+which the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was like
+the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This worthy lived
+in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of his death.
+
+Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He also lived in the
+Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long. He survived the
+suppression of Theatres, and in his old age had no craft or art or
+mastery by which to earn his bread save that which was proscribed. He
+wrote for assistance to a patron, and he quoted the lover's words
+applied to the beggar:
+
+    Silence in love betrays more woe
+      Than words, though ne'er so witty;
+    The beggar that is dumb, you know,
+      Deserves a double pity.
+
+Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be forgotten. He attracted
+Tarlton's attention when a mere boy. The veteran comedian adopted him
+and taught him. I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor
+to that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester as--
+
+    Honest gamesome Robert Armin,
+    That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.
+
+I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he was also Nathan
+Field the dramatist. He brought into the latter profession the
+carelessness about money that belonged to the former. There are
+indications--only indications, it is true--that there was in him
+something of the temperament of a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a
+constitutional inability to understand the meaning of addition and
+subtraction or the translation of money into its equivalent in eating
+and drinking. He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'
+
+    Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;
+    And is the true Othello of the poet:
+    I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,
+    That like the character he is most jealous.
+    If it be so, and many living sweare it,
+    It takes not little from the actor's merit,
+    Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,
+    Field can display the passion to the life.
+
+Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and Armin, carried on the
+traditions of low comedy. He was great in the invention of 'jigs.' A
+notable 'jig' was that called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several
+performers took part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a
+'Schanke, a player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news that there had
+been a great battle in which the London Companies had been cut to
+pieces, and 20,000 men had fallen on both sides. They spread their news
+as they rode through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle at all,
+but that those three men--Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Whitney, and one
+Schanke, a player--were simply runaways. Therefore they were all clapped
+in the Gatehouse, and brought to undergo punishment according to martial
+law 'for their base cowardliness.'
+
+One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians never becomes
+extinct. That power of always seizing on the comic side in everything,
+of always being able to make an audience laugh throughout a whole piece,
+is never, happily, taken away from a world which would be too sad
+without it. Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the comic man,
+whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as humorous as his words,
+never fails us. Tarlton is followed by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by
+Schanke. So Robson follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.
+
+There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier finds out what
+parts they played and where they lived. Alas! He tells us no more.
+Perhaps there is no more to tell. The rank and file of the theatrical
+company are never a very interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey,
+Eccleston, Cowley, Cooke, Sly, Argan--they are shadows that have long
+since passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten by
+the audience the day after they were dead. Why seek to revive their
+memory when there is not a single solitary fact to go upon? A bone would
+be something: out of the skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct
+his life, with all the adventures, love-making, disappointments,
+distresses and triumphs.
+
+We know the place where they all lived; the place of a continual Fair
+without any booths, yet everything offered for sale: the music to cheer
+your heart--you could command it had you money in purse; the wine to
+raise your courage--you could call for it; the dancing to charm your
+eye--any girl would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts--but you must pay for your seat; the jig to
+bring you back to the level of earth--or perhaps a little lower--you
+could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of the Swan in the Hoope
+were directed to your purse; the ruffians belonging to the kennels and
+the bear garden; the drawers of the taverns and the sack and the
+tobacco, the boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The
+players lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd: sometimes one of
+their women is ducked for a shrew; one of them is clapped in the Clink
+Prison: some are haled before the Bishop for acting in Lent--these
+unreasonable people really object to starving in Lent! And the place and
+the people and their manners and customs are deplorable but delightful;
+they are picturesque to the highest degree, but they are equally
+reprehensible. I wish we could go back four hundred years and see and
+listen for ourselves: but with all our admiration for the Elizabethan
+drama, I do not think that I should like to be one of the Show Folk or
+to live with them in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of
+the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+BELOW BRIDGE
+
+
+'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes: Horselydown,
+Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich, and Woolwich. The railway
+has ruined one end of Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St.
+Olave's Street. Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at
+all. Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow street was
+once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had here, opposite St.
+Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here the Abbot of St. Augustine
+had his Inn: and here, we have seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf.
+Here was the Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across the
+bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient, to Tooley Stairs;
+some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay
+along Tooley Street and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and
+gardens: a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St. Saviour's
+Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most industrious in the whole of
+London. It is called Horselydown, the derivation of which seems obvious,
+but derivations are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take it
+for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at Roques' map of
+1745, that there were meadows where horses grazed as soon as the
+embankment was up, and the ground drained. There was some kind of common
+here at one time: here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites
+were buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The industries
+made their appearance in the eighteenth century, but they came
+gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable variety as regards
+occupations. All along the river and the bank of the Dock, formerly
+Savoy Dock, there are wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries,
+leather warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin dyeing works,
+breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper mills, dyeing works, dog's
+food manufactories, vinegar works, bottle works, iron foundries, wooden
+hoop manufactories, cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit
+manufactories, oil and colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works,
+and distilleries. All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses are houses for
+the workmen and the foremen. On the south side stands the Church, almost
+the ugliest Church in London: next to the Church is, or was, a few years
+ago, a street which has something of the look and feeling of a Close.
+
+It is a great pity that in the whole of South London lying east of the
+High Street there is not a single beautiful, or even picturesque Church.
+Look at them! St. Olave's, St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It cannot be
+pretended that these structures inspire veneration or even respect. You
+may see drawings of them in Maitland. St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737,
+St. John's, Horselydown, in 1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the
+steeple was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of the
+church architecture of nearly the same period.
+
+[Illustration: A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+
+(_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_)]
+
+Of all the quarters and parts of London that of Horselydown is the least
+known and the least visited, except by those whose business takes them
+there every day. There is, in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves
+block out the river: the warehouses darken the streets, the places where
+people live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make one desire
+to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock, we find ourselves in quite
+a different quarter: the wharves are arranged along the river wall,
+called the Bermondsey Wall, but behind the wharves there are fewer
+factories and more people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to
+live in: of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even any
+access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs: the 'works' are
+those whose near neighbourhood is not generally desired: places where
+they make leather and curry it: or where they make glue or vinegar.
+Fortunately, however, the good people of Bermondsey are spared the
+handling of tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and it occupies,
+including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe,
+something like a quarter of a million, which is a good-sized city in
+itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's Dock we may step aside to look
+at two streets, which fifty years ago represented the lowest kind of
+vice and brutality, and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street
+and London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to adorn his
+'Oliver Twist'--lugged in, for indeed it does not belong there.
+
+The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's 'London
+Illustrated' in the year 1806.
+
+The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of the dirt has been
+washed away.
+
+It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's cottages or
+residences which shall be beautiful. First there is the slum with a row
+of two- or four-roomed cottages in a narrow court: the windows are
+broken: the banisters of the staircase are broken away to be burned: the
+sanitary appliances are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step is to build
+streets for working men in places where the ground is not too valuable.
+Thus the town of Bromley near Bow sprang into existence. It consists
+entirely of monotonous streets with monotonous houses, all small, all
+ugly, all built after the same pattern: the result being dreary and
+dispiriting. Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating the
+working classes by the hundred thousand. There is not the smallest
+attempt at making these places beautiful: they are simple cubes of grey
+brick with rows and lines of windows. Outside they may be models of
+economy in space. Once within, they may be models of convenience; but
+there is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family on
+family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated by the
+founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy; the children are
+demoralised: there are dangers not expected, and temptations not
+considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses of Southwark and
+Bermondsey are not, in every respect, adapted to a model population.
+
+It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to get at the
+river, except at two or three spots where the old stairs can be
+approached by a narrow passage. There is an embankment or terrace: the
+whole bank is occupied for commercial purposes: business men do not like
+strangers on these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If, however,
+the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes--say, on Saturday
+afternoon--get down to the stairs and look out upon the river, he will
+see close at hand, not only the ships and barges that lie about the
+wharves, but the grand new Watergate of London, the most appropriate
+entrance that could be devised to the port--the new Tower Bridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814]
+
+Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began the houses, until
+fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until Rotherhithe itself
+consisted of little more than a single street, with docks, and stairs,
+and taverns on the riverside, and on the other side lanes leading to
+cottages and cottage gardens. The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807,
+but the place still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river flowed on the
+north and east. Like all the country about the Thames, it was low-lying,
+and originally a marsh. Even as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained,
+and a good part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now called
+Southwark Park Road--why could they not leave the old name, Blue Anchor
+Road?--even in 1830 wound through a marsh covered with ditches and
+ponds. On the east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of ponds and
+islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running into the river at
+Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams lay or flowed at will over
+the levels, making islands which were approached by bridges. The
+character of the place was entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the
+last part of London where there lingered still the appearance of a
+marsh. The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence Island; the
+Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond; Broom Fields; Halfpenny
+Hatch, repeated more than once. The numerous Ropewalks scattered about
+show that the ground was cheap, and the factories where they make glue,
+soap, brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+
+(_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_)]
+
+Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more interesting, namely,
+Deptford. They have done their best to spoil Deptford of late years:
+they have taken away the old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new
+streets: but a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago, reconstructing
+the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of 1886. It is like
+reconstructing the face in youth from a portrait in middle life. I
+succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction, and, I hope, to the
+satisfaction of my readers when the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared
+as the background of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted
+chiefly of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new church
+in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there was the Hall where
+the Brethren of the Trinity House assembled every year before their
+service at St. Nicolas and their feast at their house on Tower Hill.
+The town was full of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not
+remarkable for the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on
+the contrary, they despised such ways--'their fashions I hate, like a
+pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all the time they
+were ashore, except when they were drinking and taking tobacco at the
+tavern--these occupations, truly, left the honest fellows less time for
+love than might have been expected. There were officers' taverns and
+seamen's taverns: rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And,
+really, it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower ranks: bad food on
+board: long years of foreign service: and for all the gallantry that
+these brave fellows showed in service not a word of thanks: not a hint
+at promotion.
+
+The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were shops, but poor
+things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables were brought in from
+the country round: within a few steps of the town one was in the
+loveliest country, with the Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and
+under the branches of willows and of alders.
+
+The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the Eighth, and continued
+till 1869. It was at Deptford that most of the ships were built for the
+Royal Navy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: it was here that
+Drake's ship, the _Golden Hind_, in which he had made his voyage round
+the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of entertainment.
+She remained here, an object of pilgrimage for the Londoners, for many
+years. She was a good deal cut about, because everybody wanted to carry
+away a piece of her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One
+pious archæologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented it
+to the Bodleian Library.
+
+Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary of the
+Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the morning, and seeing the seamen
+exercise, which they do already very handsomely. Then to dinner....
+After dinner and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked
+to the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard, where I had a
+look into the tarhouses and other places, and took great notice of all
+the several works belonging to the making of a cable.'
+
+It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich, 'where I stood with
+great pleasure an hour or two by her bedside, she lying prettily in
+bed.' During the plague year, when he and his wife were staying at
+Woolwich, he goes over to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually
+feasting with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague was
+slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.
+
+Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was Peter the
+Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture. The people
+of the town had the satisfaction of seeing the Czar of Muscovy--not
+quite so great a man then as he is now--smoking a pipe of tobacco and
+drinking brandy in their taverns every evening. By day they might see
+him working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a ship and
+its gear.
+
+The most interesting person, however, who is connected with the annals
+of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.
+
+Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a great
+statesman: he was not great in anything that he did: yet his memory
+remains, and will remain long after that of much stronger men has been
+forgotten. He wrote a great deal, and since some of his writings survive
+after three hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his own skin. In
+order to avoid being dragged into the army and fighting for the cause
+which he loved, he went abroad and travelled in Europe for four years,
+during which time the royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought
+for it were ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back to
+France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had made many
+discoveries and observations on art and antiquities. He also married a
+wife, the daughter of Charles's ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he
+obtained possession of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks,
+one of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he lived
+till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the founders and first
+Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a member of many commissions: he
+was the first Treasurer of Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held
+many other offices.
+
+In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and the
+accomplishments of this estimable man:
+
+'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a visit to Mr.
+Evelyn, who among many other things showed me most excellent painting in
+little: in distemper; in Indian ink; water colours; graving: and above
+all, the whole secret of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very
+pretty, and good things done with it. He read to me very much also of
+his discourse he hath been many years and now is about, about Gardening,
+which will be a most noble and pleasant piece. He read me part of a play
+or two of his making; very good, but not as he conceits them, I think,
+to be. He showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book of
+several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however, and look very
+finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most excellent person he is,
+and must be allowed a little for conceitedness; but he may well be so,
+being a man so much above others.'
+
+His memory survives on account of the personal character of the man
+which is revealed in his works, and of the high opinion in which he was
+held. 'A typical instance,' says his latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat.
+Biog.'), 'of the accomplished and public-spirited country gentleman of
+the Restoration, a pious and devoted member of the Church of England,
+and a staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the manners
+of the court.' Above all things, it might be added, he was a gardener,
+and all gardeners are amiable and all gardeners are personally popular.
+
+[Illustration: GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH]
+
+Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is little else in
+Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The Almshouse known as Norfolk
+College must not be forgotten, however. It is on the east side of the
+Hospital, and stands behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The
+College consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small hall or
+common room, with gardens at the back. This kind of almshouse is common,
+but it is difficult to build it so that it shall not be beautiful.
+Norfolk College is quite a beautiful place. Finer and larger is Morden
+College, up the hill, designed for decayed merchants.
+
+This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk College the houses
+stop suddenly: on the tongue of land projecting north formed by a loop
+of the river there are hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary
+flat as far as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered by continuous houses
+which begins at Battersea ends at Greenwich.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE LATER SANCTUARY
+
+
+The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the refuge of those
+who had fallen into temptation became, as we know, the resort of the
+rogue, the murderer, and the habitual criminal. Within the precincts of
+St.-Martin's-le-Grand were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of Westminster
+was a scandal and a disgrace. These places had been finally abolished
+after much trouble: the City officers could march their rogues to
+Newgate without fear of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of
+Westminster could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers from
+Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding and seeking sanctuary
+was too deep-rooted to be quickly abolished. Perhaps there was something
+comfortable in the thought that there should be a place, however small,
+where the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues should
+be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance, perhaps: it was a gleam
+of sunshine on the path of the outlaw. So the custom was continued well
+into the eighteenth century. In this chapter I am going to recall the
+memory of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature says
+little about them. But it says enough to show that there were places
+dotted about London which served all the purposes of the old sanctuaries
+without the restraints of ecclesiastical government: in fact, there was
+no government, except on purely democratic principles. In these places
+lived rogues and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to
+find his man--observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not. Why was
+this? Because the London rogue had a sense of justice: no man could
+expect to go on for ever: when a man's time was up, let him give place
+to his successor. The thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official:
+it was his duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up when he was
+called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and get hanged in due
+course. Otherwise, there would have been no living to be made by the
+rogues on account of the competition of numbers. The name of Alsatia had
+been long forgotten, but the asylum still remained.
+
+In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with the Alsatia of
+Fleet Street. There were other places equally secure for rogues, besides
+Alsatia. Such were Whetstone Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's
+Rents, Holborn; Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and
+others. All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them to scatter;
+not by marching off the whole population to prison; but by the slower
+and more gradual process of transformation. This process began when the
+parts and places around became respectable. There is something chilling
+and repellent to the common rogue about the proximity of respectability:
+he does not like to be in its neighbourhood: in this way these
+degenerate and unlawful sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone
+remained, when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark--that part which is still a slum--called Mint Street, nearly
+opposite St. George's Church in the High Street. This street, with its
+alleys and courts, was inhabited by as villainous a collection as even
+the eighteenth century, which in point of villains was rich beyond its
+predecessors, could not equal. They had retreated here from their
+former haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could be served on
+them: no arrest could be made: the only person they had to fear was, as
+said above, the thief-taker.
+
+The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately, kept; it is
+impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals were here housed and
+for how long. There are, however, one or two little histories of the
+Mint which will serve to show us at once the public spirit, the courage,
+and the immunity with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.
+
+The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of Dormer _v._ Dormer
+and Jones came on for hearing at Westminster Hall. It was a divorce
+case, in which the co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's
+house. There seems to have been no defence, practically. The verdict of
+the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000_l._ damages. Now, consider
+for a moment what that verdict meant. In these days, when a defendant
+without any private means at all is mulcted in damages and costs,
+whether of 5,000_l._ or of 100_l._, he simply smiles. He is not in the
+least degree affected. Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him,
+and when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors. In Portugal
+Street _subridet vacuus viator_--the insolvent pilgrim smiles
+cheerfully. But in those days it was very different. To inflict damages
+of 5,000_l._ meant simply that the Jury considered the case one in which
+the defendant, who could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only
+be adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his remaining
+days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only a footman whose
+relations were probably unable to assist him and certainly unable to
+maintain him, he would speedily take his place on the common side, and
+there he would be slowly done to death by insufficient food and
+insufficient clothing, by privation, cold, fever and misery.
+
+The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate intention. It meant
+prison and slow starvation and insufficient warmth, and so everybody
+instantly understood, including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the
+officers would have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled himself
+down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers, witnesses,
+booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore across New Palace Yard,
+now pursued by the officers: he made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier
+so called, for as yet there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat
+and shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs, they
+saw their prisoner already half way across the river. They too jumped
+into a boat: for some reason or other--one knows not why--it was most
+unlucky--their boat took a long time to get off: something was wrong
+with the painter: the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be
+set right: the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the boat
+proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly over the face of the
+waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore on the other side, and the
+bailiffs turned back with a good deal of cursing. Once ashore, the
+fugitive made straight to Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was
+also a City of Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It was
+a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not eat the bread of
+idleness: he therefore, one may certainly conclude, became a rogue by
+profession and in due course met his fate bravely with white ribbons
+round his cap, an orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a
+large nosegay in his shirt front.
+
+Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century Sanctuary. It will
+seem incredible that the Executive should have been so incapable, but
+the story is literally true.
+
+[Illustration: MINT STREET, BOROUGH]
+
+Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition, the Law being
+so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark, some of the residents
+or collegians naturally desired to go farther afield, and to establish
+more Sanctuaries or Law-defying colonies on the other side of the
+river, which was reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports
+of Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on the subject
+have come down to us. However, that matters very little. Every great
+movement, we know, is the work of one man. Therefore there arose a
+Prophet--the Prophet as Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently
+began to preach that a 'long felt want'--call it rather a
+'need'--existed, which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries of
+North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay. Alsatia was
+deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in Milford Lane: the
+trade of counterfeit rings was no longer carried on in St. Martin's.
+And, though there were certainly taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs
+regarded with a useful respect, it could not be denied that London
+needed a new Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and
+fellow-residents in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers with
+burning eloquence--I am sure it was burning--a Vision of a New London,
+Purged; Purified; without honesty; without morals; without law; with
+neither gallows, pillory, whipping post, or stocks: a City entirely in
+the hands of Rogues who would compel all the conquered City to work for
+them: would seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning of this
+Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the Mint, to plant
+all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of time, the City should
+become one huge Sanctuary, where debts would never be collected, and
+robbery and murder would never be punished.
+
+They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on the east of
+Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid down their boundaries:
+they called the place the New Mint: they said, 'Within these limits
+there shall be no arrest.' This new law they communicated fairly and
+plainly, because everything was above board, to all the catchpoles. They
+then sat down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they were close
+to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been called in to disperse
+this lawless establishment. However, nothing at all was done. They sat
+down triumphant. Presently--I know not how long afterwards--a bailiff
+was actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly believe
+that this rash and audacious person ventured to arrest a New Minter
+within the Precincts!
+
+Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they called for music:
+preceded by a band of what used to be called the Whifflers, they marched
+in a procession, four abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose
+in their gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house of the
+offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run away. It is,
+however, a weakness common to Catchpoles that they always put their
+trust in the Law. They arrested that Catchpole: they led him to the
+place where he had offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him all over
+with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a thousand lashes, so
+that there was not a whole inch of skin left upon him: they dragged him
+through filthy ponds and laystalls: they took him out and flogged him
+again: they tried to flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed,
+for he survived: then they dragged him again through the filth: at last
+they suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he might. I
+am sorry to say that I have no information as to the end of the New Mint
+adventure; but it certainly appears that no one was punished for this
+outrage, and that no attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but I have not
+ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent freemen, its
+present residents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
+
+
+If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time during the
+eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how little the place had
+grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as of old, the Causeway at right
+angles to the Embankment. On either side of the Causeway or High Street
+or St. Margaret's Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the
+continuity of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of which,
+although there are, here and there, detached houses and even rows of
+houses or terraces, there are open fields, streams, ponds and gardens.
+St. George's Fields, crossed by paths, are broad and open fields
+stretching out westward till they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's
+Church has long since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put
+his finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper: St. George's, St.
+Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On the east are the churches
+of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not to speak of Deptford: on the west is
+Lambeth Church: on the south are the churches of Newington and
+Kennington. As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are the prisons,
+that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the White Lyon. They were
+all on the east side of the street until 1756, when the King's Bench
+Prison was removed across the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some
+time after the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old Clink on Bankside
+had vanished. But the Borough Compter was still flourishing--a grimy,
+filthy, fever-stricken place.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and west, the
+fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish streams. 'Snow's'
+Fields on the east were as well known as St. George's in the West. 'Long
+Lane' ran from St. George's to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few
+houses: Bermondsey Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old cross
+to the same church: it was already a street of houses. The most crowded
+part of Southwark proper was the street called Tooley or St. Olave's,
+the most ancient street in the Borough, originally built upon the
+Embankment, the Thames Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth
+century, there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one came upon the
+entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid: these courts remain, also
+narrow, mean and squalid, to the present day. There were no places in
+London, unless in the neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where
+human creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions. There
+was no water supply to these courts: there was no lighting: there was no
+paving, not even with the round cobbles which they still called paving.
+
+[Illustration: ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL
+
+(_From an old Print_)]
+
+[Illustration: Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey]
+
+[Illustration: Jamaica House, Bermondsey]
+
+On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is given on p. 85
+of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave of which was fast falling
+into ruins, came Bankside. Alas! It was deserted: not a single theatre
+was left: not a baiting Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a
+poet or an actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the guitar, and
+the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay two broad gardens,
+side by side: one called Pye Garden; and the other, west of Winchester
+House, was called Winchester Park. Paris Gardens were no more.
+Blackfriars Bridge Road, in which there were as yet but few houses, had
+been cut ruthlessly right through the middle of the old Gardens; the
+trees, once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of a few side
+streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and on the west of these
+fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was cut up into ropewalks, tenter
+grounds, nurseries, and kitchen gardens. Where Waterloo Station now
+stands were Cuper's Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens,
+of which more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met. But
+perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in the last century
+was the immense number of streams and ditches and ponds: most of these
+were little better than open sewers: complaints were common of the
+pollution of these streams--but it was in vain: people will always throw
+everything that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if they
+can. One wants the map in order to understand how numerous were these
+streams. There was one murky brook which ran along the backs of all the
+houses on the east side of High Street--the prisoners of the Marshalsea
+and the King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another
+corresponding stream ran behind the west side of High Street. Maiden
+Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel Lane, more blessed
+still, was happy with a ditch or stream on each side: Dirty Lane had
+one: another ran along Bandy Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept,
+or crawled, across Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there
+were no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this broad
+marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards, fringing the gardens, and
+crossing the open fields, were a pleasant feature, though they had no
+stones to prattle over, but only the dark peaty _humus_ of the marsh:
+and the water channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which
+were sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by Roques. It was
+also called the Effra. Along the banks of this stream stood here and
+there cottages, having little gardens in front and rustic bridges across
+the stream. But whether these streams ran or whether they crawled,
+behind or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or burned way:
+they were laden with fevers and malaria and 'putrid' sore throat.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL]
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+
+(_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_)]
+
+[Illustration: THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE]
+
+The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded thoroughfare, because it
+is the main artery of a town containing a population of many hundreds
+of thousands. In the last century it was quite as animated because it
+was one of the main arteries by which London was in communication with
+the country. An immense number of coaches, carts, waggons, and
+'caravans' passed every day up and down the High Street, some stopping
+or starting in Southwark itself; some going over London Bridge to their
+destination in the City. The coach of the first half of the century can
+be restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the century was in
+all respects like the revived coaches of the present day, adapted for
+rapid travelling along a smooth road. The carts were carriers' carts on
+two wheels with a tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small
+packages, and on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a hurry, were
+also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and capacious interior can
+be restored, as well as the coach, from that most trustworthy painter of
+his own time. As for the caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose,
+however, that a caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was
+an elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects were
+drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered cart. Perhaps the
+passengers slept in the car at night, drawn up by the roadside, like the
+gipsies. But of this theory I have no kind of proof.
+
+[Illustration: AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE]
+
+[Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE]
+
+From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles which passed
+through to or from the City, there were sent out, every week, one
+hundred and forty-three stage coaches: one hundred and twenty-one
+waggons: and one hundred and ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of
+course, the same number came back every week. There was a continual
+succession of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own inn; while
+they were still far away the people of the inn knew when their own coach
+was coming by the tune played on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in
+fact, was like a railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving
+all day long.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Town Hall, Southwark]
+
+I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and animation at
+a London inn when the stages were started and when they arrived. With as
+much method, and as quickly as the railway porters clear out the luggage
+and get rid of the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the shape of
+anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage was laid out: the
+porters seized it and carried it off to the hackney coach outside: the
+passengers followed their luggage: and the courtyard was ready for the
+next coach. Outside the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole
+companies of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the stable boys
+and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good enough to shut their eyes.
+If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed, one of them came bustling in.
+'Give us a hand, Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had
+been ordered to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there was
+one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to sight in a
+neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded about the courtyards:
+outside were houses filled with disorderly folk of all kinds waiting to
+entrap and to tempt and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable gentleman
+to welcome the country lad: there was the lady of the ready smile: and
+the taverns with the doors open to all. The numbers of coaches and
+waggons I have given refer to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances
+which belonged to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily. Now, if we are
+considering the traffic and animation of the roads leading to the City,
+remember that the High Street, Borough, was only one of many main lines
+of traffic. There were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest. Day and
+night the roads all round London were thronged with these coaches,
+carts, caravans, and waggons: but these vehicles were for ordinary folk
+only: for tradesmen, attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is,
+commercial travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to London, if not
+in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of which there were thousands
+on the road. Add to these the horsemen, of whom there were an immense
+number riding from place to place: add, further, the long droves of
+cattle, sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by the
+roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can still be seen on
+the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians there were also by thousands:
+soldiers: sailors: gipsies: strolling actors: tinkers and tramps--the
+land was full of tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded
+and animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition of the modern
+road makes it difficult for us to realise the crowds and the life of the
+road in the eighteenth century.
+
+[Illustration: Old Houses in Ewer Street]
+
+Of society in the Borough there is little information to be procured.
+The place had, however, its better class. One infers so much from the
+fact that there were Assembly Rooms in the High Street, and that a
+Borough Assembly was held during the winter on stated days, at which the
+fashion and aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It is of an
+accident.
+
+[Illustration: Courtyard of the Dog & Bear Inn]
+
+The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun: the orchestra was in
+full play: the ladies were dressed in their finest: hoops were swinging:
+towering heads were nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue
+satin and in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running in one after
+the other. The company parted right and left, falling over benches and
+each other: the creatures, terrified by the light and the shrieks of the
+ladies, began to point threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out
+till the 'well-known'--the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived--the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a brandishing
+of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!' persuaded the animals to
+leave the place. Then who shall tell of the raising of fallen and
+fainting damsels? Who shall speak of the rending of skirts and
+embroidered petticoats? Who can describe the deplorable damage to the
+heads? And who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased to record, were
+quickly administered as a restorative: and after certain necessary
+repairs to the heads and the sewing up of torn skirts, the wounded
+spirits of the company revived, and the ball proceeded.
+
+Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact that on one
+occasion--perhaps on more than one occasion--when the black footmen of
+London resolved on holding an Assembly of their own, it was in the
+Borough that they held it. And a very interesting evening it must have
+proved, had we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage coaches, carts and
+waggons, the High Street was bound to contain, as well, many houses of
+entertainment, if only as stables for the horses and accommodation for
+the drivers and grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that from the
+earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the place where
+merchants and those who brought produce of all kinds to London out of
+the south country put up their teams of pack-horses and their goods, and
+found bed and board and company for themselves. We have also seen how
+the inns of Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury. The mediæval
+inn was not much like that of later times. It contained a common hall
+and a common dormitory, with another for women. There was also a covered
+place for goods, and stables for horses. A small specimen of a
+fifteenth-century inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small
+room, is very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The quaint old inns,
+so long the delight of the artist, now nearly all gone, were not
+earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth century. They consisted of a
+large open courtyard filled with waggons and vehicles of all kinds,
+surrounded by galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor were the
+kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms. There was generally a
+large room for public dinners and other occasions. The inns of Southwark
+formed, so long as they stood, the most picturesque part of modern
+Southwark. Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone
+preserving anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader who
+desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to Mr. Philip
+Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents in a lasting form
+the vanished glories of the High Street.
+
+To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical catalogue.
+There are so many of them, and the associations connected with them
+carry one away into so many directions and land him into many strange
+corners of history.
+
+At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side of it, stood a
+tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It was built in the year
+1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater, taverner of London. In Riley's
+'Memorials' may be found a lease of this house by the proprietor to one
+James Beauflur. The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no
+rent, because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to help in the
+building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of a 'tied' house. Thomas
+Drinkwater will furnish all the wine, and will keep an exact account of
+the same and will have a settlement twice a year. Thomas will also
+complete the furniture of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs
+of silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay. This was the
+commencement of a long and singularly prosperous inn. It became one of
+the most famous inns of London, and one of the most popular for
+dinners. Hither came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to
+feast at the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the papers of
+St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian of Southwark gives
+one:
+
+P^d for 3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit      00  14  08
+        3 Tarts                               00  12  00
+        a Giblett pie makyng                  00  02  08
+        Beefe                                 01  02  06
+        3 leggs of mutton                     00   8  00
+        wine and dresing the meat and naperie,
+          fire, bread and beere               02  11  00
+        18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes            00  01  02
+        12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges            00  03  00
+                                             -----------
+                                              05  15  00
+                                             -----------
+
+Among the names of persons connected with the tavern must be noticed
+that of the Duke of Norfolk--'Jockey of Norfolk'--in 1463. Two hundred
+years later, one Cornelius Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and
+a commissioner for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the Bridge Foot.
+Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the tavern. From this house
+the Duke of Richmond carried off Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in
+1761, when the end of the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the
+whole long list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more important. Some of
+them, it will be seen, had been in more ancient times the town houses of
+great people--Bishops, Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off
+the highway of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became mere
+tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's house, and to the house
+of the Prior of Lewes, and to many others. Those standing in the
+highway, whither came all the merchants; whither came all the waggons;
+became transformed, and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.
+
+[Illustration: A SOUTH LONDON SLUM]
+
+Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies, was the entrance
+to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was anciently the town house of the
+Cobhams. This family left Southwark, and the house, with some
+alterations, became an Inn. When carriers began to ply between London
+and the country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart with
+the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it became the
+Southwark post-office. Another and a much more important inn for
+carriers and waggons was the King's Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says
+that 'carriers come into the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of
+Kent, Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from Tunbridge,
+Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine Wheel, and others from
+Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead to the Greyhound: some to the
+Spurre, the George, the King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or
+Talbot: many, far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White
+Hart.'
+
+The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than Chaucer's
+Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack Cade, as has already been
+related in chapter vi. In front of this inn one Hawarden was beheaded:
+and also in front of this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being
+dragged at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to strike
+terror into the minds of the people.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The Tabard Inn, from
+which the famous Company set out, was named after the ornamented coat or
+jacket worn by Kings at Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary
+persons. In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed the place to
+be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that Chaucer speaks of it as an
+ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at
+the Abbot's Hospitium in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd, the
+Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging, a dung place
+leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It is explained in Spight's
+'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard had much decayed, but that it had
+been repaired 'with the Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was
+finally pulled down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room, though it may have
+been rebuilt on the site of the old room. For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a
+destructive fire broke out, which raged over a large part of the Borough
+and destroyed the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter, the Meat Market,
+and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital was saved by a change of
+wind, which also seems to have saved St. Mary Overies.
+
+[Illustration: ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+
+(_From an Engraving by B. Cole_)]
+
+Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting the Inns first on
+the right or the west, and then on the left or east.
+
+We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before getting to Ford
+Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market place, the Goat: next the
+Clement. Opposite St. George's Church we cross over, and are on the east
+side, going north again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half
+Moon: the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the Spur: the
+Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the George: the White Hart: the
+King's Head: the Black Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing
+atmosphere of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns
+and courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of coaches
+and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of country squires come up on
+business, with the hope of combining a little pleasure amongst the
+excitements of the town with a profitable deal or two. There is the
+smell of roast meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is
+a continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of hanaps and a
+murmur of voices.
+
+The _strepitus_, however, of the High Street is not like that of
+Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing before noon or
+after noon: no laughing: the country folk do not laugh: they do not
+understand the wit of the poets and the players. High Street has nothing
+to do with Bankside: the merchants and the squires know nothing about
+the Show Folk.
+
+There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a certain Edward
+Alleyn, who was a man of business as well as a conductor of
+entertainments. He was on the vestry of St. Saviour's: he was also
+churchwarden, his name appears in the parish accounts of the period. He
+was a popular churchwarden: probably he had about him so much of the
+showman that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous--these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when he proposes
+to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse to let him go.
+
+It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to reflect that all
+these inns, most of them so picturesque, were standing thirty or forty
+years ago, and that some of them were standing ten years ago. One of
+them is figured in the 'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the
+figures are too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect
+produced is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there is
+nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is not an Inn. The
+need of an Inn at Southwark is gone: there are no more caravans of
+produce brought up to the Borough: the High Street has become the shop
+and the provider of everything for the populations of the parishes of
+St. Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON
+
+
+There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place of Refuge not
+invited, and of security against one's will--The Debtors' Prison. In
+fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons--the King's Bench, the
+Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter. The consideration of these
+melancholy places--all the more melancholy because they were full of
+noisy revelry--fills one with amazement to think that a system so
+ridiculous should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with so
+much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy. There would be
+no more credit, no more confidence, if the debtor could not be
+imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed. The Debtors' Prison was a part of
+trade. It is fifty years and more since the power of imprisoning a
+debtor for life was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit
+as ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community such as ours it
+seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon a merchant by failing
+to pay his just claims is so great that imprisonment ought to be awarded
+to such an offender. The Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full
+and terrible and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you shall be locked
+up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived of your means of getting a
+livelihood: you shall have no allowance of food: you shall have no fire:
+you shall have no bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome
+unwashed crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with a
+year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B,
+PALACE COURT
+
+(_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_)]
+
+The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the debtor was
+deprived of the means of making money to pay his debts, withal, were
+exposed over and over again: prisoners wrote accounts of their prisons:
+commissions held inquiry into the management of the prisons: regulations
+were laid down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was tolerated:
+but the real evil remained untouched so long as a creditor had the power
+of imprisoning a debtor. The power was abused in the most monstrous
+manner: a man owed a few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into
+prison: the next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10_l._, the bill against him
+for his arrest amounted to 11_l._ 15_s._ 8_d._ of what we should now
+call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were 20,000 prisoners for
+debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think what that means: all those were
+in enforced idleness. Why, their work at 2_s._ a day means 600,000_l._ a
+year: all that wealth lost to the State: nay more, because they were
+mostly married men with families: their families had to be maintained,
+so that not only did the country lose 600,000_l._ a year by the idleness
+of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the maintenance of
+their families. Put it in another way. A poor man knowing one trade
+which one cannot practise in a prison owed, say, 15_s._ He was arrested
+and put into prison. He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles
+and the proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the box; the
+community; for his maintenance in the prison, and for thirty years of
+it, the sum total of 400_l._ This is rather an expensive tax on the
+State: but the tradesman to whom he owed the money considered no more
+than his own 15_s._ In addition there were his wife and children to keep
+until the latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400_l._ But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If they were
+all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their behalf in the sum of
+sixteen millions spread over thirty years, or half a million a year,
+because these luckless creatures could not pay an insignificant debt of
+a few shillings or a few pounds.
+
+The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors' Prisons. It
+formerly stood on the east side of the High Street, on the site of what
+is now the second street north of St. George's Church. This prison was
+taken down in 1758, and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much
+more commodious place on the other side of the street south of Lant
+Street--the site is now marked by a number of new and very ugly houses
+and mean streets. When it was built it looked out at the back of St.
+George's Fields and across Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by
+this time drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.
+
+The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area covered was
+extensive, and the buildings were more commodious than had ever before
+been attempted in a prison. But they were not large enough. In the year
+1776 the prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who could
+pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on the floor of the
+chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition to the prisoners many of
+them had wives and children with them. There were 279 wives and 725
+children: a total of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was
+a good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident surgeon,
+and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399 persons, and no bath and
+no infirmary!
+
+[Illustration: KING'S BENCH PRISON]
+
+Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a certain Colonel
+Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind him for the edification of
+posterity. According to him, the prison 'rivalled the purlieus of
+Wapping, St. Giles, and St. James's in vice, debauchery, and
+drunkenness.' The general immorality was so great that it was only
+possible, he says, to escape contagion by living separate or by
+consorting only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be found
+there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation: he will lose
+every sense of honour and dignity: every moral principle and virtuous
+disposition.' Among the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom
+fifty who had any regular means of sustenance. They were always
+underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to find sixpence a day
+for the prisoner's support. But in 1798 a pound of bread cost 4½_d._, a
+pint of porter 2_d._: therefore a man who had to live on 6_d._ a day
+could not get more than a pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And
+then the 6_d._ a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or
+another, and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their name stank in
+the prison: more than half of the prisoners, Hanger avers, were kept
+there solely because they could not pay the attorneys' costs.
+
+Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be carried on in the
+King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler, the tailor, the barber, the
+fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment and were able to maintain
+themselves: some of them kept shops, and the principal building in the
+place, about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon an
+open court, occupied by shops where everything could be bought except
+spirits, which were forbidden. They were brought in, however, secretly
+by the visitors. The open court was the common Recreation Ground: there
+was the Parade, a Walk along the front of the building: three pumps
+where were benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play called 'bumble
+puppy.' And in fine weather there were tables set out here and there,
+with chairs and benches, where the collegians drank beer and smoked
+tobacco.
+
+[Illustration: The King's Bench Prison]
+
+Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to look round:
+every day the place was thronged with visitors, chiefly to see the new
+comers: the time came when the newcomer was an old resident, who had
+worn out the kindness of his friends or had outlived them, and now
+lingered on, poor and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the
+children played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things that
+they ought not to have seen: they heard things which they ought not to
+have heard: they learned habits which they ought not to have learned.
+Can one conceive a worse school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison?
+Look at the Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison nobody ever
+walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without unkindness, they
+slouch. The men wear coats which are mostly in holes at the elbows, with
+other garments that equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers
+because it is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel--never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby or not: it is
+better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the men are ragged the women
+are slatternly: they have lost even the feminine desire to please: they
+please nobody, and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there is this face
+and that face, but there is not a single happy face among them all. The
+average face is resentful, painted with strong drink, stamped with the
+seal of vice and self-indulgence. A vile place, which has imprinted its
+own vileness on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.
+
+A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched little Prison called
+the Borough Compter. It was used both for debtors and for criminals. Now
+you shall hear what marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be
+brought about when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.
+
+The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a felons' ward,
+and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen feet square: this was the
+only exercising ground for all the prisoners. When Buxton visited the
+place in the year 1817, there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty
+women, and twenty children--all had to exercise themselves in this
+little yard: he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet long and
+about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished with eight straw beds,
+sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept
+side by side on these beds! That gives a breadth of twelve inches for
+each. No one therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the door was opened
+all rushed together, undressed as they were, into the yard for fresh
+air. Now and then a man would be brought in with an infectious disease
+or covered with vermin: they had to endure his company as best they
+could. There was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those who might have
+carried on their trade could not for want of space. As for the women's
+ward, I forbear to speak. Think, however, of the noisome, horrible,
+stinking place, narrow and confined, with its felons' ward of innocent
+and guilty, tried and untried: the past masters in villainy with the
+innocent country boy: the honest working man with his wife and children
+slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law which permitted a
+creditor to send him there for life for a paltry debt of a few
+shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl thrust into the
+women's ward, where wickedness was authorised, where nothing was
+disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the year 1998 the historian of
+manners will call attention to the lamentable brutality of this the end
+of the nineteenth century. There are some points as to which I am
+doubtful. But I cannot believe that there will be anything alleged
+against us compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the Debtors'
+Prisons.
+
+I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of the Marshalsea
+Prison was changed from its first site south of King Street in the year
+1810, when it was removed to the site which it occupied down to the end,
+overlooking St. George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea brought
+there? Because there had been a prison on the spot before. From time
+immemorial the Surrey Prison had stood there. They called the place the
+White Lyon. It still stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was
+still standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.
+
+I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I walked
+over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down. I found a long
+narrow terrace of mean houses--they are still standing: there was a
+narrow courtyard in front for exercise and air: a high wall separated
+the prison from the Churchyard: the rooms in the terrace were filled
+with deep cupboards on either side of the fireplace: these cupboards
+contained the coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes
+of the occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the demolition of
+another part of the Prison, pointed to certain marks on the floor as, he
+said, the place where they fastened the staples when they tied down the
+poor prisoners. Such was his historic information: he also pointed out
+Mr. Dorrit's room--so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to have been the
+tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we came to the White Lyon, which at
+the time I did not know to have been the White Lyon. It was a very
+ancient building. It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the
+staircase and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square nails were
+driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors. The lower room had
+evidently been kitchen, day room, sleeping room and all. Outside was a
+tiny yard for exercise: this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen
+another prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play tricks,
+it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This was a Clink, and on
+this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons were constructed. Beyond
+the Clink was the chapel, a modern structure. So far as I know, Mr.
+Dickens _père_, and Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence
+confined in this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner, who died
+there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at midnight for fear
+of the people, who would have rent his dead body in pieces if they
+could. Perhaps. But it was not at any time usual for a mob of Englishmen
+to pull a dead body, even of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces.
+Later on, in the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The
+darkness, the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been buried at night
+in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere in St. George's
+Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden, whose benches in fine weather are
+filled with people resting and sunning themselves: in spring the garden
+is full of pleasant greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones
+have been consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones which line
+the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may now be quartered, they
+would care to revisit this place. The owners of the headstones were in
+their day accounted as the more fortunate sons of men: they were
+vestrymen and guardians and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept
+the inns and ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans:
+their tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and smiling:
+their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace: they
+exchanged the most beautiful sentiments: and they crammed their debtors
+into these prisons.
+
+There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged to the great
+army--how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!--of the
+'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought here from the King's Bench
+and the Marshalsea: they came from the Master's side and from the Common
+side. They came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and the grooms
+and the 'service' generally. This churchyard represents all that can be
+imagined of human patience, human work, human suffering, human
+degradation. Everything is here beneath our feet, and we sit among these
+memories unmoved and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the
+past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS
+
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have appeared almost at
+the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of London--that of Messrs. Warwick
+and Edgar Wroth, and that of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who
+desires exact and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of these gardens,
+and shall confine myself to certain sources of information neither so
+exact nor so detailed as those from which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have
+drawn the material for their excellent work.
+
+The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting Gardens. The
+London citizen loved sport first and above all things: next, he loved
+the country: to sit under the shade of trees in the summer: to walk upon
+the soft sward; to smell the flowers: to rest his eyes upon country
+scenes. He has always yearned for the country while he remained in town.
+With these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly but
+loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform or floor for
+dancing. All these things he could get in Paris Gardens so long as that
+place existed, together with its bears and dogs. When the bears
+disappeared, what followed? The Gardens continued without the bears.
+There were also the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House,
+and the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July 1661
+Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards Vauxhall, and in
+June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys spent the evening at the same
+place, for the first time, and with great delight.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL GARDENS
+
+(_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_)]
+
+The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and Bull Baiting was
+then beginning. Before long it became a necessity of life--at least, of
+the gregarious and social life of which the eighteenth century was so
+fond. Many things are said about that century, now so nearly removed
+from us by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it was
+not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its coffee houses:
+its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies: it loved the
+theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the masquerade: the
+Assembly: the card-room: but most of all the eighteenth century loved
+its Pleasure Gardens. It took every opportunity of getting away from the
+quiet house to crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET]
+
+Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden. There must be,
+first, abundance of trees--at first cherry trees, but these afterwards
+disappeared: if possible, there should be avenues of trees: aisles and
+dark walks of trees. There must be, next, an ornamental water with a
+fountain and a bridge: there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats
+in which tea and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms: there must
+be a long room for dancing and for promenading, with a gallery for the
+orchestra and the singers. Add to these things a crowd every night
+including all classes and conditions of men and women. The eighteenth
+century was by no means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met
+together without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party kept
+to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not pretend to be
+on a level with the people around him: they liked him to keep up the
+dignity of aristocratic separation: he brought Ladies to the Gardens,
+sometimes in domino, sometimes not. They were not expected to speak to
+the ladies outside their set: they danced together in the minuets:
+after the minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company of the
+Gardens was that each party was separate and kept separate. In the Park,
+either in the morning or the afternoon, it was not difficult to make
+acquaintances. The reason was that in the Park were only to be found in
+the morning or the afternoon those people who were not engaged in
+earning their livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men--lawyers,
+physicians, attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the smallest
+shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere. Therefore, the
+servants and footmen not being allowed in the Park, but compelled to
+wait outside, the people of position had the place to themselves, and
+access was easy. In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who
+paid the shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen in
+the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the young fellows about
+town, a noisy disreputable band with noisy and disreputable companions:
+the plain citizen with his wife and daughter, the young fellow who was
+courting her: the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the
+highwayman: the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the customary
+courtesan. All were here enjoying together--but separated into tiny
+groups of two or three--the strings of coloured lamps, the blare of the
+orchestra, the songs, the dances, and the supper. As for the last, it
+seems to have been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of
+chicken and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour; everybody
+behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was not _gêné_ by the
+presence of the great lady: he prattled his vulgar commonplaces without
+being abashed: nor did the great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her
+own company with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence
+of the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the recognition
+of rank made them all behave more naturally. After all, the mercer had
+his own rank. He could look forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and
+Lord Mayor: he understood very well that he was already a good way up
+the ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession of
+money and the employment of many servants had already placed him in
+front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly satisfied with his
+own position, although he could certainly never become a noble earl or
+wear a star upon his breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the
+jewelled lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed so loud
+and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions, one of whom was
+blind drunk and the other was a little mincing beau who walked on his
+toes with bent knees and carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under
+his breath as if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the
+honest mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over his wig
+to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side of the citizen from
+Ludgate Hill was a party also taking supper and punch, with plenty of
+the latter. They were under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his
+white coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the same
+way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were of white
+lace--lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him were dressed with a
+corresponding splendour. Everybody knew that the gentleman was a
+highwayman: his face was perfectly well known: he had been going on so
+long that his time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet the end
+common to his kind. A good many people in the Gardens knew, besides,
+that the ladies with him--ladies of St. Giles in the Fields--were
+dressed from the stores of a receiving house for stolen goods. Perhaps
+the consciousness of this cheap and easy way of getting one's clothes
+made the ladies so buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their
+sprightly sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.
+
+The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory to us. For in
+all public assemblies there are things which must be tolerated. Less
+wise, we shut up the Assembly. We cannot keep out the Lady of the
+Camellias from the Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In
+the eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must behave
+with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved upon that manner:
+we cut off our nose to spite our face: we shut up the lovely Garden
+because we cannot keep her out.
+
+For the same reason we have practically forbidden the youth of the lower
+middle class to practise the laudable, innocent, and delightful
+diversion of dancing. Not a single place, except certain so-called
+clubs, where the young people can now go to dance. Why? Because the
+magistrates in their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and restrained
+by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled to hide itself
+under the semblance of virtue. The Pleasure Gardens were shut up one
+after the other for that reason. When will they return? And in what
+form?
+
+The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as those of the
+North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone, Bagnigge Wells, the White
+Conduit House--the South can only point to Vauxhall as a national
+institution. They were, however, of considerable note in their time, and
+were greatly frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a
+chain, all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells, the Marble
+Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall, besides Vauxhall itself;
+the Black Prince, Newington Butts; the Temple of Flora, the Temple of
+Apollo, the Flora Tea Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog
+and Duck, the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto, the
+Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe. No doubt there were
+others, but these were the principal Gardens.
+
+Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House. When Waterloo
+Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were constructed the latter passed right
+through the former site of the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the
+southern limit of the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by
+one Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of the
+statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and decorated the new
+gardens with them. Aubrey mentions them as belonging to Jesus College,
+Oxford; he calls them Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and
+walks of the place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by the
+riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens continued until
+1753, when they were suppressed as a nuisance. Cunningham quotes the
+prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's 'Busy Body.'
+
+    The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,
+    That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,
+    At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,
+    Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM]
+
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is one of the last places
+visited in the course of that very remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began
+at four o'clock in the morning and ended at one o'clock next morning,
+such was the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital. It was first
+built for the accommodation of those who came to this spot in order to
+drink the waters of a spring supposed to possess wonderful properties,
+especially in the case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring,
+like so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the
+spring in St. George's Wells had no small reputation. It was especially
+in vogue between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to try
+it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for other attractions;
+it found them by day in certain ponds on the Fields close to the tavern:
+these ponds especially on Sunday were used for the magnificent sport of
+hunting the duck by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used for this
+sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over, naturally felt thirsty:
+they were easily persuaded to stay for the evening when on week days
+there was music, with dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on
+Sundays the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.
+
+Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the Pleasure Gardens,
+the Dog and Duck was a favourite place for breakfasts. The fashion of
+the public breakfast, now so completely forgotten, was brought to London
+from Bath, Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served at
+breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the gardens, very
+often all day and half the night at the Dog and Duck. There was a
+bowling green for fine weather, there was also a swimming bath--I
+believe, the only one south of the Thames. About three or four in the
+afternoon there was dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine.
+One of the ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or bowers round it; a
+band played at intervals during the day. In the long room there was an
+organ, with an excellent organist. In the evening, there was generally a
+concert; the Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in truth the place was
+acquiring a most evil reputation. In 1787 it was closed on Sunday, and
+in 1799 it was suppressed. In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and
+Duck is open, but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening. But there is
+not the least trace of any respect for the day, and the place--to speak
+the truth--is full of the vilest company in the world, whose histories
+are described in the greedy fulness and with the hypocritical
+indignation against the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would not venture to
+set down what they did, but for the pretence of indignation. Thus, there
+is a certain City merchant, once a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but
+now rich and flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl, his
+mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing some City scandal
+of the day, and that his readers know perfectly well who was meant.
+There is a certain Nan Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some
+conversational powers with a considerable fund of information about the
+shady side of town life. There is also present a young lady described as
+the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D----s, of St. G.' Here, no doubt, we have
+a piece of contemporary humour which enables us to have a slap at the
+Church. There is other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen. At the
+Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had been withdrawn. The manager,
+however, met the difficulty by engaging a free vintner, _i.e._ a member
+of the Vintners' Company, for whom no license was required. He
+therefore came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious
+illustration of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the Ramblers
+visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over the Apollo Gardens,
+deserted and falling into ruins, and visited the Flora Tea Garden. The
+company here was more respectable, in consequence of some separation
+among the ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political
+argument ran high.
+
+From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa Gardens. Let me
+extract this account of this place, which was once so popular:
+
+'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees, hung with lamps,
+blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk in which they are hung
+inferior (length excepted) to the grand walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly
+at the upper end of the walk is a large room, hung round with paintings,
+many of them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so finely
+executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place would cheapen a
+fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder of mutton or a leg of
+pork, without hesitation, if there were not other pictures in the room
+to take off his attention. But these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.
+
+'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very good, and the
+charges reasonable, and the captain, who is very intimate with Mr.
+Keyse, declares that there is no place in the vicinity of London can
+afford a more agreeable evening's entertainment.
+
+'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the lower road,
+between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford. The proprietor calls it
+_one_, but it is nearer two miles from London Bridge, and the same
+distance from that of Black-Friars. The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse,
+who has been at great expense, and exerted himself in a very
+extraordinary manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his
+labours have been amply repaid.
+
+'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in a spot
+where elegance, among people who talk of _taste_, would be little
+expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected easiness of
+behaviour, and his _genuine_ taste for the polite arts, have secured him
+universal approbation.
+
+'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less than four
+acres.
+
+'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn, consisting
+of about three acres, and in a field, parted from this lawn by a sunk
+fence, is a building with turrets, resembling a fortress, or castle. The
+turrets are in the ancient style of building. At each side of this
+fortress, at unequal distances, are two buildings, from which, on public
+nights, bomb shells, &c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is
+returned, and the whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a
+horrid, prospect of a siege.
+
+'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired into the
+parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained by the proprietor,
+who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us with a sight of his curious
+museum, for, it being Sunday, he never shows to any one these articles;
+but, the captain never having seen them, I wished him to be gratified
+with such an agreeable sight.
+
+'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written by the late
+celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive of his situation,
+which a few years ago was but a waste piece of ground. "Here is now,"
+said he, "an agreeable place, where before was but a mere wilderness
+piece of ground, and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out
+in this manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place of
+public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat a comfortable
+piece of livelihood."
+
+'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host, and, after
+paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not before we had
+tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for which Mr. Keyse is
+remarkable for preparing.'
+
+I am not here writing a history of South London. Were this a history,
+Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place, and a very large place. A
+garden which continued to be a favourite resort from the year 1660 or
+thereabouts until the year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which
+occupies so large a part in the literature of that long period, must
+have its history told in length when a history is written of the place
+where it stood. In this place I desire to do no more than to take off my
+hat to this Queen of Gardens, and to recognise her importance. The
+history of Vauxhall is an old story; it has been told at greater or less
+length, over and over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which
+have been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature and
+all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed, very poor stuff.
+The best are the lines of Canning:
+
+    There oft returning from the green retreats
+    Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;
+    Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,
+    Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:
+    While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,
+    Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.
+
+What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with Evelyn, who
+treats the place with his accustomed brevity and coldness; we go on to
+Pepys, who records how the visitors picked cherries, and how the
+nightingales sang, and lets us understand how much he enjoyed his visits
+there, and how delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison, to Fielding, to
+Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark Walk, and how the ladies were taken
+there, not unwillingly, to be frightened: we know the stage where they
+danced: we know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the Prince of
+Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the middle, and the Duchess of
+Devonshire and her friends apparently making fun of him; and in the side
+box, having supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about the forty
+thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.
+
+London was not London, life was not worth having, without Vauxhall. Like
+Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and assemblies, Vauxhall was the great
+leveller of the eighteenth century. A man might be an earl or a prince:
+he would get no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who had
+a little money to spare. And the milliner going to Vauxhall with that
+'prentice was quite as happy as any lady in the land could be.
+
+When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is carried away by
+admiration. To the City Miss who might belong to the City Assembly, but
+most likely did not, there was no such spectacle in the world as those
+avenues of trees with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was
+nothing that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the dancing
+in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the high stand; there
+was nothing so delightful as to sit in an arbour dimly lighted, and to
+make a supper off cold chicken with a glass of punch afterwards--girls
+drank punch then--to look out upon the company, resplendent, men and
+women alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the angel with him was
+a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that other gentleman behind them was
+the Rev. Dr. Scattertext of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young
+fellow in peach-coloured velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack
+the highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was nothing
+less than a national institution. All classes who could command a
+decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of Wales went there--once or
+twice he was recognised and mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all
+the lesser ladies; all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens,
+from the Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the gallant
+highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about the visitors to
+Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed by the presence of the
+highwaymen, of the adventurers, or of the ladies corresponding to those
+gentlemen--not in the least; they walked together in the lanes and
+aisles of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw the
+young rakes carrying on openly and without the least disguise. The sober
+citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her daughter saw it. There were
+no complaints, save occasionally from the Surrey magistrates. The place
+and the behaviour of the people are typical of the eighteenth century,
+in which the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and there
+were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure garden, the
+magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were robbed by highwaymen
+on their way to and from the place, guards were appointed by the
+managers. Vauxhall, however, was safer than most places, because most of
+the people came by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to have been
+allowed to stay there nearly all night.
+
+There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,' which I should
+like to transfer with acknowledgments to this page. It is from the
+'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a Vauxhall slice of ham.
+
+'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish about three or
+four times, and surveyed it with a settled countenance. Then taking up a
+slice of the ham on the point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro,
+he asked the waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost think it
+weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound; a reasonable profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose,
+now, the whole ham weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that
+is sixteen shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them at the best
+hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't stand him in ten
+shillings a-piece!"'
+
+In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens would be closed;
+they were not closed, however, but were reopened and continued open
+until the year 1859, where they were finally closed and the farewell
+night was celebrated.
+
+The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief history of Vauxhall
+Gardens in one of the morning papers--I do not know which--I have it as
+a cutting only. It is as follows:
+
+'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under Gye and Hughes's
+bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves a notice, if only as a
+memento of the pleasure the old and young have experienced in their
+delightful retreats, while their hundredfold associations, such as the
+journey of Sir Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create an interest
+seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their name from the manor of
+Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the tradition that the property belonged to
+Guy Fawkes is erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The gardens appear to
+have been originally planted with trees and laid out into walks for the
+pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir Samuel Moreland, who displayed in
+his house and gardens many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics.
+It is said these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well known in 1667,
+when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor, added a public room to them,
+"the inside of which," he says, "is all looking-glass and fountains and
+very pleasant to behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The
+time when they were first opened for the entertainment of the public is
+involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is, however, established
+to be upwards of a century and a half old. In the reign of Queen Anne
+they appear to have been a place of great public resort, for in the
+"Spectator," No. 383, dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir
+Roger de Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs to
+Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says: "We made the best of our
+way to Foxhall;" and describes the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at
+this time of the year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and the tribe
+of people that walked under their shades, I could not but look on this
+place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise." Masks were then worn, at least
+by some visitors, for Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the
+shoulder and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A glass
+of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper of the party.
+The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of our days till the year
+1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a lease of the premises, and shortly
+afterwards opened Vauxhall with a _Ridotto al Fresco_. The novelty of
+the term attracted great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in
+occasional repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every
+evening during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings at
+Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was induced to
+embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he was joined by
+Hayman. The house which he occupied is still shown, and a vine pointed
+out which he planted. Tyers's improvements consisted of sweeps of
+pavilions and saloons, in which these paintings were placed. He also
+erected an orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue
+of Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens. Mr.
+Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which was Roubiliac's
+earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards purchased the whole of the
+estate, which is copyhold of inheritance, and held of the Prince of
+Wales, as lord of Kennington manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall.
+The gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and till the
+year 1792 the admission was 1_s._; it was then raised to 2_s._;
+including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements were made, lamps
+added, &c., the price was raised to 3_s._ 6_d._, and the gardens were
+only opened three nights in the week; in 1821 the price was again raised
+to 4_s._ Upon the death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the
+property of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter of the
+original proprietor. They next descended to Mr. Barrett's sons, and from
+them by right of purchase to the late proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a
+son of the famous Jonathan Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches
+of Johnson," and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation of
+the _Ridotto al Fresco_ is thus described by one of the newspapers of
+June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the _Ridotto al Fresco_ at Vauxhall,
+there was not one half of the company as was expected, being no more
+than 203 persons, amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but
+more ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with great order
+and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot Guards being posted round
+the gardens. A waiter belonging to the house having got drunk put on a
+dress and went to _fresco_ with the rest of the company, but being
+discovered he was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver tickets. The
+proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets would only be delivered
+at 25_s._ each, the silver of every ticket to be worth 3_s._ 2_d._, and
+to admit two persons every evening (Sunday excepted) during the
+season." It appears that these silver tickets were struck after designs
+by Hogarth, and a plate of some of them shows the following:--Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope. Mr. Wood,
+63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing with a lyre, and the
+motto "_Jocosæ conveniunt Lyræ._" Mr. R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse
+side figure of Euterpe. Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the
+figure of Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of
+Thalia. This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his advice and
+assistance in decorating the gardens. After his decease it remained in
+the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow, who bequeathed it to her relation,
+Mrs. Mary Lewis, who subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his
+will, in 1823, bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to
+say that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which is "_In
+perpetuam beneficii memoriam._" On the reverse there are two figures,
+surrounded with the motto, "_Virtus voluptas felices una._" It also
+appears that Roubiliac furnished a statue of Milton for the gardens.
+Among the singers Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came
+Dignum, Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon, Mrs.
+Bland, &c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel, Melville, and
+Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega, and Madame Vestris; Mr.
+Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson, and Signor de Begnis, &c., with
+Signor Spagnoletti as leader.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY
+
+
+[Illustration: A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY]
+
+The expansion of London during the Nineteenth Century is in itself a
+fact unparalleled in the history of cities. Those who call attention to
+this miracle always point to the filling up of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead and Clerkenwell in the North, or the extension of
+the town to Hammersmith on the West. Perhaps a little consideration of
+the South may show a still more remarkable growth. I have before me a
+map of the year 1834, only sixty-four years ago, showing South London as
+it was. I see a small town or collection of small towns, occupying the
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington, Walworth, and
+Bermondsey. In some parts this area is densely populated, filled with
+narrow courts and lanes; in other parts there are broad fields, open
+spaces, unoccupied pieces of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens,
+for instance there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain
+place, then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of them gardens,
+or recreation grounds, without any buildings. Battersea is a mere
+stretch of open country. I myself remember the old Battersea Fields
+perfectly well; one shivers at the recollection; they were low, flat,
+damp, and, I believe, treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh,
+by paths raised above the level; at no time of year could the Battersea
+Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they were inexpressibly
+dismal. As a boy I have walked across the fields in order to get to the
+embankment or river wall from which one commanded a view of the Thames
+with its barges and lighters going up and down--pleasant when the sun
+shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient glory when the
+pleasure barges and the State barges swept majestically up the river
+with the hautboys and the trumpets in the bows; when the swans by
+thousands sailed upon the broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle
+of the river the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen
+hundred years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the fields on one side
+were lower than the waters on the other. Beyond the river were the trees
+of Chelsea Hospital. Close to the river bank was an enclosure which was
+called the Subscription Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot
+pigeons--noble sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low condition
+who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside to shoot down those
+birds which escaped from the murderers within. Close by the Subscription
+Ground was a certain famous tavern called the Red House. I do not know
+why it was famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing sportsmen
+close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not, proved excellent
+customers for the drinks of the Red House. At that time there were
+'famous' taverns all up and down the river on either bank. There are
+still Riverside taverns, but the invasion of the new streets and houses
+has driven them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they probably remain
+still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea Fields, and there were
+certain historical associations in connection with these dreary flats.
+Here, for instance, the Duke of Wellington fought his duel with Lord
+Winchilsea. Other important people were also connected either with the
+Fields or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone absolutely: no trace of
+it remains, except the Church. The Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over
+the site of the famous Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks
+covers the Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the flat
+and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with streets mean and
+monotonous, stand where formerly the pigeons flew wildly, hoping to
+escape those who waited outside the grounds as they had escaped those
+who potted at them from within.
+
+[Illustration: IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY]
+
+[Illustration: The Temple from the Surrey Bank]
+
+[Illustration: HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE]
+
+Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into Rotherhithe. It
+is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe, the Place of Cattle; and
+at the other Lambeth or Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not
+the 'Place of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there, but
+without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of the preceding
+century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A single street runs along the
+Embankment, which it hides and covers: at the back of this street there
+is a succession of small lanes and courts running back with tiny
+houses--two or four rooms to each--on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery--leaves and palings. You may still see, in 1898,
+if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship in one of the old
+docks, sticking across the street, causing a momentary confusion in the
+mind between land and water; there are riverside taverns which look as
+if at a touch they would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834
+this street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland--or in-marsh--ponds and ditches and creeping streams lay about;
+one of the ponds survives to this day; you will find it in the middle of
+the pretty garden they call Southwark Park, of which it forms the
+ornamental water. And the rest of Rotherhithe, between the Park and
+Bermondsey, is one unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no
+open space. All is filled up and built upon.
+
+A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map of 1834 I see a
+little town, lying partly on the bank of the Thames, partly on the bank
+of the Ravensbourne, which here widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The
+greater part of the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not
+yet closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000 people,
+about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its people; it
+boasted of two churches and two almshouses. One of these Havens of Rest
+was so picturesque and so beautiful that it could not be suffered to
+remain. Almshouses which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable. Their
+time expired, they are then carried off Heavenward.
+
+Or turn your eyes further south. London in this direction now
+covers--for the most part completely, in some parts leaving spaces and
+fields here and there--Greenwich, Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest
+Hill, Dulwich, Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham,
+Wandsworth, Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.
+
+[Illustration: CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.]
+
+It is difficult, now that the whole country south of London has been
+covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops, to understand how
+wonderful for loveliness it was until the builder seized upon it. When
+the ground rose out of the great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh--the cliff
+or incline is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham Rise,
+and Brixton Rise--it opened out into one wild heath after
+another--Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon, Barnes, Tooting,
+Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so south as far as Banstead Downs.
+The country was not flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it
+rose at Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture lands; on the
+hill sides were hanging woods; villages were scattered about, each with
+its venerable church and its peaceful churchyard; along the high roads
+to Dover, Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day and
+all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the wayside inns were
+crowded with those who halted to drink, those who halted to dine, and
+those who halted to sleep: if the village lay off the main road it was
+as quiet and as secure as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we
+have destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty than on the
+north. On the latter side of London there are the heights with
+Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey--one row of villages; but there is
+little more. The country between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is
+singularly dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford
+or Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely country.
+But the loveliness of South London lay almost at the very doors of
+London: one could walk into it; the heaths were within an easy walk, and
+the loveliness of Surrey lay upon all.
+
+I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which remain at the
+present moment. It will be a matter of surprise to the reader to hear of
+the many waste and wild places which have been appropriated and built
+over in the last two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of commons:
+namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood Common (in another part of
+Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common,
+South Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell Common. With
+the exception of the first all these are now gone.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840]
+
+Look at Dulwich--the peaceful and picturesque village of Dulwich on this
+map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its gardens, and its fields: the
+venerable college of Alleyn is the glory of the village--nothing more
+beautiful than this almshouse with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet
+the people flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern--the Greyhound--which was
+beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a particular brew of beer,
+a particular kind of old Jamaica for punch, and a particular vintage of
+port not to be found anywhere else, even in a City company's cellars.
+There was, in fact, no more favourite place of resort for the better
+sort of citizens of London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer
+sort it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The Dulwich
+stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too long a drive from the
+city; the young men rode--in those days the young men could all
+ride--even John Gilpin thought he could ride; they hired a horse as we
+now get into a cab. For those who lived in any suburb on the south,
+Dulwich was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village--Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834--were the Dulwich Fields, as beautiful and
+interesting as those of Battersea were the contrary: there were, I
+think, five of them in succession: the little stream called the Effra
+rose somewhere in the neighbourhood, and ran about, winding through the
+fields in a deep channel with rustic bridges across. In older days--at
+the end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a bright and
+sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what is now called the
+Effra Road, and so along the south side--or was it the north?--of
+Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood on the other side of the stream,
+with flowering shrubs--lilac, laburnum, and hawthorn--on the bank, and
+beds of the simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with a single
+rail painted green. That, however, was before my time. In the 'fifties
+the boys used to play in these fields, jumping over the stream: when
+they left the fields and got into the village they looked about for Mr.
+Pickwick and for Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do
+not learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of faith
+by an incarnation.
+
+Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark Hill, and
+Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once lived; but in the 'fifties I
+was not conscious of that fact or of his greatness. It must be saddening
+to a great man to reflect that the schoolboys have no respect for him.
+The road up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees: the
+houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives, and
+smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the institution of
+evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood. At that time great was
+the power and the authority of seriousness. To be serious was
+fashionable, if one may say so, in City circles. Respectability was
+nearly always serious: it was divided into two classes: that which had
+morning prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well. With
+the young, the latter institution was unpopular--no one of the present
+younger generation can understand how unpopular it was: a house which
+had evening prayers made a deliberate profession of a seriousness which
+was something out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for prayers. This
+profession of seriousness generally belonged to a large house, beautiful
+gardens, rich conservatories, a large income, and a carriage and pair.
+Denmark Hill used to appear to outward view as more especially a suburb
+belonging to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more
+than common earnestness.
+
+[Illustration: DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780]
+
+Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses only, each with
+its parklike grounds and gardens and its noble trees. Champion Hill I
+remember as a green and grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon
+it: but there was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green--you may still find this tract of grass, but I believe it is
+now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green they kept ponies for hire:
+the boys used to ride them up the hill and gallop them down the hill.
+Beyond this green there was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so
+far as I can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not a
+wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place covered with fern
+and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but a barren, dreary expanse of
+uncertain grass. Boys would perhaps have played cricket upon it in
+summer, but there were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this
+country is covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.
+
+We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South London: we have
+forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge--one of the many thousands of
+Penge--what this suburban town was like seventy years ago. Do you think
+he can tell you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any Penge
+Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago--viz. in May
+1827--that Mr. William Hone--the compiler of the 'Every-Day Book,'
+climbed up outside the Dulwich stage, proposing to visit the picture
+gallery of Dulwich College. Hone was one of the first of those curious
+and inquisitive persons who began to employ their summers in exploring
+the unknown villages and strange places round London. The picture
+gallery he could not see because it was closed; he therefore walked
+across the country from Dulwich to a place called Penge. At the top of a
+hill he found a choice of three roads. He chose that which led through
+Penge Common. The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a
+cathedral of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse--other people's verse. Alas! the Common had already,
+even then, been ravished from its owners, the people: it was enclosed;
+it was doomed; it was about to be built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself,
+however, at the 'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and
+home-brewed ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers the
+hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as beautiful as the
+hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the Common, they are gone.
+
+[Illustration: From the Tower of St. Saviour's]
+
+Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers of its ancient
+glories; whether there were any ancient glories. Has he heard of the
+famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why,
+the Queen of all the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign
+at Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this resident heard
+of the views from the top of the hill, four hundred feet above the level
+of the sea, whither the people flocked by hundreds to see the view and
+to wander in the woods?
+
+All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was inevitable.
+One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we cannot have town and country
+together. The woods are gone, the rural life is gone, encroachments have
+been made upon the commons, the wayside tavern--the place was full of
+wayside taverns--is gone. What remains of all this beauty is a fragment
+here and there. Clapham Common, once a heath, now a park; Wimbledon
+Common, Tooting Common; these expanses are mercifully left us for
+breathing-places. Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into
+imitations of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have lost the wood
+beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed lands, the tinkle of the sheep
+bell, the song of the skylark.
+
+We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the associations of
+South London. I confess that, for my own part, I am not happy in
+considering associations connected with rows of terraces and villas.
+Here, you say, was once the house, with the park, of such and such a
+great man. Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility. If
+I am taken to a slum--such a slum as that on the west of St. Mary
+Overies, and am told that in this place was Winchester House, I am at
+once interested. Why should the memory of the past appeal to our
+imagination more in a slum than in a brand new, spick and span
+collection of pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all
+things tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay? Who,
+for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of Tooting Common into
+the place which was once Streatham Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and
+Dr. Johnson among these roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might
+remember, were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were not so much
+built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about. At Putney, but for the
+villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh! there are a thousand people once
+living, and walking, and playing their parts in their villages, whose
+wraiths and spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for
+the bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads and the
+trams.
+
+We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we have also made its
+historical associations impossible.
+
+[Illustration: RED CROSS GARDENS, Southwark]
+
+The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from its rural
+folk, came from London about the time when roads began to be tolerable;
+that is to say, late in the seventeenth century; they were the great
+folk, the leisured folk, the Quality, who had suburban houses in
+addition to their town houses and their country houses. They sought
+shelter in the quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained, as a rule,
+for a year or two, for a few months, for a season. When the roads
+became so far improved as to make driving easy and pleasant, the city
+merchants came and built or bought big houses, and drove in and out
+every day in their carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a
+rule: they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down therein.
+They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses where they grew early
+strawberries; they had in front a broad lawn with a carriage drive; they
+liked to have on the lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the
+grass. They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday. In
+course of time other people came; but the first comers--these
+merchants--were the aristocracy, the first families of the suburbs. In
+the newer places there are still to be found the first families; in the
+older suburbs they have all disappeared from the place. Thus Clapham, I
+believe, knows no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not in other
+suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights attained by these
+fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but there were many which had
+among them ex-Lord Mayors and Aldermen; there were many persons among
+them of dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone: there
+is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a pity. There should be
+in every community some whose position entitles them to respect and
+authority; there should be some to take the lead naturally; there should
+be some who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater part of
+the people in a community are engaged in trade.
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK]
+
+I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison between
+the population of these villages in 1801 with that of these great towns
+in 1898 is so startling that it must be recorded. Battersea has risen
+from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from
+27,985 to 295,033; Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from
+14,283 to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that part
+which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a population
+of very nearly two millions; in other words the population, in less than
+a hundred years, has been multiplied by ten. That of London itself, in
+the same time, the London including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel,
+Bloomsbury, and Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South London? Well,
+people must live somewhere; the old limits proved insufficient. First,
+places which had been dotted over with fields and gardens and vacant
+places, such as Southwark on the west side, and Bermondsey, were
+completely built over and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how
+to stow away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London stretched itself out
+farther; it began to include Camberwell, Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham,
+and Wandsworth. These were separate suburbs lying each among its own
+gardens; the inhabitants were not clerks, but principals and employers,
+substantial merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks lived
+nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly came the
+railway, when London made another step outward, so as to take in the
+places lying south of Clapham and Brixton. Then the builder began; he
+saw that a new class of residents would be attracted by small houses and
+low rents. The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population of South London
+no longer consists of rich merchants, principals, and partners. Clerks,
+assistants, and employés of all kinds now crowd the morning and evening
+trains.
+
+If you want to form some idea of the South London folk, go stand inside
+Cannon Street Station and watch the trains come in, each with its
+freight of those who earn their daily bread within the City. See them
+pass out--by the hundred--by the thousand--by the fifty thousand. The
+brain reels at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As they hurry past
+you observe on each the same expression, the same set eagerness, with
+which the day's work is approached. Employer or employé, principal or
+clerk, it matters nothing. The clerk, who will get none of the thousands
+he is helping to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means battle,
+daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge, earlier
+knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness, while there is as much
+need, for success, or courage tenacity, and bluff as in any battle
+between contending armies. The many twinkling feet pass out of the
+station by the hundred thousand, every morning, to the field of battle.
+The English are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the
+City is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired, in
+which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and for ever.
+
+[Illustration: Below Cherry Garden Pier]
+
+In South London there are two millions of people. It is therefore one of
+the great cities of the world. It stands upon an area about twelve
+miles long and five or six broad--but its limits cannot be laid down
+even approximately. It is a city without a municipality, without a
+centre, without a civic history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or
+journals; it has no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine;
+it has no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary
+centre--unless the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm--one cannot imagine a
+man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres, except of a very popular or
+humble kind; it has no clubs, it has no public buildings, it has no West
+End. It is argued that although it has none of these things, yet it has
+them all by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are accessible
+to the South. Far be it from me to deny the culture of Sydenham and the
+artistic elevation of Tooting. Yet one feels there must surely be some
+disadvantage in being separated from the literary and artistic circles
+whose members, it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a young man
+who would pursue a career in art not to live among people who habitually
+talk of art and think of art. It must surely be some disadvantage to
+live in a place where the people, when they are gathered together,
+mostly allow the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.
+
+How are these two millions distributed?
+
+There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention has been made. Their
+numbers and their proportion to the whole I know not. Next, there are
+the working people, those for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of
+barracks called model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand--by the million: there are more than a million
+working men in South London. For their use are the shops of the
+Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the public houses. The third layer
+is found on a slip of ground, of which Newington and Kennington may be
+taken as representative: it consists principally of lodging-houses for
+clerks. The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High Street,' filled
+with shops, is for the villas.
+
+[Illustration: The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit's Window in the Marshalsea]
+
+Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon the City. The
+bread-winners go in and out every day; the local shops provide for the
+houses, and are paid out of the money made in the City; the local
+doctor, the local house agent, the local schoolmaster, the local
+clergyman, all receive their share of the money made in the City; even
+if there be, here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the City;
+the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the City, so that the
+first function of the City is to feed and supply all these millions. If
+at any time the trade of the City were to decay, these suburbs would
+decay as well; if the decay were gradual, they would slowly cease to
+spread, begin to show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay
+were to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily deserted.
+Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale never before equalled.
+Tadmor in the Wilderness would be a mere little wheelbarrow full of
+stones compared with suburban London given over to decay and wreck.
+
+Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the working class! The
+brain reels at thinking of this teeming multitudinous life; these armies
+of men, women, and children living in the slums and in the huge,
+unlovely barracks. The very number makes it impossible to grasp the
+enormity of the mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as
+if individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are they among
+so many? But in another sense, as I will presently show, individual
+effort may produce consequences both deep and widespread.
+
+It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of humanity--this
+compact round ball of men and women, to make which two millions have
+been brought together--as if any one life was nothing, as if the life of
+any one out of the heap--any girl, any lad--was wholly unimportant and
+trivial, however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great in a
+densely populated place as in a village. One example is precious--beyond
+all price--in a model dwelling-house of Bermondsey as in the most
+retired community of rustics. It is very easy to generalise from the
+mass: the dweller of the slums stands before the mind's eye, beery,
+unwashed, in rags, inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which
+may better be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is because we do not
+know him. Ask those who go down among these people habitually, they will
+tell you of differences and distinctions among them as among ourselves,
+of memories of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and,
+at the very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of a
+clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be very careful
+how we form general conclusions about men and women.
+
+[Illustration: Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy's]
+
+But--two millions of people! And every one of them wanting all the time
+what he thinks will make his life more happy. For the riverside folk the
+wants are few, but they are daily wants. With them, literally, it is a
+question of daily bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more
+numerous and their happiness more complex!
+
+Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain work of a
+philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the place and of the time.
+Many and various are the attempts and the associations and the machinery
+for raising some of these people and for keeping others from sliding
+down. There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised than
+at any previous time, more active, and more largely assisted; they have
+planted evening schools and clubs, for boys and girls. One must put the
+Church of England first, not only because her clergy began the work of
+rescue, but also because hers is still the larger part. There is, next,
+the indirect work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's, who
+go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because they come to
+doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable questions about the
+children's school. There are, next, places which aim at civilising by
+the presentation of things civilised. For instance, there is a very
+pleasing institute in Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air
+band, a lecture or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look
+upon are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by degrees.
+There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and, lastly, there are
+the 'Settlements,' college settlements and others. Let me briefly
+describe the work and aims of one of these settlements. I have before me
+the last Report of the Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the
+Browning Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.
+
+[Illustration: The Entrance Gates to Guy's]
+
+As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods of a
+'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They are not all the
+same, but the differences are slight. The directors of this settlement,
+for instance, desire to plant a settlement house in every poor street; a
+house which shall be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall
+serve as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a large club
+house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys and girls. Once a week
+there is a concert in the hall. The members of the settlement take as
+large a part as possible in the local government; they have laid out a
+burial-ground at the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor men's
+lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension Lectures; they
+have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday afternoons for the men;
+they have a maternity society; they have a clothes store; they have an
+adult school. Classes are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics;
+there have been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade; there is
+musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest Festivals; and there are,
+in addition, works of religion and temperance which I have not
+enumerated above.
+
+The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers, personal
+service; for the people, the influence of example, the attraction of
+things which they understand at once to be a great deal more pleasant
+than the bar and the tap-room; such a variety of work and recreation as
+may drag all into the net except the substratum of all, whom nothing can
+lift out of the mire.
+
+One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these settlements.
+First, how large an area in a densely populated part can be covered by a
+single settlement? Next, how many young men can be found to carry on the
+work? For instance, if the Browning Settlement can reach--of course it
+cannot--all the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine other settlements in
+South London from Battersea to Greenwich, both included. If we give
+20,000 people for each settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty
+settlements for the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the officers and
+managers of departments, from which it would seem that about thirty are
+actively engaged from day to day. So that fifteen hundred voluntary
+workers in all would be required in order to cover this land of slums
+with an effective string of settlements.
+
+[Illustration: A Former Entrance to St. Thomas's Hospital]
+
+There never was a time when more determined efforts have been made for
+the elevation of the submerged, and there never was a time when so many
+young men and young women have been found ready to give the whole of
+their time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be seen;
+whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now passing over
+the minds of the young will continue and remain with us has also to be
+proved. The directors of the Browning Settlement meantime declare--I
+have no intention of questioning the truth of their assertion--that they
+find already among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship, and
+more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement, we cannot
+but desire for South London a chain of settlements reaching from
+Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.
+
+    NOTE.--Since this was written several new Theatres have been built
+    in South London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on
+    p. 320 which states that the Theatres are humble. Also I would
+    acknowledge the existence of local newspapers, and instead of saying
+    that it has no public buildings I would say only one or two old
+    buildings.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Acrensis, Thomas, 161
+
+Actors, Company of, 225-228
+
+Ailwin, Childe, 52
+
+Albion Island, 4
+
+Alfred repairs the Walls, 31
+
+Allectus, Emperor, 18, 26
+
+Alleyn, Edward, 271
+
+Arundell, Archbishop, 114, 116
+
+Asclepiodotus, 29
+
+Awdry, Legend of, 15
+
+
+Bankside, 217
+
+Battersea Fields, 303, 304
+
+Battle of Clapham Common, 18
+
+-- on London Bridge, 148-150
+
+Bear Garden Alley, 214
+
+'Below Bridge,' 229
+
+Bermondsey, Religious House, 51
+
+-- Spa Gardens, 292
+
+-- Hall, 233
+
+Bill of a Feast, 265
+
+Boadicea, Queen, 26
+
+Boleyn, Anne, 122
+
+Bombardment of London, 153
+
+Borough Compter, 249, 272, 278
+
+-- Society, 260, 261
+
+Bridge across the River, 12
+
+-- at the Barefoot Tavern, 264
+
+-- Construction of, 29
+
+-- Destroyed and repaired, 44, 45
+
+--, The, 25
+
+-- when built, 26
+
+Bridges, Roman Method of Building, 28
+
+Bull and Bear Baiting, 210, 211
+
+Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+
+Cade's Rebellion, 148
+
+Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, 38
+
+Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, 163
+
+-- Tales, 168-176.
+
+Carausius, History of, 18
+
+Causeway across Southwark Marsh, 6, 7
+
+-- the Lie of, 6, 7
+
+Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, 4
+
+Charles II.'s Restoration, 129
+
+Charlton Fair, 188
+
+Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 168-174
+
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle,' 6
+
+Christmas at Kennington Palace, 77-79
+
+Clapham Common Battle, 18
+
+-- Rise, 5
+
+Clink Prison, 248
+
+Cnut's Canal, Course of, 40, 41
+
+-- Siege, 38
+
+-- Trench, 38
+
+Commercial Docks, 234, 305
+
+Copt Hall or Vauxhall, 111
+
+Count of the Saxon Shore, 17
+
+Cranmer, Martyrdom of, 65
+
+Cuper's Gardens, 252, 288
+
+
+Danes defeated, 35
+
+Danish Alliance against London, 32, 33
+
+-- Invasion, Second, 36
+
+Debtors' Prisons, 272
+
+Denmark Hill, 311
+
+Deptford, 234-238, 306
+
+'Dog and Duck,' 289-292
+
+Domesday Book compiled, 72
+
+Dover Road, 25
+
+Dry Ground beyond Kennington, 5
+
+Duels in Battersea Fields, 304
+
+Dulwich Fields, 309
+
+
+Earl Godwine's Invasion, 42
+
+Earliest Maps of South London, 47
+
+Edmund fights Cnut, 38
+
+Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, 96
+
+Effra River, 310
+
+Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, 103, 105, 108
+
+Elizabeth Woodville, 62
+
+Eltham Palace, 69, 74, 75, 89-97
+
+Eltham Palace, Remains of, 94;
+  a Royal visit, 94-96
+
+Embankment, Early Repairs of, 12
+
+-- First, of River, 11, 12
+
+Extent of South London, 2;
+  its Islets or Eyots, 2-3
+
+
+Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, 176
+
+Fairs of London, 179
+
+Falconbridge, Bastard of, 153
+
+Falcon Stream, 3
+
+Falstaff, Sir John, History of, 134-152
+
+Ferries across Marsh, 26
+
+Field, Nathan, 223
+
+Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 110
+
+Fleet sent against the Danes, 32
+
+Ford of Thorney, 5
+
+Freemantle, History by, 1
+[Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to Freeman not Freemantle.]
+
+
+Gildable Manor, 48
+
+Gokstad's ship, 33, 40, 41
+
+Goose Green, 311
+
+Great South Marsh, 2
+
+Green Dragon Inn, 262
+
+Greenwich Fair, 188
+
+-- Hospital, 109
+
+-- Palace, 97-109
+
+
+Hackney Marsh, 11
+
+-- Marshes, 6
+
+Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, 275
+
+Harold Harefoot, 71
+
+Hengist and Æsc, 20
+
+Henry III. at Eltham, 90
+
+-- VI.'s Coronation, 126-129
+
+Herne Hill, 311
+
+High Street, Borough, 10
+
+-- -- Southwark, 254
+
+Hope Theatre, Southwark, 221
+
+Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, 5
+
+Horselydown, 231
+
+-- Fair, 229
+
+Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, 118
+
+
+Inns of Southwark, 16, 262, 263
+
+Insignia of Pilgrimage, 157
+
+Islands in the Marsh, 2
+
+Isle of Bramble, 9
+
+-- -- or Westminster, 4
+
+
+Juxon, Archbishop, 120
+
+
+Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, 129
+
+Katharine of Valois, 56-60
+
+Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, 81-88
+
+-- Palace, 69, 73;
+  owned by Theodric, 72;
+  Christmas at, 78-80
+
+Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, 81
+
+King's Bench Prison, 272, 274
+
+
+Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, 179-185
+
+Lambeth Palace, 109
+
+-- -- visited by Royalty, 114
+
+Langton, Stephen, 118
+
+Legend of Awdry, 15
+
+'Le Loke,' 64
+
+'Liberties' of South London, 48
+
+'Liberty' Prisons, 49
+
+London and Southwark, Difference between, 22
+
+-- as a Port, 10
+
+-- attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, 154-156
+
+-- Original Site of, 23
+
+-- Site of, from the Causeway, 7
+
+-- Third Siege of, by Danes, 36, 37
+
+Long Barn, The, 70, 73, 75
+
+Lord Mayor's Pageants, 133
+
+
+Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, 38
+
+Manor of Lambeth, 117
+
+Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, 199-204
+
+Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+-- at St. Mary Overies, 192, 193
+
+Marsh, Great South, 2
+
+-- Islands in, 2
+
+Marshalsea, 279
+
+Memories of Greenwich, 98, 99
+
+Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, 242, 246
+
+Monastic Houses, 50
+
+Montagu Close, Southwark, 242
+
+Monuments in St. Mary Overies, 196-198
+
+Morden College, 239
+
+
+New Mint Sanctuary, 246
+
+Nonesuch, 77
+
+Norfolk College, 239
+
+-- House, 110
+
+
+Origin of Settlements in South London, 17
+
+Owen Tudor, 56-60
+
+
+Paris Gardens, 215
+
+-- -- Baiting at, 212
+
+Parish Clerks, Company of, 210
+
+Parliament at Lambeth Palace, 113
+
+Pax Romana, 17, 43
+
+Payn, John, 147, 151
+
+Peckham Rye, 312
+
+Penge Common, 312
+
+Philanthropic Work, 324
+
+Pilgrimage a Mockery, 165, 166
+
+-- Insignia of, 157
+
+Pilgrimages, Choice of, 159, 160
+
+Pilgrims starting from Southwark, 158
+
+Playhouses in Southwark, 220
+
+Pleasure Gardens, 282-288
+
+Poets of South London, 224, 225
+
+Population, Increase in, 316, 317
+
+Priory of St. Mary Overies, 192
+
+Prisons of the Liberties, 49
+
+Processions in Southwark, 124
+
+Punishments ordered by the Church, 68
+
+Puritan Effect on Theatres, 221, 222
+
+
+Ravensbourne, 2, 3
+
+Red Cross Gardens, 315
+
+-- House Tavern, 304
+
+Remains of Eltham Palace, 94
+
+Richard II. at Kennington Palace, 81, 82
+
+River, First Embankment of, 11, 12
+
+-- Wall removed, 28
+
+Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, 21
+
+Roman Connection with Causeway, 6
+
+-- Method of Building Bridges, 28
+
+-- Remains in South London, 14-16
+
+-- -- at St. Saviour's Grammar School, 15
+
+-- Trajectus, 10
+
+Rotherhithe, 305
+
+Royal Houses, 69
+
+-- Manor, Valuation of, 72, 73
+
+Royalty at Eltham Palace, 92
+
+Rum, 10
+
+
+Sanctuaries, Later, 241
+
+Sanctuary at Southwark, 243
+
+-- at New Mint, 246
+
+Savoy Dock, 230
+
+Settlements in South London, Origin of, 17
+
+Show Folk of Bankside, 206
+
+Site of London from Causeway, 7
+
+-- of Original London, 23
+
+Snorro, Thirlesen, 22
+
+Society in the Borough, 261
+
+South London, Extent of, 2
+
+-- -- deserted, 20, 21
+
+-- -- named Southwark by Saxons, 2
+
+-- -- in Ruins and deserted, 31
+
+-- -- Earliest Map of, 47
+
+-- -- of To-day, 301
+
+Southwark, Conditions of Existence, 12, 13
+
+-- and London, Difference between, 22
+
+-- Fair or Lady Fair, 179-185
+
+-- Famous Inns, 16
+
+-- without a Wall, 17
+
+Stage Coaches, Start of, 258, 259
+
+St. Mary Overies, 191
+
+-- -- -- Dock, 10
+
+-- -- -- Marriages at, 192, 193
+
+-- -- -- reconstructed, 195, 196
+
+-- -- -- connected with Marian Persecution, 199-204
+
+-- -- -- in Recent Times, 205
+
+St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, 4
+
+St. Saviour's Abbey, 51
+
+St. Thomas's Hospital, 64
+
+-- -- -- Foundation of, 66
+
+-- -- -- Roman Remains in, 15, 16
+
+'Stonegate,' 6
+
+Stubbs, History by, 1
+
+Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, 33-37
+
+
+Tabard Inn, 268
+
+Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 167
+
+Thames Fishermen, 14
+
+Theatre of Southwark Fair, 185
+
+Thorney, Trade of, 8
+
+-- Island, Trade of, 4
+
+Tournament at Eltham, 94-96
+
+Trade of Thorney, 8
+
+-- Route of South London, 4
+
+Traffic through Southwark, 256, 257
+
+Trench of Cnut, 38
+
+
+Vauxhall Gardens, 294-299
+
+-- -- Site of, 113
+
+-- or Copt Hall, 111
+
+
+Walbrook, 8
+
+-- Origin of Name, 3
+
+Walls repaired by Alfred, 31
+
+Walworth, the Name, 23
+
+Wandle, River, 2, 3
+
+Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, 4
+
+White Lyon Prison, 280
+
+William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, 43
+
+-- III.'s Entry into London, 131, 132
+
+Willoughby, Sir John, 105
+
+Wyclyf's trial, 84
+
+
+               PRINTED BY
+  SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER
+             LONDON AND ETON
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT & JAMES RICE.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
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+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.
+  THE SEAMY SIDE.
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+
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+NOVELS BY SIR WALTER BESANT.
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+
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+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by HARRY FURNISS.
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+  HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.
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+
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+
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+
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+
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+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
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+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.
+  NO OTHER WAY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.
+  WESTMINSTER. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 130 Illustrations.
+  SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 119 Illustrations.
+  EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by F. S. WALKER, and
+    54 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, L. RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.
+  THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By WALTER BESANT and W. H. POLLOCK.
+    With 50 Illustrations by CHRIS. HAMMOND and A. JULE GOODMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2_s._ each.
+
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net each.
+
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6_s._
+  THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. CHEAP EDITION, picture cover, 1_s._ net.
+
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44683 ***
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44683 ***</div>
+
+<div> <p>[Transcriber's Note: The cover image was created by the transcriber by adding the title and author's name to a scan of the cover of the original book and is placed in the public domain.]</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="535" height="800" alt="Book cover"/>
+</div>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<p class="small-title">SOUTH LONDON</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<p class="small-title">WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.</p>
+
+<p class='center'><span class="smcap">Uniform Edition.</span> Demy 8vo. cloth, 5<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 125 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant has here attempted,
+with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The Author of "A Short History of the English
+People" and the historian of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and indelible pictures of the people
+of the past.... No one who loves his London but will love it the better for reading this
+book. He who loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest pleasure.'&mdash;<i>Graphic.</i></p>
+
+<p>'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his beautifully illustrated
+book will call up in the minds of those who bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and
+expectation. He contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the London of
+the present more living than before.'&mdash;<i>Spectator.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">WESTMINSTER.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 131 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and its corporate life in a way
+which has never been surpassed&mdash;not even equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he
+has made to live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of London to the mere
+dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster" even better.... There is nothing
+but admiration to be expressed as well for the plan as for the execution.'&mdash;<i>Daily Chronicle.</i></p>
+
+<p>'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his charming book on "London."...
+From beginning to end the narrative never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one
+rises from its reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and a greater veneration
+for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the past.'&mdash;<i>Guardian.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">SOUTH LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 120 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great world they live in we
+cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to the author's previous volumes. It is written by an
+enthusiast who is also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of life; and
+it passes before the reader's imagination a series of indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic
+and monotonous South London with the romance which is its due.'&mdash;<i>Literature.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">EAST LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 55 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Phil May</span>, <span class="smcap">Raven Hill</span>, and <span class="smcap">Joseph Pennell</span>.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles Dickens.... He
+has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his knowledge of the great city. He was grey before
+he attempted to write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+London"&mdash;books which have earned him his title as the historian of London&mdash;and he has postponed
+his book on "East London" until his sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian
+lore mingled with human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is this
+study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly book.'&mdash;<i>Literary World.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">FIFTY YEARS AGO.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations of George Cruikshank and
+the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise lend additional effect.... The book is full of
+movement and colour, and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of Queen
+Victoria.'&mdash;<i>Speaker.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>Small 8vo. cloth (in the <span class="smcap">St. Martin's Library</span>), gilt top, 2<i>s.</i> net each;
+feather, gilt edges, 3<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left">LONDON.</td><td align="left">WESTMINSTER.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.</td><td align="left">JERUSALEM.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">GASPARD DE COLIGNY.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class='center'>London: CHATTO &amp; WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"></a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i"></a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_004.jpg" width="416" height="600" alt="F. S. Walker, R.E." title="" />
+<p><i>F. S. Walker, R.E.</i></p>
+<span class="caption"><i>S<sup>t.</sup> Saviour's, Southwark.</i></span>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">{iii}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h1><a name="SOUTH_LONDON" id="SOUTH_LONDON"></a>SOUTH LONDON</h1>
+
+<p class='center'>
+BY<br />
+<br />
+<span style="font-size: x-large;">WALTER BESANT</span><br />
+<br />
+AUTHOR OF<br />
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/illus_005.jpg" width="100" height="62" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class='center'>
+A NEW EDITION<br />
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.<br />
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+<p class='center'>
+LONDON<br />
+<span style="font-size: x-large;">CHATTO &amp; WINDUS</span><br />
+1912
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">{v}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>In sending forth this book on '<span class="smcap">South London</span>,' the successor
+to my two preceding books on '<span class="smcap">London</span>' and '<span class="smcap">Westminster</span>,'
+I have to explain in this case, as before, that it is not a
+history, or a chronicle, or a consecutive account of the Borough
+and her suburbs that I offer, but, as in the other two books,
+chapters taken here and there from the mass of material which
+lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which illustrate the
+most important part of History, namely, the condition, the
+manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now,
+like Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three
+hundred years ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing
+tide by an Embankment, joined to the Dover road by a Causeway,
+settled and inhabited by two or three Houses of
+Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots, and
+great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment
+from time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was
+built: and by a street of Inns and shops.</p>
+
+<p>I hope that '<span class="smcap">South London</span>' will be received with favour
+equal to that bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief
+difficulty in writing it has been that of selection from the
+great treasures which have accumulated about this strange
+spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth part
+of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the
+showman in the 'Cries of London'&mdash;I pull the strings, and
+the children peep. Lo! Allectus goes forth to fight and die
+on Clapham Common: William's men burn the fishermen's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">{vi}</a></span>
+cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy, rides out, all in
+white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington&mdash;saw one ever
+so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards
+the city: Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's
+army: the Minters make their last Sanctuary opposite St.
+George's: the Debtors languish in the King's Bench. There
+are many pictures in the box&mdash;but how many more there are
+for which no room could be found!</p>
+
+<p>I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor
+of the <i>Pall Mall Magazine</i>, where half of these chapters first
+had the honour of appearing, for the wealth of illustration of
+which he thought them worthy: and next to the artist, Mr.
+Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully and so cunningly carried
+out the task committed to him.</p>
+
+<p>
+WALTER BESANT.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">United University Club</span>:<br />
+<i>September 1898</i>.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">{vii}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="center">CHAPTER</td><td colspan='2' align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td align="left">THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td align="left">EARLY HISTORY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td align="left">A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td align="left">THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td align="left">PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td align="left">A FORGOTTEN WORTHY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td align="left">THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td align="left">THE PILGRIMS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td align="left">THE LADY FAIR</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td align="left">ST. MARY OVERIES</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td align="left">THE SHOW FOLK</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td align="left">BELOW BRIDGE</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td align="left">THE LATER SANCTUARY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td align="left">IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td align="left">THE DEBTORS' PRISON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td align="left">THE PLEASURE GARDENS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td align="left">SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_301">301</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">{ix}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii"></a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#frontispiece">ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK</a><br /><i>Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E.</i></td><td align="left"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" colspan='2'>PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#View_from_Southwark_Marsh">VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES</a></td><td align="right">3</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh">CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH</a></td><td align="right">7</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet">FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET</a></td><td align="right">9</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Barking_Creek">BARKING CREEK</a></td><td align="right">11</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE">RELICS OF THE STONE AGE</a></td><td align="right">15</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE">A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE</a></td><td align="right">17</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE">RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE</a></td><td align="right">19</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh">MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH</a></td><td align="right">27</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#London_Bridge_AD_1000">LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000</a></td><td align="right">29</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Danish_House">A DANISH HOUSE</a></td><td align="right">31</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY">SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY</a></td><td align="right">33</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Viking_Ship">A VIKING SHIP</a></td><td align="right">34</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SKETCH_MAP">SKETCH MAP</a></td><td align="right">37</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#DIAGRAM">DIAGRAM</a></td><td align="right">40</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP">THE GOKSTAD SHIP</a></td><td align="right">41</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror">SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR</a></td><td align="right">43</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BAYEUX_TAPESTRY">BAYEUX TAPESTRY</a></td><td align="right">45</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey">THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">51</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BERMONDSEY_ABBEY">BERMONDSEY ABBEY</a></td><td align="right">52</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY">GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY</a></td><td align="right">53</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK">ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">61</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LE_LOKE">'LE LOKE'</a></td><td align="right">63</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER">REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH</a></td><td align="right">67</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_LONG_BARN">THE LONG BARN</a></td><td align="right">70</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">{x}</a></span><a href="#SKETCH_MAP_II">SKETCH MAP</a></td><td align="right">71</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace">GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">75</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich">THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH</a></td><td align="right">77</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE">SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE</a><br /><i>From Allen's History of Lambeth</i></td>
+<td align="right">83</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_High_Street_Southwark">THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII</a></td><td align="right">85</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796</a></td><td align="right">91</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT">KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804</i></td>
+<td align="right">93</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Remains_of_Eltham_Palace">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">95</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Moat_Bridge">THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">97</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_1662">GREENWICH, 1662</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by Jonas Moore</i></td>
+<td align="right">99</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_HOSPITAL">GREENWICH HOSPITAL</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by Schnebbelie</i></td>
+<td align="right">101</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Lambeth_Palace">LAMBETH PALACE</a></td><td align="right">109</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH">BONNER HALL, LAMBETH</a></td><td align="right">111</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH">RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH</a><br />
+<i>From 'La Belle Assemblée,' November 1822</i></td><td align="right">113</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH">BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH</a></td><td align="right">114</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE">INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving dated 1804</i></td><td align="right">115</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER">LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER</a></td><td align="right">116</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE">LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE</a></td><td align="right">117</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower">DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER</a></td><td align="right">119</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LOLLARDS39_PRISON">LOLLARDS' PRISON</a></td><td align="right">121</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK">WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">137</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE">SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">139</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House">THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET</a></td><td align="right">143</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550">HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550</a></td><td align="right">149</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY">OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY</a></td><td align="right">158</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY">OLD HALL, AYLESBURY</a></td><td align="right">159</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS">CANTERBURY PILGRIMS</a></td><td align="right">160</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH">15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH</a></td><td align="right">165</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE">RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY</a></td><td align="right">165</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN">14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT">14TH CENTURY MERCHANT</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">{xi}</a></span><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I">14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#PEDLAR">PEDLAR</a><br />
+<i>From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church</i></td><td align="right">175</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#MINSTRELS_AD_1480">MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480</a></td><td align="right">177</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR">BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR</a></td><td align="right">181</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY">GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802</i></td><td align="right">187</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">192</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">193</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR">NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800</a></td><td align="right">194</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">195</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY">GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811</a><br />
+<i>From a Drawing by Whichelo</i></td><td align="right">197</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY">REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">199</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS">TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">201</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR">A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">203</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790">ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790</a></td><td align="right">204</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#WINCHESTER_PALACE">WINCHESTER PALACE</a></td><td align="right">207</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_GLOBE_THEATRE">THE GLOBE THEATRE</a><br />
+<i>From the Crace Collection</i></td><td align="right">209</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BEAR_GARDEN">BEAR GARDEN</a></td><td align="right">213</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre">THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616</a></td><td align="right">221</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE">INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE</a></td><td align="right">223</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN">A FÊTE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590</a><br />
+<i>From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield</i></td><td align="right">231</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE">THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814</a></td><td align="right">233</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD">VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750</i></td><td align="right">235</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH">GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH</a></td><td align="right">239</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#MINT_STREET_BOROUGH">MINT STREET, BOROUGH</a></td><td align="right">245</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK">OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">249</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL">ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL</a><br />
+<i>From an old Print</i></td><td align="right">250</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk">SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">251</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Jamaica_House_Bermondsey">JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">252</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL">QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL</a></td><td align="right">253</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET">ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH</a><br />
+<i>From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820</i></td><td align="right">254</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">{xii}</a></span><a href="#THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE">THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">255</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE">AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">256</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE">JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">257</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK">THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">258</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street">OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET</a></td><td align="right">259</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn">COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN</a></td><td align="right">261</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK">THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">263</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK">ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">265</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM">A SOUTH LONDON SLUM</a></td><td align="right">267</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK">THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">268</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK">ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by B. Cole</i></td><td align="right">269</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA">REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT</a>
+<br /><i>From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803</i></td><td align="right">273</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#KING39S_BENCH_PRISON">KING'S BENCH PRISON</a></td><td align="right">275</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_King39s_Bench_Prison">ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON</a></td><td align="right">277</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VAUXHALL_GARDENS">VAUXHALL GARDENS</a><br />
+<i>From the Engraving by J. S. Müller</i></td><td align="right">283</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET">VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET</a></td><td align="right">285</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM">THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM</a></td><td align="right">289</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY">A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">301</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY">IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">302</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank">THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK</a></td><td align="right">303</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE">HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE</a></td><td align="right">305</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD">CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD</a></td><td align="right">307</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840">ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840</a></td><td align="right">309</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780">DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780</a></td><td align="right">311</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s">FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S</a></td><td align="right">313</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RED_CROSS_GARDENS">RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">315</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK">ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK</a></td><td align="right">317</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier">BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER</a></td><td align="right">319</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_George_Inn">THE GEORGE INN</a></td><td align="right">321</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_George_Inn">LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA</a></td><td align="right">321</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge">ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S</a></td><td align="right">323</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Entrance_Gates">THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S</a></td><td align="right">325</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas">A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL</a></td><td align="right">327</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">{1}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<p class="half-title">SOUTH LONDON</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br />
+<br />
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS</h2>
+
+
+<p>I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow
+by the general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors
+on 'London' and 'Westminster,' they will not attempt,
+or pretend, to present a continuous history of this region&mdash;or,
+indeed, a history at all: they will endeavour to do for this
+part of London what their predecessors have already attempted
+for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is to
+say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the
+Borough and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means
+the march of armies and the clash of armour, we shall here
+find little history. So far, also, as history means the growth
+of our liberties, the struggles by which they were won; the
+apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time, of the spirit of
+freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and the
+student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman&mdash;not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy
+to be held in the highest honour, of those who trace out the
+irresistible march of national freedom: I cannot join their company;
+I must be contented with the lowlier, yet somewhat useful,
+task of showing how the people, my forefathers, lived, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">{2}</a></span>
+what they thought, and how they sang and feasted and made
+love and grew old and died.</p>
+
+<p>My South London extends from Battersea in the west to
+Greenwich in the east, and from the river on the north to the
+first rising ground on the south. This rising ground, a gentle
+ascent, the beginning of the Surrey hills, can still be observed
+on the high roads of the south&mdash;Clapham, Brixton, Camberwell.
+It now occupies the place of what was formerly a low
+cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the
+broad level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side
+of the river, which closed in on either side of Walbrook and
+made the foundation of London possible. If we draw a
+straight line from the mouth of the Wandle on the west to the
+mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall, roughly
+speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as
+well. The whole of this region constitutes the Great South
+Marsh: there is no rising ground, or hillock, or encroaching
+cliff over the whole of this flat expanse. Before the river was
+embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for eight miles in
+length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a half
+miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created,
+as the centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of
+branches, roots, reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches
+above high water; the spring-tide covered them&mdash;sometimes
+swept them away&mdash;then others began to form. In later times,
+after the work of embankment had been commenced, these
+islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington,
+Kennington. Even then, for many a long year, they were but
+little areas rising a foot or two above the level, covered with
+sedge, reeds, and tufts of coarse grass, hardly distinguishable
+from the rest of the ground around them. Before the construction
+of the river wall, no trees stood upon this morass, no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">{3}</a></span>
+flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and bushes
+grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of
+it: there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south
+side rose the cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and
+continually receding before the encroaching tide; on the north
+side ran the river; beyond the river the cliff stood up above
+the water's edge, where the tiny stream, afterwards named
+from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the rolling
+flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="View_from_Southwark_Marsh" id="View_from_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_017.jpg" width="600" height="378" alt="View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times." title="" />
+<span class="caption">View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide
+made their way across it into the Thames: at high tide their
+beds were lost in the shallows. Among them&mdash;to use names
+by which they were afterwards distinguished&mdash;were the
+Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne, and others
+which have disappeared and left no name. And so for unnumbered
+years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the
+reeds bent beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead,
+and the wild birds screamed, far away from the world of
+men and women, long after men and women began to wander<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">{4}</a></span>
+about this Island called Albion. No one took any thought
+of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all
+along the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely
+the most desolate, dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere
+in the world. Those who wish to realise what manner of
+country it was which stretched away on the north and south
+of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it if
+they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the
+ruined Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low
+tide to east and north.</p>
+
+<p>In a previous volume dealing with another part of the
+country called London I showed to my own satisfaction,
+and, I believe, that of my readers, that long before there
+existed any London at all, except perhaps a village of a few
+fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or Thorney was
+a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to
+Dover and the southern ports. This position, new as it was,
+and opposed to the general and traditional teaching&mdash;opposed,
+for instance, to the traditional belief of Dean Stanley&mdash;has
+never been attacked, and may be considered, therefore, as
+generally accepted. When or how the trade of Thorney began,
+to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire. Indeed,
+I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the
+beginning and early history of the Southern settlements.</p>
+
+<p>The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called
+afterwards by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now
+Westminster. All the trade of the north passed over that
+little spot, on which arose a considerable town for the reception
+of the caravans. After resting a night or so at Thorney,
+the merchants went on their way. Those who travelled south,
+making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there was
+afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">{5}</a></span>
+of Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still
+survives in Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford,
+the travellers found themselves face to face with a mile of
+dangerous bog, marsh and swamp, through which they had
+to plod and plough their way, sinking over their knees, up to
+the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground,
+now called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their
+long chains of slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules
+from the north, this was the worst bit of the whole journey.
+Every day there were rivers to be forded, in which some of
+their slaves might get drowned or might escape; there were
+dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile tribes;
+there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this
+great swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed
+and floundered through it, over ankles, over knees, up to the
+middle, up to the neck, in mud and muddy water. The packhorses
+sank deep down with their loads; they took off the
+loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who threw
+them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they
+made a mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and
+slave-load; iron, lead, and skins: the merchant paid heavy
+tribute while he crossed the marshes and waded through the
+shallows of the broad tidal river.</p>
+
+<p>At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown
+person of engineering genius in advance of his time, that it
+might not be impossible to construct a causeway across this
+marsh; and that such a causeway would be extremely useful
+and convenient for those who used the Thorney Fords. Perhaps
+the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the work
+was the first causeway ever constructed in this country;
+perhaps the inventor began on the smallest possible scale,
+with a very narrow way across the marsh to the nearest dry
+ground, which was, of course, somewhere beyond Kennington;
+perhaps the work, colossal for the time, carried the merchants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">{6}</a></span>
+and their caravans across the whole extent of the marsh&mdash;five
+miles and more&mdash;to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was
+not unlike those which now run across the Hackney Marshes;
+that is to say, it was raised so high as to be above the highest
+spring tide, about six feet above the level of the marsh. It
+was constructed by driving piles into the mud at regular
+intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and filling
+up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from Chelsea&mdash;'Isle
+of Shingle'&mdash;or from the nearest high ground, where
+is now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway,
+I take it, was about ten or twelve feet. The construction
+of the work rendered the passage across the marsh perfectly
+easy, and greatly facilitated that part of the trade of
+the island which lay in the midland and on the north.</p>
+
+<p>When was this causeway, the first step in road-making,
+constructed? Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however,
+that it is older than the Roman occupation; and for
+these reasons. When London was first visited by the Romans
+it was already a flourishing city with a '<i>copia negotiatorum</i>;'
+in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting the
+greater part of the trade which formerly passed through
+Thorney. Had the Romans built the causeway, they would
+have constructed it along a line drawn from one of the two
+old ferries to Deptford. The causeway, therefore, must have
+existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene, together
+with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway connecting
+the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the
+Romans strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled
+way, soft in bad weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman
+roads; faced it with stone, and made it durable. If South
+London were to be stripped of all its houses, the two causeways
+would be found still, hard and firm, beneath the mass
+of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.</p>
+
+<p>If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">{7}</a></span>
+end of Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the
+Old Kent Road, you will understand the lie of the causeway.
+And this causeway, understand, was the very first interference
+of the hand of man with the marshes south of the Thames.
+It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment against
+the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which
+flowed in on the other side&mdash;the Battersea side: it was simply
+a way across the marsh. For a long time&mdash;we cannot tell
+how long&mdash;it remained the principal way of communication
+for the trade of Britain between the north and the south,
+the midland and the south, the eastern counties and the
+south.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh" id="Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_021.jpg" width="500" height="419" alt="Causeway across Southwark Marsh." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Causeway across Southwark Marsh.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the
+merchants crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries
+of which no trace or memory remains, when they turned their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">{8}</a></span>
+eyes northward, first a level of mud, sprinkled with little
+eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the broad river, and beyond
+the river two streams, one fuller than the other, each in
+its own valley&mdash;that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House&mdash;falling into the river;
+a low cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh,
+as on the south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames,
+approaching close to the river, and actually overhanging it.
+On the river they saw numerous coracles, with fishermen
+catching salmon and every kind of fish in their nets. No
+river in the world was more plentifully stocked with fish;
+overhead flew screaming innumerable birds&mdash;geese, ducks,
+herne&mdash;which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling
+and stone by the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the
+river, the travellers by the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk.
+Then, perhaps, they remembered the plenty of the
+markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds, the vast
+quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that
+flew up from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that
+London&mdash;'the place or fort over the Lake'&mdash;was the settlement
+which furnished Thorney with a good part of her supplies.
+And this I verily believe to have been the real origin
+and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping
+birds for the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only;
+it will be set aside, most certainly, by those who are not
+pleased with the upsetting of old theories. To those who
+are able to realise the ancient condition of things and all it
+means, the suggestion will be received, I am convinced, as
+more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.</p>
+
+<p>Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of
+great resort, as I have shown in these pages already: every
+day passed into Thorney, and out of Thorney, long processions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">{9}</a></span>
+or caravans of merchants with merchandise carried
+by slaves&mdash;the most valuable part of their merchandise&mdash;and
+by packhorses and mules; they waded through the northern
+ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the
+causeway, and went south. Or else it was the reverse way.
+The place required a daily supply of food, and, as there were
+many travellers, a great quantity of food. If you go down
+the river from Thorney, you will find that the present site of
+London, on the two hillocks rising out of the river, was the
+first and only place where men could put up huts in which to
+live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for
+Thorney. If, therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing
+centre of trade long before London was a place of trade
+at all, then the original London must have been a settlement of
+fishermen and trappers who supplied the markets of Thorney.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet" id="Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_023.jpg" width="550" height="424" alt="Fishers&#39; Huts
+at the mouth
+of the Fleet." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fishers&#39; Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In course of time&mdash;we are still in prehistoric times&mdash;the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">{10}</a></span>
+site of London was discovered by seamen and merchant
+adventurers exploring the rivers in their ships. It was found
+cheaper and easier and safer to carry goods to and from
+Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast along from
+Dover to the strait between Rum&mdash;the Isle of Thanet, and
+the mainland&mdash;to pass through the strait and up the river,
+was found easier and cheaper than to undertake the costly
+and dangerous march from Dover to Thorney Ford. This
+way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a certain part of
+the trade along the old causeway was diverted.</p>
+
+<p>The next step was the discovery of London as a port.
+There was no port at Thorney: on the site of London were
+the two natural ports of Walbrook and the mouth of the
+Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more salubrious
+than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays
+were erected, goods were landed; the high road which we
+call Oxford Street was constructed to connect London with
+the highway of trade&mdash;afterwards Watling Street; and the
+trade of London began.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it
+was, you will observe that London at its first commencement
+had no communication with any part of the world except by
+water. The first road opened was, as I have said, the connection
+with Watling Street; what was the next? It was a
+connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was
+the road which we now call High Street, Borough. These
+two roads were the first communication between London and
+any other place; all the other roads, to the north and south
+and west and east, came afterwards. It was necessary for
+London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country.
+The High Street formed that open communication; it began
+not far to the west of St Saviour's Church, opposite the
+Roman Trajectus, the mediæval ferry, now St. Mary Overies
+Dock.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">{11}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from
+embanking the river, or draining the marsh, or making it
+inhabitable. If you walk across Hackney Marsh by one of
+its causeways any autumnal morning, especially after rain,
+you will understand something of what Southwark looked
+like. Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as
+yet not a square foot had been drained or reclaimed; yet the
+place was not so wild as it had been; the wild birds had been
+partly driven away by the noise and crowd of London, and
+by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and down.
+There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river
+backwards and forwards all day long. The causeways were
+crowded with people; but as yet nothing on the lowlands.
+Before the marshes could be drained the river had to be
+embanked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Barking_Creek" id="Barking_Creek"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_025.jpg" width="550" height="415" alt="Barking Creek" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Barking Creek</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>No one knows when that was done. It was done, however.
+At some time or other a high earthwork was raised along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">{12}</a></span>
+north and south banks of the river, enclosing the marshes,
+converting them into pasture and arable land, and keeping
+out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the most signal
+benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets
+and coast of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair,
+though most of it has stood splendidly. The wall gave way,
+however, at Barking in the time of Henry the Second; at
+Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early in the
+last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall
+was costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a
+low-lying ground, rich and fertile; orchards and woods began
+to grow and to flourish upon it; yet it was still swampy in
+parts, numerous ponds lay about on it, streams wound their way
+confined in channels, and let out through the embankment at
+low tide by culverts.</p>
+
+<p>Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot
+decide. Yet I think that the embankment came first; for the
+existence of Southwark&mdash;that of any part of South London&mdash;depended
+not on the bridge, but on the embankment and the
+ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the two causeways;
+the bridge; two ferries&mdash;one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct
+communication with Dover, with Thorney&mdash;thence with the
+midlands and the north: there could not fail to arise a
+settlement or town of some kind on the south of the
+Thames.</p>
+
+<p>Let us next consider the conditions under which the town
+of Southwark began to exist and to continue for a great many
+years.</p>
+
+<p>(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except
+the marsh which surrounded it and prohibited the approach
+of an army except along the causeway.</p>
+
+<p>(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">{13}</a></span>
+south of the embankment. Although the tide no longer
+ebbed and flowed among the reeds and islets of the marsh,
+yet it was covered with small ponds, some of them stagnant,
+others formed by the many streams which flowed towards the
+culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they
+escaped into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was
+attempted, the place caused agues and fevers for any who
+slept in its white miasma. In other words, not an embankment
+only, but drainage of some kind, had to be undertaken
+before life was possible on the marsh.</p>
+
+<p>(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no
+trade, on the south side. All merchandise coming up from
+the south for export at the port of London, all merchandise
+landed at the port for the south, had to be carried across the
+bridge.</p>
+
+<p>(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of
+London&mdash;the porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys,
+stevedores, lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the
+<i>employés</i> of the merchants, their wives, women and children&mdash;all
+these people lived in London itself; they had their taverns
+and drinking shops; their sleeping places and eating places,
+in London; all the people employed in providing food and
+drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had
+to be a place without trade, without noise, without disturbance
+of workmen, without broils among the sailors or fights among
+foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with
+fish.</p>
+
+<p>(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were
+along the line of the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.</p>
+
+<p>These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore,
+to find the place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses
+were all built beside or along the raised ways. We should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">{14}</a></span>
+next expect to find along the causeways that the houses
+belonged to the wealthier class.</p>
+
+<p>We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working
+men's quarters. The former because there were no ships; the
+latter because there were no markets. Lastly, we should not
+be surprised to find the place very early occupied by inns and
+places of accommodation for those who resorted to London.</p>
+
+<p>All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman
+remains are numerous; they are all found along the causeways;
+the existence of a Roman cemetery shows that it was
+a place of some importance. I say <i>some</i>, because its very
+limited extent proves that it was never a large place. I will
+return immediately to the Roman remains.</p>
+
+<p>There was, however, one trade, one class of working men
+which took up its abode along the embankment of Southwark:
+it was that of the fishermen, driven across the river by the
+growth of London. There was no room for the fishermen
+with their coracles and nets along the line of quays on the
+north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and a
+place to spread their nets,&mdash;they could not find either in the
+north; nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually
+by oars and keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up
+their huts along the embankment; for long centuries afterwards
+the fisherfolk continued to live in South London. The
+last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied, well into the
+present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is described as
+unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But the
+last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen
+were by that time almost starved out of existence. I am
+sure that the south was always their place of residence; the
+foreshore offered them what they could not find on the north
+bank. To him, however, who considers the fisheries of the
+Thames, there are many points on which, for want of exact
+information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he
+pleases. For instance, later on, there were fishermen living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">{15}</a></span>
+at Limehouse. Some of the Thames watermen lived here
+also&mdash;the legend of Awdry the ferryman assigns to him a
+residence on the south; their favourite place of residence,
+however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE" id="RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_029.jpg" width="550" height="447" alt="RELICS OF THE STONE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RELICS OF THE STONE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Roman remains found up and down the place prove
+my assertion that the people who lived here were what we
+should call substantial. One need not catalogue the long list
+of Roman <i>trouvailles</i>; but, to take the more important, in the
+year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the foundations
+of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in St.
+Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet
+below the surface of the ground. In the following year, in
+the area facing St. Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight
+feet below the surface, there was found another, of a more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">{16}</a></span>
+elaborate design. Only a part of this was uncovered, as the
+Governors of the School forbade further investigation: it
+remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under
+the present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of
+King Street, at a depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found
+a great many Roman lamps, a vase, and other sepulchral
+deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer through Blackman
+Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered.
+In Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus
+Africanus. In Deverill Street, south of the Dover road, other
+coins were discovered; in St. Saviour's churchyard, a coin of
+Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved that an extensive
+Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient settlement.
+In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for
+the purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital,
+another tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and
+walls of other chambers, all built on piles, showing that the
+houses beside the causeway were thus supported in the marshy
+ground; Roman coins and pottery were also found here.
+Another pavement was discovered on the opposite side, south
+of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the corner of
+Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on
+which houses had been built. In many of the later buildings
+Roman tiles have been found. These remains are quite sufficient
+to prove that many wealthy people lived in Roman
+Southwark, and that they occupied villas built on piles beside
+the causeway.</p>
+
+<p>Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous
+for its inns, and since the same conditions prevailed in the
+fourth as in the fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to
+suppose that the people who drove those long lines of packhorses
+laden with goods from London used Southwark as a
+place in which to deposit merchandise before taking it across<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">{17}</a></span>
+the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage
+was cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the
+place was cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting
+place and a lodging for traders, Southwark was like Thorney
+in its palmy days&mdash;a place of entertainment for man and
+beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta; no place of
+meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual
+coming and going, which made the place lively and
+cheerful.</p>
+
+<p>Such were the origins of the settlements of South London.
+An embankment, a causeway, a fishery for the wants of
+Thorney first and of London
+next; then villas, put
+up by the better sort, attracted
+here, one believes,
+by the fresh air coming up
+the river with every tide,
+and by the quiet of the place.
+The settlement began quite
+early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery.
+The draining and drying of the low lands went on meanwhile
+gradually, gardens and orchards taking the place of the
+former marsh.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 270px;"><a name="A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE" id="A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_031.jpg" width="270" height="169" alt="A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely
+defenceless. The <i>Pax Romana</i> protected it. Remember
+that London itself was not walled till the latter part of the
+fourth century. Why should it be? For more than three
+hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no wars
+and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore'
+beat back, and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark;
+the Legions beat back the marauders of Scotland and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">{18}</a></span>
+Ireland. Southwark, like the City its neighbour, needed no
+wall and asked for no defence.</p>
+
+<p>Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a
+glimpse in history of South London. The first is the rout of
+the usurper, the Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham
+Common.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the close of the third century the succession of
+usurpers who sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions
+of the Empire contained six who came from Britain. What
+effect these movements had upon the security of South London
+we have no means of learning. The history, however, of
+Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for reflection.
+The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be
+the Count of the Saxon Shore&mdash;in other words, Admiral of
+the Roman Fleet. In this capacity he kept the seas free
+from pirates; enriched himself, became famous for his courage
+and his generosity; usurped the title of Cæsar, fought with
+and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton;
+near the latter place&mdash;at Bittern&mdash;is still seen the
+quay at which his ships were moored. His rule, of which we
+know little, was certainly strong and firm. Coins exist in
+great numbers of Carausius. They represent his arrival:
+'Expectate, veni'&mdash;'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports
+at London; he appointed a British senate. Then came the
+time when he must fight or die. Like the King of the Grove,
+the Usurper held his throne on that condition. Carausius, for
+some unknown reason, would not fight when the chance was
+offered&mdash;therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned
+in his stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life.
+He accepted the challenge; he awaited with an army of
+Franks and Britons the arrival of the Roman forces sent to
+quell him: he awaited them in London. When the enemy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">{19}</a></span>
+drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave
+battle to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath
+south of London, immediately beyond the rising ground&mdash;we
+now call the place Clapham Common&mdash;and there he fell bravely
+fighting. He had enjoyed the purple for three years. Perhaps,
+when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he was going
+to meet his fate&mdash;either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die&mdash;he reflected that for such a splendid three
+years' run it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life
+at the end.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE" id="RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_033.jpg" width="550" height="404" alt="RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London
+in history. We see the army marching across the Bridge
+and along the Causeway, shouting and singing. We see
+them a few hours later, flying from the field, rushing headlong
+over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">{20}</a></span>
+are running over the Bridge after them. Once across the
+Bridge, the soldiers found that there was left in the City
+neither order nor authority. They therefore began to sack
+and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the inhabitants.
+Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were
+permitted to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore
+there could be no defence. The pillage went on until the
+victorious general had got his army&mdash;or some of it&mdash;across
+the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his troops,
+whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the
+defeated army made any organised opposition, we know not.
+All we are told is that the Roman soldiers fought hand to
+hand with those of the dead Usurper in the streets of London,
+and that the latter were all massacred.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in
+the flight of another defeated host. The Britons had gone
+forth to fight the Saxon invaders; they met the enemy&mdash;Hengist
+and Æsc his son&mdash;at 'Creeganford'&mdash;Crayford:
+they were defeated; four thousand of them were killed; they
+fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along
+the Causeway and through the narrow gates of the Bridge.
+Alas! the old villas along the Causeway are deserted and in
+ruins; the place has been desolate for many years&mdash;since the
+Saxons began to swarm about the country; the former
+residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two
+hundred long years, and to leave its memories of hatred
+behind it for fifteen hundred years at least. The gardens are
+grown over, the orchards are neglected, the inns are empty
+and ruinous.</p>
+
+<p>Before long there falls the silence of death upon the
+walled City and the Bridge and the settlements of the South.
+All alike are deserted: the tide idly laps the piles of the
+rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty wharves, bearing no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">{21}</a></span>
+keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river, there is
+no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy.
+The timbered face of the embankment gave way and
+crumbled into the river; the Causeway was eaten by the tides
+here and there; the low grounds once more became a marsh,
+and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their former haunts.</p>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural
+reasons which led to this desertion of the City. It appears
+to us strange and almost impossible that a great city should
+be so utterly deserted. Where, however, are the cities of
+Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the great cities
+of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore
+forced them to go. This was most certainly the case
+with London. Roger of Wendover, it is true, tells us that in
+the year 462 the Saxons took possession of London, and then
+successively of York, Lincoln, and Winchester, committing
+great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in every quarter,
+like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with
+the ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy
+scriptures they burned with fire; the tombs of the holy
+martyrs they covered with mounds of earth; the clergy who
+escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of the saints to the
+caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and deserts and
+the crags of the mountains.'</p>
+
+<p>I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in
+1237) had access to documents of the time. I would rather
+incline to the belief that, given certain undoubted facts of
+battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented the world with a
+little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City
+would be only hastened. With the ruin and desolation of
+Augusta came also the ruin of the southern settlement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">{22}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This silence&mdash;this desolation&mdash;lasted some hundred years.
+Then the men of Essex&mdash;the East Saxons&mdash;came down, a few
+at a time, and took possession of the deserted City; the
+merchants began timidly to bring their ships again with goods
+for trade; the East Saxons learned the meaning of bargains;
+Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City preserved
+its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but
+the Saxons called it Southwark. And they repaired the
+embankment and restored the ancient causeways, and cleared
+away the ruins.</p>
+
+<p>Another point of difference: in London the new streets,
+laid out without rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not
+follow the old Roman streets, which were quite obliterated
+and utterly forgotten&mdash;one cannot imagine a more decisive
+proof of complete desertion and ruin. In Southwark, on the
+other hand, the streets remained the same&mdash;they were the
+two causeways and the embankment&mdash;because none others
+were then possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it
+always has been, the ancient causeway connecting the new
+port of London with the Dover road.</p>
+
+<p>Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the
+vicissitudes which must happen in a period of continual
+warfare to an undefended suburb. In times of peace, when
+trade was possible, the place was what the Icelander Snorro
+Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise carried
+to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found
+accommodation there. But we cannot believe that when the
+Danish fleets brought their fierce warriors to the very walls of
+London, Southwark&mdash;or any other settlement&mdash;would continue
+to exist unfortified. That the place remained without
+a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the
+Danes, proves that it was regarded by itself as of small
+importance. This is also proved by another fact&mdash;namely,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">{23}</a></span>
+that the place was always occupied without defence. When,
+for instance, the Danes held London for twelve years, leaving
+it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people remained
+in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived
+here for greater convenience of their work; London by this
+time was impossible for them, because it was walled all along
+the river side. If peace was prolonged, inns were set up for
+the merchants: people built houses along the causeway.
+When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of
+South London for a thousand years&mdash;alternate occupation
+and abandonment.</p>
+
+<p>There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark.
+I would deal with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of
+the heretics is a personal friend of my own. It is that the
+site of the first or original London was on the South; that
+Roman London stood on the site of Southwark; and that, at
+some time or other, there was a transference of sites, the
+whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is
+even maintained that the name of Walworth proves that
+there was once a wall round the city of the south. To me
+the name of Walworth indicates the proximity of the high
+causeway running through its midst. The consideration of
+the site&mdash;the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site&mdash;is quite
+sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the
+Lake dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the
+building of cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway,
+the South of London was impossible for the residence
+of man.</p>
+
+<p>The transference of sites is a theory often called in to
+account for, and make possible, other theories. Thus, the
+late James Fergusson invented the transference of sites in
+order to bolster up certain theories of his own on the Holy
+Places of Jerusalem. Here, however, there is no theory:
+only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">{24}</a></span>
+boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said,
+was in Kent. All the Roman remains, as we have seen, are
+found by the Causeway and the Embankment&mdash;there never
+could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only answer that
+is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would
+settle themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry
+ground across the river?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">{25}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II
+<br />
+<br />
+EARLY HISTORY</h2>
+
+
+<p>Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except
+for its connection with London by bridge and ferry, and
+especially by bridge. Before the Ferry and the Bridge there
+was no Southwark. The history of Southwark is closely
+connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end of the
+Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south.
+I propose, in this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and
+one or two of its earlier battles.</p>
+
+<p>It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge
+there was the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the
+river and 'dump' them down in the marsh? But people had
+no business in the marsh. First came the Bridge and the
+Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But
+as yet there was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and
+the appearance of houses along the Causeway and on the
+Embankment. As the trade of London increased, so Southwark&mdash;I
+would we had the Roman name&mdash;increased in proportion.
+Inns were created for the convenience of merchants,
+trade was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge,
+just as it was diverted on the north by the military way
+connecting the great high road with London. When the
+Causeway was always filled with caravans and long trains of
+heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">{26}</a></span>
+covered with passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was
+demanded as a quicker and an easier way of getting across.
+Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One of these ran
+from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained
+for nearly two thousand years&mdash;say, from <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 100 to <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span>
+1750. If a man wanted to get across the river, he did not
+make his way to London Bridge, and painfully walk across
+amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging horses and
+the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting
+across the river for the people: it was not; it was the means
+of conveying merchandise to and fro; it was a construction
+most important for military purposes; it was a barrier to
+prevent a hostile fleet from getting higher up the river; but,
+for the ordinary passenger, the boat was the quicker and the
+easier means of conveyance.</p>
+
+<p>When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It
+was not there <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked
+the City and murdered the people. It was there when Allectus
+led his troops out to fight the Roman legions. It was there
+very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved by the
+quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It
+is also proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of
+the wealthier class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely
+without supplies, had there been no bridge. We may
+take any time we please for the construction of the Bridge,
+so long as it is quite early&mdash;say, before the second century.</p>
+
+<p>The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such
+great certainty that I have no hesitation in presenting a
+drawing of it. As this Bridge has never before been figured
+by the pencil of any artist, it will be well for me to indicate
+the steps by which its reconstruction has been made possible.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh" id="Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_041.jpg" width="550" height="382" alt="Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">{27}</a></span>
+bridge of any kind, unless in the primitive methods observed
+at Post Bridge and Two Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of
+stone laid across two boulders. The work, therefore, was
+certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have, in the
+next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that
+time by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of
+stone; many of these stone bridges still remain, in other cases
+the pieces of hewn stone still remain. The Bridge over
+the Thames, however, was of wood. This is proved by the
+fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that
+London had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the
+year 1176, when the first bridge of stone was commenced.
+Considerations as to the comparative insignificance of London
+in the first century, as to the absence of stone in the neighbourhood,
+and as to the plentiful supply of the best wood in
+the world from the forests north of the City, confirm the
+theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">{28}</a></span>
+therefore, to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood
+elsewhere, in order to know how they built a bridge of wood
+over the Thames. And this we know without any doubt.</p>
+
+<p>First: they drove piles into the bed of the river&mdash;not upright
+piles, but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles
+side by side, and opposite to these two more; they connected
+the two piles by ties and the opposite piles with them by
+transverse girders. Across them they laid a huge beam&mdash;a
+tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the floor
+of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the
+parapet put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for
+greater safety, pressed down the piles and held them in place.
+To prevent the current from carrying them away, each double
+pair of piles was protected by a 'starling,' formed by driving
+upright smaller piles in front at the piers and enclosing a
+space, which was filled up with stones, so that the force of the
+current was not felt by the great piles.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will
+understand it better from the drawing, which shows the Bridge
+taken from the Embankment near the present site of St. Mary
+Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate in the long
+straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points
+for the convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes
+that these posterns could be easily closed and defended.
+This river-wall, we shall presently see, was standing in the
+time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the building of
+the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish
+Bridge, and the Norman Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit:
+its foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses.
+The gate was altered. I do not suppose there was much
+of the original structure left when the East Saxons took
+possession of the City after a hundred years of desertion and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">{29}</a></span>
+decay. But a gate of some kind there must always have
+been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about
+sixteen feet. Like the very ancient stone bridges of Saintes
+and Avignon, the Bridge was from sixteen to twenty feet
+broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of Botolph
+Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the
+second Bridge&mdash;the first of stone&mdash;stood between the first
+and third, having St. Magnus' Church on the north and St.
+Olave's on the south side; together with its own chapel of
+St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to place it under the special
+protection of the saints most dear to London hearts.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="London_Bridge_AD_1000" id="London_Bridge_AD_1000"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_043.jpg" width="550" height="279" alt="London Bridge, A.D. 1000" title="" />
+<span class="caption">London Bridge, A.D. 1000</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field
+of battle whenever the way of war came near to London. The
+first glimpse, as we have seen, which we catch of it is when
+Allectus and his forces crossed the river by the Bridge to give
+battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus on the Heath beyond
+the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same day, their
+columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated troops
+once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no
+one to lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against
+all comers; there was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could
+have kept the Romans out by that expedient. One wonders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">{30}</a></span>
+if all their officers were lying dead on the field, with Allectus,
+for the troops, who were Franks for the most part, seem to
+have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran
+about the City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate
+people.</p>
+
+<p>By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one
+could carry arms except the soldiers. The law was a safeguard
+against rebellion; but it opened the door to military
+revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among the civil
+population&mdash;always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus'
+Franks at their murderous work, and they cut them down. If
+it is true, as stated by the historians, that they were all cut off
+to a man, London must have been a horrible shambles.</p>
+
+<p>The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed
+army flying across the narrow way to seek shelter between the
+walls. It is in the year 467. They are the Britons flying
+from their defeat in Kent. After this there is silence&mdash;absolute
+silence, leaving not so much as a whisper, a tradition, or a
+legend; the silence that can only mean desertion&mdash;silence for
+a hundred and fifty years.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;"><a name="A_Danish_House" id="A_Danish_House"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_045.jpg" width="440" height="292" alt="A Danish House" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Danish House</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City
+has shrunk within her ancient walls; and these have fallen
+into decay. Southwark no longer exists. We learn that the
+Bridge has been repaired, because there is easy communication
+with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is no
+fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there
+were no defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and
+in 857 the Danes entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,'
+apparently without opposition. In 872 they occupied London,
+apparently without opposition. We hear of no siege, of no
+fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls. Yet
+there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham&mdash;behind
+the walls. Why not in London? Because in London<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">{31}</a></span>
+the walls, 5,500 yards in length, had become too long to man,
+or to defend, or to repair. The Danes ran into the City
+through the shattered gate; they leaped over the broken wall.
+What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment
+of women&mdash;we may understand from the page of the
+historian Saxo relating other sacks and sieges by the gentle
+Dane. As for the trade, the wealth, the name and fame of
+London&mdash;they all perished together. It was a ruined city,
+with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the
+Dane, that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken
+down; the settlements of the south were deserted: even the
+fishermen had left the Thames above and below London, and
+sought for safety in the retired creeks and safe backwaters
+along the coast of Essex. The London fisherman sallied
+forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey Island,
+and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls
+and the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace
+was restored to the City and order to the country. Then
+trade, which welcomes the first appearance of safety, began
+again. If the merchant feared the pirates of the Foreland, he
+could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could land at
+Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">{32}</a></span>
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns
+sprang up, and Southwark began again.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle'
+calls the Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken
+of by the Danish historian as an 'emporium.' I understand
+from the use of this word that the trade of London was
+carried on principally by way of Dover, because the seas were
+swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.</p>
+
+<p>The prosperity of the settlement, however, received
+another blow when the Danes once more, mindful of their
+former victories, sailed up the river with hope of again taking
+London. Southwark was defenceless. There was never any
+wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across
+the Bridge. The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they
+then went away. Some of the people returned, especially the
+fishermen, whose huts were easily repaired. When, however,
+the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes appeared
+every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself
+they were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers
+had told them that it was a feeble and a helpless place,
+perfectly incapable of resistance, with walls through whose
+wide gaps a whole army could march; and they fondly
+expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and
+power.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner
+which was extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped
+a great fleet, manned the ships with stout-hearted citizens,
+sent the ships down the river, met the Danish fleet, engaged
+them, and routed them with great slaughter. Two years
+later they returned, eager for revenge&mdash;the revenge which
+they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on
+this occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">{33}</a></span>
+under the two kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark.
+They were firmly resolved to take the City: with their
+warriors they would attack it by land, with their ships by
+water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless
+did, endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of
+trees; but the gates were well manned and well defended. On
+the river-side one half of the town kept open their communications;
+the other half were exposed to the arrows of the
+sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only
+that the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and
+that they withdrew.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY" id="SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_047.jpg" width="550" height="304" alt="SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose
+ships were models to King Alfred when he founded the
+English Navy, must not be gathered from the drawings of
+the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are conventional in
+treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving specimen
+of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship
+of Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this
+and following page. One is taken from the tapestry, the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">{34}</a></span>
+is the Gokstad vessel. The former carries about a dozen men,
+rather high out of the water, with straight sides, and would
+certainly capsize. The latter is a long, light, swift vessel,
+built for speed, and able to sail over quite shallow water; she
+is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for usefulness,
+cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the
+planks overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts,
+riveted and clinched on the inside. She is built of oak; her
+length from stem to stern, over all, is 78 feet; her keel is
+66 feet; her breadth is 16½ feet; her depth is no more than
+4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick as the
+others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The
+ship is pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder
+attached to the side of the stern; on each side hang 16 shields;
+she carried 64 rowers, and probably as many men besides. The
+decorations lavished on the ship were profuse. The figure-head
+was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were gilt; the ships<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">{35}</a></span>
+were painted in long lines of bright colour&mdash;you can see that in
+the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the vessel&mdash;bows,
+figure-head, gunwale, stern-post&mdash;were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the
+mast was gilt. Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="A_Viking_Ship" id="A_Viking_Ship"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_048.jpg" width="550" height="393" alt="A Viking Ship" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Viking Ship</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in
+company, with Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they
+came, the oars sweeping in a long, measured swish of the
+water: swiftly flying up the broad river, the sunshine lighting
+up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and the bright
+arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall
+and strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and
+blue eyes. From the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge
+on the river, the citizens saw the splendid array rushing up to
+destroy them if they could. At the Bridge, the foremost
+stop: they go no farther; those behind cry 'Forward!' and
+those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none to
+pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as
+when Olaf was to meet his death five years later in his last
+splendid sea-fight, they essayed to take the city by assault.
+They shot arrows with red-hot heads over the walls, to strike
+and set light to the thatch; they shot arrows at the citizens
+on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of the Bridge. If
+they could get within the City, these splendid savages, there
+would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of
+the thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons,
+and next day silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure
+lifted into the ships, bows turned outward; and the fleet
+would leave behind it a London once more desolate and naked
+and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered towards the end
+of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with destiny.
+Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been
+the history of London and of England.</p>
+
+<p>When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went
+back to their homes, and the daily business of life was carried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">{36}</a></span>
+on as usual. We may observe that if there had been a
+permanent settlement here&mdash;a town of any importance&mdash;they
+would have built a wall to protect it. But there was never
+any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or
+by the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting
+Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon
+London. The whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged
+by the Danes: Swegen came over and proved the English
+weakness, and saw that time would help him, if he waited.
+Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.</p>
+
+<p>In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by
+Thurkitel, who afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred.
+He ravaged Kent and Essex, took up his winter quarters on
+the Thames, apparently at Greenwich, and laid siege to the
+City&mdash;but in vain. It is of course obvious that without
+ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers, the City
+could never be taken. The people beat him off at every
+assault with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in
+England was at the moment concentrated in London.</p>
+
+<p>The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen
+returned. This time, mindful of his former failure, and of
+Thurkitel's failure, he left his ships at Southampton; he
+marched upon London by way of Winchester, which he took on
+the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The
+reason is obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the
+Bridge was to engage a mere handful of men; there was no place
+except that and the Causeway. Swegen, therefore, passed over
+the ford of Westminster, and attacked the walls on the north side.
+Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the English service;
+by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off the
+field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to
+his arms; therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to
+hold out alone, sent hostages and submitted. It is reported<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">{37}</a></span>
+that they were terrified at the threats of Swegen: he would
+cut off their hands and their feet; he would tear out their eyes;
+he would burn and destroy&mdash;and so forth. But these promises
+were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they
+frightened the defenders of any other city.</p>
+
+<p>The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that
+St. Edmund of Bury killed him for doubting his saintliness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="SKETCH_MAP" id="SKETCH_MAP"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_051.jpg" width="400" height="289" alt="SKETCH MAP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SKETCH MAP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut.
+The expedition with which he proposed to reduce London
+was far finer and more powerful than that of Olaf and Swegen.
+The poetic description of it says that the ships were counted by
+hundreds; that they were manned by an army among whom
+there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility
+meant if all were nobles? A strange question for one so
+learned! The nobles of Denmark were simply the conquering
+race; nobility consisted in free birth, and in descent from
+the conquering race, not the conquered: it was not necessarily
+a small caste; it might possibly include the larger part of the
+people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">{38}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege.
+First of all, he resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar
+the way. He therefore cut a trench round the south of the
+Bridge, by means of which he drew some of his ships to the
+other side of it. He then cut another trench round the whole
+of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he
+would starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as
+Cnut speedily abandoned the hope of success and marched off
+to look after Edmund, his investment of the City was certainly
+not a success.</p>
+
+<p>He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with
+what result history has made us acquainted. He then returned
+and resumed the siege of London. Edmund fought him
+again, and made him once more raise the siege. When
+Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began
+a third siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.</p>
+
+<p>In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged
+six times, and not once taken.</p>
+
+<p>Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal
+nature of the canal constructed by Cnut; they have looked
+for traces of it in the south of London before it was covered
+over by houses; they have gone as far afield as Deptford in
+search of these traces; they have even found them; and to
+the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal
+speaks of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal
+work. Freeman himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep
+it was, how long it was, how broad it was, I am going to
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian,
+William Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so
+fortunate as to light upon the course of the long-lost trench of
+King Cnut.</p>
+
+<p>He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">{39}</a></span>
+direction nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of
+Rotherhithe to the river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through
+Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs were, first, certain depressions
+in the ground; next, the discovery of oaken planks and piles
+driven into the ground for what he thought was the northern
+fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was
+constructed, a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches
+were found pointing northward, with stakes to keep them in
+position, forming a kind of water fence, such as, it is said, is still
+in use in Denmark. It will be seen that Mr. Maitland's theory
+has but a small basis of evidence, yet it seems to have been
+generally accepted&mdash;partly, I suppose, because it was so
+colossal.</p>
+
+<p>The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four
+miles and a half in length. Another writer, seeing the
+difficulties of so great a work, suggests another course. He
+would start from the site of the New Dock, Rotherhithe, and
+end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of only
+three and three-quarter miles!</p>
+
+<p>Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why
+it should be a long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe
+or nearer the Bridge, he would have the same preliminary
+difficulties to encounter: that is to say, he would have to
+cut through the Embankment of the river at either end, and
+he would have to cut through the Causeway in the middle.
+In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two
+or three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the
+people had all run across the Bridge for safety at the first
+sight of the Danes, if there were any people at the time
+living in Southwark&mdash;which I doubt.</p>
+
+<p>We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers
+of sense and experience on whom he could depend for carrying
+out his canal in a workmanlike manner. A people who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">{40}</a></span>
+could build such perfect ships would certainly not waste
+time and labour in constructing a trench which would be
+any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="DIAGRAM" id="DIAGRAM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_054.jpg" width="420" height="310" alt="DIAGRAM" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which
+he was just able to drag his vessels round without destroying
+the banks. In other words, if a circular canal began at C B,
+and if we drew an imaginary circle round the middle of the
+canal, what was required was that the chord D F, forming a
+tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as the
+longest vessel. Now (see diagram)&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class='center'>
+AD² - AE² = DE².<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>If <i>r</i> is the radius, AD and 2<i>a</i> the breadth BC, and 2<i>b</i> the
+length of the chord DF&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class='center'>
+<i>r</i>² - (<i>r</i> - <i>a</i>)² = <i>b</i>² &#8756; <i>r</i> = (<i>a</i>² + <i>b</i>²)/2<i>a</i>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>This represents the length of the radius in terms of the
+length and breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is
+therefore the smallest radius possible for getting the ships
+through. Now, the ship of Gokstad, already described, was
+undoubtedly one of the finest of the vessels used by Danes
+and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger ships,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">{41}</a></span>
+but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over
+ships of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in
+length, considering the keel, which is all we need consider;
+16½ feet in breadth, and 4 feet in depth. She drew very
+little water; therefore a breadth of canal less than the breadth
+of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet in
+length, so that <i>b</i> = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal
+12 feet. Therefore 2<i>a</i> = 12 or <i>a</i> = 6 and <i>r</i> = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London
+Bridge, we arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's
+work. That is to say, if he made a semicircular canal, in
+that case the length of the canal would be 320 yards, which
+is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half, or even
+three miles and three-quarters.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP" id="THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_055.jpg" width="420" height="167" alt="THE GOKSTAD SHIP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GOKSTAD SHIP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut
+make a semicircle when an arc would serve his turn? All
+he had to do was to draw an arc of a circle with the radius
+just found, to clear any obstacles in the way of approach to
+the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this
+method, because it was the only sensible thing to do. He
+would thus get off with a canal about fifty yards long, of
+which the only difficulty would be the cutting through the
+Embankment and the Causeway.</p>
+
+<p>What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this
+section of the Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">{42}</a></span>
+feet, she had only four feet in depth; without her company and
+crew, and their arms and provisions, she would thus draw no
+more than a few inches&mdash;certainly not more than eight
+inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight
+inches at the most. But there is still another consideration
+which lessened the labour materially. The ground behind
+the Embankment was a little lower than the river at high
+tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct a low
+wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to
+make their canal without excavating an inch. When that
+was done, the cutting of the Embankment let in the tide and
+did the rest. In this simple manner do we reduce Cnut's
+colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and a half long, into
+a piece of construction and demolition which would take a
+large body of men no more than a few hours.</p>
+
+<p>If, however, there actually was any digging to be done,
+we must remember that the ground was a level; that there
+were no stones or rocks in the way, and that it consisted of
+a soft black <i>humus</i>, the result of ages of successive growths
+of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a day by
+the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course,
+left the place to be repaired by any who pleased. The
+broken Embankment let in the tide; the broken Causeway
+cut off any approach to the river; but Southwark was deserted.
+When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired.
+Then all traces of the canal disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at
+Southwark with a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty
+in passing the Bridge; he waited till flood-tide, and then
+sailed through 'on the south side.' It is quite impossible to
+explain this statement, or to make it agree with the difficulty
+felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">{43}</a></span>
+have been smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the
+fact as the Chronicler gives it.</p>
+
+<p>One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before
+we pass on to more modern times.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror" id="Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_057.jpg" width="550" height="450" alt="Ships of William the Conqueror" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Ships of William the Conqueror</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived
+near London, he advanced to Southwark, where he found the
+Bridge closed to him&mdash;closed, I believe, by knocking away
+some of the upper beams. This, of course, he expected; his
+friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him acquainted
+with the changing currents of popular opinion. It
+is commonly stated that the citizens were terrified by the
+sight of Southwark in flames at his command. Southwark
+in flames! A few fishermen's huts were all that remained of
+the suburb, whose population since the time of the <i>Pax
+Romana</i> had been so precarious and so changeful. Five
+hundred years of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion
+and ravage by Dane and Norseman, had not left of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">{44}</a></span>
+Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb, anything more than
+these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers burned
+them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the
+flames, and regarded them not, any more than he regarded
+the flames that followed in his track all the way from Senlac.
+He gazed across the river, and remembered that twice had
+London defied all the strength of Swegen; that three times had
+London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been
+victorious; he knew, because his friends in the City would
+allow no mistake on that point, that the spirit of the citizens
+was as high now as it had been then; that they still remembered
+with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that not a few were
+anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went
+on within the walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what
+faction fight; how the citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of
+wild faces, about their Folk-mote by St. Paul's. But of one
+thing we may be quite certain: that William did not expect
+the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they were
+not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark
+or not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians
+say. As for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this
+time there could hardly have been a single pile remaining of
+the original structure; yet it was constantly repaired.</p>
+
+<p>We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only
+the grey wall rising out of the level ground, without any
+ditch or moat outside, but also the Bridge of wooden piles
+with the transverse girders and beams for additional security,
+so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest of timbers
+like those which support the roof of an ancient hall.
+It was continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a
+mighty whirlwind blew down a good part of London, houses
+and churches and all. It has been assumed that the Bridge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">{45}</a></span>
+was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is silent on the subject.
+In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is again assumed
+that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle' is
+silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge
+had been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="BAYEUX_TAPESTRY" id="BAYEUX_TAPESTRY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_059.jpg" width="550" height="206" alt="BAYEUX TAPESTRY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BAYEUX TAPESTRY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by
+London, save that of 1666, spread through the whole City,
+from London Bridge, which it greatly damaged, all the way
+to St. Clement Danes on the west, and Aldgate on the east.
+One wonders what ancient monuments&mdash;walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers
+of the Forum&mdash;were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of
+the better sort, with their great halls and courtyards; small
+Saxon churches of wood or stone, with low towers and little
+windows. Possibly there was no great loss: it was already
+seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted. Roman
+remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of
+wood, with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries
+had not yet commenced. The Bridge, however, was
+either wholly or in part destroyed. It was repaired, because,
+fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his description of the City,
+speaks of the citizens watching the water sports from the
+Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary to
+the City. A hundred years of order in the City&mdash;with the seas
+cleared of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">{46}</a></span>
+the river with ships, and the quays with merchandise&mdash;crowded
+the Bridge all day long with trains of packhorses, and the less
+frequent rude carts with broad grunting wheels which would
+have quite taken the place of the horse but for the bad roads.
+Southwark, during this period of rest, had become once more
+a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were
+pushed farther east and west every year, until Lambeth and
+Rotherhithe were their quarters when the fish deserted the
+river and their occupation was gone. The Roman inns were
+gone, but new ones were springing up in their places. Bishops
+and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine air,
+open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of
+London; ecclesiastical foundations were already springing
+into existence. In a word, the settlements of the south, after
+four hundred years of ruin and desertion, were once more
+beginning a new existence. The day when William rode up
+to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception,
+marked a new birth for the long-suffering suburb of the
+Embankment and the Causeway. A hundred years later
+still&mdash;in 1176&mdash;they began to build their Bridge of Stone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">{47}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III
+<br />
+<br />
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY</h2>
+
+
+<p>The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth
+century. But it is perfectly easy from them and from the
+historical facts to draw a map of all that country lying between
+Deptford and Battersea which we have agreed to call
+South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there were
+buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St.
+Margaret's Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand
+side, just under the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church.
+The Bridge was thus protected on the north by St. Magnus,
+on the south by St. Olave&mdash;two Danish saints&mdash;and in
+the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas
+à Becket. There were houses along the Embankment on
+either side, but more on the west of the Causeway than on
+the east. A few houses were built already on the low-lying
+ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south and
+south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's
+a single straight lane with no houses ran across country to
+Bermondsey Abbey; on the west of the Causeway another
+lane led to Kennington Palace, from which another lane led
+to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to the
+Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>The place was essentially a suburb. There were no
+trades or industries in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen
+had their cottages dotted about all along the Embankment;
+a few watermen lived here, but that was perhaps later:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">{48}</a></span>
+other working men there were none, save the cooks and varlets
+of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because
+the air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and
+because the place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster
+and the Court, many great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had
+their town houses here: the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop
+of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the Abbot of Hyde, the
+Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John Fastolfe, also
+the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by bridge
+and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while
+they went across the river and transacted their business. It
+was a suburb which, in modern times, would be described as
+needing no poor rate. Later on there grew up, as we shall
+see, a class of the unclassed&mdash;a population of rogues and
+vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.</p>
+
+<p>The government of the place as a whole was difficult,
+or rather impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the
+Liberty of Bermondsey; that of the Bishop of Winchester;
+that of the King; that of the Mayor. The last contained the
+part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's Dock on the
+west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district
+was called the Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King
+to the City of London in the thirteenth century in order to
+prevent the place from becoming the home and refuge of
+criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained outside
+the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was
+not very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding
+shelter on the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between
+Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It was from this unavoidable
+hospitality to persons escaping from justice that Southwark
+received a character which has stuck to it till the present day.
+In the centuries which include the twelfth to the fifteenth,
+however, South London, so far as it was populated at all, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">{49}</a></span>
+the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark
+was spotless and its dignity enviable. London itself
+had no such collection of palaces gathered together so closely.
+As for the land, that lay low, but was protected by the
+Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats;
+there was an abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that
+parts of the land were dark at midday by reason of the trees
+growing so close together. The rivulets were pretty little
+streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside them;
+they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks
+grew wild flowers&mdash;the marsh mallow, the anemone, the
+hedgehog grass, the frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort;
+orchards flourished in the fat and fertile soil. The people had
+almost forgotten the special need of their Embankment.
+Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at Lambeth was
+broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square miles
+of country, including all that part which is now called
+Battersea.</p>
+
+<p>Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single
+house upon the whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole
+of Bermondsey Marsh. The houses began near what is now
+the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they faced the river,
+having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite
+to Wapping.</p>
+
+<p>The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty
+had its own prison. Thus there were the Clink of the
+Winchester Liberty, that of the Bermondsey Liberty, the
+'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and the Marshalsea,
+all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And
+there were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the
+terror of evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In
+every parish there was the whipping post&mdash;one in St. Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">{50}</a></span>
+Overy's churchyard, put up after the time of the monks; one
+at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the pillory for neck and
+hands, generally with somebody on it, but the pillory was
+movable; there was the cage&mdash;one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge&mdash;women had to stand in the cage; there were
+stocks for feet wandering and trespassing; there were pounds
+for stray animals.</p>
+
+<p>Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's;
+in the precinct of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street
+called 'Long Southwark'&mdash;now High Street&mdash;from the Bridge
+to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not suppose that the
+markets of Southwark presented the same crowded appearance,
+and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those of
+Chepe and Newgate on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in
+Southwark. The Princes of the Church arrived and departed,
+each with his retinue of chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen
+and livery. Kings and ambassadors rode up from Dover
+through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The mayor
+and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains
+sallied forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades
+of pilgrims for Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome,
+and Jerusalem rode out of Southwark when the spring returned;
+and every day there arrived and departed long lines
+of packhorses laden with the produce of the country and with
+things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was
+nothing but a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here
+for a few weeks and then went away; the great lords came
+here when they had business at Court and then went away
+again; the merchants came and went: by itself the place
+had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own
+at all.</p>
+
+<p>There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately;
+both are full of history. Let us consider the House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">{51}</a></span>
+Bermondsey, because it is less generally known than the other
+of St. Mary Overy or Overies.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey" id="The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_065.jpg" width="550" height="463" alt="The Monastery of Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Monastery of Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster
+of South London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey
+stood upon a low islet in the midst of a marsh; at the
+distance of half a mile on the north ran the river; half a mile
+on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which
+the House lay that the
+only road which connected
+it with the world
+was that lane called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie
+Lane, which ran from the Abbey to St. Olave's and so to
+London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a place
+of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated
+from the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been
+gradually drained and the Embankment continued through
+Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond the Greenwich levels,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">{52}</a></span>
+the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely fertile and
+wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.</p>
+
+<p>The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin
+Childe, a merchant of the City, an Alderman also and one of
+the ruling families of London. He was the son of an elder
+Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten Guild' which,
+with all its members and all its property&mdash;the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken&mdash;went over to the Priory
+of the Holy Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind
+was therefore hereditary in the family. The elder Ailwin
+became a monk, the younger founded a monastery; his son,
+the third of the family of whom we know anything, became
+the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years&mdash;the rest of his life.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="BERMONDSEY_ABBEY" id="BERMONDSEY_ABBEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_066.jpg" width="550" height="407" alt="BERMONDSEY ABBEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BERMONDSEY ABBEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth
+century is full of a pathetic longing after a religious Order,
+if that could be found, of true and proved sanctity. One
+Order after the other arises; one after the other challenges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">{53}</a></span>
+respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto unknown
+kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who
+always admire voluntary privation of what they value so
+much&mdash;food and drink; it receives endowments, gifts,
+foundations of all kinds; it then departs from the ancient
+rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">{54}</a></span>
+simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the
+Cluniac was in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly
+kept: and for an austerity strictly enforced. It was a
+Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe set up in Bermondsey,
+and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the Cluniac
+House of Lewes, enriched.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;"><a name="GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY" id="GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_067.jpg" width="458" height="550" alt="GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien
+owing obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its
+revenues, therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received
+its Priors from abroad. In the reign of Henry the
+Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on account of the Alien
+Priories came to a head, and they were all suppressed, or at
+least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent. The
+Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of
+an Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until
+the Dissolution.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage
+dotted about round London&mdash;places accessible in a single
+day's journey. Thus there were the three shrines of Willesden,
+Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each possessing an
+image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at
+Bermondsey there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited
+in the summer by pious pilgrims from London. The Rood
+had been fished up from the Thames, and no one knew its
+history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and of
+prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious.
+It was, moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below
+the Bridge would take the pilgrim over to the opposite shore
+in a few minutes, where a cross standing before a lane leading
+out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the way. It was
+but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.</p>
+
+<p>'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">{55}</a></span>
+Rood of North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among
+while ye abide in London; and let my sister Margery go
+with you to pray to them that she may have a good husband
+or she come home again.'</p>
+
+<p>One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should
+resign this valuable possession without a remonstrance. He
+made, in fact, the strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457
+he sent over three monks with orders to lay the case before
+the King, and to invite his attention especially to the papers
+showing the clear and indisputable right of the Mother Convent
+to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no
+one heeded them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one
+replied to their arguments. This neglect was perhaps the
+cause why one of them died while in this country. The
+other two went home again, having accomplished nothing.
+One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having
+spent four months and a half on our journey, and following our
+Right with the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we
+have obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate,
+deprived of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still
+worse, we are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which
+are 38 in number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies
+of your Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our
+pleading and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth,
+after paying for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five
+crowns left, to go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We
+will sell what we have: we will go on: and God will provide.
+Nothing else occurs to write to your Paternity: but that as we
+entered England with joy, so we depart thence with sorrow: having
+buried one of our Companions&mdash;viz. the Archdeacon, the youngest
+of our company. May he rest in Peace! Amen.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There is not at the present moment a single stone of
+this stately House visible, though there were many remains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">{56}</a></span>
+above ground one hundred years ago. It is a pity, because
+there is the association of two Queens, not to speak of many
+great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments, connected
+with this House secluded in the Marsh.</p>
+
+<p>The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois,
+widow of Henry the Fifth. The story is the most romantic,
+perhaps, of all the stories connected with our line of sovereigns
+and Queens and Royal Princes. It is not a new story,
+and yet it is not so well known that any apology is needed
+for telling it once more.</p>
+
+<p>Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine,
+began to live in the seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her
+widowhood. Among her household, the office of Clerk to the
+Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome Welshman
+named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a
+plain Welsh gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in
+the service of the Bishop of Chester. He distinguished
+himself at Agincourt in the following of some nobleman
+unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier&mdash;that is, a man with a pike
+or a bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw
+off when the battle began. The opportunities for a common
+soldier to distinguish himself in such an action were few,
+nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man from the
+ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire
+to the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen
+Tudor was regarded as a common soldier: since his father
+was a gentleman in the service of the Bishop of Chester, he
+himself would go to war as a gentleman in the service and
+wearing the livery of some noble lord.</p>
+
+<p>In this way, however, his promotion began. When the
+King married, Owen Tudor was attached to the household
+of the Queen. After the death of Henry he accompanied
+the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to the
+Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">{57}</a></span>
+wanted by the Queen&mdash;her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold.
+He was therefore brought into much closer and more direct
+relation with the Queen than other officers of the household.
+He pleased her by his appearance, his accomplishments,
+and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very well.
+There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or accomplishments
+he pleased. The fact remains that he did please
+the Queen, and that so much that she consented to a
+secret marriage with him. It was a dangerous step for this
+Welsh adventurer to take: it was a step which would cover
+the Queen with dishonour should it become known. That
+the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of
+the age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should
+be capable of union with any lower man; should ally her
+royal line with that of a man who could only call himself
+gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would certainly be
+considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal family,
+and the country at large.</p>
+
+<p>The marriage was not found out for some years. The
+Queen must have been most faithfully and loyally served,
+because children cannot be born without observation. Owen
+Tudor must have conducted matters with a discretion beyond
+all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the household
+knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and
+one daughter, in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of
+Hadham, was so called because he was born there; the
+second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen, of Westminster;
+the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.</p>
+
+<p>Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of
+Owen, which took place apparently before it was expected
+and without all the precautions necessary, in the King's
+House at Westminster. The infant was taken as soon as
+born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not
+likely that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">{58}</a></span>
+of his parents. He did take the child, however; and
+here the little Owen remained, growing up in a monastery,
+and taking vows in due time. Here he lived and here he
+died, a Benedictine of Westminster.</p>
+
+<p>It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
+heard some whisper or rumour concerning this birth, or was
+told something about the true nature of the Queen's illness,
+for he issued a very singular proclamation, warning the
+world, generally, against marrying Queen dowagers, as if
+these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born,
+Humphrey learned the whole truth: the degradation, as he
+thought it, of the Queen, who had stooped to such an alliance,
+and the humble rank and the audacity of the Welshman.
+He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with
+some of her ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain
+in honourable confinement: he arrested Owen Tudor, a
+priest&mdash;probably the priest who had performed the marriage&mdash;and
+his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.</p>
+
+<p>All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At
+this point the story gets mixed. The King himself, we are
+told, then a lad of fifteen, sent to Owen commanding his
+attendance before the Council. Why did they not arrest him
+again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council&mdash;was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of
+them? He asked for a safe-conduct. They promised him
+one by a verbal message. Where was he, then, that all these
+messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I think
+he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal
+message, and demanded a written safe-conduct. This was
+granted him, and he returned to London. But he mistrusted
+even the written promise; he would not face the Council: he
+took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained.
+It is said that they tried to draw him out by sending old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">{59}</a></span>
+friends who invited him to the taverns outside the Abbey
+Precinct. But Owen would not be so drawn. He knew
+that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must
+have had some secret understanding with the King; for one
+day, learning that Henry himself was with the Council, he
+suddenly presented himself and pleaded his own cause. The
+mild young king, tender on account of his mother, would
+not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.</p>
+
+<p>He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome
+air: he made for Wales. Here the hostility
+of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was once more
+arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to
+Newgate, he and his priest and his servant. Once more they
+all three broke prison, 'foully' wounding a warder in the
+achievement of liberty, and got back to Wales, choosing for
+their residence the mountainous parts into which the English
+garrisons never penetrated.</p>
+
+<p>When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed
+to return, and was presented with a pension of £40 a year.
+It is remarkable, however, that he received no promotion,
+or rank; that he was never knighted; and that the title of
+Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It certainly
+seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a
+gentleman was not recognised by the King or the heralds.
+Perhaps Welsh gentility was as little understood by these
+Normans as Irish royalty&mdash;yet, so far as length of pedigree
+goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to Normans.</p>
+
+<p>The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under
+the charge of Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and
+sister of the Earl of Suffolk. When the King came of age
+he remembered his half-brothers: Edmund was made Earl
+of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked before
+all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">{60}</a></span>
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the
+foundress of Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge.
+Her son, as everybody knows, was Henry VII.</p>
+
+<p>As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began
+so well on the field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he
+should, for his step-son and King, under the badge of the Red
+Rose. When the Civil Wars began he joined the King's
+forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty. He
+fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's
+Cross, where another fight took place. The Lancastrians
+were defeated. Owen was taken prisoner, and was cruelly
+beheaded on the field. It was right and just that he should
+so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen twenty-four
+years.</p>
+
+<p>The unfortunate Katharine, whose <i>mésalliance</i> gave us
+the strongest sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not
+long survive the disgrace of discovery. As to public knowledge
+of the fact, one cannot learn how widely it was extended.
+Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak of
+it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were
+acknowledged by the King there was no pretence at concealment.
+To be the son of a French Princess and a Welsh
+gentleman was not, after all, a matter for shame or concealment.
+Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her
+in less than a year after her imprisonment among the
+orchards and meadows of the Precinct. It is said that her
+remorse during her last days was very deep; not for her
+second marriage, but for having allowed her accouchement
+of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against
+which she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor
+shall lose all that Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas!
+had Henry of Windsor been Henry of Monmouth himself,
+he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there be a
+worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">{61}</a></span>
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper
+and the son of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson
+of a madman and a Messalina.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 487px;"><a name="ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK" id="ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_075.jpg" width="487" height="550" alt="ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death.
+She asks for masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants:
+for her debts to be paid. And she says not one word about
+her children by Owen Tudor. She confesses by this silence
+that she is ashamed. She confesses by this silence that, being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">{62}</a></span>
+a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her widowhood
+to have been mated with any less than a King.</p>
+
+<p>'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son
+the King, 'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly
+ye best may and will best tender and favour my will, in
+ordaining for my soul and body, in seeing that my debts be
+paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender and favourable
+fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but&mdash;where is the mention of her children?
+Perhaps, however, she knew that the King would provide for
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs
+were known'&mdash;Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel
+much sympathy with this unfortunate woman, yet there are
+few scenes of history more full of pathos and of mournfulness
+than that in which her boy was torn from her arms; and she
+knew&mdash;all knew&mdash;even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew&mdash;that the boy was to be done to death. When
+one talks of Queens and their misfortunes, it may be
+remembered that few Queens have suffered more than
+Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart from other
+Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that
+long war it seems impossible to find one single character, man
+or woman&mdash;unless it is King Henry&mdash;who is true and loyal.
+All&mdash;all&mdash;are perjured, treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All
+are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is the friend and companion
+of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other side of him;
+treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen. Elizabeth
+met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was
+accused of being privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and
+Perkin Warbeck: she was more Yorkist than her husband;
+she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and the White
+were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">{63}</a></span>
+she was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she
+bore. We must make allowance: she was always in a false
+position; Edward ought not to have married her; she was
+hated by her own party; she was compelled in the interests
+of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These
+things, however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we
+ought to feel for so many misfortunes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="LE_LOKE" id="LE_LOKE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_077.jpg" width="550" height="485" alt="&#39;LE LOKE&#39;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&#39;LE LOKE&#39;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey,
+where she could sit and watch the ships go up and down,
+and so feel that the world, with which she had no more concern,
+still continued. It has been suggested that she retired
+voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">{64}</a></span>
+character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a
+daughter or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of
+Valois, she made an end not without dignity. Witness the
+following clause in her will:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><i>Item.</i> Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the
+Queen's Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward
+any of my children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God
+Almighty to bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as
+good a heart and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my
+blessing and all the aforesaid my children.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an
+ecclesiastical foundation which has somehow dropped out of
+history and become no more than a name. If this were a
+history of South London it would be necessary to devote an
+equal space to other houses; to the churches and to the
+two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the
+religious foundations of South London without mention of the
+other great House, more ancient than that of Bermondsey.
+Few Americans who visit London leave it without paying a
+pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful church which
+glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that
+excellent poet whom the professors of literature praise and
+nobody reads, died and lies buried in this church; it was the
+church of the playerfolk: here lie buried Edmund Shakespeare,
+John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and Philip Henslow. Here
+lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which the Church
+allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers
+and the strikers of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting.
+Here were tried notable heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and
+many more, while Gardiner and Bonner thundered and bullied.
+From this church the martyrs went forth to meet the flames.
+The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">{65}</a></span>
+them. The stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where
+they could read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned
+teaching of Bonner and his friends.</p>
+
+<p>It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom
+of Cranmer and the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming
+Protestant reaction. So great was the horror, they
+say, of the people at the death of the Archbishop, that the
+whole nation was roused&mdash;and so on. For myself I like to
+think that, as the people would feel now, so, <i>mutatis mutandis</i>,
+they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much
+horror, I believe, as when from their own ranks, from their
+own houses, from their own families, men and women
+and boys were taken out and led to execution. Violent
+deaths&mdash;by beheading, by hanging, by the flames&mdash;were
+witnessed every day. How many were hanged by
+Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did not touch the
+people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country&mdash;the blameless Carthusians&mdash;suffered
+death as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir
+Thomas More; when witches were burned they looked on.
+It was when they saw their own brothers, sisters, cousins,
+dragged out and put to death without a cause, that they
+began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not the
+manner of death that affected them, because burning was a
+thing so common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest
+and godly folk, and the behaviour of the people at their
+death. Tender women chained to the stake suffered without
+a groan, only praying loudly till death came; people remembered,
+they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last
+prayer before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer
+stepped into his place with a smiling face and welcomed the
+fiery lane that led him to the place where he longed to be:
+was this, they asked, the courage inspired of God, or of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">{66}</a></span>
+devil? They remembered how another washed his hands in
+the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone
+upon him; and it was even like unto the countenance of the
+Blessed Lord. The sight and the remembrance of the
+sufferings of their own folk, not the execution at a distance of
+an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome
+with a hatred from which it has not wholly recovered even in
+these latter days.</p>
+
+<p>The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both
+the great Houses of Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there
+should be a provision for the poor, the sick, and those who
+were orphans. St. Mary Overy had a hospital adjoining the
+priory which was an almshouse certainly, and probably an
+orphanage as well. It was under the care of the Archdeacon
+of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry intended
+for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely
+secluded: it lay far from any highway; there were no houses,
+except farm buildings for the monastery's labourers; there
+were no poor, no sick, and no orphans. So that, when the
+great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and crossed the river
+by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would
+be well to rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark
+Causeway. This was done, and the Hospital of St. Mary
+was united with it, and the new foundation which Bishop
+Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was named after
+St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for the
+sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and
+sisters under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a
+school, and an infirmary; but not, as St. Bartholomew's
+was from the beginning altogether, only a hospital for the sick.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">{67}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 377px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_081.jpg" width="377" height="550" alt="REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As for the religious life of the place, it was in most
+respects like that of London. There were no houses for
+Friars, but the Friars came across the river <i>en quête</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">{68}</a></span>
+'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in the taverns were
+put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful (towards the
+end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty of
+life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries
+of the great Houses&mdash;the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester,
+the Abbots of Lewes, Hyde, and Battle&mdash;went about their
+errands; there were Gilds, notably that of St. George, which
+had their processions and their days: there were crosses and
+images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed his hat&mdash;in
+the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas à
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and
+bargee paid reverence.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by
+the Church. There was whipping, but not the terrible
+murderous flogging of the eighteenth century; there were
+hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the credit
+of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush
+a man, but to shame him into repentance, and to give him a
+chance of retrieving his character. A man might be set in
+the stocks, or put in pillory, and so made to feel the heinousness
+of his offence. This punishment was like that which is
+inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned
+him, transported him, made a brute of him, and
+then hanged him. Did a woman speak despitefully of
+authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the cage
+besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should
+see her there and should ask what she had done. After an
+hour or two take her down; bid her go home and keep
+henceforth a quiet tongue in her head. This leniency was
+only for offences moral and against the law. For freedom of
+thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way.
+And it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">{69}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV
+<br />
+<br />
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON</h2>
+
+
+<p>All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted
+Royal Houses, Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side
+were Westminster, Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene,
+Theobald's, Hatfield, Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon,
+Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the Tower; on the south
+side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew, Hampton,
+Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House
+of Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these
+royal houses are now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves
+some ruins left of Edward IV.'s buildings; it still shows the
+moat and the old bridge, and the line of its former wall; but
+tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories of the
+Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King
+John. The sailors&mdash;now, alas! also gone&mdash;have deprived
+Greenwich of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone
+altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared away. Of Kennington,
+of which I have to speak in this place, not one stone remains
+upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is
+gone and forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although
+part of the ruins were still standing only a hundred years
+ago.</p>
+
+<p>The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace
+was deserted; it was pulled down before 1607&mdash;Camden says
+that even then there was not a stone remaining&mdash;there was
+not a single house within half a mile in every direction. There
+was no one, when the last stones had been carted away, left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">{70}</a></span>
+to remember or to remind his children that there had been a
+palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but no
+tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then
+came the destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was
+not even a cottage near the spot. This being so, it is not
+difficult to understand why the site was forgotten.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="THE_LONG_BARN" id="THE_LONG_BARN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_084.jpg" width="420" height="251" alt="THE LONG BARN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LONG BARN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the
+substructures; a building of stone and thatch, part of the
+offices of the palace, also stood. They called it the 'Long
+Barn,' and when the distressed Protestants were brought over
+here in 1700 as many as the place would hold were crammed
+into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the country
+between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of
+the palace there was not a single person left who could carry
+on the tradition of the king's house that once stood here.
+Roque, the map-maker of 1745, knew nothing about it. In
+1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At the beginning of
+the century houses began to rise here and there; streets
+began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens
+and the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a
+place which, as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred
+years. 'Is this fame?' might ask the king who crowned
+himself here, the king who died here, the king who was brought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">{71}</a></span>
+up here, the kings who kept their Christmas feast here, the
+kings who here received their brides, held Parliament, and
+went out a-hunting.</p>
+
+<p>The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot,
+son of Cnut&mdash;that is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there
+was no other house at Lambeth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"><a name="SKETCH_MAP_II" id="SKETCH_MAP_II"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_085.jpg" width="410" height="338" alt="SKETCH MAP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SKETCH MAP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The king who died in this house was that young Dane
+who appears to have been an incarnation of the ideal Danish
+brutality. He dragged his brother's body out of its grave and
+flung it into the Thames; he massacred the people of Worcester
+and ravaged the shire; and he did these brave deeds
+and many others all in two short years. Then he went to his
+own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic.
+For one so young it showed with what a yearning and
+madness he had been drinking. He went across the river&mdash;there
+was, I repeat, no other house in Lambeth except this,
+so that it must have been here&mdash;to attend the wedding of his
+standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of the
+Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate
+of Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">{72}</a></span>
+hard drinking, while the minstrels played and sang and the
+mummers tumbled. When men were well drunken the pleasing
+sport of bone throwing began: they threw the beef bones at
+each other. The fun of the game consisted in the accident of a
+man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed.
+The soldiers had no special desire to kill the old man: why
+couldn't he enter into the spirit of the game and dodge the
+bones? As he did not, of course he was hit, and as the bone
+was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a powerful hand, of
+course it split open his skull. One may be permitted to think
+that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a
+big beef bone which knocked him down; and as he remained
+comatose until he died, the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it
+said that even in sport his king had been killed at his wedding,
+gave out that the king fell down in a fit. This, however, is
+speculation.</p>
+
+<p>Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was
+compiled, the place was in the possession of a London citizen,
+Theodric by name and a goldsmith by trade. It was still a
+royal manor, because the goldsmith held it of Edward the
+Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a year. It is
+impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and
+price of other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the
+wages and pay of servants and officers; and when we have
+done all, we are still very far from understanding the value of
+money then or at any subsequent time. There are, you see,
+so many points which the writers on the value of money do
+not take into consideration. There is the price of bread;
+but then there were so many kinds of bread&mdash;wheaten bread,
+barley bread, oat bread, rye bread; and how much bread did
+a family of the working class consume? Flesh, fish, fowl,
+but how much of either did the working classes enjoy? Rent?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">{73}</a></span>
+But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent. There is, in a
+word, not only the market prices that have to be considered,
+but the standard of comfort&mdash;always a little higher than the
+practice&mdash;and the daily relations of the demand to the supply.
+So that when we read that this manor of Kennington was
+worth three pounds a year we are not advanced in the least.
+As most of the land was still marshy and useless, we may
+understand that the value was low.</p>
+
+<p>We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King
+Richard granted it on lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy
+with the title of Lord of the Manor. Henry III. came here
+on several occasions; here he held his Lambeth Parliament.
+He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the feasting
+and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.</p>
+
+<p>The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying
+map. If you walk along the Kennington Road from Bridge
+Street, Westminster, you presently come to a place where
+four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the left, and
+Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to
+the Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand
+side stood the palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house
+and grounds was executed; but by that time the mediæval
+character of the place was quite forgotten. It was a square
+house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King Henry III.
+at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing
+the 'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the
+palace really was in the thirteenth or fourteenth century is to
+compare it with another palace built under much the same
+conditions, and intended to serve the same purpose. Fortunately
+there still stand, some miles to the east of Kennington,
+at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary
+palace, with a description of the place as it was before it was
+allowed to fall into ruins.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">{74}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We are not at this moment concerned with the history of
+Eltham. Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately
+place for five hundred years and more; that it passed through
+the hands of Bishop Odo; of the Mandevilles; of the De
+Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of Geoffrey le Scrope
+of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins with
+Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends
+with Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from
+Greenwich. Here Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth
+to a son, John of Eltham. The greatest builder at Eltham
+was Edward IV.</p>
+
+<p>The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited
+it, is said to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms
+on the ground floor and first floor called the King's side and
+the Queen's side. There were buildings and rooms of all
+kinds round the courtyard. The number of chambers in all
+was very great, and it is said, further, that the large courtyard
+covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area
+would give about two hundred and ten feet to each side of a
+square. This would be large for a college at Oxford or
+Cambridge. It would cover about the same area as that of
+New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for
+the 'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms
+for the servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who
+accompanied the king, the grooms, armourers, makers and
+menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and scullions, and the
+women servants, and the wives and the children. A strong
+stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded
+the palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the
+bridge which crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate
+had its portcullis. The palace, in a word, was a fortress, for
+there was never a king in England who would have dared to
+keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified manor house, or
+outside a fortress&mdash;certainly not Henry III. or Edward IV.&mdash;unless,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">{75}</a></span>
+of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of
+his army.</p>
+
+<p>The existing remains of the palace correspond to this
+description. There is the moat, deep and broad; there is the
+bridge, the drawbridge gone. Within, the most important
+ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall. This is a most
+noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it was
+built; the two magnificent
+bays remain, with
+the double row of windows.
+It would be
+difficult to find a finer
+banqueting hall in the
+whole country than
+that of Eltham. In the
+grounds, the traces of
+the wall and those of
+other buildings ought
+to make it possible,
+with a very little excavation,
+to trace a plan
+of the whole house.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 329px;"><a name="Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace" id="Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_089.jpg" width="329" height="500" alt="Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As was Eltham, so
+was Kennington. Both
+places were built for
+the same purpose about
+the same time. Both
+were castles erected on a plain without the aid of hillock,
+mound or running stream&mdash;unless the moat at Kennington was
+fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream
+or the ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn'
+on the east side of the palace belonged to the 'service'&mdash;it
+was kitchens, stables, armoury, brewery, or granary. The
+house itself had its principal entrance on the north. This is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">{76}</a></span>
+certain, because all the supplies were brought by what is
+now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or
+from Southwark. A gate on this side simplified the
+transference which took place when the court moved from
+one place to another; when everything&mdash;bedding, blankets,
+utensils of all kinds, plate, <i>batterie de cuisine</i>, the workmen
+with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen&mdash;was packed
+up and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington,
+or from Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods
+sent up from the City were also landed at Stangate, Lambeth,
+so as to get as short a land journey as possible. For these
+reasons I place the principal gate at the north.</p>
+
+<p>I have seen it stated&mdash;I know not with what truth&mdash;that
+the people of the streets now on the site have found substructures
+beneath their houses. If so, one would expect,
+what one cannot find, some tradition to account for the
+existence of these stone vaults.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress
+of the Lambeth Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal
+residence; now completely vanished.</p>
+
+<p>Two other royal houses there were in South London,
+neither of which can be compared with Kennington. Greenwich,
+for instance, which appears in history from the time of
+King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V., Edward IV.,
+Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth&mdash;all
+had more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII.
+completed his buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left,
+that is, the mediæval fortress for the modern house. His
+Greenwich was not fortified. The accompanying view of it
+shows that it possessed none of the characteristics of the
+ancient residence, half castle, half manor house. Greenwich,
+however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would
+most certainly resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington,
+with certain small differences, just as one Benedictine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">{77}</a></span>
+monastery resembles in its general disposition another Benedictine
+monastery, and one Norman castle in general terms,
+and allowing for the site, resembles another.</p>
+
+<p>The other house of which I have spoken is that of
+Nonesuch. This house was not a reconstruction and an
+adaptation with much of the ancient work: it was newly
+built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was no
+suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the
+house stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained
+by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful
+according to our
+ideas; nor was it what
+we now call a Tudor
+house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's interference
+with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from
+the heathen mythology. The house was pulled down by
+the Duchess of Cleveland, to whom Charles II. gave it.
+Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with Kennington, and
+must not detain us.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich" id="The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_091.jpg" width="550" height="403" alt="The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us next consider what it means when the king is said
+to have kept his Christmas at a place.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">{78}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During the festival&mdash;for twenty days&mdash;he kept open
+house, nominally. That is to say, all comers received food
+and drink: his guests, one supposes, were bidden. Every
+day during the festival the king sat at the feast wearing his
+crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the most
+prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day
+no fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the
+number was at Christmas no one knows. In addition to the
+ordinary following of the court&mdash;a huge army of chaplains,
+canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen archers, and servants&mdash;there
+were the bishops and abbots, the peers and barons, who
+came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own following
+of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment
+would be needed! The organisation was complete;
+everything was in departments, each under the yeomen: the
+chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the stables, the cellars.
+Yet what an army in each department! Then, since at
+Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master
+of the Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated
+following; among them were all those who played on the
+different instruments of music, those who sang, the buffoons,
+tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was in the
+time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over
+for the delectation of the English court&mdash;perhaps with the
+pious intention of showing what joys and attractions awaited
+the Crusaders in the Holy Land itself.</p>
+
+<p>Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and
+fifty years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at
+Grenewiche, wher was suche abundance of viands served to
+all comers of any honest behaviour, as hath been few times
+seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in the Hall,
+a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with artilerie,
+and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">{79}</a></span>
+frount of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and
+within the castle were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide
+all over with leves of golde, and every owde knit with laces
+of blewe silke and golde; on ther heddes, coyfes and cappes
+all of golde. After this castle had been carried about the
+hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng with
+five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche
+cloth of gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered
+with workes of fine gold bullion. These six
+assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them so lustie and
+coragious were content to solace with them, and upon farther
+communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came
+down and daunced a long space. And after the ladies led
+the knightes into the castle, and then the castle sodainly
+vanished out of their sight.</p>
+
+<p>'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with
+XI other were disguised after the manner of Italie, called a
+maske, a thing not seen afore in Englande; they were
+apparelled in garments long and brode, wrought all with
+gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the banket
+doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised
+in silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to
+daunce; some were content, and some that knew the fashion
+of it refused, because it was not a thing commonly seen. And
+after they daunced and commoned together as the fashion of
+the maske is, thei tooke their leave and departed. And so
+did the Quene and all the ladies.'</p>
+
+<p>When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed
+up the gear: the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes,
+pillows, curtains, tapestry and carpets. They were all laid
+upon waggons, the broad-wheeled creaking waggons which
+were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy lanes by
+teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies
+were carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">{80}</a></span>
+king and his followers rode; and so they went back to
+Westminster. The ferry carried over the heavy goods and
+the horses: the royal barges received the court. After them
+marched the whole rout&mdash;the two thousand archers without
+whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly,
+when the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians
+and the mummers and the singers marched off sadly. A
+whole twelvemonth before another Christmas! They marched
+in the direction of the City, and that night, as they report,
+there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the
+principal officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe,
+of the cellars, of the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation
+being kept up in readiness, though the king might not come
+back for years. This fact was illustrated a short time ago,
+when I was interested in watching the progress of a certain
+genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left
+his house; it was necessary to connect him with his own
+descendants. The link was found in the fact that this younger
+son had been received by Carey, warden of Hunsdon House,
+who made him one of his yeomen; a cheerless appointment,
+like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden and yeomen,
+representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and
+silent gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of
+emptiness, during which it is best to keep out of them. For
+my own part, I think the true way of enjoying a palace is to
+frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all that was said and to
+put down all that was done, but not to be an actor in a drama
+which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered
+about the court of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.?
+Richard murders his uncle, Henry IV. murders his cousin,
+Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it is true, murders
+no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a perpetual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">{81}</a></span>
+series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who
+looked on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for
+his history, while in the whole of that court there was no one
+whose head was safe on his shoulders except Froissart.
+Unfortunately, he says little about this palace which we are
+considering.</p>
+
+<p>There are many names of kings and princes connected
+with this house of Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally.
+During his reign it was the residence of John Earl
+of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl of Warren
+and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these
+and other names, had the writer time or the reader patience.
+In truth, the reader's patience is more to be considered than
+the writer's time, for the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting
+up names and notes and allusions, and of piecing together
+what, after all, his reader may not find of interest enough to
+carry him through. Edward III. made the manor part of the
+Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not
+find that Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly
+be haunted&mdash;especially the room in which he was to sleep&mdash;by
+the sorrowful shade of his murdered cousin. Nor did
+Henry V. come here during his short reign. Henry VI.,
+however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with
+the palace was Catherine of Arragon.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have
+seen the place as it was figured in 1636, when it was only an
+ordinary square house. The plan was drawn when Charles I.
+leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The destruction of the
+old house and the building of the new must have taken place
+during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When
+the new house was taken down I do not know.</p>
+
+<p>The name that we especially associate with Kennington
+Palace is that of Richard II. When the Black Prince died,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">{82}</a></span>
+in 1376, Richard remained at Kennington under the care of
+his mother and the tutorship of Sir Guiscard d'Angle, 'that
+accomplished knight.' The young prince started with the
+finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter
+years of his life, on the popular side against the old King and
+his supporters; the boy was endowed with a singular beauty
+of person, and, when he pleased, with a sweetness of manner
+most unusual even among princes, with whom affability is the
+first essential in princely manners. In addition to this he was
+destined to show on two occasions courage which almost
+amounted to insensibility&mdash;first, when he dispersed Wat
+Tyler's mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government.
+History shows how he threw away all his chances in
+reckless extravagance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE" id="SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_097.jpg" width="550" height="364" alt="SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+<br />
+(From Allen&#39;s History of Lambeth)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the
+Lord Mayor to pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington,
+with a riding worthy of the City. The day chosen was the
+Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One has frequent
+occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely
+regardless of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth
+upon a pageant as cheerfully in the cold of February as in the
+sunshine of August. On this occasion, one hundred and
+thirty-two citizens on horseback, with trumpets and other
+musical instruments, and a vast number of <i>flambeaux</i>, assembled
+at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond
+the Borough. First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of
+esquires&mdash;with red coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed
+the same number apparelled as knights in the same
+livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic figure, who
+represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty cardinals.
+They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with
+black vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">{83}</a></span>
+This accounts for one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole
+number. The last man is not described. To them must be
+added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with men carrying
+the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy to
+the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company
+of 'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after
+it and shouting. When it arrived at Kennington Palace they
+all dismounted and entered the hall, where they found the
+Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and their attendants,
+together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great lords.
+The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who
+then produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them.
+Would you believe it?&mdash;every time the Prince threw, he won,
+which was in itself a remarkable circumstance. He carried
+off his winnings: a bowl of pure gold, chased and decorated;
+a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold ring. They then
+invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">{84}</a></span>
+nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited
+to supper in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his
+mother. After supper, the tables were taken away&mdash;they were
+only planks laid on trestles and covered with white cloths&mdash;and
+the floor being cleared, the masquers had the honour of
+dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+<i>flambeaux</i> were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well
+pleased with the reception they had met and the courtesy of
+the best behaved boy in the world.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which
+arose out of Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between
+the Bishop of London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after
+the dismissal of Wyclyf, repaired to the house of John de
+Ypres, close beside the river, where he was sitting at dinner
+when one of his following ran hastily to warn him that the
+people were flocking together with intent to murder him if
+they could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the
+nearest stairs, took a boat across the river, and fled as quickly
+as possible to Kennington Palace, where he took shelter with
+the young Prince Richard and his guardians. The mob,
+finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to the Savoy,
+his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the
+Duke in countenance; they were then persuaded by the
+Bishop of London to go home without doing any more mischief.
+What would have happened one knows not, but the
+death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up
+the peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens.
+Hearing that Edward was <i>in extremis</i>, the Mayor and Aldermen
+waited on the Princess of Wales and Prince Richard
+informing them of the King's critical situation, and beseeching
+the Prince's favour to the City; they also begged him to
+interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's differences
+with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt freely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">{86}</a></span>
+forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity
+of his son Henry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_High_Street_Southwark" id="The_High_Street_Southwark"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_099.jpg" width="550" height="337" alt="The High Street
+Southwark
+as it appeared
+MDXLIII" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The High Street Southwark<br />
+as it appeared MDXLIII</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It might be argued that the various impressions as regards
+London produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct
+towards the citizens when he grew older. The first
+experiment he had of the citizens was when they rode over in a
+goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold chains and finely
+appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he remembered
+that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a
+kind of impression which does not easily die away.</p>
+
+<p>His second impression of the City was when his uncle,
+John of Gaunt, came flying from the City, having barely
+escaped with his life, the people having gone on to wreck, if
+they could, his palace of the Savoy. A turbulent and dangerous
+people, then, as well as rich; a people to be kept down.</p>
+
+<p>He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way
+to be crowned at Westminster. All the way there was nothing
+but rich tapestry, carpets, scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet,
+pageants with cloth of gold, and the streets filled with men
+and women dressed in rich furs and silks, such as only great
+barons could afford. This third impression confirmed the
+first.</p>
+
+<p>His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate
+at the mercy of a large mob, unable to move or to help itself.
+He went into the City almost alone; he, by one single act of
+splendid courage, put an end to the insurrection. A City
+cowardly, therefore, and unable to act together. It was his
+City, moreover&mdash;the <i>Camera Regis</i>. Should not a prince do
+what he pleases with his own?</p>
+
+<p>When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City:
+how he believed its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed
+that it had no power to resist; how he made the way
+easy for his cousin to supplant him, let us bear in mind the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">{87}</a></span>
+lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for him in
+his youth.</p>
+
+<p>This King seizes on the imagination of all who think
+about him. His is one of the strangest of all the strange figures
+which crowd the National Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed
+with artistic instincts; a lover of music and all the fine arts;
+of singularly winning manners; the comeliest man in his
+whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in his
+court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in
+his youth never ceased to love; for whose soul&mdash;not for the
+soul of Henry IV.&mdash;Whittington, for instance, left money for
+masses&mdash;this is a figure among our English kings which has
+no parallel.</p>
+
+<p>One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last
+occasion on which Richard lodged there was when he brought
+home his little bride Isabel, the queen of eight years. They
+brought her from Dover, resting on the way at Canterbury
+and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the Mayor
+and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to
+do honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into
+their place and rode on with the procession. When they
+arrived at Newington, the King thanked the Mayor and permitted
+him to leave the procession and return home. He
+himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country lane
+from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this
+proves the existence of a path or lane where is now Upper
+Kennington Lane. At this palace the little queen rested a
+night, and next day was carried in another procession to the
+Tower. The knights rode before, and the French ladies came
+after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair hair
+falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up
+and smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be
+queen, which she had been practising ever since her betrothal.
+Needless to say that all hearts were ravished. The good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">{88}</a></span>
+people of London were ever ready to welcome one princess
+after another, and to lose their hearts to them, whether it was
+Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne Boleyn, or
+Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great
+a press was there that many were actually squeezed to death
+on London Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in
+breadth. Isabel's queenship proved a pretence: before she
+was old enough to be queen, indeed, her husband was in confinement;
+before she understood that he was a captive, he
+was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was over.
+The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself,
+desired to take the place of Richard; his father also desired
+the match, for the sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she
+was still, had the heart of a woman; she had learned to love
+her handsome, courteous, accomplished lord, who died before
+he could claim her; she refused absolutely to marry the son
+of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by persuasion;
+they did not dare to force her: let us believe that
+Harry of Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to
+marry him. There was nothing therefore left to do, but to
+send her home to what was certainly the most miserable
+court or palace in the world&mdash;that of her mad father. In the
+end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans.
+You may read the verses which he made upon her death.
+Isabel died in childbirth in her twenty-second year. As for
+Harry of Monmouth, as all the world knows, he was obliged
+to content himself with Isabel's younger sister, Katharine;
+we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to
+a suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay
+not so fine as that of Isabel, her sister.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">{89}</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3>2. ELTHAM PALACE</h3>
+
+<p>The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal
+House of Eltham, already mentioned in connection with
+Kennington. The place itself seems to have been a settlement
+of some kind, a town or village, in very ancient times.
+In the thirteenth century it was considered of importance
+enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before
+the Feast of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after.
+In the fourteenth century the market day was altered to
+Monday, but the Fair remained; in the fifteenth century
+the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair was
+changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul,
+on the Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and
+the Fair have long since been discontinued. The importance
+of both depended on the occasional presence of the Court,
+and when that was removed altogether from the place there
+was no longer any necessity for either market or Fair Day.
+Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many
+miles round. So long as it contained one of the recognised
+Palaces, even though years might pass by without a visit
+from the sovereign, there was, attached to the house, the
+permanent staff to a Governor or warder, with chiefs of the
+various departments and the men or assistants under them.
+The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a
+kind of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for
+all sorts of things. On those rare occasions when the Court
+was actually in Residence at Eltham, the market had to
+furnish supplies, to which all the country round had to
+contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may
+have been very great; no doubt word would be sent long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">{90}</a></span>
+beforehand if the King proposed to keep Christmas there.
+The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef put in the pickling
+tubs in November&mdash;vast quantities of beef, for, Christmas or
+not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt beef.
+At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay
+within easy reach of the London market; so was Westminster.
+Greenwich was accessible by ships from the lower
+reaches of the Thames as well as from London. Eltham, no
+doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there
+were of very little use. The annals of the Palace are simple,
+rather than scanty; in fact, there is plenty of mention made
+of the Palace, yet very little of importance is recorded concerning
+it. All that is recorded of it belongs to peace and
+festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of
+Bayeux and Earl of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and
+the confiscation of his estates, the manor belonged partly to
+the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles. Thence it passed
+into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in
+succession.</p>
+
+<p>There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very
+ancient times. The historian says that he cannot ascertain
+when the Palace was built (see p. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>). Since the origin of
+the House is unknown, he argues that it must have been
+ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings and
+Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have
+to be catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance,
+the following list of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot
+pretend that it is of much interest.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796" id="REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_105.jpg" width="406" height="550" alt="REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace
+of Eltham with the Queen and his nobles. After this the
+name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of
+Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">{91}</a></span>
+deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He
+died at Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there
+seem to have been no other buildings. Now we come back
+to the kings, and we find historical associations in plenty,
+though not of a kind which is moving or interesting. It does
+not excite our curiosity much to learn that this king or that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">{92}</a></span>
+king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of association
+which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his
+favourite games with his followers without being overseen.
+One of his sons, John of Eltham, was born here. Edward
+III., when still under age, had a Parliament at Eltham
+in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for him at
+Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John,
+his prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here,
+when the Commons petitioned him to make Richard, his
+grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard the Second, as we
+should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar affection; it
+was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with
+his extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas
+here: on the last he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with
+great splendour and profusion. Henry the Fourth kept
+Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first, the Aldermen
+of London and their children went down from the City
+to perform a masque before the King, who received it well.
+At that moment he was certain to receive everything well
+that came from the City. On his last visit the disease broke
+out which killed him. Henry the Fifth was here once, in
+1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings.
+Among other things, he built a new front to the Palace and
+is said to have built the Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities
+rivalled those of Richard the Second. Here his
+daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was born.
+Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham
+often. Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he
+preferred Greenwich as a residence as soon as that house
+was built. Elizabeth also came here only once or twice, preferring
+Greenwich, and James the First is only recorded to
+have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">{93}</a></span>
+to be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>;
+the Manor was sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration
+it reverted to the Crown; the rest of the history concerns
+its occupancy by private families. On the death of Charles
+the Palace was surveyed; it is described as being built of
+brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see p. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>) one chapel, a
+hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars;
+and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12 on
+the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms
+in the offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre
+of ground: the house was out of repair and uninhabitable.
+There were gardens attached to the house. A moat surrounded
+the house, of width 60 feet, except in the forest, where it was
+115 feet. The moat still exists on the north side, and can be
+traced all round. Of the buildings little remains except the
+old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with its
+fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments
+only remain of the other buildings; but it is said to be possible,
+in the gardens at the back, to trace out the courts and the
+foundations of the chapel and offices. The Palace is approached
+by a bridge of about the same date as the Palace,
+viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with its
+picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one
+side, and the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an
+approach to the ruin as could well be imagined or created.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT" id="KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_107.jpg" width="550" height="318" alt="KING JOHN&#39;S PALACE, KENT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">KING JOHN&#39;S PALACE, KENT
+<br />
+(From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the
+year 1575, when Henry held one of the tournaments in which
+in his early manhood he so much delighted. This is Holinshed's
+account of it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne
+Christmasse at his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe
+night in the hall was made a goodlie castell, woonderouslie
+set out, and in it certeine ladies and knights; and when the
+king and queene were set, in came other knights and assailed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">{95}</a></span>
+the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at the
+last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out
+knights and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich
+and strangelie disguised; for all their apparell was in braids
+of gold, fret with moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on
+crimson sattin, loose and not fastned: the mens apparell of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">{96}</a></span>
+the same sute made like Iulis of Hungarie; and the ladies
+heads and bodies were after the fashion of Amsterdam. And
+when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of two
+hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 436px;"><a name="Remains_of_Eltham_Palace" id="Remains_of_Eltham_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_109.jpg" width="436" height="550" alt="Remains of Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Remains of Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a
+place so beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting
+history. Kings and Courts delight me not, nor do I take
+pleasure in reading about tournaments and masques.</p>
+
+<p>There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to
+think upon as that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy
+who was going to become such an extravagant King. One
+would like to have seen Edward entertaining his prisoner,
+King John of France; and one wonders what sort of figure
+was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of Richard's
+splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.</p>
+
+<p>Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so
+many guests? To feed two thousand every day is a great
+undertaking. We are accustomed to believe that the roads in
+winter were so bad as to be impassable. Now, everything
+had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the roads.
+And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too,
+and the nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads.
+As was stated above, due notice was certainly given: a vast
+quantity of salt provisions was laid down in readiness:
+for the rest, the country was fertile and well cultivated.
+The Park contained deer&mdash;but they could not kill all; the
+Thames, only three miles away&mdash;but then, the roads!&mdash;was full
+of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne&mdash;again, those roads!&mdash;were
+the homes of myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the
+inland communications of the fourteenth century must have
+been a great deal better than those of the seventeenth century
+in order to allow of Christmas being kept in magnificence and
+profusion by two thousand people in a country village.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">{97}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Moat_Bridge" id="The_Moat_Bridge"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_111.jpg" width="550" height="435" alt="The Moat Bridge
+Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Moat Bridge<br />
+Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The views which accompany this account are taken from
+Lysons: they were engraved in the year 1796. There is not
+much difference in the present aspect: the moat has been
+opened again: the buildings represented on the south side of
+the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had been
+used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for
+visitors or the drilling of Volunteers.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.</p></div>
+
+
+<h3>3. GREENWICH PALACE</h3>
+
+<p>The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with
+marshes on either side of it&mdash;the marsh of the Ravensbourne
+on one side, and the Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on
+the other side of it&mdash;is as old as history itself. Its position as
+the landing-place, or point of approach, to the lands of Kent, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">{98}</a></span>
+place where ships might lie, pirates and invaders might seize
+and hold as a base of operations, very early called attention to
+its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him,
+throwing beef bones at his head. As the throwing of bones
+was a favourite evening pastime with the Danes, they probably
+meant little at first beyond a friendly reminder or an invitation
+to take part in the game: as the Archbishop made no
+response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. <a href="#Page_72">72</a>). The
+people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place
+was once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical
+memories connected with Greenwich of interest almost equal
+to those of Westminster, and far more important and interesting
+than those of Eltham.</p>
+
+<p>Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some
+of these memories.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.</p>
+
+<p>In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas
+Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, who afterwards died here.</p>
+
+<p>In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester,
+with permission to fortify and embattle the manor house, and
+to enclose a park of 200 acres. This was the true beginning
+of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt the house, which he
+called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he enclosed the
+Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place
+reverted to the Crown. Edward the Fourth took great
+pleasure in the place and beautified it at much cost. In 1466
+he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the Queen,
+Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard
+Duke of York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with
+the usual rejoicings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="GREENWICH_1662" id="GREENWICH_1662"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_113.jpg" width="550" height="329" alt="GREENWICH, 1662" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH, 1662
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Jonas Moore</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of
+residence. He added a brick front on the riverside (see p. <a href="#Page_77">77</a>).
+Here Henry the Eighth was born on June 28, 1491. He was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">{99}</a></span>
+baptised in the Parish Church, the predecessor of the present
+church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all other Palaces,
+and made it during the early years of his reign the scene of
+the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much.
+Here he married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510.
+Here he held the great tournament in which he himself, Sir
+Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and Edward Neville
+challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept Christmas
+here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of
+two entertainments held by the King at Greenwich&mdash;one a
+tournament in June, the other at Christmas:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes
+at Greenewich, the king &amp; sir Charles Brandon taking vpon
+them to abide all commers. First came the ladies all in
+white and red silke, set vpon coursers trapped in the same
+sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a founteine
+curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">{100}</a></span>
+After this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke
+dropped with fine siluer, on a courser trapped in the same.
+Then followed a knight in a horsselitter, the coursers &amp; litter
+apparelled in blacke with siluer drops. When the fountein
+came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about, and so did the
+founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after them
+were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts:
+and when they came to the tilts end, the two knights
+mounted on the two courses abiding all commers. The king
+was in the founteine, and sir Charles Brandon was in the
+litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of trumpets entred
+sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer the
+castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the
+earle of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses
+with the king and sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king
+brake most speares, and likelie was so to doo yer he began,
+as in former time; the prise fell to his lot; so luckie was he
+and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in martiall actiuitie,
+whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....</p>
+
+<p>'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne
+Christmasse at Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in
+most princelie maner. And on the Twelfe daie at night
+came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount. The
+mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full
+of broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin,
+and the flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet.
+On the top stood a goodlie beacon giuing light,
+round about the beacon sat the king and fiue other, all in
+cotes and caps of right crimson veluet, embrodered with flat
+gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles of gold.
+And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before
+the queene, and then the king and his companie descended
+and dansed. Then suddenlie the mount opened, and out
+came six ladies all in crimsin sattin and plunket, embrodered
+with gold and pearle, with French hoods on their heads, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">{102}</a></span>
+they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount tooke the
+ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then
+the king shifted him, and came to the queene, and sat at the
+banket, which was verie sumptuous.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="GREENWICH_HOSPITAL" id="GREENWICH_HOSPITAL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_115.jpg" width="550" height="325" alt="GREENWICH HOSPITAL)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Schnebbelie</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and
+1536.</p>
+
+<p>Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of
+France. Six or seven times more Henry kept Christmas
+at Greenwich. In 1543, the last occasion, he entertained
+twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners, and released
+them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal
+Wolsey was her godfather.</p>
+
+<p>King Edward the Sixth died here.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533.
+She, too, spent much of her time at Greenwich.</p>
+
+<p>King James also much delighted in this place: he
+added to the brickwork by the riverside: he also walled the
+park and laid the foundations of the house afterwards called
+the House of Delight. The Queen, who received the Palace
+in jointure, carried on this House, which was afterwards
+completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was
+called the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's
+Lodge. It was not until 1807 that the house was granted to
+the Commissioners of the Royal Naval Asylum.</p>
+
+<p>Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of
+river, it was thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent
+of the condition of the roads. In other respects
+the position of the place was unrivalled: it was on a slope
+rising from the river in front, and from lowlands on either
+side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh breeze
+that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">{103}</a></span>
+was no better air to be got than the air of Greenwich;
+that of Eltham, with its stagnant marsh and thick woods, was
+close and aguish in comparison: for view, the broad river
+rolled along the Palace front and bent round to east and west,
+so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in Limehouse
+Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed
+and flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up
+and down, outward bound or homeward bound. Sitting at
+her window, or walking on her terrace, Queen Elizabeth could
+for herself learn what was meant by the foreign trade of
+London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the
+river, streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could
+understand the coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could
+ask what the hoys and ketches, the lighters, and the barges
+carried up to the Port of London in such numbers: she could
+herself, and often did, embark upon the stream in summer,
+when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships more
+closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness
+the sad history of Thomas Appletree.</p>
+
+<p>It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about
+nine o'clock of the evening, that an accident happened
+which might have had fatal consequences. The Queen was
+taking the air in her private barge, between Greenwich and
+Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl
+of Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of
+state. Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were
+out in a small boat at the same time, and on the same part of
+the river. They were Thomas Appletree, a young servant of
+Francis Carey, two singing boys of the Queen's choir, and
+another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself of a
+'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load
+with ball and then fire it at random up and down the river.
+One of these haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight
+to the Queen's barge, where it passed through both arms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">{104}</a></span>
+the oarsman nearest Her Majesty. The man thus unexpectedly
+wounded, finding himself bleeding like a pig&mdash;for
+it was a flesh wound&mdash;threw himself down, bawling and
+roaring out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him
+with the assurance that he should be properly cared for, and
+ordered the barge to be taken back to the shore at once. The
+man, being treated, speedily recovered. Meantime, who had
+dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question was
+very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four
+lads brought up before them. It appearing that the only
+guilty person was Thomas Appletree, the other three were
+suffered to depart, and Thomas was tried. It was ascertained
+that there could be no question as to the loyalty of Thomas's
+master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt rested on the
+shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was
+therefore sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments,
+for treason. Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he
+was taken from Newgate and conducted on a hurdle with
+great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through the postern to
+Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy
+Thomas Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a
+dolorous journey on his hurdle, weeping copiously all the way,
+and many of the people weeping with him. Arrived at the
+gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the chronicler repeats
+faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last moments
+which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die
+acquitted themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded
+for treason, or a Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and
+quartered for being a priest. Appletree, for his part, spoke
+so movingly that the people all wept with him. Then the
+hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">{105}</a></span>
+cried, 'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding
+up the Queen's Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton.
+But think not that the Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed
+the royal pardon. Not at all. He left Thomas on the ladder
+for a while; he made an oration on the heinousness of the
+offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for the
+safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened
+and all eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon,
+which the prisoner acknowledged in suitable language.
+Thomas Appletree was then taken back to the Marshalsea,
+where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after this.
+We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for
+this young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus
+would have nothing to do with it.</p>
+
+<p>Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John
+Willoughby's departure for the Arctic seas. He was going
+to endeavour to open a new way for trade round the N.E.
+Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia. He embarked at
+Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As he
+passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they
+brought out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see
+the sailing of the stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the
+ships passed on their way, and they carried the dying King
+back to his bed. In a day or two Edward was dead. In six
+months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too, frozen
+to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.</p>
+
+<p>If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen
+Elizabeth at Greenwich, you will find an account of it in
+Hentzner, that excellent traveller who remarked so much,
+and put all down on paper.</p>
+
+<p>'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported
+to have been originally built by Humphrey, Duke of
+Gloucester, and to have received very magnificent additions
+from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the present Queen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">{106}</a></span>
+was born, and here she generally resides; particularly in
+Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were
+admitted by an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the
+Lord Chamberlain, into the Presence-Chamber, hung with
+rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the English fashion,
+strewed with Hay,<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman
+dressed in Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to
+introduce to the Queen any Person of Distinction, that came
+to wait on her: It was Sunday, when there is usually the
+greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall were the
+Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great
+Number of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and
+Gentlemen, who waited the Queen's coming out; which she
+did from her own Apartment, when it was Time to go to
+Prayers, attended in the following Manner:</p>
+
+<p>'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the
+Garter, all richly dressed and bare-headed; next came the
+Chancellor, bearing the Seals in a red-silk Purse, between
+Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter, the other the
+Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in
+the Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic;
+her Face oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet
+black and pleasant; her Nose a little hooked; her Lips
+narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the English seem
+subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false
+Hair, and that red; upon her Head she had a small Crown,
+reported to be made of some of the Gold of the celebrated
+Lunebourg Table:<a name="FNanchor_2_3" id="FNanchor_2_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_3" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Her Bosom was uncovered, as all the
+English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">{107}</a></span>
+her Fingers long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her
+Air was stately, her Manner of Speaking mild and obliging.
+That Day she was dressed in white Silk, bordered with Pearls
+of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of black Silk, shot
+with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End of it
+borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an
+oblong Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all
+this State and Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first
+to one, then to another, whether foreign Ministers, or those
+who attended for different Reasons, in English, French and
+Italian; for, besides being well skilled in Greek, Latin, and
+the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of Spanish,
+Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling;
+now and then she raises some with her Hand. While we
+were there, W. Slawata, a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to
+present to her; and she, after pulling off her Glove, gave him
+her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and Jewels,
+a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her
+Face, as she was going along, everybody fell down on their
+Knees.<a name="FNanchor_3_4" id="FNanchor_3_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_4" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> The Ladies of the Court followed next to her, very
+handsome and well-shaped, and for the most Part dressed in
+white; she was guarded on each Side by the Gentlemen
+Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were
+presented to her, and she received them most graciously,
+which occasioned the Acclamation of, Long live Queen
+ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as
+it and the Service was over, which scarce exceeded half an
+hour, the Queen returned in the same State and Order, and
+prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was still at Prayers,
+we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">{108}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and
+along with him another who had a Table-cloth, which, after
+they had both kneeled three Times with the utmost Veneration,
+he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling again they
+both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod
+again, the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when
+they had kneeled, as the others had done, and placed what
+was brought upon the Table, they too retired with the same
+Ceremonies performed by the first. At last came an unmarried
+Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was
+dressed in white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three
+Times, in the most graceful Manner, approached the Table,
+and rubbed the Plates with Bread and Salt with as much
+Awe as if the Queen had been present: When they had
+waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon
+their Backs, bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four
+Dishes, served in plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were
+received by a Gentleman in the same Order they were
+brought, and placed upon the Table, while the Lady-taster
+gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the particular
+dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the
+Time that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and
+stoutest Men that can be found in all England, being carefully
+selected for this Service, were bringing Dinner, twelve
+Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring for Half
+an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number
+of unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity,
+lifted the Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the
+Queen's inner and more private Chamber, where, after she
+had chosen for herself, the rest goes to the Ladies of the
+Court.</p>
+
+<p>'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants;
+and it is very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">{109}</a></span>
+Native, is admitted at that Time, and then only at the
+Intercession of somebody in Power.'</p>
+
+<p>On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down
+the Palace and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted
+various persons, and after many delays began the
+building. He only succeeded, however, in erecting what is
+now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted
+into a Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid
+institution, one of the glories of Great Britain, and a standing
+monument of the nation's gratitude to her sailors, and an ever
+present invitation to enter the navy, was closed, with that
+stupid indifference to sentiment which so often distinguishes
+the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> He probably means rushes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_3" id="Footnote_2_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_3"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_4" id="Footnote_3_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_4"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned by
+Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went to apprehend
+Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees. King James I.
+suffered his Courtiers to omit it.</p></div>
+
+
+<h3>4. LAMBETH PALACE</h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="Lambeth_Palace" id="Lambeth_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_123.jpg" width="500" height="428" alt="Lambeth Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Lambeth Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The now
+huge town of
+Lambeth presents
+few points of interest
+either to the visitor
+or to the historian.
+There are no buildings of any
+antiquity except the Palace and
+the Church. There are no modern buildings at all worth
+notice. There have been two or three memorable houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">{110}</a></span>
+which we shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so
+memorable as to deserve long description. The Bishops of
+Rochester had a house in the Marsh&mdash;the site is in Carlisle
+Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's Hospital,
+close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531,
+a wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service
+as cook, wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of
+people, and was boiled to death in oil&mdash;the only instance, I
+believe, of this dreadful punishment. The wretched man was
+tied naked to a post and slowly lowered into the boiling fluid.
+Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who lived in this
+house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed in some
+form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it
+with the Crown for a house thought more convenient in
+Southwark, close to Winchester House. The Crown gave it
+to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have let it on lease:
+thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether and became
+given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly
+house: then a dancing master taught his accomplishments in
+the house: then it became a school. Finally, the gardens
+were built over, the operations disclosing many interesting
+gates and 'bits.'</p>
+
+<p>Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk:
+it was called Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of
+the Palace, on the site now marked by Paradise Street. Here
+lived the old Duke whose life was saved by the death of
+Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the accomplished
+Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar,
+was the Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop
+of Canterbury, obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live
+in it; the house was neglected, probably because no tenant
+could be found for it. Finally, it was pulled down. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">{111}</a></span>
+interesting to note the town houses which stood upon the
+Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of
+Lewes; of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House
+of St. Mary Overies; Winchester House; Rochester House;
+Norfolk House; and later, the house of the St. Johns at Battersea.
+There are none between Bankside and Lambeth;
+that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars
+and Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH" id="BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_125.jpg" width="500" height="392" alt="BONNER HALL, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BONNER HALL, LAMBETH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt
+Hall, afterwards Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens
+afterwards called Vauxhall. In this house the unfortunate
+Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good deal might be
+written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.</p>
+
+<p>The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester,
+and the Duke of Norfolk stood close together and clustered
+round the church. The reason was the necessity of building
+on or near to the Embankment. Exactly opposite the south<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">{112}</a></span>
+porch of the church may be observed a small and somewhat
+decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and
+separate existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of
+which this was the principal street and the centre. The
+village, in fact, did exist from very early times; its population
+for the most part earned their livelihood as Thames fishermen.
+They were the lineal successors of that fortunate Edric to
+whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the Abbey.
+There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down
+the river on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror
+is said to have burned Southwark it was the fishermen's
+cottages which he destroyed. None of these lived between
+Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the fact that
+there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer,
+until about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in
+Lambeth. The place is described as mean and rickety, with
+neither paving nor lamps; the woodwork of the cottages
+broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the windows stuffed
+with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags; the
+court a receptacle for everything.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the
+nineteenth century, during which its population has been
+actually multiplied by ten, and more than ten, rising from
+27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891, an enormous increase.
+The principal reason of this development is the introduction
+of a great many industries&mdash;potteries, vinegar factories, distilleries,
+salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor
+a desirable place of residence. The perambulator looks about
+in vain for streets noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in
+vain for houses beautiful or ancient; there is nothing to
+reward him. Old houses there were before the great increase
+began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in parts it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">{113}</a></span>
+is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction. It
+has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall
+Gardens, on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is
+well laid out and planted; already it is a pretty piece of
+greenery, and, with Kennington and Battersea Parks, offers a
+much wanted breathing place for the multitudes of that
+quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by a statue
+of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting
+in a chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands
+an angel with outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel.
+He is obviously embarrassed by the situation. He feels that
+he ought to be dressed in some kind of Court costume&mdash;if he
+knew what&mdash;in order to receive the angel; or the angel might
+have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the statesman.
+The wings were probably in the way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH" id="RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_127.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+<br />
+(<i>From &#39;La Belle Assemblée,&#39; Nov. 1822</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate,
+plays a very considerable part in the History of England.
+In 1232 and in 1234, Parliament was held here. In 1261<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">{114}</a></span>
+and 1280 Councils were held here. In 1412 Archbishop
+Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as
+heretical of a great many opinions, insomuch that it became
+obviously dangerous to have any opinions at all. This,
+however, was the condition of mind most desired by the
+Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is needless to
+recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It
+was sometimes a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the
+care of the Archbishop at Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and
+Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of Southampton, Lord
+Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable confinement,
+not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own
+chamber.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH" id="BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_128.jpg" width="500" height="414" alt="BISHOP&#39;S WALK, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BISHOP&#39;S WALK, LAMBETH</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"><a name="INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE" id="INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_129.jpg" width="395" height="550" alt="INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving dated 1804</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">{115}</a></span>
+necessary at a time when the clergy could only be tried in
+Ecclesiastical Courts, so that the Bishops could not send their
+criminous clerks to an ordinary prison. Hence it is that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">{116}</a></span>
+frequently read of a priest brought before an Ecclesiastical
+Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards
+inveighed against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused
+the Bishops of too great leniency towards their delinquents
+and prisoners. In some cases, no doubt, the ecclesiastical
+prison was used to save a prisoner from the worst consequences
+of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour
+to believe that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth
+there were many who might have been burned but for the
+humanity which sometimes overrode even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER" id="LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_130.jpg" width="500" height="234" alt="LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne,
+'Lambeth Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain
+out of his prisons below his manor house at Lambeth. The
+Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the Archbishop who yet
+carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor man
+regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.</p>
+
+<p>The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained,
+the work of nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a
+full and complete history of the buildings, which would be
+outside the limits of the present chapter, the reader is referred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">{117}</a></span>
+to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J. Cave-Browne, called
+'Lambeth and its Associations.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 386px;"><a name="LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE" id="LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_131.jpg" width="386" height="550" alt="LOLLARDS&#39; TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LOLLARDS&#39; TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is impossible to determine when the building of
+Lambeth Palace began. One thing is certain, that it has
+always been an Ecclesiastical Palace. The manor of Lambeth
+belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the Confessor.
+In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">{118}</a></span>
+who with their families probably represented a population of
+about 200. They had a church, which stood on the site of
+the present church. Observe how all the old churches
+belonging to the Marsh stand on the Embankment&mdash;Rotherhithe;
+St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife
+of Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop
+and convent of Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it
+is said, took it from the Bishop; it was seized by William the
+Conqueror. William Rufus restored it to Rochester and
+added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert, Archbishop
+of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the
+Bishop and convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth.
+Having got possession of the place, Hubert set to work to
+improve it. He obtained a weekly market and an annual
+fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.</p>
+
+<p>What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that
+he did build some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added
+other buildings; Boniface, <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1260, found the buildings in great
+need of repair or insufficient. He was the first considerable
+builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair guess at the work
+of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded by the
+monastic Houses&mdash;this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House.
+We may also take it for granted that certain essential parts
+of the building, though they might be rebuilt with greater
+splendour, would not change their position. For instance,
+when in after years we find a chapel, a cloister, a water-tower,
+or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower, or entrance
+from the land&mdash;then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner
+of the Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the
+chapel he found a water-tower with a gate opening upon a
+creek of the river by which everything was received into the
+House, the door of communication with the outer world,
+while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">{119}</a></span>
+creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt
+the cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his
+Hall. A Hall was absolutely necessary for a great house,
+and for an Archbishop's Palace it must be a splendid Hall.
+What is now called the Guard Room was probably at first
+part of the Archbishop's private apartments.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 323px;"><a name="Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower" id="Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_133.jpg" width="323" height="550" alt="Doorway in the Lollard&#39;s Tower" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Doorway in the Lollard&#39;s Tower</span>
+</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">{120}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321.
+At that time there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his
+Chamber, his Hall, the Chancellor's Chambers, the Great
+Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain minor apartments&mdash;a
+modest list, but the dormitories and principal bedchambers are
+not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library, the
+offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have
+been there.</p>
+
+<p>Then we come to the later works, of which there are more
+than we need set down&mdash;are they not written in Ducarel the
+Laborious and in Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and
+ashes of ancient facts? The principal gateway as we now see
+it is the fifteenth century work of Cardinal Morton; it is built
+in the same style as the gateway of St. John's College, Cambridge,
+but is much larger and finer; with the Church, it forms
+a most effective group of buildings. The present Water Tower
+was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate&mdash;that is to
+say, the real gate of communication with the world. To this
+gate came all the visitors&mdash;Kings and Cardinals, Legates,
+Bishops and Ambassadors; and to this gate came the barges
+with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is said to have
+built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel. Cardinal
+Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably
+the piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller
+tower on the south face of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark
+here that the Tower never had any connection with
+Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy Lollard
+prisoners is without foundation.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="LOLLARDS39_PRISON" id="LOLLARDS39_PRISON"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_135.jpg" width="550" height="469" alt="LOLLARDS&#39; PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LOLLARDS&#39; PRISON</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his
+three years of occupancy and 15,000<i>l.</i> of his own money in restoring
+the place for the honour and splendour of the Church.
+As for what has been done since that time, especially by
+Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed history of
+the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">{121}</a></span>
+worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for
+the residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman
+Catholic predecessors, to a Church whose members love some
+splendour in their ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love
+splendour in their churches and stateliness in their ritual.
+They do not desire to make a Bishop rich: they do desire
+that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow circumstances:
+they desire that he should be able to take the lead
+in all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat
+in splendid state: he sat every day at a table loaded with
+costly and luxurious food: outwardly he was clothed with
+silken robes. But he touched nothing that was set before
+him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore next
+his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">{122}</a></span>
+his hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal
+Bishop of mediæval times. Our own is much the same: a
+simple life: a splendid house: modest wants: a large income:
+for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop,
+whether of the old or of the Reformed Faith.</p>
+
+<p>The Chapel has at least one memory which will always
+cling to it. Within its dark and gloomy crypt Anne
+Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to hear her sentence.
+She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am not
+qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing
+of evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I
+believe that those who have examined into the case are
+of opinion that Anne Boleyn fell a victim to the King's
+jealousy: to his change of mind towards her: and to her
+own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was persuaded
+into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I
+have sometimes thought that the King must have thought
+her guilty, otherwise he would have divorced her on a charge
+of adultery, and suffered her to live. If he did not believe
+her guilty, how could he, being, above all things, a man of
+human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had once
+loved to so horrible a death?</p>
+
+<p>Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard
+death by burning with quite the same horror as is now
+common. There is a story of Rogers&mdash;or Bradford&mdash;the
+martyr. Some one once begged his intercession to save a
+woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself
+will some day have your hands full of this gentle death.'
+Punishment was meant to be painful: the least painful form
+of death was that accorded to the noble&mdash;to be beheaded. If
+a man died by the executioner, it was expected that he should
+suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">{123}</a></span>
+in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by
+the executioner.</p>
+
+<p>I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he
+must have believed in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly
+have allowed such a sentence; and that cruel as it seems to
+us, it did not seem so cruel at that time. There is, however,
+no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy,
+than that of Anne Boleyn.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South
+London, is a monument of English History from the twelfth
+century downwards. Kennington appears at intervals;
+Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich practically begins
+with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St. Paul's,
+belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a
+place little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the
+Greater London, how many, I should like to ask, have ever
+seen the interior? Of the vast population of Lambeth,
+Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the centre, how
+many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or its
+buildings?</p>
+
+<p>Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come
+and go across the Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant
+eyes to rest for a moment on the grey walls and
+Tower of the Palace, how many are there who know, or
+inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">{124}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V
+<br />
+<br />
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The part which Processions of all kinds played in the
+mediæval life is so great that one must inquire how Southwark
+fared in this respect. Where Bishops, Abbots, and great
+Lords lived there were Processions whenever one arrived or one
+departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went to the King's
+House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If
+the Earl of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant
+company of gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King
+kept his Christmas at Eltham, he would be preceded by an endless
+train of carts groaning and grumbling along the road, filled
+with household gear and followed by the troops of scullions,
+cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal
+regiment, sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard,
+besides the nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with
+him for the Christmas festivities. The town itself had its Processions:
+the annual march of the Fraternity to church: the
+departure and the arrival of the pilgrims; the Ecclesiastical
+Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the royal
+pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed
+that Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the
+pageant which began at London Bridge: and that the place
+itself was quite passed by and unconsidered.</p>
+
+<p>Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have
+drawn up a short series of notes on the sights of which the
+Borough took a share.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">{125}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges
+in 1392, he was met by four hundred of the citizens, all
+mounted and clad in the same livery: they invited him to
+ride to Westminster through London.</p>
+
+<p>'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey
+to Southwark, where, at St. George's Church, he was met by
+a procession of the Bishop of London and all the religious of
+every degree and both sexes, and about five hundred boys in
+surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white steed and
+a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The
+citizens received them, standing in their liveries on each side
+the street, crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North
+London. Again, on the return of the victorious Henry the
+Fifth from France there was a splendid Pageant, of which
+the South got some part, namely, the following:</p>
+
+<p>'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt,
+the Mayor of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient
+grained scarlet, and four hundred commoners clad in beautiful
+murrey, well mounted and trimly horsed, with rich collars and
+great chains, met the King at Blackheath; and the clergy of
+London in solemn procession, with rich crosses, sumptuous
+copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage,
+and as one who remembered from Whom all victories are
+sent, seemed little to regard the vain pomp and shows, insomuch
+that he would not suffer his helmet to be carried with
+him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be
+made and sung by minstrels of his glorious victory, because
+he would the praise and thanks should be altogether given to
+God.</p>
+
+<p>'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the
+tower, stood a gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">{126}</a></span>
+axe, and in his left the keys of the City hanging to a staff, as
+if he had been the porter. By his side stood a female of
+scarcely less stature, intended for his wife. Around them were
+a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The towers
+were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front
+of them was inscribed <span class="smcap lowercase">CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE</span> (the City of
+the King of Righteousness).</p>
+
+<p>'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty
+column like a little tower, built of wood and covered with
+linen; one painted like white marble, and the other like
+green jasper. They were surmounted by figures of the King's
+beasts&mdash;an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms suspended
+from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a
+lion, bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.</p>
+
+<p>'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a
+tower, formed and painted like the columns before mentioned,
+in the middle of which, under a splendid pavilion, stood
+a most beautiful image of St. George, armed, excepting his
+head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry,
+with his arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of
+shields. On his right hung his triumphal helmet, and on his
+left a shield of his arms of suitable size. In his right hand he
+held the hilt of the sword with which he was girt, and in his
+left a scroll, which, extending along the turrets, contained
+these words, <span class="smcap lowercase">SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA</span>. In a contiguous
+house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with
+sprigs of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied
+by organs, an anthem, supposed to be that beginning
+"Our King went forth to Normandy;" and whose burthen is
+"Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'</p>
+
+<p>When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry
+the Sixth was met at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">{127}</a></span>
+of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2; the latter being dressed in
+white, with the cognizances of their mysteries or crafts embroidered
+on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his brethren
+in scarlet.</p>
+
+<p>'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised
+a mighty giant, standing with a sword drawn, and
+having this poetical speech inscribed by his side:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'All those that be enemies to the King,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I shall them clothe with confusion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Make him mighty by virtuous living,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And him to increase as Christ's champion.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All mischiefs from him to abridge,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived
+at the drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with
+silk and cloth of arras, out of which suddenly appeared three
+ladies, clad in gold and silk, with coronets upon their heads;
+of which the first was dame Nature, the second dame Grace,
+and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the King
+in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together
+with those which followed, the curious will find in their
+place. On each side of them were ranged seven virgins,
+all clothed in white; those on the right hand had baudricks
+of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had their garments
+powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost&mdash;sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God:
+and the others with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'God thee endow with a crown of glory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with a sword of might and victory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A shield of faith for to defend thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A helm of health wrought to thine increase,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">{128}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which
+was "Welcome out of France."'</p>
+
+<p>The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou
+on her Coronation presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark,
+'Peace and plenty,' with the motto 'Ingredimini et
+replete terram,'&mdash;Enter ye and replenish the earth&mdash;and the
+following verses were recited:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the
+words, 'Jam non ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21),
+and the following verses were addressed to the Queen:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">So trustethe your people, with assurance<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wherein he and his might escape and passe<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By meane of mercy found a restinge place<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">After the flud, vpon this Armonie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Conducte by grace and power devyne;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">{129}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince
+Arthur there was a great Pageant. The part at the south
+entrance of the Bridge is thus described:</p>
+
+<p>'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two
+roodlofts; in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a
+wheel in her hand, in likeness of Saint Katherine, with many
+virgins on every side of her; and in the higher story was
+another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also with a great
+multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed. Above
+all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes,
+and in every square was a garter with this poesy in French,
+<i>Onye soit que male pens</i>, inclosing a red rose. On the tops
+of these tabernacles were six angels, casting incense on the
+Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer walls were painted
+with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and red; and
+at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane
+painted with the arms of England. The whole work was
+carved with timber, and was gilt and painted with biss and
+azure.'</p>
+
+<p>The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was
+that of Charles the Second at his Restoration:</p>
+
+<p>'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen
+met the King at St. George's Fields in Southwark, and
+the former, having delivered the City sword to his Majesty,
+had the same returned with the honour of knighthood. A very
+magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided with a
+sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He
+then proceeded towards London, which was pompously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">{130}</a></span>
+adorned with the richest silks and tapestry, and the streets
+lined with the City Corporations and trained bands; while
+the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious wines, and the
+windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such an
+infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body
+of the people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.</p>
+
+<p>'The procession was chiefly composed of the military.
+First marched a gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver,
+brandishing their swords, and led by Major-General Brown;
+then another troop of two hundred in velvet coats, with footmen
+and liveries attending them, in purple; a third led by
+Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver sleeves
+and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred,
+with blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and
+several footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two
+hundred and twenty, with thirty footmen in grey and silver
+liveries, and four trumpeters richly habited; another of an
+hundred and five, with grey liveries, and six trumpets; and
+another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three troops
+more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all
+gloriously habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came
+two trumpets with his Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men,
+in number fourscore, in red cloaks, richly laced with silver,
+with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed six hundred
+of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen
+in different liveries, with streamers, &amp;c.; after whom came
+kettle-drums and trumpets, with streamers, and after them
+twelve ministers (clergymen) at the head of his Majesty's
+life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord Gerrard. Next the
+City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours, with the
+City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings,
+with footmen in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth
+of gold; the heralds and maces in rich coats; the Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">{131}</a></span>
+Mayor bare-headed, carrying the sword, with his Excellency
+the General (Monk) and the Duke of Buckingham, also uncovered;
+and then, as the lustre to all this splendid triumph,
+rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes
+of York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse
+with white colours; the General's life-guard, led by Sir
+Philip Howard, and another troop of gentry; and, last of all,
+five regiments of horse belonging to the army, with back,
+breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'</p>
+
+<p>On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick,
+William the Third made a triumphant entry into London:</p>
+
+<p>'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach,
+with Prince George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by
+four score other coaches, each drawn by six horses. The
+Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the King, the Lord
+Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal
+noblemen. Some companies of Foot Grenadiers went before,
+the Horse Grenadiers followed, as did the Horse Life-Guards
+and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the Gentlemen of
+the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's
+coach.</p>
+
+<p>'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor
+met his Majesty, where, on his knees, he delivered the sword,
+which his Majesty returned, ordering him to carry it before
+him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech suitable to the
+occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.</p>
+
+<p>'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained
+Bands, in buff coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded;
+then followed two of the King's coaches, and one of Prince
+George's; then two City Marshals on horseback, with their
+six men on foot in new liveries; the six City Trumpets on
+horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their halberds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">{132}</a></span>
+and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended
+by a servant on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor
+and Remembrancer, the two Secondaries, the Comptroller,
+the Common Pleaders, the two Judges, the Town Clerk, the
+Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the
+Common Crier and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of
+black damask and gold chain; each with a servant; then
+those who had fined for Sheriffs or Aldermen, or had served
+as such, according to their seniority, in scarlet, two and two,
+on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with their gold
+chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the Aldermen
+below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended
+by his Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on
+horseback, with two servants; and the Aldermen above the
+chair, in scarlet, on horseback, wearing their gold chains, each
+attended by his Beadle and four servants. Then followed
+the State all on horseback, uncovered, viz.: the Knight
+Marshall with a footman on each side; then the kettle-drums,
+the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms,
+Heralds of Arms, Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms
+on each side, bearing their maces, all bare-headed, and each
+attended with a servant. Then the Lord Mayor of London
+on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar and
+jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission,
+with four footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms
+supplying the place of Garter King at Arms on his right
+hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers supplying the place
+of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left hand,
+each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich
+coach, followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the
+Nobility, Judges, &amp;c., according to their ranks and qualities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">{133}</a></span>
+there being between two and three hundred coaches, each
+with six horses.'</p>
+
+<p>On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by
+the Mayor and Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark,
+with much the same state as that of William III. seventeen
+years before.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many,
+had nothing to do with Southwark at all, except when they
+were water processions, in which case they could be seen as
+well from the South as from the North. But, in fact, Southwark
+was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants. The
+sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark.
+Why should the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has
+been shown over and over again, it consisted of nothing at all
+but a causeway and an embankment, and what was once a
+broad Marsh drained and divided into fields and gardens and
+woods.</p>
+
+<p>I have set down what royal processions Southwark was
+permitted to see, but I do not suppose that among the four
+hundred citizens who went out in one livery to meet King
+Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor do I
+suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter
+south of London Bridge. In other words, although in course
+of time there was appointed&mdash;never elected&mdash;an Alderman of
+the Bridge Without, at no time in these Pageants or in these
+functions was Southwark ever regarded as part of the City, nor
+were her wishes consulted or her interests considered.</p>
+
+<p>One Pageant alone&mdash;that of our own time&mdash;the splendid
+Pageant of 1897, reversed this position. As is well known,
+the Procession which celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign
+passed through the Borough as well as the City.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">{134}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI
+<br />
+<br />
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only
+now remembered by the curious as the alleged original of
+Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare drew his incomparable
+knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then one can only
+say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a
+successful soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding
+in France. Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike,
+even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of taverns and of low
+company, with no dignity and no authority. The only point
+that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff
+lies in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a
+certain battle, one of the many which he fought: and that on
+his return from France, the English, exasperated at their
+losses, laid the blame as they always do upon their most
+distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his old
+age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so
+great: yet Fastolf was never a defeated general.</p>
+
+<p>Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional
+charge of cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.'
+he presents him running away:</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">
+<i>Captain.</i> Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?<br />
+<br />
+<i>Fast.</i> Whither away? To save myself by flight.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">We are like to have the overthrow again.</span><br />
+<br />
+<i>Captain.</i> What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?<br />
+<br />
+<i>Fast.</i>        Ay,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">All Talbots in the world to save my life.</span><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">{135}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">
+This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,<br />
+When but in all I was six thousand strong,<br />
+And that the French were almost ten to one,<br />
+Before we met, or that a stroke was given,<br />
+Like to a trusty knight, did run away.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people
+held the manors of Caister and Rudham. He was born in
+the year 1378, and became, after the fashion of the times,
+first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to Thomas
+of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.</p>
+
+<p>Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume
+of France and other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If
+so he must have been fighting in France or elsewhere across
+the seas as early as 1400. Perhaps he went over earlier. He
+was, at least, successful in getting promotion, and promotion
+in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed on a soldier
+incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at
+Agincourt: at the taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen:
+he was Governor of Condé-sur-Noireau and of other places,
+as they were taken. We find him, for instance, the Governor
+of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died, in 1422, he
+became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy
+and Governor of Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to
+observe that in spite of his great services he was not knighted
+until 1417, when he was already forty years of age. In 1426,
+he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company
+of archers he put to flight an army.</p>
+
+<p>His record does not lead one to expect a charge of
+cowardice. Yet the charge was brought. It was after the
+Battle of Patay, in which Talbot was taken prisoner and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">{136}</a></span>
+English totally defeated. The reverse was attributed by
+Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than to
+his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation,
+which was made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably
+Lord Talbot persisted in his explanation of defeat. The age,
+it must be confessed, was not exactly chivalrous. The Wars
+of the Roses, which were about to begin, brought to light
+gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured princes as
+well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If
+Lord Talbot simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat
+upon Fastolf, it would be what other noble lords were perfectly
+ready to do in their anxiety to escape responsibility in
+the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then thought, which
+brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction.
+Yet the common people heard the reports brought
+home by the soldiers: nothing is more easy than a charge
+of treachery and cowardice: they knew nothing of the
+acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running
+away.</p>
+
+<p>After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of
+Caen: he raised the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the
+Duc de Bar: he was twice appointed ambassador: he fought
+in the army of the Duc de Bretagne against the Duc
+d'Alençon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of
+the war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord
+Talbot's accusation.</p>
+
+<p>In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his
+sword, put off his armour and returned to England. Few
+men could show a longer, or a finer, record of war. In 1441
+he received from the Duke of York an annuity of £20 a year,
+'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He spent
+the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">{138}</a></span>
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very
+well understand that he was a man of great wealth when we
+read that the castle covered five acres of land.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 355px;"><a name="WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK" id="WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_151.jpg" width="355" height="550" alt="WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>These are the achievements of the man. About his
+private life and character we have a great fund of information
+in the 'Paston Letters.' His latest biographer ('S. L. L.'
+in the 'Dictionary of National Biography') concludes from
+these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping man of business:'
+that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that he was
+a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure
+at his hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from
+the letters. At the same time we must consider, apart from
+the letters, the manners of the age and the conditions of the
+age.</p>
+
+<p>Let us take the charges one by one.</p>
+
+<p>First, that his dependents had much to endure from
+him.</p>
+
+<p>It was not a time when dependents spent their time as
+they pleased. In a well-ordered household every man had
+his post and his work. An old Knight who had fought for
+forty years and commanded armies was not at all likely to be
+a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no greater disciplinarian
+than the old soldier: no household is more sternly
+ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies,
+he had governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded
+despotic authority: he had found it necessary to master
+every branch of human activity, including the law and the
+chicanery of lawyers: as the general in command or the
+Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his
+dependents to consider his interests as before everything else.
+The stern old Captain, I can very well believe, looked to
+every one of his dependents for his share of work, and I can
+also very well believe that they feared him as the masterful
+man is always feared.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">{139}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.'
+But he gives no reasons.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 478px;"><a name="SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE" id="SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_153.jpg" width="478" height="550" alt="SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of
+spies, traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without
+becoming stern and hard. As a soldier he had to harden
+himself: as a governor he had to observe justice rather than
+pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish criminals. I
+picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be
+done as soon as he commanded it, at the coming of whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">{140}</a></span>
+his servants became instantly absorbed in work, at whose
+footstep his secretaries dared not lift their heads.</p>
+
+<p>Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The
+letters are full of complaints about trespass, invasion of his
+rights, and attempts to over-reach him. How could a man
+choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at a time when the
+law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge his
+boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land
+robber was everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what
+was not his own. Private persons, simple esquires, had to
+fortify their houses against their neighbours and to prepare for
+a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret Paston, 'to get some
+crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and quarrel'&mdash;<i>i.e.</i>
+bolts&mdash;'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.'
+And she goes on to enumerate the warlike preparations made
+by her neighbour.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and
+quarrels for his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains
+how Robert Hungerford, Knight, and Lord Moleyne and
+Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his house and manor
+of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and robbed
+and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.</p>
+
+<p>These are things which do sometimes make neighbours
+testy.</p>
+
+<p>But he is a 'grasping man of business.'</p>
+
+<p>Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon
+property belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and
+justice cannot be had. Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice
+Yelverton, resolve to address the Duke of Norfolk, and
+to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk
+'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice
+be hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should
+resolve to get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man
+'grasping' because he stands up in his own defence? Read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">{141}</a></span>
+again the following. 'I pray you sende me worde who darre
+be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And sey hem on
+my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then
+they shall be quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say
+by God or the Devyll. And therefor I charge you, send me
+word whethyr such as hafe be myne adversaries before thys
+tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I see nothing
+unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.</p>
+
+<p>It is further objected that he had long-standing claims
+against the Crown, and was always setting them forth and
+pressing them. If his claims were just, why should he not
+press them? If a man makes a claim and does not press it,
+what does it mean except that he is afraid of pressing it or
+that it is an unjust claim?</p>
+
+<p>The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which
+were never settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable
+property well worth defending. He had no fewer than
+ninety-four manors: there were four residences&mdash;Caister:
+Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a sum of
+money in the treasure chest of 2,643<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>, equivalent to about
+50,000<i>l.</i> of our money. There were no banks in those days
+and no investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate
+and armour and weapons: he spent, as a rule, the greater
+part of his income, showing his wealth and his rank by the
+splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for instance,
+had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.</p>
+
+<p>His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney
+Lane, which now leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring
+Street. The Knight had good neighbours. On the east of
+St. Olave's Church was the ancient house built in the 12th
+century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given by his
+successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">{142}</a></span>
+to the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between,
+the Abbot of Battle's Inn, a great building on the river
+bank, with gardens lying on the other side of what is now
+Tooley Street. The site was long marked by 'The Maze'
+and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are
+no means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the
+place. It was certainly a building round a quadrangle
+capable of housing many followers, because he proposed to
+fill it with a garrison and so to meet Cade's insurgents.
+Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth would
+not be contented with a small house. On the south side of
+St. Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the
+Inn or House of the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile
+across the fields and gardens rose the towers and walls of
+St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there were other
+great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of
+Stoney Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses
+seldom precede fields. A house often degenerates, but is
+rarely converted into a meadow. This, however, did happen
+with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that the
+house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family,
+and being deserted by them was presently let out in tenements
+till it was pulled down and replaced by other buildings.
+According to these indications, then, Fastolf's house
+was the last of the great houses on the east side of London
+Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually
+sailed from Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions
+and supplies of all kinds for his house at Southwark.
+This fact not only proves that his household was very large,
+but it illustrates one way in which the great houses, the
+ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were victualled.
+If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">{143}</a></span>
+London it is certain that those who lived inland sent up
+caravans of pack-horses laden with the produce of their
+estates and sent up to town flocks of cattle and sheep and
+droves of pigs.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;"><a name="The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House" id="The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_157.jpg" width="456" height="550" alt="The Site of Sir John Fastolf&#39;s House in Tooley Street" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Site of Sir John Fastolf&#39;s House in Tooley Street</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at
+Southwark against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for
+himself and for everybody with him, he was persuaded to
+retire across the river to the Tower before the rebels reached
+the gates. The story is one of the most interesting in the
+whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the truth, unless
+one looks into them for persons we already know, are somewhat
+dull in the reading.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">{144}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When the Commons of Kent were reported to be
+approaching London in the year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled
+his house in Southwark with old soldiers from Normandy
+and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the rebels
+and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when
+they caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn,
+a servant of Sir John, they were disposed to make an example
+of him. And now you shall hear what happened to John Payn
+in his own words, the spelling being only partly modernised.</p>
+
+<p>'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly
+to consedir the grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner
+haeth, and haeth had evyr seth the comons of Kent come to
+the Blakheth,<a name="FNanchor_1_5" id="FNanchor_1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_5" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and that is at XV. yer passed whereas my
+maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre testator,<a name="FNanchor_2_6" id="FNanchor_2_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_6" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens
+of Kent, to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd:
+and al so sone as I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn<a name="FNanchor_3_7" id="FNanchor_3_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_7" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> made
+the comens to take me. And for the savacion of my maisters
+horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way with the ij. horses;
+and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of Kent.
+And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng
+thedyr, and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with
+the horse. And I seyd that I come thedyr to chere with my
+wyves brethren, and other that were my alys and gossipps of
+myn that were present there. And than was there oone
+there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John
+Fastolfes men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes;
+and then the capteyn lete cry treson upon me thorough all
+the felde, and brought me at iiij. partes of the feld with a
+harrawd of the Duke of Exeter<a name="FNanchor_4_8" id="FNanchor_4_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_8" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> before me in the dukes cote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">{145}</a></span>
+of armes, makyng iiij. <i>Oyes</i> at iiij. partes of the feld; proclaymyng
+opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr
+for to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr,
+fro the grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce,
+as the seyd capteyn made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro
+oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the whech mynnysshed all
+the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn, the whech
+was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he
+seid that the seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase
+with the olde sawdyors of Normaundy and abyllyments of
+werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan that they come to
+Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde lese
+my hede.</p>
+
+<p>'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns
+tent, and j. ax and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn
+of myn hede; and than my maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,<a name="FNanchor_1_9" id="FNanchor_1_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_9" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>
+with other of my frendes, come and lettyd the capteyn,
+and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij. (a hundred
+or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane
+my lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to
+the capteyn, and to the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk,
+and aray me in the best wyse that I coude, and come
+ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th' articles, and
+brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.</p>
+
+<p>'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought
+hym th' articles, and enformed hym of all the mater, and
+counseyled hym to put a wey all his abyllyments of werr and
+the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went hymself to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">{146}</a></span>
+Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j. (<i>i.e.</i> one)
+Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it
+coste me of my noune propr godes at that tyme more than
+vj. merks in mate and drynke; and nought withstondyng the
+capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte Whyte Harte in
+Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me oute
+of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne
+of muster dewyllers<a name="FNanchor_1_10" id="FNanchor_1_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_10" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of
+Bregandyrns<a name="FNanchor_2_11" id="FNanchor_2_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_11" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt
+naile, with leg-harneyse, the vallew of the gown and the
+bregardyns viijli.</p>
+
+<p>'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my
+chamber in your rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke
+awey j. obligacion of myn that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by
+a prest of Poules, and j. nother obligacion of j. knyght of xli.,
+and my purse with v. ryngs of golde, and xvijs. vjd. of golde
+and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete of the touche
+of Milleyn;<a name="FNanchor_3_12" id="FNanchor_3_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_12" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> and j. gowne of fyn perse<a name="FNanchor_4_13" id="FNanchor_4_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_13" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> blewe furryd with
+martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,<a name="FNanchor_5_14" id="FNanchor_5_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_14" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;<a name="FNanchor_6_15" id="FNanchor_6_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_15" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede,
+whan that they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And
+there my Maister Ponyngs and my frends savyd me, and so
+I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle was at London
+Brygge;<a name="FNanchor_7_16" id="FNanchor_7_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_16" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt
+nere hand to deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle,
+and myght nevyr come oute therof; and iiij. tymes before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">{147}</a></span>
+that tyme I was caryd abought thorough Kent and Sousex,
+and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.</p>
+
+<p>'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey
+all oure godes movabyll that we had, and there wolde have
+hongyd my wyfe and v. of my chyldren, and lefte her no
+more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And a none aftye
+that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,<a name="FNanchor_1_17" id="FNanchor_1_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_17" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> apechyd me to the Quene,
+and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of
+myn lyf, and was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and
+quarteryd; and so wold have made me to have pechyd my
+Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause that I wolde not,
+they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have sent
+me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j.
+coseyn of myn noune that were yomen of the Croune, they
+went to the Kyng, and got grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'</p>
+
+<p>Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest
+traitor in England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the
+garrisons of Normandy, and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was
+the cause of the 'lesyng of all the Kyng's tytyll and rights of
+an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'</p>
+
+<p>The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir
+John wants to know what the rebellion means. Let one of
+his men go and find out. Let him take two horses in case of
+having to run for it: the rebels will most probably kill him if
+they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's work: what can
+a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can
+he look for except to be killed some time or other? So John
+Payn takes two horses and sets off. As we expected, he does
+get caught: he is brought before Mortimer as a spy. At this
+point we are reminded of the false herald in 'Quentin Durward,'
+but in this case it is a real herald pressed into the service of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">{148}</a></span>
+Mortimer, <i>alias</i> Jack Cade. Now the Captain is by way of
+being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story about him,
+that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts
+the affair in a courteous fashion. No moblike running to the
+nearest tree: no beating along the prisoner to be hanged
+upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner is conducted with
+much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at each
+is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the
+block are brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness
+of death. But his friends interfere: he must be spared
+or a hundred heads shall fall. He is spared: on condition that
+he goes back, arrays himself in his best harness and returns to
+fight on the side of the rebels.</p>
+
+<p>Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his
+master wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion
+in-so-much that Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats
+across the river to the Tower. But before going he tells the
+man that he must keep his parole and go back to the rebels
+to be killed by them or among them. So the poor man puts
+on his best harness and goes back.</p>
+
+<p>They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him
+in the crowd of those who fight on London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered
+London when he murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer,
+Sheriff of Kent, and plundered and fined certain merchants.
+He kept up, however, the appearance of a friend of the
+people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants,
+themselves, and the better class held the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be
+remembered that the battle was fought on the night of Sunday
+the 5th of July, in midsummer, when there is no night, but a
+clear soft twilight, and when the sun rises by four in the morning.
+It was a wild sight that the sun rose upon that morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">{149}</a></span>
+The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts and cries,
+alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on.
+And all night long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms
+in readiness to take their place on the bridge. And all night
+the old and the young and the women lay trembling in their
+beds lest the men of London should be beaten back by the
+men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and sword
+to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the
+dead were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and
+were trampled upon until they were dead: and beneath their
+feet the quiet tide ebbed and flowed through the arches.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550" id="HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_163.jpg" width="550" height="387" alt="HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving
+themselves neither to be sure of goods nor of life well
+warranted determined to repell and keepe out of their citie
+such a mischievous caitife and his wicked companie. And to
+be the better able so to doo, they made the lord Scales, and
+that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">{150}</a></span>
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and
+furtherance therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid,
+with shooting off the artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew
+Gough was by him appointed to assist the maior and
+Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other capteins,
+appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish
+men once to approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept
+for feare of sudden assaults, hearing that the bridge was
+thus kept, ran with great hast to open that passage where
+between both parties was a fierce and cruell fight.</p>
+
+<p>'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their
+tackling more manfullie than he thought they would have
+done, advised his companie not to advance anie further
+toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that they might
+see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide for
+the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the
+bridge foot to the draw bridge, and began to set fire to
+diverse houses. Great ruth it was to behold the miserable
+state, wherein some desiring to eschew the fire died upon
+their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to
+save themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in
+their houses choked and smothered. Yet the capteins not
+sparing, fought on the bridge all the night valiantlie, but in
+conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge, and drowned
+manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand,
+a hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a
+man of great wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie,
+the which in continuall warres had spent his time in service
+of the king and his father.</p>
+
+<p>'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge,
+till nine of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">{151}</a></span>
+Londoners were beaten backe to saint Magnus corner; and
+suddenlie againe, the rebels were repelled to the stoops in
+Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and wearie, agreed
+to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon condition
+that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell
+capteine for making him more friends, brake up the
+gaites of the kings Bench and Marshalsie and so were
+manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his matters in hand.'
+(Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)</p>
+
+<p>When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky
+Payn into prison and tried to get out of him some admission
+that might enable them to impeach Sir John of treason. This
+old soldier was not without some love of letters. One of his
+household, William Worcester, wrote for him Cicero 'De
+Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings
+of the Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by
+Stephen Perope his stepson.</p>
+
+<p>After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in
+Southwark but seldom. He went down into Norfolk,
+employed his ships in carrying stone and built his great
+castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He purposed
+founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven
+poor folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at
+Cambridge: he made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford.
+His intentions as to the College were never carried out,
+the bequest being transferred to Magdalen College, Oxford,
+for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor scholars.
+He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was
+in a losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great
+part of the odium that falls upon a general who is on the
+losing side: at the same time, in his own actions he was,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">{152}</a></span>
+almost without exception, victorious: and there does not
+seem any reason why he more than any other should bear
+the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in
+deference to popular opinion that no honours were paid
+to the veteran of so many fights. Perhaps he was not
+a <i>persona grata</i> at Court. Certainly the story of Payn's
+imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">{153}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_5" id="Footnote_1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_5"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450, and
+again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_6" id="Footnote_2_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_6"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left Paston his
+executor, as will be seen hereafter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_7" id="Footnote_3_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_7"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Jack Cade.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_8" id="Footnote_4_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_8"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed, he
+adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s sister. His
+herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and pressed into their
+service.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_9" id="Footnote_1_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_9"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and carver to
+Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than one occasion
+afterwards.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_10" id="Footnote_1_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_10"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to Elizabeth's
+reign.'&mdash;Halliwell.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_11" id="Footnote_2_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_11"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small iron plates
+sewed on.&mdash;<i>See</i> Grose's <i>Antient Armour</i>. The back and breast of this coat were
+sometimes made separately, and called a pair.&mdash;Meyrick.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_12" id="Footnote_3_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_12"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_13" id="Footnote_4_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_13"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so called.'&mdash;Halliwell.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_14" id="Footnote_5_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_14"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Budge fur.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_15" id="Footnote_6_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_15"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_16" id="Footnote_7_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_16"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_17" id="Footnote_1_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_17"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it Rochester,
+from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for <i>Roffensis</i>. The Bishop
+of Rochester's name was John Lowe.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten
+as the all-night battle of London Bridge, took place also on a
+Sunday, twenty years afterwards. It was the concluding
+scene, and a very fit end&mdash;to the long wars of the Roses.</p>
+
+<p>There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William
+Nevill, Lord Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the
+Bastard of Fauconberg, or Falconbridge. This man was a
+sailor. In the year 1454 he had received the freedom of the
+City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for his
+services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War
+divided families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to
+put Edward on the throne, his son did his best to put up
+Henry.</p>
+
+<p>He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet,
+and in that capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch
+of Burgundians to the help of Edward. He seems to have
+crossed and recrossed continually.</p>
+
+<p>A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled
+across country. On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was
+fought. At this battle Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle
+of Tewkesbury finished the hopes of the Lancastrians. Yet
+on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg presented himself
+at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of London
+Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission
+to march through the town, promising that his men should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">{154}</a></span>
+commit no disturbance or pillage. Of course they knew
+who he was, but he assured them that he held a commission
+from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.</p>
+
+<p>In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter,
+pointing out that his commission was no longer in force
+because Warwick was dead nearly three weeks before, and
+that his body had been exposed for two days in St. Paul's; they
+informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been disastrous
+to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of
+a great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince
+Edward was slain with many noble lords of his following.</p>
+
+<p>All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to
+disbelieve. I think that he really did disbelieve the story:
+he could not understand how this great Earl of Warwick
+could be killed. He persisted in his demand for the
+right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass
+through London? If he merely wanted to get across he had
+his ships with him&mdash;they had come up the river and now lay
+off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army across in less
+time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to hold
+London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians
+were gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian
+heir to the throne at least.</p>
+
+<p>However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter
+urging him to lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward,
+who was now firmly established.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began
+to look to their fortifications: on the river side the river wall
+had long since gone, but the houses themselves formed a wall,
+with narrow lanes leading to the water's edge. These lanes
+they easily stopped with stones: they looked to their wall
+and to their gates.</p>
+
+<p>The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the
+City. Like a skilful commander he attacked it at three
+points. First, however, he brought in the cannon from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">{155}</a></span>
+ships, laying them along the shore: he then sent 3,000 men
+across the river with orders to divide into two companies, one
+for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on Bishopsgate.
+He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge.
+His cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of
+the Tower. We should like to know more of this bombardment.
+Did they still use round stones for shot? Was much
+mischief done by the cannon? Probably little that was not
+easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great
+artillerie against their adversaries, and with violent shot
+thereof so galled them that they durst not abide in anie place
+alongst the water side but were driven even from their own
+Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great guns from the
+Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie
+artillerie' could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite&mdash;not
+above the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>The three thousand men told off for the attack on the
+gates valiantly assailed them. But they met with a stout
+resistance. Some of them actually got into the City at
+Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind them, and they were
+all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate, performed
+prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the
+gates and sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500
+men by the Tower Postern and chased the rebels as far as
+Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were killed. Many
+hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if they
+had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.</p>
+
+<p>The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The
+gate on the south was fired and destroyed: three score of
+the houses on the bridge were fired and destroyed: the north
+gate was also fired, but at the bridge end there were planted
+half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind them waited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">{156}</a></span>
+the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not another
+Battle of the Bridge to relate.</p>
+
+<p>The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting
+possession of London, resolved to march westward and meet
+Edward. By this time, it is probable that he understood
+what had happened. He therefore ordered his fleet to await
+him in the Mersey, and marched as far as Kingston-upon-Thames.
+It is a strange, incongruous story. All his friends
+were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt
+a thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order?
+Perhaps, however, he did not think it impossible.</p>
+
+<p>At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas
+Fanute, Mayor of Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair
+words' to return. Accordingly, he marched back to Blackheath,
+where he dismissed his men, ordering them to go home
+peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600&mdash;his
+sailors, one supposes&mdash;he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and
+took his ships round the coast to Sandwich.</p>
+
+<p>Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over
+to the King fifty-six ships great and small. The King
+pardoned him, knighted him, and made him Vice-Admiral of
+the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in September we hear
+that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to Middleham,
+in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon
+London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had
+been 'roving,' <i>i.e.</i> practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral
+of the English fleet go off 'roving'? Surely not. I
+take it as only one more of the thousand murders, perjuries,
+and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever stained the
+history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward&mdash;the death of every man, noble or simple,
+who might take up arms against him. So the Bastard&mdash;this
+fool who had trusted the King and given him a fleet&mdash;was
+beheaded like all the rest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">{157}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE PILGRIMS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The town was full of those who carried in their hats the
+pilgrim's signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage,
+every shrine had its special signs, which the pilgrim on his
+return bore conspicuously upon his hat or scrip or hanging
+round his neck (see Skeat, <i>Notes to Piers Plowman</i>) in
+token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullæ were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop
+shell that of St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and
+the vernicle of Rome&mdash;the vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief
+of St. Veronica, which was miraculously impressed with
+the face of our Lord. These shrines were cast in lead in the
+most part. Thus in the supplement to the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For men of contre should know whom they had sought;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is
+this that thou wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped,
+full of images of lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and
+the cuffs are adorned with snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.'
+To which the reply is that he has been to certain shrines on
+pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to the Society
+of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but
+especially in the river when Old London Bridge was removed.
+Bells&mdash;<i>Campana Thomæ</i>&mdash;Canterbury Bells&mdash;were also hung<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">{158}</a></span>
+from the bridles, ringing merrily all the way by way of a
+charm to keep off evil.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY" id="OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_172.jpg" width="500" height="441" alt="OLD HALL, KING&#39;S HEAD, AYLESBURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HALL, KING&#39;S HEAD, AYLESBURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from
+one or other of the Inns of Southwark: there was the short
+pilgrimage and the long pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day:
+the pilgrimage of a month: and the pilgrimage beyond the
+seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the ships
+of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella,
+which was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to
+Rocamadom in Gascony: or to Jaffa for the Holy Places.
+The pilgrimage <i>outremer</i> is undoubtedly that which conferred
+the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon the
+soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.</p>
+
+<p>In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner
+had a considerable choice. He might simply go to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">{159}</a></span>
+shrine of St. Erkenwald at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor
+at Westminster, he might even confine his devotions to
+the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished to go a little
+further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the Oak;
+of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the
+north side of London and belonged to the City rather than
+to Southwark. For him of the Borough there was the shrine
+of Crome's Hill, Greenwich, which provided a pleasant outing
+for the day: it might be prolonged with feasting and drinking
+to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family could get a
+holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness
+that so many years were knocked off purgatory.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY" id="OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_173.jpg" width="500" height="472" alt="OLD HALL, AYLESBURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HALL, AYLESBURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far
+distant journeys to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as
+Venice, and then by a 'personally conducted' voyage, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">{160}</a></span>
+captain providing escort to and from the Holy Places.
+There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.</p>
+
+<p>For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of
+South London had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas
+of Canterbury was the only Saint. There were other Saints,
+of course, but St. Thomas was his special Saint. No other
+shrine was possible for him save that of St. Thomas. Not
+Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would
+more effectively assist his soul.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS" id="CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_174.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="CANTERBURY PILGRIMS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CANTERBURY PILGRIMS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an
+account of what was done and what was shown at the shrines
+of Our Lady of Walsingham and St. Thomas of Canterbury.</p>
+
+<p>'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself
+up towards heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that
+behold it at a great distance with an awe of religion, and now
+with its splendour makes the light of the neighbouring
+palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the place that was
+anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">{161}</a></span>
+lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome
+from afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent
+country echo far and wide with their rolling sound. In the
+south porch of the church stand three stone statues of men in
+armour, who with wicked hands murdered the holy man, with
+the names of their countries&mdash;Tusci, Fusci, and Betri....</p>
+
+<p>'<i>Og.</i> When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty
+of place opens itself to you, which is free to every one. <i>Me.</i>
+Is there nothing to be seen there? <i>Og.</i> Nothing but the bulk
+of the structure, and some books chained to the pillars,
+containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the sepulchre of
+I cannot tell who. <i>Me.</i> And what else? <i>Og.</i> Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance,
+but so that the view is still open from one end of the church
+to the other. You ascend to this by a great many steps,
+under which there is a certain vault that opens a passage to
+the north side. There they show a wooden altar consecrated
+to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and remarkable
+for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man
+is reported to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when
+he was at the point of death. Upon the altar is the point of
+the sword with which the top of the head of that good prelate
+was wounded, and some of his brains that were beaten out,
+to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.</p>
+
+<p>'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground;
+to that there belong two showmen of the relics.
+The first thing they show you is the skull of the martyr, as it
+was bored through; the upper part is left open to be kissed,
+all the rest is covered over with silver. There is also shown
+you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth,
+the girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to
+mortify his flesh....<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">{162}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'<i>Og.</i> From hence we return to the choir. On the north
+side they open a private place. It is incredible what a world
+of bones they brought out of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands,
+fingers, whole arms, all which we having first adored, kissed;
+nor had there been any end of it had it not been for one of
+my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the officer
+that was showing them....</p>
+
+<p>'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the
+ornaments; and after that those things that were laid up
+under the altar; all was very rich, you would have said
+Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to them, if you
+beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....</p>
+
+<p>'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God!
+what a pomp of silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks!
+There we saw also St. Thomas's foot. It looked
+like a reed painted over with silver; it hath but little of
+weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. <i>Me.</i> Was there never a cross? <i>Og.</i> I saw
+none. There was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse
+and without embroidery or jewels, and a handkerchief, still
+having plain marks of sweat and blood from the saint's neck.
+We readily kissed these monuments of ancient frugality....</p>
+
+<p>'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the
+high altar there is another ascent as into another church. In
+a certain new chapel there was shewn to us the whole face of
+the good man set in gold, and adorned with jewels....</p>
+
+<p>'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. <i>Me.</i> Who
+was he, the abbot of the place? <i>Og.</i> He wears a mitre, and
+has the revenue of an abbot&mdash;he wants nothing but the name;
+he is called the prior because the archbishop is in the place of
+an abbot; for in old time every one that was an archbishop of
+that diocese was a monk. <i>Me.</i> I should not mind if I was called
+a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. <i>Og.</i> He seemed
+to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted
+with the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">{163}</a></span>
+the remainder of the holy man's body is said to rest. <i>Me.</i>
+Did you see the bones? <i>Og.</i> That is not permitted, nor can
+it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box covers a
+golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers
+an inestimable treasure. <i>Me.</i> What say you? <i>Og.</i> Gold
+was the basest part. Everything sparkled and shined with
+very large and scarce jewels, some of them bigger than a
+goose's egg. There some monks stood about with the greatest
+veneration. The cover being taken off, we all worshipped.
+The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who
+was the donor of it. The principal of them were the presents
+of kings....</p>
+
+<p>'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin
+Mary has her residence; it is something dark; it is doubly
+railed in and encompassed about with iron bars. <i>Me.</i> What
+is she afraid of? <i>Og.</i> Nothing, I suppose, but thieves. And
+I never in my life saw anything more laden with riches.
+<i>Me.</i> You tell me of riches in the dark. <i>Og.</i> Candles being
+brought in we saw more than a royal sight. <i>Me.</i> What, does
+it go beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? <i>Og.</i> It
+goes far beyond in appearance. What is concealed she knows
+best. These things are shewn to none but great persons or
+peculiar friends. In the end we were carried back into the
+vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell
+down on their knees and worshipped. <i>Me.</i> What was in it?
+<i>Og.</i> Pieces of linen rags.'</p>
+
+<p>At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim
+was to see the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed,
+and to make offerings at every exhibition of relics.
+Thus on beholding the precious place containing the milk of
+the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the following prayer:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord
+of heaven and earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">{164}</a></span>
+we desire that, being purified by His blood, we may arrive at
+that happy infant state of dovelike innocence in which, being
+void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we may continually desire
+the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we grow up to a
+perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the
+Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.'</p>
+
+<p>On being shown the little chapel which was the actual
+dwelling-place of the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto,
+the pilgrim prostrated himself and recited as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin,
+the most happy of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that
+are impure do now come to visit and address ourselves to thee
+that art pure, and reverence thee with our poor offerings,
+such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable us to
+imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace
+of the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most
+inward bowels of our minds, and having once conceived Him,
+never to lose Him. Amen.'</p>
+
+<p>As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station
+a priest at each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to
+give openly in the sight of all, otherwise they would give
+nothing at all, so great was their piety. Nay, even with this
+stimulus, there were found some who, while they laid their
+offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would steal what
+another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of
+set prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no
+more hesitate to steal from the altar than to commit any other
+offence against morality.</p>
+
+<p>On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims
+were waylaid by roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled
+them with holy water, and showed them St. Thomas's shoe to
+kiss. In fact, what with the treasures brought home by pilgrims,
+presented to archbishops and kings, and sold by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">{165}</a></span>
+pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with
+relics; at the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were
+cupboards filled with holy bones and precious rags; but there
+were too many: the credulity of the people had been tried
+too much and too long. Erasmus shows the profound disbelief
+that he himself, if no other, entertained for the sanctity
+of the relics.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 156px;"><a name="FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH" id="FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_179a.jpg" width="156" height="330" alt="15TH CENTURY
+GOLDSMITH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">15TH CENTURY
+GOLDSMITH</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 276px;"><a name="RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE" id="RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_179b.jpg" width="276" height="330" alt="RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE,
+14TH CENTURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE,
+14TH CENTURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thomas à Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years
+afterwards his remains were transferred from their original
+resting-place by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+to the shrine prepared for them behind the high altar.</p>
+
+<p>Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently
+indicated by the extracts quoted above, was not alone in his
+opinions. Indeed, it required no great wisdom to perceive
+that a religious pilgrimage conducted without the least attention
+to the religious life was a mockery.</p>
+
+<p>Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers
+Plowman, long before, had expressed the same contempt for
+pilgrims:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">{166}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But there is a more serious indictment still.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a
+prisoner for heretical opinions, was allowed to state these
+opinions to Archbishop Arundel. An account remains, written
+by the priest himself, of his arguments and of the Archbishop's
+replies. On the subject of pilgrimage he is very
+strong.</p>
+
+<p>'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and
+so I purpose all my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying
+that suche fonde people wast blamefully God's goods in ther
+veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes upon vicious hostelers,
+which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo
+werkis of mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and
+women. Thes poor mennis goodes and their lyvelode thes
+runners aboute offer to rich priestis, which have mekill more
+lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes they waste
+wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve
+after Goddis will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye,
+and over this foly, ofte tymes diverse men and women of thes
+runners thus madly hither and thither in to pilgrimage borowe
+hereto other mennis goodes, ye and sometymes they stele
+mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never again. Also,
+Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage,
+they will order with them before to have with them both
+men and women that can well syng countre songes and some
+other pilgremis will have with them baggepipes; so that every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">{167}</a></span>
+timme they come to rome, what with the noyse of their synging
+and with the sounde of their piping and with the jangeling
+of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came
+there away with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis.
+And if these men and women be a moneth in their pilgrimage,
+many of them shall be an half year after great jangelers, tale
+tellers, and lyers.'</p>
+
+<p>'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou
+seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou considerest
+not the great trauel of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the
+thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well
+done that pilgremys have with them both singers and also
+pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his
+toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe,
+or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away
+with suche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with soche
+solace the trauel and weeriness of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth."'</p>
+
+<p>From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the
+Tabard Inn, High Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April
+in, or about, the year 1380, it remains for me to show what
+pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the fourteenth century.
+This company met by appointment the night before the day of
+departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met
+by chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or
+for a voyage round the Mediterranean, the members do not
+agree to meet: they find out that a party will start on such a
+date from such a place, and they join it. Part of the business
+of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark, was to organise
+and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As the
+ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the
+voyage there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so
+the Host of the Tabard charged so much for conducting and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">{168}</a></span>
+entertaining the party there and back again. That the company
+was collected in this manner and not by personal agreement,
+is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way in
+which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and
+talked together shows that society of the fourteenth century
+was no respecter of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great
+leveller of rank.</p>
+
+<p>The following is a list of the company:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1.&mdash;A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.&mdash;A
+Prioress: an attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.&mdash;A
+Monk and a Friar. 4.&mdash;A Merchant. 5.&mdash;A Clerk of
+Oxford. 6.&mdash;A Serjeant at Law. 7.&mdash;A Franklin. 8.&mdash;A
+Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry
+Maker, all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.&mdash;A Sailor
+and a Cook. 10.&mdash;A Physician, 11.&mdash;The Wife of Bath.
+12.&mdash;A Town Parson and a Ploughman. 13.&mdash;A Reeve, a
+Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the Poet
+himself.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 140px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182a.jpg" width="140" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 188px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182b.jpg" width="188" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+MERCHANT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+MERCHANT</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 129px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182c.jpg" width="129" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">{169}</a></span>
+generally supposed that they rode the whole way to Canterbury,
+which is sixty-six miles, in a single day. Their resting places
+have, however, been found by Professor Skeat. Allow them
+sixteen hours for the journey. This means more than four
+miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that
+in the fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six
+miles a day over such roads as then existed, and at a time
+of year when the winter mud had not yet had time to dry.</p>
+
+<p>It is not without significance that out of the whole number
+a third should belong to the Church. Among them the
+Prioress Madame Eglantine is a gentlewoman who might
+belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and dainty: fond
+of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her eating:
+wearing a brooch,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And aftir, <i>Amor vincit omnia</i>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who
+kept many horses and hounds and loved to hunt the hare.</p>
+
+<p>The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions:
+a wanton man who married many women 'at his
+own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly imposing light
+penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives
+and pins as gifts for the women:&mdash;a wholly worldly loose
+living Limitour.</p>
+
+<p>The character of the Town Parson, brother of the
+Ploughman, is perhaps the most charming of all this
+wonderful group of portraits.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A good man was ther of religioun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And was a povre <span class="smcap">Persoun</span> of a toun;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was also a lerned man, a clerk,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">{170}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in adversitee ful pacient;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Un-to his povre parisshens aboute<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And this figure he added eek ther-to,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And shame it is, if a preest take keep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He sette nat his benefice to hyre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To seken him a chauntrie for soules,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was to sinful man nat despitous,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But in his teching discreet and benigne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By good ensample, was his bisinesse:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But it were any persone obstinat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">{171}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He wayted after no pompe and reverence,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne maked him a spyced conscience,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Sompnour, <i>i.e.</i> Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts,
+was a scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were
+afraid of him: he loved strong meat and strong drink. If he
+found a good fellow anywhere he bade him have no fear of
+the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were in his purse.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as
+the Monk, the Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his
+wallet pardons from Rome; and relics without end: all the
+imagination in the nature of certain classes was lavished upon
+the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power of
+imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of
+St. Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the
+Pardoner did. Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is al my preching, for to make hem free<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a
+Limitour, and a Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge
+of religion: the first a man who dresses like a layman and
+thinks of nothing but of hunting&mdash;what, then, of the Rule?
+The second, and the third, are both corrupt and rotten to the
+very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual life had
+gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been
+described, figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times.
+They form the most trustworthy presentation of the time
+which we possess. The Knight is full of chivalry, truth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">{172}</a></span>
+honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and lusty, is a lover
+and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have
+books than rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen
+were all well-to-do, in easy circumstances: the Physician
+was an astrologer, who understood natural magic, <i>i.e.</i> the influence
+of the stars; and made for his patients images: he
+knew the cause of every malady and how it was engendered&mdash;the
+profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in
+crimson and blue, lined with taffeta and silk&mdash;it would be
+interesting to know when physicians assumed the black dress
+of the last century. Lastly, his study was but little in the Bible.</p>
+
+<p>The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A <span class="smcap">Clerk</span> ther was of Oxenford also,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As lene was his hors as is a rake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For he had geten him yet no benefyce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For him was lever have at his beddes heed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of Aristotle and his philosophye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But al be that he was a philosophre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And bisily gan for the soules preye<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of studie took he most cure and most hede.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Noght o word spak he more than was nede,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that was seyd in forme and reverence,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">{173}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in
+those days we should perhaps call a 'lower middle class'
+woman than that of the Wyf of Bath? She is dressed in all
+the splendour that she can afford: she frankly loves fine
+dress.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A good <span class="smcap">Wyf</span> was ther of bisyde <span class="smcap">Bathe</span>,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That she was out of alle charitee.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Withouten other companye in youthe;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She hadde passed many a straunge streem;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She coude muche of wandring by the weye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up-on an amblere esily she sat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For she coude of that art the olde daunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything
+that is pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">{174}</a></span>
+restlessness of the woman: she can never have enough of
+pilgrimage: she loves the company: the change: the things
+that one sees: the people that one meets. She has journeyed
+three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne:
+apart from the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so
+good an Englishwoman would not neglect the saints of her
+own country: after Canterbury she would pilgrimise to Beverley
+and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and many a local
+saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her
+avowed intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth
+should die. Yet, she declared, she honoured holy virgins.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let them be bred of purëd whete seed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And let us wyves eten barley brede:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And yet with barley bred men telle can<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our Lord Ihesù refreisshed many man.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself
+sings the divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her
+nose: the Limitour plays on the rote: the Miller plays the
+bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full loud:' the Knight's
+son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an accomplishment
+was far more common in the fourteenth than in
+the nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same
+as pilgrims. The latter, however, simply journeyed from home
+to the shrine and back again: the former was under vows of
+poverty, and continually travelled from shrine to shrine.
+The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore, palmers. The
+first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.</p>
+
+<p>When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow
+it is not intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French
+which was spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and
+by English ecclesiastics of higher rank. But why of Stratford<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">{175}</a></span>
+le Bow? Because here was a Benedictine nunnery dating from
+the eleventh century. The beautiful little Parish Church of
+Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The Wyf
+of Bath is 'gat toothed,' <i>i.e.</i> her teeth are wide apart:
+Professor Skeat has discovered that an old superstition
+attaches to such teeth, that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who
+have such teeth will travel far and be lucky. Popular
+superstitions are so long lived that one has little doubt
+about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 371px;"><a name="PEDLAR" id="PEDLAR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_189.jpg" width="371" height="420" alt="PEDLAR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PEDLAR
+<br />
+<i>From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the
+pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one
+day. Is not this conclusion based upon the fact that the last
+tale ends a day and the journey at the same time? Is there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">{176}</a></span>
+anything to prove that the pilgrimage could have been concluded
+in a day there and a day back? Why, I have said that
+it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the best:
+the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about
+three miles an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for
+refreshment. When Cardinal Morton journeyed from Lambeth
+to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he took a whole
+week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company
+of pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the
+Archbishop would not take so much as six days? Add to
+these considerations that Chaucer is a perfectly 'sane' writer:
+his work hangs together: it would have been impossible to get
+through all those stories with the intervals between and the
+times for rest in a single day.</p>
+
+<p>Another point occurs. There was at one time&mdash;I think&mdash;in
+the early days of pilgrimage&mdash;a special service appointed
+for the departure of pilgrims&mdash;a kind of consecration of the
+pilgrimage. There is no hint of such a service in Chaucer or
+in any other writer of the time, so far as I know. There is
+none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth century.
+One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the
+pilgrimage as a thing to be approached in an altogether
+reverential and religious spirit had quite gone out of it even
+when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of Erasmus.</p>
+
+<p>The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the
+manner of talk among the better class of people at that time, are
+curiously modern. Witness the description of the Parson and
+the Parson's Tale, which is a sermon: witness also the contempt
+and hatred of the poet for the shrines of religion: the impostor
+with his relics: the Sompnour and the Friar. Chaucer makes
+the two latter tell stories reflecting on each other, such great love
+had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The poet through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">{177}</a></span>
+his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That highte Ierusalem celestial&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage,
+taking for his text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand
+ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
+good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
+souls.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="MINSTRELS_AD_1480" id="MINSTRELS_AD_1480"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_191.jpg" width="500" height="424" alt="MINSTRELS A.D. 1480" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MINSTRELS A.D. 1480</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So
+was Erasmus. The riding all together: the festive meals at
+the inn: the mixture of men and women of all conditions:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">{178}</a></span>
+the change of thought and scene&mdash;could not but be useful and
+beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and
+revelry, with the 'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains:
+that there was an idle parade of pretended relics, and an
+assumption of virtues and miracles for these relics: we can
+also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity that,
+when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as
+would load a big ship, were gathered together and burned,
+something was not introduced to take the place of pilgrimages
+and make the people move about and get acquainted with
+each other.</p>
+
+<p>What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the
+heretic?</p>
+
+<p>'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter,
+for thou considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore
+thou blamest that thing that is praisable. I say to the
+that it is right well done, that pilgremys have with them both
+syngers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth
+barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore,
+and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or his
+felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a
+baggepipe for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of
+his felow. For with soche solace the trauell and werinesse of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">{179}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX
+<br />
+<br />
+THE LADY FAIR</h2>
+
+
+<p>The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The
+most ancient was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August,
+and annexed to the Priory by Henry I. St. James's Fair was
+held for the benefit of St. James's Lazar House: there was a
+Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to St. Katherine's
+Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded by
+Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton&mdash;the
+Horse Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham:
+at Lambeth. The Lady Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of
+comparatively late foundation, having been established in the
+year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV. empowering the City of
+London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on the 7th, 8th,
+and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such fairs
+appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of
+the mediæval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that
+of Cloth Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon
+Cherry Fair: that of Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for
+cheese. Most of them, however, were general Fairs held for
+the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops were booths arranged
+in order side by side, and in streets. One street was for wool
+and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for spices:
+another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most
+towns had no trade except in provisions and drink. To the
+Fair people came from all quarters to buy or to sell: the
+country housewife laid in her stores of spices, sugar, wine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">{180}</a></span>
+furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that she could not
+make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country
+within reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham,
+and Tooting, to buy their stores for the coming year.
+There was always, from the beginning, something of a festive
+nature about a Fair: the merry crowd suggested feasting and
+good company: the drinking tempted one on every side:
+there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.</p>
+
+<p>When internal communications were improved, and people
+could easily ride or drive to the neighbouring town, the
+permanent shop replaced the temporary booth, and the original
+purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it became, and continued
+until the end, merely a place of amusement, and, until it became
+riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses
+of the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the
+singular fact that the comic actor never ceases out of the land:
+I do not mean the man who can play a comic part to the
+admiration of beholders, but the man who has a genius for
+bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler,
+the posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and
+teacher of animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all
+trained to perform tricks: women danced on the tight rope:
+jugglers tossed knives and balls: men fought with quarterstaff,
+single-sticks, rapier, or fist: there were exhibitions of strange
+monsters: there were strange creatures. The nature of the
+show was proclaimed by a large painted canvas hung outside
+the booth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 449px;"><a name="BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR" id="BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_195.jpg" width="449" height="550" alt="BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I
+saw in Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses
+dance and do other feates of activity on ye tight rope; they
+were gallantly clad <i>à la mode</i>, went upright, saluted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">{181}</a></span>
+company, bowing and pulling off their hats; they saluted one
+another with as good a grace as if instructed by a dancing-master.
+They turn'd heels over head with a basket having
+eggs in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in
+their hands and on their heads without extinguishing them,
+and with vessels of water without spilling a drop. I also saw
+an Italian wench daunce and performe all the tricks of ye
+tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see her. Likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">{182}</a></span>
+here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'</p>
+
+<p>Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion
+was on September 11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the
+Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw Southwark Fair.' Eight
+years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of which he gives
+the following account:</p>
+
+<p>'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty,
+and there saw the puppet-show of Whittington, which is
+pretty to see; and how that idle thing do work upon people
+that see it, and even myself too! And thence to Jacob
+Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I
+never saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took
+acquaintance with a fellow who carried me to a tavern,
+whither came the music of this booth, and by and by Jacob
+Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak, whether he
+ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a
+mighty strong man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine,
+I away.'</p>
+
+<p>Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful
+picture of Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was
+in the daytime, remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not
+shrink from depicting scenes because they were brutal, or
+debauched&mdash;the pen that drew the Rake's midnight orgies
+could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent or
+abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture
+of the Fair in the evening as well as the afternoon we should
+have known why the City grew more and more disgusted at
+the orgies of the Lady Fair until it became impossible to
+tolerate it any longer.</p>
+
+<p>The Fair was held in the open street, between
+St. Margaret's Hill and St. George's Church. Beyond
+St. George's Church was open country, with a few houses,
+&amp;c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">{183}</a></span>
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical
+booths, Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres,
+that of Lee and Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah
+Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of Troy.' At the other Theatre,
+there is a great show cloth called the Stage Mutiny, referring
+to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece promised is the
+'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of the
+actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy
+playing a cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part
+with a magnificent wig and a towering plumed helmet.
+Alas! the great man is arrested at the moment of taking the
+picture: at the same moment the stage outside the booth
+gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.'
+There is a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter
+rides across the stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he
+has received: the dwarf Savoyard plays his bagpipe and
+makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's shop under the
+falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the slack
+rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower
+of St. George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer
+shows some of his tricks outside, but promises marvels inside
+the booth; the rustics gaze in speechless admiration in the
+face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we see the beginning
+of the line of booths, where everything was sold that was
+of no value&mdash;toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes,
+whips, canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings,
+cloth slippers, night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the
+yard, singing birds and cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter
+platters and mugs. All day long the noise went on: it began
+at noon: the people came from the country and from the
+city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time
+immemorial: the children were brought and treated to a
+fairing, the peep-show, and the play, and some gingerbread.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">{184}</a></span>
+In the afternoon the country lads wrestled for a hat&mdash;you can
+see the hat in the picture; and the girls ran a race for a
+smock&mdash;you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun
+of the fair began. Then all the quiet people within hearing
+stopped their ears: and all the decent people ran away: and
+the prentices, the rustics, the roughs of the Mint with their
+correspondencies of the other sex, had their own way until
+the weary players put out their footlights and lay down to
+sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the
+counters and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers'
+assistants. And then, one supposes, the prentices, the rustics,
+and the rogues went home again. And in the morning
+repentance and an aching head, and an empty purse.</p>
+
+<p>We may take it that all the amusements and shows which
+were brought out for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair
+while it lasted, were also exhibited at Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to
+music and with singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds
+formed a large part of the Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,'
+there is an advertisement of dancing in a booth:</p>
+
+<p>'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at
+Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S HEAD Musick Booth, in
+Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn, during
+the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine,
+Mum, Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be
+Sold; and where you will likewise be entertained with good
+Musick, Singing and Dancing. You will see a Scaramouch
+Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter Staff, the
+Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and
+the Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.</p>
+
+<p>'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and
+Jigg, and a Woman that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that
+we Challenge the whole Fair to do the like. There is likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">{185}</a></span>
+a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen Glasses on the
+Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and
+another Young Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well
+to the Admiration of all Spectators! <i>Vivat Rex!!</i>'</p>
+
+<p>And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair
+which we may very well believe to be Lady Fair. They
+tell us</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The various fairings of the country maid.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Long silken laces hang upon the twine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The lads and lasses trudge the street along,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all the fair is crowded in his song.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by
+the King's servants should have raised the character of the
+Fair. Perhaps it did. In any case, the Theatre of the Fair
+was not an unpromising place for a young actor to begin.
+The audience wanted nothing but the presentation of a story,
+and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in the
+fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He
+was therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials
+of his profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of
+the emotions. A stagey manner would be the result of too
+long continuance on these boards, but at the outset no kind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">{186}</a></span>
+practice could be more useful. This was proved by the lovely
+Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the manager of Drury
+Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage,
+where she played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation
+of the finest actress and the most beautiful woman
+known up to that time.</p>
+
+<p>The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice
+in being able to remember one of these delightful shows.
+There was a great booth with a platform in front and canvas
+pictures hung up behind the platform. The orchestra occupied
+one end of the platform, playing with zeal between the performances.
+The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time:
+the clown and the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling,
+stood at the head of the broad stairs clanging cymbals and
+bawling that the play was just about to begin. The price of
+a seat was threepence, with a few rows at sixpence: the play
+lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of persecuted
+and virginal innocence&mdash;in white. The joy of the
+whole performance was to children beyond all power of words:
+the play: the music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the
+rollicking fun of the clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed
+by the roughness of the benches and the grass under
+our feet: and the general festivity of the noise, the music, the
+bawling outside make me remember Richardson's Theatre
+and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.</p>
+
+<p>I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially,
+a place in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that
+with so much dancing, drinking, love-making, singing, playing
+on the flowery slope that the authorities had to interfere.
+It is, indeed, a most melancholy circumstance that the people
+cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in the way they
+would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">{188}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"></a></span>
+other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY" id="GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_201.jpg" width="600" height="345" alt="GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable&mdash;those
+of Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair
+was founded in the year 1268, so that it was a very ancient
+institution, to be held on three days in the year&mdash;'the Eve, the
+day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of the Fair
+was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke,
+on October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a
+distinctive character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse
+Fair, Charlton became a Horn Fair. The obvious&mdash;and therefore
+popular&mdash;kind of fooling to be made out of horns and
+their associations&mdash;which are now quite lost and forgotten&mdash;as
+well as the day, which was also connected with those associations&mdash;made
+this Fair extremely popular. The people from
+London went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people
+from Greenwich and Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession,
+everyone wearing horns on his head, or carrying
+horns to affix to some other person's head. At the fair itself
+there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front:
+rams' horns were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the
+gingerbread was stamped with horns. The reason of this
+display was one quite forgotten by the people: viz. that a
+horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It was
+customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession,
+in women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see
+Chambers's 'Book of Days') in lashing the women with
+furze: probably in pretence only. The procession was discontinued
+in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.</p>
+
+<p>We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on
+Whit Monday. Long after Bartholomew Fair decayed and
+fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was one of the greatest
+holidays of the year for the London folk of the lower class.
+The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">{189}</a></span>
+the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the
+fun of the booths and the shows.</p>
+
+<p>The former began early in the forenoon and went on
+until the evening. The people came down from London in
+boats for the most part, and by the Old Kent Road in
+vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the whole
+five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled
+with the working classes and the young men and maidens
+belonging to the working classes. The sports were primitive:
+the favourite amusement was for a line of youths and girls to
+run down hill hand in hand. The slope was steep, the pace
+was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling headlong
+or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the
+ring and thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing
+the Cockneys how to dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes
+through which could be seen the men hanging in
+chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or there
+were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every
+man, as it seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall
+into his arms. Outside the Park the street was filled with
+booths where everything could be bought, as at Lady Fair,
+which was worthless, including gingerbread. There were
+theatrical booths, shows of pictures, pantomimes, Punch and
+Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies,
+mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of legerdemain,
+fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock fighting,
+and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening,
+beside the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The
+same cause which led to the suppression of the Lady Fair
+brought about that of Greenwich Fair. It was suppressed,
+I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in 1851, but
+only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">{190}</a></span>
+and making a noise, which, with the bellowing of the show
+folk, the blaring of the bands, the cries of the boys and girls
+on the merry-go-rounds, and the roar of the crowd, one
+will never forget. For my own part I am of opinion that the
+noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on in
+the evening would have gone on just as much outside the
+Fair as in it: and that it did very little harm to let the people
+enjoy themselves in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat
+drunken and somewhat indecent way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">{191}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X
+<br />
+<br />
+ST. MARY OVERIES</h2>
+
+
+<p>London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty.
+One of them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew
+the Great; the other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary
+Overy or Overies, now called St. Saviour's. This church, for
+some unknown reason, does not attract many English visitors.
+Americans go there in great numbers. It is so beautiful: it has
+so many historical associations: that I hope to interest more of
+our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the attractions of
+the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its history.
+These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47)
+given the legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two
+Norman knights, Pont de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the
+twelfth century, found here a small Religious House, called
+the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which had been created
+by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary herself
+was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the
+Lady Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies,
+which ought to be restored to the Church, seems to mean, not
+St. Mary of the Ferry, or St. Mary over the River, but St.
+Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or Shore. These two
+knights founded a new and larger House on the site of Mary
+Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to
+discover, if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman
+House fell into poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had
+the additional misfortune to lose these buildings and their
+Church, which were in great part, if not altogether, destroyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">{192}</a></span>
+by the great fire of that year. A hundred years later the
+monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide
+the bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful:
+that their Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that
+condition for thirty years; that they had been unable to
+rebuild any of it except the campanile; and that they lived
+in constant terror of being inundated by the Thames. This
+shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall into a
+neglected state. At the beginning
+of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort&mdash;Shakespeare's
+Cardinal Beaufort&mdash;contributed
+largely to the rebuilding
+of the Church. Another
+benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the
+last years of his life, died here,
+and was buried in the Church.
+The monument of John Gower
+stands in the north aisle of the
+newly built nave. The Religious
+of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising
+a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone
+who would say a prayer for the soul of the poet.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 253px;"><a name="A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_206.jpg" width="253" height="355" alt="A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 376px;"><a name="SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_207.jpg" width="376" height="550" alt="SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the
+Bishop of Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene
+of many important historical events. Just as Blackfriars was
+used for political Functions; just as Wyclyf was tried in St.
+Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies was used on occasions
+when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the matter in
+hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in
+1406, with Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">{193}</a></span>
+was given away by Henry IV., and her dowry was 100,000
+ducats. At her death she left the canons 6,000 crowns for
+the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of
+James the First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure
+in Scottish history, a poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond
+of Hawthornden wrote that 'of former Kings it might be said
+that the nation made the Kings, but of this King, that he made
+the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being then thirty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">{194}</a></span>
+years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of
+Cardinal Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King
+Henry IV. The royal pair rode forth to Scotland laden with
+such gifts of plate and cloth of gold as Scotland had never
+before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal and
+his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the
+King was murdered in the presence of his wife, who was
+wounded in trying to save him, a sad ending to a marriage of
+love, and a tragic widowhood to the woman whom her poet
+had called</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The fairest and the freshest younge flower<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR" id="NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_208.jpg" width="550" height="471" alt="NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1800" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1800</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">{195}</a></span>
+out, and the place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose
+son became Viscount Montague and gave his new name to the
+ancient close of the Monastery. In the following year the
+Church was made a Parish Church, including the church of Mary
+Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St. Peter-le-Poor
+stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together
+with the Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The
+nave gradually became ruinous and was taken down in 1838,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">{196}</a></span>
+when a new nave, the memory of which makes the whole
+Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put up. Its
+floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick
+wall. This terrible building has now been taken down and a
+nave rebuilt after the pattern of the original structure of the
+fourteenth century. Thus reconstructed, the church will soon,
+it is hoped, become the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of
+Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral organisation,
+being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The
+Church can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished
+company of the dead than can be found in most
+London churches. Here are buried, probably, Mary herself,
+the original founder, if she is not a legendary person:
+Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long
+line of unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the
+Augustinian House: John Gower, on whose monument can
+still be read the prayers he wrote for his own soul:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Père<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sauvé soit qui gist sous cest pierre.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_209.jpg" width="400" height="550" alt="CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the
+first Duke of Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of
+Winchester, is buried in the Lady Chapel, where his monument
+can be seen in black and white marble; Dyer the poet,
+who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence
+Fletcher, one of the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in
+the Church, 1608; Philip Henslow, the manager, buried in the
+chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried in the Church, 1625;
+Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' <i>i.e.</i> belonging to some other
+parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones
+in the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher,
+Edmund Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to
+record that they are buried somewhere in the Church.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">{197}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;"><a name="GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY" id="GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_211.jpg" width="460" height="441" alt="GATEWAY OF ST. MARY&#39;S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GATEWAY OF ST. MARY&#39;S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Whichelo</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure,
+commonly found in mediæval churches, of a body wasted by
+death: a wooden effigy of a knight: a monument to a quack
+of Charles the Second's time, and monuments to certain
+persons now forgotten; on one some lines in imitation of
+Herrick:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Like to the damask rose you see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the blossom on the tree,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the dainty flower of May,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the morning of the day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the sun, or like the shade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the gourd which Jonas had,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">{198}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The flower fades, the morning hasteth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The sun sets, the shadow flies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things
+surviving of mediæval London, was very nearly destroyed by
+the ignorant Vandalism of about the year 1835. It was necessary
+in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west of the old
+Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:</p>
+
+<p>'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for
+the better display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that
+the Lady Chapel was swept away. The matter appeared in
+a fair way for being thus settled, when Mr. Taylor sounded
+the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas Saunders,
+Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners,
+however, decided to accept the proposals of the Committee.
+In the meantime, the gentlemen we have named were
+indefatigable in their exertions; and they were effectively
+seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there was
+a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and
+on a poll being demanded and obtained, there ultimately
+appeared the large majority of 240 for its preservation. The
+excitement of the hour was prudently used to obtain funds to
+restore it, which has been most successfully accomplished.'</p>
+
+<p>I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the
+Bishop, as being close to the Priory. On any map may
+be traced the extent of the Palace. On the north is Clink
+Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of the street;
+on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place;
+on the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the
+east is a street running south from St. Mary Overies Church.
+Winchester House, which thus covered a large piece of
+ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a wall. Many of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">{199}</a></span>
+the buildings, especially the great gate, remained standing
+almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony
+of a Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house
+must therefore be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for
+their accommodation. The map must not be accepted as
+laying down the exact site, the distances or the scale, or the
+arrangement of the courts and buildings.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions
+and of the Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary
+and Winchester House had a good deal to do.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_213.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many
+melancholy sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester,
+presided at a Court held in St. Mary Overies Church
+for the trial of heretics. The court was actually held in the
+Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they
+were found obstinate: they were committed to the Clink
+Prison hard by: on the next day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome,
+Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and several others,
+they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">{200}</a></span>
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow
+at the uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty
+Taylor, end their course and receive their crowne. The
+next am I, which hourly looke for the Porter to open me the
+gates after them, to enter into the desired rest.'</p>
+
+<p>So began those fires from which the cause of Roman
+Catholicism long suffered, and is even now still suffering. For
+the popular judgment does not discern and separate. The
+burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped together
+in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The
+names, places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms
+as given by Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's
+advisers had deliberately done their best to make their form
+of Faith odious and hateful, they could not have devised a
+better plan than the burning of the people for religion's sake.
+It is generally thought and believed that the indignation of
+the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and preachers
+burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men
+do not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a
+Thomas More on his way to the block: or of a Cromwell:
+with equal indifference: these statesmen do not belong to the
+life of the people. In the Marian persecution they heard that
+Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at Oxford, but they
+offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that Ridley
+and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt,
+touched the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves.
+When, however, they found that not only Bishops and
+great people, but also their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were
+taken out from their workshops and tied three or four together
+to the stake, where they suffered the agonies of the fire and
+still continued to pray aloud with firmness: then the lesson
+went straight home to them; and for many a generation to
+come the people learned to loathe the very name of the religion
+which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred
+for believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">{201}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution
+were taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously
+taught from many centres. There were burnings at
+Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at Westminster: beyond St.
+George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the vast crowds
+which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear and
+hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary,
+1556. 'The xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow,
+in iii cares xiij, xj men and ij women, and there
+bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and there where a xx M pepull.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 347px;"><a name="TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS" id="TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_215.jpg" width="347" height="420" alt="TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to
+Smythfield to berne between vii and viij in the morning v
+men and ij women: on of the men was a gentyllman of the
+endor tempull, ys nam Master Grén; and they were all bornyd
+by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment throughe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">{202}</a></span>
+London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a
+tyme.'</p>
+
+<p>Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds
+gathered together to witness the sufferings of the victims,
+and to note their constancy in the hour of agony; secondly,
+that the authorities were becoming alarmed at the effect
+which these examples might have upon the young. No
+young people were permitted to be present. We may be
+sure that the prohibition was openly defied.</p>
+
+<p>As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires
+began, stricken, said his enemies, by the hand of God in
+punishment for his cruelties. His physicians, I believe,
+called it gout in the stomach, a reading which one prefers,
+because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them, and
+after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase,
+in the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which
+began at the church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued
+all the way to Winchester, where the place of his burial
+and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it
+shall suffice. It must be remembered that Gardiner was not
+only a very great person, but that he was also believed to be
+the natural son of Bishop Woodville, and, if the belief was
+well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the Queen. But
+this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 474px;"><a name="A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR" id="A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_217.jpg" width="474" height="550" alt="A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the
+most reverentt father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and
+bysshope of Wynchastur, prelett of the gartter, and latte
+chansseler of England, and on of the preve consell unto
+Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded; and
+so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth
+of gold, and with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">{203}</a></span>
+bornyng, and iiij grett tapurs; and my lord
+Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord bysshope of
+Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and
+the morow masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the
+sarmon; and so masse done, and so to dener to my lord
+Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse was putt in-to a
+wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower the
+corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys
+armes, and v gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">{204}</a></span>
+and hods, then ij harolds in ther cote armur, master
+Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng, carehyng
+of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the
+way; and then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the
+nombur unto ij C. a-for and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges
+cam prestes and clarkes with crosse and sensyng, and ther
+thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to ever parryche
+tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as
+cam to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 490px;"><a name="ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790" id="ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_218.jpg" width="490" height="444" alt="ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1790" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1790</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the
+south side of the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied
+that part of the ground on the north of the nave: the refectory,
+chapter house and dormitories, and other buildings
+stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">{205}</a></span>
+Overies Dock, which was also the south end of the ferry.
+The dock is there still, but where the wall of the Monastery
+stood, round the Garden, and one could see the orchards
+beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the
+Cloister stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct&mdash;there
+was certainly another on the side of the High Street&mdash;stood
+close to the west front of the Church. The Cloister
+received the name of Montagu Close, after the son of Sir
+Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If you
+pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a
+few fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in
+the wall of the Church; but all traces of the monastic
+buildings are entirely swept away.</p>
+
+<p>The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In
+post-Reformation times there was a school here&mdash;St. Saviour's
+school; there were also almshouses; there was a peaceful
+quiet kind of close, in which was heard the buzz of the boys
+in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in the sun;
+one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church
+lay the bones of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see
+Bishop Hooper and John Rogers stepping forth into the
+sunlight, their trial over, their sentence passed: their cheeks,
+perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes somewhat brightened,
+because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a man's courage
+must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian
+waded through the river, before they reached the shore
+beyond.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">{206}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI
+<br />
+<br />
+THE SHOW FOLK</h2>
+
+
+<p>Southwark was a city of a various population. It had
+great Houses for nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns
+for the reception of merchants, coming up from Kent and
+the south country: it had a riverside people of fishermen and
+watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or down
+stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number
+of residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens
+which spread over the whole of the rich low-lying land now
+embanked, secure from floods and the highest tides. It
+contained, besides, a large number of rogues and vagabonds,
+fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called sanctuary, where
+the officers of the law did not dare to present themselves.
+In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the
+end of the last century, when the so-called Liberties of the
+Mint'&mdash;the last place of sanctuary&mdash;were finally abolished and
+only a slum remained to mark the site of a sanctuary.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"><a name="WINCHESTER_PALACE" id="WINCHESTER_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_221.jpg" width="396" height="550" alt="WINCHESTER PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WINCHESTER PALACE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show
+Folk of Bankside. When the Show Folk began to live in
+Bankside I know not: their settlement originally was in
+Westminster outside the King's Palace, where there was
+always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling, mumming
+and such recreative performances; they were also,
+however, in great request in London by City Church, city
+company, and city tavern. Now there was no place for them
+within the walls: they had no company: there was neither a
+Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a Mummers';<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">{207}</a></span>
+nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which
+would admit them; there was no ward where they could get
+a street for themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed
+out. And not only were they a class apart but they were a
+class in contempt. It was always held contemptible to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">{208}</a></span>
+provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long
+time after, would take part in the buffoonery which the actor
+had then to exhibit: an atmosphere of disrepute attached
+to the calling, to those who followed the calling, and to the
+place where they lived: in the City, Aldermen had a way of
+connecting nocturnal disorders with these children of melody:
+where they resorted the taverns would carry on their revelries
+after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with
+the dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the
+Church Puritanic, set her face against those who devised
+entertainments, on the ground that the devisers were an ungodly
+and dissolute crew. Therefore they crossed the river.
+On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the City
+could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose&mdash;Heaven knows whether they did
+choose&mdash;without reproach: their taverns kept open house as
+long as they would stop to drink: there was singing every
+day without interference: there was merriment without the
+rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of being haled
+before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was
+no terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river
+was 'put in stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o'
+Sunday.' It was the Bishop of Winchester's Liberty, but he
+was content, on the whole, to leave the residents unmolested
+and in the possession of their guitars, their fiddles, their
+songs and their plays.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="THE_GLOBE_THEATRE" id="THE_GLOBE_THEATRE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_223.jpg" width="550" height="529" alt="THE GLOBE THEATRE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GLOBE THEATRE
+<br />
+(<i>From the Crace Collection</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy
+for them to go across: they were ready at a moment's notice
+to arrange a pageant, or to take part in one: they could
+provide the beauteous maidens in white with long fair tresses
+who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold rose
+nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found
+hermits, and constructed caves for those godly men in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">{209}</a></span>
+midst of Gracious Street: they found the music for the
+dragging of the traitor on a hurdle: for the march of the
+rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the Lord Mayor: for
+the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a miracle
+play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man:
+the Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and
+Goliath: or any other episode from the Bible&mdash;how many
+excellent players there were among them whose names have
+long since been forgotten! They knew how to present a
+Masque&mdash;not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">{210}</a></span>
+Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones&mdash;who commanded the King's
+purse&mdash;but a neat and creditable affair, with dresses appropriate,
+full of surprises, and furnished with mythological
+characters, for the Hall of a City Company on the day of the
+Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more debauched
+kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests&mdash;pity
+they were not rarer&mdash;and excellent fooling by their clowns.
+The modern art of acting did not begin at the Globe
+Theatre: there has never been any time when the actor was
+unknown: the only difference is that he was not formerly
+allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his <i>répertoire</i>: and now he is an artist and
+scorns the tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment
+of modern invention. The Company of Parish Clerks,
+for instance, were great promoters of sacred plays. Their
+poets&mdash;whose names are entirely lost&mdash;provided the words and
+arranged the scenes; the members of the company played
+the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they provided
+the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music.
+Many of the Parish Churches had their annual play on their
+Saint's Day. Thus the Parish Church of St. Margaret, which
+was taken down when St. Mary Overies' became St. Saviour's,
+had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July 20), and often
+another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well.
+We have already observed that the Londoner of old
+never made any difference in the matter of Play or Pageant
+whether the time was summer or winter. He was like the
+Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his Riding, or his
+Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in July.</p>
+
+<p>Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal,
+were the people who looked after the bears and the dogs.
+Bull baiting, bear baiting, sometimes horse baiting, together
+with badger baiting, duck hunting, cock throwing, dog<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">{211}</a></span>
+fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and common
+sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was
+wherever there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the
+centre and headquarters of the sport was South London, in
+the place called Paris Gardens. The popularity of the sport
+is shown by the simple facts that there was not only bull and
+bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or amphitheatres
+for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite
+St. George's Church, there was permanently established the
+bull ring to which an animal could be tied whenever one was
+found fit for the purpose of affording an hour's sport by the
+madness of his rage or the agonies of his death.</p>
+
+<p>The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the
+site of Paris Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They
+extended to the distance of about a quarter of a mile south
+of the river: sluggish streams and ditches ran across and
+round the gardens, which were so thickly planted with trees as
+to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil.
+These gardens were the chief home of the rough and cruel
+sports already mentioned: here were kept under the King's
+bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's dogs; and the
+bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young
+bull that was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears
+were not killed, they were all known to the people by name,
+such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson, and were valued in
+proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who with
+the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought
+over every day from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly
+fierce and savage. In these days we hardly know
+what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has become peaceful:
+formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog who
+was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">{212}</a></span>
+trained to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to
+wayfarers&mdash;remember the dog in the second part of the
+'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always biting and rending
+some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed only by
+affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these
+days. Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull
+dogs who feared no one but their master, a man might
+journey from end to end of the country armed with nothing
+but a club. Such a dog would fight and would overcome a
+man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and
+stronger than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had
+horns and hoofs to dodge: but the bear afforded the best
+sport both for man and dog: he presented a nose and ears
+and a thick fur on which to spring, and to fasten the canine
+teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn and
+bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though
+in the end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the
+inside of the dog, with the heart and the breath of life!</p>
+
+<p>It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In
+a contemporary Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors,
+on May 25, 1559, were entertained at Court with a dinner,
+and after dinner with a bull and bear baiting, the Queen herself
+looking on from a gallery: the next day they were taken down
+the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris Gardens. Forty
+years later James the First entertained the Spanish Ambassador
+after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg
+paid a visit to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:</p>
+
+<p>'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in
+London the English dogs, of which there were about 120, all
+kept in the same enclosure, but each in a separate kennel.</p>
+
+<p>'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two
+bears and a bull were baited; at such times you can
+perceive the breed and mettle of the dogs, for although they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">{213}</a></span>
+receive serious injuries from the bears, are caught by the
+horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as frequently to
+fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them
+back by the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at
+once were set on the bull; they, however, could not gain any
+advantage over him, for he so artfully contrived to ward off
+their attacks that they could not well get at him; on the
+contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by striking and
+butting at them.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BEAR_GARDEN" id="BEAR_GARDEN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_227.jpg" width="500" height="360" alt="BEAR GARDEN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BEAR GARDEN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is
+furnished by Hentzner in 1598:</p>
+
+<p>'There is still another place, built in the form of a
+Theatre, which serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they
+are fastened behind, and then worried by those great English
+dogs (<i>quos linguâ vernaculâ "Docken" appellant</i>), and mastiffs,
+but not without great risks to the dogs from the teeth of the
+one and the horns of the other, and it sometimes happens
+they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">{214}</a></span>
+supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a
+blinded bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing
+in a circle with whips, which they exercise upon him without
+any mercy; although he cannot escape from them because of
+his chain, he nevertheless defends himself vigorously, throwing
+down all who come within his reach and are not active
+enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere
+else, the English are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed,
+which in America is called <i>Tobaca</i>&mdash;others call it <i>P&#339;tum</i>&mdash;[i.e.
+<i>Petun</i>, the Brazilian name for Tobacco, from which the
+allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its appellation,] and
+generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose made
+of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so
+dry that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they
+draw the smoke into their mouths, which they puff out again
+through their nostrils like funnels, along with it plenty of
+phlegm and defluxion from the head. In these Theatres,
+fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the season,
+are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'</p>
+
+<p>Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about
+the country leading a bear which they offered to be baited
+for so much an hour at the inns which they passed. The
+master of the 'King's Game' had power to seize upon any
+mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and to bait
+in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn,
+both actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had
+licence to apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and
+bulls.</p>
+
+<p>There was another place where the refining influence of
+the bear baiting might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved
+in the lane called Bear Garden Alley. In Agas's map of
+1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the 'Bear Baiting:' a
+little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called the 'Bull<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">{215}</a></span>
+Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings erected
+for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition
+to the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary.
+It is learnedly discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London
+Theatres'). The Spanish Ambassador in 1544 describes a
+bear baiting&mdash;but he does not say exactly where he saw it.
+'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think, however,
+that he must mean Paris Gardens:</p>
+
+<p>'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears,
+some of them very large; they are driven into a circus, where
+they are confined by a long rope, while large and courageous
+dogs are let loose upon them as if to be devoured, and a fight
+takes place. It is not bad sport to witness the conflict. The
+large bears contend with three or four dogs, and sometimes
+one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves
+with their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their
+forelegs, that, if they were not rescued by their masters, they
+would be suffocated. At the same place a pony is baited,
+with a monkey on its back, defending itself against the dogs
+by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony,
+render the scene very laughable.'</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain
+'Epigrams' against abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see
+Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p. 8).</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i8">Every Sunday they will spend<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris
+Gardens, because an accident happened there.</p>
+
+<p>'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure
+of the clock in the afternoon, the old and under-propped
+scaffolds round about the Beare Garden, commonly called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">{216}</a></span>
+Paris Garden, on the south side of the great river Thames
+over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons,
+men and women, were slaine and many others sore hurt and
+bruised to the shortening of their lives. A friendly warning
+to all that delight themselves in the cruelties of beastes than
+in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true, professed faith,
+which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)</p>
+
+<p>The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.</p>
+
+<p>The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance,
+might get loose. Once the blind bear got loose: it was on
+December 9, 1554, and on the Bankside, probably at the
+amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught a serving
+man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by
+the hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).</p>
+
+<p>Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs
+spring up a rabble rout who made their living by them: the
+bearward, the serving man who kept the kennels, fed the
+dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears, looked after the
+amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided the
+drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there
+is a small square place which I take to be the survival of an
+open court in front of the circus. There is here a small
+tavern: the house itself is not ancient, but I believe that it
+stands on the site of the house which provided wine and beer
+for the spectators of the bear baiting. These sports, with
+others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds of
+people gathering together: the music which accompanied
+everything: caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places.
+Another attraction to the place may be only hinted
+at in these pages. Suffice it to say that all the profligate,
+all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the lovers of sport among
+the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside every
+evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">{217}</a></span>
+there they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured
+animals to their hearts' content.</p>
+
+<p>It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond
+it&mdash;the pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into
+the open country on every side of the City walls, but there
+was no place so pleasant as the Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside:
+none that offered so many and such various attractions.
+The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a play was
+forward: the number of those who loved the play more than
+the baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the
+citizens did not love the green fields and the woods: and these
+lay behind Paris Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking
+of the dogs and the roar of the crowd and the blare of the
+music and the stink of the kennels. Every summer evening
+the river was crowded with the boats taking the people across
+to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and
+Old Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As
+for the watermen, John Taylor, the water poet, says that there
+were 40,000 of them plying between Windsor and Gravesend,
+while the number of people who were carried over every day
+to the plays on Bankside was three or four thousand. Forty
+thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen
+in mid stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the
+highway between London and all riverside places; between
+London and Westminster; between London and Southwark,
+because even if one lived close to the bridge it was easier and
+quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over the
+bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people
+across the river every day would not want more than a
+thousand boats or two thousand watermen: at the same time
+the loss of their custom, which happened when the people
+went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for their play, would
+be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.</p>
+
+<p>We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">{218}</a></span>
+attracted less than the play acting: when the amphitheatres
+were turned into theatres: and when Bankside became the residence
+of the poets and the players. They came; unfortunately
+the other people did not go away. There remained the tribe
+of them who made the music and found the dancers and the
+tumblers, the mummers and the conjurers: there remained
+the men&mdash;a rough and brutal lot&mdash;who looked after the bears
+and the dogs: the men who wielded quarterstaff and showed
+sword play, a swaggering and bullying company: there remained
+the young bloods who came over from their peaceful
+shops and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation
+and talk of the place: there remained the ribald crew of men
+and women who naturally belong to such gatherings. There
+was another population at Westminster outside the King's
+House like unto this at Southwark: these, too, existed for the
+amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest
+class of London City. The poets came, therefore, to this
+place in order to be near these theatres: they brought no
+improvement in example, in morals, or in manners: they
+lived among the people, and their lives were mostly as disorderly
+and their morals as loose as the company among
+whom they walked and talked.</p>
+
+<p>Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be
+noted, consisted of two parts, the one wholly distinct from
+the other. The first part was the High Street with its four
+churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's, St. Olave's, and St.
+Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two Debtors'
+Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented
+by merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of
+packhorses, and of receiving as many waggons as could fill
+the courtyard. The Palaces were mostly gone, turned into
+inns or tenements. The whole place was a great House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">{219}</a></span>
+Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no civic
+or corporate existence. But it was respectable.</p>
+
+<p>The other part lay on the west of the High Street,
+stretching along the river nearly as far as Lambeth. This
+was the disreputable quarter, the place of amusement: the
+people who lived there, one and all, made the providing of
+amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of livelihood.
+It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was
+sold, and there were no booths except those of Ursula, with
+roast sucking pig, black puddings, custards, and gingerbread.
+From every tavern all day long came the tinkling of
+the guitar and the trolling of some lusty voice and the silvery
+notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon because nature
+taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head from
+side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and
+pipe going before him. After him came the dogs straining
+at the chain which held them, barking madly in anticipation
+of the fight. Or it was a young bull who was led by
+two men to the ring where he would defend his life as long as
+the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of
+citizens and their wives, who made for the theatre where the
+flag was flying. On the open bank were placed tables for those
+who drank: the balladmonger sang his songs and sold them
+afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and went through
+his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London
+was there a scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than
+on Bankside, on an afternoon or evening in the summer.
+And then to go home again across the broad and peaceful
+river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the river, like the
+sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats, and
+still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the
+soft breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">{220}</a></span>
+and the voices of those who sang, and the baying of the
+hounds from Paris Gardens.</p>
+
+<p>The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves
+many questions, and may be safely left to the antiquarian
+historian. The reader will find most of these
+questions raised and settled in a book, already quoted here,
+by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses,
+here as early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII.
+Gardiner proposed to have a solemn dirge in memory of the
+King, but, he complained to the Council, the players of
+Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in
+earnest.'</p>
+
+<p>Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether
+they acted in the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had
+a moveable stage, I do not know. It is, however, quite certain
+that before the end of the sixteenth century there were four
+theatres in Bankside&mdash;the <i>Rose</i>, whose site was somewhere
+in Rose Alley: the <i>Hope</i> in Bear Garden Lane: the <i>Swan</i> in
+Paris Gardens&mdash;that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars
+Road, not far from the Bridge: and the <i>Globe</i>. The site of
+the Globe is generally allowed to have been at a spot 150
+feet south of Park Street, close to the Southwark Bridge
+Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more or
+less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously
+to the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player
+lived beside the theatre, and the place was the pleasure
+resort of the people, and the haunt of sporting men, and the
+school of the citizens, in history at least: and the pride and
+glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and
+villanies practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness
+of those who lived upon the Bank.</p>
+
+<p>The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">{221}</a></span>
+milder attacks which threatened from time to time were a deadly
+enemy to the players, for then the theatre must be closed
+and the Bear Garden too, for in crowds there was infection.
+Think what it meant to close these places of resort. The
+Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper&mdash;the Company:
+there were the servants 'in the front' and the servants
+behind, the 'supers,' the money takers, the boys who went
+round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale, new books and
+tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres
+must have thrown out of employ many hundreds of men,
+and, if we consider their wives and families, many thousands
+of people. Can we wonder if the players, one and all, were
+Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which allowed
+them their daily bread?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre" id="The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_235.jpg" width="550" height="341" alt="The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre 1616" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit
+prevailed. When the Parliament conquered, the theatres
+were doomed. And in 1655, by command of Thomas
+Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">{222}</a></span>
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same
+year it is mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been
+destroyed to make room for tenements.</p>
+
+<p>The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic
+spirit was rapidly growing stronger could not possibly be
+held in good repute. There was dancing in it: music:
+mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these things the
+misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The
+Mayor, long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never
+allow a theatre to be set up within his jurisdiction: had that
+jurisdiction extended beyond the various Bars: had there not,
+fortunately, happened to exist certain illogical and absurd
+Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no authority,
+there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare,
+no Ben Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things
+happened, we have to note the very remarkable fact that
+while the popular love for the theatre increased year by year;
+while the theatre became the teacher of history, the satirist of
+manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers and
+preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not
+at all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into
+the hands of the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the
+father of one of the most famous players, Nathan Field,
+wrote to the Earl of Leicester as early as 1585 reviling him
+for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil men as of late you
+did for players, to the great griefe of all the godly,' and
+adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes
+and plays.' And the same divine, two years later,
+wrote an attack upon the theatre in consequence of the accident
+at Paris Gardens which has been already mentioned.
+The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War, but it
+was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration
+allowed it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">{223}</a></span>
+continues, in a now feeble and impotent way, to
+consider the Theatre as the chosen home of the Devil.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 393px;"><a name="INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE" id="INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_237.jpg" width="393" height="550" alt="INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready
+to meet all comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one
+Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary Overies, denounced the Theatre
+and all connected with it. Field answered him manfully,
+telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in preaching
+from his pulpit against people who are licensed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">{224}</a></span>
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal
+to the task of covering the preacher with derision; but
+derision seldom convinces or converts.</p>
+
+<p>The general opinion of players remains that they have at
+all times been a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;'
+borrowing; spending their money in riotous living. This
+opinion is not by any means always true. The musician, the
+mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all regarded much
+in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight like
+the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did
+not, like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not
+heal the sick; they knew no law; their only function in the
+world was to amuse; to make men laugh. It is very remarkable
+that directly the players ceased to be dependent on
+noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform,
+they became prudent men of business. They may have been a
+cheerful tribe; they were, however, well to do, and, so far as can
+be learned, a thrifty tribe. They made money, not by writing
+plays, nor by acting them, but by being shareholders in
+the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare,
+all appear to have lived in comfort, and to have died
+possessed of moderate fortunes.</p>
+
+<p>The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always
+been, penniless and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth
+century the earliest of the dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele,
+Nash, Greene&mdash;that turbulent roystering profligate band whom
+everybody loved while everybody reproved&mdash;had passed away.
+The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives.
+Yet they were often harassed for want of money. Three of
+them, Massinger, Field and Daborne, write to Henslow asking
+for an advance of 5<i>l.</i> on the security of a play which is worth
+ten pounds in addition to what they have had. All those, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">{225}</a></span>
+fact, were poor, and remained poor, who attempted to live by
+poetic literature alone.</p>
+
+<p>The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let
+us consider the Company of Actors who played at the Globe
+and the Rose, the Hope and the Lion, and lived on and near
+the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's (see Rendle's
+'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the actors
+who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised
+here or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately,
+does not occur. Among the actors, and first and
+chief, was Richard Burbage&mdash;like Shakespeare, a Warwickshire
+man. In person he was under the middle stature, and
+grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who
+built the very first permanent theatre&mdash;called The Theatre at
+Shoreditch. In consequence of a dispute with the landlord,
+he pulled down the house, carried the timbers across the river
+to Bankside, and set up the Globe.</p>
+
+<p>There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded
+Tarlton in that line. He was a great dancer: on one occasion
+he danced all the way from Norwich to London, taking
+nine days for the work: he was accompanied by one Thomas
+Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with
+him along the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow
+of infinite drollery, with jokes and acting such as pleased
+the 'groundlings' well. There was a kind of entertainment
+popular at the time called a jig. It was a monologue for
+the most part, but might be played by two or more, in which
+the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was
+like the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This
+worthy lived in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of
+his death.</p>
+
+<p>Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He
+also lived in the Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">{226}</a></span>
+He survived the suppression of Theatres, and in his old age
+had no craft or art or mastery by which to earn his bread
+save that which was proscribed. He wrote for assistance to
+a patron, and he quoted the lover's words applied to the
+beggar:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Silence in love betrays more woe<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Than words, though ne'er so witty;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The beggar that is dumb, you know,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Deserves a double pity.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be
+forgotten. He attracted Tarlton's attention when a mere
+boy. The veteran comedian adopted him and taught him.
+I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor to
+that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester
+as&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Honest gamesome Robert Armin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he
+was also Nathan Field the dramatist. He brought into the
+latter profession the carelessness about money that belonged
+to the former. There are indications&mdash;only indications, it is
+true&mdash;that there was in him something of the temperament of
+a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a constitutional inability
+to understand the meaning of addition and subtraction or the
+translation of money into its equivalent in eating and drinking.
+He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And is the true Othello of the poet:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That like the character he is most jealous.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If it be so, and many living sweare it,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It takes not little from the actor's merit,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Field can display the passion to the life.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">{227}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and
+Armin, carried on the traditions of low comedy. He was
+great in the invention of 'jigs.' A notable 'jig' was that
+called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several performers took
+part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a 'Schanke, a
+player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news
+that there had been a great battle in which the London
+Companies had been cut to pieces, and 20,000 men had
+fallen on both sides. They spread their news as they rode
+through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle
+at all, but that those three men&mdash;Captain Wilson, Lieutenant
+Whitney, and one Schanke, a player&mdash;were simply runaways.
+Therefore they were all clapped in the Gatehouse, and brought
+to undergo punishment according to martial law 'for their
+base cowardliness.'</p>
+
+<p>One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians
+never becomes extinct. That power of always seizing on the
+comic side in everything, of always being able to make an
+audience laugh throughout a whole piece, is never, happily,
+taken away from a world which would be too sad without it.
+Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the
+comic man, whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as
+humorous as his words, never fails us. Tarlton is followed
+by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by Schanke. So Robson
+follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.</p>
+
+<p>There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier
+finds out what parts they played and where they lived. Alas!
+He tells us no more. Perhaps there is no more to tell. The
+rank and file of the theatrical company are never a very
+interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey, Eccleston, Cowley,
+Cooke, Sly, Argan&mdash;they are shadows that have long since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">{228}</a></span>
+passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten
+by the audience the day after they were dead. Why
+seek to revive their memory when there is not a single solitary
+fact to go upon? A bone would be something: out of the
+skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct his life, with all
+the adventures, love-making, disappointments, distresses and
+triumphs.</p>
+
+<p>We know the place where they all lived; the place of a
+continual Fair without any booths, yet everything offered for
+sale: the music to cheer your heart&mdash;you could command it
+had you money in purse; the wine to raise your courage&mdash;you
+could call for it; the dancing to charm your eye&mdash;any girl
+would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts&mdash;but you must pay for your seat; the
+jig to bring you back to the level of earth&mdash;or perhaps a little
+lower&mdash;you could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of
+the Swan in the Hoope were directed to your purse; the
+ruffians belonging to the kennels and the bear garden; the
+drawers of the taverns and the sack and the tobacco, the
+boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The players
+lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd:
+sometimes one of their women is ducked for a shrew; one of
+them is clapped in the Clink Prison: some are haled before
+the Bishop for acting in Lent&mdash;these unreasonable people
+really object to starving in Lent! And the place and the
+people and their manners and customs are deplorable but
+delightful; they are picturesque to the highest degree, but
+they are equally reprehensible. I wish we could go back four
+hundred years and see and listen for ourselves: but with all
+our admiration for the Elizabethan drama, I do not think that
+I should like to be one of the Show Folk or to live with them
+in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of the
+Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">{229}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII
+<br />
+<br />
+BELOW BRIDGE</h2>
+
+
+<p>'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes:
+Horselydown, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich,
+and Woolwich. The railway has ruined one end of
+Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St. Olave's Street.
+Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at all.
+Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow
+street was once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had
+here, opposite St. Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here
+the Abbot of St. Augustine had his Inn: and here, we have
+seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf. Here was the
+Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across
+the bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient,
+to Tooley Stairs; some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to
+Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay along Tooley Street
+and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and gardens:
+a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St.
+Saviour's Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most
+industrious in the whole of London. It is called Horselydown,
+the derivation of which seems obvious, but derivations
+are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take
+it for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at
+Roques' map of 1745, that there were meadows where horses
+grazed as soon as the embankment was up, and the ground
+drained. There was some kind of common here at one time:
+here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites were
+buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">{230}</a></span>
+industries made their appearance in the eighteenth century,
+but they came gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable
+variety as regards occupations. All along the river
+and the bank of the Dock, formerly Savoy Dock, there are
+wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries, leather
+warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin
+dyeing works, breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper
+mills, dyeing works, dog's food manufactories, vinegar works,
+bottle works, iron foundries, wooden hoop manufactories,
+cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit manufactories, oil and
+colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works, and distilleries.
+All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses
+are houses for the workmen and the foremen. On the south
+side stands the Church, almost the ugliest Church in London:
+next to the Church is, or was, a few years ago, a street which
+has something of the look and feeling of a Close.</p>
+
+<p>It is a great pity that in the whole of South London
+lying east of the High Street there is not a single beautiful,
+or even picturesque Church. Look at them! St. Olave's,
+St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Mary,
+Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It
+cannot be pretended that these structures inspire veneration
+or even respect. You may see drawings of them in Maitland.
+St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737, St. John's, Horselydown, in
+1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St. Mary, Rotherhithe,
+in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the steeple
+was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of
+the church architecture of nearly the same period.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN" id="A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_245.jpg" width="500" height="368" alt="A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+<br />
+(<i>From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of all the quarters and parts of London that of
+Horselydown is the least known and the least visited, except
+by those whose business takes them there every day. There is,
+in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves block out the river:
+the warehouses darken the streets, the places where people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">{231}</a></span>
+live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make
+one desire to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock,
+we find ourselves in quite a different quarter: the wharves are
+arranged along the river wall, called the Bermondsey Wall,
+but behind the wharves there are fewer factories and more
+people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to live in:
+of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even
+any access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs:
+the 'works' are those whose near neighbourhood is not generally
+desired: places where they make leather and curry it: or
+where they make glue or vinegar. Fortunately, however, the
+good people of Bermondsey are spared the handling of
+tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and
+it occupies, including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey,
+and Rotherhithe, something like a quarter of a million, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">{232}</a></span>
+is a good-sized city in itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's
+Dock we may step aside to look at two streets, which fifty
+years ago represented the lowest kind of vice and brutality,
+and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street and
+London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to
+adorn his 'Oliver Twist'&mdash;lugged in, for indeed it does not
+belong there.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's
+'London Illustrated' in the year 1806.</p>
+
+<p>The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of
+the dirt has been washed away.</p>
+
+<p>It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's
+cottages or residences which shall be beautiful. First there
+is the slum with a row of two- or four-roomed cottages in a
+narrow court: the windows are broken: the banisters of the
+staircase are broken away to be burned: the sanitary appliances
+are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step
+is to build streets for working men in places where the ground
+is not too valuable. Thus the town of Bromley near Bow
+sprang into existence. It consists entirely of monotonous
+streets with monotonous houses, all small, all ugly, all built
+after the same pattern: the result being dreary and dispiriting.
+Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating
+the working classes by the hundred thousand. There
+is not the smallest attempt at making these places beautiful:
+they are simple cubes of grey brick with rows and lines of
+windows. Outside they may be models of economy in space.
+Once within, they may be models of convenience; but there
+is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family
+on family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated
+by the founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy;
+the children are demoralised: there are dangers not expected,
+and temptations not considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">{233}</a></span>
+of Southwark and Bermondsey are not, in every
+respect, adapted to a model population.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to
+get at the river, except at two or three spots where the old
+stairs can be approached by a narrow passage. There is an
+embankment or terrace: the whole bank is occupied for
+commercial purposes: business men do not like strangers on
+these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If,
+however, the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes&mdash;say, on
+Saturday afternoon&mdash;get down to the stairs and look out upon
+the river, he will see close at hand, not only the ships and
+barges that lie about the wharves, but the grand new Watergate
+of London, the most appropriate entrance that could be
+devised to the port&mdash;the new Tower Bridge.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE" id="THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_247.jpg" width="500" height="379" alt="THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began
+the houses, until fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until
+Rotherhithe itself consisted of little more than a single street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">{234}</a></span>
+with docks, and stairs, and taverns on the riverside, and on
+the other side lanes leading to cottages and cottage gardens.
+The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807, but the place
+still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river
+flowed on the north and east. Like all the country about the
+Thames, it was low-lying, and originally a marsh. Even
+as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained, and a good
+part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now
+called Southwark Park Road&mdash;why could they not leave
+the old name, Blue Anchor Road?&mdash;even in 1830 wound
+through a marsh covered with ditches and ponds. On the
+east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of
+ponds and islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running
+into the river at Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams
+lay or flowed at will over the levels, making islands which
+were approached by bridges. The character of the place was
+entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the last part of
+London where there lingered still the appearance of a marsh.
+The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence
+Island; the Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond;
+Broom Fields; Halfpenny Hatch, repeated more than once.
+The numerous Ropewalks scattered about show that the ground
+was cheap, and the factories where they make glue, soap,
+brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 478px;"><a name="VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD" id="VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_249.jpg" width="478" height="550" alt="VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more
+interesting, namely, Deptford. They have done their best to
+spoil Deptford of late years: they have taken away the
+old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new streets: but
+a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago,
+reconstructing the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of
+1886. It is like reconstructing the face in youth from a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">{235}</a></span>
+portrait in middle life. I succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction,
+and, I hope, to the satisfaction of my readers when
+the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared as the background
+of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted chiefly
+of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new
+church in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there
+was the Hall where the Brethren of the Trinity House
+assembled every year before their service at St. Nicolas and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">{236}</a></span>
+their feast at their house on Tower Hill. The town was full
+of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not remarkable for
+the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on the
+contrary, they despised such ways&mdash;'their fashions I hate, like
+a pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all
+the time they were ashore, except when they were drinking
+and taking tobacco at the tavern&mdash;these occupations, truly,
+left the honest fellows less time for love than might have been
+expected. There were officers' taverns and seamen's taverns:
+rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And, really,
+it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower
+ranks: bad food on board: long years of foreign service: and
+for all the gallantry that these brave fellows showed in service
+not a word of thanks: not a hint at promotion.</p>
+
+<p>The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were
+shops, but poor things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables
+were brought in from the country round: within a few
+steps of the town one was in the loveliest country, with the
+Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and under the
+branches of willows and of alders.</p>
+
+<p>The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the
+Eighth, and continued till 1869. It was at Deptford that
+most of the ships were built for the Royal Navy in the sixteenth
+and seventeenth centuries: it was here that Drake's
+ship, the <i>Golden Hind</i>, in which he had made his voyage
+round the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of
+entertainment. She remained here, an object of pilgrimage
+for the Londoners, for many years. She was a good deal cut
+about, because everybody wanted to carry away a piece of
+her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One pious
+archæologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented
+it to the Bodleian Library.</p>
+
+<p>Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">{237}</a></span>
+of the Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the
+morning, and seeing the seamen exercise, which they do
+already very handsomely. Then to dinner.... After dinner
+and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked to
+the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard,
+where I had a look into the tarhouses and other places, and
+took great notice of all the several works belonging to the
+making of a cable.'</p>
+
+<p>It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich,
+'where I stood with great pleasure an hour or two by her
+bedside, she lying prettily in bed.' During the plague year,
+when he and his wife were staying at Woolwich, he goes over
+to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually feasting
+with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague
+was slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.</p>
+
+<p>Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was
+Peter the Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture.
+The people of the town had the satisfaction of seeing
+the Czar of Muscovy&mdash;not quite so great a man then as he is
+now&mdash;smoking a pipe of tobacco and drinking brandy in
+their taverns every evening. By day they might see him
+working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a
+ship and its gear.</p>
+
+<p>The most interesting person, however, who is connected
+with the annals of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.</p>
+
+<p>Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a
+great statesman: he was not great in anything that he did:
+yet his memory remains, and will remain long after that of
+much stronger men has been forgotten. He wrote a great
+deal, and since some of his writings survive after three
+hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his
+own skin. In order to avoid being dragged into the army
+and fighting for the cause which he loved, he went abroad
+and travelled in Europe for four years, during which time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">{238}</a></span>
+royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought for it were
+ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back
+to France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had
+made many discoveries and observations on art and antiquities.
+He also married a wife, the daughter of Charles's
+ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he obtained possession
+of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks, one
+of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he
+lived till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the
+founders and first Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a
+member of many commissions: he was the first Treasurer of
+Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held many other offices.</p>
+
+<p>In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and
+the accomplishments of this estimable man:</p>
+
+<p>'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a
+visit to Mr. Evelyn, who among many other things showed me
+most excellent painting in little: in distemper; in Indian
+ink; water colours; graving: and above all, the whole secret
+of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very pretty,
+and good things done with it. He read to me very much also
+of his discourse he hath been many years and now is about,
+about Gardening, which will be a most noble and pleasant
+piece. He read me part of a play or two of his making;
+very good, but not as he conceits them, I think, to be. He
+showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book
+of several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however,
+and look very finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most
+excellent person he is, and must be allowed a little for
+conceitedness; but he may well be so, being a man so
+much above others.'</p>
+
+<p>His memory survives on account of the personal character
+of the man which is revealed in his works, and of the high
+opinion in which he was held. 'A typical instance,' says his
+latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat. Biog.'), 'of the accomplished
+and public-spirited country gentleman of the Restoration, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">{239}</a></span>
+pious and devoted member of the Church of England, and a
+staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the
+manners of the court.' Above all things, it might be added,
+he was a gardener, and all gardeners are amiable and all
+gardeners are personally popular.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH" id="GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_253.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is
+little else in Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The
+Almshouse known as Norfolk College must not be forgotten,
+however. It is on the east side of the Hospital, and stands
+behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The College
+consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small
+hall or common room, with gardens at the back. This kind
+of almshouse is common, but it is difficult to build it so that
+it shall not be beautiful. Norfolk College is quite a beautiful
+place. Finer and larger is Morden College, up the hill,
+designed for decayed merchants.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">{240}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk
+College the houses stop suddenly: on the tongue of land
+projecting north formed by a loop of the river there are
+hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary flat as far
+as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered
+by continuous houses which begins at Battersea ends at
+Greenwich.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">{241}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE LATER SANCTUARY</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the
+refuge of those who had fallen into temptation became, as
+we know, the resort of the rogue, the murderer, and the
+habitual criminal. Within the precincts of St.-Martin's-le-Grand
+were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of
+Westminster was a scandal and a disgrace. These places
+had been finally abolished after much trouble: the City
+officers could march their rogues to Newgate without fear
+of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of Westminster
+could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers
+from Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding
+and seeking sanctuary was too deep-rooted to be quickly
+abolished. Perhaps there was something comfortable in the
+thought that there should be a place, however small, where
+the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues
+should be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance,
+perhaps: it was a gleam of sunshine on the path of the outlaw.
+So the custom was continued well into the eighteenth
+century. In this chapter I am going to recall the memory
+of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature
+says little about them. But it says enough to show that there
+were places dotted about London which served all the purposes
+of the old sanctuaries without the restraints of ecclesiastical
+government: in fact, there was no government, except on
+purely democratic principles. In these places lived rogues
+and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">{242}</a></span>
+his man&mdash;observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not.
+Why was this? Because the London rogue had a sense of
+justice: no man could expect to go on for ever: when a
+man's time was up, let him give place to his successor. The
+thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official: it was his
+duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up
+when he was called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and
+get hanged in due course. Otherwise, there would have been
+no living to be made by the rogues on account of the competition
+of numbers. The name of Alsatia had been long
+forgotten, but the asylum still remained.</p>
+
+<p>In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with
+the Alsatia of Fleet Street. There were other places equally
+secure for rogues, besides Alsatia. Such were Whetstone
+Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's Rents, Holborn;
+Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and others.
+All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them
+to scatter; not by marching off the whole population to
+prison; but by the slower and more gradual process of
+transformation. This process began when the parts and
+places around became respectable. There is something
+chilling and repellent to the common rogue about the
+proximity of respectability: he does not like to be in its
+neighbourhood: in this way these degenerate and unlawful
+sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone remained,
+when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark&mdash;that part which is still a slum&mdash;called Mint
+Street, nearly opposite St. George's Church in the High
+Street. This street, with its alleys and courts, was inhabited
+by as villainous a collection as even the eighteenth century,
+which in point of villains was rich beyond its predecessors,
+could not equal. They had retreated here from their former<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">{243}</a></span>
+haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could
+be served on them: no arrest could be made: the only person
+they had to fear was, as said above, the thief-taker.</p>
+
+<p>The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately,
+kept; it is impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals
+were here housed and for how long. There are, however, one
+or two little histories of the Mint which will serve to show
+us at once the public spirit, the courage, and the immunity
+with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.</p>
+
+<p>The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of
+Dormer <i>v.</i> Dormer and Jones came on for hearing at
+Westminster Hall. It was a divorce case, in which the
+co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's house.
+There seems to have been no defence, practically. The
+verdict of the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000<i>l.</i> damages.
+Now, consider for a moment what that verdict meant. In
+these days, when a defendant without any private means at
+all is mulcted in damages and costs, whether of 5,000<i>l.</i> or of
+100<i>l.</i>, he simply smiles. He is not in the least degree affected.
+Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him, and
+when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors.
+In Portugal Street <i>subridet vacuus viator</i>&mdash;the insolvent
+pilgrim smiles cheerfully. But in those days it was very
+different. To inflict damages of 5,000<i>l.</i> meant simply that
+the Jury considered the case one in which the defendant, who
+could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only be
+adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his
+remaining days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only
+a footman whose relations were probably unable to assist him
+and certainly unable to maintain him, he would speedily take
+his place on the common side, and there he would be slowly
+done to death by insufficient food and insufficient clothing,
+by privation, cold, fever and misery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">{244}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate
+intention. It meant prison and slow starvation and insufficient
+warmth, and so everybody instantly understood,
+including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the officers would
+have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled
+himself down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers,
+witnesses, booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore
+across New Palace Yard, now pursued by the officers: he
+made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier so called, for as yet
+there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat and
+shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs,
+they saw their prisoner already half way across the river.
+They too jumped into a boat: for some reason or other&mdash;one
+knows not why&mdash;it was most unlucky&mdash;their boat took a
+long time to get off: something was wrong with the painter:
+the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be set right:
+the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the
+boat proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly
+over the face of the waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore
+on the other side, and the bailiffs turned back with a good
+deal of cursing. Once ashore, the fugitive made straight to
+Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was also a City of
+Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It
+was a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not
+eat the bread of idleness: he therefore, one may certainly
+conclude, became a rogue by profession and in due course
+met his fate bravely with white ribbons round his cap, an
+orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a large
+nosegay in his shirt front.</p>
+
+<p>Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century
+Sanctuary. It will seem incredible that the Executive should
+have been so incapable, but the story is literally true.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 356px;"><a name="MINT_STREET_BOROUGH" id="MINT_STREET_BOROUGH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_259.jpg" width="356" height="550" alt="MINT STREET, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MINT STREET, BOROUGH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">{245}</a></span>
+the Law being so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark,
+some of the residents or collegians naturally desired to
+go farther afield, and to establish more Sanctuaries or Law-defying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">{246}</a></span>
+colonies on the other side of the river, which was
+reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports of
+Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on
+the subject have come down to us. However, that matters
+very little. Every great movement, we know, is the work of
+one man. Therefore there arose a Prophet&mdash;the Prophet as
+Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently began to
+preach that a 'long felt want'&mdash;call it rather a 'need'&mdash;existed,
+which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries
+of North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay.
+Alsatia was deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in
+Milford Lane: the trade of counterfeit rings was no longer
+carried on in St. Martin's. And, though there were certainly
+taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs regarded with a useful
+respect, it could not be denied that London needed a new
+Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and fellow-residents
+in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers
+with burning eloquence&mdash;I am sure it was burning&mdash;a Vision
+of a New London, Purged; Purified; without honesty; without
+morals; without law; with neither gallows, pillory, whipping
+post, or stocks: a City entirely in the hands of Rogues who
+would compel all the conquered City to work for them: would
+seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning
+of this Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the
+Mint, to plant all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of
+time, the City should become one huge Sanctuary, where debts
+would never be collected, and robbery and murder would
+never be punished.</p>
+
+<p>They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on
+the east of Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid
+down their boundaries: they called the place the New Mint:
+they said, 'Within these limits there shall be no arrest.' This
+new law they communicated fairly and plainly, because everything
+was above board, to all the catchpoles. They then sat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">{247}</a></span>
+down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they
+were close to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been
+called in to disperse this lawless establishment. However,
+nothing at all was done. They sat down triumphant.
+Presently&mdash;I know not how long afterwards&mdash;a bailiff was
+actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly
+believe that this rash and audacious person ventured to
+arrest a New Minter within the Precincts!</p>
+
+<p>Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they
+called for music: preceded by a band of what used to be
+called the Whifflers, they marched in a procession, four
+abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose in their
+gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house
+of the offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run
+away. It is, however, a weakness common to Catchpoles
+that they always put their trust in the Law. They arrested
+that Catchpole: they led him to the place where he had
+offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him
+all over with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a
+thousand lashes, so that there was not a whole inch of skin
+left upon him: they dragged him through filthy ponds and laystalls:
+they took him out and flogged him again: they tried to
+flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed, for he survived:
+then they dragged him again through the filth: at last they
+suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he
+might. I am sorry to say that I have no information as to
+the end of the New Mint adventure; but it certainly appears
+that no one was punished for this outrage, and that no
+attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but
+I have not ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent
+freemen, its present residents.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">{248}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV
+<br />
+<br />
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time
+during the eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how
+little the place had grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as
+of old, the Causeway at right angles to the Embankment.
+On either side of the Causeway or High Street or St. Margaret's
+Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the continuity
+of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of
+which, although there are, here and there, detached houses
+and even rows of houses or terraces, there are open fields,
+streams, ponds and gardens. St. George's Fields, crossed by
+paths, are broad and open fields stretching out westward till
+they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's Church has long
+since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put his
+finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper:
+St. George's, St. Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On
+the east are the churches of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not
+to speak of Deptford: on the west is Lambeth Church: on
+the south are the churches of Newington and Kennington.
+As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are
+the prisons, that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the
+White Lyon. They were all on the east side of the street
+until 1756, when the King's Bench Prison was removed across
+the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some time after
+the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">{249}</a></span>
+Clink on Bankside had vanished. But the Borough Compter
+was still flourishing&mdash;a grimy, filthy, fever-stricken place.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 439px;"><a name="OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK" id="OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_263.jpg" width="439" height="550" alt="OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and
+west, the fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish
+streams. 'Snow's' Fields on the east were as well known as
+St. George's in the West. 'Long Lane' ran from St. George's
+to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few houses: Bermondsey
+Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old
+cross to the same church: it was already a street of houses.
+The most crowded part of Southwark proper was the street
+called Tooley or St. Olave's, the most ancient street in the
+Borough, originally built upon the Embankment, the Thames<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">{250}</a></span>
+Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth century,
+there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one
+came upon the entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid:
+these courts remain, also narrow, mean and squalid, to the
+present day. There were no places in London, unless in the
+neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where human
+creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions.
+There was no water supply to these courts: there was no
+lighting: there was no paving, not even with the round
+cobbles which they still called paving.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"><a name="ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL" id="ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_264.jpg" width="406" height="520" alt="ST. THOMAS&#39;S HOSPITAL" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. THOMAS&#39;S HOSPITAL
+<br />
+(<i>From an old Print</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk" id="Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_265.jpg" width="550" height="422" alt="Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 530px;"><a name="Jamaica_House_Bermondsey" id="Jamaica_House_Bermondsey"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_266.jpg" width="530" height="437" alt="Jamaica House Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Jamaica House, Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">{251}</a></span>
+given on p. <a href="#Page_85">85</a> of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave
+of which was fast falling into ruins, came Bankside. Alas!
+It was deserted: not a single theatre was left: not a baiting
+Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a poet or an
+actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the
+guitar, and the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay
+two broad gardens, side by side: one called Pye Garden; and
+the other, west of Winchester House, was called Winchester
+Park. Paris Gardens were no more. Blackfriars Bridge Road, in
+which there were as yet but few houses, had been cut ruthlessly
+right through the middle of the old Gardens; the trees,
+once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of
+a few side streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and
+on the west of these fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">{252}</a></span>
+cut up into ropewalks, tenter grounds, nurseries, and kitchen
+gardens. Where Waterloo Station now stands were Cuper's
+Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens, of which
+more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met.
+But perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in
+the last century was the immense number of streams and
+ditches and ponds: most of these were little better than open
+sewers: complaints were common of the pollution of these
+streams&mdash;but it was in vain: people will always throw everything
+that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if
+they can. One wants the map in order to understand how
+numerous were these streams. There was one murky brook
+which ran along the backs of all the houses on the east side
+of High Street&mdash;the prisoners of the Marshalsea and the
+King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another corresponding
+stream ran behind the west side of High Street.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">{253}</a></span>
+Maiden Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel
+Lane, more blessed still, was happy with a ditch or stream on
+each side: Dirty Lane had one: another ran along Bandy
+Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept, or crawled, across
+Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there were
+no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this
+broad marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards,
+fringing the gardens, and crossing the open fields, were a
+pleasant feature, though they had no stones to prattle over,
+but only the dark peaty <i>humus</i> of the marsh: and the water
+channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which were
+sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by
+Roques. It was also called the Effra. Along the banks of
+this stream stood here and there cottages, having little
+gardens in front and rustic bridges across the stream. But
+whether these streams ran or whether they crawled, behind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">{254}</a></span>
+or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or
+burned way: they were laden with fevers and malaria and
+'putrid' sore throat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL" id="QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_267.jpg" width="550" height="416" alt="QUEEN ELIZABETH&#39;S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL" title="" />
+<span class="caption">QUEEN ELIZABETH&#39;S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 433px;"><a name="ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET" id="ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_268.jpg" width="433" height="550" alt="ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 427px;"><a name="THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE" id="THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_269.jpg" width="427" height="550" alt="THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded
+thoroughfare, because it is the main artery of a town containing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">{255}</a></span>
+a population of many hundreds of thousands. In the
+last century it was quite as animated because it was one of
+the main arteries by which London was in communication
+with the country. An immense number of coaches, carts,
+waggons, and 'caravans' passed every day up and down the
+High Street, some stopping or starting in Southwark itself;
+some going over London Bridge to their destination in the
+City. The coach of the first half of the century can be
+restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">{256}</a></span>
+century was in all respects like the revived coaches of the
+present day, adapted for rapid travelling along a smooth
+road. The carts were carriers' carts on two wheels with a
+tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small packages, and
+on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a
+hurry, were also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and
+capacious interior can be restored, as well as the coach, from
+that most trustworthy painter of his own time. As for the
+caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose, however, that a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">{257}</a></span>
+caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was an
+elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects
+were drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered
+cart. Perhaps the passengers slept in the car at night, drawn
+up by the roadside, like the gipsies. But of this theory I
+have no kind of proof.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 435px;"><a name="AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE" id="AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_270.jpg" width="435" height="550" alt="AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE" id="JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_271.jpg" width="550" height="397" alt="JOHN BUNYAN&#39;S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">JOHN BUNYAN&#39;S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles
+which passed through to or from the City, there were sent
+out, every week, one hundred and forty-three stage coaches:
+one hundred and twenty-one waggons: and one hundred and
+ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of course, the same
+number came back every week. There was a continual succession
+of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own
+inn; while they were still far away the people of the inn
+knew when their own coach was coming by the tune played<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">{258}</a></span>
+on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in fact, was like a
+railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving all
+day long.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;"><a name="THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_272.jpg" width="492" height="550" alt="THE OLD TOWN HALL SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Old Town Hall, Southwark</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and
+animation at a London inn when the stages were started and
+when they arrived. With as much method, and as quickly
+as the railway porters clear out the luggage and get rid of
+the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">{259}</a></span>
+shape of anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage
+was laid out: the porters seized it and carried it off to the
+hackney coach outside: the passengers followed their luggage:
+and the courtyard was ready for the next coach. Outside
+the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole companies
+of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the
+stable boys and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good
+enough to shut their eyes. If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed,
+one of them came bustling in. 'Give us a hand,
+Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had been ordered
+to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there
+was one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to
+sight in a neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded
+about the courtyards: outside were houses filled with disorderly
+folk of all kinds waiting to entrap and to tempt
+and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">{260}</a></span>
+gentleman to welcome the country lad: there was the lady
+of the ready smile: and the taverns with the doors open to
+all. The numbers of coaches and waggons I have given refer
+to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances which belonged
+to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily.
+Now, if we are considering the traffic and animation of the
+roads leading to the City, remember that the High Street,
+Borough, was only one of many main lines of traffic. There
+were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest.
+Day and night the roads all round London were
+thronged with these coaches, carts, caravans, and waggons:
+but these vehicles were for ordinary folk only: for tradesmen,
+attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is, commercial
+travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to
+London, if not in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of
+which there were thousands on the road. Add to these the
+horsemen, of whom there were an immense number riding
+from place to place: add, further, the long droves of cattle,
+sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by
+the roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can
+still be seen on the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians
+there were also by thousands: soldiers: sailors: gipsies:
+strolling actors: tinkers and tramps&mdash;the land was full of
+tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded and
+animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition
+of the modern road makes it difficult for us to realise the
+crowds and the life of the road in the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;"><a name="Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street" id="Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_273.jpg" width="440" height="379" alt="Old Houses in Ewer Street" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Old Houses in Ewer Street</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of society in the Borough there is little information to be
+procured. The place had, however, its better class. One
+infers so much from the fact that there were Assembly Rooms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">{261}</a></span>
+in the High Street, and that a Borough Assembly was held
+during the winter on stated days, at which the fashion and
+aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It
+is of an accident.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;"><a name="Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn" id="Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_275.jpg" width="429" height="540" alt="COURTYARD OF THE DOG &amp; BEAR INN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Courtyard of the Dog &amp; Bear Inn</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun:
+the orchestra was in full play: the ladies were dressed in
+their finest: hoops were swinging: towering heads were
+nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue satin and
+in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running
+in one after the other. The company parted right and left,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">{262}</a></span>
+falling over benches and each other: the creatures, terrified
+by the light and the shrieks of the ladies, began to point
+threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out till the
+'well-known'&mdash;the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived&mdash;the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a
+brandishing of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!'
+persuaded the animals to leave the place. Then who shall
+tell of the raising of fallen and fainting damsels? Who shall
+speak of the rending of skirts and embroidered petticoats?
+Who can describe the deplorable damage to the heads? And
+who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased
+to record, were quickly administered as a restorative: and
+after certain necessary repairs to the heads and the sewing
+up of torn skirts, the wounded spirits of the company revived,
+and the ball proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact
+that on one occasion&mdash;perhaps on more than one occasion&mdash;when
+the black footmen of London resolved on holding an
+Assembly of their own, it was in the Borough that they held
+it. And a very interesting evening it must have proved, had
+we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"><a name="THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_277.jpg" width="417" height="550" alt="THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage
+coaches, carts and waggons, the High Street was bound to
+contain, as well, many houses of entertainment, if only as
+stables for the horses and accommodation for the drivers and
+grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that
+from the earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the
+place where merchants and those who brought produce of all
+kinds to London out of the south country put up their teams
+of pack-horses and their goods, and found bed and board and
+company for themselves. We have also seen how the inns of
+Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">{263}</a></span>
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury.
+The mediæval inn was not much like that of later times. It contained
+a common hall and a common dormitory, with another
+for women. There was also a covered place for goods, and
+stables for horses. A small specimen of a fifteenth-century
+inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small room, is
+very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The
+quaint old inns, so long the delight of the artist, now nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">{264}</a></span>
+all gone, were not earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth
+century. They consisted of a large open courtyard filled
+with waggons and vehicles of all kinds, surrounded by
+galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor
+were the kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms.
+There was generally a large room for public dinners and
+other occasions. The inns of Southwark formed, so long as
+they stood, the most picturesque part of modern Southwark.
+Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone preserving
+anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader
+who desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to
+Mr. Philip Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents
+in a lasting form the vanished glories of the High Street.</p>
+
+<p>To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical
+catalogue. There are so many of them, and the associations
+connected with them carry one away into so many directions
+and land him into many strange corners of history.</p>
+
+<p>At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side
+of it, stood a tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It
+was built in the year 1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater,
+taverner of London. In Riley's 'Memorials' may be found
+a lease of this house by the proprietor to one James Beauflur.
+The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no rent,
+because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to
+help in the building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of
+a 'tied' house. Thomas Drinkwater will furnish all the wine,
+and will keep an exact account of the same and will have a
+settlement twice a year. Thomas will also complete the furniture
+of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs of
+silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK" id="ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_279.jpg" width="550" height="423" alt="ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay.
+This was the commencement of a long and singularly prosperous
+inn. It became one of the most famous inns of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">{265}</a></span>
+London, and one of the most popular for dinners. Hither
+came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to feast at
+the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the
+papers of St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian
+of Southwark gives one:</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="right">P<sup>d</sup> for</td><td align="left">3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">14</td><td align="right">08</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">3 Tarts</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">12</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">a Giblett pie makyng</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">08</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">Beefe</td><td align="right">01</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">06</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">3 leggs of mutton</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">8</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">wine and dresing the meat and naperie, fire, bread and beere</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">11</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">01</td><td align="right">02</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">03</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" colspan='2'></td><td align="right" class="bb bt">05</td><td align="right" class="bb bt">15</td><td align="right" class="bb bt">00</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">{266}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Among the names of persons connected with the tavern
+must be noticed that of the Duke of Norfolk&mdash;'Jockey of
+Norfolk'&mdash;in 1463. Two hundred years later, one Cornelius
+Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and a commissioner
+for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the
+Bridge Foot. Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the
+tavern. From this house the Duke of Richmond carried off
+Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in 1761, when the end of
+the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the whole long
+list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more
+important. Some of them, it will be seen, had been in more
+ancient times the town houses of great people&mdash;Bishops,
+Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off the highway
+of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became
+mere tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's
+house, and to the house of the Prior of Lewes, and to many
+others. Those standing in the highway, whither came all the
+merchants; whither came all the waggons; became transformed,
+and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 345px;"><a name="A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM" id="A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_281.jpg" width="345" height="550" alt="A SOUTH LONDON SLUM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SOUTH LONDON SLUM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies,
+was the entrance to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was
+anciently the town house of the Cobhams. This family left
+Southwark, and the house, with some alterations, became an
+Inn. When carriers began to ply between London and the
+country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart
+with the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it
+became the Southwark post-office. Another and a much
+more important inn for carriers and waggons was the King's
+Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says that 'carriers come into
+the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of Kent,
+Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">{267}</a></span>
+Tunbridge, Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine
+Wheel, and others from Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">{268}</a></span>
+to the Greyhound: some to the Spurre, the George, the
+King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or Talbot: many,
+far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White Hart.'</p>
+
+<p>The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than
+Chaucer's Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack
+Cade, as has already been related in <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">chapter vi</a>. In front of
+this inn one Hawarden was beheaded: and also in front of
+this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being dragged
+at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to
+strike terror into the minds of the people.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 540px;"><a name="THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_282.jpg" width="540" height="448" alt="THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The
+Tabard Inn, from which the famous Company set out, was
+named after the ornamented coat or jacket worn by Kings at
+Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary persons.
+In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">{269}</a></span>
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed
+the place to be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that
+Chaucer speaks of it as an ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">{270}</a></span>
+Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at the Abbot's Hospitium
+in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd,
+the Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging,
+a dung place leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It
+is explained in Spight's 'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard
+had much decayed, but that it had been repaired 'with the
+Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was finally pulled
+down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room,
+though it may have been rebuilt on the site of the old room.
+For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a destructive fire broke out,
+which raged over a large part of the Borough and destroyed
+the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter,
+the Meat Market, and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital
+was saved by a change of wind, which also seems to
+have saved St. Mary Overies.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;"><a name="ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK" id="ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_283.jpg" width="370" height="550" alt="ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by B. Cole</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting
+the Inns first on the right or the west, and then on the left
+or east.</p>
+
+<p>We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before
+getting to Ford Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market
+place, the Goat: next the Clement. Opposite St. George's
+Church we cross over, and are on the east side, going north
+again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half Moon:
+the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the
+Spur: the Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the
+George: the White Hart: the King's Head: the Black
+Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing atmosphere
+of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns and
+courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of
+coaches and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of
+country squires come up on business, with the hope of combining
+a little pleasure amongst the excitements of the town<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">{271}</a></span>
+with a profitable deal or two. There is the smell of roast
+meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is a
+continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of
+hanaps and a murmur of voices.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>strepitus</i>, however, of the High Street is not like that
+of Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing
+before noon or after noon: no laughing: the country folk do
+not laugh: they do not understand the wit of the poets and
+the players. High Street has nothing to do with Bankside:
+the merchants and the squires know nothing about the Show
+Folk.</p>
+
+<p>There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a
+certain Edward Alleyn, who was a man of business as well
+as a conductor of entertainments. He was on the vestry of
+St. Saviour's: he was also churchwarden, his name appears in
+the parish accounts of the period. He was a popular churchwarden:
+probably he had about him so much of the showman
+that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous&mdash;these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when
+he proposes to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse
+to let him go.</p>
+
+<p>It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to
+reflect that all these inns, most of them so picturesque, were
+standing thirty or forty years ago, and that some of them
+were standing ten years ago. One of them is figured in the
+'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the figures are
+too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect produced
+is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there
+is nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is
+not an Inn. The need of an Inn at Southwark is gone:
+there are no more caravans of produce brought up to the
+Borough: the High Street has become the shop and the provider
+of everything for the populations of the parishes of St.
+Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">{272}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV
+<br />
+<br />
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON</h2>
+
+
+<p>There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place
+of Refuge not invited, and of security against one's will&mdash;The
+Debtors' Prison. In fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons&mdash;the
+King's Bench, the Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter.
+The consideration of these melancholy places&mdash;all the more
+melancholy because they were full of noisy revelry&mdash;fills
+one with amazement to think that a system so ridiculous
+should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with
+so much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy.
+There would be no more credit, no more confidence, if the
+debtor could not be imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed.
+The Debtors' Prison was a part of trade. It is fifty years
+and more since the power of imprisoning a debtor for life
+was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit as
+ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community
+such as ours it seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon
+a merchant by failing to pay his just claims is so great that
+imprisonment ought to be awarded to such an offender. The
+Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full and terrible
+and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you
+shall be locked up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived
+of your means of getting a livelihood: you shall have no
+allowance of food: you shall have no fire: you shall have no
+bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome unwashed
+crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">{273}</a></span>
+a year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_287.jpg" width="500" height="293" alt="REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT
+<br />
+(<i>From &#39;The Gentleman&#39;s Magazine,&#39; September 1803</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the
+debtor was deprived of the means of making money to pay
+his debts, withal, were exposed over and over again: prisoners
+wrote accounts of their prisons: commissions held inquiry
+into the management of the prisons: regulations were laid
+down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was
+tolerated: but the real evil remained untouched so long as a
+creditor had the power of imprisoning a debtor. The power
+was abused in the most monstrous manner: a man owed a
+few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into prison: the
+next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10<i>l.</i>, the bill
+against him for his arrest amounted to 11<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> of what we
+should now call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were
+20,000 prisoners for debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think
+what that means: all those were in enforced idleness. Why,
+their work at 2<i>s.</i> a day means 600,000<i>l.</i> a year: all that wealth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">{274}</a></span>
+lost to the State: nay more, because they were mostly married
+men with families: their families had to be maintained, so
+that not only did the country lose 600,000<i>l.</i> a year by the
+idleness of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the
+maintenance of their families. Put it in another way. A
+poor man knowing one trade which one cannot practise in a
+prison owed, say, 15<i>s.</i> He was arrested and put into prison.
+He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles and the
+proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the
+box; the community; for his maintenance in the prison, and
+for thirty years of it, the sum total of 400<i>l.</i> This is rather
+an expensive tax on the State: but the tradesman to whom
+he owed the money considered no more than his own 15<i>s.</i> In
+addition there were his wife and children to keep until the
+latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400<i>l.</i> But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If
+they were all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their
+behalf in the sum of sixteen millions spread over thirty
+years, or half a million a year, because these luckless creatures
+could not pay an insignificant debt of a few shillings or a few
+pounds.</p>
+
+<p>The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors'
+Prisons. It formerly stood on the east side of the High
+Street, on the site of what is now the second street north of
+St. George's Church. This prison was taken down in 1758,
+and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much more
+commodious place on the other side of the street south of
+Lant Street&mdash;the site is now marked by a number of new
+and very ugly houses and mean streets. When it was built
+it looked out at the back of St. George's Fields and across
+Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by this time
+drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">{275}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area
+covered was extensive, and the buildings were more commodious
+than had ever before been attempted in a prison.
+But they were not large enough. In the year 1776 the
+prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who
+could pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on
+the floor of the chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition
+to the prisoners many of them had wives and children
+with them. There were 279 wives and 725 children: a total
+of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was a
+good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident
+surgeon, and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399
+persons, and no bath and no infirmary!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="KING39S_BENCH_PRISON" id="KING39S_BENCH_PRISON"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_289.jpg" width="500" height="330" alt="KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a
+certain Colonel Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind
+him for the edification of posterity. According to him, the
+prison 'rivalled the purlieus of Wapping, St. Giles, and St.
+James's in vice, debauchery, and drunkenness.' The general
+immorality was so great that it was only possible, he says,
+to escape contagion by living separate or by consorting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">{276}</a></span>
+only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be
+found there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation:
+he will lose every sense of honour and dignity:
+every moral principle and virtuous disposition.' Among
+the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom fifty
+who had any regular means of sustenance. They were
+always underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to
+find sixpence a day for the prisoner's support. But in 1798
+a pound of bread cost 4½<i>d.</i>, a pint of porter 2<i>d.</i>: therefore a
+man who had to live on 6<i>d.</i> a day could not get more than a
+pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And then the 6<i>d.</i>
+a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or another,
+and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their
+name stank in the prison: more than half of the prisoners,
+Hanger avers, were kept there solely because they could
+not pay the attorneys' costs.</p>
+
+<p>Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be
+carried on in the King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler,
+the tailor, the barber, the fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment
+and were able to maintain themselves: some of
+them kept shops, and the principal building in the place,
+about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon
+an open court, occupied by shops where everything could
+be bought except spirits, which were forbidden. They were
+brought in, however, secretly by the visitors. The open court
+was the common Recreation Ground: there was the Parade, a
+Walk along the front of the building: three pumps where were
+benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play
+called 'bumble puppy.' And in fine weather there were
+tables set out here and there, with chairs and benches, where
+the collegians drank beer and smoked tobacco.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_King39s_Bench_Prison" id="The_King39s_Bench_Prison"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_291.jpg" width="550" height="540" alt="THE KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The King&#39;s Bench Prison</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to
+look round: every day the place was thronged with visitors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">{277}</a></span>
+chiefly to see the new comers: the time came when the newcomer
+was an old resident, who had worn out the kindness of
+his friends or had outlived them, and now lingered on, poor
+and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the children
+played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things
+that they ought not to have seen: they heard things which
+they ought not to have heard: they learned habits which
+they ought not to have learned. Can one conceive a worse
+school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison? Look at the
+Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison
+nobody ever walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">{278}</a></span>
+unkindness, they slouch. The men wear coats which are
+mostly in holes at the elbows, with other garments that
+equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers because it
+is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel&mdash;never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby
+or not: it is better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the
+men are ragged the women are slatternly: they have lost
+even the feminine desire to please: they please nobody,
+and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there
+is this face and that face, but there is not a single happy face
+among them all. The average face is resentful, painted with
+strong drink, stamped with the seal of vice and self-indulgence.
+A vile place, which has imprinted its own vileness
+on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.</p>
+
+<p>A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched
+little Prison called the Borough Compter. It was used both
+for debtors and for criminals. Now you shall hear what
+marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be brought about
+when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.</p>
+
+<p>The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a
+felons' ward, and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen
+feet square: this was the only exercising ground for all the
+prisoners. When Buxton visited the place in the year 1817,
+there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty women, and twenty
+children&mdash;all had to exercise themselves in this little yard:
+he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet
+long and about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished
+with eight straw beds, sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for
+a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept side by side on these beds!
+That gives a breadth of twelve inches for each. No one
+therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">{279}</a></span>
+door was opened all rushed together, undressed as they were,
+into the yard for fresh air. Now and then a man would be
+brought in with an infectious disease or covered with vermin:
+they had to endure his company as best they could. There
+was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those
+who might have carried on their trade could not for want of
+space. As for the women's ward, I forbear to speak. Think,
+however, of the noisome, horrible, stinking place, narrow and
+confined, with its felons' ward of innocent and guilty, tried
+and untried: the past masters in villainy with the innocent
+country boy: the honest working man with his wife and
+children slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law
+which permitted a creditor to send him there for life for a paltry
+debt of a few shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl
+thrust into the women's ward, where wickedness was authorised,
+where nothing was disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the
+year 1998 the historian of manners will call attention to the
+lamentable brutality of this the end of the nineteenth century.
+There are some points as to which I am doubtful. But I cannot
+believe that there will be anything alleged against us
+compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the
+Debtors' Prisons.</p>
+
+<p>I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of
+the Marshalsea Prison was changed from its first site south of
+King Street in the year 1810, when it was removed to the
+site which it occupied down to the end, overlooking St.
+George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea
+brought there? Because there had been a prison on the
+spot before. From time immemorial the Surrey Prison had
+stood there. They called the place the White Lyon. It still
+stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was still
+standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">{280}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I
+walked over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down.
+I found a long narrow terrace of mean houses&mdash;they are still
+standing: there was a narrow courtyard in front for exercise
+and air: a high wall separated the prison from the Churchyard:
+the rooms in the terrace were filled with deep cupboards on
+either side of the fireplace: these cupboards contained the
+coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes of the
+occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the
+demolition of another part of the Prison, pointed to certain
+marks on the floor as, he said, the place where they fastened
+the staples when they tied down the poor prisoners. Such
+was his historic information: he also pointed out Mr. Dorrit's
+room&mdash;so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to
+have been the tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we
+came to the White Lyon, which at the time I did not know to
+have been the White Lyon. It was a very ancient building.
+It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the staircase
+and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square
+nails were driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors.
+The lower room had evidently been kitchen, day room,
+sleeping room and all. Outside was a tiny yard for exercise:
+this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen another
+prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play
+tricks, it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This
+was a Clink, and on this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons
+were constructed. Beyond the Clink was the chapel, a
+modern structure. So far as I know, Mr. Dickens <i>père</i>, and
+Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence confined in
+this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner,
+who died there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at
+midnight for fear of the people, who would have rent his dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">{281}</a></span>
+body in pieces if they could. Perhaps. But it was not at any
+time usual for a mob of Englishmen to pull a dead body, even
+of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces. Later on, in
+the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The darkness,
+the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been
+buried at night in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere
+in St. George's Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden,
+whose benches in fine weather are filled with people resting and
+sunning themselves: in spring the garden is full of pleasant
+greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones have been
+consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones
+which line the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may
+now be quartered, they would care to revisit this place. The
+owners of the headstones were in their day accounted as the
+more fortunate sons of men: they were vestrymen and guardians
+and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept the inns and
+ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans: their
+tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and
+smiling: their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace:
+they exchanged the most beautiful sentiments:
+and they crammed their debtors into these prisons.</p>
+
+<p>There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged
+to the great army&mdash;how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!&mdash;of
+the 'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought
+here from the King's Bench and the Marshalsea: they came
+from the Master's side and from the Common side. They
+came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and
+the grooms and the 'service' generally. This churchyard
+represents all that can be imagined of human patience, human
+work, human suffering, human degradation. Everything is here
+beneath our feet, and we sit among these memories unmoved
+and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the past.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">{282}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI
+<br />
+<br />
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have
+appeared almost at the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of
+London&mdash;that of Messrs. Warwick and Edgar Wroth, and that
+of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who desires exact
+and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of
+these gardens, and shall confine myself to certain sources of
+information neither so exact nor so detailed as those from
+which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have drawn the material
+for their excellent work.</p>
+
+<p>The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting
+Gardens. The London citizen loved sport first and above all
+things: next, he loved the country: to sit under the shade of
+trees in the summer: to walk upon the soft sward; to smell the
+flowers: to rest his eyes upon country scenes. He has always
+yearned for the country while he remained in town. With
+these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly
+but loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform
+or floor for dancing. All these things he could get in
+Paris Gardens so long as that place existed, together with its
+bears and dogs. When the bears disappeared, what followed?
+The Gardens continued without the bears. There were also
+the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House, and
+the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July
+1661 Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">{284}</a></span>
+Vauxhall, and in June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys
+spent the evening at the same place, for the first time, and
+with great delight.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="VAUXHALL_GARDENS" id="VAUXHALL_GARDENS"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus_297.jpg" width="600" height="362" alt="VAUXHALL GARDENS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VAUXHALL GARDENS
+<br />
+(<i>From the Engraving by J. S. Müller</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and
+Bull Baiting was then beginning. Before long it became a
+necessity of life&mdash;at least, of the gregarious and social life
+of which the eighteenth century was so fond. Many things
+are said about that century, now so nearly removed from us
+by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it
+was not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its
+coffee houses: its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies:
+it loved the theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the
+masquerade: the Assembly: the card-room: but most of all
+the eighteenth century loved its Pleasure Gardens. It took
+every opportunity of getting away from the quiet house to
+crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;"><a name="VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET" id="VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_299.jpg" width="426" height="550" alt="VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden.
+There must be, first, abundance of trees&mdash;at first cherry trees,
+but these afterwards disappeared: if possible, there should be
+avenues of trees: aisles and dark walks of trees. There must
+be, next, an ornamental water with a fountain and a bridge:
+there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats in which tea
+and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms:
+there must be a long room for dancing and for promenading,
+with a gallery for the orchestra and the singers. Add to these
+things a crowd every night including all classes and conditions
+of men and women. The eighteenth century was by no
+means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met together
+without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party
+kept to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not
+pretend to be on a level with the people around him: they
+liked him to keep up the dignity of aristocratic separation: he
+brought Ladies to the Gardens, sometimes in domino, sometimes
+not. They were not expected to speak to the ladies outside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">{285}</a></span>
+their set: they danced together in the minuets: after the
+minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company
+of the Gardens was that each party was separate and kept
+separate. In the Park, either in the morning or the afternoon,
+it was not difficult to make acquaintances. The reason was
+that in the Park were only to be found in the morning or the
+afternoon those people who were not engaged in earning their
+livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men&mdash;lawyers, physicians,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">{286}</a></span>
+attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the
+smallest shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere.
+Therefore, the servants and footmen not being
+allowed in the Park, but compelled to wait outside, the people
+of position had the place to themselves, and access was easy.
+In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who paid the
+shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen
+in the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the
+young fellows about town, a noisy disreputable band with
+noisy and disreputable companions: the plain citizen with his
+wife and daughter, the young fellow who was courting her:
+the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the highwayman:
+the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the
+customary courtesan. All were here enjoying together&mdash;but
+separated into tiny groups of two or three&mdash;the strings of
+coloured lamps, the blare of the orchestra, the songs, the
+dances, and the supper. As for the last, it seems to have
+been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of chicken
+and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour;
+everybody behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was
+not <i>gêné</i> by the presence of the great lady: he prattled his
+vulgar commonplaces without being abashed: nor did the
+great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her own company
+with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence of
+the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the
+recognition of rank made them all behave more naturally.
+After all, the mercer had his own rank. He could look
+forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and Lord Mayor: he
+understood very well that he was already a good way up the
+ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession
+of money and the employment of many servants had already
+placed him in front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly
+satisfied with his own position, although he could certainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">{287}</a></span>
+never become a noble earl or wear a star upon his
+breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the jewelled
+lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed
+so loud and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions,
+one of whom was blind drunk and the other was a
+little mincing beau who walked on his toes with bent knees and
+carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under his breath as
+if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the honest
+mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over
+his wig to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side
+of the citizen from Ludgate Hill was a party also taking
+supper and punch, with plenty of the latter. They were
+under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his white
+coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the
+same way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were
+of white lace&mdash;lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him
+were dressed with a corresponding splendour. Everybody
+knew that the gentleman was a highwayman: his face was
+perfectly well known: he had been going on so long that his
+time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet
+the end common to his kind. A good many people in the
+Gardens knew, besides, that the ladies with him&mdash;ladies of St.
+Giles in the Fields&mdash;were dressed from the stores of a receiving
+house for stolen goods. Perhaps the consciousness of this cheap
+and easy way of getting one's clothes made the ladies so
+buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their sprightly
+sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.</p>
+
+<p>The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory
+to us. For in all public assemblies there are things which
+must be tolerated. Less wise, we shut up the Assembly.
+We cannot keep out the Lady of the Camellias from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">{288}</a></span>
+Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In the
+eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must
+behave with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved
+upon that manner: we cut off our nose to spite our face: we
+shut up the lovely Garden because we cannot keep her out.</p>
+
+<p>For the same reason we have practically forbidden the
+youth of the lower middle class to practise the laudable,
+innocent, and delightful diversion of dancing. Not a single
+place, except certain so-called clubs, where the young people
+can now go to dance. Why? Because the magistrates in
+their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and
+restrained by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled
+to hide itself under the semblance of virtue. The
+Pleasure Gardens were shut up one after the other for that
+reason. When will they return? And in what form?</p>
+
+<p>The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as
+those of the North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone,
+Bagnigge Wells, the White Conduit House&mdash;the South can
+only point to Vauxhall as a national institution. They were,
+however, of considerable note in their time, and were greatly
+frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a chain,
+all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells,
+the Marble Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall,
+besides Vauxhall itself; the Black Prince, Newington Butts;
+the Temple of Flora, the Temple of Apollo, the Flora Tea
+Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog and Duck,
+the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto,
+the Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe.
+No doubt there were others, but these were the principal
+Gardens.</p>
+
+<p>Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House.
+When Waterloo Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were
+constructed the latter passed right through the former site of
+the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the southern limit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">{289}</a></span>
+the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by one
+Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of
+the statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and
+decorated the new gardens with them. Aubrey mentions
+them as belonging to Jesus College, Oxford; he calls them
+Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and walks of the
+place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by
+the riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens
+continued until 1753, when they were suppressed as a
+nuisance. Cunningham quotes the prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's
+'Busy Body.'</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM" id="THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_303.jpg" width="400" height="330" alt="THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is
+one of the last places visited in the course of that very
+remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began at four o'clock in the
+morning and ended at one o'clock next morning, such was
+the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">{290}</a></span>
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital.
+It was first built for the accommodation of those who
+came to this spot in order to drink the waters of a spring
+supposed to possess wonderful properties, especially in the
+case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring, like
+so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth
+Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the spring in St. George's
+Wells had no small reputation. It was especially in vogue
+between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to
+try it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for
+other attractions; it found them by day in certain ponds on
+the Fields close to the tavern: these ponds especially on Sunday
+were used for the magnificent sport of hunting the duck
+by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used
+for this sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over,
+naturally felt thirsty: they were easily persuaded to stay for
+the evening when on week days there was music, with
+dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on Sundays
+the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.</p>
+
+<p>Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the
+Pleasure Gardens, the Dog and Duck was a favourite place
+for breakfasts. The fashion of the public breakfast, now so
+completely forgotten, was brought to London from Bath,
+Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served
+at breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the
+gardens, very often all day and half the night at the Dog and
+Duck. There was a bowling green for fine weather, there
+was also a swimming bath&mdash;I believe, the only one south of
+the Thames. About three or four in the afternoon there was
+dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine. One of the
+ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">{291}</a></span>
+bowers round it; a band played at intervals during the day.
+In the long room there was an organ, with an excellent
+organist. In the evening, there was generally a concert; the
+Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in
+truth the place was acquiring a most evil reputation. In
+1787 it was closed on Sunday, and in 1799 it was suppressed.
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is open,
+but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening.
+But there is not the least trace of any respect for the day,
+and the place&mdash;to speak the truth&mdash;is full of the vilest
+company in the world, whose histories are described in the
+greedy fulness and with the hypocritical indignation against
+the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would
+not venture to set down what they did, but for the pretence
+of indignation. Thus, there is a certain City merchant, once
+a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but now rich and
+flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl,
+his mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing
+some City scandal of the day, and that his readers know
+perfectly well who was meant. There is a certain Nan
+Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some conversational
+powers with a considerable fund of information about
+the shady side of town life. There is also present a young
+lady described as the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D&mdash;&mdash;s, of St.
+G.' Here, no doubt, we have a piece of contemporary humour
+which enables us to have a slap at the Church. There is
+other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen.
+At the Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had
+been withdrawn. The manager, however, met the difficulty
+by engaging a free vintner, <i>i.e.</i> a member of the Vintners'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">{292}</a></span>
+Company, for whom no license was required. He therefore
+came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious illustration
+of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the
+Ramblers visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over
+the Apollo Gardens, deserted and falling into ruins, and
+visited the Flora Tea Garden. The company here was more
+respectable, in consequence of some separation among the
+ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political argument
+ran high.</p>
+
+<p>From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa
+Gardens. Let me extract this account of this place, which
+was once so popular:</p>
+
+<p>'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees,
+hung with lamps, blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk
+in which they are hung inferior (length excepted) to the grand
+walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly at the upper end of the
+walk is a large room, hung round with paintings, many of
+them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so
+finely executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place
+would cheapen a fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder
+of mutton or a leg of pork, without hesitation, if there were
+not other pictures in the room to take off his attention. But
+these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very
+good, and the charges reasonable, and the captain, who is
+very intimate with Mr. Keyse, declares that there is no place
+in the vicinity of London can afford a more agreeable evening's
+entertainment.</p>
+
+<p>'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the
+lower road, between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford.
+The proprietor calls it <i>one</i>, but it is nearer two miles from
+London Bridge, and the same distance from that of Black-Friars.
+The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse, who has been
+at great expense, and exerted himself in a very extraordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">{293}</a></span>
+manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his labours
+have been amply repaid.</p>
+
+<p>'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in
+a spot where elegance, among people who talk of <i>taste</i>, would
+be little expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected
+easiness of behaviour, and his <i>genuine</i> taste for the
+polite arts, have secured him universal approbation.</p>
+
+<p>'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less
+than four acres.</p>
+
+<p>'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn,
+consisting of about three acres, and in a field, parted from
+this lawn by a sunk fence, is a building with turrets, resembling
+a fortress, or castle. The turrets are in the ancient style
+of building. At each side of this fortress, at unequal distances,
+are two buildings, from which, on public nights, bomb shells,
+&amp;c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is returned, and the
+whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a horrid,
+prospect of a siege.</p>
+
+<p>'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired
+into the parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained
+by the proprietor, who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us
+with a sight of his curious museum, for, it being Sunday, he
+never shows to any one these articles; but, the captain never
+having seen them, I wished him to be gratified with such an
+agreeable sight.</p>
+
+<p>'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written
+by the late celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive
+of his situation, which a few years ago was but a
+waste piece of ground. "Here is now," said he, "an agreeable
+place, where before was but a mere wilderness piece of ground,
+and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out in this
+manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place
+of public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat
+a comfortable piece of livelihood."</p>
+
+<p>'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">{294}</a></span>
+and, after paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not
+before we had tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for
+which Mr. Keyse is remarkable for preparing.'</p>
+
+<p>I am not here writing a history of South London. Were
+this a history, Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place,
+and a very large place. A garden which continued to be a
+favourite resort from the year 1660 or thereabouts until the
+year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which occupies so
+large a part in the literature of that long period, must have
+its history told in length when a history is written of the
+place where it stood. In this place I desire to do no
+more than to take off my hat to this Queen of Gardens, and
+to recognise her importance. The history of Vauxhall is an
+old story; it has been told at greater or less length, over and
+over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which have
+been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature
+and all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed,
+very poor stuff. The best are the lines of Canning:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There oft returning from the green retreats<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with
+Evelyn, who treats the place with his accustomed brevity and
+coldness; we go on to Pepys, who records how the visitors
+picked cherries, and how the nightingales sang, and lets us
+understand how much he enjoyed his visits there, and how
+delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison,
+to Fielding, to Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark
+Walk, and how the ladies were taken there, not unwillingly,
+to be frightened: we know the stage where they danced: we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">{295}</a></span>
+know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the
+Prince of Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the
+middle, and the Duchess of Devonshire and her friends
+apparently making fun of him; and in the side box, having
+supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about
+the forty thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.</p>
+
+<p>London was not London, life was not worth having,
+without Vauxhall. Like Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and
+assemblies, Vauxhall was the great leveller of the eighteenth
+century. A man might be an earl or a prince: he would get
+no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who
+had a little money to spare. And the milliner going to
+Vauxhall with that 'prentice was quite as happy as any lady
+in the land could be.</p>
+
+<p>When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is
+carried away by admiration. To the City Miss who might
+belong to the City Assembly, but most likely did not, there
+was no such spectacle in the world as those avenues of trees
+with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was nothing
+that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the
+dancing in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the
+high stand; there was nothing so delightful as to sit in an
+arbour dimly lighted, and to make a supper off cold chicken
+with a glass of punch afterwards&mdash;girls drank punch then&mdash;to
+look out upon the company, resplendent, men and women
+alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the
+angel with him was a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that
+other gentleman behind them was the Rev. Dr. Scattertext
+of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young fellow in peach-coloured
+velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack the
+highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was
+nothing less than a national institution. All classes who could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">{296}</a></span>
+command a decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of
+Wales went there&mdash;once or twice he was recognised and
+mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all the lesser ladies;
+all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens, from the
+Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the
+gallant highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about
+the visitors to Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed
+by the presence of the highwaymen, of the adventurers,
+or of the ladies corresponding to those gentlemen&mdash;not
+in the least; they walked together in the lanes and aisles
+of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw
+the young rakes carrying on openly and without the least
+disguise. The sober citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her
+daughter saw it. There were no complaints, save occasionally
+from the Surrey magistrates. The place and the behaviour
+of the people are typical of the eighteenth century, in which
+the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and
+there were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure
+garden, the magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were
+robbed by highwaymen on their way to and from the place,
+guards were appointed by the managers. Vauxhall, however,
+was safer than most places, because most of the people came
+by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to
+have been allowed to stay there nearly all night.</p>
+
+<p>There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,'
+which I should like to transfer with acknowledgments to this
+page. It is from the 'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a
+Vauxhall slice of ham.</p>
+
+<p>'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish
+about three or four times, and surveyed it with a settled
+countenance. Then taking up a slice of the ham on the
+point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro, he asked the
+waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">{297}</a></span>
+think it weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an
+ounce, that is sixteen shillings per pound; a reasonable
+profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose, now, the whole ham
+weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them
+at the best hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't
+stand him in ten shillings a-piece!"'</p>
+
+<p>In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens
+would be closed; they were not closed, however, but were
+reopened and continued open until the year 1859, where they
+were finally closed and the farewell night was celebrated.</p>
+
+<p>The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief
+history of Vauxhall Gardens in one of the morning papers&mdash;I
+do not know which&mdash;I have it as a cutting only. It is as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under
+Gye and Hughes's bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves
+a notice, if only as a memento of the pleasure the
+old and young have experienced in their delightful retreats,
+while their hundredfold associations, such as the journey of Sir
+Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create
+an interest seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their
+name from the manor of Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the
+tradition that the property belonged to Guy Fawkes is
+erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The
+gardens appear to have been originally planted with trees and
+laid out into walks for the pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir
+Samuel Moreland, who displayed in his house and gardens
+many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics. It is said
+these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well
+known in 1667, when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">{298}</a></span>
+added a public room to them, "the inside of which," he says,
+"is all looking-glass and fountains and very pleasant to
+behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The time
+when they were first opened for the entertainment of the
+public is involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is,
+however, established to be upwards of a century and a half
+old. In the reign of Queen Anne they appear to have been
+a place of great public resort, for in the "Spectator," No. 383,
+dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir Roger de
+Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs
+to Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says:
+"We made the best of our way to Foxhall;" and describes
+the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at this time of the
+year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and
+the tribe of people that walked under their shades, I could
+not but look on this place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise."
+Masks were then worn, at least by some visitors, for
+Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the shoulder
+and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A
+glass of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper
+of the party. The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of
+our days till the year 1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a
+lease of the premises, and shortly afterwards opened Vauxhall
+with a <i>Ridotto al Fresco</i>. The novelty of the term attracted
+great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in occasional
+repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every evening
+during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings
+at Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was
+induced to embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he
+was joined by Hayman. The house which he occupied is
+still shown, and a vine pointed out which he planted. Tyers's
+improvements consisted of sweeps of pavilions and saloons,
+in which these paintings were placed. He also erected an
+orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">{299}</a></span>
+Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens.
+Mr. Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which
+was Roubiliac's earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards
+purchased the whole of the estate, which is copyhold of inheritance,
+and held of the Prince of Wales, as lord of Kennington
+manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall. The
+gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and
+till the year 1792 the admission was 1<i>s.</i>; it was then raised
+to 2<i>s.</i>; including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements
+were made, lamps added, &amp;c., the price was raised to
+3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, and the gardens were only opened three nights in the
+week; in 1821 the price was again raised to 4<i>s.</i> Upon the
+death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the property
+of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter
+of the original proprietor. They next descended to Mr.
+Barrett's sons, and from them by right of purchase to the late
+proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a son of the famous Jonathan
+Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches of Johnson,"
+and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation
+of the <i>Ridotto al Fresco</i> is thus described by one of
+the newspapers of June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the
+<i>Ridotto al Fresco</i> at Vauxhall, there was not one half of the
+company as was expected, being no more than 203 persons,
+amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but more
+ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with
+great order and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot
+Guards being posted round the gardens. A waiter belonging
+to the house having got drunk put on a dress and went to
+<i>fresco</i> with the rest of the company, but being discovered he
+was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver
+tickets. The proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets
+would only be delivered at 25<i>s.</i> each, the silver of every
+ticket to be worth 3<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, and to admit two persons every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">{300}</a></span>
+evening (Sunday excepted) during the season." It appears
+that these silver tickets were struck after designs by Hogarth,
+and a plate of some of them shows the following:&mdash;Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope.
+Mr. Wood, 63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing
+with a lyre, and the motto "<i>Jocosæ conveniunt Lyræ.</i>" Mr.
+R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse side figure of Euterpe.
+Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the figure of
+Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of Thalia.
+This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his
+advice and assistance in decorating the gardens. After his
+decease it remained in the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow,
+who bequeathed it to her relation, Mrs. Mary Lewis, who
+subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his will, in 1823,
+bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to say
+that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which
+is "<i>In perpetuam beneficii memoriam.</i>" On the reverse there
+are two figures, surrounded with the motto, "<i>Virtus voluptas
+felices una.</i>" It also appears that Roubiliac furnished a
+statue of Milton for the gardens. Among the singers
+Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came Dignum,
+Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon,
+Mrs. Bland, &amp;c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel,
+Melville, and Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega,
+and Madame Vestris; Mr. Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson,
+and Signor de Begnis, &amp;c., with Signor Spagnoletti as
+leader.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">{301}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII
+<br />
+<br />
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY</h2>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 265px;"><a name="A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY" id="A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_315.jpg" width="265" height="550" alt="A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The expansion of London
+during the Nineteenth
+Century is in
+itself a fact unparalleled
+in the history of cities.
+Those who call attention
+to this miracle always
+point to the filling up
+of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead
+and Clerkenwell
+in the North, or the
+extension of the town
+to Hammersmith on
+the West. Perhaps a
+little consideration of
+the South may show
+a still more remarkable
+growth. I have
+before me a map of the
+year 1834, only sixty-four
+years ago, showing
+South London as it was.
+I see a small town
+or collection of small
+towns, occupying the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">{302}</a></span>
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington,
+Walworth, and Bermondsey. In some parts this area is
+densely populated, filled with narrow courts and lanes; in other
+parts there are broad fields, open spaces, unoccupied pieces
+of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens, for instance
+there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain place,
+then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of
+them gardens, or recreation grounds, without any buildings.
+Battersea is a mere stretch of open country. I myself remember<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">{303}</a></span>
+the old Battersea Fields perfectly well; one shivers
+at the recollection; they were low, flat, damp, and, I believe,
+treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh, by paths
+raised above the level; at no time of year could the
+Battersea Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they
+were inexpressibly
+dismal. As
+a boy I have
+walked across
+the fields in
+order to get
+to the embankment
+or river
+wall from which one
+commanded a view of
+the Thames with its
+barges and lighters going up and down&mdash;pleasant when the
+sun shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient
+glory when the pleasure barges and the State barges swept
+majestically up the river with the hautboys and the trumpets
+in the bows; when the swans by thousands sailed upon the
+broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle of the river<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">{304}</a></span>
+the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen hundred
+years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the
+fields on one side were lower than the waters on the other.
+Beyond the river were the trees of Chelsea Hospital. Close
+to the river bank was an enclosure which was called the Subscription
+Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot pigeons&mdash;noble
+sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low
+condition who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside
+to shoot down those birds which escaped from the murderers
+within. Close by the Subscription Ground was a certain famous
+tavern called the Red House. I do not know why it was
+famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing
+sportsmen close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not,
+proved excellent customers for the drinks of the Red House.
+At that time there were 'famous' taverns all up and down
+the river on either bank. There are still Riverside taverns,
+but the invasion of the new streets and houses has driven
+them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they
+probably remain still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea
+Fields, and there were certain historical associations in connection
+with these dreary flats. Here, for instance, the Duke
+of Wellington fought his duel with Lord Winchilsea. Other
+important people were also connected either with the Fields
+or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone
+absolutely: no trace of it remains, except the Church. The
+Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over the site of the famous
+Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks covers the
+Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the
+flat and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with
+streets mean and monotonous, stand where formerly the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">{305}</a></span>
+pigeons flew wildly, hoping to escape those who waited
+outside the grounds as they had escaped those who potted at
+them from within.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 459px;"><a name="IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY" id="IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_316.jpg" width="459" height="550" alt="IN SNOW&#39;S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IN SNOW&#39;S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank" id="The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_317.jpg" width="550" height="534" alt="The Temple from the Surrey Bank" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Temple from the Surrey Bank</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 451px;"><a name="HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE" id="HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_319.jpg" width="451" height="550" alt="HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into
+Rotherhithe. It is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe,
+the Place of Cattle; and at the other Lambeth or
+Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not the 'Place
+of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there,
+but without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of
+the preceding century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A
+single street runs along the Embankment, which it hides and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">{306}</a></span>
+covers: at the back of this street there is a succession of
+small lanes and courts running back with tiny houses&mdash;two
+or four rooms to each&mdash;on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery&mdash;leaves and palings. You may still
+see, in 1898, if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship
+in one of the old docks, sticking across the street, causing a
+momentary confusion in the mind between land and water;
+there are riverside taverns which look as if at a touch they
+would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834 this
+street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland&mdash;or in-marsh&mdash;ponds and ditches and creeping streams
+lay about; one of the ponds survives to this day; you will
+find it in the middle of the pretty garden they call Southwark
+Park, of which it forms the ornamental water. And the rest
+of Rotherhithe, between the Park and Bermondsey, is one
+unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no open
+space. All is filled up and built upon.</p>
+
+<p>A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map
+of 1834 I see a little town, lying partly on the bank of the
+Thames, partly on the bank of the Ravensbourne, which here
+widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The greater part of
+the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not yet
+closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000
+people, about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its
+people; it boasted of two churches and two almshouses.
+One of these Havens of Rest was so picturesque and so
+beautiful that it could not be suffered to remain. Almshouses
+which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable.
+Their time expired, they are then carried off
+Heavenward.</p>
+
+<p>Or turn your eyes further south. London in this
+direction now covers&mdash;for the most part completely, in some
+parts leaving spaces and fields here and there&mdash;Greenwich,
+Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest Hill, Dulwich,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">{307}</a></span>
+Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham, Wandsworth,
+Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD" id="CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_321.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="CZAR PETER&#39;S HOUSE, DEPTFORD." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CZAR PETER&#39;S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is difficult, now that the whole country south of
+London has been covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops,
+to understand how wonderful for loveliness it was until the
+builder seized upon it. When the ground rose out of the
+great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh&mdash;the cliff or incline
+is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham
+Rise, and Brixton Rise&mdash;it opened out into one wild heath
+after another&mdash;Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon,
+Barnes, Tooting, Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so
+south as far as Banstead Downs. The country was not
+flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it rose at
+Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture
+lands; on the hill sides were hanging woods; villages were
+scattered about, each with its venerable church and its
+peaceful churchyard; along the high roads to Dover,
+Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">{308}</a></span>
+and all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the
+wayside inns were crowded with those who halted to drink,
+those who halted to dine, and those who halted to sleep: if
+the village lay off the main road it was as quiet and as secure
+as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we have
+destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty
+than on the north. On the latter side of London there are
+the heights with Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey&mdash;one
+row of villages; but there is little more. The country
+between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is singularly
+dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford or
+Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely
+country. But the loveliness of South London lay almost at
+the very doors of London: one could walk into it; the
+heaths were within an easy walk, and the loveliness of
+Surrey lay upon all.</p>
+
+<p>I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which
+remain at the present moment. It will be a matter of
+surprise to the reader to hear of the many waste and wild
+places which have been appropriated and built over in the last
+two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of
+commons: namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood
+Common (in another part of Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's
+Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common, South
+Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell
+Common. With the exception of the first all these are now
+gone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840" id="ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_323.jpg" width="500" height="442" alt="ALLEYN&#39;S ALMSHOUSES, 1840" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALLEYN&#39;S ALMSHOUSES, 1840</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Look at Dulwich&mdash;the peaceful and picturesque village
+of Dulwich on this map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its
+gardens, and its fields: the venerable college of Alleyn is the
+glory of the village&mdash;nothing more beautiful than this almshouse
+with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet the people
+flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">{309}</a></span>
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern&mdash;the Greyhound&mdash;which
+was beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a
+particular brew of beer, a particular kind of old Jamaica for
+punch, and a particular vintage of port not to be found anywhere
+else, even in a City company's cellars. There was, in fact, no
+more favourite place of resort for the better sort of citizens of
+London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer sort
+it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The
+Dulwich stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too
+long a drive from the city; the young men rode&mdash;in those
+days the young men could all ride&mdash;even John Gilpin thought
+he could ride; they hired a horse as we now get into a cab.
+For those who lived in any suburb on the south, Dulwich
+was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village&mdash;Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834&mdash;were the Dulwich Fields,
+as beautiful and interesting as those of Battersea were the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">{310}</a></span>
+contrary: there were, I think, five of them in succession: the
+little stream called the Effra rose somewhere in the neighbourhood,
+and ran about, winding through the fields in a deep
+channel with rustic bridges across. In older days&mdash;at the
+end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a
+bright and sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what
+is now called the Effra Road, and so along the south side&mdash;or
+was it the north?&mdash;of Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood
+on the other side of the stream, with flowering shrubs&mdash;lilac,
+laburnum, and hawthorn&mdash;on the bank, and beds of the
+simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with
+a single rail painted green. That, however, was before my
+time. In the 'fifties the boys used to play in these fields,
+jumping over the stream: when they left the fields and got
+into the village they looked about for Mr. Pickwick and for
+Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do not
+learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of
+faith by an incarnation.</p>
+
+<p>Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark
+Hill, and Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once
+lived; but in the 'fifties I was not conscious of that fact or of
+his greatness. It must be saddening to a great man to reflect
+that the schoolboys have no respect for him. The road
+up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees:
+the houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives,
+and smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the
+institution of evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood.
+At that time great was the power and the authority of
+seriousness. To be serious was fashionable, if one may say
+so, in City circles. Respectability was nearly always serious:
+it was divided into two classes: that which had morning
+prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well.
+With the young, the latter institution was unpopular&mdash;no one
+of the present younger generation can understand how unpopular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">{311}</a></span>
+it was: a house which had evening prayers made a
+deliberate profession of a seriousness which was something
+out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for
+prayers. This profession of seriousness generally belonged
+to a large house, beautiful gardens, rich conservatories, a large
+income, and a carriage and pair. Denmark Hill used to
+appear to outward view as more especially a suburb belonging
+to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more than
+common earnestness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 540px;"><a name="DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780" id="DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_325.jpg" width="540" height="406" alt="DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses
+only, each with its parklike grounds and gardens and its
+noble trees. Champion Hill I remember as a green and
+grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon it: but there
+was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green&mdash;you may still find this tract of grass, but I
+believe it is now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">{312}</a></span>
+they kept ponies for hire: the boys used to ride them up the
+hill and gallop them down the hill. Beyond this green there
+was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so far as I
+can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not
+a wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place
+covered with fern and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but
+a barren, dreary expanse of uncertain grass. Boys would
+perhaps have played cricket upon it in summer, but there
+were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this country is
+covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.</p>
+
+<p>We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South
+London: we have forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge&mdash;one
+of the many thousands of Penge&mdash;what this suburban
+town was like seventy years ago. Do you think he can tell
+you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any
+Penge Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago&mdash;viz.
+in May 1827&mdash;that Mr. William Hone&mdash;the compiler of
+the 'Every-Day Book,' climbed up outside the Dulwich stage,
+proposing to visit the picture gallery of Dulwich College.
+Hone was one of the first of those curious and inquisitive
+persons who began to employ their summers in exploring the
+unknown villages and strange places round London. The
+picture gallery he could not see because it was closed; he
+therefore walked across the country from Dulwich to a place
+called Penge. At the top of a hill he found a choice of three
+roads. He chose that which led through Penge Common.
+The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a cathedral
+of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse&mdash;other people's verse. Alas! the Common
+had already, even then, been ravished from its owners, the
+people: it was enclosed; it was doomed; it was about to be
+built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself, however, at the
+'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and home-brewed
+ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">{313}</a></span>
+the hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as
+beautiful as the hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the
+Common, they are gone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s" id="From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_327.jpg" width="550" height="396" alt="From the Tower of St. Saviour&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">From the Tower of St. Saviour&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers
+of its ancient glories; whether there were any ancient glories.
+Has he heard of the famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood
+Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why, the Queen of all
+the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign at
+Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this
+resident heard of the views from the top of the hill, four
+hundred feet above the level of the sea, whither the people
+flocked by hundreds to see the view and to wander in the
+woods?</p>
+
+<p>All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was
+inevitable. One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we
+cannot have town and country together. The woods are gone,
+the rural life is gone, encroachments have been made upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">{314}</a></span>
+the commons, the wayside tavern&mdash;the place was full of
+wayside taverns&mdash;is gone. What remains of all this beauty
+is a fragment here and there. Clapham Common, once a
+heath, now a park; Wimbledon Common, Tooting Common;
+these expanses are mercifully left us for breathing-places.
+Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into imitations
+of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have
+lost the wood beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed
+lands, the tinkle of the sheep bell, the song of the skylark.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the
+associations of South London. I confess that, for my own
+part, I am not happy in considering associations connected
+with rows of terraces and villas. Here, you say, was once
+the house, with the park, of such and such a great man.
+Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility.
+If I am taken to a slum&mdash;such a slum as that on the west of
+St. Mary Overies, and am told that in this place was
+Winchester House, I am at once interested. Why should
+the memory of the past appeal to our imagination more in a
+slum than in a brand new, spick and span collection of
+pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all things
+tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay?
+Who, for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of
+Tooting Common into the place which was once Streatham
+Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and Dr. Johnson among these
+roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might remember,
+were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were
+not so much built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about.
+At Putney, but for the villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh!
+there are a thousand people once living, and walking, and
+playing their parts in their villages, whose wraiths and
+spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">{315}</a></span>
+bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads
+and the trams.</p>
+
+<p>We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we
+have also made its historical associations impossible.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RED_CROSS_GARDENS" id="RED_CROSS_GARDENS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_329.jpg" width="550" height="493" alt="RED CROSS GARDENS
+Southwark" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RED CROSS GARDENS,
+Southwark</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from
+its rural folk, came from London about the time when roads
+began to be tolerable; that is to say, late in the seventeenth
+century; they were the great folk, the leisured folk, the
+Quality, who had suburban houses in addition to their town
+houses and their country houses. They sought shelter in the
+quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained,
+as a rule, for a year or two, for a few months, for a season.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">{316}</a></span>
+When the roads became so far improved as to make driving
+easy and pleasant, the city merchants came and built or
+bought big houses, and drove in and out every day in their
+carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a rule:
+they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down
+therein. They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses
+where they grew early strawberries; they had in front a
+broad lawn with a carriage drive; they liked to have on the
+lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the grass.
+They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday.
+In course of time other people came; but the first comers&mdash;these
+merchants&mdash;were the aristocracy, the first families of
+the suburbs. In the newer places there are still to be found
+the first families; in the older suburbs they have all disappeared
+from the place. Thus Clapham, I believe, knows
+no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not
+in other suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights
+attained by these fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but
+there were many which had among them ex-Lord Mayors
+and Aldermen; there were many persons among them of
+dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone:
+there is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a
+pity. There should be in every community some whose
+position entitles them to respect and authority; there should
+be some to take the lead naturally; there should be some
+who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater
+part of the people in a community are engaged in trade.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK" id="ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_331.jpg" width="550" height="520" alt="ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S DOCK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S DOCK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison
+between the population of these villages in 1801 with
+that of these great towns in 1898 is so startling that it must be
+recorded. Battersea has risen from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell
+from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from 27,985 to 295,033;
+Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from 14,283<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">{317}</a></span>
+to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that
+part which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a
+population of very nearly two millions; in other words the
+population, in less than a hundred years, has been multiplied
+by ten. That of London itself, in the same time, the London
+including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel, Bloomsbury, and
+Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South
+London? Well, people must live somewhere; the old limits
+proved insufficient. First, places which had been dotted over
+with fields and gardens and vacant places, such as Southwark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">{318}</a></span>
+on the west side, and Bermondsey, were completely built over
+and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how to stow
+away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London
+stretched itself out farther; it began to include Camberwell,
+Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham, and Wandsworth. These were
+separate suburbs lying each among its own gardens; the inhabitants
+were not clerks, but principals and employers, substantial
+merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks
+lived nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly
+came the railway, when London made another step outward,
+so as to take in the places lying south of Clapham and
+Brixton. Then the builder began; he saw that a new class
+of residents would be attracted by small houses and low rents.
+The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population
+of South London no longer consists of rich merchants, principals,
+and partners. Clerks, assistants, and employés of all
+kinds now crowd the morning and evening trains.</p>
+
+<p>If you want to form some idea of the South London folk,
+go stand inside Cannon Street Station and watch the trains
+come in, each with its freight of those who earn their daily
+bread within the City. See them pass out&mdash;by the hundred&mdash;by
+the thousand&mdash;by the fifty thousand. The brain reels
+at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As
+they hurry past you observe on each the same expression, the
+same set eagerness, with which the day's work is approached.
+Employer or employé, principal or clerk, it matters nothing.
+The clerk, who will get none of the thousands he is helping
+to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means
+battle, daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge,
+earlier knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness,
+while there is as much need, for success, or courage tenacity,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">{319}</a></span>
+and bluff as in any battle between contending armies. The
+many twinkling feet pass out of the station by the hundred
+thousand, every morning, to the field of battle. The English
+are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the City
+is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired,
+in which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and
+for ever.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 534px;"><a name="Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier" id="Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_333.jpg" width="534" height="550" alt="Below Cherry Garden Pier" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Below Cherry Garden Pier</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In South London there are two millions of people. It is
+therefore one of the great cities of the world. It stands upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">{320}</a></span>
+an area about twelve miles long and five or six broad&mdash;but
+its limits cannot be laid down even approximately. It is a
+city without a municipality, without a centre, without a civic
+history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or journals; it has
+no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine; it has
+no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary centre&mdash;unless
+the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm&mdash;one cannot
+imagine a man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres,
+except of a very popular or humble kind; it has no clubs, it
+has no public buildings, it has no West End. It is argued
+that although it has none of these things, yet it has them all
+by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are
+accessible to the South. Far be it from me to deny the
+culture of Sydenham and the artistic elevation of Tooting.
+Yet one feels there must surely be some disadvantage in being
+separated from the literary and artistic circles whose members,
+it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a
+young man who would pursue a career in art not to live
+among people who habitually talk of art and think of art. It
+must surely be some disadvantage to live in a place where
+the people, when they are gathered together, mostly allow
+the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.</p>
+
+<p>How are these two millions distributed?</p>
+
+<p>There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention
+has been made. Their numbers and their proportion to the
+whole I know not. Next, there are the working people, those
+for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of barracks called
+model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand&mdash;by the million: there are more than
+a million working men in South London. For their use are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">{321}</a></span>
+the shops of the Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the
+public houses. The third layer is found on a slip of ground,
+of which Newington and Kennington may be taken as representative:
+it consists principally of lodging-houses for clerks.
+The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High
+Street,' filled with shops, is for the villas.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="The_George_Inn" id="The_George_Inn"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_335.jpg" width="500" height="491" alt="The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit&#39;s Window in the Marshalsea" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The George Inn<br />
+<br />
+Little Dorrit&#39;s Window in the Marshalsea</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon
+the City. The bread-winners go in and out every day; the
+local shops provide for the houses, and are paid out of the
+money made in the City; the local doctor, the local house
+agent, the local schoolmaster, the local clergyman, all receive
+their share of the money made in the City; even if there be,
+here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">{322}</a></span>
+City; the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the
+City, so that the first function of the City is to feed and supply
+all these millions. If at any time the trade of the City were
+to decay, these suburbs would decay as well; if the decay
+were gradual, they would slowly cease to spread, begin to
+show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay were
+to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily
+deserted. Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale
+never before equalled. Tadmor in the Wilderness would be
+a mere little wheelbarrow full of stones compared with
+suburban London given over to decay and wreck.</p>
+
+<p>Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the
+working class! The brain reels at thinking of this teeming
+multitudinous life; these armies of men, women, and children
+living in the slums and in the huge, unlovely barracks. The
+very number makes it impossible to grasp the enormity of the
+mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as if
+individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are
+they among so many? But in another sense, as I will
+presently show, individual effort may produce consequences
+both deep and widespread.</p>
+
+<p>It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of
+humanity&mdash;this compact round ball of men and women, to
+make which two millions have been brought together&mdash;as if
+any one life was nothing, as if the life of any one out of the
+heap&mdash;any girl, any lad&mdash;was wholly unimportant and trivial,
+however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great
+in a densely populated place as in a village. One example
+is precious&mdash;beyond all price&mdash;in a model dwelling-house of
+Bermondsey as in the most retired community of rustics. It
+is very easy to generalise from the mass: the dweller of the
+slums stands before the mind's eye, beery, unwashed, in rags,
+inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which may better<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">{323}</a></span>
+be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is
+because we do not know him. Ask those who go down
+among these people habitually, they will tell you of differences
+and distinctions among them as among ourselves, of memories
+of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and, at the
+very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of
+a clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be
+very careful how we form general conclusions about men and
+women.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;"><a name="Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge" id="Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_337.jpg" width="460" height="550" alt="Alcove from Old London Bridge now at Guy&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But&mdash;two millions of people! And every one of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">{324}</a></span>
+wanting all the time what he thinks will make his life more
+happy. For the riverside folk the wants are few, but they are
+daily wants. With them, literally, it is a question of daily
+bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more numerous
+and their happiness more complex!</p>
+
+<p>Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain
+work of a philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the
+place and of the time. Many and various are the attempts
+and the associations and the machinery for raising some of
+these people and for keeping others from sliding down.
+There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised
+than at any previous time, more active, and more largely
+assisted; they have planted evening schools and clubs, for
+boys and girls. One must put the Church of England first, not
+only because her clergy began the work of rescue, but also
+because hers is still the larger part. There is, next, the indirect
+work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's,
+who go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because
+they come to doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable
+questions about the children's school. There are, next,
+places which aim at civilising by the presentation of things
+civilised. For instance, there is a very pleasing institute in
+Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air band, a lecture
+or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look upon
+are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by
+degrees. There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and,
+lastly, there are the 'Settlements,' college settlements and
+others. Let me briefly describe the work and aims of one of
+these settlements. I have before me the last Report of the
+Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the Browning
+Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;"><a name="The_Entrance_Gates" id="The_Entrance_Gates"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_339.jpg" width="498" height="550" alt="The Entrance Gates to Guy&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Entrance Gates to Guy&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods
+of a 'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They
+are not all the same, but the differences are slight. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">{325}</a></span>
+directors of this settlement, for instance, desire to plant a
+settlement house in every poor street; a house which shall
+be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall serve
+as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a
+large club house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys
+and girls. Once a week there is a concert in the hall. The
+members of the settlement take as large a part as possible in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">{326}</a></span>
+the local government; they have laid out a burial-ground at
+the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor
+men's lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension
+Lectures; they have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday
+afternoons for the men; they have a maternity society;
+they have a clothes store; they have an adult school. Classes
+are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics; there have
+been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade;
+there is musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest
+Festivals; and there are, in addition, works of religion and
+temperance which I have not enumerated above.</p>
+
+<p>The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers,
+personal service; for the people, the influence of example, the
+attraction of things which they understand at once to be a
+great deal more pleasant than the bar and the tap-room; such
+a variety of work and recreation as may drag all into the net
+except the substratum of all, whom nothing can lift out of the
+mire.</p>
+
+<p>One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these
+settlements. First, how large an area in a densely populated
+part can be covered by a single settlement? Next, how many
+young men can be found to carry on the work? For instance,
+if the Browning Settlement can reach&mdash;of course it cannot&mdash;all
+the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine
+other settlements in South London from Battersea to Greenwich,
+both included. If we give 20,000 people for each
+settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty settlements for
+the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the
+officers and managers of departments, from which it would
+seem that about thirty are actively engaged from day to day.
+So that fifteen hundred voluntary workers in all would be required<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">{327}</a></span>
+in order to cover this land of slums with an effective
+string of settlements.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"><a name="A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas" id="A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_341.jpg" width="399" height="550" alt="A Former Entrance to St. Thomas&#39;s Hospital" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Former Entrance to St. Thomas&#39;s Hospital</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There never was a time when more determined efforts
+have been made for the elevation of the submerged, and there
+never was a time when so many young men and young
+women have been found ready to give the whole of their
+time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">{328}</a></span>
+seen; whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now
+passing over the minds of the young will continue and remain
+with us has also to be proved. The directors of the Browning
+Settlement meantime declare&mdash;I have no intention of
+questioning the truth of their assertion&mdash;that they find already
+among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship,
+and more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement,
+we cannot but desire for South London a chain of
+settlements reaching from Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Since this was written several new Theatres have been built in South
+London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on p. <a href="#Page_320">320</a> which states
+that the Theatres are humble. Also I would acknowledge the existence of local
+newspapers, and instead of saying that it has no public buildings I would say
+only one or two old buildings.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">{329}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>
+
+
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Acrensis, Thomas, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
+<li>Actors, Company of, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>-<a
+href="#Page_228">228</a></li>
+<li>Ailwin, Childe, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+<li>Albion Island, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Alfred repairs the Walls, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>Allectus, Emperor, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Alleyn, Edward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li>Arundell, Archbishop, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a
+href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
+<li>Asclepiodotus, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Awdry, Legend of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Bankside, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li>
+<li>Battersea Fields, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a
+href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Battle of Clapham Common, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; on London Bridge, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>-<a
+href="#Page_150">150</a></li>
+<li>Bear Garden Alley, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li>
+<li>'Below Bridge,' <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li>Bermondsey, Religious House, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Spa Gardens, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Hall, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+<li>Bill of a Feast, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li>
+<li>Boadicea, Queen, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Boleyn, Anne, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
+<li>Bombardment of London, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+<li>Borough Compter, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a
+href="#Page_278">278</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Society, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a
+href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li>Bridge across the River, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at the Barefoot Tavern, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Construction of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Destroyed and repaired, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a
+href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+<li>&mdash;, The, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; when built, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Bridges, Roman Method of Building, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>Bull and Bear Baiting, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a
+href="#Page_211">211</a></li>
+<li>Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Cade's Rebellion, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li>
+<li>Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Tales, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>-<a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li>Carausius, History of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>Causeway across Southwark Marsh, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a
+href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; the Lie of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Charles II.'s Restoration, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Charlton Fair, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li>Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>-<a
+href="#Page_174">174</a></li>
+<li>Chelsea&mdash;'Isle of Shingle,' <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Christmas at Kennington Palace, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a
+href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
+<li>Clapham Common Battle, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Rise, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Clink Prison, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+<li>Cnut's Canal, Course of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a
+href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Siege, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Trench, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Commercial Docks, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a
+href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+<li>Copt Hall or Vauxhall, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+<li>Count of the Saxon Shore, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Cranmer, Martyrdom of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
+<li>Cuper's Gardens, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a
+href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Danes defeated, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+<li>Danish Alliance against London, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a
+href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Invasion, Second, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
+<li>Debtors' Prisons, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+<li>Denmark Hill, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>Deptford, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>-<a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a
+href="#Page_306">306</a></li>
+<li>'Dog and Duck,' <a href="#Page_289">289</a>-<a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li>Domesday Book compiled, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
+<li>Dover Road, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+<li>Dry Ground beyond Kennington, <a href="#Page_5">5</a><span class="pagenum"><a
+name="Page_330" id="Page_330">{330}</a></span></li>
+<li>Duels in Battersea Fields, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Dulwich Fields, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Earl Godwine's Invasion, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li>
+<li>Earliest Maps of South London, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+<li>Edmund fights Cnut, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, <a
+href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+<li>Effra River, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li>
+<li>Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a
+href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+<li>Elizabeth Woodville, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+<li>Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a
+href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-<a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li>Eltham Palace, Remains of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;
+  <ul class="IX">
+  <li>a Royal visit, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-<a href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li>Embankment, Early Repairs of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; First, of River, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a
+href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>Extent of South London, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;
+  <ul class="IX">
+  <li>its Islets or Eyots, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>-<a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li>Fairs of London, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li>Falconbridge, Bastard of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+<li>Falcon Stream, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Falstaff, Sir John, History of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a
+href="#Page_152">152</a></li>
+<li>Ferries across Marsh, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Field, Nathan, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+<li>Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+<li>Fleet sent against the Danes, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li>Ford of Thorney, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Freemantle, History by, <a href="#Page_1">1</a> [Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to
+Freeman not Freemantle.]</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Gildable Manor, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>Gokstad's ship, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a
+href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+<li>Goose Green, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>Great South Marsh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Green Dragon Inn, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li>
+<li>Greenwich Fair, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Hospital, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Palace, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>-<a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Hackney Marsh, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Marshes, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
+<li>Harold Harefoot, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li>
+<li>Hengist and Æsc, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
+<li>Henry III. at Eltham, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; VI.'s Coronation, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a
+href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Herne Hill, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>High Street, Borough, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Southwark, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li>Hope Theatre, Southwark, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+<li>Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Horselydown, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Fair, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li>Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Inns of Southwark, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a
+href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li>Insignia of Pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+<li>Islands in the Marsh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Isle of Bramble, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; or Westminster, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li></ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Juxon, Archbishop, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Katharine of Valois, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>-<a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+<li>Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>-<a
+href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Palace, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;</li>
+<li><ul class="IX">
+  <li>owned by Theodric, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</li>
+  <li>Christmas at, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li>Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li>
+<li>King's Bench Prison, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a
+href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>-<a
+href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>Lambeth Palace, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; visited by Royalty, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
+<li>Langton, Stephen, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+<li>Legend of Awdry, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+<li>'Le Loke,' <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>'Liberties' of South London, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>'Liberty' Prisons, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li>London and Southwark, Difference between, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; as a Port, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>-<a
+href="#Page_156">156</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">
+{331}</a></span></li>
+<li>&mdash; Original Site of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Site of, from the Causeway, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Third Siege of, by Danes, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a
+href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+<li>Long Barn, The, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a
+href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+<li>Lord Mayor's Pageants, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Manor of Lambeth, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+<li>Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, <a
+href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li>Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a
+href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
+<li>Marsh, Great South, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Islands in, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Marshalsea, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li>
+<li>Memories of Greenwich, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a
+href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
+<li>Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a
+href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Monastic Houses, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+<li>Montagu Close, Southwark, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
+<li>Monuments in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>-<a
+href="#Page_198">198</a></li>
+<li>Morden College, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>New Mint Sanctuary, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Nonesuch, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+<li>Norfolk College, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; House, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Origin of Settlements in South London, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Owen Tudor, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>-<a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Paris Gardens, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Baiting at, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+<li>Parish Clerks, Company of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
+<li>Parliament at Lambeth Palace, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+<li>Pax Romana, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+<li>Payn, John, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li>
+<li>Peckham Rye, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>Penge Common, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>Philanthropic Work, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrimage a Mockery, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a
+href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Insignia of, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrimages, Choice of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a
+href="#Page_160">160</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrims starting from Southwark, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li>
+<li>Playhouses in Southwark, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li>
+<li>Pleasure Gardens, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>-<a
+href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
+<li>Poets of South London, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a
+href="#Page_225">225</a></li>
+<li>Population, Increase in, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a
+href="#Page_317">317</a></li>
+<li>Priory of St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li>
+<li>Prisons of the Liberties, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li>Processions in Southwark, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+<li>Punishments ordered by the Church, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li>
+<li>Puritan Effect on Theatres, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a
+href="#Page_222">222</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Ravensbourne, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Red Cross Gardens, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; House Tavern, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Remains of Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li>
+<li>Richard II. at Kennington Palace, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a
+href="#Page_82">82</a></li>
+<li>River, First Embankment of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a
+href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Wall removed, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+<li>Roman Connection with Causeway, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Method of Building Bridges, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Remains in South London, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>-<a
+href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; at St. Saviour's Grammar School, <a
+href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Trajectus, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>Rotherhithe, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+<li>Royal Houses, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Manor, Valuation of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a
+href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+<li>Royalty at Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li>
+<li>Rum, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Sanctuaries, Later, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li>Sanctuary at Southwark, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at New Mint, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Savoy Dock, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li>
+<li>Settlements in South London, Origin of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Show Folk of Bankside, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li>
+<li>Site of London from Causeway, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; of Original London, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>Snorro, Thirlesen, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>Society in the Borough, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li>South London, Extent of, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; deserted, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a
+href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; named Southwark by Saxons, <a href="#Page_2">2</a><span
+class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">{332}</a></span></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; in Ruins and deserted, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Earliest Map of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; of To-day, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li>
+<li>Southwark, Conditions of Existence, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a
+href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; and London, Difference between, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Fair or Lady Fair, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>-<a
+href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Famous Inns, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; without a Wall, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Stage Coaches, Start of, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a
+href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
+<li>St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Dock, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Marriages at, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a
+href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; reconstructed, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a
+href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; connected with Marian Persecution, <a
+href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; in Recent Times, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li>
+<li>St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>St. Saviour's Abbey, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>St. Thomas's Hospital, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Foundation of, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Roman Remains in, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a
+href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>'Stonegate,' <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Stubbs, History by, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
+<li>Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-<a
+href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Tabard Inn, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
+<li>Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
+<li>Thames Fishermen, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+<li>Theatre of Southwark Fair, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>Thorney, Trade of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Island, Trade of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Tournament at Eltham, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-<a
+href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+<li>Trade of Thorney, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Route of South London, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Traffic through Southwark, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a
+href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
+<li>Trench of Cnut, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Vauxhall Gardens, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>-<a
+href="#Page_299">299</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Site of, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; or Copt Hall, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Walbrook, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Origin of Name, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Walls repaired by Alfred, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>Walworth, the Name, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>Wandle, River, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>White Lyon Prison, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li>
+<li>William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, <a
+href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; III.'s Entry into London, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a
+href="#Page_132">132</a></li>
+<li>Willoughby, Sir John, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+<li>Wyclyf's trial, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>
+PRINTED BY<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER<br />
+LONDON AND ETON</p>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/illus_005.jpg" width="100" height="62" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<p class="smcap center" style="font-size: x-large;">NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT &amp; JAMES RICE.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2<i>s.</i> each;
+cloth limp, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+
+<ul><li>READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.</li>
+<li>WITH HARP AND CROWN.</li>
+<li>THIS SON OF VULCAN.</li>
+<li>MY LITTLE GIRL.</li>
+<li>THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT.</li>
+<li>THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.</li>
+<li>BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.</li>
+<li>THE MONKS OF THELEMA.</li>
+<li>'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.</li>
+<li>THE SEAMY SIDE.</li>
+<li>THE TEN YEARS' TENANT.</li>
+<li>THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.</li></ul>
+
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+
+<p class="smcap center" style="font-size: x-large;">NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2<i>s.</i> each;
+cloth limp, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>THE CAPTAINS' ROOM, &amp;c. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">E. J. Wheeler</span>.</li>
+<li>CHILDREN OF GIBEON.</li>
+<li>ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Harry Furniss</span>.</li>
+<li>DOROTHY FORSTER. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">Charles Green</span>.</li>
+<li>UNCLE JACK, and other Stories.</li>
+<li>THE WORLD WENT VERY WELL THEN. With Illustrations by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.</li>
+<li>FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>TO CALL HER MINE, &amp;c. With 9 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>THE BELL OF ST. PAUL'S.</li>
+<li>THE IVORY GATE.</li>
+<li>THE HOLY ROSE, &amp;c. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>ARMOREL OF LYONESSE. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Charles Green</span>.</li>
+<li>VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">Gordon Browne</span>.</li>
+<li>THE REBEL QUEEN.</li>
+<li>BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">W. H. Hyde</span>.</li>
+<li>THE REVOLT OF MAN.</li>
+<li>IN DEACON'S ORDERS. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.</li>
+<li>THE CITY OF REFUGE.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>A FOUNTAIN SEALED. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">H. G. Burgess</span>.</li>
+<li>THE CHANGELING.</li>
+<li>THE ALABASTER BOX.</li>
+<li>THE ORANGE GIRL. With 8 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Pegram</span>.</li>
+<li>THE LADY OF LYNN. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">G. Demain Hammond</span>.</li>
+<li>NO OTHER WAY. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">C. D. Ward</span>.</li>
+<li>THE FOURTH GENERATION.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Fine Paper Editions</span>, pott 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 2<i>s.</i> net each;
+leather, gilt edges, 3<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>LONDON.</li>
+<li>WESTMINSTER.</li>
+<li>JERUSALEM. (In collaboration with <span class="smcap">E. H. Palmer.</span>)</li>
+<li>SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.</li>
+<li>GASPARD DE COLIGNY.</li>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Popular Editions</span>, medium 8vo. 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.</li>
+<li>THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.</li>
+<li>READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.</li>
+<li>FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.</li>
+<li>NO OTHER WAY.</li>
+<li>BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.</li>
+<li>CHILDREN OF GIBEON.</li>
+<li>THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.</li>
+<li>THE ORANGE GIRL.</li>
+<li>DOROTHY FORSTER.</li>
+<li>THE MONKS OF THELEMA.</li>
+<li>ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Demy 8vo. cloth, 5<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul><li>LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>WESTMINSTER. With Etching by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 130 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 119 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 54 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Phil May</span>, <span class="smcap">L. Raven Hill</span>, and <span class="smcap">Joseph Pennell</span>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By <span class="smcap">Walter Besant</span> and <span class="smcap">W. H. Pollock</span>. With 50 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Chris. Hammond</span> and <span class="smcap">A. Jule Goodman</span>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2<i>s.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.</li>
+<li>THE REBEL QUEEN.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 1<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.</li>
+<li>THE ALABASTER BOX.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<ul>
+<li>THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6<i>s.</i></li>
+<li>THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1<i>s.</i> net.</li>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. <span class="smcap">Cheap Edition</span>, picture cover, 1<i>s.</i> net.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+<p class="center">London: CHATTO &amp; WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.</p>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44683 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #44683 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44683)
diff --git a/old/44683-0.txt b/old/44683-0.txt
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: South London
+
+Author: Sir Walter Besant
+
+Illustrator: Francis S. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 16, 2014 [EBook #44683]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH LONDON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.
+
+UNIFORM EDITION. Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+
+LONDON.
+
+With 125 Illustrations.
+
+    'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant
+    has here attempted, with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The
+    Author of "A Short History of the English People" and the historian
+    of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+    Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and
+    indelible pictures of the people of the past.... No one who loves
+    his London but will love it the better for reading this book. He who
+    loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest
+    pleasure.'--_Graphic._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his
+    beautifully illustrated book will call up in the minds of those who
+    bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and expectation. He
+    contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the
+    London of the present more living than before.'--_Spectator._
+
+
+WESTMINSTER.
+
+With 131 Illustrations.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and
+    its corporate life in a way which has never been surpassed--not even
+    equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he has made to
+    live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of
+    London to the mere dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster"
+    even better.... There is nothing but admiration to be expressed as
+    well for the plan as for the execution.'--_Daily Chronicle._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his
+    charming book on "London."... From beginning to end the narrative
+    never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one rises from its
+    reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and
+    a greater veneration for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the
+    past.'--_Guardian._
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON.
+
+With 120 Illustrations.
+
+    'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great
+    world they live in we cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to
+    the author's previous volumes. It is written by an enthusiast who is
+    also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of
+    life; and it passes before the reader's imagination a series of
+    indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic and monotonous South
+    London with the romance which is its due.'--_Literature._
+
+
+EAST LONDON.
+
+With 55 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles
+    Dickens.... He has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his
+    knowledge of the great city. He was grey before he attempted to
+    write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+    London"--books which have earned him his title as the historian of
+    London--and he has postponed his book on "East London" until his
+    sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian lore mingled with
+    human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is
+    this study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly
+    book.'--_Literary World._
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._
+
+
+FIFTY YEARS AGO.
+
+With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.
+
+    'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations
+    of George Cruikshank and the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise
+    lend additional effect.... The book is full of movement and colour,
+    and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of
+    Queen Victoria.'--_Speaker._
+
+Small 8vo. cloth (in the ST. MARTIN'S LIBRARY), gilt top, 2_s._ net
+each; feather, gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+    LONDON.                    WESTMINSTER.
+    SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.   JERUSALEM.
+    GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: F. S. Walker, R.E.
+
+S^t. Saviour's, Southwark.]
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+BY
+
+WALTER BESANT
+
+AUTHOR OF
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A NEW EDITION
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+LONDON
+CHATTO & WINDUS
+1912
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In sending forth this book on 'SOUTH LONDON,' the successor to my two
+preceding books on 'LONDON' and 'WESTMINSTER,' I have to explain in this
+case, as before, that it is not a history, or a chronicle, or a
+consecutive account of the Borough and her suburbs that I offer, but, as
+in the other two books, chapters taken here and there from the mass of
+material which lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which
+illustrate the most important part of History, namely, the condition,
+the manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now, like
+Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three hundred years
+ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing tide by an Embankment,
+joined to the Dover road by a Causeway, settled and inhabited by two or
+three Houses of Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots,
+and great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment from
+time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was built: and by a street
+of Inns and shops.
+
+I hope that 'SOUTH LONDON' will be received with favour equal to that
+bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief difficulty in writing it has
+been that of selection from the great treasures which have accumulated
+about this strange spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth
+part of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the showman in
+the 'Cries of London'--I pull the strings, and the children peep. Lo!
+Allectus goes forth to fight and die on Clapham Common: William's men
+burn the fishermen's cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy,
+rides out, all in white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington--saw one
+ever so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards the city:
+Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's army: the Minters
+make their last Sanctuary opposite St. George's: the Debtors languish in
+the King's Bench. There are many pictures in the box--but how many more
+there are for which no room could be found!
+
+I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor of the _Pall
+Mall Magazine_, where half of these chapters first had the honour of
+appearing, for the wealth of illustration of which he thought them
+worthy: and next to the artist, Mr. Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully
+and so cunningly carried out the task committed to him.
+
+  WALTER BESANT.
+
+    UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB:
+        _September 1898_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+     I. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS                                          1
+
+    II. EARLY HISTORY                                                 25
+
+   III. A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY                                         47
+
+    IV. THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON                              69
+
+     V. PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS                                         124
+
+    VI. A FORGOTTEN WORTHY                                           134
+
+   VII. THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON                                    153
+
+  VIII. THE PILGRIMS                                                 157
+
+    IX. THE LADY FAIR                                                179
+
+     X. ST. MARY OVERIES                                             191
+
+    XI. THE SHOW FOLK                                                206
+
+   XII. BELOW BRIDGE                                                 229
+
+  XIII. THE LATER SANCTUARY                                          241
+
+   XIV. IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY                                    248
+
+    XV. THE DEBTORS' PRISON                                          272
+
+   XVI. THE PLEASURE GARDENS                                         282
+
+  XVII. SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY                                       301
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                  _Frontispiece_
+_Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E._
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES                         3
+
+CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH                                        7
+
+FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET                                9
+
+BARKING CREEK                                                         11
+
+RELICS OF THE STONE AGE                                               15
+
+A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE                                              17
+
+RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE                                              19
+
+MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH                                    27
+
+LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000                                              29
+
+A DANISH HOUSE                                                        31
+
+SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                33
+
+A VIKING SHIP                                                         34
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            37
+
+DIAGRAM                                                               40
+
+THE GOKSTAD SHIP                                                      41
+
+SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR                                        43
+
+BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                       45
+
+THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY                                           51
+
+BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                                      52
+
+GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                           53
+
+ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK                                                  61
+
+'LE LOKE'                                                             63
+
+REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH     67
+
+THE LONG BARN                                                         70
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            71
+
+GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE                                    75
+
+THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH                                 77
+
+SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE                                              83
+_From Allen's History of Lambeth_
+
+THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII                    85
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796                                        91
+
+KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT                                              93
+_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE                                              95
+
+THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE                                        97
+
+GREENWICH, 1662                                                       99
+_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_
+
+GREENWICH HOSPITAL                                                   101
+_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE                                                       109
+
+BONNER HALL, LAMBETH                                                 111
+
+RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH                                     113
+_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' November 1822_
+
+BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH                                               114
+
+INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE                                 115
+_From an Engraving dated 1804_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER                                       116
+
+LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE                                      117
+
+DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER                                       119
+
+LOLLARDS' PRISON                                                     121
+
+WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK                                            137
+
+SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK             139
+
+THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET                143
+
+HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550                               149
+
+OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY                                     158
+
+OLD HALL, AYLESBURY                                                  159
+
+CANTERBURY PILGRIMS                                                  160
+
+15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH                                               165
+
+RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY                             165
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+14TH CENTURY MERCHANT                                                168
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+PEDLAR                                                               175
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_
+
+MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480                                                 177
+
+BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR                                                181
+
+GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY                                     187
+_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_
+
+A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                           192
+
+SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            193
+
+NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800                    194
+
+CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            195
+
+GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811                        197
+_From a Drawing by Whichelo_
+
+REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES                          199
+
+TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES                             201
+
+A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                 203
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790                                       204
+
+WINCHESTER PALACE                                                    207
+
+THE GLOBE THEATRE                                                    209
+_From the Crace Collection_
+
+BEAR GARDEN                                                          213
+
+THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616                               221
+
+INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE                                     223
+
+A FÊTE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590                                        231
+_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_
+
+THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814                                    233
+
+VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                  235
+_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_
+
+GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH                                                239
+
+MINT STREET, BOROUGH                                                 245
+
+OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK                                  249
+
+ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                                                250
+_From an old Print_
+
+SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY                     251
+
+JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY                                            252
+
+QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL                                253
+
+ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH                              254
+_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_
+
+THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE                                          255
+
+AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE                                                256
+
+JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE                                257
+
+THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK                                         258
+
+OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET                                            259
+
+COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN                                    261
+
+THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK                                     263
+
+ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK                                            265
+
+A SOUTH LONDON SLUM                                                  267
+
+THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK                                        268
+
+ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW                               269
+_From an Engraving by B. Cole_
+
+REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT     273
+_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_
+
+KING'S BENCH PRISON                                                  275
+
+ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON                              277
+
+VAUXHALL GARDENS                                                     283
+_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_
+
+VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET                                    285
+
+THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM                                            289
+
+A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY                                 301
+
+IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY                                         302
+
+THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK                                      303
+
+HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE                                            305
+
+CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                         307
+
+ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840                                            309
+
+DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780                                                311
+
+FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S                                      313
+
+RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK                                         315
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK                                                   317
+
+BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER                                             319
+
+THE GEORGE INN                                                       321
+
+LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA                             321
+
+ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S                          323
+
+THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S                                          325
+
+A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                           327
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
+
+
+I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow by the
+general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors on 'London' and
+'Westminster,' they will not attempt, or pretend, to present a
+continuous history of this region--or, indeed, a history at all: they
+will endeavour to do for this part of London what their predecessors
+have already attempted for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is
+to say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the Borough
+and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means the march of armies
+and the clash of armour, we shall here find little history. So far,
+also, as history means the growth of our liberties, the struggles by
+which they were won; the apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time,
+of the spirit of freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and
+the student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman--not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy to be held in the
+highest honour, of those who trace out the irresistible march of
+national freedom: I cannot join their company; I must be contented with
+the lowlier, yet somewhat useful, task of showing how the people, my
+forefathers, lived, and what they thought, and how they sang and
+feasted and made love and grew old and died.
+
+My South London extends from Battersea in the west to Greenwich in the
+east, and from the river on the north to the first rising ground on the
+south. This rising ground, a gentle ascent, the beginning of the Surrey
+hills, can still be observed on the high roads of the south--Clapham,
+Brixton, Camberwell. It now occupies the place of what was formerly a
+low cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the broad
+level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side of the river,
+which closed in on either side of Walbrook and made the foundation of
+London possible. If we draw a straight line from the mouth of the Wandle
+on the west to the mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall,
+roughly speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as well. The whole
+of this region constitutes the Great South Marsh: there is no rising
+ground, or hillock, or encroaching cliff over the whole of this flat
+expanse. Before the river was embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for
+eight miles in length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a
+half miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created, as the
+centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of branches, roots,
+reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches above high water; the
+spring-tide covered them--sometimes swept them away--then others began
+to form. In later times, after the work of embankment had been
+commenced, these islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington, Kennington.
+Even then, for many a long year, they were but little areas rising a
+foot or two above the level, covered with sedge, reeds, and tufts of
+coarse grass, hardly distinguishable from the rest of the ground around
+them. Before the construction of the river wall, no trees stood upon
+this morass, no flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and
+bushes grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of it:
+there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south side rose the
+cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and continually receding
+before the encroaching tide; on the north side ran the river; beyond the
+river the cliff stood up above the water's edge, where the tiny stream,
+afterwards named from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the
+rolling flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.
+
+[Illustration: View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.]
+
+Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide made their way
+across it into the Thames: at high tide their beds were lost in the
+shallows. Among them--to use names by which they were afterwards
+distinguished--were the Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne,
+and others which have disappeared and left no name. And so for
+unnumbered years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the reeds bent
+beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead, and the wild birds
+screamed, far away from the world of men and women, long after men and
+women began to wander about this Island called Albion. No one took any
+thought of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all along
+the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely the most desolate,
+dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere in the world. Those who wish
+to realise what manner of country it was which stretched away on the
+north and south of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it
+if they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the ruined
+Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low tide to east and
+north.
+
+In a previous volume dealing with another part of the country called
+London I showed to my own satisfaction, and, I believe, that of my
+readers, that long before there existed any London at all, except
+perhaps a village of a few fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or
+Thorney was a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to Dover and
+the southern ports. This position, new as it was, and opposed to the
+general and traditional teaching--opposed, for instance, to the
+traditional belief of Dean Stanley--has never been attacked, and may be
+considered, therefore, as generally accepted. When or how the trade of
+Thorney began, to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire.
+Indeed, I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the beginning
+and early history of the Southern settlements.
+
+The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called afterwards
+by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now Westminster. All the
+trade of the north passed over that little spot, on which arose a
+considerable town for the reception of the caravans. After resting a
+night or so at Thorney, the merchants went on their way. Those who
+travelled south, making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there
+was afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection of
+Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still survives in
+Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford, the travellers found
+themselves face to face with a mile of dangerous bog, marsh and swamp,
+through which they had to plod and plough their way, sinking over their
+knees, up to the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground, now
+called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their long chains of
+slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules from the north, this was
+the worst bit of the whole journey. Every day there were rivers to be
+forded, in which some of their slaves might get drowned or might escape;
+there were dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile
+tribes; there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this great
+swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed and floundered through
+it, over ankles, over knees, up to the middle, up to the neck, in mud
+and muddy water. The packhorses sank deep down with their loads; they
+took off the loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who
+threw them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they made a
+mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and slave-load; iron, lead,
+and skins: the merchant paid heavy tribute while he crossed the marshes
+and waded through the shallows of the broad tidal river.
+
+At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown person of
+engineering genius in advance of his time, that it might not be
+impossible to construct a causeway across this marsh; and that such a
+causeway would be extremely useful and convenient for those who used the
+Thorney Fords. Perhaps the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the
+work was the first causeway ever constructed in this country; perhaps
+the inventor began on the smallest possible scale, with a very narrow
+way across the marsh to the nearest dry ground, which was, of course,
+somewhere beyond Kennington; perhaps the work, colossal for the time,
+carried the merchants and their caravans across the whole extent of the
+marsh--five miles and more--to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was not unlike those
+which now run across the Hackney Marshes; that is to say, it was raised
+so high as to be above the highest spring tide, about six feet above the
+level of the marsh. It was constructed by driving piles into the mud at
+regular intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and
+filling up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle'--or from the nearest high ground, where is
+now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway, I take it, was about
+ten or twelve feet. The construction of the work rendered the passage
+across the marsh perfectly easy, and greatly facilitated that part of
+the trade of the island which lay in the midland and on the north.
+
+When was this causeway, the first step in road-making, constructed?
+Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however, that it is older than the
+Roman occupation; and for these reasons. When London was first visited
+by the Romans it was already a flourishing city with a '_copia
+negotiatorum_;' in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting
+the greater part of the trade which formerly passed through Thorney. Had
+the Romans built the causeway, they would have constructed it along a
+line drawn from one of the two old ferries to Deptford. The causeway,
+therefore, must have existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene,
+together with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway
+connecting the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the Romans
+strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled way, soft in bad
+weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman roads; faced it with stone,
+and made it durable. If South London were to be stripped of all its
+houses, the two causeways would be found still, hard and firm, beneath
+the mass of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.
+
+If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the end of
+Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the Old Kent Road, you
+will understand the lie of the causeway. And this causeway, understand,
+was the very first interference of the hand of man with the marshes
+south of the Thames. It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment
+against the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which flowed
+in on the other side--the Battersea side: it was simply a way across the
+marsh. For a long time--we cannot tell how long--it remained the
+principal way of communication for the trade of Britain between the
+north and the south, the midland and the south, the eastern counties and
+the south.
+
+[Illustration: Causeway across Southwark Marsh.]
+
+Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the merchants
+crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries of which no trace or
+memory remains, when they turned their eyes northward, first a level of
+mud, sprinkled with little eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the
+broad river, and beyond the river two streams, one fuller than the
+other, each in its own valley--that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House--falling into the river; a low
+cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh, as on the
+south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames, approaching close
+to the river, and actually overhanging it. On the river they saw
+numerous coracles, with fishermen catching salmon and every kind of fish
+in their nets. No river in the world was more plentifully stocked with
+fish; overhead flew screaming innumerable birds--geese, ducks,
+herne--which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling and stone by
+the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the river, the travellers by
+the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk. Then, perhaps, they
+remembered the plenty of the markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds,
+the vast quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that flew up
+from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that London--'the place
+or fort over the Lake'--was the settlement which furnished Thorney with
+a good part of her supplies. And this I verily believe to have been the
+real origin and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping birds for
+the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only; it will be set aside,
+most certainly, by those who are not pleased with the upsetting of old
+theories. To those who are able to realise the ancient condition of
+things and all it means, the suggestion will be received, I am
+convinced, as more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.
+
+Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of great resort, as I
+have shown in these pages already: every day passed into Thorney, and
+out of Thorney, long processions or caravans of merchants with
+merchandise carried by slaves--the most valuable part of their
+merchandise--and by packhorses and mules; they waded through the
+northern ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the causeway,
+and went south. Or else it was the reverse way. The place required a
+daily supply of food, and, as there were many travellers, a great
+quantity of food. If you go down the river from Thorney, you will find
+that the present site of London, on the two hillocks rising out of the
+river, was the first and only place where men could put up huts in which
+to live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for Thorney. If,
+therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing centre of trade long
+before London was a place of trade at all, then the original London must
+have been a settlement of fishermen and trappers who supplied the
+markets of Thorney.
+
+[Illustration: Fishers' Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.]
+
+In course of time--we are still in prehistoric times--the site of
+London was discovered by seamen and merchant adventurers exploring the
+rivers in their ships. It was found cheaper and easier and safer to
+carry goods to and from Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast
+along from Dover to the strait between Rum--the Isle of Thanet, and the
+mainland--to pass through the strait and up the river, was found easier
+and cheaper than to undertake the costly and dangerous march from Dover
+to Thorney Ford. This way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a
+certain part of the trade along the old causeway was diverted.
+
+The next step was the discovery of London as a port. There was no port
+at Thorney: on the site of London were the two natural ports of Walbrook
+and the mouth of the Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more
+salubrious than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays were
+erected, goods were landed; the high road which we call Oxford Street
+was constructed to connect London with the highway of trade--afterwards
+Watling Street; and the trade of London began.
+
+Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it was, you will
+observe that London at its first commencement had no communication with
+any part of the world except by water. The first road opened was, as I
+have said, the connection with Watling Street; what was the next? It was
+a connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was the road
+which we now call High Street, Borough. These two roads were the first
+communication between London and any other place; all the other roads,
+to the north and south and west and east, came afterwards. It was
+necessary for London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country. The High
+Street formed that open communication; it began not far to the west of
+St Saviour's Church, opposite the Roman Trajectus, the mediæval ferry,
+now St. Mary Overies Dock.
+
+Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from embanking the river,
+or draining the marsh, or making it inhabitable. If you walk across
+Hackney Marsh by one of its causeways any autumnal morning, especially
+after rain, you will understand something of what Southwark looked like.
+Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as yet not a square foot
+had been drained or reclaimed; yet the place was not so wild as it had
+been; the wild birds had been partly driven away by the noise and crowd
+of London, and by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and
+down. There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river backwards
+and forwards all day long. The causeways were crowded with people; but
+as yet nothing on the lowlands. Before the marshes could be drained the
+river had to be embanked.
+
+[Illustration: Barking Creek]
+
+No one knows when that was done. It was done, however. At some time or
+other a high earthwork was raised along the north and south banks of
+the river, enclosing the marshes, converting them into pasture and
+arable land, and keeping out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the
+most signal benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets and coast
+of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair, though most of it has
+stood splendidly. The wall gave way, however, at Barking in the time of
+Henry the Second; at Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early
+in the last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall was
+costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a low-lying ground,
+rich and fertile; orchards and woods began to grow and to flourish upon
+it; yet it was still swampy in parts, numerous ponds lay about on it,
+streams wound their way confined in channels, and let out through the
+embankment at low tide by culverts.
+
+Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot decide. Yet I
+think that the embankment came first; for the existence of
+Southwark--that of any part of South London--depended not on the bridge,
+but on the embankment and the ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the
+two causeways; the bridge; two ferries--one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct communication
+with Dover, with Thorney--thence with the midlands and the north: there
+could not fail to arise a settlement or town of some kind on the south
+of the Thames.
+
+Let us next consider the conditions under which the town of Southwark
+began to exist and to continue for a great many years.
+
+(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except the marsh which
+surrounded it and prohibited the approach of an army except along the
+causeway.
+
+(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and south of the
+embankment. Although the tide no longer ebbed and flowed among the reeds
+and islets of the marsh, yet it was covered with small ponds, some of
+them stagnant, others formed by the many streams which flowed towards
+the culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they escaped
+into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was attempted, the place
+caused agues and fevers for any who slept in its white miasma. In other
+words, not an embankment only, but drainage of some kind, had to be
+undertaken before life was possible on the marsh.
+
+(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no trade, on the
+south side. All merchandise coming up from the south for export at the
+port of London, all merchandise landed at the port for the south, had to
+be carried across the bridge.
+
+(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of London--the
+porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys, stevedores,
+lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the _employés_ of the merchants,
+their wives, women and children--all these people lived in London
+itself; they had their taverns and drinking shops; their sleeping places
+and eating places, in London; all the people employed in providing food
+and drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had to be a
+place without trade, without noise, without disturbance of workmen,
+without broils among the sailors or fights among foreigners.
+
+(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with fish.
+
+(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were along the line of
+the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.
+
+These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore, to find the
+place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses were all built
+beside or along the raised ways. We should next expect to find along
+the causeways that the houses belonged to the wealthier class.
+
+We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working men's
+quarters. The former because there were no ships; the latter because
+there were no markets. Lastly, we should not be surprised to find the
+place very early occupied by inns and places of accommodation for those
+who resorted to London.
+
+All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman remains are
+numerous; they are all found along the causeways; the existence of a
+Roman cemetery shows that it was a place of some importance. I say
+_some_, because its very limited extent proves that it was never a large
+place. I will return immediately to the Roman remains.
+
+There was, however, one trade, one class of working men which took up
+its abode along the embankment of Southwark: it was that of the
+fishermen, driven across the river by the growth of London. There was no
+room for the fishermen with their coracles and nets along the line of
+quays on the north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and
+a place to spread their nets,--they could not find either in the north;
+nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually by oars and
+keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up their huts along the
+embankment; for long centuries afterwards the fisherfolk continued to
+live in South London. The last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied,
+well into the present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is
+described as unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But
+the last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen were
+by that time almost starved out of existence. I am sure that the south
+was always their place of residence; the foreshore offered them what
+they could not find on the north bank. To him, however, who considers
+the fisheries of the Thames, there are many points on which, for want of
+exact information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he pleases.
+For instance, later on, there were fishermen living at Limehouse. Some
+of the Thames watermen lived here also--the legend of Awdry the ferryman
+assigns to him a residence on the south; their favourite place of
+residence, however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The Roman remains found up and down the place prove my assertion that
+the people who lived here were what we should call substantial. One need
+not catalogue the long list of Roman _trouvailles_; but, to take the
+more important, in the year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the
+foundations of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in
+St. Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet below
+the surface of the ground. In the following year, in the area facing St.
+Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight feet below the surface, there
+was found another, of a more elaborate design. Only a part of this was
+uncovered, as the Governors of the School forbade further investigation:
+it remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under the
+present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of King Street, at a
+depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found a great many Roman lamps, a
+vase, and other sepulchral deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer
+through Blackman Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered. In
+Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus Africanus. In Deverill
+Street, south of the Dover road, other coins were discovered; in St.
+Saviour's churchyard, a coin of Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved
+that an extensive Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient
+settlement. In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for the
+purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital, another
+tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and walls of other
+chambers, all built on piles, showing that the houses beside the
+causeway were thus supported in the marshy ground; Roman coins and
+pottery were also found here. Another pavement was discovered on the
+opposite side, south of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the
+corner of Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on which
+houses had been built. In many of the later buildings Roman tiles have
+been found. These remains are quite sufficient to prove that many
+wealthy people lived in Roman Southwark, and that they occupied villas
+built on piles beside the causeway.
+
+Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous for its inns,
+and since the same conditions prevailed in the fourth as in the
+fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the people
+who drove those long lines of packhorses laden with goods from London
+used Southwark as a place in which to deposit merchandise before taking
+it across the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage was
+cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the place was
+cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting place and a lodging
+for traders, Southwark was like Thorney in its palmy days--a place of
+entertainment for man and beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta;
+no place of meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual coming
+and going, which made the place lively and cheerful.
+
+Such were the origins of the settlements of South London. An embankment,
+a causeway, a fishery for the wants of Thorney first and of London next;
+then villas, put up by the better sort, attracted here, one believes, by
+the fresh air coming up the river with every tide, and by the quiet of
+the place. The settlement began quite early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery. The draining and
+drying of the low lands went on meanwhile gradually, gardens and
+orchards taking the place of the former marsh.
+
+[Illustration: A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely defenceless.
+The _Pax Romana_ protected it. Remember that London itself was not
+walled till the latter part of the fourth century. Why should it be? For
+more than three hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no
+wars and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore' beat back,
+and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark; the Legions beat back
+the marauders of Scotland and Ireland. Southwark, like the City its
+neighbour, needed no wall and asked for no defence.
+
+Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a glimpse in
+history of South London. The first is the rout of the usurper, the
+Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham Common.
+
+Towards the close of the third century the succession of usurpers who
+sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions of the Empire contained
+six who came from Britain. What effect these movements had upon the
+security of South London we have no means of learning. The history,
+however, of Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for
+reflection. The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be the Count
+of the Saxon Shore--in other words, Admiral of the Roman Fleet. In this
+capacity he kept the seas free from pirates; enriched himself, became
+famous for his courage and his generosity; usurped the title of Cæsar,
+fought with and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton; near
+the latter place--at Bittern--is still seen the quay at which his ships
+were moored. His rule, of which we know little, was certainly strong and
+firm. Coins exist in great numbers of Carausius. They represent his
+arrival: 'Expectate, veni'--'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports at London; he
+appointed a British senate. Then came the time when he must fight or
+die. Like the King of the Grove, the Usurper held his throne on that
+condition. Carausius, for some unknown reason, would not fight when the
+chance was offered--therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned in his
+stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life. He accepted the
+challenge; he awaited with an army of Franks and Britons the arrival of
+the Roman forces sent to quell him: he awaited them in London. When the
+enemy drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave battle
+to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath south of London,
+immediately beyond the rising ground--we now call the place Clapham
+Common--and there he fell bravely fighting. He had enjoyed the purple
+for three years. Perhaps, when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he
+was going to meet his fate--either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die--he reflected that for such a splendid three years' run
+it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life at the end.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE]
+
+This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London in history. We
+see the army marching across the Bridge and along the Causeway, shouting
+and singing. We see them a few hours later, flying from the field,
+rushing headlong over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas, are
+running over the Bridge after them. Once across the Bridge, the soldiers
+found that there was left in the City neither order nor authority. They
+therefore began to sack and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the
+inhabitants. Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were permitted
+to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore there could be no defence.
+The pillage went on until the victorious general had got his army--or
+some of it--across the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his
+troops, whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the defeated
+army made any organised opposition, we know not. All we are told is that
+the Roman soldiers fought hand to hand with those of the dead Usurper in
+the streets of London, and that the latter were all massacred.
+
+In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in the flight of
+another defeated host. The Britons had gone forth to fight the Saxon
+invaders; they met the enemy--Hengist and Æsc his son--at
+'Creeganford'--Crayford: they were defeated; four thousand of them were
+killed; they fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along the Causeway
+and through the narrow gates of the Bridge. Alas! the old villas along
+the Causeway are deserted and in ruins; the place has been desolate for
+many years--since the Saxons began to swarm about the country; the
+former residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two hundred long
+years, and to leave its memories of hatred behind it for fifteen hundred
+years at least. The gardens are grown over, the orchards are neglected,
+the inns are empty and ruinous.
+
+Before long there falls the silence of death upon the walled City and
+the Bridge and the settlements of the South. All alike are deserted: the
+tide idly laps the piles of the rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty
+wharves, bearing no keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river,
+there is no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy. The timbered
+face of the embankment gave way and crumbled into the river; the
+Causeway was eaten by the tides here and there; the low grounds once
+more became a marsh, and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their
+former haunts.
+
+I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural reasons which
+led to this desertion of the City. It appears to us strange and almost
+impossible that a great city should be so utterly deserted. Where,
+however, are the cities of Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the
+great cities of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore forced
+them to go. This was most certainly the case with London. Roger of
+Wendover, it is true, tells us that in the year 462 the Saxons took
+possession of London, and then successively of York, Lincoln, and
+Winchester, committing great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in
+every quarter, like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with the
+ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy scriptures they
+burned with fire; the tombs of the holy martyrs they covered with mounds
+of earth; the clergy who escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of
+the saints to the caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and
+deserts and the crags of the mountains.'
+
+I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in 1237) had access to
+documents of the time. I would rather incline to the belief that, given
+certain undoubted facts of battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented
+the world with a little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City would be only
+hastened. With the ruin and desolation of Augusta came also the ruin of
+the southern settlement.
+
+This silence--this desolation--lasted some hundred years. Then the men
+of Essex--the East Saxons--came down, a few at a time, and took
+possession of the deserted City; the merchants began timidly to bring
+their ships again with goods for trade; the East Saxons learned the
+meaning of bargains; Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City
+preserved its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but the Saxons
+called it Southwark. And they repaired the embankment and restored the
+ancient causeways, and cleared away the ruins.
+
+Another point of difference: in London the new streets, laid out without
+rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not follow the old Roman
+streets, which were quite obliterated and utterly forgotten--one cannot
+imagine a more decisive proof of complete desertion and ruin. In
+Southwark, on the other hand, the streets remained the same--they were
+the two causeways and the embankment--because none others were then
+possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it always has been, the
+ancient causeway connecting the new port of London with the Dover road.
+
+Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the vicissitudes which
+must happen in a period of continual warfare to an undefended suburb. In
+times of peace, when trade was possible, the place was what the
+Icelander Snorro Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise
+carried to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found accommodation
+there. But we cannot believe that when the Danish fleets brought their
+fierce warriors to the very walls of London, Southwark--or any other
+settlement--would continue to exist unfortified. That the place remained
+without a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the Danes,
+proves that it was regarded by itself as of small importance. This is
+also proved by another fact--namely, that the place was always occupied
+without defence. When, for instance, the Danes held London for twelve
+years, leaving it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people
+remained in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived here for
+greater convenience of their work; London by this time was impossible
+for them, because it was walled all along the river side. If peace was
+prolonged, inns were set up for the merchants: people built houses along
+the causeway. When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of South London for a
+thousand years--alternate occupation and abandonment.
+
+There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark. I would deal
+with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of the heretics is a
+personal friend of my own. It is that the site of the first or original
+London was on the South; that Roman London stood on the site of
+Southwark; and that, at some time or other, there was a transference of
+sites, the whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is even
+maintained that the name of Walworth proves that there was once a wall
+round the city of the south. To me the name of Walworth indicates the
+proximity of the high causeway running through its midst. The
+consideration of the site--the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site--is
+quite sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the Lake
+dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the building of
+cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway, the South of London was
+impossible for the residence of man.
+
+The transference of sites is a theory often called in to account for,
+and make possible, other theories. Thus, the late James Fergusson
+invented the transference of sites in order to bolster up certain
+theories of his own on the Holy Places of Jerusalem. Here, however,
+there is no theory: only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant
+of the boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said, was in Kent. All
+the Roman remains, as we have seen, are found by the Causeway and the
+Embankment--there never could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only
+answer that is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would settle
+themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry ground across the
+river?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+EARLY HISTORY
+
+
+Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except for its
+connection with London by bridge and ferry, and especially by bridge.
+Before the Ferry and the Bridge there was no Southwark. The history of
+Southwark is closely connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end
+of the Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south. I propose, in
+this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and one or two of its
+earlier battles.
+
+It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge there was
+the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the river and 'dump' them down in
+the marsh? But people had no business in the marsh. First came the
+Bridge and the Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But as yet there
+was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and the appearance of houses
+along the Causeway and on the Embankment. As the trade of London
+increased, so Southwark--I would we had the Roman name--increased in
+proportion. Inns were created for the convenience of merchants, trade
+was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge, just as it was
+diverted on the north by the military way connecting the great high road
+with London. When the Causeway was always filled with caravans and long
+trains of heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day covered with
+passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was demanded as a quicker and an
+easier way of getting across. Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One
+of these ran from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained for nearly
+two thousand years--say, from A.D. 100 to A.D. 1750. If a man wanted to
+get across the river, he did not make his way to London Bridge, and
+painfully walk across amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging
+horses and the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting across the
+river for the people: it was not; it was the means of conveying
+merchandise to and fro; it was a construction most important for
+military purposes; it was a barrier to prevent a hostile fleet from
+getting higher up the river; but, for the ordinary passenger, the boat
+was the quicker and the easier means of conveyance.
+
+When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It was not there
+A.D. 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked the City and murdered the
+people. It was there when Allectus led his troops out to fight the Roman
+legions. It was there very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved
+by the quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It is also
+proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of the wealthier
+class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely without supplies,
+had there been no bridge. We may take any time we please for the
+construction of the Bridge, so long as it is quite early--say, before
+the second century.
+
+The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such great certainty
+that I have no hesitation in presenting a drawing of it. As this Bridge
+has never before been figured by the pencil of any artist, it will be
+well for me to indicate the steps by which its reconstruction has been
+made possible.
+
+[Illustration: Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh]
+
+The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a bridge of any
+kind, unless in the primitive methods observed at Post Bridge and Two
+Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of stone laid across two boulders. The
+work, therefore, was certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have,
+in the next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that time
+by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of stone; many of these
+stone bridges still remain, in other cases the pieces of hewn stone
+still remain. The Bridge over the Thames, however, was of wood. This is
+proved by the fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that London
+had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the year 1176, when the
+first bridge of stone was commenced. Considerations as to the
+comparative insignificance of London in the first century, as to the
+absence of stone in the neighbourhood, and as to the plentiful supply of
+the best wood in the world from the forests north of the City, confirm
+the theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only, therefore,
+to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood elsewhere, in order
+to know how they built a bridge of wood over the Thames. And this we
+know without any doubt.
+
+First: they drove piles into the bed of the river--not upright piles,
+but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles side by side, and
+opposite to these two more; they connected the two piles by ties and the
+opposite piles with them by transverse girders. Across them they laid a
+huge beam--a tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the
+floor of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the parapet
+put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for greater safety, pressed
+down the piles and held them in place. To prevent the current from
+carrying them away, each double pair of piles was protected by a
+'starling,' formed by driving upright smaller piles in front at the
+piers and enclosing a space, which was filled up with stones, so that
+the force of the current was not felt by the great piles.
+
+In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will understand it better
+from the drawing, which shows the Bridge taken from the Embankment near
+the present site of St. Mary Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate
+in the long straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points for the
+convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes that these posterns
+could be easily closed and defended. This river-wall, we shall presently
+see, was standing in the time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the
+building of the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish Bridge, and the
+Norman Bridge.
+
+In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit: its
+foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses. The gate
+was altered. I do not suppose there was much of the original structure
+left when the East Saxons took possession of the City after a hundred
+years of desertion and decay. But a gate of some kind there must always
+have been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about sixteen feet. Like the
+very ancient stone bridges of Saintes and Avignon, the Bridge was from
+sixteen to twenty feet broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of
+Botolph Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the second
+Bridge--the first of stone--stood between the first and third, having
+St. Magnus' Church on the north and St. Olave's on the south side;
+together with its own chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to
+place it under the special protection of the saints most dear to London
+hearts.
+
+[Illustration: London Bridge, A.D. 1000]
+
+The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field of battle
+whenever the way of war came near to London. The first glimpse, as we
+have seen, which we catch of it is when Allectus and his forces crossed
+the river by the Bridge to give battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus
+on the Heath beyond the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same
+day, their columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated
+troops once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no one to
+lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against all comers; there
+was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could have kept the Romans out by
+that expedient. One wonders if all their officers were lying dead on
+the field, with Allectus, for the troops, who were Franks for the most
+part, seem to have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran about the
+City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate people.
+
+By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one could carry arms except
+the soldiers. The law was a safeguard against rebellion; but it opened
+the door to military revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among
+the civil population--always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus' Franks at their
+murderous work, and they cut them down. If it is true, as stated by the
+historians, that they were all cut off to a man, London must have been a
+horrible shambles.
+
+The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed army flying
+across the narrow way to seek shelter between the walls. It is in the
+year 467. They are the Britons flying from their defeat in Kent. After
+this there is silence--absolute silence, leaving not so much as a
+whisper, a tradition, or a legend; the silence that can only mean
+desertion--silence for a hundred and fifty years.
+
+[Illustration: A Danish House]
+
+When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City has shrunk within
+her ancient walls; and these have fallen into decay. Southwark no longer
+exists. We learn that the Bridge has been repaired, because there is
+easy communication with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is
+no fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there were no
+defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and in 857 the Danes
+entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,' apparently without opposition.
+In 872 they occupied London, apparently without opposition. We hear of
+no siege, of no fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls.
+Yet there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham--behind the
+walls. Why not in London? Because in London the walls, 5,500 yards in
+length, had become too long to man, or to defend, or to repair. The
+Danes ran into the City through the shattered gate; they leaped over the
+broken wall. What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment of
+women--we may understand from the page of the historian Saxo relating
+other sacks and sieges by the gentle Dane. As for the trade, the wealth,
+the name and fame of London--they all perished together. It was a ruined
+city, with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the Dane,
+that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken down; the
+settlements of the south were deserted: even the fishermen had left the
+Thames above and below London, and sought for safety in the retired
+creeks and safe backwaters along the coast of Essex. The London
+fisherman sallied forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey
+Island, and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls and
+the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace was restored to
+the City and order to the country. Then trade, which welcomes the first
+appearance of safety, began again. If the merchant feared the pirates of
+the Foreland, he could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could
+land at Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns sprang up,
+and Southwark began again.
+
+A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle' calls the
+Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken of by the Danish
+historian as an 'emporium.' I understand from the use of this word that
+the trade of London was carried on principally by way of Dover, because
+the seas were swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.
+
+The prosperity of the settlement, however, received another blow when
+the Danes once more, mindful of their former victories, sailed up the
+river with hope of again taking London. Southwark was defenceless. There
+was never any wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across the Bridge.
+The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they then went away. Some of the
+people returned, especially the fishermen, whose huts were easily
+repaired. When, however, the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes
+appeared every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself they
+were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers had told them that
+it was a feeble and a helpless place, perfectly incapable of resistance,
+with walls through whose wide gaps a whole army could march; and they
+fondly expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and power.
+
+In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner which was
+extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped a great fleet, manned
+the ships with stout-hearted citizens, sent the ships down the river,
+met the Danish fleet, engaged them, and routed them with great
+slaughter. Two years later they returned, eager for revenge--the revenge
+which they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on this
+occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance, under the two
+kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark. They were firmly resolved
+to take the City: with their warriors they would attack it by land, with
+their ships by water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless did,
+endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of trees; but the gates
+were well manned and well defended. On the river-side one half of the
+town kept open their communications; the other half were exposed to the
+arrows of the sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only that
+the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and that they
+withdrew.
+
+[Illustration: SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose ships were models
+to King Alfred when he founded the English Navy, must not be gathered
+from the drawings of the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are
+conventional in treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving
+specimen of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship of
+Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this and following page.
+One is taken from the tapestry, the other is the Gokstad vessel. The
+former carries about a dozen men, rather high out of the water, with
+straight sides, and would certainly capsize. The latter is a long,
+light, swift vessel, built for speed, and able to sail over quite
+shallow water; she is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for
+usefulness, cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the planks
+overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts, riveted and clinched
+on the inside. She is built of oak; her length from stem to stern, over
+all, is 78 feet; her keel is 66 feet; her breadth is 16½ feet; her depth
+is no more than 4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick
+as the others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The ship is
+pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder attached to the side of
+the stern; on each side hang 16 shields; she carried 64 rowers, and
+probably as many men besides. The decorations lavished on the ship were
+profuse. The figure-head was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were
+gilt; the ships were painted in long lines of bright colour--you can
+see that in the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the
+vessel--bows, figure-head, gunwale, stern-post--were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the mast was gilt.
+Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'
+
+[Illustration: A Viking Ship]
+
+Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in company, with
+Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they came, the oars sweeping in a
+long, measured swish of the water: swiftly flying up the broad river,
+the sunshine lighting up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and
+the bright arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall and
+strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and blue eyes. From
+the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge on the river, the citizens
+saw the splendid array rushing up to destroy them if they could. At the
+Bridge, the foremost stop: they go no farther; those behind cry
+'Forward!' and those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none
+to pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as when Olaf
+was to meet his death five years later in his last splendid sea-fight,
+they essayed to take the city by assault. They shot arrows with red-hot
+heads over the walls, to strike and set light to the thatch; they shot
+arrows at the citizens on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of
+the Bridge. If they could get within the City, these splendid savages,
+there would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of the
+thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons, and next day
+silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure lifted into the ships,
+bows turned outward; and the fleet would leave behind it a London once
+more desolate and naked and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered
+towards the end of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with
+destiny. Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been the
+history of London and of England.
+
+When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went back to their
+homes, and the daily business of life was carried on as usual. We may
+observe that if there had been a permanent settlement here--a town of
+any importance--they would have built a wall to protect it. But there
+was never any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or by
+the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting Southwark.
+
+But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon London. The
+whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged by the Danes: Swegen came
+over and proved the English weakness, and saw that time would help him,
+if he waited. Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.
+
+In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by Thurkitel, who
+afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred. He ravaged Kent and
+Essex, took up his winter quarters on the Thames, apparently at
+Greenwich, and laid siege to the City--but in vain. It is of course
+obvious that without ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers,
+the City could never be taken. The people beat him off at every assault
+with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in England was at the
+moment concentrated in London.
+
+The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen returned. This time,
+mindful of his former failure, and of Thurkitel's failure, he left his
+ships at Southampton; he marched upon London by way of Winchester, which
+he took on the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The reason is
+obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the Bridge was to engage a
+mere handful of men; there was no place except that and the Causeway.
+Swegen, therefore, passed over the ford of Westminster, and attacked the
+walls on the north side. Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the
+English service; by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off
+the field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to his arms;
+therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to hold out alone,
+sent hostages and submitted. It is reported that they were terrified at
+the threats of Swegen: he would cut off their hands and their feet; he
+would tear out their eyes; he would burn and destroy--and so forth. But
+these promises were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they frightened the
+defenders of any other city.
+
+The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that St. Edmund of Bury
+killed him for doubting his saintliness.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut. The expedition
+with which he proposed to reduce London was far finer and more powerful
+than that of Olaf and Swegen. The poetic description of it says that the
+ships were counted by hundreds; that they were manned by an army among
+whom there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility meant if all
+were nobles? A strange question for one so learned! The nobles of
+Denmark were simply the conquering race; nobility consisted in free
+birth, and in descent from the conquering race, not the conquered: it
+was not necessarily a small caste; it might possibly include the larger
+part of the people.
+
+Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege. First of all, he
+resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar the way. He therefore cut
+a trench round the south of the Bridge, by means of which he drew some
+of his ships to the other side of it. He then cut another trench round
+the whole of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he would
+starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as Cnut speedily
+abandoned the hope of success and marched off to look after Edmund, his
+investment of the City was certainly not a success.
+
+He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with what result history
+has made us acquainted. He then returned and resumed the siege of
+London. Edmund fought him again, and made him once more raise the siege.
+When Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began a third
+siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.
+
+In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged six times,
+and not once taken.
+
+Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal nature of the canal
+constructed by Cnut; they have looked for traces of it in the south of
+London before it was covered over by houses; they have gone as far
+afield as Deptford in search of these traces; they have even found them;
+and to the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal speaks
+of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal work. Freeman
+himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep it was, how long it was, how
+broad it was, I am going to explain.
+
+It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian, William
+Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so fortunate as to light
+upon the course of the long-lost trench of King Cnut.
+
+He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a direction
+nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of Rotherhithe to the
+river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs
+were, first, certain depressions in the ground; next, the discovery of
+oaken planks and piles driven into the ground for what he thought was
+the northern fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was constructed,
+a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches were found pointing
+northward, with stakes to keep them in position, forming a kind of water
+fence, such as, it is said, is still in use in Denmark. It will be seen
+that Mr. Maitland's theory has but a small basis of evidence, yet it
+seems to have been generally accepted--partly, I suppose, because it was
+so colossal.
+
+The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four miles and a half
+in length. Another writer, seeing the difficulties of so great a work,
+suggests another course. He would start from the site of the New Dock,
+Rotherhithe, and end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of
+only three and three-quarter miles!
+
+Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why it should be a
+long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.
+
+Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe or nearer the
+Bridge, he would have the same preliminary difficulties to encounter:
+that is to say, he would have to cut through the Embankment of the river
+at either end, and he would have to cut through the Causeway in the
+middle. In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two or
+three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the people had all
+run across the Bridge for safety at the first sight of the Danes, if
+there were any people at the time living in Southwark--which I doubt.
+
+We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers of sense and
+experience on whom he could depend for carrying out his canal in a
+workmanlike manner. A people who could build such perfect ships would
+certainly not waste time and labour in constructing a trench which would
+be any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which he was just able
+to drag his vessels round without destroying the banks. In other words,
+if a circular canal began at C B, and if we drew an imaginary circle
+round the middle of the canal, what was required was that the chord D F,
+forming a tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as
+the longest vessel. Now (see diagram)--
+
+    AD² - AE² = DE².
+
+If _r_ is the radius, AD and 2_a_ the breadth BC, and 2_b_ the length of
+the chord DF--
+
+    _r_² - (_r_ - _a_)² = _b_² ∴ _r_ = (_a_² + _b_²)/2_a_.
+
+This represents the length of the radius in terms of the length and
+breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is therefore the
+smallest radius possible for getting the ships through. Now, the ship of
+Gokstad, already described, was undoubtedly one of the finest of the
+vessels used by Danes and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger
+ships, but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over ships
+of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in length, considering
+the keel, which is all we need consider; 16½ feet in breadth, and 4 feet
+in depth. She drew very little water; therefore a breadth of canal less
+than the breadth of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet
+in length, so that _b_ = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal 12
+feet. Therefore 2_a_ = 12 or _a_ = 6 and _r_ = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London Bridge, we
+arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's work. That is to say, if he
+made a semicircular canal, in that case the length of the canal would be
+320 yards, which is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half,
+or even three miles and three-quarters.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOKSTAD SHIP]
+
+There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut make a semicircle
+when an arc would serve his turn? All he had to do was to draw an arc of
+a circle with the radius just found, to clear any obstacles in the way
+of approach to the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this method,
+because it was the only sensible thing to do. He would thus get off with
+a canal about fifty yards long, of which the only difficulty would be
+the cutting through the Embankment and the Causeway.
+
+What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this section of the
+Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen feet, she had only four feet
+in depth; without her company and crew, and their arms and provisions,
+she would thus draw no more than a few inches--certainly not more than
+eight inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight inches
+at the most. But there is still another consideration which lessened the
+labour materially. The ground behind the Embankment was a little lower
+than the river at high tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct
+a low wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to make
+their canal without excavating an inch. When that was done, the cutting
+of the Embankment let in the tide and did the rest. In this simple
+manner do we reduce Cnut's colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and
+a half long, into a piece of construction and demolition which would
+take a large body of men no more than a few hours.
+
+If, however, there actually was any digging to be done, we must remember
+that the ground was a level; that there were no stones or rocks in the
+way, and that it consisted of a soft black _humus_, the result of ages
+of successive growths of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a
+day by the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course, left the
+place to be repaired by any who pleased. The broken Embankment let in
+the tide; the broken Causeway cut off any approach to the river; but
+Southwark was deserted. When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired. Then all
+traces of the canal disappeared.
+
+Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at Southwark with
+a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty in passing the Bridge; he
+waited till flood-tide, and then sailed through 'on the south side.' It
+is quite impossible to explain this statement, or to make it agree with
+the difficulty felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may have been
+smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the fact as the Chronicler
+gives it.
+
+One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before we pass on to more
+modern times.
+
+[Illustration: Ships of William the Conqueror]
+
+After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived near London, he
+advanced to Southwark, where he found the Bridge closed to him--closed,
+I believe, by knocking away some of the upper beams. This, of course, he
+expected; his friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him
+acquainted with the changing currents of popular opinion. It is commonly
+stated that the citizens were terrified by the sight of Southwark in
+flames at his command. Southwark in flames! A few fishermen's huts were
+all that remained of the suburb, whose population since the time of the
+_Pax Romana_ had been so precarious and so changeful. Five hundred years
+of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion and ravage by Dane and
+Norseman, had not left of Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb,
+anything more than these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers
+burned them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the flames, and
+regarded them not, any more than he regarded the flames that followed in
+his track all the way from Senlac. He gazed across the river, and
+remembered that twice had London defied all the strength of Swegen; that
+three times had London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been victorious;
+he knew, because his friends in the City would allow no mistake on that
+point, that the spirit of the citizens was as high now as it had been
+then; that they still remembered with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that
+not a few were anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went on within the
+walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what faction fight; how the
+citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of wild faces, about their Folk-mote
+by St. Paul's. But of one thing we may be quite certain: that William
+did not expect the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they
+were not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark or
+not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians say. As
+for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this time there could hardly
+have been a single pile remaining of the original structure; yet it was
+constantly repaired.
+
+We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only the grey wall
+rising out of the level ground, without any ditch or moat outside, but
+also the Bridge of wooden piles with the transverse girders and beams
+for additional security, so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest
+of timbers like those which support the roof of an ancient hall. It was
+continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a mighty whirlwind blew
+down a good part of London, houses and churches and all. It has been
+assumed that the Bridge was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is
+silent on the subject. In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is
+again assumed that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle'
+is silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge had
+been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.
+
+[Illustration: BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by London, save that
+of 1666, spread through the whole City, from London Bridge, which it
+greatly damaged, all the way to St. Clement Danes on the west, and
+Aldgate on the east. One wonders what ancient monuments--walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers of the
+Forum--were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of the better sort,
+with their great halls and courtyards; small Saxon churches of wood or
+stone, with low towers and little windows. Possibly there was no great
+loss: it was already seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted.
+Roman remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of wood,
+with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries had not yet
+commenced. The Bridge, however, was either wholly or in part destroyed.
+It was repaired, because, fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his
+description of the City, speaks of the citizens watching the water
+sports from the Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary
+to the City. A hundred years of order in the City--with the seas cleared
+of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling the river with
+ships, and the quays with merchandise--crowded the Bridge all day long
+with trains of packhorses, and the less frequent rude carts with broad
+grunting wheels which would have quite taken the place of the horse but
+for the bad roads. Southwark, during this period of rest, had become
+once more a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were pushed farther
+east and west every year, until Lambeth and Rotherhithe were their
+quarters when the fish deserted the river and their occupation was gone.
+The Roman inns were gone, but new ones were springing up in their
+places. Bishops and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine
+air, open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of London;
+ecclesiastical foundations were already springing into existence. In a
+word, the settlements of the south, after four hundred years of ruin and
+desertion, were once more beginning a new existence. The day when
+William rode up to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception, marked a new
+birth for the long-suffering suburb of the Embankment and the Causeway.
+A hundred years later still--in 1176--they began to build their Bridge
+of Stone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY
+
+
+The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth century.
+But it is perfectly easy from them and from the historical facts to draw
+a map of all that country lying between Deptford and Battersea which we
+have agreed to call South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there
+were buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St. Margaret's
+Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand side, just under
+the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church. The Bridge was thus protected on the
+north by St. Magnus, on the south by St. Olave--two Danish saints--and
+in the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas à Becket.
+There were houses along the Embankment on either side, but more on the
+west of the Causeway than on the east. A few houses were built already
+on the low-lying ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south
+and south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's a single
+straight lane with no houses ran across country to Bermondsey Abbey; on
+the west of the Causeway another lane led to Kennington Palace, from
+which another lane led to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to
+the Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.
+
+The place was essentially a suburb. There were no trades or industries
+in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen had their cottages dotted
+about all along the Embankment; a few watermen lived here, but that was
+perhaps later: other working men there were none, save the cooks and
+varlets of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because the
+air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and because the
+place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster and the Court, many
+great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had their town houses here: the
+Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the
+Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John
+Fastolfe, also the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by
+bridge and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while they went
+across the river and transacted their business. It was a suburb which,
+in modern times, would be described as needing no poor rate. Later on
+there grew up, as we shall see, a class of the unclassed--a population
+of rogues and vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.
+
+The government of the place as a whole was difficult, or rather
+impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the Liberty of Bermondsey;
+that of the Bishop of Winchester; that of the King; that of the Mayor.
+The last contained the part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's
+Dock on the west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district was called the
+Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King to the City of London in the
+thirteenth century in order to prevent the place from becoming the home
+and refuge of criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained
+outside the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was not
+very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding shelter on
+the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It
+was from this unavoidable hospitality to persons escaping from justice
+that Southwark received a character which has stuck to it till the
+present day. In the centuries which include the twelfth to the
+fifteenth, however, South London, so far as it was populated at all,
+was the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark was spotless and
+its dignity enviable. London itself had no such collection of palaces
+gathered together so closely. As for the land, that lay low, but was
+protected by the Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats; there was an
+abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that parts of the land were dark
+at midday by reason of the trees growing so close together. The rivulets
+were pretty little streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside
+them; they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks grew
+wild flowers--the marsh mallow, the anemone, the hedgehog grass, the
+frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort; orchards flourished in the
+fat and fertile soil. The people had almost forgotten the special need
+of their Embankment. Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at
+Lambeth was broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square
+miles of country, including all that part which is now called Battersea.
+
+Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single house upon the
+whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole of Bermondsey Marsh. The
+houses began near what is now the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they
+faced the river, having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite to Wapping.
+
+The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty had its own
+prison. Thus there were the Clink of the Winchester Liberty, that of the
+Bermondsey Liberty, the 'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and
+the Marshalsea, all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And there
+were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the terror of
+evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In every parish
+there was the whipping post--one in St. Mary Overy's churchyard, put up
+after the time of the monks; one at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the
+pillory for neck and hands, generally with somebody on it, but the
+pillory was movable; there was the cage--one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge--women had to stand in the cage; there were stocks for feet
+wandering and trespassing; there were pounds for stray animals.
+
+Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's; in the precinct
+of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street called 'Long Southwark'--now
+High Street--from the Bridge to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not
+suppose that the markets of Southwark presented the same crowded
+appearance, and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those
+of Chepe and Newgate on the other side.
+
+Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in Southwark. The
+Princes of the Church arrived and departed, each with his retinue of
+chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen and livery. Kings and ambassadors
+rode up from Dover through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The
+mayor and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains sallied
+forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades of pilgrims for
+Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome, and Jerusalem rode out of
+Southwark when the spring returned; and every day there arrived and
+departed long lines of packhorses laden with the produce of the country
+and with things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was nothing but
+a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here for a few weeks and
+then went away; the great lords came here when they had business at
+Court and then went away again; the merchants came and went: by itself
+the place had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own at
+all.
+
+There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately; both are full of
+history. Let us consider the House of Bermondsey, because it is less
+generally known than the other of St. Mary Overy or Overies.
+
+[Illustration: The Monastery of Bermondsey]
+
+The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster of South
+London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey stood upon a low islet in the midst
+of a marsh; at the distance of half a mile on the north ran the river;
+half a mile on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which the House
+lay that the only road which connected it with the world was that lane
+called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie Lane, which ran from the Abbey
+to St. Olave's and so to London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a
+place of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated from
+the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been gradually drained
+and the Embankment continued through Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond
+the Greenwich levels, the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely
+fertile and wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.
+
+The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin Childe, a merchant
+of the City, an Alderman also and one of the ruling families of London.
+He was the son of an elder Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten
+Guild' which, with all its members and all its property--the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken--went over to the Priory of the Holy
+Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind was therefore hereditary
+in the family. The elder Ailwin became a monk, the younger founded a
+monastery; his son, the third of the family of whom we know anything,
+became the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years--the rest of his life.
+
+[Illustration: BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth century is full of
+a pathetic longing after a religious Order, if that could be found, of
+true and proved sanctity. One Order after the other arises; one after
+the other challenges respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto
+unknown kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who always
+admire voluntary privation of what they value so much--food and drink;
+it receives endowments, gifts, foundations of all kinds; it then departs
+from the ancient rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This
+is the simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the Cluniac was
+in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly kept: and for an
+austerity strictly enforced. It was a Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe
+set up in Bermondsey, and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the
+Cluniac House of Lewes, enriched.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien owing
+obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its revenues,
+therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received its Priors from
+abroad. In the reign of Henry the Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on
+account of the Alien Priories came to a head, and they were all
+suppressed, or at least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent.
+The Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of an
+Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until the Dissolution.
+
+The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage dotted about round
+London--places accessible in a single day's journey. Thus there were the
+three shrines of Willesden, Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each
+possessing an image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at Bermondsey
+there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited in the summer by pious
+pilgrims from London. The Rood had been fished up from the Thames, and
+no one knew its history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and
+of prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious. It was,
+moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below the Bridge would take
+the pilgrim over to the opposite shore in a few minutes, where a cross
+standing before a lane leading out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the
+way. It was but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.
+
+'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the Rood of
+North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among while ye abide in London;
+and let my sister Margery go with you to pray to them that she may have
+a good husband or she come home again.'
+
+One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should resign this
+valuable possession without a remonstrance. He made, in fact, the
+strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457 he sent over three monks with
+orders to lay the case before the King, and to invite his attention
+especially to the papers showing the clear and indisputable right of the
+Mother Convent to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no one heeded
+them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one replied to their
+arguments. This neglect was perhaps the cause why one of them died while
+in this country. The other two went home again, having accomplished
+nothing. One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:--
+
+    For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having spent
+    four months and a half on our journey, and following our Right with
+    the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we have
+    obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate, deprived
+    of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still worse, we
+    are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which are 38 in
+    number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies of your
+    Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our pleading
+    and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth, after paying
+    for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five crowns left, to
+    go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We will sell what we have:
+    we will go on: and God will provide. Nothing else occurs to write to
+    your Paternity: but that as we entered England with joy, so we
+    depart thence with sorrow: having buried one of our Companions--viz.
+    the Archdeacon, the youngest of our company. May he rest in Peace!
+    Amen.
+
+There is not at the present moment a single stone of this stately House
+visible, though there were many remains above ground one hundred years
+ago. It is a pity, because there is the association of two Queens, not
+to speak of many great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments,
+connected with this House secluded in the Marsh.
+
+The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois, widow of Henry the
+Fifth. The story is the most romantic, perhaps, of all the stories
+connected with our line of sovereigns and Queens and Royal Princes. It
+is not a new story, and yet it is not so well known that any apology is
+needed for telling it once more.
+
+Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine, began to live in the
+seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her widowhood. Among her household,
+the office of Clerk to the Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome
+Welshman named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a plain Welsh
+gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in the service of the Bishop
+of Chester. He distinguished himself at Agincourt in the following of
+some nobleman unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier--that is, a man with a pike or a
+bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw off when the battle
+began. The opportunities for a common soldier to distinguish himself in
+such an action were few, nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man
+from the ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire to
+the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen Tudor was
+regarded as a common soldier: since his father was a gentleman in the
+service of the Bishop of Chester, he himself would go to war as a
+gentleman in the service and wearing the livery of some noble lord.
+
+In this way, however, his promotion began. When the King married, Owen
+Tudor was attached to the household of the Queen. After the death of
+Henry he accompanied the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to
+the Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was wanted by the
+Queen--her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold. He was therefore brought
+into much closer and more direct relation with the Queen than other
+officers of the household. He pleased her by his appearance, his
+accomplishments, and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very
+well. There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or
+accomplishments he pleased. The fact remains that he did please the
+Queen, and that so much that she consented to a secret marriage with
+him. It was a dangerous step for this Welsh adventurer to take: it was a
+step which would cover the Queen with dishonour should it become known.
+That the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of the
+age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should be capable of
+union with any lower man; should ally her royal line with that of a man
+who could only call himself gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would
+certainly be considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal
+family, and the country at large.
+
+The marriage was not found out for some years. The Queen must have been
+most faithfully and loyally served, because children cannot be born
+without observation. Owen Tudor must have conducted matters with a
+discretion beyond all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the
+household knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and one daughter,
+in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of Hadham, was so called because
+he was born there; the second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen,
+of Westminster; the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.
+
+Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of Owen, which took
+place apparently before it was expected and without all the precautions
+necessary, in the King's House at Westminster. The infant was taken as
+soon as born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not likely
+that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge of his
+parents. He did take the child, however; and here the little Owen
+remained, growing up in a monastery, and taking vows in due time. Here
+he lived and here he died, a Benedictine of Westminster.
+
+It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, heard some whisper or
+rumour concerning this birth, or was told something about the true
+nature of the Queen's illness, for he issued a very singular
+proclamation, warning the world, generally, against marrying Queen
+dowagers, as if these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born, Humphrey learned
+the whole truth: the degradation, as he thought it, of the Queen, who
+had stooped to such an alliance, and the humble rank and the audacity of
+the Welshman. He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with some of her
+ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain in honourable confinement:
+he arrested Owen Tudor, a priest--probably the priest who had performed
+the marriage--and his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.
+
+All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At this point the
+story gets mixed. The King himself, we are told, then a lad of fifteen,
+sent to Owen commanding his attendance before the Council. Why did they
+not arrest him again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council--was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of them? He asked for
+a safe-conduct. They promised him one by a verbal message. Where was he,
+then, that all these messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I
+think he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal message, and
+demanded a written safe-conduct. This was granted him, and he returned
+to London. But he mistrusted even the written promise; he would not face
+the Council: he took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained. It is said
+that they tried to draw him out by sending old friends who invited him
+to the taverns outside the Abbey Precinct. But Owen would not be so
+drawn. He knew that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must have had some
+secret understanding with the King; for one day, learning that Henry
+himself was with the Council, he suddenly presented himself and pleaded
+his own cause. The mild young king, tender on account of his mother,
+would not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.
+
+He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome air: he made
+for Wales. Here the hostility of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was
+once more arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to Newgate, he and
+his priest and his servant. Once more they all three broke prison,
+'foully' wounding a warder in the achievement of liberty, and got back
+to Wales, choosing for their residence the mountainous parts into which
+the English garrisons never penetrated.
+
+When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed to return, and was
+presented with a pension of £40 a year. It is remarkable, however, that
+he received no promotion, or rank; that he was never knighted; and that
+the title of Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It
+certainly seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a gentleman
+was not recognised by the King or the heralds. Perhaps Welsh gentility
+was as little understood by these Normans as Irish royalty--yet, so far
+as length of pedigree goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to
+Normans.
+
+The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under the charge of
+Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and sister of the Earl of
+Suffolk. When the King came of age he remembered his half-brothers:
+Edmund was made Earl of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked
+before all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the foundress of
+Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge. Her son, as everybody
+knows, was Henry VII.
+
+As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began so well on the
+field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he should, for his step-son
+and King, under the badge of the Red Rose. When the Civil Wars began he
+joined the King's forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty.
+He fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's Cross,
+where another fight took place. The Lancastrians were defeated. Owen was
+taken prisoner, and was cruelly beheaded on the field. It was right and
+just that he should so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen
+twenty-four years.
+
+The unfortunate Katharine, whose _mésalliance_ gave us the strongest
+sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not long survive the disgrace
+of discovery. As to public knowledge of the fact, one cannot learn how
+widely it was extended. Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak
+of it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were acknowledged
+by the King there was no pretence at concealment. To be the son of a
+French Princess and a Welsh gentleman was not, after all, a matter for
+shame or concealment. Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her in less
+than a year after her imprisonment among the orchards and meadows of the
+Precinct. It is said that her remorse during her last days was very
+deep; not for her second marriage, but for having allowed her
+accouchement of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against which
+she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor shall lose all that
+Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas! had Henry of Windsor been Henry of
+Monmouth himself, he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there
+be a worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper and the son
+of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson of a madman and a
+Messalina.
+
+[Illustration: ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death. She asks for
+masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants: for her debts to be
+paid. And she says not one word about her children by Owen Tudor. She
+confesses by this silence that she is ashamed. She confesses by this
+silence that, being a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her
+widowhood to have been mated with any less than a King.
+
+'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son the King,
+'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly ye best may and
+will best tender and favour my will, in ordaining for my soul and body,
+in seeing that my debts be paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender
+and favourable fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but--where is the mention of her children? Perhaps, however,
+she knew that the King would provide for them.
+
+Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs were
+known'--Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel much sympathy with
+this unfortunate woman, yet there are few scenes of history more full of
+pathos and of mournfulness than that in which her boy was torn from her
+arms; and she knew--all knew--even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew--that the boy was to be done to death. When one talks of
+Queens and their misfortunes, it may be remembered that few Queens have
+suffered more than Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart
+from other Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that long war it
+seems impossible to find one single character, man or woman--unless it
+is King Henry--who is true and loyal. All--all--are perjured,
+treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is
+the friend and companion of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other
+side of him; treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen.
+Elizabeth met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was accused of being
+privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck: she was more
+Yorkist than her husband; she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and
+the White were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That she
+was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she bore. We must
+make allowance: she was always in a false position; Edward ought not to
+have married her; she was hated by her own party; she was compelled in
+the interests of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These things,
+however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we ought to feel for
+so many misfortunes.
+
+[Illustration: 'LE LOKE']
+
+She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey, where she could
+sit and watch the ships go up and down, and so feel that the world, with
+which she had no more concern, still continued. It has been suggested
+that she retired voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in
+the character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a daughter
+or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of Valois, she made an
+end not without dignity. Witness the following clause in her will:--
+
+    _Item._ Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the Queen's
+    Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward any of my
+    children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God Almighty to
+    bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as good a heart
+    and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my blessing and all
+    the aforesaid my children.
+
+In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an ecclesiastical
+foundation which has somehow dropped out of history and become no more
+than a name. If this were a history of South London it would be
+necessary to devote an equal space to other houses; to the churches and
+to the two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the religious
+foundations of South London without mention of the other great House,
+more ancient than that of Bermondsey. Few Americans who visit London
+leave it without paying a pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful
+church which glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that excellent
+poet whom the professors of literature praise and nobody reads, died and
+lies buried in this church; it was the church of the playerfolk: here
+lie buried Edmund Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and
+Philip Henslow. Here lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which
+the Church allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers and the strikers
+of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting. Here were tried notable
+heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and many more, while Gardiner and Bonner
+thundered and bullied. From this church the martyrs went forth to meet
+the flames. The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach them. The
+stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where they could read, mark,
+learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned teaching of Bonner and his
+friends.
+
+It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom of Cranmer and
+the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming Protestant reaction.
+So great was the horror, they say, of the people at the death of the
+Archbishop, that the whole nation was roused--and so on. For myself I
+like to think that, as the people would feel now, so, _mutatis
+mutandis_, they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much horror, I believe, as
+when from their own ranks, from their own houses, from their own
+families, men and women and boys were taken out and led to execution.
+Violent deaths--by beheading, by hanging, by the flames--were witnessed
+every day. How many were hanged by Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did
+not touch the people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country--the blameless Carthusians--suffered death
+as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir Thomas More; when
+witches were burned they looked on. It was when they saw their own
+brothers, sisters, cousins, dragged out and put to death without a
+cause, that they began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not
+the manner of death that affected them, because burning was a thing so
+common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest and godly folk, and
+the behaviour of the people at their death. Tender women chained to the
+stake suffered without a groan, only praying loudly till death came;
+people remembered, they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last prayer
+before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer stepped into his
+place with a smiling face and welcomed the fiery lane that led him to
+the place where he longed to be: was this, they asked, the courage
+inspired of God, or of the devil? They remembered how another washed
+his hands in the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone upon him; and
+it was even like unto the countenance of the Blessed Lord. The sight and
+the remembrance of the sufferings of their own folk, not the execution
+at a distance of an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome with a hatred from
+which it has not wholly recovered even in these latter days.
+
+The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both the great Houses
+of Southwark.
+
+It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there should be a
+provision for the poor, the sick, and those who were orphans. St. Mary
+Overy had a hospital adjoining the priory which was an almshouse
+certainly, and probably an orphanage as well. It was under the care of
+the Archdeacon of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry
+intended for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely secluded: it
+lay far from any highway; there were no houses, except farm buildings
+for the monastery's labourers; there were no poor, no sick, and no
+orphans. So that, when the great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and
+crossed the river by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would be well to
+rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark Causeway. This was
+done, and the Hospital of St. Mary was united with it, and the new
+foundation which Bishop Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was
+named after St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for
+the sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and sisters
+under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a school, and an infirmary;
+but not, as St. Bartholomew's was from the beginning altogether, only a
+hospital for the sick.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM
+THE SOUTH]
+
+As for the religious life of the place, it was in most respects like
+that of London. There were no houses for Friars, but the Friars came
+across the river _en quête_, 'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in
+the taverns were put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful
+(towards the end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty
+of life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries of the
+great Houses--the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester, the Abbots of
+Lewes, Hyde, and Battle--went about their errands; there were Gilds,
+notably that of St. George, which had their processions and their days:
+there were crosses and images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed
+his hat--in the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas à
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and bargee paid
+reverence.
+
+Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by the Church. There
+was whipping, but not the terrible murderous flogging of the eighteenth
+century; there were hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the
+credit of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush a man, but to
+shame him into repentance, and to give him a chance of retrieving his
+character. A man might be set in the stocks, or put in pillory, and so
+made to feel the heinousness of his offence. This punishment was like
+that which is inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned him,
+transported him, made a brute of him, and then hanged him. Did a woman
+speak despitefully of authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the
+cage besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should see her
+there and should ask what she had done. After an hour or two take her
+down; bid her go home and keep henceforth a quiet tongue in her head.
+This leniency was only for offences moral and against the law. For
+freedom of thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way. And
+it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted Royal Houses,
+Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side were Westminster,
+Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene, Theobald's, Hatfield,
+Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon, Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the
+Tower; on the south side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew,
+Hampton, Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House of
+Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these royal houses are
+now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves some ruins left of Edward IV.'s
+buildings; it still shows the moat and the old bridge, and the line of
+its former wall; but tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories
+of the Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King John.
+The sailors--now, alas! also gone--have deprived Greenwich of Edward VI.
+and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared
+away. Of Kennington, of which I have to speak in this place, not one
+stone remains upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is gone and
+forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although part of the
+ruins were still standing only a hundred years ago.
+
+The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace was
+deserted; it was pulled down before 1607--Camden says that even then
+there was not a stone remaining--there was not a single house within
+half a mile in every direction. There was no one, when the last stones
+had been carted away, left to remember or to remind his children that
+there had been a palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but
+no tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then came the
+destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was not even a cottage
+near the spot. This being so, it is not difficult to understand why the
+site was forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: THE LONG BARN]
+
+The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the substructures; a
+building of stone and thatch, part of the offices of the palace, also
+stood. They called it the 'Long Barn,' and when the distressed
+Protestants were brought over here in 1700 as many as the place would
+hold were crammed into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the
+country between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of the
+palace there was not a single person left who could carry on the
+tradition of the king's house that once stood here. Roque, the map-maker
+of 1745, knew nothing about it. In 1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At
+the beginning of the century houses began to rise here and there;
+streets began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens and
+the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a place which,
+as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred years. 'Is this
+fame?' might ask the king who crowned himself here, the king who died
+here, the king who was brought up here, the kings who kept their
+Christmas feast here, the kings who here received their brides, held
+Parliament, and went out a-hunting.
+
+The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot, son of Cnut--that
+is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there was no other house at Lambeth.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+The king who died in this house was that young Dane who appears to have
+been an incarnation of the ideal Danish brutality. He dragged his
+brother's body out of its grave and flung it into the Thames; he
+massacred the people of Worcester and ravaged the shire; and he did
+these brave deeds and many others all in two short years. Then he went
+to his own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic. For one
+so young it showed with what a yearning and madness he had been
+drinking. He went across the river--there was, I repeat, no other house
+in Lambeth except this, so that it must have been here--to attend the
+wedding of his standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of
+the Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate of
+Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for hard drinking,
+while the minstrels played and sang and the mummers tumbled. When men
+were well drunken the pleasing sport of bone throwing began: they threw
+the beef bones at each other. The fun of the game consisted in the
+accident of a man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed. The soldiers
+had no special desire to kill the old man: why couldn't he enter into
+the spirit of the game and dodge the bones? As he did not, of course he
+was hit, and as the bone was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a
+powerful hand, of course it split open his skull. One may be permitted
+to think that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a big beef
+bone which knocked him down; and as he remained comatose until he died,
+the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it said that even in sport his king
+had been killed at his wedding, gave out that the king fell down in a
+fit. This, however, is speculation.
+
+Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was compiled, the place
+was in the possession of a London citizen, Theodric by name and a
+goldsmith by trade. It was still a royal manor, because the goldsmith
+held it of Edward the Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a
+year. It is impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and price of
+other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the wages and pay of
+servants and officers; and when we have done all, we are still very far
+from understanding the value of money then or at any subsequent time.
+There are, you see, so many points which the writers on the value of
+money do not take into consideration. There is the price of bread; but
+then there were so many kinds of bread--wheaten bread, barley bread, oat
+bread, rye bread; and how much bread did a family of the working class
+consume? Flesh, fish, fowl, but how much of either did the working
+classes enjoy? Rent? But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent.
+There is, in a word, not only the market prices that have to be
+considered, but the standard of comfort--always a little higher than the
+practice--and the daily relations of the demand to the supply. So that
+when we read that this manor of Kennington was worth three pounds a year
+we are not advanced in the least. As most of the land was still marshy
+and useless, we may understand that the value was low.
+
+We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King Richard granted it on
+lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy with the title of Lord of the
+Manor. Henry III. came here on several occasions; here he held his
+Lambeth Parliament. He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the
+feasting and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.
+
+The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying map. If you walk
+along the Kennington Road from Bridge Street, Westminster, you presently
+come to a place where four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the
+left, and Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to the
+Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand side stood the
+palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house and grounds was executed;
+but by that time the mediæval character of the place was quite
+forgotten. It was a square house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King
+Henry III. at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing the
+'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the palace really was in the
+thirteenth or fourteenth century is to compare it with another palace
+built under much the same conditions, and intended to serve the same
+purpose. Fortunately there still stand, some miles to the east of
+Kennington, at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary palace,
+with a description of the place as it was before it was allowed to fall
+into ruins.
+
+We are not at this moment concerned with the history of Eltham.
+Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately place for five
+hundred years and more; that it passed through the hands of Bishop Odo;
+of the Mandevilles; of the De Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of
+Geoffrey le Scrope of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins
+with Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends with
+Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from Greenwich. Here
+Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth to a son, John of Eltham. The
+greatest builder at Eltham was Edward IV.
+
+The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited it, is said
+to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms on the ground floor
+and first floor called the King's side and the Queen's side. There were
+buildings and rooms of all kinds round the courtyard. The number of
+chambers in all was very great, and it is said, further, that the large
+courtyard covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area would give about
+two hundred and ten feet to each side of a square. This would be large
+for a college at Oxford or Cambridge. It would cover about the same area
+as that of New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for the
+'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms for the
+servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who accompanied the king, the
+grooms, armourers, makers and menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and
+scullions, and the women servants, and the wives and the children. A
+strong stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded the
+palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the bridge which
+crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate had its portcullis. The
+palace, in a word, was a fortress, for there was never a king in England
+who would have dared to keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified
+manor house, or outside a fortress--certainly not Henry III. or Edward
+IV.--unless, of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of his
+army.
+
+The existing remains of the palace correspond to this description. There
+is the moat, deep and broad; there is the bridge, the drawbridge gone.
+Within, the most important ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall.
+This is a most noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it
+was built; the two magnificent bays remain, with the double row of
+windows. It would be difficult to find a finer banqueting hall in the
+whole country than that of Eltham. In the grounds, the traces of the
+wall and those of other buildings ought to make it possible, with a very
+little excavation, to trace a plan of the whole house.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace]
+
+As was Eltham, so was Kennington. Both places were built for the same
+purpose about the same time. Both were castles erected on a plain
+without the aid of hillock, mound or running stream--unless the moat at
+Kennington was fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream or the
+ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn' on the east side of
+the palace belonged to the 'service'--it was kitchens, stables, armoury,
+brewery, or granary. The house itself had its principal entrance on the
+north. This is certain, because all the supplies were brought by what
+is now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or from Southwark.
+A gate on this side simplified the transference which took place when
+the court moved from one place to another; when everything--bedding,
+blankets, utensils of all kinds, plate, _batterie de cuisine_, the
+workmen with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen--was packed up
+and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington, or from
+Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods sent up from the City were
+also landed at Stangate, Lambeth, so as to get as short a land journey
+as possible. For these reasons I place the principal gate at the north.
+
+I have seen it stated--I know not with what truth--that the people of
+the streets now on the site have found substructures beneath their
+houses. If so, one would expect, what one cannot find, some tradition to
+account for the existence of these stone vaults.
+
+Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress of the Lambeth
+Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal residence; now completely
+vanished.
+
+Two other royal houses there were in South London, neither of which can
+be compared with Kennington. Greenwich, for instance, which appears in
+history from the time of King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V.,
+Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth--all had
+more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII. completed his
+buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left, that is, the mediæval
+fortress for the modern house. His Greenwich was not fortified. The
+accompanying view of it shows that it possessed none of the
+characteristics of the ancient residence, half castle, half manor house.
+Greenwich, however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would most certainly
+resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington, with certain small
+differences, just as one Benedictine monastery resembles in its general
+disposition another Benedictine monastery, and one Norman castle in
+general terms, and allowing for the site, resembles another.
+
+The other house of which I have spoken is that of Nonesuch. This house
+was not a reconstruction and an adaptation with much of the ancient
+work: it was newly built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was
+no suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the house
+stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful according to our ideas; nor was it what we
+now call a Tudor house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's
+interference with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from the heathen
+mythology. The house was pulled down by the Duchess of Cleveland, to
+whom Charles II. gave it. Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with
+Kennington, and must not detain us.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich]
+
+Let us next consider what it means when the king is said to have kept
+his Christmas at a place.
+
+During the festival--for twenty days--he kept open house, nominally.
+That is to say, all comers received food and drink: his guests, one
+supposes, were bidden. Every day during the festival the king sat at the
+feast wearing his crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the
+most prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day no
+fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the number was at
+Christmas no one knows. In addition to the ordinary following of the
+court--a huge army of chaplains, canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen
+archers, and servants--there were the bishops and abbots, the peers and
+barons, who came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own
+following of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment would
+be needed! The organisation was complete; everything was in departments,
+each under the yeomen: the chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the
+stables, the cellars. Yet what an army in each department! Then, since
+at Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master of the
+Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated following; among them
+were all those who played on the different instruments of music, those
+who sang, the buffoons, tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was
+in the time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over for
+the delectation of the English court--perhaps with the pious intention
+of showing what joys and attractions awaited the Crusaders in the Holy
+Land itself.
+
+Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and fifty
+years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:--
+
+'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at Grenewiche, wher was
+suche abundance of viands served to all comers of any honest behaviour,
+as hath been few times seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in
+the Hall, a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with
+artilerie, and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the frount
+of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and within the castle
+were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide all over with leves of
+golde, and every owde knit with laces of blewe silke and golde; on ther
+heddes, coyfes and cappes all of golde. After this castle had been
+carried about the hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng
+with five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche cloth of
+gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered with workes of
+fine gold bullion. These six assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them
+so lustie and coragious were content to solace with them, and upon
+farther communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came down and
+daunced a long space. And after the ladies led the knightes into the
+castle, and then the castle sodainly vanished out of their sight.
+
+'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with XI other were
+disguised after the manner of Italie, called a maske, a thing not seen
+afore in Englande; they were apparelled in garments long and brode,
+wrought all with gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the
+banket doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised in
+silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to daunce; some
+were content, and some that knew the fashion of it refused, because it
+was not a thing commonly seen. And after they daunced and commoned
+together as the fashion of the maske is, thei tooke their leave and
+departed. And so did the Quene and all the ladies.'
+
+When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed up the gear:
+the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes, pillows, curtains,
+tapestry and carpets. They were all laid upon waggons, the broad-wheeled
+creaking waggons which were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy
+lanes by teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies were
+carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the king and his
+followers rode; and so they went back to Westminster. The ferry carried
+over the heavy goods and the horses: the royal barges received the
+court. After them marched the whole rout--the two thousand archers
+without whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly, when
+the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians and the mummers
+and the singers marched off sadly. A whole twelvemonth before another
+Christmas! They marched in the direction of the City, and that night, as
+they report, there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the principal
+officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe, of the cellars, of
+the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation being kept up in readiness,
+though the king might not come back for years. This fact was illustrated
+a short time ago, when I was interested in watching the progress of a
+certain genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left his
+house; it was necessary to connect him with his own descendants. The
+link was found in the fact that this younger son had been received by
+Carey, warden of Hunsdon House, who made him one of his yeomen; a
+cheerless appointment, like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden
+and yeomen, representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and silent
+gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of emptiness, during
+which it is best to keep out of them. For my own part, I think the true
+way of enjoying a palace is to frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all
+that was said and to put down all that was done, but not to be an actor
+in a drama which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered about the court
+of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.? Richard murders his uncle,
+Henry IV. murders his cousin, Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it
+is true, murders no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a
+perpetual series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who looked
+on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for his history,
+while in the whole of that court there was no one whose head was safe on
+his shoulders except Froissart. Unfortunately, he says little about this
+palace which we are considering.
+
+There are many names of kings and princes connected with this house of
+Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally. During his reign it was the
+residence of John Earl of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl
+of Warren and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these and
+other names, had the writer time or the reader patience. In truth, the
+reader's patience is more to be considered than the writer's time, for
+the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting up names and notes and
+allusions, and of piecing together what, after all, his reader may not
+find of interest enough to carry him through. Edward III. made the manor
+part of the Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not find that
+Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly be haunted--especially
+the room in which he was to sleep--by the sorrowful shade of his
+murdered cousin. Nor did Henry V. come here during his short reign.
+Henry VI., however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with the palace
+was Catherine of Arragon.
+
+I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have seen the place as
+it was figured in 1636, when it was only an ordinary square house. The
+plan was drawn when Charles I. leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The
+destruction of the old house and the building of the new must have taken
+place during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When the new house
+was taken down I do not know.
+
+The name that we especially associate with Kennington Palace is that of
+Richard II. When the Black Prince died, in 1376, Richard remained at
+Kennington under the care of his mother and the tutorship of Sir
+Guiscard d'Angle, 'that accomplished knight.' The young prince started
+with the finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter years of
+his life, on the popular side against the old King and his supporters;
+the boy was endowed with a singular beauty of person, and, when he
+pleased, with a sweetness of manner most unusual even among princes,
+with whom affability is the first essential in princely manners. In
+addition to this he was destined to show on two occasions courage which
+almost amounted to insensibility--first, when he dispersed Wat Tyler's
+mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government. History shows how
+he threw away all his chances in reckless extravagance.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+
+(_From Allen's History of Lambeth_)]
+
+After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the Lord Mayor to
+pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington, with a riding worthy of the
+City. The day chosen was the Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One
+has frequent occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely regardless
+of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth upon a pageant as
+cheerfully in the cold of February as in the sunshine of August. On this
+occasion, one hundred and thirty-two citizens on horseback, with
+trumpets and other musical instruments, and a vast number of
+_flambeaux_, assembled at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond the Borough.
+First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of esquires--with red
+coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed the same number apparelled
+as knights in the same livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic
+figure, who represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty
+cardinals. They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with black
+vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell. This accounts for
+one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole number. The last man is not
+described. To them must be added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with
+men carrying the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy
+to the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company of
+'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after it and shouting.
+When it arrived at Kennington Palace they all dismounted and entered the
+hall, where they found the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and
+their attendants, together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great
+lords. The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who then
+produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them. Would you
+believe it?--every time the Prince threw, he won, which was in itself a
+remarkable circumstance. He carried off his winnings: a bowl of pure
+gold, chased and decorated; a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold
+ring. They then invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and
+other nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited to supper
+in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his mother. After supper,
+the tables were taken away--they were only planks laid on trestles and
+covered with white cloths--and the floor being cleared, the masquers had
+the honour of dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+_flambeaux_ were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well pleased with
+the reception they had met and the courtesy of the best behaved boy in
+the world.
+
+In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which arose out of
+Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between the Bishop of
+London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after the dismissal of Wyclyf,
+repaired to the house of John de Ypres, close beside the river, where he
+was sitting at dinner when one of his following ran hastily to warn him
+that the people were flocking together with intent to murder him if they
+could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the nearest stairs, took a
+boat across the river, and fled as quickly as possible to Kennington
+Palace, where he took shelter with the young Prince Richard and his
+guardians. The mob, finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to
+the Savoy, his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the Duke in
+countenance; they were then persuaded by the Bishop of London to go home
+without doing any more mischief. What would have happened one knows not,
+but the death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up the
+peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens. Hearing that
+Edward was _in extremis_, the Mayor and Aldermen waited on the Princess
+of Wales and Prince Richard informing them of the King's critical
+situation, and beseeching the Prince's favour to the City; they also
+begged him to interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's
+differences with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt
+freely forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity of his
+son Henry.
+
+[Illustration: The High Street Southwark as it appeared MDXLIII]
+
+It might be argued that the various impressions as regards London
+produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct towards the
+citizens when he grew older. The first experiment he had of the citizens
+was when they rode over in a goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold
+chains and finely appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he
+remembered that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a kind of
+impression which does not easily die away.
+
+His second impression of the City was when his uncle, John of Gaunt,
+came flying from the City, having barely escaped with his life, the
+people having gone on to wreck, if they could, his palace of the Savoy.
+A turbulent and dangerous people, then, as well as rich; a people to be
+kept down.
+
+He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way to be crowned at
+Westminster. All the way there was nothing but rich tapestry, carpets,
+scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet, pageants with cloth of gold,
+and the streets filled with men and women dressed in rich furs and
+silks, such as only great barons could afford. This third impression
+confirmed the first.
+
+His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate at the mercy of
+a large mob, unable to move or to help itself. He went into the City
+almost alone; he, by one single act of splendid courage, put an end to
+the insurrection. A City cowardly, therefore, and unable to act
+together. It was his City, moreover--the _Camera Regis_. Should not a
+prince do what he pleases with his own?
+
+When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City: how he believed
+its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed that it had no power
+to resist; how he made the way easy for his cousin to supplant him, let
+us bear in mind the lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for
+him in his youth.
+
+This King seizes on the imagination of all who think about him. His is
+one of the strangest of all the strange figures which crowd the National
+Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed with artistic instincts; a lover of
+music and all the fine arts; of singularly winning manners; the
+comeliest man in his whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in
+his court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in his youth never
+ceased to love; for whose soul--not for the soul of Henry
+IV.--Whittington, for instance, left money for masses--this is a figure
+among our English kings which has no parallel.
+
+One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last occasion on which
+Richard lodged there was when he brought home his little bride Isabel,
+the queen of eight years. They brought her from Dover, resting on the
+way at Canterbury and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the
+Mayor and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to do
+honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into their place
+and rode on with the procession. When they arrived at Newington, the
+King thanked the Mayor and permitted him to leave the procession and
+return home. He himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country
+lane from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this proves the
+existence of a path or lane where is now Upper Kennington Lane. At this
+palace the little queen rested a night, and next day was carried in
+another procession to the Tower. The knights rode before, and the French
+ladies came after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair
+hair falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up and
+smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be queen, which she
+had been practising ever since her betrothal. Needless to say that all
+hearts were ravished. The good people of London were ever ready to
+welcome one princess after another, and to lose their hearts to them,
+whether it was Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne
+Boleyn, or Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great a
+press was there that many were actually squeezed to death on London
+Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in breadth. Isabel's
+queenship proved a pretence: before she was old enough to be queen,
+indeed, her husband was in confinement; before she understood that he
+was a captive, he was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was
+over. The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself, desired
+to take the place of Richard; his father also desired the match, for the
+sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she was still, had the heart of a
+woman; she had learned to love her handsome, courteous, accomplished
+lord, who died before he could claim her; she refused absolutely to
+marry the son of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by
+persuasion; they did not dare to force her: let us believe that Harry of
+Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to marry him. There was
+nothing therefore left to do, but to send her home to what was certainly
+the most miserable court or palace in the world--that of her mad father.
+In the end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans. You may
+read the verses which he made upon her death. Isabel died in childbirth
+in her twenty-second year. As for Harry of Monmouth, as all the world
+knows, he was obliged to content himself with Isabel's younger sister,
+Katharine; we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to a
+suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay not so fine as
+that of Isabel, her sister.
+
+
+2. ELTHAM PALACE
+
+The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal House of
+Eltham, already mentioned in connection with Kennington. The place
+itself seems to have been a settlement of some kind, a town or village,
+in very ancient times. In the thirteenth century it was considered of
+importance enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before the Feast
+of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after. In the fourteenth
+century the market day was altered to Monday, but the Fair remained; in
+the fifteenth century the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair
+was changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul, on the
+Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and the Fair have long
+since been discontinued. The importance of both depended on the
+occasional presence of the Court, and when that was removed altogether
+from the place there was no longer any necessity for either market or
+Fair Day. Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many miles
+round. So long as it contained one of the recognised Palaces, even
+though years might pass by without a visit from the sovereign, there
+was, attached to the house, the permanent staff to a Governor or warder,
+with chiefs of the various departments and the men or assistants under
+them. The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a kind
+of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for all sorts of
+things. On those rare occasions when the Court was actually in Residence
+at Eltham, the market had to furnish supplies, to which all the country
+round had to contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may have been
+very great; no doubt word would be sent long beforehand if the King
+proposed to keep Christmas there. The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef
+put in the pickling tubs in November--vast quantities of beef, for,
+Christmas or not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt
+beef. At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay within easy
+reach of the London market; so was Westminster. Greenwich was accessible
+by ships from the lower reaches of the Thames as well as from London.
+Eltham, no doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there were of very
+little use. The annals of the Palace are simple, rather than scanty; in
+fact, there is plenty of mention made of the Palace, yet very little of
+importance is recorded concerning it. All that is recorded of it belongs
+to peace and festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl
+of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and the confiscation of his estates,
+the manor belonged partly to the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles.
+Thence it passed into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in succession.
+
+There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very ancient times.
+The historian says that he cannot ascertain when the Palace was built
+(see p. 74). Since the origin of the House is unknown, he argues that it
+must have been ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings
+and Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have to be
+catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance, the following list
+of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot pretend that it is of much
+interest.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796]
+
+In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace of Eltham with
+the Queen and his nobles. After this the name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of
+Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built
+a great deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He died at
+Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there seem to have been no
+other buildings. Now we come back to the kings, and we find historical
+associations in plenty, though not of a kind which is moving or
+interesting. It does not excite our curiosity much to learn that this
+king or that king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of
+association which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his favourite
+games with his followers without being overseen. One of his sons, John
+of Eltham, was born here. Edward III., when still under age, had a
+Parliament at Eltham in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for
+him at Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John, his
+prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here, when the Commons
+petitioned him to make Richard, his grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard
+the Second, as we should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar
+affection; it was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with his
+extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas here: on the last
+he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with great splendour and profusion.
+Henry the Fourth kept Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first,
+the Aldermen of London and their children went down from the City to
+perform a masque before the King, who received it well. At that moment
+he was certain to receive everything well that came from the City. On
+his last visit the disease broke out which killed him. Henry the Fifth
+was here once, in 1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings. Among other
+things, he built a new front to the Palace and is said to have built the
+Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities rivalled those of Richard the
+Second. Here his daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was
+born. Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham often.
+Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he preferred Greenwich as
+a residence as soon as that house was built. Elizabeth also came here
+only once or twice, preferring Greenwich, and James the First is only
+recorded to have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased to
+be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here[1]; the Manor was
+sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration it reverted to the
+Crown; the rest of the history concerns its occupancy by private
+families. On the death of Charles the Palace was surveyed; it is
+described as being built of brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see
+p. 74) one chapel, a hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two
+large cellars; and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12
+on the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms in the
+offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre of ground: the
+house was out of repair and uninhabitable. There were gardens attached
+to the house. A moat surrounded the house, of width 60 feet, except in
+the forest, where it was 115 feet. The moat still exists on the north
+side, and can be traced all round. Of the buildings little remains
+except the old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with
+its fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments only remain of
+the other buildings; but it is said to be possible, in the gardens at
+the back, to trace out the courts and the foundations of the chapel and
+offices. The Palace is approached by a bridge of about the same date as
+the Palace, viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with
+its picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one side, and
+the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an approach to the ruin as
+could well be imagined or created.
+
+[Illustration: KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT
+
+(_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_)]
+
+One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the year 1575, when
+Henry held one of the tournaments in which in his early manhood he so
+much delighted. This is Holinshed's account of it:--
+
+'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe night in the hall was made a
+goodlie castell, woonderouslie set out, and in it certeine ladies and
+knights; and when the king and queene were set, in came other knights
+and assailed the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at
+the last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out knights
+and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich and strangelie
+disguised; for all their apparell was in braids of gold, fret with
+moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on crimson sattin, loose and not
+fastned: the mens apparell of the same sute made like Iulis of
+Hungarie; and the ladies heads and bodies were after the fashion of
+Amsterdam. And when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of
+two hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'
+
+[Illustration: Remains of Eltham Palace]
+
+There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a place so
+beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting history. Kings and
+Courts delight me not, nor do I take pleasure in reading about
+tournaments and masques.
+
+There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to think upon as
+that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy who was going to become
+such an extravagant King. One would like to have seen Edward
+entertaining his prisoner, King John of France; and one wonders what
+sort of figure was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of
+Richard's splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.
+
+Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so many guests?
+To feed two thousand every day is a great undertaking. We are accustomed
+to believe that the roads in winter were so bad as to be impassable.
+Now, everything had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the
+roads. And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too, and the
+nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads. As was stated
+above, due notice was certainly given: a vast quantity of salt
+provisions was laid down in readiness: for the rest, the country was
+fertile and well cultivated. The Park contained deer--but they could not
+kill all; the Thames, only three miles away--but then, the roads!--was
+full of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne--again, those roads!--were the homes of
+myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the inland communications
+of the fourteenth century must have been a great deal better than those
+of the seventeenth century in order to allow of Christmas being kept in
+magnificence and profusion by two thousand people in a country village.
+
+[Illustration: The Moat Bridge Eltham Palace]
+
+The views which accompany this account are taken from Lysons: they were
+engraved in the year 1796. There is not much difference in the present
+aspect: the moat has been opened again: the buildings represented on the
+south side of the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had
+been used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for visitors
+or the drilling of Volunteers.
+
+
+3. GREENWICH PALACE
+
+The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with marshes on
+either side of it--the marsh of the Ravensbourne on one side, and the
+Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on the other side of it--is as old as
+history itself. Its position as the landing-place, or point of approach,
+to the lands of Kent, a place where ships might lie, pirates and
+invaders might seize and hold as a base of operations, very early called
+attention to its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him, throwing beef
+bones at his head. As the throwing of bones was a favourite evening
+pastime with the Danes, they probably meant little at first beyond a
+friendly reminder or an invitation to take part in the game: as the
+Archbishop made no response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. 72).
+The people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place was
+once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical memories connected
+with Greenwich of interest almost equal to those of Westminster, and far
+more important and interesting than those of Eltham.
+
+Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some of these
+memories.
+
+In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.
+
+In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas Beaufort, Duke of
+Exeter, who afterwards died here.
+
+In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, with permission
+to fortify and embattle the manor house, and to enclose a park of 200
+acres. This was the true beginning of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt
+the house, which he called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he
+enclosed the Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place reverted to the
+Crown. Edward the Fourth took great pleasure in the place and beautified
+it at much cost. In 1466 he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the
+Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard Duke of
+York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with the usual rejoicings.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH, 1662
+
+(_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_)]
+
+With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of residence. He
+added a brick front on the riverside (see p. 77). Here Henry the Eighth
+was born on June 28, 1491. He was baptised in the Parish Church, the
+predecessor of the present church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all
+other Palaces, and made it during the early years of his reign the scene
+of the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much. Here he
+married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510. Here he held the great
+tournament in which he himself, Sir Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and
+Edward Neville challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept
+Christmas here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of two
+entertainments held by the King at Greenwich--one a tournament in June,
+the other at Christmas:--
+
+'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes at Greenewich,
+the king & sir Charles Brandon taking vpon them to abide all commers.
+First came the ladies all in white and red silke, set vpon coursers
+trapped in the same sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a
+founteine curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces. After
+this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke dropped with fine
+siluer, on a courser trapped in the same. Then followed a knight in a
+horsselitter, the coursers & litter apparelled in blacke with siluer
+drops. When the fountein came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about,
+and so did the founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after
+them were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts: and
+when they came to the tilts end, the two knights mounted on the two
+courses abiding all commers. The king was in the founteine, and sir
+Charles Brandon was in the litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of
+trumpets entred sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer
+the castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the earle
+of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses with the king and
+sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king brake most speares, and likelie
+was so to doo yer he began, as in former time; the prise fell to his
+lot; so luckie was he and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in
+martiall actiuitie, whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....
+
+'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in most princelie maner. And on the
+Twelfe daie at night came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount.
+The mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full of
+broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin, and the
+flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet. On the top
+stood a goodlie beacon giuing light, round about the beacon sat the king
+and fiue other, all in cotes and caps of right crimson veluet,
+embrodered with flat gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles
+of gold. And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before the
+queene, and then the king and his companie descended and dansed. Then
+suddenlie the mount opened, and out came six ladies all in crimsin
+sattin and plunket, embrodered with gold and pearle, with French hoods
+on their heads, and they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount
+tooke the ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then the king shifted
+him, and came to the queene, and sat at the banket, which was verie
+sumptuous.'
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+
+(_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_)]
+
+Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and 1536.
+
+Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of France. Six or seven
+times more Henry kept Christmas at Greenwich. In 1543, the last
+occasion, he entertained twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners,
+and released them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.
+
+Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal Wolsey was her
+godfather.
+
+King Edward the Sixth died here.
+
+Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533. She, too, spent much
+of her time at Greenwich.
+
+King James also much delighted in this place: he added to the brickwork
+by the riverside: he also walled the park and laid the foundations of
+the house afterwards called the House of Delight. The Queen, who
+received the Palace in jointure, carried on this House, which was
+afterwards completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was called
+the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's Lodge. It was not
+until 1807 that the house was granted to the Commissioners of the Royal
+Naval Asylum.
+
+Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of river, it was
+thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent of the condition
+of the roads. In other respects the position of the place was
+unrivalled: it was on a slope rising from the river in front, and from
+lowlands on either side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh
+breeze that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there was no better
+air to be got than the air of Greenwich; that of Eltham, with its
+stagnant marsh and thick woods, was close and aguish in comparison: for
+view, the broad river rolled along the Palace front and bent round to
+east and west, so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in
+Limehouse Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed and
+flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up and down, outward
+bound or homeward bound. Sitting at her window, or walking on her
+terrace, Queen Elizabeth could for herself learn what was meant by the
+foreign trade of London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the river,
+streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could understand the
+coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could ask what the hoys and
+ketches, the lighters, and the barges carried up to the Port of London
+in such numbers: she could herself, and often did, embark upon the
+stream in summer, when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships
+more closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness the
+sad history of Thomas Appletree.
+
+It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about nine o'clock of
+the evening, that an accident happened which might have had fatal
+consequences. The Queen was taking the air in her private barge, between
+Greenwich and Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl of
+Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of state.
+Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were out in a small
+boat at the same time, and on the same part of the river. They were
+Thomas Appletree, a young servant of Francis Carey, two singing boys of
+the Queen's choir, and another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself
+of a 'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load with
+ball and then fire it at random up and down the river. One of these
+haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight to the Queen's barge,
+where it passed through both arms of the oarsman nearest Her Majesty.
+The man thus unexpectedly wounded, finding himself bleeding like a
+pig--for it was a flesh wound--threw himself down, bawling and roaring
+out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him with the assurance
+that he should be properly cared for, and ordered the barge to be taken
+back to the shore at once. The man, being treated, speedily recovered.
+Meantime, who had dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question
+was very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four lads
+brought up before them. It appearing that the only guilty person was
+Thomas Appletree, the other three were suffered to depart, and Thomas
+was tried. It was ascertained that there could be no question as to the
+loyalty of Thomas's master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt
+rested on the shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was therefore
+sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments, for treason.
+Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he was taken from Newgate and
+conducted on a hurdle with great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through
+the postern to Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy Thomas
+Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a dolorous journey on his
+hurdle, weeping copiously all the way, and many of the people weeping
+with him. Arrived at the gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the
+chronicler repeats faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last
+moments which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die acquitted
+themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded for treason, or a
+Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for being a priest.
+Appletree, for his part, spoke so movingly that the people all wept with
+him. Then the hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people cried,
+'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding up the Queen's
+Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton. But think not that the
+Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed the royal pardon. Not at all. He
+left Thomas on the ladder for a while; he made an oration on the
+heinousness of the offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for
+the safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened and all
+eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon, which the prisoner
+acknowledged in suitable language. Thomas Appletree was then taken back
+to the Marshalsea, where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after
+this. We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for this
+young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus would have
+nothing to do with it.
+
+Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John Willoughby's
+departure for the Arctic seas. He was going to endeavour to open a new
+way for trade round the N.E. Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia.
+He embarked at Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As
+he passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they brought
+out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see the sailing of the
+stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the ships passed on their way,
+and they carried the dying King back to his bed. In a day or two Edward
+was dead. In six months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too,
+frozen to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.
+
+If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich,
+you will find an account of it in Hentzner, that excellent traveller who
+remarked so much, and put all down on paper.
+
+'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported to have been
+originally built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and to have received
+very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the
+present Queen, was born, and here she generally resides; particularly
+in Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were admitted by
+an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the Lord Chamberlain, into the
+Presence-Chamber, hung with rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the
+English fashion, strewed with Hay,[2] through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman dressed in
+Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to introduce to the Queen
+any Person of Distinction, that came to wait on her: It was Sunday, when
+there is usually the greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall
+were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great Number
+of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and Gentlemen, who
+waited the Queen's coming out; which she did from her own Apartment,
+when it was Time to go to Prayers, attended in the following Manner:
+
+'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bare-headed; next came the Chancellor, bearing the Seals in
+a red-silk Purse, between Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter,
+the other the Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in the
+Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic; her Face
+oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her
+Nose a little hooked; her Lips narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the
+English seem subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false Hair, and that
+red; upon her Head she had a small Crown, reported to be made of some of
+the Gold of the celebrated Lunebourg Table:[3] Her Bosom was uncovered,
+as all the English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small, her Fingers
+long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her Air was stately, her
+Manner of Speaking mild and obliging. That Day she was dressed in white
+Silk, bordered with Pearls of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of
+black Silk, shot with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End
+of it borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an oblong
+Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all this State and
+Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another,
+whether foreign Ministers, or those who attended for different Reasons,
+in English, French and Italian; for, besides being well skilled in
+Greek, Latin, and the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of
+Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling; now
+and then she raises some with her Hand. While we were there, W. Slawata,
+a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to present to her; and she, after pulling
+off her Glove, gave him her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and
+Jewels, a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her Face, as
+she was going along, everybody fell down on their Knees.[4] The Ladies
+of the Court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and
+for the most Part dressed in white; she was guarded on each Side by the
+Gentlemen Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were presented to her,
+and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the Acclamation
+of, Long live Queen ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as it and the Service
+was over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the Queen returned in the
+same State and Order, and prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was
+still at Prayers, we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.
+
+'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and along with him another
+who had a Table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three Times
+with the utmost Veneration, he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling
+again they both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod again,
+the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when they had kneeled,
+as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the Table, they
+too retired with the same Ceremonies performed by the first. At last
+came an unmarried Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was dressed in
+white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three Times, in the
+most graceful Manner, approached the Table, and rubbed the Plates with
+Bread and Salt with as much Awe as if the Queen had been present: When
+they had waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon their Backs,
+bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four Dishes, served in
+plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were received by a Gentleman in the
+same Order they were brought, and placed upon the Table, while the
+Lady-taster gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the
+particular dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the Time
+that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and stoutest Men that can
+be found in all England, being carefully selected for this Service, were
+bringing Dinner, twelve Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring
+for Half an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number of
+unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the
+Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the Queen's inner and more
+private Chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes
+to the Ladies of the Court.
+
+'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants; and it is
+very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or Native, is admitted at that
+Time, and then only at the Intercession of somebody in Power.'
+
+On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down the Palace
+and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted various persons, and
+after many delays began the building. He only succeeded, however, in
+erecting what is now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted into a
+Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid institution, one of the
+glories of Great Britain, and a standing monument of the nation's
+gratitude to her sailors, and an ever present invitation to enter the
+navy, was closed, with that stupid indifference to sentiment which so
+often distinguishes the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.
+
+
+4. LAMBETH PALACE
+
+[Illustration: Lambeth Palace]
+
+The now huge town of Lambeth presents few points of interest either to
+the visitor or to the historian. There are no buildings of any antiquity
+except the Palace and the Church. There are no modern buildings at all
+worth notice. There have been two or three memorable houses which we
+shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so memorable as to deserve
+long description. The Bishops of Rochester had a house in the Marsh--the
+site is in Carlisle Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's
+Hospital, close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531, a
+wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service as cook,
+wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of people, and was
+boiled to death in oil--the only instance, I believe, of this dreadful
+punishment. The wretched man was tied naked to a post and slowly lowered
+into the boiling fluid. Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who
+lived in this house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed
+in some form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it with the Crown
+for a house thought more convenient in Southwark, close to Winchester
+House. The Crown gave it to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have
+let it on lease: thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether
+and became given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly house: then
+a dancing master taught his accomplishments in the house: then it became
+a school. Finally, the gardens were built over, the operations
+disclosing many interesting gates and 'bits.'
+
+Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk: it was called
+Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of the Palace, on the site
+now marked by Paradise Street. Here lived the old Duke whose life was
+saved by the death of Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the
+accomplished Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar, was the
+Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live in it; the house was
+neglected, probably because no tenant could be found for it. Finally, it
+was pulled down. It is interesting to note the town houses which stood
+upon the Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of Lewes;
+of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House of St. Mary Overies;
+Winchester House; Rochester House; Norfolk House; and later, the house
+of the St. Johns at Battersea. There are none between Bankside and
+Lambeth; that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars and
+Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.
+
+[Illustration: BONNER HALL, LAMBETH]
+
+Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt Hall, afterwards
+Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens afterwards called Vauxhall.
+In this house the unfortunate Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good
+deal might be written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.
+
+The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester, and the Duke of
+Norfolk stood close together and clustered round the church. The reason
+was the necessity of building on or near to the Embankment. Exactly
+opposite the south porch of the church may be observed a small and
+somewhat decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and separate
+existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of which this was the
+principal street and the centre. The village, in fact, did exist from
+very early times; its population for the most part earned their
+livelihood as Thames fishermen. They were the lineal successors of that
+fortunate Edric to whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the
+Abbey. There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down the river
+on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror is said to have burned
+Southwark it was the fishermen's cottages which he destroyed. None of
+these lived between Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the
+fact that there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer, until
+about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in Lambeth. The
+place is described as mean and rickety, with neither paving nor lamps;
+the woodwork of the cottages broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the
+windows stuffed with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags;
+the court a receptacle for everything.
+
+Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the nineteenth
+century, during which its population has been actually multiplied by
+ten, and more than ten, rising from 27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891,
+an enormous increase. The principal reason of this development is the
+introduction of a great many industries--potteries, vinegar factories,
+distilleries, salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.
+
+Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor a desirable
+place of residence. The perambulator looks about in vain for streets
+noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in vain for houses beautiful or
+ancient; there is nothing to reward him. Old houses there were before
+the great increase began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in
+parts it is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction.
+It has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall Gardens,
+on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is well laid out and
+planted; already it is a pretty piece of greenery, and, with Kennington
+and Battersea Parks, offers a much wanted breathing place for the
+multitudes of that quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by
+a statue of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting in a
+chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands an angel with
+outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel. He is obviously
+embarrassed by the situation. He feels that he ought to be dressed in
+some kind of Court costume--if he knew what--in order to receive the
+angel; or the angel might have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the
+statesman. The wings were probably in the way.
+
+[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+
+(_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' Nov. 1822_)]
+
+Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate, plays a very
+considerable part in the History of England. In 1232 and in 1234,
+Parliament was held here. In 1261 and 1280 Councils were held here. In
+1412 Archbishop Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as heretical of a
+great many opinions, insomuch that it became obviously dangerous to have
+any opinions at all. This, however, was the condition of mind most
+desired by the Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is
+needless to recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It was sometimes
+a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the care of the Archbishop at
+Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of
+Southampton, Lord Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable
+confinement, not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own chamber.
+
+[Illustration: BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH]
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+
+(_From an Engraving dated 1804_)]
+
+That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was necessary at a
+time when the clergy could only be tried in Ecclesiastical Courts, so
+that the Bishops could not send their criminous clerks to an ordinary
+prison. Hence it is that we frequently read of a priest brought before
+an Ecclesiastical Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards inveighed
+against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused the Bishops of too
+great leniency towards their delinquents and prisoners. In some cases,
+no doubt, the ecclesiastical prison was used to save a prisoner from the
+worst consequences of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour to believe
+that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth there were many who
+might have been burned but for the humanity which sometimes overrode
+even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.
+
+[Illustration: LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER]
+
+It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne, 'Lambeth
+Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain out of his prisons below
+his manor house at Lambeth. The Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the
+Archbishop who yet carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor
+man regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.
+
+The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained, the work of
+nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a full and complete history
+of the buildings, which would be outside the limits of the present
+chapter, the reader is referred to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J.
+Cave-Browne, called 'Lambeth and its Associations.'
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE]
+
+It is impossible to determine when the building of Lambeth Palace began.
+One thing is certain, that it has always been an Ecclesiastical Palace.
+The manor of Lambeth belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the
+Confessor. In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men, who
+with their families probably represented a population of about 200. They
+had a church, which stood on the site of the present church. Observe how
+all the old churches belonging to the Marsh stand on the
+Embankment--Rotherhithe; St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife of
+Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop and convent of
+Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it is said, took it from the
+Bishop; it was seized by William the Conqueror. William Rufus restored
+it to Rochester and added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert,
+Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the Bishop and
+convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth. Having got possession of
+the place, Hubert set to work to improve it. He obtained a weekly market
+and an annual fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.
+
+What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that he did build
+some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added other buildings; Boniface,
+A.D. 1260, found the buildings in great need of repair or insufficient.
+He was the first considerable builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair
+guess at the work of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded
+by the monastic Houses--this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House. We may also
+take it for granted that certain essential parts of the building, though
+they might be rebuilt with greater splendour, would not change their
+position. For instance, when in after years we find a chapel, a
+cloister, a water-tower, or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower,
+or entrance from the land--then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner of the
+Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the chapel he found a
+water-tower with a gate opening upon a creek of the river by which
+everything was received into the House, the door of communication with
+the outer world, while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up
+the creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt the
+cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his Hall. A Hall
+was absolutely necessary for a great house, and for an Archbishop's
+Palace it must be a splendid Hall. What is now called the Guard Room was
+probably at first part of the Archbishop's private apartments.
+
+[Illustration: Doorway in the Lollard's Tower]
+
+A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321. At that time
+there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his Chamber, his Hall, the
+Chancellor's Chambers, the Great Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain
+minor apartments--a modest list, but the dormitories and principal
+bedchambers are not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library,
+the offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have been
+there.
+
+Then we come to the later works, of which there are more than we need
+set down--are they not written in Ducarel the Laborious and in
+Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and ashes of ancient facts? The
+principal gateway as we now see it is the fifteenth century work of
+Cardinal Morton; it is built in the same style as the gateway of St.
+John's College, Cambridge, but is much larger and finer; with the
+Church, it forms a most effective group of buildings. The present Water
+Tower was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate--that is to say, the
+real gate of communication with the world. To this gate came all the
+visitors--Kings and Cardinals, Legates, Bishops and Ambassadors; and to
+this gate came the barges with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is
+said to have built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel.
+Cardinal Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably the
+piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller tower on the south face
+of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark here that the Tower never had any
+connection with Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy
+Lollard prisoners is without foundation.
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' PRISON]
+
+Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his three years of
+occupancy and 15,000_l._ of his own money in restoring the place for the
+honour and splendour of the Church. As for what has been done since that
+time, especially by Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed
+history of the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is
+a worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for the
+residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman Catholic
+predecessors, to a Church whose members love some splendour in their
+ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love splendour in their churches
+and stateliness in their ritual. They do not desire to make a Bishop
+rich: they do desire that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow
+circumstances: they desire that he should be able to take the lead in
+all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat in splendid
+state: he sat every day at a table loaded with costly and luxurious
+food: outwardly he was clothed with silken robes. But he touched nothing
+that was set before him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore
+next his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered his
+hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal Bishop of mediæval
+times. Our own is much the same: a simple life: a splendid house: modest
+wants: a large income: for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop, whether of
+the old or of the Reformed Faith.
+
+The Chapel has at least one memory which will always cling to it. Within
+its dark and gloomy crypt Anne Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to
+hear her sentence. She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am
+not qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing of
+evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I believe that
+those who have examined into the case are of opinion that Anne Boleyn
+fell a victim to the King's jealousy: to his change of mind towards her:
+and to her own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was
+persuaded into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I have
+sometimes thought that the King must have thought her guilty, otherwise
+he would have divorced her on a charge of adultery, and suffered her to
+live. If he did not believe her guilty, how could he, being, above all
+things, a man of human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had
+once loved to so horrible a death?
+
+Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard death by burning
+with quite the same horror as is now common. There is a story of
+Rogers--or Bradford--the martyr. Some one once begged his intercession
+to save a woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself will some day
+have your hands full of this gentle death.' Punishment was meant to be
+painful: the least painful form of death was that accorded to the
+noble--to be beheaded. If a man died by the executioner, it was expected
+that he should suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease
+and in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by the
+executioner.
+
+I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he must have believed
+in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly have allowed such a sentence;
+and that cruel as it seems to us, it did not seem so cruel at that time.
+There is, however, no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy, than that of
+Anne Boleyn.
+
+Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South London, is a
+monument of English History from the twelfth century downwards.
+Kennington appears at intervals; Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich
+practically begins with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St.
+Paul's, belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a place
+little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the Greater London,
+how many, I should like to ask, have ever seen the interior? Of the vast
+population of Lambeth, Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the
+centre, how many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or
+its buildings?
+
+Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come and go across the
+Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant eyes to rest for a
+moment on the grey walls and Tower of the Palace, how many are there who
+know, or inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.
+
+[2] He probably means rushes.
+
+[3] At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.
+
+[4] Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned
+by Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went
+to apprehend Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees.
+King James I. suffered his Courtiers to omit it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS
+
+
+The part which Processions of all kinds played in the mediæval life is
+so great that one must inquire how Southwark fared in this respect.
+Where Bishops, Abbots, and great Lords lived there were Processions
+whenever one arrived or one departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went
+to the King's House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If the Earl
+of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant company of
+gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King kept his Christmas at Eltham,
+he would be preceded by an endless train of carts groaning and grumbling
+along the road, filled with household gear and followed by the troops of
+scullions, cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal regiment,
+sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard, besides the
+nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with him for the Christmas
+festivities. The town itself had its Processions: the annual march of
+the Fraternity to church: the departure and the arrival of the pilgrims;
+the Ecclesiastical Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the
+royal pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed that
+Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the pageant which began at
+London Bridge: and that the place itself was quite passed by and
+unconsidered.
+
+Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have drawn up a short
+series of notes on the sights of which the Borough took a share.
+
+Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges in 1392, he
+was met by four hundred of the citizens, all mounted and clad in the
+same livery: they invited him to ride to Westminster through London.
+
+'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey to Southwark,
+where, at St. George's Church, he was met by a procession of the Bishop
+of London and all the religious of every degree and both sexes, and
+about five hundred boys in surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white
+steed and a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The citizens
+received them, standing in their liveries on each side the street,
+crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'
+
+The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North London. Again,
+on the return of the victorious Henry the Fifth from France there was a
+splendid Pageant, of which the South got some part, namely, the
+following:
+
+'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt, the Mayor
+of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient grained scarlet, and
+four hundred commoners clad in beautiful murrey, well mounted and trimly
+horsed, with rich collars and great chains, met the King at Blackheath;
+and the clergy of London in solemn procession, with rich crosses,
+sumptuous copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage, and as one who
+remembered from Whom all victories are sent, seemed little to regard the
+vain pomp and shows, insomuch that he would not suffer his helmet to be
+carried with him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung
+by minstrels of his glorious victory, because he would the praise and
+thanks should be altogether given to God.
+
+'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the tower, stood a
+gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an axe, and in his left the
+keys of the City hanging to a staff, as if he had been the porter. By
+his side stood a female of scarcely less stature, intended for his wife.
+Around them were a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The
+towers were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front of
+them was inscribed CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE (the City of the King of
+Righteousness).
+
+'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty column like a little
+tower, built of wood and covered with linen; one painted like white
+marble, and the other like green jasper. They were surmounted by figures
+of the King's beasts--an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms
+suspended from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a lion,
+bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.
+
+'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a tower, formed and
+painted like the columns before mentioned, in the middle of which, under
+a splendid pavilion, stood a most beautiful image of St. George, armed,
+excepting his head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry, with his
+arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of shields. On his right
+hung his triumphal helmet, and on his left a shield of his arms of
+suitable size. In his right hand he held the hilt of the sword with
+which he was girt, and in his left a scroll, which, extending along the
+turrets, contained these words, SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA. In a
+contiguous house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with sprigs
+of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied by organs, an
+anthem, supposed to be that beginning "Our King went forth to Normandy;"
+and whose burthen is "Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'
+
+When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432--
+
+'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry the Sixth was met
+at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2;
+the latter being dressed in white, with the cognizances of their
+mysteries or crafts embroidered on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his
+brethren in scarlet.
+
+'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised a mighty giant,
+standing with a sword drawn, and having this poetical speech inscribed
+by his side:
+
+    'All those that be enemies to the King,
+      I shall them clothe with confusion,
+    Make him mighty by virtuous living,
+      His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:
+      And him to increase as Christ's champion.
+    All mischiefs from him to abridge,
+    With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.
+
+'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived at the
+drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with silk and cloth of arras,
+out of which suddenly appeared three ladies, clad in gold and silk, with
+coronets upon their heads; of which the first was dame Nature, the
+second dame Grace, and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the
+King in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together with
+those which followed, the curious will find in their place. On each side
+of them were ranged seven virgins, all clothed in white; those on the
+right hand had baudricks of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had
+their garments powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost--sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God: and the others
+with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:
+
+    'God thee endow with a crown of glory,
+    And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,
+    And with a sword of might and victory,
+    And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,
+    A shield of faith for to defend thee,
+    A helm of health wrought to thine increase,
+    Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.
+
+'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which was "Welcome out
+of France."'
+
+The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou on her Coronation
+presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark, 'Peace and plenty,'
+with the motto 'Ingredimini et replete terram,'--Enter ye and replenish
+the earth--and the following verses were recited:
+
+    Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,
+      Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce
+    And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,
+      With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:
+      Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,
+    Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,
+      With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,
+    Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the words, 'Jam non
+ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21), and the following verses
+were addressed to the Queen:
+
+    So trustethe your people, with assurance
+      Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.
+    'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,
+      Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:
+    Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,
+      Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;
+    Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,
+      Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.
+    Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,
+      Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;
+    Wherein he and his might escape and passe
+      The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:
+    Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,
+      By meane of mercy found a restinge place
+    After the flud, vpon this Armonie.
+    Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,
+      Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,
+    Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,
+      Conducte by grace and power devyne;
+    Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine
+      By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.
+    Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne
+      Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.
+
+On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince Arthur there was a
+great Pageant. The part at the south entrance of the Bridge is thus
+described:
+
+'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two roodlofts;
+in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a wheel in her hand, in
+likeness of Saint Katherine, with many virgins on every side of her; and
+in the higher story was another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also
+with a great multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed.
+Above all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes, and in every
+square was a garter with this poesy in French, _Onye soit que male
+pens_, inclosing a red rose. On the tops of these tabernacles were six
+angels, casting incense on the Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer
+walls were painted with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and
+red; and at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane painted with the arms
+of England. The whole work was carved with timber, and was gilt and
+painted with biss and azure.'
+
+The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was that of Charles the
+Second at his Restoration:
+
+'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen met the King at
+St. George's Fields in Southwark, and the former, having delivered the
+City sword to his Majesty, had the same returned with the honour of
+knighthood. A very magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided
+with a sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He then
+proceeded towards London, which was pompously adorned with the richest
+silks and tapestry, and the streets lined with the City Corporations and
+trained bands; while the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious
+wines, and the windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such
+an infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body of the
+people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.
+
+'The procession was chiefly composed of the military. First marched a
+gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver, brandishing their swords,
+and led by Major-General Brown; then another troop of two hundred in
+velvet coats, with footmen and liveries attending them, in purple; a
+third led by Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver
+sleeves and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred, with
+blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and several
+footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two hundred and twenty,
+with thirty footmen in grey and silver liveries, and four trumpeters
+richly habited; another of an hundred and five, with grey liveries, and
+six trumpets; and another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three
+troops more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all gloriously
+habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came two trumpets with his
+Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men, in number fourscore, in red cloaks,
+richly laced with silver, with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed
+six hundred of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen in different
+liveries, with streamers, &c.; after whom came kettle-drums and
+trumpets, with streamers, and after them twelve ministers (clergymen) at
+the head of his Majesty's life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord
+Gerrard. Next the City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours,
+with the City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings, with footmen
+in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth of gold; the heralds
+and maces in rich coats; the Lord Mayor bare-headed, carrying the
+sword, with his Excellency the General (Monk) and the Duke of
+Buckingham, also uncovered; and then, as the lustre to all this splendid
+triumph, rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes of
+York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse with white colours;
+the General's life-guard, led by Sir Philip Howard, and another troop of
+gentry; and, last of all, five regiments of horse belonging to the army,
+with back, breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'
+
+On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick, William the Third made
+a triumphant entry into London:
+
+'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach, with Prince
+George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by four score other coaches,
+each drawn by six horses. The Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the
+King, the Lord Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal noblemen. Some
+companies of Foot Grenadiers went before, the Horse Grenadiers followed,
+as did the Horse Life-Guards and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the
+Gentlemen of the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's coach.
+
+'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor met his Majesty,
+where, on his knees, he delivered the sword, which his Majesty returned,
+ordering him to carry it before him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech
+suitable to the occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.
+
+'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained Bands, in buff
+coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded; then followed two of the
+King's coaches, and one of Prince George's; then two City Marshals on
+horseback, with their six men on foot in new liveries; the six City
+Trumpets on horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their
+halberds and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended by a servant
+on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor and Remembrancer, the
+two Secondaries, the Comptroller, the Common Pleaders, the two Judges,
+the Town Clerk, the Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the Common Crier
+and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of black damask and gold
+chain; each with a servant; then those who had fined for Sheriffs or
+Aldermen, or had served as such, according to their seniority, in
+scarlet, two and two, on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with
+their gold chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the
+Aldermen below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended by his
+Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on horseback, with
+two servants; and the Aldermen above the chair, in scarlet, on
+horseback, wearing their gold chains, each attended by his Beadle and
+four servants. Then followed the State all on horseback, uncovered,
+viz.: the Knight Marshall with a footman on each side; then the
+kettle-drums, the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms, Heralds of Arms,
+Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms on each side, bearing their
+maces, all bare-headed, and each attended with a servant. Then the Lord
+Mayor of London on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar
+and jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission, with four
+footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms supplying the place of
+Garter King at Arms on his right hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers
+supplying the place of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left
+hand, each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich coach,
+followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the Nobility, Judges,
+&c., according to their ranks and qualities, there being between two
+and three hundred coaches, each with six horses.'
+
+On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by the Mayor and
+Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark, with much the same state
+as that of William III. seventeen years before.
+
+The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many, had nothing to
+do with Southwark at all, except when they were water processions, in
+which case they could be seen as well from the South as from the North.
+But, in fact, Southwark was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants.
+The sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark. Why should
+the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has been shown over and
+over again, it consisted of nothing at all but a causeway and an
+embankment, and what was once a broad Marsh drained and divided into
+fields and gardens and woods.
+
+I have set down what royal processions Southwark was permitted to see,
+but I do not suppose that among the four hundred citizens who went out
+in one livery to meet King Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor
+do I suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter south of London
+Bridge. In other words, although in course of time there was
+appointed--never elected--an Alderman of the Bridge Without, at no time
+in these Pageants or in these functions was Southwark ever regarded as
+part of the City, nor were her wishes consulted or her interests
+considered.
+
+One Pageant alone--that of our own time--the splendid Pageant of 1897,
+reversed this position. As is well known, the Procession which
+celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign passed through the Borough as well as
+the City.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY
+
+
+I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only now remembered by
+the curious as the alleged original of Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare
+drew his incomparable knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then
+one can only say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a successful
+soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding in France.
+Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike, even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of
+taverns and of low company, with no dignity and no authority. The only
+point that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff lies
+in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a certain battle,
+one of the many which he fought: and that on his return from France, the
+English, exasperated at their losses, laid the blame as they always do
+upon their most distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his
+old age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so great: yet
+Fastolf was never a defeated general.
+
+Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional charge of
+cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.' he presents him running
+away:
+
+    _Captain._ Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?
+
+    _Fast._ Whither away? To save myself by flight.
+          We are like to have the overthrow again.
+
+    _Captain._ What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?
+
+    _Fast._        Ay,
+          All Talbots in the world to save my life.
+
+And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:
+
+    This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,
+    When but in all I was six thousand strong,
+    And that the French were almost ten to one,
+    Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
+    Like to a trusty knight, did run away.
+
+And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.
+
+Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people held the manors of
+Caister and Rudham. He was born in the year 1378, and became, after the
+fashion of the times, first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to
+Thomas of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.
+
+Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume of France and
+other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If so he must have been
+fighting in France or elsewhere across the seas as early as 1400.
+Perhaps he went over earlier. He was, at least, successful in getting
+promotion, and promotion in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed
+on a soldier incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at Agincourt: at the
+taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen: he was Governor of
+Condé-sur-Noireau and of other places, as they were taken. We find him,
+for instance, the Governor of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died,
+in 1422, he became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy and Governor of
+Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to observe that in spite of his great
+services he was not knighted until 1417, when he was already forty years
+of age. In 1426, he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company of
+archers he put to flight an army.
+
+His record does not lead one to expect a charge of cowardice. Yet the
+charge was brought. It was after the Battle of Patay, in which Talbot
+was taken prisoner and the English totally defeated. The reverse was
+attributed by Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than
+to his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation, which was
+made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably Lord Talbot persisted
+in his explanation of defeat. The age, it must be confessed, was not
+exactly chivalrous. The Wars of the Roses, which were about to begin,
+brought to light gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured
+princes as well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If Lord Talbot
+simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat upon Fastolf, it would
+be what other noble lords were perfectly ready to do in their anxiety to
+escape responsibility in the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then
+thought, which brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction. Yet
+the common people heard the reports brought home by the soldiers:
+nothing is more easy than a charge of treachery and cowardice: they knew
+nothing of the acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running away.
+
+After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of Caen: he raised
+the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the Duc de Bar: he was twice
+appointed ambassador: he fought in the army of the Duc de Bretagne
+against the Duc d'Alençon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of the
+war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord Talbot's accusation.
+
+In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his sword, put off his
+armour and returned to England. Few men could show a longer, or a finer,
+record of war. In 1441 he received from the Duke of York an annuity of
+£20 a year, 'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He
+spent the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very well
+understand that he was a man of great wealth when we read that the
+castle covered five acres of land.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+These are the achievements of the man. About his private life and
+character we have a great fund of information in the 'Paston Letters.'
+His latest biographer ('S. L. L.' in the 'Dictionary of National
+Biography') concludes from these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping
+man of business:' that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that
+he was a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure at his
+hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from the letters. At
+the same time we must consider, apart from the letters, the manners of
+the age and the conditions of the age.
+
+Let us take the charges one by one.
+
+First, that his dependents had much to endure from him.
+
+It was not a time when dependents spent their time as they pleased. In a
+well-ordered household every man had his post and his work. An old
+Knight who had fought for forty years and commanded armies was not at
+all likely to be a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no
+greater disciplinarian than the old soldier: no household is more
+sternly ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies, he had
+governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded despotic authority:
+he had found it necessary to master every branch of human activity,
+including the law and the chicanery of lawyers: as the general in
+command or the Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his dependents to
+consider his interests as before everything else. The stern old Captain,
+I can very well believe, looked to every one of his dependents for his
+share of work, and I can also very well believe that they feared him as
+the masterful man is always feared.
+
+One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.' But he gives no
+reasons.
+
+[Illustration: SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of spies,
+traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without becoming stern
+and hard. As a soldier he had to harden himself: as a governor he had to
+observe justice rather than pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish
+criminals. I picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be done as soon as
+he commanded it, at the coming of whom his servants became instantly
+absorbed in work, at whose footstep his secretaries dared not lift their
+heads.
+
+Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The letters are full
+of complaints about trespass, invasion of his rights, and attempts to
+over-reach him. How could a man choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at
+a time when the law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge
+his boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land robber was
+everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what was not his own. Private
+persons, simple esquires, had to fortify their houses against their
+neighbours and to prepare for a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret
+Paston, 'to get some crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and
+quarrel'--_i.e._ bolts--'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.' And she goes
+on to enumerate the warlike preparations made by her neighbour.
+
+Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and quarrels for
+his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains how Robert Hungerford,
+Knight, and Lord Moleyne and Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his
+house and manor of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and
+robbed and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.
+
+These are things which do sometimes make neighbours testy.
+
+But he is a 'grasping man of business.'
+
+Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon property
+belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and justice cannot be had.
+Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice Yelverton, resolve to address the
+Duke of Norfolk, and to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and
+Suffolk 'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice be
+hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should resolve to
+get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man 'grasping' because he
+stands up in his own defence? Read again the following. 'I pray you
+sende me worde who darre be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And
+sey hem on my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then they shall be
+quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say by God or the Devyll. And
+therefor I charge you, send me word whethyr such as hafe be myne
+adversaries before thys tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I
+see nothing unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.
+
+It is further objected that he had long-standing claims against the
+Crown, and was always setting them forth and pressing them. If his
+claims were just, why should he not press them? If a man makes a claim
+and does not press it, what does it mean except that he is afraid of
+pressing it or that it is an unjust claim?
+
+The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which were never
+settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable property well worth
+defending. He had no fewer than ninety-four manors: there were four
+residences--Caister: Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a
+sum of money in the treasure chest of 2,643_l._ 10_s._, equivalent to
+about 50,000_l._ of our money. There were no banks in those days and no
+investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate and armour and weapons:
+he spent, as a rule, the greater part of his income, showing his wealth
+and his rank by the splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for
+instance, had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.
+
+His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney Lane, which now
+leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring Street. The Knight had good
+neighbours. On the east of St. Olave's Church was the ancient house
+built in the 12th century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given
+by his successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next to
+the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between, the Abbot of
+Battle's Inn, a great building on the river bank, with gardens lying on
+the other side of what is now Tooley Street. The site was long marked by
+'The Maze' and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are no
+means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the place. It was
+certainly a building round a quadrangle capable of housing many
+followers, because he proposed to fill it with a garrison and so to meet
+Cade's insurgents. Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth
+would not be contented with a small house. On the south side of St.
+Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the Inn or House of
+the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile across the fields and gardens rose
+the towers and walls of St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there
+were other great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of Stoney
+Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses seldom precede fields. A
+house often degenerates, but is rarely converted into a meadow. This,
+however, did happen with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that
+the house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family, and being
+deserted by them was presently let out in tenements till it was pulled
+down and replaced by other buildings. According to these indications,
+then, Fastolf's house was the last of the great houses on the east side
+of London Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually sailed from
+Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions and supplies of all
+kinds for his house at Southwark. This fact not only proves that his
+household was very large, but it illustrates one way in which the great
+houses, the ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were
+victualled. If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to London it is
+certain that those who lived inland sent up caravans of pack-horses
+laden with the produce of their estates and sent up to town flocks of
+cattle and sheep and droves of pigs.
+
+[Illustration: The Site of Sir John Fastolf's House in Tooley Street]
+
+I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at Southwark
+against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for himself and for everybody
+with him, he was persuaded to retire across the river to the Tower
+before the rebels reached the gates. The story is one of the most
+interesting in the whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the
+truth, unless one looks into them for persons we already know, are
+somewhat dull in the reading.
+
+When the Commons of Kent were reported to be approaching London in the
+year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled his house in Southwark with old
+soldiers from Normandy and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the
+rebels and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when they
+caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn, a servant of Sir
+John, they were disposed to make an example of him. And now you shall
+hear what happened to John Payn in his own words, the spelling being
+only partly modernised.
+
+'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly to consedir the
+grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner haeth, and haeth had
+evyr seth the comons of Kent come to the Blakheth,[5] and that is at XV.
+yer passed whereas my maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre
+testator,[6] commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens of Kent,
+to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd: and al so sone as
+I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn[7] made the comens to take me. And
+for the savacion of my maisters horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way
+with the ij. horses; and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of
+Kent. And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng thedyr,
+and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with the horse. And I seyd
+that I come thedyr to chere with my wyves brethren, and other that were
+my alys and gossipps of myn that were present there. And than was there
+oone there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John Fastolfes
+men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes; and then the capteyn
+lete cry treson upon me thorough all the felde, and brought me at iiij.
+partes of the feld with a harrawd of the Duke of Exeter[8] before me in
+the dukes cote of armes, makyng iiij. _Oyes_ at iiij. partes of the
+feld; proclaymyng opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr for
+to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr, fro the
+grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce, as the seyd capteyn
+made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the
+whech mynnysshed all the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn,
+the whech was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he seid that the
+seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase with the olde sawdyors of
+Normaundy and abyllyments of werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan
+that they come to Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde
+lese my hede.
+
+'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns tent, and j. ax
+and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn of myn hede; and than my
+maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,[9] with other of my frendes, come and
+lettyd the capteyn, and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij.
+(a hundred or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane my
+lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to the capteyn, and to
+the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk, and aray me in the best wyse
+that I coude, and come ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th'
+articles, and brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.
+
+'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought hym th' articles,
+and enformed hym of all the mater, and counseyled hym to put a wey all
+his abyllyments of werr and the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went
+hymself to the Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j.
+(_i.e._ one) Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it coste me of my
+noune propr godes at that tyme more than vj. merks in mate and drynke;
+and nought withstondyng the capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte
+Whyte Harte in Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me
+oute of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne of muster
+dewyllers[10] furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of Bregandyrns[11]
+kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt naile, with leg-harneyse,
+the vallew of the gown and the bregardyns viijli.
+
+'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my chamber in your
+rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke awey j. obligacion of myn
+that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by a prest of Poules, and j. nother
+obligacion of j. knyght of xli., and my purse with v. ryngs of golde,
+and xvijs. vjd. of golde and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete
+of the touche of Milleyn;[12] and j. gowne of fyn perse[13] blewe furryd
+with martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,[14] and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;[15] and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede, whan that
+they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And there my Maister Ponyngs and
+my frends savyd me, and so I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle
+was at London Brygge;[16] and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt nere hand to
+deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle, and myght nevyr come
+oute therof; and iiij. tymes before that tyme I was caryd abought
+thorough Kent and Sousex, and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.
+
+'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey all oure godes
+movabyll that we had, and there wolde have hongyd my wyfe and v. of my
+chyldren, and lefte her no more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And
+a none aftye that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,[17] apechyd me to the
+Quene, and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of myn lyf, and
+was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and quarteryd; and so wold
+have made me to have pechyd my Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause
+that I wolde not, they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have
+sent me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j. coseyn of myn
+noune that were yomen of the Croune, they went to the Kyng, and got
+grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'
+
+Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest traitor in
+England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the garrisons of Normandy,
+and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was the cause of the 'lesyng of all the
+Kyng's tytyll and rights of an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'
+
+The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir John wants to
+know what the rebellion means. Let one of his men go and find out. Let
+him take two horses in case of having to run for it: the rebels will
+most probably kill him if they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's
+work: what can a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can he
+look for except to be killed some time or other? So John Payn takes two
+horses and sets off. As we expected, he does get caught: he is brought
+before Mortimer as a spy. At this point we are reminded of the false
+herald in 'Quentin Durward,' but in this case it is a real herald
+pressed into the service of Mortimer, _alias_ Jack Cade. Now the
+Captain is by way of being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story
+about him, that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts the affair in a
+courteous fashion. No moblike running to the nearest tree: no beating
+along the prisoner to be hanged upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner
+is conducted with much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at
+each is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the block are
+brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness of death. But his
+friends interfere: he must be spared or a hundred heads shall fall. He
+is spared: on condition that he goes back, arrays himself in his best
+harness and returns to fight on the side of the rebels.
+
+Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his master
+wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion in-so-much that
+Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats across the river to the
+Tower. But before going he tells the man that he must keep his parole
+and go back to the rebels to be killed by them or among them. So the
+poor man puts on his best harness and goes back.
+
+They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him in the crowd of
+those who fight on London Bridge.
+
+It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered London when he
+murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer, Sheriff of Kent, and plundered
+and fined certain merchants. He kept up, however, the appearance of a
+friend of the people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants, themselves,
+and the better class held the bridge.
+
+The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be remembered that
+the battle was fought on the night of Sunday the 5th of July, in
+midsummer, when there is no night, but a clear soft twilight, and when
+the sun rises by four in the morning. It was a wild sight that the sun
+rose upon that morning. The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts
+and cries, alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on. And all night
+long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms in readiness to take
+their place on the bridge. And all night the old and the young and the
+women lay trembling in their beds lest the men of London should be
+beaten back by the men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and
+sword to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the dead
+were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and were trampled upon
+until they were dead: and beneath their feet the quiet tide ebbed and
+flowed through the arches.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550]
+
+'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving themselves
+neither to be sure of goods nor of life well warranted determined to
+repell and keepe out of their citie such a mischievous caitife and his
+wicked companie. And to be the better able so to doo, they made the lord
+Scales, and that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and furtherance
+therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid, with shooting off the
+artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew Gough was by him appointed to
+assist the maior and Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other
+capteins, appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish men once to
+approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept for feare of sudden
+assaults, hearing that the bridge was thus kept, ran with great hast to
+open that passage where between both parties was a fierce and cruell
+fight.
+
+'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their tackling more
+manfullie than he thought they would have done, advised his companie not
+to advance anie further toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that
+they might see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide
+for the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the bridge foot to
+the draw bridge, and began to set fire to diverse houses. Great ruth it
+was to behold the miserable state, wherein some desiring to eschew the
+fire died upon their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to save
+themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in their houses choked
+and smothered. Yet the capteins not sparing, fought on the bridge all
+the night valiantlie, but in conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge,
+and drowned manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand, a
+hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a man of great
+wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie, the which in continuall
+warres had spent his time in service of the king and his father.
+
+'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge, till nine
+of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the Londoners were beaten
+backe to saint Magnus corner; and suddenlie againe, the rebels were
+repelled to the stoops in Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and
+wearie, agreed to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon
+condition that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell capteine
+for making him more friends, brake up the gaites of the kings Bench and
+Marshalsie and so were manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his
+matters in hand.' (Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)
+
+When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky Payn into prison
+and tried to get out of him some admission that might enable them to
+impeach Sir John of treason. This old soldier was not without some love
+of letters. One of his household, William Worcester, wrote for him
+Cicero 'De Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings of the
+Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by Stephen Perope
+his stepson.
+
+After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in Southwark but
+seldom. He went down into Norfolk, employed his ships in carrying stone
+and built his great castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He
+purposed founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven poor
+folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at Cambridge: he
+made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford. His intentions as to the College
+were never carried out, the bequest being transferred to Magdalen
+College, Oxford, for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor
+scholars. He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was in a
+losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great part of the
+odium that falls upon a general who is on the losing side: at the same
+time, in his own actions he was, almost without exception, victorious:
+and there does not seem any reason why he more than any other should
+bear the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in deference to
+popular opinion that no honours were paid to the veteran of so many
+fights. Perhaps he was not a _persona grata_ at Court. Certainly the
+story of Payn's imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450,
+and again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.
+
+[6] Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left
+Paston his executor, as will be seen hereafter.
+
+[7] Jack Cade.
+
+[8] Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed,
+he adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s
+sister. His herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and
+pressed into their service.
+
+[9] Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and
+carver to Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than
+one occasion afterwards.
+
+[10] 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to
+Elizabeth's reign.'--Halliwell.
+
+[11] A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small
+iron plates sewed on.--_See_ Grose's _Antient Armour_. The back and
+breast of this coat were sometimes made separately, and called a
+pair.--Meyrick.
+
+[12] Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.
+
+[13] 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so
+called.'--Halliwell.
+
+[14] Budge fur.
+
+[15] Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.
+
+[16] The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.
+
+[17] Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it
+Rochester, from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for
+_Roffensis_. The Bishop of Rochester's name was John Lowe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON
+
+
+The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten as the all-night
+battle of London Bridge, took place also on a Sunday, twenty years
+afterwards. It was the concluding scene, and a very fit end--to the long
+wars of the Roses.
+
+There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William Nevill, Lord
+Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the Bastard of Fauconberg, or
+Falconbridge. This man was a sailor. In the year 1454 he had received
+the freedom of the City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for
+his services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War divided
+families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to put Edward on the
+throne, his son did his best to put up Henry.
+
+He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet, and in that
+capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch of Burgundians to the
+help of Edward. He seems to have crossed and recrossed continually.
+
+A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled across country.
+On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was fought. At this battle
+Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle of Tewkesbury finished the hopes
+of the Lancastrians. Yet on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg
+presented himself at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of
+London Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission to march through
+the town, promising that his men should commit no disturbance or
+pillage. Of course they knew who he was, but he assured them that he
+held a commission from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.
+
+In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter, pointing out that
+his commission was no longer in force because Warwick was dead nearly
+three weeks before, and that his body had been exposed for two days in
+St. Paul's; they informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been
+disastrous to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of a
+great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince Edward was slain
+with many noble lords of his following.
+
+All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to disbelieve. I
+think that he really did disbelieve the story: he could not understand
+how this great Earl of Warwick could be killed. He persisted in his
+demand for the right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass through London? If
+he merely wanted to get across he had his ships with him--they had come
+up the river and now lay off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army
+across in less time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to
+hold London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians were
+gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian heir to the throne
+at least.
+
+However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter urging him to
+lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward, who was now firmly
+established.
+
+Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began to look to their
+fortifications: on the river side the river wall had long since gone,
+but the houses themselves formed a wall, with narrow lanes leading to
+the water's edge. These lanes they easily stopped with stones: they
+looked to their wall and to their gates.
+
+The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the City. Like a
+skilful commander he attacked it at three points. First, however, he
+brought in the cannon from his ships, laying them along the shore: he
+then sent 3,000 men across the river with orders to divide into two
+companies, one for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on
+Bishopsgate. He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge. His
+cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of the Tower. We
+should like to know more of this bombardment. Did they still use round
+stones for shot? Was much mischief done by the cannon? Probably little
+that was not easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great artillerie
+against their adversaries, and with violent shot thereof so galled them
+that they durst not abide in anie place alongst the water side but were
+driven even from their own Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great
+guns from the Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie artillerie'
+could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite--not above the bridge.
+
+The three thousand men told off for the attack on the gates valiantly
+assailed them. But they met with a stout resistance. Some of them
+actually got into the City at Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind
+them, and they were all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate,
+performed prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the gates and
+sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500 men by the Tower Postern
+and chased the rebels as far as Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were
+killed. Many hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if
+they had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.
+
+The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The gate on the south
+was fired and destroyed: three score of the houses on the bridge were
+fired and destroyed: the north gate was also fired, but at the bridge
+end there were planted half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind
+them waited the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not
+another Battle of the Bridge to relate.
+
+The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting possession of
+London, resolved to march westward and meet Edward. By this time, it is
+probable that he understood what had happened. He therefore ordered his
+fleet to await him in the Mersey, and marched as far as
+Kingston-upon-Thames. It is a strange, incongruous story. All his
+friends were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt a
+thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order? Perhaps, however, he
+did not think it impossible.
+
+At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas Fanute, Mayor of
+Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair words' to return. Accordingly, he
+marched back to Blackheath, where he dismissed his men, ordering them to
+go home peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600--his sailors,
+one supposes--he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and took his ships round
+the coast to Sandwich.
+
+Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over to the King
+fifty-six ships great and small. The King pardoned him, knighted him,
+and made him Vice-Admiral of the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in
+September we hear that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to
+Middleham, in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon London
+Bridge.
+
+Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had been 'roving,' _i.e._
+practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral of the English fleet
+go off 'roving'? Surely not. I take it as only one more of the thousand
+murders, perjuries, and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever
+stained the history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward--the death of every man, noble or simple, who might
+take up arms against him. So the Bastard--this fool who had trusted the
+King and given him a fleet--was beheaded like all the rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE PILGRIMS
+
+
+The town was full of those who carried in their hats the pilgrim's
+signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage, every shrine had its
+special signs, which the pilgrim on his return bore conspicuously upon
+his hat or scrip or hanging round his neck (see Skeat, _Notes to Piers
+Plowman_) in token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullæ were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop shell that of
+St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and the vernicle of Rome--the
+vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief of St. Veronica, which was
+miraculously impressed with the face of our Lord. These shrines were
+cast in lead in the most part. Thus in the supplement to the _Canterbury
+Tales_,
+
+    Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,
+    For men of contre should know whom they had sought;
+    Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,
+    And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked
+    His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.
+
+Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is this that thou
+wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped, full of images of
+lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and the cuffs are adorned with
+snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.' To which the reply is that he has
+been to certain shrines on pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to
+the Society of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but especially in
+the river when Old London Bridge was removed. Bells--_Campana
+Thomæ_--Canterbury Bells--were also hung from the bridles, ringing
+merrily all the way by way of a charm to keep off evil.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY]
+
+Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from one or other of
+the Inns of Southwark: there was the short pilgrimage and the long
+pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day: the pilgrimage of a month: and the
+pilgrimage beyond the seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the
+ships of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella, which
+was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to Rocamadom in Gascony: or
+to Jaffa for the Holy Places. The pilgrimage _outremer_ is undoubtedly
+that which conferred the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon
+the soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.
+
+In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner had a
+considerable choice. He might simply go to the shrine of St. Erkenwald
+at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor at Westminster, he might
+even confine his devotions to the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished
+to go a little further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the
+Oak; of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the north
+side of London and belonged to the City rather than to Southwark. For
+him of the Borough there was the shrine of Crome's Hill, Greenwich,
+which provided a pleasant outing for the day: it might be prolonged with
+feasting and drinking to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family
+could get a holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness that so many
+years were knocked off purgatory.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, AYLESBURY]
+
+For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far distant journeys
+to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as Venice, and then by a
+'personally conducted' voyage, the captain providing escort to and from
+the Holy Places. There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.
+
+For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of South London
+had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas of Canterbury was the only
+Saint. There were other Saints, of course, but St. Thomas was his
+special Saint. No other shrine was possible for him save that of St.
+Thomas. Not Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would more
+effectively assist his soul.
+
+[Illustration: CANTERBURY PILGRIMS]
+
+In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an account of what was
+done and what was shown at the shrines of Our Lady of Walsingham and St.
+Thomas of Canterbury.
+
+'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself up towards
+heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that behold it at a great
+distance with an awe of religion, and now with its splendour makes the
+light of the neighbouring palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the
+place that was anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are
+two lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome from
+afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent country echo far
+and wide with their rolling sound. In the south porch of the church
+stand three stone statues of men in armour, who with wicked hands
+murdered the holy man, with the names of their countries--Tusci, Fusci,
+and Betri....
+
+'_Og._ When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty of place
+opens itself to you, which is free to every one. _Me._ Is there nothing
+to be seen there? _Og._ Nothing but the bulk of the structure, and some
+books chained to the pillars, containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the
+sepulchre of I cannot tell who. _Me._ And what else? _Og._ Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance, but so
+that the view is still open from one end of the church to the other. You
+ascend to this by a great many steps, under which there is a certain
+vault that opens a passage to the north side. There they show a wooden
+altar consecrated to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and
+remarkable for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man is reported
+to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when he was at the point of
+death. Upon the altar is the point of the sword with which the top of
+the head of that good prelate was wounded, and some of his brains that
+were beaten out, to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.
+
+'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground; to that
+there belong two showmen of the relics. The first thing they show you is
+the skull of the martyr, as it was bored through; the upper part is left
+open to be kissed, all the rest is covered over with silver. There is
+also shown you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth, the
+girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to mortify his
+flesh....
+
+'_Og._ From hence we return to the choir. On the north side they open a
+private place. It is incredible what a world of bones they brought out
+of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands, fingers, whole arms, all which we
+having first adored, kissed; nor had there been any end of it had it not
+been for one of my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the
+officer that was showing them....
+
+'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the ornaments; and
+after that those things that were laid up under the altar; all was very
+rich, you would have said Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to
+them, if you beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....
+
+'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God! what a pomp of
+silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks! There we saw also St.
+Thomas's foot. It looked like a reed painted over with silver; it hath
+but little of weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. _Me._ Was there never a cross? _Og._ I saw none. There
+was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse and without embroidery
+or jewels, and a handkerchief, still having plain marks of sweat and
+blood from the saint's neck. We readily kissed these monuments of
+ancient frugality....
+
+'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the high altar there
+is another ascent as into another church. In a certain new chapel there
+was shewn to us the whole face of the good man set in gold, and adorned
+with jewels....
+
+'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. _Me._ Who was he, the
+abbot of the place? _Og._ He wears a mitre, and has the revenue of an
+abbot--he wants nothing but the name; he is called the prior because the
+archbishop is in the place of an abbot; for in old time every one that
+was an archbishop of that diocese was a monk. _Me._ I should not mind if
+I was called a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. _Og._ He
+seemed to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted with
+the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which the remainder of the
+holy man's body is said to rest. _Me._ Did you see the bones? _Og._ That
+is not permitted, nor can it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box
+covers a golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers an
+inestimable treasure. _Me._ What say you? _Og._ Gold was the basest
+part. Everything sparkled and shined with very large and scarce jewels,
+some of them bigger than a goose's egg. There some monks stood about
+with the greatest veneration. The cover being taken off, we all
+worshipped. The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who was the
+donor of it. The principal of them were the presents of kings....
+
+'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin Mary has her
+residence; it is something dark; it is doubly railed in and encompassed
+about with iron bars. _Me._ What is she afraid of? _Og._ Nothing, I
+suppose, but thieves. And I never in my life saw anything more laden
+with riches. _Me._ You tell me of riches in the dark. _Og._ Candles
+being brought in we saw more than a royal sight. _Me._ What, does it go
+beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? _Og._ It goes far beyond in
+appearance. What is concealed she knows best. These things are shewn to
+none but great persons or peculiar friends. In the end we were carried
+back into the vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell down on
+their knees and worshipped. _Me._ What was in it? _Og._ Pieces of linen
+rags.'
+
+At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim was to see
+the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed, and to make
+offerings at every exhibition of relics. Thus on beholding the precious
+place containing the milk of the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the
+following prayer:--
+
+'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord of heaven and
+earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts, we desire that, being
+purified by His blood, we may arrive at that happy infant state of
+dovelike innocence in which, being void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we
+may continually desire the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we
+grow up to a perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the Father and
+the Holy Spirit. Amen.'
+
+On being shown the little chapel which was the actual dwelling-place of
+the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto, the pilgrim prostrated
+himself and recited as follows:--
+
+'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin, the most happy
+of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that are impure do now come to
+visit and address ourselves to thee that art pure, and reverence thee
+with our poor offerings, such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable
+us to imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace of
+the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most inward bowels of
+our minds, and having once conceived Him, never to lose Him. Amen.'
+
+As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station a priest at
+each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to give openly in the
+sight of all, otherwise they would give nothing at all, so great was
+their piety. Nay, even with this stimulus, there were found some who,
+while they laid their offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would
+steal what another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of set
+prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no more hesitate to
+steal from the altar than to commit any other offence against morality.
+
+On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims were waylaid by
+roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled them with holy water, and
+showed them St. Thomas's shoe to kiss. In fact, what with the treasures
+brought home by pilgrims, presented to archbishops and kings, and sold
+by pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with relics; at
+the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were cupboards filled with
+holy bones and precious rags; but there were too many: the credulity of
+the people had been tried too much and too long. Erasmus shows the
+profound disbelief that he himself, if no other, entertained for the
+sanctity of the relics.
+
+[Illustration: 15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH]
+
+[Illustration: RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY]
+
+Thomas à Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years afterwards his
+remains were transferred from their original resting-place by Stephen
+Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the shrine prepared for them
+behind the high altar.
+
+Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently indicated by the
+extracts quoted above, was not alone in his opinions. Indeed, it
+required no great wisdom to perceive that a religious pilgrimage
+conducted without the least attention to the religious life was a
+mockery.
+
+Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers Plowman, long
+before, had expressed the same contempt for pilgrims:
+
+    Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes
+    For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;
+    Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,
+    And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.
+    Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves
+    Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.
+
+But there is a more serious indictment still.
+
+In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a prisoner for
+heretical opinions, was allowed to state these opinions to Archbishop
+Arundel. An account remains, written by the priest himself, of his
+arguments and of the Archbishop's replies. On the subject of pilgrimage
+he is very strong.
+
+'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and so I purpose all
+my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying that suche fonde people wast
+blamefully God's goods in ther veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes
+upon vicious hostelers, which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo werkis of
+mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and women. Thes poor mennis
+goodes and their lyvelode thes runners aboute offer to rich priestis,
+which have mekill more lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes
+they waste wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve after Goddis
+will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye, and over this foly, ofte
+tymes diverse men and women of thes runners thus madly hither and
+thither in to pilgrimage borowe hereto other mennis goodes, ye and
+sometymes they stele mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never
+again. Also, Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage, they
+will order with them before to have with them both men and women that
+can well syng countre songes and some other pilgremis will have with
+them baggepipes; so that every timme they come to rome, what with the
+noyse of their synging and with the sounde of their piping and with the
+jangeling of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came there away
+with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis. And if these men and
+women be a moneth in their pilgrimage, many of them shall be an half
+year after great jangelers, tale tellers, and lyers.'
+
+'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou seest not ferre
+ynough in this matter, for thou considerest not the great trauel of
+pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the thing that is praisable. I say to
+the that it is right well done that pilgremys have with them both
+singers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote
+striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe, or else
+take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away with suche myrthe
+the hurt of his felow. For with soche solace the trauel and weeriness of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth."'
+
+From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the Tabard Inn, High
+Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April in, or about, the year 1380,
+it remains for me to show what pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the
+fourteenth century. This company met by appointment the night before the
+day of departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met by
+chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or for a voyage
+round the Mediterranean, the members do not agree to meet: they find out
+that a party will start on such a date from such a place, and they join
+it. Part of the business of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark,
+was to organise and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As
+the ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the voyage
+there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so the Host of the
+Tabard charged so much for conducting and entertaining the party there
+and back again. That the company was collected in this manner and not by
+personal agreement, is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way
+in which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and talked
+together shows that society of the fourteenth century was no respecter
+of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great leveller of rank.
+
+The following is a list of the company:--
+
+1.--A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.--A Prioress: an
+attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.--A Monk and a Friar. 4.--A
+Merchant. 5.--A Clerk of Oxford. 6.--A Serjeant at Law. 7.--A Franklin.
+8.--A Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry Maker,
+all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.--A Sailor and a Cook. 10.--A
+Physician, 11.--The Wife of Bath. 12.--A Town Parson and a Ploughman.
+13.--A Reeve, a Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the
+Poet himself.
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY MERCHANT]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is generally supposed
+that they rode the whole way to Canterbury, which is sixty-six miles, in
+a single day. Their resting places have, however, been found by
+Professor Skeat. Allow them sixteen hours for the journey. This means
+more than four miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that in the
+fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six miles a day
+over such roads as then existed, and at a time of year when the winter
+mud had not yet had time to dry.
+
+It is not without significance that out of the whole number a third
+should belong to the Church. Among them the Prioress Madame Eglantine is
+a gentlewoman who might belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and
+dainty: fond of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her
+eating: wearing a brooch,
+
+    On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,
+    And aftir, _Amor vincit omnia_.
+
+The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who kept many horses and
+hounds and loved to hunt the hare.
+
+The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions: a wanton man
+who married many women 'at his own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly
+imposing light penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives and pins
+as gifts for the women:--a wholly worldly loose living Limitour.
+
+The character of the Town Parson, brother of the Ploughman, is perhaps
+the most charming of all this wonderful group of portraits.
+
+      A good man was ther of religioun,
+    And was a povre PERSOUN of a toun;
+    But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
+    He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
+    That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
+    His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
+    Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
+    And in adversitee ful pacient;
+    And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.
+    Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,
+    But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
+    Un-to his povre parisshens aboute
+    Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.
+    He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.
+    Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
+    But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
+    In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte
+    The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,
+    Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.
+    This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
+    That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
+    Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
+    And this figure he added eek ther-to,
+    That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
+    For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
+    No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
+    And shame it is, if a preest take keep,
+    A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.
+    Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,
+    By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.
+    He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
+    And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,
+    And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,
+    To seken him a chauntrie for soules,
+    Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
+    But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,
+    So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
+    He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.
+    And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,
+    He was to sinful man nat despitous,
+    Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,
+    But in his teching discreet and benigne.
+    To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,
+    By good ensample, was his bisinesse:
+    But it were any persone obstinat,
+    What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,
+    Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.
+    A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.
+    He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
+    Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
+    But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
+    He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.
+
+The Sompnour, _i.e._ Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts, was a
+scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were afraid of him: he
+loved strong meat and strong drink. If he found a good fellow anywhere
+he bade him have no fear of the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were
+in his purse.
+
+Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as the Monk, the
+Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his wallet pardons from Rome; and
+relics without end: all the imagination in the nature of certain classes
+was lavished upon the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power
+of imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of St.
+Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the Pardoner did.
+Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.
+
+    Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse
+    Is al my preching, for to make hem free
+    To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.
+
+It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a Limitour, and a
+Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge of religion: the first a man
+who dresses like a layman and thinks of nothing but of hunting--what,
+then, of the Rule? The second, and the third, are both corrupt and
+rotten to the very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual
+life had gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been described,
+figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times. They form the most
+trustworthy presentation of the time which we possess. The Knight is
+full of chivalry, truth, honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and
+lusty, is a lover and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have books than
+rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen were all well-to-do, in
+easy circumstances: the Physician was an astrologer, who understood
+natural magic, _i.e._ the influence of the stars; and made for his
+patients images: he knew the cause of every malady and how it was
+engendered--the profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in crimson and
+blue, lined with taffeta and silk--it would be interesting to know when
+physicians assumed the black dress of the last century. Lastly, his
+study was but little in the Bible.
+
+The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.
+
+    A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
+    That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
+    As lene was his hors as is a rake,
+    And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
+    But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
+    Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;
+    For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
+    Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
+    For him was lever have at his beddes heed
+    Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
+    Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
+    Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.
+    But al be that he was a philosophre,
+    Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
+    But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,
+    On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,
+    And bisily gan for the soules preye
+    Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
+    Of studie took he most cure and most hede.
+    Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
+    And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
+    And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.
+    Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,
+    And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
+
+Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in those days we
+should perhaps call a 'lower middle class' woman than that of the Wyf of
+Bath? She is dressed in all the splendour that she can afford: she
+frankly loves fine dress.
+
+    A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,
+    But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
+    Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
+    She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
+    In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
+    That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
+    And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
+    That she was out of alle charitee.
+    Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
+    I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
+    That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.
+    Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
+    Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.
+    Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
+    She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,
+    Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,
+    Withouten other companye in youthe;
+    But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.
+    And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;
+    She hadde passed many a straunge streem;
+    At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne
+    In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.
+    She coude muche of wandring by the weye.
+    Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
+    Up-on an amblere esily she sat,
+    Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat
+    As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
+    A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
+    And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
+    In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
+    Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,
+    For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything that is
+pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the restlessness of the
+woman: she can never have enough of pilgrimage: she loves the company:
+the change: the things that one sees: the people that one meets. She has
+journeyed three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne: apart from
+the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so good an Englishwoman
+would not neglect the saints of her own country: after Canterbury she
+would pilgrimise to Beverley and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and
+many a local saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her avowed
+intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth should die. Yet, she
+declared, she honoured holy virgins.
+
+    Let them be bred of purëd whete seed
+    And let us wyves eten barley brede:
+    And yet with barley bred men telle can
+    Our Lord Ihesù refreisshed many man.
+
+Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself sings the
+divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her nose: the Limitour plays
+on the rote: the Miller plays the bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full
+loud:' the Knight's son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an
+accomplishment was far more common in the fourteenth than in the
+nineteenth century.
+
+Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same as pilgrims.
+The latter, however, simply journeyed from home to the shrine and back
+again: the former was under vows of poverty, and continually travelled
+from shrine to shrine. The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore,
+palmers. The first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.
+
+When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow it is not
+intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French which was
+spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and by English ecclesiastics of
+higher rank. But why of Stratford le Bow? Because here was a
+Benedictine nunnery dating from the eleventh century. The beautiful
+little Parish Church of Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The
+Wyf of Bath is 'gat toothed,' _i.e._ her teeth are wide apart: Professor
+Skeat has discovered that an old superstition attaches to such teeth,
+that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who have such teeth will travel far
+and be lucky. Popular superstitions are so long lived that one has
+little doubt about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.
+
+[Illustration: PEDLAR
+
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_]
+
+Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the pilgrimage
+from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one day. Is not this
+conclusion based upon the fact that the last tale ends a day and the
+journey at the same time? Is there anything to prove that the
+pilgrimage could have been concluded in a day there and a day back? Why,
+I have said that it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the
+best: the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about three miles
+an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for refreshment. When Cardinal
+Morton journeyed from Lambeth to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he
+took a whole week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company of
+pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the Archbishop would
+not take so much as six days? Add to these considerations that Chaucer
+is a perfectly 'sane' writer: his work hangs together: it would have
+been impossible to get through all those stories with the intervals
+between and the times for rest in a single day.
+
+Another point occurs. There was at one time--I think--in the early days
+of pilgrimage--a special service appointed for the departure of
+pilgrims--a kind of consecration of the pilgrimage. There is no hint of
+such a service in Chaucer or in any other writer of the time, so far as
+I know. There is none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth
+century. One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the pilgrimage as
+a thing to be approached in an altogether reverential and religious
+spirit had quite gone out of it even when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of
+Erasmus.
+
+The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the manner of
+talk among the better class of people at that time, are curiously
+modern. Witness the description of the Parson and the Parson's Tale,
+which is a sermon: witness also the contempt and hatred of the poet for
+the shrines of religion: the impostor with his relics: the Sompnour and
+the Friar. Chaucer makes the two latter tell stories reflecting on each
+other, such great love had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The
+poet through his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:
+
+    I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose
+    To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.
+    And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende
+    To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
+    Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage
+    That highte Ierusalem celestial--
+
+and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage, taking for his
+text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand ye in the ways, and see,
+and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
+ye shall find rest for your souls.'
+
+[Illustration: MINSTRELS A.D. 1480]
+
+The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So was Erasmus. The riding
+all together: the festive meals at the inn: the mixture of men and women
+of all conditions: the change of thought and scene--could not but be
+useful and beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and revelry, with the
+'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains: that there was an idle parade
+of pretended relics, and an assumption of virtues and miracles for these
+relics: we can also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity
+that, when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as would
+load a big ship, were gathered together and burned, something was not
+introduced to take the place of pilgrimages and make the people move
+about and get acquainted with each other.
+
+What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the heretic?
+
+'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou
+considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest
+that thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well done,
+that pilgremys have with them both syngers and also pypers, that whan
+one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and
+hurteth hym sore, and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or
+his felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe
+for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with
+soche solace the trauell and werinesse of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE LADY FAIR
+
+
+The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The most ancient
+was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August, and annexed to the Priory
+by Henry I. St. James's Fair was held for the benefit of St. James's
+Lazar House: there was a Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to
+St. Katherine's Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded
+by Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton--the Horse
+Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham: at Lambeth. The Lady
+Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of comparatively late foundation,
+having been established in the year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV.
+empowering the City of London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on
+the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such
+fairs appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of the
+mediæval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that of Cloth
+Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon Cherry Fair: that of
+Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for cheese. Most of them, however,
+were general Fairs held for the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops
+were booths arranged in order side by side, and in streets. One street
+was for wool and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for
+spices: another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most towns had no
+trade except in provisions and drink. To the Fair people came from all
+quarters to buy or to sell: the country housewife laid in her stores of
+spices, sugar, wine, furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that
+she could not make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country within
+reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham, and Tooting, to
+buy their stores for the coming year. There was always, from the
+beginning, something of a festive nature about a Fair: the merry crowd
+suggested feasting and good company: the drinking tempted one on every
+side: there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.
+
+When internal communications were improved, and people could easily ride
+or drive to the neighbouring town, the permanent shop replaced the
+temporary booth, and the original purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it
+became, and continued until the end, merely a place of amusement, and,
+until it became riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses of
+the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the singular fact that the
+comic actor never ceases out of the land: I do not mean the man who can
+play a comic part to the admiration of beholders, but the man who has a
+genius for bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler, the
+posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and teacher of
+animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all trained to perform
+tricks: women danced on the tight rope: jugglers tossed knives and
+balls: men fought with quarterstaff, single-sticks, rapier, or fist:
+there were exhibitions of strange monsters: there were strange
+creatures. The nature of the show was proclaimed by a large painted
+canvas hung outside the booth.
+
+[Illustration: BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR]
+
+Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I saw in
+Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses dance and do other
+feates of activity on ye tight rope; they were gallantly clad _à la
+mode_, went upright, saluted the company, bowing and pulling off their
+hats; they saluted one another with as good a grace as if instructed by
+a dancing-master. They turn'd heels over head with a basket having eggs
+in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in their hands and
+on their heads without extinguishing them, and with vessels of water
+without spilling a drop. I also saw an Italian wench daunce and performe
+all the tricks of ye tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see
+her. Likewise here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'
+
+Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion was on September
+11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw
+Southwark Fair.' Eight years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of
+which he gives the following account:
+
+'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the
+puppet-show of Whittington, which is pretty to see; and how that idle
+thing do work upon people that see it, and even myself too! And thence
+to Jacob Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I never
+saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took acquaintance with a
+fellow who carried me to a tavern, whither came the music of this booth,
+and by and by Jacob Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak,
+whether he ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a mighty strong
+man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine, I away.'
+
+Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful picture of
+Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was in the daytime,
+remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not shrink from depicting scenes
+because they were brutal, or debauched--the pen that drew the Rake's
+midnight orgies could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent
+or abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture of the Fair
+in the evening as well as the afternoon we should have known why the
+City grew more and more disgusted at the orgies of the Lady Fair until
+it became impossible to tolerate it any longer.
+
+The Fair was held in the open street, between St. Margaret's Hill and
+St. George's Church. Beyond St. George's Church was open country, with a
+few houses, &c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical booths,
+Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres, that of Lee and
+Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of
+Troy.' At the other Theatre, there is a great show cloth called the
+Stage Mutiny, referring to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece
+promised is the 'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of
+the actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy playing a
+cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part with a magnificent
+wig and a towering plumed helmet. Alas! the great man is arrested at the
+moment of taking the picture: at the same moment the stage outside the
+booth gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.' There is
+a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter rides across the
+stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he has received: the dwarf
+Savoyard plays his bagpipe and makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's
+shop under the falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the
+slack rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower of St.
+George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer shows some of his
+tricks outside, but promises marvels inside the booth; the rustics gaze
+in speechless admiration in the face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we
+see the beginning of the line of booths, where everything was sold that
+was of no value--toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes, whips,
+canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings, cloth slippers,
+night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the yard, singing birds and
+cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter platters and mugs. All day long the
+noise went on: it began at noon: the people came from the country and
+from the city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time immemorial:
+the children were brought and treated to a fairing, the peep-show, and
+the play, and some gingerbread. In the afternoon the country lads
+wrestled for a hat--you can see the hat in the picture; and the girls
+ran a race for a smock--you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun of the fair
+began. Then all the quiet people within hearing stopped their ears: and
+all the decent people ran away: and the prentices, the rustics, the
+roughs of the Mint with their correspondencies of the other sex, had
+their own way until the weary players put out their footlights and lay
+down to sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the counters
+and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers' assistants. And then,
+one supposes, the prentices, the rustics, and the rogues went home
+again. And in the morning repentance and an aching head, and an empty
+purse.
+
+We may take it that all the amusements and shows which were brought out
+for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair while it lasted, were also
+exhibited at Southwark.
+
+The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to music and with
+singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds formed a large part of the
+Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,' there is an advertisement of dancing in
+a booth:
+
+'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S
+HEAD Musick Booth, in Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn,
+during the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine, Mum,
+Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be Sold; and where
+you will likewise be entertained with good Musick, Singing and Dancing.
+You will see a Scaramouch Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter
+Staff, the Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and the
+Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.
+
+'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and Jigg, and a Woman
+that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that we Challenge the whole Fair to
+do the like. There is likewise a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen
+Glasses on the Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and another Young
+Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well to the Admiration of all
+Spectators! _Vivat Rex!!_'
+
+And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair which we may very
+well believe to be Lady Fair. They tell us
+
+    How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,
+    The various fairings of the country maid.
+    Long silken laces hang upon the twine,
+    And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;
+    How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,
+    And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.
+    Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,
+    Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.
+    The lads and lasses trudge the street along,
+    And all the fair is crowded in his song.
+    The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells
+    His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;
+    Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,
+    And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;
+    Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,
+    Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.
+    Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,
+    Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.
+
+The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by the King's
+servants should have raised the character of the Fair. Perhaps it did.
+In any case, the Theatre of the Fair was not an unpromising place for a
+young actor to begin. The audience wanted nothing but the presentation
+of a story, and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in
+the fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He was
+therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials of his
+profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of the emotions. A
+stagey manner would be the result of too long continuance on these
+boards, but at the outset no kind of practice could be more useful.
+This was proved by the lovely Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the
+manager of Drury Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage, where she
+played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation of the finest
+actress and the most beautiful woman known up to that time.
+
+The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice in being able
+to remember one of these delightful shows. There was a great booth with
+a platform in front and canvas pictures hung up behind the platform. The
+orchestra occupied one end of the platform, playing with zeal between
+the performances. The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time: the clown and
+the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling, stood at the head of the
+broad stairs clanging cymbals and bawling that the play was just about
+to begin. The price of a seat was threepence, with a few rows at
+sixpence: the play lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of
+persecuted and virginal innocence--in white. The joy of the whole
+performance was to children beyond all power of words: the play: the
+music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the rollicking fun of the
+clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed by the roughness of the
+benches and the grass under our feet: and the general festivity of the
+noise, the music, the bawling outside make me remember Richardson's
+Theatre and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.
+
+I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially, a place
+in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that with so much dancing,
+drinking, love-making, singing, playing on the flowery slope that the
+authorities had to interfere. It is, indeed, a most melancholy
+circumstance that the people cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in
+the way they would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after
+the other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+
+(_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_)]
+
+May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable--those of
+Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair was founded in the year 1268,
+so that it was a very ancient institution, to be held on three days in
+the year--'the Eve, the day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of
+the Fair was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke, on
+October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a distinctive
+character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse Fair, Charlton became a
+Horn Fair. The obvious--and therefore popular--kind of fooling to be
+made out of horns and their associations--which are now quite lost and
+forgotten--as well as the day, which was also connected with those
+associations--made this Fair extremely popular. The people from London
+went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people from Greenwich and
+Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession, everyone wearing horns on
+his head, or carrying horns to affix to some other person's head. At the
+fair itself there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front: rams' horns
+were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the gingerbread was stamped
+with horns. The reason of this display was one quite forgotten by the
+people: viz. that a horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It
+was customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession, in
+women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see Chambers's 'Book of
+Days') in lashing the women with furze: probably in pretence only. The
+procession was discontinued in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.
+
+We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on Whit Monday. Long
+after Bartholomew Fair decayed and fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was
+one of the greatest holidays of the year for the London folk of the
+lower class. The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing
+in the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the fun of
+the booths and the shows.
+
+The former began early in the forenoon and went on until the evening.
+The people came down from London in boats for the most part, and by the
+Old Kent Road in vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the
+whole five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled with the
+working classes and the young men and maidens belonging to the working
+classes. The sports were primitive: the favourite amusement was for a
+line of youths and girls to run down hill hand in hand. The slope was
+steep, the pace was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling
+headlong or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the ring and
+thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing the Cockneys how to
+dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes through which could be seen the
+men hanging in chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or
+there were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every man, as it
+seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall into his arms.
+Outside the Park the street was filled with booths where everything
+could be bought, as at Lady Fair, which was worthless, including
+gingerbread. There were theatrical booths, shows of pictures,
+pantomimes, Punch and Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants,
+bearded ladies, mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of
+legerdemain, fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock
+fighting, and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening, beside
+the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The same cause which led to
+the suppression of the Lady Fair brought about that of Greenwich Fair.
+It was suppressed, I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in
+1851, but only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other, and making a
+noise, which, with the bellowing of the show folk, the blaring of the
+bands, the cries of the boys and girls on the merry-go-rounds, and the
+roar of the crowd, one will never forget. For my own part I am of
+opinion that the noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on
+in the evening would have gone on just as much outside the Fair as in
+it: and that it did very little harm to let the people enjoy themselves
+in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat drunken and somewhat
+indecent way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ST. MARY OVERIES
+
+
+London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty. One of
+them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great; the
+other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary Overy or Overies, now
+called St. Saviour's. This church, for some unknown reason, does not
+attract many English visitors. Americans go there in great numbers. It
+is so beautiful: it has so many historical associations: that I hope to
+interest more of our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the
+attractions of the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its
+history. These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47) given the
+legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two Norman knights, Pont
+de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the twelfth century, found here a
+small Religious House, called the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which
+had been created by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary
+herself was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the Lady
+Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies, which ought to be
+restored to the Church, seems to mean, not St. Mary of the Ferry, or St.
+Mary over the River, but St. Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or
+Shore. These two knights founded a new and larger House on the site of
+Mary Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to discover,
+if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman House fell into
+poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had the additional misfortune to
+lose these buildings and their Church, which were in great part, if not
+altogether, destroyed by the great fire of that year. A hundred years
+later the monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide the
+bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful: that their
+Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that condition for thirty
+years; that they had been unable to rebuild any of it except the
+campanile; and that they lived in constant terror of being inundated by
+the Thames. This shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall
+into a neglected state. At the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort--Shakespeare's Cardinal Beaufort--contributed largely
+to the rebuilding of the Church. Another benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the last years of his life, died here, and was
+buried in the Church. The monument of John Gower stands in the north
+aisle of the newly built nave. The Religious of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone who would
+say a prayer for the soul of the poet.
+
+[Illustration: A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+[Illustration: SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the Bishop of
+Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene of many important
+historical events. Just as Blackfriars was used for political Functions;
+just as Wyclyf was tried in St. Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies
+was used on occasions when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the
+matter in hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in 1406, with
+Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride was given away by Henry
+IV., and her dowry was 100,000 ducats. At her death she left the canons
+6,000 crowns for the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of James the
+First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure in Scottish history, a
+poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond of Hawthornden wrote that 'of
+former Kings it might be said that the nation made the Kings, but of
+this King, that he made the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being
+then thirty years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of Cardinal
+Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King Henry IV. The royal pair
+rode forth to Scotland laden with such gifts of plate and cloth of gold
+as Scotland had never before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal
+and his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the King was
+murdered in the presence of his wife, who was wounded in trying to save
+him, a sad ending to a marriage of love, and a tragic widowhood to the
+woman whom her poet had called
+
+    The fairest and the freshest younge flower
+    That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800]
+
+In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put out, and the
+place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose son became Viscount Montague
+and gave his new name to the ancient close of the Monastery. In the
+following year the Church was made a Parish Church, including the church
+of Mary Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St.
+Peter-le-Poor stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together with the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The nave gradually
+became ruinous and was taken down in 1838, when a new nave, the memory
+of which makes the whole Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put
+up. Its floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick wall. This
+terrible building has now been taken down and a nave rebuilt after the
+pattern of the original structure of the fourteenth century. Thus
+reconstructed, the church will soon, it is hoped, become the Cathedral
+Church of the Diocese of Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral
+organisation, being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The Church
+can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished company of the
+dead than can be found in most London churches. Here are buried,
+probably, Mary herself, the original founder, if she is not a legendary
+person: Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long line of
+unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the Augustinian House: John
+Gower, on whose monument can still be read the prayers he wrote for his
+own soul:
+
+    En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Père
+    Sauvé soit qui gist sous cest pierre.
+
+[Illustration: CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the first Duke of
+Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, is buried in the
+Lady Chapel, where his monument can be seen in black and white marble;
+Dyer the poet, who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence Fletcher, one of
+the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in the Church, 1608; Philip
+Henslow, the manager, buried in the chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried
+in the Church, 1625; Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' _i.e._ belonging to
+some other parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones in
+the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher, Edmund
+Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to record that they are
+buried somewhere in the Church.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+
+(_From a Drawing by Whichelo_)]
+
+Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure, commonly found in
+mediæval churches, of a body wasted by death: a wooden effigy of a
+knight: a monument to a quack of Charles the Second's time, and
+monuments to certain persons now forgotten; on one some lines in
+imitation of Herrick:
+
+    Like to the damask rose you see
+    Or like the blossom on the tree,
+    Or like the dainty flower of May,
+    Or like the morning of the day,
+    Or like the sun, or like the shade,
+    Or like the gourd which Jonas had,
+      Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,
+      Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.
+      The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,
+      The flower fades, the morning hasteth,
+      The sun sets, the shadow flies,
+      The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.
+
+The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things surviving of mediæval
+London, was very nearly destroyed by the ignorant Vandalism of about the
+year 1835. It was necessary in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west
+of the old Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:
+
+'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for the better
+display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that the Lady Chapel was
+swept away. The matter appeared in a fair way for being thus settled,
+when Mr. Taylor sounded the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas
+Saunders, Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners, however,
+decided to accept the proposals of the Committee. In the meantime, the
+gentlemen we have named were indefatigable in their exertions; and they
+were effectively seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there
+was a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and on a poll
+being demanded and obtained, there ultimately appeared the large
+majority of 240 for its preservation. The excitement of the hour was
+prudently used to obtain funds to restore it, which has been most
+successfully accomplished.'
+
+I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the Bishop, as being
+close to the Priory. On any map may be traced the extent of the Palace.
+On the north is Clink Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of
+the street; on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place; on
+the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the east is a street
+running south from St. Mary Overies Church. Winchester House, which thus
+covered a large piece of ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a
+wall. Many of the buildings, especially the great gate, remained
+standing almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony of a
+Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house must therefore
+be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for their accommodation.
+The map must not be accepted as laying down the exact site, the
+distances or the scale, or the arrangement of the courts and buildings.
+
+We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions and of the
+Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary and Winchester House had a
+good deal to do.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many melancholy
+sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, presided at a Court
+held in St. Mary Overies Church for the trial of heretics. The court was
+actually held in the Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they were found
+obstinate: they were committed to the Clink Prison hard by: on the next
+day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome, Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and
+several others, they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow at the
+uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty Taylor, end their
+course and receive their crowne. The next am I, which hourly looke for
+the Porter to open me the gates after them, to enter into the desired
+rest.'
+
+So began those fires from which the cause of Roman Catholicism long
+suffered, and is even now still suffering. For the popular judgment does
+not discern and separate. The burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped
+together in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The names,
+places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms as given by
+Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's advisers had deliberately
+done their best to make their form of Faith odious and hateful, they
+could not have devised a better plan than the burning of the people for
+religion's sake. It is generally thought and believed that the
+indignation of the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and
+preachers burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men do
+not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a Thomas More on
+his way to the block: or of a Cromwell: with equal indifference: these
+statesmen do not belong to the life of the people. In the Marian
+persecution they heard that Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at
+Oxford, but they offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that
+Ridley and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt, touched
+the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves. When,
+however, they found that not only Bishops and great people, but also
+their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were taken out from their
+workshops and tied three or four together to the stake, where they
+suffered the agonies of the fire and still continued to pray aloud with
+firmness: then the lesson went straight home to them; and for many a
+generation to come the people learned to loathe the very name of the
+religion which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred for
+believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.
+
+It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution were
+taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously taught from many
+centres. There were burnings at Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at
+Westminster: beyond St. George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the
+vast crowds which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear
+and hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary, 1556. 'The
+xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow, in iii cares
+xiij, xj men and ij women, and there bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and
+there where a xx M pepull.'
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to Smythfield to
+berne between vii and viij in the morning v men and ij women: on of the
+men was a gentyllman of the endor tempull, ys nam Master Grén; and they
+were all bornyd by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment
+throughe London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a tyme.'
+
+Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds gathered together
+to witness the sufferings of the victims, and to note their constancy in
+the hour of agony; secondly, that the authorities were becoming alarmed
+at the effect which these examples might have upon the young. No young
+people were permitted to be present. We may be sure that the prohibition
+was openly defied.
+
+As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires began, stricken,
+said his enemies, by the hand of God in punishment for his cruelties.
+His physicians, I believe, called it gout in the stomach, a reading
+which one prefers, because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them,
+and after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase, in
+the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which began at the
+church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued all the way to Winchester,
+where the place of his burial and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.
+
+Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it shall suffice. It
+must be remembered that Gardiner was not only a very great person, but
+that he was also believed to be the natural son of Bishop Woodville,
+and, if the belief was well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the
+Queen. But this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.
+
+[Illustration: A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK]
+
+'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the most reverentt
+father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and bysshope of Wynchastur,
+prelett of the gartter, and latte chansseler of England, and on of the
+preve consell unto Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded;
+and so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth of gold, and
+with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys bornyng, and
+iiij grett tapurs; and my lord Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord
+bysshope of Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and the morow
+masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the sarmon; and so masse
+done, and so to dener to my lord Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse
+was putt in-to a wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower
+the corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys armes, and v
+gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes and hods, then ij harolds in
+ther cote armur, master Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng,
+carehyng of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the way; and
+then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the nombur unto ij C. a-for
+and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges cam prestes and clarkes with crosse
+and sensyng, and ther thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to
+ever parryche tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as cam
+to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790]
+
+The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the south side of
+the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied that part of the ground on
+the north of the nave: the refectory, chapter house and dormitories, and
+other buildings stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary Overies Dock, which
+was also the south end of the ferry. The dock is there still, but where
+the wall of the Monastery stood, round the Garden, and one could see the
+orchards beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the Cloister
+stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct--there was
+certainly another on the side of the High Street--stood close to the
+west front of the Church. The Cloister received the name of Montagu
+Close, after the son of Sir Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If
+you pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a few
+fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in the wall of the
+Church; but all traces of the monastic buildings are entirely swept
+away.
+
+The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In post-Reformation
+times there was a school here--St. Saviour's school; there were also
+almshouses; there was a peaceful quiet kind of close, in which was heard
+the buzz of the boys in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in
+the sun; one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church lay the bones
+of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see Bishop Hooper and John
+Rogers stepping forth into the sunlight, their trial over, their
+sentence passed: their cheeks, perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes
+somewhat brightened, because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a
+man's courage must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian waded
+through the river, before they reached the shore beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE SHOW FOLK
+
+
+Southwark was a city of a various population. It had great Houses for
+nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns for the reception of
+merchants, coming up from Kent and the south country: it had a riverside
+people of fishermen and watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or
+down stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number of
+residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens which spread over
+the whole of the rich low-lying land now embanked, secure from floods
+and the highest tides. It contained, besides, a large number of rogues
+and vagabonds, fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called
+sanctuary, where the officers of the law did not dare to present
+themselves. In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the end of the
+last century, when the so-called Liberties of the Mint'--the last place
+of sanctuary--were finally abolished and only a slum remained to mark
+the site of a sanctuary.
+
+[Illustration: WINCHESTER PALACE]
+
+Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show Folk of Bankside.
+When the Show Folk began to live in Bankside I know not: their
+settlement originally was in Westminster outside the King's Palace,
+where there was always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling,
+mumming and such recreative performances; they were also, however, in
+great request in London by City Church, city company, and city tavern.
+Now there was no place for them within the walls: they had no company:
+there was neither a Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a
+Mummers'; nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which would
+admit them; there was no ward where they could get a street for
+themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed out. And not only were
+they a class apart but they were a class in contempt. It was always held
+contemptible to provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long time after,
+would take part in the buffoonery which the actor had then to exhibit:
+an atmosphere of disrepute attached to the calling, to those who
+followed the calling, and to the place where they lived: in the City,
+Aldermen had a way of connecting nocturnal disorders with these children
+of melody: where they resorted the taverns would carry on their
+revelries after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with the
+dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the Church Puritanic,
+set her face against those who devised entertainments, on the ground
+that the devisers were an ungodly and dissolute crew. Therefore they
+crossed the river. On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the
+City could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose--Heaven knows whether they did choose--without
+reproach: their taverns kept open house as long as they would stop to
+drink: there was singing every day without interference: there was
+merriment without the rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of
+being haled before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was no
+terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river was 'put in
+stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o' Sunday.' It was the Bishop
+of Winchester's Liberty, but he was content, on the whole, to leave the
+residents unmolested and in the possession of their guitars, their
+fiddles, their songs and their plays.
+
+[Illustration: THE GLOBE THEATRE
+
+(_From the Crace Collection_)]
+
+When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy for them to go
+across: they were ready at a moment's notice to arrange a pageant, or to
+take part in one: they could provide the beauteous maidens in white with
+long fair tresses who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold
+rose nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found hermits,
+and constructed caves for those godly men in the midst of Gracious
+Street: they found the music for the dragging of the traitor on a
+hurdle: for the march of the rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the
+Lord Mayor: for the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a
+miracle play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man: the
+Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and Goliath: or any
+other episode from the Bible--how many excellent players there were
+among them whose names have long since been forgotten! They knew how to
+present a Masque--not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by Ben
+Jonson and Inigo Jones--who commanded the King's purse--but a neat and
+creditable affair, with dresses appropriate, full of surprises, and
+furnished with mythological characters, for the Hall of a City Company
+on the day of the Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more
+debauched kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests--pity they were
+not rarer--and excellent fooling by their clowns. The modern art of
+acting did not begin at the Globe Theatre: there has never been any time
+when the actor was unknown: the only difference is that he was not
+formerly allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his _répertoire_: and now he is an artist and scorns the
+tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment of modern
+invention. The Company of Parish Clerks, for instance, were great
+promoters of sacred plays. Their poets--whose names are entirely
+lost--provided the words and arranged the scenes; the members of the
+company played the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they
+provided the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music. Many of the
+Parish Churches had their annual play on their Saint's Day. Thus the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret, which was taken down when St. Mary
+Overies' became St. Saviour's, had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July
+20), and often another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well. We
+have already observed that the Londoner of old never made any difference
+in the matter of Play or Pageant whether the time was summer or winter.
+He was like the Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his
+Riding, or his Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in
+July.
+
+Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal, were the people
+who looked after the bears and the dogs. Bull baiting, bear baiting,
+sometimes horse baiting, together with badger baiting, duck hunting,
+cock throwing, dog fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and
+common sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was wherever
+there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the centre and headquarters
+of the sport was South London, in the place called Paris Gardens. The
+popularity of the sport is shown by the simple facts that there was not
+only bull and bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or
+amphitheatres for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite St.
+George's Church, there was permanently established the bull ring to
+which an animal could be tied whenever one was found fit for the purpose
+of affording an hour's sport by the madness of his rage or the agonies
+of his death.
+
+The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the site of Paris
+Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They extended to the distance
+of about a quarter of a mile south of the river: sluggish streams and
+ditches ran across and round the gardens, which were so thickly planted
+with trees as to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil. These gardens
+were the chief home of the rough and cruel sports already mentioned:
+here were kept under the King's bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's
+dogs; and the bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young bull that
+was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears were not killed, they
+were all known to the people by name, such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson,
+and were valued in proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who
+with the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought over every day
+from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly fierce and savage. In
+these days we hardly know what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has
+become peaceful: formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog
+who was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was trained
+to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to wayfarers--remember
+the dog in the second part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always
+biting and rending some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed
+only by affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these days.
+Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull dogs who feared
+no one but their master, a man might journey from end to end of the
+country armed with nothing but a club. Such a dog would fight and would
+overcome a man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and stronger
+than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had horns and hoofs to
+dodge: but the bear afforded the best sport both for man and dog: he
+presented a nose and ears and a thick fur on which to spring, and to
+fasten the canine teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn
+and bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though in the
+end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the inside of the dog,
+with the heart and the breath of life!
+
+It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In a contemporary
+Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors, on May 25, 1559, were
+entertained at Court with a dinner, and after dinner with a bull and
+bear baiting, the Queen herself looking on from a gallery: the next day
+they were taken down the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris
+Gardens. Forty years later James the First entertained the Spanish
+Ambassador after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg paid a visit
+to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in London the English
+dogs, of which there were about 120, all kept in the same enclosure, but
+each in a separate kennel.
+
+'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two bears and a
+bull were baited; at such times you can perceive the breed and mettle of
+the dogs, for although they receive serious injuries from the bears,
+are caught by the horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as
+frequently to fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them back by
+the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at once were set on the
+bull; they, however, could not gain any advantage over him, for he so
+artfully contrived to ward off their attacks that they could not well
+get at him; on the contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by
+striking and butting at them.'
+
+[Illustration: BEAR GARDEN]
+
+And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is furnished by
+Hentzner in 1598:
+
+'There is still another place, built in the form of a Theatre, which
+serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they are fastened behind, and
+then worried by those great English dogs (_quos linguâ vernaculâ
+"Docken" appellant_), and mastiffs, but not without great risks to the
+dogs from the teeth of the one and the horns of the other, and it
+sometimes happens they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are
+immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded
+bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing in a circle with
+whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy; although he
+cannot escape from them because of his chain, he nevertheless defends
+himself vigorously, throwing down all who come within his reach and are
+not active enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English
+are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed, which in America is called
+_Tobaca_--others call it _PÅ“tum_--[i.e. _Petun_, the Brazilian name for
+Tobacco, from which the allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its
+appellation,] and generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose
+made of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry
+that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they draw the smoke
+into their mouths, which they puff out again through their nostrils like
+funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head. In
+these Theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the
+season, are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'
+
+Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about the country
+leading a bear which they offered to be baited for so much an hour at
+the inns which they passed. The master of the 'King's Game' had power to
+seize upon any mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and
+to bait in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn, both
+actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had licence to
+apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and bulls.
+
+There was another place where the refining influence of the bear baiting
+might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved in the lane called Bear
+Garden Alley. In Agas's map of 1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the
+'Bear Baiting:' a little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called
+the 'Bull Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings
+erected for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition to
+the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary. It is learnedly
+discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). The Spanish
+Ambassador in 1544 describes a bear baiting--but he does not say exactly
+where he saw it. 'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think,
+however, that he must mean Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears, some of them
+very large; they are driven into a circus, where they are confined by a
+long rope, while large and courageous dogs are let loose upon them as if
+to be devoured, and a fight takes place. It is not bad sport to witness
+the conflict. The large bears contend with three or four dogs, and
+sometimes one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves with
+their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their forelegs, that, if
+they were not rescued by their masters, they would be suffocated. At the
+same place a pony is baited, with a monkey on its back, defending itself
+against the dogs by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony, render the
+scene very laughable.'
+
+In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain 'Epigrams' against
+abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p.
+8).
+
+                  Every Sunday they will spend
+    One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.
+    At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail
+    To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.
+
+Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris Gardens, because
+an accident happened there.
+
+'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure of the clock in
+the afternoon, the old and under-propped scaffolds round about the Beare
+Garden, commonly called Paris Garden, on the south side of the great
+river Thames over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons, men and women,
+were slaine and many others sore hurt and bruised to the shortening of
+their lives. A friendly warning to all that delight themselves in the
+cruelties of beastes than in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true,
+professed faith, which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)
+
+The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.
+
+The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance, might get loose.
+Once the blind bear got loose: it was on December 9, 1554, and on the
+Bankside, probably at the amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught
+a serving man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by the
+hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).
+
+Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs spring up a rabble
+rout who made their living by them: the bearward, the serving man who
+kept the kennels, fed the dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears,
+looked after the amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided
+the drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there is a
+small square place which I take to be the survival of an open court in
+front of the circus. There is here a small tavern: the house itself is
+not ancient, but I believe that it stands on the site of the house which
+provided wine and beer for the spectators of the bear baiting. These
+sports, with others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds
+of people gathering together: the music which accompanied everything:
+caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places. Another attraction
+to the place may be only hinted at in these pages. Suffice it to say
+that all the profligate, all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the
+lovers of sport among the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside
+every evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and there
+they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured animals to
+their hearts' content.
+
+It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond it--the
+pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into the open country on
+every side of the City walls, but there was no place so pleasant as the
+Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside: none that offered so many and such
+various attractions. The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a
+play was forward: the number of those who loved the play more than the
+baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the citizens did
+not love the green fields and the woods: and these lay behind Paris
+Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking of the dogs and the roar of the
+crowd and the blare of the music and the stink of the kennels. Every
+summer evening the river was crowded with the boats taking the people
+across to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and Old
+Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As for the watermen,
+John Taylor, the water poet, says that there were 40,000 of them plying
+between Windsor and Gravesend, while the number of people who were
+carried over every day to the plays on Bankside was three or four
+thousand. Forty thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen in mid
+stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the highway between
+London and all riverside places; between London and Westminster; between
+London and Southwark, because even if one lived close to the bridge it
+was easier and quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over
+the bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people across the
+river every day would not want more than a thousand boats or two
+thousand watermen: at the same time the loss of their custom, which
+happened when the people went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for
+their play, would be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.
+
+We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting attracted less than
+the play acting: when the amphitheatres were turned into theatres: and
+when Bankside became the residence of the poets and the players. They
+came; unfortunately the other people did not go away. There remained the
+tribe of them who made the music and found the dancers and the tumblers,
+the mummers and the conjurers: there remained the men--a rough and
+brutal lot--who looked after the bears and the dogs: the men who wielded
+quarterstaff and showed sword play, a swaggering and bullying company:
+there remained the young bloods who came over from their peaceful shops
+and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation and talk of the
+place: there remained the ribald crew of men and women who naturally
+belong to such gatherings. There was another population at Westminster
+outside the King's House like unto this at Southwark: these, too,
+existed for the amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest class of
+London City. The poets came, therefore, to this place in order to be
+near these theatres: they brought no improvement in example, in morals,
+or in manners: they lived among the people, and their lives were mostly
+as disorderly and their morals as loose as the company among whom they
+walked and talked.
+
+Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be noted, consisted of
+two parts, the one wholly distinct from the other. The first part was
+the High Street with its four churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's,
+St. Olave's, and St. Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two
+Debtors' Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented by
+merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of packhorses, and
+of receiving as many waggons as could fill the courtyard. The Palaces
+were mostly gone, turned into inns or tenements. The whole place was a
+great House of Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no
+civic or corporate existence. But it was respectable.
+
+The other part lay on the west of the High Street, stretching along the
+river nearly as far as Lambeth. This was the disreputable quarter, the
+place of amusement: the people who lived there, one and all, made the
+providing of amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of
+livelihood. It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was sold, and
+there were no booths except those of Ursula, with roast sucking pig,
+black puddings, custards, and gingerbread. From every tavern all day
+long came the tinkling of the guitar and the trolling of some lusty
+voice and the silvery notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon
+because nature taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head
+from side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and pipe
+going before him. After him came the dogs straining at the chain which
+held them, barking madly in anticipation of the fight. Or it was a young
+bull who was led by two men to the ring where he would defend his life
+as long as the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of citizens and
+their wives, who made for the theatre where the flag was flying. On the
+open bank were placed tables for those who drank: the balladmonger sang
+his songs and sold them afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and
+went through his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London was there a
+scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than on Bankside, on an
+afternoon or evening in the summer. And then to go home again across the
+broad and peaceful river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the
+river, like the sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats,
+and still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the soft
+breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp, and the
+voices of those who sang, and the baying of the hounds from Paris
+Gardens.
+
+The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves many questions,
+and may be safely left to the antiquarian historian. The reader will
+find most of these questions raised and settled in a book, already
+quoted here, by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses, here as
+early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII. Gardiner proposed to have
+a solemn dirge in memory of the King, but, he complained to the Council,
+the players of Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in earnest.'
+
+Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether they acted in
+the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had a moveable stage, I do not
+know. It is, however, quite certain that before the end of the sixteenth
+century there were four theatres in Bankside--the _Rose_, whose site was
+somewhere in Rose Alley: the _Hope_ in Bear Garden Lane: the _Swan_ in
+Paris Gardens--that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars Road, not
+far from the Bridge: and the _Globe_. The site of the Globe is generally
+allowed to have been at a spot 150 feet south of Park Street, close to
+the Southwark Bridge Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more
+or less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously to
+the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player lived beside the theatre,
+and the place was the pleasure resort of the people, and the haunt of
+sporting men, and the school of the citizens, in history at least: and
+the pride and glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and villanies
+practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness of those who lived
+upon the Bank.
+
+The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those milder attacks
+which threatened from time to time were a deadly enemy to the players,
+for then the theatre must be closed and the Bear Garden too, for in
+crowds there was infection. Think what it meant to close these places of
+resort. The Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper--the Company: there were the
+servants 'in the front' and the servants behind, the 'supers,' the money
+takers, the boys who went round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale,
+new books and tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres must have thrown
+out of employ many hundreds of men, and, if we consider their wives and
+families, many thousands of people. Can we wonder if the players, one
+and all, were Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which
+allowed them their daily bread?
+
+[Illustration: The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616]
+
+But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit prevailed. When the
+Parliament conquered, the theatres were doomed. And in 1655, by command
+of Thomas Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same year it is
+mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been destroyed to make room for
+tenements.
+
+The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic spirit was rapidly
+growing stronger could not possibly be held in good repute. There was
+dancing in it: music: mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these
+things the misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The Mayor,
+long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never allow a theatre to
+be set up within his jurisdiction: had that jurisdiction extended beyond
+the various Bars: had there not, fortunately, happened to exist certain
+illogical and absurd Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no
+authority, there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare, no Ben
+Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things happened, we have to note
+the very remarkable fact that while the popular love for the theatre
+increased year by year; while the theatre became the teacher of history,
+the satirist of manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers
+and preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not at
+all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into the hands of
+the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the father of one of the
+most famous players, Nathan Field, wrote to the Earl of Leicester as
+early as 1585 reviling him for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil
+men as of late you did for players, to the great griefe of all the
+godly,' and adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes and
+plays.' And the same divine, two years later, wrote an attack upon the
+theatre in consequence of the accident at Paris Gardens which has been
+already mentioned. The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War,
+but it was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration allowed
+it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism continues, in a
+now feeble and impotent way, to consider the Theatre as the chosen home
+of the Devil.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE]
+
+Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready to meet all
+comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary
+Overies, denounced the Theatre and all connected with it. Field answered
+him manfully, telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in
+preaching from his pulpit against people who are licensed and
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal to the task
+of covering the preacher with derision; but derision seldom convinces or
+converts.
+
+The general opinion of players remains that they have at all times been
+a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;' borrowing; spending
+their money in riotous living. This opinion is not by any means always
+true. The musician, the mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all
+regarded much in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight
+like the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did not,
+like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not heal the sick;
+they knew no law; their only function in the world was to amuse; to make
+men laugh. It is very remarkable that directly the players ceased to be
+dependent on noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform, they became
+prudent men of business. They may have been a cheerful tribe; they were,
+however, well to do, and, so far as can be learned, a thrifty tribe.
+They made money, not by writing plays, nor by acting them, but by being
+shareholders in the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare, all appear to
+have lived in comfort, and to have died possessed of moderate fortunes.
+
+The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always been, penniless
+and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth century the earliest of the
+dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele, Nash, Greene--that turbulent roystering
+profligate band whom everybody loved while everybody reproved--had
+passed away. The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives. Yet they
+were often harassed for want of money. Three of them, Massinger, Field
+and Daborne, write to Henslow asking for an advance of 5_l._ on the
+security of a play which is worth ten pounds in addition to what they
+have had. All those, in fact, were poor, and remained poor, who
+attempted to live by poetic literature alone.
+
+The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let us consider the
+Company of Actors who played at the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the
+Lion, and lived on and near the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's
+(see Rendle's 'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the
+actors who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised here
+or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately, does not
+occur. Among the actors, and first and chief, was Richard Burbage--like
+Shakespeare, a Warwickshire man. In person he was under the middle
+stature, and grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who built the very
+first permanent theatre--called The Theatre at Shoreditch. In
+consequence of a dispute with the landlord, he pulled down the house,
+carried the timbers across the river to Bankside, and set up the Globe.
+
+There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded Tarlton in that line.
+He was a great dancer: on one occasion he danced all the way from
+Norwich to London, taking nine days for the work: he was accompanied by
+one Thomas Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with him along
+the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow of infinite drollery,
+with jokes and acting such as pleased the 'groundlings' well. There was
+a kind of entertainment popular at the time called a jig. It was a
+monologue for the most part, but might be played by two or more, in
+which the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was like
+the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This worthy lived
+in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of his death.
+
+Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He also lived in the
+Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long. He survived the
+suppression of Theatres, and in his old age had no craft or art or
+mastery by which to earn his bread save that which was proscribed. He
+wrote for assistance to a patron, and he quoted the lover's words
+applied to the beggar:
+
+    Silence in love betrays more woe
+      Than words, though ne'er so witty;
+    The beggar that is dumb, you know,
+      Deserves a double pity.
+
+Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be forgotten. He attracted
+Tarlton's attention when a mere boy. The veteran comedian adopted him
+and taught him. I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor
+to that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester as--
+
+    Honest gamesome Robert Armin,
+    That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.
+
+I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he was also Nathan
+Field the dramatist. He brought into the latter profession the
+carelessness about money that belonged to the former. There are
+indications--only indications, it is true--that there was in him
+something of the temperament of a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a
+constitutional inability to understand the meaning of addition and
+subtraction or the translation of money into its equivalent in eating
+and drinking. He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'
+
+    Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;
+    And is the true Othello of the poet:
+    I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,
+    That like the character he is most jealous.
+    If it be so, and many living sweare it,
+    It takes not little from the actor's merit,
+    Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,
+    Field can display the passion to the life.
+
+Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and Armin, carried on the
+traditions of low comedy. He was great in the invention of 'jigs.' A
+notable 'jig' was that called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several
+performers took part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a
+'Schanke, a player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news that there had
+been a great battle in which the London Companies had been cut to
+pieces, and 20,000 men had fallen on both sides. They spread their news
+as they rode through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle at all,
+but that those three men--Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Whitney, and one
+Schanke, a player--were simply runaways. Therefore they were all clapped
+in the Gatehouse, and brought to undergo punishment according to martial
+law 'for their base cowardliness.'
+
+One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians never becomes
+extinct. That power of always seizing on the comic side in everything,
+of always being able to make an audience laugh throughout a whole piece,
+is never, happily, taken away from a world which would be too sad
+without it. Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the comic man,
+whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as humorous as his words,
+never fails us. Tarlton is followed by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by
+Schanke. So Robson follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.
+
+There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier finds out what
+parts they played and where they lived. Alas! He tells us no more.
+Perhaps there is no more to tell. The rank and file of the theatrical
+company are never a very interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey,
+Eccleston, Cowley, Cooke, Sly, Argan--they are shadows that have long
+since passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten by
+the audience the day after they were dead. Why seek to revive their
+memory when there is not a single solitary fact to go upon? A bone would
+be something: out of the skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct
+his life, with all the adventures, love-making, disappointments,
+distresses and triumphs.
+
+We know the place where they all lived; the place of a continual Fair
+without any booths, yet everything offered for sale: the music to cheer
+your heart--you could command it had you money in purse; the wine to
+raise your courage--you could call for it; the dancing to charm your
+eye--any girl would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts--but you must pay for your seat; the jig to
+bring you back to the level of earth--or perhaps a little lower--you
+could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of the Swan in the Hoope
+were directed to your purse; the ruffians belonging to the kennels and
+the bear garden; the drawers of the taverns and the sack and the
+tobacco, the boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The
+players lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd: sometimes one of
+their women is ducked for a shrew; one of them is clapped in the Clink
+Prison: some are haled before the Bishop for acting in Lent--these
+unreasonable people really object to starving in Lent! And the place and
+the people and their manners and customs are deplorable but delightful;
+they are picturesque to the highest degree, but they are equally
+reprehensible. I wish we could go back four hundred years and see and
+listen for ourselves: but with all our admiration for the Elizabethan
+drama, I do not think that I should like to be one of the Show Folk or
+to live with them in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of
+the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+BELOW BRIDGE
+
+
+'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes: Horselydown,
+Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich, and Woolwich. The railway
+has ruined one end of Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St.
+Olave's Street. Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at
+all. Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow street was
+once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had here, opposite St.
+Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here the Abbot of St. Augustine
+had his Inn: and here, we have seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf.
+Here was the Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across the
+bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient, to Tooley Stairs;
+some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay
+along Tooley Street and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and
+gardens: a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St. Saviour's
+Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most industrious in the whole of
+London. It is called Horselydown, the derivation of which seems obvious,
+but derivations are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take it
+for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at Roques' map of
+1745, that there were meadows where horses grazed as soon as the
+embankment was up, and the ground drained. There was some kind of common
+here at one time: here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites
+were buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The industries
+made their appearance in the eighteenth century, but they came
+gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable variety as regards
+occupations. All along the river and the bank of the Dock, formerly
+Savoy Dock, there are wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries,
+leather warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin dyeing works,
+breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper mills, dyeing works, dog's
+food manufactories, vinegar works, bottle works, iron foundries, wooden
+hoop manufactories, cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit
+manufactories, oil and colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works,
+and distilleries. All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses are houses for
+the workmen and the foremen. On the south side stands the Church, almost
+the ugliest Church in London: next to the Church is, or was, a few years
+ago, a street which has something of the look and feeling of a Close.
+
+It is a great pity that in the whole of South London lying east of the
+High Street there is not a single beautiful, or even picturesque Church.
+Look at them! St. Olave's, St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It cannot be
+pretended that these structures inspire veneration or even respect. You
+may see drawings of them in Maitland. St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737,
+St. John's, Horselydown, in 1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the
+steeple was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of the
+church architecture of nearly the same period.
+
+[Illustration: A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+
+(_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_)]
+
+Of all the quarters and parts of London that of Horselydown is the least
+known and the least visited, except by those whose business takes them
+there every day. There is, in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves
+block out the river: the warehouses darken the streets, the places where
+people live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make one desire
+to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock, we find ourselves in quite
+a different quarter: the wharves are arranged along the river wall,
+called the Bermondsey Wall, but behind the wharves there are fewer
+factories and more people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to
+live in: of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even any
+access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs: the 'works' are
+those whose near neighbourhood is not generally desired: places where
+they make leather and curry it: or where they make glue or vinegar.
+Fortunately, however, the good people of Bermondsey are spared the
+handling of tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and it occupies,
+including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe,
+something like a quarter of a million, which is a good-sized city in
+itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's Dock we may step aside to look
+at two streets, which fifty years ago represented the lowest kind of
+vice and brutality, and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street
+and London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to adorn his
+'Oliver Twist'--lugged in, for indeed it does not belong there.
+
+The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's 'London
+Illustrated' in the year 1806.
+
+The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of the dirt has been
+washed away.
+
+It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's cottages or
+residences which shall be beautiful. First there is the slum with a row
+of two- or four-roomed cottages in a narrow court: the windows are
+broken: the banisters of the staircase are broken away to be burned: the
+sanitary appliances are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step is to build
+streets for working men in places where the ground is not too valuable.
+Thus the town of Bromley near Bow sprang into existence. It consists
+entirely of monotonous streets with monotonous houses, all small, all
+ugly, all built after the same pattern: the result being dreary and
+dispiriting. Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating the
+working classes by the hundred thousand. There is not the smallest
+attempt at making these places beautiful: they are simple cubes of grey
+brick with rows and lines of windows. Outside they may be models of
+economy in space. Once within, they may be models of convenience; but
+there is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family on
+family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated by the
+founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy; the children are
+demoralised: there are dangers not expected, and temptations not
+considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses of Southwark and
+Bermondsey are not, in every respect, adapted to a model population.
+
+It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to get at the
+river, except at two or three spots where the old stairs can be
+approached by a narrow passage. There is an embankment or terrace: the
+whole bank is occupied for commercial purposes: business men do not like
+strangers on these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If, however,
+the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes--say, on Saturday
+afternoon--get down to the stairs and look out upon the river, he will
+see close at hand, not only the ships and barges that lie about the
+wharves, but the grand new Watergate of London, the most appropriate
+entrance that could be devised to the port--the new Tower Bridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814]
+
+Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began the houses, until
+fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until Rotherhithe itself
+consisted of little more than a single street, with docks, and stairs,
+and taverns on the riverside, and on the other side lanes leading to
+cottages and cottage gardens. The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807,
+but the place still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river flowed on the
+north and east. Like all the country about the Thames, it was low-lying,
+and originally a marsh. Even as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained,
+and a good part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now called
+Southwark Park Road--why could they not leave the old name, Blue Anchor
+Road?--even in 1830 wound through a marsh covered with ditches and
+ponds. On the east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of ponds and
+islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running into the river at
+Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams lay or flowed at will over
+the levels, making islands which were approached by bridges. The
+character of the place was entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the
+last part of London where there lingered still the appearance of a
+marsh. The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence Island; the
+Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond; Broom Fields; Halfpenny
+Hatch, repeated more than once. The numerous Ropewalks scattered about
+show that the ground was cheap, and the factories where they make glue,
+soap, brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+
+(_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_)]
+
+Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more interesting, namely,
+Deptford. They have done their best to spoil Deptford of late years:
+they have taken away the old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new
+streets: but a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago, reconstructing
+the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of 1886. It is like
+reconstructing the face in youth from a portrait in middle life. I
+succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction, and, I hope, to the
+satisfaction of my readers when the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared
+as the background of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted
+chiefly of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new church
+in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there was the Hall where
+the Brethren of the Trinity House assembled every year before their
+service at St. Nicolas and their feast at their house on Tower Hill.
+The town was full of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not
+remarkable for the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on
+the contrary, they despised such ways--'their fashions I hate, like a
+pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all the time they
+were ashore, except when they were drinking and taking tobacco at the
+tavern--these occupations, truly, left the honest fellows less time for
+love than might have been expected. There were officers' taverns and
+seamen's taverns: rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And,
+really, it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower ranks: bad food on
+board: long years of foreign service: and for all the gallantry that
+these brave fellows showed in service not a word of thanks: not a hint
+at promotion.
+
+The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were shops, but poor
+things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables were brought in from
+the country round: within a few steps of the town one was in the
+loveliest country, with the Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and
+under the branches of willows and of alders.
+
+The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the Eighth, and continued
+till 1869. It was at Deptford that most of the ships were built for the
+Royal Navy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: it was here that
+Drake's ship, the _Golden Hind_, in which he had made his voyage round
+the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of entertainment.
+She remained here, an object of pilgrimage for the Londoners, for many
+years. She was a good deal cut about, because everybody wanted to carry
+away a piece of her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One
+pious archæologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented it
+to the Bodleian Library.
+
+Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary of the
+Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the morning, and seeing the seamen
+exercise, which they do already very handsomely. Then to dinner....
+After dinner and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked
+to the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard, where I had a
+look into the tarhouses and other places, and took great notice of all
+the several works belonging to the making of a cable.'
+
+It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich, 'where I stood with
+great pleasure an hour or two by her bedside, she lying prettily in
+bed.' During the plague year, when he and his wife were staying at
+Woolwich, he goes over to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually
+feasting with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague was
+slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.
+
+Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was Peter the
+Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture. The people
+of the town had the satisfaction of seeing the Czar of Muscovy--not
+quite so great a man then as he is now--smoking a pipe of tobacco and
+drinking brandy in their taverns every evening. By day they might see
+him working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a ship and
+its gear.
+
+The most interesting person, however, who is connected with the annals
+of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.
+
+Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a great
+statesman: he was not great in anything that he did: yet his memory
+remains, and will remain long after that of much stronger men has been
+forgotten. He wrote a great deal, and since some of his writings survive
+after three hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his own skin. In
+order to avoid being dragged into the army and fighting for the cause
+which he loved, he went abroad and travelled in Europe for four years,
+during which time the royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought
+for it were ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back to
+France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had made many
+discoveries and observations on art and antiquities. He also married a
+wife, the daughter of Charles's ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he
+obtained possession of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks,
+one of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he lived
+till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the founders and first
+Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a member of many commissions: he
+was the first Treasurer of Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held
+many other offices.
+
+In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and the
+accomplishments of this estimable man:
+
+'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a visit to Mr.
+Evelyn, who among many other things showed me most excellent painting in
+little: in distemper; in Indian ink; water colours; graving: and above
+all, the whole secret of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very
+pretty, and good things done with it. He read to me very much also of
+his discourse he hath been many years and now is about, about Gardening,
+which will be a most noble and pleasant piece. He read me part of a play
+or two of his making; very good, but not as he conceits them, I think,
+to be. He showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book of
+several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however, and look very
+finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most excellent person he is,
+and must be allowed a little for conceitedness; but he may well be so,
+being a man so much above others.'
+
+His memory survives on account of the personal character of the man
+which is revealed in his works, and of the high opinion in which he was
+held. 'A typical instance,' says his latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat.
+Biog.'), 'of the accomplished and public-spirited country gentleman of
+the Restoration, a pious and devoted member of the Church of England,
+and a staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the manners
+of the court.' Above all things, it might be added, he was a gardener,
+and all gardeners are amiable and all gardeners are personally popular.
+
+[Illustration: GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH]
+
+Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is little else in
+Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The Almshouse known as Norfolk
+College must not be forgotten, however. It is on the east side of the
+Hospital, and stands behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The
+College consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small hall or
+common room, with gardens at the back. This kind of almshouse is common,
+but it is difficult to build it so that it shall not be beautiful.
+Norfolk College is quite a beautiful place. Finer and larger is Morden
+College, up the hill, designed for decayed merchants.
+
+This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk College the houses
+stop suddenly: on the tongue of land projecting north formed by a loop
+of the river there are hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary
+flat as far as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered by continuous houses
+which begins at Battersea ends at Greenwich.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE LATER SANCTUARY
+
+
+The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the refuge of those
+who had fallen into temptation became, as we know, the resort of the
+rogue, the murderer, and the habitual criminal. Within the precincts of
+St.-Martin's-le-Grand were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of Westminster
+was a scandal and a disgrace. These places had been finally abolished
+after much trouble: the City officers could march their rogues to
+Newgate without fear of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of
+Westminster could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers from
+Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding and seeking sanctuary
+was too deep-rooted to be quickly abolished. Perhaps there was something
+comfortable in the thought that there should be a place, however small,
+where the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues should
+be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance, perhaps: it was a gleam
+of sunshine on the path of the outlaw. So the custom was continued well
+into the eighteenth century. In this chapter I am going to recall the
+memory of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature says
+little about them. But it says enough to show that there were places
+dotted about London which served all the purposes of the old sanctuaries
+without the restraints of ecclesiastical government: in fact, there was
+no government, except on purely democratic principles. In these places
+lived rogues and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to
+find his man--observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not. Why was
+this? Because the London rogue had a sense of justice: no man could
+expect to go on for ever: when a man's time was up, let him give place
+to his successor. The thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official:
+it was his duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up when he was
+called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and get hanged in due
+course. Otherwise, there would have been no living to be made by the
+rogues on account of the competition of numbers. The name of Alsatia had
+been long forgotten, but the asylum still remained.
+
+In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with the Alsatia of
+Fleet Street. There were other places equally secure for rogues, besides
+Alsatia. Such were Whetstone Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's
+Rents, Holborn; Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and
+others. All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them to scatter;
+not by marching off the whole population to prison; but by the slower
+and more gradual process of transformation. This process began when the
+parts and places around became respectable. There is something chilling
+and repellent to the common rogue about the proximity of respectability:
+he does not like to be in its neighbourhood: in this way these
+degenerate and unlawful sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone
+remained, when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark--that part which is still a slum--called Mint Street, nearly
+opposite St. George's Church in the High Street. This street, with its
+alleys and courts, was inhabited by as villainous a collection as even
+the eighteenth century, which in point of villains was rich beyond its
+predecessors, could not equal. They had retreated here from their
+former haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could be served on
+them: no arrest could be made: the only person they had to fear was, as
+said above, the thief-taker.
+
+The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately, kept; it is
+impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals were here housed and
+for how long. There are, however, one or two little histories of the
+Mint which will serve to show us at once the public spirit, the courage,
+and the immunity with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.
+
+The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of Dormer _v._ Dormer
+and Jones came on for hearing at Westminster Hall. It was a divorce
+case, in which the co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's
+house. There seems to have been no defence, practically. The verdict of
+the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000_l._ damages. Now, consider
+for a moment what that verdict meant. In these days, when a defendant
+without any private means at all is mulcted in damages and costs,
+whether of 5,000_l._ or of 100_l._, he simply smiles. He is not in the
+least degree affected. Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him,
+and when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors. In Portugal
+Street _subridet vacuus viator_--the insolvent pilgrim smiles
+cheerfully. But in those days it was very different. To inflict damages
+of 5,000_l._ meant simply that the Jury considered the case one in which
+the defendant, who could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only
+be adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his remaining
+days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only a footman whose
+relations were probably unable to assist him and certainly unable to
+maintain him, he would speedily take his place on the common side, and
+there he would be slowly done to death by insufficient food and
+insufficient clothing, by privation, cold, fever and misery.
+
+The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate intention. It meant
+prison and slow starvation and insufficient warmth, and so everybody
+instantly understood, including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the
+officers would have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled himself
+down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers, witnesses,
+booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore across New Palace Yard,
+now pursued by the officers: he made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier
+so called, for as yet there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat
+and shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs, they
+saw their prisoner already half way across the river. They too jumped
+into a boat: for some reason or other--one knows not why--it was most
+unlucky--their boat took a long time to get off: something was wrong
+with the painter: the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be
+set right: the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the boat
+proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly over the face of the
+waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore on the other side, and the
+bailiffs turned back with a good deal of cursing. Once ashore, the
+fugitive made straight to Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was
+also a City of Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It was
+a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not eat the bread of
+idleness: he therefore, one may certainly conclude, became a rogue by
+profession and in due course met his fate bravely with white ribbons
+round his cap, an orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a
+large nosegay in his shirt front.
+
+Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century Sanctuary. It will
+seem incredible that the Executive should have been so incapable, but
+the story is literally true.
+
+[Illustration: MINT STREET, BOROUGH]
+
+Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition, the Law being
+so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark, some of the residents
+or collegians naturally desired to go farther afield, and to establish
+more Sanctuaries or Law-defying colonies on the other side of the
+river, which was reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports
+of Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on the subject
+have come down to us. However, that matters very little. Every great
+movement, we know, is the work of one man. Therefore there arose a
+Prophet--the Prophet as Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently
+began to preach that a 'long felt want'--call it rather a
+'need'--existed, which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries of
+North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay. Alsatia was
+deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in Milford Lane: the
+trade of counterfeit rings was no longer carried on in St. Martin's.
+And, though there were certainly taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs
+regarded with a useful respect, it could not be denied that London
+needed a new Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and
+fellow-residents in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers with
+burning eloquence--I am sure it was burning--a Vision of a New London,
+Purged; Purified; without honesty; without morals; without law; with
+neither gallows, pillory, whipping post, or stocks: a City entirely in
+the hands of Rogues who would compel all the conquered City to work for
+them: would seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning of this
+Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the Mint, to plant
+all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of time, the City should
+become one huge Sanctuary, where debts would never be collected, and
+robbery and murder would never be punished.
+
+They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on the east of
+Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid down their boundaries:
+they called the place the New Mint: they said, 'Within these limits
+there shall be no arrest.' This new law they communicated fairly and
+plainly, because everything was above board, to all the catchpoles. They
+then sat down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they were close
+to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been called in to disperse
+this lawless establishment. However, nothing at all was done. They sat
+down triumphant. Presently--I know not how long afterwards--a bailiff
+was actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly believe
+that this rash and audacious person ventured to arrest a New Minter
+within the Precincts!
+
+Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they called for music:
+preceded by a band of what used to be called the Whifflers, they marched
+in a procession, four abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose
+in their gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house of the
+offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run away. It is,
+however, a weakness common to Catchpoles that they always put their
+trust in the Law. They arrested that Catchpole: they led him to the
+place where he had offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him all over
+with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a thousand lashes, so
+that there was not a whole inch of skin left upon him: they dragged him
+through filthy ponds and laystalls: they took him out and flogged him
+again: they tried to flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed,
+for he survived: then they dragged him again through the filth: at last
+they suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he might. I
+am sorry to say that I have no information as to the end of the New Mint
+adventure; but it certainly appears that no one was punished for this
+outrage, and that no attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but I have not
+ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent freemen, its
+present residents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
+
+
+If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time during the
+eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how little the place had
+grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as of old, the Causeway at right
+angles to the Embankment. On either side of the Causeway or High Street
+or St. Margaret's Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the
+continuity of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of which,
+although there are, here and there, detached houses and even rows of
+houses or terraces, there are open fields, streams, ponds and gardens.
+St. George's Fields, crossed by paths, are broad and open fields
+stretching out westward till they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's
+Church has long since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put
+his finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper: St. George's, St.
+Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On the east are the churches
+of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not to speak of Deptford: on the west is
+Lambeth Church: on the south are the churches of Newington and
+Kennington. As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are the prisons,
+that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the White Lyon. They were
+all on the east side of the street until 1756, when the King's Bench
+Prison was removed across the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some
+time after the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old Clink on Bankside
+had vanished. But the Borough Compter was still flourishing--a grimy,
+filthy, fever-stricken place.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and west, the
+fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish streams. 'Snow's'
+Fields on the east were as well known as St. George's in the West. 'Long
+Lane' ran from St. George's to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few
+houses: Bermondsey Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old cross
+to the same church: it was already a street of houses. The most crowded
+part of Southwark proper was the street called Tooley or St. Olave's,
+the most ancient street in the Borough, originally built upon the
+Embankment, the Thames Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth
+century, there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one came upon the
+entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid: these courts remain, also
+narrow, mean and squalid, to the present day. There were no places in
+London, unless in the neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where
+human creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions. There
+was no water supply to these courts: there was no lighting: there was no
+paving, not even with the round cobbles which they still called paving.
+
+[Illustration: ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL
+
+(_From an old Print_)]
+
+[Illustration: Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey]
+
+[Illustration: Jamaica House, Bermondsey]
+
+On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is given on p. 85
+of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave of which was fast falling
+into ruins, came Bankside. Alas! It was deserted: not a single theatre
+was left: not a baiting Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a
+poet or an actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the guitar, and
+the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay two broad gardens,
+side by side: one called Pye Garden; and the other, west of Winchester
+House, was called Winchester Park. Paris Gardens were no more.
+Blackfriars Bridge Road, in which there were as yet but few houses, had
+been cut ruthlessly right through the middle of the old Gardens; the
+trees, once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of a few side
+streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and on the west of these
+fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was cut up into ropewalks, tenter
+grounds, nurseries, and kitchen gardens. Where Waterloo Station now
+stands were Cuper's Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens,
+of which more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met. But
+perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in the last century
+was the immense number of streams and ditches and ponds: most of these
+were little better than open sewers: complaints were common of the
+pollution of these streams--but it was in vain: people will always throw
+everything that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if they
+can. One wants the map in order to understand how numerous were these
+streams. There was one murky brook which ran along the backs of all the
+houses on the east side of High Street--the prisoners of the Marshalsea
+and the King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another
+corresponding stream ran behind the west side of High Street. Maiden
+Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel Lane, more blessed
+still, was happy with a ditch or stream on each side: Dirty Lane had
+one: another ran along Bandy Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept,
+or crawled, across Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there
+were no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this broad
+marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards, fringing the gardens, and
+crossing the open fields, were a pleasant feature, though they had no
+stones to prattle over, but only the dark peaty _humus_ of the marsh:
+and the water channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which
+were sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by Roques. It was
+also called the Effra. Along the banks of this stream stood here and
+there cottages, having little gardens in front and rustic bridges across
+the stream. But whether these streams ran or whether they crawled,
+behind or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or burned way:
+they were laden with fevers and malaria and 'putrid' sore throat.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL]
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+
+(_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_)]
+
+[Illustration: THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE]
+
+The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded thoroughfare, because it
+is the main artery of a town containing a population of many hundreds
+of thousands. In the last century it was quite as animated because it
+was one of the main arteries by which London was in communication with
+the country. An immense number of coaches, carts, waggons, and
+'caravans' passed every day up and down the High Street, some stopping
+or starting in Southwark itself; some going over London Bridge to their
+destination in the City. The coach of the first half of the century can
+be restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the century was in
+all respects like the revived coaches of the present day, adapted for
+rapid travelling along a smooth road. The carts were carriers' carts on
+two wheels with a tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small
+packages, and on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a hurry, were
+also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and capacious interior can
+be restored, as well as the coach, from that most trustworthy painter of
+his own time. As for the caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose,
+however, that a caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was
+an elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects were
+drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered cart. Perhaps the
+passengers slept in the car at night, drawn up by the roadside, like the
+gipsies. But of this theory I have no kind of proof.
+
+[Illustration: AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE]
+
+[Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE]
+
+From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles which passed
+through to or from the City, there were sent out, every week, one
+hundred and forty-three stage coaches: one hundred and twenty-one
+waggons: and one hundred and ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of
+course, the same number came back every week. There was a continual
+succession of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own inn; while
+they were still far away the people of the inn knew when their own coach
+was coming by the tune played on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in
+fact, was like a railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving
+all day long.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Town Hall, Southwark]
+
+I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and animation at
+a London inn when the stages were started and when they arrived. With as
+much method, and as quickly as the railway porters clear out the luggage
+and get rid of the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the shape of
+anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage was laid out: the
+porters seized it and carried it off to the hackney coach outside: the
+passengers followed their luggage: and the courtyard was ready for the
+next coach. Outside the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole
+companies of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the stable boys
+and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good enough to shut their eyes.
+If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed, one of them came bustling in.
+'Give us a hand, Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had
+been ordered to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there was
+one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to sight in a
+neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded about the courtyards:
+outside were houses filled with disorderly folk of all kinds waiting to
+entrap and to tempt and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable gentleman
+to welcome the country lad: there was the lady of the ready smile: and
+the taverns with the doors open to all. The numbers of coaches and
+waggons I have given refer to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances
+which belonged to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily. Now, if we are
+considering the traffic and animation of the roads leading to the City,
+remember that the High Street, Borough, was only one of many main lines
+of traffic. There were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest. Day and
+night the roads all round London were thronged with these coaches,
+carts, caravans, and waggons: but these vehicles were for ordinary folk
+only: for tradesmen, attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is,
+commercial travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to London, if not
+in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of which there were thousands
+on the road. Add to these the horsemen, of whom there were an immense
+number riding from place to place: add, further, the long droves of
+cattle, sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by the
+roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can still be seen on
+the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians there were also by thousands:
+soldiers: sailors: gipsies: strolling actors: tinkers and tramps--the
+land was full of tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded
+and animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition of the modern
+road makes it difficult for us to realise the crowds and the life of the
+road in the eighteenth century.
+
+[Illustration: Old Houses in Ewer Street]
+
+Of society in the Borough there is little information to be procured.
+The place had, however, its better class. One infers so much from the
+fact that there were Assembly Rooms in the High Street, and that a
+Borough Assembly was held during the winter on stated days, at which the
+fashion and aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It is of an
+accident.
+
+[Illustration: Courtyard of the Dog & Bear Inn]
+
+The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun: the orchestra was in
+full play: the ladies were dressed in their finest: hoops were swinging:
+towering heads were nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue
+satin and in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running in one after
+the other. The company parted right and left, falling over benches and
+each other: the creatures, terrified by the light and the shrieks of the
+ladies, began to point threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out
+till the 'well-known'--the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived--the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a brandishing
+of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!' persuaded the animals to
+leave the place. Then who shall tell of the raising of fallen and
+fainting damsels? Who shall speak of the rending of skirts and
+embroidered petticoats? Who can describe the deplorable damage to the
+heads? And who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased to record, were
+quickly administered as a restorative: and after certain necessary
+repairs to the heads and the sewing up of torn skirts, the wounded
+spirits of the company revived, and the ball proceeded.
+
+Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact that on one
+occasion--perhaps on more than one occasion--when the black footmen of
+London resolved on holding an Assembly of their own, it was in the
+Borough that they held it. And a very interesting evening it must have
+proved, had we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage coaches, carts and
+waggons, the High Street was bound to contain, as well, many houses of
+entertainment, if only as stables for the horses and accommodation for
+the drivers and grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that from the
+earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the place where
+merchants and those who brought produce of all kinds to London out of
+the south country put up their teams of pack-horses and their goods, and
+found bed and board and company for themselves. We have also seen how
+the inns of Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury. The mediæval
+inn was not much like that of later times. It contained a common hall
+and a common dormitory, with another for women. There was also a covered
+place for goods, and stables for horses. A small specimen of a
+fifteenth-century inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small
+room, is very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The quaint old inns,
+so long the delight of the artist, now nearly all gone, were not
+earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth century. They consisted of a
+large open courtyard filled with waggons and vehicles of all kinds,
+surrounded by galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor were the
+kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms. There was generally a
+large room for public dinners and other occasions. The inns of Southwark
+formed, so long as they stood, the most picturesque part of modern
+Southwark. Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone
+preserving anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader who
+desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to Mr. Philip
+Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents in a lasting form
+the vanished glories of the High Street.
+
+To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical catalogue.
+There are so many of them, and the associations connected with them
+carry one away into so many directions and land him into many strange
+corners of history.
+
+At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side of it, stood a
+tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It was built in the year
+1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater, taverner of London. In Riley's
+'Memorials' may be found a lease of this house by the proprietor to one
+James Beauflur. The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no
+rent, because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to help in the
+building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of a 'tied' house. Thomas
+Drinkwater will furnish all the wine, and will keep an exact account of
+the same and will have a settlement twice a year. Thomas will also
+complete the furniture of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs
+of silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay. This was the
+commencement of a long and singularly prosperous inn. It became one of
+the most famous inns of London, and one of the most popular for
+dinners. Hither came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to
+feast at the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the papers of
+St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian of Southwark gives
+one:
+
+P^d for 3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit      00  14  08
+        3 Tarts                               00  12  00
+        a Giblett pie makyng                  00  02  08
+        Beefe                                 01  02  06
+        3 leggs of mutton                     00   8  00
+        wine and dresing the meat and naperie,
+          fire, bread and beere               02  11  00
+        18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes            00  01  02
+        12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges            00  03  00
+                                             -----------
+                                              05  15  00
+                                             -----------
+
+Among the names of persons connected with the tavern must be noticed
+that of the Duke of Norfolk--'Jockey of Norfolk'--in 1463. Two hundred
+years later, one Cornelius Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and
+a commissioner for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the Bridge Foot.
+Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the tavern. From this house
+the Duke of Richmond carried off Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in
+1761, when the end of the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the
+whole long list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more important. Some of
+them, it will be seen, had been in more ancient times the town houses of
+great people--Bishops, Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off
+the highway of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became mere
+tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's house, and to the house
+of the Prior of Lewes, and to many others. Those standing in the
+highway, whither came all the merchants; whither came all the waggons;
+became transformed, and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.
+
+[Illustration: A SOUTH LONDON SLUM]
+
+Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies, was the entrance
+to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was anciently the town house of the
+Cobhams. This family left Southwark, and the house, with some
+alterations, became an Inn. When carriers began to ply between London
+and the country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart with
+the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it became the
+Southwark post-office. Another and a much more important inn for
+carriers and waggons was the King's Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says
+that 'carriers come into the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of
+Kent, Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from Tunbridge,
+Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine Wheel, and others from
+Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead to the Greyhound: some to the
+Spurre, the George, the King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or
+Talbot: many, far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White
+Hart.'
+
+The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than Chaucer's
+Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack Cade, as has already been
+related in chapter vi. In front of this inn one Hawarden was beheaded:
+and also in front of this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being
+dragged at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to strike
+terror into the minds of the people.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The Tabard Inn, from
+which the famous Company set out, was named after the ornamented coat or
+jacket worn by Kings at Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary
+persons. In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed the place to
+be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that Chaucer speaks of it as an
+ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at
+the Abbot's Hospitium in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd, the
+Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging, a dung place
+leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It is explained in Spight's
+'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard had much decayed, but that it had
+been repaired 'with the Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was
+finally pulled down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room, though it may have
+been rebuilt on the site of the old room. For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a
+destructive fire broke out, which raged over a large part of the Borough
+and destroyed the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter, the Meat Market,
+and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital was saved by a change of
+wind, which also seems to have saved St. Mary Overies.
+
+[Illustration: ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+
+(_From an Engraving by B. Cole_)]
+
+Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting the Inns first on
+the right or the west, and then on the left or east.
+
+We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before getting to Ford
+Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market place, the Goat: next the
+Clement. Opposite St. George's Church we cross over, and are on the east
+side, going north again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half
+Moon: the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the Spur: the
+Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the George: the White Hart: the
+King's Head: the Black Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing
+atmosphere of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns
+and courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of coaches
+and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of country squires come up on
+business, with the hope of combining a little pleasure amongst the
+excitements of the town with a profitable deal or two. There is the
+smell of roast meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is
+a continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of hanaps and a
+murmur of voices.
+
+The _strepitus_, however, of the High Street is not like that of
+Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing before noon or
+after noon: no laughing: the country folk do not laugh: they do not
+understand the wit of the poets and the players. High Street has nothing
+to do with Bankside: the merchants and the squires know nothing about
+the Show Folk.
+
+There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a certain Edward
+Alleyn, who was a man of business as well as a conductor of
+entertainments. He was on the vestry of St. Saviour's: he was also
+churchwarden, his name appears in the parish accounts of the period. He
+was a popular churchwarden: probably he had about him so much of the
+showman that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous--these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when he proposes
+to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse to let him go.
+
+It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to reflect that all
+these inns, most of them so picturesque, were standing thirty or forty
+years ago, and that some of them were standing ten years ago. One of
+them is figured in the 'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the
+figures are too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect
+produced is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there is
+nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is not an Inn. The
+need of an Inn at Southwark is gone: there are no more caravans of
+produce brought up to the Borough: the High Street has become the shop
+and the provider of everything for the populations of the parishes of
+St. Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON
+
+
+There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place of Refuge not
+invited, and of security against one's will--The Debtors' Prison. In
+fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons--the King's Bench, the
+Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter. The consideration of these
+melancholy places--all the more melancholy because they were full of
+noisy revelry--fills one with amazement to think that a system so
+ridiculous should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with so
+much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy. There would be
+no more credit, no more confidence, if the debtor could not be
+imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed. The Debtors' Prison was a part of
+trade. It is fifty years and more since the power of imprisoning a
+debtor for life was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit
+as ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community such as ours it
+seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon a merchant by failing
+to pay his just claims is so great that imprisonment ought to be awarded
+to such an offender. The Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full
+and terrible and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you shall be locked
+up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived of your means of getting a
+livelihood: you shall have no allowance of food: you shall have no fire:
+you shall have no bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome
+unwashed crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with a
+year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B,
+PALACE COURT
+
+(_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_)]
+
+The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the debtor was
+deprived of the means of making money to pay his debts, withal, were
+exposed over and over again: prisoners wrote accounts of their prisons:
+commissions held inquiry into the management of the prisons: regulations
+were laid down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was tolerated:
+but the real evil remained untouched so long as a creditor had the power
+of imprisoning a debtor. The power was abused in the most monstrous
+manner: a man owed a few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into
+prison: the next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10_l._, the bill against him
+for his arrest amounted to 11_l._ 15_s._ 8_d._ of what we should now
+call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were 20,000 prisoners for
+debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think what that means: all those were
+in enforced idleness. Why, their work at 2_s._ a day means 600,000_l._ a
+year: all that wealth lost to the State: nay more, because they were
+mostly married men with families: their families had to be maintained,
+so that not only did the country lose 600,000_l._ a year by the idleness
+of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the maintenance of
+their families. Put it in another way. A poor man knowing one trade
+which one cannot practise in a prison owed, say, 15_s._ He was arrested
+and put into prison. He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles
+and the proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the box; the
+community; for his maintenance in the prison, and for thirty years of
+it, the sum total of 400_l._ This is rather an expensive tax on the
+State: but the tradesman to whom he owed the money considered no more
+than his own 15_s._ In addition there were his wife and children to keep
+until the latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400_l._ But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If they were
+all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their behalf in the sum of
+sixteen millions spread over thirty years, or half a million a year,
+because these luckless creatures could not pay an insignificant debt of
+a few shillings or a few pounds.
+
+The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors' Prisons. It
+formerly stood on the east side of the High Street, on the site of what
+is now the second street north of St. George's Church. This prison was
+taken down in 1758, and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much
+more commodious place on the other side of the street south of Lant
+Street--the site is now marked by a number of new and very ugly houses
+and mean streets. When it was built it looked out at the back of St.
+George's Fields and across Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by
+this time drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.
+
+The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area covered was
+extensive, and the buildings were more commodious than had ever before
+been attempted in a prison. But they were not large enough. In the year
+1776 the prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who could
+pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on the floor of the
+chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition to the prisoners many of
+them had wives and children with them. There were 279 wives and 725
+children: a total of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was
+a good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident surgeon,
+and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399 persons, and no bath and
+no infirmary!
+
+[Illustration: KING'S BENCH PRISON]
+
+Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a certain Colonel
+Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind him for the edification of
+posterity. According to him, the prison 'rivalled the purlieus of
+Wapping, St. Giles, and St. James's in vice, debauchery, and
+drunkenness.' The general immorality was so great that it was only
+possible, he says, to escape contagion by living separate or by
+consorting only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be found
+there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation: he will lose
+every sense of honour and dignity: every moral principle and virtuous
+disposition.' Among the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom
+fifty who had any regular means of sustenance. They were always
+underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to find sixpence a day
+for the prisoner's support. But in 1798 a pound of bread cost 4½_d._, a
+pint of porter 2_d._: therefore a man who had to live on 6_d._ a day
+could not get more than a pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And
+then the 6_d._ a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or
+another, and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their name stank in
+the prison: more than half of the prisoners, Hanger avers, were kept
+there solely because they could not pay the attorneys' costs.
+
+Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be carried on in the
+King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler, the tailor, the barber, the
+fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment and were able to maintain
+themselves: some of them kept shops, and the principal building in the
+place, about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon an
+open court, occupied by shops where everything could be bought except
+spirits, which were forbidden. They were brought in, however, secretly
+by the visitors. The open court was the common Recreation Ground: there
+was the Parade, a Walk along the front of the building: three pumps
+where were benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play called 'bumble
+puppy.' And in fine weather there were tables set out here and there,
+with chairs and benches, where the collegians drank beer and smoked
+tobacco.
+
+[Illustration: The King's Bench Prison]
+
+Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to look round:
+every day the place was thronged with visitors, chiefly to see the new
+comers: the time came when the newcomer was an old resident, who had
+worn out the kindness of his friends or had outlived them, and now
+lingered on, poor and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the
+children played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things that
+they ought not to have seen: they heard things which they ought not to
+have heard: they learned habits which they ought not to have learned.
+Can one conceive a worse school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison?
+Look at the Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison nobody ever
+walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without unkindness, they
+slouch. The men wear coats which are mostly in holes at the elbows, with
+other garments that equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers
+because it is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel--never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby or not: it is
+better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the men are ragged the women
+are slatternly: they have lost even the feminine desire to please: they
+please nobody, and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there is this face
+and that face, but there is not a single happy face among them all. The
+average face is resentful, painted with strong drink, stamped with the
+seal of vice and self-indulgence. A vile place, which has imprinted its
+own vileness on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.
+
+A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched little Prison called
+the Borough Compter. It was used both for debtors and for criminals. Now
+you shall hear what marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be
+brought about when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.
+
+The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a felons' ward,
+and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen feet square: this was the
+only exercising ground for all the prisoners. When Buxton visited the
+place in the year 1817, there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty
+women, and twenty children--all had to exercise themselves in this
+little yard: he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet long and
+about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished with eight straw beds,
+sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept
+side by side on these beds! That gives a breadth of twelve inches for
+each. No one therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the door was opened
+all rushed together, undressed as they were, into the yard for fresh
+air. Now and then a man would be brought in with an infectious disease
+or covered with vermin: they had to endure his company as best they
+could. There was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those who might have
+carried on their trade could not for want of space. As for the women's
+ward, I forbear to speak. Think, however, of the noisome, horrible,
+stinking place, narrow and confined, with its felons' ward of innocent
+and guilty, tried and untried: the past masters in villainy with the
+innocent country boy: the honest working man with his wife and children
+slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law which permitted a
+creditor to send him there for life for a paltry debt of a few
+shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl thrust into the
+women's ward, where wickedness was authorised, where nothing was
+disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the year 1998 the historian of
+manners will call attention to the lamentable brutality of this the end
+of the nineteenth century. There are some points as to which I am
+doubtful. But I cannot believe that there will be anything alleged
+against us compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the Debtors'
+Prisons.
+
+I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of the Marshalsea
+Prison was changed from its first site south of King Street in the year
+1810, when it was removed to the site which it occupied down to the end,
+overlooking St. George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea brought
+there? Because there had been a prison on the spot before. From time
+immemorial the Surrey Prison had stood there. They called the place the
+White Lyon. It still stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was
+still standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.
+
+I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I walked
+over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down. I found a long
+narrow terrace of mean houses--they are still standing: there was a
+narrow courtyard in front for exercise and air: a high wall separated
+the prison from the Churchyard: the rooms in the terrace were filled
+with deep cupboards on either side of the fireplace: these cupboards
+contained the coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes
+of the occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the demolition of
+another part of the Prison, pointed to certain marks on the floor as, he
+said, the place where they fastened the staples when they tied down the
+poor prisoners. Such was his historic information: he also pointed out
+Mr. Dorrit's room--so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to have been the
+tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we came to the White Lyon, which at
+the time I did not know to have been the White Lyon. It was a very
+ancient building. It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the
+staircase and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square nails were
+driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors. The lower room had
+evidently been kitchen, day room, sleeping room and all. Outside was a
+tiny yard for exercise: this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen
+another prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play tricks,
+it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This was a Clink, and on
+this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons were constructed. Beyond
+the Clink was the chapel, a modern structure. So far as I know, Mr.
+Dickens _père_, and Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence
+confined in this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner, who died
+there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at midnight for fear
+of the people, who would have rent his dead body in pieces if they
+could. Perhaps. But it was not at any time usual for a mob of Englishmen
+to pull a dead body, even of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces.
+Later on, in the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The
+darkness, the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been buried at night
+in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere in St. George's
+Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden, whose benches in fine weather are
+filled with people resting and sunning themselves: in spring the garden
+is full of pleasant greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones
+have been consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones which line
+the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may now be quartered, they
+would care to revisit this place. The owners of the headstones were in
+their day accounted as the more fortunate sons of men: they were
+vestrymen and guardians and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept
+the inns and ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans:
+their tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and smiling:
+their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace: they
+exchanged the most beautiful sentiments: and they crammed their debtors
+into these prisons.
+
+There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged to the great
+army--how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!--of the
+'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought here from the King's Bench
+and the Marshalsea: they came from the Master's side and from the Common
+side. They came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and the grooms
+and the 'service' generally. This churchyard represents all that can be
+imagined of human patience, human work, human suffering, human
+degradation. Everything is here beneath our feet, and we sit among these
+memories unmoved and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the
+past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS
+
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have appeared almost at
+the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of London--that of Messrs. Warwick
+and Edgar Wroth, and that of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who
+desires exact and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of these gardens,
+and shall confine myself to certain sources of information neither so
+exact nor so detailed as those from which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have
+drawn the material for their excellent work.
+
+The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting Gardens. The
+London citizen loved sport first and above all things: next, he loved
+the country: to sit under the shade of trees in the summer: to walk upon
+the soft sward; to smell the flowers: to rest his eyes upon country
+scenes. He has always yearned for the country while he remained in town.
+With these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly but
+loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform or floor for
+dancing. All these things he could get in Paris Gardens so long as that
+place existed, together with its bears and dogs. When the bears
+disappeared, what followed? The Gardens continued without the bears.
+There were also the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House,
+and the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July 1661
+Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards Vauxhall, and in
+June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys spent the evening at the same
+place, for the first time, and with great delight.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL GARDENS
+
+(_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_)]
+
+The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and Bull Baiting was
+then beginning. Before long it became a necessity of life--at least, of
+the gregarious and social life of which the eighteenth century was so
+fond. Many things are said about that century, now so nearly removed
+from us by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it was
+not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its coffee houses:
+its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies: it loved the
+theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the masquerade: the
+Assembly: the card-room: but most of all the eighteenth century loved
+its Pleasure Gardens. It took every opportunity of getting away from the
+quiet house to crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET]
+
+Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden. There must be,
+first, abundance of trees--at first cherry trees, but these afterwards
+disappeared: if possible, there should be avenues of trees: aisles and
+dark walks of trees. There must be, next, an ornamental water with a
+fountain and a bridge: there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats
+in which tea and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms: there must
+be a long room for dancing and for promenading, with a gallery for the
+orchestra and the singers. Add to these things a crowd every night
+including all classes and conditions of men and women. The eighteenth
+century was by no means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met
+together without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party kept
+to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not pretend to be
+on a level with the people around him: they liked him to keep up the
+dignity of aristocratic separation: he brought Ladies to the Gardens,
+sometimes in domino, sometimes not. They were not expected to speak to
+the ladies outside their set: they danced together in the minuets:
+after the minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company of the
+Gardens was that each party was separate and kept separate. In the Park,
+either in the morning or the afternoon, it was not difficult to make
+acquaintances. The reason was that in the Park were only to be found in
+the morning or the afternoon those people who were not engaged in
+earning their livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men--lawyers,
+physicians, attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the smallest
+shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere. Therefore, the
+servants and footmen not being allowed in the Park, but compelled to
+wait outside, the people of position had the place to themselves, and
+access was easy. In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who
+paid the shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen in
+the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the young fellows about
+town, a noisy disreputable band with noisy and disreputable companions:
+the plain citizen with his wife and daughter, the young fellow who was
+courting her: the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the
+highwayman: the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the customary
+courtesan. All were here enjoying together--but separated into tiny
+groups of two or three--the strings of coloured lamps, the blare of the
+orchestra, the songs, the dances, and the supper. As for the last, it
+seems to have been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of
+chicken and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour; everybody
+behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was not _gêné_ by the
+presence of the great lady: he prattled his vulgar commonplaces without
+being abashed: nor did the great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her
+own company with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence
+of the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the recognition
+of rank made them all behave more naturally. After all, the mercer had
+his own rank. He could look forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and
+Lord Mayor: he understood very well that he was already a good way up
+the ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession of
+money and the employment of many servants had already placed him in
+front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly satisfied with his
+own position, although he could certainly never become a noble earl or
+wear a star upon his breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the
+jewelled lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed so loud
+and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions, one of whom was
+blind drunk and the other was a little mincing beau who walked on his
+toes with bent knees and carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under
+his breath as if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the
+honest mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over his wig
+to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side of the citizen from
+Ludgate Hill was a party also taking supper and punch, with plenty of
+the latter. They were under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his
+white coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the same
+way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were of white
+lace--lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him were dressed with a
+corresponding splendour. Everybody knew that the gentleman was a
+highwayman: his face was perfectly well known: he had been going on so
+long that his time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet the end
+common to his kind. A good many people in the Gardens knew, besides,
+that the ladies with him--ladies of St. Giles in the Fields--were
+dressed from the stores of a receiving house for stolen goods. Perhaps
+the consciousness of this cheap and easy way of getting one's clothes
+made the ladies so buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their
+sprightly sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.
+
+The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory to us. For in
+all public assemblies there are things which must be tolerated. Less
+wise, we shut up the Assembly. We cannot keep out the Lady of the
+Camellias from the Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In
+the eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must behave
+with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved upon that manner:
+we cut off our nose to spite our face: we shut up the lovely Garden
+because we cannot keep her out.
+
+For the same reason we have practically forbidden the youth of the lower
+middle class to practise the laudable, innocent, and delightful
+diversion of dancing. Not a single place, except certain so-called
+clubs, where the young people can now go to dance. Why? Because the
+magistrates in their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and restrained
+by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled to hide itself
+under the semblance of virtue. The Pleasure Gardens were shut up one
+after the other for that reason. When will they return? And in what
+form?
+
+The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as those of the
+North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone, Bagnigge Wells, the White
+Conduit House--the South can only point to Vauxhall as a national
+institution. They were, however, of considerable note in their time, and
+were greatly frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a
+chain, all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells, the Marble
+Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall, besides Vauxhall itself;
+the Black Prince, Newington Butts; the Temple of Flora, the Temple of
+Apollo, the Flora Tea Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog
+and Duck, the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto, the
+Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe. No doubt there were
+others, but these were the principal Gardens.
+
+Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House. When Waterloo
+Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were constructed the latter passed right
+through the former site of the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the
+southern limit of the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by
+one Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of the
+statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and decorated the new
+gardens with them. Aubrey mentions them as belonging to Jesus College,
+Oxford; he calls them Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and
+walks of the place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by the
+riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens continued until
+1753, when they were suppressed as a nuisance. Cunningham quotes the
+prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's 'Busy Body.'
+
+    The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,
+    That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,
+    At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,
+    Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM]
+
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is one of the last places
+visited in the course of that very remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began
+at four o'clock in the morning and ended at one o'clock next morning,
+such was the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital. It was first
+built for the accommodation of those who came to this spot in order to
+drink the waters of a spring supposed to possess wonderful properties,
+especially in the case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring,
+like so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the
+spring in St. George's Wells had no small reputation. It was especially
+in vogue between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to try
+it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for other attractions;
+it found them by day in certain ponds on the Fields close to the tavern:
+these ponds especially on Sunday were used for the magnificent sport of
+hunting the duck by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used for this
+sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over, naturally felt thirsty:
+they were easily persuaded to stay for the evening when on week days
+there was music, with dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on
+Sundays the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.
+
+Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the Pleasure Gardens,
+the Dog and Duck was a favourite place for breakfasts. The fashion of
+the public breakfast, now so completely forgotten, was brought to London
+from Bath, Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served at
+breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the gardens, very
+often all day and half the night at the Dog and Duck. There was a
+bowling green for fine weather, there was also a swimming bath--I
+believe, the only one south of the Thames. About three or four in the
+afternoon there was dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine.
+One of the ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or bowers round it; a
+band played at intervals during the day. In the long room there was an
+organ, with an excellent organist. In the evening, there was generally a
+concert; the Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in truth the place was
+acquiring a most evil reputation. In 1787 it was closed on Sunday, and
+in 1799 it was suppressed. In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and
+Duck is open, but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening. But there is
+not the least trace of any respect for the day, and the place--to speak
+the truth--is full of the vilest company in the world, whose histories
+are described in the greedy fulness and with the hypocritical
+indignation against the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would not venture to
+set down what they did, but for the pretence of indignation. Thus, there
+is a certain City merchant, once a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but
+now rich and flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl, his
+mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing some City scandal
+of the day, and that his readers know perfectly well who was meant.
+There is a certain Nan Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some
+conversational powers with a considerable fund of information about the
+shady side of town life. There is also present a young lady described as
+the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D----s, of St. G.' Here, no doubt, we have
+a piece of contemporary humour which enables us to have a slap at the
+Church. There is other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen. At the
+Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had been withdrawn. The manager,
+however, met the difficulty by engaging a free vintner, _i.e._ a member
+of the Vintners' Company, for whom no license was required. He
+therefore came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious
+illustration of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the Ramblers
+visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over the Apollo Gardens,
+deserted and falling into ruins, and visited the Flora Tea Garden. The
+company here was more respectable, in consequence of some separation
+among the ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political
+argument ran high.
+
+From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa Gardens. Let me
+extract this account of this place, which was once so popular:
+
+'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees, hung with lamps,
+blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk in which they are hung
+inferior (length excepted) to the grand walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly
+at the upper end of the walk is a large room, hung round with paintings,
+many of them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so finely
+executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place would cheapen a
+fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder of mutton or a leg of
+pork, without hesitation, if there were not other pictures in the room
+to take off his attention. But these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.
+
+'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very good, and the
+charges reasonable, and the captain, who is very intimate with Mr.
+Keyse, declares that there is no place in the vicinity of London can
+afford a more agreeable evening's entertainment.
+
+'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the lower road,
+between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford. The proprietor calls it
+_one_, but it is nearer two miles from London Bridge, and the same
+distance from that of Black-Friars. The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse,
+who has been at great expense, and exerted himself in a very
+extraordinary manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his
+labours have been amply repaid.
+
+'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in a spot
+where elegance, among people who talk of _taste_, would be little
+expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected easiness of
+behaviour, and his _genuine_ taste for the polite arts, have secured him
+universal approbation.
+
+'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less than four
+acres.
+
+'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn, consisting
+of about three acres, and in a field, parted from this lawn by a sunk
+fence, is a building with turrets, resembling a fortress, or castle. The
+turrets are in the ancient style of building. At each side of this
+fortress, at unequal distances, are two buildings, from which, on public
+nights, bomb shells, &c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is
+returned, and the whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a
+horrid, prospect of a siege.
+
+'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired into the
+parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained by the proprietor,
+who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us with a sight of his curious
+museum, for, it being Sunday, he never shows to any one these articles;
+but, the captain never having seen them, I wished him to be gratified
+with such an agreeable sight.
+
+'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written by the late
+celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive of his situation,
+which a few years ago was but a waste piece of ground. "Here is now,"
+said he, "an agreeable place, where before was but a mere wilderness
+piece of ground, and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out
+in this manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place of
+public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat a comfortable
+piece of livelihood."
+
+'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host, and, after
+paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not before we had
+tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for which Mr. Keyse is
+remarkable for preparing.'
+
+I am not here writing a history of South London. Were this a history,
+Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place, and a very large place. A
+garden which continued to be a favourite resort from the year 1660 or
+thereabouts until the year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which
+occupies so large a part in the literature of that long period, must
+have its history told in length when a history is written of the place
+where it stood. In this place I desire to do no more than to take off my
+hat to this Queen of Gardens, and to recognise her importance. The
+history of Vauxhall is an old story; it has been told at greater or less
+length, over and over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which
+have been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature and
+all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed, very poor stuff.
+The best are the lines of Canning:
+
+    There oft returning from the green retreats
+    Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;
+    Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,
+    Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:
+    While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,
+    Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.
+
+What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with Evelyn, who
+treats the place with his accustomed brevity and coldness; we go on to
+Pepys, who records how the visitors picked cherries, and how the
+nightingales sang, and lets us understand how much he enjoyed his visits
+there, and how delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison, to Fielding, to
+Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark Walk, and how the ladies were taken
+there, not unwillingly, to be frightened: we know the stage where they
+danced: we know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the Prince of
+Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the middle, and the Duchess of
+Devonshire and her friends apparently making fun of him; and in the side
+box, having supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about the forty
+thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.
+
+London was not London, life was not worth having, without Vauxhall. Like
+Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and assemblies, Vauxhall was the great
+leveller of the eighteenth century. A man might be an earl or a prince:
+he would get no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who had
+a little money to spare. And the milliner going to Vauxhall with that
+'prentice was quite as happy as any lady in the land could be.
+
+When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is carried away by
+admiration. To the City Miss who might belong to the City Assembly, but
+most likely did not, there was no such spectacle in the world as those
+avenues of trees with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was
+nothing that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the dancing
+in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the high stand; there
+was nothing so delightful as to sit in an arbour dimly lighted, and to
+make a supper off cold chicken with a glass of punch afterwards--girls
+drank punch then--to look out upon the company, resplendent, men and
+women alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the angel with him was
+a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that other gentleman behind them was
+the Rev. Dr. Scattertext of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young
+fellow in peach-coloured velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack
+the highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was nothing
+less than a national institution. All classes who could command a
+decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of Wales went there--once or
+twice he was recognised and mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all
+the lesser ladies; all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens,
+from the Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the gallant
+highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about the visitors to
+Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed by the presence of the
+highwaymen, of the adventurers, or of the ladies corresponding to those
+gentlemen--not in the least; they walked together in the lanes and
+aisles of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw the
+young rakes carrying on openly and without the least disguise. The sober
+citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her daughter saw it. There were
+no complaints, save occasionally from the Surrey magistrates. The place
+and the behaviour of the people are typical of the eighteenth century,
+in which the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and there
+were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure garden, the
+magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were robbed by highwaymen
+on their way to and from the place, guards were appointed by the
+managers. Vauxhall, however, was safer than most places, because most of
+the people came by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to have been
+allowed to stay there nearly all night.
+
+There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,' which I should
+like to transfer with acknowledgments to this page. It is from the
+'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a Vauxhall slice of ham.
+
+'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish about three or
+four times, and surveyed it with a settled countenance. Then taking up a
+slice of the ham on the point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro,
+he asked the waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost think it
+weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound; a reasonable profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose,
+now, the whole ham weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that
+is sixteen shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them at the best
+hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't stand him in ten
+shillings a-piece!"'
+
+In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens would be closed;
+they were not closed, however, but were reopened and continued open
+until the year 1859, where they were finally closed and the farewell
+night was celebrated.
+
+The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief history of Vauxhall
+Gardens in one of the morning papers--I do not know which--I have it as
+a cutting only. It is as follows:
+
+'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under Gye and Hughes's
+bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves a notice, if only as a
+memento of the pleasure the old and young have experienced in their
+delightful retreats, while their hundredfold associations, such as the
+journey of Sir Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create an interest
+seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their name from the manor of
+Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the tradition that the property belonged to
+Guy Fawkes is erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The gardens appear to
+have been originally planted with trees and laid out into walks for the
+pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir Samuel Moreland, who displayed in
+his house and gardens many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics.
+It is said these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well known in 1667,
+when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor, added a public room to them,
+"the inside of which," he says, "is all looking-glass and fountains and
+very pleasant to behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The
+time when they were first opened for the entertainment of the public is
+involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is, however, established
+to be upwards of a century and a half old. In the reign of Queen Anne
+they appear to have been a place of great public resort, for in the
+"Spectator," No. 383, dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir
+Roger de Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs to
+Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says: "We made the best of our
+way to Foxhall;" and describes the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at
+this time of the year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and the tribe
+of people that walked under their shades, I could not but look on this
+place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise." Masks were then worn, at least
+by some visitors, for Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the
+shoulder and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A glass
+of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper of the party.
+The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of our days till the year
+1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a lease of the premises, and shortly
+afterwards opened Vauxhall with a _Ridotto al Fresco_. The novelty of
+the term attracted great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in
+occasional repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every
+evening during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings at
+Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was induced to
+embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he was joined by
+Hayman. The house which he occupied is still shown, and a vine pointed
+out which he planted. Tyers's improvements consisted of sweeps of
+pavilions and saloons, in which these paintings were placed. He also
+erected an orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue
+of Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens. Mr.
+Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which was Roubiliac's
+earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards purchased the whole of the
+estate, which is copyhold of inheritance, and held of the Prince of
+Wales, as lord of Kennington manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall.
+The gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and till the
+year 1792 the admission was 1_s._; it was then raised to 2_s._;
+including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements were made, lamps
+added, &c., the price was raised to 3_s._ 6_d._, and the gardens were
+only opened three nights in the week; in 1821 the price was again raised
+to 4_s._ Upon the death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the
+property of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter of the
+original proprietor. They next descended to Mr. Barrett's sons, and from
+them by right of purchase to the late proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a
+son of the famous Jonathan Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches
+of Johnson," and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation of
+the _Ridotto al Fresco_ is thus described by one of the newspapers of
+June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the _Ridotto al Fresco_ at Vauxhall,
+there was not one half of the company as was expected, being no more
+than 203 persons, amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but
+more ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with great order
+and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot Guards being posted round
+the gardens. A waiter belonging to the house having got drunk put on a
+dress and went to _fresco_ with the rest of the company, but being
+discovered he was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver tickets. The
+proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets would only be delivered
+at 25_s._ each, the silver of every ticket to be worth 3_s._ 2_d._, and
+to admit two persons every evening (Sunday excepted) during the
+season." It appears that these silver tickets were struck after designs
+by Hogarth, and a plate of some of them shows the following:--Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope. Mr. Wood,
+63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing with a lyre, and the
+motto "_Jocosæ conveniunt Lyræ._" Mr. R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse
+side figure of Euterpe. Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the
+figure of Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of
+Thalia. This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his advice and
+assistance in decorating the gardens. After his decease it remained in
+the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow, who bequeathed it to her relation,
+Mrs. Mary Lewis, who subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his
+will, in 1823, bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to
+say that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which is "_In
+perpetuam beneficii memoriam._" On the reverse there are two figures,
+surrounded with the motto, "_Virtus voluptas felices una._" It also
+appears that Roubiliac furnished a statue of Milton for the gardens.
+Among the singers Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came
+Dignum, Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon, Mrs.
+Bland, &c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel, Melville, and
+Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega, and Madame Vestris; Mr.
+Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson, and Signor de Begnis, &c., with
+Signor Spagnoletti as leader.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY
+
+
+[Illustration: A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY]
+
+The expansion of London during the Nineteenth Century is in itself a
+fact unparalleled in the history of cities. Those who call attention to
+this miracle always point to the filling up of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead and Clerkenwell in the North, or the extension of
+the town to Hammersmith on the West. Perhaps a little consideration of
+the South may show a still more remarkable growth. I have before me a
+map of the year 1834, only sixty-four years ago, showing South London as
+it was. I see a small town or collection of small towns, occupying the
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington, Walworth, and
+Bermondsey. In some parts this area is densely populated, filled with
+narrow courts and lanes; in other parts there are broad fields, open
+spaces, unoccupied pieces of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens,
+for instance there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain
+place, then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of them gardens,
+or recreation grounds, without any buildings. Battersea is a mere
+stretch of open country. I myself remember the old Battersea Fields
+perfectly well; one shivers at the recollection; they were low, flat,
+damp, and, I believe, treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh,
+by paths raised above the level; at no time of year could the Battersea
+Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they were inexpressibly
+dismal. As a boy I have walked across the fields in order to get to the
+embankment or river wall from which one commanded a view of the Thames
+with its barges and lighters going up and down--pleasant when the sun
+shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient glory when the
+pleasure barges and the State barges swept majestically up the river
+with the hautboys and the trumpets in the bows; when the swans by
+thousands sailed upon the broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle
+of the river the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen
+hundred years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the fields on one side
+were lower than the waters on the other. Beyond the river were the trees
+of Chelsea Hospital. Close to the river bank was an enclosure which was
+called the Subscription Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot
+pigeons--noble sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low condition
+who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside to shoot down those
+birds which escaped from the murderers within. Close by the Subscription
+Ground was a certain famous tavern called the Red House. I do not know
+why it was famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing sportsmen
+close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not, proved excellent
+customers for the drinks of the Red House. At that time there were
+'famous' taverns all up and down the river on either bank. There are
+still Riverside taverns, but the invasion of the new streets and houses
+has driven them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they probably remain
+still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea Fields, and there were
+certain historical associations in connection with these dreary flats.
+Here, for instance, the Duke of Wellington fought his duel with Lord
+Winchilsea. Other important people were also connected either with the
+Fields or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone absolutely: no trace of
+it remains, except the Church. The Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over
+the site of the famous Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks
+covers the Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the flat
+and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with streets mean and
+monotonous, stand where formerly the pigeons flew wildly, hoping to
+escape those who waited outside the grounds as they had escaped those
+who potted at them from within.
+
+[Illustration: IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY]
+
+[Illustration: The Temple from the Surrey Bank]
+
+[Illustration: HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE]
+
+Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into Rotherhithe. It
+is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe, the Place of Cattle; and
+at the other Lambeth or Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not
+the 'Place of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there, but
+without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of the preceding
+century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A single street runs along the
+Embankment, which it hides and covers: at the back of this street there
+is a succession of small lanes and courts running back with tiny
+houses--two or four rooms to each--on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery--leaves and palings. You may still see, in 1898,
+if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship in one of the old
+docks, sticking across the street, causing a momentary confusion in the
+mind between land and water; there are riverside taverns which look as
+if at a touch they would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834
+this street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland--or in-marsh--ponds and ditches and creeping streams lay about;
+one of the ponds survives to this day; you will find it in the middle of
+the pretty garden they call Southwark Park, of which it forms the
+ornamental water. And the rest of Rotherhithe, between the Park and
+Bermondsey, is one unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no
+open space. All is filled up and built upon.
+
+A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map of 1834 I see a
+little town, lying partly on the bank of the Thames, partly on the bank
+of the Ravensbourne, which here widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The
+greater part of the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not
+yet closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000 people,
+about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its people; it
+boasted of two churches and two almshouses. One of these Havens of Rest
+was so picturesque and so beautiful that it could not be suffered to
+remain. Almshouses which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable. Their
+time expired, they are then carried off Heavenward.
+
+Or turn your eyes further south. London in this direction now
+covers--for the most part completely, in some parts leaving spaces and
+fields here and there--Greenwich, Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest
+Hill, Dulwich, Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham,
+Wandsworth, Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.
+
+[Illustration: CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.]
+
+It is difficult, now that the whole country south of London has been
+covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops, to understand how
+wonderful for loveliness it was until the builder seized upon it. When
+the ground rose out of the great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh--the cliff
+or incline is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham Rise,
+and Brixton Rise--it opened out into one wild heath after
+another--Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon, Barnes, Tooting,
+Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so south as far as Banstead Downs.
+The country was not flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it
+rose at Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture lands; on the
+hill sides were hanging woods; villages were scattered about, each with
+its venerable church and its peaceful churchyard; along the high roads
+to Dover, Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day and
+all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the wayside inns were
+crowded with those who halted to drink, those who halted to dine, and
+those who halted to sleep: if the village lay off the main road it was
+as quiet and as secure as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we
+have destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty than on the
+north. On the latter side of London there are the heights with
+Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey--one row of villages; but there is
+little more. The country between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is
+singularly dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford
+or Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely country.
+But the loveliness of South London lay almost at the very doors of
+London: one could walk into it; the heaths were within an easy walk, and
+the loveliness of Surrey lay upon all.
+
+I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which remain at the
+present moment. It will be a matter of surprise to the reader to hear of
+the many waste and wild places which have been appropriated and built
+over in the last two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of commons:
+namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood Common (in another part of
+Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common,
+South Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell Common. With
+the exception of the first all these are now gone.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840]
+
+Look at Dulwich--the peaceful and picturesque village of Dulwich on this
+map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its gardens, and its fields: the
+venerable college of Alleyn is the glory of the village--nothing more
+beautiful than this almshouse with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet
+the people flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern--the Greyhound--which was
+beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a particular brew of beer,
+a particular kind of old Jamaica for punch, and a particular vintage of
+port not to be found anywhere else, even in a City company's cellars.
+There was, in fact, no more favourite place of resort for the better
+sort of citizens of London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer
+sort it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The Dulwich
+stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too long a drive from the
+city; the young men rode--in those days the young men could all
+ride--even John Gilpin thought he could ride; they hired a horse as we
+now get into a cab. For those who lived in any suburb on the south,
+Dulwich was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village--Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834--were the Dulwich Fields, as beautiful and
+interesting as those of Battersea were the contrary: there were, I
+think, five of them in succession: the little stream called the Effra
+rose somewhere in the neighbourhood, and ran about, winding through the
+fields in a deep channel with rustic bridges across. In older days--at
+the end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a bright and
+sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what is now called the
+Effra Road, and so along the south side--or was it the north?--of
+Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood on the other side of the stream,
+with flowering shrubs--lilac, laburnum, and hawthorn--on the bank, and
+beds of the simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with a single
+rail painted green. That, however, was before my time. In the 'fifties
+the boys used to play in these fields, jumping over the stream: when
+they left the fields and got into the village they looked about for Mr.
+Pickwick and for Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do
+not learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of faith
+by an incarnation.
+
+Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark Hill, and
+Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once lived; but in the 'fifties I
+was not conscious of that fact or of his greatness. It must be saddening
+to a great man to reflect that the schoolboys have no respect for him.
+The road up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees: the
+houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives, and
+smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the institution of
+evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood. At that time great was
+the power and the authority of seriousness. To be serious was
+fashionable, if one may say so, in City circles. Respectability was
+nearly always serious: it was divided into two classes: that which had
+morning prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well. With
+the young, the latter institution was unpopular--no one of the present
+younger generation can understand how unpopular it was: a house which
+had evening prayers made a deliberate profession of a seriousness which
+was something out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for prayers. This
+profession of seriousness generally belonged to a large house, beautiful
+gardens, rich conservatories, a large income, and a carriage and pair.
+Denmark Hill used to appear to outward view as more especially a suburb
+belonging to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more
+than common earnestness.
+
+[Illustration: DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780]
+
+Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses only, each with
+its parklike grounds and gardens and its noble trees. Champion Hill I
+remember as a green and grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon
+it: but there was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green--you may still find this tract of grass, but I believe it is
+now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green they kept ponies for hire:
+the boys used to ride them up the hill and gallop them down the hill.
+Beyond this green there was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so
+far as I can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not a
+wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place covered with fern
+and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but a barren, dreary expanse of
+uncertain grass. Boys would perhaps have played cricket upon it in
+summer, but there were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this
+country is covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.
+
+We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South London: we have
+forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge--one of the many thousands of
+Penge--what this suburban town was like seventy years ago. Do you think
+he can tell you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any Penge
+Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago--viz. in May
+1827--that Mr. William Hone--the compiler of the 'Every-Day Book,'
+climbed up outside the Dulwich stage, proposing to visit the picture
+gallery of Dulwich College. Hone was one of the first of those curious
+and inquisitive persons who began to employ their summers in exploring
+the unknown villages and strange places round London. The picture
+gallery he could not see because it was closed; he therefore walked
+across the country from Dulwich to a place called Penge. At the top of a
+hill he found a choice of three roads. He chose that which led through
+Penge Common. The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a
+cathedral of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse--other people's verse. Alas! the Common had already,
+even then, been ravished from its owners, the people: it was enclosed;
+it was doomed; it was about to be built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself,
+however, at the 'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and
+home-brewed ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers the
+hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as beautiful as the
+hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the Common, they are gone.
+
+[Illustration: From the Tower of St. Saviour's]
+
+Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers of its ancient
+glories; whether there were any ancient glories. Has he heard of the
+famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why,
+the Queen of all the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign
+at Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this resident heard
+of the views from the top of the hill, four hundred feet above the level
+of the sea, whither the people flocked by hundreds to see the view and
+to wander in the woods?
+
+All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was inevitable.
+One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we cannot have town and country
+together. The woods are gone, the rural life is gone, encroachments have
+been made upon the commons, the wayside tavern--the place was full of
+wayside taverns--is gone. What remains of all this beauty is a fragment
+here and there. Clapham Common, once a heath, now a park; Wimbledon
+Common, Tooting Common; these expanses are mercifully left us for
+breathing-places. Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into
+imitations of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have lost the wood
+beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed lands, the tinkle of the sheep
+bell, the song of the skylark.
+
+We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the associations of
+South London. I confess that, for my own part, I am not happy in
+considering associations connected with rows of terraces and villas.
+Here, you say, was once the house, with the park, of such and such a
+great man. Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility. If
+I am taken to a slum--such a slum as that on the west of St. Mary
+Overies, and am told that in this place was Winchester House, I am at
+once interested. Why should the memory of the past appeal to our
+imagination more in a slum than in a brand new, spick and span
+collection of pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all
+things tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay? Who,
+for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of Tooting Common into
+the place which was once Streatham Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and
+Dr. Johnson among these roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might
+remember, were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were not so much
+built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about. At Putney, but for the
+villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh! there are a thousand people once
+living, and walking, and playing their parts in their villages, whose
+wraiths and spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for
+the bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads and the
+trams.
+
+We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we have also made its
+historical associations impossible.
+
+[Illustration: RED CROSS GARDENS, Southwark]
+
+The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from its rural
+folk, came from London about the time when roads began to be tolerable;
+that is to say, late in the seventeenth century; they were the great
+folk, the leisured folk, the Quality, who had suburban houses in
+addition to their town houses and their country houses. They sought
+shelter in the quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained, as a rule,
+for a year or two, for a few months, for a season. When the roads
+became so far improved as to make driving easy and pleasant, the city
+merchants came and built or bought big houses, and drove in and out
+every day in their carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a
+rule: they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down therein.
+They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses where they grew early
+strawberries; they had in front a broad lawn with a carriage drive; they
+liked to have on the lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the
+grass. They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday. In
+course of time other people came; but the first comers--these
+merchants--were the aristocracy, the first families of the suburbs. In
+the newer places there are still to be found the first families; in the
+older suburbs they have all disappeared from the place. Thus Clapham, I
+believe, knows no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not in other
+suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights attained by these
+fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but there were many which had
+among them ex-Lord Mayors and Aldermen; there were many persons among
+them of dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone: there
+is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a pity. There should be
+in every community some whose position entitles them to respect and
+authority; there should be some to take the lead naturally; there should
+be some who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater part of
+the people in a community are engaged in trade.
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK]
+
+I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison between
+the population of these villages in 1801 with that of these great towns
+in 1898 is so startling that it must be recorded. Battersea has risen
+from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from
+27,985 to 295,033; Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from
+14,283 to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that part
+which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a population
+of very nearly two millions; in other words the population, in less than
+a hundred years, has been multiplied by ten. That of London itself, in
+the same time, the London including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel,
+Bloomsbury, and Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South London? Well,
+people must live somewhere; the old limits proved insufficient. First,
+places which had been dotted over with fields and gardens and vacant
+places, such as Southwark on the west side, and Bermondsey, were
+completely built over and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how
+to stow away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London stretched itself out
+farther; it began to include Camberwell, Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham,
+and Wandsworth. These were separate suburbs lying each among its own
+gardens; the inhabitants were not clerks, but principals and employers,
+substantial merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks lived
+nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly came the
+railway, when London made another step outward, so as to take in the
+places lying south of Clapham and Brixton. Then the builder began; he
+saw that a new class of residents would be attracted by small houses and
+low rents. The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population of South London
+no longer consists of rich merchants, principals, and partners. Clerks,
+assistants, and employés of all kinds now crowd the morning and evening
+trains.
+
+If you want to form some idea of the South London folk, go stand inside
+Cannon Street Station and watch the trains come in, each with its
+freight of those who earn their daily bread within the City. See them
+pass out--by the hundred--by the thousand--by the fifty thousand. The
+brain reels at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As they hurry past
+you observe on each the same expression, the same set eagerness, with
+which the day's work is approached. Employer or employé, principal or
+clerk, it matters nothing. The clerk, who will get none of the thousands
+he is helping to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means battle,
+daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge, earlier
+knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness, while there is as much
+need, for success, or courage tenacity, and bluff as in any battle
+between contending armies. The many twinkling feet pass out of the
+station by the hundred thousand, every morning, to the field of battle.
+The English are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the
+City is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired, in
+which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and for ever.
+
+[Illustration: Below Cherry Garden Pier]
+
+In South London there are two millions of people. It is therefore one of
+the great cities of the world. It stands upon an area about twelve
+miles long and five or six broad--but its limits cannot be laid down
+even approximately. It is a city without a municipality, without a
+centre, without a civic history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or
+journals; it has no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine;
+it has no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary
+centre--unless the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm--one cannot imagine a
+man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres, except of a very popular or
+humble kind; it has no clubs, it has no public buildings, it has no West
+End. It is argued that although it has none of these things, yet it has
+them all by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are accessible
+to the South. Far be it from me to deny the culture of Sydenham and the
+artistic elevation of Tooting. Yet one feels there must surely be some
+disadvantage in being separated from the literary and artistic circles
+whose members, it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a young man
+who would pursue a career in art not to live among people who habitually
+talk of art and think of art. It must surely be some disadvantage to
+live in a place where the people, when they are gathered together,
+mostly allow the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.
+
+How are these two millions distributed?
+
+There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention has been made. Their
+numbers and their proportion to the whole I know not. Next, there are
+the working people, those for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of
+barracks called model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand--by the million: there are more than a million
+working men in South London. For their use are the shops of the
+Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the public houses. The third layer
+is found on a slip of ground, of which Newington and Kennington may be
+taken as representative: it consists principally of lodging-houses for
+clerks. The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High Street,' filled
+with shops, is for the villas.
+
+[Illustration: The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit's Window in the Marshalsea]
+
+Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon the City. The
+bread-winners go in and out every day; the local shops provide for the
+houses, and are paid out of the money made in the City; the local
+doctor, the local house agent, the local schoolmaster, the local
+clergyman, all receive their share of the money made in the City; even
+if there be, here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the City;
+the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the City, so that the
+first function of the City is to feed and supply all these millions. If
+at any time the trade of the City were to decay, these suburbs would
+decay as well; if the decay were gradual, they would slowly cease to
+spread, begin to show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay
+were to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily deserted.
+Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale never before equalled.
+Tadmor in the Wilderness would be a mere little wheelbarrow full of
+stones compared with suburban London given over to decay and wreck.
+
+Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the working class! The
+brain reels at thinking of this teeming multitudinous life; these armies
+of men, women, and children living in the slums and in the huge,
+unlovely barracks. The very number makes it impossible to grasp the
+enormity of the mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as
+if individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are they among
+so many? But in another sense, as I will presently show, individual
+effort may produce consequences both deep and widespread.
+
+It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of humanity--this
+compact round ball of men and women, to make which two millions have
+been brought together--as if any one life was nothing, as if the life of
+any one out of the heap--any girl, any lad--was wholly unimportant and
+trivial, however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great in a
+densely populated place as in a village. One example is precious--beyond
+all price--in a model dwelling-house of Bermondsey as in the most
+retired community of rustics. It is very easy to generalise from the
+mass: the dweller of the slums stands before the mind's eye, beery,
+unwashed, in rags, inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which
+may better be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is because we do not
+know him. Ask those who go down among these people habitually, they will
+tell you of differences and distinctions among them as among ourselves,
+of memories of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and,
+at the very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of a
+clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be very careful
+how we form general conclusions about men and women.
+
+[Illustration: Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy's]
+
+But--two millions of people! And every one of them wanting all the time
+what he thinks will make his life more happy. For the riverside folk the
+wants are few, but they are daily wants. With them, literally, it is a
+question of daily bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more
+numerous and their happiness more complex!
+
+Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain work of a
+philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the place and of the time.
+Many and various are the attempts and the associations and the machinery
+for raising some of these people and for keeping others from sliding
+down. There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised than
+at any previous time, more active, and more largely assisted; they have
+planted evening schools and clubs, for boys and girls. One must put the
+Church of England first, not only because her clergy began the work of
+rescue, but also because hers is still the larger part. There is, next,
+the indirect work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's, who
+go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because they come to
+doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable questions about the
+children's school. There are, next, places which aim at civilising by
+the presentation of things civilised. For instance, there is a very
+pleasing institute in Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air
+band, a lecture or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look
+upon are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by degrees.
+There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and, lastly, there are
+the 'Settlements,' college settlements and others. Let me briefly
+describe the work and aims of one of these settlements. I have before me
+the last Report of the Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the
+Browning Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.
+
+[Illustration: The Entrance Gates to Guy's]
+
+As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods of a
+'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They are not all the
+same, but the differences are slight. The directors of this settlement,
+for instance, desire to plant a settlement house in every poor street; a
+house which shall be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall
+serve as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a large club
+house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys and girls. Once a week
+there is a concert in the hall. The members of the settlement take as
+large a part as possible in the local government; they have laid out a
+burial-ground at the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor men's
+lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension Lectures; they
+have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday afternoons for the men;
+they have a maternity society; they have a clothes store; they have an
+adult school. Classes are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics;
+there have been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade; there is
+musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest Festivals; and there are,
+in addition, works of religion and temperance which I have not
+enumerated above.
+
+The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers, personal
+service; for the people, the influence of example, the attraction of
+things which they understand at once to be a great deal more pleasant
+than the bar and the tap-room; such a variety of work and recreation as
+may drag all into the net except the substratum of all, whom nothing can
+lift out of the mire.
+
+One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these settlements.
+First, how large an area in a densely populated part can be covered by a
+single settlement? Next, how many young men can be found to carry on the
+work? For instance, if the Browning Settlement can reach--of course it
+cannot--all the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine other settlements in
+South London from Battersea to Greenwich, both included. If we give
+20,000 people for each settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty
+settlements for the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the officers and
+managers of departments, from which it would seem that about thirty are
+actively engaged from day to day. So that fifteen hundred voluntary
+workers in all would be required in order to cover this land of slums
+with an effective string of settlements.
+
+[Illustration: A Former Entrance to St. Thomas's Hospital]
+
+There never was a time when more determined efforts have been made for
+the elevation of the submerged, and there never was a time when so many
+young men and young women have been found ready to give the whole of
+their time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be seen;
+whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now passing over
+the minds of the young will continue and remain with us has also to be
+proved. The directors of the Browning Settlement meantime declare--I
+have no intention of questioning the truth of their assertion--that they
+find already among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship, and
+more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement, we cannot
+but desire for South London a chain of settlements reaching from
+Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.
+
+    NOTE.--Since this was written several new Theatres have been built
+    in South London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on
+    p. 320 which states that the Theatres are humble. Also I would
+    acknowledge the existence of local newspapers, and instead of saying
+    that it has no public buildings I would say only one or two old
+    buildings.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Acrensis, Thomas, 161
+
+Actors, Company of, 225-228
+
+Ailwin, Childe, 52
+
+Albion Island, 4
+
+Alfred repairs the Walls, 31
+
+Allectus, Emperor, 18, 26
+
+Alleyn, Edward, 271
+
+Arundell, Archbishop, 114, 116
+
+Asclepiodotus, 29
+
+Awdry, Legend of, 15
+
+
+Bankside, 217
+
+Battersea Fields, 303, 304
+
+Battle of Clapham Common, 18
+
+-- on London Bridge, 148-150
+
+Bear Garden Alley, 214
+
+'Below Bridge,' 229
+
+Bermondsey, Religious House, 51
+
+-- Spa Gardens, 292
+
+-- Hall, 233
+
+Bill of a Feast, 265
+
+Boadicea, Queen, 26
+
+Boleyn, Anne, 122
+
+Bombardment of London, 153
+
+Borough Compter, 249, 272, 278
+
+-- Society, 260, 261
+
+Bridge across the River, 12
+
+-- at the Barefoot Tavern, 264
+
+-- Construction of, 29
+
+-- Destroyed and repaired, 44, 45
+
+--, The, 25
+
+-- when built, 26
+
+Bridges, Roman Method of Building, 28
+
+Bull and Bear Baiting, 210, 211
+
+Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+
+Cade's Rebellion, 148
+
+Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, 38
+
+Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, 163
+
+-- Tales, 168-176.
+
+Carausius, History of, 18
+
+Causeway across Southwark Marsh, 6, 7
+
+-- the Lie of, 6, 7
+
+Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, 4
+
+Charles II.'s Restoration, 129
+
+Charlton Fair, 188
+
+Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 168-174
+
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle,' 6
+
+Christmas at Kennington Palace, 77-79
+
+Clapham Common Battle, 18
+
+-- Rise, 5
+
+Clink Prison, 248
+
+Cnut's Canal, Course of, 40, 41
+
+-- Siege, 38
+
+-- Trench, 38
+
+Commercial Docks, 234, 305
+
+Copt Hall or Vauxhall, 111
+
+Count of the Saxon Shore, 17
+
+Cranmer, Martyrdom of, 65
+
+Cuper's Gardens, 252, 288
+
+
+Danes defeated, 35
+
+Danish Alliance against London, 32, 33
+
+-- Invasion, Second, 36
+
+Debtors' Prisons, 272
+
+Denmark Hill, 311
+
+Deptford, 234-238, 306
+
+'Dog and Duck,' 289-292
+
+Domesday Book compiled, 72
+
+Dover Road, 25
+
+Dry Ground beyond Kennington, 5
+
+Duels in Battersea Fields, 304
+
+Dulwich Fields, 309
+
+
+Earl Godwine's Invasion, 42
+
+Earliest Maps of South London, 47
+
+Edmund fights Cnut, 38
+
+Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, 96
+
+Effra River, 310
+
+Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, 103, 105, 108
+
+Elizabeth Woodville, 62
+
+Eltham Palace, 69, 74, 75, 89-97
+
+Eltham Palace, Remains of, 94;
+  a Royal visit, 94-96
+
+Embankment, Early Repairs of, 12
+
+-- First, of River, 11, 12
+
+Extent of South London, 2;
+  its Islets or Eyots, 2-3
+
+
+Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, 176
+
+Fairs of London, 179
+
+Falconbridge, Bastard of, 153
+
+Falcon Stream, 3
+
+Falstaff, Sir John, History of, 134-152
+
+Ferries across Marsh, 26
+
+Field, Nathan, 223
+
+Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 110
+
+Fleet sent against the Danes, 32
+
+Ford of Thorney, 5
+
+Freemantle, History by, 1
+[Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to Freeman not Freemantle.]
+
+
+Gildable Manor, 48
+
+Gokstad's ship, 33, 40, 41
+
+Goose Green, 311
+
+Great South Marsh, 2
+
+Green Dragon Inn, 262
+
+Greenwich Fair, 188
+
+-- Hospital, 109
+
+-- Palace, 97-109
+
+
+Hackney Marsh, 11
+
+-- Marshes, 6
+
+Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, 275
+
+Harold Harefoot, 71
+
+Hengist and Æsc, 20
+
+Henry III. at Eltham, 90
+
+-- VI.'s Coronation, 126-129
+
+Herne Hill, 311
+
+High Street, Borough, 10
+
+-- -- Southwark, 254
+
+Hope Theatre, Southwark, 221
+
+Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, 5
+
+Horselydown, 231
+
+-- Fair, 229
+
+Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, 118
+
+
+Inns of Southwark, 16, 262, 263
+
+Insignia of Pilgrimage, 157
+
+Islands in the Marsh, 2
+
+Isle of Bramble, 9
+
+-- -- or Westminster, 4
+
+
+Juxon, Archbishop, 120
+
+
+Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, 129
+
+Katharine of Valois, 56-60
+
+Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, 81-88
+
+-- Palace, 69, 73;
+  owned by Theodric, 72;
+  Christmas at, 78-80
+
+Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, 81
+
+King's Bench Prison, 272, 274
+
+
+Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, 179-185
+
+Lambeth Palace, 109
+
+-- -- visited by Royalty, 114
+
+Langton, Stephen, 118
+
+Legend of Awdry, 15
+
+'Le Loke,' 64
+
+'Liberties' of South London, 48
+
+'Liberty' Prisons, 49
+
+London and Southwark, Difference between, 22
+
+-- as a Port, 10
+
+-- attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, 154-156
+
+-- Original Site of, 23
+
+-- Site of, from the Causeway, 7
+
+-- Third Siege of, by Danes, 36, 37
+
+Long Barn, The, 70, 73, 75
+
+Lord Mayor's Pageants, 133
+
+
+Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, 38
+
+Manor of Lambeth, 117
+
+Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, 199-204
+
+Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+-- at St. Mary Overies, 192, 193
+
+Marsh, Great South, 2
+
+-- Islands in, 2
+
+Marshalsea, 279
+
+Memories of Greenwich, 98, 99
+
+Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, 242, 246
+
+Monastic Houses, 50
+
+Montagu Close, Southwark, 242
+
+Monuments in St. Mary Overies, 196-198
+
+Morden College, 239
+
+
+New Mint Sanctuary, 246
+
+Nonesuch, 77
+
+Norfolk College, 239
+
+-- House, 110
+
+
+Origin of Settlements in South London, 17
+
+Owen Tudor, 56-60
+
+
+Paris Gardens, 215
+
+-- -- Baiting at, 212
+
+Parish Clerks, Company of, 210
+
+Parliament at Lambeth Palace, 113
+
+Pax Romana, 17, 43
+
+Payn, John, 147, 151
+
+Peckham Rye, 312
+
+Penge Common, 312
+
+Philanthropic Work, 324
+
+Pilgrimage a Mockery, 165, 166
+
+-- Insignia of, 157
+
+Pilgrimages, Choice of, 159, 160
+
+Pilgrims starting from Southwark, 158
+
+Playhouses in Southwark, 220
+
+Pleasure Gardens, 282-288
+
+Poets of South London, 224, 225
+
+Population, Increase in, 316, 317
+
+Priory of St. Mary Overies, 192
+
+Prisons of the Liberties, 49
+
+Processions in Southwark, 124
+
+Punishments ordered by the Church, 68
+
+Puritan Effect on Theatres, 221, 222
+
+
+Ravensbourne, 2, 3
+
+Red Cross Gardens, 315
+
+-- House Tavern, 304
+
+Remains of Eltham Palace, 94
+
+Richard II. at Kennington Palace, 81, 82
+
+River, First Embankment of, 11, 12
+
+-- Wall removed, 28
+
+Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, 21
+
+Roman Connection with Causeway, 6
+
+-- Method of Building Bridges, 28
+
+-- Remains in South London, 14-16
+
+-- -- at St. Saviour's Grammar School, 15
+
+-- Trajectus, 10
+
+Rotherhithe, 305
+
+Royal Houses, 69
+
+-- Manor, Valuation of, 72, 73
+
+Royalty at Eltham Palace, 92
+
+Rum, 10
+
+
+Sanctuaries, Later, 241
+
+Sanctuary at Southwark, 243
+
+-- at New Mint, 246
+
+Savoy Dock, 230
+
+Settlements in South London, Origin of, 17
+
+Show Folk of Bankside, 206
+
+Site of London from Causeway, 7
+
+-- of Original London, 23
+
+Snorro, Thirlesen, 22
+
+Society in the Borough, 261
+
+South London, Extent of, 2
+
+-- -- deserted, 20, 21
+
+-- -- named Southwark by Saxons, 2
+
+-- -- in Ruins and deserted, 31
+
+-- -- Earliest Map of, 47
+
+-- -- of To-day, 301
+
+Southwark, Conditions of Existence, 12, 13
+
+-- and London, Difference between, 22
+
+-- Fair or Lady Fair, 179-185
+
+-- Famous Inns, 16
+
+-- without a Wall, 17
+
+Stage Coaches, Start of, 258, 259
+
+St. Mary Overies, 191
+
+-- -- -- Dock, 10
+
+-- -- -- Marriages at, 192, 193
+
+-- -- -- reconstructed, 195, 196
+
+-- -- -- connected with Marian Persecution, 199-204
+
+-- -- -- in Recent Times, 205
+
+St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, 4
+
+St. Saviour's Abbey, 51
+
+St. Thomas's Hospital, 64
+
+-- -- -- Foundation of, 66
+
+-- -- -- Roman Remains in, 15, 16
+
+'Stonegate,' 6
+
+Stubbs, History by, 1
+
+Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, 33-37
+
+
+Tabard Inn, 268
+
+Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 167
+
+Thames Fishermen, 14
+
+Theatre of Southwark Fair, 185
+
+Thorney, Trade of, 8
+
+-- Island, Trade of, 4
+
+Tournament at Eltham, 94-96
+
+Trade of Thorney, 8
+
+-- Route of South London, 4
+
+Traffic through Southwark, 256, 257
+
+Trench of Cnut, 38
+
+
+Vauxhall Gardens, 294-299
+
+-- -- Site of, 113
+
+-- or Copt Hall, 111
+
+
+Walbrook, 8
+
+-- Origin of Name, 3
+
+Walls repaired by Alfred, 31
+
+Walworth, the Name, 23
+
+Wandle, River, 2, 3
+
+Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, 4
+
+White Lyon Prison, 280
+
+William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, 43
+
+-- III.'s Entry into London, 131, 132
+
+Willoughby, Sir John, 105
+
+Wyclyf's trial, 84
+
+
+               PRINTED BY
+  SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER
+             LONDON AND ETON
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT & JAMES RICE.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  WITH HARP AND CROWN.
+  THIS SON OF VULCAN.
+  MY LITTLE GIRL.
+  THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.
+  THE SEAMY SIDE.
+  THE TEN YEARS' TENANT.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+NOVELS BY SIR WALTER BESANT.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  THE CAPTAINS' ROOM, &c. With Frontispiece by E. J. WHEELER.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by HARRY FURNISS.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER. With a Frontispiece by CHARLES GREEN.
+  UNCLE JACK, and other Stories.
+  THE WORLD WENT VERY WELL THEN. With Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. Illustrated by A. FORESTIER.
+  TO CALL HER MINE, &c. With 9 Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE BELL OF ST. PAUL'S.
+  THE IVORY GATE.
+  THE HOLY ROSE, &c. With a Frontispiece by F. BARNARD.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. With 12 Illustrations by CHARLES GREEN.
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS. With Frontispiece by GORDON BROWNE.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+  BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE. With 12 Illustrations by W. H. HYDE.
+  THE REVOLT OF MAN.
+  IN DEACON'S ORDERS. With a Frontispiece by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.
+  THE CITY OF REFUGE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  A FOUNTAIN SEALED. With Frontispiece by H. G. BURGESS.
+  THE CHANGELING.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL. With 8 Illustrations by F. PEGRAM.
+  THE LADY OF LYNN. With 12 Illustrations by G. DEMAIN HAMMOND.
+  NO OTHER WAY. With 12 Illustrations by C. D. WARD.
+  THE FOURTH GENERATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FINE PAPER EDITIONS, pott 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 2_s._ net each; leather,
+gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON.
+  WESTMINSTER.
+  JERUSALEM. (In collaboration with E. H. PALMER.)
+  SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.
+  GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+POPULAR EDITIONS, medium 8vo. 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.
+  NO OTHER WAY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.
+  WESTMINSTER. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 130 Illustrations.
+  SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 119 Illustrations.
+  EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by F. S. WALKER, and
+    54 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, L. RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.
+  THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By WALTER BESANT and W. H. POLLOCK.
+    With 50 Illustrations by CHRIS. HAMMOND and A. JULE GOODMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2_s._ each.
+
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net each.
+
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6_s._
+  THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. CHEAP EDITION, picture cover, 1_s._ net.
+
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: South London
+
+Author: Sir Walter Besant
+
+Illustrator: Francis S. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 16, 2014 [EBook #44683]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH LONDON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.
+
+UNIFORM EDITION. Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+
+LONDON.
+
+With 125 Illustrations.
+
+    'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant
+    has here attempted, with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The
+    Author of "A Short History of the English People" and the historian
+    of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+    Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and
+    indelible pictures of the people of the past.... No one who loves
+    his London but will love it the better for reading this book. He who
+    loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest
+    pleasure.'--_Graphic._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his
+    beautifully illustrated book will call up in the minds of those who
+    bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and expectation. He
+    contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the
+    London of the present more living than before.'--_Spectator._
+
+
+WESTMINSTER.
+
+With 131 Illustrations.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and
+    its corporate life in a way which has never been surpassed--not even
+    equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he has made to
+    live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of
+    London to the mere dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster"
+    even better.... There is nothing but admiration to be expressed as
+    well for the plan as for the execution.'--_Daily Chronicle._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his
+    charming book on "London."... From beginning to end the narrative
+    never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one rises from its
+    reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and
+    a greater veneration for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the
+    past.'--_Guardian._
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON.
+
+With 120 Illustrations.
+
+    'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great
+    world they live in we cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to
+    the author's previous volumes. It is written by an enthusiast who is
+    also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of
+    life; and it passes before the reader's imagination a series of
+    indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic and monotonous South
+    London with the romance which is its due.'--_Literature._
+
+
+EAST LONDON.
+
+With 55 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles
+    Dickens.... He has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his
+    knowledge of the great city. He was grey before he attempted to
+    write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+    London"--books which have earned him his title as the historian of
+    London--and he has postponed his book on "East London" until his
+    sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian lore mingled with
+    human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is
+    this study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly
+    book.'--_Literary World._
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._
+
+
+FIFTY YEARS AGO.
+
+With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.
+
+    'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations
+    of George Cruikshank and the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise
+    lend additional effect.... The book is full of movement and colour,
+    and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of
+    Queen Victoria.'--_Speaker._
+
+Small 8vo. cloth (in the ST. MARTIN'S LIBRARY), gilt top, 2_s._ net
+each; feather, gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+    LONDON.                    WESTMINSTER.
+    SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.   JERUSALEM.
+    GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: F. S. Walker, R.E.
+
+S^t. Saviour's, Southwark.]
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+BY
+
+WALTER BESANT
+
+AUTHOR OF
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A NEW EDITION
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+LONDON
+CHATTO & WINDUS
+1912
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In sending forth this book on 'SOUTH LONDON,' the successor to my two
+preceding books on 'LONDON' and 'WESTMINSTER,' I have to explain in this
+case, as before, that it is not a history, or a chronicle, or a
+consecutive account of the Borough and her suburbs that I offer, but, as
+in the other two books, chapters taken here and there from the mass of
+material which lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which
+illustrate the most important part of History, namely, the condition,
+the manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now, like
+Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three hundred years
+ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing tide by an Embankment,
+joined to the Dover road by a Causeway, settled and inhabited by two or
+three Houses of Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots,
+and great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment from
+time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was built: and by a street
+of Inns and shops.
+
+I hope that 'SOUTH LONDON' will be received with favour equal to that
+bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief difficulty in writing it has
+been that of selection from the great treasures which have accumulated
+about this strange spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth
+part of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the showman in
+the 'Cries of London'--I pull the strings, and the children peep. Lo!
+Allectus goes forth to fight and die on Clapham Common: William's men
+burn the fishermen's cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy,
+rides out, all in white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington--saw one
+ever so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards the city:
+Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's army: the Minters
+make their last Sanctuary opposite St. George's: the Debtors languish in
+the King's Bench. There are many pictures in the box--but how many more
+there are for which no room could be found!
+
+I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor of the _Pall
+Mall Magazine_, where half of these chapters first had the honour of
+appearing, for the wealth of illustration of which he thought them
+worthy: and next to the artist, Mr. Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully
+and so cunningly carried out the task committed to him.
+
+  WALTER BESANT.
+
+    UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB:
+        _September 1898_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+     I. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS                                          1
+
+    II. EARLY HISTORY                                                 25
+
+   III. A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY                                         47
+
+    IV. THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON                              69
+
+     V. PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS                                         124
+
+    VI. A FORGOTTEN WORTHY                                           134
+
+   VII. THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON                                    153
+
+  VIII. THE PILGRIMS                                                 157
+
+    IX. THE LADY FAIR                                                179
+
+     X. ST. MARY OVERIES                                             191
+
+    XI. THE SHOW FOLK                                                206
+
+   XII. BELOW BRIDGE                                                 229
+
+  XIII. THE LATER SANCTUARY                                          241
+
+   XIV. IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY                                    248
+
+    XV. THE DEBTORS' PRISON                                          272
+
+   XVI. THE PLEASURE GARDENS                                         282
+
+  XVII. SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY                                       301
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                  _Frontispiece_
+_Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E._
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES                         3
+
+CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH                                        7
+
+FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET                                9
+
+BARKING CREEK                                                         11
+
+RELICS OF THE STONE AGE                                               15
+
+A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE                                              17
+
+RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE                                              19
+
+MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH                                    27
+
+LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000                                              29
+
+A DANISH HOUSE                                                        31
+
+SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                33
+
+A VIKING SHIP                                                         34
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            37
+
+DIAGRAM                                                               40
+
+THE GOKSTAD SHIP                                                      41
+
+SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR                                        43
+
+BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                       45
+
+THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY                                           51
+
+BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                                      52
+
+GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                           53
+
+ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK                                                  61
+
+'LE LOKE'                                                             63
+
+REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH     67
+
+THE LONG BARN                                                         70
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            71
+
+GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE                                    75
+
+THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH                                 77
+
+SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE                                              83
+_From Allen's History of Lambeth_
+
+THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII                    85
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796                                        91
+
+KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT                                              93
+_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE                                              95
+
+THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE                                        97
+
+GREENWICH, 1662                                                       99
+_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_
+
+GREENWICH HOSPITAL                                                   101
+_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE                                                       109
+
+BONNER HALL, LAMBETH                                                 111
+
+RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH                                     113
+_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' November 1822_
+
+BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH                                               114
+
+INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE                                 115
+_From an Engraving dated 1804_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER                                       116
+
+LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE                                      117
+
+DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER                                       119
+
+LOLLARDS' PRISON                                                     121
+
+WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK                                            137
+
+SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK             139
+
+THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET                143
+
+HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550                               149
+
+OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY                                     158
+
+OLD HALL, AYLESBURY                                                  159
+
+CANTERBURY PILGRIMS                                                  160
+
+15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH                                               165
+
+RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY                             165
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+14TH CENTURY MERCHANT                                                168
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+PEDLAR                                                               175
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_
+
+MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480                                                 177
+
+BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR                                                181
+
+GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY                                     187
+_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_
+
+A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                           192
+
+SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            193
+
+NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800                    194
+
+CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            195
+
+GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811                        197
+_From a Drawing by Whichelo_
+
+REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES                          199
+
+TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES                             201
+
+A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                 203
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790                                       204
+
+WINCHESTER PALACE                                                    207
+
+THE GLOBE THEATRE                                                    209
+_From the Crace Collection_
+
+BEAR GARDEN                                                          213
+
+THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616                               221
+
+INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE                                     223
+
+A FÊTE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590                                        231
+_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_
+
+THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814                                    233
+
+VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                  235
+_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_
+
+GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH                                                239
+
+MINT STREET, BOROUGH                                                 245
+
+OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK                                  249
+
+ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                                                250
+_From an old Print_
+
+SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY                     251
+
+JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY                                            252
+
+QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL                                253
+
+ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH                              254
+_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_
+
+THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE                                          255
+
+AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE                                                256
+
+JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE                                257
+
+THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK                                         258
+
+OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET                                            259
+
+COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN                                    261
+
+THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK                                     263
+
+ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK                                            265
+
+A SOUTH LONDON SLUM                                                  267
+
+THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK                                        268
+
+ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW                               269
+_From an Engraving by B. Cole_
+
+REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT     273
+_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_
+
+KING'S BENCH PRISON                                                  275
+
+ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON                              277
+
+VAUXHALL GARDENS                                                     283
+_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_
+
+VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET                                    285
+
+THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM                                            289
+
+A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY                                 301
+
+IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY                                         302
+
+THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK                                      303
+
+HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE                                            305
+
+CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                         307
+
+ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840                                            309
+
+DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780                                                311
+
+FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S                                      313
+
+RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK                                         315
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK                                                   317
+
+BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER                                             319
+
+THE GEORGE INN                                                       321
+
+LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA                             321
+
+ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S                          323
+
+THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S                                          325
+
+A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                           327
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
+
+
+I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow by the
+general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors on 'London' and
+'Westminster,' they will not attempt, or pretend, to present a
+continuous history of this region--or, indeed, a history at all: they
+will endeavour to do for this part of London what their predecessors
+have already attempted for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is
+to say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the Borough
+and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means the march of armies
+and the clash of armour, we shall here find little history. So far,
+also, as history means the growth of our liberties, the struggles by
+which they were won; the apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time,
+of the spirit of freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and
+the student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman--not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy to be held in the
+highest honour, of those who trace out the irresistible march of
+national freedom: I cannot join their company; I must be contented with
+the lowlier, yet somewhat useful, task of showing how the people, my
+forefathers, lived, and what they thought, and how they sang and
+feasted and made love and grew old and died.
+
+My South London extends from Battersea in the west to Greenwich in the
+east, and from the river on the north to the first rising ground on the
+south. This rising ground, a gentle ascent, the beginning of the Surrey
+hills, can still be observed on the high roads of the south--Clapham,
+Brixton, Camberwell. It now occupies the place of what was formerly a
+low cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the broad
+level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side of the river,
+which closed in on either side of Walbrook and made the foundation of
+London possible. If we draw a straight line from the mouth of the Wandle
+on the west to the mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall,
+roughly speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as well. The whole
+of this region constitutes the Great South Marsh: there is no rising
+ground, or hillock, or encroaching cliff over the whole of this flat
+expanse. Before the river was embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for
+eight miles in length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a
+half miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created, as the
+centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of branches, roots,
+reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches above high water; the
+spring-tide covered them--sometimes swept them away--then others began
+to form. In later times, after the work of embankment had been
+commenced, these islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington, Kennington.
+Even then, for many a long year, they were but little areas rising a
+foot or two above the level, covered with sedge, reeds, and tufts of
+coarse grass, hardly distinguishable from the rest of the ground around
+them. Before the construction of the river wall, no trees stood upon
+this morass, no flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and
+bushes grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of it:
+there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south side rose the
+cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and continually receding
+before the encroaching tide; on the north side ran the river; beyond the
+river the cliff stood up above the water's edge, where the tiny stream,
+afterwards named from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the
+rolling flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.
+
+[Illustration: View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.]
+
+Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide made their way
+across it into the Thames: at high tide their beds were lost in the
+shallows. Among them--to use names by which they were afterwards
+distinguished--were the Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne,
+and others which have disappeared and left no name. And so for
+unnumbered years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the reeds bent
+beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead, and the wild birds
+screamed, far away from the world of men and women, long after men and
+women began to wander about this Island called Albion. No one took any
+thought of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all along
+the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely the most desolate,
+dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere in the world. Those who wish
+to realise what manner of country it was which stretched away on the
+north and south of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it
+if they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the ruined
+Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low tide to east and
+north.
+
+In a previous volume dealing with another part of the country called
+London I showed to my own satisfaction, and, I believe, that of my
+readers, that long before there existed any London at all, except
+perhaps a village of a few fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or
+Thorney was a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to Dover and
+the southern ports. This position, new as it was, and opposed to the
+general and traditional teaching--opposed, for instance, to the
+traditional belief of Dean Stanley--has never been attacked, and may be
+considered, therefore, as generally accepted. When or how the trade of
+Thorney began, to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire.
+Indeed, I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the beginning
+and early history of the Southern settlements.
+
+The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called afterwards
+by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now Westminster. All the
+trade of the north passed over that little spot, on which arose a
+considerable town for the reception of the caravans. After resting a
+night or so at Thorney, the merchants went on their way. Those who
+travelled south, making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there
+was afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection of
+Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still survives in
+Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford, the travellers found
+themselves face to face with a mile of dangerous bog, marsh and swamp,
+through which they had to plod and plough their way, sinking over their
+knees, up to the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground, now
+called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their long chains of
+slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules from the north, this was
+the worst bit of the whole journey. Every day there were rivers to be
+forded, in which some of their slaves might get drowned or might escape;
+there were dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile
+tribes; there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this great
+swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed and floundered through
+it, over ankles, over knees, up to the middle, up to the neck, in mud
+and muddy water. The packhorses sank deep down with their loads; they
+took off the loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who
+threw them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they made a
+mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and slave-load; iron, lead,
+and skins: the merchant paid heavy tribute while he crossed the marshes
+and waded through the shallows of the broad tidal river.
+
+At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown person of
+engineering genius in advance of his time, that it might not be
+impossible to construct a causeway across this marsh; and that such a
+causeway would be extremely useful and convenient for those who used the
+Thorney Fords. Perhaps the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the
+work was the first causeway ever constructed in this country; perhaps
+the inventor began on the smallest possible scale, with a very narrow
+way across the marsh to the nearest dry ground, which was, of course,
+somewhere beyond Kennington; perhaps the work, colossal for the time,
+carried the merchants and their caravans across the whole extent of the
+marsh--five miles and more--to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was not unlike those
+which now run across the Hackney Marshes; that is to say, it was raised
+so high as to be above the highest spring tide, about six feet above the
+level of the marsh. It was constructed by driving piles into the mud at
+regular intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and
+filling up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle'--or from the nearest high ground, where is
+now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway, I take it, was about
+ten or twelve feet. The construction of the work rendered the passage
+across the marsh perfectly easy, and greatly facilitated that part of
+the trade of the island which lay in the midland and on the north.
+
+When was this causeway, the first step in road-making, constructed?
+Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however, that it is older than the
+Roman occupation; and for these reasons. When London was first visited
+by the Romans it was already a flourishing city with a '_copia
+negotiatorum_;' in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting
+the greater part of the trade which formerly passed through Thorney. Had
+the Romans built the causeway, they would have constructed it along a
+line drawn from one of the two old ferries to Deptford. The causeway,
+therefore, must have existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene,
+together with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway
+connecting the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the Romans
+strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled way, soft in bad
+weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman roads; faced it with stone,
+and made it durable. If South London were to be stripped of all its
+houses, the two causeways would be found still, hard and firm, beneath
+the mass of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.
+
+If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the end of
+Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the Old Kent Road, you
+will understand the lie of the causeway. And this causeway, understand,
+was the very first interference of the hand of man with the marshes
+south of the Thames. It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment
+against the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which flowed
+in on the other side--the Battersea side: it was simply a way across the
+marsh. For a long time--we cannot tell how long--it remained the
+principal way of communication for the trade of Britain between the
+north and the south, the midland and the south, the eastern counties and
+the south.
+
+[Illustration: Causeway across Southwark Marsh.]
+
+Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the merchants
+crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries of which no trace or
+memory remains, when they turned their eyes northward, first a level of
+mud, sprinkled with little eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the
+broad river, and beyond the river two streams, one fuller than the
+other, each in its own valley--that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House--falling into the river; a low
+cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh, as on the
+south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames, approaching close
+to the river, and actually overhanging it. On the river they saw
+numerous coracles, with fishermen catching salmon and every kind of fish
+in their nets. No river in the world was more plentifully stocked with
+fish; overhead flew screaming innumerable birds--geese, ducks,
+herne--which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling and stone by
+the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the river, the travellers by
+the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk. Then, perhaps, they
+remembered the plenty of the markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds,
+the vast quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that flew up
+from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that London--'the place
+or fort over the Lake'--was the settlement which furnished Thorney with
+a good part of her supplies. And this I verily believe to have been the
+real origin and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping birds for
+the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only; it will be set aside,
+most certainly, by those who are not pleased with the upsetting of old
+theories. To those who are able to realise the ancient condition of
+things and all it means, the suggestion will be received, I am
+convinced, as more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.
+
+Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of great resort, as I
+have shown in these pages already: every day passed into Thorney, and
+out of Thorney, long processions or caravans of merchants with
+merchandise carried by slaves--the most valuable part of their
+merchandise--and by packhorses and mules; they waded through the
+northern ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the causeway,
+and went south. Or else it was the reverse way. The place required a
+daily supply of food, and, as there were many travellers, a great
+quantity of food. If you go down the river from Thorney, you will find
+that the present site of London, on the two hillocks rising out of the
+river, was the first and only place where men could put up huts in which
+to live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for Thorney. If,
+therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing centre of trade long
+before London was a place of trade at all, then the original London must
+have been a settlement of fishermen and trappers who supplied the
+markets of Thorney.
+
+[Illustration: Fishers' Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.]
+
+In course of time--we are still in prehistoric times--the site of
+London was discovered by seamen and merchant adventurers exploring the
+rivers in their ships. It was found cheaper and easier and safer to
+carry goods to and from Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast
+along from Dover to the strait between Rum--the Isle of Thanet, and the
+mainland--to pass through the strait and up the river, was found easier
+and cheaper than to undertake the costly and dangerous march from Dover
+to Thorney Ford. This way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a
+certain part of the trade along the old causeway was diverted.
+
+The next step was the discovery of London as a port. There was no port
+at Thorney: on the site of London were the two natural ports of Walbrook
+and the mouth of the Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more
+salubrious than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays were
+erected, goods were landed; the high road which we call Oxford Street
+was constructed to connect London with the highway of trade--afterwards
+Watling Street; and the trade of London began.
+
+Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it was, you will
+observe that London at its first commencement had no communication with
+any part of the world except by water. The first road opened was, as I
+have said, the connection with Watling Street; what was the next? It was
+a connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was the road
+which we now call High Street, Borough. These two roads were the first
+communication between London and any other place; all the other roads,
+to the north and south and west and east, came afterwards. It was
+necessary for London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country. The High
+Street formed that open communication; it began not far to the west of
+St Saviour's Church, opposite the Roman Trajectus, the mediæval ferry,
+now St. Mary Overies Dock.
+
+Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from embanking the river,
+or draining the marsh, or making it inhabitable. If you walk across
+Hackney Marsh by one of its causeways any autumnal morning, especially
+after rain, you will understand something of what Southwark looked like.
+Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as yet not a square foot
+had been drained or reclaimed; yet the place was not so wild as it had
+been; the wild birds had been partly driven away by the noise and crowd
+of London, and by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and
+down. There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river backwards
+and forwards all day long. The causeways were crowded with people; but
+as yet nothing on the lowlands. Before the marshes could be drained the
+river had to be embanked.
+
+[Illustration: Barking Creek]
+
+No one knows when that was done. It was done, however. At some time or
+other a high earthwork was raised along the north and south banks of
+the river, enclosing the marshes, converting them into pasture and
+arable land, and keeping out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the
+most signal benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets and coast
+of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair, though most of it has
+stood splendidly. The wall gave way, however, at Barking in the time of
+Henry the Second; at Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early
+in the last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall was
+costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a low-lying ground,
+rich and fertile; orchards and woods began to grow and to flourish upon
+it; yet it was still swampy in parts, numerous ponds lay about on it,
+streams wound their way confined in channels, and let out through the
+embankment at low tide by culverts.
+
+Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot decide. Yet I
+think that the embankment came first; for the existence of
+Southwark--that of any part of South London--depended not on the bridge,
+but on the embankment and the ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the
+two causeways; the bridge; two ferries--one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct communication
+with Dover, with Thorney--thence with the midlands and the north: there
+could not fail to arise a settlement or town of some kind on the south
+of the Thames.
+
+Let us next consider the conditions under which the town of Southwark
+began to exist and to continue for a great many years.
+
+(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except the marsh which
+surrounded it and prohibited the approach of an army except along the
+causeway.
+
+(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and south of the
+embankment. Although the tide no longer ebbed and flowed among the reeds
+and islets of the marsh, yet it was covered with small ponds, some of
+them stagnant, others formed by the many streams which flowed towards
+the culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they escaped
+into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was attempted, the place
+caused agues and fevers for any who slept in its white miasma. In other
+words, not an embankment only, but drainage of some kind, had to be
+undertaken before life was possible on the marsh.
+
+(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no trade, on the
+south side. All merchandise coming up from the south for export at the
+port of London, all merchandise landed at the port for the south, had to
+be carried across the bridge.
+
+(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of London--the
+porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys, stevedores,
+lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the _employés_ of the merchants,
+their wives, women and children--all these people lived in London
+itself; they had their taverns and drinking shops; their sleeping places
+and eating places, in London; all the people employed in providing food
+and drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had to be a
+place without trade, without noise, without disturbance of workmen,
+without broils among the sailors or fights among foreigners.
+
+(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with fish.
+
+(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were along the line of
+the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.
+
+These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore, to find the
+place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses were all built
+beside or along the raised ways. We should next expect to find along
+the causeways that the houses belonged to the wealthier class.
+
+We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working men's
+quarters. The former because there were no ships; the latter because
+there were no markets. Lastly, we should not be surprised to find the
+place very early occupied by inns and places of accommodation for those
+who resorted to London.
+
+All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman remains are
+numerous; they are all found along the causeways; the existence of a
+Roman cemetery shows that it was a place of some importance. I say
+_some_, because its very limited extent proves that it was never a large
+place. I will return immediately to the Roman remains.
+
+There was, however, one trade, one class of working men which took up
+its abode along the embankment of Southwark: it was that of the
+fishermen, driven across the river by the growth of London. There was no
+room for the fishermen with their coracles and nets along the line of
+quays on the north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and
+a place to spread their nets,--they could not find either in the north;
+nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually by oars and
+keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up their huts along the
+embankment; for long centuries afterwards the fisherfolk continued to
+live in South London. The last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied,
+well into the present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is
+described as unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But
+the last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen were
+by that time almost starved out of existence. I am sure that the south
+was always their place of residence; the foreshore offered them what
+they could not find on the north bank. To him, however, who considers
+the fisheries of the Thames, there are many points on which, for want of
+exact information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he pleases.
+For instance, later on, there were fishermen living at Limehouse. Some
+of the Thames watermen lived here also--the legend of Awdry the ferryman
+assigns to him a residence on the south; their favourite place of
+residence, however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The Roman remains found up and down the place prove my assertion that
+the people who lived here were what we should call substantial. One need
+not catalogue the long list of Roman _trouvailles_; but, to take the
+more important, in the year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the
+foundations of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in
+St. Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet below
+the surface of the ground. In the following year, in the area facing St.
+Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight feet below the surface, there
+was found another, of a more elaborate design. Only a part of this was
+uncovered, as the Governors of the School forbade further investigation:
+it remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under the
+present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of King Street, at a
+depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found a great many Roman lamps, a
+vase, and other sepulchral deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer
+through Blackman Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered. In
+Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus Africanus. In Deverill
+Street, south of the Dover road, other coins were discovered; in St.
+Saviour's churchyard, a coin of Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved
+that an extensive Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient
+settlement. In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for the
+purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital, another
+tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and walls of other
+chambers, all built on piles, showing that the houses beside the
+causeway were thus supported in the marshy ground; Roman coins and
+pottery were also found here. Another pavement was discovered on the
+opposite side, south of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the
+corner of Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on which
+houses had been built. In many of the later buildings Roman tiles have
+been found. These remains are quite sufficient to prove that many
+wealthy people lived in Roman Southwark, and that they occupied villas
+built on piles beside the causeway.
+
+Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous for its inns,
+and since the same conditions prevailed in the fourth as in the
+fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the people
+who drove those long lines of packhorses laden with goods from London
+used Southwark as a place in which to deposit merchandise before taking
+it across the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage was
+cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the place was
+cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting place and a lodging
+for traders, Southwark was like Thorney in its palmy days--a place of
+entertainment for man and beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta;
+no place of meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual coming
+and going, which made the place lively and cheerful.
+
+Such were the origins of the settlements of South London. An embankment,
+a causeway, a fishery for the wants of Thorney first and of London next;
+then villas, put up by the better sort, attracted here, one believes, by
+the fresh air coming up the river with every tide, and by the quiet of
+the place. The settlement began quite early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery. The draining and
+drying of the low lands went on meanwhile gradually, gardens and
+orchards taking the place of the former marsh.
+
+[Illustration: A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely defenceless.
+The _Pax Romana_ protected it. Remember that London itself was not
+walled till the latter part of the fourth century. Why should it be? For
+more than three hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no
+wars and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore' beat back,
+and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark; the Legions beat back
+the marauders of Scotland and Ireland. Southwark, like the City its
+neighbour, needed no wall and asked for no defence.
+
+Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a glimpse in
+history of South London. The first is the rout of the usurper, the
+Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham Common.
+
+Towards the close of the third century the succession of usurpers who
+sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions of the Empire contained
+six who came from Britain. What effect these movements had upon the
+security of South London we have no means of learning. The history,
+however, of Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for
+reflection. The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be the Count
+of the Saxon Shore--in other words, Admiral of the Roman Fleet. In this
+capacity he kept the seas free from pirates; enriched himself, became
+famous for his courage and his generosity; usurped the title of Cæsar,
+fought with and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton; near
+the latter place--at Bittern--is still seen the quay at which his ships
+were moored. His rule, of which we know little, was certainly strong and
+firm. Coins exist in great numbers of Carausius. They represent his
+arrival: 'Expectate, veni'--'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports at London; he
+appointed a British senate. Then came the time when he must fight or
+die. Like the King of the Grove, the Usurper held his throne on that
+condition. Carausius, for some unknown reason, would not fight when the
+chance was offered--therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned in his
+stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life. He accepted the
+challenge; he awaited with an army of Franks and Britons the arrival of
+the Roman forces sent to quell him: he awaited them in London. When the
+enemy drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave battle
+to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath south of London,
+immediately beyond the rising ground--we now call the place Clapham
+Common--and there he fell bravely fighting. He had enjoyed the purple
+for three years. Perhaps, when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he
+was going to meet his fate--either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die--he reflected that for such a splendid three years' run
+it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life at the end.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE]
+
+This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London in history. We
+see the army marching across the Bridge and along the Causeway, shouting
+and singing. We see them a few hours later, flying from the field,
+rushing headlong over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas, are
+running over the Bridge after them. Once across the Bridge, the soldiers
+found that there was left in the City neither order nor authority. They
+therefore began to sack and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the
+inhabitants. Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were permitted
+to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore there could be no defence.
+The pillage went on until the victorious general had got his army--or
+some of it--across the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his
+troops, whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the defeated
+army made any organised opposition, we know not. All we are told is that
+the Roman soldiers fought hand to hand with those of the dead Usurper in
+the streets of London, and that the latter were all massacred.
+
+In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in the flight of
+another defeated host. The Britons had gone forth to fight the Saxon
+invaders; they met the enemy--Hengist and Æsc his son--at
+'Creeganford'--Crayford: they were defeated; four thousand of them were
+killed; they fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along the Causeway
+and through the narrow gates of the Bridge. Alas! the old villas along
+the Causeway are deserted and in ruins; the place has been desolate for
+many years--since the Saxons began to swarm about the country; the
+former residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two hundred long
+years, and to leave its memories of hatred behind it for fifteen hundred
+years at least. The gardens are grown over, the orchards are neglected,
+the inns are empty and ruinous.
+
+Before long there falls the silence of death upon the walled City and
+the Bridge and the settlements of the South. All alike are deserted: the
+tide idly laps the piles of the rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty
+wharves, bearing no keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river,
+there is no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy. The timbered
+face of the embankment gave way and crumbled into the river; the
+Causeway was eaten by the tides here and there; the low grounds once
+more became a marsh, and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their
+former haunts.
+
+I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural reasons which
+led to this desertion of the City. It appears to us strange and almost
+impossible that a great city should be so utterly deserted. Where,
+however, are the cities of Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the
+great cities of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore forced
+them to go. This was most certainly the case with London. Roger of
+Wendover, it is true, tells us that in the year 462 the Saxons took
+possession of London, and then successively of York, Lincoln, and
+Winchester, committing great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in
+every quarter, like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with the
+ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy scriptures they
+burned with fire; the tombs of the holy martyrs they covered with mounds
+of earth; the clergy who escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of
+the saints to the caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and
+deserts and the crags of the mountains.'
+
+I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in 1237) had access to
+documents of the time. I would rather incline to the belief that, given
+certain undoubted facts of battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented
+the world with a little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City would be only
+hastened. With the ruin and desolation of Augusta came also the ruin of
+the southern settlement.
+
+This silence--this desolation--lasted some hundred years. Then the men
+of Essex--the East Saxons--came down, a few at a time, and took
+possession of the deserted City; the merchants began timidly to bring
+their ships again with goods for trade; the East Saxons learned the
+meaning of bargains; Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City
+preserved its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but the Saxons
+called it Southwark. And they repaired the embankment and restored the
+ancient causeways, and cleared away the ruins.
+
+Another point of difference: in London the new streets, laid out without
+rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not follow the old Roman
+streets, which were quite obliterated and utterly forgotten--one cannot
+imagine a more decisive proof of complete desertion and ruin. In
+Southwark, on the other hand, the streets remained the same--they were
+the two causeways and the embankment--because none others were then
+possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it always has been, the
+ancient causeway connecting the new port of London with the Dover road.
+
+Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the vicissitudes which
+must happen in a period of continual warfare to an undefended suburb. In
+times of peace, when trade was possible, the place was what the
+Icelander Snorro Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise
+carried to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found accommodation
+there. But we cannot believe that when the Danish fleets brought their
+fierce warriors to the very walls of London, Southwark--or any other
+settlement--would continue to exist unfortified. That the place remained
+without a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the Danes,
+proves that it was regarded by itself as of small importance. This is
+also proved by another fact--namely, that the place was always occupied
+without defence. When, for instance, the Danes held London for twelve
+years, leaving it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people
+remained in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived here for
+greater convenience of their work; London by this time was impossible
+for them, because it was walled all along the river side. If peace was
+prolonged, inns were set up for the merchants: people built houses along
+the causeway. When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of South London for a
+thousand years--alternate occupation and abandonment.
+
+There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark. I would deal
+with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of the heretics is a
+personal friend of my own. It is that the site of the first or original
+London was on the South; that Roman London stood on the site of
+Southwark; and that, at some time or other, there was a transference of
+sites, the whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is even
+maintained that the name of Walworth proves that there was once a wall
+round the city of the south. To me the name of Walworth indicates the
+proximity of the high causeway running through its midst. The
+consideration of the site--the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site--is
+quite sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the Lake
+dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the building of
+cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway, the South of London was
+impossible for the residence of man.
+
+The transference of sites is a theory often called in to account for,
+and make possible, other theories. Thus, the late James Fergusson
+invented the transference of sites in order to bolster up certain
+theories of his own on the Holy Places of Jerusalem. Here, however,
+there is no theory: only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant
+of the boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said, was in Kent. All
+the Roman remains, as we have seen, are found by the Causeway and the
+Embankment--there never could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only
+answer that is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would settle
+themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry ground across the
+river?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+EARLY HISTORY
+
+
+Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except for its
+connection with London by bridge and ferry, and especially by bridge.
+Before the Ferry and the Bridge there was no Southwark. The history of
+Southwark is closely connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end
+of the Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south. I propose, in
+this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and one or two of its
+earlier battles.
+
+It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge there was
+the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the river and 'dump' them down in
+the marsh? But people had no business in the marsh. First came the
+Bridge and the Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But as yet there
+was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and the appearance of houses
+along the Causeway and on the Embankment. As the trade of London
+increased, so Southwark--I would we had the Roman name--increased in
+proportion. Inns were created for the convenience of merchants, trade
+was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge, just as it was
+diverted on the north by the military way connecting the great high road
+with London. When the Causeway was always filled with caravans and long
+trains of heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day covered with
+passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was demanded as a quicker and an
+easier way of getting across. Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One
+of these ran from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained for nearly
+two thousand years--say, from A.D. 100 to A.D. 1750. If a man wanted to
+get across the river, he did not make his way to London Bridge, and
+painfully walk across amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging
+horses and the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting across the
+river for the people: it was not; it was the means of conveying
+merchandise to and fro; it was a construction most important for
+military purposes; it was a barrier to prevent a hostile fleet from
+getting higher up the river; but, for the ordinary passenger, the boat
+was the quicker and the easier means of conveyance.
+
+When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It was not there
+A.D. 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked the City and murdered the
+people. It was there when Allectus led his troops out to fight the Roman
+legions. It was there very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved
+by the quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It is also
+proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of the wealthier
+class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely without supplies,
+had there been no bridge. We may take any time we please for the
+construction of the Bridge, so long as it is quite early--say, before
+the second century.
+
+The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such great certainty
+that I have no hesitation in presenting a drawing of it. As this Bridge
+has never before been figured by the pencil of any artist, it will be
+well for me to indicate the steps by which its reconstruction has been
+made possible.
+
+[Illustration: Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh]
+
+The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a bridge of any
+kind, unless in the primitive methods observed at Post Bridge and Two
+Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of stone laid across two boulders. The
+work, therefore, was certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have,
+in the next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that time
+by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of stone; many of these
+stone bridges still remain, in other cases the pieces of hewn stone
+still remain. The Bridge over the Thames, however, was of wood. This is
+proved by the fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that London
+had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the year 1176, when the
+first bridge of stone was commenced. Considerations as to the
+comparative insignificance of London in the first century, as to the
+absence of stone in the neighbourhood, and as to the plentiful supply of
+the best wood in the world from the forests north of the City, confirm
+the theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only, therefore,
+to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood elsewhere, in order
+to know how they built a bridge of wood over the Thames. And this we
+know without any doubt.
+
+First: they drove piles into the bed of the river--not upright piles,
+but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles side by side, and
+opposite to these two more; they connected the two piles by ties and the
+opposite piles with them by transverse girders. Across them they laid a
+huge beam--a tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the
+floor of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the parapet
+put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for greater safety, pressed
+down the piles and held them in place. To prevent the current from
+carrying them away, each double pair of piles was protected by a
+'starling,' formed by driving upright smaller piles in front at the
+piers and enclosing a space, which was filled up with stones, so that
+the force of the current was not felt by the great piles.
+
+In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will understand it better
+from the drawing, which shows the Bridge taken from the Embankment near
+the present site of St. Mary Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate
+in the long straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points for the
+convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes that these posterns
+could be easily closed and defended. This river-wall, we shall presently
+see, was standing in the time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the
+building of the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish Bridge, and the
+Norman Bridge.
+
+In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit: its
+foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses. The gate
+was altered. I do not suppose there was much of the original structure
+left when the East Saxons took possession of the City after a hundred
+years of desertion and decay. But a gate of some kind there must always
+have been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about sixteen feet. Like the
+very ancient stone bridges of Saintes and Avignon, the Bridge was from
+sixteen to twenty feet broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of
+Botolph Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the second
+Bridge--the first of stone--stood between the first and third, having
+St. Magnus' Church on the north and St. Olave's on the south side;
+together with its own chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to
+place it under the special protection of the saints most dear to London
+hearts.
+
+[Illustration: London Bridge, A.D. 1000]
+
+The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field of battle
+whenever the way of war came near to London. The first glimpse, as we
+have seen, which we catch of it is when Allectus and his forces crossed
+the river by the Bridge to give battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus
+on the Heath beyond the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same
+day, their columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated
+troops once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no one to
+lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against all comers; there
+was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could have kept the Romans out by
+that expedient. One wonders if all their officers were lying dead on
+the field, with Allectus, for the troops, who were Franks for the most
+part, seem to have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran about the
+City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate people.
+
+By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one could carry arms except
+the soldiers. The law was a safeguard against rebellion; but it opened
+the door to military revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among
+the civil population--always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus' Franks at their
+murderous work, and they cut them down. If it is true, as stated by the
+historians, that they were all cut off to a man, London must have been a
+horrible shambles.
+
+The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed army flying
+across the narrow way to seek shelter between the walls. It is in the
+year 467. They are the Britons flying from their defeat in Kent. After
+this there is silence--absolute silence, leaving not so much as a
+whisper, a tradition, or a legend; the silence that can only mean
+desertion--silence for a hundred and fifty years.
+
+[Illustration: A Danish House]
+
+When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City has shrunk within
+her ancient walls; and these have fallen into decay. Southwark no longer
+exists. We learn that the Bridge has been repaired, because there is
+easy communication with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is
+no fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there were no
+defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and in 857 the Danes
+entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,' apparently without opposition.
+In 872 they occupied London, apparently without opposition. We hear of
+no siege, of no fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls.
+Yet there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham--behind the
+walls. Why not in London? Because in London the walls, 5,500 yards in
+length, had become too long to man, or to defend, or to repair. The
+Danes ran into the City through the shattered gate; they leaped over the
+broken wall. What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment of
+women--we may understand from the page of the historian Saxo relating
+other sacks and sieges by the gentle Dane. As for the trade, the wealth,
+the name and fame of London--they all perished together. It was a ruined
+city, with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the Dane,
+that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken down; the
+settlements of the south were deserted: even the fishermen had left the
+Thames above and below London, and sought for safety in the retired
+creeks and safe backwaters along the coast of Essex. The London
+fisherman sallied forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey
+Island, and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls and
+the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace was restored to
+the City and order to the country. Then trade, which welcomes the first
+appearance of safety, began again. If the merchant feared the pirates of
+the Foreland, he could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could
+land at Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns sprang up,
+and Southwark began again.
+
+A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle' calls the
+Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken of by the Danish
+historian as an 'emporium.' I understand from the use of this word that
+the trade of London was carried on principally by way of Dover, because
+the seas were swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.
+
+The prosperity of the settlement, however, received another blow when
+the Danes once more, mindful of their former victories, sailed up the
+river with hope of again taking London. Southwark was defenceless. There
+was never any wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across the Bridge.
+The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they then went away. Some of the
+people returned, especially the fishermen, whose huts were easily
+repaired. When, however, the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes
+appeared every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself they
+were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers had told them that
+it was a feeble and a helpless place, perfectly incapable of resistance,
+with walls through whose wide gaps a whole army could march; and they
+fondly expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and power.
+
+In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner which was
+extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped a great fleet, manned
+the ships with stout-hearted citizens, sent the ships down the river,
+met the Danish fleet, engaged them, and routed them with great
+slaughter. Two years later they returned, eager for revenge--the revenge
+which they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on this
+occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance, under the two
+kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark. They were firmly resolved
+to take the City: with their warriors they would attack it by land, with
+their ships by water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless did,
+endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of trees; but the gates
+were well manned and well defended. On the river-side one half of the
+town kept open their communications; the other half were exposed to the
+arrows of the sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only that
+the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and that they
+withdrew.
+
+[Illustration: SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose ships were models
+to King Alfred when he founded the English Navy, must not be gathered
+from the drawings of the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are
+conventional in treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving
+specimen of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship of
+Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this and following page.
+One is taken from the tapestry, the other is the Gokstad vessel. The
+former carries about a dozen men, rather high out of the water, with
+straight sides, and would certainly capsize. The latter is a long,
+light, swift vessel, built for speed, and able to sail over quite
+shallow water; she is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for
+usefulness, cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the planks
+overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts, riveted and clinched
+on the inside. She is built of oak; her length from stem to stern, over
+all, is 78 feet; her keel is 66 feet; her breadth is 16½ feet; her depth
+is no more than 4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick
+as the others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The ship is
+pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder attached to the side of
+the stern; on each side hang 16 shields; she carried 64 rowers, and
+probably as many men besides. The decorations lavished on the ship were
+profuse. The figure-head was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were
+gilt; the ships were painted in long lines of bright colour--you can
+see that in the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the
+vessel--bows, figure-head, gunwale, stern-post--were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the mast was gilt.
+Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'
+
+[Illustration: A Viking Ship]
+
+Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in company, with
+Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they came, the oars sweeping in a
+long, measured swish of the water: swiftly flying up the broad river,
+the sunshine lighting up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and
+the bright arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall and
+strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and blue eyes. From
+the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge on the river, the citizens
+saw the splendid array rushing up to destroy them if they could. At the
+Bridge, the foremost stop: they go no farther; those behind cry
+'Forward!' and those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none
+to pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as when Olaf
+was to meet his death five years later in his last splendid sea-fight,
+they essayed to take the city by assault. They shot arrows with red-hot
+heads over the walls, to strike and set light to the thatch; they shot
+arrows at the citizens on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of
+the Bridge. If they could get within the City, these splendid savages,
+there would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of the
+thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons, and next day
+silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure lifted into the ships,
+bows turned outward; and the fleet would leave behind it a London once
+more desolate and naked and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered
+towards the end of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with
+destiny. Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been the
+history of London and of England.
+
+When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went back to their
+homes, and the daily business of life was carried on as usual. We may
+observe that if there had been a permanent settlement here--a town of
+any importance--they would have built a wall to protect it. But there
+was never any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or by
+the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting Southwark.
+
+But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon London. The
+whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged by the Danes: Swegen came
+over and proved the English weakness, and saw that time would help him,
+if he waited. Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.
+
+In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by Thurkitel, who
+afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred. He ravaged Kent and
+Essex, took up his winter quarters on the Thames, apparently at
+Greenwich, and laid siege to the City--but in vain. It is of course
+obvious that without ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers,
+the City could never be taken. The people beat him off at every assault
+with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in England was at the
+moment concentrated in London.
+
+The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen returned. This time,
+mindful of his former failure, and of Thurkitel's failure, he left his
+ships at Southampton; he marched upon London by way of Winchester, which
+he took on the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The reason is
+obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the Bridge was to engage a
+mere handful of men; there was no place except that and the Causeway.
+Swegen, therefore, passed over the ford of Westminster, and attacked the
+walls on the north side. Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the
+English service; by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off
+the field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to his arms;
+therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to hold out alone,
+sent hostages and submitted. It is reported that they were terrified at
+the threats of Swegen: he would cut off their hands and their feet; he
+would tear out their eyes; he would burn and destroy--and so forth. But
+these promises were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they frightened the
+defenders of any other city.
+
+The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that St. Edmund of Bury
+killed him for doubting his saintliness.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut. The expedition
+with which he proposed to reduce London was far finer and more powerful
+than that of Olaf and Swegen. The poetic description of it says that the
+ships were counted by hundreds; that they were manned by an army among
+whom there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility meant if all
+were nobles? A strange question for one so learned! The nobles of
+Denmark were simply the conquering race; nobility consisted in free
+birth, and in descent from the conquering race, not the conquered: it
+was not necessarily a small caste; it might possibly include the larger
+part of the people.
+
+Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege. First of all, he
+resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar the way. He therefore cut
+a trench round the south of the Bridge, by means of which he drew some
+of his ships to the other side of it. He then cut another trench round
+the whole of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he would
+starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as Cnut speedily
+abandoned the hope of success and marched off to look after Edmund, his
+investment of the City was certainly not a success.
+
+He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with what result history
+has made us acquainted. He then returned and resumed the siege of
+London. Edmund fought him again, and made him once more raise the siege.
+When Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began a third
+siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.
+
+In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged six times,
+and not once taken.
+
+Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal nature of the canal
+constructed by Cnut; they have looked for traces of it in the south of
+London before it was covered over by houses; they have gone as far
+afield as Deptford in search of these traces; they have even found them;
+and to the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal speaks
+of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal work. Freeman
+himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep it was, how long it was, how
+broad it was, I am going to explain.
+
+It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian, William
+Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so fortunate as to light
+upon the course of the long-lost trench of King Cnut.
+
+He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a direction
+nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of Rotherhithe to the
+river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs
+were, first, certain depressions in the ground; next, the discovery of
+oaken planks and piles driven into the ground for what he thought was
+the northern fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was constructed,
+a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches were found pointing
+northward, with stakes to keep them in position, forming a kind of water
+fence, such as, it is said, is still in use in Denmark. It will be seen
+that Mr. Maitland's theory has but a small basis of evidence, yet it
+seems to have been generally accepted--partly, I suppose, because it was
+so colossal.
+
+The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four miles and a half
+in length. Another writer, seeing the difficulties of so great a work,
+suggests another course. He would start from the site of the New Dock,
+Rotherhithe, and end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of
+only three and three-quarter miles!
+
+Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why it should be a
+long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.
+
+Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe or nearer the
+Bridge, he would have the same preliminary difficulties to encounter:
+that is to say, he would have to cut through the Embankment of the river
+at either end, and he would have to cut through the Causeway in the
+middle. In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two or
+three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the people had all
+run across the Bridge for safety at the first sight of the Danes, if
+there were any people at the time living in Southwark--which I doubt.
+
+We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers of sense and
+experience on whom he could depend for carrying out his canal in a
+workmanlike manner. A people who could build such perfect ships would
+certainly not waste time and labour in constructing a trench which would
+be any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which he was just able
+to drag his vessels round without destroying the banks. In other words,
+if a circular canal began at C B, and if we drew an imaginary circle
+round the middle of the canal, what was required was that the chord D F,
+forming a tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as
+the longest vessel. Now (see diagram)--
+
+    AD² - AE² = DE².
+
+If _r_ is the radius, AD and 2_a_ the breadth BC, and 2_b_ the length of
+the chord DF--
+
+  _r_² - (_r_ - _a_)² = _b_² therefore _r_ = (_a_² + _b_²)/2_a_.
+
+This represents the length of the radius in terms of the length and
+breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is therefore the
+smallest radius possible for getting the ships through. Now, the ship of
+Gokstad, already described, was undoubtedly one of the finest of the
+vessels used by Danes and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger
+ships, but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over ships
+of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in length, considering
+the keel, which is all we need consider; 16½ feet in breadth, and 4 feet
+in depth. She drew very little water; therefore a breadth of canal less
+than the breadth of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet
+in length, so that _b_ = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal 12
+feet. Therefore 2_a_ = 12 or _a_ = 6 and _r_ = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London Bridge, we
+arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's work. That is to say, if he
+made a semicircular canal, in that case the length of the canal would be
+320 yards, which is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half,
+or even three miles and three-quarters.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOKSTAD SHIP]
+
+There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut make a semicircle
+when an arc would serve his turn? All he had to do was to draw an arc of
+a circle with the radius just found, to clear any obstacles in the way
+of approach to the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this method,
+because it was the only sensible thing to do. He would thus get off with
+a canal about fifty yards long, of which the only difficulty would be
+the cutting through the Embankment and the Causeway.
+
+What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this section of the
+Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen feet, she had only four feet
+in depth; without her company and crew, and their arms and provisions,
+she would thus draw no more than a few inches--certainly not more than
+eight inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight inches
+at the most. But there is still another consideration which lessened the
+labour materially. The ground behind the Embankment was a little lower
+than the river at high tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct
+a low wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to make
+their canal without excavating an inch. When that was done, the cutting
+of the Embankment let in the tide and did the rest. In this simple
+manner do we reduce Cnut's colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and
+a half long, into a piece of construction and demolition which would
+take a large body of men no more than a few hours.
+
+If, however, there actually was any digging to be done, we must remember
+that the ground was a level; that there were no stones or rocks in the
+way, and that it consisted of a soft black _humus_, the result of ages
+of successive growths of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a
+day by the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course, left the
+place to be repaired by any who pleased. The broken Embankment let in
+the tide; the broken Causeway cut off any approach to the river; but
+Southwark was deserted. When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired. Then all
+traces of the canal disappeared.
+
+Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at Southwark with
+a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty in passing the Bridge; he
+waited till flood-tide, and then sailed through 'on the south side.' It
+is quite impossible to explain this statement, or to make it agree with
+the difficulty felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may have been
+smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the fact as the Chronicler
+gives it.
+
+One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before we pass on to more
+modern times.
+
+[Illustration: Ships of William the Conqueror]
+
+After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived near London, he
+advanced to Southwark, where he found the Bridge closed to him--closed,
+I believe, by knocking away some of the upper beams. This, of course, he
+expected; his friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him
+acquainted with the changing currents of popular opinion. It is commonly
+stated that the citizens were terrified by the sight of Southwark in
+flames at his command. Southwark in flames! A few fishermen's huts were
+all that remained of the suburb, whose population since the time of the
+_Pax Romana_ had been so precarious and so changeful. Five hundred years
+of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion and ravage by Dane and
+Norseman, had not left of Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb,
+anything more than these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers
+burned them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the flames, and
+regarded them not, any more than he regarded the flames that followed in
+his track all the way from Senlac. He gazed across the river, and
+remembered that twice had London defied all the strength of Swegen; that
+three times had London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been victorious;
+he knew, because his friends in the City would allow no mistake on that
+point, that the spirit of the citizens was as high now as it had been
+then; that they still remembered with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that
+not a few were anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went on within the
+walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what faction fight; how the
+citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of wild faces, about their Folk-mote
+by St. Paul's. But of one thing we may be quite certain: that William
+did not expect the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they
+were not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark or
+not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians say. As
+for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this time there could hardly
+have been a single pile remaining of the original structure; yet it was
+constantly repaired.
+
+We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only the grey wall
+rising out of the level ground, without any ditch or moat outside, but
+also the Bridge of wooden piles with the transverse girders and beams
+for additional security, so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest
+of timbers like those which support the roof of an ancient hall. It was
+continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a mighty whirlwind blew
+down a good part of London, houses and churches and all. It has been
+assumed that the Bridge was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is
+silent on the subject. In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is
+again assumed that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle'
+is silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge had
+been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.
+
+[Illustration: BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by London, save that
+of 1666, spread through the whole City, from London Bridge, which it
+greatly damaged, all the way to St. Clement Danes on the west, and
+Aldgate on the east. One wonders what ancient monuments--walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers of the
+Forum--were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of the better sort,
+with their great halls and courtyards; small Saxon churches of wood or
+stone, with low towers and little windows. Possibly there was no great
+loss: it was already seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted.
+Roman remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of wood,
+with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries had not yet
+commenced. The Bridge, however, was either wholly or in part destroyed.
+It was repaired, because, fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his
+description of the City, speaks of the citizens watching the water
+sports from the Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary
+to the City. A hundred years of order in the City--with the seas cleared
+of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling the river with
+ships, and the quays with merchandise--crowded the Bridge all day long
+with trains of packhorses, and the less frequent rude carts with broad
+grunting wheels which would have quite taken the place of the horse but
+for the bad roads. Southwark, during this period of rest, had become
+once more a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were pushed farther
+east and west every year, until Lambeth and Rotherhithe were their
+quarters when the fish deserted the river and their occupation was gone.
+The Roman inns were gone, but new ones were springing up in their
+places. Bishops and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine
+air, open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of London;
+ecclesiastical foundations were already springing into existence. In a
+word, the settlements of the south, after four hundred years of ruin and
+desertion, were once more beginning a new existence. The day when
+William rode up to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception, marked a new
+birth for the long-suffering suburb of the Embankment and the Causeway.
+A hundred years later still--in 1176--they began to build their Bridge
+of Stone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY
+
+
+The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth century.
+But it is perfectly easy from them and from the historical facts to draw
+a map of all that country lying between Deptford and Battersea which we
+have agreed to call South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there
+were buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St. Margaret's
+Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand side, just under
+the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church. The Bridge was thus protected on the
+north by St. Magnus, on the south by St. Olave--two Danish saints--and
+in the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas à Becket.
+There were houses along the Embankment on either side, but more on the
+west of the Causeway than on the east. A few houses were built already
+on the low-lying ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south
+and south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's a single
+straight lane with no houses ran across country to Bermondsey Abbey; on
+the west of the Causeway another lane led to Kennington Palace, from
+which another lane led to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to
+the Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.
+
+The place was essentially a suburb. There were no trades or industries
+in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen had their cottages dotted
+about all along the Embankment; a few watermen lived here, but that was
+perhaps later: other working men there were none, save the cooks and
+varlets of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because the
+air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and because the
+place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster and the Court, many
+great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had their town houses here: the
+Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the
+Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John
+Fastolfe, also the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by
+bridge and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while they went
+across the river and transacted their business. It was a suburb which,
+in modern times, would be described as needing no poor rate. Later on
+there grew up, as we shall see, a class of the unclassed--a population
+of rogues and vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.
+
+The government of the place as a whole was difficult, or rather
+impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the Liberty of Bermondsey;
+that of the Bishop of Winchester; that of the King; that of the Mayor.
+The last contained the part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's
+Dock on the west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district was called the
+Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King to the City of London in the
+thirteenth century in order to prevent the place from becoming the home
+and refuge of criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained
+outside the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was not
+very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding shelter on
+the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It
+was from this unavoidable hospitality to persons escaping from justice
+that Southwark received a character which has stuck to it till the
+present day. In the centuries which include the twelfth to the
+fifteenth, however, South London, so far as it was populated at all,
+was the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark was spotless and
+its dignity enviable. London itself had no such collection of palaces
+gathered together so closely. As for the land, that lay low, but was
+protected by the Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats; there was an
+abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that parts of the land were dark
+at midday by reason of the trees growing so close together. The rivulets
+were pretty little streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside
+them; they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks grew
+wild flowers--the marsh mallow, the anemone, the hedgehog grass, the
+frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort; orchards flourished in the
+fat and fertile soil. The people had almost forgotten the special need
+of their Embankment. Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at
+Lambeth was broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square
+miles of country, including all that part which is now called Battersea.
+
+Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single house upon the
+whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole of Bermondsey Marsh. The
+houses began near what is now the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they
+faced the river, having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite to Wapping.
+
+The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty had its own
+prison. Thus there were the Clink of the Winchester Liberty, that of the
+Bermondsey Liberty, the 'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and
+the Marshalsea, all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And there
+were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the terror of
+evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In every parish
+there was the whipping post--one in St. Mary Overy's churchyard, put up
+after the time of the monks; one at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the
+pillory for neck and hands, generally with somebody on it, but the
+pillory was movable; there was the cage--one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge--women had to stand in the cage; there were stocks for feet
+wandering and trespassing; there were pounds for stray animals.
+
+Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's; in the precinct
+of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street called 'Long Southwark'--now
+High Street--from the Bridge to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not
+suppose that the markets of Southwark presented the same crowded
+appearance, and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those
+of Chepe and Newgate on the other side.
+
+Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in Southwark. The
+Princes of the Church arrived and departed, each with his retinue of
+chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen and livery. Kings and ambassadors
+rode up from Dover through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The
+mayor and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains sallied
+forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades of pilgrims for
+Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome, and Jerusalem rode out of
+Southwark when the spring returned; and every day there arrived and
+departed long lines of packhorses laden with the produce of the country
+and with things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was nothing but
+a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here for a few weeks and
+then went away; the great lords came here when they had business at
+Court and then went away again; the merchants came and went: by itself
+the place had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own at
+all.
+
+There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately; both are full of
+history. Let us consider the House of Bermondsey, because it is less
+generally known than the other of St. Mary Overy or Overies.
+
+[Illustration: The Monastery of Bermondsey]
+
+The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster of South
+London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey stood upon a low islet in the midst
+of a marsh; at the distance of half a mile on the north ran the river;
+half a mile on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which the House
+lay that the only road which connected it with the world was that lane
+called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie Lane, which ran from the Abbey
+to St. Olave's and so to London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a
+place of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated from
+the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been gradually drained
+and the Embankment continued through Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond
+the Greenwich levels, the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely
+fertile and wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.
+
+The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin Childe, a merchant
+of the City, an Alderman also and one of the ruling families of London.
+He was the son of an elder Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten
+Guild' which, with all its members and all its property--the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken--went over to the Priory of the Holy
+Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind was therefore hereditary
+in the family. The elder Ailwin became a monk, the younger founded a
+monastery; his son, the third of the family of whom we know anything,
+became the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years--the rest of his life.
+
+[Illustration: BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth century is full of
+a pathetic longing after a religious Order, if that could be found, of
+true and proved sanctity. One Order after the other arises; one after
+the other challenges respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto
+unknown kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who always
+admire voluntary privation of what they value so much--food and drink;
+it receives endowments, gifts, foundations of all kinds; it then departs
+from the ancient rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This
+is the simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the Cluniac was
+in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly kept: and for an
+austerity strictly enforced. It was a Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe
+set up in Bermondsey, and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the
+Cluniac House of Lewes, enriched.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien owing
+obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its revenues,
+therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received its Priors from
+abroad. In the reign of Henry the Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on
+account of the Alien Priories came to a head, and they were all
+suppressed, or at least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent.
+The Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of an
+Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until the Dissolution.
+
+The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage dotted about round
+London--places accessible in a single day's journey. Thus there were the
+three shrines of Willesden, Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each
+possessing an image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at Bermondsey
+there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited in the summer by pious
+pilgrims from London. The Rood had been fished up from the Thames, and
+no one knew its history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and
+of prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious. It was,
+moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below the Bridge would take
+the pilgrim over to the opposite shore in a few minutes, where a cross
+standing before a lane leading out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the
+way. It was but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.
+
+'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the Rood of
+North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among while ye abide in London;
+and let my sister Margery go with you to pray to them that she may have
+a good husband or she come home again.'
+
+One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should resign this
+valuable possession without a remonstrance. He made, in fact, the
+strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457 he sent over three monks with
+orders to lay the case before the King, and to invite his attention
+especially to the papers showing the clear and indisputable right of the
+Mother Convent to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no one heeded
+them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one replied to their
+arguments. This neglect was perhaps the cause why one of them died while
+in this country. The other two went home again, having accomplished
+nothing. One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:--
+
+    For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having spent
+    four months and a half on our journey, and following our Right with
+    the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we have
+    obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate, deprived
+    of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still worse, we
+    are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which are 38 in
+    number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies of your
+    Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our pleading
+    and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth, after paying
+    for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five crowns left, to
+    go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We will sell what we have:
+    we will go on: and God will provide. Nothing else occurs to write to
+    your Paternity: but that as we entered England with joy, so we
+    depart thence with sorrow: having buried one of our Companions--viz.
+    the Archdeacon, the youngest of our company. May he rest in Peace!
+    Amen.
+
+There is not at the present moment a single stone of this stately House
+visible, though there were many remains above ground one hundred years
+ago. It is a pity, because there is the association of two Queens, not
+to speak of many great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments,
+connected with this House secluded in the Marsh.
+
+The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois, widow of Henry the
+Fifth. The story is the most romantic, perhaps, of all the stories
+connected with our line of sovereigns and Queens and Royal Princes. It
+is not a new story, and yet it is not so well known that any apology is
+needed for telling it once more.
+
+Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine, began to live in the
+seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her widowhood. Among her household,
+the office of Clerk to the Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome
+Welshman named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a plain Welsh
+gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in the service of the Bishop
+of Chester. He distinguished himself at Agincourt in the following of
+some nobleman unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier--that is, a man with a pike or a
+bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw off when the battle
+began. The opportunities for a common soldier to distinguish himself in
+such an action were few, nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man
+from the ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire to
+the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen Tudor was
+regarded as a common soldier: since his father was a gentleman in the
+service of the Bishop of Chester, he himself would go to war as a
+gentleman in the service and wearing the livery of some noble lord.
+
+In this way, however, his promotion began. When the King married, Owen
+Tudor was attached to the household of the Queen. After the death of
+Henry he accompanied the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to
+the Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was wanted by the
+Queen--her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold. He was therefore brought
+into much closer and more direct relation with the Queen than other
+officers of the household. He pleased her by his appearance, his
+accomplishments, and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very
+well. There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or
+accomplishments he pleased. The fact remains that he did please the
+Queen, and that so much that she consented to a secret marriage with
+him. It was a dangerous step for this Welsh adventurer to take: it was a
+step which would cover the Queen with dishonour should it become known.
+That the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of the
+age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should be capable of
+union with any lower man; should ally her royal line with that of a man
+who could only call himself gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would
+certainly be considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal
+family, and the country at large.
+
+The marriage was not found out for some years. The Queen must have been
+most faithfully and loyally served, because children cannot be born
+without observation. Owen Tudor must have conducted matters with a
+discretion beyond all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the
+household knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and one daughter,
+in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of Hadham, was so called because
+he was born there; the second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen,
+of Westminster; the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.
+
+Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of Owen, which took
+place apparently before it was expected and without all the precautions
+necessary, in the King's House at Westminster. The infant was taken as
+soon as born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not likely
+that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge of his
+parents. He did take the child, however; and here the little Owen
+remained, growing up in a monastery, and taking vows in due time. Here
+he lived and here he died, a Benedictine of Westminster.
+
+It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, heard some whisper or
+rumour concerning this birth, or was told something about the true
+nature of the Queen's illness, for he issued a very singular
+proclamation, warning the world, generally, against marrying Queen
+dowagers, as if these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born, Humphrey learned
+the whole truth: the degradation, as he thought it, of the Queen, who
+had stooped to such an alliance, and the humble rank and the audacity of
+the Welshman. He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with some of her
+ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain in honourable confinement:
+he arrested Owen Tudor, a priest--probably the priest who had performed
+the marriage--and his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.
+
+All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At this point the
+story gets mixed. The King himself, we are told, then a lad of fifteen,
+sent to Owen commanding his attendance before the Council. Why did they
+not arrest him again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council--was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of them? He asked for
+a safe-conduct. They promised him one by a verbal message. Where was he,
+then, that all these messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I
+think he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal message, and
+demanded a written safe-conduct. This was granted him, and he returned
+to London. But he mistrusted even the written promise; he would not face
+the Council: he took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained. It is said
+that they tried to draw him out by sending old friends who invited him
+to the taverns outside the Abbey Precinct. But Owen would not be so
+drawn. He knew that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must have had some
+secret understanding with the King; for one day, learning that Henry
+himself was with the Council, he suddenly presented himself and pleaded
+his own cause. The mild young king, tender on account of his mother,
+would not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.
+
+He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome air: he made
+for Wales. Here the hostility of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was
+once more arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to Newgate, he and
+his priest and his servant. Once more they all three broke prison,
+'foully' wounding a warder in the achievement of liberty, and got back
+to Wales, choosing for their residence the mountainous parts into which
+the English garrisons never penetrated.
+
+When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed to return, and was
+presented with a pension of £40 a year. It is remarkable, however, that
+he received no promotion, or rank; that he was never knighted; and that
+the title of Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It
+certainly seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a gentleman
+was not recognised by the King or the heralds. Perhaps Welsh gentility
+was as little understood by these Normans as Irish royalty--yet, so far
+as length of pedigree goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to
+Normans.
+
+The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under the charge of
+Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and sister of the Earl of
+Suffolk. When the King came of age he remembered his half-brothers:
+Edmund was made Earl of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked
+before all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the foundress of
+Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge. Her son, as everybody
+knows, was Henry VII.
+
+As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began so well on the
+field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he should, for his step-son
+and King, under the badge of the Red Rose. When the Civil Wars began he
+joined the King's forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty.
+He fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's Cross,
+where another fight took place. The Lancastrians were defeated. Owen was
+taken prisoner, and was cruelly beheaded on the field. It was right and
+just that he should so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen
+twenty-four years.
+
+The unfortunate Katharine, whose _mésalliance_ gave us the strongest
+sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not long survive the disgrace
+of discovery. As to public knowledge of the fact, one cannot learn how
+widely it was extended. Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak
+of it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were acknowledged
+by the King there was no pretence at concealment. To be the son of a
+French Princess and a Welsh gentleman was not, after all, a matter for
+shame or concealment. Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her in less
+than a year after her imprisonment among the orchards and meadows of the
+Precinct. It is said that her remorse during her last days was very
+deep; not for her second marriage, but for having allowed her
+accouchement of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against which
+she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor shall lose all that
+Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas! had Henry of Windsor been Henry of
+Monmouth himself, he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there
+be a worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper and the son
+of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson of a madman and a
+Messalina.
+
+[Illustration: ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death. She asks for
+masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants: for her debts to be
+paid. And she says not one word about her children by Owen Tudor. She
+confesses by this silence that she is ashamed. She confesses by this
+silence that, being a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her
+widowhood to have been mated with any less than a King.
+
+'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son the King,
+'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly ye best may and
+will best tender and favour my will, in ordaining for my soul and body,
+in seeing that my debts be paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender
+and favourable fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but--where is the mention of her children? Perhaps, however,
+she knew that the King would provide for them.
+
+Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs were
+known'--Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel much sympathy with
+this unfortunate woman, yet there are few scenes of history more full of
+pathos and of mournfulness than that in which her boy was torn from her
+arms; and she knew--all knew--even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew--that the boy was to be done to death. When one talks of
+Queens and their misfortunes, it may be remembered that few Queens have
+suffered more than Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart
+from other Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that long war it
+seems impossible to find one single character, man or woman--unless it
+is King Henry--who is true and loyal. All--all--are perjured,
+treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is
+the friend and companion of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other
+side of him; treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen.
+Elizabeth met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was accused of being
+privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck: she was more
+Yorkist than her husband; she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and
+the White were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That she
+was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she bore. We must
+make allowance: she was always in a false position; Edward ought not to
+have married her; she was hated by her own party; she was compelled in
+the interests of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These things,
+however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we ought to feel for
+so many misfortunes.
+
+[Illustration: 'LE LOKE']
+
+She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey, where she could
+sit and watch the ships go up and down, and so feel that the world, with
+which she had no more concern, still continued. It has been suggested
+that she retired voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in
+the character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a daughter
+or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of Valois, she made an
+end not without dignity. Witness the following clause in her will:--
+
+    _Item._ Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the Queen's
+    Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward any of my
+    children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God Almighty to
+    bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as good a heart
+    and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my blessing and all
+    the aforesaid my children.
+
+In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an ecclesiastical
+foundation which has somehow dropped out of history and become no more
+than a name. If this were a history of South London it would be
+necessary to devote an equal space to other houses; to the churches and
+to the two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the religious
+foundations of South London without mention of the other great House,
+more ancient than that of Bermondsey. Few Americans who visit London
+leave it without paying a pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful
+church which glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that excellent
+poet whom the professors of literature praise and nobody reads, died and
+lies buried in this church; it was the church of the playerfolk: here
+lie buried Edmund Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and
+Philip Henslow. Here lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which
+the Church allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers and the strikers
+of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting. Here were tried notable
+heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and many more, while Gardiner and Bonner
+thundered and bullied. From this church the martyrs went forth to meet
+the flames. The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach them. The
+stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where they could read, mark,
+learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned teaching of Bonner and his
+friends.
+
+It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom of Cranmer and
+the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming Protestant reaction.
+So great was the horror, they say, of the people at the death of the
+Archbishop, that the whole nation was roused--and so on. For myself I
+like to think that, as the people would feel now, so, _mutatis
+mutandis_, they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much horror, I believe, as
+when from their own ranks, from their own houses, from their own
+families, men and women and boys were taken out and led to execution.
+Violent deaths--by beheading, by hanging, by the flames--were witnessed
+every day. How many were hanged by Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did
+not touch the people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country--the blameless Carthusians--suffered death
+as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir Thomas More; when
+witches were burned they looked on. It was when they saw their own
+brothers, sisters, cousins, dragged out and put to death without a
+cause, that they began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not
+the manner of death that affected them, because burning was a thing so
+common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest and godly folk, and
+the behaviour of the people at their death. Tender women chained to the
+stake suffered without a groan, only praying loudly till death came;
+people remembered, they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last prayer
+before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer stepped into his
+place with a smiling face and welcomed the fiery lane that led him to
+the place where he longed to be: was this, they asked, the courage
+inspired of God, or of the devil? They remembered how another washed
+his hands in the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone upon him; and
+it was even like unto the countenance of the Blessed Lord. The sight and
+the remembrance of the sufferings of their own folk, not the execution
+at a distance of an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome with a hatred from
+which it has not wholly recovered even in these latter days.
+
+The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both the great Houses
+of Southwark.
+
+It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there should be a
+provision for the poor, the sick, and those who were orphans. St. Mary
+Overy had a hospital adjoining the priory which was an almshouse
+certainly, and probably an orphanage as well. It was under the care of
+the Archdeacon of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry
+intended for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely secluded: it
+lay far from any highway; there were no houses, except farm buildings
+for the monastery's labourers; there were no poor, no sick, and no
+orphans. So that, when the great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and
+crossed the river by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would be well to
+rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark Causeway. This was
+done, and the Hospital of St. Mary was united with it, and the new
+foundation which Bishop Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was
+named after St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for
+the sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and sisters
+under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a school, and an infirmary;
+but not, as St. Bartholomew's was from the beginning altogether, only a
+hospital for the sick.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM
+THE SOUTH]
+
+As for the religious life of the place, it was in most respects like
+that of London. There were no houses for Friars, but the Friars came
+across the river _en quête_, 'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in
+the taverns were put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful
+(towards the end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty
+of life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries of the
+great Houses--the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester, the Abbots of
+Lewes, Hyde, and Battle--went about their errands; there were Gilds,
+notably that of St. George, which had their processions and their days:
+there were crosses and images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed
+his hat--in the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas à
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and bargee paid
+reverence.
+
+Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by the Church. There
+was whipping, but not the terrible murderous flogging of the eighteenth
+century; there were hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the
+credit of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush a man, but to
+shame him into repentance, and to give him a chance of retrieving his
+character. A man might be set in the stocks, or put in pillory, and so
+made to feel the heinousness of his offence. This punishment was like
+that which is inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned him,
+transported him, made a brute of him, and then hanged him. Did a woman
+speak despitefully of authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the
+cage besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should see her
+there and should ask what she had done. After an hour or two take her
+down; bid her go home and keep henceforth a quiet tongue in her head.
+This leniency was only for offences moral and against the law. For
+freedom of thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way. And
+it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted Royal Houses,
+Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side were Westminster,
+Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene, Theobald's, Hatfield,
+Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon, Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the
+Tower; on the south side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew,
+Hampton, Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House of
+Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these royal houses are
+now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves some ruins left of Edward IV.'s
+buildings; it still shows the moat and the old bridge, and the line of
+its former wall; but tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories
+of the Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King John.
+The sailors--now, alas! also gone--have deprived Greenwich of Edward VI.
+and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared
+away. Of Kennington, of which I have to speak in this place, not one
+stone remains upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is gone and
+forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although part of the
+ruins were still standing only a hundred years ago.
+
+The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace was
+deserted; it was pulled down before 1607--Camden says that even then
+there was not a stone remaining--there was not a single house within
+half a mile in every direction. There was no one, when the last stones
+had been carted away, left to remember or to remind his children that
+there had been a palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but
+no tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then came the
+destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was not even a cottage
+near the spot. This being so, it is not difficult to understand why the
+site was forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: THE LONG BARN]
+
+The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the substructures; a
+building of stone and thatch, part of the offices of the palace, also
+stood. They called it the 'Long Barn,' and when the distressed
+Protestants were brought over here in 1700 as many as the place would
+hold were crammed into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the
+country between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of the
+palace there was not a single person left who could carry on the
+tradition of the king's house that once stood here. Roque, the map-maker
+of 1745, knew nothing about it. In 1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At
+the beginning of the century houses began to rise here and there;
+streets began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens and
+the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a place which,
+as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred years. 'Is this
+fame?' might ask the king who crowned himself here, the king who died
+here, the king who was brought up here, the kings who kept their
+Christmas feast here, the kings who here received their brides, held
+Parliament, and went out a-hunting.
+
+The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot, son of Cnut--that
+is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there was no other house at Lambeth.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+The king who died in this house was that young Dane who appears to have
+been an incarnation of the ideal Danish brutality. He dragged his
+brother's body out of its grave and flung it into the Thames; he
+massacred the people of Worcester and ravaged the shire; and he did
+these brave deeds and many others all in two short years. Then he went
+to his own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic. For one
+so young it showed with what a yearning and madness he had been
+drinking. He went across the river--there was, I repeat, no other house
+in Lambeth except this, so that it must have been here--to attend the
+wedding of his standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of
+the Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate of
+Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for hard drinking,
+while the minstrels played and sang and the mummers tumbled. When men
+were well drunken the pleasing sport of bone throwing began: they threw
+the beef bones at each other. The fun of the game consisted in the
+accident of a man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed. The soldiers
+had no special desire to kill the old man: why couldn't he enter into
+the spirit of the game and dodge the bones? As he did not, of course he
+was hit, and as the bone was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a
+powerful hand, of course it split open his skull. One may be permitted
+to think that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a big beef
+bone which knocked him down; and as he remained comatose until he died,
+the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it said that even in sport his king
+had been killed at his wedding, gave out that the king fell down in a
+fit. This, however, is speculation.
+
+Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was compiled, the place
+was in the possession of a London citizen, Theodric by name and a
+goldsmith by trade. It was still a royal manor, because the goldsmith
+held it of Edward the Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a
+year. It is impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and price of
+other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the wages and pay of
+servants and officers; and when we have done all, we are still very far
+from understanding the value of money then or at any subsequent time.
+There are, you see, so many points which the writers on the value of
+money do not take into consideration. There is the price of bread; but
+then there were so many kinds of bread--wheaten bread, barley bread, oat
+bread, rye bread; and how much bread did a family of the working class
+consume? Flesh, fish, fowl, but how much of either did the working
+classes enjoy? Rent? But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent.
+There is, in a word, not only the market prices that have to be
+considered, but the standard of comfort--always a little higher than the
+practice--and the daily relations of the demand to the supply. So that
+when we read that this manor of Kennington was worth three pounds a year
+we are not advanced in the least. As most of the land was still marshy
+and useless, we may understand that the value was low.
+
+We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King Richard granted it on
+lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy with the title of Lord of the
+Manor. Henry III. came here on several occasions; here he held his
+Lambeth Parliament. He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the
+feasting and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.
+
+The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying map. If you walk
+along the Kennington Road from Bridge Street, Westminster, you presently
+come to a place where four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the
+left, and Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to the
+Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand side stood the
+palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house and grounds was executed;
+but by that time the mediæval character of the place was quite
+forgotten. It was a square house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King
+Henry III. at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing the
+'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the palace really was in the
+thirteenth or fourteenth century is to compare it with another palace
+built under much the same conditions, and intended to serve the same
+purpose. Fortunately there still stand, some miles to the east of
+Kennington, at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary palace,
+with a description of the place as it was before it was allowed to fall
+into ruins.
+
+We are not at this moment concerned with the history of Eltham.
+Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately place for five
+hundred years and more; that it passed through the hands of Bishop Odo;
+of the Mandevilles; of the De Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of
+Geoffrey le Scrope of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins
+with Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends with
+Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from Greenwich. Here
+Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth to a son, John of Eltham. The
+greatest builder at Eltham was Edward IV.
+
+The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited it, is said
+to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms on the ground floor
+and first floor called the King's side and the Queen's side. There were
+buildings and rooms of all kinds round the courtyard. The number of
+chambers in all was very great, and it is said, further, that the large
+courtyard covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area would give about
+two hundred and ten feet to each side of a square. This would be large
+for a college at Oxford or Cambridge. It would cover about the same area
+as that of New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for the
+'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms for the
+servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who accompanied the king, the
+grooms, armourers, makers and menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and
+scullions, and the women servants, and the wives and the children. A
+strong stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded the
+palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the bridge which
+crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate had its portcullis. The
+palace, in a word, was a fortress, for there was never a king in England
+who would have dared to keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified
+manor house, or outside a fortress--certainly not Henry III. or Edward
+IV.--unless, of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of his
+army.
+
+The existing remains of the palace correspond to this description. There
+is the moat, deep and broad; there is the bridge, the drawbridge gone.
+Within, the most important ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall.
+This is a most noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it
+was built; the two magnificent bays remain, with the double row of
+windows. It would be difficult to find a finer banqueting hall in the
+whole country than that of Eltham. In the grounds, the traces of the
+wall and those of other buildings ought to make it possible, with a very
+little excavation, to trace a plan of the whole house.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace]
+
+As was Eltham, so was Kennington. Both places were built for the same
+purpose about the same time. Both were castles erected on a plain
+without the aid of hillock, mound or running stream--unless the moat at
+Kennington was fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream or the
+ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn' on the east side of
+the palace belonged to the 'service'--it was kitchens, stables, armoury,
+brewery, or granary. The house itself had its principal entrance on the
+north. This is certain, because all the supplies were brought by what
+is now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or from Southwark.
+A gate on this side simplified the transference which took place when
+the court moved from one place to another; when everything--bedding,
+blankets, utensils of all kinds, plate, _batterie de cuisine_, the
+workmen with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen--was packed up
+and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington, or from
+Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods sent up from the City were
+also landed at Stangate, Lambeth, so as to get as short a land journey
+as possible. For these reasons I place the principal gate at the north.
+
+I have seen it stated--I know not with what truth--that the people of
+the streets now on the site have found substructures beneath their
+houses. If so, one would expect, what one cannot find, some tradition to
+account for the existence of these stone vaults.
+
+Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress of the Lambeth
+Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal residence; now completely
+vanished.
+
+Two other royal houses there were in South London, neither of which can
+be compared with Kennington. Greenwich, for instance, which appears in
+history from the time of King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V.,
+Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth--all had
+more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII. completed his
+buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left, that is, the mediæval
+fortress for the modern house. His Greenwich was not fortified. The
+accompanying view of it shows that it possessed none of the
+characteristics of the ancient residence, half castle, half manor house.
+Greenwich, however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would most certainly
+resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington, with certain small
+differences, just as one Benedictine monastery resembles in its general
+disposition another Benedictine monastery, and one Norman castle in
+general terms, and allowing for the site, resembles another.
+
+The other house of which I have spoken is that of Nonesuch. This house
+was not a reconstruction and an adaptation with much of the ancient
+work: it was newly built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was
+no suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the house
+stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful according to our ideas; nor was it what we
+now call a Tudor house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's
+interference with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from the heathen
+mythology. The house was pulled down by the Duchess of Cleveland, to
+whom Charles II. gave it. Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with
+Kennington, and must not detain us.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich]
+
+Let us next consider what it means when the king is said to have kept
+his Christmas at a place.
+
+During the festival--for twenty days--he kept open house, nominally.
+That is to say, all comers received food and drink: his guests, one
+supposes, were bidden. Every day during the festival the king sat at the
+feast wearing his crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the
+most prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day no
+fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the number was at
+Christmas no one knows. In addition to the ordinary following of the
+court--a huge army of chaplains, canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen
+archers, and servants--there were the bishops and abbots, the peers and
+barons, who came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own
+following of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment would
+be needed! The organisation was complete; everything was in departments,
+each under the yeomen: the chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the
+stables, the cellars. Yet what an army in each department! Then, since
+at Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master of the
+Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated following; among them
+were all those who played on the different instruments of music, those
+who sang, the buffoons, tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was
+in the time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over for
+the delectation of the English court--perhaps with the pious intention
+of showing what joys and attractions awaited the Crusaders in the Holy
+Land itself.
+
+Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and fifty
+years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:--
+
+'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at Grenewiche, wher was
+suche abundance of viands served to all comers of any honest behaviour,
+as hath been few times seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in
+the Hall, a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with
+artilerie, and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the frount
+of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and within the castle
+were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide all over with leves of
+golde, and every owde knit with laces of blewe silke and golde; on ther
+heddes, coyfes and cappes all of golde. After this castle had been
+carried about the hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng
+with five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche cloth of
+gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered with workes of
+fine gold bullion. These six assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them
+so lustie and coragious were content to solace with them, and upon
+farther communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came down and
+daunced a long space. And after the ladies led the knightes into the
+castle, and then the castle sodainly vanished out of their sight.
+
+'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with XI other were
+disguised after the manner of Italie, called a maske, a thing not seen
+afore in Englande; they were apparelled in garments long and brode,
+wrought all with gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the
+banket doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised in
+silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to daunce; some
+were content, and some that knew the fashion of it refused, because it
+was not a thing commonly seen. And after they daunced and commoned
+together as the fashion of the maske is, thei tooke their leave and
+departed. And so did the Quene and all the ladies.'
+
+When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed up the gear:
+the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes, pillows, curtains,
+tapestry and carpets. They were all laid upon waggons, the broad-wheeled
+creaking waggons which were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy
+lanes by teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies were
+carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the king and his
+followers rode; and so they went back to Westminster. The ferry carried
+over the heavy goods and the horses: the royal barges received the
+court. After them marched the whole rout--the two thousand archers
+without whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly, when
+the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians and the mummers
+and the singers marched off sadly. A whole twelvemonth before another
+Christmas! They marched in the direction of the City, and that night, as
+they report, there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the principal
+officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe, of the cellars, of
+the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation being kept up in readiness,
+though the king might not come back for years. This fact was illustrated
+a short time ago, when I was interested in watching the progress of a
+certain genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left his
+house; it was necessary to connect him with his own descendants. The
+link was found in the fact that this younger son had been received by
+Carey, warden of Hunsdon House, who made him one of his yeomen; a
+cheerless appointment, like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden
+and yeomen, representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and silent
+gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of emptiness, during
+which it is best to keep out of them. For my own part, I think the true
+way of enjoying a palace is to frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all
+that was said and to put down all that was done, but not to be an actor
+in a drama which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered about the court
+of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.? Richard murders his uncle,
+Henry IV. murders his cousin, Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it
+is true, murders no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a
+perpetual series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who looked
+on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for his history,
+while in the whole of that court there was no one whose head was safe on
+his shoulders except Froissart. Unfortunately, he says little about this
+palace which we are considering.
+
+There are many names of kings and princes connected with this house of
+Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally. During his reign it was the
+residence of John Earl of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl
+of Warren and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these and
+other names, had the writer time or the reader patience. In truth, the
+reader's patience is more to be considered than the writer's time, for
+the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting up names and notes and
+allusions, and of piecing together what, after all, his reader may not
+find of interest enough to carry him through. Edward III. made the manor
+part of the Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not find that
+Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly be haunted--especially
+the room in which he was to sleep--by the sorrowful shade of his
+murdered cousin. Nor did Henry V. come here during his short reign.
+Henry VI., however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with the palace
+was Catherine of Arragon.
+
+I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have seen the place as
+it was figured in 1636, when it was only an ordinary square house. The
+plan was drawn when Charles I. leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The
+destruction of the old house and the building of the new must have taken
+place during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When the new house
+was taken down I do not know.
+
+The name that we especially associate with Kennington Palace is that of
+Richard II. When the Black Prince died, in 1376, Richard remained at
+Kennington under the care of his mother and the tutorship of Sir
+Guiscard d'Angle, 'that accomplished knight.' The young prince started
+with the finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter years of
+his life, on the popular side against the old King and his supporters;
+the boy was endowed with a singular beauty of person, and, when he
+pleased, with a sweetness of manner most unusual even among princes,
+with whom affability is the first essential in princely manners. In
+addition to this he was destined to show on two occasions courage which
+almost amounted to insensibility--first, when he dispersed Wat Tyler's
+mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government. History shows how
+he threw away all his chances in reckless extravagance.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+
+(_From Allen's History of Lambeth_)]
+
+After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the Lord Mayor to
+pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington, with a riding worthy of the
+City. The day chosen was the Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One
+has frequent occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely regardless
+of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth upon a pageant as
+cheerfully in the cold of February as in the sunshine of August. On this
+occasion, one hundred and thirty-two citizens on horseback, with
+trumpets and other musical instruments, and a vast number of
+_flambeaux_, assembled at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond the Borough.
+First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of esquires--with red
+coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed the same number apparelled
+as knights in the same livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic
+figure, who represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty
+cardinals. They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with black
+vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell. This accounts for
+one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole number. The last man is not
+described. To them must be added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with
+men carrying the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy
+to the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company of
+'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after it and shouting.
+When it arrived at Kennington Palace they all dismounted and entered the
+hall, where they found the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and
+their attendants, together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great
+lords. The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who then
+produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them. Would you
+believe it?--every time the Prince threw, he won, which was in itself a
+remarkable circumstance. He carried off his winnings: a bowl of pure
+gold, chased and decorated; a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold
+ring. They then invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and
+other nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited to supper
+in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his mother. After supper,
+the tables were taken away--they were only planks laid on trestles and
+covered with white cloths--and the floor being cleared, the masquers had
+the honour of dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+_flambeaux_ were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well pleased with
+the reception they had met and the courtesy of the best behaved boy in
+the world.
+
+In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which arose out of
+Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between the Bishop of
+London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after the dismissal of Wyclyf,
+repaired to the house of John de Ypres, close beside the river, where he
+was sitting at dinner when one of his following ran hastily to warn him
+that the people were flocking together with intent to murder him if they
+could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the nearest stairs, took a
+boat across the river, and fled as quickly as possible to Kennington
+Palace, where he took shelter with the young Prince Richard and his
+guardians. The mob, finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to
+the Savoy, his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the Duke in
+countenance; they were then persuaded by the Bishop of London to go home
+without doing any more mischief. What would have happened one knows not,
+but the death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up the
+peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens. Hearing that
+Edward was _in extremis_, the Mayor and Aldermen waited on the Princess
+of Wales and Prince Richard informing them of the King's critical
+situation, and beseeching the Prince's favour to the City; they also
+begged him to interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's
+differences with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt
+freely forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity of his
+son Henry.
+
+[Illustration: The High Street Southwark as it appeared MDXLIII]
+
+It might be argued that the various impressions as regards London
+produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct towards the
+citizens when he grew older. The first experiment he had of the citizens
+was when they rode over in a goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold
+chains and finely appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he
+remembered that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a kind of
+impression which does not easily die away.
+
+His second impression of the City was when his uncle, John of Gaunt,
+came flying from the City, having barely escaped with his life, the
+people having gone on to wreck, if they could, his palace of the Savoy.
+A turbulent and dangerous people, then, as well as rich; a people to be
+kept down.
+
+He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way to be crowned at
+Westminster. All the way there was nothing but rich tapestry, carpets,
+scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet, pageants with cloth of gold,
+and the streets filled with men and women dressed in rich furs and
+silks, such as only great barons could afford. This third impression
+confirmed the first.
+
+His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate at the mercy of
+a large mob, unable to move or to help itself. He went into the City
+almost alone; he, by one single act of splendid courage, put an end to
+the insurrection. A City cowardly, therefore, and unable to act
+together. It was his City, moreover--the _Camera Regis_. Should not a
+prince do what he pleases with his own?
+
+When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City: how he believed
+its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed that it had no power
+to resist; how he made the way easy for his cousin to supplant him, let
+us bear in mind the lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for
+him in his youth.
+
+This King seizes on the imagination of all who think about him. His is
+one of the strangest of all the strange figures which crowd the National
+Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed with artistic instincts; a lover of
+music and all the fine arts; of singularly winning manners; the
+comeliest man in his whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in
+his court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in his youth never
+ceased to love; for whose soul--not for the soul of Henry
+IV.--Whittington, for instance, left money for masses--this is a figure
+among our English kings which has no parallel.
+
+One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last occasion on which
+Richard lodged there was when he brought home his little bride Isabel,
+the queen of eight years. They brought her from Dover, resting on the
+way at Canterbury and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the
+Mayor and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to do
+honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into their place
+and rode on with the procession. When they arrived at Newington, the
+King thanked the Mayor and permitted him to leave the procession and
+return home. He himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country
+lane from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this proves the
+existence of a path or lane where is now Upper Kennington Lane. At this
+palace the little queen rested a night, and next day was carried in
+another procession to the Tower. The knights rode before, and the French
+ladies came after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair
+hair falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up and
+smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be queen, which she
+had been practising ever since her betrothal. Needless to say that all
+hearts were ravished. The good people of London were ever ready to
+welcome one princess after another, and to lose their hearts to them,
+whether it was Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne
+Boleyn, or Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great a
+press was there that many were actually squeezed to death on London
+Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in breadth. Isabel's
+queenship proved a pretence: before she was old enough to be queen,
+indeed, her husband was in confinement; before she understood that he
+was a captive, he was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was
+over. The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself, desired
+to take the place of Richard; his father also desired the match, for the
+sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she was still, had the heart of a
+woman; she had learned to love her handsome, courteous, accomplished
+lord, who died before he could claim her; she refused absolutely to
+marry the son of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by
+persuasion; they did not dare to force her: let us believe that Harry of
+Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to marry him. There was
+nothing therefore left to do, but to send her home to what was certainly
+the most miserable court or palace in the world--that of her mad father.
+In the end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans. You may
+read the verses which he made upon her death. Isabel died in childbirth
+in her twenty-second year. As for Harry of Monmouth, as all the world
+knows, he was obliged to content himself with Isabel's younger sister,
+Katharine; we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to a
+suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay not so fine as
+that of Isabel, her sister.
+
+
+2. ELTHAM PALACE
+
+The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal House of
+Eltham, already mentioned in connection with Kennington. The place
+itself seems to have been a settlement of some kind, a town or village,
+in very ancient times. In the thirteenth century it was considered of
+importance enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before the Feast
+of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after. In the fourteenth
+century the market day was altered to Monday, but the Fair remained; in
+the fifteenth century the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair
+was changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul, on the
+Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and the Fair have long
+since been discontinued. The importance of both depended on the
+occasional presence of the Court, and when that was removed altogether
+from the place there was no longer any necessity for either market or
+Fair Day. Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many miles
+round. So long as it contained one of the recognised Palaces, even
+though years might pass by without a visit from the sovereign, there
+was, attached to the house, the permanent staff to a Governor or warder,
+with chiefs of the various departments and the men or assistants under
+them. The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a kind
+of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for all sorts of
+things. On those rare occasions when the Court was actually in Residence
+at Eltham, the market had to furnish supplies, to which all the country
+round had to contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may have been
+very great; no doubt word would be sent long beforehand if the King
+proposed to keep Christmas there. The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef
+put in the pickling tubs in November--vast quantities of beef, for,
+Christmas or not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt
+beef. At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay within easy
+reach of the London market; so was Westminster. Greenwich was accessible
+by ships from the lower reaches of the Thames as well as from London.
+Eltham, no doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there were of very
+little use. The annals of the Palace are simple, rather than scanty; in
+fact, there is plenty of mention made of the Palace, yet very little of
+importance is recorded concerning it. All that is recorded of it belongs
+to peace and festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl
+of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and the confiscation of his estates,
+the manor belonged partly to the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles.
+Thence it passed into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in succession.
+
+There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very ancient times.
+The historian says that he cannot ascertain when the Palace was built
+(see p. 74). Since the origin of the House is unknown, he argues that it
+must have been ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings
+and Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have to be
+catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance, the following list
+of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot pretend that it is of much
+interest.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796]
+
+In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace of Eltham with
+the Queen and his nobles. After this the name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of
+Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built
+a great deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He died at
+Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there seem to have been no
+other buildings. Now we come back to the kings, and we find historical
+associations in plenty, though not of a kind which is moving or
+interesting. It does not excite our curiosity much to learn that this
+king or that king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of
+association which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his favourite
+games with his followers without being overseen. One of his sons, John
+of Eltham, was born here. Edward III., when still under age, had a
+Parliament at Eltham in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for
+him at Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John, his
+prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here, when the Commons
+petitioned him to make Richard, his grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard
+the Second, as we should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar
+affection; it was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with his
+extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas here: on the last
+he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with great splendour and profusion.
+Henry the Fourth kept Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first,
+the Aldermen of London and their children went down from the City to
+perform a masque before the King, who received it well. At that moment
+he was certain to receive everything well that came from the City. On
+his last visit the disease broke out which killed him. Henry the Fifth
+was here once, in 1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings. Among other
+things, he built a new front to the Palace and is said to have built the
+Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities rivalled those of Richard the
+Second. Here his daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was
+born. Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham often.
+Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he preferred Greenwich as
+a residence as soon as that house was built. Elizabeth also came here
+only once or twice, preferring Greenwich, and James the First is only
+recorded to have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased to
+be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here[1]; the Manor was
+sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration it reverted to the
+Crown; the rest of the history concerns its occupancy by private
+families. On the death of Charles the Palace was surveyed; it is
+described as being built of brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see
+p. 74) one chapel, a hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two
+large cellars; and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12
+on the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms in the
+offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre of ground: the
+house was out of repair and uninhabitable. There were gardens attached
+to the house. A moat surrounded the house, of width 60 feet, except in
+the forest, where it was 115 feet. The moat still exists on the north
+side, and can be traced all round. Of the buildings little remains
+except the old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with
+its fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments only remain of
+the other buildings; but it is said to be possible, in the gardens at
+the back, to trace out the courts and the foundations of the chapel and
+offices. The Palace is approached by a bridge of about the same date as
+the Palace, viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with
+its picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one side, and
+the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an approach to the ruin as
+could well be imagined or created.
+
+[Illustration: KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT
+
+(_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_)]
+
+One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the year 1575, when
+Henry held one of the tournaments in which in his early manhood he so
+much delighted. This is Holinshed's account of it:--
+
+'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe night in the hall was made a
+goodlie castell, woonderouslie set out, and in it certeine ladies and
+knights; and when the king and queene were set, in came other knights
+and assailed the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at
+the last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out knights
+and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich and strangelie
+disguised; for all their apparell was in braids of gold, fret with
+moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on crimson sattin, loose and not
+fastned: the mens apparell of the same sute made like Iulis of
+Hungarie; and the ladies heads and bodies were after the fashion of
+Amsterdam. And when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of
+two hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'
+
+[Illustration: Remains of Eltham Palace]
+
+There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a place so
+beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting history. Kings and
+Courts delight me not, nor do I take pleasure in reading about
+tournaments and masques.
+
+There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to think upon as
+that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy who was going to become
+such an extravagant King. One would like to have seen Edward
+entertaining his prisoner, King John of France; and one wonders what
+sort of figure was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of
+Richard's splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.
+
+Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so many guests?
+To feed two thousand every day is a great undertaking. We are accustomed
+to believe that the roads in winter were so bad as to be impassable.
+Now, everything had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the
+roads. And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too, and the
+nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads. As was stated
+above, due notice was certainly given: a vast quantity of salt
+provisions was laid down in readiness: for the rest, the country was
+fertile and well cultivated. The Park contained deer--but they could not
+kill all; the Thames, only three miles away--but then, the roads!--was
+full of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne--again, those roads!--were the homes of
+myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the inland communications
+of the fourteenth century must have been a great deal better than those
+of the seventeenth century in order to allow of Christmas being kept in
+magnificence and profusion by two thousand people in a country village.
+
+[Illustration: The Moat Bridge Eltham Palace]
+
+The views which accompany this account are taken from Lysons: they were
+engraved in the year 1796. There is not much difference in the present
+aspect: the moat has been opened again: the buildings represented on the
+south side of the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had
+been used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for visitors
+or the drilling of Volunteers.
+
+
+3. GREENWICH PALACE
+
+The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with marshes on
+either side of it--the marsh of the Ravensbourne on one side, and the
+Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on the other side of it--is as old as
+history itself. Its position as the landing-place, or point of approach,
+to the lands of Kent, a place where ships might lie, pirates and
+invaders might seize and hold as a base of operations, very early called
+attention to its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him, throwing beef
+bones at his head. As the throwing of bones was a favourite evening
+pastime with the Danes, they probably meant little at first beyond a
+friendly reminder or an invitation to take part in the game: as the
+Archbishop made no response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. 72).
+The people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place was
+once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical memories connected
+with Greenwich of interest almost equal to those of Westminster, and far
+more important and interesting than those of Eltham.
+
+Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some of these
+memories.
+
+In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.
+
+In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas Beaufort, Duke of
+Exeter, who afterwards died here.
+
+In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, with permission
+to fortify and embattle the manor house, and to enclose a park of 200
+acres. This was the true beginning of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt
+the house, which he called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he
+enclosed the Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place reverted to the
+Crown. Edward the Fourth took great pleasure in the place and beautified
+it at much cost. In 1466 he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the
+Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard Duke of
+York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with the usual rejoicings.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH, 1662
+
+(_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_)]
+
+With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of residence. He
+added a brick front on the riverside (see p. 77). Here Henry the Eighth
+was born on June 28, 1491. He was baptised in the Parish Church, the
+predecessor of the present church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all
+other Palaces, and made it during the early years of his reign the scene
+of the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much. Here he
+married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510. Here he held the great
+tournament in which he himself, Sir Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and
+Edward Neville challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept
+Christmas here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of two
+entertainments held by the King at Greenwich--one a tournament in June,
+the other at Christmas:--
+
+'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes at Greenewich,
+the king & sir Charles Brandon taking vpon them to abide all commers.
+First came the ladies all in white and red silke, set vpon coursers
+trapped in the same sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a
+founteine curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces. After
+this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke dropped with fine
+siluer, on a courser trapped in the same. Then followed a knight in a
+horsselitter, the coursers & litter apparelled in blacke with siluer
+drops. When the fountein came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about,
+and so did the founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after
+them were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts: and
+when they came to the tilts end, the two knights mounted on the two
+courses abiding all commers. The king was in the founteine, and sir
+Charles Brandon was in the litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of
+trumpets entred sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer
+the castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the earle
+of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses with the king and
+sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king brake most speares, and likelie
+was so to doo yer he began, as in former time; the prise fell to his
+lot; so luckie was he and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in
+martiall actiuitie, whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....
+
+'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in most princelie maner. And on the
+Twelfe daie at night came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount.
+The mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full of
+broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin, and the
+flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet. On the top
+stood a goodlie beacon giuing light, round about the beacon sat the king
+and fiue other, all in cotes and caps of right crimson veluet,
+embrodered with flat gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles
+of gold. And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before the
+queene, and then the king and his companie descended and dansed. Then
+suddenlie the mount opened, and out came six ladies all in crimsin
+sattin and plunket, embrodered with gold and pearle, with French hoods
+on their heads, and they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount
+tooke the ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then the king shifted
+him, and came to the queene, and sat at the banket, which was verie
+sumptuous.'
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+
+(_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_)]
+
+Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and 1536.
+
+Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of France. Six or seven
+times more Henry kept Christmas at Greenwich. In 1543, the last
+occasion, he entertained twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners,
+and released them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.
+
+Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal Wolsey was her
+godfather.
+
+King Edward the Sixth died here.
+
+Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533. She, too, spent much
+of her time at Greenwich.
+
+King James also much delighted in this place: he added to the brickwork
+by the riverside: he also walled the park and laid the foundations of
+the house afterwards called the House of Delight. The Queen, who
+received the Palace in jointure, carried on this House, which was
+afterwards completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was called
+the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's Lodge. It was not
+until 1807 that the house was granted to the Commissioners of the Royal
+Naval Asylum.
+
+Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of river, it was
+thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent of the condition
+of the roads. In other respects the position of the place was
+unrivalled: it was on a slope rising from the river in front, and from
+lowlands on either side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh
+breeze that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there was no better
+air to be got than the air of Greenwich; that of Eltham, with its
+stagnant marsh and thick woods, was close and aguish in comparison: for
+view, the broad river rolled along the Palace front and bent round to
+east and west, so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in
+Limehouse Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed and
+flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up and down, outward
+bound or homeward bound. Sitting at her window, or walking on her
+terrace, Queen Elizabeth could for herself learn what was meant by the
+foreign trade of London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the river,
+streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could understand the
+coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could ask what the hoys and
+ketches, the lighters, and the barges carried up to the Port of London
+in such numbers: she could herself, and often did, embark upon the
+stream in summer, when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships
+more closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness the
+sad history of Thomas Appletree.
+
+It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about nine o'clock of
+the evening, that an accident happened which might have had fatal
+consequences. The Queen was taking the air in her private barge, between
+Greenwich and Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl of
+Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of state.
+Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were out in a small
+boat at the same time, and on the same part of the river. They were
+Thomas Appletree, a young servant of Francis Carey, two singing boys of
+the Queen's choir, and another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself
+of a 'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load with
+ball and then fire it at random up and down the river. One of these
+haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight to the Queen's barge,
+where it passed through both arms of the oarsman nearest Her Majesty.
+The man thus unexpectedly wounded, finding himself bleeding like a
+pig--for it was a flesh wound--threw himself down, bawling and roaring
+out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him with the assurance
+that he should be properly cared for, and ordered the barge to be taken
+back to the shore at once. The man, being treated, speedily recovered.
+Meantime, who had dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question
+was very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four lads
+brought up before them. It appearing that the only guilty person was
+Thomas Appletree, the other three were suffered to depart, and Thomas
+was tried. It was ascertained that there could be no question as to the
+loyalty of Thomas's master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt
+rested on the shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was therefore
+sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments, for treason.
+Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he was taken from Newgate and
+conducted on a hurdle with great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through
+the postern to Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy Thomas
+Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a dolorous journey on his
+hurdle, weeping copiously all the way, and many of the people weeping
+with him. Arrived at the gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the
+chronicler repeats faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last
+moments which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die acquitted
+themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded for treason, or a
+Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for being a priest.
+Appletree, for his part, spoke so movingly that the people all wept with
+him. Then the hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people cried,
+'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding up the Queen's
+Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton. But think not that the
+Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed the royal pardon. Not at all. He
+left Thomas on the ladder for a while; he made an oration on the
+heinousness of the offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for
+the safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened and all
+eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon, which the prisoner
+acknowledged in suitable language. Thomas Appletree was then taken back
+to the Marshalsea, where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after
+this. We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for this
+young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus would have
+nothing to do with it.
+
+Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John Willoughby's
+departure for the Arctic seas. He was going to endeavour to open a new
+way for trade round the N.E. Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia.
+He embarked at Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As
+he passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they brought
+out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see the sailing of the
+stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the ships passed on their way,
+and they carried the dying King back to his bed. In a day or two Edward
+was dead. In six months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too,
+frozen to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.
+
+If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich,
+you will find an account of it in Hentzner, that excellent traveller who
+remarked so much, and put all down on paper.
+
+'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported to have been
+originally built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and to have received
+very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the
+present Queen, was born, and here she generally resides; particularly
+in Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were admitted by
+an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the Lord Chamberlain, into the
+Presence-Chamber, hung with rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the
+English fashion, strewed with Hay,[2] through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman dressed in
+Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to introduce to the Queen
+any Person of Distinction, that came to wait on her: It was Sunday, when
+there is usually the greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall
+were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great Number
+of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and Gentlemen, who
+waited the Queen's coming out; which she did from her own Apartment,
+when it was Time to go to Prayers, attended in the following Manner:
+
+'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bare-headed; next came the Chancellor, bearing the Seals in
+a red-silk Purse, between Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter,
+the other the Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in the
+Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic; her Face
+oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her
+Nose a little hooked; her Lips narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the
+English seem subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false Hair, and that
+red; upon her Head she had a small Crown, reported to be made of some of
+the Gold of the celebrated Lunebourg Table:[3] Her Bosom was uncovered,
+as all the English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small, her Fingers
+long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her Air was stately, her
+Manner of Speaking mild and obliging. That Day she was dressed in white
+Silk, bordered with Pearls of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of
+black Silk, shot with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End
+of it borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an oblong
+Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all this State and
+Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another,
+whether foreign Ministers, or those who attended for different Reasons,
+in English, French and Italian; for, besides being well skilled in
+Greek, Latin, and the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of
+Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling; now
+and then she raises some with her Hand. While we were there, W. Slawata,
+a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to present to her; and she, after pulling
+off her Glove, gave him her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and
+Jewels, a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her Face, as
+she was going along, everybody fell down on their Knees.[4] The Ladies
+of the Court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and
+for the most Part dressed in white; she was guarded on each Side by the
+Gentlemen Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were presented to her,
+and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the Acclamation
+of, Long live Queen ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as it and the Service
+was over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the Queen returned in the
+same State and Order, and prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was
+still at Prayers, we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.
+
+'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and along with him another
+who had a Table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three Times
+with the utmost Veneration, he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling
+again they both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod again,
+the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when they had kneeled,
+as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the Table, they
+too retired with the same Ceremonies performed by the first. At last
+came an unmarried Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was dressed in
+white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three Times, in the
+most graceful Manner, approached the Table, and rubbed the Plates with
+Bread and Salt with as much Awe as if the Queen had been present: When
+they had waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon their Backs,
+bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four Dishes, served in
+plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were received by a Gentleman in the
+same Order they were brought, and placed upon the Table, while the
+Lady-taster gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the
+particular dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the Time
+that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and stoutest Men that can
+be found in all England, being carefully selected for this Service, were
+bringing Dinner, twelve Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring
+for Half an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number of
+unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the
+Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the Queen's inner and more
+private Chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes
+to the Ladies of the Court.
+
+'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants; and it is
+very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or Native, is admitted at that
+Time, and then only at the Intercession of somebody in Power.'
+
+On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down the Palace
+and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted various persons, and
+after many delays began the building. He only succeeded, however, in
+erecting what is now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted into a
+Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid institution, one of the
+glories of Great Britain, and a standing monument of the nation's
+gratitude to her sailors, and an ever present invitation to enter the
+navy, was closed, with that stupid indifference to sentiment which so
+often distinguishes the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.
+
+
+4. LAMBETH PALACE
+
+[Illustration: Lambeth Palace]
+
+The now huge town of Lambeth presents few points of interest either to
+the visitor or to the historian. There are no buildings of any antiquity
+except the Palace and the Church. There are no modern buildings at all
+worth notice. There have been two or three memorable houses which we
+shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so memorable as to deserve
+long description. The Bishops of Rochester had a house in the Marsh--the
+site is in Carlisle Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's
+Hospital, close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531, a
+wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service as cook,
+wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of people, and was
+boiled to death in oil--the only instance, I believe, of this dreadful
+punishment. The wretched man was tied naked to a post and slowly lowered
+into the boiling fluid. Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who
+lived in this house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed
+in some form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it with the Crown
+for a house thought more convenient in Southwark, close to Winchester
+House. The Crown gave it to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have
+let it on lease: thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether
+and became given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly house: then
+a dancing master taught his accomplishments in the house: then it became
+a school. Finally, the gardens were built over, the operations
+disclosing many interesting gates and 'bits.'
+
+Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk: it was called
+Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of the Palace, on the site
+now marked by Paradise Street. Here lived the old Duke whose life was
+saved by the death of Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the
+accomplished Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar, was the
+Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live in it; the house was
+neglected, probably because no tenant could be found for it. Finally, it
+was pulled down. It is interesting to note the town houses which stood
+upon the Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of Lewes;
+of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House of St. Mary Overies;
+Winchester House; Rochester House; Norfolk House; and later, the house
+of the St. Johns at Battersea. There are none between Bankside and
+Lambeth; that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars and
+Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.
+
+[Illustration: BONNER HALL, LAMBETH]
+
+Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt Hall, afterwards
+Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens afterwards called Vauxhall.
+In this house the unfortunate Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good
+deal might be written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.
+
+The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester, and the Duke of
+Norfolk stood close together and clustered round the church. The reason
+was the necessity of building on or near to the Embankment. Exactly
+opposite the south porch of the church may be observed a small and
+somewhat decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and separate
+existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of which this was the
+principal street and the centre. The village, in fact, did exist from
+very early times; its population for the most part earned their
+livelihood as Thames fishermen. They were the lineal successors of that
+fortunate Edric to whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the
+Abbey. There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down the river
+on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror is said to have burned
+Southwark it was the fishermen's cottages which he destroyed. None of
+these lived between Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the
+fact that there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer, until
+about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in Lambeth. The
+place is described as mean and rickety, with neither paving nor lamps;
+the woodwork of the cottages broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the
+windows stuffed with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags;
+the court a receptacle for everything.
+
+Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the nineteenth
+century, during which its population has been actually multiplied by
+ten, and more than ten, rising from 27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891,
+an enormous increase. The principal reason of this development is the
+introduction of a great many industries--potteries, vinegar factories,
+distilleries, salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.
+
+Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor a desirable
+place of residence. The perambulator looks about in vain for streets
+noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in vain for houses beautiful or
+ancient; there is nothing to reward him. Old houses there were before
+the great increase began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in
+parts it is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction.
+It has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall Gardens,
+on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is well laid out and
+planted; already it is a pretty piece of greenery, and, with Kennington
+and Battersea Parks, offers a much wanted breathing place for the
+multitudes of that quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by
+a statue of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting in a
+chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands an angel with
+outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel. He is obviously
+embarrassed by the situation. He feels that he ought to be dressed in
+some kind of Court costume--if he knew what--in order to receive the
+angel; or the angel might have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the
+statesman. The wings were probably in the way.
+
+[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+
+(_From 'La Belle Assemblée,' Nov. 1822_)]
+
+Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate, plays a very
+considerable part in the History of England. In 1232 and in 1234,
+Parliament was held here. In 1261 and 1280 Councils were held here. In
+1412 Archbishop Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as heretical of a
+great many opinions, insomuch that it became obviously dangerous to have
+any opinions at all. This, however, was the condition of mind most
+desired by the Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is
+needless to recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It was sometimes
+a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the care of the Archbishop at
+Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of
+Southampton, Lord Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable
+confinement, not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own chamber.
+
+[Illustration: BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH]
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+
+(_From an Engraving dated 1804_)]
+
+That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was necessary at a
+time when the clergy could only be tried in Ecclesiastical Courts, so
+that the Bishops could not send their criminous clerks to an ordinary
+prison. Hence it is that we frequently read of a priest brought before
+an Ecclesiastical Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards inveighed
+against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused the Bishops of too
+great leniency towards their delinquents and prisoners. In some cases,
+no doubt, the ecclesiastical prison was used to save a prisoner from the
+worst consequences of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour to believe
+that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth there were many who
+might have been burned but for the humanity which sometimes overrode
+even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.
+
+[Illustration: LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER]
+
+It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne, 'Lambeth
+Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain out of his prisons below
+his manor house at Lambeth. The Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the
+Archbishop who yet carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor
+man regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.
+
+The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained, the work of
+nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a full and complete history
+of the buildings, which would be outside the limits of the present
+chapter, the reader is referred to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J.
+Cave-Browne, called 'Lambeth and its Associations.'
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE]
+
+It is impossible to determine when the building of Lambeth Palace began.
+One thing is certain, that it has always been an Ecclesiastical Palace.
+The manor of Lambeth belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the
+Confessor. In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men, who
+with their families probably represented a population of about 200. They
+had a church, which stood on the site of the present church. Observe how
+all the old churches belonging to the Marsh stand on the
+Embankment--Rotherhithe; St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife of
+Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop and convent of
+Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it is said, took it from the
+Bishop; it was seized by William the Conqueror. William Rufus restored
+it to Rochester and added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert,
+Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the Bishop and
+convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth. Having got possession of
+the place, Hubert set to work to improve it. He obtained a weekly market
+and an annual fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.
+
+What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that he did build
+some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added other buildings; Boniface,
+A.D. 1260, found the buildings in great need of repair or insufficient.
+He was the first considerable builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair
+guess at the work of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded
+by the monastic Houses--this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House. We may also
+take it for granted that certain essential parts of the building, though
+they might be rebuilt with greater splendour, would not change their
+position. For instance, when in after years we find a chapel, a
+cloister, a water-tower, or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower,
+or entrance from the land--then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner of the
+Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the chapel he found a
+water-tower with a gate opening upon a creek of the river by which
+everything was received into the House, the door of communication with
+the outer world, while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up
+the creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt the
+cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his Hall. A Hall
+was absolutely necessary for a great house, and for an Archbishop's
+Palace it must be a splendid Hall. What is now called the Guard Room was
+probably at first part of the Archbishop's private apartments.
+
+[Illustration: Doorway in the Lollard's Tower]
+
+A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321. At that time
+there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his Chamber, his Hall, the
+Chancellor's Chambers, the Great Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain
+minor apartments--a modest list, but the dormitories and principal
+bedchambers are not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library,
+the offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have been
+there.
+
+Then we come to the later works, of which there are more than we need
+set down--are they not written in Ducarel the Laborious and in
+Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and ashes of ancient facts? The
+principal gateway as we now see it is the fifteenth century work of
+Cardinal Morton; it is built in the same style as the gateway of St.
+John's College, Cambridge, but is much larger and finer; with the
+Church, it forms a most effective group of buildings. The present Water
+Tower was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate--that is to say, the
+real gate of communication with the world. To this gate came all the
+visitors--Kings and Cardinals, Legates, Bishops and Ambassadors; and to
+this gate came the barges with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is
+said to have built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel.
+Cardinal Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably the
+piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller tower on the south face
+of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark here that the Tower never had any
+connection with Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy
+Lollard prisoners is without foundation.
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' PRISON]
+
+Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his three years of
+occupancy and 15,000_l._ of his own money in restoring the place for the
+honour and splendour of the Church. As for what has been done since that
+time, especially by Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed
+history of the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is
+a worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for the
+residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman Catholic
+predecessors, to a Church whose members love some splendour in their
+ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love splendour in their churches
+and stateliness in their ritual. They do not desire to make a Bishop
+rich: they do desire that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow
+circumstances: they desire that he should be able to take the lead in
+all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat in splendid
+state: he sat every day at a table loaded with costly and luxurious
+food: outwardly he was clothed with silken robes. But he touched nothing
+that was set before him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore
+next his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered his
+hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal Bishop of mediæval
+times. Our own is much the same: a simple life: a splendid house: modest
+wants: a large income: for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop, whether of
+the old or of the Reformed Faith.
+
+The Chapel has at least one memory which will always cling to it. Within
+its dark and gloomy crypt Anne Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to
+hear her sentence. She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am
+not qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing of
+evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I believe that
+those who have examined into the case are of opinion that Anne Boleyn
+fell a victim to the King's jealousy: to his change of mind towards her:
+and to her own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was
+persuaded into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I have
+sometimes thought that the King must have thought her guilty, otherwise
+he would have divorced her on a charge of adultery, and suffered her to
+live. If he did not believe her guilty, how could he, being, above all
+things, a man of human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had
+once loved to so horrible a death?
+
+Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard death by burning
+with quite the same horror as is now common. There is a story of
+Rogers--or Bradford--the martyr. Some one once begged his intercession
+to save a woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself will some day
+have your hands full of this gentle death.' Punishment was meant to be
+painful: the least painful form of death was that accorded to the
+noble--to be beheaded. If a man died by the executioner, it was expected
+that he should suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease
+and in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by the
+executioner.
+
+I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he must have believed
+in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly have allowed such a sentence;
+and that cruel as it seems to us, it did not seem so cruel at that time.
+There is, however, no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy, than that of
+Anne Boleyn.
+
+Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South London, is a
+monument of English History from the twelfth century downwards.
+Kennington appears at intervals; Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich
+practically begins with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St.
+Paul's, belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a place
+little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the Greater London,
+how many, I should like to ask, have ever seen the interior? Of the vast
+population of Lambeth, Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the
+centre, how many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or
+its buildings?
+
+Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come and go across the
+Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant eyes to rest for a
+moment on the grey walls and Tower of the Palace, how many are there who
+know, or inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.
+
+[2] He probably means rushes.
+
+[3] At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.
+
+[4] Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned
+by Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went
+to apprehend Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees.
+King James I. suffered his Courtiers to omit it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS
+
+
+The part which Processions of all kinds played in the mediæval life is
+so great that one must inquire how Southwark fared in this respect.
+Where Bishops, Abbots, and great Lords lived there were Processions
+whenever one arrived or one departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went
+to the King's House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If the Earl
+of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant company of
+gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King kept his Christmas at Eltham,
+he would be preceded by an endless train of carts groaning and grumbling
+along the road, filled with household gear and followed by the troops of
+scullions, cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal regiment,
+sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard, besides the
+nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with him for the Christmas
+festivities. The town itself had its Processions: the annual march of
+the Fraternity to church: the departure and the arrival of the pilgrims;
+the Ecclesiastical Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the
+royal pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed that
+Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the pageant which began at
+London Bridge: and that the place itself was quite passed by and
+unconsidered.
+
+Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have drawn up a short
+series of notes on the sights of which the Borough took a share.
+
+Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges in 1392, he
+was met by four hundred of the citizens, all mounted and clad in the
+same livery: they invited him to ride to Westminster through London.
+
+'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey to Southwark,
+where, at St. George's Church, he was met by a procession of the Bishop
+of London and all the religious of every degree and both sexes, and
+about five hundred boys in surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white
+steed and a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The citizens
+received them, standing in their liveries on each side the street,
+crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'
+
+The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North London. Again,
+on the return of the victorious Henry the Fifth from France there was a
+splendid Pageant, of which the South got some part, namely, the
+following:
+
+'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt, the Mayor
+of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient grained scarlet, and
+four hundred commoners clad in beautiful murrey, well mounted and trimly
+horsed, with rich collars and great chains, met the King at Blackheath;
+and the clergy of London in solemn procession, with rich crosses,
+sumptuous copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage, and as one who
+remembered from Whom all victories are sent, seemed little to regard the
+vain pomp and shows, insomuch that he would not suffer his helmet to be
+carried with him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung
+by minstrels of his glorious victory, because he would the praise and
+thanks should be altogether given to God.
+
+'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the tower, stood a
+gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an axe, and in his left the
+keys of the City hanging to a staff, as if he had been the porter. By
+his side stood a female of scarcely less stature, intended for his wife.
+Around them were a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The
+towers were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front of
+them was inscribed CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE (the City of the King of
+Righteousness).
+
+'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty column like a little
+tower, built of wood and covered with linen; one painted like white
+marble, and the other like green jasper. They were surmounted by figures
+of the King's beasts--an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms
+suspended from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a lion,
+bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.
+
+'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a tower, formed and
+painted like the columns before mentioned, in the middle of which, under
+a splendid pavilion, stood a most beautiful image of St. George, armed,
+excepting his head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry, with his
+arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of shields. On his right
+hung his triumphal helmet, and on his left a shield of his arms of
+suitable size. In his right hand he held the hilt of the sword with
+which he was girt, and in his left a scroll, which, extending along the
+turrets, contained these words, SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA. In a
+contiguous house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with sprigs
+of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied by organs, an
+anthem, supposed to be that beginning "Our King went forth to Normandy;"
+and whose burthen is "Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'
+
+When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432--
+
+'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry the Sixth was met
+at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2;
+the latter being dressed in white, with the cognizances of their
+mysteries or crafts embroidered on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his
+brethren in scarlet.
+
+'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised a mighty giant,
+standing with a sword drawn, and having this poetical speech inscribed
+by his side:
+
+    'All those that be enemies to the King,
+      I shall them clothe with confusion,
+    Make him mighty by virtuous living,
+      His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:
+      And him to increase as Christ's champion.
+    All mischiefs from him to abridge,
+    With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.
+
+'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived at the
+drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with silk and cloth of arras,
+out of which suddenly appeared three ladies, clad in gold and silk, with
+coronets upon their heads; of which the first was dame Nature, the
+second dame Grace, and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the
+King in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together with
+those which followed, the curious will find in their place. On each side
+of them were ranged seven virgins, all clothed in white; those on the
+right hand had baudricks of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had
+their garments powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost--sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God: and the others
+with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:
+
+    'God thee endow with a crown of glory,
+    And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,
+    And with a sword of might and victory,
+    And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,
+    A shield of faith for to defend thee,
+    A helm of health wrought to thine increase,
+    Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.
+
+'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which was "Welcome out
+of France."'
+
+The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou on her Coronation
+presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark, 'Peace and plenty,'
+with the motto 'Ingredimini et replete terram,'--Enter ye and replenish
+the earth--and the following verses were recited:
+
+    Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,
+      Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce
+    And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,
+      With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:
+      Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,
+    Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,
+      With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,
+    Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the words, 'Jam non
+ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21), and the following verses
+were addressed to the Queen:
+
+    So trustethe your people, with assurance
+      Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.
+    'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,
+      Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:
+    Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,
+      Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;
+    Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,
+      Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.
+    Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,
+      Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;
+    Wherein he and his might escape and passe
+      The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:
+    Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,
+      By meane of mercy found a restinge place
+    After the flud, vpon this Armonie.
+    Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,
+      Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,
+    Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,
+      Conducte by grace and power devyne;
+    Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine
+      By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.
+    Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne
+      Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.
+
+On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince Arthur there was a
+great Pageant. The part at the south entrance of the Bridge is thus
+described:
+
+'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two roodlofts;
+in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a wheel in her hand, in
+likeness of Saint Katherine, with many virgins on every side of her; and
+in the higher story was another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also
+with a great multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed.
+Above all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes, and in every
+square was a garter with this poesy in French, _Onye soit que male
+pens_, inclosing a red rose. On the tops of these tabernacles were six
+angels, casting incense on the Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer
+walls were painted with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and
+red; and at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane painted with the arms
+of England. The whole work was carved with timber, and was gilt and
+painted with biss and azure.'
+
+The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was that of Charles the
+Second at his Restoration:
+
+'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen met the King at
+St. George's Fields in Southwark, and the former, having delivered the
+City sword to his Majesty, had the same returned with the honour of
+knighthood. A very magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided
+with a sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He then
+proceeded towards London, which was pompously adorned with the richest
+silks and tapestry, and the streets lined with the City Corporations and
+trained bands; while the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious
+wines, and the windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such
+an infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body of the
+people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.
+
+'The procession was chiefly composed of the military. First marched a
+gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver, brandishing their swords,
+and led by Major-General Brown; then another troop of two hundred in
+velvet coats, with footmen and liveries attending them, in purple; a
+third led by Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver
+sleeves and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred, with
+blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and several
+footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two hundred and twenty,
+with thirty footmen in grey and silver liveries, and four trumpeters
+richly habited; another of an hundred and five, with grey liveries, and
+six trumpets; and another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three
+troops more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all gloriously
+habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came two trumpets with his
+Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men, in number fourscore, in red cloaks,
+richly laced with silver, with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed
+six hundred of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen in different
+liveries, with streamers, &c.; after whom came kettle-drums and
+trumpets, with streamers, and after them twelve ministers (clergymen) at
+the head of his Majesty's life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord
+Gerrard. Next the City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours,
+with the City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings, with footmen
+in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth of gold; the heralds
+and maces in rich coats; the Lord Mayor bare-headed, carrying the
+sword, with his Excellency the General (Monk) and the Duke of
+Buckingham, also uncovered; and then, as the lustre to all this splendid
+triumph, rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes of
+York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse with white colours;
+the General's life-guard, led by Sir Philip Howard, and another troop of
+gentry; and, last of all, five regiments of horse belonging to the army,
+with back, breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'
+
+On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick, William the Third made
+a triumphant entry into London:
+
+'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach, with Prince
+George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by four score other coaches,
+each drawn by six horses. The Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the
+King, the Lord Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal noblemen. Some
+companies of Foot Grenadiers went before, the Horse Grenadiers followed,
+as did the Horse Life-Guards and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the
+Gentlemen of the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's coach.
+
+'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor met his Majesty,
+where, on his knees, he delivered the sword, which his Majesty returned,
+ordering him to carry it before him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech
+suitable to the occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.
+
+'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained Bands, in buff
+coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded; then followed two of the
+King's coaches, and one of Prince George's; then two City Marshals on
+horseback, with their six men on foot in new liveries; the six City
+Trumpets on horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their
+halberds and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended by a servant
+on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor and Remembrancer, the
+two Secondaries, the Comptroller, the Common Pleaders, the two Judges,
+the Town Clerk, the Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the Common Crier
+and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of black damask and gold
+chain; each with a servant; then those who had fined for Sheriffs or
+Aldermen, or had served as such, according to their seniority, in
+scarlet, two and two, on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with
+their gold chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the
+Aldermen below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended by his
+Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on horseback, with
+two servants; and the Aldermen above the chair, in scarlet, on
+horseback, wearing their gold chains, each attended by his Beadle and
+four servants. Then followed the State all on horseback, uncovered,
+viz.: the Knight Marshall with a footman on each side; then the
+kettle-drums, the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms, Heralds of Arms,
+Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms on each side, bearing their
+maces, all bare-headed, and each attended with a servant. Then the Lord
+Mayor of London on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar
+and jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission, with four
+footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms supplying the place of
+Garter King at Arms on his right hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers
+supplying the place of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left
+hand, each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich coach,
+followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the Nobility, Judges,
+&c., according to their ranks and qualities, there being between two
+and three hundred coaches, each with six horses.'
+
+On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by the Mayor and
+Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark, with much the same state
+as that of William III. seventeen years before.
+
+The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many, had nothing to
+do with Southwark at all, except when they were water processions, in
+which case they could be seen as well from the South as from the North.
+But, in fact, Southwark was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants.
+The sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark. Why should
+the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has been shown over and
+over again, it consisted of nothing at all but a causeway and an
+embankment, and what was once a broad Marsh drained and divided into
+fields and gardens and woods.
+
+I have set down what royal processions Southwark was permitted to see,
+but I do not suppose that among the four hundred citizens who went out
+in one livery to meet King Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor
+do I suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter south of London
+Bridge. In other words, although in course of time there was
+appointed--never elected--an Alderman of the Bridge Without, at no time
+in these Pageants or in these functions was Southwark ever regarded as
+part of the City, nor were her wishes consulted or her interests
+considered.
+
+One Pageant alone--that of our own time--the splendid Pageant of 1897,
+reversed this position. As is well known, the Procession which
+celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign passed through the Borough as well as
+the City.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY
+
+
+I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only now remembered by
+the curious as the alleged original of Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare
+drew his incomparable knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then
+one can only say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a successful
+soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding in France.
+Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike, even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of
+taverns and of low company, with no dignity and no authority. The only
+point that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff lies
+in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a certain battle,
+one of the many which he fought: and that on his return from France, the
+English, exasperated at their losses, laid the blame as they always do
+upon their most distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his
+old age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so great: yet
+Fastolf was never a defeated general.
+
+Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional charge of
+cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.' he presents him running
+away:
+
+    _Captain._ Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?
+
+    _Fast._ Whither away? To save myself by flight.
+          We are like to have the overthrow again.
+
+    _Captain._ What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?
+
+    _Fast._        Ay,
+          All Talbots in the world to save my life.
+
+And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:
+
+    This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,
+    When but in all I was six thousand strong,
+    And that the French were almost ten to one,
+    Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
+    Like to a trusty knight, did run away.
+
+And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.
+
+Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people held the manors of
+Caister and Rudham. He was born in the year 1378, and became, after the
+fashion of the times, first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to
+Thomas of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.
+
+Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume of France and
+other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If so he must have been
+fighting in France or elsewhere across the seas as early as 1400.
+Perhaps he went over earlier. He was, at least, successful in getting
+promotion, and promotion in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed
+on a soldier incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at Agincourt: at the
+taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen: he was Governor of
+Condé-sur-Noireau and of other places, as they were taken. We find him,
+for instance, the Governor of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died,
+in 1422, he became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy and Governor of
+Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to observe that in spite of his great
+services he was not knighted until 1417, when he was already forty years
+of age. In 1426, he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company of
+archers he put to flight an army.
+
+His record does not lead one to expect a charge of cowardice. Yet the
+charge was brought. It was after the Battle of Patay, in which Talbot
+was taken prisoner and the English totally defeated. The reverse was
+attributed by Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than
+to his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation, which was
+made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably Lord Talbot persisted
+in his explanation of defeat. The age, it must be confessed, was not
+exactly chivalrous. The Wars of the Roses, which were about to begin,
+brought to light gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured
+princes as well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If Lord Talbot
+simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat upon Fastolf, it would
+be what other noble lords were perfectly ready to do in their anxiety to
+escape responsibility in the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then
+thought, which brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction. Yet
+the common people heard the reports brought home by the soldiers:
+nothing is more easy than a charge of treachery and cowardice: they knew
+nothing of the acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running away.
+
+After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of Caen: he raised
+the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the Duc de Bar: he was twice
+appointed ambassador: he fought in the army of the Duc de Bretagne
+against the Duc d'Alençon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of the
+war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord Talbot's accusation.
+
+In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his sword, put off his
+armour and returned to England. Few men could show a longer, or a finer,
+record of war. In 1441 he received from the Duke of York an annuity of
+£20 a year, 'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He
+spent the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very well
+understand that he was a man of great wealth when we read that the
+castle covered five acres of land.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+These are the achievements of the man. About his private life and
+character we have a great fund of information in the 'Paston Letters.'
+His latest biographer ('S. L. L.' in the 'Dictionary of National
+Biography') concludes from these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping
+man of business:' that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that
+he was a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure at his
+hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from the letters. At
+the same time we must consider, apart from the letters, the manners of
+the age and the conditions of the age.
+
+Let us take the charges one by one.
+
+First, that his dependents had much to endure from him.
+
+It was not a time when dependents spent their time as they pleased. In a
+well-ordered household every man had his post and his work. An old
+Knight who had fought for forty years and commanded armies was not at
+all likely to be a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no
+greater disciplinarian than the old soldier: no household is more
+sternly ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies, he had
+governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded despotic authority:
+he had found it necessary to master every branch of human activity,
+including the law and the chicanery of lawyers: as the general in
+command or the Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his dependents to
+consider his interests as before everything else. The stern old Captain,
+I can very well believe, looked to every one of his dependents for his
+share of work, and I can also very well believe that they feared him as
+the masterful man is always feared.
+
+One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.' But he gives no
+reasons.
+
+[Illustration: SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of spies,
+traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without becoming stern
+and hard. As a soldier he had to harden himself: as a governor he had to
+observe justice rather than pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish
+criminals. I picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be done as soon as
+he commanded it, at the coming of whom his servants became instantly
+absorbed in work, at whose footstep his secretaries dared not lift their
+heads.
+
+Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The letters are full
+of complaints about trespass, invasion of his rights, and attempts to
+over-reach him. How could a man choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at
+a time when the law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge
+his boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land robber was
+everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what was not his own. Private
+persons, simple esquires, had to fortify their houses against their
+neighbours and to prepare for a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret
+Paston, 'to get some crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and
+quarrel'--_i.e._ bolts--'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.' And she goes
+on to enumerate the warlike preparations made by her neighbour.
+
+Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and quarrels for
+his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains how Robert Hungerford,
+Knight, and Lord Moleyne and Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his
+house and manor of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and
+robbed and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.
+
+These are things which do sometimes make neighbours testy.
+
+But he is a 'grasping man of business.'
+
+Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon property
+belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and justice cannot be had.
+Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice Yelverton, resolve to address the
+Duke of Norfolk, and to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and
+Suffolk 'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice be
+hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should resolve to
+get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man 'grasping' because he
+stands up in his own defence? Read again the following. 'I pray you
+sende me worde who darre be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And
+sey hem on my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then they shall be
+quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say by God or the Devyll. And
+therefor I charge you, send me word whethyr such as hafe be myne
+adversaries before thys tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I
+see nothing unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.
+
+It is further objected that he had long-standing claims against the
+Crown, and was always setting them forth and pressing them. If his
+claims were just, why should he not press them? If a man makes a claim
+and does not press it, what does it mean except that he is afraid of
+pressing it or that it is an unjust claim?
+
+The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which were never
+settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable property well worth
+defending. He had no fewer than ninety-four manors: there were four
+residences--Caister: Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a
+sum of money in the treasure chest of 2,643_l._ 10_s._, equivalent to
+about 50,000_l._ of our money. There were no banks in those days and no
+investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate and armour and weapons:
+he spent, as a rule, the greater part of his income, showing his wealth
+and his rank by the splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for
+instance, had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.
+
+His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney Lane, which now
+leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring Street. The Knight had good
+neighbours. On the east of St. Olave's Church was the ancient house
+built in the 12th century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given
+by his successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next to
+the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between, the Abbot of
+Battle's Inn, a great building on the river bank, with gardens lying on
+the other side of what is now Tooley Street. The site was long marked by
+'The Maze' and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are no
+means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the place. It was
+certainly a building round a quadrangle capable of housing many
+followers, because he proposed to fill it with a garrison and so to meet
+Cade's insurgents. Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth
+would not be contented with a small house. On the south side of St.
+Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the Inn or House of
+the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile across the fields and gardens rose
+the towers and walls of St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there
+were other great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of Stoney
+Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses seldom precede fields. A
+house often degenerates, but is rarely converted into a meadow. This,
+however, did happen with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that
+the house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family, and being
+deserted by them was presently let out in tenements till it was pulled
+down and replaced by other buildings. According to these indications,
+then, Fastolf's house was the last of the great houses on the east side
+of London Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually sailed from
+Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions and supplies of all
+kinds for his house at Southwark. This fact not only proves that his
+household was very large, but it illustrates one way in which the great
+houses, the ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were
+victualled. If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to London it is
+certain that those who lived inland sent up caravans of pack-horses
+laden with the produce of their estates and sent up to town flocks of
+cattle and sheep and droves of pigs.
+
+[Illustration: The Site of Sir John Fastolf's House in Tooley Street]
+
+I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at Southwark
+against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for himself and for everybody
+with him, he was persuaded to retire across the river to the Tower
+before the rebels reached the gates. The story is one of the most
+interesting in the whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the
+truth, unless one looks into them for persons we already know, are
+somewhat dull in the reading.
+
+When the Commons of Kent were reported to be approaching London in the
+year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled his house in Southwark with old
+soldiers from Normandy and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the
+rebels and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when they
+caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn, a servant of Sir
+John, they were disposed to make an example of him. And now you shall
+hear what happened to John Payn in his own words, the spelling being
+only partly modernised.
+
+'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly to consedir the
+grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner haeth, and haeth had
+evyr seth the comons of Kent come to the Blakheth,[5] and that is at XV.
+yer passed whereas my maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre
+testator,[6] commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens of Kent,
+to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd: and al so sone as
+I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn[7] made the comens to take me. And
+for the savacion of my maisters horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way
+with the ij. horses; and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of
+Kent. And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng thedyr,
+and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with the horse. And I seyd
+that I come thedyr to chere with my wyves brethren, and other that were
+my alys and gossipps of myn that were present there. And than was there
+oone there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John Fastolfes
+men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes; and then the capteyn
+lete cry treson upon me thorough all the felde, and brought me at iiij.
+partes of the feld with a harrawd of the Duke of Exeter[8] before me in
+the dukes cote of armes, makyng iiij. _Oyes_ at iiij. partes of the
+feld; proclaymyng opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr for
+to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr, fro the
+grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce, as the seyd capteyn
+made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the
+whech mynnysshed all the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn,
+the whech was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he seid that the
+seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase with the olde sawdyors of
+Normaundy and abyllyments of werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan
+that they come to Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde
+lese my hede.
+
+'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns tent, and j. ax
+and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn of myn hede; and than my
+maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,[9] with other of my frendes, come and
+lettyd the capteyn, and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij.
+(a hundred or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane my
+lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to the capteyn, and to
+the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk, and aray me in the best wyse
+that I coude, and come ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th'
+articles, and brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.
+
+'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought hym th' articles,
+and enformed hym of all the mater, and counseyled hym to put a wey all
+his abyllyments of werr and the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went
+hymself to the Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j.
+(_i.e._ one) Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it coste me of my
+noune propr godes at that tyme more than vj. merks in mate and drynke;
+and nought withstondyng the capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte
+Whyte Harte in Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me
+oute of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne of muster
+dewyllers[10] furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of Bregandyrns[11]
+kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt naile, with leg-harneyse,
+the vallew of the gown and the bregardyns viijli.
+
+'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my chamber in your
+rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke awey j. obligacion of myn
+that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by a prest of Poules, and j. nother
+obligacion of j. knyght of xli., and my purse with v. ryngs of golde,
+and xvijs. vjd. of golde and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete
+of the touche of Milleyn;[12] and j. gowne of fyn perse[13] blewe furryd
+with martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,[14] and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;[15] and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede, whan that
+they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And there my Maister Ponyngs and
+my frends savyd me, and so I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle
+was at London Brygge;[16] and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt nere hand to
+deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle, and myght nevyr come
+oute therof; and iiij. tymes before that tyme I was caryd abought
+thorough Kent and Sousex, and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.
+
+'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey all oure godes
+movabyll that we had, and there wolde have hongyd my wyfe and v. of my
+chyldren, and lefte her no more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And
+a none aftye that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,[17] apechyd me to the
+Quene, and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of myn lyf, and
+was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and quarteryd; and so wold
+have made me to have pechyd my Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause
+that I wolde not, they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have
+sent me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j. coseyn of myn
+noune that were yomen of the Croune, they went to the Kyng, and got
+grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'
+
+Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest traitor in
+England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the garrisons of Normandy,
+and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was the cause of the 'lesyng of all the
+Kyng's tytyll and rights of an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'
+
+The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir John wants to
+know what the rebellion means. Let one of his men go and find out. Let
+him take two horses in case of having to run for it: the rebels will
+most probably kill him if they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's
+work: what can a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can he
+look for except to be killed some time or other? So John Payn takes two
+horses and sets off. As we expected, he does get caught: he is brought
+before Mortimer as a spy. At this point we are reminded of the false
+herald in 'Quentin Durward,' but in this case it is a real herald
+pressed into the service of Mortimer, _alias_ Jack Cade. Now the
+Captain is by way of being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story
+about him, that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts the affair in a
+courteous fashion. No moblike running to the nearest tree: no beating
+along the prisoner to be hanged upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner
+is conducted with much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at
+each is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the block are
+brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness of death. But his
+friends interfere: he must be spared or a hundred heads shall fall. He
+is spared: on condition that he goes back, arrays himself in his best
+harness and returns to fight on the side of the rebels.
+
+Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his master
+wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion in-so-much that
+Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats across the river to the
+Tower. But before going he tells the man that he must keep his parole
+and go back to the rebels to be killed by them or among them. So the
+poor man puts on his best harness and goes back.
+
+They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him in the crowd of
+those who fight on London Bridge.
+
+It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered London when he
+murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer, Sheriff of Kent, and plundered
+and fined certain merchants. He kept up, however, the appearance of a
+friend of the people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants, themselves,
+and the better class held the bridge.
+
+The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be remembered that
+the battle was fought on the night of Sunday the 5th of July, in
+midsummer, when there is no night, but a clear soft twilight, and when
+the sun rises by four in the morning. It was a wild sight that the sun
+rose upon that morning. The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts
+and cries, alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on. And all night
+long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms in readiness to take
+their place on the bridge. And all night the old and the young and the
+women lay trembling in their beds lest the men of London should be
+beaten back by the men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and
+sword to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the dead
+were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and were trampled upon
+until they were dead: and beneath their feet the quiet tide ebbed and
+flowed through the arches.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550]
+
+'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving themselves
+neither to be sure of goods nor of life well warranted determined to
+repell and keepe out of their citie such a mischievous caitife and his
+wicked companie. And to be the better able so to doo, they made the lord
+Scales, and that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and furtherance
+therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid, with shooting off the
+artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew Gough was by him appointed to
+assist the maior and Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other
+capteins, appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish men once to
+approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept for feare of sudden
+assaults, hearing that the bridge was thus kept, ran with great hast to
+open that passage where between both parties was a fierce and cruell
+fight.
+
+'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their tackling more
+manfullie than he thought they would have done, advised his companie not
+to advance anie further toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that
+they might see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide
+for the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the bridge foot to
+the draw bridge, and began to set fire to diverse houses. Great ruth it
+was to behold the miserable state, wherein some desiring to eschew the
+fire died upon their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to save
+themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in their houses choked
+and smothered. Yet the capteins not sparing, fought on the bridge all
+the night valiantlie, but in conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge,
+and drowned manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand, a
+hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a man of great
+wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie, the which in continuall
+warres had spent his time in service of the king and his father.
+
+'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge, till nine
+of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the Londoners were beaten
+backe to saint Magnus corner; and suddenlie againe, the rebels were
+repelled to the stoops in Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and
+wearie, agreed to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon
+condition that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell capteine
+for making him more friends, brake up the gaites of the kings Bench and
+Marshalsie and so were manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his
+matters in hand.' (Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)
+
+When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky Payn into prison
+and tried to get out of him some admission that might enable them to
+impeach Sir John of treason. This old soldier was not without some love
+of letters. One of his household, William Worcester, wrote for him
+Cicero 'De Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings of the
+Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by Stephen Perope
+his stepson.
+
+After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in Southwark but
+seldom. He went down into Norfolk, employed his ships in carrying stone
+and built his great castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He
+purposed founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven poor
+folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at Cambridge: he
+made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford. His intentions as to the College
+were never carried out, the bequest being transferred to Magdalen
+College, Oxford, for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor
+scholars. He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was in a
+losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great part of the
+odium that falls upon a general who is on the losing side: at the same
+time, in his own actions he was, almost without exception, victorious:
+and there does not seem any reason why he more than any other should
+bear the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in deference to
+popular opinion that no honours were paid to the veteran of so many
+fights. Perhaps he was not a _persona grata_ at Court. Certainly the
+story of Payn's imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450,
+and again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.
+
+[6] Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left
+Paston his executor, as will be seen hereafter.
+
+[7] Jack Cade.
+
+[8] Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed,
+he adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s
+sister. His herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and
+pressed into their service.
+
+[9] Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and
+carver to Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than
+one occasion afterwards.
+
+[10] 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to
+Elizabeth's reign.'--Halliwell.
+
+[11] A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small
+iron plates sewed on.--_See_ Grose's _Antient Armour_. The back and
+breast of this coat were sometimes made separately, and called a
+pair.--Meyrick.
+
+[12] Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.
+
+[13] 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so
+called.'--Halliwell.
+
+[14] Budge fur.
+
+[15] Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.
+
+[16] The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.
+
+[17] Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it
+Rochester, from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for
+_Roffensis_. The Bishop of Rochester's name was John Lowe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON
+
+
+The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten as the all-night
+battle of London Bridge, took place also on a Sunday, twenty years
+afterwards. It was the concluding scene, and a very fit end--to the long
+wars of the Roses.
+
+There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William Nevill, Lord
+Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the Bastard of Fauconberg, or
+Falconbridge. This man was a sailor. In the year 1454 he had received
+the freedom of the City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for
+his services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War divided
+families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to put Edward on the
+throne, his son did his best to put up Henry.
+
+He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet, and in that
+capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch of Burgundians to the
+help of Edward. He seems to have crossed and recrossed continually.
+
+A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled across country.
+On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was fought. At this battle
+Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle of Tewkesbury finished the hopes
+of the Lancastrians. Yet on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg
+presented himself at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of
+London Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission to march through
+the town, promising that his men should commit no disturbance or
+pillage. Of course they knew who he was, but he assured them that he
+held a commission from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.
+
+In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter, pointing out that
+his commission was no longer in force because Warwick was dead nearly
+three weeks before, and that his body had been exposed for two days in
+St. Paul's; they informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been
+disastrous to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of a
+great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince Edward was slain
+with many noble lords of his following.
+
+All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to disbelieve. I
+think that he really did disbelieve the story: he could not understand
+how this great Earl of Warwick could be killed. He persisted in his
+demand for the right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass through London? If
+he merely wanted to get across he had his ships with him--they had come
+up the river and now lay off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army
+across in less time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to
+hold London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians were
+gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian heir to the throne
+at least.
+
+However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter urging him to
+lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward, who was now firmly
+established.
+
+Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began to look to their
+fortifications: on the river side the river wall had long since gone,
+but the houses themselves formed a wall, with narrow lanes leading to
+the water's edge. These lanes they easily stopped with stones: they
+looked to their wall and to their gates.
+
+The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the City. Like a
+skilful commander he attacked it at three points. First, however, he
+brought in the cannon from his ships, laying them along the shore: he
+then sent 3,000 men across the river with orders to divide into two
+companies, one for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on
+Bishopsgate. He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge. His
+cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of the Tower. We
+should like to know more of this bombardment. Did they still use round
+stones for shot? Was much mischief done by the cannon? Probably little
+that was not easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great artillerie
+against their adversaries, and with violent shot thereof so galled them
+that they durst not abide in anie place alongst the water side but were
+driven even from their own Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great
+guns from the Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie artillerie'
+could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite--not above the bridge.
+
+The three thousand men told off for the attack on the gates valiantly
+assailed them. But they met with a stout resistance. Some of them
+actually got into the City at Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind
+them, and they were all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate,
+performed prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the gates and
+sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500 men by the Tower Postern
+and chased the rebels as far as Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were
+killed. Many hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if
+they had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.
+
+The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The gate on the south
+was fired and destroyed: three score of the houses on the bridge were
+fired and destroyed: the north gate was also fired, but at the bridge
+end there were planted half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind
+them waited the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not
+another Battle of the Bridge to relate.
+
+The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting possession of
+London, resolved to march westward and meet Edward. By this time, it is
+probable that he understood what had happened. He therefore ordered his
+fleet to await him in the Mersey, and marched as far as
+Kingston-upon-Thames. It is a strange, incongruous story. All his
+friends were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt a
+thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order? Perhaps, however, he
+did not think it impossible.
+
+At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas Fanute, Mayor of
+Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair words' to return. Accordingly, he
+marched back to Blackheath, where he dismissed his men, ordering them to
+go home peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600--his sailors,
+one supposes--he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and took his ships round
+the coast to Sandwich.
+
+Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over to the King
+fifty-six ships great and small. The King pardoned him, knighted him,
+and made him Vice-Admiral of the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in
+September we hear that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to
+Middleham, in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon London
+Bridge.
+
+Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had been 'roving,' _i.e._
+practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral of the English fleet
+go off 'roving'? Surely not. I take it as only one more of the thousand
+murders, perjuries, and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever
+stained the history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward--the death of every man, noble or simple, who might
+take up arms against him. So the Bastard--this fool who had trusted the
+King and given him a fleet--was beheaded like all the rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE PILGRIMS
+
+
+The town was full of those who carried in their hats the pilgrim's
+signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage, every shrine had its
+special signs, which the pilgrim on his return bore conspicuously upon
+his hat or scrip or hanging round his neck (see Skeat, _Notes to Piers
+Plowman_) in token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullæ were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop shell that of
+St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and the vernicle of Rome--the
+vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief of St. Veronica, which was
+miraculously impressed with the face of our Lord. These shrines were
+cast in lead in the most part. Thus in the supplement to the _Canterbury
+Tales_,
+
+    Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,
+    For men of contre should know whom they had sought;
+    Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,
+    And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked
+    His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.
+
+Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is this that thou
+wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped, full of images of
+lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and the cuffs are adorned with
+snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.' To which the reply is that he has
+been to certain shrines on pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to
+the Society of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but especially in
+the river when Old London Bridge was removed. Bells--_Campana
+Thomæ_--Canterbury Bells--were also hung from the bridles, ringing
+merrily all the way by way of a charm to keep off evil.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY]
+
+Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from one or other of
+the Inns of Southwark: there was the short pilgrimage and the long
+pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day: the pilgrimage of a month: and the
+pilgrimage beyond the seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the
+ships of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella, which
+was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to Rocamadom in Gascony: or
+to Jaffa for the Holy Places. The pilgrimage _outremer_ is undoubtedly
+that which conferred the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon
+the soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.
+
+In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner had a
+considerable choice. He might simply go to the shrine of St. Erkenwald
+at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor at Westminster, he might
+even confine his devotions to the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished
+to go a little further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the
+Oak; of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the north
+side of London and belonged to the City rather than to Southwark. For
+him of the Borough there was the shrine of Crome's Hill, Greenwich,
+which provided a pleasant outing for the day: it might be prolonged with
+feasting and drinking to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family
+could get a holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness that so many
+years were knocked off purgatory.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, AYLESBURY]
+
+For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far distant journeys
+to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as Venice, and then by a
+'personally conducted' voyage, the captain providing escort to and from
+the Holy Places. There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.
+
+For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of South London
+had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas of Canterbury was the only
+Saint. There were other Saints, of course, but St. Thomas was his
+special Saint. No other shrine was possible for him save that of St.
+Thomas. Not Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would more
+effectively assist his soul.
+
+[Illustration: CANTERBURY PILGRIMS]
+
+In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an account of what was
+done and what was shown at the shrines of Our Lady of Walsingham and St.
+Thomas of Canterbury.
+
+'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself up towards
+heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that behold it at a great
+distance with an awe of religion, and now with its splendour makes the
+light of the neighbouring palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the
+place that was anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are
+two lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome from
+afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent country echo far
+and wide with their rolling sound. In the south porch of the church
+stand three stone statues of men in armour, who with wicked hands
+murdered the holy man, with the names of their countries--Tusci, Fusci,
+and Betri....
+
+'_Og._ When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty of place
+opens itself to you, which is free to every one. _Me._ Is there nothing
+to be seen there? _Og._ Nothing but the bulk of the structure, and some
+books chained to the pillars, containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the
+sepulchre of I cannot tell who. _Me._ And what else? _Og._ Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance, but so
+that the view is still open from one end of the church to the other. You
+ascend to this by a great many steps, under which there is a certain
+vault that opens a passage to the north side. There they show a wooden
+altar consecrated to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and
+remarkable for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man is reported
+to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when he was at the point of
+death. Upon the altar is the point of the sword with which the top of
+the head of that good prelate was wounded, and some of his brains that
+were beaten out, to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.
+
+'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground; to that
+there belong two showmen of the relics. The first thing they show you is
+the skull of the martyr, as it was bored through; the upper part is left
+open to be kissed, all the rest is covered over with silver. There is
+also shown you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth, the
+girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to mortify his
+flesh....
+
+'_Og._ From hence we return to the choir. On the north side they open a
+private place. It is incredible what a world of bones they brought out
+of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands, fingers, whole arms, all which we
+having first adored, kissed; nor had there been any end of it had it not
+been for one of my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the
+officer that was showing them....
+
+'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the ornaments; and
+after that those things that were laid up under the altar; all was very
+rich, you would have said Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to
+them, if you beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....
+
+'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God! what a pomp of
+silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks! There we saw also St.
+Thomas's foot. It looked like a reed painted over with silver; it hath
+but little of weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. _Me._ Was there never a cross? _Og._ I saw none. There
+was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse and without embroidery
+or jewels, and a handkerchief, still having plain marks of sweat and
+blood from the saint's neck. We readily kissed these monuments of
+ancient frugality....
+
+'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the high altar there
+is another ascent as into another church. In a certain new chapel there
+was shewn to us the whole face of the good man set in gold, and adorned
+with jewels....
+
+'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. _Me._ Who was he, the
+abbot of the place? _Og._ He wears a mitre, and has the revenue of an
+abbot--he wants nothing but the name; he is called the prior because the
+archbishop is in the place of an abbot; for in old time every one that
+was an archbishop of that diocese was a monk. _Me._ I should not mind if
+I was called a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. _Og._ He
+seemed to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted with
+the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which the remainder of the
+holy man's body is said to rest. _Me._ Did you see the bones? _Og._ That
+is not permitted, nor can it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box
+covers a golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers an
+inestimable treasure. _Me._ What say you? _Og._ Gold was the basest
+part. Everything sparkled and shined with very large and scarce jewels,
+some of them bigger than a goose's egg. There some monks stood about
+with the greatest veneration. The cover being taken off, we all
+worshipped. The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who was the
+donor of it. The principal of them were the presents of kings....
+
+'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin Mary has her
+residence; it is something dark; it is doubly railed in and encompassed
+about with iron bars. _Me._ What is she afraid of? _Og._ Nothing, I
+suppose, but thieves. And I never in my life saw anything more laden
+with riches. _Me._ You tell me of riches in the dark. _Og._ Candles
+being brought in we saw more than a royal sight. _Me._ What, does it go
+beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? _Og._ It goes far beyond in
+appearance. What is concealed she knows best. These things are shewn to
+none but great persons or peculiar friends. In the end we were carried
+back into the vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell down on
+their knees and worshipped. _Me._ What was in it? _Og._ Pieces of linen
+rags.'
+
+At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim was to see
+the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed, and to make
+offerings at every exhibition of relics. Thus on beholding the precious
+place containing the milk of the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the
+following prayer:--
+
+'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord of heaven and
+earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts, we desire that, being
+purified by His blood, we may arrive at that happy infant state of
+dovelike innocence in which, being void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we
+may continually desire the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we
+grow up to a perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the Father and
+the Holy Spirit. Amen.'
+
+On being shown the little chapel which was the actual dwelling-place of
+the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto, the pilgrim prostrated
+himself and recited as follows:--
+
+'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin, the most happy
+of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that are impure do now come to
+visit and address ourselves to thee that art pure, and reverence thee
+with our poor offerings, such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable
+us to imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace of
+the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most inward bowels of
+our minds, and having once conceived Him, never to lose Him. Amen.'
+
+As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station a priest at
+each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to give openly in the
+sight of all, otherwise they would give nothing at all, so great was
+their piety. Nay, even with this stimulus, there were found some who,
+while they laid their offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would
+steal what another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of set
+prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no more hesitate to
+steal from the altar than to commit any other offence against morality.
+
+On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims were waylaid by
+roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled them with holy water, and
+showed them St. Thomas's shoe to kiss. In fact, what with the treasures
+brought home by pilgrims, presented to archbishops and kings, and sold
+by pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with relics; at
+the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were cupboards filled with
+holy bones and precious rags; but there were too many: the credulity of
+the people had been tried too much and too long. Erasmus shows the
+profound disbelief that he himself, if no other, entertained for the
+sanctity of the relics.
+
+[Illustration: 15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH]
+
+[Illustration: RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY]
+
+Thomas à Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years afterwards his
+remains were transferred from their original resting-place by Stephen
+Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the shrine prepared for them
+behind the high altar.
+
+Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently indicated by the
+extracts quoted above, was not alone in his opinions. Indeed, it
+required no great wisdom to perceive that a religious pilgrimage
+conducted without the least attention to the religious life was a
+mockery.
+
+Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers Plowman, long
+before, had expressed the same contempt for pilgrims:
+
+    Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes
+    For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;
+    Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,
+    And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.
+    Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves
+    Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.
+
+But there is a more serious indictment still.
+
+In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a prisoner for
+heretical opinions, was allowed to state these opinions to Archbishop
+Arundel. An account remains, written by the priest himself, of his
+arguments and of the Archbishop's replies. On the subject of pilgrimage
+he is very strong.
+
+'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and so I purpose all
+my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying that suche fonde people wast
+blamefully God's goods in ther veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes
+upon vicious hostelers, which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo werkis of
+mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and women. Thes poor mennis
+goodes and their lyvelode thes runners aboute offer to rich priestis,
+which have mekill more lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes
+they waste wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve after Goddis
+will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye, and over this foly, ofte
+tymes diverse men and women of thes runners thus madly hither and
+thither in to pilgrimage borowe hereto other mennis goodes, ye and
+sometymes they stele mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never
+again. Also, Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage, they
+will order with them before to have with them both men and women that
+can well syng countre songes and some other pilgremis will have with
+them baggepipes; so that every timme they come to rome, what with the
+noyse of their synging and with the sounde of their piping and with the
+jangeling of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came there away
+with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis. And if these men and
+women be a moneth in their pilgrimage, many of them shall be an half
+year after great jangelers, tale tellers, and lyers.'
+
+'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou seest not ferre
+ynough in this matter, for thou considerest not the great trauel of
+pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the thing that is praisable. I say to
+the that it is right well done that pilgremys have with them both
+singers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote
+striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe, or else
+take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away with suche myrthe
+the hurt of his felow. For with soche solace the trauel and weeriness of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth."'
+
+From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the Tabard Inn, High
+Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April in, or about, the year 1380,
+it remains for me to show what pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the
+fourteenth century. This company met by appointment the night before the
+day of departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met by
+chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or for a voyage
+round the Mediterranean, the members do not agree to meet: they find out
+that a party will start on such a date from such a place, and they join
+it. Part of the business of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark,
+was to organise and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As
+the ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the voyage
+there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so the Host of the
+Tabard charged so much for conducting and entertaining the party there
+and back again. That the company was collected in this manner and not by
+personal agreement, is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way
+in which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and talked
+together shows that society of the fourteenth century was no respecter
+of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great leveller of rank.
+
+The following is a list of the company:--
+
+1.--A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.--A Prioress: an
+attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.--A Monk and a Friar. 4.--A
+Merchant. 5.--A Clerk of Oxford. 6.--A Serjeant at Law. 7.--A Franklin.
+8.--A Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry Maker,
+all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.--A Sailor and a Cook. 10.--A
+Physician, 11.--The Wife of Bath. 12.--A Town Parson and a Ploughman.
+13.--A Reeve, a Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the
+Poet himself.
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY MERCHANT]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is generally supposed
+that they rode the whole way to Canterbury, which is sixty-six miles, in
+a single day. Their resting places have, however, been found by
+Professor Skeat. Allow them sixteen hours for the journey. This means
+more than four miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that in the
+fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six miles a day
+over such roads as then existed, and at a time of year when the winter
+mud had not yet had time to dry.
+
+It is not without significance that out of the whole number a third
+should belong to the Church. Among them the Prioress Madame Eglantine is
+a gentlewoman who might belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and
+dainty: fond of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her
+eating: wearing a brooch,
+
+    On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,
+    And aftir, _Amor vincit omnia_.
+
+The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who kept many horses and
+hounds and loved to hunt the hare.
+
+The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions: a wanton man
+who married many women 'at his own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly
+imposing light penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives and pins
+as gifts for the women:--a wholly worldly loose living Limitour.
+
+The character of the Town Parson, brother of the Ploughman, is perhaps
+the most charming of all this wonderful group of portraits.
+
+      A good man was ther of religioun,
+    And was a povre PERSOUN of a toun;
+    But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
+    He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
+    That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
+    His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
+    Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
+    And in adversitee ful pacient;
+    And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.
+    Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,
+    But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
+    Un-to his povre parisshens aboute
+    Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.
+    He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.
+    Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
+    But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
+    In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte
+    The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,
+    Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.
+    This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
+    That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
+    Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
+    And this figure he added eek ther-to,
+    That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
+    For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
+    No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
+    And shame it is, if a preest take keep,
+    A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.
+    Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,
+    By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.
+    He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
+    And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,
+    And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,
+    To seken him a chauntrie for soules,
+    Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
+    But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,
+    So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
+    He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.
+    And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,
+    He was to sinful man nat despitous,
+    Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,
+    But in his teching discreet and benigne.
+    To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,
+    By good ensample, was his bisinesse:
+    But it were any persone obstinat,
+    What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,
+    Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.
+    A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.
+    He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
+    Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
+    But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
+    He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.
+
+The Sompnour, _i.e._ Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts, was a
+scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were afraid of him: he
+loved strong meat and strong drink. If he found a good fellow anywhere
+he bade him have no fear of the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were
+in his purse.
+
+Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as the Monk, the
+Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his wallet pardons from Rome; and
+relics without end: all the imagination in the nature of certain classes
+was lavished upon the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power
+of imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of St.
+Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the Pardoner did.
+Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.
+
+    Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse
+    Is al my preching, for to make hem free
+    To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.
+
+It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a Limitour, and a
+Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge of religion: the first a man
+who dresses like a layman and thinks of nothing but of hunting--what,
+then, of the Rule? The second, and the third, are both corrupt and
+rotten to the very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual
+life had gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been described,
+figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times. They form the most
+trustworthy presentation of the time which we possess. The Knight is
+full of chivalry, truth, honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and
+lusty, is a lover and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have books than
+rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen were all well-to-do, in
+easy circumstances: the Physician was an astrologer, who understood
+natural magic, _i.e._ the influence of the stars; and made for his
+patients images: he knew the cause of every malady and how it was
+engendered--the profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in crimson and
+blue, lined with taffeta and silk--it would be interesting to know when
+physicians assumed the black dress of the last century. Lastly, his
+study was but little in the Bible.
+
+The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.
+
+    A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
+    That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
+    As lene was his hors as is a rake,
+    And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
+    But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
+    Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;
+    For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
+    Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
+    For him was lever have at his beddes heed
+    Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
+    Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
+    Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.
+    But al be that he was a philosophre,
+    Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
+    But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,
+    On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,
+    And bisily gan for the soules preye
+    Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
+    Of studie took he most cure and most hede.
+    Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
+    And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
+    And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.
+    Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,
+    And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
+
+Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in those days we
+should perhaps call a 'lower middle class' woman than that of the Wyf of
+Bath? She is dressed in all the splendour that she can afford: she
+frankly loves fine dress.
+
+    A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,
+    But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
+    Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
+    She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
+    In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
+    That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
+    And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
+    That she was out of alle charitee.
+    Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
+    I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
+    That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.
+    Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
+    Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.
+    Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
+    She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,
+    Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,
+    Withouten other companye in youthe;
+    But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.
+    And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;
+    She hadde passed many a straunge streem;
+    At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne
+    In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.
+    She coude muche of wandring by the weye.
+    Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
+    Up-on an amblere esily she sat,
+    Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat
+    As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
+    A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
+    And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
+    In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
+    Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,
+    For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything that is
+pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the restlessness of the
+woman: she can never have enough of pilgrimage: she loves the company:
+the change: the things that one sees: the people that one meets. She has
+journeyed three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne: apart from
+the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so good an Englishwoman
+would not neglect the saints of her own country: after Canterbury she
+would pilgrimise to Beverley and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and
+many a local saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her avowed
+intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth should die. Yet, she
+declared, she honoured holy virgins.
+
+    Let them be bred of purëd whete seed
+    And let us wyves eten barley brede:
+    And yet with barley bred men telle can
+    Our Lord Ihesù refreisshed many man.
+
+Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself sings the
+divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her nose: the Limitour plays
+on the rote: the Miller plays the bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full
+loud:' the Knight's son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an
+accomplishment was far more common in the fourteenth than in the
+nineteenth century.
+
+Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same as pilgrims.
+The latter, however, simply journeyed from home to the shrine and back
+again: the former was under vows of poverty, and continually travelled
+from shrine to shrine. The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore,
+palmers. The first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.
+
+When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow it is not
+intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French which was
+spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and by English ecclesiastics of
+higher rank. But why of Stratford le Bow? Because here was a
+Benedictine nunnery dating from the eleventh century. The beautiful
+little Parish Church of Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The
+Wyf of Bath is 'gat toothed,' _i.e._ her teeth are wide apart: Professor
+Skeat has discovered that an old superstition attaches to such teeth,
+that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who have such teeth will travel far
+and be lucky. Popular superstitions are so long lived that one has
+little doubt about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.
+
+[Illustration: PEDLAR
+
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_]
+
+Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the pilgrimage
+from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one day. Is not this
+conclusion based upon the fact that the last tale ends a day and the
+journey at the same time? Is there anything to prove that the
+pilgrimage could have been concluded in a day there and a day back? Why,
+I have said that it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the
+best: the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about three miles
+an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for refreshment. When Cardinal
+Morton journeyed from Lambeth to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he
+took a whole week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company of
+pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the Archbishop would
+not take so much as six days? Add to these considerations that Chaucer
+is a perfectly 'sane' writer: his work hangs together: it would have
+been impossible to get through all those stories with the intervals
+between and the times for rest in a single day.
+
+Another point occurs. There was at one time--I think--in the early days
+of pilgrimage--a special service appointed for the departure of
+pilgrims--a kind of consecration of the pilgrimage. There is no hint of
+such a service in Chaucer or in any other writer of the time, so far as
+I know. There is none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth
+century. One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the pilgrimage as
+a thing to be approached in an altogether reverential and religious
+spirit had quite gone out of it even when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of
+Erasmus.
+
+The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the manner of
+talk among the better class of people at that time, are curiously
+modern. Witness the description of the Parson and the Parson's Tale,
+which is a sermon: witness also the contempt and hatred of the poet for
+the shrines of religion: the impostor with his relics: the Sompnour and
+the Friar. Chaucer makes the two latter tell stories reflecting on each
+other, such great love had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The
+poet through his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:
+
+    I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose
+    To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.
+    And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende
+    To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
+    Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage
+    That highte Ierusalem celestial--
+
+and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage, taking for his
+text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand ye in the ways, and see,
+and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
+ye shall find rest for your souls.'
+
+[Illustration: MINSTRELS A.D. 1480]
+
+The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So was Erasmus. The riding
+all together: the festive meals at the inn: the mixture of men and women
+of all conditions: the change of thought and scene--could not but be
+useful and beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and revelry, with the
+'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains: that there was an idle parade
+of pretended relics, and an assumption of virtues and miracles for these
+relics: we can also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity
+that, when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as would
+load a big ship, were gathered together and burned, something was not
+introduced to take the place of pilgrimages and make the people move
+about and get acquainted with each other.
+
+What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the heretic?
+
+'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou
+considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest
+that thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well done,
+that pilgremys have with them both syngers and also pypers, that whan
+one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and
+hurteth hym sore, and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or
+his felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe
+for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with
+soche solace the trauell and werinesse of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE LADY FAIR
+
+
+The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The most ancient
+was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August, and annexed to the Priory
+by Henry I. St. James's Fair was held for the benefit of St. James's
+Lazar House: there was a Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to
+St. Katherine's Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded
+by Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton--the Horse
+Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham: at Lambeth. The Lady
+Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of comparatively late foundation,
+having been established in the year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV.
+empowering the City of London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on
+the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such
+fairs appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of the
+mediæval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that of Cloth
+Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon Cherry Fair: that of
+Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for cheese. Most of them, however,
+were general Fairs held for the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops
+were booths arranged in order side by side, and in streets. One street
+was for wool and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for
+spices: another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most towns had no
+trade except in provisions and drink. To the Fair people came from all
+quarters to buy or to sell: the country housewife laid in her stores of
+spices, sugar, wine, furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that
+she could not make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country within
+reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham, and Tooting, to
+buy their stores for the coming year. There was always, from the
+beginning, something of a festive nature about a Fair: the merry crowd
+suggested feasting and good company: the drinking tempted one on every
+side: there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.
+
+When internal communications were improved, and people could easily ride
+or drive to the neighbouring town, the permanent shop replaced the
+temporary booth, and the original purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it
+became, and continued until the end, merely a place of amusement, and,
+until it became riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses of
+the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the singular fact that the
+comic actor never ceases out of the land: I do not mean the man who can
+play a comic part to the admiration of beholders, but the man who has a
+genius for bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler, the
+posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and teacher of
+animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all trained to perform
+tricks: women danced on the tight rope: jugglers tossed knives and
+balls: men fought with quarterstaff, single-sticks, rapier, or fist:
+there were exhibitions of strange monsters: there were strange
+creatures. The nature of the show was proclaimed by a large painted
+canvas hung outside the booth.
+
+[Illustration: BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR]
+
+Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I saw in
+Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses dance and do other
+feates of activity on ye tight rope; they were gallantly clad _à la
+mode_, went upright, saluted the company, bowing and pulling off their
+hats; they saluted one another with as good a grace as if instructed by
+a dancing-master. They turn'd heels over head with a basket having eggs
+in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in their hands and
+on their heads without extinguishing them, and with vessels of water
+without spilling a drop. I also saw an Italian wench daunce and performe
+all the tricks of ye tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see
+her. Likewise here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'
+
+Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion was on September
+11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw
+Southwark Fair.' Eight years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of
+which he gives the following account:
+
+'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the
+puppet-show of Whittington, which is pretty to see; and how that idle
+thing do work upon people that see it, and even myself too! And thence
+to Jacob Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I never
+saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took acquaintance with a
+fellow who carried me to a tavern, whither came the music of this booth,
+and by and by Jacob Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak,
+whether he ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a mighty strong
+man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine, I away.'
+
+Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful picture of
+Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was in the daytime,
+remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not shrink from depicting scenes
+because they were brutal, or debauched--the pen that drew the Rake's
+midnight orgies could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent
+or abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture of the Fair
+in the evening as well as the afternoon we should have known why the
+City grew more and more disgusted at the orgies of the Lady Fair until
+it became impossible to tolerate it any longer.
+
+The Fair was held in the open street, between St. Margaret's Hill and
+St. George's Church. Beyond St. George's Church was open country, with a
+few houses, &c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical booths,
+Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres, that of Lee and
+Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of
+Troy.' At the other Theatre, there is a great show cloth called the
+Stage Mutiny, referring to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece
+promised is the 'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of
+the actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy playing a
+cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part with a magnificent
+wig and a towering plumed helmet. Alas! the great man is arrested at the
+moment of taking the picture: at the same moment the stage outside the
+booth gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.' There is
+a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter rides across the
+stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he has received: the dwarf
+Savoyard plays his bagpipe and makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's
+shop under the falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the
+slack rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower of St.
+George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer shows some of his
+tricks outside, but promises marvels inside the booth; the rustics gaze
+in speechless admiration in the face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we
+see the beginning of the line of booths, where everything was sold that
+was of no value--toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes, whips,
+canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings, cloth slippers,
+night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the yard, singing birds and
+cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter platters and mugs. All day long the
+noise went on: it began at noon: the people came from the country and
+from the city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time immemorial:
+the children were brought and treated to a fairing, the peep-show, and
+the play, and some gingerbread. In the afternoon the country lads
+wrestled for a hat--you can see the hat in the picture; and the girls
+ran a race for a smock--you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun of the fair
+began. Then all the quiet people within hearing stopped their ears: and
+all the decent people ran away: and the prentices, the rustics, the
+roughs of the Mint with their correspondencies of the other sex, had
+their own way until the weary players put out their footlights and lay
+down to sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the counters
+and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers' assistants. And then,
+one supposes, the prentices, the rustics, and the rogues went home
+again. And in the morning repentance and an aching head, and an empty
+purse.
+
+We may take it that all the amusements and shows which were brought out
+for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair while it lasted, were also
+exhibited at Southwark.
+
+The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to music and with
+singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds formed a large part of the
+Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,' there is an advertisement of dancing in
+a booth:
+
+'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S
+HEAD Musick Booth, in Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn,
+during the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine, Mum,
+Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be Sold; and where
+you will likewise be entertained with good Musick, Singing and Dancing.
+You will see a Scaramouch Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter
+Staff, the Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and the
+Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.
+
+'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and Jigg, and a Woman
+that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that we Challenge the whole Fair to
+do the like. There is likewise a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen
+Glasses on the Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and another Young
+Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well to the Admiration of all
+Spectators! _Vivat Rex!!_'
+
+And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair which we may very
+well believe to be Lady Fair. They tell us
+
+    How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,
+    The various fairings of the country maid.
+    Long silken laces hang upon the twine,
+    And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;
+    How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,
+    And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.
+    Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,
+    Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.
+    The lads and lasses trudge the street along,
+    And all the fair is crowded in his song.
+    The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells
+    His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;
+    Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,
+    And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;
+    Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,
+    Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.
+    Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,
+    Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.
+
+The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by the King's
+servants should have raised the character of the Fair. Perhaps it did.
+In any case, the Theatre of the Fair was not an unpromising place for a
+young actor to begin. The audience wanted nothing but the presentation
+of a story, and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in
+the fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He was
+therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials of his
+profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of the emotions. A
+stagey manner would be the result of too long continuance on these
+boards, but at the outset no kind of practice could be more useful.
+This was proved by the lovely Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the
+manager of Drury Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage, where she
+played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation of the finest
+actress and the most beautiful woman known up to that time.
+
+The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice in being able
+to remember one of these delightful shows. There was a great booth with
+a platform in front and canvas pictures hung up behind the platform. The
+orchestra occupied one end of the platform, playing with zeal between
+the performances. The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time: the clown and
+the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling, stood at the head of the
+broad stairs clanging cymbals and bawling that the play was just about
+to begin. The price of a seat was threepence, with a few rows at
+sixpence: the play lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of
+persecuted and virginal innocence--in white. The joy of the whole
+performance was to children beyond all power of words: the play: the
+music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the rollicking fun of the
+clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed by the roughness of the
+benches and the grass under our feet: and the general festivity of the
+noise, the music, the bawling outside make me remember Richardson's
+Theatre and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.
+
+I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially, a place
+in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that with so much dancing,
+drinking, love-making, singing, playing on the flowery slope that the
+authorities had to interfere. It is, indeed, a most melancholy
+circumstance that the people cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in
+the way they would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after
+the other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+
+(_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_)]
+
+May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable--those of
+Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair was founded in the year 1268,
+so that it was a very ancient institution, to be held on three days in
+the year--'the Eve, the day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of
+the Fair was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke, on
+October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a distinctive
+character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse Fair, Charlton became a
+Horn Fair. The obvious--and therefore popular--kind of fooling to be
+made out of horns and their associations--which are now quite lost and
+forgotten--as well as the day, which was also connected with those
+associations--made this Fair extremely popular. The people from London
+went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people from Greenwich and
+Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession, everyone wearing horns on
+his head, or carrying horns to affix to some other person's head. At the
+fair itself there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front: rams' horns
+were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the gingerbread was stamped
+with horns. The reason of this display was one quite forgotten by the
+people: viz. that a horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It
+was customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession, in
+women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see Chambers's 'Book of
+Days') in lashing the women with furze: probably in pretence only. The
+procession was discontinued in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.
+
+We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on Whit Monday. Long
+after Bartholomew Fair decayed and fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was
+one of the greatest holidays of the year for the London folk of the
+lower class. The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing
+in the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the fun of
+the booths and the shows.
+
+The former began early in the forenoon and went on until the evening.
+The people came down from London in boats for the most part, and by the
+Old Kent Road in vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the
+whole five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled with the
+working classes and the young men and maidens belonging to the working
+classes. The sports were primitive: the favourite amusement was for a
+line of youths and girls to run down hill hand in hand. The slope was
+steep, the pace was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling
+headlong or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the ring and
+thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing the Cockneys how to
+dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes through which could be seen the
+men hanging in chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or
+there were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every man, as it
+seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall into his arms.
+Outside the Park the street was filled with booths where everything
+could be bought, as at Lady Fair, which was worthless, including
+gingerbread. There were theatrical booths, shows of pictures,
+pantomimes, Punch and Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants,
+bearded ladies, mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of
+legerdemain, fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock
+fighting, and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening, beside
+the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The same cause which led to
+the suppression of the Lady Fair brought about that of Greenwich Fair.
+It was suppressed, I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in
+1851, but only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other, and making a
+noise, which, with the bellowing of the show folk, the blaring of the
+bands, the cries of the boys and girls on the merry-go-rounds, and the
+roar of the crowd, one will never forget. For my own part I am of
+opinion that the noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on
+in the evening would have gone on just as much outside the Fair as in
+it: and that it did very little harm to let the people enjoy themselves
+in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat drunken and somewhat
+indecent way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ST. MARY OVERIES
+
+
+London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty. One of
+them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great; the
+other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary Overy or Overies, now
+called St. Saviour's. This church, for some unknown reason, does not
+attract many English visitors. Americans go there in great numbers. It
+is so beautiful: it has so many historical associations: that I hope to
+interest more of our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the
+attractions of the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its
+history. These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47) given the
+legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two Norman knights, Pont
+de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the twelfth century, found here a
+small Religious House, called the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which
+had been created by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary
+herself was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the Lady
+Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies, which ought to be
+restored to the Church, seems to mean, not St. Mary of the Ferry, or St.
+Mary over the River, but St. Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or
+Shore. These two knights founded a new and larger House on the site of
+Mary Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to discover,
+if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman House fell into
+poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had the additional misfortune to
+lose these buildings and their Church, which were in great part, if not
+altogether, destroyed by the great fire of that year. A hundred years
+later the monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide the
+bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful: that their
+Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that condition for thirty
+years; that they had been unable to rebuild any of it except the
+campanile; and that they lived in constant terror of being inundated by
+the Thames. This shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall
+into a neglected state. At the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort--Shakespeare's Cardinal Beaufort--contributed largely
+to the rebuilding of the Church. Another benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the last years of his life, died here, and was
+buried in the Church. The monument of John Gower stands in the north
+aisle of the newly built nave. The Religious of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone who would
+say a prayer for the soul of the poet.
+
+[Illustration: A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+[Illustration: SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the Bishop of
+Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene of many important
+historical events. Just as Blackfriars was used for political Functions;
+just as Wyclyf was tried in St. Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies
+was used on occasions when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the
+matter in hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in 1406, with
+Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride was given away by Henry
+IV., and her dowry was 100,000 ducats. At her death she left the canons
+6,000 crowns for the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of James the
+First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure in Scottish history, a
+poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond of Hawthornden wrote that 'of
+former Kings it might be said that the nation made the Kings, but of
+this King, that he made the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being
+then thirty years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of Cardinal
+Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King Henry IV. The royal pair
+rode forth to Scotland laden with such gifts of plate and cloth of gold
+as Scotland had never before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal
+and his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the King was
+murdered in the presence of his wife, who was wounded in trying to save
+him, a sad ending to a marriage of love, and a tragic widowhood to the
+woman whom her poet had called
+
+    The fairest and the freshest younge flower
+    That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800]
+
+In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put out, and the
+place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose son became Viscount Montague
+and gave his new name to the ancient close of the Monastery. In the
+following year the Church was made a Parish Church, including the church
+of Mary Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St.
+Peter-le-Poor stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together with the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The nave gradually
+became ruinous and was taken down in 1838, when a new nave, the memory
+of which makes the whole Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put
+up. Its floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick wall. This
+terrible building has now been taken down and a nave rebuilt after the
+pattern of the original structure of the fourteenth century. Thus
+reconstructed, the church will soon, it is hoped, become the Cathedral
+Church of the Diocese of Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral
+organisation, being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The Church
+can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished company of the
+dead than can be found in most London churches. Here are buried,
+probably, Mary herself, the original founder, if she is not a legendary
+person: Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long line of
+unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the Augustinian House: John
+Gower, on whose monument can still be read the prayers he wrote for his
+own soul:
+
+    En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Père
+    Sauvé soit qui gist sous cest pierre.
+
+[Illustration: CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the first Duke of
+Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, is buried in the
+Lady Chapel, where his monument can be seen in black and white marble;
+Dyer the poet, who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence Fletcher, one of
+the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in the Church, 1608; Philip
+Henslow, the manager, buried in the chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried
+in the Church, 1625; Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' _i.e._ belonging to
+some other parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones in
+the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher, Edmund
+Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to record that they are
+buried somewhere in the Church.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+
+(_From a Drawing by Whichelo_)]
+
+Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure, commonly found in
+mediæval churches, of a body wasted by death: a wooden effigy of a
+knight: a monument to a quack of Charles the Second's time, and
+monuments to certain persons now forgotten; on one some lines in
+imitation of Herrick:
+
+    Like to the damask rose you see
+    Or like the blossom on the tree,
+    Or like the dainty flower of May,
+    Or like the morning of the day,
+    Or like the sun, or like the shade,
+    Or like the gourd which Jonas had,
+      Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,
+      Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.
+      The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,
+      The flower fades, the morning hasteth,
+      The sun sets, the shadow flies,
+      The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.
+
+The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things surviving of mediæval
+London, was very nearly destroyed by the ignorant Vandalism of about the
+year 1835. It was necessary in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west
+of the old Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:
+
+'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for the better
+display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that the Lady Chapel was
+swept away. The matter appeared in a fair way for being thus settled,
+when Mr. Taylor sounded the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas
+Saunders, Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners, however,
+decided to accept the proposals of the Committee. In the meantime, the
+gentlemen we have named were indefatigable in their exertions; and they
+were effectively seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there
+was a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and on a poll
+being demanded and obtained, there ultimately appeared the large
+majority of 240 for its preservation. The excitement of the hour was
+prudently used to obtain funds to restore it, which has been most
+successfully accomplished.'
+
+I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the Bishop, as being
+close to the Priory. On any map may be traced the extent of the Palace.
+On the north is Clink Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of
+the street; on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place; on
+the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the east is a street
+running south from St. Mary Overies Church. Winchester House, which thus
+covered a large piece of ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a
+wall. Many of the buildings, especially the great gate, remained
+standing almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony of a
+Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house must therefore
+be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for their accommodation.
+The map must not be accepted as laying down the exact site, the
+distances or the scale, or the arrangement of the courts and buildings.
+
+We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions and of the
+Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary and Winchester House had a
+good deal to do.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many melancholy
+sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, presided at a Court
+held in St. Mary Overies Church for the trial of heretics. The court was
+actually held in the Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they were found
+obstinate: they were committed to the Clink Prison hard by: on the next
+day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome, Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and
+several others, they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow at the
+uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty Taylor, end their
+course and receive their crowne. The next am I, which hourly looke for
+the Porter to open me the gates after them, to enter into the desired
+rest.'
+
+So began those fires from which the cause of Roman Catholicism long
+suffered, and is even now still suffering. For the popular judgment does
+not discern and separate. The burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped
+together in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The names,
+places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms as given by
+Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's advisers had deliberately
+done their best to make their form of Faith odious and hateful, they
+could not have devised a better plan than the burning of the people for
+religion's sake. It is generally thought and believed that the
+indignation of the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and
+preachers burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men do
+not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a Thomas More on
+his way to the block: or of a Cromwell: with equal indifference: these
+statesmen do not belong to the life of the people. In the Marian
+persecution they heard that Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at
+Oxford, but they offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that
+Ridley and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt, touched
+the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves. When,
+however, they found that not only Bishops and great people, but also
+their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were taken out from their
+workshops and tied three or four together to the stake, where they
+suffered the agonies of the fire and still continued to pray aloud with
+firmness: then the lesson went straight home to them; and for many a
+generation to come the people learned to loathe the very name of the
+religion which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred for
+believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.
+
+It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution were
+taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously taught from many
+centres. There were burnings at Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at
+Westminster: beyond St. George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the
+vast crowds which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear
+and hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary, 1556. 'The
+xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow, in iii cares
+xiij, xj men and ij women, and there bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and
+there where a xx M pepull.'
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to Smythfield to
+berne between vii and viij in the morning v men and ij women: on of the
+men was a gentyllman of the endor tempull, ys nam Master Grén; and they
+were all bornyd by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment
+throughe London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a tyme.'
+
+Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds gathered together
+to witness the sufferings of the victims, and to note their constancy in
+the hour of agony; secondly, that the authorities were becoming alarmed
+at the effect which these examples might have upon the young. No young
+people were permitted to be present. We may be sure that the prohibition
+was openly defied.
+
+As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires began, stricken,
+said his enemies, by the hand of God in punishment for his cruelties.
+His physicians, I believe, called it gout in the stomach, a reading
+which one prefers, because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them,
+and after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase, in
+the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which began at the
+church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued all the way to Winchester,
+where the place of his burial and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.
+
+Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it shall suffice. It
+must be remembered that Gardiner was not only a very great person, but
+that he was also believed to be the natural son of Bishop Woodville,
+and, if the belief was well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the
+Queen. But this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.
+
+[Illustration: A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK]
+
+'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the most reverentt
+father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and bysshope of Wynchastur,
+prelett of the gartter, and latte chansseler of England, and on of the
+preve consell unto Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded;
+and so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth of gold, and
+with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys bornyng, and
+iiij grett tapurs; and my lord Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord
+bysshope of Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and the morow
+masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the sarmon; and so masse
+done, and so to dener to my lord Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse
+was putt in-to a wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower
+the corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys armes, and v
+gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes and hods, then ij harolds in
+ther cote armur, master Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng,
+carehyng of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the way; and
+then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the nombur unto ij C. a-for
+and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges cam prestes and clarkes with crosse
+and sensyng, and ther thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to
+ever parryche tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as cam
+to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790]
+
+The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the south side of
+the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied that part of the ground on
+the north of the nave: the refectory, chapter house and dormitories, and
+other buildings stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary Overies Dock, which
+was also the south end of the ferry. The dock is there still, but where
+the wall of the Monastery stood, round the Garden, and one could see the
+orchards beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the Cloister
+stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct--there was
+certainly another on the side of the High Street--stood close to the
+west front of the Church. The Cloister received the name of Montagu
+Close, after the son of Sir Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If
+you pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a few
+fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in the wall of the
+Church; but all traces of the monastic buildings are entirely swept
+away.
+
+The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In post-Reformation
+times there was a school here--St. Saviour's school; there were also
+almshouses; there was a peaceful quiet kind of close, in which was heard
+the buzz of the boys in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in
+the sun; one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church lay the bones
+of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see Bishop Hooper and John
+Rogers stepping forth into the sunlight, their trial over, their
+sentence passed: their cheeks, perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes
+somewhat brightened, because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a
+man's courage must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian waded
+through the river, before they reached the shore beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE SHOW FOLK
+
+
+Southwark was a city of a various population. It had great Houses for
+nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns for the reception of
+merchants, coming up from Kent and the south country: it had a riverside
+people of fishermen and watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or
+down stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number of
+residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens which spread over
+the whole of the rich low-lying land now embanked, secure from floods
+and the highest tides. It contained, besides, a large number of rogues
+and vagabonds, fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called
+sanctuary, where the officers of the law did not dare to present
+themselves. In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the end of the
+last century, when the so-called Liberties of the Mint'--the last place
+of sanctuary--were finally abolished and only a slum remained to mark
+the site of a sanctuary.
+
+[Illustration: WINCHESTER PALACE]
+
+Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show Folk of Bankside.
+When the Show Folk began to live in Bankside I know not: their
+settlement originally was in Westminster outside the King's Palace,
+where there was always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling,
+mumming and such recreative performances; they were also, however, in
+great request in London by City Church, city company, and city tavern.
+Now there was no place for them within the walls: they had no company:
+there was neither a Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a
+Mummers'; nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which would
+admit them; there was no ward where they could get a street for
+themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed out. And not only were
+they a class apart but they were a class in contempt. It was always held
+contemptible to provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long time after,
+would take part in the buffoonery which the actor had then to exhibit:
+an atmosphere of disrepute attached to the calling, to those who
+followed the calling, and to the place where they lived: in the City,
+Aldermen had a way of connecting nocturnal disorders with these children
+of melody: where they resorted the taverns would carry on their
+revelries after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with the
+dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the Church Puritanic,
+set her face against those who devised entertainments, on the ground
+that the devisers were an ungodly and dissolute crew. Therefore they
+crossed the river. On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the
+City could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose--Heaven knows whether they did choose--without
+reproach: their taverns kept open house as long as they would stop to
+drink: there was singing every day without interference: there was
+merriment without the rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of
+being haled before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was no
+terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river was 'put in
+stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o' Sunday.' It was the Bishop
+of Winchester's Liberty, but he was content, on the whole, to leave the
+residents unmolested and in the possession of their guitars, their
+fiddles, their songs and their plays.
+
+[Illustration: THE GLOBE THEATRE
+
+(_From the Crace Collection_)]
+
+When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy for them to go
+across: they were ready at a moment's notice to arrange a pageant, or to
+take part in one: they could provide the beauteous maidens in white with
+long fair tresses who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold
+rose nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found hermits,
+and constructed caves for those godly men in the midst of Gracious
+Street: they found the music for the dragging of the traitor on a
+hurdle: for the march of the rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the
+Lord Mayor: for the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a
+miracle play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man: the
+Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and Goliath: or any
+other episode from the Bible--how many excellent players there were
+among them whose names have long since been forgotten! They knew how to
+present a Masque--not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by Ben
+Jonson and Inigo Jones--who commanded the King's purse--but a neat and
+creditable affair, with dresses appropriate, full of surprises, and
+furnished with mythological characters, for the Hall of a City Company
+on the day of the Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more
+debauched kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests--pity they were
+not rarer--and excellent fooling by their clowns. The modern art of
+acting did not begin at the Globe Theatre: there has never been any time
+when the actor was unknown: the only difference is that he was not
+formerly allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his _répertoire_: and now he is an artist and scorns the
+tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment of modern
+invention. The Company of Parish Clerks, for instance, were great
+promoters of sacred plays. Their poets--whose names are entirely
+lost--provided the words and arranged the scenes; the members of the
+company played the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they
+provided the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music. Many of the
+Parish Churches had their annual play on their Saint's Day. Thus the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret, which was taken down when St. Mary
+Overies' became St. Saviour's, had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July
+20), and often another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well. We
+have already observed that the Londoner of old never made any difference
+in the matter of Play or Pageant whether the time was summer or winter.
+He was like the Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his
+Riding, or his Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in
+July.
+
+Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal, were the people
+who looked after the bears and the dogs. Bull baiting, bear baiting,
+sometimes horse baiting, together with badger baiting, duck hunting,
+cock throwing, dog fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and
+common sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was wherever
+there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the centre and headquarters
+of the sport was South London, in the place called Paris Gardens. The
+popularity of the sport is shown by the simple facts that there was not
+only bull and bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or
+amphitheatres for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite St.
+George's Church, there was permanently established the bull ring to
+which an animal could be tied whenever one was found fit for the purpose
+of affording an hour's sport by the madness of his rage or the agonies
+of his death.
+
+The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the site of Paris
+Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They extended to the distance
+of about a quarter of a mile south of the river: sluggish streams and
+ditches ran across and round the gardens, which were so thickly planted
+with trees as to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil. These gardens
+were the chief home of the rough and cruel sports already mentioned:
+here were kept under the King's bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's
+dogs; and the bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young bull that
+was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears were not killed, they
+were all known to the people by name, such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson,
+and were valued in proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who
+with the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought over every day
+from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly fierce and savage. In
+these days we hardly know what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has
+become peaceful: formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog
+who was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was trained
+to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to wayfarers--remember
+the dog in the second part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always
+biting and rending some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed
+only by affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these days.
+Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull dogs who feared
+no one but their master, a man might journey from end to end of the
+country armed with nothing but a club. Such a dog would fight and would
+overcome a man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and stronger
+than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had horns and hoofs to
+dodge: but the bear afforded the best sport both for man and dog: he
+presented a nose and ears and a thick fur on which to spring, and to
+fasten the canine teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn
+and bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though in the
+end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the inside of the dog,
+with the heart and the breath of life!
+
+It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In a contemporary
+Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors, on May 25, 1559, were
+entertained at Court with a dinner, and after dinner with a bull and
+bear baiting, the Queen herself looking on from a gallery: the next day
+they were taken down the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris
+Gardens. Forty years later James the First entertained the Spanish
+Ambassador after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg paid a visit
+to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in London the English
+dogs, of which there were about 120, all kept in the same enclosure, but
+each in a separate kennel.
+
+'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two bears and a
+bull were baited; at such times you can perceive the breed and mettle of
+the dogs, for although they receive serious injuries from the bears,
+are caught by the horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as
+frequently to fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them back by
+the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at once were set on the
+bull; they, however, could not gain any advantage over him, for he so
+artfully contrived to ward off their attacks that they could not well
+get at him; on the contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by
+striking and butting at them.'
+
+[Illustration: BEAR GARDEN]
+
+And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is furnished by
+Hentzner in 1598:
+
+'There is still another place, built in the form of a Theatre, which
+serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they are fastened behind, and
+then worried by those great English dogs (_quos linguâ vernaculâ
+"Docken" appellant_), and mastiffs, but not without great risks to the
+dogs from the teeth of the one and the horns of the other, and it
+sometimes happens they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are
+immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded
+bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing in a circle with
+whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy; although he
+cannot escape from them because of his chain, he nevertheless defends
+himself vigorously, throwing down all who come within his reach and are
+not active enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English
+are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed, which in America is called
+_Tobaca_--others call it _P[oe]tum_--[i.e. _Petun_, the Brazilian name for
+Tobacco, from which the allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its
+appellation,] and generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose
+made of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry
+that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they draw the smoke
+into their mouths, which they puff out again through their nostrils like
+funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head. In
+these Theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the
+season, are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'
+
+Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about the country
+leading a bear which they offered to be baited for so much an hour at
+the inns which they passed. The master of the 'King's Game' had power to
+seize upon any mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and
+to bait in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn, both
+actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had licence to
+apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and bulls.
+
+There was another place where the refining influence of the bear baiting
+might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved in the lane called Bear
+Garden Alley. In Agas's map of 1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the
+'Bear Baiting:' a little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called
+the 'Bull Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings
+erected for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition to
+the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary. It is learnedly
+discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). The Spanish
+Ambassador in 1544 describes a bear baiting--but he does not say exactly
+where he saw it. 'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think,
+however, that he must mean Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears, some of them
+very large; they are driven into a circus, where they are confined by a
+long rope, while large and courageous dogs are let loose upon them as if
+to be devoured, and a fight takes place. It is not bad sport to witness
+the conflict. The large bears contend with three or four dogs, and
+sometimes one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves with
+their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their forelegs, that, if
+they were not rescued by their masters, they would be suffocated. At the
+same place a pony is baited, with a monkey on its back, defending itself
+against the dogs by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony, render the
+scene very laughable.'
+
+In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain 'Epigrams' against
+abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p.
+8).
+
+                  Every Sunday they will spend
+    One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.
+    At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail
+    To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.
+
+Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris Gardens, because
+an accident happened there.
+
+'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure of the clock in
+the afternoon, the old and under-propped scaffolds round about the Beare
+Garden, commonly called Paris Garden, on the south side of the great
+river Thames over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons, men and women,
+were slaine and many others sore hurt and bruised to the shortening of
+their lives. A friendly warning to all that delight themselves in the
+cruelties of beastes than in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true,
+professed faith, which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)
+
+The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.
+
+The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance, might get loose.
+Once the blind bear got loose: it was on December 9, 1554, and on the
+Bankside, probably at the amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught
+a serving man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by the
+hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).
+
+Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs spring up a rabble
+rout who made their living by them: the bearward, the serving man who
+kept the kennels, fed the dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears,
+looked after the amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided
+the drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there is a
+small square place which I take to be the survival of an open court in
+front of the circus. There is here a small tavern: the house itself is
+not ancient, but I believe that it stands on the site of the house which
+provided wine and beer for the spectators of the bear baiting. These
+sports, with others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds
+of people gathering together: the music which accompanied everything:
+caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places. Another attraction
+to the place may be only hinted at in these pages. Suffice it to say
+that all the profligate, all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the
+lovers of sport among the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside
+every evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and there
+they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured animals to
+their hearts' content.
+
+It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond it--the
+pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into the open country on
+every side of the City walls, but there was no place so pleasant as the
+Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside: none that offered so many and such
+various attractions. The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a
+play was forward: the number of those who loved the play more than the
+baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the citizens did
+not love the green fields and the woods: and these lay behind Paris
+Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking of the dogs and the roar of the
+crowd and the blare of the music and the stink of the kennels. Every
+summer evening the river was crowded with the boats taking the people
+across to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and Old
+Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As for the watermen,
+John Taylor, the water poet, says that there were 40,000 of them plying
+between Windsor and Gravesend, while the number of people who were
+carried over every day to the plays on Bankside was three or four
+thousand. Forty thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen in mid
+stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the highway between
+London and all riverside places; between London and Westminster; between
+London and Southwark, because even if one lived close to the bridge it
+was easier and quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over
+the bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people across the
+river every day would not want more than a thousand boats or two
+thousand watermen: at the same time the loss of their custom, which
+happened when the people went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for
+their play, would be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.
+
+We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting attracted less than
+the play acting: when the amphitheatres were turned into theatres: and
+when Bankside became the residence of the poets and the players. They
+came; unfortunately the other people did not go away. There remained the
+tribe of them who made the music and found the dancers and the tumblers,
+the mummers and the conjurers: there remained the men--a rough and
+brutal lot--who looked after the bears and the dogs: the men who wielded
+quarterstaff and showed sword play, a swaggering and bullying company:
+there remained the young bloods who came over from their peaceful shops
+and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation and talk of the
+place: there remained the ribald crew of men and women who naturally
+belong to such gatherings. There was another population at Westminster
+outside the King's House like unto this at Southwark: these, too,
+existed for the amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest class of
+London City. The poets came, therefore, to this place in order to be
+near these theatres: they brought no improvement in example, in morals,
+or in manners: they lived among the people, and their lives were mostly
+as disorderly and their morals as loose as the company among whom they
+walked and talked.
+
+Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be noted, consisted of
+two parts, the one wholly distinct from the other. The first part was
+the High Street with its four churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's,
+St. Olave's, and St. Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two
+Debtors' Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented by
+merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of packhorses, and
+of receiving as many waggons as could fill the courtyard. The Palaces
+were mostly gone, turned into inns or tenements. The whole place was a
+great House of Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no
+civic or corporate existence. But it was respectable.
+
+The other part lay on the west of the High Street, stretching along the
+river nearly as far as Lambeth. This was the disreputable quarter, the
+place of amusement: the people who lived there, one and all, made the
+providing of amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of
+livelihood. It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was sold, and
+there were no booths except those of Ursula, with roast sucking pig,
+black puddings, custards, and gingerbread. From every tavern all day
+long came the tinkling of the guitar and the trolling of some lusty
+voice and the silvery notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon
+because nature taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head
+from side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and pipe
+going before him. After him came the dogs straining at the chain which
+held them, barking madly in anticipation of the fight. Or it was a young
+bull who was led by two men to the ring where he would defend his life
+as long as the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of citizens and
+their wives, who made for the theatre where the flag was flying. On the
+open bank were placed tables for those who drank: the balladmonger sang
+his songs and sold them afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and
+went through his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London was there a
+scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than on Bankside, on an
+afternoon or evening in the summer. And then to go home again across the
+broad and peaceful river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the
+river, like the sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats,
+and still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the soft
+breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp, and the
+voices of those who sang, and the baying of the hounds from Paris
+Gardens.
+
+The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves many questions,
+and may be safely left to the antiquarian historian. The reader will
+find most of these questions raised and settled in a book, already
+quoted here, by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses, here as
+early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII. Gardiner proposed to have
+a solemn dirge in memory of the King, but, he complained to the Council,
+the players of Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in earnest.'
+
+Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether they acted in
+the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had a moveable stage, I do not
+know. It is, however, quite certain that before the end of the sixteenth
+century there were four theatres in Bankside--the _Rose_, whose site was
+somewhere in Rose Alley: the _Hope_ in Bear Garden Lane: the _Swan_ in
+Paris Gardens--that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars Road, not
+far from the Bridge: and the _Globe_. The site of the Globe is generally
+allowed to have been at a spot 150 feet south of Park Street, close to
+the Southwark Bridge Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more
+or less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously to
+the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player lived beside the theatre,
+and the place was the pleasure resort of the people, and the haunt of
+sporting men, and the school of the citizens, in history at least: and
+the pride and glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and villanies
+practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness of those who lived
+upon the Bank.
+
+The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those milder attacks
+which threatened from time to time were a deadly enemy to the players,
+for then the theatre must be closed and the Bear Garden too, for in
+crowds there was infection. Think what it meant to close these places of
+resort. The Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper--the Company: there were the
+servants 'in the front' and the servants behind, the 'supers,' the money
+takers, the boys who went round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale,
+new books and tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres must have thrown
+out of employ many hundreds of men, and, if we consider their wives and
+families, many thousands of people. Can we wonder if the players, one
+and all, were Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which
+allowed them their daily bread?
+
+[Illustration: The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616]
+
+But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit prevailed. When the
+Parliament conquered, the theatres were doomed. And in 1655, by command
+of Thomas Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same year it is
+mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been destroyed to make room for
+tenements.
+
+The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic spirit was rapidly
+growing stronger could not possibly be held in good repute. There was
+dancing in it: music: mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these
+things the misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The Mayor,
+long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never allow a theatre to
+be set up within his jurisdiction: had that jurisdiction extended beyond
+the various Bars: had there not, fortunately, happened to exist certain
+illogical and absurd Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no
+authority, there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare, no Ben
+Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things happened, we have to note
+the very remarkable fact that while the popular love for the theatre
+increased year by year; while the theatre became the teacher of history,
+the satirist of manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers
+and preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not at
+all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into the hands of
+the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the father of one of the
+most famous players, Nathan Field, wrote to the Earl of Leicester as
+early as 1585 reviling him for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil
+men as of late you did for players, to the great griefe of all the
+godly,' and adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes and
+plays.' And the same divine, two years later, wrote an attack upon the
+theatre in consequence of the accident at Paris Gardens which has been
+already mentioned. The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War,
+but it was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration allowed
+it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism continues, in a
+now feeble and impotent way, to consider the Theatre as the chosen home
+of the Devil.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE]
+
+Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready to meet all
+comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary
+Overies, denounced the Theatre and all connected with it. Field answered
+him manfully, telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in
+preaching from his pulpit against people who are licensed and
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal to the task
+of covering the preacher with derision; but derision seldom convinces or
+converts.
+
+The general opinion of players remains that they have at all times been
+a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;' borrowing; spending
+their money in riotous living. This opinion is not by any means always
+true. The musician, the mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all
+regarded much in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight
+like the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did not,
+like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not heal the sick;
+they knew no law; their only function in the world was to amuse; to make
+men laugh. It is very remarkable that directly the players ceased to be
+dependent on noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform, they became
+prudent men of business. They may have been a cheerful tribe; they were,
+however, well to do, and, so far as can be learned, a thrifty tribe.
+They made money, not by writing plays, nor by acting them, but by being
+shareholders in the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare, all appear to
+have lived in comfort, and to have died possessed of moderate fortunes.
+
+The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always been, penniless
+and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth century the earliest of the
+dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele, Nash, Greene--that turbulent roystering
+profligate band whom everybody loved while everybody reproved--had
+passed away. The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives. Yet they
+were often harassed for want of money. Three of them, Massinger, Field
+and Daborne, write to Henslow asking for an advance of 5_l._ on the
+security of a play which is worth ten pounds in addition to what they
+have had. All those, in fact, were poor, and remained poor, who
+attempted to live by poetic literature alone.
+
+The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let us consider the
+Company of Actors who played at the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the
+Lion, and lived on and near the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's
+(see Rendle's 'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the
+actors who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised here
+or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately, does not
+occur. Among the actors, and first and chief, was Richard Burbage--like
+Shakespeare, a Warwickshire man. In person he was under the middle
+stature, and grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who built the very
+first permanent theatre--called The Theatre at Shoreditch. In
+consequence of a dispute with the landlord, he pulled down the house,
+carried the timbers across the river to Bankside, and set up the Globe.
+
+There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded Tarlton in that line.
+He was a great dancer: on one occasion he danced all the way from
+Norwich to London, taking nine days for the work: he was accompanied by
+one Thomas Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with him along
+the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow of infinite drollery,
+with jokes and acting such as pleased the 'groundlings' well. There was
+a kind of entertainment popular at the time called a jig. It was a
+monologue for the most part, but might be played by two or more, in
+which the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was like
+the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This worthy lived
+in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of his death.
+
+Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He also lived in the
+Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long. He survived the
+suppression of Theatres, and in his old age had no craft or art or
+mastery by which to earn his bread save that which was proscribed. He
+wrote for assistance to a patron, and he quoted the lover's words
+applied to the beggar:
+
+    Silence in love betrays more woe
+      Than words, though ne'er so witty;
+    The beggar that is dumb, you know,
+      Deserves a double pity.
+
+Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be forgotten. He attracted
+Tarlton's attention when a mere boy. The veteran comedian adopted him
+and taught him. I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor
+to that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester as--
+
+    Honest gamesome Robert Armin,
+    That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.
+
+I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he was also Nathan
+Field the dramatist. He brought into the latter profession the
+carelessness about money that belonged to the former. There are
+indications--only indications, it is true--that there was in him
+something of the temperament of a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a
+constitutional inability to understand the meaning of addition and
+subtraction or the translation of money into its equivalent in eating
+and drinking. He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'
+
+    Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;
+    And is the true Othello of the poet:
+    I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,
+    That like the character he is most jealous.
+    If it be so, and many living sweare it,
+    It takes not little from the actor's merit,
+    Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,
+    Field can display the passion to the life.
+
+Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and Armin, carried on the
+traditions of low comedy. He was great in the invention of 'jigs.' A
+notable 'jig' was that called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several
+performers took part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a
+'Schanke, a player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news that there had
+been a great battle in which the London Companies had been cut to
+pieces, and 20,000 men had fallen on both sides. They spread their news
+as they rode through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle at all,
+but that those three men--Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Whitney, and one
+Schanke, a player--were simply runaways. Therefore they were all clapped
+in the Gatehouse, and brought to undergo punishment according to martial
+law 'for their base cowardliness.'
+
+One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians never becomes
+extinct. That power of always seizing on the comic side in everything,
+of always being able to make an audience laugh throughout a whole piece,
+is never, happily, taken away from a world which would be too sad
+without it. Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the comic man,
+whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as humorous as his words,
+never fails us. Tarlton is followed by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by
+Schanke. So Robson follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.
+
+There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier finds out what
+parts they played and where they lived. Alas! He tells us no more.
+Perhaps there is no more to tell. The rank and file of the theatrical
+company are never a very interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey,
+Eccleston, Cowley, Cooke, Sly, Argan--they are shadows that have long
+since passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten by
+the audience the day after they were dead. Why seek to revive their
+memory when there is not a single solitary fact to go upon? A bone would
+be something: out of the skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct
+his life, with all the adventures, love-making, disappointments,
+distresses and triumphs.
+
+We know the place where they all lived; the place of a continual Fair
+without any booths, yet everything offered for sale: the music to cheer
+your heart--you could command it had you money in purse; the wine to
+raise your courage--you could call for it; the dancing to charm your
+eye--any girl would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts--but you must pay for your seat; the jig to
+bring you back to the level of earth--or perhaps a little lower--you
+could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of the Swan in the Hoope
+were directed to your purse; the ruffians belonging to the kennels and
+the bear garden; the drawers of the taverns and the sack and the
+tobacco, the boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The
+players lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd: sometimes one of
+their women is ducked for a shrew; one of them is clapped in the Clink
+Prison: some are haled before the Bishop for acting in Lent--these
+unreasonable people really object to starving in Lent! And the place and
+the people and their manners and customs are deplorable but delightful;
+they are picturesque to the highest degree, but they are equally
+reprehensible. I wish we could go back four hundred years and see and
+listen for ourselves: but with all our admiration for the Elizabethan
+drama, I do not think that I should like to be one of the Show Folk or
+to live with them in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of
+the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+BELOW BRIDGE
+
+
+'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes: Horselydown,
+Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich, and Woolwich. The railway
+has ruined one end of Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St.
+Olave's Street. Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at
+all. Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow street was
+once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had here, opposite St.
+Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here the Abbot of St. Augustine
+had his Inn: and here, we have seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf.
+Here was the Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across the
+bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient, to Tooley Stairs;
+some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay
+along Tooley Street and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and
+gardens: a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St. Saviour's
+Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most industrious in the whole of
+London. It is called Horselydown, the derivation of which seems obvious,
+but derivations are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take it
+for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at Roques' map of
+1745, that there were meadows where horses grazed as soon as the
+embankment was up, and the ground drained. There was some kind of common
+here at one time: here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites
+were buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The industries
+made their appearance in the eighteenth century, but they came
+gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable variety as regards
+occupations. All along the river and the bank of the Dock, formerly
+Savoy Dock, there are wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries,
+leather warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin dyeing works,
+breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper mills, dyeing works, dog's
+food manufactories, vinegar works, bottle works, iron foundries, wooden
+hoop manufactories, cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit
+manufactories, oil and colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works,
+and distilleries. All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses are houses for
+the workmen and the foremen. On the south side stands the Church, almost
+the ugliest Church in London: next to the Church is, or was, a few years
+ago, a street which has something of the look and feeling of a Close.
+
+It is a great pity that in the whole of South London lying east of the
+High Street there is not a single beautiful, or even picturesque Church.
+Look at them! St. Olave's, St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It cannot be
+pretended that these structures inspire veneration or even respect. You
+may see drawings of them in Maitland. St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737,
+St. John's, Horselydown, in 1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the
+steeple was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of the
+church architecture of nearly the same period.
+
+[Illustration: A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+
+(_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_)]
+
+Of all the quarters and parts of London that of Horselydown is the least
+known and the least visited, except by those whose business takes them
+there every day. There is, in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves
+block out the river: the warehouses darken the streets, the places where
+people live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make one desire
+to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock, we find ourselves in quite
+a different quarter: the wharves are arranged along the river wall,
+called the Bermondsey Wall, but behind the wharves there are fewer
+factories and more people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to
+live in: of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even any
+access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs: the 'works' are
+those whose near neighbourhood is not generally desired: places where
+they make leather and curry it: or where they make glue or vinegar.
+Fortunately, however, the good people of Bermondsey are spared the
+handling of tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and it occupies,
+including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe,
+something like a quarter of a million, which is a good-sized city in
+itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's Dock we may step aside to look
+at two streets, which fifty years ago represented the lowest kind of
+vice and brutality, and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street
+and London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to adorn his
+'Oliver Twist'--lugged in, for indeed it does not belong there.
+
+The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's 'London
+Illustrated' in the year 1806.
+
+The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of the dirt has been
+washed away.
+
+It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's cottages or
+residences which shall be beautiful. First there is the slum with a row
+of two- or four-roomed cottages in a narrow court: the windows are
+broken: the banisters of the staircase are broken away to be burned: the
+sanitary appliances are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step is to build
+streets for working men in places where the ground is not too valuable.
+Thus the town of Bromley near Bow sprang into existence. It consists
+entirely of monotonous streets with monotonous houses, all small, all
+ugly, all built after the same pattern: the result being dreary and
+dispiriting. Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating the
+working classes by the hundred thousand. There is not the smallest
+attempt at making these places beautiful: they are simple cubes of grey
+brick with rows and lines of windows. Outside they may be models of
+economy in space. Once within, they may be models of convenience; but
+there is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family on
+family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated by the
+founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy; the children are
+demoralised: there are dangers not expected, and temptations not
+considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses of Southwark and
+Bermondsey are not, in every respect, adapted to a model population.
+
+It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to get at the
+river, except at two or three spots where the old stairs can be
+approached by a narrow passage. There is an embankment or terrace: the
+whole bank is occupied for commercial purposes: business men do not like
+strangers on these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If, however,
+the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes--say, on Saturday
+afternoon--get down to the stairs and look out upon the river, he will
+see close at hand, not only the ships and barges that lie about the
+wharves, but the grand new Watergate of London, the most appropriate
+entrance that could be devised to the port--the new Tower Bridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814]
+
+Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began the houses, until
+fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until Rotherhithe itself
+consisted of little more than a single street, with docks, and stairs,
+and taverns on the riverside, and on the other side lanes leading to
+cottages and cottage gardens. The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807,
+but the place still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river flowed on the
+north and east. Like all the country about the Thames, it was low-lying,
+and originally a marsh. Even as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained,
+and a good part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now called
+Southwark Park Road--why could they not leave the old name, Blue Anchor
+Road?--even in 1830 wound through a marsh covered with ditches and
+ponds. On the east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of ponds and
+islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running into the river at
+Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams lay or flowed at will over
+the levels, making islands which were approached by bridges. The
+character of the place was entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the
+last part of London where there lingered still the appearance of a
+marsh. The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence Island; the
+Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond; Broom Fields; Halfpenny
+Hatch, repeated more than once. The numerous Ropewalks scattered about
+show that the ground was cheap, and the factories where they make glue,
+soap, brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+
+(_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_)]
+
+Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more interesting, namely,
+Deptford. They have done their best to spoil Deptford of late years:
+they have taken away the old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new
+streets: but a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago, reconstructing
+the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of 1886. It is like
+reconstructing the face in youth from a portrait in middle life. I
+succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction, and, I hope, to the
+satisfaction of my readers when the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared
+as the background of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted
+chiefly of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new church
+in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there was the Hall where
+the Brethren of the Trinity House assembled every year before their
+service at St. Nicolas and their feast at their house on Tower Hill.
+The town was full of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not
+remarkable for the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on
+the contrary, they despised such ways--'their fashions I hate, like a
+pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all the time they
+were ashore, except when they were drinking and taking tobacco at the
+tavern--these occupations, truly, left the honest fellows less time for
+love than might have been expected. There were officers' taverns and
+seamen's taverns: rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And,
+really, it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower ranks: bad food on
+board: long years of foreign service: and for all the gallantry that
+these brave fellows showed in service not a word of thanks: not a hint
+at promotion.
+
+The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were shops, but poor
+things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables were brought in from
+the country round: within a few steps of the town one was in the
+loveliest country, with the Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and
+under the branches of willows and of alders.
+
+The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the Eighth, and continued
+till 1869. It was at Deptford that most of the ships were built for the
+Royal Navy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: it was here that
+Drake's ship, the _Golden Hind_, in which he had made his voyage round
+the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of entertainment.
+She remained here, an object of pilgrimage for the Londoners, for many
+years. She was a good deal cut about, because everybody wanted to carry
+away a piece of her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One
+pious archæologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented it
+to the Bodleian Library.
+
+Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary of the
+Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the morning, and seeing the seamen
+exercise, which they do already very handsomely. Then to dinner....
+After dinner and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked
+to the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard, where I had a
+look into the tarhouses and other places, and took great notice of all
+the several works belonging to the making of a cable.'
+
+It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich, 'where I stood with
+great pleasure an hour or two by her bedside, she lying prettily in
+bed.' During the plague year, when he and his wife were staying at
+Woolwich, he goes over to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually
+feasting with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague was
+slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.
+
+Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was Peter the
+Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture. The people
+of the town had the satisfaction of seeing the Czar of Muscovy--not
+quite so great a man then as he is now--smoking a pipe of tobacco and
+drinking brandy in their taverns every evening. By day they might see
+him working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a ship and
+its gear.
+
+The most interesting person, however, who is connected with the annals
+of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.
+
+Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a great
+statesman: he was not great in anything that he did: yet his memory
+remains, and will remain long after that of much stronger men has been
+forgotten. He wrote a great deal, and since some of his writings survive
+after three hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his own skin. In
+order to avoid being dragged into the army and fighting for the cause
+which he loved, he went abroad and travelled in Europe for four years,
+during which time the royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought
+for it were ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back to
+France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had made many
+discoveries and observations on art and antiquities. He also married a
+wife, the daughter of Charles's ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he
+obtained possession of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks,
+one of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he lived
+till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the founders and first
+Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a member of many commissions: he
+was the first Treasurer of Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held
+many other offices.
+
+In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and the
+accomplishments of this estimable man:
+
+'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a visit to Mr.
+Evelyn, who among many other things showed me most excellent painting in
+little: in distemper; in Indian ink; water colours; graving: and above
+all, the whole secret of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very
+pretty, and good things done with it. He read to me very much also of
+his discourse he hath been many years and now is about, about Gardening,
+which will be a most noble and pleasant piece. He read me part of a play
+or two of his making; very good, but not as he conceits them, I think,
+to be. He showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book of
+several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however, and look very
+finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most excellent person he is,
+and must be allowed a little for conceitedness; but he may well be so,
+being a man so much above others.'
+
+His memory survives on account of the personal character of the man
+which is revealed in his works, and of the high opinion in which he was
+held. 'A typical instance,' says his latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat.
+Biog.'), 'of the accomplished and public-spirited country gentleman of
+the Restoration, a pious and devoted member of the Church of England,
+and a staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the manners
+of the court.' Above all things, it might be added, he was a gardener,
+and all gardeners are amiable and all gardeners are personally popular.
+
+[Illustration: GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH]
+
+Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is little else in
+Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The Almshouse known as Norfolk
+College must not be forgotten, however. It is on the east side of the
+Hospital, and stands behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The
+College consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small hall or
+common room, with gardens at the back. This kind of almshouse is common,
+but it is difficult to build it so that it shall not be beautiful.
+Norfolk College is quite a beautiful place. Finer and larger is Morden
+College, up the hill, designed for decayed merchants.
+
+This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk College the houses
+stop suddenly: on the tongue of land projecting north formed by a loop
+of the river there are hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary
+flat as far as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered by continuous houses
+which begins at Battersea ends at Greenwich.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE LATER SANCTUARY
+
+
+The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the refuge of those
+who had fallen into temptation became, as we know, the resort of the
+rogue, the murderer, and the habitual criminal. Within the precincts of
+St.-Martin's-le-Grand were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of Westminster
+was a scandal and a disgrace. These places had been finally abolished
+after much trouble: the City officers could march their rogues to
+Newgate without fear of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of
+Westminster could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers from
+Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding and seeking sanctuary
+was too deep-rooted to be quickly abolished. Perhaps there was something
+comfortable in the thought that there should be a place, however small,
+where the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues should
+be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance, perhaps: it was a gleam
+of sunshine on the path of the outlaw. So the custom was continued well
+into the eighteenth century. In this chapter I am going to recall the
+memory of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature says
+little about them. But it says enough to show that there were places
+dotted about London which served all the purposes of the old sanctuaries
+without the restraints of ecclesiastical government: in fact, there was
+no government, except on purely democratic principles. In these places
+lived rogues and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to
+find his man--observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not. Why was
+this? Because the London rogue had a sense of justice: no man could
+expect to go on for ever: when a man's time was up, let him give place
+to his successor. The thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official:
+it was his duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up when he was
+called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and get hanged in due
+course. Otherwise, there would have been no living to be made by the
+rogues on account of the competition of numbers. The name of Alsatia had
+been long forgotten, but the asylum still remained.
+
+In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with the Alsatia of
+Fleet Street. There were other places equally secure for rogues, besides
+Alsatia. Such were Whetstone Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's
+Rents, Holborn; Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and
+others. All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them to scatter;
+not by marching off the whole population to prison; but by the slower
+and more gradual process of transformation. This process began when the
+parts and places around became respectable. There is something chilling
+and repellent to the common rogue about the proximity of respectability:
+he does not like to be in its neighbourhood: in this way these
+degenerate and unlawful sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone
+remained, when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark--that part which is still a slum--called Mint Street, nearly
+opposite St. George's Church in the High Street. This street, with its
+alleys and courts, was inhabited by as villainous a collection as even
+the eighteenth century, which in point of villains was rich beyond its
+predecessors, could not equal. They had retreated here from their
+former haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could be served on
+them: no arrest could be made: the only person they had to fear was, as
+said above, the thief-taker.
+
+The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately, kept; it is
+impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals were here housed and
+for how long. There are, however, one or two little histories of the
+Mint which will serve to show us at once the public spirit, the courage,
+and the immunity with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.
+
+The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of Dormer _v._ Dormer
+and Jones came on for hearing at Westminster Hall. It was a divorce
+case, in which the co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's
+house. There seems to have been no defence, practically. The verdict of
+the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000_l._ damages. Now, consider
+for a moment what that verdict meant. In these days, when a defendant
+without any private means at all is mulcted in damages and costs,
+whether of 5,000_l._ or of 100_l._, he simply smiles. He is not in the
+least degree affected. Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him,
+and when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors. In Portugal
+Street _subridet vacuus viator_--the insolvent pilgrim smiles
+cheerfully. But in those days it was very different. To inflict damages
+of 5,000_l._ meant simply that the Jury considered the case one in which
+the defendant, who could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only
+be adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his remaining
+days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only a footman whose
+relations were probably unable to assist him and certainly unable to
+maintain him, he would speedily take his place on the common side, and
+there he would be slowly done to death by insufficient food and
+insufficient clothing, by privation, cold, fever and misery.
+
+The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate intention. It meant
+prison and slow starvation and insufficient warmth, and so everybody
+instantly understood, including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the
+officers would have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled himself
+down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers, witnesses,
+booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore across New Palace Yard,
+now pursued by the officers: he made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier
+so called, for as yet there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat
+and shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs, they
+saw their prisoner already half way across the river. They too jumped
+into a boat: for some reason or other--one knows not why--it was most
+unlucky--their boat took a long time to get off: something was wrong
+with the painter: the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be
+set right: the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the boat
+proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly over the face of the
+waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore on the other side, and the
+bailiffs turned back with a good deal of cursing. Once ashore, the
+fugitive made straight to Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was
+also a City of Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It was
+a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not eat the bread of
+idleness: he therefore, one may certainly conclude, became a rogue by
+profession and in due course met his fate bravely with white ribbons
+round his cap, an orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a
+large nosegay in his shirt front.
+
+Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century Sanctuary. It will
+seem incredible that the Executive should have been so incapable, but
+the story is literally true.
+
+[Illustration: MINT STREET, BOROUGH]
+
+Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition, the Law being
+so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark, some of the residents
+or collegians naturally desired to go farther afield, and to establish
+more Sanctuaries or Law-defying colonies on the other side of the
+river, which was reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports
+of Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on the subject
+have come down to us. However, that matters very little. Every great
+movement, we know, is the work of one man. Therefore there arose a
+Prophet--the Prophet as Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently
+began to preach that a 'long felt want'--call it rather a
+'need'--existed, which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries of
+North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay. Alsatia was
+deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in Milford Lane: the
+trade of counterfeit rings was no longer carried on in St. Martin's.
+And, though there were certainly taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs
+regarded with a useful respect, it could not be denied that London
+needed a new Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and
+fellow-residents in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers with
+burning eloquence--I am sure it was burning--a Vision of a New London,
+Purged; Purified; without honesty; without morals; without law; with
+neither gallows, pillory, whipping post, or stocks: a City entirely in
+the hands of Rogues who would compel all the conquered City to work for
+them: would seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning of this
+Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the Mint, to plant
+all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of time, the City should
+become one huge Sanctuary, where debts would never be collected, and
+robbery and murder would never be punished.
+
+They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on the east of
+Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid down their boundaries:
+they called the place the New Mint: they said, 'Within these limits
+there shall be no arrest.' This new law they communicated fairly and
+plainly, because everything was above board, to all the catchpoles. They
+then sat down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they were close
+to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been called in to disperse
+this lawless establishment. However, nothing at all was done. They sat
+down triumphant. Presently--I know not how long afterwards--a bailiff
+was actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly believe
+that this rash and audacious person ventured to arrest a New Minter
+within the Precincts!
+
+Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they called for music:
+preceded by a band of what used to be called the Whifflers, they marched
+in a procession, four abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose
+in their gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house of the
+offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run away. It is,
+however, a weakness common to Catchpoles that they always put their
+trust in the Law. They arrested that Catchpole: they led him to the
+place where he had offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him all over
+with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a thousand lashes, so
+that there was not a whole inch of skin left upon him: they dragged him
+through filthy ponds and laystalls: they took him out and flogged him
+again: they tried to flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed,
+for he survived: then they dragged him again through the filth: at last
+they suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he might. I
+am sorry to say that I have no information as to the end of the New Mint
+adventure; but it certainly appears that no one was punished for this
+outrage, and that no attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but I have not
+ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent freemen, its
+present residents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
+
+
+If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time during the
+eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how little the place had
+grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as of old, the Causeway at right
+angles to the Embankment. On either side of the Causeway or High Street
+or St. Margaret's Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the
+continuity of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of which,
+although there are, here and there, detached houses and even rows of
+houses or terraces, there are open fields, streams, ponds and gardens.
+St. George's Fields, crossed by paths, are broad and open fields
+stretching out westward till they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's
+Church has long since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put
+his finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper: St. George's, St.
+Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On the east are the churches
+of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not to speak of Deptford: on the west is
+Lambeth Church: on the south are the churches of Newington and
+Kennington. As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are the prisons,
+that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the White Lyon. They were
+all on the east side of the street until 1756, when the King's Bench
+Prison was removed across the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some
+time after the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old Clink on Bankside
+had vanished. But the Borough Compter was still flourishing--a grimy,
+filthy, fever-stricken place.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and west, the
+fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish streams. 'Snow's'
+Fields on the east were as well known as St. George's in the West. 'Long
+Lane' ran from St. George's to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few
+houses: Bermondsey Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old cross
+to the same church: it was already a street of houses. The most crowded
+part of Southwark proper was the street called Tooley or St. Olave's,
+the most ancient street in the Borough, originally built upon the
+Embankment, the Thames Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth
+century, there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one came upon the
+entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid: these courts remain, also
+narrow, mean and squalid, to the present day. There were no places in
+London, unless in the neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where
+human creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions. There
+was no water supply to these courts: there was no lighting: there was no
+paving, not even with the round cobbles which they still called paving.
+
+[Illustration: ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL
+
+(_From an old Print_)]
+
+[Illustration: Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey]
+
+[Illustration: Jamaica House, Bermondsey]
+
+On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is given on p. 85
+of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave of which was fast falling
+into ruins, came Bankside. Alas! It was deserted: not a single theatre
+was left: not a baiting Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a
+poet or an actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the guitar, and
+the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay two broad gardens,
+side by side: one called Pye Garden; and the other, west of Winchester
+House, was called Winchester Park. Paris Gardens were no more.
+Blackfriars Bridge Road, in which there were as yet but few houses, had
+been cut ruthlessly right through the middle of the old Gardens; the
+trees, once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of a few side
+streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and on the west of these
+fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was cut up into ropewalks, tenter
+grounds, nurseries, and kitchen gardens. Where Waterloo Station now
+stands were Cuper's Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens,
+of which more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met. But
+perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in the last century
+was the immense number of streams and ditches and ponds: most of these
+were little better than open sewers: complaints were common of the
+pollution of these streams--but it was in vain: people will always throw
+everything that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if they
+can. One wants the map in order to understand how numerous were these
+streams. There was one murky brook which ran along the backs of all the
+houses on the east side of High Street--the prisoners of the Marshalsea
+and the King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another
+corresponding stream ran behind the west side of High Street. Maiden
+Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel Lane, more blessed
+still, was happy with a ditch or stream on each side: Dirty Lane had
+one: another ran along Bandy Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept,
+or crawled, across Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there
+were no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this broad
+marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards, fringing the gardens, and
+crossing the open fields, were a pleasant feature, though they had no
+stones to prattle over, but only the dark peaty _humus_ of the marsh:
+and the water channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which
+were sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by Roques. It was
+also called the Effra. Along the banks of this stream stood here and
+there cottages, having little gardens in front and rustic bridges across
+the stream. But whether these streams ran or whether they crawled,
+behind or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or burned way:
+they were laden with fevers and malaria and 'putrid' sore throat.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL]
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+
+(_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_)]
+
+[Illustration: THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE]
+
+The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded thoroughfare, because it
+is the main artery of a town containing a population of many hundreds
+of thousands. In the last century it was quite as animated because it
+was one of the main arteries by which London was in communication with
+the country. An immense number of coaches, carts, waggons, and
+'caravans' passed every day up and down the High Street, some stopping
+or starting in Southwark itself; some going over London Bridge to their
+destination in the City. The coach of the first half of the century can
+be restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the century was in
+all respects like the revived coaches of the present day, adapted for
+rapid travelling along a smooth road. The carts were carriers' carts on
+two wheels with a tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small
+packages, and on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a hurry, were
+also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and capacious interior can
+be restored, as well as the coach, from that most trustworthy painter of
+his own time. As for the caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose,
+however, that a caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was
+an elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects were
+drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered cart. Perhaps the
+passengers slept in the car at night, drawn up by the roadside, like the
+gipsies. But of this theory I have no kind of proof.
+
+[Illustration: AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE]
+
+[Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE]
+
+From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles which passed
+through to or from the City, there were sent out, every week, one
+hundred and forty-three stage coaches: one hundred and twenty-one
+waggons: and one hundred and ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of
+course, the same number came back every week. There was a continual
+succession of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own inn; while
+they were still far away the people of the inn knew when their own coach
+was coming by the tune played on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in
+fact, was like a railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving
+all day long.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Town Hall, Southwark]
+
+I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and animation at
+a London inn when the stages were started and when they arrived. With as
+much method, and as quickly as the railway porters clear out the luggage
+and get rid of the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the shape of
+anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage was laid out: the
+porters seized it and carried it off to the hackney coach outside: the
+passengers followed their luggage: and the courtyard was ready for the
+next coach. Outside the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole
+companies of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the stable boys
+and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good enough to shut their eyes.
+If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed, one of them came bustling in.
+'Give us a hand, Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had
+been ordered to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there was
+one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to sight in a
+neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded about the courtyards:
+outside were houses filled with disorderly folk of all kinds waiting to
+entrap and to tempt and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable gentleman
+to welcome the country lad: there was the lady of the ready smile: and
+the taverns with the doors open to all. The numbers of coaches and
+waggons I have given refer to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances
+which belonged to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily. Now, if we are
+considering the traffic and animation of the roads leading to the City,
+remember that the High Street, Borough, was only one of many main lines
+of traffic. There were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest. Day and
+night the roads all round London were thronged with these coaches,
+carts, caravans, and waggons: but these vehicles were for ordinary folk
+only: for tradesmen, attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is,
+commercial travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to London, if not
+in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of which there were thousands
+on the road. Add to these the horsemen, of whom there were an immense
+number riding from place to place: add, further, the long droves of
+cattle, sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by the
+roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can still be seen on
+the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians there were also by thousands:
+soldiers: sailors: gipsies: strolling actors: tinkers and tramps--the
+land was full of tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded
+and animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition of the modern
+road makes it difficult for us to realise the crowds and the life of the
+road in the eighteenth century.
+
+[Illustration: Old Houses in Ewer Street]
+
+Of society in the Borough there is little information to be procured.
+The place had, however, its better class. One infers so much from the
+fact that there were Assembly Rooms in the High Street, and that a
+Borough Assembly was held during the winter on stated days, at which the
+fashion and aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It is of an
+accident.
+
+[Illustration: Courtyard of the Dog & Bear Inn]
+
+The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun: the orchestra was in
+full play: the ladies were dressed in their finest: hoops were swinging:
+towering heads were nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue
+satin and in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running in one after
+the other. The company parted right and left, falling over benches and
+each other: the creatures, terrified by the light and the shrieks of the
+ladies, began to point threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out
+till the 'well-known'--the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived--the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a brandishing
+of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!' persuaded the animals to
+leave the place. Then who shall tell of the raising of fallen and
+fainting damsels? Who shall speak of the rending of skirts and
+embroidered petticoats? Who can describe the deplorable damage to the
+heads? And who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased to record, were
+quickly administered as a restorative: and after certain necessary
+repairs to the heads and the sewing up of torn skirts, the wounded
+spirits of the company revived, and the ball proceeded.
+
+Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact that on one
+occasion--perhaps on more than one occasion--when the black footmen of
+London resolved on holding an Assembly of their own, it was in the
+Borough that they held it. And a very interesting evening it must have
+proved, had we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage coaches, carts and
+waggons, the High Street was bound to contain, as well, many houses of
+entertainment, if only as stables for the horses and accommodation for
+the drivers and grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that from the
+earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the place where
+merchants and those who brought produce of all kinds to London out of
+the south country put up their teams of pack-horses and their goods, and
+found bed and board and company for themselves. We have also seen how
+the inns of Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury. The mediæval
+inn was not much like that of later times. It contained a common hall
+and a common dormitory, with another for women. There was also a covered
+place for goods, and stables for horses. A small specimen of a
+fifteenth-century inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small
+room, is very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The quaint old inns,
+so long the delight of the artist, now nearly all gone, were not
+earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth century. They consisted of a
+large open courtyard filled with waggons and vehicles of all kinds,
+surrounded by galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor were the
+kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms. There was generally a
+large room for public dinners and other occasions. The inns of Southwark
+formed, so long as they stood, the most picturesque part of modern
+Southwark. Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone
+preserving anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader who
+desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to Mr. Philip
+Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents in a lasting form
+the vanished glories of the High Street.
+
+To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical catalogue.
+There are so many of them, and the associations connected with them
+carry one away into so many directions and land him into many strange
+corners of history.
+
+At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side of it, stood a
+tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It was built in the year
+1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater, taverner of London. In Riley's
+'Memorials' may be found a lease of this house by the proprietor to one
+James Beauflur. The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no
+rent, because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to help in the
+building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of a 'tied' house. Thomas
+Drinkwater will furnish all the wine, and will keep an exact account of
+the same and will have a settlement twice a year. Thomas will also
+complete the furniture of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs
+of silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay. This was the
+commencement of a long and singularly prosperous inn. It became one of
+the most famous inns of London, and one of the most popular for
+dinners. Hither came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to
+feast at the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the papers of
+St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian of Southwark gives
+one:
+
+P^d for 3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit      00  14  08
+        3 Tarts                               00  12  00
+        a Giblett pie makyng                  00  02  08
+        Beefe                                 01  02  06
+        3 leggs of mutton                     00   8  00
+        wine and dresing the meat and naperie,
+          fire, bread and beere               02  11  00
+        18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes            00  01  02
+        12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges            00  03  00
+                                             -----------
+                                              05  15  00
+                                             -----------
+
+Among the names of persons connected with the tavern must be noticed
+that of the Duke of Norfolk--'Jockey of Norfolk'--in 1463. Two hundred
+years later, one Cornelius Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and
+a commissioner for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the Bridge Foot.
+Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the tavern. From this house
+the Duke of Richmond carried off Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in
+1761, when the end of the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the
+whole long list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more important. Some of
+them, it will be seen, had been in more ancient times the town houses of
+great people--Bishops, Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off
+the highway of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became mere
+tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's house, and to the house
+of the Prior of Lewes, and to many others. Those standing in the
+highway, whither came all the merchants; whither came all the waggons;
+became transformed, and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.
+
+[Illustration: A SOUTH LONDON SLUM]
+
+Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies, was the entrance
+to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was anciently the town house of the
+Cobhams. This family left Southwark, and the house, with some
+alterations, became an Inn. When carriers began to ply between London
+and the country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart with
+the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it became the
+Southwark post-office. Another and a much more important inn for
+carriers and waggons was the King's Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says
+that 'carriers come into the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of
+Kent, Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from Tunbridge,
+Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine Wheel, and others from
+Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead to the Greyhound: some to the
+Spurre, the George, the King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or
+Talbot: many, far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White
+Hart.'
+
+The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than Chaucer's
+Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack Cade, as has already been
+related in chapter vi. In front of this inn one Hawarden was beheaded:
+and also in front of this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being
+dragged at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to strike
+terror into the minds of the people.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The Tabard Inn, from
+which the famous Company set out, was named after the ornamented coat or
+jacket worn by Kings at Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary
+persons. In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed the place to
+be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that Chaucer speaks of it as an
+ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at
+the Abbot's Hospitium in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd, the
+Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging, a dung place
+leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It is explained in Spight's
+'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard had much decayed, but that it had
+been repaired 'with the Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was
+finally pulled down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room, though it may have
+been rebuilt on the site of the old room. For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a
+destructive fire broke out, which raged over a large part of the Borough
+and destroyed the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter, the Meat Market,
+and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital was saved by a change of
+wind, which also seems to have saved St. Mary Overies.
+
+[Illustration: ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+
+(_From an Engraving by B. Cole_)]
+
+Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting the Inns first on
+the right or the west, and then on the left or east.
+
+We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before getting to Ford
+Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market place, the Goat: next the
+Clement. Opposite St. George's Church we cross over, and are on the east
+side, going north again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half
+Moon: the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the Spur: the
+Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the George: the White Hart: the
+King's Head: the Black Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing
+atmosphere of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns
+and courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of coaches
+and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of country squires come up on
+business, with the hope of combining a little pleasure amongst the
+excitements of the town with a profitable deal or two. There is the
+smell of roast meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is
+a continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of hanaps and a
+murmur of voices.
+
+The _strepitus_, however, of the High Street is not like that of
+Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing before noon or
+after noon: no laughing: the country folk do not laugh: they do not
+understand the wit of the poets and the players. High Street has nothing
+to do with Bankside: the merchants and the squires know nothing about
+the Show Folk.
+
+There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a certain Edward
+Alleyn, who was a man of business as well as a conductor of
+entertainments. He was on the vestry of St. Saviour's: he was also
+churchwarden, his name appears in the parish accounts of the period. He
+was a popular churchwarden: probably he had about him so much of the
+showman that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous--these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when he proposes
+to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse to let him go.
+
+It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to reflect that all
+these inns, most of them so picturesque, were standing thirty or forty
+years ago, and that some of them were standing ten years ago. One of
+them is figured in the 'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the
+figures are too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect
+produced is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there is
+nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is not an Inn. The
+need of an Inn at Southwark is gone: there are no more caravans of
+produce brought up to the Borough: the High Street has become the shop
+and the provider of everything for the populations of the parishes of
+St. Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON
+
+
+There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place of Refuge not
+invited, and of security against one's will--The Debtors' Prison. In
+fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons--the King's Bench, the
+Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter. The consideration of these
+melancholy places--all the more melancholy because they were full of
+noisy revelry--fills one with amazement to think that a system so
+ridiculous should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with so
+much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy. There would be
+no more credit, no more confidence, if the debtor could not be
+imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed. The Debtors' Prison was a part of
+trade. It is fifty years and more since the power of imprisoning a
+debtor for life was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit
+as ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community such as ours it
+seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon a merchant by failing
+to pay his just claims is so great that imprisonment ought to be awarded
+to such an offender. The Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full
+and terrible and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you shall be locked
+up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived of your means of getting a
+livelihood: you shall have no allowance of food: you shall have no fire:
+you shall have no bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome
+unwashed crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with a
+year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B,
+PALACE COURT
+
+(_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_)]
+
+The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the debtor was
+deprived of the means of making money to pay his debts, withal, were
+exposed over and over again: prisoners wrote accounts of their prisons:
+commissions held inquiry into the management of the prisons: regulations
+were laid down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was tolerated:
+but the real evil remained untouched so long as a creditor had the power
+of imprisoning a debtor. The power was abused in the most monstrous
+manner: a man owed a few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into
+prison: the next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10_l._, the bill against him
+for his arrest amounted to 11_l._ 15_s._ 8_d._ of what we should now
+call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were 20,000 prisoners for
+debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think what that means: all those were
+in enforced idleness. Why, their work at 2_s._ a day means 600,000_l._ a
+year: all that wealth lost to the State: nay more, because they were
+mostly married men with families: their families had to be maintained,
+so that not only did the country lose 600,000_l._ a year by the idleness
+of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the maintenance of
+their families. Put it in another way. A poor man knowing one trade
+which one cannot practise in a prison owed, say, 15_s._ He was arrested
+and put into prison. He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles
+and the proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the box; the
+community; for his maintenance in the prison, and for thirty years of
+it, the sum total of 400_l._ This is rather an expensive tax on the
+State: but the tradesman to whom he owed the money considered no more
+than his own 15_s._ In addition there were his wife and children to keep
+until the latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400_l._ But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If they were
+all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their behalf in the sum of
+sixteen millions spread over thirty years, or half a million a year,
+because these luckless creatures could not pay an insignificant debt of
+a few shillings or a few pounds.
+
+The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors' Prisons. It
+formerly stood on the east side of the High Street, on the site of what
+is now the second street north of St. George's Church. This prison was
+taken down in 1758, and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much
+more commodious place on the other side of the street south of Lant
+Street--the site is now marked by a number of new and very ugly houses
+and mean streets. When it was built it looked out at the back of St.
+George's Fields and across Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by
+this time drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.
+
+The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area covered was
+extensive, and the buildings were more commodious than had ever before
+been attempted in a prison. But they were not large enough. In the year
+1776 the prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who could
+pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on the floor of the
+chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition to the prisoners many of
+them had wives and children with them. There were 279 wives and 725
+children: a total of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was
+a good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident surgeon,
+and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399 persons, and no bath and
+no infirmary!
+
+[Illustration: KING'S BENCH PRISON]
+
+Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a certain Colonel
+Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind him for the edification of
+posterity. According to him, the prison 'rivalled the purlieus of
+Wapping, St. Giles, and St. James's in vice, debauchery, and
+drunkenness.' The general immorality was so great that it was only
+possible, he says, to escape contagion by living separate or by
+consorting only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be found
+there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation: he will lose
+every sense of honour and dignity: every moral principle and virtuous
+disposition.' Among the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom
+fifty who had any regular means of sustenance. They were always
+underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to find sixpence a day
+for the prisoner's support. But in 1798 a pound of bread cost 4½_d._, a
+pint of porter 2_d._: therefore a man who had to live on 6_d._ a day
+could not get more than a pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And
+then the 6_d._ a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or
+another, and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their name stank in
+the prison: more than half of the prisoners, Hanger avers, were kept
+there solely because they could not pay the attorneys' costs.
+
+Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be carried on in the
+King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler, the tailor, the barber, the
+fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment and were able to maintain
+themselves: some of them kept shops, and the principal building in the
+place, about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon an
+open court, occupied by shops where everything could be bought except
+spirits, which were forbidden. They were brought in, however, secretly
+by the visitors. The open court was the common Recreation Ground: there
+was the Parade, a Walk along the front of the building: three pumps
+where were benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play called 'bumble
+puppy.' And in fine weather there were tables set out here and there,
+with chairs and benches, where the collegians drank beer and smoked
+tobacco.
+
+[Illustration: The King's Bench Prison]
+
+Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to look round:
+every day the place was thronged with visitors, chiefly to see the new
+comers: the time came when the newcomer was an old resident, who had
+worn out the kindness of his friends or had outlived them, and now
+lingered on, poor and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the
+children played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things that
+they ought not to have seen: they heard things which they ought not to
+have heard: they learned habits which they ought not to have learned.
+Can one conceive a worse school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison?
+Look at the Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison nobody ever
+walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without unkindness, they
+slouch. The men wear coats which are mostly in holes at the elbows, with
+other garments that equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers
+because it is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel--never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby or not: it is
+better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the men are ragged the women
+are slatternly: they have lost even the feminine desire to please: they
+please nobody, and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there is this face
+and that face, but there is not a single happy face among them all. The
+average face is resentful, painted with strong drink, stamped with the
+seal of vice and self-indulgence. A vile place, which has imprinted its
+own vileness on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.
+
+A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched little Prison called
+the Borough Compter. It was used both for debtors and for criminals. Now
+you shall hear what marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be
+brought about when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.
+
+The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a felons' ward,
+and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen feet square: this was the
+only exercising ground for all the prisoners. When Buxton visited the
+place in the year 1817, there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty
+women, and twenty children--all had to exercise themselves in this
+little yard: he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet long and
+about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished with eight straw beds,
+sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept
+side by side on these beds! That gives a breadth of twelve inches for
+each. No one therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the door was opened
+all rushed together, undressed as they were, into the yard for fresh
+air. Now and then a man would be brought in with an infectious disease
+or covered with vermin: they had to endure his company as best they
+could. There was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those who might have
+carried on their trade could not for want of space. As for the women's
+ward, I forbear to speak. Think, however, of the noisome, horrible,
+stinking place, narrow and confined, with its felons' ward of innocent
+and guilty, tried and untried: the past masters in villainy with the
+innocent country boy: the honest working man with his wife and children
+slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law which permitted a
+creditor to send him there for life for a paltry debt of a few
+shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl thrust into the
+women's ward, where wickedness was authorised, where nothing was
+disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the year 1998 the historian of
+manners will call attention to the lamentable brutality of this the end
+of the nineteenth century. There are some points as to which I am
+doubtful. But I cannot believe that there will be anything alleged
+against us compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the Debtors'
+Prisons.
+
+I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of the Marshalsea
+Prison was changed from its first site south of King Street in the year
+1810, when it was removed to the site which it occupied down to the end,
+overlooking St. George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea brought
+there? Because there had been a prison on the spot before. From time
+immemorial the Surrey Prison had stood there. They called the place the
+White Lyon. It still stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was
+still standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.
+
+I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I walked
+over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down. I found a long
+narrow terrace of mean houses--they are still standing: there was a
+narrow courtyard in front for exercise and air: a high wall separated
+the prison from the Churchyard: the rooms in the terrace were filled
+with deep cupboards on either side of the fireplace: these cupboards
+contained the coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes
+of the occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the demolition of
+another part of the Prison, pointed to certain marks on the floor as, he
+said, the place where they fastened the staples when they tied down the
+poor prisoners. Such was his historic information: he also pointed out
+Mr. Dorrit's room--so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to have been the
+tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we came to the White Lyon, which at
+the time I did not know to have been the White Lyon. It was a very
+ancient building. It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the
+staircase and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square nails were
+driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors. The lower room had
+evidently been kitchen, day room, sleeping room and all. Outside was a
+tiny yard for exercise: this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen
+another prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play tricks,
+it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This was a Clink, and on
+this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons were constructed. Beyond
+the Clink was the chapel, a modern structure. So far as I know, Mr.
+Dickens _père_, and Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence
+confined in this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner, who died
+there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at midnight for fear
+of the people, who would have rent his dead body in pieces if they
+could. Perhaps. But it was not at any time usual for a mob of Englishmen
+to pull a dead body, even of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces.
+Later on, in the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The
+darkness, the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been buried at night
+in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere in St. George's
+Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden, whose benches in fine weather are
+filled with people resting and sunning themselves: in spring the garden
+is full of pleasant greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones
+have been consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones which line
+the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may now be quartered, they
+would care to revisit this place. The owners of the headstones were in
+their day accounted as the more fortunate sons of men: they were
+vestrymen and guardians and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept
+the inns and ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans:
+their tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and smiling:
+their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace: they
+exchanged the most beautiful sentiments: and they crammed their debtors
+into these prisons.
+
+There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged to the great
+army--how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!--of the
+'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought here from the King's Bench
+and the Marshalsea: they came from the Master's side and from the Common
+side. They came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and the grooms
+and the 'service' generally. This churchyard represents all that can be
+imagined of human patience, human work, human suffering, human
+degradation. Everything is here beneath our feet, and we sit among these
+memories unmoved and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the
+past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS
+
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have appeared almost at
+the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of London--that of Messrs. Warwick
+and Edgar Wroth, and that of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who
+desires exact and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of these gardens,
+and shall confine myself to certain sources of information neither so
+exact nor so detailed as those from which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have
+drawn the material for their excellent work.
+
+The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting Gardens. The
+London citizen loved sport first and above all things: next, he loved
+the country: to sit under the shade of trees in the summer: to walk upon
+the soft sward; to smell the flowers: to rest his eyes upon country
+scenes. He has always yearned for the country while he remained in town.
+With these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly but
+loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform or floor for
+dancing. All these things he could get in Paris Gardens so long as that
+place existed, together with its bears and dogs. When the bears
+disappeared, what followed? The Gardens continued without the bears.
+There were also the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House,
+and the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July 1661
+Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards Vauxhall, and in
+June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys spent the evening at the same
+place, for the first time, and with great delight.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL GARDENS
+
+(_From the Engraving by J. S. Müller_)]
+
+The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and Bull Baiting was
+then beginning. Before long it became a necessity of life--at least, of
+the gregarious and social life of which the eighteenth century was so
+fond. Many things are said about that century, now so nearly removed
+from us by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it was
+not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its coffee houses:
+its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies: it loved the
+theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the masquerade: the
+Assembly: the card-room: but most of all the eighteenth century loved
+its Pleasure Gardens. It took every opportunity of getting away from the
+quiet house to crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET]
+
+Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden. There must be,
+first, abundance of trees--at first cherry trees, but these afterwards
+disappeared: if possible, there should be avenues of trees: aisles and
+dark walks of trees. There must be, next, an ornamental water with a
+fountain and a bridge: there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats
+in which tea and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms: there must
+be a long room for dancing and for promenading, with a gallery for the
+orchestra and the singers. Add to these things a crowd every night
+including all classes and conditions of men and women. The eighteenth
+century was by no means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met
+together without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party kept
+to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not pretend to be
+on a level with the people around him: they liked him to keep up the
+dignity of aristocratic separation: he brought Ladies to the Gardens,
+sometimes in domino, sometimes not. They were not expected to speak to
+the ladies outside their set: they danced together in the minuets:
+after the minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company of the
+Gardens was that each party was separate and kept separate. In the Park,
+either in the morning or the afternoon, it was not difficult to make
+acquaintances. The reason was that in the Park were only to be found in
+the morning or the afternoon those people who were not engaged in
+earning their livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men--lawyers,
+physicians, attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the smallest
+shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere. Therefore, the
+servants and footmen not being allowed in the Park, but compelled to
+wait outside, the people of position had the place to themselves, and
+access was easy. In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who
+paid the shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen in
+the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the young fellows about
+town, a noisy disreputable band with noisy and disreputable companions:
+the plain citizen with his wife and daughter, the young fellow who was
+courting her: the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the
+highwayman: the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the customary
+courtesan. All were here enjoying together--but separated into tiny
+groups of two or three--the strings of coloured lamps, the blare of the
+orchestra, the songs, the dances, and the supper. As for the last, it
+seems to have been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of
+chicken and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour; everybody
+behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was not _gêné_ by the
+presence of the great lady: he prattled his vulgar commonplaces without
+being abashed: nor did the great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her
+own company with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence
+of the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the recognition
+of rank made them all behave more naturally. After all, the mercer had
+his own rank. He could look forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and
+Lord Mayor: he understood very well that he was already a good way up
+the ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession of
+money and the employment of many servants had already placed him in
+front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly satisfied with his
+own position, although he could certainly never become a noble earl or
+wear a star upon his breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the
+jewelled lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed so loud
+and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions, one of whom was
+blind drunk and the other was a little mincing beau who walked on his
+toes with bent knees and carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under
+his breath as if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the
+honest mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over his wig
+to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side of the citizen from
+Ludgate Hill was a party also taking supper and punch, with plenty of
+the latter. They were under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his
+white coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the same
+way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were of white
+lace--lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him were dressed with a
+corresponding splendour. Everybody knew that the gentleman was a
+highwayman: his face was perfectly well known: he had been going on so
+long that his time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet the end
+common to his kind. A good many people in the Gardens knew, besides,
+that the ladies with him--ladies of St. Giles in the Fields--were
+dressed from the stores of a receiving house for stolen goods. Perhaps
+the consciousness of this cheap and easy way of getting one's clothes
+made the ladies so buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their
+sprightly sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.
+
+The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory to us. For in
+all public assemblies there are things which must be tolerated. Less
+wise, we shut up the Assembly. We cannot keep out the Lady of the
+Camellias from the Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In
+the eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must behave
+with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved upon that manner:
+we cut off our nose to spite our face: we shut up the lovely Garden
+because we cannot keep her out.
+
+For the same reason we have practically forbidden the youth of the lower
+middle class to practise the laudable, innocent, and delightful
+diversion of dancing. Not a single place, except certain so-called
+clubs, where the young people can now go to dance. Why? Because the
+magistrates in their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and restrained
+by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled to hide itself
+under the semblance of virtue. The Pleasure Gardens were shut up one
+after the other for that reason. When will they return? And in what
+form?
+
+The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as those of the
+North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone, Bagnigge Wells, the White
+Conduit House--the South can only point to Vauxhall as a national
+institution. They were, however, of considerable note in their time, and
+were greatly frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a
+chain, all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells, the Marble
+Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall, besides Vauxhall itself;
+the Black Prince, Newington Butts; the Temple of Flora, the Temple of
+Apollo, the Flora Tea Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog
+and Duck, the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto, the
+Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe. No doubt there were
+others, but these were the principal Gardens.
+
+Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House. When Waterloo
+Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were constructed the latter passed right
+through the former site of the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the
+southern limit of the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by
+one Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of the
+statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and decorated the new
+gardens with them. Aubrey mentions them as belonging to Jesus College,
+Oxford; he calls them Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and
+walks of the place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by the
+riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens continued until
+1753, when they were suppressed as a nuisance. Cunningham quotes the
+prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's 'Busy Body.'
+
+    The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,
+    That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,
+    At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,
+    Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM]
+
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is one of the last places
+visited in the course of that very remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began
+at four o'clock in the morning and ended at one o'clock next morning,
+such was the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital. It was first
+built for the accommodation of those who came to this spot in order to
+drink the waters of a spring supposed to possess wonderful properties,
+especially in the case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring,
+like so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the
+spring in St. George's Wells had no small reputation. It was especially
+in vogue between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to try
+it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for other attractions;
+it found them by day in certain ponds on the Fields close to the tavern:
+these ponds especially on Sunday were used for the magnificent sport of
+hunting the duck by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used for this
+sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over, naturally felt thirsty:
+they were easily persuaded to stay for the evening when on week days
+there was music, with dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on
+Sundays the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.
+
+Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the Pleasure Gardens,
+the Dog and Duck was a favourite place for breakfasts. The fashion of
+the public breakfast, now so completely forgotten, was brought to London
+from Bath, Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served at
+breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the gardens, very
+often all day and half the night at the Dog and Duck. There was a
+bowling green for fine weather, there was also a swimming bath--I
+believe, the only one south of the Thames. About three or four in the
+afternoon there was dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine.
+One of the ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or bowers round it; a
+band played at intervals during the day. In the long room there was an
+organ, with an excellent organist. In the evening, there was generally a
+concert; the Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in truth the place was
+acquiring a most evil reputation. In 1787 it was closed on Sunday, and
+in 1799 it was suppressed. In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and
+Duck is open, but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening. But there is
+not the least trace of any respect for the day, and the place--to speak
+the truth--is full of the vilest company in the world, whose histories
+are described in the greedy fulness and with the hypocritical
+indignation against the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would not venture to
+set down what they did, but for the pretence of indignation. Thus, there
+is a certain City merchant, once a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but
+now rich and flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl, his
+mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing some City scandal
+of the day, and that his readers know perfectly well who was meant.
+There is a certain Nan Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some
+conversational powers with a considerable fund of information about the
+shady side of town life. There is also present a young lady described as
+the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D----s, of St. G.' Here, no doubt, we have
+a piece of contemporary humour which enables us to have a slap at the
+Church. There is other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen. At the
+Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had been withdrawn. The manager,
+however, met the difficulty by engaging a free vintner, _i.e._ a member
+of the Vintners' Company, for whom no license was required. He
+therefore came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious
+illustration of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the Ramblers
+visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over the Apollo Gardens,
+deserted and falling into ruins, and visited the Flora Tea Garden. The
+company here was more respectable, in consequence of some separation
+among the ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political
+argument ran high.
+
+From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa Gardens. Let me
+extract this account of this place, which was once so popular:
+
+'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees, hung with lamps,
+blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk in which they are hung
+inferior (length excepted) to the grand walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly
+at the upper end of the walk is a large room, hung round with paintings,
+many of them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so finely
+executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place would cheapen a
+fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder of mutton or a leg of
+pork, without hesitation, if there were not other pictures in the room
+to take off his attention. But these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.
+
+'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very good, and the
+charges reasonable, and the captain, who is very intimate with Mr.
+Keyse, declares that there is no place in the vicinity of London can
+afford a more agreeable evening's entertainment.
+
+'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the lower road,
+between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford. The proprietor calls it
+_one_, but it is nearer two miles from London Bridge, and the same
+distance from that of Black-Friars. The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse,
+who has been at great expense, and exerted himself in a very
+extraordinary manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his
+labours have been amply repaid.
+
+'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in a spot
+where elegance, among people who talk of _taste_, would be little
+expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected easiness of
+behaviour, and his _genuine_ taste for the polite arts, have secured him
+universal approbation.
+
+'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less than four
+acres.
+
+'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn, consisting
+of about three acres, and in a field, parted from this lawn by a sunk
+fence, is a building with turrets, resembling a fortress, or castle. The
+turrets are in the ancient style of building. At each side of this
+fortress, at unequal distances, are two buildings, from which, on public
+nights, bomb shells, &c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is
+returned, and the whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a
+horrid, prospect of a siege.
+
+'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired into the
+parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained by the proprietor,
+who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us with a sight of his curious
+museum, for, it being Sunday, he never shows to any one these articles;
+but, the captain never having seen them, I wished him to be gratified
+with such an agreeable sight.
+
+'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written by the late
+celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive of his situation,
+which a few years ago was but a waste piece of ground. "Here is now,"
+said he, "an agreeable place, where before was but a mere wilderness
+piece of ground, and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out
+in this manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place of
+public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat a comfortable
+piece of livelihood."
+
+'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host, and, after
+paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not before we had
+tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for which Mr. Keyse is
+remarkable for preparing.'
+
+I am not here writing a history of South London. Were this a history,
+Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place, and a very large place. A
+garden which continued to be a favourite resort from the year 1660 or
+thereabouts until the year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which
+occupies so large a part in the literature of that long period, must
+have its history told in length when a history is written of the place
+where it stood. In this place I desire to do no more than to take off my
+hat to this Queen of Gardens, and to recognise her importance. The
+history of Vauxhall is an old story; it has been told at greater or less
+length, over and over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which
+have been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature and
+all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed, very poor stuff.
+The best are the lines of Canning:
+
+    There oft returning from the green retreats
+    Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;
+    Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,
+    Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:
+    While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,
+    Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.
+
+What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with Evelyn, who
+treats the place with his accustomed brevity and coldness; we go on to
+Pepys, who records how the visitors picked cherries, and how the
+nightingales sang, and lets us understand how much he enjoyed his visits
+there, and how delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison, to Fielding, to
+Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark Walk, and how the ladies were taken
+there, not unwillingly, to be frightened: we know the stage where they
+danced: we know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the Prince of
+Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the middle, and the Duchess of
+Devonshire and her friends apparently making fun of him; and in the side
+box, having supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about the forty
+thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.
+
+London was not London, life was not worth having, without Vauxhall. Like
+Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and assemblies, Vauxhall was the great
+leveller of the eighteenth century. A man might be an earl or a prince:
+he would get no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who had
+a little money to spare. And the milliner going to Vauxhall with that
+'prentice was quite as happy as any lady in the land could be.
+
+When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is carried away by
+admiration. To the City Miss who might belong to the City Assembly, but
+most likely did not, there was no such spectacle in the world as those
+avenues of trees with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was
+nothing that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the dancing
+in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the high stand; there
+was nothing so delightful as to sit in an arbour dimly lighted, and to
+make a supper off cold chicken with a glass of punch afterwards--girls
+drank punch then--to look out upon the company, resplendent, men and
+women alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the angel with him was
+a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that other gentleman behind them was
+the Rev. Dr. Scattertext of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young
+fellow in peach-coloured velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack
+the highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was nothing
+less than a national institution. All classes who could command a
+decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of Wales went there--once or
+twice he was recognised and mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all
+the lesser ladies; all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens,
+from the Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the gallant
+highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about the visitors to
+Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed by the presence of the
+highwaymen, of the adventurers, or of the ladies corresponding to those
+gentlemen--not in the least; they walked together in the lanes and
+aisles of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw the
+young rakes carrying on openly and without the least disguise. The sober
+citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her daughter saw it. There were
+no complaints, save occasionally from the Surrey magistrates. The place
+and the behaviour of the people are typical of the eighteenth century,
+in which the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and there
+were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure garden, the
+magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were robbed by highwaymen
+on their way to and from the place, guards were appointed by the
+managers. Vauxhall, however, was safer than most places, because most of
+the people came by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to have been
+allowed to stay there nearly all night.
+
+There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,' which I should
+like to transfer with acknowledgments to this page. It is from the
+'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a Vauxhall slice of ham.
+
+'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish about three or
+four times, and surveyed it with a settled countenance. Then taking up a
+slice of the ham on the point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro,
+he asked the waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost think it
+weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound; a reasonable profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose,
+now, the whole ham weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that
+is sixteen shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them at the best
+hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't stand him in ten
+shillings a-piece!"'
+
+In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens would be closed;
+they were not closed, however, but were reopened and continued open
+until the year 1859, where they were finally closed and the farewell
+night was celebrated.
+
+The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief history of Vauxhall
+Gardens in one of the morning papers--I do not know which--I have it as
+a cutting only. It is as follows:
+
+'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under Gye and Hughes's
+bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves a notice, if only as a
+memento of the pleasure the old and young have experienced in their
+delightful retreats, while their hundredfold associations, such as the
+journey of Sir Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create an interest
+seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their name from the manor of
+Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the tradition that the property belonged to
+Guy Fawkes is erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The gardens appear to
+have been originally planted with trees and laid out into walks for the
+pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir Samuel Moreland, who displayed in
+his house and gardens many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics.
+It is said these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well known in 1667,
+when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor, added a public room to them,
+"the inside of which," he says, "is all looking-glass and fountains and
+very pleasant to behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The
+time when they were first opened for the entertainment of the public is
+involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is, however, established
+to be upwards of a century and a half old. In the reign of Queen Anne
+they appear to have been a place of great public resort, for in the
+"Spectator," No. 383, dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir
+Roger de Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs to
+Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says: "We made the best of our
+way to Foxhall;" and describes the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at
+this time of the year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and the tribe
+of people that walked under their shades, I could not but look on this
+place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise." Masks were then worn, at least
+by some visitors, for Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the
+shoulder and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A glass
+of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper of the party.
+The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of our days till the year
+1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a lease of the premises, and shortly
+afterwards opened Vauxhall with a _Ridotto al Fresco_. The novelty of
+the term attracted great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in
+occasional repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every
+evening during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings at
+Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was induced to
+embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he was joined by
+Hayman. The house which he occupied is still shown, and a vine pointed
+out which he planted. Tyers's improvements consisted of sweeps of
+pavilions and saloons, in which these paintings were placed. He also
+erected an orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue
+of Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens. Mr.
+Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which was Roubiliac's
+earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards purchased the whole of the
+estate, which is copyhold of inheritance, and held of the Prince of
+Wales, as lord of Kennington manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall.
+The gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and till the
+year 1792 the admission was 1_s._; it was then raised to 2_s._;
+including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements were made, lamps
+added, &c., the price was raised to 3_s._ 6_d._, and the gardens were
+only opened three nights in the week; in 1821 the price was again raised
+to 4_s._ Upon the death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the
+property of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter of the
+original proprietor. They next descended to Mr. Barrett's sons, and from
+them by right of purchase to the late proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a
+son of the famous Jonathan Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches
+of Johnson," and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation of
+the _Ridotto al Fresco_ is thus described by one of the newspapers of
+June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the _Ridotto al Fresco_ at Vauxhall,
+there was not one half of the company as was expected, being no more
+than 203 persons, amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but
+more ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with great order
+and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot Guards being posted round
+the gardens. A waiter belonging to the house having got drunk put on a
+dress and went to _fresco_ with the rest of the company, but being
+discovered he was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver tickets. The
+proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets would only be delivered
+at 25_s._ each, the silver of every ticket to be worth 3_s._ 2_d._, and
+to admit two persons every evening (Sunday excepted) during the
+season." It appears that these silver tickets were struck after designs
+by Hogarth, and a plate of some of them shows the following:--Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope. Mr. Wood,
+63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing with a lyre, and the
+motto "_Jocosæ conveniunt Lyræ._" Mr. R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse
+side figure of Euterpe. Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the
+figure of Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of
+Thalia. This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his advice and
+assistance in decorating the gardens. After his decease it remained in
+the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow, who bequeathed it to her relation,
+Mrs. Mary Lewis, who subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his
+will, in 1823, bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to
+say that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which is "_In
+perpetuam beneficii memoriam._" On the reverse there are two figures,
+surrounded with the motto, "_Virtus voluptas felices una._" It also
+appears that Roubiliac furnished a statue of Milton for the gardens.
+Among the singers Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came
+Dignum, Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon, Mrs.
+Bland, &c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel, Melville, and
+Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega, and Madame Vestris; Mr.
+Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson, and Signor de Begnis, &c., with
+Signor Spagnoletti as leader.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY
+
+
+[Illustration: A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY]
+
+The expansion of London during the Nineteenth Century is in itself a
+fact unparalleled in the history of cities. Those who call attention to
+this miracle always point to the filling up of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead and Clerkenwell in the North, or the extension of
+the town to Hammersmith on the West. Perhaps a little consideration of
+the South may show a still more remarkable growth. I have before me a
+map of the year 1834, only sixty-four years ago, showing South London as
+it was. I see a small town or collection of small towns, occupying the
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington, Walworth, and
+Bermondsey. In some parts this area is densely populated, filled with
+narrow courts and lanes; in other parts there are broad fields, open
+spaces, unoccupied pieces of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens,
+for instance there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain
+place, then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of them gardens,
+or recreation grounds, without any buildings. Battersea is a mere
+stretch of open country. I myself remember the old Battersea Fields
+perfectly well; one shivers at the recollection; they were low, flat,
+damp, and, I believe, treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh,
+by paths raised above the level; at no time of year could the Battersea
+Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they were inexpressibly
+dismal. As a boy I have walked across the fields in order to get to the
+embankment or river wall from which one commanded a view of the Thames
+with its barges and lighters going up and down--pleasant when the sun
+shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient glory when the
+pleasure barges and the State barges swept majestically up the river
+with the hautboys and the trumpets in the bows; when the swans by
+thousands sailed upon the broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle
+of the river the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen
+hundred years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the fields on one side
+were lower than the waters on the other. Beyond the river were the trees
+of Chelsea Hospital. Close to the river bank was an enclosure which was
+called the Subscription Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot
+pigeons--noble sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low condition
+who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside to shoot down those
+birds which escaped from the murderers within. Close by the Subscription
+Ground was a certain famous tavern called the Red House. I do not know
+why it was famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing sportsmen
+close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not, proved excellent
+customers for the drinks of the Red House. At that time there were
+'famous' taverns all up and down the river on either bank. There are
+still Riverside taverns, but the invasion of the new streets and houses
+has driven them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they probably remain
+still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea Fields, and there were
+certain historical associations in connection with these dreary flats.
+Here, for instance, the Duke of Wellington fought his duel with Lord
+Winchilsea. Other important people were also connected either with the
+Fields or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone absolutely: no trace of
+it remains, except the Church. The Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over
+the site of the famous Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks
+covers the Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the flat
+and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with streets mean and
+monotonous, stand where formerly the pigeons flew wildly, hoping to
+escape those who waited outside the grounds as they had escaped those
+who potted at them from within.
+
+[Illustration: IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY]
+
+[Illustration: The Temple from the Surrey Bank]
+
+[Illustration: HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE]
+
+Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into Rotherhithe. It
+is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe, the Place of Cattle; and
+at the other Lambeth or Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not
+the 'Place of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there, but
+without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of the preceding
+century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A single street runs along the
+Embankment, which it hides and covers: at the back of this street there
+is a succession of small lanes and courts running back with tiny
+houses--two or four rooms to each--on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery--leaves and palings. You may still see, in 1898,
+if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship in one of the old
+docks, sticking across the street, causing a momentary confusion in the
+mind between land and water; there are riverside taverns which look as
+if at a touch they would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834
+this street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland--or in-marsh--ponds and ditches and creeping streams lay about;
+one of the ponds survives to this day; you will find it in the middle of
+the pretty garden they call Southwark Park, of which it forms the
+ornamental water. And the rest of Rotherhithe, between the Park and
+Bermondsey, is one unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no
+open space. All is filled up and built upon.
+
+A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map of 1834 I see a
+little town, lying partly on the bank of the Thames, partly on the bank
+of the Ravensbourne, which here widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The
+greater part of the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not
+yet closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000 people,
+about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its people; it
+boasted of two churches and two almshouses. One of these Havens of Rest
+was so picturesque and so beautiful that it could not be suffered to
+remain. Almshouses which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable. Their
+time expired, they are then carried off Heavenward.
+
+Or turn your eyes further south. London in this direction now
+covers--for the most part completely, in some parts leaving spaces and
+fields here and there--Greenwich, Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest
+Hill, Dulwich, Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham,
+Wandsworth, Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.
+
+[Illustration: CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.]
+
+It is difficult, now that the whole country south of London has been
+covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops, to understand how
+wonderful for loveliness it was until the builder seized upon it. When
+the ground rose out of the great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh--the cliff
+or incline is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham Rise,
+and Brixton Rise--it opened out into one wild heath after
+another--Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon, Barnes, Tooting,
+Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so south as far as Banstead Downs.
+The country was not flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it
+rose at Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture lands; on the
+hill sides were hanging woods; villages were scattered about, each with
+its venerable church and its peaceful churchyard; along the high roads
+to Dover, Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day and
+all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the wayside inns were
+crowded with those who halted to drink, those who halted to dine, and
+those who halted to sleep: if the village lay off the main road it was
+as quiet and as secure as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we
+have destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty than on the
+north. On the latter side of London there are the heights with
+Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey--one row of villages; but there is
+little more. The country between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is
+singularly dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford
+or Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely country.
+But the loveliness of South London lay almost at the very doors of
+London: one could walk into it; the heaths were within an easy walk, and
+the loveliness of Surrey lay upon all.
+
+I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which remain at the
+present moment. It will be a matter of surprise to the reader to hear of
+the many waste and wild places which have been appropriated and built
+over in the last two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of commons:
+namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood Common (in another part of
+Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common,
+South Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell Common. With
+the exception of the first all these are now gone.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840]
+
+Look at Dulwich--the peaceful and picturesque village of Dulwich on this
+map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its gardens, and its fields: the
+venerable college of Alleyn is the glory of the village--nothing more
+beautiful than this almshouse with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet
+the people flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern--the Greyhound--which was
+beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a particular brew of beer,
+a particular kind of old Jamaica for punch, and a particular vintage of
+port not to be found anywhere else, even in a City company's cellars.
+There was, in fact, no more favourite place of resort for the better
+sort of citizens of London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer
+sort it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The Dulwich
+stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too long a drive from the
+city; the young men rode--in those days the young men could all
+ride--even John Gilpin thought he could ride; they hired a horse as we
+now get into a cab. For those who lived in any suburb on the south,
+Dulwich was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village--Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834--were the Dulwich Fields, as beautiful and
+interesting as those of Battersea were the contrary: there were, I
+think, five of them in succession: the little stream called the Effra
+rose somewhere in the neighbourhood, and ran about, winding through the
+fields in a deep channel with rustic bridges across. In older days--at
+the end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a bright and
+sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what is now called the
+Effra Road, and so along the south side--or was it the north?--of
+Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood on the other side of the stream,
+with flowering shrubs--lilac, laburnum, and hawthorn--on the bank, and
+beds of the simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with a single
+rail painted green. That, however, was before my time. In the 'fifties
+the boys used to play in these fields, jumping over the stream: when
+they left the fields and got into the village they looked about for Mr.
+Pickwick and for Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do
+not learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of faith
+by an incarnation.
+
+Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark Hill, and
+Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once lived; but in the 'fifties I
+was not conscious of that fact or of his greatness. It must be saddening
+to a great man to reflect that the schoolboys have no respect for him.
+The road up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees: the
+houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives, and
+smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the institution of
+evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood. At that time great was
+the power and the authority of seriousness. To be serious was
+fashionable, if one may say so, in City circles. Respectability was
+nearly always serious: it was divided into two classes: that which had
+morning prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well. With
+the young, the latter institution was unpopular--no one of the present
+younger generation can understand how unpopular it was: a house which
+had evening prayers made a deliberate profession of a seriousness which
+was something out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for prayers. This
+profession of seriousness generally belonged to a large house, beautiful
+gardens, rich conservatories, a large income, and a carriage and pair.
+Denmark Hill used to appear to outward view as more especially a suburb
+belonging to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more
+than common earnestness.
+
+[Illustration: DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780]
+
+Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses only, each with
+its parklike grounds and gardens and its noble trees. Champion Hill I
+remember as a green and grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon
+it: but there was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green--you may still find this tract of grass, but I believe it is
+now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green they kept ponies for hire:
+the boys used to ride them up the hill and gallop them down the hill.
+Beyond this green there was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so
+far as I can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not a
+wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place covered with fern
+and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but a barren, dreary expanse of
+uncertain grass. Boys would perhaps have played cricket upon it in
+summer, but there were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this
+country is covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.
+
+We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South London: we have
+forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge--one of the many thousands of
+Penge--what this suburban town was like seventy years ago. Do you think
+he can tell you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any Penge
+Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago--viz. in May
+1827--that Mr. William Hone--the compiler of the 'Every-Day Book,'
+climbed up outside the Dulwich stage, proposing to visit the picture
+gallery of Dulwich College. Hone was one of the first of those curious
+and inquisitive persons who began to employ their summers in exploring
+the unknown villages and strange places round London. The picture
+gallery he could not see because it was closed; he therefore walked
+across the country from Dulwich to a place called Penge. At the top of a
+hill he found a choice of three roads. He chose that which led through
+Penge Common. The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a
+cathedral of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse--other people's verse. Alas! the Common had already,
+even then, been ravished from its owners, the people: it was enclosed;
+it was doomed; it was about to be built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself,
+however, at the 'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and
+home-brewed ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers the
+hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as beautiful as the
+hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the Common, they are gone.
+
+[Illustration: From the Tower of St. Saviour's]
+
+Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers of its ancient
+glories; whether there were any ancient glories. Has he heard of the
+famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why,
+the Queen of all the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign
+at Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this resident heard
+of the views from the top of the hill, four hundred feet above the level
+of the sea, whither the people flocked by hundreds to see the view and
+to wander in the woods?
+
+All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was inevitable.
+One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we cannot have town and country
+together. The woods are gone, the rural life is gone, encroachments have
+been made upon the commons, the wayside tavern--the place was full of
+wayside taverns--is gone. What remains of all this beauty is a fragment
+here and there. Clapham Common, once a heath, now a park; Wimbledon
+Common, Tooting Common; these expanses are mercifully left us for
+breathing-places. Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into
+imitations of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have lost the wood
+beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed lands, the tinkle of the sheep
+bell, the song of the skylark.
+
+We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the associations of
+South London. I confess that, for my own part, I am not happy in
+considering associations connected with rows of terraces and villas.
+Here, you say, was once the house, with the park, of such and such a
+great man. Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility. If
+I am taken to a slum--such a slum as that on the west of St. Mary
+Overies, and am told that in this place was Winchester House, I am at
+once interested. Why should the memory of the past appeal to our
+imagination more in a slum than in a brand new, spick and span
+collection of pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all
+things tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay? Who,
+for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of Tooting Common into
+the place which was once Streatham Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and
+Dr. Johnson among these roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might
+remember, were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were not so much
+built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about. At Putney, but for the
+villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh! there are a thousand people once
+living, and walking, and playing their parts in their villages, whose
+wraiths and spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for
+the bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads and the
+trams.
+
+We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we have also made its
+historical associations impossible.
+
+[Illustration: RED CROSS GARDENS, Southwark]
+
+The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from its rural
+folk, came from London about the time when roads began to be tolerable;
+that is to say, late in the seventeenth century; they were the great
+folk, the leisured folk, the Quality, who had suburban houses in
+addition to their town houses and their country houses. They sought
+shelter in the quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained, as a rule,
+for a year or two, for a few months, for a season. When the roads
+became so far improved as to make driving easy and pleasant, the city
+merchants came and built or bought big houses, and drove in and out
+every day in their carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a
+rule: they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down therein.
+They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses where they grew early
+strawberries; they had in front a broad lawn with a carriage drive; they
+liked to have on the lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the
+grass. They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday. In
+course of time other people came; but the first comers--these
+merchants--were the aristocracy, the first families of the suburbs. In
+the newer places there are still to be found the first families; in the
+older suburbs they have all disappeared from the place. Thus Clapham, I
+believe, knows no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not in other
+suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights attained by these
+fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but there were many which had
+among them ex-Lord Mayors and Aldermen; there were many persons among
+them of dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone: there
+is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a pity. There should be
+in every community some whose position entitles them to respect and
+authority; there should be some to take the lead naturally; there should
+be some who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater part of
+the people in a community are engaged in trade.
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK]
+
+I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison between
+the population of these villages in 1801 with that of these great towns
+in 1898 is so startling that it must be recorded. Battersea has risen
+from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from
+27,985 to 295,033; Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from
+14,283 to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that part
+which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a population
+of very nearly two millions; in other words the population, in less than
+a hundred years, has been multiplied by ten. That of London itself, in
+the same time, the London including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel,
+Bloomsbury, and Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South London? Well,
+people must live somewhere; the old limits proved insufficient. First,
+places which had been dotted over with fields and gardens and vacant
+places, such as Southwark on the west side, and Bermondsey, were
+completely built over and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how
+to stow away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London stretched itself out
+farther; it began to include Camberwell, Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham,
+and Wandsworth. These were separate suburbs lying each among its own
+gardens; the inhabitants were not clerks, but principals and employers,
+substantial merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks lived
+nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly came the
+railway, when London made another step outward, so as to take in the
+places lying south of Clapham and Brixton. Then the builder began; he
+saw that a new class of residents would be attracted by small houses and
+low rents. The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population of South London
+no longer consists of rich merchants, principals, and partners. Clerks,
+assistants, and employés of all kinds now crowd the morning and evening
+trains.
+
+If you want to form some idea of the South London folk, go stand inside
+Cannon Street Station and watch the trains come in, each with its
+freight of those who earn their daily bread within the City. See them
+pass out--by the hundred--by the thousand--by the fifty thousand. The
+brain reels at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As they hurry past
+you observe on each the same expression, the same set eagerness, with
+which the day's work is approached. Employer or employé, principal or
+clerk, it matters nothing. The clerk, who will get none of the thousands
+he is helping to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means battle,
+daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge, earlier
+knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness, while there is as much
+need, for success, or courage tenacity, and bluff as in any battle
+between contending armies. The many twinkling feet pass out of the
+station by the hundred thousand, every morning, to the field of battle.
+The English are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the
+City is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired, in
+which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and for ever.
+
+[Illustration: Below Cherry Garden Pier]
+
+In South London there are two millions of people. It is therefore one of
+the great cities of the world. It stands upon an area about twelve
+miles long and five or six broad--but its limits cannot be laid down
+even approximately. It is a city without a municipality, without a
+centre, without a civic history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or
+journals; it has no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine;
+it has no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary
+centre--unless the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm--one cannot imagine a
+man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres, except of a very popular or
+humble kind; it has no clubs, it has no public buildings, it has no West
+End. It is argued that although it has none of these things, yet it has
+them all by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are accessible
+to the South. Far be it from me to deny the culture of Sydenham and the
+artistic elevation of Tooting. Yet one feels there must surely be some
+disadvantage in being separated from the literary and artistic circles
+whose members, it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a young man
+who would pursue a career in art not to live among people who habitually
+talk of art and think of art. It must surely be some disadvantage to
+live in a place where the people, when they are gathered together,
+mostly allow the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.
+
+How are these two millions distributed?
+
+There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention has been made. Their
+numbers and their proportion to the whole I know not. Next, there are
+the working people, those for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of
+barracks called model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand--by the million: there are more than a million
+working men in South London. For their use are the shops of the
+Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the public houses. The third layer
+is found on a slip of ground, of which Newington and Kennington may be
+taken as representative: it consists principally of lodging-houses for
+clerks. The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High Street,' filled
+with shops, is for the villas.
+
+[Illustration: The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit's Window in the Marshalsea]
+
+Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon the City. The
+bread-winners go in and out every day; the local shops provide for the
+houses, and are paid out of the money made in the City; the local
+doctor, the local house agent, the local schoolmaster, the local
+clergyman, all receive their share of the money made in the City; even
+if there be, here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the City;
+the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the City, so that the
+first function of the City is to feed and supply all these millions. If
+at any time the trade of the City were to decay, these suburbs would
+decay as well; if the decay were gradual, they would slowly cease to
+spread, begin to show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay
+were to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily deserted.
+Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale never before equalled.
+Tadmor in the Wilderness would be a mere little wheelbarrow full of
+stones compared with suburban London given over to decay and wreck.
+
+Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the working class! The
+brain reels at thinking of this teeming multitudinous life; these armies
+of men, women, and children living in the slums and in the huge,
+unlovely barracks. The very number makes it impossible to grasp the
+enormity of the mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as
+if individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are they among
+so many? But in another sense, as I will presently show, individual
+effort may produce consequences both deep and widespread.
+
+It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of humanity--this
+compact round ball of men and women, to make which two millions have
+been brought together--as if any one life was nothing, as if the life of
+any one out of the heap--any girl, any lad--was wholly unimportant and
+trivial, however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great in a
+densely populated place as in a village. One example is precious--beyond
+all price--in a model dwelling-house of Bermondsey as in the most
+retired community of rustics. It is very easy to generalise from the
+mass: the dweller of the slums stands before the mind's eye, beery,
+unwashed, in rags, inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which
+may better be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is because we do not
+know him. Ask those who go down among these people habitually, they will
+tell you of differences and distinctions among them as among ourselves,
+of memories of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and,
+at the very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of a
+clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be very careful
+how we form general conclusions about men and women.
+
+[Illustration: Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy's]
+
+But--two millions of people! And every one of them wanting all the time
+what he thinks will make his life more happy. For the riverside folk the
+wants are few, but they are daily wants. With them, literally, it is a
+question of daily bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more
+numerous and their happiness more complex!
+
+Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain work of a
+philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the place and of the time.
+Many and various are the attempts and the associations and the machinery
+for raising some of these people and for keeping others from sliding
+down. There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised than
+at any previous time, more active, and more largely assisted; they have
+planted evening schools and clubs, for boys and girls. One must put the
+Church of England first, not only because her clergy began the work of
+rescue, but also because hers is still the larger part. There is, next,
+the indirect work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's, who
+go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because they come to
+doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable questions about the
+children's school. There are, next, places which aim at civilising by
+the presentation of things civilised. For instance, there is a very
+pleasing institute in Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air
+band, a lecture or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look
+upon are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by degrees.
+There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and, lastly, there are
+the 'Settlements,' college settlements and others. Let me briefly
+describe the work and aims of one of these settlements. I have before me
+the last Report of the Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the
+Browning Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.
+
+[Illustration: The Entrance Gates to Guy's]
+
+As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods of a
+'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They are not all the
+same, but the differences are slight. The directors of this settlement,
+for instance, desire to plant a settlement house in every poor street; a
+house which shall be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall
+serve as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a large club
+house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys and girls. Once a week
+there is a concert in the hall. The members of the settlement take as
+large a part as possible in the local government; they have laid out a
+burial-ground at the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor men's
+lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension Lectures; they
+have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday afternoons for the men;
+they have a maternity society; they have a clothes store; they have an
+adult school. Classes are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics;
+there have been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade; there is
+musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest Festivals; and there are,
+in addition, works of religion and temperance which I have not
+enumerated above.
+
+The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers, personal
+service; for the people, the influence of example, the attraction of
+things which they understand at once to be a great deal more pleasant
+than the bar and the tap-room; such a variety of work and recreation as
+may drag all into the net except the substratum of all, whom nothing can
+lift out of the mire.
+
+One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these settlements.
+First, how large an area in a densely populated part can be covered by a
+single settlement? Next, how many young men can be found to carry on the
+work? For instance, if the Browning Settlement can reach--of course it
+cannot--all the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine other settlements in
+South London from Battersea to Greenwich, both included. If we give
+20,000 people for each settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty
+settlements for the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the officers and
+managers of departments, from which it would seem that about thirty are
+actively engaged from day to day. So that fifteen hundred voluntary
+workers in all would be required in order to cover this land of slums
+with an effective string of settlements.
+
+[Illustration: A Former Entrance to St. Thomas's Hospital]
+
+There never was a time when more determined efforts have been made for
+the elevation of the submerged, and there never was a time when so many
+young men and young women have been found ready to give the whole of
+their time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be seen;
+whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now passing over
+the minds of the young will continue and remain with us has also to be
+proved. The directors of the Browning Settlement meantime declare--I
+have no intention of questioning the truth of their assertion--that they
+find already among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship, and
+more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement, we cannot
+but desire for South London a chain of settlements reaching from
+Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.
+
+    NOTE.--Since this was written several new Theatres have been built
+    in South London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on
+    p. 320 which states that the Theatres are humble. Also I would
+    acknowledge the existence of local newspapers, and instead of saying
+    that it has no public buildings I would say only one or two old
+    buildings.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Acrensis, Thomas, 161
+
+Actors, Company of, 225-228
+
+Ailwin, Childe, 52
+
+Albion Island, 4
+
+Alfred repairs the Walls, 31
+
+Allectus, Emperor, 18, 26
+
+Alleyn, Edward, 271
+
+Arundell, Archbishop, 114, 116
+
+Asclepiodotus, 29
+
+Awdry, Legend of, 15
+
+
+Bankside, 217
+
+Battersea Fields, 303, 304
+
+Battle of Clapham Common, 18
+
+-- on London Bridge, 148-150
+
+Bear Garden Alley, 214
+
+'Below Bridge,' 229
+
+Bermondsey, Religious House, 51
+
+-- Spa Gardens, 292
+
+-- Hall, 233
+
+Bill of a Feast, 265
+
+Boadicea, Queen, 26
+
+Boleyn, Anne, 122
+
+Bombardment of London, 153
+
+Borough Compter, 249, 272, 278
+
+-- Society, 260, 261
+
+Bridge across the River, 12
+
+-- at the Barefoot Tavern, 264
+
+-- Construction of, 29
+
+-- Destroyed and repaired, 44, 45
+
+--, The, 25
+
+-- when built, 26
+
+Bridges, Roman Method of Building, 28
+
+Bull and Bear Baiting, 210, 211
+
+Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+
+Cade's Rebellion, 148
+
+Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, 38
+
+Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, 163
+
+-- Tales, 168-176.
+
+Carausius, History of, 18
+
+Causeway across Southwark Marsh, 6, 7
+
+-- the Lie of, 6, 7
+
+Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, 4
+
+Charles II.'s Restoration, 129
+
+Charlton Fair, 188
+
+Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 168-174
+
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle,' 6
+
+Christmas at Kennington Palace, 77-79
+
+Clapham Common Battle, 18
+
+-- Rise, 5
+
+Clink Prison, 248
+
+Cnut's Canal, Course of, 40, 41
+
+-- Siege, 38
+
+-- Trench, 38
+
+Commercial Docks, 234, 305
+
+Copt Hall or Vauxhall, 111
+
+Count of the Saxon Shore, 17
+
+Cranmer, Martyrdom of, 65
+
+Cuper's Gardens, 252, 288
+
+
+Danes defeated, 35
+
+Danish Alliance against London, 32, 33
+
+-- Invasion, Second, 36
+
+Debtors' Prisons, 272
+
+Denmark Hill, 311
+
+Deptford, 234-238, 306
+
+'Dog and Duck,' 289-292
+
+Domesday Book compiled, 72
+
+Dover Road, 25
+
+Dry Ground beyond Kennington, 5
+
+Duels in Battersea Fields, 304
+
+Dulwich Fields, 309
+
+
+Earl Godwine's Invasion, 42
+
+Earliest Maps of South London, 47
+
+Edmund fights Cnut, 38
+
+Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, 96
+
+Effra River, 310
+
+Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, 103, 105, 108
+
+Elizabeth Woodville, 62
+
+Eltham Palace, 69, 74, 75, 89-97
+
+Eltham Palace, Remains of, 94;
+  a Royal visit, 94-96
+
+Embankment, Early Repairs of, 12
+
+-- First, of River, 11, 12
+
+Extent of South London, 2;
+  its Islets or Eyots, 2-3
+
+
+Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, 176
+
+Fairs of London, 179
+
+Falconbridge, Bastard of, 153
+
+Falcon Stream, 3
+
+Falstaff, Sir John, History of, 134-152
+
+Ferries across Marsh, 26
+
+Field, Nathan, 223
+
+Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 110
+
+Fleet sent against the Danes, 32
+
+Ford of Thorney, 5
+
+Freemantle, History by, 1
+[Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to Freeman not Freemantle.]
+
+
+Gildable Manor, 48
+
+Gokstad's ship, 33, 40, 41
+
+Goose Green, 311
+
+Great South Marsh, 2
+
+Green Dragon Inn, 262
+
+Greenwich Fair, 188
+
+-- Hospital, 109
+
+-- Palace, 97-109
+
+
+Hackney Marsh, 11
+
+-- Marshes, 6
+
+Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, 275
+
+Harold Harefoot, 71
+
+Hengist and Æsc, 20
+
+Henry III. at Eltham, 90
+
+-- VI.'s Coronation, 126-129
+
+Herne Hill, 311
+
+High Street, Borough, 10
+
+-- -- Southwark, 254
+
+Hope Theatre, Southwark, 221
+
+Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, 5
+
+Horselydown, 231
+
+-- Fair, 229
+
+Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, 118
+
+
+Inns of Southwark, 16, 262, 263
+
+Insignia of Pilgrimage, 157
+
+Islands in the Marsh, 2
+
+Isle of Bramble, 9
+
+-- -- or Westminster, 4
+
+
+Juxon, Archbishop, 120
+
+
+Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, 129
+
+Katharine of Valois, 56-60
+
+Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, 81-88
+
+-- Palace, 69, 73;
+  owned by Theodric, 72;
+  Christmas at, 78-80
+
+Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, 81
+
+King's Bench Prison, 272, 274
+
+
+Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, 179-185
+
+Lambeth Palace, 109
+
+-- -- visited by Royalty, 114
+
+Langton, Stephen, 118
+
+Legend of Awdry, 15
+
+'Le Loke,' 64
+
+'Liberties' of South London, 48
+
+'Liberty' Prisons, 49
+
+London and Southwark, Difference between, 22
+
+-- as a Port, 10
+
+-- attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, 154-156
+
+-- Original Site of, 23
+
+-- Site of, from the Causeway, 7
+
+-- Third Siege of, by Danes, 36, 37
+
+Long Barn, The, 70, 73, 75
+
+Lord Mayor's Pageants, 133
+
+
+Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, 38
+
+Manor of Lambeth, 117
+
+Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, 199-204
+
+Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+-- at St. Mary Overies, 192, 193
+
+Marsh, Great South, 2
+
+-- Islands in, 2
+
+Marshalsea, 279
+
+Memories of Greenwich, 98, 99
+
+Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, 242, 246
+
+Monastic Houses, 50
+
+Montagu Close, Southwark, 242
+
+Monuments in St. Mary Overies, 196-198
+
+Morden College, 239
+
+
+New Mint Sanctuary, 246
+
+Nonesuch, 77
+
+Norfolk College, 239
+
+-- House, 110
+
+
+Origin of Settlements in South London, 17
+
+Owen Tudor, 56-60
+
+
+Paris Gardens, 215
+
+-- -- Baiting at, 212
+
+Parish Clerks, Company of, 210
+
+Parliament at Lambeth Palace, 113
+
+Pax Romana, 17, 43
+
+Payn, John, 147, 151
+
+Peckham Rye, 312
+
+Penge Common, 312
+
+Philanthropic Work, 324
+
+Pilgrimage a Mockery, 165, 166
+
+-- Insignia of, 157
+
+Pilgrimages, Choice of, 159, 160
+
+Pilgrims starting from Southwark, 158
+
+Playhouses in Southwark, 220
+
+Pleasure Gardens, 282-288
+
+Poets of South London, 224, 225
+
+Population, Increase in, 316, 317
+
+Priory of St. Mary Overies, 192
+
+Prisons of the Liberties, 49
+
+Processions in Southwark, 124
+
+Punishments ordered by the Church, 68
+
+Puritan Effect on Theatres, 221, 222
+
+
+Ravensbourne, 2, 3
+
+Red Cross Gardens, 315
+
+-- House Tavern, 304
+
+Remains of Eltham Palace, 94
+
+Richard II. at Kennington Palace, 81, 82
+
+River, First Embankment of, 11, 12
+
+-- Wall removed, 28
+
+Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, 21
+
+Roman Connection with Causeway, 6
+
+-- Method of Building Bridges, 28
+
+-- Remains in South London, 14-16
+
+-- -- at St. Saviour's Grammar School, 15
+
+-- Trajectus, 10
+
+Rotherhithe, 305
+
+Royal Houses, 69
+
+-- Manor, Valuation of, 72, 73
+
+Royalty at Eltham Palace, 92
+
+Rum, 10
+
+
+Sanctuaries, Later, 241
+
+Sanctuary at Southwark, 243
+
+-- at New Mint, 246
+
+Savoy Dock, 230
+
+Settlements in South London, Origin of, 17
+
+Show Folk of Bankside, 206
+
+Site of London from Causeway, 7
+
+-- of Original London, 23
+
+Snorro, Thirlesen, 22
+
+Society in the Borough, 261
+
+South London, Extent of, 2
+
+-- -- deserted, 20, 21
+
+-- -- named Southwark by Saxons, 2
+
+-- -- in Ruins and deserted, 31
+
+-- -- Earliest Map of, 47
+
+-- -- of To-day, 301
+
+Southwark, Conditions of Existence, 12, 13
+
+-- and London, Difference between, 22
+
+-- Fair or Lady Fair, 179-185
+
+-- Famous Inns, 16
+
+-- without a Wall, 17
+
+Stage Coaches, Start of, 258, 259
+
+St. Mary Overies, 191
+
+-- -- -- Dock, 10
+
+-- -- -- Marriages at, 192, 193
+
+-- -- -- reconstructed, 195, 196
+
+-- -- -- connected with Marian Persecution, 199-204
+
+-- -- -- in Recent Times, 205
+
+St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, 4
+
+St. Saviour's Abbey, 51
+
+St. Thomas's Hospital, 64
+
+-- -- -- Foundation of, 66
+
+-- -- -- Roman Remains in, 15, 16
+
+'Stonegate,' 6
+
+Stubbs, History by, 1
+
+Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, 33-37
+
+
+Tabard Inn, 268
+
+Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 167
+
+Thames Fishermen, 14
+
+Theatre of Southwark Fair, 185
+
+Thorney, Trade of, 8
+
+-- Island, Trade of, 4
+
+Tournament at Eltham, 94-96
+
+Trade of Thorney, 8
+
+-- Route of South London, 4
+
+Traffic through Southwark, 256, 257
+
+Trench of Cnut, 38
+
+
+Vauxhall Gardens, 294-299
+
+-- -- Site of, 113
+
+-- or Copt Hall, 111
+
+
+Walbrook, 8
+
+-- Origin of Name, 3
+
+Walls repaired by Alfred, 31
+
+Walworth, the Name, 23
+
+Wandle, River, 2, 3
+
+Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, 4
+
+White Lyon Prison, 280
+
+William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, 43
+
+-- III.'s Entry into London, 131, 132
+
+Willoughby, Sir John, 105
+
+Wyclyf's trial, 84
+
+
+               PRINTED BY
+  SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER
+             LONDON AND ETON
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT & JAMES RICE.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  WITH HARP AND CROWN.
+  THIS SON OF VULCAN.
+  MY LITTLE GIRL.
+  THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.
+  THE SEAMY SIDE.
+  THE TEN YEARS' TENANT.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+NOVELS BY SIR WALTER BESANT.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  THE CAPTAINS' ROOM, &c. With Frontispiece by E. J. WHEELER.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by HARRY FURNISS.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER. With a Frontispiece by CHARLES GREEN.
+  UNCLE JACK, and other Stories.
+  THE WORLD WENT VERY WELL THEN. With Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. Illustrated by A. FORESTIER.
+  TO CALL HER MINE, &c. With 9 Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE BELL OF ST. PAUL'S.
+  THE IVORY GATE.
+  THE HOLY ROSE, &c. With a Frontispiece by F. BARNARD.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. With 12 Illustrations by CHARLES GREEN.
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS. With Frontispiece by GORDON BROWNE.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+  BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE. With 12 Illustrations by W. H. HYDE.
+  THE REVOLT OF MAN.
+  IN DEACON'S ORDERS. With a Frontispiece by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.
+  THE CITY OF REFUGE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  A FOUNTAIN SEALED. With Frontispiece by H. G. BURGESS.
+  THE CHANGELING.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL. With 8 Illustrations by F. PEGRAM.
+  THE LADY OF LYNN. With 12 Illustrations by G. DEMAIN HAMMOND.
+  NO OTHER WAY. With 12 Illustrations by C. D. WARD.
+  THE FOURTH GENERATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FINE PAPER EDITIONS, pott 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 2_s._ net each; leather,
+gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON.
+  WESTMINSTER.
+  JERUSALEM. (In collaboration with E. H. PALMER.)
+  SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.
+  GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+POPULAR EDITIONS, medium 8vo. 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.
+  NO OTHER WAY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.
+  WESTMINSTER. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 130 Illustrations.
+  SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 119 Illustrations.
+  EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by F. S. WALKER, and
+    54 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, L. RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.
+  THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By WALTER BESANT and W. H. POLLOCK.
+    With 50 Illustrations by CHRIS. HAMMOND and A. JULE GOODMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2_s._ each.
+
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net each.
+
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6_s._
+  THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. CHEAP EDITION, picture cover, 1_s._ net.
+
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of South London, by Walter Besant.
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: South London
+
+Author: Sir Walter Besant
+
+Illustrator: Francis S. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 16, 2014 [EBook #44683]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH LONDON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div> <p>[Transcriber's Note: The cover image was created by the transcriber by adding the title and author's name to a scan of the cover of the original book and is placed in the public domain.]</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="535" height="800" alt="Book cover"/>
+</div>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<p class="small-title">SOUTH LONDON</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<p class="small-title">WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.</p>
+
+<p class='center'><span class="smcap">Uniform Edition.</span> Demy 8vo. cloth, 5<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 125 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant has here attempted,
+with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The Author of "A Short History of the English
+People" and the historian of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and indelible pictures of the people
+of the past.... No one who loves his London but will love it the better for reading this
+book. He who loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest pleasure.'&mdash;<i>Graphic.</i></p>
+
+<p>'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his beautifully illustrated
+book will call up in the minds of those who bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and
+expectation. He contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the London of
+the present more living than before.'&mdash;<i>Spectator.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">WESTMINSTER.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 131 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and its corporate life in a way
+which has never been surpassed&mdash;not even equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he
+has made to live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of London to the mere
+dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster" even better.... There is nothing
+but admiration to be expressed as well for the plan as for the execution.'&mdash;<i>Daily Chronicle.</i></p>
+
+<p>'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his charming book on "London."...
+From beginning to end the narrative never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one
+rises from its reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and a greater veneration
+for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the past.'&mdash;<i>Guardian.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">SOUTH LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 120 Illustrations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great world they live in we
+cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to the author's previous volumes. It is written by an
+enthusiast who is also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of life; and
+it passes before the reader's imagination a series of indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic
+and monotonous South London with the romance which is its due.'&mdash;<i>Literature.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">EAST LONDON.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 55 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Phil May</span>, <span class="smcap">Raven Hill</span>, and <span class="smcap">Joseph Pennell</span>.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles Dickens.... He
+has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his knowledge of the great city. He was grey before
+he attempted to write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+London"&mdash;books which have earned him his title as the historian of London&mdash;and he has postponed
+his book on "East London" until his sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian
+lore mingled with human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is this
+study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly book.'&mdash;<i>Literary World.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="font-size: x-large;">FIFTY YEARS AGO.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations of George Cruikshank and
+the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise lend additional effect.... The book is full of
+movement and colour, and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of Queen
+Victoria.'&mdash;<i>Speaker.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>Small 8vo. cloth (in the <span class="smcap">St. Martin's Library</span>), gilt top, 2<i>s.</i> net each;
+feather, gilt edges, 3<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left">LONDON.</td><td align="left">WESTMINSTER.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.</td><td align="left">JERUSALEM.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">GASPARD DE COLIGNY.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class='center'>London: CHATTO &amp; WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"></a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i"></a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_004.jpg" width="416" height="600" alt="F. S. Walker, R.E." title="" />
+<p><i>F. S. Walker, R.E.</i></p>
+<span class="caption"><i>S<sup>t.</sup> Saviour's, Southwark.</i></span>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">{iii}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h1><a name="SOUTH_LONDON" id="SOUTH_LONDON"></a>SOUTH LONDON</h1>
+
+<p class='center'>
+BY<br />
+<br />
+<span style="font-size: x-large;">WALTER BESANT</span><br />
+<br />
+AUTHOR OF<br />
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/illus_005.jpg" width="100" height="62" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class='center'>
+A NEW EDITION<br />
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.<br />
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+<p class='center'>
+LONDON<br />
+<span style="font-size: x-large;">CHATTO &amp; WINDUS</span><br />
+1912
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">{v}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>In sending forth this book on '<span class="smcap">South London</span>,' the successor
+to my two preceding books on '<span class="smcap">London</span>' and '<span class="smcap">Westminster</span>,'
+I have to explain in this case, as before, that it is not a
+history, or a chronicle, or a consecutive account of the Borough
+and her suburbs that I offer, but, as in the other two books,
+chapters taken here and there from the mass of material which
+lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which illustrate the
+most important part of History, namely, the condition, the
+manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now,
+like Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three
+hundred years ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing
+tide by an Embankment, joined to the Dover road by a Causeway,
+settled and inhabited by two or three Houses of
+Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots, and
+great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment
+from time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was
+built: and by a street of Inns and shops.</p>
+
+<p>I hope that '<span class="smcap">South London</span>' will be received with favour
+equal to that bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief
+difficulty in writing it has been that of selection from the
+great treasures which have accumulated about this strange
+spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth part
+of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the
+showman in the 'Cries of London'&mdash;I pull the strings, and
+the children peep. Lo! Allectus goes forth to fight and die
+on Clapham Common: William's men burn the fishermen's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">{vi}</a></span>
+cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy, rides out, all in
+white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington&mdash;saw one ever
+so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards
+the city: Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's
+army: the Minters make their last Sanctuary opposite St.
+George's: the Debtors languish in the King's Bench. There
+are many pictures in the box&mdash;but how many more there are
+for which no room could be found!</p>
+
+<p>I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor
+of the <i>Pall Mall Magazine</i>, where half of these chapters first
+had the honour of appearing, for the wealth of illustration of
+which he thought them worthy: and next to the artist, Mr.
+Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully and so cunningly carried
+out the task committed to him.</p>
+
+<p>
+WALTER BESANT.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">United University Club</span>:<br />
+<i>September 1898</i>.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">{vii}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="center">CHAPTER</td><td colspan='2' align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td align="left">THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td align="left">EARLY HISTORY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td align="left">A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td align="left">THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td align="left">PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td align="left">A FORGOTTEN WORTHY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td align="left">THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td align="left">THE PILGRIMS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td align="left">THE LADY FAIR</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td align="left">ST. MARY OVERIES</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td align="left">THE SHOW FOLK</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td align="left">BELOW BRIDGE</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td align="left">THE LATER SANCTUARY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td align="left">IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td align="left">THE DEBTORS' PRISON</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td align="left">THE PLEASURE GARDENS</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td align="left">SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_301">301</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">{ix}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii"></a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#frontispiece">ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK</a><br /><i>Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E.</i></td><td align="left"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" colspan='2'>PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#View_from_Southwark_Marsh">VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES</a></td><td align="right">3</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh">CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH</a></td><td align="right">7</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet">FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET</a></td><td align="right">9</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Barking_Creek">BARKING CREEK</a></td><td align="right">11</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE">RELICS OF THE STONE AGE</a></td><td align="right">15</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE">A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE</a></td><td align="right">17</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE">RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE</a></td><td align="right">19</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh">MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH</a></td><td align="right">27</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#London_Bridge_AD_1000">LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000</a></td><td align="right">29</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Danish_House">A DANISH HOUSE</a></td><td align="right">31</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY">SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY</a></td><td align="right">33</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Viking_Ship">A VIKING SHIP</a></td><td align="right">34</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SKETCH_MAP">SKETCH MAP</a></td><td align="right">37</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#DIAGRAM">DIAGRAM</a></td><td align="right">40</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP">THE GOKSTAD SHIP</a></td><td align="right">41</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror">SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR</a></td><td align="right">43</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BAYEUX_TAPESTRY">BAYEUX TAPESTRY</a></td><td align="right">45</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey">THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">51</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BERMONDSEY_ABBEY">BERMONDSEY ABBEY</a></td><td align="right">52</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY">GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY</a></td><td align="right">53</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK">ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">61</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LE_LOKE">'LE LOKE'</a></td><td align="right">63</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER">REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH</a></td><td align="right">67</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_LONG_BARN">THE LONG BARN</a></td><td align="right">70</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">{x}</a></span><a href="#SKETCH_MAP_II">SKETCH MAP</a></td><td align="right">71</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace">GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">75</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich">THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH</a></td><td align="right">77</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE">SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE</a><br /><i>From Allen's History of Lambeth</i></td>
+<td align="right">83</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_High_Street_Southwark">THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII</a></td><td align="right">85</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796</a></td><td align="right">91</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT">KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804</i></td>
+<td align="right">93</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Remains_of_Eltham_Palace">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">95</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Moat_Bridge">THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE</a></td><td align="right">97</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_1662">GREENWICH, 1662</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by Jonas Moore</i></td>
+<td align="right">99</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_HOSPITAL">GREENWICH HOSPITAL</a><br /><i>From a Drawing by Schnebbelie</i></td>
+<td align="right">101</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Lambeth_Palace">LAMBETH PALACE</a></td><td align="right">109</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH">BONNER HALL, LAMBETH</a></td><td align="right">111</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH">RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH</a><br />
+<i>From 'La Belle Assemblée,' November 1822</i></td><td align="right">113</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH">BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH</a></td><td align="right">114</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE">INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving dated 1804</i></td><td align="right">115</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER">LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER</a></td><td align="right">116</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE">LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE</a></td><td align="right">117</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower">DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER</a></td><td align="right">119</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#LOLLARDS39_PRISON">LOLLARDS' PRISON</a></td><td align="right">121</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK">WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">137</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE">SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">139</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House">THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET</a></td><td align="right">143</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550">HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550</a></td><td align="right">149</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY">OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY</a></td><td align="right">158</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY">OLD HALL, AYLESBURY</a></td><td align="right">159</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS">CANTERBURY PILGRIMS</a></td><td align="right">160</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH">15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH</a></td><td align="right">165</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE">RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY</a></td><td align="right">165</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN">14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT">14TH CENTURY MERCHANT</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">{xi}</a></span><a href="#FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I">14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN</a></td><td align="right">168</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#PEDLAR">PEDLAR</a><br />
+<i>From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church</i></td><td align="right">175</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#MINSTRELS_AD_1480">MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480</a></td><td align="right">177</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR">BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR</a></td><td align="right">181</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY">GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802</i></td><td align="right">187</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">192</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">193</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR">NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800</a></td><td align="right">194</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES">CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">195</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY">GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811</a><br />
+<i>From a Drawing by Whichelo</i></td><td align="right">197</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY">REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">199</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS">TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES</a></td><td align="right">201</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR">A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">203</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790">ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790</a></td><td align="right">204</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#WINCHESTER_PALACE">WINCHESTER PALACE</a></td><td align="right">207</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_GLOBE_THEATRE">THE GLOBE THEATRE</a><br />
+<i>From the Crace Collection</i></td><td align="right">209</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#BEAR_GARDEN">BEAR GARDEN</a></td><td align="right">213</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre">THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616</a></td><td align="right">221</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE">INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE</a></td><td align="right">223</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN">A FÊTE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590</a><br />
+<i>From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield</i></td><td align="right">231</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE">THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814</a></td><td align="right">233</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD">VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750</i></td><td align="right">235</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH">GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH</a></td><td align="right">239</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#MINT_STREET_BOROUGH">MINT STREET, BOROUGH</a></td><td align="right">245</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK">OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">249</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL">ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL</a><br />
+<i>From an old Print</i></td><td align="right">250</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk">SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">251</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Jamaica_House_Bermondsey">JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">252</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL">QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL</a></td><td align="right">253</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET">ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH</a><br />
+<i>From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820</i></td><td align="right">254</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">{xii}</a></span><a href="#THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE">THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">255</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE">AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">256</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE">JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE</a></td><td align="right">257</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK">THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">258</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street">OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET</a></td><td align="right">259</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn">COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN</a></td><td align="right">261</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK">THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">263</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK">ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">265</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM">A SOUTH LONDON SLUM</a></td><td align="right">267</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK">THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">268</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK">ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW</a><br />
+<i>From an Engraving by B. Cole</i></td><td align="right">269</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA">REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT</a>
+<br /><i>From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803</i></td><td align="right">273</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#KING39S_BENCH_PRISON">KING'S BENCH PRISON</a></td><td align="right">275</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_King39s_Bench_Prison">ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON</a></td><td align="right">277</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VAUXHALL_GARDENS">VAUXHALL GARDENS</a><br />
+<i>From the Engraving by J. S. Müller</i></td><td align="right">283</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET">VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET</a></td><td align="right">285</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM">THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM</a></td><td align="right">289</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY">A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">301</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY">IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY</a></td><td align="right">302</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank">THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK</a></td><td align="right">303</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE">HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE</a></td><td align="right">305</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD">CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD</a></td><td align="right">307</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840">ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840</a></td><td align="right">309</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780">DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780</a></td><td align="right">311</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s">FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S</a></td><td align="right">313</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#RED_CROSS_GARDENS">RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK</a></td><td align="right">315</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK">ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK</a></td><td align="right">317</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier">BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER</a></td><td align="right">319</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_George_Inn">THE GEORGE INN</a></td><td align="right">321</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_George_Inn">LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA</a></td><td align="right">321</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge">ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S</a></td><td align="right">323</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#The_Entrance_Gates">THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S</a></td><td align="right">325</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><a href="#A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas">A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL</a></td><td align="right">327</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">{1}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<p class="half-title">SOUTH LONDON</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br />
+<br />
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS</h2>
+
+
+<p>I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow
+by the general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors
+on 'London' and 'Westminster,' they will not attempt,
+or pretend, to present a continuous history of this region&mdash;or,
+indeed, a history at all: they will endeavour to do for this
+part of London what their predecessors have already attempted
+for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is to
+say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the
+Borough and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means
+the march of armies and the clash of armour, we shall here
+find little history. So far, also, as history means the growth
+of our liberties, the struggles by which they were won; the
+apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time, of the spirit of
+freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and the
+student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman&mdash;not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy
+to be held in the highest honour, of those who trace out the
+irresistible march of national freedom: I cannot join their company;
+I must be contented with the lowlier, yet somewhat useful,
+task of showing how the people, my forefathers, lived, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">{2}</a></span>
+what they thought, and how they sang and feasted and made
+love and grew old and died.</p>
+
+<p>My South London extends from Battersea in the west to
+Greenwich in the east, and from the river on the north to the
+first rising ground on the south. This rising ground, a gentle
+ascent, the beginning of the Surrey hills, can still be observed
+on the high roads of the south&mdash;Clapham, Brixton, Camberwell.
+It now occupies the place of what was formerly a low
+cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the
+broad level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side
+of the river, which closed in on either side of Walbrook and
+made the foundation of London possible. If we draw a
+straight line from the mouth of the Wandle on the west to the
+mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall, roughly
+speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as
+well. The whole of this region constitutes the Great South
+Marsh: there is no rising ground, or hillock, or encroaching
+cliff over the whole of this flat expanse. Before the river was
+embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for eight miles in
+length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a half
+miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created,
+as the centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of
+branches, roots, reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches
+above high water; the spring-tide covered them&mdash;sometimes
+swept them away&mdash;then others began to form. In later times,
+after the work of embankment had been commenced, these
+islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington,
+Kennington. Even then, for many a long year, they were but
+little areas rising a foot or two above the level, covered with
+sedge, reeds, and tufts of coarse grass, hardly distinguishable
+from the rest of the ground around them. Before the construction
+of the river wall, no trees stood upon this morass, no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">{3}</a></span>
+flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and bushes
+grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of
+it: there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south
+side rose the cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and
+continually receding before the encroaching tide; on the north
+side ran the river; beyond the river the cliff stood up above
+the water's edge, where the tiny stream, afterwards named
+from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the rolling
+flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="View_from_Southwark_Marsh" id="View_from_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_017.jpg" width="600" height="378" alt="View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times." title="" />
+<span class="caption">View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide
+made their way across it into the Thames: at high tide their
+beds were lost in the shallows. Among them&mdash;to use names
+by which they were afterwards distinguished&mdash;were the
+Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne, and others
+which have disappeared and left no name. And so for unnumbered
+years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the
+reeds bent beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead,
+and the wild birds screamed, far away from the world of
+men and women, long after men and women began to wander<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">{4}</a></span>
+about this Island called Albion. No one took any thought
+of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all
+along the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely
+the most desolate, dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere
+in the world. Those who wish to realise what manner of
+country it was which stretched away on the north and south
+of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it if
+they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the
+ruined Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low
+tide to east and north.</p>
+
+<p>In a previous volume dealing with another part of the
+country called London I showed to my own satisfaction,
+and, I believe, that of my readers, that long before there
+existed any London at all, except perhaps a village of a few
+fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or Thorney was
+a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to
+Dover and the southern ports. This position, new as it was,
+and opposed to the general and traditional teaching&mdash;opposed,
+for instance, to the traditional belief of Dean Stanley&mdash;has
+never been attacked, and may be considered, therefore, as
+generally accepted. When or how the trade of Thorney began,
+to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire. Indeed,
+I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the
+beginning and early history of the Southern settlements.</p>
+
+<p>The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called
+afterwards by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now
+Westminster. All the trade of the north passed over that
+little spot, on which arose a considerable town for the reception
+of the caravans. After resting a night or so at Thorney,
+the merchants went on their way. Those who travelled south,
+making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there was
+afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">{5}</a></span>
+of Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still
+survives in Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford,
+the travellers found themselves face to face with a mile of
+dangerous bog, marsh and swamp, through which they had
+to plod and plough their way, sinking over their knees, up to
+the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground,
+now called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their
+long chains of slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules
+from the north, this was the worst bit of the whole journey.
+Every day there were rivers to be forded, in which some of
+their slaves might get drowned or might escape; there were
+dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile tribes;
+there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this
+great swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed
+and floundered through it, over ankles, over knees, up to the
+middle, up to the neck, in mud and muddy water. The packhorses
+sank deep down with their loads; they took off the
+loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who threw
+them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they
+made a mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and
+slave-load; iron, lead, and skins: the merchant paid heavy
+tribute while he crossed the marshes and waded through the
+shallows of the broad tidal river.</p>
+
+<p>At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown
+person of engineering genius in advance of his time, that it
+might not be impossible to construct a causeway across this
+marsh; and that such a causeway would be extremely useful
+and convenient for those who used the Thorney Fords. Perhaps
+the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the work
+was the first causeway ever constructed in this country;
+perhaps the inventor began on the smallest possible scale,
+with a very narrow way across the marsh to the nearest dry
+ground, which was, of course, somewhere beyond Kennington;
+perhaps the work, colossal for the time, carried the merchants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">{6}</a></span>
+and their caravans across the whole extent of the marsh&mdash;five
+miles and more&mdash;to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was
+not unlike those which now run across the Hackney Marshes;
+that is to say, it was raised so high as to be above the highest
+spring tide, about six feet above the level of the marsh. It
+was constructed by driving piles into the mud at regular
+intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and filling
+up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from Chelsea&mdash;'Isle
+of Shingle'&mdash;or from the nearest high ground, where
+is now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway,
+I take it, was about ten or twelve feet. The construction
+of the work rendered the passage across the marsh perfectly
+easy, and greatly facilitated that part of the trade of
+the island which lay in the midland and on the north.</p>
+
+<p>When was this causeway, the first step in road-making,
+constructed? Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however,
+that it is older than the Roman occupation; and for
+these reasons. When London was first visited by the Romans
+it was already a flourishing city with a '<i>copia negotiatorum</i>;'
+in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting the
+greater part of the trade which formerly passed through
+Thorney. Had the Romans built the causeway, they would
+have constructed it along a line drawn from one of the two
+old ferries to Deptford. The causeway, therefore, must have
+existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene, together
+with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway connecting
+the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the
+Romans strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled
+way, soft in bad weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman
+roads; faced it with stone, and made it durable. If South
+London were to be stripped of all its houses, the two causeways
+would be found still, hard and firm, beneath the mass
+of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.</p>
+
+<p>If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">{7}</a></span>
+end of Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the
+Old Kent Road, you will understand the lie of the causeway.
+And this causeway, understand, was the very first interference
+of the hand of man with the marshes south of the Thames.
+It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment against
+the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which
+flowed in on the other side&mdash;the Battersea side: it was simply
+a way across the marsh. For a long time&mdash;we cannot tell
+how long&mdash;it remained the principal way of communication
+for the trade of Britain between the north and the south,
+the midland and the south, the eastern counties and the
+south.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh" id="Causeway_across_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_021.jpg" width="500" height="419" alt="Causeway across Southwark Marsh." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Causeway across Southwark Marsh.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the
+merchants crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries
+of which no trace or memory remains, when they turned their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">{8}</a></span>
+eyes northward, first a level of mud, sprinkled with little
+eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the broad river, and beyond
+the river two streams, one fuller than the other, each in
+its own valley&mdash;that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House&mdash;falling into the river;
+a low cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh,
+as on the south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames,
+approaching close to the river, and actually overhanging it.
+On the river they saw numerous coracles, with fishermen
+catching salmon and every kind of fish in their nets. No
+river in the world was more plentifully stocked with fish;
+overhead flew screaming innumerable birds&mdash;geese, ducks,
+herne&mdash;which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling
+and stone by the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the
+river, the travellers by the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk.
+Then, perhaps, they remembered the plenty of the
+markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds, the vast
+quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that
+flew up from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that
+London&mdash;'the place or fort over the Lake'&mdash;was the settlement
+which furnished Thorney with a good part of her supplies.
+And this I verily believe to have been the real origin
+and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping
+birds for the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only;
+it will be set aside, most certainly, by those who are not
+pleased with the upsetting of old theories. To those who
+are able to realise the ancient condition of things and all it
+means, the suggestion will be received, I am convinced, as
+more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.</p>
+
+<p>Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of
+great resort, as I have shown in these pages already: every
+day passed into Thorney, and out of Thorney, long processions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">{9}</a></span>
+or caravans of merchants with merchandise carried
+by slaves&mdash;the most valuable part of their merchandise&mdash;and
+by packhorses and mules; they waded through the northern
+ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the
+causeway, and went south. Or else it was the reverse way.
+The place required a daily supply of food, and, as there were
+many travellers, a great quantity of food. If you go down
+the river from Thorney, you will find that the present site of
+London, on the two hillocks rising out of the river, was the
+first and only place where men could put up huts in which to
+live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for
+Thorney. If, therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing
+centre of trade long before London was a place of trade
+at all, then the original London must have been a settlement of
+fishermen and trappers who supplied the markets of Thorney.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet" id="Fishers39_Huts_at_the_mouth_of_the_Fleet"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_023.jpg" width="550" height="424" alt="Fishers&#39; Huts
+at the mouth
+of the Fleet." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fishers&#39; Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In course of time&mdash;we are still in prehistoric times&mdash;the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">{10}</a></span>
+site of London was discovered by seamen and merchant
+adventurers exploring the rivers in their ships. It was found
+cheaper and easier and safer to carry goods to and from
+Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast along from
+Dover to the strait between Rum&mdash;the Isle of Thanet, and
+the mainland&mdash;to pass through the strait and up the river,
+was found easier and cheaper than to undertake the costly
+and dangerous march from Dover to Thorney Ford. This
+way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a certain part of
+the trade along the old causeway was diverted.</p>
+
+<p>The next step was the discovery of London as a port.
+There was no port at Thorney: on the site of London were
+the two natural ports of Walbrook and the mouth of the
+Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more salubrious
+than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays
+were erected, goods were landed; the high road which we
+call Oxford Street was constructed to connect London with
+the highway of trade&mdash;afterwards Watling Street; and the
+trade of London began.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it
+was, you will observe that London at its first commencement
+had no communication with any part of the world except by
+water. The first road opened was, as I have said, the connection
+with Watling Street; what was the next? It was a
+connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was
+the road which we now call High Street, Borough. These
+two roads were the first communication between London and
+any other place; all the other roads, to the north and south
+and west and east, came afterwards. It was necessary for
+London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country.
+The High Street formed that open communication; it began
+not far to the west of St Saviour's Church, opposite the
+Roman Trajectus, the mediæval ferry, now St. Mary Overies
+Dock.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">{11}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from
+embanking the river, or draining the marsh, or making it
+inhabitable. If you walk across Hackney Marsh by one of
+its causeways any autumnal morning, especially after rain,
+you will understand something of what Southwark looked
+like. Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as
+yet not a square foot had been drained or reclaimed; yet the
+place was not so wild as it had been; the wild birds had been
+partly driven away by the noise and crowd of London, and
+by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and down.
+There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river
+backwards and forwards all day long. The causeways were
+crowded with people; but as yet nothing on the lowlands.
+Before the marshes could be drained the river had to be
+embanked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Barking_Creek" id="Barking_Creek"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_025.jpg" width="550" height="415" alt="Barking Creek" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Barking Creek</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>No one knows when that was done. It was done, however.
+At some time or other a high earthwork was raised along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">{12}</a></span>
+north and south banks of the river, enclosing the marshes,
+converting them into pasture and arable land, and keeping
+out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the most signal
+benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets
+and coast of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair,
+though most of it has stood splendidly. The wall gave way,
+however, at Barking in the time of Henry the Second; at
+Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early in the
+last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall
+was costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a
+low-lying ground, rich and fertile; orchards and woods began
+to grow and to flourish upon it; yet it was still swampy in
+parts, numerous ponds lay about on it, streams wound their way
+confined in channels, and let out through the embankment at
+low tide by culverts.</p>
+
+<p>Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot
+decide. Yet I think that the embankment came first; for the
+existence of Southwark&mdash;that of any part of South London&mdash;depended
+not on the bridge, but on the embankment and the
+ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the two causeways;
+the bridge; two ferries&mdash;one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct
+communication with Dover, with Thorney&mdash;thence with the
+midlands and the north: there could not fail to arise a
+settlement or town of some kind on the south of the
+Thames.</p>
+
+<p>Let us next consider the conditions under which the town
+of Southwark began to exist and to continue for a great many
+years.</p>
+
+<p>(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except
+the marsh which surrounded it and prohibited the approach
+of an army except along the causeway.</p>
+
+<p>(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">{13}</a></span>
+south of the embankment. Although the tide no longer
+ebbed and flowed among the reeds and islets of the marsh,
+yet it was covered with small ponds, some of them stagnant,
+others formed by the many streams which flowed towards the
+culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they
+escaped into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was
+attempted, the place caused agues and fevers for any who
+slept in its white miasma. In other words, not an embankment
+only, but drainage of some kind, had to be undertaken
+before life was possible on the marsh.</p>
+
+<p>(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no
+trade, on the south side. All merchandise coming up from
+the south for export at the port of London, all merchandise
+landed at the port for the south, had to be carried across the
+bridge.</p>
+
+<p>(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of
+London&mdash;the porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys,
+stevedores, lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the
+<i>employés</i> of the merchants, their wives, women and children&mdash;all
+these people lived in London itself; they had their taverns
+and drinking shops; their sleeping places and eating places,
+in London; all the people employed in providing food and
+drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had
+to be a place without trade, without noise, without disturbance
+of workmen, without broils among the sailors or fights among
+foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with
+fish.</p>
+
+<p>(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were
+along the line of the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.</p>
+
+<p>These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore,
+to find the place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses
+were all built beside or along the raised ways. We should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">{14}</a></span>
+next expect to find along the causeways that the houses
+belonged to the wealthier class.</p>
+
+<p>We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working
+men's quarters. The former because there were no ships; the
+latter because there were no markets. Lastly, we should not
+be surprised to find the place very early occupied by inns and
+places of accommodation for those who resorted to London.</p>
+
+<p>All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman
+remains are numerous; they are all found along the causeways;
+the existence of a Roman cemetery shows that it was
+a place of some importance. I say <i>some</i>, because its very
+limited extent proves that it was never a large place. I will
+return immediately to the Roman remains.</p>
+
+<p>There was, however, one trade, one class of working men
+which took up its abode along the embankment of Southwark:
+it was that of the fishermen, driven across the river by the
+growth of London. There was no room for the fishermen
+with their coracles and nets along the line of quays on the
+north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and a
+place to spread their nets,&mdash;they could not find either in the
+north; nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually
+by oars and keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up
+their huts along the embankment; for long centuries afterwards
+the fisherfolk continued to live in South London. The
+last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied, well into the
+present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is described as
+unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But the
+last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen
+were by that time almost starved out of existence. I am
+sure that the south was always their place of residence; the
+foreshore offered them what they could not find on the north
+bank. To him, however, who considers the fisheries of the
+Thames, there are many points on which, for want of exact
+information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he
+pleases. For instance, later on, there were fishermen living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">{15}</a></span>
+at Limehouse. Some of the Thames watermen lived here
+also&mdash;the legend of Awdry the ferryman assigns to him a
+residence on the south; their favourite place of residence,
+however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE" id="RELICS_OF_THE_STONE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_029.jpg" width="550" height="447" alt="RELICS OF THE STONE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RELICS OF THE STONE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Roman remains found up and down the place prove
+my assertion that the people who lived here were what we
+should call substantial. One need not catalogue the long list
+of Roman <i>trouvailles</i>; but, to take the more important, in the
+year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the foundations
+of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in St.
+Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet
+below the surface of the ground. In the following year, in
+the area facing St. Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight
+feet below the surface, there was found another, of a more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">{16}</a></span>
+elaborate design. Only a part of this was uncovered, as the
+Governors of the School forbade further investigation: it
+remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under
+the present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of
+King Street, at a depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found
+a great many Roman lamps, a vase, and other sepulchral
+deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer through Blackman
+Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered.
+In Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus
+Africanus. In Deverill Street, south of the Dover road, other
+coins were discovered; in St. Saviour's churchyard, a coin of
+Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved that an extensive
+Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient settlement.
+In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for
+the purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital,
+another tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and
+walls of other chambers, all built on piles, showing that the
+houses beside the causeway were thus supported in the marshy
+ground; Roman coins and pottery were also found here.
+Another pavement was discovered on the opposite side, south
+of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the corner of
+Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on
+which houses had been built. In many of the later buildings
+Roman tiles have been found. These remains are quite sufficient
+to prove that many wealthy people lived in Roman
+Southwark, and that they occupied villas built on piles beside
+the causeway.</p>
+
+<p>Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous
+for its inns, and since the same conditions prevailed in the
+fourth as in the fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to
+suppose that the people who drove those long lines of packhorses
+laden with goods from London used Southwark as a
+place in which to deposit merchandise before taking it across<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">{17}</a></span>
+the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage
+was cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the
+place was cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting
+place and a lodging for traders, Southwark was like Thorney
+in its palmy days&mdash;a place of entertainment for man and
+beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta; no place of
+meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual
+coming and going, which made the place lively and
+cheerful.</p>
+
+<p>Such were the origins of the settlements of South London.
+An embankment, a causeway, a fishery for the wants of
+Thorney first and of London
+next; then villas, put
+up by the better sort, attracted
+here, one believes,
+by the fresh air coming up
+the river with every tide,
+and by the quiet of the place.
+The settlement began quite
+early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery.
+The draining and drying of the low lands went on meanwhile
+gradually, gardens and orchards taking the place of the
+former marsh.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 270px;"><a name="A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE" id="A_RELIC_OF_THE_STONE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_031.jpg" width="270" height="169" alt="A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely
+defenceless. The <i>Pax Romana</i> protected it. Remember
+that London itself was not walled till the latter part of the
+fourth century. Why should it be? For more than three
+hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no wars
+and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore'
+beat back, and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark;
+the Legions beat back the marauders of Scotland and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">{18}</a></span>
+Ireland. Southwark, like the City its neighbour, needed no
+wall and asked for no defence.</p>
+
+<p>Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a
+glimpse in history of South London. The first is the rout of
+the usurper, the Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham
+Common.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the close of the third century the succession of
+usurpers who sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions
+of the Empire contained six who came from Britain. What
+effect these movements had upon the security of South London
+we have no means of learning. The history, however, of
+Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for reflection.
+The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be
+the Count of the Saxon Shore&mdash;in other words, Admiral of
+the Roman Fleet. In this capacity he kept the seas free
+from pirates; enriched himself, became famous for his courage
+and his generosity; usurped the title of Cæsar, fought with
+and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton;
+near the latter place&mdash;at Bittern&mdash;is still seen the
+quay at which his ships were moored. His rule, of which we
+know little, was certainly strong and firm. Coins exist in
+great numbers of Carausius. They represent his arrival:
+'Expectate, veni'&mdash;'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports
+at London; he appointed a British senate. Then came the
+time when he must fight or die. Like the King of the Grove,
+the Usurper held his throne on that condition. Carausius, for
+some unknown reason, would not fight when the chance was
+offered&mdash;therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned
+in his stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life.
+He accepted the challenge; he awaited with an army of
+Franks and Britons the arrival of the Roman forces sent to
+quell him: he awaited them in London. When the enemy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">{19}</a></span>
+drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave
+battle to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath
+south of London, immediately beyond the rising ground&mdash;we
+now call the place Clapham Common&mdash;and there he fell bravely
+fighting. He had enjoyed the purple for three years. Perhaps,
+when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he was going
+to meet his fate&mdash;either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die&mdash;he reflected that for such a splendid three
+years' run it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life
+at the end.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE" id="RELICS_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_033.jpg" width="550" height="404" alt="RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London
+in history. We see the army marching across the Bridge
+and along the Causeway, shouting and singing. We see
+them a few hours later, flying from the field, rushing headlong
+over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">{20}</a></span>
+are running over the Bridge after them. Once across the
+Bridge, the soldiers found that there was left in the City
+neither order nor authority. They therefore began to sack
+and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the inhabitants.
+Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were
+permitted to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore
+there could be no defence. The pillage went on until the
+victorious general had got his army&mdash;or some of it&mdash;across
+the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his troops,
+whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the
+defeated army made any organised opposition, we know not.
+All we are told is that the Roman soldiers fought hand to
+hand with those of the dead Usurper in the streets of London,
+and that the latter were all massacred.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in
+the flight of another defeated host. The Britons had gone
+forth to fight the Saxon invaders; they met the enemy&mdash;Hengist
+and Æsc his son&mdash;at 'Creeganford'&mdash;Crayford:
+they were defeated; four thousand of them were killed; they
+fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along
+the Causeway and through the narrow gates of the Bridge.
+Alas! the old villas along the Causeway are deserted and in
+ruins; the place has been desolate for many years&mdash;since the
+Saxons began to swarm about the country; the former
+residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two
+hundred long years, and to leave its memories of hatred
+behind it for fifteen hundred years at least. The gardens are
+grown over, the orchards are neglected, the inns are empty
+and ruinous.</p>
+
+<p>Before long there falls the silence of death upon the
+walled City and the Bridge and the settlements of the South.
+All alike are deserted: the tide idly laps the piles of the
+rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty wharves, bearing no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">{21}</a></span>
+keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river, there is
+no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy.
+The timbered face of the embankment gave way and
+crumbled into the river; the Causeway was eaten by the tides
+here and there; the low grounds once more became a marsh,
+and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their former haunts.</p>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural
+reasons which led to this desertion of the City. It appears
+to us strange and almost impossible that a great city should
+be so utterly deserted. Where, however, are the cities of
+Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the great cities
+of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore
+forced them to go. This was most certainly the case
+with London. Roger of Wendover, it is true, tells us that in
+the year 462 the Saxons took possession of London, and then
+successively of York, Lincoln, and Winchester, committing
+great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in every quarter,
+like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with
+the ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy
+scriptures they burned with fire; the tombs of the holy
+martyrs they covered with mounds of earth; the clergy who
+escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of the saints to the
+caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and deserts and
+the crags of the mountains.'</p>
+
+<p>I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in
+1237) had access to documents of the time. I would rather
+incline to the belief that, given certain undoubted facts of
+battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented the world with a
+little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City
+would be only hastened. With the ruin and desolation of
+Augusta came also the ruin of the southern settlement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">{22}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This silence&mdash;this desolation&mdash;lasted some hundred years.
+Then the men of Essex&mdash;the East Saxons&mdash;came down, a few
+at a time, and took possession of the deserted City; the
+merchants began timidly to bring their ships again with goods
+for trade; the East Saxons learned the meaning of bargains;
+Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City preserved
+its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but
+the Saxons called it Southwark. And they repaired the
+embankment and restored the ancient causeways, and cleared
+away the ruins.</p>
+
+<p>Another point of difference: in London the new streets,
+laid out without rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not
+follow the old Roman streets, which were quite obliterated
+and utterly forgotten&mdash;one cannot imagine a more decisive
+proof of complete desertion and ruin. In Southwark, on the
+other hand, the streets remained the same&mdash;they were the
+two causeways and the embankment&mdash;because none others
+were then possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it
+always has been, the ancient causeway connecting the new
+port of London with the Dover road.</p>
+
+<p>Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the
+vicissitudes which must happen in a period of continual
+warfare to an undefended suburb. In times of peace, when
+trade was possible, the place was what the Icelander Snorro
+Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise carried
+to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found
+accommodation there. But we cannot believe that when the
+Danish fleets brought their fierce warriors to the very walls of
+London, Southwark&mdash;or any other settlement&mdash;would continue
+to exist unfortified. That the place remained without
+a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the
+Danes, proves that it was regarded by itself as of small
+importance. This is also proved by another fact&mdash;namely,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">{23}</a></span>
+that the place was always occupied without defence. When,
+for instance, the Danes held London for twelve years, leaving
+it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people remained
+in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived
+here for greater convenience of their work; London by this
+time was impossible for them, because it was walled all along
+the river side. If peace was prolonged, inns were set up for
+the merchants: people built houses along the causeway.
+When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of
+South London for a thousand years&mdash;alternate occupation
+and abandonment.</p>
+
+<p>There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark.
+I would deal with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of
+the heretics is a personal friend of my own. It is that the
+site of the first or original London was on the South; that
+Roman London stood on the site of Southwark; and that, at
+some time or other, there was a transference of sites, the
+whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is
+even maintained that the name of Walworth proves that
+there was once a wall round the city of the south. To me
+the name of Walworth indicates the proximity of the high
+causeway running through its midst. The consideration of
+the site&mdash;the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site&mdash;is quite
+sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the
+Lake dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the
+building of cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway,
+the South of London was impossible for the residence
+of man.</p>
+
+<p>The transference of sites is a theory often called in to
+account for, and make possible, other theories. Thus, the
+late James Fergusson invented the transference of sites in
+order to bolster up certain theories of his own on the Holy
+Places of Jerusalem. Here, however, there is no theory:
+only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">{24}</a></span>
+boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said,
+was in Kent. All the Roman remains, as we have seen, are
+found by the Causeway and the Embankment&mdash;there never
+could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only answer that
+is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would
+settle themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry
+ground across the river?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">{25}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II
+<br />
+<br />
+EARLY HISTORY</h2>
+
+
+<p>Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except
+for its connection with London by bridge and ferry, and
+especially by bridge. Before the Ferry and the Bridge there
+was no Southwark. The history of Southwark is closely
+connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end of the
+Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south.
+I propose, in this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and
+one or two of its earlier battles.</p>
+
+<p>It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge
+there was the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the
+river and 'dump' them down in the marsh? But people had
+no business in the marsh. First came the Bridge and the
+Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But
+as yet there was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and
+the appearance of houses along the Causeway and on the
+Embankment. As the trade of London increased, so Southwark&mdash;I
+would we had the Roman name&mdash;increased in proportion.
+Inns were created for the convenience of merchants,
+trade was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge,
+just as it was diverted on the north by the military way
+connecting the great high road with London. When the
+Causeway was always filled with caravans and long trains of
+heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">{26}</a></span>
+covered with passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was
+demanded as a quicker and an easier way of getting across.
+Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One of these ran
+from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained
+for nearly two thousand years&mdash;say, from <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 100 to <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span>
+1750. If a man wanted to get across the river, he did not
+make his way to London Bridge, and painfully walk across
+amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging horses and
+the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting
+across the river for the people: it was not; it was the means
+of conveying merchandise to and fro; it was a construction
+most important for military purposes; it was a barrier to
+prevent a hostile fleet from getting higher up the river; but,
+for the ordinary passenger, the boat was the quicker and the
+easier means of conveyance.</p>
+
+<p>When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It
+was not there <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked
+the City and murdered the people. It was there when Allectus
+led his troops out to fight the Roman legions. It was there
+very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved by the
+quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It
+is also proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of
+the wealthier class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely
+without supplies, had there been no bridge. We may
+take any time we please for the construction of the Bridge,
+so long as it is quite early&mdash;say, before the second century.</p>
+
+<p>The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such
+great certainty that I have no hesitation in presenting a
+drawing of it. As this Bridge has never before been figured
+by the pencil of any artist, it will be well for me to indicate
+the steps by which its reconstruction has been made possible.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh" id="Merchants_crossing_Southwark_Marsh"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_041.jpg" width="550" height="382" alt="Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">{27}</a></span>
+bridge of any kind, unless in the primitive methods observed
+at Post Bridge and Two Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of
+stone laid across two boulders. The work, therefore, was
+certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have, in the
+next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that
+time by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of
+stone; many of these stone bridges still remain, in other cases
+the pieces of hewn stone still remain. The Bridge over
+the Thames, however, was of wood. This is proved by the
+fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that
+London had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the
+year 1176, when the first bridge of stone was commenced.
+Considerations as to the comparative insignificance of London
+in the first century, as to the absence of stone in the neighbourhood,
+and as to the plentiful supply of the best wood in
+the world from the forests north of the City, confirm the
+theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">{28}</a></span>
+therefore, to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood
+elsewhere, in order to know how they built a bridge of wood
+over the Thames. And this we know without any doubt.</p>
+
+<p>First: they drove piles into the bed of the river&mdash;not upright
+piles, but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles
+side by side, and opposite to these two more; they connected
+the two piles by ties and the opposite piles with them by
+transverse girders. Across them they laid a huge beam&mdash;a
+tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the floor
+of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the
+parapet put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for
+greater safety, pressed down the piles and held them in place.
+To prevent the current from carrying them away, each double
+pair of piles was protected by a 'starling,' formed by driving
+upright smaller piles in front at the piers and enclosing a
+space, which was filled up with stones, so that the force of the
+current was not felt by the great piles.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will
+understand it better from the drawing, which shows the Bridge
+taken from the Embankment near the present site of St. Mary
+Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate in the long
+straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points
+for the convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes
+that these posterns could be easily closed and defended.
+This river-wall, we shall presently see, was standing in the
+time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the building of
+the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish
+Bridge, and the Norman Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit:
+its foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses.
+The gate was altered. I do not suppose there was much
+of the original structure left when the East Saxons took
+possession of the City after a hundred years of desertion and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">{29}</a></span>
+decay. But a gate of some kind there must always have
+been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about
+sixteen feet. Like the very ancient stone bridges of Saintes
+and Avignon, the Bridge was from sixteen to twenty feet
+broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of Botolph
+Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the
+second Bridge&mdash;the first of stone&mdash;stood between the first
+and third, having St. Magnus' Church on the north and St.
+Olave's on the south side; together with its own chapel of
+St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to place it under the special
+protection of the saints most dear to London hearts.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="London_Bridge_AD_1000" id="London_Bridge_AD_1000"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_043.jpg" width="550" height="279" alt="London Bridge, A.D. 1000" title="" />
+<span class="caption">London Bridge, A.D. 1000</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field
+of battle whenever the way of war came near to London. The
+first glimpse, as we have seen, which we catch of it is when
+Allectus and his forces crossed the river by the Bridge to give
+battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus on the Heath beyond
+the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same day, their
+columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated troops
+once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no
+one to lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against
+all comers; there was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could
+have kept the Romans out by that expedient. One wonders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">{30}</a></span>
+if all their officers were lying dead on the field, with Allectus,
+for the troops, who were Franks for the most part, seem to
+have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran
+about the City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate
+people.</p>
+
+<p>By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one
+could carry arms except the soldiers. The law was a safeguard
+against rebellion; but it opened the door to military
+revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among the civil
+population&mdash;always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus'
+Franks at their murderous work, and they cut them down. If
+it is true, as stated by the historians, that they were all cut off
+to a man, London must have been a horrible shambles.</p>
+
+<p>The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed
+army flying across the narrow way to seek shelter between the
+walls. It is in the year 467. They are the Britons flying
+from their defeat in Kent. After this there is silence&mdash;absolute
+silence, leaving not so much as a whisper, a tradition, or a
+legend; the silence that can only mean desertion&mdash;silence for
+a hundred and fifty years.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;"><a name="A_Danish_House" id="A_Danish_House"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_045.jpg" width="440" height="292" alt="A Danish House" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Danish House</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City
+has shrunk within her ancient walls; and these have fallen
+into decay. Southwark no longer exists. We learn that the
+Bridge has been repaired, because there is easy communication
+with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is no
+fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there
+were no defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and
+in 857 the Danes entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,'
+apparently without opposition. In 872 they occupied London,
+apparently without opposition. We hear of no siege, of no
+fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls. Yet
+there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham&mdash;behind
+the walls. Why not in London? Because in London<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">{31}</a></span>
+the walls, 5,500 yards in length, had become too long to man,
+or to defend, or to repair. The Danes ran into the City
+through the shattered gate; they leaped over the broken wall.
+What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment
+of women&mdash;we may understand from the page of the
+historian Saxo relating other sacks and sieges by the gentle
+Dane. As for the trade, the wealth, the name and fame of
+London&mdash;they all perished together. It was a ruined city,
+with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the
+Dane, that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken
+down; the settlements of the south were deserted: even the
+fishermen had left the Thames above and below London, and
+sought for safety in the retired creeks and safe backwaters
+along the coast of Essex. The London fisherman sallied
+forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey Island,
+and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls
+and the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace
+was restored to the City and order to the country. Then
+trade, which welcomes the first appearance of safety, began
+again. If the merchant feared the pirates of the Foreland, he
+could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could land at
+Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">{32}</a></span>
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns
+sprang up, and Southwark began again.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle'
+calls the Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken
+of by the Danish historian as an 'emporium.' I understand
+from the use of this word that the trade of London was
+carried on principally by way of Dover, because the seas were
+swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.</p>
+
+<p>The prosperity of the settlement, however, received
+another blow when the Danes once more, mindful of their
+former victories, sailed up the river with hope of again taking
+London. Southwark was defenceless. There was never any
+wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across
+the Bridge. The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they
+then went away. Some of the people returned, especially the
+fishermen, whose huts were easily repaired. When, however,
+the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes appeared
+every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself
+they were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers
+had told them that it was a feeble and a helpless place,
+perfectly incapable of resistance, with walls through whose
+wide gaps a whole army could march; and they fondly
+expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and
+power.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner
+which was extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped
+a great fleet, manned the ships with stout-hearted citizens,
+sent the ships down the river, met the Danish fleet, engaged
+them, and routed them with great slaughter. Two years
+later they returned, eager for revenge&mdash;the revenge which
+they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on
+this occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">{33}</a></span>
+under the two kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark.
+They were firmly resolved to take the City: with their
+warriors they would attack it by land, with their ships by
+water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless
+did, endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of
+trees; but the gates were well manned and well defended. On
+the river-side one half of the town kept open their communications;
+the other half were exposed to the arrows of the
+sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only
+that the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and
+that they withdrew.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY" id="SHIPS_BAYEUX_TAPESTRY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_047.jpg" width="550" height="304" alt="SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose
+ships were models to King Alfred when he founded the
+English Navy, must not be gathered from the drawings of
+the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are conventional in
+treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving specimen
+of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship
+of Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this
+and following page. One is taken from the tapestry, the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">{34}</a></span>
+is the Gokstad vessel. The former carries about a dozen men,
+rather high out of the water, with straight sides, and would
+certainly capsize. The latter is a long, light, swift vessel,
+built for speed, and able to sail over quite shallow water; she
+is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for usefulness,
+cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the
+planks overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts,
+riveted and clinched on the inside. She is built of oak; her
+length from stem to stern, over all, is 78 feet; her keel is
+66 feet; her breadth is 16½ feet; her depth is no more than
+4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick as the
+others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The
+ship is pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder
+attached to the side of the stern; on each side hang 16 shields;
+she carried 64 rowers, and probably as many men besides. The
+decorations lavished on the ship were profuse. The figure-head
+was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were gilt; the ships<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">{35}</a></span>
+were painted in long lines of bright colour&mdash;you can see that in
+the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the vessel&mdash;bows,
+figure-head, gunwale, stern-post&mdash;were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the
+mast was gilt. Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="A_Viking_Ship" id="A_Viking_Ship"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_048.jpg" width="550" height="393" alt="A Viking Ship" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Viking Ship</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in
+company, with Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they
+came, the oars sweeping in a long, measured swish of the
+water: swiftly flying up the broad river, the sunshine lighting
+up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and the bright
+arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall
+and strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and
+blue eyes. From the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge
+on the river, the citizens saw the splendid array rushing up to
+destroy them if they could. At the Bridge, the foremost
+stop: they go no farther; those behind cry 'Forward!' and
+those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none to
+pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as
+when Olaf was to meet his death five years later in his last
+splendid sea-fight, they essayed to take the city by assault.
+They shot arrows with red-hot heads over the walls, to strike
+and set light to the thatch; they shot arrows at the citizens
+on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of the Bridge. If
+they could get within the City, these splendid savages, there
+would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of
+the thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons,
+and next day silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure
+lifted into the ships, bows turned outward; and the fleet
+would leave behind it a London once more desolate and naked
+and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered towards the end
+of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with destiny.
+Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been
+the history of London and of England.</p>
+
+<p>When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went
+back to their homes, and the daily business of life was carried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">{36}</a></span>
+on as usual. We may observe that if there had been a
+permanent settlement here&mdash;a town of any importance&mdash;they
+would have built a wall to protect it. But there was never
+any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or
+by the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting
+Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon
+London. The whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged
+by the Danes: Swegen came over and proved the English
+weakness, and saw that time would help him, if he waited.
+Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.</p>
+
+<p>In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by
+Thurkitel, who afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred.
+He ravaged Kent and Essex, took up his winter quarters on
+the Thames, apparently at Greenwich, and laid siege to the
+City&mdash;but in vain. It is of course obvious that without
+ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers, the City
+could never be taken. The people beat him off at every
+assault with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in
+England was at the moment concentrated in London.</p>
+
+<p>The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen
+returned. This time, mindful of his former failure, and of
+Thurkitel's failure, he left his ships at Southampton; he
+marched upon London by way of Winchester, which he took on
+the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The
+reason is obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the
+Bridge was to engage a mere handful of men; there was no place
+except that and the Causeway. Swegen, therefore, passed over
+the ford of Westminster, and attacked the walls on the north side.
+Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the English service;
+by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off the
+field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to
+his arms; therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to
+hold out alone, sent hostages and submitted. It is reported<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">{37}</a></span>
+that they were terrified at the threats of Swegen: he would
+cut off their hands and their feet; he would tear out their eyes;
+he would burn and destroy&mdash;and so forth. But these promises
+were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they
+frightened the defenders of any other city.</p>
+
+<p>The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that
+St. Edmund of Bury killed him for doubting his saintliness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="SKETCH_MAP" id="SKETCH_MAP"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_051.jpg" width="400" height="289" alt="SKETCH MAP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SKETCH MAP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut.
+The expedition with which he proposed to reduce London
+was far finer and more powerful than that of Olaf and Swegen.
+The poetic description of it says that the ships were counted by
+hundreds; that they were manned by an army among whom
+there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility
+meant if all were nobles? A strange question for one so
+learned! The nobles of Denmark were simply the conquering
+race; nobility consisted in free birth, and in descent from
+the conquering race, not the conquered: it was not necessarily
+a small caste; it might possibly include the larger part of the
+people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">{38}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege.
+First of all, he resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar
+the way. He therefore cut a trench round the south of the
+Bridge, by means of which he drew some of his ships to the
+other side of it. He then cut another trench round the whole
+of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he
+would starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as
+Cnut speedily abandoned the hope of success and marched off
+to look after Edmund, his investment of the City was certainly
+not a success.</p>
+
+<p>He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with
+what result history has made us acquainted. He then returned
+and resumed the siege of London. Edmund fought him
+again, and made him once more raise the siege. When
+Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began
+a third siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.</p>
+
+<p>In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged
+six times, and not once taken.</p>
+
+<p>Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal
+nature of the canal constructed by Cnut; they have looked
+for traces of it in the south of London before it was covered
+over by houses; they have gone as far afield as Deptford in
+search of these traces; they have even found them; and to
+the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal
+speaks of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal
+work. Freeman himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep
+it was, how long it was, how broad it was, I am going to
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian,
+William Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so
+fortunate as to light upon the course of the long-lost trench of
+King Cnut.</p>
+
+<p>He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">{39}</a></span>
+direction nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of
+Rotherhithe to the river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through
+Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs were, first, certain depressions
+in the ground; next, the discovery of oaken planks and piles
+driven into the ground for what he thought was the northern
+fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was
+constructed, a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches
+were found pointing northward, with stakes to keep them in
+position, forming a kind of water fence, such as, it is said, is still
+in use in Denmark. It will be seen that Mr. Maitland's theory
+has but a small basis of evidence, yet it seems to have been
+generally accepted&mdash;partly, I suppose, because it was so
+colossal.</p>
+
+<p>The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four
+miles and a half in length. Another writer, seeing the
+difficulties of so great a work, suggests another course. He
+would start from the site of the New Dock, Rotherhithe, and
+end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of only
+three and three-quarter miles!</p>
+
+<p>Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why
+it should be a long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe
+or nearer the Bridge, he would have the same preliminary
+difficulties to encounter: that is to say, he would have to
+cut through the Embankment of the river at either end, and
+he would have to cut through the Causeway in the middle.
+In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two
+or three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the
+people had all run across the Bridge for safety at the first
+sight of the Danes, if there were any people at the time
+living in Southwark&mdash;which I doubt.</p>
+
+<p>We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers
+of sense and experience on whom he could depend for carrying
+out his canal in a workmanlike manner. A people who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">{40}</a></span>
+could build such perfect ships would certainly not waste
+time and labour in constructing a trench which would be
+any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="DIAGRAM" id="DIAGRAM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_054.jpg" width="420" height="310" alt="DIAGRAM" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which
+he was just able to drag his vessels round without destroying
+the banks. In other words, if a circular canal began at C B,
+and if we drew an imaginary circle round the middle of the
+canal, what was required was that the chord D F, forming a
+tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as the
+longest vessel. Now (see diagram)&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class='center'>
+AD² - AE² = DE².<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>If <i>r</i> is the radius, AD and 2<i>a</i> the breadth BC, and 2<i>b</i> the
+length of the chord DF&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class='center'>
+<i>r</i>² - (<i>r</i> - <i>a</i>)² = <i>b</i>² &#8756; <i>r</i> = (<i>a</i>² + <i>b</i>²)/2<i>a</i>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>This represents the length of the radius in terms of the
+length and breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is
+therefore the smallest radius possible for getting the ships
+through. Now, the ship of Gokstad, already described, was
+undoubtedly one of the finest of the vessels used by Danes
+and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger ships,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">{41}</a></span>
+but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over
+ships of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in
+length, considering the keel, which is all we need consider;
+16½ feet in breadth, and 4 feet in depth. She drew very
+little water; therefore a breadth of canal less than the breadth
+of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet in
+length, so that <i>b</i> = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal
+12 feet. Therefore 2<i>a</i> = 12 or <i>a</i> = 6 and <i>r</i> = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London
+Bridge, we arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's
+work. That is to say, if he made a semicircular canal, in
+that case the length of the canal would be 320 yards, which
+is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half, or even
+three miles and three-quarters.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP" id="THE_GOKSTAD_SHIP"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_055.jpg" width="420" height="167" alt="THE GOKSTAD SHIP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GOKSTAD SHIP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut
+make a semicircle when an arc would serve his turn? All
+he had to do was to draw an arc of a circle with the radius
+just found, to clear any obstacles in the way of approach to
+the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this
+method, because it was the only sensible thing to do. He
+would thus get off with a canal about fifty yards long, of
+which the only difficulty would be the cutting through the
+Embankment and the Causeway.</p>
+
+<p>What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this
+section of the Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">{42}</a></span>
+feet, she had only four feet in depth; without her company and
+crew, and their arms and provisions, she would thus draw no
+more than a few inches&mdash;certainly not more than eight
+inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight
+inches at the most. But there is still another consideration
+which lessened the labour materially. The ground behind
+the Embankment was a little lower than the river at high
+tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct a low
+wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to
+make their canal without excavating an inch. When that
+was done, the cutting of the Embankment let in the tide and
+did the rest. In this simple manner do we reduce Cnut's
+colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and a half long, into
+a piece of construction and demolition which would take a
+large body of men no more than a few hours.</p>
+
+<p>If, however, there actually was any digging to be done,
+we must remember that the ground was a level; that there
+were no stones or rocks in the way, and that it consisted of
+a soft black <i>humus</i>, the result of ages of successive growths
+of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a day by
+the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course,
+left the place to be repaired by any who pleased. The
+broken Embankment let in the tide; the broken Causeway
+cut off any approach to the river; but Southwark was deserted.
+When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired.
+Then all traces of the canal disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at
+Southwark with a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty
+in passing the Bridge; he waited till flood-tide, and then
+sailed through 'on the south side.' It is quite impossible to
+explain this statement, or to make it agree with the difficulty
+felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">{43}</a></span>
+have been smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the
+fact as the Chronicler gives it.</p>
+
+<p>One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before
+we pass on to more modern times.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror" id="Ships_of_William_the_Conqueror"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_057.jpg" width="550" height="450" alt="Ships of William the Conqueror" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Ships of William the Conqueror</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived
+near London, he advanced to Southwark, where he found the
+Bridge closed to him&mdash;closed, I believe, by knocking away
+some of the upper beams. This, of course, he expected; his
+friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him acquainted
+with the changing currents of popular opinion. It
+is commonly stated that the citizens were terrified by the
+sight of Southwark in flames at his command. Southwark
+in flames! A few fishermen's huts were all that remained of
+the suburb, whose population since the time of the <i>Pax
+Romana</i> had been so precarious and so changeful. Five
+hundred years of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion
+and ravage by Dane and Norseman, had not left of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">{44}</a></span>
+Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb, anything more than
+these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers burned
+them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the
+flames, and regarded them not, any more than he regarded
+the flames that followed in his track all the way from Senlac.
+He gazed across the river, and remembered that twice had
+London defied all the strength of Swegen; that three times had
+London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been
+victorious; he knew, because his friends in the City would
+allow no mistake on that point, that the spirit of the citizens
+was as high now as it had been then; that they still remembered
+with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that not a few were
+anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went
+on within the walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what
+faction fight; how the citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of
+wild faces, about their Folk-mote by St. Paul's. But of one
+thing we may be quite certain: that William did not expect
+the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they were
+not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark
+or not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians
+say. As for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this
+time there could hardly have been a single pile remaining of
+the original structure; yet it was constantly repaired.</p>
+
+<p>We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only
+the grey wall rising out of the level ground, without any
+ditch or moat outside, but also the Bridge of wooden piles
+with the transverse girders and beams for additional security,
+so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest of timbers
+like those which support the roof of an ancient hall.
+It was continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a
+mighty whirlwind blew down a good part of London, houses
+and churches and all. It has been assumed that the Bridge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">{45}</a></span>
+was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is silent on the subject.
+In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is again assumed
+that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle' is
+silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge
+had been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="BAYEUX_TAPESTRY" id="BAYEUX_TAPESTRY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_059.jpg" width="550" height="206" alt="BAYEUX TAPESTRY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BAYEUX TAPESTRY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by
+London, save that of 1666, spread through the whole City,
+from London Bridge, which it greatly damaged, all the way
+to St. Clement Danes on the west, and Aldgate on the east.
+One wonders what ancient monuments&mdash;walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers
+of the Forum&mdash;were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of
+the better sort, with their great halls and courtyards; small
+Saxon churches of wood or stone, with low towers and little
+windows. Possibly there was no great loss: it was already
+seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted. Roman
+remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of
+wood, with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries
+had not yet commenced. The Bridge, however, was
+either wholly or in part destroyed. It was repaired, because,
+fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his description of the City,
+speaks of the citizens watching the water sports from the
+Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary to
+the City. A hundred years of order in the City&mdash;with the seas
+cleared of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">{46}</a></span>
+the river with ships, and the quays with merchandise&mdash;crowded
+the Bridge all day long with trains of packhorses, and the less
+frequent rude carts with broad grunting wheels which would
+have quite taken the place of the horse but for the bad roads.
+Southwark, during this period of rest, had become once more
+a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were
+pushed farther east and west every year, until Lambeth and
+Rotherhithe were their quarters when the fish deserted the
+river and their occupation was gone. The Roman inns were
+gone, but new ones were springing up in their places. Bishops
+and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine air,
+open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of
+London; ecclesiastical foundations were already springing
+into existence. In a word, the settlements of the south, after
+four hundred years of ruin and desertion, were once more
+beginning a new existence. The day when William rode up
+to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception,
+marked a new birth for the long-suffering suburb of the
+Embankment and the Causeway. A hundred years later
+still&mdash;in 1176&mdash;they began to build their Bridge of Stone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">{47}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III
+<br />
+<br />
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY</h2>
+
+
+<p>The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth
+century. But it is perfectly easy from them and from the
+historical facts to draw a map of all that country lying between
+Deptford and Battersea which we have agreed to call
+South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there were
+buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St.
+Margaret's Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand
+side, just under the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church.
+The Bridge was thus protected on the north by St. Magnus,
+on the south by St. Olave&mdash;two Danish saints&mdash;and in
+the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas
+à Becket. There were houses along the Embankment on
+either side, but more on the west of the Causeway than on
+the east. A few houses were built already on the low-lying
+ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south and
+south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's
+a single straight lane with no houses ran across country to
+Bermondsey Abbey; on the west of the Causeway another
+lane led to Kennington Palace, from which another lane led
+to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to the
+Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>The place was essentially a suburb. There were no
+trades or industries in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen
+had their cottages dotted about all along the Embankment;
+a few watermen lived here, but that was perhaps later:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">{48}</a></span>
+other working men there were none, save the cooks and varlets
+of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because
+the air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and
+because the place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster
+and the Court, many great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had
+their town houses here: the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop
+of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the Abbot of Hyde, the
+Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John Fastolfe, also
+the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by bridge
+and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while
+they went across the river and transacted their business. It
+was a suburb which, in modern times, would be described as
+needing no poor rate. Later on there grew up, as we shall
+see, a class of the unclassed&mdash;a population of rogues and
+vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.</p>
+
+<p>The government of the place as a whole was difficult,
+or rather impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the
+Liberty of Bermondsey; that of the Bishop of Winchester;
+that of the King; that of the Mayor. The last contained the
+part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's Dock on the
+west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district
+was called the Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King
+to the City of London in the thirteenth century in order to
+prevent the place from becoming the home and refuge of
+criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained outside
+the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was
+not very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding
+shelter on the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between
+Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It was from this unavoidable
+hospitality to persons escaping from justice that Southwark
+received a character which has stuck to it till the present day.
+In the centuries which include the twelfth to the fifteenth,
+however, South London, so far as it was populated at all, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">{49}</a></span>
+the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark
+was spotless and its dignity enviable. London itself
+had no such collection of palaces gathered together so closely.
+As for the land, that lay low, but was protected by the
+Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats;
+there was an abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that
+parts of the land were dark at midday by reason of the trees
+growing so close together. The rivulets were pretty little
+streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside them;
+they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks
+grew wild flowers&mdash;the marsh mallow, the anemone, the
+hedgehog grass, the frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort;
+orchards flourished in the fat and fertile soil. The people had
+almost forgotten the special need of their Embankment.
+Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at Lambeth was
+broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square miles
+of country, including all that part which is now called
+Battersea.</p>
+
+<p>Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single
+house upon the whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole
+of Bermondsey Marsh. The houses began near what is now
+the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they faced the river,
+having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite
+to Wapping.</p>
+
+<p>The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty
+had its own prison. Thus there were the Clink of the
+Winchester Liberty, that of the Bermondsey Liberty, the
+'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and the Marshalsea,
+all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And
+there were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the
+terror of evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In
+every parish there was the whipping post&mdash;one in St. Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">{50}</a></span>
+Overy's churchyard, put up after the time of the monks; one
+at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the pillory for neck and
+hands, generally with somebody on it, but the pillory was
+movable; there was the cage&mdash;one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge&mdash;women had to stand in the cage; there were
+stocks for feet wandering and trespassing; there were pounds
+for stray animals.</p>
+
+<p>Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's;
+in the precinct of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street
+called 'Long Southwark'&mdash;now High Street&mdash;from the Bridge
+to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not suppose that the
+markets of Southwark presented the same crowded appearance,
+and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those of
+Chepe and Newgate on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in
+Southwark. The Princes of the Church arrived and departed,
+each with his retinue of chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen
+and livery. Kings and ambassadors rode up from Dover
+through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The mayor
+and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains
+sallied forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades
+of pilgrims for Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome,
+and Jerusalem rode out of Southwark when the spring returned;
+and every day there arrived and departed long lines
+of packhorses laden with the produce of the country and with
+things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was
+nothing but a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here
+for a few weeks and then went away; the great lords came
+here when they had business at Court and then went away
+again; the merchants came and went: by itself the place
+had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own
+at all.</p>
+
+<p>There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately;
+both are full of history. Let us consider the House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">{51}</a></span>
+Bermondsey, because it is less generally known than the other
+of St. Mary Overy or Overies.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey" id="The_Monastery_of_Bermondsey"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_065.jpg" width="550" height="463" alt="The Monastery of Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Monastery of Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster
+of South London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey
+stood upon a low islet in the midst of a marsh; at the
+distance of half a mile on the north ran the river; half a mile
+on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which
+the House lay that the
+only road which connected
+it with the world
+was that lane called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie
+Lane, which ran from the Abbey to St. Olave's and so to
+London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a place
+of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated
+from the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been
+gradually drained and the Embankment continued through
+Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond the Greenwich levels,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">{52}</a></span>
+the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely fertile and
+wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.</p>
+
+<p>The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin
+Childe, a merchant of the City, an Alderman also and one of
+the ruling families of London. He was the son of an elder
+Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten Guild' which,
+with all its members and all its property&mdash;the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken&mdash;went over to the Priory
+of the Holy Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind
+was therefore hereditary in the family. The elder Ailwin
+became a monk, the younger founded a monastery; his son,
+the third of the family of whom we know anything, became
+the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years&mdash;the rest of his life.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="BERMONDSEY_ABBEY" id="BERMONDSEY_ABBEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_066.jpg" width="550" height="407" alt="BERMONDSEY ABBEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BERMONDSEY ABBEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth
+century is full of a pathetic longing after a religious Order,
+if that could be found, of true and proved sanctity. One
+Order after the other arises; one after the other challenges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">{53}</a></span>
+respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto unknown
+kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who
+always admire voluntary privation of what they value so
+much&mdash;food and drink; it receives endowments, gifts,
+foundations of all kinds; it then departs from the ancient
+rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">{54}</a></span>
+simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the
+Cluniac was in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly
+kept: and for an austerity strictly enforced. It was a
+Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe set up in Bermondsey,
+and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the Cluniac
+House of Lewes, enriched.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;"><a name="GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY" id="GATEWAY_OF_BERMONDSEY_ABBEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_067.jpg" width="458" height="550" alt="GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien
+owing obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its
+revenues, therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received
+its Priors from abroad. In the reign of Henry the
+Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on account of the Alien
+Priories came to a head, and they were all suppressed, or at
+least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent. The
+Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of
+an Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until
+the Dissolution.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage
+dotted about round London&mdash;places accessible in a single
+day's journey. Thus there were the three shrines of Willesden,
+Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each possessing an
+image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at
+Bermondsey there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited
+in the summer by pious pilgrims from London. The Rood
+had been fished up from the Thames, and no one knew its
+history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and of
+prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious.
+It was, moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below
+the Bridge would take the pilgrim over to the opposite shore
+in a few minutes, where a cross standing before a lane leading
+out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the way. It was
+but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.</p>
+
+<p>'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">{55}</a></span>
+Rood of North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among
+while ye abide in London; and let my sister Margery go
+with you to pray to them that she may have a good husband
+or she come home again.'</p>
+
+<p>One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should
+resign this valuable possession without a remonstrance. He
+made, in fact, the strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457
+he sent over three monks with orders to lay the case before
+the King, and to invite his attention especially to the papers
+showing the clear and indisputable right of the Mother Convent
+to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no
+one heeded them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one
+replied to their arguments. This neglect was perhaps the
+cause why one of them died while in this country. The
+other two went home again, having accomplished nothing.
+One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having
+spent four months and a half on our journey, and following our
+Right with the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we
+have obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate,
+deprived of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still
+worse, we are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which
+are 38 in number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies
+of your Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our
+pleading and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth,
+after paying for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five
+crowns left, to go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We
+will sell what we have: we will go on: and God will provide.
+Nothing else occurs to write to your Paternity: but that as we
+entered England with joy, so we depart thence with sorrow: having
+buried one of our Companions&mdash;viz. the Archdeacon, the youngest
+of our company. May he rest in Peace! Amen.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>There is not at the present moment a single stone of
+this stately House visible, though there were many remains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">{56}</a></span>
+above ground one hundred years ago. It is a pity, because
+there is the association of two Queens, not to speak of many
+great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments, connected
+with this House secluded in the Marsh.</p>
+
+<p>The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois,
+widow of Henry the Fifth. The story is the most romantic,
+perhaps, of all the stories connected with our line of sovereigns
+and Queens and Royal Princes. It is not a new story,
+and yet it is not so well known that any apology is needed
+for telling it once more.</p>
+
+<p>Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine,
+began to live in the seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her
+widowhood. Among her household, the office of Clerk to the
+Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome Welshman
+named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a
+plain Welsh gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in
+the service of the Bishop of Chester. He distinguished
+himself at Agincourt in the following of some nobleman
+unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier&mdash;that is, a man with a pike
+or a bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw
+off when the battle began. The opportunities for a common
+soldier to distinguish himself in such an action were few,
+nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man from the
+ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire
+to the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen
+Tudor was regarded as a common soldier: since his father
+was a gentleman in the service of the Bishop of Chester, he
+himself would go to war as a gentleman in the service and
+wearing the livery of some noble lord.</p>
+
+<p>In this way, however, his promotion began. When the
+King married, Owen Tudor was attached to the household
+of the Queen. After the death of Henry he accompanied
+the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to the
+Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">{57}</a></span>
+wanted by the Queen&mdash;her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold.
+He was therefore brought into much closer and more direct
+relation with the Queen than other officers of the household.
+He pleased her by his appearance, his accomplishments,
+and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very well.
+There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or accomplishments
+he pleased. The fact remains that he did please
+the Queen, and that so much that she consented to a
+secret marriage with him. It was a dangerous step for this
+Welsh adventurer to take: it was a step which would cover
+the Queen with dishonour should it become known. That
+the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of
+the age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should
+be capable of union with any lower man; should ally her
+royal line with that of a man who could only call himself
+gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would certainly be
+considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal family,
+and the country at large.</p>
+
+<p>The marriage was not found out for some years. The
+Queen must have been most faithfully and loyally served,
+because children cannot be born without observation. Owen
+Tudor must have conducted matters with a discretion beyond
+all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the household
+knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and
+one daughter, in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of
+Hadham, was so called because he was born there; the
+second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen, of Westminster;
+the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.</p>
+
+<p>Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of
+Owen, which took place apparently before it was expected
+and without all the precautions necessary, in the King's
+House at Westminster. The infant was taken as soon as
+born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not
+likely that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">{58}</a></span>
+of his parents. He did take the child, however; and
+here the little Owen remained, growing up in a monastery,
+and taking vows in due time. Here he lived and here he
+died, a Benedictine of Westminster.</p>
+
+<p>It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
+heard some whisper or rumour concerning this birth, or was
+told something about the true nature of the Queen's illness,
+for he issued a very singular proclamation, warning the
+world, generally, against marrying Queen dowagers, as if
+these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born,
+Humphrey learned the whole truth: the degradation, as he
+thought it, of the Queen, who had stooped to such an alliance,
+and the humble rank and the audacity of the Welshman.
+He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with
+some of her ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain
+in honourable confinement: he arrested Owen Tudor, a
+priest&mdash;probably the priest who had performed the marriage&mdash;and
+his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.</p>
+
+<p>All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At
+this point the story gets mixed. The King himself, we are
+told, then a lad of fifteen, sent to Owen commanding his
+attendance before the Council. Why did they not arrest him
+again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council&mdash;was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of
+them? He asked for a safe-conduct. They promised him
+one by a verbal message. Where was he, then, that all these
+messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I think
+he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal
+message, and demanded a written safe-conduct. This was
+granted him, and he returned to London. But he mistrusted
+even the written promise; he would not face the Council: he
+took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained.
+It is said that they tried to draw him out by sending old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">{59}</a></span>
+friends who invited him to the taverns outside the Abbey
+Precinct. But Owen would not be so drawn. He knew
+that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must
+have had some secret understanding with the King; for one
+day, learning that Henry himself was with the Council, he
+suddenly presented himself and pleaded his own cause. The
+mild young king, tender on account of his mother, would
+not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.</p>
+
+<p>He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome
+air: he made for Wales. Here the hostility
+of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was once more
+arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to
+Newgate, he and his priest and his servant. Once more they
+all three broke prison, 'foully' wounding a warder in the
+achievement of liberty, and got back to Wales, choosing for
+their residence the mountainous parts into which the English
+garrisons never penetrated.</p>
+
+<p>When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed
+to return, and was presented with a pension of £40 a year.
+It is remarkable, however, that he received no promotion,
+or rank; that he was never knighted; and that the title of
+Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It certainly
+seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a
+gentleman was not recognised by the King or the heralds.
+Perhaps Welsh gentility was as little understood by these
+Normans as Irish royalty&mdash;yet, so far as length of pedigree
+goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to Normans.</p>
+
+<p>The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under
+the charge of Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and
+sister of the Earl of Suffolk. When the King came of age
+he remembered his half-brothers: Edmund was made Earl
+of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked before
+all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">{60}</a></span>
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the
+foundress of Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge.
+Her son, as everybody knows, was Henry VII.</p>
+
+<p>As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began
+so well on the field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he
+should, for his step-son and King, under the badge of the Red
+Rose. When the Civil Wars began he joined the King's
+forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty. He
+fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's
+Cross, where another fight took place. The Lancastrians
+were defeated. Owen was taken prisoner, and was cruelly
+beheaded on the field. It was right and just that he should
+so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen twenty-four
+years.</p>
+
+<p>The unfortunate Katharine, whose <i>mésalliance</i> gave us
+the strongest sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not
+long survive the disgrace of discovery. As to public knowledge
+of the fact, one cannot learn how widely it was extended.
+Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak of
+it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were
+acknowledged by the King there was no pretence at concealment.
+To be the son of a French Princess and a Welsh
+gentleman was not, after all, a matter for shame or concealment.
+Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her
+in less than a year after her imprisonment among the
+orchards and meadows of the Precinct. It is said that her
+remorse during her last days was very deep; not for her
+second marriage, but for having allowed her accouchement
+of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against
+which she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor
+shall lose all that Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas!
+had Henry of Windsor been Henry of Monmouth himself,
+he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there be a
+worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">{61}</a></span>
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper
+and the son of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson
+of a madman and a Messalina.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 487px;"><a name="ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK" id="ST_OLAVE_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_075.jpg" width="487" height="550" alt="ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death.
+She asks for masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants:
+for her debts to be paid. And she says not one word about
+her children by Owen Tudor. She confesses by this silence
+that she is ashamed. She confesses by this silence that, being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">{62}</a></span>
+a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her widowhood
+to have been mated with any less than a King.</p>
+
+<p>'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son
+the King, 'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly
+ye best may and will best tender and favour my will, in
+ordaining for my soul and body, in seeing that my debts be
+paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender and favourable
+fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but&mdash;where is the mention of her children?
+Perhaps, however, she knew that the King would provide for
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs
+were known'&mdash;Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel
+much sympathy with this unfortunate woman, yet there are
+few scenes of history more full of pathos and of mournfulness
+than that in which her boy was torn from her arms; and she
+knew&mdash;all knew&mdash;even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew&mdash;that the boy was to be done to death. When
+one talks of Queens and their misfortunes, it may be
+remembered that few Queens have suffered more than
+Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart from other
+Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that
+long war it seems impossible to find one single character, man
+or woman&mdash;unless it is King Henry&mdash;who is true and loyal.
+All&mdash;all&mdash;are perjured, treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All
+are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is the friend and companion
+of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other side of him;
+treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen. Elizabeth
+met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was
+accused of being privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and
+Perkin Warbeck: she was more Yorkist than her husband;
+she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and the White
+were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">{63}</a></span>
+she was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she
+bore. We must make allowance: she was always in a false
+position; Edward ought not to have married her; she was
+hated by her own party; she was compelled in the interests
+of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These
+things, however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we
+ought to feel for so many misfortunes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="LE_LOKE" id="LE_LOKE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_077.jpg" width="550" height="485" alt="&#39;LE LOKE&#39;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&#39;LE LOKE&#39;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey,
+where she could sit and watch the ships go up and down,
+and so feel that the world, with which she had no more concern,
+still continued. It has been suggested that she retired
+voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">{64}</a></span>
+character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a
+daughter or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of
+Valois, she made an end not without dignity. Witness the
+following clause in her will:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><i>Item.</i> Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the
+Queen's Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward
+any of my children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God
+Almighty to bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as
+good a heart and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my
+blessing and all the aforesaid my children.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an
+ecclesiastical foundation which has somehow dropped out of
+history and become no more than a name. If this were a
+history of South London it would be necessary to devote an
+equal space to other houses; to the churches and to the
+two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the
+religious foundations of South London without mention of the
+other great House, more ancient than that of Bermondsey.
+Few Americans who visit London leave it without paying a
+pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful church which
+glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that
+excellent poet whom the professors of literature praise and
+nobody reads, died and lies buried in this church; it was the
+church of the playerfolk: here lie buried Edmund Shakespeare,
+John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and Philip Henslow. Here
+lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which the Church
+allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers
+and the strikers of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting.
+Here were tried notable heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and
+many more, while Gardiner and Bonner thundered and bullied.
+From this church the martyrs went forth to meet the flames.
+The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">{65}</a></span>
+them. The stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where
+they could read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned
+teaching of Bonner and his friends.</p>
+
+<p>It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom
+of Cranmer and the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming
+Protestant reaction. So great was the horror, they
+say, of the people at the death of the Archbishop, that the
+whole nation was roused&mdash;and so on. For myself I like to
+think that, as the people would feel now, so, <i>mutatis mutandis</i>,
+they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much
+horror, I believe, as when from their own ranks, from their
+own houses, from their own families, men and women
+and boys were taken out and led to execution. Violent
+deaths&mdash;by beheading, by hanging, by the flames&mdash;were
+witnessed every day. How many were hanged by
+Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did not touch the
+people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country&mdash;the blameless Carthusians&mdash;suffered
+death as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir
+Thomas More; when witches were burned they looked on.
+It was when they saw their own brothers, sisters, cousins,
+dragged out and put to death without a cause, that they
+began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not the
+manner of death that affected them, because burning was a
+thing so common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest
+and godly folk, and the behaviour of the people at their
+death. Tender women chained to the stake suffered without
+a groan, only praying loudly till death came; people remembered,
+they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last
+prayer before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer
+stepped into his place with a smiling face and welcomed the
+fiery lane that led him to the place where he longed to be:
+was this, they asked, the courage inspired of God, or of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">{66}</a></span>
+devil? They remembered how another washed his hands in
+the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone
+upon him; and it was even like unto the countenance of the
+Blessed Lord. The sight and the remembrance of the
+sufferings of their own folk, not the execution at a distance of
+an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome
+with a hatred from which it has not wholly recovered even in
+these latter days.</p>
+
+<p>The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both
+the great Houses of Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there
+should be a provision for the poor, the sick, and those who
+were orphans. St. Mary Overy had a hospital adjoining the
+priory which was an almshouse certainly, and probably an
+orphanage as well. It was under the care of the Archdeacon
+of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry intended
+for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely
+secluded: it lay far from any highway; there were no houses,
+except farm buildings for the monastery's labourers; there
+were no poor, no sick, and no orphans. So that, when the
+great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and crossed the river
+by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would
+be well to rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark
+Causeway. This was done, and the Hospital of St. Mary
+was united with it, and the new foundation which Bishop
+Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was named after
+St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for the
+sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and
+sisters under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a
+school, and an infirmary; but not, as St. Bartholomew's
+was from the beginning altogether, only a hospital for the sick.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">{67}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 377px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_PALACE_OF_THE_BISHOP_OF_WINCHESTER"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_081.jpg" width="377" height="550" alt="REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As for the religious life of the place, it was in most
+respects like that of London. There were no houses for
+Friars, but the Friars came across the river <i>en quête</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">{68}</a></span>
+'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in the taverns were
+put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful (towards the
+end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty of
+life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries
+of the great Houses&mdash;the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester,
+the Abbots of Lewes, Hyde, and Battle&mdash;went about their
+errands; there were Gilds, notably that of St. George, which
+had their processions and their days: there were crosses and
+images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed his hat&mdash;in
+the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas à
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and
+bargee paid reverence.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by
+the Church. There was whipping, but not the terrible
+murderous flogging of the eighteenth century; there were
+hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the credit
+of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush
+a man, but to shame him into repentance, and to give him a
+chance of retrieving his character. A man might be set in
+the stocks, or put in pillory, and so made to feel the heinousness
+of his offence. This punishment was like that which is
+inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned
+him, transported him, made a brute of him, and
+then hanged him. Did a woman speak despitefully of
+authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the cage
+besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should
+see her there and should ask what she had done. After an
+hour or two take her down; bid her go home and keep
+henceforth a quiet tongue in her head. This leniency was
+only for offences moral and against the law. For freedom of
+thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way.
+And it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">{69}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV
+<br />
+<br />
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON</h2>
+
+
+<p>All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted
+Royal Houses, Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side
+were Westminster, Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene,
+Theobald's, Hatfield, Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon,
+Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the Tower; on the south
+side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew, Hampton,
+Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House
+of Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these
+royal houses are now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves
+some ruins left of Edward IV.'s buildings; it still shows the
+moat and the old bridge, and the line of its former wall; but
+tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories of the
+Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King
+John. The sailors&mdash;now, alas! also gone&mdash;have deprived
+Greenwich of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone
+altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared away. Of Kennington,
+of which I have to speak in this place, not one stone remains
+upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is
+gone and forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although
+part of the ruins were still standing only a hundred years
+ago.</p>
+
+<p>The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace
+was deserted; it was pulled down before 1607&mdash;Camden says
+that even then there was not a stone remaining&mdash;there was
+not a single house within half a mile in every direction. There
+was no one, when the last stones had been carted away, left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">{70}</a></span>
+to remember or to remind his children that there had been a
+palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but no
+tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then
+came the destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was
+not even a cottage near the spot. This being so, it is not
+difficult to understand why the site was forgotten.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"><a name="THE_LONG_BARN" id="THE_LONG_BARN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_084.jpg" width="420" height="251" alt="THE LONG BARN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LONG BARN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the
+substructures; a building of stone and thatch, part of the
+offices of the palace, also stood. They called it the 'Long
+Barn,' and when the distressed Protestants were brought over
+here in 1700 as many as the place would hold were crammed
+into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the country
+between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of
+the palace there was not a single person left who could carry
+on the tradition of the king's house that once stood here.
+Roque, the map-maker of 1745, knew nothing about it. In
+1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At the beginning of
+the century houses began to rise here and there; streets
+began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens
+and the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a
+place which, as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred
+years. 'Is this fame?' might ask the king who crowned
+himself here, the king who died here, the king who was brought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">{71}</a></span>
+up here, the kings who kept their Christmas feast here, the
+kings who here received their brides, held Parliament, and
+went out a-hunting.</p>
+
+<p>The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot,
+son of Cnut&mdash;that is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there
+was no other house at Lambeth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"><a name="SKETCH_MAP_II" id="SKETCH_MAP_II"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_085.jpg" width="410" height="338" alt="SKETCH MAP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SKETCH MAP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The king who died in this house was that young Dane
+who appears to have been an incarnation of the ideal Danish
+brutality. He dragged his brother's body out of its grave and
+flung it into the Thames; he massacred the people of Worcester
+and ravaged the shire; and he did these brave deeds
+and many others all in two short years. Then he went to his
+own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic.
+For one so young it showed with what a yearning and
+madness he had been drinking. He went across the river&mdash;there
+was, I repeat, no other house in Lambeth except this,
+so that it must have been here&mdash;to attend the wedding of his
+standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of the
+Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate
+of Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">{72}</a></span>
+hard drinking, while the minstrels played and sang and the
+mummers tumbled. When men were well drunken the pleasing
+sport of bone throwing began: they threw the beef bones at
+each other. The fun of the game consisted in the accident of a
+man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed.
+The soldiers had no special desire to kill the old man: why
+couldn't he enter into the spirit of the game and dodge the
+bones? As he did not, of course he was hit, and as the bone
+was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a powerful hand, of
+course it split open his skull. One may be permitted to think
+that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a
+big beef bone which knocked him down; and as he remained
+comatose until he died, the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it
+said that even in sport his king had been killed at his wedding,
+gave out that the king fell down in a fit. This, however, is
+speculation.</p>
+
+<p>Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was
+compiled, the place was in the possession of a London citizen,
+Theodric by name and a goldsmith by trade. It was still a
+royal manor, because the goldsmith held it of Edward the
+Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a year. It is
+impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and
+price of other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the
+wages and pay of servants and officers; and when we have
+done all, we are still very far from understanding the value of
+money then or at any subsequent time. There are, you see,
+so many points which the writers on the value of money do
+not take into consideration. There is the price of bread;
+but then there were so many kinds of bread&mdash;wheaten bread,
+barley bread, oat bread, rye bread; and how much bread did
+a family of the working class consume? Flesh, fish, fowl,
+but how much of either did the working classes enjoy? Rent?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">{73}</a></span>
+But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent. There is, in a
+word, not only the market prices that have to be considered,
+but the standard of comfort&mdash;always a little higher than the
+practice&mdash;and the daily relations of the demand to the supply.
+So that when we read that this manor of Kennington was
+worth three pounds a year we are not advanced in the least.
+As most of the land was still marshy and useless, we may
+understand that the value was low.</p>
+
+<p>We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King
+Richard granted it on lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy
+with the title of Lord of the Manor. Henry III. came here
+on several occasions; here he held his Lambeth Parliament.
+He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the feasting
+and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.</p>
+
+<p>The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying
+map. If you walk along the Kennington Road from Bridge
+Street, Westminster, you presently come to a place where
+four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the left, and
+Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to
+the Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand
+side stood the palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house
+and grounds was executed; but by that time the mediæval
+character of the place was quite forgotten. It was a square
+house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King Henry III.
+at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing
+the 'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the
+palace really was in the thirteenth or fourteenth century is to
+compare it with another palace built under much the same
+conditions, and intended to serve the same purpose. Fortunately
+there still stand, some miles to the east of Kennington,
+at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary
+palace, with a description of the place as it was before it was
+allowed to fall into ruins.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">{74}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We are not at this moment concerned with the history of
+Eltham. Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately
+place for five hundred years and more; that it passed through
+the hands of Bishop Odo; of the Mandevilles; of the De
+Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of Geoffrey le Scrope
+of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins with
+Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends
+with Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from
+Greenwich. Here Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth
+to a son, John of Eltham. The greatest builder at Eltham
+was Edward IV.</p>
+
+<p>The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited
+it, is said to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms
+on the ground floor and first floor called the King's side and
+the Queen's side. There were buildings and rooms of all
+kinds round the courtyard. The number of chambers in all
+was very great, and it is said, further, that the large courtyard
+covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area
+would give about two hundred and ten feet to each side of a
+square. This would be large for a college at Oxford or
+Cambridge. It would cover about the same area as that of
+New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for
+the 'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms
+for the servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who
+accompanied the king, the grooms, armourers, makers and
+menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and scullions, and the
+women servants, and the wives and the children. A strong
+stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded
+the palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the
+bridge which crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate
+had its portcullis. The palace, in a word, was a fortress, for
+there was never a king in England who would have dared to
+keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified manor house, or
+outside a fortress&mdash;certainly not Henry III. or Edward IV.&mdash;unless,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">{75}</a></span>
+of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of
+his army.</p>
+
+<p>The existing remains of the palace correspond to this
+description. There is the moat, deep and broad; there is the
+bridge, the drawbridge gone. Within, the most important
+ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall. This is a most
+noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it was
+built; the two magnificent
+bays remain, with
+the double row of windows.
+It would be
+difficult to find a finer
+banqueting hall in the
+whole country than
+that of Eltham. In the
+grounds, the traces of
+the wall and those of
+other buildings ought
+to make it possible,
+with a very little excavation,
+to trace a plan
+of the whole house.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 329px;"><a name="Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace" id="Gateway_in_the_Hall_Eltham_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_089.jpg" width="329" height="500" alt="Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As was Eltham, so
+was Kennington. Both
+places were built for
+the same purpose about
+the same time. Both
+were castles erected on a plain without the aid of hillock,
+mound or running stream&mdash;unless the moat at Kennington was
+fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream
+or the ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn'
+on the east side of the palace belonged to the 'service'&mdash;it
+was kitchens, stables, armoury, brewery, or granary. The
+house itself had its principal entrance on the north. This is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">{76}</a></span>
+certain, because all the supplies were brought by what is
+now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or
+from Southwark. A gate on this side simplified the
+transference which took place when the court moved from
+one place to another; when everything&mdash;bedding, blankets,
+utensils of all kinds, plate, <i>batterie de cuisine</i>, the workmen
+with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen&mdash;was packed
+up and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington,
+or from Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods
+sent up from the City were also landed at Stangate, Lambeth,
+so as to get as short a land journey as possible. For these
+reasons I place the principal gate at the north.</p>
+
+<p>I have seen it stated&mdash;I know not with what truth&mdash;that
+the people of the streets now on the site have found substructures
+beneath their houses. If so, one would expect,
+what one cannot find, some tradition to account for the
+existence of these stone vaults.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress
+of the Lambeth Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal
+residence; now completely vanished.</p>
+
+<p>Two other royal houses there were in South London,
+neither of which can be compared with Kennington. Greenwich,
+for instance, which appears in history from the time of
+King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V., Edward IV.,
+Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth&mdash;all
+had more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII.
+completed his buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left,
+that is, the mediæval fortress for the modern house. His
+Greenwich was not fortified. The accompanying view of it
+shows that it possessed none of the characteristics of the
+ancient residence, half castle, half manor house. Greenwich,
+however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would
+most certainly resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington,
+with certain small differences, just as one Benedictine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">{77}</a></span>
+monastery resembles in its general disposition another Benedictine
+monastery, and one Norman castle in general terms,
+and allowing for the site, resembles another.</p>
+
+<p>The other house of which I have spoken is that of
+Nonesuch. This house was not a reconstruction and an
+adaptation with much of the ancient work: it was newly
+built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was no
+suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the
+house stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained
+by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful
+according to our
+ideas; nor was it what
+we now call a Tudor
+house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's interference
+with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from
+the heathen mythology. The house was pulled down by
+the Duchess of Cleveland, to whom Charles II. gave it.
+Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with Kennington, and
+must not detain us.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich" id="The_Ancient_Royal_Palace_at_Greenwich"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_091.jpg" width="550" height="403" alt="The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us next consider what it means when the king is said
+to have kept his Christmas at a place.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">{78}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During the festival&mdash;for twenty days&mdash;he kept open
+house, nominally. That is to say, all comers received food
+and drink: his guests, one supposes, were bidden. Every
+day during the festival the king sat at the feast wearing his
+crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the most
+prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day
+no fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the
+number was at Christmas no one knows. In addition to the
+ordinary following of the court&mdash;a huge army of chaplains,
+canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen archers, and servants&mdash;there
+were the bishops and abbots, the peers and barons, who
+came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own following
+of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment
+would be needed! The organisation was complete;
+everything was in departments, each under the yeomen: the
+chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the stables, the cellars.
+Yet what an army in each department! Then, since at
+Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master
+of the Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated
+following; among them were all those who played on the
+different instruments of music, those who sang, the buffoons,
+tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was in the
+time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over
+for the delectation of the English court&mdash;perhaps with the
+pious intention of showing what joys and attractions awaited
+the Crusaders in the Holy Land itself.</p>
+
+<p>Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and
+fifty years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at
+Grenewiche, wher was suche abundance of viands served to
+all comers of any honest behaviour, as hath been few times
+seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in the Hall,
+a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with artilerie,
+and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">{79}</a></span>
+frount of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and
+within the castle were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide
+all over with leves of golde, and every owde knit with laces
+of blewe silke and golde; on ther heddes, coyfes and cappes
+all of golde. After this castle had been carried about the
+hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng with
+five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche
+cloth of gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered
+with workes of fine gold bullion. These six
+assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them so lustie and
+coragious were content to solace with them, and upon farther
+communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came
+down and daunced a long space. And after the ladies led
+the knightes into the castle, and then the castle sodainly
+vanished out of their sight.</p>
+
+<p>'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with
+XI other were disguised after the manner of Italie, called a
+maske, a thing not seen afore in Englande; they were
+apparelled in garments long and brode, wrought all with
+gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the banket
+doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised
+in silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to
+daunce; some were content, and some that knew the fashion
+of it refused, because it was not a thing commonly seen. And
+after they daunced and commoned together as the fashion of
+the maske is, thei tooke their leave and departed. And so
+did the Quene and all the ladies.'</p>
+
+<p>When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed
+up the gear: the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes,
+pillows, curtains, tapestry and carpets. They were all laid
+upon waggons, the broad-wheeled creaking waggons which
+were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy lanes by
+teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies
+were carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">{80}</a></span>
+king and his followers rode; and so they went back to
+Westminster. The ferry carried over the heavy goods and
+the horses: the royal barges received the court. After them
+marched the whole rout&mdash;the two thousand archers without
+whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly,
+when the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians
+and the mummers and the singers marched off sadly. A
+whole twelvemonth before another Christmas! They marched
+in the direction of the City, and that night, as they report,
+there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the
+principal officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe,
+of the cellars, of the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation
+being kept up in readiness, though the king might not come
+back for years. This fact was illustrated a short time ago,
+when I was interested in watching the progress of a certain
+genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left
+his house; it was necessary to connect him with his own
+descendants. The link was found in the fact that this younger
+son had been received by Carey, warden of Hunsdon House,
+who made him one of his yeomen; a cheerless appointment,
+like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden and yeomen,
+representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and
+silent gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of
+emptiness, during which it is best to keep out of them. For
+my own part, I think the true way of enjoying a palace is to
+frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all that was said and to
+put down all that was done, but not to be an actor in a drama
+which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered
+about the court of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.?
+Richard murders his uncle, Henry IV. murders his cousin,
+Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it is true, murders
+no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a perpetual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">{81}</a></span>
+series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who
+looked on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for
+his history, while in the whole of that court there was no one
+whose head was safe on his shoulders except Froissart.
+Unfortunately, he says little about this palace which we are
+considering.</p>
+
+<p>There are many names of kings and princes connected
+with this house of Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally.
+During his reign it was the residence of John Earl
+of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl of Warren
+and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these
+and other names, had the writer time or the reader patience.
+In truth, the reader's patience is more to be considered than
+the writer's time, for the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting
+up names and notes and allusions, and of piecing together
+what, after all, his reader may not find of interest enough to
+carry him through. Edward III. made the manor part of the
+Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not
+find that Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly
+be haunted&mdash;especially the room in which he was to sleep&mdash;by
+the sorrowful shade of his murdered cousin. Nor did
+Henry V. come here during his short reign. Henry VI.,
+however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with
+the palace was Catherine of Arragon.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have
+seen the place as it was figured in 1636, when it was only an
+ordinary square house. The plan was drawn when Charles I.
+leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The destruction of the
+old house and the building of the new must have taken place
+during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When
+the new house was taken down I do not know.</p>
+
+<p>The name that we especially associate with Kennington
+Palace is that of Richard II. When the Black Prince died,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">{82}</a></span>
+in 1376, Richard remained at Kennington under the care of
+his mother and the tutorship of Sir Guiscard d'Angle, 'that
+accomplished knight.' The young prince started with the
+finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter
+years of his life, on the popular side against the old King and
+his supporters; the boy was endowed with a singular beauty
+of person, and, when he pleased, with a sweetness of manner
+most unusual even among princes, with whom affability is the
+first essential in princely manners. In addition to this he was
+destined to show on two occasions courage which almost
+amounted to insensibility&mdash;first, when he dispersed Wat
+Tyler's mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government.
+History shows how he threw away all his chances in
+reckless extravagance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE" id="SEAL_OF_THE_BLACK_PRINCE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_097.jpg" width="550" height="364" alt="SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+<br />
+(From Allen&#39;s History of Lambeth)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the
+Lord Mayor to pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington,
+with a riding worthy of the City. The day chosen was the
+Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One has frequent
+occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely
+regardless of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth
+upon a pageant as cheerfully in the cold of February as in the
+sunshine of August. On this occasion, one hundred and
+thirty-two citizens on horseback, with trumpets and other
+musical instruments, and a vast number of <i>flambeaux</i>, assembled
+at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond
+the Borough. First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of
+esquires&mdash;with red coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed
+the same number apparelled as knights in the same
+livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic figure, who
+represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty cardinals.
+They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with
+black vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">{83}</a></span>
+This accounts for one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole
+number. The last man is not described. To them must be
+added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with men carrying
+the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy to
+the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company
+of 'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after
+it and shouting. When it arrived at Kennington Palace they
+all dismounted and entered the hall, where they found the
+Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and their attendants,
+together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great lords.
+The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who
+then produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them.
+Would you believe it?&mdash;every time the Prince threw, he won,
+which was in itself a remarkable circumstance. He carried
+off his winnings: a bowl of pure gold, chased and decorated;
+a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold ring. They then
+invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">{84}</a></span>
+nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited
+to supper in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his
+mother. After supper, the tables were taken away&mdash;they were
+only planks laid on trestles and covered with white cloths&mdash;and
+the floor being cleared, the masquers had the honour of
+dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+<i>flambeaux</i> were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well
+pleased with the reception they had met and the courtesy of
+the best behaved boy in the world.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which
+arose out of Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between
+the Bishop of London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after
+the dismissal of Wyclyf, repaired to the house of John de
+Ypres, close beside the river, where he was sitting at dinner
+when one of his following ran hastily to warn him that the
+people were flocking together with intent to murder him if
+they could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the
+nearest stairs, took a boat across the river, and fled as quickly
+as possible to Kennington Palace, where he took shelter with
+the young Prince Richard and his guardians. The mob,
+finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to the Savoy,
+his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the
+Duke in countenance; they were then persuaded by the
+Bishop of London to go home without doing any more mischief.
+What would have happened one knows not, but the
+death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up
+the peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens.
+Hearing that Edward was <i>in extremis</i>, the Mayor and Aldermen
+waited on the Princess of Wales and Prince Richard
+informing them of the King's critical situation, and beseeching
+the Prince's favour to the City; they also begged him to
+interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's differences
+with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt freely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">{86}</a></span>
+forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity
+of his son Henry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_High_Street_Southwark" id="The_High_Street_Southwark"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_099.jpg" width="550" height="337" alt="The High Street
+Southwark
+as it appeared
+MDXLIII" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The High Street Southwark<br />
+as it appeared MDXLIII</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It might be argued that the various impressions as regards
+London produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct
+towards the citizens when he grew older. The first
+experiment he had of the citizens was when they rode over in a
+goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold chains and finely
+appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he remembered
+that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a
+kind of impression which does not easily die away.</p>
+
+<p>His second impression of the City was when his uncle,
+John of Gaunt, came flying from the City, having barely
+escaped with his life, the people having gone on to wreck, if
+they could, his palace of the Savoy. A turbulent and dangerous
+people, then, as well as rich; a people to be kept down.</p>
+
+<p>He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way
+to be crowned at Westminster. All the way there was nothing
+but rich tapestry, carpets, scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet,
+pageants with cloth of gold, and the streets filled with men
+and women dressed in rich furs and silks, such as only great
+barons could afford. This third impression confirmed the
+first.</p>
+
+<p>His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate
+at the mercy of a large mob, unable to move or to help itself.
+He went into the City almost alone; he, by one single act of
+splendid courage, put an end to the insurrection. A City
+cowardly, therefore, and unable to act together. It was his
+City, moreover&mdash;the <i>Camera Regis</i>. Should not a prince do
+what he pleases with his own?</p>
+
+<p>When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City:
+how he believed its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed
+that it had no power to resist; how he made the way
+easy for his cousin to supplant him, let us bear in mind the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">{87}</a></span>
+lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for him in
+his youth.</p>
+
+<p>This King seizes on the imagination of all who think
+about him. His is one of the strangest of all the strange figures
+which crowd the National Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed
+with artistic instincts; a lover of music and all the fine arts;
+of singularly winning manners; the comeliest man in his
+whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in his
+court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in
+his youth never ceased to love; for whose soul&mdash;not for the
+soul of Henry IV.&mdash;Whittington, for instance, left money for
+masses&mdash;this is a figure among our English kings which has
+no parallel.</p>
+
+<p>One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last
+occasion on which Richard lodged there was when he brought
+home his little bride Isabel, the queen of eight years. They
+brought her from Dover, resting on the way at Canterbury
+and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the Mayor
+and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to
+do honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into
+their place and rode on with the procession. When they
+arrived at Newington, the King thanked the Mayor and permitted
+him to leave the procession and return home. He
+himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country lane
+from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this
+proves the existence of a path or lane where is now Upper
+Kennington Lane. At this palace the little queen rested a
+night, and next day was carried in another procession to the
+Tower. The knights rode before, and the French ladies came
+after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair hair
+falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up
+and smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be
+queen, which she had been practising ever since her betrothal.
+Needless to say that all hearts were ravished. The good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">{88}</a></span>
+people of London were ever ready to welcome one princess
+after another, and to lose their hearts to them, whether it was
+Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne Boleyn, or
+Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great
+a press was there that many were actually squeezed to death
+on London Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in
+breadth. Isabel's queenship proved a pretence: before she
+was old enough to be queen, indeed, her husband was in confinement;
+before she understood that he was a captive, he
+was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was over.
+The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself,
+desired to take the place of Richard; his father also desired
+the match, for the sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she
+was still, had the heart of a woman; she had learned to love
+her handsome, courteous, accomplished lord, who died before
+he could claim her; she refused absolutely to marry the son
+of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by persuasion;
+they did not dare to force her: let us believe that
+Harry of Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to
+marry him. There was nothing therefore left to do, but to
+send her home to what was certainly the most miserable
+court or palace in the world&mdash;that of her mad father. In the
+end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans.
+You may read the verses which he made upon her death.
+Isabel died in childbirth in her twenty-second year. As for
+Harry of Monmouth, as all the world knows, he was obliged
+to content himself with Isabel's younger sister, Katharine;
+we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to
+a suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay
+not so fine as that of Isabel, her sister.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">{89}</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3>2. ELTHAM PALACE</h3>
+
+<p>The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal
+House of Eltham, already mentioned in connection with
+Kennington. The place itself seems to have been a settlement
+of some kind, a town or village, in very ancient times.
+In the thirteenth century it was considered of importance
+enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before
+the Feast of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after.
+In the fourteenth century the market day was altered to
+Monday, but the Fair remained; in the fifteenth century
+the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair was
+changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul,
+on the Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and
+the Fair have long since been discontinued. The importance
+of both depended on the occasional presence of the Court,
+and when that was removed altogether from the place there
+was no longer any necessity for either market or Fair Day.
+Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many
+miles round. So long as it contained one of the recognised
+Palaces, even though years might pass by without a visit
+from the sovereign, there was, attached to the house, the
+permanent staff to a Governor or warder, with chiefs of the
+various departments and the men or assistants under them.
+The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a
+kind of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for
+all sorts of things. On those rare occasions when the Court
+was actually in Residence at Eltham, the market had to
+furnish supplies, to which all the country round had to
+contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may
+have been very great; no doubt word would be sent long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">{90}</a></span>
+beforehand if the King proposed to keep Christmas there.
+The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef put in the pickling
+tubs in November&mdash;vast quantities of beef, for, Christmas or
+not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt beef.
+At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay
+within easy reach of the London market; so was Westminster.
+Greenwich was accessible by ships from the lower
+reaches of the Thames as well as from London. Eltham, no
+doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there
+were of very little use. The annals of the Palace are simple,
+rather than scanty; in fact, there is plenty of mention made
+of the Palace, yet very little of importance is recorded concerning
+it. All that is recorded of it belongs to peace and
+festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of
+Bayeux and Earl of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and
+the confiscation of his estates, the manor belonged partly to
+the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles. Thence it passed
+into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in
+succession.</p>
+
+<p>There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very
+ancient times. The historian says that he cannot ascertain
+when the Palace was built (see p. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>). Since the origin of
+the House is unknown, he argues that it must have been
+ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings and
+Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have
+to be catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance,
+the following list of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot
+pretend that it is of much interest.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796" id="REMAINS_OF_ELTHAM_PALACE_1796"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_105.jpg" width="406" height="550" alt="REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace
+of Eltham with the Queen and his nobles. After this the
+name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of
+Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">{91}</a></span>
+deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He
+died at Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there
+seem to have been no other buildings. Now we come back
+to the kings, and we find historical associations in plenty,
+though not of a kind which is moving or interesting. It does
+not excite our curiosity much to learn that this king or that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">{92}</a></span>
+king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of association
+which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his
+favourite games with his followers without being overseen.
+One of his sons, John of Eltham, was born here. Edward
+III., when still under age, had a Parliament at Eltham
+in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for him at
+Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John,
+his prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here,
+when the Commons petitioned him to make Richard, his
+grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard the Second, as we
+should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar affection; it
+was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with
+his extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas
+here: on the last he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with
+great splendour and profusion. Henry the Fourth kept
+Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first, the Aldermen
+of London and their children went down from the City
+to perform a masque before the King, who received it well.
+At that moment he was certain to receive everything well
+that came from the City. On his last visit the disease broke
+out which killed him. Henry the Fifth was here once, in
+1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings.
+Among other things, he built a new front to the Palace and
+is said to have built the Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities
+rivalled those of Richard the Second. Here his
+daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was born.
+Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham
+often. Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he
+preferred Greenwich as a residence as soon as that house
+was built. Elizabeth also came here only once or twice, preferring
+Greenwich, and James the First is only recorded to
+have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">{93}</a></span>
+to be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>;
+the Manor was sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration
+it reverted to the Crown; the rest of the history concerns
+its occupancy by private families. On the death of Charles
+the Palace was surveyed; it is described as being built of
+brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see p. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>) one chapel, a
+hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars;
+and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12 on
+the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms
+in the offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre
+of ground: the house was out of repair and uninhabitable.
+There were gardens attached to the house. A moat surrounded
+the house, of width 60 feet, except in the forest, where it was
+115 feet. The moat still exists on the north side, and can be
+traced all round. Of the buildings little remains except the
+old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with its
+fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments
+only remain of the other buildings; but it is said to be possible,
+in the gardens at the back, to trace out the courts and the
+foundations of the chapel and offices. The Palace is approached
+by a bridge of about the same date as the Palace,
+viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with its
+picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one
+side, and the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an
+approach to the ruin as could well be imagined or created.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT" id="KING_JOHN39S_PALACE_KENT"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_107.jpg" width="550" height="318" alt="KING JOHN&#39;S PALACE, KENT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">KING JOHN&#39;S PALACE, KENT
+<br />
+(From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the
+year 1575, when Henry held one of the tournaments in which
+in his early manhood he so much delighted. This is Holinshed's
+account of it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne
+Christmasse at his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe
+night in the hall was made a goodlie castell, woonderouslie
+set out, and in it certeine ladies and knights; and when the
+king and queene were set, in came other knights and assailed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">{95}</a></span>
+the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at the
+last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out
+knights and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich
+and strangelie disguised; for all their apparell was in braids
+of gold, fret with moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on
+crimson sattin, loose and not fastned: the mens apparell of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">{96}</a></span>
+the same sute made like Iulis of Hungarie; and the ladies
+heads and bodies were after the fashion of Amsterdam. And
+when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of two
+hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 436px;"><a name="Remains_of_Eltham_Palace" id="Remains_of_Eltham_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_109.jpg" width="436" height="550" alt="Remains of Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Remains of Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a
+place so beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting
+history. Kings and Courts delight me not, nor do I take
+pleasure in reading about tournaments and masques.</p>
+
+<p>There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to
+think upon as that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy
+who was going to become such an extravagant King. One
+would like to have seen Edward entertaining his prisoner,
+King John of France; and one wonders what sort of figure
+was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of Richard's
+splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.</p>
+
+<p>Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so
+many guests? To feed two thousand every day is a great
+undertaking. We are accustomed to believe that the roads in
+winter were so bad as to be impassable. Now, everything
+had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the roads.
+And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too,
+and the nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads.
+As was stated above, due notice was certainly given: a vast
+quantity of salt provisions was laid down in readiness:
+for the rest, the country was fertile and well cultivated.
+The Park contained deer&mdash;but they could not kill all; the
+Thames, only three miles away&mdash;but then, the roads!&mdash;was full
+of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne&mdash;again, those roads!&mdash;were
+the homes of myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the
+inland communications of the fourteenth century must have
+been a great deal better than those of the seventeenth century
+in order to allow of Christmas being kept in magnificence and
+profusion by two thousand people in a country village.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">{97}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Moat_Bridge" id="The_Moat_Bridge"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_111.jpg" width="550" height="435" alt="The Moat Bridge
+Eltham Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Moat Bridge<br />
+Eltham Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The views which accompany this account are taken from
+Lysons: they were engraved in the year 1796. There is not
+much difference in the present aspect: the moat has been
+opened again: the buildings represented on the south side of
+the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had been
+used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for
+visitors or the drilling of Volunteers.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.</p></div>
+
+
+<h3>3. GREENWICH PALACE</h3>
+
+<p>The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with
+marshes on either side of it&mdash;the marsh of the Ravensbourne
+on one side, and the Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on
+the other side of it&mdash;is as old as history itself. Its position as
+the landing-place, or point of approach, to the lands of Kent, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">{98}</a></span>
+place where ships might lie, pirates and invaders might seize
+and hold as a base of operations, very early called attention to
+its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him,
+throwing beef bones at his head. As the throwing of bones
+was a favourite evening pastime with the Danes, they probably
+meant little at first beyond a friendly reminder or an invitation
+to take part in the game: as the Archbishop made no
+response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. <a href="#Page_72">72</a>). The
+people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place
+was once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical
+memories connected with Greenwich of interest almost equal
+to those of Westminster, and far more important and interesting
+than those of Eltham.</p>
+
+<p>Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some
+of these memories.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.</p>
+
+<p>In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas
+Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, who afterwards died here.</p>
+
+<p>In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester,
+with permission to fortify and embattle the manor house, and
+to enclose a park of 200 acres. This was the true beginning
+of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt the house, which he
+called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he enclosed the
+Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place
+reverted to the Crown. Edward the Fourth took great
+pleasure in the place and beautified it at much cost. In 1466
+he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the Queen,
+Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard
+Duke of York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with
+the usual rejoicings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="GREENWICH_1662" id="GREENWICH_1662"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_113.jpg" width="550" height="329" alt="GREENWICH, 1662" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH, 1662
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Jonas Moore</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of
+residence. He added a brick front on the riverside (see p. <a href="#Page_77">77</a>).
+Here Henry the Eighth was born on June 28, 1491. He was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">{99}</a></span>
+baptised in the Parish Church, the predecessor of the present
+church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all other Palaces,
+and made it during the early years of his reign the scene of
+the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much.
+Here he married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510.
+Here he held the great tournament in which he himself, Sir
+Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and Edward Neville
+challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept Christmas
+here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of
+two entertainments held by the King at Greenwich&mdash;one a
+tournament in June, the other at Christmas:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes
+at Greenewich, the king &amp; sir Charles Brandon taking vpon
+them to abide all commers. First came the ladies all in
+white and red silke, set vpon coursers trapped in the same
+sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a founteine
+curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">{100}</a></span>
+After this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke
+dropped with fine siluer, on a courser trapped in the same.
+Then followed a knight in a horsselitter, the coursers &amp; litter
+apparelled in blacke with siluer drops. When the fountein
+came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about, and so did the
+founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after them
+were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts:
+and when they came to the tilts end, the two knights
+mounted on the two courses abiding all commers. The king
+was in the founteine, and sir Charles Brandon was in the
+litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of trumpets entred
+sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer the
+castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the
+earle of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses
+with the king and sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king
+brake most speares, and likelie was so to doo yer he began,
+as in former time; the prise fell to his lot; so luckie was he
+and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in martiall actiuitie,
+whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....</p>
+
+<p>'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne
+Christmasse at Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in
+most princelie maner. And on the Twelfe daie at night
+came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount. The
+mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full
+of broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin,
+and the flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet.
+On the top stood a goodlie beacon giuing light,
+round about the beacon sat the king and fiue other, all in
+cotes and caps of right crimson veluet, embrodered with flat
+gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles of gold.
+And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before
+the queene, and then the king and his companie descended
+and dansed. Then suddenlie the mount opened, and out
+came six ladies all in crimsin sattin and plunket, embrodered
+with gold and pearle, with French hoods on their heads, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">{102}</a></span>
+they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount tooke the
+ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then
+the king shifted him, and came to the queene, and sat at the
+banket, which was verie sumptuous.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="GREENWICH_HOSPITAL" id="GREENWICH_HOSPITAL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_115.jpg" width="550" height="325" alt="GREENWICH HOSPITAL)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Schnebbelie</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and
+1536.</p>
+
+<p>Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of
+France. Six or seven times more Henry kept Christmas
+at Greenwich. In 1543, the last occasion, he entertained
+twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners, and released
+them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal
+Wolsey was her godfather.</p>
+
+<p>King Edward the Sixth died here.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533.
+She, too, spent much of her time at Greenwich.</p>
+
+<p>King James also much delighted in this place: he
+added to the brickwork by the riverside: he also walled the
+park and laid the foundations of the house afterwards called
+the House of Delight. The Queen, who received the Palace
+in jointure, carried on this House, which was afterwards
+completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was
+called the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's
+Lodge. It was not until 1807 that the house was granted to
+the Commissioners of the Royal Naval Asylum.</p>
+
+<p>Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of
+river, it was thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent
+of the condition of the roads. In other respects
+the position of the place was unrivalled: it was on a slope
+rising from the river in front, and from lowlands on either
+side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh breeze
+that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">{103}</a></span>
+was no better air to be got than the air of Greenwich;
+that of Eltham, with its stagnant marsh and thick woods, was
+close and aguish in comparison: for view, the broad river
+rolled along the Palace front and bent round to east and west,
+so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in Limehouse
+Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed
+and flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up
+and down, outward bound or homeward bound. Sitting at
+her window, or walking on her terrace, Queen Elizabeth could
+for herself learn what was meant by the foreign trade of
+London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the
+river, streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could
+understand the coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could
+ask what the hoys and ketches, the lighters, and the barges
+carried up to the Port of London in such numbers: she could
+herself, and often did, embark upon the stream in summer,
+when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships more
+closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness
+the sad history of Thomas Appletree.</p>
+
+<p>It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about
+nine o'clock of the evening, that an accident happened
+which might have had fatal consequences. The Queen was
+taking the air in her private barge, between Greenwich and
+Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl
+of Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of
+state. Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were
+out in a small boat at the same time, and on the same part of
+the river. They were Thomas Appletree, a young servant of
+Francis Carey, two singing boys of the Queen's choir, and
+another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself of a
+'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load
+with ball and then fire it at random up and down the river.
+One of these haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight
+to the Queen's barge, where it passed through both arms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">{104}</a></span>
+the oarsman nearest Her Majesty. The man thus unexpectedly
+wounded, finding himself bleeding like a pig&mdash;for
+it was a flesh wound&mdash;threw himself down, bawling and
+roaring out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him
+with the assurance that he should be properly cared for, and
+ordered the barge to be taken back to the shore at once. The
+man, being treated, speedily recovered. Meantime, who had
+dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question was
+very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four
+lads brought up before them. It appearing that the only
+guilty person was Thomas Appletree, the other three were
+suffered to depart, and Thomas was tried. It was ascertained
+that there could be no question as to the loyalty of Thomas's
+master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt rested on the
+shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was
+therefore sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments,
+for treason. Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he
+was taken from Newgate and conducted on a hurdle with
+great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through the postern to
+Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy
+Thomas Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a
+dolorous journey on his hurdle, weeping copiously all the way,
+and many of the people weeping with him. Arrived at the
+gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the chronicler repeats
+faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last moments
+which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die
+acquitted themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded
+for treason, or a Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and
+quartered for being a priest. Appletree, for his part, spoke
+so movingly that the people all wept with him. Then the
+hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">{105}</a></span>
+cried, 'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding
+up the Queen's Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton.
+But think not that the Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed
+the royal pardon. Not at all. He left Thomas on the ladder
+for a while; he made an oration on the heinousness of the
+offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for the
+safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened
+and all eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon,
+which the prisoner acknowledged in suitable language.
+Thomas Appletree was then taken back to the Marshalsea,
+where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after this.
+We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for
+this young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus
+would have nothing to do with it.</p>
+
+<p>Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John
+Willoughby's departure for the Arctic seas. He was going
+to endeavour to open a new way for trade round the N.E.
+Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia. He embarked at
+Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As he
+passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they
+brought out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see
+the sailing of the stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the
+ships passed on their way, and they carried the dying King
+back to his bed. In a day or two Edward was dead. In six
+months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too, frozen
+to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.</p>
+
+<p>If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen
+Elizabeth at Greenwich, you will find an account of it in
+Hentzner, that excellent traveller who remarked so much,
+and put all down on paper.</p>
+
+<p>'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported
+to have been originally built by Humphrey, Duke of
+Gloucester, and to have received very magnificent additions
+from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the present Queen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">{106}</a></span>
+was born, and here she generally resides; particularly in
+Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were
+admitted by an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the
+Lord Chamberlain, into the Presence-Chamber, hung with
+rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the English fashion,
+strewed with Hay,<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman
+dressed in Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to
+introduce to the Queen any Person of Distinction, that came
+to wait on her: It was Sunday, when there is usually the
+greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall were the
+Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great
+Number of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and
+Gentlemen, who waited the Queen's coming out; which she
+did from her own Apartment, when it was Time to go to
+Prayers, attended in the following Manner:</p>
+
+<p>'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the
+Garter, all richly dressed and bare-headed; next came the
+Chancellor, bearing the Seals in a red-silk Purse, between
+Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter, the other the
+Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in
+the Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic;
+her Face oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet
+black and pleasant; her Nose a little hooked; her Lips
+narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the English seem
+subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false
+Hair, and that red; upon her Head she had a small Crown,
+reported to be made of some of the Gold of the celebrated
+Lunebourg Table:<a name="FNanchor_2_3" id="FNanchor_2_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_3" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Her Bosom was uncovered, as all the
+English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">{107}</a></span>
+her Fingers long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her
+Air was stately, her Manner of Speaking mild and obliging.
+That Day she was dressed in white Silk, bordered with Pearls
+of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of black Silk, shot
+with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End of it
+borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an
+oblong Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all
+this State and Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first
+to one, then to another, whether foreign Ministers, or those
+who attended for different Reasons, in English, French and
+Italian; for, besides being well skilled in Greek, Latin, and
+the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of Spanish,
+Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling;
+now and then she raises some with her Hand. While we
+were there, W. Slawata, a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to
+present to her; and she, after pulling off her Glove, gave him
+her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and Jewels,
+a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her
+Face, as she was going along, everybody fell down on their
+Knees.<a name="FNanchor_3_4" id="FNanchor_3_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_4" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> The Ladies of the Court followed next to her, very
+handsome and well-shaped, and for the most Part dressed in
+white; she was guarded on each Side by the Gentlemen
+Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were
+presented to her, and she received them most graciously,
+which occasioned the Acclamation of, Long live Queen
+ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as
+it and the Service was over, which scarce exceeded half an
+hour, the Queen returned in the same State and Order, and
+prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was still at Prayers,
+we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">{108}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and
+along with him another who had a Table-cloth, which, after
+they had both kneeled three Times with the utmost Veneration,
+he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling again they
+both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod
+again, the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when
+they had kneeled, as the others had done, and placed what
+was brought upon the Table, they too retired with the same
+Ceremonies performed by the first. At last came an unmarried
+Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was
+dressed in white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three
+Times, in the most graceful Manner, approached the Table,
+and rubbed the Plates with Bread and Salt with as much
+Awe as if the Queen had been present: When they had
+waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon
+their Backs, bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four
+Dishes, served in plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were
+received by a Gentleman in the same Order they were
+brought, and placed upon the Table, while the Lady-taster
+gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the particular
+dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the
+Time that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and
+stoutest Men that can be found in all England, being carefully
+selected for this Service, were bringing Dinner, twelve
+Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring for Half
+an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number
+of unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity,
+lifted the Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the
+Queen's inner and more private Chamber, where, after she
+had chosen for herself, the rest goes to the Ladies of the
+Court.</p>
+
+<p>'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants;
+and it is very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">{109}</a></span>
+Native, is admitted at that Time, and then only at the
+Intercession of somebody in Power.'</p>
+
+<p>On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down
+the Palace and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted
+various persons, and after many delays began the
+building. He only succeeded, however, in erecting what is
+now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted
+into a Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid
+institution, one of the glories of Great Britain, and a standing
+monument of the nation's gratitude to her sailors, and an ever
+present invitation to enter the navy, was closed, with that
+stupid indifference to sentiment which so often distinguishes
+the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> He probably means rushes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_3" id="Footnote_2_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_3"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_4" id="Footnote_3_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_4"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned by
+Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went to apprehend
+Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees. King James I.
+suffered his Courtiers to omit it.</p></div>
+
+
+<h3>4. LAMBETH PALACE</h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="Lambeth_Palace" id="Lambeth_Palace"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_123.jpg" width="500" height="428" alt="Lambeth Palace" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Lambeth Palace</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The now
+huge town of
+Lambeth presents
+few points of interest
+either to the visitor
+or to the historian.
+There are no buildings of any
+antiquity except the Palace and
+the Church. There are no modern buildings at all worth
+notice. There have been two or three memorable houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">{110}</a></span>
+which we shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so
+memorable as to deserve long description. The Bishops of
+Rochester had a house in the Marsh&mdash;the site is in Carlisle
+Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's Hospital,
+close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531,
+a wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service
+as cook, wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of
+people, and was boiled to death in oil&mdash;the only instance, I
+believe, of this dreadful punishment. The wretched man was
+tied naked to a post and slowly lowered into the boiling fluid.
+Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who lived in this
+house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed in some
+form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it
+with the Crown for a house thought more convenient in
+Southwark, close to Winchester House. The Crown gave it
+to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have let it on lease:
+thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether and became
+given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly
+house: then a dancing master taught his accomplishments in
+the house: then it became a school. Finally, the gardens
+were built over, the operations disclosing many interesting
+gates and 'bits.'</p>
+
+<p>Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk:
+it was called Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of
+the Palace, on the site now marked by Paradise Street. Here
+lived the old Duke whose life was saved by the death of
+Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the accomplished
+Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar,
+was the Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop
+of Canterbury, obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live
+in it; the house was neglected, probably because no tenant
+could be found for it. Finally, it was pulled down. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">{111}</a></span>
+interesting to note the town houses which stood upon the
+Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of
+Lewes; of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House
+of St. Mary Overies; Winchester House; Rochester House;
+Norfolk House; and later, the house of the St. Johns at Battersea.
+There are none between Bankside and Lambeth;
+that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars
+and Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH" id="BONNER_HALL_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_125.jpg" width="500" height="392" alt="BONNER HALL, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BONNER HALL, LAMBETH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt
+Hall, afterwards Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens
+afterwards called Vauxhall. In this house the unfortunate
+Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good deal might be
+written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.</p>
+
+<p>The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester,
+and the Duke of Norfolk stood close together and clustered
+round the church. The reason was the necessity of building
+on or near to the Embankment. Exactly opposite the south<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">{112}</a></span>
+porch of the church may be observed a small and somewhat
+decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and
+separate existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of
+which this was the principal street and the centre. The
+village, in fact, did exist from very early times; its population
+for the most part earned their livelihood as Thames fishermen.
+They were the lineal successors of that fortunate Edric to
+whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the Abbey.
+There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down
+the river on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror
+is said to have burned Southwark it was the fishermen's
+cottages which he destroyed. None of these lived between
+Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the fact that
+there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer,
+until about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in
+Lambeth. The place is described as mean and rickety, with
+neither paving nor lamps; the woodwork of the cottages
+broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the windows stuffed
+with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags; the
+court a receptacle for everything.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the
+nineteenth century, during which its population has been
+actually multiplied by ten, and more than ten, rising from
+27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891, an enormous increase.
+The principal reason of this development is the introduction
+of a great many industries&mdash;potteries, vinegar factories, distilleries,
+salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor
+a desirable place of residence. The perambulator looks about
+in vain for streets noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in
+vain for houses beautiful or ancient; there is nothing to
+reward him. Old houses there were before the great increase
+began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in parts it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">{113}</a></span>
+is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction. It
+has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall
+Gardens, on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is
+well laid out and planted; already it is a pretty piece of
+greenery, and, with Kennington and Battersea Parks, offers a
+much wanted breathing place for the multitudes of that
+quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by a statue
+of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting
+in a chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands
+an angel with outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel.
+He is obviously embarrassed by the situation. He feels that
+he ought to be dressed in some kind of Court costume&mdash;if he
+knew what&mdash;in order to receive the angel; or the angel might
+have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the statesman.
+The wings were probably in the way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH" id="RESIDENCE_OF_GUY_FAWKES_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_127.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+<br />
+(<i>From &#39;La Belle Assemblée,&#39; Nov. 1822</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate,
+plays a very considerable part in the History of England.
+In 1232 and in 1234, Parliament was held here. In 1261<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">{114}</a></span>
+and 1280 Councils were held here. In 1412 Archbishop
+Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as
+heretical of a great many opinions, insomuch that it became
+obviously dangerous to have any opinions at all. This,
+however, was the condition of mind most desired by the
+Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is needless to
+recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It
+was sometimes a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the
+care of the Archbishop at Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and
+Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of Southampton, Lord
+Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable confinement,
+not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own
+chamber.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH" id="BISHOP39S_WALK_LAMBETH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_128.jpg" width="500" height="414" alt="BISHOP&#39;S WALK, LAMBETH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BISHOP&#39;S WALK, LAMBETH</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"><a name="INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE" id="INTERIOR_OF_THE_HALL_LAMBETH_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_129.jpg" width="395" height="550" alt="INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving dated 1804</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">{115}</a></span>
+necessary at a time when the clergy could only be tried in
+Ecclesiastical Courts, so that the Bishops could not send their
+criminous clerks to an ordinary prison. Hence it is that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">{116}</a></span>
+frequently read of a priest brought before an Ecclesiastical
+Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards
+inveighed against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused
+the Bishops of too great leniency towards their delinquents
+and prisoners. In some cases, no doubt, the ecclesiastical
+prison was used to save a prisoner from the worst consequences
+of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour
+to believe that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth
+there were many who might have been burned but for the
+humanity which sometimes overrode even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER" id="LAMBETH_PALACE_FROM_THE_RIVER"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_130.jpg" width="500" height="234" alt="LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne,
+'Lambeth Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain
+out of his prisons below his manor house at Lambeth. The
+Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the Archbishop who yet
+carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor man
+regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.</p>
+
+<p>The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained,
+the work of nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a
+full and complete history of the buildings, which would be
+outside the limits of the present chapter, the reader is referred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">{117}</a></span>
+to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J. Cave-Browne, called
+'Lambeth and its Associations.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 386px;"><a name="LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE" id="LOLLARDS39_TOWER_LAMBETH_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_131.jpg" width="386" height="550" alt="LOLLARDS&#39; TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LOLLARDS&#39; TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is impossible to determine when the building of
+Lambeth Palace began. One thing is certain, that it has
+always been an Ecclesiastical Palace. The manor of Lambeth
+belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the Confessor.
+In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">{118}</a></span>
+who with their families probably represented a population of
+about 200. They had a church, which stood on the site of
+the present church. Observe how all the old churches
+belonging to the Marsh stand on the Embankment&mdash;Rotherhithe;
+St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife
+of Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop
+and convent of Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it
+is said, took it from the Bishop; it was seized by William the
+Conqueror. William Rufus restored it to Rochester and
+added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert, Archbishop
+of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the
+Bishop and convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth.
+Having got possession of the place, Hubert set to work to
+improve it. He obtained a weekly market and an annual
+fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.</p>
+
+<p>What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that
+he did build some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added
+other buildings; Boniface, <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1260, found the buildings in great
+need of repair or insufficient. He was the first considerable
+builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair guess at the work
+of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded by the
+monastic Houses&mdash;this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House.
+We may also take it for granted that certain essential parts
+of the building, though they might be rebuilt with greater
+splendour, would not change their position. For instance,
+when in after years we find a chapel, a cloister, a water-tower,
+or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower, or entrance
+from the land&mdash;then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner
+of the Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the
+chapel he found a water-tower with a gate opening upon a
+creek of the river by which everything was received into the
+House, the door of communication with the outer world,
+while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">{119}</a></span>
+creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt
+the cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his
+Hall. A Hall was absolutely necessary for a great house,
+and for an Archbishop's Palace it must be a splendid Hall.
+What is now called the Guard Room was probably at first
+part of the Archbishop's private apartments.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 323px;"><a name="Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower" id="Doorway_in_the_Lollard39s_Tower"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_133.jpg" width="323" height="550" alt="Doorway in the Lollard&#39;s Tower" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Doorway in the Lollard&#39;s Tower</span>
+</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">{120}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321.
+At that time there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his
+Chamber, his Hall, the Chancellor's Chambers, the Great
+Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain minor apartments&mdash;a
+modest list, but the dormitories and principal bedchambers are
+not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library, the
+offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have
+been there.</p>
+
+<p>Then we come to the later works, of which there are more
+than we need set down&mdash;are they not written in Ducarel the
+Laborious and in Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and
+ashes of ancient facts? The principal gateway as we now see
+it is the fifteenth century work of Cardinal Morton; it is built
+in the same style as the gateway of St. John's College, Cambridge,
+but is much larger and finer; with the Church, it forms
+a most effective group of buildings. The present Water Tower
+was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate&mdash;that is to
+say, the real gate of communication with the world. To this
+gate came all the visitors&mdash;Kings and Cardinals, Legates,
+Bishops and Ambassadors; and to this gate came the barges
+with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is said to have
+built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel. Cardinal
+Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably
+the piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller
+tower on the south face of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark
+here that the Tower never had any connection with
+Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy Lollard
+prisoners is without foundation.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="LOLLARDS39_PRISON" id="LOLLARDS39_PRISON"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_135.jpg" width="550" height="469" alt="LOLLARDS&#39; PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LOLLARDS&#39; PRISON</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his
+three years of occupancy and 15,000<i>l.</i> of his own money in restoring
+the place for the honour and splendour of the Church.
+As for what has been done since that time, especially by
+Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed history of
+the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">{121}</a></span>
+worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for
+the residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman
+Catholic predecessors, to a Church whose members love some
+splendour in their ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love
+splendour in their churches and stateliness in their ritual.
+They do not desire to make a Bishop rich: they do desire
+that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow circumstances:
+they desire that he should be able to take the lead
+in all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat
+in splendid state: he sat every day at a table loaded with
+costly and luxurious food: outwardly he was clothed with
+silken robes. But he touched nothing that was set before
+him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore next
+his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">{122}</a></span>
+his hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal
+Bishop of mediæval times. Our own is much the same: a
+simple life: a splendid house: modest wants: a large income:
+for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop,
+whether of the old or of the Reformed Faith.</p>
+
+<p>The Chapel has at least one memory which will always
+cling to it. Within its dark and gloomy crypt Anne
+Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to hear her sentence.
+She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am not
+qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing
+of evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I
+believe that those who have examined into the case are
+of opinion that Anne Boleyn fell a victim to the King's
+jealousy: to his change of mind towards her: and to her
+own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was persuaded
+into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I
+have sometimes thought that the King must have thought
+her guilty, otherwise he would have divorced her on a charge
+of adultery, and suffered her to live. If he did not believe
+her guilty, how could he, being, above all things, a man of
+human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had once
+loved to so horrible a death?</p>
+
+<p>Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard
+death by burning with quite the same horror as is now
+common. There is a story of Rogers&mdash;or Bradford&mdash;the
+martyr. Some one once begged his intercession to save a
+woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself
+will some day have your hands full of this gentle death.'
+Punishment was meant to be painful: the least painful form
+of death was that accorded to the noble&mdash;to be beheaded. If
+a man died by the executioner, it was expected that he should
+suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">{123}</a></span>
+in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by
+the executioner.</p>
+
+<p>I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he
+must have believed in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly
+have allowed such a sentence; and that cruel as it seems to
+us, it did not seem so cruel at that time. There is, however,
+no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy,
+than that of Anne Boleyn.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South
+London, is a monument of English History from the twelfth
+century downwards. Kennington appears at intervals;
+Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich practically begins
+with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St. Paul's,
+belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a
+place little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the
+Greater London, how many, I should like to ask, have ever
+seen the interior? Of the vast population of Lambeth,
+Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the centre, how
+many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or its
+buildings?</p>
+
+<p>Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come
+and go across the Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant
+eyes to rest for a moment on the grey walls and
+Tower of the Palace, how many are there who know, or
+inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">{124}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V
+<br />
+<br />
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The part which Processions of all kinds played in the
+mediæval life is so great that one must inquire how Southwark
+fared in this respect. Where Bishops, Abbots, and great
+Lords lived there were Processions whenever one arrived or one
+departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went to the King's
+House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If
+the Earl of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant
+company of gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King
+kept his Christmas at Eltham, he would be preceded by an endless
+train of carts groaning and grumbling along the road, filled
+with household gear and followed by the troops of scullions,
+cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal
+regiment, sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard,
+besides the nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with
+him for the Christmas festivities. The town itself had its Processions:
+the annual march of the Fraternity to church: the
+departure and the arrival of the pilgrims; the Ecclesiastical
+Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the royal
+pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed
+that Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the
+pageant which began at London Bridge: and that the place
+itself was quite passed by and unconsidered.</p>
+
+<p>Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have
+drawn up a short series of notes on the sights of which the
+Borough took a share.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">{125}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges
+in 1392, he was met by four hundred of the citizens, all
+mounted and clad in the same livery: they invited him to
+ride to Westminster through London.</p>
+
+<p>'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey
+to Southwark, where, at St. George's Church, he was met by
+a procession of the Bishop of London and all the religious of
+every degree and both sexes, and about five hundred boys in
+surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white steed and
+a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The
+citizens received them, standing in their liveries on each side
+the street, crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North
+London. Again, on the return of the victorious Henry the
+Fifth from France there was a splendid Pageant, of which
+the South got some part, namely, the following:</p>
+
+<p>'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt,
+the Mayor of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient
+grained scarlet, and four hundred commoners clad in beautiful
+murrey, well mounted and trimly horsed, with rich collars and
+great chains, met the King at Blackheath; and the clergy of
+London in solemn procession, with rich crosses, sumptuous
+copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage,
+and as one who remembered from Whom all victories are
+sent, seemed little to regard the vain pomp and shows, insomuch
+that he would not suffer his helmet to be carried with
+him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be
+made and sung by minstrels of his glorious victory, because
+he would the praise and thanks should be altogether given to
+God.</p>
+
+<p>'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the
+tower, stood a gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">{126}</a></span>
+axe, and in his left the keys of the City hanging to a staff, as
+if he had been the porter. By his side stood a female of
+scarcely less stature, intended for his wife. Around them were
+a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The towers
+were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front
+of them was inscribed <span class="smcap lowercase">CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE</span> (the City of
+the King of Righteousness).</p>
+
+<p>'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty
+column like a little tower, built of wood and covered with
+linen; one painted like white marble, and the other like
+green jasper. They were surmounted by figures of the King's
+beasts&mdash;an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms suspended
+from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a
+lion, bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.</p>
+
+<p>'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a
+tower, formed and painted like the columns before mentioned,
+in the middle of which, under a splendid pavilion, stood
+a most beautiful image of St. George, armed, excepting his
+head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry,
+with his arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of
+shields. On his right hung his triumphal helmet, and on his
+left a shield of his arms of suitable size. In his right hand he
+held the hilt of the sword with which he was girt, and in his
+left a scroll, which, extending along the turrets, contained
+these words, <span class="smcap lowercase">SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA</span>. In a contiguous
+house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with
+sprigs of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied
+by organs, an anthem, supposed to be that beginning
+"Our King went forth to Normandy;" and whose burthen is
+"Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'</p>
+
+<p>When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry
+the Sixth was met at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">{127}</a></span>
+of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2; the latter being dressed in
+white, with the cognizances of their mysteries or crafts embroidered
+on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his brethren
+in scarlet.</p>
+
+<p>'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised
+a mighty giant, standing with a sword drawn, and
+having this poetical speech inscribed by his side:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'All those that be enemies to the King,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I shall them clothe with confusion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Make him mighty by virtuous living,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And him to increase as Christ's champion.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All mischiefs from him to abridge,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived
+at the drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with
+silk and cloth of arras, out of which suddenly appeared three
+ladies, clad in gold and silk, with coronets upon their heads;
+of which the first was dame Nature, the second dame Grace,
+and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the King
+in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together
+with those which followed, the curious will find in their
+place. On each side of them were ranged seven virgins,
+all clothed in white; those on the right hand had baudricks
+of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had their garments
+powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost&mdash;sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God:
+and the others with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'God thee endow with a crown of glory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with a sword of might and victory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A shield of faith for to defend thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A helm of health wrought to thine increase,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">{128}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which
+was "Welcome out of France."'</p>
+
+<p>The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou
+on her Coronation presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark,
+'Peace and plenty,' with the motto 'Ingredimini et
+replete terram,'&mdash;Enter ye and replenish the earth&mdash;and the
+following verses were recited:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the
+words, 'Jam non ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21),
+and the following verses were addressed to the Queen:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">So trustethe your people, with assurance<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wherein he and his might escape and passe<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By meane of mercy found a restinge place<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">After the flud, vpon this Armonie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Conducte by grace and power devyne;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">{129}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince
+Arthur there was a great Pageant. The part at the south
+entrance of the Bridge is thus described:</p>
+
+<p>'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two
+roodlofts; in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a
+wheel in her hand, in likeness of Saint Katherine, with many
+virgins on every side of her; and in the higher story was
+another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also with a great
+multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed. Above
+all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes,
+and in every square was a garter with this poesy in French,
+<i>Onye soit que male pens</i>, inclosing a red rose. On the tops
+of these tabernacles were six angels, casting incense on the
+Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer walls were painted
+with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and red; and
+at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane
+painted with the arms of England. The whole work was
+carved with timber, and was gilt and painted with biss and
+azure.'</p>
+
+<p>The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was
+that of Charles the Second at his Restoration:</p>
+
+<p>'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen
+met the King at St. George's Fields in Southwark, and
+the former, having delivered the City sword to his Majesty,
+had the same returned with the honour of knighthood. A very
+magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided with a
+sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He
+then proceeded towards London, which was pompously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">{130}</a></span>
+adorned with the richest silks and tapestry, and the streets
+lined with the City Corporations and trained bands; while
+the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious wines, and the
+windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such an
+infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body
+of the people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.</p>
+
+<p>'The procession was chiefly composed of the military.
+First marched a gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver,
+brandishing their swords, and led by Major-General Brown;
+then another troop of two hundred in velvet coats, with footmen
+and liveries attending them, in purple; a third led by
+Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver sleeves
+and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred,
+with blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and
+several footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two
+hundred and twenty, with thirty footmen in grey and silver
+liveries, and four trumpeters richly habited; another of an
+hundred and five, with grey liveries, and six trumpets; and
+another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three troops
+more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all
+gloriously habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came
+two trumpets with his Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men,
+in number fourscore, in red cloaks, richly laced with silver,
+with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed six hundred
+of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen
+in different liveries, with streamers, &amp;c.; after whom came
+kettle-drums and trumpets, with streamers, and after them
+twelve ministers (clergymen) at the head of his Majesty's
+life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord Gerrard. Next the
+City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours, with the
+City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings,
+with footmen in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth
+of gold; the heralds and maces in rich coats; the Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">{131}</a></span>
+Mayor bare-headed, carrying the sword, with his Excellency
+the General (Monk) and the Duke of Buckingham, also uncovered;
+and then, as the lustre to all this splendid triumph,
+rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes
+of York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse
+with white colours; the General's life-guard, led by Sir
+Philip Howard, and another troop of gentry; and, last of all,
+five regiments of horse belonging to the army, with back,
+breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'</p>
+
+<p>On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick,
+William the Third made a triumphant entry into London:</p>
+
+<p>'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach,
+with Prince George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by
+four score other coaches, each drawn by six horses. The
+Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the King, the Lord
+Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal
+noblemen. Some companies of Foot Grenadiers went before,
+the Horse Grenadiers followed, as did the Horse Life-Guards
+and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the Gentlemen of
+the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's
+coach.</p>
+
+<p>'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor
+met his Majesty, where, on his knees, he delivered the sword,
+which his Majesty returned, ordering him to carry it before
+him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech suitable to the
+occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.</p>
+
+<p>'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained
+Bands, in buff coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded;
+then followed two of the King's coaches, and one of Prince
+George's; then two City Marshals on horseback, with their
+six men on foot in new liveries; the six City Trumpets on
+horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their halberds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">{132}</a></span>
+and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended
+by a servant on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor
+and Remembrancer, the two Secondaries, the Comptroller,
+the Common Pleaders, the two Judges, the Town Clerk, the
+Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the
+Common Crier and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of
+black damask and gold chain; each with a servant; then
+those who had fined for Sheriffs or Aldermen, or had served
+as such, according to their seniority, in scarlet, two and two,
+on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with their gold
+chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the Aldermen
+below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended
+by his Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on
+horseback, with two servants; and the Aldermen above the
+chair, in scarlet, on horseback, wearing their gold chains, each
+attended by his Beadle and four servants. Then followed
+the State all on horseback, uncovered, viz.: the Knight
+Marshall with a footman on each side; then the kettle-drums,
+the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms,
+Heralds of Arms, Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms
+on each side, bearing their maces, all bare-headed, and each
+attended with a servant. Then the Lord Mayor of London
+on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar and
+jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission,
+with four footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms
+supplying the place of Garter King at Arms on his right
+hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers supplying the place
+of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left hand,
+each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich
+coach, followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the
+Nobility, Judges, &amp;c., according to their ranks and qualities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">{133}</a></span>
+there being between two and three hundred coaches, each
+with six horses.'</p>
+
+<p>On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by
+the Mayor and Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark,
+with much the same state as that of William III. seventeen
+years before.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many,
+had nothing to do with Southwark at all, except when they
+were water processions, in which case they could be seen as
+well from the South as from the North. But, in fact, Southwark
+was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants. The
+sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark.
+Why should the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has
+been shown over and over again, it consisted of nothing at all
+but a causeway and an embankment, and what was once a
+broad Marsh drained and divided into fields and gardens and
+woods.</p>
+
+<p>I have set down what royal processions Southwark was
+permitted to see, but I do not suppose that among the four
+hundred citizens who went out in one livery to meet King
+Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor do I
+suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter
+south of London Bridge. In other words, although in course
+of time there was appointed&mdash;never elected&mdash;an Alderman of
+the Bridge Without, at no time in these Pageants or in these
+functions was Southwark ever regarded as part of the City, nor
+were her wishes consulted or her interests considered.</p>
+
+<p>One Pageant alone&mdash;that of our own time&mdash;the splendid
+Pageant of 1897, reversed this position. As is well known,
+the Procession which celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign
+passed through the Borough as well as the City.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">{134}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI
+<br />
+<br />
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only
+now remembered by the curious as the alleged original of
+Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare drew his incomparable
+knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then one can only
+say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a
+successful soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding
+in France. Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike,
+even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of taverns and of low
+company, with no dignity and no authority. The only point
+that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff
+lies in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a
+certain battle, one of the many which he fought: and that on
+his return from France, the English, exasperated at their
+losses, laid the blame as they always do upon their most
+distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his old
+age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so
+great: yet Fastolf was never a defeated general.</p>
+
+<p>Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional
+charge of cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.'
+he presents him running away:</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">
+<i>Captain.</i> Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?<br />
+<br />
+<i>Fast.</i> Whither away? To save myself by flight.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">We are like to have the overthrow again.</span><br />
+<br />
+<i>Captain.</i> What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?<br />
+<br />
+<i>Fast.</i>        Ay,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">All Talbots in the world to save my life.</span><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">{135}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">
+This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,<br />
+When but in all I was six thousand strong,<br />
+And that the French were almost ten to one,<br />
+Before we met, or that a stroke was given,<br />
+Like to a trusty knight, did run away.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people
+held the manors of Caister and Rudham. He was born in
+the year 1378, and became, after the fashion of the times,
+first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to Thomas
+of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.</p>
+
+<p>Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume
+of France and other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If
+so he must have been fighting in France or elsewhere across
+the seas as early as 1400. Perhaps he went over earlier. He
+was, at least, successful in getting promotion, and promotion
+in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed on a soldier
+incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at
+Agincourt: at the taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen:
+he was Governor of Condé-sur-Noireau and of other places,
+as they were taken. We find him, for instance, the Governor
+of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died, in 1422, he
+became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy
+and Governor of Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to
+observe that in spite of his great services he was not knighted
+until 1417, when he was already forty years of age. In 1426,
+he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company
+of archers he put to flight an army.</p>
+
+<p>His record does not lead one to expect a charge of
+cowardice. Yet the charge was brought. It was after the
+Battle of Patay, in which Talbot was taken prisoner and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">{136}</a></span>
+English totally defeated. The reverse was attributed by
+Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than to
+his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation,
+which was made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably
+Lord Talbot persisted in his explanation of defeat. The age,
+it must be confessed, was not exactly chivalrous. The Wars
+of the Roses, which were about to begin, brought to light
+gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured princes as
+well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If
+Lord Talbot simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat
+upon Fastolf, it would be what other noble lords were perfectly
+ready to do in their anxiety to escape responsibility in
+the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then thought, which
+brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction.
+Yet the common people heard the reports brought
+home by the soldiers: nothing is more easy than a charge
+of treachery and cowardice: they knew nothing of the
+acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running
+away.</p>
+
+<p>After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of
+Caen: he raised the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the
+Duc de Bar: he was twice appointed ambassador: he fought
+in the army of the Duc de Bretagne against the Duc
+d'Alençon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of
+the war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord
+Talbot's accusation.</p>
+
+<p>In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his
+sword, put off his armour and returned to England. Few
+men could show a longer, or a finer, record of war. In 1441
+he received from the Duke of York an annuity of £20 a year,
+'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He spent
+the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">{138}</a></span>
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very
+well understand that he was a man of great wealth when we
+read that the castle covered five acres of land.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 355px;"><a name="WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK" id="WHITE_HART_INN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_151.jpg" width="355" height="550" alt="WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>These are the achievements of the man. About his
+private life and character we have a great fund of information
+in the 'Paston Letters.' His latest biographer ('S. L. L.'
+in the 'Dictionary of National Biography') concludes from
+these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping man of business:'
+that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that he was
+a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure
+at his hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from
+the letters. At the same time we must consider, apart from
+the letters, the manners of the age and the conditions of the
+age.</p>
+
+<p>Let us take the charges one by one.</p>
+
+<p>First, that his dependents had much to endure from
+him.</p>
+
+<p>It was not a time when dependents spent their time as
+they pleased. In a well-ordered household every man had
+his post and his work. An old Knight who had fought for
+forty years and commanded armies was not at all likely to be
+a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no greater disciplinarian
+than the old soldier: no household is more sternly
+ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies,
+he had governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded
+despotic authority: he had found it necessary to master
+every branch of human activity, including the law and the
+chicanery of lawyers: as the general in command or the
+Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his
+dependents to consider his interests as before everything else.
+The stern old Captain, I can very well believe, looked to
+every one of his dependents for his share of work, and I can
+also very well believe that they feared him as the masterful
+man is always feared.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">{139}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.'
+But he gives no reasons.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 478px;"><a name="SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE" id="SURREY_END_OF_LONDON_BRIDGE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_153.jpg" width="478" height="550" alt="SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of
+spies, traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without
+becoming stern and hard. As a soldier he had to harden
+himself: as a governor he had to observe justice rather than
+pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish criminals. I
+picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be
+done as soon as he commanded it, at the coming of whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">{140}</a></span>
+his servants became instantly absorbed in work, at whose
+footstep his secretaries dared not lift their heads.</p>
+
+<p>Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The
+letters are full of complaints about trespass, invasion of his
+rights, and attempts to over-reach him. How could a man
+choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at a time when the
+law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge his
+boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land
+robber was everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what
+was not his own. Private persons, simple esquires, had to
+fortify their houses against their neighbours and to prepare for
+a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret Paston, 'to get some
+crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and quarrel'&mdash;<i>i.e.</i>
+bolts&mdash;'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.'
+And she goes on to enumerate the warlike preparations made
+by her neighbour.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and
+quarrels for his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains
+how Robert Hungerford, Knight, and Lord Moleyne and
+Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his house and manor
+of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and robbed
+and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.</p>
+
+<p>These are things which do sometimes make neighbours
+testy.</p>
+
+<p>But he is a 'grasping man of business.'</p>
+
+<p>Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon
+property belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and
+justice cannot be had. Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice
+Yelverton, resolve to address the Duke of Norfolk, and
+to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk
+'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice
+be hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should
+resolve to get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man
+'grasping' because he stands up in his own defence? Read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">{141}</a></span>
+again the following. 'I pray you sende me worde who darre
+be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And sey hem on
+my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then
+they shall be quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say
+by God or the Devyll. And therefor I charge you, send me
+word whethyr such as hafe be myne adversaries before thys
+tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I see nothing
+unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.</p>
+
+<p>It is further objected that he had long-standing claims
+against the Crown, and was always setting them forth and
+pressing them. If his claims were just, why should he not
+press them? If a man makes a claim and does not press it,
+what does it mean except that he is afraid of pressing it or
+that it is an unjust claim?</p>
+
+<p>The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which
+were never settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable
+property well worth defending. He had no fewer than
+ninety-four manors: there were four residences&mdash;Caister:
+Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a sum of
+money in the treasure chest of 2,643<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>, equivalent to about
+50,000<i>l.</i> of our money. There were no banks in those days
+and no investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate
+and armour and weapons: he spent, as a rule, the greater
+part of his income, showing his wealth and his rank by the
+splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for instance,
+had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.</p>
+
+<p>His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney
+Lane, which now leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring
+Street. The Knight had good neighbours. On the east of
+St. Olave's Church was the ancient house built in the 12th
+century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given by his
+successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">{142}</a></span>
+to the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between,
+the Abbot of Battle's Inn, a great building on the river
+bank, with gardens lying on the other side of what is now
+Tooley Street. The site was long marked by 'The Maze'
+and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are
+no means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the
+place. It was certainly a building round a quadrangle
+capable of housing many followers, because he proposed to
+fill it with a garrison and so to meet Cade's insurgents.
+Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth would
+not be contented with a small house. On the south side of
+St. Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the
+Inn or House of the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile
+across the fields and gardens rose the towers and walls of
+St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there were other
+great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of
+Stoney Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses
+seldom precede fields. A house often degenerates, but is
+rarely converted into a meadow. This, however, did happen
+with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that the
+house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family,
+and being deserted by them was presently let out in tenements
+till it was pulled down and replaced by other buildings.
+According to these indications, then, Fastolf's house
+was the last of the great houses on the east side of London
+Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually
+sailed from Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions
+and supplies of all kinds for his house at Southwark.
+This fact not only proves that his household was very large,
+but it illustrates one way in which the great houses, the
+ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were victualled.
+If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">{143}</a></span>
+London it is certain that those who lived inland sent up
+caravans of pack-horses laden with the produce of their
+estates and sent up to town flocks of cattle and sheep and
+droves of pigs.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;"><a name="The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House" id="The_Site_of_Sir_John_Fastolf39s_House"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_157.jpg" width="456" height="550" alt="The Site of Sir John Fastolf&#39;s House in Tooley Street" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Site of Sir John Fastolf&#39;s House in Tooley Street</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at
+Southwark against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for
+himself and for everybody with him, he was persuaded to
+retire across the river to the Tower before the rebels reached
+the gates. The story is one of the most interesting in the
+whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the truth, unless
+one looks into them for persons we already know, are somewhat
+dull in the reading.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">{144}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When the Commons of Kent were reported to be
+approaching London in the year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled
+his house in Southwark with old soldiers from Normandy
+and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the rebels
+and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when
+they caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn,
+a servant of Sir John, they were disposed to make an example
+of him. And now you shall hear what happened to John Payn
+in his own words, the spelling being only partly modernised.</p>
+
+<p>'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly
+to consedir the grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner
+haeth, and haeth had evyr seth the comons of Kent come to
+the Blakheth,<a name="FNanchor_1_5" id="FNanchor_1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_5" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and that is at XV. yer passed whereas my
+maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre testator,<a name="FNanchor_2_6" id="FNanchor_2_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_6" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens
+of Kent, to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd:
+and al so sone as I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn<a name="FNanchor_3_7" id="FNanchor_3_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_7" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> made
+the comens to take me. And for the savacion of my maisters
+horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way with the ij. horses;
+and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of Kent.
+And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng
+thedyr, and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with
+the horse. And I seyd that I come thedyr to chere with my
+wyves brethren, and other that were my alys and gossipps of
+myn that were present there. And than was there oone
+there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John
+Fastolfes men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes;
+and then the capteyn lete cry treson upon me thorough all
+the felde, and brought me at iiij. partes of the feld with a
+harrawd of the Duke of Exeter<a name="FNanchor_4_8" id="FNanchor_4_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_8" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> before me in the dukes cote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">{145}</a></span>
+of armes, makyng iiij. <i>Oyes</i> at iiij. partes of the feld; proclaymyng
+opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr
+for to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr,
+fro the grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce,
+as the seyd capteyn made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro
+oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the whech mynnysshed all
+the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn, the whech
+was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he
+seid that the seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase
+with the olde sawdyors of Normaundy and abyllyments of
+werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan that they come to
+Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde lese
+my hede.</p>
+
+<p>'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns
+tent, and j. ax and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn
+of myn hede; and than my maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,<a name="FNanchor_1_9" id="FNanchor_1_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_9" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>
+with other of my frendes, come and lettyd the capteyn,
+and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij. (a hundred
+or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane
+my lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to
+the capteyn, and to the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk,
+and aray me in the best wyse that I coude, and come
+ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th' articles, and
+brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.</p>
+
+<p>'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought
+hym th' articles, and enformed hym of all the mater, and
+counseyled hym to put a wey all his abyllyments of werr and
+the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went hymself to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">{146}</a></span>
+Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j. (<i>i.e.</i> one)
+Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it
+coste me of my noune propr godes at that tyme more than
+vj. merks in mate and drynke; and nought withstondyng the
+capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte Whyte Harte in
+Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me oute
+of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne
+of muster dewyllers<a name="FNanchor_1_10" id="FNanchor_1_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_10" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of
+Bregandyrns<a name="FNanchor_2_11" id="FNanchor_2_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_11" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt
+naile, with leg-harneyse, the vallew of the gown and the
+bregardyns viijli.</p>
+
+<p>'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my
+chamber in your rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke
+awey j. obligacion of myn that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by
+a prest of Poules, and j. nother obligacion of j. knyght of xli.,
+and my purse with v. ryngs of golde, and xvijs. vjd. of golde
+and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete of the touche
+of Milleyn;<a name="FNanchor_3_12" id="FNanchor_3_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_12" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> and j. gowne of fyn perse<a name="FNanchor_4_13" id="FNanchor_4_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_13" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> blewe furryd with
+martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,<a name="FNanchor_5_14" id="FNanchor_5_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_14" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;<a name="FNanchor_6_15" id="FNanchor_6_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_15" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede,
+whan that they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And
+there my Maister Ponyngs and my frends savyd me, and so
+I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle was at London
+Brygge;<a name="FNanchor_7_16" id="FNanchor_7_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_16" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt
+nere hand to deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle,
+and myght nevyr come oute therof; and iiij. tymes before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">{147}</a></span>
+that tyme I was caryd abought thorough Kent and Sousex,
+and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.</p>
+
+<p>'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey
+all oure godes movabyll that we had, and there wolde have
+hongyd my wyfe and v. of my chyldren, and lefte her no
+more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And a none aftye
+that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,<a name="FNanchor_1_17" id="FNanchor_1_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_17" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> apechyd me to the Quene,
+and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of
+myn lyf, and was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and
+quarteryd; and so wold have made me to have pechyd my
+Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause that I wolde not,
+they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have sent
+me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j.
+coseyn of myn noune that were yomen of the Croune, they
+went to the Kyng, and got grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'</p>
+
+<p>Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest
+traitor in England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the
+garrisons of Normandy, and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was
+the cause of the 'lesyng of all the Kyng's tytyll and rights of
+an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'</p>
+
+<p>The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir
+John wants to know what the rebellion means. Let one of
+his men go and find out. Let him take two horses in case of
+having to run for it: the rebels will most probably kill him if
+they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's work: what can
+a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can
+he look for except to be killed some time or other? So John
+Payn takes two horses and sets off. As we expected, he does
+get caught: he is brought before Mortimer as a spy. At this
+point we are reminded of the false herald in 'Quentin Durward,'
+but in this case it is a real herald pressed into the service of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">{148}</a></span>
+Mortimer, <i>alias</i> Jack Cade. Now the Captain is by way of
+being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story about him,
+that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts
+the affair in a courteous fashion. No moblike running to the
+nearest tree: no beating along the prisoner to be hanged
+upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner is conducted with
+much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at each
+is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the
+block are brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness
+of death. But his friends interfere: he must be spared
+or a hundred heads shall fall. He is spared: on condition that
+he goes back, arrays himself in his best harness and returns to
+fight on the side of the rebels.</p>
+
+<p>Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his
+master wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion
+in-so-much that Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats
+across the river to the Tower. But before going he tells the
+man that he must keep his parole and go back to the rebels
+to be killed by them or among them. So the poor man puts
+on his best harness and goes back.</p>
+
+<p>They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him
+in the crowd of those who fight on London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered
+London when he murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer,
+Sheriff of Kent, and plundered and fined certain merchants.
+He kept up, however, the appearance of a friend of the
+people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants,
+themselves, and the better class held the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be
+remembered that the battle was fought on the night of Sunday
+the 5th of July, in midsummer, when there is no night, but a
+clear soft twilight, and when the sun rises by four in the morning.
+It was a wild sight that the sun rose upon that morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">{149}</a></span>
+The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts and cries,
+alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on.
+And all night long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms
+in readiness to take their place on the bridge. And all night
+the old and the young and the women lay trembling in their
+beds lest the men of London should be beaten back by the
+men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and sword
+to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the
+dead were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and
+were trampled upon until they were dead: and beneath their
+feet the quiet tide ebbed and flowed through the arches.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550" id="HOUSES_IN_HIGH_STREET_SOUTHWARK_1550"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_163.jpg" width="550" height="387" alt="HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving
+themselves neither to be sure of goods nor of life well
+warranted determined to repell and keepe out of their citie
+such a mischievous caitife and his wicked companie. And to
+be the better able so to doo, they made the lord Scales, and
+that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">{150}</a></span>
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and
+furtherance therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid,
+with shooting off the artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew
+Gough was by him appointed to assist the maior and
+Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other capteins,
+appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish
+men once to approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept
+for feare of sudden assaults, hearing that the bridge was
+thus kept, ran with great hast to open that passage where
+between both parties was a fierce and cruell fight.</p>
+
+<p>'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their
+tackling more manfullie than he thought they would have
+done, advised his companie not to advance anie further
+toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that they might
+see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide for
+the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the
+bridge foot to the draw bridge, and began to set fire to
+diverse houses. Great ruth it was to behold the miserable
+state, wherein some desiring to eschew the fire died upon
+their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to
+save themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in
+their houses choked and smothered. Yet the capteins not
+sparing, fought on the bridge all the night valiantlie, but in
+conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge, and drowned
+manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand,
+a hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a
+man of great wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie,
+the which in continuall warres had spent his time in service
+of the king and his father.</p>
+
+<p>'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge,
+till nine of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">{151}</a></span>
+Londoners were beaten backe to saint Magnus corner; and
+suddenlie againe, the rebels were repelled to the stoops in
+Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and wearie, agreed
+to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon condition
+that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell
+capteine for making him more friends, brake up the
+gaites of the kings Bench and Marshalsie and so were
+manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his matters in hand.'
+(Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)</p>
+
+<p>When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky
+Payn into prison and tried to get out of him some admission
+that might enable them to impeach Sir John of treason. This
+old soldier was not without some love of letters. One of his
+household, William Worcester, wrote for him Cicero 'De
+Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings
+of the Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by
+Stephen Perope his stepson.</p>
+
+<p>After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in
+Southwark but seldom. He went down into Norfolk,
+employed his ships in carrying stone and built his great
+castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He purposed
+founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven
+poor folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at
+Cambridge: he made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford.
+His intentions as to the College were never carried out,
+the bequest being transferred to Magdalen College, Oxford,
+for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor scholars.
+He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was
+in a losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great
+part of the odium that falls upon a general who is on the
+losing side: at the same time, in his own actions he was,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">{152}</a></span>
+almost without exception, victorious: and there does not
+seem any reason why he more than any other should bear
+the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in
+deference to popular opinion that no honours were paid
+to the veteran of so many fights. Perhaps he was not
+a <i>persona grata</i> at Court. Certainly the story of Payn's
+imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">{153}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_5" id="Footnote_1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_5"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450, and
+again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_6" id="Footnote_2_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_6"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left Paston his
+executor, as will be seen hereafter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_7" id="Footnote_3_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_7"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Jack Cade.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_8" id="Footnote_4_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_8"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed, he
+adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s sister. His
+herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and pressed into their
+service.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_9" id="Footnote_1_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_9"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and carver to
+Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than one occasion
+afterwards.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_10" id="Footnote_1_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_10"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to Elizabeth's
+reign.'&mdash;Halliwell.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_11" id="Footnote_2_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_11"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small iron plates
+sewed on.&mdash;<i>See</i> Grose's <i>Antient Armour</i>. The back and breast of this coat were
+sometimes made separately, and called a pair.&mdash;Meyrick.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_12" id="Footnote_3_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_12"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_13" id="Footnote_4_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_13"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so called.'&mdash;Halliwell.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_14" id="Footnote_5_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_14"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Budge fur.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_15" id="Footnote_6_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_15"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_16" id="Footnote_7_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_16"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_17" id="Footnote_1_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_17"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it Rochester,
+from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for <i>Roffensis</i>. The Bishop
+of Rochester's name was John Lowe.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten
+as the all-night battle of London Bridge, took place also on a
+Sunday, twenty years afterwards. It was the concluding
+scene, and a very fit end&mdash;to the long wars of the Roses.</p>
+
+<p>There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William
+Nevill, Lord Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the
+Bastard of Fauconberg, or Falconbridge. This man was a
+sailor. In the year 1454 he had received the freedom of the
+City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for his
+services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War
+divided families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to
+put Edward on the throne, his son did his best to put up
+Henry.</p>
+
+<p>He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet,
+and in that capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch
+of Burgundians to the help of Edward. He seems to have
+crossed and recrossed continually.</p>
+
+<p>A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled
+across country. On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was
+fought. At this battle Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle
+of Tewkesbury finished the hopes of the Lancastrians. Yet
+on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg presented himself
+at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of London
+Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission
+to march through the town, promising that his men should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">{154}</a></span>
+commit no disturbance or pillage. Of course they knew
+who he was, but he assured them that he held a commission
+from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.</p>
+
+<p>In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter,
+pointing out that his commission was no longer in force
+because Warwick was dead nearly three weeks before, and
+that his body had been exposed for two days in St. Paul's; they
+informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been disastrous
+to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of
+a great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince
+Edward was slain with many noble lords of his following.</p>
+
+<p>All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to
+disbelieve. I think that he really did disbelieve the story:
+he could not understand how this great Earl of Warwick
+could be killed. He persisted in his demand for the
+right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass
+through London? If he merely wanted to get across he had
+his ships with him&mdash;they had come up the river and now lay
+off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army across in less
+time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to hold
+London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians
+were gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian
+heir to the throne at least.</p>
+
+<p>However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter
+urging him to lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward,
+who was now firmly established.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began
+to look to their fortifications: on the river side the river wall
+had long since gone, but the houses themselves formed a wall,
+with narrow lanes leading to the water's edge. These lanes
+they easily stopped with stones: they looked to their wall
+and to their gates.</p>
+
+<p>The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the
+City. Like a skilful commander he attacked it at three
+points. First, however, he brought in the cannon from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">{155}</a></span>
+ships, laying them along the shore: he then sent 3,000 men
+across the river with orders to divide into two companies, one
+for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on Bishopsgate.
+He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge.
+His cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of
+the Tower. We should like to know more of this bombardment.
+Did they still use round stones for shot? Was much
+mischief done by the cannon? Probably little that was not
+easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great
+artillerie against their adversaries, and with violent shot
+thereof so galled them that they durst not abide in anie place
+alongst the water side but were driven even from their own
+Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great guns from the
+Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie
+artillerie' could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite&mdash;not
+above the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>The three thousand men told off for the attack on the
+gates valiantly assailed them. But they met with a stout
+resistance. Some of them actually got into the City at
+Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind them, and they were
+all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate, performed
+prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the
+gates and sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500
+men by the Tower Postern and chased the rebels as far as
+Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were killed. Many
+hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if they
+had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.</p>
+
+<p>The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The
+gate on the south was fired and destroyed: three score of
+the houses on the bridge were fired and destroyed: the north
+gate was also fired, but at the bridge end there were planted
+half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind them waited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">{156}</a></span>
+the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not another
+Battle of the Bridge to relate.</p>
+
+<p>The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting
+possession of London, resolved to march westward and meet
+Edward. By this time, it is probable that he understood
+what had happened. He therefore ordered his fleet to await
+him in the Mersey, and marched as far as Kingston-upon-Thames.
+It is a strange, incongruous story. All his friends
+were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt
+a thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order?
+Perhaps, however, he did not think it impossible.</p>
+
+<p>At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas
+Fanute, Mayor of Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair
+words' to return. Accordingly, he marched back to Blackheath,
+where he dismissed his men, ordering them to go home
+peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600&mdash;his
+sailors, one supposes&mdash;he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and
+took his ships round the coast to Sandwich.</p>
+
+<p>Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over
+to the King fifty-six ships great and small. The King
+pardoned him, knighted him, and made him Vice-Admiral of
+the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in September we hear
+that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to Middleham,
+in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon
+London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had
+been 'roving,' <i>i.e.</i> practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral
+of the English fleet go off 'roving'? Surely not. I
+take it as only one more of the thousand murders, perjuries,
+and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever stained the
+history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward&mdash;the death of every man, noble or simple,
+who might take up arms against him. So the Bastard&mdash;this
+fool who had trusted the King and given him a fleet&mdash;was
+beheaded like all the rest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">{157}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE PILGRIMS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The town was full of those who carried in their hats the
+pilgrim's signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage,
+every shrine had its special signs, which the pilgrim on his
+return bore conspicuously upon his hat or scrip or hanging
+round his neck (see Skeat, <i>Notes to Piers Plowman</i>) in
+token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullæ were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop
+shell that of St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and
+the vernicle of Rome&mdash;the vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief
+of St. Veronica, which was miraculously impressed with
+the face of our Lord. These shrines were cast in lead in the
+most part. Thus in the supplement to the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For men of contre should know whom they had sought;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is
+this that thou wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped,
+full of images of lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and
+the cuffs are adorned with snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.'
+To which the reply is that he has been to certain shrines on
+pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to the Society
+of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but
+especially in the river when Old London Bridge was removed.
+Bells&mdash;<i>Campana Thomæ</i>&mdash;Canterbury Bells&mdash;were also hung<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">{158}</a></span>
+from the bridles, ringing merrily all the way by way of a
+charm to keep off evil.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY" id="OLD_HALL_KING39S_HEAD_AYLESBURY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_172.jpg" width="500" height="441" alt="OLD HALL, KING&#39;S HEAD, AYLESBURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HALL, KING&#39;S HEAD, AYLESBURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from
+one or other of the Inns of Southwark: there was the short
+pilgrimage and the long pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day:
+the pilgrimage of a month: and the pilgrimage beyond the
+seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the ships
+of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella,
+which was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to
+Rocamadom in Gascony: or to Jaffa for the Holy Places.
+The pilgrimage <i>outremer</i> is undoubtedly that which conferred
+the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon the
+soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.</p>
+
+<p>In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner
+had a considerable choice. He might simply go to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">{159}</a></span>
+shrine of St. Erkenwald at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor
+at Westminster, he might even confine his devotions to
+the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished to go a little
+further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the Oak;
+of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the
+north side of London and belonged to the City rather than
+to Southwark. For him of the Borough there was the shrine
+of Crome's Hill, Greenwich, which provided a pleasant outing
+for the day: it might be prolonged with feasting and drinking
+to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family could get a
+holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness
+that so many years were knocked off purgatory.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY" id="OLD_HALL_AYLESBURY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_173.jpg" width="500" height="472" alt="OLD HALL, AYLESBURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HALL, AYLESBURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far
+distant journeys to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as
+Venice, and then by a 'personally conducted' voyage, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">{160}</a></span>
+captain providing escort to and from the Holy Places.
+There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.</p>
+
+<p>For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of
+South London had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas
+of Canterbury was the only Saint. There were other Saints,
+of course, but St. Thomas was his special Saint. No other
+shrine was possible for him save that of St. Thomas. Not
+Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would
+more effectively assist his soul.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS" id="CANTERBURY_PILGRIMS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_174.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="CANTERBURY PILGRIMS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CANTERBURY PILGRIMS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an
+account of what was done and what was shown at the shrines
+of Our Lady of Walsingham and St. Thomas of Canterbury.</p>
+
+<p>'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself
+up towards heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that
+behold it at a great distance with an awe of religion, and now
+with its splendour makes the light of the neighbouring
+palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the place that was
+anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">{161}</a></span>
+lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome
+from afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent
+country echo far and wide with their rolling sound. In the
+south porch of the church stand three stone statues of men in
+armour, who with wicked hands murdered the holy man, with
+the names of their countries&mdash;Tusci, Fusci, and Betri....</p>
+
+<p>'<i>Og.</i> When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty
+of place opens itself to you, which is free to every one. <i>Me.</i>
+Is there nothing to be seen there? <i>Og.</i> Nothing but the bulk
+of the structure, and some books chained to the pillars,
+containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the sepulchre of
+I cannot tell who. <i>Me.</i> And what else? <i>Og.</i> Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance,
+but so that the view is still open from one end of the church
+to the other. You ascend to this by a great many steps,
+under which there is a certain vault that opens a passage to
+the north side. There they show a wooden altar consecrated
+to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and remarkable
+for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man
+is reported to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when
+he was at the point of death. Upon the altar is the point of
+the sword with which the top of the head of that good prelate
+was wounded, and some of his brains that were beaten out,
+to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.</p>
+
+<p>'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground;
+to that there belong two showmen of the relics.
+The first thing they show you is the skull of the martyr, as it
+was bored through; the upper part is left open to be kissed,
+all the rest is covered over with silver. There is also shown
+you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth,
+the girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to
+mortify his flesh....<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">{162}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'<i>Og.</i> From hence we return to the choir. On the north
+side they open a private place. It is incredible what a world
+of bones they brought out of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands,
+fingers, whole arms, all which we having first adored, kissed;
+nor had there been any end of it had it not been for one of
+my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the officer
+that was showing them....</p>
+
+<p>'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the
+ornaments; and after that those things that were laid up
+under the altar; all was very rich, you would have said
+Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to them, if you
+beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....</p>
+
+<p>'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God!
+what a pomp of silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks!
+There we saw also St. Thomas's foot. It looked
+like a reed painted over with silver; it hath but little of
+weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. <i>Me.</i> Was there never a cross? <i>Og.</i> I saw
+none. There was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse
+and without embroidery or jewels, and a handkerchief, still
+having plain marks of sweat and blood from the saint's neck.
+We readily kissed these monuments of ancient frugality....</p>
+
+<p>'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the
+high altar there is another ascent as into another church. In
+a certain new chapel there was shewn to us the whole face of
+the good man set in gold, and adorned with jewels....</p>
+
+<p>'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. <i>Me.</i> Who
+was he, the abbot of the place? <i>Og.</i> He wears a mitre, and
+has the revenue of an abbot&mdash;he wants nothing but the name;
+he is called the prior because the archbishop is in the place of
+an abbot; for in old time every one that was an archbishop of
+that diocese was a monk. <i>Me.</i> I should not mind if I was called
+a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. <i>Og.</i> He seemed
+to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted
+with the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">{163}</a></span>
+the remainder of the holy man's body is said to rest. <i>Me.</i>
+Did you see the bones? <i>Og.</i> That is not permitted, nor can
+it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box covers a
+golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers
+an inestimable treasure. <i>Me.</i> What say you? <i>Og.</i> Gold
+was the basest part. Everything sparkled and shined with
+very large and scarce jewels, some of them bigger than a
+goose's egg. There some monks stood about with the greatest
+veneration. The cover being taken off, we all worshipped.
+The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who
+was the donor of it. The principal of them were the presents
+of kings....</p>
+
+<p>'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin
+Mary has her residence; it is something dark; it is doubly
+railed in and encompassed about with iron bars. <i>Me.</i> What
+is she afraid of? <i>Og.</i> Nothing, I suppose, but thieves. And
+I never in my life saw anything more laden with riches.
+<i>Me.</i> You tell me of riches in the dark. <i>Og.</i> Candles being
+brought in we saw more than a royal sight. <i>Me.</i> What, does
+it go beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? <i>Og.</i> It
+goes far beyond in appearance. What is concealed she knows
+best. These things are shewn to none but great persons or
+peculiar friends. In the end we were carried back into the
+vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell
+down on their knees and worshipped. <i>Me.</i> What was in it?
+<i>Og.</i> Pieces of linen rags.'</p>
+
+<p>At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim
+was to see the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed,
+and to make offerings at every exhibition of relics.
+Thus on beholding the precious place containing the milk of
+the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the following prayer:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord
+of heaven and earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">{164}</a></span>
+we desire that, being purified by His blood, we may arrive at
+that happy infant state of dovelike innocence in which, being
+void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we may continually desire
+the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we grow up to a
+perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the
+Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.'</p>
+
+<p>On being shown the little chapel which was the actual
+dwelling-place of the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto,
+the pilgrim prostrated himself and recited as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin,
+the most happy of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that
+are impure do now come to visit and address ourselves to thee
+that art pure, and reverence thee with our poor offerings,
+such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable us to
+imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace
+of the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most
+inward bowels of our minds, and having once conceived Him,
+never to lose Him. Amen.'</p>
+
+<p>As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station
+a priest at each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to
+give openly in the sight of all, otherwise they would give
+nothing at all, so great was their piety. Nay, even with this
+stimulus, there were found some who, while they laid their
+offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would steal what
+another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of
+set prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no
+more hesitate to steal from the altar than to commit any other
+offence against morality.</p>
+
+<p>On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims
+were waylaid by roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled
+them with holy water, and showed them St. Thomas's shoe to
+kiss. In fact, what with the treasures brought home by pilgrims,
+presented to archbishops and kings, and sold by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">{165}</a></span>
+pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with
+relics; at the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were
+cupboards filled with holy bones and precious rags; but there
+were too many: the credulity of the people had been tried
+too much and too long. Erasmus shows the profound disbelief
+that he himself, if no other, entertained for the sanctity
+of the relics.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 156px;"><a name="FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH" id="FIFTEENTH_CENTURY_GOLDSMITH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_179a.jpg" width="156" height="330" alt="15TH CENTURY
+GOLDSMITH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">15TH CENTURY
+GOLDSMITH</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 276px;"><a name="RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE" id="RICH_MERCHANT_AND_HIS_WIFE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_179b.jpg" width="276" height="330" alt="RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE,
+14TH CENTURY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE,
+14TH CENTURY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thomas à Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years
+afterwards his remains were transferred from their original
+resting-place by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+to the shrine prepared for them behind the high altar.</p>
+
+<p>Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently
+indicated by the extracts quoted above, was not alone in his
+opinions. Indeed, it required no great wisdom to perceive
+that a religious pilgrimage conducted without the least attention
+to the religious life was a mockery.</p>
+
+<p>Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers
+Plowman, long before, had expressed the same contempt for
+pilgrims:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">{166}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But there is a more serious indictment still.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a
+prisoner for heretical opinions, was allowed to state these
+opinions to Archbishop Arundel. An account remains, written
+by the priest himself, of his arguments and of the Archbishop's
+replies. On the subject of pilgrimage he is very
+strong.</p>
+
+<p>'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and
+so I purpose all my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying
+that suche fonde people wast blamefully God's goods in ther
+veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes upon vicious hostelers,
+which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo
+werkis of mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and
+women. Thes poor mennis goodes and their lyvelode thes
+runners aboute offer to rich priestis, which have mekill more
+lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes they waste
+wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve
+after Goddis will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye,
+and over this foly, ofte tymes diverse men and women of thes
+runners thus madly hither and thither in to pilgrimage borowe
+hereto other mennis goodes, ye and sometymes they stele
+mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never again. Also,
+Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage,
+they will order with them before to have with them both
+men and women that can well syng countre songes and some
+other pilgremis will have with them baggepipes; so that every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">{167}</a></span>
+timme they come to rome, what with the noyse of their synging
+and with the sounde of their piping and with the jangeling
+of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came
+there away with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis.
+And if these men and women be a moneth in their pilgrimage,
+many of them shall be an half year after great jangelers, tale
+tellers, and lyers.'</p>
+
+<p>'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou
+seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou considerest
+not the great trauel of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the
+thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well
+done that pilgremys have with them both singers and also
+pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his
+toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe,
+or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away
+with suche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with soche
+solace the trauel and weeriness of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth."'</p>
+
+<p>From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the
+Tabard Inn, High Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April
+in, or about, the year 1380, it remains for me to show what
+pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the fourteenth century.
+This company met by appointment the night before the day of
+departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met
+by chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or
+for a voyage round the Mediterranean, the members do not
+agree to meet: they find out that a party will start on such a
+date from such a place, and they join it. Part of the business
+of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark, was to organise
+and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As the
+ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the
+voyage there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so
+the Host of the Tabard charged so much for conducting and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">{168}</a></span>
+entertaining the party there and back again. That the company
+was collected in this manner and not by personal agreement,
+is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way in
+which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and
+talked together shows that society of the fourteenth century
+was no respecter of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great
+leveller of rank.</p>
+
+<p>The following is a list of the company:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1.&mdash;A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.&mdash;A
+Prioress: an attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.&mdash;A
+Monk and a Friar. 4.&mdash;A Merchant. 5.&mdash;A Clerk of
+Oxford. 6.&mdash;A Serjeant at Law. 7.&mdash;A Franklin. 8.&mdash;A
+Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry
+Maker, all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.&mdash;A Sailor
+and a Cook. 10.&mdash;A Physician, 11.&mdash;The Wife of Bath.
+12.&mdash;A Town Parson and a Ploughman. 13.&mdash;A Reeve, a
+Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the Poet
+himself.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 140px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182a.jpg" width="140" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 188px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_MERCHANT"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182b.jpg" width="188" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+MERCHANT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+MERCHANT</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 129px;"><a name="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I" id="FOURTEENTH_CENTURY_CRAFTSMAN_I"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_182c.jpg" width="129" height="330" alt="14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">14TH CENTURY
+CRAFTSMAN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">{169}</a></span>
+generally supposed that they rode the whole way to Canterbury,
+which is sixty-six miles, in a single day. Their resting places
+have, however, been found by Professor Skeat. Allow them
+sixteen hours for the journey. This means more than four
+miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that
+in the fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six
+miles a day over such roads as then existed, and at a time
+of year when the winter mud had not yet had time to dry.</p>
+
+<p>It is not without significance that out of the whole number
+a third should belong to the Church. Among them the
+Prioress Madame Eglantine is a gentlewoman who might
+belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and dainty: fond
+of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her eating:
+wearing a brooch,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And aftir, <i>Amor vincit omnia</i>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who
+kept many horses and hounds and loved to hunt the hare.</p>
+
+<p>The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions:
+a wanton man who married many women 'at his
+own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly imposing light
+penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives
+and pins as gifts for the women:&mdash;a wholly worldly loose
+living Limitour.</p>
+
+<p>The character of the Town Parson, brother of the
+Ploughman, is perhaps the most charming of all this
+wonderful group of portraits.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A good man was ther of religioun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And was a povre <span class="smcap">Persoun</span> of a toun;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was also a lerned man, a clerk,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">{170}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in adversitee ful pacient;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Un-to his povre parisshens aboute<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And this figure he added eek ther-to,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And shame it is, if a preest take keep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He sette nat his benefice to hyre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To seken him a chauntrie for soules,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was to sinful man nat despitous,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But in his teching discreet and benigne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By good ensample, was his bisinesse:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But it were any persone obstinat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">{171}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He wayted after no pompe and reverence,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne maked him a spyced conscience,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Sompnour, <i>i.e.</i> Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts,
+was a scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were
+afraid of him: he loved strong meat and strong drink. If he
+found a good fellow anywhere he bade him have no fear of
+the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were in his purse.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as
+the Monk, the Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his
+wallet pardons from Rome; and relics without end: all the
+imagination in the nature of certain classes was lavished upon
+the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power of
+imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of
+St. Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the
+Pardoner did. Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is al my preching, for to make hem free<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a
+Limitour, and a Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge
+of religion: the first a man who dresses like a layman and
+thinks of nothing but of hunting&mdash;what, then, of the Rule?
+The second, and the third, are both corrupt and rotten to the
+very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual life had
+gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been
+described, figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times.
+They form the most trustworthy presentation of the time
+which we possess. The Knight is full of chivalry, truth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">{172}</a></span>
+honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and lusty, is a lover
+and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have
+books than rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen
+were all well-to-do, in easy circumstances: the Physician
+was an astrologer, who understood natural magic, <i>i.e.</i> the influence
+of the stars; and made for his patients images: he
+knew the cause of every malady and how it was engendered&mdash;the
+profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in
+crimson and blue, lined with taffeta and silk&mdash;it would be
+interesting to know when physicians assumed the black dress
+of the last century. Lastly, his study was but little in the Bible.</p>
+
+<p>The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A <span class="smcap">Clerk</span> ther was of Oxenford also,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As lene was his hors as is a rake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For he had geten him yet no benefyce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For him was lever have at his beddes heed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of Aristotle and his philosophye,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But al be that he was a philosophre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And bisily gan for the soules preye<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of studie took he most cure and most hede.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Noght o word spak he more than was nede,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that was seyd in forme and reverence,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">{173}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in
+those days we should perhaps call a 'lower middle class'
+woman than that of the Wyf of Bath? She is dressed in all
+the splendour that she can afford: she frankly loves fine
+dress.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A good <span class="smcap">Wyf</span> was ther of bisyde <span class="smcap">Bathe</span>,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That she was out of alle charitee.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Withouten other companye in youthe;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She hadde passed many a straunge streem;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She coude muche of wandring by the weye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up-on an amblere esily she sat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For she coude of that art the olde daunce.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything
+that is pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">{174}</a></span>
+restlessness of the woman: she can never have enough of
+pilgrimage: she loves the company: the change: the things
+that one sees: the people that one meets. She has journeyed
+three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne:
+apart from the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so
+good an Englishwoman would not neglect the saints of her
+own country: after Canterbury she would pilgrimise to Beverley
+and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and many a local
+saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her
+avowed intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth
+should die. Yet, she declared, she honoured holy virgins.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let them be bred of purëd whete seed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And let us wyves eten barley brede:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And yet with barley bred men telle can<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our Lord Ihesù refreisshed many man.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself
+sings the divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her
+nose: the Limitour plays on the rote: the Miller plays the
+bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full loud:' the Knight's
+son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an accomplishment
+was far more common in the fourteenth than in
+the nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same
+as pilgrims. The latter, however, simply journeyed from home
+to the shrine and back again: the former was under vows of
+poverty, and continually travelled from shrine to shrine.
+The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore, palmers. The
+first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.</p>
+
+<p>When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow
+it is not intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French
+which was spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and
+by English ecclesiastics of higher rank. But why of Stratford<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">{175}</a></span>
+le Bow? Because here was a Benedictine nunnery dating from
+the eleventh century. The beautiful little Parish Church of
+Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The Wyf
+of Bath is 'gat toothed,' <i>i.e.</i> her teeth are wide apart:
+Professor Skeat has discovered that an old superstition
+attaches to such teeth, that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who
+have such teeth will travel far and be lucky. Popular
+superstitions are so long lived that one has little doubt
+about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 371px;"><a name="PEDLAR" id="PEDLAR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_189.jpg" width="371" height="420" alt="PEDLAR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PEDLAR
+<br />
+<i>From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the
+pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one
+day. Is not this conclusion based upon the fact that the last
+tale ends a day and the journey at the same time? Is there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">{176}</a></span>
+anything to prove that the pilgrimage could have been concluded
+in a day there and a day back? Why, I have said that
+it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the best:
+the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about
+three miles an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for
+refreshment. When Cardinal Morton journeyed from Lambeth
+to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he took a whole
+week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company
+of pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the
+Archbishop would not take so much as six days? Add to
+these considerations that Chaucer is a perfectly 'sane' writer:
+his work hangs together: it would have been impossible to get
+through all those stories with the intervals between and the
+times for rest in a single day.</p>
+
+<p>Another point occurs. There was at one time&mdash;I think&mdash;in
+the early days of pilgrimage&mdash;a special service appointed
+for the departure of pilgrims&mdash;a kind of consecration of the
+pilgrimage. There is no hint of such a service in Chaucer or
+in any other writer of the time, so far as I know. There is
+none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth century.
+One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the
+pilgrimage as a thing to be approached in an altogether
+reverential and religious spirit had quite gone out of it even
+when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of Erasmus.</p>
+
+<p>The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the
+manner of talk among the better class of people at that time, are
+curiously modern. Witness the description of the Parson and
+the Parson's Tale, which is a sermon: witness also the contempt
+and hatred of the poet for the shrines of religion: the impostor
+with his relics: the Sompnour and the Friar. Chaucer makes
+the two latter tell stories reflecting on each other, such great love
+had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The poet through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">{177}</a></span>
+his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That highte Ierusalem celestial&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage,
+taking for his text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand
+ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
+good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
+souls.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="MINSTRELS_AD_1480" id="MINSTRELS_AD_1480"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_191.jpg" width="500" height="424" alt="MINSTRELS A.D. 1480" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MINSTRELS A.D. 1480</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So
+was Erasmus. The riding all together: the festive meals at
+the inn: the mixture of men and women of all conditions:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">{178}</a></span>
+the change of thought and scene&mdash;could not but be useful and
+beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and
+revelry, with the 'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains:
+that there was an idle parade of pretended relics, and an
+assumption of virtues and miracles for these relics: we can
+also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity that,
+when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as
+would load a big ship, were gathered together and burned,
+something was not introduced to take the place of pilgrimages
+and make the people move about and get acquainted with
+each other.</p>
+
+<p>What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the
+heretic?</p>
+
+<p>'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter,
+for thou considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore
+thou blamest that thing that is praisable. I say to the
+that it is right well done, that pilgremys have with them both
+syngers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth
+barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore,
+and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or his
+felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a
+baggepipe for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of
+his felow. For with soche solace the trauell and werinesse of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">{179}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX
+<br />
+<br />
+THE LADY FAIR</h2>
+
+
+<p>The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The
+most ancient was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August,
+and annexed to the Priory by Henry I. St. James's Fair was
+held for the benefit of St. James's Lazar House: there was a
+Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to St. Katherine's
+Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded by
+Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton&mdash;the
+Horse Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham:
+at Lambeth. The Lady Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of
+comparatively late foundation, having been established in the
+year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV. empowering the City of
+London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on the 7th, 8th,
+and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such fairs
+appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of
+the mediæval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that
+of Cloth Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon
+Cherry Fair: that of Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for
+cheese. Most of them, however, were general Fairs held for
+the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops were booths arranged
+in order side by side, and in streets. One street was for wool
+and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for spices:
+another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most
+towns had no trade except in provisions and drink. To the
+Fair people came from all quarters to buy or to sell: the
+country housewife laid in her stores of spices, sugar, wine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">{180}</a></span>
+furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that she could not
+make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country
+within reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham,
+and Tooting, to buy their stores for the coming year.
+There was always, from the beginning, something of a festive
+nature about a Fair: the merry crowd suggested feasting and
+good company: the drinking tempted one on every side:
+there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.</p>
+
+<p>When internal communications were improved, and people
+could easily ride or drive to the neighbouring town, the
+permanent shop replaced the temporary booth, and the original
+purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it became, and continued
+until the end, merely a place of amusement, and, until it became
+riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses
+of the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the
+singular fact that the comic actor never ceases out of the land:
+I do not mean the man who can play a comic part to the
+admiration of beholders, but the man who has a genius for
+bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler,
+the posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and
+teacher of animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all
+trained to perform tricks: women danced on the tight rope:
+jugglers tossed knives and balls: men fought with quarterstaff,
+single-sticks, rapier, or fist: there were exhibitions of strange
+monsters: there were strange creatures. The nature of the
+show was proclaimed by a large painted canvas hung outside
+the booth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 449px;"><a name="BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR" id="BOOTH_SOUTHWARK_FAIR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_195.jpg" width="449" height="550" alt="BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I
+saw in Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses
+dance and do other feates of activity on ye tight rope; they
+were gallantly clad <i>à la mode</i>, went upright, saluted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">{181}</a></span>
+company, bowing and pulling off their hats; they saluted one
+another with as good a grace as if instructed by a dancing-master.
+They turn'd heels over head with a basket having
+eggs in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in
+their hands and on their heads without extinguishing them,
+and with vessels of water without spilling a drop. I also saw
+an Italian wench daunce and performe all the tricks of ye
+tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see her. Likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">{182}</a></span>
+here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'</p>
+
+<p>Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion
+was on September 11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the
+Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw Southwark Fair.' Eight
+years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of which he gives
+the following account:</p>
+
+<p>'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty,
+and there saw the puppet-show of Whittington, which is
+pretty to see; and how that idle thing do work upon people
+that see it, and even myself too! And thence to Jacob
+Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I
+never saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took
+acquaintance with a fellow who carried me to a tavern,
+whither came the music of this booth, and by and by Jacob
+Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak, whether he
+ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a
+mighty strong man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine,
+I away.'</p>
+
+<p>Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful
+picture of Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was
+in the daytime, remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not
+shrink from depicting scenes because they were brutal, or
+debauched&mdash;the pen that drew the Rake's midnight orgies
+could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent or
+abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture
+of the Fair in the evening as well as the afternoon we should
+have known why the City grew more and more disgusted at
+the orgies of the Lady Fair until it became impossible to
+tolerate it any longer.</p>
+
+<p>The Fair was held in the open street, between
+St. Margaret's Hill and St. George's Church. Beyond
+St. George's Church was open country, with a few houses,
+&amp;c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">{183}</a></span>
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical
+booths, Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres,
+that of Lee and Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah
+Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of Troy.' At the other Theatre,
+there is a great show cloth called the Stage Mutiny, referring
+to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece promised is the
+'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of the
+actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy
+playing a cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part
+with a magnificent wig and a towering plumed helmet.
+Alas! the great man is arrested at the moment of taking the
+picture: at the same moment the stage outside the booth
+gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.'
+There is a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter
+rides across the stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he
+has received: the dwarf Savoyard plays his bagpipe and
+makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's shop under the
+falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the slack
+rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower
+of St. George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer
+shows some of his tricks outside, but promises marvels inside
+the booth; the rustics gaze in speechless admiration in the
+face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we see the beginning
+of the line of booths, where everything was sold that was
+of no value&mdash;toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes,
+whips, canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings,
+cloth slippers, night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the
+yard, singing birds and cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter
+platters and mugs. All day long the noise went on: it began
+at noon: the people came from the country and from the
+city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time
+immemorial: the children were brought and treated to a
+fairing, the peep-show, and the play, and some gingerbread.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">{184}</a></span>
+In the afternoon the country lads wrestled for a hat&mdash;you can
+see the hat in the picture; and the girls ran a race for a
+smock&mdash;you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun
+of the fair began. Then all the quiet people within hearing
+stopped their ears: and all the decent people ran away: and
+the prentices, the rustics, the roughs of the Mint with their
+correspondencies of the other sex, had their own way until
+the weary players put out their footlights and lay down to
+sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the
+counters and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers'
+assistants. And then, one supposes, the prentices, the rustics,
+and the rogues went home again. And in the morning
+repentance and an aching head, and an empty purse.</p>
+
+<p>We may take it that all the amusements and shows which
+were brought out for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair
+while it lasted, were also exhibited at Southwark.</p>
+
+<p>The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to
+music and with singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds
+formed a large part of the Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,'
+there is an advertisement of dancing in a booth:</p>
+
+<p>'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at
+Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S HEAD Musick Booth, in
+Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn, during
+the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine,
+Mum, Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be
+Sold; and where you will likewise be entertained with good
+Musick, Singing and Dancing. You will see a Scaramouch
+Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter Staff, the
+Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and
+the Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.</p>
+
+<p>'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and
+Jigg, and a Woman that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that
+we Challenge the whole Fair to do the like. There is likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">{185}</a></span>
+a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen Glasses on the
+Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and
+another Young Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well
+to the Admiration of all Spectators! <i>Vivat Rex!!</i>'</p>
+
+<p>And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair
+which we may very well believe to be Lady Fair. They
+tell us</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The various fairings of the country maid.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Long silken laces hang upon the twine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The lads and lasses trudge the street along,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all the fair is crowded in his song.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by
+the King's servants should have raised the character of the
+Fair. Perhaps it did. In any case, the Theatre of the Fair
+was not an unpromising place for a young actor to begin.
+The audience wanted nothing but the presentation of a story,
+and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in the
+fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He
+was therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials
+of his profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of
+the emotions. A stagey manner would be the result of too
+long continuance on these boards, but at the outset no kind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">{186}</a></span>
+practice could be more useful. This was proved by the lovely
+Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the manager of Drury
+Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage,
+where she played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation
+of the finest actress and the most beautiful woman
+known up to that time.</p>
+
+<p>The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice
+in being able to remember one of these delightful shows.
+There was a great booth with a platform in front and canvas
+pictures hung up behind the platform. The orchestra occupied
+one end of the platform, playing with zeal between the performances.
+The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time:
+the clown and the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling,
+stood at the head of the broad stairs clanging cymbals and
+bawling that the play was just about to begin. The price of
+a seat was threepence, with a few rows at sixpence: the play
+lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of persecuted
+and virginal innocence&mdash;in white. The joy of the
+whole performance was to children beyond all power of words:
+the play: the music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the
+rollicking fun of the clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed
+by the roughness of the benches and the grass under
+our feet: and the general festivity of the noise, the music, the
+bawling outside make me remember Richardson's Theatre
+and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.</p>
+
+<p>I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially,
+a place in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that
+with so much dancing, drinking, love-making, singing, playing
+on the flowery slope that the authorities had to interfere.
+It is, indeed, a most melancholy circumstance that the people
+cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in the way they
+would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">{188}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"></a></span>
+other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY" id="GREENWICH_PARK_ON_WHITSUN_MONDAY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_201.jpg" width="600" height="345" alt="GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable&mdash;those
+of Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair
+was founded in the year 1268, so that it was a very ancient
+institution, to be held on three days in the year&mdash;'the Eve, the
+day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of the Fair
+was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke,
+on October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a
+distinctive character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse
+Fair, Charlton became a Horn Fair. The obvious&mdash;and therefore
+popular&mdash;kind of fooling to be made out of horns and
+their associations&mdash;which are now quite lost and forgotten&mdash;as
+well as the day, which was also connected with those associations&mdash;made
+this Fair extremely popular. The people from
+London went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people
+from Greenwich and Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession,
+everyone wearing horns on his head, or carrying
+horns to affix to some other person's head. At the fair itself
+there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front:
+rams' horns were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the
+gingerbread was stamped with horns. The reason of this
+display was one quite forgotten by the people: viz. that a
+horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It was
+customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession,
+in women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see
+Chambers's 'Book of Days') in lashing the women with
+furze: probably in pretence only. The procession was discontinued
+in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.</p>
+
+<p>We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on
+Whit Monday. Long after Bartholomew Fair decayed and
+fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was one of the greatest
+holidays of the year for the London folk of the lower class.
+The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">{189}</a></span>
+the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the
+fun of the booths and the shows.</p>
+
+<p>The former began early in the forenoon and went on
+until the evening. The people came down from London in
+boats for the most part, and by the Old Kent Road in
+vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the whole
+five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled
+with the working classes and the young men and maidens
+belonging to the working classes. The sports were primitive:
+the favourite amusement was for a line of youths and girls to
+run down hill hand in hand. The slope was steep, the pace
+was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling headlong
+or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the
+ring and thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing
+the Cockneys how to dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes
+through which could be seen the men hanging in
+chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or there
+were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every
+man, as it seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall
+into his arms. Outside the Park the street was filled with
+booths where everything could be bought, as at Lady Fair,
+which was worthless, including gingerbread. There were
+theatrical booths, shows of pictures, pantomimes, Punch and
+Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies,
+mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of legerdemain,
+fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock fighting,
+and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening,
+beside the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The
+same cause which led to the suppression of the Lady Fair
+brought about that of Greenwich Fair. It was suppressed,
+I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in 1851, but
+only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">{190}</a></span>
+and making a noise, which, with the bellowing of the show
+folk, the blaring of the bands, the cries of the boys and girls
+on the merry-go-rounds, and the roar of the crowd, one
+will never forget. For my own part I am of opinion that the
+noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on in
+the evening would have gone on just as much outside the
+Fair as in it: and that it did very little harm to let the people
+enjoy themselves in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat
+drunken and somewhat indecent way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">{191}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X
+<br />
+<br />
+ST. MARY OVERIES</h2>
+
+
+<p>London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty.
+One of them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew
+the Great; the other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary
+Overy or Overies, now called St. Saviour's. This church, for
+some unknown reason, does not attract many English visitors.
+Americans go there in great numbers. It is so beautiful: it has
+so many historical associations: that I hope to interest more of
+our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the attractions of
+the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its history.
+These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47)
+given the legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two
+Norman knights, Pont de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the
+twelfth century, found here a small Religious House, called
+the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which had been created
+by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary herself
+was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the
+Lady Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies,
+which ought to be restored to the Church, seems to mean, not
+St. Mary of the Ferry, or St. Mary over the River, but St.
+Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or Shore. These two
+knights founded a new and larger House on the site of Mary
+Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to
+discover, if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman
+House fell into poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had
+the additional misfortune to lose these buildings and their
+Church, which were in great part, if not altogether, destroyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">{192}</a></span>
+by the great fire of that year. A hundred years later the
+monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide
+the bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful:
+that their Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that
+condition for thirty years; that they had been unable to
+rebuild any of it except the campanile; and that they lived
+in constant terror of being inundated by the Thames. This
+shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall into a
+neglected state. At the beginning
+of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort&mdash;Shakespeare's
+Cardinal Beaufort&mdash;contributed
+largely to the rebuilding
+of the Church. Another
+benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the
+last years of his life, died here,
+and was buried in the Church.
+The monument of John Gower
+stands in the north aisle of the
+newly built nave. The Religious
+of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising
+a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone
+who would say a prayer for the soul of the poet.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 253px;"><a name="A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="A_SEAL_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_206.jpg" width="253" height="355" alt="A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 376px;"><a name="SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="SEALS_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_207.jpg" width="376" height="550" alt="SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the
+Bishop of Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene
+of many important historical events. Just as Blackfriars was
+used for political Functions; just as Wyclyf was tried in St.
+Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies was used on occasions
+when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the matter in
+hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in
+1406, with Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">{193}</a></span>
+was given away by Henry IV., and her dowry was 100,000
+ducats. At her death she left the canons 6,000 crowns for
+the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of
+James the First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure
+in Scottish history, a poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond
+of Hawthornden wrote that 'of former Kings it might be said
+that the nation made the Kings, but of this King, that he made
+the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being then thirty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">{194}</a></span>
+years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of
+Cardinal Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King
+Henry IV. The royal pair rode forth to Scotland laden with
+such gifts of plate and cloth of gold as Scotland had never
+before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal and
+his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the
+King was murdered in the presence of his wife, who was
+wounded in trying to save him, a sad ending to a marriage of
+love, and a tragic widowhood to the woman whom her poet
+had called</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The fairest and the freshest younge flower<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR" id="NORTH-EAST_VIEW_OF_ST_SAVIOUR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_208.jpg" width="550" height="471" alt="NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1800" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1800</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">{195}</a></span>
+out, and the place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose
+son became Viscount Montague and gave his new name to the
+ancient close of the Monastery. In the following year the
+Church was made a Parish Church, including the church of Mary
+Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St. Peter-le-Poor
+stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together
+with the Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The
+nave gradually became ruinous and was taken down in 1838,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">{196}</a></span>
+when a new nave, the memory of which makes the whole
+Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put up. Its
+floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick
+wall. This terrible building has now been taken down and a
+nave rebuilt after the pattern of the original structure of the
+fourteenth century. Thus reconstructed, the church will soon,
+it is hoped, become the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of
+Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral organisation,
+being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The
+Church can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished
+company of the dead than can be found in most
+London churches. Here are buried, probably, Mary herself,
+the original founder, if she is not a legendary person:
+Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long
+line of unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the
+Augustinian House: John Gower, on whose monument can
+still be read the prayers he wrote for his own soul:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Père<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sauvé soit qui gist sous cest pierre.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES" id="CRYPT_OF_ST_MARY_OVERIES"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_209.jpg" width="400" height="550" alt="CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the
+first Duke of Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of
+Winchester, is buried in the Lady Chapel, where his monument
+can be seen in black and white marble; Dyer the poet,
+who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence
+Fletcher, one of the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in
+the Church, 1608; Philip Henslow, the manager, buried in the
+chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried in the Church, 1625;
+Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' <i>i.e.</i> belonging to some other
+parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones
+in the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher,
+Edmund Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to
+record that they are buried somewhere in the Church.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">{197}</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;"><a name="GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY" id="GATEWAY_OF_ST_MARY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_211.jpg" width="460" height="441" alt="GATEWAY OF ST. MARY&#39;S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GATEWAY OF ST. MARY&#39;S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by Whichelo</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure,
+commonly found in mediæval churches, of a body wasted by
+death: a wooden effigy of a knight: a monument to a quack
+of Charles the Second's time, and monuments to certain
+persons now forgotten; on one some lines in imitation of
+Herrick:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Like to the damask rose you see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the blossom on the tree,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the dainty flower of May,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the morning of the day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the sun, or like the shade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or like the gourd which Jonas had,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">{198}</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The flower fades, the morning hasteth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The sun sets, the shadow flies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things
+surviving of mediæval London, was very nearly destroyed by
+the ignorant Vandalism of about the year 1835. It was necessary
+in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west of the old
+Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:</p>
+
+<p>'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for
+the better display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that
+the Lady Chapel was swept away. The matter appeared in
+a fair way for being thus settled, when Mr. Taylor sounded
+the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas Saunders,
+Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners,
+however, decided to accept the proposals of the Committee.
+In the meantime, the gentlemen we have named were
+indefatigable in their exertions; and they were effectively
+seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there was
+a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and
+on a poll being demanded and obtained, there ultimately
+appeared the large majority of 240 for its preservation. The
+excitement of the hour was prudently used to obtain funds to
+restore it, which has been most successfully accomplished.'</p>
+
+<p>I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the
+Bishop, as being close to the Priory. On any map may
+be traced the extent of the Palace. On the north is Clink
+Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of the street;
+on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place;
+on the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the
+east is a street running south from St. Mary Overies Church.
+Winchester House, which thus covered a large piece of
+ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a wall. Many of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">{199}</a></span>
+the buildings, especially the great gate, remained standing
+almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony
+of a Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house
+must therefore be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for
+their accommodation. The map must not be accepted as
+laying down the exact site, the distances or the scale, or the
+arrangement of the courts and buildings.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions
+and of the Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary
+and Winchester House had a good deal to do.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_OLD_PRIORY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_213.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many
+melancholy sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester,
+presided at a Court held in St. Mary Overies Church
+for the trial of heretics. The court was actually held in the
+Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they
+were found obstinate: they were committed to the Clink
+Prison hard by: on the next day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome,
+Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and several others,
+they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">{200}</a></span>
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow
+at the uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty
+Taylor, end their course and receive their crowne. The
+next am I, which hourly looke for the Porter to open me the
+gates after them, to enter into the desired rest.'</p>
+
+<p>So began those fires from which the cause of Roman
+Catholicism long suffered, and is even now still suffering. For
+the popular judgment does not discern and separate. The
+burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped together
+in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The
+names, places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms
+as given by Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's
+advisers had deliberately done their best to make their form
+of Faith odious and hateful, they could not have devised a
+better plan than the burning of the people for religion's sake.
+It is generally thought and believed that the indignation of
+the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and preachers
+burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men
+do not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a
+Thomas More on his way to the block: or of a Cromwell:
+with equal indifference: these statesmen do not belong to the
+life of the people. In the Marian persecution they heard that
+Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at Oxford, but they
+offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that Ridley
+and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt,
+touched the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves.
+When, however, they found that not only Bishops and
+great people, but also their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were
+taken out from their workshops and tied three or four together
+to the stake, where they suffered the agonies of the fire and
+still continued to pray aloud with firmness: then the lesson
+went straight home to them; and for many a generation to
+come the people learned to loathe the very name of the religion
+which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred
+for believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">{201}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution
+were taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously
+taught from many centres. There were burnings at
+Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at Westminster: beyond St.
+George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the vast crowds
+which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear and
+hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary,
+1556. 'The xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow,
+in iii cares xiij, xj men and ij women, and there
+bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and there where a xx M pepull.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 347px;"><a name="TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS" id="TOMB_OF_BISHOP_ANDREWS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_215.jpg" width="347" height="420" alt="TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to
+Smythfield to berne between vii and viij in the morning v
+men and ij women: on of the men was a gentyllman of the
+endor tempull, ys nam Master Grén; and they were all bornyd
+by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment throughe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">{202}</a></span>
+London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a
+tyme.'</p>
+
+<p>Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds
+gathered together to witness the sufferings of the victims,
+and to note their constancy in the hour of agony; secondly,
+that the authorities were becoming alarmed at the effect
+which these examples might have upon the young. No
+young people were permitted to be present. We may be
+sure that the prohibition was openly defied.</p>
+
+<p>As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires
+began, stricken, said his enemies, by the hand of God in
+punishment for his cruelties. His physicians, I believe,
+called it gout in the stomach, a reading which one prefers,
+because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them, and
+after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase,
+in the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which
+began at the church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued
+all the way to Winchester, where the place of his burial
+and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it
+shall suffice. It must be remembered that Gardiner was not
+only a very great person, but that he was also believed to be
+the natural son of Bishop Woodville, and, if the belief was
+well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the Queen. But
+this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 474px;"><a name="A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR" id="A_CORNER_IN_ST_SAVIOUR"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_217.jpg" width="474" height="550" alt="A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the
+most reverentt father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and
+bysshope of Wynchastur, prelett of the gartter, and latte
+chansseler of England, and on of the preve consell unto
+Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded; and
+so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth
+of gold, and with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">{203}</a></span>
+bornyng, and iiij grett tapurs; and my lord
+Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord bysshope of
+Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and
+the morow masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the
+sarmon; and so masse done, and so to dener to my lord
+Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse was putt in-to a
+wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower the
+corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys
+armes, and v gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">{204}</a></span>
+and hods, then ij harolds in ther cote armur, master
+Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng, carehyng
+of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the
+way; and then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the
+nombur unto ij C. a-for and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges
+cam prestes and clarkes with crosse and sensyng, and ther
+thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to ever parryche
+tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as
+cam to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 490px;"><a name="ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790" id="ST_SAVIOUR39S_SOUTHWARK_1790"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_218.jpg" width="490" height="444" alt="ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1790" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S, SOUTHWARK, 1790</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the
+south side of the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied
+that part of the ground on the north of the nave: the refectory,
+chapter house and dormitories, and other buildings
+stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">{205}</a></span>
+Overies Dock, which was also the south end of the ferry.
+The dock is there still, but where the wall of the Monastery
+stood, round the Garden, and one could see the orchards
+beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the
+Cloister stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct&mdash;there
+was certainly another on the side of the High Street&mdash;stood
+close to the west front of the Church. The Cloister
+received the name of Montagu Close, after the son of Sir
+Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If you
+pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a
+few fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in
+the wall of the Church; but all traces of the monastic
+buildings are entirely swept away.</p>
+
+<p>The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In
+post-Reformation times there was a school here&mdash;St. Saviour's
+school; there were also almshouses; there was a peaceful
+quiet kind of close, in which was heard the buzz of the boys
+in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in the sun;
+one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church
+lay the bones of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see
+Bishop Hooper and John Rogers stepping forth into the
+sunlight, their trial over, their sentence passed: their cheeks,
+perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes somewhat brightened,
+because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a man's courage
+must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian
+waded through the river, before they reached the shore
+beyond.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">{206}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI
+<br />
+<br />
+THE SHOW FOLK</h2>
+
+
+<p>Southwark was a city of a various population. It had
+great Houses for nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns
+for the reception of merchants, coming up from Kent and
+the south country: it had a riverside people of fishermen and
+watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or down
+stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number
+of residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens
+which spread over the whole of the rich low-lying land now
+embanked, secure from floods and the highest tides. It
+contained, besides, a large number of rogues and vagabonds,
+fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called sanctuary, where
+the officers of the law did not dare to present themselves.
+In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the
+end of the last century, when the so-called Liberties of the
+Mint'&mdash;the last place of sanctuary&mdash;were finally abolished and
+only a slum remained to mark the site of a sanctuary.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"><a name="WINCHESTER_PALACE" id="WINCHESTER_PALACE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_221.jpg" width="396" height="550" alt="WINCHESTER PALACE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WINCHESTER PALACE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show
+Folk of Bankside. When the Show Folk began to live in
+Bankside I know not: their settlement originally was in
+Westminster outside the King's Palace, where there was
+always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling, mumming
+and such recreative performances; they were also,
+however, in great request in London by City Church, city
+company, and city tavern. Now there was no place for them
+within the walls: they had no company: there was neither a
+Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a Mummers';<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">{207}</a></span>
+nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which
+would admit them; there was no ward where they could get
+a street for themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed
+out. And not only were they a class apart but they were a
+class in contempt. It was always held contemptible to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">{208}</a></span>
+provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long
+time after, would take part in the buffoonery which the actor
+had then to exhibit: an atmosphere of disrepute attached
+to the calling, to those who followed the calling, and to the
+place where they lived: in the City, Aldermen had a way of
+connecting nocturnal disorders with these children of melody:
+where they resorted the taverns would carry on their revelries
+after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with
+the dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the
+Church Puritanic, set her face against those who devised
+entertainments, on the ground that the devisers were an ungodly
+and dissolute crew. Therefore they crossed the river.
+On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the City
+could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose&mdash;Heaven knows whether they did
+choose&mdash;without reproach: their taverns kept open house as
+long as they would stop to drink: there was singing every
+day without interference: there was merriment without the
+rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of being haled
+before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was
+no terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river
+was 'put in stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o'
+Sunday.' It was the Bishop of Winchester's Liberty, but he
+was content, on the whole, to leave the residents unmolested
+and in the possession of their guitars, their fiddles, their
+songs and their plays.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="THE_GLOBE_THEATRE" id="THE_GLOBE_THEATRE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_223.jpg" width="550" height="529" alt="THE GLOBE THEATRE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GLOBE THEATRE
+<br />
+(<i>From the Crace Collection</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy
+for them to go across: they were ready at a moment's notice
+to arrange a pageant, or to take part in one: they could
+provide the beauteous maidens in white with long fair tresses
+who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold rose
+nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found
+hermits, and constructed caves for those godly men in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">{209}</a></span>
+midst of Gracious Street: they found the music for the
+dragging of the traitor on a hurdle: for the march of the
+rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the Lord Mayor: for
+the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a miracle
+play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man:
+the Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and
+Goliath: or any other episode from the Bible&mdash;how many
+excellent players there were among them whose names have
+long since been forgotten! They knew how to present a
+Masque&mdash;not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">{210}</a></span>
+Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones&mdash;who commanded the King's
+purse&mdash;but a neat and creditable affair, with dresses appropriate,
+full of surprises, and furnished with mythological
+characters, for the Hall of a City Company on the day of the
+Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more debauched
+kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests&mdash;pity
+they were not rarer&mdash;and excellent fooling by their clowns.
+The modern art of acting did not begin at the Globe
+Theatre: there has never been any time when the actor was
+unknown: the only difference is that he was not formerly
+allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his <i>répertoire</i>: and now he is an artist and
+scorns the tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment
+of modern invention. The Company of Parish Clerks,
+for instance, were great promoters of sacred plays. Their
+poets&mdash;whose names are entirely lost&mdash;provided the words and
+arranged the scenes; the members of the company played
+the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they provided
+the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music.
+Many of the Parish Churches had their annual play on their
+Saint's Day. Thus the Parish Church of St. Margaret, which
+was taken down when St. Mary Overies' became St. Saviour's,
+had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July 20), and often
+another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well.
+We have already observed that the Londoner of old
+never made any difference in the matter of Play or Pageant
+whether the time was summer or winter. He was like the
+Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his Riding, or his
+Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in July.</p>
+
+<p>Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal,
+were the people who looked after the bears and the dogs.
+Bull baiting, bear baiting, sometimes horse baiting, together
+with badger baiting, duck hunting, cock throwing, dog<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">{211}</a></span>
+fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and common
+sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was
+wherever there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the
+centre and headquarters of the sport was South London, in
+the place called Paris Gardens. The popularity of the sport
+is shown by the simple facts that there was not only bull and
+bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or amphitheatres
+for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite
+St. George's Church, there was permanently established the
+bull ring to which an animal could be tied whenever one was
+found fit for the purpose of affording an hour's sport by the
+madness of his rage or the agonies of his death.</p>
+
+<p>The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the
+site of Paris Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They
+extended to the distance of about a quarter of a mile south
+of the river: sluggish streams and ditches ran across and
+round the gardens, which were so thickly planted with trees as
+to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil.
+These gardens were the chief home of the rough and cruel
+sports already mentioned: here were kept under the King's
+bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's dogs; and the
+bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young
+bull that was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears
+were not killed, they were all known to the people by name,
+such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson, and were valued in
+proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who with
+the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought
+over every day from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly
+fierce and savage. In these days we hardly know
+what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has become peaceful:
+formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog who
+was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">{212}</a></span>
+trained to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to
+wayfarers&mdash;remember the dog in the second part of the
+'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always biting and rending
+some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed only by
+affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these
+days. Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull
+dogs who feared no one but their master, a man might
+journey from end to end of the country armed with nothing
+but a club. Such a dog would fight and would overcome a
+man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and
+stronger than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had
+horns and hoofs to dodge: but the bear afforded the best
+sport both for man and dog: he presented a nose and ears
+and a thick fur on which to spring, and to fasten the canine
+teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn and
+bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though
+in the end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the
+inside of the dog, with the heart and the breath of life!</p>
+
+<p>It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In
+a contemporary Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors,
+on May 25, 1559, were entertained at Court with a dinner,
+and after dinner with a bull and bear baiting, the Queen herself
+looking on from a gallery: the next day they were taken down
+the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris Gardens. Forty
+years later James the First entertained the Spanish Ambassador
+after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg
+paid a visit to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:</p>
+
+<p>'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in
+London the English dogs, of which there were about 120, all
+kept in the same enclosure, but each in a separate kennel.</p>
+
+<p>'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two
+bears and a bull were baited; at such times you can
+perceive the breed and mettle of the dogs, for although they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">{213}</a></span>
+receive serious injuries from the bears, are caught by the
+horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as frequently to
+fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them
+back by the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at
+once were set on the bull; they, however, could not gain any
+advantage over him, for he so artfully contrived to ward off
+their attacks that they could not well get at him; on the
+contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by striking and
+butting at them.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="BEAR_GARDEN" id="BEAR_GARDEN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_227.jpg" width="500" height="360" alt="BEAR GARDEN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BEAR GARDEN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is
+furnished by Hentzner in 1598:</p>
+
+<p>'There is still another place, built in the form of a
+Theatre, which serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they
+are fastened behind, and then worried by those great English
+dogs (<i>quos linguâ vernaculâ "Docken" appellant</i>), and mastiffs,
+but not without great risks to the dogs from the teeth of the
+one and the horns of the other, and it sometimes happens
+they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">{214}</a></span>
+supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a
+blinded bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing
+in a circle with whips, which they exercise upon him without
+any mercy; although he cannot escape from them because of
+his chain, he nevertheless defends himself vigorously, throwing
+down all who come within his reach and are not active
+enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere
+else, the English are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed,
+which in America is called <i>Tobaca</i>&mdash;others call it <i>P&#339;tum</i>&mdash;[i.e.
+<i>Petun</i>, the Brazilian name for Tobacco, from which the
+allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its appellation,] and
+generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose made
+of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so
+dry that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they
+draw the smoke into their mouths, which they puff out again
+through their nostrils like funnels, along with it plenty of
+phlegm and defluxion from the head. In these Theatres,
+fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the season,
+are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'</p>
+
+<p>Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about
+the country leading a bear which they offered to be baited
+for so much an hour at the inns which they passed. The
+master of the 'King's Game' had power to seize upon any
+mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and to bait
+in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn,
+both actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had
+licence to apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and
+bulls.</p>
+
+<p>There was another place where the refining influence of
+the bear baiting might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved
+in the lane called Bear Garden Alley. In Agas's map of
+1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the 'Bear Baiting:' a
+little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called the 'Bull<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">{215}</a></span>
+Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings erected
+for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition
+to the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary.
+It is learnedly discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London
+Theatres'). The Spanish Ambassador in 1544 describes a
+bear baiting&mdash;but he does not say exactly where he saw it.
+'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think, however,
+that he must mean Paris Gardens:</p>
+
+<p>'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears,
+some of them very large; they are driven into a circus, where
+they are confined by a long rope, while large and courageous
+dogs are let loose upon them as if to be devoured, and a fight
+takes place. It is not bad sport to witness the conflict. The
+large bears contend with three or four dogs, and sometimes
+one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves
+with their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their
+forelegs, that, if they were not rescued by their masters, they
+would be suffocated. At the same place a pony is baited,
+with a monkey on its back, defending itself against the dogs
+by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony,
+render the scene very laughable.'</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain
+'Epigrams' against abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see
+Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p. 8).</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i8">Every Sunday they will spend<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris
+Gardens, because an accident happened there.</p>
+
+<p>'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure
+of the clock in the afternoon, the old and under-propped
+scaffolds round about the Beare Garden, commonly called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">{216}</a></span>
+Paris Garden, on the south side of the great river Thames
+over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons,
+men and women, were slaine and many others sore hurt and
+bruised to the shortening of their lives. A friendly warning
+to all that delight themselves in the cruelties of beastes than
+in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true, professed faith,
+which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)</p>
+
+<p>The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.</p>
+
+<p>The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance,
+might get loose. Once the blind bear got loose: it was on
+December 9, 1554, and on the Bankside, probably at the
+amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught a serving
+man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by
+the hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).</p>
+
+<p>Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs
+spring up a rabble rout who made their living by them: the
+bearward, the serving man who kept the kennels, fed the
+dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears, looked after the
+amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided the
+drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there
+is a small square place which I take to be the survival of an
+open court in front of the circus. There is here a small
+tavern: the house itself is not ancient, but I believe that it
+stands on the site of the house which provided wine and beer
+for the spectators of the bear baiting. These sports, with
+others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds of
+people gathering together: the music which accompanied
+everything: caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places.
+Another attraction to the place may be only hinted
+at in these pages. Suffice it to say that all the profligate,
+all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the lovers of sport among
+the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside every
+evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">{217}</a></span>
+there they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured
+animals to their hearts' content.</p>
+
+<p>It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond
+it&mdash;the pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into
+the open country on every side of the City walls, but there
+was no place so pleasant as the Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside:
+none that offered so many and such various attractions.
+The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a play was
+forward: the number of those who loved the play more than
+the baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the
+citizens did not love the green fields and the woods: and these
+lay behind Paris Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking
+of the dogs and the roar of the crowd and the blare of the
+music and the stink of the kennels. Every summer evening
+the river was crowded with the boats taking the people across
+to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and
+Old Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As
+for the watermen, John Taylor, the water poet, says that there
+were 40,000 of them plying between Windsor and Gravesend,
+while the number of people who were carried over every day
+to the plays on Bankside was three or four thousand. Forty
+thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen
+in mid stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the
+highway between London and all riverside places; between
+London and Westminster; between London and Southwark,
+because even if one lived close to the bridge it was easier and
+quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over the
+bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people
+across the river every day would not want more than a
+thousand boats or two thousand watermen: at the same time
+the loss of their custom, which happened when the people
+went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for their play, would
+be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.</p>
+
+<p>We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">{218}</a></span>
+attracted less than the play acting: when the amphitheatres
+were turned into theatres: and when Bankside became the residence
+of the poets and the players. They came; unfortunately
+the other people did not go away. There remained the tribe
+of them who made the music and found the dancers and the
+tumblers, the mummers and the conjurers: there remained
+the men&mdash;a rough and brutal lot&mdash;who looked after the bears
+and the dogs: the men who wielded quarterstaff and showed
+sword play, a swaggering and bullying company: there remained
+the young bloods who came over from their peaceful
+shops and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation
+and talk of the place: there remained the ribald crew of men
+and women who naturally belong to such gatherings. There
+was another population at Westminster outside the King's
+House like unto this at Southwark: these, too, existed for the
+amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest
+class of London City. The poets came, therefore, to this
+place in order to be near these theatres: they brought no
+improvement in example, in morals, or in manners: they
+lived among the people, and their lives were mostly as disorderly
+and their morals as loose as the company among
+whom they walked and talked.</p>
+
+<p>Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be
+noted, consisted of two parts, the one wholly distinct from
+the other. The first part was the High Street with its four
+churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's, St. Olave's, and St.
+Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two Debtors'
+Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented
+by merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of
+packhorses, and of receiving as many waggons as could fill
+the courtyard. The Palaces were mostly gone, turned into
+inns or tenements. The whole place was a great House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">{219}</a></span>
+Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no civic
+or corporate existence. But it was respectable.</p>
+
+<p>The other part lay on the west of the High Street,
+stretching along the river nearly as far as Lambeth. This
+was the disreputable quarter, the place of amusement: the
+people who lived there, one and all, made the providing of
+amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of livelihood.
+It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was
+sold, and there were no booths except those of Ursula, with
+roast sucking pig, black puddings, custards, and gingerbread.
+From every tavern all day long came the tinkling of
+the guitar and the trolling of some lusty voice and the silvery
+notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon because nature
+taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head from
+side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and
+pipe going before him. After him came the dogs straining
+at the chain which held them, barking madly in anticipation
+of the fight. Or it was a young bull who was led by
+two men to the ring where he would defend his life as long as
+the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of
+citizens and their wives, who made for the theatre where the
+flag was flying. On the open bank were placed tables for those
+who drank: the balladmonger sang his songs and sold them
+afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and went through
+his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London
+was there a scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than
+on Bankside, on an afternoon or evening in the summer.
+And then to go home again across the broad and peaceful
+river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the river, like the
+sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats, and
+still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the
+soft breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">{220}</a></span>
+and the voices of those who sang, and the baying of the
+hounds from Paris Gardens.</p>
+
+<p>The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves
+many questions, and may be safely left to the antiquarian
+historian. The reader will find most of these
+questions raised and settled in a book, already quoted here,
+by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses,
+here as early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII.
+Gardiner proposed to have a solemn dirge in memory of the
+King, but, he complained to the Council, the players of
+Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in
+earnest.'</p>
+
+<p>Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether
+they acted in the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had
+a moveable stage, I do not know. It is, however, quite certain
+that before the end of the sixteenth century there were four
+theatres in Bankside&mdash;the <i>Rose</i>, whose site was somewhere
+in Rose Alley: the <i>Hope</i> in Bear Garden Lane: the <i>Swan</i> in
+Paris Gardens&mdash;that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars
+Road, not far from the Bridge: and the <i>Globe</i>. The site of
+the Globe is generally allowed to have been at a spot 150
+feet south of Park Street, close to the Southwark Bridge
+Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more or
+less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously
+to the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player
+lived beside the theatre, and the place was the pleasure
+resort of the people, and the haunt of sporting men, and the
+school of the citizens, in history at least: and the pride and
+glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and
+villanies practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness
+of those who lived upon the Bank.</p>
+
+<p>The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">{221}</a></span>
+milder attacks which threatened from time to time were a deadly
+enemy to the players, for then the theatre must be closed
+and the Bear Garden too, for in crowds there was infection.
+Think what it meant to close these places of resort. The
+Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper&mdash;the Company:
+there were the servants 'in the front' and the servants
+behind, the 'supers,' the money takers, the boys who went
+round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale, new books and
+tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres
+must have thrown out of employ many hundreds of men,
+and, if we consider their wives and families, many thousands
+of people. Can we wonder if the players, one and all, were
+Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which allowed
+them their daily bread?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre" id="The_Bear_Garden_and_Hope_Theatre"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_235.jpg" width="550" height="341" alt="The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre 1616" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit
+prevailed. When the Parliament conquered, the theatres
+were doomed. And in 1655, by command of Thomas
+Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">{222}</a></span>
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same
+year it is mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been
+destroyed to make room for tenements.</p>
+
+<p>The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic
+spirit was rapidly growing stronger could not possibly be
+held in good repute. There was dancing in it: music:
+mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these things the
+misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The
+Mayor, long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never
+allow a theatre to be set up within his jurisdiction: had that
+jurisdiction extended beyond the various Bars: had there not,
+fortunately, happened to exist certain illogical and absurd
+Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no authority,
+there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare,
+no Ben Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things
+happened, we have to note the very remarkable fact that
+while the popular love for the theatre increased year by year;
+while the theatre became the teacher of history, the satirist of
+manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers and
+preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not
+at all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into
+the hands of the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the
+father of one of the most famous players, Nathan Field,
+wrote to the Earl of Leicester as early as 1585 reviling him
+for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil men as of late you
+did for players, to the great griefe of all the godly,' and
+adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes
+and plays.' And the same divine, two years later,
+wrote an attack upon the theatre in consequence of the accident
+at Paris Gardens which has been already mentioned.
+The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War, but it
+was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration
+allowed it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">{223}</a></span>
+continues, in a now feeble and impotent way, to
+consider the Theatre as the chosen home of the Devil.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 393px;"><a name="INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE" id="INTERIOR_OF_THE_OLD_SWAN_THEATRE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_237.jpg" width="393" height="550" alt="INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready
+to meet all comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one
+Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary Overies, denounced the Theatre
+and all connected with it. Field answered him manfully,
+telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in preaching
+from his pulpit against people who are licensed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">{224}</a></span>
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal
+to the task of covering the preacher with derision; but
+derision seldom convinces or converts.</p>
+
+<p>The general opinion of players remains that they have at
+all times been a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;'
+borrowing; spending their money in riotous living. This
+opinion is not by any means always true. The musician, the
+mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all regarded much
+in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight like
+the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did
+not, like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not
+heal the sick; they knew no law; their only function in the
+world was to amuse; to make men laugh. It is very remarkable
+that directly the players ceased to be dependent on
+noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform,
+they became prudent men of business. They may have been a
+cheerful tribe; they were, however, well to do, and, so far as can
+be learned, a thrifty tribe. They made money, not by writing
+plays, nor by acting them, but by being shareholders in
+the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare,
+all appear to have lived in comfort, and to have died
+possessed of moderate fortunes.</p>
+
+<p>The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always
+been, penniless and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth
+century the earliest of the dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele,
+Nash, Greene&mdash;that turbulent roystering profligate band whom
+everybody loved while everybody reproved&mdash;had passed away.
+The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives.
+Yet they were often harassed for want of money. Three of
+them, Massinger, Field and Daborne, write to Henslow asking
+for an advance of 5<i>l.</i> on the security of a play which is worth
+ten pounds in addition to what they have had. All those, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">{225}</a></span>
+fact, were poor, and remained poor, who attempted to live by
+poetic literature alone.</p>
+
+<p>The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let
+us consider the Company of Actors who played at the Globe
+and the Rose, the Hope and the Lion, and lived on and near
+the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's (see Rendle's
+'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the actors
+who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised
+here or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately,
+does not occur. Among the actors, and first and
+chief, was Richard Burbage&mdash;like Shakespeare, a Warwickshire
+man. In person he was under the middle stature, and
+grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who
+built the very first permanent theatre&mdash;called The Theatre at
+Shoreditch. In consequence of a dispute with the landlord,
+he pulled down the house, carried the timbers across the river
+to Bankside, and set up the Globe.</p>
+
+<p>There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded
+Tarlton in that line. He was a great dancer: on one occasion
+he danced all the way from Norwich to London, taking
+nine days for the work: he was accompanied by one Thomas
+Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with
+him along the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow
+of infinite drollery, with jokes and acting such as pleased
+the 'groundlings' well. There was a kind of entertainment
+popular at the time called a jig. It was a monologue for
+the most part, but might be played by two or more, in which
+the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was
+like the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This
+worthy lived in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of
+his death.</p>
+
+<p>Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He
+also lived in the Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">{226}</a></span>
+He survived the suppression of Theatres, and in his old age
+had no craft or art or mastery by which to earn his bread
+save that which was proscribed. He wrote for assistance to
+a patron, and he quoted the lover's words applied to the
+beggar:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Silence in love betrays more woe<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Than words, though ne'er so witty;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The beggar that is dumb, you know,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Deserves a double pity.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be
+forgotten. He attracted Tarlton's attention when a mere
+boy. The veteran comedian adopted him and taught him.
+I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor to
+that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester
+as&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Honest gamesome Robert Armin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he
+was also Nathan Field the dramatist. He brought into the
+latter profession the carelessness about money that belonged
+to the former. There are indications&mdash;only indications, it is
+true&mdash;that there was in him something of the temperament of
+a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a constitutional inability
+to understand the meaning of addition and subtraction or the
+translation of money into its equivalent in eating and drinking.
+He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And is the true Othello of the poet:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That like the character he is most jealous.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If it be so, and many living sweare it,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It takes not little from the actor's merit,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Field can display the passion to the life.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">{227}</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and
+Armin, carried on the traditions of low comedy. He was
+great in the invention of 'jigs.' A notable 'jig' was that
+called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several performers took
+part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a 'Schanke, a
+player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news
+that there had been a great battle in which the London
+Companies had been cut to pieces, and 20,000 men had
+fallen on both sides. They spread their news as they rode
+through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle
+at all, but that those three men&mdash;Captain Wilson, Lieutenant
+Whitney, and one Schanke, a player&mdash;were simply runaways.
+Therefore they were all clapped in the Gatehouse, and brought
+to undergo punishment according to martial law 'for their
+base cowardliness.'</p>
+
+<p>One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians
+never becomes extinct. That power of always seizing on the
+comic side in everything, of always being able to make an
+audience laugh throughout a whole piece, is never, happily,
+taken away from a world which would be too sad without it.
+Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the
+comic man, whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as
+humorous as his words, never fails us. Tarlton is followed
+by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by Schanke. So Robson
+follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.</p>
+
+<p>There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier
+finds out what parts they played and where they lived. Alas!
+He tells us no more. Perhaps there is no more to tell. The
+rank and file of the theatrical company are never a very
+interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey, Eccleston, Cowley,
+Cooke, Sly, Argan&mdash;they are shadows that have long since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">{228}</a></span>
+passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten
+by the audience the day after they were dead. Why
+seek to revive their memory when there is not a single solitary
+fact to go upon? A bone would be something: out of the
+skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct his life, with all
+the adventures, love-making, disappointments, distresses and
+triumphs.</p>
+
+<p>We know the place where they all lived; the place of a
+continual Fair without any booths, yet everything offered for
+sale: the music to cheer your heart&mdash;you could command it
+had you money in purse; the wine to raise your courage&mdash;you
+could call for it; the dancing to charm your eye&mdash;any girl
+would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts&mdash;but you must pay for your seat; the
+jig to bring you back to the level of earth&mdash;or perhaps a little
+lower&mdash;you could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of
+the Swan in the Hoope were directed to your purse; the
+ruffians belonging to the kennels and the bear garden; the
+drawers of the taverns and the sack and the tobacco, the
+boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The players
+lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd:
+sometimes one of their women is ducked for a shrew; one of
+them is clapped in the Clink Prison: some are haled before
+the Bishop for acting in Lent&mdash;these unreasonable people
+really object to starving in Lent! And the place and the
+people and their manners and customs are deplorable but
+delightful; they are picturesque to the highest degree, but
+they are equally reprehensible. I wish we could go back four
+hundred years and see and listen for ourselves: but with all
+our admiration for the Elizabethan drama, I do not think that
+I should like to be one of the Show Folk or to live with them
+in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of the
+Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">{229}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII
+<br />
+<br />
+BELOW BRIDGE</h2>
+
+
+<p>'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes:
+Horselydown, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich,
+and Woolwich. The railway has ruined one end of
+Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St. Olave's Street.
+Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at all.
+Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow
+street was once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had
+here, opposite St. Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here
+the Abbot of St. Augustine had his Inn: and here, we have
+seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf. Here was the
+Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across
+the bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient,
+to Tooley Stairs; some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to
+Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay along Tooley Street
+and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and gardens:
+a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St.
+Saviour's Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most
+industrious in the whole of London. It is called Horselydown,
+the derivation of which seems obvious, but derivations
+are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take
+it for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at
+Roques' map of 1745, that there were meadows where horses
+grazed as soon as the embankment was up, and the ground
+drained. There was some kind of common here at one time:
+here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites were
+buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">{230}</a></span>
+industries made their appearance in the eighteenth century,
+but they came gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable
+variety as regards occupations. All along the river
+and the bank of the Dock, formerly Savoy Dock, there are
+wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries, leather
+warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin
+dyeing works, breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper
+mills, dyeing works, dog's food manufactories, vinegar works,
+bottle works, iron foundries, wooden hoop manufactories,
+cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit manufactories, oil and
+colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works, and distilleries.
+All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses
+are houses for the workmen and the foremen. On the south
+side stands the Church, almost the ugliest Church in London:
+next to the Church is, or was, a few years ago, a street which
+has something of the look and feeling of a Close.</p>
+
+<p>It is a great pity that in the whole of South London
+lying east of the High Street there is not a single beautiful,
+or even picturesque Church. Look at them! St. Olave's,
+St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Mary,
+Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It
+cannot be pretended that these structures inspire veneration
+or even respect. You may see drawings of them in Maitland.
+St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737, St. John's, Horselydown, in
+1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St. Mary, Rotherhithe,
+in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the steeple
+was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of
+the church architecture of nearly the same period.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN" id="A_FETE_AT_HORSELYDOWN"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_245.jpg" width="500" height="368" alt="A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+<br />
+(<i>From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of all the quarters and parts of London that of
+Horselydown is the least known and the least visited, except
+by those whose business takes them there every day. There is,
+in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves block out the river:
+the warehouses darken the streets, the places where people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">{231}</a></span>
+live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make
+one desire to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock,
+we find ourselves in quite a different quarter: the wharves are
+arranged along the river wall, called the Bermondsey Wall,
+but behind the wharves there are fewer factories and more
+people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to live in:
+of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even
+any access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs:
+the 'works' are those whose near neighbourhood is not generally
+desired: places where they make leather and curry it: or
+where they make glue or vinegar. Fortunately, however, the
+good people of Bermondsey are spared the handling of
+tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and
+it occupies, including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey,
+and Rotherhithe, something like a quarter of a million, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">{232}</a></span>
+is a good-sized city in itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's
+Dock we may step aside to look at two streets, which fifty
+years ago represented the lowest kind of vice and brutality,
+and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street and
+London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to
+adorn his 'Oliver Twist'&mdash;lugged in, for indeed it does not
+belong there.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's
+'London Illustrated' in the year 1806.</p>
+
+<p>The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of
+the dirt has been washed away.</p>
+
+<p>It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's
+cottages or residences which shall be beautiful. First there
+is the slum with a row of two- or four-roomed cottages in a
+narrow court: the windows are broken: the banisters of the
+staircase are broken away to be burned: the sanitary appliances
+are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step
+is to build streets for working men in places where the ground
+is not too valuable. Thus the town of Bromley near Bow
+sprang into existence. It consists entirely of monotonous
+streets with monotonous houses, all small, all ugly, all built
+after the same pattern: the result being dreary and dispiriting.
+Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating
+the working classes by the hundred thousand. There
+is not the smallest attempt at making these places beautiful:
+they are simple cubes of grey brick with rows and lines of
+windows. Outside they may be models of economy in space.
+Once within, they may be models of convenience; but there
+is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family
+on family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated
+by the founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy;
+the children are demoralised: there are dangers not expected,
+and temptations not considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">{233}</a></span>
+of Southwark and Bermondsey are not, in every
+respect, adapted to a model population.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to
+get at the river, except at two or three spots where the old
+stairs can be approached by a narrow passage. There is an
+embankment or terrace: the whole bank is occupied for
+commercial purposes: business men do not like strangers on
+these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If,
+however, the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes&mdash;say, on
+Saturday afternoon&mdash;get down to the stairs and look out upon
+the river, he will see close at hand, not only the ships and
+barges that lie about the wharves, but the grand new Watergate
+of London, the most appropriate entrance that could be
+devised to the port&mdash;the new Tower Bridge.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE" id="THE_OLD_ELEPHANT_AND_CASTLE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_247.jpg" width="500" height="379" alt="THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began
+the houses, until fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until
+Rotherhithe itself consisted of little more than a single street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">{234}</a></span>
+with docks, and stairs, and taverns on the riverside, and on
+the other side lanes leading to cottages and cottage gardens.
+The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807, but the place
+still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river
+flowed on the north and east. Like all the country about the
+Thames, it was low-lying, and originally a marsh. Even
+as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained, and a good
+part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now
+called Southwark Park Road&mdash;why could they not leave
+the old name, Blue Anchor Road?&mdash;even in 1830 wound
+through a marsh covered with ditches and ponds. On the
+east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of
+ponds and islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running
+into the river at Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams
+lay or flowed at will over the levels, making islands which
+were approached by bridges. The character of the place was
+entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the last part of
+London where there lingered still the appearance of a marsh.
+The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence
+Island; the Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond;
+Broom Fields; Halfpenny Hatch, repeated more than once.
+The numerous Ropewalks scattered about show that the ground
+was cheap, and the factories where they make glue, soap,
+brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 478px;"><a name="VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD" id="VIEW_NEAR_THE_STORE-HOUSE_DEPTFORD"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_249.jpg" width="478" height="550" alt="VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more
+interesting, namely, Deptford. They have done their best to
+spoil Deptford of late years: they have taken away the
+old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new streets: but
+a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago,
+reconstructing the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of
+1886. It is like reconstructing the face in youth from a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">{235}</a></span>
+portrait in middle life. I succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction,
+and, I hope, to the satisfaction of my readers when
+the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared as the background
+of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted chiefly
+of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new
+church in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there
+was the Hall where the Brethren of the Trinity House
+assembled every year before their service at St. Nicolas and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">{236}</a></span>
+their feast at their house on Tower Hill. The town was full
+of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not remarkable for
+the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on the
+contrary, they despised such ways&mdash;'their fashions I hate, like
+a pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all
+the time they were ashore, except when they were drinking
+and taking tobacco at the tavern&mdash;these occupations, truly,
+left the honest fellows less time for love than might have been
+expected. There were officers' taverns and seamen's taverns:
+rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And, really,
+it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower
+ranks: bad food on board: long years of foreign service: and
+for all the gallantry that these brave fellows showed in service
+not a word of thanks: not a hint at promotion.</p>
+
+<p>The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were
+shops, but poor things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables
+were brought in from the country round: within a few
+steps of the town one was in the loveliest country, with the
+Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and under the
+branches of willows and of alders.</p>
+
+<p>The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the
+Eighth, and continued till 1869. It was at Deptford that
+most of the ships were built for the Royal Navy in the sixteenth
+and seventeenth centuries: it was here that Drake's
+ship, the <i>Golden Hind</i>, in which he had made his voyage
+round the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of
+entertainment. She remained here, an object of pilgrimage
+for the Londoners, for many years. She was a good deal cut
+about, because everybody wanted to carry away a piece of
+her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One pious
+archæologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented
+it to the Bodleian Library.</p>
+
+<p>Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">{237}</a></span>
+of the Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the
+morning, and seeing the seamen exercise, which they do
+already very handsomely. Then to dinner.... After dinner
+and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked to
+the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard,
+where I had a look into the tarhouses and other places, and
+took great notice of all the several works belonging to the
+making of a cable.'</p>
+
+<p>It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich,
+'where I stood with great pleasure an hour or two by her
+bedside, she lying prettily in bed.' During the plague year,
+when he and his wife were staying at Woolwich, he goes over
+to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually feasting
+with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague
+was slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.</p>
+
+<p>Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was
+Peter the Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture.
+The people of the town had the satisfaction of seeing
+the Czar of Muscovy&mdash;not quite so great a man then as he is
+now&mdash;smoking a pipe of tobacco and drinking brandy in
+their taverns every evening. By day they might see him
+working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a
+ship and its gear.</p>
+
+<p>The most interesting person, however, who is connected
+with the annals of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.</p>
+
+<p>Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a
+great statesman: he was not great in anything that he did:
+yet his memory remains, and will remain long after that of
+much stronger men has been forgotten. He wrote a great
+deal, and since some of his writings survive after three
+hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his
+own skin. In order to avoid being dragged into the army
+and fighting for the cause which he loved, he went abroad
+and travelled in Europe for four years, during which time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">{238}</a></span>
+royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought for it were
+ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back
+to France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had
+made many discoveries and observations on art and antiquities.
+He also married a wife, the daughter of Charles's
+ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he obtained possession
+of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks, one
+of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he
+lived till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the
+founders and first Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a
+member of many commissions: he was the first Treasurer of
+Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held many other offices.</p>
+
+<p>In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and
+the accomplishments of this estimable man:</p>
+
+<p>'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a
+visit to Mr. Evelyn, who among many other things showed me
+most excellent painting in little: in distemper; in Indian
+ink; water colours; graving: and above all, the whole secret
+of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very pretty,
+and good things done with it. He read to me very much also
+of his discourse he hath been many years and now is about,
+about Gardening, which will be a most noble and pleasant
+piece. He read me part of a play or two of his making;
+very good, but not as he conceits them, I think, to be. He
+showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book
+of several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however,
+and look very finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most
+excellent person he is, and must be allowed a little for
+conceitedness; but he may well be so, being a man so
+much above others.'</p>
+
+<p>His memory survives on account of the personal character
+of the man which is revealed in his works, and of the high
+opinion in which he was held. 'A typical instance,' says his
+latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat. Biog.'), 'of the accomplished
+and public-spirited country gentleman of the Restoration, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">{239}</a></span>
+pious and devoted member of the Church of England, and a
+staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the
+manners of the court.' Above all things, it might be added,
+he was a gardener, and all gardeners are amiable and all
+gardeners are personally popular.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH" id="GEORGE_HOTEL_BOROUGH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_253.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is
+little else in Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The
+Almshouse known as Norfolk College must not be forgotten,
+however. It is on the east side of the Hospital, and stands
+behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The College
+consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small
+hall or common room, with gardens at the back. This kind
+of almshouse is common, but it is difficult to build it so that
+it shall not be beautiful. Norfolk College is quite a beautiful
+place. Finer and larger is Morden College, up the hill,
+designed for decayed merchants.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">{240}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk
+College the houses stop suddenly: on the tongue of land
+projecting north formed by a loop of the river there are
+hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary flat as far
+as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered
+by continuous houses which begins at Battersea ends at
+Greenwich.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">{241}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII
+<br />
+<br />
+THE LATER SANCTUARY</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the
+refuge of those who had fallen into temptation became, as
+we know, the resort of the rogue, the murderer, and the
+habitual criminal. Within the precincts of St.-Martin's-le-Grand
+were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of
+Westminster was a scandal and a disgrace. These places
+had been finally abolished after much trouble: the City
+officers could march their rogues to Newgate without fear
+of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of Westminster
+could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers
+from Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding
+and seeking sanctuary was too deep-rooted to be quickly
+abolished. Perhaps there was something comfortable in the
+thought that there should be a place, however small, where
+the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues
+should be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance,
+perhaps: it was a gleam of sunshine on the path of the outlaw.
+So the custom was continued well into the eighteenth
+century. In this chapter I am going to recall the memory
+of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature
+says little about them. But it says enough to show that there
+were places dotted about London which served all the purposes
+of the old sanctuaries without the restraints of ecclesiastical
+government: in fact, there was no government, except on
+purely democratic principles. In these places lived rogues
+and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">{242}</a></span>
+his man&mdash;observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not.
+Why was this? Because the London rogue had a sense of
+justice: no man could expect to go on for ever: when a
+man's time was up, let him give place to his successor. The
+thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official: it was his
+duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up
+when he was called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and
+get hanged in due course. Otherwise, there would have been
+no living to be made by the rogues on account of the competition
+of numbers. The name of Alsatia had been long
+forgotten, but the asylum still remained.</p>
+
+<p>In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with
+the Alsatia of Fleet Street. There were other places equally
+secure for rogues, besides Alsatia. Such were Whetstone
+Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's Rents, Holborn;
+Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and others.
+All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them
+to scatter; not by marching off the whole population to
+prison; but by the slower and more gradual process of
+transformation. This process began when the parts and
+places around became respectable. There is something
+chilling and repellent to the common rogue about the
+proximity of respectability: he does not like to be in its
+neighbourhood: in this way these degenerate and unlawful
+sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone remained,
+when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark&mdash;that part which is still a slum&mdash;called Mint
+Street, nearly opposite St. George's Church in the High
+Street. This street, with its alleys and courts, was inhabited
+by as villainous a collection as even the eighteenth century,
+which in point of villains was rich beyond its predecessors,
+could not equal. They had retreated here from their former<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">{243}</a></span>
+haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could
+be served on them: no arrest could be made: the only person
+they had to fear was, as said above, the thief-taker.</p>
+
+<p>The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately,
+kept; it is impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals
+were here housed and for how long. There are, however, one
+or two little histories of the Mint which will serve to show
+us at once the public spirit, the courage, and the immunity
+with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.</p>
+
+<p>The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of
+Dormer <i>v.</i> Dormer and Jones came on for hearing at
+Westminster Hall. It was a divorce case, in which the
+co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's house.
+There seems to have been no defence, practically. The
+verdict of the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000<i>l.</i> damages.
+Now, consider for a moment what that verdict meant. In
+these days, when a defendant without any private means at
+all is mulcted in damages and costs, whether of 5,000<i>l.</i> or of
+100<i>l.</i>, he simply smiles. He is not in the least degree affected.
+Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him, and
+when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors.
+In Portugal Street <i>subridet vacuus viator</i>&mdash;the insolvent
+pilgrim smiles cheerfully. But in those days it was very
+different. To inflict damages of 5,000<i>l.</i> meant simply that
+the Jury considered the case one in which the defendant, who
+could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only be
+adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his
+remaining days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only
+a footman whose relations were probably unable to assist him
+and certainly unable to maintain him, he would speedily take
+his place on the common side, and there he would be slowly
+done to death by insufficient food and insufficient clothing,
+by privation, cold, fever and misery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">{244}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate
+intention. It meant prison and slow starvation and insufficient
+warmth, and so everybody instantly understood,
+including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the officers would
+have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled
+himself down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers,
+witnesses, booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore
+across New Palace Yard, now pursued by the officers: he
+made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier so called, for as yet
+there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat and
+shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs,
+they saw their prisoner already half way across the river.
+They too jumped into a boat: for some reason or other&mdash;one
+knows not why&mdash;it was most unlucky&mdash;their boat took a
+long time to get off: something was wrong with the painter:
+the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be set right:
+the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the
+boat proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly
+over the face of the waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore
+on the other side, and the bailiffs turned back with a good
+deal of cursing. Once ashore, the fugitive made straight to
+Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was also a City of
+Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It
+was a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not
+eat the bread of idleness: he therefore, one may certainly
+conclude, became a rogue by profession and in due course
+met his fate bravely with white ribbons round his cap, an
+orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a large
+nosegay in his shirt front.</p>
+
+<p>Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century
+Sanctuary. It will seem incredible that the Executive should
+have been so incapable, but the story is literally true.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 356px;"><a name="MINT_STREET_BOROUGH" id="MINT_STREET_BOROUGH"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_259.jpg" width="356" height="550" alt="MINT STREET, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MINT STREET, BOROUGH</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">{245}</a></span>
+the Law being so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark,
+some of the residents or collegians naturally desired to
+go farther afield, and to establish more Sanctuaries or Law-defying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">{246}</a></span>
+colonies on the other side of the river, which was
+reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports of
+Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on
+the subject have come down to us. However, that matters
+very little. Every great movement, we know, is the work of
+one man. Therefore there arose a Prophet&mdash;the Prophet as
+Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently began to
+preach that a 'long felt want'&mdash;call it rather a 'need'&mdash;existed,
+which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries
+of North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay.
+Alsatia was deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in
+Milford Lane: the trade of counterfeit rings was no longer
+carried on in St. Martin's. And, though there were certainly
+taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs regarded with a useful
+respect, it could not be denied that London needed a new
+Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and fellow-residents
+in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers
+with burning eloquence&mdash;I am sure it was burning&mdash;a Vision
+of a New London, Purged; Purified; without honesty; without
+morals; without law; with neither gallows, pillory, whipping
+post, or stocks: a City entirely in the hands of Rogues who
+would compel all the conquered City to work for them: would
+seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning
+of this Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the
+Mint, to plant all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of
+time, the City should become one huge Sanctuary, where debts
+would never be collected, and robbery and murder would
+never be punished.</p>
+
+<p>They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on
+the east of Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid
+down their boundaries: they called the place the New Mint:
+they said, 'Within these limits there shall be no arrest.' This
+new law they communicated fairly and plainly, because everything
+was above board, to all the catchpoles. They then sat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">{247}</a></span>
+down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they
+were close to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been
+called in to disperse this lawless establishment. However,
+nothing at all was done. They sat down triumphant.
+Presently&mdash;I know not how long afterwards&mdash;a bailiff was
+actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly
+believe that this rash and audacious person ventured to
+arrest a New Minter within the Precincts!</p>
+
+<p>Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they
+called for music: preceded by a band of what used to be
+called the Whifflers, they marched in a procession, four
+abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose in their
+gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house
+of the offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run
+away. It is, however, a weakness common to Catchpoles
+that they always put their trust in the Law. They arrested
+that Catchpole: they led him to the place where he had
+offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him
+all over with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a
+thousand lashes, so that there was not a whole inch of skin
+left upon him: they dragged him through filthy ponds and laystalls:
+they took him out and flogged him again: they tried to
+flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed, for he survived:
+then they dragged him again through the filth: at last they
+suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he
+might. I am sorry to say that I have no information as to
+the end of the New Mint adventure; but it certainly appears
+that no one was punished for this outrage, and that no
+attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but
+I have not ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent
+freemen, its present residents.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">{248}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV
+<br />
+<br />
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time
+during the eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how
+little the place had grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as
+of old, the Causeway at right angles to the Embankment.
+On either side of the Causeway or High Street or St. Margaret's
+Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the continuity
+of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of
+which, although there are, here and there, detached houses
+and even rows of houses or terraces, there are open fields,
+streams, ponds and gardens. St. George's Fields, crossed by
+paths, are broad and open fields stretching out westward till
+they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's Church has long
+since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put his
+finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper:
+St. George's, St. Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On
+the east are the churches of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not
+to speak of Deptford: on the west is Lambeth Church: on
+the south are the churches of Newington and Kennington.
+As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are
+the prisons, that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the
+White Lyon. They were all on the east side of the street
+until 1756, when the King's Bench Prison was removed across
+the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some time after
+the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">{249}</a></span>
+Clink on Bankside had vanished. But the Borough Compter
+was still flourishing&mdash;a grimy, filthy, fever-stricken place.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 439px;"><a name="OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK" id="OLD_HOUSE_STONEY_STREET_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_263.jpg" width="439" height="550" alt="OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and
+west, the fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish
+streams. 'Snow's' Fields on the east were as well known as
+St. George's in the West. 'Long Lane' ran from St. George's
+to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few houses: Bermondsey
+Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old
+cross to the same church: it was already a street of houses.
+The most crowded part of Southwark proper was the street
+called Tooley or St. Olave's, the most ancient street in the
+Borough, originally built upon the Embankment, the Thames<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">{250}</a></span>
+Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth century,
+there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one
+came upon the entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid:
+these courts remain, also narrow, mean and squalid, to the
+present day. There were no places in London, unless in the
+neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where human
+creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions.
+There was no water supply to these courts: there was no
+lighting: there was no paving, not even with the round
+cobbles which they still called paving.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 406px;"><a name="ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL" id="ST_THOMAS39S_HOSPITAL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_264.jpg" width="406" height="520" alt="ST. THOMAS&#39;S HOSPITAL" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. THOMAS&#39;S HOSPITAL
+<br />
+(<i>From an old Print</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk" id="Some_Ancient_Houses_in_the_Long_Walk"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_265.jpg" width="550" height="422" alt="Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 530px;"><a name="Jamaica_House_Bermondsey" id="Jamaica_House_Bermondsey"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_266.jpg" width="530" height="437" alt="Jamaica House Bermondsey" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Jamaica House, Bermondsey</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">{251}</a></span>
+given on p. <a href="#Page_85">85</a> of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave
+of which was fast falling into ruins, came Bankside. Alas!
+It was deserted: not a single theatre was left: not a baiting
+Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a poet or an
+actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the
+guitar, and the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay
+two broad gardens, side by side: one called Pye Garden; and
+the other, west of Winchester House, was called Winchester
+Park. Paris Gardens were no more. Blackfriars Bridge Road, in
+which there were as yet but few houses, had been cut ruthlessly
+right through the middle of the old Gardens; the trees,
+once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of
+a few side streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and
+on the west of these fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">{252}</a></span>
+cut up into ropewalks, tenter grounds, nurseries, and kitchen
+gardens. Where Waterloo Station now stands were Cuper's
+Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens, of which
+more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met.
+But perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in
+the last century was the immense number of streams and
+ditches and ponds: most of these were little better than open
+sewers: complaints were common of the pollution of these
+streams&mdash;but it was in vain: people will always throw everything
+that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if
+they can. One wants the map in order to understand how
+numerous were these streams. There was one murky brook
+which ran along the backs of all the houses on the east side
+of High Street&mdash;the prisoners of the Marshalsea and the
+King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another corresponding
+stream ran behind the west side of High Street.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">{253}</a></span>
+Maiden Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel
+Lane, more blessed still, was happy with a ditch or stream on
+each side: Dirty Lane had one: another ran along Bandy
+Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept, or crawled, across
+Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there were
+no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this
+broad marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards,
+fringing the gardens, and crossing the open fields, were a
+pleasant feature, though they had no stones to prattle over,
+but only the dark peaty <i>humus</i> of the marsh: and the water
+channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which were
+sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by
+Roques. It was also called the Effra. Along the banks of
+this stream stood here and there cottages, having little
+gardens in front and rustic bridges across the stream. But
+whether these streams ran or whether they crawled, behind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">{254}</a></span>
+or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or
+burned way: they were laden with fevers and malaria and
+'putrid' sore throat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL" id="QUEEN_ELIZABETH39S_FREE_GRAMMAR_SCHOOL"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_267.jpg" width="550" height="416" alt="QUEEN ELIZABETH&#39;S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL" title="" />
+<span class="caption">QUEEN ELIZABETH&#39;S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 433px;"><a name="ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET" id="ANCIENT_BUILDINGS_HIGH_STREET"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_268.jpg" width="433" height="550" alt="ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+<br />
+(<i>From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 427px;"><a name="THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE" id="THE_FALCON_TAVERN_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_269.jpg" width="427" height="550" alt="THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded
+thoroughfare, because it is the main artery of a town containing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">{255}</a></span>
+a population of many hundreds of thousands. In the
+last century it was quite as animated because it was one of
+the main arteries by which London was in communication
+with the country. An immense number of coaches, carts,
+waggons, and 'caravans' passed every day up and down the
+High Street, some stopping or starting in Southwark itself;
+some going over London Bridge to their destination in the
+City. The coach of the first half of the century can be
+restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">{256}</a></span>
+century was in all respects like the revived coaches of the
+present day, adapted for rapid travelling along a smooth
+road. The carts were carriers' carts on two wheels with a
+tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small packages, and
+on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a
+hurry, were also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and
+capacious interior can be restored, as well as the coach, from
+that most trustworthy painter of his own time. As for the
+caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose, however, that a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">{257}</a></span>
+caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was an
+elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects
+were drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered
+cart. Perhaps the passengers slept in the car at night, drawn
+up by the roadside, like the gipsies. But of this theory I
+have no kind of proof.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 435px;"><a name="AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE" id="AN_OLD_MILL_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_270.jpg" width="435" height="550" alt="AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE" id="JOHN_BUNYAN39S_MEETING_HOUSE_BANKSIDE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_271.jpg" width="550" height="397" alt="JOHN BUNYAN&#39;S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">JOHN BUNYAN&#39;S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles
+which passed through to or from the City, there were sent
+out, every week, one hundred and forty-three stage coaches:
+one hundred and twenty-one waggons: and one hundred and
+ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of course, the same
+number came back every week. There was a continual succession
+of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own
+inn; while they were still far away the people of the inn
+knew when their own coach was coming by the tune played<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">{258}</a></span>
+on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in fact, was like a
+railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving all
+day long.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;"><a name="THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_OLD_TOWN_HALL_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_272.jpg" width="492" height="550" alt="THE OLD TOWN HALL SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Old Town Hall, Southwark</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and
+animation at a London inn when the stages were started and
+when they arrived. With as much method, and as quickly
+as the railway porters clear out the luggage and get rid of
+the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">{259}</a></span>
+shape of anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage
+was laid out: the porters seized it and carried it off to the
+hackney coach outside: the passengers followed their luggage:
+and the courtyard was ready for the next coach. Outside
+the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole companies
+of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the
+stable boys and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good
+enough to shut their eyes. If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed,
+one of them came bustling in. 'Give us a hand,
+Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had been ordered
+to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there
+was one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to
+sight in a neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded
+about the courtyards: outside were houses filled with disorderly
+folk of all kinds waiting to entrap and to tempt
+and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">{260}</a></span>
+gentleman to welcome the country lad: there was the lady
+of the ready smile: and the taverns with the doors open to
+all. The numbers of coaches and waggons I have given refer
+to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances which belonged
+to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily.
+Now, if we are considering the traffic and animation of the
+roads leading to the City, remember that the High Street,
+Borough, was only one of many main lines of traffic. There
+were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest.
+Day and night the roads all round London were
+thronged with these coaches, carts, caravans, and waggons:
+but these vehicles were for ordinary folk only: for tradesmen,
+attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is, commercial
+travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to
+London, if not in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of
+which there were thousands on the road. Add to these the
+horsemen, of whom there were an immense number riding
+from place to place: add, further, the long droves of cattle,
+sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by
+the roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can
+still be seen on the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians
+there were also by thousands: soldiers: sailors: gipsies:
+strolling actors: tinkers and tramps&mdash;the land was full of
+tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded and
+animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition
+of the modern road makes it difficult for us to realise the
+crowds and the life of the road in the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;"><a name="Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street" id="Old_Houses_in_Ewer_Street"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_273.jpg" width="440" height="379" alt="Old Houses in Ewer Street" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Old Houses in Ewer Street</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of society in the Borough there is little information to be
+procured. The place had, however, its better class. One
+infers so much from the fact that there were Assembly Rooms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">{261}</a></span>
+in the High Street, and that a Borough Assembly was held
+during the winter on stated days, at which the fashion and
+aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It
+is of an accident.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;"><a name="Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn" id="Courtyard_of_the_Dog_Bear_Inn"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_275.jpg" width="429" height="540" alt="COURTYARD OF THE DOG &amp; BEAR INN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Courtyard of the Dog &amp; Bear Inn</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun:
+the orchestra was in full play: the ladies were dressed in
+their finest: hoops were swinging: towering heads were
+nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue satin and
+in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running
+in one after the other. The company parted right and left,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">{262}</a></span>
+falling over benches and each other: the creatures, terrified
+by the light and the shrieks of the ladies, began to point
+threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out till the
+'well-known'&mdash;the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived&mdash;the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a
+brandishing of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!'
+persuaded the animals to leave the place. Then who shall
+tell of the raising of fallen and fainting damsels? Who shall
+speak of the rending of skirts and embroidered petticoats?
+Who can describe the deplorable damage to the heads? And
+who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased
+to record, were quickly administered as a restorative: and
+after certain necessary repairs to the heads and the sewing
+up of torn skirts, the wounded spirits of the company revived,
+and the ball proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact
+that on one occasion&mdash;perhaps on more than one occasion&mdash;when
+the black footmen of London resolved on holding an
+Assembly of their own, it was in the Borough that they held
+it. And a very interesting evening it must have proved, had
+we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"><a name="THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_WHITE_BEAR_TAVERN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_277.jpg" width="417" height="550" alt="THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage
+coaches, carts and waggons, the High Street was bound to
+contain, as well, many houses of entertainment, if only as
+stables for the horses and accommodation for the drivers and
+grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that
+from the earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the
+place where merchants and those who brought produce of all
+kinds to London out of the south country put up their teams
+of pack-horses and their goods, and found bed and board and
+company for themselves. We have also seen how the inns of
+Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">{263}</a></span>
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury.
+The mediæval inn was not much like that of later times. It contained
+a common hall and a common dormitory, with another
+for women. There was also a covered place for goods, and
+stables for horses. A small specimen of a fifteenth-century
+inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small room, is
+very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The
+quaint old inns, so long the delight of the artist, now nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">{264}</a></span>
+all gone, were not earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth
+century. They consisted of a large open courtyard filled
+with waggons and vehicles of all kinds, surrounded by
+galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor
+were the kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms.
+There was generally a large room for public dinners and
+other occasions. The inns of Southwark formed, so long as
+they stood, the most picturesque part of modern Southwark.
+Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone preserving
+anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader
+who desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to
+Mr. Philip Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents
+in a lasting form the vanished glories of the High Street.</p>
+
+<p>To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical
+catalogue. There are so many of them, and the associations
+connected with them carry one away into so many directions
+and land him into many strange corners of history.</p>
+
+<p>At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side
+of it, stood a tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It
+was built in the year 1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater,
+taverner of London. In Riley's 'Memorials' may be found
+a lease of this house by the proprietor to one James Beauflur.
+The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no rent,
+because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to
+help in the building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of
+a 'tied' house. Thomas Drinkwater will furnish all the wine,
+and will keep an exact account of the same and will have a
+settlement twice a year. Thomas will also complete the furniture
+of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs of
+silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK" id="ALLEN_ROPEWALK_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_279.jpg" width="550" height="423" alt="ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay.
+This was the commencement of a long and singularly prosperous
+inn. It became one of the most famous inns of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">{265}</a></span>
+London, and one of the most popular for dinners. Hither
+came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to feast at
+the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the
+papers of St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian
+of Southwark gives one:</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="right">P<sup>d</sup> for</td><td align="left">3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">14</td><td align="right">08</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">3 Tarts</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">12</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">a Giblett pie makyng</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">08</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">Beefe</td><td align="right">01</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">06</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">3 leggs of mutton</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">8</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">wine and dresing the meat and naperie, fire, bread and beere</td><td align="right">02</td><td align="right">11</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">01</td><td align="right">02</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"></td><td align="left">12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges</td><td align="right">00</td><td align="right">03</td><td align="right">00</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right" colspan='2'></td><td align="right" class="bb bt">05</td><td align="right" class="bb bt">15</td><td align="right" class="bb bt">00</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">{266}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Among the names of persons connected with the tavern
+must be noticed that of the Duke of Norfolk&mdash;'Jockey of
+Norfolk'&mdash;in 1463. Two hundred years later, one Cornelius
+Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and a commissioner
+for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the
+Bridge Foot. Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the
+tavern. From this house the Duke of Richmond carried off
+Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in 1761, when the end of
+the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the whole long
+list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more
+important. Some of them, it will be seen, had been in more
+ancient times the town houses of great people&mdash;Bishops,
+Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off the highway
+of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became
+mere tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's
+house, and to the house of the Prior of Lewes, and to many
+others. Those standing in the highway, whither came all the
+merchants; whither came all the waggons; became transformed,
+and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 345px;"><a name="A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM" id="A_SOUTH_LONDON_SLUM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_281.jpg" width="345" height="550" alt="A SOUTH LONDON SLUM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SOUTH LONDON SLUM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies,
+was the entrance to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was
+anciently the town house of the Cobhams. This family left
+Southwark, and the house, with some alterations, became an
+Inn. When carriers began to ply between London and the
+country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart
+with the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it
+became the Southwark post-office. Another and a much
+more important inn for carriers and waggons was the King's
+Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says that 'carriers come into
+the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of Kent,
+Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">{267}</a></span>
+Tunbridge, Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine
+Wheel, and others from Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">{268}</a></span>
+to the Greyhound: some to the Spurre, the George, the
+King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or Talbot: many,
+far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White Hart.'</p>
+
+<p>The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than
+Chaucer's Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack
+Cade, as has already been related in <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">chapter vi</a>. In front of
+this inn one Hawarden was beheaded: and also in front of
+this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being dragged
+at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to
+strike terror into the minds of the people.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 540px;"><a name="THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK" id="THE_OLD_TABARD_INN_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_282.jpg" width="540" height="448" alt="THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The
+Tabard Inn, from which the famous Company set out, was
+named after the ornamented coat or jacket worn by Kings at
+Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary persons.
+In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">{269}</a></span>
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed
+the place to be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that
+Chaucer speaks of it as an ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">{270}</a></span>
+Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at the Abbot's Hospitium
+in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd,
+the Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging,
+a dung place leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It
+is explained in Spight's 'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard
+had much decayed, but that it had been repaired 'with the
+Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was finally pulled
+down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room,
+though it may have been rebuilt on the site of the old room.
+For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a destructive fire broke out,
+which raged over a large part of the Borough and destroyed
+the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter,
+the Meat Market, and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital
+was saved by a change of wind, which also seems to
+have saved St. Mary Overies.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;"><a name="ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK" id="ST_GEORGE_SOUTHWARK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_283.jpg" width="370" height="550" alt="ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+<br />
+(<i>From an Engraving by B. Cole</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting
+the Inns first on the right or the west, and then on the left
+or east.</p>
+
+<p>We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before
+getting to Ford Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market
+place, the Goat: next the Clement. Opposite St. George's
+Church we cross over, and are on the east side, going north
+again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half Moon:
+the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the
+Spur: the Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the
+George: the White Hart: the King's Head: the Black
+Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing atmosphere
+of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns and
+courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of
+coaches and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of
+country squires come up on business, with the hope of combining
+a little pleasure amongst the excitements of the town<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">{271}</a></span>
+with a profitable deal or two. There is the smell of roast
+meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is a
+continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of
+hanaps and a murmur of voices.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>strepitus</i>, however, of the High Street is not like that
+of Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing
+before noon or after noon: no laughing: the country folk do
+not laugh: they do not understand the wit of the poets and
+the players. High Street has nothing to do with Bankside:
+the merchants and the squires know nothing about the Show
+Folk.</p>
+
+<p>There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a
+certain Edward Alleyn, who was a man of business as well
+as a conductor of entertainments. He was on the vestry of
+St. Saviour's: he was also churchwarden, his name appears in
+the parish accounts of the period. He was a popular churchwarden:
+probably he had about him so much of the showman
+that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous&mdash;these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when
+he proposes to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse
+to let him go.</p>
+
+<p>It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to
+reflect that all these inns, most of them so picturesque, were
+standing thirty or forty years ago, and that some of them
+were standing ten years ago. One of them is figured in the
+'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the figures are
+too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect produced
+is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there
+is nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is
+not an Inn. The need of an Inn at Southwark is gone:
+there are no more caravans of produce brought up to the
+Borough: the High Street has become the shop and the provider
+of everything for the populations of the parishes of St.
+Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">{272}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV
+<br />
+<br />
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON</h2>
+
+
+<p>There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place
+of Refuge not invited, and of security against one's will&mdash;The
+Debtors' Prison. In fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons&mdash;the
+King's Bench, the Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter.
+The consideration of these melancholy places&mdash;all the more
+melancholy because they were full of noisy revelry&mdash;fills
+one with amazement to think that a system so ridiculous
+should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with
+so much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy.
+There would be no more credit, no more confidence, if the
+debtor could not be imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed.
+The Debtors' Prison was a part of trade. It is fifty years
+and more since the power of imprisoning a debtor for life
+was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit as
+ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community
+such as ours it seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon
+a merchant by failing to pay his just claims is so great that
+imprisonment ought to be awarded to such an offender. The
+Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full and terrible
+and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you
+shall be locked up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived
+of your means of getting a livelihood: you shall have no
+allowance of food: you shall have no fire: you shall have no
+bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome unwashed
+crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">{273}</a></span>
+a year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA" id="REMAINS_OF_THE_MARSHALSEA"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_287.jpg" width="500" height="293" alt="REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT
+<br />
+(<i>From &#39;The Gentleman&#39;s Magazine,&#39; September 1803</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the
+debtor was deprived of the means of making money to pay
+his debts, withal, were exposed over and over again: prisoners
+wrote accounts of their prisons: commissions held inquiry
+into the management of the prisons: regulations were laid
+down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was
+tolerated: but the real evil remained untouched so long as a
+creditor had the power of imprisoning a debtor. The power
+was abused in the most monstrous manner: a man owed a
+few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into prison: the
+next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10<i>l.</i>, the bill
+against him for his arrest amounted to 11<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> of what we
+should now call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were
+20,000 prisoners for debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think
+what that means: all those were in enforced idleness. Why,
+their work at 2<i>s.</i> a day means 600,000<i>l.</i> a year: all that wealth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">{274}</a></span>
+lost to the State: nay more, because they were mostly married
+men with families: their families had to be maintained, so
+that not only did the country lose 600,000<i>l.</i> a year by the
+idleness of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the
+maintenance of their families. Put it in another way. A
+poor man knowing one trade which one cannot practise in a
+prison owed, say, 15<i>s.</i> He was arrested and put into prison.
+He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles and the
+proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the
+box; the community; for his maintenance in the prison, and
+for thirty years of it, the sum total of 400<i>l.</i> This is rather
+an expensive tax on the State: but the tradesman to whom
+he owed the money considered no more than his own 15<i>s.</i> In
+addition there were his wife and children to keep until the
+latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400<i>l.</i> But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If
+they were all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their
+behalf in the sum of sixteen millions spread over thirty
+years, or half a million a year, because these luckless creatures
+could not pay an insignificant debt of a few shillings or a few
+pounds.</p>
+
+<p>The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors'
+Prisons. It formerly stood on the east side of the High
+Street, on the site of what is now the second street north of
+St. George's Church. This prison was taken down in 1758,
+and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much more
+commodious place on the other side of the street south of
+Lant Street&mdash;the site is now marked by a number of new
+and very ugly houses and mean streets. When it was built
+it looked out at the back of St. George's Fields and across
+Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by this time
+drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">{275}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area
+covered was extensive, and the buildings were more commodious
+than had ever before been attempted in a prison.
+But they were not large enough. In the year 1776 the
+prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who
+could pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on
+the floor of the chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition
+to the prisoners many of them had wives and children
+with them. There were 279 wives and 725 children: a total
+of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was a
+good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident
+surgeon, and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399
+persons, and no bath and no infirmary!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="KING39S_BENCH_PRISON" id="KING39S_BENCH_PRISON"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_289.jpg" width="500" height="330" alt="KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a
+certain Colonel Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind
+him for the edification of posterity. According to him, the
+prison 'rivalled the purlieus of Wapping, St. Giles, and St.
+James's in vice, debauchery, and drunkenness.' The general
+immorality was so great that it was only possible, he says,
+to escape contagion by living separate or by consorting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">{276}</a></span>
+only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be
+found there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation:
+he will lose every sense of honour and dignity:
+every moral principle and virtuous disposition.' Among
+the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom fifty
+who had any regular means of sustenance. They were
+always underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to
+find sixpence a day for the prisoner's support. But in 1798
+a pound of bread cost 4½<i>d.</i>, a pint of porter 2<i>d.</i>: therefore a
+man who had to live on 6<i>d.</i> a day could not get more than a
+pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And then the 6<i>d.</i>
+a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or another,
+and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their
+name stank in the prison: more than half of the prisoners,
+Hanger avers, were kept there solely because they could
+not pay the attorneys' costs.</p>
+
+<p>Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be
+carried on in the King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler,
+the tailor, the barber, the fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment
+and were able to maintain themselves: some of
+them kept shops, and the principal building in the place,
+about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon
+an open court, occupied by shops where everything could
+be bought except spirits, which were forbidden. They were
+brought in, however, secretly by the visitors. The open court
+was the common Recreation Ground: there was the Parade, a
+Walk along the front of the building: three pumps where were
+benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play
+called 'bumble puppy.' And in fine weather there were
+tables set out here and there, with chairs and benches, where
+the collegians drank beer and smoked tobacco.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_King39s_Bench_Prison" id="The_King39s_Bench_Prison"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_291.jpg" width="550" height="540" alt="THE KING&#39;S BENCH PRISON" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The King&#39;s Bench Prison</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to
+look round: every day the place was thronged with visitors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">{277}</a></span>
+chiefly to see the new comers: the time came when the newcomer
+was an old resident, who had worn out the kindness of
+his friends or had outlived them, and now lingered on, poor
+and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the children
+played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things
+that they ought not to have seen: they heard things which
+they ought not to have heard: they learned habits which
+they ought not to have learned. Can one conceive a worse
+school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison? Look at the
+Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison
+nobody ever walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">{278}</a></span>
+unkindness, they slouch. The men wear coats which are
+mostly in holes at the elbows, with other garments that
+equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers because it
+is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel&mdash;never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby
+or not: it is better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the
+men are ragged the women are slatternly: they have lost
+even the feminine desire to please: they please nobody,
+and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there
+is this face and that face, but there is not a single happy face
+among them all. The average face is resentful, painted with
+strong drink, stamped with the seal of vice and self-indulgence.
+A vile place, which has imprinted its own vileness
+on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.</p>
+
+<p>A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched
+little Prison called the Borough Compter. It was used both
+for debtors and for criminals. Now you shall hear what
+marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be brought about
+when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.</p>
+
+<p>The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a
+felons' ward, and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen
+feet square: this was the only exercising ground for all the
+prisoners. When Buxton visited the place in the year 1817,
+there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty women, and twenty
+children&mdash;all had to exercise themselves in this little yard:
+he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet
+long and about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished
+with eight straw beds, sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for
+a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept side by side on these beds!
+That gives a breadth of twelve inches for each. No one
+therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">{279}</a></span>
+door was opened all rushed together, undressed as they were,
+into the yard for fresh air. Now and then a man would be
+brought in with an infectious disease or covered with vermin:
+they had to endure his company as best they could. There
+was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those
+who might have carried on their trade could not for want of
+space. As for the women's ward, I forbear to speak. Think,
+however, of the noisome, horrible, stinking place, narrow and
+confined, with its felons' ward of innocent and guilty, tried
+and untried: the past masters in villainy with the innocent
+country boy: the honest working man with his wife and
+children slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law
+which permitted a creditor to send him there for life for a paltry
+debt of a few shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl
+thrust into the women's ward, where wickedness was authorised,
+where nothing was disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the
+year 1998 the historian of manners will call attention to the
+lamentable brutality of this the end of the nineteenth century.
+There are some points as to which I am doubtful. But I cannot
+believe that there will be anything alleged against us
+compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the
+Debtors' Prisons.</p>
+
+<p>I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of
+the Marshalsea Prison was changed from its first site south of
+King Street in the year 1810, when it was removed to the
+site which it occupied down to the end, overlooking St.
+George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea
+brought there? Because there had been a prison on the
+spot before. From time immemorial the Surrey Prison had
+stood there. They called the place the White Lyon. It still
+stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was still
+standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">{280}</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I
+walked over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down.
+I found a long narrow terrace of mean houses&mdash;they are still
+standing: there was a narrow courtyard in front for exercise
+and air: a high wall separated the prison from the Churchyard:
+the rooms in the terrace were filled with deep cupboards on
+either side of the fireplace: these cupboards contained the
+coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes of the
+occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the
+demolition of another part of the Prison, pointed to certain
+marks on the floor as, he said, the place where they fastened
+the staples when they tied down the poor prisoners. Such
+was his historic information: he also pointed out Mr. Dorrit's
+room&mdash;so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to
+have been the tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we
+came to the White Lyon, which at the time I did not know to
+have been the White Lyon. It was a very ancient building.
+It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the staircase
+and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square
+nails were driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors.
+The lower room had evidently been kitchen, day room,
+sleeping room and all. Outside was a tiny yard for exercise:
+this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen another
+prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play
+tricks, it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This
+was a Clink, and on this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons
+were constructed. Beyond the Clink was the chapel, a
+modern structure. So far as I know, Mr. Dickens <i>père</i>, and
+Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence confined in
+this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner,
+who died there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at
+midnight for fear of the people, who would have rent his dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">{281}</a></span>
+body in pieces if they could. Perhaps. But it was not at any
+time usual for a mob of Englishmen to pull a dead body, even
+of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces. Later on, in
+the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The darkness,
+the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been
+buried at night in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere
+in St. George's Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden,
+whose benches in fine weather are filled with people resting and
+sunning themselves: in spring the garden is full of pleasant
+greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones have been
+consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones
+which line the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may
+now be quartered, they would care to revisit this place. The
+owners of the headstones were in their day accounted as the
+more fortunate sons of men: they were vestrymen and guardians
+and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept the inns and
+ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans: their
+tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and
+smiling: their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace:
+they exchanged the most beautiful sentiments:
+and they crammed their debtors into these prisons.</p>
+
+<p>There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged
+to the great army&mdash;how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!&mdash;of
+the 'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought
+here from the King's Bench and the Marshalsea: they came
+from the Master's side and from the Common side. They
+came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and
+the grooms and the 'service' generally. This churchyard
+represents all that can be imagined of human patience, human
+work, human suffering, human degradation. Everything is here
+beneath our feet, and we sit among these memories unmoved
+and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the past.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">{282}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI
+<br />
+<br />
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have
+appeared almost at the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of
+London&mdash;that of Messrs. Warwick and Edgar Wroth, and that
+of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who desires exact
+and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of
+these gardens, and shall confine myself to certain sources of
+information neither so exact nor so detailed as those from
+which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have drawn the material
+for their excellent work.</p>
+
+<p>The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting
+Gardens. The London citizen loved sport first and above all
+things: next, he loved the country: to sit under the shade of
+trees in the summer: to walk upon the soft sward; to smell the
+flowers: to rest his eyes upon country scenes. He has always
+yearned for the country while he remained in town. With
+these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly
+but loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform
+or floor for dancing. All these things he could get in
+Paris Gardens so long as that place existed, together with its
+bears and dogs. When the bears disappeared, what followed?
+The Gardens continued without the bears. There were also
+the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House, and
+the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July
+1661 Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">{284}</a></span>
+Vauxhall, and in June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys
+spent the evening at the same place, for the first time, and
+with great delight.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="VAUXHALL_GARDENS" id="VAUXHALL_GARDENS"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus_297.jpg" width="600" height="362" alt="VAUXHALL GARDENS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VAUXHALL GARDENS
+<br />
+(<i>From the Engraving by J. S. Müller</i>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and
+Bull Baiting was then beginning. Before long it became a
+necessity of life&mdash;at least, of the gregarious and social life
+of which the eighteenth century was so fond. Many things
+are said about that century, now so nearly removed from us
+by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it
+was not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its
+coffee houses: its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies:
+it loved the theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the
+masquerade: the Assembly: the card-room: but most of all
+the eighteenth century loved its Pleasure Gardens. It took
+every opportunity of getting away from the quiet house to
+crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;"><a name="VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET" id="VAUXHALL_JUBILEE_ADMISSION_TICKET"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_299.jpg" width="426" height="550" alt="VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden.
+There must be, first, abundance of trees&mdash;at first cherry trees,
+but these afterwards disappeared: if possible, there should be
+avenues of trees: aisles and dark walks of trees. There must
+be, next, an ornamental water with a fountain and a bridge:
+there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats in which tea
+and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms:
+there must be a long room for dancing and for promenading,
+with a gallery for the orchestra and the singers. Add to these
+things a crowd every night including all classes and conditions
+of men and women. The eighteenth century was by no
+means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met together
+without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party
+kept to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not
+pretend to be on a level with the people around him: they
+liked him to keep up the dignity of aristocratic separation: he
+brought Ladies to the Gardens, sometimes in domino, sometimes
+not. They were not expected to speak to the ladies outside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">{285}</a></span>
+their set: they danced together in the minuets: after the
+minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company
+of the Gardens was that each party was separate and kept
+separate. In the Park, either in the morning or the afternoon,
+it was not difficult to make acquaintances. The reason was
+that in the Park were only to be found in the morning or the
+afternoon those people who were not engaged in earning their
+livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men&mdash;lawyers, physicians,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">{286}</a></span>
+attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the
+smallest shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere.
+Therefore, the servants and footmen not being
+allowed in the Park, but compelled to wait outside, the people
+of position had the place to themselves, and access was easy.
+In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who paid the
+shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen
+in the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the
+young fellows about town, a noisy disreputable band with
+noisy and disreputable companions: the plain citizen with his
+wife and daughter, the young fellow who was courting her:
+the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the highwayman:
+the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the
+customary courtesan. All were here enjoying together&mdash;but
+separated into tiny groups of two or three&mdash;the strings of
+coloured lamps, the blare of the orchestra, the songs, the
+dances, and the supper. As for the last, it seems to have
+been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of chicken
+and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour;
+everybody behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was
+not <i>gêné</i> by the presence of the great lady: he prattled his
+vulgar commonplaces without being abashed: nor did the
+great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her own company
+with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence of
+the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the
+recognition of rank made them all behave more naturally.
+After all, the mercer had his own rank. He could look
+forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and Lord Mayor: he
+understood very well that he was already a good way up the
+ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession
+of money and the employment of many servants had already
+placed him in front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly
+satisfied with his own position, although he could certainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">{287}</a></span>
+never become a noble earl or wear a star upon his
+breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the jewelled
+lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed
+so loud and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions,
+one of whom was blind drunk and the other was a
+little mincing beau who walked on his toes with bent knees and
+carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under his breath as
+if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the honest
+mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over
+his wig to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side
+of the citizen from Ludgate Hill was a party also taking
+supper and punch, with plenty of the latter. They were
+under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his white
+coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the
+same way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were
+of white lace&mdash;lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him
+were dressed with a corresponding splendour. Everybody
+knew that the gentleman was a highwayman: his face was
+perfectly well known: he had been going on so long that his
+time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet
+the end common to his kind. A good many people in the
+Gardens knew, besides, that the ladies with him&mdash;ladies of St.
+Giles in the Fields&mdash;were dressed from the stores of a receiving
+house for stolen goods. Perhaps the consciousness of this cheap
+and easy way of getting one's clothes made the ladies so
+buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their sprightly
+sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.</p>
+
+<p>The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory
+to us. For in all public assemblies there are things which
+must be tolerated. Less wise, we shut up the Assembly.
+We cannot keep out the Lady of the Camellias from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">{288}</a></span>
+Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In the
+eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must
+behave with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved
+upon that manner: we cut off our nose to spite our face: we
+shut up the lovely Garden because we cannot keep her out.</p>
+
+<p>For the same reason we have practically forbidden the
+youth of the lower middle class to practise the laudable,
+innocent, and delightful diversion of dancing. Not a single
+place, except certain so-called clubs, where the young people
+can now go to dance. Why? Because the magistrates in
+their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and
+restrained by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled
+to hide itself under the semblance of virtue. The
+Pleasure Gardens were shut up one after the other for that
+reason. When will they return? And in what form?</p>
+
+<p>The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as
+those of the North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone,
+Bagnigge Wells, the White Conduit House&mdash;the South can
+only point to Vauxhall as a national institution. They were,
+however, of considerable note in their time, and were greatly
+frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a chain,
+all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells,
+the Marble Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall,
+besides Vauxhall itself; the Black Prince, Newington Butts;
+the Temple of Flora, the Temple of Apollo, the Flora Tea
+Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog and Duck,
+the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto,
+the Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe.
+No doubt there were others, but these were the principal
+Gardens.</p>
+
+<p>Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House.
+When Waterloo Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were
+constructed the latter passed right through the former site of
+the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the southern limit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">{289}</a></span>
+the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by one
+Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of
+the statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and
+decorated the new gardens with them. Aubrey mentions
+them as belonging to Jesus College, Oxford; he calls them
+Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and walks of the
+place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by
+the riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens
+continued until 1753, when they were suppressed as a
+nuisance. Cunningham quotes the prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's
+'Busy Body.'</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM" id="THE_DOG_AND_DUCK_BETHLEM"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_303.jpg" width="400" height="330" alt="THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is
+one of the last places visited in the course of that very
+remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began at four o'clock in the
+morning and ended at one o'clock next morning, such was
+the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">{290}</a></span>
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital.
+It was first built for the accommodation of those who
+came to this spot in order to drink the waters of a spring
+supposed to possess wonderful properties, especially in the
+case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring, like
+so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth
+Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the spring in St. George's
+Wells had no small reputation. It was especially in vogue
+between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to
+try it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for
+other attractions; it found them by day in certain ponds on
+the Fields close to the tavern: these ponds especially on Sunday
+were used for the magnificent sport of hunting the duck
+by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used
+for this sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over,
+naturally felt thirsty: they were easily persuaded to stay for
+the evening when on week days there was music, with
+dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on Sundays
+the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.</p>
+
+<p>Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the
+Pleasure Gardens, the Dog and Duck was a favourite place
+for breakfasts. The fashion of the public breakfast, now so
+completely forgotten, was brought to London from Bath,
+Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served
+at breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the
+gardens, very often all day and half the night at the Dog and
+Duck. There was a bowling green for fine weather, there
+was also a swimming bath&mdash;I believe, the only one south of
+the Thames. About three or four in the afternoon there was
+dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine. One of the
+ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">{291}</a></span>
+bowers round it; a band played at intervals during the day.
+In the long room there was an organ, with an excellent
+organist. In the evening, there was generally a concert; the
+Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in
+truth the place was acquiring a most evil reputation. In
+1787 it was closed on Sunday, and in 1799 it was suppressed.
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is open,
+but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening.
+But there is not the least trace of any respect for the day,
+and the place&mdash;to speak the truth&mdash;is full of the vilest
+company in the world, whose histories are described in the
+greedy fulness and with the hypocritical indignation against
+the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would
+not venture to set down what they did, but for the pretence
+of indignation. Thus, there is a certain City merchant, once
+a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but now rich and
+flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl,
+his mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing
+some City scandal of the day, and that his readers know
+perfectly well who was meant. There is a certain Nan
+Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some conversational
+powers with a considerable fund of information about
+the shady side of town life. There is also present a young
+lady described as the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D&mdash;&mdash;s, of St.
+G.' Here, no doubt, we have a piece of contemporary humour
+which enables us to have a slap at the Church. There is
+other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen.
+At the Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had
+been withdrawn. The manager, however, met the difficulty
+by engaging a free vintner, <i>i.e.</i> a member of the Vintners'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">{292}</a></span>
+Company, for whom no license was required. He therefore
+came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious illustration
+of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the
+Ramblers visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over
+the Apollo Gardens, deserted and falling into ruins, and
+visited the Flora Tea Garden. The company here was more
+respectable, in consequence of some separation among the
+ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political argument
+ran high.</p>
+
+<p>From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa
+Gardens. Let me extract this account of this place, which
+was once so popular:</p>
+
+<p>'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees,
+hung with lamps, blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk
+in which they are hung inferior (length excepted) to the grand
+walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly at the upper end of the
+walk is a large room, hung round with paintings, many of
+them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so
+finely executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place
+would cheapen a fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder
+of mutton or a leg of pork, without hesitation, if there were
+not other pictures in the room to take off his attention. But
+these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very
+good, and the charges reasonable, and the captain, who is
+very intimate with Mr. Keyse, declares that there is no place
+in the vicinity of London can afford a more agreeable evening's
+entertainment.</p>
+
+<p>'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the
+lower road, between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford.
+The proprietor calls it <i>one</i>, but it is nearer two miles from
+London Bridge, and the same distance from that of Black-Friars.
+The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse, who has been
+at great expense, and exerted himself in a very extraordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">{293}</a></span>
+manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his labours
+have been amply repaid.</p>
+
+<p>'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in
+a spot where elegance, among people who talk of <i>taste</i>, would
+be little expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected
+easiness of behaviour, and his <i>genuine</i> taste for the
+polite arts, have secured him universal approbation.</p>
+
+<p>'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less
+than four acres.</p>
+
+<p>'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn,
+consisting of about three acres, and in a field, parted from
+this lawn by a sunk fence, is a building with turrets, resembling
+a fortress, or castle. The turrets are in the ancient style
+of building. At each side of this fortress, at unequal distances,
+are two buildings, from which, on public nights, bomb shells,
+&amp;c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is returned, and the
+whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a horrid,
+prospect of a siege.</p>
+
+<p>'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired
+into the parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained
+by the proprietor, who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us
+with a sight of his curious museum, for, it being Sunday, he
+never shows to any one these articles; but, the captain never
+having seen them, I wished him to be gratified with such an
+agreeable sight.</p>
+
+<p>'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written
+by the late celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive
+of his situation, which a few years ago was but a
+waste piece of ground. "Here is now," said he, "an agreeable
+place, where before was but a mere wilderness piece of ground,
+and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out in this
+manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place
+of public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat
+a comfortable piece of livelihood."</p>
+
+<p>'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">{294}</a></span>
+and, after paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not
+before we had tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for
+which Mr. Keyse is remarkable for preparing.'</p>
+
+<p>I am not here writing a history of South London. Were
+this a history, Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place,
+and a very large place. A garden which continued to be a
+favourite resort from the year 1660 or thereabouts until the
+year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which occupies so
+large a part in the literature of that long period, must have
+its history told in length when a history is written of the
+place where it stood. In this place I desire to do no
+more than to take off my hat to this Queen of Gardens, and
+to recognise her importance. The history of Vauxhall is an
+old story; it has been told at greater or less length, over and
+over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which have
+been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature
+and all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed,
+very poor stuff. The best are the lines of Canning:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There oft returning from the green retreats<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with
+Evelyn, who treats the place with his accustomed brevity and
+coldness; we go on to Pepys, who records how the visitors
+picked cherries, and how the nightingales sang, and lets us
+understand how much he enjoyed his visits there, and how
+delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison,
+to Fielding, to Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark
+Walk, and how the ladies were taken there, not unwillingly,
+to be frightened: we know the stage where they danced: we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">{295}</a></span>
+know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the
+Prince of Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the
+middle, and the Duchess of Devonshire and her friends
+apparently making fun of him; and in the side box, having
+supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about
+the forty thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.</p>
+
+<p>London was not London, life was not worth having,
+without Vauxhall. Like Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and
+assemblies, Vauxhall was the great leveller of the eighteenth
+century. A man might be an earl or a prince: he would get
+no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who
+had a little money to spare. And the milliner going to
+Vauxhall with that 'prentice was quite as happy as any lady
+in the land could be.</p>
+
+<p>When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is
+carried away by admiration. To the City Miss who might
+belong to the City Assembly, but most likely did not, there
+was no such spectacle in the world as those avenues of trees
+with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was nothing
+that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the
+dancing in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the
+high stand; there was nothing so delightful as to sit in an
+arbour dimly lighted, and to make a supper off cold chicken
+with a glass of punch afterwards&mdash;girls drank punch then&mdash;to
+look out upon the company, resplendent, men and women
+alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the
+angel with him was a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that
+other gentleman behind them was the Rev. Dr. Scattertext
+of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young fellow in peach-coloured
+velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack the
+highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was
+nothing less than a national institution. All classes who could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">{296}</a></span>
+command a decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of
+Wales went there&mdash;once or twice he was recognised and
+mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all the lesser ladies;
+all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens, from the
+Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the
+gallant highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about
+the visitors to Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed
+by the presence of the highwaymen, of the adventurers,
+or of the ladies corresponding to those gentlemen&mdash;not
+in the least; they walked together in the lanes and aisles
+of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw
+the young rakes carrying on openly and without the least
+disguise. The sober citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her
+daughter saw it. There were no complaints, save occasionally
+from the Surrey magistrates. The place and the behaviour
+of the people are typical of the eighteenth century, in which
+the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and
+there were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure
+garden, the magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were
+robbed by highwaymen on their way to and from the place,
+guards were appointed by the managers. Vauxhall, however,
+was safer than most places, because most of the people came
+by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to
+have been allowed to stay there nearly all night.</p>
+
+<p>There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,'
+which I should like to transfer with acknowledgments to this
+page. It is from the 'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a
+Vauxhall slice of ham.</p>
+
+<p>'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish
+about three or four times, and surveyed it with a settled
+countenance. Then taking up a slice of the ham on the
+point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro, he asked the
+waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">{297}</a></span>
+think it weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an
+ounce, that is sixteen shillings per pound; a reasonable
+profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose, now, the whole ham
+weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them
+at the best hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't
+stand him in ten shillings a-piece!"'</p>
+
+<p>In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens
+would be closed; they were not closed, however, but were
+reopened and continued open until the year 1859, where they
+were finally closed and the farewell night was celebrated.</p>
+
+<p>The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief
+history of Vauxhall Gardens in one of the morning papers&mdash;I
+do not know which&mdash;I have it as a cutting only. It is as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under
+Gye and Hughes's bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves
+a notice, if only as a memento of the pleasure the
+old and young have experienced in their delightful retreats,
+while their hundredfold associations, such as the journey of Sir
+Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create
+an interest seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their
+name from the manor of Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the
+tradition that the property belonged to Guy Fawkes is
+erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The
+gardens appear to have been originally planted with trees and
+laid out into walks for the pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir
+Samuel Moreland, who displayed in his house and gardens
+many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics. It is said
+these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well
+known in 1667, when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">{298}</a></span>
+added a public room to them, "the inside of which," he says,
+"is all looking-glass and fountains and very pleasant to
+behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The time
+when they were first opened for the entertainment of the
+public is involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is,
+however, established to be upwards of a century and a half
+old. In the reign of Queen Anne they appear to have been
+a place of great public resort, for in the "Spectator," No. 383,
+dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir Roger de
+Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs
+to Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says:
+"We made the best of our way to Foxhall;" and describes
+the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at this time of the
+year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and
+the tribe of people that walked under their shades, I could
+not but look on this place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise."
+Masks were then worn, at least by some visitors, for
+Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the shoulder
+and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A
+glass of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper
+of the party. The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of
+our days till the year 1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a
+lease of the premises, and shortly afterwards opened Vauxhall
+with a <i>Ridotto al Fresco</i>. The novelty of the term attracted
+great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in occasional
+repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every evening
+during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings
+at Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was
+induced to embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he
+was joined by Hayman. The house which he occupied is
+still shown, and a vine pointed out which he planted. Tyers's
+improvements consisted of sweeps of pavilions and saloons,
+in which these paintings were placed. He also erected an
+orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">{299}</a></span>
+Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens.
+Mr. Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which
+was Roubiliac's earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards
+purchased the whole of the estate, which is copyhold of inheritance,
+and held of the Prince of Wales, as lord of Kennington
+manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall. The
+gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and
+till the year 1792 the admission was 1<i>s.</i>; it was then raised
+to 2<i>s.</i>; including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements
+were made, lamps added, &amp;c., the price was raised to
+3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, and the gardens were only opened three nights in the
+week; in 1821 the price was again raised to 4<i>s.</i> Upon the
+death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the property
+of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter
+of the original proprietor. They next descended to Mr.
+Barrett's sons, and from them by right of purchase to the late
+proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a son of the famous Jonathan
+Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches of Johnson,"
+and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation
+of the <i>Ridotto al Fresco</i> is thus described by one of
+the newspapers of June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the
+<i>Ridotto al Fresco</i> at Vauxhall, there was not one half of the
+company as was expected, being no more than 203 persons,
+amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but more
+ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with
+great order and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot
+Guards being posted round the gardens. A waiter belonging
+to the house having got drunk put on a dress and went to
+<i>fresco</i> with the rest of the company, but being discovered he
+was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver
+tickets. The proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets
+would only be delivered at 25<i>s.</i> each, the silver of every
+ticket to be worth 3<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, and to admit two persons every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">{300}</a></span>
+evening (Sunday excepted) during the season." It appears
+that these silver tickets were struck after designs by Hogarth,
+and a plate of some of them shows the following:&mdash;Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope.
+Mr. Wood, 63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing
+with a lyre, and the motto "<i>Jocosæ conveniunt Lyræ.</i>" Mr.
+R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse side figure of Euterpe.
+Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the figure of
+Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of Thalia.
+This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his
+advice and assistance in decorating the gardens. After his
+decease it remained in the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow,
+who bequeathed it to her relation, Mrs. Mary Lewis, who
+subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his will, in 1823,
+bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to say
+that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which
+is "<i>In perpetuam beneficii memoriam.</i>" On the reverse there
+are two figures, surrounded with the motto, "<i>Virtus voluptas
+felices una.</i>" It also appears that Roubiliac furnished a
+statue of Milton for the gardens. Among the singers
+Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came Dignum,
+Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon,
+Mrs. Bland, &amp;c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel,
+Melville, and Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega,
+and Madame Vestris; Mr. Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson,
+and Signor de Begnis, &amp;c., with Signor Spagnoletti as
+leader.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">{301}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII
+<br />
+<br />
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY</h2>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 265px;"><a name="A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY" id="A_DOORWAY_CURLEW_STREET_BERMONDSEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_315.jpg" width="265" height="550" alt="A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The expansion of London
+during the Nineteenth
+Century is in
+itself a fact unparalleled
+in the history of cities.
+Those who call attention
+to this miracle always
+point to the filling up
+of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead
+and Clerkenwell
+in the North, or the
+extension of the town
+to Hammersmith on
+the West. Perhaps a
+little consideration of
+the South may show
+a still more remarkable
+growth. I have
+before me a map of the
+year 1834, only sixty-four
+years ago, showing
+South London as it was.
+I see a small town
+or collection of small
+towns, occupying the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">{302}</a></span>
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington,
+Walworth, and Bermondsey. In some parts this area is
+densely populated, filled with narrow courts and lanes; in other
+parts there are broad fields, open spaces, unoccupied pieces
+of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens, for instance
+there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain place,
+then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of
+them gardens, or recreation grounds, without any buildings.
+Battersea is a mere stretch of open country. I myself remember<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">{303}</a></span>
+the old Battersea Fields perfectly well; one shivers
+at the recollection; they were low, flat, damp, and, I believe,
+treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh, by paths
+raised above the level; at no time of year could the
+Battersea Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they
+were inexpressibly
+dismal. As
+a boy I have
+walked across
+the fields in
+order to get
+to the embankment
+or river
+wall from which one
+commanded a view of
+the Thames with its
+barges and lighters going up and down&mdash;pleasant when the
+sun shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient
+glory when the pleasure barges and the State barges swept
+majestically up the river with the hautboys and the trumpets
+in the bows; when the swans by thousands sailed upon the
+broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle of the river<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">{304}</a></span>
+the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen hundred
+years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the
+fields on one side were lower than the waters on the other.
+Beyond the river were the trees of Chelsea Hospital. Close
+to the river bank was an enclosure which was called the Subscription
+Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot pigeons&mdash;noble
+sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low
+condition who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside
+to shoot down those birds which escaped from the murderers
+within. Close by the Subscription Ground was a certain famous
+tavern called the Red House. I do not know why it was
+famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing
+sportsmen close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not,
+proved excellent customers for the drinks of the Red House.
+At that time there were 'famous' taverns all up and down
+the river on either bank. There are still Riverside taverns,
+but the invasion of the new streets and houses has driven
+them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they
+probably remain still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea
+Fields, and there were certain historical associations in connection
+with these dreary flats. Here, for instance, the Duke
+of Wellington fought his duel with Lord Winchilsea. Other
+important people were also connected either with the Fields
+or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone
+absolutely: no trace of it remains, except the Church. The
+Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over the site of the famous
+Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks covers the
+Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the
+flat and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with
+streets mean and monotonous, stand where formerly the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">{305}</a></span>
+pigeons flew wildly, hoping to escape those who waited
+outside the grounds as they had escaped those who potted at
+them from within.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 459px;"><a name="IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY" id="IN_SNOW39S_FIELDS_BERMONDSEY"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_316.jpg" width="459" height="550" alt="IN SNOW&#39;S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IN SNOW&#39;S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank" id="The_Temple_from_the_Surrey_Bank"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_317.jpg" width="550" height="534" alt="The Temple from the Surrey Bank" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Temple from the Surrey Bank</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 451px;"><a name="HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE" id="HOLY_TRINITY_ROTHERHITHE"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_319.jpg" width="451" height="550" alt="HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into
+Rotherhithe. It is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe,
+the Place of Cattle; and at the other Lambeth or
+Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not the 'Place
+of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there,
+but without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of
+the preceding century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A
+single street runs along the Embankment, which it hides and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">{306}</a></span>
+covers: at the back of this street there is a succession of
+small lanes and courts running back with tiny houses&mdash;two
+or four rooms to each&mdash;on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery&mdash;leaves and palings. You may still
+see, in 1898, if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship
+in one of the old docks, sticking across the street, causing a
+momentary confusion in the mind between land and water;
+there are riverside taverns which look as if at a touch they
+would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834 this
+street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland&mdash;or in-marsh&mdash;ponds and ditches and creeping streams
+lay about; one of the ponds survives to this day; you will
+find it in the middle of the pretty garden they call Southwark
+Park, of which it forms the ornamental water. And the rest
+of Rotherhithe, between the Park and Bermondsey, is one
+unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no open
+space. All is filled up and built upon.</p>
+
+<p>A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map
+of 1834 I see a little town, lying partly on the bank of the
+Thames, partly on the bank of the Ravensbourne, which here
+widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The greater part of
+the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not yet
+closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000
+people, about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its
+people; it boasted of two churches and two almshouses.
+One of these Havens of Rest was so picturesque and so
+beautiful that it could not be suffered to remain. Almshouses
+which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable.
+Their time expired, they are then carried off
+Heavenward.</p>
+
+<p>Or turn your eyes further south. London in this
+direction now covers&mdash;for the most part completely, in some
+parts leaving spaces and fields here and there&mdash;Greenwich,
+Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest Hill, Dulwich,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">{307}</a></span>
+Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham, Wandsworth,
+Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD" id="CZAR_PETER39S_HOUSE_DEPTFORD"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_321.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="CZAR PETER&#39;S HOUSE, DEPTFORD." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CZAR PETER&#39;S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is difficult, now that the whole country south of
+London has been covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops,
+to understand how wonderful for loveliness it was until the
+builder seized upon it. When the ground rose out of the
+great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh&mdash;the cliff or incline
+is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham
+Rise, and Brixton Rise&mdash;it opened out into one wild heath
+after another&mdash;Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon,
+Barnes, Tooting, Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so
+south as far as Banstead Downs. The country was not
+flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it rose at
+Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture
+lands; on the hill sides were hanging woods; villages were
+scattered about, each with its venerable church and its
+peaceful churchyard; along the high roads to Dover,
+Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">{308}</a></span>
+and all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the
+wayside inns were crowded with those who halted to drink,
+those who halted to dine, and those who halted to sleep: if
+the village lay off the main road it was as quiet and as secure
+as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we have
+destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty
+than on the north. On the latter side of London there are
+the heights with Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey&mdash;one
+row of villages; but there is little more. The country
+between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is singularly
+dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford or
+Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely
+country. But the loveliness of South London lay almost at
+the very doors of London: one could walk into it; the
+heaths were within an easy walk, and the loveliness of
+Surrey lay upon all.</p>
+
+<p>I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which
+remain at the present moment. It will be a matter of
+surprise to the reader to hear of the many waste and wild
+places which have been appropriated and built over in the last
+two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of
+commons: namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood
+Common (in another part of Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's
+Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common, South
+Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell
+Common. With the exception of the first all these are now
+gone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840" id="ALLEYN39S_ALMSHOUSES_1840"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_323.jpg" width="500" height="442" alt="ALLEYN&#39;S ALMSHOUSES, 1840" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALLEYN&#39;S ALMSHOUSES, 1840</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Look at Dulwich&mdash;the peaceful and picturesque village
+of Dulwich on this map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its
+gardens, and its fields: the venerable college of Alleyn is the
+glory of the village&mdash;nothing more beautiful than this almshouse
+with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet the people
+flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">{309}</a></span>
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern&mdash;the Greyhound&mdash;which
+was beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a
+particular brew of beer, a particular kind of old Jamaica for
+punch, and a particular vintage of port not to be found anywhere
+else, even in a City company's cellars. There was, in fact, no
+more favourite place of resort for the better sort of citizens of
+London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer sort
+it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The
+Dulwich stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too
+long a drive from the city; the young men rode&mdash;in those
+days the young men could all ride&mdash;even John Gilpin thought
+he could ride; they hired a horse as we now get into a cab.
+For those who lived in any suburb on the south, Dulwich
+was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village&mdash;Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834&mdash;were the Dulwich Fields,
+as beautiful and interesting as those of Battersea were the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">{310}</a></span>
+contrary: there were, I think, five of them in succession: the
+little stream called the Effra rose somewhere in the neighbourhood,
+and ran about, winding through the fields in a deep
+channel with rustic bridges across. In older days&mdash;at the
+end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a
+bright and sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what
+is now called the Effra Road, and so along the south side&mdash;or
+was it the north?&mdash;of Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood
+on the other side of the stream, with flowering shrubs&mdash;lilac,
+laburnum, and hawthorn&mdash;on the bank, and beds of the
+simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with
+a single rail painted green. That, however, was before my
+time. In the 'fifties the boys used to play in these fields,
+jumping over the stream: when they left the fields and got
+into the village they looked about for Mr. Pickwick and for
+Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do not
+learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of
+faith by an incarnation.</p>
+
+<p>Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark
+Hill, and Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once
+lived; but in the 'fifties I was not conscious of that fact or of
+his greatness. It must be saddening to a great man to reflect
+that the schoolboys have no respect for him. The road
+up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees:
+the houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives,
+and smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the
+institution of evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood.
+At that time great was the power and the authority of
+seriousness. To be serious was fashionable, if one may say
+so, in City circles. Respectability was nearly always serious:
+it was divided into two classes: that which had morning
+prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well.
+With the young, the latter institution was unpopular&mdash;no one
+of the present younger generation can understand how unpopular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">{311}</a></span>
+it was: a house which had evening prayers made a
+deliberate profession of a seriousness which was something
+out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for
+prayers. This profession of seriousness generally belonged
+to a large house, beautiful gardens, rich conservatories, a large
+income, and a carriage and pair. Denmark Hill used to
+appear to outward view as more especially a suburb belonging
+to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more than
+common earnestness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 540px;"><a name="DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780" id="DULWICH_COLLEGE_1780"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_325.jpg" width="540" height="406" alt="DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses
+only, each with its parklike grounds and gardens and its
+noble trees. Champion Hill I remember as a green and
+grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon it: but there
+was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green&mdash;you may still find this tract of grass, but I
+believe it is now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">{312}</a></span>
+they kept ponies for hire: the boys used to ride them up the
+hill and gallop them down the hill. Beyond this green there
+was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so far as I
+can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not
+a wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place
+covered with fern and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but
+a barren, dreary expanse of uncertain grass. Boys would
+perhaps have played cricket upon it in summer, but there
+were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this country is
+covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.</p>
+
+<p>We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South
+London: we have forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge&mdash;one
+of the many thousands of Penge&mdash;what this suburban
+town was like seventy years ago. Do you think he can tell
+you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any
+Penge Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago&mdash;viz.
+in May 1827&mdash;that Mr. William Hone&mdash;the compiler of
+the 'Every-Day Book,' climbed up outside the Dulwich stage,
+proposing to visit the picture gallery of Dulwich College.
+Hone was one of the first of those curious and inquisitive
+persons who began to employ their summers in exploring the
+unknown villages and strange places round London. The
+picture gallery he could not see because it was closed; he
+therefore walked across the country from Dulwich to a place
+called Penge. At the top of a hill he found a choice of three
+roads. He chose that which led through Penge Common.
+The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a cathedral
+of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse&mdash;other people's verse. Alas! the Common
+had already, even then, been ravished from its owners, the
+people: it was enclosed; it was doomed; it was about to be
+built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself, however, at the
+'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and home-brewed
+ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">{313}</a></span>
+the hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as
+beautiful as the hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the
+Common, they are gone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s" id="From_the_Tower_of_St_Saviour39s"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_327.jpg" width="550" height="396" alt="From the Tower of St. Saviour&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">From the Tower of St. Saviour&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers
+of its ancient glories; whether there were any ancient glories.
+Has he heard of the famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood
+Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why, the Queen of all
+the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign at
+Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this
+resident heard of the views from the top of the hill, four
+hundred feet above the level of the sea, whither the people
+flocked by hundreds to see the view and to wander in the
+woods?</p>
+
+<p>All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was
+inevitable. One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we
+cannot have town and country together. The woods are gone,
+the rural life is gone, encroachments have been made upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">{314}</a></span>
+the commons, the wayside tavern&mdash;the place was full of
+wayside taverns&mdash;is gone. What remains of all this beauty
+is a fragment here and there. Clapham Common, once a
+heath, now a park; Wimbledon Common, Tooting Common;
+these expanses are mercifully left us for breathing-places.
+Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into imitations
+of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have
+lost the wood beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed
+lands, the tinkle of the sheep bell, the song of the skylark.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the
+associations of South London. I confess that, for my own
+part, I am not happy in considering associations connected
+with rows of terraces and villas. Here, you say, was once
+the house, with the park, of such and such a great man.
+Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility.
+If I am taken to a slum&mdash;such a slum as that on the west of
+St. Mary Overies, and am told that in this place was
+Winchester House, I am at once interested. Why should
+the memory of the past appeal to our imagination more in a
+slum than in a brand new, spick and span collection of
+pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all things
+tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay?
+Who, for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of
+Tooting Common into the place which was once Streatham
+Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and Dr. Johnson among these
+roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might remember,
+were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were
+not so much built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about.
+At Putney, but for the villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh!
+there are a thousand people once living, and walking, and
+playing their parts in their villages, whose wraiths and
+spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">{315}</a></span>
+bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads
+and the trams.</p>
+
+<p>We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we
+have also made its historical associations impossible.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="RED_CROSS_GARDENS" id="RED_CROSS_GARDENS"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_329.jpg" width="550" height="493" alt="RED CROSS GARDENS
+Southwark" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RED CROSS GARDENS,
+Southwark</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from
+its rural folk, came from London about the time when roads
+began to be tolerable; that is to say, late in the seventeenth
+century; they were the great folk, the leisured folk, the
+Quality, who had suburban houses in addition to their town
+houses and their country houses. They sought shelter in the
+quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained,
+as a rule, for a year or two, for a few months, for a season.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">{316}</a></span>
+When the roads became so far improved as to make driving
+easy and pleasant, the city merchants came and built or
+bought big houses, and drove in and out every day in their
+carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a rule:
+they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down
+therein. They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses
+where they grew early strawberries; they had in front a
+broad lawn with a carriage drive; they liked to have on the
+lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the grass.
+They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday.
+In course of time other people came; but the first comers&mdash;these
+merchants&mdash;were the aristocracy, the first families of
+the suburbs. In the newer places there are still to be found
+the first families; in the older suburbs they have all disappeared
+from the place. Thus Clapham, I believe, knows
+no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not
+in other suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights
+attained by these fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but
+there were many which had among them ex-Lord Mayors
+and Aldermen; there were many persons among them of
+dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone:
+there is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a
+pity. There should be in every community some whose
+position entitles them to respect and authority; there should
+be some to take the lead naturally; there should be some
+who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater
+part of the people in a community are engaged in trade.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"><a name="ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK" id="ST_SAVIOUR39S_DOCK"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_331.jpg" width="550" height="520" alt="ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S DOCK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. SAVIOUR&#39;S DOCK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison
+between the population of these villages in 1801 with
+that of these great towns in 1898 is so startling that it must be
+recorded. Battersea has risen from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell
+from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from 27,985 to 295,033;
+Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from 14,283<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">{317}</a></span>
+to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that
+part which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a
+population of very nearly two millions; in other words the
+population, in less than a hundred years, has been multiplied
+by ten. That of London itself, in the same time, the London
+including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel, Bloomsbury, and
+Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South
+London? Well, people must live somewhere; the old limits
+proved insufficient. First, places which had been dotted over
+with fields and gardens and vacant places, such as Southwark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">{318}</a></span>
+on the west side, and Bermondsey, were completely built over
+and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how to stow
+away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London
+stretched itself out farther; it began to include Camberwell,
+Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham, and Wandsworth. These were
+separate suburbs lying each among its own gardens; the inhabitants
+were not clerks, but principals and employers, substantial
+merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks
+lived nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly
+came the railway, when London made another step outward,
+so as to take in the places lying south of Clapham and
+Brixton. Then the builder began; he saw that a new class
+of residents would be attracted by small houses and low rents.
+The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population
+of South London no longer consists of rich merchants, principals,
+and partners. Clerks, assistants, and employés of all
+kinds now crowd the morning and evening trains.</p>
+
+<p>If you want to form some idea of the South London folk,
+go stand inside Cannon Street Station and watch the trains
+come in, each with its freight of those who earn their daily
+bread within the City. See them pass out&mdash;by the hundred&mdash;by
+the thousand&mdash;by the fifty thousand. The brain reels
+at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As
+they hurry past you observe on each the same expression, the
+same set eagerness, with which the day's work is approached.
+Employer or employé, principal or clerk, it matters nothing.
+The clerk, who will get none of the thousands he is helping
+to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means
+battle, daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge,
+earlier knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness,
+while there is as much need, for success, or courage tenacity,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">{319}</a></span>
+and bluff as in any battle between contending armies. The
+many twinkling feet pass out of the station by the hundred
+thousand, every morning, to the field of battle. The English
+are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the City
+is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired,
+in which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and
+for ever.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 534px;"><a name="Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier" id="Below_Cherry_Garden_Pier"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_333.jpg" width="534" height="550" alt="Below Cherry Garden Pier" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Below Cherry Garden Pier</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In South London there are two millions of people. It is
+therefore one of the great cities of the world. It stands upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">{320}</a></span>
+an area about twelve miles long and five or six broad&mdash;but
+its limits cannot be laid down even approximately. It is a
+city without a municipality, without a centre, without a civic
+history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or journals; it has
+no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine; it has
+no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary centre&mdash;unless
+the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm&mdash;one cannot
+imagine a man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres,
+except of a very popular or humble kind; it has no clubs, it
+has no public buildings, it has no West End. It is argued
+that although it has none of these things, yet it has them all
+by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are
+accessible to the South. Far be it from me to deny the
+culture of Sydenham and the artistic elevation of Tooting.
+Yet one feels there must surely be some disadvantage in being
+separated from the literary and artistic circles whose members,
+it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a
+young man who would pursue a career in art not to live
+among people who habitually talk of art and think of art. It
+must surely be some disadvantage to live in a place where
+the people, when they are gathered together, mostly allow
+the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.</p>
+
+<p>How are these two millions distributed?</p>
+
+<p>There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention
+has been made. Their numbers and their proportion to the
+whole I know not. Next, there are the working people, those
+for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of barracks called
+model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand&mdash;by the million: there are more than
+a million working men in South London. For their use are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">{321}</a></span>
+the shops of the Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the
+public houses. The third layer is found on a slip of ground,
+of which Newington and Kennington may be taken as representative:
+it consists principally of lodging-houses for clerks.
+The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High
+Street,' filled with shops, is for the villas.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="The_George_Inn" id="The_George_Inn"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_335.jpg" width="500" height="491" alt="The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit&#39;s Window in the Marshalsea" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The George Inn<br />
+<br />
+Little Dorrit&#39;s Window in the Marshalsea</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon
+the City. The bread-winners go in and out every day; the
+local shops provide for the houses, and are paid out of the
+money made in the City; the local doctor, the local house
+agent, the local schoolmaster, the local clergyman, all receive
+their share of the money made in the City; even if there be,
+here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">{322}</a></span>
+City; the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the
+City, so that the first function of the City is to feed and supply
+all these millions. If at any time the trade of the City were
+to decay, these suburbs would decay as well; if the decay
+were gradual, they would slowly cease to spread, begin to
+show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay were
+to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily
+deserted. Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale
+never before equalled. Tadmor in the Wilderness would be
+a mere little wheelbarrow full of stones compared with
+suburban London given over to decay and wreck.</p>
+
+<p>Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the
+working class! The brain reels at thinking of this teeming
+multitudinous life; these armies of men, women, and children
+living in the slums and in the huge, unlovely barracks. The
+very number makes it impossible to grasp the enormity of the
+mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as if
+individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are
+they among so many? But in another sense, as I will
+presently show, individual effort may produce consequences
+both deep and widespread.</p>
+
+<p>It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of
+humanity&mdash;this compact round ball of men and women, to
+make which two millions have been brought together&mdash;as if
+any one life was nothing, as if the life of any one out of the
+heap&mdash;any girl, any lad&mdash;was wholly unimportant and trivial,
+however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great
+in a densely populated place as in a village. One example
+is precious&mdash;beyond all price&mdash;in a model dwelling-house of
+Bermondsey as in the most retired community of rustics. It
+is very easy to generalise from the mass: the dweller of the
+slums stands before the mind's eye, beery, unwashed, in rags,
+inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which may better<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">{323}</a></span>
+be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is
+because we do not know him. Ask those who go down
+among these people habitually, they will tell you of differences
+and distinctions among them as among ourselves, of memories
+of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and, at the
+very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of
+a clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be
+very careful how we form general conclusions about men and
+women.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;"><a name="Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge" id="Alcove_from_Old_London_Bridge"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_337.jpg" width="460" height="550" alt="Alcove from Old London Bridge now at Guy&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But&mdash;two millions of people! And every one of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">{324}</a></span>
+wanting all the time what he thinks will make his life more
+happy. For the riverside folk the wants are few, but they are
+daily wants. With them, literally, it is a question of daily
+bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more numerous
+and their happiness more complex!</p>
+
+<p>Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain
+work of a philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the
+place and of the time. Many and various are the attempts
+and the associations and the machinery for raising some of
+these people and for keeping others from sliding down.
+There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised
+than at any previous time, more active, and more largely
+assisted; they have planted evening schools and clubs, for
+boys and girls. One must put the Church of England first, not
+only because her clergy began the work of rescue, but also
+because hers is still the larger part. There is, next, the indirect
+work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's,
+who go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because
+they come to doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable
+questions about the children's school. There are, next,
+places which aim at civilising by the presentation of things
+civilised. For instance, there is a very pleasing institute in
+Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air band, a lecture
+or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look upon
+are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by
+degrees. There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and,
+lastly, there are the 'Settlements,' college settlements and
+others. Let me briefly describe the work and aims of one of
+these settlements. I have before me the last Report of the
+Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the Browning
+Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;"><a name="The_Entrance_Gates" id="The_Entrance_Gates"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_339.jpg" width="498" height="550" alt="The Entrance Gates to Guy&#39;s" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Entrance Gates to Guy&#39;s</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods
+of a 'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They
+are not all the same, but the differences are slight. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">{325}</a></span>
+directors of this settlement, for instance, desire to plant a
+settlement house in every poor street; a house which shall
+be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall serve
+as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a
+large club house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys
+and girls. Once a week there is a concert in the hall. The
+members of the settlement take as large a part as possible in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">{326}</a></span>
+the local government; they have laid out a burial-ground at
+the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor
+men's lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension
+Lectures; they have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday
+afternoons for the men; they have a maternity society;
+they have a clothes store; they have an adult school. Classes
+are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics; there have
+been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade;
+there is musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest
+Festivals; and there are, in addition, works of religion and
+temperance which I have not enumerated above.</p>
+
+<p>The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers,
+personal service; for the people, the influence of example, the
+attraction of things which they understand at once to be a
+great deal more pleasant than the bar and the tap-room; such
+a variety of work and recreation as may drag all into the net
+except the substratum of all, whom nothing can lift out of the
+mire.</p>
+
+<p>One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these
+settlements. First, how large an area in a densely populated
+part can be covered by a single settlement? Next, how many
+young men can be found to carry on the work? For instance,
+if the Browning Settlement can reach&mdash;of course it cannot&mdash;all
+the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine
+other settlements in South London from Battersea to Greenwich,
+both included. If we give 20,000 people for each
+settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty settlements for
+the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the
+officers and managers of departments, from which it would
+seem that about thirty are actively engaged from day to day.
+So that fifteen hundred voluntary workers in all would be required<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">{327}</a></span>
+in order to cover this land of slums with an effective
+string of settlements.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"><a name="A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas" id="A_Former_Entrance_to_St_Thomas"></a>
+<img src="images/illus_341.jpg" width="399" height="550" alt="A Former Entrance to St. Thomas&#39;s Hospital" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A Former Entrance to St. Thomas&#39;s Hospital</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There never was a time when more determined efforts
+have been made for the elevation of the submerged, and there
+never was a time when so many young men and young
+women have been found ready to give the whole of their
+time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">{328}</a></span>
+seen; whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now
+passing over the minds of the young will continue and remain
+with us has also to be proved. The directors of the Browning
+Settlement meantime declare&mdash;I have no intention of
+questioning the truth of their assertion&mdash;that they find already
+among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship,
+and more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement,
+we cannot but desire for South London a chain of
+settlements reaching from Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Since this was written several new Theatres have been built in South
+London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on p. <a href="#Page_320">320</a> which states
+that the Theatres are humble. Also I would acknowledge the existence of local
+newspapers, and instead of saying that it has no public buildings I would say
+only one or two old buildings.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">{329}</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>
+
+
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Acrensis, Thomas, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
+<li>Actors, Company of, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>-<a
+href="#Page_228">228</a></li>
+<li>Ailwin, Childe, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+<li>Albion Island, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Alfred repairs the Walls, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>Allectus, Emperor, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Alleyn, Edward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li>Arundell, Archbishop, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a
+href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
+<li>Asclepiodotus, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>Awdry, Legend of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Bankside, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li>
+<li>Battersea Fields, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a
+href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Battle of Clapham Common, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; on London Bridge, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>-<a
+href="#Page_150">150</a></li>
+<li>Bear Garden Alley, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li>
+<li>'Below Bridge,' <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li>Bermondsey, Religious House, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Spa Gardens, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Hall, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+<li>Bill of a Feast, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li>
+<li>Boadicea, Queen, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Boleyn, Anne, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
+<li>Bombardment of London, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+<li>Borough Compter, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a
+href="#Page_278">278</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Society, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a
+href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li>Bridge across the River, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at the Barefoot Tavern, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Construction of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Destroyed and repaired, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a
+href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+<li>&mdash;, The, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; when built, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Bridges, Roman Method of Building, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>Bull and Bear Baiting, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a
+href="#Page_211">211</a></li>
+<li>Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Cade's Rebellion, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li>
+<li>Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Tales, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>-<a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li>Carausius, History of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>Causeway across Southwark Marsh, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a
+href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; the Lie of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Charles II.'s Restoration, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Charlton Fair, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li>Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>-<a
+href="#Page_174">174</a></li>
+<li>Chelsea&mdash;'Isle of Shingle,' <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Christmas at Kennington Palace, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a
+href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
+<li>Clapham Common Battle, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Rise, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Clink Prison, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+<li>Cnut's Canal, Course of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a
+href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Siege, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Trench, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Commercial Docks, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a
+href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+<li>Copt Hall or Vauxhall, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+<li>Count of the Saxon Shore, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Cranmer, Martyrdom of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
+<li>Cuper's Gardens, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a
+href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Danes defeated, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+<li>Danish Alliance against London, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a
+href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Invasion, Second, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
+<li>Debtors' Prisons, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+<li>Denmark Hill, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>Deptford, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>-<a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a
+href="#Page_306">306</a></li>
+<li>'Dog and Duck,' <a href="#Page_289">289</a>-<a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li>Domesday Book compiled, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
+<li>Dover Road, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+<li>Dry Ground beyond Kennington, <a href="#Page_5">5</a><span class="pagenum"><a
+name="Page_330" id="Page_330">{330}</a></span></li>
+<li>Duels in Battersea Fields, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Dulwich Fields, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Earl Godwine's Invasion, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li>
+<li>Earliest Maps of South London, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+<li>Edmund fights Cnut, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, <a
+href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+<li>Effra River, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li>
+<li>Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a
+href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+<li>Elizabeth Woodville, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+<li>Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a
+href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-<a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li>Eltham Palace, Remains of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;
+  <ul class="IX">
+  <li>a Royal visit, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-<a href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li>Embankment, Early Repairs of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; First, of River, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a
+href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>Extent of South London, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;
+  <ul class="IX">
+  <li>its Islets or Eyots, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>-<a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li>Fairs of London, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li>Falconbridge, Bastard of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+<li>Falcon Stream, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Falstaff, Sir John, History of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a
+href="#Page_152">152</a></li>
+<li>Ferries across Marsh, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li>Field, Nathan, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+<li>Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+<li>Fleet sent against the Danes, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li>Ford of Thorney, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Freemantle, History by, <a href="#Page_1">1</a> [Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to
+Freeman not Freemantle.]</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Gildable Manor, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>Gokstad's ship, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a
+href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+<li>Goose Green, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>Great South Marsh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Green Dragon Inn, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li>
+<li>Greenwich Fair, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Hospital, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Palace, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>-<a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Hackney Marsh, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Marshes, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
+<li>Harold Harefoot, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li>
+<li>Hengist and Æsc, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
+<li>Henry III. at Eltham, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; VI.'s Coronation, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a
+href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Herne Hill, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+<li>High Street, Borough, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Southwark, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li>Hope Theatre, Southwark, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+<li>Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li>Horselydown, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Fair, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li>Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Inns of Southwark, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a
+href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li>Insignia of Pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+<li>Islands in the Marsh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Isle of Bramble, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; or Westminster, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li></ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Juxon, Archbishop, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+<li>Katharine of Valois, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>-<a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+<li>Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>-<a
+href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Palace, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;</li>
+<li><ul class="IX">
+  <li>owned by Theodric, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</li>
+  <li>Christmas at, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li>Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li>
+<li>King's Bench Prison, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a
+href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>-<a
+href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>Lambeth Palace, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; visited by Royalty, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
+<li>Langton, Stephen, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+<li>Legend of Awdry, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+<li>'Le Loke,' <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>'Liberties' of South London, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+<li>'Liberty' Prisons, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li>London and Southwark, Difference between, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; as a Port, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>-<a
+href="#Page_156">156</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">
+{331}</a></span></li>
+<li>&mdash; Original Site of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Site of, from the Causeway, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Third Siege of, by Danes, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a
+href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+<li>Long Barn, The, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a
+href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+<li>Lord Mayor's Pageants, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+<li>Manor of Lambeth, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+<li>Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, <a
+href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li>Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a
+href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
+<li>Marsh, Great South, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Islands in, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>Marshalsea, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li>
+<li>Memories of Greenwich, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a
+href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
+<li>Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a
+href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Monastic Houses, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+<li>Montagu Close, Southwark, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
+<li>Monuments in St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>-<a
+href="#Page_198">198</a></li>
+<li>Morden College, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>New Mint Sanctuary, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Nonesuch, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+<li>Norfolk College, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; House, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Origin of Settlements in South London, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Owen Tudor, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>-<a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Paris Gardens, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Baiting at, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+<li>Parish Clerks, Company of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
+<li>Parliament at Lambeth Palace, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+<li>Pax Romana, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+<li>Payn, John, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li>
+<li>Peckham Rye, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>Penge Common, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+<li>Philanthropic Work, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrimage a Mockery, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a
+href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Insignia of, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrimages, Choice of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a
+href="#Page_160">160</a></li>
+<li>Pilgrims starting from Southwark, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li>
+<li>Playhouses in Southwark, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li>
+<li>Pleasure Gardens, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>-<a
+href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
+<li>Poets of South London, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a
+href="#Page_225">225</a></li>
+<li>Population, Increase in, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a
+href="#Page_317">317</a></li>
+<li>Priory of St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li>
+<li>Prisons of the Liberties, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li>Processions in Southwark, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+<li>Punishments ordered by the Church, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li>
+<li>Puritan Effect on Theatres, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a
+href="#Page_222">222</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Ravensbourne, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Red Cross Gardens, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; House Tavern, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li>
+<li>Remains of Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li>
+<li>Richard II. at Kennington Palace, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a
+href="#Page_82">82</a></li>
+<li>River, First Embankment of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a
+href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Wall removed, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+<li>Roman Connection with Causeway, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Method of Building Bridges, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Remains in South London, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>-<a
+href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; at St. Saviour's Grammar School, <a
+href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Trajectus, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>Rotherhithe, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+<li>Royal Houses, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Manor, Valuation of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a
+href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+<li>Royalty at Eltham Palace, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li>
+<li>Rum, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Sanctuaries, Later, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li>Sanctuary at Southwark, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; at New Mint, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li>Savoy Dock, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li>
+<li>Settlements in South London, Origin of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Show Folk of Bankside, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li>
+<li>Site of London from Causeway, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; of Original London, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>Snorro, Thirlesen, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>Society in the Borough, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li>South London, Extent of, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; deserted, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a
+href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; named Southwark by Saxons, <a href="#Page_2">2</a><span
+class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">{332}</a></span></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; in Ruins and deserted, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Earliest Map of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; of To-day, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li>
+<li>Southwark, Conditions of Existence, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a
+href="#Page_13">13</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; and London, Difference between, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Fair or Lady Fair, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>-<a
+href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Famous Inns, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; without a Wall, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+<li>Stage Coaches, Start of, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a
+href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
+<li>St. Mary Overies, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Dock, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Marriages at, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a
+href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; reconstructed, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a
+href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; connected with Marian Persecution, <a
+href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; in Recent Times, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li>
+<li>St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>St. Saviour's Abbey, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+<li>St. Thomas's Hospital, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Foundation of, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; &mdash; Roman Remains in, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a
+href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+<li>'Stonegate,' <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li>Stubbs, History by, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
+<li>Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-<a
+href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Tabard Inn, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
+<li>Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
+<li>Thames Fishermen, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+<li>Theatre of Southwark Fair, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li>Thorney, Trade of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Island, Trade of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Tournament at Eltham, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-<a
+href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+<li>Trade of Thorney, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Route of South London, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>Traffic through Southwark, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a
+href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
+<li>Trench of Cnut, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Vauxhall Gardens, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>-<a
+href="#Page_299">299</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; &mdash; Site of, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; or Copt Hall, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>Walbrook, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Origin of Name, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Walls repaired by Alfred, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li>Walworth, the Name, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li>Wandle, River, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li>Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li>White Lyon Prison, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li>
+<li>William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, <a
+href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; III.'s Entry into London, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a
+href="#Page_132">132</a></li>
+<li>Willoughby, Sir John, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+<li>Wyclyf's trial, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class='center'>
+PRINTED BY<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER<br />
+LONDON AND ETON</p>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/illus_005.jpg" width="100" height="62" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style='margin-left:17.5%; width:65%'/>
+
+<p class="smcap center" style="font-size: x-large;">NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT &amp; JAMES RICE.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2<i>s.</i> each;
+cloth limp, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+
+<ul><li>READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.</li>
+<li>WITH HARP AND CROWN.</li>
+<li>THIS SON OF VULCAN.</li>
+<li>MY LITTLE GIRL.</li>
+<li>THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT.</li>
+<li>THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.</li>
+<li>BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.</li>
+<li>THE MONKS OF THELEMA.</li>
+<li>'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.</li>
+<li>THE SEAMY SIDE.</li>
+<li>THE TEN YEARS' TENANT.</li>
+<li>THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.</li></ul>
+
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+
+<p class="smcap center" style="font-size: x-large;">NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2<i>s.</i> each;
+cloth limp, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>THE CAPTAINS' ROOM, &amp;c. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">E. J. Wheeler</span>.</li>
+<li>CHILDREN OF GIBEON.</li>
+<li>ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Harry Furniss</span>.</li>
+<li>DOROTHY FORSTER. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">Charles Green</span>.</li>
+<li>UNCLE JACK, and other Stories.</li>
+<li>THE WORLD WENT VERY WELL THEN. With Illustrations by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.</li>
+<li>FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>TO CALL HER MINE, &amp;c. With 9 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>THE BELL OF ST. PAUL'S.</li>
+<li>THE IVORY GATE.</li>
+<li>THE HOLY ROSE, &amp;c. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>ARMOREL OF LYONESSE. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Barnard</span>.</li>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Charles Green</span>.</li>
+<li>VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">Gordon Browne</span>.</li>
+<li>THE REBEL QUEEN.</li>
+<li>BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">W. H. Hyde</span>.</li>
+<li>THE REVOLT OF MAN.</li>
+<li>IN DEACON'S ORDERS. With a Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">A. Forestier</span>.</li>
+<li>THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.</li>
+<li>THE CITY OF REFUGE.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>A FOUNTAIN SEALED. With Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">H. G. Burgess</span>.</li>
+<li>THE CHANGELING.</li>
+<li>THE ALABASTER BOX.</li>
+<li>THE ORANGE GIRL. With 8 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">F. Pegram</span>.</li>
+<li>THE LADY OF LYNN. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">G. Demain Hammond</span>.</li>
+<li>NO OTHER WAY. With 12 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">C. D. Ward</span>.</li>
+<li>THE FOURTH GENERATION.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Fine Paper Editions</span>, pott 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 2<i>s.</i> net each;
+leather, gilt edges, 3<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>LONDON.</li>
+<li>WESTMINSTER.</li>
+<li>JERUSALEM. (In collaboration with <span class="smcap">E. H. Palmer.</span>)</li>
+<li>SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.</li>
+<li>GASPARD DE COLIGNY.</li>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Popular Editions</span>, medium 8vo. 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.</li>
+<li>THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.</li>
+<li>READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.</li>
+<li>FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.</li>
+<li>NO OTHER WAY.</li>
+<li>BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.</li>
+<li>CHILDREN OF GIBEON.</li>
+<li>THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.</li>
+<li>THE ORANGE GIRL.</li>
+<li>DOROTHY FORSTER.</li>
+<li>THE MONKS OF THELEMA.</li>
+<li>ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Demy 8vo. cloth, 5<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul><li>LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>WESTMINSTER. With Etching by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 130 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 119 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by <span class="smcap">F. S. Walker</span>, and 54 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Phil May</span>, <span class="smcap">L. Raven Hill</span>, and <span class="smcap">Joseph Pennell</span>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.</li>
+<li>THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By <span class="smcap">Walter Besant</span> and <span class="smcap">W. H. Pollock</span>. With 50 Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Chris. Hammond</span> and <span class="smcap">A. Jule Goodman</span>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2<i>s.</i> each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.</li>
+<li>THE REBEL QUEEN.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<p class="center">Crown 8vo. cloth, 1<i>s.</i> net each.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.</li>
+<li>THE ALABASTER BOX.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<hr style="margin-left:37.5%; width: 25%;" />
+
+<ul>
+<li>THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6<i>s.</i></li>
+<li>THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1<i>s.</i> net.</li>
+<li>ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. <span class="smcap">Cheap Edition</span>, picture cover, 1<i>s.</i> net.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+<p class="center">London: CHATTO &amp; WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH LONDON ***
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+</pre>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: South London
+
+Author: Sir Walter Besant
+
+Illustrator: Francis S. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 16, 2014 [EBook #44683]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH LONDON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+WALTER BESANT'S LONDON BOOKS.
+
+UNIFORM EDITION. Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+
+LONDON.
+
+With 125 Illustrations.
+
+    'What the late J. R. Green has done for England Sir Walter Besant
+    has here attempted, with conspicuous success, for Cockaigne. The
+    Author of "A Short History of the English People" and the historian
+    of the London citizen share together the true secret of popularity.
+    Both have placed before the people of to-day a series of vivid and
+    indelible pictures of the people of the past.... No one who loves
+    his London but will love it the better for reading this book. He who
+    loves it not has before him a clear duty and a manifest
+    pleasure.'--_Graphic._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows and loves his London thoroughly, and his
+    beautifully illustrated book will call up in the minds of those who
+    bow to the spell a thousand delights of memory and expectation. He
+    contrives not merely to call back the old London, but to make the
+    London of the present more living than before.'--_Spectator._
+
+
+WESTMINSTER.
+
+With 131 Illustrations.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has told the story of the old city (London) and
+    its corporate life in a way which has never been surpassed--not even
+    equalled. The past of the mother of municipal life he has made to
+    live and breathe in a manner which reduces all other records of
+    London to the mere dryasdust category. But we like his "Westminster"
+    even better.... There is nothing but admiration to be expressed as
+    well for the plan as for the execution.'--_Daily Chronicle._
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant has here given us a worthy companion to his
+    charming book on "London."... From beginning to end the narrative
+    never flags, the illustrations never fail, and one rises from its
+    reading with fuller ideas of the historic interest of the place and
+    a greater veneration for the ancient Abbey and all its relics of the
+    past.'--_Guardian._
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON.
+
+With 120 Illustrations.
+
+    'To all Londoners who realise the absorbing fascination of the great
+    world they live in we cordially recommend it as a worthy sequel to
+    the author's previous volumes. It is written by an enthusiast who is
+    also an accomplished writer, by a student who is a close observer of
+    life; and it passes before the reader's imagination a series of
+    indelible pictures which clothe our prosaic and monotonous South
+    London with the romance which is its due.'--_Literature._
+
+
+EAST LONDON.
+
+With 55 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+    'Sir Walter Besant knows London as no one has known it since Charles
+    Dickens.... He has given a lifetime to the acquisition of his
+    knowledge of the great city. He was grey before he attempted to
+    write his monumental works on "London," "Westminster," and "South
+    London"--books which have earned him his title as the historian of
+    London--and he has postponed his book on "East London" until his
+    sixty-fifth year.... Crammed with antiquarian lore mingled with
+    human interest and saturated with genuine sympathy for the people is
+    this study of "East London."... A thoroughly masterly
+    book.'--_Literary World._
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._
+
+
+FIFTY YEARS AGO.
+
+With 144 Plates and Woodcuts.
+
+    'A series of entertaining chapters, to which the droll illustrations
+    of George Cruikshank and the inimitable portraits by Daniel Maclise
+    lend additional effect.... The book is full of movement and colour,
+    and presents a vivid and interesting picture of the great reign of
+    Queen Victoria.'--_Speaker._
+
+Small 8vo. cloth (in the ST. MARTIN'S LIBRARY), gilt top, 2_s._ net
+each; feather, gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+    LONDON.                    WESTMINSTER.
+    SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.   JERUSALEM.
+    GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: F. S. Walker, R.E.
+
+S^t. Saviour's, Southwark.]
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+BY
+
+WALTER BESANT
+
+AUTHOR OF
+'LONDON' 'WESTMINSTER' 'EAST LONDON' ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A NEW EDITION
+WITH AN ETCHING BY FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.E.
+AND 119 ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+LONDON
+CHATTO & WINDUS
+1912
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In sending forth this book on 'SOUTH LONDON,' the successor to my two
+preceding books on 'LONDON' and 'WESTMINSTER,' I have to explain in this
+case, as before, that it is not a history, or a chronicle, or a
+consecutive account of the Borough and her suburbs that I offer, but, as
+in the other two books, chapters taken here and there from the mass of
+material which lies ready to hand, and especially chapters which
+illustrate the most important part of History, namely, the condition,
+the manners, the customs of the people dwelling in this place, now, like
+Westminster, a part of London: yet, until two or three hundred years
+ago, an ancient marsh kept from the overflowing tide by an Embankment,
+joined to the Dover road by a Causeway, settled and inhabited by two or
+three Houses of Religious: by half a dozen Palaces of Bishops, Abbots,
+and great Lords: by a colony of fishermen living on the Embankment from
+time immemorial, since the Embankment itself was built: and by a street
+of Inns and shops.
+
+I hope that 'SOUTH LONDON' will be received with favour equal to that
+bestowed upon its predecessors. The chief difficulty in writing it has
+been that of selection from the great treasures which have accumulated
+about this strange spot. The contents of this volume do not form a tenth
+part of what might be written on the same plan, and still without
+including the History Proper of the Borough. I am like the showman in
+the 'Cries of London'--I pull the strings, and the children peep. Lo!
+Allectus goes forth to fight and die on Clapham Common: William's men
+burn the fishermen's cottages: little King Richard, that lovely boy,
+rides out, all in white and gold, from his Palace at Kennington--saw one
+ever so gallant a lad? The Bastard of Falconbridge bombards the city:
+Sir John Fastolfe's man is pressed into Jack Cade's army: the Minters
+make their last Sanctuary opposite St. George's: the Debtors languish in
+the King's Bench. There are many pictures in the box--but how many more
+there are for which no room could be found!
+
+I must acknowledge my obligations, first, to the Editor of the _Pall
+Mall Magazine_, where half of these chapters first had the honour of
+appearing, for the wealth of illustration of which he thought them
+worthy: and next to the artist, Mr. Percy Wadham, who has so faithfully
+and so cunningly carried out the task committed to him.
+
+  WALTER BESANT.
+
+    UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB:
+        _September 1898_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+     I. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS                                          1
+
+    II. EARLY HISTORY                                                 25
+
+   III. A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY                                         47
+
+    IV. THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON                              69
+
+     V. PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS                                         124
+
+    VI. A FORGOTTEN WORTHY                                           134
+
+   VII. THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON                                    153
+
+  VIII. THE PILGRIMS                                                 157
+
+    IX. THE LADY FAIR                                                179
+
+     X. ST. MARY OVERIES                                             191
+
+    XI. THE SHOW FOLK                                                206
+
+   XII. BELOW BRIDGE                                                 229
+
+  XIII. THE LATER SANCTUARY                                          241
+
+   XIV. IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY                                    248
+
+    XV. THE DEBTORS' PRISON                                          272
+
+   XVI. THE PLEASURE GARDENS                                         282
+
+  XVII. SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY                                       301
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                  _Frontispiece_
+_Etched by F. S. Walker, R.E._
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+VIEW FROM SOUTHWARK MARSH IN PREHISTORIC TIMES                         3
+
+CAUSEWAY ACROSS SOUTHWARK MARSH                                        7
+
+FISHERS' HUTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE FLEET                                9
+
+BARKING CREEK                                                         11
+
+RELICS OF THE STONE AGE                                               15
+
+A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE                                              17
+
+RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE                                              19
+
+MERCHANTS CROSSING SOUTHWARK MARSH                                    27
+
+LONDON BRIDGE, A.D. 1000                                              29
+
+A DANISH HOUSE                                                        31
+
+SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                33
+
+A VIKING SHIP                                                         34
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            37
+
+DIAGRAM                                                               40
+
+THE GOKSTAD SHIP                                                      41
+
+SHIPS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR                                        43
+
+BAYEUX TAPESTRY                                                       45
+
+THE MONASTERY OF BERMONDSEY                                           51
+
+BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                                      52
+
+GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY                                           53
+
+ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK                                                  61
+
+'LE LOKE'                                                             63
+
+REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM THE SOUTH     67
+
+THE LONG BARN                                                         70
+
+SKETCH MAP                                                            71
+
+GATEWAY IN THE HALL, ELTHAM PALACE                                    75
+
+THE ANCIENT ROYAL PALACE AT GREENWICH                                 77
+
+SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE                                              83
+_From Allen's History of Lambeth_
+
+THE HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, AS IT APPEARED MDXLIII                    85
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796                                        91
+
+KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT                                              93
+_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_
+
+REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE                                              95
+
+THE MOAT BRIDGE, ELTHAM PALACE                                        97
+
+GREENWICH, 1662                                                       99
+_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_
+
+GREENWICH HOSPITAL                                                   101
+_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE                                                       109
+
+BONNER HALL, LAMBETH                                                 111
+
+RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH                                     113
+_From 'La Belle Assemblee,' November 1822_
+
+BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH                                               114
+
+INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE                                 115
+_From an Engraving dated 1804_
+
+LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER                                       116
+
+LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE                                      117
+
+DOORWAY IN THE LOLLARDS' TOWER                                       119
+
+LOLLARDS' PRISON                                                     121
+
+WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK                                            137
+
+SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK             139
+
+THE SITE OF SIR JOHN FASTOLF'S HOUSE IN TOOLEY STREET                143
+
+HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550                               149
+
+OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY                                     158
+
+OLD HALL, AYLESBURY                                                  159
+
+CANTERBURY PILGRIMS                                                  160
+
+15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH                                               165
+
+RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY                             165
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+14TH CENTURY MERCHANT                                                168
+
+14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN                                               168
+
+PEDLAR                                                               175
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_
+
+MINSTRELS, A.D. 1480                                                 177
+
+BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR                                                181
+
+GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY                                     187
+_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_
+
+A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                           192
+
+SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            193
+
+NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800                    194
+
+CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES                                            195
+
+GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811                        197
+_From a Drawing by Whichelo_
+
+REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES                          199
+
+TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES                             201
+
+A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK                                 203
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790                                       204
+
+WINCHESTER PALACE                                                    207
+
+THE GLOBE THEATRE                                                    209
+_From the Crace Collection_
+
+BEAR GARDEN                                                          213
+
+THE BEAR GARDEN AND HOPE THEATRE, 1616                               221
+
+INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE                                     223
+
+A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590                                        231
+_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_
+
+THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814                                    233
+
+VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                  235
+_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_
+
+GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH                                                239
+
+MINT STREET, BOROUGH                                                 245
+
+OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK                                  249
+
+ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                                                250
+_From an old Print_
+
+SOME ANCIENT HOUSES IN THE LONG WALK, BERMONDSEY                     251
+
+JAMAICA HOUSE, BERMONDSEY                                            252
+
+QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL                                253
+
+ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH                              254
+_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_
+
+THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE                                          255
+
+AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE                                                256
+
+JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE                                257
+
+THE OLD TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK                                         258
+
+OLD HOUSES IN EWER STREET                                            259
+
+COURTYARD OF THE DOG AND BEAR INN                                    261
+
+THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK                                     263
+
+ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK                                            265
+
+A SOUTH LONDON SLUM                                                  267
+
+THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK                                        268
+
+ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW                               269
+_From an Engraving by B. Cole_
+
+REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B, PALACE COURT     273
+_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_
+
+KING'S BENCH PRISON                                                  275
+
+ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KING'S BENCH PRISON                              277
+
+VAUXHALL GARDENS                                                     283
+_From the Engraving by J. S. Mueller_
+
+VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET                                    285
+
+THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM                                            289
+
+A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY                                 301
+
+IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY                                         302
+
+THE TEMPLE FROM THE SURREY BANK                                      303
+
+HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE                                            305
+
+CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD                                         307
+
+ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840                                            309
+
+DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780                                                311
+
+FROM THE TOWER OF ST. SAVIOUR'S                                      313
+
+RED CROSS GARDENS, SOUTHWARK                                         315
+
+ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK                                                   317
+
+BELOW CHERRY GARDEN PIER                                             319
+
+THE GEORGE INN                                                       321
+
+LITTLE DORRIT'S WINDOW IN THE MARSHALSEA                             321
+
+ALCOVE FROM OLD LONDON BRIDGE, NOW AT GUY'S                          323
+
+THE ENTRANCE GATES TO GUY'S                                          325
+
+A FORMER ENTRANCE TO ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL                           327
+
+
+
+
+SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
+
+
+I propose to call the series of chapters which are to follow by the
+general name of 'South London.' Like their predecessors on 'London' and
+'Westminster,' they will not attempt, or pretend, to present a
+continuous history of this region--or, indeed, a history at all: they
+will endeavour to do for this part of London what their predecessors
+have already attempted for the Cities of London and Westminster: that is
+to say, they will present such episodes and incidents, with such
+characters, as may serve to illustrate the life of the place; the
+manners and customs of the people; the characteristics of the Borough
+and its outlying suburbs. So far as history means the march of armies
+and the clash of armour, we shall here find little history. So far,
+also, as history means the growth of our liberties, the struggles by
+which they were won; the apparent decay, or defeat, from time to time,
+of the spirit of freedom, with its inevitable recovery: the reader and
+the student may be referred to the pages of a Stubbs or a Freeman--not
+to my humbler page. Great is the work, and worthy to be held in the
+highest honour, of those who trace out the irresistible march of
+national freedom: I cannot join their company; I must be contented with
+the lowlier, yet somewhat useful, task of showing how the people, my
+forefathers, lived, and what they thought, and how they sang and
+feasted and made love and grew old and died.
+
+My South London extends from Battersea in the west to Greenwich in the
+east, and from the river on the north to the first rising ground on the
+south. This rising ground, a gentle ascent, the beginning of the Surrey
+hills, can still be observed on the high roads of the south--Clapham,
+Brixton, Camberwell. It now occupies the place of what was formerly a
+low cliff, from ten to thirty or forty feet high, overhanging the broad
+level, and corresponding to those cliffs on the other side of the river,
+which closed in on either side of Walbrook and made the foundation of
+London possible. If we draw a straight line from the mouth of the Wandle
+on the west to the mouth of the Ravensbourne on the east, we shall,
+roughly speaking, indicate the southern boundary of our district;
+unless, as we may very well do, we include Greenwich as well. The whole
+of this region constitutes the Great South Marsh: there is no rising
+ground, or hillock, or encroaching cliff over the whole of this flat
+expanse. Before the river was embanked it was one unbroken marsh: for
+eight miles in length by a varying breadth of about two or two and a
+half miles, the tidal stream twice in the twenty-four hours submerged
+this space. Here and there lay islets or eyots, created, as the
+centuries crept on, by the gradual accumulation of branches, roots,
+reeds and rubbish, till they rose a few inches above high water; the
+spring-tide covered them--sometimes swept them away--then others began
+to form. In later times, after the work of embankment had been
+commenced, these islets became permanent, and were afterwards known as
+Battersea, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Lambhithe, Newington, Kennington.
+Even then, for many a long year, they were but little areas rising a
+foot or two above the level, covered with sedge, reeds, and tufts of
+coarse grass, hardly distinguishable from the rest of the ground around
+them. Before the construction of the river wall, no trees stood upon
+this morass, no flowers of the field flourished there, no thorns and
+bushes grew, no cattle pastured there; the wild deer were afraid of it:
+there were no creatures of the land upon it. On the south side rose the
+cliff of clay and sand, continually falling and continually receding
+before the encroaching tide; on the north side ran the river; beyond the
+river the cliff stood up above the water's edge, where the tiny stream,
+afterwards named from the Wall, leaped bright and sparkling into the
+rolling flood. No man could live upon that marsh: its breath after
+sunset and in the night was pestilential.
+
+[Illustration: View from Southwark Marsh in Prehistoric Times.]
+
+Many streams poured into this marsh, and at low tide made their way
+across it into the Thames: at high tide their beds were lost in the
+shallows. Among them--to use names by which they were afterwards
+distinguished--were the Wandle, the Falcon, the Effra, the Ravensbourne,
+and others which have disappeared and left no name. And so for
+unnumbered years the tide daily ebbed and flowed, and the reeds bent
+beneath the breeze, and the clouds scudded overhead, and the wild birds
+screamed, far away from the world of men and women, long after men and
+women began to wander about this Island called Albion. No one took any
+thought of this marsh, any more than they heeded the marshes all along
+the lower reaches of the river; and these were surely the most desolate,
+dreary stretches of water and mud anywhere in the world. Those who wish
+to realise what manner of country it was which stretched away on the
+north and south of the Thames may perhaps get some comprehension of it
+if they stand on the point at Bradwell in Essex, beside the ruined
+Chapel of St. Peter-on-the-Wall, and look out at low tide to east and
+north.
+
+In a previous volume dealing with another part of the country called
+London I showed to my own satisfaction, and, I believe, that of my
+readers, that long before there existed any London at all, except
+perhaps a village of a few fishermen with their coracles, Westminster or
+Thorney was a busy and crowded place of resort, through which the whole
+trade of the country north of the Thames passed on its way to Dover and
+the southern ports. This position, new as it was, and opposed to the
+general and traditional teaching--opposed, for instance, to the
+traditional belief of Dean Stanley--has never been attacked, and may be
+considered, therefore, as generally accepted. When or how the trade of
+Thorney began, to what extent it developed, we need not here inquire.
+Indeed, I know not that any fragments of fact or of tradition exist
+which would enable us to inquire. The fact itself, as will be
+immediately seen, is of the highest importance as regards the beginning
+and early history of the Southern settlements.
+
+The ancient way of trade, then, ran across the island called afterwards
+by the Saxons Thorney, the Isle of Bramble, now Westminster. All the
+trade of the north passed over that little spot, on which arose a
+considerable town for the reception of the caravans. After resting a
+night or so at Thorney, the merchants went on their way. Those who
+travelled south, making for Dover, crossed over the ford, where there
+was afterwards a ferry. This ferry continued until the erection of
+Westminster Bridge in the last century: the name still survives in
+Horseferry Road. After the passage of the ford, the travellers found
+themselves face to face with a mile of dangerous bog, marsh and swamp,
+through which they had to plod and plough their way, sinking over their
+knees, up to the middle, before they emerged upon the higher ground, now
+called Clapham Rise. To the merchants driving their long chains of
+slaves and heavily laden packhorses and mules from the north, this was
+the worst bit of the whole journey. Every day there were rivers to be
+forded, in which some of their slaves might get drowned or might escape;
+there were dark woods, in which they might be attacked by hostile
+tribes; there were hills to climb; but nowhere, in the whole of their
+journey, was there a piece of country more difficult than this great
+swamp beyond the Ford of Thorney. They splashed and floundered through
+it, over ankles, over knees, up to the middle, up to the neck, in mud
+and muddy water. The packhorses sank deep down with their loads; they
+took off the loads and laid them on the shoulders of the slaves, who
+threw them off into the mud, and let them stay there, while they made a
+mad attempt to escape. Horse and mule; slave and slave-load; iron, lead,
+and skins: the merchant paid heavy tribute while he crossed the marshes
+and waded through the shallows of the broad tidal river.
+
+At some time or other, the idea occurred to an unknown person of
+engineering genius in advance of his time, that it might not be
+impossible to construct a causeway across this marsh; and that such a
+causeway would be extremely useful and convenient for those who used the
+Thorney Fords. Perhaps the causeway was his own invention; perhaps the
+work was the first causeway ever constructed in this country; perhaps
+the inventor began on the smallest possible scale, with a very narrow
+way across the marsh to the nearest dry ground, which was, of course,
+somewhere beyond Kennington; perhaps the work, colossal for the time,
+carried the merchants and their caravans across the whole extent of the
+marsh--five miles and more--to the rising ground of Deptford or
+Greenwich, the nearest point to Dover. The causeway was not unlike those
+which now run across the Hackney Marshes; that is to say, it was raised
+so high as to be above the highest spring tide, about six feet above the
+level of the marsh. It was constructed by driving piles into the mud at
+regular intervals, forming a wall of timber within the piles, and
+filling up the space with gravel and shingle, brought from
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle'--or from the nearest high ground, where is
+now Clapham Common. The breadth of the causeway, I take it, was about
+ten or twelve feet. The construction of the work rendered the passage
+across the marsh perfectly easy, and greatly facilitated that part of
+the trade of the island which lay in the midland and on the north.
+
+When was this causeway, the first step in road-making, constructed?
+Perhaps it was a Roman work. I think, however, that it is older than the
+Roman occupation; and for these reasons. When London was first visited
+by the Romans it was already a flourishing city with a '_copia
+negotiatorum_;' in other words, it had already succeeded in attracting
+the greater part of the trade which formerly passed through Thorney. Had
+the Romans built the causeway, they would have constructed it along a
+line drawn from one of the two old ferries to Deptford. The causeway,
+therefore, must have existed when the Romans arrived upon the scene,
+together with, as we shall see immediately, the second causeway
+connecting the ferry with the first causeway. I dare say the Romans
+strengthened the work: turned it from a gravelled way, soft in bad
+weather, into one of their hard, firm Roman roads; faced it with stone,
+and made it durable. If South London were to be stripped of all its
+houses, the two causeways would be found still, hard and firm, beneath
+the mass of accumulated soil and rubbish, as the Romans left them.
+
+If you draw a straight line from 'Stanegate,' close to the end of
+Westminster Bridge, as far as the beginning of the Old Kent Road, you
+will understand the lie of the causeway. And this causeway, understand,
+was the very first interference of the hand of man with the marshes
+south of the Thames. It was a way across the marsh: not an embankment
+against the river, but a way. It did not keep out the tide which flowed
+in on the other side--the Battersea side: it was simply a way across the
+marsh. For a long time--we cannot tell how long--it remained the
+principal way of communication for the trade of Britain between the
+north and the south, the midland and the south, the eastern counties and
+the south.
+
+[Illustration: Causeway across Southwark Marsh.]
+
+Consider, next, the site of London, as it appeared to the merchants
+crossing the causeway. They saw, in the centuries of which no trace or
+memory remains, when they turned their eyes northward, first a level of
+mud, sprinkled with little eyots of reed and coarse grass, then the
+broad river, and beyond the river two streams, one fuller than the
+other, each in its own valley--that of the Walbrook was 132 feet wide at
+the present site of the Mansion House--falling into the river; a low
+cliff ran along the north bank, leaving stretches of marsh, as on the
+south, but, where these streams ran into the Thames, approaching close
+to the river, and actually overhanging it. On the river they saw
+numerous coracles, with fishermen catching salmon and every kind of fish
+in their nets. No river in the world was more plentifully stocked with
+fish; overhead flew screaming innumerable birds--geese, ducks,
+herne--which the trappers trapped, snared, shot with sling and stone by
+the thousand. On those cliffs overhanging the river, the travellers by
+the causeway saw the huts of the fisherfolk. Then, perhaps, they
+remembered the plenty of the markets of Thorney; the abundance of birds,
+the vast quantities of fish offered on those stalls. Those who were
+curious connected the coracles on the river and the birds that flew up
+from the lowlands with these markets; they saw that London--'the place
+or fort over the Lake'--was the settlement which furnished Thorney with
+a good part of her supplies. And this I verily believe to have been the
+real origin and cause of London. It was first settled by the humble folk
+who came here for the purpose of catching fish and trapping birds for
+the market of Thorney. This is a suggestion only; it will be set aside,
+most certainly, by those who are not pleased with the upsetting of old
+theories. To those who are able to realise the ancient condition of
+things and all it means, the suggestion will be received, I am
+convinced, as more than a theory: it will be regarded and accepted as a
+discovery.
+
+Let us put it in another way. Thorney was a place of great resort, as I
+have shown in these pages already: every day passed into Thorney, and
+out of Thorney, long processions or caravans of merchants with
+merchandise carried by slaves--the most valuable part of their
+merchandise--and by packhorses and mules; they waded through the
+northern ford; they rested for a night in one of the inns of the place:
+next day they waded through the southern ford, attained the causeway,
+and went south. Or else it was the reverse way. The place required a
+daily supply of food, and, as there were many travellers, a great
+quantity of food. If you go down the river from Thorney, you will find
+that the present site of London, on the two hillocks rising out of the
+river, was the first and only place where men could put up huts in which
+to live while they caught fish and trapped wild birds for Thorney. If,
+therefore, the Isle of Bramble was a flourishing centre of trade long
+before London was a place of trade at all, then the original London must
+have been a settlement of fishermen and trappers who supplied the
+markets of Thorney.
+
+[Illustration: Fishers' Huts at the mouth of the Fleet.]
+
+In course of time--we are still in prehistoric times--the site of
+London was discovered by seamen and merchant adventurers exploring the
+rivers in their ships. It was found cheaper and easier and safer to
+carry goods to and from Thorney by way of sea than by land. To coast
+along from Dover to the strait between Rum--the Isle of Thanet, and the
+mainland--to pass through the strait and up the river, was found easier
+and cheaper than to undertake the costly and dangerous march from Dover
+to Thorney Ford. This way, then, was by many undertaken; and so a
+certain part of the trade along the old causeway was diverted.
+
+The next step was the discovery of London as a port. There was no port
+at Thorney: on the site of London were the two natural ports of Walbrook
+and the mouth of the Fleet; there was a high ground safer and more
+salubrious than that of Thorney; ships began to anchor there, quays were
+erected, goods were landed; the high road which we call Oxford Street
+was constructed to connect London with the highway of trade--afterwards
+Watling Street; and the trade of London began.
+
+Now, if you look once more at the map of the south as it was, you will
+observe that London at its first commencement had no communication with
+any part of the world except by water. The first road opened was, as I
+have said, the connection with Watling Street; what was the next? It was
+a connection with the high road to Dover: that connection was the road
+which we now call High Street, Borough. These two roads were the first
+communication between London and any other place; all the other roads,
+to the north and south and west and east, came afterwards. It was
+necessary for London to have an open and direct connection, by land as
+well as by sea, with the then principal port of the country. The High
+Street formed that open communication; it began not far to the west of
+St Saviour's Church, opposite the Roman Trajectus, the mediaeval ferry,
+now St. Mary Overies Dock.
+
+Observe, however, that we are as yet very far from embanking the river,
+or draining the marsh, or making it inhabitable. If you walk across
+Hackney Marsh by one of its causeways any autumnal morning, especially
+after rain, you will understand something of what Southwark looked like.
+Two high causeways crossed the marsh, of which as yet not a square foot
+had been drained or reclaimed; yet the place was not so wild as it had
+been; the wild birds had been partly driven away by the noise and crowd
+of London, and by the concourse of ships sailing continually up and
+down. There was as yet no bridge. The ferry crossed the river backwards
+and forwards all day long. The causeways were crowded with people; but
+as yet nothing on the lowlands. Before the marshes could be drained the
+river had to be embanked.
+
+[Illustration: Barking Creek]
+
+No one knows when that was done. It was done, however. At some time or
+other a high earthwork was raised along the north and south banks of
+the river, enclosing the marshes, converting them into pasture and
+arable land, and keeping out the tides of Thames. It was a work of the
+most signal benefit; it was also a colossal piece of work, measured by
+hundreds of miles, for it was continued all round the islets and coast
+of Essex. It was a work requiring constant repair, though most of it has
+stood splendidly. The wall gave way, however, at Barking in the time of
+Henry the Second; at Wapping in the time of Elizabeth; at Dagenham early
+in the last century: at each of these places the repair of the wall was
+costly and difficult. The embankment left behind it a low-lying ground,
+rich and fertile; orchards and woods began to grow and to flourish upon
+it; yet it was still swampy in parts, numerous ponds lay about on it,
+streams wound their way confined in channels, and let out through the
+embankment at low tide by culverts.
+
+Whether the bridge came before the embankment I cannot decide. Yet I
+think that the embankment came first; for the existence of
+Southwark--that of any part of South London--depended not on the bridge,
+but on the embankment and the ferry. Given, however, the embankment; the
+two causeways; the bridge; two ferries--one at St. Mary Overies and the
+other lower down, opposite the Tower: given, also, direct communication
+with Dover, with Thorney--thence with the midlands and the north: there
+could not fail to arise a settlement or town of some kind on the south
+of the Thames.
+
+Let us next consider the conditions under which the town of Southwark
+began to exist and to continue for a great many years.
+
+(1) There was no wall or any means of defence, except the marsh which
+surrounded it and prohibited the approach of an army except along the
+causeway.
+
+(2) The ground lay low on either side the causeway, and south of the
+embankment. Although the tide no longer ebbed and flowed among the reeds
+and islets of the marsh, yet it was covered with small ponds, some of
+them stagnant, others formed by the many streams which flowed towards
+the culverts on the embankment, through which at low tide they escaped
+into the Thames; until some kind of drainage was attempted, the place
+caused agues and fevers for any who slept in its white miasma. In other
+words, not an embankment only, but drainage of some kind, had to be
+undertaken before life was possible on the marsh.
+
+(3) There were no quays, no shipping, no merchants, no trade, on the
+south side. All merchandise coming up from the south for export at the
+port of London, all merchandise landed at the port for the south, had to
+be carried across the bridge.
+
+(4) The crowds of people connected with the trade of London--the
+porters, carriers, drivers, grooms and stable-boys, stevedores,
+lightermen, sailors foreign and native, the _employes_ of the merchants,
+their wives, women and children--all these people lived in London
+itself; they had their taverns and drinking shops; their sleeping places
+and eating places, in London; all the people employed in providing food
+and drink and sport, lived on the other side. South London had to be a
+place without trade, without noise, without disturbance of workmen,
+without broils among the sailors or fights among foreigners.
+
+(5) It stood on the south bank of a river swarming with fish.
+
+(6) The only parts on which houses could be built were along the line of
+the causeways, or along the line of the embankment.
+
+These were the conditions. We should expect, therefore, to find the
+place thinly inhabited; and to find that the houses were all built
+beside or along the raised ways. We should next expect to find along
+the causeways that the houses belonged to the wealthier class.
+
+We should expect, further, to find no sailors' or working men's
+quarters. The former because there were no ships; the latter because
+there were no markets. Lastly, we should not be surprised to find the
+place very early occupied by inns and places of accommodation for those
+who resorted to London.
+
+All this was, in fact, what did take place. The Roman remains are
+numerous; they are all found along the causeways; the existence of a
+Roman cemetery shows that it was a place of some importance. I say
+_some_, because its very limited extent proves that it was never a large
+place. I will return immediately to the Roman remains.
+
+There was, however, one trade, one class of working men which took up
+its abode along the embankment of Southwark: it was that of the
+fishermen, driven across the river by the growth of London. There was no
+room for the fishermen with their coracles and nets along the line of
+quays on the north side; they wanted a place to haul up their boats, and
+a place to spread their nets,--they could not find either in the north;
+nor would the fish be caught in waters troubled perpetually by oars and
+keels. The fisherfolk, therefore, put up their huts along the
+embankment; for long centuries afterwards the fisherfolk continued to
+live in South London. The last remnant of Thames fishermen occupied,
+well into the present century, a single court in Lambeth; it is
+described as unpaved, unglazed, unlighted, dirty, and insanitary. But
+the last salmon had been caught in the river; the Thames fishermen were
+by that time almost starved out of existence. I am sure that the south
+was always their place of residence; the foreshore offered them what
+they could not find on the north bank. To him, however, who considers
+the fisheries of the Thames, there are many points on which, for want of
+exact information, he may speculate and theorise as much as he pleases.
+For instance, later on, there were fishermen living at Limehouse. Some
+of the Thames watermen lived here also--the legend of Awdry the ferryman
+assigns to him a residence on the south; their favourite place of
+residence, however, was St. Katherine's first, and Wapping afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The Roman remains found up and down the place prove my assertion that
+the people who lived here were what we should call substantial. One need
+not catalogue the long list of Roman _trouvailles_; but, to take the
+more important, in the year 1819 there was discovered, in taking up the
+foundations of some old houses belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, in
+St. Thomas's Street, a fine tesselated pavement, about ten feet below
+the surface of the ground. In the following year, in the area facing St.
+Saviour's Grammar School, seven or eight feet below the surface, there
+was found another, of a more elaborate design. Only a part of this was
+uncovered, as the Governors of the School forbade further investigation:
+it remains to this day still to be examined and unearthed, under the
+present potato and fruit market. At the entrance of King Street, at a
+depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, were found a great many Roman lamps, a
+vase, and other sepulchral deposits. And in tunnelling for a new sewer
+through Blackman Street and Snow Fields, in 1818 and 1819, and again in
+Union Street, in 1823, numerous Roman antiquities were discovered. In
+Trinity Square was found a coin of Gordianus Africanus. In Deverill
+Street, south of the Dover road, other coins were discovered; in St.
+Saviour's churchyard, a coin of Antoninus Pius. It has also been proved
+that an extensive Roman cemetery existed on the south of the ancient
+settlement. In the year 1840, when excavations were going on for the
+purpose of building a new wing to St. Thomas's Hospital, another
+tesselated pavement was disclosed, with passages and walls of other
+chambers, all built on piles, showing that the houses beside the
+causeway were thus supported in the marshy ground; Roman coins and
+pottery were also found here. Another pavement was discovered on the
+opposite side, south of Winchester Palace. On the river bank, at the
+corner of Clink Street, an ancient jetty was found; and in the new
+Southwark Street, deep down, groups of piles, pointed below, on which
+houses had been built. In many of the later buildings Roman tiles have
+been found. These remains are quite sufficient to prove that many
+wealthy people lived in Roman Southwark, and that they occupied villas
+built on piles beside the causeway.
+
+Since, too, from the earliest times Southwark was famous for its inns,
+and since the same conditions prevailed in the fourth as in the
+fourteenth century, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the people
+who drove those long lines of packhorses laden with goods from London
+used Southwark as a place in which to deposit merchandise before taking
+it across the bridge; they halted in Southwark; they lodged in one of
+the inns: the place was most convenient for the City; storage was
+cheaper than on the river wharves; for strangers, the place was
+cheerful. In one respect, that of being a halting place and a lodging
+for traders, Southwark was like Thorney in its palmy days--a place of
+entertainment for man and beast. There was no forum here, as in Augusta;
+no place of meeting for merchants, such as Thames Street in Plantagenet
+times; there was no buying and selling, but there was continual coming
+and going, which made the place lively and cheerful.
+
+Such were the origins of the settlements of South London. An embankment,
+a causeway, a fishery for the wants of Thorney first and of London next;
+then villas, put up by the better sort, attracted here, one believes, by
+the fresh air coming up the river with every tide, and by the quiet of
+the place. The settlement began quite early in the Roman occupation:
+this seems to be proved by the extent of the cemetery. The draining and
+drying of the low lands went on meanwhile gradually, gardens and
+orchards taking the place of the former marsh.
+
+[Illustration: A RELIC OF THE STONE AGE]
+
+The place has always, save at rare intervals, been entirely defenceless.
+The _Pax Romana_ protected it. Remember that London itself was not
+walled till the latter part of the fourth century. Why should it be? For
+more than three hundred years, for ten generations, the City knew no
+wars and feared no invader. The 'Count of the Saxon Shore' beat back,
+and kept back, the pirates of Norway and Denmark; the Legions beat back
+the marauders of Scotland and Ireland. Southwark, like the City its
+neighbour, needed no wall and asked for no defence.
+
+Twice, before the arrival of the East Saxons, we get a glimpse in
+history of South London. The first is the rout of the usurper, the
+Emperor Allectus, after the battle of Clapham Common.
+
+Towards the close of the third century the succession of usurpers who
+sprang up everywhere in the outlying portions of the Empire contained
+six who came from Britain. What effect these movements had upon the
+security of South London we have no means of learning. The history,
+however, of Carausius and his successor Allectus affords material for
+reflection. The former, who was of Belgian origin, rose to be the Count
+of the Saxon Shore--in other words, Admiral of the Roman Fleet. In this
+capacity he kept the seas free from pirates; enriched himself, became
+famous for his courage and his generosity; usurped the title of Caesar,
+fought with and defeated the fleets of Maximian, and reigned in Britain
+for seven years. His headquarters were Boulogne and Southampton; near
+the latter place--at Bittern--is still seen the quay at which his ships
+were moored. His rule, of which we know little, was certainly strong and
+firm. Coins exist in great numbers of Carausius. They represent his
+arrival: 'Expectate, veni'--'Come, thou long-expected!' Then his
+triumph: 'Shout IO ten times.' He held gladiatorial sports at London; he
+appointed a British senate. Then came the time when he must fight or
+die. Like the King of the Grove, the Usurper held his throne on that
+condition. Carausius, for some unknown reason, would not fight when the
+chance was offered--therefore he died. Another King of the Grove,
+Allectus by name, one of his officers, killed him and reigned in his
+stead. Then he, too, had to fight for crown and life. He accepted the
+challenge; he awaited with an army of Franks and Britons the arrival of
+the Roman forces sent to quell him: he awaited them in London. When the
+enemy drew near, he led out his men across the Bridge, and gave battle
+to the Roman general, Asclepiodotus, on the wild heath south of London,
+immediately beyond the rising ground--we now call the place Clapham
+Common--and there he fell bravely fighting. He had enjoyed the purple
+for three years. Perhaps, when he crossed the Bridge, conscious that he
+was going to meet his fate--either to continue an Emperor for another
+spell or to die--he reflected that for such a splendid three years' run
+it was worth while to risk, and even to lose, his life at the end.
+
+[Illustration: RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE]
+
+This is, I say, the first glimpse we get of South London in history. We
+see the army marching across the Bridge and along the Causeway, shouting
+and singing. We see them a few hours later, flying from the field,
+rushing headlong over the Causeway, through the lines of villas to the
+Bridge. The terrified people, those who lived in the villas, are
+running over the Bridge after them. Once across the Bridge, the soldiers
+found that there was left in the City neither order nor authority. They
+therefore began to sack and pillage the rich houses, and to murder the
+inhabitants. Remember that all over the Roman Empire none were permitted
+to carry arms except the soldiers. Therefore there could be no defence.
+The pillage went on until the victorious general had got his army--or
+some of it--across the Bridge. How long it would take to bring up his
+troops, whether the Bridge was held by the Franks, whether the defeated
+army made any organised opposition, we know not. All we are told is that
+the Roman soldiers fought hand to hand with those of the dead Usurper in
+the streets of London, and that the latter were all massacred.
+
+In the year 457 we get a second glimpse of Southwark in the flight of
+another defeated host. The Britons had gone forth to fight the Saxon
+invaders; they met the enemy--Hengist and AEsc his son--at
+'Creeganford'--Crayford: they were defeated; four thousand of them were
+killed; they fled; they never stopped until they reached London Bridge;
+we can see them flying bareheaded, without weapons, along the Causeway
+and through the narrow gates of the Bridge. Alas! the old villas along
+the Causeway are deserted and in ruins; the place has been desolate for
+many years--since the Saxons began to swarm about the country; the
+former residents, if they are living still, are behind the walls; and
+their sons are carrying on the war which is to last two hundred long
+years, and to leave its memories of hatred behind it for fifteen hundred
+years at least. The gardens are grown over, the orchards are neglected,
+the inns are empty and ruinous.
+
+Before long there falls the silence of death upon the walled City and
+the Bridge and the settlements of the South. All alike are deserted: the
+tide idly laps the piles of the rotting Bridge; it rolls along the empty
+wharves, bearing no keel upon its bosom; there is no boat on the river,
+there is no smoke from any house; there is no life, no sign of life, in
+the place which had formerly been so crowded and so busy. The timbered
+face of the embankment gave way and crumbled into the river; the
+Causeway was eaten by the tides here and there; the low grounds once
+more became a marsh, and the wild birds returned, undisturbed, to their
+former haunts.
+
+I have elsewhere ('London,' ch. i.) described the natural reasons which
+led to this desertion of the City. It appears to us strange and almost
+impossible that a great city should be so utterly deserted. Where,
+however, are the cities of Tadmor, of Tyre, of Carthage? Where are the
+great cities of Asia Minor? The conqueror not only took the City and
+killed some of the people; he cut off the supplies, and therefore forced
+them to go. This was most certainly the case with London. Roger of
+Wendover, it is true, tells us that in the year 462 the Saxons took
+possession of London, and then successively of York, Lincoln, and
+Winchester, committing great devastation. 'They fell on the natives in
+every quarter, like wolves on sheep forsaken by their shepherds; the
+churches and all the ecclesiastical buildings they levelled with the
+ground; the priests they slew at the altars; the holy scriptures they
+burned with fire; the tombs of the holy martyrs they covered with mounds
+of earth; the clergy who escaped the slaughter fled with the relics of
+the saints to the caves and recesses of the earth, to the woods and
+deserts and the crags of the mountains.'
+
+I do not suppose that Roger of Wendover (he died in 1237) had access to
+documents of the time. I would rather incline to the belief that, given
+certain undoubted facts of battle, murder, and sacrilege, he presented
+the world with a little embroidery of his own. An Assault on London is,
+however, possible; in which case the desertion of the City would be only
+hastened. With the ruin and desolation of Augusta came also the ruin of
+the southern settlement.
+
+This silence--this desolation--lasted some hundred years. Then the men
+of Essex--the East Saxons--came down, a few at a time, and took
+possession of the deserted City; the merchants began timidly to bring
+their ships again with goods for trade; the East Saxons learned the
+meaning of bargains; Augusta was dead, but London revived. The City
+preserved its ancient name, but the southern settlement lost its name.
+We know not what the Romans or the Britons called it, but the Saxons
+called it Southwark. And they repaired the embankment and restored the
+ancient causeways, and cleared away the ruins.
+
+Another point of difference: in London the new streets, laid out without
+rule or order, grew by degrees; they did not follow the old Roman
+streets, which were quite obliterated and utterly forgotten--one cannot
+imagine a more decisive proof of complete desertion and ruin. In
+Southwark, on the other hand, the streets remained the same--they were
+the two causeways and the embankment--because none others were then
+possible. High Street, Borough, is still, as it always has been, the
+ancient causeway connecting the new port of London with the Dover road.
+
+Between the years 600 and 1000 Southwark suffered the vicissitudes which
+must happen in a period of continual warfare to an undefended suburb. In
+times of peace, when trade was possible, the place was what the
+Icelander Snorro Thirlesen calls an 'emporium.' All the merchandise
+carried to London from the south for export lay there waiting to be
+carried across the quays: the merchants themselves found accommodation
+there. But we cannot believe that when the Danish fleets brought their
+fierce warriors to the very walls of London, Southwark--or any other
+settlement--would continue to exist unfortified. That the place remained
+without a wall, except for certain temporary walls put up by the Danes,
+proves that it was regarded by itself as of small importance. This is
+also proved by another fact--namely, that the place was always occupied
+without defence. When, for instance, the Danes held London for twelve
+years, leaving it a wreck and a ruin, can we believe that any people
+remained in Southwark? In times of peace the fishermen lived here for
+greater convenience of their work; London by this time was impossible
+for them, because it was walled all along the river side. If peace was
+prolonged, inns were set up for the merchants: people built houses along
+the causeway. When war began again, and the enemy once more appeared,
+Southwark was again abandoned. This is the history of South London for a
+thousand years--alternate occupation and abandonment.
+
+There exists a very singular heresy concerning Southwark. I would deal
+with it tenderly, because one, if not more, of the heretics is a
+personal friend of my own. It is that the site of the first or original
+London was on the South; that Roman London stood on the site of
+Southwark; and that, at some time or other, there was a transference of
+sites, the whole of Roman London migrating to the other side. It is even
+maintained that the name of Walworth proves that there was once a wall
+round the city of the south. To me the name of Walworth indicates the
+proximity of the high causeway running through its midst. The
+consideration of the site--the marshy, wet, and unwholesome site--is
+quite sufficient for me. At no time, not even in the time of the Lake
+dwellers, have marshes been selected by choice for the building of
+cities. Before the Embankment and the Causeway, the South of London was
+impossible for the residence of man.
+
+The transference of sites is a theory often called in to account for,
+and make possible, other theories. Thus, the late James Fergusson
+invented the transference of sites in order to bolster up certain
+theories of his own on the Holy Places of Jerusalem. Here, however,
+there is no theory: only a statement by a geographer evidently ignorant
+of the boundaries of an obscure province of a district in a distant
+country which he had never seen. London, Ptolemy said, was in Kent. All
+the Roman remains, as we have seen, are found by the Causeway and the
+Embankment--there never could have been any wall; and, indeed, the only
+answer that is required to such a theory is to point to the natural
+conditions of the site. Is it conceivable that people would settle
+themselves in a marsh when they had firm and dry ground across the
+river?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+EARLY HISTORY
+
+
+Southwark, then, had no reason for existence at all except for its
+connection with London by bridge and ferry, and especially by bridge.
+Before the Ferry and the Bridge there was no Southwark. The history of
+Southwark is closely connected with the Bridge. It was on the south end
+of the Bridge that all the fighting took place, London very generously
+handing over her battles to her daughter of the south. I propose, in
+this chapter, to discourse about the Bridge and one or two of its
+earlier battles.
+
+It is sometimes stated, confidently, that before the Bridge there was
+the Ferry. Why? To carry people across the river and 'dump' them down in
+the marsh? But people had no business in the marsh. First came the
+Bridge and the Causeway to connect it with the Dover road. Then traffic
+began to cross the Bridge and to meet the Dover road. But as yet there
+was no ferry. Then came the Embankment, and the appearance of houses
+along the Causeway and on the Embankment. As the trade of London
+increased, so Southwark--I would we had the Roman name--increased in
+proportion. Inns were created for the convenience of merchants, trade
+was drawn from Thorney on the south by the Bridge, just as it was
+diverted on the north by the military way connecting the great high road
+with London. When the Causeway was always filled with caravans and long
+trains of heavily laden packhorses; when the inns were crowded with
+merchants and their slaves; when the Bridge was all day covered with
+passengers and carriers; then the Ferry was demanded as a quicker and an
+easier way of getting across. Two Ferries, there were; perhaps more. One
+of these ran from Dowgate Dock to St. Mary Overies; the other crossed
+the river lower down, nearer the Tower. So things remained for nearly
+two thousand years--say, from A.D. 100 to A.D. 1750. If a man wanted to
+get across the river, he did not make his way to London Bridge, and
+painfully walk across amid the carriers and the caravans, the plunging
+horses and the droves of oxen; he stepped into the boat and was ferried
+across. We must not look on the Bridge as a means of getting across the
+river for the people: it was not; it was the means of conveying
+merchandise to and fro; it was a construction most important for
+military purposes; it was a barrier to prevent a hostile fleet from
+getting higher up the river; but, for the ordinary passenger, the boat
+was the quicker and the easier means of conveyance.
+
+When was the Bridge built? It is impossible to say. It was not there
+A.D. 61, when Queen Boadicea's troops sacked the City and murdered the
+people. It was there when Allectus led his troops out to fight the Roman
+legions. It was there very early in the Roman occupation, as is proved
+by the quantities of Roman coins of the four centuries of their tenure
+found in the bed of the river on the site of the old Bridge. It is also
+proved by the fact that Southwark was a settlement of the wealthier
+class, who could not have lived in a place absolutely without supplies,
+had there been no bridge. We may take any time we please for the
+construction of the Bridge, so long as it is quite early--say, before
+the second century.
+
+The building of the Bridge can be arrived at with such great certainty
+that I have no hesitation in presenting a drawing of it. As this Bridge
+has never before been figured by the pencil of any artist, it will be
+well for me to indicate the steps by which its reconstruction has been
+made possible.
+
+[Illustration: Merchants crossing Southwark Marsh]
+
+The Britons themselves were quite unable to construct a bridge of any
+kind, unless in the primitive methods observed at Post Bridge and Two
+Bridges, on Dartmoor, by a slab of stone laid across two boulders. The
+work, therefore, was certainly undertaken by Roman engineers. We have,
+in the next place, to inquire what kind of bridge was built at that time
+by the Romans. They built bridges of wood and of stone; many of these
+stone bridges still remain, in other cases the pieces of hewn stone
+still remain. The Bridge over the Thames, however, was of wood. This is
+proved by the fact that, had it been of the solid Roman construction in
+stone, the piers would be still remaining; also by the fact that London
+had to be contented with a wooden bridge till the year 1176, when the
+first bridge of stone was commenced. Considerations as to the
+comparative insignificance of London in the first century, as to the
+absence of stone in the neighbourhood, and as to the plentiful supply of
+the best wood in the world from the forests north of the City, confirm
+the theory that the Bridge was built of wood. We have only, therefore,
+to learn how Roman engineers built bridges of wood elsewhere, in order
+to know how they built a bridge of wood over the Thames. And this we
+know without any doubt.
+
+First: they drove piles into the bed of the river--not upright piles,
+but inclined at an angle; they placed two piles side by side, and
+opposite to these two more; they connected the two piles by ties and the
+opposite piles with them by transverse girders. Across them they laid a
+huge beam--a tree roughly hewn, and across these beams they laid the
+floor of stout planks. The weight of beams and planks and the parapet
+put up afterwards, with perhaps other planks for greater safety, pressed
+down the piles and held them in place. To prevent the current from
+carrying them away, each double pair of piles was protected by a
+'starling,' formed by driving upright smaller piles in front at the
+piers and enclosing a space, which was filled up with stones, so that
+the force of the current was not felt by the great piles.
+
+In this way the Roman Bridge was built. You will understand it better
+from the drawing, which shows the Bridge taken from the Embankment near
+the present site of St. Mary Overies Church. The gate is the river-gate
+in the long straight wall which ran along the bank of the river. The
+wall, it is obvious, must have been pierced at several points for the
+convenience of trade and the quays: one supposes that these posterns
+could be easily closed and defended. This river-wall, we shall presently
+see, was standing in the time of Cnut. Some parts of it stood until the
+building of the stone Bridge in the last quarter of the twelfth century.
+The Roman Bridge was also the Saxon Bridge, the Danish Bridge, and the
+Norman Bridge.
+
+In course of time the river-wall was removed, bit by bit: its
+foundations still lie under the pavement and the warehouses. The gate
+was altered. I do not suppose there was much of the original structure
+left when the East Saxons took possession of the City after a hundred
+years of desertion and decay. But a gate of some kind there must always
+have been. The breadth of the Bridge allowed, according to FitzStephen,
+two carts to pass each other. That means about sixteen feet. Like the
+very ancient stone bridges of Saintes and Avignon, the Bridge was from
+sixteen to twenty feet broad. The river-gate stood at the south end of
+Botolph Lane, some seventy feet east of the present Bridge: the second
+Bridge--the first of stone--stood between the first and third, having
+St. Magnus' Church on the north and St. Olave's on the south side;
+together with its own chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge itself, to
+place it under the special protection of the saints most dear to London
+hearts.
+
+[Illustration: London Bridge, A.D. 1000]
+
+The Bridge, and especially the south end of it, was a field of battle
+whenever the way of war came near to London. The first glimpse, as we
+have seen, which we catch of it is when Allectus and his forces crossed
+the river by the Bridge to give battle to the legions of Asclepiodotus
+on the Heath beyond the rising ground. A few hours later, on the same
+day, their columns routed, their general dead, we see the defeated
+troops once more flying across the narrow Bridge. There was no one to
+lead them, or they could have held the Bridge against all comers; there
+was no drawbridge to pull up, or they could have kept the Romans out by
+that expedient. One wonders if all their officers were lying dead on
+the field, with Allectus, for the troops, who were Franks for the most
+part, seem to have left the Bridge without a guard, and the river-gate
+wide open, while they melted into little companies, who ran about the
+City pillaging the houses and murdering the unfortunate people.
+
+By the Roman law the people were unarmed: no one could carry arms except
+the soldiers. The law was a safeguard against rebellion; but it opened
+the door to military revolts, and it destroyed the military spirit among
+the civil population--always a most dangerous thing for a State. The
+Roman legions poured into the City; they found Allectus' Franks at their
+murderous work, and they cut them down. If it is true, as stated by the
+historians, that they were all cut off to a man, London must have been a
+horrible shambles.
+
+The second glimpse of the Bridge is also that of a routed army flying
+across the narrow way to seek shelter between the walls. It is in the
+year 467. They are the Britons flying from their defeat in Kent. After
+this there is silence--absolute silence, leaving not so much as a
+whisper, a tradition, or a legend; the silence that can only mean
+desertion--silence for a hundred and fifty years.
+
+[Illustration: A Danish House]
+
+When London reappears, it is in humble guise: the City has shrunk within
+her ancient walls; and these have fallen into decay. Southwark no longer
+exists. We learn that the Bridge has been repaired, because there is
+easy communication with Canterbury. Yet in the Danish troubles there is
+no fighting on or for the Bridge. Why? simply because there were no
+defenders of the Bridge on the south. In 819 and in 857 the Danes
+entered London and 'slaughtered numbers,' apparently without opposition.
+In 872 they occupied London, apparently without opposition. We hear of
+no siege, of no fighting on the Bridge; of no shelter behind the walls.
+Yet there was a defence at York, at Reading, at Nottingham--behind the
+walls. Why not in London? Because in London the walls, 5,500 yards in
+length, had become too long to man, or to defend, or to repair. The
+Danes ran into the City through the shattered gate; they leaped over the
+broken wall. What happened to the people; what street fighting was
+carried on, what slaughter, what plunder, what horrible treatment of
+women--we may understand from the page of the historian Saxo relating
+other sacks and sieges by the gentle Dane. As for the trade, the wealth,
+the name and fame of London--they all perished together. It was a ruined
+city, with a miserable population of craftsmen enslaved by the Dane,
+that Alfred reconquered. The Bridge itself was broken down; the
+settlements of the south were deserted: even the fishermen had left the
+Thames above and below London, and sought for safety in the retired
+creeks and safe backwaters along the coast of Essex. The London
+fisherman sallied forth in his coracle from the marshes behind Canvey
+Island, and from the slopes of Hadleigh. Alfred repaired the walls and
+the Bridge and rebuilt the gates. Something like peace was restored to
+the City and order to the country. Then trade, which welcomes the first
+appearance of safety, began again. If the merchant feared the pirates of
+the Foreland, he could march across the Bridge to Dover; or he could
+land at Dover and march across Kent to the Bridge. Then the old
+settlements on the south Causeway were rebuilt and new inns sprang up,
+and Southwark began again.
+
+A hundred years of rest from the 'army,' as the 'Chronicle' calls the
+Danes, gave Southwark time to grow. It is spoken of by the Danish
+historian as an 'emporium.' I understand from the use of this word that
+the trade of London was carried on principally by way of Dover, because
+the seas were swarming with pirates. Southwark was a halting-place and a
+resting-place, such as Thorney had been of old.
+
+The prosperity of the settlement, however, received another blow when
+the Danes once more, mindful of their former victories, sailed up the
+river with hope of again taking London. Southwark was defenceless. There
+was never any wall about the place: its population was migratory. When
+the enemy appeared the people of Southwark retreated across the Bridge.
+The Danes landed, pillaged, and burned; they then went away. Some of the
+people returned, especially the fishermen, whose huts were easily
+repaired. When, however, the attacks became more frequent, and the Danes
+appeared every year, Southwark was deserted. But in London itself they
+were grievously disappointed; for their grandfathers had told them that
+it was a feeble and a helpless place, perfectly incapable of resistance,
+with walls through whose wide gaps a whole army could march; and they
+fondly expected to find it in the same condition. But it had been
+growing, unseen by them, in population and resource and power.
+
+In the year 992 the City showed its strength in a manner which was
+extremely startling to the Danes; for it equipped a great fleet, manned
+the ships with stout-hearted citizens, sent the ships down the river,
+met the Danish fleet, engaged them, and routed them with great
+slaughter. Two years later they returned, eager for revenge--the revenge
+which they vainly sought in six successive sieges. The army on this
+occasion consisted of Norsemen and Danes in alliance, under the two
+kings, Olaf of Norway and Swegen of Denmark. They were firmly resolved
+to take the City: with their warriors they would attack it by land, with
+their ships by water. They had no ladders; they had no knowledge of
+mining; they had no battering-rams; they could, and doubtless did,
+endeavour to break down the gates with trunks of trees; but the gates
+were well manned and well defended. On the river-side one half of the
+town kept open their communications; the other half were exposed to the
+arrows of the sailors, but had arrows of their own. How long the siege
+lasted I know not; the 'Chronicle,' all too brief, tells us only that
+the enemy discovered that they could not prevail, and that they
+withdrew.
+
+[Illustration: SHIPS, BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+The appearance of a Danish or Norwegian fleet, whose ships were models
+to King Alfred when he founded the English Navy, must not be gathered
+from the drawings of the Bayeux tapestry, where the ships are
+conventional in treatment. We have, fortunately, one actual surviving
+specimen of a ship of King Olaf's time. It is the famous ship of
+Gokstad, in Norway. Look at the two pictures on this and following page.
+One is taken from the tapestry, the other is the Gokstad vessel. The
+former carries about a dozen men, rather high out of the water, with
+straight sides, and would certainly capsize. The latter is a long,
+light, swift vessel, built for speed, and able to sail over quite
+shallow water; she is constructed on lines which, for beauty or for
+usefulness, cannot be surpassed even at the present day: she rides
+lightly, drawing very little water. She is clinker built; the planks
+overlying each other are fastened with iron bolts, riveted and clinched
+on the inside. She is built of oak; her length from stem to stern, over
+all, is 78 feet; her keel is 66 feet; her breadth is 16-1/2 feet; her depth
+is no more than 4 feet; the third plank from the top is twice as thick
+as the others; she is pierced by portholes for as many oars. The ship is
+pointed at both ends; she is steered by a rudder attached to the side of
+the stern; on each side hang 16 shields; she carried 64 rowers, and
+probably as many men besides. The decorations lavished on the ship were
+profuse. The figure-head was gilt, the stern was gilt, the shields were
+gilt; the ships were painted in long lines of bright colour--you can
+see that in the ships of the Bayeux tapestry. The whole of the
+vessel--bows, figure-head, gunwale, stern-post--were covered with
+carvings; the sails were decorated with embroideries; the mast was gilt.
+Verily the 'fleet shone as if it were on fire.'
+
+[Illustration: A Viking Ship]
+
+Such were the ships which came up, nearly a hundred in company, with
+Olaf and Swegen. Low in the water they came, the oars sweeping in a
+long, measured swish of the water: swiftly flying up the broad river,
+the sunshine lighting up the colours and the gilding of the ships, and
+the bright arms of the company on board. It was a company of tall and
+strong men; young, every one, with long fair hair and blue eyes. From
+the grey walls of the town, from the Bridge on the river, the citizens
+saw the splendid array rushing up to destroy them if they could. At the
+Bridge, the foremost stop: they go no farther; those behind cry
+'Forward!' and those in front cry 'Back!' The Bridge would suffer none
+to pass; and so, jammed together, perhaps lashed together, as when Olaf
+was to meet his death five years later in his last splendid sea-fight,
+they essayed to take the city by assault. They shot arrows with red-hot
+heads over the walls, to strike and set light to the thatch; they shot
+arrows at the citizens on the walls; they tried to scale the piles of
+the Bridge. If they could get within the City, these splendid savages,
+there would be slaughter and pillage, ravishing of women, firing of the
+thatch, the roar of flames and the clashing of weapons, and next day
+silence, long teams of slaves and of treasure lifted into the ships,
+bows turned outward; and the fleet would leave behind it a London once
+more desolate and naked and forlorn, as when the East Saxon entered
+towards the end of the sixth century. It was a day of fate, and big with
+destiny. Had the Danes succeeded, we know not what might have been the
+history of London and of England.
+
+When they were beaten off, the people of Southwark went back to their
+homes, and the daily business of life was carried on as usual. We may
+observe that if there had been a permanent settlement here--a town of
+any importance--they would have built a wall to protect it. But there
+was never any wall; the place could be approached by the Causeway or by
+the river; no one ever at any time thought of protecting Southwark.
+
+But now a worse time fell upon the place, as well as upon London. The
+whole country, almost unresisting, was ravaged by the Danes: Swegen came
+over and proved the English weakness, and saw that time would help him,
+if he waited. Time did help him, and famine helped him as well.
+
+In 1009 occurred the second siege of London, this time by Thurkitel, who
+afterwards entered into the service of Ethelred. He ravaged Kent and
+Essex, took up his winter quarters on the Thames, apparently at
+Greenwich, and laid siege to the City--but in vain. It is of course
+obvious that without ladders, mines, battering-rams, or wooden towers,
+the City could never be taken. The people beat him off at every assault
+with great loss. It seems as if the whole valour in England was at the
+moment concentrated in London.
+
+The third siege of London was in 1013, when Swegen returned. This time,
+mindful of his former failure, and of Thurkitel's failure, he left his
+ships at Southampton; he marched upon London by way of Winchester, which
+he took on the way; but although he came up from the south, he did not
+attack from the south, nor did he encamp on the south. The reason is
+obvious: the Causeway was narrow; to fight on the Bridge was to engage a
+mere handful of men; there was no place except that and the Causeway.
+Swegen, therefore, passed over the ford of Westminster, and attacked the
+walls on the north side. Within the City was Thurkitel, now in the
+English service; by his help or counsel, the Londoners drove Swegen off
+the field. He withdrew. But all England rapidly submitted to his arms;
+therefore London, too, seeing that it was useless to hold out alone,
+sent hostages and submitted. It is reported that they were terrified at
+the threats of Swegen: he would cut off their hands and their feet; he
+would tear out their eyes; he would burn and destroy--and so forth. But
+these promises were the common garnish of besiegers; they no more
+frightened the defenders of London at this time than they frightened the
+defenders of any other city.
+
+The end of Swegen, as everybody knows, was that St. Edmund of Bury
+killed him for doubting his saintliness.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+We now come to the three successive sieges by King Cnut. The expedition
+with which he proposed to reduce London was far finer and more powerful
+than that of Olaf and Swegen. The poetic description of it says that the
+ships were counted by hundreds; that they were manned by an army among
+whom there was never a slave, or a freeman son of a slave, or one
+unworthy man, or an old man. Freeman asks what nobility meant if all
+were nobles? A strange question for one so learned! The nobles of
+Denmark were simply the conquering race; nobility consisted in free
+birth, and in descent from the conquering race, not the conquered: it
+was not necessarily a small caste; it might possibly include the larger
+part of the people.
+
+Cnut anchored off Greenwich and prepared for his siege. First of all, he
+resolved that the Bridge should no longer bar the way. He therefore cut
+a trench round the south of the Bridge, by means of which he drew some
+of his ships to the other side of it. He then cut another trench round
+the whole of the wall. In this way he hoped to shut in the City and cut
+off all supplies: if he could not take the place by storm, he would
+starve it out. There are no details of the siege, but as Cnut speedily
+abandoned the hope of success and marched off to look after Edmund, his
+investment of the City was certainly not a success.
+
+He met Edmund and fought two battles with him; with what result history
+has made us acquainted. He then returned and resumed the siege of
+London. Edmund fought him again, and made him once more raise the siege.
+When Edmund went into Wessex to gather new forces, Cnut began a third
+siege, in which, also, 'by God's help,' he made no progress.
+
+In twenty years, therefore, the City of London was besieged six times,
+and not once taken.
+
+Antiquaries have written a good deal on the colossal nature of the canal
+constructed by Cnut; they have looked for traces of it in the south of
+London before it was covered over by houses; they have gone as far
+afield as Deptford in search of these traces; they have even found them;
+and to the present day every writer who has mentioned the canal speaks
+of it and thinks of it with the respect due to a colossal work. Freeman
+himself called it a 'deep ditch.' How deep it was, how long it was, how
+broad it was, I am going to explain.
+
+It was in the year 1756 that the painstaking historian, William
+Maitland, F.R.S., announced that he had been so fortunate as to light
+upon the course of the long-lost trench of King Cnut.
+
+He had found certain evidence, he said, of its course, in a direction
+nearly east and west from the then 'New Dock' of Rotherhithe to the
+river at the end of Chelsea Reach, through Vauxhall Gardens. The proofs
+were, first, certain depressions in the ground; next, the discovery of
+oaken planks and piles driven into the ground for what he thought was
+the northern fence of the canal, near the Old Kent Road; and next a
+report that, in 1694, when the wet dock of Rotherhithe was constructed,
+a quantity of hazel, willow, and other branches were found pointing
+northward, with stakes to keep them in position, forming a kind of water
+fence, such as, it is said, is still in use in Denmark. It will be seen
+that Mr. Maitland's theory has but a small basis of evidence, yet it
+seems to have been generally accepted--partly, I suppose, because it was
+so colossal.
+
+The canal thus cut would actually be a little over four miles and a half
+in length. Another writer, seeing the difficulties of so great a work,
+suggests another course. He would start from the site of the New Dock,
+Rotherhithe, and end on the other side of London Bridge, a course of
+only three and three-quarter miles!
+
+Let us ask ourselves why it should be a 'deep' ditch; why it should be a
+long ditch; why it should be a broad ditch.
+
+Wherever Cnut began his trench, whether at Rotherhithe or nearer the
+Bridge, he would have the same preliminary difficulties to encounter:
+that is to say, he would have to cut through the Embankment of the river
+at either end, and he would have to cut through the Causeway in the
+middle. In these cuttings he would perhaps have to take down two or
+three houses, huts, or cabins, all deserted, because the people had all
+run across the Bridge for safety at the first sight of the Danes, if
+there were any people at the time living in Southwark--which I doubt.
+
+We may, further, take it for granted that Cnut had officers of sense and
+experience on whom he could depend for carrying out his canal in a
+workmanlike manner. A people who could build such perfect ships would
+certainly not waste time and labour in constructing a trench which would
+be any longer or deeper or wider than was absolutely necessary.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now the shortest canal possible would be that in which he was just able
+to drag his vessels round without destroying the banks. In other words,
+if a circular canal began at C B, and if we drew an imaginary circle
+round the middle of the canal, what was required was that the chord D F,
+forming a tangent to the middle circle, should be at least as long as
+the longest vessel. Now (see diagram)--
+
+    AD squared - AE squared = DE squared.
+
+If _r_ is the radius, AD and 2_a_ the breadth BC, and 2_b_ the length of
+the chord DF--
+
+  _r_ squared - (_r_ - _a_) squared = _b_ squared therefore _r_ = (_a_ squared + _b_ squared)/2_a_.
+
+This represents the length of the radius in terms of the length and
+breadth of the largest vessel in the fleet, and is therefore the
+smallest radius possible for getting the ships through. Now, the ship of
+Gokstad, already described, was undoubtedly one of the finest of the
+vessels used by Danes and Normans. The poets certainly speak of larger
+ships, but as a marvel. Nothing is said about Cnut bringing over ships
+of very great size. Now, that vessel was 66 feet in length, considering
+the keel, which is all we need consider; 16-1/2 feet in breadth, and 4 feet
+in depth. She drew very little water; therefore a breadth of canal less
+than the breadth of the vessel was enough. Let us make the chord 70 feet
+in length, so that _b_ = 35. Let us make the breadth of the canal 12
+feet. Therefore 2_a_ = 12 or _a_ = 6 and _r_ = 105 feet very nearly.
+Measuring, therefore, 105 feet on either side of London Bridge, we
+arrive at a possible commencement of Cnut's work. That is to say, if he
+made a semicircular canal, in that case the length of the canal would be
+320 yards, which is certainly an improvement on four miles and a half,
+or even three miles and three-quarters.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOKSTAD SHIP]
+
+There is, however, more to consider. Why should Cnut make a semicircle
+when an arc would serve his turn? All he had to do was to draw an arc of
+a circle with the radius just found, to clear any obstacles in the way
+of approach to the Bridge, and use that arc for his canal. This is most
+certainly what he did: I am quite certain he adopted this method,
+because it was the only sensible thing to do. He would thus get off with
+a canal about fifty yards long, of which the only difficulty would be
+the cutting through the Embankment and the Causeway.
+
+What would be the depth of the canal? Look at this section of the
+Gokstad ship. With her breadth of sixteen feet, she had only four feet
+in depth; without her company and crew, and their arms and provisions,
+she would thus draw no more than a few inches--certainly not more than
+eight inches or so. Freeman's deep canal therefore comes to eight inches
+at the most. But there is still another consideration which lessened the
+labour materially. The ground behind the Embankment was a little lower
+than the river at high tide: the Danes, therefore, had only to construct
+a low wooden containing-wall of timber on each side in order to make
+their canal without excavating an inch. When that was done, the cutting
+of the Embankment let in the tide and did the rest. In this simple
+manner do we reduce Cnut's colossal work of a deep canal, four miles and
+a half long, into a piece of construction and demolition which would
+take a large body of men no more than a few hours.
+
+If, however, there actually was any digging to be done, we must remember
+that the ground was a level; that there were no stones or rocks in the
+way, and that it consisted of a soft black _humus_, the result of ages
+of successive growths of sedge and coarse grass, formerly washed twice a
+day by the brackish waters of a tidal river. The object of the canal
+once attained, the ships drawn back again, Cnut, of course, left the
+place to be repaired by any who pleased. The broken Embankment let in
+the tide; the broken Causeway cut off any approach to the river; but
+Southwark was deserted. When things settled down a little, workmen were
+sent across from London, and the broken places were repaired. Then all
+traces of the canal disappeared.
+
+Thirty-six years later, in 1052, Earl Godwine arrived at Southwark with
+a fleet and an army. He had no difficulty in passing the Bridge; he
+waited till flood-tide, and then sailed through 'on the south side.' It
+is quite impossible to explain this statement, or to make it agree with
+the difficulty felt by Cnut. The Bridge may have sustained some damage;
+there may have been a drawbridge; or Godwine's ships may have been
+smaller: one knows nothing. I merely state the fact as the Chronicler
+gives it.
+
+One more glimpse of the Bridge from Southwark before we pass on to more
+modern times.
+
+[Illustration: Ships of William the Conqueror]
+
+After Hastings, William marched northwards. Arrived near London, he
+advanced to Southwark, where he found the Bridge closed to him--closed,
+I believe, by knocking away some of the upper beams. This, of course, he
+expected; his friends within the City, of whom he had many, kept him
+acquainted with the changing currents of popular opinion. It is commonly
+stated that the citizens were terrified by the sight of Southwark in
+flames at his command. Southwark in flames! A few fishermen's huts were
+all that remained of the suburb, whose population since the time of the
+_Pax Romana_ had been so precarious and so changeful. Five hundred years
+of battle, war between kings and tribes, invasion and ravage by Dane and
+Norseman, had not left of Southwark, once so beautiful a suburb,
+anything more than these poor huts and ruins of huts. William's soldiers
+burned them, because wherever a soldier of that period appeared, the
+thatch always caught fire spontaneously. William saw the flames, and
+regarded them not, any more than he regarded the flames that followed in
+his track all the way from Senlac. He gazed across the river, and
+remembered that twice had London defied all the strength of Swegen; that
+three times had London beaten off the great King Cnut when all England
+had surrendered; that in six sieges London had always been victorious;
+he knew, because his friends in the City would allow no mistake on that
+point, that the spirit of the citizens was as high now as it had been
+then; that they still remembered with pride the defeat of Cnut; and that
+not a few were anxious to treat William the Norman as they had treated
+Cnut the Dane. One knows not, exactly, what things went on within the
+walls; what exhortations, what wild talk, what faction fight; how the
+citizens rolled, and surged, a mass of wild faces, about their Folk-mote
+by St. Paul's. But of one thing we may be quite certain: that William
+did not expect the citizens to be afraid of him; and that, in fact, they
+were not afraid of him, whether he set fire to the huts of Southwark or
+not; they were not afraid of William, whatever the historians say. As
+for the Bridge, the old Roman Bridge, by this time there could hardly
+have been a single pile remaining of the original structure; yet it was
+constantly repaired.
+
+We may restore to Norman London, therefore, not only the grey wall
+rising out of the level ground, without any ditch or moat outside, but
+also the Bridge of wooden piles with the transverse girders and beams
+for additional security, so that the old Bridge contained a whole forest
+of timbers like those which support the roof of an ancient hall. It was
+continually receiving damage. In the year 1091, a mighty whirlwind blew
+down a good part of London, houses and churches and all. It has been
+assumed that the Bridge was also destroyed; but the 'Chronicle' is
+silent on the subject. In 1092 there was a great fire in London; it is
+again assumed that the Bridge was destroyed, but again the 'Chronicle'
+is silent. In 1097, however, it is plainly stated that the Bridge had
+been almost washed away, and that it was repaired.
+
+[Illustration: BAYEUX TAPESTRY]
+
+In 1136 the most destructive fire ever experienced by London, save that
+of 1666, spread through the whole City, from London Bridge, which it
+greatly damaged, all the way to St. Clement Danes on the west, and
+Aldgate on the east. One wonders what ancient monuments--walls of Roman
+churches, villas, and baths, still surviving halls and chambers of the
+Forum--were destroyed in this fire; Saxon houses of the better sort,
+with their great halls and courtyards; small Saxon churches of wood or
+stone, with low towers and little windows. Possibly there was no great
+loss: it was already seven hundred years since Augusta was deserted.
+Roman remains must have been scanty; the City was chiefly built of wood,
+with thatched roofs; the splendour of the latter centuries had not yet
+commenced. The Bridge, however, was either wholly or in part destroyed.
+It was repaired, because, fifty years later, FitzStephen, in his
+description of the City, speaks of the citizens watching the water
+sports from the Bridge. Indeed, the Bridge was now absolutely necessary
+to the City. A hundred years of order in the City--with the seas cleared
+of pirates, the Danes kept down, and merchants filling the river with
+ships, and the quays with merchandise--crowded the Bridge all day long
+with trains of packhorses, and the less frequent rude carts with broad
+grunting wheels which would have quite taken the place of the horse but
+for the bad roads. Southwark, during this period of rest, had become
+once more a town, or at least a village. Still, along the Embankment
+stood the thatched huts of the fisherfolk; but they were pushed farther
+east and west every year, until Lambeth and Rotherhithe were their
+quarters when the fish deserted the river and their occupation was gone.
+The Roman inns were gone, but new ones were springing up in their
+places. Bishops and abbots were looking on Southwark as a place of fine
+air, open to every breeze and free from the noise and crowd of London;
+ecclesiastical foundations were already springing into existence. In a
+word, the settlements of the south, after four hundred years of ruin and
+desertion, were once more beginning a new existence. The day when
+William rode up to the south end of the Bridge, and looked across upon a
+City that had not yet made up its mind about his reception, marked a new
+birth for the long-suffering suburb of the Embankment and the Causeway.
+A hundred years later still--in 1176--they began to build their Bridge
+of Stone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY
+
+
+The earliest maps of South London are those of the sixteenth century.
+But it is perfectly easy from them and from the historical facts to draw
+a map of all that country lying between Deptford and Battersea which we
+have agreed to call South London. Thus, to put the map into words, there
+were buildings all along both sides of the Causeway as far as St.
+George's Church; in the middle of the Causeway stood St. Margaret's
+Church, facing St. Margaret's Hill; on the right-hand side, just under
+the Bridge, was St. Olave's Church. The Bridge was thus protected on the
+north by St. Magnus, on the south by St. Olave--two Danish saints--and
+in the middle by the patron saint of its chapel, St. Thomas a Becket.
+There were houses along the Embankment on either side, but more on the
+west of the Causeway than on the east. A few houses were built already
+on the low-lying ground near the Causeway; for instance, on the south
+and south-west of St. Mary Overies. On the east of St. Olave's a single
+straight lane with no houses ran across country to Bermondsey Abbey; on
+the west of the Causeway another lane led to Kennington Palace, from
+which another lane led to the Causeway from Lambeth and Westminster to
+the Dover Road. That was the whole extent of Southwark.
+
+The place was essentially a suburb. There were no trades or industries
+in it, except that of fishing; the fishermen had their cottages dotted
+about all along the Embankment; a few watermen lived here, but that was
+perhaps later: other working men there were none, save the cooks and
+varlets of the great houses, and the 'service' of the inns. Because the
+air was fresh and pure, blown up daily with the tides; and because the
+place was easy of access, by river, to Westminster and the Court, many
+great men, ecclesiastics and nobles, had their town houses here: the
+Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, the Prior of Lewes, the
+Abbot of Hyde, the Abbot of Battle, the Earls of Surrey, Sir John
+Fastolfe, also the Brandons. Also, because it was easy of access by
+bridge and river to the City, the merchants brought their goods and
+warehoused them here in the inns at which they stayed, while they went
+across the river and transacted their business. It was a suburb which,
+in modern times, would be described as needing no poor rate. Later on
+there grew up, as we shall see, a class of the unclassed--a population
+of rogues and vagabonds, thieves, and sanctuary birds.
+
+The government of the place as a whole was difficult, or rather
+impossible. There were several 'Liberties;' the Liberty of Bermondsey;
+that of the Bishop of Winchester; that of the King; that of the Mayor.
+The last contained the part of the Borough lying between St. Saviour's
+Dock on the west and Hay's Dock on the east, with a southern limit just
+including St. Margaret's Church. This very small district was called the
+Gildable Manor: it was conceded by the King to the City of London in the
+thirteenth century in order to prevent the place from becoming the home
+and refuge of criminals from the City. As the other liberties remained
+outside the jurisdiction of the City, the alleviation gained was not
+very great: criminals still dropped across the river, finding shelter on
+the Lambeth Marsh or the marsh between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. It
+was from this unavoidable hospitality to persons escaping from justice
+that Southwark received a character which has stuck to it till the
+present day. In the centuries which include the twelfth to the
+fifteenth, however, South London, so far as it was populated at all,
+was the residence of great lords and the place of sojourn for merchants
+from the country. As yet the reputation of Southwark was spotless and
+its dignity enviable. London itself had no such collection of palaces
+gathered together so closely. As for the land, that lay low, but was
+protected by the Embankment from the river. Many rivulets flowed slowly
+across the misty meadows; many ponds lay about the flats; there was an
+abundant growth of trees everywhere, so that parts of the land were dark
+at midday by reason of the trees growing so close together. The rivulets
+were pretty little streams; willows grew over them; alders grew beside
+them; they were coloured brown by the peaty soil; on their banks grew
+wild flowers--the marsh mallow, the anemone, the hedgehog grass, the
+frogbit, the crowfoot, and the bitter-wort; orchards flourished in the
+fat and fertile soil. The people had almost forgotten the special need
+of their Embankment. Yet when, in the year 1242, the Embankment at
+Lambeth was broken down, the river rushed in and covered six square
+miles of country, including all that part which is now called Battersea.
+
+Remember, however, that as yet there was not a single house upon the
+whole of Lambeth Marsh, nor upon the whole of Bermondsey Marsh. The
+houses began near what is now the south end of Blackfriars Bridge; they
+faced the river, having gardens behind them. On the other side of the
+Bridge the houses extended farther, going on nearly opposite to Wapping.
+
+The place was well provided with prisons; every Liberty had its own
+prison. Thus there were the Clink of the Winchester Liberty, that of the
+Bermondsey Liberty, the 'White Lion' of Surrey, the King's Bench, and
+the Marshalsea, all in the narrow limits we have laid down. And there
+were also, for the delectation of the righteous and the terror of
+evil-doers, the visible instruments for correction. In every parish
+there was the whipping post--one in St. Mary Overy's churchyard, put up
+after the time of the monks; one at St. Thomas's Hospital; there was the
+pillory for neck and hands, generally with somebody on it, but the
+pillory was movable; there was the cage--one stood at the south end of
+the Bridge--women had to stand in the cage; there were stocks for feet
+wandering and trespassing; there were pounds for stray animals.
+
+Markets were held in the churchyard of St. Margaret's; in the precinct
+of Bermondsey Abbey; and along the street called 'Long Southwark'--now
+High Street--from the Bridge to St. Margaret's Hill. But we must not
+suppose that the markets of Southwark presented the same crowded
+appearance, and were carried on with the same noise and bustle, as those
+of Chepe and Newgate on the other side.
+
+Everything, in those days, was quiet and dignified in Southwark. The
+Princes of the Church arrived and departed, each with his retinue of
+chaplains and secretaries, gentlemen and livery. Kings and ambassadors
+rode up from Dover through Long Southwark and across the Bridge. The
+mayor and aldermen in new cloaks of red murrey and gold chains sallied
+forth to meet the King returning from abroad. Cavalcades of pilgrims for
+Canterbury, Compostella, Seville, Rome, and Jerusalem rode out of
+Southwark when the spring returned; and every day there arrived and
+departed long lines of packhorses laden with the produce of the country
+and with things imported for sale in London City. Pilgrims, merchants,
+travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place was nothing but
+a collection of inns; the ecclesiastics stayed here for a few weeks and
+then went away; the great lords came here when they had business at
+Court and then went away again; the merchants came and went: by itself
+the place had, as yet, no independent life or character of its own at
+all.
+
+There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately; both are full of
+history. Let us consider the House of Bermondsey, because it is less
+generally known than the other of St. Mary Overy or Overies.
+
+[Illustration: The Monastery of Bermondsey]
+
+The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the Westminster of South
+London. Like Westminster, Bermondsey stood upon a low islet in the midst
+of a marsh; at the distance of half a mile on the north ran the river;
+half a mile on the west was the Causeway; half a mile on the south was
+the Dover road. It is significant of the seclusion in which the House
+lay that the only road which connected it with the world was that lane
+called Bermondsey or Barnsie or Barnabie Lane, which ran from the Abbey
+to St. Olave's and so to London Bridge. It was not, like Westminster, a
+place of traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, separated from
+the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had been gradually drained
+and the Embankment continued through Rotherhithe to Deptford and beyond
+the Greenwich levels, the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely
+fertile and wooded and covered with sheep and cattle.
+
+The House was founded in the year 1182 by one Ailwin Childe, a merchant
+of the City, an Alderman also and one of the ruling families of London.
+He was the son of an elder Ailwin, who was a member of that 'Knighten
+Guild' which, with all its members and all its property--the land which
+now forms the Ward of Portsoken--went over to the Priory of the Holy
+Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind was therefore hereditary
+in the family. The elder Ailwin became a monk, the younger founded a
+monastery; his son, the third of the family of whom we know anything,
+became the first Mayor of London, and remained Mayor for twenty-four
+years--the rest of his life.
+
+[Illustration: BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+The whole of history from the ninth to the fifteenth century is full of
+a pathetic longing after a religious Order, if that could be found, of
+true and proved sanctity. One Order after the other arises; one after
+the other challenges respect for reputed holiness of a new and hitherto
+unknown kind: in fact, it commands the respect of the people who always
+admire voluntary privation of what they value so much--food and drink;
+it receives endowments, gifts, foundations of all kinds; it then departs
+from the ancient rule, and quickly loses its hold upon the people. This
+is the simple history of Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian, and all
+the rest. However, at the close of the eleventh century the Cluniac was
+in the highest repute for a rigid Rule, strictly kept: and for an
+austerity strictly enforced. It was a Cluniac House which Ailwin Childe
+set up in Bermondsey, and which Earl de Warren, who also founded the
+Cluniac House of Lewes, enriched.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF BERMONDSEY ABBEY]
+
+This Priory, with thirty-seven other Houses, was an Alien owing
+obedience to the Abbot of Cluny. A large part of its revenues,
+therefore, was sent out of the country, and it received its Priors from
+abroad. In the reign of Henry the Fifth the growing dissatisfaction on
+account of the Alien Priories came to a head, and they were all
+suppressed, or at least cut off from obedience to the Mother Convent.
+The Priory of Bermondsey was therefore raised to the dignity of an
+Abbey, with an English Abbot, and so continued until the Dissolution.
+
+The Abbey was one of the many places of pilgrimage dotted about round
+London--places accessible in a single day's journey. Thus there were the
+three shrines of Willesden, Muswell Hill, and Gospel Oak, each
+possessing an image of the Virgin to which miraculous powers were
+attributed. At Blackheath there was another holy shrine; at Bermondsey
+there was a Holy Rood which was daily visited in the summer by pious
+pilgrims from London. The Rood had been fished up from the Thames, and
+no one knew its history; but the merit of a pilgrimage to the Abbey and
+of prayers said before the shrine was considered very precious. It was,
+moreover, an easy pilgrimage. A boat taken below the Bridge would take
+the pilgrim over to the opposite shore in a few minutes, where a cross
+standing before a lane leading out of 'Short Southwark' showed him the
+way. It was but half a mile to the Abbey of St. Saviour and the Holy
+Rood.
+
+'Go,' writes John Paston in 1465 to his mother, 'visit the Rood of
+North door and St. Saviour in Bermondsey among while ye abide in London;
+and let my sister Margery go with you to pray to them that she may have
+a good husband or she come home again.'
+
+One can hardly expect that the Abbot of Cluny should resign this
+valuable possession without a remonstrance. He made, in fact, the
+strongest possible remonstrance. In 1457 he sent over three monks with
+orders to lay the case before the King, and to invite his attention
+especially to the papers showing the clear and indisputable right of the
+Mother Convent to the House of Bermondsey. These monks, in fact, did
+present their case to the King, with the documents. But no one heeded
+them; they could hardly get a hearing; no one replied to their
+arguments. This neglect was perhaps the cause why one of them died while
+in this country. The other two went home again, having accomplished
+nothing. One of them on the eve of their departure wrote a piteous
+letter to the Abbot of St. Albans:--
+
+    For the rest, be it known to you, my Lord, that after having spent
+    four months and a half on our journey, and following our Right with
+    the most serene Lord the King and his Privy Council, we have
+    obtained nothing: nay, we are sent back very disconsolate, deprived
+    of our Manors, our Pensions alienated, and, what is still worse, we
+    are denied the obedience of all our Monasteries which are 38 in
+    number: nor did our Legal Deeds, nor the Testimonies of your
+    Chronicles avail us anything, and at length, after all our pleading
+    and expenses, we return home moneyless, for in truth, after paying
+    for what we have eaten and drunk, we have but five crowns left, to
+    go back about 260 leagues. But what then? We will sell what we have:
+    we will go on: and God will provide. Nothing else occurs to write to
+    your Paternity: but that as we entered England with joy, so we
+    depart thence with sorrow: having buried one of our Companions--viz.
+    the Archdeacon, the youngest of our company. May he rest in Peace!
+    Amen.
+
+There is not at the present moment a single stone of this stately House
+visible, though there were many remains above ground one hundred years
+ago. It is a pity, because there is the association of two Queens, not
+to speak of many great Lords of state Functions, and of Parliaments,
+connected with this House secluded in the Marsh.
+
+The first of the two Queens is Katharine of Valois, widow of Henry the
+Fifth. The story is the most romantic, perhaps, of all the stories
+connected with our line of sovereigns and Queens and Royal Princes. It
+is not a new story, and yet it is not so well known that any apology is
+needed for telling it once more.
+
+Henry died August 31, 1422. His widow, Katharine, began to live in the
+seclusion fitted for her sorrow and her widowhood. Among her household,
+the office of Clerk to the Wardrobe was filled by a young and handsome
+Welshman named Owen Tudor, or Theodore. He was the son of a plain Welsh
+gentleman of slender means, if any, who was in the service of the Bishop
+of Chester. He distinguished himself at Agincourt in the following of
+some nobleman unknown. It has been said, with singular ignorance of the
+time, that he was a private soldier--that is, a man with a pike or a
+bow, dressed in a leather jerkin which the men threw off when the battle
+began. The opportunities for a common soldier to distinguish himself in
+such an action were few, nor do we ever hear of a king raising a man
+from the ranks, as Henry raised Owen Tudor, to the post of Esquire to
+the Body. It is possible, but most improbable, that Owen Tudor was
+regarded as a common soldier: since his father was a gentleman in the
+service of the Bishop of Chester, he himself would go to war as a
+gentleman in the service and wearing the livery of some noble lord.
+
+In this way, however, his promotion began. When the King married, Owen
+Tudor was attached to the household of the Queen. After the death of
+Henry he accompanied the Queen and remained in her service as Clerk to
+the Wardrobe. In this office he had to buy whatever was wanted by the
+Queen--her silk, her velvet, her cloth of gold. He was therefore brought
+into much closer and more direct relation with the Queen than other
+officers of the household. He pleased her by his appearance, his
+accomplishments, and his manners. Tradition says that he danced very
+well. There is no reason to inquire by what attractions or
+accomplishments he pleased. The fact remains that he did please the
+Queen, and that so much that she consented to a secret marriage with
+him. It was a dangerous step for this Welsh adventurer to take: it was a
+step which would cover the Queen with dishonour should it become known.
+That the widow of the great and glorious Henry, chief captain of the
+age, should be able to forget her husband at all; should be capable of
+union with any lower man; should ally her royal line with that of a man
+who could only call himself gentleman after the fashion of Wales: would
+certainly be considered to bring dishonour on the King, the royal
+family, and the country at large.
+
+The marriage was not found out for some years. The Queen must have been
+most faithfully and loyally served, because children cannot be born
+without observation. Owen Tudor must have conducted matters with a
+discretion beyond all praise. No doubt the ordinary members of the
+household knew nothing and suspected nothing, because several years
+passed before any suspicion was awakened. Three sons and one daughter,
+in all, were born. The eldest, Edmund of Hadham, was so called because
+he was born there; the second, Jasper, was of Hatfield; the third, Owen,
+of Westminster; the youngest, Margaret, died in infancy.
+
+Suspicions were aroused about the time of the birth of Owen, which took
+place apparently before it was expected and without all the precautions
+necessary, in the King's House at Westminster. The infant was taken as
+soon as born to the monastery of St. Peter's, secretly. It is not likely
+that the Abbot received the child without full knowledge of his
+parents. He did take the child, however; and here the little Owen
+remained, growing up in a monastery, and taking vows in due time. Here
+he lived and here he died, a Benedictine of Westminster.
+
+It would seem as if Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, heard some whisper or
+rumour concerning this birth, or was told something about the true
+nature of the Queen's illness, for he issued a very singular
+proclamation, warning the world, generally, against marrying Queen
+dowagers, as if these ladies grew on every hedge. When, however, a year
+or so afterwards, the fourth child, Margaret, was born, Humphrey learned
+the whole truth: the degradation, as he thought it, of the Queen, who
+had stooped to such an alliance, and the humble rank and the audacity of
+the Welshman. He took steps promptly. He sent Katharine with some of her
+ladies to Bermondsey Abbey, there to remain in honourable confinement:
+he arrested Owen Tudor, a priest--probably the priest who had performed
+the marriage--and his servant, and sent all three to Newgate.
+
+All three succeeded in breaking prison, and escaped. At this point the
+story gets mixed. The King himself, we are told, then a lad of fifteen,
+sent to Owen commanding his attendance before the Council. Why did they
+not arrest him again? Owen, however, refused to trust himself to the
+Council--was not Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, one of them? He asked for
+a safe-conduct. They promised him one by a verbal message. Where was he,
+then, that all these messages should be sent backwards and forwards? I
+think he must have been in Sanctuary. He refused a verbal message, and
+demanded a written safe-conduct. This was granted him, and he returned
+to London. But he mistrusted even the written promise; he would not face
+the Council: he took refuge in the Sanctuary of Westminster, where they
+were afraid to seize him. And here for a while he remained. It is said
+that they tried to draw him out by sending old friends who invited him
+to the taverns outside the Abbey Precinct. But Owen would not be so
+drawn. He knew that Duke Humphrey would make an end of him if he could.
+He therefore remained where he was. I think that he must have had some
+secret understanding with the King; for one day, learning that Henry
+himself was with the Council, he suddenly presented himself and pleaded
+his own cause. The mild young king, tender on account of his mother,
+would not allow the case to be pursued, but bade him go free.
+
+He departed; he made all haste to get out of an unwholesome air: he made
+for Wales. Here the hostility of Duke Humphrey pursued him still: he was
+once more arrested, taken to Wallingford, and placed in the Castle there
+a prisoner. From Wallingford he was transferred again to Newgate, he and
+his priest and his servant. Once more they all three broke prison,
+'foully' wounding a warder in the achievement of liberty, and got back
+to Wales, choosing for their residence the mountainous parts into which
+the English garrisons never penetrated.
+
+When the King came of age Owen Tudor was allowed to return, and was
+presented with a pension of L40 a year. It is remarkable, however, that
+he received no promotion, or rank; that he was never knighted; and that
+the title of Esquire was the only one by which he was known. It
+certainly seems as if the claim of Owen Tudor to be called a gentleman
+was not recognised by the King or the heralds. Perhaps Welsh gentility
+was as little understood by these Normans as Irish royalty--yet, so far
+as length of pedigree goes, both Welsh and Irish were very superior to
+Normans.
+
+The two sons, Edmund and Jasper, were placed under the charge of
+Katharine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, and sister of the Earl of
+Suffolk. When the King came of age he remembered his half-brothers:
+Edmund was made Earl of Richmond, Jasper Earl of Pembroke; both ranked
+before all other English Earls. Edmund was afterwards married to
+Margaret Beaufort, who as Countess of Richmond was the foundress of
+Christ's and St. John's Colleges, Cambridge. Her son, as everybody
+knows, was Henry VII.
+
+As for Owen Tudor, that gallant adventurer, who began so well on the
+field of battle, ended as well, fighting, as he should, for his step-son
+and King, under the badge of the Red Rose. When the Civil Wars began he
+joined the King's forces, though he was then nearer seventy than sixty.
+He fought at Wakefield; he pursued the Yorkists to Mortimer's Cross,
+where another fight took place. The Lancastrians were defeated. Owen was
+taken prisoner, and was cruelly beheaded on the field. It was right and
+just that he should so fight and should so die. He survived his Queen
+twenty-four years.
+
+The unfortunate Katharine, whose _mesalliance_ gave us the strongest
+sovereigns we have ever had over us, did not long survive the disgrace
+of discovery. As to public knowledge of the fact, one cannot learn how
+widely it was extended. Probably it grew by degrees: chroniclers speak
+of it without reserve, and when the sons grew up and were acknowledged
+by the King there was no pretence at concealment. To be the son of a
+French Princess and a Welsh gentleman was not, after all, a matter for
+shame or concealment. Katharine carried down to the Abbey a disorder
+which she calls of long standing and grievous. It killed her in less
+than a year after her imprisonment among the orchards and meadows of the
+Precinct. It is said that her remorse during her last days was very
+deep; not for her second marriage, but for having allowed her
+accouchement of the King to take place at Windsor, a place against which
+she was warned by the astrologer. 'Henry of Windsor shall lose all that
+Henry of Monmouth shall win.' Alas! had Henry of Windsor been Henry of
+Monmouth himself, he would have lost all there was to lose. Could there
+be a worse prospect, had Katharine understood the dangers, of
+hereditary disease? On the one side the grandson of a leper and the son
+of a consumptive; on the other side, the grandson of a madman and a
+Messalina.
+
+[Illustration: ST. OLAVE, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Katharine dictated her will a few days before her death. She asks for
+masses for her soul: for rewards for her servants: for her debts to be
+paid. And she says not one word about her children by Owen Tudor. She
+confesses by this silence that she is ashamed. She confesses by this
+silence that, being a Queen, and of a Royal House, she ought not in her
+widowhood to have been mated with any less than a King.
+
+'I trustfully,' she says in the preamble, addressing her son the King,
+'and am right sure, that among all creatures earthly ye best may and
+will best tender and favour my will, in ordaining for my soul and body,
+in seeing that my debts be paid and my servants guerdoned, and in tender
+and favourable fulfilment of mine intent.' The words are full of queenly
+dignity; but--where is the mention of her children? Perhaps, however,
+she knew that the King would provide for them.
+
+Another Queen died here: the Queen 'to whom all griefs were
+known'--Elizabeth Woodville. It is not easy to feel much sympathy with
+this unfortunate woman, yet there are few scenes of history more full of
+pathos and of mournfulness than that in which her boy was torn from her
+arms; and she knew--all knew--even the Archbishops, when they gave their
+consent, knew--that the boy was to be done to death. When one talks of
+Queens and their misfortunes, it may be remembered that few Queens have
+suffered more than Elizabeth Woodville. In misfortune she sits apart
+from other Queens, her only companions being Mary Queen of Scots and
+Marie Antoinette. Her record is full of woe. But in that long war it
+seems impossible to find one single character, man or woman--unless it
+is King Henry--who is true and loyal. All--all--are perjured,
+treacherous, cruel, self-seeking. All are as proud as Lucifer. Murder is
+the friend and companion of the noblest lord; perjury walks on the other
+side of him; treachery stalks behind him: all are his henchmen.
+Elizabeth met perjury and treachery with intrigue and plot and
+counter-plot: she was the daughter of her time. She was accused of being
+privy to the plots of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck: she was more
+Yorkist than her husband; she hated the Red Rose long after the Red and
+the White were united by her daughter and Henry the Seventh. That she
+was suspected of these intrigues shows the character she bore. We must
+make allowance: she was always in a false position; Edward ought not to
+have married her; she was hated by her own party; she was compelled in
+the interests of her children to be always on the defensive; and in her
+conduct of defence she was the daughter of her age. These things,
+however, deprive her, somewhat, of the pity which we ought to feel for
+so many misfortunes.
+
+[Illustration: 'LE LOKE']
+
+She, too, had to retire to the seclusion of Bermondsey, where she could
+sit and watch the ships go up and down, and so feel that the world, with
+which she had no more concern, still continued. It has been suggested
+that she retired voluntarily to the Abbey. Such a retreat was not in
+the character of Elizabeth Woodville, so long as there was a daughter
+or a kinsman left to fight for. Like Katharine of Valois, she made an
+end not without dignity. Witness the following clause in her will:--
+
+    _Item._ Whereas I have no worldly goods with which to do the Queen's
+    Grace, my dearest daughter, a pleasure, neither to reward any of my
+    children, according to my heart and mind, I beseech God Almighty to
+    bless her Grace with all her noble Issue, and, with as good a heart
+    and mind as may be, I give her Grace aforesaid my blessing and all
+    the aforesaid my children.
+
+In this chapter it has been my endeavour to restore an ecclesiastical
+foundation which has somehow dropped out of history and become no more
+than a name. If this were a history of South London it would be
+necessary to devote an equal space to other houses; to the churches and
+to the two ancient hospitals 'Le Loke' and St. Thomas's. It is
+impossible, even in these narrow limits, to speak of the religious
+foundations of South London without mention of the other great House,
+more ancient than that of Bermondsey. Few Americans who visit London
+leave it without paying a pilgrimage to the venerable and beautiful
+church which glorifies Southwark. There were great marriages and great
+functions held in the Church of St. Mary Overy: Gower, that excellent
+poet whom the professors of literature praise and nobody reads, died and
+lies buried in this church; it was the church of the playerfolk: here
+lie buried Edmund Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and
+Philip Henslow. Here lie buried, in that 'sure and certain hope' which
+the Church allows even to them, the rufflers, 'roreres' and sinners of
+Bank Side and Maiden Lane; the brawlers and the topers and the strikers
+of the Bear Garden and the Bull Baiting. Here were tried notable
+heretics: Hooper and Rogers, and many more, while Gardiner and Bonner
+thundered and bullied. From this church the martyrs went forth to meet
+the flames. The people of Southwark needed not to cross the river in
+order to learn such lessons as the martyrdoms had to teach them. The
+stake was set up in St. George's Fields, where they could read, mark,
+learn, and inwardly digest the undesigned teaching of Bonner and his
+friends.
+
+It is the custom of historians to point to the martyrdom of Cranmer and
+the Bishops as the chief cause of the overwhelming Protestant reaction.
+So great was the horror, they say, of the people at the death of the
+Archbishop, that the whole nation was roused--and so on. For myself I
+like to think that, as the people would feel now, so, _mutatis
+mutandis_, they felt then. Was there any such mighty horror felt in
+London when Cranmer died in Oxford? Not so much horror, I believe, as
+when from their own ranks, from their own houses, from their own
+families, men and women and boys were taken out and led to execution.
+Violent deaths--by beheading, by hanging, by the flames--were witnessed
+every day. How many were hanged by Henry VIII.? The deaths of nobles did
+not touch the people; they looked on unmoved while the most innocent and
+most holy men in the country--the blameless Carthusians--suffered death
+as traitors; they looked on at the death of Sir Thomas More; when
+witches were burned they looked on. It was when they saw their own
+brothers, sisters, cousins, dragged out and put to death without a
+cause, that they began to doubt and to question. Nay, I think it was not
+the manner of death that affected them, because burning was a thing so
+common: it was the sentence itself passed on honest and godly folk, and
+the behaviour of the people at their death. Tender women chained to the
+stake suffered without a groan, only praying loudly till death came;
+people remembered, they recalled with tears afterwards, how the martyr
+and his wife and his children knelt on the ground for one last prayer
+before the stake; they remembered how the sufferer stepped into his
+place with a smiling face and welcomed the fiery lane that led him to
+the place where he longed to be: was this, they asked, the courage
+inspired of God, or of the devil? They remembered how another washed
+his hands in the mounting and roaring flames; how the clouds parted at
+the prayer of another, and the smiling sun of heaven shone upon him; and
+it was even like unto the countenance of the Blessed Lord. The sight and
+the remembrance of the sufferings of their own folk, not the execution
+at a distance of an Archbishop and a few Bishops, moved the people and
+remained with them, and enveloped the Church of Rome with a hatred from
+which it has not wholly recovered even in these latter days.
+
+The foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital belongs to both the great Houses
+of Southwark.
+
+It was the general Rule in all religious Houses that there should be a
+provision for the poor, the sick, and those who were orphans. St. Mary
+Overy had a hospital adjoining the priory which was an almshouse
+certainly, and probably an orphanage as well. It was under the care of
+the Archdeacon of Surrey. Attached to St. Saviour's was an almonry
+intended for the same purpose. But the Abbey was entirely secluded: it
+lay far from any highway; there were no houses, except farm buildings
+for the monastery's labourers; there were no poor, no sick, and no
+orphans. So that, when the great fire of 1213 destroyed Southwark and
+crossed the river by the Bridge into London, the monks of St. Saviour's
+bethought them that to make their almonry useful it would be well to
+rebuild it half a mile to the west, on the Southwark Causeway. This was
+done, and the Hospital of St. Mary was united with it, and the new
+foundation which Bishop Peter de Rupibus most liberally endowed was
+named after St. Thomas. At first it was not a hospital especially for
+the sick, as St. Bartholomew's and St. Mary of Spittal. It was a
+fraternity like St. Catherine's by the Tower, for brethren and sisters
+under a master, with bedesmen and women, and a school, and an infirmary;
+but not, as St. Bartholomew's was from the beginning altogether, only a
+hospital for the sick.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE PALACE OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, FROM
+THE SOUTH]
+
+As for the religious life of the place, it was in most respects like
+that of London. There were no houses for Friars, but the Friars came
+across the river _en quete_, 'mumping,' on their begging rounds; and in
+the taverns were put up boxes for the contributions of the faithful
+(towards the end these contributions fell off sadly). There was plenty
+of life and colour in the streets: serving men in bright liveries of the
+great Houses--the Bishops of Winchester and Rochester, the Abbots of
+Lewes, Hyde, and Battle--went about their errands; there were Gilds,
+notably that of St. George, which had their processions and their days:
+there were crosses and images of saints, at which the passer-by doffed
+his hat--in the wall of Lambeth Palace was an image of St. Thomas a
+Becket overlooking the river, to which every waterman and bargee paid
+reverence.
+
+Some of the punishments of the time were ordered by the Church. There
+was whipping, but not the terrible murderous flogging of the eighteenth
+century; there were hangings, but not for everything. Mostly to the
+credit of the Church, punishment was designed not to crush a man, but to
+shame him into repentance, and to give him a chance of retrieving his
+character. A man might be set in the stocks, or put in pillory, and so
+made to feel the heinousness of his offence. This punishment was like
+that which is inflicted on a schoolboy: the thing done, the boy is taken
+back to favour. The eighteenth century branded him, imprisoned him,
+transported him, made a brute of him, and then hanged him. Did a woman
+speak despitefully of authority? Presumptuous quean! Set her up in the
+cage besides the stoulpes of London Bridge, that everyone should see her
+there and should ask what she had done. After an hour or two take her
+down; bid her go home and keep henceforth a quiet tongue in her head.
+This leniency was only for offences moral and against the law. For
+freedom of thought or doctrine there was Bishop Bonner's better way. And
+it was a way inhuman, inflexible, unable to forgive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE ROYAL HOUSES OF SOUTH LONDON
+
+
+All round London, like beads upon a string, were dotted Royal Houses,
+Palaces, and Hunting Places. On the north side were Westminster,
+Whitehall, St. James's, Kensington, Shene, Theobald's, Hatfield,
+Cheshunt, King's Langley, Hunsdon, Havering-atte-Bower, Stepney, the
+Tower; on the south side were Kennington, Eltham, Greenwich, Kew,
+Hampton, Windsor, a tradition attaching to Streatham, and the House of
+Nonesuch, built by Henry VIII. at Cheam. Most of these royal houses are
+now clean forgotten. Eltham preserves some ruins left of Edward IV.'s
+buildings; it still shows the moat and the old bridge, and the line of
+its former wall; but tradition, which has quite forgotten its memories
+of the Edwards and the Tudors, describes it as the Palace of King John.
+The sailors--now, alas! also gone--have deprived Greenwich of Edward VI.
+and Elizabeth. Theobald's is gone altogether, Nonesuch is wholly cleared
+away. Of Kennington, of which I have to speak in this place, not one
+stone remains upon another; not a vestige is above ground; the people on
+the spot know of no remains underground; its very memory is gone and
+forgotten: there is not even a tradition left, although part of the
+ruins were still standing only a hundred years ago.
+
+The reason for this oblivion is not far to seek. The palace was
+deserted; it was pulled down before 1607--Camden says that even then
+there was not a stone remaining--there was not a single house within
+half a mile in every direction. There was no one, when the last stones
+had been carted away, left to remember or to remind his children that
+there had been a palace on this spot. Another house was built here, but
+no tradition attached to it. Two hundred years passed, and then came the
+destruction of the second house; in 1745 there was not even a cottage
+near the spot. This being so, it is not difficult to understand why the
+site was forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: THE LONG BARN]
+
+The moat remained, however, and apparently some of the substructures; a
+building of stone and thatch, part of the offices of the palace, also
+stood. They called it the 'Long Barn,' and when the distressed
+Protestants were brought over here in 1700 as many as the place would
+hold were crammed into the Long Barn. Market gardens lay all over the
+country between Kennington Road and Lambeth, and on the site of the
+palace there was not a single person left who could carry on the
+tradition of the king's house that once stood here. Roque, the map-maker
+of 1745, knew nothing about it. In 1795 the Long Barn was taken down. At
+the beginning of the century houses began to rise here and there;
+streets began to be formed: at least three streets cross the gardens and
+the site of the palace; but there is not one tradition of a place which,
+as we shall see, was full of history for six hundred years. 'Is this
+fame?' might ask the king who crowned himself here, the king who died
+here, the king who was brought up here, the kings who kept their
+Christmas feast here, the kings who here received their brides, held
+Parliament, and went out a-hunting.
+
+The king who crowned himself here was Harold Harefoot, son of Cnut--that
+is to say, it was at 'Lambeth,' and there was no other house at Lambeth.
+
+[Illustration: SKETCH MAP]
+
+The king who died in this house was that young Dane who appears to have
+been an incarnation of the ideal Danish brutality. He dragged his
+brother's body out of its grave and flung it into the Thames; he
+massacred the people of Worcester and ravaged the shire; and he did
+these brave deeds and many others all in two short years. Then he went
+to his own place. His departure was both fitting and dramatic. For one
+so young it showed with what a yearning and madness he had been
+drinking. He went across the river--there was, I repeat, no other house
+in Lambeth except this, so that it must have been here--to attend the
+wedding of his standard-bearer, Tostig the Proud, with Goda, daughter of
+the Thane Osgod Clapa, whose name survives in his former estate of
+Clapham. A Danish wedding was always an occasion for hard drinking,
+while the minstrels played and sang and the mummers tumbled. When men
+were well drunken the pleasing sport of bone throwing began: they threw
+the beef bones at each other. The fun of the game consisted in the
+accident of a man not being able to dodge the bone which struck him, and
+probably killed him. Archbishop Alphege was thus killed. The soldiers
+had no special desire to kill the old man: why couldn't he enter into
+the spirit of the game and dodge the bones? As he did not, of course he
+was hit, and as the bone was a big and a heavy bone, hurled by a
+powerful hand, of course it split open his skull. One may be permitted
+to think that perhaps King Hardacnut, who is said to have fallen down
+suddenly when he 'stood up to drink,' did actually intercept a big beef
+bone which knocked him down; and as he remained comatose until he died,
+the proud Tostig, unwilling to have it said that even in sport his king
+had been killed at his wedding, gave out that the king fell down in a
+fit. This, however, is speculation.
+
+Forty years after this event, when Domesday Book was compiled, the place
+was in the possession of a London citizen, Theodric by name and a
+goldsmith by trade. It was still a royal manor, because the goldsmith
+held it of Edward the Confessor. It was then valued at three pounds a
+year. It is impossible to arrive at the meaning of this valuation. We
+may compare it with that of other estates, with the rental and price of
+other lands, with the cost of provisions, and with the wages and pay of
+servants and officers; and when we have done all, we are still very far
+from understanding the value of money then or at any subsequent time.
+There are, you see, so many points which the writers on the value of
+money do not take into consideration. There is the price of bread; but
+then there were so many kinds of bread--wheaten bread, barley bread, oat
+bread, rye bread; and how much bread did a family of the working class
+consume? Flesh, fish, fowl, but how much of either did the working
+classes enjoy? Rent? But on the farms the "villains" paid no rent.
+There is, in a word, not only the market prices that have to be
+considered, but the standard of comfort--always a little higher than the
+practice--and the daily relations of the demand to the supply. So that
+when we read that this manor of Kennington was worth three pounds a year
+we are not advanced in the least. As most of the land was still marshy
+and useless, we may understand that the value was low.
+
+We next hear of Kennington in 1189, when King Richard granted it on
+lease, or for life, to Sir Robert Percy with the title of Lord of the
+Manor. Henry III. came here on several occasions; here he held his
+Lambeth Parliament. He kept his Christmas here in 1231. Great was the
+feasting and boundless the hospitality of this Christmas, at which this
+king lavished the treasures of the State.
+
+The site of the palace is indicated in the accompanying map. If you walk
+along the Kennington Road from Bridge Street, Westminster, you presently
+come to a place where four roads meet, Upper Kennington Lane on the
+left, and Lower Kennington Lane on the right; the road goes on to the
+Horns Tavern and Kennington Park. On the right-hand side stood the
+palace. In the year 1636 a plan of the house and grounds was executed;
+but by that time the mediaeval character of the place was quite
+forgotten. It was a square house, probably Elizabethan; the home of King
+Henry III. at some time or other had been completely taken away. The
+site of the moat, however, was left, and there was still standing the
+'Long Barn.' The only way to find out what the palace really was in the
+thirteenth or fourteenth century is to compare it with another palace
+built under much the same conditions, and intended to serve the same
+purpose. Fortunately there still stand, some miles to the east of
+Kennington, at Eltham, important remains of such a contemporary palace,
+with a description of the place as it was before it was allowed to fall
+into ruins.
+
+We are not at this moment concerned with the history of Eltham.
+Sufficient to note that it was a great and stately place for five
+hundred years and more; that it passed through the hands of Bishop Odo;
+of the Mandevilles; of the De Vescis; of Bishop Anthony Bec; and of
+Geoffrey le Scrope of Masham. As a royal residence its history begins
+with Henry III., who kept his Christmas here in 1270, and ends with
+Elizabeth, who came over here occasionally from Greenwich. Here
+Isabella, wife of Edward II., gave birth to a son, John of Eltham. The
+greatest builder at Eltham was Edward IV.
+
+The house in 1649, fifty years after Elizabeth had visited it, is said
+to have contained a chapel, a banqueting-hall, rooms on the ground floor
+and first floor called the King's side and the Queen's side. There were
+buildings and rooms of all kinds round the courtyard. The number of
+chambers in all was very great, and it is said, further, that the large
+courtyard covered a whole acre in extent. Such an area would give about
+two hundred and ten feet to each side of a square. This would be large
+for a college at Oxford or Cambridge. It would cover about the same area
+as that of New Palace Yard. There were, however, other courts; four
+courts in all are spoken of. The lesser courts were used for the
+'service,' the kitchens, butteries, pantries, stables, rooms for the
+servants, the barracks for the men-at-arms who accompanied the king, the
+grooms, armourers, makers and menders, bakers and brewers, cooks and
+scullions, and the women servants, and the wives and the children. A
+strong stone wall, battlemented, with loopholed turrets, surrounded the
+palace; a broad and deep moat defended the wall; the bridge which
+crossed the moat had a drawbridge; the gate had its portcullis. The
+palace, in a word, was a fortress, for there was never a king in England
+who would have dared to keep his court, or to sleep, in an unfortified
+manor house, or outside a fortress--certainly not Henry III. or Edward
+IV.--unless, of course, it was on the tented field in the midst of his
+army.
+
+The existing remains of the palace correspond to this description. There
+is the moat, deep and broad; there is the bridge, the drawbridge gone.
+Within, the most important ruin is that of Edward IV.'s banqueting hall.
+This is a most noble chamber, with a roof of oak as perfect as when it
+was built; the two magnificent bays remain, with the double row of
+windows. It would be difficult to find a finer banqueting hall in the
+whole country than that of Eltham. In the grounds, the traces of the
+wall and those of other buildings ought to make it possible, with a very
+little excavation, to trace a plan of the whole house.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway in the Hall, Eltham Palace]
+
+As was Eltham, so was Kennington. Both places were built for the same
+purpose about the same time. Both were castles erected on a plain
+without the aid of hillock, mound or running stream--unless the moat at
+Kennington was fed by one of the many streams of South London. The plan
+of 1636 shows approximately the line of the wall; the stream or the
+ditch marks the course of the moat; the 'Long Barn' on the east side of
+the palace belonged to the 'service'--it was kitchens, stables, armoury,
+brewery, or granary. The house itself had its principal entrance on the
+north. This is certain, because all the supplies were brought by what
+is now Kennington Road either from Westminster Ferry or from Southwark.
+A gate on this side simplified the transference which took place when
+the court moved from one place to another; when everything--bedding,
+blankets, utensils of all kinds, plate, _batterie de cuisine_, the
+workmen with their tools, the wardrobe of king and queen--was packed up
+and carried from Westminster over the ferry to Kennington, or from
+Kennington to Woolwich. Provisions and goods sent up from the City were
+also landed at Stangate, Lambeth, so as to get as short a land journey
+as possible. For these reasons I place the principal gate at the north.
+
+I have seen it stated--I know not with what truth--that the people of
+the streets now on the site have found substructures beneath their
+houses. If so, one would expect, what one cannot find, some tradition to
+account for the existence of these stone vaults.
+
+Such was the vanished Palace of Kennington: a fortress of the Lambeth
+Marsh, a place for keeping Christmas, a royal residence; now completely
+vanished.
+
+Two other royal houses there were in South London, neither of which can
+be compared with Kennington. Greenwich, for instance, which appears in
+history from the time of King Alfred. Edward I., Henry IV., Henry V.,
+Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth--all had
+more or less to do with Greenwich. When Henry VIII. completed his
+buildings here he deserted Eltham; he left, that is, the mediaeval
+fortress for the modern house. His Greenwich was not fortified. The
+accompanying view of it shows that it possessed none of the
+characteristics of the ancient residence, half castle, half manor house.
+Greenwich, however, before Henry rebuilt it, was a fortified castle. Had
+we a plan of Greenwich of the fourteenth century it would most certainly
+resemble those of Eltham and of Kennington, with certain small
+differences, just as one Benedictine monastery resembles in its general
+disposition another Benedictine monastery, and one Norman castle in
+general terms, and allowing for the site, resembles another.
+
+The other house of which I have spoken is that of Nonesuch. This house
+was not a reconstruction and an adaptation with much of the ancient
+work: it was newly built and furnished entirely by Henry VIII. There was
+no suspicion of battlements, no pretence at a fortification; the house
+stood open and unprotected save by the order maintained by the strong
+king. It was not beautiful according to our ideas; nor was it what we
+now call a Tudor house; it bears upon it every mark of the builder's
+interference with the architect. The outside walls of Nonesuch were
+decorated by certain bas-reliefs representing subjects from the heathen
+mythology. The house was pulled down by the Duchess of Cleveland, to
+whom Charles II. gave it. Nonesuch, however, has nothing to do with
+Kennington, and must not detain us.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Royal Palace at Greenwich]
+
+Let us next consider what it means when the king is said to have kept
+his Christmas at a place.
+
+During the festival--for twenty days--he kept open house, nominally.
+That is to say, all comers received food and drink: his guests, one
+supposes, were bidden. Every day during the festival the king sat at the
+feast wearing his crown and his robes of royal state. Richard II., the
+most prodigal of all princes that ever lived, entertained every day no
+fewer than ten thousand persons at his palace. What the number was at
+Christmas no one knows. In addition to the ordinary following of the
+court--a huge army of chaplains, canons, scribes, secretaries, gentlemen
+archers, and servants--there were the bishops and abbots, the peers and
+barons, who came to the Christmas feast, each attended by his own
+following of knights and esquires and men in livery. For the
+entertainment of this enormous company what a huge establishment would
+be needed! The organisation was complete; everything was in departments,
+each under the yeomen: the chambers, the wardrobe, the kitchens, the
+stables, the cellars. Yet what an army in each department! Then, since
+at Christmas time we look for amusement, there was the Master of the
+Revels, and with him an extensive and variegated following; among them
+were all those who played on the different instruments of music, those
+who sang, the buffoons, tumblers, and mummers, the dancing girls. It was
+in the time of Henry III. that these performances were brought over for
+the delectation of the English court--perhaps with the pious intention
+of showing what joys and attractions awaited the Crusaders in the Holy
+Land itself.
+
+Hall's account of the festivities of a Christmas a hundred and fifty
+years later than the time of Richard II. is as follows:--
+
+'The Kyng this yere kept the feast of Christmas at Grenewiche, wher was
+suche abundance of viands served to all comers of any honest behaviour,
+as hath been few times seen; and against New Yeres night was made, in
+the Hall, a castle, gates, towers, and dungion, garnished with
+artilerie, and weapon after the most warlike fashion: and on the frount
+of the castle was written, Le Fortresse Dangerus, and within the castle
+were six ladies clothed in russet satin laide all over with leves of
+golde, and every owde knit with laces of blewe silke and golde; on ther
+heddes, coyfes and cappes all of golde. After this castle had been
+carried about the hal, and the Quene had behelde it, in came the Kyng
+with five other appareled in coates, the one half of russet satyn,
+spangled with spangles of fine golde, the other halfe riche cloth of
+gold; on their heddes cappes of russet satin embroudered with workes of
+fine gold bullion. These six assaulted the castle: the ladies seyng them
+so lustie and coragious were content to solace with them, and upon
+farther communication to yeld the castle, and so thei came down and
+daunced a long space. And after the ladies led the knightes into the
+castle, and then the castle sodainly vanished out of their sight.
+
+'On the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the Kyng with XI other were
+disguised after the manner of Italie, called a maske, a thing not seen
+afore in Englande; they were apparelled in garments long and brode,
+wrought all with gold, with visers and cappes of gold; and after the
+banket doen, these maskers came in with six gentlemen disguised in
+silke, bearing staffe torches, and desired the ladies to daunce; some
+were content, and some that knew the fashion of it refused, because it
+was not a thing commonly seen. And after they daunced and commoned
+together as the fashion of the maske is, thei tooke their leave and
+departed. And so did the Quene and all the ladies.'
+
+When the Christmas festivities ceased, the servants packed up the gear:
+the napery, plate, gold and silver cups, dishes, pillows, curtains,
+tapestry and carpets. They were all laid upon waggons, the broad-wheeled
+creaking waggons which were dragged slowly over the uneven and heavy
+lanes by teams of horses or by bullocks. The queen and her ladies were
+carried in chairs or carriages, or went on horseback; the king and his
+followers rode; and so they went back to Westminster. The ferry carried
+over the heavy goods and the horses: the royal barges received the
+court. After them marched the whole rout--the two thousand archers
+without whom Richard never moved; the armies of servants; lastly, when
+the last procurable cup had been drained, the musicians and the mummers
+and the singers marched off sadly. A whole twelvemonth before another
+Christmas! They marched in the direction of the City, and that night, as
+they report, there was strange revelry in the inns of Southwark. The
+house was left in charge of a warden, who had with him the principal
+officers of the palace, the yeomen of the wardrobe, of the cellars, of
+the kitchens, and so forth; the organisation being kept up in readiness,
+though the king might not come back for years. This fact was illustrated
+a short time ago, when I was interested in watching the progress of a
+certain genealogy. About the year 1540 a certain younger son left his
+house; it was necessary to connect him with his own descendants. The
+link was found in the fact that this younger son had been received by
+Carey, warden of Hunsdon House, who made him one of his yeomen; a
+cheerless appointment, like a college in perpetual vacation, the warden
+and yeomen, representing the Master and Fellows, dining every day in the
+dismantled hall, and wandering about the empty courts and silent
+gardens. Palaces, like theatres, have their times of emptiness, during
+which it is best to keep out of them. For my own part, I think the true
+way of enjoying a palace is to frequent it as Froissart did: to hear all
+that was said and to put down all that was done, but not to be an actor
+in a drama which reeks of blood; not even the splendid mounting can
+destroy that dreadful reek. How many people are murdered about the court
+of England from Richard II. to Henry VII.? Richard murders his uncle,
+Henry IV. murders his cousin, Henry V. murders his uncle; Henry VI., it
+is true, murders no one, but then he lives in a time when there is a
+perpetual series of murders. What an awful time! Froissart, who looked
+on at part of the drama, achieved deathless renown for his history,
+while in the whole of that court there was no one whose head was safe on
+his shoulders except Froissart. Unfortunately, he says little about this
+palace which we are considering.
+
+There are many names of kings and princes connected with this house of
+Kennington. Edward I. was here occasionally. During his reign it was the
+residence of John Earl of Surrey, and of his son, John Plantagenet Earl
+of Warren and Surrey. Plenty of histories could be made out of these and
+other names, had the writer time or the reader patience. In truth, the
+reader's patience is more to be considered than the writer's time, for
+the writer, at least, has the joy of hunting up names and notes and
+allusions, and of piecing together what, after all, his reader may not
+find of interest enough to carry him through. Edward III. made the manor
+part of the Duchy of Cornwall. After the death of the Black Prince the
+princess lived here with the young Prince Richard. I do not find that
+Henry IV. was fond of a house which would certainly be haunted--especially
+the room in which he was to sleep--by the sorrowful shade of his
+murdered cousin. Nor did Henry V. come here during his short reign.
+Henry VI., however, made use of Kennington Palace; so did Henry VII.;
+and the last of the queens whose name can be connected with the palace
+was Catherine of Arragon.
+
+I do not know when the palace was destroyed. You have seen the place as
+it was figured in 1636, when it was only an ordinary square house. The
+plan was drawn when Charles I. leased it to Sir Francis Cottington. The
+destruction of the old house and the building of the new must have taken
+place during the hundred years between 1530 and 1630. When the new house
+was taken down I do not know.
+
+The name that we especially associate with Kennington Palace is that of
+Richard II. When the Black Prince died, in 1376, Richard remained at
+Kennington under the care of his mother and the tutorship of Sir
+Guiscard d'Angle, 'that accomplished knight.' The young prince started
+with the finest possible chances of popularity. His father was not only
+the greatest captain of his age, but he was also, in the latter years of
+his life, on the popular side against the old King and his supporters;
+the boy was endowed with a singular beauty of person, and, when he
+pleased, with a sweetness of manner most unusual even among princes,
+with whom affability is the first essential in princely manners. In
+addition to this he was destined to show on two occasions courage which
+almost amounted to insensibility--first, when he dispersed Wat Tyler's
+mob, and next, when he seized the reins of government. History shows how
+he threw away all his chances in reckless extravagance.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE
+
+(_From Allen's History of Lambeth_)]
+
+After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the Lord Mayor to
+pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington, with a riding worthy of the
+City. The day chosen was the Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One
+has frequent occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
+people in these processions and their pageants were entirely regardless
+of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth upon a pageant as
+cheerfully in the cold of February as in the sunshine of August. On this
+occasion, one hundred and thirty-two citizens on horseback, with
+trumpets and other musical instruments, and a vast number of
+_flambeaux_, assembled at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
+the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond the Borough.
+First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of esquires--with red
+coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed the same number apparelled
+as knights in the same livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic
+figure, who represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty
+cardinals. They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with black
+vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell. This accounts for
+one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole number. The last man is not
+described. To them must be added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with
+men carrying the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy
+to the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company of
+'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after it and shouting.
+When it arrived at Kennington Palace they all dismounted and entered the
+hall, where they found the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and
+their attendants, together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great
+lords. The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who then
+produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them. Would you
+believe it?--every time the Prince threw, he won, which was in itself a
+remarkable circumstance. He carried off his winnings: a bowl of pure
+gold, chased and decorated; a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold
+ring. They then invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and
+other nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
+ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited to supper
+in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his mother. After supper,
+the tables were taken away--they were only planks laid on trestles and
+covered with white cloths--and the floor being cleared, the masquers had
+the honour of dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
+_flambeaux_ were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well pleased with
+the reception they had met and the courtesy of the best behaved boy in
+the world.
+
+In the same year occurred the great riot of London, which arose out of
+Wyclyf's trial in St. Paul's and the quarrel between the Bishop of
+London and John of Gaunt. The latter, after the dismissal of Wyclyf,
+repaired to the house of John de Ypres, close beside the river, where he
+was sitting at dinner when one of his following ran hastily to warn him
+that the people were flocking together with intent to murder him if they
+could. The Duke therefore hastily ran down to the nearest stairs, took a
+boat across the river, and fled as quickly as possible to Kennington
+Palace, where he took shelter with the young Prince Richard and his
+guardians. The mob, finding that the Duke was gone, made their way to
+the Savoy, his palace, threatening to burn and destroy all: they did
+actually murder one poor priest because he resembled the Duke in
+countenance; they were then persuaded by the Bishop of London to go home
+without doing any more mischief. What would have happened one knows not,
+but the death of the old King gave an opportunity of patching up the
+peace between the Duke of Lancaster and the citizens. Hearing that
+Edward was _in extremis_, the Mayor and Aldermen waited on the Princess
+of Wales and Prince Richard informing them of the King's critical
+situation, and beseeching the Prince's favour to the City; they also
+begged him to interfere for the better accommodation of the Duke's
+differences with them. It is pleasing to find that John of Gaunt
+freely forgave the City and became reconciled to the citizens; a
+reconciliation which paved the way to the subsequent popularity of his
+son Henry.
+
+[Illustration: The High Street Southwark as it appeared MDXLIII]
+
+It might be argued that the various impressions as regards London
+produced on the mind of this prince explain his conduct towards the
+citizens when he grew older. The first experiment he had of the citizens
+was when they rode over in a goodly company clad in red cloaks with gold
+chains and finely appointed horses to visit him at Kennington: he
+remembered that their appearance betokened great wealth; that they
+tossed about gold cups as if they were of wood. This is a kind of
+impression which does not easily die away.
+
+His second impression of the City was when his uncle, John of Gaunt,
+came flying from the City, having barely escaped with his life, the
+people having gone on to wreck, if they could, his palace of the Savoy.
+A turbulent and dangerous people, then, as well as rich; a people to be
+kept down.
+
+He next saw the City when he rode through it on his way to be crowned at
+Westminster. All the way there was nothing but rich tapestry, carpets,
+scarlet, cloth, masquers clad in velvet, pageants with cloth of gold,
+and the streets filled with men and women dressed in rich furs and
+silks, such as only great barons could afford. This third impression
+confirmed the first.
+
+His next impression was that of the City lying prostrate at the mercy of
+a large mob, unable to move or to help itself. He went into the City
+almost alone; he, by one single act of splendid courage, put an end to
+the insurrection. A City cowardly, therefore, and unable to act
+together. It was his City, moreover--the _Camera Regis_. Should not a
+prince do what he pleases with his own?
+
+When we read of his subsequent treatment of the City: how he believed
+its treasures to be inexhaustible; how he believed that it had no power
+to resist; how he made the way easy for his cousin to supplant him, let
+us bear in mind the lessons which the Londoners themselves provided for
+him in his youth.
+
+This King seizes on the imagination of all who think about him. His is
+one of the strangest of all the strange figures which crowd the National
+Portrait Gallery. Richly endowed with artistic instincts; a lover of
+music and all the fine arts; of singularly winning manners; the
+comeliest man in his whole kingdom; splendid in raiment, magnificent in
+his court, colossal in his personal pride, prodigal and extravagant
+beyond compare; the King whom those who knew him in his youth never
+ceased to love; for whose soul--not for the soul of Henry
+IV.--Whittington, for instance, left money for masses--this is a figure
+among our English kings which has no parallel.
+
+One more reminiscence of Kennington Palace. The last occasion on which
+Richard lodged there was when he brought home his little bride Isabel,
+the queen of eight years. They brought her from Dover, resting on the
+way at Canterbury and Rochester. At Blackheath they were met by the
+Mayor and Aldermen, attired with great magnificence of costume to do
+honour to the bride. After reverences due, they fell into their place
+and rode on with the procession. When they arrived at Newington, the
+King thanked the Mayor and permitted him to leave the procession and
+return home. He himself, with his company, rode by the cross-country
+lane from Newington to Kennington Palace. I observe that this proves the
+existence of a path or lane where is now Upper Kennington Lane. At this
+palace the little queen rested a night, and next day was carried in
+another procession to the Tower. The knights rode before, and the French
+ladies came after. It is pretty to read how Isabel, with her long fair
+hair falling over her shoulders, and her sweet childish face, sat up and
+smiled upon the people, playing and pretending to be queen, which she
+had been practising ever since her betrothal. Needless to say that all
+hearts were ravished. The good people of London were ever ready to
+welcome one princess after another, and to lose their hearts to them,
+whether it was Isabel of France, or Katharine her sister, or Anne
+Boleyn, or Queen Charlotte, or the fair Princess of Denmark. So great a
+press was there that many were actually squeezed to death on London
+Bridge, where the houses only left twelve feet in breadth. Isabel's
+queenship proved a pretence: before she was old enough to be queen,
+indeed, her husband was in confinement; before she understood that he
+was a captive, he was murdered, and the splendid extravagant reign was
+over. The son of the usurper, young Harry of Monmouth himself, desired
+to take the place of Richard; his father also desired the match, for the
+sake of the dowry. Isabel, child as she was still, had the heart of a
+woman; she had learned to love her handsome, courteous, accomplished
+lord, who died before he could claim her; she refused absolutely to
+marry the son of his murderer. They tried to move her resolution by
+persuasion; they did not dare to force her: let us believe that Harry of
+Monmouth would not stoop to force the girl to marry him. There was
+nothing therefore left to do, but to send her home to what was certainly
+the most miserable court or palace in the world--that of her mad father.
+In the end, she married her cousin, the poet Charles of Orleans. You may
+read the verses which he made upon her death. Isabel died in childbirth
+in her twenty-second year. As for Harry of Monmouth, as all the world
+knows, he was obliged to content himself with Isabel's younger sister,
+Katharine; we have just read about that queen, and how she stooped to a
+suitor below her own degree. I think she was made of clay not so fine as
+that of Isabel, her sister.
+
+
+2. ELTHAM PALACE
+
+The second in our chain of suburban Palaces was the Royal House of
+Eltham, already mentioned in connection with Kennington. The place
+itself seems to have been a settlement of some kind, a town or village,
+in very ancient times. In the thirteenth century it was considered of
+importance enough to receive the grant of a market day every Tuesday,
+and a Fair for three days every year, namely, the day before the Feast
+of the Trinity, the Feast itself, and the day after. In the fourteenth
+century the market day was altered to Monday, but the Fair remained; in
+the fifteenth century the market day returned to Tuesday and the Fair
+was changed to three days on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul, on the
+Feast itself, and on the day after. The market and the Fair have long
+since been discontinued. The importance of both depended on the
+occasional presence of the Court, and when that was removed altogether
+from the place there was no longer any necessity for either market or
+Fair Day. Eltham then became a small agricultural village lying in the
+midst of woods, with nothing but scattered villages for many miles
+round. So long as it contained one of the recognised Palaces, even
+though years might pass by without a visit from the sovereign, there
+was, attached to the house, the permanent staff to a Governor or warder,
+with chiefs of the various departments and the men or assistants under
+them. The occupation of the Palace by such a staff gave the place a kind
+of garrison, and created a demand for provisions and for all sorts of
+things. On those rare occasions when the Court was actually in Residence
+at Eltham, the market had to furnish supplies, to which all the country
+round had to contribute; nothing short of provisions for the maintenance
+of thousands of people daily. At Eltham the difficulty may have been
+very great; no doubt word would be sent long beforehand if the King
+proposed to keep Christmas there. The yeomen of the kitchen had the beef
+put in the pickling tubs in November--vast quantities of beef, for,
+Christmas or not, the staple food of everybody in the winter was salt
+beef. At the Palace of Kennington things were easier. It lay within easy
+reach of the London market; so was Westminster. Greenwich was accessible
+by ships from the lower reaches of the Thames as well as from London.
+Eltham, no doubt, depended upon the rich and fruitful country in which
+it stood. At eight miles from London, the markets there were of very
+little use. The annals of the Palace are simple, rather than scanty; in
+fact, there is plenty of mention made of the Palace, yet very little of
+importance is recorded concerning it. All that is recorded of it belongs
+to peace and festivity and the season of Christmas. Eltham was given by
+William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl
+of Kent. After the disgrace of Odo, and the confiscation of his estates,
+the manor belonged partly to the Queen and partly to the Mandevilles.
+Thence it passed into the hands of the De Vesci family. From them it
+went to the Scropes, and from them to various holders in succession.
+
+There was a Palace, or House, here of some kind in very ancient times.
+The historian says that he cannot ascertain when the Palace was built
+(see p. 74). Since the origin of the House is unknown, he argues that it
+must have been ancient. Now, concerning its connections with our Kings
+and Queens, there is quite a long list. All these lists would have to be
+catalogued, and even then be forgotten. For instance, the following list
+of visits I borrow from Lysons. But I cannot pretend that it is of much
+interest.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF ELTHAM PALACE, 1796]
+
+In the year 1270 Henry III. kept Christmas at his Palace of Eltham with
+the Queen and his nobles. After this the name of Anthony Bec, Bishop of
+Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, is connected with the place. He built
+a great deal, but I know not if any ruins of his yet remain. He died at
+Eltham in 1311, presumably in the Palace, for there seem to have been no
+other buildings. Now we come back to the kings, and we find historical
+associations in plenty, though not of a kind which is moving or
+interesting. It does not excite our curiosity much to learn that this
+king or that king kept Christmas here, and yet that is the kind of
+association which I have to offer. Edward the Second was often here:
+perhaps the seclusion of the place enabled him to play his favourite
+games with his followers without being overseen. One of his sons, John
+of Eltham, was born here. Edward III., when still under age, had a
+Parliament at Eltham in 1329. In 1347 his son Lionel kept Christmas for
+him at Eltham. In 1364 he entertained here the French king John, his
+prisoner. In 1375 he held another Parliament here, when the Commons
+petitioned him to make Richard, his grandson, Prince of Wales. Richard
+the Second, as we should expect, regarded Eltham with a peculiar
+affection; it was beautiful; the buildings were splendid. It was a long
+way from the City which took upon itself to remonstrate with his
+extravagance. Three times at least he kept Christmas here: on the last
+he entertained Leo, King of Armenia, with great splendour and profusion.
+Henry the Fourth kept Christmas four times in the Palace. On the first,
+the Aldermen of London and their children went down from the City to
+perform a masque before the King, who received it well. At that moment
+he was certain to receive everything well that came from the City. On
+his last visit the disease broke out which killed him. Henry the Fifth
+was here once, in 1414: Henry the Sixth once, in 1429. Edward the Fourth
+was a second Founder, so much did he add to the buildings. Among other
+things, he built a new front to the Palace and is said to have built the
+Banqueting Hall itself. His festivities rivalled those of Richard the
+Second. Here his daughter Bridget, afterwards a nun of Dartford, was
+born. Henry the Seventh was another builder: he stayed at Eltham often.
+Henry the Eighth came here once at least, but he preferred Greenwich as
+a residence as soon as that house was built. Elizabeth also came here
+only once or twice, preferring Greenwich, and James the First is only
+recorded to have visited Eltham once. After this time Eltham ceased to
+be a Palace. In 1646 Robert Earl of Essex died here[1]; the Manor was
+sold after Charles's death. After the Restoration it reverted to the
+Crown; the rest of the history concerns its occupancy by private
+families. On the death of Charles the Palace was surveyed; it is
+described as being built of brick, stone, and timber; it contained (see
+p. 74) one chapel, a hall, 36 rooms and offices below stairs, with two
+large cellars; and above stairs 17 lodging houses on the King's side, 12
+on the Queen's side, and 9 on the Prince's side; and 78 rooms in the
+offices round the courtyard, which contained one acre of ground: the
+house was out of repair and uninhabitable. There were gardens attached
+to the house. A moat surrounded the house, of width 60 feet, except in
+the forest, where it was 115 feet. The moat still exists on the north
+side, and can be traced all round. Of the buildings little remains
+except the old Banqueting Hall, a truly beautiful ruin; the roof, with
+its fine woodwork, is happily still standing, but shored up and
+supported. The windows are mostly blocked up; fragments only remain of
+the other buildings; but it is said to be possible, in the gardens at
+the back, to trace out the courts and the foundations of the chapel and
+offices. The Palace is approached by a bridge of about the same date as
+the Palace, viz. the fourteenth century. It crosses the moat, and with
+its picturesque ivy-clad arches and the Banqueting Hall on one side, and
+the Court House on the other, it is as lovely an approach to the ruin as
+could well be imagined or created.
+
+[Illustration: KING JOHN'S PALACE, KENT
+
+(_From a Drawing by J. Hassell, 1804_)]
+
+One of the last visits of the King to Eltham was in the year 1575, when
+Henry held one of the tournaments in which in his early manhood he so
+much delighted. This is Holinshed's account of it:--
+
+'After the parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+his manor of Eltham; and on the Twelfe night in the hall was made a
+goodlie castell, woonderouslie set out, and in it certeine ladies and
+knights; and when the king and queene were set, in came other knights
+and assailed the castell, where manie a good stripe was giuen; and at
+the last the assailants were beaten awaie. And then issued out knights
+and ladies out of the castell, which ladies were rich and strangelie
+disguised; for all their apparell was in braids of gold, fret with
+moouing spangls of siluer and gilt, set on crimson sattin, loose and not
+fastned: the mens apparell of the same sute made like Iulis of
+Hungarie; and the ladies heads and bodies were after the fashion of
+Amsterdam. And when the dansing was doone, the banket was serued in of
+two hundred dishes, with great plentie to euerie bodie.'
+
+[Illustration: Remains of Eltham Palace]
+
+There is little more to be said about Eltham, which is a place so
+beautiful that it ought to have a more interesting history. Kings and
+Courts delight me not, nor do I take pleasure in reading about
+tournaments and masques.
+
+There is no figure in the history of Eltham so pleasant to think upon as
+that of little Prince Richard, the lovely boy who was going to become
+such an extravagant King. One would like to have seen Edward
+entertaining his prisoner, King John of France; and one wonders what
+sort of figure was played by the Armenian Leo in the presence of
+Richard's splendour: but perhaps he knew the Court of Constantinople,
+and smiled at the splendour of the barbaric north.
+
+Once more, how did they provide for the maintenance of so many guests?
+To feed two thousand every day is a great undertaking. We are accustomed
+to believe that the roads in winter were so bad as to be impassable.
+Now, everything had to be brought there, whatever the condition of the
+roads. And they were bye-roads, not high roads. The guests, too, and the
+nobles and their retainers, had to arrive by those roads. As was stated
+above, due notice was certainly given: a vast quantity of salt
+provisions was laid down in readiness: for the rest, the country was
+fertile and well cultivated. The Park contained deer--but they could not
+kill all; the Thames, only three miles away--but then, the roads!--was
+full of salmon and every kind of fish: the banks of the lower reaches
+and those of the Ravensbourne--again, those roads!--were the homes of
+myriads of wild birds. Still, one feels that the inland communications
+of the fourteenth century must have been a great deal better than those
+of the seventeenth century in order to allow of Christmas being kept in
+magnificence and profusion by two thousand people in a country village.
+
+[Illustration: The Moat Bridge Eltham Palace]
+
+The views which accompany this account are taken from Lysons: they were
+engraved in the year 1796. There is not much difference in the present
+aspect: the moat has been opened again: the buildings represented on the
+south side of the Hall have vanished: and the place itself which had
+been used as a barn is now empty, and is only thrown open for visitors
+or the drilling of Volunteers.
+
+
+3. GREENWICH PALACE
+
+The Green Village lying on the slope of a gentle hill, with marshes on
+either side of it--the marsh of the Ravensbourne on one side, and the
+Woolwich or the Greenwich marsh on the other side of it--is as old as
+history itself. Its position as the landing-place, or point of approach,
+to the lands of Kent, a place where ships might lie, pirates and
+invaders might seize and hold as a base of operations, very early called
+attention to its natural advantages. Here the Danes encamped in 1011;
+here they brought the venerable Alphege and murdered him, throwing beef
+bones at his head. As the throwing of bones was a favourite evening
+pastime with the Danes, they probably meant little at first beyond a
+friendly reminder or an invitation to take part in the game: as the
+Archbishop made no response they threw the bones in earnest (see p. 72).
+The people of Greenwich have long since forgotten that the place was
+once a Royal Residence, and that there are historical memories connected
+with Greenwich of interest almost equal to those of Westminster, and far
+more important and interesting than those of Eltham.
+
+Let us perform the perfunctory task of cataloguing some of these
+memories.
+
+In the year 1408, Henry IV. dates his will from Greenwich.
+
+In 1417 Henry V. granted the manor for life to Thomas Beaufort, Duke of
+Exeter, who afterwards died here.
+
+In 1443 it was granted to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, with permission
+to fortify and embattle the manor house, and to enclose a park of 200
+acres. This was the true beginning of Greenwich Palace. Humphrey rebuilt
+the house, which he called Placentia, the House of Pleasance: he
+enclosed the Park and he built a Tower on the spot where the Royal
+Observatory now stands. On his death, in 1447, the place reverted to the
+Crown. Edward the Fourth took great pleasure in the place and beautified
+it at much cost. In 1466 he granted the Manor, Palace, and Park, to the
+Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, for life. The marriage of Richard Duke of
+York and Anne Mowbray was here solemnised with the usual rejoicings.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH, 1662
+
+(_From a Drawing by Jonas Moore_)]
+
+With Henry VII. also Greenwich was a favourite place of residence. He
+added a brick front on the riverside (see p. 77). Here Henry the Eighth
+was born on June 28, 1491. He was baptised in the Parish Church, the
+predecessor of the present church. He, too, loved Greenwich above all
+other Palaces, and made it during the early years of his reign the scene
+of the festivities and entertainments which he loved so much. Here he
+married Katharine of Arragon on June 3, 1510. Here he held the great
+tournament in which he himself, Sir Edward Howard, Charles Brandon, and
+Edward Neville challenged all comers. In 1512 and in 1513 he kept
+Christmas here 'with great solemnity, dancing, disguisings, and mummers
+in a most princely manner.' Holinshed gives an account of two
+entertainments held by the King at Greenwich--one a tournament in June,
+the other at Christmas:--
+
+'This yeare also in Iune, the king kept a solemne iustes at Greenewich,
+the king & sir Charles Brandon taking vpon them to abide all commers.
+First came the ladies all in white and red silke, set vpon coursers
+trapped in the same sute, freated ouer with gold; after whom followed a
+founteine curiouslie made of russet sattin, with eight gargils spowting
+water: within the founteine sat a knight armed at all peeces. After
+this founteine followed a ladie all in blacke silke dropped with fine
+siluer, on a courser trapped in the same. Then followed a knight in a
+horsselitter, the coursers & litter apparelled in blacke with siluer
+drops. When the fountein came to the tilt, the ladies rode round about,
+and so did the founteine, and the knight within the litter. And after
+them were brought twi goodlie coursers apparelled for the iusts: and
+when they came to the tilts end, the two knights mounted on the two
+courses abiding all commers. The king was in the founteine, and sir
+Charles Brandon was in the litter. Then suddenlie with great noise of
+trumpets entred sir Thomas Kneuet in a castell of cole blacke, and ouer
+the castell was written "The Dolorous Castell," and so he and the earle
+of Essex, the lord Howard, and other ran their courses with the king and
+sir Charles Brandon, and euer the king brake most speares, and likelie
+was so to doo yer he began, as in former time; the prise fell to his
+lot; so luckie was he and fortunat in the proofe of his prowes in
+martiall actiuitie, whereto from his yong yeers he was giuen....
+
+'After this parlement was ended, the king kept a solemne Christmasse at
+Greenwich, with danses and mummeries in most princelie maner. And on the
+Twelfe daie at night came into the hall a mount, called the rich mount.
+The mount was set full of rich flowers of silke, and especiallie full of
+broome slips full of cods, and branches were greene sattin, and the
+flowers flat gold of damaske, which signified Plantagenet. On the top
+stood a goodlie beacon giuing light, round about the beacon sat the king
+and fiue other, all in cotes and caps of right crimson veluet,
+embrodered with flat gold of damaske, their cotes set full of spangles
+of gold. And foure woodhouses drew the mount till it came before the
+queene, and then the king and his companie descended and dansed. Then
+suddenlie the mount opened, and out came six ladies all in crimsin
+sattin and plunket, embrodered with gold and pearle, with French hoods
+on their heads, and they dansed alone. Then the lords of the mount
+tooke the ladies and dansed togither: and the ladies reentered, and the
+mount closed, and so was conueied out of the hall. Then the king shifted
+him, and came to the queene, and sat at the banket, which was verie
+sumptuous.'
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH HOSPITAL
+
+(_From a Drawing by Schnebbelie_)]
+
+Other tournaments were held here in 1517, 1526, and 1536.
+
+Here Charles Brandon married Mary, Dowager Queen of France. Six or seven
+times more Henry kept Christmas at Greenwich. In 1543, the last
+occasion, he entertained twenty-one Scottish gentlemen, taken prisoners,
+and released them without a ransom, being to the end, whatever else he
+was, a Prince of most Princely gifts and graces.
+
+Queen Mary was born at Greenwich in 1515. Cardinal Wolsey was her
+godfather.
+
+King Edward the Sixth died here.
+
+Queen Elizabeth was born here on September 7, 1533. She, too, spent much
+of her time at Greenwich.
+
+King James also much delighted in this place: he added to the brickwork
+by the riverside: he also walled the park and laid the foundations of
+the house afterwards called the House of Delight. The Queen, who
+received the Palace in jointure, carried on this House, which was
+afterwards completed by Inigo Jones for Henrietta Maria. It was called
+the King's House, the Queen's House, or the Ranger's Lodge. It was not
+until 1807 that the house was granted to the Commissioners of the Royal
+Naval Asylum.
+
+Separated from town by five miles of road, and four of river, it was
+thus easily accessible in all weathers and independent of the condition
+of the roads. In other respects the position of the place was
+unrivalled: it was on a slope rising from the river in front, and from
+lowlands on either side; it was swept night and day by the sharp fresh
+breeze that came up with the tide from the sea; behind it, on a high
+level, lay an expanse of heath, dry and wholesome; there was no better
+air to be got than the air of Greenwich; that of Eltham, with its
+stagnant marsh and thick woods, was close and aguish in comparison: for
+view, the broad river rolled along the Palace front and bent round to
+east and west, so that one could see all the shipping in front; all in
+Limehouse Reach; and all in Blackwall Reach. As the tide ebbed and
+flowed, the navies and the trade of London passed up and down, outward
+bound or homeward bound. Sitting at her window, or walking on her
+terrace, Queen Elizabeth could for herself learn what was meant by the
+foreign trade of London: what was meant by the exports and imports: she
+could see every kind of ship that floats come sailing up the river,
+streamers flying, dipping the peak in salute: she could understand the
+coasting trade and the Flemish trade: she could ask what the hoys and
+ketches, the lighters, and the barges carried up to the Port of London
+in such numbers: she could herself, and often did, embark upon the
+stream in summer, when the sun was sinking in the west, to see the ships
+more closely and to enjoy the fresh, cool air of the river. Witness the
+sad history of Thomas Appletree.
+
+It was on the 17th day of July in the year 1579, about nine o'clock of
+the evening, that an accident happened which might have had fatal
+consequences. The Queen was taking the air in her private barge, between
+Greenwich and Deptford. With her were the French Ambassador, the Earl of
+Lincoln, and other great persons, discoursing affairs of state.
+Unfortunately for themselves, four young fellows were out in a small
+boat at the same time, and on the same part of the river. They were
+Thomas Appletree, a young servant of Francis Carey, two singing boys of
+the Queen's choir, and another. Thomas Appletree had possessed himself
+of a 'caliver' or arquebus, which he was so ill advised as to load with
+ball and then fire it at random up and down the river. One of these
+haphazard discharges carried the bullet straight to the Queen's barge,
+where it passed through both arms of the oarsman nearest Her Majesty.
+The man thus unexpectedly wounded, finding himself bleeding like a
+pig--for it was a flesh wound--threw himself down, bawling and roaring
+out that he was murdered. The Queen comforted him with the assurance
+that he should be properly cared for, and ordered the barge to be taken
+back to the shore at once. The man, being treated, speedily recovered.
+Meantime, who had dared to fire a gun at the Queen's barge? The question
+was very quickly answered, and the Lords in Council had the four lads
+brought up before them. It appearing that the only guilty person was
+Thomas Appletree, the other three were suffered to depart, and Thomas
+was tried. It was ascertained that there could be no question as to the
+loyalty of Thomas's master, Francis Carey, therefore the whole guilt
+rested on the shoulders of the unlucky serving man, whose only fault had
+been foolhardiness in firing his gun at random. He was therefore
+sentenced to be hanged, with the usual accompaniments, for treason.
+Accordingly, on the 20th day of July he was taken from Newgate and
+conducted on a hurdle with great ceremony to Tower Hill, and so through
+the postern to Ratcliff, where, opposite the place where the offence was
+committed, they had put up a gibbet on which the unhappy Thomas
+Appletree was to be hanged. He had made a dolorous journey on his
+hurdle, weeping copiously all the way, and many of the people weeping
+with him. Arrived at the gallows, he mounted the ladder, and, if the
+chronicler repeats faithfully, he made a most admirable use of the last
+moments which remained to him. It is, indeed, truly remarkable to
+observe how admirably all those who were taken out to die acquitted
+themselves, whether it was a peer to be beheaded for treason, or a
+Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for being a priest.
+Appletree, for his part, spoke so movingly that the people all wept with
+him. Then the hangman put the rope round the condemned man's neck, and
+the bitterness of death entered into his soul. But the people cried,
+'Stay! Stay!' and at that moment there came riding up the Queen's
+Vice-Chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton. But think not that the
+Vice-Chamberlain hastily proclaimed the royal pardon. Not at all. He
+left Thomas on the ladder for a while; he made an oration on the
+heinousness of the offence: he made everybody kneel while he prayed for
+the safety of the Queen: and then, when all hearts were softened and all
+eyes bedewed, he pronounced the Queen's pardon, which the prisoner
+acknowledged in suitable language. Thomas Appletree was then taken back
+to the Marshalsea, where he remained, one hopes, a very short time after
+this. We may be quite sure that whatever destiny was in store for this
+young man, shooting at random with a caliver or arquebus would have
+nothing to do with it.
+
+Another association of Greenwich is that of Sir John Willoughby's
+departure for the Arctic seas. He was going to endeavour to open a new
+way for trade round the N.E. Arctic sea along the north coast of Asia.
+He embarked at Ratcliff Stairs: you may take boat there to this day. As
+he passed down the river, with flags and streamers flying, they brought
+out the little King Edward, who was dying, to see the sailing of the
+stout old sailor. So with firing of guns the ships passed on their way,
+and they carried the dying King back to his bed. In a day or two Edward
+was dead. In six months, or it might be less, Willoughby was dead too,
+frozen to death in his cabin, where the Russians found him, his dead
+hand on his papers.
+
+If you wish to know what state was kept by Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich,
+you will find an account of it in Hentzner, that excellent traveller who
+remarked so much, and put all down on paper.
+
+'We arrived at the Royal Palace of Greenwich, reported to have been
+originally built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and to have received
+very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the
+present Queen, was born, and here she generally resides; particularly
+in Summer, for the Delightfulness of its Situation. We were admitted by
+an Order Mr. Rogers had procured from the Lord Chamberlain, into the
+Presence-Chamber, hung with rich Tapestry, and the Floor, after the
+English fashion, strewed with Hay,[2] through which the Queen commonly
+passes in her way to chapel: At the Door stood a Gentleman dressed in
+Velvet, with a Gold Chain, whose Office was to introduce to the Queen
+any Person of Distinction, that came to wait on her: It was Sunday, when
+there is usually the greatest Attendance of Nobility. In the same Hall
+were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great Number
+of Counsellors of State, Officers of the Crown, and Gentlemen, who
+waited the Queen's coming out; which she did from her own Apartment,
+when it was Time to go to Prayers, attended in the following Manner:
+
+'First went Gentlemen, Barons, Earls, Knights of the Garter, all richly
+dressed and bare-headed; next came the Chancellor, bearing the Seals in
+a red-silk Purse, between Two: One of which carried the Royal Scepter,
+the other the Sword of State, in a red Scabbard, studded with golden
+Fleurs de Lis, the Point upwards: Next came the Queen, in the
+Sixty-fifth Year of her Age, as we were told, very majestic; her Face
+oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her Eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her
+Nose a little hooked; her Lips narrow, and her Teeth black (a Defect the
+English seem subject to, from their too great Use of Sugar): she had in
+her Ears two Pearls, with very rich Drops; she wore false Hair, and that
+red; upon her Head she had a small Crown, reported to be made of some of
+the Gold of the celebrated Lunebourg Table:[3] Her Bosom was uncovered,
+as all the English Ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a
+Necklace of exceeding fine Jewels; her Hands were small, her Fingers
+long, and her Stature neither tall nor low; her Air was stately, her
+Manner of Speaking mild and obliging. That Day she was dressed in white
+Silk, bordered with Pearls of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of
+black Silk, shot with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End
+of it borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an oblong
+Collar of Gold and Jewels. As she went along in all this State and
+Magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another,
+whether foreign Ministers, or those who attended for different Reasons,
+in English, French and Italian; for, besides being well skilled in
+Greek, Latin, and the Languages I have mentioned, she is mistress of
+Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch: Whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling; now
+and then she raises some with her Hand. While we were there, W. Slawata,
+a Bohemian Baron, had Letters to present to her; and she, after pulling
+off her Glove, gave him her right Hand to kiss, sparkling with Rings and
+Jewels, a Mark of particular Favour: Where-ever she turned her Face, as
+she was going along, everybody fell down on their Knees.[4] The Ladies
+of the Court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and
+for the most Part dressed in white; she was guarded on each Side by the
+Gentlemen Pensioners, fifty in Number, with gilt Battleaxes. In the
+Antichapel next the Hall where we were, Petitions were presented to her,
+and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the Acclamation
+of, Long live Queen ELIZABETH! She answered with, I thank you, my good
+PEOPLE. In the Chapel was excellent Music; as soon as it and the Service
+was over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the Queen returned in the
+same State and Order, and prepared to go to Dinner. But while she was
+still at Prayers, we saw her Table set out with the following Solemnity.
+
+'A Gentleman entered the Room bearing a Rod, and along with him another
+who had a Table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three Times
+with the utmost Veneration, he spread upon the Table, and after kneeling
+again they both retired. Then came two others, one with the Rod again,
+the other with a Salt-seller, a Plate and Bread; when they had kneeled,
+as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the Table, they
+too retired with the same Ceremonies performed by the first. At last
+came an unmarried Lady (we were told she was a Countess), and along with
+her a married one, bearing a Tasting-knife; the former was dressed in
+white Silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three Times, in the
+most graceful Manner, approached the Table, and rubbed the Plates with
+Bread and Salt with as much Awe as if the Queen had been present: When
+they had waited there a little while, the Yeomen of the Guard entered,
+bare-headed, cloathed in Scarlet, with a golden Rose upon their Backs,
+bringing in at each Turn a Course of twenty-four Dishes, served in
+plate, most of it Gilt; these Dishes were received by a Gentleman in the
+same Order they were brought, and placed upon the Table, while the
+Lady-taster gave to each of the Guards a mouthful to eat, of the
+particular dish he had brought, for Fear of any Poison. During the Time
+that this Guard, which consists of the tallest and stoutest Men that can
+be found in all England, being carefully selected for this Service, were
+bringing Dinner, twelve Trumpets and two Kettle-drums made the Hall ring
+for Half an Hour together. At the end of this Ceremonial a Number of
+unmarried Ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the
+Meat off the Table, and conveyed it into the Queen's inner and more
+private Chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes
+to the Ladies of the Court.
+
+'The Queen dines and sups alone, with very few Attendants; and it is
+very seldom that any Body, Foreigner or Native, is admitted at that
+Time, and then only at the Intercession of somebody in Power.'
+
+On the Restoration, Charles at first resolved to pull down the Palace
+and build it anew. For this purpose he consulted various persons, and
+after many delays began the building. He only succeeded, however, in
+erecting what is now the west wing of the Hospital. But it never again
+became a Royal Residence. In 1694, the Palace was converted into a
+Hospital for the Royal Navy. This splendid institution, one of the
+glories of Great Britain, and a standing monument of the nation's
+gratitude to her sailors, and an ever present invitation to enter the
+navy, was closed, with that stupid indifference to sentiment which so
+often distinguishes the acts of our Government, in the year 1870.
+
+
+4. LAMBETH PALACE
+
+[Illustration: Lambeth Palace]
+
+The now huge town of Lambeth presents few points of interest either to
+the visitor or to the historian. There are no buildings of any antiquity
+except the Palace and the Church. There are no modern buildings at all
+worth notice. There have been two or three memorable houses which we
+shall do well to touch upon: but they are not so memorable as to deserve
+long description. The Bishops of Rochester had a house in the Marsh--the
+site is in Carlisle Place, Westminster Road, at the back of St. Thomas's
+Hospital, close to Lambeth Palace. It was in this house that, in 1531, a
+wretched man named Robert Roose, in the Bishop's service as cook,
+wilfully, as was alleged, poisoned a large number of people, and was
+boiled to death in oil--the only instance, I believe, of this dreadful
+punishment. The wretched man was tied naked to a post and slowly lowered
+into the boiling fluid. Fisher was the last Bishop of Rochester who
+lived in this house. The buildings, with losses and additions, existed
+in some form or other till 1827. The house, indeed, had a strangely
+chequered history. The Bishop of Rochester exchanged it with the Crown
+for a house thought more convenient in Southwark, close to Winchester
+House. The Crown gave it to the Bishop of Carlisle, who seems to have
+let it on lease: thus it lost its ecclesiastical character altogether
+and became given over to entirely secular uses. It was at one time a
+pottery: then a tavern, and even a notorious and disorderly house: then
+a dancing master taught his accomplishments in the house: then it became
+a school. Finally, the gardens were built over, the operations
+disclosing many interesting gates and 'bits.'
+
+Another house was that belonging to the Duke of Norfolk: it was called
+Norfolk House, and it stood on the other side of the Palace, on the site
+now marked by Paradise Street. Here lived the old Duke whose life was
+saved by the death of Henry the Eighth; here was brought up the
+accomplished Earl of Surrey whose life would have been saved had Henry
+died a few days earlier. Leland, the antiquary and scholar, was the
+Earl's tutor. The widow of Dr. Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury,
+obtained the house. Her heirs ceased to live in it; the house was
+neglected, probably because no tenant could be found for it. Finally, it
+was pulled down. It is interesting to note the town houses which stood
+upon the Bank from Rotherhithe to Battersea: that of the Prior of Lewes;
+of Sir John Fastolfe; of the Augustines; the House of St. Mary Overies;
+Winchester House; Rochester House; Norfolk House; and later, the house
+of the St. Johns at Battersea. There are none between Bankside and
+Lambeth; that part of the Embankment which lies between Blackfriars and
+Westminster Bridge has no history and no associations.
+
+[Illustration: BONNER HALL, LAMBETH]
+
+Another noteworthy Lambeth house was that called Copt Hall, afterwards
+Vauxhall, situated opposite to the gardens afterwards called Vauxhall.
+In this house the unfortunate Arabella Stuart lived for a time. A good
+deal might be written about Copt Hall, but not in this place.
+
+The houses of the Archbishop, the Bishop of Rochester, and the Duke of
+Norfolk stood close together and clustered round the church. The reason
+was the necessity of building on or near to the Embankment. Exactly
+opposite the south porch of the church may be observed a small and
+somewhat decayed street grandly called the High. The name and the
+situation close to the church indicate an individual and separate
+existence of the town or village of Lambeth, of which this was the
+principal street and the centre. The village, in fact, did exist from
+very early times; its population for the most part earned their
+livelihood as Thames fishermen. They were the lineal successors of that
+fortunate Edric to whom St. Peter appeared when he consecrated the
+Abbey. There was another colony of Thames fishermen lower down the river
+on Bermondsey Wall. When William the Conqueror is said to have burned
+Southwark it was the fishermen's cottages which he destroyed. None of
+these lived between Bankside and Westminster, which is proved by the
+fact that there is no church near the river wall at that place. The
+Thames fishermen lingered on, though the fishery grew poorer, until
+about 1820, when they were reduced to a single court in Lambeth. The
+place is described as mean and rickety, with neither paving nor lamps;
+the woodwork of the cottages broken; the roofs burst and tottering; the
+windows stuffed with rags or mended with paper; the children in rags;
+the court a receptacle for everything.
+
+Lambeth as it is has mostly sprung into existence in the nineteenth
+century, during which its population has been actually multiplied by
+ten, and more than ten, rising from 27,000 in 1801 to 295,000 in 1891,
+an enormous increase. The principal reason of this development is the
+introduction of a great many industries--potteries, vinegar factories,
+distilleries, salt warehouses, bottle factories, and so forth.
+
+Lambeth certainly cannot be called a beautiful town nor a desirable
+place of residence. The perambulator looks about in vain for streets
+noble, striking or picturesque; he looks in vain for houses beautiful or
+ancient; there is nothing to reward him. Old houses there were before
+the great increase began, but they exist no more; the place is dull; in
+parts it is dirty; everywhere it is without character or distinction.
+It has, however, a pretty park called after the famous Vauxhall Gardens,
+on whose site it stands. The park is new, but it is well laid out and
+planted; already it is a pretty piece of greenery, and, with Kennington
+and Battersea Parks, offers a much wanted breathing place for the
+multitudes of that quarter. It is adorned, or enriched, or ennobled, by
+a statue of Henry Fawcett, who died in a house on this spot. The
+statesman, attired in a costume strictly of the period, is sitting in a
+chair, pretending not to be aware that behind him stands an angel with
+outstretched wings, crowning him with laurel. He is obviously
+embarrassed by the situation. He feels that he ought to be dressed in
+some kind of Court costume--if he knew what--in order to receive the
+angel; or the angel might have assumed a frock coat in compliment to the
+statesman. The wings were probably in the way.
+
+[Illustration: RESIDENCE OF GUY FAWKES, LAMBETH
+
+(_From 'La Belle Assemblee,' Nov. 1822_)]
+
+Lambeth Palace, whose history I am not going to narrate, plays a very
+considerable part in the History of England. In 1232 and in 1234,
+Parliament was held here. In 1261 and 1280 Councils were held here. In
+1412 Archbishop Arundell, the kindly Christian who was so anxious to
+burn heretics, issued from this Palace a condemnation as heretical of a
+great many opinions, insomuch that it became obviously dangerous to have
+any opinions at all. This, however, was the condition of mind most
+desired by the Church of Arundell's time and of his views. It is
+needless to recount the many occasions when Kings and Queens were
+entertained at Lambeth Palace. Cardinal Pole died here. It was sometimes
+a prison. Queen Elizabeth entrusted to the care of the Archbishop at
+Lambeth, Bishops Tonstal and Thirlby, the Earl of Essex, the Earl of
+Southampton, Lord Stourton, and many others, who were kept in honourable
+confinement, not in dungeons or cells, but each in his own chamber.
+
+[Illustration: BISHOP'S WALK, LAMBETH]
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE HALL, LAMBETH PALACE
+
+(_From an Engraving dated 1804_)]
+
+That there were prisons in every Episcopal Palace was necessary at a
+time when the clergy could only be tried in Ecclesiastical Courts, so
+that the Bishops could not send their criminous clerks to an ordinary
+prison. Hence it is that we frequently read of a priest brought before
+an Ecclesiastical Court, but we do not learn what became of him. He was
+consigned to the prison of the House. When the Lollards inveighed
+against the corruption of ecclesiastics they accused the Bishops of too
+great leniency towards their delinquents and prisoners. In some cases,
+no doubt, the ecclesiastical prison was used to save a prisoner from the
+worst consequences of his offence. For instance, a heretic handed over
+to the secular arm had by law to be burned. Let us endeavour to believe
+that in the Archbishop's prison cells of Lambeth there were many who
+might have been burned but for the humanity which sometimes overrode
+even Ecclesiastical ruthlessness.
+
+[Illustration: LAMBETH PALACE, FROM THE RIVER]
+
+It is recorded in Archbishop Arundell's Register (Cave-Browne, 'Lambeth
+Palace,' p. 710) that he sent for a Chaplain out of his prisons below
+his manor house at Lambeth. The Chaplain was a preacher licensed by the
+Archbishop who yet carried about with him a concubine. No doubt the poor
+man regarded her as his wife, and so called her, as thousands of the
+clergy did, and were held blameless by the people for so doing.
+
+The Palace either contains, or has at some time contained, the work of
+nearly every Archbishop in succession. For a full and complete history
+of the buildings, which would be outside the limits of the present
+chapter, the reader is referred to the pleasant pages of the Rev. J.
+Cave-Browne, called 'Lambeth and its Associations.'
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE]
+
+It is impossible to determine when the building of Lambeth Palace began.
+One thing is certain, that it has always been an Ecclesiastical Palace.
+The manor of Lambeth belonged to the Lady Guda, sister of Edward the
+Confessor. In Domesday Book the manor contained thirty-nine men, who
+with their families probably represented a population of about 200. They
+had a church, which stood on the site of the present church. Observe how
+all the old churches belonging to the Marsh stand on the
+Embankment--Rotherhithe; St. Olave's; Lambeth; Battersea. Guda, wife of
+Eustace, Count of Boulogne, gave the manor to the Bishop and convent of
+Rochester, reserving the church. Harold, it is said, took it from the
+Bishop; it was seized by William the Conqueror. William Rufus restored
+it to Rochester and added the patronage of the Church. In 1197 Hubert,
+Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the manor of Dartford to the Bishop and
+convent of Rochester, in exchange for Lambeth. Having got possession of
+the place, Hubert set to work to improve it. He obtained a weekly market
+and an annual fair; the latter continued till the year 1757.
+
+What Hubert built here is uncertain, but it is certain that he did build
+some kind of residence. Stephen Langton added other buildings; Boniface,
+A.D. 1260, found the buildings in great need of repair or insufficient.
+He was the first considerable builder of Lambeth. One may make a fair
+guess at the work of Boniface. We may consider it by the light afforded
+by the monastic Houses--this was not a monastery, but there was
+certainly something of the monastic spirit about the House. We may also
+take it for granted that certain essential parts of the building, though
+they might be rebuilt with greater splendour, would not change their
+position. For instance, when in after years we find a chapel, a
+cloister, a water-tower, or entrance from the river, and a gate-tower,
+or entrance from the land--then these things existed from the first.
+Boniface, therefore, found a chapel in the north-west corner of the
+Palace, where it still stands; on the west side of the chapel he found a
+water-tower with a gate opening upon a creek of the river by which
+everything was received into the House, the door of communication with
+the outer world, while the Archbishop's barges and boats lay moored up
+the creek. South of the chapel Boniface either built or rebuilt the
+cloisters; south of the cloisters he built or rebuilt his Hall. A Hall
+was absolutely necessary for a great house, and for an Archbishop's
+Palace it must be a splendid Hall. What is now called the Guard Room was
+probably at first part of the Archbishop's private apartments.
+
+[Illustration: Doorway in the Lollard's Tower]
+
+A list of the rooms then in the Palace was made in 1321. At that time
+there was the Archbishop's private Chapel, his Chamber, his Hall, the
+Chancellor's Chambers, the Great Chapel, the Great Gate, and certain
+minor apartments--a modest list, but the dormitories and principal
+bedchambers are not enumerated, nor is any mention made of the Library,
+the offices, the cells, or the Main Gate, all of which must have been
+there.
+
+Then we come to the later works, of which there are more than we need
+set down--are they not written in Ducarel the Laborious and in
+Cave-Browne the Life-giver to the dust and ashes of ancient facts? The
+principal gateway as we now see it is the fifteenth century work of
+Cardinal Morton; it is built in the same style as the gateway of St.
+John's College, Cambridge, but is much larger and finer; with the
+Church, it forms a most effective group of buildings. The present Water
+Tower was built by Archbishop Chicheley, but on the site of an older
+tower; it contained, as I have said, the water gate--that is to say, the
+real gate of communication with the world. To this gate came all the
+visitors--Kings and Cardinals, Legates, Bishops and Ambassadors; and to
+this gate came the barges with supplies for my Lord's table. Cranmer is
+said to have built the small tower at the north-east of the Chapel.
+Cardinal Pole, who died here, built the Long Gallery, and probably the
+piazza that supported it. Laud built the smaller tower on the south face
+of the Chicheley Tower. Let us remark here that the Tower never had any
+connection with Lollards, and that all the talk about the unhappy
+Lollard prisoners is without foundation.
+
+[Illustration: LOLLARDS' PRISON]
+
+Juxon, who found the Palace a 'heap of ruins,' spent his three years of
+occupancy and 15,000_l._ of his own money in restoring the place for the
+honour and splendour of the Church. As for what has been done since that
+time, especially by Archbishop Howley, it all belongs to the detailed
+history of the Palace. It is sufficient here to note that the Palace is
+a worthy House to-day, as it was five hundred years ago, for the
+residence of the Primate. He belongs still, as his Roman Catholic
+predecessors, to a Church whose members love some splendour in their
+ecclesiastical Princes, just as they love splendour in their churches
+and stateliness in their ritual. They do not desire to make a Bishop
+rich: they do desire that a Bishop should not be hampered by narrow
+circumstances: they desire that he should be able to take the lead in
+all good works. In ancient times, the Bishop rode or sat in splendid
+state: he sat every day at a table loaded with costly and luxurious
+food: outwardly he was clothed with silken robes. But he touched nothing
+that was set before him: he lived hardly and abstemiously: and he wore
+next his skin a hair shirt: and for greater self-denial he suffered his
+hair shirt to be full of vermin. That was the ideal Bishop of mediaeval
+times. Our own is much the same: a simple life: a splendid house: modest
+wants: a large income: for himself no luxuries: and an open hand. Such a
+house: such an income: we have always given to an Archbishop, whether of
+the old or of the Reformed Faith.
+
+The Chapel has at least one memory which will always cling to it. Within
+its dark and gloomy crypt Anne Boleyn, brought from the Tower, stood to
+hear her sentence. She was to be burned to death as an adulteress. I am
+not qualified by study of the case or by education in the weighing of
+evidence to pronounce an opinion as to her innocence. I believe that
+those who have examined into the case are of opinion that Anne Boleyn
+fell a victim to the King's jealousy: to his change of mind towards her:
+and to her own foolish frivolity. However, in the crypt she was
+persuaded into making some sort of avowal of a previous betrothal, in
+return for which she was spared the agonies of the stake. I have
+sometimes thought that the King must have thought her guilty, otherwise
+he would have divorced her on a charge of adultery, and suffered her to
+live. If he did not believe her guilty, how could he, being, above all
+things, a man of human passions, have sentenced the woman whom he had
+once loved to so horrible a death?
+
+Let us note, however, that our ancestors did not regard death by burning
+with quite the same horror as is now common. There is a story of
+Rogers--or Bradford--the martyr. Some one once begged his intercession
+to save a woman from burning. 'It is a gentle mode of death,' he
+replied. 'Then,' said the other, 'I hope that you yourself will some day
+have your hands full of this gentle death.' Punishment was meant to be
+painful: the least painful form of death was that accorded to the
+noble--to be beheaded. If a man died by the executioner, it was expected
+that he should suffer. Death, in all forms, meant suffering. In disease
+and in old age men suffered torture as bad as any inflicted by the
+executioner.
+
+I am not excusing Henry. I am only pleading that he must have believed
+in Anne's guilt or he could not possibly have allowed such a sentence;
+and that cruel as it seems to us, it did not seem so cruel at that time.
+There is, however, no more sorrowful story in the whole long History of
+England, which is, alas! so full of sorrow and of tragedy, than that of
+Anne Boleyn.
+
+Lambeth Palace, the only palace in the whole of South London, is a
+monument of English History from the twelfth century downwards.
+Kennington appears at intervals; Eltham is a holiday house; Greenwich
+practically begins with the Tudors. Lambeth, like Westminster or St.
+Paul's, belongs to the long history of the English people. It is a place
+little known: of the millions now, in the circle of the Greater London,
+how many, I should like to ask, have ever seen the interior? Of the vast
+population of Lambeth, Battersea, and Kennington, of which it is the
+centre, how many, I wonder, know anything at all about its history or
+its buildings?
+
+Of those who daily go up and down the river, who come and go across the
+Bridge, and suffer their careless and unobservant eyes to rest for a
+moment on the grey walls and Tower of the Palace, how many are there who
+know, or inquire, or care for the wealth of history that clings to every
+stone?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] At Eltham House, the lodge in the Great Park.
+
+[2] He probably means rushes.
+
+[3] At this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was.
+
+[4] Her Father had been treated with the same Deference. It is mentioned
+by Fox in his 'Acts and Monuments,' that when the Lord Chancellor went
+to apprehend Queen Catherine Parr, he spoke to the King on his Knees.
+King James I. suffered his Courtiers to omit it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+PAGEANTS AND RIDINGS
+
+
+The part which Processions of all kinds played in the mediaeval life is
+so great that one must inquire how Southwark fared in this respect.
+Where Bishops, Abbots, and great Lords lived there were Processions
+whenever one arrived or one departed. If the Bishop of Winchester went
+to the King's House at Winchester, it was with a great Procession of
+followers, chaplains, priests, secretaries, and gentlemen. If the Earl
+of Suffolk arrived at his town house, it was with a gallant company of
+gentlemen wearing his livery. If the King kept his Christmas at Eltham,
+he would be preceded by an endless train of carts groaning and grumbling
+along the road, filled with household gear and followed by the troops of
+scullions, cooks, grooms and lavenders whose duty was in the kitchens,
+stables, laundries, and pantries. He himself rode with a royal regiment,
+sometimes 4,000 strong, of archers for his bodyguard, besides the
+nobles, Bishops and Abbots who were with him for the Christmas
+festivities. The town itself had its Processions: the annual march of
+the Fraternity to church: the departure and the arrival of the pilgrims;
+the Ecclesiastical Functions of Church and Monastic House. As for the
+royal pageants and the Lord Mayor's Ridings, it must be confessed that
+Southwark got but the beginning: that part of the pageant which began at
+London Bridge: and that the place itself was quite passed by and
+unconsidered.
+
+Since, however, Southwark did witness that part, I have drawn up a short
+series of notes on the sights of which the Borough took a share.
+
+Thus, when Richard the Second restored the City privileges in 1392, he
+was met by four hundred of the citizens, all mounted and clad in the
+same livery: they invited him to ride to Westminster through London.
+
+'The request having been granted, he pursued his journey to Southwark,
+where, at St. George's Church, he was met by a procession of the Bishop
+of London and all the religious of every degree and both sexes, and
+about five hundred boys in surplices. At London Bridge a beautiful white
+steed and a milk-white palfrey, both saddled, bridled, and caparisoned
+in cloth of gold, were presented to the King and Queen. The citizens
+received them, standing in their liveries on each side the street,
+crying, "King Richard, King Richard!"'
+
+The rest of the pageant belongs to the City and to North London. Again,
+on the return of the victorious Henry the Fifth from France there was a
+splendid Pageant, of which the South got some part, namely, the
+following:
+
+'On the King's return after the glorious field of Agincourt, the Mayor
+of London and the Aldermen, apparelled in orient grained scarlet, and
+four hundred commoners clad in beautiful murrey, well mounted and trimly
+horsed, with rich collars and great chains, met the King at Blackheath;
+and the clergy of London in solemn procession, with rich crosses,
+sumptuous copes, and massy censers, received him at St. Thomas of
+Waterings. The King, like a grave and sober personage, and as one who
+remembered from Whom all victories are sent, seemed little to regard the
+vain pomp and shows, insomuch that he would not suffer his helmet to be
+carried with him, whereby the blows and dents upon it might have been
+seen by the people, nor would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung
+by minstrels of his glorious victory, because he would the praise and
+thanks should be altogether given to God.
+
+'At the entrance of London Bridge, on the top of the tower, stood a
+gigantic figure, bearing in his right hand an axe, and in his left the
+keys of the City hanging to a staff, as if he had been the porter. By
+his side stood a female of scarcely less stature, intended for his wife.
+Around them were a band of trumpets and other wind instruments. The
+towers were adorned with banners of the royal arms, and in the front of
+them was inscribed CIVITAS REGIS JUSTICIE (the City of the King of
+Righteousness).
+
+'At the drawbridge on each side was erected a lofty column like a little
+tower, built of wood and covered with linen; one painted like white
+marble, and the other like green jasper. They were surmounted by figures
+of the King's beasts--an antelope, having a shield of the royal arms
+suspended from his neck, and a sceptre in his right foot; and a lion,
+bearing in his right claw the royal standard unfurled.
+
+'At the foot of the bridge next the city was raised a tower, formed and
+painted like the columns before mentioned, in the middle of which, under
+a splendid pavilion, stood a most beautiful image of St. George, armed,
+excepting his head, which was adorned with a laurel crown studded with
+gems and precious stones. Behind him was a crimson tapestry, with his
+arms (a red cross) glittering on a multitude of shields. On his right
+hung his triumphal helmet, and on his left a shield of his arms of
+suitable size. In his right hand he held the hilt of the sword with
+which he was girt, and in his left a scroll, which, extending along the
+turrets, contained these words, SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA. In a
+contiguous house were innumerable boys representing the angelic host,
+arrayed in white, with glittering wings, and their hair set with sprigs
+of laurel; who, on the King's approach, sang, accompanied by organs, an
+anthem, supposed to be that beginning "Our King went forth to Normandy;"
+and whose burthen is "Deo gratias, Anglia, redde pro victoria."'
+
+When Henry VI. returned after his coronation in 1432--
+
+'On returning from his Coronation in France King Henry the Sixth was met
+at Blackheath by the Mayor and citizens of London, on Feb. 21, 1431-2;
+the latter being dressed in white, with the cognizances of their
+mysteries or crafts embroidered on their sleeves; and the Mayor and his
+brethren in scarlet.
+
+'When the King came to London Bridge, there was devised a mighty giant,
+standing with a sword drawn, and having this poetical speech inscribed
+by his side:
+
+    'All those that be enemies to the King,
+      I shall them clothe with confusion,
+    Make him mighty by virtuous living,
+      His mortal foes to oppress and bear them down:
+      And him to increase as Christ's champion.
+    All mischiefs from him to abridge,
+    With grace of God, at the entry of this Bridge.
+
+'When the King had passed the first gate, and was arrived at the
+drawbridge, he found a goodly tower hung with silk and cloth of arras,
+out of which suddenly appeared three ladies, clad in gold and silk, with
+coronets upon their heads; of which the first was dame Nature, the
+second dame Grace, and the third dame Fortune. They each addressed the
+King in verses similar to those already quoted, and which, together with
+those which followed, the curious will find in their place. On each side
+of them were ranged seven virgins, all clothed in white; those on the
+right hand had baudricks of sapphire colour or blue, and the others had
+their garments powdered with golden stars. The first seven presented the
+King with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost--sapience, intelligence,
+good counsel, strength, cunning, pity, and dread of God: and the others
+with the seven gifts of grace, in these verses:
+
+    'God thee endow with a crown of glory,
+    And with the sceptre of clemency and pity,
+    And with a sword of might and victory,
+    And with a mantle of prudence clad thou be,
+    A shield of faith for to defend thee,
+    A helm of health wrought to thine increase,
+    Girt with a girdle of love and perfect peace.
+
+'After which they sang a roundel, the burthen of which was "Welcome out
+of France."'
+
+The Pageant which welcomed Queen Margaret of Anjou on her Coronation
+presented, first, at the Bridge Foot at Southwark, 'Peace and plenty,'
+with the motto 'Ingredimini et replete terram,'--Enter ye and replenish
+the earth--and the following verses were recited:
+
+    Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace,
+      Doughter of Jherusalem, owr pleasaunce
+    And joie, welcome as ever Princess was,
+      With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce:
+      Cawser of welthe, ioye, and abundaunce,
+    Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all,
+      With hert, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce,
+    Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+Upon the Bridge itself appeared Noah's Ark, with the words, 'Jam non
+ultra irascar super terram' (Genesis viii. 21), and the following verses
+were addressed to the Queen:
+
+    So trustethe your people, with assurance
+      Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie.
+    'Twixt the Realms two, England and Fraunce,
+      Pees shall approche, rest and vnite:
+    Mars set asyde with all his crueltye,
+      Whiche too longe hathe trowbled the Realmes twayne;
+    Byndynge yowr comfortem in this adversite,
+      Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne.
+    Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace,
+      Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne;
+    Wherein he and his might escape and passe
+      The flood of vengeance caused by trespasse:
+    Conveyed aboute as God list him to gye,
+      By meane of mercy found a restinge place
+    After the flud, vpon this Armonie.
+    Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas,
+      Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne,
+    Token and signe that the flood shuld cesse,
+      Conducte by grace and power devyne;
+    Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine
+      By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne.
+    Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne
+      Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne.
+
+On the marriage of Katharine of Aragon with Prince Arthur there was a
+great Pageant. The part at the south entrance of the Bridge is thus
+described:
+
+'It consisted of a tabernacle of two floors, resembling two roodlofts;
+in the lower of which sat a fair young lady with a wheel in her hand, in
+likeness of Saint Katherine, with many virgins on every side of her; and
+in the higher story was another lady, in likeness of Saint Ursula, also
+with a great multitude of virgins right goodly dressed and arrayed.
+Above all was a representation of the Trinity. On each side of both
+stories was one small square tabernacle, with proper vanes, and in every
+square was a garter with this poesy in French, _Onye soit que male
+pens_, inclosing a red rose. On the tops of these tabernacles were six
+angels, casting incense on the Trinity, and the two Saints. The outer
+walls were painted with hanging curtains of cloth of tissue, blue and
+red; and at some distance before the pageant were set two great posts,
+painted with the three ostrich feathers, red roses, and portcullisses,
+and surmounted by a lion rampant, holding a vane painted with the arms
+of England. The whole work was carved with timber, and was gilt and
+painted with biss and azure.'
+
+The next Pageant that passed through Southwark was that of Charles the
+Second at his Restoration:
+
+'On the 29th of May, 1660, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen met the King at
+St. George's Fields in Southwark, and the former, having delivered the
+City sword to his Majesty, had the same returned with the honour of
+knighthood. A very magnificent tent was erected in the Fields, provided
+with a sumptuous collation, of which the King participated. He then
+proceeded towards London, which was pompously adorned with the richest
+silks and tapestry, and the streets lined with the City Corporations and
+trained bands; while the conduits flowed with a variety of delicious
+wines, and the windows, balconies, and scaffolds were crowded with such
+an infinite number of spectators, as if the whole collective body of the
+people had been assembled to grace the Royal Entry.
+
+'The procession was chiefly composed of the military. First marched a
+gallant troop of gentlemen in cloth of silver, brandishing their swords,
+and led by Major-General Brown; then another troop of two hundred in
+velvet coats, with footmen and liveries attending them, in purple; a
+third led by Alderman Robinson, in buff coats with cloth of silver
+sleeves and very rich green scarfs; a troop of about two hundred, with
+blue liveries laid with silver, with six trumpeters, and several
+footmen, in sea-green and silver; another of two hundred and twenty,
+with thirty footmen in grey and silver liveries, and four trumpeters
+richly habited; another of an hundred and five, with grey liveries, and
+six trumpets; and another of seventy, with five trumpets; and then three
+troops more, two of three hundred and one of one hundred, all gloriously
+habited, and gallantly mounted. After these came two trumpets with his
+Majesty's arms; the Sheriffs' men, in number fourscore, in red cloaks,
+richly laced with silver, with half-pikes in their hands. Then followed
+six hundred of the several Companies of London on horseback, in black
+velvet coats, with gold chains, each Company having footmen in different
+liveries, with streamers, &c.; after whom came kettle-drums and
+trumpets, with streamers, and after them twelve ministers (clergymen) at
+the head of his Majesty's life-guard of horse, commanded by Lord
+Gerrard. Next the City Marshal, with eight footmen in various colours,
+with the City Waits and Officers in order; then the two Sheriffs with
+all the Aldermen in their scarlet gowns and rich trappings, with footmen
+in liveries, red coats laid with silver, and cloth of gold; the heralds
+and maces in rich coats; the Lord Mayor bare-headed, carrying the
+sword, with his Excellency the General (Monk) and the Duke of
+Buckingham, also uncovered; and then, as the lustre to all this splendid
+triumph, rode the King himself between his Royal brothers the Dukes of
+York and Gloucester. Then followed a troop of horse with white colours;
+the General's life-guard, led by Sir Philip Howard, and another troop of
+gentry; and, last of all, five regiments of horse belonging to the army,
+with back, breast, and head-pieces: which, it is remarked, "diversified
+the show with delight and terror."'
+
+On November 26, 1697, after the Peace of Ryswick, William the Third made
+a triumphant entry into London:
+
+'He came from Greenwich about ten o'clock, in his coach, with Prince
+George and the Earl of Scarbrough, attended by four score other coaches,
+each drawn by six horses. The Archbishop of Canterbury came next to the
+King, the Lord Chancellor after him, then the Dukes of Norfolk, Devon,
+Southampton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, and all the principal noblemen. Some
+companies of Foot Grenadiers went before, the Horse Grenadiers followed,
+as did the Horse Life-Guards and some of the Earl of Oxford's Horse; the
+Gentlemen of the Band of Pensioners were in Southwark, but did not march
+on foot; the Yeomen of the Guard were about the King's coach.
+
+'On St. Margaret's Hill in Southwark the Lord Mayor met his Majesty,
+where, on his knees, he delivered the sword, which his Majesty returned,
+ordering him to carry it before him. Then Mr. Recorder made a speech
+suitable to the occasion, after which the cavalcade commenced.
+
+'A detachment of about one hundred of the City Trained Bands, in buff
+coats and red feathers in their hats, preceded; then followed two of the
+King's coaches, and one of Prince George's; then two City Marshals on
+horseback, with their six men on foot in new liveries; the six City
+Trumpets on horseback; the Sheriff's Officers on foot with their
+halberds and javelins in their hands; the Lord Mayor's Officers in
+black gowns; the City Officers on horseback, each attended by a servant
+on foot, viz.: the four Attorneys, the Solicitor and Remembrancer, the
+two Secondaries, the Comptroller, the Common Pleaders, the two Judges,
+the Town Clerk, the Common Serjeant, and the Chamberlain. Then came the
+Water Bailiff on horseback, carrying the City banner; the Common Crier
+and the Sword-bearer, the last in his gown of black damask and gold
+chain; each with a servant; then those who had fined for Sheriffs or
+Aldermen, or had served as such, according to their seniority, in
+scarlet, two and two, on horseback; the two Sheriffs on horseback, with
+their gold chains and white staffs, with two servants apiece; the
+Aldermen below the chair on horseback, in scarlet, each attended by his
+Beadle and two servants; the Recorder, in scarlet, on horseback, with
+two servants; and the Aldermen above the chair, in scarlet, on
+horseback, wearing their gold chains, each attended by his Beadle and
+four servants. Then followed the State all on horseback, uncovered,
+viz.: the Knight Marshall with a footman on each side; then the
+kettle-drums, the Drum-Major, the King's Trumpets, the Serjeant Trumpet
+with his mace; after followed the Pursuivants at Arms, Heralds of Arms,
+Kings of Arms, with the Serjeants at Arms on each side, bearing their
+maces, all bare-headed, and each attended with a servant. Then the Lord
+Mayor of London on horseback, in a crimson velvet gown, with a collar
+and jewel, bearing the City sword by his Majesty's permission, with four
+footmen in liveries; Clarenceux King at Arms supplying the place of
+Garter King at Arms on his right hand, and one of the Gentleman Ushers
+supplying the place of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod on his left
+hand, each with two servants. Then came his Majesty in a rich coach,
+followed by a strong party of Horseguards; and the Nobility, Judges,
+&c., according to their ranks and qualities, there being between two
+and three hundred coaches, each with six horses.'
+
+On September 20, 1714, George the First was received by the Mayor and
+Corporation at St. Margaret's Hill, Southwark, with much the same state
+as that of William III. seventeen years before.
+
+The Lord Mayor's Pageants, of which there were so many, had nothing to
+do with Southwark at all, except when they were water processions, in
+which case they could be seen as well from the South as from the North.
+But, in fact, Southwark was wholly disregarded in all these Pageants.
+The sovereign rode through the City, not through Southwark. Why should
+the place be regarded at all? Practically, as has been shown over and
+over again, it consisted of nothing at all but a causeway and an
+embankment, and what was once a broad Marsh drained and divided into
+fields and gardens and woods.
+
+I have set down what royal processions Southwark was permitted to see,
+but I do not suppose that among the four hundred citizens who went out
+in one livery to meet King Richard there was one man from Southwark, nor
+do I suppose that when nine hundred and sixty citizens, each man
+carrying a silver cup, rode through London with the Coronation
+procession, there was a single man from the quarter south of London
+Bridge. In other words, although in course of time there was
+appointed--never elected--an Alderman of the Bridge Without, at no time
+in these Pageants or in these functions was Southwark ever regarded as
+part of the City, nor were her wishes consulted or her interests
+considered.
+
+One Pageant alone--that of our own time--the splendid Pageant of 1897,
+reversed this position. As is well known, the Procession which
+celebrated the Sixty Years' Reign passed through the Borough as well as
+the City.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A FORGOTTEN WORTHY
+
+
+I have to speak of a 'worthy' of Southwark who is only now remembered by
+the curious as the alleged original of Sir John Falstaff. If Shakespeare
+drew his incomparable knight from a portrait of Sir John Fastolf, then
+one can only say that the portrait in no single particular resembled the
+original. Sir John Fastolf was a great and, on the whole, a successful
+soldier who spent forty years fighting and commanding in France.
+Shakespeare's knight was unwarlike, even cowardly; fat: a frequenter of
+taverns and of low company, with no dignity and no authority. The only
+point that may lend colour to the theory that Fastolf was Falstaff lies
+in the fact that Fastolf was accused of cowardice at a certain battle,
+one of the many which he fought: and that on his return from France, the
+English, exasperated at their losses, laid the blame as they always do
+upon their most distinguished soldiers. Fastolf was as unpopular in his
+old age as any defeated general: there is no unpopularity so great: yet
+Fastolf was never a defeated general.
+
+Shakespeare knew no more about Fastolf than the traditional charge of
+cowardice. In the First Part of 'Henry VI.' he presents him running
+away:
+
+    _Captain._ Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in haste?
+
+    _Fast._ Whither away? To save myself by flight.
+          We are like to have the overthrow again.
+
+    _Captain._ What? Will you fly and leave Lord Talbot?
+
+    _Fast._        Ay,
+          All Talbots in the world to save my life.
+
+And again in Act IV. Talbot denounces Fastolf:
+
+    This dastard, at the Battle of Patay,
+    When but in all I was six thousand strong,
+    And that the French were almost ten to one,
+    Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
+    Like to a trusty knight, did run away.
+
+And he tears off the Garter which Sir John was wearing.
+
+Sir John Fastolf came of a Norfolk family; his people held the manors of
+Caister and Rudham. He was born in the year 1378, and became, after the
+fashion of the times, first a page to the Duke of Norfolk and next to
+Thomas of Lancaster, Henry the Fourth's second son.
+
+Caxton says that he 'exercised the wars in the royaume of France and
+other countries by forty yeares enduring.' If so he must have been
+fighting in France or elsewhere across the seas as early as 1400.
+Perhaps he went over earlier. He was, at least, successful in getting
+promotion, and promotion in a time of continuous war cannot be bestowed
+on a soldier incapable or cowardly. He became Governor of Veires in
+Germany and of Harfleur. He fought with distinction at Agincourt: at the
+taking of Caen and at the siege of Rouen: he was Governor of
+Conde-sur-Noireau and of other places, as they were taken. We find him,
+for instance, the Governor of the Bastille in Paris. When Henry V. died,
+in 1422, he became Master of the Household to the Duke of Bedford,
+Regent of France. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Normandy and Governor of
+Anjou and Maine. It is remarkable to observe that in spite of his great
+services he was not knighted until 1417, when he was already forty years
+of age. In 1426, he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1429, he won the
+day at the 'Battle of the Herrings,' when with a small company of
+archers he put to flight an army.
+
+His record does not lead one to expect a charge of cowardice. Yet the
+charge was brought. It was after the Battle of Patay, in which Talbot
+was taken prisoner and the English totally defeated. The reverse was
+attributed by Talbot to the cowardly defection of Fastolf, rather than
+to his own incompetence. Fastolf demanded an investigation, which was
+made, with the result of his acquittal. Probably Lord Talbot persisted
+in his explanation of defeat. The age, it must be confessed, was not
+exactly chivalrous. The Wars of the Roses, which were about to begin,
+brought to light gallant knights without truth or fidelity: perjured
+princes as well as perjured barons: accusations and recriminations:
+shameless desertions and changes of front. An evil time. If Lord Talbot
+simply tried to shift the blame of his own defeat upon Fastolf, it would
+be what other noble lords were perfectly ready to do in their anxiety to
+escape responsibility in the loss of France: a disaster, as it was then
+thought, which brought the greatest humiliation on the people. As for
+Fastolf, he continued to receive posts of honour and distinction. Yet
+the common people heard the reports brought home by the soldiers:
+nothing is more easy than a charge of treachery and cowardice: they knew
+nothing of the acquittal. To them Fastolf became in common talk the
+coward who single-handed lost France by always running away.
+
+After the Battle of Patay, Fastolfe became Governor of Caen: he raised
+the siege of Vaudmont: took prisoner the Duc de Bar: he was twice
+appointed ambassador: he fought in the army of the Duc de Bretagne
+against the Duc d'Alencon: and he was ordered to draw up a report of the
+war. All this does not show much confidence in Lord Talbot's accusation.
+
+In 1440, then sixty-two years of age, he sheathed his sword, put off his
+armour and returned to England. Few men could show a longer, or a finer,
+record of war. In 1441 he received from the Duke of York an annuity of
+L20 a year, 'pro notabili et laudabili servicio ac bono consilio.' He
+spent the rest of his life partly in his house at Southwark and partly
+in his castle of Caister, which he built himself: we may very well
+understand that he was a man of great wealth when we read that the
+castle covered five acres of land.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE HART INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+These are the achievements of the man. About his private life and
+character we have a great fund of information in the 'Paston Letters.'
+His latest biographer ('S. L. L.' in the 'Dictionary of National
+Biography') concludes from these letters that Fastolf was a 'grasping
+man of business:' that he spent his old age in 'amassing wealth:' that
+he was a testy neighbour: that his dependents had much to endure at his
+hands. All these things may certainly be inferred from the letters. At
+the same time we must consider, apart from the letters, the manners of
+the age and the conditions of the age.
+
+Let us take the charges one by one.
+
+First, that his dependents had much to endure from him.
+
+It was not a time when dependents spent their time as they pleased. In a
+well-ordered household every man had his post and his work. An old
+Knight who had fought for forty years and commanded armies was not at
+all likely to be a master of a soft and indulgent kind. There is no
+greater disciplinarian than the old soldier: no household is more
+sternly ruled than his. This man had not only commanded armies, he had
+governed provinces, cities, castles: he had wielded despotic authority:
+he had found it necessary to master every branch of human activity,
+including the law and the chicanery of lawyers: as the general in
+command or the Governor of the Province considered the interests of his
+master the King before everything, so Fastolf expected his dependents to
+consider his interests as before everything else. The stern old Captain,
+I can very well believe, looked to every one of his dependents for his
+share of work, and I can also very well believe that they feared him as
+the masterful man is always feared.
+
+One of these dependents calls him 'cruel and vengeful.' But he gives no
+reasons.
+
+[Illustration: SURREY END OF LONDON BRIDGE, FROM HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One does not carry on war for forty years in the midst of spies,
+traitors, robbers, and all the villainy of a camp without becoming stern
+and hard. As a soldier he had to harden himself: as a governor he had to
+observe justice rather than pity: as a judge it was his duty to punish
+criminals. I picture a stern, determined man, grey and worn, with hard
+eyes and strong mouth, one who looked for a thing to be done as soon as
+he commanded it, at the coming of whom his servants became instantly
+absorbed in work, at whose footstep his secretaries dared not lift their
+heads.
+
+Next we are told that he was a 'testy neighbour.' The letters are full
+of complaints about trespass, invasion of his rights, and attempts to
+over-reach him. How could a man choose but prove a 'testy neighbour' at
+a time when the law was powerless and every man was trying to enlarge
+his boundaries at the expense of his next neighbour? The land robber was
+everywhere moving landmarks and claiming what was not his own. Private
+persons, simple esquires, had to fortify their houses against their
+neighbours and to prepare for a siege. 'I pray you,' says Margaret
+Paston, 'to get some crossebows and wyndace to bind them with, and
+quarrel'--_i.e._ bolts--'for your house is so low that ther may no man
+shoot with no long bow though he had never so much mind.' And she goes
+on to enumerate the warlike preparations made by her neighbour.
+
+Sir John Fastolf himself orders five dozen long bows, and quarrels for
+his own house in Norfolk. John Paston complains how Robert Hungerford,
+Knight, and Lord Moleyne and Alianor his wife, entered forcibly upon his
+house and manor of Gresham with a thousand people at their heels, and
+robbed and pillaged, turning his wife and servants into the road.
+
+These are things which do sometimes make neighbours testy.
+
+But he is a 'grasping man of business.'
+
+Hear, then, this story. The Duke of Suffolk seizes upon property
+belonging to Fastolf. The judges are bribed and justice cannot be had.
+Sir John and his friend, Mr. Justice Yelverton, resolve to address the
+Duke of Norfolk, and to let him know that the counties of Norfolk and
+Suffolk 'do stand right wildly. Without a mun may be that justice be
+hadde.' Is it a surprising thing that an old soldier should resolve to
+get justice if possible? Is it right to call a man 'grasping' because he
+stands up in his own defence? Read again the following. 'I pray you
+sende me worde who darre be so hardy to kick agen you in my ryght. And
+sey hem on my half that they shall be givyt as ferre as law and reson
+wolle. And yff they wolle not dredde, ne obey that, then they shall be
+quyt by Blackberd or Whiteberd: that ys to say by God or the Devyll. And
+therefor I charge you, send me word whethyr such as hafe be myne
+adversaries before thys tyme, contynew still yn their wylfullnesse.' I
+see nothing unworthy or grasping in this letter: only a plain soldier's
+resolve to get justice or he would know the reason why.
+
+It is further objected that he had long-standing claims against the
+Crown, and was always setting them forth and pressing them. If his
+claims were just, why should he not press them? If a man makes a claim
+and does not press it, what does it mean except that he is afraid of
+pressing it or that it is an unjust claim?
+
+The estates which he owned, apart from the claims which were never
+settled, amounted altogether to a very considerable property well worth
+defending. He had no fewer than ninety-four manors: there were four
+residences--Caister: Southwark: Castle Scrope, and another: there was a
+sum of money in the treasure chest of 2,643_l._ 10_s._, equivalent to
+about 50,000_l._ of our money. There were no banks in those days and no
+investments: a gentleman bought lands and plate and armour and weapons:
+he spent, as a rule, the greater part of his income, showing his wealth
+and his rank by the splendid manner of living. Sir John Fastolf, for
+instance, had 3,400 oz. of silver plate; and besides, a wardrobe full of
+costly robes.
+
+His house stood on the banks of the river in Stoney Lane, which now
+leads from Tooley Street to Pickleherring Street. The Knight had good
+neighbours. On the east of St. Olave's Church was the ancient house
+built in the 12th century for the Earl of Warren and Surrey, and given
+by his successor to the Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Next to
+the Abbot's Inn came, with the Bridge House between, the Abbot of
+Battle's Inn, a great building on the river bank, with gardens lying on
+the other side of what is now Tooley Street. The site was long marked by
+'The Maze' and 'Maze Pond.' Then came Fastolf's House. There are no
+means of ascertaining the appearance or the size of the place. It was
+certainly a building round a quadrangle capable of housing many
+followers, because he proposed to fill it with a garrison and so to meet
+Cade's insurgents. Moreover, a man of such great authority and wealth
+would not be contented with a small house. On the south side of St.
+Olave's Church, nearly opposite Fastolf's house, was the Inn or House of
+the Abbot of Lewes. And half a mile across the fields and gardens rose
+the towers and walls of St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey. Perhaps there
+were other great houses east of Sir John Fastolf's, but I think not,
+because as late as 1720 fields begin a little to the east of Stoney
+Lane. Now, though fields precede houses, houses seldom precede fields. A
+house often degenerates, but is rarely converted into a meadow. This,
+however, did happen with Kennington Palace. We know, for example, that
+the house called Augustin's Inn came to the Sellinger family, and being
+deserted by them was presently let out in tenements till it was pulled
+down and replaced by other buildings. According to these indications,
+then, Fastolf's house was the last of the great houses on the east side
+of London Bridge. There is another proof that it was a large house.
+Fastolf kept a fleet of coasting vessels which continually sailed from
+Caister or Yarmouth to London bringing provisions and supplies of all
+kinds for his house at Southwark. This fact not only proves that his
+household was very large, but it illustrates one way in which the great
+houses, the ecclesiastical houses and the nobles' houses were
+victualled. If those whose manors lay within easy reach of a port kept
+ships for the conveyance of provisions from the country to London it is
+certain that those who lived inland sent up caravans of pack-horses
+laden with the produce of their estates and sent up to town flocks of
+cattle and sheep and droves of pigs.
+
+[Illustration: The Site of Sir John Fastolf's House in Tooley Street]
+
+I have spoken of Sir John's intention to make a stand at Southwark
+against the rebels under Cade. Fortunately for himself and for everybody
+with him, he was persuaded to retire across the river to the Tower
+before the rebels reached the gates. The story is one of the most
+interesting in the whole of the 'Paston Letters,' which, to tell the
+truth, unless one looks into them for persons we already know, are
+somewhat dull in the reading.
+
+When the Commons of Kent were reported to be approaching London in the
+year 1450, Sir John Fastolf filled his house in Southwark with old
+soldiers from Normandy and 'abyllyments' of war. This rumour reached the
+rebels and naturally caused them considerable anxiety. So when they
+caught a spy among them in the shape of one John Payn, a servant of Sir
+John, they were disposed to make an example of him. And now you shall
+hear what happened to John Payn in his own words, the spelling being
+only partly modernised.
+
+'Pleasyth it your gode and gracios maistershipp tendyrly to consedir the
+grate losses and hurts that your por peticioner haeth, and haeth had
+evyr seth the comons of Kent come to the Blakheth,[5] and that is at XV.
+yer passed whereas my maister Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, that is youre
+testator,[6] commandyt your besecher to take a man, and ij. of the beste
+orsse that wer in his stabyll, with hym to ryde to the comens of Kent,
+to gete the articles that they come for. And so I dyd: and al so sone as
+I come to the Blakheth, the capteyn[7] made the comens to take me. And
+for the savacion of my maisters horse, I made my fellowe to ryde a way
+with the ij. horses; and I was brought forth with befor the Capteyn of
+Kent. And the capteyn demaundit me what was my cause of comyng thedyr,
+and why that I made my fellowe to stele a wey with the horse. And I seyd
+that I come thedyr to chere with my wyves brethren, and other that were
+my alys and gossipps of myn that were present there. And than was there
+oone there, and seid to the capteyn that I was one of Syr John Fastolfes
+men, and the ij. horse were Syr John Fastolfes; and then the capteyn
+lete cry treson upon me thorough all the felde, and brought me at iiij.
+partes of the feld with a harrawd of the Duke of Exeter[8] before me in
+the dukes cote of armes, makyng iiij. _Oyes_ at iiij. partes of the
+feld; proclaymyng opynly by the seid harrawd that I was sent thedyr for
+to espy theyre pusaunce, and theyre abyllyments of werr, fro the
+grettyst traytor that was in Yngelond or in Fraunce, as the seyd capteyn
+made proclaymacion at that tyme, fro oone Syr John Fastolf, Knyght, the
+whech mynnysshed all the garrisons of Normaundy, and Manns, and Mayn,
+the whech was the cause of the lesyng of all the Kyngs tytyll and ryght
+of an herytaunce that he had by yonde see. And morovyr he seid that the
+seid Sir John Fastolf had furnysshyd his plase with the olde sawdyors of
+Normaundy and abyllyments of werr, to destroy the comens of Kent whan
+that they come to Southwerk; and therfor he seyd playnly that I shulde
+lese my hede.
+
+'And so furthewith I was taken, and led to the capteyns tent, and j. ax
+and j. blok was brought forth to have smetyn of myn hede; and than my
+maister Ponyngs, your brodyr,[9] with other of my frendes, come and
+lettyd the capteyn, and seyd pleynly that there shulde dye a C. or ij.
+(a hundred or two), that in case be that I dyed; and so by that meane my
+lyf was savyd at that tyme. And than I was sworen to the capteyn, and to
+the comens, that I shulde go to Southwerk, and aray me in the best wyse
+that I coude, and come ageyn to hem to helpe hem; and so I gote th'
+articles, and brought hem to my maister, and that cost me more emongs
+the comens that day than xxvijs.
+
+'Wherupon I come to my maister Fastolf, and brought hym th' articles,
+and enformed hym of all the mater, and counseyled hym to put a wey all
+his abyllyments of werr and the olde sawdiors; and so he dyd, and went
+hymself to the Tour, and all his meyny with hym but betts and j.
+(_i.e._ one) Mathew Brayn; and had not I ben, the comens wolde have
+brennyd his plase and all his tennuryes, wher thorough it coste me of my
+noune propr godes at that tyme more than vj. merks in mate and drynke;
+and nought withstondyng the capteyn that same tyme lete take me atte
+Whyte Harte in Suthewerk, and there comandyt Lovelase to dispoyle me
+oute of myn aray, and so he dyd. And there he toke a fyn gowne of muster
+dewyllers[10] furryd with fyn bevers, and j. peyr of Bregandyrns[11]
+kevert with blew fellewet (velvet) and gylt naile, with leg-harneyse,
+the vallew of the gown and the bregardyns viijli.
+
+'Item, the capteyn sent certeyn of his meyny to my chamber in your
+rents, and there breke up my chest, and toke awey j. obligacion of myn
+that was due unto me of xxxvjli. by a prest of Poules, and j. nother
+obligacion of j. knyght of xli., and my purse with v. ryngs of golde,
+and xvijs. vjd. of golde and sylver; and j. herneyse (harness) complete
+of the touche of Milleyn;[12] and j. gowne of fyn perse[13] blewe furryd
+with martens; and ij. gounes, one furreyd with bogey,[14] and j. nother
+lyned with fryse;[15] and ther wolde have smetyn of myn hede, whan that
+they had dyspoyled me atte White Hart. And there my Maister Ponyngs and
+my frends savyd me, and so I was put up tyll at nyght that the batayle
+was at London Brygge;[16] and than atte nyght the captyn put me oute into
+the batayle atte Brygge, and there I was woundyt, and hurt nere hand to
+deth; and there I was vj. oures in the batayle, and myght nevyr come
+oute therof; and iiij. tymes before that tyme I was caryd abought
+thorough Kent and Sousex, and ther they wolde have smetyn of my hede.
+
+'And in Kent there as my wyfe dwellyd, they toke awey all oure godes
+movabyll that we had, and there wolde have hongyd my wyfe and v. of my
+chyldren, and lefte her no more gode but her kyrtyll and her smook. And
+a none aftye that hurlyng, the Bysshop Roffe,[17] apechyd me to the
+Quene, and so I was arestyd by the Quenes commaundment in to the
+Marchalsy, and there was in rygt grete durasse, and fere of myn lyf, and
+was thretenyd to have ben hongyd, drawen, and quarteryd; and so wold
+have made me to have pechyd my Maister Fastolf of treson. And by cause
+that I wolde not, they had me up to Westminster, and there wolde have
+sent me to the gole house at Wyndsor; but my wyves and j. coseyn of myn
+noune that were yomen of the Croune, they went to the Kyng, and got
+grase and j. chartyr of pardon.'
+
+Here we see the popular opinion of Fastolf 'the greatest traitor in
+England or in France:' he who 'mynnyshed all the garrisons of Normandy,
+and Manns, and Mayn:' he who was the cause of the 'lesyng of all the
+Kyng's tytyll and rights of an heritaunce that he had by yonde see.'
+
+The whole story is in the highest degree dramatic. Sir John wants to
+know what the rebellion means. Let one of his men go and find out. Let
+him take two horses in case of having to run for it: the rebels will
+most probably kill him if they catch him. Well: it is all in the day's
+work: what can a man expect? Would the fellow live for ever? What can he
+look for except to be killed some time or other? So John Payn takes two
+horses and sets off. As we expected, he does get caught: he is brought
+before Mortimer as a spy. At this point we are reminded of the false
+herald in 'Quentin Durward,' but in this case it is a real herald
+pressed into the service of Mortimer, _alias_ Jack Cade. Now the
+Captain is by way of being a gentleman: very likely he was: the story
+about him, that he had been a common soldier, is improbable and
+supported by no kind of evidence. However, he conducts the affair in a
+courteous fashion. No moblike running to the nearest tree: no beating
+along the prisoner to be hanged upon a branch: not at all: the prisoner
+is conducted with much ceremony to the four quarters of the camp and at
+each is proclaimed by the herald a spy. Then the axe and the block are
+brought out. The prisoner feels already the bitterness of death. But his
+friends interfere: he must be spared or a hundred heads shall fall. He
+is spared: on condition that he goes back, arrays himself in his best
+harness and returns to fight on the side of the rebels.
+
+Observe that this faithful person gets the 'articles' that his master
+wants: he also reports on the strength of the rebellion in-so-much that
+Sir John breaks up his garrison and retreats across the river to the
+Tower. But before going he tells the man that he must keep his parole
+and go back to the rebels to be killed by them or among them. So the
+poor man puts on his best harness and goes back.
+
+They spoil him of every thing: and then, they put him in the crowd of
+those who fight on London Bridge.
+
+It was a very fine battle. Jack Cade had already entered London when he
+murdered Lord Saye, and Sir James Cromer, Sheriff of Kent, and plundered
+and fined certain merchants. He kept up, however, the appearance of a
+friend of the people and permitted no plundering of the lower sort. So
+that one is led to believe that in the fight the merchants, themselves,
+and the better class held the bridge.
+
+The following account comes from Holinshed. It must be remembered that
+the battle was fought on the night of Sunday the 5th of July, in
+midsummer, when there is no night, but a clear soft twilight, and when
+the sun rises by four in the morning. It was a wild sight that the sun
+rose upon that morning. The Londoners and the Kentish men, with shouts
+and cries, alternately beat each other back upon the narrow bridge,
+attack and defence growing feebler as the night wore on. And all night
+long the bells rang to call the citizens to arms in readiness to take
+their place on the bridge. And all night the old and the young and the
+women lay trembling in their beds lest the men of London should be
+beaten back by the men of Kent, and these should come in with fire and
+sword to pillage and destroy. All night long without stopping: the dead
+were thrown over the bridge: the wounded fell and were trampled upon
+until they were dead: and beneath their feet the quiet tide ebbed and
+flowed through the arches.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSES IN HIGH STREET, SOUTHWARK, 1550]
+
+'The maior and other magistrates of London, perceiving themselves
+neither to be sure of goods nor of life well warranted determined to
+repell and keepe out of their citie such a mischievous caitife and his
+wicked companie. And to be the better able so to doo, they made the lord
+Scales, and that renowned Capteine Matthew Gough privie both of their
+intent and enterprise, beseeching them of their helpe and furtherance
+therein. The lord Scales promised them his aid, with shooting off the
+artillerie in the Tower; and Matthew Gough was by him appointed to
+assist the maior and Londoners in all that he might, and so he and other
+capteins, appointed for defense of the citie, tooke upon them in the
+night to keepe the bridge, and would not suffer the Kentish men once to
+approach. The rebels, who never soundlie slept for feare of sudden
+assaults, hearing that the bridge was thus kept, ran with great hast to
+open that passage where between both parties was a fierce and cruell
+fight.
+
+'Matthew Gough perceiving the rebels to stand to their tackling more
+manfullie than he thought they would have done, advised his companie not
+to advance anie further toward Southwarke, till the daie appeared; that
+they might see where the place of jeopardie rested, and so to provide
+for the same; but this little availed. For the rebels with their
+multitude drave back the citizens from the stoops at the bridge foot to
+the draw bridge, and began to set fire to diverse houses. Great ruth it
+was to behold the miserable state, wherein some desiring to eschew the
+fire died upon their enimies weapon; women with children in their armes
+lept for feare into the river, other in a deadlie care how to save
+themselves, betweene fire, water, and sword, were in their houses choked
+and smothered. Yet the capteins not sparing, fought on the bridge all
+the night valiantlie, but in conclusion the rebels gat the draw bridge,
+and drowned manie, and slue John Sutton, alderman, and Robert Heisand, a
+hardie citizen, with manie other, beside Matthew Gough, a man of great
+wit and much experience in feats of chivalrie, the which in continuall
+warres had spent his time in service of the king and his father.
+
+'This sore conflict indured in doubtfull wise on the bridge, till nine
+of the clocke in the morning; for somtime, the Londoners were beaten
+backe to saint Magnus corner; and suddenlie againe, the rebels were
+repelled to the stoops in Southwarke, so that both parts being faint and
+wearie, agreed to leave off from fighting till the next daie; upon
+condition that neither Londoners should passe into Southwarke, nor
+Kentish men into London. Upon this abstinence, this rake-hell capteine
+for making him more friends, brake up the gaites of the kings Bench and
+Marshalsie and so were manie mates set at libertie verie meet for his
+matters in hand.' (Holinshed, iii. p. 226.)
+
+When the rebellion was over they clapped the unlucky Payn into prison
+and tried to get out of him some admission that might enable them to
+impeach Sir John of treason. This old soldier was not without some love
+of letters. One of his household, William Worcester, wrote for him
+Cicero 'De Senectute,' printed by Caxton a few years later. A MS. also
+exists in the British Museum called 'The Dictes and Sayings of the
+Philosophers,' said to have been translated for him by Stephen Perope
+his stepson.
+
+After the Cade rebellion he returned to his house in Southwark but
+seldom. He went down into Norfolk, employed his ships in carrying stone
+and built his great castle of Caistor, which covered five acres. He
+purposed founding a College at Caistor for seven priests and seven poor
+folk. He assisted the building of philosophy schools at Cambridge: he
+made gifts to Magdalen College, Oxford. His intentions as to the College
+were never carried out, the bequest being transferred to Magdalen
+College, Oxford, for the support of seven poor priests and seven poor
+scholars. He died at the age of eighty. It was the misfortune of this
+stout old warrior that the latter half of his fighting career was in a
+losing cause: it was also his misfortune to incur a great part of the
+odium that falls upon a general who is on the losing side: at the same
+time, in his own actions he was, almost without exception, victorious:
+and there does not seem any reason why he more than any other should
+bear the blame of the English reverses. It was probably in deference to
+popular opinion that no honours were paid to the veteran of so many
+fights. Perhaps he was not a _persona grata_ at Court. Certainly the
+story of Payn's imprisonment indicates some enemy in high quarters. Why
+should the Government desire to charge him with treason?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Jack Cade and his followers encamped on Blackheath on June 11, 1450,
+and again from June 29 to July 1. Payn refers to the latter occasion.
+
+[6] Sir John Fastolf (who is dead at the date of this letter) left
+Paston his executor, as will be seen hereafter.
+
+[7] Jack Cade.
+
+[8] Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. During the civil war which followed,
+he adhered to the House of Lancaster, though he married Edward IV.'s
+sister. His herald had probably been seized by Cade's followers, and
+pressed into their service.
+
+[9] Robert Poynings, who, some years before this letter was written, had
+married Elizabeth, the sister of John Paston, was sword-bearer and
+carver to Cade, and was accused of creating disturbances on more than
+one occasion afterwards.
+
+[10] 'A kind of mixed grey woollen cloth, which continued in use to
+Elizabeth's reign.'--Halliwell.
+
+[11] A brigandine was a coat of leather or quilted linen, with small
+iron plates sewed on.--_See_ Grose's _Antient Armour_. The back and
+breast of this coat were sometimes made separately, and called a
+pair.--Meyrick.
+
+[12] Milan was famous for its manufacture of arms and armour.
+
+[13] 'Skye or bluish grey. There was a kind of cloth so
+called.'--Halliwell.
+
+[14] Budge fur.
+
+[15] Frieze. A coarse narrow cloth, formerly much in use.
+
+[16] The battle on London Bridge was on the 5th of July.
+
+[17] Fenn gives this name 'Rosse' with two long s's, but translates it
+Rochester, from which it is presumed that it was written 'Roffe' for
+_Roffensis_. The Bishop of Rochester's name was John Lowe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON
+
+
+The Bombardment of London, now almost as much forgotten as the all-night
+battle of London Bridge, took place also on a Sunday, twenty years
+afterwards. It was the concluding scene, and a very fit end--to the long
+wars of the Roses.
+
+There was a certain Thomas, a natural son of William Nevill, Lord
+Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, generally called the Bastard of Fauconberg, or
+Falconbridge. This man was a sailor. In the year 1454 he had received
+the freedom of the City of London and the thanks of the Corporation for
+his services in putting down the pirates of the North Sea and the
+Channel. It is suggestive of the way in which the Civil War divided
+families, that though the Earl of Kent did so much to put Edward on the
+throne, his son did his best to put up Henry.
+
+He was appointed by Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet, and in that
+capacity he held Calais and prevented the despatch of Burgundians to the
+help of Edward. He seems to have crossed and recrossed continually.
+
+A reference to the dates shows how slowly news travelled across country.
+On April the 14th the Battle of Barnet was fought. At this battle
+Warwick fell. On May the 4th the Battle of Tewkesbury finished the hopes
+of the Lancastrians. Yet on May the 12th the Bastard of Fauconberg
+presented himself at the head of 17,000 Kentish men at the gates of
+London Bridge, and stated that he was come to dethrone the usurper
+Edward, and to restore King Henry. He asked permission to march through
+the town, promising that his men should commit no disturbance or
+pillage. Of course they knew who he was, but he assured them that he
+held a commission from the Earl of Warwick as Vice-Admiral.
+
+In reply, the Mayor and Corporation sent him a letter, pointing out that
+his commission was no longer in force because Warwick was dead nearly
+three weeks before, and that his body had been exposed for two days in
+St. Paul's; they informed him that the Battle of Barnet had been
+disastrous to the Lancastrians, and that runners had informed them of a
+great Lancastrian disaster at Tewkesbury, where Prince Edward was slain
+with many noble lords of his following.
+
+All this Fauconberg either disbelieved or affected to disbelieve. I
+think that he really did disbelieve the story: he could not understand
+how this great Earl of Warwick could be killed. He persisted in his
+demand for the right of passage. The persistence makes one doubt the
+sincerity of his assurances. Why did he want to pass through London? If
+he merely wanted to get across he had his ships with him--they had come
+up the river and now lay off Ratcliffe. He could have carried his army
+across in less time than he took to fight his way. Did he propose to
+hold London against Edward, and to keep it while the Lancastrians were
+gathering strength? There was still one Lancastrian heir to the throne
+at least.
+
+However, the City still refused. They sent him a letter urging him to
+lay down his arms and acknowledge Edward, who was now firmly
+established.
+
+Seeing that he was not to be moved, the citizens began to look to their
+fortifications: on the river side the river wall had long since gone,
+but the houses themselves formed a wall, with narrow lanes leading to
+the water's edge. These lanes they easily stopped with stones: they
+looked to their wall and to their gates.
+
+The Bastard therefore resolved upon an assault on the City. Like a
+skilful commander he attacked it at three points. First, however, he
+brought in the cannon from his ships, laying them along the shore: he
+then sent 3,000 men across the river with orders to divide into two
+companies, one for an attack on Aldgate, the other for an attack on
+Bishopsgate. He himself undertook the assault on London Bridge. His
+cannonade of the City was answered by the artillery of the Tower. We
+should like to know more of this bombardment. Did they still use round
+stones for shot? Was much mischief done by the cannon? Probably little
+that was not easily repaired: the shot either struck the houses on the
+river's edge or it went clean over the City and fell in the fields
+beyond. Holinshed says that 'the Citizens lodged their great artillerie
+against their adversaries, and with violent shot thereof so galled them
+that they durst not abide in anie place alongst the water side but were
+driven even from their own Ordnance.' Did they, then, take the great
+guns from the Tower and place them all along the river? I think not: the
+guns could not be moved from the Tower: then the 'heavie artillerie'
+could only damage the enemy on the shore opposite--not above the bridge.
+
+The three thousand men told off for the attack on the gates valiantly
+assailed them. But they met with a stout resistance. Some of them
+actually got into the City at Aldgate, but the gate was closed behind
+them, and they were all killed. Robert Basset, Alderman of Aldgate,
+performed prodigies of valour. At Bishopsgate they did no good at all.
+In the end they fell back. Then the citizens threw open the gates and
+sallied forth. The Earl of Kent brought out 500 men by the Tower Postern
+and chased the rebels as far as Stepney. Some seven hundred of them were
+killed. Many hundreds were taken prisoners and held to ransom, 'as if
+they had been Frenchmen,' says the Chronicler.
+
+The attack on the bridge also completely failed. The gate on the south
+was fired and destroyed: three score of the houses on the bridge were
+fired and destroyed: the north gate was also fired, but at the bridge
+end there were planted half a dozen small pieces of cannon, and behind
+them waited the army of the citizens. It is a pity that we have not
+another Battle of the Bridge to relate.
+
+The captain, seeing that he had no hopes of getting possession of
+London, resolved to march westward and meet Edward. By this time, it is
+probable that he understood what had happened. He therefore ordered his
+fleet to await him in the Mersey, and marched as far as
+Kingston-upon-Thames. It is a strange, incongruous story. All his
+friends were dead: their cause was hopeless: why should he attempt a
+thing impossible? Because it was Warwick's order? Perhaps, however, he
+did not think it impossible.
+
+At Kingston he was met by Lord Scales and Nicolas Fanute, Mayor of
+Canterbury, who persuaded him 'by fair words' to return. Accordingly, he
+marched back to Blackheath, where he dismissed his men, ordering them to
+go home peaceably. As for himself, with a company of 600--his sailors,
+one supposes--he rejoined his fleet at Chatham, and took his ships round
+the coast to Sandwich.
+
+Here he waited till Edward came there. He handed over to the King
+fifty-six ships great and small. The King pardoned him, knighted him,
+and made him Vice-Admiral of the Fleet. This was in May. Alas! in
+September we hear that he was taken prisoner at Southampton, carried to
+Middleham, in Yorkshire, and beheaded, and his head put upon London
+Bridge.
+
+Why? nobody knows. Holinshed suggests that he had been 'roving,' _i.e._
+practising as a pirate. But would the Vice-Admiral of the English fleet
+go off 'roving'? Surely not. I take it as only one more of the thousand
+murders, perjuries, and treacheries of the worst fifty years that ever
+stained the history of the country. There was but one complete way of
+safety for Edward--the death of every man, noble or simple, who might
+take up arms against him. So the Bastard--this fool who had trusted the
+King and given him a fleet--was beheaded like all the rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE PILGRIMS
+
+
+The town was full of those who carried in their hats the pilgrim's
+signs. Besides the ordinary insignia of pilgrimage, every shrine had its
+special signs, which the pilgrim on his return bore conspicuously upon
+his hat or scrip or hanging round his neck (see Skeat, _Notes to Piers
+Plowman_) in token that he had accomplished that particular pilgrimage.
+Thus the ampullae were the signs of Canterbury; the scallop shell that of
+St. James of Compostella; the cross keys and the vernicle of Rome--the
+vernicle was a copy of the handkerchief of St. Veronica, which was
+miraculously impressed with the face of our Lord. These shrines were
+cast in lead in the most part. Thus in the supplement to the _Canterbury
+Tales_,
+
+    Then as manere and custom is, signes there they bought,
+    For men of contre should know whom they had sought;
+    Eche man set his silver in such thing as they liked,
+    And in the meanwhile the miller had y-piked
+    His barns full of signes of Canterbury brought.
+
+Erasmus makes Menedemus ask, 'What kind of attire is this that thou
+wearest? It is all set over with shells scolloped, full of images of
+lead and tin, and charms of straw work, and the cuffs are adorned with
+snakes' eggs instead of bracelets.' To which the reply is that he has
+been to certain shrines on pilgrimage. The late Dr. Hugo communicated to
+the Society of Antiquaries a paper in which he enumerated and figured a
+great many of these signs found in different places, but especially in
+the river when Old London Bridge was removed. Bells--_Campana
+Thomae_--Canterbury Bells--were also hung from the bridles, ringing
+merrily all the way by way of a charm to keep off evil.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, KING'S HEAD, AYLESBURY]
+
+Every day in the summer parties of pilgrims started from one or other of
+the Inns of Southwark: there was the short pilgrimage and the long
+pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of a day: the pilgrimage of a month: and the
+pilgrimage beyond the seas. From Southampton and at Dartmouth sailed the
+ships of those who were licensed to carry pilgrims to Compostella, which
+was the shrine of St. Iago: or to Rome: or to Rocamadom in Gascony: or
+to Jaffa for the Holy Places. The pilgrimage _outremer_ is undoubtedly
+that which conferred the longest indulgences, the greatest benefits upon
+the soul, and the highest sanctity upon the pilgrim.
+
+In the matter of short pilgrimages, the South Londoner had a
+considerable choice. He might simply go to the shrine of St. Erkenwald
+at Paul's, or to that of Edward the Confessor at Westminster, he might
+even confine his devotions to the Holy Rood of Bermondsey. If he wished
+to go a little further afield, there were the shrines of Our Lady of the
+Oak; of Muswell Hill; or of Willesden. But these were all on the north
+side of London and belonged to the City rather than to Southwark. For
+him of the Borough there was the shrine of Crome's Hill, Greenwich,
+which provided a pleasant outing for the day: it might be prolonged with
+feasting and drinking to fill up the whole day, so that the whole family
+could get a holiday combined with religious exercises in good company
+and return home at night, each happy in the consciousness that so many
+years were knocked off purgatory.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HALL, AYLESBURY]
+
+For the longer pilgrimages there were of course the far distant journeys
+to Jerusalem, generally over land as far as Venice, and then by a
+'personally conducted' voyage, the captain providing escort to and from
+the Holy Places. There were also pilgrimages to Compostella: to Rome: to
+Cologne: and other places.
+
+For pilgrimage within the four seas, the pious citizen of South London
+had surely no choice. For him St. Thomas of Canterbury was the only
+Saint. There were other Saints, of course, but St. Thomas was his
+special Saint. No other shrine was possible for him save that of St.
+Thomas. Not Glastonbury: nor Walsingham: nor Beverley: but Canterbury
+contained the relics the sight and adoration of which would more
+effectively assist his soul.
+
+[Illustration: CANTERBURY PILGRIMS]
+
+In Erasmus's Dialogue of the Pilgrimage we have an account of what was
+done and what was shown at the shrines of Our Lady of Walsingham and St.
+Thomas of Canterbury.
+
+'The church that is dedicated to St. Thomas raises itself up towards
+heaven with that majesty that it strikes those that behold it at a great
+distance with an awe of religion, and now with its splendour makes the
+light of the neighbouring palaces look dim, and as it were obscures the
+place that was anciently the most celebrated for religion. There are
+two lofty turrets which stand as it were bidding visitants welcome from
+afar off, and a ring of bells that make the adjacent country echo far
+and wide with their rolling sound. In the south porch of the church
+stand three stone statues of men in armour, who with wicked hands
+murdered the holy man, with the names of their countries--Tusci, Fusci,
+and Betri....
+
+'_Og._ When you are entered in, a certain spacious majesty of place
+opens itself to you, which is free to every one. _Me._ Is there nothing
+to be seen there? _Og._ Nothing but the bulk of the structure, and some
+books chained to the pillars, containing the gospel of Nicodemus and the
+sepulchre of I cannot tell who. _Me._ And what else? _Og._ Iron grates
+enclose the place called the choir, so that there is no entrance, but so
+that the view is still open from one end of the church to the other. You
+ascend to this by a great many steps, under which there is a certain
+vault that opens a passage to the north side. There they show a wooden
+altar consecrated to the Holy Virgin; it is a very small one, and
+remarkable for nothing except as a monument of antiquity, reproaching
+the luxury of the present times. In that place the good man is reported
+to have taken his last leave of the Virgin, when he was at the point of
+death. Upon the altar is the point of the sword with which the top of
+the head of that good prelate was wounded, and some of his brains that
+were beaten out, to make sure work of it. We most religiously kissed the
+sacred rust of this weapon out of love to the martyr.
+
+'Leaving this place, we went down into a vault underground; to that
+there belong two showmen of the relics. The first thing they show you is
+the skull of the martyr, as it was bored through; the upper part is left
+open to be kissed, all the rest is covered over with silver. There is
+also shown you a leaden plate with this inscription, Thomas Acrensis.
+And there hang up in a great place the shirts of hair-cloth, the
+girdles, and breeches with which this prelate used to mortify his
+flesh....
+
+'_Og._ From hence we return to the choir. On the north side they open a
+private place. It is incredible what a world of bones they brought out
+of it, skulls, chins, teeth, hands, fingers, whole arms, all which we
+having first adored, kissed; nor had there been any end of it had it not
+been for one of my fellow-travellers, who indiscreetly interrupted the
+officer that was showing them....
+
+'After this we viewed the table of the altar, and the ornaments; and
+after that those things that were laid up under the altar; all was very
+rich, you would have said Midas and Croesus were beggars compared to
+them, if you beheld the great quantities of gold and silver....
+
+'After this we were carried into the vestry. Good God! what a pomp of
+silk vestments was there, of golden candlesticks! There we saw also St.
+Thomas's foot. It looked like a reed painted over with silver; it hath
+but little of weight, and nothing of workmanship, and was longer than up
+to one's girdle. _Me._ Was there never a cross? _Og._ I saw none. There
+was a gown shown; it was silk, indeed, but coarse and without embroidery
+or jewels, and a handkerchief, still having plain marks of sweat and
+blood from the saint's neck. We readily kissed these monuments of
+ancient frugality....
+
+'From hence we were conducted up higher; for behind the high altar there
+is another ascent as into another church. In a certain new chapel there
+was shewn to us the whole face of the good man set in gold, and adorned
+with jewels....
+
+'Upon this, out comes the head of the college. _Me._ Who was he, the
+abbot of the place? _Og._ He wears a mitre, and has the revenue of an
+abbot--he wants nothing but the name; he is called the prior because the
+archbishop is in the place of an abbot; for in old time every one that
+was an archbishop of that diocese was a monk. _Me._ I should not mind if
+I was called a camel, if I had but the revenue of an abbot. _Og._ He
+seemed to me to be a godly and prudent man, and not unacquainted with
+the Scotch divinity. He opened us the box in which the remainder of the
+holy man's body is said to rest. _Me._ Did you see the bones? _Og._ That
+is not permitted, nor can it be done without a ladder. But a wooden box
+covers a golden one, and that being craned up with ropes, discovers an
+inestimable treasure. _Me._ What say you? _Og._ Gold was the basest
+part. Everything sparkled and shined with very large and scarce jewels,
+some of them bigger than a goose's egg. There some monks stood about
+with the greatest veneration. The cover being taken off, we all
+worshipped. The prior, with a white wand, touched every stone one by
+one, telling us the name in French, the value of it, and who was the
+donor of it. The principal of them were the presents of kings....
+
+'Hence he carried us back into a vault. There the Virgin Mary has her
+residence; it is something dark; it is doubly railed in and encompassed
+about with iron bars. _Me._ What is she afraid of? _Og._ Nothing, I
+suppose, but thieves. And I never in my life saw anything more laden
+with riches. _Me._ You tell me of riches in the dark. _Og._ Candles
+being brought in we saw more than a royal sight. _Me._ What, does it go
+beyond the Parathalassian virgin in wealth? _Og._ It goes far beyond in
+appearance. What is concealed she knows best. These things are shewn to
+none but great persons or peculiar friends. In the end we were carried
+back into the vestry. There was pulled out a chest covered with black
+leather; it was set upon the table and opened. They all fell down on
+their knees and worshipped. _Me._ What was in it? _Og._ Pieces of linen
+rags.'
+
+At Canterbury, as at Walsingham, the object of the pilgrim was to see
+the relics, kiss them, saying certain prayers prescribed, and to make
+offerings at every exhibition of relics. Thus on beholding the precious
+place containing the milk of the Virgin, the pilgrim recited the
+following prayer:--
+
+'Virgin Mother, who hast merited to give suck to the Lord of heaven and
+earth, thy Son Jesus, from thy virgin breasts, we desire that, being
+purified by His blood, we may arrive at that happy infant state of
+dovelike innocence in which, being void of malice, fraud, and deceit, we
+may continually desire the milk of the evangelical doctrine, until we
+grow up to a perfect man, and to the measure of the fulness of Christ,
+whose blessed society thou wilt enjoy for evermore, with the Father and
+the Holy Spirit. Amen.'
+
+On being shown the little chapel which was the actual dwelling-place of
+the Virgin like the Casa Sancta of Loreto, the pilgrim prostrated
+himself and recited as follows:--
+
+'O thou who only of all women art a mother and a virgin, the most happy
+of mothers and the purest of virgins, we that are impure do now come to
+visit and address ourselves to thee that art pure, and reverence thee
+with our poor offerings, such as they are. Oh that thy Son would enable
+us to imitate thy most holy life, that we may deserve, by the grace of
+the Holy Spirit, to conceive the Lord Jesus in the most inward bowels of
+our minds, and having once conceived Him, never to lose Him. Amen.'
+
+As regards the offerings, it was found necessary to station a priest at
+each place in order to encourage the pilgrims to give openly in the
+sight of all, otherwise they would give nothing at all, so great was
+their piety. Nay, even with this stimulus, there were found some who,
+while they laid their offering on the altar, by sleight of hand would
+steal what another had laid down. Since pilgrimage was reduced to the
+easy performance of a journey with recitals and repetitions of set
+prayers, one easily imagines that the pilgrims would no more hesitate to
+steal from the altar than to commit any other offence against morality.
+
+On returning from Canterbury to London the pilgrims were waylaid by
+roadside beggars who came out and sprinkled them with holy water, and
+showed them St. Thomas's shoe to kiss. In fact, what with the treasures
+brought home by pilgrims, presented to archbishops and kings, and sold
+by pardoners and friars, the whole country was crammed with relics; at
+the great shrines as shown by Erasmus, there were cupboards filled with
+holy bones and precious rags; but there were too many: the credulity of
+the people had been tried too much and too long. Erasmus shows the
+profound disbelief that he himself, if no other, entertained for the
+sanctity of the relics.
+
+[Illustration: 15TH CENTURY GOLDSMITH]
+
+[Illustration: RICH MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE, 14TH CENTURY]
+
+Thomas a Becket was canonised in 1173. Fifty years afterwards his
+remains were transferred from their original resting-place by Stephen
+Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the shrine prepared for them
+behind the high altar.
+
+Erasmus, whose contempt for pilgrimage is sufficiently indicated by the
+extracts quoted above, was not alone in his opinions. Indeed, it
+required no great wisdom to perceive that a religious pilgrimage
+conducted without the least attention to the religious life was a
+mockery.
+
+Nor was Erasmus the first to make this discovery. Piers Plowman, long
+before, had expressed the same contempt for pilgrims:
+
+    Pilgrims and Palmers plihten hem togederes
+    For to seche Seint Jeme and seintes at Rome;
+    Wenten forth in heore wey with mony wyse tales,
+    And hedden leve to lye al heore lyf aftir.
+    Ermytes on a hep with hokide staves
+    Wenten to Walsingham, and here wenches aftir.
+
+But there is a more serious indictment still.
+
+In the year 1407, a certain priest named Thorpe, a prisoner for
+heretical opinions, was allowed to state these opinions to Archbishop
+Arundel. An account remains, written by the priest himself, of his
+arguments and of the Archbishop's replies. On the subject of pilgrimage
+he is very strong.
+
+'Wherefore, Syr, I have prechid and taucht openlie, and so I purpose all
+my lyfe tyme to do with God's helpe saying that suche fonde people wast
+blamefully God's goods in ther veyne pilgrimagis, spending their goodes
+upon vicious hostelers, which ar ofte unclene women of their bodies: and
+at the leste those goodes with the which thei should doo werkis of
+mercie after Goddis bidding to pore nedy men and women. Thes poor mennis
+goodes and their lyvelode thes runners aboute offer to rich priestis,
+which have mekill more lyvelode than they need: and thus those goodes
+they waste wilfully and spende them unjustely against Goddis bidding
+upon straungers, with which they shoulde helpe and releve after Goddis
+will their poor nedy neighbours at home: ye, and over this foly, ofte
+tymes diverse men and women of thes runners thus madly hither and
+thither in to pilgrimage borowe hereto other mennis goodes, ye and
+sometymes they stele mennis goodes hereto, and they pay them never
+again. Also, Syr, I know well that when diverse men and women will go
+thus often after their own willes, and finding out one pilgrimage, they
+will order with them before to have with them both men and women that
+can well syng countre songes and some other pilgremis will have with
+them baggepipes; so that every timme they come to rome, what with the
+noyse of their synging and with the sounde of their piping and with the
+jangeling of their Canterbury bellis, and with the barking out of doggis
+after them, that they make more noise than if the King came there away
+with all his clarions, and many other minstrellis. And if these men and
+women be a moneth in their pilgrimage, many of them shall be an half
+year after great jangelers, tale tellers, and lyers.'
+
+'And the Archbishop said to me, "Leude Losell, Thou seest not ferre
+ynough in this matter, for thou considerest not the great trauel of
+pilgremys, therefore thou blamest the thing that is praisable. I say to
+the that it is right well done that pilgremys have with them both
+singers and also pypers, that whan one of them that goeth barfoote
+striketh his toe upon a stone and hurteth hym sore, and makyth him to
+blede: it is well done that he or his felow begyn then a songe, or else
+take out of his bosom a baggepipe for to drive away with suche myrthe
+the hurt of his felow. For with soche solace the trauel and weeriness of
+pilgremys is lightely and merily broughte forth."'
+
+From the immortal company of pilgrims which left the Tabard Inn, High
+Street, Southwark, on the 2nd day of April in, or about, the year 1380,
+it remains for me to show what pilgrims and pilgrimage meant in the
+fourteenth century. This company met by appointment the night before the
+day of departure. They did not agree with each other, but they met by
+chance. At present, when a party starts for Palestine or for a voyage
+round the Mediterranean, the members do not agree to meet: they find out
+that a party will start on such a date from such a place, and they join
+it. Part of the business of the Tabard, and of other inns of Southwark,
+was to organise and to conduct such a party to Canterbury and back. As
+the ships licensed to carry pilgrims charged so much for the voyage
+there and back, including the visit to the shrine, so the Host of the
+Tabard charged so much for conducting and entertaining the party there
+and back again. That the company was collected in this manner and not by
+personal agreement, is shown by their mixed character; and the ready way
+in which they all journeyed together, travelled together, and talked
+together shows that society of the fourteenth century was no respecter
+of persons, or that pilgrimage was a great leveller of rank.
+
+The following is a list of the company:--
+
+1.--A Knight, his Son, and an attendant Yeoman. 2.--A Prioress: an
+attendant Nun: and three Priests. 3.--A Monk and a Friar. 4.--A
+Merchant. 5.--A Clerk of Oxford. 6.--A Serjeant at Law. 7.--A Franklin.
+8.--A Haberdasher, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer, and a Tapestry Maker,
+all clad in the livery of a Fraternity. 9.--A Sailor and a Cook. 10.--A
+Physician, 11.--The Wife of Bath. 12.--A Town Parson and a Ploughman.
+13.--A Reeve, a Miller, a Sompnour, a Pardoner, a Maunciple, and the
+Poet himself.
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY MERCHANT]
+
+[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY CRAFTSMAN]
+
+With them all went the Host of the Tabard. It is generally supposed
+that they rode the whole way to Canterbury, which is sixty-six miles, in
+a single day. Their resting places have, however, been found by
+Professor Skeat. Allow them sixteen hours for the journey. This means
+more than four miles an hour without any halt. But so large a company
+must needs go slowly and stop often. We cannot believe that in the
+fourteenth century such a company would travel sixty-six miles a day
+over such roads as then existed, and at a time of year when the winter
+mud had not yet had time to dry.
+
+It is not without significance that out of the whole number a third
+should belong to the Church. Among them the Prioress Madame Eglantine is
+a gentlewoman who might belong to any age: tenderhearted: delicate and
+dainty: fond of creatures: courteous in her manner: careful in her
+eating: wearing a brooch,
+
+    On whiche was first i-writen a crowned A,
+    And aftir, _Amor vincit omnia_.
+
+The Monk was a mighty hunter: a big burly man who kept many horses and
+hounds and loved to hunt the hare.
+
+The Friar was a Limitour, one licensed to hear confessions: a wanton man
+who married many women 'at his own cost:' he heard confessions, sweetly
+imposing light penance: he knew all the taverns: he could play and sing:
+he knew all the rich people in his district: he carried knives and pins
+as gifts for the women:--a wholly worldly loose living Limitour.
+
+The character of the Town Parson, brother of the Ploughman, is perhaps
+the most charming of all this wonderful group of portraits.
+
+      A good man was ther of religioun,
+    And was a povre PERSOUN of a toun;
+    But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
+    He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
+    That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
+    His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
+    Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
+    And in adversitee ful pacient;
+    And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.
+    Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,
+    But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
+    Un-to his povre parisshens aboute
+    Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.
+    He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.
+    Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
+    But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
+    In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte
+    The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,
+    Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.
+    This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
+    That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
+    Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
+    And this figure he added eek ther-to,
+    That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
+    For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
+    No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
+    And shame it is, if a preest take keep,
+    A dirty shepherde and a clene sheep.
+    Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,
+    By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.
+    He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
+    And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,
+    And ran to London, un-to seynt Poules,
+    To seken him a chauntrie for soules,
+    Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
+    But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,
+    So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
+    He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.
+    And thouth he holy were, and vertuous,
+    He was to sinful man nat despitous,
+    Ne of his speche daunderous ne digne,
+    But in his teching discreet and benigne.
+    To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse,
+    By good ensample, was his bisinesse:
+    But it were any persone obstinat,
+    What-so he were, of heigh or lowe estat,
+    Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones.
+    A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher noon is.
+    He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
+    Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
+    But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
+    He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve.
+
+The Sompnour, _i.e._ Summoner of the Ecclesiastical Courts, was a
+scorbutic person with an inflamed face: children were afraid of him: he
+loved strong meat and strong drink. If he found a good fellow anywhere
+he bade him have no fear of the archdeacon's curse unless his soul were
+in his purse.
+
+Lastly, there was the Pardoner. He, too, was as jolly as the Monk, the
+Friar, and the Sompnour. He carried in his wallet pardons from Rome; and
+relics without end: all the imagination in the nature of certain classes
+was lavished upon the invention of relics. Thus it required a fine power
+of imagination to show a bit of canvas as a piece of the sail of St.
+Peter's boat when Christ called him. This, however, the Pardoner did.
+Chaucer makes him reveal his own character.
+
+    Of avarice and of swiche cursednesse
+    Is al my preching, for to make hem free
+    To yeve hir pense and namely unto me.
+
+It is not without meaning that the poet shows a Monk, a Limitour, and a
+Pardoner absolutely without the least tinge of religion: the first a man
+who dresses like a layman and thinks of nothing but of hunting--what,
+then, of the Rule? The second, and the third, are both corrupt and
+rotten to the very core. If any proof were wanting that the spiritual
+life had gone out of the regular orders, these characters of Chaucer
+supply the proof. The figures in this company have been described,
+figured, illustrated, annotated a hundred times. They form the most
+trustworthy presentation of the time which we possess. The Knight is
+full of chivalry, truth, honour, and courtesy: his son is well bred and
+lusty, is a lover and a bachelor. The Merchant talks eagerly and much of
+his profits: the Clerk, a poor scholar, would rather have books than
+rich robes or musical instruments: the Craftsmen were all well-to-do, in
+easy circumstances: the Physician was an astrologer, who understood
+natural magic, _i.e._ the influence of the stars; and made for his
+patients images: he knew the cause of every malady and how it was
+engendered--the profession are still liable to confuse this knowledge
+with the power of healing the malady: he was dressed in crimson and
+blue, lined with taffeta and silk--it would be interesting to know when
+physicians assumed the black dress of the last century. Lastly, his
+study was but little in the Bible.
+
+The Clerk of Oxford is a portrait finished to the life.
+
+    A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
+    That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
+    As lene was his hors as is a rake,
+    And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
+    But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
+    Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;
+    For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
+    Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
+    For him was lever have at his beddes heed
+    Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
+    Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
+    Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.
+    But al be that he was a philosophre,
+    Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
+    But al that he mighte of his freendes hente,
+    On bokes and on lerninge he it spente,
+    And bisily gan for the soules preye
+    Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
+    Of studie took he most cure and most hede.
+    Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
+    And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
+    And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.
+    Souninge in moral vertu was his speche,
+    And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
+
+Would it be possible to find a clearer picture of what in those days we
+should perhaps call a 'lower middle class' woman than that of the Wyf of
+Bath? She is dressed in all the splendour that she can afford: she
+frankly loves fine dress.
+
+    A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,
+    But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
+    Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
+    She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
+    In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
+    That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
+    And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
+    That she was out of alle charitee.
+    Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
+    I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
+    That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.
+    Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
+    Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.
+    Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
+    She was a worthy womman all hir lyve,
+    Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,
+    Withouten other companye in youthe;
+    But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.
+    And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;
+    She hadde passed many a straunge streem;
+    At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne
+    In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.
+    She coude muche of wandring by the weye.
+    Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
+    Up-on an amblere esily she sat,
+    Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat
+    As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
+    A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
+    And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
+    In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
+    Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,
+    For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
+    .   .   .   .   .   .   .
+
+She is frankly sensual and self-indulgent: she likes everything that is
+pleasant: food, drink, love. Observe also the restlessness of the
+woman: she can never have enough of pilgrimage: she loves the company:
+the change: the things that one sees: the people that one meets. She has
+journeyed three times to Jerusalem and back: once to Rome: once to
+Bologna: once to St. Iago of Compostella: once to Cologne: apart from
+the English shrines. We may be quite sure that so good an Englishwoman
+would not neglect the saints of her own country: after Canterbury she
+would pilgrimise to Beverley and to Walsingham, and to Glastonbury, and
+many a local saint's shrine. She had a ready wit and could give reasons
+for everything, especially for her five marriages and her avowed
+intentions to take a sixth husband when her fifth should die. Yet, she
+declared, she honoured holy virgins.
+
+    Let them be bred of pured whete seed
+    And let us wyves eten barley brede:
+    And yet with barley bred men telle can
+    Our Lord Ihesu refreisshed many man.
+
+Many of this company play and sing. The Prioress herself sings the
+divine service, intoning it full sweetly by her nose: the Limitour plays
+on the rote: the Miller plays the bagpipe: the Pardoner could sing 'full
+loud:' the Knight's son could both sing and play. Music, in fact, as an
+accomplishment was far more common in the fourteenth than in the
+nineteenth century.
+
+Chaucer seems to speak of palmers as if they were the same as pilgrims.
+The latter, however, simply journeyed from home to the shrine and back
+again: the former was under vows of poverty, and continually travelled
+from shrine to shrine. The Canterbury Pilgrims were not, therefore,
+palmers. The first meaning of a palmer was that he could carry a palm in
+token of having visited the Holy Land.
+
+When the Prioress spoke the French of Stratford le Bow it is not
+intended that she spoke bad French, but the Anglo-French which was
+spoken at Court, in the Law Courts, and by English ecclesiastics of
+higher rank. But why of Stratford le Bow? Because here was a
+Benedictine nunnery dating from the eleventh century. The beautiful
+little Parish Church of Bow was formerly the chapel of the nunnery. The
+Wyf of Bath is 'gat toothed,' _i.e._ her teeth are wide apart: Professor
+Skeat has discovered that an old superstition attaches to such teeth,
+that, like the Wyf of Bath, those who have such teeth will travel far
+and be lucky. Popular superstitions are so long lived that one has
+little doubt about Chaucer's meaning. Certainly his Wyf of Bath had
+travelled far.
+
+[Illustration: PEDLAR
+
+_From the Stained Window in Lambeth Church_]
+
+Let us return to the assumption that Chaucer intended the pilgrimage
+from Southwark to Canterbury should take but one day. Is not this
+conclusion based upon the fact that the last tale ends a day and the
+journey at the same time? Is there anything to prove that the
+pilgrimage could have been concluded in a day there and a day back? Why,
+I have said that it was sixty-six miles, and the roads were none of the
+best: the party jogged on, I am sure, picking their way over the rough
+places and avoiding the quagmires at a steady pace of about three miles
+an hour, with many stoppages for rest and for refreshment. When Cardinal
+Morton journeyed from Lambeth to Canterbury for his enthronisation, he
+took a whole week over the journey, resting for the night at Croydon,
+Knole, Maidstone, Charing, and Chartham. Surely, if a company of
+pilgrims could accomplish the distance in a day, the Archbishop would
+not take so much as six days? Add to these considerations that Chaucer
+is a perfectly 'sane' writer: his work hangs together: it would have
+been impossible to get through all those stories with the intervals
+between and the times for rest in a single day.
+
+Another point occurs. There was at one time--I think--in the early days
+of pilgrimage--a special service appointed for the departure of
+pilgrims--a kind of consecration of the pilgrimage. There is no hint of
+such a service in Chaucer or in any other writer of the time, so far as
+I know. There is none in the Pilgrimage of Felix Fabri of the sixteenth
+century. One may suppose, therefore, that the service had been allowed
+to drop out of use. Indeed, the original character of the pilgrimage as
+a thing to be approached in an altogether reverential and religious
+spirit had quite gone out of it even when Chaucer wrote, not to speak of
+Erasmus.
+
+The Canterbury Tales, if they are supposed to represent the manner of
+talk among the better class of people at that time, are curiously
+modern. Witness the description of the Parson and the Parson's Tale,
+which is a sermon: witness also the contempt and hatred of the poet for
+the shrines of religion: the impostor with his relics: the Sompnour and
+the Friar. Chaucer makes the two latter tell stories reflecting on each
+other, such great love had these ecclesiastics between themselves. The
+poet through his Parson preaches a noble form of religion without worry
+over doctrine. The Parson promises, when he begins:
+
+    I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose
+    To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.
+    And Iesu, for His grace, wit me sende
+    To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
+    Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage
+    That highte Ierusalem celestial--
+
+and preaches a sermon on man's heavenward pilgrimage, taking for his
+text the passage of Jeremiah, vi. 16: 'Stand ye in the ways, and see,
+and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
+ye shall find rest for your souls.'
+
+[Illustration: MINSTRELS A.D. 1480]
+
+The priest Thorpe was too hard upon pilgrims. So was Erasmus. The riding
+all together: the festive meals at the inn: the mixture of men and women
+of all conditions: the change of thought and scene--could not but be
+useful and beneficial in the monotonous life of the time. That there
+were scandals: that on the way there were drinking and revelry, with the
+'wanton songs' of which Thorpe complains: that there was an idle parade
+of pretended relics, and an assumption of virtues and miracles for these
+relics: we can also very well believe: but on the whole it seems a pity
+that, when all the relics, with as much wood of the True Cross as would
+load a big ship, were gathered together and burned, something was not
+introduced to take the place of pilgrimages and make the people move
+about and get acquainted with each other.
+
+What, to repeat, said Archbishop Arundel to Thorpe the heretic?
+
+'Leude losell, thou seest not ferre ynough in this matter, for thou
+considerest not the great trauell of pilgremys, therefore thou blamest
+that thing that is praisable. I say to the that it is right well done,
+that pilgremys have with them both syngers and also pypers, that whan
+one of them that goeth barfoote striketh his toe upon a stone and
+hurteth hym sore, and maketh hym to blede: it is well done that he or
+his felow begyn then a songe or else take out of his bosom a baggepipe
+for to drive away with soche myrthe the hurt of his felow. For with
+soche solace the trauell and werinesse of pilgremys is lightely and
+merily broughte forth.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE LADY FAIR
+
+
+The fairs of London were at one time many in number. The most ancient
+was that of St. Bartholomew, held in August, and annexed to the Priory
+by Henry I. St. James's Fair was held for the benefit of St. James's
+Lazar House: there was a Fair on Tower Hill, granted by Edward III. to
+St. Katherine's Hospital: there was the Fair at Tothill Fields, founded
+by Henry III.: on the South side there were Fairs at Charlton--the Horse
+Fair: at Greenwich: at Camberwell: at Peckham: at Lambeth. The Lady
+Fair, or the Southwark Fair, was of comparatively late foundation,
+having been established in the year 1462 by a Charter of Edward IV.
+empowering the City of London to hold a Fair in Southwark every year on
+the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of September, with 'all the liberties to such
+fairs appertaining,' together with a Court of Pie Powder. Some of the
+mediaeval fairs were held for the sale of special goods: that of Cloth
+Fair, Bartholomew's, for instance: that of Croydon Cherry Fair: that of
+Maidstone for hops: that of Royston for cheese. Most of them, however,
+were general Fairs held for the sale of all kinds of goods: the shops
+were booths arranged in order side by side, and in streets. One street
+was for wool and woollen goods: another for hardware: another for
+spices: another for silks, and so forth. The Fair did no harm to the
+trade of the nearest town, for the simple reason that most towns had no
+trade except in provisions and drink. To the Fair people came from all
+quarters to buy or to sell: the country housewife laid in her stores of
+spices, sugar, wine, furs, silks, ribbons, gloves, and everything that
+she could not make at home, in these fairs. The Lady Fair of Southwark,
+for instance, drew the people from all parts of the country within
+reach, but mostly from Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham, and Tooting, to
+buy their stores for the coming year. There was always, from the
+beginning, something of a festive nature about a Fair: the merry crowd
+suggested feasting and good company: the drinking tempted one on every
+side: there were eating booths as well, and gambling booths, and dancing
+booths; and in every one there was music and singing.
+
+When internal communications were improved, and people could easily ride
+or drive to the neighbouring town, the permanent shop replaced the
+temporary booth, and the original purpose of the Fair was lost. Then it
+became, and continued until the end, merely a place of amusement, and,
+until it became riotous, a place of excellent amusement. Nothing is more
+ancient or more permanent than the arts and tricks and clevernesses of
+the show folk. I have elsewhere remarked on the singular fact that the
+comic actor never ceases out of the land: I do not mean the man who can
+play a comic part to the admiration of beholders, but the man who has a
+genius for bringing out the comic character in every part and in every
+situation. It is the same thing with the juggler, the tumbler, the
+posturer, the dancer on the rope and wire, the trainer and teacher of
+animals. Dogs, monkeys, bears, horses, were all trained to perform
+tricks: women danced on the tight rope: jugglers tossed knives and
+balls: men fought with quarterstaff, single-sticks, rapier, or fist:
+there were exhibitions of strange monsters: there were strange
+creatures. The nature of the show was proclaimed by a large painted
+canvas hung outside the booth.
+
+[Illustration: BOOTH, SOUTHWARK FAIR]
+
+Evelyn, writing on the 13th of September, 1660, says: 'I saw in
+Southwark at St. Margaret's Faire, monkies and asses dance and do other
+feates of activity on ye tight rope; they were gallantly clad _a la
+mode_, went upright, saluted the company, bowing and pulling off their
+hats; they saluted one another with as good a grace as if instructed by
+a dancing-master. They turn'd heels over head with a basket having eggs
+in it without breaking any; also with lighted candles in their hands and
+on their heads without extinguishing them, and with vessels of water
+without spilling a drop. I also saw an Italian wench daunce and performe
+all the tricks of ye tight rope to admiration; all the Court went to see
+her. Likewise here was a man who tooke up a piece of iron cannon of
+about 400 lb. weight with the haire of his head onely.'
+
+Pepys twice mentions Southwark Fair. The first occasion was on September
+11, 1660. He only says: 'Landing at the Bear at the Bridge Foot, we saw
+Southwark Fair.' Eight years later he pays the Fair a second visit, of
+which he gives the following account:
+
+'21 September, 1668. To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the
+puppet-show of Whittington, which is pretty to see; and how that idle
+thing do work upon people that see it, and even myself too! And thence
+to Jacob Hall's dancing on the ropes, where I saw such action as I never
+saw before, and mightily worth seeing; and here took acquaintance with a
+fellow who carried me to a tavern, whither came the music of this booth,
+and by and by Jacob Hall himself, with whom I had a mind to speak,
+whether he ever had any mischief by falls in his time. He told me, "Yes,
+many, but never to the breaking of a limb." He seems a mighty strong
+man. So giving them a bottle or two of wine, I away.'
+
+Hogarth has preserved for us and for our posterity a faithful picture of
+Lady Fair as it was in the year 1733. As it was in the daytime,
+remember, not the evening. Hogarth did not shrink from depicting scenes
+because they were brutal, or debauched--the pen that drew the Rake's
+midnight orgies could not plead that anything was too coarse or violent
+or abandoned for representation. Had Hogarth drawn a picture of the Fair
+in the evening as well as the afternoon we should have known why the
+City grew more and more disgusted at the orgies of the Lady Fair until
+it became impossible to tolerate it any longer.
+
+The Fair was held in the open street, between St. Margaret's Hill and
+St. George's Church. Beyond St. George's Church was open country, with a
+few houses, &c., as shown in Hogarth's picture which appeared in 1733.
+That part of the Fair which is shown contains two theatrical booths,
+Punch's opera, and a waxwork. At one of the theatres, that of Lee and
+Harper, is about to be performed Elkanah Settle's Droll of 'The Siege of
+Troy.' At the other Theatre, there is a great show cloth called the
+Stage Mutiny, referring to a recent dispute at Drury Lane, and the piece
+promised is the 'Fall of Bajazet.' The youngest and most beautiful of
+the actresses is out before the Booth with a drum, a black boy playing a
+cornet, and an actor dressed for the principal part with a magnificent
+wig and a towering plumed helmet. Alas! the great man is arrested at the
+moment of taking the picture: at the same moment the stage outside the
+booth gives way, and actors and actresses are precipitated headlong:
+there will be no performance this day of 'The Fall of Bajazet.' There is
+a peep show in the picture: Figg the Prizefighter rides across the
+stage, his wig off, so as to show the wounds he has received: the dwarf
+Savoyard plays his bagpipe and makes his dolls jump: there is the cook's
+shop under the falling stage: the rope dancer Violante tumbles on the
+slack rope: Cardman the aerial performer descends from the tower of St.
+George's: a quack eats lighted tow: the conjurer shows some of his
+tricks outside, but promises marvels inside the booth; the rustics gaze
+in speechless admiration in the face of the drummer-actress: beyond, we
+see the beginning of the line of booths, where everything was sold that
+was of no value--toys, chapbooks, gingerbread, ribbons, cakes, whips,
+canes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-boxes, worthless rings, cloth slippers,
+night-caps, shoe laces, buckles, soap by the yard, singing birds and
+cages for them, tinder-boxes, pewter platters and mugs. All day long the
+noise went on: it began at noon: the people came from the country and
+from the city: they dined in one of the booths, off roast sucking pig,
+for choice, a diet consecrated to all the Fairs from time immemorial:
+the children were brought and treated to a fairing, the peep-show, and
+the play, and some gingerbread. In the afternoon the country lads
+wrestled for a hat--you can see the hat in the picture; and the girls
+ran a race for a smock--you can see the smock in the picture. When the
+sun grew low the children were taken home, and the real fun of the fair
+began. Then all the quiet people within hearing stopped their ears: and
+all the decent people ran away: and the prentices, the rustics, the
+roughs of the Mint with their correspondencies of the other sex, had
+their own way until the weary players put out their footlights and lay
+down to sleep as they could among the properties and scenes of their
+theatre, and the people of the booths put their wares under the counters
+and lay down to sleep upon them like the grocers' assistants. And then,
+one supposes, the prentices, the rustics, and the rogues went home
+again. And in the morning repentance and an aching head, and an empty
+purse.
+
+We may take it that all the amusements and shows which were brought out
+for Bartholomew Fair, and for May Fair while it lasted, were also
+exhibited at Southwark.
+
+The 'droll,' which was a kind of acting in dumbshow to music and with
+singing, was popular; dancing of all kinds formed a large part of the
+Fair. In Frost's 'Old Showman,' there is an advertisement of dancing in
+a booth:
+
+'THOMAS DALE, Drawer at the Crown Tavern at Aldgate, keepeth the TURK'S
+HEAD Musick Booth, in Smithfield Rounds, over against the Greyhound Inn,
+during the time of Bartholomew Fair, Where is a Glass of good Wine, Mum,
+Syder, Beer, Ale, and all other Sorts of Liquors, to be Sold; and where
+you will likewise be entertained with good Musick, Singing and Dancing.
+You will see a Scaramouch Dance, the Italian Punch's Dance, the Quarter
+Staff, the Antick, the Countryman and Countrywoman's Dance, and the
+Merry Cuckolds of Hogsden.
+
+'Also a young Man that dances an Entry, Salabrand, and Jigg, and a Woman
+that dances with Six Naked Rapiers, that we Challenge the whole Fair to
+do the like. There is likewise a Young Woman that Dances with Fourteen
+Glasses on the Backs and Palms of her Hands, and turns round with them
+above an Hundred Times as fast as a Windmill turns; and another Young
+Man that Dances a Jigg incomparably well to the Admiration of all
+Spectators! _Vivat Rex!!_'
+
+And in the following lines we have a scene at a Fair which we may very
+well believe to be Lady Fair. They tell us
+
+    How pedlars' stalls with glittering toys are laid,
+    The various fairings of the country maid.
+    Long silken laces hang upon the twine,
+    And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine;
+    How the neat lass knives, combs, and scissors spies,
+    And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.
+    Of lotteries next with tuneful note he told,
+    Where silver spoons are won, and rings of gold.
+    The lads and lasses trudge the street along,
+    And all the fair is crowded in his song.
+    The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells
+    His pills, his balsams, and his ague-spells;
+    Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,
+    And on the rope the venturous maiden swings;
+    Jack Pudding, in his party-coloured jacket,
+    Tosses the glove, and jokes at every packet.
+    Of raree-shows he sung, and Punch's feats,
+    Of pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.
+
+The introduction of the theatre with dramas played by the King's
+servants should have raised the character of the Fair. Perhaps it did.
+In any case, the Theatre of the Fair was not an unpromising place for a
+young actor to begin. The audience wanted nothing but the presentation
+of a story, and that a strong and moving story. If an actor failed in
+the fire and passion of his part, he was pelted off the stage. He was
+therefore compelled to pay attention to the very essentials of his
+profession, the presentation visibly and unmistakably of the emotions. A
+stagey manner would be the result of too long continuance on these
+boards, but at the outset no kind of practice could be more useful.
+This was proved by the lovely Mrs. Horton, who was discovered by the
+manager of Drury Lane playing at the Lady Fair in the play of 'Cupid and
+Psyche.' He took her away and placed her on his own stage, where she
+played for many years, leaving behind her a reputation of the finest
+actress and the most beautiful woman known up to that time.
+
+The Theatre of the Fair is, I think, quite gone. I rejoice in being able
+to remember one of these delightful shows. There was a great booth with
+a platform in front and canvas pictures hung up behind the platform. The
+orchestra occupied one end of the platform, playing with zeal between
+the performances. The company in their lovely dresses stood on the
+platform and danced a kind of quadrille from time to time: the clown and
+the pantaloon, when they were not tumbling, stood at the head of the
+broad stairs clanging cymbals and bawling that the play was just about
+to begin. The price of a seat was threepence, with a few rows at
+sixpence: the play lasted twenty minutes: it was always a melodrama of
+persecuted and virginal innocence--in white. The joy of the whole
+performance was to children beyond all power of words: the play: the
+music: the ethereal beauty of the actresses: the rollicking fun of the
+clown: the sense of fleeting pleasure conveyed by the roughness of the
+benches and the grass under our feet: and the general festivity of the
+noise, the music, the bawling outside make me remember Richardson's
+Theatre and Messrs. Doggett's and Penkethman's, with the greatest
+pleasure and the most poignant regret.
+
+I fear, then, that Lady Fair became, in the evening especially, a place
+in which everybody went 'as he pleased,' and that with so much dancing,
+drinking, love-making, singing, playing on the flowery slope that the
+authorities had to interfere. It is, indeed, a most melancholy
+circumstance that the people cannot be allowed to amuse themselves in
+the way they would choose. May Fair first, Lady Fair next, one after
+the other the Fairs of London have been suppressed. Lady Fair
+succumbed in 1760, when it was finally abolished.
+
+[Illustration: GREENWICH PARK ON WHITSUN MONDAY
+
+(_From an Engraving by Rawle, 1802_)]
+
+May one say a word of two other fairs even more disreputable--those of
+Charlton and of Greenwich? Charlton Fair was founded in the year 1268,
+so that it was a very ancient institution, to be held on three days in
+the year--'the Eve, the day, and the morrow of the Trinity.' The time of
+the Fair was, however, changed at some time to the day of St. Luke, on
+October 18. It was one of those Fairs which acquired a distinctive
+character. Just as Barnet Fair became a Horse Fair, Charlton became a
+Horn Fair. The obvious--and therefore popular--kind of fooling to be
+made out of horns and their associations--which are now quite lost and
+forgotten--as well as the day, which was also connected with those
+associations--made this Fair extremely popular. The people from London
+went down to Deptford by boat, joined the people from Greenwich and
+Deptford, and formed a burlesque procession, everyone wearing horns on
+his head, or carrying horns to affix to some other person's head. At the
+fair itself there was exhibited a great quantity of vessels and utensils
+made of horn: every booth had horns put up in the front: rams' horns
+were exhibited and sold in quantities; even the gingerbread was stamped
+with horns. The reason of this display was one quite forgotten by the
+people: viz. that a horned ox is the recognised symbol of St. Luke. It
+was customary for men to dress up, for the burlesque procession, in
+women's clothes; they also amused themselves (see Chambers's 'Book of
+Days') in lashing the women with furze: probably in pretence only. The
+procession was discontinued in 1768, the Fair went on until 1871.
+
+We must not forget Greenwich Fair, which was held on Whit Monday. Long
+after Bartholomew Fair decayed and fell, Greenwich Fair remained. It was
+one of the greatest holidays of the year for the London folk of the
+lower class. The amusements consisted of two parts, the first playing
+in the Park, where there were races and sports: the second the fun of
+the booths and the shows.
+
+The former began early in the forenoon and went on until the evening.
+The people came down from London in boats for the most part, and by the
+Old Kent Road in vehicles of every description, or even on foot for the
+whole five miles. If it was a fine morning the park was filled with the
+working classes and the young men and maidens belonging to the working
+classes. The sports were primitive: the favourite amusement was for a
+line of youths and girls to run down hill hand in hand. The slope was
+steep, the pace was rapid: before long half of them were sprawling
+headlong or rolling over and over, with such displays and derangements
+as may be imagined. Or there were games of kiss in the ring and
+thread-my-needle: or there were sailors showing the Cockneys how to
+dance the hornpipe; men with telescopes through which could be seen the
+men hanging in chains on the Isle of Dogs, or St. Paul's Cathedral: or
+there were the old pensioners telling yarns of the battles they had
+fought, especially the Battle of Trafalgar, when to every man, as it
+seemed, Fortune had caused the hero Nelson to fall into his arms.
+Outside the Park the street was filled with booths where everything
+could be bought, as at Lady Fair, which was worthless, including
+gingerbread. There were theatrical booths, shows of pictures,
+pantomimes, Punch and Judy, exhibitions of monsters, dwarfs, giants,
+bearded ladies, mermaids, menageries of wild beasts, feats of
+legerdemain, fire-eaters, boxers and quarterstaff players, cock
+fighting, and every other conceivable amusement. In the evening, beside
+the Theatre, there were the dancing booths. The same cause which led to
+the suppression of the Lady Fair brought about that of Greenwich Fair.
+It was suppressed, I think, about the year 1855. I myself saw it in
+1851, but only in the afternoon, when it was already, I remember, a
+good-natured crowd playing horse tricks upon each other, and making a
+noise, which, with the bellowing of the show folk, the blaring of the
+bands, the cries of the boys and girls on the merry-go-rounds, and the
+roar of the crowd, one will never forget. For my own part I am of
+opinion that the noise was the worst part of the fair: that what went on
+in the evening would have gone on just as much outside the Fair as in
+it: and that it did very little harm to let the people enjoy themselves
+in their own way, which was a coarse, somewhat drunken and somewhat
+indecent way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ST. MARY OVERIES
+
+
+London possesses two churches at least of surpassing beauty. One of
+them, in the North, is the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great; the
+other, in the south, is the church of St. Mary Overy or Overies, now
+called St. Saviour's. This church, for some unknown reason, does not
+attract many English visitors. Americans go there in great numbers. It
+is so beautiful: it has so many historical associations: that I hope to
+interest more of our own people, and, if it may be, to increase the
+attractions of the place to the Americans, by a few pages on its
+history. These pages are but a sketch, and that a slight sketch, of this
+history. I have already in another volume ('London,' p. 47) given the
+legend of the foundation of St. Mary Overies. Two Norman knights, Pont
+de l'Arche and d'Aunsey, early in the twelfth century, found here a
+small Religious House, called the House of Our Lady of the Canons, which
+had been created by Mary the daughter of one Awdry, ferryman. Mary
+herself was buried in the chapel of her own House, where is now the Lady
+Chapel of St. Saviour's. The name, St. Mary Overies, which ought to be
+restored to the Church, seems to mean, not St. Mary of the Ferry, or St.
+Mary over the River, but St. Mary 'Ofers,' or St. Mary of the Bank or
+Shore. These two knights founded a new and larger House on the site of
+Mary Awdry's modest foundation. For reasons now difficult to discover,
+if they matter to anybody, the monks of the Norman House fell into
+poverty. In the year 1212, again, they had the additional misfortune to
+lose these buildings and their Church, which were in great part, if not
+altogether, destroyed by the great fire of that year. A hundred years
+later the monks submitted to Edward I. a pitiful statement that the
+whole of their possessions was insufficient so much as to provide the
+bare necessities of life without the gifts of the faithful: that their
+Church was lying in ruins, and had been in that condition for thirty
+years; that they had been unable to rebuild any of it except the
+campanile; and that they lived in constant terror of being inundated by
+the Thames. This shows that they had suffered the Embankment to fall
+into a neglected state. At the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+Cardinal Beaufort--Shakespeare's Cardinal Beaufort--contributed largely
+to the rebuilding of the Church. Another benefactor was Gower the poet,
+who spent in the Priory the last years of his life, died here, and was
+buried in the Church. The monument of John Gower stands in the north
+aisle of the newly built nave. The Religious of the House showed their
+gratitude to him by promising a Pardon of 1,500 days to anyone who would
+say a prayer for the soul of the poet.
+
+[Illustration: A SEAL OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+[Illustration: SEALS OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The position of the Priory, close to the Palace of the Bishop of
+Winchester, led to the Church becoming the scene of many important
+historical events. Just as Blackfriars was used for political Functions;
+just as Wyclyf was tried in St. Paul's Cathedral, so St. Mary Overies
+was used on occasions when the Bishop of Winchester had to do with the
+matter in hand. Thus, two great marriages were solemnised in this
+Church. One was that of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, in 1406, with
+Lucia, daughter of the Lord of Milan. The bride was given away by Henry
+IV., and her dowry was 100,000 ducats. At her death she left the canons
+6,000 crowns for the good of her soul and that of her husband. The other
+marriage was one of far greater importance. It was that of James the
+First, King of Scotland, the most pleasing figure in Scottish history, a
+poet and a scholar, of whom Drummond of Hawthornden wrote that 'of
+former Kings it might be said that the nation made the Kings, but of
+this King, that he made the people a nation.' He married in 1424, being
+then thirty years of age, after a captivity of nineteen years, Joan, or
+Johanna, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of Cardinal
+Beaufort. She was a cousin, therefore, of King Henry IV. The royal pair
+rode forth to Scotland laden with such gifts of plate and cloth of gold
+as Scotland had never before seen. They were accompanied by the Cardinal
+and his brother, the Duke of Exeter. Twelve years later, the King was
+murdered in the presence of his wife, who was wounded in trying to save
+him, a sad ending to a marriage of love, and a tragic widowhood to the
+woman whom her poet had called
+
+    The fairest and the freshest younge flower
+    That e'er I saw, methought, before that hour.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH-EAST VIEW OF ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1800]
+
+In 1539 the House was suppressed, the canons were put out, and the
+place was given to Sir Anthony Brown, whose son became Viscount Montague
+and gave his new name to the ancient close of the Monastery. In the
+following year the Church was made a Parish Church, including the church
+of Mary Magdalene, which stood beside the Priory Church, as St.
+Peter-le-Poor stood beside St. Austin, St. Gregory beside St. Paul's,
+and St. Margaret beside Westminster Abbey Church together with the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret in the High Street. The nave gradually
+became ruinous and was taken down in 1838, when a new nave, the memory
+of which makes the whole Borough shudder when it is mentioned, was put
+up. Its floor was raised above that of the transepts, and it was treated
+as a separate building, divided from the transepts by a brick wall. This
+terrible building has now been taken down and a nave rebuilt after the
+pattern of the original structure of the fourteenth century. Thus
+reconstructed, the church will soon, it is hoped, become the Cathedral
+Church of the Diocese of Southwark. At present it has not the Cathedral
+organisation, being without a Dean, or Canons, or a Chapter. The Church
+can boast of more monuments and of a more distinguished company of the
+dead than can be found in most London churches. Here are buried,
+probably, Mary herself, the original founder, if she is not a legendary
+person: Pont de l'Arche and d'Auncey, the founders: a long line of
+unknown and forgotten Priors and Canons of the Augustinian House: John
+Gower, on whose monument can still be read the prayers he wrote for his
+own soul:
+
+    En toy qui es Filz de Dieu le Pere
+    Sauve soit qui gist sous cest pierre.
+
+[Illustration: CRYPT OF ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+The monument was repaired and painted in 1832 by the first Duke of
+Sutherland. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, is buried in the
+Lady Chapel, where his monument can be seen in black and white marble;
+Dyer the poet, who died 1607; Edmund Shakespeare, 'player,' poet and
+writer, buried somewhere in the Church, 1607; Laurence Fletcher, one of
+the shareholders in the Globe, also buried in the Church, 1608; Philip
+Henslow, the manager, buried in the chancel, 1616; John Fletcher, buried
+in the Church, 1625; Philip Massinger, a 'stranger,' _i.e._ belonging to
+some other parish, buried in the Church, 1639. There are three stones in
+the chancel, inscribed with the names of John Fletcher, Edmund
+Shakespeare, and Philip Massinger, but merely to record that they are
+buried somewhere in the Church.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY OF ST. MARY'S PRIORY, SOUTHWARK, 1811
+
+(_From a Drawing by Whichelo_)]
+
+Other monuments and tombs there are: one a figure, commonly found in
+mediaeval churches, of a body wasted by death: a wooden effigy of a
+knight: a monument to a quack of Charles the Second's time, and
+monuments to certain persons now forgotten; on one some lines in
+imitation of Herrick:
+
+    Like to the damask rose you see
+    Or like the blossom on the tree,
+    Or like the dainty flower of May,
+    Or like the morning of the day,
+    Or like the sun, or like the shade,
+    Or like the gourd which Jonas had,
+      Even so is Man; Man's thread is spun,
+      Drawn out, and cut, and so is done.
+      The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,
+      The flower fades, the morning hasteth,
+      The sun sets, the shadow flies,
+      The gourd consumes, and Man he dies.
+
+The Ladye Chapel, one of the few beautiful things surviving of mediaeval
+London, was very nearly destroyed by the ignorant Vandalism of about the
+year 1835. It was necessary in rebuilding London Bridge a few feet west
+of the old Bridge to prepare new approaches on the south as well as on
+the north. What follows is told by Knight:
+
+'The Committee agreed to grant a space of sixty feet for the better
+display of St. Mary Overies, on the condition that the Lady Chapel was
+swept away. The matter appeared in a fair way for being thus settled,
+when Mr. Taylor sounded the alarm in one of the daily papers. Thomas
+Saunders, Esq., and Messrs. Cottinggam and Savage, the architects,
+actively interfered. A large majority of the parishioners, however,
+decided to accept the proposals of the Committee. In the meantime, the
+gentlemen we have named were indefatigable in their exertions; and they
+were effectively seconded by the press. At a subsequent meeting there
+was a majority of three only for pulling down the chapel; and on a poll
+being demanded and obtained, there ultimately appeared the large
+majority of 240 for its preservation. The excitement of the hour was
+prudently used to obtain funds to restore it, which has been most
+successfully accomplished.'
+
+I have mentioned Winchester House, the Palace of the Bishop, as being
+close to the Priory. On any map may be traced the extent of the Palace.
+On the north is Clink Street, the Clink Prison being at the west end of
+the street; on the west is now Park Street, formerly Deadman's Place; on
+the south is a continuation of Park Street; and on the east is a street
+running south from St. Mary Overies Church. Winchester House, which thus
+covered a large piece of ground, was, with its grounds, enclosed by a
+wall. Many of the buildings, especially the great gate, remained
+standing almost within the memory of man. The state and ceremony of a
+Bishop demanded a large retinue, and the Bishop's house must therefore
+be provided with a sufficient number of rooms for their accommodation.
+The map must not be accepted as laying down the exact site, the
+distances or the scale, or the arrangement of the courts and buildings.
+
+We have now to speak, but briefly, of the Marian Persecutions and of the
+Martyrs. With these the Church of St. Mary and Winchester House had a
+good deal to do.
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE OLD PRIORY, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+On Monday, January 28, 1555, was seen the first of many melancholy
+sights. On that day Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, presided at a Court
+held in St. Mary Overies Church for the trial of heretics. The court was
+actually held in the Ladye Chapel. Hither were brought Bishop Hooper and
+John Rogers: they were heard: they argued their case: they were found
+obstinate: they were committed to the Clink Prison hard by: on the next
+day, with Bradford, Dr. Crome, Dr. Saunders, Dr. Ferrar, Dr. Taylor, and
+several others, they were sentenced to be burned. Bradford wrote to
+Cranmer after the trial: 'This day, I think, or to-morrow at the
+uttermost, hearty Hooper, sincere Saunders, and trusty Taylor, end their
+course and receive their crowne. The next am I, which hourly looke for
+the Porter to open me the gates after them, to enter into the desired
+rest.'
+
+So began those fires from which the cause of Roman Catholicism long
+suffered, and is even now still suffering. For the popular judgment does
+not discern and separate. The burnings under Henry and Edward are lumped
+together in the mind of the people, and all set down to Mary. The names,
+places, and times of the martyrs and their martyrdoms as given by
+Machyn, not by Fox, show that if the Queen's advisers had deliberately
+done their best to make their form of Faith odious and hateful, they
+could not have devised a better plan than the burning of the people for
+religion's sake. It is generally thought and believed that the
+indignation of the people was aroused by seeing the Bishops and
+preachers burned. That I do not believe. The executions of great men do
+not affect the populace; they witness the passage of a Thomas More on
+his way to the block: or of a Cromwell: with equal indifference: these
+statesmen do not belong to the life of the people. In the Marian
+persecution they heard that Archbishop Cranmer had been burned at
+Oxford, but they offered little outward show of emotion: they heard that
+Ridley and Latimer had been burned: their constancy, no doubt, touched
+the crowd: but still, these martyrs were not of themselves. When,
+however, they found that not only Bishops and great people, but also
+their own brothers, cousins, fathers, were taken out from their
+workshops and tied three or four together to the stake, where they
+suffered the agonies of the fire and still continued to pray aloud with
+firmness: then the lesson went straight home to them; and for many a
+generation to come the people learned to loathe the very name of the
+religion which could thus burn innocent people by the hundred for
+believing, as they were told, what the Bible taught.
+
+It is a mistake, again, to suppose that the lessons of persecution were
+taught at Smithfield alone. They were industriously taught from many
+centres. There were burnings at Stratford-le-Bow: at Stepney: at
+Westminster: beyond St. George's, Southwark, at Newington; while the
+vast crowds which attended a burning and imbibed these lessons of fear
+and hatred are shown by two entries alone in Machyn's Diary, 1556. 'The
+xxvij day of June rod from Newgate unto Stratford-a-bow, in iii cares
+xiij, xj men and ij women, and there bornyd (burned) to iiij postes, and
+there where a xx M pepull.'
+
+[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP ANDREWS, ST. MARY OVERIES]
+
+And again, 1556. 'The xxij day of January whent in to Smythfield to
+berne between vii and viij in the morning v men and ij women: on of the
+men was a gentyllman of the endor tempull, ys nam Master Gren; and they
+were all bornyd by ix at iij postes. And ther wher a commonment
+throughe London over nyght that no young folke shuld come ther, for
+ther the grettest number was as has byne sene at swyche a tyme.'
+
+Therefore it is evident, first, that enormous crowds gathered together
+to witness the sufferings of the victims, and to note their constancy in
+the hour of agony; secondly, that the authorities were becoming alarmed
+at the effect which these examples might have upon the young. No young
+people were permitted to be present. We may be sure that the prohibition
+was openly defied.
+
+As for Gardiner, he died soon after the martyr fires began, stricken,
+said his enemies, by the hand of God in punishment for his cruelties.
+His physicians, I believe, called it gout in the stomach, a reading
+which one prefers, because Gardiner was no worse than the rest of them,
+and after his death there was no abatement, but rather an increase, in
+the burnings. He had, however, a very fine funeral, which began at the
+church of St. Mary Overies, and was continued all the way to Winchester,
+where the place of his burial and his Chantry Chapel may still be seen.
+
+Of this function, Machyn gives a short account, but it shall suffice. It
+must be remembered that Gardiner was not only a very great person, but
+that he was also believed to be the natural son of Bishop Woodville,
+and, if the belief was well founded, he was therefore a cousin of the
+Queen. But this may be scandal. Machyn, the chronicler of funerals, thus
+describes Gardiner's funeral.
+
+[Illustration: A CORNER IN ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK]
+
+'The xxiiij day of Feybruary was the obsequies of the most reverentt
+father in God, Sthevyn Gardener, docthur and bysshope of Wynchastur,
+prelett of the gartter, and latte chansseler of England, and on of the
+preve consell unto Kyng Henry the viij and unto quen Mare, tyll he ded;
+and so the after-none be-gane the knyll at sant Mare Overes with
+ryngyng, and after be-gane the durge; with a palle of cloth of gold, and
+with ij whytt branchys, and ij dosen of stayffe-torchys bornyng, and
+iiij grett tapurs; and my lord Montyguw the cheyffe mornar, and my lord
+bysshope of Lynkolne and ser Robart Rochaster, comtroller, and with
+dyvers odur in blake, and mony blake gownes and cotes; and the morow
+masse of requeem and offeryng done, be-gane the sarmon; and so masse
+done, and so to dener to my lord Montyguw ('s); and at ys gatt the corse
+was putt in-to a wagon with iiij welles all covered with blake, and ower
+the corsse ys pyctur mad with ys myter on ys hed, with ys armes, and v
+gentyll men bayryng ys v banars in gownes and hods, then ij harolds in
+ther cote armur, master Garter and Ruge-crosse; then cam the men rydyng,
+carehyng of torchys a lx bornyng, at bowt the corsse all the way; and
+then cam the mornars in gownes and cotes, to the nombur unto ij C. a-for
+and be-hynd, and so at sant Gorges cam prestes and clarkes with crosse
+and sensyng, and ther thay had a grett torche gyffyn them, and so to
+ever parryche tyll they cam to Wynchaster, and had money as many as cam
+to mett them, and durge and masse at evere logyng.'
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK, 1790]
+
+The Church, when the Priory was dissolved, stood on the south side of
+the monastic buildings: the Cloister occupied that part of the ground on
+the north of the nave: the refectory, chapter house and dormitories, and
+other buildings stood about the Cloister: an embankment kept off the
+Thames at high tide: on the west side was St. Mary Overies Dock, which
+was also the south end of the ferry. The dock is there still, but where
+the wall of the Monastery stood, round the Garden, and one could see the
+orchards beyond, are now huge warehouses. Some remains of the Cloister
+stood until recently, and one gateway of the precinct--there was
+certainly another on the side of the High Street--stood close to the
+west front of the Church. The Cloister received the name of Montagu
+Close, after the son of Sir Thomas Brown who became Viscount Montagu. If
+you pass round to the north of the Church you will now find a few
+fragments piled up, the indication of an ancient door in the wall of the
+Church; but all traces of the monastic buildings are entirely swept
+away.
+
+The ground in front of the Church is also changed. In post-Reformation
+times there was a school here--St. Saviour's school; there were also
+almshouses; there was a peaceful quiet kind of close, in which was heard
+the buzz of the boys in school; one saw the bedesmen creeping along in
+the sun; one watched the crumbling ruins falling fast into decay: one
+wondered where in the narrow churchyard or in the Church lay the bones
+of Massinger and Fletcher: one seemed to see Bishop Hooper and John
+Rogers stepping forth into the sunlight, their trial over, their
+sentence passed: their cheeks, perhaps, somewhat flushed, their eyes
+somewhat brightened, because, even with such a faith as theirs, all a
+man's courage must be wanted to face the agony of the flames, through
+which for half an hour they would have to wade, as Christian waded
+through the river, before they reached the shore beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE SHOW FOLK
+
+
+Southwark was a city of a various population. It had great Houses for
+nobles and for Ecclesiastics: it had fair inns for the reception of
+merchants, coming up from Kent and the south country: it had a riverside
+people of fishermen and watermen living up stream on the Lambeth bank or
+down stream at Bermondsey or Rotherhithe: it had a great number of
+residents who worked in the orchards and the gardens which spread over
+the whole of the rich low-lying land now embanked, secure from floods
+and the highest tides. It contained, besides, a large number of rogues
+and vagabonds, fugitives from justice, lying here in so-called
+sanctuary, where the officers of the law did not dare to present
+themselves. In spite of the powers granted to the City over Southwark,
+the place remained a receptacle and a refuge 'down to the end of the
+last century, when the so-called Liberties of the Mint'--the last place
+of sanctuary--were finally abolished and only a slum remained to mark
+the site of a sanctuary.
+
+[Illustration: WINCHESTER PALACE]
+
+Beside all these people Southwark contained the Show Folk of Bankside.
+When the Show Folk began to live in Bankside I know not: their
+settlement originally was in Westminster outside the King's Palace,
+where there was always a great demand for music, dancing, tumbling,
+mumming and such recreative performances; they were also, however, in
+great request in London by City Church, city company, and city tavern.
+Now there was no place for them within the walls: they had no company:
+there was neither a Musicians'; nor a Dancers'; nor a Singers'; nor a
+Mummers'; nor a Tumblers' Company. There was no company which would
+admit them; there was no ward where they could get a street for
+themselves: they were gently but firmly pushed out. And not only were
+they a class apart but they were a class in contempt. It was always held
+contemptible to provide amusement. No one, as yet, had made of music or
+of acting a fine art; no gentleman, as yet, and for a long time after,
+would take part in the buffoonery which the actor had then to exhibit:
+an atmosphere of disrepute attached to the calling, to those who
+followed the calling, and to the place where they lived: in the City,
+Aldermen had a way of connecting nocturnal disorders with these children
+of melody: where they resorted the taverns would carry on their
+revelries after curfew, even to midnight: if the street was alarmed by
+nocturnal ramblers it would prove to be after an evening with the
+dancers and the tumblers: the Church, especially the Church Puritanic,
+set her face against those who devised entertainments, on the ground
+that the devisers were an ungodly and dissolute crew. Therefore they
+crossed the river. On Bankside, in the Liberty of the Clink, where the
+City could not interfere, they 'went as they pleased.' They were
+dissolute, if they chose--Heaven knows whether they did choose--without
+reproach: their taverns kept open house as long as they would stop to
+drink: there was singing every day without interference: there was
+merriment without the rebuke of the sour face: there was no fear of
+being haled before the Lord Mayor, for making people laugh: there was no
+terror of pillory, and no man on their side of the river was 'put in
+stocks o' Monday, for kissing of his wife o' Sunday.' It was the Bishop
+of Winchester's Liberty, but he was content, on the whole, to leave the
+residents unmolested and in the possession of their guitars, their
+fiddles, their songs and their plays.
+
+[Illustration: THE GLOBE THEATRE
+
+(_From the Crace Collection_)]
+
+When the Show Folk were wanted in the City it was easy for them to go
+across: they were ready at a moment's notice to arrange a pageant, or to
+take part in one: they could provide the beauteous maidens in white with
+long fair tresses who stood on platforms in Chepe and scattered gold
+rose nobles made of paste on the heads of the crowd: they found hermits,
+and constructed caves for those godly men in the midst of Gracious
+Street: they found the music for the dragging of the traitor on a
+hurdle: for the march of the rogue to the pillory: for the riding of the
+Lord Mayor: for the procession of the Company on its feast day. For a
+miracle play they presented the parish church with the Fall of Man: the
+Raising of Lazarus: the Pilgrims of Emmaus: David and Goliath: or any
+other episode from the Bible--how many excellent players there were
+among them whose names have long since been forgotten! They knew how to
+present a Masque--not, perhaps, with the same splendour as one by Ben
+Jonson and Inigo Jones--who commanded the King's purse--but a neat and
+creditable affair, with dresses appropriate, full of surprises, and
+furnished with mythological characters, for the Hall of a City Company
+on the day of the Annual Feast. For young gentlemen of the more
+debauched kind they had another kind of entertainment, with singing,
+dancing girls, tumbling and posturing; with rare jests--pity they were
+not rarer--and excellent fooling by their clowns. The modern art of
+acting did not begin at the Globe Theatre: there has never been any time
+when the actor was unknown: the only difference is that he was not
+formerly allowed to be anything but a buffoon: that he had little but
+buffoonery in his _repertoire_: and now he is an artist and scorns the
+tricks of the buffoon. Nor is the art of entertainment of modern
+invention. The Company of Parish Clerks, for instance, were great
+promoters of sacred plays. Their poets--whose names are entirely
+lost--provided the words and arranged the scenes; the members of the
+company played the parts: the Show Folk 'mounted' the piece: they
+provided the monsters; the red flames for the mouth of Hell; the troops
+of angels or of devils, the stage business and the music. Many of the
+Parish Churches had their annual play on their Saint's Day. Thus the
+Parish Church of St. Margaret, which was taken down when St. Mary
+Overies' became St. Saviour's, had its play on St. Margaret's Day (July
+20), and often another on the Day of St. Lucy (December 13) as well. We
+have already observed that the Londoner of old never made any difference
+in the matter of Play or Pageant whether the time was summer or winter.
+He was like the Scythian, face all over: he felt no cold: he held his
+Riding, or his Coronation Procession, quite as readily in December as in
+July.
+
+Another kind of Show Folk, but rougher and more brutal, were the people
+who looked after the bears and the dogs. Bull baiting, bear baiting,
+sometimes horse baiting, together with badger baiting, duck hunting,
+cock throwing, dog fighting and cock fighting, were the chosen and
+common sports of the people. Baiting of every kind there was wherever
+there were dogs and bulls and badgers, but the centre and headquarters
+of the sport was South London, in the place called Paris Gardens. The
+popularity of the sport is shown by the simple facts that there was not
+only bull and bear baiting in Paris Gardens, but also two rings or
+amphitheatres for bull and bear baiting outside the gardens behind
+Bankside, and that in the High Street itself, nearly opposite St.
+George's Church, there was permanently established the bull ring to
+which an animal could be tied whenever one was found fit for the purpose
+of affording an hour's sport by the madness of his rage or the agonies
+of his death.
+
+The present Blackfriars Bridge Road cuts through the site of Paris
+Gardens, leaving a portion on either side. They extended to the distance
+of about a quarter of a mile south of the river: sluggish streams and
+ditches ran across and round the gardens, which were so thickly planted
+with trees as to be dark in the summer. Both in summer and winter the
+place was noisome with exhalations from the marshy soil. These gardens
+were the chief home of the rough and cruel sports already mentioned:
+here were kept under the King's bearward the King's dogs; the Mayor's
+dogs; and the bears whom they baited. It does not appear that bulls were
+also kept here: for baiting purposes it was generally a young bull that
+was chosen, and he was baited to death. The bears were not killed, they
+were all known to the people by name, such as Harry Hunks and Sackerson,
+and were valued in proportion to the sport they afforded. The dogs, who
+with the bears were fed upon the offal and refuse brought over every day
+from the Shambles of Newgate, were incredibly fierce and savage. In
+these days we hardly know what a savage dog is, even the bull dog has
+become peaceful: formerly, the best defender of the house was the dog
+who was unloosed at night: they fed him chiefly on meat: he was trained
+to fly at the throat of a stranger: he was a terror to wayfarers--remember
+the dog in the second part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress:' he was always
+biting and rending some one: he had the ferocity of the wolf redeemed
+only by affection for his master: we have no such dogs in these days.
+Accompanied by one or two such fierce mastiffs or bull dogs who feared
+no one but their master, a man might journey from end to end of the
+country armed with nothing but a club. Such a dog would fight and would
+overcome a man. Kept in the kennels, with insufficient exercise, with
+stimulating food, the creatures became fiercer than wolves and stronger
+than tigers. The bull they loved to bait: he had horns and hoofs to
+dodge: but the bear afforded the best sport both for man and dog: he
+presented a nose and ears and a thick fur on which to spring, and to
+fasten the canine teeth upon. What joy to hang on to those ears, torn
+and bleeding, the whole dog quivering with rapture even though in the
+end one stroke of the bear's hind paw dragged out the inside of the dog,
+with the heart and the breath of life!
+
+It was a Royal sport, a sport offered to ambassadors. In a contemporary
+Diary it is related that the French Ambassadors, on May 25, 1559, were
+entertained at Court with a dinner, and after dinner with a bull and
+bear baiting, the Queen herself looking on from a gallery: the next day
+they were taken down the river to see the bull and bear baiting at Paris
+Gardens. Forty years later James the First entertained the Spanish
+Ambassador after dinner with the bears fighting with greyhounds and with
+a bull baiting. About the same time the Duke of Wirtemberg paid a visit
+to London and saw the baiting at Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the 1st of September his Highness was shown in London the English
+dogs, of which there were about 120, all kept in the same enclosure, but
+each in a separate kennel.
+
+'In order to gratify his Highness, and at his desire, two bears and a
+bull were baited; at such times you can perceive the breed and mettle of
+the dogs, for although they receive serious injuries from the bears,
+are caught by the horns of the bull, and tossed into the air so as
+frequently to fall down again upon the horns, they do not give in, [but
+fasten on the bull so firmly] that one is obliged to pull them back by
+the tails, and force open their jaws. Four dogs at once were set on the
+bull; they, however, could not gain any advantage over him, for he so
+artfully contrived to ward off their attacks that they could not well
+get at him; on the contrary, the bull served them very scurvily by
+striking and butting at them.'
+
+[Illustration: BEAR GARDEN]
+
+And another contemporary account of a bear baiting is furnished by
+Hentzner in 1598:
+
+'There is still another place, built in the form of a Theatre, which
+serves for the baiting of bears and bulls: they are fastened behind, and
+then worried by those great English dogs (_quos lingua vernacula
+"Docken" appellant_), and mastiffs, but not without great risks to the
+dogs from the teeth of the one and the horns of the other, and it
+sometimes happens they are killed on the spot: fresh ones are
+immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired.
+To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded
+bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing in a circle with
+whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy; although he
+cannot escape from them because of his chain, he nevertheless defends
+himself vigorously, throwing down all who come within his reach and are
+not active enough to get out of it, tearing the whips out of their hands
+and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English
+are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed, which in America is called
+_Tobaca_--others call it _P[oe]tum_--[i.e. _Petun_, the Brazilian name for
+Tobacco, from which the allied beautiful plant 'Petunia' derives its
+appellation,] and generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose
+made of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry
+that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they draw the smoke
+into their mouths, which they puff out again through their nostrils like
+funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head. In
+these Theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the
+season, are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale.'
+
+Bear baiting was so popular that fellows roamed about the country
+leading a bear which they offered to be baited for so much an hour at
+the inns which they passed. The master of the 'King's Game' had power to
+seize upon any mastiff dogs, bears, or bulls for the King's service and
+to bait in any place within his dominions. Henslow and Alleyn, both
+actors, were also masters of the King's Game: they had licence to
+apprehend all vagrants travelling with bears and bulls.
+
+There was another place where the refining influence of the bear baiting
+might be enjoyed. Its site is still preserved in the lane called Bear
+Garden Alley. In Agas's map of 1560 an amphitheatre is shown called the
+'Bear Baiting:' a little to the west another amphitheatre is seen called
+the 'Bull Baiting.' Whether these places were the only buildings
+erected for this amusement or whether they were put up in addition to
+the place in Paris Gardens is a point for the antiquary. It is learnedly
+discussed by Mr. Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). The Spanish
+Ambassador in 1544 describes a bear baiting--but he does not say exactly
+where he saw it. 'On the other side of the town' is vague. I think,
+however, that he must mean Paris Gardens:
+
+'On the other side of the town we have seen seven bears, some of them
+very large; they are driven into a circus, where they are confined by a
+long rope, while large and courageous dogs are let loose upon them as if
+to be devoured, and a fight takes place. It is not bad sport to witness
+the conflict. The large bears contend with three or four dogs, and
+sometimes one is victorious and sometimes the other; the bears are
+ferocious and of great strength, and not only defend themselves with
+their teeth, but hug the dogs so closely with their forelegs, that, if
+they were not rescued by their masters, they would be suffocated. At the
+same place a pony is baited, with a monkey on its back, defending itself
+against the dogs by kicking them; and the shrieks of the monkey, when he
+sees the dogs hanging from the ears and neck of the pony, render the
+scene very laughable.'
+
+In the year 1550 Crowley, the author of certain 'Epigrams' against
+abuses, mentions Paris Gardens (see Stow and Strype, 1758, vol. ii. p.
+8).
+
+                  Every Sunday they will spend
+    One penny or two, the bearward's living to mend.
+    At Paris Gardens each Sunday, a man shall not fail
+    To find two or three hundred for the bearward's vale.
+
+Later on there was certainly an amphitheatre in Paris Gardens, because
+an accident happened there.
+
+'The same 13th day of Januarie, being Sunday about foure of the clock in
+the afternoon, the old and under-propped scaffolds round about the Beare
+Garden, commonly called Paris Garden, on the south side of the great
+river Thames over against the citie of London, over-deluged with people,
+fell suddenly downe, whereby to number of eight persons, men and women,
+were slaine and many others sore hurt and bruised to the shortening of
+their lives. A friendly warning to all that delight themselves in the
+cruelties of beastes than in the workes of mercy, the fruits of a true,
+professed faith, which ought to be the Sabbath dayes exercise.' (Stow's
+'Annals,' continued by Hawes.)
+
+The amphitheatre would hold a thousand people.
+
+The sport had other dangers: the bear, for instance, might get loose.
+Once the blind bear got loose: it was on December 9, 1554, and on the
+Bankside, probably at the amphitheatre outside Paris Gardens. He caught
+a serving man by the leg 'and bytt a grate pesse away, and after by the
+hokyll bone, that within iii days after he ded' (Machyn).
+
+Wherever such sports were carried on there must needs spring up a rabble
+rout who made their living by them: the bearward, the serving man who
+kept the kennels, fed the dogs, exercised the dogs, fed the bears,
+looked after the amphitheatre, took the money, and above all provided
+the drink. In the little lane now called the Bear Garden, there is a
+small square place which I take to be the survival of an open court in
+front of the circus. There is here a small tavern: the house itself is
+not ancient, but I believe that it stands on the site of the house which
+provided wine and beer for the spectators of the bear baiting. These
+sports, with others such as wrestling and fighting: these great crowds
+of people gathering together: the music which accompanied everything:
+caused the creation of taverns and drinking-places. Another attraction
+to the place may be only hinted at in these pages. Suffice it to say
+that all the profligate, all the debauched, all the rowdy, all the
+lovers of sport among the citizens of London crossed over to Bankside
+every evening in the summer and every Sunday in the winter, and there
+they frolicked, drank, sang, quarrelled, fought, and tortured animals to
+their hearts' content.
+
+It is pleasant to think of Bankside and the fields beyond it--the
+pleasure garden of London. It was easy to get into the open country on
+every side of the City walls, but there was no place so pleasant as the
+Lambeth Marsh and the Bankside: none that offered so many and such
+various attractions. The flag flying over the Theatre proclaimed that a
+play was forward: the number of those who loved the play more than the
+baiting increased daily: there was never a time when the citizens did
+not love the green fields and the woods: and these lay behind Paris
+Gardens and the Bank, beyond the barking of the dogs and the roar of the
+crowd and the blare of the music and the stink of the kennels. Every
+summer evening the river was crowded with the boats taking the people
+across to the stairs upon the Bank between St. Mary Overies and Old
+Barge House Stairs: innumerable were the boats. As for the watermen,
+John Taylor, the water poet, says that there were 40,000 of them plying
+between Windsor and Gravesend, while the number of people who were
+carried over every day to the plays on Bankside was three or four
+thousand. Forty thousand seems an enormous number, but we must remember
+that there were no docks: that ships were laden and unladen in mid
+stream by barges and boats: that the Thames was the highway between
+London and all riverside places; between London and Westminster; between
+London and Southwark, because even if one lived close to the bridge it
+was easier and quicker to be taken across by a boat than to walk over
+the bridge. The conveyance of three or four thousand people across the
+river every day would not want more than a thousand boats or two
+thousand watermen: at the same time the loss of their custom, which
+happened when the people went to Blackfriars instead of the Bank for
+their play, would be felt by the whole fraternity of watermen.
+
+We have arrived at the time when the bear baiting attracted less than
+the play acting: when the amphitheatres were turned into theatres: and
+when Bankside became the residence of the poets and the players. They
+came; unfortunately the other people did not go away. There remained the
+tribe of them who made the music and found the dancers and the tumblers,
+the mummers and the conjurers: there remained the men--a rough and
+brutal lot--who looked after the bears and the dogs: the men who wielded
+quarterstaff and showed sword play, a swaggering and bullying company:
+there remained the young bloods who came over from their peaceful shops
+and warehouses to enjoy the sport and the conversation and talk of the
+place: there remained the ribald crew of men and women who naturally
+belong to such gatherings. There was another population at Westminster
+outside the King's House like unto this at Southwark: these, too,
+existed for the amusement of the King's courtiers and men-at-arms. The
+Southwark folk existed for the amusements of not the highest class of
+London City. The poets came, therefore, to this place in order to be
+near these theatres: they brought no improvement in example, in morals,
+or in manners: they lived among the people, and their lives were mostly
+as disorderly and their morals as loose as the company among whom they
+walked and talked.
+
+Southwark in the early sixteenth century, it may be noted, consisted of
+two parts, the one wholly distinct from the other. The first part was
+the High Street with its four churches of St. George's, St. Margaret's,
+St. Olave's, and St. Mary Overies: in the High Street were the two
+Debtors' Prisons: in the High Street was the ancient hospital: there
+also was the long succession of inns, stately, ample, frequented by
+merchants and capable of stabling an immense number of packhorses, and
+of receiving as many waggons as could fill the courtyard. The Palaces
+were mostly gone, turned into inns or tenements. The whole place was a
+great House of Call. It had no industries, it had no crafts: it had no
+civic or corporate existence. But it was respectable.
+
+The other part lay on the west of the High Street, stretching along the
+river nearly as far as Lambeth. This was the disreputable quarter, the
+place of amusement: the people who lived there, one and all, made the
+providing of amusement, pleasure and excitement their means of
+livelihood. It was like a never-ending fair where nothing was sold, and
+there were no booths except those of Ursula, with roast sucking pig,
+black puddings, custards, and gingerbread. From every tavern all day
+long came the tinkling of the guitar and the trolling of some lusty
+voice and the silvery notes of a girl who sang like the wood pigeon
+because nature taught her. Here marched along the bear rolling his head
+from side to side, a monkey chattering on his back, the tabor and pipe
+going before him. After him came the dogs straining at the chain which
+held them, barking madly in anticipation of the fight. Or it was a young
+bull who was led by two men to the ring where he would defend his life
+as long as the dogs allowed; or it was the arrival at Falcon Stairs of
+boats by the dozen, each turning out its complement of citizens and
+their wives, who made for the theatre where the flag was flying. On the
+open bank were placed tables for those who drank: the balladmonger sang
+his songs and sold them afterwards: the posturer spread his carpet and
+went through his performance: the boys cried nuts and apples: the drawer
+ran about and filled his cans. In no other part of London was there a
+scene of greater animation and cheerfulness than on Bankside, on an
+afternoon or evening in the summer. And then to go home again across the
+broad and peaceful river at full tide, when the sun was set, and the
+river, like the sky, was aglow, and the people sang softly in the boats,
+and still from Bankside came the dying snatches of music, the soft
+breath of the cornet, and the tingling touch of the harp, and the
+voices of those who sang, and the baying of the hounds from Paris
+Gardens.
+
+The early history of the playhouses on the Bank involves many questions,
+and may be safely left to the antiquarian historian. The reader will
+find most of these questions raised and settled in a book, already
+quoted here, by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish ('Early London Theatres'). It
+appears, however, that there were players, if not playhouses, here as
+early as 1547. After the death of Henry VIII. Gardiner proposed to have
+a solemn dirge in memory of the King, but, he complained to the Council,
+the players of Southwark say that they also will have a 'solemn playe to
+trye who shall have most resorts, they in game, or I in earnest.'
+
+Whether these players had a regular theatre, or whether they acted in
+the courtyard of an inn, or whether they had a moveable stage, I do not
+know. It is, however, quite certain that before the end of the sixteenth
+century there were four theatres in Bankside--the _Rose_, whose site was
+somewhere in Rose Alley: the _Hope_ in Bear Garden Lane: the _Swan_ in
+Paris Gardens--that is, on the west side of the Blackfriars Road, not
+far from the Bridge: and the _Globe_. The site of the Globe is generally
+allowed to have been at a spot 150 feet south of Park Street, close to
+the Southwark Bridge Road, and on the east of it. For twenty years, more
+or less, the stream of playgoers was turned steadily and continuously to
+the Theatres in Bankside, and poet and player lived beside the theatre,
+and the place was the pleasure resort of the people, and the haunt of
+sporting men, and the school of the citizens, in history at least: and
+the pride and glory of London for its dramatists, if the people knew:
+and the sink and shame of London for the iniquities and villanies
+practised there: the debauchery and the shamelessness of those who lived
+upon the Bank.
+
+The Plague, not only of 1603 and of 1625, but those milder attacks
+which threatened from time to time were a deadly enemy to the players,
+for then the theatre must be closed and the Bear Garden too, for in
+crowds there was infection. Think what it meant to close these places of
+resort. The Elizabethan theatres maintained almost as many persons as
+our own: there were the players proper--the Company: there were the
+servants 'in the front' and the servants behind, the 'supers,' the money
+takers, the boys who went round selling nuts and cakes, wine and ale,
+new books and tobacco: there were the watermen required to carry the
+audience to and fro. Why, the shutting of the Theatres must have thrown
+out of employ many hundreds of men, and, if we consider their wives and
+families, many thousands of people. Can we wonder if the players, one
+and all, were Cavaliers, and were ready to fight for the side which
+allowed them their daily bread?
+
+[Illustration: The Bear Garden and Hope Theatre, 1616]
+
+But Fortune was against them. The Puritanic spirit prevailed. When the
+Parliament conquered, the theatres were doomed. And in 1655, by command
+of Thomas Pride, High Sheriff of Surrey, the seven bears of Paris
+Gardens were shot by a company of soldiers. In the same year it is
+mentioned that the Hope Theatre had been destroyed to make room for
+tenements.
+
+The profession of actor in a time when the Puritanic spirit was rapidly
+growing stronger could not possibly be held in good repute. There was
+dancing in it: music: mockery: merriment: satire: low comedy: all these
+things the misguided flock enjoyed and the shepherd deplored. The Mayor,
+long before the Theatres were suppressed, would never allow a theatre to
+be set up within his jurisdiction: had that jurisdiction extended beyond
+the various Bars: had there not, fortunately, happened to exist certain
+illogical and absurd Liberties and Precincts, in which the Mayor had no
+authority, there would have been no theatres in the neighbourhood of
+London, and therefore no Elizabethan drama, no Shakespeare, no Ben
+Jonson, no Massinger, no Fletcher. As things happened, we have to note
+the very remarkable fact that while the popular love for the theatre
+increased year by year; while the theatre became the teacher of history,
+the satirist of manners, the home of music and of poetry; the ministers
+and preachers thundered perpetually against it, yet prevailed not at
+all, until the Civil War broke out, and the power fell into the hands of
+the Puritans. For instance, one John Field, the father of one of the
+most famous players, Nathan Field, wrote to the Earl of Leicester as
+early as 1585 reviling him for having interfered 'on the behalf of evil
+men as of late you did for players, to the great griefe of all the
+godly,' and adjuring him not to encourage their wickedness, and 'the
+abuses that are wont to be nourished by those impure interludes and
+plays.' And the same divine, two years later, wrote an attack upon the
+theatre in consequence of the accident at Paris Gardens which has been
+already mentioned. The theatre was forcibly suppressed in the Civil War,
+but it was never forgotten, and the moment that the Restoration allowed
+it was opened again. But to our day the old Puritanism continues, in a
+now feeble and impotent way, to consider the Theatre as the chosen home
+of the Devil.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE OLD SWAN THEATRE]
+
+Nathan Field, though the son of such a father, was ready to meet all
+comers in defence of the stage. In 1616 one Sutton, Preacher at St. Mary
+Overies, denounced the Theatre and all connected with it. Field answered
+him manfully, telling him plainly that he, the preacher, is disloyal, in
+preaching from his pulpit against people who are licensed and
+patronised by the King. The players were at all times equal to the task
+of covering the preacher with derision; but derision seldom convinces or
+converts.
+
+The general opinion of players remains that they have at all times been
+a penniless tribe, eating the 'corn in the green;' borrowing; spending
+their money in riotous living. This opinion is not by any means always
+true. The musician, the mummer, the dancer, and the tumbler were all
+regarded much in the same light; they were despised; they did not fight
+like the soldier; they did not produce like the craftsman; they did not,
+like the priest, say mass and forgive sins; they did not heal the sick;
+they knew no law; their only function in the world was to amuse; to make
+men laugh. It is very remarkable that directly the players ceased to be
+dependent on noble lords, as soon as they appealed to the public and
+received money from those who came to see them perform, they became
+prudent men of business. They may have been a cheerful tribe; they were,
+however, well to do, and, so far as can be learned, a thrifty tribe.
+They made money, not by writing plays, nor by acting them, but by being
+shareholders in the company with which they played. Burbage, Alleyn,
+Heminge, Sly, Field, Schanke, not to speak of Shakespeare, all appear to
+have lived in comfort, and to have died possessed of moderate fortunes.
+
+The poets, certainly, continued, as poets have always been, penniless
+and in debt. By the end of the sixteenth century the earliest of the
+dramatic poets, Marlowe, Peele, Nash, Greene--that turbulent roystering
+profligate band whom everybody loved while everybody reproved--had
+passed away. The early extravagance vanished. The later poets, Ben
+Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, led more godly lives. Yet they
+were often harassed for want of money. Three of them, Massinger, Field
+and Daborne, write to Henslow asking for an advance of 5_l._ on the
+security of a play which is worth ten pounds in addition to what they
+have had. All those, in fact, were poor, and remained poor, who
+attempted to live by poetic literature alone.
+
+The poets have had enough attention paid to them: let us consider the
+Company of Actors who played at the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the
+Lion, and lived on and near the Bankside. The books of St. Saviour's
+(see Rendle's 'Southwark,' App. p. 26) are full of references to the
+actors who died and were buried here, whose children were baptised here
+or buried here. The name of William Shakespeare, unfortunately, does not
+occur. Among the actors, and first and chief, was Richard Burbage--like
+Shakespeare, a Warwickshire man. In person he was under the middle
+stature, and grew fat and scant of breath. But no actor of the time had
+so great a power over his audience. It was his father who built the very
+first permanent theatre--called The Theatre at Shoreditch. In
+consequence of a dispute with the landlord, he pulled down the house,
+carried the timbers across the river to Bankside, and set up the Globe.
+
+There was Kempe, the low comedian, who succeeded Tarlton in that line.
+He was a great dancer: on one occasion he danced all the way from
+Norwich to London, taking nine days for the work: he was accompanied by
+one Thomas Sly, who played the tabor and the pipe for him. As he passed
+through the villages the girls came running out to dance with him along
+the road till he tired them out. He was a fellow of infinite drollery,
+with jokes and acting such as pleased the 'groundlings' well. There was
+a kind of entertainment popular at the time called a jig. It was a
+monologue for the most part, but might be played by two or more, in
+which the words were interrupted by songs and dances: the jig was like
+the farce which used to be played after the tragedy. This worthy lived
+in Bankside, but I believe there is no record of his death.
+
+Another excellent player was John Lowin or Lewin. He also lived in the
+Liberty of the Clink. But he lived too long. He survived the
+suppression of Theatres, and in his old age had no craft or art or
+mastery by which to earn his bread save that which was proscribed. He
+wrote for assistance to a patron, and he quoted the lover's words
+applied to the beggar:
+
+    Silence in love betrays more woe
+      Than words, though ne'er so witty;
+    The beggar that is dumb, you know,
+      Deserves a double pity.
+
+Among the low comedians Robert Armin must not be forgotten. He attracted
+Tarlton's attention when a mere boy. The veteran comedian adopted him
+and taught him. I know not whether he, or Kempe, was the true successor
+to that unrivalled buffoon. He is described by some rhymester as--
+
+    Honest gamesome Robert Armin,
+    That tickles the spleen like a harmless vermin.
+
+I have already mentioned Nathan Field the player: he was also Nathan
+Field the dramatist. He brought into the latter profession the
+carelessness about money that belonged to the former. There are
+indications--only indications, it is true--that there was in him
+something of the temperament of a Micawber, or a Harold Skimpole, a
+constitutional inability to understand the meaning of addition and
+subtraction or the translation of money into its equivalent in eating
+and drinking. He took a wife when he was no longer quite young, and he
+became jealous. Hence the epigram, 'De Agello et Othello:'
+
+    Field is, in sooth, an actor: all men know it;
+    And is the true Othello of the poet:
+    I wonder if 'tis true, as people tell us,
+    That like the character he is most jealous.
+    If it be so, and many living sweare it,
+    It takes not little from the actor's merit,
+    Since, as the Moor is jealous of his wife,
+    Field can display the passion to the life.
+
+Who remembers John Schanke? He, like Kempe and Armin, carried on the
+traditions of low comedy. He was great in the invention of 'jigs.' A
+notable 'jig' was that called 'Schanke's Ordinary,' in which several
+performers took part. There is an odd story told by Collier of a
+'Schanke, a player.' It was in the year 1642. There came galloping to
+London three of the Lord General's officers with the news that there had
+been a great battle in which the London Companies had been cut to
+pieces, and 20,000 men had fallen on both sides. They spread their news
+as they rode through the villages: they spread it abroad in the city. It
+was ascertained on inquiry that there had not been any battle at all,
+but that those three men--Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Whitney, and one
+Schanke, a player--were simply runaways. Therefore they were all clapped
+in the Gatehouse, and brought to undergo punishment according to martial
+law 'for their base cowardliness.'
+
+One remarks that the race of comic actors or low comedians never becomes
+extinct. That power of always seizing on the comic side in everything,
+of always being able to make an audience laugh throughout a whole piece,
+is never, happily, taken away from a world which would be too sad
+without it. Great poets do not occur more than once in a century: great
+novelists not more than twice: but the low comedian, the comic man,
+whose face, whose voice, whose carriage, are as humorous as his words,
+never fails us. Tarlton is followed by Kempe, Kempe by Armin, Armin by
+Schanke. So Robson follows Liston, and Toole follows Robson, with lesser
+lights besides.
+
+There are many other actors. The painstaking Collier finds out what
+parts they played and where they lived. Alas! He tells us no more.
+Perhaps there is no more to tell. The rank and file of the theatrical
+company are never a very interesting collection. Underwood, Toovey,
+Eccleston, Cowley, Cooke, Sly, Argan--they are shadows that have long
+since passed out, made an exit, and so an end. They were forgotten by
+the audience the day after they were dead. Why seek to revive their
+memory when there is not a single solitary fact to go upon? A bone would
+be something: out of the skull of Yorick we might perhaps reconstruct
+his life, with all the adventures, love-making, disappointments,
+distresses and triumphs.
+
+We know the place where they all lived; the place of a continual Fair
+without any booths, yet everything offered for sale: the music to cheer
+your heart--you could command it had you money in purse; the wine to
+raise your courage--you could call for it; the dancing to charm your
+eye--any girl would dance for you if you paid her; the new play to fill
+you with lofty thoughts--but you must pay for your seat; the jig to
+bring you back to the level of earth--or perhaps a little lower--you
+could buy it; the eyes of Dalilah at the sign of the Swan in the Hoope
+were directed to your purse; the ruffians belonging to the kennels and
+the bear garden; the drawers of the taverns and the sack and the
+tobacco, the boats and the boatmen, were all at your service. The
+players lived in this riot and racket, themselves a part: we catch
+glimpses of them, we can discern them amid the crowd: sometimes one of
+their women is ducked for a shrew; one of them is clapped in the Clink
+Prison: some are haled before the Bishop for acting in Lent--these
+unreasonable people really object to starving in Lent! And the place and
+the people and their manners and customs are deplorable but delightful;
+they are picturesque to the highest degree, but they are equally
+reprehensible. I wish we could go back four hundred years and see and
+listen for ourselves: but with all our admiration for the Elizabethan
+drama, I do not think that I should like to be one of the Show Folk or
+to live with them in that jovial colony on the Bankside in the days of
+the Globe and the Rose, the Hope and the Swan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+BELOW BRIDGE
+
+
+'Below Bridge' covers Tooley Street and her lanes: Horselydown,
+Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Deptford, Greenwich, and Woolwich. The railway
+has ruined one end of Tooley Street, which is a corruption of St.
+Olave's Street. Perhaps it was ruined before the railway appeared at
+all. Certainly no one would believe that this dark and narrow street was
+once a place of Palaces. The Prior of Lewes had here, opposite St.
+Olave's Church, his Inn or Town House: here the Abbot of St. Augustine
+had his Inn: and here, we have seen, was the house of Sir John Fastolf.
+Here was the Pilgrim's Way to Bermondsey Rood. Some came across the
+bridge; some by boat, which was far more convenient, to Tooley Stairs;
+some to Battlebridge Stairs; some to Pickle Herring Stairs. The way lay
+along Tooley Street and by 'Barmsie' Lane through the fields and
+gardens: a lovely rural lane. Beyond Tooley Street lies a quarter
+bounded on the North by the River, and on the East by St. Saviour's
+Dock: a quarter which is certainly the most industrious in the whole of
+London. It is called Horselydown, the derivation of which seems obvious,
+but derivations are not to be trusted, however obvious. We may take it
+for granted, because we can prove the fact by looking at Roques' map of
+1745, that there were meadows where horses grazed as soon as the
+embankment was up, and the ground drained. There was some kind of common
+here at one time: here suicides and persons deprived of Christian rites
+were buried. There was also a Fair held at Horselydown. The industries
+made their appearance in the eighteenth century, but they came
+gradually. It is now a place of most remarkable variety as regards
+occupations. All along the river and the bank of the Dock, formerly
+Savoy Dock, there are wharves: inland are bonded warehouses, granaries,
+leather warehouses, hide warehouses, hop warehouses, and wool
+warehouses. There are tanneries, currieries, fur and skin dyeing works,
+breweries, rice mills, mustard mills, pepper mills, dyeing works, dog's
+food manufactories, vinegar works, bottle works, iron foundries, wooden
+hoop manufactories, cooperages, roperies, smithies, biscuit
+manufactories, oil and colour works, pin manufactories, varnish works,
+and distilleries. All this in a district half a mile long and a quarter
+of a mile broad. Between the factories and the warehouses are houses for
+the workmen and the foremen. On the south side stands the Church, almost
+the ugliest Church in London: next to the Church is, or was, a few years
+ago, a street which has something of the look and feeling of a Close.
+
+It is a great pity that in the whole of South London lying east of the
+High Street there is not a single beautiful, or even picturesque Church.
+Look at them! St. Olave's, St. John, Horselydown, St. Mary Magdalen, St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, the four oldest churches in the quarter. It cannot be
+pretended that these structures inspire veneration or even respect. You
+may see drawings of them in Maitland. St. Olave's was rebuilt in 1737,
+St. John's, Horselydown, in 1735, St. Mary Magdalen in 1680, and St.
+Mary, Rotherhithe, in 1713 on the site of the older church. In 1738 the
+steeple was added. The four churches are therefore all examples of the
+church architecture of nearly the same period.
+
+[Illustration: A FETE AT HORSELYDOWN IN 1590
+
+(_From the Painting by G. Hoffnagel, at Hatfield_)]
+
+Of all the quarters and parts of London that of Horselydown is the least
+known and the least visited, except by those whose business takes them
+there every day. There is, in fact, nothing to be seen: the wharves
+block out the river: the warehouses darken the streets, the places where
+people live are not interesting: there is not an ancient memory or
+association, or any ancient fragment of a building, to make one desire
+to visit Horselydown. When we pass the Dock, we find ourselves in quite
+a different quarter: the wharves are arranged along the river wall,
+called the Bermondsey Wall, but behind the wharves there are fewer
+factories and more people. Alas! poor people! It is a grimy place to
+live in: of greenery or garden land there is none. There is not even any
+access to the river except by one or two narrow stairs: the 'works' are
+those whose near neighbourhood is not generally desired: places where
+they make leather and curry it: or where they make glue or vinegar.
+Fortunately, however, the good people of Bermondsey are spared the
+handling of tallow, bones, or soap. Things might therefore have been
+worse. This is the industrial centre of South London, and it occupies,
+including Horselydown, St. Olave's, Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe,
+something like a quarter of a million, which is a good-sized city in
+itself. On the one side of St. Saviour's Dock we may step aside to look
+at two streets, which fifty years ago represented the lowest kind of
+vice and brutality, and the worse kind of human pigsties, Talbot Street
+and London Street. The former was taken over by Dickens to adorn his
+'Oliver Twist'--lugged in, for indeed it does not belong there.
+
+The condition of the latter is figured in Wilkinson's 'London
+Illustrated' in the year 1806.
+
+The ugliness of the neighbourhood remains, but some of the dirt has been
+washed away.
+
+It seems impossible to create a quarter of workmen's cottages or
+residences which shall be beautiful. First there is the slum with a row
+of two- or four-roomed cottages in a narrow court: the windows are
+broken: the banisters of the staircase are broken away to be burned: the
+sanitary appliances are terrible: the court is a laystall. Some of these
+delightful places still survive in Southwark. The next step is to build
+streets for working men in places where the ground is not too valuable.
+Thus the town of Bromley near Bow sprang into existence. It consists
+entirely of monotonous streets with monotonous houses, all small, all
+ugly, all built after the same pattern: the result being dreary and
+dispiriting. Then come the model dwelling-houses: the huge barrack, of
+which, Bermondsey way, there are enormous stacks, accommodating the
+working classes by the hundred thousand. There is not the smallest
+attempt at making these places beautiful: they are simple cubes of grey
+brick with rows and lines of windows. Outside they may be models of
+economy in space. Once within, they may be models of convenience; but
+there is another side. The moral effect of this piling up of family on
+family is reported to be injurious in ways not contemplated by the
+founders: the quiet folk are terrorised by the rowdy; the children are
+demoralised: there are dangers not expected, and temptations not
+considered: in a word, the model lodging-houses of Southwark and
+Bermondsey are not, in every respect, adapted to a model population.
+
+It is difficult between London Bridge and Rotherhithe to get at the
+river, except at two or three spots where the old stairs can be
+approached by a narrow passage. There is an embankment or terrace: the
+whole bank is occupied for commercial purposes: business men do not like
+strangers on these wharves: and for all practical purposes the dwellers
+below Bridge might just as well be a dozen miles inland. If, however,
+the resident of Bermondsey can sometimes--say, on Saturday
+afternoon--get down to the stairs and look out upon the river, he will
+see close at hand, not only the ships and barges that lie about the
+wharves, but the grand new Watergate of London, the most appropriate
+entrance that could be devised to the port--the new Tower Bridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, 1814]
+
+Where Bermondsey Wall ended and Rotherhithe began the houses, until
+fifty years ago, rapidly grew thinner, until Rotherhithe itself
+consisted of little more than a single street, with docks, and stairs,
+and taverns on the riverside, and on the other side lanes leading to
+cottages and cottage gardens. The Commercial Docks were opened in 1807,
+but the place still preserved something of its old character until quite
+recently. It consisted of a district round which the river flowed on the
+north and east. Like all the country about the Thames, it was low-lying,
+and originally a marsh. Even as late as 1830 it was imperfectly drained,
+and a good part of it remained still a marsh. Thus the road, now called
+Southwark Park Road--why could they not leave the old name, Blue Anchor
+Road?--even in 1830 wound through a marsh covered with ditches and
+ponds. On the east side, near the junction of Blue Anchor Road with
+Jamaica Row, there was a most remarkable collection of ponds and
+islands, ending with a broad stream or ditch running into the river at
+Rotherhithe stairs. Other ditches or streams lay or flowed at will over
+the levels, making islands which were approached by bridges. The
+character of the place was entirely that of a marsh: in fact, it was the
+last part of London where there lingered still the appearance of a
+marsh. The names show this. We have The Reed Bed; Providence Island; the
+Seven Islands; the West Pond; the East Pond; Broom Fields; Halfpenny
+Hatch, repeated more than once. The numerous Ropewalks scattered about
+show that the ground was cheap, and the factories where they make glue,
+soap, brimstone, turpentine, white lead, and paper are there, which
+require plenty of room and few people to enjoy the smell.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW NEAR THE STORE-HOUSE, DEPTFORD
+
+(_From an Engraving by John Boydell, 1750_)]
+
+Leaving Rotherhithe, we arrive at a place much more interesting, namely,
+Deptford. They have done their best to spoil Deptford of late years:
+they have taken away the old Trinity Almshouses: they have built new
+streets: but a good deal of the old Deptford remains. I walked about it
+nearly every day for three months some twelve years ago, reconstructing
+the Deptford of 1750 from the Deptford of 1886. It is like
+reconstructing the face in youth from a portrait in middle life. I
+succeeded at last, to my own satisfaction, and, I hope, to the
+satisfaction of my readers when the eighteenth-century Deptford appeared
+as the background of a novel. It was not a very big place: it consisted
+chiefly of an old church in the lower part of the town, and a new church
+in the upper part: there were two almshouses: there was the Hall where
+the Brethren of the Trinity House assembled every year before their
+service at St. Nicolas and their feast at their house on Tower Hill.
+The town was full of sailors and naval officers: the latter were not
+remarkable for the finicking ways of the beaux their contemporaries: on
+the contrary, they despised such ways--'their fashions I hate, like a
+pig in a gate.' When they were young they made love all the time they
+were ashore, except when they were drinking and taking tobacco at the
+tavern--these occupations, truly, left the honest fellows less time for
+love than might have been expected. There were officers' taverns and
+seamen's taverns: rum, however, was the favourite drink at both. And,
+really, it would surprise you to hear the songs they sang, and to
+observe the cheerfulness with which they put up with everything:
+favouritism: long and hopeless service in the lower ranks: bad food on
+board: long years of foreign service: and for all the gallantry that
+these brave fellows showed in service not a word of thanks: not a hint
+at promotion.
+
+The Town consisted mostly of a single street: there were shops, but poor
+things: there was a market: fruit and vegetables were brought in from
+the country round: within a few steps of the town one was in the
+loveliest country, with the Ravensbourne flowing between meadows and
+under the branches of willows and of alders.
+
+The dockyard of Deptford was founded by Henry the Eighth, and continued
+till 1869. It was at Deptford that most of the ships were built for the
+Royal Navy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: it was here that
+Drake's ship, the _Golden Hind_, in which he had made his voyage round
+the world, was laid up, her cabin turned into a place of entertainment.
+She remained here, an object of pilgrimage for the Londoners, for many
+years. She was a good deal cut about, because everybody wanted to carry
+away a piece of her. At last she was suffered to fall to pieces. One
+pious archaeologist got a chair made out of her timbers and presented it
+to the Bodleian Library.
+
+Pepys was often at Deptford in his capacity of Secretary of the
+Admiralty. 'Up and down the yard all the morning, and seeing the seamen
+exercise, which they do already very handsomely. Then to dinner....
+After dinner and taking our leave of the officers of the yard, we walked
+to the waterside, and on our way walked into the ropeyard, where I had a
+look into the tarhouses and other places, and took great notice of all
+the several works belonging to the making of a cable.'
+
+It was at Deptford that Pepys visited Lady Sandwich, 'where I stood with
+great pleasure an hour or two by her bedside, she lying prettily in
+bed.' During the plague year, when he and his wife were staying at
+Woolwich, he goes over to Deptford nearly every day, and was continually
+feasting with his friends and always 'very merry,' though the plague was
+slaying its thousands only a mile or two away.
+
+Another visitor to Deptford who left a lasting memory was Peter the
+Great, who stayed here in 1698, studying ship architecture. The people
+of the town had the satisfaction of seeing the Czar of Muscovy--not
+quite so great a man then as he is now--smoking a pipe of tobacco and
+drinking brandy in their taverns every evening. By day they might see
+him working among the dockyard men at the various parts of a ship and
+its gear.
+
+The most interesting person, however, who is connected with the annals
+of Deptford is certainly John Evelyn.
+
+Evelyn was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a great
+statesman: he was not great in anything that he did: yet his memory
+remains, and will remain long after that of much stronger men has been
+forgotten. He wrote a great deal, and since some of his writings survive
+after three hundred years it is manifest that he must have written well.
+He was a strong royalist who knew how to take care of his own skin. In
+order to avoid being dragged into the army and fighting for the cause
+which he loved, he went abroad and travelled in Europe for four years,
+during which time the royal cause fell to pieces, and those who fought
+for it were ruined. In 1647 he came home again; in 1649 he went back to
+France, where he stayed till 1652. By this time he had made many
+discoveries and observations on art and antiquities. He also married a
+wife, the daughter of Charles's ambassador at Paris. Through his wife he
+obtained possession of Sayes Court, Deptford, where, with a few breaks,
+one of which was to allow Peter the Great to use the house, he lived
+till nearly the end of his life. He was one of the founders and first
+Fellows of the Royal Society: he was a member of many commissions: he
+was the first Treasurer of Queen Mary's new naval hospital, and held
+many other offices.
+
+In quite a brief note Pepys sums up the character and the
+accomplishments of this estimable man:
+
+'Nov. 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and here made a visit to Mr.
+Evelyn, who among many other things showed me most excellent painting in
+little: in distemper; in Indian ink; water colours; graving: and above
+all, the whole secret of mezzotinto, and the manner of it, which is very
+pretty, and good things done with it. He read to me very much also of
+his discourse he hath been many years and now is about, about Gardening,
+which will be a most noble and pleasant piece. He read me part of a play
+or two of his making; very good, but not as he conceits them, I think,
+to be. He showed me his "Hortus Hyemalis," leaves laid up in a book of
+several plants kept dry, which preserve colour, however, and look very
+finely, better than a Herball. In fine, a most excellent person he is,
+and must be allowed a little for conceitedness; but he may well be so,
+being a man so much above others.'
+
+His memory survives on account of the personal character of the man
+which is revealed in his works, and of the high opinion in which he was
+held. 'A typical instance,' says his latest biographer ('Dict, of Nat.
+Biog.'), 'of the accomplished and public-spirited country gentleman of
+the Restoration, a pious and devoted member of the Church of England,
+and a staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the manners
+of the court.' Above all things, it might be added, he was a gardener,
+and all gardeners are amiable and all gardeners are personally popular.
+
+[Illustration: GEORGE HOTEL, BOROUGH]
+
+Of Greenwich Palace I have already spoken. There is little else in
+Greenwich except the Palace or Hospital. The Almshouse known as Norfolk
+College must not be forgotten, however. It is on the east side of the
+Hospital, and stands behind a stone terrace, overlooking the river. The
+College consists of a quadrangle containing a chapel and a small hall or
+common room, with gardens at the back. This kind of almshouse is common,
+but it is difficult to build it so that it shall not be beautiful.
+Norfolk College is quite a beautiful place. Finer and larger is Morden
+College, up the hill, designed for decayed merchants.
+
+This is the end of London: a few yards beyond Norfolk College the houses
+stop suddenly: on the tongue of land projecting north formed by a loop
+of the river there are hardly any houses at all: the place is a dreary
+flat as far as Woolwich. The London County Council limits include
+Woolwich and Plumstead; but that broad area covered by continuous houses
+which begins at Battersea ends at Greenwich.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE LATER SANCTUARY
+
+
+The Sanctuary created and crossed by the Church for the refuge of those
+who had fallen into temptation became, as we know, the resort of the
+rogue, the murderer, and the habitual criminal. Within the precincts of
+St.-Martin's-le-Grand were carried on with impunity all the trades and
+methods of producing things counterfeit. The Sanctuary of Westminster
+was a scandal and a disgrace. These places had been finally abolished
+after much trouble: the City officers could march their rogues to
+Newgate without fear of a rescue from St. Martin's. The people of
+Westminster could lie down at night without fear of housebreakers from
+Sanctuary. At the same time the custom of holding and seeking sanctuary
+was too deep-rooted to be quickly abolished. Perhaps there was something
+comfortable in the thought that there should be a place, however small,
+where the officers of the law were not admitted, and where rogues should
+be unmolested. It was a loophole for repentance, perhaps: it was a gleam
+of sunshine on the path of the outlaw. So the custom was continued well
+into the eighteenth century. In this chapter I am going to recall the
+memory of these later Sanctuaries. As may be imagined, literature says
+little about them. But it says enough to show that there were places
+dotted about London which served all the purposes of the old sanctuaries
+without the restraints of ecclesiastical government: in fact, there was
+no government, except on purely democratic principles. In these places
+lived rogues and villains of all kinds: here the thief-taker came to
+find his man--observe that this functionary was admitted; the
+thief-taker ventured where the sheriff's officer could not. Why was
+this? Because the London rogue had a sense of justice: no man could
+expect to go on for ever: when a man's time was up, let him give place
+to his successor. The thief-taker, therefore, was a recognised official:
+it was his duty to assign to every man his proper length of rope. This
+allowance expended, it was the duty of the rogue to get up when he was
+called, go away quietly with the thief-taker, and get hanged in due
+course. Otherwise, there would have been no living to be made by the
+rogues on account of the competition of numbers. The name of Alsatia had
+been long forgotten, but the asylum still remained.
+
+In the 'Fortunes of Nigel' we are made acquainted with the Alsatia of
+Fleet Street. There were other places equally secure for rogues, besides
+Alsatia. Such were Whetstone Park in Lincoln's Inn Fields; Fullwood's
+Rents, Holborn; Milford Lane, Strand; Montagu Close, Southwark; and
+others. All these were gradually extinguished; not by any summary
+procedure; not by turning out the rogues and forcing them to scatter;
+not by marching off the whole population to prison; but by the slower
+and more gradual process of transformation. This process began when the
+parts and places around became respectable. There is something chilling
+and repellent to the common rogue about the proximity of respectability:
+he does not like to be in its neighbourhood: in this way these
+degenerate and unlawful sanctuaries gradually fell into decay. One alone
+remained, when all the others had disappeared. It was in that part of
+Southwark--that part which is still a slum--called Mint Street, nearly
+opposite St. George's Church in the High Street. This street, with its
+alleys and courts, was inhabited by as villainous a collection as even
+the eighteenth century, which in point of villains was rich beyond its
+predecessors, could not equal. They had retreated here from their
+former haunt in Montagu Close, as to a last fortress, which was not yet
+besieged. They lived in perfect safety here: no writ could be served on
+them: no arrest could be made: the only person they had to fear was, as
+said above, the thief-taker.
+
+The annals of this Sanctuary were never, unfortunately, kept; it is
+impossible to ascertain what illustrious criminals were here housed and
+for how long. There are, however, one or two little histories of the
+Mint which will serve to show us at once the public spirit, the courage,
+and the immunity with which the people of the later Sanctuary lived and
+acted.
+
+The first story belongs to the year 1715. The case of Dormer _v._ Dormer
+and Jones came on for hearing at Westminster Hall. It was a divorce
+case, in which the co-respondent had been a footman in the plaintiff's
+house. There seems to have been no defence, practically. The verdict of
+the Jury was for the plaintiff, with 5,000_l._ damages. Now, consider
+for a moment what that verdict meant. In these days, when a defendant
+without any private means at all is mulcted in damages and costs,
+whether of 5,000_l._ or of 100_l._, he simply smiles. He is not in the
+least degree affected. Nothing worse than bankruptcy can happen to him,
+and when a man has nothing bankruptcy presents few terrors. In Portugal
+Street _subridet vacuus viator_--the insolvent pilgrim smiles
+cheerfully. But in those days it was very different. To inflict damages
+of 5,000_l._ meant simply that the Jury considered the case one in which
+the defendant, who could not be tried in the criminal courts, could only
+be adequately punished by being locked up for the whole of his remaining
+days in a debtor's prison, where, since he was only a footman whose
+relations were probably unable to assist him and certainly unable to
+maintain him, he would speedily take his place on the common side, and
+there he would be slowly done to death by insufficient food and
+insufficient clothing, by privation, cold, fever and misery.
+
+The Jury therefore gave this verdict with deliberate intention. It meant
+prison and slow starvation and insufficient warmth, and so everybody
+instantly understood, including Mr. Jones himself. In a moment the
+officers would have laid hands upon the unhappy but undeserving footman.
+But he was too quick for them: he turned: he fled: he hurled himself
+down Westminster Hall through the crowd of lawyers, witnesses,
+booksellers, glovesellers, and visitors: he tore across New Palace Yard,
+now pursued by the officers: he made for the 'Bridge,' that is, the pier
+so called, for as yet there was no Bridge: he jumped into the first boat
+and shoved off. When the bailiffs arrived breathless at the Stairs, they
+saw their prisoner already half way across the river. They too jumped
+into a boat: for some reason or other--one knows not why--it was most
+unlucky--their boat took a long time to get off: something was wrong
+with the painter: the ropes were knotted: the stretchers wanted to be
+set right: the oars were on the wrong sides: the men were slow in
+getting off their coats: finally, when she was cast loose the boat
+proved to be another Noah's Ark for creeping slowly over the face of the
+waters. Jones therefore got safely ashore on the other side, and the
+bailiffs turned back with a good deal of cursing. Once ashore, the
+fugitive made straight to Mint Street, as to a Levitical City which was
+also a City of Refuge. I know not what became of him afterwards. It was
+a hive where all the bees were busy. Jones could not eat the bread of
+idleness: he therefore, one may certainly conclude, became a rogue by
+profession and in due course met his fate bravely with white ribbons
+round his cap, an orange in one hand, a Prayer-book in the other, and a
+large nosegay in his shirt front.
+
+Here is another story of the same Eighteenth Century Sanctuary. It will
+seem incredible that the Executive should have been so incapable, but
+the story is literally true.
+
+[Illustration: MINT STREET, BOROUGH]
+
+Things being in so satisfactory and settled a condition, the Law being
+so triumphantly defied, at the Mint in Southwark, some of the residents
+or collegians naturally desired to go farther afield, and to establish
+more Sanctuaries or Law-defying colonies on the other side of the
+river, which was reported to be ripe for these settlements. No reports
+of Meetings, Proceedings, and Resolutions held and passed on the subject
+have come down to us. However, that matters very little. Every great
+movement, we know, is the work of one man. Therefore there arose a
+Prophet--the Prophet as Rogue. He perceived, understood, and presently
+began to preach that a 'long felt want'--call it rather a
+'need'--existed, which it was his duty to supply. The old Sanctuaries of
+North London, he pointed out, had fallen into decay. Alsatia was
+deplorably respectable: bailiffs had been seen in Milford Lane: the
+trade of counterfeit rings was no longer carried on in St. Martin's.
+And, though there were certainly taverns in Clerkenwell which bailiffs
+regarded with a useful respect, it could not be denied that London
+needed a new Sanctuary. This need he called upon his friends and
+fellow-residents in the Mint to supply. He set before his hearers with
+burning eloquence--I am sure it was burning--a Vision of a New London,
+Purged; Purified; without honesty; without morals; without law; with
+neither gallows, pillory, whipping post, or stocks: a City entirely in
+the hands of Rogues who would compel all the conquered City to work for
+them: would seize on all property and would live triumphantly happy with
+complete control over all the Prisons. To make a beginning of this
+Millennium, he proposed, by means of colonies from the Mint, to plant
+all London with Sanctuaries until, in fulness of time, the City should
+become one huge Sanctuary, where debts would never be collected, and
+robbery and murder would never be punished.
+
+They chose for their new settlement a piece of ground on the east of
+Tower Hill, where Cable Street is now. They laid down their boundaries:
+they called the place the New Mint: they said, 'Within these limits
+there shall be no arrest.' This new law they communicated fairly and
+plainly, because everything was above board, to all the catchpoles. They
+then sat down as in an impregnable fortress. Remember, that if there
+were no police, such as we now understand by the word, they were close
+to the soldiers of the Tower, who might have been called in to disperse
+this lawless establishment. However, nothing at all was done. They sat
+down triumphant. Presently--I know not how long afterwards--a bailiff
+was actually found to disregard the warning. You will hardly believe
+that this rash and audacious person ventured to arrest a New Minter
+within the Precincts!
+
+Then the colonists arose and formed into column: they called for music:
+preceded by a band of what used to be called the Whifflers, they marched
+in a procession, four abreast, quietly, calmly, but with settled purpose
+in their gallant and resolute faces: they carried a banner, yea, the
+Flag of Unrighteousness: they marched straight to the house of the
+offender, who, for his part, was so foolish as not to run away. It is,
+however, a weakness common to Catchpoles that they always put their
+trust in the Law. They arrested that Catchpole: they led him to the
+place where he had offended: and there they made an example of him. They
+tore away every shred of clothing from him: they flogged him all over
+with brooms and thorny brambles: they gave him a thousand lashes, so
+that there was not a whole inch of skin left upon him: they dragged him
+through filthy ponds and laystalls: they took him out and flogged him
+again: they tried to flog the life out of the poor wretch but failed,
+for he survived: then they dragged him again through the filth: at last
+they suffered him, bleeding and naked, to crawl home as best he might. I
+am sorry to say that I have no information as to the end of the New Mint
+adventure; but it certainly appears that no one was punished for this
+outrage, and that no attempt even was made to punish anyone. Perhaps the
+memory of that gallant deed still lingers in Cable Lane: but I have not
+ventured to inquire of the still rude and independent freemen, its
+present residents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
+
+
+If we look at a map of South London compiled at any time during the
+eighteenth century it is surprising to observe how little the place had
+grown since the fifteenth. There runs, as of old, the Causeway at right
+angles to the Embankment. On either side of the Causeway or High Street
+or St. Margaret's Hill, run off right and left a few narrow streets: the
+continuity of houses is broken by St. George's Church, south of which,
+although there are, here and there, detached houses and even rows of
+houses or terraces, there are open fields, streams, ponds and gardens.
+St. George's Fields, crossed by paths, are broad and open fields
+stretching out westward till they join Lambeth Marsh. St. Margaret's
+Church has long since vanished: he who knows the old maps can still put
+his finger on the site, but its burial ground has wholly disappeared.
+There are four old churches in Southwark proper: St. George's, St.
+Saviour's, St. Thomas's, and St. Olave's. On the east are the churches
+of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, not to speak of Deptford: on the west is
+Lambeth Church: on the south are the churches of Newington and
+Kennington. As for other institutions, there are the two great hospitals
+St. Thomas's and Guy's almost side by side: and there are the prisons,
+that of the King's Bench, the Marshalsea and the White Lyon. They were
+all on the east side of the street until 1756, when the King's Bench
+Prison was removed across the road nearly opposite to St. George's. Some
+time after the Marshalsea was moved further south on the site of the old
+White Lyon and including that ancient Clink. The old Clink on Bankside
+had vanished. But the Borough Compter was still flourishing--a grimy,
+filthy, fever-stricken place.
+
+[Illustration: OLD HOUSE, STONEY STREET, SOUTHWARK]
+
+At the back of the houses and narrow streets to east and west, the
+fields began with open ditches or sewers and sluggish streams. 'Snow's'
+Fields on the east were as well known as St. George's in the West. 'Long
+Lane' ran from St. George's to Bermondsey Church: it contained a few
+houses: Bermondsey Lane, commonly called Barmsie, ran from the old cross
+to the same church: it was already a street of houses. The most crowded
+part of Southwark proper was the street called Tooley or St. Olave's,
+the most ancient street in the Borough, originally built upon the
+Embankment, the Thames Street of South London. Here, in the eighteenth
+century, there were no vestiges left of the former palaces: everything
+had gone except a crypt or a vault: at every step one came upon the
+entrance to a court, narrow, mean and squalid: these courts remain, also
+narrow, mean and squalid, to the present day. There were no places in
+London, unless in the neighbourhood of Hermitage Street, Wapping, where
+human creatures had to pig together in such horrible conditions. There
+was no water supply to these courts: there was no lighting: there was no
+paving, not even with the round cobbles which they still called paving.
+
+[Illustration: ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL
+
+(_From an old Print_)]
+
+[Illustration: Some Ancient Houses in the Long Walk, Bermondsey]
+
+[Illustration: Jamaica House, Bermondsey]
+
+On the west side of the High Street, of which a map is given on p. 85
+of this volume, beyond St. Saviour's, the nave of which was fast falling
+into ruins, came Bankside. Alas! It was deserted: not a single theatre
+was left: not a baiting Place: not a Bear to bait: there was no longer a
+poet or an actor or a musician on Bankside: there were no more evenings
+at the Falcon: there was no longer heard the tinkling of the guitar, and
+the scraping of the violin. South of Bankside lay two broad gardens,
+side by side: one called Pye Garden; and the other, west of Winchester
+House, was called Winchester Park. Paris Gardens were no more.
+Blackfriars Bridge Road, in which there were as yet but few houses, had
+been cut ruthlessly right through the middle of the old Gardens; the
+trees, once so thick and close, had been laid low, but there were still
+kitchen gardens. South of the Gardens, with an interval of a few side
+streets, we come upon St. George's Fields, and on the west of these
+fields upon Lambeth Marsh, which was cut up into ropewalks, tenter
+grounds, nurseries, and kitchen gardens. Where Waterloo Station now
+stands were Cuper's Gardens: there were half a dozen Pleasure Gardens,
+of which more anon: there were turnpikes wherever two roads met. But
+perhaps the most remarkable feature of this quarter in the last century
+was the immense number of streams and ditches and ponds: most of these
+were little better than open sewers: complaints were common of the
+pollution of these streams--but it was in vain: people will always throw
+everything that has to be ejected into the nearest running water if they
+can. One wants the map in order to understand how numerous were these
+streams. There was one murky brook which ran along the backs of all the
+houses on the east side of High Street--the prisoners of the Marshalsea
+and the King's Bench grumbled about it continually: another
+corresponding stream ran behind the west side of High Street. Maiden
+Lane, now called Park Lane, rejoiced in one: Gravel Lane, more blessed
+still, was happy with a ditch or stream on each side: Dirty Lane had
+one: another ran along Bandy Leg Walk: other streams flowed, or crept,
+or crawled, across Lambeth Marsh and St. George's Fields. Where there
+were no houses, and therefore no pollutions, the streams of this broad
+marsh, lying beneath and between the orchards, fringing the gardens, and
+crossing the open fields, were a pleasant feature, though they had no
+stones to prattle over, but only the dark peaty _humus_ of the marsh:
+and the water channels necessitated frequent little rustic bridges which
+were sometimes picturesque. Some of the streams again were of
+considerable size, especially that called 'The Shore' by Roques. It was
+also called the Effra. Along the banks of this stream stood here and
+there cottages, having little gardens in front and rustic bridges across
+the stream. But whether these streams ran or whether they crawled,
+behind or beside the crowded houses they were foul and fetid and
+charged with all the things which should be buried away or burned way:
+they were laden with fevers and malaria and 'putrid' sore throat.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL]
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDINGS, HIGH STREET, BOROUGH
+
+(_From a Drawing by T. Higham, 1820_)]
+
+[Illustration: THE FALCON TAVERN, BANKSIDE]
+
+The High Street of Southwark is now a crowded thoroughfare, because it
+is the main artery of a town containing a population of many hundreds
+of thousands. In the last century it was quite as animated because it
+was one of the main arteries by which London was in communication with
+the country. An immense number of coaches, carts, waggons, and
+'caravans' passed every day up and down the High Street, some stopping
+or starting in Southwark itself; some going over London Bridge to their
+destination in the City. The coach of the first half of the century can
+be restored from Hogarth. That of the latter half of the century was in
+all respects like the revived coaches of the present day, adapted for
+rapid travelling along a smooth road. The carts were carriers' carts on
+two wheels with a tilt or cover; they carried parcels and small
+packages, and on occasions, but not always, one or two passengers. The
+waggons, which carried heavy goods and passengers not in a hurry, were
+also covered with a tilt; their broad wheels and capacious interior can
+be restored, as well as the coach, from that most trustworthy painter of
+his own time. As for the caravans, I am in some doubt. I suppose,
+however, that a caravan was then what it is now, in which case it was
+an elementary Pullman's car, in which people and their effects were
+drawn slowly along the road, in a four-wheeled covered cart. Perhaps the
+passengers slept in the car at night, drawn up by the roadside, like the
+gipsies. But of this theory I have no kind of proof.
+
+[Illustration: AN OLD MILL, BANKSIDE]
+
+[Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN'S MEETING HOUSE, BANKSIDE]
+
+From the Borough alone, without counting the vehicles which passed
+through to or from the City, there were sent out, every week, one
+hundred and forty-three stage coaches: one hundred and twenty-one
+waggons: and one hundred and ninety-six carts and caravans. And, of
+course, the same number came back every week. There was a continual
+succession of departures and arrivals; all day long, one after the
+other, the stage coaches came galloping up each to its own inn; while
+they were still far away the people of the inn knew when their own coach
+was coming by the tune played on the guard's bugle: the High Street, in
+fact, was like a railway terminus, where trains are arriving and leaving
+all day long.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Town Hall, Southwark]
+
+I am quite sure that we have no idea at all of the life and animation at
+a London inn when the stages were started and when they arrived. With as
+much method, and as quickly as the railway porters clear out the luggage
+and get rid of the train, the horses were taken out: the passengers got
+down: the coachman looked inside for his perquisites in the shape of
+anything forgotten and left behind: the luggage was laid out: the
+porters seized it and carried it off to the hackney coach outside: the
+passengers followed their luggage: and the courtyard was ready for the
+next coach. Outside the courtyard there hung about, all day long, whole
+companies of thieves waiting for the chance of carrying off something
+unconsidered or forgotten. Generally, they stood in with the stable boys
+and the porters, who, for a trifle, were good enough to shut their eyes.
+If a trunk was seen to lie unclaimed, one of them came bustling in.
+'Give us a hand, Jack,' he cried to one of the porters, as if he had
+been ordered to call for and bring away that trunk. A confederate or two
+stood at the door to trip up a pursuer or a proprietor, if there was
+one, and in a moment man and box would be lost to sight in a
+neighbouring court. Pickpockets as well abounded about the courtyards:
+outside were houses filled with disorderly folk of all kinds waiting to
+entrap and to tempt and to rob the country bumpkin. There was the couple
+ready with the confidence trick: the generous and hospitable gentleman
+to welcome the country lad: there was the lady of the ready smile: and
+the taverns with the doors open to all. The numbers of coaches and
+waggons I have given refer to Southwark alone, and to the conveyances
+which belonged to the inns up and down in the High Street. But a great
+many more came across the bridge from the City daily. Now, if we are
+considering the traffic and animation of the roads leading to the City,
+remember that the High Street, Borough, was only one of many main lines
+of traffic. There were, besides, the roads to the North: to the Eastern
+counties: to the Midlands: to the West: and to the Northwest. Day and
+night the roads all round London were thronged with these coaches,
+carts, caravans, and waggons: but these vehicles were for ordinary folk
+only: for tradesmen, attorneys, clergymen, farmers, riders (that is,
+commercial travellers) and servants: a nobleman or a country gentleman
+scorned to travel in a public conveyance: he came up to London, if not
+in his own coach, then in a post-chaise, of which there were thousands
+on the road. Add to these the horsemen, of whom there were an immense
+number riding from place to place: add, further, the long droves of
+cattle, sheep and pigs: the cattle, however, to save their feet and to
+keep them in condition, were mostly taken along 'drives' by the
+roadside, where the ground was soft. One of these can still be seen on
+the other side of Hampstead. Pedestrians there were also by thousands:
+soldiers: sailors: gipsies: strolling actors: tinkers and tramps--the
+land was full of tramps: in a word the roads near London were crowded
+and animated and full of adventure, character, incident, and
+picturesqueness: indeed, the dismal and deserted condition of the modern
+road makes it difficult for us to realise the crowds and the life of the
+road in the eighteenth century.
+
+[Illustration: Old Houses in Ewer Street]
+
+Of society in the Borough there is little information to be procured.
+The place had, however, its better class. One infers so much from the
+fact that there were Assembly Rooms in the High Street, and that a
+Borough Assembly was held during the winter on stated days, at which the
+fashion and aristocracy of the place were gathered together. I have
+gathered one anecdote alone concerning this Assembly. It is of an
+accident.
+
+[Illustration: Courtyard of the Dog & Bear Inn]
+
+The company were assembled: the Minuets had begun: the orchestra was in
+full play: the ladies were dressed in their finest: hoops were swinging:
+towering heads were nodding: the gentlemen were splendid in pale blue
+satin and in pink, when suddenly the doors, which stood on the level of
+the street, were pushed open, and a dozen oxen came running in one after
+the other. The company parted right and left, falling over benches and
+each other: the creatures, terrified by the light and the shrieks of the
+ladies, began to point threatening horns: nobody dared to drive them out
+till the 'well-known'--the phrase is pathetic, because fame is so
+short-lived--the 'well-known' Mrs. A. advanced, and with a brandishing
+of her apron and the magic of a 'Shoo! Shoo!' persuaded the animals to
+leave the place. Then who shall tell of the raising of fallen and
+fainting damsels? Who shall speak of the rending of skirts and
+embroidered petticoats? Who can describe the deplorable damage to the
+heads? And who can adequately celebrate the gallantry of the men when
+there was no more danger? Bowls of punch, I am pleased to record, were
+quickly administered as a restorative: and after certain necessary
+repairs to the heads and the sewing up of torn skirts, the wounded
+spirits of the company revived, and the ball proceeded.
+
+Another indication of society in Southwark is the fact that on one
+occasion--perhaps on more than one occasion--when the black footmen of
+London resolved on holding an Assembly of their own, it was in the
+Borough that they held it. And a very interesting evening it must have
+proved, had we any record of the proceedings. Perhaps black cooks were
+found to dance with black footmen.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE BEAR TAVERN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+Since it contained the headquarters of so many stage coaches, carts and
+waggons, the High Street was bound to contain, as well, many houses of
+entertainment, if only as stables for the horses and accommodation for
+the drivers and grooms. The inns of Southwark, however, were far more
+ancient than the stage coaches. We have seen already that from the
+earliest times of trade the southern suburb was the place where
+merchants and those who brought produce of all kinds to London out of
+the south country put up their teams of pack-horses and their goods, and
+found bed and board and company for themselves. We have also seen how
+the inns of Southwark were used as gathering places and starting places
+for the Pilgrims bound for St. Thomas's Shrine, Canterbury. The mediaeval
+inn was not much like that of later times. It contained a common hall
+and a common dormitory, with another for women. There was also a covered
+place for goods, and stables for horses. A small specimen of a
+fifteenth-century inn survives at Aylesbury: the hall, quite a small
+room, is very well preserved. That of the Tabard must have been much
+larger, in order to accommodate so large a company. The quaint old inns,
+so long the delight of the artist, now nearly all gone, were not
+earlier than the sixteenth or seventeenth century. They consisted of a
+large open courtyard filled with waggons and vehicles of all kinds,
+surrounded by galleries, at the back of which were bedrooms, and other
+chambers opening from the gallery. On the ground floor were the
+kitchens, dining-rooms, and private sitting-rooms. There was generally a
+large room for public dinners and other occasions. The inns of Southwark
+formed, so long as they stood, the most picturesque part of modern
+Southwark. Scarcely anything now remains of them, the George alone
+preserving anything of its ancient picturesqueness. The reader who
+desires a closer acquaintance with these inns is referred to Mr. Philip
+Norman's exquisitely illustrated book, which presents in a lasting form
+the vanished glories of the High Street.
+
+To speak of these inns is like entering upon a historical catalogue.
+There are so many of them, and the associations connected with them
+carry one away into so many directions and land him into many strange
+corners of history.
+
+At the south end of London Bridge, and on the west side of it, stood a
+tavern called the 'Bear at the Bridge Foot.' It was built in the year
+1319 by one Thomas Drinkwater, taverner of London. In Riley's
+'Memorials' may be found a lease of this house by the proprietor to one
+James Beauflur. The lease is for six years. James Beauflur is to pay no
+rent, because he has advanced money to Thomas Drinkwater to help in the
+building. James is, in fact, to act as manager of a 'tied' house. Thomas
+Drinkwater will furnish all the wine, and will keep an exact account of
+the same and will have a settlement twice a year. Thomas will also
+complete the furniture of the house with 'hanaps,' that is, handled mugs
+of silver and of wood, with curtains, clothes, and everything else
+necessary for the proper conduct of a tavern.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEN ROPEWALK, SOUTHWARK]
+
+One hopes that James Beauflur made the tavern pay. This was the
+commencement of a long and singularly prosperous inn. It became one of
+the most famous inns of London, and one of the most popular for
+dinners. Hither came the Churchwardens and vestry of St. Olave's to
+feast at the expense of the parish as long as feasts were allowed. Some
+of the bills of these dinners have been preserved among the papers of
+St. Saviour's. Rendle the antiquary and historian of Southwark gives
+one:
+
+P^d for 3 Geese, 3 Capons and one Rabbit      00  14  08
+        3 Tarts                               00  12  00
+        a Giblett pie makyng                  00  02  08
+        Beefe                                 01  02  06
+        3 leggs of mutton                     00   8  00
+        wine and dresing the meat and naperie,
+          fire, bread and beere               02  11  00
+        18 oz Tobacco and 12 pipes            00  01  02
+        12 Lemmonds and 18 Oranges            00  03  00
+                                             -----------
+                                              05  15  00
+                                             -----------
+
+Among the names of persons connected with the tavern must be noticed
+that of the Duke of Norfolk--'Jockey of Norfolk'--in 1463. Two hundred
+years later, one Cornelius Cooke, late a Colonel in Cromwell's army and
+a commissioner for the sale of the King's lands, enters upon a new
+sphere of usefulness by turning landlord of the Bear at the Bridge Foot.
+Samuel Pepys records several visits paid to the tavern. From this house
+the Duke of Richmond carried off Miss Stewart. It was pulled down in
+1761, when the end of the bridge was widened. I need not catalogue the
+whole long list of the Southwark inns: you may find them all enumerated
+in Rendle's book, but mention may be made of the more important. Some of
+them, it will be seen, had been in more ancient times the town houses of
+great people--Bishops, Abbots and nobles. Other town houses, those off
+the highway of trade, having been deserted by their former occupants,
+fell upon evil times, went down in the world, even became mere
+tenements. This happened to Sir John Fastolf's house, and to the house
+of the Prior of Lewes, and to many others. Those standing in the
+highway, whither came all the merchants; whither came all the waggons;
+became transformed, and proved more valuable property as inns than as
+residences.
+
+[Illustration: A SOUTH LONDON SLUM]
+
+Thus, in Foul Lane, now just south of St. Mary Overies, was the entrance
+to the Green Dragon Inn. This inn was anciently the town house of the
+Cobhams. This family left Southwark, and the house, with some
+alterations, became an Inn. When carriers began to ply between London
+and the country towns, Tunbridge was connected by a carrier's cart with
+the Green Dragon. Early in the eighteenth century it became the
+Southwark post-office. Another and a much more important inn for
+carriers and waggons was the King's Head. Taylor, the Water Poet, says
+that 'carriers come into the Borough of Southwark out of the counties of
+Kent, Sussex, and Surrey: from Reigate to the Falcon: from Tunbridge,
+Seavenoks, and Staplehurst to the Katherine Wheel, and others from
+Sussex thither; Dorking and Ledderhead to the Greyhound: some to the
+Spurre, the George, the King's Head: some lodge at the Tabbard or
+Talbot: many, far and wide, are to be had almost daily at the White
+Hart.'
+
+The White Hart is, if possible, a more historical inn than Chaucer's
+Tabard itself. It was the headquarters of Jack Cade, as has already been
+related in chapter vi. In front of this inn one Hawarden was beheaded:
+and also in front of this inn the headless body of Lord Say, after being
+dragged at the horsetail from the Standard at Chepe, was cut up in
+quarters, which were displayed in various places in order to strike
+terror into the minds of the people.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK]
+
+I have spoken sufficiently of Chaucer already. The Tabard Inn, from
+which the famous Company set out, was named after the ornamented coat or
+jacket worn by Kings at Coronations, and by heralds, or even by ordinary
+persons. In the fourteenth century it was the town house of the Abbot
+of Hyde, Winchester. Does this mean that the Abbot allowed the place to
+be used as an ordinary inn? It is clear that Chaucer speaks of it as an
+ordinary inn. Yet in 1307 the Bishop of Winchester licenses a chapel at
+the Abbot's Hospitium in the Parish of St. Margaret, Southwark. At the
+Dissolution it is surrendered as 'a hostelry called the Taberd, the
+Abbot's place, the Abbot's stable, the garden belonging, a dung place
+leading to the ditch going to the Thames.' It is explained in Spight's
+'Chaucer,' 1598, that the old Tabard had much decayed, but that it had
+been repaired 'with the Abbot's house adjoining.' Until the inn was
+finally pulled down, a room used to be shown as that in which Chaucer's
+Company assembled. This, however, was not the room, though it may have
+been rebuilt on the site of the old room. For on Friday, May 26, 1676, a
+destructive fire broke out, which raged over a large part of the Borough
+and destroyed the Queen's Head, the Talbot, the George, the White Hart,
+the King's Head, the Green Dragon, the Borough Compter, the Meat Market,
+and about 500 houses. St. Thomas's Hospital was saved by a change of
+wind, which also seems to have saved St. Mary Overies.
+
+[Illustration: ST. GEORGE, SOUTHWARK: NORTH-WEST VIEW
+
+(_From an Engraving by B. Cole_)]
+
+Walk with me from the Bridge head southwards, noting the Inns first on
+the right or the west, and then on the left or east.
+
+We have, first, the Bear on Bridge Head: then, before getting to Ford
+Lane, the Bull's Head: opposite the market place, the Goat: next the
+Clement. Opposite St. George's Church we cross over, and are on the east
+side, going north again: here we have a succession of Inns: the Half
+Moon: the Blue Maid and the Mermaid: the Nag's Head: the Spur: the
+Christopher: the Cross Keys: the Tabard: the George: the White Hart: the
+King's Head: the Black Swan: the Boar's Head. There is a pleasing
+atmosphere of business mixed with festivity about this street of inns
+and courtyards: of stables and grooms: of drivers and guards: of coaches
+and waggons: of merchants and middlemen: of country squires come up on
+business, with the hope of combining a little pleasure amongst the
+excitements of the town with a profitable deal or two. There is the
+smell of roast meats hanging about the courtyards of the inns. There is
+a continual calling for the drawers, there is a clinking of hanaps and a
+murmur of voices.
+
+The _strepitus_, however, of the High Street is not like that of
+Bankside. There is no tinkling of guitars: no singing before noon or
+after noon: no laughing: the country folk do not laugh: they do not
+understand the wit of the poets and the players. High Street has nothing
+to do with Bankside: the merchants and the squires know nothing about
+the Show Folk.
+
+There was one exception. Among the Show Folk was a certain Edward
+Alleyn, who was a man of business as well as a conductor of
+entertainments. He was on the vestry of St. Saviour's: he was also
+churchwarden, his name appears in the parish accounts of the period. He
+was a popular churchwarden: probably he had about him so much of the
+showman that he was genial, and mannerly, and courteous--these are the
+elementary virtues of the profession. For we find that when he proposes
+to retire his fellow members of the vestry refuse to let him go.
+
+It is melancholy to walk down the High Street and to reflect that all
+these inns, most of them so picturesque, were standing thirty or forty
+years ago, and that some of them were standing ten years ago. One of
+them is figured in the 'Pickwick Papers.' The courtyard is too vast: the
+figures are too small: the galleries are too large: but the effect
+produced is admirable. Now not only are the old Inns gone, but there is
+nothing to take their place: a modern public-house is not an Inn. The
+need of an Inn at Southwark is gone: there are no more caravans of
+produce brought up to the Borough: the High Street has become the shop
+and the provider of everything for the populations of the parishes of
+St. Saviour, St. Olave, St. Thomas, and St. George.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE DEBTORS' PRISON
+
+
+There was another kind of Sanctuary in Southwark, a place of Refuge not
+invited, and of security against one's will--The Debtors' Prison. In
+fact, there were three Debtors' Prisons--the King's Bench, the
+Marshalsea, and the Borough Compter. The consideration of these
+melancholy places--all the more melancholy because they were full of
+noisy revelry--fills one with amazement to think that a system so
+ridiculous should be continued so long, and should be abandoned with so
+much regret, reluctance, and with forebodings so gloomy. There would be
+no more credit, no more confidence, if the debtor could not be
+imprisoned. Trade would be destroyed. The Debtors' Prison was a part of
+trade. It is fifty years and more since the power of imprisoning a
+debtor for life was taken from the creditor: yet there is as much credit
+as ever, and as much confidence. To a trading community such as ours it
+seems, naturally, that the injury inflicted upon a merchant by failing
+to pay his just claims is so great that imprisonment ought to be awarded
+to such an offender. The Law gave the creditor the power of revenge full
+and terrible and lifelong. The Law said to the debtor: 'Whether you are
+to blame or not, you owe money which you cannot pay: you shall be locked
+up in a crowded prison: you shall be deprived of your means of getting a
+livelihood: you shall have no allowance of food: you shall have no fire:
+you shall have no bed: you shall be forced to herd with a noisome
+unwashed crowd of wretches: and whereas a criminal may get off with a
+year or two, you shall be sentenced to life-long imprisonment.'
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE MARSHALSEA: N.E. VIEW. A, CHAPEL; B,
+PALACE COURT
+
+(_From 'The Gentleman's Magazine,' September 1803_)]
+
+The barbarity of the system, its futility, because the debtor was
+deprived of the means of making money to pay his debts, withal, were
+exposed over and over again: prisoners wrote accounts of their prisons:
+commissions held inquiry into the management of the prisons: regulations
+were laid down: Acts were passed to release debtors by hundreds at one
+time: the system of allowing prisoners to live in 'Rules' was tolerated:
+but the real evil remained untouched so long as a creditor had the power
+of imprisoning a debtor. The power was abused in the most monstrous
+manner: a man owed a few shillings: he could not pay: he was put into
+prison: the next day he discovered that he was in debt to an attorney
+for as many pounds. If he owed as much as 10_l._, the bill against him
+for his arrest amounted to 11_l._ 15_s._ 8_d._ of what we should now
+call 'taxed costs.' In the year 1759 there were 20,000 prisoners for
+debt in Great Britain and Ireland. Think what that means: all those were
+in enforced idleness. Why, their work at 2_s._ a day means 600,000_l._ a
+year: all that wealth lost to the State: nay more, because they were
+mostly married men with families: their families had to be maintained,
+so that not only did the country lose 600,000_l._ a year by the idleness
+of the debtors, it also lost that much again for the maintenance of
+their families. Put it in another way. A poor man knowing one trade
+which one cannot practise in a prison owed, say, 15_s._ He was arrested
+and put into prison. He lived there for thirty years. He lived on doles
+and the proceeds of the begging box, and what his friends could give
+him: he lived, say, on five shillings a week. He cost some one
+therefore; the charitable people who dropped money into the box; the
+community; for his maintenance in the prison, and for thirty years of
+it, the sum total of 400_l._ This is rather an expensive tax on the
+State: but the tradesman to whom he owed the money considered no more
+than his own 15_s._ In addition there were his wife and children to keep
+until the latter were self-supporting. This charge represented perhaps
+another 400_l._ But there were 20,000 debtors in prison. If they were
+all in like evil case, the State was taxed on their behalf in the sum of
+sixteen millions spread over thirty years, or half a million a year,
+because these luckless creatures could not pay an insignificant debt of
+a few shillings or a few pounds.
+
+The King's Bench was the largest of all the Debtors' Prisons. It
+formerly stood on the east side of the High Street, on the site of what
+is now the second street north of St. George's Church. This prison was
+taken down in 1758, and the Debtors were removed to a larger and much
+more commodious place on the other side of the street south of Lant
+Street--the site is now marked by a number of new and very ugly houses
+and mean streets. When it was built it looked out at the back of St.
+George's Fields and across Lambeth Marsh, then an open space, and by
+this time drained. But the good air without was fully balanced by the
+bad air within.
+
+The place was surrounded by a very high wall, the area covered was
+extensive, and the buildings were more commodious than had ever before
+been attempted in a prison. But they were not large enough. In the year
+1776 the prisoners had to lie two in a bed, and even for those who could
+pay there were not beds enough, and many slept on the floor of the
+chapel. There were 395 prisoners: in addition to the prisoners many of
+them had wives and children with them. There were 279 wives and 725
+children: a total of 1,399 sleeping every night in the prison. There was
+a good water supply, but there was no infirmary, no resident surgeon,
+and no bath. Imagine a place containing 1,399 persons, and no bath and
+no infirmary!
+
+[Illustration: KING'S BENCH PRISON]
+
+Among these prisoners, about a hundred years ago, was a certain Colonel
+Hanger, who has left his memoirs behind him for the edification of
+posterity. According to him, the prison 'rivalled the purlieus of
+Wapping, St. Giles, and St. James's in vice, debauchery, and
+drunkenness.' The general immorality was so great that it was only
+possible, he says, to escape contagion by living separate or by
+consorting only with the few gentlemen of honour who might be found
+there: 'otherwise a man will quickly sink into dissipation: he will lose
+every sense of honour and dignity: every moral principle and virtuous
+disposition.' Among the prisoners in Hanger's time, there were seldom
+fifty who had any regular means of sustenance. They were always
+underfed. At that time a detaining creditor had to find sixpence a day
+for the prisoner's support. But in 1798 a pound of bread cost 4-1/2_d._, a
+pint of porter 2_d._: therefore a man who had to live on 6_d._ a day
+could not get more than a pound of bread and a half pint of porter. And
+then the 6_d._ a day was constantly withheld on some pretence or
+another, and the poor prisoner had not the wherewithal to engage an
+attorney to secure his rights. And as for attorneys their name stank in
+the prison: more than half of the prisoners, Hanger avers, were kept
+there solely because they could not pay the attorneys' costs.
+
+Those prisoners who knew any trade which could be carried on in the
+King's Bench were fortunate. The cobbler, the tailor, the barber, the
+fiddler, the carpenter, could get employment and were able to maintain
+themselves: some of them kept shops, and the principal building in the
+place, about 360 feet long, had its ground floor, looking out upon an
+open court, occupied by shops where everything could be bought except
+spirits, which were forbidden. They were brought in, however, secretly
+by the visitors. The open court was the common Recreation Ground: there
+was the Parade, a Walk along the front of the building: three pumps
+where were benches: these were three separate centres of conversation:
+there were racket and fives courts: a ground for the play called 'bumble
+puppy.' And in fine weather there were tables set out here and there,
+with chairs and benches, where the collegians drank beer and smoked
+tobacco.
+
+[Illustration: The King's Bench Prison]
+
+Anybody might enter the Prison to visit an inmate or to look round:
+every day the place was thronged with visitors, chiefly to see the new
+comers: the time came when the newcomer was an old resident, who had
+worn out the kindness of his friends or had outlived them, and now
+lingered on, poor and friendless, in this living grave. All day long the
+children played in the court, shouting and running: they saw things that
+they ought not to have seen: they heard things which they ought not to
+have heard: they learned habits which they ought not to have learned.
+Can one conceive a worse school for a boy than the King's Bench Prison?
+Look at the Court on a fine and sunny afternoon. The whole College is
+out and in the open: some stroll up and down: in the Prison nobody ever
+walks: they all stroll: even, it may be said without unkindness, they
+slouch. The men wear coats which are mostly in holes at the elbows, with
+other garments that equally show signs of decay: they wear slippers
+because it is absurd to wear boots in a prison: the slippers are down at
+heel--never mind: no one cares here whether one is shabby or not: it is
+better to go ragged than to go hungry. If the men are ragged the women
+are slatternly: they have lost even the feminine desire to please: they
+please nobody, and certainly not their husbands: they are shrewish as to
+tongue and vicious as to temper. Look at their faces: there is this face
+and that face, but there is not a single happy face among them all. The
+average face is resentful, painted with strong drink, stamped with the
+seal of vice and self-indulgence. A vile place, which has imprinted its
+own vileness on the face of everyone who lives within its walls.
+
+A worse place than the King's Bench was a wretched little Prison called
+the Borough Compter. It was used both for debtors and for criminals. Now
+you shall hear what marvellous thing in the way of cruelty can be
+brought about when the execution of the law is entrusted to such men as
+prison warders and turnkeys.
+
+The place consisted of a women's ward, a debtors' ward, a felons' ward,
+and a yard for exercise. The yard was nineteen feet square: this was the
+only exercising ground for all the prisoners. When Buxton visited the
+place in the year 1817, there were then thirty-eight debtors, thirty
+women, and twenty children--all had to exercise themselves in this
+little yard: he does not say how many felons there were. The debtors'
+ward consisted of two rooms, each of which was twenty feet long and
+about nine feet broad. Each room was furnished with eight straw beds,
+sixteen rugs, and a piece of timber for a pillow. Twenty prisoners slept
+side by side on these beds! That gives a breadth of twelve inches for
+each. No one therefore could move in bed. The place was shut up: in the
+morning the heat and stench were so awful that when the door was opened
+all rushed together, undressed as they were, into the yard for fresh
+air. Now and then a man would be brought in with an infectious disease
+or covered with vermin: they had to endure his company as best they
+could. There was no infirmary: no surgeon: no conveniences whatever in
+case of sickness. And the place was so crowded that those who might have
+carried on their trade could not for want of space. As for the women's
+ward, I forbear to speak. Think, however, of the noisome, horrible,
+stinking place, narrow and confined, with its felons' ward of innocent
+and guilty, tried and untried: the past masters in villainy with the
+innocent country boy: the honest working man with his wife and children
+slowly starving and slowly poisoned by the brutal law which permitted a
+creditor to send him there for life for a paltry debt of a few
+shillings. Think of the simple-minded country girl thrust into the
+women's ward, where wickedness was authorised, where nothing was
+disguised! I sometimes ask whether in the year 1998 the historian of
+manners will call attention to the lamentable brutality of this the end
+of the nineteenth century. There are some points as to which I am
+doubtful. But I cannot believe that there will be anything alleged
+against us compared with the sleek complacency with which the City
+Fathers and the Legislators regarded the condition of the Debtors'
+Prisons.
+
+I have not forgotten the Marshalsea. The position of the Marshalsea
+Prison was changed from its first site south of King Street in the year
+1810, when it was removed to the site which it occupied down to the end,
+overlooking St. George's Churchyard. The choice of that site is a good
+illustration of English conservatism. Why was the Marshalsea brought
+there? Because there had been a prison on the spot before. From time
+immemorial the Surrey Prison had stood there. They called the place the
+White Lyon. It still stood when the Marshalsea was brought there: it was
+still standing when the Marshalsea was pulled down.
+
+I think it was in the year 1877 or 1878 or thereabouts that I walked
+over to see the Marshalsea before it was pulled down. I found a long
+narrow terrace of mean houses--they are still standing: there was a
+narrow courtyard in front for exercise and air: a high wall separated
+the prison from the Churchyard: the rooms in the terrace were filled
+with deep cupboards on either side of the fireplace: these cupboards
+contained the coals, the cooking utensils, the stores, and the clothes
+of the occupants. My guide, a working man employed on the demolition of
+another part of the Prison, pointed to certain marks on the floor as, he
+said, the place where they fastened the staples when they tied down the
+poor prisoners. Such was his historic information: he also pointed out
+Mr. Dorrit's room--so real was the novelist's creation. At the east end
+of the terrace there were certain rooms which I believe to have been the
+tap-room and the coffee-room. Then we came to the White Lyon, which at
+the time I did not know to have been the White Lyon. It was a very
+ancient building. It consisted of two rooms, one above the other: the
+staircase and the floors were of most solid work: the windows were
+barred: bars crossed the chimney a few feet up: large square nails were
+driven into the oaken pillars and into the doors. The lower room had
+evidently been kitchen, day room, sleeping room and all. Outside was a
+tiny yard for exercise: this was the old Surrey Prison. I have seen
+another prison exactly like it, and, if my memory does not play tricks,
+it was at the little country town of Ilminster. This was a Clink, and on
+this pattern, I believe, all the old Prisons were constructed. Beyond
+the Clink was the chapel, a modern structure. So far as I know, Mr.
+Dickens _pere_, and Mr. Dorrit, were the only persons of eminence
+confined in this modern Marshalsea. In the older Marshalsea all kinds of
+distinguished people were kept captive, notably Bishop Bonner, who died
+there. They say that it was necessary to bury him at midnight for fear
+of the people, who would have rent his dead body in pieces if they
+could. Perhaps. But it was not at any time usual for a mob of Englishmen
+to pull a dead body, even of a martyr-making Marian Bishop, to pieces.
+Later on, in the last century, it was the rule to bury at night. The
+darkness, the flicker of the torches, increased the solemnity of the
+ceremony. So that after all Bishop Bonner may have been buried at night
+in the usual fashion. He lies buried somewhere in St. George's
+Churchyard. It is now a pretty garden, whose benches in fine weather are
+filled with people resting and sunning themselves: in spring the garden
+is full of pleasant greenery: the dead parishioners to whom headstones
+have been consecrated, if they ever visit the spot, may amuse themselves
+by picking out their own tombstones among the illegible ones which line
+the wall. But I hardly think, wherever they may now be quartered, they
+would care to revisit this place. The owners of the headstones were in
+their day accounted as the more fortunate sons of men: they were
+vestrymen and guardians and churchwardens: they owned shops: they kept
+the inns and ran the stage coaches and the waggons and the caravans:
+their tills were heavy with guineas: their faces were smug and smiling:
+their chins were double: they talked benevolent commonplace: they
+exchanged the most beautiful sentiments: and they crammed their debtors
+into these prisons.
+
+There are other tenants of this small area: they belonged to the great
+army--how great! how vast! how rapidly increasing!--of the
+'Not-quite-so-fortunate.' They were brought here from the King's Bench
+and the Marshalsea: they came from the Master's side and from the Common
+side. They came here from the mean streets and lanes of the Borough:
+they were the porters and the fishermen and the rogues and the grooms
+and the 'service' generally. This churchyard represents all that can be
+imagined of human patience, human work, human suffering, human
+degradation. Everything is here beneath our feet, and we sit among these
+memories unmoved and enjoy the sunshine and forget the sorrows of the
+past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE PLEASURE GARDENS
+
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that two books should have appeared almost at
+the same time on the Pleasure Gardens of London--that of Messrs. Warwick
+and Edgar Wroth, and that of Mr. H. A. Rogers. I refer the reader who
+desires exact and special knowledge on the subject to these two books.
+For my own part I have only to speak of two or three of these gardens,
+and shall confine myself to certain sources of information neither so
+exact nor so detailed as those from which Messrs. Warwick and Wroth have
+drawn the material for their excellent work.
+
+The Pleasure Gardens grew out of the old Bear Baiting Gardens. The
+London citizen loved sport first and above all things: next, he loved
+the country: to sit under the shade of trees in the summer: to walk upon
+the soft sward; to smell the flowers: to rest his eyes upon country
+scenes. He has always yearned for the country while he remained in town.
+With these things he desired, as a concomitant of the entertainment,
+good eating, good drinking, the merry sound of music not softly but
+loudly played: the voices of those who sang: and a platform or floor for
+dancing. All these things he could get in Paris Gardens so long as that
+place existed, together with its bears and dogs. When the bears
+disappeared, what followed? The Gardens continued without the bears.
+There were also the Mulberry Gardens on the site of Buckingham House,
+and the Spring Gardens at Charing Cross. In the month of July 1661
+Evelyn visited the new garden of Foxhall, afterwards Vauxhall, and in
+June 1665, the year of the Plague, Pepys spent the evening at the same
+place, for the first time, and with great delight.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL GARDENS
+
+(_From the Engraving by J. S. Mueller_)]
+
+The Pleasure Garden apart from the sport of Bear and Bull Baiting was
+then beginning. Before long it became a necessity of life--at least, of
+the gregarious and social life of which the eighteenth century was so
+fond. Many things are said about that century, now so nearly removed
+from us by the space of another century, but we cannot say that it was
+not social, and that it was not gregarious. It had its coffee houses:
+its clubs: its taverns: its coteries: its societies: it loved the
+theatre: the opera: the concert: the oratorio: the masquerade: the
+Assembly: the card-room: but most of all the eighteenth century loved
+its Pleasure Gardens. It took every opportunity of getting away from the
+quiet house to crowds and noise and the scene of merriment.
+
+[Illustration: VAUXHALL JUBILEE ADMISSION TICKET]
+
+Many things were required to make a Pleasure Garden. There must be,
+first, abundance of trees--at first cherry trees, but these afterwards
+disappeared: if possible, there should be avenues of trees: aisles and
+dark walks of trees. There must be, next, an ornamental water with a
+fountain and a bridge: there must be a row of rustic bowers or retreats
+in which tea and supper could be served: there must be a platform for
+open-air dancing and promenading: there must be card-rooms: there must
+be a long room for dancing and for promenading, with a gallery for the
+orchestra and the singers. Add to these things a crowd every night
+including all classes and conditions of men and women. The eighteenth
+century was by no means a leveller of distinctions, but all classes met
+together without levelling. Distinctions were preserved: each party kept
+to itself: the nobleman wore his star and sash: he did not pretend to be
+on a level with the people around him: they liked him to keep up the
+dignity of aristocratic separation: he brought Ladies to the Gardens,
+sometimes in domino, sometimes not. They were not expected to speak to
+the ladies outside their set: they danced together in the minuets:
+after the minuets they withdrew. The main point about the company of the
+Gardens was that each party was separate and kept separate. In the Park,
+either in the morning or the afternoon, it was not difficult to make
+acquaintances. The reason was that in the Park were only to be found in
+the morning or the afternoon those people who were not engaged in
+earning their livelihood. Accordingly, all professional men--lawyers,
+physicians, attorneys, surgeons, artists, architects, literary people:
+all those engaged in trade, from the greatest merchant to the smallest
+shopkeeper, were excluded: they were occupied elsewhere. Therefore, the
+servants and footmen not being allowed in the Park, but compelled to
+wait outside, the people of position had the place to themselves, and
+access was easy. In the Gardens it was different: all could enter who
+paid the shilling for an entrance fee. Among them were the gentlemen in
+the red coat who bore His Majesty's Commission: the young fellows about
+town, a noisy disreputable band with noisy and disreputable companions:
+the plain citizen with his wife and daughter, the young fellow who was
+courting her: the young tradesman taking a holiday for once: the
+highwayman: the common pickpocket, and whole troops of the customary
+courtesan. All were here enjoying together--but separated into tiny
+groups of two or three--the strings of coloured lamps, the blare of the
+orchestra, the songs, the dances, and the supper. As for the last, it
+seems to have been always a cold collation: it generally consisted of
+chicken and a thin slice of ham, with a bowl of punch and a bottle of
+Port. There was no affectation of fine or polite behaviour; everybody
+behaved exactly as he pleased: the citizen was not _gene_ by the
+presence of the great lady: he prattled his vulgar commonplaces without
+being abashed: nor did the great lady put on 'side,' or behave among her
+own company with any affectation of dignity or reserve in the presence
+of the mercer of Ludgate Hill in the next box. Perhaps the recognition
+of rank made them all behave more naturally. After all, the mercer had
+his own rank. He could look forward to becoming Alderman, Sheriff, and
+Lord Mayor: he understood very well that he was already a good way up
+the ladder: the social precedence which belongs to the possession of
+money and the employment of many servants had already placed him in
+front of a vast crowd of inferiors: he was perfectly satisfied with his
+own position, although he could certainly never become a noble earl or
+wear a star upon his breast, or hope to consort on equal terms with the
+jewelled lady in silks which he knew (professionally) to be beyond all
+price, with her rouged face and high-dressed head, who laughed so loud
+and talked so fast with the noble lords her companions, one of whom was
+blind drunk and the other was a little mincing beau who walked on his
+toes with bent knees and carried his hat under his arm, and spoke under
+his breath as if every word was to be listened to. Do you think the
+honest mercer was indignant at the manners of the great? Not he: he
+called for another bowl of punch and tied his handkerchief over his wig
+to keep off the damp. In the box on the other side of the citizen from
+Ludgate Hill was a party also taking supper and punch, with plenty of
+the latter. They were under the lead of an extremely fine gentleman: his
+white coat was covered with gold lace: his hat was laced in the same
+way: his waistcoat was of flowered silk: his ruffles were of white
+lace--lace of Valenciennes. The ladies with him were dressed with a
+corresponding splendour. Everybody knew that the gentleman was a
+highwayman: his face was perfectly well known: he had been going on so
+long that his time must soon be up. In a few months at most he would
+take that fatal journey in the cart to Tyburn, there to meet the end
+common to his kind. A good many people in the Gardens knew, besides,
+that the ladies with him--ladies of St. Giles in the Fields--were
+dressed from the stores of a receiving house for stolen goods. Perhaps
+the consciousness of this cheap and easy way of getting one's clothes
+made the ladies so buoyantly and extravagantly happy, with their
+sprightly sallies and their high-bred courtesy of adjectives. But the
+mercer troubled himself not at all about them.
+
+The toleration of the mercer ought to endear his memory to us. For in
+all public assemblies there are things which must be tolerated. Less
+wise, we shut up the Assembly. We cannot keep out the Lady of the
+Camellias from the Pleasure Garden. Therefore we shut up the place. In
+the eighteenth century this lady was told that everybody must behave
+with a certain amount of restraint: we have improved upon that manner:
+we cut off our nose to spite our face: we shut up the lovely Garden
+because we cannot keep her out.
+
+For the same reason we have practically forbidden the youth of the lower
+middle class to practise the laudable, innocent, and delightful
+diversion of dancing. Not a single place, except certain so-called
+clubs, where the young people can now go to dance. Why? Because the
+magistrates in their wisdom have concluded that vice free and unchecked
+out of doors is better for the people than vice fettered and restrained
+by the necessity of behaving decently, and compelled to hide itself
+under the semblance of virtue. The Pleasure Gardens were shut up one
+after the other for that reason. When will they return? And in what
+form?
+
+The Gardens of South London were not so celebrated as those of the
+North. Against Ranelagh, Cremorne, Marylebone, Bagnigge Wells, the White
+Conduit House--the South can only point to Vauxhall as a national
+institution. They were, however, of considerable note in their time, and
+were greatly frequented. They lay in a half circle, like pearls on a
+chain, all round South London. There were the Lambeth Wells, the Marble
+Hall, and the Cumberland Gardens at Vauxhall, besides Vauxhall itself;
+the Black Prince, Newington Butts; the Temple of Flora, the Temple of
+Apollo, the Flora Tea Gardens, the Restoration Spring Gardens, the Dog
+and Duck, the Folly on the Thames; Cuper's Gardens; Finch's Grotto, the
+Bermondsey Spa, and St. Helena Gardens, Rotherhithe. No doubt there were
+others, but these were the principal Gardens.
+
+Cuper's Gardens lay exactly opposite to Somerset House. When Waterloo
+Bridge and Waterloo Bridge Road were constructed the latter passed right
+through the former site of the Gardens. St. John's Church marks the
+southern limit of the Gardens. They were opened about the year 1678 by
+one Cuper, gardener to the Earl of Arundel. He begged such of the
+statues belonging to his master as were mutilated, and decorated the new
+gardens with them. Aubrey mentions them as belonging to Jesus College,
+Oxford; he calls them Cupid's gardens, and speaks of the arbours and
+walks of the place. There was a tavern connected with the gardens by the
+riverside, and fireworks were exhibited. These gardens continued until
+1753, when they were suppressed as a nuisance. Cunningham quotes the
+prologue to Mrs. Centlivre's 'Busy Body.'
+
+    The Fleet Street sempstress, toast of Temple sparks,
+    That runs spruce neckcloths for attorneys' clerks,
+    At Cupid's Gardens will her hours regale,
+    Sing 'Fair Dorinda,' and drink bottled ale.
+
+[Illustration: THE DOG AND DUCK, BETHLEM]
+
+In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and Duck is one of the last places
+visited in the course of that very remarkable Sunday 'out,' which began
+at four o'clock in the morning and ended at one o'clock next morning,
+such was the zeal of the ramblers. The place was a tavern in St.
+George's Fields. On its site now stands Bethlehem Hospital. It was first
+built for the accommodation of those who came to this spot in order to
+drink the waters of a spring supposed to possess wonderful properties,
+especially in the case of cutaneous disorders and scrofula. The spring,
+like so many other medicinal springs, has long since been forgotten.
+Where is Beulah Spa? Who remembereth Hampstead Spa? Yet in its day the
+spring in St. George's Wells had no small reputation. It was especially
+in vogue between 1744 and 1770. Dr. Johnson advised Mrs. Thrale to try
+it. When the Spa declined, the tavern looked out for other attractions;
+it found them by day in certain ponds on the Fields close to the tavern:
+these ponds especially on Sunday were used for the magnificent sport of
+hunting the duck by dogs. All the ponds around London, especially those
+lying on the east side of Tottenham Court Road, were used for this
+sport. The gallant sportsmen, their hunt over, naturally felt thirsty:
+they were easily persuaded to stay for the evening when on week days
+there was music, with dancing, singing, supper, and more drink, and on
+Sundays the organ, with a choice company of the most well-bred gentlemen
+and ladies of similar breeding and taste.
+
+Like Ranelagh and Bagnigge Wells, and indeed all the Pleasure Gardens,
+the Dog and Duck was a favourite place for breakfasts. The fashion of
+the public breakfast, now so completely forgotten, was brought to London
+from Bath, Tunbridge Wells, and Epsom. Tea and coffee were served at
+breakfast. After breakfast the people stayed on at the gardens, very
+often all day and half the night at the Dog and Duck. There was a
+bowling green for fine weather, there was also a swimming bath--I
+believe, the only one south of the Thames. About three or four in the
+afternoon there was dinner, with a bottle or several bottles of wine.
+One of the ponds not then employed for duck-hunting was in the garden,
+and served as an ornamental water, with alcoves or bowers round it; a
+band played at intervals during the day. In the long room there was an
+organ, with an excellent organist. In the evening, there was generally a
+concert; the Dog and Duck maintained its own poet and its own composer.
+All this sounds very innocent and Arcadian, but in truth the place was
+acquiring a most evil reputation. In 1787 it was closed on Sunday, and
+in 1799 it was suppressed. In the 'Sunday Ramble' (1794) the Dog and
+Duck is open, but the Ramble may have taken place before 1787. Let us
+see what is going on. Remember that it is Sunday evening. But there is
+not the least trace of any respect for the day, and the place--to speak
+the truth--is full of the vilest company in the world, whose histories
+are described in the greedy fulness and with the hypocritical
+indignation against the wickedness of the people which were common among
+such writers a hundred years ago. I suppose they would not venture to
+set down what they did, but for the pretence of indignation. Thus, there
+is a certain City merchant, once a Quaker and formerly a bankrupt, but
+now rich and flourishing again. His companion is an ex-orange-girl, his
+mistress. Observe that the writer is certainly airing some City scandal
+of the day, and that his readers know perfectly well who was meant.
+There is a certain Nan Sheldon, who seems to have been a lady of some
+conversational powers with a considerable fund of information about the
+shady side of town life. There is also present a young lady described as
+the mistress of the 'Rev. Dr. D----s, of St. G.' Here, no doubt, we have
+a piece of contemporary humour which enables us to have a slap at the
+Church. There is other company of the like kind, but this specimen must
+suffice. As to the men, they are chiefly 'prentices and shopmen. At the
+Dog and Duck the license to sell drink had been withdrawn. The manager,
+however, met the difficulty by engaging a free vintner, _i.e._ a member
+of the Vintners' Company, for whom no license was required. He
+therefore came to sell the drink to the visitors. It is a curious
+illustration of City privileges. Leaving the Dog and Duck, the Ramblers
+visited the Temple of Flora, dropped a tear over the Apollo Gardens,
+deserted and falling into ruins, and visited the Flora Tea Garden. The
+company here was more respectable, in consequence of some separation
+among the ladies; it was not, however, very orderly, and political
+argument ran high.
+
+From this Tea Garden they drove to the Bermondsey Spa Gardens. Let me
+extract this account of this place, which was once so popular:
+
+'We found the entrance presents a vista between trees, hung with lamps,
+blue, red, green, and white; nor is the walk in which they are hung
+inferior (length excepted) to the grand walk in Vauxhall Gardens. Nearly
+at the upper end of the walk is a large room, hung round with paintings,
+many of them in an elegant and the rest in a singular taste. At the
+upper end of the room is a painting of a butcher's shop, so finely
+executed by the landlord that a stranger to the place would cheapen a
+fillet of veal or a buttock of beef, a shoulder of mutton or a leg of
+pork, without hesitation, if there were not other pictures in the room
+to take off his attention. But these paintings are not seen on a Sunday.
+
+'The accommodations at this place on a Sunday are very good, and the
+charges reasonable, and the captain, who is very intimate with Mr.
+Keyse, declares that there is no place in the vicinity of London can
+afford a more agreeable evening's entertainment.
+
+'This elegant place of entertainment is situate in the lower road,
+between the Borough of Southwark and Deptford. The proprietor calls it
+_one_, but it is nearer two miles from London Bridge, and the same
+distance from that of Black-Friars. The proprietor is Mr. Thomas Keyse,
+who has been at great expense, and exerted himself in a very
+extraordinary manner, for the entertainment of the public; and his
+labours have been amply repaid.
+
+'It is easy to paint the elegance of this place, situated in a spot
+where elegance, among people who talk of _taste_, would be little
+expected. But Mr. Keyse's good humour, his unaffected easiness of
+behaviour, and his _genuine_ taste for the polite arts, have secured him
+universal approbation.
+
+'The gardens, with an adjacent field, consist of not less than four
+acres.
+
+'On the north-east side of the gardens is a very fine lawn, consisting
+of about three acres, and in a field, parted from this lawn by a sunk
+fence, is a building with turrets, resembling a fortress, or castle. The
+turrets are in the ancient style of building. At each side of this
+fortress, at unequal distances, are two buildings, from which, on public
+nights, bomb shells, &c., are thrown at the fortress; the fire is
+returned, and the whole exhibits a very picturesque, and therefore a
+horrid, prospect of a siege.
+
+'After walking a round or two in the gardens we retired into the
+parlour, where we were very agreeably entertained by the proprietor,
+who, contrary to his own rule, favoured us with a sight of his curious
+museum, for, it being Sunday, he never shows to any one these articles;
+but, the captain never having seen them, I wished him to be gratified
+with such an agreeable sight.
+
+'Mr. Keyse presented us with a little pamphlet, written by the late
+celebrated John Oakman, of lyric memory, descriptive of his situation,
+which a few years ago was but a waste piece of ground. "Here is now,"
+said he, "an agreeable place, where before was but a mere wilderness
+piece of ground, and, in my opinion, it was a better plan to lay it out
+in this manner than any other wise, as the remoteness of any place of
+public entertainment from this secured to me in my retreat a comfortable
+piece of livelihood."
+
+'We perfectly coincided in opinion with our worthy host, and, after
+paying for our liquor, got into our carriage, but not before we had
+tasted a comfortable glass of cherry brandy, for which Mr. Keyse is
+remarkable for preparing.'
+
+I am not here writing a history of South London. Were this a history,
+Vauxhall Gardens would demand its own place, and a very large place. A
+garden which continued to be a favourite resort from the year 1660 or
+thereabouts until the year 1859, when it was finally abandoned, which
+occupies so large a part in the literature of that long period, must
+have its history told in length when a history is written of the place
+where it stood. In this place I desire to do no more than to take off my
+hat to this Queen of Gardens, and to recognise her importance. The
+history of Vauxhall is an old story; it has been told at greater or less
+length, over and over again. We seem to know all the anecdotes which
+have been copied from one writer by another, and all the literature and
+all the poetry about Vauxhall. The poetry is, indeed, very poor stuff.
+The best are the lines of Canning:
+
+    There oft returning from the green retreats
+    Where fair Vauxhallia decks her sylvan seats;
+    Where each spruce nymph, from City counters free,
+    Sips the frothed syllabub or fragrant tea:
+    While with sliced ham, scraped beef, and burnt champagne,
+    Her 'prentice lover soothes his amorous pain.
+
+What a chain of anecdotes it is! We begin in 1661 with Evelyn, who
+treats the place with his accustomed brevity and coldness; we go on to
+Pepys, who records how the visitors picked cherries, and how the
+nightingales sang, and lets us understand how much he enjoyed his visits
+there, and how delightful he found the place, and how much after his own
+heart; we proceed to Congreve and Tom Brown, to Addison, to Fielding, to
+Horace Walpole. We all know the Dark Walk, and how the ladies were taken
+there, not unwillingly, to be frightened: we know the stage where they
+danced: we know the orchestra; we know the Chinese Room: we know
+Rowlandson's picture of the evening at Vauxhall with the Prince of
+Wales, putting on princely arrogance in the middle, and the Duchess of
+Devonshire and her friends apparently making fun of him; and in the side
+box, having supper, Goldsmith and Boswell, and Mrs. Traill, and Dr.
+Johnson; with Miss Linley singing; and we all know about the forty
+thousand coloured lamps festooned about the trees.
+
+London was not London, life was not worth having, without Vauxhall. Like
+Mrs. Cornelys's masquerades and assemblies, Vauxhall was the great
+leveller of the eighteenth century. A man might be an earl or a prince:
+he would get no more enjoyment out of Vauxhall than a 'prentice who had
+a little money to spare. And the milliner going to Vauxhall with that
+'prentice was quite as happy as any lady in the land could be.
+
+When one thinks of Vauxhall and all it meant, one is carried away by
+admiration. To the City Miss who might belong to the City Assembly, but
+most likely did not, there was no such spectacle in the world as those
+avenues of trees with their thousands of coloured lamps; there was
+nothing that so much made her heart leap up as the sight of the dancing
+in the open air to the music of the orchestra in the high stand; there
+was nothing so delightful as to sit in an arbour dimly lighted, and to
+make a supper off cold chicken with a glass of punch afterwards--girls
+drank punch then--to look out upon the company, resplendent, men and
+women alike, in their dress, and ceremonious in their manners; to be
+told how the one was the young Lord Mellamour and the angel with him was
+a danseuse of Covent Garden: and that other gentleman behind them was
+the Rev. Dr. Scattertext of St. Bride's; and that the dashing young
+fellow in peach-coloured velvet was no other than Sixteen String Jack
+the highwayman. Vauxhall, in fact, for two hundred years, was nothing
+less than a national institution. All classes who could command a
+decent coat went to Vauxhall. The Prince of Wales went there--once or
+twice he was recognised and mobbed; all the great ladies went there; all
+the lesser ladies; all the ladies of the half world; all the citizens,
+from the Alderman to the 'prentice; all the adventurers; all the gallant
+highwaymen. There was a charming toleration about the visitors to
+Vauxhall. They were not in the least disturbed by the presence of the
+highwaymen, of the adventurers, or of the ladies corresponding to those
+gentlemen--not in the least; they walked together in the lanes and
+aisles of the place; they ate supper in the next arbour; they saw the
+young rakes carrying on openly and without the least disguise. The sober
+citizen saw it; his sober wife saw it; her daughter saw it. There were
+no complaints, save occasionally from the Surrey magistrates. The place
+and the behaviour of the people are typical of the eighteenth century,
+in which the maintenance of order was thrown upon the public, and there
+were no police. If things got very bad in a pleasure garden, the
+magistrates refused a license; if the visitors were robbed by highwaymen
+on their way to and from the place, guards were appointed by the
+managers. Vauxhall, however, was safer than most places, because most of
+the people came by boat. In common with all places of amusement in the
+eighteenth century, Vauxhall was late. The people seem to have been
+allowed to stay there nearly all night.
+
+There is a passage quoted in Chambers's 'Book of Days,' which I should
+like to transfer with acknowledgments to this page. It is from the
+'Connoisseur' of 1755, and discusses a Vauxhall slice of ham.
+
+'When it was brought, our honest friend twirled the dish about three or
+four times, and surveyed it with a settled countenance. Then taking up a
+slice of the ham on the point of his fork, and dangling it to and fro,
+he asked the waiter how much there was of it. "A shilling's worth, sir,"
+said the fellow. "Prithee," said the cit, "how much dost think it
+weighs?" "An ounce, sir." "Ah! a shilling an ounce, that is sixteen
+shillings per pound; a reasonable profit, truly! Let me see. Suppose,
+now, the whole ham weighs thirty pounds: at a shilling per ounce, that
+is sixteen shillings per pound. Why, your master makes exactly
+twenty-four pounds off of every ham; and if he buys them at the best
+hand, and salts and cures them himself, they don't stand him in ten
+shillings a-piece!"'
+
+In 1841 there seemed every prospect that the gardens would be closed;
+they were not closed, however, but were reopened and continued open
+until the year 1859, where they were finally closed and the farewell
+night was celebrated.
+
+The scare, however, in 1841 produced in June a brief history of Vauxhall
+Gardens in one of the morning papers--I do not know which--I have it as
+a cutting only. It is as follows:
+
+'Vauxhall Gardens are announced for public sale under Gye and Hughes's
+bankruptcy, and their past celebrity deserves a notice, if only as a
+memento of the pleasure the old and young have experienced in their
+delightful retreats, while their hundredfold associations, such as the
+journey of Sir Roger de Coverley to the gardens, old Jonathan Tyers, and
+the paintings in the pavilions by Hayman and Hogarth, create an interest
+seldom to be met with. The gardens derive their name from the manor of
+Vauxhall, or Faukeshall, but the tradition that the property belonged to
+Guy Fawkes is erroneous. The premises were in 1615 the property of Jane
+Vaux, and the mansion was then called Stockdens. The gardens appear to
+have been originally planted with trees and laid out into walks for the
+pleasure of a private gentleman, Sir Samuel Moreland, who displayed in
+his house and gardens many whimsical proofs of his skill in mechanics.
+It is said these gardens were planted in the reign of Charles I.; nor is
+it improbable, since, according to Aubrey, they were well known in 1667,
+when Sir Samuel Moreland, the proprietor, added a public room to them,
+"the inside of which," he says, "is all looking-glass and fountains and
+very pleasant to behold, and which is much visited by strangers." The
+time when they were first opened for the entertainment of the public is
+involved in some uncertainty; their celebrity is, however, established
+to be upwards of a century and a half old. In the reign of Queen Anne
+they appear to have been a place of great public resort, for in the
+"Spectator," No. 383, dated May 20, 1712, Addison has introduced Sir
+Roger de Coverley as accompanying him in a voyage from Temple-stairs to
+Vauxhall, then called Spring Gardens. He says: "We made the best of our
+way to Foxhall;" and describes the gardens as "exceedingly pleasant at
+this time of the year. When I considered the fragrancy of the walks and
+bowers with the choirs of birds that sung upon the trees and the tribe
+of people that walked under their shades, I could not but look on this
+place as a sort of Mohammedan Paradise." Masks were then worn, at least
+by some visitors, for Addison talks of "a mask tapping Sir Roger on the
+shoulder and inviting him to drink a bottle of mead with her." A glass
+of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef formed the supper of the party.
+The place, however, resembled a tea-garden of our days till the year
+1730, when Mr. Jonathan Tyers took a lease of the premises, and shortly
+afterwards opened Vauxhall with a _Ridotto al Fresco_. The novelty of
+the term attracted great numbers, and Mr. Tyers was so successful in
+occasional repetitions as to be induced to open the gardens every
+evening during the summer. Hogarth at this time had lodgings at
+Lambeth-terrace, and, becoming intimate with Tyers, was induced to
+embellish the gardens with his designs, in which he was joined by
+Hayman. The house which he occupied is still shown, and a vine pointed
+out which he planted. Tyers's improvements consisted of sweeps of
+pavilions and saloons, in which these paintings were placed. He also
+erected an orchestra, engaged a band of music, and placed a fine statue
+of Handel by Roubiliac in a conspicuous part of the gardens. Mr.
+Cunningham dates the appearance of this statue, which was Roubiliac's
+earliest work, at 1732. Mr. Tyers afterwards purchased the whole of the
+estate, which is copyhold of inheritance, and held of the Prince of
+Wales, as lord of Kennington manor, in right of his Duchy of Cornwall.
+The gardens were originally opened daily (Sunday excepted), and till the
+year 1792 the admission was 1_s._; it was then raised to 2_s._;
+including tea and coffee; in 1809 several improvements were made, lamps
+added, &c., the price was raised to 3_s._ 6_d._, and the gardens were
+only opened three nights in the week; in 1821 the price was again raised
+to 4_s._ Upon the death of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the gardens became the
+property of Mr. Bryant Barrett, who married the granddaughter of the
+original proprietor. They next descended to Mr. Barrett's sons, and from
+them by right of purchase to the late proprietors. Mr. Thomas Tyers, a
+son of the famous Jonathan Tyers, and author of "Biographical Sketches
+of Johnson," and "Political Conferences," who died on February 1, 1787,
+contributed many poetic trifles to the gardens. The representation of
+the _Ridotto al Fresco_ is thus described by one of the newspapers of
+June 21, 1732: "On Wednesday, at the _Ridotto al Fresco_ at Vauxhall,
+there was not one half of the company as was expected, being no more
+than 203 persons, amongst whom were several persons of distinction, but
+more ladies than gentlemen, and the whole was managed with great order
+and decency; a detachment of 100 of the Foot Guards being posted round
+the gardens. A waiter belonging to the house having got drunk put on a
+dress and went to _fresco_ with the rest of the company, but being
+discovered he was immediately turned out of doors." The season of 1739
+was for three months, and the admittance was by silver tickets. The
+proprietors then announced that "1,000 tickets would only be delivered
+at 25_s._ each, the silver of every ticket to be worth 3_s._ 2_d._, and
+to admit two persons every evening (Sunday excepted) during the
+season." It appears that these silver tickets were struck after designs
+by Hogarth, and a plate of some of them shows the following:--Mr. John
+Hinton, 212, 1794; on the reverse side the figure of Calliope. Mr. Wood,
+63, 1750; on the reverse side three boys playing with a lyre, and the
+motto "_Jocosae conveniunt Lyrae._" Mr. R. Frankling, 70; on the reverse
+side figure of Euterpe. Mr. Samuel Lewes, 87; on the reverse side the
+figure of Erato. Mr. Carey, 11; on the reverse side the figure of
+Thalia. This plate also exhibits the gold ticket, a perpetual admission
+given to Hogarth by Jonathan Tyers, in gratitude for his advice and
+assistance in decorating the gardens. After his decease it remained in
+the hands of Mrs. Hogarth, his widow, who bequeathed it to her relation,
+Mrs. Mary Lewis, who subsequently left it to Mr. P. F. Hart, who in his
+will, in 1823, bequeathed it to Mr. John Tuck. It is hardly necessary to
+say that the ticket is after Hogarth's own design. The face of it
+presents the word "Hogarth," in a bold hand, beneath which is "_In
+perpetuam beneficii memoriam._" On the reverse there are two figures,
+surrounded with the motto, "_Virtus voluptas felices una._" It also
+appears that Roubiliac furnished a statue of Milton for the gardens.
+Among the singers Beard and Lowe were early favourites; then came
+Dignum, Mrs. Weichsel, Mrs. Billington, Signora Storace, Incledon, Mrs.
+Bland, &c. In later years, Misses Tunstall, Noel, Melville, and
+Williams; Stephens, Love, Madame Cornega, and Madame Vestris; Mr.
+Braham, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Robinson, and Signor de Begnis, &c., with
+Signor Spagnoletti as leader.'
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SOUTH LONDON OF TO-DAY
+
+
+[Illustration: A DOORWAY, CURLEW STREET, BERMONDSEY]
+
+The expansion of London during the Nineteenth Century is in itself a
+fact unparalleled in the history of cities. Those who call attention to
+this miracle always point to the filling up of the huge area between
+Highgate and Hampstead and Clerkenwell in the North, or the extension of
+the town to Hammersmith on the West. Perhaps a little consideration of
+the South may show a still more remarkable growth. I have before me a
+map of the year 1834, only sixty-four years ago, showing South London as
+it was. I see a small town or collection of small towns, occupying the
+district called the Borough Proper, Lambeth, Newington, Walworth, and
+Bermondsey. In some parts this area is densely populated, filled with
+narrow courts and lanes; in other parts there are broad fields, open
+spaces, unoccupied pieces of ground. At the back of Vauxhall Gardens,
+for instance there are open fields; in Walworth there is a certain
+place, then notorious for the people who lived there, called Snow's
+Fields; in Bermondsey there are also open spaces, some of them gardens,
+or recreation grounds, without any buildings. Battersea is a mere
+stretch of open country. I myself remember the old Battersea Fields
+perfectly well; one shivers at the recollection; they were low, flat,
+damp, and, I believe, treeless; they were crossed, like Hackney Marsh,
+by paths raised above the level; at no time of year could the Battersea
+Fields look anything but dreary. In winter they were inexpressibly
+dismal. As a boy I have walked across the fields in order to get to the
+embankment or river wall from which one commanded a view of the Thames
+with its barges and lighters going up and down--pleasant when the sun
+shone on the river, but a mere shadow of the ancient glory when the
+pleasure barges and the State barges swept majestically up the river
+with the hautboys and the trumpets in the bows; when the swans by
+thousands sailed upon the broad bosom of the waters, and in the middle
+of the river the fisherman cast his net, as Edric had done fifteen
+hundred years before at St. Peter's orders, when he brought out his
+famous salmon. One walked along the embankment; the fields on one side
+were lower than the waters on the other. Beyond the river were the trees
+of Chelsea Hospital. Close to the river bank was an enclosure which was
+called the Subscription Ground; here the subscribers came to shoot
+pigeons--noble sport. If I remember aright, while the subscribing
+sportsmen shot at the pigeons in the enclosure, others of low condition
+who were not subscribers lurked about on the outside to shoot down those
+birds which escaped from the murderers within. Close by the Subscription
+Ground was a certain famous tavern called the Red House. I do not know
+why it was famous, but everybody always said it was. I believe it was
+much frequented on summer evenings, and that the subscribing sportsmen
+close by, whether they hit their pigeon or not, proved excellent
+customers for the drinks of the Red House. At that time there were
+'famous' taverns all up and down the river on either bank. There are
+still Riverside taverns, but the invasion of the new streets and houses
+has driven them, considered as 'famous' taverns, either higher up, or
+lower down. As mere commonplace public houses they probably remain
+still. Duels were conducted on the Battersea Fields, and there were
+certain historical associations in connection with these dreary flats.
+Here, for instance, the Duke of Wellington fought his duel with Lord
+Winchilsea. Other important people were also connected either with the
+Fields or the Village of Battersea, but at the time I knew not anything
+about them. The Battersea of my boyhood is gone absolutely: no trace of
+it remains, except the Church. The Grosvenor Railway Bridge passes over
+the site of the famous Red House; the most beautiful of all our Parks
+covers the Subscription Shooting Grounds, together with most of the flat
+and dreary fields; and houses by the thousand, with streets mean and
+monotonous, stand where formerly the pigeons flew wildly, hoping to
+escape those who waited outside the grounds as they had escaped those
+who potted at them from within.
+
+[Illustration: IN SNOW'S FIELDS, BERMONDSEY]
+
+[Illustration: The Temple from the Surrey Bank]
+
+[Illustration: HOLY TRINITY, ROTHERHITHE]
+
+Let us turn to another part of the map and inquire into Rotherhithe. It
+is curious that at one end we get Rotherhithe, the Place of Cattle; and
+at the other Lambeth or Lambhythe, if it be the 'Place of Lambs' and not
+the 'Place of Mud.' In 1834 the Commercial Docks are already there, but
+without prejudice to the ancient and venerable docks of the preceding
+century, Acorn Dock and Lavender Dock. A single street runs along the
+Embankment, which it hides and covers: at the back of this street there
+is a succession of small lanes and courts running back with tiny
+houses--two or four rooms to each--on either side, and ending generally
+in gardens of greenery--leaves and palings. You may still see, in 1898,
+if you are lucky, the bows and bowsprit of a ship in one of the old
+docks, sticking across the street, causing a momentary confusion in the
+mind between land and water; there are riverside taverns which look as
+if at a touch they would yield and slide into the mud below. In 1834
+this street with these little lanes was the whole of Rotherhithe.
+Inland--or in-marsh--ponds and ditches and creeping streams lay about;
+one of the ponds survives to this day; you will find it in the middle of
+the pretty garden they call Southwark Park, of which it forms the
+ornamental water. And the rest of Rotherhithe, between the Park and
+Bermondsey, is one unbroken mass of streets with no green thing and no
+open space. All is filled up and built upon.
+
+A little beyond Rotherhithe lies Deptford. On my map of 1834 I see a
+little town, lying partly on the bank of the Thames, partly on the bank
+of the Ravensbourne, which here widens out and forms Deptford Creek. The
+greater part of the area of Deptford is taken up by the Dockyard, not
+yet closed. As for the town, which now contains nearly 100,000 people,
+about five-and-twenty little streets sufficed for all its people; it
+boasted of two churches and two almshouses. One of these Havens of Rest
+was so picturesque and so beautiful that it could not be suffered to
+remain. Almshouses which are perfectly beautiful are only vouchsafed to
+man for a limited period, lest other buildings become intolerable. Their
+time expired, they are then carried off Heavenward.
+
+Or turn your eyes further south. London in this direction now
+covers--for the most part completely, in some parts leaving spaces and
+fields here and there--Greenwich, Blackheath, Brockley, Peckham, Forest
+Hill, Dulwich, Brixton, Stockwell, Camberwell, Clapham, Balham,
+Wandsworth, Vauxhall, and Penge, and many others.
+
+[Illustration: CZAR PETER'S HOUSE, DEPTFORD.]
+
+It is difficult, now that the whole country south of London has been
+covered with villas, roads, streets, and shops, to understand how
+wonderful for loveliness it was until the builder seized upon it. When
+the ground rose out of the great Lambeth and Bermondsey Marsh--the cliff
+or incline is marked still by the names of Battersea Rise, Clapham Rise,
+and Brixton Rise--it opened out into one wild heath after
+another--Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Wimbledon, Barnes, Tooting,
+Streatham, Richmond, Thornton, and so south as far as Banstead Downs.
+The country was not flat: it rose at Wimbledon to a high plateau; it
+rose at Norwood to a chain of hills; between the Heaths stretched
+gardens and orchards; between the orchards were pasture lands; on the
+hill sides were hanging woods; villages were scattered about, each with
+its venerable church and its peaceful churchyard; along the high roads
+to Dover, Southampton, and Portsmouth bumped and rolled, all day and
+all night, the stage coaches and the waggons; the wayside inns were
+crowded with those who halted to drink, those who halted to dine, and
+those who halted to sleep: if the village lay off the main road it was
+as quiet and as secure as the town of Laish. All this beauty is gone; we
+have destroyed it: all this beauty has gone for ever; it cannot be
+replaced. And on the south there was so much more beauty than on the
+north. On the latter side of London there are the heights with
+Hampstead, Highgate, and Hornsey--one row of villages; but there is
+little more. The country between Hatfield or St. Albans and Hampstead is
+singularly dull and uninteresting: it is not until one reaches Hertford
+or Rickmansworth that the explorer comes once more into lovely country.
+But the loveliness of South London lay almost at the very doors of
+London: one could walk into it; the heaths were within an easy walk, and
+the loveliness of Surrey lay upon all.
+
+I have mentioned already some of the heaths, those which remain at the
+present moment. It will be a matter of surprise to the reader to hear of
+the many waste and wild places which have been appropriated and built
+over in the last two hundred years. In the parish of Lambeth alone, an
+extensive tract, it is true, there was nearly 500 acres of commons:
+namely, Kennington, Norwood, Norwood Common (in another part of
+Norwood), Hall Lane, Knight's Hill Green, Half Moon Green, Rush Common,
+South Stockwell Common, South Lambeth and North Stockwell Common. With
+the exception of the first all these are now gone.
+
+[Illustration: ALLEYN'S ALMSHOUSES, 1840]
+
+Look at Dulwich--the peaceful and picturesque village of Dulwich on this
+map of 1834. It lies among its trees, its gardens, and its fields: the
+venerable college of Alleyn is the glory of the village--nothing more
+beautiful than this almshouse with its hall and its picture gallery. Yet
+the people flocked out to Dulwich less for the picture gallery than the
+shady walks, the fields, and a certain tavern--the Greyhound--which was
+beloved by everybody, and believed to contain a particular brew of beer,
+a particular kind of old Jamaica for punch, and a particular vintage of
+port not to be found anywhere else, even in a City company's cellars.
+There was, in fact, no more favourite place of resort for the better
+sort of citizens of London than Dulwich in the summer. For the poorer
+sort it was too far off, and cost too much in conveyance. The Dulwich
+stage ran two or three times a day: it was not too long a drive from the
+city; the young men rode--in those days the young men could all
+ride--even John Gilpin thought he could ride; they hired a horse as we
+now get into a cab. For those who lived in any suburb on the south,
+Dulwich was an easy walk. Not far from the college and the village--Mr.
+Pickwick lived there in 1834--were the Dulwich Fields, as beautiful and
+interesting as those of Battersea were the contrary: there were, I
+think, five of them in succession: the little stream called the Effra
+rose somewhere in the neighbourhood, and ran about, winding through the
+fields in a deep channel with rustic bridges across. In older days--at
+the end of the eighteenth century, for example, the Effra, a bright and
+sparkling stream, ran out of the fields above what is now called the
+Effra Road, and so along the south side--or was it the north?--of
+Brixton Road. Rustic cottages stood on the other side of the stream,
+with flowering shrubs--lilac, laburnum, and hawthorn--on the bank, and
+beds of the simpler flowers in the summer: the gardens and the cottages
+were approached by little wooden bridges, each provided with a single
+rail painted green. That, however, was before my time. In the 'fifties
+the boys used to play in these fields, jumping over the stream: when
+they left the fields and got into the village they looked about for Mr.
+Pickwick and for Sam Weller, if haply they might see either. But I do
+not learn that either sage or servant ever gratified those eyes of faith
+by an incarnation.
+
+Here are three hills close together: Herne Hill, Denmark Hill, and
+Champion Hill. On Denmark Hill Ruskin once lived; but in the 'fifties I
+was not conscious of that fact or of his greatness. It must be saddening
+to a great man to reflect that the schoolboys have no respect for him.
+The road up the hill was somewhat gloomy on account of the trees: the
+houses, with their gardens and lawns, and carriage drives, and
+smoothness and snugness, betokened in those years the institution of
+evening prayers. I fear I may be misunderstood. At that time great was
+the power and the authority of seriousness. To be serious was
+fashionable, if one may say so, in City circles. Respectability was
+nearly always serious: it was divided into two classes: that which had
+morning prayers only, and that which had evening prayers as well. With
+the young, the latter institution was unpopular--no one of the present
+younger generation can understand how unpopular it was: a house which
+had evening prayers made a deliberate profession of a seriousness which
+was something out of the common, which the young people disliked, as a
+rule; and it insisted on the sons getting home in time for prayers. This
+profession of seriousness generally belonged to a large house, beautiful
+gardens, rich conservatories, a large income, and a carriage and pair.
+Denmark Hill used to appear to outward view as more especially a suburb
+belonging to the serious rich, who could afford a profession of more
+than common earnestness.
+
+[Illustration: DULWICH COLLEGE, 1780]
+
+Herne Hill was remarkable for consisting of three houses only, each with
+its parklike grounds and gardens and its noble trees. Champion Hill I
+remember as a green and grassy slope: there were no houses at all upon
+it: but there was a road, and at the bottom of the road a green called
+Goose Green--you may still find this tract of grass, but I believe it is
+now pinched and attenuated. On Goose Green they kept ponies for hire:
+the boys used to ride them up the hill and gallop them down the hill.
+Beyond this green there was a much larger expanse called Peckham Rye: so
+far as I can remember it was a most uninviting place formerly; not a
+wild heath like Putney or Hampstead, not a waste place covered with fern
+and gorse and bramble and wild trees; but a barren, dreary expanse of
+uncertain grass. Boys would perhaps have played cricket upon it in
+summer, but there were then no boys at Peckham Rye. Now, all this
+country is covered with houses, and Peckham is like Bloomsbury itself
+for streets and terraces and squares.
+
+We have not only destroyed the former beauty of South London: we have
+forgotten it. Ask a resident of Penge--one of the many thousands of
+Penge--what this suburban town was like seventy years ago. Do you think
+he can tell you anything of Penge Common? Has he ever heard of any Penge
+Common? Well, it is exactly seventy-one years ago--viz. in May
+1827--that Mr. William Hone--the compiler of the 'Every-Day Book,'
+climbed up outside the Dulwich stage, proposing to visit the picture
+gallery of Dulwich College. Hone was one of the first of those curious
+and inquisitive persons who began to employ their summers in exploring
+the unknown villages and strange places round London. The picture
+gallery he could not see because it was closed; he therefore walked
+across the country from Dulwich to a place called Penge. At the top of a
+hill he found a choice of three roads. He chose that which led through
+Penge Common. The place was thickly wooded: it was, he says, 'a
+cathedral of singing birds.' At the mere recollection of that choir he
+bursts into verse--other people's verse. Alas! the Common had already,
+even then, been ravished from its owners, the people: it was enclosed;
+it was doomed; it was about to be built upon. Mr. Hone consoled himself,
+however, at the 'Old Crooked Billet,' with eggs and bacon and
+home-brewed ale. Again, is there anyone in Penge who now remembers the
+hanging woods? They hung over a hillside, and were as beautiful as the
+hanging woods of Cliveden. But, like the Common, they are gone.
+
+[Illustration: From the Tower of St. Saviour's]
+
+Or let us ask the resident of Norwood what he remembers of its ancient
+glories; whether there were any ancient glories. Has he heard of the
+famous Norwood oak? Of the Norwood Spa? Of the gypsies of Norwood? Why,
+the Queen of all the gypsies, unless there was a more powerful sovereign
+at Jedburgh, held her court and camp at Norwood. Has this resident heard
+of the views from the top of the hill, four hundred feet above the level
+of the sea, whither the people flocked by hundreds to see the view and
+to wander in the woods?
+
+All this beauty is destroyed. Of course, the destruction was inevitable.
+One accepts the inevitable with a sigh; we cannot have town and country
+together. The woods are gone, the rural life is gone, encroachments have
+been made upon the commons, the wayside tavern--the place was full of
+wayside taverns--is gone. What remains of all this beauty is a fragment
+here and there. Clapham Common, once a heath, now a park; Wimbledon
+Common, Tooting Common; these expanses are mercifully left us for
+breathing-places. Some of them, like Clapham, are transformed into
+imitations of a park, instead of being left as a heath. All of them are
+bereft, of course, of their old accompaniments; they have lost the wood
+beside the heath, the farm, the ploughed lands, the tinkle of the sheep
+bell, the song of the skylark.
+
+We have seen in the course of these chapters some of the associations of
+South London. I confess that, for my own part, I am not happy in
+considering associations connected with rows of terraces and villas.
+Here, you say, was once the house, with the park, of such and such a
+great man. Really! I dare say. But it is now covered with gentility. If
+I am taken to a slum--such a slum as that on the west of St. Mary
+Overies, and am told that in this place was Winchester House, I am at
+once interested. Why should the memory of the past appeal to our
+imagination more in a slum than in a brand new, spick and span
+collection of pleasant country villas? Is it from a feeling that all
+things tend to decay, and that the new suburb speaks not of decay? Who,
+for instance, stepping from the south-east corner of Tooting Common into
+the place which was once Streatham Park, can think of Mrs. Thrale and
+Dr. Johnson among these roads and villas? At Tooting itself, one might
+remember, were it not for the houses, Daniel De Foe, who founded the
+first Independent chapel there. At Wandsworth, if it were not so much
+built upon, I might see Voltaire walking about. At Putney, but for the
+villas, I should look for Pitt. Oh! there are a thousand people once
+living, and walking, and playing their parts in their villages, whose
+wraiths and spectres would willingly haunt them still, but cannot for
+the bricks and the walls, the chimneys and the smoke, the roads and the
+trams.
+
+We have destroyed the beauty of South London: we have also made its
+historical associations impossible.
+
+[Illustration: RED CROSS GARDENS, Southwark]
+
+The first settlers or colonisers of this region, apart from its rural
+folk, came from London about the time when roads began to be tolerable;
+that is to say, late in the seventeenth century; they were the great
+folk, the leisured folk, the Quality, who had suburban houses in
+addition to their town houses and their country houses. They sought
+shelter in the quiet retreats of Clapham, Streatham, or Norwood. These
+people did not come, however, to settle, but only remained, as a rule,
+for a year or two, for a few months, for a season. When the roads
+became so far improved as to make driving easy and pleasant, the city
+merchants came and built or bought big houses, and drove in and out
+every day in their carriage and pair. They did not buy estates, as a
+rule: they bought a substantial house and grounds, and sat down therein.
+They had large gardens behind, with greenhouses where they grew early
+strawberries; they had in front a broad lawn with a carriage drive; they
+liked to have on the lawn two stately cedars, whose branches swept the
+grass. They brought their friends down from Saturday to Monday. In
+course of time other people came; but the first comers--these
+merchants--were the aristocracy, the first families of the suburbs. In
+the newer places there are still to be found the first families; in the
+older suburbs they have all disappeared from the place. Thus Clapham, I
+believe, knows no longer a Macaulay, a Wilberforce, a Venn. These were
+people of national distinction. Of course there were not in other
+suburbs first families who rose to the giddy heights attained by these
+fortunate aristocrats of the suburbs; but there were many which had
+among them ex-Lord Mayors and Aldermen; there were many persons among
+them of dignity and authority. Alas! the first families are gone: there
+is now no aristocracy of the suburb left. It is a pity. There should be
+in every community some whose position entitles them to respect and
+authority; there should be some to take the lead naturally; there should
+be some who should maintain the standards of conduct, ideas, and
+principles. Especially is this the case when by far the greater part of
+the people in a community are engaged in trade.
+
+[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR'S DOCK]
+
+I cannot quite avoid the use of figures, because a comparison between
+the population of these villages in 1801 with that of these great towns
+in 1898 is so startling that it must be recorded. Battersea has risen
+from 3,365 to 165,115; Camberwell from 7,059 to 253,076; Lambeth from
+27,985 to 295,033; Lewisham from 4,007 to 104,521; Wandsworth from
+14,283 to 187,264. Or, taking the whole area of South London, that part
+which is covered by the electoral districts, there is now a population
+of very nearly two millions; in other words the population, in less than
+a hundred years, has been multiplied by ten. That of London itself, in
+the same time, the London including the City, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel,
+Bloomsbury, and Westminster, has been multiplied during the same time by
+five. What has caused this enormous increase in South London? Well,
+people must live somewhere; the old limits proved insufficient. First,
+places which had been dotted over with fields and gardens and vacant
+places, such as Southwark on the west side, and Bermondsey, were
+completely built over and inhabited. Then, when it became a problem how
+to stow away the people within reach of their work, the 'short stage'
+was supplemented by the omnibus. Next South London stretched itself out
+farther; it began to include Camberwell, Brixton, Stockwell, Clapham,
+and Wandsworth. These were separate suburbs lying each among its own
+gardens; the inhabitants were not clerks, but principals and employers,
+substantial merchants and flourishing shopkeepers. The clerks lived
+nearer London, mostly on the north of the river. Lastly came the
+railway, when London made another step outward, so as to take in the
+places lying south of Clapham and Brixton. Then the builder began; he
+saw that a new class of residents would be attracted by small houses and
+low rents. The houses sprang up as if in a single night; streets in a
+month, churches and chapels in a quarter. The population of South London
+no longer consists of rich merchants, principals, and partners. Clerks,
+assistants, and employes of all kinds now crowd the morning and evening
+trains.
+
+If you want to form some idea of the South London folk, go stand inside
+Cannon Street Station and watch the trains come in, each with its
+freight of those who earn their daily bread within the City. See them
+pass out--by the hundred--by the thousand--by the fifty thousand. The
+brain reels at the mere contemplation of this mighty multitude which
+comes in every morning and goes out every afternoon. As they hurry past
+you observe on each the same expression, the same set eagerness, with
+which the day's work is approached. Employer or employe, principal or
+clerk, it matters nothing. The clerk, who will get none of the thousands
+he is helping to secure, comes in to town as eager for the fray as his
+master; the fighting instinct is in the man; his face means battle,
+daily battle, in which the weapons are superior knowledge, earlier
+knowledge, keen sight, readiness, ruthlessness, while there is as much
+need, for success, or courage tenacity, and bluff as in any battle
+between contending armies. The many twinkling feet pass out of the
+station by the hundred thousand, every morning, to the field of battle.
+The English are a warlike people; they enjoy the field of battle; the
+City is like that state of beatitude which the pious Dane desired, in
+which there would be fighting every day, and all day, and for ever.
+
+[Illustration: Below Cherry Garden Pier]
+
+In South London there are two millions of people. It is therefore one of
+the great cities of the world. It stands upon an area about twelve
+miles long and five or six broad--but its limits cannot be laid down
+even approximately. It is a city without a municipality, without a
+centre, without a civic history; it has no newspapers, magazines, or
+journals; it has no university; it has no colleges, apart from medicine;
+it has no intellectual, artistic, scientific, musical, literary
+centre--unless the Crystal Palace can be considered a centre; its
+residents have no local patriotism or enthusiasm--one cannot imagine a
+man proud of New Cross; it has no theatres, except of a very popular or
+humble kind; it has no clubs, it has no public buildings, it has no West
+End. It is argued that although it has none of these things, yet it has
+them all by right of being a part of London. That is, in a sense, true.
+The theatres, concerts, picture galleries of the West End are accessible
+to the South. Far be it from me to deny the culture of Sydenham and the
+artistic elevation of Tooting. Yet one feels there must surely be some
+disadvantage in being separated from the literary and artistic circles
+whose members, it must be confessed, reside for the most part in North
+London. It must surely, one thinks, be a disadvantage for a young man
+who would pursue a career in art not to live among people who habitually
+talk of art and think of art. It must surely be some disadvantage to
+live in a place where the people, when they are gathered together,
+mostly allow the conversation to turn upon things connected with the
+City.
+
+How are these two millions distributed?
+
+There are, in fact, four layers. First, there is the 'submerged'
+element, the people of the slums of which mention has been made. Their
+numbers and their proportion to the whole I know not. Next, there are
+the working people, those for whom the long lines, the endless lines, of
+barracks called model lodging-houses, have been built. Here they live by
+the hundred thousand--by the million: there are more than a million
+working men in South London. For their use are the shops of the
+Borough, chiefly provision shops, and the public houses. The third layer
+is found on a slip of ground, of which Newington and Kennington may be
+taken as representative: it consists principally of lodging-houses for
+clerks. The fourth layer is that of the suburban villa, from the little
+semi-detached cottage to the stately mansion. The 'High Street,' filled
+with shops, is for the villas.
+
+[Illustration: The George Inn
+
+Little Dorrit's Window in the Marshalsea]
+
+Now, the whole of this immense population lives upon the City. The
+bread-winners go in and out every day; the local shops provide for the
+houses, and are paid out of the money made in the City; the local
+doctor, the local house agent, the local schoolmaster, the local
+clergyman, all receive their share of the money made in the City; even
+if there be, here and there, a literary man, his wares are bought by the
+money made in the City; the artist looks for his patron to the City;
+the working man, whatever his work, is paid out of the City, so that the
+first function of the City is to feed and supply all these millions. If
+at any time the trade of the City were to decay, these suburbs would
+decay as well; if the decay were gradual, they would slowly cease to
+spread, begin to show empty houses and deserted streets; if the decay
+were to mean ruin, the suburbs would themselves be speedily deserted.
+Then would be seen a deserted city on a scale never before equalled.
+Tadmor in the Wilderness would be a mere little wheelbarrow full of
+stones compared with suburban London given over to decay and wreck.
+
+Two millions of people, most of whom belong to the working class! The
+brain reels at thinking of this teeming multitudinous life; these armies
+of men, women, and children living in the slums and in the huge,
+unlovely barracks. The very number makes it impossible to grasp the
+enormity of the mass; the vastness of the population makes one feel as
+if individual effort would be absolutely useless. In a sense it is
+useless, because it can only touch one or two, and what are they among
+so many? But in another sense, as I will presently show, individual
+effort may produce consequences both deep and widespread.
+
+It seems, again, when one contemplates this mass of humanity--this
+compact round ball of men and women, to make which two millions have
+been brought together--as if any one life was nothing, as if the life of
+any one out of the heap--any girl, any lad--was wholly unimportant and
+trivial, however that life were spent. That is not so: every heap is
+made up of atoms; the influence of the individual is as great in a
+densely populated place as in a village. One example is precious--beyond
+all price--in a model dwelling-house of Bermondsey as in the most
+retired community of rustics. It is very easy to generalise from the
+mass: the dweller of the slums stands before the mind's eye, beery,
+unwashed, in rags, inarticulate, his brain filled with thoughts which
+may better be described as suspicions, desirous of nothing but of food,
+drink, and warmth. That is what we think of him. It is because we do not
+know him. Ask those who go down among these people habitually, they will
+tell you of differences and distinctions among them as among ourselves,
+of memories of better things, of resignation rather than despair, and,
+at the very worst, of traits of generosity and unselfishness worthy of a
+clean cottage and the air of a village green. We must be very careful
+how we form general conclusions about men and women.
+
+[Illustration: Alcove from Old London Bridge, now at Guy's]
+
+But--two millions of people! And every one of them wanting all the time
+what he thinks will make his life more happy. For the riverside folk the
+wants are few, but they are daily wants. With them, literally, it is a
+question of daily bread. Happy are the people whose wants are more
+numerous and their happiness more complex!
+
+Let me terminate this chapter by a brief account of certain work of a
+philanthropic kind which is characteristic of the place and of the time.
+Many and various are the attempts and the associations and the machinery
+for raising some of these people and for keeping others from sliding
+down. There are the parish clergy, of late years better organised than
+at any previous time, more active, and more largely assisted; they have
+planted evening schools and clubs, for boys and girls. One must put the
+Church of England first, not only because her clergy began the work of
+rescue, but also because hers is still the larger part. There is, next,
+the indirect work of the medical students of Guy's and St. Thomas's, who
+go in and out among the worst courts, tolerated because they come to
+doctor the sick, and do not ask disagreeable questions about the
+children's school. There are, next, places which aim at civilising by
+the presentation of things civilised. For instance, there is a very
+pleasing institute in Whitecross Street, where a garden, an open air
+band, a lecture or concert hall, and a row of cottages beautiful to look
+upon are provided as a standard to which the people may rise by degrees.
+There are one or two Polytechnics for the lads, and, lastly, there are
+the 'Settlements,' college settlements and others. Let me briefly
+describe the work and aims of one of these settlements. I have before me
+the last Report of the Browning Settlement in Walworth. It is called the
+Browning Settlement because its headquarters is the chapel in York
+Street in which Robert Browning was christened.
+
+[Illustration: The Entrance Gates to Guy's]
+
+As for their plan of work, perhaps the aims and methods of a
+'settlement' are not too well known for repetition. They are not all the
+same, but the differences are slight. The directors of this settlement,
+for instance, desire to plant a settlement house in every poor street; a
+house which shall be inhabited by the workers, men or women, and shall
+serve as a model for the other people in the street; example, in fact,
+is relied upon as a potent influence. There is, or will be, a large club
+house and coffee tavern for men and women, boys and girls. Once a week
+there is a concert in the hall. The members of the settlement take as
+large a part as possible in the local government; they have laid out a
+burial-ground at the back of their hall as a garden; they have a medical
+mission which gives consultations free; some of them are poor men's
+lawyers; they have introduced the University Extension Lectures; they
+have founded thrift agencies; they hold Sunday afternoons for the men;
+they have a maternity society; they have a clothes store; they have an
+adult school. Classes are held in hygiene, mathematics, and classics;
+there have been Shakespeare readings, music, singing, country holidays,
+summer camps, children's holidays; there is a boys' brigade; there is
+musical drill; there are May Day and Harvest Festivals; and there are,
+in addition, works of religion and temperance which I have not
+enumerated above.
+
+The keynote of all such work as this is, for the workers, personal
+service; for the people, the influence of example, the attraction of
+things which they understand at once to be a great deal more pleasant
+than the bar and the tap-room; such a variety of work and recreation as
+may drag all into the net except the substratum of all, whom nothing can
+lift out of the mire.
+
+One or two things have yet to be learned as regards these settlements.
+First, how large an area in a densely populated part can be covered by a
+single settlement? Next, how many young men can be found to carry on the
+work? For instance, if the Browning Settlement can reach--of course it
+cannot--all the people of Walworth, which is in the Parish of Newington,
+and includes 120,000 people, there ought to be nine other settlements in
+South London from Battersea to Greenwich, both included. If we give
+20,000 people for each settlement, then there ought to be at least fifty
+settlements for the millions of the working class. The Report does not
+state how many residents there are, but gives a list of the officers and
+managers of departments, from which it would seem that about thirty are
+actively engaged from day to day. So that fifteen hundred voluntary
+workers in all would be required in order to cover this land of slums
+with an effective string of settlements.
+
+[Illustration: A Former Entrance to St. Thomas's Hospital]
+
+There never was a time when more determined efforts have been made for
+the elevation of the submerged, and there never was a time when so many
+young men and young women have been found ready to give the whole of
+their time, or all their spare time, to the work. Whether they will
+succeed in effecting a permanent improvement remains to be seen;
+whether the attraction of personal devotion which is now passing over
+the minds of the young will continue and remain with us has also to be
+proved. The directors of the Browning Settlement meantime declare--I
+have no intention of questioning the truth of their assertion--that they
+find already among the people 'a quickening of spirit, shown in keener
+intellectual interest, intenser civic ardour, warmer friendship, and
+more avowed piety.' If such are the fruits of a settlement, we cannot
+but desire for South London a chain of settlements reaching from
+Battersea to Greenwich, both inclusive.
+
+    NOTE.--Since this was written several new Theatres have been built
+    in South London. I should therefore like to correct the passage on
+    p. 320 which states that the Theatres are humble. Also I would
+    acknowledge the existence of local newspapers, and instead of saying
+    that it has no public buildings I would say only one or two old
+    buildings.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Acrensis, Thomas, 161
+
+Actors, Company of, 225-228
+
+Ailwin, Childe, 52
+
+Albion Island, 4
+
+Alfred repairs the Walls, 31
+
+Allectus, Emperor, 18, 26
+
+Alleyn, Edward, 271
+
+Arundell, Archbishop, 114, 116
+
+Asclepiodotus, 29
+
+Awdry, Legend of, 15
+
+
+Bankside, 217
+
+Battersea Fields, 303, 304
+
+Battle of Clapham Common, 18
+
+-- on London Bridge, 148-150
+
+Bear Garden Alley, 214
+
+'Below Bridge,' 229
+
+Bermondsey, Religious House, 51
+
+-- Spa Gardens, 292
+
+-- Hall, 233
+
+Bill of a Feast, 265
+
+Boadicea, Queen, 26
+
+Boleyn, Anne, 122
+
+Bombardment of London, 153
+
+Borough Compter, 249, 272, 278
+
+-- Society, 260, 261
+
+Bridge across the River, 12
+
+-- at the Barefoot Tavern, 264
+
+-- Construction of, 29
+
+-- Destroyed and repaired, 44, 45
+
+--, The, 25
+
+-- when built, 26
+
+Bridges, Roman Method of Building, 28
+
+Bull and Bear Baiting, 210, 211
+
+Burials and Marriages in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+
+Cade's Rebellion, 148
+
+Canal of Cnut, Maitland's Discovery of, 38
+
+Canterbury, Pilgrimages to, 163
+
+-- Tales, 168-176.
+
+Carausius, History of, 18
+
+Causeway across Southwark Marsh, 6, 7
+
+-- the Lie of, 6, 7
+
+Chapel of St. Peter on the Wall, 4
+
+Charles II.'s Restoration, 129
+
+Charlton Fair, 188
+
+Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 168-174
+
+Chelsea--'Isle of Shingle,' 6
+
+Christmas at Kennington Palace, 77-79
+
+Clapham Common Battle, 18
+
+-- Rise, 5
+
+Clink Prison, 248
+
+Cnut's Canal, Course of, 40, 41
+
+-- Siege, 38
+
+-- Trench, 38
+
+Commercial Docks, 234, 305
+
+Copt Hall or Vauxhall, 111
+
+Count of the Saxon Shore, 17
+
+Cranmer, Martyrdom of, 65
+
+Cuper's Gardens, 252, 288
+
+
+Danes defeated, 35
+
+Danish Alliance against London, 32, 33
+
+-- Invasion, Second, 36
+
+Debtors' Prisons, 272
+
+Denmark Hill, 311
+
+Deptford, 234-238, 306
+
+'Dog and Duck,' 289-292
+
+Domesday Book compiled, 72
+
+Dover Road, 25
+
+Dry Ground beyond Kennington, 5
+
+Duels in Battersea Fields, 304
+
+Dulwich Fields, 309
+
+
+Earl Godwine's Invasion, 42
+
+Earliest Maps of South London, 47
+
+Edmund fights Cnut, 38
+
+Edward the Third's Entertainment at Eltham Palace, 96
+
+Effra River, 310
+
+Elizabeth, Queen, at Greenwich, 103, 105, 108
+
+Elizabeth Woodville, 62
+
+Eltham Palace, 69, 74, 75, 89-97
+
+Eltham Palace, Remains of, 94;
+  a Royal visit, 94-96
+
+Embankment, Early Repairs of, 12
+
+-- First, of River, 11, 12
+
+Extent of South London, 2;
+  its Islets or Eyots, 2-3
+
+
+Fabri, Felix, Pilgrimage of, 176
+
+Fairs of London, 179
+
+Falconbridge, Bastard of, 153
+
+Falcon Stream, 3
+
+Falstaff, Sir John, History of, 134-152
+
+Ferries across Marsh, 26
+
+Field, Nathan, 223
+
+Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 110
+
+Fleet sent against the Danes, 32
+
+Ford of Thorney, 5
+
+Freemantle, History by, 1
+[Transcriber's Note: The reference on page 1 is to Freeman not Freemantle.]
+
+
+Gildable Manor, 48
+
+Gokstad's ship, 33, 40, 41
+
+Goose Green, 311
+
+Great South Marsh, 2
+
+Green Dragon Inn, 262
+
+Greenwich Fair, 188
+
+-- Hospital, 109
+
+-- Palace, 97-109
+
+
+Hackney Marsh, 11
+
+-- Marshes, 6
+
+Hanger, Colonel, Memoirs of, 275
+
+Harold Harefoot, 71
+
+Hengist and AEsc, 20
+
+Henry III. at Eltham, 90
+
+-- VI.'s Coronation, 126-129
+
+Herne Hill, 311
+
+High Street, Borough, 10
+
+-- -- Southwark, 254
+
+Hope Theatre, Southwark, 221
+
+Horseferry Road, Origin of Name, 5
+
+Horselydown, 231
+
+-- Fair, 229
+
+Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, 118
+
+
+Inns of Southwark, 16, 262, 263
+
+Insignia of Pilgrimage, 157
+
+Islands in the Marsh, 2
+
+Isle of Bramble, 9
+
+-- -- or Westminster, 4
+
+
+Juxon, Archbishop, 120
+
+
+Katharine of Aragon, Marriage of, 129
+
+Katharine of Valois, 56-60
+
+Kennington, Richard II.'s connection with, 81-88
+
+-- Palace, 69, 73;
+  owned by Theodric, 72;
+  Christmas at, 78-80
+
+Kings and Princes connected with Kennington, 81
+
+King's Bench Prison, 272, 274
+
+
+Lady Fair or Southwark Fair, 179-185
+
+Lambeth Palace, 109
+
+-- -- visited by Royalty, 114
+
+Langton, Stephen, 118
+
+Legend of Awdry, 15
+
+'Le Loke,' 64
+
+'Liberties' of South London, 48
+
+'Liberty' Prisons, 49
+
+London and Southwark, Difference between, 22
+
+-- as a Port, 10
+
+-- attacked by Bastard of Falconbridge, 154-156
+
+-- Original Site of, 23
+
+-- Site of, from the Causeway, 7
+
+-- Third Siege of, by Danes, 36, 37
+
+Long Barn, The, 70, 73, 75
+
+Lord Mayor's Pageants, 133
+
+
+Maitland's Discovery of Cnut's Canal, 38
+
+Manor of Lambeth, 117
+
+Marian Persecution, St. Mary Overies connected with, 199-204
+
+Marriages and Burials in St. Mary Overies, 64
+
+-- at St. Mary Overies, 192, 193
+
+Marsh, Great South, 2
+
+-- Islands in, 2
+
+Marshalsea, 279
+
+Memories of Greenwich, 98, 99
+
+Mint Street, Southwark, Sanctuary at, 242, 246
+
+Monastic Houses, 50
+
+Montagu Close, Southwark, 242
+
+Monuments in St. Mary Overies, 196-198
+
+Morden College, 239
+
+
+New Mint Sanctuary, 246
+
+Nonesuch, 77
+
+Norfolk College, 239
+
+-- House, 110
+
+
+Origin of Settlements in South London, 17
+
+Owen Tudor, 56-60
+
+
+Paris Gardens, 215
+
+-- -- Baiting at, 212
+
+Parish Clerks, Company of, 210
+
+Parliament at Lambeth Palace, 113
+
+Pax Romana, 17, 43
+
+Payn, John, 147, 151
+
+Peckham Rye, 312
+
+Penge Common, 312
+
+Philanthropic Work, 324
+
+Pilgrimage a Mockery, 165, 166
+
+-- Insignia of, 157
+
+Pilgrimages, Choice of, 159, 160
+
+Pilgrims starting from Southwark, 158
+
+Playhouses in Southwark, 220
+
+Pleasure Gardens, 282-288
+
+Poets of South London, 224, 225
+
+Population, Increase in, 316, 317
+
+Priory of St. Mary Overies, 192
+
+Prisons of the Liberties, 49
+
+Processions in Southwark, 124
+
+Punishments ordered by the Church, 68
+
+Puritan Effect on Theatres, 221, 222
+
+
+Ravensbourne, 2, 3
+
+Red Cross Gardens, 315
+
+-- House Tavern, 304
+
+Remains of Eltham Palace, 94
+
+Richard II. at Kennington Palace, 81, 82
+
+River, First Embankment of, 11, 12
+
+-- Wall removed, 28
+
+Roger of Wendover's Chronicle, 21
+
+Roman Connection with Causeway, 6
+
+-- Method of Building Bridges, 28
+
+-- Remains in South London, 14-16
+
+-- -- at St. Saviour's Grammar School, 15
+
+-- Trajectus, 10
+
+Rotherhithe, 305
+
+Royal Houses, 69
+
+-- Manor, Valuation of, 72, 73
+
+Royalty at Eltham Palace, 92
+
+Rum, 10
+
+
+Sanctuaries, Later, 241
+
+Sanctuary at Southwark, 243
+
+-- at New Mint, 246
+
+Savoy Dock, 230
+
+Settlements in South London, Origin of, 17
+
+Show Folk of Bankside, 206
+
+Site of London from Causeway, 7
+
+-- of Original London, 23
+
+Snorro, Thirlesen, 22
+
+Society in the Borough, 261
+
+South London, Extent of, 2
+
+-- -- deserted, 20, 21
+
+-- -- named Southwark by Saxons, 2
+
+-- -- in Ruins and deserted, 31
+
+-- -- Earliest Map of, 47
+
+-- -- of To-day, 301
+
+Southwark, Conditions of Existence, 12, 13
+
+-- and London, Difference between, 22
+
+-- Fair or Lady Fair, 179-185
+
+-- Famous Inns, 16
+
+-- without a Wall, 17
+
+Stage Coaches, Start of, 258, 259
+
+St. Mary Overies, 191
+
+-- -- -- Dock, 10
+
+-- -- -- Marriages at, 192, 193
+
+-- -- -- reconstructed, 195, 196
+
+-- -- -- connected with Marian Persecution, 199-204
+
+-- -- -- in Recent Times, 205
+
+St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, 4
+
+St. Saviour's Abbey, 51
+
+St. Thomas's Hospital, 64
+
+-- -- -- Foundation of, 66
+
+-- -- -- Roman Remains in, 15, 16
+
+'Stonegate,' 6
+
+Stubbs, History by, 1
+
+Swegen and Olaf, Alliance of, 33-37
+
+
+Tabard Inn, 268
+
+Tabard Inn, Chaucer's Company of Pilgrims, 167
+
+Thames Fishermen, 14
+
+Theatre of Southwark Fair, 185
+
+Thorney, Trade of, 8
+
+-- Island, Trade of, 4
+
+Tournament at Eltham, 94-96
+
+Trade of Thorney, 8
+
+-- Route of South London, 4
+
+Traffic through Southwark, 256, 257
+
+Trench of Cnut, 38
+
+
+Vauxhall Gardens, 294-299
+
+-- -- Site of, 113
+
+-- or Copt Hall, 111
+
+
+Walbrook, 8
+
+-- Origin of Name, 3
+
+Walls repaired by Alfred, 31
+
+Walworth, the Name, 23
+
+Wandle, River, 2, 3
+
+Westminster, or Isle of Bramble, 4
+
+White Lyon Prison, 280
+
+William the Conqueror enters London by the Bridge, 43
+
+-- III.'s Entry into London, 131, 132
+
+Willoughby, Sir John, 105
+
+Wyclyf's trial, 84
+
+
+               PRINTED BY
+  SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER
+             LONDON AND ETON
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+NOVELS by SIR WALTER BESANT & JAMES RICE.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  WITH HARP AND CROWN.
+  THIS SON OF VULCAN.
+  MY LITTLE GIRL.
+  THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  'TWAS IN TRAFALGAR'S BAY.
+  THE SEAMY SIDE.
+  THE TEN YEARS' TENANT.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+NOVELS BY SIR WALTER BESANT.
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each; post 8vo. illustrated boards, 2_s._
+each; cloth limp, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  THE CAPTAINS' ROOM, &c. With Frontispiece by E. J. WHEELER.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  ALL IN A GARDEN FAIR. With 6 Illustrations by HARRY FURNISS.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER. With a Frontispiece by CHARLES GREEN.
+  UNCLE JACK, and other Stories.
+  THE WORLD WENT VERY WELL THEN. With Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  HERR PAULUS: His Rise, his Greatness, and his Fall.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM. Illustrated by A. FORESTIER.
+  TO CALL HER MINE, &c. With 9 Illustrations by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE BELL OF ST. PAUL'S.
+  THE IVORY GATE.
+  THE HOLY ROSE, &c. With a Frontispiece by F. BARNARD.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE. With 12 Illustrations by F. BARNARD.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. With 12 Illustrations by CHARLES GREEN.
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS. With Frontispiece by GORDON BROWNE.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+  BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE. With 12 Illustrations by W. H. HYDE.
+  THE REVOLT OF MAN.
+  IN DEACON'S ORDERS. With a Frontispiece by A. FORESTIER.
+  THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.
+  THE CITY OF REFUGE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  A FOUNTAIN SEALED. With Frontispiece by H. G. BURGESS.
+  THE CHANGELING.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL. With 8 Illustrations by F. PEGRAM.
+  THE LADY OF LYNN. With 12 Illustrations by G. DEMAIN HAMMOND.
+  NO OTHER WAY. With 12 Illustrations by C. D. WARD.
+  THE FOURTH GENERATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+FINE PAPER EDITIONS, pott 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 2_s._ net each; leather,
+gilt edges, 3_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON.
+  WESTMINSTER.
+  JERUSALEM. (In collaboration with E. H. PALMER.)
+  SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.
+  GASPARD DE COLIGNY.
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+POPULAR EDITIONS, medium 8vo. 6_d._ each.
+
+  ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.
+  THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY.
+  READY-MONEY MORTIBOY.
+  FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM.
+  NO OTHER WAY.
+  BY CELIA'S ARBOUR.
+  CHILDREN OF GIBEON.
+  THE CHAPLAIN OF THE FLEET.
+  THE ORANGE GIRL.
+  DOROTHY FORSTER.
+  THE MONKS OF THELEMA.
+  ARMOREL OF LYONESSE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Demy 8vo. cloth, 5_s._ net each.
+
+  LONDON. With 125 Illustrations.
+  WESTMINSTER. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 130 Illustrations.
+  SOUTH LONDON. With Etching by F. S. WALKER, and 119 Illustrations.
+  EAST LONDON. With an Etched Frontispiece by F. S. WALKER, and
+    54 Illustrations by PHIL MAY, L. RAVEN HILL, and JOSEPH PENNELL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._ each.
+
+  FIFTY YEARS AGO. With 144 Illustrations.
+  THE CHARM, and other Drawing-room Plays. By WALTER BESANT and W. H. POLLOCK.
+    With 50 Illustrations by CHRIS. HAMMOND and A. JULE GOODMAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, flat back, 2_s._ each.
+
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER.
+  THE REBEL QUEEN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Crown 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net each.
+
+  VERBENA CAMELLIA STEPHANOTIS.
+  THE ALABASTER BOX.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  THE EULOGY OF RICHARD JEFFERIES. With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. buckram, 6_s._
+  THE ART OF FICTION. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 1_s._ net.
+  ST. KATHERINE'S BY THE TOWER. CHEAP EDITION, picture cover, 1_s._ net.
+
+
+London: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South London, by Sir Walter Besant
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